Pope Francis

[grace-land]

Reminder... 

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-10/decree-plenary-indulgence-faithful-departed-november.html
Decree extends indulgence for the faithful departed throughout November
23 October 2020, 12:00

The Apostolic Penitentiary announces modifications to the Plenary Indulgence for the deceased during the month of November.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Many of the Church’s pastors have requested an adaptation to the requirements to obtain the Plenary Indulgence for the deceased in the month of November. Thus, “by the special mandate of His Holiness Pope Francis”, the Apostolic Penitentiary released on Friday some changes to the normal practice. The Decree containing these modifications was signed on 22 October, the liturgical memorial of Pope St John Paul II.

Plenary Indulgence during month of November

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to avoid large groups from forming where prohibited, the Plenary Indulgence applicable to thedeceased by those who visit a cemetery has been extended beyond the normal dates of 1 to 8 November. This year, the indulgence can be obtained by anyone who visits a cemetery, even if only mentally, on any day in November, and devoutly prays for the faithful departed.

Plenary Indulgence for Feast of All Souls’ Day

Regarding the Plenary Indulgence attached to All Souls’ Day, 2 November, this year, it can be obtained not only on the preceding or succeeding Sunday, or on the actual Feast day, but on any other day of the month chosen by each member of the faithful. In this case, the indulgence is obtained by “devoutly visiting a church or an oratory”, along with the recitation of the Our Father and the Creed, and the other requirements associated with a Plenary Indulgence.

The homebound

For anyone who cannot leave their home for various reasons, including anti-Covid restrictions, they too can obtain the Plenary Indulgence by “uniting themselves spiritually to other members of the faithful”. In this case, the condition of being “completely detached from sin” and the intention of completing the other requirements for obtaining a Plenary Indulgence remain. These conditions are Sacramental Confession, reception of Holy Communion and a prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions.

The Decree suggests that such prayer take place before an “image of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary”. Among the various prayers that are recommended are “prayers for the deceased, Morning or Evening Prayer from the Office of the Dead, the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, meditating on various Gospel passages proposed for the liturgy of the Dead, or completing a work of mercy by offering to God the suffering and discomforts of one’s own life”.
 

[grace-land]

Update:  The Economy of Francesco event

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-11/francesco-economy-day-two-finance-ecology-yunus.html
Economy of Francesco: Generating solidarity out of ashes of pandemic
20 November 2020, 18:27

“The Economy of Francesco” online event continued into its second day on Friday, with participants focusing on how questions of finance, economics, sociology, and ecology are all interrelated.
By Devin Watkins

As the live-streamed event got started from the Italian town of Assisi on Friday, organizers expressed surprise over how the event’s first day had generated over 48,000 views on YouTube.

Some 2,000 young economists and entrepreneurs were signed up as direct participants.

The first session of “The Economy of Francesco” explored several social aspects of the global economy and how they could be improved, while seeking inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi.
 

[grace-land]

Update:  The Economy of Francesco event
Video, with English text, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-video-message-economy-of-francis0.html
Pope to young economists: either you are involved or history will pass over you
21 November 2020, 17:30

Pope Francis sends a videomessage to young economists and entrepreneurs attending the Economy of Francis, and warns them that they are the future.
By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis opened his videomessage by congratulating the young people attending virtually for their commitment and determination in the period leading up to and during the event. “You have not left out anything that gives you joy, worries you, outrages you and pushes you to change”, he said.

Addressing the participants of the meeting “the Economy of Francis” in Assisi from 19 - 21 November, Pope Francis recalls that the “original” idea was to meet in Assisi to be inspired on the footsteps of St Francis. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the meeting was postponed and eventually held online.

The Pope noted that St Francis was entrusted with a mission and that therefore, “this virtual encounter to Assisi for me is not a point of arrival but the initial push of a process that we are invited to live as vocation, as culture and as pact. As vocation, as culture and as pact.”
 

