The River by Alexis Joi from the album The River - Single

China and the United States have traded barbs again at the World Trade Organization, with the U.S. ambassador accusing China of theft of technology and an envoy from Beijing retorting that the U.S. was “finger-pointing.”

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The European Commission says it has reached an agreement with Italy to avert legal action over the country’s budget plans, which the EU’s executive arm had warned could break euro currency rules.

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The State Department says the U.S. has proposed the sale of a $3.5 billion Patriot missile system to Turkey.

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A panel of federal judges has dismissed more than 80 ethics complaints against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, because lower courts can't investigate a high court jurist.

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Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, described the world body as 'hopelessly biased' against Israel on Tuesday in her last address to the monthly Security Council meeting in New York.

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Russia said on Wednesday it would not let the United States inspect a new nuclear-capable cruise missile at the heart of a dispute between Washington and Moscow that risks unravelling a landmark arms control treaty.

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Britain is going cashless too quickly, a report has warned, meaning elderly and disabled consumers face being excluded from shops and restaurants.

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Hackers allegedly linked to China were able to access thousands of sensitive EU diplomatic cables for more than three years, according to a New York Times report.

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Israel is aiming to ensure its military superiority with an investment in quantum technology.

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The Senate Tuesday approved an historic and bipartisan reform of the criminal justice system that aims to reduce the sentences of nonviolent offenders and cut recidivism rates by helping prisoners productively rejoin society.

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The Nation of Islam and its leaders have received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the U.S. government since 2008 to teach religious study programs for federal prison inmates, according to records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

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In an abrupt reversal, the U.S. military is preparing to withdraw its forces from northeastern Syria, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a move that throws the American strategy in the Middle East into turmoil.

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An aviation ministry located in Texas is set to become to the world's first Christian airline.

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How the question behind the recently controversial Christmas song stirs us to worship.

With elegant simplicity, the apostle John writes, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). It is clear, it is straightforward, and it is almost unbelievably strange.

The conviction that God became man, not as a mere theological concept but as a concrete event in the history of the world, is at the heart of the Christian faith. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. To say that God became man is one thing, but it is another to imagine a young mother lulling a fussy baby to sleep, hot tears streaming from his pink, sleepy eyes, and to say that this tiny being is God incarnate, the Savior of all, the king of the universe.

Each year, “Mary, Did You Know?” brings this wondrously odd aspect of our faith to Christmas radio stations and holiday playlists. In 2014, Grammy-winning group Pentatonix released its striking a cappella cover of the song, taking this decidedly Christian Christmas song to platinum status this year.

Originally written by Mark Lowry of the Gaither Vocal Band in 1991, the song has long been a staple of the evangelical Christmas repertoire and slowly made its way to the mainstream with covers by notable musicians such as CeeLo Green, Clay Aiken, and Jordan Smith.

Lyrically, the song rests upon the question “Mary, did you know?” and reflects on Christ’s earthly ministry and cosmic reign. Musically, it is simple, a lullaby. The sweet sadness of the melody has squeezed tears from the eyes of many an unsuspecting listener—including my own.

But not all Christians have been pleased with this Nativity tune. As the song resurfaces each Christmastide, so do the enthusiastic complaints regarding its sappiness and its condescension toward Mary.

To me, ...

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Tourism expected to surge as 1,500 landmines are removed from Jordan River’s shore, with remaining 5,000 hopefully gone by next Christmas.

For 50 years, John has baptized Jesus in private.

But last week on the western bank of the Jordan River, landmines were cleared to allow visitors a first look at a faded fresco of the baptism in a crumbling Ethiopian Orthodox monastery.

Trudging through mud while avoiding well-marked areas warning of live charges remaining from the Six-Day War, intrepid pilgrims once again received iconic witness of the beloved Son.

“Israel placed the mines between 1967 and 1971 because there was a war,” Marcel Aviv, head of the Israel National Mine Action Authority, a branch of the Defense Ministry, told the Times of Israel, standing a few hundred yards from Jordan.

“But now it’s empty because it’s a border of peace.”

Israel partially reopened the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site in 2011. But visitors could only trek a narrow path from the Greek Orthodox St. John the Baptist Monastery to the Jordan River.

Their number has steadily grown, with the Epiphany holiday—observed on January 18—a particularly popular draw.

Last year, more than 590,000 visitors came, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. So far in 2018, more than 800,000. Once the landmines are fully cleared, Aviv believes the number will triple.

De-mining began in earnest in March, though the initial agreement between the churches, the Israeli government, and the Palestinian Authority was signed in May 2016.

A team of 22 Georgian minesweepers has so far removed 1,500 of an estimated 6,500 targets, rendering safe 50 out of 250 acres of land.

Now accessible along the one-mile stretch of historic churches are properties belonging to the Greek, Franciscan, and Ethiopian Orthodox. Clearance still awaits for the Russian, Syrian, Romanian, and Coptic ...

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Some know all too well the challenges of loving a child who leaves not just the home, but the faith as well.

Many Bible stories remain unknown and unheard by most people living in a 21st century culture. But others have actually become fixtures in our everyday verbiage and lingo—stories like Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son.

The story has many components and much to unpack for biblical exegetes and theologians alike, but the main point of the plot line is simple: a father has two sons—one of them leaves, squanders his inheritance, and later returns in desperation looking for forgiveness. The father, with joy, embraces his wayward son and celebrates his return. The father’s other son becomes frustrated with the situation, focusing primarily on his own obedience and his brother’s flamboyant sin.

The story, besides offering us a chance to analyze compelling themes related to a father’s love for his son and a brother’s ungracious heart, also serves as a picture of God’s own saving work in each of our lives. We see the father (the God figure) running to greet his son (the prodigal), who, like us, receives forgiveness, despite how undeserving he really is.

It’s a story that points us straight to grace and to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Some parents out there might read this story and pick up on grace, the gospel, and themes related to God’s love. But many also can’t help but see their own family’s story sitting there between the lines. Some know all too well the challenges of loving a child who leaves not just the home, but the faith as well.

As a part of one of the first research projects I led at LifeWay Research, we conducted a study to look at the number of students who drop out of the church after high school or during their college years.

For many years, people ...

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How a theology of the ordinary informs Advent.

Last month, my husband Matt and I attended Eugene Peterson’s funeral in Montana. We studied under Peterson at Regent Seminary and stayed in close touch over the years. For someone who sold millions of books, translated into multiple languages, his funeral was a wonderfully ordinary affair: a small, local church with fraying red carpet, a local slightly-wet-behind-the-ears pastor who gave the homily, stalwart hymns, and a casket made by his sons.

The simplicity of the event represented everything Peterson taught Matt and me (and many others): Press into what God has already given us in the ordinary people we love, the ordinary church we attend, and the ordinary sacraments we have been given. These unpromising things will keep us rooted in Jesus, despite the temptations around us.

In his books, talks, and sermons, Peterson railed not against the temptations in the world but rather the temptations within the church. And the temptations are plenty. But the way to avoid these temptations, he said, is not to leave the church and all the ugly things about it but instead to stay close and be transformed by it. “The antidote,” he once pointed out to us in a letter when we were knee-deep in solitary ministry in Scotland, “is near the poison.”

One of the key poisons in the American church is the temptation to be extraordinary and visibly radical in order to avoid being “lukewarm,” which more often than not means living a faster pace of life and becoming worn out to prove your authenticity to Jesus (or to yourself).

We find many antidotes within our own ecclesial treasury that counterbalance this tendency. The church over the centuries has made saints of certain individuals precisely because of ...

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Two of our favorite Christmas stories teach us that no one can be redeemed in isolation.

This year marks the 175th anniversary of the publication of Charles Dickens’s “ghostly little book,” A Christmas Carol. Over the years, it has become so pervasive that even those who haven’t read this story of a miser’s redemption or caught one of the many film, stage, or television adaptations know what a “Scrooge” is, what Tiny Tim represents, and what’s so terrifying about the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Aside from being a groundbreaking and classic story in its own right, Dickens’s A Christmas Carol helped to create an entire genre: the secular Christmas story. (By “secular” I don’t mean “anti-religious” or even “non-religious” but simply a Christmas story where the focus is not directly on the birth of Christ.) Without the influence of Dickens’s powerful little tale, we might never have had Frank Capra’s beloved 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life.

But there’s more than a genre linking the two stories together. In fact, as the National Post puts it, “one story is the inverse of the other.” Ebenezer Scrooge must journey through time and space to understand the impact of his bad deeds, George Bailey to understand the impact of his good ones. Each story ends in the saving of its protagonist—one from selfishness and greed, the other from suicidal despair—and his return to life with a transformed outlook.

Mixed Messages?

But that raises a question: Why would it be equally helpful for a person to look back on bad deeds and on good ones? Why are both Ebenezer and George so changed when the experiences they go through are practically the opposite of each other?

A Christian, in particular, ...

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A “Photoshop Battle” broke out over the 2017 image of the pontiff signing his Lamborghini.

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 04:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Make space for wonder and surprise this Christmas, Pope Francis urged Wednesday, explaining that the first Christmas had many surprises – including that God came into the world as a tiny baby.

The Blessed Virgin Mary was surprised by the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation and Joseph was surprised by the angel in his dream, which told him to take Mary as his wife, the pope said Dec. 19.

To welcome the Savior there are no powerful people, no ambassadors, just simple shepherds, surprised by the angels while working at night.

“But it is on the night of Christmas that the biggest surprise comes: The Most High is a small child,” he said. “To celebrate Christmas, then, is to welcome the surprises of Heaven on earth.”

Speaking at his weekly general audience, Pope Francis reflected on the surprising elements of Christ’s birth, and the way each Catholic can replicate the feelings at the first Christmas in his or her heart by making room for silence.

“Christmas is preferring the silent voice of God to the noisiness of consumerism. If we can be silent in front of the crib, Christmas will be a surprise even for us, not something seen before,” he said.

“Be silent in front of the nativity,” he advised. “This is an invitation for Christmas, take some time. Go before the nativity and stay in silence.”

Francis noted that since the beginning of Advent, the Gospel warned against becoming weighed down by the “anxieties of daily life.” “These days we rush, maybe as we never have during the year. But this is the opposite of what Jesus wants,” he said.

We blame the fast-pace of the world, but Jesus did not blame the world; Jesus asked his followers to keep watch and pray.

It is easy to get wrapped up in consumerism and in parties this time of year, preferring “the usual things of the earth over the news of Heaven,” he warned. “If Christmas is just a nice traditional holiday, where we are at the center and not Him, it will be a lost opportunity.”

We will celebrate Christmas well, “if, like Joseph, we will give space to silence; if, like Mary, we say ‘here I am’ to God; if, like Jesus, we will be close to those who are alone; if, like the shepherds, we will leave our enclosures to be with Jesus,” Pope Francis said.

“It will be Christmas, if we find the light in the poor cave of Bethlehem.”

On the other hand, he stated, it will not be Christmas if people look only for the “shimmering glow of the world,” filling themselves with presents and fancy meals, but do not help “at least one poor man.”

“Christmas is the payback of humility over arrogance, of simplicity over abundance, of silence over hubbub, of prayer over ‘my time,’ of God over my ego,” he said.

“Every one of us has, hidden in our heart, the capacity to be surprised. May we be surprised by Jesus this Christmas.”

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 06:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a statement Wednesday, the Holy See said the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement, established during the recent UN climate change summit in Poland earlier this month, are lacking in urgency and in proper concern for human rights.

“We are grateful to the leaders from States and other stakeholders who contributed to this multilateral dialogue and the writing of the rulebook. Unfortunately, we must also note that the rulebook does not adequately reflect the urgency necessary to tackle climate change,” the Holy See stated Dec. 19.

“Moreover, the rulebook seems to downplay human rights, critical in reflecting the human face of climate change, which affects the most vulnerable people on earth,” the statement continued. “Their cry and that of the earth demand more ambition and greater urgency.”

Informally dubbed the COP-24, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place Dec. 3-14. The main task of the summit was developing a program for implementation of the Paris Agreement at the national level.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin was present at the meetings in Katowice, Poland with a delegation representing the Holy See. He addressed the convention Dec. 3.

The Paris Agreement, which will take effect in 2020, was made within the UNFCCC to create a global response to combatting the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. A long-term goal of the agreement is to help control the increase in the global average temperature by having countries pledge individual contributions towards the mitigation of global warming.

The Holy See stated Dec. 19 that, “as the IPCC Special Report issued in October 2018 distressingly indicated, we are called to limit responsibly the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

In light of this report, the Holy See urges “greater ambition in delivering Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” in developing mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and in “managing the decarbonization of the current fossil fuel-based economy.”

