Benedict XVI arriving in Germany this morning. Pope Benedict ‘very unwell’ since trip to Germany
Pope emeritus Benedict XVI is sick with a bacterial infection and “very frail”, according to a German newspaper report.
Citing Benedict biographer Peter Seewald, German newspaper Passauer Neue Presse (PNP) reported on Monday (August 3) that the 93-year-old Pope emeritus is suffering from facial erysipelas, a bacterial infection of the skin which causes a painful, red rash.
The infection can also result in fever, headaches and lymphedema. It is treated with antibiotics.
Seewald told PNP that Benedict has been “very frail” since his return from visiting his ailing older brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, in Bavaria in June. Georg Ratzinger died on July 1.
Catholic prayer app sees huge increase in popularity
The Catholic prayer and meditation app, Hallow, has seen a dramatic increase in popularity and is getting more and more users every day. “It started as this focus on young adults but actually we’ve seen a lot more…parents and retired folks get really excited about it and start using it,” said Hallow’s CEO and co-founder, Alex Jones.
The No.1 rating is based on “Apple’s algorithm, which they don’t disclose”, Jones told Catholic News Service. “It’s based on how many people have reviewed it in the last few weeks, how many people are downloading it, how many have viewed. We started off on the bottom of the list, went to No. 3, then jumped to No. 1 about six months ago.”
The US-based app is born out of Jones’ own faith journey and is thoroughly orthodox: “It’s very important to us that everything on the app is 100% authentically Catholic and in line with church teachings,” Jones told CNS about Hallow.
Report finds hate crimes rising against Indian Christians
Hate crimes against Christians in India increased by 40% in the first half of 2020 despite a three-month nationwide lockdown, according to a new report.
In a report published on July 29, the ecumenical group Persecution Relief said it had documented 293 incidents between January and June, including six cases of murder and five of rape.
“Compared to last year’s number of 208 incidents, this year has seen a disconcerting rise of 40.87% in spite of the complete nationwide lockdown which was imposed for almost three months,” the report said.
India, which is expected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country within the next decade, is ranked as the 10th worst persecutor of Christians worldwide by the charity Open Doors.
Jesuit superior warns of pandemic’s threat to democracy
Human lives and jobs are not the only things threatened by the coronavirus pandemic: In many countries, democracy is also under attack, said Fr Arturo Sosa, superior general of the Jesuits.
“Democracy can be one of the victims of the pandemic if we do not take care with our political condition,” Fr Sosa told Vatican News. “At this time, for example, many governments – including so-called democratic governments – are taking the path of authoritarianism.
“In other words, the pandemic is an occasion to take steps forward or to take steps backward,” he said. “And we must be very aware of this as the Catholic Church and as people committed to justice and peace so that we can build a more welcoming, more democratic society.”