Article Archive
Please click below to view any of the articles in our archive.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned against treating the confessional like the dry cleaners, a place to make a quick transaction, wipe away our sins and steal a false pardon. He also stressed the need for Christians to be truly ashamed of their sins. The Pope's words came during his homily at his Tuesday morning Mass in the Santa Marta residence.Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni: The Pope drew on the morning’s readings at Mass, beginning with the book of Daniel, which emphasized mankind coming before God with a humble and contrite spirit.“Here is the shame of sins, a grace which we cannot attain by ourselves.”Moving on to the Gospel, where Jesus tells Peter to forgive his brother “not seven times, but seventy-seven times” the Pope reminded the congregation that being forgiven and understanding that forgiveness, gives us, in turn, the ability to forgive others. This is shown in the actions of the debtor who is forgiven by his master, but w...
(Vatican Radio) Promoting interfaith and ecumenical relations are the two main goals of the Tantur Ecumenical Institute in Jerusalem, which is currently marking the 50th anniversary of its foundation.Set up in the wake of Pope Paul VI’s historic visit to the Holy Land and supported by the U.S. University of Notre Dame, it offer a wide variety of conferences, study programmes and research opportunities for scholars, students, religious pilgrimage groups or simply local people interested in interreligious dialogue.Philippa Hitchen is visiting Tantur this week and found out how interfaith efforts are attempting to address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict:Listen: I learnt a new Arabic word today: Wasatiyyah. It means ‘the middle way’ or moderate, but also balanced, just and fair. The opposite, in other words, of extremist, unbalanced, discriminatory, unfair.‘Wasatia’ is also the name of a movement launched exactly a decade ago by a Palestinian profe...
(Vatican Radio) In this week's edition of There's More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye, Jill Bevilacqua and Seàn-Patrick Lovett bring us readings and reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. Listen: Gospel Jn 9:1, 6-9, 13-17, 34-38As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva,and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam" — which means Sent —.So he went and washed, and came back able to see.His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, "Isn't this the one who used to sit and beg?"Some said, "It is, "but others said, "No, he just looks like him."He said, "I am."They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.So then the Pharisees also asked him how he wa...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has greeted participants in a Vatican conference on the value and values of water promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture.Wednesday, March 22, marks the 25th iteration of World Water Day, instituted by the United Nations in 1992.The conference is entitled “Watershed: replenishing water values for a thirsty world”.During his greetings to English speakers at the General Audience, Pope Francis gave a special welcome and encouraged participants in their work.“I am happy that this meeting is taking place, for it represents yet another stage in the joint commitment of various institutions to raising consciousness about the need to protect water as a treasure belonging to everyone, mindful too of its cultural and religious significance. I especially encourage your efforts in the area of education, through programmes directed to children and young people. Thank you for all that you do and may God bless you!”Speakers at the ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for Catholics around the world to participate in the ’24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative, taking place on 23-24 March.The initiative is an opportunity for people to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.Pope Francis at his General Audience said, “I invite all communities to live faithfully the appointment of 23 and 24 March to rediscover the Sacrament of Reconciliation: ’24 Hours for the Lord’.”All churches around the world are being asked to offer the Sacrament, a request made by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.The Holy Father said it was a privileged moment to experience the Father’s mercy.“I hope that this year also such a privileged moment of grace on the Lenten journey will be lived in many churches around the world in order to experience the joyous encounter with the mercy of the Father, who welcomes and forgives everyone.”The theme of the initia...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has encouraged the Migrantes Foundation in their work of welcoming migrants and refugees, saying their situation is the "greatest tragedy" since the Second World War.“I encourage you to continue your efforts of welcoming and hosting migrants and refugees, favouring their integration and taking into account the rights and mutual obligations of those who welcome them and those who are welcomed.”The Pope called their situation a “tragedy”.“Let us not forget that today’s problem of refugees and migrants is the greatest tragedy after that of the Second World War.”Pope Francis' words came during his Wednesday General Audience.The Migrantes Foundation is an arm of the Italian Bishops’ Conference (CEI) and promotes the pastoral care of migrants and refugees arriving in Italy.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called for an ongoing commitment to welcome and integrate forced migrants and refugees and described the current migration phenomenon as the world’s greatest tragedy after the Second World War. Speaking on Wednesday to crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope also continued his catechesis on Christian hope and appealed to the faithful to ‘re-discover’ the Sacrament of Reconciliation.In his appeal, launched after the catechesis, Pope Francis reminded all Catholic communities to participate in the upcoming “24 hours for the Lord” initiative on 23rd and 24th of March with Churches across the globe offering the Sacrament of Confession as a “privileged moment of grace” during our Lenten journey.And speaking to an Italian association that offers services and help to migrants and refugees upon their arrival and a long-term process of integratio...
Palermo, Italy, Mar 22, 2017 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Hollywood precedent notwithstanding, an Italian bishop has announced that known members of the mafia cannot be godparents for the Catholic sacraments of baptism or confirmation.The diocesan decree came from Michele Pennisi, Bishop of Monreale, near Palermo in Sicily, Italy.“The mafia has always taken the term godfather from the church to give its bosses an air of religious respectability, whereas in fact the two worlds are completely incompatible,” the bishop said in the announcement.He admitted that it may be hard to enforce, given the secrecy of the mafia, the Guardian reported.“If someone has not been convicted we cannot judge people on rumours, without proof,” he said, adding that he would not ban anyone willing to repent of their actions.“If one of them admits to having done wrong, asks to be pardoned for the bad they have done, in that case we can discuss a path of conversion.”Pennisi...
Vatican City, Mar 22, 2017 / 03:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis said each person must strive to imitate the perseverance and consolation of God, which not only gives us the strength to keep going, but also to help others who are in difficulty.“Perseverance we can also define as patience; it’s the ability to support, to remain faithful, even when the weight seems to become too big, unsustainable, and we are tempted to negatively judge and abandon everything and everyone,” the Pope said March 22.Consolation, on the other hand, “is the grace of knowing how to welcome and show in every situation, even those largely marked by delusion and suffering, the presence and compassionate action of God.”He noted how these two attitudes are highlighted by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans, both in reference to scripture and to God himself, who is “the God of perseverance and consolation.”Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter&rsquo...
Mexico City, Mexico, Mar 22, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Some 30,000 people gathered last Sunday for the 17th March for Life, Peace and Migrants in Tijuana, Mexico.Led by the Archbishop of Tijuana, Francisco Moreno Barrón, participants marched from the former bullfighting stadium, Toreo de Tijuana, to the Tijuana Auditorium, where they arrived at 11:30 am.Before the march on March 19, the Archbishop of Tijuana prayed for the migrants and young people depicted on the wall at Aeropuerto y Cuauhtémoc Norte Boulevard. “We want to make present on this wall all our brother migrants, not just those who cross this border, but all the migrants from all over the world,” the prelate said.“The entire human community is one family, which came forth from the hands of God out of love. And we are called to live united in love as one family,” he added.The archbishop said that “unfortunately because of selfishness in the world, the selfishness in the ...
