CNA Staff, Oct 20, 2020 / 03:30 am (CNA).- Exiled Belarusian Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz met with senior Vatican officials Monday.
The website of the Catholic Church in Belarus reported Oct. 19 that Kondrusiewicz held talks with Cardinal Pietro P… […]
CNA Staff, Oct 20, 2020 / 02:42 am (CNA).- Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco on Saturday performed an exorcism at the site of a destroyed statue of St. Junipero Serra, calling the statue’s destruction by rioters an “act of bl… […]
CNA Staff, Oct 19, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- An Italian newspaper claimed Monday that it had gained access to a secret audio recording of a meeting between three central figures in the Vatican’s controversial London property deal.
In a report publ… […]
Denver, Colo., Oct 19, 2020 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- An independent reparation and reconciliation program for the three dioceses in Colorado announced Friday that $6.68 million had been paid to 73 victims of clerical abuse who were minors at the time the abu… […]
CNA Staff, Oct 19, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- A federal appeals court upheld abortion regulations in the state of Kentucky on Friday. The three-judge panel on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that abortion providers failed to prove that a 1998… […]
Rome Newsroom, Oct 19, 2020 / 10:00 am (CNA).- The glass that has allowed pilgrims to view Blessed Carlo Acutis will be permanently covered Monday as the official multi-week celebration of the Italian teen’s beatification in Assisi comes to an en… […]
CNA Staff, Oct 19, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- The Welsh government appears to see Catholic schools as a “problem,” a Church education adviser said Monday as officials press ahead with plans for a radical shake-up of religious education. &… […]
Vatican City, Oct 17, 2020 / 06:59 am (CNA).- The Holy See press office said Saturday a resident of the Vatican hotel where Pope Francis also lives has tested positive for COVID-19.
The person has been temporarily moved out of the Casa Santa Marta residence and placed in isolation, the Oct. 17 statement said. Anyone who came into direct contact with the person is also observing a period of isolation.
The patient is so-far asymptomatic, the Vatican said. It noted that in recent days, three other positive cases among residents or citizens of the city state have recovered.
The statement also added that pandemic health measures issued by the Holy See and the Governorate of Vatican City continue to be followed and “the health of all Domus [Casa Santa Marta] residents is constantly monitored.”
The case within Pope Francis’ residence is added to the active coronavirus cases among Swiss Guards.
The Pontifical Swiss Guard announced Oct. 15 that a total of 11 members had now contracted COVID-19.
The army of 135 soldiers said in a statement “the isolation of positive cases was immediately arranged and further checks are being carried out.”
It also emphasized that the guard is following strict new Vatican measures to contain the virus and would offer an update on the situation “in the next few days.”
Italy was one of Europe’s worst-hit countries during the first wave of the coronavirus. More than 391,611 people total have tested positive for COVID-19 and 36,427 have died in Italy as of Oct. 17, according to government statistics. Cases are once again rising with more than 12,300 active cases recorded in Rome’s region of Lazio.
Pope Francis met Oct. 17 with members of the Carabinieri, Italy’s national gendarmerie, who serve in a company responsible for an area near the Vatican.
He thanked them for their work in keeping the area of the Vatican safe during events with pilgrims and tourists from around the world, and for their patience with the many people, including priests, who stop them to ask questions.
“Even if your superiors do not see these hidden acts, you know well that God sees them and does not forget them!” he said.
Pope Francis also noted that every morning, when he enters his study in the Apostolic Palace, he goes first to pray before an image of Our Lady, and then he looks out of the window onto St. Peter’s Square.
“And there, at the end of the square, I see you. Every morning I greet you with my heart and thank you,” he said.
CNA Staff, Oct 17, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- United Nations officials in Burma said Wednesday that earlier this month, two boys were killed amid crossfire between the Tatmadaw, the country’s military, and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Buddhist separatist group.
The UN Country Taskforce on Monitoring and Reporting on Grave Violations against Children in Myanmar said Oct. 14 that on Oct. 5 “two boys were killed in Buthidaung Township, Rakhine State, in crossfire between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army. This occurred after the children, as part of a group of 15 local farmers, were alleged to all have been forced to walk in front of a Tatmadaw unit to ensure the path towards a military camp was clear of landmines and to protect the soldiers from potential enemy fire.”
“On the way, fighting broke out between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, after which the two boys were found dead with gunshot wounds.”
The Tatmadaw had been censured internationaly the for the recruitment of minors, but had been delisted within the last year.
“We call for a full, transparent, and expedited investigation of the incident and for anyone responsible for the use and for the killing of the children to be held accountable,” the CTFMR stated.
The taskforce added, “We are also deeply concerned about the alarming increase of reports of killings and injuries of children in Myanmar. More than 100 children were killed or maimed in conflict during the first three months of 2020, amounting to more than half of the total number in 2019, and significantly surpassing the total number of child casualties in 2018.”
The Tatmadaw have been fighting the Arakan Army since at least 2018.
The Arakan Army wants self-determination for the Rakhine people, a Buddhist ethnic group who live largely in Rakhine state and who constitute as much as 6 percent of Burma’s population.
In April Pyae Sone Win Maung was killed while driving a UN vehicle in Rakhine state. He was collecting Covid-19 samples for the World Health Organization. Both the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army denied involvement.
In October 2019, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon lamented that “not a single day passes without the heart wrenching news of innocent civilians being displaced or killed or maimed by the ongoing conflict in Lashio, other Northern regions and Rakhine State.”
Beginning in late 2016 the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group who have mostly occupied Rakhine state, faced a sharp increase in state-sponsored violence in their homeland. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, and the military has been accused of conducting numerous human violations such as rape and murder.
Despite widespread use of the word Rohingya in the international community, the term is controversial within Burma. The Burmese government refuses to use the term, and considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been denied citizenship and numerous other rights since a controversial law was enacted in 1982.
Vatican City, Oct 17, 2020 / 05:46 am (CNA).- Pope Francis accepted Saturday the resignation of the Bishop of Kalisz in central Poland, Edward Janiak, who is under investigation for his handling of an abuse case.
Since June, Janiak’s diocese has… […]
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