Vatican City, May 15, 2019 / 05:01 am (CNA).- Pope Francis greeted an international group dedicated to Jewish-Catholic dialogue Wednesday, calling dialogue “the way better to understand one another.”
“I offer you my encourageme… […]
Vatican City, May 15, 2019 / 04:08 am (CNA).- Pope Francis said Wednesday that Jesus gave humanity a precious gift on the cross — liberation from evil.
“The Christian knows how overwhelming the power of evil is, and at the same time he experiences how much Jesus, who never succumbed to its flattery, is on our side and comes to our aid,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Square May 15.
The pope connected the last line of the Our Father prayer, “Deliver us from evil,” to Christ’s crucifixion.
“Deliver us from evil” covers a wide range of human experiences, he explained: “the mourning of man, innocent suffering, slavery, the exploitation of others, the cry of innocent children.”
In the Passion “Jesus fully experienced the piercing of evil. Not only death, but death on the cross. Not only loneliness, but also contempt, humiliation,” Pope Francis said.
“Thus the prayer of Jesus leaves us the most precious of inheritances: the presence of the Son of God who has freed us from evil, struggling to convert it,” he said.
Pope Francis explained that invoking God when faced with evil is “an essential characteristic of Christian prayer.”
“Jesus teaches his friends to put the invocation of the Father before everything, even and especially at times when the evil one makes his threatening presence felt,” he said.
“There is evil in our life, its presence is indisputable,” Francis said. “History books are the desolate catalog of how much our existence in this world has often been a failed venture.”
“There is a mysterious evil, which surely is not the work of God,” he explained. “At times it seems to take over: on some days its presence seems even sharper than that of God’s mercy.”
However, Pope Francis said, forgiveness flows from Christ on the cross, which liberates us from evil.
“In the hour of the final fight … He offers a word of peace: ‘Father, forgive them because they do not know what they do,’” he said.
“‘Deliver us from evil.’ With this expression, one who prays not only asks not to be abandoned in the time of temptation, but also begs to be liberated from evil,” he said.
“If there were not the last verses of the ‘Our Father’ how could sinners, the persecuted, the desperate, the dying pray?” Pope Francis asked.
“The ‘Our Father’ resembles a symphony that asks to be fulfilled in each of us,” he said.
As Pope Francis entered the general audience on the popemobile this week, he greeted eight migrant children from Syria, Nigeria, and Congo, who arrived in Italy on a humanitarian vessel from Libya April 29.
Vatican City, May 15, 2019 / 04:03 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Wednesday appointed Bishop Peter Baldacchino to head the Diocese of Las Cruces, New Mexico – making him the first diocesan bishop associated with the Neocatechumenal Way to serve in a mainland U.S. diocese.
Baldacchino, 58, has been an auxiliary bishop of Miami, Florida, since 2014. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1996.
As a seminarian in Newark, Baldacchino studied at the Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University but lived at the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary.
Baldacchino’s formation was in part guided by the Neocatechumenal Way, a post-baptismal itinerary of Christian formation first approved by Pope Paul VI and supported by each of the subsequent popes.
Seminarians who discern their vocation while involved with the Neocatechumenal Way are encouraged to place special emphasis on the universal missionary character of the priesthood and offer themselves, at the discretion of their local bishop, in service to the New Evangelization anywhere in the world.
Baldacchino is the first graduate of a Redemptoris Mater seminary to serve as a diocesan bishop in a mainland U.S. diocese.
He was born on the European island country of Malta, to a family of four children. His family joined the Neocatechumenal Way while he was a child, but he was not initially drawn to the priesthood.
After studying science and chemistry at the University of Malta, he began working as a technical manager at a bottling plant. At age 28 he attended the 1989 World Youth Day in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, after which he became more involved in the Neocatechumenal Way.
Through the movement he was sent on mission, during which he started to feel called to the priesthood, eventually being matched with the Redemptoris Mater seminary in Newark. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark on May 25, 1996.
Baldacchino served for over a decade as a missionary in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, and speaks Maltese, English, Italian, Creole, and Spanish.
The Diocese of Las Cruces was established in 1982. According to 2015 estimates, it has more than 236,600 Catholics, accounting for just over 42% of the area’s population.