It also recommends greater transparency for each nation in sharing its implementation, including addressing loss and damage, ensuring solid financial commitments, and promoting education in sustainability and responsible lifestyle changes.

“Global leaders gathered in Katowice for COP-24,” the statement said, “struggled to find the will to set aside their short-term economic and political interests and work for the common good.”

They finally came to a consensus on the “rulebook” for implementing the Paris Agreement. “Rather complex and technically detailed, [it] represents a confirmation of the commitments made three years ago in Paris and of the significance of multilateralism.”

The Holy See noted that, “faith and reason must come together, enabling us to make positive choices in our lifestyles, in how our economies are run, and in building a true global solidarity necessary to avert this climate crisis.”

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 06:45 am (CNA).- Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar of Los Angeles Wednesday after the archdiocese’s oversight board found a prior allegation of misconduct with a minor to be credible.

Salazar’s alleged misconduct, which is said to have occurred while he was a parish priest in the 1990s, was previously investigated by both law enforcement in 2002 and the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, which imposed precautionary measures on the bishop’s ministry after 2005.

“In the interest of due process, I requested and received permission from the Congregation for Bishops at the Holy See to submit the allegation to the Archdiocese’s independent Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board,” Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said in a letter released Dec. 19.

“The Board found the allegation to be credible and I submitted its findings and recommendations along with my own votum to the Holy See to make its final determination as to Bishop Salazar’s status,” Gomez continued.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in the statement that they were made aware of the allegation in 2005, one year after Salazar’s appointment as an auxiliary bishop.

“Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was Archbishop when the Archdiocese was informed of the allegation, requested an immediate review of the case with law enforcement officials,” the statement said. The District Attorney did not file charges after the investigation.

The announcement comes after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles released its updated list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors Dec. 6. Archbishop Gomez requested a full review of any allegations of sexual misconduct involving minors as a part of the 2018 revisions to the 2004 Report to the People of God.

The archdiocese’s Report to the People of God was also updated in 2005 and 2008 and covers 70 years of credible cases of sexual abuse by clergy against minors.

Prior to his resignation, Salazar served as the archdiocese’s Vicar for the Office of Ethnic Ministries. Born in Costa Rica, Salazar, 69, was ordained to the priesthood in California in 1984, and served in several California parishes before being appointed an auxiliary bishop in 2004.

Salazar has consistently denied any wrongdoing since the allegation was first brought forward, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“These decisions have been made out of deep concern for the healing and reconciliation of abuse victims and for the good of the Church’s mission,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Let us continue to stay close to the victim-survivors of abuse, through our prayer and our actions.”

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 10:07 am (CNA).- The Armenian Apostolic Church, one of six in the Oriental Orthodox communion, will have a fixed representative in Rome, similar to the Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Methodists.

Bishop Khajag Barsamian was appointed in early September as representative of the Apostolic Armenian Church to the Holy See. His appointment is intended to strengthen friendship between the two entities.

Archbishop Barsamian, 67, was Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church diocese in the United States from 1990 to 2018. He is well known for his experience and skill in ecumenical dialogue.

With the appointment, he becomes the point man in Rome for any matter concerning the Armenian Apostolic Church. His work will be that of a liaison between the Holy See and the Apostolic Church, smoothing dialogue in both theological and pragmatic issues.

His official title is “Pontifical Legate of Western Europe and Representative of the Armenian Church to the Holy See.” Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, informed Pope Francis of the appointment with a letter.

The Oriental Orthodox communion has been distinct from the Orthodox Church since the Council of Chalcedon in 451. There are 76 million Oriental Orthodox Christians worldwide, and 9 million members of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

According to Barsamian, Pope Francis “expressed his happiness about this appointment and indicated that my presence in Rome would further strengthen the relationship between the Catholic and the Armenian churches.”

Barsamian told CNA that he is “honored and excited to be taking up this role at this time,” and said, “My objective in my new role will be in part to expand existing projects, programs and activities, in order to draw the two churches closer together in a spirit of mutual respect and collaborative mission.”

Archbishop Barsamian has already begun his duties. A few days after arriving in Rome, he met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

“Cardinal Koch expressed his support for my new mission in Rome,” Barsamian said. “We had a very constructive discussion of ideas and projects to further strengthen the relationship between our two churches.”

Barsamian also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.

Barsamian recounted that “in my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always enjoyed being engaged in ecumenism. During my tenure as Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in the U.S., I supported ecumenical and inter-faith dialogue on a diocesan and parish level. And now here in Rome I am committed to continuing that same ministry.”

Among Barsamian’s commitments is that of reinforcing the Armenian presence in Europe.

“There has always been an Armenian presence in Europe,” he said, “however during the past two or three decades the Armenian presence in Europe increased because of the political and economic situations in the Middle East, in the former Soviet countries, and in Armenia.”

He added that “It will be important to develop Armenian Church parish life where communities can come together in prayer, participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and organize educational, cultural and social activities. Likewise, I would like to help Armenian Church communities develop strong ecumenical and interfaith activities.”

The push for ecumenism has always been part of the Armenian Apostolic Church, according to Barsamian.

He said that “the 12th-century Armenian Catholicos/Patriarch St. Nerses the Graceful was a great champion of ecumenism, encouraging his fellow churchmen of all traditions to pursue ‘Unity in essential matters. Diversity in secondary matters. Love over all.’”

Barsamian noted that “in our world today, we too face many challenges, but also great possibilities. Dialogue, cooperation, and formal prayer among different Christian denominations are all essential to realizing those possibilities.”

Recalling Catholic-Apostolic relations, Barsamian stressed that “since the days of Catholicos Vasken I (1955-1994), relations between the Armenian and Roman Catholic churches in general have been growing stronger and deeper, with a spirit of closeness and collaboration emerging between our hierarchy and clergy.”

The current head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, met Pope Francis twice this year: on April 5, when he went to Rome to participate in the blessing of a statue of St. Gregory of Narek in the Vatican Gardens with Pope Francis; and on Oct. 24, after a pastoral visit in Milan for the 60th anniversary of the Armenian Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sepastia.

Barsamian said that “on that occasion, the Pope and Karekin II had a very warm meeting, and discussed issues relating to the challenges faced by Christian communities in the world, and they also discussed the Middle East and the situation in the Republic of Armenia.”

