“We will prevail”

adminonNovember 25, 2021January 27, 2022Leave a Comment

In the internal Union dispute over the commuter allowance, no rapprochement in sight. Shortly before the start of the CSU party conference in Nuremberg, the sister party CDU reiterated on Friday that there was no financial scope for such tax relief in this legislative period. CSU leader Erwin Huber nevertheless expressed confidence.

Huber stressed that the CSU would "prevail" on the commuter tax allowance. For the demand for return to the old regulation, the Christian Socialists received approval of the left.The head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Volker Kauder (CDU), opposes the CSU's insistence on the ie. The necessary financial scope for this is not given. The goal remains a balanced budget at the federal level, said Kauder. For the rest, he is more interested in an "effective tax reform after the Bundestag elections than in small individual measures that fizzle out". Parliamentary group vice-chairman Wolfgang Bosbach (CDU) again appealed to the CSU to wait first for the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, the chairman of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Peter Ramsauer, defended his party's initiative. The CSU supported the cut in the commuter tax allowance three years ago because it was "part of a very comprehensive savings concept" aimed at reinvesting 25 billion euros in this legislative period in building renovation, road construction and other measures. By the high gasoline prices however the current demand for reintroduction of the lump sum is justified.

Backing from Link

Bavaria's CSU parliamentary party leader Georg Schmid said the CSU would continue to try to convince the Chancellor that the commuter allowance should once again apply from the first kilometer onwards. "Everyone will fall in with this CSU line – including the CDU," he predicted. Politicians must respond to the rise in the cost of living, he said. The population is extremely worried about the development above all with the energy prices. The Christian Socialists received support from the Left Party. "Commuters don't ask about the party book of those who do something to ease their burden," said Left Party Vice President Klaus Ernst. As long as the strong words of the CSU are not followed by a serious initiative, the debate within the coalition once again amounts to a "deliberate deception of the voters. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Bavarian Junge Union (JU), Stefan Muller, expressed confidence that Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) will relent in the dispute over the commuter tax allowance. There is growing support from the CDU for the CSU's call for a return to the old system, she said. The chairman of the CSU Mittelstandsunion, Hans Michelbach, added that "this would be a signal to the people in our country that their problems are understood".

Pope Benedict XVI. has deplored a restriction of religious freedom in China. Priests and faithful in the country would be hindered in the free exercise of their faith, some bishops would be subjected to prere in their ministry, Benedict said at the end of the general audience.

The Church in China needs the prayers of the whole Church in a special way at this time, the pope said. At the same time, he called on the faithful of the Asian country to be faithful to the pope and to be united with the universal church. Chinese Catholics have repeatedly expressed their will to do so, he said. "Through prayer we can achieve that the desire of Chinese Catholics to belong to the universal Church overcomes the temptation of a separate path independent of the Petrine ministry," the pope said. – The occasion for the call was the commemoration of "Mary, Help of Christians", next Tuesday, which is celebrated in a special way at the Marian shrine of Sheshan near Shanghai.

Since 1957, China’s more than ten million Catholics have been divided between an underground church persecuted by the state and the official "Patriotic Association". Christianity was suppressed during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. Only after Mao Tse-tung’s death in 1976 did a rebuilding begin, but still under strict government control. In the meantime, however, most of China’s bishops also have the recognition of the Pope. New appointments since 2006 have in most cases been made in consultation with the Holy See.

China’s ‘Patriotic Association’ resents Vatican interference in bishop’s consecration
Meanwhile, China’s "Patriotic Association" again rejected Vatican interference in the election and consecration of new bishops. The press service "Eglises d "Asie" quotes the honorary president of the "Patriotic Association", Anthony Liu Bainian, as demanding that the Vatican recognize elected bishops. With eleven candidates soon to be ordained, the conflict between Beijing and the Holy See could intensify again.

Bainian, the strongman of China’s "official" church, said China’s church has cut political and economic ties with the Vatican, according to "Eglises d "Asie". Their autonomy is reflected in elections and ordinations of bishops, which are decided only in China.

Ordination of eleven candidates looms – new tensions expected
Johannes Fang Xinqyao, bishop of the "official" Catholic Church of Linyi and chairman of the Patriotic Association, most recently told the Hong Kong daily "Wen Wei Po" that eleven candidates were awaiting ordination. They have already been elected; the bishops’ conference just needs to give its approval for ordination, he said. According to observers, the ordination of the eleven candidates could lead to new tensions. According to "Eglises d "Asie", Beijing is probably planning a group consecration of candidates for whose consecration the Vatican has given its approval and of those for whom approval was refused.

The recent boat accident with dozens of drowned migrants off the Libyan coast continues to cause debate. On Sunday, Pope Francis also spoke out and prayed for the migrants and for people who looked the other way.

Pope Francis is "very saddened" by the renewed "tragedy," he said at noon prayers in St. Peter’s Square. The victims had pleaded in vain for days for help. "It is a shame," said the head of the Church.

The aid organization SOS Mediterranee had said Thursday that a rubber dinghy with about 130 migrants on board had crashed off Libya. Its own rescue ship, "Ocean Viking," had tried to help despite bad weather conditions, it said. But after hours of searching, "only dead bodies" have been found, he said. The competent authorities accused SOS Mediterranee of failure. They would have done nothing to coordinate a rescue effort.

Pope prays for those who look the other way

"Human lives are at stake," Francis stressed in his address to hundreds of pilgrims. He called for prayers for all those who would die on the dangerous way across the Mediterranean Sea. "Let us also pray for those who can help but prefer to look the other way," he added.

Meanwhile, the Libyan coast guard rejected accusations that nothing had been done to help those in distress at sea. The mission was carried out despite adverse conditions, a spokesman ared over the weekend, according to Italian media.

Sant’Egidio appealed to save migrants in distress at sea

The Catholic community of Sant’Egidio called for a Europe-wide prayer vigil on Monday. It felt obliged to raise its voice "so that our continent is not stained by culpable indifference," it said in a statement.

The organization appealed to officials to do everything possible to rescue migrants in distress at sea. In addition, in view of the worrying situation in Libya, more legal possibilities for entry into the EU must be created.

Criticizing the indifference

The Episcopal Migration Agency "Fondazione Migrantes" expressed similar sentiments after the boat accident: "May this tragedy provide a jolt of humanity to create legal and safe entry routes."

The Jesuit refugee service in Italy also responded. Leader Camillo Ripamonti criticized an "indifference of national governments and the European Union". The main task of politics is to "ensure a dignified and free life for every human being on earth". The loss of countless lives in the Mediterranean Sea is unacceptable.

Rescue ship back in action

Italy’s ex-Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, meanwhile, made serious accusations against private sea rescuers. The dead were on the conscience of the "do-gooders," the Lega leader wrote on Twitter. They lure tugboats and human traffickers to send unseaworthy boats out to sea even in bad weather.

Meanwhile, the rescue ship "Sea-Watch 4" set off on a new mission to the central Mediterranean Sea. The crew had left the port of the Spanish city of Burriana, confirmed the operator association Sea-Watch, based in Berlin.

The "Sea-Watch 4", purchased last year from donations by the church-initiated alliance United4Rescue and equipped as a rescue ship, was held for months in Palermo by the Italian authorities. The coast guard objected to "a number of irregularities" of a technical nature. After a legal dispute, the film was released at the beginning of March.

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