The Catholic Weekly 24 January 2021

catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 24, January, 2021 Call 02 9649 6423 or visit www.catholiccemeteries.com.au Consecrated lawns and chapels Sydney’s only Catholic crematorium Monthly mass for the Repose of Souls Funeral directors available for a Catholic service Bereavement pastoral care Serving the Catholic community for over 150 years FROM P1 Speaking at a webinar on transparency in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Pell, for- mer prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said that Pope Francis’ ef- forts to reform the Vatican’s finances, including a recent measure that removed finan- cial assets from the control of the Vatican Secretariat of State, would hopefully bring much-needed accountability. “There’s no doubt that if im- plemented appropriately and well, it representsmassive,mas- sive progress,” Cardinal Pell said at the 15 January webinar spon- sored by the Global Institute of Church Management and the church management program at the Pontifical University of theHoly Cross inRome. Calling the mistake made by AUSTRAC “a spectacular error,” Cardinal Pell said Vatican au- thorities “were quite rightfully resistant and rather displeased by the accusation that AU$2 bil- lion went through in that time” and that the clarification “is good news for the Vatican”. “It looked as though Austral- ia, and to some extent possibly New Zealand, has been a little bit wobbly and weak in their vigilance over money launder- Funds error was ‘spectacular’ Pope Francis with Cardinal George Pell, former prefect of the Vati- can Secretariat for the Economy, during an audience at the Vatican in 2020. PHOTO: CNS,VATICAN MEDIA I n this edition Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5168. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by ACM Australian Community Media, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond NSW, 2754. SUB-EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 David Ryan (02) 9390 5408 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa News Archbishop’s homily Feature story Movies, books 1-7, 11 8-9 12-13 20-21 Faith in the trajectory of life catch it now at: thiscatholiclife.com.au LEAVE A GIFT Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic CHARITIES Order your FREE Wills and Bequests Guide today 1800 753 959 or [email protected] myWill SUPPORTINGTHE MINISTRIES OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY Leaving a gift in a Ashes to be sprinkled in 2021 THE VATICAN Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has asked priests to take special anti-COVID-19 precautions this year when dis- tributing ashes onAshWednes- day, 17 February, including sprinkling ashes on the top of people’s heads rather than us- ing them to make a cross on people’s foreheads. The congregation’s note on the “distribution of ashes in time of pandemic” was pub- lished on the congregation’s website on 12 January and di- rects priests to say “the prayer for blessing the ashes” and then sprinkle “the ashes with holy water, without saying anything. The priest is to then address all those present and only once say the formula as it appears in theRomanMissal, applying it to all in general: ‘Repent and be- lieve in the Gospel’ or ‘Remem- ber that youaredust and todust you shall return.’ Under the new measure the priest then cleanses his hands, puts on a face mask and dis- tributes the ashes to those who come to him or, if appropriate, he goes to those who are stand- ing in their places,” it said. “The priest takes the ashes and sprinkles themon the head of each one without saying any- thing.” - CNS Ashes are sprinkled on Ash Wednesday in 2020. PHOTO: CNS/ELOISA LOPEZ Want to be uninformed? Don’t listen to This Catholic Life, the podcast for curious people. Coffee with character. ing but that’s for them to ascer- tain to what extent that is true,” saidCardinal Pell. “But all is not well there.” He said he was consoled to learn The Vatican on Monday abruptly abandoned its extradition request for an Italian woman wanted on embezzle- ment-related charges in a case that could have tested whether Italy considers the Vatican a place where someone can get a fair trial. At the hearing in a Milan court, the Vatican said it no longer was seeking to detain Cecilia Marogna, thereby removing any reason to proceed with an evaluation of her extradition, the Associated Press reported. A statement from Vatican prosecutors said their decision would let her participate freely in an “immi- nent” trial in the city state. Vati- can prosecutors have accused Ms Marogna of embezzlement and misappropriation of Holy See funds. They say she was paid at least 575,000 euros by the Vatican secretariat of state from 2018-2019 to help liber- ate Catholic hostages, but that the money was used instead to buy Prada, Chanel and other high-end luxury goods. Italian police arrested Ms Mar- ogna in Milan on 13 October. Vatican fraud trial to begin that AU$2 billion wasn’t money laundered through the Vatican during the time he served as prefect of the secretariat. DORIN’S WORLD P17