“I cannot remain silent, I have to speak”. These words of pope emeritus Benedict XVI appear in book written jointly with cardinal Robert Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. The book, entitled “From the Depth of our Hearts,” is about the nature of the Church and Christian discipleship. It includes an explanation of the biblical and spiritual importance of priestly celibacy. Some see the book as a response to the recent Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Amazon, during which the question of relaxing the celibacy rule was raised. 

Fragment of the book ”From the bottom of our hearts”:

“I can’t remain silent. Celibacy is of great importance and is essential for our path to God to remain the foundation of our lives. From the daily celebration of the Eucharist, which implies constant service to God, spontaneously the inability to marry arose. It is not possible to carry out two vocations at the same time, so you should give up all compromises. If ideology divides, then truth connects hearts “

 Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, in a new book written with a conservative cardinal, defends priestly celibacy in the Catholic Church in what appears to be a strategically timed appeal to Pope Francis not to change the rules. Excerpts from the book were published on Sunday on the website of the French newspaper Le Figaro. The Vatican made no immediate comment on the book. In his part of the book, Benedict says that celibacy, which became a tradition in the Church only about 1,000 years ago, carries “great significance” because it allows a priest to concentrate on his vocation. He says “it doesn’t seem possible to realise both vocations (priesthood and marriage) simultaneously.”

“Corpus Christi”, a film by Polish director Jan Komasa, is among five foreign films nominated for an Oscar by the American Film Academy. The film has been nominated in the International Feature Film (formerly the Foreign Language Film) category. The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony will take place on 9th February in Los Angeles.

 „In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit …”
Corpus Christi depicts the story of 20 year old Daniel who is released from a juvenile detention center after serving his sentence and poses as a priest in a small, remote village in Southern Poland. This Polish movie is competing for the Academy Award of Merit, as the Oscar statuette is officially named, in the International Feature Film category, formerly known as the Foreign Language Film category. The other nominated films are:
France, “Les Misérables”
North Macedonia, “Honeyland”
South Korea, “Parasite”
Spain, “Pain and Glory”

The 92nd Oscars will be held on Sunday, 9th February at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood.
 

British philosopher, writer and composer, Sir Roger Scruton died on Sunday after being ill with cancer for six months. He was 75. President Duda, in a tweet, offered his condolences describing Scruton as a great friend of Poland, and of Polish freedom and sovereignty. Scruton had been awarded the Cross of Merit for services to the Polish state by President Duda.

Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Warchoł said that the Marshal of the Senate, Tomasz Grodzki, did not have the right to invite the Venice Commission to Poland. The Venice Commission delegation visited Poland at the end of last week as part of its continuing monitoring of the status of the rule of law in Poland. The Commission is expected to present its opinion on the draft act on common court reform, which is currently before the Senate, on Wednesday.

 ”The statute of the Venice Commission, international law, and our Constitution, clearly define who is in charge of inviting the Venice Commission to Poland and who isn’t. It also defines at whose request the Commission may give its opinion. These are the bodies that are in charge of it: the state, international organization, the Council of Europe through its bodies, the General Secretary, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, among others. The Marshal of the Senate does not have such power. There is no information anywhere about the Marshal of the Senate having the authorization to do that, which is why the visit was not official and formal, therefore the effects of the visit will not be recognized”- says Deputy Minister of Justice Marcin Warchoł .

Householders face an unpleasant surprise this year. Domestic electricity prices will rise by an average 11,5%. The government expects to introduce a scheme to compensate those in the lowest tax bracket for the increase. The leaders of the Agreement party support this initiative.

 ”A one hundred percent refund of the amount that was raised for people in the lowest tax bracket. This is the only criterion, the support is addressed to the least affluent. I want to reassure you that we intend to make it so that “being in the lowest tax bracket” does not require the submission of certificates from the Tax Office. The entire program could cost a maximum of three billion, assuming that every eligible person were to claim their compensation. However, I expect that the amount may in fact be just a half of the maximum”- says Jacek Sasin,Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State Assets.

 ”I think that it is reasonable that the compensation should go to the poorest who really cannot afford this increase of less than 10 zlotys a month. The approach that will be presented in the bill is not bad. If it were to look like this, then we don’t see why we would not support this project”- says Jadwiga Emilewicz, Minister of Development, Agreement party.
 

On Monday, the nominations for the 92nd Academy Awards, the Oscars, will be published. The Polish challenger this year is a film directed by Jan Komasa, “Corpus Christi”. In the film, Komasa tells the story of a young man who, during his time in a detention center, has a spiritual awakening and poses as a Catholic priest upon his release. What is so different about this movie? The authors are serious about faith. Let’s see the trailer.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed!