Pope Francis

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-giovanni-maria-vian-osservatore-romano.html

Pope thanks retired Vatican newspaper Editor-in-Chief for his service
27 December 2018, 16:43

Prof. Giovanni Maria Vian
Pope Francis has expressed admiration and gratitude to Prof. Giovanni Maria Vian who has just ended his service as Editor-in-Chief of the Vatican newspaper the “Osservatore Romano”.
By Linda Bordoni

In a letter of thanks and esteem for years of quality work at the head of the Vatican’s “Osservatore Romano” newspaper, Pope Francis sent his greetings and thanks to Prof. Giovanni Maria Vian saying that he knows he will be able to continue to avail himself of his support and advice.

Prof. Vian, who has recently retired, was Editor-in-Chief of the “Osservatore Romano” since 2007. Last week Pope Francis appointed Andrea Monda as his replacement.  In his letter, the Pope recalled that Prof. Vian was appointed to serve the Holy See publication by Pope Benedict XVI, and said he has done so “with competence”, “qualified professionalism”, “exemplary adherence to the Magisterium” and “consistent Christian commitment”.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-francis-parolin-taize-youth-meeting-madrid.html

Pope urges Taizé European youth to fraternity
27 December 2018, 15:30

Some 15,000 young people are being hosted by 170 parishes in Madrid, Spain, from December 28 to January 1, for the 41st European Youth Meeting, organized by the Ecumenical Community of Taizé.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis is challenging the young people of the Taize Community to hospitality, inviting them to open the door of their heart to the Lord and to His Word and to "promote a culture of encounter", welcoming one another, respecting their differences.

Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin has sent a message on the Pope’s behalf to the ecumenical community that is holding its annual year-end European Youth Meeting in Madrid, Spain, December 28 to January 1.

In the message to the 41st edition of the event, which is on the theme, “Let us not forget hospitality”, the Pope recalls his message for World Youth Day 2018 and encourages the young people of Taizé to never lose the desire to enjoy “the taste of encounter, of friendship, of dreaming together and of walking with others.”  This, he explains, is because “authentic Christians are not afraid to open themselves to others, to share their living spaces, transforming them into spaces of  fraternity .”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2018-12/austria-commemorates-200-anniversary-silent-night.html

Austria Commemorates 200th Anniversary of Silent Night
27 December 2018, 17:21

Church standing on the site of St Nikolaus Church where "Silent Night" was played for the first time on 24 December 1818.  (AFP or licensors)
Austria is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night". The peaceful song about the birth of Jesus that became a crucial part of Christmas celebrations, was sung publicly for the first time in December 1818 in an Austrian town.
By Stefan J. Bos

Austria is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the famous Christmas carol that survived and sometimes interrupted wars or other conflicts. Silent Night, the peaceful song about the birth of Jesus that became a crucial part of Christmas celebrations, was sung publicly for the first time in December 1818 in an Austrian town. A series of exhibitions underscore that first  Christmas concert.

Silent Night background

Exactly 200 years after it was first performed, people gather to sing "Stille Nacht," known in English as "Silent Night."

It's the Christmas carol that briefly silenced guns and reverberated through the tranches of World War One and other battles. 
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-francis-telegram-condolences-egypt-roadside-bomb.html

Pope Francis prays for victims of Egypt bus attack
29 December 2018, 15:27

In a telegram addressed to the President of Egypt, Pope Francis assures prayers for all those affected by a roadside bomb that killed 4 people in Giza.
By Francesca Merlo

Pope Francis said he was “deeply saddened to learn of the recent bomb attack near Giza”. The message came in a telegram to Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

Telegram

In the telegram, the Pope condemned the attack on a tourist bus, and deplored “this senseless and brutal act”. He said he is praying for “the victims and their families, for the injured and for the emergency personnel who generously came to their aid.”

