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(Vatican Radio) A statement signed by the Anglican Bishop of Salisbury, Nicholas Holtam, and representatives of the Muslim community in Salisbury, has been released in response to the attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday 22 May.The statement denounces the attack in strong language: “We utterly condemn this evil act which is intended to cause an increase in fear, hatred and division in our country and its communities.” Bishop Holtam, along with Rashid Ullah, the Chair of the Muslim Association of Salisbury and Atiqul Hoque, also of the Muslim Association of Salisbury, say in the statement that they “commit [themselves] to reject absolutely this violence and hatred and the motivation that lies behind it.”The full text of the statement follows:“The murderous attack on innocent young people that we have seen in Manchester last night fills us with horror. We utterly condemn this evil act which is intended to cause an increase in fear, hatred and divisi...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday focused once again on the theme of Christian Hope at his General Audience.The Holy Father based his reflections on the Gospel account of the two disciples who met the Risen Lord on the way to Emmaus:Luke 24:28-32: As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?”Below please find the English-language summary of the Pope’s catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience:Dear Brothers and Sisters...
(Vatican Radio) U.S. President Donald Trump met Pope Francis on Wednesday morning, spending half an hour in conversation behind closed doors in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.The U.S. leader then met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, together with Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States or foreign minister.Trump, who was accompanied by his wife Melania, as well as his daughter and son-in-law, is on the third leg of a nine day presidential tour that has already taken him to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine.After the papal audience, Trump was taken on a tour of St Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel, before going onto Rome’s Quirinale palace for a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.Melania Trump, meanwhile, was scheduled to visit Rome’s Bambin Gesù Children’s Hospital, while his daughter, Ivanka, will meet with trafficked victims who are being cared for by the...
Muslim extremists have taken a Catholic priest and more than a dozen churchgoers hostage in an attack on a southern Philippine city, during which they burned buildings, ambushing soldiers and hoisting flags of the Islamic State (IS) group, officials said on Wednesday. President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in the southern third of the nation and warned he would enforce it harshly.The violence erupted on the night of 23 May after the army raided the hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf commander who is on Washington's list of most-wanted terrorists with a reward of up to $5 million for his capture. The militants called for reinforcements from Maute, a group allied to IS, and some 50 gunmen managed to enter the city of Marawi.Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said the militants forced their way into a cathedral in Marawi and seized a priest, 10 worshippers and three church workers. The prie...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump met in the Vatican on Wednesday, discussing issues of peace, interfaith dialogue and religious freedom, as well as the role of the American Church in education, healthcare and support for immigrants.Listen to Philippa Hitchen's report: The American leader spent half an hour in conversation with the Pope behind closed doors in the Apostolic Palace, before meeting with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States or foreign minister.Press office statementA statement from the Vatican press office said during the course of the cordial encounter, the two men discussed the good bilateral relations that exist between the U.S. and the Holy See. They also spoke of their “joint commitment in favour of life, religious liberty and freedom of conscience”.The statement expressed the hope for a “serene cooperation ...
Korea and the Holy See celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2017: in particular, the commemoration of the sending of the first permanent Apostolic Delegate of the Holy See in Korea.The diplomatic ties between the Holy See and Korea began in 1947 when Pope Pius XII sent the first "apostolic delegate", Father Patrick James Byrne to Korea, shortly after the liberation of Korea from Japanese dominion.As Fides reports, for the occasion, Korean President Moon Jae-in has asked Archbishop Igino Kim Hee-Jung, who is president of the Bishops' Conference of Korea, to represent the whole Korean nation and to meet the Holy Father to celebrate this anniversary. Archbishop Kim Hee-Jung will be accompanied by Seong Youm, former Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Holy See, in the special mission in the Vatican planned for the coming months.By sending a "Permanent Delegate", the Holy See was one of the first countries t...
Acts 1:12-14, 1 Peter 4: 13-16, Jn 17:1-11aAnecdote: The great ones found their glory in their death: William Barclay says, “It was in their death that the great ones found their glory.” Abraham Lincoln had his enemies in his lifetime, but even those who had criticized him saw his greatness when he died. Joan of Arc was burned as a witch and a heretic by the English. But some people left the scene saying, “We are all lost because we have burned a saint.” Martin Luther King, Jr. was ridiculed as a radical, a rabble-rouser, and a dangerous Communist in his lifetime, but is hailed today as a prophet. Maybe that’s what Jesus had in mind when he turned his eyes toward heaven and prayed, “Father, the time has come; glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.” The one who endured the shame of the cross brought salvation to a broken world. It was in their death that the great ones found their glory.Introduction: Our central challe...
Umbria, Italy, May 24, 2017 / 02:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Italian brides are finding wedding dresses at an unusual spot hidden in the Umbrian hills, where they are able to pick out their special gown – all for the cost of a donation.Sister Maria Laura at the Augustinian monastery of St. Rita in Cascia, Italy began running the thrifty wedding dress service out of a surplus of donated wedding dresses.“It gives me great joy to see a young woman who can fulfill her dream of love with a dress appropriate for the happiest day of her life,” said Sister Maria Laura, according to the DailyMail. Since about 1950, brides have been making pilgrimages to St. Rita's to ask for her special intercession in marriage, and would leave their wedding dresses at the monastery in gratitude. Over the years, the monastery has collected hundreds of dresses.Sister Maria Laura entered monastic life at the age of 28, having previously been a seamstress and designer in Tuscany. She has...
Vatican City, May 24, 2017 / 02:48 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After months of anticipation, Pope Francis and U.S. President Donald Trump finally met at the Vatican Wednesday in a friendly encounter which included an emphasis on protection of life and freedom of conscience.According to a May 24 Vatican communique, Pope Francis and Trump expressed satisfaction "for the good existing bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America, as well as the joint commitment in favor of life, and freedom of worship and conscience."The Pope and Trump met at the Vatican May 24, at 8:30a.m., immediately before the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.Trump arrived to Italy May 23 after stopping in both Saudi Arabia and Israel as part of his first international trip. He is also set to attend a NATO meeting in Brussels on May 25 and a G7 summit in Sicily on May 26 before returning to the U.S.President Trump arrived to the Vatican via the side entrance by Cas...
