Pope Francis

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Pope Francis’ trip to Malta -- April 2-3, 2022

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/fr-spadaro-the-pope-wants-a-church-open-to-great-challenges.html
Fr Spadaro: The Pope wants a Church open to great challenges
03 April 2022, 16:12

The director of the Jesuit-run periodical “La Civiltà Cattolica” summarizes the main topics of Pope Francis’ conversation with members of the Society of Jesus in Malta on Sunday morning.
By Benedetta Capelli

Pope Francis had a free and open exchange with members of the Society of Jesus on Sunday morning, continuing the tradition of meeting with his religious confreres during his Apostolic Journeys.

The content of those meetings is typically published in full in the Jesuit-run periodical La Civiltà Cattolica.

Following the dialogue in Malta on Sunday, the director of the journal, Father Antonio Spadaro, SJ,  – who is in the papal retinue – spoke about the meeting with the Jesuits:

Q: What was the atmosphere of Pope Francis' meeting with the Jesuits this morning?

In all of his trips now, wherever possible, the Pope meets with the Jesuit community present in the place where he is travelling. As always, they are very, very beautiful meetings, very intimate and familiar. It was a relaxed atmosphere, of open conversation on many topics.

Perhaps the best thing is to see the Pope, halfway through the trip, offer his impressions [of the journey], to understand a little of the atmosphere of the welcome he has received, of the things the Pope wants to say.
 

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Pope Francis’ trip to Malta -- April 2-3, 2022

Video at the link:  Full video of departure of Pope Francis from Malta

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-malta-departure-apostolic-visit-farewell-airport.html
Pope Francis bids farewell to Malta
03 April 2022, 19:15

Pope Francis departs from Malta, concluding his two-day Apostolic Journey to the island nation.
By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis has wrapped up his long-awaited Apostolic Visit to the Mediterranean island of Malta, his 36th Journey abroad, and the first to take place in 2022.

The Air Malta Boeing bringing him back to the Vatican took off shortly after 7 pm local time after a brief farewell ceremony at Malta’s International Airport, in the presence of President George Vella and other dignitaries and delegations.
 

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Pope Francis’ trip to Malta -- April 2-3, 2022

In-flight press conference at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-inflight-press-conference-from-malta.html
Pope Francis: 'We never learn, we are enamored of war and the spirit of Cain!'
03 April 2022, 21:01

Pope Francis answers questions about the war in Ukraine and the possibility of a journey to Kyiv, during the short flight from Malta to Rome at the conclusion of his 36th Apostolic Journey.
By Vatican News

"We never learn. May the Lord have mercy on us, on all of us. Every one of us is guilty!"

Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane from Malta, Pope Francis recalls what struck him about the island's welcome and returns to talk about the war in Ukraine. (Here below is an unofficial translation of the Pope's inflight press conference)

Q: Thank you for your presence in Malta. My question is about the surprise of this morning in the chapel where [St. George Preca] is buried... What motivated you to make this surprise to the Maltese, and what you will remember about this visit to Malta? And how is your health? We have seen you during this very intense trip. We can say it went well. Thank you very much. (Andrea Rossitto with TVM)
 

Edited to add article below--
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250873/full-text-pope-francis-in-flight-press-conference-from-malta
Full text: Pope Francis’ in-flight press conference from Malta
By Pope Francis
Aboard the papal plane, Apr 3, 2022 / 15:20 pm

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-malta-return-saint-mary-major-gratitude.html

Pope thanks Our Lady for Apostolic Journey to Malta
04 April 2022, 09:50

On the morning after his visit to Malta, Pope Francis prays for a moment at the feet of the ancient Roman icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani to express his gratitude to Our Lady for her maternal protection.
By Devin Watkins

The Pope’s visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major has once again acted as the two bookends of his Apostolic Journey, which this time took him to the EU nation of Malta for two days over the weekend.

According to the Holy See Press Office, Pope Francis traveled across Rome on Monday for a stop at the Papal Basilica to pray before the icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani.

