Archbishop Eamon Martin and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, both from Ireland, took different positions regarding the granting or refusing of Communion to politicians who vote for the proposed abortion legislation.
Mgr Martin of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland-elect, warned Irish politicians they would excommunicate themselves if they vote for abortion and should not go for Communion. “You cannot regard yourself as a person of faith and support abortion,” he told The Sunday Times.
But Mgr Martin, Archbishop of Dublin, while agreeing that politicians needed to examine the coherence between their faith and what they proposed in the legislation, said the Eucharist “should not become a place of debate and contrast and be used for publicity reasons by anybody”.
Pope Francis: “Place man at the centre”
Speaking to members of the Centisimus Annus-Pro Pontifice Foundation, Pope Francis said the current world crisis “is not only economic and financial but is rooted in an anthropological and ethical crisis”.
He said solidarity should be given more importance by economists. They should also rethink the world’s financial system so that the human person, instead of profits, should be the centre of the economic system.
He insisted that the dignity of labour should be given priority over accumulation of capital. “There is no worse material poverty than that which does not allow people to earn their daily bread and deprives them of the dignity of work,” he said.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the root
Addressing a conference in Beirut on Christians in the Middle East, Latin-rite Patriarch Fouad Twal of Jerusalem, said: “There is no doubt that the Palestinian problem is the focus of all conflict in the Middle East for the last one hundred years.
“This is the truth we cannot circumvent… (This conflict) will continue to feed aggression, oppression, deceit, double standards and occupation until a just and lasting solution is achieved.”
Christian persecution criticised by Vatican
Over 100,000 Christians are killed each year due to their faith, and millions more face bigotry, intolerance and marginalisation because of their beliefs. These worrying statistics were given by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s permanent observer to US agencies in Geneva.
The Archbishop also said: “In some Western countries, where historically the Christian presence has been an integral part of society, Christians are in some instances marginalised from public life”.
Mgr Tomasi showed the injustice of all these developments by highlighting the work the Church does for the good of humanity by educating members in their human dignity, serving their communities and the poor with schools, hospitals, homes for the aged, work in refugee camps and other acts of charity.
Prayer via social media
House arrest did not stop Bishop Ma Daqin of Shanghai from leading in prayer Chinese Catholics taking part in a pilgrimage to mark the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan. Mgr Daqin used social media to overcome the imits on his freedom of movement.
Mgr Daqin was chosen to be bishop by the State-backed Patriotic Association. But at his ordination he announced his resignation from the association and pledged allegiance to the Vatican, which then recognised him as the rightful Bishop of Shanghai. He was subsequently placed under house arrest.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)