Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/06/10/commemoration_of_st_mary_magdalene_raised_to_a_feast/1236157

Commemoration of St. Mary Magdalene raised to a Feast
10/06/2016 12:00

(Vatican Radio)  It was announced on Friday Pope Francis has decided to raise the celebration of the memorial of St. Mary Magdalene to the dignity of a liturgical Feast.

In the modern Church calendar, saints may be commemorated with a memorial (optional or obligatory), feast, or solemnity.

The decree was signed on 3 June 2016, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart. 

In a letter announcing the change, the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Arthur Roche, writes the decision means one “should reflect more deeply on the dignity of women, the New Evangelization, and the greatness of the mystery of Divine Mercy.”

Archbishop Roche drew attention to the fact Mary Magdalene was the first witness to the Resurrection, and is the one who announced the event to the Apostles.
 
http://aleteia.org/2016/06/10/mary-magdalene-apostle-to-the-apostles-given-equal-dignity-in-feast/
Mary Magdalene, “Apostle to the Apostles,” Given Equal Dignity in Feast
FULL TEXT: Official English text of “Apostle of the Apostles” explaining decree
June 10, 2016   

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-homily-for-jubilee-of-the-sick-and-di

Pope Francis homily for Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled
2016-06-12 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has decried the pursuit for perfect bodies, saying it leads to society hiding away the disabled to avoid offending the sensibilities of what he described as ``the privileged few.''

Celebrating Holy Mass on Sunday in St. Peter's Square for the Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled, the Pope called for solidarity and mutual acceptance in a world in which a perfect appearance has become an obsession as wells as “big business”.

Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’ Homily:

    “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:19).  In these words, the Apostle Paul powerfully expresses the mystery of the Christian life, which can be summed up in the paschal dynamic of death and resurrection received at baptism.  Indeed, through immersion in water, each of us, as it were, dies and is buried with Christ (cf. Rom 6:3-4), and remerging, shows forth new life in the Holy Spirit.  This rebirth embraces every aspect of our lives: even sickness, suffering and death are taken up in Christ and in him find their ultimate meaning.  Today, on the Jubilee day devoted to the sick and bearers of disabilities, this word of life has a special resonance for our assembly.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-weapons-circulate-where-food-supplies-are-obs

Pope: weapons circulate where food supplies are obstructed
2016-06-13 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says it is a “strange paradox” that food often cannot get through to those suffering due to war but weapons can.

He was speaking on Monday during his first visit to the World Food Program, the Rome-based United Nations agency that fights hunger.

WFP is currently engaged in and committed to the “One Future Zero Hunger” Global Goal set by world leaders for 2030.

Reflecting bitterly on the fact that that while the distribution of food supplies are often obstructed in war zones, weapons - Pope Francis said - are trafficked freely.

“As a result, wars are fed, not persons” and he continued: “In some cases hunger itself is used as a weapon of war” as  the number of people dying of hunger and thirst  is added to that of battlefield casualties and the civilian victims of conflicts and attacks.

“We are fully aware of this – he said – yet we allow our conscience to be anesthetized”.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-decries-orlando-massacre-and-prays-fo

Pope Francis decries Orlando massacre and prays for victims
2016-06-12 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is shaken and saddened by the ‘homicidal folly and senseless hatred’ that has left at least 50 people dead in an attack on a nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

A statement released  by the Holy See Press Office Director, Father Federico Lombardi SJ, on the Orlando massacre which has been described as the worst mass shooting in American history.

Please find below Vatican Radio’s translation of the statement:

The terrible massacre that has taken place in Orlando, with its dreadfully high number of innocent victims, has caused in Pope Francis, and in all of us, the deepest feelings of horror and condemnation, of pain and turmoil before this new manifestation of homicidal folly and senseless hatred. Pope Francis joins the families of the victims and all of the injured in prayer and in compassion. Sharing in their indescribable suffering he entrusts them to the Lord so they may find comfort. We all hope that ways may be found, as soon as possible, to effectively identify and contrast the causes of such terrible and absurd violence which so deeply upsets the desire for peace of the American people and of the whole of humanity.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-says-praying-for-our-enemies-can-heal

Pope Francis says praying for our enemies can heal our hearts
2016-06-14 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Praying for our enemies can heal our hearts: that was Pope Francis’ message at Mass in the Casa Santa Marta chapel on Tuesday morning. Recalling his own childhood in Argentina, when people prayed that dictators would go to hell, the Pope recalled how Jesus himself tells us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.

