Vatican expert: The lives of the saints raise incisive questions for our consciences

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. / Pierrot75005 via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nanterre, France, Dec 12, 2021 / 07:45 am (CNA).
France’s interior minister on Saturday condemned threats made against Catholics taking part in a Marian proc… […]

Pope Francis at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 17, 2023. / Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 9, 2023 / 09:17 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has underlined that it is “everyone’s responsibility” to aid women who are victims of abuse and domestic violence by giving a “voice to our voiceless sisters.”

In a message to an Italian campaign to end violence against women published on Nov. 8, the pope urged the importance of educational action that “places the dignity of the person at the center.”

“It is our duty, everyone’s responsibility, to give voice to our voiceless sisters: women who are victims of abuse, exploitation, marginalization, and inappropriate pressure,” Pope Francis said. 

“Let us not remain indifferent! It is necessary to act now, at all levels, with determination, urgency, and courage.”

According to the United Nations, nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide has been subjected to some form of either physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, a statistic that does not include sexual harassment. Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo were found by a Reuters survey in 2018 to be among the most dangerous countries for women. 

Italian government data released in 2022 showed that on average one woman is killed every three days in Italy, many of them by an act of violence from an intimate partner or ex-partner.

“How many women are overwhelmed by the burden and trauma of violence,” the pope said in his message. “How many are mistreated, abused, enslaved, victims of the tyranny of those who think they can control their bodies and lives, forced to surrender to the greed of men.”

The pope said that violence against women must be “eliminated from its roots” — namely prejudiced ideas that see people as “objects” that can be dominated, obscuring their human dignity.

“The Lord wants us free and in full dignity! Faced with the scourge of physical and psychological abuse of women, there is an urgent need to rediscover just and equitable relationship patterns based on respect and mutual recognition,” Pope Francis said.

The Vatican released the message two weeks after Pope Francis signed it on Oct. 27 — the same day that the Holy See Press Office announced that the pope had decided to lift the statute of limitations in the case of Father Marko Rupnik, a priest accused of serious abuses against women, after news that the priest had been returned to priestly ministry in Slovenia sparked outrage and disappointment from many Catholics and abuse victims over the handling of the clerical sex abuse allegations.

Pope Francis encouraged women’s shelters in Italy to continue raising awareness about violence against women. The pope’s message addressed a campaign by CADMI, which provides housing and legal support for women who have suffered from domestic violence, and D.i.Re, a network of women’s shelters and organizations in Italy.

“From the heart and flesh of a woman salvation came into the world; our degree of humanity is revealed by how we treat women, in all her dimensions,” the pope said.

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Dublin, Ireland, Dec 6, 2018 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A unique Irish cross marking the 1,400-year-old grave of a Catholic saint is in danger of destruction due to erosion, and the local community is seeking help to restore the “icon of Ireland’s early Christian heritage.”

St Mura’s Cross is carved into a slab nearly seven feet tall that marks the grave of St. Mura, the first abbot of a sixth-century monastery in the far north of Ireland in what is now County Donegal. The monastery, one of Ireland’s earliest, was founded by St. Colmcille less than a century after the death of St. Patrick. It became a center of religion and scholarship and its surrounding settlements gave birth to the town of Fahan, where nearly 600 people live today.

A nearby gable wall must be repaired before preservation efforts on St. Mura’s Cross must begin.

“Cracks have appeared on the wall and if we don’t stabilize that it could fall. If it does, it will fall on the cross and it will be destroyed forever,” Colm Toland of the Fahan Heritage Group told The Irish News in November.

St. Mura, said to be a descendant of the Irish king Niall of the Nine Hostages, died in 645 at the age of 94. He became the patron saint of the O’Neil Clan, whose leaders were among the High Kings of Ireland. His feast day is observed March 12.

Both a Catholic church and a Church of Ireland church in the Fahan area are named for the saint.

The cross is the only one of its kind to bear an inscription in Greek: “Glory and honor to the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit”. It is considered a unique inspiration of the Irish High Cross artistic tradition of massive and ornately carved stone crosses.

The saint’s cross was carved sometime from the sixth to the tenth century. The gable wall was built in 1608, using stones from the original monastery, the Irish state broadcaster RTE News reports. It is surrounded by a graveyard that includes St. Mura’s tomb.

The monastery and village were sacked by the Vikings twice in the middle ages, though the site’s current ruins date to the 17th century. Some monastery artifacts are now in museums in Dublin and London.

Fahan’s heritage group is seeking support to protect the cross and the nearby church gable ruins. The gable is one of the distinctive landmarks of the village and a favorite stop for tourists and wedding parties, Fahan Heritage Group said in its YouTube video “Save St. Mura’s Cross.”

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The stone-carved cross was distinctive for centuries, but now it has faded due to severe erosion attributed to acid rain or other environmental factors. The carving and Greek inscription are almost illegible.

“One thing we might have to consider is moving the cross to an indoor location and replacing it with a replica outside,” Toland said. “That way we could protect if from whatever environmental or pollution influences which are eroding it.”

Backers of the restoration include individuals from local community heritage and church societies, including historians, archaeologists, and architects.

They have launched an online fundraiser seeking an additional 15,000 Euro, about $17,000, to add to a startup grant from the Heritage Council of Ireland and funds from other sources.

“If left unprotected we will have lost an icon of Ireland’s earliest Christian period,” said the backers of the “Save Saint Mura’s Cross” project on the group fundraiser site fundit.ie. The fundraiser will close in mid-January.

They and the wider community are “determined to conserve the local history and heritage of Saint Mura’s monastic settlement from which the village itself grew.”

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