5 Headlines You May Have Missed (31 October)

News from around the Catholic world for the week ending 31 October.

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•  Pope Francis speaks of his admiration of Pope Emeritus Benedict

•  Disabled 12 year old killed by starvation following court ruling in UK

•  Cuba to build its first church in 55 years

•  Fee increases in Catholic schools to address disadvange in rural areas

•  Social justice to give Sydney youth an opportunity to put faith in action.

TRANSCRIPT

BOBBIE:  Pope Francis has spoken of his admiration for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in an address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

The Holy Father spoke of his predecessor at the unveiling of a bust of Benedict XVI at the Pontifical Academy on Tuesday, local time.

Pope Francis during his address said that Benedict XVI was, [quote]“a great Pope: great for the power and penetration of his intellect, great for his significant contribution to theology, great for his love for the Church and of human beings, great for his virtue and piety.”

The unveiling was part of a plenary meeting between members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which focused on the topic of evolving concepts of nature. Pope Francis discussed this topic during his address.

VATICAN RADIO: Pope Francis spoke to the theme of their gathering, noting that the Catholic intellectual tradition has always affirmed the fundamental compatibility of a natural order that unfolds and develops, with the idea that the universe has been made, and does not merely happen.

“Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation,” he said.

“The scientist,” he continued, “must [nevertheless]be moved by a trust in the idea that nature hides, within her evolutionary mechanisms, potentialities that it is the task of intellect and freedom to discover and actuate, in order to achieve the [kind of]development that is in the design of the Creator.”

SARAH: The plenary meeting concluded on Tuesday.

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A 12-year-old has died of starvation after a UK court accepted her mother’s application to kill her.

In an unprecedented case, Justice Eleanor King determined that Charlotte Fitzmaurice Wise should be entitled to kill her daughter Nancy, who suffered from hydrocephalus, meningitis and septicaemia. None of the illnesses were terminal, but left Nancy unable to walk, talk, eat or drink.

Ms Wise said she believed 12-year-old Nancy was in too much pain to live, and that she should no longer be kept alive.

“She wasn’t my angelic child any more, she was a shell,” said Ms Wise.

“I wanted beautiful memories of Nancy, not soul-crushing ones,” she said.

Nancy took 14 days to die of starvation after the decision. This is the first time that a child breathing on her own, not on life support, not suffering a terminal illness, has been allowed to die in the United Kingdom.

The decision comes after a cancer patient in the United States gained worldwide coverage over her decision to be euthanised.

Tiffany Maynard was diagnosed with a brain tumour in January this year. She was told she had six months to live, and decided to end her own life and spend her final days campaigning for euthanasia.

Ms Maynard had originally set 1 November as her final day, but has this week announced that she will delay her decision as she is still feeling well enough.

Ms Maynard moved to Oregon with her family in order to be prescribed lethal medication, as euthanasia is not legal in her home State.

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