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European Council President Charles Michel To Discuss Recent And Next EU Summit With MEPs

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European Council President Charles Michel To Discuss Recent And Next EU Summit With MEPs

From 9.15, MEPs are to assess the results of the special European Council meeting, in particular on escalating tensions between Turkey and its EU neighbours.

On Tuesday morning, European Council President Charles Michel will present the outcome of the summit, including on other Foreign Affairs topics such as relations with China, the situation in Belarus and the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.

EU-UK relations

MEPs will also look ahead to the next regular European Council meeting, to be held 15-16 October, with a focus on the EU’s Climate Law and the state of the negotiations on the future EU-UK partnership including preparing for all scenarios after 1 January 2021.

You can follow the debate live on Parliament’s webstreaming and on EbS+ .

Only four countries in Europe are below a critical coronavirus threshold

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Only four countries in Europe are below a critical coronavirus threshold
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control’s (ECDC) coronavirus alarm threshold is 20 cases per 100,000 people on a seven-day average. Beyond that, the agency says, the risk of Covid-19 is high, with a very high probability of infection, while vulnerable individuals face a “very high impact” from the disease.
And the situation is looking precarious. Only Germany (18.4 cases per 100,000), Finland (15.5), Cyprus (14.6) and Norway (13.9) fall below this case threshold, ECDC data showed on Monday. At the other end of the scale are the Czech Republic (167.6), the Netherlands (140.3) and France (120.3).
The death rate has also been rising in Europe and sustained increases in case levels have been recorded in 27 countries, the agency said Thursday in its weekly report.
Countries are also introducing new restrictions in order to curb the spread:
  • In Ireland, the National Public Health Emergency Team has reportedly recommended placing the whole country on the highest level of restrictions
  • Iceland has brought in a range of new rules, including restrictions on gatherings and the closure of some leisure facilities.
  • France’s capital is on the verge of a fresh lockdown, with the greater Paris area classified as a “maximum alert” zone.
  • The Czech Republic has entered a state of emergency.
  • Central districts in Berlin have been classified as risk areas by Germany’s health body.
Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is self-isolating after participating in a meeting that was attended by a person who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. She tested negative for the virus for the second time on Monday.
And the health authority in England admitted that thousands of infections had not been included in the UK’s coronavirus case tally due to a “technical issue.”

Paris faces new lockdown

Paris is on the verge of a fresh lockdown as coronavirus cases surge in France.
Prime Minister Jean Castex confirmed that the greater Paris area will be classified as a “maximum alert” zone, forcing bars to close, with measures in effect from Tuesday.
A press release from Castex’s office said the region has crossed the three thresholds that would put it in such an alert category: disease incidence rate, incidence rate for the elderly and occupancy rate of resuscitation beds by Covid-19 patients.
As part of measures expected to stay in place until October 16, restaurants will remain open providing they respect new health measures, but gyms will stay closed and the sale and consumption of alcohol in public spaces after 10 p.m. will be forbidden, Paris police chief Didier Lallement said. Organized public gatherings of more than 1,000 and gatherings of more than 10 will be banned, although demonstrations will be allowed, Lallement said.
On Saturday, the country recorded 16,972 new Covid-19 cases over 24 hours, surpassing last week’s previous daily record. According to Aurélien Rousseau, the head of Paris’ health authority, more than 36% of ICU beds in the region are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients.

Ireland mulls highest restrictions

Ireland’s chief medical officer Dr. Tony Holohan will on Monday meet the Covid-19 Oversight Group of top civil servants to discuss the latest National Public Health Emergency Team recommendations, which suggest placing the placing country under Level 5 restrictions — the highest level of measures, RTÉ reports.
If introduced, Level 5 restrictions would see all retailers except those deemed essential closed, while social gatherings would be restricted and people restricted to exercising within 5 kilometers of their homes.

EU leader enters self-isolation

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is self-isolating after participating in a meeting that was attended by a person who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19, she announced on Twitter.
Von der Leyen said on Monday that she tested negative for the virus, and would continue to self isolate until Tuesday evening, having previously announced that she tested negative for the virus last Thursday.
Under Belgian government rules, von der Leyen is required to quarantine for seven days after coming into contact with a Covid-19 positive person.
Eric Mamer, the EU Commission’s chief spokesman, said von der Leyen would not be able to attend Tuesday’s European Parliament plenary session or the EU/Ukraine summit.

