Pope Francis

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-francis-reflection-greccio-nativity-scene.html

Pope visits place of first Nativity Scene, in Italian town of Greccio
01 December 2019, 17:07

Pope Francis makes a brief visit to the Italian town of Greccio on Sunday, to sign his Apostolic Letter “Admirabile signum” on importance of the Christmas crèche.
By Devin Watkins

During his brief trip to Greccio on Sunday afternoon, Pope Francis paused to pray at the site where Saint Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene.

The small grotto resembles the tiny cave of Bethlehem where the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Frescoes from the 14th century adorn the cave’s walls, depicting Mary breastfeeding the Christ Child and Saint Francis kneeling in adoration.

There the Pope signed his Apostolic Letter Admirabile signum, a reflection on the meaning of the nativity scene.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-francis-apostolic-letter-nativity-scene-meaning.html
Pope writes Apostolic Letter on the significance of the Christmas crèche
01 December 2019, 16:01

The full Vatican-provided English text of the Letter at the link
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-apostolic-letter-admirabile-signum-on-meaning-and-importance-of-the-nativity-scene/
Pope Francis Writes Apostolic Letter ‘Admirabile Signum’ on Meaning and Importance of the Nativity Scene
December 01, 2019 17:00  Deborah Castellano Lubov

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis-Celebration of the Word 2019-12-01
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-calls-entrepreneurs-businessmen-to-embrace-simplicity.html

Pope calls entrepreneurs, businessmen to embrace simplicity
02 December 2019, 12:39

Pope Francis reflected on the challenges of bearing evangelical witness in professional life, as he met with young French businessmen and entrepreneurs at the Vatican on Monday.
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis on Monday received a group of young Catholic business leaders and entrepreneurs from France, who are in Rome to take part in a conference entitled a “Journey for the Common Good”. The conference aims at promoting Catholic social teaching in people’s personal and professional lives.

Genuine Christian witness

In his address, the Holy Father welcomed the pilgrims and expressed his appreciation for their desire to follow the social teaching of the Church in both their personal and professional lives. He recognized that it is not always easy to reconcile the demands of the Gospel with the demands of business and commerce; but, he said, the “evangelical values” that entrepreneurs and managers hope to implement in their businesses provide an opportunity for “genuine and irreplaceable Christian witness”.

The Pope said he hoped that the conference for the “Journey for the Common Good” would help those taking part by “enlightening their discernment” in order to help them in making conscientious decisions. He highlighted the teaching of Vatican II, in the Constitution Gaudium et spes, which encourages lay people to be responsible witnesses within their own fields, “in the light of Christian wisdom”, and with attentive respect for the doctrine of the Church.
 

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Video at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/benedict-caritas-veritate-anniversary.html
Pope Benedict XVI's Encyclical 'Caritas in veritate' remembered
02 December 2019, 09:00

The Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development holds an international conference honouring the 10th anniversary of Pope Benedict's encyclical "Caritas in veritate".
By Vatican News

10 years after the publication of Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Caritas in veritate, the Vatican Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development (PIHD) will hold an International Conference on the theme “Theory and Praxis of Development”. The Conference will be held in the Casina Pio IV of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in the Vatican, on Tuesday, 3 December 2019.

Caritas in veritate

Caritas in veritate is an Encyclical promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI on 29 June 2009. He wrote it about forty years after Pope St Paul VI issued the Encyclical Populorum progressio. As such, Caritas in veritate updated Paul VI’s thought not only by placing attention on the theme of “human ecology”, but also stressing that, “authentic human development concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension” (CV, 11).
Context

Providing the background for the Encyclical were various international realities present at the time: persistent poverty, hunger, exploitation, the emergence of environmental issues, globalization and planetary interdependence, the new means of communication, the growing difficulty of national governments to confront global powers and multinational companies, the financial crisis and financial institutions, etc.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/cardinal-turkson-the-impact-of-caritas-in-veritate-ten-years.html

Cardinal Turkson: the impact of “Caritas in veritate” after ten years
03 December 2019, 09:32

Ahead of a seminar on Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical “Caritas in veritate”, Cardinal Peter Turkson looks at the impact of the document in the areas of ecology and integral human development.
By Vatican News

Ten years ago, Pope Benedict XVI published his third and final encyclical, Caritas in veritate, on “integral human development in charity and truth”. To mark the occasion, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has organized a seminar on the “theory and praxis of development”, which is taking place on Tuesday in the Vatican.

