logo
Pink smoke signals in Rome call for women priests

Pink smoke signals in Rome call for women priests

Yahoo07-05-2025

Excluded from the conclave to elect a new pope Wednesday -- and more broadly from the Church's entire global priesthood -- some Catholic women were determined that their voices will be heard.
In a park on a hill overlooking the dome of St Peter's and the church's Vatican headquarters, campaigners released pink smoke from flares, and demanded that women be allowed to seek ordination.
"We are saying to the cardinals, you cannot keep ignoring 50 percent of the Catholic population, you cannot go into a locked room and discuss the future of the Church without half of the Church," said Miriam Duignan.
"Whoever they elect needs to be brave enough to properly tackle the question of women's inclusion, because so far it has not been, even by Pope Francis," said Duignan, of the Wijngaards Institute in Cambridge.
Duignan was briefly detained in 2011 after she attempted to enter the Vatican to deliver a petition in support of a priest backing the activists' cause.
Had the activists taken their Wednesday protest -- a nod to the black and white smoke used by the Holy See to announce voting results -- to the Vatican, they believe a similar fate would have awaited them.
"Whenever we go down to St Peter's Square, we are detained by the police ... and we are certainly not invited to go into the conclave," Duignan said
"The only women that those 133 men will see in the next few days will be nuns who are cleaning their rooms and serving them food and tidying up after them."
The cardinals meeting Wednesday behind closed doors in the Sistine Chapel will not hear any female opinions during deliberations expected to last days, with multiple rounds of voting.
The only women they will see before white smoke rises to announce their decision has been made will be the nuns who cook, clean and serve upon them in the Santa Marta guesthouse.
In the global church as a whole, women have begun to take some senior lay roles, a process that accelerated a little under Pope Francis's papacy.
But even those who have studied theology and church ministry are excluded from the priesthood, and only priests hold the most senior leadership roles.
"Yes, Pope Francis elevated and promoted a few women into roles of responsibility, but they are always lower in status and authority than a man," said Duignan.
"Even the youngest priest in the room is the boss of the oldest, more experienced woman."
- 'A sin and a scandal' -
The campaigners say women took equal roles in worship in the early Church, before medieval reforms, and that, in Duignan's words, "the men who are going into the Sistine Chapel this afternoon know that, and they don't want everyone else to know that."
Kate McElwee, executive director of the Women's Ordination Conference campaign group, described this as an injustice and a "crisis" for the church.
"While the world may wait for white smoke or black smoke, we send up pink smoke as our hope that the Church may someday welcome women as equals," she said.
French activist Gabrielle Fidelin called it "a sin and a scandal that women are kept out of priesthood and the conclave."
According to Duignan, even after Francis's relatively reformist 12-year pontificate, only one of the 133 cardinal electors to be sequestered in conclave has taken a positive stance on women's ordination.
And she was reluctant to identify him by name, in case he found himself expelled from the gathering.
This despite the once taboo issue being given an airing in the Synod -- an assembly of clergy, clerics and laypeople -- which under Francis has included female members.
In October last year, a report was issued after Francis approved a working party to look into the idea of allowing women to become deacons -- a step before the priesthood.
It acknowledged that "the question of women's access to diaconal ministry remains open" but concluded that it was too soon to make a decision.
dc/ub/giv

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Telegram Messenger's Ties to Russia's FSB Revealed in New Report
Telegram Messenger's Ties to Russia's FSB Revealed in New Report

