Syukur was one of the 21 new cardinals who were announced on 6 October last and who will be created in the next consistory on 7 and 8 September,

‘His Excellency's request is motivated by his desire to grow further in his priestly life, in his service to the Church and to the people of God,' the director of the Vatican Press Office, Matteo Bruni, wrote in a note.

Bishop Suykur, a 62-year-old friar minor, who has led the Bogor diocese since 2013 and is also secretary of the Indonesian Bishops' Conference, would become the first cardinal from Flores, the island that is considered the heart of Indonesian Catholicism.

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The cardinal's trip to Moscow is to "evaluate further efforts to promote family reunification of Ukrainian children and the exchange of prisoners, with a view to achieving the much-hoped-for peace," according to the Vatican.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni confirmed on Oct. 14 that the Italian cardinal began a visit to Moscow on Monday after Russia's ministry of foreign affairs published a photo of Zuppi shaking hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Pope Francis asked Zuppi to serve as a papal envoy to "initiate paths of peace" between Russia and Ukraine in May 2023.

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Many perceive the statement as a call for Ukraine to surrender in its conflict with Russia.

In an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, Francis advocated for peace talks brokered by international powers.

"I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag and negotiates" Francis said.

However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba promptly responded, affirming Ukraine's unwavering commitment to the colours of his country's flag and rejecting any notion of surrender.

"Our flag is blue and yellow. We live, die and win under it. We will not raise other flags" Kuleba posted on Sunday on the social media platform X.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski echoed this sentiment. "How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations."

Courage of negotiations

However, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni clarified that the Pope's intention was to support "a stop to hostilities" and "a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations," rather than advocating for Ukrainian surrender.

Bruni said that the journalist interviewing Francis used the term "white flag" in the question that prompted the controversial remarks.

Francis emphasised that negotiations should never be perceived as a sign of weakness but rather as a pathway to peace.

"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate" he said.

While the Pope's comments have sparked debate, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated that any initiative in peace negotiations must come from Russia, the aggressor.

Francis has endeavoured to maintain the Vatican's traditional diplomatic neutrality throughout the conflict.

His apparent sympathy towards the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine has however raised eyebrows. The reaction was notable when he referenced NATO's eastward expansion contributing to regional tensions.

During Sunday's Angelus prayer, Francis said he was praying "for peace in the tormented Ukraine and in the Holy Land."

"Let the hostilities which cause immense suffering among the civilian population cease as soon as possible" he said.

Sources

AP News

AP News

CathNews New Zealand

A statement to participants in a seminar on "Ethics in Health Management" Francis indicated that his health has improved, he not longer has a fever.

He is grateful that he does not have pneumonia.

However he is suffering from a very acute infectious bronchitis and his doctors have asked the Pope not to undertake his scheduled visit to Dubai.

Francis commented that it is very hot there, and you go from heat to air conditioning. And this, with this bronchial condition [is not convenient].

Matteo Bruni said that, upon the doctors' advice, Pope Francis "with great regret" has cancelled his visit to Dubai.

Following Francis' statement, Cardinal Parolin confirmed that the Holy See is studying the "modalities" by which the Pope will participate in the discussions in Dubai.

"We are working on them. I have participated in all the COPs, starting in Paris and the following ones, so I think I will go this time too, but obviously I will shorten my visit, he said.

The Secretary of State explained that the Vatican delegation will stay in Dubai through the two weeks of discussions.

"I would only participate in the first part," he said.

Sources

Vatican Press Office

Vatican News

Vatican News

According to The Pillar and The Remnant websites Cardinal Ghirlanda (pictured), an important advisor to Pope Francis, had been tasked by the pope with drafting revisions to the conclave.

Ghirlanda called the reports "a pure lie".

The proposed alterations, as outlined by The Pillar and The Remnant, suggest a shift towards a more synodal approach.

These changes include the transformation of pre-conclave meetings (known as general congregations) into small-group discussions.

These meetings have been compared to the small-group format of the Synod on Synodality held in October.

Furthermore, participation in these meetings would be limited to cardinals under the age of 80, the ones eligible to vote for the next pope.

"I do not know anything about it, and any implication I have in it is a pure lie" Ghirlanda stated.

The Vatican's official spokesperson, Matteo Bruni, in a statement to CNA has also disavowed any knowledge of papal election reforms.

However The Pillar, citing "a senior canon lawyer close to the Vatican" reported that knowledge of the process to reform conclaves "is widespread in Vatican canonical circles, as is the role of Cardinal Ghirlanda."

