Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 17, 2020 / 08:00 pm (CNA).- Bishops on Tuesday discussed pastoral strategies and the movement of the Holy Spirit during the coronavirus pandemic, noting the great desire for the sacraments on the part of many Catholics. B… […]
CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2020 / 06:26 pm (CNA).- The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) concluded the public portion of its annual Fall General Assembly Tuesday, discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, racism, and preparations for a Biden presidency.
Arc… […]
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 17, 2020 / 06:00 pm (CNA).- The Vatican is investigating usage of the papal Instagram account after Pope Francis’ official page liked a racy picture of a scantily-clad model.
The picture “liked” by Pope Francis’ verified account, Franciscus, features Brazilian model and Twitch streamer Natalia Garibotto wearing a lingerie outfit that resembles a school uniform. Garibotto’s mostly-uncovered posterior is visible in the picture. The exact time of the “like” is unclear, but it was visible and reported by news outlets on November 13.
The photograph was unliked on November 14, after CNA asked the Holy See Press Office for comment. An official for the Holy See Press Office declined to comment on the event.
Sources close to the Vatican press office confirmed to CNA that the pope’s various social media accounts are managed by a team of employees, and that an internal investigation is underway to determine how the “like” happened.
COY Co., Garibotto’s management and publicity firm, used the papal account’s like for publicity purposes, posting on its account Friday that the firm had “received the POPE’S OFFICIAL BLESSING.”
According to Garibotto’s social media account, subscribers to her website receive “sexy content, follow back on socials, [the ability to] chat with me directly, monthly cash prize giveaways, signed Polaroids, and more!”
Neither Garibotto nor Pope Francis’ official account follow each other on Instagram. Pope Francis’s Instagram account does not follow any other accounts.
On Twitter, Garibotto commented “At least I’m going to heaven,” and “Brb on my way to the Vatican.” Pictures posted to her Instagram account suggest she was not, in fact, at the Vatican.
CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2020 / 05:11 pm (CNA).- Outgoing USCCB general secretary Monsignor Brian Bransfield on Tuesday praised the U.S. bishops whom he has served for the past 13 years, and offered a reflection on suffering and endurance in the spiritual life.
“You have taught me endurance, joy and hope,” Msgr. Bransfield said Nov. 17, praising the leadership of the bishops’ conference, both clerical and lay.
“I will be rooting for you, praying for you, and I will continue to be grateful to you for your sacred ministry,” he said.
Msgr. Bransfield has served as conference’s general secretary since 2016. The general secretary, who must be a priest, is responsible for overseeing staff, committees, and projects of the USCCB, and for facilitating dialogue between the U.S. bishops and offices of the Roman curia.
From 2009-2011, Msgr. Bransfield served as assistant general secretary for the implementation of the USCCB strategic plan, and as executive director of the USCCB Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis. He then served at the USCCB as an associate general secretary beginning in 2011.
Throughout his tenure as general secretary, despite many of his interactions with the bishops centering around administrative tasks, Msgr. Bransfield said he has been moved by the bishops’ compassion and faith, especially in the face of the sexual abuse crisis.
“I have seen you leaning only on Christ. And that leaning on Christ, that deeper endurance…transforms trials into hope. And hope is the hallmark of the Christian…the only way to transform pain into hope is by shouldering it.”
Msgr. Bransfield testified that he has seen firsthand a determination among the bishops to protect minors and the vulnerable from abuse.
Reflecting on suffering, Msgr. Bransfield recalled a phone call from several years ago from his childhood parish priest, in which he learned that the priest, Father Stephen Dougherty, was dying of cancer.
For years previously, Dougherty had used a cane, because of injuries he had sustained in a train accident years before during seminary. His condition was painful, even decades later and despite many medications.
Msgr. Bransfield said to look at the priest, you would never know he was in that much pain. But at night, Dougherty was known to hold a large crucifix— approximately four by three feet in size— for comfort. He died in early 2013.
“The cross is no ordinary medicine,” Msgr. Bransfield commented.
Msgr. Bransfield said Father Dougherty taught him that “suffering takes the inner shape of endurance,” and that “to endure is not passive or grim, but a mysterious movement of grace, indescribable in its deepest design…suffering can never cancel hope, suffering can never revoke joy.”
As general secretary, beyond mere “process and coordination,” Msgr. Bransfield said he has also had the opportunity to encourage the bishops, and to accompany them.
“I see men who have the hearts of a parish priest, who every day lift burdens that others could never imagine. I see men who answer calls they never expected to get. I see men who respond to the direction of Our Lady at Canaa in John’s Gospel: ‘Do whatever He tells you,'” Msgr. Bransfield said.
Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, the USCCB president, thanked Msgr. Bransfield for his service and “wise counsel and steady guidance” in the “thankless” but “essential” task of Church administration. Gomez said it is clear that Msgr. Bransfield’s priesthood is the “great joy of his life,” and thus he is delighted that Msgr. Bransfield will now return to Philadelphia to continue his priestly ministry as a pastor and writer.
Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, STL, who had served as Associate General Secretary for the USCCB since 2016, was selected for a five year term as the conference’s General Secretary Nov. 16.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 17, 2020 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- After a summer of mass protests and civil unrest, bishops from around the U.S. shared stories of confronting racism in their home dioceses at their annual fall meeting on Tuesday. The bishops s… […]
CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2020 / 03:01 pm (CNA).- While the Bishop of Tyler asserted Monday that the coronavirus vaccine being developed by Moderna “is not morally produced”, the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the Charlotte Lozier Institute have indicated it is ethical.
Bishop Joseph Strickland tweeted Nov. 16 that “Unborn children died in abortions and then their bodies were used as ‘laboratory specimens’. I urge all who believe in the sanctity of life to reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally.”
Moderna vaccine is not morally produced. Unborn children died in abortions and then their bodies were used as “laboratory specimens”. I urge all who believe in the sanctity of life to reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally.
— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) November 16, 2020
But the Charlotte Lozier Institute, research arm of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, has listed the Moderna vaccine among the “ethically uncontroversial CoV-19 vaccine programs.”
Moderna recently announced that a trial of its vaccine demonstrated it to be 94.5% effective. The trial involved 30,000 people, half of whom were given two doses of the vaccine, and half a placebo.
In the trial, 95 people developed symptoms of Covid-19; five of them had received the vaccine, while 90 had received the placebo. None of those vaccinated developed severe cases of the disease.
The company plans to apply soon for approval to use the vaccine in the US.
Moderna’s vaccine is based on the virus’ RNA, and uses a spike protein, or peplomer, from SARS-CoV-2 rather than cell lines derived from aborted fetuses.
The RNA is injected into the recipient, which induces their cells to produce the spike protein. This triggers the production of antibodies and T cells by the recipient.
Scientists not from Moderna had initially made DNA vectors with the gene sequence of the spike protein, and injected them in HEK-293 cells to produce the spike protein. The HEK 293 cell line is derived from a baby who was aborted in the Netherlands in the 1970s.
The production of the DNA vectors was studied and evaluated by experts at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the University of Texas, who determined that the spike protein was a good candidate for testing. Moderna was not involved in the DNA construction, nor was it involved in the evaluation of the construction.
Dr. John Brehany, director of institutional relations at the NCBC, told CNA in July that while Moderna thus has some association with the use of cell lines from elective abortions, it is not responsible for that use, and its vaccine was not produced using HEK 293 cells.
He added that the inoculation of the Moderna vaccine “is not based on using cells at all in production.”
The Vatican has said that researchers have a duty to avoid using cell lines derived from aborted children in vaccine production, but that parents can, for serious reasons, use these vaccines for their children if already produced, in the interest of public health, while publicly advocating for an ethical alternative.
Numerous companies are developing coronavirus vaccines.
The vaccines being developed by AstraZeneca and Janssen are produced using abortion-derived cell lines.
Merck, Novavax, and Sanofi are producing vaccines from animal cells, while Inovio Pharmaceuticals is developing a DNA vaccine without the use of cells in its production. The Charlotte Lozier Institute holds these to be ethical permissible.
Like Moderna’s vaccine, Pfizer’s is produced using the coronavirus’ RNA. It recently announced a 90% effectiveness rate from its trial.
Rome Newsroom, Nov 17, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe published data Monday documenting more than 500 hate crimes against Christians in Europe in 2019.
Incidents included attacks against Catholic p… […]
CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- A cardinal has urged Catholics worldwide to take part in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Saturday in preparation for next year’s International Eucharistic Congress.
Writing on the global initiative&r… […]
CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Police have found hundreds of thousands of euros in cash hidden in two homes of a suspended Vatican official under investigation for corruption, according to Italian media reports.
Fabrizio Tirabassi was a la… […]
CNA Staff, Nov 17, 2020 / 11:21 am (CNA).- The U.S. bishops voted at their fall general assembly this week to reauthorize their Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism for three years.
They also approved the 2021 proposed budget and the 2021-2024 Strategic Pl… […]
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