Pope Francis

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/virtual-booklet-marks-francis-1st-year-as-pope

Virtual Booklet Marks Francis' 1st Year as Pope
Vatican City,  March 07, 2014

The Vatican has prepared a virtual book to mark the one-year anniversary of Pope Francis' election. Called "Do We Want to Become Holy? Yes or No?", the 36-page book includes some of the most striking of Francis' messages since he became the Successor of St. Peter last March 13.

Each of the quotes is linked to the full text of the address from which it comes.
 
On the Net:

Book: http://www.vatican.va/auguri-francesco/pont_2014/en/index.html#34

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/09/pope_francis_at_angelus:_one_cant_dialogue_with_satan/en1-779938

2014-03-09 12:49:33
Pope Francis at Angelus: One can't dialogue with Satan

(Vatican Radio) During his weekly Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about the day’s Gospel reading, which focused on the temptation of Jesus in the desert.

Satan, the Pope said, tried “to divert Jesus from the Father’s plan” by tempting Him “to take an easy path,” a path “of success and power.” Jesus definitively rejects these temptations, reaffirming His “firm intention to follow the path established by the Father, without any compromise with sin or with the logic of the world.” This commitment to follow the plan of the Father is realized in Jesus actions; “His absolute fidelity to the Father's plan of love will lead Him, after about three years, to the final confrontation with the “prince of this world” (Jn 16:11), in the hour of the Passion and of the Cross, and there Jesus will achieve His final victory, the victory of love!”

The Holy Father encouraged all of us to take the opportunity afforded by Lent to renew our Baptismal promises, renouncing Satan and his seductions, “in order to walk the paths of God and ‘to arrive at Easter in the joy of the Spirit.’”

Below, please find the complete text of Pope Francis remarks during the weekly Angelus:
 

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Video at the link

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2014/03/bishop-robert-c-morlino-1st-anniversary-of-pope-francis-pontificate/

Bishop Robert C. Morlino: 1st Anniversary of Pope Francis’ Pontificate
Posted on 7 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf   

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/in-first-year-pope-francis-has-challenged-all-to-live-gospel/

In first year, Pope Francis has challenged 'all' to live Gospel

Washington D.C., Mar 9, 2014 / 04:03 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Anticipating the one-year anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the Bishop of Rome, Catholic leaders nationwide have reflect on his papacy thus far, noting his call for every Catholic to evangelize.

“In a certain sense, by his style of interviews and public statements, he kind of throws the ball back in our court as well – and I don't mean bishops, I mean all the faithful,” Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Neb. told CNA March 6.

“And what I mean by that is that…it kind of falls upon us to put him in context, and to tell people what he means. And that's part of the sensus fidelium, that's part of, really, our baptismal charism: that the faithful also have the responsibility of articulating the teaching of the Church, so it doesn't focus on one person, like the Pope, like a bishop; that we all have this responsibility of preaching the gospel, and explaining the Gospel, and articulating the Gospel.”

Since the election of Jorge Bergoglio as Pope on March 13, 2013, the world has been fascinated by the Roman Pontiff, as seen by him being named “Man of the Year” by several publications. He has so far given three interviews to secular publications, and one to a magazine of the Society of Jesus, for which he was ordained a priest.

Pope Francis' personal style in these interviews and elsewhere, Bishop Conley said, “has given us an opportunity to put his words into context and to explain maybe some of the ambiguities, some of the lack of precision in his language. It's not a bad thing.”

He emphasized that the Pope has said repeatedly that he is first and foremost a son of the Church and “has made it clear he has no intention of changing Church teaching on fundamental issues; but because of perhaps his style, or his way of doing interviews, it leaves a lot of room for us to explain what he really means.”
 

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Good article imo.  Photo gallery of Pope Francis's first year at the link.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/08/living/pope-francis-effect-boston/index.html

How to really measure the 'Francis effect'
By Daniel Burke, CNN
March 9, 2014 -- Updated 1454 GMT (2254 HKT)

Boston (CNN) -- In some ways, the "Pope Francis effect" doesn't seem very effective at all.

Despite the immense popularity the aged Argentine has won since his election last year, not a jot of doctrine has changed, nor has the Catholic Church swelled with American converts.

