Actualitzada 05/11/2018 a les 12:23

CONTINUA LA PRESSIÓ DELS COL·LECTIUS FEMINISTES

La pressió dels col·lectius feministes per a la despenalització de l’avortament a Andorra continua tant dintre del Principat com a l’Alt Urgell. Des de l’organització andorrana Stop Violències s’ha penjat un tweet duríssim contra el Copríncep episcopal, Joan-Enric Vives. El grup feminista andorrà va respondre a les declaracions de Vives sobre l’avortament dient que “s’ha de ser cínic i misogin per presentar-se com a víctima després que és ell el principal responsable que no puguem exercir els nostres drets com a dones al nostre propi cos”. El col·lectiu ha anunciat que el pròxim 10 de novembre participaran en un acte de Marea Verda a Premià de Mar (Barcelona) on faran una xerrada explicant la situació de prohibició de l’avortament en la legislació andorrana.

Des de l’Alt Urgell són diferents els grups i associacions feministes que s’han mobilitzat per instar a la despenalització. El més actiu és el col·lectiu feminista i independentista Arran, que ha penjat a Twitter missatges tant contra la situació com atacant el bisbe d’Urgell. “Avortarem amb les vostres benediccions, o sense. Aquí hi ha un poble digne que lluita pels seus drets.” Aquest és un dels missatges que el col·lectiu feminista ha fet públic per les xarxes. A banda, també han tirat endavant una campanya amb pancartes (com la que es veu a la fotografia) on s’indica que “a Andorra exigim un avortament lliure i gratuït” al mateix temps que indiquen que “cap Copríncep decidirà per nosaltres”.

El Vaticà ja havia advertit, en conversa directa del Papa amb Toni Martí, que la despenalització de l’avortament és incompatible amb el fet que el bisbe d’Urgell continuï sent cap d’Estat d’Andor­ra. Les recents polèmiques sobre la interrupció de l’embaràs havien obert la porta que diferents polítics i activistes feministes afirmessin que la Constitució permet mantenir el coprincipat encara que es consenteixi l’avortament. Aquesta teoria considera que el bisbe d’Urgell no hauria de renunciar a ser cap d’Estat simplement deixant de firmar la despenalització. És en aquesta línia que el Vaticà, segons diverses fonts properes a l’executiu i a la Cúria, ha deixat clar que és totalment incompatible. L’avortament derivaria immediatament en l’abdicació del Copríncep episcopal, Joan-Enric Vives, acompanyada de la renúncia de la Cúria romana al dret de tenir un cap d’Estat andor­rà. Cal recordar que la figura dels coprínceps es remunta al 1278 amb la signatura del primer Pariatge.El Vaticà ha tramès que el respecte a la vida (inclou també l’eutanàsia) és un precepte innegociable i sobre el qual no hi ha debat possible més enllà de la defensa i la protecció en totes les seves fases. Roma ha fet saber que el papa Francesc ha estat taxatiu en l’oposició total i absoluta a l’avortament. S’ha comunicat que a principis del mes passat Francesc va condemnar la interrupció de l’embaràs i el va comparar amb qui contracta “un sicari per resoldre un problema”. L’afirmació va tenir lloc durant la catequesi en l’audiència general, celebrada a la plaça de Sant Pere. Francesc reflexionava sobre el cinquè manament (no mataràs) i llavors va condemnar la “supressió de la vida humana en el si matern en nom de la salvaguarda d’altres drets”. El pontífex va preguntar retòricament “com pot ser terapèutic, civil o simplement humà un acte que suprimeix la vida innocent i indefensa en el seu inici?” I va afegir: “És just suprimir una vida humana per resoldre un problema? És just contractar un sicari per resoldre un problema? No, no es pot!”El Papa va criticar “que els pares, en aquests casos dramàtics, necessiten una veritable proximitat, veritable solidaritat, per afrontar la realitat i superar les comprensibles pors, i no obstant això, el que reben són ràpids consells per interrompre l’embaràs”. En aquesta línia, respecte als embarassos amb malformacions, va afirmar que “un nen malalt, com qualsevol persona necessitada i vulnerable, més que un problema és un do de Déu que ens pot treure del nostre egoisme i fer-nos créixer en l’amor”. Va concloure que l’home “rebutja la vida” per ídols com “els diners, el poder i l’èxit” i que aquests són “paràmetres equivocats per valorar la vida”.La contundència del missatge, segons les mateixes fonts, hauria de ser suficient per acabar amb el debat intern dins d’Andorra respecte a si Copríncep episcopal i avortament són compatibles. En tractar-se d’un problema de consciència insuperable (la doctrina cristiana equipara la inter­rupció de l’embaràs a un homicidi) no hi ha d’altre camí, segons fa saber el Vaticà, que la renúncia. Però al mateix temps que s’ha deixat clar el posicionament, segons aquestes fonts, la Cúria romana confia que Andorra mantindrà la situació juridicolegal actual i respectarà l’article de la Constitució on s’especifica que es garanteix la protecció de la vida en totes i cadascuna de les seves fases.</s>ROME – Following one of the most brutal attacks on the Jewish community in the history of the United States, Pope Francis condemned anti-Semitic attitudes “present in our own times” and stressed the importance of religious freedom and interreligious dialogue.

