Pope Francis

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/06/pope_francis_marks_70th_anniversary_of_d-day_landings/1101435

Pope Francis pays tribute to 'heavy sacrifice' of soldiers on 70th anniversary of D-Day landings
06/06/2014



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day landings is an opportunity for present generations to show gratitude for the “heavy sacrifice” of soldiers who landed on the beaches of Normandy to fight against “Nazi barbarism” and free occupied France during World War II.

He also states that it should serve as a reminder that excluding God from the lives of people and societies can bring nothing but death and suffering and he calls on the people of Europe to find their roots and future hopes in the Gospel of Christ.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/06/pope_francis_meets_with_prime_minister_of_japan/1101451

Pope Francis meets with Prime Minister of Japan
06/06/2014

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the  prime minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, who subsequently went on to meet with the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

A statement by the Holy See Press Office said the good relations between Japan and the Holy See were spoken about during cordial talks, as well as the understanding and collaboration between the Church and State in the fields of education, social welfare and healthcare.
 

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http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/francesco-francis-francisco-pizzaballa-34582/

06/ 6/2014
The Pope, Peres and Mahmoud Abbas, distinct prayers and a cry for peace

Presentation of the program for Sunday in the Vatican gardens. The time is from 18.15 to 20.45. “It will be a pause from politics, no representatives of the two governments will be present”.
Iacopo Scaramuzzi
Vatican City
 
It will begin with three distinct prayers - Jewish, Christian and Muslim - the “prayer for peace” that will bring together, on Sunday evening in the Vatican gardens, Pope Francis, Israeli President Shimon Peres, the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. It will be a “pause from politics” and the delegations, which are still incomplete, will not include representatives of the respective governments.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio invited the two Middle East leaders in his “home” during a recent trip to the Holy Land. Today in the Vatican press office the Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, and the Franciscan Custos of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, presented the program for the event which begins late Sunday afternoon with the arrival of the two presidents in the Vatican: Peres at 18.15 and Abbas, from Egypt, at 18.30.  Bergoglio will welcome them to his home, Santa Marta, for a brief talk, first with one and then with the other.  At approximately 18.45, in the lobby of the residence, the three will be joined by the  Patriarch Bartholomew who will have arrived in Rome the night before.   A vehicle will then take the four to “a beautiful triangular lawn located between the “Casina Pio IV”, the Academy of Sciences, and the “Vatican Museums”, said Lombardi, an area “that points towards the dome of St. Peter”.

The public part of the meeting will then take place in the presence of the press: a musical opening, a brief introduction in English to explain the course of the event, and then three distinct moments of prayer in the three religions, first Jewish (in Hebrew), then Christian (in English, Italian and Arabic), and lastly Muslim (in Arabic). “We do not pray together, but we stay together to pray avoiding any form of syncretism” said Pizzaballa. “Some may observe that the two presidents are not religious, but they are believers:  it is not necessary to wear the religious habit in order to pray”, he said, noting that “Abbas knows the Quran very well and Peres the Jewish scriptures” and anyway,  the two presidents are present as “representatives of their people” and not religious leaders.  Bartholomew, on his part, will recite part of a Christian prayer. All three prayers will, however, have the same structure: a passage on creation, a request for forgiveness and a cry for peace interspersed with short musical passages. Lastly, the three interventions of the Pope, President Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas "who will recite the words they deem appropriate, and their cry for peace”.  The public portion of the meeting will end with “a gesture of peace, probably a common handshake” said Lombardi, and then the four protagonists will plant an olive tree, a symbol of peace.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/07/pope_francis_receives_president_of_mexico/1101504

Pope Francis receives President of Mexico
07/06/2014

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday received the President of Mexico, Enriqué Peña Nieto. A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See says that the Pope and the President held cordial discussions, during the course of which they touched on several issues, including recent reforms in Mexico, in particular the constitutional amendments regarding religious freedom.

The communiqué goes on to say that attention then turned to migration, the struggle against poverty and unemployment, and initiatives for combating violence and drug trafficking, before the two exchanged views on themes relating to current regional and international affairs.

