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National Catholic Register, Apr 29, 2024 / 18:45 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has announced a new leader of the ordinariate in Great Britain.

Father David Waller, 62, a parish priest and vicar general of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, will replace Monsignor Keith Newton, 72, who is retiring after serving over 13 years as the ordinary of the ecclesiastical structure for former Anglicans.

In a statement, Newton called the Vatican's April 29 announcement "momentous" given that Waller, who is a celibate, will become the first bishop ordinary of the ordinariate. 

As someone who was already married as an Anglican clergyman before entering the Church through the ordinariate, Newton was not allowed episcopal consecration.

Established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011 through his 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus, the ordinariate is an ecclesiastical structure for Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining their distinctive Anglican patrimony.  

With today's announcement, the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham becomes the first of three in the world — the others being in the U.S./Canada and Australia — to have had an influence in choosing its leader. 

In keeping with the Anglican emphasis on consultation and in accordance with the Anglicanorum Coetibus, members of the ordinariate's governing council, made up of ordinariate priests, were able to choose Waller as one of three names they recommended to the Holy See. 

Newton said he believed allowing this faculty, one that is usually left to the apostolic nuncio, "showed the Holy See's confidence in the ordinariate in the U.K." 

A former Anglican vicar who served as a pastor, part-time hospital chaplain, and a member of the governing body of the Church of England, Waller was among the first Anglican clergy to be received into the Church following the establishment of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2011. 

He was then ordained to the diaconate and the priesthood, has served in two parishes, and was elected chairman of the ordinariate's governing council. For the past four years he has worked with Newton as vicar general. 

In a statement, Waller said it was "both humbling and a great honor" to have been appointed ordinary. "The past 13 years have been a time of grace and blessing as small and vulnerable communities have grown in confidence, rejoicing to be a full yet distinct part of the Catholic Church," he added. 

Already well known to members of the ordinariate, he said he was looking forward to serving them in his new role, adding that experience over these past years has taught him "there is nothing to be feared in responding to the Lord and that Jesus does great things with us despite our inadequacies."

Newton said in a statement that he was "delighted" with Waller's appointment, adding that he has been "unwaveringly loyal" to the ordinariate and a "great support" to him as vicar general. 

Waller has been "totally been involved in life of the ordinariate and understands it all, and is a good administrator," Newton told the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner. 

No coercion to step down

Newton stressed that he had chosen to retire while he is still active. 

"I've not been forced out in any way, and nobody has told me to retire; it's totally my own decision," he said. "It's a time to pass it on to new hands," he continued, adding that he and his wife, Gill, "want to enjoy a bit of retirement together." 

Other prominent priests of the ordinariate also welcomed the news of Waller's appointment. Father Ed Tomlinson, priest in charge of St. Anselm's Ordinariate Parish Church in Pembury, Tunbridge Wells, told the Register he was "delighted the ordinariate will have a bishop" and that he wished "Father David the best." 

Father Benedict Kiely, an ordinariate priest of the same parish who also runs the charity Nasarean.org for persecuted Christians, said: "I will always remain grateful to Msgr. Keith for making the defense of persecuted Christians an important part of the ordinariate, and I'm sure Bishop David will continue that support."

Newton said the date and place of Waller's episcopal ordination have yet to be confirmed but that he expected it to take place "towards the end of June." 

This story was first published by the National Catholic Register, CNA's sister news partner, and is reprinted here on CNA with permission.

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).

The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod opened on Monday to discuss "how to be a synodal local Church in mission," allowing priests from around the world to discuss questions raised during the ongoing synod and share their personal pastoral experiences. 

The four-day meeting, which is taking place from April 29 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus retreat house in Sacrofano, Italy, just north of Rome, is attended by about 300 priests from around the globe and is divided into several sessions, taking cues from different themes and questions raised in the synod's synthesis report. 

"The parish priest is a man of the people and for the people. Like Jesus, he is open to the crowd, constantly open to the crowd, to help each and every one understand that they are a letter from Christ," said Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, in opening the event on Monday morning. 

Monday's discussion was based on the theme "The Face of the Synodal Church," while Tuesday's discussion will focus on "All Disciples, All Missionaries." On Wednesday participants will come together to study "Teaching Ties, Building Communities."

