Pope Francis

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Two videos--the second video, with English commentary, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-homily-divine-mercy-sunday-forgiveness-wounds.html
Pope: “Having received mercy, let us now become merciful”
11 April 2021, 11:15

On the feast of Divine Mercy on Sunday, Pope Francis urges Christians to open themselves to Christ’s mercy, which He grants through peace, forgiveness, and His wounds. In turn, they are asked to share this mercy with others.
By Robin Gomes

“Let us be renewed by the peace, forgiveness, and wounds of the merciful Jesus. Let us ask for the grace to become witnesses of mercy. Only in this way will our faith be alive and our lives unified. Only in this way will we proclaim the Gospel of God, which is the Gospel of mercy.” This is the exhortation that Pope Francis offered in his homily at Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of Easter.

“For if love is only about us, faith becomes arid, barren and sentimental. Without others, faith becomes disembodied. Without works of mercy, it dies,” the Pope said. He celebrated the Mass at the 16th century Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, close to the Vatican, which St. Pope John Paul II in 1994 designated as the official Divine Mercy church in Rome.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/mercy-made-tangible-pope-greets-faithful-at-regina-coeli.html
'Mercy made tangible': Pope greets faithful at Regina Coeli
11 April 2021, 12:01

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-02/pope-francis-pass-on-the-fire-of-jesus-merciful-love.html
Pope Francis: 'Pass on the fire of Jesus’ merciful love'
22 February 2021, 12:44

Pope Francis says we are called to pass on “the fire of Jesus’ mercy”, in a letter marking the 90th anniversary of the first apparition to St Maria Faustina Kowalska in Płock, Poland.
By Christopher Wells

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-04/vatican-theological-symposium-priesthood-oullett-tenace-siret.html

Baptism and vocations: Vatican to hold Symposium on theology of priesthood
12 April 2021, 12:23

The Holy See hosts a press conference to announce a Symposium on the theology of priesthood, which will seek to explore the relationship between the ordained priesthood and the priesthood of all the baptized.
By Devin Watkins

The Vatican will host a Theological Symposium on Vocations on 17-19 February 2022, entitled “Toward a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood”.

The event was presented on Monday at the Holy See Press Office by Cardinal Marc Ouellett, Professor Michelina Tenace, and Father Vincent Siret.

The trio presented reports with the background and goals of next year’s Symposium, which will address the issue of clerical celibacy in the Latin rite and the priesthood of the baptized.

Each of the three days will focus on a different theme. The first day will be dedicated to “Tradition and New Horizons”, the second to “Trinity, Mission, and Sacramentality”, and the third to “Celibacy, Charism, and Spirituality”. A different Cardinal will preside over the reflections of each half-day, and Pope Francis is expected to offer participants a message at the end of the Symposium.
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-04/cardinal-ouellet-priesthood-symposium-reflection.html
Cardinal Ouellet highlights importance of theological reflection on priesthood
12 April 2021, 15:17

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247243/vatican-summit-on-theology-of-the-priesthood-will-look-at-questions-raised-in-recent-synods
Vatican summit on 'theology of the priesthood' will look at questions raised in recent synods
By Courtney Mares

Vatican City, Apr 12, 2021 / 07:00 am America/Denver (CNA).

Cardinal Marc Ouellet announced Monday that the Vatican will host a theological symposium on the priesthood that will touch on questions raised in recent synods, including priestly celibacy, dwindling vocations, and the role of women in the Church.

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-mesasge-archbishop-avila-500-aniversary.html

Pope: St Teresa of Ávila shows importance of women in Church and society
13 April 2021, 13:02

Pope Francis marks the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Teresa of Ávila as a Doctor of the Church, and stresses her importance even today, especially in highlighting the role of women in the Church and in society.
By  Vatican News staff writer

Opening his message to Archbishop Gil Tamayo of Ávila, Spain, Pope Francis noted that St Teresa was the first woman to become a Doctor of the Church.

He said the title was a recognition of the "precious teaching that God has transmitted to us through her writings and the testimony of her life."

Fifty years ago, on 27 September 1970, Pope St Paul VI conferred the title of Doctor of the Church on St. Teresa of Ávila.

The Catholic University of Ávila, which is dedicated to the Spanish mystic, is celebrating this historic anniversary with an international congress entitled "Exceptional woman," as Pope Paul VI described her himself. It runs until 15 April.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247257/pope-francis-accepts-resignation-of-crookstons-bp-hoeppner-after-vatican-ordered-investigations#.YHV-qcL7urQ.twitter

Pope Francis accepts resignation of Crookston’s Bp Hoeppner after Vatican-ordered investigations
By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Apr 13, 2021 / 05:15 am America/Denver (CNA).

