A woman and a cardinal try to save Catholics in China
At long last someone has decoded what the Chinese woman shouted to the Pope in St. Peter's Square, before being slapped. It was a heartfelt appeal to rethink the Holy See's policy of reconciliation with Beijing, which is sacrificing hundreds of thousands of Chinese Catholics. A gesture that pairs with Cardinal Zen's letter to his confreres. Signs of an intolerable situation that requires our solidarity.
Matzneff scandal: how French intellectuals sustained pedophilia
After the publication of the book by Vanessa Springora, France is shaken. But the sexual experiences of the writer Gabriel Matzneff, with children between 10 and 15 years old, were known, described in his books and even told 'playfully' on TV. Yet he has received multiple literary awards, political support (right and especially left) and collaborations with leading newspapers. It was he who wrote the Petition of 1977, which in fact asked for the decriminalization of pedophilia. And that was signed by many famous French intellectuals, already protagonists of the 1968. A case that once again confirms the lucidity of Benedict XVI's analysis on the spread of pedophilia.
Burke: Strenghten your faith by going on pilgrimage
Going on a pilgrimage deepens our faith and that in the Holy Land is the mother of all pilgrimages: "Humbly placing your step where the Son of God put his, not only heightens awareness of the events of His life but above all the Mystery of His abiding presence on earth.” These are Cardinal Burke’s reflections at the end of a pilgrimage he led.
From Charlie Hebdo to today: terrorism evolves and festers
Five years ago in Paris, the attack took place that killed 17 people and inaugurated the season of ISIS jihadist massacres. Today there are fewer casualties, but by making stabbing the preferred technique, it is easier to strike and maintain a war that is becoming endless.
Can the killing of Soleimani be morally justified? It depends
EU does not trust the new Spanish Red Government
In his thirst for power Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has tightened his deadly alliance not only with the leftist party Podemos, the European version of Castro-Chavez populism, but also with the most extreme Spanish secessionist movements. The Prime Minister has seen his political stock decline in Brussels. The program presented by the Socialists and Podemos is a shift in an unparalleled obscurantist direction.
India, "Christmas gift" for the harassed Church
The defeat of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP in the election to the state legislature of Jharkhand was a real "Christmas gift" for the Christians, after years of persecution from the hindu nationalists. Very happy is Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi, after years of false accuses againts nuns and priests.
A Papal slap. The price of Media Hype
The year 2020 opens with a papal slap on the hand of a pilgrim. The pope apologized, but the episode reveals the truth about his temperament and confirms rumors about his abrupt manners. This makes him more “human,” but relentless media hype has given us a papacy that is more horizontal than vertical. Do we really need this secularization?
It will now be more difficult for bishops to cover up for abusing priests
The new norms issued by the Holy See remove the Pontifical secret on cases of delicta graviora (the most serious crimes) committed by clerics, such as the abuse of minors. This change takes away any sort of “canonical alibi” for bishops, who can now be prosecuted for the canonical crime of “abuse of the episcopal office” if they do not take action when a priest is accused. However, the new norms have consequences that affect not only open procedures but also closed ones.
Angels & Demons: The sick system of child custody that the Left has not seen
Italy: The Angels and Demons investigation on family custody in Emilia (northern Italy). The evidence against social workers is extremely serious, which has led to an obsessive search for abuse and mistreatment with shocking discoveries, such as the existence of a network of officials, priests, and police who collaborate in abuse. These episodes reveal that the government custody service holds enormous power, and that there is an obsessive ideological framework at work – as for example in entrusting children to the care of lesbian couples. The left in Emilia and the Democratic Party (PD) that governs the Emilia-Romagna region seems to not to have noticed, even though for years it has praised the family custody system.
Huma's ordeal: abducted, converted to Islam and forced to marry her abductor
It was October 10, 2019: Huma Younus, a 14-year-old Christian girl, is abducted by a Muslim man, named Abdul Jabbar. Her parents went immediately to the police station to file their complaint, but in their pursuit of justice they have run straight into a brick wall. Every year in Pakistan at least a thousand Christian and Hindu girls are kidnapped. In the meantime, the abductor raped Huma and forced her to marry him and convert to Islam. After the first judicial troubles, Huma's family found the support of Aid to the Church in Need and a legal help from a Catholic lawyer, Tabassum Youssaf. She is risking her life, but she's determined to fight this battle
Spirited protests force belligerent Hindu nationalists on the backfoot
The Hindu nationalist BJP (Indian People’s Party) that returned to power with an emphatic victory in 2019 is in jitters following unprecedented protests over the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, a move to deny citizenship to Muslim refugees. The church too joined the chorus of protest, because the discrimination on the basis of religion envisaged in the Citizenship Act and NRC is against secularism and democratic values
