News Briefs

Pope Francis donates 50,000 euros to Greek island struck by earthquake

July 3, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Athens, Greece, Jul 3, 2017 / 11:21 am (Church Pop).- Pope Francis has donated 50 thousand euros to the island of Lesbos, Greece, which is recovering from a June earthquake.

The donation comes just a few days after the Holy Father received a full report on the extent of the damage.

Archbishop Nikolaos Printezis, Bishop of Naxos, Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, said the Pope’s donation was a sign of the closeness of the Pontiff to the people who have suffered the consequences of the earthquake.

On June 12, a powerful earthquake measuring 6.3 hit the western coast of Turkey and the Greek island of  Lesbos , killing one person, displacing approximately 800, and destroying  infrastructure from the Turkish Aegean province, Izmir, to the Greek capital, Athens.

The earthquake’s epicenter was located about 50 miles northwest of the Turkish coastal city of Smyrna and nine miles south of Lesbos, according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Center (EMSC).

Pope Francis visited the island of Lesbos in 2016, as it is a main point of entry for thousands of refugees fleeing violence in places such as Iraq and Syria.

During that trip, Pope Francis brought back 12 Syrian refugees with him, selected by lottery, including six children. Their homes had been bombed, and the Vatican oversaw their resettlement.

Currently, there are 3,500 migrants on Lesbos awaiting the outcome of asylum applications or deportation. According to the New York Times, aid workers reported no damage or injuries at the refugee camps due to the earthquake.

In the coming days a Vatican representative will visit Lesbos and deliver the money donated by the Pope.

 

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Rise in priest suicides prompts call for helpline in Ireland

July 3, 2017 CNA Daily News 2

Dublin, Ireland, Jul 3, 2017 / 04:28 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Besides a shortage of vocations, Irish priests are facing an even more harrowing kind of crisis.

At least eight priests in Ireland have committed suicide in the past 10 years, according to recent reports given at meetings of the Association of Catholic Priests (ACP), and many priests are sounding the alarm about a severe dip in morale and a mental health crisis among the country’s clergy.  

The drop in priestly morale has clergy calling for a confidential helpline to be set up for priests needing support.

At a recent ACP meeting, an attendee reiterated the request: “Our morale is affected because we are on a sinking ship. When will the ‘counter-reformation’ take place? We’re like an All-Ireland team without a goalie. We need a national confidential priests’ helpline. We’re slow to look for help.”

The concerns of a severe dip in the morale and well-being of priests in the country have been raised by the 1,000-member clerical group in at least three different meetings in the past few months.

Fr. Roy Donovan, a spokesman for the ACP, told IrishCentral in May that besides the priests who are speaking up, he believes many more elderly churchmen are suffering in silence, and don’t know where to go for help.

The factors for the crisis in morale and mental health are several-fold, priests have said.

Like much of the world, Ireland, once a thriving Catholic country, is facing a serious vocations crisis. In 2004, Ireland had more than 3,100 priests. By 2014, the last year data is available, the number had declined by more than 500, with 2,627 priests in the country, though the number of active priests is likely closer to just 1,900.

This shortage leads to a phenomenon called clustering, where several parishes are combined into one for lack of leadership, increasing priests’ workload and subsequent stress, and forcing many priests to work well beyond retirement years because of the lack of new vocations.  

“These men lived through a time when there were plenty of vocations and their churches were full at Mass, so there’s a loss of esteem. Also, in the past they would have had live-in housekeepers. Now most don’t and are on their own and so feeling a lot more isolated and lonely, as well as feeling nervous and more vulnerable,” Fr. Brendan Hoban, one of the founders of ACP, said during a meeting in November 2016.

Also, starting in the 1990s, the Catholic Church in Ireland was rocked by a sex abuse scandal that resulted in a massive decline in both vocations and in the faith of the laypeople.

Priests reported being disheartened by the declining faith in the people they serve, “who have so little contact with the church from First Communions to funerals,” according to minutes from the meetings.

Priests’ confidence “has been eroded when we see so many people going through the motions of faith,” they said.

Recently, the Church in Ireland has also been rocked by negative press regarding the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, and the Sisters there “did a disservice by not clarifying exactly what happened. They need to do so immediately. It makes our job impossible, especially as we face a storm on abortion next year,” the priests noted at a meeting.

Their requests included the hiring of a media person who could speak clearly for clergy and bishops in times of crisis. The country is also facing an ongoing, heated debate about whether or not to legalize abortion.

The priests also acknowledged that they need to be better about asking for help when they need it.

“We need to unmask and say ‘I need help!’ There is a great sense of ‘being alone,’ making our own way in the diocese. There is a lack of dialogue among priests in the diocese. Yet, people are fantastic and generous in parishes, if given half-a-chance.”

