Today in the News:
– Pope to meet Argentine president he clashed with
– S.African cardinal apologises for saying paedophilia not a crime
– and a Donated painting turns out to be Rembrandt self-portrait
Pope Francis’ diplomatic skills are being put to the test Monday, as the first head of state he meets is his own: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, with whom he has clashed over her socially liberal policies and what he has called the government’s strident displays of power. Fernandez and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner, defied church teaching to push through a series of measures with popular backing in Argentina, including mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals, and the right for transsexuals to change their official identities on demand. Argentina in 2010 became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages.
And speaking for the Cathlic Church and some of its inefficencies. A South African cardinal on Monday apologised for offending victims of child abuse when he described paedophilia as an illness and not a crime in a media interview. Victims’ rights groups and others said the comments by Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, comments were insensitive, especially given perceptions the Catholic Church has not done enough to root out abuse. Napier, one of the 115 cardinals who took part in the Vatican conclave that elected Pope Francis, had said that paedophilia was a “disorder” that needed to be treated. He also said, he knew of at least two priests who became paedophiles after they were abused as children and therefore required treatment, not punishment. It’s these kind of statements that give the Catholic church a bad rep isn’t it.
A painting donated to Britain’s National Trust by the estate of a wealthy supporter has been identified as a Rembrandt self-portrait worth $30 million. The painting was given to the trust in 2010 by the estate of Edna, Lady Samuel of Wych Cross, whose property-developer husband was a major collector of Dutch and Flemish art. The portrait of the artist wearing a cap with a large white feather was long thought to have been done by one of Rembrandt’s students and was credited as in the “style of” the 17th-century Dutch master. But the National Trust said an investigation led by Ernst van de Wetering, the world’s leading Rembrandt expert, had determined it was by Rembrandt himself. What a donation!!
Today in the News:
– Pope to meet Argentine president he clashed with
– S.African cardinal apologises for saying paedophilia not a crime
– and a Donated painting turns out to be Rembrandt self-portrait
Pope Francis’ diplomatic skills are being put to the test Monday, as the first head of state he meets is his own: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, with whom he has clashed over her socially liberal policies and what he has called the government’s strident displays of power. Fernandez and her predecessor and late husband, Nestor Kirchner, defied church teaching to push through a series of measures with popular backing in Argentina, including mandatory sex education in schools, free distribution of contraceptives in public hospitals, and the right for transsexuals to change their official identities on demand. Argentina in 2010 became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages.
And speaking for the Cathlic Church and some of its inefficencies. A South African cardinal on Monday apologised for offending victims of child abuse when he described paedophilia as an illness and not a crime in a media interview. Victims’ rights groups and others said the comments by Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, the Catholic Archbishop of Durban, comments were insensitive, especially given perceptions the Catholic Church has not done enough to root out abuse. Napier, one of the 115 cardinals who took part in the Vatican conclave that elected Pope Francis, had said that paedophilia was a “disorder” that needed to be treated. He also said, he knew of at least two priests who became paedophiles after they were abused as children and therefore required treatment, not punishment. It’s these kind of statements that give the Catholic church a bad rep isn’t it.
A painting donated to Britain’s National Trust by the estate of a wealthy supporter has been identified as a Rembrandt self-portrait worth $30 million. The painting was given to the trust in 2010 by the estate of Edna, Lady Samuel of Wych Cross, whose property-developer husband was a major collector of Dutch and Flemish art. The portrait of the artist wearing a cap with a large white feather was long thought to have been done by one of Rembrandt’s students and was credited as in the “style of” the 17th-century Dutch master. But the National Trust said an investigation led by Ernst van de Wetering, the world’s leading Rembrandt expert, had determined it was by Rembrandt himself. What a donation!!