Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/05/liberian_president_speaks_about_the_popes_powerful_voice_on_poverty/en1-787892

2014-04-05 07:07:26
Liberian President speaks about the Pope's powerful voice on poverty



(Vatican Radio) Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female head of state is in Rome for a series of meetings which include an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday.

The Nobel Prize winner is also Co-Chair of the High –level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which is the successor framework to the Millenium Development goals.

At a press conference held at the Headquarters of the World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday to unveil Food Security and nutrition targets for the Post 2015 agenda, the President told Vatican Radio that Pope Francis’ comments on the issue of poverty are powerful.

“The words of the Holy Father are going to reverberate, the examples he sets are going to be so inspiring, certainly what he says about addressing poverty is very consistent with the agenda but he brings to it this powerful force and so I’m going to be listening to him and taking back every word that he says to be able to help to inspire me to do more in that area.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/06/pope_francis:_there_is_no_limit_to_the_divine_mercy/en1-788316

2014-04-06 13:06:23
Pope Francis: There is no limit to the divine mercy

(Vatican Radio) At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke on the day’s Gospel, which relates the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. This miracle, the Pope said, “is the culmination of the wonderful ‘signs’ performed by Jesus: an act too great, too clearly divine to be tolerated by the high priests, who, aware of the fact, make the decision to kill Jesus.”

Pope Francis reminded the crowd of the words of Jesus, words “words which are forever impressed upon the memory of the Christian community: ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’” Because of this promise, he said, we believe that those who believe in Jesus and follow His commandments will rise to new life after death.

Jesus, the Pope said, calls to us as He called to Lazarus in his tomb: “Come forth!” This call is addressed to every human person “because we are all marked by death.” But, the Holy Father said, “Christ is not resigned to the sepulchres that we have constructed with our choices of evil and death, with our mistakes, our sins. [Jesus] invites us, almost orders us, to come out of the tombs into which our sins have plunged us.” This is where our resurrection begins: “when we decide to obey the command of Jesus to come into the light, to life; when the masks fall from our faces … and we rediscover the courage of our original faces, created in the image and likeness of God.”

Concluding his catechesis, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that the raising of Lazarus shows us that “there is no limit to the divine mercy, which is offered to everyone… The Lord is always ready to roll away the tombstone of our sins, which separate us from Him, the light of the living.”
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-distributes-free-copies-of-gospels/

Pope distributes free copies of Gospels

Vatican City, Apr 6, 2014 / 06:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis handed out free pocket-sized copies of the gospels to crowds filling St. Peter’s square for the Sunday Angelus , as an encouragement to read the Word of God.

“Last Sunday I suggested that you get a little copies of the gospels, to carry with you during the day, to read often. Then I thought over the ancient tradition of the Church, during Lent, to give the gospel to catechumens preparing for baptism. So today I want to offer to you who are here in the piazza - but as a sign for all - a pocket-sized gospel. They will be distributed to you freely,” the Pope explained on April 6.

“Take one, carry it with you: it is truly Jesus who speaks to you,” he urged those packed into the square. “This is the word of Jesus!”

The Holy Father then asked that the faithful remember Christ’s words, “freely have you received, freely give!” so that they too would “give the message of the gospel” to others.

Pope Francis acknowledged that some may be skeptical of a free gift, asking “how much does it cost? How much must I pay, father?”

“But let’s do something,” he suggested. “In exchange for this gift, do an act of charity, a free gesture of love for another: a prayer for a friend, a reconciliation, something.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/07/pope_francis:_god’s_mercy_lovingly_heals_the_wounds_of_sin/en1-788550

2014-04-07 13:57:57
Pope Francis: God’s mercy lovingly heals the wounds of sin

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis drew inspiration for his homily on Monday morning, from the Gospel reading that tells of the mercy of Jesus when he does not allow the execution of a woman who was caught in adultery.

Speaking to those present for morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope explained the meaning of the words “he who is without sin, cast the first stone”.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni... RealAudioMP3

The reading is well known. It narrates the episode in which the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. They point out that in the law, Moses commands us to stone such women because adultery is considered a very grave sin.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/07/pope_meets_with_king_abdullah_ii_of_jordan/en1-788729

2014-04-07 18:39:06
Pope meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received His Majesty the King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday afternoon. The meeting which lasted 40 minutes took place over tea at the Pope’s residence, the Santa Marta guesthouse.

The visit took place in the context of the upcoming journey of the Pope Francis to the Holy Land, where he will also travel to Jordan.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/07/pope_speaks_to_tanzania’s_bishops_on_evangelization,_clergy,_lay,/en1-788524

2014-04-07 13:26:32
Pope speaks to Tanzania’s bishops on evangelization, clergy, lay, family and religious freedom

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has reaffirmed the importance of the Church’s work of evangelization in Africa, saying that lay and religious must “foster this missionary imperative” that has roots in the past but continues “every day in the Church’s pastoral work.”

