Pope Francis

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-approves-new-rules-for-funds-of-saint

Pope Francis approves new rules for funds of Saints' Causes
2016-03-10 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has given provisional approval to a new series of norms governing the establishment and management of funds for the advancement of investigations into the lives of people proposed for sainthood. Given by Papal rescript, the approval ad experimentum for a period of three years governs the way funds for the Causes of Saints are established and managed, especially at the so-called “Roman phase” of the process, which follows initial evidence collection at the diocesan level and the preparation of a position paper – often thousands of pages long and containing painstakingly assembled intimate details of the proposed saint’s earthly life and career – to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome, which forms the basis of the Roman phase proper.

All of this can prove extremely costly and time-consuming.

The new norms seek to increase transparency in the process and assist in cost containment by requiring regular and detailed accounting, creating disciplinary procedures in case of misuse, and providing for the liquidation of funds established for causes, once the process reaches its conclusion.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-in-video-message-for-march-support-family

Pope in video message for March: support family
2016-03-10 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis is urging Christians to support families in need so that children are raised in “healthy and peaceful environments.”

In a short video message in Spanish issued Thursday, the Pope offers a prayer intention for the month of March. He reflects on the theme: “the family is one of the most precious assets of humanity. But, is it not perhaps the most vulnerable?”

"When a family is exposed to economic, health, or other difficulties, the children grow up in an environment of sadness."
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/fourth-lenten-sermon-focuses-on-marriage-and-famil

Fourth Lenten Sermon focuses on marriage and family
2016-03-11 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Preacher of the Pontifical Household, Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., on Friday preached his fourth Lenten Sermon of 2016 in the presence of the Pope and his associates.

In his sermon, Cantalamessa offered a spiritual reflection on the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes ("On the Church in the Modern World"). Cantalamessa focued primarily on the document's treatment of marriage and the family.

Acknowledging that most of his immediate audience does not live in the married state, Cantalamessa said it is nonetheless important that they recognize and understand the challenges facing married couples and families in the modern world.

After examining God's plan for marriage as it is found in the Bible, and investigating its current relevance, Fr Cantalamessa proposed that plan as an ideal to be rediscovered by Christians. He argued that early Christians changed civil laws concerning marriage by their practices; and that we too must re-introduce the world to the truth about marriage by our example.

Father Cantalamessa concluded his sermon by observing that both consecrated religious and married people help one another to understand God's plan for humankind. "In the Christian community, consecrated people and married people are able to 'edify one another'," he said. "Spouses are reminded by consecrated people of the primacy of God and of what is eternal; they are introduced to love for the word of God by those who can better deepen and 'break it open' for lay people. But consecrated people can also learn something from married people as well. They can learn generosity, self-forgetfulness, service to life, and often a certain 'humaneness' that comes from their difficult engagement with the realities of life."

Below, please find the full text of Father Raniero Cantalamessa's Fourth Lenten Sermon for 2016:
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/auschwitz-sets-up-tour-dates-just-for-world-youth-day-pilgrims.cfm

Auschwitz sets up tour dates just for World Youth Day pilgrims
By Nancy Wiechec Catholic News Service
3.11.2016 11:17 AM ET

OSWIECIM, Poland (CNS) -- The Auschwitz memorial and museum is setting aside days exclusively for World Youth Day pilgrims who want to tour the former Nazi death camp.

The museum has set aside July 20-28 and Aug. 1-3 for participants in World Youth Day, which runs July 26-31 in Krakow, about one-and-a-half hours away.

World Youth Day officials set aside 300,000 spots and asked participants to register for the dates. In early March, they said about 57,000 spots remained. Participants who wish to visit the museum on the designated days must register at http://mlodzi.duszpasterstwa.bielsko.pl/auschwitz.
 
Polish Catholic leaders have expressed hope that Pope Francis might visit Auschwitz in July when he comes to Poland for World Youth Day. St. John Paul II visited in 1979 and Pope Benedict XVI in 2006.

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/03/12/wyd_krakow_2016_draft_schedule_released/1215013

WYD Krakow 2016 draft schedule released
12/03/2016 17:49

(Vatican Radio) A draft of the program of the trip that Pope Francis will make to Poland from July 27 to 31 in the context of the 31st World Youth Day was presented in Krakow on Saturday.

According to the provisional schedule, the Pope is to arrive Wednesday, July 27, at Krakow-Balice airport. The first meetings are to be those with the President of the Republic and the Polish bishops. In the evening, the draft program sees the Pope with the archbishop of Krakow, and greeting people from the same window from which St. John Paul II used to speak to young people.

Thursday, July 28, Pope Francis is expected to stop in Czestochowa with a private prayer before the icon of the Black Madonna, and offer Mass on the occasion of 1,050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland.
 

