Jesuits in Slovenia apologize for Rupnik abuse, say they believe victims

Jesuits in Slovenia apologize for Rupnik abuse, say they believe victims

Father Marko Rupnik, SJ. / Screenshot Vatican News

Rome Newsroom, Jan 11, 2023 / 13:00 pm (CNA).

Jesuits in Slovenia have asked for forgiveness from the women who have have accused Father Marko Rupnik, S..J, of spiritual and sexual abuse, saying they believe the claims.

Rupnik, a Jesuit priest and artist originally from Slovenia, has been accused of the sexual, spiritual, and psychological abuse of at least nine women from a religious community with which he was formerly connected.

The alleged abuse took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s. An investigation into the claims was dropped by the Vatican in October 2022 due to the statute of limitations.

“It is obvious that, as a province, in the past we did not know how to listen to the victims and take appropriate action to clear up the issues and put an end to the suffering. We fully accept and understand the indignation, anger, and disappointment of the victims and their loved ones,” the Slovenian Jesuits wrote in a statement posted to their website Jan. 6.

The Jesuits said the abuse claims “deeply shook us. We believe in the sincerity of the religious sisters and other victims who spoke about their suffering and other circumstances regarding emotional, sexual, and spiritual abuse by our brother.”

“We sincerely ask everyone for forgiveness,” they said, addressing in particular the victims and former and current members of the Loyola Community.

The allegations of victims “undoubtedly show that the competent Church leaders did not take appropriate action, as a result of which the unsuspected suffering of a number of women was increased and prolonged,” the statement said.

Rupnik’s ministry is overseen by superiors in Rome, where he has lived since 1993.

The artworks of the 68-year-old sacred artist decorate Catholic churches, chapels, and shrines around the world, including the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Vatican and the major seminary of Rome.

“We all want the whole truth to come out, which will allow everyone involved to get justice,” the Slovenian Jesuits said, noting that “an investigation and judicial process is usually necessary to reveal the truth.”

Following media revelations, the bishops of Slovenia also issued a statement about Rupnik.

The bishops said they held an extraordinary meeting in Ljubljana on Dec. 21, 2022, to discuss the Rupnik case.

They condemned the alleged abuse and said they support the Jesuits “in their quest for truth and justice.”

“Victims are never guilty!” the bishops said. “We are on the side of the victims. We express our compassion and closeness to them and commit ourselves to help them.”

In light of Rupnik’s success as a sacred artist, the bishops also asked people to “distinguish his unacceptable and reprehensible actions from his extraordinary spiritual and artistic accomplishments in mosaics and other areas. These facts are a great test of our faith and trust in God.”

Media reports published in early December 2022 alleged that Rupnik had, approximately three decades ago, sexually, spiritually, and psychologically abused sisters in a religious institute with which he was formerly associated.

Following the reports, the Jesuits in Rome confirmed that Rupnik had also incurred an automatic excommunication for absolving an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment. The excommunication was verified, and shortly afterward lifted, by the Vatican in 2020.

The Jesuits said Rupnik’s ministry has been under restrictions since 2019 and 2020. While under restrictions, the Jesuit artist has continued to preach online and receive public accolades. In March 2020, he gave one of the annual Lenten sermons to the Roman Curia and Pope Francis.

Three Kings parades across Poland draw 1.5 million participants

Three Kings parades across Poland draw 1.5 million participants

Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. / Justyna Galant/CNA

Warsaw, Poland, Jan 9, 2023 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6 for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. This year, carols were sung not only in Polish but also in Ukrainian.

“We wish you and your homeland a peace stronger than war. We wish you and your homeland hope that is stronger than death. Glory to Ukraine,” Ukrainian Auxiliary Bishop Michał Janocha of Warsaw said to a large gathering of Ukrainian mothers with their children in Warsaw.

Jan. 6 is the feast of the Epiphany, which is commonly referred to as Three Kings Day, or the day of the three Magi. In Poland, it is a day off. In many cities across the country, colorful processions are held to commemorate the event, with participants remembering the journey of the three Wise Men who arrived in Bethlehem to pay homage to the newborn Jesus.

Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. Justyna Galant/CNA
Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. Justyna Galant/CNA

After his Angelus prayer on Jan. 6 at the Vatican, Pope Francis greeted all participants of the Three Kings Parade, saying: “I also extend my thoughts to the ‘Parade of the Three Kings’ taking place in so many towns and villages in Poland today.”

