Remerge church

One thing I would ask Pope Francis, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said last week, is for the Catholic Church to show greater openness in “sharing in the Lord’s Supper and Communion” with Protestants. Speaking “not as federal president, but as a devout Evangelical Christian living in a mixed marriage,” Steinmeier addressed his concerns to the tens of thousands of Catholics gathered in Münster for the 101st meeting of Katholikentag, a Catholic festival whose origins date back to 1848.Sharing in Communion would better “express the common Christian faith,” Steinmeier said, and promote “further ecumenical integration.” “Thousands of Christians in interdenominational marriages hope for that,” he added.The German president’s words followed on a hotly debated proposal by Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising to allow Protestant spouses of Catholics to receive communion under some limited … [Read more...] about German President: Catholic Church Should ‘Share’ Communion with Protestants

Venezuela’s Catholic Church demanded justice for the regime’s tortured political prisoners on Thursday amid reports of inmates protesting within the Heliocide prison facility in Caracas. Venezuelan outlet RunRunes reported that “the Justice and Peace Commission of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) showed up at 11 p.m. on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin) to verify the status of the detainees in The Helicoide at the request of the relatives of the prisoners who were protesting from early hours of the day, until late hours of the morning of this Thursday, May 17.” In a statement, the Church called on Venezuelan authorities “to respect the lives of those who are under the responsibility of Venezuelan State institutions, and to respect the Human Rights of everyone to achieve a peaceful solution to the problem.” It is not the first time that the Catholic Church has clashed with … [Read more...] about Catholic Church Demands Justice for Venezuela’s Tortured Prisoners

As the Italian hierarchy aligns itself ever more closely with the open-borders movement, the country’s citizens — most of whom are Catholic — seem to be moving in the opposite direction, creating a curious lay-clerical split. Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini, is now the most trusted politician in the country by a significant margin, a position he has earned above all by his firm stance against unchecked mass migration.Yet when Salvini refused debarkation rights in late June to the NGO vessel Aquarius that was carrying hundreds of African migrants, the Italian bishops were among those protesting most loudly. “It is Jesus coming to us on a vessel, he is in the man or child who drowns, it is Jesus who fishes through the garbage in search of a little food,” said Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, archbishop of Agrigento, in his July 1 homily. “Immigrants, the poor, are a thermometer for our faith,” he continued. “Not welcoming … [Read more...] about Italian Church Faces Growing Divide Between Prelates and People over Immigration

The commitment by the repressive communist administration of Daniel Ortega to dialogue with the Catholic Church-backed opposition is “insincere,” the human rights group Amnesty International determined this week. According to Deutsche Welle (DW), the Catholic Church has abandoned its “traditional solidarity” with the left — Ortega’s Sandinista Revolution — to support the oppressed opposition.DW notes: Since [anti-Ortega protests began in] April, bishops and priests have taken to the streets of Nicaragua alongside the victims of violent attacks in order to put an end to what they call “massacres.” Long a pro-government entity there, Church representatives have become increasingly vocal against the Ortega government’s crackdown on protests/ In recent weeks it has become more directly involved as a negotiator and strongly aligned with the opposition.” Since the demonstrations against the Nicaraguan dictator erupted in … [Read more...] about Catholic Church Joins Anti-Leftist Opposition in Nicaragua

An estimated 200 student protesters deemed “terrorists” by the communist government of Nicaragua safely walked out of a Catholic Church after it was besieged for hours over the weekend by forces loyal to Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega in an incident that left two dead and dozens wounded. During a weekend marred by violence, the episode involved Ortega forces attacking students who sought refuge at the Jesus of Divine Mercy church in the capital city of Managua began Friday and lasted about 15 hours into Saturday.“It was a really hard night. They discharged their entire heavy arsenal against stones and mortars,” a sobbing young man told the Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “They wanted to kill us all.” “For breakfast, they give us a rain of bullets. Endless bursts of bullets from the park at the church continue,” one of the students, identified as Ismael Lopez, wrote on Twitter while trapped inside … [Read more...] about Ortega Weekend Siege on Nicaragua Church Ends with 2 Dead, Dozens Injured