JESUITS COMPLETE MERGER OF THREE PONTIFICAL UNIVERSITIES INTO SINGLE ENTITY

From the Gregorian University website: New Configuration of the Pontifical Gregorian University – Pontifical Gregorian University (unigre.it)

The Gregorian University, known locally simply as “the Greg,” is one of the most celebrated educational institutions in the Eternal City, receiving students, seminarians, future missionaries, and prelates from around the world. It will be interesting to follow the changes in several of the institutions just merged into the Greg. However, as we read, “the Holy Father ordered that the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute be joined to the Gregorian University while still retaining their own names and missions.”

I have interviewed Fr. Mark Lewis (no relation) several times for “Vatican Insider,” and the last time we spoke he already pointed to this change

JESUITS COMPLETE MERGER OF THREE PONTIFICAL UNIVERSITIES INTO SINGLE ENTITY

Welcoming Pope Francis’ indications to join three Jesuit-run Pontifical Universities into a single entity, the Pontifical Gregorian University explains the new configuration of the University with the new Statutes entering into force on 19 May 2024.

By Vatican News

At Pope Francis’ request, the Society of Jesus has merged three Jesuit-run Pontifical Universities in Rome into a single juridical entity.

On March 15, 2024, Fr. Mark Lewis S.J., Rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, received a decree from Fr. Arturo Sosa S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus and Vice Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Gregorian University, which states that the new General Statutes of the University, which permanently incorporate the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

According to a press release from the Gregorian, this will come into effect on 19 May 2024, Pentecost Sunday.

The main entrance to the university on Pza. della Pilotta –

The three institutions share a common bond, as they were all entrusted to the Society of Jesus by the Pope.

The three structures

The Gregorian, established in 1551 by St. Ignatius of Loyola, served as the academic hub known as the ‘Roman College’ for centuries. Whereas the Pontifical Biblical Institute, founded in 1909, serves as a center for advanced studies of sacred Scripture. Meanwhile, the Pontifical Oriental Institute, established in 1917, is focused on higher studies in the ecclesiastical sciences and the canon law of the Eastern Churches.

Pope Francis’ indications

The Statutes were created following the Chirograph signed by Pope Francis on December 17, 2019.

In this letter, the Holy Father ordered that the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute be joined to the Gregorian University while still retaining their own names and missions.

This was done in such a way that they are now part of “the same juridical person, as academic units of the University.”

The request aims to improve the ability of the two Pontifical Institutes to carry out their specific missions in the present context.

Pope Francis also expressed his desire for the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches to continue “supporting and promoting the mission of the Pontifical Oriental Institute,” with the prefect of that Dicastery assuming the function of Patron for the Institute.

Finally, the Holy Father delegated the power to prepare new statutes for the Pontifical Gregorian University, incorporating the two pontifical institutes, to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and the institutions involved.

The Dicastery for Culture and Education ratified and approved the new statutes on February 11, 2024.

Governance of the Gregorian

The Pontifical Gregorian University is governed by a single Rector, who is assisted by his Council.

The Council includes the three Presidents who share the responsibility for managing the entire University, and who supervise and promote the fulfillment of the missions of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, the Pontifical Oriental Institute, and the Collegium Maximum (the latter body represents the faculties and institutes that have been erected at the Gregorian to date).

 

The University’s Administrative Director and a sixth member appointed by the Vice Grand Chancellor are also part of the Council.

On May 19, 2024, the following individuals will take office for a three-year term: Fr. Giuseppe Di Luccio S.J. as President of the Collegium Maximum, Fr. Peter Dubovský S.J. as President of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Fr. Sunny Thomas Kokkaravakyil S.J. as President of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Fr. David E. Nazar S.J. as Administrative Director of the University, and Mr. Luigi Allena as the sixth member of the Rector’s Council.

 

VATICAN INSIDER: FR. MARK LEWIS, RECTOR OF “THE GREG” (PART II) – VATICAN RELEASES LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN OCTOBER SYNOD

VATICAN INSIDER: FR. MARK LEWIS, RECTOR OF “THE GREG” (PART II)

On “Vatican Insider” this weekend, my guest in the interview segment is Jesuit Fr. Mark Lewis, rector of Rome’s celebrated Gregorian University, known in Rome simply as “The Greg.”

