Pope Francis

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Synod 2018

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/synod-youth-2018-press-briefing8.html

Synod of Bishops: Young people want us to speak out
20 October 2018, 15:32

A number of topics were covered in the Saturday press briefing for the Synod of Bishops on Young People. These included the bishops giving young people their high-profile voices, the right of people to stay at home and receive adequate development, the place of Scripture, clerical sex abuse and same-sex attraction.
By Russell Pollitt, SJ

Dr Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, said that the Synod had concluded with the third part, the pastoral response to young people. The final document is being drafted and will be presented to the bishops on Tuesday for discussion and amendment.

Using our voice

Cardinal Blaise Cupich from the USA said that he will do his best to give voice to young people because that is what they are asking the bishops to do. The Cardinal said that young people spoke about war, poverty, unemployment, migration, arms trafficking and governments who turn to war easily to deal with issues. He said that young people are asking the bishops to give their high-profile voice over to them to address these issues. They want bishops to speak to world leaders because they fear decisions being made now are putting their future and that of future generations at risk.
 

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Synod 2018

https://cnstopstories.com/2018/10/20/synod-groups-on-sexuality-church-welcomes-all-calls-all-to-conversion/

Synod groups on sexuality: Church welcomes all, calls all to conversion
Posted on October 20, 2018   
Updated
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — No one is excluded from the love of God or from being welcomed into the Catholic Church, but God’s love and the church’s welcome also come with a call to conversion, said the English-language groups at the Synod of Bishops.

Young people need to know “the church’s beautiful, yet challenging, vision, teaching and anthropology of the body, sexuality, love and life, marriage and chastity,” said the English-A group.

“At the same time, we restate the church’s opposition to discrimination against any person or group, and her insistence that God loves every young person, and so does the church,” the group said in its report.

The reports, published by the Vatican Oct. 20, were the result of reflections in the small groups — divided by language — on the final chapter of the synod working document, which dealt with “pastoral and missionary conversion.”

Most of the 14 working groups called for further local and national dialogue with young people on what they need from the Catholic Church and what they can offer the church. Most also called for a greater involvement of women in the life of the church, including in the training of priests, and many acknowledged how the sexual abuse scandal undermines the church’s credibility.

None of the synod groups in any language used the term “LGBT,” but many of them did refer to a need to help young people who struggle with church teaching on sexuality or, more explicitly, those who experience “same-sex attraction.”
 

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Synod 2018

https://zenit.org/articles/synod2018-different-language-groups-offer-reports-on-3rd-part-of-instrumentum-laboris-full-texts/

Synod2018: Different Language Groups Offer Reports on 3rd Part of Instrumentum Laboris (Full Texts) 
14 Groups Offers Insights
October 20, 2018 13:06
 
This morning, Oct. 20, 2018, during the 17th General Congregation of the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment, the Reports of the 14 Minor Circles were presented in the Hall to reflect on the third part of the Instrumentum Laboris in light of the contributions that emerged during the debate held in the previous General Congregations.

The full text of the reports, provided by the Vatican, follow:

Relatio – Circulus Anglicus A

Moderator: Em.mo Card. GRACIAS Oswald
 Relator: S.E. Mons. MARTIN Eamon

The Holy Spirit is rejuvenating the Church through this Synod. Holy Father, when you were at World Youth Day in Kraków, you asked the young people several times, “Can we change things?” Again and again their answer was a resounding “Yes!” In calling this Synod, you reminded us that young people are in your heart and in the heart of the Church. Led by the Spirit you have brought us on a ‘synodal journey’ for almost two years, leading to this graced month of discernment for the bishops of the world. In a curious reversal of roles, it is the young people here present who have accompanied us, helping us to scrutinise ‘the signs of the times’ and to discern, ‘in the light of the Gospel’ what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-10/pope-francis-angelus-service-glory.html

Pope at Angelus: ‘Service is antidote to glory-seeking’
21 October 2018, 12:46

Pope Francis prays Angelus with pilgrims  (AFP or licensors)
Ahead of the Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Francis says the way of service is the best antidote to self-promotion and glory-seeking.
By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims gathered on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, and reflected on the day’s Gospel (Mk 10:35-45).

