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Month: January 2021

InCommunio and ExCommunio

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , |

By one of those ironies of history, this January 3rd, which happens to be Epiphany here in Canada, marks the anniversary of the decrees of excommunication against the former-monk Martin Luther, by Pope Leo X in 1521, and against the sometime-Catholic Fidel Castro by Pope John XXIII in 1962. Luther publicly burned the papal letter[…]

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Pope Francis calls for a commitment to ‘take care of each other’ in 2021

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , |

Vatican City, Jan 3, 2021 / 09:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis warned Sunday against the temptation to ignore the suffering of others during the coronavirus pandemic and said that things will get better in the new year to the extent to which the needs of the weakest and most disadvantaged are prioritized.

“We don’t know what 2021 has in store for us, but what each of us and all of us together can do is to commit ourselves a little more to take care of each other and of creation, our common home,” the pope said in his Angelus address Jan. 3.

In the live video broadcast from the Apostolic Palace, the pope said that “things will get better to the extent that, with God’s help, we work together for the common good, putting the weakest and most disadvantaged at the center.”

The pope said that there is a temptation to take care only of one’s own interests during the pandemic and “to live hedonistically, that is, seeking only to satisfy our own pleasure.”

He added: “I read something in the newspapers that saddened me greatly: in one country, I forget which, more than 40 aircraft left, to enable people to flee from the lockdown and to enjoy the holidays.”

“But those people, good people, did they not think about those who stayed at home, about the economic problems faced by many people who have been floored by the lockdown, about the sick? They thought only about taking a holiday for their own pleasure. This pained me greatly.”

Pope Francis addressed a special greeting to “those who begin the new year with greater difficulties,” mentioning the sick and the unemployed.

“I like to think that when the Lord prays to the Father for us, He does not merely speak: He makes Him see the wounds of the flesh, He makes Him see the wounds He suffered for us,” he said.

“This is Jesus: with His flesh He is the intercessor, he wanted to bear even the signs of suffering.”

In a reflection on the first chapter of the Gospel of John, Pope Francis said that God became man to love us in our human frailty.

“Dear brother, dear sister, God became flesh to tell us, to tell you that He loves us … in our frailty, in your frailty; right there, where we are most ashamed, where you are most ashamed. This is bold,” he said.

“Indeed, the Gospel says that He came to dwell among us. He did not come to visit us, and then leave; He came to dwell with us, to stay with us. What, then, does He desire from us? He desires a great intimacy. He wants us to share with Him our joys and sufferings, desires and fears, hopes and sorrows, people and situations. Let us do this, with confidence: let us open our hearts to Him, let us tell Him everything.”

Pope Francis encouraged everyone to pause in silence before the nativity to “savor the tenderness of God who became near, who became flesh.”

The pope also expressed his closeness to families with young children and to those who are expecting, adding “a birth is always a promise of hope.”

“May the Holy Mother of God, in whom the Word became flesh, help us to welcome Jesus, who knocks on the door of our hearts to dwell with us,” Pope Francis said.

“Without fear, let us invite Him among us, into our homes, into our families. And also … let us invite Him into our frailties. Let us invite Him, so that He may see our wounds. He will come and life will change.”

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Archdiocese of Dublin may need major organizational changes says Archbishop-elect in confusing Irish Times interview

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , |

Dublin, Ireland, Jan 3, 2021 / 08:29 am (CNA).- In an interview with the Irish Times published on Saturday, January 2nd, the Archbishop-elect of Dublin, Dermot Farrell announced that he is looking into major administrative changes in the Archdiocese. Farrell addressed other issues such as priestly celibacy and women priests, but the newspaper’s quotes are too short and confusing.

Currently, half of Dublin’s priests are over 70, many of them retiring in the next few years, while congregations are aging and declining. Also, because of COVID 19, income is down by close to 80 percent, and priests’ income cut by 25 percent.

“I come as a pastor. “ “and I am up for the challenge” Archbishop elect Dermot Farrell pic.twitter.com/lQdlnUQb30

— Archdiocese Dublin (@DublinDiocese) December 29, 2020

According to the Irish Times, the newspaper held a “lengthy interview by telephone” with Farrell, which turned into two stories published on Saturday, but both were heavily edited and therefore unclear about the true thinking of the Archbishop-elect.

According to the paper, Farrell believes that in a world “where there are fewer priests”, every parish in the archdiocese will have to change and some will amalgamate, but this will be done in consultation with priests and parishioners, not over their heads.

“[It is about] talking to the people, it’s talking to the priests, listening. These are their churches, their faith communities. It’s not going to be the Archbishop, or Archbishop’s House going round saying, ‘Close this church’,” the Archbishop-elect is quoted as saying.

Also according to the Irish Times, the future Archbishop of Ireland’s capital city supports women deacons, “shows some flexibility” about priestly celibacy, and opposes women priests. But the quotes provided by the newspaper hardly include more than a few words and rarely a full paragraph. CNA has reached out to the author of the interview for the full version.

Pope Francis appointed Dermot Farrell (66) of Ossory, Ireland, as the next archbishop of Dublin. The Archbishop-elect is the Finance secretary to the Irish Bishops’ Conference, a position he was appointed to in March 2019.

