The former pope died on December 31st at the age of 95. He first made history as the first German pope in 400 years and again in 2013 when he became the first pope to retire in 600 years…reports Asian Lite News
The tomb of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is now open to the public.
The former pontiff was buried on January 5th, immediately following a funeral in St. Peter’s Square. Benedict’s grave lies in the crypt under the basilica’s main floor.
The former pope died on December 31st at the age of 95. He first made history as the first German pope in 400 years and again in 2013 when he became the first pope to retire in 600 years.
On Sunday morning, Pope Francis baptised 13 infants as the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord.
This tradition of baptising the children of Holy See employees in the Sistine Chapel on the feast day was established in 1981 by Pope St. John Paul II.
Last week, heads of state and royalty, clergy from around the world and thousands of people flocked to the ceremony, despite Benedict’s requests for simplicity and official efforts to keep the first funeral for a pope emeritus in modern times low-key.
Many hailed from Benedict’s native Bavaria and donned traditional dress, including boiled wool coats to guard against the morning chill.
“We came to pay homage to Benedict and wanted to be here today to say goodbye,” said Raymond Mainar, who travelled from a small village east of Munich for the funeral. “He was a very good pope.”
Francis has praised Benedict’s courage to step aside, saying it “opened the door” to other popes doing the same. The reigning pontiff, for his part, recently said he has already left written instructions outlining the conditions under which he too would resign.
After some 200,000 people paid their respects during three days of public viewing, authorities estimated 100,000 would attend Benedict’s funeral, though it was not clear if that many did in the end.
Rotering said on Tuesday that she did not know where the gun the gunman used came from, but added that it was legally obtained…reports Ashok Nilakantan
Pope Francis of the Catholic church in Vatican has condemned the Chicago killings as being “senseless”, saying all forms of violence should end while sending his spiritual closeness to all the families of the deceased and injured in the July 4 massacre by a lone gunman sniper from a rooftop who killed six persons besides wounding 30 others.
The incident took place in the midst of the Independence Day parade in a Chicago suburb, Highland Park. The suburb is still in a state of shock as innocent people and some children died, while a policeman got critically injured.
Pope Francis sent a telegram to Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, conveying his spiritual closeness to all those affected by the mass shooting. He expressed shock and sadness over the mass shooting that left six dead on Monday.
In his message, Pope Francis condemned the “senseless shooting” and appealed for rejection of all forms of violence.
Robert E. Crimo III, a 22-year-old local, was apprehended late on Monday in connection with the shooting. Crimo had been identified earlier in the day as a person of interest in the mass shooting.
The Pope’s telegram said he joined “the entire community in praying that Almighty God will grant eternal rest to the dead and healing and consolation to the injured and bereaved”.
“With unwavering faith that the grace of God is able to convert even the hardest of hearts, making it possible to depart from evil and do good,” the message read.
Pope Francis prayed that every member of society will reject violence in all of its forms and respect life in all of its stages.
He concluded by sending his apostolic blessing “as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord”.
Highland Park is an affluent suburb about 25 miles north of Chicago along Lake Michigan.
In a statement, Cardinal Cupich of Chicago said he is praying for the victims and the first responders. He also spoke out strongly against the scourge of gun violence.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering spoke to NBC News about the “unbelievable sadness” and “unbelievable shock” that the community of 30,000 was encountering.
“This tragedy should have never arrived at our doorsteps. As a small town, everybody knows somebody who was affected by this directly and, of course, we are all still reeling,” she said.
Just a day back, the streets were decked out in red, white and blue as families watched the annual parade. Children sat on curbs, wagons and strollers, waving American flags as parents and grandparents relaxed in their folding chairs, media reports said.
As the parade began rolling through the downtown, the police said a gunman climbed on to the roof of a building using a ladder in an alley and then, without notice, opened fire with an assault rifle at the crowd below.
On Monday evening, the police had announced that they had a suspect, 22-year-old Robert E. Crimo III, in custody after he surrendered to the authorities. The police said they did not yet know what was the motive for the shooting.
A 72-year-old retired four-star general, who wished not to be named, said people were scared to death, as they didn’t know what was going on.
“I had my granddaughter up against my chest and she told my daughter later that ‘grandpa’s heart was pounding’,” said the retired officer who rescued many from the spot.
Gun violence is still agitating the minds of Americans, less than two months after a gunman killed 19 school children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, just 10 days after a man shot 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
Rotering said she knew the suspect when he was a little boy and a cub scout, when she was a cub scout leader.
“What happened? How did somebody become this angry, this hateful,” she asked.
Social media and other online posts written by accounts that appeared to be associated with either Crimo or his rapper alias ‘Awake the Rapper’ often depicted violent images or messages.
One music video posted on YouTube under ‘Awake the Rapper’ showed drawings of a stick figure holding a rifle in front of another figure spread on the ground.
