Catholics, Anglicans welcome news of Card. Newman’s canonization date

From Vatican News-

Catholics and Anglicans have welcomed Monday’s announcement that Pope Francis will declare English Cardinal John Henry Newman a saint on Sunday, October 13, at a Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.  

The day of canonization was established on July 1, as the Pope held an Ordinary Public Consistory of cardinals to formally approve the canonization of Card. Newman along with four others: Giuseppina Vannini, Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan, Irmã Dulce Pontes and Marguerite Bays.

Newman, a former Anglican priest who became a Roman Catholic in 1845 and eventually a Cardinal, is regarded as one of the most influential figures from his era for both Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism, noted the Church of England in a press release on July 1.

More here-

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-07/cardinal-newman-canonization-date-catholics-anglicans.html

Anglican, Catholic bishops seeking closer partnership in mission

From Vatican Radio-

Closer practical cooperation between Anglicans and Catholics in countries across the globe: that’s the primary goal of a two day visit of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to Rome this week. The Anglican leader arrives on Wednesday and is scheduled to join Pope Francis for Vespers at the church of San Gregorio al Celio in the afternoon. Also present will be pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops from around the world who’ll be symbolically sent out on mission together.

On Thursday morning the leader of the Anglican Communion will have an audience with the Pope in the Vatican, together with the heads of about half of the world’s 38 Anglican provinces. The two day programme  of events, which includes a colloquium on Anglican-Catholic dialogue at the Pontifical Gregorian University, is marking the 50th anniversary of the first official contacts between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey, followed by the setting up of Rome’s Anglican Centre. 

More here-

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/10/04/anglicans,_catholics_seeking_closer_partnership_in_mission/1260032

Pope gives Vatican leadership a withering critique

From The Boston Globe-

At the end of a tumultuous year for the Catholic Church, in which divisions among senior leadership over the direction being set by Pope Francis were at times glaringly apparent, the pontiff on Monday delivered a blistering critique of arrogance, careerism, gossip, and division in the Vatican.

Among other points, the pope denounced what he called “spiritual Alzheimer’s,” meaning “a progressive decline in spiritual faculties,” leading people to “build walls around themselves” and to make “idols” of their personal habits.

More here-

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/world/2014/12/23/pope-francis-blasts-vatican-system-ahead-challenging/Tr9NI6WChVyP4uIGqI4dcP/story.html

Anglican priests to play Vatican team at cricket

From The BBC-

The head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has accepted a challenge from the Vatican to play their first ever cricket match.

Priests from the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church are planning to compete - appropriately enough - at Lord's in London next September.

The Vatican cricket club, founded in October, includes priests from Australia, India and Pakistan.

It has also been suggested the umpires might be Muslim or Jewish.

But the feeling is that their faith will not matter - as long as they are fair, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome reports. He adds that anything else just wouldn't be cricket.

Accepting the challenge, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said he was looking "forward to the possibility that this match may actually raise money for charity", according to Reuters.

More here-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25473150

Pope warns against mediocrity, gossip in Vatican

From USA Today-

Pope Francis warned Vatican administrators Saturday that their work can take a downward spiral into mediocrity, gossip and bureaucratic squabbling if they forget that theirs is a professional vocation of service to the church.

Francis made the comments in his Christmas address to the Vatican Curia, the bureaucracy that forms the central government of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church. The speech was eagerly anticipated given that Francis was elected in March on a mandate to overhaul the antiquated and oftentimes dysfunctional Vatican administration.

Already, heads have started to roll: Just last week, Francis reshuffled the advisory body of the powerful Congregation for Bishops, the office that vets all the world's bishop nominations. He removed the arch-conservative American Cardinal Raymond Burke, a key figure in the U.S. culture wars over abortion and gay marriage, and also nixed the head of Italy's bishops' conference and another hardline Italian, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, earlier axed as head of the Vatican office responsible for priests.

More here-

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/12/21/pope-christmas-address/4155829/

Anglicans send Kiwi to the Vatican

From New Zealand-

The head of the Anglican Church in New Zealand, Archbishop David Moxon, has been appointed to represent the worldwide Anglican movement in Rome.

Hamilton-based Archbishop Moxon, 61, will resign from his New Zealand position in April to take up a three- to five-year term as the Anglican Representative to the Holy See.

He will also continue to lead the Anglican side of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, a role he has filled from New Zealand for the past two years.