Reflecting on the Gospel reading from St Matthew where Jesus tells his disciples to love their enemies, Pope Francis noted that this instruction was in contrast to what the Doctors of the Law taught in those days: “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy”. The Jewish Law, he said, was being taught in a way that was too theoretical, based only on the letter of the Law and not on the love of God at the heart of that Law.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/cdf-letter-on-hierarchical-charismatic-relationshi

CDF Letter on hierarchical & charismatic relationship within the Church
2016-06-14 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on Tuesday released a Letter on “the relationship between the hierarchical and charismatic gifts for the life and the mission of the Church at a news conference in the Holy See’s Press Office. Entitled, Iuvenescit Ecclesia (The Church rejuvenates), the Letter stresses that whilst the hierarchical and charismatic gifts are co-essential in the life of the Church, the charismatic movements and groups need to obey the ecclesial hierarchy and do not have the right to an autonomous ministry. The Letter notes the importance and vitality of the charismatic realities but also spoke of the need for them to have “ecclesial maturity.”

Please find below a summary in English of the Letter's main points prepared by the CDF:

SUMMARY OF IUVENESCIT ECCLESIA

Hierarchical and charismatic gifts, co-essential in the life of the Church

The hierarchical and charismatic gifts are “co-essential” in the life of the Church: this is the central point of the Letter Iuvenescit Ecclesia (The Church rejuvenates), published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document – signed by the prefect, Cardinal Ludwig Müller and the secretary, Archbishop Luis Ladaria, is addressed to the bishops of the Catholic Church and focuses on “the relationship between hierarchical and charismatic gifts for the life and the mission of the Church”. The first are those conferred by the Sacrament of ordination (Episcopal, priestly and diaconal), while the second are freely distributed by the Holy Spirit. The publication of the Letter – dated 15 May 2016, Solemnity of Pentecost – was ordered by Pope Francis on 14 March, in the audience granted to Cardinal Müller.
 

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https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/06/14/papal-party-francis-celebrate-benedicts-anniversary-june-28/

Papal party: Francis to celebrate Benedict’s anniversary June 28
June 14, 2016

ROME-After staying largely quiet and hidden since his resignation, emeritus Pope Benedict XVI will make a rare public appearance on June 28 to mark the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination. Pope Francis is scheduled to attend the event, to be held in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

The celebration was announced by the Vatican’s “Ratzinger Foundation”, created in honor of the retired pope, whose given name is Joseph Ratzinger.

Benedict was ordained on the feast of Sts. Peter and St. Paul, June 29, in 1951, in the Cathedral of Saint Mary and Saint Corbinian in Freising, Germany. He was one of 40 new priests ordained in that ceremony, including his brother Georg.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-recognize-the-lord-in-refugees-the-poor-the-d

Pope: ‘recognize the Lord in refugees, the poor, the disabled’
2016-06-15 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis encouraged believers on Wednesday to open their eyes and hearts to God’s love for the poor and to the gift of healing that he offers to all who turn to him in faith.

His words came during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s square as he continued his catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy.

The Pope reflected on Jesus’ miracle of restoring sight to a blind man on the way to Jericho as recounted in the Gospel of Luke.

He said that the blind man was sitting on the roadside begging and pointed out that, until not long ago, a person with disability had no choice but to live on charity.

“That blind man, Francis said, represents the many people who, even today, are marginalized because of a disadvantage,” be it physical or of other kind.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/06/15/pope_francis_receives_pm_of_netherlands/1237379

Pope Francis receives PM of Netherlands
15/06/2016 13:46

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, in audience on Wednesday morning. Following the meeting with the Holy Father, Rutte met with the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See states that the Pope and the Prime Minister held cordial discussions that ouched on the good bilateral relations between the Netherlands and the Holy See, and focused on questions of mutual interest such as the phenomenon of migration, 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-the-our-father-is-the-cornerstone-of-our-pray

Pope: The ‘Our Father’ is the cornerstone of our prayer life
2016-06-16 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said that prayers are not magic words for Christians and when we pray the ‘Our Father’ we can feel God looking at us and this prayer should be the cornerstone of our prayer life. His words came during his mass celebrated on Thursday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

Jesus always turned to the Father in the most challenging moments

Taking his inspiration from the gospel reading where Jesus teaches his disciples to pray the “Our Father, the Pope’s homily was a reflection on the value and meaning of prayer in the life of a Christian. He noted that Jesus always used the word “Father” in the most important or challenging moments of his life, saying our Father “knows the things we need, before we even ask Him.” He is a Father who listens to us in secret just like Jesus advised us to pray in secret. 
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-greets-participants-of-jubilee-for-ci

Pope Francis greets participants of Jubilee for Circuses
2016-06-16 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The world of the Circus spreads “a culture of encounter” and those working in such travelling shows have a unique opportunity “to be Christ’s witnesses” to “even the most distant” of people:  that’s what Pope Francis said Thursday to members of Italian circuses and travelling entertainment.

