Category Archives: Uncategorized

Former pope Benedict failed to act over abuse

Former Pope Benedict XVI failed to act over four child abuse cases when he was archbishop of Munich, a German probe into the Catholic Church has alleged.
Pope Benedict, then called Josef Ratzinger, held the position from 1977 to 1982. He has denied the accusations.
But a new report into historical abuse allegations carried out by a German law firm incriminated the former pontiff.
Abuse continued under his tenure, it is alleged, and the accused priests remained active in church roles.

The former pope, now aged 94, became the first Church leader to resign in more than 600 years in 2013, citing exhaustion. Since then, he has led a largely quiet life in the Vatican City and is known as pope emeritus.
The new report from German law firm Westpfahl Spilker Wastl was commissioned by the Catholic Church.
“Two of these cases concern abuses committed during his tenure and sanctioned by the state,” lawyer Martin Pusch said as he announced the report.
“In both cases, the perpetrators remained active in pastoral care.”

In one instance, it is alleged he knew about a priest accused of abusing boys who was transferred to his diocese – but continued to work in pastoral care roles.
The former pope is reported to have submitted dozens of pages of answers to the law firm’s questioning, in which he expressed support for the inquiry but denied any knowledge or lack of action around the abuse allegations.
The report, however, contains minutes which strongly suggest he was present at a meeting at which the subject was discussed.
The Vatican said in a statement that it would examine the details of the report once it had been published.
“As we reiterate the sense of shame and regret for the abuses on minors by priests, the Holy See expresses its support for all victims and it confirms the path to protect minors, guaranteed safe spaces for them,” the Vatican added.
A previous report into historical abuse in Germany concluded that more than 3,600 people nationwide had been abused by clergy members between 1946 and 2014. Many of the victims were very young and served as altar boys.
The new report looking into the Munich and Freising areas specifically found at least 497 abuse victims from 1945 to 2019.
In addition to the former pope, the report criticised other Church figures, including the region’s current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx. He was found to have failed to act in two cases of alleged abuse.
The cardinal already offered Pope Francis his resignation in June 2021, saying he should share responsibility for the “catastrophe” of abuse which was coming to light.
Pope Francis, however, refused to accept the resignation. Days earlier, the pope had changed the Vatican’s criminal laws, toughening the Church’s stance on sexual abuse.

Crime bill: Lords defects for government’s protest clampdown plans

The government has suffered a series of defeats in the House of Lords over its plans to clamp down on disruptive and noisy protesters.
Opposition peers voted against a range of measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, with Labour calling some of the plans “outrageous”.
Peers also voted to make misogyny a hate crime in England and Wales.
No 10 said it was disappointed peers voted against measures to combat the “guerilla tactics” of some protesters.

■ What is the new police bill?
The bill now faces going back and forth between the Commons and Lords. The government is likely to continue fighting for its proposals.
The bill is a huge piece of legislation that covers major proposed changes on crime and justice in England and Wales.
The most controversial part of it is on the planned changes to protests – which the government proposed in response to environmental activists who have blocked roads, glued themselves to trains and stopped printing presses in recent years.
The government was hoping to get the Lords to support its proposals, but in a series of votes lasting until the early hours of Tuesday morning, peers repeatedly voted against the government.

Disappointing’
Ministers were defeated, by 261 votes to 166, over plans to give the police new powers to stop protests in England and Wales if they are deemed to be too noisy and disruptive.
And the Lords also backed, by 238 votes to 171, a Liberal Democrat amendment to strip out the power to impose conditions on protests on noise grounds.
Asked if measures against noisy protests would be reintroduced in the Commons, Mr Raab told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We’ll look very carefully at all of that, but, yes, absolutely.
“In relation to noise, of course we support the right of peaceful and rambunctious protest, but it cannot be allowed to interfere with the lives of the law-abiding majority.”
The prime minister’s official spokesman said it would “reflect” on the votes before the bill returned to the Commons.
He added: “It is disappointing the Lords did not back the public order measures that will ensure the everyday lives of the overwhelming majority are not disrupted by a selfish minority of protesters whose actions endanger lives and cost the public millions of pounds.”

