Pope Francis

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‘Traditionis custodes’ update: Pope Francis clarifies two points

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-francis-traditionis-custodes-rescript-bishops.html
Pope Francis clarifies two points of ‘Traditionis custodes’
21 February 2023, 12:00

Pope Francis publishes a rescript related to the motu proprio “Traditionis custodes”, and clarifies that bishops must obtain authorization from the Holy See before granting permission for parish churches to be used for Eucharistic celebrations with the preconciliar rite and before allowing priests ordained after 16 July 2021 to use the 1962 Roman Missal.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis has unequivocally reiterated two precise points of Traditionis custodes. The motu proprio was released in July 2021, and redefined the norms regarding the use of the 1962 Roman Missal by restoring authority over these celebrations to the bishops.

The Pope made the clarifications in a rescript issued on Tuesday, following a private audience on Monday with the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Arthur Roche.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253697/traditionis-custodes-cardinal-says-only-vatican-can-dispense-from-certain-obligations
Traditionis custodes: Cardinal says only Vatican can dispense from certain obligations
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Feb 21, 2023 / 07:07 am

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/02/21/230221a.html
RESCRIPTUM EX AUDIENTIA SS.MI, 21.02.2023

---Edited to add the following article:
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253706/traditional-latin-mass-attendees-waiting-to-see-impact-of-new-vatican-restrictions
Traditional Latin Mass attendees waiting to see impact of new Vatican restrictions
By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 21, 2023 / 18:52 pm

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Update: Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253696/jesuits-new-restrictions-against-rupnik-possible-in-light-of-credible-abuse-accusations
Jesuits: New restrictions against Rupnik possible in light of credible abuse accusations
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Feb 21, 2023 / 06:40 am

The Society of Jesus said Tuesday it will open a new internal procedure on Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik after receiving abuse accusations with a “very high” degree of credibility against the artist.

According to a Feb. 21 statement on the Jesuit website, the accusations the religious order received span from 1985 to 2018 and include claims of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse, and abuse of conscience.

Rupnik, 68, has been informed of the accusations but has refused to meet to discuss them with the order, the statement said.

The order said the internal procedure is in the beginning stages, but possible results could include further restrictions on Rupnik’s ministry up to and including his dismissal from religious life.
 

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2023/02/jesuits-impose-new-restrictions-on-rupnik-as-questions-linger-on-vatican-role
Jesuits impose new restrictions on Rupnik as questions linger on Vatican role
By Elise Ann Allen
Feb 21, 2023

ROME – Pope Francis’s Jesuit order has decided to prohibit a prominent member, whose prized murals adorn churches and chapels around the world, from further artistic activity following fresh allegations of sexual misconduct.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-cross-glass-missiles-symbolising-pain-ukrainian-people.html

Pope gifted a cross symbolising the pain of the Ukrainian people
22 February 2023, 11:27

The cross, made of glass from windows shattered by Russian missiles, was brought to him by Father Vyacheslav Grynevych, Secretary General of Caritas Spes-Ukraine.
By Michele Raviart

Fr. Vyacheslav Grynevych, Secretary General of Caritas Spes-Ukraine, met with Pope Francis on Tuesday afternoon in a private audience in his residence, Casa Santa Marta.

The Ukrainian priest gave the Pope a cross made from the shards of glass from the windows of houses destroyed by Russian bombing.

In an interview with Vatican News, Fr. Grynevych described his meeting with Pope Francis, and discussed the work done by Caritas in his war-torn country. 
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/message-for-lenten-fraternity-campaign-brazil-pope-francis.html

Pope urges Brazilians to concretely combat 'scourge' of hunger
22 February 2023, 14:46

This Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis calls upon Brazilian faithful to commit themselves to combatting the "plague" and "scourge" of hunger worldwide, as he encourages the work of the 2023 Fraternity Campaign, launched by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

This Lent, Pope Francis has called for concrete action and awareness to combat the "scourge" of hunger.

In his message to the 2023 Fraternity Campaign, launched by the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil on Ash Wednesday, the Pope recalled the millions suffering and dying of hunger, and our responsibility to combat this "plague."

“Each year, during the season of Lent, we are called by God to follow a path of true and sincere conversion, redirecting our whole life towards Him...”