He spoke about how Jesus tries to correct his disciples by “converting them from the mentality of the world to that of God.”

The Pope spoke about the brothers James and John, who had asked Jesus to sit at his right and left at the coming of the Kingdom of God.

“Jesus knows that James and John are animated by great enthusiasm for him and for the cause of the Kingdom, but he also knows that their expectations and their zeal are polluted by the spirit of the world,” the Pope said.

So, he continued, Jesus tells them: “You do not know what you are asking.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-10/pope-francis-angelus-world-mission-sunday.html#.W8xqPpaOfh4.twitter
Pope Francis recalls World Mission Sunday
21 October 2018, 12:14

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/tagle-share-journey-global-pilgrimage-caritas-internationalis.html

Pope promotes Share the Journey global pilgrimage on official launch
21 October 2018, 12:11

Pope Francis greets participants in the global pilgrimage portion of Caritas Internationalis' Share the Journey campaign, as Cardinal Tagle takes the first steps with migrants and refugees to launch the initiative on Sunday.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Pope Francis gave a special greeting at the Angelus prayer on Sunday to Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and participants in a global pilgrimage expressing solidarity with migrants and refugees.

"You've just completed a short pilgrimage within Rome," the Pope said, "to express your desire to walk together and thus learn to know each other better."

The Holy Father encouraged the "Share the Journey" initiative, and said it "can transform our relationship with migrants."

Cardinal Tagle, President of Caritas Internationalis, officially launched the global pilgrimage portion of the Share the Journey campaign on Sunday by walking together with migrants and refugees. He is asking other communities around the world to opposed hatred and fear by walking together with migrants and refugees for a million kilometers (621,371,192 miles).

Share the Journey campaign

This global pilgrimage is part of the Share the Journey campaign. Initiated in 2017 by Pope Francis, it seeks to bridge the gap between host communities and migrants, promoting a culture of encounter. Providing the vision for the campaign, Pope Francis said
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/migrant-caravan-mexico-us-share-journey-interview-bishop-vasquez.html
Thousands of migrants ask us to share the journey
21 October 2018, 09:00

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-10/pope-francis-passionists-general-chapter-audience.html

Pope: Passionists are called to read the signs of time
22 October 2018, 11:55

General Chapter, Congregation of the passion of Jesus
Pope Francis meets with members of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus, who are holding their General Chapter, from the 6th to the 27th of October, in Rome, calling them to be creative in responding to the needs of the times.
By Francesca Merlo

Pope Francis met with members of the Passionist Congregation on the occasion of their 47th General Chapter, ahead of the 300th anniversary of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus.

Stimulating a renewal

With their theme being “Renewing our mission: gratitude, prophecy and hope”, Pope Francis began his address by telling them that these three words “express the spirit with which you wish to stimulate your Congregation towards a renewal in your mission”.

The Pope spoke to the participants about their founder, St Paul of the Cross, whom he said “wanted your communities to be schools of prayer, in which to experience God”.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-10/pope-francis-audience-colombian-president-duque.html#.W83NzjJOqhg.twitter

Pope, Colombian president discuss reconciliation, corruption, drug trafficking
22 October 2018, 14:09

Colombian President Ivan Duque and his wife flanking Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican on October 22, 2018.   (ANSA)
President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia was received in a private visit by Pope Francis in the Vatican on October 22.

Pope Francis received President Iván Duque Márquez of Colombia in a private visit in the Vatican on Monday. Duque then held a meeting with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Vatican Under-Secretary for Relations with States, Monsignor Antoine Camilleri.

A statement by the Holy See’s Press Office said that “during the discussions, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, satisfaction was expressed for the good bilateral relations.”

