Pope Francis

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-to-large-families-you-are-a-gift-to-s

Pope Francis to large families: you are a gift to society
2014-12-28 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Sunday that “in a world often marred by selfishness, a large family is a role model for solidarity and sharing and this benefits the whole of society.” The Pope’s remarks came during an address to a gathering of around 7,000 people belonging to an Italian association for large families.

Speaking to the families and their children, Pope Francis said he was pleased to meet them, saying it was clear that they “love the family and they love life.”  “Each of your children”, he said, “was wanted by God” and it amazes us “how great a miracle is a child.” A child is somebody who changes our life.  He also underlined the important role played by grandparents, saying they can not only provide practical support but above all can help the parents pass down to their children their faith.
 

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-address-to-the-italian-association-of-large-families
Pope Francis' Address to the Italian Association of Large Families
Vatican City,  December 28, 2014

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-angelus-my-thoughts-with-those-from-missin

Pope at Angelus: my thoughts with those from missing plane
2014-12-28 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Sunday that “his thoughts are with those on board the missing AirAsia plane that disappeared during a flight between Indonesia and Singapore.”  He added he was also thinking of two separate accidents involving two merchant ships and a ferry in the Adriatic Sea.  “I am close with my affection and prayer,” the Pope said, to the families and loved ones who are undergoing “these difficult situations with apprehension and suffering” and also to those involved in the rescue operations. His words of solidarity came at the end of his Angelus address on the feast of the Holy Family in which he spoke about how the light coming from the Holy Family encourages us to offer human warmth and where he also stressed the important role played by grandparents in the family setting.


http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-angelus-address-on-the-feast-of-the-holy-family
Pope's Angelus Address: On the Feast of the Holy Family
Vatican City,  December 28, 2014

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http://www.news.va/en/news/francis-visit-to-naples-to-begin-in-pompeii

Francis' visit to Naples to begin in Pompeii

Vatican City, 29 December 2014 (VIS) – Pompeii will be the first port of call on Pope Francis' trip to the Italian region of Campania. On 21 March the Holy Father will begin his pilgrimage to Naples, starting from the statue dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary in Pompeii, according to the prelate archbishop and pontifical delegate of the shrine, Tommaso Caputo, who added that the Pope's visit constitutes an event of extraordinary ecclesial importance.

“The filial and tender Marian devotion that the Pope continues to show is also at the root of the Church of Pompeii's strong commitment towards the humblest and neediest among us”, explained the prelate. “Today, more than ever before, the motivating forces of charity, intimately linked to the needs of justice and respect for the dignity of every person, are strongly felt. Aside from our joy for his visit, we hope that Pope Francis will show us the path to take to be even closer to and more united with our people”.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-sends-message-to-taize-ecumenical-eve

Pope Francis sends message to Taizé ecumenical event in Prague
2014-12-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says he is praying for the success of the Taizé Community’s ecumenical meeting from 29 December to 2 January in Prague.

In a message to young people from around the globe gathered in the capital of the Czech Republic, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin says that through prayer and reciprocal dialogue, they are attempting to be “the salt of the earth” and the Pope encourages them in their efforts towards greater communion.

He reassures them that as they strive for this goal, they should not be overwhelmed by their “limitations and their poverty.”

Pope Francis recalls that the Czech Republic is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its “return to democracy” and invites young people in Prague to remember in their prayers the men and women martyrs who “sometimes at the cost of great suffering” gave freely of themselves so that their country would regain its freedom.
 

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Two interesting articles about the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family which took place in October, 2014 and the preparation for the 2015 Ordinary Synod on the Family.

http://www.firstthings.com/article/2015/01/between-two-synods

Between Two Synods
An analysis of the challenge of this particular Catholic moment
by George Weigel
January 2015

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/synod-questionnaire-not-designed-for-laity/

Synod ‘Questionnaire’ Not Designed for Laity
NEWS ANALYSIS: Bishops must avoid basic errors when consulting lay people about the Synod on the Family. 
by PATRICK KENNY 12/29/2014

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Cardinal Reinhard Marx is a member of the Council of Cardinals for Pope Francis.

