Pope Francis

[Sister]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-writes-consecrated-persons-as-brother-also-consecrated-to-god

Pope Francis Writes Consecrated Persons as Brother Also Consecrated to God
Washington, D.C.,  December 01, 2014

The Pope begins his beautiful message for the Year of Consecrated Life with his characteristic simplicity and humility, in stating that he sends his message not only by virtue of his office as Successor of Peter, but also “as a brother who, like yourselves, is consecrated to God.”  It is a simple and short opening line, yet already contains the kernel of what he will expand at greater length as he first explains the aims and then the expectations for the year, and most especially where he lastly elucidates the horizons to which this year ought to reach: a strong emphasis on unity and communion amongst all those who are in Consecrated Life, amongst the entire Church in appreciation and support of it, between those Consecrated within the Catholic Church and those in the Orthodox and Reformed Churches, and even with those living a life fully given to God in the other great religions.

The aims of the Year of Consecrated Life are for those living such a life to look to their past with gratitude and re-discover their founding charism, so as to engage the present with passion, and surrender the future of their labors and their religious institutes to Christ who is our hope.  The Holy Father then elaborates his expectations from this Year of Consecrated Life, following upon its given aims: 1) that Consecrated Persons “know and show” their life to be one that is truly happy and fulfilled; 2) that they be prophets, pointing to the reality of God, who is Life and Love Incarnate, by their lives and concrete works, offering a true alternative to the mirage of the various utopias that are presented by the world; 3) that the different religious communities will come together, mutually enriching one another and serving as a source of mutual help and apostolic synergy; 4) that Consecrated persons “ come out of yourselves and go forth to the existential peripheries”; and 5) that they consider seriously what God is asking of them, and what the world in its current state is asking of them. 
 

I really related to this message.

Thanks grace-land for all the postings.  I am learning so much!
Blessings.

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/09/pope_francis_churchs_joy_is_to_be_a_mother/1114079

Pope Francis: Church's joy is to be a mother
09/12/2014 12:02

(Vatican Radio) The joy of the Church is to be a mother, to go out and seek the lost sheep. That was the message of Pope Francis during Tuesday’s morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope said that the Church does not need to have “a perfect organizational chart” if that would make her sorrowful and closed on herself, if that would make her “not a mother.” He then invited his listeners to be “joyful Christians,” with the “consolation of the tenderness of Jesus.”

“Open the doors to the consolation of the Lord.” In this passage, which served as the starting point for the Pope’s homily, Isaiah is speaking about the end of the tribulation of Israel after the Babylonian exile. “The people,” Pope Francis said, “have need of consolation. The very presence of the Lord consoles [them].” It is one consolation that is with them even in tribulation. And yet, he warned, “we usually flee from consolation; we have no confidence; we are more comfortable in our stuff, we are more comfortable even in our failures, in our sins.” This, he said, “is our country.” On the other hand, the Pope continued, “when the Spirit comes, consolation comes as well, and bears us to another state that we cannot control: this is precisely abandonment in the consolation of the Lord.”
 

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http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/sinodo-37969/

12/ 9/2014
The Vatican sends Catholics 46 questions ahead of the 2015 Synod

Today the Vatican published a set of 46 questions which the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops will send to all national bishops’ conferences for a “broad consultation” of Catholics around the world ahead of the Ordinary Synod scheduled for 2015. This will be the second Synod since the Extraordinary one held last October, a t Francis’ wish, to discuss all things related to the family. The questions, along with the final report produced at the end of the Extraordinary Synod (relatio synodi) are the Lineamenta, a Latin term for the preliminary document for next year’s Synod. The aim of this new set of questions (the statement issued by the Vatican body led by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri avoids using the term “questionnaire” used in November 2013 to refer to the set of questions sent ahead of the first Synod), is to facilitate the “reception” of the relatio synodi and a “further examination” of subjects discussed during the Synod, not excluding the issues that did not obtain a two-thirds consensus at last October’s meeting, in other words, remarried divorcees and homosexuality.
 
The questions aim to encourage a duly realistic reflection in each Episcopate, the document published today in Italian says. In the coming days it will be translated into a number of different languages so that it can be shared as widely as possible. The goal is to prevent Episcopates from providing answers that follow the framework of pastoral care being a mere application of doctrine. This would not respect the conclusions of the Extraordinary Synod and would draw respondents’ reflections away from the path already traced.

