Tag Archives: Catholics

Lifestyle

Pope Leo XIV as seen by friends from same religious order

Maravi Post Reporter

Friends of the new pope from the same religious order have been providing an insight into Leo XIV’s character.

Hours after Leo was selected by cardinals in the conclave, his friends from the Order of Saint Augustine spoke to the Associated Press about the new Pope’s down to earth human touch.

Father Alexander Lam, an Augustinian friar from Peru, where Leo was based, said he had time for everyone.

“He was very much loved (in Peru). Even the bishops of Peru called him the saint, the Saint of the North, and he had time for everyone.”

Father Lam said justice, peace, and environment were “topics that always touched him deeply.”

“When Pope Francis went to Peru, he was one of the bishops who slept with the people, doing the vigil with the people on the ground. And Roberto has that style, that closeness.”

Father Franz Klein, treasurer general of the Augustinian order, who also personally knows the new Pope, described him as a man “who likes to follow the rules of the church and of society” who was likely to “build bridges.”

“That was his first thing. Peace be with you, but let us go together, altogether. He meant all these people who are the Catholics in this world, you know.”

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/42/83/08/ED_PYR_1442838_20250509045333.mp4
Lifestyle

Catholics in Ivory Coast happy with election of new Pope Leo XIV

Maravi Post Reporter

Catholics in Ivory Coast say they are happy with new Pope Leo XIV despite hopes of an African pope being elected.

At St John’s Catholic Church in Abidjan, the faithful gathered on Thursday evening to pray for the ongoing conclave.

During the service, American Robert Prevost was named Pope Leo XIV, making him the first pope from the United States in the 2,000-year history of the church.

“We are very happy here in Ivory Coast, and we pray for the new pope, Pope Leo XIV,” said Hervé Djezou Konan, a priest who serves as head of communications for the Catholic Church in Ivory Coast.

Catholic faithful, Clementin Zongo, who attended the service, said she was grateful that the conclave had concluded.

“All I hope is that this new pope we’ve been given will be a model pastor, and that the Holy Spirit will always be with him in his discernment and decision-making,” she said.

As Catholicism declines in Europe, it is expanding in the developing world, with the number of faithful growing faster in Africa than anywhere else.

There were a few African cardinals considered to be in the running to become pope. At least 20% of the global Catholic community lives in Africa.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/42/70/01/ED_PYR_1442701_20250509040636.mp4
Lifestyle

On the eve of the conclave, tourists and locals in Rome wait in suspense

Maravi Post Reporter

Among the roughly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, many are keenly anticipating the upcoming Vatican conclave at which members of the College of Cardinals will elect a successor to Pope Francis.

There are no official candidates for the papacy, but some cardinals are considered “papabile,” or possessing the characteristics necessary to become pope.

After St. John Paul II broke the Italian hold on the papacy in 1978, the field of contenders has broadened considerably, such that even cardinals from far-flung countries are now possible successors to Pope Francis. Cardinals will begin voting when the conclave begins May 7.

Ordinary people, tourists, and the faithful wandering around St. Peter’s Square expressed their preferences and hope that their favourite candidate would become pope.

However, there are also those who believe that none of the cardinal electors has the necessary characteristics to become pope.

“There isn’t anyone at the moment who shows such strong charisma as Pope Francis or John Paul II. We’ll see,” said Rome resident Pierfrancesco.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/14/14/76/05/ED_PYR_1414765_20250506145021.mp4
Lifestyle

Is an African pope a priority for the upcoming conclave?

Maravi Post Reporter

Cardinals electing a new pope have some fundamental questions to weigh, beyond whether to give the Catholic Church its first Asian or African pontiff, or a conservative or progressive.

Although they come from 70 different countries, the 133 cardinals seem fundamentally united in finding a pope who will be able to make the 2,000-year-old church credible and relevant today, especially to young people.

It’s a tall task, given the sexual abuse and financials scandals that have harmed the church’s reputation and the secularizing trends in many parts of the world that are turning people away from organized religion.

Add to that the Holy See’s dire financial state and often dysfunctional bureaucracy, and the job of being pope in the 21st century seems almost impossible.