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1570/0/bishops-seek-way-for-remarried-divorcees-to-receive-communion

Bishops seek way for remarried divorcees to receive Communion
29 December 2014 13:24


Above: Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, Germany, coordinator of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy, arrives for the opening session of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican. Photo: CNS photo/Paul Haring

The great majority of German bishops would like to see remarried divorcees being allowed to receive the Sacraments under certain specified circumstances.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who presented the findings of a special working group in the German bishops’ conference on the subject in Bonn on 22 December, described divorce and remarriage as “often the beginning of a process of alienation from the Church”.

The president of the German bishops’ conference went on: “The search for a theologically responsible and pastorally appropriate accompaniment for Catholics whose marriages have broken down and who have married again in a register office is a pressing challenge for the Church worldwide.”
 
The German bishops would like to see the findings used as guidelines in the current nationwide preparations for next October’s follow-up Synod on the Family at the Vatican.

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-message-for-2015-world-day-of-the-sic

Pope Francis’ message for 2015 World Day of the Sick
2014-12-30 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The theme of Pope Francis’s message for the World Day of Sick being celebrated on 11 February 2015 is “I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame,” taken from the book of Job.

Please find below the English translation of the full text of the Pope’s message:

Sapientia Cordis
“I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame”
(Job 29:15)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On this, the twenty-third World Day of the Sick, begun by Saint John Paul II, I turn to all of you who are burdened by illness and are united in various ways to the flesh of the suffering Christ, as well as to you, professionals and volunteers in the field of health care.

This year’s theme invites us to reflect on a phrase from the Book of Job: “I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame” (Job 29:15).  I would like to consider this phrase from the perspective of “sapientia cordis” – the wisdom of the heart.

1.            This “wisdom” is no theoretical, abstract knowledge, the product of reasoning.  Rather, it is, as Saint James describes it in his Letter, “pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity” (3:17).  It is a way of seeing things infused by the Holy Spirit in the minds and the hearts of those who are sensitive to the sufferings of their brothers and sisters and who can see in them the image of God.  So let us take up the prayer of the Psalmist: “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Ps 90:12).  This “sapientia cordis”, which is a gift of God, is a compendium of the fruits of the World Day of the Sick.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/church-recalls-violent-deaths-of-pastoral-workers

Church recalls violent deaths of pastoral workers in 2014
2014-12-31 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  2014 was a grim year for the number of Church workers around the world killed by violence or the deadly Ebola virus. In its annual report, Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, states that 26 pastoral workers were killed – 3 more than in the previous year.

The Fides report for years has centered on religious killed around the world but recently, it has focused on all church workers “who died violently.”

According to Fides, 17 priests, one religious brother, six religious women, a seminarian and a lay person were killed in 2014 – many during robberies characterized by particular “brutality and ferociousness” indicating they stemmed from intolerance and “economic and cultural poverty.”

For the sixth year running, the majority – 14 - were killed in the Americas, followed by Africa, Asia, Oceania and Europe. Over the last ten years (2004-2013) 230 pastoral workers were killed, three of them bishops.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/number-of-catholics-growing-throughout-the-world

Number of Catholics growing throughout the world
2014-12-31 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  The number of Catholics in the world has increased with growth registered across all five continents. The figures are taken by the Fides news agency from the latest edition of the Church’s Book of Statistics updated to 31 December 2012. These show that on that date the number of Catholics in the world stood at 1,228,621,000 with an overall increase of more than 15,000,000 compared to the previous year. The Americas and Africa registered the biggest increases followed by Asia, Europe and Oceania. The world percentage of Catholics stood at 17.49 %, a decrease of 0.01% compared to the end of 2011.

The total number of priests in the world increased by 895 to 414,313.  Europe once again registered the largest decrease (-1,375) followed by the Americas (-90) and Oceania (-80). In Africa the number of priests grew by 1,076 and in Asia by 1,364.

There was an overall decrease in the number of women religious worldwide, whose numbers dropped by 10,677 to 702,529. Once again Africa and Asia showed increases whilst Europe and the Americas showed the biggest decrease in the number of women religious.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/solemn-year-end-vespers-in-st-peters

Solemn year-end Vespers in St Peter's
2014-12-31 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday celebrated First Vespers for the Octave of Christmas and the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. The liturgy at the close of the year included the singing of the Te Deum and Solemn Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

In his homily during the liturgy, the Holy Father spoke about the meaning of time, noting that time is not something alien from God, Who has chosen to reveal Himself and to save us in history, in time. “The meaning of time, of temporality,” he said, “is the manifestation of the mystery God and of His concrete love for us.”
 

