BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
FREIBURG, Germany (CNS) - Retired Pope Benedict XVI has criticized repre- sentatives of the Catholic Church in his home country, Germany. "As long as only the ministry, but not the heart and the spirit, speak in of- ficial church texts, the exodus from the world of faith will continue," he wrote in response to questions submitted by the magazine Herder Korrespondenz. The German church news agency KNA reported his remarks. The monthly magazine Herder Korre- spondenz sent questions to retired Pope Benedict to mark the 70th anniversary of his becoming chaplain in a Munich parish 70 years ago. Most of the state- ments referred to his memories from that time. The 94-year-old has lived largely in seclusion in a former monastery in the Vatican since his resignation in 2013. The retired pope said that in the church's hospitals, schools and in the Catholic charity, Caritas, "many people are involved in key positions who do not support the inner calling of the church and thus often obscure the mission of this institution." This was particularly evident in announcements and public statements, he wrote. KNA reported he said a distinction must be made in the church between "believers and unbe- lievers." The retired pope wrote that "people should be brought out from the cover of their ministry" in the Catholic Church in Germany. He expected a "real person- al testimony of faith" from the church's spokespeople, he added, without nam- ing names. In the text, he also referred to his "Freiburg speech," held during his visit to Germany in 2011, which triggered a broad response and some criticism. In the speech, he emphasized that the church must set itself apart from its surroundings and in a certain sense be- come "unworldly." The retired pope said that perhaps he had not chosen the term "unworldly" wisely. "The term of becoming 'unworldly' indicates the negative part of the move- ment I am referring to, namely, stepping out of the speech and constraints of a time into the freedom of faith." The positive aspect of this approach had not been sufficiently expressed, he said. In the text, the former pope also de- scribed a "flight into pure doctrine" as unrealistic. Rather, doctrine must "develop in and from faith, not stand beside it." That was because a "doctrine that would exist like a nature reserve separated from the daily world of faith" would be "a renunciation of faith itself."
BY DAVID AGREN
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
MEXICO CITY (CNS) - Franciscan Sister Mary Kennedy traveled from the United States to Honduras recently to show solidarity with communities affected by natural disasters and fighting the dispossession of their lands. Her solidarity team also went to learn why so many people are abandoning the Central American country in hopes of reaching the U.S. What she learned brought back a sense of dj vu, having served in neighboring Guatemala between 1988 and 1994 and working with popula- tions displaced by armed conflict. "U.S. economic policies and military objectives have created the problems in Central America," Sis- ter Kennedy told Catholic News Service by phone from Philadelphia, where she is based. "We should be opening wide the doors to receive those who want to come but, better still, we should be providing opportunities for the people to remain home, where they want to be, with their loved ones and to have a life with dig- nity and respect," she said. Sister Kennedy was part of a solidarity trip to Honduras in early July, which was organized by the SHARE Foundation and hosted by Radio Progreso, which was founded by Je- suit Father Ismael Moreno Coto and serves rural com- munities. The Sisters of Mercy and the Leadership Conference of Women Reli- gious supported the trip. Organizers said the trip showcased some of the fac- tors driving migration in recent years, including vio- lence, poverty and a loss of hope in Honduras because of poor governance and corruption. Those problems were compounded by the CO- VID-19 pandemic and the November 2020 twin hur- ricanes - Eta and Iota - that flooded much of northern Honduras. The government re- sponse to both crises proved inept, with aid failing to reach potential recipients. Thousands of homeless families were forced to live in squat- ter camps. At a camp the delegation visited, armed security guards employed by the landowner appeared the next day, even though the land being occupied had sat empty for the 35 years. "The government hasn't been transparent and there's been corruption, and communities didn't receive much help in terms of prevention or medicines in clinics," Jos Artiga, ex- ecutive director of SHARE, said of the pandemic re- sponse. "The two mega-hurri- canes kind of put the final nail in the coffin," he said. The delegation also vis- ited the "Guapinol 8," eight environmental activists who have been detained for nearly two years for protesting against a mine polluting the Guapinol Riv- er in northern Honduras. Observers have said their plight is common in Hon- duras, where those who defend the environment are murdered with impuni- ty and indigenous peoples are pushed off their land by mining, tourist and agricultural interests. Such
Vatican reports $78 million deficit
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The Vatican reported the Ro- man Curia had a $78 million deficit in 2020, and on the same day, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, which administers Vatican proper- ties and investments, made a summary of its annual budget public for the first time. Releasing both reports July 24, the Vatican said the coronavirus pandemic had a serious negative impact on the Vatican's finan- cial situation, including the 66.3 million euros ($78 million) deficit in the consolidated budget report for 2020. Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the Ad- ministration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, told Vatican News, "I harbor a secret hope: I hope that the publication and reading of the numbers and the im- portant notes that accompany them will foster more correct and complete information."
