Pope Francis says Mass at the chapel of Santa Marta in the Vatican, Sept. 11, 2018. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Aug 23, 2021 / 10:37 am (CNA).
After pandemic lockdowns led to the suspension of Catholic liturgies in many parts of the world, th… […]
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during the Angelus on July 25, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
Vatican City, Aug 22, 2021 / 05:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Sunday encouraged Catholics to not water down the reality of Jesus Christ’s humanity and his teach… […]
Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square after the Wednesday general audience, May 7, 2014. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Aug 21, 2021 / 11:35 am (CNA).
A Vatican Mass in the Korean language on Saturday marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of martyred priest St. Andrew Kim Taegon, whom Pope Francis praised as “an exemplary witness of heroic faith.”
In a message, Pope Francis called the saint a tireless apostle of evangelization, even “in difficult times, marked by persecution and suffering for your people.”
St. Andrew Kim Taegon was the first Korean-born Catholic priest. In 1846, at the age of 25, he was tortured and beheaded near Seoul, South Korea. He was canonized in 1984 with 102 other Korean martyrs.
Pope Francis’ words about the Korean saint were read aloud in St. Peter’s Basilica following Mass Aug. 21.
The pope said “even today, in the face of the many manifestations of evil that disfigure the beautiful face of man, created in the image and likeness of God, we need to rediscover the importance of the mission of every baptized person, who is called to be everywhere operator of peace and hope, willing, like the Good Samaritan, to bend over the wounds of those who are eager for love, help, or simply a fraternal gaze.”
“Good always prevails, because God’s love wins over hatred,” Pope Francis stated. He also expressed the hope that those working for reconciliation on the Korean peninsula “will continue with renewed commitment to be good peacemakers, encouraging everyone to a respectful and constructive dialogue for an ever brighter future.”
The Vatican Mass was celebrated by Korean Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik, the new prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, and attended by around 30 priests and 70 lay people.
In his homily, Archbishop You recalled the life of St. Andrew Kim, noting that he and other Korean Catholics “practiced what they believed, even if they lived in a society dominated by a hierarchical social system, and did their best to live the Gospel ideals of human dignity and equality among peoples.”
Calling attention to the ongoing suffering caused by COVID-19, You said it seemed “providential” that the 200th anniversary of Kim’s birth “is celebrated right in the middle of the pandemic.”
The coronavirus pandemic “unfortunately seems to have accentuated our tendency to selfishness and discrimination within society,” he said, pointing out that the example of the martyr St. Andrew Kim “might teach us the path with which we can deal with the current crisis.”
The archbishop also expressed the hope that a pope might someday be able to visit North Korea.
Pope Francis at his general audience in Paul VI Hall on Aug. 18, 2021. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, Aug 18, 2021 / 05:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said Wednesday that Catholics must observe the Commandments with the knowledge that justificatio… […]
Pope Francis shares a video message about COVID-19 vaccines. / Ad Council
Rome, Italy, Aug 17, 2021 / 22:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis, along with six cardinals and archbishops from North, South, and Central America, worked in collaboration with the… […]
Pope Francis boards his flight to Baghdad, Iraq on March 5, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Aug 17, 2021 / 07:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis will not offer a public Mass during his short visit to Glasgow in November, according to the Scottis… […]
Pope Francis speaks at the at the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on May 31st, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
Vatican City, Aug 15, 2021 / 07:00 am (CNA).
On the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pope Francis gave a rem… […]
Pope Francis greets pilgrims from the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square on July 25, 2021. / Vatican Media/CNA
Vatican City, Aug 15, 2021 / 05:30 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has called for international solidarity to alleviate suffering in Haiti following a major earthquake that killed at least 304 people.
“In recent hours a strong earthquake has occurred in Haiti, causing numerous deaths, injuries and extensive material damage. I wish to express my closeness to those dear people who have been hard hit by the earthquake,” Pope Francis said Aug. 15.
“As I raise my prayers to the Lord for the victims, I address a word of encouragement to the survivors, desiring that the international community will take a shared interest in them. May the solidarity of all alleviate the consequences of the tragedy.”
