CARDINAL KRAJEWSKI: MAY THE WORLD BOW DOWN TO GOD SO PEACE CAN FLOURISH

Thursday, December 28, 2023

What a beautiful, extremely moving, but also very sad reflection from Cardinal Krajewski, the papal almoner! He has such a big, generous, loving heart, a heart and soul filled with faith and love for mankind, and so it is no surprise to see him pen these words.

I don’t know how many of you reading this have been to the Holy Land, but I would like to think it is an overwhelming number of my readers. If you have been to the Holy Land, you lived the mysteries of the rosary, including, of course, the sorrowful mysteries, mysteries followed by the glorious mysteries.

At this point in the terrible conflict in the Holy Land, all we can hope and pray for is that somehow common sense, perhaps, even good will… and maybe more than anything else,a tsunami of prayers!… might turn the sorrow now being experienced by our brothers and sisters into a somewhat more hopeful, if not glorious, future.

Hopefully the cardinal’s heartbreaking words will induce you to say an Ave Maria and Our Father, prayers born in the Holy Land!

CARDINAL KRAJEWSKI: MAY THE WORLD BOW DOWN TO GOD SO PEACE CAN FLOURISH

Upon his return from his mission to the Holy Land at the request of Pope Francis, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, reflects on his experience near the war in Gaza, noting that suffering and conflict arise when humanity seeks its own path without considering God’s desires for us.

By Cardinal Konrad Krajewski

I travelled to the Holy Land with faith and prayer, to these places where war rages, where there is hatred, and vengeance, where one kills the other, where there is a lack of water, food, and electricity. Even during Christmas, the holiest of days for us, they did not stop fighting and killing – in Ukraine as in the Gaza Strip.

I arrived in this land with the most sophisticated weapons in the world: faith and prayer, which can move mountains and end conflicts… But why isn’t it so?

I went to all the places where Jesus lived. I went to Nazareth, to Bethlehem, to the place where He was crucified, was killed, and rose again. Thus, I asked: “Lord, why is there no peace? You want peace.” I have always reflected on this prayer: “Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day.” So why don’t you grant peace in our days?

I have thought a lot about how, when we enter the Holy Sepulchre, we must bow down, almost breaking our backs to enter. In many churches, even in Bethlehem, we must bow down, bow down before the mystery.

So, I think that perhaps the world has stopped bowing down to God and has stopped living according to the logic of the Gospel because it has become accustomed to the logic of the world.

Perhaps we humans have put ourselves in God’s place and want to command and condemn, but we do so without mercy, without love. Maybe that’s why there is no peace—because we no longer bow down to God, before the mystery.

Wednesday was the feast of St. John the Apostle; he approached Jesus’ tomb, bowed down to enter, to see that His body was no longer there, that He had risen.

But today we no longer bow down, even though the doors here in the Holy Land tell us that we must do so to understand the mystery of God, to understand His love and His mercy, to live according to the logic of Jesus’ teachings, according to the logic of the Gospel.

I thank the Lord for having lived these days in the Holy Land and for beginning to understand the mystery of God. The prayer of Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught us, says, “Thy will be done, Lord,” not mine, because where there is my will, there are wars, there are many deaths.

“Thy kingdom come,” not ours, ours is the kingdom of destruction. “Hallowed be Thy name,” not mine; when my name is hallowed, I am dangerous to others.

After the Our Father, the priest says, “Deliver us, O Lord, from evil, and grant peace in our day.” My hope is that peace may truly blossom in the hearts of men.

The cardinal’s first day in the Holy Land: Cardinal Krajewski in Holy Land: ‘They told me about the hell in Gaza’ – Vatican News

 

VATICAN OFFERS FREE DENTAL CARE FOR THE POOR OF ROME

VATICAN OFFERS FREE DENTAL CARE FOR THE POOR OF ROME

The Dicastery for the Service of Charity teams up with a Roman clinic and university to provide free dental care for the poor.
By Sr. Nina Benedikta Krapić, VMZ (Vatican news)

Dental care for the poor of Rome is a result of a memorandum of understanding signed at Vatican, on 7 September, between the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Service of Charity, UniCamillus University, and the “Our Lady of Trust” clinic.

Cardinal Krajewski with the signatories to the agreement –

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, said that the agreement allows people in financial difficulty can turn to the “Mother of Mercy” Outpatient Clinic.

