A French prosecutor asked an appeals court on Friday to quash Cardinal Philippe Barbarin’s conviction for failing to report sex abuse by a priest, eight months after a verdict that rocked the French Catholic Church.

Barbarin, the archbishop of Lyon, was given a six-month suspended jail sentence in March for failing to report allegations that a priest in his diocese abused dozens of boy scouts in the Lyon area in the 1980s and 1990s.

Barbarin, 69, has denied the charges, but tended his resignation to Pope Francis, which the pontiff rejected pending the outcome of his appeal.

The cardinal, who has nonetheless stepped back from his duties, is the most senior French cleric to be caught up in a global clerical paedophilia scandal, which has seen clergy members hauled before courts from Argentina to Australia.

Public prosecutor Joel Sollier warned against a “symbolic” conviction, saying the cardinal could not be held accountable for the “mistakes” of the Catholic Church, which was slow to admit to the long-running cover-up of abuse allegations.

After the hearing, Barbarin said he was “relieved” by the prosecution’s recommendations.

“I put myself at the mercy of the court,” he said.

At his initial trial the prosecution had also called for him to be cleared of the charges, but the court still convicted him.

The judges on that occasion found him guilty of twice failing to report Bernard Preynat to the police, first in 2010 when the priest admitted to the cardinal that he had a history of abuse, and again in 2014, when one of Preynat’s alleged victims informed Barbarin about the abuse he suffered.

But Sollier argued that it was “difficult to consider that Cardinal Barbarin had the desire to obstruct justice or the awareness of doing so.”

– ‘Preserve’ the Catholic Church –

Barbarin, a deeply conservative priest who took over as archbishop in Lyon in 2002, has long been accused by victims’ groups in Lyon of turning a blind eye to the historic child abuse in his diocese which blighted dozens of lives.

Investigators had initially dropped the case against him in 2016 after concluding that the allegations were either too old or impossible to prove.

But a group of victims succeeded in having the probe reopened, which led to Barbarin being ordered to stand trial.

He insisted at the trial earlier this year that he had “never tried to hide, let alone cover up, these horrible facts”.

But the court ruled that he chose not to tell the authorities of the abuse allegations “in order to preserve the institution to which he belongs”.

Preynat, who was defrocked in July, is himself set to go on trial in January.

Two other senior French religious figures have been convicted of failing to report child abuse in the past: the archbishop of Bayeux-Lisieux, Pierre Rican, in 2001, and the former bishop of Orleans, Andre Fort, last year.

The court said Friday that it would issue its ruling on January 30.

Source: AFP

Two Roman Catholic priests were each sentenced to more than 40 years in prison in Argentina for the sexual abuse, including rape, of deaf children, a court in the western city of Mendoza ruled Monday.

Argentine priest Horacio Corbacho was sentenced to 45 years in jail, while a 42-year sentence was imposed on Italian Nicola Corradi for the abuse of some 20 children at the Provolo Institute for deaf and hearing-impaired children between 2004 and 2016.

The trial, one of several involving the school that have yet to begin, has sent shockwaves through the Catholic Church in the homeland of Pope Francis.

The court said the sentences took into account the aggravating circumstances that the priests were responsible for the children’s wellbeing, as well as the fact that the victims were minors living at the boarding school.

The victims were children and adolescents aged between four and 17.

The school’s gardener, Armando Gomez, was also jailed for 18 years for sexual abuse.

Neither of the three defendants made any response when their sentences were read out. Corradi, the eldest, had been brought into court on a wheelchair.

Outside the court a group of young people waited for the ruling, holding up banners which said “Support for the Survivors of Provolo.”

Some burst into wild celebrations when the sentence was read out in court. Some of the victims’ mothers simply embraced and wept.

– School shut down –

Corbacho, 59, and 83-year-old Corradi had been held in preventive detention since their arrest three years ago on charges of child sex abuse at the school.

Apart from the gardener, several other staff at the school were taken into custody after the allegations of abuse first came to light in 2016, and the institute, 1,000 kilometers west of Buenos Aires, was shut down.

