Pope Francis

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-francis-donates-ventilator-to-brazil-hospital.html

Pope Francis donates ventilator to Brazil hospital
14 July 2020, 14:50

Pope Francis donates a ventilator and a thermometer to a hospital in Brazil for use in treating indigenous peoples who have contracted Covid-19.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis donated a ventilator to the Campanha de Marabá Hospital in Brazil, as the number of infections and deaths due to the Covid-19 virus continues to increase in the South American country.

Expressing his gratitude in a video, Bishop Vital Corbellini of Marabá said that “it was a beautiful charitable action of Pope Francis through the Apostolic Nunciature” which will be used to “save as many lives as possible.”

“We ask that it be used especially for the Indigenous Peoples, because they are the most in need,” Bishop Corbellini told Vatican News.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-francis-sri-lanka-appointment-auxiliary-colombo-pillainaya.html

Pope appoints new Auxiliary Bishop in Sri Lanka
13 July 2020, 11:41

Pope Francis has appointed Father Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam as the third Auxiliary Bishop of Colombo.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis on Monday appointed a new Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.  Father Anton Ranjith Pillainayagam, a priest of the archdiocese, is the third auxiliary bishop of the metropolitan archdiocese.

The 53-year old priest has been appointed the third auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese, which is headed by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.

The other two Auxiliary Bishops of Colombo are Maxwell Silva and J D Anthony Jayakody, appointed in 2011 and 2018.

53-year old Father Pillainayagam is currently the vice-rector of St. Joseph's College in Colombo and director of the Tamil Theologate.
 

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https://zenit.org/2020/07/13/pope-makes-appointment-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina-crotia/

Pope Makes Appointment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia
Also Accepts Resignation in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
JULY 13, 2020 03:41

Resignation of bishop of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Bissau, Guinea-Bissau, presented by Bishop José Câmnate na Bissign.

Resignation of bishop of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Trebinje-Mrkan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and appointment of successor and new apostolic administrator

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Mostar-Duvno and of the apostolic administrator ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of Trebinje-Mrkan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, presented by Bishop Ratko Perić.

The Pope has appointed as bishop of the diocese of Mostar-Duvno and apostolic administrator of Trebnje-Mrkan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bishop Petar Palić of Hvar, Croatia.

Appointment of coadjutor of the metropolitan archdiocese of Split-Makarska, Croatia

The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Dražen Kutleša of Poreč i Pula as coadjutor archbishop of the metropolitan archdiocese of Split-Makarska, Croatia.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-makes-california-mission-founded-by-st-junipero-serra-a-minor-basilica-44742

Pope Francis makes mission founded by St. Junipero Serra a minor basilica

CNA Staff, Jul 15, 2020 / 12:30 pm MT (CNA).- Pope Francis has elevated a California mission church founded by St. Junipero Serra to the rank of minor basilica. The San Buenaventura Mission in Ventura was granted the title by the pope in an announcement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Wednesday, the feast of St. Bonaventure.

Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced the mission’s new status on July 15, before celebrating daily Mass at the mission garden, together with Los Angeles auxiliary Bishop Bobert Barron, and the mission’s pastor. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Mass was celebrated outdoors and livestreamed.

“When the Pope designates a basilica, it means this is holy ground,” Gomez said.

“Something beautiful and important in the history of salvation happened here. A basilica is a place where the mercy of God has been proclaimed in the name of Jesus Christ. It is a place where sinners have been saved and saints have been made, and the Kingdom of God has moved forward.”

The designation is granted to churches around the world in recognition of their special pastoral and liturgical significance in Catholic life, and their closeness to the pope. The San Buenaventura Mission remains an active parish of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, serving approximately 1,400 families. It is the 88th U.S. church to receive the title, and the first in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-07/vademecum-procedures-cases-sexual-abuse-minors-clergy.html

Vatican issues Vademecum: procedures regarding cases of sexual abuse of minors
16 July 2020, 15:00

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) publishes an “instruction manual”, a step-by-step guide to help ascertain the truth in cases of minors who have suffered abuse on the part of a member of the clergy.
By Isabella Piro

