Pope Francis

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Photo gallery at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-homily-pentecost-holy-spirit-change-force.html#.WwFUBMV-GbE.twitter

Pope Francis on Pentecost: The Holy Spirit changes hearts
20 May 2018, 08:57

Pope Francis enters St Peter's Basilica to preside over the Pentecost Sunday liturgy  (Vatican Media)
“The rush of violent wind” (Acts 2:2) that accompanies the Holy Spirit’s descent on the Apostles is an image suggesting change and force, Pope Francis said in his Pentecost Sunday homily. (With photo gallery.)
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

In his homily on Pentecost Sunday delivered before thousands of the faithful gathered in St Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis focused on the action of the Holy Spirit expressed in the Scripture readings from the Acts of the Apostles, St Paul's letter to the Galatians, and St John’s Gospel.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/holy-fathers-homily-on-pentecost-full-text/
Holy Father’s Homily on Pentecost (Full Text) 
‘You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses.’
May 20, 2018 14:56

Video at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-regina-coeli-20-may-2018-pentecost-spirit-holiness.html

Regina Coeli: History of Christian holiness begin on Pentecost
20 May 2018, 15:06 

Pope Francis greets pilgrims gathered for the recitation of the Regina Caeli in St Peter's Square  (ANSA)
Before praying the Regina Coeli with the pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday, Pope Francis reflects on the Holy Spirit, the “font of holiness”.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

On the day of Pentecost, when the Apostles, and the disciples were united in prayer with Mary, “the history of Christian holiness began becausethe Holy Spirit is the font of holiness”, the Pope said before the weekly recitation of the Regina Coeli with thousands gathered in St Peter's Square.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/regina-coeli-address-on-the-feast-of-pentecost/
Regina Coeli Address: On the Feast of Pentecost 
May 20, 2018 15:15

Video at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-new-cardinals-angelus.html#.WwFv8jEbW4M.twitter

Pope Francis announces names of fourteen new cardinals
20 May 2018, 13:27

Pope Francis announced the names of fourteen new cardinals   (Vatican Media)
Speaking to pilgrims and visitors gathered in St Peter's Square on Sunday for the recitation of the Regina Caeli prayer, the Pope announced he would create new cardinals at a Consistory on June 29th

Pope Francis on Sunday announced that he will create fourteen new cardinals in a Consistory scheduled to take place on June 29th.

In the surprise announcement following his Regina Caeli address, the Pope noted that the places from which the new cardinals come “expresses the universality of the Church, which continues to announce the merciful love of God to all men and women on earth”.

Universality of Church

The men who will receive their red hats from the Pope include bishops from Iraq, Pakistan, Portugal, Peru, Madagascar, Italy and Japan.

The list also includes Polish archbishop Konrad Krajewski, who serves as the papal almoner here in Rome, and three Italian archbishops, Angelo De Donatis, the vicar general of the Rome diocese, Luis Ladaria, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Giovanni Becciu, the Substitute of the Secretary of State and Special Delegate for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Pope Francis said their nominations “manifests the unbreakable bond between the See of Peter and the local Churches throughout the world”.

Alongside them, Pope Francis also nominated to the College of Cardinals a retired archbishop of Mexico, a retired bishop of Bolivia and a priest from the Claretian order, all of whom, he said, “have distinguised themselves for their service to the Church”.

The names of the new Cardinals are:
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-santa-marta-mary-church-woman-mother.html

Pope Francis: The Church, like Mary, is woman and mother
21 May 2018, 12:25

Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
The Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, was observed for the first time on Monday; the movable feast is set for the first day following Pentecost. In his homily during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis said the first virtue of a mom is tenderness.
By Vatican News

“The Church is feminine,” Pope Francis said in his homily on Monday, “she is a mother.”

