Crux Now

Pope trip to Congo won't happen until after elections, says Vatican ambassador

Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, the papal nuncio to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, says there is a danger that if Pope Francis visits the country before elections are organized, politicians could use the visit to score political points. He also called the Congo a “predatory state” where politicians are more concerned about amassing wealth than taking care of the needs of the people.

Up and down Latin America, it's been a busy week in Catholic news

Although the Church in Latin America, just like the rest of the developed world, seems to be losing both numbers and its hold on national affairs steadily with every year that passes, it's still the most Catholic zone on the global map, and there's never any shortage of Church happenings "south of the border." Here's a round-up of what's been going on lately in Chile, Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil.

Vatican calls alleged bombshell over vanished girl 'false and ridiculous'

Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi, known for his role in the "Vatileaks 2.0" affair, published a purported bombshell document on Monday allegedly showing the Vatican spent a half-billion lira between 1983 and 1997 on a 15-year-old girl and daughter of a Vatican bank employee who vanished -- but the catch is, right now there's no way of knowing if the document is real or a fake.

Catholic hostel in India closed by local government
- Nirmala Carvalho
- September 20, 2017
A hostel was established in 1997 by the local Catholic diocese in central India to help members of the tribal community, who often have no access to education. It was recently closed by the local government and the students sent to a state-run facility. Bishop Anthony Chirayath of the Syro-Malabar Diocese of Sagar said the closing of the facility is just another case of persecution against the minuscule Christian minority.
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Pope, Bolivian bishops discuss rise of 'parallel' churches
- Junno Arocho Esteves
- September 19, 2017
Bolivian bishops in Rome for their ad limina visit spoke to Pope Francis about the rise of problematic groups in the country, also known as “parallel churches,” that are made of priests who have been suspended from their ministry and “seminarians who have claimed autonomy and distance from the church.”
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Church leaders condemn possible massacre of indigenous in Amazon
- Barbara Fraser
- September 19, 2017
In a statement from the Pan-Amazonian Church Network (REPAM) responding to reports of a possible massacre, Church leaders called for authorities in Brazil to “quickly clarify the circumstances in which this act of profound violence allegedly occurred and implement immediate measures to protect the life and territory of the indigenous peoples of Vale do Javari.”
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In Vatican trial, question remains: Whose reputations are on the line?
- John L. Allen Jr.
- September 19, 2017
As the latest major Vatican criminal trial resumed on Tuesday, judges seemed to challenge claims by the main defendant that spending $500,000 from funds belonging to a papally-sponsored children’s hospital to remodel the private apartment of a Vatican cardinal was entirely routine and above-board. As the trial plays out, the reputations of both that cardinal and Pope Francis’s broader financial reform appear at stake.
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Pope Francis sends letter for centennial celebration of Mother Cabrini in Chicago
- Christopher White
- September 19, 2017
As the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus gather in Chicago this week to mark the centennial of the death of their founder Mother Cabrini, Pope Francis sent them hailing Cabrini as a model for our times. “The great migrations underway today need guidance filled with love and intelligence similar to what characterizes the Cabrinian charism,” he wrote.
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Don't look away; be moved by tragedy and help, pope says
- Carol Glatz
- September 19, 2017
God had compassion for his people, went to them through his son, Jesus, and restored their dignity as children of God, “recreating us all,” Pope Francis said during his daily Mass. Francis asked that people reflect on their reaction when they read or hear news about tragedies, such as starving children, child soldiers or enslaved women. He said, “Do I turn the page … or … do I pray?”
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Pope Francis reboots the John Paul II institute on marriage and family
- Inés San Martín
- September 19, 2017
Pope Francis on Tuesday decided to reboot one of the signature institutions of the St. Pope John Paul II era in Catholicism, the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. From now on it will be a theological institute, with the mandate of exploring the “lights and shadows” of family life with “realism” and “love,” while also staying faithful to the Church’s teaching.
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Cardinal Gracias: Curial reform is nearing the 'end of the tunnel'
- Elise Harris
- September 19, 2017
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, a member of the Council of Cardinals tasked with reforming the Vatican bureaucracy, says that more than anything, there is a change in mentality that’s needed, which will take longer than simply reforming the Vatican’s structures, he said, but said the group is “rather confident that it will happen because the pope is giving very effective leadership.”
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Bioethics expert says ‘de-valuing’ human beings is 21st century malady

September 18, 2017

Dr. John Haas, President of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, says that beneath specific conundrums that arise in the field of bioethics these days lies a deeper challenge that the Catholic Church is uniquely equipped to address: A ‘de-valuing’ of human beings, which turns the weak and vulnerable into commodities to be exploited by the wealthy and powerful.

UN says hunger on the rise for first time in a decade

September 18, 2017

After a report from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization found that global hunger is increasing for the first time in a decade, Monsignor Fernando Chica, the Holy See’s observer to the UN agency, called the results a “defeat for humanity,” and said the findings represent a global “call to solidarity.”