Pope Francis

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-religion-should-not-be-confined-to-pe

Pope Francis: religion should not be confined to 'personal conscience'
2015-04-18 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio)  The orderly development of "a civil, pluralistic society requires” that the “authentic spirit of religion” not be “confined” to “personal conscience but that its significant role in the construction of society is recognized,” said Pope Francis in his remarks to the Italian president.

Pope Francis met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Vatican Saturday morning. It was their first meeting since the president's election on 3 February.

“The Church offers everyone the beauty of the Gospel and its message of salvation and, to carry out its spiritual mission, it needs conditions of peace and calm, which only public authorities can promote,” the pope said, reflecting on the collaborative relationship between the Holy See and the Italian state, as defined by the Lateran Pacts and the Italian Constitution.

“On the other hand, public authorities—who are primarily expected to create the conditions for a  just and sustainable development, so that civil society can develop all its potentialities—can find a valuable and useful support for their action in the commitment and loyal collaboration of the Church,” he said.

Though independent, church and state share “the common responsibility” of meeting people’s “spiritual and physical needs…with humility and dedication,” he said.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-human-trafficking-is-a-plague-on-huma

Pope Francis: ‘Human Trafficking is A Plague on Humanity’
2015-04-18 Vatican Radio



Pope Francis met this afternoon with the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences who are in Rome for their plenary session to discuss ways to combat human trafficking.

Following a greeting by the Academy’s President, Margaret Archer, the Pope welcomed the members and expressed his gratitude for their work in finding new ways to eradicate all new forms of slavery in the world.

Drawing from the Beatitudes, the Holy Father noted that those who suffer from forms of modern slavery, such as forced labor, prostitution and organ trafficking are the “least among us” and that all men and women of good will are called to renew their commitment in improving the human condition.

However, he also said that the current economic system, one domineered by profit, has allowed for these new forms of slavery to develop in a way that is “worse and more inhumane” than those of the past.

“We must be more aware of this new evil that, in a global world, wants to hide it because it is scandalous and “politically incorrect,” he said.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/19/pope_calls_on_christians_to_give_witness/1138060

Pope calls on Christians to give witness
19/04/2015 17:55

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called upon everyone to give witness to the risen Christ during the Regina Coeli prayer on  Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.

Reflecting on the readings of the day, Pope Francis said that the Church has the task of continuing during our time the mission of being witnesses with words and actions, that Jesus is risen and present among us.

He continued by saying that the contents of our witness is not a theory, an ideology, but a message of salvation, a concrete event, a person: the risen Christ.

Pope Francis added that Christ can be witnessed by those who have had a personal experience of him in prayer and in the Church through the sacraments and continual return to confession.
 
He said that a witness is more believable when it “shines” through by living the Gospel joyously, courageously, mildly, peacefully and with mercy.
 
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/regina-coeli-on-being-witnesses-to-the-risen-christ
Regina Coeli: On Being Witnesses to the Risen Christ
Vatican City,  April 19, 2015  (Zenit.org)   | 640 hits

Here is the translation of Pope Francis' address before and after the recitation of the Regina Coeli to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/19/pope_appeals_to_the_world_to_act_to_avoid_more_tragedies_of_/1138034

Pope appeals to the world to act to avoid more tragedies of migrants
19/04/2015 14:25

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed to the international community to take swift and decisive action to avoid more tragedies of migrants seeking a better life.

His heartfelt cry to the world came following news of the sinking of yet another boat carrying migrants in the Mediterranean Sea in which it is feared 700 people may be dead.

The Pope was speaking on Sunday morning after the Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square, where he told tens of thousands of people “They are men and women like us, our brothers seeking a better life, starving, persecuted, wounded, exploited, victims of war. They were looking for a better life".

Faced with such a tragedy – Pope Francis continued - I express my most heartfelt pain and promise to remember the victims and their families in prayer.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-avoid-the-temptation-of-transforming-faith-in

Pope: avoid the temptation of transforming faith into earthly power
2015-04-20 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) May the witness of the martyrs help us to avoid the temptation of transforming our faith into power. Those were Pope Francis’ words during his homily at the morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Monday, as he reflected on the Gospel story of the crowds who come searching for Jesus following the multiplication of the loaves and the fishes.

Noting that the crowds came looking for Jesus, not out of a sense of religious awe and adoration, but rather for their own material interests, Pope Francis said when we take advantage of faith and are tempted towards power, we run the risk of failing to understand the true mission of Our Lord.

We see this attitude repeatedly in the Gospels, he said, where so many people follow Jesus out of their own interests. Even his own apostles, the Pope said, like the sons of Zebedee who wanted the jobs of “prime minster and finance minister”, they wanted to have power. Instead of bringing to the poor the Good News that Jesus came to free prisoners, to give sight to the blind and freedom to the oppressed, we are tempted to transform this message of healing into a tool of power and to take advantage of our encounter with Jesus.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-conference-of-european-rabbis

Pope Francis meets Conference of European Rabbis
2015-04-20 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Jewish Catholic relations were under the spotlight in the Vatican on Monday as Pope Francis met with a delegation from the Conference of European Rabbis. The conference represents more than 700 Rabbis from synagogues across the continent and is focused on defending the religious rights of Jews in Europe today.

In his words to the Rabbis, Pope Francis recalled the legacy of Rome’s former Chief Rabbi Elio Toaff who died on Sunday just days before marking his 100th birthday. Recalling his historic first encounter with Pope John Paul II in 1986, Pope Francis said we gratefully remember him as a man of peace and dialogue.

The Pope also looked ahead to this October’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the document Nostra Aetate which marked a turning point in relations between Catholics and Jews. While this landmark text remains the reference point for all joint efforts, the Pope said it’s more important than ever today to emphasis the spiritual and religious dimension of life in Europe, which is increasingly marked by secularism and threatened by atheism. Jews and Christians together, he said, have the responsibility of preserving a sense of the sacred and reminding people that our lives are a gift from God.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/21/pope_the_church_today_is_a_church_of_martyrs/1138473

Pope: the Church today is a Church of martyrs
21/04/2015 13:41

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis today said that “ours is a Church of martyrs”.

Speaking during morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta the Pope recalled the many Christians who are currently being persecuted and killed for their faith.

Drawing inspiration from the First Reading of the Act of the Apostles which tells of the stoning and martyrdom of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, the Pope remembered “our brothers whose throats have been slit on the beaches of Libya”, he spoke of “the young boy who was burnt alive by his companions because he was Christian”, he recalled “the migrants who were thrown from their boat into open sea” because, they too, were Christians.

Martyrs – Pope Francis said – do not need “other bread”, their only bread is Jesus, and Stephen – he explained – did not have the need to negotiate or find a compromise with those who put him to death.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/vatican-and-unicef-to-work-together-for-disadvanta

Vatican and UNICEF to work together for disadvantaged youth
2015-04-21 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) The Vatican and the United Nations Children’s Fund on Tuesday signed an agreement aimed at working more closely together to reach out to some of the most disadvantaged young people in the world.

The executive director of UNICEF, Anthony Lake, met with Pope Francis at the Casa Santa Marta to sign the agreement of cooperation with Scholas Occurrentes, an organization launched by the Pope during his time as archbishop of Buenos Aires. The initiative uses sports, technology and art to promote social integration and a culture of encounter amongst disadvantaged young people.

A second agreement was also signed between Scholas Occurrentes and  the South American Football Confederation [CONMEBOL]  By working closely together, these organizations aim to “provide adolescents with the tools, information and comprehension they need to become citizens who can participate fully in their societies and in the world.” Young people between the ages of 10 and 19 years old represent about 20% of the world’s population. The majority of them live in developing countries.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/the-popes-sorrow-over-ethiopian-copts-assassinated

The Pope's sorrow over Ethiopian Copts assassinated in Libya, and for all persecuted Christians - Ongoing martyrdom
2015-04-21 L’Osservatore Romano

In a message sent to H.H. Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church,

Pope Francis expressed “consternation and sorrow” for the countless events of “shocking violence perpetrated against innocent Christians in Libya”, following the dissemination of a video which showed the barbaric killing of 28 Ethiopian Coptic Christians.

“I know that your Holiness is suffering deeply in heart and mind, in view of your faithful, killed for the sole reason of being followers of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I address my heartfelt spiritual solidarity to you, to assure you of my closeness in prayer amid the ongoing martyrdom being inflicted in so cruel a manner upon Christians in Africa, in the Middle East and in some regions of Asia”, Francis wrote.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-of-bishop-robert-w-finn-85976/

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn


Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph

Vatican City, Apr 21, 2015 / 04:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph has resigned, nearly two and a half years after being the first U.S. bishop convicted of a misdemeanor in failing to report suspected child abuse by a priest in his diocese.

The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis’ acceptance of Bishop Finn’s resignation according to Canon 104 Article 2 in the Code of Canon Law in an April 21 statement, released at noon local time.

Article 2 of Canon 104, according to the Vatican’s website, refers to a situation when “a diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office.”

Finn's resignation will take effect immediately, and although he will still be a bishop, he will no longer lead a diocese. It is up to Pope Francis to choose his successor.

The brief Vatican statement gave no word as to what Bishop Finn will do following his resignation.

Last September, two years after Bishop Finn’s trial and guilty verdict, an archbishop held a visitation on behalf of the Vatican and met with Bishop Finn.

The reasons for the visitation were not revealed, however some reports indicate that the visitation was intended to evaluate the bishop’s leadership of his diocese.

In September 2012, Bishop Finn, now 62, was convicted on a misdemeanor count of failure to report suspected child abuse after he and his diocese failed to report that lewd images of children had been found on a laptop belonging to Fr. Shawn Ratigan, a priest of the diocese, in December 2010.
 

[grace-land]

Hmmm...has canon 401, paragraph 2 been revised recently, and is it being applied for the first time--against this bishop??

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/21/pope_francis_accepts_resignation_of_bishop_robert_finn/1138390

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Robert Finn
21/04/2015 10:21

(Vatican Radio) The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Kansas City – St Joseph (USA), in conformity with canon 401, paragraph 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
 

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/04/21/catholic-bishop-of-kansas-city-convicted-of-failure-to-report-child-abuse-resigns/
Catholic bishop of Kansas City convicted of failure to report child abuse resigns
By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor | April 21, 2015

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1501711.htm
Apr-21-2015
Pope accepts resignation of Bishop Finn

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-our-vocation-is-to-care-for-the-covenant-of-m

Pope: our vocation is to care for the covenant of marriage
2015-04-22 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) At his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, focussing again on the complementarity of men and women.

Pope Francis commented on the second account of the creation of man in Genesis (following his commentary at the previous audience on the first account of man’s creation. The first man, Adam, is created “alone” – and God determines to make for him “a helper suited to him.” When the first woman is presented to the man, he recognizes in her “bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” Finally there is a mirroring, a reciprocity,” the Pope said. “The woman is not a ‘replica’ of the man; she comes directly from the creative act of God. The image of the ‘rib’ does not in any way express inferiority or subordination, but on the contrary, that man and woman are of the same substance and are complementary.”

God is generous to the man and the woman, confiding the care of the earth to them. But, the Pope said, the “evil one” introduced “suspicion, disbelief, and mistrust” in their minds – and ultimately led them into the first sin.

“The sin generates distrust and division between the man and the woman,” Pope Francis said. “Their relationship will be undermined by a thousand kinds of abuse and subjugation, of deceitful seduction and demeaning humiliations, up to the most dramatic and violent.” He spoke about “the negative excesses of patriarchal cultures… the multiple forms of ‘machismo’… the instrumentalization and commodification of the female body in the current media culture.” But he also warned about “the recent epidemic of distrust, of scepticism, and even of hostility that is spreading throughout our culture – in particular stemming from an understandable diffidence on the part of women – regarding a covenant between man and woman at once of achieving the intimacy of communion and of safeguarding the dignity of difference.”
 
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/general-audience-on-man-and-woman-as-companions
General Audience: On Man and Woman as Companions
Vatican City,  April 22, 2015

Here is a translation of the address Pope Francis gave at this morning’s general audience in St. Peter’s Square.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-on-earth-day-no-to-exploitation-of-planet

Pope on Earth Day: no to exploitation of planet
2015-04-22 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed to mankind not manipulate or exploit the planet.

Speaking at the end of the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square the Pope noted that on April 22 we celebrate Earth Day.

“I exhort everyone to see the world through the eyes of God the Creator: the earth is an environment to be safeguarded, a garden to be cultivated” he said.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-visit-cuba-in-september

Pope to visit Cuba in September
2015-04-22 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Cuba ahead of his visit to the United States in September 2015.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Father Lombardi said, "I am able to confirm that the Holy Father Francis, having received and accepted the invitation from the civil authorities and bishops of Cuba, has decided to pay a visit to the island before his arrival in the United States for the trip announced some time ago."

The visit to Cuba is especially significant in light of the role played by Pope Francis in diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Cuba. Leaders from both nations have publicly thanked Pope Francis for his aid in negotiations.

