Pope Francis

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-to-cyclists-athletes-bear-witness-to-potential-of-humans.html

Pope to Cyclists: Athletes bear witness to potential of the human being
09 March 2019, 13:00

Pope Francis with participants in the Annual Congress of the European Cycling Union  (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis on Saturday meets with those participating in the Annual Congress of the European Cycling Union, telling them they bear witness “to the potential of the human being, created in the image and likeness of God.”

Addressing the participants in the Annual Congress of the European Cycling Union, which on this occasion is also hosting the Assembly of the African Cycling Confederation, Pope Francis noted the strong relationship between Sport and the Church.  He also emphasized how sport can foster excellence because it teaches perseverance, sacrifice, and self-denial.  The Pope continued by saying that, “sport often becomes an opportunity to express with enthusiasm the joy of living and the true satisfaction of having crossed the finishing line.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-message-world-day-vocations-promise-risk.html#.XIPD42IZJtI.twitter

Pope on World Day for Vocations: Lord’s call entails promise and risk
09 March 2019, 14:17

Pope at World Youth Day in Panama.  (ANSA)
The Vatican on March 9 released the message of Pope Francis on the theme, “The Courage to take a risk for God’s Promise”.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis is urging Catholics to pray that the Lord may help us discover His plan of love for our lives and grant us the courage to walk in the path He has chosen for each of us.

He made the call in his message for this year’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations that will be observed on the 4th Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday, May 12.   

The Vatican on Saturday released the message that has as its theme, “The Courage to take a risk for God’s Promise”.
 

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https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/03/09/pope-meets-with-mormon-leadership-in-rome-to-dedicate-temple/

Pope meets with Mormon leadership in Rome to dedicate temple
Associated Press   Mar 9, 2019

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has met with the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the first-such meeting of its kind, on the eve of the dedication of the church’s huge new temple in Rome.

The Vatican offered no details of Francis’s Saturday audience with the church’s president, Russell Nelson, and the 14 elders who make up the leadership of the church, widely known as the Mormon church. The Latter-day Saints said it was the first time their entire leadership had gathered outside the U.S.
 
https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900059557/pope-francis-meets-with-president-nelson-in-the-vatican-catholic-mormon-rome.html
Pope Francis meets with President Nelson in the Vatican
By Tad Walch,  @tad_walch
Published: March 9, 2019 3:49 am
Updated: 12 hours ago

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-angelus-jesus-provides-remedies-temptations.html#.XIUKMw5NBz4.twitter

Pope at Angelus: Jesus shows us the remedies for temptations
10 March 2019, 12:12

Pope Francis greets the faithful at the Sunday Angelus  (Vatican Media)
On the First Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis reflects on the day’s Gospel, which tells how Jesus was led into the desert, where He was tempted by the devil.
By Christopher Wells

In his Angelus address, Pope Francis said the three temptations Jesus faced “indicate three paths that the world always proposes, promising great success”.

The greed of possession

After Jesus had fasted for forty days, the devil tempted Him to turn stones to bread. This, the Pope said, is “the path of the greed of possession”. The devil always begins with our natural and legitimate needs, he explained, “in order to push us to believe” that we can find fulfillment “without God, and even contrary to Him”. Jesus, however, responds by quoting Scripture: “Man shall not live by bread alone”.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-cites-beatification-of-seminarians-in-spain/
Pope Cites Beatification of Seminarians in Spain 
March 10, 2019 18:31•Jim Fair

https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-the-temptations-of-jesus-in-the-desert/
Angelus Address: On the Temptations of Jesus in the Desert 
March 10, 2019 14:41•Virginia Forrester

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis - Angelus prayer 2019-03-10
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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Photo Gallery at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/spiritual-exercises-begin-for-pope-roman-curia.html
Spiritual Exercises begin for Pope, Roman Curia
10 March 2019, 17:47

On Sunday afternoon, Pope Francis arrives at the Casa Divin Maestro in the town of Arricia, just outside of Rome.
By Vatican News

Along with his collaborators in the Roman Curia, the Holy Father will be taking part in the week long Spiritual Exercises for the beginning of Lent.

The retreat will be lead by Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, head of the Olivetan Abbey of San Miniato al Monte. His reflections will focus on the theme “The City of Ardent Desires: For Paschal Looks and Gestures in the Life of the World”.
 

