Vatican City, Jun 28, 2018 / 12:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Among the Church’s newest cardinals is Antonio Augusto dos Santos Marto, who oversees the diocese of Leiria-Fatima. He says his elevation to the rank of cardinal is not only a sign of Francis’ affinity for popular devotion, but shows the relevance of the message Mary gave to the Church when she appeared in the small town over 100 years ago.
When Pope Francis visited Fatima in May 2017 to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of one of the most famous Marian apparitions in the history of the Church, “he understood and intuited” not only what was happening in the Church and in global society 100 years ago, but also what is happening today, Santos said.
Speaking to journalists hours before the June 28 consistory in which he was elevated to the rank of cardinal, Santos said that “Pope Francis intuits a lot in a short amount of time…he deeply understands the value of what the Church is living.”
“In my view, he intuited and understood the universal projection of the Fatima message,” both for the Church and for humanity, he said, and pointed to modern crises which parallel the global challenges present in 1917, such as persecution of the Church and what Pope Francis has called the “third world war in pieces.”
Not only will the presence of a cardinal give more weight to the Marian apparitions, but it can also be read as a sign of Francis’ love for expressions of popular piety and devotion, Santos said.
Pope Francis “has a great love for popular religiosity, which is an expression of the inculturation of the faith in the simple people, and in Fatima this is seen, it is lived and it is visible.”
“Perhaps the pope was impressed by this living, by this strength of evangelizing through popular religiosity,” he said, citing the pope’s background in Latin American culture, which places a strong emphasis on popular devotion.
Santos, 71, has overseen the diocese of Leiria-Fatima since 2006. He oversaw the visit of Benedict XVI in 2010, and was tasked with preparing for the centenary anniversary of the 1917 apparitions, which took place in May 2017, and was marked by a papal visit from Pope Francis.
In his view, Santos said, the centenary celebrations are a key reason why he became a recipient of the red biretta in Thursday’s consistory.
Not only is the appointment as cardinal a personal “act of trust” on the part of the pope, but it is also a sign of the universality of the Catholic Church, which is clearly seen in Fatima, visited annually by thousands of pilgrims from all over the world who go to the shrine to pray and honor the Virgin Mary, he said.
These two things, universality and personal trust, “go together,” Santos said, and cited the letter given to the new cardinals after receiving news of their appointments.
In the letter, Francis had told the appointees that “the nomination as cardinal represents the universality of the Church and also a closer bond with the See of Peter, the pope, and the local Church,” Santos said. He called his own nomination “a gift from the pope to Fatima.”
Practically, Santos said not much will change in terms of his duties, since he is still bishop of a diocese, and he will work alongside the rest of the bishops’ conference in a “collegial atmosphere.”
Santos said he found out about his nomination before celebrating Mass on the Feast of Pentecost, when he got a call from the local nuncio informing him of the news.
The cardinal said he was surprised and excited to hear about his nomination. The appointment as cardinal is “a service, it’s another mission,” he said, adding that he is “happy, peaceful, and trusting in God’s grace to carry out this mission.”
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Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 13, 2023 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 265th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. . Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23–28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19–22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22–27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26–31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30–Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12–13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27–Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15–21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25–26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. . Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3–28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22–27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21–24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6–27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5–8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2–6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24–30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31–Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Vatican City, Feb 2, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Kevin Farrell has reportedly barred several speakers set to address an annual women’s event inside the Vatican over concerns about their LGBT positions, prompting organizers to find another venue.
First held in 2014, the “Voices of Faith” (VoF) event has taken place inside the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV, headquarters of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, every March for the past four years.
Established in 2014 in response to Pope Francis’ call to “broaden the space within the Church for a more incisive feminine presence,” the event is scheduled each year to coincide with the March 8 celebration of International Women’s Day, and typically draws speakers from various backgrounds to give testimonies and speak on a specific theme.
Organizers have relocated the 2018 conference, titled “Why Women Matter,” to another location outside Vatican grounds, after two high-profile speakers didn’t meet Vatican approval: Mary McAleese, former president of Ireland, and Ssenfuka Juanita Warry, who runs a non-profit advocating for LGBT Catholics in Uganda.
According to Chantal Gotz, founder and managing director of VoF, the list of speakers required approval from Cardinal Farrell before they could move forward with planning. When he returned a list of approved names, McAleese and Warry were not included.
Farrell heads the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the office in charge of organizing the World Meeting of Families this August and the 2019 international World Youth Day in Panama. Given the topic of this year’s Synod of Bishops, which will reflect on “Faith, young people and the discernment of vocation,” Farrell’s office is also a key player in organizing that event.
In comments to CNA, Gotz said the conference organizers were not given a reason for having the speakers barred, so “we engaged in dialogue with the cardinal and asked him for an explanation for blocking the names,” however “we were not able to go further since an explanation was not forthcoming.”