Below, please fin the full text of the Communiqué from the Holy See Press Office
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/07/vatican_aif_signs_memoranda_with_six_new_countries/1101490

Vatican: AIF signs memoranda with six new countries
07/06/2014

(Vatican Radio) The financial intelligence authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State (AIF) has signed memoranda of understanding with six countries, including the United Kingdom and France. THe agreements were signed during the course of a meeting of the Egmont Group - an informal international network of financial intelligence units - in Perù. Below, please find the full text of the statment from the Vatican on the signing of the memoranda.
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AIF Strengthens International Cooperation: Memoranda of Understanding with the U.K., France and Four More Countries
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/07/vatican_observatory_galaxies,_and_students,_near_and_far/1101476

Vatican Observatory: Galaxies, and students, from near and far
07/06/2014



(Vatican Radio) “We are all working together.  We are from countries and religions that the world would tell you are enemies, but we are all under the same skies and we are all fascinated by the same stars”, says Br. Guy Consolmagno, Dean of the Vatican Observatory Sumer School (VOSS), currently underway in at the Observatory’s headquarters in the grounds of the Papal Summer Residence in Castel Gandolfo.

The Pope’s Astronomers have invited 25 students from 22 nations to further their knowledge in Observational Astronomy and Astrophysics at the bi-annual school, which this year is focusing on “Galaxies: Near and Far, Young and Old”. For the month of June, young scientists from Burkina Faso, Mexico, Iran, the U.S, Portugal, Australia, Brazil and many other nations will study the stars together at the Vatican.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-accepts-invitation-to-visit-mexico/

Pope Francis accepts invitation to visit Mexico

Vatican City, Jun 7, 2014 / 11:44 am (CNA/EWTN News).- President Enrique Peña Nieto on Saturday announced that Pope Francis has accepted an invitation to visit Mexico.

“Without doubt, this is cause for great joy,” President Peña Nieto declared after telling reporters the Pope “has accepted the invitation.”

The president made the announcement after his private meeting with the pontiff in the Apostolic Palace.

The dates for the visit are not known, but could come near the Pope’s hoped-for visit to Philadelphia for the World Meeting for Families in late September 2015. Such a visit to the U.S. has not been confirmed by the Vatican.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/opus-dei-prelate-beatification-expected-to-draw-100000-attendees/

Opus Dei prelate beatification expected to draw 100,000 attendees



Madrid, Spain, Jun 7, 2014 / 05:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The first successor of St. Josemaria Escriva as leader of Opus Dei, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo, will be beatified Sept. 27 in Madrid at a ceremony that is expected to bring together nearly 100,000 faithful.

The prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints, Cardinal Angelo Amato, will preside at the beatification. Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid will concelebrate, along with the current prelate of Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarria,
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/08/pope_francis_celebrates_pentecost_mass,_prays_regina_coeli/1101517

Pope Francis celebrates Pentecost Mass, prays Regina coeli
08/06/2014

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, the Solemnity of Pentecost. His homily focused on the Holy Spirit as Master of Life. The Holy Father identified four principal ways in which the Spirit is active in the life of every Christian and in the Church.

“The Holy Spirit teaches us the way,” said Pope Francis, “the Spirit reminds us of the words of Jesus and explains them to us, He enables us to pray and to call God ‘Father’, He enables us to speak to our fellows in fraternal dialogue and enables us to speak in prophecy.”

It was a theme to which Pope Francis returned in his remarks to the faithful gathered in the Square ahead of the Regina coeli. “The event of Pentecost,” said Pope Francis, “marks the birth of the Church and the Church’s public manifestation: two things strike us [about the Church]: the Church is one that surprises us and stirs things up.”

After the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father looked ahead to the much-anticipated encounter of prayer for peace in the Vatican, with the participation of the Presidents of Israel and Palestine, as well as the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. 

