Coptic Pope Shenouda III Dead

CNN

Cairo (CNN) -- Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Christian community for nearly four decades, died Saturday, according to the head of the Egyptian General Coptic Association. He was 88.

And

The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Christian church in the Middle East, according the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in Stevenage, England.

In addition to millions of followers in Egypt, the church has adherents in Europe, Canada, the United States, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa, the center says.

When a Coptic pope dies, all 150 bishops of the church's Holy Council appoint an acting patriarch until a vote is conducted for a successor, Doss said. Thousands of bishops, priests and monks are eligible to vote.

The most senior bishop usually takes the role of acting patriarch. In this case, that would be Bishop Michael of Asiut. If he declines, Bishop Bakhamious of Behira is next in line, Doss said.

CNN doesn't mention it, but I read elsewhere that Shenouda III was the first Coptic Pope to meet the Bishop of Rome in over a thousand years and was big on Christian unity, especially in the East.  I am interested in seeing what kind of fresh efforts his successor makes towards ecumenism on behalf of the Coptic Church.

Winter Has Finally Arrived

Here in Iowa winter has finally arrived.  Earlier this month there were record breaking high temperatures; a few days there the high during the day was in the upper fifties.  But it did not last and the mercury bottomed out this last week at the same time as a few rounds of snow have covered up the faded greens and browns.

For those of you who are interested in such things, a consistory has been announced and with it the list of cardinals-to-be.  It's a pretty underwhelming list of names even when considered in the best light.

More recently, the Vatican approved certain 'celebrations' of the Neocatechumenal Way (Wiki link).  Again, that is looking at it in the best light in that 'celebration' does not mean the infamous form of Mass to which the Way subscribes.  On the other hand, many are of the opinion that it is an outright approval and even if it is not, the devotees of the Way will view this Vatican approval as general vindication, ignoring the subtleties of it.

Finally, this morning it is being reported by various sources that former Penn State football head coach Joe Paterno is dead.  There were erroneous reports that he died last night.  Earlier this autumn, Paterno was fired after being caught up in the Sandusky sexual abuse case.  The former coach, a Catholic, received the Last Rites.  Requiescat in pace.

Patriarch Alexy II Dead

Hat tip to NLM.

AsiaNews:

Moscow (AsiaNews) – The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Aleksij II, has died at the age of 79. The Patriarchate did not give a reason for his death but he had been sick for some time.

Aleksij became Patriarch of all Russia in 1990, the first head of the Church elected without the influence of the Russian government.

He was credited with helping restore the freedom and moral authority of the Russian Orthodox Church after decades of repression under communism, but many priests who had been arrested and sent to the gulag accused him of being a spy for the Soviet secret police (KGB).

He was seen as a supporter of Putin’s New Russia.

In relation to the Catholic Church he always refused to meet Pope John Paul II, pointing the finger at alleged “proselytising” by Russian Catholics.

Catholic-Orthodox ecumenism was substantially held back under his leadership.

Bolding mine. I'm not finding anything in English about how the new patriarch will be elected, but I'll keep looking. The question is if Alexy's successor will be a bit more accommodating or if he'll remain as firm in the Russian Orthodox Church's position as Alexy was vis a vis the Catholic Church. Time will tell, obviously.

RIP

Edit: Just a general search of 'Patriarch Alexy' here for your convenience.

A tragedy

As you all know, I live here in IC and the Sueppel case is dominating the news. I attend the same parish as the family, though I did not know them at all. Please pray for Sheryl Sueppel and her children: Eleanor, Seth, Ethan and Mira. Pray as well for the troubled soul of Steven Sueppel himself. Doctor Peters has a post regarding if Mr. Sueppel should be granted an ecclesiastical funeral. An excerpt:

One of the reasons we have rules is to help us guide our decision-making when circumstances make it difficult to think clearly. The horrific murder of the Sueppel family by their husband-father Steven, who then finally succeeded in killing himself, is nothing if not a difficult circumstance. My read, in any case, of 1983 CIC 1184.1.3, in light of the gruesome facts of this case, leads me to conclude that Steven Sueppel should be denied ecclesiastical funeral rites.

...
Requiescat in pace.

RIP Cardinal Pompedda

According to Zenit.org, Cardinal Pompedda died Tuesday night in a Rome clinic where he had been for quite some time. He was 77.

In a telegram, sent by Benedict XVI on hearing the news, the Pope recalled the service carried out by the Italian cardinal, a "distinguished jurist and for many years diligent collaborator of the Holy See, in particular of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota and of the Apostolic Signature, offering everywhere an appreciated testimony of priestly zeal and fidelity to the Gospel."
[...]

Born in Ozieri, Sardinia, on April 18, 1929, he had been a priest since Dec. 23, 1951, and a bishop since Jan. 6, 1998. Pope John Paul II elevated him to cardinal in 2001.

He exercised his priestly ministry for 30 years in the parish church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the Monte Mario district of Rome.

The Office for Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announced that the cardinal's funeral will be presided over by Benedict XVI this Friday at 5 p.m. in St. Peter's Basilica.

The College of Cardinals now has 187 members, including 115 electors who could participate in a conclave.

Articles mentioning His Eminence both in life and in death are listed at CardinalRating.org.

Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church has a dossier with more in depth info on Cardinal Pompedda's various academic accomplishments and curial postings.