“This is bound to be a spiritual classic”

adminonDecember 21, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Cardinal Pell sat in prison for 400 days until he was acquitted of abuse charges. He has now written a book about his time behind bars.

Cardinal George Pell wants to reflect in a prison diary on his life in prison, the Catholic Church, his work at the Vatican, politics, society and sports. The first volume of the 1.According to media reports over the weekend, the diary, which is to consist of some 000 pages, is to be published in 2021 by the American publishing house Ignatius Press.

Ignatius Press calls on its homepage for donations for the payment of the lawyer and court costs of the cardinal. "I have already read the first half of the diary and it is extraordinary. This is bound to be a spiritual classic. Because the entire diary about 1.000 pages, we will publish it in three or four volumes," Ignatius Press editor-in-chief Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, announced on the publisher's homepage.

He served 400 days in detention

Cardinal Pell (79) was released from prison in April after his acquittal following 400 days in jail. In the appeal ruling, Australia's highest court, following the principle of "in doubt for the accused," found there was insufficient evidence to support allegations of sexual abuse of boys by Cardinal Pell.

Pell had previously been sentenced to six years in prison. "This was not just the victory of one man. And also not that of the church in Australia. It has shown the whole world how far the enemies of the Church go and how deceitful they are in order to discredit her," wrote Father Fessio. Cardinal Pell had always maintained his innocence.

The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) expects the Synod of Bishops in Rome to fundamentally open the church to more regional latitude. President Alois Gluck spoke about this with the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

"I very much hope that beyond the ies that are more immediately the subject of the synod, there will be a move toward more pastoral freedom," said the outgoing president of the umbrella organization of Catholic laity. The situation in Germany requires different answers than in other regions of the world.

The Central Committee demands that remarried divorcees no longer be excluded from receiving communion. The synod should at least allow that this question does not have to be regulated uniformly worldwide, said Gluck. A large majority of the German Bishops' Conference is now also in favor of allowing remarried couples to take communion under certain conditions after a case-by-case examination.

Crucial weeks for pontificate

"The synod will take on an exemplary significance for the further development of the church," explained Gluck. The meeting will show to what extent the Church's teaching is set in stone or can be further developed. "These four weeks are perhaps fateful for the pontificate of Pope Francis."

The ZdK represents the 24 million lay members of the Catholic Church in Germany. In mid-May, the panel had called for church blessings for same-sex couples, drawing the displeasure of the bishops' conference. Gluck does not expect anything to move on this ie: "The way things are in the attitude toward homosexuality, no new accents are to be expected from the Synod of Bishops that go beyond what is currently written in the World Catechism."

Former CSU politician Gluck has headed the ZdK since 2009. The 75-year-old from Upper Bavaria plans to resign in November. Who will be his successor has not yet been determined. From 4. to 25. October, the bishops from all over the world will deliberate on irritant topics within the Church in the field of family and marriage.

Pope Francis has appointed a committee to prepare for the worldwide bishops' meeting in February on dealing with abuse in the church. From Germany the psychologist and theologian Hans Zollner belongs to the team, as the Vatican communicates.

Jesuit to be committee's point person on dealing with abuse. Zollner heads the Center for Child Protection (CCP) at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Also with external experts

In addition to Zollner, the meeting's preparatory committee includes Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Oswald Gracias of Bombay, as well as Malta's Archbishop Charles Scicluna.

Outside experts, women and men, also to contribute to shaping conference, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke says. According to the report, their main purpose is to highlight what needs to be done for greater transparency and accountability. Representatives of victims of abuse are also involved in the preparations, as are the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Children and the undersecretaries of the Vatican Office for Laity, Family and Life, Gabriella Gambino and Linda Ghisoni.

Bishops in responsibility

At the meeting of 21. to 24. February in Rome, the presidents of all bishops' conferences want to discuss better child protection in the church with the heads of curia and top representatives of religious orders. The goal of the meeting, which is unprecedented in its nature, is for church leaders to "develop a comprehensive awareness of the devastating consequences that clergy sexual abuse has on adolescents," Burke said. He said the meeting was primarily for bishops, who bear "much of the responsibility for this serious problem".

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