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☆ What the Latest Investigations Into Catholic Church Sex Abuse Mean
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ruth Graham | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It detailed widespread sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church throughout Pennsylvania, and a “sophisticated” cover-up by senior church officials. Victims of abuse and their families, sometimes visibly weeping, joined Mr. Shapiro on the stage. The report reverberated at the highest levels of the church, with the Vatican expressing “shame and sorrow” over the findings. Now the results of those investigations are rolling out, refocusing attention on the sprawling abuse scandal, and in some cases providing fresh details. The attorney general of Illinois, Kwame Raoul, released a report in May that found more than 450 credibly accused child sex abusers in the Catholic Church in Illinois since 1950.

Persons: Josh Shapiro, Shapiro, ”, Kwame Raoul Organizations: Catholic Church throughout, Gallup, Catholic Church Locations: Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pa, Catholic Church throughout Pennsylvania, United States, Illinois

☆ Egypt unearths tombs and workshops where humans and sacred animals were mummified in the age of the pharaohs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Archaeologists found ancient mummification workshops and tombs in the Saqqara necropolis. The workshops were used to embalm humans and sacred animals to prepare them for the afterlife. The tombs of two priests dating back to the 24th and 14th centuries BC were also found. Amr Nabil/AP PhotoThe excavations also uncovered the tombs of two priests dating back to the 24th and 14th centuries BC. The new discoveries were unveiled by Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in a high-profile press conference on Saturday.

☆ Egypt unearths mummification workshops, tombs in ancient burial ground
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Hatem Maher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Amr Abdallah DalshSAQQARA, Egypt, May 27 (Reuters) - Egypt unearthed human and animal mummification workshops as well as two tombs in the ancient burial ground of Saqqara, officials said on Saturday, marking the latest in a string of discoveries that the country hopes can help revive its vital tourism industry. Mostafa Waziri, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told reporters that the two large "embalming workshops" date back to the 30th dynasty (380-343 BC) and the Ptolemaic (305-30 BC) eras. "We found embalming workshops, one for humans and one for animals. We found all the tools that they used (in mummification) in ancient times," Waziri said. Both workshops featured stone beds, clay pots, ritual vessels, natron salt, which is one of the main ingredients for mummification, and linens among other mummification instruments.

☆ Nicaragua accuses Catholic Church of money laundering, freezes accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 27 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan police said on Saturday they are investigating several dioceses of the Catholic Church for money laundering, a day after local media reported that the bank accounts of parishes in the Central American country had been frozen. Investigations "confirmed the unlawful removal of resources from bank accounts that had been ordered by law to be frozen," the police said in a statement. Ortega's government has intensified attacks against the Catholic Church in the wake of 2018 anti-government protests in which some 360 people died after what human rights groups call police repression. The police statement said the bank accounts were linked to religious figures convicted of treason and other crimes, and that the investigations confirmed the funds entered the country irregularly. "People have their bank accounts here, this is how they carried out their work," Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said in an article posted on news website despacho505.com.

☆ Colombia's ELN guerrilla group warns of peace talks 'crisis'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BOGOTA, May 15 (Reuters) - Colombian leftwing guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) on Monday said peace talks with the government were in crisis due to comments made by President Gustavo Petro. Petro had questioned the unity of the group's leadership and ordered Colombia's military to target illicit activity such as drug trafficking that finance illegal armed groups. "The peace talks cannot be subject to the fluctuations in the public statements of the president," the ELN said in a statement. The government says the group finances itself through drug trafficking, illegal mining and kidnapping. Negotiations with the ELN under previous administrations faltered on the group's diffuse chain of command and dissent within its ranks.