Ahead of the seminar, the Prefect for the Dicastery, Cardinal Peter Turkson, offered his reflections on the impact of Caritas in veritate, especially in the fields of “ecology” and “integral human development”.

Here is the full text of Cardinal Turkson’s presentation:
 

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Video, with English commentary and text, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/pope-benedict-encyclical-ten-years-later-caritas-in-veritate.html
"Caritas in veritate": Pope Benedict XVI's enyclical 10 years later
03 December 2019, 17:00

The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development organises an International Conference in the Vatican to explore the impact and inflluence of Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical, Caritas in veritate, ten years after its publication.

Pope Benedict XVI wrote three encyclicals. Caritas in veritate is the third.

Published on 29 June 2009, and coming forty years after Pope St. Paul VI’s Encyclical, Populorum progressio, Caritas in veritate confirms how “charity in truth” is the principal force behind the true development of every person and of all humanity.

Benedict XVI once said,  "Only with charity, illumined by reason and by faith, is it possible to achieve goals of development endowed with human and humanizing values".

These same values were at the heart of an International Conference on the theme, “Theory and Praxis of Development”, held in the Vatican on Tuesday December 3rd, and organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2019-12/pope-at-mass-today-the-church-praises-littleness.html

Pope at Mass: Today the Church praises “littleness”
03 December 2019, 12:44

The Spirit of God can only germinate in a humble heart, Pope Francis says in his homily at the daily Mass. The Holy Father says that God’s revelation always begins with “littleness”, implying trust in God rather than being closed in one oneself.
By Vatican News

In his homily at the daily Mass in Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis said the day’s liturgy “speaks about little things; we could say that today is the day of littleness”. The first Reading, taken from the book of the Prophet Isaiah begins with the announcement, “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him…”

“The Word of God sings the praises of what is small”, the Pope said, “and makes a promise: the promise of a shoot that will sprout. And what is smaller than a sprout?” And yet “the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him”. Pope Francis explained:

Redemption, revelation, the presence of God in the world begins like this, and is always like this. The revelation of God is made in smallness. Smallness, both humility and so many other things, but in smallness. The great seem powerful — let us think of Jesus in the desert, [and] how Satan appears powerful, the master of the whole world: “I will give you everything, if you…” The things of God, on the other hand, begin by sprouting, from a seed, little things. And Jesus speaks about this smallness in the Gospel.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/pope-make-the-world-more-human-by-guaranteeing-the-dignity-of-t.html

Pope: Make the world more human by guaranteeing the dignity of the disabled
03 December 2019, 11:42

On the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3rd, Pope Francis recalls how the promotion of the right to participation plays a central role in combating discrimination and promoting a culture of encounter and quality of life.
By Lydia O'Kane

In his message marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Pope Francis notes that “great progress has been made towards people with disabilities in the medical and welfare fields.”

But he highlights the fact that even today there is still a culture of waste with many disabled people feeling that “they exist without belonging and without participating.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/pope-welcomes-another-group-of-refugees-from-lesbos-accompanied.html

Pope welcomes another group of refugees from Lesbos accompanied by Card. Krajewski
03 December 2019, 08:17

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski left for Lesbos on Monday. This new mission follows that of last May and comes after the visit of Pope Francis to Lesbos in 2016. The Apostolic Almoner will return next Wednesday with a group of 33 refugees. Another 10 will arrive by the end of the year. Assistance for all of them will be provided by the Holy See and the Sant'Egidio Community.
By Giada Aquilino- Vatican City

On the express "wish" of Pope Francis and thanks to a new "humanitarian corridor", next Wednesday "33 refugees seeking political asylum" will arrive in Italy from Lesbos, Greece. The Apostolic Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, left on Monday for the island in the Aegean Sea, from where he will return on 4 December accompanying these migrants. Alongside the cardinal were some leaders from the Sant'Egidio Community. By the end of the year this group will be joined by "another 10 refugees".  The news was contained in a communiqué from the office of the Apostolic Almoner.
 