A native of Miami, Florida, Fr. Lewis has degrees in Philosophy and Theology, a Doctorate in History and a career marked by long Rome-based assignments before being named rector a year ago.

In Part II of our conversation, we look at how the Greg, preparing for the 2025 Holy Year, will offer a new Diploma in the History and Art of Jubilees, a one-year course that will be start from the academic year 2023-2024 at the Faculty of History and Cultural Heritage of the Church. We also talk about the University’s decision“to strengthen the formation of its students on the themes of safeguarding and care for human dignity through the establishment of a course whose attendance will be considered a necessary requirement for the completion of the Baccalaureate, Licentiate and Doctorate academic degrees. The course is offered by the Institute of Anthropology.

This photo was taken by EWTN’s Daniel Ibanez –

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. 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.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

VATICAN RELEASES LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN OCTOBER SYNOD

Ahead of the October General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, the Vatican unveils the list of participants which – for the first time – contains non-bishops.

By Joseph Tulloch (Vatican news)

The General Secretariat of the Synod has unveiled the list of participants in the upcoming October synodal Assembly.

For the first time, non-bishops are among the list of attendees (which can be found here, in Italian).

Many of the non-bishop participants (who are a minority at around 21%), were proposed by bishops’ conferences around the world, before being approved by Pope Francis. Others were appointed directly by the Pope.

Prominent names from around the English-speaking world include Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Professor Anna Rowlands, a theologian at Durham University in the United Kingdom; and US-based writer and commentator Fr James Martin, SJ.

A “mixture” of the People of God

Speaking at a press conference in the Vatican, Cardinal Grech stressed that the delegates had been selected so as to produce a “mixture” from various parts of the Church.

Most obviously, there will be an even mix of participants from six different continents, and the non-bishop members will be evenly divided by gender. Cardinal Grech also stressed, however, that there will be representatives from the various sui juris Eastern Catholic churches, and that an effort was made to include disabled Catholics too.

Cardinal Grech went on to explain that not everyone named on the list will be a “member”, and thus able to participate in discussions at the Assembly and vote on proposals. Those in section B on the list, “Special Envoys,” will be able to discuss but not to vote, while those in section C, “Other Participants,” will play a role in facilitating and or/advising on the process, but will neither intervene nor vote in discussions.

The cardinal also highlighted that the list of participants is not final – the lists of delegates from other Christian churches are still to arrive, and some names will likely be changed if members fall ill ahead of the assembly. FOR MORE: Vatican releases list of participants in October Synod – Vatican News

 

BIG APPOINTMENTS IN ROME AT GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY AND ORDER OF MALTA

Those who follow me regularly know of my many trips to Hawaii and my love of the islands and their history, the many friends I have there and how I am involved in promoting the cause of canonization of Joseph Dutton, a layman who for 44 years worked alongside Sts. Damien and Marianne Cope in caring for victims of leprosy on Kalaypapa, Molokai. I read this article today and it is one of my favorite stories of the islands, once the Kingdom of Hawaii. I thought you might enjoy reading about an amazing and beautiful princess who was, among many things, a wonderful surfer. The Tragic Life and Global Legacy of the Last Hawaiian Princess – Atlas Obscura

BIG APPOINTMENTS IN ROME AT GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY AND ORDER OF MALTA

It’s been an interesting few days here from the point of view of a few nominations made by Pope Francis because two of the people named this week I know: Fr. Mark Lewis (no relation), SJ, was named the new rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, to take office on September 1, and Fra’ John Dunlap named the new Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta.

THE GREGORIAN – In May 2021, I had a long, wonderful visit at the Greg, as the Gregorian is known here in Rome, with Fr. Mark and interviewed him for “Vatican Insider.” At the time he was vice rector for Academics at this Jesuit-run university in Rome. We had an in-depth conversation about his work, how the Greg dealt with the pandemic – everything from classes online requiring all new technology to turn-styles that measure the temperature of those entering the university. I also asked him why he thought Pope Francis was the first ever Jesuit to be elected to the papacy when cardinals of other orders – Dominicans, Franciscans, etc – had been elected. And much, much more! (Gregorian photo)

ORDER OF MALTA – John Dunlap and I became acquainted at the May dinner in New York of the Path to Peace Foundation that honored King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan. The Foundation is associated with the Holy See Mission to the United Nations, and John is on the organizing committee for this annual event. We’ve corresponded since that dinner and since his arrival in Rome in late May, and yesterday I sent my congratulations for his nomination. (Malta photo)

Although the information was public on Monday, only today did the Vatican release a statement about Fra’ John Dunlap’s nomination by the Pope as Lieutenant to the Grand Master of the Order of Malta.