In a festive audience in the Vatican, Pope Francis greeted representatives of circus associations, employees of amusement parks and fairs, street performers, artists, designers and puppeteers, musicians and folk groups celebrating their Jubilee for Circus and Travelling Show People.  The Pope told them their festiveness and joy “are distinctive signs of your identity, your profession and your life” and that this appointment “could not be overlooked” in the Jubilee of Mercy.
 
https://twitter.com/JohnLAllenJr
John L. Allen, Jr. ‏@JohnLAllenJr  · 49m  49 minutes ago 
Via @CatholicNewsSvc, Pope thanks circus acts for bringing joy to often dark world: https://cruxnow.com/cns/2016/06/16/pope-thanks-circus-acts-bringing-joy-often-dark-world/ …

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/06/16/pope_francis_inaugurates_rome_diocese_ecclesial_convention/1237842

Pope Francis inaugurates Rome Diocese Ecclesial Convention
16/06/2016 20:14

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday inaugurated the annual Ecclesial Convention of the Diocese of Rome, dedicated this year to the theme of the family.
 
 Present with the Bishop of Rome, at his Basilica - St. John Lateran -  many Catholic families as well as the Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini and a high percentage of the over 350 parish priests of Rome.

At the heart of the Pope’s address for the occasion, the Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia” – “The Joy of Love”.

The Convention will continue until Friday  with a series of thematic workshops on dedicated to love between adolescents,preparation for marriage,  the love of spouses, fidelity, the joy of giving life, family and brotherhood.
 

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https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/06/16/pope-francis-says-clarity-doctrine-not-enough-family/

Pope Francis says ‘clarity of doctrine’ not enough on the family
June 16, 2016

In a question and answer session during a conference of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Francis said Thursday that priests who refuse to baptize the children of single mothers are guilty of "pastoral cruelty," adding, "they're animals ... this is individualism, which has hurt us so much."

ROME- Pope Francis in Thursday offered a “readers guide” of sorts to the two-fold Synod of Bishops on the Family and the document he penned as a conclusion to the 2014-2015 meeting, Amoris Laetitia, warning against the temptation of following a “separatist logic” to dominate Catholic attitudes about diverse family situations.

Speaking to participants of a pastoral conference of the Diocese of Rome on the family, Francis offered some of the key “ideas/tensions” that arose along the way in the synod process. His goal, he said, was to help those present understand the “spirit reflected in the exhortation,” Amoris Laetitia.

As he defined it, the document was meant to be a tool for the participants’ reflections and dialogue during the convention so they could “encourage and assist” families in their “difficulties.”

In his remarks on Thursday, at Rome’s St. John Latheran Basilica, Francis gave three Biblical images to present his ideas.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-last-plenary-of-council-for-laity

Pope to last Plenary of Council for Laity
2016-06-17 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis wants to see the laity more and more involved in the Church’s mission to evangelize in light of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.  The Pope made that affirmation in an address Friday to participants of the last Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Laity ahead of the reform process that will bundle the department together with the Council for the Family and the Academy for Life.

As one phase comes to a close, a new horizon opens for the mission of the laity in the Church, Francis told participants at Friday’s audience. In this, the last plenary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Pope began by thanking those who have worked in this institution of the Curia for their commitment.   The Council was set up after the Second Vatican Council with the blessings of Pope Paul VI.

No to lay people acting on "proxy" of the hierarchy
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-releases-video-message-for-charitys-be-gods-m

Pope releases video message for charity’s “Be God’s Mercy” project
2016-06-17 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) A video message by Pope Francis was released on Friday to highlight an awareness and fund-raising initiative by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The charity’s “Be God’s Mercy” initiative marking the Jubilee Year of Mercy was formally launched at a press conference in the offices of Vatican Radio. 

In his video message the Pope urged people to “carry out works of mercy together with ACN in every corner of the world, in order to meet the many, many needs of today.”

Please find below a full English translation of the Pope's video message on behalf of the charity, ACN:
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/nine-more-syrian-refugees-brought-to-rome-from-les

Nine more Syrian refugees brought to Rome from Lesbos with help of Vatican
2016-06-17 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) A group of nine Syrian refugees, including two Christians, arrived in Rome on Thursday from the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, following the visit of Pope Francis to the island on April 16, when he accompanied three families of refugees back to Rome.

