The Chinese martyrs will be our judges
Today the Church celebrates the 120 Chinese martyrs: bishops, priests, nuns, lay people. An awkward story for those today, who have overturned the values at stake to indicate compromise rather than martyrdom as a model. Moreover, what happens in the relationship between the Holy See and China concerns each one of us.
CHINA INFLAMES TENSIONS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC
Beijing's military exercises in the South China Sea are yet another provocation leading to a rise of tensions in the region. Archipelagos in this area are disputed by 5 other nations, in addition to the U.S. and Japan. Another test of China’s strength against Taiwan is now planned for August.
Ennio Morricone, when faith becomes music
Ennio Morricone has died “with the comfort of his faith”. A Catholic composer known for his “spaghetti” Westerns soundtracks, Once Upon A Time In America and The Mission, he was above all a man of faith who expressed his own spirituality in his music. Although snubbed by many critics, he also composed many works of contemporary music, which was his true passion and which he called “absolute.”
Capitalism is the best solution to global poverty
Before the dawn of capitalism roughly 200 years ago, 90% of the global population was living in extreme poverty. Today, that figure has fallen to just 10%, above all for the improvements of the last 35 years. Also life expectancy has increased. Paradoxically China is an example of the superiority of capitalism: all the progress in China over the past 40 years is due entirely to the fact that the Chinese have progressively introduced the principles of free markets and private property ownership.
Cancel Vatican II? A serious mistake
Two recent contributions by monsignor Carlo Maria Viganò and monsignor Athanasius Schneider radically criticise the Second Vatican Council, which is held responsible for the current deviations from authentic faith. In the first case, they even go so far as to propose quashing that Council. But this is a serious error of perspective because the possible ambiguities or uncertainties of the conciliar documents have already been clarified by the subsequent magisterium of Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI. As has always happened after a Council.
Will it return like the Spanish flu? The propaganda of fear
Fear-mongering propaganda uses the spectre of the 1918 Spanish flu to support the hypothesis of a dangerous second wave of COVID-19. This is irrational. It portrays the coronavirus as a force of nature beyond our control. The concept of a "second wave" in epidemiology is an imperfect one. It would be more worthwhile to study how the virus "hides out" in host animals and find ways to eradicate it.
The story of Gerard, the Sister who comforted death row inmates
Singapore: life for a number of prisoners would have ended very differently if it wasn’t for the presence of a Catholic nun. Sister Gerard Fernandez was just 36 when she walked her first inmate to be hanged. From 1981 to 2017 she accomplished the difficult mission to guide the sentenced to death back to the faith and lessen their fear of death
An attack on the Polish Church seeks papal support
A small group of Polish Catholics bought an advertising space in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in order to make an "appeal" to Pope Francis. They implored Francis to "repair" the Polish Church while accusing Catholic hierarchy of covering up child abuse cases. This is a specious attack. The issue, however painful it is, is relatively marginal among Polish clergy: of the 1000 persons convicted for paedophilia offences, 997 were lay people and 3 were priests. Still, the press are treating the matter as if it primarily concerned clergy and do not explain that the few cases of sexual abuse of young males involve mostly priests with homosexual tendencies. The appeal launched in La Repubblica is only the latest in a long series of attacks, including films and foundations, aimed at denigrating the Church.
Paedophilia is rampant in Europe, yet investigations are blocked
Over the last few months in Germany, Great Britain and Belgium, there have been hundreds of arrests for sexual abuse against thousands of children. But the mass media has kept silent or condensed everything in "news briefs". The fear of investigating these stories (unless it involves the Church) is nothing new. Evidence seems to go missing, while those who do a good job are abruptly replaced and then trials end up being stalled. Germany had to acknowledge corruption within its police force and institutions, yet when someone is sentenced, the penalty is minimal. Why? Perhaps many countries would be shaken to their core.
From communist to Franciscan, by way of Medjugorje
An anti-clerical communist, Ercole went to Medjugorje to follow his girlfriend (a divorced woman with children) who had converted. There, thanks to the Blessed Mother, he saw the lie he was living and also God, who held out His hand to him and led him to enter the Franciscan order with the name Brother Cristoforo. In this interview with The Daily Compass, he shares his dialogue with the visionaries on the secrets, the crisis of the Church, and the battle which awaits us before the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
“Satan reigns, Our Lady calls us to conversion”
Satan's plan has already been implemented; the false religion of man who has replaced God rules the world”. “Our Lady has a plan to save humanity; this is the time of the spiritual battle that prepares the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”. “Terrible things will happen, everyone will have to decide whether to entrust themselves to God or not, eternal salvation is at stake”. “The Coronavirus comes from the devil, it is a test: the solution is to renounce Satan and return to God”. “The cult of Mother Earth is one form of false religion; it's terrible and ridiculous”. Father Livio Fanzaga, Director of Radio Maria, explains to the Daily Compass the present times according to Our Lady's messages in Medjugorje, the historical turning point announced, and the prophecies: “We have entered the time of the ten secrets”.
The senseless hatred of St. Junipero Serra
Under the pretext of anti-racist protests, vandals destroyed a statue of St. Junipero Serra (1713-1784) in San Francisco. Serra was a Franciscan who evangelized California and travelled hundreds of miles to baptize and evangelize native American Indians. He knew how "to meet many people, learning and valuing their particular customs and ways of life," as Pope Francis said when canonizing him a saint.
