1. Former Vatican security chief praises pope’s financial reforms, By Elise Ann Allen, Crux, January 7, 2020
Just over a year after this exit, Domenico Giani, formerly believed to be one of the most powerful people in the Vatican, has given an interview offering details as to his current career path and his thoughts on papal reform.
In the interview, published in Avvenire, the official newspaper of the Italian bishops, Jan. 6, the former head of the Vatican police said that when he was first asked to enter service to the Holy See, he was told that “it was not my personal service by a vocation, a call,” which also extended to his family.
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Asked for his thoughts on the pope’s ongoing reform of the Vatican and the Roman Curia, which last year included several moves on the financial front, Giani said that in his view, “The pope continues his reform with firmness not divorced from charity, but without ceding to justicialist impulses.”
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/01/former-vatican-security-chief-praises-popes-non-financial-reforms/
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2. US Catholic bishops demand peace replace violence after protesters disrupt Capitol, By Catholic News Agency, January 6, 2020, 5:57 PM
Catholic bishops strongly condemned pro-Donald Trump protesters’ incursion that penetrated the Capitol Building Wednesday as Congress debated the certification of the presidential election results, leading to the evacuation of lawmakers and the deadly shooting of one protester by law enforcement.
“I join people of good will in condemning the violence today at the United States Capitol,” Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Jan. 6. “This is not who we are as Americans. I am praying for members of Congress and Capitol staff and for the police and all those working to restore order and public safety.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/us-catholic-bishops-demand-peace-replace-violence-after-protesters-disrupt-congress-74807
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3. Pope Francis calls for peace in Central African Republic after disputed election, By Catholic News Agency, January 6, 2020, 6:35 PM
Pope Francis called Wednesday for peace in the Central African Republic following a disputed election.
In his Angelus address on Jan. 6, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, the pope expressed concern about the turmoil following a Dec. 27 vote to elect the country’s president and National Assembly.
“I am following carefully and with preoccupation the events in the Central African Republic where elections recently took place in which the people have manifested the desire to pursue the path of peace,” he said.
“I invite all of the parties to a fraternal, respectful dialogue, to reject any form of hatred and to avoid any form of violence.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/at-angelus-pope-francis-calls-for-peace-in-central-african-republic-after-disputed-election-85752
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4. The radicals who defaced St. Patrick’s Cathedral are pure bigots, By Cardinal Dolan, The New York Post, January 5, 2021, 4:33pm
To adapt the “Silent Night” refrain, all was calm, all was bright over the Christmas holidays. And then came the news that Saint Patrick’s Cathedral — America’s parish church, the cathedral cherished by Gothamites of any faith or none at all — had been defaced with vile graffiti attacking both the Catholic faith and the men and women of the New York Police Department.
You may recall that a similar outrage occurred last summer amid the sad violence afflicting American cities. At that time, I let it go, figuring I needn’t stoke the embers of anger that were burning throughout our country.
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Not this time.
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“Protestors” who snicker and posture for the cameras as they defile the cathedral are neither helpful nor productive. Many are quick to say that our culture needs to change and be held accountable for the problems we encounter. Well, those who break the law and scrawl their graffiti on a house of worship must also be held to account for their actions.
Back in the 1850s, thugs called “Know-Nothings,” who bragged about their hatred for Catholics, Jews, blacks and immigrants, publicly vowed to burn down what we now call “Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral” in lower Manhattan.
I dare you, replied my predecessor of blessed memory, Archbishop John Hughes: A thousand armed men are protecting our churches. Try it, he dared them. (Spoiler alert: They didn’t dare try it.)
I’m not about to follow the example of “Dagger John,” although I can well understand his position. No, as Pope Francis and the world’s great religious traditions, including Islam and Judaism and people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, teach us, reason, love, dialogue are the way, not guns, firebombs or spray paint. It’s what Jesus taught, too, and he faced far worse than graffiti.
Timothy Cardinal Dolan is the archbishop of New York.
https://nypost.com/2021/01/05/the-radicals-who-defaced-st-patricks-cathedral-are-pure-bigots/
___________________________________________________________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. |
