Bishop Felix Genn of Münster German bishop says he’s sceptical about exempting priests from celibacy
A German bishop who co-chairs the Synodal Path’s forum on priests said he is “sceptical” about exempting Catholic priests from celibacy.
Bishop Felix Genn of Münster said he accepted that people were deciding not to become priests because they did not feel called to celibacy, adding: “Perhaps they will then choose another profession in the Church.”
The bishop spoke in an interview with the Bistumspresse publishing group in Osnabrück.
“As a bishop, I also see my responsibility to the universal Church,” Bishop Genn said in the interview. He also expressed doubts about whether the forum would come to a clear position on celibacy.
Tensions rise over Covid vaccines as bishops organise Pope Francis’ visit to Slovakia
As a visit from Pope Francis approaches, Slovakia is seeing rising political tensions and growing opposition to the Covid vaccine.
Last month, Slovakia’s bishops announced that only people who had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 could attend events organised for Pope Francis’ Sept. 13-15 visit. Meanwhile, more than half of people in the central European country are unvaccinated, and a growing number say they do not want to receive the Covid vaccine at all.
“We knew there would be some problems with this,” Fr Martin Kramara, the spokesman for the Slovakian bishops’ conference, told CNA, in reference to the obligation to be vaccinated.
40 days of fasting and penitence to heal spiritual damage in Philippines
A Philippines bishop has announced 40 days of fasting and penitence as a way to share in the sufferings of others and heal from the spiritual damage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Such penitence and self-reflection, he said, will help the Faithful “encounter Christ in the fullness of his generosity and love especially amid this ongoing pandemic crisis”.
“The pandemic has revealed that we are not only vulnerable to this biological threat of Covid-19, but also to the contagion of hopelessness, depression, selfishness, the abuse of power, the lack of transparency and accountability, and the preoccupation with personal privileges to the detriment of those who continuously suffer,” Auxiliary Bishop Moises Cuevas of Zamboanga said in an August 24 pastoral letter, Not by Bread Alone.
Colombian Supreme Court rules minors can marry or cohabit with an adult without parental consent
The Supreme Court of Colombia ruled last week that minors between 14 and older can choose, without parental consent, legally to marry or cohabit with an adult if they have the “responsible intention” to form a family.
The August 18 ruling deals with an inheritance lawsuit regarding whether there was a de facto marriage between a 14-year-old boy and an adult woman who later died.
For the court, “those over fourteen and under eighteen years of age” can, “according to their age and maturity”, decide “about their own lives and assume responsibilities”.
“No one else could be the master of their destinies. So they should be considered free and autonomous persons and with full rights,” the text states.