VOLUME 1, ISSUE 4  •  JANUARY 24, 2015

Table of Contents

Copyright Notice

VATICAN NEWS

Exclusive: Details of the proposal for Pope Francis’ US visit revealed

Pope confirms three US stops in September, no Mexico for now

Africa, South America trips in Pope’s sights for next two years

Pope: ‘Responsible parenthood’ doesn’t mean birth control

Kids in poor countries suffer when West pushes sex agenda, Pope says

Full text of Pope’s in-flight interview from Manila to Rome

Pope Francis’ curial reform: sending bishops home to dioceses

‘Given the new situation, a papal trip to Cuba would be hoped for’

Big families bring hope – not poverty, says Pope

Pope Francis blesses two lambs on the Feast of St. Agnes

Pope Francis decries Charlie Hebdo motivated attacks in Niger

Financial appointment at Vatican signals continuity in reform, transparency

Pope Francis shoutout to March for Life: ‘Every Life is a Gift’

Pius XII helped Jews in Rome – and an Italian historian has the evidence

Pope Francis completes new Vatican office to tackle clergy abuse

Fostering close ties: what family life teaches us about communication

Flea market find becomes heavenly gift for Pope Francis

American priest among saints causes advanced by Pope Francis

For Pope Francis, faith is a criterion in investigating a marriage’s validity

Confession isn’t the ‘dry-cleaners’ – it’s an embrace from God

Worldliness ‘stuns more than grappa on a fast,’ Pope tells new cardinals

WORLD NEWS

What Pope Francis learned from homeless girl: ‘Cry with the suffering!’

Pope Francis prays for woman killed at Philippines Mass

Pope’s prescription for our info-saturated world: being surprised by love

Pope Francis: Those who give must also learn to receive

Protect the family – Pope’s parting message to the Philippines

Catholic and non-Catholic alike; young people swarm for Pope

History made! Philippine crowd for Pope Francis hits 6-7 million

A providential boost for the Philippine church’s Year for Poor

Philippines typhoon survivor: ‘There’s a reason for everything’

One Buddhist nun’s thoughts on Pope Francis

The Philippines’ farewell to visiting pontiff: ‘Pope Francis, we love you!’

After Francis: what the ‘Pope of Surprises’ means for Philippines bishops

Panama’s first cardinal: I’m astonished at my appointment

Conference to take Oakland cathedral as model for church architecture

Filipino conference explores relationship between beatitudes, evangelization

Francis likely to bring up poverty in his expected UN visit in New York

Suffering in Sierra Leone, hard-hit by Ebola, reminds bishop of civil war years

Masses suspended in Niger due to church burnings

Leading Iraqi Christian calls on Muslims to confront ‘culture of hatred’

U.S. NEWS

Ecumenism will break shackles of racism, St Louis priest says

Thousands march to support human dignity in downtown LA

Philly archdiocese says Pope’s US schedule yet to be finalized

The fight for human dignity - how MLK speaks to ISIS, abortion

Beard meets religious freedom in distinctive Court decision

How one CEO sees unrealized potential in special needs kids

‘The Apology’ – Men speak up about abortion

Austin diocese receives first auxiliary bishop

Could a U.S. priest face jail for refusing to break confession seal?

Support abortion restrictions? So do most Americans

Cardinal: No pro-life victory without reaching the marginalized

Why Junipero Serra’s canonization is important for the new evangelization

Democrat, feminist, atheist – the growing face of the pro-life movement

March for Life 2015 unites ‘pro-life generation’

Who inspires the young pro-lifers of today? Pope Francis

FEATURES

From Paul’s Desert to His Garden of Wonder and Delight

Choose Life and Compassion

Wine into Water

Movie Review: ‘Mortdecai’

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Sunday • January 25, 2015

Monday • January 26, 2015

Tuesday • January 27, 2015

Wednesday • January 28, 2015

Thursday • January 29, 2015

Friday • January 30, 2015

Saturday • January 31, 2015

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Volume 1, Issue 4 • January 24, 2015

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VATICAN NEWS

Exclusive: Details of the proposal for Pope Francis’ US visit revealed

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 18, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square before the Wed. general audience on April 16, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Archbishop Bernardito Auza – a member of the organizing committee for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to the U.S. – has revealed details of the proposed schedule, which includes visits to three cities.

“He would arrive on the 22nd and he would leave the evening of the 27th. It’s really a full six days, plus the travel, so it’s really one week,” Archbishop Auza told CNA/EWTN News in Manila on Jan. 18.

A Philippines native, Archbishop Auza is the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N. in New York and to the Organization of American States in Washington. He is back in his homeland this week participating in the events of Pope Francis’ Jan. 15-19 apostolic journey.

The archbishop spoke of a meeting held last Monday by the U.S. trip’s organizing committee appointed by Pope Francis, during which the details of the visit were discussed.

After a projected arrival to Washington, D.C. on the evening of Sept. 22, they’re proposing that Pope Francis visit the White House the following morning, where the official welcoming ceremony would take place.

Following his stop at the White House, the pontiff would go on to celebrate Mass at Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The Mass, the archbishop observed, would be primarily for bishops, consecrated and religious men and women, seminarians and representatives from humanitarian and Catholic charitable organizations.

“And we might say really the highlight of the Washington visit might be his speech to the joint-meeting of Congress, so the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Archbishop Auza said. According to the proposal, Pope Francis would leave for New York City on the afternoon of the 24th.

The U.N. general-assembly would be his destination on the morning of the 25th, which is also the opening of the 3-day Post-2015 Sustainable Development Summit.

“Practically all of the heads of states and governments will be around and they will all be there on that day, so if the Pope were to finalize this visit to the U.S. that means that he would address all the heads of states and of governments, who will be sitting with their official delegations,” the archbishop explained.

“We certainly are looking forward to that,” he said, noting how everyone involved is anticipating what the Pope might say, particularly U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, who is “extremely thrilled.”

The papal address at the U.N. would take up the entire morning of Sept. 25, Archbishop Auza said. He added that proposals for what the pontiff may do afterward include an interreligious meeting, and “of course the Pope will visit St. Patrick’s (Cathedral). That’s for sure.”

The visit to the historic church wouldn’t likely mean the celebration of Mass there, the archbishop said. Mass has been proposed instead for another area of New York. He named the Madison Square Garden as a possibility.

“Our plan is not to have a huge Mass outside of Philadelphia, because the focus will really be Philadelphia, because the Pope is going to the United States for the World Meeting of Families,” he explained.

Perhaps the most “unique ingredient” of Pope Francis’ proposed schedule for New York would be an interethnic meeting with the pontiff, which is significant given the diverse ethnic background of the city.

“Ground Zero,” the site of the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, which brought down New York City’s twin World Trade Center towers, is another foreseeable stop on the Pope’s itinerary, Archbishop Auza noted.

Benedict XVI visited the site during his 2008 visit, but the Archbishop mentioned that since then the official memorial has been inaugurated, the museum has been finished, and the metal cross found in the wreckage of the towers is there.

“But these are just proposals. At the end of February there will be the first organizational visit (from a Vatican delegation), and then we will see what we could really fill in,” the archbishop said.

Pope Francis could spend a couple of nights in New York, but “it depends” on what else comes up.

From New York the Roman Pontiff would head to Philadelphia in the early morning of the 26th as his last stop, where he is set to participate in the World Meeting of Families from Sept. 26-27.

“Philadelphia is confirmed. That’s for sure,” the archbishop observed, explaining that the two big events set to take place with the Pope are a prayer vigil on the 26th and Mass Sunday, the 27th.

There is also an encounter planned with grandparents and children, however the archbishop said he does not know whether or not the Pope will participate.

Pope Francis himself confirmed his presence at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia during the Nov. 17-19 Humanum Conference in Rome, saying that he will attend “if God wills it.”

Besides the encounter with families, Archbishop Auza said that the Philadelphia visit will likely include “a visit either to a children’s hospital or a juvenile prison.”

Members of the organizational committee for the visit, he said, include himself; papal nuncio to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano; Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington; Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, archbishop of Boston; Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, also president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York; Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia; Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, secretary-general at the bishops’ conference, as well as a team of various secretaries and assistants.

On his Jan. 15 flight from Sri Lanka to the Philippines, Pope Francis also made the surprise announcement that he would canonize the founder of California’s first missions, Blessed Junipero Serra.

When asked whether or not the Pope’s itinerary for his U.S. trip would include a visit to California for the canonization, Archbishop Auza said that although it would be the ideal place, the state will most likely not be on the agenda.

“I think he may do that in Washington,” he said, noting how there is a statue of Bl. Serra in the National Statuary Hall of the Capitol building, honoring him as one of the founders of California.

The pontiff would most likely preside over “what they call a brief canonization, not the formal solemn canonization,” he said.

On a final note, Archbishop Auza spoke of the possibility that the Pope would go to Mexico as part of his trip to the U.S., saying that “they might skip Mexico this time because it becomes a very, very long (trip).”

The pontiff might make another visit to Latin America, the archbishop noted, although he did not know when that would be.

“So that’s more or less the plan. It’s a plan, we’ll see how it will pan out.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope confirms three US stops in September, no Mexico for now

by Alan Holdren (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Pope Francis speaks with journalists aboard the plane from Manila to Rome, Jan. 19, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Aboard the papal plane — During his in-flight press conference from Manila to Rome, Pope Francis confirmed he plans stops in Philadelphia, New York City and Washington D.C. during his visit to the United States this autumn.

“The three cities are Philadelphia for the meeting of families, New York … for the visit to the UN, and Washington. It is these three,” the Pope told journalists during his Jan. 19 return flight to Rome from the Philippines.

Pope Francis also confirmed that his September trip will not include stops in California, the U.S. - Mexico border, or Mexico proper; there had been speculation that these sites would be added to the U.S. visit agenda, particularly after Pope Francis announced plans to canonize Blessed Junipero Serra.

The 18th century Spanish-born missionary is buried at one of the nine missions he founded in California. Many of the missions still exist on the California coast, including the Carmel Mission and Mission San Juan Capistrano.

“I would like to go to California for the canonization of Junipero, but I think there is the problem of time. It requires two more days,” Pope Francis said Jan. 19.

Instead, Pope Francis will canonize Bl. Serra at the National Basilica Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.

“It is a national thing,” the Pope explained.

Organizers of the six-day papal trip to the United States finalized a possible itinerary last week for stops in Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington D.C.

The Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, Archbishop Bernardito Auza is one of the organizers of the papal trip. He told CNA the trip is still in the planning stages, but Pope Francis will likely begin his trip Sept. 23 with a two-day visit to Washington, D.C.

During his time in Washington D.C., Pope Francis will canonize Bl. Serra. Other proposed events in the nation’s capital including a welcoming reception at the White House, an address to a joint-session of Congress, and either a meeting with youth at a juvenile detention center or a visit to a local hospital.

Pope Francis will then travel to New York City. The Holy Father confirmed that the U.N. is on his schedule for the visit. He may address the general assembly on Sept. 25. Other proposed but unofficial stops include a visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Mass at the Madison Square Garden arena. Organizers have also proposed inter-ethnic and inter-religious events in New York City.

But the highlight and primary reason for the Pope’s trip to the United States is the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

Pope Francis will lead celebrations at the World Meeting of Families Sept. 26 and 27, the final two days of the week-long event. More than 1 million people are expected to attend a Mass on Sept. 27.

During his in-air press conference Sept. 19, Pope Francis did comment on the possibility of adding Mexico to his agenda. The Pope said that “to enter the USA from the border of Mexico would be a beautiful thing, as a sign of brotherhood and of help to the immigrants.”

But now is not the time, he added.

“To go to Mexico without going to visit Our Lady (of Guadalupe) would be a drama,” he laughed. “A war could break out!”

“Also it would mean three more days, and this is not clear. I think there will only be those three cities. Later there will be time to go to Mexico.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Africa, South America trips in Pope’s sights for next two years

by Alan Holdren (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Pope Francis arrives at the airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Walter Sanchez Silva/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis has revealed that he hopes to make extensive voyages to Africa and Latin America in the next two years.

“The plan is to go to Central African Republic and Uganda. These two, this year,” Pope Francis said during a press conference Jan. 19 on his return flight to Rome from the Philippines.

The Pope’s revelation comes in response to a French journalist aboard the flight.

Pope Francis said the trip to Africa is “a bit overdue.” He said he would have traveled to Africa sooner, if not for the Ebola epidemic.

“It is a big responsibility to hold big gatherings, (because of the possibility of) contagion, no? But, in these countries there is no problem,” he said.

The latest World Health Organization estimates suggest the Ebola outbreak has killed more than 8,500 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. The incurable disease has a high mortality rate.

Pope Francis said Central African Republic and Uganda are still “hypothetical” destinations, but he confirmed that a trip to Africa “will be this year.”

He clarified that he will go later in the year to avoid the rainy season.

During the in-flight press conference, Pope Francis also confirmed plans to make two separate visits to South America over the next two years.

A trip to South America this year could include stops in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay. While, a possible visit in 2016 or 2017 could include stops in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, and Peru.

The trip would be Pope Francis’ first visit to his home country of Argentina since his election to the papacy in March of 2013.

Vatican spokesperson Fr. Federico Lombardi was quick to clarify that the travel plans are still in the beginning stages.

“Everything is provisional, nothing is decided yet,” Fr. Lombardi said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope: ‘Responsible parenthood’ doesn’t mean birth control

by Alan Holdren (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Dec. 17, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Aboard the papal plane — Pope Francis backed Blessed Paul VI’s teaching against birth control and urged openness to life, but reminded couples that “responsible parenthood” does not require them “to be like rabbits” in order to be good Catholics.

“I believe that openness to life conditions the sacrament of matrimony. A man cannot give the sacrament to the woman, and the woman give it to him, if they are not in agreement on this point to be open to life,” Pope Francis said.

During a Jan. 19 press conference aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 8010, two of 10 questions posed to Pope Francis referred to population growth and birth control.

Asked by a German journalist if the Church would open up to birth control as a means of population control and limiting poverty, he said that the openness to life of a married couple means “responsible parenthood.”

“The key word … and the one the Church always uses, and I do too, is ‘responsible parenthood.’ How do we do this? With dialogue,” said Pope Francis.

He said that each person should work with his pastor to carry this out. He said later that Churches have marriage groups, experts and pastors, adding, “I know so many ways out there that are licit and that have helped this.”

The Pope illustrated an example of “irresponsibility”: a pregnant woman he met recently, already with seven children, each born by caesarean-section.

“But does she want to leave seven orphans?” he asked. “This is to tempt God.”

Her response could be, “No, I trust in God,” added Pope Francis.

“But God gives you methods to be responsible,” he continued. “Some think that, and excuse the word, in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits.”

“No, responsible parenthood,” he repeated emphatically.

Pope Francis’ words harken back to the 1968 encyclical Humanae vitae, in which Bl. Paul VI writes that it is “licit to take into account the natural rhythms immanent in the generative functions” in order to space children for “serious motives,” such as physical or psychological health, among other factors.

The Church supports Natural Family Planning - natural methods of spacing children which involve abstinence from sexual intercourse during a woman’s fertile period, without the use of drugs, devices, and surgical procedures. In this way, human sexuality and fertility are respected rather than suppressed.

In a separate question, the Pope said that in rejecting the use of birth control, Bl. Paul VI “gave us something more.”

“The refusal of Paul VI was not only to the personal problems … but, he was watching the universal Neo-Malthusianism that was in progress,” said the pontiff.

He said you can recognize this phenomenon today in places like Spain and Italy, where the birth rate has plummeted to little more than one child per woman.

Pope Francis previously decried low birth-rates in Italy during his Dec. 29 meeting with large families, calling on political and public leaders to offer support for parents with many children.

The drastically low birth rates are a sign of Neo-Malthusianism, the Pope stressed to journalists on the plane, through which “powers have sought to control humanity.”

But, this also “doesn’t mean that the Christians must make children serially,” he added.

“What I want to say was that Paul VI was not more antiquated, closed minded. No, he was a prophet who with this said to watch out for the Neo-Malthusianism that was coming,” he concluded.

During his trip to the Philippines, Pope Francis praised the words of Paul VI in supporting Church teaching on sexuality and openness to life.

“He was a good pastor, and he warned his sheep about the wolves that were approaching, and from the heavens he blesses us today,” Pope Francis said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Kids in poor countries suffer when West pushes sex agenda, Pope says

by Alan Holdren (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Pope Francis speaks with journalists aboard the plane from Manila to Rome, Jan. 19, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Aboard the papal plane — Pope Francis cautioned on Monday that gender ideologies from the wealthy western world are being imposed on developing nations by tying them to foreign aid and education, in a form of “ideological colonization.”

“A people enters with an idea that has nothing nothing to do with the nation. … and they colonize the people with an idea that changes, or wants to change, a mentality or a structure,” he said Jan. 19 during a press conference on his return flight to Rome from the Philippines.

“They use the need of a people to take an opportunity to enter and grow strong - with the children.”

The Pope referred to the imposition of foreign ideas into a culture as “ideological colonization,” adding that it is sometimes tied to financial assistance.

“I’ll give just one example that I saw myself,” he said to journalists on the flight. He recounted the case of a public service officer who sought loans in order to be able to build schools for the poor two decades ago.

She received the money, he said, on the condition that she insert a “well prepared” book into the curriculum to teach gender theory.

“This woman needed the money but that was the condition,” explained the Pope. “Clever girl, she said ‘yes.’” And, as a result the goal of the financiers was achieved, he said.

“This is the ideological colonization,” said Pope Francis.

He explained that bishops from Africa lamented similar occurrences in their nations during the October 2014 Synod of Bishops on the pastoral care of the family.

This colonization process passes through the youngest, said the Pope. “The same was done by the dictatorships of the last century. They entered with their own doctrine,” he remarked.

“Think of the Hitler Youth,” he said in reference to the Nazi training programs to indoctrinate young people to party ideas.

“But how much suffering. Peoples must not lose their freedom,” he said.

“When conditions are imposed by imperial colonizers, they seek to make [these] peoples lose their own identity and make a uniformity,” he said. “This is the globalization of the sphere -- all the points are equidistant from the center.”

However, “true globalization” doesn’t take the form of a sphere, creating uniformity and equal distances from the center, said Pope Francis.

Rather, he said, it is important that it is a “polyhedron,” multi-faceted so “that every people, every part, conserves its own identity without being ideologically colonized. These are the ideological colonizations.”

During his Jan. 16 meeting with families at Manila’s Mall of Asia, Pope Francis called on “good and strong families to overcome” threats which come from “ideological colonization.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Full text of Pope’s in-flight interview from Manila to Rome

by Alan Holdren and Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Pope Francis speaks with journalists aboard the plane from Manila to Rome, Jan. 19, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Aboard the papal plane — Speaking to journalists aboard the Jan. 19 flight from Manila to Rome concluding his Asian pilgrimage, Pope Francis discussed what he learned from Filipinos; his upcoming trip to Philadelphia and other US cities; how one can be a responsible parent without resorting to birth control; the colonization of gender ideology; and the possibility of a papal trip to Africa.

Below is a full transcript of the discussion between Pope Francis and journalists during Monday’s flight:

Pope Francis: First of all I greet you: good day, thank you for your work. It was challenging, and as we say in Spanish, “pasado per agua” (it rained on the parade). It is beautiful, and thank you very much for what you have done.

Kara David (GMA Network): Good day Holy Father. Sorry, I will speak in English. Thank you very much for visiting our country and for giving so much hope to the Filipinos. We would like you to come back to our country. My question is: the Filipinos have learned a lot from listening to your messages. Is there something the Holy Father has learned from the Filipinos, from your encounter with us?

Pope Francis: The gestures! The gestures moved me. They are not protocol gestures, they are good gestures, felt gestures, gestures of the heart. Some almost make one weep. There’s everything there: faith, love, the family, the illusions, the future. That gesture of the fathers who think of their children so that the Pope will bless them. Not the gesture of one unique father. There were many who thought of their children when we passed by on the road. A gesture which in other places one does not see, as if they say ‘this is my treasure, this is my future, this is my love, for this one it’s worth working, for this one it’s worth suffering’. A gesture that is original, but born from the heart.

A second gesture that struck me very much is an enthusiasm that is not feigned, a joy, a happiness, a capacity to celebrate. Even under the rain, one of the masters of ceremonies told me that he was edified because those who were serving in Tacloban, under the rain, never lost the smile. It’s the joy, not feigned joy. It wasn’t a false smile. No, no! It was a smile that just came out, and behind that smile there is a normal life, there are pains, problems.

Then there were the gestures of the mothers who brought their sick children. Indeed mothers in general bring them there. But usually mothers did not lift the children up so much, only up to here. The dads do, one sees them. Here dad! Then many disabled children, with disabilities that make some impression; they did not hide the children, they brought them to the Pope so that he would bless them: ‘This is my child, he is this way, but he is mine’. All mothers know this, they do this. But it’s the way they did this that struck me. The gesture of fatherhood, of motherhood, of enthusiasm, of joy.

There’s a word that’s difficult for us to understand because it has been vulgarized too much, too badly used, too badly understood, but it’s a word that has substance: resignation. A people who knows how to suffer, and is capable of rising up.

Yesterday, I was edified at the talk I had with the father of Kristel, the young woman volunteer who died in Tacloban. He said she died in service, he was seeking words to confirm himself to this situation, to accept it. A people that knows how to suffer, that’s what I saw and how I interpreted the gestures.

Jean Louis de la Vessiere – France Press: Holy Father, you have now gone twice to Asia. The Catholics of Africa have yet to receive a visit from you. You know that from South Africa to Nigeria to Uganda many faithful who suffer from poverty, war, Islamic fundamentalism, hope you will visit this year. So I would like to ask you, when and where are thinking of going?

Pope Francis: I will respond hypothetically. The plan is to go to the Central African Republic and Uganda, these two, this year. I think that this will be towards the end of the year, because of the weather, no? They have to calculate when there won’t be rains, when there won’t be bad weather. This trip is a bit overdue, because there was the Ebola problem. It is a big responsibility to hold big gatherings, because of the possible contagion, no? But these countries there is no problem. These two are hypothetical, but it will be this year.

Fr. Lombardi: Now we give the floor to our friend Izzo Salvatore, from the Italian information agency AGI.

Izzo Salvatore: Holy Father, in Manila we were in a very beautiful hotel. Everyone was very nice and we ate very well, but as soon as you left this hotel you were, let’s call it morally accosted, at least, by the poverty. We saw children among the trash, treated possibly I would say as trash. Now, I have a son who is six years old and I was ashamed because they were in such poor conditions. I have a son Rocco who has understood very well what you are saying when you say to share with the poor. So on the way to school, he tries to distribute snacks to the beggars in the area. And, for me it’s much more difficult. Also for others adult people it’s very difficult. Just one cardinal 40 years ago left everything to go among the lepers - that’s Leger (Archbishop Paul-Emile Leger of Montreal, who in 1968 and at the age of 64 resigned from his post to live with lepers, editor’s note) - so, I wanted to know why is it so difficult to follow that example also for the cardinals? I also wanted to ask you something else. It’s about Sri Lanka. There we saw all of the “favelas” on the way to the airport, they are shack supported against the tree. They practically live under the trees. Most are Tamils and they are discriminated against. After the massacre of Paris, right after, perhaps rashly , you said there is an isolated terrorism and a state-sponsored terrorism. What did you mean by “state-sponsored terrorism”? It came to my mind when I saw the discrimination and suffering of these people.

Pope Francis: Thanks. Thank you.