After an initial evaluation, they will then receive the necessary treatment at the “Madonna della Fiducia” Clinic in Rome’s Appio Latino neighbourhood.

The dental service starts in September, and offers an additional health service to those already provided at the Santa Marta Dispensary in the Vatican, such as showers, distribution of food, and medical care.

Expression of Pope’s care for the poor

The “Mother of Mercy” facility is run by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, which was established in 2015 at the behest of Pope Francis.

The efforts of 60 doctors, nurses, and other volunteers make it possible for over 6,000 people to receive free healthcare every year.

The service represents a response to the invitation of Pope Francis for the upcoming World Day of the Poor on 19 November.

The Pope’s message for the World Day is “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor”.

He invites us to show concern for the poor “marked by Gospel realism”, which entails meeting “the concrete needs of our brothers and sisters”.

POPE FRANCIS TO TAKE SUMMER BREAK AS OF JULY 1 – POPE FRANCIS IS SENDING CARDINAL MATTEO ZUPPI AS HIS ENVOY TO MOSCOW – CARDINAL KRAJEWSKI VISITS UKRAINE ON “EVANGELICAL EXPEDITION” – POPE ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF BISHOP STIKA OF KNOXVILLE

POPE FRANCIS TO TAKE SUMMER BREAK AS OF JULY 1

In keeping with custom during the summer season, all of Pope Francis’ audiences – including the general audiences and those with particular groups – will be temporarily suspended throughout the month of July. This was announced today by the Prefecture of the Papal Household through a statement from the Holy See Press Office. Papal audiences will resume in August, with the first general audience scheduled for Wednesday, 9 August. Pope’s audiences temporarily suspended in July for summer break – Vatican News

POPE FRANCIS IS SENDING CARDINAL MATTEO ZUPPI AS HIS ENVOY TO MOSCOW

Cardinal Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, will embark on a visit June 28-29, 2023, that aims to strengthen “gestures of humanity that can contribute to promoting a solution to the current tragic situation and find paths toward a just peace.”

Accompanied by an official from the Secretariat of State, he will likely uphold Pope Francis desire for a resolution to the war on the European continent. The Pope has been a vocal advocate for peace, consistently calling on world leaders and individuals alike to work towards resolving conflict through peaceful means. He has made countless appeals for prayers for people suffering due to the war in Ukraine. Cardinal Zuppi visited Kyiv June 5-6 June, during which he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other high-level government officials. Cardinal Zuppi to visit Moscow as Pope Francis’ peace envoy – Vatican News

CARDINAL KRAJEWSKI VISITS UKRAINE ON “EVANGELICAL EXPEDITION”

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner, is currently visiting the Ukrainian city of Kherson for his sixth mission to provide aid and solace to the war-torn country and its affected population. In recent weeks, the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson experienced the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, resulting in the flooding of more than 80 villages and towns, the devastation of 20,000 hectares of farmland, and the spilling of over 150 tons of oil. Cardinal Krajewski arrived in Kherson, driving a truck laden with food supplies (mainly sourced from South Korea, including over 100,000 freeze-dried soups). He also brought with him vital medicines from the Vatican, Gemelli Hospital, and a solidarity fund based in Naples. (Vatican media)

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Departing from Rome on June 22, the Cardinal embarked on a journey of over 3,125 kilometers. “So many roads, so many kilometers,” he recounted. After spending Sunday night in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, Cardinal Krajewski visited Drohobyč on Monday, the area’s second-largest economic center located nearly 100 kilometers from Lviv. He toured a Greek Catholic humanitarian center that extends aid and refuge to those in need. The Cardinal then visited a local hospital, a center for alcoholics, and a children’s center, which now serves as a sanctuary for refugees during vacations. On Tuesday, Cardinal Krajewski traveled to Mikołajów, where he visited an active parish that remarkably remains open despite extensive Russian bombardment.  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-06/cardinal-konrad-krajewski-ukraine-kherson-interview.html

POPE ACCEPTS RESIGNATION OF BISHOP STIKA OF KNOXVILLE

The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop Richard Stika of the diocese of Knoxville. Bishop Stika also announced on his Facebook page that the Pope had accepted his resignation letter,  sent a month ago to the Holy Father. Stika turns 66 on July 4. Bishops rarely retire before the mandatory age of 75 unless a health issue intervenes. On a bishop’s 75^th birthday he is required by law to submit his resignation to the Pope. The diocese announced that Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, will be the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Knoxville and serve until the appointment and installation of a new bishop.

Stika wrote on Facebook, “I recognize that questions about my leadership have played out publicly in recent months. I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that some of this has weighed on me physically and emotionally. For these reasons, I asked the Holy Father for relief from my responsibilities as a diocesan bishop.

In recent years, in fact, Stika has led the diocese amid accusations of pastoral and governing mismanagement and, in particular, questions about protecting a former seminarian who had been accused of raping a diocesan employee. Lawsuits are pending in several cases.  The Vatican has been investigating the accusations against Stika and his management of the diocese.

He also spoke of many illnesses that had plagued him in recent years. He has been in Knoxville since 2009 but said on Facebook today that both he and Cardinal Justin Rigali, who has lived with him in Knoxville for 12 years, will be moving to St. Louis, the home diocese of both.

 

POPE SAYS BREATHING “STILL NOT GOOD” – POPE SENDS CARDINAL KRAJEWSKI TO UKRAINE FOR 6TH TIME – SR. LUCIA, FATIMA VISIONARY, DECLARED VENERABLE – VATICAN DELIVERS EVIDENCE IN ORLANDI CASE TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES

A fascinating read and good summary of the synod document: Synod working doc aims to unite Catholics, but may alienate conservatives | Crux (cruxnow.com)

Re: the story below on the pope having difficulty breathing: Vatican News mentioned this in several news stories it published today, including one on the Holy Father’s meeting with ROACO: “Receiving ROACO members in the Vatican on the morning of Thursday, 22 June, Pope Francis handed them his prepared remarks and explained he would not be reading his discourse because he is still having difficulty breathing after the general anaesthesia he underwent during surgery on 7 June.”

POPE SAYS BREATHING “STILL NOT GOOD”

Gives one speech today, but hands out the text for a 2nd one

(I. Media for Aleteia) – Pope Francis says he is still suffering from the effects of his recent anaesthesia. He reported this when receiving members of the meeting of the Works of Aid to the Oriental Churches (ROACO), on June 22, 2023 at the Vatican, I.MEDIA found. Two weeks after his operation for an abdominal hernia with risk of occlusion, the Pope explained that his breathing was “not good.”

Since his return on June 16 from the Gemelli hospital, where he underwent surgery on June 7, the 86-year-old Pontiff has resumed the Sunday Angelus, as well as his audiences. Yesterday, June 21, he received the Brazilian president, and on June 20, the Cuban president. However, the general audience on Wednesday June 21 was cancelled ahead of time, to allow him to continue his convalescence.

But this morning, the Pope showed signs of fatigue. After a first speech, which he read to Assumptionist religious, he declined a second address to ROACO, contenting himself with handing it over to the participants. “I’m still under the effects of anesthesia. My breathing is not good,” confided the Argentine Pontiff.

During this brief exchange, the 266th Pope then instructed Msgr. Claudio Gugerotti, prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, to pass on his pre-prepared speech.

“I’m still alive,” he added, however, to a participant who asked how he was doing.

The Pope, who has been missing part of one lung since he had a serious infection as a youth, has already had respiratory problems this year. On March 29, he was rushed to Gemelli, where doctors diagnosed him with “infectious bronchitis.” He underwent antibiotic treatment and left hospital on April 1.

He later confided that it was acute pneumonia. “If we had waited a few more hours, it would have been more serious,” he told Mexican television.

POPE SENDS CARDINAL KRAJEWSKI TO UKRAINE FOR 6^TH TIME

A communique from the papal almoner’s office says Pope Francis is sending Cardinal Konrad Krajewski to Ukraine for the 6^th time, bearing urgent medical supplies and prayers from the Holy Father. This mission is evangelical and underlines the closeness of Pope Francis to the tormented Ukraine.

The cardinal “will head to the Kherson area where, following the destruction of the dam, the innocent population is in great difficulty and many people have lost their lives. His mission is to be with the people, pray with them and bring an embrace and concrete support from the Pope.

Vatican photo –

“The Almoner will travel to Ukraine with a car loaded with the most urgent medicines and thus have the opportunity to visit, along the way, various religious communities, the Catholic parishes of the Byzantine and Latin rites as well as the Orthodox.

“In these days, there will also be a second truck full of food (mostly received from Korea), medicines and health aids which will be delivered to the areas most affected by the dam explosion.”