In reflecting on the overall scope of the Synod on Synodality, which will reconvene in October for its second and final assembly, Grech told participants on Monday that at the center of this process is an understanding, and sharing, of personal narratives. 

"Our stories are human stories, but human stories in which God, Jesus, is present," the cardinal remarked. 

"Sometimes we need others to help us see God's presence in our stories. This is our mission, this is the mission entrusted to us, to you, my dear brothers," he said. 

Grech told the clergy gathered that "being synodal does not simply mean walking together, but rather walking with God, or better to say, God walking with us." 

"Synodality is about God, before being about the Church," he continued.  

The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod was first announced in February and is jointly organized by the Dicastery for the Clergy and by the General Secretariat of the Synod in response to the first synod assembly's synthesis report, which identified a need to "develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year."

"There is no synod without a bishop, but allow me to say today there is no synod without a parish priest," Grech said to participants on Monday. "That is the reason why we felt the need to make this meeting, and so that we can enrich our preparation in view of the next session for the synod of bishops."

This week's meeting will culminate with an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, followed by Mass, celebrated by Grech, in St. Peter's Basilica. 

According to Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín, undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, another purpose of the meeting is to "provide materials that will be used in the drafting of the Instrumentum Laboris [working document] for the synod's second session, together with the summaries of the consultation coordinated by the bishops' conferences and the results of the theological-canonical study carried out by five working groups formed by the General Secretariat of the Synod."

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CNA Staff, Apr 29, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A New England prelate is urging Catholics to both minister to transgender-identifying individuals in the Catholic Church while still continuously affirming "the goodness of human creation" as male and female.

Coadjutor Archbishop Christopher Coyne of Hartford, Connecticut, told CNA last week that he would make it a point not to challenge a transgender-identifying man or woman when they present as the opposite sex.

Coyne appeared on Connecticut Public Radio earlier this month arguing against the basic claim of gender ideology, which argues that men and women who "identify" as the opposite sex should be treated as such.

"Biology is biology. You're either XX or XY. That's a scientific fact. You can't un-prove that fact," the bishop told public radio. 

But, he argued, the LGBT debate has "pulled me more into a place of understanding and care," including regarding transgender-identifying individuals. 

The prelate told CNA he would accept the identity of those men and women as they present themselves to him.

"It doesn't cost me anything to accept them as they're presenting themselves, as a brother or a sister, or whatever gender they're asking me to refer to them as," the archbishop said. "If they'd like to be referred to by this name or this pronoun, it doesn't cost me anything to say, 'Okay,' and then begin a communication with this person."

"If I start off just by beginning to define what the conversation will be, I could cut off an opportunity to bring that person more deeply into the Church," the prelate said. 

"That doesn't mean I accept what they're bringing forward," he pointed out. "It just means I accept what they're presenting to me as brother or sister."

Coyne was appointed to the Hartford Archdiocese last year and will succeed as archbishop once current Archbishop Leonard Blair retires. He has in the past offered candid opinions on Church matters, such as arguing that the Holy See should be moved out of Rome and expressing hope that the Church might in the future "ordain or name some deaconesses."

He stressed to CNA this week that, when ministering to transgender-identified individuals, "the line obviously has to be clearly drawn" on matters such as ordination.

"The line has to be drawn clearly by way of biology," he said. 

"We're not intending to hurt this person or shut them off from the community," he pointed out. "It would have to be clearly defined in terms of what we do. There are certain things that just can't happen. Now, if that hurts the person and they decide they have to walk away, that's unfortunate. But we haven't changed any teachings on this matter."

"Conversation is very important," he said further. "When you're dealing with these issues, especially [with] children — but at this point I'm talking about adults — we need conversation and clear understanding on what Church teaching in this matter is."

Coyne stressed that, when dealing with children who suffer from gender dysphoria, "we have to be very careful."

"When the child presents themselves with this issue, we have to first say, 'We love you, we understand you're going through these things, we have to be patient and walk with you.'" 

"We have to involve the parent, or parents," he said. "We walk with the child, we love the child, and we work with the family."

The Catholic Church in recent years has moved to address gender ideology. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith this month released the declaration Dignitas Infinita, which stressed "the promotion of the dignity of every human person."