 

 

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As demographics change, how will the US Church respond?

July 2, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Orlando, Fla., Jul 2, 2017 / 08:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The rapidly changing realities of the Catholic Church in the U.S. bring a host of challenges and unknowns, but also great opportunities for evangelization and engagement, said experts at a gathering of Catholic leaders.

“The future of U.S. Catholicism is being forged in areas once not central to U.S. Catholic life,” said Dr. Hosffman Ospino, associate professor of theology and religious education at Boston College. “Are we paying attention?”

Dr. Ospino spoke at the “Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America” event on July 2 in Orlando, Florida.

He explained to more than 3,500 attendees from parishes and Catholic organizations around the country how the face of the Church in the United States is rapidly changing. In particular, he pointed to the rapid growth throughout the nation, particularly in the South and West of Hispanic communities. He also noted swift growth of other faith communities, particularly Asian Catholic communities and, within some localities, communities of immigrants from Africa. 

These changes have swiftly changed the face of American Catholic life. Fifty years ago, over 80 percent of American Catholics were of European descent. Today, that number is less than 50 percent, with 40 percent of all Catholics claiming Latino heritage, 5 percent of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, 4 percent African-American and 1 percent of Catholics of Native American descent. 

Among Catholics under the age of 30, those numbers are even more diverse.

To address these very shifts in American Catholic life, Catholics should imagine what the future of the Church will look like, Ospino said.

“What kind of community of faith will our children and grandchildren inherit?” he asked, encouraging Catholics in attendance to consider the best stories and guidance the Church can offer. 

Ospino also suggested Catholics reimagine their relationship with the public square. He warned that the ‘culture wars’ which have been a marker of American discourse in recent decades have hampered, in some cases, the Church’s ability to speak effectively to communities on the margins. 

“It has become impossible to speak about anything because one is expected to take an ideological position to make a point,” he commented.

“The Gospel, my friends, is not an ideology, to be a co-opted to advance an ideological position. The Gospel is a message of life and communion,” Ospino said to applause.

Catholics should look for other means of engaging and reaching these growing segments of the Church, and participate in the U.S. Bishops’ National Encuentro program as part of this engagement, he continued.

Dr. Ospino’s talk was followed by a panel discussion, describing the different ways the Church is growing and changing in the United States.

Jesuit Father Thomas P. Gaunt, SJ, executive director of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, explained that demographic changes in the United States do not apply just to Latino Catholics, but to all sections of the Church in the United States. He noted that populations of U.S. Catholic life are shifting away from the historic centers in the Northeast to booming job markets in the South and West. In addition, he noted, shifts are impacting African-American and Asian communities.  

Meanwhile, according to CARA’s research, nearly a third of U.S. Catholics are not connected to a local church. While this disparity is a sign for needed improvement, Fr. Gaunt suggested that this gap can also be seen as a resource.

“How do we re-invite and re-engage them once more?” he wondered. 

Kerry Weber, executive editor of America magazine, also pointed to these communities on the peripheries and noted that most of these communities have been engaged in the Church for decades or even centuries. The challenge for Catholic journalists, she said, is to show the diversity of the Church that has always been here. 

Helen Alvare, professor of law at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, pointed to the great strides the Church has made both in promoting its view of the human person in the public square and improving her own witness to the living out of respect for the human person in daily life. 

On one hand, she said, “there is an embracing of the role of women in the Church and in the public square,” and embracing of men’s integral role in raising children in the home. Furthermore, “there is a huge emerging consensus that the Church’s beautiful way of marriage sex and the family is freeing for all people.” 

However, there have also been challenges. She noted that in the past several decades, challenges to the family have been a major contributor to social inequality. In addition, she said, the Church has experienced “profound losses of ideas” and understanding of teaching. 

She urged participants not to be afraid to share the Church’s message and vision for the human person – even as it confronts the messages and priorities of the secular world.  

“Since when has the Church’s message anywhere not been scandalizing to the world?” she remarked.

At the same time, however, Catholics should articulate the fullness and meaning of the faith, and not rely purely on constitutional and legal arguments.  “We have to tell them what we’re going to use our religious liberty for,” she insisted.  

Franciscan Father Agustino Torres, CFR, works extensively with Latino youth in New York City and explained that Latino youth – one of the largest growing populations of Catholics in the United States, “don’t want just a program,” but an example of the Church’s message. He pointed to the Church’s teaching on love and sexuality as a concrete example of doctrine that youth can apply to their lives, finding Christ in the process. 

“It makes the Church relevant to young people,” Fr. Torres said.  