In a discourse to Bishops of Tanzania whom he received Monday in audience in the Vatican, the Pope spoke of the evangelical nature of the Church’s work in parishes, the liturgy, the sacraments, education, health care, catechesis and “in the lives of ordinary Christians.”
Listen to our report: RealAudioMP3

The bishops from this east African country are here on an ad limina visit to the tomb of St. Peter. In greeting them, Pope Francis said “the great challenge” facing the faithful in Tanzania today is in giving “compelling witness” to the loving redemption offered by Jesus Christ. In particular, the Holy Father pointed to the witness given by Catholic healthcare workers, in caring for the sick, “not least” those suffering from HIV/AIDS, and “by all who strive diligently to educate people in the area of sexual responsibility and chastity.” He also drew attention to those who work for the “integral development of the poor,” especially “destitute women and children.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/07/pope_francis_approves_recommendations_on_the_future_of_the_ior/en1-788429

2014-04-07 10:43:23
Pope Francis approves recommendations on the future of the Ior

(Vatican Radio) The Holy See’s press office has issued a statement saying the Holy Father has approved a proposal on the future of the Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR), reaffirming the importance of the IOR’s mission for the good of the Catholic Church, the Holy See and the Vatican City State.

The statement reads:
 

http://www.catholicregister.org/news/international/item/17910-pope-francis-confirms-continuing-existence-of-vatican-bank
Pope Francis confirms continuing existence of Vatican bank
Written by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service
Monday, 07 April 2014 10:40

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/08/pope_francis:_the_cross_is_not_an_ornament_but_the_mystery_of_god’s/en1-788921

2014-04-08 13:10:12
Pope Francis: The Cross is not an ornament but the mystery of God’s love

(Vatican Radio) The relationship between Christianity and the Cross and our own sins was the focus of Pope Francis’s reflections at his Mass on Tuesday in the Santa Marta residence.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges: RealAudioMP3

In his homily, the Pope said Christianity does not exist without the Cross and stressed that we are unable to free ourselves from our sins on our own. The Cross, he said, is not an ornament to place on the altar but is the mystery of God’s love who takes our sins upon himself. He then reflected on the meaning of Jesus’s warning to the Pharisees “You will die in your sin.”

“It is impossible for us to free ourselves from sin on our own. It’s impossible. These doctors of the law, these people who taught the law, didn’t have a clear idea on this. They believed, yes, in the forgiveness of God but considered themselves strong, self-sufficient and that they knew everything. And in the end they transformed religion, their adoration of God, into a culture with values, reflections, certain commandments of conduct to be polite and they believed, yes, that the Lord can pardon them, they knew this but they were far removed from all this.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/08/pope_francis:_holy_thursday_mass_to_be_celebrated_at_rehabilitation/en1-789059

2014-04-08 17:00:16
Pope Francis: Holy Thursday Mass to be celebrated at rehabilitation Centre for disabled

(Vatican Radio) The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis will celebrate the In Coena Domini mass on Holy Thursday at a residential rehabilitation centre for disabled people run by the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in Rome.    Last year, Pope Francis celebrated the In Coena Domini Mass at a Rome prison for juvenile offenders.

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/08/the_courtyard_of_the_gentiles_goes_to_washington_d.c/en1-788803

2014-04-08 09:55:22
The Courtyard of the Gentiles goes to Washington D.C

(Vatican Radio) "It is certainly significant that the 'Courtyard of the Gentiles' [the Vatican initiative for dialogue with non-believers] is taking place in the United States for the first time: a nation that is, to a certain extent, the landmark of globalized culture but also one that is able to offer many questions to both believers and non-believers," said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, ahead of his departure for the latest stage of the Courtyard of the Gentiles. Emer McCarthy reports Listen: RealAudioMP3

The Courtyard is being held in the US capital Washington DC, April 8 to 11, under the theme “Faith, Culture and the Common good”. The three day event is being hosted by Georgetown University and aims to explore how people of faith traditions and those with no religious affiliation can work together to enrich civic life in America.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/09/audience:_wisdom_is_seeing_with_god’s_eyes/en1-789175

2014-04-09 11:28:27
Audience: Wisdom is seeing with God’s eyes

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis embarked on a new cycle of catechesis this Wednesday, dedicated to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This week the Holy Father spoke to the tens of thousands present in St Peter’s Square about the gift of wisdom. He warned them not to confuse wisdom with knowledge, for wisdom is not born of intelligence, instead it is being able to see with the eyes of God.
Emer McCarthy reports Listen: RealAudioMP3

Below please find a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s general audience catechesis:

Dear Brothers and Sisters ,
Today we begin a series of reflections on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the soul, the lifeblood of the Church and of every Christian: He is God’s Love, who makes our hearts his home and enters into communion with us. The Holy Spirit is always with us, always in us, in our hearts.

