WHEN IS A PAPAL AUDIENCE A MYSTERY? – IN BRIEF

WHEN IS A PAPAL AUDIENCE A MYSTERY?

When I got the official Holy See Press Office bulletin today listing the individuals and groups the Pope received in the morning, I was very surprised to see the first name on the list of people whom the Pope would formally receive was Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu.

I was surprised because, since September 2020, the cardinal has been a “persona non grata” in the Vatican. On September 24, 2020, the Holy See Press office released this statement: “Today, Thursday, Sept. 24, the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and related rights of the Cardinalate, presented by His Eminence Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu.”

No explanation was given for the resignation that, it turned out, was at the Pope’s request. Becciu has not been eligible since then to enter into conclave to elect a new Pope.

Once the second most powerful prelate in the Vatican when he was “sostituto” in the Secretariat of State from 2011 to 2018 and then appointed prefect of the Congregation for Causes of Saints and made a cardinal, Becciu is now one of 10 people on trial in the Vatican for, among other accusations of fiscal malfeasance, embezzlement and fraud.

The Pope and the cardinal have met informally several times since September 2020.

In fact, on Holy Thursday, April 1, 2021, instead of celebrating the usual Mass of the Lord’s Supper at a prison, as is his wont, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in the chapel of Becciu’s apartment. This only became public knowledge when one of the guests at that Mass and dinner published it on their web page. The Vatican’s Holy See calendar had listed a substitute for the Pope on Holy Thursday but gave no reason why.

Becciu participated in events in August 2022 when Pope Francis named new cardinals and also called the entire college together to discuss the new constitution on the Roman Curia. According to Becciu, they have spoken on the phone about the cardinal’s alleged involvement in the fraud case regarding Vatican monies.

This is only the tip of the iceberg relative to the life and times of Cardinal Becciu but it does make one wonder:   Does Becciu’s formal audience with the Pope this morning mean the healing of a breach with Pope Francis? Is he about to be re-instated as a cardinal? If so, what does that mean for the accusations against him in the Vatican trial?

More questions at the moment than answers.

IN BRIEF

ADDRESSING MEMBERS OF AN AMATEUR SPORTS ASSOCIATION (Associazione Dilettantistica Sportiva) in the Vatican on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vatican Football League, Pope Francis noted that since the first football match in the Belvedere Courtyard in 1521 in the presence of Pope Leo X, the Association now includes other sports disciplines.  The Holy Father told those present that when they travel for championships they are “called upon to bear witness to your bond with the Holy See”. He explained that healthy athleticism is an activity that can contribute to the maturation of the spirit, and outlined three fundamental rules for an athlete: training, discipline and motivation. Pope Francis says sport is a metaphor for life – Vatican News

MEETING PHYSICIANS AND THE SICK AHEAD OF THE UPCOMING WORLD DAY OF THE SICK, Pope Francis told the doctors to never be discouraged, for it is the face of Jesus, in those they serve, and that the Lord is closest to those in fragility. The Holy Father offered these comforting reminders as he addressed representatives of the medical area of the Health Pastoral Office of the Diocese of Rome on Thursday in the Vatican. The annual World Day is marked on 11 February, it was introduced by Pope St. John Paul II as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses. Thanking all those committed to healthcare ministry, the Pope recalled the meeting takes place in the context of the World Day of the Sick, which this year, in the context of the synodal journey, has as its theme the Gospel motto ‘Take care of him’ from the Gospel according to St. Luke. Pope to Doctors: Don’t be discouraged – Vatican News

 

 

 

VATICAN INSIDER: THE STORY OF A PRIESTLY VOCATION AND A MILITARY “PARISH” – IN BRIEF

VATICAN INSIDER: THE STORY OF A PRIESTLY VOCATION AND A MILITARY “PARISH”

Again this week in the interview segment of “Vatican Insider,” my guest is Rev. Brad Easterbrooks, a deacon at the North American College in Rome who will be ordained to the priesthood in June. Last week we looked at his pre-seminary years – work at a consulting firm and on political campaigns, law school, then the Navy and assignment as a lawyer for JAG (remember the TV show “JAG” – Judge Advocate General!).

This week we focus on Brad’s future – his June ordination and assignment to a parish in the San Diego diocese and the eventual dream of ministry as a military chaplain, serving in the military ordinariate, a “parish” that spans the globe.

