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Herald Malaysia
4 days ago
- General
- Herald Malaysia
'We transmit the faith with Jesus at the center,' Pope Leo XIV tells Italian Bishops
Pope Leo XIV invites Italy's Bishops to embrace their primary responsibility of proclaiming and transmitting the faith, while always keeping Christ at the forefront, urging them to cultivate peace and work together. Jun 17, 2025 Pope Leo XIV meets with the Italian Bishops' Conference in the Vatican (@Vatican Media) By Deborah Castellano Lubov"A renewed impulse is required to proclaim and transmit the faith. This means placing Jesus Christ at the center." Pope Leo XIV gave this reminder when addressing the Italian Bishops' Conference, or the CEI, in the Vatican's Hall of Blessings on Tuesday morning. In his remarks, the Pope called for collegiality, witness, and, most of all, "helping people live a personal relationship with the Lord," following the path indicated by the late Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium , "so they may discover the joy of the Gospel." 'This means placing Jesus Christ at the center, and, following the path indicated by Evangelii gaudium, helping people to live a personal relationship with Him, so they may discover the joy of the Gospel.' Returning to foundations of our faith Saying we live in a time of great fragmentation, the Holy Father called for returning "to the foundations of our faith, to the kerygma ." This, he said, is the first great commitment that motivates all the others, namely "bringing Christ 'into the veins' of humanity, by renewing and sharing the apostolic mission." Pope Leo invited the Italian Bishops to discern ways to bring the Good News to everyone, "with pastoral actions capable of reaching those who are furthest away," and "with suitable tools for renewing catechesis and the language of proclamation." 'Let us be drawn to Him' Pope Leo invited them to join him in walking together, "with joy in our hearts and a song on our lips," for God, he noted, "is greater than our mediocrity." "Let us be drawn to Him! Let us place our trust in His providence," he said. 'Dearest brothers, let us walk together, with joy in our hearts and a song on our lips. God is greater than our mediocrity: let us be drawn to Him! Let us place our trust in His providence.' The Pope told the Italian Bishops to foster a Church that embodies the Gospel and is a sign of the Kingdom of God, by proclaiming the Gospel, peace, human dignity, and dialogue. The relationship with Christ, the Holy Father underscored, calls us to develop pastoral attention to the theme of peace. "The Lord sends us into the world to bring His very gift: 'Peace be with you!'—and to become its artisans in the places of daily life," the Pope said, noting he thinks of parishes, neighborhoods, inner areas of the country, and urban and existential peripheries. "Where human and social relationships become difficult and conflict arises, even subtly," he urged, "there must be a visible Church of reconciliation." The Pope also urged them to promote collegiality among themselves and with the Successor of Peter and to reflect the principle of communion through cooperation with civil authorities. "The CEI is, in fact," he observed, "a place of dialogue and synthesis of the Bishops' thought regarding the most important issues for the common good." Challenges on the ground The Pope recalled when his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, in 2006, described the Church in Italy as 'a very vibrant reality which maintains a widespread presence among people of all ages and conditions' and where 'Christian traditions are still often deeply rooted and continue to bear fruit.' Nevertheless, Pope Leo lamented, the Christian community in the country has long been facing new challenges "tied to secularism, a certain disaffection with the faith, and the demographic crisis." Yet, the Holy Father echoed the late Pope Francis' frequent reminder "to not be disturbed" and to work toward peace. Saying every community should become a 'house of peace," Pope Leo stressed that peace "is not a spiritual utopia," but rather a humble path, made of daily actions. The Pope also named challenges "that call into question the respect for the dignity of the human person," such as artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, the data economy, and social media, which, he observed, profoundly transform our perception and experience of life. "In this context," he warned, "the dignity of the human being risks being flattened or forgotten, replaced by functions, automatisms, simulations," especially since "the person is not a system of algorithms: he or she is a creature, a relationship, a mystery." We are sent to proclaim the Gospel Pope Leo expressed his hope that the journey of the Church in Italy may include, "in coherent symbiosis with the centrality of Jesus, an anthropological vision as an essential instrument of pastoral discernment." "Without a living reflection on the human being—in his or her corporeality, vulnerability, thirst for the infinite, and capacity for relationship," the Pope warned, "ethics is reduced to a code, and faith risks becoming disembodied." Going forward in unity Before concluding, the Holy Father exhorted the Bishops to advance in unity, urging them to look with serenity toward tomorrow and not be afraid of courageous choices. "No one can prevent you from being close to the people, from sharing life, from walking with the least, from serving the poor," he said. And "no one," Pope Leo underscored, "can stop you from proclaiming the Gospel—and it is the Gospel that we are sent to bring, because this is what everyone—ourselves first of all—needs in order to live well and to be happy." 