☆ Pope says Argentina government wanted 'my head' when he was in Buenos Aires
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

VATICAN CITY, May 9 (Reuters) - Pope Francis said that when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires more than a decade ago, the Argentine government wanted "to cut my head off" by backing false accusations that he had collaborated with the military dictatorship of the 1970s. Francis has always denied this and when he was elected pope, Jalics issued a statement saying the arrest was not the future pope's fault. In 2010, by which time the future pope had become archbishop of Buenos Aires, he testified before a three-judge panel investigating the period of dictatorship. The pope did not give details but as archbishop of Buenos Aires, he had an often rocky relationship with the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who served in that role from 2007-2015. She accused him of taking sides politically, mostly during his visits to Buenos Aires shanty towns, and once avoided him by shunning a traditional Mass in the Argentine capital.

☆ Assad in from the cold and Ukraine’s religious war
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

But will the diplomatic victory for President Bashar al-Assad make any difference to Syrians reeling from years of conflict? Rural communities in Ukraine are divided as Kyiv cracks down on priests it says are loyal to Russia. And after the royal jubilation in Britain, anti-monarchists say the police crackdown on protests will only strengthen their cause. Plus a dire warning from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The Coronation of King Charles: Order of Service
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +46 min

The Archbishop saysI here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King: Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same? Christopher Finney GC saysI here present unto you King Charles, your undoubted King: Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service, are you willing to do the same? We praise thee, we bless thee,we worship thee, we glorify thee,we give thanks to thee for thy great glory,O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O clap your hands together, all ye people;O sing unto God with the voice of melody. The King touches the Ring and the Archbishop saysReceive this Ring, symbol of kingly dignity and a sign of the covenant sworn this day, between God and King, King and people.

☆ After acrimonious resignation, Pope tells abuse commission to 'move forward'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Pope Francis addresses a meeting with the members of Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors at the Vatican, May 5, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERSVATICAN CITY, May 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Friday praised the work of an international Vatican commission on sexual abuse prevention, following the recent acrimonious resignation of a high-profile member who accused it of lacking transparency. Zollner, a world-renowned abuse prevention expert, denounced unclear hiring practices, an undefined relationship with the Vatican's doctrine office and "inadequate" financial and decision-making accountability. Zollner also leads a centre for the study of abuse at Rome's Pontifical Gregorian University and is an adviser on abuse prevention for the diocese of Rome. Last year, the pope incorporated it into the Vatican's doctrinal department, which decides on sanctions for priests convicted of sexual abuse.

☆ Factbox: Key moments in King Charles' coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - From the religious symbolism of his anointment to the moment when the crown is placed on his head, what are the highlights to look out for during the coronation of King Charles on Saturday? It has been used at every coronation since King William IV's in 1831 and was first used by George III to travel to the State Opening of Parliament in 1762. "This is often thought to be the most sacred part of the ceremony," Charles Farris, Public Historian At Historic Royal Palaces, said. "The big moment, the big photograph moment, the big moment that everyone's going to be talking about, making memes of, making TikToks of, that's when the king is crowned, when the king has the crown put on his head". While the newly-crowned king and queen will be the centre of attention, all eyes will be on whether Charles' younger son Prince Harry appears.

☆ Rome, Sacred Ground for Nearly 3,000 Years, and Counting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( David Laskin | Martin Pauer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“There is not a corner of it that is not full of our cults and our gods.”Rome, in a sense, has been sacred ground right from the start. To many, Rome is the epicenter of Catholicism, the seat of the Vatican and home to a seemingly infinite number of churches. Rome has sheltered polytheistic pagans and monotheistic Jews, adherents of Middle Eastern cults, and, in more recent times, a sizable multinational Muslim community. All have left traces — altars, temples, shrines, mosques, inscriptions — some hauntingly beautiful, others erased to stubs. But Rome and its environs conceal many holy places beyond the ken of the Bible.

