Pope Francis

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-pope-francis-inflight-press-conference-from-armenia-45222/

Full text: Pope Francis' in-flight press conference from Armenia

Aboard the papal plane, Jun 26, 2016 / 04:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During his flight from Armenia to Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis gave a press conference to the assembled journalists aboard the papal plane. He reflected on his three-day trip to Armenia, his upcoming trips to Azerbaijan and Poland, the role of the Pope emeritus, Christian unity, and the reformation.

He also addressed Brexit, the idea of deaconesses, and how the Church might apologize for unjust discrimination toward homosexual persons.

Please find below the full text of the press conference, translated by Catholic News Agency:

Fr. Lombardi: Holy Father, thanks so much for being here at the end of this quite brief, but very intense trip. We have been content to accompany you and now we wish to pose you some questions, taking advantage of your kindness. We have a list of people who are signed up to speak and we can begin, as is usual, with the colleagues from Armenia, as we give them the priority. The first is Artur Grygorian, of Armenian Public Television.

Pope Francis: I thank you so much for your help on this trip, all of your work that does good to people… communicating well the things. They are good news… and good news always does good. Thanks so much! Thanks.
 

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/full-text-of-pope-francis-call-for-christian-apology-to-homosexuals
Mon Jun 27, 2016 - 9:46 am EST
Full text and video of Pope Francis’ call for Christian apology to homosexuals

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http://www.news.va/en/news/msgr-vigano-on-one-year-into-the-vatican-communica

Msgr Viganò on one year into the Vatican Communications reform
2016-06-27 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) One year from the publication of the “Motu Proprio” with which Pope Francis established the new Vatican Secretariat for Communication charged with reforming Vatican media, the Prefect of the Secretariat, Msgr. Dario Eduardo Viganò, gives a run-down of the work accomplished in the past 12 months and looks ahead to a new vision.

In an interview with Vatican Radio’s Alessandro Gisotti, Msgr. Viganò points out that clear indications in the Pope’s “Motu Proprio” place the current digital culture at the center of the reform and change the perspective into a “User first” one that challenges us to “stop navel-gazing in the assumption that others are listening and looking at us”.

The media reform regards all the Vatican media outlets including the daily newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano”, Vatican Radio, CTV, the LEV publishing house, the typography and the Vatican Press Office. 

Msgr. Viganò points out that some 85% of the population use mobile devices to connect to media. The Pope’s “Motu Proprio”, he says, is “an invitation to leave behind the arrogance of a unidirectional mode of communication” and to realize that we are called to bring the message of the Gospel to men and women of today who are immersed in new media.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/06/27/vatican_impact_investing_conference_dr_carolyn_woo/1240367

Vatican Impact Investing conference: 'Capitalism for good of poor’ - Dr. Carolyn Woo
27/06/2016 10:12

(Vatican Radio) The Impact Investing Conference 2016 is taking place from 26-28 June in the Vatican, with key business experts and Catholic leaders from around the world exploring ways to harness the power of impact capital to sustain the Catholic Church’s social mission.

Impact investing is a form of investment made into companies or organizations with the goal of providing social benefit to those in need, whilst providing a financial return to the investor.

The three-day Vatican conference is hosted by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in conjunction with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and carries the title 'Making the Year of Mercy a Year of Impact for the Poor'.

Dr. Carolyn Woo, President and CEO or CRS, spoke to Devin Watkins about the usefulness of impact investing for Catholic social ministries and its conformity with Pope Francis’ magisterium.
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/5758/0/crete-council-issues-message-to-orthodox-and-all-people-of-good-will-

Crete Council issues message to 'Orthodox and all people of good will'
27 June 2016 | by Tom Heneghan   

Holy and Great Council reiterates official support for dialogue with other Christians

The Orthodox Holy and Great Council wound up in Crete on Sunday with a declaration on several issues facing the world that had no place on the agenda of its week-long discussions of internal problems of the Orthodox Church.

