- Pope Francis: Address to Italy's Parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission (full text) (Holy See Press Office)
“Fighting against the mafias means not only repressing,” the Pontiff told members of the commission—the 4th since 1963. “It also means reclaiming, transforming, and building, and this involves commitment at two levels,” political and economic. - Preserving culture is not adequate reason for restricting immigration, Pope says (Vatican press office)
Speaking on September 22 to a conference of European Church officials focused on migration, Pope Francis said that the worldwide surge in migration offers the Church a “new missionary frontier.” The Pope said that he is troubled by opposition among Catholics to the acceptance of refugees and migrants. He rejected an argument for restricting immigration “justified by an unspecified ‘moral duty’ to preserve the original cultural and religious identity.” - Vatican 'foreign minister' seeks aid for countries hosting Syrian refugees (Vatican press office)
Speaking to a UN session on the conflict in in Syria, Archbishop Richard Gallagher emphasized the “tremendous suffering, affecting millions of innocent children and other civilians” in that country. He insisted that “humanitarian workers must have rapid, safe, and unhindered access wherever there are people in need.” Archbishop Gallagher also called upon international leaders to increase support for the countries that have accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria; he named Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt. - Defendant in Vatican finance case says he was assured of Pope's approval (Crux)
Massimo Spina, who was the treasurer of the Bambino Gesu Hospital foundation, told a Vatican tribunal that he had been assured that the foundation was authorized to spend €400,000 on renovations of the apartment of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Spina said that his immediate superior “told me there were no problems because Cardinal Bertone had clarified the situation with the Holy Father in person.” - Head of refounded John Paul II Institute outlines his vision (CWN)
L’Osservatore Romano has published a front-page article by Msgr. Pierangelo Sequeri, the president of the newly refounded John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences. - Christ is not a mere guru or wise man, Vatican cardinal says in Nagasaki (Fides)
- Calling, feasting, and scandal: the Pope's homily for Feast of St. Matthew (Vatican Radio)
- Vatican cardinal, World Muslim League leader discuss religious violence, violations of religious freedom (Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue)
The head of the World Muslim League, Muhammad Al-Issa, also met with Pope Francis. - Vatican tribunal holds 4th hearing in misappropriated-fund case (Holy See Press Office)
Click here for background on the case. - Hindu nationalists threaten small Catholic village in central India (Vatican Radio)
- Vatican official warns: religious minorities become targets during wartime (Holy See Mission)
Speaking at a UN session on the protection of religious minorities during armed conflict, Archbishop Richard Gallagher observed that “war and conflict often provide the backdrop for religious minorities to be targeted for persecution, sexual and all forms of physical violence, subjugation, false detention, expropriation of property, enslavement, forced exile, murder, ethnic cleansing and other crimes against humanity.” The archbishop specifically cited as an example the “barbarities committed by ISIS.” The Vatican’s top foreign-policy official asked world leader to take action, recognize equality before the law, foster education, and “block the flow of money and weapons destined to those intending to use them to target religious minorities.” He added that religious leaders have an obligation to promote dialogue and discourage extremism. - Bahraini king positions as promoter of interfaith tolerance (World Watch Monitor)
- Pope donates $150,000 for Mexican earthquake relief (Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development)
- Cardinal Marx laments rising anti-Semitism in Germany (SIR)
- As Pope speaks on abuse, questions about official recalled from nunciature in Washington (Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required))
After Pope Francis acknowledged that Church leaders were late to recognize the problem of clerical abuse, Francis Rocca of the Wall Street Journal observes that the Vatican recently recalled an official at the apostolic nunciature in Washington, DC, who was suspected of involvement in child pornography. Some American bishops would have preferred to have the priest face prosecution in the US. - Irish hotel cancels pro-life conference, citing intimidation (Catholic Herald)
The Ashling Hotel in Dublin told Human Life International that it was concerned for the safety of participants and guests, after receiving threats from abortion supporters. - Pope elevates Nigerian apostolic vicariate to diocese (Holy See Press Office)
An apostolic vicariate is typically established in a missionary territory; it is governed by an apostolic vicar in the Roman Pontiff’s name (Canon 371). A diocese, on the other hand, is typically governed by its own bishop. - Vatican newspaper pays tribute to Father Max Seckler (L'Osservatore Romano)
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, praised the work of Father Max Seckler on his 90th birthday. Seckler is professor emeritus of fundamental theology at University of Tübingen and thus a colleague of Father Ratzinger in 1960s. When Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005, Seckler recalled with sadness the verbal abuse Father Ratzinger experienced from students. - Countdown begins for Focolare's GenFest in Manila (Vatican Radio)
The Focolare movement was founded in 1943 by the Servant of God Chiara Lubich (1920-2008). - Vatican newspaper criticizes Trump's UN speech (L'Osservatore Romano)
In a front-page opinion piece in its 9/21 edition, L’Osservatore Romano’s vice editor took President Donald Trump to task for failing to discuss climate change in his UN speech. Giuseppe Fiorentino also said that Trump’s “America first” philosophy runs counter to the need for a multilateral response to climate change and the North Korean threat.