Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/05/28/pope_francis_celebrates_the_feast_of_the_ascension/1315358

Pope Francis celebrates the feast of the Ascension
28/05/2017 15:15

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday celebrated the feast of the Ascension of Jesus to heaven, celebrated forty days after Easter.

Speaking to the faithful present in St. Peter’s Square for the Regina Caeli prayer, the Pope reflected on the reading from the Gospel of Matthew which presents us with the moment of the definitive departure of the Risen Lord from his disciples.

The scene, he said, is set in Galilee, the place where Jesus had called them to follow him and form the first nucleus of his new community. The disciples have gone through the "fire" of the Passion and Resurrection, and at the sight of the risen Lord, they bow down to him. Some of them however are still doubtful.  It is to this frightened community, the Pope said, that Jesus leaves the immense task of evangelizing the world. He gives them this assignment ordering them to teach and to baptize in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/regina-coeli-address-on-the-ascension-churchs-greatest-dignity/
Regina Coeli Address: On the Ascension 
Also Condemns Manchester and Egypt Attacks, Remembers Genoa Visit and Social Communications’ Day
May 28, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d2eGlxxHyE
2017.05.28 Regina Coeli

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-learn-the-language-of-the-holy-spirit

Pope: 'learn the language of the Holy Spirit'
2017-05-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged Christians to engage with the Holy Spirit, and to open their hearts to the Spirit before taking important decisions.

Speaking during the homily at morning Mass on Monday at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope explained it is the Holy Spirit, which moves our hearts, inspires us and triggers emotions,.

Looking ahead to Pentecost Sunday, the Pope said the Church is asking for prayers that the Holy Spirit may come into our hearts, into our parishes and into our communities.

Drawing inspiration from the first reading of the day which, he said, could be called “the Pentecost of Ephesus” he explained that although the community in Ephesus had received the faith, it didn’t even know that the Holy Spirit existed.

“They were good people, people of faith” the Pope said, but they were not aware of this gift of the Father: “When Paul laid his hands on them the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues”.

The Holy Spirit moves the heart

The Holy Spirit, the Pope said, moves hearts as we can read in the Gospels that tell of many people who are moved to approach Jesus, like Nicodemus, like the woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, like the Samaritan, like the sinner. Thus the Pope invited the faithful to ask themselves: ‘what place does the Holy Spirit have in my life?’.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-with-canadian-prime-minister

Pope Francis meets with Canadian Prime Minister
2017-05-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Monday met with the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and his wife, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, in a private audience in the Vatican.

A communique from the Holy See Press Office said their discussions were "cordial".

"[T]he good bilateral relations between the Holy See and Canada were evoked, along with the contribution of the Catholic Church to the social life of the country. The parties then focused on the themes of integration and reconciliation, as well as religious freedom and current ethical issues."
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/shepherds-are-not-the-centre-of-the-church-says-po

Pope Francis: 'Shepherds are not the centre of the Church'
2017-05-30 Vatican Radio

(Vastican Radio) The true shepherd knows how to step down from his church, because he knows that he is not at the center of history, but is a free man who has served without compromises and without taking control of his flock. That was Pope Francis’ message during his homily at Mass celebrated on Tuesday in the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence.

“A shepherd must be ready to step down completely from his church, rather than leave in a partial manner” said the Pope.

His words were drawn from the first reading at Mass, where St Paul addressed the church leaders in Ephesus.  The Pope said that this reading could easily be called “A bishop’s leave taking” because Paul has left the Church of Ephesus in order to go to Jerusalem, where the Holy Spirit called him to go.

“All shepherds have to step down. There comes a moment where the Lord says ‘go to another place, come here, go there, come to me.’ And it’s one of the steps that a shepherd must take; be prepared to step down in the correct way, not still hanging on to his position. The shepherd who doesn’t learn how to do this because he still has some links with his sheep that are not good, links that are not purified by the Cross of Jesus” said Pope Francis.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-audience-hope-pushes-us-onward

Pope at Audience: Hope pushes us onward
2017-05-31 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his catechesis on Christian Hope at Wednesday’s General Audience, taking as his starting point a reading from St Paul’s Letter to the Romans:

Rom 15, 13-14: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. I myself am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.

