According to Secretary of State for European Affairs Clement Beaune, the flag was scheduled to be taken down on Sunday, but he said he was “very proud that this one flew for a few days.”
At stake is nothing less than both partners’ continued cooperation and Switzerland’s membership of the EU common market.
If passed, it is feared current President Alexander Lukashenko, long accused of being of the authoritarian persuasion, would be able to consolidate and extend his power, only leaving office in 2035 after reigning 41 years.
Archbishop Roche on the implementation of Traditionis Custodes: “What is important to realize now is that the Holy Father has spoken; the liturgical possibilities are in place; the challenge is to get on with it without licking one’s wounds when no one has been injured. “
Mounting tensions between East and West have been a fixture in news reporting for the past few weeks, with the U.S. and Ukraine claiming Russia may be preparing an invasion of its neighbor. Russia has emphatically denied planning such a course of action and says it is Ukraine’s dalliance with NATO that is to be blamed for the escalation.
The rise in gang-related violence, which includes the use of firearms and even explosive materials, had been signaled in a report, which noted that at least 44 people had died in shooting incidents this year so far. It concluded that “despite extensive and offensive police work, the trend has moved in a negative direction and shootings and explosions remain at a high level.”
Vice Admiral Schonbach said the deployment is “like a teaser;” a signal of German commitment to increased engagement in Asia. “We’re here for the first time after 19 years to check the battlefield,” he said. “The next step, I hope that we can come on a regular basis.”
Placing little faith in verbal assurances, Putin called for legally binding agreements. “We know the price of such verbal assurances, words, and promises,” he asserted.
In it, von der Leyen seeks to ameliorate the EU’s relationship with the Pope after a proposed internal directive for EU officials not to use Christian language was leaked, causing outcry across Europe. The document has since been withdrawn.
The three parties (SPD, Greens, FDP) that form new Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government have long opposed the current rules, but were hampered by the center-right Union bloc of ex-Chancellor Angela Merkel, which is now in opposition.
Franziska Giffey was elected with 84 votes in favor (out of 139) in the House of Representatives, making her the first woman appointed to the highest office of Berlin politics.
The traditionalists’ response to the news—and implied impugnation—was irate. Various prominent commentators decried the move, some claiming it to be a petty attack by the Pontiff on faithful Catholics—already distressed by the pandemic-driven closing of church doors and growing economic uncertainty.
