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Pope Francis is seen here at an audience to Managers and Employees of TV2000 and Radio InBlu in Paolo VI Hall at the Vatican.
Hard Numbers: New Catholic bishops in China, Executions in Iran, Presidential runoff in Finland, Peruvian dog goes surfing
2: Pope Francis has appointed two new bishops in China, signaling rapprochement after years of conflict with Beijing. The Chinese government attempted to exercise control over clerical appointments in the country (just wait for the firestorm when the Dalai Lama dies and Beijing tries to name his reincarnation) and agreed to a compromise to jointly appoint bishops with the Vatican in 2018 – only to violate it in 2022 and 2023. Pope Francis’ appointments signal he's ready to turn the other cheek.
67: Tehran seems determined to retain its title as one of the world’s top executioners. On Monday, Iran executed four men it accused of spying for Israel amid historic tensions between Tehran and the Jewish state. But Iran Human Rights challenged the government’s claims, saying the men were Kurdish political prisoners and “denied basic fair trial rights.” There have been 67 executions in Iran so far in 2024, the rights group says.
27.2: Finland will hold a runoff presidential election in February, given no candidate secured at least 50% of the vote in the first round on Sunday. Former Prime Minister Alexander Stubb won the first round with 27.2% of the vote, and he will face off against Pekka Haavisto, a former foreign minister, who earned 25.2% of the vote. Finnish presidents serve as commander-in-chief and play a big role in the country’s foreign policy, which is particularly important for the Nordic country as NATO’s newest member.
4: If there was a competition for the “raddest dog in the world,” a four-year-old Jack Russell terrier named Efruz would probably have a good chance of winning. If you head to San Bartolo, Peru, you might catch the yellow-vested pup wowing beachgoers while surfing with his owner. Right on, Efruz, you rule!
Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window, at the Vatican, December 17, 2023.
Catholic priests can now bless same-sex couples, with a big caveat
The Vatican on Monday announced that Pope Francis has granted formal approval for Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples – but it must be clear that such blessings are not part of the ritual of marriage or in connection with a civil union.
The new guidance marks yet another departure from long-standing Vatican policy under Pope Francis, who has taken a number of steps to make the Roman Catholic Church and its 1.3 billion members more tolerant toward the LGBTQ community.
As he pushes for more progressive policies, Pope Francis has often clashed with the more conservative wing of the Catholic Church – particularly in the US. In August, the Pope ripped into what he described as the “backward” attitude of conservative American Catholics.
The Catholic Church is not the only Christian institution facing divisions over issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community. A quarter of the United Methodist Church’s congregations in the US – primarily conservative-learning churches – have left the denomination amid debates surrounding its LGBTQ policies. The massive exodus from the United Methodist Church comes as many more liberal congregations ignore the denomination’s official ban on same-sex marriage and on openly LGBTQ clergy.
Pope Francis presides the weekly general audience at Paul-VI hall at the Vatican
Hard Numbers: Pope cracks down, Americans live (bit) longer, coup plotters arrested, Amazon deforestation slows, adopt axolotls
77.5: The good news: Life expectancy in the United States rose over one full year to 77.5 in 2022, up from 76.4 years in 2021, according to new CDC data. The bad news: That’s still more than a year lower than 2019’s pre-pandemic 78.8 years.
13: Authorities have arrested 13 military officers in Sierra Leone following Sunday’s failed coup, which came several months after the contested election of President Julius Maada Bio to a second term. Amid the chaos, 20 were killed and nearly 1,900 inmates escaped a central prison in Freetown. Coups are very on trend in the region: There have been eight military takeovers in Central Africa since 2020.
55.8: Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is down 55.8% this year compared to the same period in 2022, according to a new study by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Association. The 9,117 square kilometers of forest loss between January and November 2023 – roughly the size of Puerto Rico – is the lowest level since 2019.
600: The future of the axolotl, the fish-like salamander known for its adorable grin, is not all smiles. The endangered amphibian has seen its population density drop by 99.5% over the past two decades, thanks to pollution and invasive species. But Mexico’s National Autonomous University has relaunched a campaign to allow people to virtually adopt an axolotl (and get live updates on its health) for as little as 600 pesos — around $35 USD.
