Every day, Aleteia offers a selection of articles written by the international press about the Church and the major issues that concern Catholics around the world. The opinions and views expressed in these articles are not those of the editors.
Francis and the geopolitics of devotion to Our Lady of Fatima
According to an article published in Italian news outlet, Domani, Pope Francis’ decision to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has to be seen as a political message as well as a spiritual one. A couple of days ago Orthodox Patriarch Kirill gave the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir to the chief of the Russian National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, as a way of ensuring protection for the country’s army in the conflict. Historian Daniele Menozzi explains in the article that in this context, Pope Francis' action is also significant."The Marian worship, so dear to the Orthodox Church, is called upon to intercede for the attainment of peace, not to give a religious content to the crusade against Western modernity,” Menozzi explains, “it marks, thus, the diversity of the position of Roman Catholicism with respect to the line of the patriarchate of Moscow." The article cites different instances in history where the Marian tradition was understood through a political lens. While professor Menozzi concedes that "we do not yet know how Pope Francis intends to interpret the consecration” he finds it “difficult that [the pontiff] can completely subtract it from the legacy of a past that connects it to a political dimension.”
Domani, Italian
Father Lombardi says "it is useful to reread Ratzinger, many themes are very topical."
It is "useful to reread Ratzinger, also because many of the themes treated are of great topicality," explained Father Federico Lombardi, president of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation. Father Lombardi was presenting the first book of the eighth volume of Joseph Ratzinger’s complete works. This book, dedicated to writings on ecclesiology and ecumenism, is titled "Church: Sign among the Peoples.” It gathers 40 texts, covering 50 years of reflection of the Pope Emeritus, on topics such as "Communion, collegiality and synodality"; "The primacy of Peter and the unity of the Church" or "Charisms and movements in the Church." These texts trace many of the debates of the past decades, including the famous discussion between Cardinal Ratzinger and Cardinal Kasper. Father Lombardi also recounts that he had personally studied Ratzinger's writings during his theology studies in Frankfurt. "We have remained grateful to this master," confides the man who was his spokesman from 2006 to 2013.
AgenSIR, Italian
The 9 "bets" of Pope Francis
Pope Francis is celebrating 9 years of his pontificate. Tomorrow, March 19, 2022, will be the anniversary of his installation on the Throne of St. Peter and the entry into the tenth year of his reign. For Spanish magazine Omnes, this is an opportunity to look back at 9 of the "bets" around which the path and mission of the 266th pope have been built. Fraternity, mercy, the protection of God's children, tenderness, the peripheries, youth and old age, women, the welcome of the most destitute and, finally, Christ. These are the nine battles that the Argentine Pontiff has vowed to fight along with all the faithful of the world. The author wishes all the best to Pope Francis and to the whole Church, and hopes that these "bets" will be consolidated as the living face of Christ in the world.
Omnes, Spanish
The conspiracy theories of Archbishop Viganò
For several years, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former nuncio to the United States, has been a notorious opponent of Pope Francis; he publishes day after day "increasingly conspiratorial" declarations. Reacting to the release of one of his latest letters on the situation in Ukraine, theologian George Weigel denounces Viganò's false allegations point by point. Archbishop Viganò claims that the media is falsifying everything about the war in Ukraine, that Joe Biden and the European Union are executing a "criminal plan" to perpetrate the war, that the 2014 Ukrainian revolution was a George Soros-sponsored operation, and that Ukraine is persecuting Russian speakers. Archbishop Viganò finally places his faith in the "third Rome," the Orthodox Patriarchate of Moscow. "Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has written the obituary for what remained of his once-considerable religious and moral authority," laments Wiegel who was once his friend.
First Things, English
St. Patrick’s Day parades turn pandemic blues Irish green
St. Patrick's Day celebrations across the United States are back after a two-year hiatus, including in New York, which holds the country’s largest commemoration. In 2020, the Irish festival was among one of the first major public events to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including in Florida where the governor, Ron DeSantis, chose St. Patrick's Day to close restaurants, bars and nightclubs - a dramatic decision by the Republican that underlined the fear and uncertainty of this period. This year, the holiday marks the return of certain "freedoms" for Americans, accompanied by the lifting of several restrictions, including masks. Major U.S. cities are prepared for the return of the festivities with excitement: Chicago dyed its river green, Boston let its Irish enclave - the largest in the country - celebrate in full, and Savannah welcomed the return of the holiday, whose cancellation in 2020 had ended more than 200 years of tradition. "This is the best thing that's happened to us in two years," says one Irish-born restaurant owner.
Associated Press, English