The Holy Father said that in light of the upcoming feast of Pentecost, “we cannot fail to speak of the relationship between Christian hope and the Holy Spirit.” Hope, he said, quoting the Letter to the Hebrews, can be compared to an anchor, but also to a sail; like an anchor it gives us security, but like a sail it pushes us forward.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwGzta3erRw
2017.05.31 General Audience

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/01/pope_on_st_paul_model_of_preaching,_persecution_and_prayer/1316168

Pope on St Paul: model of preaching, persecution and prayer
01/06/2017 12:54

(Vatican Radio) The life of St Paul, characterised by preaching, persecutions and prayer, can be a model for all Christians today. That was the theme of Pope Francis’ homily at his Santa Marta Mass on Thursday morning.

Reflecting on the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, Pope Francis described St Paul as the ultimate action man. It’s hard to imagine him, relaxing under a beach umbrella, he said, because he was always on the go and rarely to be found sat in front of a desk.

Passion for preaching

Instead, the Pope said, St Paul was driven by a passion for preaching and was always on the move, announcing Jesus Christ to the world.

This passion for preaching led to a second characteristic of the apostle’s life which was the persecutions he suffered at the hands of the religious leaders of his day. But the Pope noted how Paul was inspired by the Spirit and was able to sow divisions between the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the Resurrection and the Pharisees, who did. 
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/01/pope_francis_to_clergy_plenary_prayer_key_to_mission/1316187

Pope Francis to Clergy Plenary: prayer key to mission
01/06/2017 13:34

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Clergy on Thursday. The Plenary Assembly opened on May 30th, with a packed schedule that included the introduction, consideration, and discussion of several major documents, one of which was the draft text of an Instruction “On some questions regarding the parish, the ministry of the parish priest, the grouping (It. raggruppamento) of parishes within the diocese, and some possible configurations of pastoral care” in light of Canon 517, which deals with ways of organizing and managing parishes under circumstances in which there is a critical shortage of priests.

Clergy Plenary in brief

The Plenary Assembly was also slated to consider texts on subjects ranging from the rules regarding the incardination of clerics who are members of public associations of clergy, to the figure and role of the exorcist in diocesan ministry.

Pope Francis focused his remarks on the recently promulgated document on priestly formation: the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis.
 
Full text--
http://www.clerus.va/content/clerus/en/notizie/new11.html

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/01/pope_francis_meets_with_dragan_%C4%8Dovi%C4%87_in_private_audience/1316226

Pope Francis meets with Dragan Čović in private audience
01/06/2017 14:47

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Thursday received in audience Dragan Čović, Croatian Member of the Collegial Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace.

A statement from the Holy See Press Office said, "During the cordial discussions, satisfaction was expressed for the good bilateral relations, consolidated by the Basic Agreement of 2006, and the parties considered the situation of the country, the challenges it finds itself facing and its European aspirations, with an exchange of views on themes of interest such as peace, reconciliation, interreligious dialogue and the presence of the Catholic community in the country."

It went on to say they also spoke about "various situations in currently international political affairs, with special reference to the regional context".
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/01/pope_francis_the_family,_europes_most_precious_treasure/1316133

Pope Francis: The family, Europe's most precious treasure
01/06/2017 11:25

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received in audience on Thursday members of the European Federation of Catholic Family Associations or (FAFCE).

The federation was meeting the Pope on the occasion of its 20th Anniversary.

FAFCE represents Catholic family associations from 14 European countries and has participatory status with the Council of Europe.
 
In his prepared words to those gathered for this anniversary, Pope Francis said that the family was Europe’s most precious treasure.

He continued by saying that families were not “museum pieces, but through them, the gift is made concrete in mutual commitment and generous openness to children, but also in service to society.”

Families, the Pope added, “are thus a kind of leaven that helps to make the world more humane and more fraternal, where no one feels rejected or abandoned.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/01/pope_sends_condolences_for_death_of_cardinal_husar/1316230

Pope sends condolences for death of Cardinal Husar
01/06/2017 14:54

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram his condolences on the death of His Beatitude, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyč. The telegram is addressed to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), Cardinal Husar’s successor as head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The UGCC is the largest of the sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches, with more than 4.5 million faithful.

In the telegram, signed by the Pope himself, the Holy Father describes Cardinal Husar as a zealous pastor, and recalled “his tenacious faithfulness to Christ, despite the hardships and persecutions against the Church, as well as his fruitful apostolic activity to promote the organization of Greek Catholic faithful, descendants of families forced to leave western Ukraine, and his efforts to find new ways for dialogue and collaboration with the Orthodox churches.”

Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ telegram of condolences for the death of His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyč:
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-mass-shepherd-the-people-of-god-with-humil

Pope at Mass: ‘Shepherd the people of God with humility’
2017-06-02 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Jesus entrusted his sheep to Peter, the most sinful of the remaining eleven apostles, and invited him to shepherd the People of God with humility and love, despite his mistakes and sins. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Friday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.

Pope Francis commented on the Gospel of the day (Jn 21:15-19), in which the Risen Jesus converses with Peter on the lake shore where he had first been called. The Pope said it was a calm, serene dialogue between friends and took place in the atmosphere of the Resurrection. In that event, Jesus entrusts his sheep to Peter, asking him three times if he loved him.

“Jesus,” the Pope said, “chose the most sinful from among the apostles. The others escaped but Peter denied him: ‘I don’t know him.’ And Jesus asked him, ‘Do you love me more than these?’ Jesus chose the worst sinner.”

Shepherd the People of God with humility, despite mistakes

The Holy Father said Jesus’ choice to choose the most sinful of the remaining eleven apostles to shepherd the People of God with love “makes us think”.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-holds-audience-with-president-of-latv

Pope Francis holds audience with president of Latvia
2017-06-02 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Friday met with Raimonds Vējonis, President of the Republic of Latvia, and his wife, Iveta Vejone, in a private audience in the Vatican.

A communique from the Holy See Press Office said, "During the cordial discussions, appreciation was expressed for the cordial bilateral relations and the positive contribution of the Catholic Church to Latvian society. Attention then turned to themes of common interest, such as the acceptance of migrants and the prospects for the future of the European project, focusing on the regional context."
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-prayer-intention-for-june-eliminate-a

Pope Francis' prayer intention for June: Eliminate arms trade
2017-06-02 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis has released his video message accompanying his monthly prayer intention for June.

This month’s intention is for the elimination of the arms trade.

The text of the video message reads:

"It is an absurd contradiction to speak of peace, to negotiate peace, and at the same time, promote or permit the arms trade.

Is this war or that war really a war to solve problems or is it a commercial war for selling weapons in illegal trade and so that the merchants of death get rich?

Let us put an end to this situation. Let us pray all together that national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade which victimizes so many innocent people."
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/02/greeting_to_muslims_to_mark_month_of_ramadan,_‘id_al–fitr/1316433

Greeting to Muslims to mark month of Ramadan, ‘Id al–Fitr
02/06/2017 12:34

(Vatican Radio) For the Islamic Month of Ramadan and the feast of ‘Id al–Fitr, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue has published a message to Muslims entitled “Christians and Muslims: Caring for our Common Home.

In the message, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the President of the Counci (PCID), offers best wishes to Muslims and "prayerful solidarity during this time of fasting in the month of Ramadan and the celebration of ‘Id al–Fitr that concludes it."

The PCID points out that this year it is drawing from Pope Francis' encyclical "Caring for our Common Home", which it notes is addressed to the whole of humanity.

Pope Francis, Cardinal Tauran says, "draws attention to the harm our lifestyles and decisions are causing to the environment, to ourselves and to our fellow human beings".

The greeting goes on to say that "as believers, our relationship with God should be increasingly shown in the way we relate to the world around us. Our vocation to be guardians of God’s handiwork is not optional, nor it is tangential to our religious commitment as Christians and Muslims: it is an essential part of it."

The Cardinal concludes with, "May the religious insights and blessings that flow from fasting, prayer and good works sustain you, with God’s help, on the path of peace and goodness, to care for all the members of the human family and for the whole of creation."

The month of Ramadan concludes with celebration of ‘Id al–Fitr on June 25th.

Below please find the English translation of the the message from the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for the month of Ramadan and ‘Id al–Fitr.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-pont-mission-societies-fidelity-key-to-ren

Pope to Pont. Mission Societies: fidelity key to renewal
2017-06-03 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the participants in the Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies on Saturday.

A main focus of the week-long Assembly has been the Extraordinary Missionary Month scheduled for October 2019 to commemorate the centenary of the promulgation of the encyclical Maximum illud, by which Pope Benedict XV sought to give a new élan to Catholic missionary endeavor in the wake of World War I’s devastation.