Salvatore: One more thing Holy Father, I wanted to tell you that my agency, AGI Italia which is turning 65 years old. So without taking anything away from ANSA, I wanted to let you know that we are working very hard in Asia, because with the tracks that Enrico Mattei left, AGI makes collaborative agreements with modest agencies in Palestine, in Pakistan, in Algeria, in a lot of countries. We also would like your encouragement. There are around 20 agencies that are associated with us in developing countries.

Pope Francis: When one of you asked me what message I was bringing to the Philippines, I said: the poor. Yes, it’s a message that Church today gives; also the message that you mention of Sri Lanka, of the Tamils and discrimination, no? The poor, the victims of this throwaway culture. This is true. Today, paper and what’s left over isn’t all that’s thrown away. We throw away people. And discrimination is a way of throwing away: these people are discarded. And there comes to mind a bit the image of the castes, no? This can’t go on. But today, throwing away seems normal. And you spoke of the luxurious hotel and then the shacks . In my diocese of Buenos Aires, there was the new area, which is called Puerto Madero, up to the train station, and then the start of the “Villas Miserias,” the poor. One after another. And in this part there are 36 luxurious restaurants. If you eat there, they take off your head. Right there is hunger. One next to the other. And we have the tendency to get used to this, no? To this, that … yes, yes, we’re here, and there, are those thrown away. This is poverty. I think the Church must give examples – always more examples - of refusing every worldliness. To we consecrated, bishops, priests, sisters, laity who truly believe, the gravest sin and the gravest threat is worldliness. It’s really ugly to look on when you see a worldly consecrated, a man of the Church, a sister. It’s ugly. This is not the way of Jesus. It’s the path of an NGO that is called “church” but this isn’t the Church of Jesus, that NGO. Because the Church is not an NGO but another thing; when they become worldly, a part of the Church, these people, it becomes an NGO and it ceases to be the Church. The Church is Jesus, died and risen for our salvation, and the testimony of the Christians that follow Christ. That scandal that you’ve said is true, yes. Scandal: we Christians often cause scandal. We Christians scandalize. Whether we be priests or laity, because the way of Jesus is difficult. It’s true that the Church needs to “be despoiled.” But you’ve made me think about this terrorism of states. This throwing away, even if it is like a terrorism. I hadn’t ever thought about it honestly but it makes me think. I don’t know what to say to you but truly those are not caresses, truly. It’s like saying “no, you no, You out.” Or, when it happened here in Rome that a homeless man had a stomach pain. Poor man. When you have stomach pain you go to the hospital into the emergency response unit and they give you an aspirin or something like that and then they give you an appointment for 15 days later, and after 15 days you come. After, he went to a priest and said, “But, no …” And the priest saw and was moved and said ‘I’ll take you to the hospital but I want to do me a favor. When I start explaining what you have, you act like you’re fainting.’ That’s how it happened. He was an artist. He did it well. There was a peritonitis. This man was discarded. He went out alone, he was discarded, and he was dying. That parish priest was smart, he helped us well. Stay away from worldliness, right? Is it a terrorism? Well, yes. We can think about this, yes, but I’ll think about it well. Thanks, and congratulations to the agency.

Jan Cristoph Kitzler: I would like to return for a minute to the encounter you had with families. You have spoken of ideological colonization. Would you explain a bit more the concept? You also mentioned Paul VI, speaking of the “particular causes” that are important to the pastoral care for families. Can you give an example of these particular cases and maybe say also if there is need to open the way, to have a corridor, for these particular cases?

Pope Francis: Ideological colonization. I’ll give just one example that I saw myself. Twenty years ago, in 1995, a minister of education asked for a large loan to build schools for the poor. They gave it to her on the condition that in the schools there would be a book for the children of a certain level, no? It was a school book, a book prepared well, didactically, in which gender theory was taught.

This woman needed the money but that was the condition. Clever woman, she said yes and did it again and again and it went ahead like this and that’s how it was achieved. This is ideological colonization.

They introduce to the people an idea that has nothing nothing to do with the nation. Yes, with groups of people, but not with the nation. And they colonize the people with an idea which changes, or wants to change, a mentality or a structure.

During the synod, the African bishops complained about this. Which was the same story, certain loans in exchange for certain conditions -- I say only these things that I have seen.

Why do I say ideological colonization? Because they take, they really take, they take the need of a people to seize an opportunity to enter and grow strong -- with the children. But it is not new, this. The same was done by the dictatorships of the last century. They entered with their own doctrine -- think of the Balilla (Mussolini’s fascist youth organization -- editor’s note), think of the Hitler Youth.

They colonized the people, but they wanted to do it. But how much suffering -- peoples must not lose their freedom. Each people has its own culture, its own history. Every people has its own culture.

But when conditions come imposed by imperial colonizers, they seek to make these peoples lose their own identity and make a uniformity. This is the globalization of the sphere -- all the points are equidistant from the center. And the true globalization -- I like to say this -- is not the sphere. It is important to globalize, but not like the sphere; rather, like the polyhedron. Namely that each people, every part, conserves its own identity without being ideologically colonized. These are the ideological colonizations.

There is a book, excuse me but I’ll make a commercial, there is a book that maybe is a bit heavy at the beginning because it was written in 1903 in London. It is a book that at that time, the writer had seen this drama of ideological colonization and wrote in that book. It is called “The Lord of the Earth,” or “The Lord of the World.” One of those. The author is Benson, written in 1903. I advise you to read it. Reading it, you’ll understand well what I mean by ideological colonization.

This is the first response. The second: What I want to say about Paul VI is that it is true that openness to life is the condition of the sacrament of matrimony. A man cannot give the sacrament to the woman, and the woman give it to him, if they are not in agreement on this point to be open to life. To the point that it can be proven that this or the other did not get married with this intention of being open to life, the matrimony is null. It’s a cause of the annulment of the marriage, no? Openness to life, no.

Paul VI studied this, with the commission, how to help the many cases, many problems. They are important problems, that are even about love in the family, right? The everyday problems -- so many of them.

But there was something more. The refusal of Paul VI was not only to the personal problems, for which he will tell the confessors to be merciful and understand the situation and pardon. Being understanding and merciful, no? But he was watching the universal Neo-Malthusianism that was in progress. And, how do you call this Neo-Malthusianism? There is less than one percent of birth rate growth in Italy. The same in Spain. That Neo-Malthusianism that sought to control humanity on the part of the powers.

This doesn’t mean that the Christian must make children “in series.”

I met a woman some months ago in a parish who was pregnant with her eighth child, who had had seven C-sections. But does she want to leave the seven as orphans? This is to tempt God. I speak of responsible paternity. This is the way, a responsible paternity.

But, what I wanted to say was that Paul VI was not more antiquated, closed minded. No, he was a prophet who with this said to watch out for the Neo-Malthusianism that is coming. This is what I wanted to say.

Fr. Lombardi: I now give the question to Valentina, but I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we are now over China -- we seem to have now become accustomed to holding press conferences over China, as we did returning from Korea.

Valentina Alazraki: On the flight from Sri Lanka you used the image of the gesture that this poor man (Gasbarri) might have merited if he insulted your mother would have merited a punch. Your words were not well understood by everyone in the world and seemed to justify the use of violence in the face of provocation. Could you explain a little better what you meant to say?

Pope Francis: In theory we can say that a violent reaction in the face of an offense or a provocation, in theory yes, it is not a good thing, one shouldn’t do it. In theory we can say what the Gospel says, that we should turn the other cheek. In theory we can say that we have freedom of expression, and that’s important. But in theory we all agree. But we are human and there’s prudence, which is a virtue of human coexistence. I cannot constantly insult, provoke a person continuously, because I risk making him angry, and I risk receiving an unjust reaction, one that is not just. But that’s human. For this reason I say that freedom of expression must take into account the human reality and for this reason it must be prudent. It’s a way of saying that one must be educated, prudent. Prudence is the human virtue that regulates our relations. I can go up to here, I can go up to there, and there, beyond that no. What I wanted to say is that in theory we all agree: there is freedom of expression, a violent aggression is not good, it’s always bad. We all agree, but in practice, let us stop a little because we are human and we risk provoking the other. For this reason freedom must be accompanied by prudence. That’s what I wanted to say.

Nicole Winfield, AP: For the English Group, I would like to ask you again about this year’s trip. You already told us that the trip to United States was previewed and mentioned three cities: New York, Washington and Philadelphia. Then, with the canonization of Serra, we ask if a stop to California is foreseeable, or at the Mexican border. Then, in South America, you told our colleague Elisabetta that three trips in three Latin American countries are previewed. Which are the countries? And do you think to beautify personally Archbishop Romero, who was recently considered a martyr (by the commission of theologians of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints, editor’s note)?

Pope Francis: I start from the last one. There will be a war between Cardinal Amato and monsignor Paglia (laughs) over which of the two will do the beatification.

No, beatifications are normally carried out by the Cardinal of the dicastery (for saints’ causes), or another (bishop).

Let’s go the first question of the United States. Yes, the three cities are Philadelphia, for the Meeting of Families; New York, I have the date already but I can’t remember, for the visit at the UN; and Washington. It is these three.

I would like to go to California for the canonization of Junipero, but I think there is a problem of time. It requires two more days . I think that I will do that canonization at the shrine (of the Immaculate Conception) in Washington, it is is a national thing.

In Washington, I’m not sure where, there is a statue of Junipero, at the capitol.

To enter the USA from the border of Mexico would be a beautiful thing, as a sign of brotherhood and of help to the immigrants.

But you know that go to Mexico without going to visit the Madonna (of Guadalupe) would be a drama . A war could break out (laughing).

And also it would mean three more days, and this is not clear. There I think there will only be those three cities. Later there will be time to go to Mexico.

Did I forget something? Latin America countries?

We have foreseen for this year – everything is still in draft form -- Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. These three.

Next year God willing, I would like to go, but nothing is planned yet. Chile, Argentina and Uruguay and Peru are missing there, but we don’t know where to put it.

Father Lombardi: Thank you. We already have quite a precise and wide program of the (Pope’s) travels. Everything is provisional (this is just a draft schedule) – nothing is decided yet.

Carla Lim: Thank you very much for inspiring our country; on behalf of the Filipino people, thank you so much. Please forgive me because I cannot speak Italian. You mentioned, in some of your speeches, about corruption, and corruption takes away the resources from the people. What can your holiness do to fight corruption, not just in the government, but maybe in the Church as well?

Pope Francis: She’s tough, this one, eh? (Inaudible). Corruption today in the world is the order of the day, and the corrupt attitude easily and immediately finds a nest in institutions, because an institution that has so many branches here and there, so many chiefs and vice-chiefs, like that, it’s very easy for it to fall or provide a nest for corruption and every institution can fall into this. Corruption is taking from the people. That corrupt person who does corrupt deals or governs corruptly or associates himself with others in order to do corrupt deals, robs the people. The victims are those -- where is he, the one of the anniversary? (he refers to Salvatore Izzo)-- they are those who you said were behind the luxury hotel, no? They are the victims of corruption. Corruption is not closed in on itself; it goes out and kills. Do you understand? Today corruption is a worldwide problem. Once, in 2001 more or less, I asked the chief of the cabinet of the president at that time, which was a government that we thought to be not so corrupt, and it was true, it was not so corrupt, the government: “Tell me, the aid that you send into the interior of the country, whether it be in cash or food or clothes, all these things, how much gets to the place.” Immediately this man, who is a true man, clean, said, “35 percent.” That’s what he told me. The year 2001 in my homeland. And now, corruption in ecclesial institutions. When I speak of the Church I like to speak of the faithful, the baptized, the whole Church, no? In that case, it’s better to speak of sinners. We are all sinners, no? But when we speak of corruption, we speak either or corrupt persons or of institutions in the Church that fall into corruption. And there are cases, yes, there are. I remember once, in the year 1994, when I had been scarcely named bishop of the Flores quarter of Buenos Aires, two employees or functionaries of a ministry came to me to tell me, “you have so much need here with so many poor in the villas miserias.” “Oh yes,” I said, and I told them. “We can help you. We have, if you want, a subsidy of 400,000 pesos.” At that time, the exchange rate with the dollar was one to one. $400,000. “You can do that?” “Yes, yes.” I listened because, when the offer is so big, the offer challenges even a saint. But they went on: “To do this, we make the deposit and then you give us half for ourselves.” In that moment I thought about what I would do: either I insult them and give them a kick where the sun doesn’t shine, or I play the fool. I played the fool and said, in truth, we at the vicariate don’t have an account; you have to make the deposit at the archdiocese’s office with the receipt. And that was it. “Oh, we didn’t know.” And they left. But later I thought, if these two landed without even asking for a runway -- it’s a bad thought -- it’s because someone else said yes. But it’s a bad thought, no? Does corruption happen easily? Let’s remember this: sinners yes, corrupted no, corrupted never. We must ask pardon for those Catholics, those Christians who scandalize with their corruption. It’s a wound in the Church. But there are so many saints, so many saints. And sinner saints, but not corrupt. Let’s look at the other side, too: the Church is holy. There are some here and there. Thank you for having the courage to ask this question.

Anais Feuga (Radio France): We’ve flying over China. Coming back from Korea, you said you’re ready to go to China tomorrow. In the light of this declaration, can you explain why you didn’t receive the Dalai Lama when he was at Rome a little while ago, and where do relations with China stand?

Pope Francis: Thanks for asking me this question. It’s a habit in the protocol of the Secretariat of State not to receive heads of state and people at that level when they’re taking part in an international meeting here in Rome. For example, for FAO I didn’t receive anyone. That’s the reason he wasn’t received. I saw that some newspapers said I didn’t receive him out of fear of China. That’s not true. At that time, this protocol was the reason. He asked for an audience, and it was said … but a date, a certain point. He asked before, but not for this moment, we are in relation. The motive was not a refusal of a person, or fear of China. Yes, we are open, we want peace with everyone.

How do the relations with China stand? The government of China is respectful, we’re respectful, let’s take things one step at a time. That’s how things are done in history, no? We don’t yet know, but they know I’m available either to receive someone, or to go to China. They know. There was another question or not? Thank you.

Marco Ansaldo (La Repubblica): Holy Father, you have done an amazing trip, very rich, full of things, in the Philippines. But I would like to take a step back, because terrorism strikes Christianity, Catholics in many part of the world. We have recently seen it in Niger, but there are many examples. In the last trip we did, coming back from Turkey, you launched an appeal to Islamic leaders, saying that a step, a very firm intervention from them was needed. Now, it does not seem to me that this has been considered and welcomed, despite your words. There are some moderate Islamic countries, I can easily provide the example of Turkey, that have at least an ambiguous attitude toward terrorism – and let’s mention the cases of ISIS and of Charlie Hebdo. I do not know if you had the occasion to reflect and think how to go beyond your invitation over this past one month and a half, since your appeal had not been welcomed and was important. You, or someone on your behalf, I see here Monsignor Becciu or Cardinal Parolin himself, because this problem will keep on questioning us. Thank you.

Pope Francis: I even repeated that appeal to the diplomatic corps on the very day I left for Sri Lanka. In my speech to the diplomatic corps, I said that I hope that -- more or less, I don’t remember the exact words – religious, political, academic and intellectual leaders express themselves on the issue. Even the moderate Muslim people ask that of their leaders. Some have done something. I also think that we should give some time: it is not easy, no. I am hopeful, since there are many good people among them, many good leaders, I am sure we will achieve it. But I wanted to underscore that I repeated that on the day I departed from Rome.

Christoph Schmidt: Holy Father, first of all I would like to say: Thank you very much for all the impressive moments of this week. It is the first time I accompany you, and I would like to say thank you very much. My question: you have talked about the many children in the Philippines, about your joy because there are so many children, but according to some polls the majority of Filipinos think that the huge growth of Filipino population is one of the most important reasons for the enormous poverty in the country. A Filipino woman gives birth to an average of three children in her life, and the Catholic position concerning contraception seem to be one of the few question on which a big number of people in the Philippines do not agree with the Church. What do you think about that?

Pope Francis: I think the number of three children per family that you mentioned – it makes me suffer- I think it is the number experts say is important to keep the population going. Three per couple. When this decreases, the other extreme happens, like what is happening in Italy. I have heard, I do not know if it is true, that in 2024 there will be no money to pay pensioners because of the fall in population. Therefore, the key word, to give you an answer, and the one the Church uses all the time, and I do too, is responsible parenthood. How do we do this? With dialogue. Each person with his pastor seeks how to do carry out a responsible parenthood.

That example I mentioned shortly before about that woman who was expecting her eighth child and already had seven who were born with caesareans. That is a an irresponsibility That woman might say ‘no, I trust in God.’ But, look, God gives you means to be responsible. Some think that -- excuse the language -- that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits. No. Responsible parenthood. This is clear and that is why in the Church there are marriage groups, there are experts in this matter, there are pastors, one can search; and I know so many ways that are licit and that have helped this. You did well to ask me this.

Another curious thing in relation to this is that for the most poor people, a child is a treasure. It is true that you have to be prudent here too, but for them a child is a treasure. Some would say ‘God knows how to help me’ and perhaps some of them are not prudent, this is true. Responsible paternity, but let us also look at the generosity of that father and mother who see a treasure in every child.

Elisabetta Pique, La Nacion: Representing the Spanish language group, I have two questions. This was a moving voyage for everyone. We saw people crying the entire time in Tacloban, even we journalists cried. Yesterday you said the world needs to cry. We would like to ask you, what was – and it was all very moving – what was for you the most moving moment? That is the first question. The second, yesterday you made history, you surpassed the record set by John Paul II, in the same place, there were 6 or 7 million people. How does it feel to have seen - Cardinal Tagle was telling us that during the Mass in front of the altar you asked him, but how many people are here? How does it feel to have surpassed this record, to have entered into history as the Pope with the Mass with the highest attendance in history? Thank you.

Pope Francis: The most moving moment: for me, the Mass in Tacloban was very moving. Very moving. To see all of God’s people standing still, praying, after this catastrophe, thinking of my sins and those people, it was moving, a very moving moment. On the moment of the Mass there, I felt as though I was annihilated, I almost couldn’t speak. I don’t know what happened to me, maybe it was the emotion, I don’t know. But I didn’t feel another thing, it is something. And then, the moving moments: the gestures were moving. Every gesture. When I passed and a father would do this (gestures) and I blessed him, he would say thank you. But for them, a blessing was enough. I thought -- I who have so many expectations -- I want this and I want that. That was good for me, no? Moving moments. After I found out that in Tacloban we landed with winds at 70 kilometres per hour, I took it seriously the warning that we needed to leave no later than one o’clock because there was more danger. Regarding the great turnout, I felt annihilated. These were God’s people, and God was present. And the joy of the presence of God which tells us, think on it well, that you are servants of these people, these people are the protagonists. Something like this. The other thing is the weeping. One of the things that is lost when there is too much wealth or when values are misunderstood or we have become accustomed to injustice, to this culture of waste, is the capacity to cry. This is a grace we must ask for. There is a beautiful prayer in the old missal (1962, editor’s note) for tears. It went more or less like this: ‘O Lord, you who have made it so that Moses with his cane made water flow from a stone, make it so from the rock that is my heart, that water of tears may flow.’ It’s a beautiful prayer. We Christians must ask for the grace to cry. Especially wealthy Christians. To cry about injustice and to cry about sins. Because crying opens you to understand new realities, or new dimensions to realities. This is what the girl said, what I said to her. She was the only one to ask that question to which there is no answer: why do children suffer? The great Dostoyevsky asked himself this, and he could not answer. Why do children suffer? She, with her weeping, a woman who was weeping. When I say it is important that women be held in higher consideration in the Church, it’s not just to give them a function as the secretary of a dicastery -- though this would be fine. No, it’s so that they may tell us tell us how they experience, and view reality. Because women view things from a different richness, a larger one. Another thing I would like to underscore is what I said to the last young man, who truly works well, he gives and gives and gives, he organizes to help the poor. But don’t forget that we too need to be beggars – from them. Because the poor evangelize us. If we take the poor away from the Gospel, we cannot understand Jesus’ message. The poor evangelize us. I go to evangelize the poor, yes, but allow them to evangelize you. Because they have values that you do not.

I thank you very much for your work, I have esteem for it. Thanks very much. I know it is a sacrifice for you. Thanks very much. I would like make these thanks concrete towards our dean, whose birthday it is today (Valentina Alazraki, editor’s note). We can’t say how old you are but you’ve worked here since you were a child, as a child, as a child. Best wishes.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis’ curial reform: sending bishops home to dioceses

by Catholic News Agency’s Vatican Observer, Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 20, 2015

Bishop Mario Toso, who on Monday was transferred out of the Roman curia to become Bishop of Faenza-Modigliana. (Marta Jimenez Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — The appointment of Bishop Mario Toso as head of the small Italian diocese of Faenza-Modigliana leaves vacant the post of secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, a Vatican office that will be involved in the larger process of Curia reform.

Bishop Toso, a Salesian, had served as secretary of the pontifical council since 2009. He had previously been an advisor of the same dicastery. His appointment as Bishop of Faenza-Modigliana was announced Jan. 19.

An expert on the Church’s social teaching and one of those who reviewed the draft of the Benedict XVI’s encyclical Caritas in Veritate, Bishop Toso distinguished himself in his service to the Holy See for his commitment to a reform of the international financial system, and to the United Nations.

Bishop Toso also pushed the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to work on such topics as democracy and politicians, as it is shown by the several speeches, interventions, and interviews he gave given in this five years of service at the Holy See.

According to a source who works in a Vatican office connected with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Bishop Toso was offered the chance become the coordinator of the to-be-established new dicastery in view of a general reform of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

The draft of the reform was discussed Nov. 24 in one of the regular meetings between Pope Francis and the chiefs of the Vatican offices.

The draft designed the establishment of two super-congregations, in order to streamline the Curia’s structure.

The Congregation of Justice and Peace will include five secretariats: for Life and Human Ecology; for Justice and Peace in the World; for Migrants; for Health Care; and for Charity. This implies the downgrading to mere secretariat within a congregation of (respectively) the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Pontifical Council for Migrants, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Health Care, and the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

The Congregation for Laity and Family will also include five secretariats: for laity, for family, for young people, for women and for ecclesiastical movements. The Congregation will thus enroll the two Pontifical Councils for Laity and Family, plus three additional office with specific competences.

The draft is under discussion, and – according to a source who works in the Pontifical Council for the Family – the Academy for Life is now to be included in the Congregation for Laity and Family, and not in the Congregation of Justice and Peace.

These details will be discussed in the coming Council of Cardinals, scheduled Feb. 9-11, and in the following ordinary consistory, scheduled Feb. 12-13.

The news should be that each secretariat will not be necessarily led by a bishop, but also by nuns and even by lay people or families, while the prefect of the Congregation will necessarily be a cardinal.

What will be the role and the weight of the current Secretaries of the Pontifical Councils after the Curia reform will be in the end finalized?

Most of the bishops are due to take over a post as residential bishop, and that of Bishop Toso seems to be the first of many appointments of this kind.

On the other hand, Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga had thought to strengthen the super-congregation for Justice and Peace, trying not to lose the only specific expert in Catholic social teaching in the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

The Council of Cardinals had then designed for Bishop Toso a post of coordinator of the Congregation for Justice and Peace, with a sort of oversight power on the texts and the policies of the congregation.

Faithful to Pope Francis’ spirit, Bishop Toso had instead preferred a post as a residential bishop.

The Faenza-Modigliana diocese, in northern Italy, has a population of 113,000 Catholics, and 88 parishes.