Newsweek

time19 minutes ago

  • Newsweek

Telegram Messenger's Ties to Russia's FSB Revealed in New Report

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Telegram messaging app may have ties to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), according to an investigation. Independent Russian investigative outlet IStories said it has uncovered evidence suggesting that the platform's server infrastructure is maintained by companies who have collaborated with Russian intelligence services, raising significant concerns about potential government surveillance. Responding to a request for comment, Telegram's head of Press and Media Relations Remi Vaughn said in a statement to Newsweek: "As a global company, Telegram has contracts with dozens of different service providers around the world. However, none of these service providers have access to Telegram data or sensitive infrastructure. "All Telegram servers belong to Telegram and are maintained by Telegram employees. Unauthorized access is impossible. Throughout its entire history, Telegram never disclosed any private messages to a third party — and its encryption has never been breached." In another auto-message sent after reaching out for comment, Telegram said: "Telegram is committed to protecting user privacy and human rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. It has played a prominent role in pro-democracy movements around the world, including in Iran, Russia, Belarus, Myanmar and Hong Kong. "Pavel Durov is the founder, owner and CEO of Telegram. He left Russia in 2014, after losing control of his previous company for refusing to hand over the data of Ukrainian protesters to security agencies. Pavel Durov lives in Dubai and holds a dual citizenship of the United Arab Emirates and France." Why It Matters Telegram has long held a reputation as a secure messaging app, and it is used globally by journalists, activists, and ordinary users seeking privacy. Its founder, Russian-born Pavel Durov, who was detained by French authorities in August 2024, has cultivated an image that the platform protects digital privacy. The IStories report challenges that image by linking the platform to Russia's FSB, which jails individuals critical of the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. What To Know Telegram's infrastructure is managed by Global Network Management (GNM), a small firm registered in Antigua and Barbuda, which provides the platform with over 10,000 IP addresses, according to IStories. GNM's owner, Russian national Vladimir Vedeneyev, previously testified in a U.S. court that he has employees based in Russia. IStories also found that Vedeneyev serves as Telegram's chief financial officer. Many of these IP addresses were previously owned by Globalnet, a St. Petersburg-based telecommunications operator. IStories reported that Globalnet has connections to the Kremlin and Russian intelligence services, including the FSB. Electrontelecom, a St. Petersburg-based company, also reportedly provided Telegram with another 5,000 IP addresses, according to IStories, which identified the firm as an FSB contractor. Electrontelecom has provided services for the installation and maintenance of "a complex system for transmitting classified information from fixed facilities operated by the FSB's Directorate for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, which is used to carry out operational investigative activities," it said. The investigation comes days after Russian human rights NGO First Department warned that the FSB had gained access to Russians' communication with Ukrainian Telegram channels, which provide vital updates and reporting on Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "We know that by the time the defendants in cases of 'state treason' are detained, the FSB is already in possession of their correspondence. And the fact that neither defendants nor a lawyer are named in the main case allows the FSB to hide how exactly it goes about gaining access to that correspondence," First Department said. First Department head Dmitry Zair-Bek said that material from Telegram had already been used as evidence in "a significant number of cases." "On most cases, they have been accessed due to compromised devices. ... However, there are also cases in which no credible technical explanations consistent with known access methods can be identified," he said, Novaya Gazeta reported. "This could indicate either the use of undisclosed cyber espionage tools or Telegram's cooperation with the Russian authorities, obvious signs of which we see in a number of other areas," Zair-Bek added. What People Are Saying Cybersecurity expert Michał Woźniak told IStories that beyond storing decrypted messages, Telegram also attaches a unique device identifier to each message sent on the platform, known as auth_key_id, which can determine where a user is located and reveal their IP addresses. "If someone has access to Telegram traffic and cooperates with Russian intelligence services, this means that the device identifier becomes a really big problem—a tool for global surveillance of messenger users, regardless of where they are and what server they connect to," Woźniak said. What Happens Next Telegram has not commented publicly on the investigation or the allegations. The company is being paid $300 million to roll out Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on the messaging app. "This summer, Telegram users will gain access to the best AI technology on the market. @elonmusk and I have agreed to a 1-year partnership to bring xAI's @grok to our billion+ users and integrate it across all Telegram apps," Durov announced on May 28.

What's behind Keir Starmer's decision to back nuclear power?
What's behind Keir Starmer's decision to back nuclear power?

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

What's behind Keir Starmer's decision to back nuclear power?