Czech Republic in state of emergency

A state of emergency has been introduced in the Czech Republic — which saw some initial success in curbing the spread of the virus — to help to curb the country’s accelerating growth of new Covid-19 cases, and to to relieve pressure on the health care system as a total of 1,841 new cases were recorded on Sunday.
The 30 days of measures — the second state of emergency implemented this year — will enable the authorities to legally declare and enforce various anti-coronavirus measures without government approval, according to the health ministry.
According to the restrictions, which are not as as draconian as they were during the first state of emergency from March to May, primary schools will remain open but secondary schools will close in the most affected areas for two weeks. Singing is banned in all schools, while no more than six people are allowed at tables in bars and restaurants, which can remain open until 10 p.m.
Indoor events are limited to 10 people and outdoor events to 20 people, while operas, musicals and other singing performances are banned for two weeks. Religious services are limited to 100 people and singing is banned during religious services.

Thousands of cases were missed off UK figures

The number of reported coronavirus infections in the UK jumped on Sunday to a new daily record of 22,961 on Sunday, nearly double the previous record for a single day, as it emerged that thousands of infections were not included in previously published daily figures, according to Public Health England (PHE).
The agency admitted that they failed to report a further 15,841 positive cases between September 25 and October 2 because of a “technical issue,” it said in a statement. The majority of these cases occurred in recent days, PHE said.
The UK’s opposition Labour Party criticized the government’s failure to report the infections at a time when a second wave of positive cases are being seen across the country, calling the mistake “shambolic.”
Sunday’s significant increase in reported cases means the UK’s total has now surpassed more than half a million infections since the start of the pandemic.

Sections of central Berlin at risk

Large parts of central Berlin have been classified as risk areas after the areas surpassed the country’s crucial incidence rate of 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
The districts — Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Mitte, Tempelhof-Schoeneberg and Neukoelln — have been labeled red on the website of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German agency for disease control and prevention. As of Monday morning, Germany has more than 300,000 coronavirus cases, according to the RKI. The death toll has climbed to 9,534.
On Friday, Germany reported 2,673 new coronavirus infections — its highest number of daily infections since April 18.

New rules in Iceland

New restrictions came into effect in Iceland on midnight on October 5, as virus cases have continued to rise since mid-September. According to the restrictions, in force until October 19, gyms, pubs, clubs and casinos are to be closed, and no more than 20 people can gather, with some exceptions including for parliament and funerals.
Primary and secondary schools will remain open as usual, but colleges and universities will not permit more than 25 people in the same space.

CNN’s James Frater reported from Brussels. Amy Woodyatt wrote from London. Inga Thordar, Sharon Braithwaite, Frederik Pleitgen, Stephanie Halasz ,Tomas Etzler, Pierre Bairin, Jonny Hallam and Livia Borghese contributed reporting.

Kurdish authorities to remove Syrians from overcrowded al-Hol camp, leaving foreigners

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Kurdish authorities to remove Syrians from overcrowded al-Hol camp, leaving foreigners

Authorities in northeastern Syria have said they will remove Syrians from the al-Hol displacement camp, and relinquish any responsibility for foreign nationals being held there.

The Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, also known as Rojava, said that the overcrowded camp, which currently houses about 68,000 people, including nearly 43,000 children, was proving to be a “heavy burden” that they could no longer manage.

‘The self-administration does not have to pay exorbitant sums in order to provide these people with food and other things’

– Ilham Ahmed, Syrian Democratic Council

“A decision will be issued to empty the Syrians from the camp completely. Those who remain in the camp will not be the responsibility of the self-administration,” said Ilham Ahmed, president of the executive committee of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), on Sunday.

“The self-administration does not have to pay exorbitant sums in order to provide these people with food and other things,” said Ahmed.

“Besides the problems that arise daily including assassinations, rape and so on.”