Substantially, the Vademecum provides precise responses to what can be called the most frequently asked questions. It is an instruction manual which, in a bit more than 30 pages and 9 chapters, responds to the main questions to several procedural steps regarding how cases of the sexual abuse of minors committed by members of the clergy should be handled. It is not, however, a normative text. Nor does it introduce new legislation on the subject. Rather, it is a tool designed to help Ordinaries and legal professionals who need to apply canonical norms to actual cases regarding the delicta graviora (more serious delict or crime). The Vademecum says such crimes referred to as delicta graviora “constitute for the whole Church a profound and painful wound that cries out for healing.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-07/ladaria-vademecum-cdf-sexual-abuse-minors-clergy.html
Cardinal Ladaria: a text with contributions from local Churches that will be kept up-to-date
16 July 2020, 15:00

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-07/giacomo-morandi-interview-cdf-guide-to-abuse-reporting.html
Archbishop Morandi: “A manual to explain how to act when abuse is reported"
16 July 2020, 15:00

The full text of the Vademecum--
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20200716_vademecum-casi-abuso_en.html
CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

VADEMECUM

ON CERTAIN POINTS OF PROCEDURE
IN TREATING CASES OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS
COMMITTED BY CLERICS
 
Version 1.0
of 16 July 2020

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-appoints-bishop-cleveland-malesic.html

Pope appoints new Bishop for Cleveland, Ohio, USA
16 July 2020, 12:00

Pope Francis appoints Bishop Edward Charles Malesic, currently the Bishop of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, as Bishop of Cleveland, Ohio.

Bishop Malesic was born in Harrisburg, PA in 1960. He graduated from Central Dauphin East High School in Harrisburg in 1978, and studied Biology at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA (1978-1981).

After entering the Seminary, he received a BA in Philosophy and a Master of Divinity from the Pontifical Josephinum College in Columbus, OH, and was ordained a priest in 1987 for the Diocese of Harrisburg. He holds a licentiate in canon law from the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.
 
Pope Francis nominated Bishop Malesic as the Bishop of Greensburg on 24 April 2015, and he received episcopal ordination in July of the same year.

Bishop Malesic serves as a member of the Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance and the Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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Update:  Notre Dame Cathedral

https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/13153/notre-dame-to-be-rebuilt-as-it-was-

15 JULY 2020, THE TABLET
Notre Dame to be rebuilt ‘as it was’
by Tom Heneghan , in Paris

Notre Dame cathedral will be rebuilt in its pre-blaze form, including the Gothic-style spire and forest of wooden supports under its roof, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

His decision, reversing his initial plan to consider modern alternatives, put an end to speculative options including a roof-top swimming pool, a transparent covering and a modern flame-like spire. One proposal foresaw a roof and spire made completely of traditional stained-glass windows.

Church and patrimony experts unanimously supported the plan, which ended talk of modern options at a time when Macron, following his party’s poor showing at recent municipal elections, had other issues to handle.

Macron’s office indicated something modern might be built nearby, but gave no details. His target of reopening Notre Dame in 2024, which the president announced when fire destroyed the roof and spire in April 2019, seems to have been retained despite several recent delays.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/cardinal-grocholewski-death-pope-telegramme-condolences.html

Pope Francis sends condolences for death of Cardinal Grocholewski
17 July 2020, 16:32

Pope Francis sends a telegramme of condolences to the brother of Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis expressed his sorrow and offered his condolences following the death, on Friday morning, of Polish Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski at the age of 80.

The Cardinal had worked closely with Popes St John Paul II and Benedict XVI as the former prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Pope Francis addressed his telegramme of condolences to the Cardinal’s brother, Władisław Grocholewski, expressing his closeness to the family and to all who esteemed the late Cardinal in this time of mourning.

“I remember with gratitude the meritorious work he did as a valued professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical Gregorian and Lateran Universities, and also as the author of numerous academic publications,” the Pope wrote.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-appoints-chicago-auxiliary-bishop-to-diocese-of-joliet-20005

Pope Francis appoints Chicago auxiliary bishop to Diocese of Joliet

Vatican City, Jul 17, 2020 / 06:00 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis named Bishop Ronald A. Hicks as the next bishop of Joliet, Illinois, Friday.

Hicks, 55, has served as Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago since 2015 and as an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese since 2018.

He will be the sixth bishop of Joliet, succeeding Bishop R. Daniel Conlon, who resigned in May at the age of 71 following a medical leave of absence.

