Pope Francis

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2019/pope-chooses-theme-for-world-meeting-of-families-2021.cfm

Pope chooses theme for World Meeting of Families 2021
By Catholic News Service
5.17.2019 9:02 AM ET

CNS photo/courtesy John McElroy, World Meeting of Families
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christian family life is a vocation and, when lived with fidelity, it is a path to holiness, said the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, the Family and Life.

The office May 17 announced the theme Pope Francis has chosen for the next World Meeting of Families, which will be in Rome June 23-27, 2021: "Family love: A vocation and a path to holiness."

The dicastery asked that in preparation for the meeting, families and pastoral workers read both Pope Francis' 2016 exhortation on the family, "Amoris Laetitia," and his 2018 exhortation on the universal call to holiness, "Gaudete et Exsultate."

"The aim is to emphasize family love as a vocation and a way to holiness and to understand and share the profound and redeeming significance of family relationships in daily life," the dicastery said.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-05/vatican-synod-amazon-instrumentum-laboris-approval.html

Working document of Synod on the Pan-Amazon Region approved
17 May 2019, 15:41

Pope among the indigenous people of the Amazon in Puerto Maldonado, Peru, January 19, 2018.  (AFP or licensors)
During its May 14-15 meeting in the Vatican, the second Pre-Synodal Council of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region approved the Instrumentum Laboris of the October 6-27 Synod.

The “Instrumentum Laboris”, or the working document of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region that Pope Francis has scheduled in the Vatican in October, has been approved.

The decision was taken at the second Pre-Synodal Council of the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon Region during its May 14-15 meeting in the Vatican.   

The theme of the October 6-27 Synod is: “Amazonia: New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology.”     

The idea of the Synod was born out of Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical “Laudato Si – On Care for Our Common Home”, which calls for action on global warming and pinpoints the Pan-Amazon region as an area of concern.   

The Pope first announced the Synod on 15 October 2017.

All the members of the Pre-Synodal Council participated in this week’s meeting, including cardinals, bishops, religious and a lay person, representing the Churches in the Amazon. Experts, consultants from the General Secretariat and special guests were also present.

The Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, updated the participants on the progress made since the first meeting of the Pre-Synodal Council held in April 2018.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-european-food-banks-federation-hunger-waste.html

Pope Francis: ‘Food banks fight both hunger and waste’
18 May 2019, 11:29

Pope Francis greets members of the European Food Banks Federation  (Vatican Media)
In an address to the Food Banks of Europe, Pope Francis decries a wasteful mentality that throws out people and food, and praises efforts to promote solidarity with people in need.
By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis met the members and volunteers of the European Food Banks Federation (FEBA) on Saturday, at the conclusion of its annual meeting in Rome.

The non-profit, charitable organization is also celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Food Bank of Italy. Food banks serve the dual purpose of reducing food waste and alleviating food insecurity, by creating a network to distribute unused foodstuffs to people in need.

Pope Francis thanked the Food Banks of Europe for providing food for the hungry and for reducing waste. “Fighting against the terrible scourge of hunger means also fighting waste,” he said.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-journalists-foreign-press-association-audience.html

Pope calls for humble and free journalism that serves truth and goodness
18 May 2019, 14:33

Pope Francis addressing members of Italy's Foreign Press Association.  (Vatican Media)
Meeting some 400 journalists of the Foreign Press Association of Italy on May 18, Pope Francis urged for a humble and free journalism.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis is encouraging a humble and free journalism that does not indulge in selling the “rotten food of misinformation” but rather offers the healthy bread of truth and goodness.

“I therefore urge you to work according to truth and justice, so that communication is truly an instrument for building, not for destroying; for meeting, not for clashing; for dialoguing, not for monologizing; for orienting, not for disorienting; for understanding, not for misunderstanding; for walking in peace, not for sowing hatred; for giving a voice to those who have no voice, not for being a megaphone to those who shout louder,” the Pope told some 400 journalists of the Foreign Press Association of Italy on Saturday.

Pope Francis expressed his and the Church’s esteem for their precious work, saying it “contributes to the search for the truth, and only the truth makes us free.”
 

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/signatura-geissler-acquittal-came-after-formal-process-29876

Signatura: Geissler 'acquittal' came after formal process

Fr. Hermann Geissler, FSO. Credit: EWTN.TV/Paul Badde
Vatican City, May 17, 2019 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- The Vatican announced Friday that a former Curial official accused of sexual solicitation in the confessional was found not guilty after a penal process at the Church’s highest canonical court. Previous reports had indicated that the allegations were investigated by the Vatican, but had not indicated that the matter was resolved by a formal judicial process.

Fr. Hermann Geissler, 53, is a member of Familia spiritualis Opus (FSO), informally known as “Das Werk.” The priest served as an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1993 until Jan. 29.