Barsamian concluded that “definitely, such meetings are great opportunities to strengthen the connection between the two Churches.”

Barsamian was born in Arpkir, in Turkey, in 1951. He studied in Istanbul, Jerusalem, New York, and Minneapolis, and perfected his studies at the Gregorian University in Rome and at the Oxford Oriental Institute.

He served as a pastor in Istanbul, Jaffa, Haifa, Bamieh and in the United States, where he led for 28 years the U.S. diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

He is also president of the Armenian Aid Fund, which aims at helping Armenia to develop and to bring assistance to Armenians. So far, the fund has donated some $315 million.
 

 

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Preparations in the Vatican are underway for a summit of the bishops to discuss the problem of clerical sexual abuse. The meeting, which will involve the leadership of bishops’ conferences from around the world, seems to follow Pope Francis’ methodology for addressing abuse by clerics.

This week, the meeting’s planning committee requested that presidents of bishops’ conferences meet personally with victims of abuse before the February Vatican summit.
 
A letter from the planning committee urges meeting participants “to reach out and visit with victim survivors of clergy sex abuse in your respective countries prior to the meeting in Rome, to learn first-hand the suffering that they have endured.”
 
Pope Francis has met several times with victims of clerical sexual abuse. A July 7, 2014 meeting with survivors was the first meeting ever of a pope with victims within the Vatican walls. The Pope also met with survivors in the US in 2015 and in Chile and Ireland in 2018.
 
After the Chilean abuse scandal broke in early 2018, the pope also met with Chilean survivors on Apr. 27, 2018 in Domus Sanctae Marthae, his residence.

Pope Francis also told Chilean Jesuits in February that “sometimes I meet with victims on Fridays, sometimes it is public and sometimes is not.”
 
Benedict XVI was the first pope to hold organized meetings with abuse survivors: he did in 2008 in the United States and Australia, in 2010 in the United Kingdom and Malta, in 2011 in Germany.
 
Benedict XVI not only began this particular papal ministry, he also blessed its institutionalization.
 
Benedict XVI was a supporter of a 2012 conference, “Toward Healing and Renewal,” organized by the Jesuit’s Pontifical Gregorian University with the Backing of the Secretariat of State and the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.
 
The conference gathered representatives of bishops’ conference, and 30 superiors of religious congregations.

Among the outcomes of that conference was the establishment in Rome of a Center for Child Protection. The conference emphasized the need for bishops to listen to victim’ stories as a first step in any response, and the need to consult with secular lay experts to better ensure objective judgments.
 
The expertise of the Center for Child Protection has since been transferred into the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
 
It is likely not by chance that among members of the planning committee for the February are Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of La Valletta and Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ.
 
Scicluna was the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith promoter of justice (i.e. Vatican prosecutor) from 2002 to 2012. It was Scicluna who helped set up the new norms to counter the sex abuse scandal that broke in the .S in 2002, and to provide the Vatican’s general framework for addressing clerical sexual abuse.
 
Zollner was one of the sponsors of “Toward Healing and Renewal Conference,” and is the president of the Center for Child Protection at the Gregorian University. He has also been a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors since it was established in 2014.
 
Speaking with CNA in September, shortly after the February summit was announced, Scicluna noted that “protection of minors is something that has to be an ongoing process in the Church, and therefore it only begins with the good screening of future priests, as St. John Paul II asked for in 1992.”
 
The archbishop referred to Pope St. John Paul II’s 1992 post-synodal exhortation Pastores dabo vobis.  
 
“It was St. John Paul II’s prophetic message,” he said, ”as the document, speaking of the formation of future priests, valued the issue of human formation, of psychological screening and also of a clear evaluation of the candidate from the point of view of emotional authority and eligibility to be the shepherd of the flock.”
 
The document underscored that “in the seminary, that is, in the program of formation, celibacy should be presented clearly, without any ambiguities and in a positive fashion. The seminarian should have a sufficient degree of psychological and sexual maturity as well as an assiduous and authentic life of prayer, and he should put himself under the direction of a spiritual father.”
 
Scicluna said that, beyond the screening of future priests, there must also be “an empowerment to the community, to disclose abuse when it happens and also an empowerment of the community so that together we ascertain and we guarantee that the Church is a safe place for everybody, including minors.”
 
All of these issues will likely be part of the topics discussed in the February meeting.
 
It is noteworthy to remember that in May 2011, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith delivered a circular letter to bishops’ conferences around the world, asking them to prepare guidelines to counter abuse.
 
The letter also talked about the formation of the future priests and about the protection of the communities and cooperation with civil authorities. The letter read that “sexual abuse of minors is not just a canonical delict but also a crime prosecuted by civil law. Although relations with civil authority will differ in various countries, nevertheless it is important to cooperate with such authorities within their responsibilities.”
 
Scicluna commented that these things “need to be implemented and constantly put in the local Church’s agenda.” In many places, observers say, the circular letter has not yet been transformed into norms or policies.
 
Following Scicluna’s rationale, the request to meet with survivors must be considered a necessary first step for the heads of bishops’ conferences, as they will be called to begin from their personal experience with victims to outline new guidelines, with the goal to design a global response.
 
The 2011 letter explains that “absent a comprehensive and communal response not only will we fail to bring healing to victim survivors, but the very credibility of the Church to carry on the mission of Christ will be in jeopardy throughout the world.”
 
Will the pope, after the meeting, give more responsibility to the bishops’ conferences?

It is hard to say. Scicluna was recently appointed adjunct secretary to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and this shows that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is still in charge of abuse cases, especially since the Vatican will not establish an ad hoc tribunal to judge negligent bishops, as Pope Francis once announced.
 
This tribunal was one of the concerns of Marie Collins, a survivor who was also a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Pope Francis, however, rejected the option.
 
Coming back from his trip to Ireland Aug. 26, the pope said that Collins “emphasizes the idea of the [2016 Motu Proprio] As a Loving Mother, in which it was said that to judge bishops, it would be good to set up a special tribunal. It was subsequently seen neither to be feasible nor suitable for the different cultures of the bishops who should be judged”.
 
Pope Francis then added: “we are taking the recommendation of As a Loving Mother and setting up a jury for each bishop, but that is not the same thing. A particular bishop has to be judged and so the pope sets up a jury more capable of taking that case. It is something that works better, also because, for a group of bishops to leave their dioceses… for this reason it is not possible. So the tribunals and the juries change.”
 
