Catholic News 2
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(Vatican Radio) The European Union's executive has warned that the block is coming closer to imposing sanctions on Poland for the government's attempt to take control over the judiciary. Wednesday's announcement came just hours after Poland's president said he had proposed a compromise over contentious court reforms, as thousands of people protested in the capital Warsaw. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: Several thousand Polish people, many with burning candles, made clear they hope politicians will still see the light. They gathered overnight in front of Warsaw's presidential palace in a peaceful protest against controversial judicial reforms.Inside, Polish President Andrzej Duda made clear that he heard the voice of concerned crowds. He proposed a compromise over the disputed court reforms.Parliament recently approved a bill that critics say gives the government and legislators the power to select members of a body that nominate judges.Opponents say t...
(Vatican Radio) The European Union's executive has warned that the block is coming closer to imposing sanctions on Poland for the government's attempt to take control over the judiciary. Wednesday's announcement came just hours after Poland's president said he had proposed a compromise over contentious court reforms, as thousands of people protested in the capital Warsaw.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
Several thousand Polish people, many with burning candles, made clear they hope politicians will still see the light. They gathered overnight in front of Warsaw's presidential palace in a peaceful protest against controversial judicial reforms.
Inside, Polish President Andrzej Duda made clear that he heard the voice of concerned crowds. He proposed a compromise over the disputed court reforms.
Parliament recently approved a bill that critics say gives the government and legislators the power to select members of a body that nominate judges.
Opponents say the move would erode the independence of the judiciary.
SIMPLE MAJORITY
Duda proposed that nominations to the body would need more than a simple parliamentary majority. It would mean the governing right-wing and populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) would require the support of at least one other party to ensure its nominees are approved.
President Duda said that if the lower house did not support his change to the legislation, he would not sign a separate controversial law on changes to the supreme court.
The European Union closely follows the developments. The EU's executive European Commission has threatened with sanctions against Poland.
European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said that the EU was closer to triggering Article 7 against Poland because its recent steps toward the judiciary in his words "greatly amplify the threat to the rule of law" and threatens to put the judiciary "under full political control" of the government. "That's why we had a discussion today in college, how to respond to this," he told reporters.
Timmermans stressed that a dialogue between the EU and Poland should continue, but this is the latest in a series of clashes between Poland and Brussels. European leaders have also expressed concern about government efforts to control the media and other measures seen as undermining the country's democratic credentials.
Philadelphia, Pa., Jul 19, 2017 / 10:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A prominent Catholic journal’s critique of American religion and politics got quite a bit wrong, Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said yesterday.Archbishop Chaput said the article was “an exercise in dumbing down and inadequately presenting the nature of Catholic/Evangelical cooperation on religious freedom and other key issues.”Writing in a July 18 column at CatholicPhilly.com, he noted that Catholic-Evangelical cooperation was “quite rare” when he was a young priest.“The divide between Catholic and other faith communities has often run deep. Only real and present danger could draw them together,” the archbishop said. “Their current mutual aid, the ecumenism that seems to so worry La Civilta Cattolica, is a function of shared concerns and principles, not ambition for political power.”Prominent Jesuit-run journal La Civilta Cattolica on July 13 publishe...
Philadelphia, Pa., Jul 19, 2017 / 10:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A prominent Catholic journal’s critique of American religion and politics got quite a bit wrong, Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said yesterday.
Archbishop Chaput said the article was “an exercise in dumbing down and inadequately presenting the nature of Catholic/Evangelical cooperation on religious freedom and other key issues.”
Writing in a July 18 column at CatholicPhilly.com, he noted that Catholic-Evangelical cooperation was “quite rare” when he was a young priest.
“The divide between Catholic and other faith communities has often run deep. Only real and present danger could draw them together,” the archbishop said. “Their current mutual aid, the ecumenism that seems to so worry La Civilta Cattolica, is a function of shared concerns and principles, not ambition for political power.”
Prominent Jesuit-run journal La Civilta Cattolica on July 13 published an analysis piece co-authored by its editor, Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., and Marcelo Figueroa, a Presbyterian pastor who is editor-in-chief of the Argentine edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the daily newspaper of Vatican City.
The piece, titled “Evangelical Fundamentalism and Catholic Integralism in the USA: A Surprising Ecumenism” made a number of claims, alleging that many conservative Christians have united to promote an “ecumenism of hate” in policies that contradict Pope Francis’ message of mercy.
