TONGA RECONNECTS TO THE WORLD – HOW ITALY COULD BE IMPACTED BY RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE

TONGA RECONNECTS TO THE WORLD

I got some wonderful news this morning from half way around the world   – an email from my friend, Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi, bishop of Tonga! The instant I knew of the underground volcano explosion that cut the islands off from the rest of the world in January, I wrote him to say I was stunned by the news but wanted him to know that I and countless others were praying for Tonga and its people. I told him I knew he would probably not see my message for a while!

The cardinal assured me that prayers were appreciated by all, and that Tongans have been recovering well, assisted by people and organizations within and outside the country. Many lessons of God’s grace can be learned when such help comes forth in tragic times, wrote Cardinal Mafi. His message was positive and uplifting and his thoughtful and kind words really made my day!

By the way, when I first met the cardinal in Rome, I was fascinated by his name. When I said it aloud (I love languages and etymology), I thought I knew what it meant. I asked him and indeed his name means John the Baptist.

This photo from the Catholic Herald was taken when we both attended a Saints Damien and Marianne Conference in Honolulu in October 2018, The cardinal presided at the opening Mass and we both gave talks during the conference. I interviewed him as well for Vatican Insider.

HOW ITALY COULD BE IMPACTED BY RUSSIA’S INVASION OF UKRAINE

The first word I saw today on how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could impact Italy was the immediate increase here in the prices of gas, oil and wheat, with sticker shock hitting those who had to fill their gas tank at a local station.

I’ve seen a lot of TV today, including news from U.S., French, German and British sources. I’ll be riveted to TV and radio reports in coming days and will try to keep you posted on how our lives may be affected by Russia’s action.

I do not have a car but the Vatican building in which I live uses oil for heating (6 months a year but we pay that over 12 months, along with our rent and other expenses), and I have a gas stove and oven. Other appliances are electric and, for the moment, my contract with the gas and electric company precludes price hikes. Let’s wait and see….

I subscribe to thelocal.it, a wonderful online source of information for expats living in Italy. Here is a link to a report they published today: EXPLAINED: How Italy could be impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (thelocal.it)

TONGA CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD – TOP VATICAN OFFICIALS, VACCINATED, HAVE COVID – PAPAL AID TO PHILIPPINES AND MIGRANTS STRANDED BETWEEN POLAND AND BELARUS

TONGA CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD

Among the many news stories I have been following with great interest is the news from Tonga, in particular because I know Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi, archbishop of Tonga. We’ve corresponded and met several times since he was named a cardinal in 2015, including in Honolulu in the fall of 2017 for a Catholic conference at Hawaiì’s convention center at which we were both speakers. (Hawaii Catholic photo)

I wrote Cardinal Mafi yesterday but have no real hope of hearing from him or even thinking he got my email. I assured him of prayers, for one thing, and the prayers will re-double for all the inhabitants of Tonga until we get some updated news.

Tonga now has widespread areas covered in ash from the after effects of an underwater volcanic eruption and is cut off from the world because of the rupture in an undersea fiber-optic communications system. I read that the repair of Tonga’s critical 514-mile fibre-optic link to Fiji depends on the arrival of a specialized ship that is currently in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.

There are so many tragedies in the world, both man-made and natural, that it is hard to know where to start praying. Today, put Tonga and its people on your list!

TOP VATICAN OFFICIALS, VACCINATED, HAVE COVID

The Vatican press office this morning announced that Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has Covid with “very light symptoms” and Abp. Peña Parra, his deputy or substitute, has Covid but is asymptomatic. Both are in quarantine.

Just recently stricter rules came into force in the Vatican to try and prevent the spread of Covid and the Omicron variant: Employees must be vaccinated to enter their offices and have documents – the famous Green Pass – proving vaccination or that they had Covid and recovered. They must also wear the FFP2 mask, now obligatory to enter most venues, travel on busses, trains and planes, etc. in Italy as well.

Un-vaccinated employees will be considered absent from work and will forfeit their salary until the meet Vatican requirements. Visitors to the Vatican must also show proof of vaccination or recovery from Covid and must wear the FFP2 mask.

According to Edward Pentin, in an email to the National Catholic Register about exemptions from vaccination, “Cardinal Parolin said Vatican employees seeking to be exempt from the Vatican’s new vaccine mandate because they oppose the vaccine’s link to abortion ‘seems not to be justified’ as it was only tested rather than produced using the cell lines of aborted fetuses.”

He added that, “In Jan. 9 written comments to the Register, the Vatican Secretary of State said that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine administered at the Vatican does not use such ‘cell cultures’ in its composition or production but ‘only in the preliminary stages of vaccine testing in the laboratory. On the other hand, other vaccines (Astra Zeneca, Johnson & Johnson) are actually produced from cell cultures that were donated about 40 years ago for scientific purposes.”

PAPAL AID TO PHILIPPINES AND MIGRANTS STRANDED BETWEEN POLAND AND BELARUS

Pope Francis has sent €100,000 to the Philippines for the devastation wrought on vast parts of the island nation by typhoon Rai, according to a communiqué from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, responsible for disbursing the funds. United Nations sources say 8 million people in 11 regions have suffered extraordinary consequences.

