Comic book series cancelled after outcry
A comic book series has been cancelled after protests from Christians. DC Comics had announced that the books would follow a superhero called Sun-Man, who takes Christ as a sidekick. The author, Mark Russell, had told an interviewer that, in his story, “God was so upset with Jesus’s performance the first time he came to Earth, since he was arrested so soon and crucified shortly after.”
An online petition said: “This blasphemous content should not be tolerated. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. His story should not be ridiculed for the sake of selling comic books.” After the petition gained 200,000 signatures, DC Comics backed down.
Priest resigns from board after plagiarism admission
Fr Thomas Rosica, a prominent media figure and Vatican adviser, has resigned from a college governing board after admitting to plagiarism. Fr Rosica stepped down from St Michael’s College, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto, “as a sign of contrition and acknowledgement of the error”.
LifeSiteNews discovered that Fr Rosica had used text from other writers in several speeches and articles, dating back more than a decade. The priest said: “What I’ve done is wrong, and I am sorry about that.” However, he also said that he had not plagiarised deliberately, but had cut-and-pasted text without realising it, or used text prepared by interns. “Please note that my actions were never deliberate,” Fr Rosica said. “Nevertheless they were wrong.”
Fr Tolton takes step towards sainthood
A 19th-century priest has received the green light to be declared Venerable, the first step towards canonisation. A Vatican theological commission recognised Fr Augustus Tolton as having displayed “heroic virtues”. It will now be up to Pope Francis to declare him Venerable.
Fr Tolton would be the US’s first African-American saint. He was born in slavery and ordained in Rome because no US seminary would accept him. Fr Gerard Jordan, the promoter of the Cause, told Chicago Catholic that Fr Tolton always looked to the Church as his mother. “He said himself that the Catholic Church was the only thing that would help him to beat the double slavery of his mind and his body.”
Bishops plead for aid to be allowed in
The Venezuelan bishops’ conference has urged President Nicolás Maduro to allow aid into the country amid an humanitarian emergency. Maduro claims that aid is unnecessary.
Bishop Mario Moronta said that “countless officers from the armed forces and high-ranking government officials are quietly coming to many priests and laypeople, institutions in this region, so we can obtain in Cúcuta [Colombia] medicine for them, or their relatives, food, etc. Out of fear they’re not telling you, certainly.” Maduro is holding on to power despite popular opposition and the emergence of parliamentary leader Juan Guaidò, who has declared himself president and said Maduro’s election was illegitimate.
Allegations against ex-bishop raise questions for Pope
Pope Francis has come under pressure after new reports of a scandal involving an Argentine bishop. Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta was named Bishop of Orán by Pope Francis in 2013, before suddenly retiring in 2017, ostensibly on health grounds. The Pope then appointed him to a senior Vatican role just months later.
Bishop Zanchetta’s former vicar general claimed last month that the bishop faced numerous accusations of harassment against seminarians and of having gay pornography on his phone. He added that the Vatican had known of the allegations as early as 2015.
New Fatima holiday declared
The small town of Juranda has become the first place in the world to declare a holiday on the occasion of the feast of saints Francisco and Jacinta, the shepherd children of Fatima, writes Filipe d’Avillez.
Juranda, which has a population of less than 8,000, is the hometown of Lucas, the little boy whose miraculous cure opened the door to the canonisation of the two children. Lucas was only five when he fell, from a height of more than 20ft, on his head. He suffered severe injuries and loss of brain matter but was declared fully cured after only a few days in hospital. Pope Francis canonised Francisco and Jacinta on May 13, 2017, in Fatima.
Challenge to Catholic schools fails
Catholic schools have survived a legal challenge by a secularist group. Humanists UK claimed that Catholic education breached European Union legislation by requiring senior school leaders to be Catholic. Although the challenge from Humanists UK had twice been rejected in the courts, it pursued the case to the Court of Appeal. Lord Justice Flaux upheld the earlier ruling, and told Humanists UK that no further appeal was possible.
Paul Barber, director of the Catholic Education Service, said the ruling was “highly significant and extremely welcome”. “The policies on the employment of Catholic leaders is about ensuring that the Catholic vision, mission and ethos are at the front and centre of a school’s life as parents have a right to expect,” he said.
Cathedral may be turned into a museum
St Catherine’s Cathedral faces closure due to maintenance costs and dwindling congregations. The building has been in use since at least the 16th century. It passed into Calvinist control after the Reformation, then back to the Catholic Church in the 19th century. It is now likely to be turned into a museum. However, than 1,500 Catholics have signed a petition saying that the local Church’s potential for growth will be much reduced if the cathedral is sold off.
Missionaries sent
Five missionaries have been dispatched from the archdiocese of Seoul, in the latest sign of the South Korean Church’s rapid growth. It brings the total number of South Korean missionary priests to 58 since 1989. The priests will go to Mexico, Japan, Spain and the US.
Gunmen release hostages in deal with Church
Gunmen have released 176 students and staff who were kidnapped at a Catholic school in Kumbo, north-west Cameroon. But the hostages were only released on the condition, accepted by Church officials, that the school be closed down. The gunmen are thought to belong to the separatist militias which have arisen since 2017, and
which staged a similar kidnapping last year.
The separatists oppose plans to allow English to be used in schools and courtrooms in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. The country is predominantly French-speaking.
Cardinal Pell to appeal guilty verdict
Cardinal George Pell, one of the most senior figures in the Vatican, has been convicted of child sexual abuse after a controversial trial. He will appeal the verdict, which was reached in December but could not be reported because he faced further charges. Those charges have now been dropped.
Cardinal Pell was convicted of sexually abusing two choristers at Melbourne Cathedral, in the diocese where he was archbishop, in 1996. The Vatican said it would await the outcome of the appeal process, saying that Cardinal Pell “has reaffirmed his innocence and has the right to defend himself to the last degree”.
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