Rotering said on Tuesday that she did not know where the gun the gunman used came from, but added that it was legally obtained.
“Our nation needs to have a conversation about these weekly events involving murder of dozens of people with legally obtained guns,” she was quoted by the WTTW News.
The attack is going to upend the debate on gun control even though a bipartisan legislation of the Congress is now in place to restrict sale of guns to buyers and checking background of sellers and take away arms from those with mental health issues who are a danger to themselves and others in the society.
The debate on whether stricter measures can prevent mass shootings that happen so frequently in the United States is likely to flare and probably end up on the ballot for the November 8 elections to the 435-member House of Representatives.
Inflation and soaring gas prices could be pushed into the background, striking a blow to the gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association.
In response to the shootings in New York and Uvalde, the Congress last month passed its first major federal gun reform in three decades, providing federal funding to states that administer “red flag” laws intended to remove guns from people deemed dangerous.
The law, however, does not ban sale of assault-style rifles or high-capacity magazines but does take some steps on background checks by allowing access to information on significant crimes committed by juveniles.
Chicago, home to the infamous mafia boss Al Capone who used the machine gun as a powerful weapon to eliminate his peer group gangland bosses, has a history of violence with more than 600 homicides in 2022. The number of shootings and killings through the first half of the year are both down more than 10 per cent compared to each of the last two years, according to the police.
Data published last Friday by the Chicago Police Department showed that there have been 310 homicides and 1,255 shootings in the city through the end of June. Both those figures are below the pace set through the first six months of 2021 and 2020.
“The reduction in violence is due to the dedicated work of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department,” Police Superintendent David Brown said in a statement, adding, “Our brave officers, at great risk to themselves, continue working on behalf of the people of Chicago to make every neighbourhood safer.”
According to that data, shootings are down 17 per cent this year, and the number of shooting victims in 2022 is down by more than 300 (1,525 this year, 1,860 last year), WTTW reported.
In June alone, there were 67 homicides. That’s down 21 per cent compared to June 2021, according to the police.
The police this year have recovered 6,205 firearms, a 5 per cent increase over last year’s pace. Those weapons include more than 500 assault weapons and nearly 400 unserialised ghost guns.
Pillai was declared blessed in 2012 in Nagercoil and the Vatican cleared him for sainthood in 2020…reports Asian Lite News
Pope Francis on Sunday canonised Devasahayam Pillai, or ‘Blessed Lazarus’, who became the first layman from India to be granted sainthood.
Pillai, a Hindu who converted to Christianity in the 18th century – drawing the ire of the then rulers, was canonised at 2.30 p.m. (IST) at the St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican along with nine others. A miracle attributed to him was recognised by Pope Francis in 2014 leading to his canonisation now.
Church records state that Pillai was born as Neelakanda Pillai in Nattalam in the Kanniyakumari district in 1712. Kanniyakumari was then part of the Travancore kingdom and Pillai’s embracing of Christianity in 1745 made the Maharaja angry.
An court official, Pillai introduced to Christianity by Dutch naval officer, Captain De Lannoy when he was in Travancore. After his conversion, he assumed the name of ‘Lazarus or ‘Devasahayam’, meaning ‘God is my Help’.
The Travancore Maharaja was, however, furious about his conversion and shot him dead at Aralvaimozhy forest on January 14, 1752.
Pillai was declared blessed in 2012 in Nagercoil and the Vatican cleared him for sainthood in 2020.
His mortal remains were interred near the altar inside St Xavier’s Church, Kottar, Nagercoil which is a diocesan Cathedral now.
Special prayers were conducted at churches that are linked to his life in the Kottar diocese of Kanniyakumari.
At Thiruvananthapuram, Bishop Thomas J Netto led prayers at the St Joseph’s Cathedral, Palayam and Neyyatinkara Bishop Vincent Samuel led the Pontifical mass at the St. Devasahayam Church in Chavallorpatta near Parassala under the Neyattinkara diocese.
A vehicle rally was held from St Joseph’s Cathedral, Palayam, Thiruvananthapuram to the St Antony’s Pilgrim Church at Kamukincode on Saturday. This was to commemorate the visit of Devasahayam Pillai when he called on those who sought refuge in the locality after fleeing from being persecuted for having converted to Christianity.
Catholic Bishop Conference of India (CBCI) laity secretary, V.C. Sebastian told IANS that the “conferment of sainthood to Devasahayam Pillai will rejuvenate the Christian community in the country, in particular the Catholic laity. The elevation of a layman as a saint or canonisation of a common man has immense relevance to the present times”.
Benedict, 94, was responding to a Jan. 20 report from a German law firm that had been commissioned by the German Catholic Church to look into how cases of sexual abuse were handled in the Munich archdiocese between 1945 and 2019….reports Asian Lite News
Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked for forgiveness Tuesday for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich, Germany.
