Vatican

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Wednesday that the Church’s pro-life message is more relevant than ever as the world faces the coronavirus pandemic.

“The attacks on the dignity and life of people unfortunately continue even in our era … We are faced with new threats and new slavery, and legislation is not always to protect the weakest and most vulnerable human life,” Pope Francis said March 25.

“The message of the encyclical Evangelium Vitae is therefore more relevant than ever,” the pope said in his livestreamed Wednesday audience.

This year’s Solemnity of the Annunciation marks the 25th anniversary of the encyclical Evangelium Vitae promulgated by St. John Paul II on the value and inviolability of human life.

Pope Francis said that the coronavirus pandemic makes the encyclical’s message on the defense of all human life more urgent.

“Today, we find ourselves relaunching this teaching in the context of a pandemic that threatens human life and the world economy. A situation that makes the words with which the encyclical begins even more demanding,” the pope said.

Pope Francis then quoted the first line of the 1995 encyclical: “The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message. Welcomed by the Church every day with love, it must be announced with courageous fidelity as good news to men of all ages and cultures.”

Pope Francis said: “The life we ​​are called to promote and defend is not an abstract concept, but always manifests itself in a person in flesh and blood: a newly conceived child, a poor marginalized person, a sick person alone and discouraged or in a terminal state, one who has lost his job or is unable to find it, a rejected or ghettoized migrant.”

The pope explained that the Catholic Church has a particular responsibility to ensure the protection of every individual human life, which in itself is unrepeatable and of inestimable value.

“The defense of life for the Church is not an ideology,” he said. “Every human being is called by God to enjoy the fullness of life; and being entrusted to the maternal concern of the Church, every threat to dignity and human life cannot fail to affect its heart.”

“Beyond emergencies, such as the one we are experiencing, it is a question of acting on a cultural and educational level to transmit to future generations the attitude of solidarity,” he said.

In his televised Wednesday audience delivered from the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis praised the “silent testimony” of many people who are witnesses to this “Gospel of Life” by serving the sick, the elderly, and those who are lonely and poor.

He said that their lives mirror the example given by the Blessed Virgin Mary, who went in haste to help her cousin Elizabeth after the Annunciation.

“Dear brothers and sisters, every human life, unique and unrepeatable, valid in itself, constitutes an inestimable value. This must always be announced again, with the courage of the word and the courage of actions,” the pope said.

“Therefore, with St. John Paul II, who wrote this encyclical, with him I reaffirm with renewed conviction the appeal he made to all twenty-five years ago: ‘Respect, defend, love and serve life, every life, every human life! Only on this path will you find justice, development, freedom, peace and happiness,’” Pope Francis said.

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Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 / 05:21 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Wednesday led Christians around the world in praying an Our Father to ask God’s mercy during the coronavirus pandemic, which is causing the suffering and death of many people.

“As … […]

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2020 / 02:01 am (CNA).- Pope Francis expressed his “hope in humanity” in face of the drama of the coronavirus pandemic in an interview with Spanish journalist Jordi Évole for a television program aired March 22…. […]

Vatican City, Mar 24, 2020 / 12:25 pm (CNA).- The director of the Holy See’s press office, Matteo Bruni, said Tuesday there are now a total of four people connected to Vatican City who have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Included in this number, Bruni said, is the first confirmed case of COVID-19 connected to Vatican City, which was announced March 6. Of the subsequent cases, two are employees of the Vatican Museums and a third is an employee of the merchandise office.

Bruni stated March 24 that these four patients “had been placed in solitary confinement as a precaution before they tested positive and their isolation has already lasted for over 14 days; currently they are being treated in Italian hospitals or at home.”

The Vatican’s first case of the coronavirus was found after a patient tested positive in the city state’s outpatient health facilities March 5. The facilities were then closed for one day to allow for their sanitation.

The confirmation of COVID-19 cases came after information that the Vatican’s dicasteries and other offices will continue to be operational during the Italian lockdown.

The press office informed journalists March 24 that increased measures have been put in place to avoid the spread of the coronavirus, such as increasing the numbers of those who work remotely, thus minimizing the number of staff present in offices.

