1. Vatican: Pope improving since hospitalization with infection, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, March 30, 2023, 6:59 AM
Pope Francis rested well overnight and was “progressively improving” Thursday after being hospitalized with a respiratory infection, the Vatican said.
The 86-year-old pontiff, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, ate breakfast, read the newspapers and was working from his hospital room at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, according to a statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.
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Francis was hospitalized Wednesday after having suffered breathing problems in recent days and was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, though not COVID-19. The Vatican said he would remain for a few days of treatment. His audiences were canceled through Friday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/30/pope-francis-hospital-infection/c027dfb0-cece-11ed-8907-156f0390d081_story.html
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2. Responding to Indigenous, Vatican rejects Discovery Doctrine, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, March 30, 2023, 6:04 AM
The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” the theories backed by 15th-century “papal bulls” that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today.
A Vatican statement said the 15th-century papal bulls, or decrees, “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples” and have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith.
It said the documents had been “manipulated” for political purposes by colonial powers “to justify immoral acts against Indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition from ecclesial authorities.”
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/03/30/vatican-indigenous-papal-bulls-pope-francis/4c9f6c16-cee2-11ed-8907-156f0390d081_story.html
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3. Defection from anti-abuse panel raises questions of principle, turf wars, By John L. Allen Jr., Crux, March 30, 2023, Opinion
On any other day, the dominant Vatican headline yesterday would have belonged to German Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, whose unexpected resignation from the pope’s chief advisory body on combating sexual abuse left the broader state of Francis’s reform campaign an open question.
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One way of reading Zollner’s exit, therefore, is as another nail in the coffin for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Billed when it was launched in 2014 as the tip of the spear for the pope’s reform effort, it would be revealed as a paper tiger – capable only of giving advice, and that more often ignored than acted upon.
Yet there’s another optic for viewing Zollner’s exit, one which would place the focus not only on principle but also on bureaucratic turf wars.
According to this way of reading the situation, Zollner’s understandable, and entirely laudable, hope is to build his new institute at the Gregorian University into a leading center in Catholicism for anti-abuse resources and programming, with budgets and staffing commensurate with such aims.
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Going forward, the challenge for Pope Francis and his advisers would seem to be to convince people that the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors isn’t simply smoke and mirrors, which will include clarifying its relationship with other centers of thought and energy in the church devoted to recovery from the abuse scandals.
In his statement, Zollner said, “I remain open to discuss safeguarding with the commission.” It will be fascinating, not to mention critical for the pope’s own legacy, to track where that conversation goes.
https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2023/03/defection-from-anti-abuse-panel-raises-questions-of-principle-turf-wars
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4. Founding member of pope’s child protection board resigns, By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press, March 29, 2023, 1:10 PM
A founding member of Pope Francis’ child protection advisory board resigned Wednesday, citing a host of problems inside the commission and in its relationship with the Vatican bureaucracy.
In an unusually frank resignation note, the Rev. Hans Zollner cited inadequate financial accountability, insufficient transparency about decision-making and a lack of clarity about staff hiring and the board’s relationship with the Holy See’s sex abuse office.
Francis announced the creation of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2013 to advise the Vatican on best practices to prevent clergy sexual abuse. He named Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley as the commission’s head.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/29/vatican-pope-sex-abuse-commission/0b9a4ce6-ce50-11ed-8907-156f0390d081_story.html
__________________________________________________________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. |