The document, which contains frequent references to the Constitution of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes and Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, the Evangelii Gaiudium, uses a previous question as a starting point: does the description of the family given in the relatio synodi, correspond to what is seen in the Church and society today? What other missing elements can be added?

Questions follow the structure of the relatio synodi, starting with the family context and challenges it faces and moving onto the Gospel of the family (Question number 17 asks what initiatives are in place for understanding the value of indissoluble and fertile marriage as a path toward personal fulfilment?). The section ends by highlighting that considering the beauty of successful marriages and solid families and having appreciated the generous testimony of those who have stayed faithful to this bond despite having been abandoned by their spouse, the pastors gathered at the Synod asked themsleves – in an open, courageous, concerned and cautious way – what approach the Church should take to Catholics who are united in civil marriage, to couples living together and to those who divorce having entered a valid marriage and then remarry in a civil ceremony.  (Question 20 asks how the Church can set about explaining that no one is excluded from the mercy of God and how to express this truth through pastoral action for families, particularly wounded and fragile families).

The third and final part of the document goes through some “pastoral perspectives”, emphasising that it is important for individuals to let themselves be guided by the pastoral turning point that began with the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops rooted in the Second Vatican Council and Pope Francis’ magisterium. It is up to the national bishops’ conferences to examine this further, involving all ecclesial component as appropriate, applying it in a concrete manner to each specific context. It is paramount not to start from scratch, but to follow the path already traced by the Extraordinary Synod, which marked a starting point.
 

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http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=23464

Council of Cardinals, Pope meet to refine plans for 2 new Vatican congregations
Catholic World News - December 09, 2014

The Council of Cardinals is meeting this week with Pope Francis, to discuss a new round of reforms that will likely call for the creation of two new Vatican congregations, combining the functions of several existing offices.

The 9-member Council of Cardinals is expected to work on refining a proposal that was presented to the existing leadership of the Roman Curia by Pope Francis at a meeting on November 24. The plan calls for the creation of one congregation to handle questions related to the laity, and another to handle political and social issues.

In an interview with La Stampa last week, Cardinal Oscar Maradiaga Rodriguez of Tegulcigalpa, Honduras, the chairman of the Council of Cardinals, declared flatly that the plans for the creation of the new offices was now definitely moving forward. “The two bodies dedicated to the laity and charity are certain,” he said.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-urges-world-towards-nuclear-disarmame

Pope Francis urges world towards nuclear disarmament
2014-12-10 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Monday “nuclear weapons are a global problem affecting all nations and impacting future generations and the planet that is our home.”

His words were read out at the  Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons which was  taking place in Vienna on December 8-9.

“Nuclear deterrence and the threat of mutually assured destruction cannot be the basis for an ethics of fraternity and peaceful coexistence among peoples and states,” writes Pope Francis. “Then youth of today and tomorrow deserve far more. They deserve a peaceful world order based on the unity of the human family, grounded on respect, cooperation, solidarity and compassion. Now is the time to counter the logic of fear with the ethics of responsibility, and so foster a climate of trust and sincere dialogue.”

The full text of the Message of Pope Francis is below
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/10/pope_audience_the_true_synod/1114213

Pope Audience: The true Synod
10/12/2014 11:24

(Vatican Radio) Following a series of reflections concentrating on the Church, Pope Francis at his weekly General Audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday opened a new Chapter, a weekly catechesis focusing on the Family.

He began this new cycle by recalling the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family which took place in October.

The Holy Father told the thousands of faithful present that he wanted to share with them what took place and what the Synod has produced.

He continued saying, that during this time there was much media attention on the work being done at the Synod and for that the Pope expressed his thanks. But, Pope Francis added,  often the vision of the media was a bit 'in the style of sports or political coverage,: “they often spoke of two teams, pro and con, conservatives and liberals, and so on.”

The Pope explained that, first of all he asked the Synod Fathers to speak frankly and courageously and to listen with humility.

He also stressed there was no prior censorship and that everyone had the chance to say what was in his heart.

The meeting, said the Holy Father began with a very frank discussion of the serious pastoral challenges affecting the Family, in the light of the fundamental truths about the sacrament of Matrimony – its indissolubility, unity, fidelity and openness to life.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/10/pope_no_conservative_or_liberal_families,_family_is_family!/1114288

Pope: no conservative or liberal families, family is family!
10/12/2014 03:43



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says that families cannot be categorized according to ideological concepts: “we cannot speak of conservative families or liberal families. Family is family!”