The document states that "all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman are to be rejected" and that "only by acknowledging and accepting this difference in reciprocity can each person fully discover themselves, their dignity, and their identity."

Asked how the Church might minister to transgender-identifying individuals while still affirming the truth about human bodies, Coyne said: "I think we continually talk about how we were made in the image of God, that God created us male and female biologically, and that that's a good thing, and that's something we should accept." 

"How we live it out in terms of gender expression is another question," he argued. 

But "we can continually affirm the goodness of human creation, and our bodies as male and female, and that it's not something that needs to be in conflict with our gender, or seen as a mistake." 

"It's a given. It's a beautiful thing," he added. "It's God's graces already operating in that person by virtue of creation. Start with the theology." 

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Rome Newsroom, Apr 29, 2024 / 11:30 am (CNA).

After completing a one-day trip to Venice, Pope Francis is set to return to northern Italy in late May for a visit to the city of Verona, where he will attend events focused on peace and justice while also meeting with clergy, laity, and inmates. 

The Holy See Press Office on Monday released the pope's schedule for the one-day trip scheduled for May 18 on the vigil of Pentecost. 

Located in the Veneto region, approximately 75 miles from Venice, the city is renowned for its trove of Roman antiquities, medieval architecture, and as the setting of Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet."

Pope Francis will leave the Vatican by helicopter at 6:30 a.m., arriving at Verona by approximately 8 a.m., where he will be greeted by Verona Bishop Domenico Pompili, Veneto President Luca Zaia, and Verona Mayor Damiano Tommasi.

From there the Holy Father will make his way by car to the Basilica of San Zeno, which bears the name of the fourth-century Afro-Italian saint who is the city's patron. There he will deliver a speech to priests and consecrated religious. The pope will then make his way into the adjacent square, where he will address children and young people. 

The pope will subsequently visit the Verona Arena, a first-century Roman amphitheater — the third-largest in Italy, and one of the symbols of the city — where the pontiff will preside over an encounter titled ??"Arena of Peace: Justice and Peace They Shall Kiss," one of the main events of the day. 

The Arena of Peace assembly was first held in 1986 as a way to bring together individuals and organizations to discuss and confront difficult social issues. This year's meeting will be focused on several themes including peace and disarmament, integral ecology, migration, work, democracy and rights, and lifestyles.

Later the pope will arrive by car to the Casa Circondariale di Montorio, a prison housing both men and women as well as isolated inmates and a number of foreigners, located on the city's outskirts. The pope will deliver a speech addressed to prisoners, staff, and volunteers of the prison, which will be followed by lunch with the inmates. 

According to the Antigone Association, a project that issues an annual report on the conditions of Italy's penitentiaries, at Montorio there are just under 600 inmates representing more than 40 nationalities. With a stated capacity of 335, Montorio is one of the most overcrowded prisons in Italy, a topic to which the pope drew attention in his speech to the female inmates at Venice's Women's Prison on the island of Giudecca on Sunday. 

The pontiff's trip will end with an open-air Mass celebrated at Verona's Marcantonio Bentegodi Stadium at 3 p.m. The Holy Father is scheduled to leave Verona at 4:45 p.m. and will arrive back at the Vatican by 6:15 p.m.

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Rome 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 morning, arriving in the Floating City by 8 a.m. The pope's visit, albeit short, holds a deep meaning as Francis is the first pontiff to visit the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition, which is marking its 60th iteration. As part of the exhibition the Holy See has erected a pavilion at the women's prison titled "With My Eyes." The pope also spoke with artists while he visited the pavilion.

Taking a center seat in the intimate courtyard of the 16th-century former convent, the pope opened his address by saying that he wanted it to be thought not as an "official visit" but an "encounter" centered on "prayer, closeness, and fraternal affection." 

"No one should take away people's dignity," Pope Francis said to the inmates, volunteers, and staff, joined by the patriarch of Venice, Archbishop Francesco Moraglia. 

Drawing attention to the "harsh reality" of prison, the pope highlighted some of the problems inmates are confronted with, "such as overcrowding, the lack of facilities and resources, and episodes of violence, [which] give rise to a great deal of suffering there." 

