Pope Francis Calls Out Church’s Greatest Challenge During His First TV Talk Show Appearance

Currents News Staff

In a rare hour-long interview with an Italian state broadcast network, Pope Francis spoke frankly about his vision for the Church, which he described as a “Church on pilgrimage,” as well as the greatest challenges it faces, namely spiritual worldliness.

“Today, the Church’s greatest evil is spiritual worldliness, a worldly Church,” the pontiff said. “This worldliness inside the Church makes something ugly grow, that is clericalism, which is a perversion of the Church.”

The Holy Father discussed caring for the environment and the harmful effects of war and spoke strongly about the conditions of migrants who are held in lagers, the German word for the labor camps used during the Holocaust.

“With migrants, what they are doing is criminal,” Pope Francis said. “They suffer so much to reach the sea. There are videos of the lagers, and I use this word seriously, lagers, in Libya, trafficker camps. The fact that the Mediterranean is the largest cemetery of Europe should make us think.”

After being spotted while visiting a record shop in Rome, the pontiff was also asked about his music taste, and referred to his roots as a “porteño,” a colloquial term for someone from Buenos Aires.

“You’ve been asked if you danced tango, and you said yes, that when you were young you sometimes danced tango,” the host asked.

“Well a porteño who doesn’t dance tango is not a porteño,” Pope Francis said.

The pontiff also shared other personal anecdotes, discussing his decision not to live in the papal apartments in order to be around others, and how as a child he hoped to one day become a butcher. Pope Francis usually ends his comments by saying “Don’t forget to pray for me” and at the end of his TV appearance he added, “For those of you who don’t pray, at least send me good thoughts.”

Benedict XVI’s Public Apology: Did The Retired Pope Set the Standard For Catholic Bishops’ Response on Abuse?

Currents News Staff

Just weeks ago, a report commissioned by the Catholic church concluded that Pope Benedict XVI mishandled abuse cases when he was an archbishop in Germany. The retired pope is responding to it asking for forgiveness, but again denying any personal wrongdoing.

In his two-page letter released by the Vatican, Pope Benedict began by thanking his legal team for fighting to maintain his innocence. He dedicated the rest of his letter to the importance of “confession,” acknowledging that he will pass away soon and be judged by God.

He prayed he would be forgiven for shortcomings and asked this of victim-survivors. Meanwhile, the Vatican has already strongly defended Pope Benedict’s record in the aftermath of that Munich abuse report, pointing out that he was the first pope in history to meet with victims. Pope Benedict also issued strong norms to punish priests.

During the final two years of his pontificate, he laicized nearly 400 priests for abuse. If you want to read Pope Benedict’s full letter, just head over to thetablet.org.

For a deeper analysis of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s letter, John Allen, Rome editor at Crux, joined Currents News to discuss the retired pope’s response.

The Jackie Robinson Story

After a successful baseball career in college and as a coach in the military, Jackie Robinson (playing himself) attracts the attention of Major League Baseball’s Branch Rickey (Minor Watson). Rickey wants Robinson to play in the minor leagues, believing he can become the first player to break the color barrier and play in the majors. The only catch: He is forbidden from defending himself against racial bigotry. Supported by his wife (Ruby Dee), Robinson is steadfast in his determination to win.

The Sheen Center Presents – Jackie Robinson : The Faith Behind the Legend

Taped at The Sheen Center, Fox News Channel’s chief national correspondent, Ed Henry, discusses his New York Times bestselling book “42 Faith: The Rest of the Jackie Robinson Story,” which reveals in full for the first time the backstory of faith that guided Robinson into not only the baseball record books but the annals of civil rights, as well. Learn about a side of Robinson’s humanity that few have taken the time to see.

Strength to Love

“The Schiller Institute performs “Strength to Love: A Unity Concert,” a collection of African-American spirituals and pieces at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his vision of the future.”

Enduring Faith

Enduring Faith is an ninety-minute documentary that examines the struggle to establish an African American clergy in the American Catholic Church. The story is viewed through the prism of the Josephite Society, and English missionary group that came to America in 1871 to evangelize and convert the recently emancipated slaves. As the Catholic Church’s only mission dedicated solely to African Americans, the Josephites operated on the fringes of the institution throughout the majority of their turbulent and often controversial history.

Catholic News Headlines for Tuesday, 2/8/22

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI releases a letter responding to the allegations he failed to report priests accused of abuse.

Listening and journeying together – that’s the theme of the synod that has Pope Francis asking for feedback from every Catholic around the globe.

Today is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking.

Diocese of Brooklyn Launches Digital Synods with Online Survey Ahead of Lent

By Jessica Easthope

They’re questions designed to bring about change, some the Church has never asked before. “Who do you think is in charge?” “How can the Church work better with other communities of faith?” And now they’re in digital form.

