VATICAN INSIDER: AN INSIDER’S STORY OF MOTHER TERESA – PAPAL CONDOLENCES FOR DEATH OF CARDINAL CAPOVILLA – CA’ MAITINO, MEMORIES OF A PONTIFICATE – REFUGEE BOAT IS ALTAR FOR CORPUS CHRISTI MASS – US BISHOPS CONCERN ABOUT ANNOUNCED PLANS FOR EXPULSION OF IMMIGRANTS

VATICAN INSIDER: AN INSIDER’S STORY OF MOTHER TERESA

My special guest this week on Vatican Insider is Fr.. Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, the official postulator of the cause of canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa, foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. We spoke when he was in Rome for the March 15 announcement by Pope Francis of the decrees of canonization for Blessed Mother Teresa and four others. The September 4 date for her canonization was also announced that day. Listen as Fr. Brian tells riveting stories about this future saint, and how he came to be the postulator for her cause.

PAPAL CONDOLENCES FOR DEATH OF CARDINAL CAPOVILLA

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the Bishop of Bergamo, Italy for the death of Cardinal Loris Francesco Capovilla, the former private secretary of Pope John XXIII.

Upon hearing of the Cardinal’s passing 26 May 2016 at the age of 100, Pope Francis wrote in a telegram to Bishop Francesco Beschi, in whose diocese Cardinal Capovilla lived the last years of his life:  “I think with affection of this dear brother who in his long and fruitful existence gave witness to the Gospel with joy and obediently served the Church, first in the diocese of Venice, then with attentive affection at the side of Pope John XXIII, of whose memory he was the zealous custodian and expert interpreter. In his episcopal ministry, especially in Chieti-Vasto and Loreto (Italy), he was always a pastor totally dedicated to the wellbeing of all priests and the faithful …with a solid fidelity to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.”

Pope Francis concluded his telegram with a prayer, “with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Mark the Evangelist,” so that the Lord will receive his soul “nel Gaudio” and “in eternal peace, ” and offered his apostolic blessing to all those who grieve his passing.

Cardinal Capovilla was born on 14 October 1915 in Pontelungo, northern Italy.

He was ordained a priest in Venice, Italy, in 1940; he was appointed and ordained Archbishop of Chieti, in 1967.  From 1971 to 1988, he served as prelate of Loreto, Italy.

On 22 February 2014, Pope Francis elevated him cardinal and, cardinal-priest of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome.

CA’ MAITINO, MEMORIES OF A PONTIFICATE

Ca’ Maitino is the residence in Sotto il Monte (the town where Pope St. John XXIII was born) where Cardinal Loris Capovilla, secretary to John XXIII lived in recent years, until his death yesterday, May 26, 2016, at the age of 100.

It was here that Angelo Roncalli, priest, bishop and Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, spent his annual vacation, together with his secretary, Msgr. Capovilla. In many ways, it was a second home to both men, and was thus a place that Msgr. Capovilla felt drawn to upon retirement. Today, it houses many mementoes and belongings of the late pontiff, and offers the visitors time to pray in the lovely, intimate chapel where Angelo Roncalli celebrated daily Mass when he was in residence.

The following slideshow photos depict both the grounds and the interior of Ca’ Maitino:

REFUGEE BOAT IS ALTAR FOR CORPUS CHRISTI MASS

“Someone who lets people drown in the Mediterranean also drowns God — every day, thousands of times.”

The archbishop of Cologne, Germany, Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, spoke these striking words on Thursday to condemn Europe’s increasingly tough attitude toward refugees. He spoke during a Mass in one of the German city’s main squares.

Woelki also used a seven-meter-long former refugee boat as his altar for the service to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi. The boat had previously been recovered by the Maltese military during a search-and-rescue operation.

The cardinal emphasized the significance of choosing the boat, saying that altars had always symbolized Jesus Christ. “To see those in need and help them is the task the Lord has given to us as Christians,” said Woelki.

“Their cry for justice, for dignity and peace are also God’s cry,” the archbishop commented, according to a translation by Austria’s Catholic Press Agency.

Click here for entire story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/05/26/the-stunning-way-a-catholic-priest-marked-the-deaths-of-refugees-in-the-mediterranean/

US BISHOPS CONCERN ABOUT ANNOUNCED PLANS FOR EXPULSION OF IMMIGRANTS From Washington (FIDES, a news agency of the Congregation for Evangelization) –   Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration expressed deep concern over reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will soon begin a month-long series of immigrant deportation raids. Incoming committee chairman, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, also voiced such concern. The letter sent to Fides by the USCCB, reports that the upcoming operations will cover in particular Central American undocumented mothers and children. “These operations spark panic among our parishes,” said Bishop Elizondo. “No person, migrant or otherwise, should have to fear leaving their home to attend church or school. No person should have to fear being torn away from their family and returned to danger.” Bishop Elizondo and Archbishop Gomez remind the administration and ICE that enforcement actions that cause families to live in constant fear run contrary to long-standing American values and challenge the God-given dignity of every person. (CE)