The Vatican said that during the talks, “the contribution of the Holy See and the local Church in the peace process and in favour of the reconciliation of the Colombian people was evoked.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-10/pope-francis-feast-john-paul-ii-october-22.html

Pope Francis prays at St. John Paul II’s tomb on feast day
22 October 2018, 15:58

Pope Francis praying at the tomb of St.John Paul II on October 22, 2018.   (ANSA)
The feast of St. John Paul II is marked on October 22, the anniversary of the inauguration of his pontificate.

Pope Francis on Monday stopped by briefly to pray at the tomb of St. John Paul II in Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica on the day the Catholic Church marks the feast day of his predecessor.

Traditionally, the feast of a saint is celebrated on the anniversary of his/her death, the day the person left for his/her eternal abode.  However, in the case of Pope John Paul II, his feast was fixed for October 22,  when his pontificate was officially inaugurated.

John Paul II of Poland was elected on October 16, 1978, becoming the first Slav pope and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years since Dutch Pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522 to 1523.   

Six days later, on October 22, he inaugurated his pontificate with a solemn High Mass in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square.
 

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https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/10900/vatican-cites-immunity-to-refuse-ladaria-appearance-in-french-court

22 October 2018 | by Tom Heneghan   
Vatican cites immunity to refuse Ladaria appearance in French court

Abuse victims in Lyon wanted Ladaria to testify because he advised Barbarin in a letter to take disciplinary measures against an abusive priest

The Vatican has told French authorities that Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), cannot testify at a clerical sexual abuse trial in Lyon because he enjoys immunity due to the Holy See's sovereign status.

It informed the French foreign ministry that it would not notify Ladaria of its summons to appear on 7-9 January in the Lyon court, which has also called the city’s archbishop Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, two French bishops and a priest to testify.

The court, hearing accusations that the defendants failed to denounce a sexually abusive priest, decided last month to go ahead with the proceedings without Ladaria after not receiving any response to its request for him to testify.

Abuse victims in Lyon wanted the Spanish-born Ladaria to testify because he advised Barbarin in a letter to take disciplinary measures against confessed serial abuser Fr Bernard Preynat “while avoiding public scandal”.
 

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Synod 2018

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-sarahs-intervention-do-not-publish-yet

Mon Oct 22, 2018 - 7:00 pm EST
Cardinal Sarah to Synod Bishops: Young people want the truth, not watered-down teaching
Diane Montagna

ROME, October 22, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) — Young people would rather strive for demanding ideals based on the truth of the Catholic Faith than receive watered-down doctrine that keeps them at the status quo, Cardinal Robert Sarah has said.

In his  intervention last week at the Vatican Synod on Young People, Cardinal Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, reminded bishops that the teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality and other moral issues is very clear, but said a “lack of clarity” often comes from pastors who water it down in an attempt to attract young people to the Church.

Underestimating the “healthy idealism” of young people does them a great disservice, Cardinal Sarah told bishops. It is by calling them to live up to the demands of Christian holiness helps that bishops and priests help them to grow, mature, and become the “most precious resource” of a flourishing society.

Here below is the full text of Cardinal Sarah’s intervention.
 

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Synod 2018

https://cruxnow.com/synod-of-bishops-on-youth/2018/10/20/bishops-press-for-abuse-scandals-women-and-more-to-be-in-final-text/

Bishops press for abuse scandals, women and more to be in final text
Crux Staff   Oct 20, 2018

ROME - As a monthlong summit of bishops in Rome enters its final week, the latest round of reports from small working groups organized by language released on Saturday suggests a growing impatience to get practical.

Topics the groups want addressed range from clerical sexual abuse scandals and justice for women in the Church, to migration, the environment, human trafficking and more.

The Synod of Bishops on young people, faith and vocational discernment is taking place in Rome Oct. 3-28, marking the third synod under Pope Francis after two dedicated to the family in 2014 and 2015.

As before, the working groups were asked to organize their reflections in terms of reactions to the Instrumentum laboris, or working document, presented shortly before the meeting.