Laypeople to participate

The Remnant also suggested Pope Francis is considering a proposal by Ghirlanda to allow laypeople to participate in the conclave.

This could include the selection of a new pope.

General congregations traditionally serve as preparatory meetings of the College of Cardinals.

They offer a platform for cardinals to acquaint themselves with the regulations governing conclaves.

During these gatherings, cardinals can express their views, seek clarification and make suggestions.

The papal election process and the sede vacante (the period between a pope's departure and the election of a new one) are regulated by St John Paul II's 1996 apostolic constitution, Universi Dominici Gregis and Pope Francis's 2022 apostolic constitution, Praedicate Evangelium.

However the conclave, held in the Sistine Chapel, is a strictly confidential affair.

All participating cardinals take an oath to maintain complete secrecy, subject to automatic excommunication if violated.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

According to The Pillar news outlet, the records contain vital information. This includes rosters of synodal participants and their working group assignments.

Reports filed by these working groups at the conclusion of the first segment of the synod's discussion were also available.

Anyone with the correct web address could access the records openly without requiring a password.

The security failure has sent shockwaves through the Vatican and calls into question the level of confidentiality within the Synod.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has started an investigation into the matter.

Vatican embarrassed

The Pillar, in compliance with Pope Francis' request for restraint in press coverage of the synodal process, has refrained from publishing the names of members of individual working groups.

However, the revelation has left the Vatican embarrassed. It also exposed an extraordinary breach of the supposed wall of secrecy surrounding the Synod's proceedings.

One of the major concerns arising from this breach is the question of who else might have been spying on these confidential deliberations.

Additionally, the availability of the Synod's working group assignments raises doubts about the organisers' decision not to share this information with the media.

One journalist reported that Paolo Ruffini, president of the synod's information commission, said this week he did not have access to the names. He added he would be unwilling to obtain and share them with the media.

Inclusivity questioned

That such information appears to be withheld even from senior synodal participants but freely available on an unsecured server raises significant questions about the synodal secretariat's approach to internal information sharing and security.

Moreover, the reports reveal discrepancies with Synod leaders' claims that the assembly would focus on inclusivity rather than Church teaching.

Some working groups emphasised doctrinal fidelity, while at least one report proposed reconsidering doctrine on sexual morality.

The breach highlights a significant communication blunder. It undermines Pope Francis' emphasis on maintaining the confidentiality of Synod proceedings.

This secrecy is crucial to enabling Synod members to "express themselves freely."

Vatican representatives are yet to confirm the security status of the server. They have also refrained from outlining the action they intend to take in response to The Pillar's report.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

The Pillar

CathNews New Zealand

The United Nations and advocacy groups for survivors of clergy sexual abuse are urging Pope Francis to conduct a full inquiry into who knew what and when about Belo's sexual abuse.

The Vatican's sex abuse office said last week that it had secretly sanctioned Belo in 2020. It forbade him from having contact with minors or with his homeland, East Timor. The sanctions were based on allegations of misconduct that arrived in Rome in 2019.

That same year, Francis approved a new church law requiring all cases of predator prelates to be reported in-house. Francis also established a mechanism to investigate bishops who had long escaped accountability for abuse or cover-up during the church's decades-long scandal.

The Timorese Bishops' Conference said it would work with any possible judicial investigation arising from the allegations.

"If any legal process is set in motion in East Timor, the Timorese Bishops' Conference will comply with and cooperate with the legal process," it said in a statement carried by Portuguese news agency Lusa and reported by public broadcaster RTP.

Belo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with fellow East Timorese independence icon Jose Ramos-Horta. They were recognised for campaigning for a fair and peaceful solution to the conflict in their home country as it struggled to gain independence from Indonesia.

The bishop was feted at home and abroad for his bravery in calling out human rights abuses by East Timor's Indonesian rulers despite threats against his life.

Few Timorese wanted to speak about the allegations against Bishop Belo, but those who did voiced support for him.

"As East Timorese, we are shocked to hear this news," said Naomi Sarmento, a Catholic. "We have known Bishop Belo for a long time, a good person who has done many services for God, helped the people of Timor Leste and became a role model in the world. We will continue to support and pray that he stays healthy and continues to serve God."

In 2002, Belo retired as the head of the church in East Timor despite being just 54. He was two decades shy of the normal retirement age for bishops. He cited ill health and stress as reasons for his sudden retirement.

Within a year of his retirement, Belo had been sent by the Vatican and his Salesian missionary order to another former Portuguese colony, Mozambique, to work as a missionary priest. There, he has said, he spent his time "teaching catechism to children, giving retreats to young people."