Geissler stepped down from his position after a former member of “Das Werk,” Doris Wagner, claimed last year in a lengthy piece in the German newspaper DIE ZIET that she had been sexually harassed in the confessional by a member of the religious community she then belonged to, identified in the article as “Hermann G.”

Geissler has maintained his innocence since the allegations first . The solicitation of a sin against the sixth commandment within the context of confession is considered in the Church law to be a “grave delict,” or offense, for which a priest can be dismissed from the clerical state.

A communique issued May 17 by the Vatican’s Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura said that after an administrative penal process, a five-judge panel “issued the decree of acquittal of the accused,” because the allegation was not “proven with due moral certainty.”
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-regina-coeli-gospel-st-peters-square.html

Pope at Regina Coeli: 'God's love opens horizons of hope’
19 May 2019, 12:32

Pope Francis during the Regina Coeli  (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis on Sunday reflected on God’s love for his people that transforms the hardest of hearts and gives us the strength to overcome prejudice, build bridges and undertake new paths giving life to the dynamism of fraternity.
By Linda Bordoni

During the Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel of the day that speaks of God’s love for us and of his order to love each other as we love ourselves.

“Today's Gospel”, the Pope said, “takes us into the Upper Room to hear some of the words that Jesus addressed to his disciples in his ‘farewell address’ before his passion”.

He recalled how after washing the feet of the twelve apostles, He says to them: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another
 
https://zenit.org/articles/regina-coeli-address-on-jesus-new-commandment-to-love-one-another/
Regina Coeli Address: On Jesus’ New Commandment to Love One Another 
May 19, 2019 15:48•Virginia Forrester

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis - Recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer 2019-05-19
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/05/20/pope-reads-italian-bishops-the-riot-act-over-delayed-annulment-reform/

Pope reads Italian bishops the riot act over delayed annulment reform
Elise Harris   May 20, 2019

Pope Francis delivers his speech during a meeting of the Italian Bishops' Conference, at the Vatican, Monday, May 20, 2019. (Credit: AP Photo/Andrew Medichini.)
ROME - Pope Francis Monday read Italian bishops the riot act Monday for failing to fully implement a revised marriage annulment procedure he rolled out in 2015, saying that after four years, most dioceses have not yet applied the new process.

“It is with regret that I note that the reform, after four years, remains far from being applied in the great majority of Italian dioceses,” the pope said during a May 20 speech to the Italian bishops’ conference.

Italy has the largest bishops’ conference in the world, and it’s generally seen as a pacesetter around the Catholic world because of its proximity to the Vatican. The pope traditionally holds the title “Primate of Italy”, and it’s the only conference in the world where the pope directly appoints its president.

Francis issued the streamlined annulment process in September 2015, and it went into effect December that year to coincide with the launch of the Jubilee of Mercy.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-pime-missionaries-passion-mission.html

Pope encourages PIME missionaries to evangelize with urgency
20 May 2019, 14:30

Pope Francis urges members of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions to proclaim the Gospel with passion and a sense of urgency.
By Devin Watkins

The Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, or PIME, was founded in Italy in 1850 as a society of diocesan priests and lay people who dedicate their lives to missionary activities.

Pope Francis met Monday with participants in the Institute’s 15th General Assembly, reminding them of the “co-responsibility of all dioceses to spread the Gospel to peoples who do not yet know Jesus Christ”.

He said that, at the time when PIME was founded, this was a new idea, promoted by Pope Pius IX. Previously, most missionary work was carried out by religious orders. Members of PIME devote their lives to foreign missions through a promise, rather than by taking the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.
 

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/05/20/pope-encourages-catholics-to-join-ecumenical-prayer-campaign/

(Credit: CNS photo/Thy Kingdom Come website.)

Video at the link
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/11702/pope-francis-gives-impromptu-video-message-for-thy-kingdom-come
20 May 2019, The Tablet
Pope Francis gives impromptu video message for Thy Kingdom Come
by Rose Gamble
Pope Francis gave an impromptu video message, recorded by the Archbishop of Canterbury, during the pair’s private talks in the Vatican.

The recording, made on the Archbishop’s mobile phone, marks the first time an Anglican archbishop has interviewed a Pope, and is a sign of the friendship between the two church leaders.

The video was made for “Thy Kingdom Come”, a global movement of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost launched four years ago by Justin Welby and John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, and will be broadcast to a rally of Christians in Trafalgar Square on 9 June.

In an introduction to the video recording, posted on the Archbishop’s Twitter account, Justin Welby says he “cheekily” asked Pope Francis, who he describes as “extraordinary”, to record a message for Thy Kingdom Come.