In a letter, on Wednesday, to Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, the Pope looked ahead to the World Meeting of Families scheduled to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015.

Recalling the fact that Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, had announced the venue of the 2015 gathering at the conclusion of the last World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis pointed out that the theme of the meeting is “Love is our mission. The family fully alive” and said he looks with trust and hope towards the upcoming event of grace in which, “if God wills”, he will take part.

The mission of the Christian family – the Pope said – is today as it was yesterday, to announce to the world the love of God through the strength of the Sacrament of Marriage.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/amid-investigation-accounts-of-former-vatican-bank-directors-frozen-97364/

Amid investigation, accounts of former Vatican Bank directors frozen

Vatican City, Dec 8, 2014 / 12:22 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- More than $19.6 million in the accounts of two former managers of the Institute for Religious Works, commonly known as the Vatican Bank or IOR, have been frozen by a Vatican prosecutor in the course of an investigation, it was announced Sunday.

At a Dec. 6 press conference, Holy See press officer Fr. Federico Lombardi confirmed that Gian Piero Milano, promoter of justice for Vatican City State, was investigating two former IOR directors regarding suspected embezzlement between 2001 and 2008.

The investigation is based on suspicions aroused during a 2013 internal review, part of ongoing financial reform at the Vatican aimed at transparency and tackling money laundering.
 

[grace-land]

Full English translation of Lineamenta & new questions...

December 10, 2014 Tweets
https://twitter.com/FatherRosica

XIV ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
VOCATION & MISSION OF FAMILY IN CHURCH & CONTEMPORARY WORLD
LINEAMENTA & NEW QUESTIONS http://bit.ly/1wd4Hrg
-------------
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20141209_lineamenta-xiv-assembly_en.html

SYNOD OF BISHOPS
________________________________________________________
XIV ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY

THE VOCATION AND MISSION
 OF THE FAMILY
 IN THE CHURCH AND CONTEMPORARY WORLD

LINEAMENTA

Vatican City
 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Relatio Synodi of the III Extraordinary General Assembly

Introduction

Part I
 Listening: The Context and the Challenges of the Family

The Socio-Cultural Context
 The Importance of Affectivity in Life
 Pastoral Challenges

Part II
 Looking at Christ: The Gospel of the Family

Looking at Jesus and the Divine Pedagogy in the History of Salvation
 The Family in the God’s Salvific Plan
 The Family in the Church’s Documents
 Indissolubility of Matrimony and the Joy of Sharing Life Together
 The Truth and Beauty of the Family and Mercy Towards Broken and Fragile Families

Part III
 Confronting the Situation: Pastoral Perspectives

Proclaiming the Gospel of the Family Today in Various Contexts
 Guiding Engaged Couples in Their Preparation for Marriage
 Accompanying Married Couples in the Initial Years of Marriage
 Pastoral Care for Couples Civilly Married or Living Together
 Caring for Wounded Families (Separated, Divorced and Not Remarried, Divorced and Remarried, Single-Parent Families)
 Pastoral Attention towards Persons with Homosexual Tendencies
 The Transmission of Life and the Challenges of the Declining Birthrate
 Upbringing and the Role of the Family in Evangelization

Conclusion

Questions Aimed at a Response to and an In-Depth Examination of the Relatio Synodi

Preliminary Question Applicable to All Sections of the Relatio Synodi

Questions for Part I
 Listening: The Context and the Challenges of the Family

The Socio-Cultural Context
 The Importance of Affectivity in Life
 Pastoral Challenges

Questions for Part II
 Looking at Christ: The Gospel of the Family

Looking at Jesus and the Divine Pedagogy in the History of Salvation
 The Family in the God’s Salvific Plan
 The Family in the Church’s Documents
 Indissolubility of Matrimony and the Joy of Sharing Life Together
 The Truth and Beauty of the Family and Mercy Towards Broken and Fragile Families

