Denver Newsroom, Oct 1, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).-
Two weeks after vandals toppled a statue of St. Therese at a Catholic parish in Utah, the parish said it has been overwhelmed by support and generosity from the Catholic community, both locally an… […]
CNA Staff, Oct 1, 2020 / 10:30 am (CNA).- The Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, announced it was filing for bankruptcy early Thursday morning, becoming the fourth of the state’s eight Latin Catholic dioceses to do so.
In an announcement on … […]
Denver Newsroom, Oct 1, 2020 / 10:28 am (CNA).-
Carlo Acutis, an Italian teenager who died in 2006, will be beatified Oct. 10 in Assisi.
Acutis, a gamer and computer programmer who loved soccer and the Eucharist, has been the subject of interest around the world. So who was Carlo Acutis? Here’s what you need to know:
Who was Carlo Acutis?
Carlo Acutis was born May 3, 1991, in London, where his parents were working. Just a few months later, his parents, Andrea Acutis and Antonia Salzano, moved to Milan.
As a teenager, Carlo was diagnosed with leukemia. He offered his sufferings for Pope Benedict XVI and for the Church, saying “”I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.”
He died on Oct. 12, 2006, and was buried in Assisi, at his request, because of his love for St. Francis of Assisi.
His cause for canonization began in 2013. He was designated “Venerable” in 2018, and will be designated “Blessed” October 10.
So, he was pretty holy, huh?
From a young age, Carlo seemed to have a special love for God, even though his parents weren’t especially devout. His mom said that before Carlo, she went to Mass only for her First Communion, her confirmation, and her wedding.
But as a young child, Carlo loved to pray the rosary. After he made his First Communion, he went to Mass as often as he could, and he made Holy Hours before or after Mass. He went to confession weekly.
He asked his parents to take him on pilgrimages — to the places of the saints, and to the sites of Eucharistic miracles.
There was fruit of Carlos’ devotion in his life. His witness of faith led to a deep conversion in his mom, because, according to the priest promoting his cause for sainthood, he “managed to drag his relatives, his parents to Mass every day. It was not the other way around; it was not his parents bringing the little boy to Mass, but it was he who managed to get himself to Mass and to convince others to receive Communion daily,”
He was known for defending kids at school who got picked on, especially disabled kids. When a friend’s parents were getting a divorce, Carlo made a special effort to include his friend in the Acutis family life.
And he promoted Eucharistic miracles, especially through a website he built to promote them.
On the site, he told people that “the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.”
When Carlo got sick, his life of faith increased. He was intentional about offering up his suffering for the Church, the pope, and for people who were suffering with illness.
And he was a gamer?
Here’s what we know: Carlo loved playing video games. His console of choice was a Playstation, or possibly a PS2, which was released in 2000, when Carlo was nine. We know he only allowed himself to play games for an hour a week, as a penance and a spiritual discipline, but he wanted to play much more.
Here’s what we don’t know: What games he liked to play. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2? Gran Turismo 3? We’re pretty curious, and if CNA finds out, we’ll report it.
He was also a programmer, and, as we mentioned, built a website cataloguing and promoting Eucharistic miracles.
Carlo also apparently liked sports and the outdoors. But, well, a lot of saints liked soccer. How many liked playing Kingdom Hearts? (or whatever game he liked to play.)
And was his body incorrupt?
Initially, there were reports that the body of Carlo Acutis was found to be incorrupt.
A spokeswoman for Acutis’ beatification told CNA that the entire body was present when it was exhumed, but “not incorrupt.”
“Today we … see him again in his mortal body. A body that has passed, in the years of burial in Assisi, through the normal process of decay, which is the legacy of the human condition after sin has removed it from God, the source of life. But this mortal body is destined for resurrection,” Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi said at a Mass at the opening of the tomb Oct. 1.
He will, however, lie in repose in a glass tomb where he can be venerated by pilgrims until Oct. 17. He is displayed in jeans and a pair of Nikes, the casual clothes he preferred in life.