That press release stated that, “in this moment made difficult also following the premature death of the Lieutenant of the Grand Master Fra’ Marco Luzzago, Pope Francis has therefore established the appointment of the new Lieutenant of the Grand Master in the person of Fra’ John Dunlap, who will collaborate closely with the Special Delegate, His Em. Card. Silvano Maria Tomasi, C.S., in the preparation of the Extraordinary General Chapter.”

John Dunlap is one of the elected members of the current Sovereign Council of the Order.

It was also noted that “between the end of August and the first days of September the Pope will convene a meeting of the Joint Working Group for further communications on the upcoming celebration of the Extraordinary General Chapter.”

More to come …….

 

VATICAN INSIDER AT THE “GREG” WITH FR. ALAN FOGARTY

An update: Day 24 without gas. A number of the families in the apartments above mine have gas water heaters so they have been without hot water this entire time! Some workers came Wednesday for about 3 hours in the morning to start building the scaffolding that will be necessary to install the new gas line and link it to all of the apartments currently without gas. The main line is under the sidewalk so it seems that’s where the work will start – digging down to the main line.

Thursday workers came for about 4 hours to work again on the scaffolding. No one came today. As far as I could see, the scaffolding did not reach the apartment on the topmost floor. I do not know as I write if the workers were from the Vatican as this is a Vatican-owned building, or from Italgas. So hard to believe this in a civilized nation!

VATICAN INSIDER AT THE “GREG” WITH FR. ALAN FOGARTY

Join me this weekend on “Vatican Insider” as I continue to explore all things Gregorian, including the Gregorian University Foundation with its president, Jesuit Fr. Alan Fogarty. Last weekend in Part I of our conversation, Fr. Alan told us all about the Foundation’s three offices in the U.S., Canada and Rome and gave us a glimpse into the fascinating history of the Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, all located in Rome.

We learned about the “Greg,” as the faculty, students and staff fondly call the Roman university, when Fr. Alan explained its long history, including its Saints and Blesseds and Popes – great stories and interesting statistics! This week in Part II, Fr, Alan focuses on his day-to-day work at the Foundation and it’s equally as interesting.

How to listen to Vatican Insider: This is updated information!
IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at http://www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. 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.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on http://www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/multimedia/audio-library/index.asp (write Vatican Insider where it says Search Shows and Episodes)

VATICAN INSIDER GOES GREGORIAN WITH FR. FOGARTY – A SPECIAL WEEKEND TREAT

VATICAN INSIDER GOES GREGORIAN WITH FR. FOGARTY

My special guest this weekend in the interview segment of “Vatican Insider” is Fr. Alan Fogarty, president of the Jesuit run-Gregorian University Foundation. Fr. Alan will tell us all about his work, the Foundation’s three offices in the U.S., Canada and Rome and the fascinating history behind the Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Orientale Institute. So stay tuned to learn about the Greg, the university’s nickname, its long history, its saints and blessed and Popes – great stories and interesting statistics!

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 http://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=

A SPECIAL WEEKEND TREAT

For those of you who are passionate about all things Italian, but principally the restaurants and the gelato, here’s something for you to savor over the weekend – two links from TheLocal to quench that thirst. TheLocal is an online newspaper in English and if you also crave news about Rome and Italy, this is the place to go.

https://www.thelocal.it/20170906/the-italian-words-vocabulary-phrases-need-know-italy-restaurant-food-menus

https://www.thelocal.it/20170622/find-the-best-quality-real-artisanal-gelato-ice-cream-in-italy

POPE ADDRESSES WORLD CONGRESS ON CHILD DIGNITY IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

POPE ADDRESSES WORLD CONGRESS ON CHILD DIGNITY IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the participants in the first-ever World Congress on Child Dignity in the Digital World on Friday. The Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University hosted the four-day event, which brought experts in child care, internet security, law enforcement, education, and a host of other fields together to share experiences and best practices, with a view to addressing the problem of the effective protection of the dignity of minors in the digital world.

