Vatican officials’ feathers have been ruffled by what they consider excessive signs of greeting during the giving of the peace at Mass. So the Congregation for Divine Worship asked bishops to push for more restraint and sobriety. The Congregation advised them to find alternatives to “familiar” or “profane” greetings.

The letter criticised priests who leave the altar to offer parishioners a sign of peace or to congratulate newlyweds or to offer condolences to the family of the deceased.

Fr Anthony Ruff, professor of liturgy at St John’s University School of Theology-Seminary, US, said “such local practices will continue and the letter won’t change much, since most people don’t find it irreverent to reach out in friendliness”.

‘Ban arms exports’

“The First World War… teaches us to observe the present situation vigilantly, and vigilance means appealing to politicians to exhaust all possibilities in promoting peaceful de-escalation, to protect innocent civilian populations by preventing arms exports to areas of crisis and conflict,” said Bishop Gebhard Fürst of Rottenburg-Stuttgart.

This is not the first time Germany’s Catholic bishops have spoken against their country’s arms exports, although these have increased a lot over the past 10 years.

The German Catholic bishops appealed to Christians to recognise “the shared guilt of Churches” for the 1914-18 conflict, which left 16 million dead. They said efforts should be done to defend “the common interests of the human family against destructive self-interest”.

Ukrainian bishops for military campaign

Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, the head of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church, has advised Ukranians “not to be afraid to defend their homeland”. He was speaking in the context of the current fighting in Ukraine and the possibility that Russia would increase its presence.

Shevchuk said this was the first time since World War II that the inhabitants of the Ukraine are being asked “to give their lives and shed blood for their country’s independence”.

“But God’s power is able to extinguish any conflict and confrontation – and people who hope in God remain undefeated and can defend their country and state,” he said.

Pope: “Do not waste time on ‘futile’ internet”

At a meeting of 50,000 young German altar servers, one of them asked Pope Francis how to make time to assist at Mass. The Pope replied: “Maybe many young people waste too many hours on futile things, chatting on the internet or with smartphones, watching TV soap operas, and [using] the products of technological progress, which should simplify and improve the quality of life, but which distract attention from what is important.”

Coptic Christians on the rise in Egypt

A report published on the website of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem says that the number of Christians, particularly Copts, is on the increase in Egypt. It adds that it is not easy to determine how many are converting as those who do may face judiciary action as well as death.

The report quoted a person who converted recently as saying: “If a Muslim is converted, his family and neighbours may beat him, or even kill him, for this amounts to treason”.

The situation of Christians in Egypt is better after the military overthrew the government led by the Muslim Brotherhood.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)