'No one can stop you from proclaiming the Gospel—and it is the Gospel that we are sent to bring, because this is what everyone—ourselves first of all—needs in order to live well and to be happy.' Welcoming lay faithful as 'protagonists' The Pope also urged the Bishops of Italy to be attentive that the lay faithful, nourished by the Word of God and formed in the Social Doctrine of the Church, "may be the protagonists" of evangelization in their workplaces, in schools, in hospitals, in social and cultural settings, in the economy, and in politics. Before imparting his Apostolic Blessing, Pope Leo XIV concluded by entrusting the Italian Bishops to the protection of the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Loreto, of Pompeii, and of the countless shrines that are scattered throughout Italy. --Vatican News
Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Straits Times
Italian Catholic Church reports higher number of abuse cases in 2023-2024
ROME - Italy's Catholic Church on Wednesday reported a rise in the number of suspected victims of abuse, mostly at the hands of priests, with 115 cases over the course of 2023-2024. The figure, which includes as many as 21 children under 10 and 35 "vulnerable adults," compares with 89 alleged victims reported for 2020-2021 and 54 for the year 2022. The suspected cases were linked to 67 alleged perpetrators, including 44 priests, 15 members of religious orders and eight laypersons, a report by the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) showed. The global Catholic Church has been shaken for decades by scandals involving paedophile priests and the covering up of their crimes, triggering a crisis that is among the major challenges facing newly elected Pope Leo XIV. Italy is one of the countries whose local bishops have been more reluctant to confront the issue, compared to other churches in Europe and North America. The CEI has published reports on abuse since 2022, limited to the period from 2020. Other national churches, and even a single Italian diocese, have published research stretching back decades. Italian bishops collect data on abuse from listening centres they have set up across the country, where people can flag cases involving themselves or others, obtain psychological or spiritual help, or ask for information. But out of 103 such centres covered by Wednesday's report, around two-thirds had zero people reaching out to them during 2023-2024, suggesting a reluctance to turn to them. Among the alleged cases reported, CEI said, there were 36 instances of inappropriate behaviour or language, 25 of inappropriate touching, 19 of sexual harassment, 11 involving sex, and three of grooming via social media or the internet. The Italian church also said that just over half of the alleged abuse cases that were reported to its centres were committed in 2023-2024, with the rest dating from further back in time. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Sun
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Matteo Zuppi, discreet diplomat and progressive cardinal
VATICAN CITY: Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is a discreet 69-year-old diplomat with a progressive stance who was entrusted by Pope Francis to lead sensitive peace missions in Ukraine and Russia. 'Don Matteo' as he is affectionately called, is regularly mentioned as a successor to Francis. The Archbishop of Bologna with a ready smile has presided since 2022 over the Italian Bishops' Conference and has the support of a large number of the country's cardinals. Like the former Argentine pope, Zuppi would vigorously defend the poor and underprivileged, although his words and style are more measured than those of Francis. 'He is a man with a lot of patience, who knows how to listen and who is discreet -- very important characteristics when you want to lead a path of peace,' said Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Sant'Egidio Catholic community, of which Zuppi is a member. Nicknamed 'the little UN of Trastevere', the name of the Rome neighbourhood where it is based, the Sant'Egidio lay community acts as an informal diplomatic channel for the Holy See, carrying out peace missions around the world. But Zuppi's close ties to the organisation could also penalise him at the upcoming conclave to choose the next leader for the Catholic Church, with some more conservative cardinals hesitant to give the political group too much sway. Made a cardinal by Francis in 2019, Zuppi enjoys great popularity in Italy, where he lives in a retirement home for elderly priests and rides his bicycle through Bologna. In a May 2023 interview with La Repubblica daily, Zuppi was asked whether he had ever been in love as a youth. 