Bishop Georg Batzing Vatican restricted East Timor archbishop after abuse allegations
After a Dutch newspaper published an investigation into abuse allegations against retired Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of Dili, the Vatican said it had become aware of the allegations several years ago and placed restrictions on him.
The newspaper De Groene Amsterdammer said it began its investigation in 2002. It used the first-person stories of two young men, then aged 14 and 16, who graphically detailed their interactions with Bishop Belo, claiming that he gave them money after certain physical encounters.
“He knows that the boys have no money. So when he invited you, you came over and (he) gave you some money,” one of the alleged victims was quoted as saying. “But meanwhile, you are a victim. That’s the way he did.”
“From the research carried out by De Groene, it appears Belo had more victims,” the story said. “De Groene spoke with 20 people with knowledge of the case: dignitaries, government officials, politicians, NGO workers, people from the Church and professionals. More than half of them personally know a victim, while others know about the case, and most discussed it at work. De Groene also spoke with other victims who didn’t want to tell their story in the media.”
Vatican announces theme for World Communications Day
Pope Francis’ theme for the next World Communications Day is a call for a peaceful dialogue that allows for uncomfortable truths to be spoken of without resorting to contentious and hostile debate, the Vatican announced.
Speaking the truth “means giving ‘a reason for your hope’ and doing so gently, using the gift of communication as a bridge and not as a wall,” the Vatican said September 29 when it announced the theme of World Communications Day 2023.
Each year, the Vatican and many dioceses mark World Communications Day on the Sunday before Pentecost; in 2023, it will be celebrated May 21.
The Pope’s choice for the theme is: “Speak with the heart: Veritatem facientes in caritate” (Speaking the truth in love). The Vatican publishes the Pope’s full message for the occasion January 24, the feast of St Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.
Also September 29, the Vatican announced several new members for the Dicastery for Communication, including Bishop Valdir José de Castro of Campo Limpo, Brazil, and Italian Archbishop Ivan Maffeis of Perugia-Città delle Pieve.
Pope Francis also appointed new consultors for the dicastery, including US communications expert Helen Osman, president of Signis, the World Catholic Association for Communication, based in Brussels.
Cardinal says he did not compare German Synodal Way to Nazi ideology
A Vatican cardinal has defended himself against an accusation by the president of the German bishops’ conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, of making a “totally unacceptable gaffe” over remarks regarding the German Synodal Way.
“I am responding promptly, but I cannot retract my essential point, simply because I have in no way compared the Synodal Way to a Nazi ideology, nor will I ever do so,” the Swiss cardinal said, according to a report by CNA Deutsch.
Cardinal Koch, a native of Switzerland, is president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
In an interview with the Catholic weekly Die Tagespost, Cardinal Koch said that he was shocked that, of all places, the German Synodal Way was talking about new sources of revelation.
“This phenomenon already existed during the National Socialist dictatorship, when the so-called ‘German Christians’ saw God’s new revelation in blood and soil and in the rise of Hitler,” Cardinal Koch said.