VATICAN
Ceremony changing for next Consistory
When those to be made cardinals gather for the consistory on February 18, the ceremony will be different than it has been in recent decades.
The Vatican announced that there will be a number of changes in the rite, which was last modified in the post-Vatican II changes to the liturgy.
According to the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, the rite will be simpler, in part to avoid the impression that the ceremony of creating cardinals has any kind of sacramental meaning.
Pope condemns ‘religiously motivated terrorism’
Pope Benedict XVI condemned “religiously motivated terrorism” and restrictions on religious freedom during his annual address to diplomats accredited to the Vatican. Looking both at signs of promise and areas of concern around the globe, the Pope said human dignity, truth and justice demand governments safeguard all human life and recognise the importance of the traditional family based on the marriage of a man and a woman.
But his strongest words on January 9, were reserved for the topic of religious freedom and religiously motivated violence.
Vatican diplomatic relations with 179 States
With Malaysia being the latest addition, there are now 179 States that enjoy full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Added to the 179 States are the European Union, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the Office of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). On Dec. 5, 2011, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) approved the Holy See’s status as a member.
Pope invites couples to base marriage on baptismal faith
Pope Benedict XVI concluded January 11’s general audience with exhortations related to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In his traditional closing remarks to youth, the sick and newlyweds, the Holy Father said the feast “offers us the opportunity to recall our own baptism.”
IRAQ
Archbishop unharmed in attack on his residence
The Chaldean archbishop of Kirkuk in northern Iraq was unharmed, when gunmen fired multiple shots outside his residence on January 11. Neither Archbishop Louis Sako nor his staff were hurt in the incident, which police attributed to terrorists from Baghdad, according to Vatican Radio. A car passed by with a driver and two passengers and shots were fired. Guards responded and two of the assailants were killed, and the other arrested. A number of policemen were injured.
MANILA
Three million Catholics defy terror threat
More than three million Roman Catholic worshippers paraded with a charred Christ statue through the Philippine capital in an annual procession on January 9, despite a warning from the President that terrorists might target the gathering. The black wooden statue known as the ‘Black Nazarene’ was displayed at the seaside Rizal Park where Manila’s Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle led a Mass and offered prayers for victims of tropical storms and landslides over the past year. Organisers then brought the statue — believed to have healing powers — down from the stage for its three-mile procession to a popular church, as devotees rushed forward to touch it. Police estimated that more than 3 million people had joined the procession; up to 9 million were expected.
