Iraqi security forces stand guard outside the Syrian Catholic Church, in Baghdad, Iraq | Credit: AP

2010 was a rather difficult year for the Catholic Church in a variety of aspects. As we have seen over the last several months, the Church has been rocked by the revelations of a multitude of cases of sexual abuse against minors by Catholic priests. Many within the media have also recently misconstrued comments made by the Pope regarding the use of condoms, which has caused uncertainty among some Catholics. Furthermore, the Catholic Church in Haiti has had to deal with tremendous destruction of buildings and lives after an earthquake devastated the nation in early January. Despite the trials and tribulations caused by these events, nothing ranks in comparison to the deliberate persecution of Catholics and fellow Christians throughout the world.

Throughout this year, the persecution of all Christians has been more evident than in years past. Throughout 2010, we heard stories about Christians being murdered in Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Pakistan, the Philippines and countless others. The most devastating attack occurred in Nigeria in March.

According to an article in the New York Times, the attack in Nigeria took place in the early morning hours of March 7th in the city of Jos. The attackers mercilessly massacred their victims “with machetes, killing women and children in their homes” while the men were captured and killed. In all, 500 Christians had been murdered when the attack was finally over.

The most devastating attack on Catholics came in Iraq during the month of October at Our Lady of Deliverance Catholic Church. The attack began when a group of militants from an al-Qaida linked organization stormed the church during the celebration of the Mass. The terrorist group then took the parishioners and priests hostage. When Iraqi security forces stormed the Church in an attempt to save the victims, they walked into an ambush, resulting in many of them being killed or injured.

In the end, 58 Catholics, including the two priests, had been murdered. Shortly after the attack, the al-Qaida linked terrorist organization claimed the assault was an attempt to rid the Iraqi nation of the influence of Christianity.

Credit: Reuters

Throughout the last several days, chatter has picked up quite considerably about an announcement regarding a November 20th consistory that would result in the elevation of new cardinals. That announcement is expected to be made tomorrow during the Holy Father’s weekly General Audience.

According to Andrea Tornielli, among the batch of twenty voting-age cardinals are Americans Archbishop Raymond Burke (Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura) and Archbishop Donald Wuerl (Archbishop of Washington). Some other notable Cardinal-designates are: Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz, Warsaw; Archbishop Thomas Collins, Toronto; Archbishop Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation of Saints; and Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. This consistory will be the third called during the pontificate of Benedict XVI.

Vatican Radio will be streaming tomorrow’s general audience. For those folks brave enough to be up early, set your alarms for 4:00 a.m. ET; coverage begins at 4:15 a.m. ET.

UPDATE: It’s official…this morning, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Archbishop Raymond Burke and Archbishop Donal Wuerl to the rank of Cardinal. The Cardinal-designates will be officially elevated during a November 20th consistory and given their rings on November 21st. More to come in a bit.

During this morning’s Mass celebrating the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, the Holy Father conferred the pallium on 38 new metropolitan archbishops.

To the glory of Almighty God and the praise of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the apostles Peter and Paul, and of the Holy Roman Church, for the honor of the Churches, which have been placed in your care, and as a symbol of your authority as metropolitan archbishop: We confer on you the pallium taken from the tomb of Peter to wear within the limits of your ecclesiastical provinces.

May this pallium be a symbol of unity
and a sign of your communion with the Apostolic See,
a bond of love, and an incentive to courage.
On the day of the coming and manifestation
of our great God and chief shepherd, Jesus Christ,
may you and the flock entrusted to you
be clothed with immortality and glory.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski:

Archbishop Thomas Wenski receives the Pallium | Reuters

Here is the full text homily given by Pope Benedict XVI at this morning’s Pallium Mass.

Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, Rome | Source: Getty

Dear brothers and sisters!

The biblical texts of this Eucharistic Liturgy of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in their great wealth, highlight a theme that could be summarized thus: God is close to his faithful servants and frees them from all evil, and frees the Church from negative powers. It is the theme of the freedom of the Church, which has a historical aspect and another more deeply spiritual one.

This theme runs through today’s Liturgy of the Word. The first and second readings speak, respectively, of St Peter and St Paul, emphasizing precisely the liberating action of God in them. Especially the text from the Acts of the Apostles describes in abundant detail the intervention of the Angel of the Lord, who

The homily given by Pope Benedict XVI will be posted as soon as it is translated into English by the Vatican. Be sure to check for updates if you would like to read it.

Source: CatholicTV