[grace-land]

hmmm...

https://zenit.org/2020/11/22/pope-changes-diocesan-celebration-of-wyd-from-palm-sunday-to-christ-the-king-sunday/

Pope Changes Diocesan Celebration of WYD from Palm Sunday to Christ the King Sunday
Remains Centered on Mystery of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of Man
NOVEMBER 22, 2020 14:41

At the end of Mass for Christ the King on November 22, 2020, Pope Francis had some important reflections on World Youth Day (WYD).

First, he greeted youth from Panama and Portugal, present to transfer the symbols of WYD from the last venue to the next, Lisbon in 2023. Second, he announced a change in how WYD will be observed at the diocesan level.

“And as we prepare for the next intercontinental edition of WYD, I would also like to renew its celebration in the local Churches,” the Holy Father said. “Thirty-five years after the establishment of WYD, after listening to various opinions and consulting the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, which is responsible for youth ministry, I have decided, beginning next year, to transfer the diocesan celebration of WYD from Palm Sunday to Christ the King Sunday.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-announces-change-to-diocesan-wyd-celebrations.html
Pope to young people: Cry out with your life that Christ lives and reigns!
22 November 2020, 11:10
 
In announcing the change, the Holy Father said, “The centre of the celebration remains the Mystery of Jesus Christ the Redeemer of Man, as Saint John Paul II, the initiator and patron of WYD, always emphasized.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-we-are-created-to-make-god-s-dreams-come-true.html

Pope Francis: We are created to make God’s dreams come true
22 November 2020, 10:33

Pope Francis celebrates Mass for the Solemnity of Christ the King on Sunday. In his homily, the Holy Father invites young people we were created “to make God’s dreams come true in this world.”
By Christopher Wells

Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica for the Solemnity of Christ the King, observed annually on the last Sunday of the liturgical year.

The Holy Father used the day’s Gospel, with Jesus' discourse on the Last Judgement, as the starting point for his homily. “Before pouring out His love for us on the Cross, Jesus shares his final wishes,” the Pope said. “He tells us that the good we do to one of our least brothers and sisters – whether hungry or thirsty, a stranger, in need, sick or in prison – we do to Him.”
 
At the link below--
     the full text of the Holy Father’s homily and remarks at the end of Holy Mass; and
     video, with English commentary
     
https://zenit.org/2020/11/22/pope-celebrates-mass-on-feast-of-christ-the-king/
Pope Celebrates Mass on Feast of Christ the King
NOVEMBER 22, 2020 14:31  JIM FAIR

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-angelus-catechesis-solemnity-christ-the-king.html

Pope at Angelus: ‘We enter God’s Kingdom through the door of humble service'
22 November 2020, 12:15

Pope Francis celebrates the Solemnity of Christ the King reminding the faithful they will be judged on love, on works, on compassion that becomes nearness and kind help.
By Vatican News staff writer

Marking the Solemnity of Christ the King on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Pope Francis reflected on the parable that, he said, unfolds the mystery of Christ.

Addressing the faithful during the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope said “He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of history” and he explained that today’s liturgy focuses on the “Omega”, that is, on the final goal.

“The meaning of history is understood by keeping its culmination before our eyes: the goal is also the end,” he said.

Taking his cue from the Gospel according to Matthew (25:31-46) that places Jesus’s discourse on the universal judgement at the end of His earthly life, the Pope observed that “He, the one whom men are about to condemn is, in reality, the supreme judge.”
 
At the link below--
     the Holy Father’s full commentary; and
     video, with English commentary

https://zenit.org/2020/11/22/pope-francis-at-angelus-reflects-on-shepherd-who-will-judge/
Pope Francis at Angelus Reflects on Shepherd Who Will Judge
NOVEMBER 22, 2020 15:02  JIM FAIR

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-appoints-new-sistine-chapel-choir-director-81087

Pope Francis appoints new Sistine Chapel Choir director

Vatican City, Nov 23, 2020 / 05:00 am MT (CNA).- Pope Francis appointed a new director of the Sistine Chapel Choir Sunday.

The pope named the Brazilian Msgr. Marcos Pavan as Maestro Director of the Cappella Musicale Pontificia Sistina Nov. 22, the Feast of St. Cecilia.

Pavan had served as interim director following the departure of Salesian priest Fr. Massimo Palombella in July 2019 after a nine-year tenure.

