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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- With little fanfare, Pope Francis officially opened the Year of Prayer after Mass for the church's celebration of Sunday of the Word of God."Today we begin the Year of Prayer; that is, a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in personal life, in the life of the church and in the world," he said, after praying the Angelus with visitors in St. Peter's Square Jan. 21.The pope called for the special year last February to help prepare Catholics worldwide for the Holy Year, which begins with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica Dec. 24.   Construction is underway at the intersection of Piazza Pia and Via della Conciliazione, the wide boulevard leading to St. Peter's Square, in preparation for the Holy Year at the Vatican Jan. 23, 2024. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)Preparing for the jubilee is not just about the huge construction projects underway throughout Rome to help welcome and facilitate the flow of an estimated 3...
WASHINGTON - This year, Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine's Day (February 14), and Catholics in dioceses across the United States can express love for their sisters and brothers in war-torn Ukraine and in 27 other post-Communist countries by giving to the U.S. bishops' annual Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe.The generosity of Catholics in the U.S. through this collection, especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, has yielded over $2 million in urgent humanitarian and pastoral relief to victims of the war. But this generous response did not stop at the Ukrainian border -- the 329 grants awarded in 2023 totaled $8.7 million and helped rebuild churches, support seminary education, and minister to the unique spiritual needs of families and young people. "When Catholics give to this collection, they are actively participating in the rebuilding of the Church in places where decades of Communism have left behind devastated churches and wounded spirits," said B...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- God's word cuts through the sea of chatter spoken aloud and uttered online to touch the hearts of Christians and inspire them to share the Gospel, Pope Francis said."While society and social media reflect the violence of words, let us draw closer to and cultivate the quiet word that brings salvation, that is meek, that doesn't make noise, that enters into the heart," the pope said during his homily at Mass for the church's celebration of Sunday of the Word of God in St. Peter's Basilica Jan. 21.Although Christians today are "barraged by words about the church," he encouraged them to "rediscover the word of life that resounds in the church.""If not, we end up talking more about ourselves" than about Jesus, "and concentrate on our own thoughts and problems rather than on Christ and his word," the pope told the approximately 5,000 people gathered for Mass in the basilica.In 2019, the pope decreed that the third Sunday of Ordinary Time be devoted to the "celebratio...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A journalist's reporting about the Catholic Church should not aim to polarize people or push certain positions, but to seek and share the truth, Pope Francis said.Journalists have an obligation to ground their work "on the solid rock of responsibility in truth, not on the fragile sands of gossip and ideological readings," the pope told some 150 journalists accredited to the Vatican during a meeting Jan. 22.Three Catholic News Service reporters attended the meeting and, like everyone present, personally greeted Pope Francis at the end of the audience.In his speech, the pope told journalists not to "hide reality, even its miseries," in their reporting, and said that while they should not play down tensions in the church, they also should not make "unnecessary clamor.""To be a journalist is a vocation, a bit like that of a doctor, who chooses to love humanity by curing its illnesses," he said. In the same way, a journalist "chooses to touch with their hand the wou...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Respect for the dignity of every person and for his or her values is as much a part of the identity of a Catholic university as faith is, Pope Francis said."This is perhaps the most beautiful and greatest thing about your universities," the pope told university chancellors, rectors and other leaders of Catholic institutions belonging to the International Federation of Catholic Universities Jan. 19.Explaining that he had "a long speech to read, but my breathing is a bit labored," the pope made only brief remarks to members of the group before greeting each of them individually. "This cold won't go away," he complained.In an age when many universities have become businesses, Catholic universities "must take a stand," helping students discover their vocations to contribute to peace and the betterment of society, Pope Francis wrote in his prepared text, which was distributed to participants."A Catholic university must make choices, choices that reflect the Gospel,"...
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    VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pornography and lust undermine and rob people from experiencing God's gift of love, Pope Francis said."Sexual pleasure, which is a gift from God, is undermined by pornography: satisfaction without relationship that can generate forms of addiction," the pope said Jan. 17 at his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Audience Hall."We must defend love, love of the heart, mind and body, loving by giving oneself to another -- this is the beauty of a sexual relationship," he said.Continuing a series of audience talks about vices and virtues, the pope reflected on the vice or "demon" of lust, which is "a kind of 'voracity' with regard to another person, that is, the poisoned bond that human beings have with each other, especially in the sphere of sexuality.""Please note," the pope said, "in Christianity, there is no condemnation of the sexual instinct."The Song of Songs in the Bible, "is a wonderful poem of love between two lovers," he said, and the human experie...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- An emphasis on God's mercy has so dominated Pope Francis' pontificate that it should surprise no one that he said he hopes hell is empty.Yet, a firestorm erupted on social media after Pope Francis was asked in an Italian television interview how he imagines hell given his belief that God forgives everyone who asks."It's difficult to imagine it," the pope responded Jan. 14. "What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is.""What about Hitler?" hundreds of people posted in reply on X, often adding other notoriously evil figures from history, their least favorite politicians or annoying neighbors."What about justice?" others asked. "What about the Bible?"Dozens accused the pope of "universalism," a belief, condemned by the church, that all souls go to heaven whether or not they repented of their sins.Others, like @Knyexor, tweeted: "The number of people angry about the pope just saying what amounts to ...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While a pope can resign, Pope Francis said it is not something he is thinking about or worrying about now."It is neither a thought, nor a worry, nor even a desire; it is a possibility, open to all popes. But for the moment it is not at the center of my thoughts, my worries, my feelings," he said in an interview on Italian television Jan. 14."As long as I feel I still have the capacity to serve, I will go on," the 87-year-old pope said. "When I can no longer do it, it will be time to think about it."Pope Francis made the comments in an interview, lasting more than 50 minutes, on the program "Che Tempo Che Fa" on Italy's Nove channel.He also said that "in August I have to make a trip to Polynesia" and that sometime after that, he hopes to go to Argentina for the first time since his election in 2013.Pope Francis was asked how he imagines hell if he really believes God forgives everyone who asks."It's difficult to imagine it," the pope said. "What I would say is n...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The nearly 400-year-old sculpted canopy towering over the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica will be surrounded by scaffolding for most of 2024 as it is washed, repaired and restored.Standing nearly 100 feet tall, the baldachin, designed by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini, has stood over the tomb of St. Peter since 1634. And for all that time it has gathered dust, cracks and rust despite regular cleanings.As a result, "we can't not intervene" to restore the structure, said Alberto Capitanucci, the head engineer of the Fabbrica di San Pietro -- the office responsible for upkeep of the basilica.Speaking at a news conference announcing the Vatican's restoration plans Jan. 11, Capitanucci said the procedure will follow that of the baldachin's last recorded restoration in 1758, only using an independent scaffolding structure that was not previously possible to build.The restoration process will begin after Feb. 12 and the scaffolding, which will allow for direct...
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