Roman Catholic Church - The African Mirror

Jan

2023

Death of former Pope Benedict overshadows New Year at Vatican

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis marked the Roman Catholic Church's traditional World Day of Peace on Sunday but the start of the new year at the Vatican was overshadowed by the death of his predecessor, Benedict. Francis presided at a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica as the body of Benedict, who died on Saturday at the age of 95, was being prepared for three days of public viewing in the same church starting Monday. On Sunday the Vatican released the first images of the late Benedict, showing him dressed in red and gold liturgical vestments and laying in state in the chapel of…

Sep

2022

By The African Mirror

John Paul I, ‘Smiling Pope’ for a month, moves towards sainthood

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE John Paul I, who died in 1978 after only 33 days as pontiff, moved closer to sainthood with the Vatican still having to dismiss lingering conspiracy theories that he was a victim of foul play. Pope Francis beatified his predecessor at a ceremony in St. Peter's Square before tens of thousands of people. Beatification is the last step before sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. John Paul was known as "The Smiling Pope" because of his meekness and simplicity. "With a smile, Pope John Paul managed to communicate the goodness of the Lord," Francis said in his…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Putting stamp on future, pope names cardinals with tilt towards Asia

RELIGION

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis announced that he would appoint 21 new cardinals, including one based in Mongolia, as he again put his stamp on the Roman Catholic Church's future by elevating more men from the developing world to the high rank. Sixteen are cardinal electors under 80 and eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor from among themselves after his death or resignation. Eleven of the electors are from, or based in, countries outside Europe or North America. Cardinals rank second only to the pope in the Church hierarchy and serve as his closest advisors at home and…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Pope apologises to indigenous Canadians for wrongs at residential schools

WORLD

PHILIP PULLELLA POPE Francis issued a historic apology to Canadian indigenous peoples for the Roman Catholic Church's role in residential schools that sought to erase their cultures and where many children suffered abuse and were buried in unmarked graves. Francis, in an address to native leaders after meetings with delegates from various indigenous nations, also said he hoped to visit Canada in July. One of the leaders, who want the pope to make the apology directly to their communities in their native lands in Canada, called his words "historic" and another said they reflected the "entirety" of their message to…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

German archbishop offers to resign over Church’s sexual abuse ‘catastrophe’

RELIGION

THOMAS ESCRITT and PHILIP PULLELLA ONE of Roman Catholicism's most influential liberal figures, Germany's Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has offered to resign as archbishop of Munich, saying he had to share responsibility for the "catastrophe" of sexual abuse by clerics over past decades. His offer, which Pope Francis has yet to accept, follows an uproar among the German faithful over abuse. Last week, the pope sent two senior foreign bishops to investigate the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany's largest, over its handling of abuse cases. "I have to share responsibility for the catastrophe of sexual abuse by officials of the Church over…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

Vatican urges U.N. Security Council meeting on COVID vaccine access

COVID-19

PHILLIP PULLELLA THE charity arm of the Vatican and Roman Catholic Church has urged the United Nations to hold a Security Council meeting to designate the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines as a global security issue. An appeal by two senior Vatican cardinals and the secretary-general of Caritas Internationalis (CI) said rich nations had a moral obligation to see that vaccines reach the poor, refugees and minorities. "(We) call for a Security Council meeting to address the issue of access to the vaccines as a global security problem with firm political decisions based on multilateralism," the appeal text said. "This…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Mine-free River Jordan shrine ends 50 year wait for Epiphany

RELIGION

A shrine near the traditional site of Jesus' baptism on the River Jordan has hosted an Epiphany procession for the first time in more than 50 years after it was declared free of landmines. Father Francesco Patton, the custodian of the Holy Land for the Roman Catholic church, led Franciscan friars towards a shrine in what was once a war zone between Israel and Jordan. Although the two countries have been at peace since 1994, seven churches laid abandoned for more than 50 years in the area of de-mining operations. The area lies about a kilometre from the Qasr al-Yahud…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope, in new decree, formally allows more roles for women in Church

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis, in another step towards greater equality for women in the Roman Catholic Church, has changed its law to formally codify their roles as altar servers, distributors of communion and readers at liturgies. The pope's decree formalised practices already common in many countries. But the change in the Code of Canon Law means conservative bishops will not be able to block women in their dioceses from taking those roles. The Vatican stressed that the roles were "essentially distinct from the ordained ministry", and so not an automatic precursor to women one day being allowed to become priests.…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

No crying in Sistine Chapel as baptisms cancelled amid COVID

RELIGION

THERE will be no crying in the chapel this year. A traditional ceremony in which popes baptise newborn babies in the Sistine Chapel has been cancelled because of coronavirus restrictions, the Vatican said has announced. The ceremony, which involves several dozen babies, their parents, godparents and family members, was to have taken place this Sunday, the day the Roman Catholic Church marks the feast of the baptism of Jesus. The cancellation, believed to be the first since the tradition was started by Pope John Paul II decades ago, was announced after Italy decided to keep some nationwide holiday restrictions that…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Pope names an African among his new cardinals, putting his stamp on Church’s future

NEWS

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis, leaving his mark on the Roman Catholic Church into the future, named 13 cardinals from eight countries, including an African, Archbishop Antoine Kambanda of Kigali, Rwanda. Pope Frances also appointed nine cardinals who are eligible to enter a conclave to elect his successor after his death or resignation. The nine new cardinal electors, whom the pope listed in a surprise announcement while addressing pilgrims from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square, include Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington D.C. Gregory, who will become the first African-American to hold the rank, has become a national figure in recent months.…