Pope Francis

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-blessed-armida-barelli-women-education.html

Pope upholds prophetic witness of Blessed Armida Barelli
22 April 2023, 12:49

Pope Francis greets some 12,000 faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square to give thanks for the beatification a year ago of the Blessed Armida Barelli, a formidable pioneer of the right and duty of women to participate in the life of civil society and of the Church.
By Linda Bordoni

To the thousands of pilgrims from across Italy, gathered to celebrate the life and witness of the Blessed Armida Barelli, Pope Francis upheld her work and commitment to empowering Catholic women through education, self-awareness and faith.

Barelli, who was the founder of the first women’s youth circles of Catholic Action, co-founder in 1921, together with Fr Agostino Gemelli of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, as well as having established the Secular Institute of the Missionaries of the Kingship of Christ, was beatified in April 2022 in recognition of her role in the 20th century Church and her experience with female youth with respect to the role of the laity, women and movements in the Church. In his greeting to the present, the Pope reflected on the issue of female leadership in the ecclesial and social spheres, of which he said,  Barelli can be considered a formidable forerunner.

 “We need an integrated model, which combines competence and performance, often associated with the male role, with the care of ties, listening, the ability to mediate, to network and to foster relationships,” he said, traits that have long been considered the prerogative of the female gender and often underestimated.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/april.index.html
Speeches 2023 April
To Participants in the pilgrimage of thanksgiving for the Beatification of Armida Barelli (22 April 2023)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-lay-ministers-must-serve-and-never-become-self-referential.html

Pope: Lay ministers must serve and never become self-referential
22 April 2023, 17:10

Pope Francis addresses participants in Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and reflects on the meaning of ministeriality in the Church and on the role of laypeople which must be focused on mission and service.
By Lisa Zengarini

Laypeople in the Church can carry out many instituted ministries, substitute services, assignments and offices, which, however, “must never become self-referential”, but always tend "to transform society" by bringing Christian values into the world.

Pope Francis made this remark on Saturday in his address to the members of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life as they concluded their Plenary Assembly on the theme “The laity and ministeriality in the synodal Church”.

Welcoming the participants in the Clementine Hall, the Pope reaffirmed that "the willingness to serve the brethren, and in them, to serve Christ" is the true motivation that must inspire any faithful who assumes an ecclesial task and  any commitment to Christian witness in the reality where he or she lives”
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/april.index.html
Speeches 2023 April
To the Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life (22 April 2023)

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

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-francis-regina-coeli-catechesis-apostolic-zeal.html
Pope at Regina Coeli: Let your guard down, open up to Jesus
23 April 2023, 12:05

At the recitation of the Regina Coeli on the third Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis invites the faithful to learn to spend time with Jesus at the end of each day, as He can show you things from a different perspective.
By Francesca Merlo

Addressing the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for his Regina Coeli on the third Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis recalled that the day's Gospel reading narrates the encounter of the Risen Jesus with the disciples of Emmaus. Although the disciples do not recognize Jesus when they encounter Him on their road home from Jerusalem, the Lord comforts them by helping them reinterpret facts in a different way, in the light of the Word of God.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/at-regina-coeli-pope-appeals-for-an-end-to-violence-in-sudan.html
At Regina Coeli, Pope appeals for an end to violence in Sudan
23 April 2023, 13:14

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/angelus/2023.index.html
Angelus - Regina Cæli 2023
Regina Caeli, 23 April 2023

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254160/pontifical-academy-of-life-president-calls-medically-assisted-suicide-feasible

BREAKING: Pontifical Academy of Life president calls medically assisted suicide ‘feasible’
By Shannon Mullen, Hannah Brockhaus
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 23, 2023 / 15:02 pm

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has spoken in support of legalized medically assisted suicide, calling it “feasible” despite the clear teachings of the Catholic Church against it.

“Personally, I would not practice suicide assistance, but I understand that legal mediation may be the greatest common good concretely possible under the conditions we find ourselves in,” Paglia said in a speech on April 19 during the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy.