The Pope laid a bouquet of flowers on the altar below Our Lady’s icon in the Borghese Chapel, and thanked the Blessed Virgin Mary for her maternal protection during his visit to Malta.

He then returned by car to his home at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-04/pope-appointment-chancellor-academy-social-sciences-turkson.html

Cardinal Turkson Chancellor for Pontifical Academies for Sciences and Social Sciences
04 April 2022, 14:54

Pope Francis appoints Cardinal Peter Turkson as the new Chancellor of both the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis has chosen Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson to head the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

He succeeds Argentine Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, who will be 80 years old on September 8 and who has held these posts since 1998.

73-year-old Cardinal Turkson is the Prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250877/pope-francis-gives-new-vatican-role-to-cardinal-turkson
Pope Francis gives new Vatican role to Cardinal Turkson
By CNA Staff
Vatican City, Apr 4, 2022 / 04:23 am

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250878/praedicate-evangelium-are-there-any-big-changes-in-the-authoritative-version-of-the-new-vatican-constitution

Are there any big changes in the authoritative version of the new Vatican constitution?
By Andrea Gagliarducci
Vatican City, Apr 4, 2022 / 06:10 am

In the world of the Vatican, the editio typica of a document is critically important. It is the standard edition of a text that serves as a reference for translations into other languages.

For this reason, the editio typica of Praedicate evangelium, the new apostolic constitution reforming the Roman Curia, was highly anticipated.

When the document was released without warning, and only in Italian, on March 19, it contained several minor inaccuracies and one article that needed to be corrected immediately.

The Vatican published the editio typica on March 31 in L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican City State’s daily newspaper. There are, in fact, only a few differences between the standard edition and the version released on March 19. But the changes shed some further light on the thinking behind the reform.

The most striking change concerned the celebration of the liturgy according to the pre-conciliar missal, also known as the usus antiquior, or “ancient usage.” Benedict XVI had defined this as an “extraordinary form” of the Roman Rite, effectively liberalizing its celebration. His decision was set out in the 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which remained in force until June 2021.
 

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Video, with English text, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-prayer-intention-april-health-care-workers.html
Pope’s April Prayer Intention: For health care workers
05 April 2022, 16:00

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of April, asking Christians to pray for health care workers and urging governments to prioritize making good healthcare accessible to all.
By Benedict Mayaki, SJ

“The pandemic has shown us the self-giving and generosity of health care workers, volunteers, support staff, priests, and religious men and women,” says Pope Francis in his April prayer intention, released on Tuesday by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

Urging prayers for healthcare workers this month, the Holy Father addresses the healthcare systems in different countries, which have been put to the test by the health emergency.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/papal-visit-to-lebanon-under-consideration.html

Papal visit to Lebanon under consideration
05 April 2022, 20:56

After a tweet by Lebanese President Michel Aoun, the director of the Holy See Press Office says the possibility of an Apostolic Journey of Pope Francis to the Land of the Cedars is being studied.
By Vatican News

“It is a possibility that is being studied,” said the director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, in response to a tweet from Lebanese President Michel Aoun regarding the possibility of a trip by the Pope to Lebanon. President Aoun on Tuesday broke the news of a forthcoming visit by Pope Francis to the country of the Cedars on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.

“The Lebanese people have been waiting for this visit for some time to express gratitude to His Holiness for his support, and to thank him for the initiatives he has undertaken for the country and for the prayers he has offered for its peace and stability” Aoun was quoted as saying in the statement from the president’s office.

Pope Francis received the Lebanese president at the Vatican on 22 March. After his meeting audience with the Holy Father, Aoun met the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States.
 

