Month: March 2020

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Pontifical universities close as coronavirus deaths in Italy surpass 100

March 4, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

Vatican City, Mar 4, 2020 / 12:45 pm (CNA).- Rome’s pontifical universities will temporarily shut down tomorrow, after Italy’s death toll from Covid-19 surpassed 100 people March 4.

Italian officials announced March 4 that all schools and universities in the country will be closed March 5-15 because of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

Pontifical universities in Rome – Vatican-accredited schools teaching theology, philosophy, and other related disciples – are expected to follow the government directive.

The Pontifical University Santa Croce issued a statement Tuesday, telling students that “following the announcement of the Italian government,” the university will suspend classes until March 15.

“The same will happen for conferences and congresses, which are postponed to new dates that will be communicated by their organizers,” the university added, noting that online distance education classes would continue.

The Pontifical University of St. Thomas, the Angelicum, posted on its website March 4 that it will suspend its classes until March 15. The university also cancelled March 9 events which had been scheduled to celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas 

With 107 coronavirus-related deaths since Feb. 22, Italy has surpassed Iran in having the most documented mortalities outside of China.

Most of the confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been in the northern regions in Italy. In Lazio, the region surrounding Rome, there are 30 infected with the coronavirus as of March 4.

Italy has the oldest population in the world after Japan; more than 23% of Italy’s population is 65 years old or older in 2020.

As of March 3, the youngest Italian to die of Covid-19 was 55 years old. The majority of those who have died with coronavirus have been older than 60.

The Vatican has responded to the outbreak by postponing large spring events with significant anticipated international attendance to the fall.

Among them, the pope’s economic summit, “The Economy of Francesco.” Originally scheduled for March 26-28, the economic conference in Assisi will now take place Nov. 2.

The Vatican announced March 3 that Pope Francis’ Global Compact on Education, scheduled to take place in May, will be postponed until October 11-18.

“The uncertainty linked to the spread of Coronavirus, along with the decisions taken by public authorities on a global scale, have led to the decision to postpone the anticipated meeting in order to allow the widest and most serene participation possible,” the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education said in a statement.

“The Global Pact is not limited to educational and academic institutions but rather, in the belief that commitment to education must be shared by all, involves representatives of religions,
international bodies and the various humanitarian institutions, of the academic, economic, political and cultural world,” it added.

Holy See press office director Matteo Bruni also shared that steps have been taken in Vatican City as precautionary measures to protect against the virus.

Hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed in Vatican City offices, and there is a nurse and a doctor on call at a Vatican clinic to give immediate assistance, Bruni told Vatican News.

According to the World Health Organization, Italy has the third highest number of reported cases of novel coronavirus after China and South Korea.

Covid-19 is a new strain of coronavirus, which can cause fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. In some cases, it can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure, and severe acute respiratory syndrome.

Most of the cases are in the Lombardy region in the north, followed by the regions of Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. Of these cases, many are mild and being treated at home.

 The Italian Health Ministry reports that as of March 4, 276 people in the country have recovered from Covid-19.

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German bishops reelect secretary on interim basis

March 4, 2020 CNA Daily News 2

Mainz, Germany, Mar 4, 2020 / 11:30 am (CNA).- The secretary of the German bishops’ conference has been reelected to his position, despite announcing last week that he was not a candidate to remain in the role.

Jesuit Father Hans Langendörfer was returned in office by the German bishops on Tuesday, during their spring assembly, currently meeting in the city of Mainz. The priest had said he was stepping down to allow a younger person to fill the role.

On Feb. 26, Langendörfer announced that “I have come to the conclusion that it is now a good time to hand this position over to younger hands,” and suggested that a layperson could fill the role.

Several media outlets in Germany speculated that many in the conference, including Langendörfer, hoped that a woman would be elected to fill the position, which plays a key organizational role in the ongoing “synodal process” being conducted by the German bishops’ conference and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK).

Langendörfer, who has held the position since 1996, indicated on Wednesday that he had  accepted his reelection on a temporary basis, fueling speculation that the bishops had failed to agree on a suitable candidate to replace him.