They included a 42-year-old Japanese nun, Kosaka Kumiko, who was arrested later after surrendering to authorities. She was charged with complicity with the two priests.

The trial began on August 5 and heard evidence from 13 victims from the institute during in camera hearings.

In a fast-tracked trial last year, a former altar boy, Jorge Bordon, 50, received a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to the sexual abuse of five children.

Another of the defendants was deemed mentally incompetent by the court for being disabled and having suffered sexual abuse himself as a child.

Fourteen more defendants are facing trial in two other separate cases involving the school.

Corradi arrived in Argentina in 1970 from the Provolo Institute in Verona, Italy, and took over the institution in the South American country, initially in La Plata near Buenos Aires, and then, from 1998, in Mendoza.

– Other cases –

Prosecutors have investigated other cases of abuse at the La Plata branch of the Provolo Institute which will also go to trial.

“Life was very bad in there,” one of the victims, 18-year-old Ezequiel Villalonga, told AFP at the beginning of the trial, highlighting the vulnerability of the children at the Mendoza school.

“We didn’t learn anything. We didn’t have any communication,” Villalonga said of the school, set up to educate children with impaired hearing or speech disorders.

“We didn’t know sign language, we didn’t know what we were writing, we asked other classmates and, also, nobody understood anything.”

Source: AFP

Disgraced Catholic Cardinal George Pell will learn Wednesday whether Australia’s High Court will hear an appeal against his child sex abuse convictions, the last possible avenue to clear his name.

Pell, a former Vatican treasurer, is serving a six-year sentence for sexually assaulting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s.

A High Court spokesman told AFP on Monday that Australia’s most senior judges will hand down their decision in Canberra on Wednesday on whether to consider Pell’s case.

It comes just over two months after the 78-year-old filed an application for leave to appeal with the court.

He lost a previous attempt to overturn the convictions in Victoria state’s Court of Appeal in August, a landmark decision that saw the judges split in a 2-1 verdict.

That division — which saw two judges back the jury’s verdict and the dissenting judge side with Pell — is at the forefront of his latest bid to overturn the convictions.

The long-running case has pitted the most senior convicted Catholic child molester against a former choirboy now in his 30s, who two of the appeal judges found to be “very compelling” and someone who “was clearly not a liar, was not a fantasist and was a witness of truth”.

The third judge, however, found the victim’s account “contained discrepancies” and there was a “significant possibility” Pell did not commit the offences.

Pell’s legal team argued in their written submission to the High Court that the majority judges applied an “erroneous judicial method” in upholding the jury’s verdict that reversed the onus of proof onto him, an argument roundly rejected by prosecutors.

The court will not hear oral submissions from the parties before handing down its decision, which the spokesman said was not unusual.

Pell and his supporters have staunchly maintained he did not commit the crimes, which came to light after one of the victims went to police when the other died of a drug overdose in 2014.

During Pell’s trial under a court-ordered veil of secrecy, the Vatican gradually removed him from top Church bodies with little explanation.

Shortly after his conviction, Pell was removed from the so-called C9 Council of Cardinals that are effectively the Pope’s cabinet and inner circle of advisers.

The Vatican says it will avoid launching an investigation into his conduct until after all legal avenues are exhausted.

Source: AFP

On October 17th, theologians from around the world will meet in at the Mundelein Seminary in Illinois for a three day conference to share thoughts on what and how the theological work of Joseph Ratzinger / Benedict XVI can shape the Church in Africa, which continues to flourish with faith.

These scholars will bring essays for discussion, and a body of output will be gathered for future publication.