Fund sought for Christians to remain in Lebanon
ZAHL, Lebanon (CNS) - Christian advocates in Lebanon are urging that a special fund be established to reverse the hemorrhaging of Christians from their crisis-stricken nation. Such a fund, the advocates contend, would help support Christians struggling to maintain their culture by giving a reason to remain in their ancestral homeland during a time when the economy is in shambles and the country reels from catastrophes and political uncertainty. "There is all this talk about how the Christians of the Middle East are dwindling. They are going to disappear. But if you don't do anything concrete, exactly what you are say- ing will happen," said Habib Malik, associate professor of history and cultural studies at the Lebanese Ameri- can University. He told Catholic News Service that he had spoken with Lebanese prelates who participated in the ecumenical day of prayer for the country led by Pope Francis in Rome July 1 about the urgent need for such a fund to ensure the future of Lebanon's Chris- tian community. "Nothing gets translated into concrete action that quickly or decisively, but the situation is very dire," Malik said. "What the Lebanese really need now is some degree of confidence, trust, notion of hope that there is a lifeline to them for the future."
Retired Pope criticizes church in Germany, says mission obscured Desperation in Honduras fuels migration northward, U.S. visitors learn
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Cardinal calls for implementing Amazon synod
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Nearly two years after the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, the Catholic Church in the region must implement the recommendations made, said Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, president of the Ecclesial Confer- ence of the Amazon. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, there have been many interviews, documents and meetings "to reflect and discern about 'what we should do,'" the cardinal said in a statement published July 22 in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vati- can newspaper. "That is very important; however, it is not enough," he said. "Instead of asking ourselves only what we should do, how to do it, when will we do it, let us see and promote what we are doing and what we did yesterday." Cardinal Hummes served as relator general at the 2019 synod, which reflected on "Ama- zonia: New paths for the church and for an integral ecology." In February 2020, the Vatican released Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation "Querida Amazonia" (Beloved Amazonia), in which he highlighted the issues affecting the poor and Indigenous communities in the region, including deforestation, drug trafficking pollu- tion and contamination caused by mining industries.
Pope prays for victims of floods in China
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - After record rainfall in cen- tral China left dozens dead and forced more than 1 million people to relocate, Pope Francis prayed for all those affected by the disaster. After praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter's Square July 25, the pope commented on the torrential rains that triggered flash floods in the city of Zhengzhou and in Henan province. "I pray for the victims and their families and express my closeness and solidarity with all those who are suffering due to this calamity," he said. China's provincial government updated its estimated death toll July 25 to 63 people, with five people still missing.
Call for negotiations in Venezuela draws rebuke
MEXICO CITY (CNS) - Venezuela's president has ac- cused Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, of unduly meddling in national affairs after the cardinal sent a letter to private business leaders, call- ing for serious negotiations to resolve the ongoing crisis in the South American country. President Nicols Maduro blasted the letter as a "compendium of hatred, of venom," during a July 21 television address and questioned the motives of the cardinal, who previously served as the apostolic nuncio in Venezuela. "What does the Vatican's foreign minister have to do with the assembly of a Venezuelan business group?" Maduro asked. "Explain for us, Pietro Parolin, what does it have to do with, what do you have to do with, as chancellor of the Vatican ...?" Maduro said. cases of dispossession drive migration, they said. "They're losing all of that land that was theirs ... and it's very, very painful to watch and they're almost without hope. Our visit is like giving them an injec- tion of hope to carry them on to the next visit," Sister Kennedy said. "I'm telling people we need to speak up, we need to speak to Congress and we need to speak with the president ... and how the (U.S.) State Department needs to stop funding the military, stop criminal- izing (defenders)," Sister Kennedy added. The Sisters of Mercy have called for advocacy on the issue, urging Congress to pass bills that would sus- pend assistance and sup- port for Honduran security forces until human rights violations are no longer systemic. "The U.S. government is continuing to support a very corrupt and milita- ristic government and the U.S. is providing money for Honduran security forces, and those security forces, both police and military, are repressing the people," said Mercy Sister Mary Kay Dobrovolny, one of those on the trip. "The aid that is going down there is not serving the people," she told CNS.
CNS PHOTO COURTESY SHARE
Mercy Sister Mary Kay Dobrovolny, standing, is pictured in early July speaking with a delegation from the U.S. in Honduras. In the solidarity trip, the U.S. visitors learned about conditions that fuel northward migration.
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Pope Benedict XVI gives a blessing during a visit at the cathedral in Freiburg, Germany, Sept. 24, 2011.
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