He has led the Pakeha part of the NZ Anglican Church since 2006 and has been Bishop of Waikato since 1993, when he was the country's youngest bishop. He said moving to Rome was "a huge responsibility".

"People took the initiative in suggesting it some time ago. I have had to wrestle with it," he said.

More here-

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/religion-and-beliefs/news/article.cfm?c_id=301&objectid=10852236

Pope Benedict's butler arrested in Vatican leaks scandal, reports say

From Italy - via Canada - (So you mean the butler really did do it?)

Vatican police arrested Friday a man - reportedly the pope's butler - on allegations of having leaked confidential documents and letters from the pontiff's private study to newspapers.

The man was caught in possession of secret documents, the Vatican said, but it would not confirm the suspect's identity, age, or when he had been arrested.

"The inquiry carried out by Vatican police... allowed them to identify someone in possession of confidential documents. This person is currently being questioned," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told journalists.

According to Il Foglio newspaper and ANSA news agency, the detained man is none other than the pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, a member of the small team which works daily in Pope Benedict XVI's apartments.

The Italian daily said he is likely to be used by the Vatican as "a handy scapegoat" for several others suspected of being involved in leaking documents, some of which ended up in a new book on the tiny state published a week ago.

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Pope+Benedict+butler+arrested+Vatican+leaks+scandal+reports/6678572/story.html

Vatican Bank Officials Under Investigation

From NPR-

Just when the Catholic Church didn't need another scandal, Italian magistrates have frozen $30 million from the Vatican bank and are investigating top bank officials for alleged violations of European money laundering rules.

The Vatican said Tuesday it was "perplexed and surprised" and expressed full trust in bank Chairman Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and director-general Paolo Cipriani.

Italian financial police seized the money as a precaution from a Vatican bank account being held at the Rome branch of Credito Artigiano SpA following two recent suspicious transfers. News reports said the bulk of the money was destined for JP Morgan in Frankfurt, with the remainder going to Banca del Fucino.

According to the reports, the Vatican bank had neglected to communicate to financial authorities where the money had come from. The reports stressed that Gotti Tedeschi wasn't being investigated for laundering money himself, but for a series of omissions in financial transactions.

More here-

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130017340&sc=fb&cc=fp

Heinz History Center to host Vatican exhibit of artifacts, artwork

From The Tribune Review-

Pittsburgh's robust Catholic heritage has earned it a papal visit of sorts.

One of the largest collection of Vatican art and historical objects to tour North America will go on display this fall in the Senator John Heinz History Center. "Vatican Splendors: A Journey Through Faith and Art" opens Oct. 2 in the Strip District museum.

The exhibit includes nearly 200 rare artifacts, relics and works of art from the 2,000-year history of the papal seat in Rome. They range from original frescoes dating from 1277 to artifacts unearthed from the catacombs beneath the Eternal City.

Some, such as a reliquary containing the remains of St. Peter and St. Paul, never have traveled outside the Vatican.

Pittsburgh is one of three cities in North America to host the latest round of the exhibition, open in St. Louis. The other venue is yet to be announced.

"The organizers know that Pittsburgh religious tradition is strong and that nearly 60 percent of people in Western Pennsylvania identify themselves as Catholic," said Andy Masich, president and CEO of the history center. "They felt there would be a very receptive audience in Pennsylvania for a world-class exhibit."

"Vatican Splendors" will display a first-generation cast of Michelangelo's' "Pieta" and signed documents and artifacts used in work on the Sistine Chapel.

More here-

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_686034.html

Vatican issues statement on sex abuse scandal

From Independent Catholic-

Holy See Press Office Director Fr Federico Lombardi SJ today issued a note entitled: 'A clear route through stormy waters'.

"At the end of a week in which a large part of the attention of the European media has been focused on the question of sexual abuses committed by people in institutions of the Catholic Church, we would like to make three observations:

"Firstly, the line being taken by the German Episcopal Conference has shown itself to be the right way to face the problem in its various aspects. The declarations of the president of that conference, Archbishop Zollitsch, following his meeting with the Holy Father, recap the strategy laid down in the conference's recent assembly and reiterate its essential operational aspects: recognition of the truth and help for victims, reinforcement of preventative measures and constructive collaboration with the authorities (including the judicial authorities of State) for the common good of society. Archbishop Zollitsch also unequivocally reiterated the opinion of experts according to whom the question of celibacy should in no way be confused with that of paedophilia. The Holy Father has encouraged the line being followed by the German bishops which - even taking account of the specific context of their own county - may be considered as a useful and inspiring model for other episcopal conferences that find themselves facing similar problems.

