The Vatican’s conclusion that Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki was fully authorised to take money from the Cologne archdiocese’s so-called “bishop’s chair” fund in order to pay lawyers and consultants, without involving archdiocesan financial institutions, has been sharply criticised in Germany. The Cologne archdiocese announced last week that Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, said in a letter to Woelki that the Vatican had concluded, “after thorough examination”, that no further committee involvement was necessary. Woelki voiced relief. That was “good news from Rome”, he said and expressed hope that this would “calm things down a little in our archdiocese”. The Cologne branch of the German Catholic Women’s Association (kfd), which has 43,000 members and is the largest Catholic organisation in the archdiocese, was quick to reply: “No, Cardinal Woelki, that is not good news from Rome and it will not calm things down in our archdiocese.” If canon law allowed a diocesan bishop freely to dispose of 2.8 million euros from a Church fund, then “something is badly wrong”, the kfd declared.
The Hong Kong security chief who oversaw the prodemocracy crackdown will be Hong Kong’s new leader. John Lee, 64, told reporters on 3 May that he is a Catholic who credits his Jesuit education for his drive to “help society as a whole”. Lee’s appointment is widely seen as a move by China to tighten its grip on the city. Known as a staunch Beijing supporter, in 2019 he sanctioned the police’s use of water cannon, rubber bullets, and tear gas to disperse protesters. In 2020, he backed the imposition of a controversial national security law that criminalised most forms of political protest and reduced the city’s autonomy.
Nine Californian bishops have asked the US Supreme Court to set aside a 2019 law in the nation’s largest state that would re-open the statute of limitations for crimes involving the sexual abuse of minors. Archbishop William Goh of Singapore apologised on behalf of the Church on 5 May after a member of a religious order was jailed for five years for sex crimes against two teenage boys. “Like many of you, I am dismayed, shocked, and ashamed,” Archbishop Goh said in a statement that offered “heartfelt sympathy to those who have suffered on account of this crime”. The Singaporean man in his sixties cannot be named because of court gag orders, but it is known that he was linked to a school when the offences took place, between 2005 and 2007.
“Guidelines for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees” have been issued by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference. They focus on suggestions for collaboration to welcome, protect and integrate migrants and refugees into the local Church. Nearly three million migrants, mostly from other African countries, now live in South Africa. Wealthy countries should direct more of their emergency currency funds, or Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), to help African countries emerge from the Covid crisis, tackle global economic uncertainties and resume development progress, says the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). In a statement, “Financing Crisis Recovery with Hope for the most Vulnerable in Africa”, presented to the April meeting of global financial leaders at a World Bank and International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington DC, SECAM highlighted that although the IMF allocated $650 billion in SDRs last year to support global pandemic recovery, “only $33 billion went to African countries”.
The Ecclesial Pan-Amazonian Network (REPAM-Brazil), an organisation of the national Bishops’ Conference, has launched a campaign to support the election on 2 October of politicians dedicated to environmental justice and the rights of indigenous peoples. The May to September campaign will develop awareness-raising initiatives, such as material for social networks. Archbishop Roque Paloschi of Porto Velho, Secretary of REPAM, stressed the importance of “education that helps to make conscious choices for the good of the community ... and of future generations”.
The Catholic Church in French Guiana risks going bankrupt because it can no longer afford to pay its priests under a 2016 agreement to take over this charge from the state. The Church in this French overseas department in northeastern South America consented to this after officials tried three times in vain to impose laïcité – the Church-State separation which has prevailed in metropolitan France since 1905. The Church now covers the wages of 50 of some 60 priests. The department’s only diocese initially sold land to cover its deficit. “But there is almost nothing left to sell,” Cayenne Bishop Alain Ransay said. “The last remaining plots are in protected nature zones and so are unsellable.” He has appealed for funds and has begun planning more cuts.
The Society of Jesus has suspended a prominent Chilean priest as it investigates accusations of sexual abuse. In a 3 May statement, the Jesuit province in Chile said: “A complaint was received on 29 April from an ad ult woman against Jesuit Father Felipe Berríos for acts of sexual connotation that occurred when the complainant was a minor.” The Jesuit was a prominent voice for the poor and migrants in Chile.
A new church of St Thomas the Apostle has been inaugurated in Taxila, Rawalpindi, in the area of Pakistan’s Punjab Province where St Thomas reputedly arrived in 33 A.D. to preach the Gospel. Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi celebrated Mass and blessed the doors and altar on 2 May. Mgr George Muthaka was consecrated and installed as the Bishop of Garissa, Kenya, in the mainly Muslim northeast, on 7 May. His ordination as third bishop of Garissa was the first held in the main cathedral in the town, highlighting the increasingly peaceful coexistence between the faiths in the region. Insecurity linked to Islamic extremists has been a threat in the past. In 2015, Islamists attacked Garissa University College, killing 148 people.
Catholic News Service, the news agency of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is to end domestic operations. “CNS offices in New York and Washington will be closed at the end of the year, as will the USCCB Publishing Office,” the USCCB said on 4 May. “These changes will allow remaining functions, including the CNS Rome Bureau and the Office of Public Affairs, a more sustainable foundation.” Twenty-one jobs will be lost.