(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over the closing ceremony of the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi on Tuesday afternoon. The ceremony followed an early afternoon of prayer – not in common, but separately, according to religious tradition.Listen to Chris Altieri's report: Thirst for peace: religions and cultures in dialogue was the theme of this 30th anniversary celebration of the World Day, which Pope St. John Paul II first convoked in the city of St. Francis in 1986.“We have come to Assisi as pilgrims in search of peace,” said Pope Francis to the gathering of more than 400 leaders from dozens of different traditions of faith and religion. “We carry within us and place before God the hopes and sorrows of many persons and peoples: we thirst for peace; we desire to witness to peace.”“[A]bove all,” said Pope Francis, “we need to pray for peace, because peace is God’s gift, and it lies with us to plead f...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over the closing ceremony of the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi on Tuesday afternoon. The ceremony followed an early afternoon of prayer – not in common, but separately, according to religious tradition.
Listen to Chris Altieri's report:
Thirst for peace: religions and cultures in dialogue was the theme of this 30th anniversary celebration of the World Day, which Pope St. John Paul II first convoked in the city of St. Francis in 1986.
“We have come to Assisi as pilgrims in search of peace,” said Pope Francis to the gathering of more than 400 leaders from dozens of different traditions of faith and religion. “We carry within us and place before God the hopes and sorrows of many persons and peoples: we thirst for peace; we desire to witness to peace.”
“[A]bove all,” said Pope Francis, “we need to pray for peace, because peace is God’s gift, and it lies with us to plead for it, embrace it, and build it every day with God’s help.”
Before the closing ceremony, the Holy Father delivered a meditation on peace to a gathering of leaders from various Christian Churches and ecclesial communities in the Lower Basilica of St. Francis.
“Before Christ Crucified, ‘the power and wisdom of God’ (1 Cor 1:24), we Christians are called to contemplate the mystery of Love not loved and to pour out mercy upon the world,” Pope Francis told the ecumenical gathering of Christian leaders come together to hear his meditation in the lower basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, ahead of the closing ceremony.
“On the Cross, the tree of life,” continued Pope Francis, “evil was transformed into good; we too, as disciples of the Crucified One, are called to be ‘trees of life’ that absorb the contamination of indifference and restore the pure air of love to the world. From the side of Christ on the Cross water flowed, that symbol of the Spirit who gives life (cf. Jn 19:34); so that from us, his faithful, compassion may flow forth for all who thirst today.”
Much has changed in the three decades that have passed since Pope St. John Paul II held the first event: the Cold War has ended, while the shadow of international terrorism has grown and spread, and our failure to exercise good stewardship over creation has created new challenges to peace.
The “spirit of Assisi” however, remains unchanged, and each of us has a part to play in realizing the hope for peace that animates this event.
“Here, thirty years ago,” recalled Pope Francis in concluding his remarks, “Pope John Paul II said: ‘Peace is a workshop, open to all and not just to specialists, savants and strategists. Peace is a universal responsibility.’ Let us assume this responsibility, reaffirming today our ‘yes’ to being, together, builders of the peace that God wishes for us and for which humanity thirsts.”
null / Credit: Peter Hermes Furian via ShutterstockACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 15:00 pm (CNA).The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on April 19 condemned the kidnapping and murder of a catechist in Burkina Faso, West Africa.In a news brief, ACN informed ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that catechist Edouard Yougbare was kidnapped on Thursday night by "terrorists, and his lifeless body was found near Zigni this morning."According to other local sources, along with Yougbare, who was a member of Saatenga parish in Fada Gourma, Burkina Faso, more people were kidnapped and murdered."We are heartbroken by the loss of Yougbare. He served his community faithfully and his death is a devastating blow for the people of Saatenga," lamented Spaniard María Lozano, press and public relations director of ACN International."Catechists in Burkina Faso are on the front lines, risking their lives for the good of their people. Just two months ago, ano...
Pope Francis addresses the faithful at his Wednesday general audience on March 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Apr 19, 2024 / 10:07 am (CNA).In the latest move in Pope Francis' reform of the Vatican judiciary, the pope issued a new motu proprio on Friday on the retirement age and benefits for cardinal judges and magistrates in the Vatican's court system.The April 19 motu proprio states that Vatican magistrates will retire at the end of the judicial year in which they turn 75 and cardinal judges at the age of 80, unless Pope Francis asks them to remain in office beyond the age limit.Magistrates and judges who wish to resign from office before the retirement age can only do so with the approval of the pope.The pope also has the prerogative to dismiss magistrates unable to fulfill their duties at any time. Upon the termination of their duties, magistrates will retain the rights to assistance and welfare provided to Vatican citizens and employees.The motu proprio, wh...
Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow announced on April 14, 2024, the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017. / Credit: The Helena Kmiec FoundationACI Prensa Staff, Apr 19, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Krakow, Poland, announced the decision to begin the process of beatification and canonization of Helena Agnieszka Kmiec, a young lay missionary murdered in Bolivia in 2017.The prelate said that after the preliminary phase began in December 2022, he made the decision to officially open the process for Kmiec after having consulted the Polish Bishops' Conference and receiving the go-ahead from the Vatican's Dicastery for the Causes of Saints."With this edict I call on all those who have any document, letter, or information about the Servant of God, both positive and negative, to send them to the Metropolitan Curia of Krakow before June 30," the archbish...