As we prepare for celebrating God's love for us at Easter, the Pope observed that through penitential Lenten practices of intensified prayer, almsgiving and fasting, we collaborate better with the action of the Holy Spirit, Who sanctifies us.
 

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Video, with English commentary, at the link...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-francis-general-audience-holy-spirit-evangelisation.html
Pope at audience: Let us start anew from the Holy Spirit
22 February 2023, 09:49

At his weekly general audience, Pope Francis says that a Church which does not invoke the Holy Spirit “closes in on itself in sterile and exhausting debates” .
By Joseph Tulloch

At his weekly general audience this Wednesday, Pope Francis continued with his series of catecheses on the “passion for evangelising”, stressing the centrality of the Holy Spirit to evangelism.

The Holy Father’s catechesis took the form of a meditation on a single line from the Gospel of Matthew: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19).
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-francis-prays-for-war-torn-ukraine.html
Pope Francis appeals for end to "absurd and cruel" Ukraine war
22 February 2023, 09:54

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253707/pope-francis-the-gospel-is-not-a-political-party-an-ideology-a-club
Pope Francis: The Gospel is not ‘a political party, an ideology, a club’
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Feb 22, 2023 / 03:00 am

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2023.index.html
Audiences 2023
General Audience of 22 February 2023 - Catechesis. The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer. 6. The protagonist of the proclamation: the Holy Spirit

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Video, with English commentary, at the link...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-francis-ashes-remind-us-of-the-truth-about-ourselves.html
Pope Francis: Ashes remind us of the truth about ourselves
22 February 2023, 15:35

Pope Francis reflects on the meaning of receiving ashes on our foreheads at the beginning of Lent, and during the Ash Wednesday Mass, invites us to “set out on the path of charity, prayer, and fasting.”
By Christopher Wells

The rite of the imposition of ashes on the foreheads of the faithful – which takes place during the liturgy at the beginning of Lent – marks the beginning of our “return journey” to God, Pope Francis said during his homily for the Mass of Ash Wednesday.

The Holy Father explained that the imposition of ashes is an exhortation both to return to the truth about ourselves, and to return to God and to our brothers and sisters.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253710/pope-francis-on-ash-wednesday-free-yourself-from-the-dictatorship-of-full-schedules
Pope Francis on Ash Wednesday: Free yourself ‘from the dictatorship of full schedules’
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Feb 22, 2023 / 12:00 pm

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2023.index.html
Homilies 2023
Holy Mass, Blessing and Imposition of the Ashes (22 February 2023)

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Update: German Synodal Way

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253708/four-women-opt-out-of-german-synodal-way-saying-it-departs-from-the-universal-church
Four women opt out of German Synodal Way, saying it ‘departs from the universal Church’
By AC Wimmer
CNA Newsroom, Feb 22, 2023 / 08:30 am

Ahead of the German Synodal Way’s final meeting next month, four prominent participants — all of them women — officially announced they were quitting the controversial process on Wednesday.

The theology professors Katharina Westerhorstmann and Marianne Schlosser — together with philosopher Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz and journalist Dorothea Schmidt — raised fundamental objections about the direction and the conduct of the German event on Feb. 22, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

The Synodal Way was “casting doubt on central Catholic doctrines and beliefs,” the women said in a statement published by the newspaper Welt. They also accused organizers of ignoring the Vatican’s repeated warnings and interventions.

What is more, the departing delegates — three of whom are university professors, and two are Ratzinger Prize winners — accused the process organizers of using pressure tactics not commensurate with synodality.
 
Vatican concerns ‘not forwarded’

In their Wednesday “departure note,” Westerhorstmann, Gerl-Falkovitz, Schmidt, and Schlosser also said the Vatican’s concern about introducing a permanent synodal council in Germany “has not been forwarded to the members of the synodal assembly nor otherwise brought directly to their attention.”

Pope Francis and other Church leaders have expressed serious concerns about the idea. Such a body would function “as a consultative and decision-making body on essential developments in the Church and society,” according to a Synodal Way proposal.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253717/vatican-pope-francis-has-strong-cold

Vatican: Pope Francis has ‘strong cold’
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Feb 23, 2023 / 02:45 am

The Vatican said Thursday that Pope Francis is suffering from a heavy cold.

