Pope Francis

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-to-celebrate-mass-for-marian-feast-da

Pope Francis to celebrate Mass for Marian feast day
2014-12-12 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will celebrate Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron saint of the Americas, at St Peter’s Basilica on Friday evening.

The Mass, which is to begin at 6 p.m., is to be preceded by the recitation of the Rosary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Advent prayers and popular Latin-American hymns.
 
The concelebrants are to include Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation of Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Cardinal Norbert Rivera Carrera of Mexico City; Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida; Cardinal Seàn Patrick O’Malley of Boston; and Cardinal Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa, archbishop-emeritus of Santiago.

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/12/pope_francis_mass_of_our_lady_of_guadalupe/1114594

Pope Francis: Mass of Our Lady of Guadalupe
12/12/2014 06:31


Pope Francis incenses an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St Peter's Basilica, Nov 12, 2014 - AP

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass in St Peter's Basilica on Friday evening, to mark the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Below, please find Vatican Radio's working translation of the Holy Father's prepared remarks.
*********************************************
“All the people praise you, Lord, all the people. Have mercy on us and give us your blessing; Lord, turn your eyes toward us. The earth knows your goodness and the people your salvific works. The nations sing of you with jubilation, because you judge the world with justice.” (Psalm 66).
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-with-italian-prime-minister

Pope Francis meets with Italian Prime Minister
2014-12-13 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday morning met with the Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi.

A statement released by the Holy See Press Office called their discussions “serene and cordial”, and said attention focused on, among other issues, the current context of persistent difficulties of an economic and social nature, with negative consequences especially in relation to youth employment. In addition, the importance of education to promote the future of new generations was emphasized.

Various themes relating to international politics were then considered, and the Parties shared their serious concerns for the gradual worsening of conflicts in the Middle East.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-receives-italian-blind-persons-associ

Pope Francis receives Italian blind persons' association
2014-12-13 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the National Council of the Italian Union of Blind and sight-impaired Persons on Saturday. The visit coincided with the Feast of St Lucy, whose later legends involve the gouging and miraculous restoration of her eyes at the time of her martyrdom, and who is venerated as the Patroness of people with sight-related difficulties and handicaps.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-serving-the-poor-is-how-to-meet-jesus

Pope Francis: Serving the poor is how to meet Jesus
2014-12-13 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with the French charitable organizations “Amis di Gabriel Rosset” and the “Foyer Notre Dame des Sansabri”, which Rosset founded in 1950 to help the homeless people of France.

Pope Francis thanked the groups  for their commitment to the “poorest”:  the homeless, the hungry, and those without work, and “therefore without dignity.”
 

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http://www.ncregister.com/blog/ann-carey/final-report-on-vaticans-apostolic-visitation-of-u.s.-women-religious

Final Report on Vatican’s Apostolic Visitation of U.S. Women Religious
12/05/2014

On Dec. 16, the long-awaited Vatican report on the 2009-2011 apostolic visitation of U.S. women religious will be released at a press conference in the Holy See Press Office, according to a Canadian priest associated with the Vatican.

Father Thomas Rosica told a reporter for the Detroit Free Press about the Dec. 16 event after a Dec. 2 talk he gave at Christo Rey High School in Detroit. Father Rosica is president of Assumption University in Windsor, Ontario, and chief executive officer of Salt and Light Television in Canada.

Then, on Dec. 3, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) informed its members that LCWR had received a Dec. 2 letter from Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, announcing the press conference.

The letter said that along with officials of the congregation for religious, others present for the press conference will be Apostle of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Mother Mary Clare Millea, who was appointed apostolic visitor and conducted the visitation;  Servants of the Immaculate Heart Sister Sharon Holland, LCWR president,; and Sister of Life Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, chairperson of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, the other superiors conference of U.S. women religious.
 

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1511/0/us-nuns-resisted-vatican-investigation-into-religious-life-admits-head-of-inquiry
US nuns resisted Vatican investigation into Religious life, admits head of inquiry
12 December 2014 14:03

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Pope Francis invited Patti Smith back again to sing at the Vatican concert at the Conciliation Auditorium in Rome on December 13, 2014.
Last year, she sang "Oh Holy Night."

Video at the link--
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/28/patti-smith-o-holy-night_n_6200736.html
Patti Smith's 'O Holy Night' Performed At 2013 Vatican Christmas Concert Is The Only Carol You Need
Posted:  11/28/2014 8:08 am EST    Updated:  11/28/2014 3:59 pm EST

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-at-angelus-jesus-is-our-joy

Pope at Angelus: Jesus is our joy
2014-12-14 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) An especially large crowd filled St Peter’s Square on Sunday for the papal blessing of the Baby Jesus figurines for the Nativity scenes that are the centre of traditional Italian Christmas decorations. The annual tradition takes place on the Third Sunday of Advent, also known as “Gaudete” Sunday from the first words of the prayers of the day’s Mass.

