Service, not power, is the true Christian path, pope says
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By Junno Arocho EstevesVATICAN CITY(CNS) -- Those whoseek only power and greatness, especially within the church, follow a differentpath than Jesus, who toldhis disciples to serve and not to be served, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.PreachingMay 17 during Mass in his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope said Jesus speaks a language ofhumiliation, death and redemption, while others "speak the language ofclimbers" who only thinking of rising to the top of the heap. "The greatest is the onewho serves the most, the one who is always at the service of others, not theones who boast, who seek power, money, vanity and pride,"he said, according to Vatican Radio.Thepope focused his homily on the day's Gospel reading (Mk. 9:30-37), in which thedisciples argued about who was the greatest among them. "Ifanyone wishes to be first, he shall bethe last of all and the servant of all," Jesus tells them.The popesaid that although the disciples were tempted to think in a worldly way, ...
By Junno Arocho Esteves
VATICAN CITY
(CNS) -- Those who
seek only power and greatness, especially within the church, follow a different
path than Jesus, who told
his disciples to serve and not to be served, Pope Francis said in a morning homily.
Preaching
May 17 during Mass in his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the pope said Jesus speaks a language of
humiliation, death and redemption, while others "speak the language of
climbers" who only thinking of rising to the top of the heap.
"The greatest is the one
who serves the most, the one who is always at the service of others, not the
ones who boast, who seek power, money, vanity and pride,"
he said, according to Vatican Radio.
The
pope focused his homily on the day's Gospel reading (Mk. 9:30-37), in which the
disciples argued about who was the greatest among them.
"If
anyone wishes to be first, he shall be
the last of all and the servant of all," Jesus tells them.
The pope
said that although the disciples were tempted to think in a worldly way, Jesus
teaches them a different path where "service is the rule."
The search
for power, he said, "is a story that
happens every day in the church, in every community: 'Who is the greatest among
us?' 'Who is in charge?'
Ambitions; in every community -- in the parish or in institutions -- there is
always this desire to climb,
to have power," the pope said.
Those who
have the "worldly desire" to seek vanity and power "spare no
expense to get there (through) gossip" and destroying other people's
reputations, he said.
"Envy
and jealousy make these paths,
and they destroy; we all know this. This happens today in every institution of
the church: parishes, colleges
and other institutions, even among bishops ... everyone. It is the desire of the spirit of
the world which is a spirit of wealth, vanity and pride," the pope said.
This
worldly spirit, he continued, is a temptation "to destroy the other in
order to rise up," which
only "divides and destroys the church."
"It
would do us well to think of the many times we have seen this in the church and
the many times that we have done this, and ask the Lord to enlighten us, to
understand that love for the world -- that is, for this worldly spirit -- is
the enemy of God," Pope Francis said.
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The Augustine Institute's new facilities in Florissant, Missouri. / Credit: Boeing Company and Augustine InstituteCNA Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 13:30 pm (CNA).The Augustine Institute, a Catholic educational and evangelization apostolate based in Denver for nearly two decades, announced on Tuesday that it will be moving its operations to a new campus in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. The institute, founded in 2005 as a Catholic graduate theology school, currently has an enrollment of 550 students. It says on its website that it exists to serve "the formation of Catholics for the new evangelization" by "equip[ping] Catholics intellectually, spiritually, and pastorally to renew the Church and transform the world for Christ."The organization announced on Tuesday that it had purchased the former Boeing Leadership Center in Florissant, Missouri, just outside of downtown St. Louis. The school will "begin transitioning its operations over the next few years," it said in ...
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Over a year after the earthquake that hit Syria and Turkey in February 2023, restoration of Aleppo's Church of St. George has been completed. / Credit: Abdul Kareem DanielAleppo, Syria, Apr 23, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).This year's feast of St. George was a particularly joyful one in the Syrian city of Aleppo, especially for the Melkite Greek Catholic community. The church is reopening its doors after undergoing restoration due to damage from a February 2023 earthquake. Additionally, Archbishop George Masri of the Melkite Archdiocese of Aleppo and its environs will celebrate his golden jubilee.The celebrations took place during the visit of Patriarch Joseph Absi, the current patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, who presided over the Divine Liturgy in the restored church on the evening of April 23. The evening before, there was a procession along Holy Bible Street followed by vespers.Restoration of the Church of St. George in Aleppo after the February 2023 earthquake...
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Archbishop Luis Argüello and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. / Credit: Archdiocese of Valladolid; La MoncloaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 23, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The Spanish government approved today in the Council of Ministers a plan to implement recommendations made in a report on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. While recognizing some good points in the plan, the Spanish Bishops' Conference (known by its Spanish acronym CEE) issued a statement strongly objecting to what it called unfair treatment and discrimination against the Church by the government.Before giving details of the government's plan, the minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Legislature, Félix Bolaños, extrapolating data from a survey commissioned by the People's Ombudsman, estimated that in Spain there are about 440,000 adults who were victims of sexual abuse as minors, representing 1.13% of the adult population in Spain."Around half of these abuses would have been committed...