“They’re going to be asked basic questions that would be asked of any Catholic right now who wants to have a voice,” said Father Joseph Gibino, Vicar for Evangelization and Catechesis.

As the global synod process has gotten underway and parishes have started listening sessions – leaders in the Diocese of Brooklyn are realizing the people they need to reach most are not the regulars.

Sister MaryAnn Seton Lopiccolo, who is leading the diocese’s synod efforts with Father Gibino, says often they’re people who have never come to church and might even feel unwelcome.

“We want to hear from the people who don’t come to the building called the church and from people who don’t feel welcome because those are the voices that are going to change us,” said Sister Maryann, Episcopal Delegate for Religious.

DeSales Media Group, the digital and technology arm of the Diocese that operates NET-TV, has created a digital synod. It starts with videos explaining the topics of the synod, hoping to make people feel like their voices matter – and puts the questions posed during parish listening sessions into an online survey.

“How is it that we can be a more welcoming, a more listening church so we’re using technology to help us listen,” Father Gibino said.

Anyone with an Android, iPhone, laptop or internet connection can scan a QR code or follow a link and participate. A motivation for the digital synod has been the need to reach young people.

“We’ve lost generations of youth, their world is a digital world, everything is online and everyone will have access,” said Sister Maryann.

People can complete the 10-topic survey all at once or in parts and save their answers.

The digital synod is launching on February 27 in time for Lent but the Diocese of Brooklyn is encouraging people to register now online at dioceseofbrooklyn.org/synodsurvey

New Spinal Cord Stimulator Implant Helps the Paralyzed Walk Again

Currents News Staff

In 2017, Michael Roccati was paralyzed after a motorcycle accident. No one ever thought Michael would be able to do high-functioning movements.

“I tried to move my legs,” Michael said. “I try to change my position. This was impossible to do nothing. I fixed in my mind that it was just a situation, so I put on my mind, my behavior to try and solve this problem and I never stopped.”

Now he can walk about a mile without assistance thanks to this device. It sends electrical impulses to his spine. He can control it through his computer.

Scientists have been researching electrical stimulation as a treatment for paralysis for three decades. The newest stimulator, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, can reach more of the spinal cord and allow people to regain movement on the same day that they received the spinal implant.

“This technology is so precise that immediately after the surgery, the patient can walk and stand,” said Surgeon Jocelyne Bloch.

Within a week, three patients, men between the ages of 29 and 41 including Michael, were able to walk like this. Their case is detailed in a study published Monday in the journal, Nature Medicine.

With hours and hours of rehabilitation for five months, the patients were walking, riding bikes and even boxing.

The research is still early and they’ve tried it out on only three patients. They plan to test it out on 50 to 100 more patients to make sure it’s safe and to see if it works better in some people than in others. They hope that if the device performs well in these tests, that it will be widely used in the next three to four years.

But these initial steps are still monumental.

“Working is super important,” Michael said. “Just stand up. Can solve a lot of kind of problems in their normal life. Just to do a simple shower with the crutches. I can stand up and take a shower. With the walker. I am free.”

The spinal cord stimulator has been used for decades to treat chronic pain. Scientists modified the device to target nerves in the spine that control leg and trunk movements.

Talitha Kum Nuns Mark Day-Long Prayer Marathon to Raise Awareness Against Human Trafficking

Currents News Staff

Feb. 8 is the “International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking” and it’s being marked by a day-long prayer marathon organized by the religious sisters of Talitha Kum.

They say it has even more importance this year since the pandemic has put even more people at risk of being trafficked.

“The time we are living in which for the last two years has been marked by the pandemic, has increased the number of vulnerable situations which are exploited by traffickers,” said International Coordinator Sister Gabriella Bottani.

During the Angelus, Pope Francis encouraged these sisters to continue their work with victims of human trafficking and blessed a statue they presented to the Diocese of Rome.

“A special greeting goes to the women religious of the group Talitha Kum, who are working against human trafficking. Thank you for what you do, for your courage. Thank you. I encourage you in your work and I bless the statue of Saint Josephine Bakhita,” the pontiff said.

The statue is a moving depiction of St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave and universal symbol of the Church’s commitment to fighting human trafficking.

“She is a woman who, with a simple gesture, holds open a manhole which joins the world of darkness with the world of light, the submerged world with the visible one, and from this manhole emerge the people who represent the different forms of trafficking in all its realities in the world,” said Sister Gabriella.

Human trafficking occurs in all parts of the world and as such, participants from over 30 countries and all continents will participate in the day of prayer. Together they aim to raise awareness about the over 40 million modern slaves worldwide – of which an estimated 72-percent are women and girls.

The religious sisters of Talitha Kum work in more than 92 countries worldwide to combat human trafficking.