Mail from the vatican

adminonDecember 15, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

U.S. Catholic bishops hold spiritual retreat against backdrop of abuse scandal. In parallel, details emerged about a halted package of measures against sexual abuse. In the middle of it all the Vatican.

At the request of Pope Francis, the U.S. bishops are retiring to a Chicago archdiocesan seminary from this Wednesday through next Tuesday to reflect on the causes and consequences of clergy sexual abuse. The retreat will be led by the papal homilist Raniero Cantalamessa.

Just before it began, there was new speculation about a set of measures against abuse, for which the Vatican had asked the U.S. bishops in November for a delay.

According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, more than 200 of the total 271 active and 185 emeritus bishops plan to attend. No discussion of abuse investigations is planned, a spokeswoman for the Chicago archdiocese said in late December, according to media reports. The meeting at Mundelein Seminary north of Chicago was "strictly a time for prayer, fasting and spiritual discourse".

Details of the stop of catalogue of measures

Meanwhile, details emerged about a postponed package of measures by the U.S. bishops against sexual abuse. On the day of the planned vote on the action plan at the fall meeting of the Bishops' Conference, its president Cardinal Daniel DiNardo had surprisingly suspended the procedure.

In justification, DiNardo said the Vatican, in a statement ied the day before, 11. November, letter delivered asked to wait for February international abuse meeting in Rome.

However, as can be seen from an excerpt of the letter now circulating on social media, the prefect of the Roman Congregation for Bishops, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, already turned on 6. November against the U.S. bishops' planned resolutions. There were also reportedly canonical objections to the action plan on the part of the Vatican.

Controversies within the bishops' conference

Originally slated for a lay commission to investigate diocesan investigation of abuse cases and a new code of conduct for U.S. bishops. The latter point led to controversy within the bishops' conference.

For the 21. to 24. February, Pope Francis convened the leaders of bishops' conferences worldwide to the Vatican to discuss consequences of the abuse scandal.

Surveys like the PolitBarometer show that the conditions in Germany are concreted

Whether surveys play the mood in the people at a time, is questionable. Already we have been pursuing apparent trends, though not as finely detailed as weather reports due to numerous single quantities. Actually, we do not pursue the mood and opinion in the country about samples, but survey results themselves have become part of the political environment, which sometimes reacts to themselves.

It may be interesting as the current polit barometer shows that a society can immunize against change. Actually, nothing has happened for a long time. In the Sunday questions, the condition is always high that ultimately only a shrunken "Rough coaltion" or a Jamaica coalition government ware. There are the values for the parties to go 1 or 2 points up or down, but on the overall constellation, however, nothing has changed for months.

One could say people seem to be faithful to their political conviction, even if the parties are trying to persuade themselves due to the election results and the surveys to adapt to their clientel or. Wahler / sympathizers to capture better. So there should be dynamics that will totle through continuing self-exploration. But there is a standstill.

The ZDF reports one "Behavior consent to the coalition". They find 45 percent good, 38 percent not, 15 percent have no opinion. Behavior so that there is no majority for the Groko. Amazing, that Angela Merkel itself continues to be guaranteed. 55 percent will find their re-election well. But for what she is, remains in the dark. You can guess you benefits that you are not attributable to any adventure with all boredom that radiates you that is guaranteed.

More importantly, it was allowed to be that there is no alternative to Merkel. The most popular politicians – Wolfgang Schauble and Sigmar Gabriel – were deported in the away. They are manner, behind which Merkel slipped in the background. SPD Wursel Man Martin Schulz has talked out. Nobody has fulfilled what is also allowed to lie on the survey if Cem ozdemir should be the fourth-led politician, followed by Seehofer and Wagenknecht, which should be relatively little popular.

Spahn has made the mood wrong

It is interesting that Jens Spahn has inflated a wrong barrel. One will remember that Westerwelle has tried at the beginning of the Black Yellow Government as a similar to profiling by calling him the rich, but the Hartz IV receptioners as luxury recipients of a powerless income. Although this corresponded to the FDP ideology, but did not get well. The thesis of Spahn that Hartz-IV is sufficient for life, just 37 percent, while 70 percent say, poverty is a coarse problem in Germany, and 82 percent that the scissors ran away between arm and rich further. Apparently, the Union candidate has calculated itself for the next generation, which also meant that his star is already sinking.

Unspossibly, the Germans obviously find themselves between the grossworks and their leaders who are on conflict course. There is a majority of 53 percent poorly when Putin is chubed back to the prasident, which will actually happen. But because of Putin’s politics, 53 percent less German concern than with the policy of Donald Trump. Those find 82 percent.

This was also allowed to cooperate that Putin’s power policy has been relatively understandable about recent years, even if a first military abroad is made in Syria. Russia seems more likely to react, during the US and the NATO dominated by it, and has also increased military in front of Trump and the influence zone has increased to the boundaries of Russia. That now the impulsive narcist trump is given more concerns, is surprised out of this story.

Anyway, there are apparently in Germany as well as in other countries no real alternative. Although the AFD had a good idea with the naming, but can not convince German Germans to really be an alternative. Dafur is the most Germans despite the suggested escape catastrophe and the "State failure" too good, still the party also fights with the National Social and Economic Libertarem.

So what the Germans want after the surveys? No alternative, but a further-so. Boring, Bieder, Welfare, Implementing Changes, How Trump Building Walls. This has no future, is not a future, can only fail. Who wants to get only, instead of riding, will be ubooted by history. Driven by the AFD one seems to prefer the option of unignation in the other parties. There is a lack of alternative for Germany.

Consequences of the abuse study and priest shortage: Essen vicar general Klaus Pfeffer has "sympathy" for the demand to abolish celibacy in the Catholic Church. He also cites not only figures as justification.

In addition to calling for the abolition of celibacy, he demanded in the "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (Thursday) to talk "openly about the equal participation of women in all offices and tasks in the church".

Pfeffer referred to the latest study by the German Bishops' Conference on the subject of abuse. The researchers problematized celibacy, saying the high proportion of priests among offenders is striking.

Hardly any candidates for the priesthood

But quite apart from the abuse scandal, the church "cannot close its eyes to the fact that we can hardly find candidates for the priesthood anymore". There are many reasons for this, he said, "but it would be naive to think that celibacy is not one of them". That is why he has sympathy for the demand for its abolition.

According to Pfeffer, the researchers also point out how difficult celibacy is to live by. For example, they criticized the fact that in the church celibacy is referred to as a "gift," although attachment and sexuality are very central needs for every human being. "Anyone who wants to live like this needs a high level of human maturity." But the researchers doubted that priests would be sufficiently prepared for celibacy. "I can confirm from my history that during my training, the many ies of celibacy were hardly addressed," Pfeffer said.

Theologically "highly charged" question

The priesthood for women is a theologically "highly charged" ie, Pfeffer said, because tradition carries enormous weight in the Catholic Church. That Jesus called only men to his apostolic circle is 2000 years later "an argument that is difficult to put across" to exclude women from central offices.

"People are already running away from us in droves," the clergyman said. "It is of existential importance for us that people do not constantly think that the church is from the day before yesterday and not capable of any changes."

Pfeffer also distanced himself from Pope Francis' comparison of abortion to murder for hire. A woman in pregnancy conflict is in a highly dramatic situation, he said. "There I see for me as a man who has never become a father, no right at all to make a drastic moral judgment," said the vicar general. There he holds it with another word of Francis, that the church must not throw its morals like a boulder on the people.

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