Pope Francis will be the third Pope to visit Cuba. In 1998, Saint John Paul II made the first papal visit to the island nation, meeting Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Later, in 2012, Benedict XVI also visited Cuba.
 

[grace-land]

Happy Feast Day, Pope Francis! 

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/23/saint_george_best_wishes_holy_father/1139079

Saint George: best wishes Holy Father
23/04/2015 15:20

(Vatican Radio) Here in the Vatican we are marking Saint George’s Day in a special way. Yes, Cardinal Bergoglio may have taken the name Francis as Pope but his Christian name is Jorge, George to you and me. That’s why we've chosen to bring you a timely reflection for his Feast day on the 23rd of April. Especially as in England our patron Saint is Saint George. One who's most often depicted as a soldier fighting a dragon to save someone else's life.

Monsignor Peter Fleetwood reflects for us on the meaning of this symbolism explaining how dragons may be mythical animals, but myths contains symbols and symbols sum up some aspect of life that is very important or powerful: " I suspect the dragon represents evil in any form. Some people may not like to hear this , but the dragon may represent evil people".
 

[Sister]

Hmmm...has canon 401, paragraph 2 been revised recently, and is it being applied for the first time--against this bishop??

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/04/21/pope_francis_accepts_resignation_of_bishop_robert_finn/1138390

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Bishop Robert Finn
21/04/2015 10:21

(Vatican Radio) The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert W. Finn from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Kansas City – St Joseph (USA), in conformity with canon 401, paragraph 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
 

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/04/21/catholic-bishop-of-kansas-city-convicted-of-failure-to-report-child-abuse-resigns/
Catholic bishop of Kansas City convicted of failure to report child abuse resigns
By John L. Allen Jr.
Associate editor | April 21, 2015

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1501711.htm
Apr-21-2015
Pope accepts resignation of Bishop Finn

I've been following this myself -- it was a misdemeanor charge (which I don't take lightly either); it is confusing he remains a bishop but not over a diocese.

Thanks for all the articles, grace-land.

 

[Sister]

read terrorists were targeting the Vatican.
Glad they were captured!

[grace-land]

Sister!! 

Regarding Bishop Finn--it's a sad situation for all involved. 
Here's an article that I found helpful in understanding the ministry of retired bishops:

http://americamagazine.org/issue/730/article/bishop-emeritus

The Bishop Emeritus
March 22, 2010 Issue
Frank J. Rodimer
Resigned but still ministering

And another article about the Bishop Finn situation--

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-removes-bishop-finn-after-years-of-attacks-for-upholding-catholic-i

Tue Apr 21, 2015 - 4:43 pm EST
Vatican removes Bishop Finn after years of attacks for upholding Catholic identity

[grace-land]

read terrorists were targeting the Vatican.
Glad they were captured!

Yes, thank goodness that they were captured! 

http://www.news.va/en/news/cardinal-parolin-speaks-on-the-popes-thoughts-and
Cardinal Parolin speaks on the Pope's thoughts and intentions while in Padua
2015-04-24 Vatican Radio

In Padua, Cardinal Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Holy See, gave an insight into the current thougts of the Holy Father.  Speaking at the inauguration of the academic year for the Theological Faculty of Triveneto in Padua, the Cardinal commented on recent issues and the Holy Father's thoughts and plans, particularly on terrorism, Africa, the Middle East, Cuba, the Armenian genocide, as well as on the dangers of fundamentalism.

Terrorism and the Vatican

On the recent revelation that the Vatican was an intended target of terrorists recently arrested in Italy, Cardinal Parolin commented that the “Pope is calm”, but for authorities “there is fear and it is proper, but there is not an exaggerated preoccupation with the issue, but certainly we need to be alert.”  The Cardinal also mentioned that as a precaution all Vatican buildings are being guarded.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-bishops-of-lesotho-and-namibia

Pope Francis meets Bishops of Lesotho and Namibia
2015-04-24 Vatican Radio



Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the bishops of Namibia and Lesotho, who are in Rome on their ad limina visit.

“I give thanks, with you, to Almighty God for the continued witness and service of so many communities of religious brothers and sisters who are vital to the praying heart of the Church, along with the many committed sodalities and other lay associations in the Church in Lesotho and Namibia,” Pope Francis said.  “For just as we have relied on them in building up the Church, both materially and spiritually, so now their role becomes ever more indispensable.”