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-homily-at-vespers-on-eve-of-new-year
Pope's Homily at Vespers on Eve of New Year
Vatican City,  December 31, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zEP5X6aaTQ
Celebration of the Vespers and the Te Deum - 2014.12.31
Streamed live on Dec 31, 2014

Starts at 5:00PM - Pope Francis presides over the First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the "Te Deum" hymn in thanksgiving for the past year.

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Video at the link

http://www.news.va/en/news/homily-for-the-solemnity-of-mary-the-mother-of-god

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God
2015-01-01 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) On January 1, the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, Pope Francis celebrated Solemn Mass in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

Below, please find the complete text of the Pope’s homily for the Mass:

Today we are reminded of the words of blessing which Elizabeth spoke to the Virgin Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (Lk 1:42-43).

This blessing is in continuity with the priestly blessing which God had given to Moses to be passed on to Aaron and to all the people: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Num 6:24-26). In celebrating the Solemnity of Mary the Most Holy Mother of God, the Church reminds us that Mary, more than anyone else, received this blessing. In her the blessing finds fulfilment, for no other creature has ever seen God’s face shine upon it as did Mary. She gave a human face to the eternal Word, so that all of us can contemplate him.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-angelus-fix-your-gaze-on-mary-the-mother-o

Pope at Angelus: fix your gaze on Mary the Mother of God
2015-01-01 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) In his Angelus address on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God - which is also observed as World Day of Peace - Pope Francis called on us "to fix our gaze of faith and of love on the Mother of Jesus."

Below, please find the complete text of Pope Francis' address at the Angelus on Thursday:

Dear brothers and sisters,

On this first day of the year, in the joyful atmosphere of Christmas, the Church invites us to fix our gaze of faith and of love on the Mother of Jesus. In her, the humble woman of Nazareth, “the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). Because of this it is impossible to separate contemplation of Jesus, the Word of life Who is made visible and tangible (cf. 1 Jn 1:1), from contemplation of Mary, who has given Him her love and her human flesh.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/popes-peace-day-message-highlights-work-of-sisters

Pope's Peace Day message highlights work of sisters against human trafficking
2015-01-01 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) On January 1st each year the Church marks the World Day of Peace, a tradition begun by Pope Paul VI who held the first such observance in January 1968. This year Pope Francis has chosen to focus his second World Peace Day message on the theme of modern slavery and trafficking, with the title “Slaves no more, but Brothers and Sisters”. 

The annual message is drawn up with the help of the Pontifical Justice and Peace Council, whose officials present the message at a press conference in December. Given the pioneering work that religious women around the world have been doing to combat trafficking, speakers presenting this year’s message also included sisters who’ve been on the front line of the Church’s battle against slavery for the past two decades.
 

http://www.news.va/en/news/what-pope-francis-message-on-human-trafficking-mea
What Pope Francis' message on human trafficking means to Africa
2015-01-01 Vatican Radio

Today, 1 January 2015, people all over the world are celebrating the New Year. However, 1st January is also designated as, ‘World Day of Peace.’ This year, Pope Francis has a special message which resonates with Africa: “No Longer Slaves But Brothers and Sisters.”

Pope Francis uses the letter of St. Paul to Philemon to launch his message on the meaning of true brotherhood and sisterhood. Modern day slavery goes against the notion of fraternity. In his homily this morning, the Pope prayed and re-echoed his message when he said, “All of us are called to be free, all are called to be sons and daughters and each, according to his or her own responsibilities, is called to combat modern forms of enslavement.  From every people, culture and religion, let us join our forces,” Said Pope Francis.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-message-to-brazilians-as-rio-marks-450th-anniversary

Pope's Message to Brazilians as Rio Marks 450th Anniversary
Vatican City,  January 02, 2015

Here is a translation of the text of a video-message Pope Francis sent to the people of Brazil, on the occasion of the celebrations of the New Year and for the beginning of the celebrations of the 450th anniversary of the foundation of Rio de Janeiro. The video was projected just before midnight on New Year's Eve on giant screens set up on Copacabana beach.
* * *
Dear Brazilian People,

I address you with great joy, on the eve of the New Year that will mark the beginning of the celebrations for the 450 years of the foundation of the city of Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro, to greet, in such a happy circumstance, the beloved Carioca people who welcomed me with open arms on the occasion of the 2013 World Youth Day, and to light the new illumination system of the statue of Christ [of Corcovado], as Blessed Pope Paul VI did 50 years ago, which symbolizes the light that the Lord wants to light in our lives.
 

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The link to the official Vatican English translation includes photos and a video of the event

January 2, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/roccopalmo

Rocco Palmo @roccopalmo 
  ·  10h 10 hours ago   
The official record – Vatican releases its English translation of Pope's Christmas chidings to the Curia: http://bit.ly/1xB5xRa

http://m.vatican.va/content/francescomobile/en/speeches/2014/december/documents/papa-francesco_20141222_curia-romana.html

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-renews-call-for-peace-at-sunday-angelus

Pope renews call for peace at Sunday Angelus
2015-01-04 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) At his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Francis again returned to the theme of peace building. “My hope,” he said, “is that the exploitation of man by man would be overcome.”

He said, “Each person, and every people hungers and thirsts for peace; therefore, it is necessary and urgent to build peace!”

Pope Francis re-iterated that peace is always possible, and said that we are all called “called to rekindle in our hearts an impulse of hope, that should result in concrete works of peace, reconciliation, and fraternity.” Each one of us, the Holy Father said, “can accomplish gestures of fraternity in dealing with one’s neighbour, especially with those who are tried by family tensions or by disagreements of different kinds.” He continued, “These small gestures have great value: they can be the seeds that give hope, they can open paths and prospects of peace.”

Below, please find the complete text of the Pope’s Angelus address on Sunday:
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-announces-names-of-new-cardinals

Pope announces names of new Cardinals
2015-01-04 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis announced the names of fifteen Archbishops and Bishops whom he will raise to the dignity of the Cardinalate on February 14, 2015. In addition, the Holy Father announced that five retired Archbishops and Bishops “distinguished for their pastoral charity in the service of the Holy See and of the Church” would also be made Cardinals.
 
“The new Cardinals are:

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Archbishiop Manuel José Macario do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon (Portugal)

Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, C.M., of Addis Abeba (Ethiopia)

Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington (New Zealand)

Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo (Italy)

Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Nhon of Hà Nôi (Viêt Nam)

Archbishop Alberto Suàrez Inda of Morelia (Mexico)

Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon (Myanmar)

Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok (Thailand)

Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento (Italy)

Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., of Montevideo (Uruguay)

Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Vallodolid (Spain)

Bishop José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, O.A.R., of David (Panamá)

Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, of Santiago de Cabo Verde (Archipelago of Cape Verde)

Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga (Island of Tonga)

“Additionally, I will join to the Members of the College of Cardinals five Archbishops and Bishops Emeriti who are distinguished for their pastoral charity in the service of the Holy See and of the Church. They represent so many Bishops who, with the same pastoral solicitude, have given witness of love for Christ and for the people of God in particular Churches, in the Rome Curia, and in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See.

“They are:

José de Jesús Pimiento Rodriguez, Archbishop Emeritus of Manizales

Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, Major Pro-Penitentiary Emeritus

Archbishop Karl-Joseph Rauber, Apostolic Nuncio

Luis Héctor Villaba, Archbishop Emeritus of Tucumán

Júlio Duarte Langa, Bishop Emeritus of Xai-Xai

“Let us pray for the new Cardinals, that, renewed in their love for Christ, they might be witnesses of His Gospel in the City of Rome and in the world, and with their pastoral experience they might support me more intensely in my apostolic service.”

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http://www.news.va/en/news/fr-lombardi-note-on-new-cardinals

Fr Lombardi: Note on new Cardinals
2015-01-04 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, head of the Holy See Press Office, has published the following "notes" on the new Cardinals, whose names were announced by Pope Francis at the Angelus on Sunday:

With respect to the number of 120 electors, there were 12 places “open” in the College today or in the coming months. The Pope has slightly exceeded this number, but remained very close to it, such that it is substantially respected.