Keir Starmer has committed the UK to its first significant stake in a new nuclear power plant since the 1980s. The decision to invest almost £18bn of taxpayer money into the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk was welcomed by Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, as the beginning of a 'golden age' of nuclear investment that would be critical to the government's net zero goals. The government said on Tuesday it would commit £14.2bn to the project, including the £2.7bn it earmarked for Sizewell C in the autumn budget. It has already committed £3.6bn to Sizewell over the past two years. Britain's nuclear renaissance will also include spending about £2.5bn of taxpayer money building some of Europe's first small modular reactors (SMR), after the government gave the green light to plans for Rolls-Royce to build three in the UK by the early 2030s. For critics, the technology's high costs and lengthy construction time have always eclipsed the benefits of abundant low-carbon electricity, given Hinkley Point C's current price tag of up to £35bn and its repeated delays. There are also persistent concerns over the safety of nuclear reactors, and the disposal of nuclear waste. But questions over whether countries can meet the growing demand for electricity without fossil fuels, and avoid blackouts, mean many governments now believe nuclear represents a price worth paying. Megawatt for megawatt, nuclear power is far more expensive than most renewable energy technologies. But, unlike wind and solar farms, nuclear reactors do not need investment in battery backup technologies to provide a steady, reliable source of low-carbon power. The guaranteed electricity price offered to Hinkley Point C was initially £92 per megawatt-hour but this will fall to £89.50/MWh with the go-ahead for Sizwell C, under the terms of the government's contract with French state-owned EDF. By contrast, the guaranteed price for offshore windfarms that were successful in last year's subsidy auction was just under £59 per megawatt-hour. 'The upfront cost [of nuclear] is undoubtedly high,' said Dr Iain Staffell, an associate professor at Imperial College London. '£14bn could fund around 10 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind versus just 3.2 GW of nuclear. But, these reactors will run day and night, especially valuable when the wind is not blowing.' Prof Mark Wenman, also at Imperial College London, added that the costs needed to be balanced against the fact that these reactors 'will produce low-carbon electricity for 80 or possibly 100 years, 24/7, providing around a 10th of the current UK electricity needs'. 'Once paid for, nuclear reactors produce the cheapest electricity of any kind, so this investment should be seen as future-proofing the UK electricity system,' Wenman said. Experts believe that powering a country on 100% renewable energy is technically possible. But there is clear evidence that grid systems running predominantly on wind and solar power can be more expensive in the long run, and could be at higher risk of blackouts. This is because renewable energy cannot help to keep the electrical frequency of the grid stable at around 50Hz in the same way that the spinning turbines of power plants have done in the past, by creating inertia. The answer, according to the government's National Energy System Operator (Neso), is to encourage renewables to become the backbone of the energy system while keeping alternatives such as nuclear, biomass and gas to provide backup for when renewable resources are low and grid stability is needed. The government's independent climate advisers agree. The Climate Change Committee recommends that the UK's nuclear capacity doubles by 2050 because while it is 'relatively expensive on a levelised cost basis' it can provide 'valuable zero-carbon generation at scale'. Britain risks losing the benefits offered by nuclear plants by shutting its ageing nuclear reactors faster than it can build new ones – leaving a gap in the UK's supplies of low-carbon electricity at a time when demand for clean energy is growing. The UK's five existing nuclear power reactors generated 14% of the country's electricity last year, down from the industry's late-1990s peak, when 18 nuclear reactors provided more than a quarter of Britain's power. Four of these plants are due to close before the end of the decade, even with plans to extend their lifetimes, while only one nuclear power plant is under construction. Hinkley Point C in Somerset was originally due to begin generating electricity by 2017 but it has been delayed until the early 2030s. Driving Britain's nuclear renaissance is the tech industry's appetite for nuclear power. Starmer unveiled plans for a once-in-a-generation nuclear expansion earlier this year alongside an open invitation to tech companies such as Google, Meta and Amazon to invest in AI datacentres in Britain, which could be powered by small modular reactors. This is because the world's biggest tech companies are investing in extending the life of nuclear plants and building small modular reactors to help meet the enormous power demands of their datacentres. This growing demand is expected to accelerate with the adoption of artificial intelligence. Earlier this month Meta struck a deal to keep one nuclear reactor of a US utility company in Illinois operating for an extra 20 years, to help supply the company's datacentres with low-carbon power. It follows a similar deal from Google to supply its datacentres with nuclear power from half a dozen small reactors built by a California utility company. Microsoft has paid for the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, the site of the most serious nuclear accident and radiation leak in US history. 'They are very keen to get the datacentres in and they're very alive to the fact that the power is a big issue,' Starmer said.

