… say they subscribe to no religion — making them as … often lived near starvation, religion helped them cope with severe … of some conservatives. “Quiet religion rarely bothers anyone,” Boston College … . “Not so with loud religion.”
Trump ally Robert Jeffress, …
Steve Chapman: Blame politics for religion’s decline
France has no problem with any religion – Macron
The 21-year-old Tunisian suspect arrived in the city the night before the attack, his brother had told the BBC.
But Macron, in a tweet on Saturday said contrary to what he had heard and seen on social media in recent days, France had no problem with any religion.
He said all religious bodies practice freely without stigmatization.
Macron added that France is attached to peace and living together.
COMECE Assembly – Cardinal Parolin on the Covid-19 recovery: “the Church in the frontline for a fairer and more solidary Europe”
COMECE Autumn Assembly 2020
Cardinal Parolin on the Covid-19 recovery: “the Church in the frontline for a fairer and more solidary Europe”
“The Church will be in the frontline during the long and difficult process of recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic”, stated Cardinal Parolin addressing the Bishops of the European Union at the COMECE Autumn Assembly held on 28-29 October 2020. Cardinal Hollerich on the EU: “a unifying presence of coordination and support for the Member States, but work must continue”.
In the context of the 40th anniversary of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), the Assembly of EU Bishops, chaired by H. Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, welcomed H. Em. Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of His Holiness Pope Francis, to exchange on some of EU’s most pressing challenges mentioned by the Holy Father in his recent comprehensive message on Europe.
Among the topics discussed were the role of the Catholic Church in the EU for a just, fair and ecological recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and for the promotion of the Common Good through person-centred policies, in particular in the fields of sustainable human development, migration and environment.
Cardinal Parolin highlighted that the Catholic Church has closely accompanied the European integration process since its beginning and that “the establishment of COMECE in 1980 was a tangible sign of the importance attributed by the Holy See to the activities promoted by the European institutions”.
In light of Pope Francis’ encouragement to the EU to be “healthy secular”, the Secretary of State recalled that the Church, while respecting the autonomy of political life, does not restrict her mission to the private sphere. “On the contrary – quoting the Holy Father’s Encyclical Letter ‘Fratelli tutti’ – she cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the building of a better world”.
While calling on all of us, including the EU institutions, to “rediscover the path of fraternity that inspired and guided the founders of modern Europe”, the Cardinal assured that the Church would be in the frontline of the long and arduous recovery process from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. “This is an occasion to build a fairer and more solidary Europe that shares scientific research and investments for the production of vaccines and the care for the most vulnerable”, he said.
In their exchange, the Bishops and the Secretary of State also referred to the Conference on the Future of Europe, as “a significant occasion to rethink the European identity and its values, as well as to reduce the distance between the EU institutions and the citizens”.
The Cardinal stressed the importance for the Catholic Church to participate in such conference as partner in the context of the open, transparent and regular EU-Churches dialogue mentioned by the Article 17 TFEU.
The Assembly of COMECE was also an opportunity to assess various EU initiatives. According to the Bishops, the Next Generation EU and the Green Deal seem to be going in the right direction, promoting solidarity among the Member States and an ecological conversion that could benefit Europe and the entire world.
Caution was expressed with regard to the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which “marks a step ahead, but also raises many doubts”. Cardinal Parolin supported the idea of reviewing the Dublin Regulation towards policies that welcome, protect, promote and integrate migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
To put an end to the demographic winter characterising Europe since various decades, the Bishop Delegates highlighted the need for policies specifically supporting the family, “the basic texture of our society”.
Regarding the ongoing digital transformation of our societies, they expressed the will to be vigilant and ensure that it follows the integral development of each person and of all peoples, not at the expenses of human dignity.
After welcoming Pope Francis’ message on Europe “as an encouragement to keep working with the EU institutions”, the President of COMECE, H. Em. Card. Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, expressed appreciation for the participation and contribution of Cardinal Parolin.
“It confirms the Holy See’s strong appreciation for the mission of dialogue with the European Union carried out by COMECE” – he stated.
