Record number of abortions recorded in England and Wales in 2020

An aerial view of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Sept. 16, 2008. / Public domain

Rome Newsroom, Apr 23, 2021 / 04:35 am (CNA).
More than 10 days after five priests, two nuns, and three lay people were abducted in Haiti and held for ransom, there are … […]

Berlin, Germany, Sep 24, 2019 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- The apostolic nuncio to Germany has written to the country’s bishops, comparing a recent letter from Pope Francis to German Catholics with a historic Nazi-era encyclical of Pius XI.

In a letter to mark the opening of the German bishops’ conference’s plenary session on Monday, Archbishop Nicola Eterovic reiterated the appeal of Pope Francis to the bishops that they focus on evangelization and maintain unity with the universal Church during their “binding synodal process.”

In June, Francis wrote to German Catholics about the state of the Church in their country, and to offer his own priorities and methodology for the syndoal path being undertaken there.

The German bishops’ plenary meeting runs from Sept. 23-25, at the end of which they will vote on draft statutes for the creation of a “Synodal Assembly.” 

“The letter of the Holy Father deserves special attention,” Archbishop Nicola Eterovic wrote in his welcoming address to the German bishops on Monday, Sept. 23.

“It is indeed the first time since the encyclical of Pius XI, Mit brennender sorge — ‘With burning concern’ — that the pope has dedicated a letter to the members of the Catholic Church in Germany in particular.”

Eterovic – originally from Croatia – pointed out that while “the encyclical of 14 March 1937 denounces the inadmissible interventions of the National Socialist regime in the affairs of the Catholic Church, the current letter deals with issues within the Church.” 

“As the representative of the Holy Father in Germany, I am pleased that the contents of the papal letter will be the subject of the study day during this assembly. I do not doubt that the pope’s letter will positively influence the so-called Synodal Path.”

In his own letter, the archbishop repeatedly stressed the need for unity with the universal Church, as expressed by the pope.

“Unity between the universal Church and particular Churches is essential for the effectiveness of evangelization,” Eterovic wrote, quoting Francis’ June letter. 

“It is especially in these times of ‘strong fragmentation and polarization to ensure that the Sensus Ecclesiae actually lives in every decision we make and that it nourishes and permeates all levels… The universal Church lives in and from the particular Churches, just as the particular Churches live and flourish in and from the universal Church; if they were separated from the universal Church, they would weaken, perish and die. Hence the need to maintain communion with the whole Body of the Church always alive and effective.”

The nuncio said the pope wanted to remind the German bishops that communion “helps us to overcome the fear which isolates us in ourselves and in our particularities, so that we can look into the eyes and listen to those who are there, or so that we can renounce needs and thus accompany those who have remained on the roadside.”

The archbishop concluded by warning the German bishops against the temptation to seek easy solutions in the face of the crisis of faith in the country. 

Citing Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Protestant theologian murdered by the Nazis, Eterovic said that relying on the “cheap grace” cannot be the basis for renewal, and is the “mortal enemy of our Church.” Instead, he urged the bishops to “struggle” for the “expensive grace” that is found through focusing on evangelization, as called for by the pope.

Eterovic concluded his letter by underlining the essential link between people, faith, and evangelization in the communion of the Church.

“As a community of believers, as a communion of lived and preached hope, as a community of fraternal love, the Church must unceasingly hear for herself what she must believe, what are the reasons for her hope, and what the new commandment of love is.”

CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language partner, contributed to this story

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Paris, France, Jan 11, 2020 / 06:01 am (CNA).- A leading architect in France has urged that the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris be reconstructed out of wood, for the sake of the building’s structural integrity.

Eric Wirth of the Guild of French Architects, expressed at a French parliamentary hearing Jan. 8 that rebuilding the roof with concrete or metal would be a mistake.

“We have to be sceptical of seemingly brilliant solutions” involving metal or concrete rafters he said, according to AFP.

“The most modern and ecological material today is wood,” Wirth said.

He said the cathedral is still at risk of collapse after a fire struck the cathedral in April, destroying the roof and spire and damaging the windows and vaults. He said alternative materials to wood might have resulted in further damage to the cathedral.

“The cathedral has been there for 800 years. Had it been built in concrete or steel it would not still be there,” he further added.

“Even with all the (chemical) protection treatments, given the intensity of the blaze… the steel would have held for half an hour and then it would have twisted, pulling on the walls and everything would have collapsed.”

He said that even if metal or concrete roofs were lightweight, the building’s structure is built for a heavy roof, and that such Gothic cathedrals “stand up structurally because there is a large mass on the vaulted ceiling … they only work because the roof is heavy.”

“We are lucky to have all the information we need to rebuild an identical roof.”

The comments came after Jean-Louis Georgelin, army general in charge of the restoration, said the call for an oak roof is just “lobbying” by wood industries. He said all options will be analyzed before anything is put in place.

“There will be a study, and all possible options will be examined,” said Georgelin, according to AFP.

In November, Georgelin had disagreed over whether the cathedral’s new spire should look modern or medieval. Georgelin, who supports a “contemporary” spire, reportedly told the architect Philippe Villeneuve that he should “shut his mouth” over the spire’s design.

The French parliament over the summer passed a bill declaring that Notre-Dame must be rebuilt exactly the way it was prior to the fire

Since the adoption of the 1905 law on separation of church and state, which formalized laïcité, a strict form of public secularism, religious buildings in France have been property of the state.

In December, the cathedral’s rector expressed concern that the Church is still at risk of destruction and may not be able to be reconstructed safely.

The church “is not out of danger,” Monsignor Patrick Chauvet said to the Associated Press Dec. 24. “It will be out of danger when we take out the remaining scaffolding.”

“Today we can say that there is maybe a 50% chance (the cathedral) will be saved,” said Chauvet. “There is also (a) 50% chance of scaffolding falling onto the three vaults, so as you can see, the building is still very fragile,” he added.

The scaffolding, present at the time of the fire on April 15, had melted together, and there are still about 551 tons of metal still present on top of the cathedral.

He said that after the scaffolding has been removed, the team will be able to better assess the state of the cathedral and begin the restoration. He said the scaffold will not likely be removed until 2021 and does not think the cathedral will be completed in time for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as French president Emmanuel Macron has vowed.

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