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Update:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

 
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2019/12/sheen-beatification-postponed-at-request-of-few-us-bishops/
Sheen beatification postponed at request of “few” US bishops
Catholic News Service  Dec 4, 2019

PEORIA, Illinois - Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria said Vatican officials have told him that the upcoming beatification of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen has been postponed “at the request of a few members” of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and although no details have been communicated as to why, a statement from Sheen’s home diocese insists it’s not over a charge of sexual abuse of a minor.

A news release from the Diocese of Peoria said it was informed Dec. 2 that Vatican had decided to postpone the Dec. 21 ceremony. Details on what prompted the bishops to intervene were unknown.

The diocese added, “In our current climate it is important for the faithful to know that there has never been, nor is there now, any allegation against (Archbishop) Sheen involving the abuse of a minor.”
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop-sheen-was-accused-of-covering-up-clerical-sexual-abuse-42700
Updated: Sheen beatification postponement not related to 2007 cover-up allegation, sources say

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Update:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

https://files.constantcontact.com/3c271cee701/1f7142e8-85a8-4d00-9cbb-9ef989608176.pdf

NEWS RELEASE 
Catholic Diocese of Peoria 
December 3, 2019
 
For Immediate Release 
 
Catholic Diocese of Peoria Announces a Postponement in  Beatification of Venerable Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen
 
PEORIA, IL: With deep regret, Bishop Daniel Jenky, C.S.C., Bishop of Peoria, announces that he has been informed by the Holy See that the Beatification of Fulton Sheen will be postponed.
 

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Update:  U.S. bishops’ ad limina visits to the Vatican

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/12/from-abuse-to-nones-u-s-bishops-share-concerns-with-pope/

From abuse to ‘nones,’ U.S. bishops share concerns with pope
Cindy Wooden and Junno Arocho Esteves
Dec 4, 2019
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY - The timing of the U.S. bishops’ ad limina visits to the Vatican was a matter of Pope Francis’s schedule and the regular rhythm of his meetings with the world’s bishops.

But for Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, it also was “providential.”

Because of a papal scheduling conflict, the bishops of U.S. Regions IV and V - District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Archdiocese for the Military Services, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee - all met the pope together for close to three hours Dec. 3.

Lori told Catholic News Service he had worried that a meeting of the pope and 37 bishops at once would dilute the intimacy and dialogue reported by the first groups of U.S. bishops during their visits in November.

However, he said, “that sense of intimacy and that sense of real exchange, free exchange, was very much evident.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-meets-members-of-polish-solidarity-trade-union.html

Pope meets with Polish Solidarity Trade Union
04 December 2019, 10:26

Pope Francis greets leaders of Poland’s Solidarity movement on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its foundation.
By Vatican News

Before his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis addressed leaders from the Polish Trade Union Solidarity (Solidarnosc), in the Paul VI Hall.

The movement was founded by Lech Walesa and others in 1980 at the former Lenin Shipyards in Gdańsk, becoming the first independent labour union in a Soviet bloc country.

The Pope recalled that through the 1980’s it had been the protagonist of political and social changes in Poland and has also played an inspiring role beyond the country’s borders.

“I congratulate you”, said Pope Francis, “on your service for the common good”, adding that, “the sincere search that individuals and groups make for good, truth and justice is always accompanied by the presence of God.”