The Council’s message to ”the Orthodox people and to all people of good will” said follow-up meetings might be held every seven to 10 years and reiterated official support for dialogue with other Christians, the most hotly debated issue during the closed-door conference.

The Council, the first such summit in 1,200 years, then condemned the “morbid religiosity” of the violence committed by fundamentalists of various religions, called for peace in the Middle East, warned against the negative consequences of scientific progress and said “the present-day ecological crisis is due to spiritual and moral causes”.

The heads of the 10 participating churches celebrated a Sunday divine liturgy to mark the end of the meeting, which the churches of Russia, Bulgaria, Georgia and Antioch announced they were boycotting in the weeks before the sessions began on 20 June
 

https://www.holycouncil.org/
Holy and Great Council
Pentecost 2016
“He called all to unity”

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http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-on-pope-emeritus-the-wise-grandfather-at-home

Pope Francis on Pope Emeritus: ‘The Wise Grandfather at Home’
by Edward Pentin 
06/27/2016

At noon tomorrow, Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will make another rare appearance together at a ceremony to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Benedict’s ordination to the priesthood.

During the event, to take place in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father will present Benedict XVI with a book entitled Teaching and Learning the Love of God, a collection of Joseph Ratzinger’s homilies on the priesthood. Also present will be Benedict’s brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger (they were ordained together), and a few senior Vatican officials.

The ceremony will be televised on Vatican television and also streamed live on YouTube here. Due to the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on Wednesday, the event actually takes place a day ahead of the anniversary, which falls on June 29th.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FljWR9eELE
Sixty-fifth anniversary of the priesthood of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI - 2016.06.28
Scheduled for Jun 28, 2016
Pope Francis participates in the solemn ceremony for the 65th anniversary of the priesthood of Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI.

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http://www.news.va/en/news/vatican-celebrates-anniversary-of-benedicts-ordina

Vatican celebrates anniversary of Benedict's ordination
2016-06-28 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday hosted a celebration for the 65th anniversary of the priestly ordination of his predecessor Benedict, the pope emeritus. Joseph Ratzinger, who took the name Benedict XVI when he was elected to the papacy in 2005, attended the celebration in the Sala Clementina within the Apostolic Palace. More than thirty cardinals were also present, as well as a number of other invited guests.

The event began with music from the Sistine Choir and a speech by Pope Francis. In his remarks, the Supreme Pontiff recalled St Peter’s response to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me?” “Lord, you know that I love you,” answered the first Pope. And this, the current Pope said, “is the note that has dominated a life spent entirely in the service of the priesthood and of the true theology”.

Pope Francis said that Benedict continues to serve the Church, “not ceasing to truly contribute to her growth with strength and wisdom.” “And you do this,” he said, “from that little Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, that is shown in that way to be anything but that forgotten little corner to which today’s culture of waste tends to relegate people when, with age, their strength diminishes.” He spoke, too, about the “Franciscan” dimension of the monastery, which recalls the Portiuncula, the “little portion” where St Francis founded his order, and laid down his life. Divine Providence, he said, “has willed that you, dear Brother, should reach a place one could truly call ‘Franciscan’, from which emanates a tranquillity, a peace, a strength, a confidence, a maturity, a faith, a dedication, and a fidelity that does so much good for me, and gives strength to me and to the whole Church.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-constantinople-patriarchate-delegation-god

Pope to Constantinople Patriarchate delegation: 'God's mercy is bond uniting us'
2016-06-28 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis addressed a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, with whom he held a private audience on Tuesday in the Vatican, calling the mercy of God ‘the bond uniting us’.

The delegation came to Rome following the conclusion of the week-long Pan-Orthodox Council, which was held on the Greek island of Crete.

The mercy of God is the bond uniting the Churches, a fruit of the Holy Spirit which produces communion but never uniformity. That was at the heart of Pope Francis’ message to the delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in a private audience.

Recalling that June 29th marks the Feast of St. Peter and Paul, the Holy Father said that the Church in every age has proclaimed their same message of divine mercy.

“Saints Peter and Paul both experienced great sin and, subsequently, the power of God’s mercy. As a result of this experience, Peter, who had denied his Master, and Paul, who persecuted the nascent Church, became tireless evangelizers and fearless witnesses to the salvation offered by God in Christ to every man and woman.”

The Pope noted that from the earliest centuries there have been many differences between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople, including liturgical practices, ecclesiastical discipline, and “in the manner of formulating the one revealed truth”.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/06/27/anglican_and_lutheran_choirs_sing_for_saints_peter_and_paul/1240534

Anglican and Lutheran choirs sing for Saints Peter and Paul
27/06/2016 20:00

(Vatican Radio)  On Wednesday Pope Francis presides at a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica to mark the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, patron saints of the city of Rome. During the Mass the Pope will also bless the distinctive pallium, or woolen band which is placed around the shoulders of all the new Metropolitan Archbishops who’ve been appointed over the past year.

The feast day of Saints Peter and Paul is also an important ecumenical occasion as an Orthodox delegation representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul travels to Rome to take part in the celebration.

In recent years, the Mass for this feast day has also been enriched by the participation of choirs from other Christian Churches singing together with the Vatican’s own Sistine Chapel Choir. This year, a Lutheran choir from Germany and an Anglican choir from Oxford will be performing at the Mass and at a concert inside the Sistine Chapel itself on Tuesday evening.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pd5F4oKOCs
Holy Mass with the imposition of the Pallium -2016.06.29
Scheduled for Jun 29, 2016
Pope Francis presides over the Holy Mass with the imposition of the Pallium on the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul

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http://www.news.va/en/news/homily-for-solemnity-of-sts-peter-and-paul-full-te

Homily for Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul: Full text
2016-06-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) In his homily for the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis focused on the themes of “closing” and “opening” in the lives of the two patrons of Rome.

The Church must avoid the risk of closing in on itself out of persecution and fear, the Pope said. At the same time, she must be able to see “the small openings through which God can work.” Prayer, he said, “enables grace to open a way out from closure to openness, from fear to courage, from sadness to joy.  And we can add: from division to unity.”

Read the full text of Pope Francis’ prepared homily for the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul:
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-saints-peter-paul-are-2-pillars-of-fa

Pope Francis: Saints Peter, Paul are 2 pillars of faith linking East to West
2016-06-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  The Church of Rome was founded on the faith of Saints Peter and Paul , the two Apostles from the Holy Land whose feast day is celebrated 29 June:  that’s what Pope Francis recalled during his midday Angelus address on this Rome holiday.  The entire universal Church, he said, considers the two patron saints of Rome “two pillars and two great lights which shine not only in the Rome sky, but in the hearts of believers of the Orient and the West.”

In his catechesis, Pope Francis pointed out that the two apostles were very different: Peter, a humble fisherman and Paul, sophisticated and highly educated.  The courageous decision of the two Near Eastern saints to embark on a difficult and dangerous journey to Rome gave this territory the Christian spiritual and cultural patrimony that has formed its very foundation, the Pope affirmed.

Both came to Rome to give witness to the Gospel among people and they sealed their mission of faith and charity with martyrdom, he added.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-prays-for-victims-of-deadly-attack-at-istanbu

Pope prays for victims of deadly attack at Istanbul airport
2016-06-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called for a moment of silent prayer for all those affected by a suicide attack in Istanbul’s international airport which killed dozens of people and injured some 150 others.

“Yesterday evening, in Istanbul, a brutal terrorist attack was committed, which has killed and injured many people,” the Pope said during his 29 June Angelus address after celebrating Mass for the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

“We pray for the victims, for their families, and for the beloved people of Turkey. May the Lord convert the hearts of the violent, and sustain our feet on the way of peace.”
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/5772/0/head-of-sspx-accuses-pope-francis-of-encouraging-doctrinal-errors

Head of SSPX accuses Pope Francis of encouraging doctrinal errors
29 June 2016 | by Catholic News Service   

There has been a long history of tensions between the society and the Vatican

The superior general of the traditionalist Society of St Pius X has accused Pope Francis of encouraging errors in Catholic teaching.