From that diocese, Bishop Toso will carry forward his commitment in the field of the development of the Church’s social doctrine, continuing to author books and papers and contributing to the Italian magazine La Società, specialized in politics and Catholic social teaching, of which Bishop Toso has deputy editor since its foundation in 1991.

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VATICAN NEWS

‘Given the new situation, a papal trip to Cuba would be hoped for’

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 20, 2015

Pilgrims gather in Havana for Mass during Benedict XVI’s March 2012 visit to Cuba. (Michelle Bauman/CNA)

Vatican City — Following the Vatican-brokered restoration of relations between the US and Cuba, a visit of Pope Francis to the island should be “expected and welcomed,” according to the Vatican’s emeritus Secretary of State.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, has had dealings with Cuba throughout the course of three pontificates. His most recent visit to the nation was Dec. 4-12, the week prior to the Dec. 18 announcement of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the US. While there, Cardinal Bertone had meetings with top-level Cuban officials.

In an interview with CNA Jan. 17, Cardinal Bertone stressed that “despite the appearance that the status quo was ‘frozen’, the process of opening was in action and continued, slowly and inexorably.” He added that now, given the new developments, “a visit by Pope Francis should be expected and welcomed.”

The restoration of diplomatic relations is “the outcome of a long work of preparation, which took place at multiple levels,” he said.

Cardinal Bertone emphasized that this process was “then accelerated by the fact that both the U.S. and Cuba had a convergent interest in doing so,” and was then carried out thanks to “the wise and welcome mediation of the ‘American’ Pope Francis. In this sense, the famous declaration ‘Todos somos americanos’ (We are all Americans) can be nicely interpreted.”

The former head of Vatican diplomacy underscored that “the Holy See has effectively contributed to the historical thaw between the U.S. and Cuba, as was openly acknowledged by U.S. president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro.”

On the other hand, Cardinal Bertone also pointed out the “importance of the role of Canada, one of the very few countries of the American hemisphere that maintained diplomatic ties with the Cuban regime after the 1959 revolution.”

The Holy See also has “maintained diplomatic relations with Cuba after the 1959 revolution,” Cardinal Bertone noted.

“The Church did not get stuck in sterile complaints, but has continued its pastoral actions, despite some limitations and the poverty of tools at its disposal, and thanks also to the continual cooperation of sister Churches in Europe and America,” Cardinal Bertone stressed.

The cardinal recounted that “step by step, using the increasing spaces of freedom of worship, the Church has intensified in Cuba catechetic education, as well as the presence in the world of culture and in the pastoral care of the young, providing contents and ideals to a society that was demotivated, and sometimes deprived of values.”

Since the lack of values is “a worry that both the Church and civil society share,” Cuban civil society progressively opened more space to the Church, giving the consent for the increase of the presence of priests and religious brothers and sisters coming from abroad.

Cardinal Bertone recounted that “a progressive opening toward the Church was especially seen in two decisions: the authorization to carry on pastoral care for inmates, and access to spaces in media.”

Cardinal Bertone hopes that these spaces will “continue to enlarge, so that the Church may offer its help to Cuban society.”

The cardinal has visited Cuba five times, so he knows well the internal process of progressive opening the island is experiencing.

“My first trip took place in 2002. I was secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and I went to Cuba for the coronation of the Statue of the Madonna in the Madonna del Buen Viaje Shrine in Santa Clara. On that occasion, I had a special authorization to preside over a solemn procession,” recounted Cardinal Bertone.

In 2004, Cardinal Bertone went again in Cuba, to present, in his new capacity as Archbishop of Genoa, the two new priests that had been sent from the archdiocese as missionaries fidei donum.

“I was also received by the Commander Fidel Castro, in the very last day of my visit. The talk was very long, about a couple of hours, and dealt with many social and educational issues, for instance values and disvalues of youth,” told Cardinal Bertone.

Then as the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone travelled to Cuba in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s historic visit to the island.

“I was in Havana, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo, and Penalver. I also held a conference at La Habana State University on ‘culture and the ethical foundation of human living,” and a speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to Cuba.”

Cardinal Bertone was also the first foreign top official to meet with Raul Castro after he had succeeded his brother Fidel.

In 2012, Cardinal Bertone accompanied Benedict XVI on his visit to Cuba, where they met with national authorities as well with Fidel.

“Fidel Castro was received in the Apostolic Nunciature’s residence and asked Benedict XVI to send him some of his books, which Benedict did,” the cardinal recounted.

He also reminded that “like Pope John Paul II, Benedict XVI condemned the trade embargo, and hoped that unilateral points of view would be abandoned in order to think of the common interest of the Cuban people.”

Cardinal Bertone stressed that “the Holy See had already remarked on these issues in the audience the Pope gave in the Vatican to then-U.S. president George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice in 2008.”

Cardinal Bertone’s most recent trip to Cuba took place Dec. 4-12, 2014, a few days before the announcement of the restoration of diplomatic ties between Cuba and the U.S.

The trip had a twofold agenda. On the ecclesial side, Cardinal Bertone dedicated a new shrine in Santa Clara to the Virgen del Cobre, and met with Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez of Santiago de Cuba and Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino of San Cristobal de la Habana.

The civil program was noteworthy: Cardinal Bertone met with Caridad Diego Bello, head of the Office for Religious Affairs of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist party, on Dec. 5. He also met for a working meal with Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Cuba’s foreign minister: “We exchanged information and opinions on current issues,” recounted Cardinal Bertone.

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VATICAN NEWS

Big families bring hope – not poverty, says Pope

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • January 21, 2015

Italian families and educators in St. Peter’s Square for a meeting with Pope Francis, May 10, 2014. (Lauren Cater/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis has rejected the “simplistic” belief that large families are among the causes of poverty, stressing that economic systems which create a culture of waste are to blame.

“Families know they are essential to the life of society,” the Pope said Jan. 21 during his first weekly general audience since returning from his Jan. 12-19 tour of Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Speaking to the crowds gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father recalled his Jan 16. meeting with 1,000 families in Manila, one of the main events of his visit to the Philippines.

“It gives consolation and hope to see many large families who welcome children as a true gift of God,” he said.

Having heard it said that large families are among the causes of poverty, the Pope described this belief as “a simplistic opinion.”

“I can say, we can all say, that the principle cause of poverty is an economic system which has removed the person from the center, and has put in his place the money-god; an economic system that always excludes children, elderly, the unemployed, and creates the culture of waste in which we live.”

In off-the-cuff remarks, Pope Francis added: “We are accustomed to seeing rejected people. This is the principle reason for poverty – not large families.”

Reflecting on Saint Joseph, who was tasked to protect the “Santo Niño”, or Holy Child, the Pope reiterated the importance of protecting the family against the “new ideological colonization, which threatens its identity and mission.

“The cure for poverty is a fundamental element of our life and Christian witness: it involves the rejection if every form of corruption which robs the poor,” while demanding “a culture of honesty.”

Throughout his visit to the Philippines, Pope Francis noted the “profound faith, religiosity and enthusiasm” of the Filipino people.

He recalled his meeting with victims of the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), and the accidental death of Catholic Relief Services Kristel Padasas during the Jan. 17 Mass in Tacloban.

The Pope lauded those who brought aid to people affected by the typhoon. “The power of God’s love, revealed in the mystery of the Cross, was made evident in the spirit of solidarity demonstrated by the many acts of charity and sacrifice which marked those dark days,” he said.

The Holy Father then recalled his meeting with the Filipino youth, during which he sought to encourage them in their efforts to bring renewal to society, “especially through service to the poor, and safeguarding of the natural surroundings.”

Speaking on his trip to Sri Lanka, the first stop on his week-long journey, Pope Francis highlighted the two central events of the visit: the canonization of St. Joseph Vaz, and the visit to Our Lady of Madhu.

The Pope described St. Joseph Vaz as a “model for all Christians,” whose “example of holiness and love for the other continues to inspire the Church in Sri Lanka in his apostolate of charity and education.”

Citing the country’s decades’ long civil war, Pope Francis recalled the reoccurring theme of reconciliation, centering on his visit to the Marian shrine of Madhu. Located in the north of the country, the sanctuary is an important site of pilgrimage for people from different ethnic groups and religions.

“In this holy place we asked Mary our mother to obtain the gift of unity and peace for all the Sri Lankan people,” he said.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis blesses two lambs on the Feast of St. Agnes

by CNA/EWTN News • January 21, 2015

A lamb is wreathed in flowers during a special Mass for the Feast of St. Agnes at the Basilica of St. Agnes Outside the Wall on Jan. 21, 2014. (Paul Badde/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis observed the feast of St. Agnes with the time-honored custom of the blessing of lambs, whose wool will be used to make stoles worn by archbishops and known as palliums.

The two small lambs, traditionally less than a year old, were placed in baskets and carried to the Casa Santa Marta on Wednesday where they received the Holy Father’s blessing.

St. Agnes, whose name means “lamb” in Latin, was a young girl when she consecrated her virginity to God. Although stories of her martyrdom vary, tradition holds that the beautiful young girl was pursued by various men, whom she refused because of her promise to God.

Feeling slighted, these men then turned her over to Roman authorities, outing her as a Christian. She was then put to death by the sword after refusing to give up her virginity or denounce her faith, at the young age of 12 or 13.

The young saint is buried in the Basilica named for her, located on Rome’s Via Nomentana.

During the blessing of the lambs, one lamb wears a white crown symbolizing the saint’s purity, and the other lamb to wear a red crown, symbolic of the saint’s martyrdom.

St. Agnes is usually depicted as carrying a lamb in her arms, and she is the patron saint of young girls, engaged couples, and victims of sexual assault.

When the sheep are shorn in the summer, religious sisters will collect the wool and use it to weave the Pallium, which are white stoles with six black crosses worn by archbishops to show their authority and unity with the Pope.

After the Pallium are woven, they are kept in an urn at the tomb of St. Peter until the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, when the Pope presents the stoles to the newly appointed archbishops.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis decries Charlie Hebdo motivated attacks in Niger

by Ann Schneible (CNA/EWTN News) • January 21, 2015

A copy of Charlie Hebdo magazine from a French bookstore in London, Jan. 16, 2015. (Carl Court/Getty Images/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis condemned deadly protests in Niger during which dozens of churches were torched over the weekend, stressing that religious motives do not justify violence.

“One cannot make war in God’s name!” the Pope said during his weekly general audience on Jan. 21.

Ten people were killed and 45 churches were set on fire in the riots erupted after the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo published an image of Mohammed on the Jan. 14 front cover, an act which many Muslims deem offensive.

One week earlier, 12 people were killed on Jan. 7 when Islamic terrorists stormed Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris.

Pope Francis called for prayers for the “beloved Niger,” where “brutalities were committed against Christians, against children, against churches.”

Praying for “reconciliation and peace,” Pope Francis stressed that “religious sentiments are never an occasion for violence, oppression and destruction.

Five people were killed in the Niger capital of Niamey, while five more were killed in the southern city of Zinder. Around 170 people were injured in the riots.

Government officials reported seeing perpetrators carrying flags in support of Boko Haram, an Islamic group based in neighboring Nigeria. Niger is approximately 99 percent Muslim.

Before leading the crowds gathered in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall in praying the Hail Mary, the Pope concluded his remarks by expressing his hope for the restoration of a “climate of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence for the good of all.”

During a Jan. 16 in-flight press conference, Pope Francis told journalists that freedom of expression has limits, but that no one has the right to kill in God’s name.

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VATICAN NEWS

Financial appointment at Vatican signals continuity in reform, transparency

by Catholic News Agency’s Vatican Observer, Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 21, 2015

(Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Tommaso Di Ruzza was appointed Wednesday as the new director of the Vatican’s Authority for Financial Information, filling the post left vacant Nov. 19, when the previous director, René Bruelhart, was made president of the Authority’s board of directors.

Di Ruzza’s appointment indicates continuity in the advancement of financial reforms that have been carried on by the Vatican since 2009 under Benedict XVI.

A respected international juridical expert who studied at the universities of Siena, Rome, and Oxford, Di Ruzza has served as a juridical advisor to the Holy See since 2005.

After having served at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Di Ruzza was entrusted with following the operational, juridical, and international issues of the Authority for Financial Information since its establishment in 2011.

In this capacity, Di Ruzza had a prominent role in the negotiations with the Council of Europe’s Moneyval committee regarding its 2012 evaluation of the Holy See’s financial system.

Di Ruzza also negotiated in 2013 the inclusion of the Authority of Financial Information in the Egmont Group, which gathers the world’s financial intelligence units, as well as the several memoranda of understanding the Authority has signed with its counterpart in several countries, the most noteworthy being those with the US, UK, Italy, and Germany.

Vatican insiders explained to CNA that Di Ruzza has been one of the main supporters of the Vatican’s path toward reform and the consolidation of Holy See and Vatican City State anti- money laundering programs.

Di Ruzza’s appointment concludes the Authority’s transition to a new governance.

The transition began after the new Vatican anti-money laundering law was issued in August 2013, and confirmed in October 2013 – a law that Di Ruzza had considerably contributed to drafting – and the consequent November 2013 issuance of the new statutes of the Authority for Financial Information.

The new statutes also entrusted the Authority for Financial Information with the functions of prudential supervision.

The first regulation of prudential supervision came into effect Jan. 13, and is published on the Authority’s website.

This prudential supervision is exercised over the Vatican offices that professionally handle financial activities, including the Institute for Religious Works, or ‘Vatican bank’.

The new regulations introduce a legal framework in terms of organization and management of the offices.

A source who works in Vatican finances explained to CNA Jan. 21 that “the text adheres to international standards, but also fits with the Holy See’s peculiar and juridical framework.”

This means – the source concluded – that “the Holy See is committed to a long term and sustainable path to fulfill international standards for financial transparency.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis shoutout to March for Life: ‘Every Life is a Gift’

by CNA/EWTN News • January 22, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during his Wednesday general audience on June 18, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — As massive crowds of pro-life advocates gathered for the March for Life in Washington, D.C., Pope Francis on Thursday tweeted a short message of support.

“Every Life is a Gift,” he said Jan. 22, using the hashtag “#marchforlife.” The message went out to over 5.3 million Twitter followers on his English-language account “Pontifex.”

To his 7.8 million Spanish-language Twitter followers, he sent the same message: “Cada Vida es un Don.”

As of noon Eastern Time Thursday, his English-language tweet had over 12,000 retweets and 17,000 favorites. His Spanish-language tweet had over 3,700 retweets and 3,800 favorites.

Last year the Pope also tweeted a message in English and Spanish.

“I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable,” he said in January 2014.

The pro-life march in Washington, D.C. typically draws hundreds of thousands of attendees of all religious backgrounds, though Catholic participants are numerous. This year’s event marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which mandated legal abortion nationwide.

Pope Francis made a surprise visit via popemobile to an April 2013 pro-life march in Rome.

He is not the first pontiff to tweet to the March for Life. Pope Benedict XVI sent a message of support for U.S. pro-life advocates on Twitter in January 2013.

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VATICAN NEWS

Pius XII helped Jews in Rome – and an Italian historian has the evidence

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 22, 2015

Venerable Pius XII. (CNA)

Vatican City — An Italian historian has found evidence that Venerable Pius XII’s order to open the doors to Jewish refugees was delivered to two enclosed monasteries in Rome, “L’Osservatore Romano” wrote on Wednesday.

In its Jan. 21 issue, the Vatican newspaper mentioned the latest paper of the historian Antonello Carvigiani published in the magazine “Storia Contemporanea.”

As no written order from Pius XII to Roman churches and convents to welcome those persecuted for political or racial reasons has been found, Carvigiani maintains that he had found “evidence of a written or oral order, though written with a standard formula, that was delivered to all religious houses in Rome, as well as to all parishes and ecclesiastical structures.”

This order should be Pius XII’s letter that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, then Secretary of State, mentioned on Apr. 17, 2007, speaking about of an order from the late Pope that “was never made public.”

Pius XII’s beatification cause has been challenged in some Jewish quarters, which charge that he was silent about the Holocaust and did not do enough to resist the Germans.

When Bl. Paul VI started the beatification process in 1967, nine years after Pius XII’s death, he formed a committee of historians to conduct an in-depth study of his predecessor’s life and behavior, giving particular attention to the events of World War II.

The committee was made up of four Jesuits: Fathers Pierre Blet (France), Angelo Martini (Italy), Burkhart Schneider (Germany), and Robert A. Graham (United States).

Their work led to the publication of “Actes et Documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale” (Acts and Documents of the Holy See related to the Second World War), an 11-volume collection of documents from the Vatican’s Secret Archive about Pius XII’s papacy during the war.

The completed catalogue will include approximately 16 million documents from Pius XII’s papacy, which lasted from 1939 to 1958.

Benedict XVI initially decided to postpone Pius XII’s cause for sainthood, and advocated waiting until the archives would be open for researchers in 2014.

But Benedict changed his mind and declared Pius XII Venerable on Dec. 19, 2009, based on the recommendation of the committee investigating his cause.

Pacelli’s cause has not moved forward since, but Carvigiani’s discoveries may be decisive to move the cause forward.

Carvigiani looked into the unpublished chronicles of the cloistered Roman monasteries Santi Quattro and Santa Susanna.

According to Carvigiani, the chronicles reveal “there is a very authoritative source who asked the monasteries to open the cloister and to hide all the people wanted by Nazis, especially the Jews.”

“From the text, one may assume that this order comes from the Pope and is said in oral form to the two monasteries (of Santa Susanna and Santi Quattro Coronati), as well as one may assume that (this order) is delivered to all the religious institutions of Rome.”

Hence, “it is possible to hypothesize that a written paper, delivered in hundreds of copies, was delivered to all the religious institutions in Rome.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Pope Francis completes new Vatican office to tackle clergy abuse

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

St. Peter’s statue in the square of the Vatican basilica. (Stephen Driscoll/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis completed the membership of the new Vatican body with responsibility for dealing with clerical sex abuse on Wednesday, marking a further step in providing adequate procedures to insure justice for all the victims.

The body is a specific office within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that will deal with ‘delicta graviora’, or ‘more grave crimes’. These are the most serious crimes in the Church, and most notably include offenses against morality: the sexual abuse of a minor by a cleric; or the acquisition, possession, or distribution of child pornography by a cleric.

The new office is established as a college of seven people, whose names were announced Jan. 21.

Bishop Charles Scicluna has been appointed president of the college. Now the Auxiliary Bishop of Malta, Bishop Scicluna served from 2002 to 2012 as Promoter of Justice in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – that is, as the Vatican’s public prosecutor – personally handling the sex abuses crises of 2002 and 2010 and carrying forward the ‘zero tolerance’ line wanted by St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI to tackle the issue.

The other members of the college are: Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education; Cardinal Attilio Nicora, president emeritus of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See; Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Bishop Juan Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See; and Archbishop José Mollaghan, Emeritus of Rosario.

The college has also two supplementary members: Cardinal Julian Herranz Casado, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; and Bishop Giorgio Corbellini, president of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See and of the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia.

The new office is charged with lightening the work of the ordinary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, handling the appeals on ‘delicta graviora’.

Aside from sexual abuse of minors, the ‘delicta graviora’ which the college will examine include those against the sacraments -- including those against Eucharist, such as profaning a consecrated Host; against Confession, such as violating the seal; and against Holy Orders, such as the attempted ordination of a woman.

According to the 2001 motu proprio Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, which transferred authority for investigating abuse cases from the Congregation for Clergy to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith so that they could be dealt with more speedily, a person aggrieved by an administrative decision of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith could ask for a review of the decision by the ordinary session of the congregation.

This session is called ‘feria quarta’, and takes place once a month on a Wednesday, and includes all 25 cardinal and bishop members of the congregation.

The new office will assist the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in this work.

According to Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See press office, the congregation “had to examine 4-5 appeals a month, of priests who were deemed to have been wrongly accused.”

It is yet to be decided how the new college will organize the work, nor if the college’s judgement on each case will be always accepted by the feria quarta, or if the feria quarta will be able to overturn the college’s judgements.

The work will obviously depend on the number of cases waiting for review, and monthly meetings will be likely scheduled.

The rescript simply reads that the work of the commission will juxtapose the work of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which will maintain its competences.

It will be likely the congregation itself entrusts the new office with a certain numbers of appeals which are usually examined during the ordinary session.

All of these details will be discussed in the further months, probably with the issuance of specific regulations that will establish the functions and modus operandi of this new body.

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VATICAN NEWS

Fostering close ties: what family life teaches us about communication

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

Pope Francis greets the ill and disabled during his General Audience Nov. 13, 2014. (Elise Harris/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis chose the family as his theme for this year’s World Communications Day, saying that as the first place we learn to communicate, families teach us to go out of ourselves and encounter others.

“In the family, we learn to embrace and support one another, to discern the meaning of facial expressions and moments of silence, to laugh and cry together,” the Pope said in his Jan. 23 message for the 49th World Day of Communications.

To be able to do this with people that we didn’t choose and are yet so important to us “greatly helps us to understand the meaning of communication as recognizing and creating closeness,” he said.

In his message, entitled “Communicating the Family: A Privileged Place of Encounter with the Gift of Love,” the pontiff recalled how John the Baptist leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb after hearing Mary’s greeting.

What this show us, he noted, is that the joy of meeting others is something we learn even before our birth.

To encounter others means “to open doors, not remaining closed in our little world, but rather going out to others,” the Pope said, noting that the family “becomes alive as it reaches beyond itself.”

“Families who do so communicate their message of life and communication, giving comfort and hope to more fragile families, and thus build up the Church herself, which is the gamily of families.”

He also stressed the fact that perfect families don’t exist, and said that we shouldn’t be afraid of imperfections, weakness or even conflict in family life, but instead should learn to deal with them constructively.

As the primary context in which human beings learn to communicate, the family is a key model for how to relate to others. Focusing on family life in terms of communication, the Pope said, will help to make our interactions “more authentic and humane,” and enable us to see the family in a new light.

In a world immersed in violence and in which many frequently curse, use foul language, speak poorly of others, and “sow discord and poison” through gossip, the family teaches us that “communication is a blessing,” the Bishop of Rome observed.

“In situations apparently dominated by hatred and violence, where families are separated by stone walls or the impenetrable walls of prejudice and resentment … it is only by blessing rather than cursing, by visiting rather that repelling, that we can break the spiral of evil (and) show that goodness is always possible,” he said.

Pope Francis then turned to the media, saying that they can be both a help and a hindrance to authentic communication.

Media are a hindrance to the extent that it becomes a way of avoiding others and evading physical contact, the Roman Pontiff noted. He spoke of the importance of having silence and rest as an essential part of each day.

On the other hand, media can help communication when they are geared toward helping people share stories, stay in contact, thanking others or asking forgiveness, he said, observing how media can also lead to new personal encounters.

“The great challenge facing us today is to learn once again how to talk to one another” rather than simply generating and consuming information, the pontiff explained.

Although information is important, “it is not enough,” he said, noting that often times what we see becomes simplified, and frequently positions and persons are pitted against each other.

Family life, the pontiff said, “is not a subject of debate or a terrain for ideological skirmishes, (but) rather an environment in which we learn to communicate in an experience of closeness.”

He noted how media can have the tendency to portray the family as “abstract” or as something that needs to be “accepted or rejected” or “defended or attacked” rather than as a living reality.

However, as a community that provides help and celebrates life, the family “continues to be a rich human resource, as opposed to a problem or an institution in crisis,” he said.

