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Anonymous ID: 6f1c8b Sept. 26, 2020, 12:51 p.m. No.10799864   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>9925 >>9945

Relic of Pope John Paul II's blood stolen from Italian cathedral

 

ROME (Reuters) - A gold and crystal casing holding drops of the blood of Saint Pope John Paul II was stolen from the cathedral of the central Italian city of Spoleto, its bishop said on Thursday. The casing, known as a reliquary, was snatched on Wednesday from an altar dedicated to the Polish pope, who died in 2005 after a 27-year reign. A sacristan who was closing the cathedral for the night discovered the theft of the reliquary, which encased a vial holding a few drops of blood. Relics, which Catholics venerate as they pray to the saint, are usually pieces of a saint’s body or clothing. The relic was in the Spoleto cathedral temporarily and was due to be moved next month to a new church in the Umbria region named after the late pope. “Give the reliquary back to the cathedral and the faithful,” said Archbishop Renato Boccardo, who was a close aide to the late pope for years at the Vatican. “It would be the serious thing to do”. Boccardo said it was not clear if the reliquary had been stolen for ransom, which has happened in the past with other relics in Italy. Police were reviewing footage of security cameras inside and outside the cathedral.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-pope-relic/relic-of-pope-john-paul-iis-blood-stolen-from-italian-cathedral-idUSKCN26F2W1

Anonymous ID: 6f1c8b Sept. 26, 2020, 12:56 p.m. No.10799906   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Vatican announces surprise resignation of top cardinal

 

One of the most influential Vatican cardinals, Angelo Becciu from Italy, resigned his position unexpectedly on Thursday, the Holy See announced without explanation. "The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and from the rights connected to the Cardinalate, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu," a one-line statement late on Thursday said. After a career as a Vatican emissary, Becciu has worked for the last six years as the Substitute for General Affairs, a role akin as chief of staff which means he sees Pope Francis daily and is one of his most trusted aides. The 72-year-old was named as a cardinal in summer 2018 and has also had responsibility for the department that oversees beatifications and sainthoods. His surprise resignation could be a sanction.

 

He has been linked in the past to an investigation underway within the Vatican over the last year into a property development in the exclusive Chelsea area of London which was paid for with offshore funds and companies. The process to invest in the scheme to build luxury apartments began in 2014 when Becciu was in the Vatican secretariat, the central bureaucracy of the Holy See. The Vatican's police force raided the offices of the secretariat last year to seize financial documents and computers, while five members of staff were suspended. Becciu defended the purchase at the beginning of the year during an interview.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vatican-announces-surprise-resignation-of-top-cardinal/ar-BB19out2