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(Vatican Radio) The 2017 message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations was released Wednesday entitled, “Led by the Spirit for Mission”.Listen to Lydia O’Kane's report In the message for this 54th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Pope reflects on the missionary dimension of our Christian calling. The Holy Father says that “commitment to mission is not something added on to the Christian life as a kind of decoration, but is instead an essential element of faith itself. A relationship with the Lord,” he adds, “entails being sent out into the world as prophets of his word and witnesses of his love.”Even if at times when “we are conscious of our weaknesses and tempted to discouragement”, Pope Francis underlines, “we need to turn to God with confidence”, and he reiterates that, by "virtue of baptism, every Christian is a “Christopher”, a bearer of Christ, to his brothers an...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed to all persons to act in a responsible manner to prevent the spread of HIV-Aids.Speaking during the weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope recalled that on Thursday, 1st December, we mark World Aids Day which is promoted by the United Nations.“Millions of people live with this illness and only half of them have access to life-saving therapies” he said.The Pope invited all to pray for them and for their families and promote solidarity so that “also the poor can benefit from adequate diagnosis and treatment.“I appeal to all to act in a responsible way in order to prevent the further spread of this disease” he said. HIV continues to be a major global public health issue. Recent statistics show that globally an estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV (including 1.8 million children).The vast majority of this number live in low- and middle- income countriesSince the start of the epidem...
(Vatican Radio) At the end of his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis greeted the church of Constantinople, and the “beloved Patriarch Bartholomew” on the occasion of the Feast of the Apostle St Andrew, traditionally held to be the founder of the See of Byzantium, which later became the Patriarchate of Constantinople.Pope Francis expressed his desire to be united to the Patriarch and to the church of Constantinople, offering them his “best wishes for all possible goods, for all the blessings of the Lord, and a warm embrace.”A delegation from the Holy See, bearing a message from Pope Francis, is in Istanbul for a visit to the Patriarchate on the Apostle’s feast day. The customary visit is reciprocated each year on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul in Rome.The Holy See delegation was led by Cardinal Kurt Koch, the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Cardinal Koch was accompanied by the Council’s Secretary,...
The Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Bahir dar-Dessie, baptised 300 Catechumens among the people of Gumuz, in Banshagul Gumuz Regional State, this week, on the Feast of the Miraculous Medal. Many of the newly baptized converted from local traditional religions to Catholicism. Most of the Catechumens are from a place known as Banush, a very remote area located 600 km from the capital, Addis Ababa. At the request of the people’s request, Bishop Lesanu-Christos, the Eparch of Bahirdar-Dessie, blessed and erected a cross and a bell on the future site of a Church. Another cross was placed at the community’s cemetery as a sign of a new Christian community. The Bishop with the help of 6 priests then baptised the 300 new Christians who comprised old, young, men and women as well as some infants.In his homily, Bishop Lesanu-Christos said that the day was a joyous one for the Church. “God is Great, and God is a Father to all of us; we say the Our Father Prayer...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called on French politicians to not forget immigrants who have fled war, poverty, and violence.The Holy Father was speaking to a group of politicians from the Rhône -Alpes region of France in the Clementine Hall shortly before his weekly General Audience. They were accompanied by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon.“In the current international context, marked by frustrations and fears, and heightened by the attacks and blind violence that have so deeply torn your country, it is all the more important to try and develop a sense of the common good and the public interest,” Pope Francis said, referencing the terrorist attacks France has experienced over the past year.“Undeniably, French society is rich in potential and diversity, from which should give way to opportunities, provided that the republican values of liberty, equality and fraternity are not just bandied about in an illusory manner, but are explored and u...
Vatican City, Nov 30, 2016 / 02:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After a plane crash in Colombia claimed the lives of 71 people, including the majority of Brazil’s up and coming Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team, Pope Francis has offered his prayer and solidarity for the victims and their families.“Deeply distressed to learn of the sad news of the serious plane accident which has caused many victims,” Pope Francis “raises his prayers for the eternal rest of the deceased,” a Nov. 30 telegram signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read.Addressed to Bishop Fidel Leon Cadavid Marin of Sonson-Rionegro in the province of Medellin, Colombia, the letter asked the bishop to convey the Pope’s “sentiment of condolences” to the families of the victims and to all those “who cry for so grievous a loss.”Francis offered his affection, and prayed that those mourning would find “solidarity and counsel.” He asked t...
Vatican City, Nov 30, 2016 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Alongside the various technological advances booming throughout the world, the digital age has also brought with it questions as to exactly what effect these new technologies are having on the global market, particularly when it comes to jobs.Pope Francis himself has brought up both the benefits as well as the concerns of technology on several occasions, including in his 2015 environmental encyclical, Laudato si'.Weighing these pros and cons is one of tasks he has given particularly to the Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation, which will discuss the issue in a series of conferences to be held throughout the coming year.Established by St. John Paul II in 1993 after the publication of his encyclical Centesiums annus (which comemmorated the 100th anniversary of Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum) the foundation is designed to be a hub for thought on how to apply the Church’s social doctrine to current problems.Domingo S...
Vatican City, Nov 30, 2016 / 05:38 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his last set of catechesis on mercy, Pope Francis focused on the works of praying for the living and the dead, as well as burying the dead, insisting that since we are all part of one family in Christ, we must remember to pray constantly pray for one another.When we say “I believe in the communion of Saints” while reciting the Nicene Creed, “it’s a mystery that expresses the beauty of the mercy that Jesus revealed to us...all, living and dead, we are in communion.”This communion is “like a union: united in the community of the many who have received baptism,” he said, noting that since all of us by virtue of our same baptism “are the same family, united,” we must “pray for each other.”Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for his general audience, concluding his catechesis on mercy. He began the series last fall as a lead-...
Washington D.C., Nov 30, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Given new and expanded humanitarian crises in Iraq and elsewhere, Congress should respond generously to a request to approve additional aid funding, the U.S. bishops and Catholic Relief Services leaders have said in a letter.“As we have already learned in Iraq, individuals, communities, and countries divided by war face significant challenges amidst their suffering. They must rebuild their communities, and establish inclusive governance that protects majorities and minorities,” the letter said.“We must provide them with humanitarian help and durable solutions to their plight because it’s the right thing to do, and because their security and prosperity is critical to the stability of the entire region.”The Nov. 28 letter to Senate and House leaders of the Subcommittees on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs was signed by Bishop Oscar Cantu of Las Cruces, chair of the U.S. bishops&rsquo...
NEW YORK (AP) -- Katy Perry was the night's big honoree, but Hillary Clinton got the biggest ovation as the former presidential candidate presented the pop star with an award from UNICEF at Tuesday's Snowflake Ball....