But Francis, anchoring his message on hope and mercy, implored the women to "always look at the horizon, always look to the future, with hope." 

The pope continued by noting that prison can also be a place of "moral and material rebirth where the dignity of women and men is not 'placed in isolation' but promoted through mutual respect and the nurturing of talents and abilities, perhaps dormant or imprisoned by the vicissitudes of life, but which can reemerge for the good of all and which deserve attention and trust." 

Pope Francis stressed that it is "fundamental" that prisons offer inmates "the tools and room for human, spiritual, cultural and professional growth, creating the conditions for their healthy reintegration. Not to 'isolate dignity' but to give new possibilities." 

"Let us not forget that we all have mistakes to be forgiven and wounds to heal and that we can all become the healed who bring healing, the forgiven who bring forgiveness, the reborn who bring rebirth," the pope added. 

At the end of the encounter there was a lighthearted exchange when the pope, after asking the inmates — who responded, in unison, "Of course!" — to pray for him, quipped: "But in my favor, not against."

At the end of the address, the pope presented an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a gift to the inmates, saying: "Mary has tenderness with all of us, with all of us, she is the mother of tenderness." In return the female inmates presented the pope with a basket of all-natural toiletries they make through a worker-training program. 

Following the encounter with the inmates, the pope made his way to the prison's chapel, where he spoke to the artists, imploring them to use their craft to envision a world based on fraternity where "no human being is considered a stranger." 

"Art has the status of a 'city of refuge,'" the pope said to the artists, "a city that disobeys the regime of violence and discrimination in order to create forms of human belonging capable of recognizing, including protecting and embracing everyone." 

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Rome 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 united to Christ, we can bring the fruits of the Gospel into the reality we inhabit."  

"Fruits of justice and peace, fruits of solidarity and mutual care, carefully-made choices to preserve our environmental and human heritage," the pope continued, seated center stage in a red velvet chair and vested in a white cope.

Pope Francis arrived in Venice early Sunday morning for a day trip to the prestigious Biennale art exhibition — which is celebrating its 60th anniversary — where the Holy See's pavilion, titled "With My Eyes," dovetails with this year's broader theme: "Foreigners Everywhere."

The pope's visit also holds a deep meaning as Francis is the first pontiff to visit the Biennale — where the Vatican has held a pavilion since 2013. 

In his homily, Pope Francis pointed out that our relationship with Christ is not "static" but an invitation to "grow in relationship with him, to converse with him, to embrace his word, to follow him on the path of the kingdom of God." 

Francis built upon this point to encourage "Christian communities, neighborhoods, and cities to become welcoming, inclusive, and hospitable places," a point he linked to the image of the city of Venice as a "a place of encounter and cultural exchange." 

Pope Francis observed that Venice "is called to be a sign of beauty available to all, starting with the last, a sign of fraternity and care for our common home," the pope continued, highlighting the tenuous situation of Venice, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which faces a myriad of problems ranging from excessive tourism to environmental challenges such as rising sea levels and erosion.

After the recitation of the Regina Caeli, the pope entered St. Mark's Basilica to venerate the relics of the evangelist before leaving by helicopter to return to the Vatican as pilgrims and tourists bid farewell from land and sea.

Earlier in the morning the Holy Father met with female inmates, staff, and volunteers at Venice's Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca, where he spoke on the topic of human dignity, suggesting that prison can "mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others."

The deeply symbolic visit was followed by a brief encounter with the artists responsible for the Holy See's pavilion at the Biennale, where the pope encouraged artists to use their craft "to rid the world of the senseless and by now empty oppositions that seek to gain ground in racism, in xenophobia, in inequality, in ecological imbalance and aporophobia, that terrible neologism that means 'fear of the poor.'"

The Holy Father traveled by a private vaporetto, or waterbus, bearing the two-tone flag of Vatican City, to the 16th-century baroque Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, which sits on the Punta della Dogana, where he met with a large group of young people. 

Reflecting on the visit as a "beautiful moment of encounter," the pope encouraged the youth to "rise from sadness to lift our gaze upward." 

"Rise to stand in front of life, not to sit on the couch. Arise to say, 'Here I am!' to the Lord, who believes in us." Building on this message of hope, which the pope emphasized is built upon perseverance, telling them "don't isolate yourself" but "seek others, experience God together, find a group to walk with so you don't grow tired." 

