Two breaking items for your Wednesday Morning:- First, building on last night's report, the Vatican just announced that, as Papal Legate to this week's International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, Cardinal Marc Ouellet met for two hours today with a group of survivors of sex-abuse by Irish priests and religious during his pilgrimage to Lough Derg, the nation's traditional place of repentance
- And in a development that's been intensely awaited for weeks (or, for some, 24 years), quickly-moving reports from French and Italian agencies give word that this afternoon will bring a CDF meeting between Cardinal William Levada and Bishop Bernard Fellay at which the head of the Society of St Pius X is to receive the Pope's decision on the restoration to full communion of the breakaway traditionalist group. Notably, last Saturday's edition of B16's weekly briefing from the CDF -- the dicastery which carried out the years-long doctrinal discussions with the Swiss-based group -- wasn't attended solely by Levada, who invariably goes alone to the papal apartment for the sessions; last weekend, the cardinal-prefect was accompanied to the audience by his deputy, the Spanish Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria. (11.30am ET: According to reports, the meeting began at 5pm Rome time, 11am Eastern.)
On top of those, the Summer Meeting of the US bishops begins in Atlanta sometime around 10 Eastern this morning (livestream), with an extended discussion on religious liberty, and a report on the tenth anniversary of the Dallas Charter topping the agenda.
After a full Opening Day in front of the cameras, the plenary will continue in public session through tomorrow noon. And, well, there's more still to come beyond -- as veterans 'round these parts know well, things tend to ramp up every year at this time as the Vatican's work-year nears its close on June 30th.
As ever, keep it here and on Page Three for more as it emerges on the various fronts... and as an already full plate begins to erupt, it's as good a time as any to keep in mind that these pages only keep coming your way by means of your support....
Sure, the rest might be heady, but there goes the toughest part of the job.... Not to mention that it's either the above or Lights Out. Literally.
As ever, gang, it's your call... That said, off to the races.