Questions for Part III
 Confronting the Situation: Pastoral Perspectives

Proclaiming the Gospel of the Family Today in Various Contexts
 Guiding Engaged Couples in Their Preparation for Marriage
 Accompanying Married Couples in the Initial Years of Marriage
 Pastoral Care for Couples Civilly Married or Living Together
 Caring for Wounded Families (Separated, Divorced and Not Remarried, Divorced and Remarried, Single-Parent Families)
 Pastoral Attention towards Persons with Homosexual Tendencies
 The Transmission of Life and the Challenges of the Declining Birthrate
 Upbringing and the Role of the Family in Evangelization
 

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/schedule-released-for-pope-s-liturgical-celebrations-during-christmas

Schedule Released for Pope's Liturgical Celebrations During Christmas
Vatican City,  December 10, 2014

The Vatican has released Pope Francis' schedule of liturgical celebrations for the Christmas season, Dec. 24 - Jan. 6.

Here below is the schedule:
***
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
Papal Chapel
Vatican Basilica, at 9:30 p.m.
The Holy Father Francis will celebrate Midnight Mass on the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. The Mass will be preceded by the singing of the Kalenda.
* * *
Thursday, December 25, 2014
FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD
Central loggia of the Vatican Basilica, 12 noon
The Holy Father Francis will make give his Christmas message to the world and impart the blessing "Urbi et Orbi."
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/11/pope_we_cant_be_book-keepers_of_gods_love/1114379

Pope: we can't be book-keepers of God's love
11/12/2014 12:34

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday said that God is like a mother, He loves us unconditionally, but too often we want to take control of this grace in a kind of a spiritual book-keeping.

The Pope was speaking during his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta.

Taking his cue from the prophet Isaiah, Pope Francis said that God saves his people not from afar but being close and tender.

“God’s closeness is such that he is presented like a mother, a mother who talks to her baby, and sings lullabies to her baby” The Pope said that the mother even taken on the voice and the language of a child so much so she can seem ridiculous if one does not understand how great the context actually is: ‘Do not fear, you little worm Jacob’. How often – Francis pointed out – does a mother say this kind of thing to her child as she caresses him? ‘I will make of you a threshing sledge, sharp, new, full of teeth… I will make you grow big’ and she caresses him again and holds him close. And so does God. This is God’s tenderness. And He is he expresses his closeness with tenderness: the tenderness of a mother”.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/11/pope_climate_change_an_ethical_and_moral_responsibility/1114382

Pope: Climate Change a serious ethical and moral responsibility
11/12/2014 12:29

(Vatican Radio) The 20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, is currently underway in Lima, Peru. The conference aims to look at the progress being made in the application of this legal guideline.

In his message to Mr. Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, Minister of the Environment of Peru and President-Designate of the Conference or COP 20, Pope Francis expressed his closeness and encouragement, that the work being done at the meeting would be undertaken with an open and generous mind.

He add that what they are discussing affects all humanity, especially the poor and future generations. Even more so, the Pope stressed, it is a serious ethical and moral responsibility.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/to-the-participants-in-the-4th-european-congress-o

To the participants in the 4th European Congress on youth pastoral ministry: “Your task is to sow, but only God can make the seeds grow”

Vatican City, 11 December 2014 (VIS) – “Those of you who work in the field of youth pastoral ministry, carry out valuable work for the Church. The young need this service: both adults and other young people of mature faith who accompany them on their path, helping them to find the road that leads to Christ”, writes the Pope in his message to Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and to the participants in the 4th European Congress on Youth Pastoral Ministry, promoted by the same dicastery and in collaboration with the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe, held in Rome from 11 to 13 December on the theme: “A young Church, witness to the joy of the Gospel”.

“This pastoral ministry consists of walking with them, accompanying them personally in the complex and at times difficult contexts in which they are immersed”, he continues. “Youth pastoral ministry must engage with the questions posed by the youth of today, and from this starting point, initiate a real and honest dialogue to bring Christ into their lives. And a true dialogue in this sense can be achieved by those who experience a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, which then overflows into their relationships with their brethren”.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/11/vatican_announces_consistory_to_create_new_cardinals/1114434

Vatican announces upcoming consistory to create new cardinals
11/12/2014 03:44

(Vatican Radio)  The seventh meeting of the “C9” Council of nine Cardinals tasked with reforming the Vatican curia concludes Thursday.  The director of the Vatican press office , Father Federico Lombardi sj, briefed journalists about what the Cardinals have achieved in their latest meeting. He also announced that a consistory will be held in the Vatican on 14 and 15 February to create new cardinals.