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the Vatican's doctrinal office, which handles sex abuse cases, first became involved in the case in 2019 in "light of the accusations it received concerning the bishop's behaviour."

Bruni said that in 2021, the measures were "modified and reinforced," without giving details. The Vatican spokesman said the bishop "formally accepted" the restrictions both times.

Belo is currently in Portugal, where the Salesians have said they took him in at the request of their superiors.

Sources

• AP News
• CruxNow
• Reuters

Matteo Bruni, director of the press office, did not mention whether the pope's planned trip to Canada in late July was still set.

"At the request of his doctors, and in order not to jeopardise the results of the therapy that he is undergoing for his knee, the Holy Father has been forced to postpone, with regret, his apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and to South Sudan," Bruni said on June 10.

The trip would be moved "to a later date to be determined."

Although Pope Francis has cancelled several events since mid-January and has begun using a wheelchair or a cane, the Vatican had continued to insist that he would make the two trips in July.

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On his way home from Gemelli Hospital, the pope stopped to pray at the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

According to Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, the pope visited the Marian icon Salus Populi Romani. There he "expressed his gratitude for the success of his surgery and offered a prayer for all the sick, especially those he had met during his stay in hospital."

The Vatican has said that the pope is making "normal clinical progress" in his recovery.

While in hospital, Francis made a visit to the Department of Pediatric Oncology on the 10th floor of the hospital.

The Vatican press office distributed photographs of the pope walking through the ward to applause from medical workers and blessing children undergoing treatment.

Then young cancer patients joined Pope Francis as he led the Sunday Angelus from a hospital balcony. It was his first public outing since the operation.

Among the many patients [Pope Francis] has met during these days, he addressed a special thought to those who are bedridden and cannot return home:

"May they live this time as an opportunity, even if experienced in pain, to open themselves with tenderness to their sick brother or sister in the next bed, with whom they share the same human frailty."

Francis will have several more weeks to recover before travelling again in September.

There are plans for him to visit Hungary and Slovakia from Sept. 12-15. Then, in November, he will visit Glasgow, Scotland, to participate in the COP26 climate conference.

Other possible trips are also under review.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

AP News

Catholic News Agency

Recent attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq, coupled with missile attacks in February on areas the pope will visit, have led some Vatican observers to question the safety of the papal visit.

Cases of COVID-19 have tripled to nearly 5,000 in the country in the past month.

While Francis and his entourage have been vaccinated against COVID-19, journalists questioned the wisdom of holding Masses and other appearances. The pope is expected to attract large crowds creating potential super-spreader events.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told reporters that the pope will not be encountering large crowds in Iraq. He called Pope Francis' determination to make the trip "an act of love for this land, this country, and its people."

Admitting that acts of love "might be a bit extreme," Bruni emphasized that the pope is being realistic. He will ride in a bulletproof car during the trip, casting aside the usual open "popemobile". Social distancing will be enforced throughout the pope's Iraq visit.

Francis "wishes to be near Christians and those who suffered and hopes the trip will open the door to the future for the Iraqi people," Bruni said.

Iraqis return the sentiment, according to Davide Bernocchi, the country representative for Iraq for the charitable group Catholic Relief Services. "Iraqis understand that the pope is making a brave gesture by coming here," Bernocchi told Religion News Service. "Given the safety situation and COVID, this visit means so much for this country and this people," he added.

Before 2013, there were roughly 1.4 million Christians living in this area, but following the rise of the Islamic State in the region, the number fell to just over 300,000. Those who braved the political and social instability in Iraq are now left with a struggling economy and discrimination.

"Christians represent a traumatized community. They need someone to show them the way toward the future once more," Bernocchi said.

Sources

Religion News

CathNews

Pope Francis on Thursday tapped a long-time logistics coordinator to serve as the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, ending the interim appointment of Alessandro Gisotti, effective Monday, July 22.

Gisotti will now be vice-Editorial Director under Andrea Tornielli at the Dicastery for Communication, along with another old hand at the former Vatican Radio, Sergio Centofanti.

The replacement of Gisotti did not come as a surprise.

From the day the 45-year-old former Vatican Radio journalist took the reins after former Director Greg Burke had suddenly dropped on the last day of last year, his appointment had been couched as ad interim.

They said it and he meant it. Anyone who knows Gisotti has no trouble believing him when he says both that it was a tremendous honour to be tapped for the job, and that he would be happy to put it down. Read more