The head of the Chaldean Church in Iraq, Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphaël Sako, announced on 10th April that he had returned to his headquarters in Baghdad.
He left Baghdad in August 2023 after President Abdul Latif Rashid, a Sunni Kurd, withdrew state recognition of Mgr. Sako as head of the church and spent eight months in exile in Erbil, Kurdistan.
Mgr. Sako returned at the personal invitation of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, a Shia Muslim from Baghdad.
The patriarch praised the invitation as "a first step in a journey of a thousand miles". Sako remains troubled by the Iraqi president's actions and continues to seek the recognition he has been deprived of.
Picture: Louis Raphaël Sako © Mazur CC BY-NC-ND, #newsHwkmrzmlsg

Francis will make an Apostolic Journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from 2-13 September, the Vatican Press Office announced (April 12).
He will visit Jakarta from 3-6 Sept, Port Moresby and Vanimo from 6-9 Sept, Dili from 9-11 Sept and Singapore from 11-13 Sept. This is the longest trip of his pontificate. A similar itinerary was previously planned in 2020 but was postponed indefinitely due to the covid hysteria.
Francis, 87, has regular respiratory infections and needs a wheelchair. Traveling long distances in this condition seems unthinkable.
Picture: © Mazur, CC BY-NC-ND, #newsCmvdgmongs

Cardinal Robert Sarah, one of the leading cardinals in terms of intelligence and integrity, praised the bishops of Cameroon for their "courageous and prophetic" 21 December statement against Francis' homosexual pseudo-blessings.
"You have done a work of pastoral charity by pointing out the truth," he said. The cardinal is currently visiting Cameroon, where he gave a programmatic speech on 9 April at the Episcopal Conference headquarters in Mvolyé, published on Diakonos.be.
It is "wrong and ridiculous" for "some people in the West" [including Francis] to claim that the Cameroonian bishops acted in the name of some "cultural particularism", Sarah clarified. They have claimed, "in a logic of intellectual neo-colonialism", that Africans are "not yet" ready to "bless" sin "for cultural reasons", he said: "As if the West had a head start over backward Africans."
In reality, the bishops in Africa are acting "in the name of the one Lord, the one faith of the Church", Sarah explained: "Since when …More

Spanish fashion company Zara recently released a video showing models in various churches in the province of Malaga, including the cathedral.
The settings and costumes were inspired by Holy Week. The diocese of Malaga issued a statement on 7 April complaining that religious feelings were being hurt and threatening to sue the company.
On 9 April, after all the targets had been met and the video had received the desired attention, Zara "apologised". It claimed that "respect for all people is an essential element of the company's culture".
A spokesman for Zara added the lame excuse that the video was "not official content" of the parent company and that the responsibility lay solely with the employees of the Zara store in question.
#newsLeskivkigu

Francis has decided to make Archbishop Georg Gänswein, 67, nuncio, reports Francis' friend Elisabetta Piqué on LaNacion.com.ar (11 April).
"Despite the tensions between the two," she wrote, "Francis has decided to wipe the slate clean and give a new start and mission to Benedict's former private secretary, German Archbishop Georg Gänswein, who, therefore, will soon be appointed nuncio in some part of the world."
She based her report on "indiscreet remarks [gossip] circulating in the Vatican", which she found "credible". Francis has decided to appoint Mgr. Gänswein to a nunciature in an as yet unnamed country.
It is possible that this is just a hoax report to divert attention from Francis' undignified outbursts in his latest book, "El Sucesor - Mis recuerdos de Benedicto XVI", in which he smears Monsignor Gänswein and other prelates of the Church.
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Italian blogger Marco Felipe Perfetti (SilereNonPossum.it) has been charged by the Vatican with "slandering" Francis and allegedly revealing secrets.
Perfetti is a young Roman lawyer with excellent connections in the Vatican gossip pipeline. He never received a letter from the Vatican, let alone access to the prosecutor's files, even though the trial begins on 12 April, but learned of the accusation from the media.
"I'm completely surprised, also because our office is not in their state, so a rogatory letter should have been sent," he told FattoQuotidiano.it.
The Vatican promoter of justice, Alessandro Diddi, confirmed to Ansa.it the news of the trial and the offence of "defamation". Perfetti has brought the allegations against Father Marko Rupnik to light.
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The young priest René Gaston Ayihi Tsimi, 31, from Cameroon, has died at the age of 31, writes FarodiRoma.it (11 April).
The deceased was a student at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, which trains future Vatican diplomats.
Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, President of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, wrote that he gave him a picture of St John Paul II when he was taken to the Gemelli Clinic. Ayihi kept it on his bedside table all the time, next to the picture of Our Lady of Pompeii.
Ayihi was born on 13 July 1992 in Mbandjock, in the Diocese of Obala (Cameroon). He studied Philosophy in Otélé and Theology at the Pontifical Urbanian University in Rome, where he also obtained a Licentiate in Canon Law.
After his ordination on 22 August 2020, he was assistant priest in Nkomotou until July 2021. In the same month he was appointed vice-chancellor of his diocese, a position he held until his return to Rome.
On 26 September 2023, he began his studies at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical …More

