Mother Angelica, the founder of the Eternal Word Television Network, (EWTN) the world’s largest religious media network, has died aged 92. The Franciscan nun passed away on Easter Sunday at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Alabama, the monastery she helped to found more than 50 years ago. She hosted a talk show and was known for her straight-talking manner. She founded the channel in a converted garage in 1980; it now reaches 230m homes.
What the media are saying
Paul Vitello of the New York Times said Mother Angelica’s screen persona “approximated a personal encounter with a shrewd, yet grandmotherly nun from a seemingly bygone era”. Her outspokenness “made her both friends and enemies among the Catholic faithful. It also brought her into conflict with members of the Church hierarchy” – notably Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who proposed changes which she thought would breach Church doctrine on the Eucharist. In the Washington Post, Jacqueline Salmon said that Mother Angelica charmed millions worldwide with her “high-pitched voice and frequent piercing cackle”, and her delivery of “rambling discourses on faith and the Bible, cheery fundraising pitches and humorous maxims”.
What Catholics are saying
“For a good many American Catholics,” said Rocco Palmo on his Whispers in the Loggia blog, “this Easter night brings a bigger blow than the loss of a pope.” Mother Angelica was “arguably the most influential voice for the Stateside Church’s ‘base’ over two generations – and, indeed, a woman whose prime saw her wield more clout than almost any churchman at home or abroad.” Many American Catholics highlighted Mother Angelica’s trust in God. The theologian Janet E Smith told Aleteia: “She was a simple nun, with a profound faith, and one courageously dependent upon God’s grace to supply what was needed. Her life and deeds were miraculous. I have great confidence that some day she will be declared to be a saint.”
The most overlooked story of the week
✣Armed gang seizes Mexican parish
What happened?
An armed group has seized control of a parish in Tepalcingo, south of Mexico City. They arrived wearing masks with machetes, chains and other weapons, vandalised property, stole money and desecrated Eucharistic Hosts. The gang is still reportedly in control of the sanctuary and priest’s home.
Why was it under-reported?
Latin America is under-reported in Britain; when there is coverage it is dominated by horrific drug-cartel violence. The rule of law is notoriously weak in Mexico. The apparent reluctance of the authorities to intervene has also reduced interest: witnesses claim that the police failed to intervene during the attack, and that the state attorney general’s office was reluctant to accept a criminal complaint. The attackers’ motives are unclear: some reports suggested that organised crime might be involved.
What will happen next?
The Mexican bishops’ social ministry and Caritas Mexico have signed a statement calling on federal and state authorities to take action. “What other persons and interests are found in the background of this attack so violent and disproportionate?” they asked, hinting at a political motive. Recent years have seen a number of attacks on churches – including Catholic gangs attacking Evangelical churches. Mexico’s vicious internal divisions may have reached a point where it is hard for churches to remain safe.
✣The Week Ahead
Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister, will deliver a lecture at Swansea University on Thursday. The lecture will begin at 6pm and admission is free. The archbishop, whose title is Secretary for Relations with States, will speak about “diplomacy and dialogue amid conflict” in the Great Hall at the university’s Bay Campus.
On Sunday the Pope will celebrate a Year of Mercy jubilee for Catholics who are devoted to the Divine Mercy. The devotion was inspired by the apparitions to the Polish nun and mystic St Faustina Kowalska, who died aged 33 in 1938.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols will attend a five-day conference on combating human trafficking in New York next week, including one session at the United Nations headquarters. The purpose of the conference is to promote the work of the Santa Marta Group, which the cardinal leads. The group, made up of bishops and police chiefs, works to end human trafficking.
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