Pope Francis

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-indigenous-peoples-living-cry-of-hope-for-our-common-home.html#.XGV96cDc5qM.twitter

Pope: Indigenous Peoples, living cry of hope for our common home
14 February 2019, 13:49

Pope Francis greeting indigenous peoples participating a forum in Rome  (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis meets with a group of 38 delegates from 31 indigenous populations who are attending the 4th Fourth Global Meeting of the Indigenous Peoples Forum. The Forum is taking place in conjunction with the 42nd Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
By Lydia O'Kane

Speaking in Rome on Thursday, Pope Francis focused on the theme of the Indigenous Peoples Forum which is “Promoting Indigenous Peoples Knowledge and Innovations for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Development.” Highlighting the extreme importance of environmental issues, the Pope said that the Forum was an invitation to, “look again at our planet, wounded in many regions by human greed, by war conflicts that generate a flood of evils and misfortunes, as well as by natural disasters that leave scarcity and devastation in their wake.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-ifad-governing-council-technology-serves-poor.html#.XGU97w5B8a8.twitter

Pope to IFAD: Putting technology at the service of the poor
14 February 2019, 10:01

Pope Francis addresses IFAD's Governing Council  (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis addresses the opening ceremony of the 42nd annual Governing Council meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
By Vatican News

IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, is the United Nations Agency that works to eradicate poverty and hunger in remote areas of developing countries. Together with local governments, the Agency develops and finances projects aimed at helping rural people to help themselves.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-ifad-staff-look-for-faces-not-cases.html#.XGV36W_on_o.twitter
Pope to IFAD staff: Look for faces, not case studies
14 February 2019, 14:37

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-liturgy-formation-congregation-divine-worship.html

Pope: Liturgy is encounter of People of God with the Lord that brings change of heart
14 February 2019, 13:54

Pope Francis meeting members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament.   (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis on Feb. 14 met participants in the plenary assembly of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament that is discussing the liturgical formation of the people of God.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis is urging the liturgical formation of the People of God so that they may rediscover the beauty of meeting the Lord in the celebration of His mysteries and through  change  of heart have life in His name.

“We know that it is not enough to change the liturgical books to improve the quality of the liturgy. For life to be truly  a praise  pleasing to God, it is necessary to change the heart,”  Pope Francis told some 80 members of the plenary assembly of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. 

“The Christian celebration is oriented towards this conversion, which is the encounter of life with the ‘God of the living’.” 

The Feb. 12-15 plenary assembly is discussing the liturgical formation of the people of God.
 

Vatican-provided text of his address at the link below--
https://zenit.org/articles/we-must-rediscover-the-reality-of-the-sacred-liturgy-pope-francis-appeals/
Pope Tells Plenary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments That Liturgy Is ‘Roadmap’ Through Which All Christian Life Passes
•February 14, 2019 16:37•Deborah Castellano Lubov•

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https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11372/cardinal-farrell-made-camerlengo-by-pope

14 February 2019, The Tablet
Cardinal Farrell made 'camerlengo' by Pope
by CNS

Pope Francis has named Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, 71, the prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life, to serve as the camerlengo or chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church.

Cardinal Farrell, born in Ireland, was incardinated in the Archdiocese of Washington and served as bishop of Dallas from 2007 to 2016; as camerlengo, he fills the post left vacant by the death in July of French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.

While the pope is alive, the job is basically just a title. But when a pope dies or resigns, the chamberlain is charged with sealing the papal apartments, chairing consultations about the papal funeral, making the practical preparations for the conclave to elect the next pope, and chairing a committee of cardinals taking care of the ordinary affairs of the church until a new pope is elected.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-names-cardinal-kevin-farrell-camerlengo-93900
Pope Francis names Cardinal Kevin Farrell camerlengo

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell. Credit: Lucia Ballester/CNA

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https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11370/pope-criticises-venezuela-president-for-inaction

14 February 2019, The Tablet
Pope criticises Venezuela president for inaction
by Ruth Gledhill

Pope Francis has criticised the president of Venezuela for failing to follow through on pledges, and warned that the "common good" of the people must be a priority.

Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly asked the Holy See to mediate to help bring Venezuela's crisis to an end.

In the three page letter seen by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, dated 7 February and signed "Francisco", the Pope says he is disappointed that previous pledges made by Maduro have not been followed by concrete action.

Replying to a request for mediation from Maduro, Corriere della Sera says the letter "clarifies what the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Piero Parolin, meant when on 8 February he spoke of the 'positive neutrality' of the Holy See".

The letter was sent just days after Pope Francis told journalists on the plane back from United Arab Emirates that he was willing to mediate between Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and self-declared President Juan Guaidó, but only if both sides requested his help.

He confirmed then that Maduro had written a letter to him.

“I will read the letter and see what can be done, but the initial condition is that both sides ask for [mediation], we are willing.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-mass-sacrofano-migrants-refugees.html

Pope at Mass: Be free from fear of migrants and refugees
15 February 2019, 17:06

Pope Francis at Mass in Sacrofano  (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis celebrates Mass at the Fraterna Domus Centre, in Sacrofano, outside Rome, in order to highlight his constant attention to the welcome of migrants.
By Vatican News

“Free from fear”: that is the theme of a 3-day meeting organized by the Migrantes Foundation, Italian Caritas, and the Jesuit-run Astalli Center for Refugees, to discuss reception structures for migrants.

The meeting is being held at the Fraterna Domus, a Welcome and Retreat Center near the town of Sacrofano, about 20 kilometers outside Rome. Consistent with his commitment to welcoming migrants, Pope Francis chose to open the meeting on Friday afternoon by celebrating Mass at the Fraterna Domus Center.

Do not be afraid

In his homily, the Pope focused on the readings chosen for the celebration, which he summed up in a single sentence: "Do not be afraid".

Pope Francis used the image of the Israelites at the Red Sea, in the Book of Exodus, to illustrate how we are “called to look beyond the adversities of the moment, to overcome fear and to place full trust in the saving and mysterious action of the Lord”.
 

"The Holy Father’s Full Homily Provided by the Vatican" at the link
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-celebrates-mass-on-behalf-of-migrants/
Pope Francis Celebrates Mass on Behalf of Migrants 
•February 15, 2019 18:56•Jim Fair

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

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-ambassador-under-investigation-for-sexual-assault-71198

Vatican ambassador under investigation for sexual assault
By Hannah Brockhaus

Paris, France, Feb 15, 2019 / 08:26 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop Luigi Ventura, apostolic nuncio to France since 2009 and a long-time Vatican diplomat, is under investigation for alleged sexual assault.

The French newspaper Le Monde reported Friday that Ventura, 74, is being investigated by Paris authorities after he was accused late last month of having inappropriately touched a young male staffer of Paris City Hall.

A Vatican statement Feb. 15 said that it was made aware of the French authorities’ investigation of the envoy through the press and is “awaiting the outcome of the investigations.”
 
The allegation comes just days before a special summit convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss the sexual abuse crisis facing the Church worldwide.

While organizers of that meeting, which will include the heads of the world’s bishops’ conferences, have stressed that the agenda will focus on the specific issue of the sexual abuse of minors, some bishops and commentators have suggested it should also treat allegations of sexual misconduct or abuse of adults by clerics.

The investigation against Ventura also comes amid expectations that the Vatican is soon to announce a decision in the canonical process handling the case of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. McCarrick is accused of sexually abusing a number of minors and adults, including seminarians, over a period of decades.

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-02/holy-see-mccarrick-dismissed-from-clerical-state-for-abuse.html#.XGfdlioi1ks.twitter

Holy See: McCarrick dismissed from the clerical state for abuse
16 February 2019, 09:49

Theodore Edgar McCarrick  (2010 Getty Images)
The Holy See announces sanctions against former American Cardinal, Theodore Edgar McCarrick, including dismissal from the clerical state.
By Vatican News

The Holy Press Office has published a statement from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, concerning the case of Theodore Edgar McCarrick.

The Congresso of the CDF, which investigated the accusations, has issued a decree finding McCarrick “guilty of the following delicts while a cleric: solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power”.

The Congresso has imposed the penalty of “dismissal from the clerical state”.