“Forty years ago”, he continued, “Saint John Paul II invoked for his fellow countrymen this very presence of God and the breath of the Holy Spirit, exclaiming: "Let your Spirit come down! And renew the face of the earth. Of this land!".
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-at-audience-pray-and-entrust-yourself-to-the-lord.html

Pope at Audience: Pray and entrust yourself to the Lord
04 December 2019, 11:44

At Wednesday’s General Audience, Pope Francis reflects on St Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, and on his farewell to the leaders of the Christian community there.
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses on the Acts of the Apostle’s during his weekly General Audience in St Peter’s Square.

The Holy Father looked at St Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, and his farewell message to the leaders of the community after he left.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/popes-general-audience-on-st-pauls-ministry-in-ephesus/
POPE’S GENERAL AUDIENCE: On St Paul’s Ministry in Ephesus
December 04, 2019 14:21

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis - General Audience 2019-12-04
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-message-public-session-pontifical-academies.html

Pope: Mariology helps foster dialogue and fraternity between cultures
04 December 2019, 17:31

Pope Francis sends a message to the XXIV public session of the Pontifical Academies where the annual Award was presented to Dr. Carme López Calderón and to the Reverend Ionuț-Cătălin Blidar for their commitment to theological research.
By Vatican News

As an introduction to his message, Pope Francis described the Pontifical Academies as places where knowledge becomes service, because - he noted - without knowledge that comes from collaboration and leads to cooperation there is no genuine and integral human development.

An Academy, he said, is a model of synodality and a force for evangelization.

The Pope’s message was addressed to participants in the XXIV Public Session of the seven Pontifical Academies, whose Coordinating Council is presided over by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.

This year’s edition, on the theme “Mary, way to peace among cultures”, was organized by the Pontifical International Marian Academy, which is marking the 60th anniversary of its establishment by Pope Saint John XXIII, on 8 December 1959.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/council-of-cardinals-discusses-new-apostolic-constitution.html

Council of Cardinals discusses new Apostolic Constitution
04 December 2019, 15:38

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Council of Cardinals took place at the Vatican from 2-4 December
By Vatican News

The Council of Cardinals gathered in the Vatican this week for their previously planned meeting. Cardinals Pietro Parolin; Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B.; Reinhard Marx; Seán Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap.; Giuseppe Bertello; and Oswald Gracias were present for the meeting, along with the Secretary of the Council, Archbishop Marcello Semeraro. Pope Francis also took part in the work of the Council.

During the meeting, the Cardinals continued to discuss the draft of the new Apostolic Constitution, focusing in particular on the relationship between the Roman Curia and the various episcopal conferences; and on the presence of the lay faithful — both men and women — in decision making roles in the Church.
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2019/12/pope-council-of-cardinals-discuss-greater-role-for-lay-men-and-women/
Pope, council of cardinals discuss greater role for lay men and women
Junno Arocho Esteves  Dec 4, 2019
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/pope-resignation-bishop-malone-diocese-buffalo.html

Pope accepts resignation of Buffalo Bishop
04 December 2019, 12:17

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Bishop Malone, of the Diocese of Buffalo, in the United States.
By Vatican News
 
A statement release by the Holy See Press Office also said the Pope has appointed Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger, head of the Albany Diocese, as apostolic administrator, to lead the Buffalo Diocese until a new bishop is named. 

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/buffalos-bishop-richard-malone-resigns-after-year-of-scandal-67768
Buffalo's Bishop Richard Malone resigns after year of scandal

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/the-vatican-prepares-for-the-inauguration-of-the-nativity-scene.html

The Vatican prepares for the inauguration of the Nativity Scene in St Peter's Square
04 December 2019, 14:28

The Nativity Scene and Christmas Tree will be inaugurated on the 5th December in St Peter’s Square. Meanwhile, a Nativity Scene, by the Pare di Conegliano Artistic Crib Group will also be exhibited in the Paul VI Hall.

