Daniel Genovesi was consecrated in Buenos Aires Cathedral last Saturday.

He and his wife Mercedes, a former nun, will start their new ministry on 1 April.

Difficulties involving personnel, finances and a gradual reduction in clergy numbers have plagued the Uruguay diocese recently.

As the interim bishop, Genovesi will work, with help, to strengthen the diocese.

The diocese was formerly part of the Anglican Diocese of Argentina.

During that time it developed its own distinctive style and sought to grow as a local church.

Differences from the rest of the Province in theology and churchmanship, and frustration about the non-ordination of women led a bid from the Diocese to leave the Anglican Church of South America and join the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil - the Anglican Church in Brazil.

The move was rejected by the Province of South America.

More recently, the diocese has faced a series of difficulties involving personnel, finances and a gradual reduction in clergy numbers, "bringing into question the ability of the diocese to function independently and elect a new diocesan bishop", the Bishop of Northern Argentina, Nick Drayson, said.

In response to an approach from the Diocesan Council, the Province's House of Bishops proposed the appointment of an interim bishop.

Genovesi, who had served as Priest of San Marcos in Hurlingham, Buenos Aires for nearly 12 years, reacted to the appointment with surprise and joy.

He has expressed "enthusiasm and the desire to go to a new place in order to listen, accompany, encourage, orientate and recreate in the name of Jesus".

Both Genovesi and his wife are professional psychologists. Genovesi is also the author of a number of books.

Source

• Episcopal News Service
• Anglican News
• Image: Anglican Communion News Service

Monsignor Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca was described as a "trusted cleric" when the Pope's appointment was announced on June 15.

A veteran diplomat, Monsignor Ricca had recently been serving as director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican residence where the Pope has chosen to live.

Now Vatican journalist Sandro Magister of L'Espresso newspaper says questions have arisen about Ricca's conduct during a brief assignment at the apostolic nunciature in Uruguay, between 1999 and 2001.

According to Magister, a "rupture" occurred between Ricca and the nuncio in Uruguay, Bishop Janusz Bolonek, and Ricca was suddenly transferred. The journalist says those who confidentially examined the case used the expressions "pink power" and "conducta escandalosa".

Ricca was selected by the council of cardinals supervising the bank. But Magister says he won the Pope's trust through the familiar relations he established with him as director of the Domus Sanctae Marthae and of two other residences for priests and bishops passing through Rome, including one at which the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio used to stay.

Magister says that in late June, when nuncios gathered in Rome to meet Pope Francis in person, the Pope became convinced by "several incontrovertible sources" that he had put his trust in the wrong person.

Another scandal at the Vatican Bank would follow the sudden resignations of its two highest-ranking operational officers, director-general Paolo Cipriani and vice-director Massimo Tulli, on July 1, following the arrest of Vatican accountant Monsignor Nunzio Scarano on a money-smuggling charge.

Their departures — "in the best interests of the [bank] itself and of the Holy See" — forced the president of the bank, Ernst von Freyburg, to step in temporarily as director-general.

Sources:

Chiesa

National Catholic Reporter

Image: La Voce Del Popolo

Mujica, a former guerilla fighter, has been described as "the world's ‘poorest' president". He donates 90 per cent of his salary to charities, lives with his wife in a modest farmhouse instead of the presidential palace and drives himself in a decades-old Volkswagen Beetle).

Wearing a blue shirt with no tie, a green sweater and a dark jacket, Mujica, 78, was received very warmly by the Pope.

Before they walked in for their private meeting, they took a few minutes to remember Uruguayan theologian and writer Alberto Methol Ferré, a "common friend" recently deceased, who for decades was an advisor to the Vatican.

The 45-minute audience was the longest Pope Francis has had with a head of state.

Afterwards, Mujica said of the Pope: "I think that if they let him, he's going to make a revolution inside the Church, towards simplicity."

He added that meeting the Pope was "just like talking to a good neighbour you've known for years".

Mujica described the meeting as very positive, admitting the significance and influence of the Catholic Church in Latin America, and underlined "it was essential to have fluid relations with the Church".

The Uruguayan president said he humbly asked the Pope, in humanitarian terms, to have the Church involved in the peace process of Colombia. "The process must continue and be successful, because it is crucial for the Colombian people and the whole of the Americas," he said.

Regarding Uruguay, Mujica talked with Pope Francis about the priority of sustaining the battle against hard-core poverty since it is not a question of money.

"The state can send people to help but can't ensure love and care, so this requires the commitment of many groups, and that is what I'm asking from the Church, a militant presence," he said.

Sources:

Merco Press

Jose Mujica (Wikipedia)

Image: Merco Press

Bishop Heriberto Bodeant Fernández of Melo, the secretary-general of the bishops' conference, told a Radio Carve interviewer that the penalty of automatic excommunication applies to those who are directly involved in an abortion, "which does not include those who vote for a law that allows it." Continue reading

The legislation now goes to the senate for approval and must be signed by President Jose Mujica, who has already voiced his support for the measure.

It passed after more than 13 hours of debate and one day after thousands of pro-life advocates marched in the capital city of Montevideo, urging lawmakers to vote against the bill.

The law holds that a woman who wishes to obtain an abortion must appear before a commission of doctors and social workers who are to provide her with information about her choice. After a five-day waiting period, she will be free to decide whether to proceed with the abortion.

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