While an official reason for blocking the speakers might be lacking, it is widely believed Farrell made the decision because of the proposed speakers’ controversial stances on the question of homosexuality.
McAleese has a son who is gay, and according to the Irish Independent, at one point said her son had gone through “torture” when he learned about the Catholic Church’s position on the issue.
McAleese has previously advocated for same-sex marriage, accusing the Catholic Church of “hypocrisy” for its stance on marriage. She has also publicly advocated for the ordination of women to the priesthood, in opposition to the teachings of the Church expressed in Pope St. John Paul II’s Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.
According to a Feb. 2 press release from VoF, as the former president of Ireland McAleese “is no stranger to the Vatican, having held the highest position in public office in a predominantly Catholic country.”
“She is known for her staunch support for gay and women’s rights and has often spoken publicly about her frustrations with her Catholic faith.”
Warry is also an active campaigner on issues related to homosexuality.
Gotz told CNA she was “stunned” by Farrell’s decision, as such issues have never been a problem in the past.
In previous years the conference has invited a host of speakers who hold opposing views to the Church’s position on major issues such as abortion, contraception and women’s ordination, she said. Some of them have spoken openly about their positions during the event, however, this marks the first year that any of the speakers have been rejected.
“We have always been respectful of the viewpoints of the Church,” Gotz told CNA, “yet we, like Pope Francis, recognize there is a critical need to open the church to more dialogue.”
In the press release, the purpose of the VoF event is to “empower and advocate for Catholic women to have a seat at the table of decision making in the Catholic Church.”
The statement also voices the organization’s belief that a key solution to various problems the Church faces “lies in having a diversity of thought, expertise and education at the leadership level, skill sets they say can be brought by women and lay people if only they were more welcomed into these structures.”
The conference, she said, “allows us to not only celebrate the wonderful work Catholic women are doing across the globe, but also create discussion and dialogue on the current power and leadership structures of our Church today.”
More than anything, “we hope it will help create a bridge to dialogue between those who have feared that dialogue for too long,” she said.
“Women are willing and ready to share their faith and their gifts. They should be afforded a seat at the table so that women’s voices and perspectives become an integrated part of decision making within the Church.”
Rather than taking McAleese and Warry off of their list of speakers, organizers of VoF opted for a change of location, and the conference will now take place at the Jesuit Curia in Rome.
“The Jesuits, in true form, have welcomed us and our speakers,” Gotz told CNA, explaining that she is unsure if the rift with Cardinal Farrell will affect future VoF events.
Cardinal Farrell could not be reached for comment.
CNA’s Perry West contributed reporting for this story.
Pope Francis meets with members of the editorship of the theological magazine La Scuola Cattolica at the Vatican’s Consistory Hall, June 17, 2022. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Jun 17, 2022 / 09:10 am (CNA).
Pope Francis spoke on Friday about the importance of scrutinizing candidates for the priesthood to ensure that the men who reach ordination are well-formed and mature.
In a meeting with seminary formators from the Milan archdiocese on June 17, the pope said that the process of accompanying those discerning vocations to the priesthood requires sensitivity and expert skill.
“When discerning whether or not a person can embark on a vocational journey, it is necessary to scrutinize and evaluate him in an integral way: to consider his way of experiencing affections, relationships, spaces, roles, responsibilities, as well as his frailties, fears, and imbalances,” Pope Francis said.
“The whole journey must initiate processes aimed at forming mature priests and consecrated persons, who are ‘experts in humanity and closeness’ and not ‘officials of the sacred.’”
Pope Francis underlined that each man brings with him a unique family, personal, and spiritual history to the seminary.
“Sexuality, affectivity, and relationships are dimensions of the person to be considered and understood, by both the Church and science, also in relation to socio-cultural challenges and changes,” he said.
“An open attitude and good witness allow the educator to ‘encounter’ the whole personality of the ‘called one,’ engaging his intelligence, emotions, heart, dreams, and aspirations.”
To achieve this outcome, seminary formators themselves must be growing daily “toward the fullness of Christ,” the pope said, so that the charity of Christ may be more clearly manifested in them.
“Seminarians and young people in formation should be able to learn more from your life than from your words; to be able to learn docility from your obedience, industriousness from your dedication, generosity with the poor from your sobriety and availability, fatherhood from your chaste and non-possessive affections. We are consecrated to serve the People of God, to take care of all, starting with the poorest,” Pope Francis told the priests.
“Suitability for ministry is tied to availability, joy, and generosity toward others. The world needs priests who are able to communicate the goodness of the Lord to those who have experienced sin and failure, priests who are experts in humanity … men who know how to listen to the cry of those who suffer.”
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