Every day, Aleteia offers a selection of articles written by the international press about the Church and the major issues that concern Catholics around the world. The opinions and views expressed in these articles are not those of the editors.
New American ambassador arrives amid a unique geopolitical context
On April 11, Joseph Donnelly presented his credentials to Pope Francis as the 12th Ambassador of the United States to the Holy See since 1984. In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan wanted closer ties with the Vatican because of perceptions that the US and Polish Pope John Paul II shared the same enemy in the Soviet Union; today “Donnelly steps into the ambassador’s role when that common enemy is back with a vengeance amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine,” explains Vatican expert John Allen. The American journalist retraces the Vatican/US relations in the past years, highlighting how “Pope Francis has made his personal ambivalence about the United States clear,” especially during the Trump administration and with regards to American conservatism amongst some Catholics and Evangelical protests. Allen underlines that although “Donnelly arrives at a moment of deep global upheaval,” for once the exchanges between the US and the Pontiff “won’t be contentious” but rather, as the USA and the Holy See are on the same side, it “creates the possibility of all sorts of new partnerships between the world’s most important hard and soft powers, respectively.”
Crux, English.
Ukrainian nuns open their monastery doors to the displaced
Under the ancient beech forests of the Carpathian Mountains, a peaceful monastery in the village of Hoshiv, in western Ukraine, has given refuge to a dozen children and their families displaced by the war. A little further away, 100 km from Lviv, nuns of the Holy Family welcomed about 40 people fleeing the fighting. Ryma Stryzhko, a 59-year-old woman who fled Kharkiv, said “it seemed that the planes were flying in the middle of the house. And you could hear the sound of bombing.” She also explained that she was often forced to hide behind cars when she went out to buy bread or medicine. "After what we saw, (the monastery) is a paradise,” Stryzhko said. However even in this peaceful environment, the nuns keep receiving air raid alerts on their smartphones. They then warn the rest of the residents by ringing the monastery's bells. In the face of this unusual situation, “we play, and read prayers,” says Rostyslav Borysenko, a 10-year-old child who fled Mariupol under siege with his mother.
Associated Press, English
The Franciscan monk helping the Vatican take on artificial intelligence
Franciscan monk Father Paolo Benanti is an engineer and ethics professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University. When he is not teaching graduate priests he is the “artificial intelligence whisperer to the highest echelon of the Holy See,” the Financial Times explains. Father Benanti advises Pope Francis, his senior counselors and his interlocutors, which have included the president of Microsoft and the head of AI ethics policy at Facebook, on the application of AI. “Algorithms make us quantifiable. The idea that if we transform human beings into data, they can be processed or discarded, that is something that really touches the sensibility of the Pope,” Benanti says. The Franciscan helped draft the Rome Call, an ethical commitment signed by Microsoft, IBM, the Italian government and others in February 2020. Now Benanti is working on an ethical charter to protect society from AI’s harms, which is supposed to be signed in May in Abu Dhabi by religious leaders from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Financial Times, English
Israel offers to rediscover the Passion sites during Holy Week
In the context of the return of pilgrims and tourists to the main sites of the Holy Land, the organization "Tourism of Israel" has prepared a guide to advise visitors in this liturgical time. The Holy Sepulcher is naturally one of the most important places, with the celebration of Vespers on Holy Saturday at 6pm. At the Lake of Tiberias there are companies offering boat trips to navigate the waters where, according to the Gospels, Christ walked. The reconstruction of the village of Nazareth can be visited, provided that a reservation is made one week in advance. The concomitant celebration of the Jewish Passover will also give rise to gatherings at the Wailing Wall. As is the biannual tradition, papers deposited in the cracks of the Wall will be removed and buried on the Mount of Olives.
Vida Nueva, Spanish
Meet Fr. Stu: the real priest and story behind Mark Wahlberg’s new movie
Who is "Father Stu," the character Mark Wahlberg will play in his upcoming film (in theaters in the United States on April 13), which he committed his personal finances to fund? The Pillar investigated the story of this Montana priest, who led an unusual life marked by an extraordinary conversion. Interviewing Stuart Long's close friends and family, the article recounts the early years of this young sportsman who dreamed of becoming an actor. His life was then turned upside down after a motorcycle accident that nearly killed him. At the age of 30, Stuart converted to Catholicism. However, that wasn’t enough. As an illness began to take over, he felt called to become a priest, which he eventually became and served God until his early death.
The Pillar, English