Benedict’s lack of a personal apology or admission of guilt immediately riled sex abuse survivors, who said his response reflected the Catholic hierarchy’s “permanent” refusal to accept responsibility for the rape and sodomy of children by priests.
Benedict, 94, was responding to a Jan. 20 report from a German law firm that had been commissioned by the German Catholic Church to look into how cases of sexual abuse were handled in the Munich archdiocese between 1945 and 2019. Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the archdiocese from 1977 to 1982.
The report faulted Benedict’s handling of four cases during his time as archbishop, accusing him of misconduct for having failed to restrict the ministry of the four priests even after they had been convicted criminally. The report also faulted his predecessors and successors, estimating there had been at least 497 abuse victims over the decades and at least 235 suspected perpetrators.
The Vatican on Tuesday released a letter that Benedict wrote to respond to the allegations, alongside a more technical reply from his lawyers who had provided an initial 82-page response to the law firm about his nearly five-year tenure in Munich.
The conclusion of Benedict’s lawyers was resolute: “As an archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger was not involved in any cover-up of acts of abuse,” they wrote. They criticized the report’s authors for misinterpreting their submission, and asserted that they provided no evidence that Benedict was aware of the criminal history of any of the four priests.
Benedict’s response was more nuanced and spiritual, though he went on at length to thank his legal team before even addressing the allegations or the abuse victims.
“I have had great responsibilities in the Catholic Church,” Benedict said. “All the greater is my pain for the abuses and the errors that occurred in those different places during the time of my mandate.”
Benedict issued what he called a “confession,” though he didn’t confess to any specific fault. He recalled that daily Mass begins with believers confessing their sins and asking forgiveness even for“grievous faults.” Benedict noted that in his meetings with abuse victims while he was pope, “I have seen firsthand the effects of a most grievous fault.
“And I have come to understand that we ourselves are drawn into this grievous fault whenever we neglect it or fail to confront it with the necessary decisiveness and responsibility, as too often happened and continues to happen,” he wrote. “As in those meetings, once again I can only express to all the victims of sexual abuse my profound shame, my deep sorrow and my heartfelt request for forgiveness.”
His response drew swift criticism from Eckiger Tisch, a group representing German clergy abuse survivors, who said it fit into the church’s “permanent relativizing on matters of abuse — wrongdoing and mistakes took place, but no one takes concrete responsibility.”
Benedict “can’t bring himself simply to state that he is sorry not to have done more to protect the children entrusted to his church,” the group said.
The retired pope’s response will likely complicate efforts by German bishops to try to re-establish credibility with the faithful, whose demands for accountability have only increased after decades of abuse and cover-up.
The head of the German bishops conference, Limburg Bishop Georg Baetzing, had previously said that Benedict needed to respond to the report by distancing himself from his lawyers and advisers. “He must talk, and he must override his advisers and essentially say the simple sentence: ‘I incurred guilt, I made mistakes and I apologize to those affected,’” Baetzing said.
But in a tweet Tuesday, Baetzing only noted that Benedict had responded.
”I am grateful to him for that and he deserves respect for it,” Baetzing wrote. The tweet didn’t address the substance of Benedict’s response.
The law firm report identified four cases in which Ratzinger was accused of misconduct in failing to act against abusers.
At Sunday’s Mass the pope installed six women and two men as lectors and three women and five men as catechists. Francis gave a bible to each lector and a crucifix to each catechist…reports Asian Lite News
Pope Francis on Sunday for the first time conferred the lay Roman Catholic ministries of lector and catechist on women, roles that previously many had carried out without institutional recognition.
He conferred the ministries at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, where, in an apparent reference to resistance to change by some conservative, he criticised those who need to have rigid regulations and “more rules” in order to find God.
Last year, Francis changed Church law on the ministries of lector and acolyte, which mainly had been reserved to seminarians preparing for priesthood, saying he wanted to bring stability and public recognition to women already serving in the roles.
Lectors read from scripture, acolytes serve at Mass, and catechists teach the faith to children and adult converts.
The ministries of lector and acolyte existed before but were officially reserved to men. Francis instituted the ministry of the catechist last year.
At Sunday’s Mass the pope installed six women and two men as lectors and three women and five men as catechists. Francis gave a bible to each lector and a crucifix to each catechist.
The formalisation, including a conferral ceremony, will make it more difficult for conservative bishops to block women in their dioceses from taking on those roles.
The change will be particularly important as a recognition for women in places such as the Amazon, where some are the de facto religious leaders of remote communities hit by a severe shortage of priests.
The Vatican stressed that the roles are not a precursor to women one day being allowed to become priests. The Catholic Church teaches that only men can be priests because Jesus chose only men as his apostles.
Supporters of a female priesthood say Jesus was conforming to the customs of his times and that women played a greater role in the early Church than is commonly recognised.
Francis has appointed a number of women to senior jobs in Vatican departments previously held by men.
Francis, who dedicated about a fifth of his six-page address to the pandemic, warned against ideological statements regarding vaccinations…reports Asian Lite News
Pope Francis on Monday condemned “baseless” ideological misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, backing national immunisation campaigns and calling health care a moral obligation.
Francis spoke in his yearly address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican, sometimes called his “State of the World” address because it is a broad survey of the global situation.
His words to diplomats from nearly 200 countries marked the closest he has ever come to a de facto backing of vaccine mandates, which have become controversial in Italy and other European countries.
“We have realised that in those places where an effective vaccination campaign has taken place, the risk of severe repercussions of the disease has decreased,” he said.
“It is therefore important to continue the effort to immunise the general population as much as possible”.
Francis, who dedicated about a fifth of his six-page address to the pandemic, warned against ideological statements regarding vaccinations.
“Sadly, we are finding increasingly that we live in a world of strong ideological divides. Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts,” he said.
“Vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease,” he told the diplomats gathered in the Vatican’s frescoed Hall of the Benedictions.
By saying that “health care is a moral obligation” in the context of a speech supporting vaccinations, Francis appeared to be responding to Catholics and other Christians, particularly in the United States, who say they have a religion-based right of conscientious objection to vaccines.
Francis, who is fully vaccinated, called for a global political commitment “to pursue the good of the general population through measures of prevention and immunisation”.
He renewed his appeal for the equitable distribution of vaccines to poor nations, saying that “monopolistic rules” regarding patents should be put aside for the greater good.
Francis also reiterated his defence of migrants, saying each country should accept as many as possible and that responsibility for their integration should be shared.
On climate change, he said the results of last year’s COP26 summit in Glasgow were “rather weak in light of the gravity of the problem” and hoped that action on global warming could be consolidated at COP27 planned for Egypt in November.
He repeated calls for dialogue in areas of conflict or crisis such as Lebanon, Ukraine and Myanmar as well as his call for a ban on the possession of nuclear weapons.
This comes as the mass burial place of 215 children, aged from three years, was found at the site of a school, closed in 1978, near the Canadian town of Kamloops…reports Asian Lite News
Pope Francis on Sunday expressed sorrow over the findings of the remains of more than 200 indigenous children at a former indigenous boarding school in western Canada, which was run by the Church.
“I observe with pain the shocking discovery in Canada of the remains of 215 children, pupils of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, in the province of British Columbia. I join the Canadian Bishops and the whole Catholic Church in Canada in expressing his closeness to the Canadian people, who have been traumatized by the shocking news,” the pontiff at a mass as quoted by the Vatican news.
This comes as the mass burial place of 215 children, aged from three years, was found at the site of a school, closed in 1978, near the Canadian town of Kamloops, Sputnik reported.
Following the discovery of graves, a probe has been opened into the circumstances and the accountability of these fatalities.
The pope requested Canadian authorities “to continue to work together with determination to shed light on this sad event and to commit themselves humbly to a path of reconciliation and healing.”
According to Francis, the incident was a strong call to abandon the “colonial model” and work toward the recognition of rights of the ingenious communities in Canada.
However, he stopped short of a direct apology that some Canadians had demanded.
“We’re all pained and saddened. Who isn’t? This is a worldwide travesty,” Bobby Cameron, chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations in Saskatchewan.
“How hard is it for the Pope to say: ‘I’m very sorry for the way our organization treated the First Nations people, the First Nations students during those times. We are sorry. We pray,” Cameron said.
Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto, Thomas Collins also said an apology “may very well be something that will be on the path ahead”.
Under the Canadian schooling system for indigenous children, at least 150,000 students were forcibly separated from their families and incarcerated in residential schools, according to the Russian news agency. It is estimated that up to 6,000 children could have died in such schools. (ANI/IANS)
At 6 p.m., the Catholic Church leader will remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in a service in St Peter’s Basilica…reports Asian Lite News
Pope Francis is celebrating Good Friday in a severely restricted form because of the coronavirus pandemic.
At 6 p.m., the Catholic Church leader will remember the suffering and death of Jesus Christ in a service in St Peter’s Basilica, reports dpa news agency.
According to the Vatican, only a few faithful will be admitted to the Pope’s Masses around Easter because of health measures.
The large public Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum in the centre of Rome, which used to be a moving event for many pilgrims, will be cancelled as in 2020.
Instead, similar to the beginning of the pandemic, a small Stations of the Cross celebration is scheduled to take place in St Peter’s Square in front of the basilica at 9 p.m.
Jesus's cross is God's silent throne. Let us daily contemplate his wounds. In those gashes, we recognize our emptiness, our shortcomings, the wounds of our sin. His wounds were inflicted for our sake, and by those wounds we have been healed. #GoodFriday
