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Local France
16-07-2025
- Business
- Local France
Why France's PM has Easter Monday public holiday in his sights
He made the proposal – among others – in a press conference this week outlining his plans to get a grip on the country's public spending. READ ALSO French prime minister calls for scrapping of two public holidays in austerity budget Two holidays could be removed from the calendar, if Bayrou's proposal of budgetary measures planned to cut more than €40 billion from the annual government bill , gets the go-ahead. According to a Senate report published last September, cancelling one public holiday would generate €2.4 billion a year. First the caveats - the PM's position is weak and it's far from certain that he will manage to get his proposals passed (or even remain in office past the autumn). There's also a suggestion that the axing of the holidays is part of his negotiation tactics, designed to be dropped if the opposition will accept his other financial proposals. And then there's the fact that Bayrou himself said that his proposed dates of May 8th (VE Day) and Easter Monday were only "suggestions" when it comes to which holidays to scrap. Advertisement But even with all that, there was surprise that he singled out Easter Monday, especially when France has much less well-known Christian festivals within its holiday calendar (Ascension, Assumption and All Saints' Day, anyone?). France is officially – and proudly – a secular state. But its Catholic past is evident in the number of public holidays linked to religious celebrations: Easter Monday, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption, All Saints, and Christmas Day make up six of the country's 11 public holidays. Meanwhile those who live in the historic Alsace Lorraine region get two more - St Stephen's Day on December 26th and Good Friday. Easter Monday was added to the list of religious holidays during the time of Constantine – the first Christian Roman emperor, who ruled over a territory stretching from present-day England to Egypt. He chose to impose eight consecutive holidays — an octave — after Easter. This was a time dedicated to commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ and to pilgrimages to Rome. Over the centuries, this tradition became established in many Christian countries – including France. At least until 1801, when Napoleon signed a treaty with Pope Pius VII which gave the consul the power to reorganise the practices of the Church in France. Faced with the economic difficulties that were undermining the country at the time, Napoleon Bonaparte sought ways to boost production. The abolition of public holidays was one such measure. He chose to abolish seven of the eight post-Easter holidays, leaving Easter Monday as the last one standing. More than two centuries later, Bayrou - a practising Catholic - is contemplating a similar reduction in the public holiday calendar, and for the same reasons. Easter Monday, he insists, has no "religious significance" today. While he didn't go into further detail in his speech, he may have a point on the religious front. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are the key dates for Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, which are the whole point of Easter. Easter Monday is merely the rump of a pilgrimage tradition dating back around 1,600 years. Advertisement These days, although the shops fill up with chocolate eggs and other treats, Easter is not an especially well-celebrated festival in most of France. There are church services for the devout, while local municipalities also organise special events over the Easter weekend such as egg hunts or markets. Meanwhile one town in southern France makes an enormous omelette, in a tradition dating back to Napoleon (yes, him again. It's The Law that all articles on French history reference Napoleon at least once). READ ALSO : Flying bells and giant omelettes: 8 ways the French celebrate Easter✎ Unlike in the UK, where the spring school holidays are scheduled around Easter, in France sometimes schoolchildren are on holiday over Easter and sometimes they aren't, depending on when Easter falls in a particular year. In what seems to be a failed effort to avert public anger, Bayrou has said he is open to discussion about the public holidays that may be abolished. The same applies to May 8th, the date that marks the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. 'These are proposals. I am willing to accept or consider others. If other ideas come up, they are welcome,' he said. Bayrou is convinced that 'this change to our public holiday calendar will bring several billion euros into the state budget simply because businesses, shops, the civil service and the nation will be working and our productivity will improve.'
