Vatican City, Jan 12, 2021 / 04:45 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said on Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic had “exposed inefficiencies in the care of the sick.”
In his message for the 29th World Day of the Sick, released on Jan. 12, he … […]
Vatican City, Jan 12, 2021 / 03:30 am (CNA).- Pope emeritus Benedict XVI will receive the coronavirus vaccine as soon as it is available, his personal secretary said Tuesday.
Archbishop Georg Gänswein told CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language… […]
Vatican City, Jan 11, 2021 / 11:45 am (CNA).- On Jan. 11, Pope Francis published an apostolic letter issued motu proprio (which means “on his own impulse” in Latin), modifying canon law regarding women’s access to the ministries of le… […]
Vatican City, Jan 11, 2021 / 04:05 am (CNA).- Pope Francis issued a motu proprio Monday changing canon law to allow women to serve as lectors and acolytes.
In the motu proprio “Spiritus Domini,” issued on Jan. 11, the pope c… […]
Vatican City, Jan 10, 2021 / 05:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis prayed Sunday for the United States, asking the Immaculate Virgin Mary to help foster a “culture of encounter” after the recent violence at the U.S. Capitol Building.
“I extend an affectionate greeting to the people of the United States of America, shaken by the recent siege of Congress. I pray for those who lost their lives, five lost in those dramatic moments,” Pope Francis said after his Angelus address Jan. 10.
“I reaffirm that violence is always self-destructive. Nothing is gained with violence and so much is lost. I urge the authority of the state and the entire population to maintain a high sense of responsibility in order to calm the spirits, promote national reconciliation and protect the democratic values rooted in American society,” the pope said.
In the midday Marian prayer broadcast live from the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis invoked the intercession of the Immaculate Conception, who was proclaimed patroness of the United States in 1846.
“May the Immaculate Virgin, Patroness of the United States of America, help to keep alive the culture of encounter, the culture of care, as the main way to build the common good together,” the pope said.
Pope Francis’ comments came four days after pro-Donald Trump protesters stormed the U.S. Capitol Building Jan. 6 as Congress was in the process of certifying the presidential election results, leading to the evacuation of lawmakers and the deadly shooting of one protester by law enforcement. A U.S. Capitol police officer also died from injuries sustained during the attack, and three other protesters died due to medical emergencies.
In a video clip published Jan. 9, Pope Francis said that he was “astonished” by this incident that occurred in the U.S. Capitol Building.
“I was astonished, because they are a people so disciplined in democracy, right? But it’s a reality,” the pope said in the clip published to the website of the Italian news program TgCom24.
“Something isn’t working,” Francis continued. With “people taking a path against the community, against democracy, against the common good. Thanks be to God that this has broken out and there was a chance to see it well so that now you can try and heal it. Yes, this must be condemned, this movement…”
The clip was published as a preview of a longer interview with Pope Francis by Vatican journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona, who works for the Italian television network Mediaset.
The interview will air on the evening of Jan. 10, and will be followed by a Mediaset-produced film on the life of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, from his youth in Argentina until his election as Pope Francis in 2013.
In his Angelus address, Pope Francis reflected on the manifestation of the Holy Trinity at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River.
“After this gesture of compassion from Jesus, an extraordinary thing happens: the heavens open and the Trinity is finally revealed. The Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove and the Father says to Jesus: ‘You are my beloved Son.’ God manifests himself when mercy appears,” Pope Francis said.
“Do not forget this: God manifests himself when mercy appears, because that is his face. Jesus becomes the servant of sinners and is proclaimed Son; He lowers himself upon us and the Spirit descends upon him. Love calls love. It is also true for us: in every gesture of service, in every work of mercy that we perform, God manifests himself, God sets his gaze on the world.”
The pope said that “God overcomes the evil of the world by humbling himself.”
He added: “It is also the way in which we can lift others up: not judging, not in commanding what to do, but by becoming neighbors, by empathizing, by sharing God’s love.”
Rome, Italy, Jan 9, 2021 / 11:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis’ personal doctor, Fabrizio Soccorsi, has died from health complications related to the coronavirus, according to the Vatican.
The 78-year-old physician, who was being treated for an “oncological pathology,” died at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, according to Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
Pope Francis named Soccorsi his personal physician in August 2015, after not renewing the term of papal doctor Patrizio Polisca, who was also head of the Vatican’s healthcare services.
Since the pontificate of St. Pope John Paul II, the two positions had been tied together, but Pope Francis diverged from this custom by choosing Soccorsi, a doctor from outside the Vatican.