The appointment of Scicluna to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith confirms Pope Francis’ approach. Scicluna, however, is working part-time, and he will remain in his post in Malta. This is part of Pope Francis’ vision: one should not leave the diocese for the Curia, but should serve the Curia from the diocese.

 

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 04:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Make space for wonder and surprise this Christmas, Pope Francis urged Wednesday, explaining that the first Christmas had many surprises – including that God came into the world as a tiny baby.

The Blessed Virgin Mary was surprised by the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation and Joseph was surprised by the angel in his dream, which told him to take Mary as his wife, the pope said Dec. 19.

To welcome the Savior there are no powerful people, no ambassadors, just simple shepherds, surprised by the angels while working at night.

“But it is on the night of Christmas that the biggest surprise comes: The Most High is a small child,” he said. “To celebrate Christmas, then, is to welcome the surprises of Heaven on earth.”

Speaking at his weekly general audience, Pope Francis reflected on the surprising elements of Christ’s birth, and the way each Catholic can replicate the feelings at the first Christmas in his or her heart by making room for silence.

“Christmas is preferring the silent voice of God to the noisiness of consumerism. If we can be silent in front of the crib, Christmas will be a surprise even for us, not something seen before,” he said.

“Be silent in front of the nativity,” he advised. “This is an invitation for Christmas, take some time. Go before the nativity and stay in silence.”

Francis noted that since the beginning of Advent, the Gospel warned against becoming weighed down by the “anxieties of daily life.” “These days we rush, maybe as we never have during the year. But this is the opposite of what Jesus wants,” he said.

We blame the fast-pace of the world, but Jesus did not blame the world; Jesus asked his followers to keep watch and pray.

It is easy to get wrapped up in consumerism and in parties this time of year, preferring “the usual things of the earth over the news of Heaven,” he warned. “If Christmas is just a nice traditional holiday, where we are at the center and not Him, it will be a lost opportunity.”

We will celebrate Christmas well, “if, like Joseph, we will give space to silence; if, like Mary, we say ‘here I am’ to God; if, like Jesus, we will be close to those who are alone; if, like the shepherds, we will leave our enclosures to be with Jesus,” Pope Francis said.

“It will be Christmas, if we find the light in the poor cave of Bethlehem.”

On the other hand, he stated, it will not be Christmas if people look only for the “shimmering glow of the world,” filling themselves with presents and fancy meals, but do not help “at least one poor man.”

“Christmas is the payback of humility over arrogance, of simplicity over abundance, of silence over hubbub, of prayer over ‘my time,’ of God over my ego,” he said.

“Every one of us has, hidden in our heart, the capacity to be surprised. May we be surprised by Jesus this Christmas.”

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 06:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a statement Wednesday, the Holy See said the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement, established during the recent UN climate change summit in Poland earlier this month, are lacking in urgency and in proper concern for human rights.

“We are grateful to the leaders from States and other stakeholders who contributed to this multilateral dialogue and the writing of the rulebook. Unfortunately, we must also note that the rulebook does not adequately reflect the urgency necessary to tackle climate change,” the Holy See stated Dec. 19.

“Moreover, the rulebook seems to downplay human rights, critical in reflecting the human face of climate change, which affects the most vulnerable people on earth,” the statement continued. “Their cry and that of the earth demand more ambition and greater urgency.”

Informally dubbed the COP-24, the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) took place Dec. 3-14. The main task of the summit was developing a program for implementation of the Paris Agreement at the national level.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin was present at the meetings in Katowice, Poland with a delegation representing the Holy See. He addressed the convention Dec. 3.

The Paris Agreement, which will take effect in 2020, was made within the UNFCCC to create a global response to combatting the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. A long-term goal of the agreement is to help control the increase in the global average temperature by having countries pledge individual contributions towards the mitigation of global warming.

The Holy See stated Dec. 19 that, “as the IPCC Special Report issued in October 2018 distressingly indicated, we are called to limit responsibly the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”

In light of this report, the Holy See urges “greater ambition in delivering Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)” in developing mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and in “managing the decarbonization of the current fossil fuel-based economy.”

It also recommends greater transparency for each nation in sharing its implementation, including addressing loss and damage, ensuring solid financial commitments, and promoting education in sustainability and responsible lifestyle changes.

“Global leaders gathered in Katowice for COP-24,” the statement said, “struggled to find the will to set aside their short-term economic and political interests and work for the common good.”

They finally came to a consensus on the “rulebook” for implementing the Paris Agreement. “Rather complex and technically detailed, [it] represents a confirmation of the commitments made three years ago in Paris and of the significance of multilateralism.”

The Holy See noted that, “faith and reason must come together, enabling us to make positive choices in our lifestyles, in how our economies are run, and in building a true global solidarity necessary to avert this climate crisis.”

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 06:45 am (CNA).- Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Alexander Salazar of Los Angeles Wednesday after the archdiocese’s oversight board found a prior allegation of misconduct with a minor to be credible.

Salazar’s alleged misconduct, which is said to have occurred while he was a parish priest in the 1990s, was previously investigated by both law enforcement in 2002 and the Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith, which imposed precautionary measures on the bishop’s ministry after 2005.

“In the interest of due process, I requested and received permission from the Congregation for Bishops at the Holy See to submit the allegation to the Archdiocese’s independent Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board,” Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said in a letter released Dec. 19.

“The Board found the allegation to be credible and I submitted its findings and recommendations along with my own votum to the Holy See to make its final determination as to Bishop Salazar’s status,” Gomez continued.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said in the statement that they were made aware of the allegation in 2005, one year after Salazar’s appointment as an auxiliary bishop.

“Cardinal Roger Mahony, who was Archbishop when the Archdiocese was informed of the allegation, requested an immediate review of the case with law enforcement officials,” the statement said. The District Attorney did not file charges after the investigation.

The announcement comes after the Archdiocese of Los Angeles released its updated list of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors Dec. 6. Archbishop Gomez requested a full review of any allegations of sexual misconduct involving minors as a part of the 2018 revisions to the 2004 Report to the People of God.

The archdiocese’s Report to the People of God was also updated in 2005 and 2008 and covers 70 years of credible cases of sexual abuse by clergy against minors.

Prior to his resignation, Salazar served as the archdiocese’s Vicar for the Office of Ethnic Ministries. Born in Costa Rica, Salazar, 69, was ordained to the priesthood in California in 1984, and served in several California parishes before being appointed an auxiliary bishop in 2004.

