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Vatican City, Oct 18, 2016 / 09:27 am (CNA).- The decision to open a McDonald’s restaurant inside a Vatican property just around the corner from St. Peter’s Square has been met harsh criticism from cardinals who live in the building.

But the man in charge of rolling out the project says the plan is moving forward despite disagreement.

Dubbed by some as “McVatican,” the new restaurant will be located in a Vatican property on the intersection of Rome’s Via del Mascherino and Via Borgo Pio, literally around the corner from the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica.

After having received numerous requests from different companies to move into the empty space, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which oversees the Vatican's assets, decided to rent it to McDonald’s for 30,000 euros a month.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Reppublica, Italian Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life, called the deal “a controversial, perverse decision to say the least.”

The presence of the fast-food chain so close to the Vatican, he said, “is not at all respectful of the architectural and urban traditions of one of the most characteristic squares overlooking the colonnade of St. Peter visited every day by thousands of pilgrims and tourists.”

Cardinal Sgreccia called the deal “a business decision that, moreover, ignores the culinary traditions of the Roman restaurant.”

The “mega sandwiches” on the McDonald’s menu are a hazard to peoples’ health, he said, adding that because of this, the “questionable” activity shouldn’t even be a consideration for Vatican property.

In addition to Cardinal Sgreccia, who rumored to have written a letter of protest to the Pope, other cardinals living in the building have also voiced their discontent. Concern has arisen over what will become of the homeless who have been living outside the building, some of them for years, but who will be forced to leave once the restaurant is constructed.

Cardinal Sgraccia told La Reppublica that in addition to being a “disgrace,” the McDonald’s would have been better used as a space used for “activities in defense of the needy in the area, hospitable areas of welcome and help for those who suffer, as the Holy Father teaches.”

However, despite the aggravation of cardinals living inside the building, Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, president of APSA, has been unsympathetic, and said he doesn’t see what the problem is.

Also speaking to La Reppublica Oct. 15, Cardinal Calcagno responded to criticism surrounding the McDonalds by saying that everything was done “in respect of the law and that there will be nothing done which will go against the current rules, tradition and interests of the Holy See.”

“Above all there is respect for the law. Then the rest comes,” he said, explaining that APSA is “not prepared to make any step backward because everything is in order.”

Cardinal Calcagno said he is unaware of any letters supposedly written to the Pope. While he is aware of how his brother cardinals feel, “we are free people” and everyone has “the right to express their own views,” he said.

“We can’t all be in agreement on everything,” he said, explaining that as president of APSA, “I do not see anything negative in this initiative. The technical departments of APSA have felt the offer of the American company executives fair and just. I do not see any scandal.”

 

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IMAGE: CNS photo/courtesy Fordham University

By Beth Griffin

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Laughing at ourselves and being open to sharing our failures and flaws within and beyond the community of faith is a powerful means to dispel the myth that Catholics are ignorant or judgmental or exclusive in any way, actress Jeannie Gaffigan told an audience in New York Oct 14.

The comedy writer and producer of "The Jim Gaffigan Show" accepted the inaugural Eloquentia Perfecta Award from Paulist Press and the Fordham University Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education.

The actress, who is the wife of comedian Jim Gaffigan and mother of their five pre-teenage children, said her Catholic faith and Jesuit education inform and inspire the scripts she co-writes for her husband's comedy specials and his series on the TV Land cable network.

She said the couple tries, "in our own imperfect way, to present a household of faith in one of the most culturally diverse places in our country." The television show is loosely based on their experiences working in the comedy field and raising children in a two-bedroom apartment in New York.

"The show invites its audience on a journey through familiar conflicts in faith, family and career and attempts to bring the entire community together in showing ourselves as flawed characters that must rebound with resilience from the hardships we all face in life," Gaffigan said.

"When we laugh at ourselves, we can grow and change for the better," she said. It is a way to share what people have in common and is vital to the growth of the culture.

Gaffigan said working on a small cable network allows them to depict a family whose faith is central to its respect for, and interactions with, people they care about despite enormous disagreements and differences. "We're trying to do what is good and keep a sense of humor and humility along the way," she said.

"Nobody likes a preachy story," Gaffigan said. The process of resolving the dichotomy between words and deeds can become a gentle teaching opportunity where they can share their faith and "shed light on the silliness of the culture wars," she said.