Al-Hol has been used to hold thousands of people who fled from or were swept up in fighting between Kurdish-led forces and Islamic State fighters as the militant group lost control of territory it had previously held in northeastern Syria in 2019.

Many residents, among them several thousand foreign nationals, are suspected of links to IS.

Local officials have reported several incidents of IS followers attacking guards or aid workers in al-Hol in recent months, or attempting to escape.

Human Rights Watch has described the camp as having “filthy and often inhuman and life-threatening conditions”.

‘Least radical’ transferred

Last month, the administration said it was transferring the “least radical” foreign women and children out of al-Hol to begin rehabilitation.

Western countries have been urged by Kurdish authorities and by the United States, which spearheaded the international coalition against IS, to take responsibility for their own citizens being held in the region.

The US last week said it had repatriated the last of 27 Americans known to be in Syrian custody, charging four men with supporting IS.

“The United States continues to lead by example by working with the Syrian Democratic Forces to repatriate American citizens accused of supporting ISIS and, where appropriate, prosecuting their alleged crimes in American courts,” said Ambassador Nathan Sales, State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism.

“We call on other nations, particularly in western Europe, to take responsibility for their citizens.”

Italy also last week charged a woman repatriated from Syria with her three children, but many western countries have been largely reluctant to repatriate their own citizens.

Beatrice Eriksson, a spokesperson for Repatriate the Children Sweden, told Middle East Eye: “The decision made by the Autonomous Administration shows that the situation is unsustainable and urgent action must be taken by each government that has citizens stranded in the area.”

Repatriate the Children Sweden is part of an international network of campaign groups calling on governments to bring home children and other nationals being held in the camp.

Eriksson said there was estimated to be about 25 women, 10 men and 50-70 Swedish children still in Kurdish custody in Syria.

She also cited comments by General Kenneth McKenzie, the US’s military commander in the Middle East, who warned of the danger of an IS resurgence if the issue of the detainees was not resolved.

“The fact that Italy repatriated citizens last week shows that the window for repatriation still is open. However, it can soon be too late. In this issue humanitarian principles, rule of law and perspective of global security must be united,” said Eriksson.

Is Macron really working to de-radicalise Islam?

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Is Macron really working to de-radicalise Islam?

As he revealed his plan to fight “separatism” in France, President Emmanuel Macron referred to the preference given to religious law over the country’s republican and secular values by Muslim citizens. In doing so, he put himself on a collision course with Islam and Muslims in his attempt to fight “Islamic radicalism” in France.

Macron indicated that he would be a spearhead in this battle, no doubt in the hope that other world leaders will follow suit. He insisted that he would make “no concessions” in his plan to crackdown on Islam and Muslims in France. “Islam is a religion that is in crisis all over the world today,” he claimed, “we are not just seeing this in our country.”

He wants to protect the French laïcité, the separation of church and state dating from 1905 which supposedly keeps the state neutral in terms of religion, leaving people free to follow any faith that they choose. “Secularism is the cement of a united France,” he said.

The French president said that he will submit a bill in December that will solve the problems which arise in the name of religion. In the meantime, he accuses Muslims of seeking to separate themselves from the Republic and therefore not respect its secular laws.

READ: France’s Macron condemns Lebanon leaders for ‘betraying’ reforms roadmap

His bill will thus seek to prevent Muslim children from attending boarding schools which offer Islamic education along with the secular French syllabus. It will also prevent distance learning for Muslim students who are not allowed to join government schools because, for example, they are girls who insist on wearing hijab.

The bill will also crack down on mosques, as it will prevent foreign Imams from being invited to lead prayers during Ramadan and end the system of “seconded Imams” which allows them to be trained in Muslim countries like Algeria, Morocco and Turkey before moving to France.

Macron’s speech offended France’s six million Muslims, who accused him of “stirring up Islamophobic and racist feeling.” There were also reports of many Muslims around the world accusing him of spreading hatred and inciting violence.