Greta Thunberg among Gaza-flotilla activists deported from Israel
Greta Thunberg among Gaza-flotilla activists deported from Israel

Miami Herald

time2 hours ago

  • Miami Herald

Greta Thunberg among Gaza-flotilla activists deported from Israel

June 10 (UPI) -- Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was on a flight to France on Tuesday en route home to Sweden after being deported from Israel a day after the Gaza-bound aid yacht she was on was intercepted by the Israeli military off the coast of Egypt and diverted to Israel. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the 22-year-old left the country and posted photos on X of her boarding what appeared to be a commercial flight and sitting in an aisle seat with her belt fastened. It had been only around 12 hours since the British-flagged Madleen arrived at the southern Israeli port of Ashdod under Israeli naval escort late Monday. She was accompanied by at least one French citizen who had also voluntarily agreed to be deported, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, but in a post on X, he said five other French nationals in the group would be subject to "a forced expulsion process." Barrot said the detained French citizens had consular access. Le Monde reported that European Parliament Member Rima Hassan was among the French contingent detained. The status of the other five people aboard the vessel -- from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey and Brazil -- was unclear, but the Foreign Ministry said those who refused to sign deportation documents and leave Israel would be brought before a judicial authority, in accordance with Israeli law, to authorize their deportation. It stressed that all the detainees had met with officials from their respective consulates. Israeli authorities, which have dismissed the mission by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition as a publicity stunt by celebrities, dubbing the effort the "selfie yacht," attempted to sway the activists by showing them a graphic 43-minute video of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on the orders of Israeli President Israel Katz. "I instructed the IDF to show the flotilla passengers the video of the horrors of the Oct. 7 massacre when they arrive at the port of Ashdod. It is appropriate that the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas supporters see exactly who the Hamas terrorist organization they came to support and for whom they work is, what atrocities they committed against women, the elderly, and children, and against whom Israel is fighting to defend itself," Katz wrote on X. Katz claimed the group refused to continue watching once they found out what it was about. The FFC posted on social media in the early hours of Monday that the Madleen was under siege in international waters off Egypt, "surrounded by quadcopters", being doused with "a white irritant substance," and that its communications systems had been electronically jammed. "The ship was unlawfully boarded, its unarmed civilian crew abducted, and its life-saving cargo -- including baby formula, food and medical supplies -- confiscated," it said in a statement. Israel issued photos of activists being handed sandwiches and water by Israeli military personnel with a caption stating the group were on their way to Israel and "in good spirits, but the Israeli version of events was disputed by Thunberg in a video released by FFC. "If you see this video we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by the Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel," she said in the 25 second clip on X in which she also urged her family and friends to lobby the Swedish government to push for their release as soon as possible. The Madleen set sail from Catania on Sicily, loaded with life-saving supplies on June 1 in an effort to break an 80-day blockade on international aid entering Gaza imposed by Israel after it pulled out of a U.S.-brokered cease-fire deal that lasted from January to March. In early May, Thunberg was scheduled to board another FFC vessel, the 1,000-ton Conscience, attempting to sail to Gaza when it was badly damaged in an alleged drone strike off Malta in the western Mediterranean. FFC said the vessel had been en route to Malta to pick up volunteers from at least 21 countries who had traveled to the island to join the mission when it was attacked, among them Thunberg and retired U.S. Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright. In May 2010, nine people involved in a similar mission to Gaza were killed and many others seriously wounded when Israeli forces intercepted the Mavi Marmara, part of a flotilla of six vessels, in international waters. A U.N. Panel of Inquiry ruled that the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during their takeover of the vessel were unacceptable and that they had provided no satisfactory explanation for any of the nine deaths, all of which were from gunshot wounds. "There was significant mistreatment of passengers by Israeli authorities after the takeover of the vessels had been completed through until their deportation. This included physical mistreatment, harassment and intimidation, unjustified confiscation of belongings and the denial of timely consular assistance." However, the report noted that Israeli Defense Forces personnel were confronted by significant, organized and violent resistance when they boarded the Mavi Marmara, requiring them to defend themselves, and that three soldiers were taken hostage and several others wounded. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store