The following are summaries of each of the small group reports prepared by Crux staff.

The Germans
 

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Synod 2018

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/synod-youth-2018-press-briefing9.html

Synod of Bishops: We must ask for forgiveness
22 October 2018, 15:53

At Monday’s press briefing for the Synod of Bishops on Young People a bishop said that the Church must ask young people for forgiveness for the kind of world we have created.
By Russell Pollitt, SJ

The Synod Fathers had Monday off while the first draft of the Synod document was being finalised. This draft will be presented at the General Assembly on Tuesday morning. The draft will be debated on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday the Synod Fathers will have a day off while a final draft is being prepared. On Friday the General Assembly will meet to elect a new Council for the Synod and, on Saturday, the final document will be presented to the bishops. They will vote on the document paragraph by paragraph, each needing a two thirds majority to be included in the final document.

We must ask forgiveness
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2018-10/pope-francis-homily-daily-mass-hope-encounter-jesus.html#.W88e4w8JV1Q.twitter

Pope at Mass: Hope is living for the encounter with Jesus
23 October 2018, 12:10

Pope Francis delivers the homily during the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta  (Vatican Media)
In the homily at the Mass at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflects on hope, which is not abstract, but living in expectation of the concrete encounter with Jesus. And it is wise, the Pope emphasized, to know how to rejoice in the little encounters of daily life with the Lord.
By Debora Donnini

In his daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis explained “hope” with the image of a pregnant woman waiting for her child to be born. Hope, he said, is not something abstract. Hope instead means living in expectation of the concrete encounter with Jesus. And wisdom consists in being able to rejoice in the “little encounters of the life with Jesus."
 

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Synod 2018

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/synod-youth-2018-press-briefing10.html#.W888gnanKH8.twitter

Synod of Bishops: Young people are used-less, not useless
23 October 2018, 16:04

Tuesday Synod Briefing
At the Tuesday briefing for the Synod of Bishops on Young People, Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines said that the young women present with the bishops provided a much-needed expansion of horizons at the Synod.
By Russell Pollitt, SJ

The draft of the final document was presented to the Synod Fathers on Tuesday morning and was greeted with a long round of applause, Dr Paolo Ruffini Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication said. On Wednesday, the Synod Fathers will put forward proposals for integration into the final document. Dr Ruffini said that the document is different to the working document, the Instrumentun Laboris, but reflects many of the issues that were outlined in that document. He said that the icon for the entire document is the Scriptural account of the Road to Emmaus. He also said that a letter is being prepared and addressed to young people.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-10/pope-francis-general-audience-sixth-commandment-25-october-2018.html

Pope Francis: You can't love only when it's convenient
24 October 2018, 11:28

Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the Ten Commandments, reflecting this week on the Sixth Word: "You shall not commit adultery."
By Christopher Wells

In his catechesis at the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis said the primary call of the Sixth Commandment – “You shall not commit adultery” – is a call to fidelity and loyalty in our relationships.

We cannot love another only as long as it is convenient, he said. True love for another is revealed in fidelity, which is a characteristic of “free, mature, responsible human relationships.” Even in friendships we see that a true friend is one who is there for us even in trials.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/general-audience-on-the-6th-commandment-thou-shall-not-commit-adultery-full-text/
GENERAL AUDIENCE: On the 6th Commandment: ‘Thou Shall Not Commit Adultery’ (FULL TEXT) 
October 24, 2018 15:54

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

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-removes-bishop-holley-as-head-of-memphis-diocese-34417

Pope Francis removes Bishop Holley as head of Memphis diocese

Bishop Martin D. Holley. Courtesy Photo
By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Oct 24, 2018 / 04:31 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Wednesday removed Bishop Martin D. Holley from the pastoral government of the Diocese of Memphis and appointed Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville to oversee the diocese until further notice.

The Vatican announced Oct. 24 that Pope Francis “has relieved” Bishop Holley “from the pastoral government of the diocese of Memphis” and appointed Archbishop Kurtz temporary  apostolic administrator “ad nutum Sanctae Sedis,” meaning “at the disposition of the Holy See.”