Salazar has consistently denied any wrongdoing since the allegation was first brought forward, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

“These decisions have been made out of deep concern for the healing and reconciliation of abuse victims and for the good of the Church’s mission,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Let us continue to stay close to the victim-survivors of abuse, through our prayer and our actions.”

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 10:07 am (CNA).- The Armenian Apostolic Church, one of six in the Oriental Orthodox communion, will have a fixed representative in Rome, similar to the Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Methodists.

Bishop Khajag Barsamian was appointed in early September as representative of the Apostolic Armenian Church to the Holy See. His appointment is intended to strengthen friendship between the two entities.

Archbishop Barsamian, 67, was Primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church diocese in the United States from 1990 to 2018. He is well known for his experience and skill in ecumenical dialogue.

With the appointment, he becomes the point man in Rome for any matter concerning the Armenian Apostolic Church. His work will be that of a liaison between the Holy See and the Apostolic Church, smoothing dialogue in both theological and pragmatic issues.

His official title is “Pontifical Legate of Western Europe and Representative of the Armenian Church to the Holy See.” Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, informed Pope Francis of the appointment with a letter.

The Oriental Orthodox communion has been distinct from the Orthodox Church since the Council of Chalcedon in 451. There are 76 million Oriental Orthodox Christians worldwide, and 9 million members of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

According to Barsamian, Pope Francis “expressed his happiness about this appointment and indicated that my presence in Rome would further strengthen the relationship between the Catholic and the Armenian churches.”

Barsamian told CNA that he is “honored and excited to be taking up this role at this time,” and said, “My objective in my new role will be in part to expand existing projects, programs and activities, in order to draw the two churches closer together in a spirit of mutual respect and collaborative mission.”

Archbishop Barsamian has already begun his duties. A few days after arriving in Rome, he met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity.

“Cardinal Koch expressed his support for my new mission in Rome,” Barsamian said. “We had a very constructive discussion of ideas and projects to further strengthen the relationship between our two churches.”

Barsamian also met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.

Barsamian recounted that “in my ministry as a priest and bishop, I have always enjoyed being engaged in ecumenism. During my tenure as Primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church in the U.S., I supported ecumenical and inter-faith dialogue on a diocesan and parish level. And now here in Rome I am committed to continuing that same ministry.”

Among Barsamian’s commitments is that of reinforcing the Armenian presence in Europe.

“There has always been an Armenian presence in Europe,” he said, “however during the past two or three decades the Armenian presence in Europe increased because of the political and economic situations in the Middle East, in the former Soviet countries, and in Armenia.”

He added that “It will be important to develop Armenian Church parish life where communities can come together in prayer, participate in the sacrament of the Eucharist, and organize educational, cultural and social activities. Likewise, I would like to help Armenian Church communities develop strong ecumenical and interfaith activities.”

The push for ecumenism has always been part of the Armenian Apostolic Church, according to Barsamian.

He said that “the 12th-century Armenian Catholicos/Patriarch St. Nerses the Graceful was a great champion of ecumenism, encouraging his fellow churchmen of all traditions to pursue ‘Unity in essential matters. Diversity in secondary matters. Love over all.’”

Barsamian noted that “in our world today, we too face many challenges, but also great possibilities. Dialogue, cooperation, and formal prayer among different Christian denominations are all essential to realizing those possibilities.”

Recalling Catholic-Apostolic relations, Barsamian stressed that “since the days of Catholicos Vasken I (1955-1994), relations between the Armenian and Roman Catholic churches in general have been growing stronger and deeper, with a spirit of closeness and collaboration emerging between our hierarchy and clergy.”

The current head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Karekin II, met Pope Francis twice this year: on April 5, when he went to Rome to participate in the blessing of a statue of St. Gregory of Narek in the Vatican Gardens with Pope Francis; and on Oct. 24, after a pastoral visit in Milan for the 60th anniversary of the Armenian Church of the Forty Martyrs of Sepastia.

Barsamian said that “on that occasion, the Pope and Karekin II had a very warm meeting, and discussed issues relating to the challenges faced by Christian communities in the world, and they also discussed the Middle East and the situation in the Republic of Armenia.”

Barsamian concluded that “definitely, such meetings are great opportunities to strengthen the connection between the two Churches.”

Barsamian was born in Arpkir, in Turkey, in 1951. He studied in Istanbul, Jerusalem, New York, and Minneapolis, and perfected his studies at the Gregorian University in Rome and at the Oxford Oriental Institute.

He served as a pastor in Istanbul, Jaffa, Haifa, Bamieh and in the United States, where he led for 28 years the U.S. diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

He is also president of the Armenian Aid Fund, which aims at helping Armenia to develop and to bring assistance to Armenians. So far, the fund has donated some $315 million.
 

 

Washington D.C., Dec 19, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- The death of a seven-year-old asylum seeker in federal custody is a reminder that immigration policies can have life and death consequences, the U.S. bishops’ conference migration committee chairman said Tuesday.

“We are extremely distressed at the news of seven-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin’s death shortly after crossing the U.S./Mexico border with her father and turning themselves into CBP in search of asylum in the United States. Our prayers and heart-felt condolences go out to Jakelin’s family,” Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, chairman of the USCCB committee on migration, said in a Dec. 18 joint statement with Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso and Bishop Gerald Kicanas, temporary administrator of the Las Cruces diocese.

“The death of a child is always a moment of great sadness, a jarring disruption of the natural order of life.”

“From this tragedy, we must remember this profound human consequence of our failed immigration policies, including also that restrictions on the flow of asylum seekers at the border can push more families to seek entrance between ports of entry which place them at greater risk, the statement added.

Maquin died Dec. 8 in an El Paso hospital. She was apprehended two days earlier with her father, along with 161 other asylum seekers who turned themselves in to U.S. agents near a port of entry south of Lordsburg, N.M.  She and her father had traveled to the U.S. border from the small village of Raxruha, Guatemala. The journey to the U.S. took nearly a week. The pair were not a part of the so-called “migration caravans” that have sought entry into the United States in recent weeks.

In Guetemala, the girl lived a “tiny wooden house with a straw roof, dirt floors, a few bedsheets and a fire pit for cooking, where Jakelin used to sleep with her parents and three siblings. The brothers are barefoot, their feet caked with mud and their clothes in tatters,” according to the Associated Press.

