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Vatican City, May 16, 2019 / 11:23 am (CNA).- A Vatican court has decided not to initiate canonical charges against a former Vatican official, after an investigation into allegations he made sexual advances toward a woman in the confessional several years ago.
Fr. Hermann Geissler, 53, is a member of Familia spiritualis Opus (FSO), informally known as “Das Werk.”
Geissler's community announced May 17 that five judges of the Vatican’s supreme tribunal decided this week that Geissler would not be tried for “a delict of solicitation to a sin against the sixth commandment in the context of confession.”
A preliminary investigation into the matter, as specified by canon 1717 of the Code of Canon Law, was carried out by the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.
Most likely to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, Pope Francis requested the Signatura undertake the process instead of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which is the Vatican office usually charged with reviewing allegations of this kind.
Geissler, who maintained his innocence throughout the process, stepped down from his position within the CDF Jan. 29, where he had been an official since 1993. From 2009 he had been the head of the congregation’s teaching office.
A statement released Jan. 29 said that Geissler “affirms that the accusation made against him is untrue, and asks that the canonical process already initiated continue. He also reserves the right for possible civil legal action.”
Geissler, an Austrian, is also a prominent scholar of Bl. Cardinal Henry Newman.
The accusations against him became public at the end of September, when a (now-former) member of “Das Werk,” Doris Wagner, claimed in a lengthy piece in the German newspaper DIE ZIET that she had been sexually harassed in the confessional by a member of the religious community she then belonged to, identified in the article as “Hermann G.”
Wagner again spoke of the accusations last November, saying at a conference in Rome that she had received unwanted sexual advances and been “groomed” for sex by “a priest working to this day as capo ufficio at the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith,” according to La Croix International.
The solicitation of a sin against the sixth commandment within the context of confession is considered in the Church law to be a “grave delict,” or offense, for which a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state.
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Vatican City, Sep 25, 2018 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis said Tuesday that renewed procedures and priorities in handling sex abuse cases have yielded results in the Church, and have developed alongside a greater moral awareness of the dangers of chil… […]
Pope Francis greets thousands of children and their families as he makes his way through St. Peter’s Square during the first World Children’s Day, Saturday, May 26, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Vatican City, May 26, 2024 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
After an exuberant kick-off event on Saturday for the first World Children’s Day, Pope Francis gathered together with tens of thousands of children in St. Peter’s Square for Mass on this feast of the Holy Trinity. A piercing early summer sun moved everyone — from nuns to the boys’ choir — to shade their heads with colorful hats.
Thousands gather in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Saturday, May 26, 2024, for the first World Children’s Day with Pope Francis. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The creation of a World Children’s Day was announced by the pope on December 8, 2023, at the midday Angelus. The idea for it was suggested to the pope by a 9-year-old boy in an exchange shortly before World Youth Day in Lisbon.
Among the special guests at the Mass was Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who together with her daughter Ginevra, met the Pope briefly before the Mass.
With this first event complete, Francis announced at the end of the festivities today that the next World Children’s Day will be held in September 2026.
Among the special guests at the Mass for the first World Children’s Day was Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who together with her daughter Ginevra, met the pope briefly before the Mass on Saturday, May 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The One who accompanies us
The Holy Father, smiling and clearly happy to be surrounded by children, completely improvised his homily, making it a brief and memorable lesson on the Holy Trinity.
“Dear boys and girls, we are here to pray together to God,” he began. But then counting on his fingers and enumerating, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he asked, “But how many gods are there?”As the crowd answered “one,” the pope praised them and started talking of each of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.
He began with God the Father — “who created us all, who loves us so much” — asking the children how we pray to him. They quickly answered with the “Our Father.”
Pope Francis went on to speak of the second person of the Trinity, after the children called out his name — Jesus — as the one who forgives all of our sins.
When he got to the Holy Spirit, the pope admitted that envisioning this person of the Trinity is more difficult.
“Who is the Holy Spirit? Eh, it is not easy …,” he said.
“Because the Holy Spirit is God, He is within us. We receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism, we receive Him in the Sacraments. The Holy Spirit is the one who accompanies us in life.”
Using this last phrase, the Pope invited the children to repeat the idea a number of times: “He is the one accompanies us in life.”
“He is the one who tells us in our hearts the good things we need to do,” the Pope said, having the kids repeat the phrase again: “He is the one who when we do something wrong rebukes us inside.”
The pope speaks to thousands of children and many others who gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday for the first World Children’s Day on the feast of the Holy Trinity. May 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The pope ended the homily thanking the children and also reminding them that “we also have a mother,” asking them how we pray to her. They answered “with the Hail Mary.” The pope encouraged them to pray for parents, for grandparents, and for sick children.
“There are so many sick children beside me” he said, as he indicated the children in wheelchairs near the altar. “Always pray, and especially pray for peace, for there to be no wars.”