Current topics include…

• One and the Same? Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and African Theologians on God and God Language in African Christian Theology by Paulinus Odozor of the University of Notre Dame
• Catholic Theology in 21^st Century Africa in the Light of the primacy of the Logos in the Theology of Joseph Ratzinger by Paul Adaja of the University of Chicago
• The African Understanding of Solidarity and the Ratzingerian Concept of Pro-Existence by Valery Akoh of the University of St. Mary of the Lake
• Benedict XVI and Socio-Communitarian Eucharistic Exigencies: Impact on African and Global Catholicism by Mary Reginald Anibueze of Berea College
• Joseph Ratzinger’s Theological Reading of Political Power: Relevance for the Continent of Africa in the 21st Century by Maurice Ashley Agbaw-Ebai of Boston College
• Joseph Ratzinger’s Confidence in Salvation History by Christopher Collins, SJ of St Louis University
• Ratzinger on Christ and In-/Enculturation by Emery de Gaal of Mundelein Seminary
• Benedict XVI and the New Evangelization in Africa by Dennis Kasule of Mundelein Seminary
• Lex Orandi Lex Credendi: Ratzinger/Benedict XVI on African Liturgy by Joseph Lugalambi of Ave Maria University
• Caritas in Veritate and the Challenges to Political Economy of Africa: The Case of Nigeria by Joseph Ogbonnaya of Marquette University
• Ratzinger’s Interculturality in the writings of Cardinal Sarah by Jacob Phillips of St Mary’s, England
• Cross-cultural Biblical Ethics: Ratzinger on the Indissolubility of Marriage by Aaron Pidel, SJ of Marquette University

This is the first conference to be held by the Benedict XVI Institute for Africa. The next will be held in November, on the topic of Benedict XVI and the Development of African Theology.

The head of the Vatican City State’s national police force has resigned, after a confidential internal memo was leaked to the press that announced the suspension of some Vatican officials and employees and restricted their access to the Vatican.

The suspended officials were connected to an October 1 raid of some Vatican offices, part an unspecified investigation overseen by a prosecutor, called the “promoter of justice” in the Vatican City court system.

The Vatican press office said that Domenico Giani, Commander of the Vatican’s Gendarmerie, was not personally responsible for the leak.

“In order to assure the proper serenity to the ongoing investigation, coordinated by the Promoter of Justice and carried out by the Gendarmerie, since the perpetrator of the external circulation of the order – reserved to the staff of the Gendarmerie and of the Pontifical Swiss Guard – remains unknown, and although the Commander bears no personal responsibility in the unfolding of the events, Domenico Giani has tendered his resignation to the Holy Father out of love for the Church and faithfulness to Peter’s Successor,” an October 14 announcement from the Vatican press office said.

The memo’s leak was “prejudicial to the dignity of the people involved and to the image of the Gendarmerie,” the announcement added.

Giani was Commander of the Vatican Gendarmerie, and had been a part of the Vatican’s security and police force for more than 20 years. The memo, issued on October 2, was signed by Giani and published by L’Espresso.

The memo was issued after the October 1 raid of offices within the offices of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Among the suspended employees is Msgr. Mauro Carlino, who oversees documentation at the Secretariat of State, along with layman Tomasso Di Ruzza, director of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority.

Two other men and one woman were also listed as suspended in the memo. During the raid, documents and devices were taken in connection to an investigation following complaints made last summer by the Institute for Religious Works – commonly called the Vatican Bank – and the Office of the Auditor General, concerning a series of financial transactions “carried out over time,” an October 1 Vatican statement said.

The Secretariat of State is the central governing office of the Catholic Church and the department of the Roman Curia which works most closely with the pope. It is also responsible for the governance of the Vatican City state. The Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority oversees suspicious financial transactions, and is charged with ensuring that Vatican banking policies comply with international financial standards.

Pope Francis approved new governing documents for the Vatican Bank last summer, transitioning the bank from its practice of using internal auditors to the use of an external auditor to review the bank’s finances and transactions. The bank has a long history of complex financial transactions, has faced scandals, and been criticized for a lack of financial transparency.

The pope has made reforms at the Vatican Bank a priority of his pontificate.

The October 14 statement said that Pope Francis spoke “at length” with Giani when the official presented his resignation, and “expressed his appreciation to the Commander for his gesture, an expression of freedom and institutional sensitivity, which honours Commander Giani and the work he has carried out with humility and discretion in the service of the Petrine Ministry and the Holy See.”