The most evident criteria is evidently that of universality. Fourteen different countries are represented, including some that do not currently have a Cardinal, and some that have never had one. If the retired Archbishops and Bishops are counted, eighteen countries are represented. There are no new Cardinals from North America (the USA or Canada) because they already have a significant number, and that number has remained stable during the past year. (There is a new Mexican Cardinal).

The presence of countries that have never had a Cardinal (Capo Verde, Tonga, Myanmar) is noteworthy. These countries have ecclesial communities that are small or that represent a minority within their country. (The Bishop of Tonga is the President of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific; the Diocese of Santiago de Cabo Verde is one of the most ancient African Dioceses; the Diocese of Morelia in Mexico is in a region troubled by violence.)

The fact that only one of the new Cardinals is from the Roman Curia is also notable, while “Roman” Cardinals remain about a quarter of the electors. It is evident that the Pope intends to consider the posts of Prefects of the Congregations and of some other very important institutions within the Curia – as, in this case, the Tribunal of the Signatura – as Cardinalatial posts.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-epiphany-mass-and-angelus

Pope Francis: Epiphany Mass and Angelus
2015-01-06 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Tuesday in St. Peter’s Basilica, to mark the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. In his homily, Pope Francis focused on the three Wise Men of whose journey to meet and worship the newborn Christ the day’s Gospel reading, taken from the Gospel according to St Matthew, recounts.

“The wise men,” said Pope Francis, “are models of conversion to the true faith, since they believed more in the goodness of God than in the apparent splendour of power.”

They were not without their trials and tribulations along their way, though even in the face of great temptation – by worldly wisdom, riches and power, and by simple human frailty – the Magi never failed in faith. “Led by the Spirit,” explained the Holy Father, “they come to realize that God’s criteria are quite different from those of men, that God does not manifest Himself in the power of this world, but speaks to us in the humbleness of his love.”
 

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-epiphany-homily-2015
Pope Francis: Epiphany homily 2015
2015-01-06 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday, January 6th, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks.
**********************************
Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
6 January 2015

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/top-vatican-official-washington-nyc-likely-stops-on-papal-trip-82648/

Top Vatican Official: Washington, NYC likely stops on papal trip

Vatican City, Jan 6, 2015 / 05:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Although it’s still not official, the Vatican’s Secretary of State confirmed today that Pope Francis will most likely visit Washington D.C. and New York during his visit to the United States.
 
“I think the Pope will go to United Nations, everybody is speaking about that… but no official announcement has been delivered,” Cardinal Parolin told CNA Jan. 6.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, spoke to American journalists at the end of the dedication ceremony for a new wing of the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
 
He added that “of course” a papal visit to the nation’s capital city of Washington, D.C. is possibly in the agenda, but he stressed that “no official confirmation has been made.”
 
Pope Francis announced his trip to the United States on Nov. 17 in an address to members of the “Humanum Conference.” During his visit, the pontiff will participate in the Sept. 22-27 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Although Cardinal Parolin hesitated to make an official confirmation, there has been speculation that the Roman Pontiff will make stops in both Washington D.C. and the headquarters of the United Nations in New York while he is in the U.S.

The Holy See’s permanent ******* to the U.N. in New York, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, strongly hinted last fall that a visit to the United Nations would be added to his stop in Philadelphia.
 
Details of the Pope’s participation in the Philadelphia meeting of families will likely be set either this spring or summer, and then made public together with the overall schedule of the papal voyage to the United States.
 
Pope Francis’ visit comes after the restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, which was achieved thanks to the pontiff’s intervention, as acknowledged by both U.S. president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro.
 
Asked if the normalization of Cuba – U.S. relations points toward a new “golden age” of Vatican diplomacy, Cardinal Parolin said that “the president of the United States has already thanked the Pope for the support he has given to this important step,” and stressed that “Holy See diplomacy is always there, to help to build bridges.”
 
Cardinal Parolin also mentioned that perhaps the Holy See’s diplomacy “is now more active…(not only) waiting, but also proposing (solutions for peace), since there are so many conflicts.”