The pope made his way to St. Mark's Square in a white open-top golf cart bearing the papal seal, where he closed his visit with Mass. At the end of the Mass Archbishop Francesco Moraglia, the patriarch of Venice, thanked the pope for his visit. 

"Venice is a stupendous, fragile, unique city and has always been a bridge between East and West, a crossroads of peoples, cultures, and different faiths," Moraglia noted. 

"For this reason, in Venice, the great themes of your encyclicals — Fratelli Tutti and Laudato Si' — are promptly reflected in respect and care for creation and the person, starting with the good summit of life that must always be respected and loved, especially when it is fragile and asks to be welcomed."

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Rome, 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 spirituality that were more experiential, closer to mysticism, open to mystery, allowing to touch one's own interiority," Rondanina said. 

To achieve this, Cappelletto drew some inspiration from Indian masters, recovering from their teachings forms of profound prayer with a Christian matrix, such as the famous "Jesus prayer" ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner").

"His encounter with the East was an opportunity to rediscover this vein, which had previously been confined to monasticism, particularly in the Orthodox Church, but which was not widely practiced here at the time," Rondanina said.

The East that leads to Christ

Cappelletto then designed a meditation course for the public with some characteristics similar to Eastern forms of meditation.

"It wasn't a lectio divina type of meditation; there was posture, breathing, silence, and it had a big impact in the '80s and '90s because it was something new," the superior said. 

According to Rondanina, who is the first successor to the founder, who died in 2009, Cappelletto's "strong intuition" was to adopt technical disciplines from the East containing certain aspects of physical and psycho-physical attention and orient them "towards Christ and the Church."

"Furthermore," he told CNA, "Father Cappelletto has deepened an anthropological vision that is lacking in the East: the human person seen as a unique person who must be valued. Eastern schools tend to move towards an experience of the impersonal divine, where the divine in myself and in others is more essential than anything that defines the person. In the Western Christian matrix, on the other hand, each person makes his or her own choices, builds his or her own life and retains his or her uniqueness, expressed also in the dogma of the Resurrection."

The Reconstructors today

The movement launched by Cappelletto spread by word of mouth throughout Italy, from Piedmont to Sicily. Today, it is recognized as a public association of the faithful, encompassing people from various backgrounds and vocations. 

The community is made up of about 30 priests, a few laymen, and about 40 laywomen. In all, there are just under 70 consecrated people. The priests are incardinated in their dioceses, while the laypeople work outside — as bank officials, doctors, religious teachers, or employees of charitable organizations.

More than 200 associates have also joined the movement. They are not consecrated but participate in the charism of the community in some way. "But it is much bigger than that," Rondanina said. "Many people frequent our houses; it's difficult to quantify."

The landscape has changed a lot since the early days. 

"Before, there were hardly any non-baptized people. People knew the Church. Today, we find people who are far away but who haven't moved away, simply because they've never been close."

As in the past, the Reconstructors centers offer a methodical evangelization program, beginning with meditation, raising awareness of the sacred dimension, and then providing Catholic teaching.  

The reconstruction of man

The name of the community — "Ricostruttori" — has a few different meanings. 

"Our community is linked to the manual labor of reconstruction, as many of our out-of-town centers for retreats have been reconstructions," Rondanina explained. "We began by restructuring an old building (cascinali) that had been used as housing for women working in the rice fields in the 1950s."

This work of reconstruction also symbolizes the inner rebuilding of the person. For Rondanina, who teaches philosophy, personal reconstruction is an ongoing journey. Likewise, "to keep a youthful movement, and not close ourselves off in dogmatic forms, we must always be searching."

Spiritual growth, the priest added, "happens when you move from the phase where you think you've found the magic wand to solve all your problems, the initial phase of youth where everything seems rosy, to a phase of crisis, where you take a step forward. The kingdom of God advances like this, with the ability to see our limits, to rebuild ourselves time after time, to understand where we went wrong, to remove the dross to get to the essential things."

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ACI Africa, Apr 28, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

Catholic bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have denounced the insecurity and violence in their dioceses.