Vatican City, May 14, 2019 / 06:53 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Tuesday gave his approval for eight sainthood causes to proceed, including that of Blessed Dulce Lopes Pontes, a 20th-century religious sister who served Brazil’s poor.
With the pope&rsq… […]
In the tradition of St. Thomas Aquinas, members of the Dominican Order tend to be particularly well-versed in philosophy, theology, scholasticism, and the great intellectual tradition of the Church. This is part of the reason […]
Washington D.C., May 13, 2019 / 02:44 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis’ recently promulgated policy on sexual abuse allegations made against bishops, Vos estis lux mundi, offers a new and much expanded interpretation of what constitutes a canonical sexual… […]
Vatican City, May 13, 2019 / 09:30 am (CNA).- In an interview with a Chinese state-run publication, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin welcomed the opportunity for China and the Holy See to work together to “build a more secure and prosperous world.”
“The prospect opens up that two ancient, great and sophisticated international entities – like China and the Apostolic See – may become ever more aware of a common responsibility for the grave problems of our time,” Parolin said in an interview with the Global Times published May 12.
The Global Times is an English-language newspaper owned by the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The cardinal told the state-owned paper that “inculturation,” a Catholic missionary practice, and “sinicization,” a Chinese government campaign, can be “complementary” and “can open avenues for dialogue.”
“Inculturation is an essential condition for a sound proclamation of the Gospel which, in order to bear fruit, requires, on the one hand, safeguarding its authentic purity and integrity and, on the other, presenting it according to the particular experience of each people and culture,” he said.
“These two terms, ‘inculturation’ and ‘sinicization,’ refer to each other without confusion and without opposition.”
Parolin pointed to the example of 16th century Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci, as an outstanding witness of fruitful inculturation in China.
“For the future, it will certainly be important to deepen this theme, especially the relationship between ‘inculturation’ and ‘sinicization,’ keeping in mind how the Chinese leadership has been able to reiterate their willingness not to undermine the nature and the doctrine of each religion,” Parolin said.
Since coming to power in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping has mandated the “sinicization” of all religions in China, a move which the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called “a far-reaching strategy to control, govern, and manipulate all aspects of faith into a socialist mold infused with ‘Chinese characteristics.’’
The Chinese government is in the midst of implementing a five-year “sinicization plan” for Islam, a religion that has faced increased persecution in the country with at least 800,000 Uyghur Muslims held in internment camps.
In April 2019, the commission recommended that China continue to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern. This designation is reserved for nations in which the government “engages in or tolerates particularly severe religious freedom violations, meaning those that are systematic, ongoing, and egregious.”
Parolin said that there is “an increased trust between the two sides” since China and the Holy See signed a provisional agreement in September 2018 on the nomination of bishops, saying the accord provides “hope that we can gradually arrive at concrete results.”
“There is confidence that a new phase of greater cooperation can now be opened for the good of the Chinese Catholic community and the harmony of the whole society,” he said.
Parolin also said that it should not come as a surprise that there is criticism of the deal between the Holy See and the Chinese government, as this is what “generally happens in complex issues and when one faces problems of great importance.”
The agreement has been roundly criticized by human rights groups and some Church leaders, including Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Bishop Emeritus of Hong Kong.
Since the agreement was reached, there have been numerous instances of Catholic churches and shrines being demolished by government agents.
More recently, in the capital of Guangdong province, the Guangzhou Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs offered a reward of 10,000 Chinese yuan (almost $1,500) for information on the activities of religious groups which could lead to the arrest of key leaders.
In March, U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said that “since this provisional deal [between the Vatican and China] was announced last year, the Chinese government’s abuse of members of Catholic communities has continued. We see no signs that will change in the near future.”
Parolin reiterated that dialogue is close to the heart of Pope Francis, who is particularly interested in dialogue on the pastoral level.
“The Holy Father asks Catholics in particular to undertake with courage the path of unity, reconciliation and a renewed proclamation of the Gospel. He sees China not only as a great country but also as a great culture, rich in history and wisdom,” he said.
