(Vatican Radio) Romania's leftist-leaning government has scrapped a controversial decree that would have prevented law enforcement to prosecute many politicians for corruption. Sunday's decision followed the largest protests since the collapse of Communism and a bloody revolution in 1989. Listen to the report by Stefan Bos: The decree scrapped Sunday would have decriminalized abuse of power offences where sums of less than 44,000 euro were involved. It would also potentially involve pardoning thousands of prisoners. One immediate beneficiary would have been Liviu Dragnea, who leads the ruling Social Democrats and faces charges of defrauding the state of 24,000 euro.The 54-year-old Dragnea was already barred from becoming prime minister because of an earlier suspended jail sentence for voter fraud.Yet, plans to prevent prosecutors to investigate him and other high ranking officials were scrapped during an emergency meeting, following days of massive protests.FRE...
(Vatican Radio) Romania's leftist-leaning government has scrapped a controversial decree that would have prevented law enforcement to prosecute many politicians for corruption. Sunday's decision followed the largest protests since the collapse of Communism and a bloody revolution in 1989.
Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:
The decree scrapped Sunday would have decriminalized abuse of power offences where sums of less than 44,000 euro were involved. It would also potentially involve pardoning thousands of prisoners.
One immediate beneficiary would have been Liviu Dragnea, who leads the ruling Social Democrats and faces charges of defrauding the state of 24,000 euro.
The 54-year-old Dragnea was already barred from becoming prime minister because of an earlier suspended jail sentence for voter fraud.
Yet, plans to prevent prosecutors to investigate him and other high ranking officials were scrapped during an emergency meeting, following days of massive protests.
FREEZING TEMPERATURES
Hundreds of thousands of Romanians braved freezing temperatures in the capital Bucharest and cities across the country. Protesters have vowed to keep the pressure on the cabinet, with some demanding the entire government quits.
President Klaus Ioannis has openly expressed support for the demonstrators. "I am very concerned. And I have to admit, even if it is very hard for me, that the situation in Romania is very complicated," he told reporters.
"But we have hundreds of thousands of my Romanians out on the streets. And I trust them. I trust my people. I believe in Romania. So in the end I am convinced that we will and we have to find good solutions. The rule of law has to prevail, the European values have to prevail," the president added.
Ioannis also urged foreign investors to stay in Romania, one of the European Union's poorest nations, despite the turmoil. "Investors are are not threatened. And the economic situation is still very good," Ionannis said. "And I think it will stay good. So no problems for investors. This is a matter of principle for the population, for the politicians."
With a key decree now being scrapped, it remains to be seen whether calm will return to the streets of this troubled nation. However, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu has pledged to the protesters and others that he will "not divide Romania."
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...