The Latin word “Gaudete,” meaning “rejoice” gave the Pope the inspiration for his remarks ahead of the Angelus prayer. “In this third Sunday,” he said, “the liturgy proposes to us an interior attitude with which to live this waiting for the Lord: that is, ‘joy,’ the joy of Jesus.” Pointing to a sign in the crowd, the Holy Father said, “With Jesus, joy is part of the home” (It: Con Gesù, la gioia è di casa). It was a phrase Pope Francis would return to throughout his remarks.

“The heart of every person desires  joy… All of us desire joy, every family, every people aspires to happiness,” he continued. The Christian, he said, is called to live and to witness to the joy that comes from the nearness of God, from God’s presence in our life. Christian joy is not simply the fullness of joy that we will experience in heaven, the Pope said. Rather, it begins even in this life, it is experienced even now, “because Jesus is our joy, our home with Jesus is our joy.” He asked the crowd to say with him “With Jesus, joy is part of the home.”
 

[grace-land]

Awww...a Christmas present from Pope Francis   

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-children-prayer-is-the-breath-of-the-soul

Pope to children: Prayer is the breath of the soul
2014-12-14 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis welcomed the children of Rome for the traditional “Bambinelli Blessing.” On Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Lent, Roman boys and girls bring the baby Jesus from their Nativity sets to Saint Peter’s Square to be blessed by the Pope.

Speaking after the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father thanked the children for coming, and wished them a happy Christmas. He asked them to remember to pray for him when they said their prayers before their Nativity set, and assured them that he prayed for them, too. “Prayer is the breath of the soul,” he said. “ It is important to find moments throughout the day to open the heart to God, even with the short and simple prayers of the Christian people.”

Pope Francis also surprised the children, and all those present, with the gift of a small pocket prayer book “that gathers together some prayer for the various moments of the day and for different situations in life.” He asked them to always carry their prayerbook with them, as an aid to living the whole day “united to God.”

Fifty thousand prayerbooks, produced by the Office of Papal Charities and published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana (the Vatican publishing house), were distributed to those gathered in St Peter’s Square for the Angelus.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-celebrates-mass-for-gaudete-sunday-at-roman-p

Pope celebrates Mass for Gaudete Sunday at Roman parish
2014-12-14 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday visited the Roman parish of San Giuseppe all’Aurelio, in the suburb of Monte Spaccato.

The Holy Father arrived early for the visit, and immediately met with some of the children of the parish. During the encounter, he spoke about his own experiences with Jesus as a child. He also spoke about his own First Communion 70 years ago.

After meeting with the children, Pope Francis had the opportunity to meet with members of the Roma community, as well as members of the parish who are sick, and with families who had children who were baptized within the last year.

The Pope then heard the Confessions of several members of the community.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-sends-christmas-greetings-to-prisoners

Pope sends Christmas greetings to prisoners
2014-12-14 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter to prisoners at a correctional facility in the Italian district of Latina, assuring them of his spiritual closeness and his prayers during the Christmas season.

In his letter, addressed to the Chaplain Don Nicola Cupaiolo, Pope Francis said that he hoped that the time spent in the facility would not be seen as “time lost,” but rather “as a further occasion for genuine growth in order to find peace of heart and the strength to be reborn, a return to living the hope in the Lord who never disappoints.”

The Holy Father included with his letter the gift of a new Missal, with the hope that those in the facility “might discover in the Holy Mass the track of the daily journey with the Lord, who is the efficacious physician of your wounds, the faithful friend of each day, and the necessary nourishment to sustain you in that journey of salvation and liberation that not even prison bars can impede.”
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/15/pope_francis_rigidity_is_a_sign_of_a_weak_heart/1114830

Pope Francis: Rigidity is a sign of a weak heart
15/12/2014 12:10

(Vatican Radio) The day’s Gospel reading, which relates how the chief priests asked Jesus by what authority He did His works, was the focus of the Pope’s homily on Monday. It is a demand, the Pope explained, that demonstrates the “hypocritical heart” of those people – people who were not interested in the truth, who sought only their own interests, and went where the wind blew: you should go this way, you should go that way…” They were weathervanes, all of them! All of them! Without consistency. A heart without consistency. And so they negotiated everything: they negotiated interior freedom, they negotiated the faith, they negotiated their county, everything except appearances.” To such people, getting the best out of every situation was the important thing. They were opportunists: “They profited from the situations.”