The Spirit himself is "God's gift" par excellence (cf. Jn 4:10) a gift from God, and in turn communicates different spiritual gifts to those who welcome him. The Church identifies seven, a number that symbolically speaks of fullness, completeness; we learn these when preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation and we invoke them in the ancient prayer called the "Sequence of the Holy Spirit" the gifts of the Holy Spirit are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude , knowledge, piety and fear of God.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/09/pope_francis_expresses_sadness_upon_the_death_of_cardinal_emmanuel/en1-789333

2014-04-09 14:59:15
Pope Francis expresses sadness upon the death of Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has expressed his condolences for the death of Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, who led the Chaldean Catholic Church from 2003 to 2012. Aged 87, he died on April 9 in a San Diego hospital.

Born in 1927, Cardinal Delly was ordained to the priesthood in 1952 and the episcopate in 1963. In October 2003 he was elected patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, and Pope Benedict XVI named him a cardinal in 2007.

In a telegramme adddressed to the current Patriarch, Louis Raphael I Sako, and signed by Pope Francis and by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope recalled “with deep gratitude” the late Patriarch’s dedication to his people and to the promotion of inter-religious dialogue.

Please find below the full text of the telegramme:
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/09/jesuit_fr._frans_van_der_lugt’s_brutal_murder_in_syria_mourned_by/en1-789382

2014-04-09 17:07:35
Jesuit Fr. Frans Van der Lugt’s brutal murder in Syria mourned by Pope, fellow Jesuit

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has publicly mourned the “brutal murder” of his Jesuit confrere Fr. Frans van der Lugt , a 75 year old Dutch priest living among and assisting the war-torn population of Homs, Syria. On Monday, Fr. Frans was lured outside the Jesuit residence in Homs by an unidentified assailant who beat him and then shot him twice in the head.

Speaking at Wednesday’s General Audience in Rome, the Pope appealed for an end to the conflict and spoke of his “profound pain” on hearing the news of Fr. Frans’ killing, and the on-going trials of “the many people who suffer and die in that tortured country, my beloved Syria.”

Syria was beloved also to Fr. Frans, who had lived there since the 1970s, offering spiritual and psychological support especially to young people in Damascus and later in Homs, where he and a small group of other Jesuits run a center for the disabled.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/10/pope_francis_at_mass:_be_vigilant_of_dictatorship_of_thought/en1-789541

2014-04-10 12:05:03   
Pope Francis at Mass: Be vigilant of dictatorship of thought

(Vatican Radio) "Even today there is a dictatorship of a narrow line of thought" that kills "people’s freedom, their freedom of conscience": we must be "vigilant and pray", said Pope Francis at morning Mass Thursday.

God promised Abraham that he would become the father of many nations, but he and his descendants will have to observe the Covenant with the Lord. Pope Francis’ homily takes its cue from the first reading of the day to explain the end of Christ’s message to the Pharisees: their mistake – he notes - was to "detach the commandments from the heart of God". They thought it enough to merely keep the commandments, but these - the Pope said - "are not just a cold law", because they are born from a relationship of love and are "indications" that help us avoid mistakes in our journey to meet Jesus. So, the Pharisees who close their hearts and minds "to all things new," do not understand "the path of hope". "This is the drama of the closed heart, the drama of the closed mind - the Pope said - and when the heart is closed, this heart closes the mind , and when the heart and mind are closed there is no place for God", but only for what we believe should be done .

Instead , "the commandments carry a promise and the prophets wake this promise up". How many have closed heart and mind, how many cannot accept the "new message" brought by Jesus, "which is what was promised by the faithfulness of God and the prophets. But they do not understand".
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/10/pope_francis:_human_trafficking_is_a_crime_against_humanity/en1-789497

2014-04-10 17:08:46
Pope Francis: Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has condemned human trafficking, calling it a crime against humanity, a scourge and an open wound in contemporary society. His strong words came in an address to participants at a Conference on Combating Human Trafficking that took place in the Vatican from April 9-10th. Just before his address to the participants, the Pope held a private meeting with four victims of human trafficking, now rescued, who came from Chile, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Argentina.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/10/popes_address_to_pontifical_gregorian_university/en1-789571

2014-04-10 13:00:07   
Pope's address to Pontifical Gregorian University

Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday held an audience for three educational institutions in Rome: the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Biblical Institute, and the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

In his address, delivered in the Paul VI Audience Hall, Pope Francis noted that the three Jesuit-run institutions share in the desire “to serve as a soldier of God beneath the banner of the Cross … and to serve the Lord alone and the Church, His spouse, under the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth” — and expression taken from the formula of the Society of Jesus.

