Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/24/pope_francis_and_french_president_discuss_shared_concerns/en1-767020

2014-01-24 14:55:51
Pope Francis and French President discuss shared concerns



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with French President Frannçois Hollande on Friday morning to discuss shared concerns and the good relations that exist between France and the Holy See. Following the papal audience, the President also held talks with Secretary of State, Archbishop Pietro Parolin and with the Vatican’s ‘foreign minister’ or Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

A statement from the Vatican press office following the papal audience said the 'cordial 'talks focused on 'the contribution that religion makes to the common good', as well as the commitment of both France and the Holy See to maintain dialogue and constructive cooperation on questions of common interest. In the context of the defense and promotion of human dignity, the two men discussed contemporary concerns such as the family, bioethical issues, the respect for religious communities and the protection of places of worship.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/24/possible_papal_encyclical_on_ecology/en1-767151

2014-01-24 18:51:24
Possible papal encyclical on ecology

(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., confirmed on Friday that Pope Francis has begun work on a draft text on the topic of ecology, which could become an encyclical. But, Father Lombardi said, the project is in an early stage, so it is too early to make any prediction about the timing of possible publication.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/opus-dei-bishops-beatification-set-for-madrid/

Opus Dei bishop's beatification set for Madrid


Bishop Alvaro del Portillo with John Paul II. Credit: Opus Dei.

Vatican City, Jan 24, 2014 / 12:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, the second leader of Opus Dei, will be beatified in his birthplace of Madrid on Sept. 27, the Vatican has announced.
 
When Pope John Paul II made Opus Dei a personal prelature in 1982, he named Bishop del Portillo as head of the unique church structure.

Consecrated a bishop in December 1990, the future blessed died in Rome in 1994. His remains are presently in the crypt of the Opus Dei church Saint Mary of Peace in Rome. Civil authorities are considering whether to transfer his remains to Rome’s Basilica of Sant'Eugenio.

In July 2013, Pope Francis recognized a miracle attributed to the intercession of Bishop del Portillo. It involved the August 2003 healing of a Chilean newborn boy who suffered a 30-minute period of cardiac arrest and a major hemorrhage.

Although the newborn’s medical team thought he had already died, his parents prayed for healing through the bishop’s intercession. The baby’s heart began to beat again and he went on to live a normal life.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/24/possible_papal_encyclical_on_ecology/en1-767151

2014-01-24 18:51:24
Possible papal encyclical on ecology

(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., confirmed on Friday that Pope Francis has begun work on a draft text on the topic of ecology, which could become an encyclical. But, Father Lombardi said, the project is in an early stage, so it is too early to make any prediction about the timing of possible publication.
 

Vatican clarification...

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/vatican-clarifies-pope-s-forthcoming-document-on-ecology
Vatican Clarifies Pope's Forthcoming Document on Ecology
Vatican City,  January 24, 2014

 
But Father Lombardi stressed the project is in an "early stage, so it is too early to make any prediction about the timing of possible publication."

The Holy See Press Office Director said it is important to note that Pope Francis intends to put particular emphasis on the theme of “human ecology,” a phrase used by Pope Benedict to describe not only how people must defend and respect nature but how the nature of the person – masculine and feminine as created by God – must also be defended.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-hopes-for-more-widespread-incisive-feminine-presence/

Pope hopes for more 'widespread, incisive' feminine presence

Vatican City, Jan 25, 2014 / 10:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met with a group of Italian women today, expressing his desire for women to participate more widely in the Church and in society without neglecting the family.

“I have been pleased to see many women share some pastoral responsibilities with priests in accompanying people, families, and groups, (just) as in theological reflection; and I hope that more spaces are widened for a feminine presence in the Church that is more widespread and incisive,” he said on Jan. 25 to members of the “Centro Italiano Femminile,” a women's group founded to promote democracy in Italy based on respect for the human person and Christian principles.

“These new spaces and responsibilities that are open, and that I vividly hope can further expand to the presence and activity of women, as much in the ecclesial sphere as in that of civil and professional, can not make us forget the irreplaceable role of women in the family,” Pope Francis emphasized.

