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Pope to families:children traumatized by breakups, hostility

June 24, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope to families:children traumatized by breakups, hostility

(Vatican Radio)  The self-inflicted wounds of the family and the need to put aside anger and friction to protect the couple’s children were at the heart of Pope Francis’ message to thousands of pilgrims gathered for the weekly General Audience on Wednesday. Speaking under overcast skies in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel reading from Matthew (Mt 18,6) in which Jesus says to his disciples, “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And, Christ’s grave warning: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in…Continue Reading

Pope visits Waldensian temple in Turin

June 23, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope visits Waldensian temple in Turin

(Vatican Radio) On the second day of his Apostolic Visit, Pope Francis made an historic visit to the Waldensian temple in Turin. Although numbering only about 30,000 adherents, the Waldensian Evangelical Church is an important dialogue partner with the Catholic Church, as it is one of the only non-Catholic Christian communities native to Italy. The early morning meeting marked the first time a Pope had visited a Waldensian house of worship.   Pope Francis began his speech to representatives of the Italian Waldensian community with a brief personal remembrance of his previous meetings with the friends of the Waldensian Evangelical Church of Rio del Plata, when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. The Pope spoke of his appreciation of the…Continue Reading

Pope to youth: go against the flow; be courageous, creative

June 22, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope to youth: go against the flow; be courageous, creative

(Vatican Radio) At the end of the first day of a two day trip to Turin, Pope Francis met with tens of thousands of young people in the city’s central square, Piazza Vittorio. Pope Francis spoke to the young people “from the heart” for more than half an hour, laying aside his prepared remarks (which he promised would later be published). The Pope responded to questions from three young people on the topics of love, life, and friendship. Love, the Pope said, is concrete, and is seen more in actions than in words. Love always communicates itself. Love, he continued, is very respectful of persons, it does not use people, and so it is chaste. The Holy Father also responded…Continue Reading

Pope Francis at Mass in Turin: ‘Found yourselves on the rock of God’s love’

June 21, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis at Mass in Turin: ‘Found yourselves on the rock of God’s love’

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass in Piazza Vittorio during his Apostolic Visit to Turin on Sunday, reminding all to found their lives upon the ‘rock’ which is Christ. The Holy Father based his Sunday homily to the faithful of Turin on the Collect: “you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of the rock of your love”, saying that three important aspects of the love of God are that it is ‘faithful’, it ‘recreates all things’, and is ‘stable and sure’. Recalling the Psalm ‘His love endures forever’, Pope Francis said that Jesus embodies the faithfulness of God’s love without limits or measure, since he is indeed ‘the face of God’s…Continue Reading

Pope: Blood of martyrs is the seed of unity in the Church

June 20, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope: Blood of martyrs is the seed of unity in the Church

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis welcomed the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church, Mor Ignatius Aphram II, to the Vatican on Friday.   In his address to the Patriarch, Pope Francis spoke about the “bonds of unity and fraternity” that unite the Church of Rome to the Church of Antioch, recalling the meetings between Patriarch Mor Ignatius Jacob II and Pope Paul VI in Rome, and between Pope Saint John Paul II and Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka Iwas in Rome and Damascus. “How much has changed since those first encounters,” Pope Francis exclaimed. The Syrian Orthodox Church, he continued, “is a Church of martyrs from the very beginning, and it is so today, too, in the Middle East, where it continues…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: Greed corrupts and is at the root of many wars

June 19, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Greed corrupts and is at the root of many wars

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warns against the corrupting effects of greed and accumulating wealth for ourselves, saying they are at the root of wars and family divisions. His words came during his homily at his morning Mass on Friday (June 19th) at the Santa Marta residence. Taking his inspiration from the day’s gospel reading where Jesus warned his disciples not to accumulate treasures on the earth but instead in heaven, the Pope reflects on the many dangers posed by greed and human ambition. He said these vices end up corrupting and enslaving our hearts and rather than accumulating wealth for ourselves we should be using it for the common good. Greed corrupts and destroys “In the end this wealth doesn’t…Continue Reading

Pope Francis . . . Encyclical Letter . . . ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

June 18, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis . . . Encyclical Letter . . . ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.[1] 2. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters, entitled…Continue Reading

The Wanderer will have commentary in the days ahead on the Pope’s encyclical

June 17, 2015 breaking Comments Off on The Wanderer will have commentary in the days ahead on the Pope’s encyclical

Pope Francis: Family A Place Of Consolation

June 17, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: Family A Place Of Consolation

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square. In remarks to the pilgrims and tourists gathered for the occasion, the Holy Father continued his series of catechetical reflections on the family. Specifically, this Wednesday’s meditation was devoted to the theme of loss in the family: the pain and suffering that the passing of a family member can bring, and the duty we have to comfort and console those who mourn. Please find the official English summary of the Holy Father’s remarks, below ******************************** Dear Brothers and Sisters, In our ongoing catechesis on the family, I wish to reflect on one of the more dramatic and painful events that every person, without exception, has…Continue Reading

Pope Francis: free our hearts to welcome the Lord

June 16, 2015 breaking Comments Off on Pope Francis: free our hearts to welcome the Lord

(Vatican Radio) Christians must learn to free themselves from ‘worldly noise and passions’ so that they can receive the grace of God in their hearts. That was the focus of Pope Francis’ words during his homily at morning Mass on Monday in the Casa Santa Marta, as Philippa Hitchen reports… Reflecting on today’s reading from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Pope Francis noted that the Lord freely gives us his grace and that we must be ready, right now, to receive that gift. We need to prepare our hearts, he said, so that we do not “receive the grace of God in vain”. We must be attentive to God so that we can welcome his Word, rather than…Continue Reading