TOP TEN 2020
W
e begin our list with a somewhat unknown Vatican official, a Belgian layman who is also an academic and an author, the Vatican’s chief archivist, Dr. Johann Ickx. It has been Dr. Ickx’s work, pre-eminently, which has brought the world new understanding of Pope Pius XII’s key role in helping to save countless Jews from Nazi persecution. Then we turn to a less obscure veteran of the Vatican, Australian Cardinal George Pell, who in 2020 was released from prison after the dramatic reversal of an unfounded conviction on charges of so-called “historic sexual abuse” dating back decades. Cardinal Pell confirms that many, including himself, suspect he may have been framed by enemies, both within and outside the Vatican. Catholic book editor John Moorehouse passed away unexpectedly on December 4, 2020, at the age of 51, leaving a widow and five children. He was not only a talented editor for Catholic publisher TAN Books, but also a dedicated family man and a man of God. 2020 saw more tragedy than just that caused by the coro30
INSIDE THE VATICAN JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021
navirus. On August 4, a powerful explosion tore apart the harbor of Beirut, Lebanon — especially the part of the city where its dwindling Christian population dwells. But two young Lebanese Catholics, Aya Naimeh and Georges Assaf, have organized a group to bring relief — and hope — to the Christians who were victims of the unimaginable devastation. Hong Kong was in the news throughout 2020 as the monolithic Chinese Communist Party, which formally took control of the island in 1999 and is now aggressively imposing its political will there, was challenged by a group of young — and a few not-so-young — crusaders for freedom, bolstered by their Christian, and in some cases, Catholic, beliefs. And Agnes Chow, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Jimmy Lai have all been sentenced to prison for it. The story of clerical sexual abuse is a long-running and multi-layered one, which unfortunately is still being revealed