Women’s particular qualities of sensitivity toward other people “represent not only a genuine strength for the lives of families, for the irradiation of a climate of serenity and harmony, but a reality without which the vocation human would not be able to be realized.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/25/pope_francis_encourages_increased_participation_of_women_in_church/en1-767416

2014-01-25 16:37:06
Pope Francis encourages increased participation of women in Church

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis earlier today met with participants at a national conference sponsored by the Italian Women’s Centre, which is due to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its foundation in October of this year. The Italian Women’s Centre (Centro Italiano Femminile, or CIF) was set up in 1944 as a federation of Catholic women’s associations. It was established in response to the need for guidance on civic and social issues which arose at the end of the Second World War, when Italy introduced universal suffrage and millions of women were called to vote for the first time ever.

Pope Francis opened his address by giving thanks for the organisation’s work over the past 70 years and for its value as witness to the changing role of women within Catholic communities and Italian society as a whole. In recent decades, the Pope said, within the context of other cultural and societal developments, the role of women has been greatly transformed, their participation and responsibilities have increased. It is with great joy, he added, that I see many women sharing pastoral responsibilities with priests, both in theological reflection and by supporting individuals, families and communities, and I hope the space for women to contribute incisively to the life of our Church may continue to increase.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/25/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity_concludes/en1-767474

2014-01-25 18:45:18
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity concludes

(Vatican Radio) On Saturday, Pope Francis presided over evening Vespers at Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls Basilica where he was joined by members of the many different Christian Churches present here in Rome.

The celebration, which lands on the Feast of Saint Paul, marks the closing of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which has been exploring the theme, taken from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “Has Christ been divided?”

Saturday’s celebrations coincide with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.

Below please find the official text of Pope Francis’ homily for the event:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Has Christ been divided?” (1 Cor 1:13). The urgent appeal which Saint Paul makes at the beginning of his First Letter to the Corinthians, and which has been proclaimed at this evening’s liturgy, was chosen by a group of our fellow Christians in Canada as the theme for our meditation during this year’s Week of Prayer.

The Apostle was grieved to learn that the Christians of Corinth had split into different factions. Some claimed: “I belong to Paul”; while others claimed: “I belong to Apollos” or “I belong to Cephas”, and others yet claimed: “I belong to Christ” (cf. v. 12). Paul could not even praise those who claimed to belong to Christ, since they were using the name of the one Saviour to set themselves apart from their other brothers and sisters within the community. In other words, the particular experience of each individual, or an attachment to certain significant persons in the community, had become a yardstick for judging the faith of others.

Amid this divisiveness, Paul appeals to the Christians of Corinth “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” to be in agreement, so that divisions will not reign among them, but rather a perfect union of mind and purpose (cf. v. 10). The communion for which the Apostle pleads, however, cannot be the fruit of human strategies. Perfect union among brothers and sisters can only come from looking to the mind and heart of Christ Jesus (cf. Phil 2:5). This evening, as we gather here in prayer, may we realize that Christ, who cannot be divided, wants to draw us to himself, to the sentiments of his heart, to his complete and confident surrender into the hands of the Father, to his radical self-emptying for love of humanity. Christ alone can be the principle, the cause and the driving force behind our unity.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/26/pope:_appeal_for_dialogue_in_ukraine_/en1-767545

2014-01-26 13:42:14
Pope: appeal for dialogue in Ukraine

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for constructive dialogue between Institutions and civil society in Ukraine.

Addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus Prayer, the Pope said he is praying for the people of Ukraine, in particular for those who have lost their lives during the violence of the past days, and for their families. He said he is praying the parties involved will avoid resorting to violent actions, and that the spirit of peace and the quest for common good may prevail.

Weeks of protests in Kiev have escalated into violent clashes between police and demonstrators angry that the government didn't sign a deal to bring it closer to the European Union.

