Vatican

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Peter Turkson visited Rome’s largest hospital on Friday, encouraging staff and handing out rosaries blessed by Pope Francis.

“I bring you the pope’s embrace. You are not alone in … […]

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 01:30 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis on Friday sent a video message to Catholics around the world, urging them amid the global coronavirus pandemic to hope, solidarity with those who suffer, and to prayer.

“In the risen Jesus, life conquered death,” Pope Francis said in  an April 3 video, speaking about the upcoming Holy Week which will begin on Sunday, and culminate with Easter.

“We will celebrate Holy Week in a truly unusual way, which manifests and sums up the message of the Gospel, that of God’s boundless love,” the pope said.

“And in the silence of our cities, the Easter Gospel will resound,” Pope Francis said. “This paschal faith nourishes our hope.”

Christian hope, the pope said, is “the hope of a better time, in which we can be better, finally freed from evil and from this pandemic.”

“It is a hope: hope does not disappoint, it is not an illusion, it is a hope. Beside each other, in love and patience, we can prepare a better time in these days.”

The pope expressed solidarity with families, “especially those who have a loved one who is sick, or who have unfortunately experienced mourning due to the coronavirus or other causes.”

“These days I often think about people who are alone, and for whom it is more difficult to face these moments. Above all I think of the elderly, who are very dear to me. I cannot forget those who are sick with coronavirus, people who are in hospital.”

“I also remember how many are in financial straits, and are worried about work and the future, a thought also goes out to prison inmates, whose pain is compounded by fear of the epidemic, for themselves and their loved ones; I think of the homeless, who do not have a home to protect them.”

“It is a difficult time for everyone,” he added.

Amid that difficulty, the pope praised “the generosity of those who put themselves at risk for the treatment of this pandemic or to guarantee the essential services to society.”

“So many heroes, every day, at every hour!”

“Let’s try, if we can, to make the best use of this time: let’s be generous; let’s help those in need in our neighborhood; let’s look for the loneliest people, perhaps by telephone or social networks; let’s pray to the Lord for those who are tried in Italy and in the world. Even if we are isolated, thought and spirit can go far with the creativity of love. This is what we need today: the creativity of love.”

More than one million people worldwide have contracted the coronavirus, and at least 60,000 have died. The pandemic has led to a global financial crash, in which tens of millions have lost jobs in recent weeks. While some parts of the world are now thought to be on the downslope of the viral spread, many nations have locked themselves down in the midst of the pandemic, or in the hope of quelling it early in its spread within their borders.

In Italy, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus, more than 120,000 people have contracted it, and there have been almost 15,000 recorded deaths from the virus. 

To conclude his video, the pope urged tenderness and prayer.

“Thank you for allowing me into your homes. Make a gesture of tenderness towards those who suffer, towards children, and towards the elderly,” Pope Francis said. “Tell them that the pope is close and pray, that the Lord will soon deliver us all from evil.”

“And you, pray for me. Have a good dinner.”

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Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 09:00 am (CNA).- The Holy See has extended its lockdown measures through April 13, the Monday of the Octave of Easter, in accordance with Italy’s recently extended national lockdown, the Vatican announced Friday.

St. … […]

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 07:00 am (CNA).- The Vatican Secretary of State said Friday that he hoped churches closed because of the coronavirus crisis would be reopened “as soon as possible.”

In an interview published on the Vatican News website April 3, Cardinal Pietro Parolin also said he was disturbed by reports of Catholics dying without the Sacrament of the Sick and expressed concern about the disease’s impact on impoverished countries. 

The cardinal said: “The suspension of celebrating the liturgy was necessary to avoid large gatherings. However, in almost every city, churches remain open. I hope those that may have been closed will reopen as soon as possible. Jesus is present there in the Eucharist; priests continue to pray and celebrate Holy Mass for the faithful who cannot participate there. It is nice to think that the doors to God’s house remain open, just as the doors of our houses remain open, even though we are strongly encouraged not to go out except for essential reasons.” 

Parolin acknowledged the suffering of Catholics who are currently deprived of the Sacraments because they are living under lockdown.

“I would like to say that I share their sorrow,” he said. “But I would like to recall the possibility of making a spiritual communion, for example.” 

“Moreover, Pope Francis, through the Apostolic Penitentiary, granted the gift of special indulgences to the faithful, not only to those affected by COVID-19, but also to healthcare providers, family members and all those who care for them in various ways, including through prayer.” 