The motto of this year’s Three Kings Parade was “Let us follow the star.” According to the organizers: “The star prompted the Wise Men from the East to set out on their journey. Each of us needs good guides to point us in the right direction on the way to Christ.”

“This year, 753 Three Kings parades were reported in Poland and a dozen or so in Germany, the U.K., France, Cameroon, Rwanda, and Zambia,” said Piotr Giertych, chairman of the board of the Three Kings Parade Foundation. The parade gathers nearly 2 million people every year, he said, “1 million on the streets and another million in front of their TV sets.”

Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. Justyna Galant/CNA
Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. Justyna Galant/CNA

Special words of appreciation and gratitude were addressed to the participants and organizers of the parades by Polish President Andrzej Duda. He stressed that these events contribute to reviving and popularizing Polish Nativity and carol traditions in the 21st century and thus strengthen the identity and family ties of those who boldly manifest their Christian faith in the streets and squares of Polish cities.

The event was accompanied by a fundraiser for a vocational school in Nairobi, Kenya, located next to the world’s largest slum.

The Three Kings Parade is currently one of the largest street Christmas pageants in the world. In 2022, it drew as many as 1.2 million participants in 668 towns and cities across Poland and on four continents. Colorful processions marched down the streets in many countries, including Ecuador, the United States, Rwanda, Cameroon, Zambia, and Chad.

Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. Justyna Galant/CNA
Three Kings parades went down the streets of 800 Polish towns and cities Jan. 6, 2023, for the feast of the Epiphany, with estimates of some 1.5 million people taking part in what is believed to be the largest street Nativity pageant in the world. Justyna Galant/CNA

The Holy Family traveled more than 1,200 miles from Israel to Egypt and back

The Holy Family traveled more than 1,200 miles from Israel to Egypt and back

null / Credit: Cathopic

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 6, 2023 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and the child Jesus traveled more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from the time they fled to Egypt to escape the massacre of boys 2 years old and younger ordered by Herod, to their arrival in Nazareth, according to an expert.

The Gospel according to St. Matthew narrates how after the Magi had left Bethlehem, “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt.’” 

There they had to remain until further notice because “Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Mt 2:13).

Cayetana H. Johnson, professor of Aramaic and Hebrew Language at the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical University in Madrid, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language sister news agency, that the Holy Family stayed in Egypt for about four years, according to tradition, and that in their journey there and back “they traveled more than 2,000 kilometers.”

“Although the route followed by the Holy Family is not recorded in the Bible, Coptic Christians have identified some 25 places where they believe Mary, Joseph, and Jesus stayed during their sojourn in Egypt,” the expert said.

It is believed that “the ruins of an ancient church in Farma (Pelusium) and four monasteries in Wadi Natrun mark stages in their journey through the Nile Delta,” she said.

This has been reflected in some artistic works, she said: “In Deir al-Suriani (The Monastery of the Syrians, in Wadi Natrun) a fresco from the sixth century shows Mary nursing the child Jesus.”

When Herod the Great died, an angel again appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead” (Mt 2:20).

Thus, “the Holy Family took the road back to the Dronka Mountain” where a monastery was later built in honor of the Virgin.

From there, “they arrived in Old Cairo after Matarieh, then traveled to Al Mahatma, Sinai, and finally entered the Holy Land to settle in the town of Nazareth in Galilee,” Johnson related.

A large Jewish community in Egypt

At that time in Egypt “there was a large Jewish community” because, according to the expert, “relations between Israel and the country of the pharaohs were historically more positive than negative.”

Egypt was already part of the Roman Empire for some 30 years prior, after the defeat of Marc Antony and Cleopatra by Octavian Cesar Augustus.

The significant presence of Jews in Egypt dates back to the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 587 B.C. 

Johnson explained that “six months after the appointment of Gedeliah as governor of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon), Ishmael (a descendant of the king of Judah) murdered Gedeliah in Mizpah (cf. 2 Kings 25:22–26).”

Fearing reprisals, all the Israelites from Mizpah fled to Egypt, “taking the prophet Jeremiah with them.” These Jewish communities settled in “Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis, in the Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt.”

There, after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., “the Jewish community prospered under the Ptolemaic pharaohs and adopted Greek as their mother tongue,” even translating the Hebrew scriptures into this language.