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Just a reminder...

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/02/26/vatican-releases-popes-lent-holy-week-easter-schedule/
Vatican releases pope’s Lent, Holy Week, Easter schedule
Catholic News Service   Feb 26, 2019
 
Here is the schedule of papal liturgical ceremonies for March and April released by the Vatican Feb. 26:

- March 6, Ash Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. penitential procession from Rome’s Church of St. Anselm to the Basilica of Santa Sabina for Mass with the imposition of ashes.

- March 10-15, Lenten retreat with the Roman Curia at the Pauline Fathers’ retreat center in Ariccia, southeast of Rome.

- March 29, 5 p.m., penitential liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica.

- March 30-31, papal trip to Morocco.
 

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https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/pope-meets-top-leaders-of-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints.cfm

Pope meets top leaders of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
3.11.2019 9:22 AM ET

CNS photo/Vatican Media
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis welcomed top officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Vatican the day before the officials inaugurated their first temple in the city of Rome.

The Vatican included the pope's meeting with Russell M. Nelson, president of the Latter-day Saints church, in a list of Pope Francis' encounters March 9, but did not provide further information.

Catholic and Mormon leaders, especially in the United States, have increased their official contacts in recent years, working together on many social projects and joining forces to promote issues of common concern, particularly policies to support traditional families.

But the Catholic Church does not recognize the baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be a valid Christian baptism.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-spiritual-exercises-roman-curia-city-heart-god.html#.XIZZ4mVN-eU.twitter

Pope’s spiritual exercises: caring for the heart to recognize God’s presence
11 March 2019, 13:05

Pope Francis at the Lenten spiritual exercises on March 10, 2019.   (ANSA)
The first meditation of Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni to Pope Francis and his 65 collaborators who are having their annual spiritual exercises, was on the need to look at the world with the eyes of Christ.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis and 65 of his collaborators from the Roman Curia began their annual spiritual exercises Sunday evening at the Casa Divin Maestro in the town of Arricia, just outside Rome.

Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, head of the Olivetan Abbey of San Miniato al Monte, is preaching the March 10-15 Lenten spiritual retreat on the theme “The City of Ardent Desires: For Paschal Looks and Gestures in the Life of the World”.

Pope Francis sat on the 4th row Sunday evening, to listen to the first meditation of Fr. Gianni on a 1997 poem by Italian poet Mario Luzi entitled: "We are here for this". The abbot's reflection started from the perspective of his abbey overlooking the Italian city of Florence, which Giorgio La Pira, the saintly mayor of Florence after World War II, now a “Venerable” on the way to sainthood, described as "a place of the geography of grace". 

The Pope and his collaborators were invited to look at Florence and find clues about “how God lives the city”.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-spiritual-exercises-curia-cities-god-dream.html

Pope’s spiritual exercises: cities as spaces for reconciliation, peace and encounter
11 March 2019, 16:34

Pope Francis at the spiritual exercises on March 11, 2019.   (ANSA)
Pope Francis and his collaborators who are on spiritual retreat, heard the second meditation, Monday morning, on the need for cities to rediscover their universal vocation to be the reflection of the heavenly Jerusalem on earth.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis and 65 of his collaborators from the Roman Curia who are on their Lenten spiritual exercises, March 10-15, at the Casa Divin Maestro in the town of Arricia, just outside Rome, heard a meditation Monday morning on the need to make our cities symbols of peace, fraternity and hospitality.   

Heavenly Jerusalem on earth

The retreat preacher, Italian Benedictine Abbot Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, delivered the meditation drawing much from the saintly mayor of the Italian city of Florence, Giorgio La Pira, who believed in God’s dream that a city modelled on the heavenly Jerusalem was possible on earth.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-telegram-ethiopia-crash.html

Pope Francis prays for victims of Ethiopia Airlines plane crash
11 March 2019, 12:47

Ethiopian Federal policemen stand at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash
Pope Francis has expressed his condolences to victims of a plane crash that occured near Bishoftu, some 50km from Ethiopia's capital: Addis Ababa
 
Below please find the full text of the telegram sent by the Vatican Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin on behalf of Pope Francis:

Having learned with sadness of the Ethiopian Airlines plane crash, His Holiness Pope Francis offers prayers for the deceased from various countries and commends their souls to the mercy of Almighty God. Pope Francis sends heartfelt condolences to their families, and upon all who mourn this tragic loss he invokes the divine blessings of consolation and strength.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-lent-spiritual-exercises-indiffernece.html

Pope’s spiritual exercises: uprooting indifference
12 March 2019, 16:14

Pope Francis at his annual Lenten spiritual exercises.  (ANSA)
Pope Francis and his collaborators who are on their annual Lenten spiritual exercises, March 10-15, heard a meditation Tuesday morning, on eradicating indifference and diseases from our cities and restoring beauty to them.
By Robin Gomes

Retreat preacher, Italian Benedictine Abbot, Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, reflected on the need to uproot indifference that shields us from our responsibility towards others by seeking the beauty and balance that come from being loved by God and loving Him in return.

Preaching his 4th reflection on the theme, “Today’s infamy, disgrace and indifference,” the abbot said that we are called to look at the wounds of cities that are complex and marked by injustices of all kinds.  To do so, we need to let reality prevail over ideas, and not vice versa, as Pope Francis says.
 

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Cardinal Pell's sentencing in Australia...
live updating...

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/george-pell-sentencing-live-cardinal-set-to-be-jailed-for-child-sex-abuse-20190313-p513q4.html
George Pell sentencing LIVE: Cardinal set to be jailed for child sex abuse
By Adam Cooper and Paul Sakkal
UpdatedMarch 13, 2019 — 11.01am,first published at 9.25am

11.09am
Pell sentenced to six years' jail

George Pell has been charged to six years' jail, with a non-parole period of three years and eight months.

11.06am

Judge Kidd: 'Protection of the community from you'
By Paul Sakkal

Chief Judge Kidd acknowledged George Pell’s sentence would have been lower at the time of offending, but says he needs to take into account the current understandings of the issue of child sex abuse.

He says he must technically have regard of “protection of the community from you”, however he believes Pell does not pose this risk.

Pell will be “serious sexual offender” for life, says Chief Judge Kidd.

11.01am

Aims of sentencing
By Paul Sakkal, Adam Cooper

Chief Judge Kidd is going through the aims of sentencing: general deterrence, denunciation and just punishment.

He says these aims “loom large” when considering his sentence, particularly given the “blight” of sexual abuse of children in society.

He says the need for general deterrence in Pell’s case is still strong despite his lack of other offending.

Deterring others from sexual offending was also an important principle.

in sentencing, Judge Kidd said that the court had to send a message to others they would be punished.

The judge says Pell will definitely be jailed on counts one and two.

Pell will also be registered as a sex offender.
 

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Cardinal Pell...

https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/judge-sentences-cardinal-pell-to-six-years-in-prison-on-abuse-charges.cfm
Judge sentences Cardinal Pell to six years in prison on abuse charges
By Catholic News Service
3.12.2019 8:55 PM ET

CNS/Paul Haring
MELBOURNE, Australia (CNS) -- Cardinal George Pell, 77, was sentenced to six years in prison March 13, just over two weeks after a Melbourne court allowed the publication of news that he had been found guilty of sexually abusing two boys.

Cardinal Pell, who continues to maintain his innocence, will try to appeal the verdict. The court has set June 5-6 as the dates to consider the basis for the appeal.
 
Judge Peter Kidd spent more than one hour explaining the reasoning behind his sentencing and the factors he considered. He repeatedly referred to the cardinal's position of authority over the choirboys and the breach of trust his actions caused.

"You were a pillar of St. Patrick's Cathedral by virtue of your position," Kidd told the cardinal.

"The brazenness of your conduct is indicative of your power over the victims," he said.

The judge also said he had to consider the judge's age and health problems, including noting that the stress of imprisonment would exacerbate his hypertension and heart condition.

He said he realized that "each year you spend in custody" would represent a large portion of the remainder of his life.

"You may not live to be released from prison," he said.

The judge said he did not consider Cardinal Pell a risk to offend again and noted that it had been more than 20 years since the incidents in the trial. He also referred to character references he had received.

