Four continental trips, a synod and an encyclical

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Four continental trips, a synod and an encyclical

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Pope Francis and the Vatican face a busy year in 2015, with important decisions to be made for the rest of the pontificate. In addition to four overseas trips, the Holy Father is likely to be particularly preoccupied with the Synod on the Family and his encyclical on ecology.

During four overseas trips, the Catholic head of church wants to visit all continents except Australia. Immediately after the New Year's reception for the diplomatic corps, at which Francis is expected to deliver his most politically charged speech of the year, he launches on 12. January for his second trip to Asia.

Destinations include Sri Lanka and the Philippines, where he plans to visit in particular the region hit by the November 2013 tsunami, in which 6.000 people died. During the visit of John Paul II. In 1995, five million faithful gathered in Asia's only Catholic country. This time the organizers expect six million.

Candidates for the College of Cardinals

Even before this trip, possibly on 6. January, the Pope will announce the names of those he will admit to the College of Cardinals at the next consistory. It is expected to be primarily bishops from large dioceses. From the Curia, only Dominique Mamberti, former minister of foreign affairs, is expected to be part of it. Francis will certainly provide surprises again; because at the last consistory some "seeded" candidates from traditional cardinal seats left empty-handed.

Another trip abroad will take the Pope to Philadelphia for World Family Day at the end of September. Presumably, there will be subsequent stops at the UN in New York and at the U.S. Congress in Washington.

Francis has also announced a visit to three Latin American countries, without mentioning their names so far. Since then, almost all the states of the subcontinent have joined in the discussion. Three are certainly not among them: he does not plan to visit his native Argentina and Chile until 2016, and he was already in Brazil for World Youth Day in 2013.

Africa and Lourdes

Francis also plans to visit Africa in 2015, with a visit to the French Marian shrine of Lourdes also on the horizon. Within Italy, Naples and Florence are named destinations. Turin is also among them, to pay tribute to the Shroud of Christ and to celebrate St. Don Bosco's 200th birthday. Birthday to honor.

In October, landmark decisions on the sensitive ies of marriage, family and sexuality are expected from the second Synod of Bishops on these topics. From 4. until 25. The Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Pastoral Care of the Family will meet in October. A working paper, including a questionnaire, has already been sent to the local Churches. It is a continuation of the first Synod on the Family held last October, which was unusually eventful and made clear the different positions in the episcopate. On the question of receiving communion for remarried divorcees, but also on the attitude toward homosexuals or on the position of civil marriages, some bishops pleaded for more openness, others for a strict adherence to church doctrine.

Moreover, Francis must continue to advance the reform projects he has initiated. This concerns the Curia, which needs new and more efficient structures as well as a new mentality, and which should be more at the service of the local churches, for Vatican finances, which need to be sifted through, reorganized and made more transparent, as well as for the further processing of abuse scandals.

New child protection commission

In the first days of February, the expanded new Child Protection Commission, led by Boston Cardinal Sean O' Malley, will meet for the first time. At the same time, the Economic Council coordinated by Munich Cardinal Reinhard Marx meets. Even before the solemn creations of new cardinals on 12. and 13. February Francis has summoned the College of Cardinals to a consistory. He plans to discuss current ies concerning the course of the Church with his closest collaborators.

In the course of the year, the pope intends to publish his first own encyclical on the subject of ecology; he had written the doctrinal letter "Lumen fidei" of 2013 after preliminary work by his predecessor Benedict XVI. published together with him.

Howard Dean wins the internet for itself – but this is enough to take the wife house?

In the US, the election campaign started wife house. In the first ballot at the beginning of the next year, the Wahler registered for the Democrats must first decide who they want to compete against Bush. Most headlines makes the former governor of Vermont Howard Dean with his internet campaign.

Howard Dean can currently book a success after another for itself. The surveys see him as candidates with the large growth rates. He gathered more donations in the second quarter than any of his competitors. And he dominates the headlines whenever it comes to innovative election campaign. Reason for this is not least that his campaign uses the internet far more creative than its competitors. So have more than 63.000 Supporters on the online platform Meetup.Com together with monthly Dean-Stammtisch. At the end of the week, the 200 registered.000th sympathizer on Deans website.

In the center of the campaign, however, is the Weblog Blogforamica.com. There Deans staff daily in blog-typical manner Short entrance to the current state of the campaign, linking articles from the daily press and telling ankdotes of the last campaign performances. Dean is also personal. The readers comment on the contributed flamming and use the blog for their own discussions and suggestions. Just this openness and the unconventional style seem to arrive. One of the readers said briefly: "This is by far the cuddly prassidal campaign I have ever seen."

Of newcomers and old rabbits

"Many people who come to our site have never been guided by a blog", explains Mathew Gross as head of the Internet campaign. Meanwhile, some of these newcomers had already founded their own blogs to support Howard Deans. In total, according to Gross more than 60 such unofficial Dean blogs. "Blog authors present an important reserve for us", So big against Telepolis.

