Pope Francis

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/06/pope_mass_santa_marta_sin_shame_grace_/1341276

Shame for one's sins is God’s grace – Pope
06/10/2017 13:15

Vatican Radio)  "No one can say, 'I'm right' or 'I'm not like him or her.' I'm a sinner, I'd say it's almost the first name we all have – sinners.”  Pope Francis focused on man’s sinfulness and the need for remorse in his homily at Mass, Friday morning at the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.  He was commenting on the first reading from Prophet Baruch who said, ‎"Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame.”   

All are sinners

"Priests, king, leaders and fathers,” all of us are sinners, the Pope said citing Baruch. “ We are sinners because God has asked to do one thing and we have done the contrary.  He has talked to parents, the family, the catechist, in the church, in the sermons, and he has spoken to us in our hearts.

The Pope explained that sin is a rebellion, an obstinacy that consists in giving into the "perverse inclinations of our heart" in "small idolatries of every day" such as cupidity, envy, hate, and especially slander, which he described as a "war of the heart destroying the other." According to Baruch, it is because of sin that there are so many evils.  Sin, the Pope said, ruins the heart, life and the soul by weakening and making it ill.  Sin is always in relationship to God.
 
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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/06/pope_protecting_children_in_the_digital_world_top_priority/1341241

Pope: protecting children in the digital world top priority
06/10/2017 12:08

Pope Francis receives participants in the World Congress on Child Dignity in the Digital World on Friday, Oct 6, 2017 - RV
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the participants in the first-ever World Congress on Child Dignity in the Digital World on Friday. The Centre for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University hosted the four-day event, which brought experts in child care, internet security, law enforcement, education, and a host of other fields together to share experiences and best practices, with a view to addressing the problem of the effective protection of the dignity of minors in the digital world.

Child dignity – a crisis and a response in context

In remarks prepared for the participants and delivered to them in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace shortly after noon on Friday, Pope Francis placed the challenges facing individuals and whole societies the world, over, in the context of the struggle not only to articulate, but effectively to guarantee, the rights and dignity of every person – especially the weakest and most vulnerable, and chief among these, children and young people – on which the human family has embarked and in which the Church has been engaged especially since the drafting of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1959 Declaration on the Rights of the Child.

“As representatives of various scientific disciplines and the fields of digital communications, law and political life,” Pope Francis said, “you [participants in the World Congress] have come together precisely because you realize the gravity of these challenges linked to scientific and technical progress.” He went on to say, “With great foresight, you have concentrated on what is probably the most crucial challenge for the future of the human family: the protection of young people’s dignity, their healthy development, their joy and their hope.”
 
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/06/pope_to_world_congress_on_child_dignity_in_digital_world/1341217
Pope Francis: speech to World Congress on Child Dignity in Digital World
06/10/2017 10:49

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/06/church_congress_on_child_protection_in_digital_world_issues_/1341244
Church congress on child protection in digital world issues call to action
06/10/2017 12:30

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/06/pope_francis_receives_pm_of_lithuania/1341311

Pope Francis receives PM of Lithuania
06/10/2017 14:56

Pope Francis talks with Lithuania's Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis during private audience at the Vatican October 6, 2017 - REUTERS
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania, Saulius Skvernelis, on Friday. A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See issued following the meeting says the Pope and the Prime Minister had cordial discussions, during which appreciation was expressed for the good state of bilateral relations and the positive contribution of the Catholic Church in Lithuanian society throughout the centuries.

The communiqué goes on to say that it was in this context, that mention was made of the recent beatification of the martyr to Soviet imperial Communism, Archbishop Teofilius Matulionis, which took place this past June.

The Press Office of the Holy See also reports that themes of common interest, such as the prospects for the future development of European integration, the emigration of the young and the reception of migrants, and peace and security at regional and international level, were also part of the conversation.
 

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https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/10/06/pope-honor-fallen-soldiers-american-cemetery-near-rome/

Pope to honor fallen soldiers at American cemetery near Rome
October 6, 2017

ROME - Pope Francis will commemorate all those who have died in war by celebrating Mass at an Italian cemetery where thousands of American soldiers killed during World War II are buried.

The Vatican announced Oct. 6 that the pope will celebrate the feast of All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2, at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, 45 miles south of Rome.

The Mass will commemorate “all who have fallen in wars,” the Vatican said.