Also in words after the Angelus, Pope Francis noted that there were many children in the Square and said his thoughts go to a three-year child, burnt to death by members of the Southern Italian Calabria mafia after his grandfather failed to pay a drug debt to mobsters. This violence against such a young child – he said – seems not to have precedents in the history of criminality. “Let’s pray for Cocò” – Francis continued – “who is surely in heaven with Jesus, and for those who have committed this crime: may they repent and convert to the Lord”.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/dont-build-fences-around-gospel-urges-pope/

Don't 'build fences' around Gospel, urges Pope

Vatican City, Jan 26, 2014 / 09:46 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his Angelus message delivered in Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis exhorted the crowds to proclaim their faith throughout the world.

In today’s day and age, “we can be frightened and give into the temptation to build fences to be safer, more secure. But Jesus teaches us that the good news is not reserved for a part of humanity, and to communicate it to everyone,” said the Pope on Jan. 26.

The Gospel message “is a happy announcement destined for those who await it, but also for the many who perhaps do not await anything more and do not even have the strength to look and to ask.”
 

[Sister]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/25/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity_concludes/en1-767474

2014-01-25 18:45:18
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity concludes

(Vatican Radio) On Saturday, Pope Francis presided over evening Vespers at Saint Paul’s Outside the Walls Basilica where he was joined by members of the many different Christian Churches present here in Rome.

The celebration, which lands on the Feast of Saint Paul, marks the closing of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which has been exploring the theme, taken from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “Has Christ been divided?”

Saturday’s celebrations coincide with the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul.

Below please find the official text of Pope Francis’ homily for the event:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“Has Christ been divided?” (1 Cor 1:13). The urgent appeal which Saint Paul makes at the beginning of his First Letter to the Corinthians, and which has been proclaimed at this evening’s liturgy, was chosen by a group of our fellow Christians in Canada as the theme for our meditation during this year’s Week of Prayer.

The Apostle was grieved to learn that the Christians of Corinth had split into different factions. Some claimed: “I belong to Paul”; while others claimed: “I belong to Apollos” or “I belong to Cephas”, and others yet claimed: “I belong to Christ” (cf. v. 12). Paul could not even praise those who claimed to belong to Christ, since they were using the name of the one Saviour to set themselves apart from their other brothers and sisters within the community. In other words, the particular experience of each individual, or an attachment to certain significant persons in the community, had become a yardstick for judging the faith of others.

Amid this divisiveness, Paul appeals to the Christians of Corinth “by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” to be in agreement, so that divisions will not reign among them, but rather a perfect union of mind and purpose (cf. v. 10). The communion for which the Apostle pleads, however, cannot be the fruit of human strategies. Perfect union among brothers and sisters can only come from looking to the mind and heart of Christ Jesus (cf. Phil 2:5). This evening, as we gather here in prayer, may we realize that Christ, who cannot be divided, wants to draw us to himself, to the sentiments of his heart, to his complete and confident surrender into the hands of the Father, to his radical self-emptying for love of humanity. Christ alone can be the principle, the cause and the driving force behind our unity.
 

I enjoyed this very much!

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/27/pope_francis_at_mass:_bishops,_priests_ordained_to_serve/en1-767681

2014-01-27 12:15:46
Pope Francis at Mass: bishops, priests ordained to serve

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Monday morning in the chapel of the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta residence. In remarks following the readings of the day, the Holy Father spoke of the Church as a divinely ordained institution in which some individuals – the men who answer the call to become priests and bishops – are specially anointed to serve the people of God. The Pope thanked the many holy priests who give their lives in the anonymity of their daily service.

Commenting on the first reading of the day, which speaks of the tribes of Israel that anoint David as their king, the Pope explained the significance of spiritual anointing, saying, “Without this anointing, David would have been only the head,” of the, “company” of a “political society, which was the Kingdom of Israel” He would have been a mere, “political organizer.” Instead, “After the anointing , the Spirit of the Lord,” descends upon David and stays with him. Scripture says that David continued to grow in power, and that the Lord was with him. “This,” said Pope Francis, “is precisely the difference anointing makes.” The anointed one is a person chosen by the Lord. So it is in the Church for bishops and priests:
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/27/pope_francis:_the_horror_of_the_holocaust_must_never_be_repeated/en1-767767

2014-01-27 14:07:14
Pope Francis: The horror of the Holocaust must never be repeated

