In this weekly round up we cover the news stories we missed from the 29th August to the 5th September2021
- India’s Syro-Malabar Church has decided to implement a “uniform” celebration of the liturgy, in which the celebrant will stand both facing toward and away from the congregation at different times, following lengthy discussions during the synod of its bishops last week. In a pastoral letter issued on Aug. 27, Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Church, called on the clergy and the faithful to set aside “individual preferences” and to work toward unity. The pastoral letter is set to be read in all Syro-Malabar churches during Sunday Mass on Oct. 5. The announcement said the “uniform” or unified system of celebrating the Mass will come into effect starting on Nov. 28, the Feast of the Annunciation.
- The Pontifical Swiss Guard’s new chaplain is the Swiss Benedictine Fr. Kolumban Reichlin, who completed part of his studies at Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. Fr .Reichlin, 50, was appointed chaplain by Pope Francis on Sept. 1 and will take up his new position in October. The Pontifical Swiss Guard was established by Pope Julius II in 1506 and is charged with serving and protecting the pope.
- In a memorandum signed and published Aug. 31, Rector Fr. Peter Harman announced that all Masses in the Extraordinary form will be permanently suspended at the most important American Catholic institution in Rome, the Pontifical North American College (NAC). The NAC’s rector proceeds to explain that “in light of the motu proprio of Pope Francis, Traditionis Custodes, which was issued on July 16, 2021, and after having received canonical counsel, the College remains consistent with what the Holy Father has asked of us. Consequently, the following will be the practice of the Pontifical North American College on the Janiculum.”
- Catholics in Australia’s Queensland state are being urged to sign a petition asking the parliament not to pass a bill that would allow for euthanasia and assisted suicide.The parliament of Queensland is set to debate the bill later this month. Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane sent a letter this week urging all people of good will to sign the petition, which has about 1,300 signatures so far. “These laws, if passed, will overturn foundational principles that have underpinned our medical and legal systems for centuries – the ethic of ‘do no harm’ and the prohibition on killing,” Archbishop Coleridge wrote.
- The Vatican Secretary of State said this week that the Holy See supports cooperation over confrontation in efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. “To set out some … principles that can help define a new vision of relationships within the Korean Peninsula, I would draw inspiration from Pope John XXIII, who always emphasized the universal values that bring people together,” Cardinal Parolin said on Aug. 31. “Pope John XXIII spared no effort to make world leaders understand the inestimable values of peace, and the value of dialogue, dialogue for bringing peoples of very different histories and traditions closer together,” he said in the live-streamed speech to the Korea Global Forum for Peace.
- Sexual abuse allegations against Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn did not have “the semblance of truth,” the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has said in its judgement on the results of an investigation made under Pope Francis’ rules for alleged misconduct by bishops.The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reviewed the investigation results and made a determination finding the claims “not to have the semblance of truth. Given this finding, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will not authorize any further canonical process to address the accusations,” the New York archdiocese said in a Sept. 1 statement. Bishop DiMarzio said he “fully cooperated with this inquiry, because I know I did nothing wrong.”“I have prayed for a conclusion to this investigation, and these final results further verify, as I have consistently said, that these allegations have absolutely no merit,” he said.