[grace-land]

Live streaming (Invocation for Peace video will be available for later viewing) at the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_fdxpwWKHQ

Invocation for Peace
Started on Jun 8, 2014

Pope Francis has invited the Presidents of Israel, Shimon Peres, and of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, for an Invocation for Peace, which will take place in the Vatican Gardens

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/

Sunday, June 08, 2014
At the Vatican, A Time for Peace

 
To follow along, here are the English renderings of the texts to be used (link will open in a separate window).
http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/06/07/0415/00948.html#Testi%20in%20lingua%20inglese

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Short Video at the link

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27754663

8 June 2014 Last updated at 14:53 ET
Pope Francis peace plea at Israel-Palestinian prayer meeting



Pope Francis has urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to show courage to seek peace in the Middle East.

The Pope was speaking after hosting joint prayers at the Vatican with Israeli President Shimon Peres and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr Peres said making peace was a "holy mission". Mr Abbas spoke of a "comprehensive and just peace".

The Pope has stressed that the Vatican is not seeking to get involved in peace negotiations between the two sides.

The talks collapsed in acrimony in April.

Pope Francis had invited the pair on his recent trip to the Holy Land.

The three men, and the spiritual head of the Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew, were driven together to the Vatican gardens.

The Pope then sat between the two presidents as a chamber orchestra played.
 

[grace-land]

At the link:  Video of the "Invocation for Peace" and Photo Gallery

Pope Francis Offers Prayerful Peace Summit With Israeli And Palestinian Presidents At Vatican
Posted:  06/08/2014 8:15 am EDT    Updated:  5 hours ago

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis plunged head-first into Mideast peace-making Sunday, welcoming the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican for a remarkable evening of peace prayers just weeks after the last round of U.S.-sponsored negotiations collapsed.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joked and embraced in the foyer of the Vatican hotel where Francis lives and later in the Vatican gardens, where they joined Francis in presiding over a sunset invocation of Jewish, Christian and Muslim prayers.

Francis told the two men, who signed the Oslo peace accords in 1993, that he hoped the summit would mark "a new journey" toward peace. He said too many children had been killed by war and violence, and that their memory should instill the strength and patience to work for dialogue and coexistence.

"Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than warfare," he said. "It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to conflict."

The event had the air of an outdoor summer wedding, complete with receiving line and guests mingling on the lawn as a string ensemble played. Only the two key protagonists are technically on opposite sides of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
 
   

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Speakers at the "Invocation for Peace" -- English transcript

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/08/president_mahmoud_abbas_speaks_at_invocation_for_peace/1101526
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at Invocation for Peace
08/06/2014

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/08/israeli_president_shimon_peres_speaks_to_peace_gathering/1101524
Israeli President Shimon Peres speaks to peace gathering
08/06/2014

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/08/pope_francis_a_prayer_for_peace/1101522
Pope Francis: a prayer for peace
08/06/2014

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/09/pope_the_beatitudes,_a_practical_programme_for_holiness/1101553

Pope: the Beatitudes, a practical programme for holiness
09/06/2014

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says the Beatitudes spell out a programme for Christian life.

During his homily at Monday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta, the Pope focused on the Beatitudes; on the day following the historic meeting for peace in the Vatican, he called for the courage of meekness to defeat hatred.

Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day which focusses on the Beatitudes, Pope Francis described them as a “programme”, the “identity card of a Christian”.  If you ask yourself how to become a good Christian,  this is where you can find Jesus’s answer, an answer – he said - that points to an attitude that is currently very much against the tide: Blessed are the poor in spirit. Wealth – Francis pointed out – offers no guarantee, in fact – he continued – when the heart is rich and self-satisfied, it has no place for the Word of God: “Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted”.

The world tells us that happiness, joy and entertainment are the best things in life. And it looks the other way when there are problems of disease or pain in the family. The world does not want to suffer, it prefers to ignore painful situations, to cover them up. Only the person who sees things as they are, and whose heart mourns, will be happy and will be comforted. Thanks to the consolation of Jesus, not to that of the world. Blessed are the meek in this world which is filled with wars, arguments, hatred. And Jesus says: no war, no hatred. Peace and meekness.”
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-postpones-meetings-due-to-tiredness/

Pope Francis postpones meetings due to tiredness

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2014 / 05:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi S.J. has announced that Pope Francis canceled his meetings today in order to rest following prayer for peace in the Vatican gardens last evening.