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter to his friend Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires on the occasion of Holocaust Memorial Day which is marked on January 27th. The letter will be read out Monday evening at a concert in Rome entitled “Violins of Hope”.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/28/pope_francis_at_daily_mass:_the_fruitfulness_of_praise_/en1-768047

2014-01-28 12:30:24
Pope Francis at daily Mass: the fruitfulness of praise

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Tuesday morning in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta residence. Following the readings of the day, the Holy Father spoke about the proper attitude of the Christian at prayer. Listen: RealAudioMP3

Reflecting on the episode from the Second Book of Samuel, which was read at Mass, in which “David danced with all his might before the Lord,” Pope Francis recalled that the whole people of Israel were celebrating because the Ark of the Covenant was returning home. He went on to say that David’s prayer of praise, “led him to move beyond all composure,” adding, “this was precisely a prayer of praise.”

Explaining that the passage caused his thoughts to turn to Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who, after giving birth to her son, Isaac, said, “The Lord made ​​me dance with joy.” He said that it is easy to understand a prayer of petition – asking something of the Lord – and prayer of thanksgiving, as well. Even prayer of adoration, he said, “is not so difficult,” to understand. Prayer of praise, however, “We leave aside – it does not come to us so easily [It. Non ci viene così spontanea].”:

“‘But, Father! This is for the Renewal in the Spirit folks, not for all Christians!’ No: prayer of praise is a Christian prayer, for all of us. In the Mass, every day, when we sing the Holy, Holy, Holy ... This is a prayer of praise: we praise God for his greatness, because He is great. We say beautiful things to Him, because we happy for His greatness [It. perché ci piace che sia così]. ‘But, Father! I am not able...I have to...’ Well, you’re able to shout when your team scores a goal, and you are not able to sing praises to the Lord? To come out of your shell ever so slightly to sing [His praise]? Praising God is completely gratis. [In it] we do not ask [Him to give us anything]: we do not express gratitude for anything [He has given]; we praise [Him]!”
 

[Sister]

 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/29/pope:_confirmation_completes_our_bond_with_christ/en1-768316

2014-01-29 11:18:26
Pope: Confirmation completes our bond with Christ

(Vatican Radio) Confirmation is a sacrament that completes our bond with Christ and His Church: that’s what Pope Francis told tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered Wednesday for the weekly General Audience.
Listen to Tracey McClure's report: RealAudioMP3

The Pope, bundled up in a white winter coat on this frigid and overcast day, continued his catechesis on the seven Sacraments, telling the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square that Confirmation is “linked inseparably to Baptism.” These two sacraments, together with the Eucharist, the Holy Father said, “form a unique salvific event: Christian initiation” in which we become living members of the Church.

Through our anointing with the sacred chrism, Confirmation strengthens and “confirms” us in the grace of our Baptism, uniting “us more firmly to Christ.” Confirmation “completes our bond with the Church,” he noted, and “grants us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith, to confess the name of Christ and to never be ashamed of his cross.”

The working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, he noted, is reflected in the seven spiritual gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/29/canonization_medals_to_be_issued/en1-768344

2014-01-29 12:05:09
Canonization medals to be issued



(Vatican Radio) Official Commemorative Medals in Bronze and Silver are to be issued on the 3rd of March to mark the Canonization of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II. On the obverse side of the medal will be the coats of arms of Pope Francis, while on the reverse side there will be a profile of the two Pope's with the text IOANNES XXIII ET IOANNES PAV LVS II SANCTI PROCLAMANTVR XXVII APR. MMXI. The medals will be issued by the Vatican's Philatelic and Numismatic Office

On 27 April 2014 His Holiness Pope Francis will proclaim Saints his
predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II. It will mark a special moment
of joy and prayer for the faithful around the world who will gather
in St. Peter’s Square, but also the start of a journey to eternal glory
celebrated by the Catholic Church. 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/30/pope:_christians_must_feel_with_the_church/en1-768777

2014-01-30 14:18:10
Pope: Christians must "feel with the Church"

(Vatican Radio) Humility, faithfulness and prayer are the three signs of a Christian who belongs to the Church. That was the theme that Pope Francis chose for his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday, urging his listeners to really “feel with the Church”.