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Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-un-powerless-in-war-ukraine-where-logic-of-power-prevails.html
Pope: UN powerless in Ukraine war, where logic of powerful prevails
06 April 2022, 10:19

Pope Francis reflects during the General Audience on his weekend visit to Malta, noting that “the dominant logic are the strategies of the most powerful countries to affirm their own interests.”
By Vatican News staff reporter

At the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis decried the war in Ukraine, and the powerlessness of the United Nations, noting how the “old story” of competition between greater powers continues today despite efforts to establish lasting peace.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-ukraine-appeal-bucha-massacre.html
Pope laments Bucha massacre, calls for end to war in Ukraine
06 April 2022, 10:10

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250898/pope-francis-we-are-witnessing-the-impotence-of-the-un-in-the-ukraine-war
Pope Francis: We are witnessing the ‘impotence’ of the UN in the Ukraine war
By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Apr 6, 2022 / 06:30 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2022.index.html
Audiences 2022
General Audience of 6 April 2022 - Apostolic Journey to Malta

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Hmmm...

https://www.ncregister.com/news/praedicate-evangelium-poses-problems-some-church-analysts-warn
‘Praedicate Evangelium’ Poses Problems, Some Church Analysts Warn

Critics of Pope Francis’ new curial reform document say some of the reforms threaten to revolutionize the Church’s understanding of the hierarchical power of governance.
Edward Pentin  Vatican  April 6, 2022

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ recently announced reform of the Roman Curia introduces some sweeping changes aimed at aiding the Church’s mission of evangelization, but critics have warned that some key reforms show a poor understanding of theology, canon law and ecclesiology that threaten to undermine the Church’s authority.

On March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph and the ninth anniversary of Pope Francis’ inauguration as pope, the Vatican published Praedicate Evangelium (Preach the Gospel), his apostolic constitution on the Roman Curia.

Nine years in the making, the document forms a major part of the mandate the College of Cardinals gave Francis at his election to reform the Church and replaces Pastor Bonus (The Good Shepherd), Pope St. John Paul II’s legislation on curial reform promulgated in 1988 and later modified by Benedict XVI and Francis.

Much of the pressure to reform the Roman Curia derived from recent financial and bureaucratic scandals, in particular the 2012 “Vatileaks” scandal in which confidential Vatican documents exposing internal corruption, jealousies and infighting, and struggles to implement greater financial transparency were leaked to the press.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250905/pope-francis-receives-ukraine-s-new-vatican-ambassador

Pope Francis receives Ukraine’s new Vatican ambassador
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Apr 7, 2022 / 07:25 am

Pope Francis on Thursday received the new Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, Andrii Yurash.

Yurash, 53, arrived in Rome in March. He presented his credential letters to Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 7. Their meeting also included the exchanging of gifts.

The presentation is done by every diplomat to the Holy See at the beginning of his or her service.

The ambassador wrote on Twitter that it was an “incredible honor and privilege” to present his credentials to Pope Francis. He also said he had an “inspiring and extremely motivating conversation” with Francis and with Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

The Holy See, Yurash said, is a sincere partner of Ukraine, “doing everything possible to stop the war.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-teutonic-college-reconciliation-forgiveness.html

Pope Francis: Priests must bear witness to Christ’s forgiveness
07 April 2022, 12:33

Pope Francis greets seminarians of the Pontifical German College, and urges priests to witness to the forgiveness and joy which Christ offers us.
By Devin Watkins

The staff and seminarians of the Pontifical Teutonic (German) College met with Pope Francis on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the papal election of Pope Adrian VI, who was the last Pope “from the Germanic world” before Benedict XVI.

Born in Utrecht in what is now the Netherlands and then a part of the Holy Roman Empire, the future Pope Adrian VI acted as tutor to the future Emperor Charles V.

He was elected to the papacy as a compromise candidate between the rival French and Spanish factions of cardinals, and served as Pope and ruler of the Papal States for less than two years.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-families-meditations-good-friday-way-cross.html

Pope entrusts families with Good Friday Way of the Cross meditations
07 April 2022, 14:10

Pope Francis entrusts the preparation for the meditations and prayers for this year’s Via Crucis at the Colosseum on Good Friday to families linked to Catholic communities and associations carrying out volunteer service and assistance.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis has entrusted meditations and prayers of this year’s Good Friday Way of the Cross to families, the director of the Vatican Press Office, Matteo Bruni said in a statement on Thursday.