SR. LUCIA, FATIMA VISIONARY, DECLARED VENERABLE

Carmelite Sister Lucia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, who, along with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto witnessed a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, has been declared Venerable by the Church.

Sr. Lucia (R) –

The decree recognizing Sr Lucia’s heroic virtues was promulgated on Thursday with the approval of Pope Francis.

In 1916, Lucia and her two cousins reported being visited by an Angel in the area of Fatima, Portugal. The following year, beginning on May 13, the children claimed to receive a series of apparitions from the Blessed Virgin Mary, which culminated six months later with the famous “Miracle of the Sun” that was witnessed by tens of thousands of people.

After the untimely death of her cousins, who died a few years later due to Spanish flu, Sister Lucia remained the sole custodian of the message entrusted to her by Our Lady, which she transcribed, at the instigation of the Bishop of Leiria, José Alves Correia da Silvia, into four documents between 1935 and 1941.

A later document, dated 1944, contained the so-called “third secret,” was sent to Rome and opened for the first time in 1960. St John Paul II, who had a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, allowed the secret to be published in 2000.

Along with Sister Lucia, four other Servants of God saw their causes advanced on Thursday. Thursday’s decree also recognises the martyrdom of twenty people killed out of “hatred of the faith” in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War.

Sister Mary Lange, who left her native Cuba for the United States because of racial discrimination, founded the Congregation of the Oblate Sisters of Providence in Baltimore in 1829. The order is dedicated to school education.

For full story: Fatima visionary Sr Lucia declared Venerable – Vatican News

VATICAN DELIVERS EVIDENCE IN ORLANDI CASE TO CIVIL AUTHORITIES

In a statement to journalists, the Office of the Promoter of Justice says evidence found in Vatican institutions and gained from interviews with former officials has been turned over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rome.

Vatican News

On the 40th anniversary of the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi on June 22, 1983, the Promoter of Justice of Vatican City State, Alessandro Diddi, has stated that he has forwarded the acts of his office’s investigation to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rome.

In a statement made public by the Holy See Press Office in response to journalists’ questions, Diddi’s office reports that “in recent months this office has collected all the evidence available in the various institutions of the Vatican and the Holy See, while also seeking evidence through conversations with the persons in charge of certain offices at the time of the events.”

Lines of further investigation

Vatican investigators proceeded “to examine the material, confirming certain lines of investigation worthy of further investigation,” the statement continues, noting that “in recent weeks” all the relevant documentation has been transmitted “to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rome, so that the latter may examine it and proceed in the direction it deems most appropriate.”

Thursday’s statement concludes with the commitment that the Promoter “will continue his activities in this direction in the coming months,” while expressing his closeness to Emanuela’s family in their grief, “aware of the suffering one feels for the disappearance of a relative.”

 

CLICK TO DONATE DONATE THERMAL T-SHIRTS TO UKRAINE – JESUIT SUPERIOR SAYS THAT FR. MARKO RUPNIK WAS EXCOMMUNICATED IN 2019

I am much more aware of the need for warm clothing (see first story) because our building has been without heat for 3 days! Our doorman Carlo hinted that it might be back on tonight and I think a lot of us are saying a few ‘Aves’ that this does indeed happen, sooner rather than later. It seems I can’t wear enough layers of clothing, in addition to the blanket I put over my legs as I sit for hours and write. My AC unit does not provide heat as it is supposed to. I have a small electric heater that I place outside the bathroom door in the morning but do not run it throughout the day as electricity costs and arm and a leg here (and that, before the recent big rise in utility bills this year).

As Mom always told us whenever there was a difficult moment or a disappointment in life: Offer it up for the poor souls in purgatory!

And so I am!

I’ll also get a thermal t-shirt to help some Ukrainians who are far worse off than we are! The following is from the website: Elemosineria Apostolica | Città del Vaticano. Polish Cardinal Krajewski heads the newly-named Dicastery for Charity.

CLICK TO DONATE DONATE THERMAL T-SHIRTS TO UKRAINE

The Ukrainian people are experiencing an emergency linked, in addition to the war, also to the lack of electricity, gas and the very harsh cold of winter. We could help them, this Christmas, with the gift of thermal shirts, suitable for maintaining body temperature, for men, women, or children (the ones you use to go skiing).