The importance of this Jewish community was such that after the looting of Jerusalem in 167 B.C., a Jewish temple was built near Memphis, “which would have been the center of a large Jewish community when Mary and Joseph arrived in Egypt.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Former archbishop of Paris under investigation for sexual assault is ‘outraged but serene’  

Former archbishop of Paris under investigation for sexual assault is ‘outraged but serene’  

Archbishop Michel Aupetit of Paris. / Ibex73 via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

CNA Newsroom, Jan 4, 2023 / 15:50 pm (CNA).

The former archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, is reportedly under preliminary investigation for sexual assault on a vulnerable person, according to a report from the Archdiocese of Paris in late November 2022, French news channel BFMTV reported. 

According to the TV channel’s report, the allegations date back to 2011 and concern a vulnerable former parishioner, subject to a judicial protection measure. Aupetit is suspected of having exchanged sexual emails with this parishioner, who suffers from a “slight mental deficiency.”

The investigations opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office have been entrusted to the French Brigade of Repression of Delinquency People. For the moment, neither the former archbishop nor the alleged victim — who has not filed any complaint — have been heard from by the police.

In a statement issued on the evening of Jan. 3, the Archdiocese of Paris said it was not “able to verify whether the facts in question were proven, nor if they constituted an offense.” 

“The report — which did not involve the classification of sexual assault — has been made” so that “all the necessary verifications can be carried out by the justice,” the archdiocese added.

Interviewed by the daily newspaper Le Monde following publication of the news, Aupetit’s lawyer, Jean Reinhart, stressed that he had learned through the press that a report had been made by the archdiocese. He said that the bishopric had never questioned him on this point. 

“[My client] is therefore even more surprised to learn that the Paris public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation of which he knew nothing,” he said, adding that he had no idea who this woman could be, “no one having ever complained of the slightest inappropriate gesture on his part.”

On the morning of Jan. 4, Reinhart told the public radio station France Inter that the 71-year-old former archbishop remained “serene,” although “surprised and outraged,” and that he would “continue his pastoral mission from which nothing will divert him.” 

This case comes a year after Aupetit resigned as archbishop of Paris after an article by the weekly magazine Le Point questioned his governance methods and suggested he had an affair with a woman in 2012 when he was vicar general of the Archdiocese of Paris. 

Aupetit, who firmly denied any intimate relationship with the woman in question, claimed to have resigned in order to “preserve his archdiocese from division.” Pope Francis then specified during an in-flight press conference that he had accepted Aupetit’s resignation “not on the altar of truth, but on the altar of hypocrisy,” because the “gossip” “took away his reputation.” 

For those close to Aupetit, these accusations amount to an attempted social media lynching in order to definitively disqualify his voice on societal issues. Aupetit is known for his orthodox views on issues related to bioethics and the family and has been a vocal opponent of abortion, euthanasia, and gay marriage. 

Father Michel Viot, a priest in charge of the pastoral care of funerals and mourning at the Archdiocese of Paris since 2018, in an interview with CNA stressed that the former archbishop, who used to be a doctor before becoming a priest, has been an influential voice in debates over social issues.

Viot said that he played a key role in the Matignon Forum, an annual meeting between representatives of the Catholic Church in France and some key politicians and members of the government to discuss major current issues.

“On all bioethical issues, especially on the end of life, Aupetit has always been extremely clear, and while debates are being held in France in order to legalize euthanasia, he remained a dangerous man, even though he was already removed from the Archdiocese of Paris, because he still had the trust of many people, including the pope,” Viot said.

Since leaving the Archdiocese of Paris, Aupetit — who has been reportedly living in the south of France with a community welcoming vulnerable people — has remained very active on his Twitter account, where he has continued to outspokenly denounce the excesses of today’s society.

Aupetit has included Christians in his denunciations, saying that some have become mere “shopkeepers,” satisfied with “comfortable, clientelistic interiors,” or even “weathervanes.” He has also consistently denounced the practice of euthanasia as an “abuse” that is contrary to the Hippocratic Oath.

BFMTV also mentioned the fact that Aupetit was soon to return to Paris to discuss a possible assignment as a priest with the archdiocese.