Pope Francis on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Bishop Michael Hoeppner of Crookston, Minnesota, who was the subject of two Church investigations after he was accused of mishandling cases of priests accused of sexual misconduct.

Hoeppner, 71, was the first U.S. bishop to be investigated under Vos estis lux mundi, Pope Francis’ 2019 norms on investigating bishops accused of mishandling or obstructing allegations of clerical sexual abuse.

Pope Francis appointed Bishop Richard Edmund Pates, bishop emeritus of Des Moines, Iowa, to lead the Crookston diocese as apostolic administrator “sede vacante” until a new bishop is named.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/st-john-paul-ii-rome-synagogue-visit-jewish-catholic-anniversary.html

35 years since Pope St John Paul II’s historic visit to Rome’s Synagogue
13 April 2021, 15:00

Pope St John Paul II's historic visit to Rome’s Synagogue 35 years ago marked a new chapter in Catholic-Jewish relations.
By Linda Bordoni

The date of 13 April 1986 is etched in history as the day of the first-ever recorded papal visit to a Synagogue. It was a rainy spring afternoon when Pope St. John Paul crossed the River Tiber to pay his respects to the community of Rome’s imposing Victorian Synagogue, believed to be home to the oldest Jewish community in the West.

Thousands of Romans gathered to cheer, and the international press corps was present in force to capture the moment widely seen as a gesture destined to go down in history.

''The heart opens itself,'' Rabbi Elio Toaff declared, and the two leaders embraced and entered the synagogue together to the ovation of the 1,000-strong congregation.

In a service that emphasized the equal dignity of the two faiths, the two men sat on identical gilt and brocade thrones and took turns reading from the Book of Psalms. The Pope even read one in Hebrew.
 
In his footsteps

Both Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, and Pope Francis in 2016, have followed in his footsteps and visited Rome’s Synagogue, reiterating their respect and their friendship to Jews, or, as Pope St John Paul II described them, “our elder brothers.”

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-general-audience-prayer-church-school-house.html

Pope at Audience: Church is the house and school of prayer
14 April 2021, 09:22

Continuing his catechesis on Christian prayer at the weekly General Audience in the Vatican, Pope Francis explains that prayer belongs to the very essence of the Church, without which she cannot carry out her evangelising mission and service to others.
By Robin Gomes

In his Catechesis at Wednesday’s General Audience, the Pope explained how the Church is a great school of prayer. As children, he said, we learn our first prayers on the laps of grandparents and parents, who also give their advice inspired by the Gospel. Later, the experience of faith and prayer is deepened through encounters with other witnesses and teachers of prayer, such as in the life of a parish and every Christian community which is marked by liturgical and community prayer.
 
http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/audiences/2021/documents/papa-francesco_20210414_udienza-generale.html
POPE FRANCIS
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Library of the Apostolic Palace
Wednesday, 14 April 2021

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-leukemia-ordination-rome.html
Pope approves early ordination for seminarian sick with Leukemia
14 April 2021, 12:19

Video, with English commentary, at the link below--
POPE'S GENERAL AUDIENCE OF 14 APRIL 2021
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/papal-audience/2021-04/pope-francis-general-audience-14-april2021.html

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-regina-coeli-st-peters-square-pandemic.html

Pope returns to his window overlooking the Square for Regina Coeli
14 April 2021, 20:19

From Sunday, 18 April, Pope Francis will be back at his window overlooking St Peter’s Square for the recitation of the Regina Coeli.
By Vatican News staff writer

Sunday, 18 April, will see Pope Francis,  once again, after various closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, reappearing at the window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square, to lead the recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer with the faithful gathered in the Square.

The fluctuating course of the pandemic and the precautionary measures taken by the Italian government to curb the spread of the virus, have resulted in the Pope connecting in many occasions with the faithful exclusively through the media, from the Library of the Apostolic Palace.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247271/vaticans-saints-office-says-it-did-not-ask-for-money-for-beatification

Vatican’s saints office says it did not ask for money for beatification
By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Apr 14, 2021 / 06:10 am America/Denver (CNA).

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of the Saints has denied an accusation that an official asked for money to advance the beatification cause of an Italian statesman murdered in 1978.

“What was said is not true,” Fr. Bogusław Turek, undersecretary of the saints congregation, wrote in an April 9 letter to the journalists of an Italian investigative news program which aired April 12.