Away from the Muslim backlash, it’s worth looking at his proposed bill. In a secular state, there should be mutual tolerance between people of different faiths and the state should be neutral and not discriminate in its dealings with its citizens irrespective of their religion. Freedom of religion is actually stipulated in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”

Is Macron planning to violate Muslims’ rights in France in order to develop a secularised “French Islam”? This would not be a surprise, as France has a track record of violating human rights and passing discriminatory laws targeting Muslims. In 2010, for example, Muslim women were banned from wearing hijab in government schools and public spaces, and in 2015 the one-piece “burkini” swimsuit was banned on public beaches and in public pools. Muslim women were thus ordered by law to reveal their bodies in public, against the tenets of their faith.

READ: The Paris attacks and the curse of popular names

According to Lanna Hollo, a senior legal officer with the Open Society Justice Initiative in Paris, Macron, French politicians and French laws are mainly targeting Muslims, who are “best allies” to the police in maintaining public order. “Discrimination against minority communities is not only unlawful, but it is also counterproductive,” wrote Hollo. “Repression and discriminatory treatment invariably breed resentment and reaction.”

Hassen Chalghoumi is a moderate French Imam in a suburb of Paris. He told the New York Times that “[He] thinks conversions have also been propelled by France’s official secularism, which he says breeds spiritual emptiness.” Secularism, he pointed out, “has become antireligious.”

Macron claims that his bill is necessary after attacks carried out by Muslims, including the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine which published satirical cartoons of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and that it aims to crack down on extremism and radicalism among converts to Islam. I am sceptical about this, because only genuine religious and even secular education can counter this negative phenomenon among Muslims, including converts.

Protesters against the reprinting of the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Istanbul, on 13 September 2020 [OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images]

Protesters against the reprinting of the cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad by the French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Istanbul on 13 September 2020 [OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images]

Rigid rules in France push young Muslims and converts to drop out of education. Emilie, a 14-year-old French girl who converted to Islam was obliged to quit her school after she was banned from wearing the hijab. Emilie was taken to a reformatory by the Justice Ministry, which handles difficult cases involving minors, from delinquency to radicalisation.

“They were worried that I had radicalised, when that wasn’t the case at all,” she explained. “I just wanted to practice my religion in the way that made sense to me.” If Emilie was not a Muslim at that time, she would have been radicalised at the reformatory due to the harsh interrogation and staying with difficult youngsters. She would not have received the education needed at her age.

READ: Macron has toned down his anti-Turkey rhetoric, but is it enough?

“Islam has a peaceful effect on converts,” Samir Amghar, a sociologist and an expert on radical Islam in Europe told the New York Times. “The world looks clearer [to converts] after they’ve converted.” He pointed out that Islam provides more structure and discipline than other religions.

The Atlantic reported evidence about this when it found that people who carried out the attacks in Paris and Nice “were not pious Muslims who regularly attended mosques, even though they killed in the name of the religion.” It said that Redouane Lakdim, the Carcassone and Trèbes attacker who was killed in 2004, “had been jailed in 2015 and 2016 for firearms and drug possession, respectively, and was known to be active on Salafi websites.”

The French pursuit of Islam and Muslims is illogical. “We’re in the process of trying to organise a religion that concerns six million people in France, in order to prevent 200 of them from becoming terrorists,” Olivier Roy, a scholar on Islam and professor at the European University Institute in Florence told the magazine. “Can’t we see that it’s absurd?” He noted that “it’s up to Muslims” to assess and make reforms regarding their religion, not the state.

Macron’s claims about Islam and Muslims are refuted easily. I would suggest, therefore, that he is indeed “stirring up Islamophobic and racist feeling so as to appeal to far-right voters” and is desperately trying to escape from his repeated policy failures at home and abroad. Is the French President really working to de-radicalise Islam? Not at all; he just wants to be re-elected.

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p class=”disclaimer”>The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Saving Lives by Donating Plasma: Why Are Shincheonji’s Good Deeds Ignored?

By
Juan Sanchez Gil
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shincheonji church donating plasma
Shincheonji church donating plasma

Eileen Barker, Europe’s most senior scholar of new religions, notes in her entry “New Religious Movements” in the 2020 SAGE Encyclopedia of the Sociology of Religions, that “one does not often see reports of the charitable work in which many of the NRMs engage,” even if it is sometimes “outstanding.” That this happens, is evidence of the phenomenon social scientists call “gatekeeping.” For different reasons, the media filters out the news that do not correspond to certain agendas or established stereotypes. New religious movements, derogatorily identified as “cults” are by definition malignant, and cannot do anything good.

