Cardinal Angelo Becciu. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Nov 17, 2023 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
After almost two and a half years, the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” in which the disgraced Cardinal Angelo Becciu is a defendant, is winding … […]
Bishop Yao Shun of Jining and Bishop Yang Yongqiang of Zhouchun (right) of the People’s Republic of China at the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican in October 2023. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Nov 17, 2023 / 11:56 am (CNA).
A Chinese bishop who attended the Synod on Synodality assembly has spoken out about his experience, saying he was cheered to meet Catholics from all over the world and to discover that many showed great interest in and were praying for the Church in China.
Bishop Antonio Yao Shun of Jining was the first bishop consecrated in China under the terms of the Sino-Vatican agreement. He was one of two bishops from mainland China who participated in the first half of the synod assembly in October before suddenly departing early without explanation.
In an interview with the Pontifical Mission Societies’ information service, Agenzia Fides, published on Nov. 16, Yao said that he was very grateful to Pope Francis for inviting him and Bishop Joseph Yang to attend the synod.
“We were very happy to meet all these bishops, priests, men and women of different religious and lay orders from all over the world during the synod. Everyone was friendly and cheerful. They welcomed us and showed us their consideration,” Yao said.
“They all showed interest in the development of the Church in China, eager to know more and to pray for us.”
Yao is the bishop of Jining, located in China’s northern Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia. Born in Ulanqab in 1965, he is a native of Inner Mongolia. He both studied and taught at the national seminary in Beijing.
In the interview, the Chinese bishop shared a little bit about his Catholic roots and vocation story.
“I was born into a Catholic family. My parents and grandparents were very devout and faithful. It is with them that I began to walk in faith and received many graces from God,” he said.
Yao described how the greatest influence on his vocation came from an elderly priest. “His virtues and his selfless dedication to the Church inspired me,” he said.
“Meanwhile, my parents’ encouragement and support further strengthened my will and determination to pursue the path of the priesthood.”
After his ordination in 1991, Yao completed a degree in liturgy in the United States at St. John’s University in Minnesota from 1994 to 1998. He also spent some time pursuing biblical studies in Jerusalem.
He went on to serve as the secretary and later vice director of the liturgical commission overseen by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Council of Chinese Bishops, returning to the Diocese of Jining to serve as vicar general in 2010.
The New York Times reported in 2019 that the Vatican had approved Yao as the successor of Bishop John Liu Shigong in the Diocese of Jining in 2010, but the Chinese government refused to approve him, even after Bishop Liu died in 2017 at the age of 89.
Yao said that it is his impression that the “prevailing opinion” in China is that the provisional agreement signed by Beijing and the Holy See in 2018, often referred to as the Vatican-China deal, was “very significant” and “paves the way for promoting integration and unity between the Church in China and the universal Church.”
He said that he has seen a slight decrease in the number of baptisms in his diocese but still has young people and adults coming forward to ask for and receive baptism, something he attributes to “the good example set by the parishioners and the kindness, encouragement, and comfort that the local Church shows towards them.”
“In my opinion, the first mission of us Chinese Catholics is to show God’s mercy and love to all other Chinese,” Yao said. “We really care about the needs of society, especially those of the poor and the suffering, and we try to help them in every way.”
Pope Francis meets with priests of Rome’s 17th prefecture in the Parish of Santa Maria Madre dell’Ospitalità in Villa Verde in Rome on Nov. 16, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Nov 17, 2023 / 11:24 am (CNA).
Pope Francis met with priests of Rome’s 17th prefecture — which sits on the eastern edge of the metropolitan area — in the Parish of Santa Maria Madre dell’Ospitalità in Villa Verde on Thursday evening to discuss pressing pastoral needs and material challenges.
The pope’s visit reflects his call to reach out to the “peripheries” of society, a theme that has been central to his pontificate. The 17th prefecture includes the neighborhoods of Rome’s fifth municipal district such as Tor Bella Monaca, Torre Angela, and Torre Gaia; it is one of the poorest areas of the city.
During the one-and-a-half-hour conversation, the pope took time to meet the 40 priests gathered there and to discuss the main pastoral needs of the parish and the prefecture, including “work, the sacraments, poverty, hospitality, assistance to socially weaker groups, [and] evangelization,” Vatican News reported.
Bishop Riccardo Lamba, auxiliary bishop of Rome’s eastern sector, said the meeting was characterized by “a very open, cordial, and familiar dialogue” and that the pope “encouraged everyone to continue with the good work they already do, to continue being among people, to continually propose the Gospel even if there are difficulties,” RomaSette reported.
