Monsignor Ocariz confirmed as new prelate of Opus Dei

Dublin, Ireland, Aug 25, 2018 / 05:29 pm (CNA).- On Saturday, Pope Francis met with two representatives from the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors for a 90-minute meeting at the Papal Nuncio’s residence.

Pope Francis apologized for the… […]

Rome Newsroom, Jul 8, 2020 / 08:30 am (CNA).- Benedict XVI watched his brother’s funeral via livestream on Wednesday as his secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein read the pope emeritus’ message of remembrance at the Mass in Germany.

“When I said goodbye to him in the morning on Monday, June 22, we knew it would be his farewell to this world forever. But we also knew that the benevolent God, who gave us this togetherness in this world, will also rule in the other world and will give us a new togetherness there,” Benedict XVI wrote in the message read aloud at the funeral on July 8.

“May God reward you richly, Georg, for everything you have achieved, for what you have suffered, and for what you have given to me,” the pope emeritus wrote.

Msgr. Georg Ratzinger died in Bavaria at the age of 96 on July 1. While the pope emeritus was unable to attend Ratzinger’s funeral in Regensburg, Benedict XVI  expressed gratitude for the time he spent with his older brother during his trip to Bavaria less than two weeks before his death.

“I would like to thank you for being with him again in the last days of his life. He didn’t ask for a visit from me. But I felt that it was the hour to go to him again. I am deeply grateful for this inner sign that the Lord has given me,” Benedict XVI wrote in the letter addressed to Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer, who officiated his brother’s funeral Mass. 

Benedict XVI remembered his brother as a man of musical talent, humor, and piety. 

“Above all he was a man of God. Even though he did not put his piety on display, it was the actual centre of his life, even more so than his sobriety and honesty,” he said.

Msgr. Ratzinger was born in Bavaria on January 15, 1924, the first son of Joseph and Maria Ratzinger. He showed an early talent for music, learning to play the violin and the church organ as a child. 

He was ordained to the priesthood alongside his younger brother, the future pope, in 1951. The eldest Ratzinger son went on to serve as the choir master of the Regensburger Domspatzen, the cathedral choir of Regensburg, from 1964 to 1994.

“My brother received and understood the priesthood call as a musical call,” Benedict XVI said.

“When he finally was appointed to the position of Cathedral Choirmaster in Regensburg, it was both a moment of joy and of pain for him, as our mother had passed away almost at the same time as Cathedral Choirmaster Schrems had. Had our mother still been alive, he would not have accepted the call to be the position of choirmaster in Regensburg. This role — though bought at the price of a great deal of suffering — more and more became a joyful role for him,” he wrote.

In his homily at the funeral, Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer recalled moments from Georg Ratzinger’s life from his experience in the war to his vocation as a priest and work as a church musician. The bishop emphasized his legacy with a view to the important role of church music in evangelization.

Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Nikola Eterović and Cardinal Gerhard Müller were present at the funeral Mass at Regensburg Cathedral.

Benedict XVI said that he received letters and emails from many countries upon the death of his brother. They “wrote to me in a way that touched my heart,” he said. “Each one should have a personal answer. Unfortunately I lack the time and strength to do so.”

“I can only thank everyone for taking part in these hours and days — Cardinal Newman’s sentence has come true for me right now: ‘Cor ad cor loquitur’ … heart speaks to heart. “

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Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sep 23, 2019 / 03:01 pm (CNA).- Arlene Foster, the leader of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, wrote Saturday that the party is ‘resolute’ in its opposition to abortion, and she called for the restoration of devolved government in the region.

“The DUP’s position on abortion remains resolute and unchanged since the Party’s inception,” Foster wrote in a Sept. 21 opinion piece at The News Letter, a Belfast daily. “We are a pro-life party and will continue to support the rights of both the mother and the unborn child.”

“We will continue to devote our energies to finding a resolution on both abortion and the restoration of a Northern Ireland Government, preferably before the 21st October.”

The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 and its amendments legalizing abortion and same-sex marriage, a law passed by the British parliament, will take effect only if the Northern Ireland Assembly, which has been suspended the past two years due to a dispute between the two major governing parties, is not functional by Oct. 21.

Abortion is legal in both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Elective abortion is legal in the rest of the United Kingdom up to 24 weeks, while currently it is legally permitted in Northern Ireland only if the mother’s life is at risk or if there is risk of permanent, serious damage to her mental or physical health.

Foster noted her participation in a Sept. 7 demonstration protesting the impending legalization of abortion in Northern Ireland. Tens of thousands joined in the protest; she said that “the law on abortion is a devolved matter. It should be decided upon by the Northern Ireland Assembly.”

Devolution refers to legislative reforms passed in 1999 which introduced levels of legislative autonomy for the different countries of the United Kingdom and created the Scottish Parliament and national Assemblies for Wales and Northern Ireland.

Foster said that while the Northern Ireland bill was being debated in Westminster, the DUP’s 10 MPs “were ridiculed both inside and outside Parliament for their pro-life stand.”

“The Act will not come into force if the Northern Ireland Executive is restored by October 21, but for some, this is now being portrayed as a false choice between ‘language or life’,” she stated.

Among the problems that led to the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly was the Irish Language Act, which would give Irish equal status to English in the region. It is supported by the nationalist parties Sinn Fein and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and opposed by the unionist DUP and Ulster Unionist Party.

Sinn Fein has said that it will not participate in the formation of a Northern Irish government without an Irish Language Act.

Foster commented that “it is a mistake to think there is a simple trade-off between” the Irish Language Act and the region’s abortion law.

“Language or life,” she said, “is an over-simplification and conveys a belief that if the DUP were to agree to every Sinn Fein demand, including an Irish Language Act, then devolution would be restored immediately and Northern Ireland’s abortion laws would remain unchanged.”

Foster said the DUP strongly desires “an immediate return of devolution,” and that its restoration does not lie “only in the hands of the Democratic Unionist Party.”

“We have put down no preconditions or ‘red lines’ ahead of the restoration of the Executive. We would nominate Ministers today,” she noted.

The DUP leader said she offered in August 2017 to seek “a reasonable and balanced accommodation for the Irish Language,” but that “that offer was rejected by both Sinn Fein and the SDLP within 90 minutes.”

She also noted that even were devolution restored, it would not of itself be “an absolute safeguard against abortion liberalisation.”

“The DUP is the only pro-life party in the [Northern Ireland] Assembly” besides Jim Allister, the Traditional Unionist Voice’s sole member of the legislative assembly, she said. “We have 28 seats out of 90.”

Sinn Fein supports the liberalization of abortion law, while the remaining parties allow their MLAs a conscience vote on the topic.

Foster said that while abortion law “would come before the Assembly quickly after devolution is restored,” the change effected by the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 “is far beyond anything any NI Assembly would ever have endorsed. Having the NI Assembly back up and running before the 21stOctober would give all MLAs the opportunity to shape any future laws.”

Bills to legalize abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape, or incest failed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016.  

“Anyone who cares about the legislative framework governing abortion in Northern Ireland must also look beyond 21st October and ask all MLAs what they believe the law should say,” Foster said.

The DUP “want to see the Assembly restored so that local elected representatives can frame the laws for the people of Northern Ireland,” the party leader stated.

“Both getting devolution back and defending a pro-life policy have been and will continue to be, fundamental priorities for the Democratic Unionist Party, but it is unfortunately simplistic and mistaken to assume progress on one will resolve the other in the manner we all require.”

Northern Irish women have been able to procure free National Health Service abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales since November 2017.

The Northern Ireland bill was passed by the British parliament in July.

The abortion amendment was introduced by Stella Creasy, a Labour MP who represents a London constituency. Earlier this year Creasy intended to propose an amendment to a draft Domestic Abuse Bill that would give the British parliament jurisdiction over abortion laws throughout the United Kingdom. However, the bill’s scope was restricted to England and Wales by the Conservative government.

Creasy also introduced an amendment to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Act 2018 to repeal Northern Irish law on abortion and gay marriage, which was defeated.

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