Vatican City, May 9, 2018 / 11:14 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After a two-day meeting in Rome, the governing council of the Vatican office for the Synod of Bishops approved the text to be used as the working document for the upcoming October gathering dedicated to youth.
The May 7-8 meeting of the governing council was presided over by Pope Francis and centered on finalizing the text.
A compilation of ideas and thoughts from five sources, the document includes information from answers to a questionnaire sent out to bishops conferences; answers to an online questionnaire for youth; an international seminar on youth that took place in Rome in September 2017; contributions and suggestions from both individuals and groups; and the concluding document of the March 19-24 pre-synod meeting in Rome, which gathered some 300 youth from around the world.
According to a May 9 communique on the Synod of Bishops’ council meeting, a draft of the working document was presented which generated “an interesting exchange of opinions.”
Suggestions were made for changes to the text. Once the changes were incorporated, the document was approved by each of the council members participating.
Participants also discussed how the October synod will be organized. The meeting was closed by Pope Francis, who thanked the council for their contributions and for “the spirit of fraternal communion in which the meeting took place.”
A preparatory document for the October synod released in January 2017 insisted on the need for a global approach and stressed that the voices of youth needed to be heard, and that they would be protagonists in the discussion leading up to the synod.
In the final document written by youth during the pre-synod meeting in March, young people urged the Church to be more authentic, more modern, and more creative in the way it interacts with young people, specifically in how it addresses controversial issues.
The youth, who included Catholics and non-Catholics, largely said they felt left out and that they wanted to be taken seriously, as leaders and contributors to important discussions happening in the Church.
They also said they didn’t want the Church to shy away from talking about hard or controversial topics, such as sexuality and women’s roles in the Church, but wanted people who could speak with them openly and honestly. They also asked for mentors who could help them navigate the tough issues and listen patiently to their questions.
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Pope Francis waves to the crowd of sone 25,000 people gathered for his Regina Caeli address in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on May 22, 2022. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, May 22, 2022 / 08:20 am (CNA).
Pope Francis praised a pro-life event in Rome and offered comments defending the dignity of life on Sunday.
According to the website for the national Scegliamo la vita (Let’s Choose Life) event, the May 22 gathering intended to affirm the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. Videos and photos on the event’s Facebook page shows crowds marching and singing with signs and music.
The pope greeted participants in the event after praying the Regina Caeli in St. Peter’s Square in Rome.
“I thank you for your dedication in promoting life and defending conscientious objection, which there are often attempts to limit,” he said.
“Sadly,” the pope continued, “in these last years, there has been a change in the common mentality, and today we are more and more led to think that life is a good at our complete disposal, that we can choose to manipulate, to give birth or take life as we please, as if it were the exclusive consequence of individual choice.”
Pope Francis flatly rejected that view.
“Let us remember that life is a gift from God!” he said. “It is always sacred and inviolable, and we cannot silence the voice of conscience.”
Pope Francis’ pro-life comments came after he offered a reflection on Jesus’ words to the disciples at the Last Supper in Sunday’s Gospel reading from John, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” The Holy Father said that “no one can leave others peace if they do not have it within themselves, emphasizing that the peace that Jesus is referring to comes from the Holy Spirit and is a “gift of God.”
Pope Francis’ comments defending life come at a time when the highest court in the United States nears the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
In early May, a draft of a Supreme Court opinion that showed the court was poised to overturn Roe was leaked by the news outlet Politico.
Shortly after the leak, pro-abortion advocates began protesting at the court, in front of justices’ homes, and even in Catholic churches around the country. Additional security measures have been taken to protect the justices and the court itself, as a fence has recently been built surrounding the court.
However, if Roe is overturned, abortion will not be outlawed nationwide. The Mississippi abortion case in consideration, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, would give states the exclusive right to legislate on abortion.
Still, some states have “trigger laws” which automatically outlaw abortion if Roe is overturned. You can learn more about which states have those laws here.
Pope Francis greets thousands of children and their families as he makes his way through St. Peter’s Square during the first World Children’s Day, Saturday, May 26, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Vatican City, May 26, 2024 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
After an exuberant kick-off event on Saturday for the first World Children’s Day, Pope Francis gathered together with tens of thousands of children in St. Peter’s Square for Mass on this feast of the Holy Trinity. A piercing early summer sun moved everyone — from nuns to the boys’ choir — to shade their heads with colorful hats.
Thousands gather in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Saturday, May 26, 2024, for the first World Children’s Day with Pope Francis. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The creation of a World Children’s Day was announced by the pope on December 8, 2023, at the midday Angelus. The idea for it was suggested to the pope by a 9-year-old boy in an exchange shortly before World Youth Day in Lisbon.
