Vatican Library creates new website
The Vatican Library launched a new website in July to facilitate and expand access to its collection and services. In the new portal, visitors will be able to find out about, see and consult various contents such as medals, coins, engravings and manuscripts.
In addition, people who register will have access to a reserved area where they can resolve questions and make specific requests, such as photo-reproductions for scientific research or professional use.
“Graphic art evolves rapidly in this type of digital communication, so for some time we have been aware that we needed to update it with something faster and more intuitive,” commented the prefect of the Vatican Library, Monsignor Cesare Pasini.
“Naturally, we do not neglect personal service to those who visit us and we try to serve them well. But especially in this time of a health emergency that we are experiencing, with limited mobility it is more difficult for many to come directly to the Library. Therefore, this attractive and open communication site, with a wealth of content, aims to be an important place of welcome, collaboration and openness,” he states.
“With the site we want to make ourselves known for what we are and what we have, and to offer a service that extends to the furthest frontiers of the world,” the Monsignor concludes.
AIE publishes new guide for exorcists
Last May, the International Association of Exorcists (AIE) published a document entitled “Guidelines for the Ministry of Exorcism: In Light of the Current Ritual.” It aims to help priests who already exercise this ministry, as well as to serve as a tool for those who are in formation for this purpose.
In the introduction to the guide, Fr. Francesco Bamonte, president of the AIE, recalls that in cases of true demonic possession, exorcism “manifests its salvific, positive character,” provided it is done “according to the norms established by the Church – inspired by genuine faith and necessary prudence.”
For his part, Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, stated in his preface that the exorcist “works within the framework of an official mission that makes him in some way representative of Christ and the Church.” For this reason, Fr. Bamonte emphasizes, “Pretending to understand Catholic exorcism without having a living faith in Christ and what He, in the revelation given to the Church, teaches us about satan and the demonic world, is like wanting to deal with second degree equations without knowing the four basic operations of mathematics and their properties.”
The International Association of Exorcists was legally recognized on June 13, 2014 by a decree of the Congregation for the Clergy. With about eight hundred members around the world, the initiative arose from a small group of priests, including the renowned Fr. Gabriele Amorth and Fr. Candido Amantini.
Scottish bishops warn about making possession of a Bible a crime
On July 29, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland sent a communiqué to the Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament, commenting on the new “Hate Crime and Public Order Bill,” proposed by the nation’s government.
According to the prelates, one of the sections of the bill could lead to the criminalization of books such as the Bible and the Catechism and, consequently, to the censorship of Catholic teaching in the country.
The concerns are focused on section 5 of the document, which aims to establish the “offence of possessing inflammatory material” and which, according to the Scottish Bishops’ Conference, has poorly defined boundaries.
This legislation, introduced by the Scottish government on April 23, creates yet another offence: stirring up hatred against any of the protected groups covered by the same bill, determined according to criteria of race, religion and gender identity.
The bishops also cited in their communiqué the recent considerations they made to the government regarding the proposed revision of the Gender Recognition Act of 2004. They recalled the Church’s teaching “that sex and gender are not fluid and changeable, and that male and female are complementary and ordered towards the creation of new life.” In this regard, they state that “such pronouncements […] might be perceived by others as an abuse of their own, personal worldview and likely to stir up hatred.”
Carmelites promulgate original writings of St. Teresa of the Andes
The Discalced Carmelites of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit of Los Andes, located in the Diocese of San Felipe, Chile, have set up a website in which the complete text of all the original writings of St. Teresa of Los Andes have been posted. The initiative takes place on the occasion of the first centenary of the Chilean Saint’s death.
“We wanted to create this website so that the figure of our first Chilean Saint and the first flower of holiness of the Teresian Carmel in Latin America can be better known,” explain the nuns.
By means of these texts, which include letters, writings from her diary and literary compositions, it is possible to learn more about the family and monastic life of St. Teresa of Los Andes, as well as to delve deeper into her mystical side.
Restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral organ has begun
On August 3, the state department responsible for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, began work to restore the church’s monumental eight thousand-pipe organ. Although it did not suffer direct damage from the flames, the instrument was coated with soot, ashes and a toxic lead dust, which must be carefully removed.
Experts involved in this immense task estimate an approximately four-year project. The department overseeing the work say that just to tune the instrument after it has been restored it will take six months.
Despite President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that he hopes the Cathedral will be able to reopen in 2024, his government took more than a year to remove lead residue and the scaffolding that had been erected before the fire. To date, no reconstruction work has begun on the building.
Archbishop protests lack of dialogue regarding quarantine measures
In a statement read at the end of the Mass celebrated in the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in honour of St. Anne on her feast day, July 26, the Cardinal Archbishop of Quebec, Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, spoke out about the lack of communication between government and ecclesiastical authorities regarding measures to control the COVID-19 epidemic that have been implemented in the country.
According to him, the existence of the Church is being ignored on an ongoing basis despite its consistent willingness to collaborate.
“Government authorities are not taking us seriously,” he said. “We have never been able to establish a frank and direct dialogue with government nor public health officials.” The Cardinal also said contact with authorities has been limited to third parties, and the bishops are only aware of the norms when they are published by the press.
Since June 22, only fifty people are allowed to participate in each Mass, although the Quebec Department of Public Health has established that this is not a strict limit. Furthermore, beginning on that date, without any dialogue, a distance of two metres between parishioners, washing of hands, sanitization of the premises and distribution of Communion in the hand has been imposed.
The Cardinal protests that such restrictions for public Masses are more stringent than those applied for activities in casinos. And he denounced the fact that the sale of alcoholic beverages and marijuana were included in the list of “essential services” by Quebec officials, while “faith communities, which undoubtedly we consider capable of offering an essential service […], were virtually ignored.”
Lamenting “restrictions on us that go beyond reasonable,” the Cardinal concludes: “Do not abuse our patience, and stop ignoring our existence and our sense of responsibility.”
