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Pope, Council of Cardinals continue discussion of women in the church
Posted on 04/16/2024 05:30 AM (USCCB News)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis and his international Council of Cardinals continued their discussions about the role of women in the church, listening to women experts, including a professor who spoke about how culture impacts women's roles and status.
The pope and the nine-member Council of Cardinals invited women, including an Anglican bishop, to make presentations at their meetings in December and in February as well.
The council met April 15-16 in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope's residence, the Vatican press office said.
On the first day, Sister Regina da Costa Pedro, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate and director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Brazil, shared "concrete stories and the thoughts of some Brazilian women," the press office said.
Stella Morra, a professor of theology at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University, "examined the role cultures have in the recognition of the role of women in different parts of the world," the press office said.
A priest and two women made presentations at the council's December meeting and published their papers in Italian in a book with a foreword by Pope Francis, "Smaschilizzare La Chiesa?" ("De-masculinize the Church?).
During the preparation for the synod on synodality and during its first assembly in October, the pope wrote in the foreword, "We realized that we have not listened enough to the voice of women in the church and that the church still has a lot to learn."
"It is necessary to listen to each other to 'de-masculinize' the church because the church is a communion of men and women who share the same faith and the same baptismal dignity," he wrote.
At the February meeting, the pope and cardinals heard from: Bishop Jo Bailey Wells, deputy secretary-general of the Anglican Communion; Salesian Sister Linda Pocher, a professor of Christology and Mariology at Rome's Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences "Auxilium"; and Giuliva Di Berardino, a consecrated virgin and liturgist from the Diocese of Verona, Italy.
Bishop Bailey Wells said she was invited to "describe the Anglican journey in regard to the ordination of women, both in the Church of England and across the (Anglican) Communion."
At the April meeting, the Vatican said, the second day began with a report about the ongoing Synod of Bishops on synodality by Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, and Msgr. Piero Coda, secretary general of the International Theological Commission.
The meeting concluded "with reports from each cardinal on the social, political and ecclesial situation in his home region," the press office said.
"Throughout the session there were references -- and on several occasions prayer -- dedicated to the scenarios of war and conflict being experienced in so many places around the world, particularly in the Middle East and in Ukraine," the statement said.
"The cardinals -- and with them the pope -- expressed concern about what is taking place and their hope for an increase in efforts to identify paths of negotiation and peace," it said.
The council will meet again in June.
The members of the council are: Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state; Seán P. O'Malley of Boston; Sérgio da Rocha of São Salvador da Bahia, Brazil; Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, India; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, president of the commission governing Vatican City State; Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg; Gérald C. Lacroix of Québec; Juan José Omella Omella of Barcelona; and Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of Kinshasa, Congo. Bishop Marco Mellino serves as the council's secretary.
Green schools for children in Madagascar
Posted on 04/16/2024 03:42 AM ()
The island country of Madagascar, off the southeastern coast of Africa, is deeply affected by the consequences of climate change. That’s why, the Diocese of Mananjary in the southeast, has decided to create "green schools" with courses on education for the protection of our Common Home, placing a bet on the future of young Malagasies.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Church of Africa: An interview with Fr Joel Nkongolo
Posted on 04/16/2024 01:33 AM ()
Congolese national and Claretian priest Fr Joel Nkongolo recently spoke to Fr Paul Samasumo of Vatican News about AI’s implications or possible impact on the African Church. Fr Nkongolo is currently based in Nigeria.
UNICEF calls Nigeria to take decisive action to protect children
Posted on 04/16/2024 00:52 AM ()
UNICEF Nigeria urges ‘decisive action’ to protect children in Nigeria and ensure they are able to receive a quality education.
Cardinal Suharyo of Jakarta presents the Indonesia that Pope Francis will meet
Posted on 04/15/2024 20:02 PM ()
In a wide-ranging interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta, Indonesia, looks forward to Pope Francis’ arrival in September, discusses his small Catholic flock on the largest Muslim country, coexistence among religions, and the witness of Asian Christians.
Church leader in Australia attacked during worship service
Posted on 04/15/2024 07:36 AM ()
Authorities in Australia have arrested a man who attacked Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel of Christ The Good Shepherd Church as he was giving his sermon during a liturgical celebration. The attack took place in a Sydney suburb and does not appear related to one days earlier at a local shopping centre.
World Council of Churches does not agree to XXV WRCC's Decree
Posted on 04/15/2024 06:30 AM ()
The General Secretary of the WCC says the organization cannot reconcile the Decree of the XXV World Russian People's Council, whose head is the Orthodox Patriarch, which describes the conflict in Ukraine as a "holy war."
"Conversations in the Spirit” for women in a synodal Church
Posted on 04/15/2024 06:24 AM ()
Around 1,400 people from all over the world are expected to gather online to put synodal methodology into practice, with a focus on the participation of women in a synodal Church.
New modern stained-glass windows to be installed in Notre Dame
Posted on 04/15/2024 05:36 AM ()
As the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris continues at a steady pace after the devastating fire that ravaged the Gothic masterpiece on April 15, 2019, the French Government appoints a committee of experts to select projects of new modern-style stained-glass windows to replace the existing ones in six of its chapels.
Amid Nationwide Worker Shortages, Bishop Seitz Reaffirms Church’s Closeness with Immigrant Workers Who ‘Labor for Us All’
Posted on 04/15/2024 05:30 AM (USCCB News)
WASHINGTON – While American employers continue to struggle with filling more than nine million open jobs and a growing number of communities look to immigration as the solution, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso emphasized that it is often these much needed immigrant workers who are the most vulnerable members of our workforce. As chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, he highlighted the vital role they fill in American communities:
“Immigrant workers are integral to the life of our nation. They tend our fields, maintain our roads, and staff our hospitals. Through these and other acts, they labor for us all. Without their contributions, American communities would grind to a standstill. Not only are they working in some of the most arduous conditions but frequently with limited legal protections, and they are more susceptible to human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Sadly, the risks faced by many immigrant workers were recently underscored by the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse, in which six immigrant workers tragically lost their lives.
“The Church, in her abiding love for every person as a son or daughter of God, gives special consideration to the poor, the marginalized, and the excluded. As a society, we judge ourselves—and will be judged—by our treatment of those who are least empowered to advocate for themselves because of social, economic, and political obstacles. The Church remains committed to securing rights and justice for those who labor humbly in the shadows, and we urge leaders to undertake much-needed reforms that recognize their essential contributions.
“As we rejoice in the Paschal Mystery this Easter, may every follower of Christ live with the knowledge that ‘our brothers and sisters are the prolongation of the incarnation for each of us’ (Evangelii Gaudium), and may that reality motivate us to a radical solidarity befitting our Savior who gave his life for the sake of us all.”
Last week, Bishop Seitz sent a letter to Congress expressing support for further access to legal employment authorization for those with pending asylum claims. The letter references a recent report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which found refugees and asylees to have made a net fiscal impact of $123.8 billion to the American economy at both the federal and state levels over a fifteen-year period.
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