People wearing protective masks, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, stand in front of a show window of a department store at a shopping district in Tokyo, Japan, January 18, 2022. 2022 is the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Tiger. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO, Jan 18 (Reuters) – Japan’s new COVID-19 cases jumped to a record on Tuesday, local media reported, as the government considered expanding measures to contain the infectious Omicron coronavirus variant.

The country had more than 27,000 new cases, broadcaster TBS said, exceeding the previous high seen in August shortly after Tokyo hosted the Summer Olympics.

The western prefecture of Osaka posted a record 5,396 new cases, while Tokyo had 5,185, the highest since Aug. 21.

Tokyo and 12 other prefectures have requested infection-fighting measures from the central government, Economy Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa told reporters, amid concern that Omicron infections would overwhelm the healthcare system.

Television personality Afia Schwarzenegger has lost her father, Augustine Agyei.

She had earlier announced that her father was battling cancer at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and solicited prayers.

But earlier this morning, 17 January 2022, Mr Agyei passed on.

Announcing the death of her father on social media, the socialite wrote, “My hero has gone to be with the Lord.
Rest in peace, Daddy. I’m lost”. Since the announcement, other media personalities have sent messages of condolence to empathize with Afia.

Awwww Daddy 😭 @queenafiaschwarzenegger you fought a good fight for Daddy, May the Angels of God carry Daddy home safely 🌹 🙏🏾Be strong dear,” broadcast journalist, Abeiku Santana posted.

“Ohhhh I’m sorry, client. May you find comfort in the Lord,” Frema Adunyame of CitiTV also wrote.

The body of a British woman swept away by the tsunami in Tonga has been found, her brother says.
Nick Eleini told broadcasters the family was “devastated” after Angela Glover died trying to rescue her dogs.
It is the first known death in the disaster, caused when an underwater volcano erupted, sending a tsunami towards the Pacific island nation.
But communications have been badly damaged, making it hard to establish the scale of the destruction.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano, which erupted on Saturday, was about 40 miles (65km) north of Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, where Angela and her husband James had made their home.

Speaking outside their mother’s home in Hove, Mr Eleini said he understood Angela’s body was found by her husband.
Brighton-born Angela, 50, had been living in Tonga since marrying James, he said, and they became “well-loved by locals and ex-pats alike”.
“Angela and James loved their life in Tonga and adored the Tongan people. In particular, they loved the Tongan love of family and Tongan culture,” he said.

Mr Eleini said his sister was “a beautiful woman” who “would walk into a room and just light it up with her presence”.
James ran a tattoo parlour called the Happy Sailor, employing and training Tongans, while Angela founded the Tongan Animal Welfare Society.
She had “a deep love of dogs” and her organisation sheltered and rehabilitated stray animals before trying to find homes for them, Mr Eleini said.
He said: “The uglier the dog, the more she loved it. She just loved them all, she was totally dedicated to it.”
She had worked in London in the advertising industry before starting a new life in the south Pacific.

Angela is know in Tonga for her work on animal welfare

Mr Eleini said she loved the ocean and had been drawn to live in Tonga by a childhood dream of swimming with whales.
“It was Tonga that allowed her to fulfil these dreams.”
He brother said that despite the image of idyllic island life, it could be “pretty tough” there, with cyclones common at this time of year.
“But it’s also a beautiful life. She was living her dream. She always wanted to live in a place like Tonga. We are so proud she was able to fulfil that.”
Meanwhile, Tongans overseas have been left for two days unable to reach family and friends back home following the disaster.
Surveillance flights sent by New Zealand revealed “significant damage” along the western coast of Tongatapu, the country’s main island.
Television New Zealand’s Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver said it was expected to take at least two weeks before international phones and internet links were restored, due to damage inflicted on a crucial undersea cable.
The Red Cross estimates 80,000 people may have been affected by the tsunami, and dust from the volcano could contaminate water supplies.
Some officials have also voiced concerns that relief efforts could spread Covid in the country, which only recorded its first coronavirus cases in October.