The Feb. 23 message said that due to a “strong cold,” the pope distributed copies of his speeches at two morning appointments rather than read them aloud as usual.

Francis still took part in the two audiences: the first with young priests and monks from Eastern Orthodox Churches and the second with a delegation from the German NGO and nonprofit Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science.

The Vatican did not indicate in the morning whether there would be further changes to Pope Francis’ Feb. 23 schedule due to being under the weather.

The Vatican later said at noon Rome time that Pope Francis’ last appointment of the day, a meeting with the YMCA Italy, had been canceled.

It also confirmed that other meetings went forward as planned
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-eastern-church-monks-and-priests-francis.html

Pope: Do not prevent necessary aid from reaching Syria
23 February 2023, 09:53

Pope Francis warns against impeding aid from reaching war-torn, earthquake-struck Syria, when addressing monks and priests from Eastern Orthodox Churches.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov

"I hope that everything possible will be done for the people, that there will be no reasons or sanctions to hinder the urgent and necessary aid to the population."
Pope Francis expressed this to young priests and monks of Eastern Orthodox Churches in the Vatican on Thursday.

“Some of you come from the tribulated Syria; I would like to express a particular closeness to that dear people, tried not only by the war, but also by the earthquake which, as in Turkey, has caused so many victims and terrible devastation.”
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/february.index.html
Speeches 2023 February
To the Delegation of Monks of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (23 February 2023)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-science-must-be-at-the-service-of-humanity.html

Pope says science must be at the service of humanity
23 February 2023, 11:51

Pope Francis greets members of the ‘Max Planck Society’, an association of German research institutes, and encourages them to place humanity at the centre of their research and projects.
By Sophie Peeters

A delegation of the ‘Max Planck Society’ was received by Pope Francis for a private audience in the Vatican Thursday morning.

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed the Max Planck Society in 1948 in honor of its former president, theoretical physicist Max Planck.

In his address to the Society, Pope Francis highlighted the esteem of the Holy See for scientific research and, more specifically, for the work of the Max Planck Society in their commitment to the advancement of sciences and progress in specific areas of research.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/february.index.html
Speeches 2023 February
To a Delegation of the Max Planck Society (23 February 2023)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-the-goods-of-the-holy-see-have-a-universal-destination.html

Pope: The goods of the Holy See have a universal destination
23 February 2023, 14:21

Pope Francis has published a new Apostolic Letter motu proprio, “Il diritto nativo” (“The native right”), clarifying the public ecclesiastical nature of assets acquired by curial institutions and entities linked to the Holy See. They make use of those assets, the Pope writes, “not for their own sakes, as private owners, but, in the name and authority of the Pontiff, for the pursuit of their institutional purposes, the common good, and at the service of the universal Church.”
By Salvatore Cernuzio

The immovable and movable goods of the Holy See have a “universal destination,” writes Pope Francis in a new Apostolic Letter, Il diritto nativo, signed on 20 February and published on Thursday. In the document - which was issued "motu proprio," or on the Pope's own initiative - the Holy Father reiterates that the institutions and entities that have acquired such goods or are otherwise responsible for them are “trustees,” not “private owners,” since they act, and must always act, "in the name and under the authority of the Pope.”

In the motu proprio, which refers to canons 1254 and 1255 of the Code of Canon Law, the Pope clarifies the ecclesiastical public nature of the goods acquired by curial institutions and entities linked to the Holy See.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/motu_proprio.index.html
Motu Proprio
Apostolic Letter issued “Motu proprio”  "Il Diritto Nativo" (20 February 2023)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-approves-decrees-for-a-beatification-and-5-servants-of-god.html

Pope approves Decrees in causes for canonization
23 February 2023, 15:26

On Thursday Pope Francis gave approval for Decrees allowing for the beatification of Italian Sister Elisabetta Martinez, foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Mary of Leuca, and recognition of the heroic virtues of five Servants of God from Italy, Brazil, and Spain.
Vatican News staff reporter

Meeting with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, on Thursday morning, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of Decrees regarding a miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God Elisabetta Martinez, Foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of St. Mary of Leuca. She was born on 25 March 1905 in Galatina, Italy, and died 8 February 1991, in Rome, Italy. 
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253722/holy-see-and-the-sultanate-of-oman-establish-diplomatic-ties

Holy See and the Sultanate of Oman establish diplomatic ties
By Andrea Gagliarducci
Rome Newsroom, Feb 23, 2023 / 12:50 pm

The Holy See and Oman have established full diplomatic relations, leaving only six countries worldwide without any diplomatic connection to the Vatican.

