REALITY BITES

VATICAN CITY CRISES SHOW CHURCH IS STILL ALIVE

FIFTH CHINESE BISHOP ORDAINED WITH BOTH GOVERNMENT, PAPAL APPROVAL

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 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.

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.

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Courtesy of CNS

CANADA TWO NEW CANADIAN INDIGENOUS LEADERS TO PRIORITISE RECONCILIATION

POPE ASKS FOR LOCAL EVENTS TO COINCIDE WITH WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES

Courtesy of CNS

RoseAnne Archibald, the new national chief of the Assembly of First Nations in Canada Governor General Mary Simon takes the oath as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie, look on

Reconciliation between Canadian society and the country's Indigenous communities is possible, say two new national Indigenous leaders. While they come at reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous people from two different vantage points – one is the first female leader of the Assembly of First Nations, and the other is the first Indigenous governor general, representing the British monarchy in Canada – both are new to their roles and say reconciliation will be at the forefront of their efforts going forward.

Assembly of First Nations Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who was elected on July 8, said true reconciliation can only happen if Canada's provincial and federal governments and the Catholic Church, which helped to operate numerous residential schools on behalf of Ottawa, take full responsibility for their roles in the destruction that the residential school system caused to Indigenous communities and culture in the past. "For many Canadians and for people around the world, these recent recoveries of our children – buried nameless, unmarked, lost and without ceremony — are shocking, and unbelievable," Archibald said. "Not for us; we've always known. "I ask every Canadian to stand with First Nations as we continue this painful but important work," Archibald said of ongoing efforts across Canada to recover the remains of Indigenous youth who died at residential schools. "I ask that you listen, learn and reflect on the history we share as a country," she said. She also urged people to call their elected officials, adding "there must be a true reckoning for what happened in the past." "Crimes have to be investigated, and those guilty must be held to account," Archibald said. "People and media have been referring to them as discoveries. These are not discoveries, these are recoveries. There must be truth before reconciliation. It's time to find our children and bring them home."

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Pope Francis has asked dioceses worldwide to make it possible for every family to participate in the World Meeting of Families by holding local celebrations during the gathering in Rome from June 22-26, 2022. "After being postponed for a year due to the pandemic, the desire to meet again is great," the pope said in a video message on July 2. In the past, the World Meeting of Families "was perceived as being something remote, at most followed on television," but "unknown to the majority of families."

The theme of the 2022 gathering is: "Family love: A vocation and a path to holiness."

Rome will be the main venue, the pope said. Bishops' conferences and international Catholic organisations will be invited to send delegates involved in family ministry to Rome for "the Festival of Families, the pastoral congress," and the concluding Mass.

At the same time, the pope said, "each diocese can be the focal point for a local meeting for its families and communities. In this way, everyone will be able to participate, even those who cannot come to Rome."

Pope Francis asked dioceses to be "dynamic, active and creative in organising this with the families in harmony with what will be taking place in Rome. This is a wonderful opportunity to devote ourselves with enthusiasm to family ministry with spouses, families and pastors together."

VATICAN CITY VATICAN PROPERTY TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY

On the first day of his trial at the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Becciu turned to members of the press behind him to comment on the gruelling seven-hour hearing. "I am serene, I feel calm in my conscience, I have faith that the judges will know well the facts, and my great hope is that certainty they will recognise my innocence," Cardinal Becciu said on July 27 after the hearing concluded.

During the trial, however, the cardinal's lawyers questioned the fairness of the accusations against him, saying that he was not allowed to give a statement to prosecutors during their investigation, while Msgr Alberto Perlasca, the former head of the Vatican Secretariat of State's administrative office, went from suspect to star witness.

According to the indictment, Msgr Perlasca, whose office and home were raided by Vatican police during their investigation, provided investigators “with a precious contribution for the reconstruction of some central moments relating to the case of the London property."

The Vatican's chief prosecutor countered the claims about flipping a suspect, saying that it was Msgr Perlasca who had approached them on several occasions to give his testimony.

Cardinal Becciu's lawyers also argued that they had yet to receive the full contents of Msgr Perlasca's testimony. Vatican judges ordered the prosecution to provide videotapes of his testimony to defence lawyers by August 10.

Unsurprisingly, Cardinal Becciu announced that he instructed his lawyers to file a similar lawsuit against Msgr Perlasca.

However, he also announced a lawsuit against an old foe: Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, a member of the now-defunct Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See.

For many, the reappearance of Chaouqui, who was found guilty by a Vatican court in 2016 of leaking confidential documents about Vatican finances, added an unforeseen twist worthy of a modern-day court drama.

According to the 488-page indictment, Chaouqui "spontaneously presented herself" at the offices of the Vatican Gendarmerie on October 28, 2019, several weeks after Vatican police raided the offices of the Secretariat of State and the financial oversight office, formerly known as the Financial Information Authority or AIF.

The day after the raid, the Italian magazine L'Espresso published what it said was an internal notice from the Vatican police barring certain individuals from entering Vatican City State and alleged that the raid was part of a Vatican investigation into how the Secretariat of State used $200 million to finance a property development project in London's Chelsea district in 2014.

VATICAN REPORTS A $78 MILLION DEFICIT

The Vatican reported the Roman Curia had a $78 million deficit in 2020. On the same day, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, which administers Vatican properties and investments, made a summary of its annual budget public for the first time.

Releasing both reports on July 24, the Vatican said the coronavirus pandemic had a serious negative impact on the Vatican's financial situation, including the €66.3 million deficit in the consolidated budget report for 2020.

Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, known by its Italian initials APSA, said making the budget synthesis public was "a step forward in the direction of transparency and sharing." "The release of the balance sheet is a sign of great respect for all those who, with trust and generosity, have placed and continue to place part of their resources in the hands of the Catholic Church," Bishop Galantino said. "I harbour a secret hope: I hope that the publication and reading of the numbers and the important notes that accompany them will foster more correct and complete information," he added.

In 2019, Italian journalist and author Gianluigi Nuzzi claimed in his book Giudizio Universale ('Universal Judgment') that decades of mismanagement of the Vatican's investment

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portfolio and real estate holdings by APSA would leave the Vatican no choice but to default by 2023.

APSA directly administers 4,051 properties in Italy and entrusts to outside companies the administration of some 1,200 properties in London, Paris, Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland, the Vatican report said.

During the 2020 fiscal year, APSA reported a profit of almost €22 million, compared to €73.21 million in 2019.

Aside from the economic challenges posed by the pandemic, Bishop Galantino told Vatican News the drop in its income was due primarily to the "changing behaviour of the securities market."