For those working and studying at the Pontifical institutions, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of learning to appreciate the ability to work and study in the city, and the Church, of Rome. This unique opportunity allows one to appreciate the roots of the faith in the past, and to be involved in the present, in “the actual path of this Church which presides in charity, at the service of unity and universality.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/11/pope_francis:_satan_exists_in_the_21st_century_and_how_we_can_fight/en1-78991

2014-04-11 12:18:33
Pope Francis: Satan exists in the 21st century and how we can fight him

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said Satan exists in our present century and we must learn from the Gospel how to fight against his temptations. This was the core message of his homily at the Mass celebrated on Friday in the Santa Marta residence.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges: RealAudioMP3

Pope Francis said the life of every Christian is a constant battle against evil just as Jesus during his life had to struggle against the devil and his many temptations. And he warned that whoever wants to follow Jesus must be aware of this reality.

“We too are tempted, we too are the target of attacks by the devil because the spirit of Evil does not want our holiness, he does not want our Christian witness, he does not want us to be disciples of Christ. And what does the Spirit of Evil do, through his temptations, to distance us from the path of Jesus? The temptation of the devil has three characteristics and we need to learn about them in order not to fall into the trap. What does Satan do to distance us from the path of Jesus? Firstly, his temptation begins gradually but grows and is always growing. Secondly, it grows and infects another person, it spreads to another and seeks to be part of the community. And in the end, in order to calm the soul, it justifies itself. It grows, it spreads and it justifies itself.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/11/pope_francis:_human_life_sacred_and_inviolable/en1-789967

2014-04-11 13:33:23
Pope Francis: Human life sacred and inviolable

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday reiterated human life is sacred and inviolable during a meeting with Italy’s Pro-Life Movement (Movimento per la Vita), adding every civil right is based on the “first and most fundamental right,” the right to life: which is not subordinate to any condition, neither qualitative, nor economic, much less ideological.

The Holy Father said one of the most serious risks of the present age is the divorce between economics and morality, so that as the market gives us every technical innovation, it neglects more and more elementary ethical standards.

“It is must be therefore reiterated the strongest opposition to any direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless life, and the unborn child in the womb is the most concrete example of innocence,” said Pope Francis. “Let us remember the words of the Second Vatican Council: From the moment of its conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.” ( Gaudium et Spes, 51).

Pope Francis said for a Christian, it is a part of the witness of the Gospel to protect life with courage and love in all its stages.

“I encourage you to always act with a style of nearness, of closeness: that every woman feels regarded as a person who is heard, accepted, and accompanied,” he said.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/11/pope_francis_on_clerical_sexual_abuse:_not_one_step_back/en1-789927

2014-04-11 12:42:42
Pope Francis on clerical sexual abuse: Not one step back

(Vatican Radio) “I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children.

The Church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the Church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we will deal with this problem, and the sanctions that must be imposed. On the contrary, we have to be even stronger. Because you cannot interfere with children”.This was Pope Francis' clear message to members of BICE [International Catholic Child Bureau] whom he received Friday in audience at the Vatican. Emer McCarthy reports Listen: RealAudioMP3

BICE is a Catholic NGO that works to protect the rights and dignity of the child worldwide. Speaking to them, Pope Francis also spoke about the need to reaffirm the rights of parents to decide “the moral and religious education of their children” and reject all forms of “educational experimentation with children and young people”.

He said that it is every child’s right to grow up in a family “with a father and a mother” capable of creating “a suitable environment for the child’s development and emotional maturity”. The Pope also called for an end to what he termed as “educational experiments” with children and young people, pushing a “dictatorship of one form of thinking” on them in the name of a pretended “modernity”.

The Pope noted that the “horrors of the manipulation of education that we experienced in the great genocidal dictatorships of the twentieth century have not disappeared; they have retained a current relevance under various guises and proposals”.

To counter this he urged the BICE members to foster a true anthropological formation of the child respectful of the reality of the person, to enable children and young people to respond to the problems and challenges posed by contemporary culture and widespread mentality propagated by the mass media.

Below please find a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s address to participants:
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/04/12/pope_to_physicians:_never_lose_sight_of_the_spiritual_dimension_of_man/en1-790361

2014-04-12 15:33:22
Pope to physicians: never lose sight of the spiritual dimension of man

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday received in audience participants in a Congress for Surgeons who work with oncological patients.

In his address, he quoted Blessed John Paul II pointing out that when caring for the sick it is essential not to lose sight of the human person, created in the image of God and united in body and spirit.

Please find below Vatican Radio’s translation of the Pope’s address: