What happened?
Donald Trump took office as the 45th president of the United States. In his inauguration speech, Trump said: “For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capitol has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost.” He promised: “That all changes – starting right here.”
Pope Francis told the Spanish newspaper El País he would wait and see: “Being afraid or rejoicing beforehand because of something that might happen is, in my view, quite reckless.”
What the media said
The Observer condemned Trump’s “crass, know-nothing nationalism”, which, it argued, appeals to “the darker side of human nature, bolstering the insidious claims of jealousy, envy, greed and hubris. It thrives on fear, chauvinism, discrimination and not always subliminal notions of ethnic, racial and moral superiority.”
The Telegraph’s Tim Stanley said America is now a divided country – and that at least, with Trump, everybody knows where they stand. “There was a call for unity in his speech, but it was unity on Trump’s terms,” Stanley wrote. America is
experiencing “a cultural civil war”, in which “People have fundamentally different world views and aspirations. Trump would be lying – he would look even more ridiculous – if he claimed to speak for everyone.”
What Catholics said
At Life Site News, Jonathon van Maren said he was sceptical of the media’s refrain that Trump is “not normal”. “It’s difficult to take media figures seriously when they warn against normalizing Donald Trump as president, but push the idea that gender is a virtually non-existent concept ,” van Maren wrote. “It’s hard to nod along when they warn against the dangers of ‘normalizing’ political extremism while running defence for Planned Parenthood.”
The editors of America magazine said Trump’s inaugural address “amounted to a declaration of war on globalization and the elites who reap most of its rewards.” But they argued that it was based on “blind nationalism”, and told readers: “The ultimate instrument of our unity is the patient grace of God, not the greatness of the nation state.”
The most overlooked story of the week
✣ A deal with China won’t be easy, says cardinal
What happened?
The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has said that achieving a deal with China is “not easy”.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Cardinal Parolin said: “It needs a lot of patience and perseverance.” The talks were a major priority, he said.
Why was it under-reported?
The Vatican-Beijing talks have attracted press attention: justifiably, since they represent the world’s biggest country and biggest religious body discussing major issues of diplomacy, religion and liberty. But Cardinal Parolin’s remarks didn’t fit the narrative of an impending “breakthrough”. The cardinal said the Vatican was “optimistic” and keen to find an agreement, but stressed: “There is the burden of history behind us.” These cautious remarks received less media attention than his call for nations to welcome migrants.
What will happen next?
The major problem, to judge by Cardinal Parolin’s comments, is that Beijing will not accept the “underground Church”. About half of China’s Catholics belong to this clandestine organisation, while the other half are in the “official Church”, which is under communist control.
Last week, Pope Francis told El País that “in China, the churches are packed. In China they can worship freely.” But the Vatican is clearly worried that the hostility between underground Catholics and the state cannot be resolved.
✣The week ahead
Catholic and Anglican bishops are holding a two-day meeting in Birmingham next week. It is the fifth such gathering since 2006 and aims to build relations between the two bishops’ conferences and to identify possible joint projects. The bishops will also look at the work of Arcic, the joint commission which seeks to find common theological ground.
Churches will mark Holocaust Memorial Day today, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Bishop John Arnold of Salford and Auxiliary Bishop Patrick Lynch of Southwark will both be attending memorial services.
Tomorrow Bishop Patrick McKinney of Nottingham will mark the Dominican order’s 800th anniversary year. He will be at the Holy Cross Priory in Leicester, a town which the Dominicans first came to in 1247. They lasted until 1538, when Henry VIII’s crackdown forced the friars out. Today the parish is the largest in Leicester city centre.
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