Hicks will be installed Sept. 29 at the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/primacy-and-infallibility-150-years-after-vatican-i.html

Primacy and infallibility: 150 years after Vatican I
17 July 2020, 16:29

After lengthy discussions, the dogmas of the Pope's primacy over the universal Church and of the infallibility of the papal magisterium were approved at Vatican Council I. What is the significance of these dogmas of the Church?
By Sergio Centofanti

One hundred fifty years ago, on 18 July 1870, the Constitution Pastor Aeternus, which defined the two dogmas of the primacy of the Pope and papal infallibility, was promulgated.

Long and heated discussions

The Dogmatic Constitution was approved unanimously by the 535 Council Fathers present “after long, fierce, and heated discussions,” as Paul VI said during a general audience in 1969. He described that day as “a dramatic page in the life of the Church, but for all that, no less clear and definitive. Eighty-three Council Fathers did not take part in the vote. The approval of the text came on the last day of the First Vatican Council, which was suspended the following day because of the start of the Franco-Prussian war. Following the capture of Rome by Italian troops on 20 September 1870 – which effectively marked the end of the Pontifical States – the Council was prorogued “sine die.” The conflicts that emerged during the Council led to the schism of the so-called Old Catholics.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2020-07/france-nantes-fire-arson-cathedral-investigation.html

Fire damages France's "Gothic Jewel" Cathedral in Nantes
18 July 2020, 17:16

Prosecutors in France say a fire that has broken out in the Gothic cathedral of the western French city of Nantes on the Loire River started deliberately. Tourists and residents watch in horror as firefighters battled the blaze at 15th-century St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral in the city's historical center.
By Stefan J. Bos

In a statement on social media service Twitter, the French President Emmanuel Macron wrote that "After Notre-Dame, the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, in the heart of Nantes, is in flames. " He added: "Support for our firefighters who take all risks to save this Gothic jewel of the city."

However, firefighters brushed aside comparisons with Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, whose lead roof and spire burned down in April 2019.

But the Nantes fire brings back memories of that devastating blaze that threatened to topple the medieval monument.

The blaze came after this cathedral also suffered a severe fire in 1972.

Nantes Mayor Johanna Rolland called the building part of France's history and heritage. Saturday's blaze shattered stained glass windows and sent black smoke spewing from between its towers.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/organ-destroyed-in-fire-at-nantes-cathedral-in-france-11686
French cathedral burns in suspected arson fire
By Hannah Brockhaus

Rome Newsroom, Jul 18, 2020 / 04:36 am MT (CNA).- A fire being investigated as arson at a historic cathedral in western France Saturday morning has been contained, according to the local fire chief, though not before the Gothic church’s great organ and rose window sustained severe damage.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-francis-names-doglietto-new-fas-director.html

Pope appoints new director of Vatican healthcare services
18 July 2020, 12:05

Pope Francis names Dr Giovanni Battista Doglietto as the new Director of the Vatican’s healthcare services, the Fondo Assistenza Sanitaria (FAS).
By Vatican News

The Holy Father on Saturday appointed Dr Giovanni Battista Doglietto as the new Director of the Vatican healthcare services.

Dr Doglietto takes over the role from Dr Stefano Loreti.

What is the FAS?

The Health Care Fund of the Holy See, or Fondo Assistenza Sanitaria (FAS), provides health services to employees of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, and the Governorate of the Vatican City State.

The president of the FAS, Msgr. Luigi Mistò, described the organization’s mission, in an interview with Vatican News’ Alessandro De Carolis.

“I prefer to recall an image used by Pope Francis affirming that sickness is an ‘existential periphery’ where everyone passes sooner or later, directly or through someone dear to them,” he said. “FAS, while paying attention to economic sustainability, must absolutely keep the person who is ill at the center of our work, making him or her feel all the care and tenderness they require.”
 

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Hmmm...

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/experts-map-out-us-bishops-social-networks-that-helped-cover-up-ex-cardinal-mccarricks-sex-abuse

Experts map out US bishops’ ‘social networks’ that helped cover-up ex-cardinal McCarrick’s sex abuse
The sociologists mapped out webs of episcopal influence in both US and UK.
Fri Jul 17, 2020 - 8:12 pm EST
By Dorothy Cummings McLean

ITHACA, New York, July 17, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― Sociologists have published a paper illustrating social networks between bishops in two national episcopal conferences and around the former cardinal Theodore McCarrick who was laicized over credible allegations of sexually abusing seminarians and priests.