The press office said that Giani had brought “undisputed professionalism” to the Vatican Gendarmerie, a police and security force of more than 100 officers, which Giani led since 2006.

The Vatican Gendarmerie collaborates with the Pontifical Swiss Guard, which is responsible for the personal protection of Pope Francis. The Gendarmerie oversee general security operations in the Vatican City State, along with criminal investigations and counterterrorism operations.

Details about the nature of the investigation at the Secretariat of State have not yet been forthcoming.

Source: Catholic News Agency

Pope Francis offered his prayers on Sunday (September 29) for the success of a meeting of national dialogue that will be held in Cameroon on Monday (September 30).

Addressing thousands of people at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff expressed his closeness to the people of Cameroon and asked the faithful to pray for national dialogue and lasting solutions for peace.

“Feeling close to the sufferings and hopes of the beloved Cameroonian people, I invite everyone to pray so that this dialogue may be fruitful and lead to solutions of just and lasting peace, to the benefit of all”, Francis said.

Cameroon has been gripped by violence since November 2016, when government forces crushed a movement of Anglophone teachers and lawyers protesting against their perceived social exclusion by the country’s French-speaking majority.

The protests turned into an insurgency of separatists seeking independence for the Anglophone southwest and northwest regions, which were controlled by Britain during colonialism.

Since then, fighting has killed about 1,800 people and displaced over 500,000, according to U.N. estimates.

According to Cameroonian authorities the meeting, announced by Cameroon’s President Paul Biya on September 11, would bring together a wide range of people to find a solution to the separatist socio-political crisis that has plagued the two Anglophone regions.

Source: Reuters

Pope Francis said Tuesday that Britain should obey a U.N. resolution and return to Mauritius a disputed Indian Ocean archipelago that hosts the U.S. military base at Diego Garcia.

Francis cited Catholic doctrine in responding to a question about the Chagos Islands during an in-flight press conference as he flew home from a visit to three African countries, including Mauritius.

Francis said when countries give international organizations such as the United Nations or international tribunals the right to adjudicate disputes, those decisions must be respected.

“It’s true that not always things that seem ‘just’ for all of humanity are ‘just’ for our pockets,” he said. “But you must obey international institutions.”

Earlier this year, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to demand that Britain, which held onto the Chagos Islands after granting Mauritius independence in 1968, end its “colonial administration” and return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

The vote was taken after the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion in February saying that Britain illegally carved up Mauritius when it kept Chagos.

Britain, which calls the archipelago a “British Indian Ocean Territory,” has refused to abide by both non-binding decisions. It has argued that the archipelago never really belonged to Mauritius and that its continued presence there is strategically important.

Britain evicted about 2,000 people from the Chagos Islands in the 1960s and 1970s so the U.S. military could build the Diego Garcia air base. Some of the evacuees have lobbied ever since to be able to return, and a delegation attended Francis’ Mass on Tuesday in the Mauritian capital of Port Louis.

Francis is believed to be sympathetic to their plight, given that when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, he spoke out against the British claim to the Falkland Islands, which Argentines call the Islas Malvinas.

The Chagos dispute came up during Francis’ meeting with the Mauritian president and prime minister, both of whom used their public speeches to thank Francis for the Vatican’s “moral support” in the dispute.

Francis said obeying international decisions was a sign of “fraternity” and “civility” among nations. He also noted that European powers have a history of trying to hold onto chunks of their former African colonies for continued financial gain, though he said he didn’t know if that was the case in Britain’s decision to keep Chagos.

While some liberation movements “worked out well, there is always the temptation to keep something in your pocket,” he said.

AP

Thousands of jubilant Catholic faithful on Wednesday welcomed Pope Francis to Mozambique as he kicked off a three-nation tour of African countries, expected to focus on those hard hit by poverty, conflict and natural disaster.

Touching down just after 6:00 pm local time (1600 GMT) Francis was greeted on the tarmac by President Filipe Nyusi, a military band playing the national anthem and a display of traditional dance.