“We need a superman!” said Cardinal William Seng Chye Goh, the 67-year-old archbishop of Singapore.

The cardinals will begin trying to find him Wednesday afternoon, when those “princes of the church” walk solemnly into the Sistine Chapel to the meditative chant of the “Litany of the Saints.” They’ll take their oaths of secrecy under the daunting vision of heaven and hell in Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement,” hear a meditation from a senior cardinal, and then cast their first ballot.

Assuming no candidate secures the necessary two-thirds majority, or 89 votes, the cardinals will retire for the day and return on Thursday. They will have two ballots in the morning and then two in the afternoon, until a winner is found.

The church in Africa

According to Vatican statistics, Catholics represent 3.3% of the population in Asia, but their numbers are growing, especially in terms of seminarians, as they are in Africa, where Catholics represent about 20% of the population. Catholics are 64% of the population in the Americas, 40% of Europe’s population and 26% of Oceania’s population, according to Vatican statistics from 2023, the last available year.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo, said he is in Rome to elect a pope for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

“I am not here for the Congo, I am not here for Africa, I am here for the universal church. That is our concern, the universal church,” he told reporters. “When we are done, I will return to Kinshasa and I will put back on my archbishop of Kinshasa hat and the struggle continues.”

Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, the chatty French-born archbishop of Algiers, Algeria, lamented last week that there hadn’t been enough time for the cardinals to get to know one another, since many of them had never met before and hail from 70 countries in the most geographically diverse conclave in history.

By this week, however, he said that any number of candidates were possible.

Voting blocs

Italy (17) has the most electors followed by the United States (10). Brazil (7), France and Spain (5 each) follow in third and fourth place respectively.

Argentina, Canada, India, Poland and Portugal have 4 electors each.

Here is a regional breakdown of the full 135 cardinal electors, according to Vatican statistics and following the Vatican’s geographic grouping.

Europe: 53. (An elector who says he’s skipping the conclave is from Spain, so the actual number of Europeans is expected to be 52.)

Asia (including the Middle East): 23

Africa: 18. (Another elector who says he’s skipping the conclave is from Kenya, so the number of Africans is expected to be 17.)

South America: 17

North America: 16 (of whom 10 are American, 4 are Canadian and 2 are Mexican)

Central America: 4

Oceania: 4 (1 each from Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga)

Source: Africanews

Lifestyle

Cardinal Erdő leads mass before Papal Conclave”

Maravi Post Reporter

Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő celebrated Mass in his titular church in Rome on Sunday, days before attending the conclave that will elect the successor of Pope Francis. During his homily, Erdő asked faithful to pray for the new pope, who he said “will have to fulfil his mission in a dramatic phase of human history.” Known by his peers as a serious theologian, scholar and educator, Erdő, 72, is a leading contender among conservatives.

He has served as the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest since 2002 and was made a cardinal by John Paul the following year. He has participated in two conclaves, in 2005 and 2013, for the selection of Benedict and Francis. Holding doctorates in theology and canon law, Erdő, speaks six languages, is a proponent of doctrinal orthodoxy, and champions the Church’s positions on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.

Erdő opposes same-sex unions, and has also resisted suggestions that Catholics who remarry after divorce be able to receive communion. He stated in 2015 that divorced Catholics should only be permitted communion if they remain sexually abstinent in their new marriage. An advocate for traditional family structures, he helped organize Francis’ 2014 and 2015 Vatican meetings on the family.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/13/95/91/03/ED_PYR_1395913_20250505043447.mp4
Lifestyle

Over 60,000 users in Italy join online fantasy game to predict the next pontiff

Maravi Post Reporter

Next week’s conclave to elect the successor to Pope Francis as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics is steeped in centuries-old traditions, shrouded in secrecy and, the cardinal electors say, driven by the Holy Spirit.

That’s not stopping growing numbers of people around the world from making bets on it, whether in real wagers like for sports teams, online games modeled after fantasy football, or fantasy song contests.

It’s called Fantapapa – instead of football players, or the hottest singers, there are the cardinals who will participate in the next conclave.