In the episode, a postulator, whose work is to guide a diocese through the canonization process in Rome, accused the undersecretary of asking him for a bribe in June 2018 to advance the beatification cause of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

“I have never been concerned with, nor dealt with, Aldo Moro’s cause because it has not yet been presented in the Dicastery,” Turek said in the letter shared by the Vatican’s press office April 13.

In a separate note, dated April 9, the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints said it had received notice in April 2018 that the promoters of Moro’s cause had revoked the mandate of postulator Nicola Giampaolo, and assigned someone new.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-04/bambin-gesu-pediatric-hospital-cancer-research-development.html

Vatican Hospital makes important breakthrough in cancer research
14 April 2021, 17:00

Research conducted by the Holy See’s Pediatric Hospital, Bambino Gesù, in collaboration with the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" and other European and U.S. research centres, sheds light on the cycle of cell division. The relationship between the proteins Ambra1 and Cyclin D has been identified: an imbalance can cause the process leading to a tumour. Below is a working translation of a joint press release by Bambino Gesù Hospital and the University of Rome "Tor Vergata".
By Vatican News staff writer

This new discovery opens the way to therapies that block the defense system of diseased cells. After decades of research and many hypotheses, it closes the circle on the mechanisms of the cell cycle, the process through which cells, including cancer cells, mature and proliferate. Researchers at the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital and the University of Rome "Tor Vergata", in collaboration with other European and U.S. research centres, have discovered the missing piece: what regulates the life of Cyclin D, an essential molecule in cell division.

The switch that turns the activity of Cyclin D on and off  is a protein called Amber1: when it does not work it triggers a process that leads to the rapid formation of many types of cancer. The discovery opens the way to specific therapies that inhibit the defense system of the diseased cells up to their self-destruction. The results of the study supported by AIRC, have just been published in the scientce magazine Nature.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247244/italian-judge-issues-arrest-warrant-for-gianluigi-torzi-who-brokered-vatican-property-deal#.YHWIBLIyoR0.twitter

Italian judge issues arrest warrant for Gianluigi Torzi, who brokered Vatican property deal
By Courtney Mares

Rome Newsroom, Apr 12, 2021 / 10:05 am America/Denver (CNA).

An Italian magistrate has issued an arrest warrant for Gianluigi Torzi, a broker who is under investigation due to his involvement in the Vatican’s controversial London property purchase.

Judge Corrado Cappiello signed the warrant for Torzi based on the investigation by police in Rome into his suspected fraudulent billing, money laundering, and other financial crimes in collaboration with three of his associates, the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero reported April 12.

Torzi is currently located in the United Kingdom and has not been served with the warrant.

The Italian broker is under investigation by the Vatican for his role in facilitating the Secretariat of State’s purchase of a London property on 60 Sloane Avenue in 2018. The Vatican alleges that in doing so, Torzi was part of a conspiracy to defraud the secretariat of millions of euros.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-archbishop-felix-del-blanco-prieto-funeral.html

Pope attends funeral Mass of former Papal Almoner
15 April 2021, 16:09

Pope Francis participated in a private capacity at the funeral Mass for former Papal Almoner, Archbishop Felix del Blanco Prieto. The Mass took place on Thursday in St Peter's Basilica
By Vatican News staff writer

Pope Francis, on Thursday morning, participated privately at the funeral Mass of Archbishop Felix del Blanco Prieto, held at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

Archbishop Prieto died on 10 April at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital at the age of 84. He served as Papal Almoner from 2007 to 2012 under Pope Benedict XVI.

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin presided at the Mass.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-message-brazil-bishops-conference-covid-crisis.html

Pope Francis: ‘Brazil’s Covid-crisis has left no one untouched’
15 April 2021, 17:08

In a video message to the country's Bishops’ Conference, Pope Francis urges Brazil’s Bishops to help reconcile the nation and comfort the many people whose lives have been affected by the pandemic.
By Devin Watkins

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Brazil is holding its 58th General Assembly in a virtual format this week.

Pope Francis sent a video message to the gathering of Church leaders on Thursday, which he intended as a message for “all Brazilians.”

The Pope said Brazil is undergoing “one of the most difficult trials in its history.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2021-04/brazil-bishops-thank-pope-francis-closeness-to-covid-hit-nation.html
Brazilian Bishops thank Pope for his closeness to Covid-hit country
15 April 2021, 14:49

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Video, with English text, at the link

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-videomessage-international-conference-politics.html
Pope: Promote a politics not only for people, but with people
15 April 2021, 17:33

Pope Francis sends a video message to participants in an international conference entitled "A Politics Rooted in the People" and urges them, like a good shepherd, to put the most vulnerable first.
By Vatican News staff writer

Opening his video message to participants of the International Conference "A Politics Rooted in the people", Pope Francis greets the numerous organisations present.