Daniel Owens, who spoke with his wife Melanie on the powerful encounter of love provided in the Church’s message of chastity, echoed Fr. Torres’ insights, saying that he sees a “real opportunity” in sharing the message of the Gospel, and added that the Theology of the Body has the unique ability to speak to the questions many youth face today.

Outside of any specific program or message, however, Fr. Torres stressed the importance of encounter, particularly when reaching out to young people. Within many cultures, particularly Latino youth, young people feel torn between different cultures and identities asking for their attention. 

“If the Church were to say ‘you belong here, this is your home,’ you’re going to get an army of missionary disciples,” he said.

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Doctors say it’s a miracle that toddler survived ninth-floor fall

July 2, 2017 CNA Daily News 1

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 2, 2017 / 04:03 pm (CNA).- The doctors at the Children’s Hospital in San Miguel, Argentina, find no explanation for the quick recovery of Martin Chain – a three-year-old boy who fell from the ninth floor when he was playing on the balcony of his apartment.

The June 7 accident left the boy on the verge of death. However, he only took 20 days to recover and shows no signs of long-term complications.

“I was working when I got a voice mail from my husband Maximo. He was screaming. He told me that  Martin had fallen off the balcony,” the child’s mother, Florencia Núñez, told the local Clarin newspaper.

The day of the accident, Martin’s father was fixing something to eat when the little boy went by himself out to the balcony and climbed up onto the railing while playing. Martin then fell almost 100 feet down to the courtyard of the building with nothing breaking the impact.

“As he peered out, Maxi saw Piti (Martin) face down, lying on a patch of wet ground amid debris. And he saw him move,” Núñez said.

The father rushed down to Martin and brought him to the Children’s Hospital in Tucuman, where he received immediate care. The doctors were stunned to see the little boy was conscious and crying, but without any broken bones.

However, Martin still suffered from trauma to the abdomen and skull, as well as a pulmonary contusion which caused breathing problems for him. For weeks he was under an induced coma, connected to an artificial respirator and feeding tubes.

Florencia said that in face of her son’s serious condition, “we didn’t stop praying and Piti gradually began to get better. One day while I was singing to him a song to the Virgin, he finally woke up.”

From that moment, Martin began to recover. He first went to intermediate care, then they took him off the respirator and he was finally discharged.

“He just has a few problems walking, but it’s nothing permanent. With physical therapy he can make a 100 percent recovery,” hospital director Cristina García de Alabarse, told Clarin.

“He will have to continue with a psychologist, and physical checkups for a while, but we don’t expect he’ll have major problems long term. It’s incredible.”  

Despite being “a woman of science,” Garcia says she has never heard “of a similar case, it is, at the least, unusual that a person could fall from such a height and have so few aftereffects.”

“There are times that for us professionals, there’s nothing left but to put ourselves in God’s hands. I’m Catholic and I believe that miracles exist. Something happened there,” she said.

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Pope asks for parents’ wishes to be respected in Charlie Gard case

July 2, 2017 CNA Daily News 10

Vatican City, Jul 2, 2017 / 01:41 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Stepping into a tumultuous legal battle involving a UK couple’s push for a say in the treatment and death of their terminally ill son, Pope Francis has offered his prayers for the child, and asked that the parents’ wishes be respected.

“The Holy Father follows with affection and emotion the story of Charlie Gard and expresses his own closeness to his parents,” read a July 2 statement issued by Vatican spokesman Greg Burke.

“He prays for them, wishing that their desire to accompany and care for their own child to the end will be respected.”

The statement was made as the tense legal battle between Gard’s parents and the UK officials regarding how and when he will die comes to an end.

At just 11 months, Gard suffers from a rare degenerative brain disease called infantile onset encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, or MDDS.

With only 16 known cases in the world, the disease causes extensive brain damage. While Charlie Gard does have some brain function, he requires assistance to breathe, has periodic seizures, and is not expected to develop sophisticated mental abilities without treatment.

Gard’s parents were able to raise nearly $2 million in order to take him to the United States for an experimental treatment. Some doctors have been skeptical about the results, however, other patients currently undergoing the treatment have shown significant improvement.

But despite having the funds for the treatment, UK courts have ruled against the possibility, arguing that further treatment would cause harm to Gard. In addition, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Thursday that the Great Ormond Street Hospital, where the infant is staying, is not required to keep him on life support.

When his parents asked to take their son home to die, their request was denied. Gard’s life support machines were to be turned off Friday, but the courts allowed the parents to have more time with their child before his death.

Pope Francis’ statement follows an earlier response to the case from the head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who while arguing for the defense of life at all stages, including during illness, appeared sympathetic to the court’s ruling, saying “aggressive medical procedures that are disproportionate to any expected results or excessively burdensome to the patient or the family” must be avoided.