In a statement released today on the society’s website, their current superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay, said that “a large number of pastors, including the Pope himself” have encouraged doctrinal errors and that “painful confusion” currently reigns in the Church.

The statement did not specify the "errors" it was referring to or how the society believes Pope Francis is encouraging them.

The Society of St Pius X was founded by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 and is opposed to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The society has been in talks with the Vatican in search of a way to reintegrate it and its members fully into the life of the Catholic Church. In April, Pope Francis took the unusual step of meeting personally with Bishop Fellay at the Vatican.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-audience-its-one-thing-to-talk-mercy-anoth

Pope at Audience: it’s one thing to talk mercy, another to live it
2016-06-30 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Today the Lord invites us to make a serious examination of conscience, Pope Francis said Thursday at a special Jubilee audience at St Peter’s Square in Rome. It’s one thing to talk mercy but quite another to live it, he said. Mercy is not an abstraction or a lifestyle and, paraphrasing the words of St James the Apostle, mercy without works is dead in itself.

Pope Francis used the text of Matthew 25:31 as a launching point for discussing acts of mercy toward others. What makes mercy come alive is its dynamism to meet the spiritual and material needs of others, he said. Mercy has eyes to see, ears to listen, hands to help lift.

Sometimes we pass by dramatic situations of poverty and it seems that they don’t touch us, the Pope said. We continue as if nothing happened, in an indifference which ultimately makes us hypocrites and without realizing it, leads to a form of spiritual lethargy that numbs the soul and leaves life barren.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-prayer-intentions-for-july-3

Pope Francis' prayer intentions for July

Vatican City, 30 June 2016 (VIS) – The Holy Father's universal prayer intention for July is: “That indigenous peoples, whose identity and very existence are threatened, will be shown due respect”.

His intention for evangelisation is: “That the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-romes-first-female-mayor-virgin

Pope Francis meets Rome's first female mayor, Virginia Raggi
2016-07-01 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis had a private meeting in the Vatican on Friday with Rome’s newly elected mayor, Virginia Raggi of the ‘5 Star Movement’.

The 37 year old lawyer is the youngest person ever to head Rome’s City Council, as well as the first female mayor of the Eternal City.

Virginia Raggi swept to victory in the run-off election last month, capturing over 67% of the vote for her anti-establishment party. She pledged to tackle the city’s most enduring problems, from traffic congestion, to waste management, from lack of social housing to the endemic corruption that erupted most recently in the Mafia Capitale scandals.

At the meeting with Pope Francis, Raggi was accompanied by her parents and her six year old son Matteo, as well as by members of her staff. She also brought with her a tablet, on which she showed the Pope a collection of video-messages recorded by Roman citizens living in some of the poorest and most run-down parts of the capital.
 

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https://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-personally-invites-youth-to-ecumenical-event-on-the-national-mall/

Pope Francis Personally Invites Youth To Ecumenical Event On The National Mall
July 1, 2016

Pope Francis is known for his desire to build bridges between people of all different religions and traditions. Now, he is asking American youth to come and encounter Christ with thousands (perhaps a million) other youth of various denominations on the National Mall on July 16.

The Pope took the time to record a personal message asking youth to participate, joining 40 well-known speakers, authors and leaders for a day of unified prayer and worship.

In the message, he says “Young men and women, I know there is something in your heart that moves you. And that makes you restless, because a young person who is not restless is an old person. And you have youthfulness, and youthfulness breeds restlessness. What is your restlessness? Do you know what it is or do you not know? Do you want to know what your restlessness is? I invite you to a great gathering of youth in Washington, D.C. to find the one who can give you an answer to your restlessness.”