The first pope to visit Mozambique since John Paul II in 1988, he was then whisked away in his popemobile, flanked by police bikes as crowds waved signs reading ‘welcome to Mozambique Prophet of reconciliation” and danced in celebration.

I hope his visit will bring us effective and long lasting peace.

He stood in his popemobile and waved at the thousands of faithfuls who lined up along the fringes of the city’ main streets as he made the five kilometre (three mile) route from the airport to the Nuncio’s residence in the posh Sommerschield suburb, where he will stay during the visit.

Mozambique itinerary

On Friday he will address a mass at the giant Zimpeto stadium in the seaside capital Maputo.

The pope is expected to discuss the country’s fragile peace process, the devastation caused by two back-to-back cyclones early this year, and the upcoming general election.

The three-day visit to Mozambique comes a month after the government signed a historic peace treaty with the former rebel group Renamo, which is now the main opposition party.

The 16-year civil war devastated the former Portuguese colony and Renamo has never completely disarmed.

The pope may also address the issue of extremism in northern Mozambique where jihadist attacks have claimed more than 300 lives over two years.

Expectations of Mozambicans

“I hope his visit will bring us effective and long lasting peace,” said Arnaldo Menezes, a 25-year-old student, referring to the treaty with Renamo.

“We don’t want war anymore. I want to be able to travel freely across the country, even in the north,” he said.

With elections scheduled for October, some fear violence may break out.

“He is coming at a time when we Mozambicans are trying to consolidate peace,” said Manuela Muianga, a biologist and disaster relief manager in the capital, Maputo.

“We Catholics feel that he is a visionary man who can help Mozambique to strengthen hope and make us forget all those things that make us fight against each other. The biggest concern is the fighting between the two parties. I’m sure he will address this,” she said.

The pontiff will only have time to visit Maputo while in Mozambique, much to the disappointment of those in the central city of Beira where Cyclone Idai killed at least 600 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in March.

“Although I am unable to go beyond the capital, my heart reaches out to all of you, with a special place for those of you who live in difficult situations,” he said in a video message, adding: “You are all in my prayers.”

The capital has been spruced up for the visit, with the government spending 300,000 euros ($330,000) for the trip, according to Foreign Minister Jose Pacheco, including repairs to Maputo’s cathedral and city roads.

Many locals appear happy to splurge on pope-branded regalia.

Twenty-nine-year-old Catarina Simbine showed off a Pope-branded cloth known as a capulana.

“Me and my fellow congregants from Santa Theresa de Calcutta took about six months preparing for his arrival,” she told AFP.

Beatrice Netu, 70, remembered welcoming the pope on his first visit to Mozambique as “one of the biggest privileges of my life”.

“I would not be able to handle it if the Pope came up to us and greeted us or touched my hand here where I am standing in the crowd, I would probably faint!”

Beyond Mozambique

The pope will also visit the large Indian Ocean island of Madagascar and its much smaller and wealthier neighbour Mauritius — both situated off the eastern coast of Africa.

Mozambique and Madagascar are among the world’s poorest countries and Francis’ decision to visit is seen by commentators as an act of solidarity from a cleric who was a frequent presence in the shantytowns of Argentina and is now called the “pope of the poor”.

Source: Africa News

Pope Francis’ visit to the African nations of Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius, will feature some interesting highlights as the head of the Catholic Church continues to show solidarity with people living in difficult conditions.

The Sept. 4-10 trip will take him to the capitals of the three countries, Maputo, Antananarivo and Port Louis.

Mozambique

The pope recorded a video message in Portuguese for the people of Mozambique ahead of his tour.

The pope is coming to tell people to keep fighting for those who are forgotten.

The pope will regrettably not visit the city of Beira which was hit by the devastating Cyclone Idai killed at least 600 people and left hundreds of thousands homeless in March.

“I was hoping the pope would come and walk on Beira’s soil,” 45-year-old Maria da Paz told AFP, while taking comfort in the fact that some victims of the disaster would be in Maputo to meet the pontiff.

The pope, in his video message, anticipated the disappointment.