"Furthermore, an important and wide-ranging interview given by Msgr Charles J Scicluna, promoter of justice of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, gives a detailed explanation of the significance of the specific canonical norms established by the Church over the years to judge the heinous crimes of sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy. It is absolutely clear that these norms did not seek, and have not favoured, any kind of cover-up of such crimes; quite the contrary, they initiated intense activities to confront, judge and adequately punish the crimes in the context of ecclesiastical legislation. And it must be remembered that all this was planned and set in motion when Cardinal Ratzinger was prefect of the Congregation. The line he followed was always one of rigour and coherence in dealing with even the most difficult situations.

More here-

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=15807

Vatican releases list of top ten rock albums

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department- (Vatican Division)

The Vatican's once-stodgy daily newspaper, "L'Osservatore Romano" has published a list of the best rock albums of all time. They are as follows:

The Beatles' "Revolver"

Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon"

Oasis' "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"

Michael Jackson's "Thriller"

U2's "Achtung Baby"

Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours"

Donald Fagen's "The Nightfly"

Carlos Santana's "Supernatural"

Paul Simon's "Graceland"

David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name"

The inclusion of “Revolver” on the list comes as a bit of a surprise, since John Lennon once ruffled some ecclesiastic feathers by remarking, “The Beatles are bigger than Jesus.” However, the Vatican music critic may have been swayed by the fact that George Harrison was raised Catholic, and Paul McCartney included a reference to a priest on the Revolver track, “Eleanor Rigby.” Of course, Father McKenzie may have been an Anglican priest, but McCartney nevertheless portrayed the cleric in a sympathetic light.

Besides Harrison, several other rock stars on the Vatican’s list were baptised into the Roman faith as infants. Liam and Noel Gallagher (of Oasis) were brought up Catholic, as was Carlos Santana. U2’s Bono was deliberately raised both Catholic and Protestant by his well-meaning Irish parents, and he is too politically correct to align himself directly with either church. But he has been known to hang out with popes and carry rosaries.

Michael Jackson’s inclusion of zombies in his “Thriller” video irked some members of his own church, the Jehovah Witnesses. But apparently, Rome takes a gentler view of the late genius’ cinematic work.

Surprisingly, some notable (or nominal) Catholic musicians did NOT make the Vatican’s list, including Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Ray and Dave Davies (of the Kinks), Elvis Costello, Eddie and Alex Van Halen, and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols. But then again, they really don't need the attention. They’re all rock gods anyway.

http://www.examiner.com/x-25267-Anaheim-Cultural-Events-Examiner~y2010m2d19-Vatican-releases-list-of-top-ten-rock-albums

Episcopal clergy await details on Vatican plan

From The Toledo Blade-

Local Episcopal clergy are anxiously awaiting details of a new Vatican plan to ease the way for discontented Anglicans to join the Roman Catholic Church.
"What struck me about the statement was the lack of details, which I found very significant," said the Rev. Gregory Sammons, co-rector of St. Michael's in the Hills Episcopal Church in Ottawa Hills.

In its announcement Tuesday, the Vatican said its forthcoming Apostolic Constitution will contain provisions for ordaining married ex-Anglican priests, appointing unmarried former Anglican clergy as "ordinaries," or bishops, and allowing ex-Anglicans to retain their spiritual and liturgical identities after joining the Roman Catholic Church.

The Episcopal Church, which has 2.3 million members, is the U.S. branch of the 80 million-member Anglican Communion. The denomination was founded in the 16th century after a split between the Church of England and Rome over theological issues, papal primacy, and King Henry VIII's desire for the annulment of his marriage.

It has been deeply divided in recent years over the ordination of gay clergy and the blessing of homosexual partnerships, following earlier controversies over the ordination of women and revisions in the prayer book and hymnal.

The Catholic Church, which does not ordain female priests and bars the ordination of openly and actively gay men, has ordained married ex-Anglican priests for more than a decade. But the new Vatican plan goes further in accommodating individual and group converts, saying it will "preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony" while ensuring "these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church."

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http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091022/NEWS16/910220336/0/SPORTS21