Finally, Pope Francis encouraged all Egyptians “to overcome violence with solidarity and peace” and invoked “divine blessings upon Egypt and its people”.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2018-12/canonical-mccarrick-inquiry-victim-testifies-new-york.html

Canonical McCarrick inquiry: Victim testifies in New York
29 December 2018, 12:28

Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick   (2010 Getty Images)
A man accusing ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of sexually abusing him when he was a teenager has given testimony to the Archdiocese of New York.
By Alessandro Gisotti

James Grein, a man from the US state of Virginia who claims to have been abused over the course of several years by Theodore E. McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, gave testimony on Thursday to the judicial vicar of the Archdiocese of New York. The investigation was opened by mandate of the Holy See through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which has collected testimony through a delegate who is also an official of the Archdiocese of New York. Grein, who claims to have been abused since the age of 11, also made a statement to the Associated Press through his lawyer, Patrick Noaker. “He wants his church back. He felt that in order to accomplish that end, he had to go in and testify here and tell them what happened, and give the church itself the chance to do the right thing.”

Pope Francis suspended McCarrick in July

Following the publication of accusations of sexual abuse against former Archbishop Theodore Edgar McCarrick, Pope Francis accepted his resignation as cardinal on July 28th. He also “ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, along with the obligation to remain in a house” for “a life of prayer and penance, until the accusations made against him are clarified by the regular canonical process.”
 
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11186/vatican-begins-mccarrick-investigation-
29 December 2018, The Tablet
Vatican begins McCarrick investigation
by Carol Zimmermann, CNS

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https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2018/12/28/abuse-expert-hopes-summit-will-include-bishops-accountability/

Abuse expert hopes summit will include bishops’ accountability
Cindy Wooden   Dec 28, 2018
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY - A member of the committee organizing Pope Francis’s February summit on the sexual abuse crisis said the meeting should include discussing ways to hold bishops accountable for handling cases correctly.

Addressing members of the Roman Curia before Christmas, Francis said the meeting Feb. 21-24 of the presidents of the world’s bishops’ conferences, the heads of the Eastern Catholic churches and leaders of religious orders will reaffirm the church’s “firm resolve to pursue unstintingly a path of purification.”

In addition, he said, with the help of experts, the meeting will examine “how best to protect children, to avoid these tragedies, to bring healing and restoration to the victims, and to improve the training imparted in seminaries.”

Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, a member of the committee organizing the February meeting, told Vatican News Dec. 27 that in addition to the goals outlined by the pope, “we want to see how we also can put on the table the question of bishops’ responsibility, so there would be greater clarity about who must do something and who checks if the things the Holy Father and the church - the dicasteries - have ordered be done are, in effect, done.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-reflects-on-holy-family-at-sunday-angelus.html

Pope reflects on Holy Family at Sunday Angelus
30 December 2018, 12:32

On the feast of the Holy Family, Pope Francis focuses on the "astonishment" and "anxiety" of Mary and Joseph in his reflection on the day's Gospel.
By Christopher Wells

The Holy Family of Nazareth – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – were “united by an intense love and animated by great confidence in God,” Pope Francis said on Sunday.

Speaking at the weekly recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father recalled that the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas is the feast of the Holy Family. The day’s Gospel recounts the story of the finding of Jesus in the Temple. The Holy Family had gone to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover; but on the return voyage, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus, who was only twelve years old, was not in the caravan. They searched for Jesus for three days, finally finding Him in the Temple amid the doctors of the law. When they found Jesus, the Gospel says, “they were astonished”; and Mary expressed her concern to Jesus, saying, “Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”

Astonishment never failed

Pope Francis focused on these two feelings of “astonishment” and “anxiety” in his reflection at the Angelus. In the Holy Family, he said, astonishment “never failed.” To feel astonishment, he said, “is the opposite of taking everything for granted… It means opening ourselves to others.” This attitude, he said, is important for “healing compromised relationships” and curing “the open wounds within the family.”

Holy Family centred on Jesus

The “anxiety” felt by Mary and Joseph “shows the centrality of Jesus in the Holy Family,” Pope Francis explained. And so, he said, “we see why the family of Nazareth is holy: because it was centred on Jesus; all the attention and care of Joseph revolved around Him.”

