Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in a 2021 file photo. / Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Foundation
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 20, 2022 / 10:30 am (CNA).
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will join with Pope Francis and the bishops of the world in praying for the consecration of Russia and Ukraine on March 25.
It is expected that he will do so privately, however, and not be present at the consecration ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica.
CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language sister news agency, confirmed those details Sunday with the retired pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein.
“Of course, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI will join Pope Francis’ call in prayer with regard to the consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” Gänswein wrote in an email to the news agency.
Pope Francis agreed to conduct the consecration of the two countries in response to an urgent request from the Latin rite bishops of Ukraine. The Vatican has since confirmed a March 17 CNA report that the pope has asked all bishops of the world to join him in the consecration.
CNA will continue to update its list of U.S. dioceses that have announced their participation. You can find that story here.
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Rimini, Italy, Aug 20, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Many have forgotten that authentic Christianity has a positive influence on history and brings about greater human fulfillment, Archbishop Christophe Pierre said Sunday at a cultural event organized by the lay movement Communion and Liberation.
“When faced with change, conflict, relativism, and bleak prospects for the future, people are beginning to despair under the burden of daily life and have forgotten how to be protagonists in history,” the apostolic nuncio to the US said Aug. 19 at the Rimini Meeting.
“Meeting Christ and being changed by Him – the revolution of the heart – this is what turns the wheel of history! This is the true revolution!”
This year’s Rimini Meeting, held Aug. 19-25, explores the theme “The forces that move history are the same that make man happy”.
Archbishop Pierre addressed the encounter beginning with a discussion of the meeting of the Samaritan woman with Christ at the well.
He emphasized that the woman experienced an event which offered happines, and this experience caused her to evangelize her community.
He said the woman at the well, who eased her suffering with unsatisfactory desires, is a person who is similar to many people in the culture. Some people, he said, attempt to cope with pain and weakness with drugs, pornography, wealth, or power.
“We will take anything we can to help us feel better, but in the end, it doesn’t satisfy. Just as when Jesus was approached by the disciples of John and asked, ‘What do you seek?’ Jesus is now asking the woman to identify her real thirst.”
Archbishop Pierre said Christ encounters the woman with the truth that he is fulfilling, and her previous idolatry lacked the ability to accomplish her hopes and dreams. Rather, he said the encounter with this truth and the presence of Christ leads “her to discover her own humanity and the possibilities for her future.”
Similarly, he said Christ gives people the ability to make proper judgements of the world, distinguishing between temporary pleasures and lasting happiness, as well as good and evil.
“A humanity reawakened by Christ can generate new protagonists in the history of the world – new witnesses able to make judgments, able to discern right from wrong, good from evil, true good from passing pleasure.”
This new ability is a powerful event, he said, which verifies the faith to others. However, he said this must extend beyond a knowledge of doctrine and become an example of a joyful Christian witness.
“A reawakened humanity has an ability to see – not only with the eye but also with the heart – and can verify the truth of the faith and propose it in this time of epochal change. A joyful Christian witness shows forth the attractiveness of Christ that makes others say, ‘What makes that person tick? What moves that person to act?’”
Pope Francis greets an elderly couple at his general audience on Jan. 11, 2023 / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jul 5, 2023 / 10:58 am (CNA).
The Vatican will again offer a plenary indulgence to mark the third World Day for Grandparents and the El… […]
Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdioceses for the Military Services blesses copies of the prayer book “Armed With the Faith” on Nov. 9, 2021 in Washington. D.C. / Courtesy of the Archdiocese for the Military Services
Washington D.C., Nov 10, 2021 / 13:53 pm (CNA).
Volunteers and some military members in the Knights of Columbus delivered the first of 100,000 copies of a prayer book’s new edition for military personnel to the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center in Washington, D.C., home base for the Archdiocese for the Military Services on Nov. 9.
The prayer book, “Armed with the Faith: A Catholic Handbook for Military Personnel,” is the sixth edition of the book, which a Knight of Columbus spokeswoman says “is a valuable resource of prayers and moral teaching that nourishes faith and helps to form conscience.”
The prayer books, which were blessed by Bishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS), will be distributed to active-duty military personnel serving the United States across the world.
Broglio said in a Nov. 10 press release that he was grateful to his brother Knights who “actively contribute to the spiritual growth and welfare of the men and women in uniform and their families.”
The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization, with more than two million members in 16,000 councils worldwide.
The latest edition of “Armed with the Faith: A Catholic Handbook for Military Personnel,” is designed to hold up in arduous conditions, “with features including waterproof and tear-resistant stock, and plastic binders that enable the turning of pages without a sound.”. Courtesy of the Archdiocese for the Military Services
The prayer books are not only made for spiritual warfare but for physical endurance, as well.
The press release said the books are “designed to hold up in arduous conditions, with features including waterproof and tear-resistant stock, and plastic binders that enable the turning of pages without a sound.”
The new edition includes an introduction from Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, who served in the Navy for 24 years.
“Throughout my military career, my fellow soldiers and I were strengthened and comforted by a daily commitment to prayer, as we asked for God’s intercession to protect our nation and help us preserve our freedoms,” Kelly said in a prepared statement.
“It’s my hope that today’s active-duty military personnel will find the Armed with the Faith Catholic prayer book their indispensable resource for reflection and prayer,” he said.
Kelly served many different roles during his time “on land and sea, on active duty and reserve status.” Serving as a Judge Advocate General (JAG), his expertise was in international and operational law. He also served as the Commanding Officer of the international law unit at the U.S. Naval War College.
In addition to serving on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Kelly was the Staff Judge Advocate for Amphibious Squadron Two during his time aboard the Navy ship, the USS Guam.
Retiring from the JAG Corps Reserve in 2016, Kelly earned three Navy Achievement Medals, five Navy Commendation Medals, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
Broglio said that Kelly “continues a great tradition of patriotic service to our country, both as a retired Naval Officer and now from New Haven,” where the Knights of Columbus is based.
A “home edition” of the prayer book is available and published by the Knights of Columbus Catholic Information Service. The “home edition” is for non-active-duty personnel, including military families, veterans, members of Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) units, and students at U.S. military service academies.
The Knights also released an “Armed with the Faith” documentary in March on YouTube. The documentary, “Armed with the Faith: The Knights of Columbus and the Military,” highlights the military service of Knights throughout the history of the United States.
In other words, Benedict XVI will not be present in act and fact at the Vatican ceremony and will not physically and visibly make the consecration.