There are two ways gatekeeping works in this field. First, charitable deeds performed by new religious movements are ignored, or get much less coverage than their alleged wrongdoings. Second, when their good work is just too visible to be ignored, it is reluctantly reported, but immediately interpreted as motivated by a hidden agenda.

The media often claim that humanitarian activities carried out by new religious movements are “fronts” for public relations, or for converting others under the false pretext of helping. This “paradigm of suspicion” may be criticized on two accounts. First, it is in turn suspicious that critics do not raise these objections when good deeds are performed by the Catholic Church, the Methodists, or other mainline religious organizations. In these cases, it is understood that their good work is done in good faith, out of a sincere desire for a better world, rather than for self-promotion purposes. Only the activities of new religious movements are accused of dissimulating hidden motivations.

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Saving Lives by Donating Plasma: Why Are Shincheonji’s Good Deeds Ignored? 6

A vicious circle is thus created. If new religious movements only spend their time in missionary activities, it is objected that this is typical of “cults,” which devote all their energies to proselytization, while “real” religions help suffering human beings. But, if new religious movements engage in charitable, social, or health activities, it is argued that these are only “fronts” and public relations exercises.

In the case of Shincheonji, one of the largest Korean Christian new religious movements, the “paradigm of suspicion” was constantly used to dismiss and criticize the activities of Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), the humanitarian and peace organization created and led by Shincheonji’s founder, Chairman Lee Man Hee. Although most speakers at international events organized by HWPL, rather than members of Shincheonji, are political and religious leaders with no interest in converting to new religions, opponents maintain that Lee uses HWPL as a proselytization tool, which is demonstrably false. The campaigns HWPL promoted in the field of peace education, cooperating with UN agencies, were non-sectarian and certainly not aimed at proselytization on behalf of Shincheonji, and the same is true for other HWPL campaigns and events.

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Saving Lives by Donating Plasma: Why Are Shincheonji’s Good Deeds Ignored? 7

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shincheonji was accused of negligence in cooperating with the authorities after one of its female members in the South Korean city of Daegu, before being diagnosed with the virus, infected directly or indirectly thousands of co-religionists. This set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the arrest of Chairman Lee and other Shincheonji leaders. As we have argued elsewhere, the reaction by the authorities has been so disproportionate that the suspicion that COVID-19 was used as a pretext to hit a movement unpopular among both fundamentalist Protestants, an important electoral constituency in South Korea, and the current South Korean political leadership, which is afraid of criticism by Christian churches in general for both its domestic and foreign policy, is difficult to escape.

Late August and September 2020 saw a new and significant development. The plasma of those who have been infected with COVID-19 and have recovered contains naturally formed antibodies and may work as a “natural vaccine,” which would at least lower the risk of death among those hit by the virus. In South Korea, this possibility has been identified and studied early, yet not many donors have been willing to cooperate. On July 12, media reported that, “out of some 12,000 recovered COVID-19 patients who could donate blood for the cause, just 361 have so far shown interest and only 171 had volunteered.”

In March already, Shincheonji had announced that his members who had contracted the virus and had recovered were ready to become plasma donors. At that time, the offer was ignored. In September, however, when plasma of recovered COVID-19 patients was both in high demand and scarce, the availability of Shincheonji members to donate plasma met with gratitude. As of September 6, more than 1,600 Shincheonji members who went through the cycle of infection and recovery had donated their plasma.

This generous availability was mentioned by some domestic and international media, including the BBC, but the number of media reports was low when compared to the hundreds of articles that in March had exposed Shincheonji, quite inaccurately, as a cult of plague-spreaders.

