Below is an excerpt of a report from CNA about the latest figures from the Annuario Pontifico and “Annuarium Satisticum Ecclesiae”, which provide a statistical snapshot of the Church.

“The Catholic Church added 15 million new faithful in 2010 and the number of priests continued to steadily increase for the tenth straight year, according to the latest edition of the pontifical yearbook.

The Catholic population increased from 1.181 billion in 2009 to 1.196 billion in 2010, a growth of 1.3 percent. The percentage of baptized Catholics worldwide has remained steady at 17.5 percent.

Priests increased from 410,593 to 412,236. There were about 277,000 diocesan priests and 135,227 religious order priests. The growth trend has continued since the year 2000. The number of clergy increased by 1,695 in Asia and by 765 in Africa. Growth in the Americas and Oceania was only in the double-digits, while priest numbers fell by 905 in Europe.

The figures come from the 2012 edition of the Annuario Pontifico, known as the pontifical yearbook, and the “Annuarium Satisticum Ecclesiae.” These provide a statistical snapshot of the Church.

The Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Substitute for General Affairs to the Secretary of State, presented the compilations to Pope Benedict XVI on March 10.”

By CNA/EWTN News

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Below is an excerpt from an article in CiNews in which the new Papal Nuncio to Ireland, Archbishop Charles Brown outlines his view on Ireland having a resident ambassador to the Vatican and the importance of the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress.

“It is a good thing for Ireland to have a resident ambassador to the Vatican, according to the new Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Brown.

“We believe it is important for Ireland to have a presence in Rome so that the voice of Ireland can be expressed directly and consistently and constantly to the Holy See.  That is why you have a resident ambassador,” he said.  “It is a good thing for Ireland.”

However, the Holy See absolutely recognises the economic stress of the times, he added.  Denying there is an “icy” relationship between the Fine Gael government and the Vatican, Archbishop Brown said that the welcome he had been given by the government had been “exceptionally warm and kind at every instance.”

The new Nuncio, who arrived in Ireland a month ago, was not drawn from the diplomatic corps of the Vatican.  Instead the American prelate worked since 1994 with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, (the branch of the Vatican that oversees church doctrine) where he worked alongside the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger until he became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.

While he has a close relationship with the pontiff and could ring him up, “if I needed to,” he said he tried to be “judicious” in his contact with the Pope.

This is his first appointment as Nuncio and he readily describes himself as a novice.

“I’m trying to learn as much as I can and as quickly as I can,” he told ciNews.”

By Susan Gately

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Below is an excerpt of an article from irishtimes.com about the upcoming publishing of reports into abuse prepared by the visitation teams sent to Ireland by the Vatican last year.

“Reports from the seven visitation teams sent to Ireland by the Vatican last year are on course to be published this spring, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

The teams, which visited Ireland’s four Catholic archdioceses, seminaries and male and female religious congregations, all completed and sent their reports to Rome by the end of last year. The apostolic visitation was ordered after publication of the Murphy report into clerical sex abuse.

A factor which would influence the publication of the team reports was the occurrence of Holy Week and Easter early next month, said Dr Martin.

He was speaking at a press conference in Maynooth yesterday as the Irish Bishops’ Conference ended its spring meeting.

“The strong view on the part of the bishops” was that ongoing reviews of dioceses, congregations and other Catholic institutions by the National Board for Safeguarding Children “should move forward quickly”, he said. Each diocese had agreed to fund their own review, with “a waiting list of bishops wanting to be reviewed”. The work of the board to date was “very satisfactory”, he said.

In a report to the bishops, board chairman John Morgan and director of safeguarding Teresa Devlin said they expected a further seven reviews, of dioceses and congregations, to be completed by the summer.”

By Patsy MacGarry

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Below is an excerpt from an article in the Irish Catholic about the upcoming International Eucharistic Congress and the potential for parishes to intensify preparation during St. Patrick’s feastday.

“Parishes and communities across the country are intensifying preparations with less than 100 days to go to the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin. So far more than a million people have symbolically rung the Eucharistic Congress Bell as that symbol of renewal criss-crosses the island of Ireland in preparation for the June 10-17 event.

