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.
Tuesday 17 May 2022
1 - Peace is a challenge for Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall, says Cardinal Czerny
2 - The Archbishop of Kinshasa refuses any instrumentalization of the Pope's visit to the DRC
3 - The Pope wants to change the face of the Church in Italy
4 - Bishop Hinder says UAE should continue to open up
5 - Living the #ConventLife: American nuns use TikTok as a means of evangelization
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Peace is a challenge for Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall, says Cardinal Czerny
"I saw the war (...), I saw it on the distressed faces of the Ukrainian children, women, and men I met," Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, told Catt.ch on his return from his trips to Hungary and Slovakia. In those countries, the papal envoy met with Ukrainian refugees. "Their suffering, their helplessness pained me. These are people who have fled to save their lives but, in a way, they have lost their lives because they have left everything they had and their world has been shattered," the prelate said. However, he invites us not to "lose hope." In Europe, he believes, "we have become accustomed to our comfort, without thinking too much about our responsibilities. In a certain way, we Europeans have fallen asleep. Perhaps the pandemic and the war will wake us up.” The Cardinal therefore invites everyone to "take the step of reconciliation" in their own lives. "It would be a grave error to rise up against leaders who are incapable of making peace and then casually cultivate one's own personal conflicts, considering them insignificant," he concluded.
The Archbishop of Kinshasa refuses any instrumentalization of the Pope's visit to the DRC
Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo in early July. Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa, spoke about the Pontiff's trip. He made it clear that Francis would not come to "evaluate the current (political) regime" but to "visit the people" as a pastor. In a country where the political situation has been tense for several years and where many inhabitants live in poverty, "the Pope is coming to bring comfort to a people who have suffered," explained the Cardinal. He also specified: "This has nothing to do with a value judgment on the governance of the current regime.” Cardinal Ambongo also insisted that Pope Francis’ visit would be, in any case, "a great event for the DRC."
The Pope wants to change the face of the Church in Italy
Who will succeed Cardinal Bassetti as President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) is a question that continues to interest the local press, which speculates on the direction Pope Francis wants to take this episcopate. At their Plenary Assembly at the end of May, the members of the Bishops' Conference will have to propose three names to the Pope, who will then make his decision. "Jorge Mario Bergoglio, in these nine years of pontificate, has shown that he knows how to surprise," the daily Il Giornale recalls, recognizing that it is difficult "to make any predictions about the name that we will probably know by the first week of June.” The new president of the CEI should "represent the leadership of a Church dedicated to getting out of itself, to get closer to the faithful people," the article says. The name of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, is naturally mentioned among the favorites, but such a politically delicate position could weaken him in view of a Conclave. Among the possible alternatives, the newspaper cites the name of Archbishop Domenico Battaglia of Naples, whom the Pope would have to create a Cardinal. He has explicitly expressed the wish that the president of the Italian bishops be a member of the Sacred College.
Bishop Hinder says UAE should continue to open up
Bishop Paul Hinder, former Vicar Apostolic of southern Arabia (UAE, Oman and Yemen), speaks of Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates, who died on May 13. The country is in mourning for 40 days, and the Swiss Bishop said there is an atmosphere of "respect and tribute" for this man who contributed to the opening up of his country by continuing "the forefather's project," the founder Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. For the Catholic Bishop, the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed, is an "energetic person" who distinguished himself in particular in the preparation of Pope Francis’ visit in 2019 and the "signing of the document on brotherhood, which he strongly supported.” Bishop Hinder therefore imagines that the new governance will continue the policy of openness, encounter, and dialogue with the other. "A spirit of tolerance that embraces all religions and ethnicities and one of the cornerstones on which the future of the Emirates rests," he says.
Living the #ConventLife: American nuns use TikTok as a means of evangelization
“We’re not all grim old ladies reading the Bible,” said Sister Monica Claire, an Episcopal nun from the Community of St. John Baptist in the USA, who shares videos about her life on TikTok. The 56-year-old is the youngest in her community and encourages her sisters to share their life as nuns on social media. “If we’re hidden, we’re going to die out,” she explains. Her videos include teaching her audience of around 161,000 followers about Episcopalian values and beliefs, answering questions about religious rituals, and more. “Our mission in the church is to bring Jesus to the world by using the most modern and efficacious forms of media,” said Sister Chelsea Bethany Davis, 30, of the Catholic order the Daughters of St. Paul, who is also very active on social media. Another Catholic Sister, Lisa Carol Hezmalhalch, says she fields prayer requests from her followers before going on silent retreats. Then, every day during the holy hour, she prays for 20 to 50 followers at a time, and more than 1,000 over the course of the retreat. “As exhausting as it is, I’ve prayed for every single one of the commenters by name,” Sister Lisa said. “Sometimes I don’t know their name [...] it’s user16575 saying, ‘pray for me.’ I have no idea who ‘me’ is, but the Lord knows.”