Starting with the Centre for Theology and Community in London, who organised the event, the Pope also greets, in particular, "the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, which is celebrating 50 years of helping poor communities in the United States to live more worthily by promoting their participation in decisions that affect them."
 
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247289/pope-francis-meeting-christ-in-the-poor-renews-our-missionary-vigor
Pope Francis: Meeting Christ in the poor renews our missionary vigor
Rome, Italy, Apr 15, 2021 / 15:18 pm

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-04/pontifical-council-culture-cura-foundation-conference-health.html

Pontifical Council for Culture to explore holistic path to health
15 April 2021, 12:50

An International Conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Cura Foundation focuses on the holistic dimension of health and wellbeing, which must include the relationship between mind, body and soul.
By Vatican News staff writer

Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul. How Innovation and Novel Delivery Systems Improve Human Health is the title of an international event that brings together experts from many sectors to discuss the latest breakthroughs in medicine and healthcare, as well as the human implications and cultural impact of technological advances.

It is the fifth Conference on this theme, and takes place in a virtual format from 6 to 8 May 2021.
 
Detailed information can be found on the website of the Pontifical Council for Culture and at VaticanConference2021.org .

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247283/anthony-fauci-chelsea-clinton-to-speak-at-vatican-health-conference
Anthony Fauci, Chelsea Clinton to speak at Vatican health conference

Vatican City, Apr 15, 2021 / 11:39 am America/Denver (CNA).

Anthony Fauci, Chelsea Clinton, and Deepak Chopra are among the featured speakers at a Vatican conference being held in May on the interplay of mind, body, and soul in healthcare.

The Vatican announced the conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Cura Foundation April 15.

“Exploring the Mind, Body & Soul: How Innovation and Novel Delivery Systems Improve Human Health,” will take place virtually May 6-8.

It will feature the CEOs of large pharmaceutical companies, including Moderna and Pfizer, along with celebrities active in medical philanthropy, global health advocates, policymakers, physicians, and religious leaders.

The Vatican conference’s website lists more than 100 speakers including Kerry Kennedy, Cindy Crawford, John Sculley, Brandon Marshall, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, and Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, prefect emeritus of the Secretariat for Communications.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247303/benedict-xvi-turns-94-years-old

Benedict XVI turns 94 years old
By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Apr 16, 2021 / 10:13 am America/Denver (CNA).

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was born 94 years ago today in the town of Marktl, Bavaria. More than eight years after he announced his retirement from the papacy in 2013, Benedict continues to live a retired life in the Mater Ecclesiae monastery on Vatican grounds.

Despite growing feebleness, the retired pope is in good health, and has marked his April 16 birthday each year, sometimes in the presence of family and friends.

This is Benedict’s first birthday since the death of his older brother Georg Ratzinger on July 1, 2020 in Bavaria.
 
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/pope-benedict-xvi-the-anchor-that-kept-germany-rooted-in-christ
Pope Benedict XVI, the Anchor That Kept Germany Rooted in Christ
COMMENTARY: In the late evening of his life, Ratzinger/Benedict can be understood as the Catholic Church’s singular, multi-generational response to the reforming agenda of German theology.
Father Raymond J. de Souza  Commentaries  April 15, 2021
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-unhcr-grandi-audience-refugees-migrants-movement.html

Pope and UN refugee agency chief discuss people on the move
17 April 2021, 17:10

Pope Francis on Friday received in audience United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, and discussed issues linked with the movement of people.
Vatican News

Never has the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) dealt with the numerous emergencies such as migration, displacement, refugees and issues related to the forced movement of people, as in recent years.  The Covid-19 pandemic has added to the woes of these vulnerable people.  UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, discussed some of these issues when Pope Francis received him in a private audience in the Vatican on Friday.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-04/archbishop-gallagher-homily-remembrance-prince-philip-service.html

Vatican pays tribute to Prince Philip
17 April 2021, 13:30

In a homily during a remembrance service for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died on 9 April, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher recalls the Prince's honourable and faithful service to the Queen, his country and the world.
By Vatican News staff writer

On the day of the funeral for Prince Philip, in Windsor Castle, a remembrance service was held in Rome's All Saints' Anglican Church. The Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth, died on 9 April, aged 99. The Vatican Secretary for Relations with States also participated in the memorial service held in Rome.