Fr. Lombardi explained that Pope Francis has been participating in the meetings of the nine Cardinals and that the latest session ends today.  At the center of their discussions were the proceedings and comments made at the meeting of heads of Vatican dicasteries last November 24th.

In particular, Fr. Lombardi said the cardinals spoke about the general criteria behind the project of curial reform and specific proposals, including the reorganization and consolidation of some Pontifical Councils. Other themes touched upon concerned the Commission for the protection of minors . The members of the Commission - said Father Lombardi - will probably be about 18 to ensure a broad representation geographically and culturally.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1510/0/new-consistory-offers-francis-another-chance-to-shape-leadership-of-the-church

New consistory offers Francis another chance to shape leadership of the Church
11 December 2014 17:09

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will hold a consistory to name new cardinals early next year.

The event will take place on February 14-15 with the names of those due to receive red hats likely to be announced by Francis around six weeks before.

As cardinals under the age of 80 elect a new Pope, creating new ones is a significant way to shape the leadership of the Church.

There are 112 cardinals under the age of 80 with two more reaching that age before February and another two doing so in March and April.

With the limit for voting age cardinals set at 120 it leaves Francis with the option to give red hats to around 10 to 12 men. He is not, however, restricted to this number and could select more if he wished.

When creating his first batch of cardinals Francis gave red hats to the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, but he also surprised people by naming cardinals for the first time in Haiti and Cotabota, in the Philippines.

Last time the Pope did not name a single American prelate although next year a strong contender will be Archbishop Blase Cupich recently installed in Chicago and seen as a church leader in the mould of Francis.

Others in line for a red hat in America include Archbishops Charles Chaput of Philadelphia – where the Pope is visiting in September – and José Gomez of Los Angeles.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.aleteia.org/en/religion/article/new-synod-document-causes-fresh-controversy-5798958634893312

December 11, 2014
New Synod Document Causes Fresh Controversy

The Vatican published Tuesday a preparatory document for the ordinary synod on the family to take place in Rome in October 4-25, 2015. 

The Lineamenta, which was issued by the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops led by the Secretary General, Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, is essentially comprised of two main parts. Part I contains the Relatio Synodi — the final report — of the extraordinary synod of bishops on the family that took place in October. Its purpose is to help prepare the upcoming working document for the next synod.

Part II of the Lineamenta contains 61 questions expressly referring to aspects in the Relatio. According to the secretariat, the questions are intended “to assist the bishops’ conferences in their reflection and to avoid, in their responses, a formulation of pastoral care based simply on an application of doctrine.” Such reflection, the secretariat maintains, “would not respect the conclusions of the Extraordinary Synodal Assembly and would lead their reflection far from the path already indicated.”

In short, according to a communique issued by the secretariat on Tuesday, the 61 questions are intended “to facilitate the reception of the synodal document and the examination of the themes treated therein.” 

Yet paragraphs 52, 53, and 55 of the Relatio Synodi — which are included in Part I of the Lineamenta — were rejected by the Synod Fathers in October as they did not receive the required two-thirds majority.

According to past practice, they would have been struck from the document, but Pope Francis asked that they be left in the final report, along with a record of the votes they received.

In early November, at the launch of the German edition of Remaining in the Truth of Christ, a book arguing against Cardinal Walter Kasper’s proposal on admitting civilly remarried divorcees to Communion, Cardinal Raymond Burke — then Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura — told Aleteia that those three paragraphs should “absolutely” have been removed from the document.

“We couldn’t have any discussion on that text," Cardinal Burke said, "but we voted paragraph by paragraph, and what’s the point of voting paragraph by paragraph except to either accept a paragraph of have it removed? This is just one more disturbing aspect about the way in which Synod of Bishops was conducted."

Given the synodal Fathers’ rejection of paragraphs 52, 53 and 55, sources close to the Vatican who wish to remain anonymous have questioned the wisdom of including questions about them in Part II of the Lineamenta.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/attempt-to-divide-doctrine-and-pastoral-practice-is-a-subtle-heresy-vatican

Attempt to divide doctrine and pastoral practice is a ‘subtle heresy’: Vatican’s doctrine chief
Wed Dec 10, 2014 - 3:50 pm EST

The attempt to separate the Catholic Church’s teaching from her practice is “heresy” according to the Vatican’s highest doctrinal official.