More than 7,800 members of the U.S. military are buried at the 77-acre cemetery. Many of the soldiers died in 1943 during Operation Husky, the Allies’ campaign to liberate the island of Sicily from the Axis powers.

The Allied victory led to the toppling of Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini and weakened Nazi Germany’s foothold in Europe.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/07/pope_francis_well-trained_priests_vital_for_church/1341456

Pope Francis: Well-trained priests vital for mission of the Church
07/10/2017 11:37

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday received participants of an International Conference promoted by the Congregation for Clergy, telling them that "renewal of faith and the future of vocations is only possible if there are well-trained priests.”

Ratio Fundamentalis is the document on the best practices for the formation of seminarians in the Church and was the subject this week of an International Conference promoted by the Congregation for Clergy.

Importance of well-trained priests

Greeting the conference participants on Saturday in the Vatican, Pope Francis got straight to the heart of the matter by telling them that “the theme of priestly formation is decisive for the mission of the Church: renewal of faith and the future of vocations is only possible if we have well-trained priests.”

Drawing inspiration from the bible passage in which the Lord says to the prophet Jeremiah: "Get up and go down into the potter's shop", the Pope explained that “priestly formation depends first of all on God's action in our lives and not our activities, adding,  it is a work that requires the courage to let oneself be molded by the Lord, for it transforms our heart and our lives.”
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/07/pope_croatian_prime_minister__plenković_/1341486

Pope receives Croatian Prime Minister
07/10/2017 13:25

Pope Francis posing with Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, and his family in the Vatican, Oct. 7, 2017. - EPA
(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis received Prime Minister Andrej Plenković of Croatia in private audience in the Vatican on Saturday.  The Holy See’s Press office issued a communique saying Plenković later met Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin along with Under-Secretary for Relations with States. Msgr. Antoine Camilleri.

The Press Office said that during the “cordial discussions”, the two sides expressed “appreciation for the good relations that exist between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia, and for the positive contribution of the Church to the life of the Country.”  “Mention was made also of the work of the mixed Commission of Croatian and Serbian experts for a joint rereading of the figure of the Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac.”
 
https://www.croatiaweek.com/pm-invites-pope-francis-to-croatia-after-audience-at-vatican/
PM Invites Pope Francis to Croatia After Audience at Vatican
October 7, 2017

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/08/pope_angelus_the_novelty_of_christianity_is_gods_mercy/1341627

Pope Angelus: The novelty of Christianity is God's mercy
08/10/2017 13:08

Pope Francis during the Angelus in St Peter's Square - ANSA
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis during his Angelus address on Sunday told pilgrims in St Peter’s Square that the great novelty of Christianity is a God who, though disappointed by our sins, is merciful.

“God continues to put in place the "new wine" of his vineyard, that is, mercy. There is only one impediment to the tenacious and tender will of God: our arrogance and our presumption, which sometimes can becomes violence.”

Those were Pope Francis’ words to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square during his Angelus address, as he reflected on this Sunday’s liturgy, the parable of the vine-growers.

The Pope recounted the story of the vine growers who are put in charge of the vineyard by their Master, but abuse their position to the point of killing the owner’s son.

The Holy Father described this Gospel passage as a love story which had both positive and negative moments.
 
https://zenit.org/articles/angelus-address-on-the-parable-of-the-wicked-tenants/
Angelus Address: On the Parable of the Wicked Tenants 
“The Great Novelty of Christianity”: “Although Disappointed by Our Mistakes and Our Sins, God Does Not Fail in His Word, He Doesn’t Retaliate!
October 8, 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BMaPz4EWdM
2017.10.08 - Angelus Domini 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/09/pope_mass_samaritan_neighbour_mystery_of_christ_%e2%80%8e/1341756

Pope Francis: The Good Samaritan manifests the mystery of Christ
09/10/2017 13:45

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Monday urged Christians to emulate the figure of the Good Samaritan and help those in need to get up, like Christ who “continues to pay” for us.   Delivering a homily at the morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican, he reflected on the attitude of the various actors in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke’s Gospel, which, he said, was an answer to the doctor of the Law on who his neighbour was.