Sympathies for Dean also develop the classic weblog community. Thus, the net-known blogger and copyright expert Lawrence Lessig invited the candidate past week, for a few days as a guest blogger on Lessig.organs. Lessig’s readers, however, were first skeptical. Seth Finkelstein even believed in dealing with Deans with the products of an automated script. Other anticipated evidence, the candidate was discussed with you detailed over long aspects of the Digital Millenium Copyright Acts (DMCA).

But instead of giving wisdom about the status of the information society, Dean would rather ask questions. So he wanted to know about Lessig’s master audience, what exactly they have to rave about the ruling copyright legislation. Some readers actually love their Slashdot’s request aside and stressed examples, which also understands a politician – such as the electronic electoral machines (the problem with the electronic electoral systems and American democracy), whose lack of the DMCA nobody is allowed to examine more precisely.

A campaign only for woman?

Howard Dean was also aware of whether Lessig’s readers in WiFi technology saw a possibility to overcome digital division. This could become a problem for Dean himself. His internet-trimmed campaign mainly achieves the seventh middle class. According to the US Treasury Ministry, around 60 percent of all sixty Americans are online, but only about 32 percent of all Latinos and 40 percent of all black ones. In addition, Dean comes from one of the fences of all US states. The problem has now been recognized by Deans campaign line. First attempts to address at least those already active in the network Latino community more targeted, but still stuck in their infancy.

After all, Dean can be booked to put Mabstabe with his internet campaign. Meanwhile, the previously very static online protrogs of his democratic competitor. So Joe Lieberman and Dennis Kucinich can be crafted for their web prasence. To blogforamica.COM can not trade the offers – Kucinich missing visitors, Lieberman the possibilities for interaction. Professional bloggers also do not know both, which is why there is only a new entry every few days. Finally, Deans have competitors and even George W. Bush the Meetup.COM platform for yourself discovered. But Deans Supporter are there by far the biggest group. Bush’s stem tables should even be flopped.

Maybe even established positions can not be marketed so well as part of a grass root campaign. Dean, on the other hand, also profiles itself politically as an outdoor manager. He agreed against the Iraq war and will not mude to criticize his own party for their government loyalty during the past few months. An unconventional campaign style, which overlooks many views of an autonomous basis of UBERS network organizing appendages, fits well with the image of the rebel, which is already working on its website "People Powered Howard" Celebrate.

Dean has already indicated, after a possible election victory over George W. To take Bush elements from his campaign to the official government policy. So he explained to the question of a Lessig reader, if it was a blog with him as a prasident.Whitehouse.Gov was given, prompt: "Why not?"

Gerhard Ludwig Cardinal Muller defends himself and now demands an apology from the German government's abuse commissioner after the Domspatzen scandal has been dealt with. He rejects his own apology.

Cardinal Muller rejected the accusation to the "Passauer Neue Presse" that he had dragged out the clarification of the mass abuse at the Regensburg Cathedral Boys' Choir. He had "for the first time transferred this clarification work to the institutions of the diocese, so that the investigation could begin," said Muller, who was bishop of Regensburg from 2002 to 2012.

Muller sees no reason to apologize

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller sees no reason for his own apology in connection with the investigation of the attacks on the Regensburg Cathedral Boys' Choir. The abuse commissioner Rorig had criticized the current Curia Cardinal on Wednesday: Muller had always spoken of individual cases, but had not investigated the structural failures. "It would be desirable for those affected that he would at least now apologize for the protracted processing," said Rorig. This would be an important sign for those affected.

Muller: Lawyer Weber does not tell the truth

Muller also criticized Regensburg lawyer Ulrich Weber, who had investigated the abuse over the past two years on behalf of current Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer. If Weber now reproaches him from the backward perspective and the current state of knowledge, he cannot accept that, Muller said: "That does not correspond to the truth."Weber had criticized Muller for sticking too long to an investigation of individual cases instead of examining the system of violence as a whole.

Nearly 550 Regensburg Cathedral sparrows victims of assault

According to the final report by lawyer Ulrich Weber, 547 Regensburg Cathedral sparrows have been victims of assaults since 1945 "with a high degree of plausibility". About 500 singers were victims of physical violence, 67 were affected by sexual violence. For decades, pupils at the Domspatzen had been beaten and sexually abused. On Muller, Weber's report notes that the bishop at the time initiated the reappraisal in 2010, but was responsible for "strategic, organizational and communication weaknesses". These had been remedied only under his successor Rudolf Voderholzer.

Muller himself has also been slapped and beaten with a stick

Muller emphasized to the "Passauer Neue Presse" that he is no longer the bishop of Regensburg, but that he is "ready for any personal conversation about these terrible experiences of people from that time". He himself, he said, also received slaps and canings in his school days, including in a non-church school. Muller said, "Admittedly, I have to admit: Sexual abuse is still a completely different category than pedagogical assaults.".

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