The day Brad re-commissioned and was sworn in as a Navy Chaplain Candidate on the roof of the North American College overlooking St. Peter’s in September 2018:  

Meeting Pope Francis in 2019 while participating in a Vatican conference on military chaplaincy:

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. 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.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

IN BRIEF

POPE CHOOSES “PILGRIMS OF HOPE” AS MOTTO OF 2025 JUBILEE. Pope Francis sent a letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, as the Church begins preparations for the 2025 Jubilee year. In light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, which left no country unscathed, Pope Francis wrote that he has chosen the motto “Pilgrims of Hope”, for the Jubilee. He notes that, “the Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church.” He recalled that ever since the year 1300, which marked the first Holy Year, “God’s holy and faithful people has experienced this celebration as a special gift of grace, characterized by the forgiveness of sins and in particular by the indulgence, which is a full expression of the mercy of God.” Pope urges a prayerful preparation for 2025 Jubilee – Vatican New

POPE: MAY OUR LADY OF LOURDES OPEN OUR HEARTS TO ENCOUNTER. Pope Francis sent a video message to Catholics in Argentina who are celebrating the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Lourdes at a Shrine dedicated to her in El Challao, in the province of Mendoza. February 11 is the anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France. Thirty years ago, Saint John Paul II instituted the World Day of the Sick on this day of the solemnity of Our Lady of Lourdes to highlight the plight of the sick and to call the attention of health institutions, civil society and all believers, to those who take care of them. Pope: May Our Lady of Lourdes open our hearts to encounter – Vatican News

CARDINAL PETER TURKSON ON FRIDAY CELEBRATED MASS FOR 30^TH WORLD DAY OF THE SICK: He presided over the celebration of Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the XXX World Day of the Sick on the theme “Be merciful, as your Father is merciful”. The Day is celebrated in memory of the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes who, the cardinal said in his homily, gave the world a “sign of God’s mercy that accompanies suffering humanity on its journey through life”…. “Letting oneself be attracted and guided by the logic of God’s mercy,” the cardinal observed, “means returning to the heart of Christian choice. By experiencing the Lord’s mercy one learns to have mercy. The cardinal was refering to the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah where God’s consolation is like that of a mother: “As a mother consoles her child, so will I console you”.  (Full story: Card. Turkson: Those who care for the sick lend their hands to God’s mercy – Vatican News

FEBRUARY 11 IN NUMBERS

I relived this day in numbers a few years ago but felt it might be good to update them.

FEBRUARY 11 IN NUMBERS

February 11 commemorates some important moments for the Catholic Church:

Today is the 164th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes to St. Bernadette.

It is the 93rd anniversary of the establishment of Vatican City State via the 1929 Lateran Pacts.

It is the 30th World Day of the Sick, established in May 1992 by St. John Paul II a year after he learned that he had Parkinson’s.

It is the 9th anniversary of the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he would resign the papacy effective at the end of the month.

The 11th hour of the 11th Day….

Today I focus on that last anniversary because of its unique nature and because of what it entailed for me – and hundreds of others – as a vaticanista. How to handle history as it is actually being made! Getting it right!

Where does one start to write about a day that is historical, stunning, amazing and also sad – there were so many reactions and emotions. Having lived in Rome for decades and having worked for or covered the Vatican and the papacy for all but two of those years, all of the above emotions were part of that incredible February 11, 2013 when we heard Pope Benedict XVI tell the world he would resign the papacy effective February 28, 2013!

Over the years, from my first visit to Rome as a college student to this very day, I have met or been in the presence of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, and have actually spoken to the last four. I was at the 1978 Mass when John Paul I was installed as Pope but never did meet him during his very brief pontificate.

Up to February 11, 2013, the whole world knew that the death of a Pope was the only way the papacy was vacated, that there could be a “sede vacante,” literally, a vacant seat (from which we get the word vacancy).

No one is alive on this earth today who ever heard a Pope say what Pope Benedict did on that fateful, historical morning exactly seven years ago – Monday, February 11, 2013.

I remember every moment of that day and subsequent ones like it just happened yesterday – the resignation, the TV appearances, the press conferences, the preparations for a conclave, the mountains of research need to answer questions and to prepare for EWTN’s live television coverage of all events, the visits prepared for the media to Castelgandolfo where Benedict would be living until his permanent home was ready to receive him, and the monastery where Benedict now lives.

I look back at February 11, 2013 with amazement, with gratitude for being here during an historical period, with awe at the events of the months that followed, and once again with gratitude for a Church that could so beautifully transition from one papacy to another.

I look back at the courage and humility and love of the Church that prompted Pope Benedict to resign as he feared, sensed, realized he could not serve the Church he loved as she deserved.

Benedict XVI had become a role model for so many people, for millions of Catholics – and others – who miss him very much today and wish him well and pray for him on a daily basis. More frequently than you might imagine – still today, seven years later – people write me to ask me to please extend to Pope emeritus Benedict their regards, their love, their prayers and their thanksgiving for his pontificate. I try to pass on what I can!

I vividly remember telling U.S. television the night of Benedict’s resignation that Pope John Paul II, in his long suffering, taught us how to die and Pope Benedict, in his humility, courage and love, was teaching us how to live!

Too often we live and make decisions based on what others might think of us. We want to “look good,” we need approval before we act. We rarely look inside ourselves to see – even pray – what is the right thing to do. That is what Benedict XVI did. He looked inside himself and, with great honesty, unbelievable courage and his noted humility, he knew he had to leave the papacy.

In my mind’s eye today I’ve relived every encounter I had with Pope Benedict over the years – the brief exchanges, his soft smile, his wonderful blue eyes, his total sincerity. I will say a rosary today for Benedict, out of love, respect and gratitude.