The Holy See press office announced in September 2018 that the pope had authorized an investigation into the “economic-administrative aspects” of the choir.

In January 2019, Pope Francis issued a motu proprio moving the Sistine Chapel Choir under the administration of the Office of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations, instead of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and the choir’s manager, Michelangelo Nardella.

The pope entrusted Fr. Guido Marini, master of ceremonies of papal liturgies, with managing the choir and drafting its new statues.
 

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/11/new-book-sketches-popes-dream-for-a-post-covid-world/

New book sketches Pope’s dream for a post-COVID world
Inés San Martín  Nov 23, 2020

ROSARIO, Argentina — In that brief intermezzo over the summer between what turned out to be the first and second great surges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis held a series of appropriately socially distanced, “virtual” conversations with his premier English-language explicator about what he believes needs to be done for the world to be better than it was before the crisis.

Through conversations held on the phone, through voice recordings and via email, Francis answered questions posed to him by British biographer Austen Ivereigh on a wide range of issues, including the death of George Floyd; clerical sexual abuse; the toppling of statues in an effort to reshape perceptions of history; protests against government coronavirus restrictions; persecuted minorities such as Christians, Yazidi, Rohingya and Uighurs; migrants and refugees; and, though the book notes “many will be irritated to hear a pope return to the topic,” Francis discussed abortion at length too.
 
A crisp 150 pages long, the book presents Francis’s overview of the world’s situation. It’s structured in terms of the “See/Judge/Act” method pioneered by the late Belgian Cardinal Joseph-Léon Cardijn, who died in 1967.

Ivereigh’s own voice is largely absent from the book except for a postscript, where he shares some insights on how the book came to be. He says it took shape in his mind during Francis’ historic Urbi et Orbi blessing in late March, when the first wave of the pandemic had forced most of Europe into lockdown.

Asked by Crux if Francis had brought up some of this summer’s events himself, or if Ivereigh had in his questions, the British author of The Great Reformer and Wounded Shepherd, said “I asked him about the Black Lives Matters protests and other things, but a lot of what’s in the book he brought up without my prompting.”

Ivereigh said he largely communicated with Francis through letters exchanged via email, as well as voice recordings by the pope answering to Ivereigh’s questions. However, the pope also suggested documents and texts for the British biographer to include in the initial drafts for him to review and correct.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-let-us-dream-book-ivereigh-excerpt-summary.html
Pope Francis: My life’s three moments of solitude
23 November 2020, 11:44

Ahead of the release of Pope Francis’ new book with Austen Ivereigh, the Italian newpaper “La Repubblica” publishes an excerpt from “Let Us Dream: The Path to a Better Future”, in which the Pope describes three of his own personal “Covid” moments of solitude.
By Devin Watkins

[grace-land]

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-meets-with-nba-players-to-discuss-social-injustice-31035

Pope Francis and NBA players discuss social justice in Vatican meeting
By Courtney Mares

Vatican City, Nov 23, 2020 / 12:00 pm MT (CNA).- Pope Francis met with five NBA players at the Vatican Monday to discuss their efforts to combat social and economic injustice in the United States.

Milwaukee Bucks shooting guards Kyle Korver and Sterling Brown were a part of the delegation, along with Orlando Magic power forward Jonathan Isaac, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Anthony Tolliver, and Marco Belinelli of the San Antonio Spurs.

The basketball players met with the pope privately Nov. 23 in the papal library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Three executives from the players’ union, the National Basketball Players Association, also took part in the meeting.

The pope commended the athletes for being examples of teamwork. “You’re champions … giving that good example of teamwork but always remaining humble ... and preserving your own humanity,” AP reported the pope as saying.

Pope Francis requested the meeting last week because he wanted to learn more about the American athletes’ social justice advocacy, and the players’ union quickly scheduled an overnight flight Sunday, according to ESPN.