Child dignity – a crisis and a response in context

In remarks prepared for the participants and delivered to them in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace shortly after noon on Friday, Pope Francis placed the challenges facing individuals and whole societies the world, over, in the context of the struggle not only to articulate, but effectively to guarantee, the rights and dignity of every person – especially the weakest and most vulnerable, and chief among these, children and young people – on which the human family has embarked and in which the Church has been engaged especially since the drafting of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1959 Declaration on the Rights of the Child.

“As representatives of various scientific disciplines and the fields of digital communications, law and political life,” Pope Francis said, “you [participants in the World Congress] have come together precisely because you realize the gravity of these challenges linked to scientific and technical progress.” He went on to say, “With great foresight, you have concentrated on what is probably the most crucial challenge for the future of the human family: the protection of young people’s dignity, their healthy development, their joy and their hope.”

Speaking specifically of the danger the proliferation of pornographic material poses in the digital age, Pope Francis said, “The spread of printed pornography in the past was a relatively small phenomenon compared to the proliferation of pornography on the net.”

He went on to say, “[W]e must not let ourselves be overcome by fear, which is always a poor counsellor, nor let ourselves be paralyzed by the sense of powerlessness that overwhelms us before the difficulty of the task,” at hand.

“Rather,” he said, “we are called to join forces, realizing that we need one another in order to seek and find the right means and approaches needed for effective responses.”

Painful lessons – profound commitment

Pope Francis also spoke of the painful lessons the Church has learned through her recent experience with clerical sex abuse, saying that the Church has come to acknowledge her own failures in providing for the protection of children. “[E]xtremely grave facts have come to light,” he said, “for which we have to accept our responsibility before God, before the victims and before public opinion.” The Pope went on to say, “For this very reason, as a result of these painful experiences and the skills gained in the process of conversion and purification, the Church today feels especially bound to work strenuously and with foresight for the protection of minors and their dignity, not only within her own ranks, but in society as a whole and throughout the world.”

The pernicious effects of mainstreaming pornography

The Holy Father also discussed the pernicious effects that the so-called “mainstreaming” of pornography – not only its broad and ready availability, but also the acceptance of it by society – on adults. “We rightly insist on the gravity of these problems for minors,” he said, “but we can also underestimate or overlook the extent that they are also problems for adults.”

The Pope noted that the spread of ever more extreme pornography and other improper uses of the internet not only causes disorders, dependencies and grave harm among adults, but also has a real impact on the way we view love and relations between the sexes. “We would be seriously deluding ourselves,” he said, “were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors.”

Warning against a “technocratic” approach to the problem

“The second mistaken approach would be to think that automatic technical solutions, filters devised by ever more refined algorithms in order to identify and block the spread of abusive and harmful images, are sufficient to deal with these problems,” he said. “But there is also an urgent need, as part of the process of technological growth itself, for all those involved to acknowledge and address the ethical concerns that this growth raises, in all its breadth and its various consequences.”

What the internet is, and is not

A third risk of which we must be aware in our approach to the digital world is the deluded notion that “the net” is or should be a realm of unlimited freedom.

While the internet and other technologies that are part of the contours, content, and structures of this new digital world have opened vast new fora for free expression and free exchange of ideas and information, it has also offered new means for engaging in heinous illicit activities, including the abuse of minors and offences against their dignity, the corruption of their minds and violence against their bodies.

“This,” said Pope Francis, “has nothing to do with the exercise of freedom: it has to do with crimes that need to be fought with intelligence and determination, through a broader cooperation among governments and law enforcement agencies on the global level, even as the net itself is now global.”

Final Declaration

Toward this end, the participants produced a final document, The Declaration of Rome, which includes its own urgent call to action.

Pope Francis received the Declaration from a young girl participating in the Congress, who gave it to him “on behalf of millions of young people around the world who need information and far more protection from the risks of sexual and other forms of abuse on the internet.”

CLICK HERE FOR FULL SPEECH: http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-speech-to-world-congress-on-child-dig

CHILD DIGNITY CONFERENCE ISSUES FINAL DECLARATION

CHILD DIGNITY CONFERENCE ISSUES FINAL DECLARATION

Pope Francis today addressed the world congress, “Child Dignity in the Digital World,” a conference sponsored by the Child Protection Center of the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome.