The Roman Pontiff concluded his message by affirming that families should be seen as a resource rather than societal problem, and said that when at their best, families actively communicate to the world the “beauty and richness” of the love between a man and a woman, and between parents and children.

“We are not fighting to defend the past, (but) rather, with patience and trust, we are working to build a better future for the world in which we live,” he observed.

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VATICAN NEWS

Flea market find becomes heavenly gift for Pope Francis

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

image of St. Therese of Lisieux was a gift presented to Pope Francis by French journalist Caroline Pigozzi. (Caroline Pigozzi)

Vatican City — The journalist who won a big smile from Pope Francis after giving him an image of St. Therese of Lisieux on his way to the Philippines said that she found it in a flea market, and gave it as the second in a pair.

“I found (the Virgin of Lujan) at the flea market just before Christmas (and) I also found another medal which was Sister Therese and I thought: Well that’s wonderful, because it would be the perfect pair. We could do one for his birthday and one for Christmas,” Caroline Pigozzi told CNA Jan. 19.

The French author and journalist is the one responsible for giving Pope Francis his personal visit from St. Therese after he prayed for her guidance and intercession ahead of his Jan. 12-19 trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Pope Francis received the gift while speaking with journalists during his Jan. 15 in-flight news conference from Sri Lanka to the Philippines. He said that whenever he asks St. Therese to help with something, he also asks her to send him a rose so that he knows she has taken on the task.

“I asked also for this trip; that she’d take it in hand and that she would send me a rose. But instead of a rose she came herself to greet me,” the Pope said after receiving the gift.

Pigozzi, who works with French newspaper Paris Match, said that she first started to learn about Pope Francis after going to Argentina to meet his friends and fellow priests that work in the slums after his election.

“He has a lot of friends,” she said, and recalled that after spending some time with them, they quickly arranged for her to go to one of the Pope’s Masses at the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse.

After meeting the Pope at Mass, Pigozzi noted that she saw him nearly every day during October’s Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family.

On the last day of the gathering, the journalist recalled how she was sitting in the cafeteria of the Saint Martha guesthouse when the Pope came up to her and told her “I’ve seen that you have been here every single day,” and noted that “he likes (to do) this kind of thing.”

She first got the inspiration to give the Pope a birthday gift after finding a silver bas-relief, or carving, of Our Lady of Lujan at the flea market in Paris, where she goes every weekend.

“I bought it immediately and I spent one night polishing it because it was absolutely dirty, from the 30s I think. It wasn’t in bad condition, but it hadn’t been cleaned since the 1930s so I spent the whole night (cleaning it),” Pigozzi explained.

After having it framed she brought it to the Vatican during an interview the day before the Pope’s birthday on Dec. 17.

When she dropped it off at the reception counter in the St. Martha guesthouse, Pigozzi said that she had her doubts that it would make it into the pontiff’s hands.

So once the Pope came to greet journalists on his flight to the Philippines Pigozzi asked whether or not he had received the image of Our Lady of Lujan – to which he responded “No, of course not.”

“If I had a Virgin of Lujan I would have thanked you immediately because for me it’s a very important thing,” he told her, and went to inquire with his staff about what had become of the image.

Once they located it, Pigozzi said that she then wanted to give him the image of St. Therese, which she had also polished by hand.

So when the Pope came to greet her again and thank her personally for the image of Virgin of Lujan, she told him “Santo Padre that was the Virgin of Lujan. Now I have a present for Christmas to make the pair. So, I give you a Sister Therese.”

The Pope, she recalled, was “so happy” when he received the gift “because I think Sister Therese is important for him.”

On the back of the framed bas-relief was a note Pigozzi had written saying that she was presenting him the image “with all my admiration and respect,” as well as her signature.

Pigozzi said that she was so emotional after giving Pope Francis the gift that she didn’t realize how happy he was.

“It was like a child with a toy. I think he was so happy, it was incredible. So I (also) was very happy, because it’s difficult to please a Pope (and) to have such a reaction,” she said.

The journalist said that she always looks for gifts in advance for the people who are important to her, and waits until the right occasion to give them away.

When asked if she would also find her next gift at the flea market, Pigozzi said that “I hope so!”

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VATICAN NEWS

American priest among saints causes advanced by Pope Francis

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

Venerable Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz. (Holy Name Catholic Church, Washington D.C.)

Vatican City — Servant of God Aloysius Schwartz is one of the 11 causes for canonization that Pope Francis advanced yesterday, and will be granted the title “Venerable” with the pontiff’s recognition of his heroic virtue.

Pope Francis approved the advancement of the causes for canonization during a private Jan. 22 audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

In addition to Fr. Schwartz, six other Servants of God were recognized for heroic virtue, while three have been acknowledged as martyrs. The Pope also recognized a miracle attributed to one Italian nun.

Father Schwartz, also referred to as “Father Al,” was born in Washington D.C. in 1930 and ordained a priest in 1957. Six months after his ordination the priesthood he moved to Korea as a missionary, and lived a life devoted to helping poor children.

He dedicated his life to the Virgin of the Poor after making several visits to a shrine where she had appeared in Belgium while he was in the seminary there.

In 1964 the priest founded the Religious Sisters of Mary in Busan Korea, and in 1981 founded the Brothers of Christ in the South Korean capital of Seoul.

Together with both of his orders, Fr. Schwartz also helped to establish boystowns and girlstowns in order educate, care for and help foster a brighter future for orphans and abandoned children, as well as those coming from extremely poor families.

He also worked in the building of sanatoriums and hospitals for the needy, hospices for the homeless and handicapped, as well as for mentally challenged youth and unwed mothers. He would often beg for funds in order to allow the poor to enter free of charge.

In 1989 Fr. Schwartz developed Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and was confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. He died in 1992 and his cause for canonization opened in Manila, where his work had spread, in 2003.

His body resides at the Children’s Village for Girls in Silang, Cavite, in the Philippines.

Other Servants of God to receive the Pope’s approval of their heroic virtue are Fr. Ladislao Bukowinski, Ukrainian diocesan priest who lived from 1904-1974 and Cointa Jauregui Oses, who was a Spanish nun professed with the Company of Mary Our Lady.

Also among those whom Pope Francis recognized as having heroic virtue are four laypersons, including Teresa Gardi, an Italian woman who lived from 1769-1837 and was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis.

The other three laypersons include Spanish layman Luis De Trelles y Nuogerol, who lived from 1819-1891 and founded the Nocturnal Adoration Society in Spain; Japanese laywoman Elisabeth Maria who lived from 1929-1958; and Bolivian laywoman Virginia Blanco Tardio, who lived from 1916-1990.

Pope Francis also recognized the martyrdom of three Servants of God in his Jan. 22 meeting, one of whom is South African layman Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa, who was killed for the faith in 1990.

Spanish Servants of God Fidela – also known in her time as Dolores Oller Angelats – and two companions were also recognized as martyrs. Professed nuns with the Institute of Sisters of St. Joseph, the companions were killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between Aug. 26-29, 1936.

Pio Heredia Zubia and his 17 companions, consisting of Trappist monks of Cantabria and Cistercian nuns of the Congregation of St. Bernard, were also recognized by the Pope as martyrs. The companions were killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

One miracle has been approved of for Venerable Servant of God Maria Teresa Casini, allowing for her beatification. The Italian foundress of the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was born in 1864 and died in 1937.

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VATICAN NEWS

For Pope Francis, faith is a criterion in investigating a marriage’s validity

by Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

(scribbletaylor via Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0)

Vatican City — In investigating the validity of a marriage, ecclesial judges should consider whether the decision to marry was made in the context of values and faith, Pope Francis said on Friday.

Pope Francis opened the judicial year of the Roman Rota, the highest appellate tribunal of the Church, addressing them Jan. 23.

Among its competences, the Rota is the highest appellate court for cases of the declaration of nullity of marriages, and this is why Pope Francis address was a reflection on “the human and cultural context in which matrimonial intention is formed.”

In his speech, Pope Francis maintained that an understanding of the nature of marriage is a criterion by which to judge the validity of a marriage; asked for an increase of the number of canon lawyers available at local tribunals; and that the availability of services free of charge be increased.

In his address, Pope Francis stressed that “the crisis of values in society” is not a recent phenomenon, quoting Bl. Paul VI’s 1974 address opening the Rota’s judicial year, in which he said that modern man “at times wounded by a systematic relativism, that bends to the easiest choices of circumstance, of demagogy, of fashion, of passion, of hedonism, of selfishness, so that externally he attempts to dispute the mastery of the law, and internally, almost without realising, substitutes the empire of moral conscience with the whim of psychological consciousness.”

Pope Francis added that “in effect, the abandonment of the perspective of faith leads inexorably to a false understanding of marriage, which does not lie without consequences for the maturation of the nuptial will.”

He reflected that the Church is able “to rejoice in the many, many families who, sustained and nurtured by a sincere faith” partake of the goods of marriage and participate in it with “fidelity and determination,” but added that the Church also knows the pain of many families which “collapse, leaving behind the rubble of relations, projects, common expectations.”

A tribunal judge, Pope Francis said, “is required to perform his judicial analysis where there is doubt regarding the validity of marriage, to ascertain whether there was an original shortcoming in consent, either directly in terms of a defect in the validity of intention or a grave deficit in the understanding of marriage itself to the extent of determining will.”

The Pope made reference for the first of two times in his speech to canon 1099 of the Code of Canon Law, which states that “error concerning the unity or indissolubility or sacramental dignity of marriage does not vitiate matrimonial consent provided that it does not determine the will.”

He continued, saying, “the crisis in marriage, indeed, not infrequently has at its root the crisis in knowledge enlightened by faith, or rather by adhesion to God and his plan of love realized in Jesus Christ.”

Pope Francis asserted that “pastoral experience teaches us there is today a large number of faithful in irregular situations, whose histories have been strongly influenced by the widespread worldly mentality” citing his words in Evangelii Gaudium about “spiritual worldliness” as a temptation faced by pastoral workers.

“It is evident that, when people adopt this attitude, faith is deprived of its normative and orienting value, and leaves open a space for compromises with selfishness and with the pressures of the current mentality, which has become dominant through the mass media.”

“Therefore, the judge, in evaluating the validity of the consent given, must take into account the context of values and faith – or their deficiency or absence – in which the marriage intent was formed.”

Again citing canon 1099, he said “the lack of knowledge of the contents of faith may lead to what the Code describes as an error determining the will.”

According to Pope Francis, this kind of error is not to be “deemed as exceptional as in the past, given the frequent prevalence of worldly thought over the magisterium of the Church.”

Such an error “threatens the stability of marriage, its exclusivity and its fecundity, as well as marriage’s orientation to the good of the other, of conjugal love as ‘vital principle’ of the consensus, of mutual giving to establish a life-long union,” Pope Francis stressed.

The Roman Pontiff therefore exhorted the members of the Rota “to a greater and passionate diligence in your ministry, offered in the service of the protection of the unity of the jurisprudence of the Church.”

“Here too there is a need for pastoral conversion on the part of ecclesiastical structures to be able to offer the opus iustitiae (work of justice) to all those who turn to the Church to shed light on their matrimonial situation,” he said, referring again to Evangelii Gaudium.

He made reference to paragraph 27, in which he wrote, “I dream of a ‘missionary option’, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”

“This is the great difficulty of your mission, along with judges in every diocese,” he told the members of the Rota: “not to keep the salvation of persons enclosed within the straits of legalism.”

“The function of law is guided toward the salus animarum (salvation of souls) on the condition that, avoiding sophisms distant from the living flesh of people in difficulty, it may help to establish the truth of the moment of consent: whether it was faithful to Christ or to the deceitful worldly mentality.”

Pope Francis also cited a 1973 address of Bl. Paul VI in which he noted that the supreme goal of law is the salvation of souls.

Pope Francis also urged an increased presence of canon law experts in every dioceses to “counsel about a possible cause for a declaration of nullity,” and for the presence of “stable court appointed attorneys,” so that “real access for all the faithful to the justice of the Church’s justice” is assured.

He added, “I would like to underline that a significant number of cases dealt with before the Roman Rota are enabled by legal aid granted to those whose economic situation would not otherwise allow them to engage the services of lawyer.”

“This is a point I would like to stress,” he concluded: “sacraments are free-of-charge. The sacraments give us grace. And marriage processes touch on the sacrament of marriage. How I would like all marriage processes to be free-of-charge!”

According to data, 53 percent of the processes adjudicated at the Rota are free, and the contribution to the expenses of the procedures consists in a one time fee of $650.

Bishops conferences have also addressed the issue. The Ialian bishops conference, for example, has a defined payment structure for canon lawyers, who cannot be paid more than $3,610, or less than $1,870.

The possibility of lack of faith as a potential cause of nullity was also discussed by Benedict XVI.

In a 1998 paper republished by L’Osservatore Romano on Nov. 30, 2011, Pope Francis’ predecessor also considered the possible expansion of the canonical recognition of the nullity of marriages celebrated “without faith” by at least one of the spouses, even if they are baptized.

And in his final address inaugurating the Rota’s judicial year, Benedict XVI said on Jan. 26, 2013 that “one must not … disregard the consideration that can arise in the cases in which, precisely because of the absence of faith, the good of the spouses is jeopardized, that is, excluded from the consent itself … With these reflections, I certainly do not intend to suggest any facile automatism between the lack of faith and the invalidity of the matrimonial union, but rather to highlight how such a lack may, although not necessarily, also damage the goods of the marriage, since the reference to the natural order desired by God is inherent in the conjugal pact.”

In the same address, similarly to Pope Francis, the Pope Emeritus had noted that “the principle that the salus animarum is the supreme law in the Church must indeed be borne in mind and every day must find in your work the strict respect that it merits.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Confession isn’t the ‘dry-cleaners’ – it’s an embrace from God

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during his Wednesday general audience on June 18, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Vatican City — Pope Francis said that confessing our sins isn’t a “mechanical” procedure like getting a stained removed but rather a joyful embrace from God, who forgives everything from a heart that’s repentant.

“There is no sin which (God) won’t pardon. He forgives everything … If you go (to confession) repentant, he will forgive everything,” Pope Francis told those gathered in the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse for his Jan. 23 daily Mass.

Pope Francis centered his homily on the day’s first reading from St. Paul to the Hebrews where the apostle says that the new covenant enacted by Jesus is better than the old covenants, and that the previous ones will “vanish away.”

In the reading St. Paul also speaks of God’s mercy, saying that God “will be merciful” toward his people’s injustices, and will “remember their sins no more.”

God always forgives every sin without exception whenever someone asks for pardon, the Pope explained, noting that Jesus came in order to make a pact with humanity, and the foundation of this pact is the forgiveness of our sins.

“God always forgives us. He never tires of this. It’s we who get tired of asking for forgiveness, but HE does not tire of pardoning us,” Pope Francis said.

He recalled how when Peter in the Gospel asks Jesus how often we should forgive others, Jesus responds by saying “Not seven times: seventy times by seven,” or, “Namely always.”

This is how God forgives, Pope Francis noted, saying that even if a person has lived their entire life committing many sins and terrible acts, if they repentantly ask for forgiveness the Lord will “immediately” pardon them.

The Pope observed how doubts can often arise in a person’s heart as to how far and how much God is willing to forgive. However, he said that we don’t have to worry because Christ has already paid the price of sin on our behalf.

Although there are many who might say “I don’t go to confession because I have committed so many really bad sins, so many that I can’t be pardoned,” the pontiff stressed that “No, this is not true. (God) forgives everything.”

Often times God doesn’t even let us finish speaking, the Pope said, noting that as soon as we begin to ask for pardon, “He lets you feel that joy of forgiveness before you have even finished confessing.”

Pope Francis then said that God rejoices whenever a person asks for forgiveness, and erases our sins from his memory.

God does this, the Pope said, because what is important for him is that we encounter him, because going to confession is not a judgment, but rather a meeting point with God.

“Confessions often seem like a procedure, a formality. Everything is mechanical! No! Where’s the meeting in this?” the Pope asked, noting that confession is instead an encounter with the Lord who “pardons you, hugs you and rejoices.”

He concluded his homily by encouraging those present to teach others, especially their children and the youth, how to make a good confession.

To go to confession “is not like going to the dry cleaners to get a stain removed,” the Pope said. “No! It’s about going to meet with our Father who pardons us, who forgives us and who rejoices.”

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VATICAN NEWS

Worldliness ‘stuns more than grappa on a fast,’ Pope tells new cardinals

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 24, 2015

Cardinals pray together at the most recent consistory, held Feb. 22, 2014. (Lauren Cater/CNA)

Vatican City — In a letter to the 20 bishops who will be elevated to the cardinalate next month, Pope Francis said that the role is one of sacrificial service rather than an award, and cautioned against a worldly mindset.

“Keeping oneself humble in service is not easy when one sees the cardinalate as an award, like the culmination of a career, a dignity of power or of superior distinction,” the Pope told the cardinals-to-be in a Jan. 4 letter.

He told the appointees to accept their new role with humility, so that “the spirit of worldliness does not creep in; the spirit that stuns more than grappa on a fast, disorienting and separating one from the cross of Christ.”

Pope Francis made his reference to the Italian alcoholic beverage in a letter that was sent to the new cardinal nominees on the same day that their selection was made public.

In his letter, the pontiff explained that to be a cardinal in the Catholic Church is “a vocation” that is oriented towards service.

“The Lord, through the Church, calls you yet again to serve,” he told the new cardinal-nominees, and encouraged them to keep the phrase “We are unworthy servants,” in their minds in order to maintain humility.

What this phrase means is not merely “a formula of good upbringing, but as truth after work, ‘when you have done all that is commanded you,’” the Bishop of Rome observed.

He noted how the temptation might arise to view their nomination to the cardinalate as a position of power or as a promotion in a career path, and urged the nominees to make a daily effort in warding off these ideas.

The Roman Pontiff especially encouraged them to remember that “being a Cardinal signifies being incardinated in the Diocese of Rome in order to bear witness to the Resurrection of the Lord and to give it totally, even with your blood if necessary.”

Amid the many celebrations that will be taking place honoring their new appointment, Pope Francis told the cardinal-appointees to participate fully and joyfully, but to “accept it with humility.”

He concluded his letter by asking the new cardinals-to-be to prepare themselves for their Feb. 14 installation with prayer and penance, but also with “great peace and joy.”

Among the 15 new cardinals under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in the next conclave are five European bishops, three from the continent of Asia, three from Latin America, including Mexico, two from Africa and two from Oceania.

Cape Verde, Myanmar and Tonga are three of the countries represented by the new cardinals. Characterized by small ecclesial communities or as representing a minority presence, none of the dioceses has had a cardinal until now.

The names of the new cardinals coming from Europe are: Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura; Archbishop Edoardo Menichelli of Ancona-Osimo (Italy); Archbishop Francesco Montenegro of Agrigento (Italy); Archbishop Ricardo Blázquez Pérez of Vallodolid (Spain) and Archbishiop Manuel José Macario do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon (Portugal).

New cardinals representing Latin America and Mexico are: Archbishop Alberto Suàrez Inda of Morelia (Mexico); Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, S.D.B., of Montevideo (Uruguay) and Bishop José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuán, O.A.R., of David (Panamá).

Others, including from Africa and Asia, are: Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, C.M., of Addis Abeba (Ethiopia); Archbishop Pierre Nguyên Van Nhon of Hà Nôi (Viêt Nam); Archbishop Charles Maung Bo, S.D.B., of Yangon (Myanmar); Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok (Thailand); Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado, of Santiago de Cabo Verde (Archipelago of Cape Verde); Bishop Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga (Island of Tonga) and Archbishop John Atcherley Dew of Wellington (New Zealand).

In addition to the 15 cardinal electors, Pope Francis named 5 other bishops over the age of 80 who will be elevated due to their “pastoral charity in the service of the Holy See and of the Church.”

The names of the new non-elector cardinals are: José de Jesús Pimiento Rodriguez, Archbishop Emeritus of Manizales (Colombia); Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, Major Pro-Penitentiary Emeritus (Italy); Archbishop Karl-Joseph Rauber, Apostolic Nuncio (Germany); Luis Héctor Villaba, Archbishop Emeritus of Tucumán (Argentina) and Júlio Duarte Langa, Bishop Emeritus of Xai-Xai (Mozambique).

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WORLD NEWS

What Pope Francis learned from homeless girl: ‘Cry with the suffering!’

by CNA/EWTN News • January 17, 2015

Pope Francis hugs former homeless girl Glyzelle Palomar at a youth rally in Manila, Jan. 18. (CNA)

Manila, Philippines — Pope Francis praised Filipino former homeless girl Glyzelle Palomar for asking why God allows children to suffer, saying her tearful question shows that Christians must “learn how to weep.”

The 12-year-old Glyzelle burst into tears as she recounted her experience to the Pope on Sunday: “there are many children neglected by their own parents. There are also many who became victims and many terrible things happened to them like drugs or prostitution.”

“Why is God allowing such things to happen, even if it is not the fault of the children? And why are there only very few people helping us?” she asked.

Her comments followed an affecting testimony from a former homeless boy, 14-year-old Jun Chura, during a youth meeting on the campus of Manila’s Santo Tomas University Jan. 18.

After Jun’s testimony and Glyzelle’s tearful question, the two approached Pope Francis, who embraced them. The Holy Father then used the girl’s tears as the springboard for an answer to her question.

“Glyzelle is the only one who has put a question to which there is no answer,” Pope Francis said, “and she wasn’t able to express it in words, only in tears.”

“Why do children suffer so much?” he asked. “When the heart is able to ask itself and cry, then we can understand.”

Pope Francis pointed to the way Jesus ministered to his people. He did not meet people’s needs with a worldly compassion, only stopping for a few moments to hand out money or material things. Rather, the Pope said, Christ took the time to listen and to sympathize with his people.

“Jesus in the Gospel, he cried,” Pope Francis said. “He cried for his dead friend, he cried in his heart for the family that had lost its child, he cried when he saw the poor widow burying her son, he was moved to tears, to compassion, when he saw the crowds without a shepherd.”

It is only when we learn to cry with those who are suffering that we can begin to understand them and to love them, Pope Francis explained.

“If you don’t learn how to cry, you can’t be good Christians,” he emphasized.

“Let us learn how to weep, as Glyzelle has shown us today. Let us not forget this lesson.”

The 12-year-old’s question followed a heartbreaking testimony from Jun Chura, a formerly homeless Filipino child. Jun was one of three young people to personally address the Holy Father at a meeting with Filipino youth on the sports field of the University of Santo Tomas on Jan. 18.

Not long ago, Jun left his family, as they could no longer send him to school, and took to the streets.

“I was feeding myself with what (I) can find in the garbage,” he said. “I did not know where to go and I was sleeping on the sidewalk … looking for a piece of carton to make a mat.”

Besides having to fend for himself, Jun witnessed things on the street no child is prepared to see.

“… terrible things happened to my companions in the street: I saw that they were taught how to steal, to kill also, and they have no respect anymore for the adults,” he said. “I saw also some children who were taught how to use drugs …”

It was hard to know when to accept help from those who offered it, Jun said. Adults would often approach children in the street, purporting to offer food or shelter, but would the use the children for unpaid labor or sexual abuse.

That’s why, when Jun was first approached by the Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation, he declined. He wasn’t sure he could trust that the group was actually there to help him.

Jun now accepts help from the Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation. They are helping him continue his education, and one day he hopes to work with the Foundation to help his family and other street children like himself.

Glyzelle too has been helped by the foundation.