The event is run by PULSE, a student-led evangelism movement that is hoping that 1 million people will gather on the 16th to celebrate their mutual love of Christ.
 

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http://www.lastampa.it/2016/06/27/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/the-ratzinger-foundation-at-the-service-of-the-holy-see-xQLKTm37ql3zOKXarFSunM/pagina.html

The Ratzinger Foundation at the service of the Holy See
27/06/2016 
vatican city
 
The Joseph Ratzinger Foundation places all its scientific and charity activities at the service of the Church and the Pope, whoever he is. At the moment that would be Francis. The institution said this in a statement published today, which reads: “Ever since its establishment in March 2010, the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger – Benedict XVI and all of its activities has had the one and only aim of serving the Supreme Pontiff and his magisterium, in the ways that characterise this Foundation, donated since the very start by Benedict XVI to the Holy See and the Pontiffs who succeed him”. This is significant and in fact highlights even more the nature of the bond that unites Francis to the Pope Emeritus.

“As far as the Foundation’s charity work in particular is concerned, ten scholarships are awarded each year to students in Italy and abroad. 120,000 euros worth of scholarships were handed out in 2015.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-video-message-to-together-for-europe

Pope Francis: video message to Together for Europe 2016
2016-07-02 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a video message to the participants in the gathering of the Together for Europe initiative – an initiative that brings together over 300 Christian Movements and Communities of diverse confessions from every part of the Continent. While preserving their independence, collectively they form a network to pursue shared goals, each bringing a contribution specific to their own charism.

Below, please find the full text of the video message, in English
******************************************
Dear Friends in Together for Europe,

I know that you are gathered in Munich, Bavaria, from many Movements and Groups, for your meeting called “Encounter – Reconciliation – Future”.

You are right. It is time to get together, to face the problems of our day with a true European spirit.  Apart from some visible walls, other invisible walls are being strengthened which tend to divide our continent.  These walls are being built in people’s hearts.  They are walls made of fear and aggression, a failure to understand people of different backgrounds or faith.  They are walls of political and economic selfishness, without respect for the life and dignity of every person.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-prays-for-victims-of-senseless-violence-in-dh

Pope prays for victims of "senseless violence" in Dhaka
2016-07-02 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has expressed his condolences to victims of an attack by suspected Islamic militants in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka.

In a telegram addressed to the ecclesiastical and civil authorities, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said Pope Francis “expresses heartfelt condolences and condemns such barbarous acts as offences against God and humanity.”

Here is the full text of the telegram:

“Deeply saddened by the senseless violence perpetrated against innocent victims in Dhaka, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses heartfelt condolences and condemns such barbarous acts as offences against God and humanity. In commending the dead to God’s mercy, His Holiness gives the assurance of his prayers for the grieving families and the wounded.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-angelus-being-christian-is-a-missi

Pope Francis at Angelus: being Christian is a mission
2016-07-03 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Angelus this Sunday with pilgrims and tourists gathered in a sun-drenched St. Peter’s Square. He used his words to the crowd ahead of the traditional noonday prayer of Marian devotion to reflect on the different ways in which Christians of every age, state, and calling in the Church can respond to the common baptismal vocation to be missionaries – Ambassadors of Christ in daily life, to people near and far.

“What is the spirit with which the disciple of Jesus will carry out this mission?” Pope Francis asked. “First of all: the Christian must be aware of the difficult and sometimes hostile reality that awaits him; Jesus minces no words on that; in fact, Jesus says, ‘I am sending you like lambs among wolves’.”

“Hostility,” continued the Holy Father, “is always at the beginning of the persecution of Christians, because Jesus knows that the mission is opposed by the work of the Evil One. Thus the worker of the Gospel will strive to be free from human influences of every kind: carrying neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes – as recommended by Jesus – relying solely on the power of the Cross of Christ.”

Pope Francis went on to say, “This means giving up all personal reason to boast, putting off every temptation careerism or hunger for power: it means being humble instruments of the salvation worked by Jesus’ own sacrifice.”