Pope Francis said the anxiety felt by Mary and Joseph when Jesus was lost for three days “should also be our anxiety when we are far from Jesus; when we forget Jesus, going without prayer, without reading the Gospel for several days. Mary and Joseph, he said, found Jesus in the Temple; and we too, should seek Jesus in the house of God – and especially in the liturgy, where we have the living experience of Jesus, in His Word and in the Eucharist, “from which we receive the strength to face the difficulties of each day.”
 
https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-the-feast-of-the-holy-family-2/
Angelus Address: On the Feast of the Holy Family 
•December 30, 2018 15:04•Virginia Forrester

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-francis-appointment-holy-see-press-office-gisotti.html

Alessandro Gisotti appointed interim director of Holy See Press Office
31 December 2018, 14:55

Pope Francis and Alessandro Gisotti.
Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Greg Burke and Paloma García Ovejero, respectively Director and Deputy Director of the Vatican Press Office, and appoints Alessandro Gisotti as Director of the Press Office ad interim.
By Vatican News

Alessandro Gisotti was born in Rome 44 years ago and is married with two children.     Until now, he has been the Social Media Coordinator of the Dicastery for Communication.
 
Tweets by Greg Burke and Paloma Garcia Ovejero

In separate tweets, posted on his personal Twitter account, Greg Burke expressed the following:

"Paloma and I have resigned, effective Jan. 1. At this time of transition in Vatican communications, we think it’s best the Holy Father is completely free to assemble a new team.”

“I entered the Vatican in 2012. The experience has been fascinating, to say the least. Thank you, Pope Francis. Un abrazo muy  fuerte  .”

"New Year. New adventures.”

Paloma Garcia Ovejero tweeted a message in Spanish which, translated, reads:

"A stage ends. Thank you, Holy Father, for these two and a half years! Thank you, Greg, for your trust, your patience and your example.”

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https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-press-office-director-and-deputy-resign-apparent-sign-tensions

Vatican press office director and deputy resign in apparent sign of tensions
Dec 31, 2018
by Joshua J. McElwee  Vatican

Greg Burke and Paloma Garcia Ovejero in 2016. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Rome — The director and vice-director of the Vatican's press office have resigned together, in a move that appears to indicate sharp tensions at the top of the city-state's complicated communications structure.

The resignations of American Greg Burke and Spaniard Paloma García Ovejero seemed to catch their supervisor, Italian Paolo Ruffini, by surprise. In a statement, Ruffini said he had "learned" of the decision, and called it a "free and autonomous choice."

"I cannot but respect the decision they have taken," said Ruffini, head of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communication.

Burke and García's resignations were announced with a short note in the Vatican's daily bulletin Dec. 31. Pope Francis appointed Alessandro Gisotti, an Italian who had been serving as the head of social media for the communications dicastery, as new interim director of the press office.

No reasons were given for the shake-up. In a tweet, Burke said he and García would be leaving Jan. 1. "At this time of transition in Vatican communications, we think it's best the Holy Father is completely free to assemble a new team," he said.

The surprise resignations come two weeks after Francis appointed a personal friend, Italian Andrea Tornielli, to fill an open high-level position in the communications dicastery.
 
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2018/12/31/director-and-deputy-director-vatican-press-office-resign-last-day-2018
Director and deputy director of Vatican press office resign on last day of 2018
Gerard O’Connell
December 31, 2018

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-te-deum-jesus-unleashes-power-love.html

Pope at Te Deum: ‘Jesus unleashes the power of love’
31 December 2018, 18:30

Pope Francis closes the calendar year with Evening Prayer and the Te Deum, saying in the fullness of time God sent His Son who unleashed the unheard-of power of love.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Pope Francis closed the calendar year with Evening Prayer, adoration and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, and the singing of the Te Deum in St Peter’s Basilica on Monday evening. Reflecting on the short reading from Evening Prayer for the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, Pope Francis focused on the phrases “fullness of time” and “to redeem”.

Fullness of time

Pope Francis began saying the Apostle Paul wrote that in the “fullness of time” God sent His Son not only born of a woman but born under the Mosaic Law. “How can this be the sign of the ‘fullness of time’?” Pope Francis asked. Though He began invisibly and insignificantly it would only be thirty years before Jesus would “unleash an unheard-of power, which still endures and will endure for all of history. This power is called Love. It is love that gives fullness to everything, even to time”, the Pope said. In Jesus, God concentrated all of His love.