A brief press release from the German bishops’ conference, released March 4, said that he would not remain in office for the full term, and was continuing in the role on an interim basis.

“The spring general assembly of the German bishops’ conference today (March 3, 2020) in Mainz has reelected the previous secretary of the bishops’ conference, Father Dr. Hans Langendörfer, SJ. re-elected,” the statement said.

“Fr. Langendörfer has announced that he will be performing this task until the end of 2020 at the latest.”

Langendörfer’s announcement last week that he would quit the position he has held for nearly 25 years came shortly after the news that the chairman of the conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Münich and Freising, was also stepping down from the conference leadership. In a statement in February, Marx said he hoped to spend more time in his diocese and that it was time for a “younger generation” to assume leadership of the Church in Germany.

Langendörfer’s reelection as secretary followed the announcement of the new chairman of the conference.

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg was confirmed as the new chairman on Tuesday, replacing Cardinal Marx.

Bätzing was elected after no candidate received the necessary two-thirds majority during the first two rounds of voting; he was chosen on the third ballot with a simple majority of votes cast and will lead the conference for a six year term.

In his first remarks as chairman, Bätzing expressed his “full support” for the so-called binding synodal process, which formally opened during the first week of Advent, 2019, but held the first meeting of the synodal assembly in January.

Despite several cautionary interventions from Rome, the assembly’s working groups will offer proposed changes to various aspects of Church teaching and discipline, including on women’s ordination, clerical celibacy, and human sexuality.

Bätzing himself co-chairs the synodal working group on “Life in Successful Relationships – Love Live in Sexuality and Partnership,” together with Birgit Mock, the ZdK spokeswoman on family policy. The ZdK has called for a total revision of Church teaching on homosexuality and for the blessing of same-sex relationships in churches.

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Proposed amendment in Russia would define marriage as between a man and woman

March 3, 2020 CNA Daily News 2

Moscow, Russia, Mar 3, 2020 / 08:01 pm (CNA).- A definition of marriage as between a man and a woman are among several amendments to the Russian constitution proposed by president Vladimir Putin.

The State Duma, Russia’s lower parliamentary house, approved the constitutional reform bill in January. Putin’s amendments will be included in a second reading next week.

A public vote on the constitutional amendments will take place April 22, but will first have to undergo approval from the Constitutional Court.

Neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions are legal in Russia.

Two weeks ago, Putin spoke on same-sex marriage, saying Russia would not legalize the practice while he is in power.

“As far as ‘parent number 1’ and ‘parent number 2’ goes, I’ve already spoken publicly about this and I’ll repeat it again: As long as I’m president this will not happen. There will be dad and mum,” Putin said.

Critics charge that the changes to the constitution are a means for Putin to maintain power, whose fourth term as president ends in 2024.

Other proposed amendments would include a reference Russians’ “faith in God”, and one on “historical truth” that would preserve “the great achievement of the people in their defence of the Fatherland”.

The historical truth amendment would emphasize the Soviet Union’s role in World War II, during which some 27 million Soviets lost their lives fighting Nazi Germany.

Another amendment would forbid the turning over of any Russian territory, which could strengthen Russia’s claims to Crimea, a Ukrainian region it annexed in 2014, and to the Kuril Islands, an archipelago it administers but some of which is claimed by Japan.

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‘Freed because of Jesus’- Asia Bibi shares her story

March 3, 2020 CNA Daily News 1

Paris, France, Mar 3, 2020 / 07:00 pm (CNA).- Asia Bibi is a Pakistani Catholic woman who was sentenced to death in 2010 for blasphemy against Islam.  After more than eight years in prison, she was acquitted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018.

“I was accused because of the name of Jesus and I knew I would be freed because of Jesus,” Bibi said at a Paris press conference last week.

Bibi said that during her time on death row, her faith “was always strong because I knew that God was with me, God never leaves you alone, he always accompanies you.” 

Together with French journalist Anne-Isabelle Tollet, Bibi has written her autobiography,“Enfin Libre” (Free at Last). The English edition is due out in September.