All this, of course, was a lead-in to the conclave that elected our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

So let’s pray for both!

I took this photo in 2014 on a Day for the Elderly:

Vaticannews photo –

POPE’S JANUARY PRAYER INTENTION: FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION – “BE MERCIFUL, EVEN AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL”

POPE’S JANUARY PRAYER INTENTION: FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

Pope Francis dedicates his first prayer message of 2022 to combatting religious discrimination and persecution, reminding us that religious freedom is not limited to freedom of worship, but is tied to fraternity. Click here for text and video: Pope’s January prayer intention: For those who suffer religious persecution – Vatican News

“BE MERCIFUL, EVEN AS YOUR FATHER IS MERCIFUL”

Pope Francis’ Message for the 30^th World Day of the Sick, celebrated annually on February 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, was released today by the Vatican. It is entitled, “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful: (Lk 6:36). Standing beside those who suffer on a path of charity.”

Francis starts by noting that, “Thirty years ago, Saint John Paul II instituted the World Day of the Sick to encourage the people of God, Catholic health institutions and civil society to be increasingly attentive to the sick and to those who care for them.

He wrote, “May the Thirtieth World Day of the Sick – whose closing celebration, due to the pandemic, will not take place as planned in Arequipa, Peru, but in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican – help us grow in closeness and service to the sick and to their families.” (photo is from Vatican media taken during July 2021 hospital stay of Pope Francis)

The Holy Father underscores that, “the theme chosen for this Thirtieth World Day of the Sick, ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’ (Lk 6:36), makes us first turn our gaze towards God, who is “rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4); he always watches over his children with a father’s love, even when they turn away from him. Mercy is God’s name par excellence; mercy, understood not as an occasional sentimental feeling but as an ever-present and active force, expresses God’s very nature. It combines strength and tenderness. … God cares for us with the strength of a father and the tenderness of a mother; he unceasingly desires to give us new life in the Holy Spirit.”

Pope Francis comments, “How often do the Gospels relate Jesus’ encounters with people suffering from various diseases! … We do well to ask ourselves why Jesus showed such great concern for the sick, so much so that he made it paramount in the mission of the apostles, who were sent by the Master to proclaim the Gospel and to heal the sick.”

He answers: “One 20th-century philosopher suggests a reason for this: ‘Pain isolates in an absolute way, and absolute isolation gives rise to the need to appeal to the other, to call out to the other’…. How can we forget, in this regard, all those patients who, during this time of pandemic spent the last part of their earthly life in solitude, in an intensive care unit, assisted by generous healthcare workers, yet far from their loved ones and the most important people in their lives? This helps us to see how important is the presence at our side of witnesses to God’s charity, who, following the example of Jesus, the very mercy of the Father, pour the balm of consolation and the wine of hope on the wounds of the sick.”

The Holy Father addresses healthcare workers: “Your service alongside the sick, carried out with love and competence, transcends the bounds of your profession and becomes a mission. Your hands, which touch the suffering flesh of Christ, can be a sign of the merciful hands of the Father. Be mindful of the great dignity of your profession, as well as the responsibility that it entails”

Francis emphasizes that, “patients are always more important than their diseases, and for this reason, no therapeutic approach can prescind from listening to the patient, his or her history, anxieties and fears. Even when healing is not possible, care can always be given. It is always possible to console, it is always possible to make people sense a closeness that is more interested in the person than in his or her pathology. For this reason, I would hope that the training provided to health workers might enable them to develop a capacity for listening and relating to others.

He explains that, “the World Day of the Sick is also a good occasion to focus our attention on care centers. Down the centuries, showing mercy to the sick led the Christian community to open innumerable ‘inns of the good Samaritan’ where love and care can be given to people with various kinds of sickness, especially those whose health needs are not being met due to poverty or social exclusion or to the difficulties associated with treating certain pathologies.”

However, writes the Pope, “We still have a long way to go; in some countries, access to adequate care remains a luxury. We see this, for example, in the scarcity of available vaccines against Covid-19 in poor countries; but even more in the lack of treatment for illnesses that require much simpler medicines. In this context, I wish to reaffirm the importance of Catholic healthcare institutions: they are a precious treasure to be protected and preserved; their presence has distinguished the history of the Church, showing her closeness to the sick and the poor, and to situations overlooked by others.”

“At a time in which the culture of waste is widespread and life is not always acknowledged as worthy of being welcomed and lived, these structures, like ‘houses of mercy’, can be exemplary in protecting and caring for all life, even the most fragile, from its beginning until its natural end.”

Pope Francis concludes: “I would like to remind everyone that closeness to the sick and their pastoral care is not only the task of certain specifically designated ministers; visiting the sick is an invitation that Christ addresses to all his disciples. How many sick and elderly people are living at home and waiting for a visit! The ministry of consolation is a task for every baptized person, mindful of the word of Jesus: ‘I was sick and you visited me’.”

 

FEBRUARY 11 IN NUMBERS

FEBRUARY 11 IN NUMBERS

February 11 commemorates some important moments for the Catholic Church:

Today is the 162st anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes to St. Bernadette.