The Elemosineria Apostolica is already being replenished, anyone who wants, can join this initiative by purchasing and bringing/shipping the shirts directly to this Dicastery within a month, in order to send them as soon as possible, by truck, to Kiev.

Please ship or deliver to:  Elemosineria Apostolica,  Cortile Sant’Egidio  00120 Città del Vaticano ,card. Konrad Krajewski

A bench in the courtyard of the papal charity office:

Furthermore, if you want to make this a truly Christian Christmas, you can make a donation on a crowd-funding platform where the Apostolic Almsgiving has launched a fundraising campaign called: “The Warmth of Solidarity – Thermal T-Shirts for Ukraine”

JESUIT SUPERIOR SAYS THAT FR. MARKO RUPNIK WAS EXCOMMUNICATED IN 2019

I had read last week of the excommunication of Fr. Rupnik, SJ, on three websites that I did not know and I sought but did not get confirmation. One even reported that it was Pope Francis who lifted the excommunication. Therefore, I did not write of it or talk of it (excommunication) last week on Catholic Connection with Teresa Tomeo because the Jesuit communique that had just come out and that we were talking about, did not mention excommunication or confirm the reports.

But now we know: Fr. Marko Rupnik was indeed excommunicated, he repented and it was lifted.

CNA: The Jesuit Superior General, Father Arturo Sosa, has confirmed that Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik incurred an automatic excommunication in 2019 for absolving a woman he had sex with, a fact his religious order was aware of but did not disclose until now.

According to a report by the Associated Press, Sosa disclosed this new information Wednesday in a briefing with journalists in Rome.

Abusing the sacrament of confession in this manner is one of the most serious crimes in the Catholic Church.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith “said it happened, there was absolution of an accomplice,” Sosa said. “So he was excommunicated. How do you lift an excommunication? The person has to recognize it and has to repent, which he did.”

Sosa also contradicted the Jesuits’ earlier statement and said the restrictions on Rupnik’s ministry, which remain in effect, dated from this earlier conviction and not the 2021 allegations that the Vatican’s sex crimes office decided to shelve because they were deemed too old to prosecute, the AP reported.

Rupnik, 68, is alleged to have sexually abused members of a women’s institute of religious life in Ljubljana, Slovenia, while serving as the chaplain there in the early 1990s, according to the Italian news outlet Left.it. One of the women allegedly attempted suicide because of the abuse, Left.it reported. A source told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news outlet partner, that at least nine women were allegedly abused.

Those sex abuse allegations were forwarded to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (now the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith) in 2021. The dicastery closed the case in October after concluding that a 30-year statute of limitations on allegations of abuse between adults had run out.

That decision, which came to light through Italian media reports earlier this month, has generated a host of questions about why the Vatican office chose not to waive the statute of limitations as it has done in other cases. The office is headed by a Jesuit, has a Jesuit sex crimes prosecutor, and had as its No. 2 at the time someone who lived in Rupnik’s Jesuit community in Rome, the AP reported.

A CARDINAL LIVES THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN UKRAINE

A CARDINAL LIVES THE WAY OF THE CROSS IN UKRAINE 

Yesterday, Good Friday 2022, the Holy See Press Office published an audio file which they transcribed (see below) from Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, papal almoner, who is in Ukraine on his third visit, this time having driven from Rome a second ambulance offered by Pope Francis to a Ukrainian hospital. They also released the photo below.

This afternoon, on his return from Borodianka, north of Kiev, where he stopped to pray in front of the graves and bodies found, as in a Way of the Cross, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski entrusted his pain to this message:

“Here with the nuncio, we are now returning to Kiev, from these difficult places for every person in the world, where we found so many dead and a (common) tomb of at least 80 people, buried with no name or surname. Luckily there is faith, and we are in Holy Week, Good Friday, when we can unite with the person of Jesus and go up to the Cross with Him, because after Good Friday … I know, I know: there will be Sunday of the Resurrection. And perhaps He will explain everything to us with His love and change everything within us too, this bitterness and this suffering that we have been carrying for a few days, but especially today.”

 

THE PAPAL ALMONER BRINGS AID, SOLIDARITY AND HOPE TO UKRAINE

For audio of this report, click here: 

The stunning surprise of the day: Cardinal Krajewski, as reported in L’Osservatore Romano, highlighted “how the Pope’s support came about in a practical way: Here they have difficulty in finding diesel fuel and therefore, through charity, the Holy Father has paid for many trips by truck, large trucks carrying humanitarian aid inside Ukraine.”

