IN BRIEF


Manuscript missing A twelfth-century illustrated manuscript describing the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage route has disappeared from the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. The 225-page Codex Calixtinus, which was kept in a safe in the cathedral’s archives, is thought to have been stolen by professional thieves last Sunday.


Williamson fined €6,500 The Regensburg District Court has fined Bishop Richard Williamson of the break- away Society of St Pius X €6,500 and again found him guilty of incitement to hatred after he publicly denied in 2008 that Jews were deliberately murdered in concentration camps in the Holocaust. The ruling followed an appeal after the same court found him guilty in 2009 and fined him €12,000. His lawyer immedi- ately announced that Williamson would appeal to the Higher Regional Court at Nuremberg.


Nicora heads new watchdog Pope Benedict XVI last week accepted the resignation of Cardinal Attilio Nicora as head of the Vatican Treasury. He is now heading up the new Vatican’s financial watchdog, the Authority of Financial Information, which was established by Pope Benedict XVI in December to respond to the latest scandal involving the Vatican Bank, officially known as the Istituto per le Opere di Religione.


Mexico City priest fights ruling A senior priest in Mexico City is to appeal after being sued by the state’s ruling Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) for urging Catholics not to vote for political parties that promote easier access to abor- tion and same-sex marriage – policies the PRD pursued. Mexico’s electoral tribunal ruled that Fr Hugo Valdemar Romero, the spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mexico City, had broken the law when he made his comments in an interview in 2010, and urged the Interior Ministry to impose a fine on the archdiocese..


Hong Kong Churches defy law The Catholic, Anglican and Methodist Churches in Hong Kong have united against a law that came into force this week which they fear would water down their mission. Their 286 schools – 35 per cent of Hong Kong’s total – are ignoring the new requirement for government- subsidised faith schools to set up incorporated management committees of parents, teachers and alumni as well as church representatives.


For daily news updates visit www.thetablet.co.uk


30 | THE TABLET | 16 July 2011


ROME


Lenten missions launched in 12 European cities


Alessandro Speciale In Rome


A DOZEN cities in Europe where Rome believes the Church to be under threat by the forces of secularism are to be targeted by a missionary campaign the Vatican is launching during Lent next year.


Cardinals and bishops from Barcelona, Brussels, Budapest, Cologne, Dublin, Lisbon, Liverpool, Paris, Turin, Vienna and Warsaw attended a closed-door meeting this week convened in Rome by the head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, Archbishop Rino Fisichella. They were asked for ideas for a pilot project aimed at revitalising the Church in their cities. In the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Fisichella wrote on Wednesday that the aim of the “Metropolitan Mission” is to “give a sign of unity among the diverse dioceses present in the largest European cities that have been particularly affected by secularisation”. He told Vatican Radio that as a test run, Metropolitan Mission will be rolled out in 12 European cities but


the project “should eventually extend beyond the borders of the old continent, albeit with modalities which respect the different cultural and ecclesial traditions”.


While he did not name the cities, it is thought they will be the 11 represented at Wednesday’s meeting, plus one other. The project will involve “a continual reading of the gospels, to place the Word of God at the centre”, “three catecheses by the bishop dedicated to young people, to families and to catechumens on the themes of faith”, “a cel- ebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to draw attention to confession”, an act of charity and “a sign of spirituality”, such as readings from St Augustine’s Confessions. All activities will take place at the same time in the different cities involved. He said the cities’ cathedrals would be at the heart of the Metropolitan Mission but the intention is to extend it into parishes to increase its impact. Liverpool Archbishop Patrick Kelly told Vatican Radio that he did not know why his city had been chosen but added that “there is something very strong” when “diverse expe- riences speak with some united vision”.


Legionaries’ reform hindered by ‘dissenters’ ROME


EFFORTS TOreform the Legion of Christ are being hindered by “dissidents” within the troubled order, according to the cardinal charged with reshaping it, writes Alessandro Speciale. Cardinal Velasio De Paolis com- plained about the “negative influence” of some of the Legion’s younger members who he said were resisting his reforming agenda. He made his remarks in a provisional assessment of the progress of his first year’s work during a speech at the Legion’s Centre for Higher Learning in Rome, last week. The cardinal was appointed to reorganise the order after its founder Marcial Maciel was exposed as a child abuser and drug addict. Cardinal De Paolis said that in 2010 the order suffered its greatest loss of members but added “the exodus has been contained


■PHILIPPINES:The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines formally apologised on Monday after becoming entangled in a corruption scandal when seven bishops accepted donations from a state-run lottery, writes Ellen Teague. The bishops acknowledged


with regard to priests”. He did not give figures but in February it was reported that 70 out of a total of more than 800 priests had left the congregation. The cardinal said the “dissidents” showed


“a radical lack of confidence in the continu- ation and renewal of the congregation. And in every way they have become antagonistic towards the legitimate superiors.” Cardinal De Paolis added that steps had been taken to redefine the person of Maciel. The delegate said that the work of rewriting the order’s statutes is about “one-third” done. The new statutes will then have to be approved by a general chapter that could take place no earlier than 2013, when Fr Luis Garza, the Legion’s vicar general, has said the order’s current leadership may step down.


that the Church has been “deeply wounded” and promised that the bishops concerned “are ready to accept responsibility for their actions”. The bishops’ conference said it would also “re-examine” its style of collaboration with government agencies.


Several bishops were due to appear before a Senate inquiry on Wednesday. Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is accused of using state lottery funds – raised for health care and other social services – to give the seven bishops cash and four-wheel-drive vehicles.


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