It is the 91st anniversary of the establishment of Vatican City State via the 1929 Lateran Pacts.

It is the 28th World Day of the Sick, established in May 1992 by St. John Paul II, a year after he learned that he had Parkinson’s.

It is the 7th anniversary of the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he would resign the papacy effective at the end of the month.

The 11th hour of the 11th Day….

Today I focus on that last anniversary because of its unique nature and because of what it entailed for me – and hundreds of others – as a vaticanista. How to handle history as it is actually being made! Getting it right!

Where does one start to write about a day that is historical, stunning, amazing and also sad – there were so many reactions and emotions. Having lived in Rome for decades and having worked for or covered the Vatican and the papacy for all but two of those years, all of the above emotions were part of that incredible February 11, 2013 when we heard Pope Benedict XVI tell the world he would resign the papacy effective February 28, 2013!

Over the years, from my first visit to Rome as a college student to this very day, I have met or been in the presence of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis and have actually spoken to the last four. I was at the 1978 Mass when John Paul I was installed as Pope but never did meet him during his very brief pontificate.

Up to February 11, 2013, the whole world knew that the death of a Pope was the only way the papacy was vacated, that there could be a “sede vacante,” literally, a vacant seat (from which we get the word vacancy).

No one is alive on this earth today who had ever heard a Pope say what Pope Benedict did on that fateful, historical morning exactly seven years ago – Monday, February 11, 2013.

I remember every moment of that day and subsequent ones like it just happened yesterday – the resignation, the TV appearances, the press conferences, the preparations for a conclave, the mountains of research need to answer questions and to prepare for EWTN’s live television coverage of all events, the visits prepared for the media to Castelgandolfo where Benedict would be living until his permanent home was ready to receive him, and the monastery where Benedict now lives.

I look back at February 11, 2013 with amazement, with gratitude for being here during an historical period, with awe at the events of the months that followed, and once again with gratitude for a Church that could so beautifully transition from one papacy to another.

I look back at the courage and humility and love of the Church that prompted Pope Benedict to resign as he feared, sensed, realized he could not serve the Church he loved as she deserved.

Benedict XVI had become a role model for so many people, for millions of Catholics – and others – who miss him very much today and wish him well and pray for him on a daily basis. More frequently than you might imagine – still today, seven years later – people write me to ask me to please extend to Pope emeritus Benedict their regards, their love, their prayers and their thanksgiving for his pontificate. I try to pass on what I can!

I vividly remember telling U.S. television the night of Benedict’s resignation that Pope John Paul II, in his long suffering, taught us how to die and Pope Benedict, in his humility, courage and love, was teaching us how to live!

Too often we live and make decisions based on what others might think of us. We want to “look good,” we need approval before we act. We rarely look inside ourselves to see – even pray – what is the right thing to do. That is what Benedict XVI did. He looked inside himself and, with great honesty, unbelievable courage and his noted humility, he knew he had to leave the papacy.

In my mind’s eye today I’ve relived every encounter I had with Pope Benedict over the years – the brief exchanges, his soft smile, his wonderful blue eyes, his total sincerity. I will go to Mass and say a rosary today for Benedict, out of love, respect and gratitude.

All this, of course, was a lead-in to the conclave that elected our Holy Father, Pope Francis.

So let’s pray for both!

Vaticannews photo –

WORLD DAY OF THE SICK: POPE CALLS FOR A CULTURE OF GENEROSITY

WORLD DAY OF THE SICK: POPE CALLS FOR A CULTURE OF GENEROSITY

In his message for the 27th World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis urges believers to promote a culture of generosity, noting that the joy of generous giving is a barometer of the health of a Christian.
By Linda Bordoni (vaticannews)

Pope Francis says that those who care for the sick and give of themselves with generosity and straightforward love – like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta – are amongst the Church’s most credible evangelizers.

In his message for the World Day of the Sick, celebrated on 11 February, the Pope focused on Jesus’s words to the Apostles: “You received without payment; give without payment” (Mt 10:8).

“Gift”
Just as life is a gift from God, he said, and cannot be reduced to a personal possession or private property, he said that, “caring for the sick requires professionalism, tenderness, straightforward and simple gestures freely given, like a caress that makes others feel loved”.

“Amid today’s culture of waste and indifference”, he said, “gift” is the category best suited to challenging today’s individualism and social fragmentation, while at the same time promoting new relationships and means of cooperation between peoples and cultures.

“Gift,” he explained, is much more than simply giving presents: it involves the giving of oneself and entails the desire to build a relationship.

“Gift is a reflection of God’s love, which culminates in the Incarnation of the Son and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit”, he said.

The Pope also mentioned dialogue – the premise of gift – that, he said, creates possibilities for human growth and development capable of breaking through established ways of exercising power in society.

Everyone needs care
Pointing out that each of us “is poor, needy and destitute” needing the care of our parents to survive when we are born and remaining in some way dependent on the help of others at every stage of life, Pope Francis said a frank acknowledgement of our limitations “keeps us humble and spurs us to practice solidarity as an essential virtue in life”.