In the context of the current pandemic, the Cardinal Hollerich recognised to the EU “a unifying presence of coordination and support for the Member States” and, in this framework, announced a message with a strong call for solidarity and hope elaborated by the Presidents of all EU Episcopates to be published in the coming weeks.
Special greetings were offered to H. E. Mgr. Alain Paul Lebeaupin, Apostolic Nuncio to the European Union since 2012, who will soon end his 41-year-long mission at the diplomatic service of the Holy See.
At the end of the Assembly, the Bishops condemned the terrorist attack that occurred on Thursday 29 October 2020 at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Nice. H. E. Mgr. Antoine Hérouard, Bishop Delegate of the French Bishops’ Conference to COMECE, led a prayer for the victims, “people who have been killed only because they wanted to pray to the Lord in a church”.
To comply with the sanitary measures established by the authorities of the Brussels Region, the COMECE Assembly was held exclusively in a digital format.
Speeches
Pope Francis’ new message on Europe: EN
Speech of H. Em. Cardinal Pietro Parolin: EN – IT
Speech of H. Em. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich: IT
Speech of H. E. Mgr. Alain Paul Lebeaupin: IT
Videos
Cardinal Parolin addresses the EU Bishops
Nice attack: The Assembly of COMECE prays for Peace
Press Release
COMECE Communication Officer
Alessandro Di Maio
+32 (0) 2 235 05 15
Piel: Issues aren’t Republican or Democratic, they’re matters of faith | RELIGION COMMENTARY
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Brunei Bishop thanks Pope for “choosing someone from the peripheries” – Vatican News
By Vatican News staff writer
The Apostolic Vicar of Brunei, thanks Pope Francis for “choosing someone from the peripheries” to be counted among his cardinals. Expressed his sentiments in an interview to Vatican News, Bishop Cornelius Sim described his Church as “periphery within a periphery”. He said the Pope understands that the Church exists in little places where there is not much publicity but where faith is very much alive.
Unexpected
Like other cardinals-designate, Bishop Cornelius Sim too was unaware of and could not believe he was among the 13 new cardinals, but later came to terms with the truth.
“For me, it was bit of a shock and unexpected” he told Vatican News. The 69-year old native of Brunei spoke about the challenges of the one of the youngest and smallest Churches in Southeast Asia and probably also in the world.
At his priestly ordination on November 26, 1989, Bishop Sim became the first native priest of Brunei. In 1995 he was appointed the Vicar General of what was then Miri-Brunei Diocese, and in 1998 he was appointed Prefect of Brunei. When Saint Pope John Paul II elevated Brunei to Vicariate Apostolic on October 20, 2004, he appointed Father Sim Vicar Apostolic. Thus, he became the first local bishop of Brunei. He was consecrated bishop on January 21, 2005.
Largely migrant Catholic community
Bishop Sim, along with 3 other priests, leads the Church of Brunei that is mostly made up of some 20,000 expatriate workers. The wealthy oil- and gas-rich nation has a population of some 500,000 people, more than 70% percent of whom are Muslim.
In this context, Bishop Sim said the challenge of the Bruneian Church is to “provide a home away from home” for the Catholic community that is largely migrant. The Church tries its best to support them, especially in times of trouble such as illness or death. It also helps them financially and with feeding programmes.
He pointed out that native Catholics, who are well off, need to build up their faith levels so that they can be “more conscious and more willing to be engaged” in many ways in supporting the Church.
Youth
The Church is particularly concerned about young people, many of whose ideas do not come through traditional channels but from their counterparts in their “own world” of social media. Hence their relationship with authority is not always like what it was once upon a time.
Peace and harmony
His commitments in his new role as cardinal, Bishop Sim said, would be the same, which to contribute to creating peace, harmony and goodwill in cooperation with citizens of different persuasions and religions. As Christians they need to contribute to build a better and more peaceful Brunei. For Bruneians, he explained, the commitment to peace has a very special significance as the name of their country means the “abode of peace”.
In this regard, the Church that has been in Brunei for more than 90 years, the bishop said, has contributed to the nation especially through its schools. Some 60 percent to 70 percent of students in the three Catholic schools of the country are Muslims.
