Pope never intended to offend, says Vatican
POPE FRANCIS has apologised after reports that, in a closed-door meeting this week, he used derogatory language to describe homosexual men, saying that they should not be allowed to train for the priesthood, and that there was already an air of frociaggine in seminaries, which translates as a highly offensive slur. On Tuesday, the director of the Holy See press office, Matteo Bruni, told reporters that Pope Francis was “aware” of the reports. “The Pope never intended to offend or express himself in homophobic terms, and he apologises to those who felt offended by the use of a term, as reported by others.”
CNI’s first woman bishop consecrated
THE first woman bishop in the Church of North India, the Rt Revd Violet Nayak, was consecrated in the Cathedral of the Redemption, New Delhi, on Tuesday of last week. She was elected Bishop of Phulbani on 20 May, almost 23 years after being ordained presbyter in the diocese. The Church of South India’s first woman bishop was elected in 2013 (News, 4 October 2013).
Plastic surgeons receive ‘natural’ welcome
THE Pope received a group of plastic surgeons last week, and thanked them for their compassionate service, particularly in helping sick children, Vatican News reports. True beauty, he told them, “is not subject to trends programmed by the business of fashion and the culture of appearance, but is connected to the truth of man, to his most intimate being, which we cannot disfigure”. Reuters reported that he spoke of greeting them “with a smile on our lips, natural, not remodelled”.
Arrests made after attack on Christians in Punjab
CHRISTIANS in Pakistan are protesting after reports of a mob attack on a shoe factory owned by a Christian family in the Sargodha division of Punjab. Nazil Gill Masih and his son were accused of having burnt pages of the Qur’an with their rubbish, and were physically attacked by a mob that burned their shops and homes, reported the Union of Catholic Asian News. On Monday, a press release from the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement, which supports Christians persecuted in Pakistan, said that several other Christian families in the area had fled their homes in fear, and that police had arrested at least 28 individuals in connection with the violence.