The pope prayed for the people of Haiti from the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square at the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer. He asked the crowd gathered below to offer a Hail Mary together to Our Lady of Haiti.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti about 90 miles west of the capital Port-au-Prince on the morning of Aug. 14. It was stronger than the 2010 earthquake from which the island is still recovering.
More than 1,800 people were injured by the earthquake and even more remain unaccounted for, according to Haiti’s civil authorities.
Hundreds of homes and seven churches were also destroyed. Among the victims was a Catholic priest, according to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news agency.
Immediately following the earthquake, Akim Kikonda, the director of Catholic Relief Services in Haiti told ACI Prensa that a Catholic rectory in Les Cayes was severely damaged causing three fatalities, one priest and two employees.
Cardinal Chibly Langlois, the bishop of Les Cayes, was also injured by the earthquake, but his injuries are not life-threatening, according to Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Langlois, 62, became the first Haitian to become Catholic cardinal in 2014.
Kikonda said that the local public hospital has been overwhelmed by the number of emergencies, and is turning away most of the injured.
“All of CRS personnel are safe and sound, but unfortunately one of our employees’ wife died and his baby is gravely injured,” he said.
“We are currently evaluating the extent of the damage. … Once we have a full evaluation of the injured, dead and affected, we will proceed to provide emergency services, especially to the poorest and most vulnerable people.”
The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also expressed sorrow and prayers after the news of the earthquake.
“We stand in solidarity with the Church in Haiti in offering our prayers, in a particular way this weekend as we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin,” Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles said Aug. 14.
Catholics, or anyone of good will, who wishes to assist with Haitian relief efforts following the latest earthquake, should contact Catholic Relief Services, Gomez said.
“In these moments of continued trial, may you feel the comfort, compassion, and embrace of our Blessed Mother,” he said. “Our Lady of Perpetual Help, patroness of Haiti, intercede for us.”
Pope Francis’ video message to the Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean Religious (CLAR) on Aug. 13, 2021. / Screenshot
Rome Newsroom, Aug 14, 2021 / 10:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis warned against misuse of the liturgy that places an emphasis on ideology in a video message sent Friday to a Latin American conference on religious life.
“Let us not forget that a faith that is not inculturated is not authentic. For this reason, I invite you to participate in the process that will provide the true sense of a culture that exists in the soul of the people,” Pope Francis said in the video sent on Aug. 13.
“When this inculturation does not take place, Christian life, and even more so the consecrated life, ends up with the oddest and most ridiculous Gnostic tendencies. We’ve seen this, for example, in the misuse of the liturgy [where] what is important is ideology rather than the reality of the people. This is not the Gospel.”
The pope’s video message was featured at a virtual conference organized by the Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean Religious (CLAR).
The conference focused on inculturation, a concept which John Paul II described as the process by which “the Church makes the Gospel incarnate in different cultures and at the same time introduces peoples, together with their cultures, into her own community.”
Pope Francis said that many men and women in religious life can be tempted to focus on the decline in numbers of vocations in their orders. He urged them to “renounce the criterion of numbers.”
“Otherwise it can turn you into fearful disciples, trapped in the past and giving into nostalgia. This nostalgia is fundamentally the siren song of religious life,” Francis said.
Instead of focusing on numbers, religious should focus on evangelization and “leave the rest to the Holy Spirit,” the pope said.
“I would like to remind you that joy, the highest expression of life in Christ, is the greatest witness we can offer the holy people of God whom we are called to serve and accompany on their pilgrimage toward the encounter with the Father,” he said. “Peace, joy, and a sense of humor.”
“How sad it is to see consecrated men and women who have no sense of humor, who take everything so seriously … To be with Jesus is to be joyful,” Pope Francis said.
“May the Holy Virgin protect you. She knows all about encounter, fraternity, patience, and inculturation,” he said.
Jennifer Doudna, a co-inventor of CRISPR gene editing, who was appointed a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Aug. 11, 2021. Credit: Christopher Michel via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Vatican City, Aug 12, 2021 / 11:19 am (CNA).
Pope Fra… […]
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