“This paper presents preliminary findings, using original network data for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB),” the scholars explain.

“These show how a network-informed approach may help with the urgent task of understanding the ecclesiastical cultures in which sexual abuse occurs, and/or is enabled, ignored, and covered up.”

“Power, Preferment, and Patronage: Catholic Bishops, Social Networks, and the Affair(s) of Ex-Cardinal McCarrick” was authored by Professor Stephen Bullivant of St. Mary’s University, London and Research Fellow Giovanni Radhitio Putra Sadewo of the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne. It was published online this week by Cornell University.

The study describes episcopal culture and presents three maps: relationships among bishops of the CBCEW, then among bishops of the USCCB, and finally of bishops to the disgraced former cardinal McCarrick.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-at-angelus-god-s-patience-opens-our-hearts-to-hope.html

Pope at Angelus: God’s patience opens our hearts to hope
19 July 2020, 13:00

At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis prays that the Blessed Virgin Mary might “help us to understand and imitate the patience of God, who wants none of His children to be lost, whom He loves with the love of a Father.”
By Vatican News

With the parable of the wheat and the weeds, said Pope Francis said at the Sunday Angelus, Jesus “helps us understand God’s patience, opening our hearts to hope.”

In Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells the parable of the man who plants good wheat in his field. In the night, an enemy sows weeds among the wheat; and when wheat and weeds begin growing together, the farmer’s servants desire to pull out the weeds. The master, though, tells them to wait until the harvest, for fear that they will pull up the wheat with the weeds.

"Between us," he said, " we can say that even today the soil has been infested by so many herbicides, weed killers, and poisons that do harm to ourselves and the earth. "
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-appeal-global-ceasefire-pandemic-violence-caucasus.html
Pope reiterates appeal for global ceasefire, calls for peace in the Caucasus
19 July 2020, 12:38

https://zenit.org/2020/07/19/pope-francis-explains-parable-of-sower-and-his-enemy/
Pope Francis Explains Parable of Sower and His Enemy
‘The Adversary has a Name — the Devil’
JULY 19, 2020 13:02  JIM FAIR

Video at the link below--
POPE'S ANGELUS OF 19 JULY 2020
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/angelus/2020-07/pope-francis-angelus-19-july-2020.html

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/the-800-year-old-cathedral-that-inspired-the-notre-dame-de-paris-spire-64962

The 800-year-old cathedral that inspired the Notre-Dame de Paris spire
By Courtney Mares

Rome Newsroom, Jul 19, 2020 / 04:00 am MT (CNA).- While the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris was completely destroyed in last year’s devastating fire, another Notre-Dame cathedral, the largest in France, offers the opportunity to see the spire that it was based on and to venerate a prized relic.

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame d’Amiens, 80 miles north of Paris, is celebrating its 800th anniversary in 2020 by exposing its relic of St. John the Baptist for veneration. The relic has traditionally only been on public display on the saint’s feast days on June 24 and August 29.

Amiens is the largest cathedral in France, with an inner volume twice the size of that of Notre-Dame de Paris. Construction began on the Gothic cathedral in 1220, shortly after France acquired the relic of St. John the Baptist from Constantinople. Upon its construction, it became a popular destination for 13th-century pilgrims.   

St. Louis, King Charles VI and Charles VII made pilgrimages to Amiens to venerate the relic, and a 17th-century French bishop vowed to build a chapel dedicated to John the Baptist after invoking the saint’s intercession for the end to the plague epidemic of 1668. Renovation of this chapel and reliquary was finished in time for this year’s anniversary.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-07/pope-visits-summer-kids-camp-vatican-gardens.html

Pope Francis visits Vatican's summer camp
20 July 2020, 17:23

Pope Francis surprises the children participating in a Vatican-sponsored summer camp with a personal visit.
By Vatican News

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, released the information on Monday evening that this morning, a little after 9:00, the Holy Father visited the children participating in Estate Ragazzi (Summer Kids Camp) that is taking place inside Vatican City State. The children were eating breakfast in Paul VI Hall when the Pope came.

Pope Francis visited each table, conversing with the children. He also visited the play areas set up inside the Hall.

