Pope Francis has named Bishop Kevin J Farrell of Dallas to lead the Vatican’s new dicastery for laity, family and life. The new office should respond “to the situations of our age and adapt to the needs of the Universal Church”, the Pontiff said.
When Bishop Farrell moves to Rome he will be joining his brother Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It will be the first time the two brothers have ministered in the same city.
What the US media are saying
Jeffrey Weiss at the Dallas Morning News said the Vatican had called in its “clean-up guy”. He said: “Bishop Kevin Farrell was sent to Dallas in 2007 to deal with a mess. He did well enough here that he’s headed to Rome to deal with another one.”
In Dallas he had “to deal with the aftermath of some of the nation’s worst sexually predatory priest scandals”, including tensions among diocesan leaders.
The Dublin-born bishop has worked on a number of community projects, including domestic violence and education, and has reached out to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
“His attempt to shift responsibility to the laity is likely one reason he’s been called to the Vatican to lead a department with that as a prime focus,” said Weiss.
What Vaticanisti are saying
When Bishop Farrell received the phone call from Pope Francis offering him the job, according to Rocco Palmo at the Whispers in the Loggia blog, he initially turned it down and had to be “convinced” to take it.
Palmo said the appointment made history. “For the first time ever, a curial chief has been called to Rome from the American south-west – yet another fitting nod to a Texas Catholicism, which is still adjusting to its newfound status as the largest religious body in the second-biggest state,” he said. While not a “wild-haired progressive”, Palmo said, the bishop had been “unstinting” in his loyalty to Pope Francis.
John Allen at CruxNow said it would lay to rest concerns that the Pope was hostile to Americans.
The most overlooked story of the week
✣Diocese ‘prepared to start Cause for Fr Hamel’
What happened?
A network owned by one of America’s richest men is pushing for a change to Ireland’s law on abortion, according to leaked documents. The proposed 2016-2019 strategy of the Women’s Rights Programme of the Open Society Foundations, funded by billionaire George Soros, will aim for a repeal of Ireland’s ban on abortion.
Why was it under-reported?
The secular media is generally pro-abortion and would see nothing scandalous about the aims of Soros’s group. But many Catholics and pro-lifers are alarmed by the pressure from an external group on Ireland’s politics.
Cora Sherlock of the Pro-Life Campaign said: “These revelations are extremely disturbing. The fact that an outside body is talking about funding and coordinating groups in Ireland to dismantle protection for the unborn child represents a gross interference and is an attack on democracy.”
What will happen next?
According to the leaked documents, Open Society Foundations plans to fund Amnesty International Ireland, the Abortion Rights Campaign and the Irish Family Planning Association in their campaign against the law which recognises the right to life of an unborn child. “With one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, a win there could impact other strongly Catholic countries in Europe, such as Poland, and provide much-needed proof that change is possible, even in highly conservative places,” the leaked document said.
✣The week ahead
The annual pilgrimage to the Cistercian Mount Saint Bernard Abbey, Coalville, Leicestershire, in honour of Blessed Cyprian Iwene Tansi, takes place tomorrow. It will be led by Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham. Born in Nigeria, Blessed Cyprian was a monk at Mount Saint Bernard Abbey from 1960 until his death in 1974.
The World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which Pope Francis established a year ago, is next Thursday. It follows the tradition of the Orthodox, who have observed such a day of prayer on the same date, September 1, since 1989.
The new Vatican mega-dicastery for the laity, family and life (see above) begins its work next Thursday. It merges the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family, while the Pontifical Academy for Life will report to it. The dicastery will be led by Bishop Kevin Farrell of Dallas, who is the first curial chief from the American south-west.
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