The announcement on Feb. 23 did not come as a surprise because in November, during Pope Francis’ trip to Bahrain, there had been contact between the Vatican and Oman’s Foreign Ministry.

The joint communiqué of the Holy See and the Sultanate of Oman said the action is aimed at “promoting mutual understanding and further strengthening friendship and cooperation” following “the principles of sovereign equality, independence, territorial integrity, and noninterference.”

Establishing an apostolic nunciature in Oman means that diplomatic relations will be conducted at the highest levels.
 

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Synod on Synodality: Asia Continental Assembly

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-02/participants-gather-for-the-asia-continental-assembly-on-synodal.html
Participants gather for the Asia Continental Assembly on Synodality
23 February 2023, 11:30

The fifth of seven Continental Assemblies for the Synod will get underway on Friday with 80 participants and delegates representing 29 Asian countries.
By Sr. Bernadette M Reis, fsp - Bangkok

Representatives participating in the Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality arrived at the Baan Phu Waan Pastoral Training Centre near Bangkok on Thursday. The Assembly begins on Friday with the Mass of the Holy Spirit celebrated by Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD of Tokyo, the Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), which is hosting the meeting. The Assembly concludes on Sunday with Mass celebrated by Cardinal Charles Bo, SDB, the Archbishop of Yangon and President of the FABC.
 
Themes that emerged
A press release issued on Thursday noted the themes that emerged in the provisional draft: “experience of Joy, of Walking Together, the Experience of Wounds, and the Call to Embrace New Pathways…Living Synodality, Decision-Making, Priestly Vocations, Youth, Poor, Religious Conflicts and Clericalism.”

Live-streamed events
Three events will be live-streamed during the Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality.

 • Opening Mass: 24 February; 8:30-9:30am (2.30-3.30 CET; 8:30-9:30pm EST)
 • Concluding Session: 26 February; 4:00-5:30pm (10:00-11:30am CET; 4:00-5:30am EST)
 • Closing Mass: 26 February; 5:30-6:30pm (1:30-2:30pm CET; 5:30-6:30am EST)

These events will be live streamed on the following channels

www.youtube.com/fabc
www.youtube.com/catholicthailand
www.facebook.com/fabc
www.facebook.com/thaicatholicmedia

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253726/catholics-are-you-going-to-confession-watch-for-these-changes

Catholics, are you going to confession? Watch for these changes
By Kevin J. Jones
Denver, Colo., Feb 23, 2023 / 16:00 pm

Lent is supposed to be a time of penance in the Catholic Church. This year, it’s a time when priests in the confessional will use a revised translation of the sacrament of penance and reconciliation to forgive the sins of Catholic penitents.

The changes are noticeable in the formula of absolution, when the priest speaks in the person of Jesus Christ to absolve a Catholic from his or her sins. The “essential words” of the priest’s absolution formula have not been changed, but there are “two minor modifications to the preliminary part of the prayer,” according to the April 2022 newsletter of the Committee on Divine Worship of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Here’s the new approved text, with changes in bold:
 

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Update: The murder of Bishop David O’Connell

Suspect confesses to the murder of Bishop David O’Connell, LA prosecutor says
By Joe Bukuras
Boston, Mass., Feb 23, 2023 / 16:45 pm

Carlos Medina, the husband of Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell’s housekeeper, has admitted to murdering the bishop, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón said in a press conference Wednesday.

“He admitted that he had done the killing and we believe we recovered the weapon that they were using, and we have other evidence from the bed, certain things that indicate that they were in the place where the killing occurred,” Gascón said in Spanish, translated here by CNA.
 

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Update: The murder of Bishop David O’Connell

Various links in the article...

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253735/funeral-and-public-viewing-set-for-murdered-bishop-david-o-connell
Funeral and public viewing set for murdered Bishop David O’Connell
By Joe Bukuras
Boston, Mass., Feb 24, 2023 / 11:17 am

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has announced the funeral arrangements for the late Auxiliary Bishop David O’Connell, who was murdered in his Hacienda Heights home on Feb. 18.

