The leader of Poland’s Catholic Church has responded to claims its leaders support the country’s controversial centre-right government, and warned governing politicians they must uphold the rule of law and human rights. “Seeking to follow in the footsteps of Christ, the Church does not identify itself with any political community or political system – it does not stand for right, left or centre, but takes its own side,” said Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki, the bishops’ conference president. “It must refrain from entering disputes for the benefit of this or that political faction, which would alienate people with other political views, and [it must] avoid being instrumentalised by political parties for their own interests.” Archbishop Gadecki said he felt the need to respond to “numerous misunderstandings and mistakes” about the Church’s current role. He added that no political party could claim to “represent the faithful”, and said some radical Christian politicians had acted “deplorably, bringing more harm than good” by convincing themselves “only they are faithful to Jesus and everyone else is dealing with the devil”. Polish church leaders have rejected claims of a special link with their country’s governing Law and Justice party, headed by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, which has been threatened with sanctions over alleged violations of European Union norms.
As the Italian island of Sardinia is ravaged by what Sardinians have described as “apocalyptic” fires, the bishops of Sardinia said: “We feel a sense of infinite dismay in seeing once again, due to fires, our people suffer and our land burn.” Italian Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia, president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, voiced his “closeness and solidarity” to the people of Sardinia, who he said have been “put to the test by fires that are causing incalculable damage. He also voiced concern and closeness to those affected by flooding in northern Italy, which has caused significant damage, particularly in the area near Como.
The Global Catholic Climate Movement was renamed the Laudato Si’ Movement last week at a webinar involving 8,000 participants from around the world. Pope Francis, whose encyclical Laudato Si’ was officially published in June 2015, approved the name change. Chair Dr Lorna Gold said: “The mission is being broadened to include the concept of ecological justice, based on the spirit of Laudato Si’.”
A fifth bishop has been ordained under the China-Vatican provisional agreement signed in 2018 and renewed in October 2020. Bishop Anthony Li Hui, 49,who worked with the state-sanctioned Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China since 1998, became coadjutor Bishop of Pingliang diocese in Gansu province on 28 July. The ceremony at Pingliang Cathedral was presided over by Conference President Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming and representatives of the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association attended.
Fernando Karadima, a Chilean priest at the centre of a sexual abuse scandal that shook the Church in Chile and who was eventually returned to the lay state in 2018, is dead. The 90-year-old died on 25 July in Santiago. Three of his victims said last week that Karadima was, “another link on this culture of perversion and coverup in the church.” During his trip to Chile in 2018, Pope Francis discredited the victims, outraging survivors and their supporters, before later apologising to them.
In a message marking the 76th anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (6 and 9 August), Japan’s Catholic Bishops have renewed an appeal to the Japanese government and other countries to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force in January. “Protecting all life makes peace,” said a message from Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki.
As international forces withdraw from Afghanistan, two nuns who run a centre for children with disabilities in Kabul have refused to leave them.“We are worried about the future, but we will step up our commitment," they said. Pakistani Sister Shahnaz Bhatti and Indian Sister Teresia Crasta work at the only school of its kind in Afghanistan, taking in 50 children between the ages of 6 and 12 with developmental delays, including some with Down syndrome. In the new school year they intend increasing their numbers to 60 children.
A Catholic diocese’s promotion of large families has prompted controversy in India’s Kerala state. Critics say plans ignore India’s population explosion and is really about tackling the shrinking Christian population in Kerala. Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Palai, a diocese of the Eastern-rite Syro-Malabar Church, said he stands by promises to cover delivery expenses of fourth and subsequent children at its hospital and provide higher education to fourth and subsequent children with scholarships to diocesan schools.
A Catholic weightlifter says she has the Virgin Mary to thank after winning the Philippines’ first-ever Olympic gold medal in Tokyo. Hidilyn Diaz, 30, clutched a Miraculous Medal during the award ceremony, after praying a novena for her success. Stranded in Malaysia in April because of Covid travel restrictions, she trained with water bottles hanging from a bamboo pole. With a combined weight lift of 224kg, an Olympic record, she beat China’s Liao Qiyung, who lifted 223kg, into second place.
Caritas Pakistan joined relief and rescue operations in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad after heavy monsoon rain caused flooding on 28 July, killing at least 88 people, injuring hundreds and destroying more than 200 houses. Amjad Gulzar, executive director of Caritas Pakistan, said that, “rain-related damages have added to the losses of the poor and daily wagers struggling amid the lockdown." Meanwhile Grand Imam of al-Azhar in Egypt, Ahmed al-Tayeb, has called for "serious action" to counter the effects of climate change. The leading Sunni Muslim authority's comments on 25 July followed floods in Turkey and sweltering temperatures in Iraq. “The recent flooding and record rise in temperatures around the world, which have caused hundreds of deaths and displaced many more, should reinforce the need for serious action toward combating climate change,” Tayeb wrote on Twitter.
South Korea has awarded its highest military honour posthumously to military chaplain Fr Emil Kapaun, a US priest who died in 1951 in a North Korean prisoner-of-war camp. His nephew accepted the Order of Military Merit from Catholic President Moon Jae-in in Seoul on 27 July. “He celebrated Mass to pray for the enemy, which was a true practice of love,” said Moon, and his life “will become a great spiritual legacy for not only the US and Korea, but for all of humanity.”
Ebonyi State in southeastern Nigeria has given six schools to the Catholic church, saying they want stronger moral education. “Part of the problems of our society is that the moral education the missionaries brought to us is no longer there,” said Governor David Umahias the schools were handed over to Bishop Emeritus Micheal Okoro of Abakaliki on 29 July. The governor described the Catholic Church as “a community of the Lord in which you still find a great level of discipline.”
Catholic leaders in Texas are asking that state’s governor Greg Abbott to reverse an order that bars shelters from caring for undocumented migrants. There are currently 4,500 unaccompanied minors being served in shelters that would be closed. Bishops Ed Burns of Dallas and Mark Seitz of El Paso published an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News, stating, “Motivated by our faith, Catholic Charities provide food, clothing and shelter to these children … But this work is now in peril.”
Some 200 students, faculty and alumni of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana signed a petition protesting the construction of a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant on campus because of the company’s funding anti-LGBT campaigns, use of factory farming, and the lack of vegetarian options on their menu. The university responded in a statement that it had “examined the concerns surrounding Chick-fil-A's charitable giving, discussed them with company representatives, campus partners and students and believes that Chick-fil-A has responded to these issues in a satisfactory manner.” Construction will continue.
Officials at Jesuit-run Boston College are standing firm in their requirement that all students, faculty and staff be vaccinated against the coronavirus before returning to campus, despite a campaign arguing the requirement infringes upon their freedom to choose whether or not to get vaccinated.
Catholic archbishop of Tunis Archdiocese, Iiario Antoniazzi has supported the 25 July decision by President Kais Saied to sack the Prime minister and suspend parliament.Archbishop Antoniazzi says the presidential decision was “welcomed” by the majority of the population, exhausted by a situation where there is no work, no tourism, and only Covid 19 flourishes.
French Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, a well-known New Testament scholar and the world’s oldest cardinal, died in Rome on 29 July, just five days after celebrating his 98th birthday. In a message of condolence, Pope Francis praised the cardinal as “a zealous religious, spiritual son of St. Ignatius, expert teacher, authoritative biblical scholar, esteemed rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, (and) diligent and wise collaborator of several dicasteries of the Roman Curia.”
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