Pope Francis

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/10/22/lombardi_synod_is_church_on_a_journey/1109184

Lombardi: Synod is Church on a journey
22/10/2014

(Vatican Radio) In a long interview with Vatican Radio, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., spoke about the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, which took place at the Vatican from 1-19 October.

“I thought it was a truly special experience, and very different from that of preceding Synods,” Fr Lombardi said. “This time it was a step along a journey that does not constitute a Synod closed in on itself, a closed chapter, but one moment of a long and profound discernment of the Church as a community on a journey.” The Pope, he said, chose this method precisely because the Synod is dealing with very complex issues at the heart of the experience of the whole Church, the People of God. This Synod was also special because it dealt not just with doctrinal issues, but with the relationship between doctrine and pastoral practice.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-santa-marta-the-limitless-language-of-gods

Pope at Santa Marta: The limitless language of God’s love
2014-10-23 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) "We cannot be Christians without the grace of the Holy Spirit" who gives us the strength to love, said Pope Francis at Mass Thursday morning at Santa Marta.

Pope Francis centered his homily on St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians in which the Apostle describes his experience of Jesus, an experience "that led him to leave everything behind" because "he was in love with Christ." His is an "act of adoration": firstly, he bends his knees before the Father, who "has the power to do much more than we can ever think or ask ". He uses a “limitless language”: He adores this God, "who is like a sea without beaches, without limitations, an immense ocean". Paul asks the Father for all of us, "to be powerfully strengthened in our inner selves, through his Spirit".

"He asks the Father to send the Spirit to strengthen us, to give us strength. We cannot go forward without the power of the Spirit. Our own forces are weak. We cannot be Christians without the grace of the Spirit. It’s the Spirit that changes hearts, that keeps us moving forward in virtue, to fulfill the commandments".
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-receives-prime-minister-of-grenada

Pope receives Prime Minister of Grenada
2014-10-23 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Prime Minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, Thursday morning in the Vatican.  Mr. Mitchell subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

A communiqué issued by the Holy See Press Office stated that “In the course of the cordial conversations, the parties focused on the good relations existing between the Holy See and Grenada, as well as the important contribution made by the Catholic Church in the educational, social, and charitable spheres, to meet the challenges of the country, especially with regard to youth.

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-no-to-death-penalty-and-to-inhuman-prison-con

Pope: no to death penalty and to inhuman prison conditions
2014-10-23 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday called on all men and women of good will to fight for the abolishment of the death penalty in “all of its forms” and for the improvement of prison conditions.

The Pope was addressing a group of members of the International Association of Criminal Law whom he received in the Vatican.

In his discourse the Pope also addressed the need to combat the phenomena of human trafficking and of corruption.

And he stressed that the fact that the enforcement of legal penalties must always respect human dignity.

In a dense and impassioned discourse to the Jurists assembled in the Vatican for a private audience, Pope Francis said that the “life sentence” is really a “concealed death sentence”, and that is why – he explained – he had it annulled in the Vatican Penal Code.

Many of the off-the-cuff comments  during the Pope’s speech shone the light on how politics and media all too often act as triggers enflaming “violence and private and public acts of vengeance” that are always in search of a scape-goat.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/10/24/pope_at_santa_marta_unity_in_diversity/1109323

Pope at Santa Marta: Unity in diversity
24/10/2014

(Vatican Radio) Every Christian is called to work for the unity of the Church, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit who creates unity in diversity, said Pope Francis at Mass Friday morning at Casa Santa Marta.

Pope Francis based his homily on the First Reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, in which the Apostle – a prisoner for the Lord -  urges the community to live in a manner worthy of the call they have received, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit. “Building the unity of the Church - said the Pope - is the work of the Church and of every Christian throughout history".

Pope Francis noted that when the Apostle Peter "speaks of the Church, he speaks of a temple made of living stones, that is us”.  The Pope warned that the opposite to this is "that other temple of pride, which was the Tower of Babel". The first temple "brings unity”, the second "is the symbol of disunity, lack of understanding, the diversity of languages​​".
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-greets-members-of-orientale-lumen-fou

Pope Francis greets members of Orientale Lumen Foundation on ecumenical pilgrimage
2014-10-24 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis said on Friday there is no authentic ecumenical dialogue without being ready “for an interior renewal” and the quest for a greater fidelity to Christ and his wishes.  His remarks came in an address at the Vatican to delegates taking part in an ecumenical pilgrimage, promoted by the Orientale Lumen Foundation and led by the Orthodox Metropolitan, Kallistos of Diokleia.   The Pope said this journey towards an interior renewal is “absolutely essential” in order to make progress along the road leading to reconciliation and full communion between all believers in Christ.