The removal follows a Vatican investigation into the Diocese of Memphis in June to address concerns about major changes Bishop Holley, 63, had made. Among these was the reassignment of up to two-thirds of the 60 active priests in the diocese, according to local media reports.
 

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Synod 2018

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2018-10/synod-youth-2018-press-briefing11.html

Synod of Bishops: God is an abstract thought for the young
24 October 2018, 16:18

Although many young people attend mass and go to confession, and despite 12 years of catechism, God still remains an abstract thought for them, a bishop says at Wednesday’s press briefing.
By Russell Pollitt, SJ

On Wednesday the Synod Fathers discussed the draft of the final document of the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. A letter to young people, from the Synod, was also read out in the General Assembly. It is expected that the letter will be read at the closing Mass of the Synod on Sunday, 28 October.
 

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Synod 2018

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/a-synod-summary-from-the-polish-synod-fathers---oct-24-85269

A synod summary from the Polish synod fathers – Oct 24

Vatican City, Oct 24, 2018 / 11:00 am (CNA).- The synod of bishops on young people, the faith, and vocational discernment is being held at the Vatican Oct. 3-28.

CNA plans to provide a brief regular summary of the sessions, provided by the synodal fathers from Poland.

Please find below the Polish fathers' summary of the Oct. 24 session:

The morning session on October 24th began with the organization of the bishops’ pilgrimage ad Petri Sedem, which will take place tomorrow morning. The second topic was the draft of the Letter of Synod Fathers to the Youth of the World. Thirdly, the rules for the election of the members of the Council’s Secretariat, 21 from each continent, were discussed.

“Ordinaries and prelates with the same rights as ordinaires may be elected members of the Council’s Secretariat, whereas the auxiliary bishops may only make vote but not be elected. The Council’s Secretariat meets once or twice a year to prepare a prolongation of the text that the Holy Father will probably publish as an apostolic exhortation,” said Archbishop Stanisław Gadecki, President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.

During the deliberations, further amendments to the final document were submitted.

“The opinion prevails that the text of the final document is much better than the instrumentum laboris. The fact of reading the two documents together was also questioned. The additions to the final text concerned, among other things, catechesis, some attention was also devoted to catechists,” said Archbishop Gądecki.
 

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Synod 2018

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/are-efforts-being-made-to-smuggle-in-rejected-topics-into-youth-synod

Oct. 24, 2018
Are Efforts Being Made to Smuggle Rejected Topics into Youth Synod?

The controversial issue of homosexuality may be subtly introduced into the final document by means of different language, and inclusion of the much-disparaged working document.
Edward Pentin

The Synod Fathers are currently examining and debating the final document of the Youth Synod, tabling amendments and propositions (modi) to the draft which will be voted on, paragraph by paragraph, on Saturday.

The general sense among the bishops, including those from Africa (whose voice some said had been “drowned out”) is that their views have been listened to and have found their way into the document.

But sources inside the synod hall say that efforts are currently underway to smuggle into the document by other means issues not expected to pass a two-thirds vote, and firmly opposed by a majority of synod fathers.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2018-10/vatican-christmas-concert.html

Christmas concert in the Vatican
24 October 2018, 16:04

Dee Dee Bridgewater, one of the participants at the 2018 Vatican Christmas Concert 
The audience hall of Paul VI will be the venue of the annual Vatican Christmas concert on December 15th. Two projects dedicated to helping refugees in Uganda and Iraq will benefit from the concert.
By Joachim Teigen

Details of the annual Vatican Christmas concert were announced this week. The two projects whose work will be aided by the sale of concert tickets are the “Don Bosco Mission” working for the improvement of conditions for refugees in Uganda, and the “Scholas Project” aiming to provide education for refugees in Iraq. The concert will take place on December 15th at 18.30 in the Paul VI audience hall in the Vatican.