The Vatican Gendarmeria, with the help of Interior Ministry of Greece, the Greek Asylum Service, and the Community of Sant’Egidio, accompanied the refugees from Athens to Rome on Thursday. The Community of Sant’Egidio will provide for their housing, according to a statement from the Holy See Press Office.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/most-marriages-today-are-invalid-pope-francis-suggests-51752/

Updated: Most marriages today are invalid, Pope Francis suggests

Rome, Italy, Jun 16, 2016 / 02:56 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Updated June 17, 2016 to include a clarification by the Vatican: Pope Francis approved a revision to the official transcript to say that “a portion” of sacramental marriages are null, instead of “the great majority.”

Pope Francis said Thursday that many sacramental marriages today are not valid, because couples do not enter into them with a proper understanding of permanence and commitment.

While he initially said in unscripted comments that “the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null,” he later approved a revision of these remarks.

When the Vatican released its official transcript of the encounter the following day, they had changed the comment to say that “a portion of our sacramental marriages are null.”

In the Vatican blog “Il sismografo,” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said that this change is a revision approved by the Pope himself.

“When they touch on subjects of a certain importance, the revised text is always submitted to the Pope himself,” Fr. Lombardi said. “This is what happened in this case, so the published text was expressly approved by the Pope.”

The initial comments had come as the Pope was addressing the Diocese of Rome’s pastoral congress. After his initial scripted remarks, he held a question-and-answer session.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/priests-in-rome-get-a-surprise-visit-from-pope-francis-82102/

Priests in Rome get a surprise visit from Pope Francis

Rome, Italy, Jun 17, 2016 / 12:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday afternoon Pope Francis visited two communities of priests in Rome as part of his “Mercy Friday” initiative to spend time with various groups each month during the Jubilee of Mercy.

“This afternoon, continuing the series of ‘Mercy Friday’ jubilee initiatives, Pope Francis decided to turn his attention to priests,” Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, said in a June 17 communique.

The spokesman noted that after having celebrated a Jubilee for Priests earlier this month as part of the wider Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis wanted to show “his closeness and attention” to those who weren’t able to participate in person.

“Because of this the Pope – untiringly – chose not just one, but two communities of priests,” where he made surprise stops in what turned into “a long and intense afternoon rich with encounters, emotions, spiritual joy, and moments of prayer.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-jubilee-audience-true-conversion-opens-us-to

Pope Jubilee Audience: ‘True Conversion opens us to those most in need’
2016-06-18 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis held his special Jubilee Audience for the month of June in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday, reflecting on Jesus’ call to conversion which was expressed not in judgment but in closeness to sinners and mercy to those in need

Reflecting on the Gospel passage in which the Risen Jesus encounters his disciples on the road to Emmaus, Pope Francis said Jesus’ call to conversion is an experience of unmerited love which leads to openness to others, especially to the poor.

He said the theme of conversion is present throughout the Bible, especially in the message of the prophets who continually invited people to ‘return to the Lord’.

“Conversion for the prophets means changing direction and turning anew to the Lord, trusting that He loves us and that His love is always faithful.”

He said Jesus focused more than the prophets on the interior dimension of conversion, making repentance the first word of his preaching ministry, as seen in the Gospel of Mark: “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1,15).

The Holy Father went on to say that Jesus’ call to conversion was expressed not in judgment but in closeness to sinners and mercy to those in need.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-villa-nazareth-compassion-sows-see

Pope Francis at Villa Nazareth: compassion sows seeds of testimony
2016-06-18 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Saturday afternoon Pope Francis visited Villa Nazareth in the Pineta Sacchetti area of Rome. Villa Nazareth was founded in 1946 for orphans and poor children in order to provide the underprivileged with educational opportunities.

Today Villa Nazareth helps young people who are experiencing economic hardship but who also show great intellectual potential. It provides them with a program of Christian formation and inspiration. The institution’s charism, its mission, is to promote a “diaconate of culture” and to form people who can be role models in society as moral witnesses.
 
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-christian-persecution-extends-beyond-genocide-81178/

Christian persecution extends beyond genocide, Pope says
Rome, Italy, Jun 18, 2016 / 06:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- 

In a wide-ranging question and answer session on Saturday, Pope Francis said it is “reductionism” to describe the violence against Christians in the world; the correct word, he said, is persecution.

“I want to say clearly, I do not like it when one speaks of a genocide of Christians, for instance in the Middle East,” the Pope said. “This is reductionism! The truth is a persecution which leads Christians to have fidelity to the consistency of their faith.”

This “sociological reductionism” does not apply to “that which is a mystery of the faith, the martyr!”