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Saving Lives by Donating Plasma: Why Are Shincheonji’s Good Deeds Ignored? 8

Slowly, however, the story became too newsworthy to be ignored. While very few recovered COVID-19 patients in South Korea had volunteered to donate plasma, those from Shincheonji willing to cooperate were in the thousands and growing. Opponents, thus, mobilized the second tool of gatekeeping. While the Shincheonji plasma donation story was impossible to ignore, critics argued that it was a public relations exercise, and a way to divert attention from the previously alleged non-cooperation with the authorities. It is true that some Korean media changed their attitude after a new wave of COVID-19 cases hit the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, a conservative Evangelical church led by Pastor Jun Kwang-hoon. They confronted the attitudes of Sarang Jeil and Shincheonji and correctly concluded that the latter had been much more cooperative with the health authorities than the former. Other media, however, continued to dismiss Shincheonji’s plasma donations as propaganda.

This was grossly unfair, and indicative of the critics’ prejudice. As the meager results of previous appeals proved, South Korean citizens (as it happened in other countries) are generally reluctant to donate plasma. Side effects such as fatigue, dehydration, and dizziness may exist. Also, in times of COVID-19 hospitals and health facilities in general are often regarded as dangerous places.

Confronted with this situation, why did so many Shincheonji members who had recovered from COVID-19 volunteer to donate plasma? It is true that we cannot exclude a willingness to publicly state that they are good South Korean citizens, unfairly maligned and depicted as anti-social and sinister by the media and some politicians. But there should be more.

Shincheonji teaches that we live in the times described in the Bible in the Book of Revelation, and will soon enter a glorious Millennium. While God would be able to usher in the Millennium without human help, he prefers to seek our cooperation. Acts of charity and kindness, Shincheonji devotees believe, have cosmic consequences, well beyond the limited mundane aim of improving the image of their religion.

It is for this reason that thousands of them have volunteered for peace education and other campaigns of HWPL. And it is also for this reason that thousands rush to donate their plasma. One of the negative effects of gatekeeping applied to unpopular millenarian religions is that it leaves out the essential. Those who believe that the Millennium is at hand and that God asks our cooperation in creating his kingdom, do not need other motivations to perform charitable, humanitarian deeds that benefit society in general, including those who regard the Millennium as a delusion.

European Parliament discussing rule of law in Bulgaria

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European Parliament discussing rule of law in Bulgaria

At 8 pm Bulgarian time, MEPs are discussing a resolution on Bulgaria that is to be voted on October 8. Only speakers pre-selected by parliamentary groups are to talk. Positions remain polarized between defenders of the resolution, which was adopted by the Committee on Civil Liberties last week and their opponents of the European People’s Party, BNR has reported.

<p><b>MEP and leader of the Party of European Socialists, Sergey Stanishev, said  it was time for the EPP to show will by supporting the document. Chairman of  the EPP group, Manfred Weber, commented on Twitter on protests in Bulgaria,  pointing out that the solution for the future government of the country was regular elections in March 2021.</b></p>    <p>Before the start of debates, Prof. Velislav Minekov, one of the leaders of  anti-government protests, together with other Bulgarians, is to speak in  front of the European Parliament building.</p>    <br/></span>

Grand Imam: ‘Pope Francis restores to humanity its consciousness’ – Vatican News

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Grand Imam: ‘Pope Francis restores to humanity its consciousness' - Vatican News

On Sunday, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb tweeted his reaction to Pope Francis’s Encyclical, Fratelli tutti.

Via twitter, the Grand Imam said:

“My brother, Pope Francis’s message, Fratelli tutti, is an extension of the Document on Human Fraternity, and reveals a global reality in which the vulnerable and marginalized pay the price for unstable positions and decisions… It is a message that is directed to people of good will, whose consciences are alive and restores to humanity consciousness.”

Al-Tayyeb co-signed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together with Pope Francis in February 2019 in Abu Dhabi.

Fratelli tutti is the Pope’s third Encyclical, and contains several citations from the Document on Human Fraternity.

US Hispanic/Latino culture mirrors Pope Francis’s vision of of fraternity and social friendship – Vatican News

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By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Catholics of Hispanic/Latino descent are in the midst of celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States. Running from 15 September to 15 October, the annual observance provides Catholic Hispanic/Latinos the opportunity of exploring their own contribution in the life of the wider Catholic community in the country.

