Asia Bibi appeals for the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws
- Apr 21, 2021
Let’s face it: The Italians in the College of Cardinals still are on their home field; everyone else is playing a road game.
What difference might it make if all practicing Catholics, not just about half, actually showed up to vote?
Pope Francis obviously likes what he sees in Archbishop Angelo De Donatis, his Vicar of Rome, who was tapped by Francis to present his new apostolic exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate” to the world.
In general, the president of a national bishops’ conference may be an important post domestically, but it doesn’t have great international interest. The one exception tends to be Italy, where the president of the conference is presumed to be a role model for bishops trying to reflect the current pope’s vision, and now the Italians have a new prelate at the helm.
Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser, tapped by Francis to study the pastoral situation of the site of the alleged Marian apparitions, is currently in Medjugorje. Although the scope of his mission is to study the pastoral situation, he also said that it has a “supplementary character” to the doctrinal one done by the Vatican between 2011 and 2014.