Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/13/archb._tomasi:_beware_of_the_increasing_dehumanisation_of_warfare/en1-798916

2014-05-13 16:03:41
Archb. Tomasi: beware of the increasing dehumanisation of warfare



(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Silvano Tomasi expressed his concern on Tuesday regarding the increasing trend of “dehumanization of warfare” and the use of lethal autonomous weapon systems.

Addressing the United Nations in Geneva at the Meeting of Experts on Lethal autonomous weapons systems, Archbishop Tomasi who is the Vatican’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, commended the organizers of the meeting for highlighting what he called “emerging concerns around new technologies”.

Please find below the text of Archbishop Tomasi’s intervention:
 

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Audio at the link

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-and-the-marian-shrine-of-aparecida

Pope Francis and the Marian Shrine of Aparecida
2014-05-13 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) As we know May is a month dedicated in a special way to Our Lady. And as we know too right from the very start of his pontificate Pope Francis entrusted his ministry as Successor of Peter to Our Lady making a surprise visit to Rome’s Basilica of Saint Mary Major on the day after his election.
 
He also made a point when returning to his own continent for the first time as Roman Pontiff to repeat this gesture by adding a visit to a Marian Shrine to his already tight schedule. Listen to this feature presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick:
Listen:   
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/14/audience:_the_gift_of_fortitude/en1-799087

2014-05-14 11:18:01
Audience: The gift of fortitude

(Vatican Radio) “Let us thank the Lord for these Christians who are the hidden saints among us”, said Pope Francis Wednesday “ordinary, everyday people who carry on their lives and faith, who fight for their families and educate their children”, despite the difficulties that life can sometimes present them with. These are people who open their hearts to the Holy Spirit who fills them with the gift of fortitude, the strength to carry on. Emer McCarthy reports: RealAudioMP3

Continuing his series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit Wednesday, Pope Francis spoke of the gift of fortitude in times of trail. Tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors had queued since dawn outside St. Peter's Square to attend the audience.  Despite a strong and chill wind, the Pope spent over half an hour touring among them in his open topped jeep, blessing children greeting the elderly, embracing the sick.

A Gospel passage was proclaimed in the main languages, before the Holy Father began his catechesis in Italian.

Below please find a Vatican Radio transcript and translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/14/pope_francis:_appeal_to_join_forces_to_stop_shameful_carnage_of/en1-799089

2014-05-14  11:39:21
Pope Francis: appeal to join forces to stop "shameful carnage" of migrants

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is calling on Europe to unite forces and to put human rights in the forefront as the death toll of migrants trying to reach Europe continues to rise.

Speaking after his catechesis at the General Audience, the Pope asked for prayers for those who have lost their lives in the past days as they crossed the Mediterranean sea in overcrowded and derelict vessels. He described the incidents as “shameful carnage”.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/14/pope_francis:_pray_for_victims_of_turkish_mining_disaster/en1-799123

2014-05-14 12:03:27
Pope Francis: Pray for victims of Turkish mining disaster

(Vatican Radio) At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis made an appeal for prayer for the miners who lost their lives in a mining disaster in Turkey: “Dear brothers and sisters, I invite you to pray for the miners who died in the mine yesterday in Soma, Turkey, and for those who are still trapped in the tunnels. May the Lord receive the deceased in His house and give comfort to their families.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/15/pope_at_mass:_we_are_not_christian_without_the_church/en1-799387

2014-05-15 11:13:12
Pope at Mass: We are not Christian without the Church

(Vatican Radio) There is no such thing as a Christian without the Church, a Christian who walks alone, because Jesus inserted himself into the journey of His people: This was Pope Francis reflection at Mass this morning in Casa Santa Marta. Emer McCarthy reports: RealAudioMP3

Beginning with the first reading of the day, Pope Francis said that when they proclaimed Jesus the apostles did not begin with Him, but the history of the people. In fact " Jesus does not make sense without this history" because He "is the end of this story, [the end] towards which this story goes, towards which it walks". So "you cannot understand a Christian outside of the people of God. The Christian is not a monad", but "belongs to a people: the Church. A Christian without a church is something purely idealistic, it is not real".

"But you cannot understand a Christian alone, just like you cannot understand Jesus Christ alone. Jesus Christ did not fall from the sky like a superhero who comes to save us. No. Jesus Christ has a history. And we can say, and it is true, that God has a history because He wanted to walk with us. And you cannot understand Jesus Christ without His history. So a Christian without history, without a Christian nation, a Christian without the Church is incomprehensible. It is a thing of the laboratory, an artificial thing, a thing that cannot give life".
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/15/pope_francis:_discourse_to_diplomats/en1-799406

2014-05-15 11:27:27
Pope Francis: discourse to diplomats

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received letters of credence from a group of ambassadors to the Holy See on Thursday morning. The ambassadors hail from Ethiopia, India, Jamaica, Liberia, South Africa, Sudan, and Switzerland. In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered to the ambassadors in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace on Thursday morning, Pope Francis spoke of diplomacy as a service in the cause of peace.

