LIVING FULLY 2016: DISABILITY, CULURE AND FAITH, A CELEBRATION – WINE: THE SEARCH FOR WOMEN SAINTS CONTINUES IN ROME

Pope Francis is in Armenia for a three-day visit and you can follow coverage of that on EWTN television, on our news pages at ewtn.com and also via periodic radio reports from Armenia.

June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist, is celebrated in a big way in Rome, and is the onomastico, the name day, of all those named John (of Joan!). For many individuals and families in Italy, the name day is a bigger celebration that the birthday. After all, we got our name at our baptism! As Pope Francis often asks: Do you know when you were baptized?

LIVING FULLY 2016: DISABILITY, CULURE AND FAITH, A CELEBRATION

It has been a wonderful first full day in Rome after a period of travel. I finally slept more than five hours and that alone was a gift from heaven! I spent late morning and early afternoon preparing this week’s edition of my EWTN radio program “Vatican Insider. I then went to the Rome office of CNA/EWTN/ news to be on Teresa Tomeo’s program, “Catholic Connection.” Immediately afterwards I walked (in 96 degree weather) about five blocks to LUMSA, a Catholic University with some offices near the Vatican to join my friends who organized the Kairos Forum conference in co-sponsorship with the Pontifical Council for Culture. The theme this year is “Living Fully 2016: Disability, Culture and Faith, a Celebration.”

Speaking of the Kairos Forum and conference, my guest this weekend on VATICAN INSIDER is CRISTINA GANGEMI, a disability advisor to the Bishops Conference of England and Wales, and director of the Kairos Forum that seeks to highlight and respond to the spiritual and religious needs of people with disabilities. As I said, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture is co- sponsoring with Kairos this academic symposium and conference entitled, LIVING FULLY 2016 whose aim is to celebrate the lives and stories of disabled people within culture and faith. Cristina will tell us all about Kairos and the Vatican conference.

When I arrived at LUMSA I saw Cristina’s son Gianluca who was an intern for five months with EWTN, during which time he was the producer for my twice weekly segments for “At Home with Jim and Joy.” Here’s the shirt he was wearing

Linda and Jack Del Rio (coach of the Oakland Raiders) are very supportive of Kairos and provided the conference workers and volunteers with a number of these shirts.

Here’s a link to the Living Fully 2016 website, with press releases, speakers, etc.: http://www.livingfully2016.com/

How to listen to VATICAN INSIDER: In the United States, you can listen to Vatican Insider on a Catholic radio station near you (there is a list of U.S. stations at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio. In the U.S. or outside the U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” Vatican Insider airs Saturday mornings at 9:00 am (Eastern time). On the SKY satellite feed to the UK and parts of Europe, VI airs on audio channel 0147 at 11:30 am CET on Saturdays, and 5:30 am and 10 pm CET on Sundays. It’s also available on demand on the EWTN app and on the website. CHECK FOR YOUR TIME ZONE. Past shows are in VI archives: http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/file_index.asp?SeriesId=7096&pgnu=

As I write, I await a text message from the WINE group about possibly joining some of them for dinner in Trastevere. If not, the Kairos group invited me to join them at 8:30 at La Scaletta!

WINE: THE SEARCH FOR WOMEN SAINTS CONTINUES IN ROME

Below is a link to a column posted yesterday by Kelly Wahlquist, founder of WINE, Women in the New Evangelization, and co-leader of the WINE pilgrimage to Italy, along with Teresa Tomeo. I was with the group for most of their stay in Umbria and we arrived Rome on Wednesday evening after a day spent with St. Rita in Cascia.

Following a somewhat late dinner Kelly, Teresa and I sought a place in the hotel to start writing our daily posts together. Hotel wifi presented a few issues and Kelly seemed to have the worst luck, as you will read below. I, of course, returned home and solved the wifi issue there! As you will see, at the end of her piece, entitled Journey through Italy “virtually” impossible, Kelly also gives links to columns posted by Teresa and me. http://www.winepilgrimages.com/journey-with-us/

 

 

INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY SYMPOSIUM “LIVING FULLY 2016” COMMENCES IN ROME

Perhaps you’ve read what I’ve previously written about this conference and perhaps even heard my interview with Cris Gangemi, director of The Kairos Forum, on my weekend radio program. “Vatican Insider.” Time allowing, I will be present at a session or two of this very important four-day conference, explained in the following news release today from The Kairos Forum.

INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY SYMPOSIUM “LIVING FULLY 2016” COMMENCES IN ROME

The international disability events “Living Fully 2016” began today in Rome with an academic symposium. The events were officially opened by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture.  The four days will be a celebration of disability, culture and faith.  Theologians and practitioners in the field of disability – both physical and intellectual, are gathering from the four corners of the globe to share their knowledge, insights and experience to foster greater engagement in Church communities far and wide. The event is pioneered by The Kairos Forum, a Caritas member disability organisation in the UK.  Cristina Gangemi, director was delighted when the Pontifical Council for Culture offered to be co Patron of this unique event.

“We are enormously grateful to Cardinal Ravasi for his practical support thus enabling this event to become a reality.  We hope that the outcome will be a greater awareness and positive culture, that faith communities of belonging for all abilities can be a reality. Our collective experience demonstrates how enriching these inclusive communities are – both practically and spiritually.”

Speakers at the symposium and conference include Professor Hans Reinders and Reverend Bill Gaventa, both longstanding scholars in disability theology.  Sr. Veronica Donatello Director of The Office of Disability and Catechesis at C.E. Katie Toone, communications Director, will speak on the topic of Pope Francis’ recent quote “Everybody or Nobody.”  Exploring the spectrum of disability, Fr Bill Braviner who serves an Anglican parish on Teeside and David Lucas of Disability & Jesus, will speak about disability within the context of faith.

The website:  www.livingfully2016.com