When this trait is lacking, the Pope continued, the Church resembles merely “a charitable organization, or a football team”; when it is “a masculine Church,” it sadly becomes “a church of old bachelors,” “incapable of love, incapable of fruitfulness.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-03/pope-institutes-new-celebration-of-mary--mother-of-church.html
Pope institutes new celebration of Mary, Mother of Church
03 March 2018, 12:40

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-heroic-virtues-12-servants-god-american.html

Pope confirms heroic virtues of 12 Servants of God
21 May 2018, 14:33

The Holy Father approves the heroic virtues of twelve Servants of God in decrees promulgated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Pope Francis has confirmed the heroic virtues of 12 Servants of God in a decree promulgated by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on May 19th.

Those whose heroic virtues the Pope recognized include American-born Servant of God Norbert McAuliffe (born: John), a professed religious of the Institute of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart.

Here is the full list of decrees:
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2018-05/vatican-dicastery-message-ramadan-competition-collaboration.html

Vatican’s message for Ramadan: “Move from competition to collaboration”
18 May 2018, 11:53

By Robin Gomes

The Vatican is urging Christians and Muslims to “move from competition to collaboration”, saying rivalry between them has had negative consequences.

The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) made the exhortation in a message released on Friday on the occasion of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and its conclusion, Id al-Fitr.
 
Pope Francis

Earlier on Wednesday, Pope Francis also extended his “cordial wishes” to Muslims worldwide who on Thursday began Ramadan.  He wished that this “privileged time of prayer and fasting help in walking the path of God which is of peace.”     

Id al-Fitr, that marks the end of Ramadan, will be marked this year on June 15, but the date could vary from country to country depending on the sighting of the moon.

Please find below the full text of the PCID message:
 

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https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/21/europe/pope-francis-gay-comments-intl/index.html

Pope Francis tells gay man: 'God made you like that and loves you like that'
By Delia Gallagher and Hada Messia, CNN
Updated 10:54 AM ET, Mon May 21, 2018

Rome (CNN) — A victim of clerical sexual abuse has said that Pope Francis told him that God made him gay and that his sexuality "does not matter."

Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of sexual abuse, spent three days with Pope Francis at the Vatican in April, in which he discussed his sexuality and the abuse he suffered at the hands of a Chilean priest.

Describing his encounter with the Pope to CNN, Cruz said: "You know Juan Carlos, that does not matter. God made you like this. God loves you like this. The Pope loves you like this and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say."

The Pope's words would amount to a significant departure from the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, which considers homosexuality "objectively disordered" and contrary to God's law.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told CNN on Monday: "We do not normally comment on the Pope's private conversations."
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/05/21/abuse-victim-says-pope-francis-told-him-being-gay-doesnt-matter/
Abuse victim says Pope Francis told him “being gay doesn’t matter”
Inés San Martín   May 21, 2018

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https://zenit.org/articles/it-is-not-a-sin-to-criticize-the-pope-here-pope-francis-tells-italian-bishops/

‘It Is Not a Sin to Criticize the Pope Here!’ Pope Francis Tells Italian Bishops 
At Opening of General Assembly of CEI, Francis Shares His Three Concerns
May 22, 2018 14:09•Deborah Castellano Lubov•Episcopal Conferences
 
‘It is not a sin to criticize the Pope here!’

Pope Francis told Italian prelates this yesterday May 21, 2018, during the Italian Episcopal Conference’s (CEI) 71st General Assembly, which is taking place until May 24 on the theme: “Which Ecclesial Presence in the Current Communicative Context.”

In the address, the Holy Father expressed his primary concerns, and then the doors closed for private discussion.

After thanking them for their prensence, especially in inaugurating the Feast Day of Mary Mother of the Church, he invited: “Let us all say from our heart, all together: “Monstra te esse matrem”. Always: “Monstra te esse matrem.”

Expressing the prayer means ‘Make us feel that you are the mother,’ he noted it is recognition that we are not alone, that Mary accompanies us as a mother,’

“It is the motherhood of the Church, of the Hierarchical Holy Mother Church, which is gathered here … But that she is a mother. “Hierarchical Holy Mother Church”, as Saint Ignatius [of Loyola] so liked to say.”

The Holy Father prayed that Mary, our Mother, “help us so that the Church may be a mother. And – following the inspiration of the fathers – may our soul also be a mother. The three women: Mary, the Church and our soul. All three mothers. May the Church be Mother, may our soul be a Mother.”