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WORLD NEWS

Pope Francis prays for woman killed at Philippines Mass

by CNA/EWTN News • January 17, 2015

Kristel Padasas. (Facebook photo)

Manila, Philippines — Pope Francis led a youth rally in prayer for Kristel Padasas, a young woman who died in a freak accident at Saturday’s papal Mass in the Philippines.

“Sad news today,” the Pope said Jan. 18. “Yesterday as Mass was about to start, a piece of the scaffolding fell and upon falling, it hit a young woman who was working in the area, and she died. Her name is Kristel.”

“She worked for the organization and preparation for that very Mass,” the Pope continued. “She was 27 years old, young like yourselves. She worked for Catholic Relief Services. She was a volunteer.”

“I would like all of you, young like her, to pray for a moment in silence with me and then we pray to our Mama, Mother Mary in Heaven,” the Pope said.

The Pope then led tens of thousands of people in praying a Hail Mary on the Manila campus of the Santo Thomas University.

Pope Francis also met with Padasas’ father on Sunday, Vatican Radio reported, saying that the meeting lasted more than 20 minutes at the apostolic nunciature in Manila with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as an interpreter.

Fr. Federico Lombardi, head of the Vatican press office, said that two childhood photos were on a table during the meeting, according to Vatican Radio. He also said her father was shocked by the death, but consoled by the knowledge that she helped prepare for the Pope’s arrival.

Padasas’ mother was out of the country at the time of the accident.

Catholic Relief Services on Jan. 17 confirmed Padasas’ death. She had been based in Samar and was working on a recovery project for Typhoon Haiyan.

“Her dedication to the people affected by the typhoon extended beyond her official work with CRS,” said Jim Stipe, communications officer with the U.S.-based relief organization.

“She traveled a great distance to volunteer at today’s papal Mass and to remember the victims of Typhoon Haiyan,” he continued.

The scaffolding of a speaker near the altar fell on Posadas amid heavy winds from a nearby storm that ended up altering the Pope’s schedule by almost four hours.

The Mass was held near the Tacloban airport, located in a region that was heavily affected by the enormous Typhoon Haiyan. The storm made landfall there in December 2013, causing many deaths and massive destruction.

According to Stipe, Padasas’ colleagues said she was “someone who loved to laugh and who was always ready to assist outside her normal duties.”

“She found great joy in being able to contribute to the recovery effort by working directly with communities and families,” Stipe said. “Our deepest prayers are with Kristel’s family and loved ones.”

Padasas was among the 200,000-300,000 people who braved harsh weather conditions to attend the open air Mass on Saturday morning with the Pope. Weather concerns forced Pope Francis to cut short his visit by four hours to Leyte island, where Tacloban is the largest city.

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WORLD NEWS

Pope’s prescription for our info-saturated world: being surprised by love

by CNA/EWTN News • January 17, 2015

Francis at Santo Tomas University in Manila Jan. 18. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — Tens of thousands of Filipino youth gathered in Manila with Pope Francis on Sunday and heard his recommendation that a society inundated in information should embrace God’s loving surprises.

“God is a God of surprises, because he always loved us first, and he awaits us with a surprise,” Pope Francis said Jan. 17 at a youth rally on the campus of the University of Santo Tomas. “Love opens you to surprise and is a surprise, of loving and being loved.”

“If you only have information, then the element of surprise is gone,” he said. “God surprises us, let us allow ourselves to be surprised by God.”

Several Filipino youth gave short testimonies to the Holy Father about their lives, and then posed different questions to him. Leandro Santos II, a law student at the university, asked Pope Francis how students should best use technology and information without allowing it to distract them.

“We, the students of today, are so fortunate to have the abundance of information available before us,” Santos said. “Because of the emergence of the Internet and the boom of social media, information and knowledge has been (made) readily available.”

“With all of these, there exists a struggle on the way we use and process these pieces of information,” he said. “A lot of them are going to waste, many of us are overwhelmed, we are distracted and our initiatives are scattered. Despite the advantages we have, we still feel lost and most of the time our focus is compromised.”

Following Santos’ testimony, two questions were posed to Pope Francis.

First of all, in a world of fast internet connections, smartphones, unlimited texting, instant romantic relationships and busy lifestyles, how can youth take time to reflect on God’s will in their lives?

And secondly, how can young people find true love in a world of movies and social media?

Pope Francis responded by saying that information is not necessarily a bad thing. The challenge is knowing what to do with information once it is acquired.

“We run the risk of becoming young people like museums … that have everything, but without knowing what to do,” he said. “We don’t need young people like museums … But we do need holy young people.”

Becoming a saint is a challenge of love, and learning to love is the most important thing to learn in life, whether at a university or in the outside world, Pope Francis explained.

Love requires engaging three languages – that of the mind, the heart, and the hands, Pope Francis said.

“What you think you must feel, and put into effect. Your information comes down to your heart, and you realize it in real works.”

The Pope then had the crowd repeat several times the phrase: “To think, to feel, and to do.”

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WORLD NEWS

Pope Francis: Those who give must also learn to receive

by CNA/EWTN News • January 18, 2015

Pope Francis addresses a youth rally in Manila, Jan. 18. (CNA)

Manila, Philippines — Everyone who helps the poor should consider whether they know how to ask for help in areas where they themselves are poor, Pope Francis suggested to a young engineer who helped Typhoon Haiyan victims.

“Do you feel self-sufficient, and only offer something and think you have no need of anything? Do you know that you, too, are poor? Do you know the need to receive? Do you let yourselves be evangelized by the ones you serve?” Pope Francis asked at a Jan. 18 youth rally on the University of Santo Tomas campus in Manila.

Rikki Macolor, a recent engineering graduate of the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines, recounted to Pope Francis his experience when Typhoon Haiyan struck over a year ago.

Although not in the path of the storm, Macolor and his colleagues boarded a plane to be part of the relief efforts shortly after the storm was over.

Macolor was one of several Filipino youths who presented brief testimonies to the Pope at the youth rally. The young people also posed questions to Pope Francis, which the Holy Father answered in a closing address.

“Our project was simple: To provide lighting and, somehow, to also shed some light of hope to the calamity stricken communities,” Macolor explained.

Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda, struck the Philippines in December 2013 and killed over 6,000 people while leaving tens of thousands of others homeless. Macolor and his colleagues worked to develop a low-tech innovation that would be useful in the lives of the storm survivors.

They came up with a Solar Night Light and taught survivors of the storm how to assemble the device on their own.

“It was difficult, time consuming, out of our comfort zone and even, to a certain extent, putting our lives on the line,” he said. “Regardless, it was not for us. It was for these people who already lost so much. It is also not every day that you have the opportunity to help people in a great deal.”

The question posed to Pope Francis following Macolor’s story was: How can young people be successful without being blinded by earthly temptations? And how can the young people of today become true agents of mercy and compassion?

Pope Francis thanked Malacor for his work in the relief efforts. He answered the engineer’s question with a question.

“I’ll ask you this,” Pope Francis said. “Do you allow others who give from their riches to you?”

“How many people are like this? You know how to give, but have not learned how to receive. This is what you lack: to learn how to beg. This isn’t easy to understand.”

Learning to receive requires humility, Pope Francis explained. Those who are rich must learn how to receive what the poor have to offer.

“This is what helps you to mature in giving to others – to learn how to open your hand from your very own poverty.”

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WORLD NEWS

Protect the family – Pope’s parting message to the Philippines

by CNA/EWTN News • January 18, 2015

Pope Francis celebrates Sunday Mass at Rizal Park in Manila on Jan. 18, 2015. (EWTN)

Manila, Philippines — In his homily for the Jan. 18 Closing Mass in the Philippines, Pope Francis pointed to our identity as God’s children, calling for the protection of the family against the numerous attacks that threaten it.

The Christ Child, explained Pope Francis, “reminds us of the importance of protecting our family, and those larger families which are the Church, God’s family, and the world, our human family.”

“Sadly, in our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.”

Just as Jesus welcomes and embraces children in the Gospel, the Pope said, “(w)e too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage.”

“Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected,” he continued, adding that we must care for young people, “not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.”

Pope Francis spoke to estimated millions of Filipinos gathered at Rizal Park in Manila at the final public event during his Jan. 15-19 trip to the country.

Huge crowds have turned out for the Pope’s Masses and public events in the Philippines, where 86 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. In recent years, the island country has struggled with the effects of several typhoons, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

During his apostolic visit, the Pope deviated from both his official schedule and prepared speeches – meeting with impoverished children from the streets and going off-the-cuff in remarks to families on the dangers of contraception and redefining marriage.

Noting his joy in celebrating Mass on Hoy Child Sunday, the Pope spoke in his final homily on “the link between God’s Kingdom and the mystery of spiritual childhood.”

Our deepest identity, the Pope explained, is found in our adoption as “God’s children, members of God’s family.”

“We saw a beautiful expression of this when Filipinos rallied around our brothers and sisters affected by the typhoon,” he observed.

This identity as God’s children must be protected, Pope Francis continued. He explained that Christ himself needed the earthly protection of his family – particularly St. Joseph – when he came to earth as a child and immediately found his life threatened by King Herod. Similarly, we must protect the family and spread the faith.

The Philippines’ status as the foremost Catholic country in Asia is both a special gift and blessing from God, and also a vocation, the Pope said.

“Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia,” he stated, stressing the calling to be witnesses amid a world of sin that has disfigured the beauty of the natural world.

Through sin, the Holy Father continued, “man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance, and corruption.”

Surrounded by troubles and difficulties, we may be tempted give up, the Pope acknowledged. “It seems that the promises of the Gospel do not apply; they are unreal.”

However, the real threat is the lie of Satan, who often “hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being ‘modern,’ ‘like everyone else’,” Pope Francis explained.

“(Satan) distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes. And, so we squander our God-give gifts by tinkering with gadgets; we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves. We forget to remain focus on the things that really matter. We forget to remain, at heart, children of God.”

Learning from the Child Jesus, we remember our identity as children of God, and we are willing to fight against attacks on the family structure and God’s family, the Pope reminded.

“It was a frail child, in need of protection, who brought God’s goodness, mercy and justice into the world,” Pope Francis said. “He resisted the dishonesty and corruption which are the legacy of sin, and he triumphed over them by the power of his cross.”

“Now, at the end of my visit to the Philippines, I commend you to him, to Jesus who came among us as a child. May he enable all the beloved people of this country to work together, protecting one another, beginning with your families and communities, in building a world of justice, integrity and peace.”

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Catholic and non-Catholic alike; young people swarm for Pope

by Alan Holdren and Mary Rezac (CNA/EWTN News) • January 18, 2015

Harold Ducusin at Santo Tomas University in Manila on Jan. 18, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — Harold Ducusin, like many of his peers, traveled several hours to join tens of thousands of other young Filipinos to see Pope Francis at the sports field of Santo Tomas University Jan. 18.

Unlike most of his peers at the event, however, Ducusin isn’t Catholic.

“It’s really the first time I’ve participated in an activity like this, I really admire him as a Pope,” he said.

During the event, Pope Francis heard testimonies from three Filipino youth during the meeting on the sports fields, and then answered questions they had posed about their lives as young Christians.

Self-described as a “born-again Christian,” Ducusin traveled with a group the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in the province of La Union, where he is the head of the student body.

Ducusin said he wouldn’t have made such a long trip to see many people, but he came because he admires Pope Francis as a leader, particularly for his concern for the Filipino people and the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. The storm, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda killed over 6,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless after it struck the country in Dec. 2013.

“I thank him for his concern in my concern … we need it because he motivates us to work together to conquer some problems that we are facing.”

Conchi Ferrarin, a Catholic and a teacher of Psychology and Sociology who traveled with Ducusin, said she was also grateful for Pope Francis’ concern for the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.

“I would like to thank the Pope for his strong influence on the Filipino people, for giving them hope to overcome all the difficulties that they have experienced, especially the Yolanda survivors,” she said. “I would also tell the Pope to continuously pray for all mankind.”

Ed Christopher Chua, from the island of Cebu, came to the event with the Filipino-Chinese Catholic youth, a group of young people of Chinese descent who are citizens of the Philippines. Members of the group serve in various ministries in Chinese parishes throughout the Philippines.

“Most of us are third or fourth generation,” Chua said. “Most of (our ancestors) came to the Philippines in search of more fortune and a better life, so they came perhaps in 1920s, 30s, or 40s.”

“The communist government did not allow them to return to china, so they remained here, and they brought us up in the Catholic faith,” he said.

It was a bit of a sacrifice to leave Cebu to be with the Pope – the festivities for the feast of the Santo Ninos, or the Holy Infants, were occurring on the same day.

“But we think (meeting the Pope) is an opportunity that we cannot miss,” Chua said.

“A lot of us can’t describe the feeling to be able to see the Holy Father in the flesh, and I think it is such a blessing for us to be here,” he said. “Some of the group got to see him just meters away, just a few feet away.”

“For me I was looking from afar, but I could sense his presence, and I could sense his holiness. And we are very blessed that he’s around.”

Pope Francis wraps up his visit to the Philippines on Monday, Jan. 19, which will complete his second papal Asian pilgrimage.

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History made! Philippine crowd for Pope Francis hits 6-7 million

by CNA/EWTN News • January 18, 2015

Millions gather in Manila for Pope Francis’ closing Mass on Jan. 18, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — The Vatican’s spokesman said that papal history was made Sunday during Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines where an estimated 6-7 million people attended his closing Mass.

“The official number that has been given to us is between six and seven million,” Father Federico Lombardi told journalists at a press conference in Manila on Sunday, calling it the “largest event of the history of the Popes.”

In his homily for the Jan. 18 Closing Mass in the Philippines, Pope Francis pointed to our identity as God’s children, calling for the protection of the family against the numerous attacks that threaten it.

“Sadly, in our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.”

Pope Francis spoke to millions of Filipinos gathered at Rizal Park in Manila at the final public event during his Jan. 15-19 trip to the country.

The Mass marked the largest papal event in history, surpassing the 1995 World Youth Day in Manila with Saint John Paul II, which drew 4-5 million people.

Huge crowds have turned out for the Pope’s Masses and public events in the Philippines, where 86 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. In recent years, the island country has struggled with the effects of several typhoons, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

During his apostolic visit, the Pope deviated from both his official schedule and prepared speeches – meeting with impoverished children from the streets and going off-the-cuff in remarks to families on the dangers of contraception and redefining marriage.

Pope Francis will return to Rome on Jan. 19 following a closing ceremony in Manila.

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A providential boost for the Philippine church’s Year for Poor

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 18, 2015

Fr. Justin of the Brothers of Saint John in Cebu waits for the arrival of Pope Francis to the Philippines on Jan. 15, 2015. (Lauren Cater/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — A priest currently stationed in the Philippine diocese of Cebu said that not only is Pope Francis’ visit an opportunity to vamp-up evangelization efforts, but also fuels the local church’s push to help the poor.

“Part of the pastoral thrust of the Church in the Philippines in 2015 is that it is Year for the Poor,” Father Justin of the Brothers of Saint John told CNA Jan. 15.

So during the visit, he said, “especially with a Pope as simple as Pope Francis (who is) also reaching out to the victims of typhoon Haiyan, it is important for us to understand that the heart of the Gospel is really mercy and compassion.”

Fr. Justin is the novice master for his community in Cebu, which was established in 1994. Originally from Hong Kong, he has been a part of his congregation for 15 years, and has been a priest for five years.

The Pope’s Jan. 15-19 trip, which holds the theme “Mercy and Compassion,” was not planned to coincide with the Philippine Church’s Year for the Poor, he noted.

Referring to the timing of Pope Francis’ visit as “very providential,” the priest said that it is especially so in light of the strong emphasis the pontiff places on the poor and marginalized.

“If somebody says he loves God but hates his brother, if we see somebody who is dying of hunger and do nothing about it, then we are liars,” Fr. Justin observed, referring to how St. John speaks about this in his first letter.

When we love our neighbors and have an attitude of solidarity that recognizes each person as a child of God, regardless of whether they share the same beliefs or agree with our opinions, then our hearts become open, he said.

And if we are open both to “the inspiration of the Holy Spirit” as well as to the message of the Gospel, then we are in a better position to hear the voice of God and understand what he is asking, the priest said.

He also referred to how the papal visit coincides with the Year for Consecrated Life declared by Pope Francis last year, which began in November.

As a religious, seeing the Pope during the year dedicated to consecrated life makes the pontiff’s visit even more important for him, the priest said.

“We need encouragement so much, but at the same time (also) certain corrections that the Holy Father likes to give to us,” Fr. Justin said, and referred to how the Pope often tells consecrated persons that the Gospel can’t be “just words and slogans or dry doctrines, (but) we have to live it in the flesh.”

Amid the beauty of Catholic tradition in the Philippines, which holds a high respect for faith, devotion and all things sacred, there is still the challenge of evangelizing and preaching the Gospel to those for whom it has become routine, the priest noted.

In his first Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium,” Pope Francis refers to how “we can sometimes have a kind of pessimism or depression about ourselves” as Christians by looking to the scandals in the Church or pointing to all the mistakes priests make and telling them they aren’t doing enough, he said.

We don’t need to be this way, Fr. Justin explained, because “we have Jesus Christ in our hearts.”

“Perhaps we may not be great televangelists, but by our little steps, by our acts of charity, our concern for others (and) simply seeking to learn our faith well we (will) set a good example, and we pray that it will be infectious,” he continued.

Fr. Justin referred to how thousands of others have come to Manila to participate in the events of the papal trip, and expressed his hope that his novices and fellow brothers would be able get into the feeling of the event, and celebrate together as a universal Church.

By celebrating with the Pope as a universal Church, “we can continue our path of holiness with hope and with joy,” the priest observed, saying that his greatest hope for the trip is that “we become holy.”

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Philippines typhoon survivor: ‘There’s a reason for everything’

by Elise Harris (CNA/EWTN News) • January 18, 2015

Typhoon Yolanda survivor Elena Garado (second from left) at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, in Palo, Philippines, Jan. 17, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — Elena Garado thought she was dead after being trapped under a table for four hours when Typhoon Yolanda hit her hometown in November 2013.

But one year later, she is happy with her life and says that she knows there is a purpose to everything.

“Time changes everything. Everything, this Yolanda … There’s a reason for everything,” Garado told CNA on Jan. 17.

Super Typhoon Yolanda – known internationally as Super Typhoon Haiyan – ravaged the country just over a year ago, claiming the lives of more than 6,000 people. More than 1 million people were still estimated to be homeless a year later. Then, this past December, another typhoon tore through the eastern islands of the Philippines, causing even more devastation.

Present for Pope Francis’ Jan. 17 Mass in Tacloban with survivors of the typhoons, Garado was accompanied by her brother, who saved her life after the devastating storm.

“Our house was damaged, totally damaged. I thought I was dead, because I had no clothes and (was trapped) under a table for four hours (with) no food and no water,” she said.

Trapped in the house along with her nephew and maid, Garado recalled, the trio was eventually rescued by her brother Joseph, who found them, and took them all on a single motorcycle to a safer area.

Joseph told CNA that he began to worry about his sister after not hearing from her in 10 hours, so he went to her house knowing that something was wrong.

“I’m happy because she’s alive. I thank God,” he said, explaining that they are still in the process of rebuilding some things.

Since her house was destroyed, Garado went to stay with one of her children in Cebu for two months. She has now returned to her house, which was rebuilt in March, and is working at a store.

To be present at Pope Francis’ Mass honoring the victims and survivors of the deadly storms, makes them both very happy, they said.

If given the opportunity to speak with the Holy Father, Garado said that she would tell him she is “very thankful and blessed, and I want him to pray for us.”

Faced with the difficulty of losing many of her belongings, Garado said that she is just happy to be alive, and that “when I saw our house totally damaged, I thought ‘material things are useless.’”

Time heals everything, she observed, adding that she is “very, very” happy with her life right now.

Pope Francis regretfully had to cut his visit to the Philippine island of Leyte short due to mounting concern over bad weather from an inbound typhoon. His schedule had previously been moved up by 45 minutes in order to avoid the storm.

Although he left early, the pontiff was able to keep his scheduled appointment for lunch with a group of survivors of Typhoon Yolanda and also met with a fisherman and his family, giving them a blessing.

The Pope had been scheduled to bless the Pope Francis Center for the Poor. Due to the accelerated schedule, he blessed the center from his Popemobile as he drove past en route to the airport.

He was also slated to meet with priests, religious, seminarians and survivors of the disastrous 2013 Typhoon Yolanda. While he met with them briefly, he was not able to deliver his prepared remarks, due to his early departure.

Alan Holdren contributed to this article.

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One Buddhist nun’s thoughts on Pope Francis

by CNA/EWTN News • January 18, 2015

Jing of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist association arrives at Santo Tomas University in Manila, Jan. 18, 2015. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — A Buddhist nun who experienced Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines voiced her gratitude to the pontiff for his efforts at unity and dialogue among religious communities.

“We see that the pope has brought a blessing and also unity,” said Ven. Miao Jing of the Buddhist Fo Guang Shan community.

“We want to bring about a sincere form of dialogue,” she told CNA during Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines.

Miao herself did not meet with the Pope. However, a leader of her community, Ven. Chueh Pei, came from Argentina to help represent the Buddhist community. Miao explained that the Vatican and Manila Cardinal Luis Tagle had invited them to an inter-religious meeting with the Pope.

The nun said they planned to invite the Pope to visit the Buddhist community.

“Since the Pope has been traveling around the world, especially for the last few months, we sincerely and humbly request that the Pope meet us,” she said, adding that “the Buddhists are very excited to see the Pope.”

Miao lauded and thanked the Pope for “bringing people together, especially with different backgrounds, religions, cultures, traditions.”

“We see how the world is moving into the future, and we always see hope, especially for people with faith.”

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The Philippines’ farewell to visiting pontiff: ‘Pope Francis, we love you!’

by CNA/EWTN News • January 18, 2015

Pope Francis and Philippines President Benigno Aquino during the papal departure ceremony, Jan. 19. (CNA)

Manila, Philippines — The Pope departed the Philippines Monday morning from Villamor Air Base at a farewell ceremony where over 400 abandoned children from various welfare centers performed songs to bid him farewell.

“Pope Francis, we love you!” they said in a coordinated chant.

The Pope walked along a red carpet to his plane with Philippines president Benigno Aquino, making personal comments to several bishops, officials, and laity.

He also spoke to President Aquino one-on-one.

“I want to thank you, Mr. President, for the warm welcome,” the Pope said Jan. 19. “You must have worked some extra hours.”

On Sunday a massive crowd of 6 to 7 million gathered for his final Mass at Rizal Park in Manila. The Pope’s homily stressed Christians’ identity as God’s children and called for the protection of the family against “insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.”

Before the Mass, Pope Francis attended a youth rally for tens of thousands of people at the University Santo Tomaso in Manila. He heard the heartbreaking testimony of two formerly homeless young adolescents. He urged everyone present to “learn how to weep” with those who suffer.

“If you don’t learn how to cry, you can’t be good Christians,” he emphasized.

On Saturday Pope Francis celebrated Mass near the Tacloban airport on the major island of Leyte, which suffered heavily in the December 2013 Supertyphoon Haiyan.

He set aside his prepared homily to speak to the congregation, many of whom had lost loved ones and homes in the disaster.

“I’m here to be with you,” he said. “A little bit late, I have to say. But I’m here. I’ve come to tell you that Jesus is Lord. That Jesus never lets us down.”

“We have the security of knowing that we are not going to weaken in our faith, because Jesus has been there before us … In his passion, he assumed all our pain,” he said.