And his heart, which can now be considered a relic, will be displayed in a reliquary in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. His mother said that his family had wanted to donate his organs when he died, but were unable to do so because of the leukemia.
CNA Staff, Oct 1, 2020 / 09:30 am (CNA).- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has condemned a proposed COVID-19 relief bill that excludes support for children and families enrolled in non-public schools.
“The COVID-19 pandemic… […]
Rome Newsroom, Oct 1, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).-
The tomb of Venerable Carlo Acutis was opened for public veneration Thursday ahead of the computer-programming teen’s beatification.
A spokeswoman for Acutis’ beatification told CNA that the entire body was present, but “not incorrupt.”
“Today we … see him again in his mortal body. A body that has passed, in the years of burial in Assisi, through the normal process of decay, which is the legacy of the human condition after sin has removed it from God, the source of life. But this mortal body is destined for resurrection,” Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi said at a Mass at the opening of the tomb Oct. 1.
The bishop explained that Acutis’ body was “reassembled with art and love.”
Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, was known for his computer-programming skills, and love of the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary.
The heart of Acutis, which can now be considered a relic, will be displayed in a reliquary in the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. His mother said that his family had wanted to donate his organs when he died, but were unable to do so because of the leukemia.
“Carlo is a boy of our time. A boy of the internet age, and a model of holiness of the digital age, as Pope Francis presented him in his letter to young people around the world. The computer … has become a way of going through the streets of the world, like the first disciples of Jesus, to bring to hearts and homes the announcement of true peace, that which quenches the thirst for the infinite that inhabits the human heart,” Sorrentino said.
The rector for the Sanctuary of Spoliation in Assisi, where Acutis’ tomb is located, told EWTN that reconstruction work on Acutis’ face was necessary before the public viewing of the tomb.
Acutis had brain hemorrhaging at the time of his death, and he offered his suffering for the pope and the Church.
“His body was discovered to be fully integral, not intact, but integral, having all its organs. Work was done on his face,” Fr. Carlos Acácio Gonçalves Ferreira said.
“In some way, his earthly face will be seen again. But that face — let us not forget — by now does not point to itself, but to God,” Archbishop Sorrentino said.
Acutis’ tomb is open for public veneration Oct. 1-17 in Assisi to allow as many people as possible to make a prayerful visit in the weeks before and after his beatification Oct. 10, despite coronavirus measures limiting attendance.
In his interview with EWTN, Ferreira lauded Acutis as a witness that holiness is attainable for teenagers.
In the tomb, Acutis is dressed in the casual clothes he wore in daily life. While he was not buried in this clothes, it is hoped that they will give evidence of the teen’s life.
“For the first time in history we will see a saint dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a sweater,” the rector said.
“This is a great message for us, we can feel holiness not as a distant thing but as something very much within everyone’s reach because the Lord is the Lord of everyone.”
In the year before he died, the Italian teen researched Eucharistic miracles to create a website cataloging and sharing this information with others.
As part of the 17-day celebration of Acutis’ beatification in Assisi, two churches are hosting exhibitions of the Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions cataloged by Acutis.
Acutis’ tomb is in Assisi’s Sanctuary of the Spoliation, where a young St. Francis of Assisi is said to have cast off his rich clothes in favor of a poor habit.
“Carlo Acutis, like St. Francis, had in common, in addition to love for Jesus and in particular for the Eucharist, a great love for the poor,” Archbishop Sorrentino said as he announced Oct. 1 that a soup kitchen would be opened near the Sanctuary of the Spoliation in remembrance of Acutis.
Carlo’s mother, Antonia Salzano (pictured above), said that she was very moved by the opening of her son’s tomb for public veneration.
“We are thrilled that finally Carlo’s tomb has been opened, especially because the faithful that Carlo has scattered around the world will be able to see him and to be able to venerate him in a stronger and more engaging way,” she said.