“Pope Francis canceled the meetings of the second part of the morning because of a minor indisposition,” the spokesman told journalists in a June 9 press conference, noting that “yesterday the Pope was very tired because of the prayer for peace in the Middle East.”

Fr. Lombardi revealed that the Pope celebrated Mass in the Saint Martha guesthouse at 7 a.m. as usual, and afterward met with Australian Cardinal George Pell, prefect for the Secretariat of the Economy.

However, his meeting with the Italian Superior Council of the Magistracy, the largest Italian governmental body, will be re-scheduled for a later date in order to allow the pontiff to rest.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.archons.org/news/detail.asp?id=753

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Joins Pope Francis at a Vatican Invocation for Peace
6/9/2014


From left, Israel's President Shimon Peres, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Pope Francis, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pose for photographers at the end of an evening of peace prayers in the Vatican gardens, Sunday, June 8, 2014. Pope Francis waded head-first into Mideast peace-making Sunday, welcoming the Israeli and Palestinian presidents to the Vatican for an evening of peace prayers just weeks after the last round of U.S.-sponsored negotiations collapsed. (Photos by AP Photo/Max Rossi, Pool)

With a renewed commitment to Christian unity and an enduring desire to include people of all faiths in dialogue, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of over 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide, and his brother Pope Francis joined hands at the Vatican during an Invocation for Peace. Together with the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch, the Israeli President Shimon Peres and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas participated in the interfaith service of Jews, Christians and Muslims.
 
The leaders read passages from the scriptures and offered prayers of thanksgiving for God’s creation and asked for God’s forgiveness and peace in the Middle East. Reading from the Book of Isaiah, His All-Holiness reminded the people of the region that God had not abandoned them, and that He would answer before they call, and hear while they yet speak (65: 24).
 
The Ecumenical Patriarch also called upon God’s blessings upon the Jewish, Christian and Muslim children of the Holy Land and prayed that their shared thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings may remind them that they are brothers and sisters.
 

[grace-land]

http://ncronline.org/news/faith-parish/us-bishops-hear-reports-marriage-sex-abuse-meeting

US bishops to hear reports on marriage, sex abuse at meeting
 Jun. 7, 2014

Washington --   The U.S. bishops are scheduled to meet in New Orleans June 11-13. On their agenda is a discussion of today's economy and its impact on marriages and evangelization. They are also to review their efforts in preventing sexual abuse of children, strengthening marriage, helping typhoon victims and preparing for upcoming church-sponsored events on family life.
 
The bishops are to hear presentations on "Marriage and the Economy" and "the New Evangelization and Poverty" on the second day of their gathering before they close for executive sessions.

The first day is to be filled with reports on upcoming events, including presentations on the Oct. 5-19 extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family and on the World Meeting of Families, set for Sept. 22-27, 2015, in Philadelphia.
 

[Sister]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/06/06/pope_francis_marks_70th_anniversary_of_d-day_landings/1101435

Pope Francis pays tribute to 'heavy sacrifice' of soldiers on 70th anniversary of D-Day landings
06/06/2014



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day landings is an opportunity for present generations to show gratitude for the “heavy sacrifice” of soldiers who landed on the beaches of Normandy to fight against “Nazi barbarism” and free occupied France during World War II.

He also states that it should serve as a reminder that excluding God from the lives of people and societies can bring nothing but death and suffering and he calls on the people of Europe to find their roots and future hopes in the Gospel of Christ.
 

so right on!

[Sister]

I am so glad the Pope took a rest.
Many people who do not spend a significant time in prayer do not truly understand how "tiring" it can be as you pour forth all your energy and spirit in the throne room of God.

Thanks for all your updates grace-land.  I read them all with much interest and with a heart to learn.
 

[grace-land]

I am so glad the Pope took a rest.
Many people who do not spend a significant time in prayer do not truly understand how "tiring" it can be as you pour forth all your energy and spirit in the throne room of God.

Thanks for all your updates grace-land.  I read them all with much interest and with a heart to learn.
 

You're welcome, Sister.  I'm learning many things, too.  And his schedule is unbelievable; it's almost a 24/7 ministry.  He has taken another day off to rest.  Bless him.