But there's more than one way to measure a pontiff's influence on his far-flung flock.

Start asking around -- here in Boston and beyond, Catholics and atheists alike -- and it's easy to find people eager to share how one man, in just one year, has changed their lives.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/10/pope_on_lenten_retreat_outside_rome/en1-780038

2014-03-10 10:43:13
Pope on Lenten retreat outside Rome



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is in the hillside town of Ariccia just south of Rome for a week-long Lenten retreat with members of the Curia. The Pope left the Vatican Sunday afternoon by bus – just a few hours after reciting the Angelus prayer with the faithful in St. Peter’s square.

Breaking from a long-held tradition of holding them in the Vatican, Pope Francis decided to organize this year’s annual retreat from March 9-14 at the Pauline Fathers’ retreat and conference center in Ariccia. The small medieval town is not far from the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. And, in choosing to get away from the Vatican and the daily pressures of curia work and duties, Pope Francis is telling us silence and prayer can have a transforming power in one’s life and relationships with others.

In an interview last week in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis said annual retreats should be given more importance and “everyone has a right to spend five days in silence and meditation." And, speaking to a group of spiritual directors in audience in the Vatican, the Pope said those who go on an “authentic” retreat "experience the attraction and fascination of God and return renewed and transfigured in their daily lives, their ministry and their relationships."
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/10/papal_secretary_recalls_transition_/en1-780154

2014-03-10 13:43:39
Papal secretary recalls transition



(Vatican Radio) In the context of the first anniversary of the election of Pope Francis, the Holy Father’s first private secretary, Msgr. Alfred Xuereb has granted a lengthy interview to Vatican Radio. In a wide-ranging conversation with Vatican Radio’s Alessandro Gisotti, the Maltese priest, who served under the Pope-emeritus, Benedict XVI, and has recently been appointed Prelate-Secretary to the Holy See’s newly-created Secretariat for the Economy, speaks of Benedict’s extraordinary courtesy and gentleness, as well as his “benevolent paternity”.

He tells the story of how the Pope-emeritus blessed him for the last time before he took his leave to go and meet the new Pope, Francis, who was already at work and, without a secretary, was opening correspondence himself. Listen: RealAudioMP3
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/10/pope_francis_to_visit_south_korea/en1-780133

2014-03-10 12:52:37
Pope Francis to visit South Korea

(Vatican Radio) It’s official: Pope Francis is going to South Korea. A statement from the Press Office of the Holy See on Monday confirmed that the Holy Father will be traveling to the Republic of Korea from August 14th to August 18th. “Welcoming the invitation from the President of the Republic and the Korean bishops,” the statement reads, “His Holiness Pope Francis will make an Apostolic Voyage to the Republic of Korea from 14 to 18 August 2014, on the occasion of the Sixth Asian Youth Day, to be held in the diocese of Daejeon.”   

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/11/u.s._bishops_express_thanks_on_1stanniversary_of_pope_francis,/en1-780578

2014-03-11 17:04:38
U.S. Bishops express thanks on 1st anniversary of Pope Francis, highlighting concern for poor and marginalized and his Curia reforms

(Vatican Radio) The U.S Catholic Bishops say the first anniversary of Pope Francis’s election on March 13th is a time to give thanks, highlighting his concern for the poor and marginalized and his reforms of the Curia. The statement was issued by the U.S. Bishops’ Administrative Committee which is meeting in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 11th and 12th).

In a statement issued on March 11th, the U.S. bishops said Pope Francis “has encouraged us to be a Church of the poor and for the poor, reaching out to the marginalized and being present to those on the periphery of society.” “He has set an example by choosing a personal simplicity of life, by washing the feet of prisoners, and by taking into his hands and kissing the badly disfigured.”

Please find below the entire statement:
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/534/0/integrate-but-remain-distinctive-cdf-prefect-tells-ordinariates-for-former-anglicans

Integrate but remain distinctive, CDF prefect tells ordinariates for former Anglicans
11 March 2014 19:21 by Abigail Frymann

The Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has told the heads of the three ordinariates for former Anglicans that their congregations must integrate into the wider Catholic community while preserving their distinctive identity.