“He said to continue to have this synodal style in the parishes, which implies continuous collaboration between laypeople and priests,” the bishop said.
At the end of his meeting the pope visited the Villaggio dell’ospitalità (Hospitality Village), a complex adjacent to the parish that consists of 12 apartments and provides emergency housing for both Italian and foreign families.
At that complex he met with several families, including a Ukrainian family that had fled from the ongoing war in the country a month ago.
“At the moment, seven families live in the village and then people waiting to reunite with their husbands, wives, or children, for a total of 12 apartments, which were built when the parish complex was built,” said Father Rocco Massimiliano Caliandro, pastor of Santa Maria Madre dell’Ospitalità, according to RomaSette.
“With the help of a group of volunteers and with the support of the whole community, we try to stay close to these families both humanly and materially, offering them not only accommodation but also the possibility of taking food from a warehouse we have here in the parish,” he continued.
Caliandro said the visit reflected the pope’s pastoral priorities centered on the care of the most vulnerable.
“[The pope] made one word resonate in reference to all the themes touched upon in the meeting with us priests and it is ‘taking risks,’ compromising with people, always making sure that people prevail,” he said.
This was not the pope’s first visit to impoverished Roman neighborhoods. On Sep. 29 the Holy Father visited the Parish of Santa Maria della Salute in Rome in the Primavalle neighborhood in Rome’s fifth municipality. Like others on the “periphery,” the neighborhood deals with a high rate of poverty, crime, and homicide.
Pope Francis addresses pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square for his Wednesday general audience on Nov. 15, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2023 / 11:03 am (CNA).
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null / dade72 / Shutterstock
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2023 / 05:40 am (CNA).
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Pope Francis smiles while addressing pilgrims at a vigil gathering on Aug. 5, 2023, at World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 14, 2023 / 11:51 am (CNA).
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Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in Vatican City State, where a group of Benedictine nuns from Argentina will take up residence in January 2024 at the invitation of Pope Francis. / Credit: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
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Pope Francis prayed the Angelus before over 20,000 faithful at St. Peter’s Square on Sun., Nov. 12, 2023. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Nov 12, 2023 / 10:10 am (CNA).
Pope Francis reflected on today’s gospel message, urging the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to cultivate the interior life and worry less about making a good impression.
Speaking in his Angelus address on Nov. 12, the pope asked the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to consider, “How is the oil of my soul: do I nourish it and keep it well?”
The pope turned to the parable of the 10 virgins who are awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom to the wedding feast. Five of them were wise and had extra lamp oil to provide light until he arrived, but five were foolish, having brought no extra oil.
The difference between those who prepared their lamps with oil and those who did not is the difference between “goodwill” and “preparation” the Holy Father said. In this way, it reminds us of our own interior life.
“And what is the characteristic of the oil? That it cannot be seen: it is inside the lamps, it is not conspicuous, but without it, the lamps give no light,” said the pope.
The pope also warned that today there are many obstacles to having a genuine moment of inward reflection.
“Let us look at ourselves, and we will see that our life runs the same risk: Today we are very careful about our appearance, the important thing is to take good care of one’s image and make a good impression in front of others.”
“It is the stewardship of the inner life. This means knowing how to stop and listen to one’s heart, to keep watch over one’s own thoughts and feelings,” said the pope.
To engage in the inner reflection and contemplation necessary for a healthy spiritual life requires more than the willingness to listen, he said. “It means knowing how to make room for silence, so as to be capable of listening,” which, he said, often entails making sacrifices.
During the appeal, the pope called attention to the grave situation in Sudan. Conflict broke out in the county between two rival factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. The fighting, which has left over 10,000 dead, has been concentrated in the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region.
“I am close to the suffering of those dear people of Sudan, and I make a heartfelt appeal to local leaders to encourage access to humanitarian aid and, with the contribution of the international community, to work towards finding peaceful solutions. Let us not forget these brothers of ours who are being tested,” said the pope.
Following his appeal for those in Sudan, the Holy Father spoke again about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“Every day our thoughts turn to the very serious situation in Israel and Palestine. I am close to all those who suffer, Palestinians and Israelis. I hug them in this dark moment. And I pray a lot for them.”
“Enough, brothers, enough! In Gaza, the wounded must be helped immediately, civilians must be protected, and much more humanitarian aid must be delivered to that exhausted population. The hostages, among whom there are many elderly people and children, must be freed.”
“Every human being, whether Christian, Jewish, Muslim, of any people and religion, every human being is sacred, precious in the eyes of God and has the right to live in peace. Let us not lose hope: we pray and work tirelessly so that the sense of humanity prevails over the hardness of hearts,” said the pope.
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