THE PAPAL ALMONER BRINGS AID, SOLIDARITY AND HOPE TO UKRAINE

(My quick translation from a report in the March 9 edition of L’Osservatore Romano)

Solidarity moves along roads that bombs threaten, roads where carrying boxes of food and packages of medicine can be a journey of no return. But this is the solidarity sustained in the heart of Francis.

News comes from the areas around Lviv where the “arm” of this papal closeness, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, has arrived after his stay in Poland, amidst the ocean of refugees that continues to swell. The papal almsgiver crossed the Ukrainian border, and met with and told Vatican media about the massive effort underway in the relative safety of Lviv to reach even those who are still under falling missiles or are struggling to embark on the escape route between the shores of very fragile humanitarian corridors.

The cardinal explains: “I am in the outskirts of Lviv, and for security reasons we do not say where. It is here that all the great aid arrives from the European community through Poland. Everything is unloaded in large warehouses and from here the trucks leave for Kiev, for Odessa, towards the south of the country.”  The good news, Cardinal Krajewski says with satisfaction, “is that all this aid is still reaching its destination, despite the bombings.” The bishops of Kiev, Odessa, Karkhiv, and the apostolic nuncio with whom he is in contact, confirmed this.

He then highlighted how the Pope’s support came about in a practical way: “Here they have difficulty in finding diesel fuel and therefore, through charity, the Holy Father has paid for many trips by truck, large trucks carrying humanitarian aid inside Ukraine.” (file photo)

Yesterday in Lviv the papal almsgiver also met the Greek-Catholic Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk. Tomorrow Cardinal Krajewski will meet for a moment of prayer with the archbishop and the heads of various confessions who are able to participate. “We know that faith – he says – is able to move mountains, so we read in the Gospel, and we are sure of it. I think we will be able to stop this war precisely with our prayer, with our faith.”

Solidarity and prayer together give breath to hope. Hoping, despite everything, is an obvious encourgement in many who have left home and intend to return. “Here – said the cardinal, “every five minutes I see refugees arriving from the eastern part of Kiev. Many are waiting for liberation, they pray and truly thank the European community which brings them so many gifts, which is close, which prays for them. They had never felt so close: they already felt part of Europe, through these humanitarian gestures they now feel an integral part of it.”

THE HOLY SEE AND A MISSION TO UKRAINE

The following statement was released Monday morning by the Holy See Press Office in Italian, English and Spanish. It offers more details about the humanitarian mission of two Vatican cardinals to Ukraine but does differ from news reports on Sunday’s Vatican News website:

THE HOLY SEE AND A MISSION TO UKRAINE

The Holy See has put itself at the service of achieving peace in Ukraine. In an extraordinary gesture, Pope Francis announced at the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on Sunday 6 March, that he has dispatched two Cardinals as expressions of the Church’s solidarity with the suffering Ukrainian people; Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Almoner, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, the Prefect ad interim of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

Cardinal Krajewski is on his way now (7 March) towards the Polish/Ukraine border, where he will visit refugees and volunteers in shelters and homes.

Cardinal Czerny will arrive in Hungary on Tuesday (8 March) to visit some reception centres for the migrants coming from Ukraine.

Both are directed to Ukraine and depending on the situation they intend to reach the country in the coming days.

The Cardinals will bring aid to the needy and serve as “the presence not only of the Pope, but of all the Christian people who express solidarity with the people of Ukraine and say: ‘War is madness! Stop, please! Look at this cruelty!’ Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine. It is not merely a ‘military operation’, but a war, which sows death, destruction and misery.”

Pope Francis declared, “The number of victims is increasing, as are the people fleeing, especially mothers and children. The need for humanitarian assistance in that troubled country is growing dramatically by the hour. I make a heartfelt appeal for humanitarian corridors to be genuinely secured, and for aid to be guaranteed and access facilitated to the besieged areas, in order to offer vital relief to our brothers and sisters oppressed by bombs and fear. I thank all those who are taking in refugees. Above all, I implore that the armed attacks cease and that negotiation – and common sense – prevail. And that international law be respected once again!”

This latest action by Pope Francis is meant to also call attention to the many similar situations throughout the world. As the Holy Father said on the previous Sunday, “With a heart broken by what is happening in Ukraine – let us not forget the wars in other parts of the world, such as Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia. I repeat: put down your weapons! God is with the peacemakers, not with those who use violence.” (Angelus, 27.02).

Cardinal Czerny will continue drawing the sad similarity between the Ukrainians’ sufferings and the protracted conflicts that no longer attract the world’s attention. In addition, he will raise concern that African and Asian residents in Ukraine, also suffering fear and displacement be allowed to seek refuge without discrimination. There are also worrisome reports of increasing activities of human trafficking and smuggling of migrants at the borders and in the neighboring countries. Since most of the people fleeing are believers, he will affirm that religious assistance should be offered to everyone, with sensitivity to ecumenical and interfaith differences. Finally, throughout the praiseworthy efforts to offer humanitarian responses and organize humanitarian corridors, there is great need for coordination, good organization and shared strategy, in order to embrace people’s sufferings and provide effective relief.

MONDAY MORNING WITH POPE FRANCIS – ST. PETER’S SQUARE HOSTS CARDIOLOGY MOBILE CLINIC FOR THE POOR

I’m not sure if you are aware of it but the Vatican is present at the Dubai Expo that began earlier this month and runs through March 2022. Here are some links to stories about the Holy See Pavilion: A 1,200-year-old Vatican Library manuscript is on display at Dubai Expo (catholicnewsagency.com). ALSO: The Holy See Opens Pavilion at Expo 2020 – Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia – Abu Dhabi (avosa.org). ALSO: Expo Dubai 2020 – Holy See Pavilion – YouTube. ALSO: Holy See Pavilion | Expo 2020 Dubai

As I do every Monday, I appear tonight on EWTN’s “At Home with Jim and Joy” when we talk about their focus this week: How can one know true and lasting happiness?  I explain what true and lasting happiness is for me. Tune in at 7:30 pm, East Coast time. You can also watch online if you can’t get to a TV (ewtn.com, then TV, then Watch Live).

MONDAY MORNING WITH POPE FRANCIS

There are some great photos in the following link about a meeting that Pope Francis had this morning in the Paul VI Hall with 500 Lutheran youths on an ecumenical journey to Rome from Germany. There was a musical interlude for the Holy Father who afterwards said: “Singing unites. …In the choir, no one is alone: it is important to listen to others.” Pope Francis: Listen to the melody of God in your lives – Vatican News

Also this morning, Francis welcomed German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who afterwards met Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

A Vatican statement noted that, “During the cordial talks, the Parties discussed the recent internal political developments within the country. Attention then turned to matters of mutual interest, especially the question of migration and various situations of international conflict, as well as the importance of multilateral commitment to the search for a solution.”

Click here for additional photos: Pope Francis receives German president in audience – Vatican News

ST. PETER’S SQUARE HOSTS CARDIOLOGY MOBILE CLINIC FOR THE POOR

The Office of Papal Charities and Rome’s San Carlo di Nancy Hospital team up to offer cardiological checkups for the poor at a mobile medical unit placed in St. Peter’s Square. The initiative is called “The roads of the heart, a journey for prevention.”

By Benedetta Capelli (vaticannews)

The goal of the joint initiative of the Office of Papal Charities and Rome’s San Carlo di Nancy Hospital is to provide life-saving cardiological checkups for those who do not have easy access to them, especially the poor living in the surrounding areas. The outreach is also providing a solidarity of presence for those who often feel alone and abandoned.

Many disadvantaged persons went to St. Peter’s Square since 9am Monday morning when the mobile clinic opened its doors. Service continued until 6pm. The initiative has been dubbed, “The Roads of the Heart,” and is coordinated by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski who heads the Office of Papal Charities, the Vatican’s charitable office that operates on behalf of the Pope, and medical doctors from the San Carlo di Nancy Hospital in Rome.

Outreach for the most vulnerable
The mobile clinic was placed next to the right colonnade where free heart and general medical consultations were carried out. The initiative, organized by the hospital, and including involvement from Tiberia Hospital and the Italian Heart Foundation, is itinerant and started on Thursday. It aims to raise awareness on good practices in daily life and the importance of regular check-ups. Cardiovascular diseases are in fact the main cause of death in Italy, accounting for 35.8% of all deaths, with a higher incidence among females: 38.8% compared to 32.5% for males. The percentages increase significantly for those living on the street, especially when compounded by other health challenges.

(PS. Rosaries blessed by the Pope were given to the doctors of this mobile clinic).