Angelus News | July 31-August 7, 2020 | Vol. 5 No. 21

WORLD
AMONG THE LITTLE ONES — Children perform for Pope Francis,
who made a surprise visit to their summer program in the
Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall July 20. About 100 children of
Vatican employees were attending the program for the month of
July. “The kids were so stunned they stayed completely silent,”
a chaplain for the summer program said.
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE/COURTESY PLAY IT
Arson suspected in French cathedral fire
Barely a year after the catastrophic fire of Notre Dame,
another French cathedral has suffered a similar fate. But this
time, the blaze was no accident. A church volunteer admitted
to starting three separate fires July 18 in the Cathedral of
Sts. Peter and Paul in Nantes.
The unnamed 39-year-old Rwandan refugee, who was an altar
server, was arrested and indicted on July 25. He had been
responsible for closing the building on the night of the fire.
Although the fire damaged the Gothic church’s organ and
rose window, the local fire chief stated at a press conference
that the fire was not nearly as harmful as that of Notre Dame
last year.
The disaster “plunges the Christians of Loire Atlantique into
a great sadness,” the Diocese of Nantes announced in a statement.
“For them, the cathedral, an architectural masterpiece,
is above all the mother church of the diocese.”
New Vatican guide on
handling abuse scandals
The Vatican has issued a step-by-step guide for bishops and
canon lawyers on how to respond to cases of sexual abuse of
minors by priests.
The document, known as a “vademecum,” was originally
requested at a global summit of bishops from around the
world in February 2019 in response to the clerical abuse crisis.
In about 15 pages divided into nine chapters, it addresses
a variety of “frequently asked questions” on issues like what
constitutes a crime, and how to verify accusations and guidelines
on working with civil authorities.
Cardinal Luis Ladaria, the Vatican’s top doctrinal official,
said that while the document presents no new Church
teaching, it will serve as a tool “to help whoever has to deal
with concrete cases from the beginning to the end.”
Debris caused by the fire inside the Cathedral of Nantes.
STEPHANE MAHE, REUTERS
Polish president thanks Mary for election victory
Andrzej Duda (fourth from left) prays at the
Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
JASNAGORANEWS
After winning Poland’s presidential
election, Andrzej Duda knew exactly
where he wanted to be: at the national
Marian shrine.
Duda was elected July 13 to a second
presidential term by just 420,000
votes, a narrow margin in a country
of almost 38 million. That same day,
he went to the Shrine of Our Lady of
Czestochowa for the evening prayer.
The venerated painting at the site has
been an icon of national faith and culture
in Poland since the 14th century.
During the ceremony, shrine custodian
Father Waldemar Pastusiak
thanked Duda for his presence and
prayed that the patroness of Poland
would guide him. “On the threshold
of the second term,” said Father Pastusiak,
Catholic News Agency reported,
“we are giving him into your hands,
Mary, and all the matters of our homeland,
believing that you will always be
present with him.”
4 • ANGELUS • July 31-August 7, 2020