Following the death of George Floyd in May, NBA players mobilized to raise awareness of the police brutality affecting Black communities and the broader issues of inequality.
 
https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/11/pope-meets-with-nba-players-union-delegation-at-the-vatican/
Pope meets with NBA players’ union delegation at the Vatican
Junno Arocho EstevesNov 23, 2020  CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

[grace-land]

https://zenit.org/2020/11/23/just-in-vatican-explains-details-for-saturdays-consistory-for-creation-of-new-cardinals/

JUST IN: Vatican Explains Details for Saturday’s Consistory for Creation of New Cardinals
In Light of COVID19 Resurgence, No Courtesy Visits and Cardinals-elect Sim & Advincula Will Not Be Able to Be Physically Present
NOVEMBER 23, 2020 12:08  DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV

The Vatican has explained how the imminent Consistory for the Creation of new cardinals will work in light of the COVID19 resurgence world wide.
In a statement from Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, he confirmed that on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020, at 4 pm, the Ordinary Public Consistory, announced by Pope Francis, for the creation of 13 new cardinals will be celebrated.

He clarified that Cardinals-elect Cornelius Sim, Apostolic Vicar of Brunei, and Jose F. Advincula, Archbishop of Capiz, Philippines, will not be able to be present due to the contingent health situation, but still “will be created Cardinals in the Consistory.”

“A representative of the Holy Father, at another time to be determined, will give them the hat, the ring and the bull with the title,” he said.

“The members of the College of Cardinals unable to reach Rome,” the Vatican spokesman also clarified, “will be able to join the Celebration, participating remotely from their headquarters, through a digital platform that will allow them to connect with the Vatican Basilica.”

The program will be as follows:
 

[grace-land]

https://www.ncregister.com/news/vatican-cancels-public-advent-and-christmas-liturgies-amid-covid-surge

Vatican Cancels Public Advent and Christmas Liturgies Amid COVID Surge
Edward Pentin  Vatican November 23, 2020

VATICAN CITY — As happened during Holy Week this year, liturgical celebrations in St. Peter’s Basilica over Christmas, such as midnight Mass celebrated by Pope Francis, will be limited to a select group of faithful and live-streamed to the faithful amid concerns over a surge of COVID-19 cases.

The Vatican quietly announced at the end of October that liturgical celebrations in St. Peter’s in the “coming months” would have “very limited participation of the faithful,” in compliance with “foreseen protective measures, barring changes due to health risks.”
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-argentina-nurses-doctors-day-video-message.html

Pope Francis: Doctors, nurses - unsung heroes of the pandemic
23 November 2020, 12:29

In a video message, Pope Francis expresses his gratitude to Argentina's healthcare workers for their selfless service to the sick during the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Vatican News staff writer

“You are the unsung heroes of this pandemic. How many of you have given your lives to be close to the sick! Thanks for the closeness, thanks for the tenderness, thanks for the professionalism with which you take care of the sick."

Pope Francis expressed these sentiments of gratitude in a video message addressed to the doctors and nurses of his native Argentina. His message comes on the occasion of two national commemorations in the country:  the national Nursing Day, which was observed on November 21, the Feast of Our Lady of Remedies, and the upcoming Doctor’s Day on December 3.
 

[grace-land]

Update: Cardinal Becciu

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-becciu-launches-second-defamation-lawsuit-since-resignation-55709
Cardinal Becciu launches second defamation lawsuit since resignation

CNA Staff, Nov 23, 2020 / 02:00 pm MT (CNA).- Cardinal Angelo Becciu is launching a second defamation lawsuit in relation to “offensive” media reports surrounding the events that led to his resignation from the rights of a cardinal, his lawyer told CNA Nov. 23.

The latest lawsuit involves statements made by an Italian woman, Geneviève Ciferri Putignani, to the Italian newspaper “La Verita,” published Nov. 22, in which Putignani alleged that Becciu accused her of plotting against him, while swearing and invoking the names of God and the pope  -- a claim the cardinal strongly rejects.

Becciu’s lawyer, Fabio Viglione, said in an official statement: “The sacrilegious content of the article, seriously offensive to the Holy Father and my client, rests on attributions of phrases and attitudes that the cardinal rejects with absolute firmness, denouncing their total falsity, and which will be brought to the attention of the judicial authority.”