The pilgrimage of the bell will take on an international flavour on March 17 when it travels to Rome to raise universal awareness of the event which is expected to be the largest celebration of faith in Ireland since Pope John Paul II visited in 1979.

Archbishop Martin insists that the congress is ”a unique opportunity for renewal of the Christian life”.

”To the surprise of its critics the Eucharistic Congress is taking shape as a genuine moment of renewal in the Church,” he said.

Organisers are encouraging parishes to use the forthcoming feastday of St Patrick to intensify preparation. ‘Ring for Renewal’ invites people to pause for a moment and reflect on how they can be renewed as individuals and members of the Church as they prepare for the congress.

Cathedrals and churches are being asked to ring their bells for two minutes at noon and 6pm after the traditional Angelus chimes.”

By Michael Kelly

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Below is an excerpt of a report on Vatican Today about an invitation extended by the Holy See to the choir of Westminster Abbey to sing alongside the Cappella Musicale Pontificia, the Sistine Chapel Choir.

“Westminster Abbey’s world-famous choir has been invited by the Holy See – through the Maestro of the Cappella Musicale Pontificia “Sistina” – to sing at St Peter’s in Rome. The Choir of Westminster Abbey will sing alongside the Cappella Musicale Pontificia, the Sistine Chapel Choir, at the liturgies of the Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul which will be broadcast across the world. This momentous ecumenical occasion is the first time in its over-500 year history that the Sistine Chapel Choir has joined forces with another choir.

 
The invitation to Rome came after Pope Benedict XVI visited the Abbey in September 2010 when he attended Evening Prayer and prayed at the tomb of St Edward the Confessor with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams, as part of his State Visit to England and Scotland.
The Pope has asked that arrangements for the June collaboration be made in such a way as to reflect the Christian vocation of the Choir and encourage the enriching mutual exchange of gifts between the two liturgical and cultural traditions. As Westminster Abbey is formally known as the Collegiate Church of St Peter, there will be an important shared resonance as both choirs celebrate their patron together.

 
The two choirs will together sing at First Vespers in the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le mura on 28th June and at the Papal Mass in the Vatican Basilica on the morning of 29th June.”

By Vatican Today

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Below is an excerpt from an article on Catholic News Agency about the recent theft of the heart of St. Laurence O’Toole from Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin.

“The recent theft of a 12th century Irish saint’s heart from a Dublin church has left local Christians stunned and devastated.

“All I would ask is that whoever took it would return it with no questions asked. It’s valueless to anyone but the Cathedral here and our community and the community of Dublin…we’re grieving over it, really,” church dean Rev. Dermot Dunne told CNA on March 5.

The heart of St. Laurence O’Toole was stolen from Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin sometime between  9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 3 and has yet to be recovered.

Rev. Dunne said that the local Christian community is particularly devastated “that someone should deprive us of a special link” of their past and their Christian founder.

Although Christ Church Cathedral is part of the Anglican Church, Rev. Dermot said that both the Catholic and Anglican dioceses of Dublin venerate St. O’Toole as the patron of the city.

“The outpouring of emotion of horror at such a crime is quite notable” among both communities, Rev. Dunne said. “It’s showing how much Laurence O’Toole is in the hearts of people.”

By Hillary Senour

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Below is an excerpt from an article in CiNews about the concerns of local residents in Clonmacnois over plans to have the ancient monastic site accorded World Heritage status.

“Residents of Clonmacnois, Co. Offaly, have expressed renewed concern over efforts by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to have the ancient monastic site accorded World Heritage status.

The Clonmacnois Action Group, which represents local people concerned about the implications of a designation for their livelihoods and lifestyles, wants a meeting with Minister Jimmy Deenihan (pictured) as fear grows that his Department will push ahead with trying to get UNESCO to approve the designation without consulting its members.

The Minister recently told local TD Nicky Fadden that he is, “reviewing the strategy for advancing nominations to the World Heritage List from the new tentative list.”  He said his Department is undertaking a feasibility study in relation to one site, which he did not name, and that, “consideration is now being given to the order of progressing nominations from the tentative list and the process for progressing such nominations.”