The statement of the CDF notes that McCarrick’s appeal against this decision was considered on 13 February 2019 by the Ordinary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “Having examined the arguments in the recourse”, the statement says, “the Ordinary Session confirmed the decree of the Congresso”. McCarrick was notified of the decision on 15 February 2019.

This decision, following the recognition by the Holy Father, is definitive and admits of no further recourse or appeal.
 
Full text of statement from the CDF:

On 11 January 2019, the Congresso of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, at the conclusion of a penal process, issued a decree finding Theodore Edgar McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., guilty of the following delicts while a cleric: solicitation in the Sacrament of Confession, and sins against the Sixth Commandment with minors and with adults, with the aggravating factor of the abuse of power. The Congresso imposed on him the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state. On 13 February 2019, the Ordinary Session (Feria IV) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith considered the recourse he presented against this decision. Having examined the arguments in the recourse, the Ordinary Session confirmed the decree of the Congresso. This decision was notified to Theodore McCarrick on 15 February 2019. The Holy Father has recognized the definitive nature of this decision made in accord with law, rendering it a res iudicata (i.e., admitting of no further recourse).
_________
The official statement at the link below--
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/02/16/0133/00272.html#en

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/angelus-pope-warns-against-idolatry-jesus-calls-us-to-happines.html

Angelus: Pope warns against idolatry, Jesus calls us to happines
17 February 2019, 12:46

Pope Francis during the Angelus in St Peter's Square  (Vatican Media)
Before the recitation of the Marian Prayer, the Pope reflects on Sunday’s Gospel reading from Luke in which, he says, Jesus in the form of the beatitudes “opens his eyes to us, makes us see with his gaze, beyond appearances, beyond the surface, and teaches us to discern situations with faith.”
By Lydia O'Kane

Pope Francis explained how Jesus, “declares the poor, the hungry, the afflicted, the persecuted blessed while he admonishes those who are rich, well fed, who laugh and are acclaimed by people. He went on to say that the "woe to you" phrase, “addressed to those who are doing well today, serves to "awaken" them from the dangerous deception of selfishness and open them up to the logic of love, while they still have time.”

The Pope emphasized that “the passage of Sunday’s Gospel, therefore, invites us to reflect on the profound meaning of having faith, which consists in trusting the Lord totally... he alone can give our existence that much desired fullness, yet one that is difficult to achieve.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/angelus-pope-invites-prayers-for-protection-of-minors-meeting.html#.XGlFAEvWWjE.twitter
Angelus: Pope invites prayers for Protection of Minors meeting
17 February 2019, 12:14

https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-the-beatitudes-2/
Angelus Address: On the Beatitudes 
•February 17, 2019 15:02•Virginia Forrester

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

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2019-02/pope-francis-mass-santa-marta-brother-cain-abel.html

Pope at Mass: “Where is your brother?”
18 February 2019, 13:52

Pope Francis at Holy Mass at the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican, Feb. 18, 2019.  (ANSA)
Reflecting on the episode of Cain and Abel in the Bible, Pope Francis in his homily at Mass on Monday said we are asked many uncomfortable questions regarding our brothers.
Vatican News

“Where is your brother?”  This is the question that God asks each one of us in our hearts regarding our brother who is sick, in prison or hungry.   Pope Francis made this the reflection of his homily at Mass, Monday morning, in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.   

Commenting on the episode of Cain and Abel in the first reading from the Book of Genesis, the Pope explained that mankind, like Cain, often attempts to reply to God’s uncomfortable and embarrassing questions with regard to our neighbours.  “What have I got to do with my brother's life? Am I his keeper? I wash my hands of him….”   The Pope explained that Cain, who killed his brother, tries to escape the gaze of God.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-02/vatican-protection-minors-vatiab.html

Protection of minors in the Church: Not Year Zero
18 February 2019, 10:37

The Pope with the Bishops during the Synod  (Vatican Media)
On the eve of the "Protection of Minors in the Church" Meeting, we retrace the steps already taken by the Popes, the Vatican and local Churches, in the struggle to protect minors from clerical sex abuse.
By Fabio Colagrande

