IN BRIEF
Pope to parish priests: ‘The Church couldn’t go on without your dedication’ –Pope Francis sends a letter to parish priests taking part in the International Meeting “Parish Priests for the Synod” and underscores, regardless of how obvious it may seem, that the Church couldn’t go on without their love, faith and dedication. With these words, Pope Francis offered heartfelt thanks to parish priests in a letter he sent them on the occasion of the International Meeting “Parish Priests for the Synod.” Some three hundred parish priests from around the world gathered this week in Sacrofano, outside of Rome, for the five-day meeting dedicated to listening, prayer, and discernment to address the question of how to be a local synodal Church on mission, which concludes today. Pope to parish priests: ‘The Church couldn’t go on without your dedication’ – Vatican News
Pope to Anglican bishops: ‘Patient dialogue’ needed on papal primacy – Speaking to the Primates of the Anglican Communion, Pope Francis says that even the very earliest Christians had their disagreements. Senior clergy from the Anglican Communion are in Rome this week for the body’s 2024 Primates Meeting – the first of its kind to be held in the Eternal City. Pope Francis went on to thank the gathered bishops for having chosen Rome, the “City of the Apostles Peter and Paul”, as the location for their meeting this year. “I realise”, the Pope said, “that the role of the Bishop of Rome is still a controversial and divisive issue among Christians.” “For this reason,” Pope Francis stressed, “it is necessary to engage in ‘a patient and fraternal dialogue on this subject, a dialogue which, leaving useless controversies behind’, strives to understand how the Petrine ministry can deve l\op as a service of love for all.” Pope to Anglican bishops: ‘Patient dialogue’ needed on papal primacy – Vatican News
Pope receives the King of Jordan – Pope Francis received King Abdullah II and his entourage in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Thursday morning. The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists there was a “very cordial dialogue,” at the private encounter which lasted 20 minutes. After their conversation this morning, and greetings with the Jordanian delegation, there was the traditional exchange of gifts between the leaders. Pope Francis and the Sovereign of the Hashemite Kingdom have known each other since the start of the Holy Father’s papacy. Their first meeting was in 2014 for the occasion of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Journey to the Holy Land, which also included a stop in the Jordanian capital of Amman. Pope receives the King of Jordan – Vatican News
Ten unpublished shots of Padre Pio now available to all – “Photographs of Saint Pio – Memories of a Saint” is an initiative of the Saint Pio Foundation, which has selected some photographs of the saint taken by his photographer, Elia Stelluto, and made them available to believers for free. The initiative marks the 25th anniversary of the beatification of the Saint of Pietrelcina and the 10th anniversary of the Foundation. Elia Stelluto, born in 1935, has taken thousands of photos of the Franciscan friar, in everyday life, during various celebrations, during intimate moments, all without a flash. Yet they all have a unique light. “I still can’t understand the mystery of these photos,” says “Padre Pio’s photographer.” Ten of Stelluto’s photographs of the saint, some of which are unpublished, are now freely available to believers and devotees of Padre Pio on a dedicated website: therealsaintpio.org. Ten unpublished shots of Padre Pio now available to all – Vatican News
Joan's Rome 