Expressing he wishes the meeting be a time of dialogue and reflection, the Pontiff shared the three things that worry him. He urged them to not hesitate to voice their thoughts frankly, noting: “it is not a sin to criticize the Pope here! It is not a sin, it can be done.”

First Concern
 
Video at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-to-meet-in-june-with-chilean-clerical-abuse-victims-35385

Pope to meet in June with Chilean clerical abuse victims

Vatican City, May 22, 2018 / 02:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis will meet for three days next month with victims of a Chilean priest who committed sexual abuse as well as abuse of power and conscience, in an effort to respond to the country's clerical sex abuse crisis.

The Holy See press office stated May 22 that Pope Francis will receive a second group of victims of Fr. Fernando Karadima and his followers at the Vatican's Santa Marta guesthouse June 1-3.

The group of nine includes five priests who were victims of abuse of power, conscience, and sexuality; two priests who have been assisting the victims; and two lay people.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-general-audience-catechesis-sacrament-confirmation.html

Pope at General Audience: 'without the Holy Spirit we are nothing'
23 May 2018, 14:33

Pope Francis during the General Audience in St. Peter's Square   (ANSA)
During the General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis prayed for war ravaged eastern Ukraine and reflected on the Sacrament of Confirmation.
By Linda Bordoni

"Only the Spirit of Christ can make us "salt that gives taste" and "light that illuminates the world" said Pope Francis during his catechesis on Wednesday morning.

He was speaking to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience during which he continued in his series of reflections dedicated to the Sacraments.

Without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing

Pointing out that without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing, the Pope focused on the Sacrament of Confirmation, which he said, owes its name to the fact that it “confirms” the grace of our Baptism.

He explained that during Confirmation we are anointed with the “chrism” – the oil mixed with perfume that has been consecrated by the bishop - so that we can bear witness to Christ before the world.

That’s why, he said, we speak of being “Anointed by the Holy Spirit”.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-china-prayers-appeal-general-audience.html
Pope asks for prayers for Catholics in China
23 May 2018, 11:12

Video at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-indulgence-world-meeting-families-dublin.html

Pope Francis grants indulgences for IX World Meeting of Families
23 May 2018, 14:35

Pope Francis poses with Irish families during a general audience in St Peters Square  (ANSA)
The Apostolic Penitentiary issues a decree regarding the indulgences Pope Francis has granted on the occasion of the IX World Meeting of Families.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Those who participate in the events of the IX World Meeting of Families from August 21-26 either in person, through television or radio, or through a spiritual participation will be able to obtain a plenary indulgence according to a Decree dated 21 May 2018 published by the Apostolic Penitentiary. Pope Francis is offering this possibility so that those who participate will be “spiritually prepared in the best way possible”, the Decree says.

How to obtain the indulgences

For those participating physically in the events, the Decree says that the indulgence is granted to those who “devoutly participate at some event during the IX World Meeting of Families, with the usual conditions of Sacramental confession, reception of Communion, a prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father, and a heart completely detached from sin.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-chinese-people-sheshan.html#.WwbEYjYWrqk.twitter

Pope Francis dedicates Mass to ‘noble Chinese people’
24 May 2018, 13:22

Pope Francis preaches at Mass in the Casa Santa Marta  (Vatican Media)
Dedicating Thursday morning's Mass at the Casa Santa Marta to the “noble Chinese people” celebrating Our Lady of Sheshan, Pope Francis invites the faithful to be careful with riches, which can seduce and enslave.

Pope Francis dedicated the Mass on Thursday to the “noble Chinese people” who are celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Sheshan, Mother of China.

In his homily, the Holy Father invited us to keep our hearts far away from riches, because they are given to us so that we may give them to others.

Poverty is at the heart of the Gospel

He drew inspiration from the Epistle of James, which tells how the wages that the rich withhold from their workers cries out to God for justice.