Urging believers to act responsibly to promote the good, he noted that, “Only if we see ourselves, not as a world apart, but in a fraternal relationship with others, can we develop a social practice of solidarity aimed at the common good.” At the same time, he said, no one should be afraid to regard themselves as needy or reliant on others, because individually and by our own efforts we cannot overcome our limitations.

Do not fear acknowledging those limitations, he explained: “for God himself, in Jesus, has humbly stooped down to us and continues to do so; in our poverty, he comes to our aid and grants us gifts beyond our imagining”.

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Established in 1993 by Pope Saint John Paul II on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes, a different city is chosen each year to host the World Day of the Sick. This year the choice has fallen on Calcutta in India and Pope Francis highlighted the figure of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta as a model of charity who made God’s love for the poor and sick visible.

“In all aspects of her life”, he said, “she was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence of human life, of those unborn and those abandoned and discarded… She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity”.

The Pope upheld her further saying that “she made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime – the crimes! – of poverty they created”.

Describing her mission to the urban and existential peripheries as an eloquent witness to God’s closeness to the poorest of the poor, the Pope said, “Saint Mother Teresa helps us understand that our only criterion of action must be selfless love for every human being, without distinction of language, culture, ethnicity or religion”.

Volunteers
Pope Francis’s message also praised the generosity of so many volunteers who, he said, are so important in health care and who eloquently embody the spirituality of the Good Samaritan.

He thanked the many associations run by volunteers that are committed to particular fields of health care including those who promote the rights of the sick, raise awareness and encourage prevention.

Noting that countless persons who are ill, alone, elderly or frail in mind or body benefit from these services, he urged them to continue to be a sign of the Church’s presence in a secularized world: “Volunteer work passes on values, behaviours and ways of living born of a deep desire to be generous. It is also a means of making health care more humane.”

Catholic healthcare institutions
The Pope also thanked Catholic healthcare institutions for their service, saying they are called “to give an example of self-giving, generosity and solidarity and he warned them against the trap of “simply running a business”.

Health, he said, “is relational, dependent on interaction with others, and requiring trust, friendship and solidarity. It is a treasure that can be enjoyed fully only when it is shared. The joy of generous giving is a barometer of the health of a Christian”.

Finally Pope Francis urged everyone “at every level, to promote the culture of generosity and of gift, which is indispensable for overcoming the culture of profit and waste”.

FOR COMPLETE MESSAGE IN ENGLISH: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/01/08/0015/00030.html#ing

POPE FRANCIS REGISTERS ONLINE FOR WYD 2019 – POPE FRANCIS: HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

Papal Tweets, Yesterday and Today:

February 12: I feel deep pain for the many children torn from their families and forced to become child soldiers. This is a tragedy!

February 11: To serve human life is to serve God and life at every stage: from the womb of the mother, to the suffering and sickness of old age.

February 11: May the sick always be shown love in their fragility and respected in their inviolable dignity.

It was a big day at the Vatican yesterday as the Church marked the World Day of the Sick and the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the 89th anniversary of the creation of Vatican City State via the Lateran Pacts of 1929.

In addition, February 11 also marked the fifth anniversary of Benedict XVI’s announcement that he would resign the papacy at the end of February 2013!

None of us who were in Rome that day will ever forget that announcement – words that Benedict himself said would “be important for the life of the Church.”

I look back at February 11, 2013 with amazement, with gratitude for being here during an historical period and during a remarkable and rich pontificate, with awe at the events of the months that followed, and once again with gratitude for a Church that could so beautifully transition from one papacy to another.

I posted a lengthy column yesterday about this anniversary in which I also looked back at the courage and humility and love of the Church that prompted Pope Benedict to resign as he feared, sensed, realized that he could not, with diminishing physical capabilities, serve the Church he loved as she deserved.

POPE FRANCIS REGISTERS ONLINE FOR WYD 2019

At the Sunday Angelus in the presence of an estimated 30,000 faithful, Pope Francis spoke of the World Day of the Sick, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Chinese New Year.

Francis said today “we contemplate Jesus as the true physician of our bodies and souls ….. whom God the Father sent into the world to heal humanity, marked by sin and its consequences.” The Pope said it was not sickness or illness that made us unclean – referring to the Gospel story of the leper that Jesus healed – rather, “It is sin that makes us unclean! Selfishness, pride, entering the world of corruption, these are diseases of the heart from which we need to be cleansed, turning to Jesus like the leper did: ‘If you wish, you can cleanse me!’”

Then, completely changing the subject, the Holy Father noted that, “registration opens today for World Youth Day, which will take place in Panama in January 2019. Right now, along with two young people, I too will register on the internet.”

And so, with the aid of two young people flanking him in his study, the Holy Father touched the screen of a tablet, enrolled as a pilgrim to World Youth Day and invited the world’s youth do the same – either by going to Panama or by participating in their communities.

If WYD in Panama is on your agenda for January 22-27, 2019, you can follow the example of Pope Francis and register online here!