"If we are called to evangelize, it must be done creatively and subtly," Gaffigan said.

The two groups that established the Eloquentia Perfecta Award are celebrating anniversaries in 2016. Fordham University was founded by the Jesuits 175 years ago and Paulist Press is marking 150 years in the publishing business.

"Eloquentia Perfecta" refers to a Jesuit educational tradition that values excellence in writing and speaking with logical clarity.

Paulist Father Mark-David Janus, president and publisher of Paulist Press, told Catholic News Service the award is intended to celebrate people in communications who take their vocation seriously, live their faith life and can serve as an inspiration to others.

Fordham University's president, Jesuit Father Joseph M. McShane, said the Gaffigans "are proudly and publicly Catholic. Their faith is a part of their identity and shapes their creative work."

He said Jeannie's humor is sly, gentle, illuminating of the human condition, optimistic and very funny. "She renders family life with wit, intelligence, and self-awareness. Her work allows people to reconnect with themselves in a way that is at once entertaining and compassionate," Father McShane said.

C. Colt Anderson, dean of the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, said Gaffigan's humor is funny without being mean, and is never sappy, preachy or moralistic, which is why it's perfect for our time.

The Eloquentia Perfecta Award also was given to an undergraduate to encourage pursuit of excellence by a student who shows extraordinary promise, Father Janus said.

Anderson presented the inaugural award to Caitlin Sakdalan, a Fordham University junior in the communication and media studies program. He said she hopes to be a respected food connoisseur and have a television show on food, travel and philanthropy.

The evening award presentation was followed the next day by a conference on "Communication as Vocation: At the Intersection of Media, Faith and Culture." Father Janus said the event was intended to give students access to Catholic professionals in the fields of broadcast, music, theater, film, video and publishing.

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By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Following Christ may take a person down a path that leads to anguish, isolation, even martyrdom, but a Christian will never feel bitterness or regret because Christ never leaves his or her side, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.

In his homily during Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae Oct. 18, the pope focused on the day's reading from St. Paul's Second Letter to Timothy (4:10-17) in which the apostle sadly takes note of those who deserted him. However, "the Lord stood by me and gave me strength," the verse says.

"The life of the great Paul ends in desolation, not in resentment and bitterness, but with internal grief," the pope said. In fact, many other martyrs like St. Peter, St. John the Baptist and St. Maximilian Kolbe, he said, died abandoned by so many, but they drew their strength from Jesus, who they knew was by their side.

"When the apostle is faithful, he doesn't expect an end other than that of Jesus," he said. "This is the law of the Gospel: If the grain of wheat does not die, it does not bear fruit," and the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church, giving birth to new Christians.

"When a pastor lives like this, he is not bitter. Perhaps he is forsaken, but he has that certainty that the Lord is by his side," the pope said.

But when a priest spends his life focused on things other than his flock and "he is, for example, attached to power, money, alliances, many things, in the end he will not be alone; perhaps his nieces and nephews will be there, waiting for him to die to see what they can carry away with them."

The pope said whenever he visits elderly or ailing priests who lived serving the church and their people, they may be physically compromised, "but immediately you see that smile" reflecting the joy and confidence of feeling God in their lives.

Priests must have the confidence that if they follow the path of Christ, "the Lord will be near, all the way to the end. Let us pray for priests. May the Lord give them the strength, consolation and assurance that even though they feel ill or alone, the Lord is with them," he said.

 

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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.

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Representatives of various Religious sisters on the African continent are this week meeting in a convention under the auspices of the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC) in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. The convention which runs from 16 to 19 October is themed, “Catholic Sisters Champions of Sustainable Development in Africa.” It is taking place at Nairobi’s Sarova Panafric.

According to ASEC, the reason for the Nairobi Convention is to listen and learn from the Sisters rather than hear formal presentations. Understanding the objectives and core ideas anchoring the work of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Catholic Sisters’ Strategic Initiative will help in assuring that African nations are at the forefront of achieving sustainable development for all citizens by 2030.

The Convention also seeks to appreciate the potential of Catholic Sisters as full members of the global partnership for sustainable development as well as the obstacles they face in connecting to the networks of communion and expertise required to be effective partners.

Representatives from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, and the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC) are also in attendance.

