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Pope Francis urges consecrated men and women to cultivate ‘an intense interior life’

February 2, 2024 Catholic News Agency 1
Pope Francis speaks at a Mass on the World Day of Consecrated Life, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on Feb. 2, 2024, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Feb 2, 2024 / 13:55 pm (CNA).

On the 28th World Day of Consecrated Life, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of cultivating “an intense spiritual life” that is nourished by Eucharistic adoration, intercessory prayer, and silence.

Pope Francis presided over Mass on Feb. 2 for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, a feast that coincides each year with a day of prayer established by John Paul II for men and women with consecrated vocations in the Church.

“Ours is a world that often runs at great speed, that exalts ‘everything and now,’” Francis said.

“In such a context, where silence is banished and lost, waiting is not easy, for it requires … the courage to slow our pace, to not be overwhelmed by activities, to make room within ourselves for God’s action.”

Pope Francis greets a woman religious at a Mass on the World Day of Consecrated Life, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on Feb. 2, 2024, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis greets a woman religious at a Mass on the World Day of Consecrated Life, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on Feb. 2, 2024, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

The pope underlined that modern society has “lost the ability to wait,” which he said poses a problem because “waiting for God” is an important part of the journey of faith.

“It is necessary then to recover the lost grace: to return, through an intense interior life, to the spirit of joyful humility, of silent gratitude,” he said.

“This is nourished by adoration, by the work of the knees and the heart, by concrete prayer that struggles and intercedes, capable of reawakening a longing for God, that initial love, that amazement of the first day, that taste of waiting.”

Francis reflected on the importance of cultivating an interior life on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which is also called Candlemas. On this day, many Christians bring candles to church to be blessed. They can then light these candles at home during prayer or difficult times as a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

The Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica began in candlelight with priests, bishops, and cardinals carrying lit candles in procession through the darkened church. Men and women present in the congregation also held small candles.

Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the World Day of Consecrated Life, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on Feb. 2, 2024, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the World Day of Consecrated Life, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, on Feb. 2, 2024, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

Addressing consecrated men and women, Pope Francis warned against “turning even religious and Christian life into having ‘many things to do’ and neglecting the daily search for the Lord.”

“Let us be careful, then, that the spirit of the world does not enter our religious communities, ecclesial life, and our individual journey, otherwise we will not bear fruit,” Pope Francis said.

Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, was the celebrant of the Mass at the basilica’s main altar.

More than 300 consecrated men and women from over 60 countries met in Rome this week for a conference organized by the dicastery to coordinate their preparations for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee.

“The Christian life and apostolic mission need the experience of waiting. Matured in prayer and daily fidelity, waiting frees us from the myth of efficiency, from the obsession with performance and, above all, from the pretense of pigeonholing God, because he always comes in unpredictable ways, at times that we do not choose and in ways that we do not expect,” Pope Francis told men and women religious.

“Every day the Lord visits us, speaks to us, reveals himself in unexpected ways and, at the end of life and time, he will come,” he said.

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President of Taiwan joins Pope Francis in call for regulating AI

January 31, 2024 Catholic News Agency 2
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference at the presidential office in Taipei on Dec. 27, 2022. / Photo by SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Jan 31, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).

President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen sent a letter to Pope Francis on Wednesday joining the pontiff in calling for greater regulation of artificial intelligence, reaffirming what Ing-wen said was Taiwan’s commitment “to promote peace and improve the quality of life of all humanity.” 

Noting that Taiwan “is eager to work with the international community to build a more stable society,” the Jan. 31 letter reflected on the country’s position as a “​​world leader in the semiconductor industry.”

“As the wave of AI sweeps across the world, Taiwan will continue in its endeavor to be a highly reliable, effective, and secure partner in the international community,” the president continued. 

Taiwan is a vital player in the global development of AI. The growth in demand for accelerator chips produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the country’s largest company — and the world’s second-most-valuable semiconductor company — has helped fuel an economic rebound for the island, according to Bloomberg. 

Investing and developing AI tools also plays a critical role in maintaining Taiwan’s national security apparatus amid growing threats of military intervention and economic sanctions from Beijing.

Tsai highlighted these themes and underscored the broader ethical considerations of developing emerging technologies in her letter to the pope. 

“As Your Holiness has warned, the growing scope of AI applications and its implications for human values engender grave ethical risks, such as invasion of privacy, data manipulation, and illegal surveillance, which all have serious consequences for free and democratic societies,” she wrote. 

“For Taiwan, as for other democracies, one major challenge has been disinformation campaigns,” the president continued. “Taiwan will deepen cooperation with the Holy See across many areas as we work toward exercising good technological governance, maintaining social harmony and stability, and jointly creating a peaceful future for humanity.”

Tsai sent the letter in response to the pope’s message marking the 57th World Day of Peace, a celebration that is observed by the Catholic Church on Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. 

The pope’s message for the 2024 World Day of Peace was titled “Artificial Intelligence and Peace.” In it, the pontiff called on policymakers and international stakeholders to direct the development of AI toward “the pursuit of peace and the common good.”