“Peace,” said Pope Francis. “This word sums up all the goods to which every person and all human societies aspire.”

The Holy Father went on to say, “Even the commitment with which we seek to promote diplomatic relations has, in the final analysis, no other purpose than this: to build peace in the human family,” through the promotion of justice and integral human development. “It is,” he said, “a goal never fully achieved,” and one that requires each new generation to commit itself anew to its pursuit.

Pope Francis went on to highlight two issues that he said pose urgent challenges to the pursuit of peace: the arms trade and forced migration.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/15/pope_sends_his_blessings_to_participants_of_the_asian_conference_on/en1-799425

2014-05-15 12:28:03   
Pope sends his blessings to participants of the Asian Conference on the Family

http://media01.radiovaticana.va/imm/1_0_799425.JPG

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has praised Philippine Bishops for holding the “Asian Conference on the Family” currently underway in Manila.

The conference, which runs until 16 May, gathers thousands of religious, educators, lay faithful, and politicians all over Asia to tackle the present-day situation of the human family.

In a message signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and addressed to the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen Dagupan, the Pope calls upon “all the lay faithful gathered to deepen their experience of faith and communion (…) so as to be a leaven of Christ’s love in the midst of humanity”.

Please find below the full text of the Pope’s message
 

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I saw the stage production and the movie--powerful music and great performances.  Glad to read that a pope liked it, too!

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/15/vatican_radio_welcomes_“jesus_christ_superstar”/en1-799527

2014-05-15 17:40:37
Vatican Radio welcomes “Jesus Christ Superstar”



(Vatican Radio) It was an exciting moment for all of us here at Vatican Radio when the actor and singer whom we all know as “Jesus Christ Superstar” came to visit.

Ted Neeley, the “quintessential” screen Jesus of the 1973 film directed by Norman Jewison, is currently in Rome to perform, yet again, as Jesus of Nazareth in the musical by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and to launch his new release entitled “Rock Opera”…
 
Ted Neeley explains that before the film was released, the director, Norman Jewison asked “the highest authority” to view it and express his opinion: “Because of so much protest in America when we were doing the show live, prior to making the film, Mr Jewison was concerned about whether or not the film would be accepted around the world. So he requested an audience with Pope Paul VI to see the film. The two of them sat down together and watched the film, and the Pope said: ‘this is a good film, I think this film will open the eyes to people around the world’. He said that he felt that the music was so inviting and so spiritual that it would spread the essence of Christ worldwide… so we got his blessing to release the film. “So thank God for that, and thank Pope Paul VI for that!”

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http://www.religionnews.com/2014/05/15/pope-francis-will-take-rabbi-muslim-leader-holy-land/

Pope Francis will take rabbi and Muslim leader with him to Holy Land
May 15, 2014

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis will be accompanied on his first visit to the Middle East by Argentine Rabbi Abraham Skorka and Muslim leader Omar Abboud — two friends from Buenos Aires.

It is the first time a pope has made an official visit accompanied by members of other faiths, and it underscores the interfaith focus of Francis’ trip to the Holy Land, the Vatican said Thursday (May 15).

“This dimension of interreligious dialogue has great significance,” the Vatican’s official spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, told the media.

Skorka, rector of the Latin American Rabbinical Seminary, and Abboud, president of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue in Buenos Aires, are part of the official delegation for the May 24-26 trip, which will include Jordan, the West Bank and Israel. Both men are longtime friends and collaborators from Francis’ days as archbishop of Buenos Aires.
 

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http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Maronite-Patriarchs-visit-to-Israel-and-schedule-confirmed-352418

Maronite Patriarch’s visit to Israel and schedule confirmed
05/15/2014 19:14


Lebanon's Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai. Photo: REUTERS

Archbishop Moussa al-Hage, the senior Christian Maronite cleric in Israel, confirmed this week the schedule of the visit to Israel by the head of the Maronite church, Patriarch Bichara Boutros al-Rai, during the visit of Pope Francis, who will be arriving in the region on May 24.

Al-Rai’s visit is the subject of great controversy in his native Lebanon, where the seat of the Maronite Patriarch is located, and parts of the media have spoken out vehemently against his visit to Israel, which is still technically in a state of war with Lebanon.

The patriarch has however insisted that it is important for him to visit Maronite Christians in Israel and to be here to greet the pope due to his own role as the head of an important Christian denomination in the Middle East.

