Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for president in Ecuador, was shot and killed Aug. 9, 2023, by an unidentified man at a political rally. / Credit: Christian Medina – National Assembly of Ecuador (CC BY-SA 2.0)
ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 10, 2023 / 08:30 am (CNA).
The Ecuadorian bishops’ conference on Wednesday condemned the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, 59, a candidate for president in Ecuador.
In a statement, the Ecuadorian bishops expressed their “deep solidarity” with Villavicencio’s family and said: “We also condemn all forms of violence unleashed at different levels of society.”
Villavicencio, who was a presidential candidate of the Movimiento Construye coalition, was shot and killed by an unidentified man while participating in a political rally on Wednesday night.
Through the social media network X (formerly Twitter), Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador’s president, said he was “outraged and dismayed” by the crime and assured that “it will not go unpunished.”
“Organized crime has gone too far, but the full weight of the law will fall on them,” he added.
“We join the initiatives to recover social security in our beloved country while ratifying our firm commitment to pray and work for peace based on freedom, justice, and truth,” the Ecuadorian bishops said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Gyumri, Armenia, June 25, 2016. / L’Osservatore Romano/CNA
Vatican City, Dec 10, 2022 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis told seminarians on Saturday that praying the rosary can “unveil the mysteries of the priesthood” in its moments of joy, sorrow, and the glory to come.
In a meeting with seminarians from Barcelona, the pope urged the young men to remember that “when you are a priest your first obligation will be a life of prayer.”
“Dear seminarians, take up your rosary and ask Mary, Queen and Mother of Mercy, to help unveil the mysteries of the priesthood to which God calls you, contemplating the mysteries of his Son, realizing that the joy of discipleship and perfect identification with the cross are the only way to glory,” Pope Francis said on Dec. 10.
Pope Francis spoke to seminarians from Barcelona at the Vatican on Dec. 10, 2022. Vatican Media
The pope explained that the joyful mysteries of the priesthood are “born of gratitude for that preferential love that God showed you by calling you to his service.”
He recommended that seminarians contemplate the Blessed Virgin Mary’s attitude at the Annunciation and ask: “How was she when God called her? And how was I? With what zeal do I consider my future priestly life? Will I rise up … with love, to bring God to the world? Will I take him up the most arduous and painful of mountains?”
Pope Francis added that the fifth joyful mystery of the rosary, the finding of Jesus in the temple, contains a particular lesson that should never be forgotten.
Throughout life, we must always return to look for Jesus in the tabernacle, he said, encouraging the future priests to “lose yourselves there with Him.”
In the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, a priest is reminded that he “must aspire to a crown of thorns,” to be identified with the Lord in his suffering, the pope said.
“There is the sacrifice of assuming one’s own cross and beginning a path, often of abandonment. It is the sacrifice of life. Looking at the cross we raise our eyes to heaven and see our destiny,” Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis spoke to seminarians from Barcelona at the Vatican on Dec. 10, 2022. Vatican Media
For a priest, the glorious mysteries are found in the Mass in thanksgiving for the Passion of Jesus, he explained.
“After the triumph of the resurrection, Jesus entered the sanctuary of heaven and from there he perpetuates this continuous thanksgiving. Seeing him seated at the right hand of the Father calls us to hope and fills us with joy because he assures us of heaven,” he said.
“For this God sends the Holy Spirit, the only one who can teach us these mysteries, and one day he will give you the gift of being priests of Christ. Never cease to savor and remember this love of predilection that is poured and will be poured abundantly into your heart, at your ordination, and for the rest of your days.”
“Never extinguish this fire that will make you fearless preachers of the Gospel, dispensers of divine gifts. Unite your flesh to that of Jesus, like Mary, to immolate yourselves with him in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and also in the glory of his triumph,” Pope Francis said.
The Synod of Bishop at the Vatican, Oct. 5, 2018. / Vatican Media.
Rome Newsroom, Oct 27, 2022 / 04:15 am (CNA).
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Dr. Christina Francis, incoming CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians (AAPLOG), says she suspects they were denied an exhibit booth because of their opposition to abortion. / AAPLOG
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