1. U.S. bishops discussions on Eucharist document to have ‘different tone’ from summer, By John Lavenburg, Crux, November 16, 2021
As the nation’s bishops convene this week for their first in-person general assembly in two years, the in-person conversations on a controversial document on the Eucharist have taken a different tone, according to one committee chairman.
U.S. bishops met in private session on Monday; the first day of their fall general assembly from Nov. 15-18 in Baltimore. The public sessions open to the media are Tuesday and Wednesday. The general assembly concludes with another private session on Thursday.
“The nature of the conversations about the document have been very different from what people saw in June,” Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the bishop-designate of Crookston, told Crux. “Especially because what has come to be understood is that what we need to do is restate and strengthen our teaching on this and as far as I can tell the bishops are in agreement on that.”
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2021/11/u-s-bishops-discussions-on-eucharist-document-to-have-different-tone-from-summer/
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2. Catholic bishops to debate document on Communion, Paper probably won’t mention Biden or abortion directly, By Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post, November 16, 2021, Pg. A12
U.S. Catholic bishops will vote this week on their first position paper on Communion since 2006. And while the document will probably sidestep Catholic culture wars by not explicitly mentioning President Biden or other abortion-rights-supporting Catholic politicians, the meeting will put on display important divisions that have been simmering for decades.
Hundreds of bishops from around the country started gathering at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott on Monday for prayer and closed executive session, the first time they have been together in person for two years because of the pandemic. They usually meet in person each June and November.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/11/15/bishops-catholic-biden-abortion-communion-eucharist/
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3. Can Becciu’s defense hold up in court?, By Ed. Condon, The Pillar, November 15, 2021, Opinion
Pre-trial court hearings in the Vatican’s financial scandal hearings are set to resume in the Vatican this week after a break of more than a month since the last session of court.
While lawyers and judges are likely to focus on arguments of process and procedure as the court enters its third sitting, they will eventually have to shift to the actual substance of the case.
When they do, the defendants, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, will finally have the chance to answer the range of charges against them — but they may have to face some awkward questions in the process.
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When the story first broke in the Autumn of 2019, the cardinal insisted that the acquisition of the London building, which began with a 45% stake taken through a fund in which the secretariat invested hundreds of millions of euros borrowed against Holy See funds, was entirely above board, and any suggestions of impropriety around the deal were unfounded.
At that time, Becciu called the investments “accepted practice” and said that the way in which the building was bought – involving a train of nested holding companies in the Channel Islands and Luxembourg – was “regular and registered according to law.”
Since then, that narrative has come under heavy fire and Becciu is now distancing himself from responsibility for the deal he authorized and initially defended. Previous reporting has shown that the Holy See’s original investment was made in a way designed to evade in-house Vatican financial oversight mechanisms, and charges have now been brought that the final purchase of the building was fraudulent and deliberating structured in a way to expose the Vatican to extortion by its designated middle-man, Gianluigi Torzi.
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Since the day after his forced resignation in September 2020, Becciu has presented himself in public as a humble curial employee and a devoted aide to Pope Francis, incapable of corruption and surprised by the revelations of misconduct taking place around him.
When he is eventually called to answer the charges against him in detail, though, a very different Cardinal Becciu may emerge from the evidence. His lawyers could face an uphill struggle, as they aim to convince the judges that the cardinal in the center of a maelstrom is really just a simple civil servant, aiming to serve only the Church.
https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/can-beccius-defense-hold-up-in-court
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4. Vatican releases theme for pope’s 2022 World Peace Day message, By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service, November 15, 2021
Lasting peace in the world can be achieved only by responding to the needs of current and future generations, the Vatican said as it announced the theme Pope Francis chose for his 2022 World Peace Day message.
“Education, work and dialogue between generations: tools for building lasting peace” will be the theme for the Jan. 1 commemoration and for the message Pope Francis will write for the occasion, said a Vatican communique published Nov. 13.
The Vatican said education, work and dialogue are consistently evolving and that Pope Francis’ message will “propose an innovative reading that responds to the needs of current and future times.”
The pope’s message, the communique said, will be an invitation “to read the signs of the times with the eyes of faith, so that the direction of this change awakens new and old questions with which it is right and necessary to be confronted.”
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/11/vatican-releases-theme-for-popes-2022-world-peace-day-message/
___________________________________________________________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. |