“Each division between ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ of the faith would be a reflection of a subtle Christological ‘heresy,’” Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told a recent gathering of the International Theological Commission. Such a division could only be the result of “a division in the mystery of the eternal Word of the Father, who became flesh.”

Muller’s remarks were published earlier this month by the Vatican’s own newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

It has always been the teaching of Christianity that “knowledge of God” is ordered to “the ultimate end of man, for man’s salvation,” Müller said, citing the First Vatican Council in the 19th century. There can never be “a gap or a conflict between the understanding of faith and pastoral or practice of the lived faith.” Therefore, all “authentic theology” grows out of and remains consistent with the “theory.”

“You could say that the whole theological thinking, all our scientific investigations always have a profound pastoral dimension. Both the dogmatic, moral or other theological disciplines always have their own pastoral dimension,” Müller said. 

The Christian faith “is not an irrational one,” he said. Theology “examines, in a rational discourse on faith, harmony and consistency of the various intrinsic truths of faith, which spring from the only foundation of the revelation of the Triune God.” Nor is theology “a pure speculation or theory detached from the life of believers.”

As prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Church’s highest doctrinal authority under the pope, Cardinal Müller has been one of the principal opponents of the proposal by Cardinal Walter Kasper and the German Catholic bishops to change the practice of the Church to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the Sacraments without a change in their lives.

Catholic teaching holds that marriage is an unbreakable bond, and thus the Church does not recognize the existence of divorce. Such people, therefore, are understood to be in a state of continuous, unrepentant adultery, a mortal sin that bars them from receiving Communion or the other sacraments.

The pressure to allow this change has grown out of Germany, where thousands of people in “irregular unions” every year are opting out of the government-sponsored Church tax for which the German Catholic Church relies for the vast majority of its income. At October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops, the push was expanded from allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion, to “accepting and valuing” the homosexual “orientation.”
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-urges-syriac-catholic-bishops-to-coordinate-e

Pope urges Syriac Catholic bishops to coordinate efforts to meet humanitarian needs
2014-12-12 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with the Patriarch, bishops and faithful of the Syriac Catholic Church on Friday, urging them to coordinate their efforts with the other Churches in the Middle East and seek to meet the humanitarian needs of the people affected by the violence and unrest in the region.

The Patriarch, His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, was accompanied to the meeting by the bishops of the Syriac Catholic Church, who held their annual Synod in Rome this week, as well as members of the faithful. 

In his remarks, the Pope extended his greetings to the Eastern Catholic “communities scattered throughout the world” and expressed his “encouragement, in particular to those of Iraq and Syria, who are living times of great suffering and fear in the face of violence.” He also assured them of his prayers.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/12/pope_salvationists_meet_catholics_at_peripheries_of_society/1114570

Pope says Salvationists and Catholics meet at peripheries of society
12/12/2014 04:00



(Vatican Radio) In a first private audience in the Vatican with a Salvation Army general on Friday, Pope Francis said theological differences do not impede the witness of a shared love of God and neighbour. He also spoke of his first encounter, as a 4-year old, with Salvation Army officers which, he said, stirred in him a sense of ecumenical outreach beyond the teachings of the Catholic Church in that era.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-sends-message-to-meeting-of-nobel-peace-laure

Pope sends message to meeting of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome
2014-12-12 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent “cordial greetings” to the participants of the 14th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, which opened in Rome on Friday.

The pontiff sent his greetings in a message, signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.

“His Holiness is deeply grateful for the commitment of the Summit participants to promoting peace and fraternity among peoples, and for their efforts in finding solutions to the conflicts of our day,” reads the message.

The three-day meeting, which was initially to be held in South Africa but was relocated to Rome, is expected to honour late South African president Nelson Mandela, “whose legacy of non-violence and reconciliation continues to inspire the world,” reads the  message.

Cardinal Parolin assured summit participants that “Pope Francis prays that all present may be renewed and encouraged in their urgent work, and that their labours may bear an abundant harvest of peace for the world.”

Read the full message below:
 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/dalai-lama-pope-francis_n_6312012.html
Dalai Lama Says Pope Francis Unwilling To Meet Because 'It Could Cause Problems'
Posted:  12/11/2014 6:37 pm EST    Updated:  12/11/2014 6:59 pm EST