By Matthew Trojacek with G. Galazka photos
Cardinal Becciu speaks of ‘drawing up a balance sheet’ of one’s life before God in Homily
After being convicted on several counts of embezzlement of Vatican funds, Cardinal Angelo Becciu gave a New Year’s Eve homily recommending the congregation draw up “a balance sheet” of one’s personal life before God, according to an Italian media outlet.
Cardinal Becciu, who was sentenced to five and a half years in prison by the Vatican’s criminal court on December 16, celebrated Christmas in his hometown on the Italian island of Sardinia and presided over a Mass in the Cathedral of the Blessed Immaculate Virgin of Ozieri on December 31.
“Recalling the past means drawing up a balance sheet of our personal lives before God, without closing our eyes to the issues that grip the society in which we live both locally and universally,” Cardinal Becciu said in his homily.
“It also means having a calm and practical look at that reality, that mystery, which we hold most dear: the Church of God,” he said. (NCRegister)
Cardinal Zen: Fiducia Supplicans ‘creates confusion’; suggests Fernández should resign
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun said Pope Francis’ recent declaration allowing the blessing of same-sex couples under certain conditions “creates confusion” and suggested that its author, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, should resign or be dismissed.
In a statement published January 23 on his blog, Zen said the declaration Fiducia Supplicans contains numerous passages in need of clarification and “leaves many questions unanswered,” according to an unofficial translation.
The 91-year-old Hong Kong cardinal emeritus highlighted in particular how the declaration appeared to him to condone sexual behavior in same-sex relationships by implying such a relationship has an “intrinsic goodness” and can “mature” and “grow.”
Noting how the declaration appears to be similar to Pope Francis’ response to one of five “dubia” that the cardinal and four other cardinals sent last summer in which they sought clarification on same-sex blessings, Zen said Fiducia Supplicans makes the claim that “same-sex sexual love is ‘similar’ to marital love!” (CNA)
France reaffirms role as protector of Christian communities in Jerusalem
Dressed in ceremonial attire and surrounded by Franciscan friars, gendarmes, and ecclesiastics, the new French Consul General in Jerusalem — Nicolas Kassianides — braved the rain on January 11 as he and his entourage processed from the Jaffa Gate to the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.
Dating back to a request by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, France is one of the guardians of the “Status Quo” (an understanding among religious communities with respect to nine shared religious sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem) along with three other Latin nations — Italy, Spain, and Belgium. However, it is the only country that enjoys the privilege of a solemn reception at the Holy Sepulchre. The Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land accompanies the Consul General to the tomb of Christ, where the Gospel passage of the Resurrection is proclaimed.
“France has accompanied, supported, and sometimes facilitated our mission with the local Christians, and this is still the case today, particularly through the financing of schools and the Terra Sancta Museum,” said Fra Francesco Patton OFM, the Custos of the Holy Land.
Cardinal Czerny: ‘we need a new humanistic economy’
Cardinal Michael Czerny, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, traveled to Germany on January 26 to receive the 2024 Klaus Hemmerle Award, recognizing his tireless commitment to human dignity and human rights. The award is conferred every two years by the Focolare Movement in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to individuals who promote dialogue between churches, religions, and different worldviews.
The late theologian and Bishop of Aachen Klaus Hemmerle (1929-1994) dedicated his life to promoting dialogue and inspired the founder of the movement, Chiara Lubich.
The title of Cardinal Czerny’s new German-language book is, in English, “We Are All Siblings — A Sign of the Times: The Social Teaching of Pope Francis.” (VaticanNews)
Hong Kong Cardinal calls for greater Catholic-Anglican unity
Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong has urged the Catholic and Anglican churches to demonstrate greater unity in their individual and collective missions while refraining from competing against each other.
“We, Anglicans and Roman Catholics, are called to be Jesus’ partners, individually and collectively,” Chow said while addressing an ecumenical gathering at the Anglican Canterbury Cathedral in England on January 28
Chow told the gathering that all were called like the twelve apostles and disciples to not “form camps working for their own missions or competing against each other.”
Chow’s sermon during the service, presided over by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, was part of the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,” conducted on the sidelines of the Jan. 22-29 “Growing Together” ecumenical summit, the Anglican Communion News Service (ACNS) reported on January 29. (UCANews)
Vatican to publish private homilies of Pope Benedict XVI
The Vatican will publish the previously uncirculated “private” homilies of the late Pope Benedict XVI in the coming year, the Holy See has announced.
The Vatican Publishing House said December 23 that it intends to release “a book of some 130 homilies given by the late Pope Benedict XVI at private Sunday Masses.”
The homilies were reportedly transcribed by members of Memores Domini, a lay association that lived with Benedict, the news service said. Four female members of the organization worked in Benedict XVI’s papal household and also moved with him to the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery after his retirement. (CNA)
France’s Catholic bishops strongly back farmers
France’s bishops stand in solidarity with farmers protesting across the country.
After days of protests in the local provinces, farmers were determined to block the main roads leading to Paris, with spectacular traffic jams of tractors and farm vehicles forming January 29 across the French capital. Protesting farmers hoped to create what they described as a “siege” intended to squeeze more concessions from the government, led by new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, less than a month into the job.
While trying to increase food production and yet reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment, the farmers are faced with rising costs, including soaring energy prices. They feel they are being unfairly accused of going against ecological concerns by the European Union.
Several French bishops issued statements, expressing solidarity with their struggle.
Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes, the diocese of the famous Marian shrine, in the Pyrenees, personally visited the roads blocked by tractors to greet the protesters. (UCANews)
Myanmar conflict ‘deeply impacting’ Christian-majority state
The conflict following the 2021 military coup in Buddhist-majority Myanmar has seriously impacted Christians and their places of worship in the country’s only Christian-majority state, according to a report released this week.
The report by the Myanmar Witness project of the UK-based Centre for Information Resilience analyzed five case studies of airstrikes in western Chin state in 2023.
“These examples indicate how conflict across Chin is impacting churches — sites that come under special protection under international Hague Conventions,” it said in the report released on January 24.
The military regime is intolerant towards non-Buddhist religious minorities. In 2017, the military undertook a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the western Rakhine state that saw more than 740,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh.
The mountainous and underdeveloped Chin state, where 85 percent of its 478,000 people are Christians, has been at the forefront of resistance. (UCANews)
Holy See appoints third Chinese bishop in less than a week, signaling shift toward Beijing
The Vatican announced on December 29 the appointment of Father Peter Wu Yishun as the bishop of the Apostolic Prefecture of Shaowu (Minbei), the third appointment of a bishop in China in just a week.
According to the announcement, Wu was nominated as bishop of Shaowu, which is situated in the southeastern coastal province of Fujian, on December 16, 2023, “within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.”
The Mass of episcopal consecration was celebrated in the Church of Chengguan in the district of Jianyang in the city of Nanping and celebrated by Joseph Li Shan, the archbishop of Beijing, president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), and vice chairman of the Chinese Catholic Bishops’ Conference. (CNA)