The Italian archbishop’s remarks were part of a presentation that included a documentary about an Italian man who went to Switzerland to die by assisted suicide. A video of the discussion, in Italian, is available here.

The Italian news outlet Il Riformista published the text of Paglia’s speech on Saturday.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “intentional euthanasia, whatever its forms or motives, is murder” and “gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and the respect due to the living God, his Creator” (CCC 2324).

More recently, in 2020, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith affirmed that teaching in its letter Samaritanus bonus, “on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life,” which was approved by Pope Francis.

“The uninfringeable value of life is a fundamental principle of the natural moral law and an essential foundation of the legal order,” the letter states. “We cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it.”
 

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Update: Pontifical Academy of Life president Archbishop Paglia

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254161/pontifical-academy-for-life-responds-to-outcry-over-archbishop-paglia-assisted-suicide-comments
Pontifical Academy for Life responds to outcry over Archbishop Paglia assisted suicide comments
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome, Italy, Apr 24, 2023 / 08:06 am

The Pontifical Academy for Life said Monday its president is against assisted suicide but thinks it is possible to have a “legal initiative” that would allow it to be decriminalized in Italy under “specific and particular conditions.”

The April 24 statement was issued following an outcry over a speech in which Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia defended legalizing medically assisted suicide in Italy. The archbishop called it a “feasible” approach to the issue in Italian society, despite the Catholic Church’s clear teachings against it.
 

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-04/archbishop-paglia-clarifies-stance-on-assisted-suicide.html
Archbishop Paglia clarifies stance on assisted suicide
24 April 2023, 16:32

https://www.academyforlife.va/content/pav/en/news/2023/paglia-end-of-life-statement.html
End-of-Life. Statement of the Pontifical Academy for Life
Vatican City, April 24, 2023

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Interview: Pope Francis speaks to Argentine journalist Joaquín Morales Solá

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254162/pope-francis-says-he-wants-to-visit-argentina-in-2024-ganswein-to-leave-vatican-apartment
Pope Francis says he wants to visit Argentina in 2024; Gänswein to leave Vatican apartment
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2023 / 08:40 am

Pope Francis has said he would like to visit his home country of Argentina in 2024.

“I want to go to the country next year,” the pope reportedly told Argentinian journalist Joaquín Morales Solá during a recent private audience at the Vatican.

The comments were reported in the Argentinian daily La Nacion on April 23.

Since his election to the papacy in 2013, Francis has never returned to his home country of Argentina.
 

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2023/04/pope-francis-says-he-plans-to-visit-argentina-next-year
Pope Francis says he plans to visit Argentina next year
By Elise Ann Allen
Apr 24, 2023

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-04/pope-francis-first-meeting-new-council-of-cardinals.html

Pope presides over the first meeting of the new Council of Cardinals
24 April 2023, 12:23

This is the first meeting of the C9 after its recent renewal by Francis. He created the Council in 2013 to help him with the governance of the Universal Church, and with the reform of the Roman Curia.
By Vatican News

The Council of Cardinals met  today in the Vatican in the presence of Pope Francis.  This is the first meeting of the new C9 after the renewal of the body by the Pope on the 7th March.

The members of the new Council are Cardinals Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State; Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa; Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Juan José Omella Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona; Gérald Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec; Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg; Sérgio da Rocha, Archbishop of San Salvador de Bahia. The Council’s Secretary is Archbishop Marco Mellino, titular bishop of Cresima.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254164/once-papabile-bishop-maker-cardinal-marc-ouellet-retires

Once ‘papabile,’ bishop-maker Cardinal Marc Ouellet retires
By Hannah Brockhaus
Vatican City, Apr 24, 2023 / 10:30 am

Last week, Cardinal Marc Ouellet handed over the reins of the Vatican’s bishop office to Bishop Robert Francis Prevost.