Priorities
Speaking about enriching the faith based on the sense of the community, Bishop Sim said he has outlined several priorities for the Church in Brunei, such as Bible and faith information, youth and family pastoral care, promotion of priestly and religious vocations, evangelization and social welfare.
The Church, he explained, is not just the liturgy, which is very important, but it also needs to build relationship, first of all within the community, starting with the family and moving out to society, such as the place of work and study.
Currently, the Bruneian Church is in the last year of its 3-year focus on the family.
“Periphery within a periphery”
Regarding his sentiments for Pope Francis for choosing him as cardinal, Bishop Sim said he would like to thank him for “choosing someone from the peripheries”. Describing his Church as “periphery within a periphery”, he expressed admiration for the sacrifice and hard work of Catholics to build the Church by strengthening links within the community for over 90 years. Even though there are many thing that need to be change, he said, his Catholics have been very faithful and loyal to the Church.
He said the “Pope is understanding that the Church exists in those little places where there is not much publicity” but where the faith is very much alive. Hence he thanked the Holy Father for making this clear about Brunei.
Not “in our little bubble” world
He further explained that “as a Church we are not one little group of people, all isolated on our own in our little bubble”. Rather, the Church is much bigger and as a community, it cuts across all boundaries of race, colour, social status, migrant or with permanent residence, because “all of us are children, sons and daughters of Jesus Christ”. He said, all of us are called to understand and live by this, stressing “you cannot have God as your Father unless you have the Church as your Mother”.
In conclusion, Bishop Sim expressed his gratitude to those working in the media at Vatican News for updating and keeping in touch with the worldwide Church.
Bill Maher Pans Amy Coney Barrett’s Religion: ‘I Believe The Spanish Inquisition Had Fine People On Both Sides’
HBO host Bill Maher panned Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s religion during a Friday night segment on “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
Maher made the jokes about Barrett, who is Catholic, during a segment titled “24 Things You Don’t Know.”
“She is making it almost a completely Catholic court,” Maher told his guests before diving into the segment. “And she’s not just Catholic, she’s a Mel Gibson’s dad Catholic … This is a court that looks like ‘The Da Vinci Code’ now.”
WATCH:
Maher’s jokes included:
When my family plays Scrabble, we take out the letters l, g, b, t, and q.
I won’t eat Chinese food because fortune cookies look like vaginas.
When I’m stressed out I’ll eat a whole box of Eucharist.
I’m a classically trained liar.
My volleyball team was 10 and 3 against the other cults in our division.
I believe the Spanish Inquisition had fine people on both sides.
Barrett was confirmed Monday night by a 52-48 mostly partisan-line vote and immediately sworn in during a White House ceremony by Justice Clarence Thomas, who is also Catholic. (RELATED: Girl Scouts Delete Tweets Congratulating Amy Coney Barrett)
Currently, six of the nine Supreme Court justices are Roman Catholic. Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan are Jewish, while Neil Gorsuch is Episcopalian.
Cardinal Parolin to EU bishops: ‘May Christians be the soul of Europe’ – Vatican News
By Vatican Radio staff writer
Cardinal Pietro Parolin addressed COMECE’s 2020 Autumn Assembly inviting the European Bishops to put the Church in the frontline for a fairer and more solidary Europe during the long and difficult process of recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to the gathering on Wednesday, the first day of the Assembly, the Vatican Secretary of State also focused on the promotion of the common good through person-centred policies in the fields of sustainable human development, migration and environment.
Pope’s ‘Letter on Europe’
The Cardinal’s discourse came in the wake of Pope Francis’ “Letter on Europe” in which he encourages the Church in the EU not to restrict her mission to the private sphere while respecting the autonomy of political life.
Quoting the Pope’s encyclical letter Fratelli tutti, he said “[the Church] cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the building of a better world.”
Inviting all EU institutions, to “rediscover the path of fraternity that inspired and guided the founders of modern Europe”, Cardinal Parolin said the Church would be in the frontline of the long and arduous recovery process from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He described the effort as “an occasion to build a fairer and more solidary Europe that shares scientific research and investments for the production of vaccines and the care for the most vulnerable.”
