REALITY BITES VATICAN CITY
CRISES SHOW CHURCH IS STILL ALIVE Difficulties and crises within the Catholic Church are not signs of a church in decline but alive and living through challenges, just like men and women today, Pope Francis has said. "Let us remember that the church always has difficulties, always is in crisis, because she's alive. Living things go through crises. Only the dead don't have crises," he said. In a video message released by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network, the pope offered his prayer intention for August, which is dedicated to the church's mission of evangelisation. At the start of each month, the network posts a short video of the pope offering his
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specific prayer intention. The church's call to evangelise and not proselytise, he said, is more than just a vocation; it is a part of the Catholic Church's identity. "We can only renew the church by discerning God's will in our daily life and embarking on a transformation guided by the Holy Spirit. Our own reform as persons is that transformation. Allowing the Holy Spirit, the gift of God, in our hearts reminds us what Jesus taught and helps us put it into practice," the pope said. Catholics can renew the church only by "discerning God's will in our daily life" and putting Jesus' teaching into practice, he added.
CHINA
FIFTH CHINESE BISHOP ORDAINED WITH BOTH GOVERNMENT, PAPAL APPROVAL
Courtesy of CNS
REALITY SEPTEMBER 2021
When Fr Anthony Li Hui was ordained a bishop on July 28 in the cathedral of the Diocese of Pingliang, China, he became the fifth Chinese bishop appointed under the terms of a VaticanChina agreement signed in 2018 and renewed in 2020. Bishop Li was appointed coadjutor bishop of Pingliang by Pope Francis on January 11, 2021. He will eventually succeed Bishop Nicholas Han Jide, who is 81 years old and has led the diocese since 1999. The Vatican-China provisional agreement outlines procedures for ensuring that Catholic bishops are elected by the Catholic community in China and approved by the pope before their installations. Vatican officials have said that giving up full control over the choice of bishops would not be what the
Vatican hoped for, but that the agreement was a good first step toward ensuring greater freedom and security for the Catholic community in China. Pope Francis has told reporters that the agreement envisions "a dialogue about potential candidates. The matter is carried out through dialogue. But the appointment is made by Rome; the appointment is by the pope. This is clear." The nomination and assignment of bishops was a key sticking point in Vatican-Chinese relations for decades; the Catholic Church insisted that the pope appoint bishops, and the Chinese government maintained that would amount to foreign interference in China's internal affairs.
