By Hannah Brockhaus
The Vatican’s doctrinal chief has emphasized the Catholic Church’s duty to promote and protect her teachings as passed down by the Apostles.
Speaking to Vatican News on Monday, Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), noted that “what was called ‘concern for right doctrine’” existed before the CDF was created in 1542 and has its roots in the New Testament.
“Our mission is to promote and protect the doctrine of the faith. A task that will always be necessary in the Church, which has the duty to transmit the teaching of the Apostles to new generations,” he said in the Feb. 1interview.
Alessandro Di Bussolo We are no longer the Inquisition. Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, opens with an important clarification when presenting his Dicastery. We deal with real peripheries , perhaps less visible than others, but no less real and painful , he says, referring among others to the sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy. We help those involved see, he explains, that there is no impunity in the Church , and so we support their trust in the Church . Our budget expenses are modest , but enough for our mission to promote and protect the doctrine of the faith , because the Church has the duty to transmit the teaching of the Apostles to the next generation .
Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is pictured in a file photo at the Vatican. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Vatican City, Feb 2, 2021 / 09:00 am (CNA).- The Vatican’s doctrinal chief has emphasized the Catholic Church’s duty to promote and protect her teachings as passed down by the Apostles.
Speaking to Vatican News on Monday, Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), noted that “what was called ‘concern for right doctrine’” existed before the CDF was created in 1542 and has its roots in the New Testament.
More cases of child abuse by the Spanish Catholic Church are slowly coming to light. After the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits, recognized 81 victims since 1927 and announced plans for compensation, other religious congregations have begun to follow the orderâs example. EL PAÃS spoke to 10 of the main Catholic orders in Spain, of which seven said they had carried out or were in the process of investigating past cases of abuse, and were equally open to compensating victims.
These investigations, however, are not in-depth internal inquiries, but rather a review of existing archives. Importantly too, the findings have not been made public and are still far from reflecting the extent of the abuse by the Catholic Church, compared to the advances made in other countries such as Germany, where an external audit found that 3,677 minors had been abused by members of the Church.
Jesuit Fr Stan Swamy has written a letter to mark the 100th day of his imprisonment in India on charges of sedition. In his message, the 83 year old priest who is suffering with severe Parkinsons, thanked his supporters and expressed concern at the treatment of his fellow prisoners.
Fr Stan wrote: I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many people around the world, in these 100 days in prison. Sometimes the news of so much solidarity has given me immense strength and courage, especially when the only certain thing in prison is uncertainty.
Fr Stan is in custody with 15 other activists and NGO members, accused, under the Unlawful activities prevention act , of terrorism and of complicity with the Maoist rebels. All were committed to peacefully protecting the rights of the Adivasis tribe in Jhakarland who suffer great discrimination and abuse from large landowners and multinational corporations.