“As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite; we share the same roots. It would be a contradiction of faith and life,” the pope said during a Nov. 5 audience with delegates of the World Congress of Mountain Jews on their first ever visit to the Vatican.

“Rather, we are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community,” he added.

On Oct. 26, eleven people were killed and many wounded during a shooting at the synagogue, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The killer, identified as Robert Bowers, is said to have entered the temple carrying an assault rifle and two pistols while yelling “All Jews must die.”

The attack at the synagogue is only the most recent in a spew of violent aggressions and even murders against Jews, as anti-Semitism is on the rise not only in the United States but also in Europe.

Pope Francis recalled his visit to Lithuania in September, where he prayed before a monument commemorating the many who lost their lives during the Holocaust. He also mentioned the raid of the Roman Ghetto during German occupation and the Kristallnacht, which the pope said destroyed places of worship in an effort to erase faith.

The effort to replace God with an “idolatry of power and the ideology of hatred,” underlines the importance of religious freedom, Francis said, which is “a supreme good to be safeguarded, a fundamental human right and a bulwark against the claims of totalitarianism.”

In order to fight anti-Semitism, the friendship between Jews and Christians must be strong, the pope said, something that can be achieved through dialogue. “In these times, we are called to promote and to expand interreligious dialogue for the sake of humanity,” Francis said.

“The Holocaust must be commemorated so that there will be a living memory of the past,” Francis said, “Without a living memory, there will be no future, for if the darkest pages of history do not teach us to avoid the same errors, human dignity will remain a dead letter.”</s>Pope Francis apparently told US filmmaker Michael Moore that capitalism is a sin and that the ‘poor must always come first’ when they met recently in the Vatican City.

Michael Moore, 64, told Late Night with Seth Meyers that he met the Pope two weeks ago and he made the comments when Moore asked him about income inequality.

‘I went to the weekly audience, and then he asked to speak to me privately. It was an amazing moment, and I asked him if I could ask him a question,' Moore said.

'And he said, "Yes,"' Moore said, recounting his visit with the pope last month.

'And I said, "Do you believe that an economic system that benefits the few, the wealthy at the expense of the many is a sin?"

‘He said to me, "Si" in Italian. And I said, "So you believe capitalism, the capitalism we have now is a sin?" He goes, "Yes, it is." He said, "The poor must always come first."'

The Bowling for Columbine documentary maker described Pope Francis as a humorous figure and claimed that the Argentinian-born Pontiff asked if Moore would pray for him.

He added: ‘He grabbed my hand and he said, "Please, pray for me." And I said, "I will, and please pray for me."

‘And he said, "No, you have to make more movies." And I'm like, "I just wanted a prayer." He's like, "No, you go back to, you go back work." He has a sense of humor.'

Moore, who is a left-wing activist, met the Pontiff two weeks ago at St Peter’s Basilica and tweeted a picture of the two of them together.

At one point Moore can be seen whispering into his ear while Papal bodyguards look on.

In a caption he wrote: 'Today I met Pope Francis for the first time at the weekly general audience he holds at the Vatican. We spoke for a number of minutes.

‘I had a question I wanted to ask him and he gave me his answer. I will write about this tomorrow. For tonight, I remain deeply moved and grateful'.

Pope Francis, 81, is known for his work with disadvantaged people and has at times denounced Church doctrine in favor of social change.

He recently welcomed the homeless and unemployed as guests of honor for a Mass and gourmet meal in the Vatican, saying that helping the needy was one way of obtaining a 'passport to paradise'.

Moore also discussed Fahrenheit 11/9, his new American political documentary about the 2016 United States presidential election and the subsequent presidency of Donald Trump on Late Night.

He also opened up about being a prospective target of the alleged Florida mail bomber Cesar Syaoc on Thursday's episode of Late Night.

The man accused of sending multiple explosive devices to media outlets and Democratic politicians had images of a number of people with crosshairs on them, including the documentary filmmaker.

‘I was watching CNN live and all of a sudden there was my picture on his van. Honestly, I have to say my first thought was, "That's a really good picture,"' he said.

‘My second thought was the bull's-eye, the target he put on me, wasn't over my face. It was just down here, like on my neck and shoulder. So I gave him a little bit of credit, but not really’.

Moore added that law enforcement officials also contacted him about the suspected bomber.</s>The simmering resentment of some Catholic clergy in Ireland over low attendance at events during the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland has finally broken surface. It has found a predictable target – the media, a scapegoat overtly identified by Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran, for instance.

In a message to priests and deacons in his diocese, announcing a collection at all churches next weekend to help defray costs arising from the World Meeting of Families and the papal visit, he was clear.

There was, he said, “a shortfall in fundraising income due in no small measure to the consistent negative coverage in the media in the final weeks of preparation. Some ‘fruit’ died on the ‘trees’.” He said the bishops had decided “on an additional national collection on November 10th and 11th to help defray the deficit…”

The cost to the church of the World Meeting of Families and the papal visit was €19.4 million. Of this €15.4 million was raised through four national collections and other donations, leaving a shortfall of €4 million.