According to Father Viot, the timing of the accusations in the press against the former archbishop, since the facts date back some 10 years, is no accident. He sees in it a concerted attack from certain members of the Church who favor an evolution of Catholic dogma on bioethical questions and the political and media world.

“The secrecy of the investigation is never broken on the side of the police but always on the side of the magistrates, who are more politicized. The fact that the information was leaked on BFMTV, often accused of being close to French President Emmanuel Macron, is also important,” Viot said.

He added that he is convinced the investigation “will lead nowhere” but fears the exposure in the press will have served to “further sully the reputation of a man who is considered a nuisance.” 

“I know the French political and judicial system very well, having been a prison chaplain for 10 years,” he continued. “I know the usual delays of the public prosecutor’s office in unraveling these cases of sexual assault, in particular on people who are not in their right mind, who are under curatorship. It takes a lot of time and requires a lot of precautions. Hence the importance of secrecy and of the presumption of innocence.”  

Anglican Ordinariate converts express gratitude for Benedict XVI’s ‘prophetic’ vision of unity

Anglican Ordinariate converts express gratitude for Benedict XVI’s ‘prophetic’ vision of unity

null / Mazur/cbcew.org.uk.

London, England, Jan 4, 2023 / 07:30 am (CNA).

A leading former Anglican bishop who converted to Catholicism has described Benedict XVI’s famous initiative enabling Anglicans to convert to Catholicism as “prophetic.”

Reflecting on the life and legacy of Pope Benedict XVI, Monsignor Michael Nazir-Ali, formerly the Anglican bishop of Rochester, told CNA in a phone call on Jan. 3 that the birth of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was a “prophetic step to take” because it provided those involved in ecumenical dialogue with “a concrete example of what unity could look like.”

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was established in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI to allow Anglicans to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining much of their traditions and heritage.

Although the Ordinariate was still not fully developed, Pope Benedict’s inspiration had offered a clear outline for future ecumenical endeavors, Nazir-Ali said.

Benedict inspired conversions

Nazir-Ali served as the 106th bishop of Rochester from 1994 to 2009. His reception into the Catholic Church in 2021 was widely reported due to his considerable contributions to religious, academic, and political discourse in the U.K. and beyond. He is now a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

In the year in which Nazir-Ali converted to Catholicism, three other Anglican bishops also did the same.

Nazir-Ali spoke about Benedict’s “terrific” impact on his life, beyond the creation of the Ordinariate. “The reason I have been so influenced by him was his analysis of the cultural situation in Europe, which I think is beyond comparison because he saw that the absence of God was going to impoverish every aspect of European life, not just religion or spirituality, but culture, literature, and so on,” he observed. “There was no one who understood this as well as he could.”

An anniversary of conversion

Among those Anglicans who felt moved to embrace the vocation that the Ordinariate offered were 12 Anglican nuns who were received into the Catholic Church on Jan. 1, 2013.

The 12 were originally part of the Community of St. Mary the Virgin, based in Wantage Oxfordshire, but through their entrance into the Catholic Church under the patronage of the Ordinariate, they are now the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary and reside in Birmingham, U.K.

In a statement on the community’s website, issued following the death of Pope Benedict XVI, the sisters wrote: “We join with the rest of the Catholic world in prayer for the soul of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who died yesterday. May he rest in peace, ‘good and faithful servant’ that he was.

“On this day 10 years ago, on 1 January 2013, we were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church at the Oratory in Oxford. How many blessings and graces have flowed from that day! We thank God for them all.”

Benedict understood the ‘Anglican soul’

Father David Palmer is also a member of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and serves the Diocese of Nottingham in the U.K. He was received into the Catholic Church during the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.

He told CNA in a statement on Jan. 3 that Benedict XVI’s legacy in bringing Anglican patrimony into the Catholic Church was “inestimable” and that the late pope understood the “Anglican soul.”

“Benedict seemed to just ‘get’ the English tradition. His love for St. John Henry Newman is well known, but more than this he seemed to understand the English tradition. Witnessing him at Westminster Abbey for evensong and again at Westminster Hall during the 2010 Papal Visit to the U.K., it was clear for all to see that he understood and appreciated the Anglican ‘soul’ or perhaps, more accurately, the historic English religious soul,” Palmer said.

“He was able to recognize in the Anglican Church that which was beautiful, and indeed those bits that still reflected something of Catholic England,” he continued.