Pope Francis then sent cordial greetings to the “millions of men and women who will celebrate the Lunar New Year” on 15 February. “My cordial greeting goes out to all their families, with the hope that they may live ever more solidarity, brotherhood and the desire for goodness, and so contributing to the creation of a society in which everyone is accepted, protected, promoted and integrated. I invite everyone to pray for the gift of peace, a precious treasure that must be sought with compassion, foresight, and courage. I accompany and bless everyone.”

Francis also greeted Rome’s Congolese community, and reminded the faithful that a day of prayer and fasting for peace will be celebrated on February 23rd, especially for the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan

POPE FRANCIS: HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

On Monday, in the Clementine Hall in the Vatican, Pope Francis met with participants in the World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking.

For the first time in the history of the event, Pope Francis met with approximately 110 persons representing survivors, young people, and members of the committee organizing the International Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking. The theme for this year focused on the role of young people in view of the upcoming Synod of Bishops.

Pope Francis fielded four questions from young people. Two came from victims and two came from young people who participated in events prepared for them by the organizational team. The questions from the victims prompted the Pope to point out the problems in society that make modern-day slavery possible: ignorance, unwillingness to admit the issue, and hypocrisy.

He underlined several times that he has “never lost an occasion to denounce human trafficking as a crime against humanity.” The Pope took the opportunity to encourage the young people present to “meet with the survivors of human trafficking,” and to learn the signs that someone might be living in slavery. He said that because young people are so open, they might have the courage to say what they see happening around them.

Finally, in response to a question regarding whether the voices of young people from the peripheries would be heard at the synod, he asked them to contact Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, who heads the synod of Bishops: “Do me a favor—call him on my behalf—this way you make the work easier.”

Pope Francis and his guests concluded by reciting together a prayer to St Josephine Bakhita, the patron of the victims of human trafficking.

On Friday, Pope Francis had addressed members of the Santa Marta Group as they held their fifth meeting. This is a group of senior law enforcement officers, bishops, religious women and key international organizations whose focus is to update and share best practices in the fight against human trafficking and modern slavery. It was founded in 2014 in the UK, and Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster heads the group. (Vaticannews.va) – Sr. Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp)

A PAPAL SUNDAY: A CULTURE OF LIFE, A CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER, A WORLD OF PEACE – WORLD DAY OF SICK TO BE CELEBRATED FEBRUARY 11 AT LOURDES

A PAPAL SUNDAY: A CULTURE OF LIFE, A CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER, A WORLD OF PEACE

Just nine days after he sent a message to organizers and participants in the March for Life in Washington, D.C., Pope Francis on Sunday at the Angelus marked Italy’s Day for Life by focusing on creating a culture of life and protecting life at all stages. He called on the faithful to join Italian bishops in promoting a culture of life in which “no one is left alone.….each life is sacred. … So let’s pray together for those children who risk a pregnancy termination and for those who are nearing the end of life. may no one be left alone and may love defend the sense of life.”

Addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square after the recitation of the Marian prayer, Francis urged all believers to respond to “the logic of waste and demographic downturn” by upholding and promoting a “culture of life.” Quoting Saint Teresa of Calcutta who said, “life is beauty, admire it; life is life, fight for it,” the Pope stressed that is true for the child about to be born and for the person who is about to die as “every life is sacred!”

Sunday was also America’s greatest sports celebration – the Super Bowl. How many people know that Pope Francis sent a video message to Super Bowl athletes and fans, saying great sporting events like this annual championship game are “highly symbolic and show that it is possible to build a culture of encounter and a world of peace. By participating in sport, we are able to go beyond our own self-interest – and in a healthy way – we learn to sacrifice, to grow in fidelity and respect the rules. may this year’s super bowl be a sign of peace, friendship and solidarity to the world.”

WORLD DAY OF SICK TO BE CELEBRATED FEBRUARY 11 AT LOURDES

Officials from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development held a press conference today in the Holy See Press Office to present the 25th World Day of the Sick to be held in Lourdes, France on February 11. They also presented the New Charter for Healthcare Workers.

Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary of this Dicastery explained that the World Day of the Sick was instituted by St. John Paul II in 1992 and, on this 25th anniversary, it will be celebrated in an extraordinary way, at Pope Francis’ behest. Among the many figures who will attend the event in Lourdes on February 11, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin will be present as papal legate, and will celebrate the solemn Mass on the anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous.

The new Charter was then presented. It was defined as a revision and updating of the previous Charter for Healthcare Workers, the theological, moral and medical “vademecum” that resulted from an intuition of the first president of the former pontifical council, Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini and was translated into 19 languages and was for twenty years a basic text for healthcare workers.

Msgr. Musivi Mupendawatu also noted Pope Francis’ Message for the upcoming 25^th anniversary, saying its theme is “Amazement at what God has accomplished: ‘The Almighty has done great things for me…’” (Luke 1:49).