“So many of you have lost everything … I don’t know what to say to you. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silent.”

The Pope’s visit to Leyte was cut short due to concerns about an incoming typhoon.

During his welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace on Friday the Pope noted that in a few years the country will mark the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines. He voiced hope that the Christian message will show “continuing fruitfulness” and “inspire a society worthy of the goodness, dignity and aspirations of the Filipino people.”

At a Friday Mass for clergy, religious and seminarians at Manila’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, he stressed the “powerful missionary potential” of the Philippines.

“Filipino culture has, in fact, been shaped by the imagination of faith. Filipinos everywhere are known for their love of God, their fervent piety and their warm devotion to Our Lady and her rosary,” he said.

The Pope’s Philippines visit and his visit to Sri Lanka lasted from Jan. 12-19. He was scheduled to return to Rome at 5:40 p.m. local time on Monday.

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After Francis: what the ‘Pope of Surprises’ means for Philippines bishops

by CNA/EWTN News • January 18, 2015

Francis and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle embrace at the close of Mass Jan. 16 in Manila. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — Pope Francis’ departure from the Philippines prompted gratitude from leading bishops who encouraged Filipinos to reflect on the Pope’s message and to use discernment in responding to modern life.

“The Pope is a Pope of surprises, but God also surprised him,” Bishop Mylo Vergara of San Jose said at a press conference following Pope Francis’ departure from the Philippines.

The bishop praised Pope Francis’ “spontaneity” and his appearance as someone who is “one with us.”

“That was his intention, even before coming here. He wanted to be one with us, in mercy and compassion,” the bishop said.

Bishop Vergara was joined by Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila, apostolic nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, and Secretary Sonny Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operating Office at the Jan. 19 press conference at the Philippines’ Villamor Air Base. Pope Francis had left the air base for Rome earlier that morning.

Cardinal Tagle was grateful for the papal visit, which peaked with a papal Mass of 6 to 7 million people in Manila’s Rizal Park on Sunday.

“All of us are overwhelmed right now with thanksgiving and gratitude to God, to authorities in government and the Church, and the many sectors of society,” he said.

The last papal visit was St. John Paul II’s visit in 1995, he noted.

“This happens once every 20 years. And look at how people still react,” the cardinal said, reporting that the 1995 visit’s theme song still has an effect on people.

“You see how deeply that visit of John Paul II has touched the Filipino,” Cardinal Tagle said. “I’m sure this visit by Pope Francis already has that effect. But we need to allow that to deepen. Let us spend time reflecting on its spiritual message.”

He said that bishops, clergy and laity have all been “challenged by the Pope” and that they must work to put it into practice.

Cardinal Tagle said that the Philippines “cannot be shielded from contemporary shifts” and ideas that arrive through media and travel.

“And in fact, not everything that is contemporary is bad,” he said, noting that electronic “gadgets” have vastly improved the ability to communicate.

He added that not everything that is new is necessarily good.

“I think the Holy Father is also inviting us to be discerning and to be critical,” the cardinal explained.

“Here, I think, the Christian spirituality of discernment can be handy. How do we immerse ourselves in the Word of God, in prayer, in the teachings of the Church, and with that deep resource, how do you address the changes?”

According to Cardinal Tagle, Pope Francis sees “popular religiosity” and “the simple faith of the people,” like devotions to the Holy Infant and to the Madonna, as one solid foundation for faith.

“He said it is the Simple faith that may survive the changes in society,” the cardinal said.

Secretary Coloma thanked the Philippines people for their “full cooperation.”

“Our people responded from the heart. They responded with faith,” he said.

The press conference closed with prayers of thanksgiving for the visit and prayers for the safe flight of Pope Francis back to Rome.

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Panama’s first cardinal: I’m astonished at my appointment

by CNA/EWTN News • January 20, 2015

Cardinals and Bishops celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica with Pope Francis for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Panama City, Panama — Among the new cardinals Pope Francis will create in the February consistory is Bishop Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan of the Diocese of David, Panama, who will become the first cardinal from that country.

Bishop Lacunza spoke with CNA and shared his experience upon learning of the appointment.

The Panamanian bishop said that when he first received news he would be made a cardinal, he was “surprised and astonished because I was not expecting it and I had no idea it was coming. Astonished because I feel that it is something I don’t deserve and I will try to carry it out as best I can.”

Bishop Lacunza was born in Pamplona, Spain, in 1944. In 1963 he entered the novitiate of the Order of Augustinian Recollects, professing solemn vows in 1967. He was ordained a priest of the mendicant order in 1969, and was sent to Panama in 1971, where he has served since.

He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Panama in 1985, and received Panamanian citizenship the same year. He was then made Bishop of Chitre in 1994, and has served as Bishop of David since his transfer there in 1999.

Bishop Lacunza is known for mediating conflicts among indigenous groups and development groups such as mining corporations, according to his order.

“I am sure that when Pope Francis thought of me for a cardinal, he thought of me as a bishop of the Panamanian Church, a bishop who works in Panama and hopes to continue working in Panama,” he told CNA.

Bishop Lacunza said the reality in Panama is not very different from the rest of Latin America and the world, where there is much inconsistency between faith and daily life, something the Panamanian bishops have highlighted on numerous occasions.

“One cannot help but be astonished that the majority of Panamanians, 80 to 85 percent, say they are Catholics, and another 10 to 15 percent say they are Christians, and that Panama is a society of so much inequality, where more than 30 percent of the population lives in poverty, with spectacular levels of growth, which shows there is no equity and an equitable distribution of the treasure generated by the country.”

“That continues to be a major complaint for our faith,” he said.

Regarding his new service to the Church as a cardinal, Bishop Lacunza does not see his life changing very much and hopes to continue being the Bishop of David. He is currently waiting for the Holy Father to specify the areas to which he can contribute.

“I think the cardinalate is not only a position to be exercised in Rome but is also a responsibility towards what is cooked up in Rome, as we say in Spanish: that it be served up and digested in the areas where one live and works.”

Bishop Lacunza later referred to the fact that this is the first time in history that a Pope has decided to select a cardinal from Panama.

“The explication that I see is that the Pope has taken into account this country that has just celebrated 500 years of existence and is the door through which the Gospel was brought to the American continent, as the first diocese on solid ground in America was established here.”

Panamanians have received the news of his selection with joy and satisfaction, he noted.

“If they have welcomed the news with pride, they should walk with me now in prayer so that I can fulfill this duty and mission entrusted to me by the Pope,” he added.

Bishop Lacunza is one of 20 men who will be made cardinal at the Feb. 14 consistory. Of these, 15 will be under the age of 75, and thus eligible to vote in the next conclave.

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Conference to take Oakland cathedral as model for church architecture

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • January 21, 2015

The Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, Calif., which is the exemplar for an upcoming sacred architecture symposium in Australia. (Kwong Yee Cheng via Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Melbourne, Australia — An upcoming symposium at Australian Catholic University aims to study the relationship of liturgy and architecture, and takes the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland as a model for church architecture.

“The symposium is about making architecture and art for Catholic worship,” a Jan. 16 release of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference press office stated.

With the theme “God is in the Detail,” The National Liturgical Architecture and Art Board (NLAAB) and Australian Catholic University, Melbourne will host the symposium on the “process of church design” at the ACU Melbourne campus Feb. 11 – 13, 2015.

The keynote addresses at the symposium will be delivered by the architect and liturgist who were instrumental in the design and inauguration of the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California: Craig Hartman, of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in San Francisco, and Fr. Paul Minnihan of the Diocese of Oakland.

The Australian bishop’s press office described that the symposium is intended for architects, artists, liturgists, clergy, teachers, church design consultants, theologians, academics, researchers, diocesan property officers, architecture and theology students, parishioners, and members of other Catholic communities, and all who are interested in church design today.

Organizers hope the symposium will facilitate a conversation about the essential importance and relationship between liturgy and architecture in both designing new churches and redesigning existing churches.

Fr Stephen Hackett, chair of the NLAAB, said the “Cathedral of Christ the Light is one of the great contemporary works of sacred architecture, bringing together tradition and innovation.”

Fr. Hackett added that “designed for the liturgy, the Cathedral of Christ the Light will be a key focus and point of reference during the symposium.”

Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide endorsed the importance of the symposium, saying, “I believe this is a very important moment for the whole Church in Australia to increase its understanding and competency in liturgical architecture and art.”

The event will also include the launch of “And When Churches are to be built: Preparation, Planning and Construction of Places of Worship,” a document of the Australian bishops conference on sacred architecture. The document is being prepared for publication by Liturgy Brisbane and is inspired by Sacrosanctum concilium, Vatican II’s constitution on the sacred liturgy.

Fr. Tom Elich, who was on the drafting committee of the document, stated, “it will be invaluable for the Australian Church to have an accessible reference document, which can be used by clergy, parish planning teams and architects.”

“It collects together many ideas and principles necessary not only for building new churches, but also for evaluating and renovating existing liturgical spaces,” he said.

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Filipino conference explores relationship between beatitudes, evangelization

by Antonio Anup Gonsalves (CNA/EWTN News) • January 21, 2015

Second Philippines Conference on New Evangelization, held Jan. 15-17 in Manila. (Antonio Gonsalves/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — A three-day conference on evangelization took place in Manila during Pope Francis’ Philippines visit, exploring the relationship between the beatitudes and evangelization in the southeast Asian nation.

In the light of the “Year of the Poor” and connecting to the papal visit theme “Mercy and Compassion,” the second Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE II) explored the eight beatitudes given in the Gospel of Matthew.

More than 5,000 participants from more than 70 dioceses across the Philippines gathered Jan. 15- 17 at the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

Speaking to CNA Jan. 17, Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose said, “PCNE II is a spiritual experience that helps the participants understand that we are called to be blessed, in its true meaning, as modelled by Jesus.”

“The Beatitudes given by Jesus are the ways and pathways to happiness,” Bishop Mallari continued, saying that “what is important is that we have the humility to recognize our worthiness of God’s grace, to really allow the grace of God to flow down us.”

Bishop Mallari also said the coming of the Holy Father to the Philippines to meet his flock “is a big grace” for the country.

The 2012 Synod on the New Evangelization inspired the Filipino bishops to hold PCNE I the following year, focusing on rekindling the ardor of evangelization and renewal of faith experience in the region, while taking its cue from “Behold, God makes all things new.”

PCNE II follows the same track, aiming to respond to the challenges of the first conference and tailoring responses to the Filipino context.

The Filipino bishops were also inspired by the beautitudes theme adopted by Pope Francis for World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016.

“PCNE II is also an opportunity to profoundly enter into a spiritual exercise in concert with Pope Francis’ visit to our country, inviting us to concretely understand the terms mercy and compassion,” Fr. Leo Distoro, parish priest of Our Lady of Remedios, told CNA Jan 17.

The conference was organized over three days, with the first day exploring the theme of “portrait of blessedness- encounter with Jesus,” the second day dedicated to “pathways to blessedness- experience of the Church” and the final day focused on “program of blessedness- witnessing and mission.”

Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila in his invitation message said the year had witnessed several natural disasters but was also a “year of many graces.”

Among those graces, Cardinal Tagle referred in particular to PCNE I, saying, “it provided hope against the rubble of natural calamities, escalating poverty, scandalizing corruption and worrisome violence.”

At the closing of the symposium the participants pledged to use their phones for promoting evangelization, sending text messages of beatitudes to their contacts.

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WORLD NEWS

Francis likely to bring up poverty in his expected UN visit in New York

by Alan Holdren and Andrea Gagliarducci (CNA/EWTN News) • January 21, 2015

Pope Francis addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Nov. 25, 2014. (Alan Holdren/CNA)

Manila, Philippines — According to the Vatican’s Observer to the United Nations, Pope Francis is likely to address the issue of poverty before the international body, a speech that is anticipated in the proposed schedule for his upcoming US trip.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, a native of the Philippines, is the Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, and also part of Pope Francis’s U.S. trip organizing committee.

He shared with CNA Jan. 18 in the Philippines that “he had met with the Pope three times” since he was appointed as Permanent Observer in July, 2014, and that Pope Francis “had mostly spoken about the poor.”

“I had a one hour conversation with the Holy Father last December, and it was all about aid. He had so much interest in aid, as well as in identifying all the aspects of poverty – from history to attitudes of people with respect to actual situations,” Archbishop Auza recounted.

The archbishop explained that the Pope has always showed him his interest in the cause of the poor, both during the meetings they had in the Vatican and “now here in Manila, and we are speaking again of poverty and school systems, and again it will be so at the UN.”

Archbishop Auza had also revealed to CNA that Pope Francis’ speech to the United Nations headquarters in New York may take place Sept. 25. While speaking to CNA he referred to a Jan. 12 meeting held by the U.S. trip organizing committee, during which details of the visit were discussed.

September 25, Archbishop Auza noted, is also the opening of the three-day Post-2015 Sustainable Development Summit, and so many world leaders will be at the United Nations.

According to Archbishop Auza, the core of Pope Francis’ teaching is attention to the poor, and the attempt to answer the question: why are so many people abandoned?

“This is the primary message of the Pope, which is also contained in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium … and this is also our message to the United Nations,” Archbishop Auza maintained.

The Holy See Permanent Observer underscored that “we have this economic model that undoubtedly generates wealth, but it generates it in a way that most of the people are left behind.”

So we should not “leave the blind forces of the market alone without our intervention,” he maintained.

Archbishop Auza identified the Pope’s message to the Philippines with a few core issues: “corruption, poverty, people left behind, market forces.”

However, he stressed that “poverty is certainly a very complex question” and he supposed “the Pope will talk about that in the United Nations,” also given that the speech will come at the beginning of the Sustainable Devolpment Summit and that “poverty is one of the main preoccupations” of the countries involved.

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WORLD NEWS

Suffering in Sierra Leone, hard-hit by Ebola, reminds bishop of civil war years

by Reinhard Backes (Aid to the Church in Need) • January 22, 2015

School girls in Sierra Leone, November 2013. (Ilona Budzbon/Aid to the Church in Need)

Kenema, Sierra Leone — From providing spiritual support to ensuring preventive care, the Diocese of Kenema in the eastern part of Sierra Leone is deeply involved in the country’s fight against the Ebola virus.

This vital struggle continues, even as the epidemic has largely dropped from the headlines in the US.

Bishop Patrick Koroma of Kenema told international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need about a full range of initiatives the local Church has undertaken: “The Diocese of Kenema works through its networks of parishes, small Christian communities, hospitals, clinics, schools, religious communities to reach out to many people in these key areas: sensitization, safe burial or appropriate burial techniques, psycho-social support, education and training, help the discharged, social mobilization, message of hope.”

The work of the Church, in Kenema and in other dioceses throughout Sierra Leone and neighboring Liberia, largely depends on the support from donors in the West.

The money is being used to finance medical emergency and basic aid programs; food aid; the training and mobilization of employees; and for pastoral work with patients, family members and aid workers.

Bishop Koroma stressed that the Church’s efforts hold considerable risks for clergy and laity: “The virus has taken away many of our experienced health care workers, which is sad. Some of these nurses and lab technicians are parishioners. We continue to hold in esteem and pray for frontline workers who are risking their lives to prevent the spread of the virus.”

The epidemic has put a great strain on the Catholic community.

“The urge to respond to acute humanitarian needs has led the Church to utilize what little resources are available. To pay staff is a big problem,” the prelate said.

The bishop spoke of initial indications that it may be possible to push back the Ebola virus, but he remains gravely concerned about the future, as the task ahead is immense.

The impact of the epidemic recalls the suffering inflicted by the country’s lengthy civil war, which ravaged Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2002.

“Market days have been put on hold,” Bishop Koroma said. “Schools were closed in the country before the end of the school year and their doors remain locked; the number of orphans is increasing by the day.”

Topping the country’s agenda, – and that of the Church – the bishop said are: “economic revitalization, education, agriculture, healing the wounded memories, care of orphans.”

Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity under the guidance of the Holy See, providing assistance to the suffering and persecuted Church in more than 140 countries. Websites: churchinneed.org (USA); acnuk.org (UK); aidtochurch.org (AUS); acnireland.org (IRL); acn-aed-ca.org (CAN); acnmalta.org (Malta)

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WORLD NEWS

Masses suspended in Niger due to church burnings

by CNA/EWTN News • January 22, 2015

A view of Niamey, the capital of Niger. (Jean Rebiffé via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Niamey, Niger — The bishops of Niger have canceled Masses and activities at Catholic schools, health care facilities and charity outreaches after Muslim extremists set fire to dozens of churches across the country.

Reports indicate that more than 40 churches were torched over the weekend to protest the new caricatures of Mohammed published by the Charlie Hebdo magazine in its latest edition. The publication of the images is a response to an attack on the satirical magazine in Paris earlier this month, which took place in retaliation for earlier depictions of the Muslim prophet.

In a statement, Bishops Laruent Lompo, Ambroise Quedraogo and Michel Cartateguy said the suspension of activities will allow them to pray and calmly consider “the painful events that we have had recently. We cordially thank all those who have expressed their solidarity at this difficult time.”

In addition to the church burnings, nearly 300 people in Zinder were forced to seek refuge at a military base.

“The Christian community in Niger is still in a state of shock: Almost all the churches (of the diocese), 12 to 14 of them, were completely plundered. Nothing remains, they were totally burned,” Archbishop Michel Cartateguy of Niamey told Vatican Radio.

“Only the cathedral is still standing,” he said.

“We don’t understand what is happening. I have told authorities that we have nothing against the Muslim community. On the contrary, we should strengthen the bonds of unity and fraternity that we have built even more,” the archbishop said.

Despite all the support the bishops have received, he noted, “We have to suspend all activities in Catholic missions and close our schools.”

The extremists behind these incidents “are being manipulated from abroad, everything is being manipulated,” Archbishop Cartateguy emphasized. “It’s obvious that the millions of copies of the Mohammed cartoons being distributed are saying to the people here that the Christians of the west are the ones who have done this!” he said.

“But why keep going down this road? Where is the respect for the faith of others? Now there are people running throughout the streets asking, ‘Are you Allah is great or Alleluia?’ This means they are looking for Christians,” the archbishop warned.

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Leading Iraqi Christian calls on Muslims to confront ‘culture of hatred’

by CNA/EWTN News • January 23, 2015

The Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon, Louis Sako, speaks during a prayer vigil at St. John Lateran in Rome, Oct. 23, 2014. (Bohumil Petrik/CNA)

Baghdad, Iraq — The Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon has encouraged Iraqi Muslims to confront violent extremists, stressing the need to return to peaceful coexistence despite present threats in the country.

“At this point, there is no other future for us than living together in peace, harmony and cooperation,” he said in a Jan. 17 talk delivered to the Iraqi Center for Diversity Management.

Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has witnessed the emigration of around 1 million Iraqi Christians in the wake of the 2003 U.S. invasion. The withdrawal of U.S. forces and the rise of the Islamic State has further endangered the future of Christians in Iraq, while the Iraqi government struggles to regain control.

The patriarch stressed that Iraq’s different religions and ethnicities are rooted in the country, and are not foreign. Many groups which are now seen as minorities were once majorities and contributed greatly both to Iraqi and Islamic culture, he said.

“These communities are today marginalized, and have been dealt with harshly and in a brutal way,” he lamented.

“This happened in many cities of Iraq, and finally in Mosul and the towns of the Nineveh Plain. No more Christians are actually there, not a single one. All this led them to seek emigration.”

“Traditionally and historically, we have side by side with respect; we shared bread and salt, sweet and bitter, but today we wonder why this immoral and uncivilized phenomenon is happening?”

The patriarch said the more than 1 billion Muslims in the world are not responsible for extremist thought and action.

He said religious extremism and terrorism are serious forces for evil, but are not the only major threats. He especially faulted the mindset of the “takfiri,” the Muslim sects that groundlessly declare other Muslims and non-Muslims to be apostates.

He also cautioned that these mindsets are “well exploited by some of the competing forces of power under the cover of religion.”

Patriarch Sako called on Muslims to “take the initiative and lead a campaign of rejecting any sectarian discrimination.”

“It is of utmost importance that religious authorities and political leaders address the culture of hatred and all forms of violence that destroy human life and violate human dignity. It is a difficult task indeed!” he said.

“But it is not impossible if everyone cooperates in the promotion of a culture of peace and confidence. Everyone would overcome the fear of convergence and build bridges between citizens.”

The patriarch suggested a “joint Islamic project” to dismantle violent ideologies. He praised the strengthening of “an open and enlightened Islamic opinion” through the “appropriate interpretation” of religious texts. This approach would be “closing the door to those who are influencing the mentality of young people to use violence in the name of religion.”

He urged speech that builds up “humanitarian, national and spiritual solidarity among all human beings as children of the same homeland and humankind.” He endorsed the promotion of “a civilized culture of acceptance” that rejects “the eradication of others.”

“However, it is necessary to acknowledge that this process will take time and will require healing the memory,” he said.

Patriarch Sako also urged media networks to provide information that respects religions.

“Media networks must not harm religious symbols and thus insult the religious followers. Let us all promote an open culture that dispels prejudices and strengthens confidence and brilliancy.”

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U.S. NEWS

Ecumenism will break shackles of racism, St Louis priest says

by Kevin J. Jones and Kate Veik (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Martin Luther King, Jr. (CNA)

St. Louis, MO — The ecumenism preached by Martin Luther King Jr. in his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is key to breaking the shackles of individualism and systemic racism, a St. Louis priest has said.

That racism is a sin is a “shared tenant of Christianity,” said Father Art Cavitt, executive director of the St. Louis-based St. Charles Lwanga Center, in a recent interview with CNA.

“The need for recognition of the dignity of all human beings is incumbent upon all of us. That lack of recognition contributes to the problem.”

US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ President Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville echoed the priest’s sentiments in a statement marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“Every human life has profound dignity, rooted in our creation in the image of God,” Archbishop Kurtz wrote. “We are on family. Our communities will only reflect this dignity if we first turn to prayer to guide our actions toward ending years of isolation, disregard and conflict between neighbors.”

Archbishop Kurtz lamented a lingering stain of racism in the United States.

“Continuing tensions and violence in our communities remind us that although significant progress has been made … we still have much work to do,” he wrote. “As we consider the gains of the past and the challenges before us, I urge each of us to pray for healing and peace as we work for ever greater communion.”

The comments by Fr. Cavitt and Archbishop Kurtz come months after protests and increasing racial tensions in the St. Louis area following a grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo. police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of black 18-year-old Michael Brown. The decision prompted many protests across the U.S., some of which turned violent.

St. Louis Archbishop Robert Carlson had called for prayer and calm in response.

Despite the violent response, Fr. Cavitt said there is hope after the Ferguson controversy. He said there is a rising desire for action to overcome injustice and cooperation to build common ground.

“Hope has more than emerged here. It is a stabilizing virtue in the organization of activities,” Fr. Cavitt said. “The religious community is not silent, but engaged.”

“There is an urgent sense of the desire to address issues,” he continued. “In the midst of feeling ‘shell-shocked’ in the aftermath of destruction, there is still the rallying of myriad organizations, religious and secular commissions, to address problems of injustice and disparity.”

The St. Louis archdiocese is working to improve its efforts at racial reconciliation and justice. Archbishop Carlson on Jan. 6 named attorney Marie Kenyon as director of the archdiocese’s Peace and Justice Commission. For almost 30 years, Kenyon has been managing attorney of Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry, which helps address the legal needs of people with low incomes.

At a Mass for Peace and Justice in August 2014, the archbishop had pledged to re-establish the commission to address issues like poverty, racial tension and a lack of education.