Pope Francis leads an ecumenical prayer vigil in Saint Peter’s square at the Vatican
The times they are a-changin’ – is the Catholic Church?
On Wednesday, Pope Francis is convening a massive meeting of Church officials and ordinary Catholic faithful — including women for the first time ever — to discuss and vote on how the Church can find common ground on a number of divisive issues, from LGBTQ+ recognition to divorce to the role of women. It’s the first phase of a two-year process, which will culminate in another summit in Rome next year.
Why this is a big deal: Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination, with over 1.3 billion adherents, and it claims direct roots to Jesus Christ through his disciple Peter, considered the first Pope. The Church’s size and global nature mean its adherents hold a vast array of political and cultural beliefs, many of which are at loggerheads in the secular world. But the Church’s mission to serve all is embedded in the name: The Greek Katholikos literally means “universal.”
Francis’ leadership on social issues stands in stark contrast to that of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Benedict was among the most conservative Church leaders in recent memory, while Francis has consistently sought ways to reconcile evolving social mores with Catholic doctrine, though the two notably maintained a close relationship.
Inclusivity in focus: Church officials canvassed congregations for two years to set the agenda items, and the thread running through them is how to welcome Catholics whose backgrounds may once have precluded them from participating in worship. The subject of offering communion to people who have divorced their spouses will play a major role, as will discussions over whether women may hold some positions in the church, such as deacons.
One agenda item includes the bishops in Germany and Belgium who have been vocal about wanting representation for LGBTQ+ members and have begun allowing priests to bless same-sex couples. Societies where Catholicism is growing fastest, mostly in Africa and Asia, tend to take a more conservative view, as do traditionalists in Western countries. Making everyone happy will be tough and may come down to devilish details. Are the people involved blessed, but not the union itself, for example?
Pope Francis offered little clarity on his position, telling bishops they should treat requests for blessings with “pastoral charity” while reaffirming that he considered same-sex marriage “objectively sinful.”
Hashing it all out, which Francis is dedicated to doing, will take time – and critics accuse him of using calls for discussion as a means of delaying tough decisions. Formally, this assembly is titled a “Synod on Synodality” (theologian speak for a meeting about how we have meetings), which hints at the aspect of this assembly that may prove the most transformative: among the most representative body of Catholics ever assembled, both laypeople and clerics, discussing and voting on the future of their shared faith.
Pope Benedict, who shocked the world by resigning, dies at 95
Pope Benedict XVI, the first pontiff to retire in six centuries, died early Saturday at the age of 95. Benedict surprised the world in 2013 by announcing he was stepping down from the papacy due to his advanced age. The first German pope in 1,000 years, Benedict took up the mantle of his close friend and predecessor, Pope John Paul II, and is credited with starting to reform Vatican finances and disciplining priests in Latin America who promoted Marxist ideology. Along the way, his strict adherence to church doctrine earned him the nickname “God’s Rottweiler.” Benedict’s papacy was plagued by global clerical sexual misconduct charges, and he charted a course for stricter discipline and defrocking of priests. But he’s also remembered for the 2012 “Vatileaks” controversy in which his brother leaked secret files revealing corruption and infighting at the Vatican. His reputation was further damaged by this year’s Munich diocese report, which alleged he mishandled sexual abuse allegations when he was an archbishop decades ago, prompting him to publicly apologize. Pope Benedict wasn’t always great at interfaith work. He managed to upset Muslims by suggesting Islam was inherently violent, and Jews by lifting the excommunication of a Holocaust-denying bishop. While leaving a mixed legacy, Benedict will perhaps be remembered most for making a daring choice to resign when he felt he could no longer fully serve the papacy.
Clerical Errors
The Catholic Church is facing tremendous internal upheaval and Pope Francis is at the center of it.
Bestselling author Fr. James Martin, a Jesuit priest who recently had a private audience with the Pontiff, and who has courted plenty of controversy of his own, discusses the moment of potential schism the Church is facing with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
On issues like LGBT inclusion, immigration, and income inequality, Pope Francis has moved the Church into a more progressive place, one that traditionalists and conservatives oppose. Meanwhile, the sex abuse scandal continues to take a toll on Church membership and credibility. Fr. Martin frankly and honestly addresses all these issues and more.