Born to redeem

Jesus was born to accomplish the mission given to Him by His Father: to redeem. To “redeem”, Pope Francis explained, “is to liberate from a condition of slavery and restore the freedom, dignity and that liberty proper to children ”. It is from the “ancient slavery to sin” that the human heart is liberated and our dignity restored, he said.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/holy-father-god-sent-only-son-to-redeem-humanity-from-sin/
Holy Father: God Sent Only Son to Redeem Humanity from Sin 
Homily During First Vespers of the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God
•December 31, 2018 17:56•Virginia Forrester•


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

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A tweet from the former Vatican press office director, Greg Burke--

https://twitter.com/EdwardPentin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Edward Pentin Retweeted 
Greg Burke‏Verified account @GregBurkeRome · 31 Dec 2018 

Thanks to all who have sent kind words for Paloma and myself today. Just so you know, we had been praying about this decision for months, and we’re very much at peace with it. Grazie!
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-new-year-s-day-mary-mother-god-let-us-be-amazed.html#.XCtWwMcCjpA.twitter

Pope at Mass: ‘let us be amazed’
31 December 2018, 23:59

Pope Francis presides at Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God   (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis says in his homily during the liturgy he celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica on New Year’s Day that we need to be amazed by Mary, the Mother of God, allow her to gaze on us, embrace us and take us by the hand.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Pope Francis took his cue for his homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, from Luke’s Gospel of the day which says that all were amazed by what the shepherds had to tell them. We should be amazed today by the Mother of God, he said, and allow Mary to gaze on us, embrace us and take us by the hand.

Amazed by Mary

Mary is not only the Mother of God, Pope Francis began, she also presents all of us “reborn to the Lord”, he said. The Church too, needs to be amazed, he continued, “at being the dwelling place of the living God, the Bride of the Lord, a Mother who gives birth to her children”. It is Our Lady who “gives the Church the feel of home”, the Pope said.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/god-himself-needed-a-mother-how-much-more-so-do-we/
‘God Himself Needed a Mother: How Much More So Do We!’
Pope’s New Year’s Day Homily in St. Peter’s Basilica (FULL TEXT)
January 01, 2019 10:40

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-01/pope-francis-angelus-solemnity-mary-mother-of-god.html#.XCtWyRTRApY.twitter

Pope at Angelus: Jesus is the blessing for each and all
01 January 2019, 12:52

At the Angelus on New Year’s Day – the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God – Pope Francis reflects on the the traditional blessing given in the first reading from the day’s liturgy.
By Christopher Wells

The image of Mary holding Jesus in her arms was the starting point for Pope Francis in his reflection for the Angelus on the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God. “In this way, showing us Jesus, the Saviour of the world, she, the mother, blesses us,” he explained. “She blesses the journey of every man and every woman in this year that is beginning, and that will be good precisely in the measure in which each one will welcome the goodness of God that Jesus came to bring into the world.”
 
https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-the-solemnity-of-mary-mother-of-god-and-the-52nd-world-day-of-peace/
Angelus Address: On the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and the 52nd World Day of Peace 
•January 01, 2019 15:01•Virginia Forrester

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-01/pope-francis-audience-trust-our-father.html#.XCy1GR0s7nE.twitter

Pope at Audience: Trust in the Father who knows what we need
02 January 2019, 11:33

Pope Francis continues his catechesis on the Lord’s Prayer at the Wednesday General Audience, reminding us that we need to avoid hypocrisy and remain open to God’s will.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis began his catechesis by saying how St. Matthew’s Gospel strategically places the text of the Our Father “at the centre of the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the Beatitudes”. This location is significant because it condenses the fundamental aspects of Jesus’ message, he said.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-ahead-of-epiphany-we-like-the-magi-must-look-up-so-we-can-see-the-star/
Pope Ahead of Epiphany: ‘We Like the Magi Must Look Up, So We Can See The Star’ 
Also Thanks Circus Performers, Beauty Always Brings Us Closer to God
January 02, 2019 16:44

https://zenit.org/articles/general-audience-on-the-our-father/
GENERAL AUDIENCE: On the Our Father 
‘Prayer is done from the heart, from within’
January 02, 2019 14:57

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-01/pope-francis-agenda-2019-journeys-abuse-reform.html

Packed agenda for Pope Francis in 2019
02 January 2019, 17:10

Pope Francis’ packed agenda for 2019 includes Apostolic Journeys to the UAE, Panama, Morocco, Bulgaria, and Macedonia, alongside a Vatican summit on sexual abuse, a Synod on the Amazon Basin, and continued reform of the Roman Curia.
By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis has a busy schedule planned for 2019. Trips to the United Arab Emirates, Panama, Morocco, Bulgaria, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia start off the year. Add in a February meeting in the Vatican on the Church’s response to the sexual abuse crisis and we’re not even halfway through the year. Then October sees the Pope participate in the Synod of Bishops on the Amazonia.