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https://twitter.com/FatherRosica

Thomas Rosica Retweeted
America Magazine ‏@americamag  · Mar 11 
The Revolution of Normalcy: A reflection on the third anniversary of Pope Francis' election
http://buff.ly/24UY3Xa 



Thomas Rosica ‏@FatherRosica  · 6h  6 hours ago 
On the Anniversary of the Election of His Holiness Pope Francis http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2016/03/254637.htm#.VuQAD8Wxc8A.twitter … (from @StateDept)

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http://www.news.va/en/news/saturday-audience-true-love-is-service

Saturday Audience: True love is service
2016-03-12 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) As part of ongoing celebrations of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis held a special General Audience on Saturday morning.

The special Saturday Audiences are being held once each month throughout the Jubilee Year.

During his Audience, Pope Francis focused on the topic of Mercy and Service, basing his reflections on the words of Jesus after He washed the feet of His disciples (John 3:12-14).

Below, please find the official English-language summary of the Pope’s message at the General Audience on Saturday, 12 March 2016:
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-the-new-annulment-process-has-an-eminently-pastoral-goal-23869/

Pope: new annulment process has an 'eminently pastoral' goal

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2016 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Saturday Pope Francis told participants in course on the streamlined annulment process that the main goal of the new norms is pastoral, and seeks to reach out to families suffering from a broken marriage.

“These measures have an eminently pastoral goal: to show the Church’s concern for those faithful who are waiting for a quick verification on their marital status,” the Pope said March 12.

He noted that many faithful suffer due to the end of their marriages, and couples are frequently “oppressed by doubt” as to whether or not their marriage was valid or in valid.

It is out of both charity and mercy, as well as lived experience, that the Church decided to create the new, streamlined annulment process, which aims to grow closer to persons with a failed marriage, and to meet “their legitimate desire for justice,” he said.

Francis stressed the new procedures were created with a pastoral intention, and that for divorced couples living in a second union, the “most important” concern of the Church is that they don’t feel ostracized, but continue to participate in the ecclesial community.

Pope Francis spoke to participants in a formation course for the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, the Holy’s See’s main court, dedicated the new marriage annulment process. Held in Rome, the course ran from March 7-12, and was closed by an audience with the Pope.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/how-a-change-in-vatican-protocol-reflects-outreach-to-the-divorced-and-remarried-24987/

How a change in Vatican protocol reflects outreach to the divorced-and-remarried

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2016 / 08:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With an eye toward divorced-and-remarried Catholics, Pope Francis has recently changed protocol for heads of state who are visiting the Pope at the Vatican.

Catholic heads of state who are in an irregular marital situation may now take part in an official visit to the Pope as a couple, accompanied by their irregular spouse.

The Pope made the change in February. By chance, the first to benefit from the new protocol was Argentina’s President Mauricio Macrì. He made an official visit to Pope Francis Feb. 27, accompanied by his third wife, Juliana Awada.
 
Before the change in protocol, the Catholic head of state in an irregular marital situation could not be accompanied by his or her irregular spouse during the visit.
 
The new spouse waited in another room and was not included in the official picture. The Pope later greeted the irregular spouse separately.
 
This protocol was observed only for Catholic heads of state. If a head of state was not a Catholic, there were no exceptions.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-angelus-from-misery-jesus-brings-mercy

Pope Angelus: From misery Jesus brings mercy
2016-03-13 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) During his Angelus address on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis drew inspiration from the Gospel reading of the day which the Pope himself described as so beautiful that he reads it and rereads it.

It tells the story of the adulterous woman, which the Pope said, highlights the theme of the mercy of God, who never wants the death of the sinner but wants them to convert and live.

Pope Francis asked the faithful present in St Peter’s Square to imagine they were witnessing the scene of Jesus, the woman and the crowd who want her stoned to death for her sins.

The Holy Father said that the crowd have not come to the Master to ask for his opinion but to make him fall into a trap.

When Jesus responds saying "Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone at her" continued the Pope this “displaces the accusers”, and disarms them. They leave aware of their sins. Just like the Gospel reading said Pope Francis, we need to be aware of our sins and have the courage to drop the stones that we aim at others and think about the wrong we do.

The Holy Father noted that when everyone has gone it is just “the woman and Jesus: misery and mercy, facing each other.”

Putting this scene into the context of today, Pope Francis explained that it is like when we are in the confessional filled with shame. We see our own misery and we ask for forgiveness.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-gives-st-lukes-gospel-to-angelus-part

Pope Francis gives St. Luke's Gospel to Angelus participants
2016-03-13 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis had a special gift for the pilgrims and tourists present in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer on the 5th Sunday of Lent: a pocket-sized copy of the Holy Gospel According to St. Luke. Inspired by the words of our Lord as recorded in Chapter 6, verse 36 of Luke’s Gospel, “Be ye merciful as your Father [in Heaven is merciful],” the little volume is titled, St. Luke’s Gospel of Mercy, reporting the theme of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy underway in the Church throughout the world.