'Of course! But I was even more in love with Jesus. I never had to give up on any girl,' he replied. His hours are long, with his working day beginning just before six in the morning and ending 'around midnight, sometimes a little later', he said. Welcoming Like Francis, Zuppi champions migrants and welcomes gay Catholics into the Church. But he has been more flexible than the former pontiff on the use of the Latin Mass, a key point of contention for the conservative wing of the Church which calls for its preservation. Presented by the Italian media as one of the 'papabili', or top contenders to succeed the Argentine Francis, Zuppi is nevertheless competing against several fellow Italians, notably Pietro Parolin and Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Born in Rome on October 11, 1955, the son of the director of a Catholic newspaper and the fifth of six children, he worked in various churches in the Italian capital before being sent by Francis in 2015 to Bologna. Building on his various degrees in history, literature and philosophy, Zuppi for more than 30 years has been discreetly leading political mediation missions, including to Cuba, Kosovo, Burundi and Mozambique. At the head of a mission called for by Francis in 2023, he visited Ukraine and then Russia in a visit to push for the release of Ukrainian children that Kyiv says were forcibly deported to Russia. Under Nelson Mandela, Zuppi was also involved in the Burundi peace process, and separately with Sant'Egidio founder Andrea Riccardi helped mediate in Mozambique, in a process that led to the signing of a peace agreement in October 1992. He is also a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, responsible for issues concerning migrants and the poor, among others, and a member of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the body responsible for administering the Holy See's vast property. Asked by La Repubblica about the various scandals that have rocked the Vatican over the years, the diplomat's answer was direct. 'The Church is not a community of perfect people. It is made up of men, and men are sinners'.
Euronews
14-03-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Fact check: Was Donald Trump recruited by the KGB as 'Krasnov'?
Pope Francis marked his 12th anniversary as pontiff on Thursday with positive medical updates nearly a month after he was hospitalised with double pneumonia. In the Vatican's latest medical bulletin on Tuesday, it said a chest X-ray had confirmed improvements just two days after doctors declared that the pope was no longer at imminent risk of death. However, the "general picture remains complex", the bulletin read. The Holy See has not said how the anniversary of Pope Francis' election as the 266th pontiff might be commemorated. It is a public holiday at the Vatican and masses are planned in his honour at churches in Rome. No medical bulletins will be issued. Pope Francis on Wednesday remotely followed a Lenten spiritual retreat that has been a mainstay of his papacy. He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night. Leading papal and political figures in Italy have praised the pontiff this week to mark the anniversary. "I would like to address a thought of gratitude to the Holy Father for his tireless commitment to peace, dialogue and human dignity," Italian Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa wrote on Facebook. "His magisterium is a point of reference for millions of people," he added. Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official, said the pope's anniversary was a "reason for gratitude". "This year, his illness makes us especially aware (of the anniversary), especially grateful to God, and redoubling our prayers for his full recovery," he said. Pope Francis has been carrying out some of his duties while in hospital, continuing with ecclesiastical appointments and delivering messages of gratitude to his well-wishers. The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave, which was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. While Pope Francis has praised his predecessor's humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life. However, concerns remain over the pontiff's physical frailty, and there has been discussion about the prospect of his resignation even if his health improves further. Resignation is "a possibility, but it is totally entrusted to the conscience of the Pope," Archbishop Giuseppe Baturi, secretary general of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), told Italian media. When former KGB officer Alnur Mussayev claimed that US President Donald Trump