Bishop Doran is not alone. At the Association of Catholic Priests annual general meeting in Athlone last month, Fr Gerry O’Connor of its leadership team read from a draft letter they plan sending to the bishops.

It speaks of “a sinking feeling that the [papal] visit and the expectations it generated were derailed by an unexpected, though not unpredicted, focus on the sexual abuse issue”. It referred to “the virulence of the negative commentary and the lack of engagement by so many Catholics with the visit”.

Last month Catholic primate Archbishop Eamon Martin also said the World Meeting of Families was “the tale of two congresses: there’s what happened on the ground, and then there’s what happened in the media”. There had been “a huge concentration on the abuse issue” [in the media], he said.

He had the grace to add that this “was merited” by abuse reports from the US and around the world.

Similarly, with Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin. The lead-up to the World Meeting of Families was “disheartening, given the reports from abroad such as the Pennsylvania grand jury, the Australian Royal Commission and others, as well as the revisiting in the media of many of the traumas of our own past, the Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes as well as clerical child abuse,” he said in Kilkenny on October 27th.

As to his latter point, an Irish media which in the lead-up to a visit by Pope Francis ignored “many of the traumas of our own past”, as revealed since the last papal visit in 1979, would have been distinctly derelict.

But let us look at what emerged prior to last August’s events in Ireland.

On July 1st, the Australian government announced a redress scheme for people sexually abused as children in institutions there. Last May the Catholic Church said it would join that redress scheme as almost 2,500 survivors gave evidence of their sexual abuse in institutions run by it.

On July 28th, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of former archbishop of Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after he faced credible allegations of sexually abusing a teenager.

On August 9th, the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse reported “appalling” levels of sexual abuse inflicted over a 40-year period on pupils at two leading Catholic schools in England, Ampleforth and Downside.

The late archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Basil Hume (who faced no allegations), was a pupil, a teacher, and abbot at Ampleforth for 13 years before becoming archbishop of Westminster in 1976.

On August 14th, a Pennsylvania grand jury report found that over 1,000 children had been abused by as many as 300 Catholic priests in six dioceses there over a 70-year period.

On August 15th, Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Seán O’Malley, chair of the Vatican’s Commission for the Protection of Minors, announced he would not attend the World Meeting of Families in Dublin due to an abuse scandal at St John’s seminary in Boston. He was to chair a session on abuse.

On August 18th, the Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, announced he too would not be delivering a keynote address or attending the World Meeting of Families following criticism in the Pennsylvania grand jury report of him while bishop of Pittsburgh. He has since resigned.

On August 26th, the last day of Pope Francis’s visit to Ireland, former papal nuncio to Washington Archbishop Carlo Vigano published a letter accusing the pope himself of covering up abuse by Cardinal McCarrick.

This, then, was the context in which the World Meeting of Families took place in Dublin and Pope Francis visited Ireland. Those in the church who blame media for disappointments arising might well heed warnings by Pope Francis himself against attitudes of clericalism, when he spoke to Ireland’s bishops before returning to Rome.

It would appear a more appropriate response than reaching for the Donald Trump hymn sheet.</s>Vatican City — Pope Francis has called for the eradication of anti-Semitism following an increase in attacks and hate crimes against Jews in several countries and says it is vital to preserve the memory of the Holocaust.

A gunman yelling “All Jews must die” stormed a synagogue in Pittsburgh, US, on October 27, killing 11 worshippers and wounding six other people including four police officers, before he was arrested.

“We are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community,” Francis said during a meeting on Monday with rabbis from the World Congress of Mountain Jews.

Mountain Jews are the descendants of Jews who left ancient Persia and settled in the Caucasus.

Francis said the Holocaust, in which the Nazis murdered six-million Jews in Europe during World War Two, must continue to be commemorated to keep its memory alive.

“Without a living memory, there will be no future, for if the darkest pages of history do not teach us to avoid the same errors, human dignity will remain a dead letter,” he said.

He noted the recent 75th anniversary of the deportation of Rome’s Jews by Nazi occupiers and that November 9 will be the 80th anniversary of “Kristallnacht”, the night when mobs ransacked thousands of synagogues and Jewish businesses in Germany and Austria.

“Sadly, anti-Semitic attitudes are also present in our own times. As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite, we share the same roots,” Francis said, stressing the importance of interfaith dialogue.

In the run-up to Tuesday’s contentious US elections, in which immigration has become a central issue, racist fliers have been reported on university campuses in at least five states, while synagogues in New York and California have been sprayed with anti-Semitic graffiti.

Last week British police launched an investigation into alleged anti-Semitic hate crimes within the opposition Labour Party, after a report that the party itself had found evidence of members threatening politicians.
Pope Francis, head of state of the Vatican City and leader of the Roman Catholic Church, threatens to order the abdication of Andorran co-monarch Joan Enric Vives Sicília, Archbishop-Bishop of Urgell, if the country decriminalises or legalises abortion.