☆ Opinion: Why we’re still waiting for the Catholic women’s ‘revolution’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Opinion Opinion Celia Wexler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Editor’s Note: Celia Wexler is a journalist and the author of “Catholic Women Confront Their Church: Stories of Hurt and Hope.” She writes frequently on Catholicism, feminism and politics. That means in the United States, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, that bastion of conservatism, will do the choosing. Will Zagano, who has written extensively about the role of women deacons in the early church, be given a vote? How about British theologian Tina Beattie, who has worked tirelessly to amplify women’s voices in the church? In 2014, Beattie founded Catholic Women Speak, an international group of women focused on one goal: increasing women’s participation in the life and governance of the church.

Rome CNN —Pope Francis will allow women to participate and vote for the first time at an upcoming meeting of Catholic bishops in October. The meeting, known as a synod, normally only allows bishops to vote. Pope Francis on Wednesday approved guidelines that will expand participation and voting to include lay people and women. The changes allow for the participation of 70 non-bishop members, of whom 50% should be women, according to the Vatican’s synod office. A synod is a gathering of bishops which takes place at the request of the pope to discuss a particular topic.

☆ Pope Francis Allows Women to Vote in Bishops’ Assembly for First Time
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Pope Francis has ruled out the ordination of women as priests or bishops but has vowed to make women more prominent in church leadership. Photo: Evandro Inetti/Zuma PressROME— Pope Francis will allow women to participate in an assembly of bishops as voting members for the first time this year, in his latest move to increase the presence of women in leadership roles in the Catholic Church. The Vatican said on Tuesday that the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled for this October at the Vatican, will include at least 40 women voters, including members of religious orders as well as laywomen.

☆ Pope allows women to vote at upcoming bishops' meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, a historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church. Francis approved changes to the norms governing the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that gathers the world's bishops together for periodic meetings, following years of demands by women to have the right to vote. At the end of the meetings, the bishops vote on specific proposals and put them to the pope, who then produces a document taking their views into account. In addition, Francis has decided to appoint 70 non-bishop members of the synod and has asked that half of them be women. He has appointed several women to high-ranking Vatican positions, though no women head any of the major Vatican offices or departments, known as dicasteries.

☆ Pope allows women to vote at bishops meeting for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis leaves following the weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo MangiapaneApril 26 (Reuters) - Pope Francis, in a historic move that could lead to more inclusiveness in decision-making in the Roman Catholic Church, will allow women to vote for the first time at a global meeting of bishops in October. The revolutionary rules, announced on Wednesday, allow for five religious sisters with voting rights. The 70 priests, religious sisters, deacons and lay Catholics will be chosen by the pope from a list of 140 people recommended by national bishops' conferences. In another last year, he named three women to a previously all-male committee that advises him in selecting the world's bishops.

☆ Opinion | Which Inflation Measures Matter?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Paul Krugman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Of course, if you have been following this discussion, you have indeed heard this before. Clarity in the inflation discussion has been very hard to come by, even if you ignore the people filling my inbox with declarations that the dollar is doomed and that hyperinflation is just around the corner. I’ve compared debates among economists over each new trove of inflation data to ancient Roman priests seeking auguries in the entrails of sacrificed animals, a remark that, oddly, doesn’t seem to have won me many friends among my colleagues. It’s also disturbing that many economists always seem to come down on the same side of these debates: Optimists are always optimistic, pessimists always pessimistic. So I thought I’d devote today’s newsletter to a probably doomed attempt to bring some clarity to this discussion.

☆ Takeaways from Biden's trip to Ireland
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Biden’s trip came as he nears a decision on running again for president. “I own property in Ireland, I’m not going to Ireland,” former President Donald Trump said during Biden’s trip. Patrick Semansky/APDiplomatic legacy: ‘Keep the peace’White House officials made little attempt at ascribing major policy objectives to Biden’s trip. Kevin Lamarque/ReutersBiden makes Ireland visit a family affairMore than anything, Biden’s trip this week had the feeling of a family spring break. Throughout the sometimes-rainy trip, Biden kept his head dry with a baseball cap from the Beau Biden Foundation.