This year, the month has significant meaning as the Hispanic/Latino Catholic community continues to process the national V Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry that took place in 2018. This year’s observance, however, also coincides with the publication of Pope Francis’s new Encyclical Fratelli tutti.

In an interview with Bishop Cepeda, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and Chairman of the United States Bishops’ Subcommittee on Hispanic Affairs, explains the gifts that Hispanic/Latino Catholics contribute. These gifts fit in well with Pope Francis’s proposal of fraternity and social friendship in the Encyclical and are well understood by Hispanic/Latino Catholics because, as Bishop Cepeda says, “the Pope speaks our language”.

Context of Hispanic/Latino Catholics in the U.S.

Hispanic Heritage Month highlights the “historic and current contribution of Hispanic and Latinos and their leadership in all spheres of our Church and our society”, Bishop Cepeda says. In preparation for the last V Encuentro in 2018, he says that significant demographic research was conducted. That research shows that “from 1990 to 2016 the U.S. Hispanic/Latino Catholic population increased by about 13.7 million, while the overall U.S. Catholic population only increased by about 3.6 million.”

This growth is “something to be celebrated”, the Bishop continues. In 2016, about 52% of the general Hispanic/Latino population identified themselves as Catholic when surveyed. If the Hispanic/Latino population continues to grow at the same rate, they will represent about 60% of the Catholic population in the U.S. in the year 2040, Bishop Cepeda says.

Listen to the interview with Bishop Cepeda

Particular gifts

The most important gift that Hispanic/Latino Catholics bring to the Church in the U.S. is the faith, Bishop Cepeda says.

“We celebrate our faith within our Church, in our communities. We celebrate our faith with our families, and we want to continue to celebrate our faith in the larger context of our society.”

Bishop Cepeda then says one of the greatest gifts is the “sense of community…that sense of being together, of solidarity, of being united with our own planet, celebrating and respecting life, our own Catholic traditions, our great love for Our Lady and the celebration of our faith through the sacraments.”

This is a sign of hope, the Bishop says, in a society divided by racism that is also grappling with Covid. “We find strength within our families”, he said, “and I think that’s one of the greatest gifts –  and that openness to talk to one another, to listen to one another and to be able to encounter one another.”

Latinos with a Latino Pope

It was with “great joy” that the Hispanic/Latino population in the U.S. received the news that a fellow Latino had been elected Pope in 2013.

“He speaks our language. He knows our hearts and we are together with him. … The best thing about Evangelii gaudium when he talks about a culture of encounter, he’s speaking our language. And I think that’s so important for us when he invites us to take the first step, to go as a Church that is not afraid to be missionary, that is not afraid to take that first step, to primeriar. We understand that language. And I think that really helps us to move forward as missionary disciples.”

Pope appoints members of Commission for Confidential Matters – Vatican News

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Pope appoints members of Commission for Confidential Matters - Vatican News

By Vatican News

Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Kevin Farrell as President of the Commission for Confidential Matters, and Archbishop Filippo Iannone as Secretary. He also named Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, and Father Juan Antonio Guerrero, SJ, as Members of the Commission.

The Holy See Press Office released the news on Monday, saying the Holy Father made the appointments on 29 September.

The Commission was provided for in the new Procurement Code, in order to “supervise” certain contracts which, due to their characteristics, go beyond the rules of the Code itself.

Its task will be to establish on a case-by-case basis which acts of an economic nature require a degree of confidentiality.

In order to understand the meaning of the decision, it is necessary to return to what is read in the “Rules on transparency, control and competition in the procedures for awarding public contracts of the Holy See and Vatican City State”, which was published in June.

Article 4 of the document, which was approved by the Pope and defined as the Procurement Code, specifies that the application of the law was to be applied to all public contracts with the exception of certain cases.

Cases to which the law does not apply – stated in point “d” of the same article – include “contracts entered into directly by the Secretariat of State and the Governorate, if their competence concerns the following”:

–        “They are necessary to fulfill international obligations, if the same instrument directly dictates the rules for awarding contracts”;

–        “They are financed in whole or in part by an international organization or an international financial institution, and the contracting parties have agreed on the applicable award procedures”;

–        “They deal with matters covered by the obligation of secrecy set forth in article 39 of the Motu Proprio La Cura Vigilantessima“;

–        “They are concerned with the Office and security of the Roman Pontiff, the Holy See and the Universal Church, or are necessary or essential to ensure the Church’s mission in the world and guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the Holy See or the Vatican City State.”