Herald Malaysia
10-06-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Rupnik's mosaics quietly removed from Vatican News
The move is seen as an overdue sign of hope and healing for survivors of his alleged decades-long abuse Jun 10, 2025 A mosaic designed by Father Marko Rupnik's studio Centro Aletti at the Basilica of the Sanctuary of Lourdes, France. (Photo: UCAN Files) By Paulina Guzik, OSV News In a quiet but powerful move, Vatican News has begun removing artwork by Father Marko Rupnik -- the once-renowned mosaicist now accused of abusing over two dozen women -- from its website. His mosaics, long used to mark major feast days online, were recently replaced or left blank -- a shift many survivors say is long removed mosaics include one for the June 9 memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and one that illustrated the feast of the Assumption Aug. 15."I can't tell you how hopeful of a sign it is for me," said Weronika, whose name was changed and who is a victim of abuse by a Polish Dominican priest. "I saw it immediately and simply felt relieved," she told OSV News, adding: "you don't even know how much this gesture means to me. That the victims' pain was heard at last." Since the allegations were revealed, calls to remove the priest's artwork have grown, including from victims who said the mosaics were a painful reminder of the abuse they suffered. One victim, identified as Sister Samuelle, recounted that she was abused by Father Rupnik while installing one of his mosaics. A number of shrines that featured his work have taken steps to either cover or limit the public display and use of Father Rupnik's mosaics since the abuse revelations were made public. The St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington as well as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France, opted to cover or partially cover the mosaics out of respect for his victims. OSV News asked the Vatican's Press Office whether removing Father Rupnik's art from Vatican News is a coordinated effort and is awaiting an answer. Mosaics to be or not to be? In June 2024, on the final day of the Catholic Media Conference in Atlanta, the prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication addressed questions posed by America's Colleen Dulle and OSV News about the dicastery's regular practice of posting art by Father Rupnik on the Vatican News website and social media, especially to illustrate church feast days. "As Christian(s), we are asked not to judge," Paolo Ruffini said to a room full of communications professionals after giving an address at the CMC June 21, 2024. He explained that while the process of a Vatican investigation into Father Rupnik is still ongoing, "an anticipation of a decision is something that is not, in our opinion, is not good." "There are things we don't understand," he said. Ruffini also added they "did not put in any new photos" of Father Rupnik's art, but rather have been using what they had. "We didn't decide what was not on our charge to decide," he Father Rupnik's art from public space "is not a Christian response," Ruffini said. "We are not talking about abuse of minors," Ruffini said at the CMC. "We are talking (about) a story that we don't know." "I don't think we have to throw stones thinking that this is the way of healing," the prefect added."Do you think that if I put away a photo of an art (away) from … our website, I will be more close to the victims? Do you think so?" he pressed journalists at the end of his answer. When an answer was given in the affirmative, Ruffini responded: "I think you're wrong." Five days later, in a separate June 26 communication, Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, told the dicasteries of the Vatican Curia that Father Rupnik is currently under Vatican investigation and entitled to the presumption of innocence. However, he made clear that "pastoral prudence would prevent displaying artwork in a way that could imply either exoneration or a subtle defense" of a person alleged to have committed abuse, "or indicate indifference to the pain and suffering of so many victims of abuse." Father Rupnik's case investigated for over 500 days Father Rupnik, a former Jesuit, was briefly excommunicated by the church in 2020 for absolving an Italian novice with whom he had sex. The excommunication was lifted after he repented. The Jesuits disclosed in December 2022 that it had suspended the Slovenian artist after allegations of abuse had surfaced. In June 2023, Father Rupnik was expelled from the Jesuits for refusing to obey restrictions imposed upon him related to the sexual, spiritual and psychological abuse of some two dozen women and at least one man over the course of 30 years. Despite the credibility of the accusations and his dismissal from the Jesuits, the Diocese of Koper in the priest's native Slovenia announced it had incardinated Father Rupnik in its diocese. After the diocese confirmed in October 2023 that the priest had been there since August, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had lifted the statute of limitations, allowing the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to proceed in its investigation and eventual case. In a statement published in October 2023, the Vatican said the decision was made after "the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors brought to the pope's attention that there were serious problems in the handling of the Father Marko Rupnik case and lack of outreach to victims."The canonical process of Father Rupnik