The Holy See announced this morning the appointment of...

Mons Ruggero Francheschini OFM Cap, archbishop of Izmir, as apostolic administrator of Anatolia, succeeding the late Mons Luigi Padovese, requiescat in pace.  The Italian newspaper Il Foglio is running an interview of Mons Francheschini by Paolo Rodaro today, as Dr Magister has noted on his blog Settimo Cielo. Haven't looked to see if I can access the entire conversation but the Magister post includes Mons Francheschini saying that the Holy Father was 'badly advised' to attribute responsibility for Mons Padovese's murder to anything other than (I am paraphrasing) the Islamist demon in the murderer's heart.

I think that in the Vatican they have realised that I have justification to assert: the only motives for the murder of Luigi Padovese were religious; the assassination displays explicitly Islamic aspects.  It had nothing to do with the Turkish government or Ankara, nothing to do with private, personal motivations: only Islam. I know, the Pope said before landing in Cyprus "this is not a religious or a political assassination but a personal thing".  Certain things, the Vatican cannot teach us.

We shall see.  Oremus pro invicem. 

That is the paragraph of Mons Francheschini's interview available to non-subscribers, alas. 

The Catholic bishop of Anatolia has been murdered...

Apparently by his driver, who according to one report, at least, seems to have been mentally unstable. Mons Luigi Padovese, OFM Cap, was also president of the Turkish Episcopal Conference.  Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Update on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 18:21 by Marc

Corriere della Sera's article today, or one of them.  Mons Padovese had told his family last week that he was concerned about the stability of the man who would murder him.  Requiescat in pace.

Update on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 5:56 by Marc

Hard to know whether... et cetera. But this AsiaNews piece is worth noting.

Update on Tuesday, June 8, 2010 at 17:11 by Marc

Stranger and stranger this becomes. CNA/EWTN here, and La Buhardilla de Jerónimo from yesterday, reporting the same news-and-speculation.

The Divine Liturgy to be celebrated in Hagia Sophia?

In September? I doubt it, since the Turkish government, no matter how many religious sympathisers are among its ministers and officials, cannot afford to antagonise the military secularists in such an outrageous sort of way.  But, good luck to Mr Spirou, who is, alas, not without his critics, I see from a quick Google search; he seems to be or to have been a 'player' in Democratic party politics and (perhaps) in other milieux.

Florida is sending Colonel Allen West to Congress?