Care for creation and migration policies
Cardinal Parolin also participated in a dialogue with the EU bishops during which they touched on a series of topics including the need to rethink the European identity and its values, the ongoing EU environmental initiatives such as the “Green Deal” and the “Next Generation EU”, both of which aim to promote solidarity among member states and foster an ecological conversion.
Another crucial topic that was discussed regards the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum that Parolin said: “marks a step forward, but also raises many doubts”. He also supported the idea of reviewing the “Dublin Regulation” for asylum seekers that, he said, needs to be honed towards policies that “welcome, protect, promote and integrate” migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
In compliance with the health protocol established by the authorities of the Brussels Region, the COMECE Assembly was held exclusively in a digital format.
Scores dead and injured in powerful quake in western Turkey – Vatican News
By Nathan Morley
Video footage from the region posted online showed collapsed buildings and vehicles destroyed by falling debris.
In a statement, the US Geological Survey said the shallow tremor measured 7.0 on the Richter Scale. Turkey lies on several of fault lines and is prone to earthquakes.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing in the ruins of eight buildings, despite a total of 470 aftershocks having occurred since the main tremor.
According to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority of Turkey, the death toll in the western province of Izmir increased to 25.
A total of 804 people were wounded by the tremor. Some 100 survivors have been pulled out alive from the debris so far.
Up to 5,000 emergency service workers and 20 search and rescue dogs have been taking part in the rescue effort.
The quake also shook Greece‘s Island of Samos where two high school students died and at least eight people were injured.
Cardinal-elect Gregory: a pastor shaped by a “wonderful legacy of faith” – Vatican News
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
October 25 will forever be etched in Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory’s personal history as well as that of 13 other clerics, prelates and other local Churches.
It would have been just past 7 am in Washington, D.C., when the Holy Father announced his intention to elevate that city’s Archbishop to the College of Cardinals.
Cardinal-designate Gregory spoke with Vatican News about how he heard the news, what his first thoughts were, how he hopes to represent his fellow African-Americans and how the various places in which he has lived and work have shaped his pastoral ministry.
Life-changing telephone call
Archbishop Gregory told us it was one of his close friends who first broke the news to him that Pope Francis had chosen him to be a cardinal.
“About five minutes after the Angelus concluded, I got a telephone call from Cardinal Kevin Farrell who said, ‘I want to be the first to congratulate you on being named to the College of Cardinals’.”
The Archbishop continued saying he had no prior knowledge of Pope Francis’s decision. On hearing the news, the first thought that went through his head was:
“I thought that God is good and how grateful I was to the Holy Father for this appointment and how I look forward to working closely with him in his ministry to the universal Church.”
Bearer of the African-American legacy
With this appointment, Archbishop Gregory will become the first Cardinal in the Church in the United States of African-American descent. He hopes his appointment is received, not only by his fellow African-Americans but also by all U.S. Catholics, as a “sign of the love and the respect that the Church universal has for us in our culture, our language, our traditions.”
Specifically, regarding his fellow African-Americans, his hope is that they see in his appointment a call for them to “be more deeply invested in their local parishes and their local dioceses.”
Legacy of faith a “proven treasure”
The Cardinal-elect describes the “wonderful legacy of faith” to which he belongs as one that “stretches back from the earliest days of our arrival on these shores – in chains,” but also a legacy containing “some bright and wonderful examples of faith and holiness in the lives of a number of people whose causes for canonization are already at the Holy See.”
Archbishop Gregory mentioned three of these people in particular: Pierre Toussaint, a slave who, after gaining his freedom in New York, performed numerous works of charity for those less fortunate than he; Father Augustus Tolton, a former slave and convert to Catholicism who, after his ordination, served in the Chicago area as well; Sr Thea Bowman, whom Archbishop describes as a “wonderful, wonderful, woman religious, whose presence and enthusiasm and whose vibrancy still resonate throughout the Church in the United States.”
“We’ve produced holy, generous, zealous Catholics from our cultural and racial tradition. And I hope they get more attention in many respects than I do because their contribution to the life of the church is already a proven treasure.”