Fr. Cavitt also said people should recognize the times when race is viewed differently by different ethnicities.

He stressed the need to get “a perspective from the other person’s shoes” to move from misunderstanding to solidarity.

Working towards common ground from different perspectives would acknowledge “both systemic and individual contributions to our problems,” he advised.

“What is it like to feel like a victim of the ‘isms’?” the priest asked. “What is it like to be accused of ‘isms,’ particularly if those being accused are stereotyped exclusively because of the attitudes and actions of past generations?”

Exploring and affirming various perspectives in an in-depth way would help build common ground, he said.

Fr. Cavitt reflected on the state of black Catholics in the U.S. They make up over 3 million Catholics out of about 36 million black Americans, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reports.

According to Fr. Cavitt, black Catholics share some characteristics of the country as a whole: their communities show a “complex display of vibrancy,” adherence to the Catholic faith, and a desire to give an example to younger generations.

Many say they are satisfied with their experience as Catholics, while among others there is a decades-long “exodus away from parish life.”

Like other Americans, some are searching for answers about identity and faith and have a mistrust of authority. Some who were raised Catholic are not engaged in their parishes, but are “seeking answers elsewhere or not particularly addressing that void in their life.”

“The daunting task remains: how the Church invites and communicates its relevancy into the life of the black community,” Fr. Cavitt said.

He suggested the newly ordained Louisiana priest Fr. Joshua Johnson might be an example of this effort.

The young priest runs a hip hop radio show with one of his friends. They talk about the saints and apologetics in a way that is “attractive to people who are in the hood,” Fr. Johnson said in a YouTube video posed by Catholic Extension. “Every episode is rap, we freestyle and have fun.”

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Thousands march to support human dignity in downtown LA

by Kevin Mooney (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles for OneLife LA, an event promoting human dignity. (Victor Aleman/Angelus News)

Los Angeles, CA — The first annual OneLife LA, heralded as a celebration of the dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, drew thousands from all over Southern California to downtown Los Angeles.

The Jan. 17 event began in the historic La Placita Olvera, where the rapidly growing crowd encircled the gazebo at the plaza’s center.

After a prayer from Archbishop José H. Gomez, the assembled crowds began a walk through downtown. They processed along the barricaded route past the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and ended at Grand Park.

OneLife LA posters depicting pregnant women, families, the elderly, and the disabled bobbed above the sea of walkers.

Attendees from every part of Southern California sported t-shirts or carried banners labeled with their home parish, city or organization.

Jessica Bois, who attends Christian Assembly church in Eagle Rock, hoped that the event would raise awareness.

“Obviously people know that the pro-life movement exists, but I appreciate that they are having speakers share their experiences today, especially for those who are uncertain about their views on different life issues.”

Ethan Southard, a seminarian in his sixth of seven years of formation at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, has been to the Walk for Life in San Francisco several times, but valued the holistic and celebratory aspects of OneLife LA.

“It’s really beautiful. What I really love about this one is the inclusivity of all human life from conception to natural death,” Southard said. “We’ve got the whole city of Los Angeles surrounding us and we’re here in the middle just celebrating life.”

Beyond the food trucks at the park’s entrance, many of the walkers unfurled blankets upon the grass. To escape the intense sunshine some sought shade behind the sparse foliage of the trees in Grand Park.

Community organizations focused on dignity of life issues set up booths along Grand Park’s perimeter to encourage future volunteers.

Sylvia Aimerito, beloved LA DJ most recently from KEARTH, emceed a program of speakers and musical performances on the main stage in front of Los Angeles City Hall.

Archbishop Gomez started the program with his opening address, in which he summarized the purpose of the event.

“In God’s eyes, no one is a stranger. And there are no lives that are not worth living. No lives that we can leave behind or throw away. That is the beautiful truth that we are here to celebrate today. That’s what OneLife LA is all about.”

One of the speakers, actor Eduardo Verastegui, recounted how he dissuaded a young mother from terminating her pregnancy while researching his role in the movie “Bella” at an abortion clinic.

“I never thought in a million years that by me going there to do my homework as an actor I was going to be used by the grace of God as an instrument to save a life.”

Inspired by this miracle, Verastegui proceeded to found a pro-life pregnancy clinic in Los Angeles.

Brandi Moore, 22, recounted how she bounced between different homes within the LA foster care system. Having miraculously survived her attempted suicide, Moore now promotes mentorship programs for foster children through KidSave, the organization that encouraged and supported her.

“I intended to take my life that day, but the universe had other plans for me,” Moore said. “That day woke me up and made me realize that I’m on this earth for a reason. That day made me realize that I have a purpose, and I just have to figure it out.”

Ryan Bomberger, who served as the event’s keynote speaker, is co-founder of The Radiance Foundation, a life-affirming organization that addresses social issues through media content. Bomberger, an adoptee and adoptive father, tied together many of the event’s themes by emphasizing the value and beauty of each individual life.

“We live in a culture that is deceived into thinking that we can define the value of human life. All we have to do is look at history and see what happens when men or women or governmental institution decides who has value and who doesn’t. It’s not exactly a good turnout: the Holocaust, slavery, and abortion in America.”

The audience enjoyed performances from musicians Paulina Cerrilla and Miriam Jackeline Solis. The event concluded with a concert performed by Josh Garrels, a singer-songwriter originally from South Bend, Ind., whose orchestral folk music incorporates Christian themes.

Among those in attendance was Lisa Ebiner Gavit, who founded USC Students for Life and served as president for two years. Now a graduate student, she has retired from that role but still lends support at pro-life events.

“As college students, we face a lot of bias on campus, especially from fellow peers. We’ve been openly mocked in class for what we do. So it’s really inspiring to see all the support, especially from young people.”

Clyde Allen from St. Peter Claver Parish in Simi Valley came with his wife, youngest child, and two buses full of fellow parishioners, all wearing matching t-shirts imprinted with the OneLife LA logo. Allen said his hope is “that we expose our youth to an awareness and understanding of the importance of respecting life.”

Nearly 20 of the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Los Angeles were in attendance. They came from all over the greater L.A. area, some from as far as Orange County. One sister, who requested to remain nameless, spoke of the significance of the event for her order.

“Our community is very focused on the dignity of life, especially at the end of life, because we run a skilled nursing facility in Duarte. This is what we live and breathe every day so we wanted to support that, because it’s part of who we are.”

Sandra Proaño-Montañez and her husband Esteban (a Knight of Columbus) are parents to five children. For years they had wished to attend pro-life events such as the March for Life in D.C., an almost impossible undertaking for a large family on the West Coast. They were delighted to learn that Los Angeles would be hosting its own pro-life event and they showed up with the whole family.

“This is an opportunity for us to surface ourselves in the midst of such a progressive city,” said Sandra, commenting on her children’s excitement at encountering other large families at the event.

“We’ve never been able to show our public support for something as meaningful as this. So we’re just completely on board and excited.”

Both Sandra and Esteban are teachers in downtown L.A. Often they must contend with scorn from their coworkers for their pro-life opinions.

But Sandra recalled the hopeful message voiced by Patricia Heaton, Emmy-award winning actress and one of OneLife LA’s featured speakers. Heaton quoted Winston Churchill: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

Reprinted with permission from Angelus News, the online publication of LA’s archdiocesan newspaper, The Tidings.

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Philly archdiocese says Pope’s US schedule yet to be finalized

by CNA/EWTN News • January 19, 2015

Pope Francis greets pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square during the Wednesday general audience on Nov. 5, 2014. (Daniel Ibanez/CNA)

Philadelphia, PA — Archdiocese of Philadelphia director of communications Kenneth Gavin clarified that Pope Francis’ official schedule during his trip to the U.S. in September has yet to be finalized.

“We are overjoyed that Pope Francis will be with us in September, and planning for his visit is intensely underway,” he told CNA. “However, no final decisions regarding the Papal itinerary for Philadelphia have yet been made.”

“Certainly, we are exploring a wide variety of potential scenarios and there are numerous factors and contingencies to consider,” Gavin noted, adding that final confirmation of the Pope’s Philadelphia schedule “can come only after consultation with the Papal household.”

The update comes after Archbishop Bernardito Auza – a member of the organizing committee for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to the U.S. – revealed details of the proposed schedule, which includes visits to three cities.

A Philippines native, Archbishop Auza is the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N. in New York and to the Organization of American States in Washington. He is back in his homeland this week participating in the events of Pope Francis’ Jan. 15-19 apostolic journey.

The Pope announced in November that that he will visit the U.S. in September 2015, including a stop at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which will take place from Sept. 22-27.

Even before the Pope’s announcement, the meeting was expected to draw tens of thousands of people. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told a gathering of Catholic bishops in November that a papal visit would likely result in crowds of about 1 million.

A global Catholic event, the world meeting seeks to support and strengthen families. St. John Paul II founded the event in 1994, and it takes place every three years.

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U.S. NEWS

The fight for human dignity - how MLK speaks to ISIS, abortion

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • January 19, 2015

Martin Luther King Jr. addresses a crowd from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he delivered his famous I Have a Dream speech during the Aug. 28, 1963 march on Washington, DC. (CNA)

Washington D.C. — The ongoing legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is that every human life is sacred and must be protected from injustice, said leading U.S. bishops on Jan. 19.

At a Jan. 17 Mass honoring the legacy of Dr. King, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., said that the civil rights leader “quietly, forcefully, without violence and always faithful to the Gospel, simply reminded this society, this culture, this nation, that we are all one in the Spirit, we are all sisters and brothers because we are all children of the same God.

“If one is treated unjustly, we are all affected,” the cardinal added.

His comments came during the homily of a Mass at Holy Comforter/St. Cyprian Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. The parish is a combination of the historically African-American St. Cyprian parish and nearby Holy Comforter parish. The two merged in 1966.

The theme of the Mass was King’s quote that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Every person has a duty to fight injustice, Cardinal Wuerl insisted, which can take many forms including the present evils of racism, abortion, and religious persecution.

“In a democracy, every citizen must accept some responsibility for the direction of the country. Especially as people of faith, we need to bring our moral values and vision to the market place,” he said.

“If we look at families and neighborhoods across our land, if we look at our schools and workplaces, if we look at our courtrooms and prisons, if we look at our streets and see people again marching with signs saying ‘black lives matter,’ then we see that, while we have made great progress, we still have a ways to go yet,” he said.

The cardinal also pointed to the upcoming 2015 March for Life as an example of citizens fighting the injustice of abortion, and called attention to religious persecution both at home and abroad.

“If we look across our nation and see people of faith being pressured to act against their religion or look to the Middle East and Nigeria and elsewhere in the world and see people maimed, kidnapped and killed by groups like ISIS and Boko Haram, then we see that we as a people have not yet come to the Promised Land. There is still a distance to travel,” he said.

The president of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, also called for the protection of every human being in his message for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

“Every human life has profound dignity, rooted in our creation in the image of God. We are one family. Our communities will only reflect this dignity if we first turn to prayer to guide our actions toward ending years of isolation, disregard and conflict between neighbors,” he stated.

Both the cardinal and archbishop stressed that effective action can only be taken with prayer.

“That which seems impossible can only be brought about through God and his powerful intervention in our hearts,” Archbishop Kurtz stated.

“At the heart of our participation is our faith in Christ, his Gospel, his call to human solidarity and above all his love,” stressed Cardinal Wuerl.

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U.S. NEWS

Beard meets religious freedom in distinctive Court decision

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • January 20, 2015

(Hank James via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Washington D.C. — In a rare unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a Muslim prisoner in Arkansas must be allowed to grow his beard for religious reasons.

The ruling was a “huge win for religious freedom,” the co-counsel in the case declared.

“This is a victory not just for one prisoner in Arkansas, but for every American who believes and wants the freedom to act on those beliefs,” said Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. “No religion is an island.”

The Muslim inmate Abdul Muhammed claimed his religion forbade him from cutting his beard. However, the Arkansas Department of Corrections forbids facial hair, with only medical exceptions: those with certain skin conditions are allowed a beard of 1/4 inch in length.

In a compromise, Muhammed proposed to keep his beard at 1/2 inch length, but the prison system denied his request. He then filed a lawsuit, but met defeat at a federal trial court and the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.

He then sent a hand-written petition for injunction to the Supreme Court, which agreed last March to hear his full appeal.

The department had argued that beards posed a security threat, allowing the possibility of prisoners hiding contraband items and also using the beards as a disguise if they escaped prison.

However, the department failed to prove that its policy met the least restrictive means of maintaining prison security while respecting the religious freedom of prisoners, the Court said.

It determined that the department violated RLUIPA, or the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which protects the freedom of prisoners to practice their religion peacefully.

“Although we do not question the importance of the Department’s interests in stopping the flow of contraband and facilitating prisoner identification, we do doubt whether the prohibition against petitioner’s beard furthers its compelling interest about contraband. And we conclude that the Department has failed to show that its policy is the least restrictive means of furthering its compelling interests,” the Court said.

The justices also pointed out that many states and federal prison systems allow inmates to grow 1/2 inch beards, thus undermining the claim of the Arkansas prison system that its mandate was the least restrictive means necessary to maintain security. According to the Becket Fund, 43 prison systems allow beards of 1/2 inch length and 41 systems allow even longer beards.

“What the Supreme Court said today was that government officials cannot impose arbitrary restrictions on religious liberty just because they think government knows best,” Rassbach said.

“Where government can accommodate religion, it ought to.”

Many different religious organizations supported Muhammed’s case. Amicus briefs were filed on his behalf by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, various Jewish organizations, the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptist Convention, and many Islamic scholars, in addition to the U.S. Government and the American Civil Liberties Union.

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How one CEO sees unrealized potential in special needs kids

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • January 20, 2015

Portrait of a man with down syndrome. (George Doyle/Stockbyte)

Washington D.C. — Special needs children can bring joy, grace and a potential to thrive in the workplace in a way that parents may never have foreseen – says a former CEO and senate candidate who gave her personal witness to this at a pro-life event on Tuesday.

After discussing her time teaching an eight year-old boy at a special needs school, Carly Fiorina revealed that, “I have learned over the course of my life that every person has potential, that everyone has God-given gifts, and in truth, most people have far more potential than they realize.”

Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlitt Packard and 2010 GOP senate nominee, gave the keynote address at the Heritage Foundation event “Welcoming Every Life.” The event emphasized the tough choice parents face when their child receives a “poor prenatal diagnosis” like Down Syndrome, Spinal Bifida, or another genetic disorder.

The vast majority of unborn children diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted; statistics from the Global Down Syndrome Foundation estimate the percentage as between 67 and 85 percent.

Yet despite the challenges of raising a special needs child, they can bring “joy and grace” that could never have been predicted, Fiorina insisted.

“Kenneth,” her special needs student, “provided moments of joy and grace and made a positive contribution to my life and I know to his parents’ lives as well,” she said.

Speaking as a former CEO, she said that the “highest calling of leadership is to unlock potential in others.” Children with special needs bring about this opportunity for leadership, she said.

“Sometimes, the times of greatest challenge can also bring the greatest blessings,” she revealed. “I know that life is not measured in time, in IQ, in wealth. Life is measured in love and moments of joy and grace and positive contribution.”

Mothers may be scared of a Downs diagnosis, but they need our “deepest support, never our condemnation,” Fiorina insisted. “Truly, who are we to judge which life is better than another? And none of us can predict the future, or the struggles that we will face.”

Her talk played into the theme of this week’s 2015 March for Life, “Every Life Is a Gift,” that focuses on those unborn children given a “poor prenatal diagnosis.”

March for Life president Jeanne Monahan explained the theme in an op-ed for The Hill. She wrote that although parents may “understandably” be frightened by a “poor prenatal diagnosis” and the majority choose to abort the child, those families with Downs children overwhelmingly report a positive quality of life, she cited statistics from a Harvard researcher.

As a Republican candidate for senate, Fiorina told of how, after she won her party’s nomination, she was asked by a donor if she would soften her “extreme” abortion stance, especially after she had received degrees from MIT and Stanford.

“The irony of that statement, of course, is that science is helping those of us who believe in the sanctity of life to make our case every day. Science is why more and more young people are becoming pro-life,” she stated.

For example, evidence now shows that the same DNA present in a zygote is also present in a person at his death, she said. Surgeries on unborn children as young as 19 weeks are successful. Unborn children can dream and feel pain at five months of age.

“We gather here because we know that the life we save may make all the difference in the lives of others. We gather here because we know that no one of us is any better than any other one of us. We gather here because we know that every human life has potential and every human life is precious,” Fiorina concluded her talk.

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‘The Apology’ – Men speak up about abortion

by CNA/EWTN News • January 21, 2015

The Apology from John Blandford on Vimeo. (CNA)

Washington, D.C. — A pro-life organization is aiming to highlight how men are affected by abortion – and offer hope for healing and renewal – through a new video called ‘The Apology.’

“The pain of regret is one of the hardest things to deal with, because it is a constant reminder that we let down God, we let down others, we let down our child,” stated one of the men featured in the video.

The film was released by Heroic Media, a life affirming multi-media organization, and produced under the direction of John Blandford, one of the men featured in it.

The short video showcases three men, all Christian believers from different backgrounds, who admit that they have been involved in an abortion in the past. Noting that approximately one in three people “in the Church” have participated in an abortion, the men confess that the post-abortion struggle is hard, lonely, and often heartbreaking.

“I conceded to an abortion. And even as a pastor, that decision still haunts me today. What would that child look like? Would it be boy? Would it be a girl? Their first steps, saying ‘daddy,’ watching them grow - but those are just dreams, and dreams which often leave me heartbroken,” one man said in the video.

“I was 28. I didn’t know God – I called myself a Christian though, at the time. I would go to church a couple of times a month, and I just started dating this gal, and she got pregnant,” Blandford noted in the film, saying that he should have “manned up, but I didn’t.”

Apologizing to all aborted children that no one was there to save them, Blandford stated that he was sorry that women were subjected to abortion, and all that it entails.

The other men in the film also apologized to those who have had abortions, while offering hope that the current generation would turn to forgiveness and the love of God.

“As someone who had been on both sides, I am telling you keep contending for life. That is my hope – it is my hope to see a generation who will stand up and say ‘no more’,” one man reflected.

“If you have had an abortion, I am so sorry. I am sorry for not taking a greater stand in this area. Someone should’ve been there to rescue you,” another stated.

“But we find hope, we find peace in Christ, you don’t have to live in shame and darkness, you can run to God’s light, and forgiveness and grace and mercy,” he continued.

To view ‘The Apology,’ click here:  vimeo.com/114725430

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Austin diocese receives first auxiliary bishop

by CNA/EWTN News • January 21, 2015

Fr. Daniel Garcia, who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Austin Jan. 21, 2015. (Shelley Metcalf/Diocese of Austin)

Austin, Texas — Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed Fr. Daniel Garcia as Auxiliary Bishop of Austin, to assist the diocese’s chief shepherd, Bishop Joe Vásquez, in his governance of the local Church.

The appointment is significant for the diocese, as Fr. Garcia will be the first auxiliary bishop since it was established in 1947.

“This is a historic moment for our diocese as Bishop-elect Garcia will be the first auxiliary bishop since its establishment 67 years ago,” Bishop Joe Vásquez said during a Jan. 21 press conference introducing Fr. Garcia. “I am most grateful to His Holiness for the gift of Bishop-elect Garcia to this local Church.”

“The Catholic Church in Central Texas is experiencing tremendous growth,” he continued. “This appointment is recognition by our Holy Father of the growing needs of the people of this diocese. As auxiliary bishop he will assist me in carrying out my responsibilities, particularly assisting me in shepherding the good people of Central Texas.”

During the press conference, Fr. Garcia thanked his fellow priests for their example of service: “For the past 26 years plus, I have tried to give of myself in priestly service to others in the way I understood God calling me to serve. In the midst of these years, I have had wonderful examples of priests and bishops, young and old, living and deceased, who have modeled for me what priestly service is. They, as well as the people I have served, have enabled me to be the priest I am today.”

He gave “a special ‘thank you’ to my brother priests here in the Diocese of Austin. Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement which you have given me over the years.”

Daniel Elias Garcia was born in 1960 to Daniel Castilleja Garcia, Jr. and the late Sarah Munoz Garcia. He was born and raised in Cameron, some 70 miles northeast of Austin, and has three younger sisters. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.

He attended Tyler Junior College before entering seminary, attending St. Mary’s at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Austin in 1988.

Fr. Garcia has served in several parishes of the diocese, as well as having been the bishops’ master of ceremonies and associate vocation director. He obtained a master’s in liturgical studies from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. In 2007.

In 2014, he was appointed vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Austin diocese.

Fr. Garcia’s episcopal consecration will be held at a Mass in the Austin cathedral on March 3.

The Diocese of Austin covers some 21,000 square miles in central Texas, serving nearly 550,000 Catholics, or 20 percent of the total population. There are 101 parishes in the diocese, served by 219 priests and 209 deacons.

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Could a U.S. priest face jail for refusing to break confession seal?

by CNA/EWTN News • January 21, 2015

Confessional. (Angela Marie via Flickr CC BY 2.0)

Washington D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a petition from a Louisiana Catholic diocese that fears a civil lawsuit could force a priest to violate the seal of confession or go to jail.

The Diocese of Baton Rouge and diocesan priest Father Jeff Bayhi were disappointed by the decision, which the diocese said has “significant ramifications for religious freedom in Louisiana and beyond.”

“The diocese and Fr. Bayhi will continue their efforts to protect the guarantees of religious freedom set forth in our state and federal constitutions, and are confident that those efforts will, in due course, be successful,” the diocese said in a Jan. 20 statement.

The diocese and the priest are considering “a number of options” for other constitutional challenges in the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court has let stand the Louisiana Supreme Court’s May 2014 ruling that a court hearing is necessary to determine whether state law protects a priest’s conversation during confession with a minor about an alleged sexual abuser in the parish.

Catholic priests are bound to observe the seal of confession and cannot not reveal to anyone the contents of a confession or whether a confession took place. Priests who violate the seal are automatically excommunicated.

At issue is a civil lawsuit involving a woman who said that in 2008, when she was a minor, she told Fr. Bayhi that she was being abused by a parishioner. The alleged conversation with the priest took place during the Sacrament of Confession. The woman is now in her early 20s.

The young woman’s family is now suing the priest and the diocese for damages, saying they were negligent in allowing the abuse to continue, The Times-Picayune newspaper reports. The estate of the man who allegedly molested the woman is also named in the suit. The accused man died in 2009.

A trial court had denied the diocese’s motion to prevent any plaintiffs from testifying about any confessions that may have taken place between the then-minor and the priest. However, a state appeals court had ruled that the alleged confession was legally confidential and that the priest was not a mandatory reporter.

Later, the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned the appeals court. It said that a fact finding hearing should determine whether the priest had the duty to report alleged abuse under the state’s mandatory reporting law. It noted that Louisiana law requires any mandatory reporter to report suspected abuse “notwithstanding any claim of privileged communication.”

The Louisiana Supreme Court also ruled that under state law the priest-penitent privilege belongs to the penitent, not to the priest, and if the penitent waives the privilege then the priest “cannot raise it to protect himself.”

In September 2014, the diocese characterized the legal issue as something that “attacks the seal of confession” and an “attempt by the plaintiffs to have the court compel testimony from the priest.”

Thomas McKenna, the president of the San Diego-based group Catholic Action for Faith and Family, also expressed disappointment that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to give a hearing to the question.