In their collective statement issued Sunday, April 14, the members of the Provincial Episcopal Assembly of Bukavu (ASSEPB) said: "Insecurity has become endemic, with its trail of killings even in the middle of the day, massacres and kidnappings of peaceful citizens in our towns and villages."

ASSEPB members decried "the opening up of most of our territorial entities; the [rebel group] M23s surrounding of the town of Goma supported by Rwanda; and the strategy of paralyzing the economy by isolating and suffocating large and small towns."

"Despite the holding of elections, the Congolese state remains weak and ineffective," they further lamented. 

The Catholic Church leaders faulted the President Felix Tshisekedi-led government for leaving citizens to their own devices, saying: "The Congolese state is dead, and we, the governed, are abandoned to our sad fate; and we see no indication that today's rulers are thinking about the well-being of the governed in the near future."

"One wonders whether this behavior is not contributing to the plan for the [fragmentation] and dismemberment of the DRC, even though the people are already opposed to it," they added.

The Congolese Catholic Church leaders attributed the challenges ordinary people in DRC face to "tribalism, electoral fraud, and the manipulation of almost all social strata" and added that the highlighted social ills "are increasing the suffering of the people."

They challenged politicians to come to terms with the correct meaning of politics, prioritizing the people of God.

"Politics is the highest form of charity, because its purpose is not to serve oneself but to serve others and society — the people first," they said.

The bishops cautioned their compatriots against despair, saying that the Congolese people should "refuse to die and remain hopeful, praying unceasingly for their conversion and that of their executioners both inside and outside the country, confident that help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."

They prayed that the "image of the Congolese, distorted by evil, be restored."

In their statement, the bishops acknowledged with appreciation "the dynamism of the people of God" and the heroism of priests and women and men religious amid "endemic" insecurity.

"Almost everywhere, parishes are being created, church buildings are coming up, presbyteries are being improved, and many other services [are happening]," the bishops said, adding that the planned beatification of four martyrs — including three members of Xaverian missionaries and a priest — is scheduled to take place Aug. 18 in the Diocese of Uvira and is "a cause for joy."

This story was first published by ACI Africa, CNA's news partner in Africa, and has been adapted by CNA.

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CNA Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 19:18 pm (CNA).

A Florida priest who was recently arrested on sex abuse charges was permitted to continue in active ministry for nearly three years after a civil sex abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the diocese in which he serves.

Father Leo Riley, age 68, continued to serve as a priest for years after a 2020 sexual abuse lawsuit was filed against him and the Diocese of Venice in Florida. 

The matter came to the forefront this week after Riley was arrested on several sex abuse charges dating back to his time serving as a priest in Iowa decades ago. 

The Charlotte County, Florida Sheriff's Office said in a press release that deputies arrested Riley in Port Charlotte on April 24 "on multiple counts of capital sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa." He was ordained in Iowa in 1982 and served there until 2005.

The civil lawsuit in Florida was filed in July 2020 with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. It named Riley, the Diocese of Venice, and St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Port Charlotte as defendants, along with Alan Klispie, a music teacher at the parish school. The suit alleges that both Klispie and Riley committed various forms of abuse against the plaintiff for years.

Venice Bishop Frank Dewane told members of the San Antonio Parish in Port Charlotte on Saturday — where Riley was previously pastor — that there is "a pending civil lawsuit of 2020 against Father Riley here in Florida which upon its receipt was reported to the State Attorney of Charlotte County." 

"At the time the civil lawsuit was received, the factual allegations therein were inaccurate and contradictory," Dewane wrote. 

"The plaintiff has since changed his allegations and the litigation is still pending," the bishop wrote in the letter.

The diocese said the letter was also being distributed "at all parishes where Father Riley has been previously assigned in the Diocese of Venice." 

The bishop in the letter urged "anyone who believes that he or she has been the victim of sexual misconduct by someone serving in ministry for the Diocese of Venice" to contact law enforcement as well as the diocese itself. 

Asked if Riley was placed on leave following the 2020 suit, diocesan spokeswoman Karen Schwarz told CNA on Saturday: "Regarding the civil lawsuit of 2020, it is my understanding that Father Riley was not placed on administrative leave at that time, due to the facts of the allegations being inaccurate and contradictory."