To read the entire summary of the press conference: http://www.news.va/en/news/vatican-presents-25th-world-day-of-sick-new-charte

 

 

NEWS IN BRIEF

When you got up today and saw the date, did you say “why does February 11 ring a bell?!” Well, it was exactly three years ago today that Pope Benedict resigned! Does that seem possible?! So many millions still miss him and many millions pray for him daily, as do I. Blessings on you, Holy Father emeritus!

February 11 is traditionally a holiday at the Vatican because Vatican City State became an independent sovereign state after signing a treaty with Italy on February 11, 1929. This year we mark the 87^th anniversary of the Lateran Pacts. In addition, the Church annually marks the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of the Sick on this date.

Pope Francis is getting ready to leave tomorrow on an apostolic pilgrimage to Mexico, but he made time today for a number of appointments as you will see. As a native Spanish-speaker he surely did not have to spend as much time in recent weeks practicing his language skills for his 6 days in Mexico. He will, however, have spent a lot of time honing diplomatic skills because his first stop tomorrow on the way to Mexico is of huge, dramatic, historic importance because he will meet in Cuba for two hours with Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the first time leaders of the Roman Catholic and Russian Orthodox Church have met since the great schism in 1054. The two are expected to sign a Joint Declaration.

Pope Francis is expected to land in Cuba at 2 pm (ET) and meet for two hours with Patriarch Kirill. More on that tomorrow. In the meantime, some highligjts of the day….

NEWS IN BRIEF

POPE FRANCIS THURSDAY MORNING PAID A PRIVATE VISIT to St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, where – as has become customary – he prayed before the icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani ahead of his Apostolic Voyage to Mexico. From St Mary Major, the Holy Father made the short journey to Rome’s cathedral, St. John Lateran basilica, where the priests of the diocese were meeting at the beginning of Lent. During the visit, Pope Francis heard the confessions of several priests. St. John is the cathedral of the bishop of Rome, Pope Francis. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar for the diocese of Rome, said the meeting with priests had a “penitential” character, offering the clergy the opportunity “to have an experience of the mercy of the Father; and, in turn, to be able to ministers of mercy in the communities entrusted to us.” As a Lenten “sign,” the offering taken up during the encounter was donated to the diocesan branch of Caritas. Pope Francis offered as a gift to each of the priests of the diocese a copy of his book “The Name of God is Mercy.”

POPE FRANCIS HAS DONATED 500 ROSARIES TO THE DETAINEES in a prison in the Italian city of Padua. Fr. Marco Sanavio, the priest entrusted with delivering the papal gift, had the idea to “more directly”involve prisoners in the “Moment of Peace” (Un’ attimo di pace) initiative launched four years ago on the web in Italy. The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, reports that the request for the rosaries came from Zhang Augustine Jianqing, a young Chinese man currently incarcerated in the Padua prison, who also participated in Rome at the presentation of the book-length interview of Pope Francis by veteran Italian journalist Andrea Tornielli, The Name of God is Mercy.

CARDINAL LEONARDO SANDRI, PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR ORIENTAL CHURCHES, has sent a letter to the bishops of the world, appealing for aid to the Church in the Holy Land. The letter is dated Ash Wednesday, 2016, and looks forward to the worldwide collection for the Christians of the Holy Land, which is made at Good Friday each year in churches around the globe. The English-language letter starts, “Good Friday is the day when evil seemed to triumph, as the Innocent One suffered death on the Cross. It is a day that never seems to end in the Holy Land, where apparently interminable violence must be endured. Broadening our the gaze to the whole world, it is no less difficult to give wings to hope for a serene future.” The cardinal adds: “The Collection for the Holy Land reminds us of an ‘ancient’ duty, which the history of recent years has made more urgent, but no less a source of the joy that comes from helping our brothers.” Cardinal Sandri explains that, “In this Jubilee year, we are urged more than ever to demonstrate our mercy and solicitude for our brothers in the Middle East. Refugees, displaced persons, the elderly, children, and the sick are all in need of our help. In this land of the East, people are dying, being kidnapped and even killed. Many live in agony for their loved ones, or suffer when the family is divided on account of forced migration and exodus.”

POPE FRANCIS’ SPECIAL ENVOY, ARCHBISHOP ZYGMUNT ZIMOWSKI, celebrated Mass on Thursday in the town of Nazareth in the Holy Land to mark the Church’s World Day of the Sick. The Mass took place in Nazareth’s Basilica of the Annunciation and was the centerpiece of events marking the 2016 World Day of the Sick that is celebrated each year on February 11th, the feast day of St. Bernadette of Lourdes. In his homily at the Mass, Archbishop Zimowski, who is President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, reminded his listeners that the central theme of Pope’s Francis’ message for this year’s World Day of the Sick is the need for us to entrust our lives to the Merciful Jesus like Mary did.  Archbishop Zimowski said all of us are called in our different ways to help the person who is suffering and stressed we must not be intimidated by the fact that we cannot help in a satisfactory way, in the way that Jesus did. “The important thing,” he said, “is to go, to be at the side of the man who suffers.”