☆ Biden basks in Ireland’s welcome as he highlights personal and political ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Kevin Liptak | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A day earlier, Biden jokingly questioned why his predecessors left Ireland for a better life as he visited a local market and deli in Dundalk. In his talks with Irish leaders Thursday, Biden is expected to discuss a number of global issues, including the war in Ukraine. Later, Biden will address the Irish Parliament in a speech expected to touch on the close ties between the US and Ireland, both political and personal. Three years later, Ireland voted decisively to end what, at the time, was one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the world. The Irish identity Biden is exploring this week with visits to two ancestral hometowns is intrinsically linked to his own Catholicism.

All agreed there was a marked increase in awareness among Indian Muslims about birth control and family planning. The 2021 census has been delayed but the United Nations has projected India's population will touch 1.42 billion this month. "There is a misconception among Muslims that Islam doesn’t allow the use of birth control measures," said Maulana Khalid Rasheed, the imam of the Lucknow Eidgah in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state. [1/5] FILE PHOTO-Members of a Muslim family sit down for a meal in an old quarter of Delhi, India March 3, 2023. Experts say the public health system is now unable to keep up with the demand for birth control services from people who are aware about their usefulness, also called an unmet need.

☆ Baltimore Archdiocese Long Failed to Protect Children Abused by Catholic Priests, State Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Scott Calvert | Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An investigation of the Archdiocese of Baltimore is the latest effort to document clerical sexual abuse in the U.S.BALTIMORE—Scores of priests and other people affiliated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused hundreds of children over more than 60 years, and church officials often protected the perpetrators while keeping their crimes a secret, Maryland’s attorney general said in a new report. Wednesday’s report from Attorney General Anthony Brown alleges that 156 people—including priests and archdiocese personnel—abused more than 600 youths, causing lasting psychological trauma for survivors.

☆ Fact Check-Screenshot showing Telegraph tweet on Pope Francis and AI is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

An image purporting to show a tweet published by British newspaper The Telegraph seemingly reporting that Pope Francis said that artificial intelligence (AI) is a “means of communicating to God” is fabricated. A spokesperson for The Telegraph told Reuters that no such article was published. Instead, the spokesperson linked to an authentic article published by the outlet on March 12 with a headline that reads: “Priests may not have to be celibate in future, Pope Francis suggests” (here), (archive.is/v0Otg). A search through The Telegraph’s website did not reveal the headline claiming that the pope referred to AI as a means of “communicating to God” (www.telegraph.co.uk/search/). Reuters did not find any evidence that Pope Francis made any such remark (archive.is/wip/MaMi7).

☆ Pope extends sexual abuse law to include lay leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] People reach out to touch Pope Francis' hand during his meeting with the faithful of parishes from Rho at the Vatican, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Yara NardiVATICAN CITY, March 25 (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday updated rules on dealing with sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, expanding their scope to include lay Catholic leaders and spelling out that both minors and adults can be victims. BishopAccountability.org, a not-for-profit organisation looking to document the abuses within the Roman Catholic Church, said the revision was "a big disappointment" and fell short of the "extensive revamping" the policy against the abuses would have required. The updated provisions have been unveiled a month after the Roman Catholic religious order of Jesuits said that accusations of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse against one of its most prominent members were highly credible. Rupnik has not spoken publicly of the accusations, which have rattled the worldwide order, of which the pope is a member.

LONDON—In a small windowless room in the basement of the British Museum sit some of the holiest relics of the Ethiopian Orthodox church: 11 small wooden plaques called Tabots that are considered by Ethiopian Christians to contain God’s presence. Each is meant to represent the biblical Ark of the Covenant. So holy are the pieces that they cannot be publicly displayed—Ethiopian Orthodox believers say only priests should look at them—and not even the director of the British Museum can view them. Covered in pieces of cloth, the 14-inch tablets with carved inscriptions have hardly been seen since they were looted from an Ethiopian fort in 1868 by invading British forces.

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