Actors in the parable
 
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[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/09/pope_german_president_steinmeier_/1341778

Pope receives German president in private audience
09/10/2017 14:34

Pope Francis meeting President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany in the Vatican, Oct. 9, 2017.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received President Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany in a private audience in the Vatican on Monday.  The Holy See’s Press office issued a statement saying Steinmeier later met Vatican Secretary ‎of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin along with Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.

During the “cordial talks”, the Press Office said, the two sides expressed satisfaction over the good relations and fruitful relations between the Holy See and Germany, and between Church and the institutions in the country.  They also expressed appreciation for the positive inter-religious and ecumenical dialogue, especially between Catholics and Protestants during the 5th centenary of the Lutheran Reformation.
 
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https://zenit.org/

© L'Osservatore Romano
https://zenit.org/articles/pope-receives-oriental-church-leaders/

Pope Receives Oriental Church Leaders 
October 9, 2017

“I am glad to be with you, Fathers and Heads of the Oriental Catholic Churches, to share the joys and pains of the faithful entrusted to your pastoral care,” Pope Francis said October 9, 2017, during an audience with the Patriarchs and Major Archbishops.

The meeting took place within the context of the plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, taking place from October 9-12, to mark the centenary of the institution of the dicastery:

Words of the Holy Father
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/07/australian_bishops_vatican_situation_australian_church/1341487

Australian bishops in Vatican to discuss situation of their Church
07/10/2017 13:30

(Vatican Radio) Australian bishops have been meeting with top Vatican officials to discuss the situation of the Catholic Church in Australia.

A communiqué released by the Holy See Press Office gives news of the issues at the top of the bishops’ agenda and reveals who were the members of the delegation.

Please find below the Holy See Press Office press release:

The leadership of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference met this week in Rome with officials from the Secretariat of State and various offices of the Holy See for a wide-ranging discussion concerning the situation of the Catholic Church in Australia at this time.

Topics covered included the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, the relationship between the Church and society at large, the restoration of trust, and greater participation of the laity in decision-making roles in the Church.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/7883/0/australian-church-facing-biggest-crisis-in-its-history-says-brisbane-archbishop-

Australian church facing biggest crisis in its history, says Brisbane Archbishop
09 October 2017 | by Christopher Lamb

PICTURE: Archbishop of Brisbane Mark Coleridge (left) leaves the building after appearing at the Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse in Sydney, February 2017

The archbishop said the Church had been 'shaken to the core' by the abuse scandal and today was being called to a 'greater authenticity'

A leading Australian bishop says the Church in his country is facing the biggest crisis in its history after taking part in talks with the Vatican over how to address the problem.

The Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge, who is Vice President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference, told The Tablet that he and fellow bishops were in Rome to discuss the fallout of the clerical sexual abuse crisis, and how the Church will adopt a new approach. This, he says, will look at how to include women in positions of “governance”. 

High on the agenda at the Vatican summit was Australia’s Royal Commission inquiry into how institutions handled child sexual abuse. This has seen the Catholic Church facing unrelenting criticism for its response to the scandal. The problem has been magnified after the Australian police’s decision to charge Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican treasurer and former Archbishop of Sydney, with historic sexual offences.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/09/new_cccb_president_outlines_vision_for_future/1341776

New CCCB President outlines vision for future
09/10/2017 14:30

Bishop Lionel Gendron, new President of the CCCB - RV
(Vatican Radio) Bishop Lionel Gendron of Saint-Jean-Longueuil was elected President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) at the end of September.

Bishop Gendron, who will serve a two-year term, has been vice president of the CCCB since 2015.

He spoke to Linda Bordoni about the main points discussed during the plenary during which he was elected and about his vision for the Church in Canada in the years to come:
 
Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its requests

Another important theme at the plenary, Bishop Gendron explained, are the issues pertaining to the request for an apology by Canada’s ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ (TRC) regarding the First Nations and the question of the residential schools, most of which were run by the Catholic, Anglican and United Churches.     

Gendron explained that the TRC is asking different things from different Churches and the Catholic Church has been responding.

“One of the requests of the TRC is the visit of the Pope to Canada (within the year) to ask forgiveness for what has been done in the residential schools” Gendron explained, pointing out that this is not easy because in Canada one is liable to be sued for something like this.

So, he said “right now – the spirit is always working in the Church – there is a new shift, a new vision: instead of being there to respond to the TRC, and instead of answering the government that is insisting on that point, our mission is not to answer the TRC or the government, but to answer according to the Gospel”.
 