Al-Rai also pointed out that he will not be meeting with any Israeli officials during his visit.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/16/pope_francis:__to_get_to_know_jesus__we_must_pray_to_him,_celebrate/en1-799745

2014-05-16 12:57:55
Pope Francis: To get to know Jesus we must pray to him, celebrate him and imitate him.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says studying Jesus is not enough to get to know him, we must also pray to him, celebrate him and imitate him. This was the Pope’s core message at Mass on Friday in the Santa Marta residence.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges: RealAudioMP3

In his homily the Pope reflected on the best way for us to get to know Jesus, describing it as the most important work in our lives. At the same time he warned that studying or having ideas was not enough on its own to acquire that knowledge of Jesus.

“Ideas by themselves do not lead anywhere and those who pursue the path of their own ideas end up in a labyrinth from where they can’t get out again! It’s for this reason that heresies have existed from the very beginning of the Church. Heresies are this: trying to understand with our minds and with only our personal light who Jesus is. A great English writer wrote that a heresy is an idea that’s gone crazy. That’s right! When they are ideas by themselves they become crazy… This is not the right path!”

Pope Francis went on to explain that we need to open three doors in order to know Jesus.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/16/ordinary_council_meets_ahead_of_extraordinary_general_assembly_of_the/en1-799790

2014-05-16 14:22:38
Ordinary Council meets ahead of Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops



(Vatican Radio) The Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops met for the sixth time on May 13-14 to analyze the first draft of the Instrumentum laboris (working document) for the III Extraordinary General Assembly, set for October 2014. On Tuesday, May 13, Pope Francis himself presided over the meeting of the Council.

In welcoming the Holy Father, the Secretary General, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri (pictured), expressed gratitude for the Pope Francis’ Letter of April 1, 2014, in which he named the Council’s Under-Secretary, Fabio Fabene, a bishop. The move, Cardinal Baldisseri said, was made with the intention of reinforcing even further the affective and effective collegiality that is a constitutive part of the Synod of Bishops
 

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Video at the link

http://www.lifenews.com/2014/05/15/top-un-official-looks-away-as-pope-francis-says-abortion-violates-human-rights/

Top UN Official Looks Away as Pope Francis Says Abortion Violates Human Rights
5/15/14 1:55 PM

New York, NY (CFAM) — The highest-ranking U.N. human rights official, Navi Pillay, looked down and fidgeted as Pope Francis delivered an unambiguous pro-life message to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and top U.N. officials.

Unborn children are “our brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis told Pillay and her colleagues gathered in Rome for a coordination meeting. Pillay’s office facilitates the work of the U.N. committees that recently told the Vatican to change Church teaching on abortion.

“Today, in concrete terms, an awareness of the dignity of each of our brothers and sisters whose life is sacred and inviolable from conception to natural death must lead us to share with complete freedom the goods which God’s providence has placed in our hands,” the Pope exhorted.

The message comes at a critical time, when the United Nations is discussing a new development framework to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in 2015 and contribute to the eradication of poverty, improvements in health, and economic development. The U.N. General Assembly is conducting consultations to garner consensus on a scheme known as the Sustainable Development Goals.

The pope applauded the U.N.’s efforts so far, but cautioned that many are still excluded from the benefits of social and economic progress, unborn children among them.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/17/pope_exhorts_on_right_and_wrong_ways_to_live_with_suffering/en1-800022

2014-05-17 13:02:24
Pope exhorts on 'right and wrong ways' to live with suffering

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with members of the Apostolate of the Suffering and with the Silent Workers of the Cross on Saturday in the Paul VI Hall. Among the estimated 5,000 people in attendance, about 350 people were in wheelchairs.

The two apostolic associations were founded by Blessed Luigi Novarese for evangelization by and among people with illness and disability. According to its website, the purpose of the Apostolate of the Suffering is to bring about “a complete emancipation of suffering persons, through a work of evangelization and teaching of catechism directly carried out by the handicapped”. Its activity takes place in co-operation with the Silent Workers of the Cross, an association of priests and consecrated men and women.

In his message to the associations, marking the centenary of their founder’s birth, Pope Francis stressed that there are right and wrong ways to live with pain and suffering.

“A wrong attitude is to live pain in a passive manner, letting go with inertia and resignation. Even the reaction of rebellion and rejection is not a correct attitude,” he said. “Jesus teaches us to live the pain by accepting the reality of life with trust and hope, bringing the love of God and neighbour, even in suffering: and love transforms everything.”
 

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http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/pope-francis-appoints-primate-poland-23763115

Pope Francis Appoints New Primate in Poland
WARSAW, Poland May 17, 2014

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Wojciech Polak as the new primate, or honorary leader, of Poland's influential Roman Catholic Church.