This is to both “limit the movement of employees and at the same time guarantee the exercise of the Petrine ministry,” the release stated.

“The heads of the dicasteries are entrusted with the task of continuing to ensure essential services to the Universal Church.”

During the Italian coronavirus lockdown, Pope Francis has continued certain aspects of his daily schedule, including his morning Mass, general audiences, and Angelus, however they are being shared over video livestream and without the presence of the public.

His schedule has also included one-on-one meetings with Roman curia officials.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Rome’s region of Lazio has grown to over 1,500. There have been 80 deaths from the virus in the region. Overall, more than 6,800 people have died in Italy from the coronavirus.

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Vatican City, Mar 24, 2020 / 06:26 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Tuesday warned Christians to avoid living in a “fog” of sadness, sloth, and complaining, instead of rejoicing in the spiritual healing they have received from Christ.

There are &ld… […]

Vatican City, Mar 23, 2020 / 12:40 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Raymond Burke has written a letter encouraging priests and bishops to work constructively with civil authorities to meet the spiritual needs of Catholics during the coronavirus pandemic.

Acknowled… […]

Rome, Italy, Mar 23, 2020 / 05:12 am (CNA).- Amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Pontifical North American College has ordered its students to return to the United States by the end of this week, CNA has learned.

A student of the North American… […]

Vatican City, Mar 23, 2020 / 04:33 am (CNA).- The Vatican stated Monday that Pope Francis’ trip to the islands of Malta and Gozo May 31 has been postponed to a yet to be decided future date.

Papal spokesman Matteo Bruni said March 23 “the … […]

Vatican City, Mar 23, 2020 / 04:15 am (CNA).- Pope Francis offered Mass on Monday for people facing economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Let us pray today for those persons who are beginning to experience economic problems because… […]

Vatican City, Mar 22, 2020 / 11:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis announced Sunday that he will give an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing this week with the opportunity for Catholics to receive a plenary indulgence by tuning in via media.

“This Friday, March 27 at 6 p.m., I will preside over a moment of prayer outside of St. Peter’s Basilica with the square empty. As now, I invite everyone to participate spiritually through the media,” Pope Francis said March 22 in his livestreamed Angelus address.

“Urbi et Orbi” means “To the City [of Rome] and to the World.” It is a special apostolic blessing given by the pope from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica every year on Easter Sunday, Christmas, and other special occasions.

Pope Francis said the March 27 prayer broadcast for those suffering from the coronavirus pandemic will include listening to the Word of God and Eucharistic Adoration.

More than 300,000 people have contracted COVID-19 as of March 22, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. The respiratory disease, which originated in Wuhan, China, has spread to 157 countries, and has led to the deaths of 13,672 people worldwide.

“We want to respond to the pandemic of the virus with the universality of prayer, compassion, tenderness. Let us stay united,” Pope Francis said.

“All those who spiritually join this moment of prayer through the media will be granted the plenary indulgence according to the conditions provided for in the recent decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary,” Holy See Press Office Director Matteo Bruni told journalists following the pope’s announcement.

The Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary has granted a plenary indulgence for people who pray for an end to the pandemic, healing for the sick, and the eternal repose of the dead. Plenary indulgences, which remit all temporal punishment due to sin, must be accompanied by full detachment from sin.

In this case, the person must also fulfill the ordinary conditions of an indulgence, which are sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist, and prayer for the intentions of the pope, by having the will to satisfy the conditions as soon as possible for them.

To receive the indulgence, a person may offer at least a half hour of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament or a half hour of prayer with scripture, or the recitation of the rosary or chaplet of divine mercy “to implore from the Almighty God an end to the epidemic, relief for those who are suffering, and eternal salvation of those whom the Lord has called to himself.”

Pope Francis asked people to pray for the lonely, the elderly, doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, government authorities and the police. The pope also stressed the importance of praying for the dead during his Sunday morning Mass livestreamed from his residence in Vatican City.

“These days we are hearing the news of so many people who are dying, men and women who are dying alone without being able to say goodbye to their loved ones. Let us think about them and pray for them,” Pope Francis said.

“For families as well, who cannot accompany their loved ones on that journey, we pray in a special way for the dying and for their families,” the pope said.

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