1. Italy’s Meloni makes first state visit to meet with Francis, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, January 10, 2023, 7:15 AM
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who came to power on a campaign motto of “God, Family, Fatherland” made her first official visit to see Pope Francis on Tuesday, fulfilling what she said was a hoped-for opportunity to better understand the Argentine pontiff.
Meloni spent 35 minutes with Francis alone, before she met with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the foreign minister. The Holy See said the talks with Parolin focused on the fight against poverty, family issues and Italy’s demographic problems — a big concern for both Meloni and Francis who have lamented Italy’s low birth rate. The war in Ukraine and migration were also discussed, according to a press statement.
Meloni, whose far-right-led coalition won September national elections, has spoken at length about her Catholic faith and has been a high-profile participant in Italy’s conservative Family Day rallies aimed at promoting “traditional” family values. During the 2016 edition she announced she was pregnant with her first child, Ginevra, who accompanied her to the audience with Francis Tuesday, along with her partner.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/italys-meloni-makes-first-state-visit-to-meet-with-francis/2023/01/10/8059ee2c-90e0-11ed-90f8-53661ac5d9b9_story.html
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2. Pope Francis: Vulnerability threatens the ‘culture of efficiency’, By Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency, January 10, 2023, 5:00 AM
Sickness and vulnerability is scary because it is a threat to the culture of efficiency, Pope Francis said on Tuesday, in a message published ahead of the World Day of the Sick.
“We are rarely prepared for illness. Oftentimes, we fail even to admit that we are getting older,” the pope said Jan. 10. “Our vulnerability frightens us and the pervasive culture of efficiency pushes us to sweep it under the carpet, leaving no room for our human frailty.”
“We are all fragile and vulnerable, and need that compassion which knows how to pause, approach, heal, and raise up. Thus, the plight of the sick is a call that cuts through indifference and slows the pace of those who go on their way as if they had no sisters and brothers,” he said.
The Catholic Church will mark the 31st annual World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France is associated with the sick because of the presence of a miraculous spring from which many people have obtained physical healing.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253303/pope-francis-vulnerability-threatens-the-culture-of-efficiency
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3. Vatican places Indian bishop accused of rape, murder and graft on leave, By Nirmala Carvalho, Crux, January 10, 2023
An Indian bishop who’s faced accusations of sexual misconduct, corruption, kidnapping and even collusion in murder has been placed on administrative leave by the Vatican effective Jan. 7.
Bishop Kannikadass A. William, 57, has led the Diocese of Mysore since 2017. In his place, the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization has appointed retired Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore as apostolic administrator.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2023/01/vatican-places-indian-bishop-accused-of-rape-murder-and-graft-on-leave
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4. Vatican Reopens Case of Missing Girl Emanuela Orlandi, The disappearance of the teenager has haunted the Catholic Church and Italy for 40 years, By Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal, January 9, 2023, 2:46 PM
The Vatican has decided to reopen its investigation of a four-decade old mystery, after a popular Netflix documentary drew renewed attention to the case late last year.
Vatican prosecutors will re-examine the case of Emanuela Orlandi, who disappeared from a Rome street at the age of 15 in 1983. The decision comes after persistent lobbying by Ms. Orlandi’s family.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, said Monday that the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Alessandro Diddi, “has confirmed that he opened a file, also on the basis of requests made by the family” of Ms. Orlandi.
Mr. Bruni declined to say whether the Netflix documentary, “Vatican Girl,” might have influenced the decision to reopen the case, which was earlier reported by Italy’s Adnkronos news agency.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/vatican-reopens-case-of-missing-girl-emanuela-orlandi-11673293220
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5. Benedict XVI’s ‘radical renewal’ of worship, “Benedict XVI fundamentally and irreversibly changed the way the Church understands divine worship.”, By Carl Bunderson, The Pillar, January 9, 2023, 12:02 PM
The lasting legacy of Pope Benedict XVI will be a shift in the way the Church thinks about worshipping God, one scholar suggested after the late former pope’s death.
“Benedict XVI fundamentally and irreversibly changed the way the Church understands divine worship, and the effect of that radical renewal is only just beginning to be seen,” said Fr. James Bradley, a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, a professor of canon law at The Catholic University of America, and a PhD candidate in liturgical studies at the University of Vienna.
And while the former pope’s expansion of the use of the 1962 Missal is no longer in effect, Bradley believes Benedict’s more enduring contribution to the Church is in the way that the liturgy is emphasized and understood.
Bradley suggested that Benedict’s writings – both during his papacy and leading up to it – have helped the Church understand the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/benedict-xvis-radical-renewal-of-worship/
__________________________________________________________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. |