However, he ordered the cardinal to register as a sex offender and told him he would remain on that registry the rest of his life.

The cardinal will be eligible for parole after three years and eight months.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-pell-sentenced-to-six-years-imprisonment-for-sexual-abuse-86992
Cardinal Pell sentenced to six years imprisonment for sexual abuse

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-oceania/2019/03/13/pell-sentenced-to-six-years-in-prison-after-conviction-on-abuse-charges/
Pell sentenced to six years in prison after conviction on abuse charges
Crux Staff   Mar 13, 2019

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Cardinal Pell...

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2019-03/cardinal-pell-sentence-vatiab.html
Card. Pell sentenced to 6 years for abuse
13 March 2019, 08:59

Cardinal George Pell
Australian Cardinal George Pell is sentenced to six years in prison for sexual abuse. He will be eligible for parole after three years and 8 months.

Cardinal Pell was found guilty by a jury in December of sexually abusing two underage choristers when he was Archbishop of Melbourne in the '90s. Sentencing him on Wednesday, Judge Peter Kidd noted that the abuses committed by Cardinal George Pell had "a significant and long-lasting impact" on one of the victims.

Pell has always professed his innocence and his lawyers have appealed the conviction which will be heard on 5 and 6 June. Judge Kidd permitted the sentencing, which lasted over half an hour, to be broadcast live, in what officials have called a commitment to "open justice".
 
Following the conviction of Cardinal Pell, the Holy See announced the opening of its own canonical investigation by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/whats-next-for-cardinal-pell-98404
Analysis: What's next for Cardinal Pell?

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/the-anniversary-of-the-pontificate-looking-to-the-essential.html#.XIfXOJ8zFb4.twitter

Editorial
The anniversary of the Pontificate, looking to the essential
12 March 2019, 14:06

Anniversary of Pope Francis' pontificate
Pope Francis has lived, and is going to be living out, several intense months between voyages and Synods. His sixth year was characterized by the scourge of abuse and by suffering from internal attacks; the response is an invitation to turn to the heart of the faith.
By Andrea Tornielli

The sixth anniversary of the election sees Pope Francis engaged in a year filled with important international journeys, marked at the beginning and the end by two “synodal” events: the meeting for the protection of minors, which took place last February with the participation of the presidents of the episcopal Conferences of the whole world; and the special Synod on the Amazon, which will be celebrated – also at the Vatican – this coming October. Particularly noteworthy was the recent journey to the United Arab Emirates, which saw the Bishop of Rome signing a joint Declaration with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar. It is a document that hopefully will have consequences in the field of religious liberty. The theme of ecumenism will be prevalent in the upcoming journeys to Bulgaria and Romania, while the hoped-for – but not yet official – journey to Japan could help to keep alive the memory of the devastation caused by nuclear weapons, as a warning for the present and for the future of humanity that is living through the “piecemeal World War III” of which the Pope often speaks.
 

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https://zenit.org/articles/papal-retreat-participants-greet-holy-father-on-6th-anniversary-of-election/

Papal Retreat Participants Greet Holy Father on 6th Anniversary of Election 
March 13, 2019 15:56
 
Members of the Roman Curis attending their annual Lenten retreat with Pope Francis, greeted the Holy Father the morning of March 13, 2019, the 6th anniversary of his election, pledging him their support and closeness.

Before the morning Mass, on the 3rd full day of the March 10-15 retreat at the Casa Divin Maestro in the town of Arricia, just outside Rome, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the prefect emeritus of the Vatican Congregation for Bishops, addressed the Holy Father on behalf of the retreat participants.

“On behalf of all those present, I would like to tell you, Your Holiness, that we rejoice and are full of joy in being able to celebrate this morning Mass together with you and presided over by you,” Card. Re said.  “I would also like to tell you that we ask that the Lord be your light, support, and comfort in your task of confirming your brethren in faith, of being the foundation of unity and of showing everyone the way that leads to heaven,” the 85-year old cardinal said.

Card. Re concluded asking the Holy Father’s blessing and assured him they are truly close to him with great affection and sincere devotion.
 

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https://va.usembassy.gov/president-trumps-letter-to-his-holiness-pope-francis-on-the-sixth-anniversary-of-his-election/

President Trump’s Letter to His Holiness Pope Francis on the Sixth Anniversary of his Election
By U.S. Embassy Holy See | 13 March, 2019

Your Holiness:

On behalf of the people of the United States of America, I am honored to extend to you my congratulations on the sixth anniversary of your election.

This year marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two governments. I am proud of our close cooperation with the Holy See on a range of global issues, from promoting religious freedom, to supporting conflict prevention, to ending human trafficking.  I look forward to continuing our enduring partnership to ensure peace and reduce human suffering across the globe.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/belgian-cardinal-godfried-danneels-dies-at-the-age-of-85-73561

Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels dies at the age of 85

Cardinal Godfried Danneels in 2009. Credit: Wikimedia/Magnus Manske.
By Courtney Grogan

Vatican City, Mar 14, 2019 / 09:16 am (CNA).- Cardinal Godfried Danneels died Thursday at the age of 85 in his native Belgium. Danneels served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and leader of the Belgian Bishops’ Conference for more than thirty years.

In later life, Danneels was widely recognized as an influential member of the college of cardinals and an at times controversial figure.

“This zealous pastor served the Church with dedication not only in his diocese but also at the national level as President of the Conference of Bishops of Belgium, while being a member of various Roman Dicasteries,” Pope Francis wrote March 14 in a telegram to the bishops of Belgium expressing his condolences.

“Attentive to the challenges of the contemporary Church, Cardinal Danneels took an active part in various Synods of Bishops, including those of 2014 and 2015 on the family. He has just been reminded of God at this time of purification and of walking toward the Resurrection of the Lord,” Francis said.

Considered among the more progressive churchmen of his generation, Danneels was an enthusiastic supporter of the liturgical reforms which followed Vatican Council II. He was also a prominent advocate for decentralized Church governance and interreligious dialogue.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-sends-telegram-for-death-of-belgian-cardinal-daneels/
Pope Sends Telegram for Death of Belgian Cardinal Danneels 
March 14, 2019 19:43•Deborah Castellano Lubov

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-spiritual-retreat-meditations.html

At close of spiritual Excerceis, Pope thanks Retreat Master
15 March 2019, 12:47

Pope Francis with brother Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni  (ANSA)
On the last morning of his annual spiritual retreat, Pope Francis thanks the meditation leader for his work helping him and his colleagues of the Curia enter, as the Word has done, humanity.
By Francesca Merlo

“I would like to thank you, Brother Bernardo, for your help these days”. These are Pope Francis’ opening lines of gratitude, addressed to Brother Bernardo Francesco Maria Gianni, Abbot of Florence’s San Miniato al Monte, who has been leading Pope Francis and his collaborators at the Roman Curia in spiritual exercises over the past week.

The Pope says he was struck by the work put in by Brother Bernardo, “to help us understand that God is always present in humanity”. This work, continues the Pope, helped all those attending the spiritual exercises to “enter, as the Word has done, into the human being” – explaining that this was first done by God, in the Incarnation of the Word “undivided, and unconfused”.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-returns-to-rome-after-concluding-lenten-spiritual-exercises-in-arriccia/
Pope Returns to Rome After Concluding Lenten Spiritual Exercises in Ariccia 
Pope Thanks Preacher Bernardo For His Contribution in These Days
March 15, 2019 16:36•Deborah Castellano Lubov

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/on-lenten-retreat-pope-francis-reflected-on-gaudium-et-spes-28664
On Lenten retreat, Pope Francis reflected on 'Gaudium et spes'

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-03/pope-francis-christchurch-new-zealand-shooting-mosques.html

Pope Francis sends condolences for victims of New Zealand shooting
15 March 2019, 12:47
 
Full text of the telegram sent by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, on behalf of Pope Francis:

His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the injury and loss of life caused by the senseless acts of violence at two Mosques in Christchurch, and he assures all New Zealanders, and in particular the Muslim community, of his heartfelt solidarity in the wake of these attacks.

Mindful of the efforts of the security and emergency personnel in this difficult situation, His Holiness prays for the healing of the injured, the consolation of those who grieve the loss of their loved ones, and for all affected by this tragedy. Commending those who have died to the loving mercy of Almighty God, Pope Francis invokes the divine blessings of comfort and strength upon the nation.

Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State