The Pope said the first fruit of our Baptism is to make us a part of the Church, a member of the people of God. Recalling the words of Pope Paul VI, he said it’s absurd to claim that we love Christ without the Church, that we listen to Christ but not the Church, that we are with Christ but on the margins of the Church. The Gospel message, Pope Francis said, comes to us through the Church and our path to holiness must be found within the Church.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/30/pope_to_notre_dame:_be_uncompromising_witnesses/en1-768716

2014-01-30 12:53:07
Pope to Notre Dame: Be uncompromising witnesses

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with a delegation from the University of Notre Dame (USA) on the occasion of the inauguration of the University’s “Rome Center.”

In his address to the delegation, the Holy Father said he was “confident that the new Center will contribute to the University’s mission by exposing students to the unique historical, cultural and spiritual riches of the Eternal City, and by opening their minds and hearts to the impressive continuity between the faith of Saints Peter and Paul, and the confessors and martyrs of every age, and the Catholic faith passed down to them in their families, schools and parishes.”

Pope Francis spoke about the “outstanding contribution” Notre Dame has made to the Church in the United States “through its commitment to the religious education of the young and to serious scholarship inspired by confidence in the harmony of faith and reason in the pursuit of truth and virtue,” and thanked the University for its commitment “to supporting and strengthening Catholic elementary and secondary school education throughout the United States.”
 
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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/30/pope_to_notre_dame_delegation:_full_text/en1-768720
2014-01-30 12:59:15
Pope to Notre Dame delegation: full text

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http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/fr.-lombardi-censures-rolling-stone-article-on-pope

Vatican Spokesman Censures 'Rolling Stone' Article on Pope
Wednesday, January 29, 2014 12:19 PM



Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has strongly criticised an article on Pope Francis that appears in the latest edition of Rolling Stone magazine.

Although he acknowledged that the Holy Father’s appearance on the publication’s front cover shows a diverse interest in the Pope, the Jesuit spokesman denounced the article's negative portrayal of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s pontificate, saying the piece disqualifies itself as serious journalism.

“Unfortunately, the article disqualifies itself, falling into the usual mistake of a superficial journalism, which in order to highlight the positive aspects of Pope Francis, thinks it should describe in a negative way the pontificate of Pope Benedict, and does so with a surprising crudeness,” Fr. Lombardi said in a statement.

In the piece titled "Pope Francis: The Times They Are A-Changin'", author Mark Binelli calls Benedict’s papacy “disastrous” and goes so far as to attack the former pontiff’s appearance and character. He also describes Benedict’s acclaimed apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis as “wonky” but without explaining further. 

“What a pity,” Fr. Lombardi said. “This is not the way to do a good service even to Pope Francis, who knows very well what the Church owes to his predecessor.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/01/31/pope’s_santa_marta_homily:_christian_mediocrity_leads_to_a_‘loss_of/en1-769073

2014-01-31 14:05:03
Pope’s Santa Marta Homily: Christian mediocrity leads to a ‘loss of sense of sin’

(Vatican Radio) When the presence God is not felt among men, "you lose the sense of sin," and so others end up paying the price for our "Christian mediocrity ." That was the message behind Pope Francis’ homily at this morning’s Mass at the Santa Marta guesthouse here in the Vatican.
Listen to Tracey McClure’s report: RealAudioMP3

All too often today, the Pope observes, grave sin such as adultery is declassified as simply a "problem to be solved ." That’s what happens in today’s reading in which King David falls in love with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his generals. Taking up this story, Pope Francis says David took her for his own and sent her husband to the front lines of battle where the man was killed. In actual fact, the Pope stressed, David also committed murder. And yet, having committed both grave sins, the King is not moved. Despite committing a grave sin, the Pope observes, David does not feel pity and fails to ask forgiveness. He only considers how he can resolve a problem.

This can happen to any of us, the Pope says, and observes “When the Kingdom of God diminishes, one of the signs is that you lose the sense of sin."