The pope’s right-hand man is reshaping the church, becoming a target

(The Washington Post. Antonio Masiello)

When Pope Francis first asked if he would be willing to take one of the loftiest jobs at the Vatican, heading the office that sets the policies of the Roman Catholic Church, Víctor Manuel Fernández said no. The liberal Argentine archbishop worried his appointment might make things worse for a pope facing historic internal dissent. “I knew that there were groups that did not love me, some willing to do anything — judging by the expressions they used on social networks and even in messages they wrote on my Facebook page — and I was afraid of causing problems for Francis,” Fernández said in an interview with The Washington Post. When the pope called again last June, from a hospital where he’d just undergone intestinal surgery, Fernández relented. He moved to Vatican City, was named a cardinal and became the pope’s right-hand man, helping to translate the changes in tone and style Francis brought to the papacy into concrete new guidelines for 1.4 billion Catholics.Expand article logo  

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Pope Francis meets with leaders of Institute of Christ the King, a Latin Mass group

(Tyler Arnold. CNA).

Pope Francis on Monday met with three leaders of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP) — an institute whose priests celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass and live according to the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales.

The June 24 meeting comes at a time when celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass are restricted by the pontiff’s motu proprio Traditionis Custodes

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El Prefecto del Dicasterio para la Comunicación defiende el uso de obras de Rupnik por los medios vaticanos

(Religión en Libertad).

En el último día de la Conferencia de Medios Católicos en Atlanta, el Prefecto del Dicasterio para la Comunicación del Vaticano, Paolo Ruffini, respondió a las preguntas planteadas por los periodistas sobre la práctica habitual de su dicasterio de publicar en Vatican.news y en las redes sociales obras de arte del P. Rupnik, conocido por abusar de religiosas.

 «Como cristianos, se nos pide que no juzguemos», dijo Paolo Ruffini a una sala llena de profesionales de la comunicación tras pronunciar un discurso en la CMC el 21 de junio. Explicó que, aunque el proceso de investigación vaticana sobre el padre Rupnik sigue su curso, «anticipar una decisión es algo que, en nuestra opinión, no es bueno.»

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In historic ruling, High Court says government must draft Haredi men into IDF

(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL.  JEREMY SHARON)

In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the High Court of Justice ruled unanimously that the government must draft ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the military since there is no longer any legal framework to continue the decades-long practice of granting them blanket exemptions from army service.

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Vincenzo Paglia: “’Laudato si’ y ‘Fratelli tutti’ exigen superar el viejo antropocentrismo e impulsar una nueva visión de la humanidad”

(Vida Nueva).

El presidente de la Academia Pontificia para la Vida, ha participado en la apertura de un seminario organizado por la Santa Sede en colaboración con Greenaccord, Greenpeace y UCSI

“Todo está conectado. Vivimos en una sola casa, el planeta, para cuidar y somos parte de una sola familia, la de las personas, de la que ser responsables. Y esta visión, presente en las dos encíclicas del papa Francisco, Laudato Sì’ y Fratelli tutti, nos invita a desarrollar una espiritualidad de solidaridad global y desde una globalización del humanismo”.

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El 95% de las conferencias episcopales del mundo han participado en la última etapa del Sínodo de la Sinodalidad

(ELENA MAGARIÑOS. Vida Nueva).

Los días 23 y 24 de junio se han reunido los miembros del XV Consejo Ordinario, acompañados por algunos consultores de la Secretaría General del Sínodo, para discutir una primera versión del Instrumentum Laboris, el documento de trabajo para la Segunda Sesión de la XVI Asamblea General Ordinaria del Sínodo de los Obispos.

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Condolences from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill in connection with the terrorist attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala

(Patriarchia).

 His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia expressed his condolences in connection with the terrorist attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala, which caused deaths and injuries among law enforcement officers and civilians. In Derbent, terrorists brutally killed the cleric of the Makhachkala diocese, Archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov.

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Conservative prelate warns that excommunicating Viganò will lead to further division

(Claire Giangravé. RNS).

Even so, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider said claims of Pope Francis’ illegitimacy are unfounded.

An outspoken critic of Pope Francis, the Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, Kazakhstan, said that while Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò’s public opposition of the pope “is irreverent and disrespectful,” the Vatican should think twice before excommunicating him.

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India’s Eastern Church fails to settle liturgy dispute

(UCA news).

A post-synodal circular said all rebelling priests would have to follow a synod-approved Mass after a certain period

Pacts achieved to settle the vexed liturgy dispute in India’s Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church collapsed again when the Church’s synod allegedly altered the agreements and refused to withdraw its earlier circular that threatened to excommunicate priests who failed to follow the Church’s official liturgical rubrics.

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Francia. Roma blocca le ordinazioni dei preti tradizionali

(Silere non possum. Staff).