Diplomatic discourse

In January, Pope Francis holds his annual meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, an occasion he often uses to issue a strong message to the international community. Last year, the Holy Father used the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a springboard to remind the world that many human rights are violated even now in the third millennium, especially the right to life.

WYD in Panama

The Pope kicks off his travels in 2019 on 23-28 January, when he makes an Apostolic Journey to Panama for the 34th edition of World Youth Day. In a video message sent in November, he invited young people to get off the couch and to improve the world through their dreams, ideals, and courage.
 

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https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2019/01/01/vatican-letter-undermines-us-cardinal-on-abuse/

Vatican letter undermines US cardinal on abuse
Nicole Winfield   Jan 1, 2019
ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this Nov. 12, 2018 file photo, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, listens to a reporter's question during a news conference during the USCCB's annual fall meeting, in Baltimore. (Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, file.)
ROME - The Vatican blocked U.S. bishops from taking measures to address the clergy sex abuse scandal because U.S. church leaders failed to sufficiently consult with the Holy See beforehand about legally problematic proposals, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

The Nov. 11 letter from the Vatican’s Cardinal Marc Ouellet provides the primary reason that Rome balked at the measures that were to be voted on by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at its Nov. 12-14 assembly. The blocked vote stunned abuse survivors and other Catholics who were demanding action from U.S. bishops to address clergy sex abuse and cover-up.

Ouellet’s letter undermines the version of events provided by the conference president, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo. It could also provide fodder for questions during a spiritual retreat of U.S. bishops, dedicated to the abuse crisis, that opens Wednesday in Chicago.
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/01/01/details-published-on-vatican-delaying-usccb-vote-on-abuse-provisions/
Details published on Vatican delaying USCCB vote on abuse provisions
Cindy Wooden   Jan 1, 2019
CATHOLIC_NEWS_SERVICE

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, leaves a session of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment at the Vatican Oct 5, 2018. (Credit: CNS photo/Paul Haring.)

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-01/us-bishops-week-retreat-mundelein-seminary.html#.XCy1L4aVW78.twitter

US Bishops begin week-long retreat
02 January 2019, 12:28

Part of the grounds of the University of St Mary of the Lake, Mundelein, Illinois
At the request of Pope Francis, on Wednesday the US Bishops begin a week-long retreat, under the direction of the Preacher to the Papal Household, at Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

“He appointed Twelve, to be with Him and to Send Out to Preach” is the theme of the week-long retreat that the US Bishops begin on Wednesday according to a statement released by the US Bishops Conference (USCCB) on 21 December. Preacher to the Papal Household, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, is leading it. Pope Francis proposed the retreat to USCCB President, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, during a visit to Rome in October.

Grateful to Pope Francis

In the October statement announcing the retreat, Cardinal DiNardo expressed gratitude to Pope Francis for allowing Fr Cantalamessa to preach during the retreat. A December statement says that Cardinal DiNardo is also grateful to the Pope for the invitation to “step back and enter into this focused time of listening to God as we respond to the intense matters before us”.

Purpose of the retreat

Catholic News Service quotes Fr Cantalamessa in December as saying that Pope Francis asked him to lead the spiritual exercises for the US Bishops. He explains that these days will allow the Bishops to reflect, "far from their daily commitments, in a climate of prayer and silence and in a personal encounter with the Lord". In this way, Fr Cantalamessa continues, the Bishops "can receive the strength and light of the Holy Spirit to find the right solutions for the problems that afflict the U.S. church today".
 
http://www.usccb.org/news/2018/18-203.cfm
U.S. Bishops Will Gather for Seven Days of Prayer and Reflection at Invitation of Pope Francis; Papal Preacher to Direct Retreat Taking Place January 2-8
December 21, 2018

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-01/cardinal-dinardo-message-to-pope-francis-as-retreat-begins.html#.XC46_AWOIBo.twitter

Cardinal DiNardo: Message to Pope Francis as retreat begins
03 January 2019, 17:09

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo (foreground), President of the USCCB  (AFP or licensors)
Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), sent the following message on behalf of the U.S. bishops upon the opening of the retreat.