Article 4 of the Procurement Code concludes with a brief paragraph (paragraph 2), in which it was specified that “An oversight Committee appointed by the Superior Authority shall supervise the Contracts referred to in paragraph 1, point “d” above.”

The Commission set up in recent days therefore assumes these oversight and supervisory tasks.

Bishops of Australia, US welcome new Encyclical “Fratelli tutti” – Vatican News

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Bishops of Australia, US welcome new Encyclical “Fratelli tutti” - Vatican News

By Vatican News

Pope Francis published his third Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti on Fraternity and Social Friendship on Sunday.

Welcoming the Encyclical, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, the President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, said in a statement on Sunday that a world that looks beyond a global pandemic with no roadmap can find one in the new Encyclical which “is not just for believers but for the entire human family.”

He added that it is “a vision of the dignity of every human being from which flows the call to build a new culture of fraternity and dialogue.”

Brothers and sisters all

Archbishop Coleridge pointed out that the Pope’s latest encyclical differs from the 2015 Laudato si in which he spoke of care of our common home. In Fratelli tutti he speaks of care for each other and the family that dwells together in our common home.

He noted that the Pope expresses his desire that, by acknowledging the dignity of each person, we might contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. The Holy Father also enjoins everyone to dream “as a single human family… each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.”

Need for solidarity

The Archbishop said the Pope had started work on the Encyclical before the Covid-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the important need for solidarity even more, as it has created in many a “sense of interdependence of communities and the fragility of human beings left to themselves.”

Reiterating Pope Francis’s words, he pointed out that our worst response after the health crisis passes would be to plunge into “feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation.” 

He added that the “current divisions and conflicts are a road to nowhere”, and enjoined that after this we no longer think in terms of “them” and “those”, but only “us.” 

Unity, not division

Archbishop Coleridge also underscored the Pope’s call against ideologies that seek to divide rather than unite, and policies or economic systems that priorities profit over people and the planet.

In particular, he pointed out that those that the Pope describes certain people as often undervalued or treated inequitably – women, older people, unborn children, indigenous peoples, and migrants. The Archbishop said these are people who are also left on the margins in Australia. He therefore warns against thinking that the Pope’s message only regards other parts of the world.

Concluding, Archbishop Coleridge said that in the Encyclical, Pope Francis gives a “grand yet simple vision of human interconnectedness” as we are all connected in ways we can scarcely imagine.

“Our task now is to work out what this means in practice as we look beyond the pandemic,” Archbishop Coleridge said.

US Bishops

In the same vein, Archbishop José H. Gomez, president of the US Bishops’ Conference issued a statement on Sunday welcoming the new Encyclical.

“On behalf of the Catholic Church in the United States, I welcome the Holy Father’s new encyclical letter on human fraternity. Like Laudato si before it, Fratelli tutti is an important contribution to the Church’s rich tradition of social doctrine.”

He said the Pope’s teaching in the encyclical is “profound and beautiful;” highlighting that God has created every human being with “equal sanctity and dignity, equal rights and duties” and that God calls us to “form a single human family in which we live as brothers and sisters.”

Implications for Church and society

Archbishop Gomez highlighted that the Pope’s message reminds us of God’s plan for humanity which has implications for every aspect of our lives, including our personal relationships and how we organize our societies and economies.

Thus, in analyzing conditions in the world today, the Pope gives a “powerful and urgent vision for the moral renewal of politics and political and economic institutions”, which call us to build a common future that serves the good of the human person.

He also pointed out that for the Church, the Pope challenges us to overcome “individualism in our culture and to serve our neighbors in love, seeing Jesus Christ in every person, and seeking a society of Justice and mercy, compassion and mutual concern.”

Concluding, he prayed that Catholics and all people of goodwill may reflect on the Pope’s words and “enter into a new commitment to seek the unity of the human family.”

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