The pope in his Dec. 14 letter underscored the risks posed by AI with its usage in automated warfare as well as the bias it can effect when used in the job hiring process, mortgage applications, and even criminal recidivism. These “systemic errors can easily multiply,” the pope argued.

The Holy Father stressed that AI is a supplemental technology as it can only “imitate or reproduce certain functions of human intelligence,” adding that “the unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making is more than a complex collection of algorithms, and that capacity cannot be reduced to programming a machine, which as ‘intelligent’ as it may be, remains a machine.” 

The ethical regulation and orientation of AI for the common good has been a common theme of Francis’ pontificate in recent years. In a Feb. 20, 2023, audience with the Pontifical Academy for Life, the pope urged the academy to study emerging technologies in order to “ensure that scientific and technological growth is reconciled more and more with a parallel development … in responsibility, values, and conscience.”

The Holy See is a vital diplomatic partner for Taipei as it is the only sovereign European entity that maintains diplomatic relations with the democratically governed island. 

Formal diplomatic relations between the Republic of China (ROC) and the Holy See were officially established in 1942. However, following the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the government of the Republic of China relocated to the island of Taiwan, which sits 110 miles off mainland China’s Southeastern coast. The Holy See, at present, does not maintain official diplomatic relations with the PRC.

Taiwan, or the Republic of China, currently maintains diplomatic relations with 12 states after the Pacific island nation of Narua severed relations on Jan. 15, two days after presidential elections in Taiwan, which saw the election of Lai Ching-te, the current vice president and staunch advocate for Taiwanese sovereignty.

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Pope Francis: ‘The devil always takes away your freedom’

January 28, 2024 Catholic News Agency 2
Pope Francis delivers the Sunday Angelus from the window of his study overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Jan. 28, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Jan 28, 2024 / 12:18 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis warned on Sunday that the devil wants to “chain our souls” and enslave us with many temptations, while “Jesus came to free us from all of these chains.”

In his Angelus address on Jan. 28, the pope said that “the devil always takes away your freedom” and named some of the temptations that the evil one uses to ensnare us.

Pope Francis encouraged people to learn how to “say ‘no’ to the temptations of evil before they creep into the soul” by invoking the name of Jesus.

When facing a temptation, do not attempt to “negotiate with the devil,” Pope Francis said.

“We must call on Jesus,” he underlined. “Call on him where we feel the chains of evil and fear tighten most strongly.”

“There are many chains in our life,” the pope explained.

“I am thinking of addictions, which enslave [so we are] always dissatisfied, and devour energy, goods, and affections; I am thinking of dominant fashions, which push us toward impossible perfectionism, consumerism, and hedonism, which commodify people and spoil their relationships.”

“And other chains: There are the temptations and conditioning that undermine self-esteem, serenity, and the ability to choose and love life,” he said.

Pope Francis added that another chain is “fear, which makes one look at the future with pessimism and impatience, which always casts blame on others.”

He said that “the idolatry of power” is a “very ugly chain” that creates conflicts and can lead to weapons that kill, the manipulation of thought, or economic injustices.

“And Jesus came to free us from all these chains,” Pope Francis said.

“Jesus has the power to cast out the devil. Jesus frees us from the power of evil.”

In his reflection on Sunday’s Gospel, Pope Francis described how Jesus freed a person possessed by an “evil spirit” in Mark’s Gospel, noting that the possession tormented her and caused her to scream.

“This is what the devil does: He wants to possess us in order to ‘chain our souls,’” he said.

Pope Francis noted that in the Gospel, Jesus casts out the devil, “but does not dialogue with him,” noting that during the temptation in the desert, Jesus only answered with words from Scripture.

“The Lord, with the strength of his Spirit, wishes to repeat to the evil one today too: ‘Go away! Leave that heart alone. Do not divide the world, families, communities; let them live peacefully, so that the fruits of my Spirit may flourish, not yours,’ so says Jesus, ‘so that love, joy, meekness may reign among them, and instead of violence and cries of hatred there may be freedom and peace.’”

“So let’s ask ourselves: Do I really want freedom from those chains that tighten my heart? … Do I invoke Jesus, do I allow him to act in me, to heal me inside? May the Holy Virgin protect us from evil,” he said.

Speaking from a window in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace to the crowd gathered below in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel.

Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for reconciliation in Myanmar, marking three years since the country’s military coup.

“For three years now, the crying of pain and the noise of weapons have taken the place of the smile that characterizes the population of Myanmar. I therefore join the voice of some Burmese bishops, ‘so that the weapons of destruction are transformed into tools for growth in humanity and justice,’” he said.

“Peace is a path and I invite all parties involved to take steps of dialogue and to clothe themselves with understanding, so that the land of Myanmar reaches the goal of fraternal reconciliation. The transit of humanitarian aid is allowed to guarantee the necessities of every person.”

Pope Francis also expressed his closeness to the Catholic community in Istanbul, where one man died in an armed attack during Sunday Mass.

The pope added that he was relieved to hear of the release of six religious sisters who were kidnapped in Haiti last week and called for an end to all acts of violence in the country, urging the international community to support Haiti’s peaceful development.

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