Volunteers from the Saint Martha Pediatric Dispensary distributed the copies of the special edition (not available for sale) to those present, with the aid of a number of grandparents of the diocese of Rome. “How worthy are grandfathers and grandmothers who transmit the faith to their grandchildren,” said Pope Francis.

The Holy Father also called the attention of the faithful to page 123 of the volume, on which the full list of the Seven Corporal and Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy appear. “It would be nice that you should learn them by heart,” he said, “so as to make it easier for you all to do them!”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-the-lord-walks-with-us-through-the-dark-valle

Pope: ‘the Lord walks with us through the “dark valleys” of our lives’
2016-03-14 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday spoke of a series of events and situations that shed shadows on our lives and lead us to ask difficult questions.

Speaking during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope remembered a homeless man who recently died of the cold here in Rome; he recalled the sisters of Charity who were killed in an attack in Yemen; and his thoughts flew to the many people who continue to fall ill in the so-called “triangle of death” in the southern Italian region of Campania where the illegal burning of toxic waste causes cancer and despair.
     
As we are forced to face these "dark valleys" of our time, he said, the only answer is to trust in God.

“Even when we do not understand - such as before the illness of a child - let us put ourselves in the hands of the Lord who never abandons His people” he said.

Reflecting on the Reading of the day that tells of Susanna, a just woman who is “soiled” by the “evil desire” of two judges, but chooses to trust in God rather than succumb to their wish, Pope Francis said that that even when we find ourselves walking in a“valley of darkness” we need not fear evil.

How many dark valleys; where are you Lord?

The Lord, the Pope said, always walks with us, loves us and does not abandon us. And he turned his attention to some of the many “dark valleys” of our time:
 

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http://www.lastampa.it/2016/03/14/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/francis-expresses-sorrow-in-wake-of-turkey-and-ivory-coast-attacks-QmyPPRc5bdMO9puBH8H3DM/pagina.html

Francis expresses sorrow in wake of Turkey and Ivory Coast attacks
14/03/2016 

The Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin has sent a message of condolence to the Turkish President Tayyip Erdoǧan on behalf of Pope Francis expressing his closeness following a suicide car bombing yesterday afternoon in Ankara. 

In the message Francis says he is “deeply saddened to learn of the injury and tragic loss of life caused by the bombing in Ankara” and communicated his prayers for victims and their families “as well as for the recovery of those affected by this heinous act of violence”.

The Pope says he is “deeply saddened to learn of the injury and tragic loss of life caused by the bombing in Ankara” and that he “assures the Turkish people of his spiritual closeness and solidarity”. “He prays for the eternal rest of those who have died and for all who mourn their loss, as well as for the recovery of those affected by this heinous act of violence,” the message reads.

“Mindful of the generous service being rendered by security and emergency personnel, His Holiness invokes the divine blessings of peace, healing and strength upon the nation.” 

Francis also sent a message of condolence for the victims of the terrorist attack on the Ivory Coast beach resort of Grand Bassam. “Upon hearing the news of the heinous attack in Grand-Bassam, His Holiness Pope Francis presents condolences to the bereaved and assures the injured his spiritual closeness,” reads the message sent by Cardinal Parolin on behalf of the Pope. The message, which was addressed to the local bishop, Mgr. Raymond Ahoua, adds that the Holy Father “entrusts the victims to the mercy of God to welcome them into his peace and light”.
 

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http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2016/03/14/vatican-trial-resumes-against-five-charged-with-leaking-money-secrets/

Vatican trial resumes against five charged with leaking money secrets
March 14, 2016

ROME — A trial against three former officials of a Vatican commission and two journalists, all accused of illegally obtaining and publishing documents revealing mismanagement of Church finances, resumed on Saturday with the first public hearings set for Monday and Tuesday.

Initially Vatican officials, including Pope Francis, had hoped the trial could be wrapped up quickly, before the pontiff’s Holy Year of Mercy began on Dec. 8. After a slew of requests for expert analysis and witnesses from defense attorneys, however, the trial before a three-judge panel was suspended in November and resumed only this week.

On Saturday, the trial judge met with technical experts in a closed-doors session to examine the admissibility of new computer evidence. Monday and Tuesday’s hearings will be dedicated to witness testimony.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-jesus-annihilates-himself-defeats-the-evil-se

Pope: Jesus annihilates himself, defeats the evil serpent
2016-03-15 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said the story of God’s love for us can be found on the Cross where Jesus emptied himself of his divinity and dirtied himself with sin in order to save humanity. He said that the biblical story of salvation features the serpent, an animal he describes as both a powerful symbol of damnation and mysteriously of redemption as well. The Pope was speaking at his morning Mass on Tuesday at the Santa Marta Residence.