Simultaneous with his speech to the group in the Apostolic Palace, the Congress released a final declaration.

DICHIARAZIONE DI ROMA_Child Dignity World Congress_ENG.pdf 271K View as HTML Scan and download

Spanish: DICHIARAZIONE DI ROMA_Child Dignity World Congress_ES.pdf 260K View as HTML Scan and download

 

CHILD DIGNITY IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

CHILD DIGNITY IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

World Congress – October 3-6, 2017 – Rome

From the Congress website https://www.childdignity2017.org/:

Children and adolescents make up over a quarter of the more than 3.2 billion Internet users worldwide. This generation of over 800 million young users is in danger of becoming victims of sextortion, sexting, cyberbullying and harassment.

This global problem calls for a global solution. We need an open and thorough discussion to build awareness, and to mobilize action for a better protection of minors online.

‘Child Dignity in the Digital World’ is the first world congress of its kind that brings together key stakeholders and international leaders from all relevant areas.

This pioneering congress hosted by the Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome sets a milestone in the international fight against digital sexual child abuse.

The invitation-only congress brings together distinguished academic experts, business leaders, leaders of civil society, high-level politicians and religious representatives from across the globe. This provides a historic opportunity to set the global agenda for the fight against online sexual child abuse and for child protection in the digital world.

Follow #ChildDignity to receive the latest tweets about the congress

Father Hans Zollner, president of the Gregorian University’s Child Protection Centre, gave a pre-conference interview to SIR, religious news service:

Father Zollner, what are the most worrying aspects of this phenomenon?

Sexual abuse of minors exists in all societies, cultures and countries in the world; this evil is much more widespread than one imagines. A few years ago the European Union launched an initiative titled “One in Five”, based on data showing that one in five boys or girls, that is, 20% of all minors in Europe, are victims of some form of sexual violence. These are horrifying figures. From this perspective, the Internet – a wonderful communication tool – can become a dangerous place, triggering a spiral of danger. Let us consider for example the phenomenon of “sexting”: mostly against girls who are forced by their peers to post pictures of themselves naked, but once the image is online it remains in the web forever and it is constantly re-launched into a system that spirals out of control. There is also the phenomenon of sexual violence committed against very small children filmed “live” in a given world country, seen “live” and paid from anywhere in the world.

Are you referring to the Periscope phenomenon?

This phenomenon circulates very easily also on Skype. What is most surprising is that so many people talk about these situations, yet governments and businesses have failed to adopt targeted, determined actions to counteract them. Something has been done, but it remains a drop in the ocean. Thus we decided to organize this Conference to bring all those in positions of responsibility around the same table and find ways whereby each and everyone together can do their share.

Which enforcement actions can be adopted to counter such a devious and widespread phenomenon?

Focusing on education will be extremely important. Youths today know how to bypass programs that block online access to certain websites. Thus it will be increasingly important to educate youths on the responsible use of the Internet, without forgetting social media, which ranges from Snapchat to Facebook, where youths establish connections, and befriend strangers with the risk of becoming victims of dangerous circles. Businesses should thus declare what they want and can do to avoid “grooming”, which is the process by which an adult befriends a child with the intention of committing sexual abuse. We call upon government authorities to contact businesses, ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities and then – with dedicated legislation – reach an agreement to prevent the perpetrators of abuses to seek their victims on the web.

The world of child molesters unfortunately also sees the presence of priests and religious. Sadly the scandals are ongoing.

Our goal is to give a clear sign that the Church is the first to assume her responsibilities, and that we want and must cooperate with law-enforcement authorities. We are not a separate reality, thus not only must we comply with the law, we must also actively cooperate with the State. Obviously, child sexual abuse , that includes child pornography images, is a serious crime. This crime is even more serious when it is committed by a priest or a religious. That’s why the Pope, during the audience he granted to us last Thursday as representatives of the Pontifical Commission for Child Protection, reiterated his zero tolerance approach towards all forms of abuse inside the Church. Unquestionably, a clear line has been adopted by the Holy See and by Bishops’ Conference worldwide. But this approach won’t solve the problem: there will always be people who will continue doing harm and committing these crimes. Our commitment is thus to persevere in our endeavor to do our utmost to stop this evil and offer this platform of discussion and action to all involved parties.