“In England there has often been peddled the idea that Catholicism is somehow ‘foreign’; Benedict reminded us that in reality England was a Catholic country, and even after the (so-called) Reformation, Anglicanism, at its best, remained shot through with Catholic sensibility,” Palmer noted.

“The Ordinariate, so close to Benedict’s heart, was a prophetic move, a realized ecumenism that says that those who become Catholic do not have to abandon all that went before, but rather all that is good and noble from their previous community can find its fulfillment in communion with the one holy Catholic and apostolic Church,” he said. “In other words, there is nothing ‘foreign’ about Catholicism.”

Reflecting further on the legacy of the late pope emeritus, Palmer said: “We no longer have Benedict alive on earth to be our ‘protector’ (as it were) but I have every confidence that he will be interceding for us in heaven, alongside St. John Henry Newman.

“We in the Ordinariate are deeply grateful for all that Benedict did to bring us home; we will miss him immensely — he was like a grandfather to us, and we entrust him to the maternal arms of Our Lady of Walsingham, and her Son, the only name under heaven by which we can be saved.”

Archbishop Broglio visits Ukraine, promises American solidarity

Archbishop Broglio visits Ukraine, promises American solidarity

Archbishop Broglio blesses Sashko Lenevych, a lieutenant in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. / Ukraine Catholic University

Washington D.C., Jan 3, 2023 / 17:00 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and head of the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA, visited Ukraine Dec. 27–29 to express the American Catholic Church’s continued support.

Meeting with Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, and key leaders of the Ukrainian military chaplaincy in the cities of Kyiv and Lviv, Broglio offered messages of encouragement and solidarity. 

“You may not see this in Ukraine, but today Ukrainians bring great hope to the world! Your nation has united and stood up to this unjust Russian invasion. In your resistance, we see hope for the future,” Broglio told Ukrainian officials, as reported by Ukrainian Catholic University.

In an interview with CNA after his return, Broglio talked about what he had witnessed.

“I was very grateful for the opportunity to visit; obviously it was very moving to see some of the destruction, particularly to stand in front of a hospital that had been destroyed, those kinds of things are incomprehensible,” he said.

“I also participated in the funeral of three Ukrainian soldiers that were killed during the war, and it’s an almost everyday experience for the people of the Garrison church, so I came back encouraged by the spirit of the people, depressed by the inhumanity they’ve experienced, and anxious to try to encourage Catholics in the United States certainly to pray for peace, to support them in any way that we can, and also to look forward to the future when the situation might be more positive,” Broglio told CNA.

While in Lviv, Broglio toured Ukrainian Catholic University and spoke with Ukrainian military chaplains, some of whom were just recently returned from the front lines.

As head of the Archdiocese of Military Services, USA, Broglio offered a unique perspective to Church leaders in war-torn Ukraine. 

“We have to take care of the people who are currently fighting,” Broglio said. “When I became a chaplain in 2008, I realized that my mission was to serve the men and women affected by war.”

Broglio noted “a significant difference” between his ministry to U.S. soldiers fighting in faraway nations and ministry to Ukrainian soldiers fighting in their homeland. 

“Unfortunately, the war is happening here, on your land. My visit is a visit of solidarity and support,” Broglio said. 

In Kyiv, at the funeral of three young Ukrainian soldiers who were recently killed in the nation’s conflict against invading Russia, Broglio addressed the mourners. 

“We are sincerely grateful to the defenders for the sacrifice they make for their country and for all of us,” Broglio said. “We pray peace reigns in Ukraine and other parts of the world.”

Speaking to the families of the fallen Ukrainian soldiers, Broglio said: “On behalf of all Catholics in the United States of America, I extend my sincere condolences. We must continue to live in hope.”

Broglio’s visit comes at a time when Russia is increasing missile strikes, which, according to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are attempts to “exhaust” the nation’s defenses. 

Back in the United States, Broglio told CNA that he has two messages he’d like to communicate to American Catholics.

“One, gratitude for the tremendous support that has come from the Catholic Church in the United States for Ukraine. The second message being one to encourage prayer for those people in this moment of great suffering, but also to know that there is a tremendous spirit there and a conviction that they are going to win. And so there’s great hope,” he said.

Pope Francis expresses sorrow over ‘spiral of death’ in the Holy Land

Pope Francis appealed for peace in the Holy Land on Sunday, calling the recent spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence a “spiral of death” that accomplishes nothing.