Ouellet, 78, has led the Dicastery for Bishops — formerly called the Congregation for Bishops — since 2010.

The transition marks the end of a long and varied career for Ouellet, whose time as a priest, religious, archbishop, and cardinal has led him from Canada to Italy to Colombia and, finally, to nearly 13 years full time at the Vatican.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254171/pope-francis-names-new-bishop-to-shepherd-harrisburg-diocese

Pope Francis names new bishop to shepherd Harrisburg Diocese
By Tyler Arnold
Washington D.C., Apr 25, 2023 / 14:12 pm

Pope Francis on Tuesday appointed Bishop Timothy Senior, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as the next bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Senior, who also serves as the chancellor of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, will assume his new role on June 21. A Mass of installation will be held at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Harrisburg at 2 p.m. that day.

He will succeed Harrisburg Bishop Ronald W. Gainer, who offered his resignation when he turned 75 in August of last year, which is required by canon law.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254172/vatican-preparing-text-for-divorced-and-remarried-couples-cardinal-farrell-says

Vatican preparing text for divorced and remarried couples, Cardinal Farrell says
By Jonah McKeown
St. Louis, Mo., Apr 25, 2023 / 15:50 pm

The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life is preparing a document that will address divorced and remarried couples at the request of Pope Francis, according to the dicastery’s prefect, Cardinal Kevin Farrell.

Farrell mentioned the in-progress document in a speech delivered in Italian on April 22 that opened a meeting of the dicastery, which promotes the pastoral care of the family and the mission of the lay faithful. Farrell spoke about the importance of providing help and guidance to “those experiencing marital crises of all kinds.”

“On this front, the dicastery is also working on the preparation of a text that will specifically concern — as you wished, Your Holiness — men and women who, having a failed marriage behind them, live in new unions,” Farrell said in his opening address.

Farrell did not say when the document will be released.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-audience-monks-nuns-universal-love-gregory-narek-prayer.html

Pope at Audience: Cloistered religious demonstrate universal love
26 April 2023, 09:21

At his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis continues his catechesis on apostolic zeal, and reflects on the prayer of monks and nuns as the “beating heart” of the Church’s mission.
By Joseph Tulloch

At his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis continued with his series of catecheses on “apostolic zeal”, this week focusing on the crucial role that monks and nuns play in the Church’s mission.

The Holy Father’s catechesis focused in particular on Saint Gregory of Narek, a medieval Armenian monk who, he said, offers a shining example of the universal, all-embracing love which Christians are called to.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2023.index.html
Audiences 2023
General Audience of 26 April 2023 - The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer. 2. Witnesses: monasticism and the power of intercession. Gregory of Narek

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-gods-style-is-a-style-of-proximity-to-the-most-vulnerable.html

Pope: Proximity to the most vulnerable is God's 'style'
26 April 2023, 13:59

Pope Francis meets with a delegation of the "Catholic Extension Society" and commends its work for the poor and most vulnerable and for its precious contribution to the reconstruction of Puerto Rico.
By Lisa Zengarini

Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted the members of the U.S.-based Catholic Extension Society who have gathered this week in Rome. 

The papal organization was founded over a century ago in Michigan and is engaged in providing assistance to missionary dioceses, especially in the United States, and in caring for the needs of the poor and most vulnerable.

Welcoming the delegation accompanied by Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, Pope Francis thanked the Catholic Extension Society for its ongoing commitment and also for its “precious contribution”, both at the ecclesial and civil levels, to the reconstruction of Puerto Rico, following the hurricanes and earthquakes which have devastated the island in recent years.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2023/april.index.html
Speeches 2023 April
To Members of the “Catholic Extension Society” (26 April 2023)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-francis-the-church-is-a-vocational-symphony.html

Pope Francis: The Church is a vocational symphony
26 April 2023, 11:31

Pope Francis releases his Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Fourth Sunday of Easter – also known as Good Shepherd Sunday.
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis reflects on the theme “Vocation: Grace and Mission” in his Message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, saying, “This day is a precious opportunity for recalling with wonder that the Lord’s call is grace, a complete gift, and at the same time a commitment to bring the Gospel to others.”