Francis received Davi Kopenawa, a Yanomami shaman, in an audience on 10 April.
The day before, the Vatican newspaper had highlighted the high levels of mercury pollution suffered by Yanomami communities in the Amazon as a result of nearby gold mines. The paper didn't mention the spiritual well-being of these people.
Kopenawa asked Francis to support President Lula da Silva's efforts to combat 'illegal mining', and President Bergoglio replied that he would speak to Lula.
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The homosexual activist Nicolò Anselmi, whom Francis appointed "Bishop of Rimini" in November 2022, took part in a public demonstration in favour of homosexual sins (RayNews.it, 7 April).
This is the first time that an Italian bishop has degenerated to such a level. Anselmi is known for playing topless with topless seminarians.
The propaganda event at which Anselmi appeared was a recent transvestite "Visibility Day" organised by Arcigay Rimini in Marecchia Park. During the event, Anselmi said: "We probably still have a long way to go, but the way the Gospel and Jesus have shown us is to really welcome everyone [correct: to really lead everyone to conversion]."
"It is good to be here, it also seems to me an obligation, because God really is the Father of all," he claimed, while John 8:44 says: "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to do what your father wants. He was a murderer from the beginning, he does not keep the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies …More

The diocesan administrator of the diocese of Dunkeld, Scotland, Canon Kevin Golden, announced at 1pm on Wednesday 10 April that Rev. Martin Chambers, 59, had died in his sleep.
Only on 2 February, Francis had appointed Chambers as the new Bishop of Dunkeld, Scotland. He was due to leave his parish on 10 April and be consecrated a bishop on 27 April.
Chambers was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Galloway. After his ordination, he served in many parishes, including as a missionary in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from 2004 to 2009.
From 2018 he also directed the diocesan Vocations Office and the diocesan Office for the Ongoing Formation of Permanent Deacons.
Mgr Chambers died in his last parish in Troon, Scotland, to which he was appointed in 2023. The second last Eucharist he presided at on 8 April, the funeral of William McMillan, is still available on the internet (below).
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Six dioceses in the west of Ireland are to be led by three bishops. The seismic change was announced on 10 April, along with changes in the episcopate. Ireland is divided into 26 dioceses, essentially unchanged since the 12th century.
The six western dioceses will be left with three bishops. Archbishop Francis Duffy, 65, of Tuam takes over the diocese of Killala, while Bishop John Fleming, 76, of Killala retires.
Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin is appointed Apostolic Administrator of Achonry. The present Bishop of Achonry, Mgr Paul Dempsey, 52, is deposed and demoted to Auxiliary Bishop in Dublin.
Already in May 2022, Bishop Michael Duignan, 53, of Clonfert, became also Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh.
The Irish nuncio, Archbishop Luis Mariano Montemayor, sugar-coats the massive decline in the formerly Catholic country by talking of "new challenges" and "pooling resources" to "increase vitality". A full merger will take place "if this process evolves still further".
Bishop Doran spoke …More

Bergoglio/Fernández: “The death penalty violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances. In this regard, we must recognize that the firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognise the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone.”
John Paul II (Evangelium Vitae): “Punishment ought not go to the extreme of executing the offender except in cases of absolute necessity: in other words, when it would not be possible otherwise to defend society.”
John Paul II's Catechism of the Catholic Church: “[Scripture and] the traditional teaching of the Church has acknowledged as well-founded the right and duty of the legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty.” …More

A priest of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, 58, , former superior of the USA (2008-2014), appeared before the criminal court in Gap, France, on 4th April.
He is accused of indecently touching minors in the context of his work with young people in France between 2003 and 2006, and then within a family in 2013 and 2018.
The accused said he had "always fought against this attraction" and, perhaps in an attempt to blame others for his actions, claimed to have alerted the Fraternity on several occasions as early as 1998.
However, according to the Fraternity, it was not until 2014 that the priest's ambiguous and inappropriate behaviour was brought to their attention. The superiors immediately removed the priest from his apostolate. Since then he has been subject to appropriate disciplinary control within the fraternity.
In 2019, when the superiors of the fraternity learned of the existence of offences under the jurisdiction of the courts, they reported them to the police and strengthened …More