The meeting in Rome last month marked a first between Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Mgrs Keith Newton head of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Jeffrey Steenson of the US-based Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter and Harry Entwistle of the Australian Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
 

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Oh, dear, this doesn't sound good...

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/528/0/national-churches-should-stand-up-to-almighty-vatican-says-cardinal

National churches should stand up to almighty Vatican, says cardinal
11 March 2014 11:50

A senior German Cardinal has called on national churches to speak up more courageously in their dialogue with Rome, claiming that their lack of courage has made Rome “over-powerful”.

Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, the former president of the German bishops’ conference, said in an interview with the Cologne-based daily Kölner Stadtanzeiger: “We need to be more courageous in dialogue within the Church. We complain that Rome is over-powerful but the reason why Rome is so strong is because we are too weak,” Lehmann.

He also cautioned against expecting all church renewal to come from the Pope. “I get very annoyed when we expect everything from the Pope as far as church renewal is concerned but do nothing towards renewal ourselves, or just remain silent.”
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/fr-lombardi-pope-is-spending-anniversary-in-prayer/

Fr. Lombardi: Pope is spending anniversary in prayer

Vatican City, Mar 13, 2014 / 08:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In light of the Pope Francis’ first anniversary as Bishop of Rome, the Vatican has stated that the pontiff is doing nothing special to celebrate other than pray, as he is currently participating in his Lenten retreat.

“Today the Pope is not doing anything special or different from other days. He is praying,” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi told reporters in a March 13 statement.

Fr. Lombardi’s comment came in wake of numerous phone calls and emails he had received from journalists inquiring about the Holy Father’s plans for the day of his anniversary.

Having left Rome on Sunday afternoon with members of the Curia to spend their annual Lenten retreat in the hillside town of Ariccia, thus breaking from the tradition of holding it inside of the Vatican, Pope Francis is spending his anniversary in deep reflection and prayer.
 

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March 13, 2014 Tweet

Pope Francis ‏@Pontifex  · 15h 
Please pray for me

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/14/pope_completes_spiritual_exercises,_returns_to_vatican/en1-781424

2014-03-14 13:20:52
Pope completes spiritual exercises, returns to Vatican



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Friday, at 11.29 a.m., after the conclusion of his Lenten spiritual exercises with the Roman Curia earlier in the morning. The exercises were preached by Msgr. Angelo De Donatis, a Roman pastor. They were held at the Casa Divin Maestro in Ariccia, outside Rome.

At the conclusion of the exercises, the Pope expressed his gratitude to Msgr. De Donatis for his help, accompaniment and listening.

“We now return home with a good seed: the seed of the Word of God,” he said. “The Lord will send rain and that seed will grow. It will grow and it will bear fruit. We thank the Lord for the seed and for the rain that he will send us, but we also want to thank the sower because you were the sower and you know how to do it.”
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/546/0/primates-of-world-s-orthodox-churches-agree-to-first-historic-council-in-1-200-years

Primates of world's Orthodox Churches agree to first historic council in 1,200 years
14 March 2014 13:37



Patriarchs of the Orthodox Churches have agreed to hold an ecumenical council in 2016, a major event that could bring the 14 autonomous Orthodox Churches closer to each other and allow them to consider closer ties to the Roman Catholic Church.

The summit of bishops is the first of its kind to take place in 1, 200 years.

The patriarchs met in Istanbul at a rare 6-9 March summit or synaxis called by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, who is spiritual leader of the Orthodox but has no authority over the other Churches.

The Churches, representing about 250 million faithful, are in full communion with each other but often have minor disputes among themselves.

While respecting the historical primacy of the Ecumenical Patriarch, based on his role as the bishop of former Constantinople, the Russian Orthodox Church – which with 165 million members is by far the biggest Church – has worked to limit his authority by insisting all decisions among Orthodox must be unanimous and issuing objections to Bartholomew’s efforts to foster closer ties to the Vatican.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1401063.htm

(UPDATED) Mar-13-2014
Ukrainian Catholics fear 'new oppression' after Russian takeover

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A Ukrainian Catholic priest in Crimea said church members are alarmed and frightened by the Russian military occupation and fear their communities might be outlawed again if Russian rule becomes permanent.