The piece’s analysis of American Christianity noted various influences like Christian fundamentalism, the “dominionism” of Presbyterian thinker Pastor Rousas John Rushdoony, the Prosperity Gospel, inspirational writer Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, and the polemical lay Catholic site Church Militant. It attempted to link these figures and trends with political trends and figures like Republican strategist Steve Bannon and Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Donald Trump.
Fr. Spadaro and Pastor Figueroa acknowledged that the erosion of religious liberty is “clearly a grave threat within a spreading secularism,” but said religious freedom should not be defended “in the fundamentalist terms of a ‘religion in total freedom,’ perceived as a direct virtual challenge to the secularity of the state.”
They claimed that “Evangelical fundamentalists” and “Catholic Integralists” are being brought together in a “surprising ecumenism” by “the same desire for religious influence in the political sphere.”
Their article noted the American trend of “values voters” whose political decisions prioritize abortion, same-sex marriage, religion in schools and other matters. Both of these Catholic and Evangelical factions, they claimed, “condemn traditional ecumenism and yet promote an ecumenism of conflict that unites them in the nostalgic dream of a theocratic type of state.” They charged that this collaboration also advances a “xenophobic and Islamophobic vision that wants walls and purifying deportations” and thus an “ecumenism of hate.” These religious and political trends, they said, were based on “fear of the breakup of a constructed order and the fear of chaos” and “painting worrying scenarios beyond any realism.”
In Archbishop Chaput’s view, the article’s description of attacks on religious liberty as a “narrative of fear” might have made sense 25 years ago, but now sounds “willfully ignorant.” He charged that the article ignored the fact that “America’s culture wars weren’t wanted, and weren’t started, by people faithful to constant Christian belief.”
“So it’s an especially odd kind of surprise when believers are attacked by their co-religionists merely for fighting for what their Churches have always held to be true,” the archbishop said.
Without mentioning him by name, Archbishop Chaput cited the words of Tim Gill, a Colorado-based multi-millionaire businessman and political strategist who has poured millions of dollars into LGBT activism. Gill was a major funder behind the successful effort to recognize same-sex unions as marriages, while in recent years his grant-making has focused on limiting religious freedom protections he considers discriminatory.
Gill told Rolling Stone magazine that he now aimed to “punish the wicked.”
“In other words, to punish those who oppose the LGBT cultural agenda,” added Archbishop Chaput, saying that conflicts over sexual freedom and identity involve “an almost perfect inversion of what we once meant by right and wrong.”
The archbishop said Catholics must treat all persons with charity and justice, including “those who hate what we believe.”
“It demands a conversion of heart. It demands patience, courage and humility. We need to shed any self-righteousness. But charity and justice can’t be severed from truth,” he said, citing St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans and other biblical calls to “sexual integrity and virtuous conduct.”
For the archbishop, attempting to soften or detour around these calls would demean what Christians have always believed and “reduces us to useful tools of those who would smother the faith that so many other Christians have suffered, and are now suffering, to fully witness.”
Archbishop Chaput suggested that the article got points of American religion incorrect. American Baptists, for instance, see their faith as undermining the integration of Church and State.
“Foreign observers who want to criticize the United States and its religious landscape – and yes, there’s always plenty to criticize – should note that fact. It’s rather basic,” he said.
The archbishop praised religious liberty legal groups like Alliance Defending Freedom and Becket, saying they are “heroes, not ‘haters’.”
“And if their efforts draw Catholics, evangelicals and other people of good will together in common cause, we should thank God for the unity it brings.”
His column said the La Civilta Cattolica article was “rightly criticized” and “unfortunate comments,” voicing a broader warning against misunderstanding the political and religious situation.
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 / 01:53 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acuña is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs.On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis.The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acuña told the Argentine Morfi Television program.On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour.As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated.A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the “doctors' prognosis was for the worst.”“In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,” Vera ...
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jul 19, 2017 / 01:53 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Maximiliano Acuña is a garbage collector in Buenos Aires who earlier this year was injured in a serious accident that left him without legs.
On Tuesday, he was surprised to receive an unexpected phone call from Pope Francis.
The Pope offered words of encouragement, 33-year-old Acuña told the Argentine Morfi Television program.
On March 22, the father of five children had been collecting garbage in a Buenos Aires neighborhood when he was struck by a car going some 80 miles an hour.
As a result of the accident, both of his legs had to be amputated.
A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, decided to tell Pope Francis what happened in an e-mail, in which he explained that the “doctors' prognosis was for the worst.”
“In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him,” Vera told the Holy Father.