Three days of services will be held for O’Connell, beginning on Wednesday, March 1.

On Wednesday, there will be a memorial Mass for O’Connell at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, 1345 Turnbull Canyon Rd. in Hacienda Heights, at 7 p.m. PST. The Mass will be livestreamed here.

There will be a public viewing on Thursday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels at 555 West Temple St. in Los Angeles. The viewing will take place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

A vigil Mass will be held following the public viewing at 7 p.m. and will be livestreamed both here and here.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/pope-god-gives-us-abundantly-so-that-we-may-give-to-others.html

Pope: The Lord gives us abundantly so that we may give to others
24 February 2023, 14:05

Meeting in the Vatican with members of the Pro Petri Sede Association, Pope Francis thanks them for their generous support to the Successor of Peter and the Holy See, saying this generosity is even more urgent today as the world faces war, poverty and exclusion.
By Lisa Zengarini

Pope Francis on Friday received representatives of the Pro Petri Sede (For the See of Peter), on the occasion of their  biennial pilgrimage to Rome.

The Association, which was founded in the late 19th century and is active in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, collects funds for social and charitable works linked to the Pope’s pastoral mission and to the activities of the Holy See.

Addressing some 75 members of the Association in the Clementine Hall, Pope Francis thanked them for their ongoing financial and spiritual support to the Successor of Peter, witnessing to “the generosity and charity” that animated the hearts of their predecessors
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/february.index.html
Speeches 2023 February
To the Members of the "Pro Petri Sede" Association (24 February 2023)

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Synod on Synodality: Asia Continental Assembly update

Video, in English, at the link...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-02/asian-continental-assembly-bangkok-mass-holy-spirit-kikuchi.html
Mass of the Holy Spirit opens Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality
24 February 2023, 07:34

80 delegates from all over Asia entered into communal discernment on Friday, seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit in the opening Mass of the Holy Spirit.
By Sr Bernadette M. Reis, fsp – Bangkok

Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, of Tokyo and Secretary General of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) presided over the Mass that opened the Asian Continental Assembly on Friday. In his homily, he reflected on the synodal journey in Asia as well on his personal experiences as a missionary in Africa.

The synodal journey in Asia has been one of “walking together on the synodal path,” “despite all kinds of difficulties,” Archbishop Kikuchi began. Two of the difficulties he listed are the challenge to “translate official documents into so many different languages of Asia,” and not being “able to gather people together because of the pandemic.” He noted, however, that the synodal journey is not an event that will soon be over, but that the process is part of the “the foundational nature of the Church.” Therefore, “we know this journey will continue after the actual meetings,” he said
 

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-02/asian-continental-assembly-bangkok-cardinal-grech-first-day.html
Cardinal Grech: ‘tracing the Catholic path to synodality’
24 February 2023, 12:08

Cardinal Grech brings the Pope’s ‘fatherly blessing’ to the delegates to the Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality, expresses his gratitude, and provides orientation.
By Sr Bernadette M. Reis, fsp – Bangkok

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-02/a-year-of-war-in-ukraine-the-pope-pain-appeals-questions.html

One year of war in Ukraine: Pope Francis' sorrow and tireless appeals for peace
24 February 2023, 08:05

Twelve months after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, we take a look back at Pope Francis' countless appeals and expressions of closeness to the war-torn nation, as he urges us never to forget the Ukrainian people who are tormented by an 'absurd and cruel' war.
By Amedeo Lomonaco and Deborah Castellano Lubov

One year ago, on 24 February 2022, as the world was emerging from the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia's armed forces renewed their invasion of Ukraine with a forceful, frontal military assault. On the previous day, at the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis had made an appeal with "great sorrow in his heart for the worsening situation."

"I would like to appeal to those who have political responsibility, so that they may make a serious examination of conscience before God, who is the God of peace and not of war."

However, despite his appeal, the logic of conquest prevailed over that of responsibility. At dawn on 24 February, Russian troops rolled into Ukrainian territory. Their orders came shortly after the recognition of the separatist Donbas "republics" located on Ukrainian territory: Donetsk and Lugansk.