“On the occasion of the year dedicated to the family with which the Church celebrates the fifth anniversary of the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis has entrusted the preparation of the texts of the meditations and prayers for the Stations of the Cross on Good Friday at the Colosseum to a number of families linked to Catholic communities and associations for voluntary work and assistance,” he wrote. “According to the chosen themes,” he said, “some families will carry the cross between the stations.”

Amoris Laetitia Family Year

Amoris laetitia is the post-synodal apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis addressing the pastoral care of families. Dated March 19, 2016, it follows the Synods of Bishops on the Family held in the Vatican in 2014 and 2015.

On March 19, 2021, the Church marked the 5th of the publication of Amoris laetitia, on the beauty and joy of love in the family.  On that day, Pope Francis launched the Amoris Laetitia Family Year which will conclude this year on June 26, with the 10th Meeting of Families in Rome.

The Way of the Cross returns to the Colosseum

On Good Friday evening, the Pope will preside over the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion in St. Peter’s Basilica. Later, at 9.15 pm, he will lead the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-candia-foundation-audience-charity-brazil.html

Pope on charity: Work for and with the people you are serving
08 April 2022, 11:33

Pope Francis meets Friday with a delegation from the Milan-based Marcello Candia Foundation, which supports several charities in Brazil.
By Robin Gomes

According to Pope Francis, any work of charity should be well inserted among the people it intends to serve, and those who initiate it should not think themselves indispensable.

He offered the advice to a delegation from the Marcello Candia Foundation based in Milan, Italy, which he received on Friday in the Vatican.

The non-profit Foundation, marking its 40th anniversary this year, was started by Venerable Marcello Candia, an Italian industrialist and lay missionary who sold his father’s chemical business to support the needy in Brazil. Today, the Marcello Candia Foundation mainly promotes initiatives in favour of people with Hansen's disease or leprosy, children, the sick and other needy people in Brazil, with particular reference to the Amazon Region but also in various other poor areas of the country. The funds raised are allocated to the various initiatives and sent directly to those responsible for each individual work.

Candia is now a Venerable, on the road to sainthood, with his virtues recognized as heroic.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2022/april.index.html
Speeches 2022 April
Delegation from the Marcello Candia Foundation (8 April 2022)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-justice-must-always-accompany-the-search-for-peace.html

Pope: Justice must always accompany the search for peace
08 April 2022, 14:15

In an audience granted to Italy’s High Council of the Judiciary, Pope Francis insists that justice requires truth, trust, loyalty and purity of intention; and that the call to administer justice is a gift and a duty at the service of human dignity and the common good.
By Vatican News staff reporter

The members of Italy’s High Council of the Judiciary (Consiglio superiore della magistratura, CSM, which regulates the ordinary judiciary in the country) are called to “a noble and delicate mission,” said Pope Francis during an audience with the Council on Friday.

They have the responsibility of responding to the demands of the people for justice, which in turn demands truth, trust, loyalty, and purity of intention.

Those entrusted with administering justice are likewise called to listen “to the cry of those who have no voice and who suffer injustice,” the Pope added, noting that their vocation is a duty at the service of human dignity and the common good.

The Holy Father recalled that the very idea of “justice,” of rendering to everyone what is due to them, is rooted in tradition, but that an understanding of what precisely is due to the other has changed in different times and places.

In the biblical tradition, he said, “what is due is to recognize human dignity as sacred and inviolable.”
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250918/pope-francis-to-judges-justice-recognizes-human-dignity-as-sacred-and-inviolable
Pope Francis to judges: Justice recognizes ‘human dignity as sacred and inviolable’
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Apr 8, 2022 / 10:30 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2022/april.index.html
Speeches 2022 April
Members of Italy’s High Council of the Judiciary (8 April 2022)

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Hmmm...

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250916/cardinal-parolin-says-that-curial-reform-might-not-be-over
Cardinal Parolin says that curial reform might not be over
By Andrea Gagliarducci
Vatican City, Apr 8, 2022 / 04:10 am

The publication of the new Vatican constitution is not necessarily the end of curial reform and new offices could be added later, the Vatican Secretary of State has said.