On Thursday 5 December, Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello and Bishop Fernardo Vérgez Alzaga, respectively President and Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will inaugurate the Nativity scene and the illumination of the Christmas tree set up in Saint Peter's Square.

The crib comes from comes from Scurelle in the province of Trento, while the 26 meter high spruce tree comes from Rotzo in the province of Vicenza, Italy.

The Nativity Scene, which has been made in the Trentino tradition, is said to contain 20 life-sized figures.

Both the tree and the crib are linked to a storm which hit many areas of Triveneto in Italy in October and November of last year.
 

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Update:  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/rochester-bishop-requested-fulton-sheen-beatification-delay-sources-say-20096
Rochester bishop requested Fulton Sheen beatification delay, sources say
By JD Flynn and Ed Condon

Vatican City, Dec 4, 2019 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- The beatification of Archbishop Fulton Sheen was delayed at the request of Bishop Salvatore Matano of Rochester, according to several sources close to the beatification process.

The bishop is reported to have requested the delay due to concerns that Sheen could be cited in the final report covering an ongoing state attorney general’s investigation into New York’s bishops and dioceses.

In September, New York’s attorney general began an investigation into whether any of the state’s eight Roman Catholic dioceses had covered up acts or allegations of clerical sexual abuse. Sheen was Bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969.
 
Several senior U.S. archbishops were consulted on the matter before the final decision to delay was made by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State. The U.S. bishops consulted reportedly reached consensus that it would be “imprudent” to proceed with the beatification plans until after the attorney general’s report has been released and the matter resolved.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2019-12/pope-francis-jesuits-thailand-japan-apostolic-journey-meetings.html

Pope’s dream for Jesuits in Thailand and Japan: a young church close to the people
05 December 2019, 15:41

During his Apostolic Journey to Thailand and Japan, November 19-26, Pope Francis, who is a Jesuit, had separate private meetings with the Jesuits in Bangkok and Tokyo. The conversation of the Pope has now been published by the respected Jesuit periodical, “La Civiltà Cattolica”. We bring you summaries of the issues raised during the two meetings.

Pope Francis met a group of 48 Jesuits from Thailand in Bangkok on November 22.  During an informal chat with them, he responded to a few questions.

Good of the country and people

“I dream of a young Church, very close to the people, fresh. Of course, I am well aware of and concerned about the problems you have to deal with, such as exploitation linked to sex tourism. You Jesuits must do everything possible to raise the level of society. Work for the good of your country and for the dignity of the people!”  This was the concluding advice of Francis to the Jesuits he met in Bangkok, after having addressed issues such as situations of injustice, the need for prayer, how the encyclical “Laudato si” has been received in the Church and the world, the problem of refugees and the pastoral care of divorced and remarried Catholics.
 
http://www.laciviltacattolica.com/our-little-path-pope-francis-with-the-jesuits-in-thailand-and-japan/
‘Our Little Path’: Pope Francis with the Jesuits in Thailand and Japan
Antonio Spadaro, SJ / Free Articles / Published Date:5 December 2019

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-12/pope-and-grand-imam-propose-a-world-day-of-fraternity-to-the-un.html

Pope and Grand Imam propose a World Day of Fraternity to the UN
05 December 2019, 15:30

The request was delivered to the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, by the High Committee for Human Fraternity, established to promote the objectives of the Document on Human Fraternity. In addition to a World Day, the group also proposed a World Summit on Human Fraternity.
By the Holy See Press Office

On 20 August 2019 a High Committee was established to achieve the objectives contained in the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together (Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019). It is currently composed of Christian, Muslim and Jewish members, and chaired by Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Yesterday, the members of this Committee, led by Cardinal Ayuso Guixot and Judge Muhammad Abd al-Salam, met in New York with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. António Guterres, to convey to him a message from Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayyeb. The message proposes that 4 February be declared World Day of Human Fraternity and asks the United Nations to participate, together with the Holy See and Al-Azhar, in the organization, in the near future, of a World Summit on Human Fraternity.