“And yet,” the Pope continued, “some of you might ask me: ‘But Father, these people were observers of the law: on Saturday they didn’t travel more than a hundred metres – or however many they were able to go – they never, never sat down to eat without washing their hands and making their ablutions; they were a very observant people, very secure in their habits.’ Yes, it’s true – but only in appearance. They were strong, but on the outside. They were in a cast. The heart was very week, they didn’t know what they believed. And because of this their life, the outer part of their life, was completely regulated, but the heart was otherwise: a weak heart, and a skin that was plastered over, strong, harsh. Jesus, on the other hand, teaches us that the Christian should have a strong heart, a firm heart, a heart built on the rock, that is Christ; and then, in the way it goes out, it goes out with prudence: ‘In this case, I do this, but…’ It is the way of going out, but the heart is not negotiable, the rock is not negotiable. The rock is Christ, it is not negotiable”:

“This is the drama of the hypocrisy of this people. And Jesus never negotiates His heart of the Son of the Father, but He was so open to the people, seeking paths to help them. ‘But this can’t be done; our discipline, our doctrine say this can’t be done!’ they say. ‘Why do your disciples eat grain in the fields, when they travel, on the day of the Sabbath? It can’t be done!’ They were so rigid in their discipline: ‘No, the discipline can’t be touched, it’s sacred.’”

Pope Francis recalled how “Pius XII freed us from the very heavy cross that was the Eucharistic fast”:
 

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An interesting, informative article in my opinion.

http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/

Rome Wants Reality, Not "Doctrine" – The Synod's Second Half Begins
(December 15, 2014)

Eventful as the last few days have been at the Vatican, it's largely had the feel of "Sequels Week."

For starters, Thursday brought the formal announcement that the Pope will hold his second consistory to elevate new cardinals over Valentine's Day weekend – 14-15 February – preceded by a two-day consultation with the College focusing on the reform of the Roman Curia. As the calling of both events was reported here back in October, anyone who's surprised might want to ask Santa for an attention span this Christmas.

Most significantly of all, meanwhile, as the embers of discussion from last October's Synod keep smoldering, the week saw the rollout in earnest of the process' second stage leading to next October's assembly, which will propose concrete policy on the church's pastoral care and outreach to families in "irregular" situations.
 
For his part, in his homily at this morning's Domus Mass, the Pope himself returned to the theme of teaching vs. practice, using the example of how Pope Pius XII "freed us from the very heavy cross" of the traditional Eucharistic fast, which for centuries was required from the midnight prior to one's reception of Communion.

"Some of you might remember," Francis said, "you couldn’t even drink a drop of water. Not even that! And to brush your teeth, it had to be done in such a way that you didn’t swallow the water. But I myself as a young boy went to confession for having made the Communion, because I thought a drop of water had gone in. Is it true or no? It’s true. When Pius XII changed the discipline: ‘Ah, heresy! No! He touched the discipline of the Church.’ So many Pharisees were scandalized. So many. Because Pius XII had acted like Jesus: he saw the need of the people. ‘But the poor people, with such warmth.’ These priests who said three Masses, the last at one o’clock, after noon, fasting. The discipline of the Church. And these Pharisees [spoke about] ‘our discipline’ – rigid on the outside, but, as Jesus said of them, ‘rotting in the heart,’ weak, weak to the point of rottenness."

In a line likely to further roil his ad intra critics, the pontiff added that "sometimes, I confess something to you, when I have seen a Christian, a Christian of that kind, with a weak heart, not firm, not fixed on the rock — Jesus – and with such rigidness on the outside, I ask the Lord: ‘But Lord, throw a banana peel in front of them, so that they will take a good fall, and feel shame that they are sinners, and so encounter You, [and realize] that You are the Savior.

"Many times," he said, "a sin will make us feel shame, and make us encounter the Lord, Who pardons us, as the sick who were there and went to the Lord for healing."

More specifically, in last weekend's interview with his hometown paper – Buenos Aires' La Nacion – Francis lamented that while the divorced and civilly remarried "have not been excommunicated... they cannot be godfathers to any child being baptized, mass readings are not for divorcees, they cannot give communion, they cannot teach Sunday school.

"[T]here are about seven things that they cannot do," the Pope said. "I have the list over there. Come on! If I disclose any of this it will seem that they have been excommunicated in fact! Thus, let us open the doors a bit more."
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-croatian-member-of-bosnias-pres

Pope Francis meets Croatian member of Bosnia's Presidency
2014-12-15 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Monday with the Croatian member of the Collegial Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic. Leaders of country’s three ethnic communities, Bosnians, Croats and Serbs, were elected to the tripartite presidency following a ballot last November.