The mystery of the serpent

Using the day’s readings from the Book of Numbers and the gospel of St. John, Pope Francis’s homily reflected on the link between the meaning of Jesus’ annihilation of himself on the Cross and the story of how the people of Israel implored Moses to pray to God to take away the serpents that had been sent among them as punishment by the Lord.

Pope Francis pointed out that the symbol of the serpent features twice in this story from the Book of Numbers.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/mother-teresa-four-others-to-be-canonized

Mother Teresa, four others, to be canonized
2016-03-15 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) At a public Consistory held on Tuesday, Pope Francis gave his approval for the canonization of five new saints.

The Public Ordinary Consistory for the Canonisation of Blesseds began with the celebration of Terce (Midmorning Prayer), presided over by Pope Francis in the Consistory Hall at the Apostolic Palace.

Following the liturgical prayer, the Holy Father announced the upcoming canonization of five new saints, including Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata (née Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu), whose work among the “poorest of the poor” won her worldwide acclaim. Hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, members of the religious order founded by Mother Teresa, are expected to be in Rome for her canonization, set for 4 September 2016.
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/5285/0/pope-francis-to-wash-migrants-feet-on-holy-thursday

Pope Francis to wash migrants' feet on Holy Thursday
15 March 2016

Pope Francis is to wash the feet of twelve migrants on Holy Thursday, a gesture that is likely to be interpreted as a sign for Europe to make greater efforts to welcome refugees.

According to a report in America magazine, he will perform the traditional Maundy Thursday feet washing ritual on 24 March at a migrant centre in Rome. 

Francis has made the plight of migrants a key element of his pontificate. His first visit outside Rome as Pope was to Lampedusa, in southern Italy, the point of entry for thousands coming from North Africa. 

He has also used Holy Thursday as a moment to show the radical nature of Christian service to those on the margins of society. On two occasions he has washed the feet of prisoners and during his first Holy Week as Bishop of Rome washed the feet of two Muslims and two women. 

And earlier this year the Pope ordered a change in the rules to allow women to participate in the foot washing ritual.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/03/15/trial_at_the_vatican/1215409

Trial at the Vatican
15/03/2016 09:07

(Vatican Radio) The trial of three former Vatican employees and two journalists resumed this week at the Vatican. The five defendants are charged with acquiring and publishing confidential documents of the Holy See.

Monday’s session of the so-called “Vatileaks 2” trial saw testimony from Monsignor Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda, former secretary of the Prefecture of Economic Affairs, who is accused of giving confidential information to journalists.

Under questioning from the prosecutor and the presiding judge, Monsignor Vallejo Balda admitted to leaking documents and providing email passwords to the journalists. He said he was sometimes asked for documents, and sometimes had offered them spontaneously, but claimed he never handed over hard copies or more important documents.
 

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/vatican-official-admits-to-leaking-documents
Ex-Vatican Official Admits to Leaking Classified Documents
by Edward Pentin  03/14/2016

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-appeals-to-leaders-to-open-borders-to-migrant

Pope appeals to leaders to open borders to migrants
2016-03-16 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has reiterated his appeal to State leaders to open their doors to migrants.

Speaking during the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square the Pope said “I like to see leaders who open their hearts and their doors" to the many migrants fleeing their countries.

There were about 40 thousand pilgrims gathered in the Square for the weekly catechesis which Francis interspersed with many off-the-cuff remarks which highlighted his empathy for the tens of thousands of forced migrants who are struggling to make their way into Europe as they flee violence and poverty back home.

The Pope recalled our many “brothers and sisters who are living a real and dramatic situation of exile, far from their homeland, with the ruins of their homes and the fear still in their eyes, and even, unfortunately, the pain for the loss of their loved ones”.
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/5290/0/chaouqui-threatened-to-destroy-priest-accused-of-leaking-vatican-documents-

Chaouqui threatened to destroy priest accused of leaking Vatican documents
16 March 2016 | by Christopher Lamb in Rome   

Mgr Balda believed PR woman had links to Italian secret service and Mafiosi

A public relations woman who sat on a papal commission threatened to "destroy" a priest she worked with, a Vatican court was told.

Francesca Chaouqui, 34, allegedly wrote in a WhatsApp message to Mgr Angelo Lucio Vallejo Balda saying: "I will destroy you in the press and you know I can do it." It was cited as prosecution evidence in the so-called "Vatileaks" trial against five people, including two journalists.

Chaouqui, Balda and his assistant are being prosecuted for leaking documents to two journalists related to a commission tasked with overhauling Vatican finances.
 

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/the-latest-on-the-vatileaks-2-trial
Latest on the ‘Vatileaks 2’ Trial
Spanish monsignor says journalists didn't threaten him to obtain information; Questions raised over why the Vatican is prosecuting Italian assistant.
by Edward Pentin  03/16/2016