In his Sunday Angelus address on Jan. 29, the pope expressed “great sorrow” for the death of Palestinians killed in an Israeli military raid as well as seven Israelis killed in a shooting outside of a synagogue in east Jerusalem.

“The spiral of death that increases day after day does nothing other than close the few glimpses of trust that exist between the two peoples,” Pope Francis said.

“From the beginning of the year, dozens of Palestinians have been killed during firefights with the Israeli army. I appeal to the two governments and to the international community so that, immediately and with delay, other paths might be found that include dialogue and a sincere search for peace. Brothers and sisters, let us pray for this.”

The pope spoke following a wave of violence in Israel and Palestine this week. On Friday night, seven Israelis were killed and three wounded in a shooting outside of a synagogue in east Jerusalem on the Jewish Sabbath, the deadliest attack on Israelis in 15 years, according to the Associated Press.

The synagogue shooting occurred the day after an Israeli military raid in the West Bank killed nine Palestinians and another Palestinian man was shot by Israeli forces in al-Ram, north of Jerusalem.

The Latin Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem joined other Christian leaders in Jerusalem on Sunday in warning that the current “state of affairs will almost certainly bring further atrocities and anguish, driving us away from the much sought-after peace and stability that we all seek.”

In a joint statement issued by the patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem on Jan. 29, the Christian leaders called upon all parties “to practice restraint and self-control.”

“In closely monitoring this regrettable situation, we have concluded that this proliferation of violence that has led to the unwarranted deaths of 32 Palestinians and seven Israelis since the start of the New Year seems to be self-perpetuating. It will surely continue and even escalate unless a robust intervention is resolutely undertaken by community and political leaders on all sides,” it said.

“Everyone must work together to defuse the current tensions and to launch a political process based upon well-established principles of justice that will bring about a lasting peace and prosperity for all. Consonant with this, in these most difficult of times we call upon all parties to reverence each other’s religious faith and to show respect to all holy sites and places of worship.”

The patriarchs and heads of Churches in Jerusalem asked God to grant wisdom and prudence to political leaders seeking to find ways to overcome the violence and to bring about “a just and peaceful solution for our beloved Holy Land.”

Where is Mass attendance highest? One country is the clear leader

A compilation of new data by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University sheds light on the countries around the world that have the highest Mass attendance numbers. 

CARA researchers used data from the World Values Survey (WVS), a major international study of religious belief that has been conducted for decades, to examine 36 countries with large Catholic populations. Of those countries, the researchers ranked them by the percentage of self-identified Catholics who say they attend Mass weekly or more, excluding weddings, funerals, and baptisms. 

According to the data, Nigeria and Kenya have the highest proportion of Catholics who attend Mass weekly or more, with Nigeria as the clear leader. Ninety-four percent of Catholics in Nigeria say they attend Mass at least weekly. In Kenya, the figure was 73%, and in Lebanon it was 69%.

The level of attendance in Nigeria is notably high given the high number of violent attacks against Christians across the country in recent years. Terrorist incidents inside Catholic churches are not infrequent; notably, in June of last year, gunmen believed to be Islamic extremists opened fire on Catholic worshippers attending Pentecost Mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in southwestern Nigeria, killing at least 50. 

More than half of all Catholics attend weekly or more in the Philippines (56%), Colombia (54%), Poland (52%), and Ecuador (50%). But in 29 of the 36 countries examined, fewer than half of self-identified Catholics attend Sunday Mass. The researchers acknowledged that the use of self-reported Mass attendance numbers could inflate the figures slightly, meaning actual attendance numbers could be, in reality, slightly lower across the board. 

The WVS data did not include the U.S., but CARA’s polling data indicated that the percentage of Catholics in the United States who attend Mass weekly or more is 17%, even though more than three-quarters of U.S. Catholics consider themselves to be a “religious person.”

Continuing down from there, the lowest levels of weekly attendance were observed in Lithuania (16%), Germany (14%), Canada (14%), Latvia (11%), Switzerland (11%), Brazil (8%), France (8%), and the Netherlands (7%).

“One might assume that the more religious Catholics are in a country, the more likely they are to be frequent Mass attenders,” the CARA researchers wrote. 

