Vatican City, Mar 6, 2019 / 10:03 am (CNA).- Pope Francis sent his prayers and condolences to Alabama Wednesday after devastating tornadoes over the weekend killed 23 people and left dozens of survivors without homes.
“Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life and the injuries caused by the tornado which struck Alabama in recent days, His Holiness Pope Francis expresses heartfelt solidarity with all affected by this natural disaster,” a telegram sent on behalf of the pope stated March 6.
Pope Francis prays for “healing and consolation” for the injured and those who grieve, and that “Almighty God may grant eternal rest to the dead, especially the children,” the cable continued.
Victims of the storm – which has been declared the deadliest tornado in the U.S. since 2013 – include four children ages 6-10.
Between three and five tornadoes with winds measuring as high as 170 mph touched down in eastern Alabama March 3, and traveled 70 miles, causing further destruction in Georgia.
Catholic Social Services have been in contact with local pastors in the region to coordinate recovery efforts. St. Michael’s Parish in Auburn, Alabama is collecting gift cards to give the agencies to distribute to families in need.
“Upon all who are suffering the effects of this calamity, the Holy Father invokes the Lord’s blessings of peace and strength,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin wrote in the telegram on behalf of Pope Francis.
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Vatican City, Jan 26, 2018 / 10:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis met with the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith Friday, affirming the dignity of every person and emphasizing the Church’s task of accompanying the ill and suffering, especially in the face of increasing support for euthanasia.
Pain, suffering, and the meaning of life and death are all problems the contemporary mind does not know how to face with hope, the Pope said Jan. 26, and therefore “this is one of the duties that the Church is called to render to contemporary man.”
“It is clear that where life is valid not for its dignity, but for its efficiency and productivity, [euthanasia] becomes possible. In this scenario it must be reiterated that human life, from conception to its natural end, has a dignity that renders it inviolable.”
Pope Francis met at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall with the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the conclusion of their plenary session, praising their study of “the sensitive issues” surrounding the accompaniment of terminally ill patients.
Secularization and the emphasis on self-determination and personal autonomy have increased the demand for euthanasia, he noted, and many people believe that the “voluntary interruption of human existence [is] a choice of ‘civilization.’”
Therefore, authentic pastors have an opportunity to accompany people in difficult circumstances, with an accompaniment that does not “abandon man to himself, nor leave him in the grip of his disorientation and his errors, but with truth and mercy,” brings him back to the good, Francis said.
“Authentic pastoring therefore is every action aimed at taking man by the hand, when he has lost the sense of his dignity and his destiny, to lead him with confidence to rediscover the loving fatherhood of God, his good destiny and the ways to build a more human world.”
The Pope also expressed his appreciation for the congregation’s commitment to protecting the faith and the sanctity of the sacraments.
In particular, he pointed to their work examining cases concerning graviora delicta, external violations against faith and morals or in the celebration of the sacraments; and applications for the dissolution of the matrimonial bond in favor of the faith.
This is especially important today, he said, as man’s understanding of self becomes ever more fluid and changeable, influencing his existential and ethical choices.
“The man of today no longer knows who he is and, therefore, struggles to recognize how to act well.”
“In this sense, the task of your Congregation appears decisive in recalling the transcendent vocation of man and the indivisible connection of his reason with truth and goodness, which introduces faith in Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Nothing helps man to know himself and God’s plan for the world like the opening of reason to the light that comes from God.”
Pope Francis has named a priest of Helena, Mont., Father Jeffrey Fleming, coadjutor bishop of the state’s other diocese, Great Falls-Billings.
Fleming, 56, has been Chancellor and moderator of the Curia of western Montana’s Diocese of Helena since 2020. He has been a priest of the diocese for almost 30 years.
As coadjutor bishop, Fleming will serve alongside the current bishop of Great Falls-Billings, Michael Warfel, and will automatically succeed him upon his resignation.