The diocese's website shows Riley still in active ministry, working as pastor at San Antonio Catholic Church, at least as late as 2022, two years after the suit was filed. The parish is home to St. Charles Borromeo school, a pre-K through 8th grade Catholic school.

Damian Mallard, a Florida attorney who is representing the plaintiff in the 2020 lawsuit, told CNA on Friday that the diocese was aware of the suit when it was filed. "We served them with the lawsuit back then," he said. 

Asked if there had been any communication from the diocese at the time of the filing, Mallard said: "Diocesan lawyers responded to my lawsuit. But there was nothing concerning taking Riley out of his job." 

Mallard confirmed that the suit is still pending. "Riley won't sit for a deposition because his lawyers demand that I tell them every victim that I've found," he said, "and I said no." 

Several courts have ruled in Mallard's favor on the matter of detailing the identities of the alleged victims, he told CNA. 

The lawsuit is seeking "damages for my client for what he's been through," Mallard told CNA. 

"His life has been destroyed," the lawyer said. The amount of the damages is "up to a jury to decide," he added.

Priest arrested this week on sex abuse charges

Bishop Dewane wrote the letter this week partly in response to Riley's arrest by Florida law enforcement earlier in the week. 

In their press release, the Charlotte County sheriff's office said Florida law enforcement officers had worked with the Dubuque, Iowa Police Department in making the arrest. The Dubuque police "had developed probable cause for five counts of capital sexual battery within their jurisdiction," the sheriff's office said. 

Riley, who previously served in the Archdiocese of Dubuque, has been on administrative leave in the Venice diocese since May of 2023 when several abuse allegations from his time in the Iowa archdiocese were made against him. 

Riley's arrest this week comes after at least a decade of abuse allegations made against the priest.

In a letter released on Friday, Dubuque Archbishop Thomas Zinkula said the "first notice of any allegation of abuse by Father Riley was made in December of 2014." 

"The claim related to the time-period of 1985, when Father Riley would have been in Dubuque," the archbishop wrote. "Particulars of the allegation were received in February of 2015."

The archbishop noted that Riley was incardinated into the Diocese of Venice by this time, having been granted that request in 2005 to be near his parents. 

The Dubuque archdiocese "notified the Diocese of Venice, Florida, and Father Riley was placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation," the archbishop said.

"The investigation concluded that the best information available at the time did not support a reasonable belief that the allegation was true," Zinkula wrote. Law enforcement, meanwhile, "chose not to conduct an investigation into the allegation because the applicable statute of limitations at that time had expired."

Two new allegations were subsequently made against Riley in May of last year, both of them once again stemming from alleged misconduct in Dubuque in the mid-1980s. Upon receiving the allegations, the archdiocese "began an internal investigation into the new allegations, which remains open pending the outcome of the criminal charges."

It is unclear whether these two allegations against Riley formed the basis of this week's arrest. The Dubuque police department was unable to provide a copy of the warrant on Friday as it was still listed as active in that jurisdiction. 

On Thursday, meanwhile, the Venice diocese said in a statement that when the latest allegations were made public last year, DeWane "immediately placed Father Riley on administrative leave, pending the investigation that was to be conducted by the Archdiocese of Dubuque."

Diocesan spokeswoman Karen Schwarz confirmed to CNA on Friday that Riley "was put on administrative leave in May of 2023 and has not been involved in ministry since then."

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in announcing Riley's arrest that "if the accusations are true, then we have had a sexual predator living among us in Charlotte County that was trusted by far too many people simply because of his position." 

"It is likely that there are more victims, and I encourage them to come forward so that we can make sure this type of heinous thing does not happen to anyone else here," the sheriff said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 27, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

One year after the Spanish newspaper El País published the report "Diary of a Pedophile Priest," which recounted the sexual abuse of minors committed in Bolivia by the deceased Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas, journalists from ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, went to the South American country to look into the political implications of the case, how the scandal has affected the Church's image in Bolivia, and the response of the civil justice system.

Pedrajas, better known as "Padre Pica," arrived in South America in the early 1960s as part of his formation process with the Jesuits. For 10 years he lived in Peru and Ecuador, where he allegedly committed his first abuses while still a seminarian, and in 1971 he settled permanently in Bolivia.