THE PHILATELIC AND NUMISMATIC OFFICE OF VATICAN CITY STATE has announced that the 2016 Vatican coins will soon be released. These include the 8 usual Euro coins (2 and 1 Euro, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 euro-cent), bearing the image of Pope Francis, as Sovereign of the Vatican City State. This year, the €20 Silver coin and the €50 Gold coin have images chosen for the Year of Mercy. The Silver coin has an image of Pope Francis embracing a teenager, while the back has an image of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The Gold coin has an image of the Holy Father opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, while the back has an image of the Jubilee logo, which features Jesus carrying a man – representing humanity – on his shoulders. The Philatelic and Numismatic Office is also releasing a Jubilee of Mercy coin card. (sources for stories: new.va)

RESPECT FOR THE HUMAN PERSON FROM CONCEPTION TO NATURAL DEATH – POPE FRANCIS MEETS ACTOR AND ENVIRONMENTALIST DICAPRIO – NAZARETH TO HOST 24TH WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

Today was one of those days when time required me to be out of the office more than I was in and at my desk. In late afternoon, I taped an on-location episode of “Bookmark” with Doug Keck, part of a longer afternoon “on location.”

It is fairly late now but here are the stories that made the news today.

RESPECT FOR THE HUMAN PERSON FROM CONCEPTION TO NATURAL DEATH

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday speaking to the members of the Italian Committee for Bioethics, underlined how the Church supports the efforts of civil society to promote, “the search for truth and goodness on complex human and ethical issues”.

He told those gathered that the Church had a sensitivity to ethical issues, adding that, “the Church did not claim any privileged voice in this field.” But he highlighted the importance of serving man, all men and women with special attention and care, from the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, who are struggling find the their voice.

On this level, he said, “the ecclesial community and civil society meet and are called to cooperate, in accordance with their distinct skills. ”

The Pope noted the fact that the Committee “had repeatedly dealt with the respect for the integrity of the human being and the protection of health from conception to natural death, considering the person in his singularity, always as an end and never simply as a means “:

He added that “this ethical principle was also crucial with regard to biotechnology applications in the medical field, which may never be used in a manner detrimental to human dignity, or guided solely by industrial or commercial purposes”.

Bioethical research on complex issues, the Pope emphasized, is not easy and does not always quickly reach a harmonious conclusion; it always requires humility and realism, he said.

Concluding his address, the Holy Father stressed three specific areas in which he wanted to encourage the committee’s work.

The first was the interdisciplinary analysis of the causes of environmental degradation.

The Pope said, he hoped that the Committee would  formulate guidelines, in areas that concern the life sciences, to stimulate actions of conservation, preservation and care of the environment essential for future generations.

Secondly, he highlighted the issue of disability and marginalization of vulnerable groups, in a society he said, tending towards competition, and the acceleration of progress.

The culture of waste

Pope Francis stressed the importance and challenge of tackling what he called “the culture of waste,” which, he underlined had many forms, such as treating human embryos and even the sick and elderly who are approaching death as disposable materials.

Thirdly, the Holy Father encouraged the committee to work towards increasing dialogue internationally, even if, he said, that presented difficulties, in order to reach a harmonization of biological and medical standards and rules so that they are able to recognize core values ​​and fundamental rights.

POPE FRANCIS MEETS ACTOR AND ENVIRONMENTALIST DICAPRIO

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio.

The actor gave the Pope a book of art from the Dutch Renaissance painter, Hieronymus Bosch, and at the end of the encounter, DiCaprio kissed the Pope’s ring, and, in Italian, thanked the Holy Father for meeting with him.

DiCaprio addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this month, calling on business leaders to do more to fight global warming, and announcing The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is donating $15 million to environmental projects.

NAZARETH TO HOST 24^TH WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

(VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present the 24th World Day of the Sick, to be celebrated in Nazareth in the Holy Land on 11 February, feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, on the theme “Entrusting oneself to the merciful Jesus like Mary: ‘Do whatever he tells you’”, based on the account of the wedding at Cana according to the Gospel of St. John.

The panel was composed of Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers (Health Pastoral Care), Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary of the same dicastery, Rev. Fr. Augusto Chendi, under-secretary, Rev. Fr. Pietro Felet, S.C.I., secretary general of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land and local referent for the organisation of the World Day of the Sick 2016.

The place where this annual Day will be held – Nazareth, in the Holy Land – is the first point to highlight, said Archbishop Zimowski. Nazareth is the place of the incarnation, where Jesus began His salvific mission and in Galilee cured many people, as is narrated in the Gospel of St. Mark, read in these days, in which Christ calls to the sick to heal them and, in turn, is called to by them. “In a certain sense we are all constantly called upon, although each person in a different way,” explained the prelate. “The human being suffers in different places and, at times, suffers terribly. He calls to another person as he is in need of his help and his presence. At times we are intimidated by the fact of not being able to heal, of not being able to help like Jesus. Let us try to overcome this embarrassment. The important thing is to keep going, to stay beside the man who suffers. He needs, perhaps more than healing, the presence of another person, of a human heart full of mercy, of human solidarity.”

Click here for press conference: http://www.news.va/en/news/presentation-of-the-world-day-of-the-sick