At that house, “a heart constructed out of wood and wrapped in plastic announces Jakelin’s death,” the Associated Press reported.

Maquin began having seizures more than eight hours after she was apprehended. She had a fever that exceeded 105 degrees, and according to Customs and Border Protection officials, she “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.”

She was airlifted to Providence Children’s Hospital in El Paso, however, she went into cardiac arrest and died less than 24 hours later.

Federal officials says that Maquin’s father did not report that he or his daughter were ill when they were apprehended. Her father, Nery Gilberto Call Cruz, has insisted that the girl had food and water during the journey, according to the Guardian.

“Jakelin’s father took care of Jakelin, made sure she was fed and had sufficient water. She and her father sought asylum from border patrol as soon as they crossed the border. She had not suffered from a lack of water or food prior to approaching the border,” a statement from Cruz’ lawyer said.

Cruz’ lawyer has also claimed that forms requesting information about his daughter’s condition were made available only in English, which Cruz does not speak or read. While Cruz apparently spoke with border agents in Spanish, his primary language is Mayan Q’eqchi’, a fact which may have added to a failure of communication between Cruz and federal officials.

While federal officials say that food and water was available to Maquin while she was in custody, some have reported that available water in immigration detention facilities is often dirty and in limited supply.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen told reporters Friday that federal officials did all they could in the situation.

“What happened was they were about 90 miles away from where we could process them. They came in such a large crowd that it took our border patrol folks a couple times to get them all. We gave immediate care, we’ll continue to look into the situation, but again, I cannot stress enough how dangerous this journey is when migrants choose to come here illegally,” Nielson said Dec. 14.

On the same day, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said that Macquin’s was “a needless death, and it's 100 percent preventable. If we could just come together and pass some common sense laws to disincentivize people from coming up from the border and encourage them to do it the right way, the legal way, then those types of deaths, those types of assaults, those types of rapes, the child smuggling, the human trafficking that would all come to an end. And we hope Democrats join the president.”

When asked whether the presidential administration bore any responsibility for Macquin’s death, Hogan responded rhetorically: “Does the administration take responsibility for a parent taking a child on a trek through Mexico to get to this country? No.”

For their part, Vasquez and the U.S. bishops’ conference are awaiting the results of a federal investigation.

“We welcome the investigation of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. We recognize the work and commitment of CBP officers to ensure our safety, but urge CBP leadership to critically review policies regarding the care of vulnerable populations in their custody. We pledge our assistance to help CBP do so.”

“As we prepare to celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus, himself a child whose parents were told ‘there is no room,’ we continue to recognize and affirm that seeking asylum and protection is legal. As a nation, we have the obligation to receive distraught individuals and families with welcome, compassion, and humane treatment. We must heed the words of Christ that ‘Whatsoever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,’” the bishops concluded.

“Jakelin’s death is a tragic reminder of the desperate situation that many fleeing violence, persecution, and poverty face - both in their home countries and now at our border.”
 

 

Vatican City, Dec 19, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Preparations in the Vatican are underway for a summit of the bishops to discuss the problem of clerical sexual abuse. The meeting, which will involve the leadership of bishops’ conferences from around the world, seems to follow Pope Francis’ methodology for addressing abuse by clerics.

This week, the meeting’s planning committee requested that presidents of bishops’ conferences meet personally with victims of abuse before the February Vatican summit.
 
A letter from the planning committee urges meeting participants “to reach out and visit with victim survivors of clergy sex abuse in your respective countries prior to the meeting in Rome, to learn first-hand the suffering that they have endured.”
 
Pope Francis has met several times with victims of clerical sexual abuse. A July 7, 2014 meeting with survivors was the first meeting ever of a pope with victims within the Vatican walls. The Pope also met with survivors in the US in 2015 and in Chile and Ireland in 2018.
 
After the Chilean abuse scandal broke in early 2018, the pope also met with Chilean survivors on Apr. 27, 2018 in Domus Sanctae Marthae, his residence.

Pope Francis also told Chilean Jesuits in February that “sometimes I meet with victims on Fridays, sometimes it is public and sometimes is not.”
 
Benedict XVI was the first pope to hold organized meetings with abuse survivors: he did in 2008 in the United States and Australia, in 2010 in the United Kingdom and Malta, in 2011 in Germany.
 
Benedict XVI not only began this particular papal ministry, he also blessed its institutionalization.
 
Benedict XVI was a supporter of a 2012 conference, “Toward Healing and Renewal,” organized by the Jesuit’s Pontifical Gregorian University with the Backing of the Secretariat of State and the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.
 
The conference gathered representatives of bishops’ conference, and 30 superiors of religious congregations.

Among the outcomes of that conference was the establishment in Rome of a Center for Child Protection. The conference emphasized the need for bishops to listen to victim’ stories as a first step in any response, and the need to consult with secular lay experts to better ensure objective judgments.
 
The expertise of the Center for Child Protection has since been transferred into the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
 
It is likely not by chance that among members of the planning committee for the February are Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna of La Valletta and Fr. Hans Zollner, SJ.
 
Scicluna was the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith promoter of justice (i.e. Vatican prosecutor) from 2002 to 2012. It was Scicluna who helped set up the new norms to counter the sex abuse scandal that broke in the .S in 2002, and to provide the Vatican’s general framework for addressing clerical sexual abuse.
 
Zollner was one of the sponsors of “Toward Healing and Renewal Conference,” and is the president of the Center for Child Protection at the Gregorian University. He has also been a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors since it was established in 2014.
 
Speaking with CNA in September, shortly after the February summit was announced, Scicluna noted that “protection of minors is something that has to be an ongoing process in the Church, and therefore it only begins with the good screening of future priests, as St. John Paul II asked for in 1992.”
 
The archbishop referred to Pope St. John Paul II’s 1992 post-synodal exhortation Pastores dabo vobis.  
 
“It was St. John Paul II’s prophetic message,” he said, ”as the document, speaking of the formation of future priests, valued the issue of human formation, of psychological screening and also of a clear evaluation of the candidate from the point of view of emotional authority and eligibility to be the shepherd of the flock.”
 
The document underscored that “in the seminary, that is, in the program of formation, celibacy should be presented clearly, without any ambiguities and in a positive fashion. The seminarian should have a sufficient degree of psychological and sexual maturity as well as an assiduous and authentic life of prayer, and he should put himself under the direction of a spiritual father.”
 