According to UCA News, Tollet campaigned for Bibi’s release and is the only journalist to interview her in Canada, where Bibi was granted refugee status last year.

Bibi has been living with her husband and two daughters in Canada since last May. Her refugee status is due to expire at the end of this year, and she is seeking political asylum in France, where she met with French president Emmanuel Macron Feb. 28.

Accompanied by her daughter at the press conference, Bibi recounted how the priest who baptized her told her parents that “this little girl will be tested by God.”

“My parents told me that and I knew that something would happen one day,” she said.

During her incarceration, even when she was sentenced to death by hanging, Bibi said she prayed to God for his help to overcome her ordeal.

“If you trust in God, your faith becomes stronger,” she said.

“I knew I was going to be released because I was accused because of  the name of Jesus and I would be freed because of Jesus,” Bibi said.

A mother of five, Bibi especially thanked all the people who prayed for her during her years in prison, especially pope emeritus Benedict XVI.

“When my husband came to tell me that His Holiness the Pope prayed for me, I felt really blessed from the bottom of my heart because I knew that was a blessing from God. I was very happy, I don’t have the words to thank him,” she added.

Bibi said one of her greatest desires is to meet Pope Francis.

Asked how her children handled her years in prison, Bibi’s daughter broke into tears. 

“Don’t worry, your mom is here,” Bibi consoled her daughter.

“All these people have come to see you, to meet you, to give you their love…smile,” Bibi added.

Bibi also honored the memory of the Minister for Minorities, Shabbaz Batthi, who was assassinated for defending her innocence and opposing the law on blasphemy.

She said she mourned his death very much and that “whoever dies for the truth and for his faith, is always alive, he never dies.”

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, named Bibi an honorary citizen of the city Feb. 24, RTL news reported.

A version of this story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Colombian court leaves abortion regulations unchanged

March 3, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

Bogotá, Colombia, Mar 3, 2020 / 04:06 pm (CNA).- Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled Monday to maintain the country’s status quo on abortion, neither banning the practice entirely nor legalizing elective abortion up to 16 weeks.

The court maintained its 2006 decision that legalized abortion on the grounds of risk to the life of the mother, rape, and fetal deformities.

In its 6-3 decision March 2, the court declined to rule on two lawsuits brought before it in January by law professor Natalia Bernal, which sought to outlaw abortion entirely.Bernal argued abortion violates the rights of unborn children and of women, and amounts to torture.

The majority said that Bernal had “not presented sufficient arguments” to justify reconsidering the 2006 decision, and her petition was characterized by “substantial ineptitude.”

Three judges voted that the court should rule on the lawsuit, and authored dissenting opinions favoring the legalization of abortion.

One of the three, Alejandro Linares, had proposed legalizing elective abortion during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. His proposed ruling was presented to the court last week, and had been leaked to the media.

Unidos por la Vida Colombia, a prolife platform, lamented that the court “did not rule on the merits and will not consider Dr. Bernal’s lawsuits.”

“The tide is turning in favor of the most defenseless: the unborn babies, their mothers and fathers, Colombian society has woken up and will continue until the right to life is fully respected, from the moment of conception until natural death,” it said.

The group also asked that the court implement “jurisprudence that safeguards the constitution and the lives of all Colombians,” and that it “respect Article 11 of the constitution,” declaring unconstitutional its 2018 decision.

The court had recognized abortion as a right in 2018, while the eleventh article of the Colombian constitution bars capital punishment, saying that “the right to life is inviolable.”

The Colombian Ministry of Health is drafting regulations to comply with the 2018 ruling.

Jesús Magaña, president of Unidos por la Vida Colombia, told ACI Prensa that the court’s decision this week was “a victory that gives hope.”

“We have won a battle but not the war with the abortion lobby, which sought to expand the time frame for this practice to 16 weeks. Although we can say we’re in a tie, this can in fact be considered a defeat for the abortion lobby, which was unable to further advance its agenda.”

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International, said the group “regrets the Court’s decision to continue restricting women’s sexual and reproductive rights instead of setting a positive example for the region.”

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