A little while later, sitting down with the children, the Pope encouraged them to make new friends. "People who only know how to have fun by themselves are selfish. You have to be together, with friends, to have a good time." Finally, before returning to Santa Marta around 10:00, he greeted the people managing the camp and thanked them for their work.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-07/instruction-vatican-congregation-for-clergy-pastoral-conversion.html

Parish at the service of evangelization
20 July 2020, 12:01

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy releases a new document to help guide the reform of parish communities. It is entitled “The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church.”
By Isabella Piro

The Church offers space for everyone to find their place, while respecting the vocation of each individual. This idea forms the core of the Instruction on the parish, which the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy released on Monday.

The document does not promulgate any new legislation, but proposes methods to better apply existing rules and canonical norms. The aim is to encourage the co-responsibility of the baptized and to promote pastoral care based on closeness and cooperation between parishes.

What emerges most forcefully from the Instruction is the urgency of missionary renewal, a pastoral conversion of the parish, so that the faithful may rediscover the dynamism and creativity which allows the parish to be always "going forth", aided by the contribution of all the baptized faithful.

The Instruction consists of 11 chapters and can be divided into two parts: the first (chapters 1-6) offers a broad reflection on pastoral conversion, missionary outreach, and the value of the parish in the contemporary context. The second part (chapters 7-11) dwells on the subdivisions of parish communities, various pastoral roles that make them up, and the ways in which the governing norms are applied.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-publishes-instructions-on-parish-reform-and-diocesan-restructuring-82893
Vatican publishes instructions on parish reform and diocesan restructuring

Links for the 24-page document --
https://zenit.org/2020/07/20/a-new-instruction-to-help-the-parish-to-evangelize-full-text/
A New Instruction to Help the Parish to Evangelize (Full Text)
‘The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church’
JULY 20, 2020 15:11
or
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/07/20/0391/00886.html#en

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Update:  the fire at Nantes Cathedral

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/police-release-volunteer-questioned-over-nantes-catholic-cathedral-fire-13739

Police release volunteer questioned over Nantes Catholic cathedral fire

CNA Staff, Jul 20, 2020 / 09:52 am MT (CNA).-  A volunteer questioned by French police in connection with the fire at Nantes Cathedral has been released without charge.

The 39-year-old Rwandan refugee was detained following the July 18 fire at the Gothic cathedral which police suspect was caused by arson.

He was freed Sunday evening, according the Nantes public prosecutor.

The BBC reported that the man, who has not been named, was responsible for locking the cathedral the day before the fire. He was detained on Saturday and questioned by police in order to clear up alleged inconsistencies in his schedule.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-says-pope-francis-did-not-intervene-in-franco-exhumation-in-spain-12928

Vatican says Pope Francis did not intervene in Franco exhumation in Spain
By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Jul 21, 2020 / 08:45 am MT (CNA).- The Vatican stated Tuesday that Pope Francis did not intervene in last year’s controversy over the exhumation of the body of Francisco Franco from the Valley of the Fallen in Spain.

In a statement sent July 21, the Vatican said that the Holy See had urged dialogue between the family of Franco and the government, but never “made any declaration on either the exhumation or the place of burial, because it is not part of its competency.”

“On the question of Francisco Franco’s exhumation, [the Holy See] has repeated on various occasions its respect for the legality and the decisions of the competent governmental and judicial authorities,” it said.

Franco’s body was exhumed from the Basilica of the Holy Cross at the Valley of the Fallen Oct. 24, 2019. It was re-interred in Madrid’s El Pardo cemetery.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/analysis-the-vatican-and-china-part-i-the-mainland-66113

Analysis: The Vatican and China Part I, the Mainland
By Ed Condon

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jul 22, 2020 / 07:30 am MT (CNA).- Part 1 of a three part series examining the situation of the Church in China.

In recent weeks, China has become the focus of international attention and opprobrium, first for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak and, more recently, for its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang autonomous region and its crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.

While Catholic China watchers have long focused on the ongoing human rights crisis in the country, broader media attention has fallen on the issue just weeks before the controversial Vatican-China deal is set for renewal, placing the Holy See’s most delicate diplomatic relationship under a microscope.

The 2018 agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese Communist Party was intended to end a decades long schism among Chinese Catholics, between the underground Church loyal to Rome and the Communist-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association.

While the text of the agreement has never been released, key among its provisions is a compromise on the appointment of bishops, with communist authorities given the chance to feed into lists of prospective candidates as the pope made an appointment.