News/International

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican Secretary of State blamed an ongoing scandal over leaked Vatican documents on unethical journalists and a spirit of hostility toward the Catholic Church.

"Many journalists play at imitating Dan Brown," said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in an interview with the Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana. "They continue to invent fables or repeat legends."

Cardinal Bertone made his remarks as Vatican judges were investigating leaks to Italian journalists of dozens of documents, including letters to the pope and encrypted cables from Vatican embassies around the world, several of which hint at power struggles among officials of the Holy See.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- One hour before the Mass at which he was to be ordained as a Catholic priest, Father Harry Entwistle, 72, was named by Pope Benedict XVI as the first head of the personal ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, a jurisdiction for former Anglicans in Australia.

Father Entwistle, who was ordained an Anglican priest in England in 1964, immigrated to Australia in 1988, joined the Traditional Anglican Communion in 2006 and was later named Australia's Western regional bishop. The Traditional Anglican Communion is a worldwide group of Anglicans that separated themselves from the Anglican Communion led by the archbishop of Canterbury.

VATICAN CITY - Bishop George Dodo of Zaria, Nigeria, was in the middle of his homily June 17 "when we heard a loud explosion." A car bomb had just exploded near the Cathedral of Christ the King, where the bishop was celebrating the second Mass of the day.

"The car bomb created a crater two feet deep; all around there was broken glass, rubble and burning cars," the bishop told Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Reuters, the British news agency, reported 10 people were killed at Christ the King.

DUBLIN - Irish Catholics’ deep desire to strengthen their faith must form the basis of a radical new evangelization, said Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

Addressing an estimated 80,000 pilgrims at the closing Mass of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, Martin said that “in these eight days the Eucharist has awakened in our hearts something which went way beyond our plans and expectations.” He said high interest in catechetical sessions “tells us just how much thirst there is in our Catholic community to deepen the understanding of our faith,” he said.

DUBLIN - As the daily theme for the 50th International Eucharistic Congress switched to reconciliation, Irish Cardinal Sean Brady told pilgrims he was ashamed that the Church had failed to respond properly to abuse allegations.

"May God forgive us for the times when we, as individuals and as a Church, failed to seek out and care for those little ones who were frightened, alone and in pain because someone was abusing them," the cardinal, primate of All Ireland, told pilgrims in a rain-swept stadium June 14.

Brady came under sustained pressure to resign from abuse victims' groups because he knew about the crimes of one notorious abuser, Fr. Brendan Smyth, in 1975 but did not report him to the civil authorities. Smyth went on to abuse children for many years before being finally jailed in 1994.

Addressing abuse victims, the cardinal said: "That we did not always respond to your cries with the concern of the Good Shepherd is a matter of deep shame. We lament the burdens of the painful memories you carry. We pray for healing and peace for those whose suffering continues."

Earlier, the congress secretary-general, Fr. Kevin Doran, confirmed that there were a number of abuse victims present at the event in a personal capacity. He declined to identify them, insisting that organizers did not want the victims' presence to be misinterpreted as a public relations exercise.

Referring to a large healing stone placed at the front of the altar to commemorate the victims of clerical abuse, Brady prayed that "one day this stone might become a symbol of conversion, healing and hope."

"I hope it will become a symbol of a Church that has learned from the mistakes of the past and strives to become a model for the care and well-being of children," he said.

Brady's homily was greeted with sustained applause by an estimated 10,000 pilgrims at the open-air Mass, celebrated in the Irish language with music by traditional Irish musicians. The cardinal welcomed the many overseas pilgrims, "especially those of you for whom this is the first time to hear the Mass celebrated in the original language of the Irish people."

"We hope that through the universal language of sign, symbol and gesture of our Catholic liturgy, which is itself a source of our communion with Christ and with one another, you will enter with us into these sacred mysteries," he said.

Heavy rain failed to deter pilgrims, and organizers said the number of people attending has increased each day. While many pilgrims arrived by train and bus, a large group of parishioners arrived after a two-week walk from Bangor, Northern Ireland.

Concelebrants at the June 14 Mass wore plastic ponchos over their chasubles to shield them from the rain. Earlier in the day, a large screen was erected for the many pilgrims who were unable to get a seat at the various workshops and talks.