is ongoing. "The sentence is expected in the not too distant future," a source told OSV News in the retired bishop of the Diocese of Koper, where Father Rupnik was incardinated in August 2023, told OSV News in February that the priest 'continues his work all over the world.'Father Rupnik's case is one of the most urgent cases on the table for the new pope to handle in canonical terms, abuse experts Father Hans Zollner, director of the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, and a top expert on the abuse crisis, told OSV News upon the election of Pope Leo XIV: 'I do hope that, as soon as possible, we will have a verdict. Many of us are looking forward to hearing about that, because it has been a very long time, especially for those who have brought forward the allegations -- so that finally there will be clarity about this,' Father Zollner said. For any pope, he added, the issue of abuse is critical, as it becomes "a question of the credibility of our existence and our message."--ucanews
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Hail Mary, full of grace: Why popes and other Catholics pray to the Virgin Mary
Advertisement According to the Gospel, Mary is the mother of Jesus — and the mystery of the incarnation of the son of God through her is central to Christian dogma. The oldest title for Mary is precisely 'mother of God,' or Theotokos in the original Greek. It was chosen after heated theological debate in the first centuries of Christianity. St. Mary Major is the oldest still-standing sanctuary dedicated to that, said Giuseppe Falanga, professor of liturgy at Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce in Rome. It was built on one of Rome's hills in the 5th century — according to tradition, because of the pope's dream and an August snowfall there on what is now also celebrated as the day of Our Lady of the Snows. Advertisement There are three major categories of titles for Mary — first, those related to dogma and major events in her life. The Assumption on Aug. 15, for instance, celebrates Mary being taken body and soul into heaven. It's marked by Masses and religious festivals but also the peak of summer holidays for faithful and atheists alike in countries such as Italy and Greece, where all but the most essential work grinds to a halt on that feast day. Then there are titles related to apparitions. In December, millions gather in Mexico, and across the Americas, to celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe who, according to church tradition, appeared to an Indigenous man in 1531. Millions more visit the sanctuaries in Fatima, Portugal, and in Lourdes, France, other sites of apparitions in the past few centuries. And then there are titles based on what pilgrims and faithful want — from Good Counsel to protection (the many 'Guard' Marys ) to Star of the Sea, invoked by seafarers. 'It's almost like there's a Mary for everything,' said Kayla Harris, professor and director of Marian Library at University of Dayton in Ohio. It's also why the rosary is one of the most widely used prayers — including publicly for the pope — and why popular devotions to the Virgin Mary, including processions and festivals, are so central to Christianity, Falanga said. How Mary is represented, however, varies greatly across time and places, Harris added. There are 'Black' Virgin Marys — dark-skinned paintings and statues like Brazil's much beloved Virgin of Aparecida. In rare icons, she's represented pregnant or as an older woman. She's either portrayed alone or, most often, holding the baby Jesus, as in the Genazzano 15th century painting, a close-up of the two faces with Jesus' fingers holding his mother's neck. Mary looking at Jesus makes a theological point, too — inviting worshippers to fix their gaze on Christ, not her. Advertisement In fact, according to the Catechism, Catholics are to give Mary special veneration, but not worship her — something reserved for God alone, Falanga said. It's that relatability as a mother figure that makes Mary so universally appealing as an intercessor before God, Harris said. Since the 19th century, May has been devoted to the Virgin Mary — though already in Greek and Roman times, goddesses of fertility were celebrated in this month of springtime blooming, she added. Mother's Day is also celebrated in May in many countries, including Italy and the United States — and it coincided with Leo's first public Sunday blessing at noon, a time for another traditional daily invocation to the Virgin Mary. Two mothers who went to morning Mass on a recent weekday at the Genazzano chapel — where the Mary icon stands — said they pray their children, ranging in age from 18 to 24, will keep the faith. 'The Madonna has been holding my hand since I was a child,' said Anastasia Galizia, who grew up in the village and witnessed Leo's visit. 'I ask her how to love her son and I pray for conversion, for me, for my family and for the whole world.' At the Basilica of St. Augustine in Rome, which is served by Augustinians — Leo's religious order — there are two popular prayer spots for mothers. One is a sculpture known as the 'Labor Madonna' where expecting mothers go; the other is a chapel with the relics of St. Monica, St. Augustine's mother, who prayed incessantly for his conversion. Advertisement 'We welcome a lot of moms, who come to pray to St. Monica for their children, who have walked away from the faith, and they ask the Lord for the gift to touch their hearts,' said the Rev. Pasquale Cormio, the basilica's rector.
