Both clad in white in the cream-colored hall of the Patriarchal Palace, Pope Francis and the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania on Friday confirmed their commitment to strengthening relations twenty years after Saint John Paul II’s historic visit to the country.
In a jam-packed Saint Joseph Cathedral in Romania on Friday, Pope Francis encouraged the local church to embrace a culture of encounter while giving a shout-out to women in the country.
The Catholic Church has universal laws valid around the globe, but many of those laws — including on handling allegations of abuse — must be further refined on a local level to respond to national laws and cultures.
Caritas Internationalis is the umbrella organization that serves as a federation for more than 160 national Catholic charities all over the world, from Sri Lanka and Ukraine, to Nicaragua and Haiti.
Addressing participants at a Vatican meeting on medical care for “extremely fragile” babies and on the pastoral care of their parents, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church’s total opposition to abortion is not primarily a religious position, but a human one.
Opening the general assembly of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based federation of national Catholic charities, Pope Francis celebrated Mass May 23 with some 450 delegates from around the world.
Pope Francis hopes his visit to Romania will strengthen the bonds of faith that unite Orthodox and Catholics in the country.
After an April 15 fire ravaged the cathedral, resulting in the collapse of its famed spire and rooftop, debate has ensued over whether the restoration efforts would possibly include a modern redesign or whether it will be rebuilt to reflect the last iteration of the 12th century structure.
McCarrick was removed from the college of cardinals last year, after he was alleged to have abused both minors and seminarians.
Correspondence obtained by Crux from an ex-aide to Theodore McCarrick, the former cardinal laicized over charges of sexual misconduct and abuse, confirms that restrictions on McCarrick were imposed by the Vatican in 2008.