Pope Francis said the scripture passage speaks “forcefully” to the rich and is a reminder of what Jesus himself told them.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/report-pope-francis-affirms-church-practice-against-admitting-gay-men-to-seminary-65273

Report: Pope Francis affirms Church practice against admitting gay men to seminary

Vatican City, May 24, 2018 / 11:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a closed-door speech to Italian bishops on Monday, Pope Francis spoke about the number and quality of seminary candidates, including concerns about their sexual orientation.

At the start of his May 21 audience with Italian bishops, Pope Francis voiced three areas of concern for the Church in Italy, the first of which was the lack of vocations.

Francis' brief remarks on his concerns, which also touched on evangelical poverty and transparency and the incorporation of Italian dioceses, were televised; however, his discussion with the bishops afterward was not.

In his public remarks on vocations, Pope Francis lamented the culture of the provisional, of relativism, and of the dictatorship of money, which hinder young people from discerning consecrated life. He also proposed that Italian dioceses with an abundance of vocations lend some of their priests to those Italian dioceses lacking in priests.

But in the discussion that followed the pope told the bishops to care more for the quality of seminary candidates than the quantity. Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti of Perugia-Citta della Pieve, president of the Italian bishops' conference, confirmed Francis' comments about homosexuality in a May 24 press conference.

The Pope touched on the topic of homosexuality, particularly when it comes to individuals with “deep-seated tendencies” or who practice “homosexual acts”, yet who want to enter the seminary.

In these cases, “if you have even the slightest doubt it's better not to let them enter,” Francis said, according to Vatican Insider, because these acts or deep-seated tendencies can lead to scandals and can compromise the life of the seminary, as well as the man himself and his future priesthood.
 

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https://zenit.org/articles/in-new-papal-interview-pope-praises-st-john-xxiiis-living-the-gospel/

In New Papal Interview, Pope Praises St John XXIII’s Living the Gospel 
Francis Speaks to Italian Daily ‘Eco da Bergamo’ as St John XXIII’s Remains Are Visiting His Home Diocese
•May 24, 2018 13:57•Deborah Castellano Lubov•Francis
 
Pope Francis has praised his precedecessor St Pope John XXIII in a recently-granted interview with Italian daily “Eco di Bergamo.”

To mark the 60th anniversary of St. Pope John XXIII’s election as Pope and 55th anniversary of his death, the late Pope’s home Diocese of Bergamo is hosting the late Pope’s remains for nearly 20 days, and likewise, the Pope granted Bergamo’s newspaper this interview, which was published this morning.

In the interview, the Holy Father discusses issues ranging from young people and Christianity’s need to be an ‘encounter with Christ,’ to interreligious dialogue and terrorism

Responding to other inquiries, the Jesuit Pontiff also reflected on St. John XXIII and praised his witness and love for the Gospel.

“Christianity,” the Pope highlights in the interview, “is not an ideal to follow, a philosophy to adhere to or a moral to be applied,” but is rather “an encounter with Jesus Christ that makes us recognize in the flesh of brothers and sisters His very presence.” It requires going to “the heart” of the Gospel.

This, the Holy Father urges, is an invitation for us “to share the bread with the hungry, to cure the sick, the elderly, those who can not give us anything, nothing in return.” The story of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli who would become St Pope John XXIII, Francis said, is composed of these “gestures of closeness” with the suffering and the needy, regardless of their religion.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-05/pope-francis-mass-santa-marta-marriage-image-god.html

Pope Francis: Marriage is an image of God
25 May 2018, 12:54

Pope Francis at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta  (Vatican Media)
Despite the difficulties in marriage and family life, Pope Francis invites us to consider the beauty of marriage in his homily at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.

Pope Francis spoke about the beauty of marriage in his homily at the Casa Santa Marta on Friday. Among the faithful present at the morning Mass were seven married couples celebrating their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries.