He expressed joy that the Foundation’s ecumenical pilgrimage had chosen to commemorate the figures of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II and said this underlines the two Popes’ great contribution towards developing closer relations between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches. “The example of these two saints,” he continued, “always bore witness to a strong passion for Christian unity.”
 

[grace-land]

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/vatican-announces-pope-francis-public-liturgical-celebrations-in-november

Vatican Announces Pope Francis' Public Liturgical Celebrations in November
Vatican City,  October 24, 2014

 
Saturday, 1: Solemnity of All Saints. At 4 p.m., Holy Mass at the Cemetery of Verano, Rome

Sunday, 2: Solemnity of All Souls. At 6 p.m., in the Vatican Crypts, a moment of prayer for deceased Supreme Pontiffs

Monday, 3: At 11.30 a.m., Holy Mass for cardinals and bishops who died during this past year

Sunday, 23: Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

At 10.30 a.m. in the Papal Chapel, Holy Mass for the canonization of Blesseds Giovanni Antonio Farina, Kuriakose Elias Chavara of the Holy Family, Ludovico da Casoria, Nicola da Longobardi, Eufrasia Eluvathingal of the Sacred Heart and Amato Ronconi

Friday 28 to Sunday 30: Apostolic trip to Turkey

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-angelus-love-of-god-and-neighbour-are-inse

Pope at Angelus: love of God and neighbour are inseparable
2014-10-26 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St Peter’s Square beneath the window of the Papal apartments in the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on Sunday. In remarks ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father offered some reflections on the Gospel reading of the day, which was taken from Gospel according to St. Matthew (22:34-40).

“Today's Gospel reminds us that the whole law of God is summed up in love for God and neighbor,” said Pope Francis, adding, “You cannot love God without loving our neighbor and you cannot love your neighbor without loving God,” and explaining that the “novelty” of Christ’s teaching consists in the union of the two commandments. Pope Francis also recommended the reflection of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. on the teaching, which is found in paragraphs 16-18 of his first Encyclical letter, Deus caritas est.

Pope Francis went on to say, “Jesus completes the law of the covenant, which He unites in himself, in his flesh, divinity and humanity, in a single mystery of love,” and, “In the light of the word of Jesus, love is the measure of faith, and faith is the soul of love: we cannot separate the religious life – the life of piety – from that of service to our brothers and sisters – to those flesh-and-blood brothers and sisters we actually meet.”
 
Pope Francis also had greetings for pilgrims from all over Italy and from around the world, especially those of the Schoenstatt movement, with whom he met on Saturday, and for the Peruvian community in Rome, which came to the Angelus in procession with an image of El Senor de los Milagros – the Lord of Miracles – an image of Christ crucified that was painted by an anonymous freedman in the 17th century in Lima, and that has become a focus of deep veneration and intense devotion, especially among Peruvians.

[grace-land]

Interesting articles in my opinion

http://www.newsweek.com/2014/10/31/crisis-changed-pope-francis-279303.html
The Crisis That Changed Pope Francis
By Paul Vallely / October 23, 2014 9:52 AM EDT

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/opinion/sunday/ross-douthat-the-pope-and-the-precipice.html?_r=1
The Pope and the Precipice
OCT. 25, 2014

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-santa-marta-called-to-be-children-of-light

Pope at Santa Marta: Called to be children of light
2014-10-27 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) At morning Mass on Monday Pope Francis said that a conscientious examination of our words will help us understand whether we are Christians of light, Christians of darkness or Christians of grey areas.

Reflecting on the First Reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, the Pope said men are recognizable by their words. By inviting Christians to behave as children of light, and not as children of darkness, St. Paul gives "a catechesis on the word".

Pope Francis continued that there are four [types of ] words which help us understand if we are children of darkness:

 “Are our words hypocrisy? Taking a little from here, a little from there, to fit in with everyone?  Then they are vacuous, of no substance, empty.  Are they vulgar words, trivial, or worldly? A dirty, obscene word? These four [types] of words are not of the children of light, they are not the Holy Spirit, they are not of Jesus, they are not words of the Gospel ... this way of talking, always talking about dirty things or of worldliness or emptiness or hypocrisy".

Then, what are the words of the Saints, those of the children of light?

"Paul says: 'Be imitators of God, walk in love; walk in goodness; walk in meekness. Those who walk in this way ... 'Be merciful - says Paul - forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. Be, then,  imitators of God and walk in love', that is, walk in mercy, forgiveness, love. And these are the words of a child of light”.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-unveils-bust-of-benedict-xvi-at-scien

Pope Francis unveils bust of Benedict XVI at Science Academy
2014-10-27 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered an address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Monday morning, on the occasion of the unveiling of a bust of his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, in the Academy building at the Vatican. “Benedict XVI,” said Pope Francis, “[was] a great Pope: great for the power and penetration of his intellect, great for his significant contribution to theology, great for his love for the Church and of human beings, great for his virtue and piety.”