The "Protection of Minors in the Church" Meeting, to be held in the Vatican from 21 to 24 February, is the first to involve all the Presidents of Episcopal Conferences and those responsible for religious orders worldwide. This meeting of Church pastors has unprecedented “synodal” characteristics and is the first to address the issue of abuse from a Gospel perspective. The Meeting also shows how, in the present historical context, the fight against the scourge of abuse committed by members of the clergy, is a priority for Pope Francis. Listening to victims, raising awareness, increasing knowledge, developing new norms and procedures, sharing good practices: these are some of the objectives of the Meeting.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-02/protection-of-minors-abp-scicluna-says-silence-unacceptable.html

Protection of Minors: Abp. Scicluna says silence unacceptable
18 February 2019, 17:18

Press Conference in the Holy See Press Office giving details of the meeting on the protection of minors
Press Conference at the Holy See Press Office presents the “Protection of Minors in the Church" Meeting, which will take place in the Vatican, between 21 and 24 February 2019.
By Barbara Castelli

Archbishop Charles J. Scicluna is Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and a member of the Organizing Committee for the “Protection of Minors in the Church" Meeting. During Monday’s Press Conference to present the Meeting, he made it clear that the event is part of a journey the Church undertook some time ago. It is important it create the right conditions for there to be a concrete "follow up", he said.

The Bishops will return to their dioceses to continue the work, drawing up "procedures", being more aware of their responsibilities. When it comes to "protecting innocence", insisted the Archbishop, "we must not give up": we need to seek ever more adequate solutions to the problem, so that "the Church may be a safe place for everyone, especially children". Archbishop Scicluna also spoke of the "expectations" around this meeting, specifying that they need to be "reasonable". Not all the problems can be solved in three days, he said. Answering journalists’ questions, the Archbishop said it is important we move away from “the code of silence”, because silence is unacceptable, he added.
 

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https://zenit.org/articles/28th-meeting-of-council-of-cardinals-in-progress/

28th Meeting of Council of Cardinals In Progress 
“C6” Continues Work of Curial Reform, In Days Ahead of Summit for Protection of Minors
•February 18, 2019 09:46•Deborah Castellano Lubov 

The 28th meeting of the Council of Cardinals is taking place in the Vatican. The C9, as the group was commonly called, is now being termed by many as the C6, following the dismissal of three of its members during the last meeting in December. The Council is studying the plans for reforming the Apostolic Constitution “Pastor Bonus” on the Roman Curia.

The meeting began this morning and concludes on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Summit for the Protection of Minors will begin in the Vatican bringing together the presidents of the world’s bishops conferences.

The Council of Cardinals consisted of the following nine prelates: Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State; Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, archbishop emeritus of Santiago, Chile; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay; Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich; Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, Congo; Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, archbishop of Boston; Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy (not present, in Australia); Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.

However, now there are six cardinal members, as Chilean Cardinal Errazuriz resigned from the Council on Nov. 14, 2018. The Pope has thanked him, Cardinal George Pell and Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya for their service.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/a-look-ahead-at-this-weeks-vatican-sex-abuse-meeting-92262

A look ahead at this week's Vatican sex abuse meeting
By Courtney Grogan

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2019 / 11:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican has released the schedule, speakers, and a new website for this week’s much-anticipated sex abuse summit, which will focus on episcopal transparency and accountability for the protection of minors.

The Vatican meeting Feb. 21- 24 will include nine presentations by speakers, video testimonies from sex abuse victims, working group discussions, a penitential liturgy, and a closing Mass with final remarks from Pope Francis.

The goal of the meeting is for bishops to understand the procedures regarding the abuse of minors at various levels, and to become aware of the tragedy of the suffering of the victims, according to Father Federico Lombardi, the summit’s moderator.

Each of the three days of discussion has been assigned a theme: responsibility, accountability, transparency.
 
The website for the Presidents of Bishops’ Conferences (PBC) meeting is http://www.pbc2019.org.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/ahead-of-summit-cupich-discusses-sex-abuse-homosexuality-priestly-formation-36025
Ahead of summit, Cupich discusses sex abuse, homosexuality, priestly formation

https://zenit.org/articles/i-will-never-give-up-archbishop-scicluna-says-at-vaticans-presentation-of-summit-for-protection-of-minors/
FEATURE: ‘I Will Never Give Up,’ Archbishop Scicluna Says at Vatican’s Presentation of Summit for Protection of Minors 
•February 18, 2019 16:52•Deborah Castellano Lubov•

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2019-02/pope-francis-mass-cost-of-war-on-weak.html#.XGvwXN9d43s.twitter

Pope at Mass: ‘Cost of war weighs on the weak’
19 February 2019, 11:50

Pope Francis celebrates Mass on Tuesday  (Vatican Media)
In his homily at Mass in the Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday, Pope Francis reflects on the cost of war, calling it a ‘modern-day flood’ whose price is paid by the poorest among us.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis compared the Biblical flood of Noah’s time to the many wars being waged in today’s world.

Reflecting on the day’s reading from Genesis (6:5-8;7:1-5,10) in his homily, the Holy Father said there is a golden thread running through the story of the flood and modern-day conflicts.

He said we must ask God for the grace to cry and lament when faced with the world’s calamities and the victims of war, many of whom are starving children, orphans, and the poor who pay the highest price.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-lifts-sanctions-ernesto-cardenal.html

Pope lifts suspension on Nicaraguan priest Fr. Ernesto Cardenal
19 February 2019, 13:14

Fr. Ernesto Cardenal.  (AFP or licensors)
Pope Francis has lifted sanctions on Fr. Ernesto Cardenal of Nicaragua. The 94-year old priest was suspended from his priestly ministry and duties in 1984 by St. John Paul II because of his militancy and for being a minister in the government of Daniel Ortega.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis on Sunday lifted the sanctions “a  divinis  ” on Nicaraguan priest, Father Ernesto Cardenal, who  was suspended  from his priestly ministry 35 years ago because of his political militancy and for joining the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega as Minister of Culture.

“With benevolence”, Pope Francis has granted Father Ernesto Cardenal absolution from "all canonical censorships" which he incurred in 1984, said Archbishop Waldemar Sommertag, the Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua, in a note.

When St. John Paul II visited Nicaragua in 1983, he sternly reprimanded Fr. Cardenal publicly at Managua airport. "You must fix your affairs with the Church," the Polish pope told him sternly.  A year later on Feb. 4, Pope John Paul suspended him "a  divinis  ".

Canon law (No. 285) forbids clerics from assuming public offices, an act that entails participation in the exercise of civil power.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-letter-jesuit-general-sosa-four-priorities.html

Pope commends Jesuits for being in tune with Church priorities
19 February 2019, 14:33

Jesuit Superior General, Fr. Arturo Sosa.
The promotion of discernment and spiritual exercises, walking with the excluded, accompanying the young in their journey and caring for our common home. These are the universal apostolic preferences set by the Society of Jesus for the next decade, 2019-2029.
By Amedeo Lomonaco

The universal apostolic preferences of the Jesuits "are in harmony with the current apostolic priorities of the Church expressed through the ordinary magisterium of the Pope, the synods, the episcopal conferences, especially in the Apostolic Exhortation ‘Evangelii Gaudium’". This is what Pope Francis emphasized in a letter addressed to the Jesuit General, Father Arturo Sosa.

What has been undertaken, the Pontiff said, is a "dynamic discernment", not a "library or labour” process.  According to the Pope, the first preference is fundamental because it presupposes as a "primary condition the relationship of the Jesuit with the Lord, the personal and community life of prayer and discernment".
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-02/uisg-usg-religious-declaration-abuse-minor-vatiab.html

Men and women religious feel shame for failures on abuse
19 February 2019, 17:22

The abuse of children is wrong anywhere and anytime: this point is not negotiable.” This is what the leaders of men and women religious of the world have declared ahead of the “Meeting on the Protection of Minors” in the Vatican, Feb. 21-24.
By Robin Gomes

“We ask pardon of all for our failures and repeat that we stand with the  Holy  Father. We  commit  our  efforts  to   working   with  him  so  that  the Church  can move  forward  in  a  coherent,  credible  and  unified  way,  a  way  that  is  genuinely healing, truly renewed, with new eyes to see and new ears to hear."

