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Pope Francis: A Red Line between the US Trip and the Synod

September 22, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: A Red Line between the US Trip and the Synod

No time for Pope Francis to catch his breath! After his trip to Cuba and the United States the Synod will take place. And the Synod will be a real challenge for Pope Francis, as he is called to show that he can govern the different parties within the Church. The way these parties will seize upon Pope Francis’ messages during the US trip is yet to be seen. The Pope’s most awaited speeches in the US are those he will deliver at the United Nations and at a joint-session of the US Congress, the only two speeches out of 26 in which he is likely not to improvise. He did not improvise when he spoke out last November 25…Continue Reading

Pope’s Homily at Mass in Holguín

September 22, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope’s Homily at Mass in Holguín

“Jesus’ love goes before us, his look anticipates our needs.” Holguín, September 21, 2015 (ZENIT.org) Staff Reporter Here is the Vatican translation of Pope Francis’ homily at the Plaza de la Revolución “Calixto García Iñíguez” in Holguín, Cuba. * * * We are celebrating the feast of the apostle and evangelist Saint Matthew. We are celebrating the story of a conversion. Matthew himself, in his Gospel, tell us what it was like, this encounter which changed his life. He shows us an “exchange of glances” capable of changing history. On a day like any other, as Matthew, the tax collector, was seated at his table, Jesus passed by, saw him, came up to him and said: “Follow me”. Matthew got…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Service is Not Ideological – We Serve People, Not Ideas

September 21, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Service is Not Ideological – We Serve People, Not Ideas

Thousands Fill Havana’s Revolution Square for First Papal Mass in Cuba Rome, September 20, 2015 (ZENIT.org) Junno Arocho Esteves Plaza de la Revolución. Revolution Square: site of three Papal Masses; St. John Paul II in 1998, Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 and now Pope Francis in 2015. Known for its famed memorial to Cuban poet and national hero Jose Marti, the square is also known for one of the most prominent images of another important figure in Cuba’s history: Che Guevara. While the presence of the Popes, both past and present, has always been a sign of contradiction to the Marxist leader’s ideology, that difference was even more prominent today. Two Argentinians, two somewhat similar goals, two very different paths.…Continue Reading

Pope Francis arrives in Cuba, encourages reconciliation

September 20, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis arrives in Cuba, encourages reconciliation

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis began his apostolic visit to Cuba Saturday, touching down in the nation’s capital Havana where he was greeted by the country’s president Raúl Castro, other authorities, and bishops. The Holy Father’s 19-22 September visit to the island nation coincides with the eightieth anniversary of the renewal of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Holy See. This year, the country also celebrates one hundred years since our Lady of Charity of El Cobre was named patroness of Cuba by Pope Benedict XV. Pope Francis is the third pontiff to go to the Caribbean nation, which was visited by Saint John Paul II in 1998, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2012. Please find below…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: I will do everything possible to build bridges between US, Cuba

September 19, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: I will do everything possible to build bridges between US, Cuba

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said he will “do everything possible to build bridges, to remove barriers, and to foster communication” between Cuba and the United States during his 10-day visit to the two countries. “That communication can then bring about friendship,” he said during a teleconference aired by CNN en Español on Friday. The Holy Father was answering questions from students in Havana and New York in an ecounter which was organized with the charity “Scholas occurrentes.” The question about the US embargo on Cuba came from a student in Havana. “One of the nicest things is the friendship among societies,” Pope Francis said. “That is what I would like you to want: a friendship among societies.” Asked by another…Continue Reading

Vatican objects to Obama’s controversial invites for papal visit: report

September 18, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Vatican objects to Obama’s controversial invites for papal visit: report

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — The Vatican is reportedly taking offense to Barack Obama’s decision to invite a bevy of controversial guests — such as a pro-abortion nun, an openly homosexual Episcopal bishop, and gay activist Catholics — for next week’s papal visit to the White House. The Wall Street Journal reports that an unnamed senior Vatican official said the Holy See fears that any photos of Pope Francis at next Wednesday’s White House welcoming ceremony with Obama’s guests that openly flout Church teaching could be taken as support for their actions. Among the Obama administration invites are dissenting, activist Catholic nun Sister Simone Campbell, openly homosexual retired Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson, a transgender woman and a homosexual…Continue Reading

The Pope: no-one can remain oblivious to the atrocities and human rights violations in Syria and Iraq

September 18, 2015 breaking Comments Off on The Pope: no-one can remain oblivious to the atrocities and human rights violations in Syria and Iraq

Vatican City, 17 September 2015 (VIS) – “One of the most overwhelming human tragedies of recent decades are the terrible consequences that the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have on civilian populations as well as on cultural heritage. Millions of people are in distressing state of urgent need. They are forced to leave their native lands. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey today carry the weight of millions of refugees, which they have generously received. Faced with such a situation and conflicts that are expanding and disturbing in an alarming way the internal and regional equilibrium, the international community seems unable to find adequate solutions while the arms dealers continue to achieve their interests”. With these words the Pope addressed the participants…Continue Reading

GENERAL AUDIENCE: On the Universal Importance of the Family

September 17, 2015 breaking Comments Off on GENERAL AUDIENCE: On the Universal Importance of the Family

“The promise that God makes to man and woman, at the beginning of history, includes all human beings until the end of history.” Vatican City, September 16, 2015 (ZENIT.org) Staff Reporter Here is a ZENIT translation of the Holy Father’s address today during his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning! This is our final reflection on the subject of marriage and the family. We are on the eve of beautiful and demanding events, which are directly connected with this great subject: the World Meeting of Families at Philadelphia and the Synod of Bishops here in Rome. Both have a worldwide breadth, which corresponds to the universal dimension of Christianity, but…Continue Reading

Participants in the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

September 16, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Participants in the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

Vatican City, 15 September 2015 (VIS) – The following is a full and definitive list of the participants in the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held from 4 to 25 October 2015, on the theme, “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world”. A. LIST OF SYNOD FATHERS ACCORDING TO ROLE I. PRESIDENT Francis, Supreme Pontiff II. SECRETARY GENERAL Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri III. DELEGATE PRESIDENTS Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, O.F.M., archbishop of Durban, South Africa IV. RAPPORTEUR GENERAL Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest,…Continue Reading

Pope: “illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus”

September 15, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: “illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus”

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says faith is a key that helps us to see how illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus who walks at our side, weighed down by the Cross. In a message for the World Day of the Sick, celebrated each year on Febuary 11, the Pope points out that it offers him an opportunity to draw close to those who are ill and to their carers. The theme of his message is “Entrusting Oneself to the Merciful Jesus like Mary”. In it he says that on this World Day of the Sick “let us ask Jesus in his mercy, through the intercession of Mary, his Mother and ours, to grant to all of…Continue Reading