The evening of June 13 Irish police estimate that 12,500 people participated in a eucharistic procession through the streets of Dublin. Many pilgrims carried banners representing their parishes, and the event included boys and girls who had recently made their first Communion.

Richard Moore, who was blinded as a child in 1972 when he was shot in the face by a British soldier in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, reflected on the importance of reconciliation in his own life. Moore said that, despite his ordeal, he "never had a moment's anger or a moment's bitterness."

He recounted how he met and forgave the soldier decades later.

"To sit in a hotel foyer, opposite the man who pulled the trigger and blinded me for life and caused all those hurts to me and my family — and to like him — was an incredible experience," Moore said.

He said it was "the power of prayer" that has sustained him and allowed him to forgive.

"There is so much that is good in the Church that I experience on a daily basis," he said.

"Things need to change in the Church; there needs to be a lot more honesty and a lot more openness, but I am hopeful for the future of the Church."

His sentiments were echoed by pilgrims. Mary Walsh of Cork, Ireland, said the eucharistic congress had been "an opportunity for people to come together and share and celebrate the beauty of our Catholic faith. People rightly criticize the Church for its failings," she said, "but the fact that the faith is often inadequacy lived does not take away from the truth of it."

Tom O'Sullivan of Belfast, Northern Ireland, said the congress was "allowing the silent majority of the country to come together and share their love for the Eucharist and the Mass." He said he had been heartened and felt his spirits lifted by participating in the events.

VATICAN CITY- The breakaway traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said unresolved "doctrinal difficulties" with the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the Catholic Church's subsequent liturgical reform could lead to a "new phase of discussions" over possible reconciliation with Rome.

The society released its statement June 14, a day after the Vatican presented its superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay, with an evaluation of the society's position on a series of doctrinal questions and a draft document proposing that the society become a personal prelature.

Fellay, who was accompanied by an assistant, met with Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, congregation secretary, and Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei."

The SSSPX statement said that Fellay listened to Levada's "explanations and clarifications" and offered the cardinal an explanation of the "doctrinal difficulties" that Vatican II and the subsequent reform of the Mass present for the traditionalists.

"The desire for further clarifications could lead to a new phase of discussions," the SSPX said.

A few hours before the society released its statement, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters that "the ball is in the society's court" to accept the Vatican's response and clarifications.

During the June 13 meeting, Fellay was given the Holy See's evaluation — including the opinion of Pope Benedict XVI — of the society's April response to a "doctrinal preamble" that the bishop would need to sign in order to reconcile the society with the rest of the Church, the Vatican said in a statement.

"The subsequent discussion offered an opportunity to provide the appropriate explanations and clarifications" on both sides, it said. "Bishop Fellay illustrated the current situation" of the society and promised to give the Vatican a response "within a reasonable lapse of time," the Vatican said.

Also, Fellay was given a draft document "proposing a personal prelature as the most appropriate instrument for any future canonical recognition of the society," it said. A personal prelature is a Church jurisdiction without geographical boundaries designed to carry out particular pastoral initiatives. It is headed by a prelate, who is appointed by the Pope; currently the Church's only personal prelature is Opus Dei.

When asked whether giving Fellay a formal proposal of a prelature was a sign the Vatican had approved the bishop's response to the doctrinal preamble, Lombardi told journalists that all doctrinal differences had to be resolved before any formal recognition could be made.

"However, evidently (the prelature proposal) was presented so that if the doctrinal issue is resolved, the canonical part is ready," he said.

The discussion process is "still open," the Vatican spokesman said, but it seems the Vatican and the SSPX are "drawing closer to agreement in the formulation and presentation of the doctrinal questions" at hand.

The Vatican statement said, "The hope was expressed that this additional opportunity for reflection would also contribute to reaching full communion between the Society of St. Pius X and the Apostolic See."

Lombardi said the Vatican is showing its willingness and availability to reach an agreement, but that now it is up to Fellay to respond to the Vatican's position. The Vatican spokesman said the society would be holding its general chapter in July, which would be "an occasion for reflection and exchange" of ideas concerning its next step.

The statement reiterated that the Vatican would be dealing with the society's three other bishops "separately and singularly," and Lombardi confirmed that only Fellay was actively engaged in discussions with the Vatican.

