Pope Francis: The church needs better bishops; go find them - The Washington Post

By David Gibson | Religion News Service, Published: February

another strongly worded message to the Catholic hierarchy, Pope Francis on Thursday (Feb. 27) told the Vatican body that vets nominees for bishops that they need to find him better candidates to send to dioceses around the world.

“To choose such ministers we all need to raise our sights, to move to a higher level,” Francis told the Congregation for Bishops, the critical department of the Roman Curia that acts as a clearinghouse for bishop nominees. “We can’t do anything less, and we can’t be content with the bare minimum.”

 

 

On consecutive days last weekend, Francis delivered stern warnings to 19 new cardinals he appointed to join about 150 others in the College of Cardinals: On Saturday (Feb. 22), he told them to avoid “rivalry, jealousy, factions,” and at a Mass in the Vatican on Sunday (Feb. 23), he said they must reject “habits and ways of acting typical of a court: intrigue, gossip, cliques, favoritism and preferences.”

Read the entire story:  Pope Francis: The church needs better bishops; go find them - The Washington Post

Pope emeritus Benedict XVI denies resignation invalid - Yahoo News

 

There is no doubt at all on the validity of my renunciation," Benedict said in an unprecedented letter published in the La Stampa daily, after it had written to him with questions about when he stepped down in 2013.

"The only condition for validity is that the decision be taken in full freedom. Speculation over an invalid renunciation is simply absurd," said Benedict XVI, whose Latin title is now "pontifex emeritus".

READ MORE BY CLICKING ON THE FOLLOWING:  Pope emeritus Benedict XVI denies resignation invalid - Yahoo News

Cardinal George Pell named by Pope Francis to head Vatican finance ministry

Nick Miller

Europe Correspondent

On Monday the Pope issued an "apostolic letter" setting up a new Secretariat for the Economy in the Curia.

The secretariat will report directly to the Pope, and will supervise the administrative and financial activities of the Curia and of Vatican City State.

It will prepare the annual budgets for the Holy See and Vatican State, and implement policies determined by a new Council for the Economy including eight cardinals or bishops from around the world, and seven lay experts "of different nationalities with strong professional financial experience".

An Auditor-General position has also been created, with the power to conduct audits on any agency of the Holy See.

The changes are intended to simplify and consolidate management at the Vatican, and "improve co-ordination and oversight", said a communique from the Holy See Press Office.

They "will ensure better use of resources, improving the support available for various programs, particularly our works with the poor".

Cardinal Pell will relocate to Rome to take up the role, after giving evidence at Australia's child sexual abuse royal commission.

The new role is separate and not subject to the Vatican's Secretary of State – who was replaced last year after the prior incumbent was caught up in the Vatileaks scandal.

In an interview last year, Cardinal Pell said "There need to be changes in the economic area – not just with the so-called Vatican Bank – but more generally there is work there to be done [and] a need to ensure that things are being properly done."

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  Cardinal George Pell named by Pope Francis to head Vatican finance ministry

Weekly Contributions for the weekend of February 22, 2014

 

 

No change in Stewardship.

One less family has pledged.  Total paid increased by more than anticipated—based upon $7,505.16 collected Total Paid should be $2,186,523.60.  Total Parish Pledges increased $1,670.00.  Total Overpayments increased by $541.22.

Video: Secrets of the Vatican | Watch FRONTLINE Online | PBS Video

 

Secrets of the Vatican

Aired: 02/25/2014

• 01:23:41
• Rating: NR

In Secrets of the Vatican, FRONTLINE tells the epic, inside story of the collapse of the Benedict papacy and illuminates the extraordinary challenges facing Pope Francis as he tries to reform the powerful Vatican bureaucracy, root out corruption and chart a new course for the troubled Catholic Church and its 1.2 billion followers.

See the video by clicking on the following:  Video: Secrets of the Vatican | Watch FRONTLINE Online | PBS Video

U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke: Pope Francis opposes abortion and gay marriage : Lifestyles

 

Burke has a long-standing reputation as one of the church’s most vocal hard-liners, with his broadsides on abortion and gay marriage even targeting his fellow American bishops. When Francis dropped Burke last year from an influential Vatican body that helps pick new bishops, it was seen as a significant shift in the church’s political dynamic.

Burke’s piece in the pages of the Vatican’s own semiofficial newspaper is an indicator of conservatives’ unease that their priorities are viewed as out of favor. Burke wrote that Francis’ new approach “cannot change the duty of the Church and her shepherds to teach clearly and insistently about the most fundamental moral questions of our time.”

At another point, Burke said that what Francis has called a “new balance” in the church’s approach did not require anyone to be “silent” about sexual morality; Burke argued that those issues must remain central to the church’s message.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke: Pope Francis opposes abortion and gay marriage : Lifestyles

KC diocese settles 2 lawsuits for $1.2 million - SFGate

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lawsuits stemming from the actions of a priest who took pornographic photographs of young parishioners have resulted in nearly $4 million in settlements by the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, after Jackson County judges approved the latest two deals this week.

Circuit Judge Jack Grate on Friday approved a $1.275 million settlement in a case filed by two parents on behalf of their minor daughter against the diocese, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan and Bishop Robert Finn, The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/OmYWoQ) reported. Two days earlier, Circuit Judge Jim Kanatzar approved a $525,000 settlement in a lawsuit filed last year against the same three defendants by two parents and their minor daughter.

Including two lawsuits it settled last year for nearly $2 million, the diocese now has agreed to pay $3.75 million so far in cases involving Ratigan, with two more lawsuits still pending.

Read the entire article by clicking on the following:  KC diocese settles 2 lawsuits for $1.2 million - SFGate