Gendron notes that the government asked the different Churches (The United Church, the Catholic Church and the Anglican Church to open these schools and so many dioceses and religious communities were involved.

“For that reason the Commission is asking these groups to express apologies – not only financially but also in words – and that’s why they asked for the Pope to come and apologize for what has been done to the First Nations” he said.

Gendron says the Church has already given a lot of money and has expressed many apologies, but says time is necessary to ask for the evaluation of the risk of being sued should the Pope decide to come.

Gendron explains that Pope Francis has been invited by the Commission and that the Canadian bishops have spoken to him about the difficulties involved: “he has encouraged us to keep on doing what we are doing and said that if at a point it is possible, he might come.”

He said the issues has also been discussed with Cardinal Parolin, with Archbishop Gallagher and other Vatican officials, “we are very open about what we lived and now we say that our point of view comes from the requirements not of the TRC, but from the requirements of the Gospel which – according to me – is more radical (than the laws of the government)”.

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/10/pope_at_mass_gods_omnipotence_is_manifested_in_his_mercy/1341981

Pope at Mass: 'God's omnipotence is manifested in His mercy'
10/10/2017 14:10

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Tuesday reminded the faithful that God’s infinite mercy prevails over all, but he warned against rigidity and invited Christians to always open their hearts.

The Pope was speaking during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.

Reflecting, for the second consecutive day, on a reading from the Book of Jonah, Pope Francis concluded that it is God’s mercy that opens our hearts and wins over everything.

Recalling the story of the prophet Jonah whom – he said – “was a stubborn man who wanted to teach God how to do things” he described him as “sick with rigidity”, “a starved soul”.

In the Bible story, the Pope said, the Lord asks Jonah to convert the city of Nineveh. First the prophet refuses to do so and runs away; then he carries out God’s orders “and he does it well”. But still, Francis observed, Jonah is “angry” and indignant because the Lord shows forgiveness towards the people who, with open hearts, showed repentance.
 

[grace-land]

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/10/pope_myanmar_bangladesh_schedule/1341938

Schedule of Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Myanmar, Bangladesh
10/10/2017 11:38

Logos of Pope Francis' visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh. - RV
The Vatican on Tuesday released the schedule of Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh.   The two-nation papal visit was announced earlier by the Vatican on August 28.  ‎After visiting Myanmar, Nov 27 to 30, he will proceed to neighbouring Bangladesh,  Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.

He is scheduled to land in Yangon, Myanmar in the afternoon on Nov. 27, where he will be given an official welcome.  The following afternoon (Nov. 28) he will fly to the capital Nay Pyi Taw, where after meeting the president, government officials and the diplomatic corps, he will fly back to Yangon  at night
 

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2017/10/10/171010a.html
Apostolic Visit of His Holiness Francis to Myanmar and Bangladesh (26 November to 2 December 2017) - Programme, 10.10.2017

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/09/child_martyrs_and_priests_to_become_saints/1341833

Child martyrs and priests to become saints
09/10/2017 16:52

(Vatican Radio) Dozens of martyrs from the Americas along with two zealous priests of Italy and Spain are to be canonised by Pope Francis.

Pilgrims will gather in St Peter’s Square on Sunday to witness the canonisation of three Mexican teenagers known as the “Child Martyrs of Tlaxcala”.
Cristobal, Antonio, and Juan were murdered in the 1520s after being caught destroying pagan idols following their conversions to the Catholic faith.
 

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Hmmm...

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-academy-will-focus-on-immigration-instead-of-abortion.-pro-lifers-a

Mon Oct 9, 2017 - 1:27 pm EST
Vatican academy will focus on immigration instead of abortion. Pro-lifers ‘appalled’

VATICAN CITY, October 9, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — The first gathering of Pope Francis’ now overhauled Pontifical Academy for Life did not ease pro-life concerns over its future as the Vatican’s stated new focus for the PAV will turn from abortion and bioethics to include immigration and the environment.

Some are saying the Academy has “lost its way,” that the changes made by the pope “differ drastically” from its founding by Pope Saint John Paul II, or are an “attack” on the pro-life Academy’s mandate.

They question as well an apparent new prioritization of the temporal.

“It’s obvious that being ‘pro-life’ means, even for the academy, to rethink the semantic value of the term life, which cannot be reduced to a perspective that is uniquely bioethical,” Academy president, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, said at a press conference.