“In a vigil like this one, there is also another aspect that must be highlighted and reinforced. This is possible for everyone: to pray with the Word of God; to read, to contemplate, to welcome the Word who is coming. With His Word, God has filled the void that frightens us in these hours. God communicated Himself in Jesus, the complete and definitive Word. We must not simply fill time, but fill ourselves with the Word.”

The cardinal said he was troubled by stories of Catholics dying alone without the consolation of the Sacraments. 

“This is one of the consequences of the epidemic that, in a certain sense, upsets me,” he said. “I have read and heard dramatic and moving stories. When, unfortunately, a priest cannot be present at the bedside of a person who is dying, every baptized person can pray and bring comfort by virtue of the common priesthood received with the Sacrament of Baptism.”  

“It is beautiful and evangelical to think that at this difficult time, in some way, even the hands of doctors, nurses, healthcare providers, who every day comfort, heal or accompany the sick in their last moments, become the hands and words of all of us, of the Church, of the family that blesses, says goodbye, forgives and comforts. It is God’s caress that heals and gives life, even eternal life.”

Parolin said that he was especially worried about how coronavirus would affect developing countries. 

He said: “Unfortunately, we are facing a pandemic and the virus is spreading like wildfire. On the one hand, we see how many extraordinary efforts are being made by developed countries. Many sacrifices have been made by ordinary individuals, families and national economies, to effectively tackle the health crisis and combat the spread of the virus.” 

“On the other hand, however, I must confess that I am even more concerned about the situation in the less developed countries. There, healthcare facilities are not able to ensure necessary and adequate care for the population in the event of a more widespread diffusion of the COVID-19 virus.”  

“The Holy See’s vocation is to consider the entire world. It seeks not to forget those who are farthest away, those who suffer the most, those who perhaps struggle to gain the attention of the international media.”

He continued: “There is a real need to pray and to commit ourselves, all of us, so that international solidarity never fails. Despite the emergency, despite the fear, now is not the time to shut ourselves off from others.”

Parolin confirmed that there were currently seven coronavirus cases among Vatican employees. All of them had passed the critical phase and were now improving, he said.

The cardinal, who works closely with Pope Francis, said that the pope was searching for new ways to reach out to people suffering around the world. 

“Pope Francis is seeking every way possible to be close to people throughout the world,” he said. “Contact with people has always been fundamental for him, and he intends to maintain this, even if in a new and unprecedented way.” 

“The daily live broadcast of the Holy Mass from Santa Marta is a concrete example. The constant prayer for the victims, their families, healthcare personnel, volunteers, priests, workers, families is another. All of us collaborators are trying to help him maintain contact with the Churches in all the countries of the world.”

He explained that Vatican officials were seeking to ensure that as many people as possible could follow the liturgies of the Easter Triduum while confined to their homes.

“We have studied different options than the traditional ones,” he said. “In fact, it will not be possible to welcome pilgrims, as has always been the case. In full respect of the regulations to avoid infection, we will try to celebrate the great Rites of the Easter Triduum in order to accompany all those who, unfortunately, will not be able to go to church.”

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Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville, Illinois, and named his successor.

Bishop Braxton submitted his resignation when he turned 75 in June 2019. His successor… […]

Vatican City, Apr 3, 2020 / 02:45 am (CNA).- It is good to think about the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who freely accepted her calling to be the Mother of God and our mother, Pope Francis said during his daily Mass on Friday.

Offering Ma… […]

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2020 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Pope St. John Paul II embraced suffering with love, even during his illness, a cardinal and the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica said on the 15th anniversary of the saint’s death.

The spread o… […]

Vatican City, Apr 2, 2020 / 06:40 am (CNA).- The Lenten Holy Land collection will be moved to September this year because of the suspension of public Masses in many places in the world due to the coronavirus, the Vatican stated Thursday.

The collection is usually taken up in churches during Good Friday services. Good Friday falls this year on April 10.

According to a press release from the Congregation for Eastern Churches April 2, for the year 2020, Pope Francis approved moving the collection to Sunday, Sept. 13, since many countries will not be holding public Good Friday services this year.

The Holy See has overseen the Church’s annual collection for the Holy Land since 1974, when St. Pope Paul VI established Good Friday as the ordinary day for it to be taken up by parishes and bishops around the world.

The collection goes toward the maintenance and upkeep of the holy sites as well as supporting the lives of Christians in the Holy Land.  

“Christian communities in the Holy Land, also exposed to the risk of contagion and living in contexts that are often already very tested, benefit every year from the generous solidarity of the faithful from all over the world,” the April 2 release stated.

The Holy Land collection, it continued, helps the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land and other jurisdictions to be “able to continue their evangelical presence, in addition to maintaining schools and the welfare structures open to all citizens for human education, peaceful coexistence, and care above all for the youngest and poorest.”

The date of Sept. 13, 2020 was chosen for the collection because it is near the Sept. 14 feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, the release said. The Exaltation of the Cross commemorates the discovery of the relic of the cross by St. Helen and “the beginning of public worship in Jerusalem with the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre.”

This will make the collection “a sign of hope and salvation rediscovered after the Passion,” the statement said, adding that it is a sign of “solidarity with those who continue to live the Gospel of Jesus in the land where ‘it all began.'”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was closed in late March with no definite timeline for reopening. This is the first time in nearly 700 years the holy site, which houses the tomb of Christ and the site of the crucifixion, has closed for an extended time.

Authorities in Bethlehem, in the West Bank, closed the Church of the Nativity in early March after four cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the town. The Church of the Nativity was built over the birthplace of Jesus Christ. All tourists were subsequently banned from entering Bethlehem.

According to The Times of Israel, as of April 1, the number of COVID-19 deaths in Israel was 26, with 6,092 confirmed cases.

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Vatican City, Apr 2, 2020 / 03:45 am (CNA).- Mother Teresa’s example should inspire us to seek out those whose suffering is hidden during the coronavirus crisis, Pope Francis said at his daily Mass on Thursday.

At the start of the Mass April 2, Pope Francis said he had seen a photograph in the newspaper of homeless people sleeping in a parking lot. He may have been referring to a widely circulated image of the homeless lying six feet apart at Cashman Center in Las Vegas March 29.

“These days of pain and sadness underline many hidden problems,” he said. “In the newspaper today there is a photo which moves the heart: many homeless people from a city lying in a parking lot, under observation… There are many homeless people today.”

“We ask St. Teresa of Calcutta to reawaken in us the sense of closeness to so many people who, in society, in normal life, are hidden but, like the homeless, in a moment of crisis, are pointed out in this way.”

In his homily via livestream from Casa Santa Marta, the chapel in his Vatican City residence, Pope Francis reflected on God’s covenant with Abraham in the Book of Genesis.

“The Lord has always remembered his covenant,” he said. “The Lord never forgets. Yes, he forgets only in one case, when he forgives sins. After he has forgiven he loses the memory, he does not remember the sins. In other cases, God does not forget.”

The pope highlighted three aspects of God’s relationship with Abraham. First, God had chosen Abraham. Second, he had promised him an inheritance. Third, he had established a covenant with him.

“The election, the promise and the covenant are the three dimensions of the life of faith, the three dimensions of the Christian life,” the pope said. “Each of us is an elect. No one chooses to be a Christian among all the possibilities that the religious ‘market’ offers him, he is an elect.”

“We are Christians because we have been elected. In this election there is a promise, there is a promise of hope, the sign is fruitfulness: ‘Abraham will be father of a multitude of nations and … you will be fruitful in faith. Your faith will flourish in works, in good works, in works of fruitfulness too, a fruitful faith. But you must – the third step – observe the covenant with me.’ And the covenant is faithfulness, to be faithful. We have been elected. The Lord has given us a promise. Now he is asking us for a covenant, a covenant of faithfulness.”

The pope then turned to the Gospel reading, John 8:51-59, in which Jesus says that Abraham rejoiced to think that he would see Jesus’ day.

“The Christian is a Christian not because he can show the faith of baptism: the baptismal faith is a certificate,” the pope said. “You are a Christian if you say yes to the election that God has made of you, if you follow the promises that the Lord has made to you and if you live a covenant with the Lord: this is Christian life.”

“The sins of the journey are always against these three dimensions: to not accept the election – and we ‘elect’ so many idols, so many things that are not of God; to not accept hope in the promise, to go, to look at the promises from afar, even many times, as the Letter to the Hebrews says, greeting them from afar and making the promises today with the little idols that we make; and forgetting the covenant, living without the covenant, as if we were without the covenant.”

He concluded: “Fruitfulness is joy, that joy of Abraham who saw the day of Jesus and was full of joy. This is the revelation that the word of God gives us today about our Christian existence. That it is like that of our father: conscious of being elected, joyful of going towards a promise and faithful in fulfilling the covenant.”

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Vatican City, Apr 1, 2020 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- The Vatican has asked priests around the world to recite a new prayer during this year’s Good Friday liturgy, and urged them to offer Masses for the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Congregation f… […]