“Although I am unable to go beyond the capital, my heart reaches out to all of you, with a special place for those of you who live in difficult situations,” he said, adding: “You are all in my prayers.”

Madagascar

In Madagascar, the pope will celebrate mass with one of his former students, Father Pedro Opeka.

Opeka studied theology under the future pope in their native Argentina before dedicating his life to building communities for the families of Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest nations.

“The pope is coming to tell people to keep fighting for those who are forgotten,” he said. 
“The pope will comfort them.”

Over the last 50 years, an organisation founded by Opeka has built homes for 25,000 people, 100 schools, six clinics and two football stadiums. Next year they will build a college for paramedics.

The 82-year-old leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics will also visit the presidential palace and a seminary.

“We have prepared for 800,000 people to turn out at the great mass celebrated by the pope” on the diocesan grounds of Soamandrakizay, said Gabriel Randrianantenaina, coordinator of the local episcopal conference.

Local organisers have cleared 60 hectares (150 acres) of land for the event in the north of the capital Antananarivo.

The pope will also travel in a locally-made vehicle, made by a Madagascar company called Karenjy.

“It’s with great joy that we present you the popemobile,” the apostolic nuncio, or Vatican envoy, to the island, Paolo Rocco Gualtieri, told the press ahead of the visit.

“Pope Francis will be delighted to visit Madagascar in this car.”

Mauritius

Pope Francis will end his tour with a brief stay in the relatively prosperous and stable Mauritius, a small island nation east of Madagascar, where the local Catholic community plans to plant 200,000 trees in his honour.

While Mauritius is around 50 percent Hindu it has a substantial Christian minority of about 30 percent, most of whom are Catholic.

Agencies

Muslims gathered from around the globe in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia have begun this year’s Hajj pilgrimage.

According to local media, about 2.5 million believers are participating in the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which started on Friday.

Each and every able-bodied Muslim, male or female, is required to complete the religious trip at least once in their lifetime if they also have the sufficient financial capacity to do so.

The nearly month-long pilgrimage features various rites, including stoning a column representing the devil, sacrificing sheep in remembrance of Prophet Abraham’s offered sacrifice, and Tawaf, which consists of walking and praying around the Kaaba, Islam’s holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

‘An indescribable feeling’

“It’s an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand it,” said an Algerian pilgrim describing his first time taking part in the spiritual trip.

“It’s a golden opportunity and moment,” said his female companion.

The gathering is also seen as a symbol of Muslim unity, with all participants required to wear a simple and identical outfit during the processions.

The clothing consists of a two-piece white seamless garment for men, and a loose cover-all dress for women.

Muslim scholars have pointed that the simple attire, along with other aspects of the pilgrimage, are meant to express unity and the humility of the Muslim Ummah — the Muslim people as a whole —  towards God.

The pilgrimage ends with the start of Eid al-Adha, also known as the “Festival of Sacrifice”.

Saudis fear political opposition

This year’s Hajj takes place as the country is marred in a number of conflicts with its neighbors and faces the prospect of popular expressions of discontent.

The kingdom’s push to normalize relations with Israel and further isolate the Palestinian cause in taking part in the US-backed so-called “deal of the century” has been specifically met with anger in many Muslim countries.

Saudi officials have consequently warned pilgrims to avoid any political topics during the pilgrimage, despite the belief held by many Islamic scholars that the Hajj is in fact intended to be an opportunity for Muslims to discuss social and political issues affecting the Ummah.

“Leave all other matters in your countries to discuss,” said Mecca Governor Prince Khalid al-Faisal earlier this week.

Riyadh has also faced strong criticism for its mismanagement of the Hajj specifically after thousands of pilgrims died in a tragic human crush incident in 2015.

Saudi authorities gave an initial tally of 770 deaths and then stopped updating that figure, even as official counts from individual countries whose nationals had died in the incident rose to more than a total of 2,400 individuals, reaching nearly 5,000 deaths according to some reports.

At least 464 Iranians lost their lives in the incident.

Source: Presstv