Philosophers and journalists comment on social media on Tucho Fernàndez’ latest production entitled "Infinite Dignity" and its first line: “Every human person [allegedly] possesses an infinite dignity.”
Edward Feser: "No, as the Catholic faith has always taught, only a single human being possesses that – Christ, and only because He is God, not because He is human. God alone has infinite dignity."
Peter Kwasniewski: "No creature has an infinite dignity. That’s sheer balderdash. Only God has, or rather is, infinite dignity; and those who participate in Christ share, finitely, in his dignity as Son of God. Those who rebel against God lose the dignity."
And: "That which is ‘infinite’ is literally that which has no limits or definitio or end outside itself (that’s why God is rightly called infinite). But man’s dignity is very much tied to his nature and his end. If his dignity were truly infinite, then he would stand in no need of God or of redemption/salvation."
And: „Roma locuta, causa …More

Francis reinstates the papal title of 'Patriarch of the West' in the 'Annuario Pontificio del Vaticano 2024'.
FosFanariou.gr reports that Francis' move is "to promote synodality", but it's more likely that he wants to increase his personal prestige and power, and strengthen Roman centralism.
The title was abolished in 2006 by Benedict XVI, who called it "unclear" and "obsolete". The Councils of Constantinople (381) and Chalcedon (451) established four patriarchates in the East (Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem).
The Roman Church had preferred the idea of the three Petrine episcopal sees: Rome, Alexandria and Antioch. The title "Patriarch of the West" was adopted by Pope Theodore in 642. After that it was used only occasionally.
Instead of playing around with papal titles, the Vatican should be doing something to counter the ongoing collapse of the Church.
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The trial of Rev. Tomasz Z., 46, who organised a homosexual orgy in his presbytery in Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland, began on Tuesday at the local district court.
Z. was brought from prison, where he has been since January. He entered the room handcuffed, visibly depressed, with a goatee. His hair has turned grey since the incident.
To everyone's surprise, a verdict was reached that same day. Z was sentenced to 18 months in prison for failing to help a person in an allegedly life-threatening situation and for possession of drugs. He must also pay the "victim" 15,000 PLN (3500 euros) in compensation.
The incident took place in August 2023. Z. invited a homosexual friend to a party in his rectory. The homosexual arrived with his 27-year-old friend, who is married and has a wife and a child.
During the party, the three of them talked about potency and psychotropic drugs. Things got out of hand when the 27-year-old collapsed after taking too many erectile dysfunction pills, allegedly suffering …More

On 9th April Francis accepted the early resignation of Mgr. Peter Jugis, 67, the Bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina. Francis named Father Michael Martin, OFM Conv. of Atlanta as his successor.
Mgr Jugis asked to retire last June because a chronic but non-life-threatening kidney condition made it difficult for him to preside at long liturgies and travel around the diocese. He recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as a bishop and his 40th anniversary as a priest.
His diocese (400,000 Catholics, less than 100 churches) is alive with vocations and conversions. He has about 50 seminarians. A local seminary was opened in 2020.
More than 1,100 people were received into the Church at Easter Vigils in 2024. Last week, the diocese announced plans to build a cathedral to meet the needs of the growing Catholic population.
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A so-called "Easter Vigil" at St Antonius Parish in Gronau, Diocese of Münster, Germany, included a dance for everyone with some attempts at singing.
The performance took place after the priest had distributed communion in the hands. It was led by a lady dressed in a white robe, who stood in front of the Novus Ordo table. The priest, behind the table, and the congregation followed her like lemmings.
The woman explained how to proceed: two steps to the left and clap three times, then two steps back and clap again three times (etc.). As if this was not silly enough, the Novus Ordo victims began to sing sequences from Sydney Carter's "Lord of the Dance" (1963).
The priest expressed surprise at the willingness of the sheep to participate in this farce, and suggested that they add a turn in 2025 - because folly is like a cancer: It tends to grow.
#newsDwuzsefsxe

Amica Chips, an Italian food company that produces potato chips and snacks in Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy, has released a promotional video in which a priest who has run out of hosts, serves potato chips to a crowd of nuns.
The video is considered by many to be blasphemous. However, it must be admitted that it has nothing to do with the Novus Ordo Church as it exists today.
The nuns are dressed like nuns, the priest is in a cassock, he is looking toward God, he is using a proper stole and chalice, he behaves very respectfully, he is putting the chips on the tongue, and there is decent music in the background.
In one sentence: Amica crisps are treated much better than the Body of Christ is treated in the average Novus Ordo Eucharist.
#newsThlopgwkei