was recruited as an asset for Moscow in the 1980s, it set off a storm on social media. In a Facebook post on 20 February, Mussayev said that Trump was enlisted by the KGB in 1987 while on a trip to Moscow, then aged 40, and assigned the code name "Krasnov". Trump has not directly responded to Mussayev's claims. The US president has repeatedly denied having ever worked for Russia. One thread on X, which has amassed more than 1 million views, refers to Trump as "Krasnov" and brands the US president as a Russian asset. The post goes on to list a series of claims which it presents as purported evidence for this declaration. Meanwhile, other social media users turned to mockery, with one account posting a photo montage of Trump in a KGB outfit, with the political slogan and acronym MAGA ("Make America Great Again") altered to read "Moscow Agent Governing America". Krasnov is a common surname in Russia, derived from the word "krasniy", which means red. A flurry of speculative media reports followed, and politicians, including British conservative MP Graham Stuart, repeated his claim, writing in X: "We have to consider the possibility that President Trump is a Russian asset". Mussayev did not provide any proof to back up claims that Trump was recruited by the KGB during his visit to Moscow. Doubts have also been cast over the position Mussayev says he held within the KGB. In the Facebook post, Kazakhstan's former spy chief says he worked for the KGB's 6th Directorate. However, sources including the Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency, state that this department did not focus on "recruiting foreign intelligence", but instead on "guarding against economic espionage". Euroverify cannot verify claims that Trump is a Russian asset. The amplification of the claims on social media has likely been intensified by the US president's foreign policy stance, which has been viewed as favourable to Russia. Moving away from the Biden administration's support of Ukraine, the Trump administration has halted military support and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. That followed a public spat between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a highly contentious meeting in the Oval Office last month. Similar allegations about Trump being a Russian asset have surfaced repeatedly in the past. In 2021, American journalist and author Craig Unger published his book American Kompromat, in which he claims that Trump was recruited by Moscow. Former KGB agent Yuri Shvets — who had a cover job as a correspondent for the Russian state-owned news agency TASS in Washington during the 1980s — was one of Unger's key sources for the book. Shvets told Unger that Trump was tapped up in 1987. Unger told Euronews there is a clear distinction between an agent and an asset. "While an agent is employed by and intelligence agency and paid, an asset is a reliable friend who will do favours," he said. In Unger's book, Shvets alleged that when Trump opened his first major property development, the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel, in 1980, he purchased 200 television sets from the Joy-Lud electronics store, which was owned by a Soviet emigré. Shvets claimed the shop was a KGB front and that Trump had already been identified as a potential asset by that point. In 1987, Trump travelled to Moscow, where Shvets claims that Trump was tapped up by the KGB. Upon his return, Trump bought three full-page adverts criticising US foreign policy in three major American newspapers at a total cost of $94,801 (€87,150 at time of writing). In his 1987 book, The Art of the Deal, Trump also mentioned the prospect of inaugurating a Trump building in Moscow. "Trump had previously provided tabloid-fodder for the American press, but when he returned from Russia, he began portraying himself as a savvy foreign policy analyst," Unger told Euronews. Trump's ties with Russia were investigated in the 2019 Mueller report, which was commissioned by the US Justice Department and examined Russian interference in the 2016 US elections. While "links between the Russian government and the Trump Campaign" were identified, the report did not "establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." "I never worked for Russia," said Trump when questioned about his ties to the country by a reporter in 2019. "It's a disgrace that you even ask that question. It's all a big fat hoax", he added. Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Vietnam in the coming months, the Commission President's spokesperson has confirmed, as the executive seeks to pin down trade ties with third countries against a fraught geopolitical backdrop. 'There are plans to visit Vietnam notably to strengthen economic ties,' EU chief spokesperson Paula Pinho said, adding that no date had been set for the trip yet. Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič and International Partnerships Commissioner Jozef Síkela are currently also slated to travel to Vietnam in April, according to Eurocham, the European chamber of commerce in Vietnam, to mark the 35th anniversary of EU-Vietnam diplomatic relations and five years after signing a free trade agreement with Vietnam. The EU will be looking to deepen its trade partnership in the largest trading partner of the EU among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In 2024, the total trade flows between the EU and Vietnam amounted to €68 billion. The country's strategic mineral wealth will also be a pull for the EU which has clinched deals over critical minerals with Argentina, Australia, Chile, Rwanda, Ukraine and Uzbekistan in a diplomatic and political effort to reduce its dependency over China. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), in 2022 Vietnam was the world's second greatest producer of tungsten. It also possesses important deposits of rare earths - for which it is ranked sixth in the world - essential for the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. '"Vietnam is interested in exporting minerals while still prioritising their domestic refining to enhance their added value before export,' Eurocham's vice-chairman Jean-Jacques Bouflet told Euronews. The exploitation of certain minerals such as lithium could be the subject of cooperation with Europe. In recent months the EU has reached free trade deals with Mercosur countries -Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - and Switzerland, Mexico and has relaunched trade negotiations with India. For its part Vietnam might be interested in European weaponry since it has been reducing its dependence on Russian supplies since the start of the war in Ukraine. The EU is one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam. It exports mainly high-tech products, aircraft, vehicles and pharmaceutical products, and imports electronics, footwear, textile, clothing, coffee and rice. The trade agreement signed in 2019 entered into force in 2020 but the investment protection agreement also signed in 2019 has not yet been ratified by nine EU member states. 'Many European companies want to settle in Vietnam to benefit from a highly competitive workforce,' Bouflet added. The investment agreement would allow European companies to invest in the country on an equal footing with local businesses.
Euronews
13-03-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Pope Francis marks 12th anniversary in hospital but with his health improving
The latest medical bulletins from the Vatican on the 88-year-old's condition have said he is improving and is no longer in immediate danger of death. ADVERTISEMENT Pope Francis marked his 12th anniversary as pontiff on Thursday with positive medical updates nearly a month after he was hospitalised with double pneumonia. In the Vatican's latest medical bulletin on Tuesday, it said a chest X-ray had confirmed improvements just two days after doctors declared that the pope was no longer at imminent risk of death. However, the "general picture remains complex", the bulletin read. The Holy See has not said how the anniversary of Pope Francis' election as the 266th pontiff might be commemorated. It is a public holiday at the Vatican and masses are planned in his honour at churches in Rome. No medical bulletins will be issued. Pope Francis on Wednesday remotely followed a Lenten spiritual retreat that has been a mainstay of his papacy. He continues to receive high flows of oxygen through nasal tubes during the day and a non-invasive mechanical mask to aid his rest at night. Leading papal and political figures in Italy have praised the pontiff this week to mark the anniversary. "I would like to address a thought of gratitude to the Holy Father for his tireless commitment to peace, dialogue and human dignity," Italian Senate speaker Ignazio La Russa wrote on Facebook. "His magisterium is a point of reference for millions of people," he added. Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official, said the pope's anniversary was a "reason for gratitude". "This year, his illness makes us especially aware (of the anniversary), especially grateful to God, and redoubling our prayers for his full recovery," he said. Pope Francis has been carrying out some of his duties while in hospital, continuing with ecclesiastical appointments and delivering messages of gratitude to his well-wishers. The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected on the fifth ballot of the 2013 conclave, which was called after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. While Pope Francis has praised his predecessor's humility in stepping down and said he might follow in his footsteps, more recently he has said the papacy is a job for life. However, concerns remain over the pontiff's physical frailty, and there has been discussion about the prospect of his resignation even if his health improves further. Resignation is "a possibility, but it is totally entrusted to the conscience of the Pope," Archbishop Giuseppe Baturi, secretary general of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI), told Italian media.