Warfel, 73, has led the eastern Montana diocese since January 2008.
The Diocese of Great Falls-Billings covers over 93,000 square miles, the eastern two-thirds of Montana. It has 50 parishes and serves 31,813 Catholics. The total population of the diocese is 427,358.
Coadjutor bishop-elect Fleming was born in Billings, Mont. in 1966. He studied religious education and theology at Carroll College in Helena and completed his priestly studies at Mount Angel Seminary in Oregon, where he also received a master’s degree in theology.
He holds a license in canon law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
In his nearly 30 years as a priest, Fleming has been parochial vicar and pastor at various parishes in the Diocese of Helena. He was also director of campus ministry at Carroll College.
In addition to his duties as chancellor of the diocese, since March, Fleming also serves as pastor of St. Mary Catholic Community in Helena.
Pope Leo XIV speaks from a window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking St. Peter’s Square during the Sunday Angelus on Aug. 24, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Aug 31, 2025 / 07:10 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday prayed for the victims of a shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, and deplored a worldwide “pandemic of arms” which has left many children dead or injured.
“Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota,” the pontiff said in English on Aug. 31, after leading the weekly Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
“We include in our prayers,” he added, “the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us plead to God to stop the pandemic of arms, large and small, which infects our world.”
An Aug. 27 shooting at a school Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis left two children dead and 17 others wounded.
Leo turned to Mary, the Queen of Peace, to ask for her intercession “to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.’”
A large crowd gathers in and outside of St. Peter’s Square to listen to Pope Leo XIV’s message during the Sunday Angelus on Aug. 31, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media.
In his other appeals after the Angelus, delivered in Italian, Pope Leo repeated his calls for an immediate ceasefire and “a serious commitment to dialogue” in the Middle East, and for prayer and concrete gestures for the victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“The voice of arms must be silenced, while the voice of brotherhood and justice must be raised,” he said.
The pope said his heart is also wounded for those who have died or are missing after a boat carrying migrants from Africa to the Canary Islands capsized off the coast of Mauritania. According to the BBC, at least 69 people have died and many others are missing.
“This mortal tragedy repeats every day everywhere in the world,” Leo said. “Let us pray that the Lord teaches us, as individuals and as a society, to put fully into practice his word: ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me.’”
“We entrust all our missing, injured, and dead everywhere to our Savior’s loving embrace,” the pontiff said both in English and in Italian.
In his spiritual message before the Angelus prayer, Pope Leo spoke about encounter, which requires openness of heart and humility.
Pope Leo XIV waves to the large crowds in a sunny St. Peter’s Square after delivering a message and leading the Angelus prayer on Aug. 31, 2025. Credit: Vatican Media.
“Humility is really freedom from ourselves,” he emphasized. “It is born when the Kingdom of God and its righteousness become our real concern and we allow ourselves to lift up our eyes and look ahead: not down at our feet, but at what lies ahead!”
Leo said people who put themselves before others, tend to think they are more interesting than anything else, “yet deep down, they are quite insecure.”
“Whereas,” he continued, “those who know that they are precious in God’s eyes, who know they are God’s children, have greater things to be worried about; they possess a sublime dignity all their own.”
The pope reflected on Jesus’ example of how to be a good guest, as described in the day’s Gospel reading; Jesus “acts with respect and sincerity, avoiding merely polite formalities that preclude authentic encounter,” Leo explained.
To extend an invitation to another person, also shows “a sign of openness of heart,” he added.
The pontiff encouraged everyone to invite Jesus to be their guest at Mass, so that he can tell them how it is he sees them.
“It is very important that we see ourselves through his eyes: to see how frequently we reduce life to a competition, how anxious we become to obtain some sort of recognition, and how pointlessly we compare ourselves to others,” he said.
We experience the freedom Jesus wants for us, he added, when we stop to reflect and let ourselves “be taken aback by a word that challenges our hearts’ priorities.”
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