“Yet, there is not a strong correlation between the numbers identifying as a ‘religious’ Catholic and frequent Mass attendance.”

Countries with a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita had lower levels of Mass attendance and vice versa, they noted.

“While there seems to be a disconnect between identifying as a religious person and attending Mass weekly there is a third factor that may explain the comparative distribution of both of these attributes. If you’ve looked closely at the countries you might have noticed some economic clustering,” the CARA researchers wrote. 

“In this small sample of countries, we can surmise that Catholicism is strongest in what is often called the developing world where GDP per capita are lower, while it appears to be contracting in wealthier ‘developed’ countries,” the researchers concluded. 

“The precise mechanisms associated with economic development and wealth that are impacting Catholics’ participation in the faith and identification as religious are unclear. Whatever they are, they matter significantly.”

Letter from Benedict XVI reveals the ‘central motive’ for his resignation, biographer says

According to papal biographer Peter Seewald, chronic insomnia ultimately led to Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to resign in 2013. 

In his last letter to the biographer — dated Oct. 28, 2022 — Benedict wrote the “central motive” for his resignation from office was “insomnia,” Seewald said according to a Jan. 27 report by CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner. 

The pontiff, who died Dec. 31, 2022, also wrote that insomnia had accompanied him “continuously since World Youth Day in Cologne.”

The 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne took place a few months after Benedict’s election and was his first papal journey. 

The Bavarian-born pontiff served for nearly eight more years before announcing he was stepping down — citing waning strength — on Feb. 11, 2013.

Confirming a German media report, Seewald told agency KNA that Benedict XVI had not wanted to “make a fuss about the closer circumstances of his resignation, which was justified by his exhaustion,” while still alive.

Since the rumors and speculations about Benedict’s resignation have not died down, Seewald said he was obliged “to publish the decisive detail entrusted to me about the medical history of the German pope.”

The biographer said that Benedict XVI had used strong sleeping pills.

On his trip to Mexico and Cuba in March 2012, Benedict told Seewald, he realized he must have “bumped into something in the bathroom and fallen” after waking up only to discover his handkerchief was “blood-soaked.”

After seeking medical attention, Benedict was able to continue his program. However, following the incident, the pope’s personal physician ordered Benedict to reduce his intake of sleeping pills and stressed that he should only attend public appointments in the morning when traveling abroad.

On this account, Benedict reasoned he should make way for a new pope who would be able to attend World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in 2013. 

Miraculous Medal Shrine in Philadelphia elevated to basilica  

The Vatican recognized the Miraculous Medal Shrine, located in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, as the city’s second basilica, elevating its status to a minor basilica this week.  

The shrine, created by the Vincentians in 1927 under the leadership of Father Joseph Skelly, is now known as the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The Marian title is based on apparitions to St. Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830. The medal includes a depiction of Mary, the Mother of God, with the prayer “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee” encircling her.

“It is an esteemed honor to be recognized by the Vatican as a Minor Basilica,” Father Timothy Lyons, the shrine’s rector, said in a statement. “We are both overjoyed and humbled by this recognition. This historic proclamation marks the next chapter in the Shrine’s history and recognizes the significant role it has played in the Catholic Church, the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and the Shrine community.” 

According to a news release from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the elevation to a basilica grants the shrine certain privileges and responsibilities, such as the celebration of the feast of the Chair of St. Peter; the solemnity of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul; and the anniversary of the pope’s election into pastoral ministry.  

Basilicas also have the authority to grant plenary indulgences, which remove all temporal consequences of one’s sin. This is distinct from a partial indulgence, which only removes part of the temporal consequences. The designation also recognizes the shrine as a historic landmark, according to the archdiocese.  

“I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father for bestowing this tremendous honor on the Miraculous Medal Shrine,” Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez said in a statement. “This moment is one of great joy for the entire Church in Philadelphia. The Miraculous Medal Shrine is a great gift drawing souls closer to Christ through the intercession of the Blessed Mother. I congratulate the Vincentians and all those working to sustain the Shrine and its ministry. May their work continue to bear great fruit.” 

The shrine had applied for the status of basilica for several years before Pope Francis granted the recognition. The city’s only other basilica is the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, which is on the east side of Logan Square. There are 91 other basilicas in the United States. The shrine was the first American church to be granted the title this year; there were two churches granted the recognition of basilica last year.

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