Among the special guests at the Mass was Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who together with her daughter Ginevra, met the Pope briefly before the Mass.
With this first event complete, Francis announced at the end of the festivities today that the next World Children’s Day will be held in September 2026.
Among the special guests at the Mass for the first World Children’s Day was Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who together with her daughter Ginevra, met the pope briefly before the Mass on Saturday, May 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The One who accompanies us
The Holy Father, smiling and clearly happy to be surrounded by children, completely improvised his homily, making it a brief and memorable lesson on the Holy Trinity.
“Dear boys and girls, we are here to pray together to God,” he began. But then counting on his fingers and enumerating, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, he asked, “But how many gods are there?”As the crowd answered “one,” the pope praised them and started talking of each of the Persons of the Holy Trinity.
He began with God the Father — “who created us all, who loves us so much” — asking the children how we pray to him. They quickly answered with the “Our Father.”
Pope Francis went on to speak of the second person of the Trinity, after the children called out his name — Jesus — as the one who forgives all of our sins.
When he got to the Holy Spirit, the pope admitted that envisioning this person of the Trinity is more difficult.
“Who is the Holy Spirit? Eh, it is not easy …,” he said.
“Because the Holy Spirit is God, He is within us. We receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism, we receive Him in the Sacraments. The Holy Spirit is the one who accompanies us in life.”
Using this last phrase, the Pope invited the children to repeat the idea a number of times: “He is the one accompanies us in life.”
“He is the one who tells us in our hearts the good things we need to do,” the Pope said, having the kids repeat the phrase again: “He is the one who when we do something wrong rebukes us inside.”
The pope speaks to thousands of children and many others who gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Saturday for the first World Children’s Day on the feast of the Holy Trinity. May 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The pope ended the homily thanking the children and also reminding them that “we also have a mother,” asking them how we pray to her. They answered “with the Hail Mary.” The pope encouraged them to pray for parents, for grandparents, and for sick children.
“There are so many sick children beside me” he said, as he indicated the children in wheelchairs near the altar. “Always pray, and especially pray for peace, for there to be no wars.”
Applauding the grandparents
The pope frequently urges young people to seek out their grandparents, and the give-and-take of his homily gave the impression of a beloved grandpa surrounded by his grandkids. He insisted that the kids quiet down for the time of prayer.
When the Mass concluded, and after praying the midday Angelus, the pope summarized the lessons of the homily: “Dear children, Mass is over. And today, we’ve talked about God: God the Father who created the world, God the Son, who redeemed us, and God the Holy Spirit … what did we say about the Holy Spirit? I don’t remember!”
The children needed no further invitation to answer loudly that “the Holy Spirit accompanies us in life.” Joking that he couldn’t hear well, the Pope had them say it again even louder, and then prayed the Glory Be with them.
Pope Francis speaks with a group of children in St. Peter’s Square in Rome during the first World Day of Children on Saturday, May 26, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
The pope also asked for a round of applause for all the grandparents, noting that at the Presentation of the Gifts, a grandfather had accompanied a group of children who brought forward the bread and wine.
Dreaming and dragons
After the closing procession, Italian actor Roberto Benigni took the stage for a lively and inspirational monologue that combined good humor and life lessons.
While Benigni is known especially to the English-speaking world for his role in Oscar-winning Life is Beautiful, in Italy he’s also known for his commentaries on important issues, combined with his exuberant humor.
“When I was a boy, I wanted to be pope,” he told the audience.
Urging the children to read — “Kids need to read everything!” — he paraphrased G.K. Chesterton who insisted that fairy tales are important: “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed,” Chesterton said.
Italian actor Roberto Benigni speaks at the World Children’s Day in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. He took the stage for a lively and inspirational monologue that combined good humor with a call for children to read and to dream. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
“Dream!” Benigni urged the children. “It’s the most beautiful thing in the world. But I want to tell you a secret. You’ll tell me you know how to dream; you’ll say you just have to close your eyes, sleep, and dream. … No, no. I’ll tell you a secret — to dream, you don’t have to close your eyes. You have to open them! You have to open your eyes, read, write, invent.”
The actor emphasized the need to be peacemakers, saying that the Sermon on the Mount contains “the only good idea” that’s ever been expressed. War is the “most stupid sin,” he lamented.
“War must end,” Benigni insisted, going on to quote a famous author of children’s literature. “You will tell me: That is a dream, it is a fairy tale. Yes, it is, but as Gianni Rodari said, ‘Fairy tales can become reality, they can become true!’”
Vatican City, Feb 6, 2017 / 06:45 pm (CNA).- In the wake of President Donald Trump’s recent policy on refugees, U.S. Catholics should stay close to their bishops, who are providing a clear, correct and unified response to the issue, a Vatican off… […]
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