Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher
Photo: Franco Origlia/Getty Images Europe)/Zimbio First meeting between China and Vatican for 70 years
A first meeting between The Holy See and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1951 took place in Germany on February 14.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, met with PRC State Councillor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference.
The meeting, which was made public through a communiqué of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State, said the two parties held a discussion that “took place in a cordial atmosphere”.
They discussed a “willingness to continue the institutional dialogue at the bilateral level to promote the life of the Catholic Church and the good of the Chinese people”.
Both parties said contact with each other has “developed positively” over time and expressed “a desire for greater international cooperation” to foster peace in the world and “considerations on intercultural dialogue and human rights were exchanged”.
Pope Francis prayed for those affected by the coronavirus and expressed his closeness to the Chinese people, inviting the faithful “to pray for our Chinese brothers and sisters”.
Sixth suspect investigated in financial probe
An investigation into financial and real estate investments has been enlarged following the opening of the Vatican judiciary year last week.
The investigation started in October 2019 and initially focused on five Holy See employees, who were later suspended.
Now Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, 59, has become the sixth suspect in the case with documents and computer equipment seized from the Italian priest’s house and office.
A communiqué issued by the Holy See Press Office said: “The measure was undertaken pursuant to the investigation into financial and real estate investments by the Secretariat of State, and is linked, while respecting the presumption of innocence, to what emerged in the initial interrogations of the officials under investigation who had already been suspended.”
The investigation, initiated by the Vatican judiciary in response to internal reports, seeks to substantiate the allegation of specific crimes, such as embezzlement, abuse of authority and corruption.
Speaking on February 15, Pope Francis said: “Suspicious financial situations are not in keeping with the nature and purpose of the Church, and have generated disorientation and anxiety in the community of the Faithful.”
Meekness unites, anger divides – Pope
During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis said those who are meek, are patient, gentle and merciful, drawing people together and salvaging relationships.
The Holy Father described on February 19 how meekness means holding onto one’s trust and relationship with God, and guarding his gifts of peace, mercy and fraternity.
“Anyone can seem meek when all is calm,” he said. “But how do we react when ‘under pressure’ or are attacked, offended or assaulted?”
The Pope alluded to Jesus as a model of meekness in how he “handed himself over to the one who judges justly”.
“The meek are not people-pleasers, but are Christ’s disciples who have learned to defend a whole other land.
“Meekness unites; anger divides,” he added. “A moment of anger can destroy so many things; you lose control and you don’t evaluate what is really important.”