The Day of Prayer for Vocations falls each year on the Fourth Sunday of Easter, when the Church reads the Gospel passage of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-10). The Day is marked this year on Sunday, 30 April.
 
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/vocations.index.html
Messages World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Message for the 60th World Day of Prayer for Vocations 2023

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-04/council-cardinals-meeting-april-wars-peacebuilding-synod-constit.html

Council of Cardinals discusses ongoing wars and need for peace-building
26 April 2023, 11:25

A two-day meeting of the Council of Cardinals in the Vatican focused on a series of issues including the need for a united peace-building effort on the part of the Church.
By Linda Bordoni

Wars being fought in various parts of the world and the need for a united peace-building effort on the part of the entire Church were among the issues discussed by the Council of Cardinals this week.

A statement released by the Holy See Press Office said Pope Francis was present at the meetings on 24 and 25 April, attended by all members of the Council and its Secretary.

“At the centre of the conversation were the situations of war and conflict in which many parts of the world find themselves and the need for a united peace-building effort on the part of the entire Church,” the statement read.

October Synod

Among the other topics discussed, the statement continued, in addition to the socio-political and ecclesial situation in the various regions to which the cardinals belong, were the preparations for the Synod of Bishops Assembly that is due to take place in October.
 

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Synod Update: Laymen and laywomen eligible to vote at General Assembly in October

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-04/synod-synodality-general-assemblies-laypeople-eligible-vote.html
Synod: Laymen and laywomen eligible to vote at General Assembly
26 April 2023, 15:21

The Secretariat for the Synod announces that 70 “non-bishop members” appointed by the Pope—half of whom will be women—will be able to vote at the Synod General Assembly in October.
By Salvatore Cernuzio

Neither the nature nor the name is changing—which remains the Synod of Bishops—but the composition of the participants in the October 2023 General Assembly in the Vatican on the theme of synodality is set to change, since a sizeable group of "non-bishop" members will also take part.

These 70 individuals will include lay people appointed directly by the Pope, 50 percent of whom shall be women and among whom shall be included several young people. All 70 will enjoy voting rights at the Assembly, which will consist of around 370 voting members out of more than 400 total participants.
 

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254176/vatican-announces-laypeople-including-women-will-vote-in-synod-on-synodality-assembly
Vatican announces laypeople, including women, will vote in Synod on Synodality assembly
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Apr 26, 2023 / 07:07 am

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2023/04/laypeople-including-women-will-vote-as-full-members-in-upcoming-synod
Laypeople, including women, will vote as full members in upcoming Synod
By Elise Ann Allen
Apr 26, 2023

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-04/pope-entrusts-visit-to-hungary-to-blessed-virgin-mary.html

Pope entrusts visit to Hungary to Blessed Virgin Mary
26 April 2023, 14:48

As is his custom – since the beginning of his papacy – Pope Francis goes to the Basilica of St Mary Major ahead of his next Apostolic Journey, which will take him to the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis has visited the Basilica of St Mary Major more than 100 times, the latest on Wednesday morning ahead of his 41st Apostolic Journey outside of Italy.

The Pope will visit the Hungarian capital, Budapest, this weekend, on 28-30 April, for a visit which will take him to the heart of a Europe “upon which the icy winds of war continue to blow.”
 

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2023-04/an-overview-of-the-church-in-hungary.html
An overview of the Church in Hungary
26 April 2023, 16:32

--Itinerary--
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2023/outside/documents/ungheria-2023.html
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
to HUNGARY
28 - 30 APRIL 2023

--UPDATED ITINERARY--
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/04/21/230421f.html
Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Francis in Hungary (28 to 30 April 2023) – Updated Programme, 21.04.2023

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254185/pope-francis-names-several-americans-to-dicastery-for-evangelization

Pope Francis names several Americans to Dicastery for Evangelization
By Kevin J. Jones
Denver Newsroom, Apr 27, 2023 / 11:30 am

Pope Francis’ new appointments to the Dicastery for Evangelization include several prominent American Catholics. CNA spoke with a few of them about their views on how Catholics can best “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19).