“If we must be pro-life, we must be always, in every way, and everywhere pro-life,” he continued, according to a C-FAM report, citing Pope Francis.

Paglia also said there were no plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae next year.

Rather, the Academy is opening “new frontiers for debate,” he said, mentioning in particular the environment, immigration, and arms control
 

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https://zenit.org/articles/popes-general-audience-on-vigilant-waiting

Pope’s General Audience: On Vigilant Waiting 
‘Have you thought how that encounter with Jesus will be when He comes? It will be an embrace, an enormous joy, a great joy! We must live in expectation of this encounter!’
October 11, 2017

This morning’s General Audience was held at 9:20 in St. Peter’s Square, where the Holy Father Francis met with groups of pilgrims and faithful from Italy and from all over the world.

In his address in Italian the Pope reflected on the theme: “Vigilant Waiting.”

After summarizing his catechesis in several languages, the Holy Father expressed special greetings to groups of faithful present. Then he invited to pray the Rosary for the intention of peace in the world, recalling the closing of the celebrations of the Centenary of the last Marian apparitions in Fatima, which will be observed on Friday, October 13, and he made an appeal on the occasion of the International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction.

The Audience ended with the singing of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
* * *
The Holy Father’s Catechesis
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekhBX7uS4pA
2017.10.11 - General Audience

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/11/pope_francis_the_dynamic_word_of_god_cannot_be_moth-balled/1342352

Pope Francis: The dynamic word of God cannot be moth-balled
11/10/2017 17:36

Pope Francis - RV
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday evening addressed participants attending a meeting celebrating the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

In his prepared remarks to those gathered  the Pope said that, it is in the very nature of the Church to “guard” the deposit of faith and to “pursue” the Church’s path, so that the truth present in Jesus’ preaching of the Gospel may grow in fullness until the end of time. 

Medicine of Mercy

He went on to say that, “with the joy born of Christian hope, and armed with the “medicine of mercy”, we approach the men and women of our time to help them discover the inexhaustible richness contained in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Pope described the Catechism as an important instrument adding that, it  “presents the faithful with the perennial teaching of the Church so that they can grow in their understanding of the faith.”

Death Penalty

During his discourse, the Holy Father brought up the subject of the death penalty saying that  it is a “subject that ought to find in the Catechism of the Catholic Church a more adequate and coherent treatment”…

Pope Francis went on to say that, “it must be clearly stated that the death penalty is an inhumane measure that, regardless of how it is carried out, abases human dignity.”

Concluding his remarks the Holy Father said that, “the word of God cannot be moth-balled like some old blanket in an attempt to keep insects at bay! No.  The word of God is a dynamic and living reality that develops and grows because it is aimed at a fulfilment that none can halt”, he said. 

Before imparting his Apostolic Blessing on those present, the Pope underlined that,  “doctrine cannot be preserved without allowing it to develop, nor can it be tied to an interpretation that is rigid and immutable without demeaning the working of the Holy Spirit.” 

Please find the English language  translation of Pope Francis' prepared remarks below:
 
http://cathcon.blogspot.com/2017/10/amoris-laetitia-ist-ganz-in-der-linie.html
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Cardinal describes how the Catechism was written and never really accepted in Germany

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/10/13/pope_santa_marta_mass_homily_worldliness_demon/1342757

Pope urges Christians to watch out against worldliness
13/10/2017 13:38

(Vatican Radio)  Only Christ crucified will save us from the demons that make us "slide slowly into worldliness", saving us also from the "stupidity" that St. Paul talks about to the Galatians, and from seduction.  This was central message of the homily of Pope Francis at his Mass, Friday morning, at the Santa Marta residence in the Vatican.  He was reflecting on the episode in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus casts out a demon, which some people interpret as through power of the devil.

Watchfulness against Devil's stealth

The Pope said the Lord asks us be watchful in order not to enter into temptation.  This is why a Christians have to be awake, watchful and careful like a sentinel.  Jesus was not narrating a parable but was stating a truth, i.e when the unclean spirit comes out of a man, he roams about in abandoned places looking for refuge and not finding any, decides to return to where he came from, where the freed man lives.  Hence the demon decides to bring in "seven other spirits worse than him.”  Pope Francis emphasized the word “worse”, saying it has much force in the passage because the demons enter quietly.