1. German archbishop backs loosening Catholic celibacy rules, By Associated Press, February 3, 2022, 3:14 AM
A prominent German archbishop advocated loosening celibacy rules for Catholic priests in comments published Thursday before a meeting of a German reform assembly.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich, told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that “it would be better for everyone to create the possibility of celibate and married priests.” His comments come as his diocese has been shaken by an independent report on the church’s handling of sexual abuse cases over decades, which faulted Marx and predecessors including retired Pope Benedict XVI.
Marx, a prominent reformist ally of Pope Francis, said last week that the church needs deep reform to overcome the “disaster” of sexual abuse.
“For some priests, it would be better if they were married — not just for sexual reasons, but because it would be better for their life and they wouldn’t be lonely,” he said in the newspaper interview. “We must hold this discussion.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/german-archbishop-backs-loosening-catholic-celibacy-rules/2022/02/03/427c529e-84c9-11ec-951c-1e0cc3723e53_story.html
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2. Top EU cardinal calls for change in church teaching on gay relationships, By Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur, National Catholic Reporter, February 2, 2022
Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, a Jesuit who leads the pan-European Catholic bishops’ conference, has called for a change in the church’s teaching on homosexuality.
In an interview with Germany’s Catholic News Agency (KNA), the president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) said he considered the church’s assessment of homosexuality relationships as sinful to be wrong.
“I believe that the sociological-scientific foundation of this teaching is no longer correct,” Hollerich said. The cardinal said it was time for a fundamental revision of church teaching, and suggested the way Pope Francis had spoken about homosexuality in the past could lead to a change in doctrine.
Hollerich made his comments in response to the public campaign by 125 Catholic Church employees in Germany who recently outed themselves as queer, saying they want to “live openly without fear” in the church.
It was important for the church to remain human, Hollerich said. He added that he knew of homosexual priests and laypeople in the archdiocese of Luxembourg.
“And they know that they have a home in the church,” said the cardinal. “With us, no one is dismissed because they are homosexual, with us no one has ever been dismissed because of that.”
Divorced and remarried people were also active in the church in the Archdiocese of Luxembourg, said Hollerich. “I can’t kick them out,” he said. “They would become unemployed. How can such a thing be Christian?”
https://www.ncronline.org/news/quick-reads/top-eu-cardinal-calls-change-church-teaching-gay-relationships
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3. White House Press Secretary dodges question: Must Supreme Court nominee be ‘pro-abortion’?, By Katie Yoder, Catholic News Agency, February 2, 2022, 3:10 PM
The White House refused to say whether President Joe Biden’s pick for the next Supreme Court justice must be pro-abortion, during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“I’m not going to outline a litmus test from here today,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Feb. 1. Her comments came in response to EWTN correspondent Owen Jensen, who asked, “Will that person have to be pro-abortion?”
While Psaki declined to say more about the future Supreme Court nominee in regards abortion, she repeated to Jensen that the president “believes in a woman’s right to choose.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250280/white-house-press-secretary-dodges-question-must-supreme-court-nominee-be-pro-abortion
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4. Christian leaders seek release of Jimmy Lai, other activists in Hong Kong, By Catholic News Service, February 2, 2022
An international coalition of Christian leaders, including the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, appealed for the release of Hong Kong’s Catholic pro-democracy supporter Jimmy Lai and other imprisoned activists as part of a Chinese New Year amnesty.
Cardinal Charles Bo of Myanmar, FABC president, joined other Catholic and Protestant leaders from across Europe, North America and Asia to send a letter to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, a practicing Catholic, reported ucanews.com.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2022/02/christian-leaders-seek-release-of-jimmy-lai-other-activists-in-hong-kong
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5. Italian court cancels Torzi arrest warrant, By The Pillar, February 2, 2022
An Italian court has canceled an arrest warrant issued for Gianluigi Torzi, the broker at the center of the Vatican financial scandal. The decision, issued by the Roman Court of Review on January 31, is expected to halt an ongoing extradition process for Torzi in the UK, and means the broker would no longer face arrest on his eventual return to Italy.
The review court’s decision follows an October 2021 ruling, in which the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation ordered the review court to reconsider its decision to uphold an arrest warrant issued for Torzi.
The ruling does not drop the charges of tax evasion and money laundering Torzi faces in Italy, and has no effect on the trial currently underway in Vatican City, where Torzi is accused of extortion, embezzlement, fraud, and money laundering. The charges in both jurisdictions are linked to his role in the Holy See’s Secretariat of State’s purchase of a London building in 2018.
The full text of the review court’s decision has not yet been published, but the decision is likely based on the Supreme Court’s finding that Roman prosecutors failed to hand over information and evidence potentially useful to Torzi’s defense during indictment hearings.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/italian-court-cancels-torzi-arrest
___________________________________________________________TCA Media Monitoring provides a snapshot from national newspapers and major Catholic press outlets of coverage regarding significant Catholic Church news and current issues with which the Catholic Church is traditionally or prominently engaged. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Catholic Association.
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