Monies will be sent to the Apostolic Nunciature in the Philippines, which has also received aid and financial support from many organizations such as Caritas, other Catholic charities and organizations and Episcopal conferences worldwide.

According to the dicastery communiqué, Pope Francis is also sending a contribution of €100,000 “in favor of groups of migrants stranded between Poland and Belarus and in aid of Caritas Polska to deal with the migratory emergency on the border of the two countries, due to the situation of conflict that has been going in for over 10 years.”

VATICAN INSIDER TALKS TO CARDINAL MAFI OF TONGA – SUNDAY IS THE 1ST WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

Our pilgrimage began with a very early wakeup call this morning to attend 6:45am Mass offered by Msgr. Anthony Figueiredo, who had joined the women of WINE yesterday afternoon at the Hotel Cenacolo (the Cenacle). He celebrated his first Mass for us about 7:30 yesterday evening, immediately after our arrival from a full day on the road – driving to and then visiting Siena, followed by a mid-afternoon visit to the Banfi winery (hopefully you saw my Facebook Live videos – I did 5 yesterday – no time to write a colum so videos had to suffice).

After a very rapid breakfast (!), we departed for Rome at 7:45 for a special event Msgr. Anthony had prepared for the group this morning with the Sisters of St. Teresa of Calcutta, including the women being blessed by and prayed over with a relic of St. Teresa! I missed that as I had to go to Vatican radio to record my weekly program, “Joan Knows,” but I’ve been promised my own visit and blessing at their house.

I’ll try to post some of the photos I took in Tuscany in coming days. If you know this region of Italy, you know it is a special place in God’s beautiful universe!

VATICAN INSIDER TALKS TO CARDINAL MAFI OF TONGA

Tune in this weekend to Vatican Insider for Part II of my conversation with Cardinal Soane Patita Mafi of Tonga. He was the guest of honor at the October Damien and Marianne Catholic Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, which I also attended. Cardinal Mafi is the fourth Roman Catholic Bishop of Tonga. His first names, by the way, Soane Patita, mean John the Baptist. He was named a cardinal by Pope Francis on February 14, 2015.

Listen as he continues his story about life in Tonga, the Catholic Church in Tonga, his ministry as a bishop and now a cardinal – all that and much more. As I wrote last week, at times his words about the Church are like a beautiful homily – you won’t want to miss a minute!

In the United States, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (there is a list of U.S. stations at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio. Outside the U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” Vatican Insider airs Saturday mornings at 9:00am (ET). On the SKY satellite feed to the UK and parts of Europe, VI airs on audio channel 0147 at 11:30 am CET on Saturdays, and 5:30am and 10pm CET on Sundays. It’s also available on demand on the EWTN app and on the website. CHECK YOUR TIME ZONE. Here’s a link to download VI to your iTunes library: http://www.ewtn.com/se/pg/DatService.svc/feed/~LE.xml   For VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/file_index.asp?SeriesId=7096&pgnu=

SUNDAY IS THE 1^ST WORLD DAY OF THE POOR

Pope Francis surpised not a few people Thursday afternoon when he arrived, unannounced, at a small “field hospital” set up in front of St. Peter’s Square to provide medical care for Rome’s poor. He greeted volunteers and poor people waiting to receive care ahead of the 1st World Day of the Poor on Sunday, November 19.

The field hospital was part of the initiatives linked to this world day of the poor, called for by Pope Francis at the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

The Holy See Press Office noted Thursday that the tent hospital is run by the Italian Red Cross and offers free medical visits for the poor and needy throughout the week from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

In a recent story, Vatican Radio noted that on Sunday, parishes in Rome and around the world will mark the first World Day of the Poor, a fruit of the Jubilee of Mercy. The Pontifical Council for the Promotion for the New Evangelization has been tasked with the organization of the initiative called by Pope Francis.

Msgr. Geno Sylva, a council official, told the radio that, “The Holy Father announced this initiative, this occasion, this opportunity for grace during the Jubilee when he reached out to those who are socially marginalized and so this is an opportunity for the Church around the world to not only celebrate and assist and be with those who are poor, but also to change our attitudes about poverty.”

He pointed out that, “this World Day of the Poor is so beautiful because it’s nothing about power, it’s nothing about anything else but reciprocity, giving and receiving. …We are all poor in some way and everyone’s got something to offer, and this day can serve to open our minds and hearts, our attitudes towards the poverty that exists every day of the year.”

He explained that Pope Francis, “continues to focus the attention of the Church on how we respond to poverty institutionally, but also to people individually.”

The World Day of the Poor is being marked not only in Rome, the Pope’s diocese, but also in parishes around the world. For this reason, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion for the New Evangelization has published information on its website in six languages as a pastoral aid for dioceses and parishes worldwide who wish to take part in this initiative

Some of the events organized in Rome include a prayer vigil in the church of St. Lawrence Outside the Walls on Saturday.November 18 at 8pm. Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass Sunday morning, November 19, in which an estimated 4,000 needy people will take part, followed by a lunch in the Paul VI hall.