Applauding the grandparents
The pope frequently urges young people to seek out their grandparents, and the give-and-take of his homily gave the impression of a beloved grandpa surrounded by his grandkids. He insisted that the kids quiet down for the time of prayer.
When the Mass concluded, and after praying the midday Angelus, the pope summarized the lessons of the homily: “Dear children, Mass is over. And today, we’ve talked about God: God the Father who created the world, God the Son, who redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit … what did we say about the Holy Spirit? I don’t remember!”
The children needed no further invitation to answer loudly that “the Holy Spirit accompanies us in life.” Joking that he couldn’t hear well, the Pope had them say it again even louder, and then prayed the Glory Be with them.
Pope Francis speaks with a group of children in St. Peter’s Square in Rome during the first World Day of Children on Saturday, May 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The pope also asked for a round of applause for all the grandparents, noting that at the Presentation of the Gifts, a grandfather had accompanied a group of children who brought forward the bread and wine.
Dreaming and dragons
After the closing procession, Italian actor Roberto Benigni took the stage for a lively and inspirational monologue that combined good humor and life lessons.
While Benigni is known especially to the English-speaking world for his role in Oscar-winning Life is Beautiful, in Italy he’s also known for his commentaries on important issues, combined with his exuberant humor.
“When I was a boy, I wanted to be pope,” he told the audience.
Urging the children to read — “Kids need to read everything!” — he paraphrased G.K. Chesterton who insisted that fairy tales are important: “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed,” Chesterton said.
Italian actor Roberto Benigni speaks at the World Children’s Day in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. He took the stage for a lively and inspirational monologue that combined good humor with a call for children to read and to dream. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
“Dream!” Benigni urged the children. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. But I want to tell you a secret. You’ll tell me you know how to dream; you’ll say you just have to close your eyes, sleep, and dream. … No, no. I’ll tell you a secret — to dream, you don’t have to close your eyes. You have to open them! You have to open your eyes, read, write, invent.”
The actor emphasized the need to be peacemakers, saying that the Sermon on the Mount contains “the only good idea” that’s ever been expressed. War is the “most stupid sin,” he lamented.
“War must end,” Benigni insisted, going on to quote a famous author of children’s literature. “You will tell me: That is a dream, it is a fairy tale. Yes, it is, but as Gianni Rodari said, ‘Fairy tales can become reality, they can become true!’”
Pope Francis prays during a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 20, 2023. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, celebrates Easter Sunday Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 4, 2021. / Credit: (L) Daniel Ibanez/CNA. (R) Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Rome Newsroom, Oct 8, 2023 / 08:45 am (CNA).
Pope Francis and the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem have responded to the sudden outbreak of conflict in Israel and Palestine over the weekend.
The pope said at the end of a public address on Sunday he is following the violence “with apprehension and sorrow,” and issued an appeal to “please stop weapons attacks!”
The head of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for a de-escalation of the situation in a statement Oct. 7.
“The continuing bloodshed and declarations of war remind us once again of the urgent need to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in this land,” he said.
A series of rocket attacks and incursions on Israel from Hamas militants had reportedly killed hundreds and wounded many between Saturday and Sunday morning.
The surprise attacks began early on the morning of Oct. 7, the start of the observance of the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.
Israel reacted to the attacks by fighting back in southern Israel and launching airstrikes in Gaza. Israeli military official Daniel Hagari told reporters Sunday morning that “hundreds of terrorists” had been killed during fighting in Gaza and southern Israel, the Associated Press reports.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday Israel is “at war.”
In an appeal at the end of his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis said “terrorism and war do not bring any solution, but only death and suffering for many innocent people. War is a failure. Every war is a failure.”
He said he is close to the families of the victims and called for prayers “that there will be peace in Israel and Palestine.”
The pope also recalled that the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary, and asked Catholics to continue to pray through the intercession of Mary “for the gift of peace for the many countries of the world marked by war and conflict.”
Pizzaballa, who was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in a consistory Sept. 30, called the sudden outbreak of violence in Israel and Palestine “very concerning due to its extension and intensity.”
“The too many casualties and tragedies, which both Palestinians and Israeli families have to deal with, will create more hatred and division, and will destroy more and more any perspective of stability,” the patriarch added.
“We ask God to inspire world leaders in their intervention for the implementation of peace and concord,” he said, “so that Jerusalem may be a house of prayer for all peoples.”
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem also announced that “due to the present circumstances,” celebrations in honor of Pizzaballa’s inclusion in the College of Cardinals have been canceled until further notice.
An Oct. 7 joint statement from the patriarchs and heads of the Churches in Jerusalem also called for the protection of both Israelis and Palestinians.
“As custodians of the Christian faith, deeply rooted in the Holy Land, we stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife,” the statement said.
The Christian leaders in the Holy Land condemned “any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or faith” and called for all parties to immediately cease violence.
“Our faith, which is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ, compels us to advocate for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians,” it said.
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