“Yes, you can” or “no, you can’t”
 
The Gospel passage for the day, from the Gospel of St Mark, speaks of the intentions of the Pharisees, who asked Jesus a question precisely in order to test Him. Pope Francis described questions of this kind, about what you can or can’t do, as casuistic. He explained: “Not the great ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ with which we are familiar. This is God.” Instead, the Pharisees reduce the Christian life, the way of following God, to a question of “yes, you can,” or “no, you can’t.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-rome-police-family.html

Pope: Health of family is decisive for world, Church
25 May 2018, 13:48

Pope meeting officials and personnel of the Rome Police Headquarters and the Central Health Directorate, along with their families, May 25, 2018.
Pope Francis on Friday received in audience officials and personnel of the Rome Police Headquarters and the Central Health Directorate, who came along with their families.
By Robin Gomes

The good health of the family, where love, faith and good deeds are taught and learnt, is decisive for the future of the world and the Church.   This is why the Church, in the footsteps of Jesus, is close to families that face the challenges and difficulties of today.

Pope Francis gave this assurance while talking to the officials and personnel of the Rome Police Headquarters and the Central Health Directorate, who came along with their families to meet him. 

The  Pope who was particularly  moved to meet the families, especially children, noted that the bitter realities of life, of pain and evil are understood and overcome in the communion of life and love of the family.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2018/mercy-friday-pope-surprises-students-rehearsing-after-school.cfm

Mercy Friday: Pope surprises students rehearsing after school
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
5.25.2018 1:35 PM ET

CNS photo/Vatican Media
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Continuing his occasional series of "Mercy Friday" visits, Pope Francis surprised the students at a school renamed in March in honor of a student who died of leukemia at the age of 11.

For the visit May 25 to the Elisa Scala Comprehensive School, which includes students from the age of 3 to 14, the pope also brought books for the school library. The Vatican did not provide the titles of the books or give any other details about them.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-centesimus-annus-social-doctrine-ethics-economics.html

Pope: Church’s social doctrine helps build economic justice, equality, inclusion
26 May 2018, 13:23

Pope addressing participants in conference organized by the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation, 26 May, 2018.   (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis on Saturday addressed participants in an international conference that discussed policies and lifestyles in the digital age.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis on Saturday urged that the richness of the social teaching of the Catholic Church be spread across the world to help build a global culture of economic justice, equality and inclusion.

Global economic system needs ethics

“The current difficulties and crises within the global economic system have an undeniable ethical dimension,” the Pope said.  “They are related to a mentality of egoism and exclusion that has effectively created a culture of waste blind to the human dignity of the most vulnerable,” the Pope told participants in an international conference organized by the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation.

St. Pope John Paul II instituted the foundation in 1993 to promote the Church’s social doctrine, especially as outlined in his 1991 encyclical, “Centesimus Annus” with which he commemorated 100 years of Pope Leo XXIII’s landmark encyclical on the social teaching of the Church.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-05/pope-francis-becciu-new-prefect-congregation-saints.html

Archbishop Becciu - new Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
26 May 2018, 15:51

Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu.
Archbishop Giovanni Becciu is currently the Substitute for General Affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State and the Pope’s special delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a new man to head the Vatican’s office that is charged with the process of beatification and canonization of candidates to sainthood.

The Pope appointed 69-year old Italian Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu as the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes  of Saints.  He will assume his post at the end of August.

In the meantime, he will continue as Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State until June 29, and as special delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta, popularly known as the Knights of Malta.

Archbishop Becciu who is among the 14 new cardinals that Pope Francis will create on June 29,  succeeds 79-year old Italian Cardinal Angelo Amato who is well past the retirement age of 75.  Cardinal Amato has been heading the Congregation since 2008.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-05/patriarch-bartholomew-centesimus-annus-solidarity.html

Bartholomew I to Centesimus Annus: challenge is solidarity
26 May 2018, 12:40

Pope Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople  (Vatican Media)
The Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, delivered an address on Saturday before the Centesimus Annus assembly saying that Christian principles alone can heal ecological, technological and political ills.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Bartholomew I began by expressing his gratitude to the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation for having invited him to speak. The Patriarch used the theme of the conference, “New Policies and Life-Styles in the Digital Age”, as a framework for his presentation.

Crisis of solidarity

The Patriarch first acknowledged that “we are facing a serious crisis and its social outcomes on a global scale”. He defined that crisis as one of a “crisis of solidarity”, or of “desolidarization”. That crisis has been fed by the fields of economy and ecology, science and technology, and society and politics.