While Fellay has been generally positive about the possibility of reconciliation with Rome, leaked letters show that the society's three other bishops have had strong objections to such a move.

Pope Benedict's recent efforts to bring about reconciliation with the traditionalist group began when he lifted the excommunications incurred by Fellay and the three other SSPX bishops after they were ordained without papal permission. The Pope also established a Vatican committee for doctrinal talks with society representatives in 2009. In September, the Vatican gave Fellay the "doctrinal preamble" to explain the "minimal, essential" elements on which the society would have to agree for full reconciliation, Lombardi had said.

When the Vatican's doctrinal discussions with the society began in 2009, both sides said the key issues to be discussed included the concept of tradition in general, as well as the Second Vatican Council's teaching on the liturgy, the unity of the Church, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and religious freedom.

The society's founder, the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected some teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the modernizing reforms instituted in its wake, was excommunicated for ordaining Fellay and the three other bishops without papal permission in 1988.

In April, Fellay submitted to the Vatican his second official response to the "doctrinal preamble" outlining what the Vatican said were "some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity" to the formal teaching of the Church, presumably including the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

The bishop's reply was studied by the cardinal-members of the doctrinal congregation and, ultimately, by Pope Benedict. The cardinals and the Pope had said Fellay's first response, which was submitted in January, was "not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems that are at the basis of the fracture between the Holy See and the society."

VATICAN CITY - Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, met for more than two hours with officials of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith June 13.

The Vatican did not immediately issue a statement on the meeting, part of ongoing talks aimed at reconciling the breakaway group with the Catholic Church. The society's founder, the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected some teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the modernizing reforms instituted in its wake, was excommunicated for ordaining Bishop Fellay and three other bishops without papal permission in 1988.

In April, Bishop Fellay submitted to the Vatican his second official response to a "doctrinal preamble" outlining what the Vatican said were "some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity" to the formal teaching of the church, presumably including the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

The bishop's reply was studied by the cardinal-members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, ultimately, by Pope Benedict XVI.

The cardinals and the pope had studied Bishop Fellay's first response, which was submitted in January, and later issued a statement saying his position "is not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems that are at the basis of the fracture between the Holy See and the society."

While Bishop Fellay has been generally positive about the possibility of reconciliation with Rome, leaked letters show that the society's three other bishops have had serious reservations about the process.

In May, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said, "In consideration of the positions taken by the three other bishops of the Society of St. Pius, their situation will have to be treated separately and individually" from the effort to reconcile with the SSPX as a whole and with Bishop Fellay.

"It is not that this is a process that necessarily will reach a solution that embraces all the positions" found among all the SSPX members, Father Lombardi said in May.

Pope Benedict's latest efforts to bring about reconciliation with the traditionalist group began when he lifted the excommunications incurred by Bishop Fellay and the other SSPX bishops after they were ordained without papal permission. The pope also established a Vatican committee for doctrinal talks with society representatives in 2009 and drafted the "doctrinal preamble" to explain the "minimal, essential" elements on which the society would have to agree for full reconciliation, Father Lombardi had said.

When the Vatican's doctrinal discussions with the society began in 2009, both sides said the key issues to be discussed included the concept of tradition in general, as well as the Second Vatican Council's teaching on the liturgy, the unity of the church, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and religious freedom.

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya's Catholic bishops mourned the deaths of six people killed in an air crash en route to Catholic celebrations in the western part of the country.

Among those killed were Minister of Internal Security George Saitoto, a Catholic; his assistant minister, Joshua Orwa Ojode; their two bodyguards, the pilot and co-pilot. Their helicopter, en route to the Diocese of Homa Bay, crashed in Ngong shortly after takeoff from Nairobi June 10.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is in line to control the new Internet address extension ".catholic" and decide who is allowed to use it.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a nonprofit corporation that coordinates the assignment of Internet domain names and addresses around the world, announced the Vatican's formal application  June 13 in London.

WASHINGTON - Millions of people in West Africa’s Sahel region face severe food shortages that could be catastrophic if international aid falls short in the coming weeks, according to representatives of Catholic and other humanitarian organizations.

“The crisis is already here. People are already starving in some parts of the region,” said Bill Worms, Sahel communications officer for Caritas Internationalis in Rome.