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Pope Francis accepts resignation of Archbishop Kondrusiewicz days after return to Belarus from exile

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , , , , , |

In a statement Jan. 3, the Holy See Press Office said that the pope had accepted the archbishop’s resignation in accordance with the Church canon that requests that a bishop offers his resignation to the pope at the age of 75.

The post Pope Francis accepts resignation of Archbishop Kondrusiewicz days after return to Belarus from exile appeared first on Catholic Herald.

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Pope Francis accepts resignation of Archbishop Kondrusiewicz days after return to Belarus from exile

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , |

Vatican City, Jan 3, 2021 / 06:15 am (CNA).- Less than two weeks after Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Minsk was allowed to return to Belarus after a four-month exile, the Vatican announced Sunday that Pope Francis had accepted the archbishop’s resignation on his 75th birthday.

In a statement Jan. 3, the Holy See Press Office said that the pope had accepted the archbishop’s resignation in accordance with the Church canon that requests that a bishop offers his resignation to the pope at the age of 75.

The Vatican did not name a successor metropolitan archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev, but appointed 75-year-old Bishop Kazimierz Wielikosielec, the current auxiliary bishop of Pinsk, to serve as apostolic administrator of the archdiocese.

In Belarus, Catholics celebrated Kondrusiewicz’s 75th birthday on Jan. 3 by creating a video honoring his life of service to the Church and holding signs of congratulations.

Kondrusiewicz returned to Belarus on Dec. 24, nearly four months after he was barred from entering his native country after he had spoken in defense of protesters following a disputed presidential election.

Belarusian authorities permitted his return to the country to celebrate Christmas at the request of Pope Francis, according to the nunciature in Belarus.

“The challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and the socio-political crisis call us to return to true religiosity, which shows that we are created for something more than just caring for earthly affairs and pleasures,” Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said Dec. 24.

“The doors of the former Soviet Union, where militant atheism has prevailed for three generations, have opened to Christ. We got freedom, including religion. Unfortunately, we soon forgot that freedom is not only a gift, but also a responsibility,” he said in his homily, according to the website of the Catholic Church in Belarus.

Protests in Belarus began Aug. 9 after president Alexander Lukashenko was declared to have won that day’s election with 80% of the vote. Electoral officials said that the opposition candidate, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, earned 10% of the vote. The opposition claims that she actually garnered at least 60% of votes.

Thousands of protesters against the election results were detained, including a number of priests. Archbishop Kondrusiewicz prayed outside of a prison where protesters were being held on Aug. 20.

Later that month Kondrusiewicz, who had been visiting Poland, was blocked from returning to Belarus by Belarusian border guards. His passport had been invalidated.

Lukashenko, who has served as president of Belarus since the position was created in 1994, suggested that Kondrusiewicz might be a citizen of more than one country — a claim that the archbishop denied.

The U.S., U.K., and EU no longer recognize Lukashenko as the Belarusian president. Canada, the U.K., and the EU have placed sanctions on senior Belarusian figures.

Lukashenko secured a $1.5 billion loan from Russian president Vladimir Putin in December as Putin denounced “external pressure” on Belarus.

Relations between the Holy See and Belarus have been strained over claims the Church in Belarus is being used to exert foreign influence, as well as Archbishop Kondrusiewicz’ exile.

Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, apostolic nuncio to the United Kingdom, acted as a special envoy of Pope Francis to Lukashenko, delivering a letter Dec. 17 with a request regarding Archbishop Kondrusiewicz.

Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said that when he was finally allowed to cross the border and return to Belarus on Dec. 24 he knelt down, prayed and kissed the ground.

Kondrusiewicz had served as metropolitan archbishop of Minsk since 2007 and as president of the Belarusian bishops’ conference since 2015.

He was consecrated as a bishop by St. John Paul II on Oct. 20, 1989 in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. As bishop, Kondrusiewicz founded the Grodno Higher Theological Seminary and reopened about 100 churches that had been closed during the communist persecution, according to the website of the Catholic Church in Belarus.

In his homily on Jan. 1, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz called on Catholics in Belarus to entrust the year ahead to God “so that it may be a time of successful resolution of socio-political and epidemiological crises and a time of blessing that will bring many spiritual fruits to us and our society.”

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Pope Francis: Praise for Gino Bartali, ‘Righteous among the Nations’

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , , , , , |

Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport published extracts of a broad-ranging interview with Pope Francis on Saturday, in which he reminisced about growing up on the pitch and at the soccer stadium — and on the basketball court — and shared some stories that tell of how athletes can make a difference. 

The post Pope Francis: Praise for Gino Bartali, ‘Righteous among the Nations’ appeared first on Catholic Herald.

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Epiphany: Three Approaches to Christ

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | , , |

In the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, three groups are called to our attention: the shepherds, the Magi and the court of King Herod. Each had its peculiar reaction to the birth of Jesus. The shepherds represent a simple faith; they heard and they believed, and they acted. The Magi, as the wise men[…]

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The Epiphany of the Lord

Posted by | Jan 3, 2021 | |

Reading I Is 60:1-6

Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem!  Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears hi…

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