Speaking to the members of the Pontifical Commission the Pope said that the Church addressed these crimes with considerable delay, while a few months ago Marie Collins denounced what she believed to be excessive inactivity. Unfortunately the issue was addressed too late and with poor efforts. What is your reply to this criticism?

Many people are engaged in addressing this situation at length. In those places where the Church has put her greatest efforts – as in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Australia – prevention activity has delivered positive results. This is out of question. Often courage is what is lacking. In my journeys to 50 world countries I noticed that the phenomenon is not fully acknowledged. It should be said that the phenomenon was seriously addressed in Italy no later than eight years ago. The issue was swept under the carpet and nobody wanted to talk about it.

It was an uncomfortable, painful theme that is hard to cope with, in some cases the will to address it is lacking: this is true not only inside the Church but also across society,

There is no other explanation to the fact that nobody acknowledges that the European Union launched a campaign because one in five European youths was sexually abused. Is the phenomenon too horrendous to speak of? Indeed, it is. And that is why we must discuss it.

 

POPE FRANCIS MOURNS VICTIMS OF LAS VEGAS MASSACRE – WATCH FOR THESE EVENTS……

Early on the morning of Saturday, September 16, my final day of vacation in Honolulu, I was awakened in my hotel room by a noise that I thought was fireworks. I thought of fireworks for a nanosecond as it was still dark outside – nighttime, I thought – but then almost immediately recognized the noise as gunshots. The siren of a police car arriving nearby confirmed that I had heard shots. I did not count but if I had to estimate, I’d have said I heard 8 or so gunshots.

Normally when something suddenly wakes me, as earthquakes have done in the past, I look at the alarm clock but did not do so that morning. Only later, when I looked out my sixth floor window beyond my balcony and saw police car lights flashing, did I learn that, at about 6 am, three men had been shot in a small courtyard I saw every morning as I had breakfast on my balcony.

I never went back to sleep but spent time wondering what had happened, had anyone been hit or hurt on the ground and first floor rooms of the hotel and/or adjacent buildings, and so on. At least half a dozen police cars were still on Kuhio Street, outside my hotel and on the cross street, Seaside, when friends came at noon to pick me up for lunch.

News updates arrived in bits and spurts but I learned eventually that a man was arrested, one of three, after the shooting that left one man dead and two others wounded.

Whether that shooting was drug-fueled or part of a gang killing, I do not know.

And, as horrible as any shooting is, what happened last night in Las Vegas leaves me breathless. I’m a wordsmith by profession but words fail me at this moment. To use “massacre,” “senseless tragedy,” “horrifying,” “unspeakable,” to describe last night’s killing spree just doesn’t seem to be enough.

I’ve followed events on Foxnews all day and even the expression, “an image is worth a thousand words,” doesn’t seem to do it.

As President Trump said, this was “an act of pure evil.” The evil of the killer in fact defies description. The numbers of dead and injured are mind-boggling: 58 dead and over 500 injured as I write.

Two of my nieces and one nephew and his wife (my sister’s two daughters and one son) went to a U-2 concert in San Diego on September 22 – yet another big venue and enormous crowd. All went well, of course, but that’s all I could think of today as I followed the news from Las Vegas. I though about that San Diego concert, of all the people who went home that night, tired but very happy, of seeing my nieces and nephew who could tell me about the concert.

And the people last night who will never go home again.

The best we can do now is pray. I know there are moments in life – such as now – when those words might seem almost trivial to some, but to people of real faith, praying is now the best way we can help those who mourn, especially prayers for the repose of the souls of those who died.

Requiescat in pace!

POPE FRANCIS MOURNS VICTIMS OF LAS VEGAS MASSACRE

Following is the telegram sent by Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to the Most Reverend Joseph Anthony Pepe, Bishop of Las Vegas:

Deeply saddened to learn of the shooting in Las Vegas, Pope Francis sends the assurance of his spiritual closeness to all those affected by this senseless tragedy. He commends the efforts of the police and emergency service personnel, and offers the promise of his prayers for the injured and for all who have died, entrusting them to the merciful love of Almighty God.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State

The attack in Las Vegas is being described as the deadliest mass shooting in United States history. The gunman, identified by police as Stephen Paddock,64, died at the scene. Police said he fired from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas Strip casino onto an outdoor country music festival Sunday night.