In a statement following the audience in the Vatican, the Holy See press office said the two leaders talked about bilateral relations and other common concerns, particularly regarding the contribution that Catholics make to the building up of society.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-tv-2000-courageous-frankness-in-truth-tell

Pope to TV 2000: courageous frankness in truth-telling
2014-12-15 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Catholic communication as courageous truth-telling that opens channels of dialogue and speaks to the whole person: this was the three-fold theme of Pope Francis’ remarks to the management, journalists and technical staff of TV 2000 – the television broadcaster of the Italian Bishops’ Conference – on Monday, during a special audience for them in Paul VI Hall.

“Catholic media,” said the Holy Father in remarks prepared for the occasion, “have an extremely challenging mission as regards social communication: that of seeking to safeguard communication from everything that deforms it and bends it to other ends.” Pope Francis went on to say that courageous frankness and freedom are the characteristics of the authentic communicator, and of Catholic communications especially.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/fr-lombardi-on-meeting-between-usvatican-secretari

Fr. Lombardi on meeting between US/Vatican Secretaries of State
2014-12-15 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio)  A meeting was held in the Vatican Monday between the Holy See’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.  A note from Vatican Press Office spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi sj, specified that the American delegation included the U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth Hackett and two members of the State Department staff.  The Holy See was represented by three Curia officials responsible for the topics covered.

According to Fr. Lombardi, the main topics discussed were the situation in the Middle East, and the commitment of the U.S. to avoid the escalation of tensions and the explosion of violence; also the commitment to promote a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The United States’ commitment to the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison was also illustrated and the desire expressed for the Holy See’s assistance in seeking adequate humanitarian solutions for current inmates .
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-salvation-is-a-humble-heart-that-trusts-god

Pope: Salvation is a humble heart that trusts God
2014-12-16 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) God saves "a repentant heart," while he who does not trust in Him draws "condemnation" upon himself. This message was at the heart of Pope Francis’s homily during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.

Humility saves man in God’s eyes, while pride is a loser. The key lies in the heart. The heart of a humble person is open, it knows repentance, it accepts correction and trusts in God. The heart of the proud person is the exact opposite: it is arrogant, closed, knows no shame, it is impervious to God's voice. The reading from the Book of the prophet Zephaniah and from the Gospel of the day guide Pope Francis in a parallel reflection. Both texts, he notes, speak of a "judgment" upon which salvation and condemnation depend.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1405220.htm

Dec-16-2014
Vatican report calls U.S. women religious to continued dialogue


Brazilian Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, speaks as Sister Sharon Holland, president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, and Sister Agnes Mary Donovan, coordinator of the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, listen during a Dec. 16 Vatican press conference for release of the final report of a Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious. (CNS/Paul Haring)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A massive, detailed Vatican-ordered investigation of U.S. communities of women religious ended with a call to the women themselves to continue discerning how best to live the Gospel in fidelity to their orders' founding ideals while facing steeply declining numbers and a rapidly aging membership.

Although initially seen by many religious and lay Catholics as a punitive measure, the apostolic visitation concluded with the publication Dec. 16 of a 5,000-word final report summarizing the problems and challenges the women themselves see in their communities and thanking them for their service to the church and to society, especially the poor.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/final-report-on-the-apostolic-visitation-of-inst-3

Final Report on the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States of America
(December 16, 2014)

Final Report on the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States of America
 Introduction
 At the conclusion of the Apostolic Visitation of Institutes of Women Religious in the United States of America, conducted " to look into the quality of the life of religious women in the United States" , this Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) presents this report to the women religious themselves as well as to the Church’s Pastors and faithful. In addition to this general report, it is foreseen that individual reports will be sent to those Institutes which hosted an onsite visitation and to those Institutes whose individual reports indicated areas of concern. Letters of thanks will also be sent to those Institutes which participated in the first two phases of the Visitation.
 
-------------------
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq0N35X8ckI#t=409

Presentation of the report on congregations of US women religious - 2014.12.16
Streamed live on Dec 16, 2014
Starts at 11:30am - Press conference presenting the Final Report of the Apostolic VIsitation to the Institutes of Consecrated Life of women religious in the United States of America.

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http://www.news.va/en/news/commission-for-the-protection-of-minors-is-complet

Commission for the protection of minors is complete
2014-12-17 L’Osservatore Romano

As anticipated, Pope Francis has appointed new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, chosen from various parts of the world, so as to allow a broad representation of different situations and cultures. The Holy See Press Office announced this on Wednesday in a press release which indicated the complete composition of the Commission as follows:

— Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, ofm Cap., President;

— Msgr Robert Oliver (United States), Secretary;

— Rev. Luis Manuel Ali Herrera (Colombia);

— Dr Catherine Bonnet (France);