Cologne Cathedral Cardinal calls for peace and combatting anti-Semitism
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin marked the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Israel last week by calling for a shared commitment to religious freedom and combatting anti-Semitism.
“The peace process and the future of the region are in the heart of the Pope and the Holy See,” Cardinal Parolin said at a ceremony commemorating the anniversary in the Great Synagogue of Rome.
“The Holy See and the State of Israel are called to join forces to promote religious freedom – of religion and of conscience – as an indispensable condition to protect the dignity of every human being, and to work together to combat anti-Semitism,” he said.
Social media site bans pro-life activist group
Pinterest, a social media site with 300 million active users, has banned pro-life activist group Live Action from its platform, just days after a whistle-blower revealed documents that purport to show active suppression of pro-life and Christian content by Pinterest.
Alison Centofante, Live Action’s director of external affairs, posted a screenshot last week of an email from Pinterest informing Live Action that their account was “permanently suspended because its content went against our policies on misinformation”.
Chilean priest resigns from auxiliary bishop position
Just three weeks after Pope Francis named him to be an auxiliary bishop of Santiago, Fr Carlos Irarrazaval Errazuriz declined the position in the wake of concern over comments he made about the sex abuse crisis, women and Jewish tradition.
The Archdiocese of Santiago announced last week that Pope Francis had accepted Fr Irarrazaval’s resignation from the “ecclesiastical office for which he had been elected”.
His ordination as a bishop had been scheduled for July 16.
“The decision was the fruit of dialogue and joint discernment, in which Pope Francis valued the spirit of faith and humility of the priest, in favour of the unity and good of the Church,” the archdiocese’s announcement said.
Thousands walk across France for Pentecost pilgrimage
More than 14,000 Catholics walked 62 miles from Paris to Chartres Cathedral in three days in an annual Pentecost pilgrimage of prayer and penance.
Pilgrims from across the globe trekked through the French countryside earlier this month praying the rosary, singing, and talking together, stopping only for Mass and to camp for the night.
“Each year it is a great moment because we can leave our work, leave Paris, leave everything to concentrate on our faith and prayer. I think it is the spiritual summit of our year,” 31-year-old Parisian Raphaëlle de Feydeau said.
German archdiocese off the hook on spending investigation
A court in the western city of Cologne has ruled that Germany’s richest Catholic archdiocese doesn’t have to reveal what it does with the billions it receives from taxpayers each year.
The investigative journalism group Correctiv had sued for the information, arguing that the Archdiocese of Cologne should be bound by laws granting media access to government information because much of its revenue comes from an income tax paid by Catholics in Germany.
But Cologne’s administrative court ruled that the way the archdiocese invests its annual income of almost $3.4 billion (€3.8b) is protected by the Church’s constitutionally guaranteed autonomy.