Father Mykhailo Milchakovskyi, a pastor in Kerch, Ukraine, described the atmosphere as tense because many residents of the town located in the eastern part of Crimea were unsure of their future.

"No one knows what will happen. Many people are trying to sell their homes and move to other parts of Ukraine," Father Milchakovskyi told Catholic News Service March 12.

"Our church has no legal status in the Russian Federation, so it's uncertain which laws will be applied if Crimea is annexed. We fear our churches will be confiscated and our clergy arrested," the priest said amid tensions over a planned March 16 referendum on whether the autonomous territory should join Russia or remain in Ukraine.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/15/ukrainian_greek_catholic_priest_abducted_in_crimea/en1-781855

2014-03-15 16:26:45
Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest abducted in Crimea

(Vatican Radio) In a serious escalation of tension in Crimea, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest was kidnapped on Saturday.

Sources in Ukraine say Father Mykola Kvych, a pastor and a Ukrainian military chaplain, was abducted by pro-Russian forces after celebrating the liturgy.

“Every abduction is a terrible event for everybody involved,” said Bishop Borys Gudziak, the Eparch of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Eparchy. “It’s a gross violation of human rights and God-given human dignity.” He expressed his grave concern about the repercussions of the kidnapping of Father Kvych.

Earlier this month, Ukrainian Greek Catholic priests received oral and written threats warning them to leave Crimea. Many priests, however, have chosen to remain with their people.

“Our priests and bishops have been very close to the people,” said Bishop Borys. “We’ve been inspired by the example of Our Lord [Who] went a long distance from fellowship with the Father to incarnate Himself and be in our reality.”

He said they have also been inspired by the words of Pope Francis “who said a pastor needs to have the smell of his sheep. And our pastors have been with the people, and they’re today with the people enduring this occupation in the Crimea.”

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/i-need-that-the-people-of-god-sustain-me-pope-says-in-interview/

'I need the people of God to sustain me,' Pope says in interview

Vatican City, Mar 15, 2014 / 04:50 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During a recent radio interview given to a station in a slum of Argentina, Pope Francis explained his frequent request for prayers, and praised the work of the many priests who minister among the poor.

When asked why he so frequently requests prayer from those he encounters, the Pope simply stated that “I need it. I need the people of God to sustain me.”

The interview was given to Argentinian radio station Bajo Flores, which broadcasts from the slum called the “Villa 1-11-14” in Buenos Aires, and which is close to the San Lorenzo soccer stadium, where Pope Francis’ favorite team plays.

Entitled “El Papa de los villeros,” or “Pope of the slums,” the interview contains 12 questions regarding the presence of the Church among the poor and marginalized.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/15/pope_to_meet_with_families_of_innocent_mafia_victims_/en1-781787

2014-03-15 14:26:43
Pope to meet with families of innocent mafia victims

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will preside a prayer vigil organized by the Libera Foundation, on 21 March, with family members of innocent victims of the mafia. The vigil will be held in Rome at the Church of San Gregorio VII, on the evening before the national memorial day for innocent victims killed by the mafia.

The event will gather 700 family members of these victims from across Italy; they represent about 15,000 people who have suffered the loss of a loved one to mafia violence. The prayer vigil is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. and to conclude at 7.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/16/pope_francis_makes_visit_to_suburban_parish_/en1-781985

2014-03-16 17:14:18
Pope Francis makes visit to suburban parish

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis began a visit to a provincial parish dedicated to Our Lady of Oration on Sunday, at 4PM Rome Time. Santa Maria dell’Orazione is in the Setteville neighbourhood east of Rome, outside the city and about a third of the way to Tivoli. Founded juridically in 1989, the parish church was dedicated and inaugurated in 2002.

Santa Maria dell’Orazione is in the Setteville neighbourhood east of Rome, outside the city and about a third of the way to Tivoli. Founded juridically in 1989, the parish church was dedicated and inaugurated in 2002.

The schedule of the visit included: greetings with the faithful gathered in the square before the church; a visit with the sick and disabled persons of the parish; a meeting with children making their first communion and young people making their confirmation; an encounter with the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way that are present in the parish; another with families that have baptized children in the past year; confessions, Mass and a brief exchange with the family members of the priests serving the parish. Listen: RealAudioMP3