There the Society of Jesus appointed him assistant principal of the John XXIII Institute, a boarding school whose mission was to form the most prepared students in the country, with a special predilection for those immersed in poverty.

Three years later, Padre Pica would become the school's principal, where he reportedly sexually abused more than 80 minors over a period of almost 30 years.

Since the scandal broke, both the Jesuits in Bolivia and the Bolivian Bishops' Conference have worked to cooperate with the justice system and elicit complaints from victims. Several initiatives were also launched to guarantee that victims would be heard and support provided to them.

In this context, lawsuits began to be filed implicating several Jesuit priests for abuses committed decades ago, and even a class-action complaint was filed by a group of former students of the John XXIII Institute against the current provincial of the Society of Jesus in the country, Father Bernardo Mercado, who is currently under investigation by the justice system.

A Senate truth commission to respond to the abuses

Regarding the Bolivian Senate's move to pursue the abuse cases by creating a Special Truth Commission, the Bolivian Bishops' Conference charged that the Senate's work "has been very biased" due to attempts to politically instrumentalize it and because of pressure from the majority ruling party.

One of the senators on the commission, Nelly Gallo Soruco, a member of the opposition-leaning Citizen's Community party, spoke with ACI Prensa about the work they have carried out in recent months and the steps to follow in the future.

The main objective of the Special Truth Commission is to conduct an investigation and then submit a report that will be made available to the president of the Senate. Gallo strongly emphasized that the commission has no power to impose criminal penalties or administer justice.

"The special commission," Gallo explained, "was formed as a result of the concern that arose after the publication in Spain of the El País report." The commission began operating in June 2023, she said.

The Citizen's Community party member began to be part of the commission due to the fears that her party had about the "possible manipulation for political purposes" of abuse cases in the Church. In total there are six senators on the commission, three of whom belong to the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, historically related to former Bolivian president Evo Morales. 

"There was a susceptibility that the majority could [manipulate] the objective that the commission has. By the time I joined, several interviews had already been conducted with those involved, among them the former students of the John XXIII school and the ombudsman," Gallo said.

The senator noted that while she was present the commission also interviewed Pedro Lima, a controversial and well-known media figure in Bolivia, a MAS sympathizer, and a former Jesuit.

Lima has repeatedly charged that he was expelled from the Jesuits when he decided to report cases of abuse. For Gallo, Lima is a person who has "a very strong feeling against the Church." ACI Prensa contacted Lima to get his take on the case and the senator's statements, but he declined to comment.

Abuse issue in Bolivia is 'very common'

Gallo also stressed the importance of realizing that the issue of abuse is "sensitive and must be treated carefully"; "unfortunately it's very common" in Bolivian society, she said, and "the authorities aren't paying much attention to it."

Furthermore, she added that many of the laws protecting minors "are not fully complied with or are not functional."

"We need this commission to fulfill that role, that of enforcing legislative regulations and not manipulating them in a political-partisan way. It should proceed with the respect that the victims and the religious institution deserve, within which these very painful situations of abusing children arose," Gallo said.

The legislator pointed out: "We have seen that the Church and the Society of Jesus have been very open and have had no intention of hiding anything; that has been a great help in being able to remove any thoughts of complicity."

Gallo categorically stated that "the Church is not guilty of the individual actions of its members."

The importance of religious freedom in Bolivia

"We are firm defenders of freedoms and human rights, especially religious freedom. We need churches to be a center of trust for the free exercise of faith," the senator said.

The truth is that religious freedom in the South American country is increasingly threatened and many commentators are beginning to express their concern.

The "Pedrajas Case" and the various complaints that followed could be the perfect excuse for the government to openly and definitively attack the Bolivian Catholic Church. 

"We are concerned that these deplorable cases may be used to politically persecute the Church," Gallo reiterated.

The abuse crisis in Bolivia continues to cast a shadow on the Catholic Church in the country, especially regarding the victims, who seemed to have sought answers and justice in vain. As the investigations progress, and despite the efforts of the Church, everything seems to indicate that the road ahead will be very long.

In a panorama where faith is faltering, Bolivia faces a painful crossroads in which the search for solutions seems to be trapped in a vicious circle of mistrust, legal loopholes, economic interests, and political pressures.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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