Most Holy Father:

As the bishops of the United States gather today in prayer, we humbly ask Your Holiness to pray for us that we may draw closer to one another and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In this closeness, we seek to find the wisdom and strength necessary to meet the great challenges ahead. We carry with us these days the pain and hope of all who may feel let down by the Church. Yet, we find ourselves grateful for the reminder that the future does not rest with any of us alone, but rather belongs to God. Hope is to be found in Christ. In Him, hope becomes unshakable.
 
(Courtesy of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The full text of the press release by the USCCB can be found on here.)
_____________
Full text of the press release:  http://www.usccb.org/news/2019/19-001.cfm

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-01/pope-francis-letter-united-states-bishops-clerical-abuse-retreat.html

Pope to US Bishops on abuse crisis: Be attentive and discerning
03 January 2019, 16:04

Pope Francis with the leadership of the USCCB at a meeting in Rome in September
Pope Francis writes to the Bishops of the United States on their spiritual retreat. In the context of the abuse scandals, he calls for "conversion" and "fraternal communion", as opposed to merely administrative solutions.
By Vatican News

“With these few lines, I would like to draw near to you as a brother,” Pope Francis writes to the U.S. Bishops, who are taking part in a spiritual retreat to consider their response to the crisis of clerical sexual abuse.

In his letter, the Pope says he wants to encourage the Bishops in their prayer, and in the steps they are taking “to combat the ‘culture of abuse’ and to deal with the crisis of credibility.”

Be attentive and discerning

“At times of great confusion and uncertainty,” he writes, we need to be attentive and discerning, to free our hearts of compromises and false certainties, in order to hear what the Lord asks of us in the mission He has given us.” But, the Pope warns, while many actions may be “helpful, good, and necessary,” they may not have “the ‘flavor’ of the Gospel.” “To put it colloquially,” he says, “we have to be careful that ‘the cure does not become worse than the disease’.”

Pope Francis notes “the Church’s credibility has been seriously undercut” by abuse of power and conscience, and by sexual abuse; “but even more by the efforts made to conceal and deny them.” The attempt to cover-up such “sins and crimes,” he says, “enabled them to fester and cause even greater harm.”
 
Please see the full text of the Pope's letter on the website of the USCCB.
____________
Full text of the Pope's letter:  http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/holy-see/francis/upload/francis-lettera-washington-traduzione-inglese-20190103.pdf

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-01/statement-by-andrea-tornielli-on-pope-s-letter-to-us-bishops.html

Pope Francis indicates a way forward
03 January 2019, 18:20

The Editorial Director of the Dicastery for Communication, Andrea Tornielli, describes how Pope Francis’ Letter to the Bishops of the United States, indicates a path forward for the whole Church.
By Andrea Tornielli

The letter that Pope Francis sent as a sign of his personal closeness to the American Bishops, gathered in spiritual retreat in Chicago, offers a key to understanding his perspective on the abuse crisis, with a view also to the February meeting in the Vatican. In his speech to the Roman Curia on December 21st, the Pope expressed himself in a wide-ranging, determined, and powerful way on this subject. Now, in his message to the Bishops of the United States, he does not dwell on examining the phenomenon of abuse of power, conscience, and sexuality against minors and vulnerable adults, but goes to the root of the problem by indicating a way forward.

"The Church’s credibility”, says the Pope, “has been seriously undercut and diminished by these sins and crimes, but even more by the efforts made to deny or conceal them". But the central point of the Letter must be sought in the answer that he suggests. Pope Francis warns against trusting too much in actions that appear "helpful, good and necessary", and even "correct", but which, if they tend to reduce the response to evil to an organizational problem only, do not have "the ‘flavor’ of the Gospel".