The unveiling of the bust came during the course of the Academicians’ Oct. 24-28 plenary meeting, dedicated to evolving concepts of nature.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/audience-with-the-president-of-uganda-peaceful-co

Audience with the President of Uganda: peaceful co-existence between social and religious groups



Vatican City, 27 October 2014 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father Francis received in audience in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the president of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, the Parties focused on certain aspects of life in the country and the good relations existing between the Holy See and the Republic of Uganda were highlighted, with particular reference to the fundamental contribution of the Catholic Church and her collaboration with institutions in the educational, social and healthcare sectors. Furthermore, the importance of peaceful co-existence between the various social and religious components of the country was underlined.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1404421.htm

Oct-27-2014
'Bludgeoned' by all sides, family needs church for help, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The family is under attack now more than ever because of today's culture of division that wants to break from and be free of all everlasting bonds and forms of solidarity, Pope Francis said.

"Talking about problems of the family, for example, bonds are being destroyed, instead of created. Why? Because we are living in a culture of the provisional, of conflict, of the inability to make alliances," he said.

What is needed is a church and Christians who are willing to "waste time" on people, not just principles, and accompany face-to-face those needing to discover the truth in Jesus Christ, he said.

The pope's comments came during a 90-minute encounter with about 8,000 lay members of the international Schonstatt movement Oct. 25 in the Vatican audience hall. The movement, founded by the late German Father Joseph Kentenich, was celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Representatives asked the pope five questions, ranging from how to help strengthen families to his secret for maintaining a sense of hope and happiness in such a trouble-plagued world.
 
In response to a question about how to help families, Pope Francis said he believed "the Christian family, the family, marriage have never been attacked as much as they are right now."

The family is "beaten and the family is bastardized" and debased, since almost anything is being called a family, he said.

The family faces a crisis "because it is being bludgeoned by all sides, leaving it very wounded," he said. There is no other choice than to go to the family's aid and give them personal help, he said.

"We can give a nice speech, declare principles. Of course we need to do this, with clear ideas" and statements saying that unions that do not reflect God's plan of a permanent union between a man and a woman are forms of "an association, not a marriage."

However, people must also be accompanied "and this also means wasting time. The greatest master of wasting time is Jesus. He wasted time accompanying, to help consciences mature, to heal the wounds, to teach," the pope said.

He said the sacrament of matrimony is becoming just a ceremony or social event for some people, who do not see its sacramental nature as a union with God. Part of the problem is a lack of formation for engaged couples and "this is a sin of omission on our part," he said.

But there also is the problem of a culture that is shortsighted, where everything is temporary or "provisional," he said, and "forever has been forgotten."

He said he sees the same thing even in his own family with couples living together "part time: Monday through Friday with my girlfriend and Friday to Sunday with my family. They are new forms, totally destructive and limiting of the greatness of the love of marriage."
 

[Sister]

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2014/10/20/photos-from-pope-paul-vis-beatification-ceremony/

Photos from Pope Paul VI's beatification ceremony
October 20, 2014 

I enjoyed looking at this pictures.  Maybe one day I will visit there in person!
Thank you for all the posts.  I do read them.

 

Thank you for reading the articles and sharing your thoughts!   
Oh, Sister, I know you would enjoy visiting Rome and the Vatican!  I hope you make plans soon; it's a trip of a lifetime!!

Have you been?

[Sister]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/pope-francis-declares-evolution-and-big-bang-theory-are-right-and-god-isnt-a-magician-with-a-magic-wand-9822514.html

 
Francis explained that both scientific theories were not incompatible with the existence of a creator – arguing instead that they “require it”.

“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” Francis said.

He added: “He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfilment. . .
 

I agree -- science affirms creation and the Creator.

[grace-land]

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2014/10/20/photos-from-pope-paul-vis-beatification-ceremony/

Photos from Pope Paul VI's beatification ceremony
October 20, 2014 

I enjoyed looking at this pictures.  Maybe one day I will visit there in person!
Thank you for all the posts.  I do read them.

 

Thank you for reading the articles and sharing your thoughts!   
Oh, Sister, I know you would enjoy visiting Rome and the Vatican!  I hope you make plans soon; it's a trip of a lifetime!!

Have you been?

Yes, I visited Rome and the Vatican years ago.  I thoroughly enjoyed the various ancient sites and the catacombs in Rome.  The visit to the Vatican was inspirational and spiritually uplifting.   I felt like a small ant standing in St. Peter's Square--so huge and magnificent!  When the pope entered the assembly hall for the General Audience, I blinked my eyes in disbelief and pinched myself--yep, the pope was real and I was  looking at him!  He looked so kind; and when he spoke, I felt like he was speaking to me.  Words fail me in describing the experience of visiting St. Peter's Basilica--so big, beautiful and spiritually uplifting.  My visit to the Vatican ended with visits to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel--awesome!  The trip to the Vatican concluded a 9-day trip to Italy with a pilgrimage group from my city (The trip also included a visit to Florence, Sorrento, Isle of Capri and Pompeii).  On the return trip home, I thought that I would never again see a pope face to face--until Pope John Paul II came to the United States!