Boston Globe
09-05-2025
- Boston Globe
Woman who played key role in a ‘To Catch a Predator' scheme resolves criminal case
Advertisement The case involved a group of Assumption students who allegedly conspired to lure a man to the school and kidnap him in an effort to expose him for seeking to have sex with a teenager. Five students from the college had faced criminal charges, including a one minor. Three no longer face any charges after their kidnapping and related counts were dismissed by a judge. The remaining defendants who face charges are Kevin Carroll, who faces assault and battery charges, and a minor student whose case is in juvenile court and not open to the public. None of the students are currently enrolled at the college, school officials have said. In court, Brainard's attorney suggested his client has been punished enough for what she did and said she hopes to move on with her life. Brainard appeared in court with her father. Advertisement 'It's been a monumental learning experience for a young woman,' Todd told Judge Jennifer L. Ginsburg. As a result of the national publicity in this case, Brainard has received threats from the public, and local police added patrols in her neighborhood to protect her, Todd said. She was terminated from a job she had while she was an Assumption student. Calling her a 'bright, hard-working woman,' Todd said Brainard has since enrolled at a different college and is working a law firm. She hopes to go into psychology or neuroscience. 'This was a very unfortunate incident in which she went along with a crowd when she shouldn't have,' Todd said. He also suggested that Brainard's alleged misstatements to authorities were related to an 'aggressive' style of interrogation by campus police. According to authorities, on Oct. 1, 2024, Brainard allegedly posed as a 17-year-old while chatting with a man on Tinder and told him to meet her at the college campus. When the man arrived, students physically attacked him as part the 'To Catch A Predator'-style sting, popularized on TikTok. Authorities later said they found no evidence the man was seeking sexual relations with anyone underage. Patricia Wen can be reached at
New York Post
06-05-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Skull discovered in Hungarian church may be legendary medieval King Matthias Corvinus'
Forget Yorick. Alas, poor Matthias! A skull unearthed in a medieval Hungarian church two decades ago may belong to legendary King Matthias Corvinus, who ruled the country for more than 30 years and was known for his support of the sciences and arts, experts claim. Emese Gábor, a facial reconstruction specialist and portrait sculptor based in Hungary, told Fox News Digital that the potentially royal skull was discovered in the ossuary portion of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Székesfehérvár. The remains were first discovered in 2002, the Independent reported. 4 Like father, like son: Emese Gábor compared the skull of Matthias Corvinus' son, Janos, to the newly discovered remains believed to be the legendary Hungarian king. Gábor Emese/Facial reconstruction arcrekonstrukció In an attempt to confirm her hypothesis, Gábor compared the newly discovered skull to that of Corvinus' illegitimate son, Janos. His remains had previously been discovered in Croatia, the Independent said. What Gábor found led her to believe that the find is indeed that of King Matthias Corvinus, 'a friend of the muses,' according to Britannica, who was one of the first European leaders to welcome the Renaissance. 4 Known as Matthias the Just, King Corvinus ruled Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. Bridgeman via Getty Images Gábor told Fox News Digital that she discovered an 'exceptionally high degree of morphological similarity' between the two skulls. She created plastic facial reconstructions of the examined skulls in the hopes of helping to tease out the facial features of the long-lost remains. 4 Emese Gábor, a facial reconstruction specialist and portrait sculptor based in Hungary, with the plastic facial reconstructions of the examined skulls she's made. Gábor Emese/Facial reconstruction arcrekonstrukció 4 The skull also conforms to what's known about Corvinus, down to his age and height, Gábor said. Gábor Emese/Facial reconstruction arcrekonstrukció '[The skull's] external characteristics are also of exceptional importance: the greenish discoloration observed on the bone surface likely indicates the presence of a metal crown once worn, which left traces through oxidation,' Gábor explained. The skull also conforms to what's known about Corvinus, down to his age and height, she told the outlet. 'This phenomenon, along with other features — such as the estimated age at death (43–48 years; Mátyás died at age 47) and the body height of 172 cm — provide further support and reinforce the possibility of royal origin.' Hungarian officials were quick to point out that the claims about King Matthias 'are not yet confirmed,' with the Institute of Hungarian Research telling Archaeology Mag that 'scientific verification of the hypothesis is ongoing. We will be able to make a final statement after the verification.' Known as Matthias the Just, Corvinus ruled as king of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490 and earned his moniker by creating a standing army, altering tax codes to be fairer and ushering in judicial reforms. Matthias the Just founded the Bibliotheca Corviniana, which was recognized in 2005 as a UNESCO site. Aside from the Vatican, it holds the greatest collection of books in Europe in the Renaissance period. 'One of the deepest concerns of King Mathias was the development of a library: he strove for a collection, where the whole body of knowledge of the ancient and modern world would be available,' Pal Engel, member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, told UNESCO.