Monsignor Eugene Sylva, serving an immigrant community

Monsignor Eugene (Geno) Sylva of the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, is among the 19 members the pope appointed to the dicastery’s Section for Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254186/ukraine-s-prime-minister-asks-pope-francis-to-help-bring-back-children-taken-to-russia

Ukraine’s prime minister asks Pope Francis to help bring back children taken to Russia
By Hannah Brockhaus
Rome Newsroom, Apr 27, 2023 / 10:30 am

Ukraine’s prime minister told journalists Thursday that he has asked Pope Francis for help getting back children forcibly deported to Russia.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met Pope Francis in a private, 30-minute encounter at the Vatican on the morning of April 27.

According to the Associated Press, Shmyhal later briefed reporters on the papal meeting, sharing that he had asked the pope for his help retrieving the abducted children. He said he also invited Francis to visit Ukraine.

“I asked His Holiness to help us return home Ukrainians, Ukrainian children who are detained, arrested, and criminally deported to Russia,” Shmyhal said, according to AP.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254184/cardinal-erdo-pope-s-visit-to-hungary-tells-us-christ-is-our-future

Cardinal Erdő: Pope’s visit to Hungary tells us ‘Christ is our future’
By Andrea Gagliarducci
Rome Newsroom, Apr 27, 2023 / 10:00 am

In a lengthy interview on the eve of Pope Francis’ trip to Hungary, Cardinal Péter Erdő, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, noted that the motto of Pope Francis’ trip to Hungary is “Christ is our future” and that the pontiff’s visit means the presence of Christ is the hope by which Christians live, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.

Pope Francis will be in Budapest this Friday through Sunday, April 28–30. His agenda for the trip includes meetings with authorities and bishops, an encounter with Hungarian culture, and meetings with refugees and members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Other Christian and religious representatives are also invited to the final Mass in Kossuth Square, the site of Francis’ 2021 Mass during the Eucharistic Congress in Budapest.

In the interview with the ACI Group (CNA’s international sister news organization), Erdő explained the meaning and themes of the pope’s visit. He underlined the importance of the experience of the Churches of Central-Eastern Europe for understanding the current situation of the Church and the marginalization of religion in the world. He also highlighted the new challenges that have arisen because of secularization.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254178/ambassador-habsburg-pope-francis-will-find-a-vibrant-christian-country-in-hungary

Ambassador Habsburg: Pope Francis will find ‘a vibrant Christian country’ in Hungary
By Courtney Mares
Rome Newsroom, Apr 26, 2023 / 11:30 am

Hungary’s ambassador to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg says that Pope Francis will find “a vibrant Christian country” when he visits Hungary this weekend.

In an interview with EWTN News, Habsburg said that Hungary has a “rich mixture of Christian churches living together very well” from Byzantine-rite Catholics to Calvinists.

Hungary is a Catholic-majority country in Central Europe with a significant Protestant Christian minority — 20% of the population, according to the Pew Research Center.

Both Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President Katalin Novák are part of the Calvinist-oriented Hungarian Reformed Church, which has more than 1.6 million members.

“Most people are very surprised when I tell them that Viktor Orbán, our prime minister, and also Katalin Novák, our president, are both not Catholic,” Habsburg said. “And that is because in Hungary, we have about 60% Catholics, but we have about 15% Calvinists.”

“Now, Hungarian Calvinists are a very special brand. They’re very fierce, proud Christians that speak about their faith. And that leads to Christian faith being strongly present in our public space. And that leads to our government that has a high ratio of Hungarian Calvinists … to be very outspoken about faith.”