(ASEC/ Vatican Radio English Africa Service).

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(Vatican Radio) The winners of the 2016 Ratzinger Prize have been announed as Inos Biffi and Ioannis Kourempeles.

Mgr. Biffi, a professor, theologian and liturgist of international renown, who has also authored hundreds of books and essays, was awarded the prize for his Opera Omnia, a collection of his writings, most of which are on theology and medieval philosophy. Twenty volumes have already been published, while the rest are currently in the preparation phase. The other winner is Ioannis Kourempeles of the Faculty of Theology in Thessaloniki, Greece. A member of the Orthodox Church, he is associate professor in the Department of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

The Ratzinger Prize, awarded by the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger Benedict XVI, is given as a sign of the Church’s gratitude to scholars and professors who have stood out for their scientific research in the theological field. 

The prize will be awarded on the 26th November at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican

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Pope Francis on Tuesday  appointed Fr. Thomas  Thennatt of the Society of the Catholic Apostolate, the  new bishop to the Diocese of Gwalior in India.  The 63-year old priest takes over from Bishop Joseph Kaithathara who has retired.

Fr. Thomas Thennatt SAC was born on November 26, 1953 in Koodalloor, in the Diocese of Kottayam.  In 1969 he joined the Minor Seminary of Pallottigiri in Trivandrum, Kerala. Having completed his Novitiate in the Society of the Catholic Apostolate   he made his solemn profession on 31 May 1975 and was ordained a priest on October 21, 1978. 

After ordination he held the following positions:

1978-1980: chaplain in  the Diocese of Amravati

1980-1981: chaplain in  the diocese of Eluru

1981-1983: Studied for a licentiate in theology in Poona Seminary

1984-1987: parish priest  of St. Anthony’s parish  in Mudfort, Archdiocese of Hyderabad

1987-1991: Director of the Commission on Youth and Young Catholic Student / Young Students' Movement (YCS / YSM), families and the laity of the Archdiocese of Hyderabad

1991-1993: Pastor of Pushpanagar parish, Diocese of Indore

1993-1998: Regional Director for the laity and families, and for the Small Christian Communities (S.C.C.) in Madhya Pradesh and  Chhattisgarh

1998-2008: Rector of Khrist Premalaya Theologate, Ashta, and Director of the Regional Formation Commission

2002-2008:  Councilor in the Province of Nagpur of his  Congregation

2008-2012: Pastor in Ishgar parish in the  Diocese of Jhabua, President of the Conference of Religious in India (C.R.I.), Director of the Commission for the Laity, families and Small Christian Communities (S.C.C.);

Since 2012: parish priest at Mankapur in the  Archdiocese of Nagpur and President of the Pastoral Commission of the Province.

The Diocese of Gwalior (1999), suffragan of the Archdiocese of Bhopal, has an area of ??33,500 square kilometers and a population of 6,500,000 inhabitants, of whom 4,900 are Catholics. There are 13 parishes, served by 33 priests (23 diocesan and 10 religious), 68 nuns and 11 seminarians.

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A prominent Asian Cardinal has hit out against religious intolerance in his home nation, calling it a “poison for society”.

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the Archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar, sent the strongly worded message to the “Fides” Agency, which held an event on Saturday to mark the launch of a book entitled “On the Brink” which examines the realities of life for religious minorities in Asian countries.

He said: “Asia is the Mother of the great religions; Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism. But today religious intolerance is a poison for society.” The Cardinal’s criticism was directed not just towards the situation in Myanmar, but also others such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and China.

Allegations of religious intolerance in Myanmar date as far back as the 1988 uprising against the military government. Some reports suggest that members of minority, non-Buddhist, faiths face discrimination from both the government and employers.

"The freedom to believe and follow conscience in determining one's faith is a sacred principle that is violated today in Asia, not only in theocratic society, but also in democratic countries where there are persecutions against minorities,” Cardinal Bo added.

Referring the Second Vatican Council document “Dignitatis Humanae”, the Cardinal explained that the Church in Myanmar continues to be engaged in both inter-religious dialogue and the promotion of peace initiatives, and that freedom of religion is paramount to this work.

“Fides”, which hosted the book-launch, is the information service for the Pontifical Missions Society, the Catholic body which supports overseas missions of the Church. 

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