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/10/28/pope_christians_must_be_in_the_church;_not_on_the_threshold/1109599

Pope: Christians must be in the Church; not on the threshold
28/10/2014

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday exhorted Christians to feel they are an integral part of the Church. Speaking during his homily at Mass in Casa Santa Marta, the Pope said that Jesus does not seek out man’s sins, but looks to his heart, and he invited all believers not to hover on the threshold of the Church, but to come right in.

Jesus did the “work” 2000 years ago when he chose twelve pillars upon which to build His Church, and positioned himself as the basis and the corner stone.

Jesus, Pope Francis said, opened the doors of that Church to all, without distinction, because Christ is interested in loving and in healing the hearts of men, not in weighing up their sins.

Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day that tells of the birth of the Church “built upon the foundation of the Apostles with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone” through whom the whole structure is held together, the Pope recalled the “actions” carried out by Jesus when he founded the Church: retiring in prayer, choosing his disciples and simultaneously welcoming and healing the crowd:
 

[grace-land]

It was during this meeting that the pope said that he is not preaching communism.

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-meets-members-of-world-meeting-of-popular-mov

Pope meets members of World Meeting of Popular Movements
2014-10-29 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Tuesday with participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements which is holding a conference here in Rome to discuss problems facing the poor, the unemployed and those who’ve lost their land. The group chose to hold their three-day conference here because of Pope Francis’ particular attention to the struggles of the poor.
 

http://koin.com/2014/10/28/pope-francis-addresses-communist-whispers/
Pope Francis addresses communist whispers
Published: October 28, 2014, 12:14 pm

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis delivered an off-the-cuff, mini-encyclical on the rights of the poor, the injustices of unemployment, and the need for environmental protection Tuesday, saying he’s not preaching communism but the Gospel.

Francis’ remarks to the World Meeting of Popular Movements, delivered in his native Spanish, ran for more than six pages, single-spaced. It was one of the longest speeches of his pontificate and a clear sign that the issues are particularly close to his heart.

Francis said the poor need land, a roof over their head and work, and said he knew well that “If I talk about this, some will think that the pope is communist.”

“They don’t understand that love for the poor is at the center of the Gospel,” he said. “Demanding this isn’t unusual, it’s the social doctrine of the church.”

Francis has already been branded a Marxist by conservative U.S. commentators for his unbridled criticism of capitalist excesses, for his demand that governments redistribute social benefits to the needy, and his call for the church to be a “poor church, for the poor.”
 
   

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-ark-community-we-must-focus-on-unity-not-d

Pope to Ark Community: we must focus on unity not divisions
2014-10-29 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) In a private meeting with leaders of the inter-denominational Ark Community, Pope Francis said Christians should not wait for theologians to reach agreement, but should walk, pray and work together now. His words came during an October 10th encounter at the Casa Santa Marta with members of the community founded by Evangelical leader Tony Palmer who was killed in a road accident last July. Palmer became friends with Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio when he worked in Buenos Aires as international ecumenical officer of the Communion of Episcopal Evangelical Churches, a growing movement of charismatic and evangelical Christians seeking reconciliation between their divided communities.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-audience-the-church-visible-and-spiritual

Pope at Audience: The Church visible and spiritual
2014-10-29 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  “Often, we hear people say: the Church doesn’t do this …the Church doesn’t do that!’ ‘Tell me who is the Church? – ‘Well the Church is the priests, the bishops, the Pope …’ We are all the Church! All of us all of us Baptized! We are the Church, the Church of Jesus’”.

This was the message at the heart of Pope Francis’ general audience Wednesday, which he dedicated to the relationship between the visible and spiritual reality of the Church.

The Pope observed that the Church represents the Body of Jesus, and that its visible dimension- that is the structures and people who make up the Church – are at the service of its spiritual reality, witnessing to God’s love for all mankind.

He underlined that the Church visible is not just the priests, bishops or Popes.  It is made up of Baptized men and women all over the world who carry out immeasurable acts of love. Families who are firm in the faith, parents who give their all to transmit the faith to their children, the sick who offer their suffering to the Lord.

Pope Francis noted that often as a Church we experience our fragility and our limitations, which rightly  provoke profound displeasure, especially when we give bad example and become  a source of scandal, “because people go by our witness” as Christians.

“Through her Sacraments and her witness to Christ in our world, the Church seeks to proclaim and bring God’s merciful love to all, particularly the poor and those in need”.

Below please find a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s catechesis [Original text: Italian]