In the clip, recorded in Spanish with English subtitles, Pope Francis says that the cry of all Christians is: “Come Holy Spirit”.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2019-05/pope-francis-homily-mass-casa-santa-marta-peace-jesus-deep-sea.html#.XOQTgqUX-f8.twitter

Pope at Mass: The peace of Jesus is like the calm of a deep sea
21 May 2019, 12:04

Pope Francis celebrates Mass at Casa Santa Marta  (Vatican Media)
In his homily during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis reflected on the gift of peace promised by Christ to His Apostles as He prepared to leave them. That peace does not come from the world, but from the Holy Spirit. It remains during trial, and even gives us courage to go forward with a smile in our hearts.
By Vatican News

Pope Francis’ homily considered the question of how we can reconcile the “tribulations” and persecutions suffered by St Paul, related in the first reading; with the peace that Jesus promised to His disciples in His final words during the Last Supper, “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”, which are recorded in the day’s Gospel.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-italian-bishops-general-assembly.html

Pope to Italian bishops: ‘be close to priests’
21 May 2019, 11:06

Pope Francis addresses members of the Italian Episcopal Conference at the start of their General Assembly   (Vatican Media)
Synodality and collegiality, the reform of the marriage annulment process and the relationship between bishops and priests were the focus of Pope Francis’ address to the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) at the start of its 73rd General Assembly.
By Linda Bordoni

In his address on Monday evening to Italian bishops gathered for a General Assembly scheduled to last until 23 May, Pope Francis described the relationship between bishops and priests as "the backbone” that supports all relationships within a diocese.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-05/vatican-annual-financial-authority-report-2018.html

Vatican’s 2018 financial report shows improved transparency
21 May 2019, 14:31

AIF: Vatican Financial Information Authority  (Vatican Media)
The Vatican’s Financial Information Authority releases its annual report for the 2018 fiscal year, which highlights advances made to increase financial transparency and reduce money-laundering
By Devin Watkins

“The path we are walking upon has become a well-paved and well-regulated one.”

At a press conference on Tuesday, René Brülhart, President of the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority, or AIF, presented the annual financial report for 2018 with those remarks.

He said the Vatican has made several significant achievements regarding financial transparency, including the implementation of a regulatory framework and an improved reporting system.
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/05/21/vatican-financial-watchdog-announces-fewer-reports-of-suspicious-activity-in-2018/
Vatican financial watchdog announces fewer reports of ‘suspicious activity’ in 2018
Claire Giangravè   May 21, 2019

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/05/21/new-york-in-court-to-bar-move-of-sheen-remains-to-peoria/

New York in court to bar move of Sheen remains to Peoria
Associated Press   May 21, 2019

With evidence of her son's alleged miraculous healing boxed and sealed in front of a portrait of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Bonnie Engstrom gives a reading at a 2011 Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral in Peoria, Ill. (Credit: Tom Dermody/The Catholic Post via CNS.)
PEORIA, Illinois - Officials of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria say their counterparts in the Archdiocese of New York are trying to halt the transfer of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s remains to Illinois.

Earlier this month, New York’s Court of Appeals rejected the archdiocese’s argument that lower courts erred in giving permission to a Sheen relative to transfer his remains to Peoria, where he was ordained 100 years ago.

RELATED: Illinois diocese wins latest legal battle over Fulton Sheen’s body

The Journal Star in Peoria reports Monday the archdiocese has filed a petition arguing that Sheen is the “prime and paramount” determiner of his final resting place. Five days before his death in 1979, Sheen signed a will seeking burial in the archdiocese’s graveyard, Calvary Cemetery. He is interred at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-general-audience-lords-prayer-our-father-conclusion.html

Pope at General Audience: courage and filial intimacy to call God “Father”
22 May 2019, 13:05

Pope Francis at the weekly General Audience in the Vatican, May 22, 2020. 
At Wednesday’s General Audience, Pope Francis concludes his series of catechesis on the “Our Father” prayer, saying it is the Holy Spirit who is the teacher and protagonist of true prayer.
By Robin Gomes

In his General Audience this week, Pope Francis concluded his series of catecheses on the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father”, which he began on December 5.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-prays-for-chinese-catholics.html
Pope Francis prays for Chinese Catholics
22 May 2019, 10:39

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-missionary-sister-killed-priest-mozambique.html
Pope recalls missionary sister killed in Central African Republic
22 May 2019, 12:59

https://zenit.org/articles/general-audience-pope-have-the-audacity-to-call-god-father/
General Audience: Pope: Have the Audacity to Call God ‘Father’ 
May 22, 2019 09:58

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis - General Audience 2019-05-22
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-ambassadors-holy-see-thailand-new-zealand-ethiopia.html

Pope invites new Ambassadors to protect most vulnerable
23 May 2019, 11:31

Pope Francis receives new Ambassadors' credential letters  (Vatican Media)
Speaking to several Ambassadors newly-accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis urges their respective States to be attentive to the poorest among us and respectful of legitimate diversity.
By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis accepted the Credential Letters presented by 9 new Ambassadors to the Holy See on Thursday.

The nations they represent include Thailand, New Zealand, Guinea, Ethiopia, Norway, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Luxembourg, and Mozambique
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-tells-ambassadors-their-solemn-duty-amid-pressing-needs/
Pope Tells Ambassadors Their ‘Solemn Duty’ Amid Pressing Needs 
May 23, 2019 14:23•Deborah Castellano Lubov

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-homily-mass-caritas-internationalis.html

Pope to Caritas: The Gospel is our programme of life
23 May 2019, 18:06

Pope Francis offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the opening of the General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis  (Vatican Media)
Humility, communion, and renunciation are three "essential elements" for the Church to go forward, Pope Francis says in his homily during Mass with representatives of Caritas Internationalis.

In his homily during Mass for the Opening of the XXI General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis, Pope Francis reflected on the “first great meeting in the history of the Church”, described in the day’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. He warned against the temptation of a “cult of efficiency”, of wanting the Church to have everything in order. “The Lord does not work that way,” but instead sends the Holy Spirit. The Gospel, he insisted “is our program of life. It teaches us that questions should not be confronted with a ready-made recipe, and that the faith is not a road map, but a ‘Way’ to travel together… with a spirit of trust.”
 
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-to-caritas-the-gospel-is-our-program-of-life-full-homily/
Pope to Caritas: The Gospel Is Our Program of Life (Full Homily) 
May 23, 2019 20:48•Deborah Castellano Lubov

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis - Holy Mass for Caritas Internationalis 2019-05-23
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-audience-young-football-players-sports-organizations.html

Pope to parents, coaches: 'Be partners in the smiles of your athletes'
24 May 2019, 13:31

Pope Francis receives an Italian Association for amateur football   (Vatican Media)
The Pope received a large group of young football players in the Vatican on Friday and urged their parents, coaches and educators to support the dreams of the budding athletes.
By Chistopher Wells

Pope Francis on Friday held an audience for more than five thousand young football players, along with professional football stars, coaches, educators, and experts, including the heads of several Italian sports institutions. The group was taking part in a special encounter organized for the young people, entitled “The football that we love,” which focused on the idea of football as fun, educational, and inclusive.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-foster-a-culture-that-promotes-life.html

Pope Francis: Foster a culture that recognizes the value of life
24 May 2019, 14:26

Pope Francis on Friday meets with member of the Institute Hospitals of the Innocents   (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis on Friday meets with members of the Institute Hospitals of the Innocents based in the Italian city of Florence, which is marking its 600th anniversary. In his prepared remarks the Pope stressed that “we need a culture that recognizes the value of life.”

The Hospital of the Innocents was built by Filippo Brunelleschi in the fifteenth century and is located in the historic city of Florence.  It was the first institution of its kind in Europe designed to care for and raise orphaned or abandoned children.

Today, it is an institute that promotes the rights of children and adolescents through a number of services and activities. In addition to residential and educational activities, the Institute also carries out the most recent research and monitoring activities on the condition of children.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-ecclesiastical-museums-encounter-communities.html

Pope: museums build communities through encounter, dialogue
24 May 2019, 16:10

Pope Francis meeting representatives of the Italian Ecclesiastical Museums Association, May 24, 2019.   (Vatican Media )
Pope Francis on Friday met some 400 officials and representatives of the Italian Ecclesiastical Museums Association (AMEI).
By Robin Gomes

Besides being called to encourage encounter and dialogue in the local community, ecclesiastical museums also normally collaborate with museums of other religions in order to create a humanity of brothers and sisters.

This remark of Pope Francis came in his address to some 400 officials and representatives of the Italian Ecclesiastical Museums Association (AMEI) that brings together big and small ecclesiastical museums in a nation that has a rich cultural heritage of Christian art and history.

In this regard, he said that ecclesiastical museums have the shared mission of documenting "visibly the journey made over the centuries by the Church in worship, catechesis, culture and charity".
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-05/pope-francis-bulgaria-north-macedonia-delegations-audience.html

Bulgarian, North Macedonian delegations meet Pope
24 May 2019, 17:43

Pope meeting the official delegation from Bulgaria in the Vatican, May 24, 2019. 
Pope thanked visiting official delegations from Bulgaria and North Macedonia for the welcome he received during his visit to the two nations, May 5-7.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis on Friday received delegations from Bulgaria and North Macedonia, less than 3 weeks after the Holy Father visited the two East Balkan nations, May 5-7.

In a statement to reporters, the "interim" Director of the Vatican Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, said that Pope first thanked the Bulgarian delegation for the great welcome received during his recent visit to the country.

The delegation is on a traditional visit to Rome on the occasion of the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the 9th-century evangelizers from Thessalonica who preached Christianity to the Slavic people.