The Missionary Month is also aimed at promoting the missionary commitment of the Church in line with Pope Francis’ own 2013 missionary Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-greets-evangelical-leaders

Pope Francis greets Evangelical Leaders
2017-06-03 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday morning met with Evangelical leaders who are in Rome for the Vigil of Pentecost.

In a brief words of greeting, the Holy Father thanked them for their work for the unity of Christians, “which the Lord wants.” “Let us walk together,” he said, “let us help the poor together, let us perform acts of charity together, let us work for education together.” At the same time, he said, theologians can do their part and help in the effort for Christian unity. “But we are always on the journey, never stopping, never stopping… and together,” he said.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP6kXfhuFTw
2017.06.03 Pentecost Vigil 
Streamed live 12 hours ago
INTERNATIONAL SOUND Pope Francis takes part in the Pentecost Vigil organized by the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/04/pope_francis_at_pentecost_new_people,_new_hearts/1316917

Pope Francis at Pentecost: new people, new hearts
04/06/2017 16:01

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Sunday, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in St. Peter’s Square.

Before a crowd of scores of thousands of faithful – many of them pilgrims – gathered beneath a bright and nearly cloudless June sky, the Holy Father preached a homily that turned on two actions of the Holy Spirit, discernible in the readings of the day: He makes a new people and He gives each member of that people a new heart.

“[F]irst,” said Pope Francis, “[the Holy Spirit] he rests on each [of the disciples] and then brings all of them together in fellowship,” giving each a gift for the good of the new community He has created. “The same Spirit creates diversity and unity, and in this way forms a new, diverse and unified people: the universal Church.”

The Holy Father went on to indicate two recurrent temptations we must avoid if we are to be a new people and receive the gifts the Spirit disposes for us.

“The first temptation seeks diversity without unity,” he said. “The opposite temptation is that of seeking unity without diversity.”
 
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/04/pope_francis_homily_for_pentecost,_2017/1316876
Pope Francis: homily for Pentecost, 2017
04/06/2017 12:58

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/04/pope_francis_prayers_for_victims_of_london_terror_attacks/1316873

Pope Francis: prayers for victims of London terror attacks
04/06/2017 12:46

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis offered prayers for the victims of the Saturday evening terror attacks in London, as well as for the families of the victims.

The prayers of the Holy Father came at the end of Mass on Pentecost Sunday, during the course of remarks to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, as they prepared to pray the Regina coeli with him.

“May the Holy Spirit grant peace to the whole world,” Pope Francis prayed, “may He heal the wounds of war and of terrorism, which even this [Saturday] night, in London, struck innocent civilians: let us pray for the victims and their families.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/06/04/pope_francis_message_for_world_mission_sunday/1316889

Pope Francis: Message for World Mission Sunday
04/06/2017 14:03

Pope Francis waves at the end of a mass of Pentecost in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican June 4, 2017

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has issued his Message for World Mission Sunday, 2017, which is focused on Mission at the Heart of the Christian Faith. World Mission Sunday is marked each year in October, and this year is on October 15th. Please find the full text of the Holy Father's Message, below...
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Mission at the heart of the Christian faith

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Once again this year, World Mission Day gathers us around the person of Jesus, “the very first and greatest evangelizer” (PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 7), who continually sends us forth to proclaim the Gospel of the love of God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.  This Day invites us to reflect anew on the mission at the heart of the Christian faith.  The Church is missionary by nature; otherwise, she would no longer be the Church of Christ, but one group among many others that soon end up serving their purpose and passing away.  So it is important to ask ourselves certain questions about our Christian identity and our responsibility as believers in a world marked by confusion, disappointment and frustration, and torn by numerous fratricidal wars that unjustly target the innocent.  What is the basis of our mission?  What is the heart of our mission?  What are the essential approaches we need to take in carrying out our mission?
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-pays-final-respects-to-cardinal-husar

Pope Francis pays final respects to Cardinal Husar
2017-06-05 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) In a heartfelt personal letter, Pope Francis has expressed his desire to “be among those praying to the heavenly Father” for the “chosen soul of our Brother” Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.

The Holy Father noted the “extraordinary influx of people” paying their respects to the former head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. This, he said, “is an eloquent sign of what he has been: one of the highest and most respected moral authorities of the Ukrainian people in recent decades.”