However, Acuña surprised doctors when he came out of the coma on the third day. Two days later, he was moved from intensive care to a regular hospital room. “In a few weeks he was already home with his five children,” Vera related in his message to the Pope.
This July 18, Acuña was getting ready to be honored at a ceremony at the Buenos Aires Legislature when he got a special call.
“I'm Pope Francis. A friend (Vera) sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have,” the voice said on the other end of the line. “Always go forward, because you're an example.”
Acuña recounted these words with emotion at a ceremony in front of hundreds of other garbage collectors.
Now, Vera is working with the general secretary of the Truckers Union, Pablo Moyano, to propose that March 22 be declared “Waste Collectors' Day,” in tribute to this young collector.
“God gave me my life back, because they removed both legs, but everything that is happening to me is beautiful,” Acuña said.
“I always believed in God, I always went to church, praying everyday asking him for work, and that he take care of me day by day.”
“God exists,” Acuña continued. “I want to give everyone this message, that God exists and that he has given me a new opportunity.”
IMAGE: Catholic News ServiceBy Josephine von DohlenWASHINGTON(CNS) -- Catholic Facebook pages whose sponsors reported had been suddenlyremoved late July 17 were restored just over 24 hours later.Twenty-oneBrazilian-based Catholic Facebook pages, such as a Papa Francisco Brazil page,as well as four English sites, could not publish content July 18 due to Facebooksilently taking down their sites. Millions of followers were affected,according to ChurchPOP, a Christian Culture brand website."All pageshave now been restored. This incident was triggered accidentally by a spamdetection tool. We sincerely apologize for the issue this has caused." aFacebook spokesperson told Catholic News Service in an email sent late afternoon July 19.Amongthose with pages who were affected was the executive director ofRelevant Radio, Father Francis J. Hoffman, affectionately known as "FatherRocky," who has 3.95 million likes from Facebook fans around the world.RelevantRadio reported that on July 17, all the...
IMAGE: Catholic News Service
By Josephine von Dohlen
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Catholic Facebook pages whose sponsors reported had been suddenly removed late July 17 were restored just over 24 hours later.
Twenty-one Brazilian-based Catholic Facebook pages, such as a Papa Francisco Brazil page, as well as four English sites, could not publish content July 18 due to Facebook silently taking down their sites. Millions of followers were affected, according to ChurchPOP, a Christian Culture brand website.
"All pages have now been restored. This incident was triggered accidentally by a spam detection tool. We sincerely apologize for the issue this has caused." a Facebook spokesperson told Catholic News Service in an email sent late afternoon July 19.
Among those with pages who were affected was the executive director of Relevant Radio, Father Francis J. Hoffman, affectionately known as "Father Rocky," who has 3.95 million likes from Facebook fans around the world.
Relevant Radio reported that on July 17, all the page administrators of the Relevant Radio "Father Rocky" Facebook page found themselves unable to log onto Facebook. Once passing through a security measure, they found the Father Rocky page left "unpublished, with no other details or explanation."
Father Rocky livestreams Mass daily from his Facebook page, as well as posts prayers, photos and even educational videos for his almost 4 million followers. Early July 19, Father Rocky posted a picture of a statue of Mary, stating, "Thanks be to God, I am back on Facebook!!"
"This serves as a wake-up call and we urge all Relevant Radio listeners and Facebook followers to download the free Relevant Radio App as a secure and reliable resource for the daily Mass and inspirational programs," Father Rocky stated in a news release.
The Facebook page, Catholic and Proud, which has over 6 million followers, told CNS in a Facebook message that things appeared to be fine until the evening of July 17, when the page then became unpublished for the next day.
"The only notification I received was that we weren't adhering to their policies, but that's it, no reason, no example, absolutely nothing," the Catholic and Proud page wrote to CNS. "That's all we know. The inbox message reply here was also removed, so we couldn't respond to anyone."
According to Facebook, protocols aimed at taking down fake pages out of line with commercial spam policies allow for machine searches of posts that have similar comments indicating any abuse of policy. Many religious sites often produce similar comments to spam on their posts, which may cause their sites to go down. When Facebook realized the mistake, they were able to restore the pages.
In May 2016, Gizmodo, a design, technology, and politics website, published a piece accusing Facebook of censoring conservative trending topics, specifically the Conservative Political Action Conference and other conservative leaders. Their sources, former Facebook "news curators," even admitted that stories that were covered by conservative outlets could not be trending unless mainstream sites covered similar topics.
In response, Facebook's vice president of search, Tom Stocky, released a statement saying, "We take these reports extremely seriously, and have found no evidence that the anonymous allegations are true."
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