The Clonmacnois site is one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions, drawing 134,000 visitors last year.  It was included in a list of Irish sites put forward in 2010 to the UN agency for accreditation as a World Heritage Centre.

The chairperson of the Clonmacnois Action Group, John Dolan, said he believed the Department is, “still proceeding even though we got previous assurances from the then Taoiseach that they would not do so without public consultation.”

By Fintan Deere

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Below is an excerpt of an article on Catholic News Service about a book “My Brother the Pope”, which recounts the childhood and life of Pope Benedict XVI. The book is based on a series of interviews with Msgr. Geort Ratzinger, the elder brother of the Pope.

“Recounting their rural Bavarian childhood and subsequent lifelong friendship, the elder brother of Pope Benedict XVI offers a privileged look at the personal side of the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics.

“My Brother the Pope,” scheduled for publication March 1 by Ignatius Press, is based on interviews with Msgr. Georg Ratzinger by German writer Michael Hesemann and was originally published in German last year.

Joseph, the future Pope Benedict, was “very slight and delicate” at birth, Msgr. Ratzinger says, and was “often sick” as an infant, with diphtheria among other ailments. Later on, Joseph’s favorite toys were stuffed animals, and he was particularly attached to a pair of teddy bears.

Msgr. Ratzinger describes family life with their parents and older sister Maria as free of any overt conflict, “since each one settled that himself and with God in personal prayer. We did not talk about such things. … Such problems became a part of our prayer.”

Glimpses of the boys’ destinies came early on. When a cardinal visited their small town in 1931, arriving in a black limousine, 4-year-old Joseph exclaimed, “I’ll be a cardinal someday!” Nevertheless, Msgr. Ratzinger says, his brother was never ambitious, and external honors have been “always unwelcome” to him.

“My brother was somewhat better behaved than I,” Msgr. Ratzinger says, yet he recounts a boyhood prank in which the two tricked a local farmer into losing track of his oxcart.

Recreation of a more edifying sort came when the boys played at being priests, using a toy altar made for them by an uncle.”

From CNS – Carol Glatz, Francis X. Rocca and Cindy Wooden

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Below is an excerpt from an article on Catholic News Agency about a recent pilgrimage of thanksgiving to Rome for former Anglicans from the British Isles.

“Over 100 former Anglicans from the British Isles concluded a pilgrimage to Rome Feb. 24 in thanksgiving for the creation of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

“It has been quite poignant because almost all of the people who are with me were not Catholics until Easter last year,” Monsignor Keith Newton, the head of the U.K. ordinariate told CNA on Feb. 24.

The ordinariate was established last year by Pope Benedict XVI to give Anglicans the possibility of entering into communion with the Catholic Church while still preserving their “distinctive Anglican patrimony.”

“Now they have come to the center of Catholicism, they’ve come to the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul to pray and to give thanks, and I think they’ve been genuinely moved by this, really,” Msgr. Newton said of his fellow pilgrims.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham already has 57 priests and over 1,000 members throughout England, Wales and Scotland. This Easter it will receive another 200 lay people and 20 priests into the Church.”

By David Kerr

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Below is an excerpt of an article in the Belfast Telegraph reporting on a talk given by the Archbishop of Dublin at a talk in the Mater Dei Institute last night, in which he called for the Government to protect schools that are truly Catholic.

“The Government has an obligation to protect schools that are truly Catholic from being stripped of church control, the Archbishop of Dublin has said.

The Most Rev Diarmuid Martin said parents who do not wish to have their children educated within a religious framework have every right. But he insisted that truly Catholic schools must be saved for those who do.

“Ireland needs plurality of provision of schools,” said the Archbishop in a lecture on the reform of the Catholic Church.

“But the rights of those Irish citizens who wish their children to receive Catholic education can only be respected by fostering Catholic schools that are truly Catholic and there is an obligation of the State to foster that possibility also.”

Nearly 90% of state-funded schools are controlled by the Catholic Church, but the Archbishop pointed out that some welcome children of all faiths.”

From the Belfast Telegraph

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