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher opened his homily during the service with "an image far from this place, in the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, from the prelude of his epic-poem Evangeline":

“This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlock’s, Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight, Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic. Stand like harper’s hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms. Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean Speak, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.”

Archbishop Gallagher notes that the forest described in the poem would be full of immense trees of different varieties. In walking through the forest one would "note their presence with awe", he said. "It seems they have always been there". Returning to the forest for many years you take their presence for granted, he adds. "You hardly notice them; they are so much part of the landscape, but when they fall, by human hand or force of nature, it is a mighty sound, an earthquake at the heart of the forest. When you return you find an apparently irreparable gap in the fabric of the forest, that will take an eternity to fill", said Archbishop Gallagher.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-regina-coeli-catechesis-3rd-sunday-easter.html

Pope at Regina Coeli: Christianity is relationship, care and joy
18 April 2021, 09:37

On the Third Sunday of Easter Pope Francis reflects on how being a Christian is not first of all a doctrine or a moral ideal, it is the living relationship with Him.
By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis on Sunday reappeared at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square to greet the faithful and recite the Regina Coeli prayer.

It’s the first time since 14 March that he has made direct contact with the people in the Square in accordance with the Italian government’s decrees to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Pope reflected on the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24) which tells of how the Resurrected Jesus presents himself in the midst of the group of disciples in the Cenacle in Jerusalem and greets them saying: “Peace to you!”

The disciples, he said, are frightened and believe “that they saw a spirit”. Then Jesus shows them his bodily wounds and says: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me”, and to convince them, he asks for food and eats it before their astonished eyes.

The Pope explained that three very tangible verbs characterize this Gospel passage: they are looking, touching and eating.

He said these are all verbs that reflect our individual and community life and describe actions that “can give joy to a true encounter with the living Jesus.”
 
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-04/pope-francis-appeal-eastern-ukraine-russia-reconciliation-prayer.html
Pope appeals for peace and reconciliation in eastern Ukraine
18 April 2021, 13:02

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247313/pope-francis-applauds-beatification-of-monks-who-died-protecting-the-eucharist
Pope Francis applauds beatification of monks who died protecting the Eucharist
By Courtney Mares
Vatican City, Apr 18, 2021 / 08:00 am

Video at the link below--
April 18 2021 Regina Coeli prayer Pope Francis
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7E-LYc1wivk33iyt5bR5zQ

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2021-04/cardinal-koarai-lesotho-death.html

Cardinal Koto Khoarai of Lesotho passes away
19 April 2021, 17:03

Created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016, the retired bishop of Mohale’s Hoek died on Saturday, April 17, at the age of 91.
By Robin Gomes

Cardinal Sebastian Koto Khoarai was born on September 11, 1929, in Koaling, in the diocese of Leribe, in what was then the British colony of Basutoland.  He was baptized at the age of eleven, on December 12, 1940, at St. Paul's Church in Butha-Buthe.  He studied philosophy and theology at the major seminary of Saint Augustine, in the city of Roma (Lesotho), in the territory of the archdiocese of Maseru, which was then the capital of the kingdom.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/247315/vatican-sign-language-project-brings-pope-francis-words-to-all

Vatican sign language project brings Pope Francis’ words to all

Vatican City, Apr 19, 2021 / 05:15 am America/Denver (CNA).

Pope Francis’ Wednesday and Sunday speeches to the public will now be accessible in American Sign Language.

Pope Francis’ Wednesday and Sunday speeches to the public will now be accessible in American Sign Language.

The Vatican’s communications office announced the “no one left out” initiative at the end of last month. It is now in an experimental phase.

Sr. Veronica Amata Donatello, a member of the Alacantarine Franciscan Sisters, told CNA that the project uses the tool of sign language to allow “everyone to receive the Word of God and the words of the pope.”

“Because the Gospel and the words of the successors of Peter are addressed to all,” she said.

Donatello is the head of the disabilities office for the Italian bishops’ conference, which provides live sign language interpretation for televised Masses and other religious programming on Italian television.

The Franciscan sister is now partnering with Vatican News to help bring the pope’s words to deaf people around the world in both Italian Sign Language (LIS) and American Sign Language (ASL).

For now, live LIS interpretation is available, while the videos with ASL interpretation are posted the next day. Each type of sign language has a dedicated playlist on YouTube.

Sign language interpretation is available for Pope Francis’ Wednesday general audience catechesis and Sunday Angelus or Regina Coeli prayer.
 
Website:  videos with ASL interpretation at the link below--
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvfBugR3Zn-BzmEHcxbQbQPZBlfySpsQE