As Francis’ personal physician, Soccorsi traveled with the pope on his international trips. During his visit to Fatima, Portugal in May 2017, Pope Francis laid two bunches of white roses before the statue of the Virgin Mary for Soccorsi’s daughter, who was critically ill, and died the following month.
Soccorsi trained in medicine and surgery at Rome’s La Sapienza University. His career included both medical practice and teaching, especially in the areas of hepatology, the digestive system, and immunology.
The doctor also did consulting for the health and hygiene office of the Vatican City State and was part of the council of medical experts at the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints.
Vatican City, Jan 9, 2021 / 09:51 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has said he was surprised by the news of the incursion of pro-Donald Trump protestors into the U.S. Capitol Building this week, and has encouraged people to learn from the event in order to heal… […]
Vatican City, Jan 8, 2021 / 04:40 pm (CNA).- For the first time, the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia will be presided by a layperson after Pope Francis appointed professor Vincenzo Buonomo, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. And it is possible that more laypersons will be appointed for other Vatican positions.
The Commission is composed of a president and six members. Established by St. John Paul II in 1981, the Commission rules whether an administrative sanction – i.e., suspension or firing – can be imposed on a Roman Curia official is pertinent or not.
Pope Francis also appointed two new members of the Commission: Monsignor Alejandro W. Bunge, president of the Labor Office of the Apostolic See, known by the Italian acronym ULSA; and Mr. Maximino Caballero Ledo, General Secretary of the Secretariat for the Economy.
The appointment of professor Buonomo, a layperson, as a president is unprecedented. According to the Commission’s Statutes, issued in 2016, the president of the Commission must be a cardinal or at least a bishop. The statutes have a five-year validity. Until now, the Commission had five presidents: three cardinals, an archbishop, and a bishop. The last president was Bishop Giorgio Corbellini, who was also president of the ULSA. Corbellini died in November 2019, leaving the position open.
Article 4 of the Statutes read that “the Commission is composed by a Cardinal or Bishop president and other six members, both laymen and clergy, appointed for a five-year term by the Pontiff.”
Article 4 also states that the Vatican Secretariat of State’s adviser and the secretary of the administrative section of the Secretariat for the Economy are members de iure (officially sanctioned) of the same Commission. That means that also Monsignor Luigi Cona, is a member of the Commission.
The other Commission members are Bishop Juan Arrieta, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and Flaminia Giovannelli, undersecretary emeritus of the Dicastery for the Service to the Integral Human Development. Vincenzo Buonomo was also a member before being elevated to the chairmanship of the Commission. Pope Francis may now appoint another member of the Commission.
Buonomo has garnered growing attention during the years. Pope Francis called him in 2018 to be the first lay rector of the Pontifical Lateran University. Since he became the rector, Pope Francis has paid a visit to the university twice.
Since 2014, Buonomo is also a counselor of the Vatican City State Administration and was part of the committee that drafted the first Vatican law on procurements, issued in July 2020.
A professor in the Pontifical Lateran University since 1984, Buonomo began his collaboration with the Vatican Secretariat of State during the 1980s.
Since 2007, Buonomo is office chief of the Vatican’s delegation to the U.N. Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO,) where he has served since 1993.
In 2015, he was a member of the Secretariat of State’s working group for the drafting of the Holy See Periodic Reports to the U.N. Committees on the Rights of Children, on Racial discrimination, and Against Torture.
The appointment of Buonomo as president of the Commission is certainly a sign of trust by Pope Francis. Pope Francis is also continuing his policy of appointing laypeople as Curia top-officials.
In the last year, Pope Francis appointed Maximino Caballero Ledo as general secretary of the Secretariat for the Economy and Fabio Gasperini as general secretary of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA, a sort of Vatican central bank). In 2018, Pope Francis appointed another layperson, Paolo Ruffini, as prefect of the Dicastery of Communication.
There are rumors that Pope Francis might also choose a layperson as general secretary of the Vatican City State Administration. The current general secretary, Bishop Fernando Vergez Alzaga, already turned 75, the official retirement age.
CNA Staff, Jan 8, 2021 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis sent a message this week to Cardinal Baltazar Porras Cardoza, as Venezuela suffers the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on top of a severe socio-economic crisis.
“May God continue to give… […]
Vatican City, Jan 8, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- The Vatican’s ecumenical office is preparing a “joint message” on Martin Luther with the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), a cardinal said Friday.
Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Ponti… […]
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