WATCH FOR THESE EVENTS……

Two very important meetings will take place in Rome this week. Members of the Child Protection Center of Rome’s Jesuit-run Gregorian University will meet October 3 to 6 for a global conference on “Child Dignity in the Digital World.”

This is the result of an initiative launched by the European Union called ONE IN FIVE, referring to the fact that that one boy or girl of every five, that is, 20% of all children in Europe, are victims of sexual abuse. Father Hans Zollner, president of the Child Protection Center, said, ahead of the first global conference on “Child Dignity in the Digital World, “These are horrifying figures.”

This phenomenon circulates on the web via sextortion, sexting, cyberbullying, etc. The victims are children and adolescents in particular. Moreover, 25% of over 3.2 billion Internet users worldwide are children.

Fr. Zollner said, “The purpose of the meeting is to elicit a discussion and sharing platform, and, above all, to launch a set of actions against the sexual abuse of minors online and for the protection of minors in the digital.”

The conference will bring together people and institutions involved in countering this problem in different ways. Government representatives, business executives – especially CEOs of companies linked to the Internet world – law-enforcement authorities, NGOs, international organizations such as UNICEF, along with representatives of media outlets and religious communities: Christians, Jews and Muslims, and experts in the digital world.

The second big meeting this week is that of the Pontifical Academy for Life as members gather in Vatican City for the 23^rd General assembly and the October 5 to 7 Workshop, “Accompanying Life: New Responsibilities in the Technological Era.” This is the first meeting of the Academy since the statutes were revised and new members appointed by Pope Francis.

 

POPE FRANCIS TALKS ABOUT THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF HIS PAPACY – CARDINAL MARADIAGA ON FRANCIS’ DESIRE FOR “A POOR CHURCH, FOR THE POOR” – DON’T FORGET “24 HOURS FOR THE LORD”! – VATICAN INSIDER FEATURES TALK BY CARDINAL SEAN O’MALLEY

I’m still in Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast for a few days off but I could not let the Pope’s anniversary pass without some news, in addition to announcing, as I do every Friday, my guest this weekend on “Vatican Insider.” I’ve also posted some news on facebook.com/joan.lewis.10420 – and be sure to check this every day because I have an important announcement to make.

And how can we not think of Pope emeritus Benedict XVI on this day!  Many prayers and much love is being sent your way, today, Santo Padre!

Now, on to Pope Francis’ anniversary…..

The following two verses, two of the three original verses of Fr. Frederick Faber’s hymn, were part of the Prayer for the Evening on Friday, March 6 in the March edition of MAGNIFICAT. Only one thought went through my mind as I read these words: Isn’t this what Pope Francis has been telling us for two years?  Church teaching but with room for God’s love and mercy, His understanding and forgiveness:

There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea;

there’s a kindness in his justice, which is more than liberty.

There is welcome for the sinner, and more graces for the good;

there is mercy with the Savior; there is healing in his blood.

For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind;

and the heart of the Eternal;

Is most wonderfully kind.

But we make His love too narrow

By false limits of our own;

And we magnify his strictness

With a zeal He will not own.

The lines above in italics are not part of the original whose final four lines are:

If our love were but more faithful, we should take him at His word;

and our life would be thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord.)

Here is the original second verse (not included in Magnificat)

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are more felt than in heaven; there is no place where earth’s failings have such kind judgment given. There is plentiful redemption in the blood that has been shed; there is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the Head.

Click here to read more about Fr. Faber: http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/the-zeal-of-a-convert-father-frederick-faber

POPE FRANCIS TALKS ABOUT THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF HIS PAPACY

Pope Francis addressed migration, drug trafficking, the reform of the Curia, the challenges of the synod for the family, making the Church a safe home for all children and vulnerable adults, details of the conclave that elected him, the proliferation of sects in Latin America, the length of his pontificate and why Mexico is not on his September trip to the United States in an interview with Valentina Alazraki of Televisa, a Mexican broadcaster.