Not only did the Pope’s statement appear to counter the position previously voiced by Paglia, but on Friday, the day the infant’s life support was initially scheduled to be disconnected, he used his Twitter account to send a clear pro-life message in the infant’s favor.

 

To defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) June 30, 2017

 

Reading “to defend human life, above all when it is wounded by illness, is a duty of love that God entrusts to all,” the tweet was shared by Burke, who added the hashtag “#CharlieGard,” clearly indicating that the Pope’s tweet was in reference to the infant.

As Gard’s parents continue to spend the remaining time with their son, public debate on the case continues to unfurl, with citizens protesting outside UK parliament. 

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Cardinal Müller: there’s no problem between me, Pope Francis

July 2, 2017 CNA Daily News 4

Vatican City, Jul 2, 2017 / 09:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a brief interview given just hours after hearing that he would no longer be heading the Vatican’s doctrine office, Cardinal Gerhard Müller said the decision was normal, and was not the result of conflict between him and Pope Francis.

“There were no differences between me and Pope Francis,” Cardinal Müller told Allgemeine Zeitung, a regional German paper from Mainz.

Müller spoke to the paper while in Mainz for his 50th high school reunion. He traveled to the city Friday after meeting with Pope Francis earlier that morning, receiving the news that his term as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would not be renewed.

The cardinal, 69, said that while he doesn’t know the specifics of why his 5-year term was not extended, the Pope informed him of his desire to move away from trend of renewing curial mandates.

Although it has until now been common for these 5-year terms to be renewed, Müller said that during their meeting, Pope Francis said he wants to progressively move toward a general practice of limiting mandates to just 5 years, “and I happened to be the first one to which this applied.”

“It doesn’t matter much to me,” Müller said, adding that “at some point, everyone has to stop.”

Müller was tapped to head the Vatican’s doctrine office, the most important dicastery in the Roman Curia, by Benedict XVI before his resignation in 2012. The charge included the positions of president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission.

Pope Francis renewed Müller’s appointment to the CDF and to each of the commissions after his election, allowing the prelate to serve the entirety of his 5-year term in each, which ends July 2.

The Vatican announced July 1 that taking Müller’s place will be Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria, who was appointed secretary to the CDF by Benedict XVI in 2008, and is known to be simple, orthodox in his theology, highly intellectual and is described by those who know him as not being a “yes man.”
 
In his interview with “Allgemeine Zeitung,” Müller simply stated that his 5 year mandate as prefect of the CDF “had now run its course,” and the decision to replace him had nothing to do with conflict that’s been painted between he and the Pope.

Nor was it the result of differing opinions on Francis’ 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia.” While the two didn’t agree on all aspects of the text, the cardinal insisted there was no fight about it.

Despite their disagreements on some points, Müller is known to have been a conservative voice within the Curia, and, contrary to other German prelates, backed more traditional interpretations of Chapter 8 of the document, which touched on the reception of communion for divorced and remarried couples.

However, the cardinal did voice his disappointment in Francis’ decision to dismiss three members of his staff a few weeks ago, noting that the officials “were competent people.”
 
Regarding his new role, Müller said that after ceasing his position as head of the CDF July 3, he will stay at the Vatican.

“I will work academically, continue to serve in my role as cardinal, do pastoral work. There is enough for me to do in Rome,” he said, adding that “in any case, I would normally be a pensioner by now.”

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Pope names Archbishop Luis Ladaria as Müller’s successor to head CDF

July 1, 2017 CNA Daily News 2

Vatican City, Jul 1, 2017 / 04:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican announced Saturday that as Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s term as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith comes to an end, the Pope has not renewed it, but has appointed Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria to take his place.

The decision was officially published in a July 1 communique from the Vatican, which stated the Holy Father’s thanks to Cardinal Müller for his term.

July 2nd marks the end of Müller’s five-year mandate as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which included the positions of president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission.

Pope Francis named Jesuit Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, archbishop of Thibica, as his successor in the same duties. Archbishop Ladaria has been secretary, the second in command, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2008.

The Vatican did not specify what Cardinal Müller will be doing next.

Müller was tapped to head the congregation, the most important dicastery in the Roman Curia, by Benedict XVI before his resignation in 2012.

Pope Francis renewed Müller’s appointment to the CDF and to each of the commissions after his election, allowing the prelate to serve the entirety of his 5-year term in each, which ends July 2.

Müller is known to have been a conservative voice within the Curia, and, contrary to other German prelates, backed more traditional interpretations of Chapter 8 of Pope Francis’ 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation, “Amoris Laetitia,” on the reception of communion for divorced and remarried couples, insisting that it does not breach Church teaching.

In addition to the announcement of Archbishop Ladaria as Müller’s replacement, the only other appointment announced July 1 was Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, archbishop of Florence, as a member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

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