In a recent exclusive interview with CNA, Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke about the reform of the Roman Curia and the role of the Secretariat of State after the release of Praedicate evangelium.

He also discussed the Holy See’s current lack of diplomatic personnel. (In Part 1 of the hourlong interview, he addressed the Vatican’s efforts to end the Ukraine war.)

In 2014, Parolin talked about the possibility of creating an office for pontifical mediations within the Vatican Secretariat of State. The office would have had the task of overseeing the Holy See’s conflict mediation efforts.

The Holy See has proposed to act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine. It has also sought to mediate in Venezuela, supported the peace process in Colombia, and served as a mediator in discussions between Cuba and the United States to restore diplomatic ties.

But this mediation activity did not lead to the creation of a specific office, as requested by Parolin.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-says-sport-should-promote-fraternity.html

Pope Francis: 'Values of sport can help prevent war'
09 April 2022, 12:39

Pope Francis tells members of a Roman rowing club that the spirit of true sport can cultivate human friendship and act as an important antidote to prevent war.
By Lisa Zengarini

During an audience with members of a Roman rowing club on Saturday, Pope Francis referred again to the ongoing war in Ukraine with all its horrors, which he said cannot be forgotten and remind us the cruelty of which humanity is capable.

Promoting human friendship

Speaking to the members the “Reale Circolo Canottieri Tevere Remo” on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its foundation, he remarked that the spirit of true sport is an important antidote to help prevent war.

“Cultivating human friendship prepares us not to fall into this tragedy and to think of the victims.”
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2022/april.index.html
Speeches 2022 April
To the members of the Reale Circolo Canottieri Remo (9 April 2022)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/a-lay-saint-and-two-martyrs-of-nazism-soon-to-be-raised-altars.html

A lay saint and two martyrs of Nazism soon to be raised to the altars
09 April 2022, 12:22

Pope Francis authorizes the promulgation of decrees recognizing a miracle attributed to an Italian layman, the martyrdom of two Italian priests who died during the Second World War, and the heroic virtues of seven new Venerables, including two missionary bishops and three laywomen.
By Alessandro De Carolis

Pope Francis on Saturday received in audience Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized him to promulgate decrees concerning various causes showing a richness in examples of limitless charity and heroism in the face of violence.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2022-04/cardinal-krajewski-ambulance-kiev-injured-children-almoner-ukrai.html

Cardinal Krajewski to deliver another ambulance from Pope to Ukraine
09 April 2022, 14:43

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner, is set to return for the third time to Ukraine and deliver another ambulance on Pope Francis' behalf on Holy Thursday, in an effort to "console and embrace" people suffering in the war-ravaged nation.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

As the humanitarian emergency in Ukraine worsens by the minute, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski will bring another fully-equipped ambulance to Ukraine, in the name of Pope Francis.

The Papal Almoner is due to arrive in Kyiv on Holy Thursday and is traveling on behalf of the Pope, who "wishes to kneel before and kiss the feet of his suffering Ukrainian brothers and sisters."
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-04/pope-francis-libera-argentina-organized-crime-mafia.html

Pope: ‘Organized crime damages visible and invisible victims’
09 April 2022, 09:51

Pope Francis sends a letter to an anti-mafia association visiting Argentina, and calls for international cooperation against organized crime gangs to protect society and individuals.
By Vatican News staff reporter

"Organized crime leads to social damage on a large scale: it generates visible and invisible victims, who endure suffering that must be heard and compensated; it also requires society as a whole to fight back against the constructs that are often rooted in the collective unconscious, and which lead to its proliferation."

Pope Francis offered that condemnation of organized crime in a letter sent to a delegation from the “Libera Association” which visited Argentina this week to promote the Bien Restituido (“Returned Good”) project.

The Pope’s message was sent on 25 March and read out by the association’s founder—Fr. Luigi Ciotti—on Wednesday at the Faculty of Law of the University of Buenos Aires.