Scicluna said that, beyond the screening of future priests, there must also be “an empowerment to the community, to disclose abuse when it happens and also an empowerment of the community so that together we ascertain and we guarantee that the Church is a safe place for everybody, including minors.”
 
All of these issues will likely be part of the topics discussed in the February meeting.
 
It is noteworthy to remember that in May 2011, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith delivered a circular letter to bishops’ conferences around the world, asking them to prepare guidelines to counter abuse.
 
The letter also talked about the formation of the future priests and about the protection of the communities and cooperation with civil authorities. The letter read that “sexual abuse of minors is not just a canonical delict but also a crime prosecuted by civil law. Although relations with civil authority will differ in various countries, nevertheless it is important to cooperate with such authorities within their responsibilities.”
 
Scicluna commented that these things “need to be implemented and constantly put in the local Church’s agenda.” In many places, observers say, the circular letter has not yet been transformed into norms or policies.
 
Following Scicluna’s rationale, the request to meet with survivors must be considered a necessary first step for the heads of bishops’ conferences, as they will be called to begin from their personal experience with victims to outline new guidelines, with the goal to design a global response.
 
The 2011 letter explains that “absent a comprehensive and communal response not only will we fail to bring healing to victim survivors, but the very credibility of the Church to carry on the mission of Christ will be in jeopardy throughout the world.”
 
Will the pope, after the meeting, give more responsibility to the bishops’ conferences?

It is hard to say. Scicluna was recently appointed adjunct secretary to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and this shows that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is still in charge of abuse cases, especially since the Vatican will not establish an ad hoc tribunal to judge negligent bishops, as Pope Francis once announced.
 
This tribunal was one of the concerns of Marie Collins, a survivor who was also a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Pope Francis, however, rejected the option.
 
Coming back from his trip to Ireland Aug. 26, the pope said that Collins “emphasizes the idea of the [2016 Motu Proprio] As a Loving Mother, in which it was said that to judge bishops, it would be good to set up a special tribunal. It was subsequently seen neither to be feasible nor suitable for the different cultures of the bishops who should be judged”.
 
Pope Francis then added: “we are taking the recommendation of As a Loving Mother and setting up a jury for each bishop, but that is not the same thing. A particular bishop has to be judged and so the pope sets up a jury more capable of taking that case. It is something that works better, also because, for a group of bishops to leave their dioceses… for this reason it is not possible. So the tribunals and the juries change.”
 
The appointment of Scicluna to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith confirms Pope Francis’ approach. Scicluna, however, is working part-time, and he will remain in his post in Malta. This is part of Pope Francis’ vision: one should not leave the diocese for the Curia, but should serve the Curia from the diocese.

 

Parliament can hold a vote of confidence in early January if a new government is formed before the holidays, Speaker Nabih Berri said Wednesday.

FM Bassil says govt will be formed in a couple of days after meeting PM-designate Hariri

The Internal Security Forces arrested three people who were allegedly making coal illegally by cutting oak trees in Batroun, a statement from the agency said Wednesday.

The Internal Security Forces Thursday arrested a man for allegedly threatening members of the ISF who had tried to confiscate a truck.

Caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil Wednesday called on the U.N. Security Council to address Israel’s violations against Lebanon’s sovereignty.

The Lebanese Army Intelligence Branch Wednesday raided the house of a suspected drug dealer in Mount Lebanon and arrested him.

The United Nations Security Council met Wednesday to discuss the discovery of tunnels allegedly dug by Hezbollah from Lebanon into Israeli territory, amid heightened tensions between Lebanon and the Jewish state.

The few Lebanese living 2,400 meters above sea level can expect a white Christmas, but chances of a snowy holiday getaway on the slopes of Faraya are slim, a meteorologist at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport said Wednesday.

Health Ministry inspectors encountered gunfire Wednesday while closing an unlicensed clinic in Chouf’s Wadi Zeina, a statement from the ministry said.

Tourism expected to surge as 1,500 landmines are removed from Jordan River’s shore, with remaining 5,000 hopefully gone by next Christmas.

For 50 years, John has baptized Jesus in private.

But last week on the western bank of the Jordan River, landmines were cleared to allow visitors a first look at a faded fresco of the baptism in a crumbling Ethiopian Orthodox monastery.

Trudging through mud while avoiding well-marked areas warning of live charges remaining from the Six-Day War, intrepid pilgrims once again received iconic witness of the beloved Son.

“Israel placed the mines between 1967 and 1971 because there was a war,” Marcel Aviv, head of the Israel National Mine Action Authority, a branch of the Defense Ministry, told the Times of Israel, standing a few hundred yards from Jordan.

“But now it’s empty because it’s a border of peace.”

Israel partially reopened the Qasr al-Yahud baptismal site in 2011. But visitors could only trek a narrow path from the Greek Orthodox St. John the Baptist Monastery to the Jordan River.

Their number has steadily grown, with the Epiphany holiday—observed on January 18—a particularly popular draw.

Last year, more than 590,000 visitors came, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. So far in 2018, more than 800,000. Once the landmines are fully cleared, Aviv believes the number will triple.

De-mining began in earnest in March, though the initial agreement between the churches, the Israeli government, and the Palestinian Authority was signed in May 2016.

A team of 22 Georgian minesweepers has so far removed 1,500 of an estimated 6,500 targets, rendering safe 50 out of 250 acres of land.

Now accessible along the one-mile stretch of historic churches are properties belonging to the Greek, Franciscan, and Ethiopian Orthodox. Clearance still awaits for the Russian, Syrian, Romanian, and Coptic ...

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Fr. Seraphim Holland answers the questions, "Why would God want to have communion with me? What have I to offer God?" The answer is in the parable of the Good Samaritan

Fr. Seraphim Holland shares from Luke 12:16-21. Man was made to know God and even to contain God within his deep heart. A man’s life consists of completely and only this. The parable of the Harvest of the Rich Man shows a man who does not know who he is, or what his life consists of, who squanders his deep heart (Psalm 65:6), numbering his produce and asking counsel only from himself. Let’s discuss what a man’s life consists of and what he can and cannot possess and the things in life that he should and should not number.

James the Persian (November 27) was a great martyr, but not all of his life was that of a great martyr. At first, he was a coward, but then he came to his senses. It is good to learn from people who made terrible errors, and even apostasy, but came to their senses. God never abandons any of us.