“I received a mandate from Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu to propose an immediate complaint for aggravated defamation against Mrs. Geneviève Ciferri Putignani, in relation to the statements attributed to her today by the newspaper “La Verità,’” Viglione said in the statement he sent to CNA Nov. 23.
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-11/paolo-gabriele-butler-benedict-xvi-death.html

Pope Benedict XVI's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, dies aged 54
24 November 2020, 15:28

Paolo Gabriele died on Tuesday after a long illness, leaving behind a wife and three children.
By Vatican News

Paolo Gabriele, the former butler of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, died on Tuesday after a long illness, aged 54.

After several years of service to the Holy See as part of the Pontifical Family, Mr. Gabriele, in 2012, became the protagonist of the first “Vatileaks”, the theft of confidential documents later published in a book.
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/benedict-xvis-former-butler-paolo-gabriele-dies-at-age-54-92436
Benedict XVI’s former 'Vatileaks' butler Paolo Gabriele dies at age 54

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-decree-sainthood-causes-miracle-martyr-virtues.html

Pope authorizes 8 decrees regarding candidates to sainthood
24 November 2020, 12:01

With the decrees, Pope Francis has taken 134 persons a step closer to sainthood.
By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis has authorized the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate 8 decrees, including a decree on the martyrdom of 127 Spaniards.  Bishop Marcello Semeraro, the Prefect of the Congregation, on Monday presented the causes to the Pope, who approved them.

Miracle
Among them is a decree on a miracle attributed to the intercession of Italian Venerable Servant of God Mario Ciceri, a diocesan priest of Milan Archdiocese.  He was born on September 8, 1900 in Veduggio (Italy) and died on April 4, 1945 in Brentana di Sulbiate (Italy).  This clears him for beatification with the title Blessed.

127 Spanish martyrs
The decree on martyrdom concerns the Servants of God Father Juan Elia Medina, a diocesan priest and his 126 companions, priests, religious and lay persons of the Diocese of Cordoba, Spain.  They were killed in “hatred of the Faith” during the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939.   These martyrs have now been cleared for beatification with the title Blessed.

6 decrees on heroic virtues
The decree on heroic virtues of the following servants of God confers on them the title Venerable:
 

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-asia/2020/11/china-criticizes-pope-over-comment-on-uighur-muslim-minority/

China criticizes pope over comment on Uighur Muslim minority
Associated Press  Nov 24, 2020

BEIJING — China criticized Pope Francis on Tuesday over a passage in his new book in which he mentions suffering by China’s Uighur Muslim minority group.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said Francis’ remarks had “no factual basis at all.”

“People of all ethnic groups enjoy the full rights of survival, development, and freedom of religious belief,” Zhao said at a daily briefing.

Zhao made no mention of the camps in which more than 1 million Uighurs and members of other Chinese Muslim minority groups have been held. The U.S. and other governments, along with human rights groups, say the prison-like facilities are intended to divide Muslims from their religious and cultural heritage, forcing them to declare loyalty to China’s ruling Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping.

China, which initially denied the existence of the facilities, now says they are centers intended to provide job training and prevent terrorism and religious extremism on a voluntary basis.

In his new book Let Us Dream, due Dec. 1, Francis listed the “poor Uighurs” among examples of groups persecuted for their faith.
 

[grace-land]

Video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-at-audience-love-is-mystical-root-of-believer-s-life.html
Pope at Audience: Love is mystical root of believer’s life
25 November 2020, 09:16

Pope Francis reflects on the prayer of the early Church at the General Audience on Wednesday
By Christopher Wells

At the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis turned his gaze to the prayer life of the early Church, as he continued his catechesis on prayer.