The Vatican Secretary of State pointed to the fight against poverty, environmental and climatic emergencies, migration, and ethical scientific development as global issues in which China and the Vatican can work together in a spirit of positive cooperation with “the dignity of the human person be placed at the center.”
“The Holy See hopes that China will not be afraid to enter into dialogue with the wider world and that the world’s nations will give credit to the profound aspirations of the Chinese people. In this way, with everyone working together, I am sure that we will be able to overcome mistrust and build a more secure and prosperous world,” Parolin said.
Vatican City, May 13, 2019 / 07:37 am (CNA).- Pope Francis is praying for the victims of the recent attack on a Catholic church in Burkina Faso, the interim head of the Holy See press office said Monday.
"The Holy Father learned with sorrow the n… […]
Vatican City, May 12, 2019 / 07:05 am (CNA).- On Sunday, Pope Francis advised listening to and speaking with Christ the Good Shepherd in prayer, so that one can be guided on the right paths of life.
“Listening to and recognizing [Jesus’] voice implies intimacy with him, which is consolidated in prayer, in the meeting heart to heart with the divine Master and Shepherd of our souls,” he said May 12.
“This intimacy with Jesus, this being open, talking with Jesus, strengthens in us the desire to follow him,” the pope continued, “to come out of the labyrinth of wrong paths, to abandon selfish behaviors, to set out on the new paths of fraternity and the gift of ourselves, in imitation of Him.”
Speaking before the Regina Coeli on “Good Shepherd Sunday,” Pope Francis reminded people that Jesus is the only Shepherd who speaks to us, knows us, gives us eternal life and keeps us.”
“We are his flock and we must only strive to listen to his voice, while with love he scrutinizes the sincerity of our hearts,” he said. “And from this continuous intimacy with our Shepherd comes the joy of following him, allowing us to lead to the fullness of eternal life.”
Jesus the Good Shepherd welcomes and loves, not only one’s strengths, but one’s faults, he said.
“The Good Shepherd — Jesus — is attentive to each of us, seeks us and loves us, addressing his word to us, knowing our heart, our desires and our hopes, as well as our failures and disappointments.”
He asked for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession, especially for priests and consecrated, who, he said, are called “to welcome Christ’s invitation to be his most direct collaborators in the proclamation of the Gospel.”
After the Regina Coeli, Francis noted the celebration, in many countries, of Mother’s Day. He sent his warm greetings to all mothers and thanked them for “their precious work in raising their children and protecting the value of the family.”
The pope also recalled all the mothers who “look at us from heaven and continue to watch over us with prayer.”
Recalling the May 13 feast day of Our Lady of Fatima, “our heavenly mother,” he said “we entrust ourselves to her to continue our journey with joy and generosity.”
He also prayed for vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Earlier in the day, Pope Francis ordained 19 new priests in St. Peter’s Basilica. The men had been studying for the priesthood in Rome and are mostly Italian, with others coming from Croatia, Haiti, Japan, and Peru.
Eight are from the Priestly Society of the Sons of the Cross, one from the Family of Disciples. Eight were ordained for the Neocatechumenal Way.
Pope Francis gave the homily prescribed in the Ritual for the Ordination of Priests, to which he added a few of his own thoughts.
He recommended the new priests regularly read and meditate on the Scriptures, and advised they always prepare to give a homily with time in prayer and with “the Bible in hand.”
“Let your teaching be therefore nourishment to the People of God: when it comes from the heart and is born of prayer, it will be so fruitful,” he said.
He also told the new priests to be careful in their celebration of the Mass, asking them not to “mess it up with petty interests.”
“Aware of having been chosen among men and constituted in their favor to await the things of God, exercise in joy and charity, with sincerity, the priestly work of Christ, solely intent on pleasing God and not yourselves,” the pope said. “Priestly joy is found only on this path, seeking to please God who has elected us.”
The priest, he added, should be “close to God in prayer, close to the bishop who is your father, close to the presbytery, to other priests, as brothers… and close to the People of God.”
Vatican City, May 11, 2019 / 11:04 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has personally invited young economists and entrepreneurs to join him in Assisi, Italy, in 2020, to discuss how to bring the culture of life and care for the common good to the global economy.
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