Mauro Vanetti, co-creator of the Fantapapa said the developer wanted to tap into the “spirit of fun that exists (in Italy) with respect to such a solemn event that somehow desecrates it in a non-aggressive manner.”

The site, which was created in February when Francis was hospitalized, has more than 60,000 registered users.

They get to choose 11 cardinals – like for a soccer team – they think have the best chance to become the next pope.

Then they choose the top contender or “captain” – so far, players’ top choices has been Francis’ secretary of state, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, closely followed by Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna, and third in line Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle.

Then they create a game strategy, making picks on unknowns like what new name the pope will pick – the papal name is a first indicator of their preferences, so Francis chose the medieval saint from Assisi for his love of the poor and the environment.

Similarly, the game allows players to pick whether the new pope’s priorities will be more progressive or conservative, what day of the week he will be elected and how many tries it will take the cardinals in conclave to choose.

Italian student Federico La Rocca, 23, said his father told him about the fantasy game and he decided to play, choosing Tagle because “he looks like a nice guy and a fun person.”

Players accumulate points based on their different choices.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/13/81/29/03/ED_PYR_1381293_20250502061106.mp4
Lifestyle

Catholic faithful in Ivory Coast hold mass in memory of Pope Francis

Maravi Post Reporter

Catholics gathered at St Paul’s Cathedral in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast on Wednesday for a mass in memory of the late Pope Francis.

He was much admired across Africa for his peacebuilding efforts, visiting 10 countries across the continent during his 12 years as head of the global church.

As cardinals gather in Rome to elect a new pope, some at the mass hope the new church leader will be an African.

“If ever, by God’s grace, an African pope would be elected, it will be an immense joy for Africa. And this pope, Pope Francis, he has done many things for Africa,” said a Catholic faithful, Jean Bellemou, who attended the service.

Several African cardinals could be in the running, including Robert Sarah from Guinea, Peter Turkson of Ghana, and Fridolin Ambongo Besungu of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Miles Pattenden, an historian and lecturer at the University of Oxford who specialises in the Catholic Church, said an African pope would be “an electrifying possibility”.

“It would signify that the church has a real global intent and mission, and I think a lot of people would embrace it very strongly,” he said.

However, the African cardinals in the running are notably more conservative than Francis, who had what many viewed as a liberal approach.

Pattenden cautioned that, in time, there might be another reaction to one of them taking up residence in the Vatican.

“Although an African pope will do wonders for the Church in certain kinds of ways, it also will most certainly represent a return to a more conservative approach, both to teaching and practice,” he said.

He added that it was possible that this “will exacerbate, over time, some of the tensions” within the Catholic Church.

Vatican insiders are however sceptical that any of the African cardinals have a realistic chance of being elected.

The gathering to choose Francis’ successor, known as the conclave, is due to get underway on 7 May.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/13/73/04/02/ED_PYR_1373042_20250501052910.mp4
Lifestyle

Sexual abuse victims want a zero-tolerance pope to lead Catholic Church

Maravi Post Reporter

Ahead of a gathering to elect a new pope, survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have urged cardinals to choose someone with a zero-tolerance policy.

The group End Clergy Abuse (ECA) issued an open letter to the cardinals as they meet informally in Rome this week before the election gets underway.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the main US-based group, also identified cardinals who themselves have problematic records.

Speaking in Rome, abuse survivor and SNAP member, Peter Isely, said he was sexually abused by a priest when he was in the 8th grade in southeastern Wisconsin.

“We believe the world and Catholics do not want another pope elected who has been involved in covering up child sex crimes,” he said.

Isely said this “seems like an extraordinarily reasonable and relevant criteria” that should be a priority for those who are going to elect the new leader of the Catholic Church.

The church has been shaken for decades by scandals involving paedophile priests and the cover-up of their crimes that have damaged its credibility and discredited the Catholic hierarchy.

ECA and SNAP said a priest should be permanently removed from church ministry after even a single act of sexual abuse that is either admitted to or established according to church law.

That is the policy in Catholic churches in the United States, adopted in 2002 at the height of the sex scandal in that country, but it is by no means embraced elsewhere.