The 49-year-old Polak succeeds Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, who resigned in August after reaching the retirement age of 75. Kowalczyk was first papal nuncio in democratic Poland in 1989-2010.

Poland's Episcopate said Saturday that the inauguration ceremony for Polak will be held June 7 in Poland's historic capital of Gniezno, at the cathedral that dates back to the 10th century.
 
Once a sign of leadership, the title of primate is now chiefly honorary.

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http://www.archons.org/news/detail.asp?id=745

The Meeting of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis in the Holy City of Jerusalem, May 24-26
New York, NY   5/17/2014



The Order of Saint Andrew, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate take this opportunity to inform the faithful regarding the upcoming historic meeting between His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and His Holiness Pope Francis taking place in Jerusalem May 25 – 26, 2014. We encourage all Archons to share this email with your relatives, friends and colleagues and follow the Apostolic Encounter on www.apostolicpilgrimage.org.

On Sunday, May 25, 2014, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Francis will meet at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to commemorate a meeting in the Holy Land fifty years ago by their revered predecessors, Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras and Pope Paul VI.  The historic meeting in 1964 marked the beginning of a new era in the relations between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople, and indirectly between Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy as a whole. The significance of that event can only be fully appreciated if placed in the context of a millenium dominated by theological estrangement and mutual mistrust between the two great traditions of the Church.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/18/pope_francis_prays_for_flood_victims_in_the_balkans/en1-800251

2014-05-18 15:16:26
Pope Francis prays for flood victims in the Balkans

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday asked the faithful to pray for victims of floods in Serbia and Bosnia as at least 40 people are reported killed and tens of thousands evacuated in what has been branded the worst flooding on record across the Balkans.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni... RealAudioMP3

Speaking after the Regina Coeli prayer to some 50,000 people present in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope said that large areas in the Balkans have been devastated by flooding. He expressed his closeness to those who are living moments of anguish and adversity, and he urged those present to pray for our brothers and sisters who are in such difficulty.

The Pope’s appeal followed a discourse to the faithful in which he pointed out that conflict within the Church is to be resolved “with confrontation, discussion and prayer”. He said that problems must be faced openly and words must be based on certainties, as gossip and envy never lead to harmony and peace.

Pope Francis pointed out that the Holy Spirit is here to lead us on a path of serene dialogue. The Holy Spirit – he said – brings harmony, unity and respect for diverse gifts and talents.

And he recalled that even in the beginning, within the Church there existed tensions and dissent – just as they do today in our parishes.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/19/pope_at_mass:_firmness_of_heart_/en1-800331

2014-05-19 11:47:11
Pope at Mass: Firmness of heart

(Vatican Radio) A Christian should have their heart fixed on the Holy Spirit, not a fickle heart that dances from one place to another. This was Pope Francis’ message Monday morning at Mass in Casa Santa Marta. The Pope focused his homily on St. Paul, who was able to continuously evangelize because his heart was made firm by the Holy Spirit. Emer McCarthy reports:

What kind of heart do we have? That was the question at the certain of Pope Francis homily based on the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which speaks of St Paul’s commitment to evangelization “his firm heart in continuous motion”. The Apostle to the Gentiles is in Iconium, where they tried to kill him, but still he does not complain. He pushes ahead on to evangelize in the area of Lycaonia, and in the name of the Lord, heals a paralytic. On seeing this miracle, the pagans, think that Paul and Barnabas, who accompanies him are gods Zeus and Hermes descended upon the earth. The Pope noted, Paul "struggled to convince them that they were men". These , he said, " are the human trials that Paul experienced":

"We all have many of these, all of us; we are surrounded by many events that move us from one place to another. But we asked for the grace to have a fixed heart, like Paul: so as not to complain about the persecution he went in search to another city; he began to preach there; to heal the sick; realizing that that man had enough faith to be healed; then, calm this excited people who wanted to make a sacrifice to him; then, to proclaim that there is only one God, with their own cultural language. One thing after another ... And this can only come from a steady heart".
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/05/19/pope_to_mexican_bishops:_promote_a_spirit_of_harmony/en1-800371

2014-05-19 13:15:30
Pope to Mexican Bishops: Promote a spirit of harmony

(Vatican Radio) In written remarks prepared and delivered to the Bishops of Mexico on Monday, Pope Francis praised their efforts to help the needy and urged them to promote a culture of encounter, dialogue and peace. Lydia O’Kane reports.

In his speech to the Mexican Bishops who are here on their ad Limina visits, Pope Francis began by highlighting the Christian values that underpin many Latin American countries including Mexico, adding that this country’s heritage cannot be understood without looking at the faith of its people.

The Pope underlined that if ones looks to Our Lady of Guadalupe, it can been seen that on more than one occasion the example of her tenderness has contributed to the reconciliation and the full liberation of the Mexican people.