Mentre in numerose diocesi ci sono vescovi che affermano che “le unità pastorali e la chiusura di alcune parrocchie non sono il risultato di una mancanza di vocazioni ma la volontà di essere più uniti”, ci sono diverse comunità che non ottengono l’autorizzazione da Roma per poter procedere all’ordinazione presbiterale di quei giovani che si mettono a servizio della Chiesa di Dio. La lotta ideologica, come abbiamo spiegato in questo articolo, da parte di alcuni Dicasteri nei confronti di realtà legate alla Tradizione rischia di fare danni enormi alla Chiesa Universale. Se ci facciamo caso, non ci sono nel panorama italiano, vescovi che dicano con franchezza: “Sulle vocazioni sacerdotali stiamo sbagliando tutto”. No, guai a dirlo. La pressante preoccupazione di alcuni presuli è quella di coinvolgere i laici o, addirittura, ordinare uomini sposati. “Almeno diaconi”, si sente dire. Eppure, proprio Papa Francesco ha chiaramente spiegato nell’Esortazione Apostolica Querida Amazonia: «Nelle circostanze specifiche dell’Amazzonia, specialmente nelle sue foreste e luoghi più remoti, occorre trovare un modo per assicurare il ministero sacerdotale. I laici potranno annunciare la Parola, insegnare, organizzare le loro comunità, celebrare alcuni Sacramenti, cercare varie espressioni per la pietà popolare e sviluppare i molteplici doni che lo Spirito riversa su di loro. Ma hanno bisogno della celebrazione dell’Eucaristia, perché essa «fa la Chiesa», e arriviamo a dire che «non è possibile che si formi una comunità cristiana se non assumendo come radice e come cardine la celebrazione della sacra Eucaristia». Se crediamo veramente che è così, è urgente fare in modo che i popoli amazzonici non siano privati del Cibo di nuova vita e del Sacramento del perdono.

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Carta abierta al Papa: “Queremos debatir en el Sínodo sobre la ordenación de mujeres”

(Jesús Bastante. RD).

“El Sínodo Mundial debería dar un buen ejemplo manteniendo un debate abierto sobre el sacerdocio de las mujeres. De este modo, la Iglesia defendería activamente los valores cristianos que continúan siendo groseramente ignorados por algunos obispos en muchos países”. En una carta abierta, dirigida al Papa Francisco, distintas instituciones de todo el mundo -algunas de ellas tan conocidas como María 2.0 o Somos Iglesia- han reclamado que el acceso de la mujer al orden no sea orillado en las discusiones del Sínodo que se celebrará en Roma el próximo octubre.

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Des religieuses catholiques en Afrique expliquent comment les gouvernements peuvent répondre à la détresse des réfugiés

(Silas Isenjia. ACI Africa).

Des religieuses catholiques du Ghana et du Nigeria, pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest, et leurs homologues du Cameroun, pays d’Afrique centrale, se sont exprimées sur le sort des réfugiés sur le continent, en partageant leurs idées sur la manière dont les gouvernements africains peuvent améliorer la situation des réfugiés et des personnes déplacées à l’intérieur de leur propre pays (PDI).

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The Catholic Church in France will have 105 new priests in 2024

(By Walter Sánchez Silva.CNA).

The French Bishops’ Conference (CEF) reported that, in 2024, 105 new priests will be ordained, 17 more priests than in 2023, when 88 new priests were ordained in the European country.

An article published on the CEF website said the vast majority of priestly ordinations are celebrated during the month of June, particularly on the Sunday before the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, which the Catholic Church celebrates every year on June 29.

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New media-training project empowers Kenya’s sisters to tell their own stories

(Global Sisters Report. Doreen Ajiambo).

Dozens of religious sisters under the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (or AOSK) gathered on June 14 at the Radix Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, for the official launch of the Communication Network for Catholic Sisters. The project, CNCS, empowers sisters working in their ministries to tell their own stories through media such as print, broadcast and digital. Sponsored by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s Catholic Sisters Initiative, the project organized a two-day workshop before the launch to train 13 sisters who are already involved in communication and media. After completing the program, they can also teach other sisters to tell their own stories as well. Sr. Jane Wakahiu of the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi lauded the project, saying it’s important to religious sisters in their evangelization, especially in an age where media plays a vital role in shaping public opinion and influencing people’s lives.

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I’m a Notre Dame peace studies student. I was arrested calling for peace in Gaza

(National Catholic Reporter. Joryán Hernández).

What does it mean to be a premier Catholic university? One that cultivates “a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many” and aims “to create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice”? One that contains one of the leading peace studies programs in the world? And what does it mean when that university refuses to discuss whether its investments support the killing of nearly 38,000 people in Gaza? To an unaware outsider, it may have appeared like a splendid picnic on the campus lawn. On May 2, several students hunched over laptops, class notes spread out on fuzzy blankets, everyone preparing for finals. To the side of the lawn, a custom-made banner depicted two women, with lettering below that read “Nahida & Samar Lawn,” in honor of a Catholic Palestinian mother and daughter killed in Gaza.

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Student Cautions Pope Francis Against Using Anti-LGBTQ+ Language in Virtual Meeting

(New Ways Ministry. Robert Shine).

A Filipino student has cautioned Pope Francis against using derogatory language about LGBTQ+ people, coming after reports the pope twice used an anti-gay slur. Last week, Pope Francis joined twelve students from the Asia-Pacific region for a Zoom conversation, part of the Building Bridges Initiative from Loyola University Chicago and several Vatican dicasteries. At one point during the conversation, Catholic News Service (via OSV) reported:

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Bruxelles : que vont devenir les églises désaffectées ? Des temples ? Et pourquoi pas des mosquées ?

(Belgicatho. From La Libre Belgique).

Années après années, des églises ferment à Bruxelles. Pour des raisons patrimoniales ou budgétaires, leur assigner un nouvel avenir est cependant très complexe. Les cultes protestants, orthodoxes et islamiques sont cependant ouverts à reprendre certains lieux. Il y a quinze ans, Bruxelles comptait 109 églises diocésaines (relevant donc des paroisses, et non des congrégations religieuses).

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