“The Church’s first steps in the world were interspersed with prayer,” the Pope said. The writings of the New Testament, and especially the Acts of the Apostles, give us “the image of an active Church on the move, yet which gathered in prayer finds the basis and impulse for missionary action.”
 
https://zenit.org/2020/11/25/pope-francis-at-general-audience-god-gives-love-god-asks-for-love-full-text/
Pope Francis at General Audience: ‘God Gives Love, God Asks for Love’ (FULL TEXT)
NOVEMBER 25, 2020 12:56  DEBORAH CASTELLANO LUBOV

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/11/communities-that-take-their-own-path-lack-holy-spirit-pope-says/
Communities that take their own ‘path’ lack Holy Spirit, pope says
Junno Arocho EstevesNov 25, 2020  CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-caritas-slovenia-klic-dobrote-message.html

Pope to Caritas Slovenia: 'May the Church be united'
25 November 2020, 20:15

Pope Francis sends a message of thanks and good wishes to a Caritas Slovenia charity initiative on the 30th anniversary of its foundation.
By Vatican Radio staff writer

Pope Francis has sent a message of gratitude and appreciation for the charitable activities of the Slovenian Caritas Concerts “Klic dobrote” thirty years from their establishment.

The “Klic dobrote” Concerts, which translates into “Call for Generosity” Concerts, raise awareness and organize fundraising for good causes while promoting harmony and unity.

In his message the Pope expresses his wish that this year’s “Klic dobrote” take another step forward, also for the unity of the Church and for the people of Slovenia.

“Where there is no unity, dear brothers and sisters, there is no Spirit of the Lord. The Lord always seeks unity, which does not mean uniformity,” he writes.

Upholding the diverse qualities, charismas and personalities that are part of society, he calls for respect “always in unity, with the Spirit of unity.”

“We should not be sectarian, one against the other,” he says, “We should not be Party people.”
 

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-thanks-argentinian-women-s-network-for-their-commit.html

Pope thanks Argentinian women’s network for pro-life commitment
26 November 2020, 13:18

Pope Francis, in a letter, reiterates the importance of protecting life against attempts to legalise the practice of abortion in Argentina.
Vatican News staff writer

Responding to a letter sent by the women’s network “Mujeres de las Villas”, the Pope offers his “sincere thanks” for their work.

Since 2018, the network has been fighting for the protection of the unborn, especially in the working-class neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires.

In particular, the signatories of the letter asked for Pope Francis’ support in their commitment against the legalization of voluntary abortion, currently much debated in the country.

In his handwritten letter dated the 22 November,  and addressed to the network’s intermediary and Argentine Congress  member Victoria Morales Gorleri, the Pope expresses admiration "for their work and their testimony" and encourages them to "move forward".

Human life is sacred
“The country is proud to have women like this”, he writes, stressing that “the problem of abortion is not primarily a question of religion, but of human ethics, first and foremost of any religious denomination”.

For this reason, the Pope reiterates that "it is good to ask two questions:  Is it fair to eliminate a human life to solve a problem? Is it right to hire a killer to solve a problem?". The Pope's letter concludes with a blessing for the women and a request to pray for him.
 
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-americas/2020/11/pope-francis-weighs-in-on-argentinas-abortion-debate/
Pope Francis weighs in on Argentina’s abortion debate
Inés San Martín  Nov 26, 2020

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/argentine-president-hopes-pope-francis-wont-be-angry-over-abortion-bill-74173
Argentine president hopes Pope Francis 'won't be angry' over abortion bill

[grace-land]

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-11/pope-francis-prayers-diego-maradona-death.html

Pope Francis prays for late Diego Maradona
25 November 2020, 22:40

Pope Francis recalls Diego Armando Maradona in prayer following the Argentine soccer champion's death at the age of 60 on Wednesday.
By James Blears - Mexico City

Diego Maradona died on Wednesday at his home in Tigre, Argentina, from suspected chronic heart failure.

At the untimely age of just sixty, he leaves an unfillable void in the world of soccer, and the world is mourning a sporting genius the likes of which we will never see again.
 
Papal prayers
Diego met Pope Francis - who is a fan - on a number of occasions, most notably on 4 September 2014 at the Casa Santa Marta, prior to a charity match. Diego presented the Pope with the famous number 10 jersey with "Francisco" emblazed upon it.

They met again a year later, in connection to the Pope's Scholas Occurrents worldwide movement for young people, who are the hope of our world.

Pope Francis had been praying for Diego during his recent health problems and surgery to remove a brain clot, and now in the hour of his death.

The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, said Wednesday evening that the Pope "recalls with affection the times [he and Maradona] met in recent years, and remembers him in prayer, as he has done in recent days after learning of his poor health."