Click here to read the transcript of the conversation between the Pope and mexican journalist: http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-on-his-pontificate-to-date

CARDINAL MARADIAGA ON FRANCIS’ DESIRE FOR “A POOR CHURCH, FOR THE POOR”

(Vatican Radio)  As Pope Francis marks the second anniversary of his election, Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, President of Caritas Internationalis, looks at one of the main hallmarks of his papacy, his desire “for a poor Church, for the poor.”  It was only three days after his election on March 13, 2013 that Pope Francis spoke that much-quoted phrase during an audience with journalists and since then the Pope’s words and deeds have helped to reinforce that message in many different ways.

Cardinal Maradiaga it was obvious “right from the very beginning” when the newly-elected Pope chose the name of Francis after the great Italian saint from Assisi who renounced his wealth and devoted his life to the poor that reaching out to the poor and marginalized would be a key hallmark of his papacy.  Calling it a “great message”, the Honduran Cardinal said Pope Francis is trying “to change attitudes” and fight “the indifference” of so many in today’s society to this moral imperative to help the poor and marginalised.

Cardinal Mariadiaga, who’s the coordinator of the C-9 group of cardinals tasked with helping the Pope to reform the Roman Curia, spoke to Susy Hodges: http://www.news.va/en/news/cardinal-maradiaga-on-popes-desire-for-poor-church

DON’T FORGET “24 HOURS FOR THE LORD”!

Help Pope Francis mark the second anniversary of his election to the papacy by participating in the second annual “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative that starts this evening, Friday, March 13 with a penitential prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica presided over by Pope Francis in order to place the Sacrament of Reconciliation at the center of the Church’s mission of the new evangelization. The theme that will guide the reflection in 2015 is: God rich in mercy (Eph 2:4).

The Holy Father announced this initiative last year at the Angelus on March 23 when he said,  a “special moment of penance” called the “24 Hours for the Lord”‘ will be held in St Peter’s Basilica and in many churches in Rome and around the world.” It was held on March 28-29 last year. The Pope said at the time that this event “will start with a celebration in St Peter’s Basilica on Friday afternoon, Then, in the evening and overnight some churches in the center of Rome will be open for prayers and confessions. It will be a festival of forgiveness, which will also take place in many dioceses and parishes around the world.”

In Rome, some of the churches that will be open through the night for confessions, Eucharistic adoration and private prayer include Sant’Agnese in Piazza Navona, Santa Maria in Trastevere, and the Church of the Stigmata of St. Francis (Chiesa delle Sacre Stimmate di San Francesco) in Rome’s central Largo Argentina.

“24 Hours for the Lord” concludes at 5pm on Saturday with Vespers presided over by Archbishop Fisichella at Santo Spirito in Sassia, Archbishop Fisichella is president of the council for the new evangelization from whence came this initiative.

(Dioceses around the world are participating in this event, so check with your local diocese, if you have not already done so

VATICAN INSIDER FEATURES TALK BY CARDINAL SEAN O’MALLEY

I have a different format this weekend on Vatican Insider because I dedicate the entire program to a wonderful talk given by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, at the Jesuit-run Gregorian University in Rome. The cardinal spoke on February 16 at a presentation for the press, and a later one for the public, of the CCP, the Center for Child Protection.

The CCP was established in 2012 by the Gregorian, by the archdiocese of Munich and Freising and by the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology of the State University Clinic of Ulm in Germany.  First located in Munich it has now found a new and permanent home at this pontifical university where it is part of the Institute of Psychology.

In February 2012, an international symposium of bishops and Church personnel was held at the Gregorian on the sex abuse crisis. Entitled, “Towards Healing and Renewal,” it had the support of the Holy Father (then Pope Benedict) and numerous offices of the Roman Curia, most notably the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that has been overseeing sex abuse cases. The aim of the 2012 symposium was to inform Catholic bishops and religious superiors on the global, cross-cultural resources available in responding to sexual abuse within the Church and society. They learned that the Center for Child Protection, previously set up and running in Munich, would be one such resource tool, as would an e-learning center – now fully operational – at the Gregorian, to help safeguard children and the victims of molestation.

The February 16 two-part conference, also entitled, “Towards Healing and Renewal,” focused on the renewed commitment of everyone involved in the CCP as well as an update on the Center three years after the 2012 symposium.

Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley spoke at both events. He is one of the C9 cardinals – the advisory council instituted by Pope Francis that consists of nine cardinals – and is also the head of the Vatican’s own Commission for the Protection of Minors, though that Commission and the CCP are separate entities. The CCP is not a Vatican body.