In June, one of the names that came up often was George Floyd. His cruel murder by a policeman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, generated a wave of protests worldwide, including in Rome.
Thousands of people took to the streets and challenged the pandemic to denounce racism.
In the Vatican, the pope did not miss the opportunity to address this issue.
POPE FRANCIS
We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human life.
It was also a month of new advances in Vatican reforms. To avoid corruption in the concession of its public works, the Holy See adopted the guidelines of the 2003 UN Convention.
These indicate that the names of those who will carry out the projects must be made public and that the projects may not be granted to fourth-degree relatives or to business partners and their second-degree relatives.
In June, the pope approved the beatification of the Venezuelan doctor José Gregorio Hernández, who is very beloved in Latin America. He lived between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
SILVIA CORREALE
Postulator of the Cause for Beatification
“He had a virtuous life as a layman, coherence, and love for the poor. He was a doctor of international prestige and truly captured people's attention.”
June was a month of important liturgical celebrations. Corpus Christi was celebrated.
The feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, patron saints of Rome, was also observed. That day, the pope recalled the example of the first Christian community, which didn't even protest against Herod's persecution.
POPE FRANCIS
No one insults Herod. We are very used to insulting those responsible. It is useless and annoying that Christians waste time complaining about the world, society, about how bad things are going. ‘But this ruler is...’ and much criticism follows. I will not say them, because this is not the time, nor the place to say what is said against politicians. May God judge them, but let's pray for the rulers. Let's pray, because they need it.
This was an intense month also for Benedict XVI, who left Italy for the first time since his retirement to say his last goodbye to his brother. Georg Ratzinger was in seriously poor health conditions, and the pope emeritus traveled to Germany to be with the last living member of his family.
Javier Romero
Translation: CC