Formed by people and places
Cardinal-elect Gregory’s pastoral ministry has been honed in varied places: the sprawling Midwest metropolis of Chicago; the rural diocese of Belleville, Illinois; the southern Archdiocese of Atlanta, home to one of the fastest-growing centers of Catholicism in the U.S.; and the nation’s capital.
He has “been blessed”, he says, “in each of those environments”. He is proud of his Chicago heritage that blessed him with his “entrance into the Church.” Serving in Southern Illinois for almost eleven years introduced him “into the wonderful world and faith traditions of rural Catholics, small-town Catholic communities.” In Atlanta, he “learned much about the heritage of the Church in the South and the great contributions that the people in Atlanta and the environs made to the Civil Rights Movement, the wonderful heritage of Dr King and so many of his colleagues whose lives enriched the Church in Atlanta.”
Since his appointment to the nation’s capital in April 2019, Archbishop Gregory is “finding out more about the wonderful legacy of faith of the people who have made Washington and its territory rich with their fidelity, their love, their generosity, and their endurance.”
Cardinal-elect Gregory wholeheartedly states that in all these places in which has had the “privilege” of serving, he has “found wonderful, loving people.”
Notwithstanding all the positive aspects each place with its people has presented, he has also been exposed and shaped by what he calls “the unseemly issues of racism and exclusion and inequity that are also a part of the legacy that I found in those variety of pastoral services.”
Looking forward to the new ministry
“I’m looking forward to finding out how the Holy Father intends to celebrate this consistory,” given the current health crisis, the Cardinal-delegate said in concluding his interview. “And I will do whatever the Holy Father asks not only at this moment but throughout my ministry as one of his cardinals.”
Beatification of Fr. Michael McGivney: Example for post-pandemic parish renewal – Vatican News
By Devin Watkins
Father Michael J. McGivney is set to be beatified in a special Mass celebrated by Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Archbishop of Newark, on Saturday.
The celebration takes place at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, in the US state of Connecticut.
Though the beatification occurs on American soil, Catholics around the world have reason to be grateful for the life and witness of Fr. McGivney.
He founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882, at his parish in New Haven, Connecticut. The fraternal charitable organization now counts over two million members organized into some 16,000 local chapters spread throughout the world.
Timely event for US Church
In an interview with Vatican News, Supreme Knight Sir Carl Anderson expressed Catholics’ gratitude to Pope Francis for recognizing the Christian witness of Fr. McGivney.
“I think this is precisely the type of event that’s so important to happen in America today,” he said, adding that during Fr. McGivney’s time, the US was missionary territory.
“Fr. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus because he was very concerned that Catholics were leaving the faith. Men were leaving to join secret societies, which often in the US were anti-Catholic, and families were being broken up on the death of the bread-winner—the father—because of poverty.”
Fraternity and mutual support
So, he set up the organization to provide fraternal support for men and financial aid to their families in case of their death, through life-insurance policies. This provided a life-line for working class and immigrant Catholics, who had weak support networks.
“Fr. McGivney wanted to keep his parishioners and parish families strong in the faith.”
In 19th century America, added Mr. Anderson, anti-Catholic sentiment was very strong, so there was a risk that Catholics would withdraw from society and form ghettos.
“But instead, Fr. McGivney’s idea was, ‘No, we’re going to go into society. We’re going to make a difference. And we’re going to do it in terms of charity and unity, under the idea of brotherhood.’”
Similar circumstances
Mr. Anderson drew a parallel between the challenges facing the American Church today and back then.
“The crisis now,” he pointed out, “is the lockdown of parishes, the reduced number of parishioners who attend Mass. Church services are drastically reduced. When those restrictions are lifted, we’re going to have to bring people back.”
Getting Catholics to return to Mass, he said, will likely prove somewhat difficult. “We’re going to need a way of renewing parish life.”
Missionary example of parish renewal
Mr. Anderson said Fr. McGivney has already laid out a path, by making every parish missionary, “evangelizing his parishioners, finding ways to keep his parishioners active in his parish.”
That’s why, said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, Fr. McGivney’s idea of “Christian and missionary witness of the ordinary believer is so important today.”