“We hope that through the exposition of Carlo’s body, the faithful can raise their prayers to God with more fervor and faith who through Carlo invites us all to have more faith, hope, and love for him, and for our brothers just as Carlo did in his earthly life. We pray that Carlo will intercede for all of us with God and obtain many graces for us.”
Vatican City, Oct 1, 2020 / 08:10 am (CNA).- The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the Holy See’s top diplomats had a “respectful” exchange of views on China, the Vatican said Thursday.
Responding to questions from journa… […]
Vatican City, Oct 1, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- The Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy released the 2019 balance sheet for the Roman Curia Thursday.
Fr. Juan A. Guerrero, S.J., the department’s prefect, told Vatican News Oct. 1 “the economy of the Holy See should be a house of glass.”
“We want the budget to explain how the Holy See uses its resources to carry out its mission,” he said.
The report comes a week after the resignation of Cardinal Angelo Becciu from the Roman Curia, which followed more than a year of reporting by CNA and other news outlets on various financial scandals involving Becciu and the Holy See’s Secretariat of State.
Guerrero told Vatican News he “reads the newspapers” and that “it is possible that, in some cases, the Holy See was not only badly advised but also cheated.”
“I believe we are learning from past mistakes or recklessness,” he said.
The Holy See balance sheet was also published as the Holy See undergoes an onsite financial inspection by Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog.
The evaluation will likely include looking at the role of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which functions as the Holy See treasury, sovereign wealth manager, and administers payroll and operating expenses for Vatican City.
In 2018, Pope Francis asked for Vatican investments to be centralized under APSA’s management.
Guerrero said that the project of centralizing investments in APSA was advancing “little by little.”
The prefect also acknowledged that he made a request in April that all dicasteries transfer their liquid assets to APSA, saying he did it in anticipation of revenue loss due to Italy’s coronavirus lockdown.
In May, Guerrero said that in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Vatican is forecasting a reduction in income of between 30% and 80% for the next fiscal year.
The Oct. 1 Holy See financial report for 2019 showed that the expenditure of the 60 curial offices for 2019 totaled 318 million euros (around $374 million) out of an income of 307 million euros.
The deficit of 11 million euros was smaller than the 2018 deficit due to 68 million euros in investment returns, the report showed. It said that the increase was “mostly attributable to the effect of the recovery of share prices in 2019.”
The report did not include financial statements for other Vatican entities which collaborate with the Holy See, such as the governorate of Vatican City State, the IOR, or Peter’s Pence, the pope’s charitable fund which comes from an annual Church-wide collection.
These institutions and others “present their results, and report to the corresponding authorities,” Guerrero said.
Despite not being part of the report, Guerrero said that Peter’s Pence covered 32% of the expenses “for the mission of the Holy See.”
The prefect said that Peter’s Pence in 2019 “collaborated with the mission of the Holy Father” for a total of 66 million euros, with 23 million coming from reserve funds in addition to what was donated in 2019.
Guerrero noted that this shortage has happened in the last few years, lowering the capital of Peter’s Pence overall.
The balance sheet showed overall income and expenditure figures for 2019 and a breakdown of how much went to each curial department.
Expense categories were listed as apostolic mission, assets management, and services and administration.
Under apostolic mission, the largest expense went to “message diffusion” at 22% and apostolic nunciatures — the Holy See’s embassies abroad — at 21%.
Supporting local churches in difficulty and mission territories accounted for 16%. Donations made up 12%, and 9% was spent on maintaining the Curia’s historic assets.
APSA had the largest expenditure at over 66 million euros toward asset management, followed by the Secretariat of State with more than 65 million in expenses, over 22 million attributed to administration costs.
The Dicastery for Communication, the department which employs the greatest number of lay people in the Holy See, spent almost 46 million euros.
Rome, Italy, Oct 1, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- While the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the Church to speak out about human rights abuses in China Wednesday, the Vatican’s top diplomats chose to focus their remarks at the same conference … […]
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