The International Union of Superiors General (UISG), which brings together the superiors general of institutes of Catholic women religious, and the Union of Superiors General (USG) that brings heads of men’s religious institutes, issued a joint declaration on Tuesday expressing their full support for the Meeting on the Protection of Minors, called for by Pope Francis.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-francis-general-audience-benevento-diocese.html#.XG0p5DwT3LU.twitter

Pope’s special audience to pilgrims from Benevento
20 February 2019, 11:01

Pope addressing pilgrims from Italy's Benevento Diocese in St. Peter's Basilica on Feb. 20, 2019.  (Vatican Media)
Pilgrims from the Italian Archdiocese of Benevento paid a visit to Pope Francis in response to his visit to the shrine of popular Italian saint, Padre Pio, at Pietrelcina on March 17, 2018.
Vatican News

Before his regular general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall, he granted a special audience to some 2,500 pilgrims from the Italian Archdiocese of Benevento in St. Peter’s Basilica.  The pilgrims paid the Pope a courtesy visit for his visit to the birthplace of St. Pio, popularly known as Padre Pio, at Pietrelcina last year on March 17.   

Please find below a working translation of the Pope’s discourse to the pilgrims from Benevento:

Good morning!

You've come in such large numbers that it seems like  a   canonization  !  Thank you very much to the bishop, the mayors, to all, thank you for this courtesy visit which certainly indicates the fineness of the soul, thank you!

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am happy to welcome you and to offer each one of you my cordial welcome. You have come to Rome, with your Pastor, Bishop Felice Accrocca, to return the visit I had the joy of making to Pietrelcina on 17 March last year, on the centenary of the appearance of the permanent stigmata of St. Pio and of the 50th anniversary of his death.

I wish to renew my heartfelt thanks to all of you for the warm welcome you gave me on that occasion. I’ll never forget that day, just as I’ll never forget so many sick people whom I greeted that the visit has remained in my heart. The memory of that event full of ecclesial and spiritual  significance,  enlivens in each one the desire to deepen the life of faith, in the wake of the teachings of your illustrious and holy fellow countryman Padre Pio. He distinguished himself by his firm faith in God, his firm hope in heavenly realities, his generous dedication to the people and his fidelity to the Church which he always loved with all its problems and adversities.

I would like to stop a little on this. He loved the Church with the many problems that the Church has, with so many adversities, with so many sinners.  Because the Church is holy, she is the bride of Christ, but we, the children of the Church, are all sinners - some big ones - but he loved the Church as it was, he didn't destroy it with his tongue, as it's fashionable to do now. No, no! Love. The one who loves the Church knows how to  forgive,  because he knows that he himself is a sinner and needs God's forgiveness.  He knows how to fix things because the Lord wants to fix things well but always with forgiveness.  One cannot live a whole life accusing, accusing, accusing the Church.

Whom does the office of the  accuser  belong to?  Who is he that the Bible calls the great accuser - the devil!   And those who spend their lives accusing are - I won't say  children  ,  because the devil doesn't have any - but they the friends, cousins and relatives of the devil.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-02/pope-audience-god-the-father-loves-us-like-no-one-else-can.html#.XG09XmmQctw.twitter

Pope Audience: God the Father loves us like no one else can
20 February 2019, 12:28

Pope Francis during his weekly General Audience  (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis during his continuing catechesis on the Lord's Prayer at the Wednesday General Audience tells pilgrims, that “when we feel that hunger to love God, we are responding to the invitation to know God as ‘Father’."

Continuing his catechesis on the “Our Father”, on Wednesday, the Pope told the pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI hall that the first step of Christian prayer is to enter into the mystery of God’s paternity.

Pope Francis explained that in order to understand how God is “Father”, we think of our own parents. But, he noted, that no parent is perfect and we all have our defects.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-at-general-audience-on-jesus-way-to-pray-full-text/
Pope at General Audience on ‘Our Father, Who Art in Heaven’ (Full Text)
•February 20, 2019 15:35•Virginia Forrester•

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