Cardinals are gathering in Rome ahead of a secret meeting to elect a new pope, known as the conclave, which is due to start on 7 May.

An abuse survivor and spokesperson for SNAP, Sarah Pearson, said people need to know despite the choice of a new pope being “a notoriously secret process”.

She said that what they have heard so far from the College of Cardinals suggests that abuse will be a priority in the conclave.

“It goes to show that when survivors speak out, it is gumming up the works, it is forcing them to think about the decision that they are going to make,” she said.

The issue is playing out in real time in Rome as the cardinals gather.

Peruvian Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, 81, has been seen in full cardinal garb entering and exiting Vatican City, despite being under church sanction for allegedly abusing a minor.

Cipriani is not allowed in the conclave itself because he is over 80, but he has been participating in the pre-conclave meetings this week.

The Vatican in January confirmed that disciplinary sanctions were in effect against Cipriani following accusations of sexual abuse.

These include requiring him to leave Peru and restrictions on his public activity and use of insignia.

However, the Vatican said he was allowed to deviate from them on some occasions.

SNAP earlier this year launched an online initiative, Conclave Watch, to provide information about individual cardinals and their records.

The group says that since the launch, survivors from Fiji, Tonga, Belgium, France, South Africa, Malawi, France, Italy, Canada, and the US have reached out with additional information.

The initiative vets cardinals who are considered contenders for the papacy on their record of handling sexual abuse cases.

This includes whether they were involved in covering up cases, as well as their acceptance of the zero-tolerance law that SNAP and ECA have proposed.

“Abuse survivors do not want to see another conclave that elects a pope who has shielded and covered up for clergy offenders,” said Pearson.

Source: Africanews

https://video.euronews.com/mp4/ED/13/67/52/03/ED_PYR_1367523_20250430142527.mp4
Lifestyle

Red Sea Task Force, Texas Border Law, Blessings For Same-Sex Couples

Maravi Post Reporter

The U.S. announces Operation Prosperity Guardian in response to attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. Texas criminalizes border crossings at the state level. Catholics react to the Vatican allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Ryland Barton, Cheryl Corley, Michael Sullivan, Ally Schweitzer, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Claire Murashima, David West and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Robert Rodriguez, and our technical director is Zac Coleman.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Malawi, Regional, Religion

Paul Kagame issues warning to Catholic tourists who “worship poverty”

Maravi Post Reporter

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has warned Catholics who visit pilgrimage sites known to have been sites of Marian apparitions each year, accusing them of “worshipping poverty”.

Every year, thousands of pilgrims travel, sometimes on foot, to the town of Kibeho, known for several apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three young girls in the early 1980s.

This year, however, the Rwandan president lashed out at the pilgrims after a mass in Kibeho attracted more than 20,000 people on Assumption Day, August 15.

Speaking to young people on Wednesday, he described the pilgrimage as “horrible”. “If I hear of this again, that people have traveled to worship poverty, I will bring trucks to pick them up and throw them in prison, and I will only release them when they no longer have this mentality of poverty,” said Paul Kagame, himself a Catholic, although it is not known what prompted the threats.

However, a government spokeswoman assured AFP on Thursday that President Kagame was not referring to Kibeho in his speech, saying he was probably referring to a little-known site in western Rwanda.

“In his speech at the youth event, President Kagamé at no point mentioned a specific pilgrimage site, and certainly not Kibeho,” said Yolande Makolo.

“What he was most likely referring to was an informal pilgrimage-type event taking place in the Rutsiro district,” she added. “The aim (of the president) was to encourage young Rwandans to be ambitious and work hard, instead of being influenced by cult-like rituals.”

There was no immediate reaction from the Catholic Church. Almost all Rwandans are Christians, with Catholics accounting for half.

The first Marian apparitions at Kibeho occurred in 1981, and were recognized by the Church in 2001. The site has since become a popular place of pilgrimage for Catholics from all over the world, hoping for a miracle or healing.

According to local media reports this month, the Catholic Church is seeking 3.5 billion Rwandan francs (around 2.7 million euros) to expand the pilgrimage site.

accusing them of “worshipping poverty”.Source: Africanews