Youth say they want a Church that’s transparent, up-to-date

By:  
YOUTH IN THE CHURCH—Youth in the Church seek authentic witnesses of the faith and mentors with whom they can explore what it means to be an intentional disciple. (Photo by Jeffrey Bruno/CNA)

At the end of a week-long meeting held at the Vatican, young people from around the world have urged the Church to be more authentic, modern, and creative in the way it interacts with young people, and in addressing controversial contemporary issues.

“We want to say, especially to the hierarchy of the Church, that they should be a transparent, welcoming, honest, inviting, communicative, accessible, joyful, and interactive community,” the youth delegates said in the final document of this week’s pre-synod meeting in Rome.

“A credible Church,” they said, “is one which is not afraid to allow itself be seen as vulnerable.” Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church added to liturgical calendar

By:  
MEMORIAL OF MARY—Our Lady of the Column in St. Peter’s Basilica. (CNA)
MEMORIAL OF MARY—Our Lady of the Column in St. Peter’s Basilica. (CNA)

The Vatican announced March 3 that Pope Francis determined that the Church celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as “Mother of the Church” every year on the Monday after Pentecost, as a way to foster Marian piety and the maternal sense of the Church.

The decree establishing the memorial was published in a letter from Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Are you intimidated by confession? Don’t be, Pope Francis says

Pope Francis went to Confession during a penitential celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica, March 28, 2014. (Vatican Media)
Pope Francis went to Confession during a penitential celebration at St. Peter’s Basilica, March 28, 2014. (Vatican Media)

During the penitential season of Lent, Pope Francis pointed to confession as the means to true conversion, saying the faithful should approach the sacrament with trust and confidence.

“The Lord says, ‘Come now, let us reason together, let’s talk for awhile.’ He doesn’t frighten us,” said Pope Francis during Mass on Feb. 27 at the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Analysis: Pope Francis makes plans as fifth anniversary approaches

By:  
5thAnnivSlider
Pope Francis. (Photo by Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

As the fifth anniversary of his pontificate approaches, it is obvious that Pope Francis has made his mark on the life of the Church, and will continue to. In fact, in the upcoming months, there could be a new document from the Pope, and a new consistory to create new cardinals.

These possibilities have not been officially confirmed. However, the rumors in Vatican corridors are widespread, and a new document, along with new cardinals, seems imminent. Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Lent is the perfect time to ‘come home’

By:  
LENT 2018—Pope Francis celebrated Ash Wednesday at the Church of Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino on February 14, 2018 and encouraged everyone to return to “the long and merciful embrace of God.” (Vatican Media)
LENT 2018—Pope Francis celebrated Ash Wednesday at the Church of Sant’Anselmo all’Aventino on February 14, 2018 and encouraged everyone to return to “the long and merciful embrace of God.” (Vatican Media)

At Mass for Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis invited everyone to live the 40 days of Lent as a time to “pause” from things which keep us from virtue and to return home to the loving and merciful embrace of God the Father.

“Return without fear to those outstretched, eager arms of your Father, who is rich in mercy, who awaits you. Return without fear, for this is the favorable time to come home,” the Pope said Feb. 14, 2018. Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Cardinal Bernard Law Fourth bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau

POPE JOHN PAUL I—Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I, greeted then-Bp. Bernard Law at the Vatican in 1978. One of the shortest papacies in history, Pope John Paul I reigned only 33 days in the summer of 1978: Aug. 26-Sept. 28. (The Mirror)
POPE JOHN PAUL I—Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I, greeted then-Bishop Bernard Law at the Vatican in 1978. One of the shortest papacies in history, Pope John Paul I reigned only 33 days in the summer of 1978: Aug. 26-Sept. 28. Read more HERE. (The Mirror)

Cardinal Bernard Law died Dec. 19, 2017, after a brief hospitalization due to a congenital heart condition. He was 86 years old.

Cardinal Law was appointed Archbishop of Boston in 1984, and resigned from the position on Dec. 13, 2002, after reports revealed that he did not disclose multiple allegations of clerical sexual abuse to the police or to the public, nor did he intervene to remove priests accused of sexual abuse from priestly ministry. Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Pope on New Year’s Day: Devotion to Mary is a must

By:  
DEVOTION TO MARY—Pope Francis preaches in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Feast of Mary, Mother of God Jan. 1, 2018. (Photo by Daniel Ibanez/CNA)
DEVOTION TO MARY—Pope Francis preaches in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Feast of Mary, Mother of God Jan. 1, 2018. (Photo by Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

At the start of the new year, Pope Francis said that having a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary isn’t just something that is nice or good to do, but is an obligation in the life of a Christian.

“Devotion to Mary is not spiritual etiquette; it is a requirement of the Christian life,” the Pope said Jan. 1. “The gift of the Mother, the gift of every mother and every woman, is most precious for the Church, for she too is mother and woman.” Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Pope’s message for First World Day of the Poor

By:  
(Photo by Daniel Ibanez/CNA)
(Photo by Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
FIRST WORLD DAY OF THE POOR
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
19 November 2017

Let us love, not with words but with deeds

1. “Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18). These words of the Apostle John voice an imperative that no Christian may disregard. The seriousness with which the “beloved disciple” hands down Jesus’ command to our own day is made even clearer by the contrast between the empty words so frequently on our lips and the concrete deeds against which we are called to measure ourselves. Love has no alibi. Whenever we set out to love as Jesus loved, we have to take the Lord as our example; especially when it comes to loving the poor. The Son of God’s way of loving is well-known, and John spells it out clearly. It stands on two pillars: God loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:10.19), and he loved us by giving completely of himself, even to laying down his life (cf. 1 Jn 3:16). Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Pope Francis talks Catholic-Lutheran dialogue

By:  
DIALOGUE—Pope Francis waved to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during his April 20, 2016, general audience. (Photo by Daniel Ibáñez/CNA)
DIALOGUE—Pope Francis waved to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during his April 20, 2016, general audience. (Photo by Daniel Ibáñez/CNA)

Ahead of his 2016 trip to Sweden for the joint commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Pope Francis granted a lengthy, wide-ranging interview to a Jesuit magazine in which he talks about his expectations, and Catholic-Lutheran unity.

When asked about his hopes for his trip to Sweden, Pope Francis said “I can think of only one word to say: to come close.”

“My hope and expectation is that of coming closer to my brothers and sisters,” he said, explaining that being close “does all of us good. Distance, on the other hand, makes us bitter.” Read more

Share This:

Source:  

Pope Francis & Today’s Families: Man, Woman, & Marriage

By:  

Man and woman created by God

Vatican City, April 22, 2015

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning.

In the previous catechesis on the family, I reflected on the first passage of the creation of the human being, in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is written: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Today I would like to complete the reflection with the second passage, which we find in the second chapter. Here we read that the Lord, after having created heaven and earth, “formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” He is the pinnacle of creation. Then God put man in a most beautiful garden so that he would till and keep it. Read more

Share This:

Source: