Angelus News | February 23, 2024 | Vol. 9 No. 4

WORLD
■ How a Catholic rose to the top in
Protestant Northern Ireland
For the first time in the country’s history, a Catholic was appointed as first minister
of Northern Ireland.
Michelle O’Neill was appointed after her party, Sinn Féin, which has ties to the
Provisional Irish Republican Army, negotiated a power-sharing government Feb. 3
that ended two years of political deadlock.
Northern Ireland has been separate from the Republic of Ireland since 1921
and remains a part of the United Kingdom. Its first prime minister, James Craig,
described its government as a “Protestant parliament for a Protestant people.”
Historical disputes about discrimination practices against Catholics contributed to
“The Troubles,” a 30-year period of political violence in Ireland.
“The days of second-class citizenship are long gone, and today confirms that they
will never come back,” O’Neill addressed the Assembly following her appointment.
Though
historically
associated
with Irish
Catholics,
Sinn Féin
has recently
maintained
party positions
that
contradict
Church
teaching,
including increased
access
to abortion
and availability
of gender
Michelle O’Neill, newly elected as the first minister of Northern Ireland, speaks to legislators in
Belfast Feb. 3. In Northern Ireland, the title “first minister” is equivalent to prime minister used
elsewhere. | OSV NEWS PHOTO/KELVIN BOYES, POOL VIA REUTERS
■ Taiwan: We share Vatican’s
concerns about AI
Taiwan, a world leader in chip manufacturing and the development
of artificial intelligence, joined Pope Francis in calling for greater
regulation of artificial intelligence (AI).
“As Your Holiness has warned, the growing scope of AI applications
and its implications for human values engender grave ethical risks,
such as invasion of privacy, data manipulation, and illegal surveillance,
which all have serious consequences for free and democratic
societies,” wrote President Tsai Ing-wen in a Jan. 31 letter to the pope.
The letter was a response to the pope’s 2024 World Day of Peace
address, which focused on AI and called on researchers and policymakers
to direct the technology with an eye toward peace.
Ing-wen vowed that Taiwan will “deepen cooperation” with the Holy
See in working toward “exercising good technological governance,
maintaining social harmony and stability, and jointly creating a
peaceful future for humanity.”
reassignment
treatment for
children.
■ Pope says antisemitism a
‘sin’ in letter to Israeli Jews
Following criticism that he hasn’t
been supportive enough of Israel in
its war against Hamas, Pope Francis
condemned antisemitism as a “sin” in
a letter addressed to “Jewish brothers
and sisters in Israel.”
“The path that the Church has
walked with you, the ancient people
of the covenant, rejects every form
of anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism,
unequivocally condemning manifestations
of hatred toward Jews and Judaism
as a sin against God,” the pope
wrote in a Feb. 2 letter sent to Jewish
theologian Karma Ben Johanan.
The pope also repeated his calls for
peace in the region and for Hamas to
release the remaining hostages taken
during their Oct. 7 attack.
The letter followed a private meeting
with Israeli leaders and the Chief
Rabbi of Rome, Riccardo di Segni,
who have been critical of the pope’s
commentary on the ongoing war and
public support of a cease-fire.
“Everyone wants peace, but it
depends on what kind,” di Segni said
last month in a speech at Rome’s
Gregorian University. “Whoever does
evil must be defeated, as happened
with the Nazis in 1945. You can’t just
accept the idea that war, in itself, is a
defeat for everyone.”
Taiwan President Tsai
Ing-wen. | WANG YU
CHING/WIKIMEDIA
COMMONS
4 • ANGELUS • February 23, 2024