“We had hoped that the Supreme Court would clarify the issue once and for all,” said McKenna, whose organization joined several other groups in filing legal briefs in support of the Baton Rouge diocese and the priest.

He suggested that the plaintiff attorneys modified their position in response to the briefs and began to voice uncertainty about whether they would call the priest to testify about anything he allegedly heard in confession.

“That’s a success,” McKenna said. “Because all these briefs were filed, they changed their tone, and that’s probably why the Supreme Court didn’t accept hearing the case right now.”

If the plaintiff attorneys do call the priest to testify, he said, “we would revisit the case again.”

However, McKenna warned that the case threatens to advance a significant change in American culture when respect for religious freedom is already on the wane.

“This is unprecedented in the history of our country,” he said, saying that a state supreme court has never before ruled that a priest would have to violate the seal of confession.

“We have a civil court calling a priest and disregarding his religious perspective, saying that this is a civil matter and we don’t care what your religion says. You have to tell us.”

“The state has no right to demand from him that he break his vow. That’s what’s very concerning and scary,” McKenna continued. “What you have is the state telling the religion that they have to re-structure and re-order its religion.”

McKenna encouraged Catholics to pray for Fr. Bayhi.

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Support abortion restrictions? So do most Americans

by CNA/EWTN News • January 22, 2015

Women pray outside an abortion clinic in Albany, New York. (40daysforlife.com)

New Haven, CT — Americans continue to show strong support for abortion restrictions, according to a new survey that finds even self-described “pro-choice” Americans reject permissive abortion laws.

“Four decades after Roe v. Wade, the American people remain unhappy with its legacy,” Carl Anderson, CEO of the Knights of Columbus, said Jan. 21. “The survey makes clear that the American people understand that abortion is far too common, and causes great harm.”

Jan. 22 marks the 42nd anniversary of the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which mandated legal abortion nationwide.

While current constitutional law and other major political forces often prevent abortion restrictions from being enacted, a Marist Institute poll sponsored by the Knights of Columbus found that 84 percent of Americans want significant restrictions on abortion and would limit it to the first three months of pregnancy, at most.

Their numbers include about 69 percent of self-described “pro-choice” respondents.

Overall, 60 percent of respondents said abortion is morally wrong, while only 38 percent said it was not. Another 60 percent said that abortion does more harm to a woman than good in the long run.

Another 84 percent say said that laws can protect both the well-being of a woman and the life of an unborn baby.

About 64 percent of people said that the U.S. abortion rate is higher than it should be.

Anderson noted that even self-described pro-choice people want abortion “reduced significantly.”

“It is time that our lawmakers respond to this public consensus with appropriate legislation,” he said.

The survey found that almost 80 percent of Americans support parental notification before a minor can obtain an abortion, and almost 70 percent oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.

Other questions involved freedom of conscience concerns.

About 57 percent of respondents backed legislation allowing medical professionals and organizations to refuse to provide abortions or to refer patients for abortions, while 37 percent did not.

The survey also found that about 70 percent of respondents support religious liberty rights when the law conflicts with religious values.

The Marist Poll, conducted Jan. 7-13, surveyed 2,079 adults in the continental U.S. The survey claims a margin of error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal organization with over 1.8 million members worldwide. Pro-life advocacy and action is among its major charitable efforts.

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Cardinal: No pro-life victory without reaching the marginalized

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • January 22, 2015

Jan. 21, 2015 crowds at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington D.C. — For the pro-life movement to truly succeed, it must fight not only abortion, but also the broader “throwaway culture” wherever life is being discarded, said Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston at a national pro-life Mass.

“What must characterize the pro-life movement is a special love for the poor, the marginalized, the suffering, and especially human life that is in danger of being discarded,” Cardinal O’Malley said in his Jan. 21 homily at the Opening Mass of the National Prayer Vigil for Life.

The cardinal addressed an overflow crowd at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., the largest church in North America. More than 11,000 people were estimated to be in attendance.

Cardinal O’Malley, who heads the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee, was chief celebrant at the Mass. Five additional cardinals, 44 bishops, and 343 priests concelebrated the Mass, according to a basilica spokesperson. Some 100 deacons and 530 seminarians also assisted.

Wednesday evening’s Mass kicked off an all-night prayer vigil at the basilica, which ends with a closing Mass Thursday morning. The prayer vigil precedes the annual March for Life, which marks the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that led to nationwide legal abortion. The march routinely draws hundreds of thousands from across the country to pray and witness in the heart of Washington, D.C.

Drawing from the Gospel of the day, the story of the Rich Young Man, Cardinal O’Malley cited Pope Francis to explain how one must not only keep the commandments but also love the poor.

In the Gospel story, the young man asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. He “went away sad” when Jesus instructed him to go beyond following the commandments by giving all his possessions to the poor and following Christ.

“The Rich Young Man proudly proclaims that he had observed the commandments from his youth,” but he found it “too much” when Jesus commanded him to also give everything he owned to the poor, Cardinal O’Malley noted.

“The rich young man thought it was either/or, but Jesus is telling us it is both/and. We follow the commandments, we are pro-life and we help the poor,” the cardinal stressed.

“Part of the Gospel of Life has to be about loving and helping the poor,” he said. “Indeed, reducing poverty will also reduce the number of abortions. Poor and low income women account for more than half of the abortions performed each year in our country.”

He cited Pope Francis’ warning of today’s “globalization of indifference” and “throwaway culture” to further explain how the evils of abortion and indifference to the poor are connected, not separate.

“Human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded. We have a throw away culture that is now spreading,” the cardinal stated, adding that indifference to such evil “is our greatest enemy.”

“The pro-life movement in the Catholic Church is about overcoming that indifference,” he continued: “indifference to the suffering of a woman in a difficult pregnancy, indifference to the voiceless child who is destined to be part of the statistic of a million killed in the womb each year, indifferent to the poverty and suffering of so many.”

The “antidote” to the “throwaway culture,” he continued, is found in receiving God’s love and giving that love to others.

“The confused young man went away sad because he did not realize how much the Lord loved him. Had he even suspected, I am sure he would have given the money away gladly, but in his insecurity and fear, he leaves. He goes away sad.”

“We must learn to look on people with love,” Cardinal O’Malley added. “An attitude of judgmental self-righteousness is not going to change people’s attitudes and save babies. We need to be the field hospital, not Judge Judy.”

Hearkening back to the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s that helped fight the injustice of racism, the cardinal called on pro-lifers to be the “defense attorney for the innocent unborn” and fight the evil of abortion.

“We shall overcome,” he said.

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Why Junipero Serra’s canonization is important for the new evangelization

by CNA/EWTN News • January 22, 2015

statue of Bl. Junipero Serra at the Mission San Miguel in California. (Ken Figlioli via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

Los Angeles, CA — Although the colonial and missionary period of California’s history is often riddled with bitter memories, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles reflected on the life of the missionary Bl. Junipero Serra as a bold witness to the faith.

“The historical record confirms what Pope Francis believes: that Blessed Junipero Serra was a man of heroic virtue and holiness who had only one burning ambition – to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the peoples of the New World,” Archbishop Gomez noted in his column published Jan. 22.

After Pope Francis announced last week that he will canonize Bl. Junipero Serra in September during his trip to the United States, Archbishop Gomez began to reflect on the Christian missionary foundation that the Americas were built upon.

“Indeed, Padre Serra’s canonization will be a beautiful day in the life of our nation. It will be a day to remember that our state and our country — and all of the nations of the Americas — are born from the Christian mission and built on Christian foundations,” the archbishop stated.

Although the eighteenth century missionary projects yielded some who engaged in abuse and scandal, Archbishop Gomez believes Padre Serra himself was a protector and defender of the native peoples during a time of colonial exploitation and violence.

“We cannot judge 18th century attitudes and behavior by 21st century standards. But the demands of Gospel love are the same in every age. And it is sad but true that, as John Paul II said, in bringing the Gospel to the Americas not all the members of the Church lived up to their Christian responsibilities,” he reflected.

However, despite the scandal that some missionaries brought with them to California, Archbishop Gomez believes that Bl. Junipero Serra was a human rights champion who fought for the dignity of all people, especially the natives.

“Padre Serra was bold and articulate in fighting against the civil authorities to defend the humanity and rights of indigenous peoples,” Archbishop Gomez noted, saying that Bl. Serra was a pioneer of human rights and development in the Americas.

Archbishop Gomez pointed to a 1773 memorandum in which Bl. Junipero Serra wrote about improving the spiritual and material well-being of the indigenous people, while criticizing the military’s mistreatment of natives. In an effort to prevent these cruelties, Padre Serra insisted that missionaries should take over the training and governance of the baptized Native Americans.

“Whatever human faults he may have had and whatever mistakes he may have made, there is no questioning that he lived a life of sacrifice and self-denial,” the archbishop reflected, saying he died giving his life out of love for the Gospel and the native people he came to serve.

Not only did Bl. Junipero Serra offer an important model to follow for the eighteenth century missionaries, but he also continues to pave the way for the new era of cultural encounter. According to Archbishop Gomez, the current generation has much to learn from Padre Serra in the continental mission of the new evangelization.

“The missionaries of that first generation were creative and pioneering students of the indigenous peoples and cultures they served. They learned the local languages, customs, and beliefs. And they sowed the seeds of the Gospel to create a rich Christian civilization,” Archbishop Gomez stated, pointing to Bl. Serra’s witness as inspiration for the new evangelization.

Archbishop Gomez noted that when Bl. Serra traveled from Spain to Mexico, he walked nearly 300 miles to consecrate his mission at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe before coming to California.

“His story reminds us that in God’s plan of salvation, the Gospel was first preached in this country by Spanish missionaries from Mexico, under the sign of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the bright star of America’s first evangelization,” Archbishop Gomez stated.

“All of this should instruct and inspire us as we go forward to be the next generation of missionaries to California and the Americas,” he noted, saying the faithful should be grateful for the gift of the new saint.

“And let us ask Our Lady of Guadalupe to help us to continue her work and the work of America’s first missionaries — in offering Jesus Christ to every man and woman and promoting justice and human dignity.”

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Democrat, feminist, atheist – the growing face of the pro-life movement

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • January 22, 2015

Participants in the 2014 March for Marriage stand outside the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., June 19, 2014. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington D.C. — This isn’t your father’s pro-life movement. A group of young activists is challenging the pro-life stereotype so as to broaden its audience, a move it sees as necessary to achieve a “culture of life.”

“We’re seeing more and more non-traditional pro-lifers,” explained Aimee Murphy of Life Matters Journal, the leader of the newly-minted Pro-Life Alliance. This coalition of groups currently includes Democrats, feminists, secularists and atheists who all agree on one thing – the unborn child in the womb must be protected.

“Our movement is not one that is solely religious or political. It is a movement for human rights,” Murphy stated at the group’s press conference shortly before the 2015 March for Life. Defying their stereotype of the pro-life movement, some of the largely-female crowd sported died-blue hair and hot pink sun glasses.

A short walk away, the official March for Life stage area would be packed with largely-Republican politicians and Christian religious leaders. Estimates of the crowd in attendance at the march were above 200,000. High schoolers, college students, seminarians, and religious showed up in droves.

Yet rightly or wrongly, the newborn coalition claims that it’s been overlooked in a movement that is predominantly Christian and conservative. And it says the movement needs a broader coalition to win over the American public.

“You could outlaw abortion with Republicans alone or Christians alone, but you couldn’t create a culture of life without the support of every human being,” Murphy stated. “Peace cannot be attained by mere factions.”

Mary Fesaldon, a freshman at The Catholic University of America, held a New Wave Feminists sign proclaiming to be “pro-woman,” “pro-education,” and “pro-life.”

“The secular argument is important because that’s how you talk to people,” she insisted, saying Christianity alone will not reach a secular audience. “We have science to back us in the pro-life movement that we don’t take advantage of enough.”

For her, the “new wave” feminism is not about choice, but a return to “equality.” Women today do not have “equality of information,” but are cajoled into believing that abortion is the only option for an unwanted pregnancy, she said.

The defense of life is not a single issue, insisted the president of Consistent Life, Bill Samuel. In addition to abortion, he said, it includes the topics of war, the death penalty, racism, and poverty.

“It’s all got to be tied together,” he told CNA. “The dignity of every life is important.”

“If we want to end abortion, we’re going to need everyone’s help,” Murphy emphasized. “It’s not going to be a partisan effort alone. It will not be one solely by the Catholics or the Evangelicals.”

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March for Life 2015 unites ‘pro-life generation’

by CNA/EWTN News • January 22, 2015

March for Life participants in Washington, DC Jan. 22, 2015. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington, D.C. — “We are the pro-life generation! We are the pro-life generation!” The chant could be heard along Constitution Avenue, as cold weather in the nation’s capital did not deter the masses from taking part in the 2015 March for Life.

The massive crowds – consisting largely of young people – swarmed downtown Washington, D.C., praying, marching and witnessing to life.

Crowds were estimated at upwards of 200,000 for the annual march, which is held on or around Jan. 22 each year to mark the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that mandated legal abortion nationwide.

Pro-lifers flooded Twitter as well, posting pictures of themselves with life-affirming messages and the hashtag #WhyWeMarch.

“I march for love. I march to speak for the unborn babies who cannot speak for themselves,” tweeted one participant, Tiana DeLorge.

“Because human rights apply to all humans,” said another attendee, Carla Burlando.

Priests, seminarians and religious showed up in large numbers. A few bishops even attended as well, traveling from across the country to be present at the event.

“Every life is a gift!” tweeted Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, who posted pictures of himself with march participants.

As in previous years, the crowds were notable for their high number of students. Christendom College in Virginia, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida were among the dozens of schools with significant representation at the event.

Also present were individuals who have suffered firsthand the effects of abortion.

“I march for the women I lied to when I worked in the abortion clinic,” read one participant’s sign.

Other marchers held banners saying, “I regret my abortion” and “Men regret lost fatherhood.”

At a rally preceding the march, speakers offered messages of unity and hope, proclaiming that every life is a gift.

“We have come to stand for the pre-born who could not stand for themselves. We have come to celebrate life and to mourn the millions of babies killed in abortion,” said March for Life president Jeanne Monahan.

“We have come to tell the world that abortion is wrong. It is the taking of innocent life. It has to stop.”

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Who inspires the young pro-lifers of today? Pope Francis

by Matt Hadro (CNA/EWTN News) • January 23, 2015

Young people hold prolife signs during the 2015 March for Life in Washington D.C. on Jan. 22, 2015. (Addie Mena/CNA)

Washington, D.C. — Young pro-life advocates emphasized Pope Francis’ influence on their witness for the defenseless unborn child at the 2015 March for Life, held in the nation’s capital Jan. 22.

“I think one thing we’re aware of, especially in Pope Francis’ tenure, is caring for the least. And there’s no more least than a helpless infant inside a womb,” said Brother John Dominic Bouck, currently a friar at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.

The previous evening at the March for Life vigil Mass, Cardinal O’Malley had called on pro-lifers to be the “defense attorney for the innocent unborn.”

Over 200,000 were estimated to be in attendance at the 41st annual March for Life, a pro-life event held every year since 1973, when the Supreme Court mandated legal abortion nationwide in Roe v. Wade. Pro-lifers traveled from all over the country to witness to the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death.

The theme of this year’s march was “Every Life Is a Gift,” putting special focus on unborn children who receive a “difficult prenatal diagnosis” like Down syndrome or Spina Bifida. As many as 60 to 90 percent of unborn children with such a diagnosis are aborted, according to studies cited by the president of the March for Life Jeanne Monahan.

As in previous years, teenagers and young adults made up a massive portion of the crowd – from high school and college students to seminarians and young religious.

In interviews with CNA, they emphasized their mission to speak for the defenseless unborn children.

Allison Kubacki, a 17-year-old senior at Notre Dame Prep High School in the Auburn Hills area of Michigan, said she attended the march “to be the voices of the voices who are unheard.”

“It also helps me with my faith and finding God again. It’s like a little mini-retreat in a way,” she explained, noting her close friendships with fellow pilgrims as well as access to adoration and confession.

Kubacki was one of some 2,000 high school students who stayed overnight at Catholic University’s athletic facilities.

Another pilgrim from the same group, Kyle Weaver, stressed his duty to speak up for the unborn of his generation.

“We all could have been aborted by Roe v. Wade,” the 17 year-old explained. “We’re all so lucky to be here that we need to give the opportunity to other people.”

Chris Dayton, a seminarian with the Diocese of Trenton, said that “especially for future priests, it’s an opportunity to unite ourselves with what Pope Francis is doing,” which is witnessing for “those who can’t defend themselves.”

“I think we’re the future of the Church,” he added. “If we’re not doing it, no one else is going to tell young people that this is a good cause. So without them, you have no future.”

“If you don’t love the poor, you’re really not Catholic,” said Eric Banecker, a student at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, adding that no one is poorer than an unborn child.

“I think Pope Francis has been insistent on really just giving testimony. Not just practicing the faith on your own, but giving testimony to the rest of the world,” said Sergio, who is currently a seminarian for the Legionaries of Christ in Cheshire, Connecticut.

Ultimately, the march is about “truth,” explained Brother John Dominic.

“It’s important just to testify to the truth. That’s the Dominican motto, ‘truth.’ So maybe if the instant impact isn’t what we’d want it to be, we still have to testify to the truth in good times and bad.”

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From Paul’s Desert to His Garden of Wonder and Delight

by Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, C.S.J. • January 21, 2015

Several years ago, I went to see Philip Groning’s movie, “Into Great Silence,” chronicling the life of Carthusian monks, the most austere religious order in the Catholic Church. It is a silent film without music or commentary, long but riveting. It shows the monks, who live in almost total silence, at prayer, tasks, rituals, and weekly outdoor excursions. Following the spirit of their founder St. Bruno (11th c) into the “Desert of Chartreuse” near Grenoble, France, they have chosen to seclude themselves in their monastery. They have chosen to enter “into a windless zone of impenetrable stillness” (Joseph Roccasalvo, Chartreuse, 105).

Midway through the viewing, a woman sitting behind me, rose in an agitated state. “Where are you going,” whispered her companion? “They’re not doing anything,” she blurted out, shattering the deep, profound silence in the theater. Quickly, she bolted for the exit.

In the Right Time and Place

Saul was a man of three worlds, destined to become God’s ambassador to the Gentiles. He was an Orthodox Jew of the Diaspora from Tarsus in southeastern Turkey. His family sent him to Jerusalem to study with Gamaliel, a leading authority in the Sanhedrin. Saul was also a Hellenized Jew steeped in Greek culture; he spoke and wrote koine Greek. Finally, Saul was a Roman citizen. Proudly did this learned, urbane, and cosmopolitan man wear his threefold identity.

The Narrative

One day on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus, Saul was thrown to the ground, encircled by a great light. He heard the voice of Christ asking, “Saul, Saul, why are persecuting me?” Stunned, he replied, “Who are you, sir?” The voice directed him to visit Ananias, a disciple, where Paul recovered his sight — he had been blinded during the vision — and was filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:13ff). Paul then began preaching Christ in the synagogue. How could this be? In Jerusalem, the persecutor was preaching to the persecuted disciples. Then there were the Hellenists with whom he argued. They were determined to kill him. What to do? He retreated into the Arabian desert and stayed there for three years. But in the desert, there was nothing to do, to paraphrase the woman in the theater. It was now the Spirit’s turn to speak gently, to mold and shape Paul into his supple instrument. Paul had simply to cooperate with God’s innovating activity in the school of the Holy Spirit. On January 25th, the Church celebrates Paul’s conversion of heart.

The Desert

The Scriptures record several instances of people being led into the desert. For the Jews, the desert experience was a mixed blessing. The Lord brought them out of slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. But during the forty-year trek, they experienced physical hardship, and their faith wavered and weakened. Periodically, they worshiped idols. There was nothing to do in the desert but press on to the finish and trust in the innovating activity of God.

Meaning of the Desert

For forty days, Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert over material things, power, and vainglory. Filled with the Spirit from beginning to end, he emerged prepared for his mission.

The desert is the archetypal symbol of a world hostile to God, to nourishment and to growth. It is subject to Satan, and to the death-dealing world to which the Messiah brought new life. The desert is a place of:

1. Physical stripping. Here is one description about the first Carthusians: “Blaise imagined the seven hermits with scythes and axes, cutting their way through the hostile, unyielding forest. Gradually, they made their way into the dreaded wilderness, only to reach a place terrifying for its aridity among boulders spewed forth by volcanoes eons ago. Having reached their destination, the seven hermits began building cabins from branches and a wooden chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Huts” (Roccasalvo, Chartreuse, 105-6).

2. Psychological struggle. One struggles against fatigue, discomfort, thirst and hunger, loneliness, against the devil, the world, and oneself. It is the struggle for peace.

3. Spiritual struggle. Retreat into the desert prompts the person to discern one’s vocation, one’s mission, one’s purpose in life — all the essentials.

4. Wonder. If one can endure the push ahead trusting in Providence, then eventually something beautiful will come out of solitude – a new attitude and vision, a new mandate and mission, a new and vibrant life.

Paul’s Personality and Physical Appearance

Filled with the Spirit, Paul emerged from the desert “a new creation.” The charism received at Damascus was deepened in the desert, which served as the springboard impelling him to travel to the major cities of the Mediterranean, preaching the good news of the crucified and risen Christ.

Due to frail health, Paul dragged himself from place to place — ten thousand miles’ worth — adapting to hardship with the words: “I can do all things in him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). He cut quite a figure, this urbane firebrand with a long, hooked nose, bandy-legged and balding, a man, driven, as though running a race (2 Cor 12:7).

Whenever he left a local Church, he wrote a letter to each of them. The kerygma reflected his total love for the Lord whom he had never met in person. Their content became part of the Church’s canon of belief; it became scripture. How to absorb this incredible fact! Paul had no books at his disposal to research Christ his subject-matter, no mentors to guide him. The gospels hadn’t been written. Where did he gain his knowledge about Jesus Christ? It was in the desert that his life-vision was formed and honed. Here is Paul, the Church’s first theologian whose charism is a gift to the entire Church.

Paul’s Literary Style Different from His Theology

Paul’s eloquence coupled with wisdom and truth attracted the Gentiles. His gift lies in his ability to be all things to all people. His style and language are highly individualistic because of an intense personality, impetuous, single-minded, indefatigable, irrepressible, unflinching, and decisive. He adapts and adjusts his style, now rhetorical, now dogmatic, but also poetic. Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians is a masterpiece on human love. In the sixteenth century, Orlando di Lasso set to a polyphonic motet a portion of the Ode to Love. The music is a beautiful interpretation of the text.

To the Corinthians, his problem child, he railed against fornication and incest. He rebuked the Galatians for favoring a new ideology instead of holding fast to the gospel he brought them (Gal 1:6-8). He tells the Philippians how much he loves them, and how much he loves being loved by them; “In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, they shine like stars in the world” (Phil 1:3ff; 12-13). On all his missions, Christ, the preacher, becomes the preached.

Paul tells us very little about himself except that he has been caught up in the third heaven, and that a thorn was given to him in the flesh to buffet him (2 Cor: 12:1-3; 7-10).The Roman authorities executed him with St. Peter in Rome around A.D. 67. That feast day is celebrated on June 29th.

Through the ages, artists have loved to use Paul as a subject for their masterpieces. He has been depicted in painting and sculpture, mosaics, icons, and stained glass.

The Desert Today

Carthusian monasteries are closed to the public. In 1957, a museum was created at the heart of the Chartreuse Mountains near Grenoble and has already welcomed 5.5 million visitors. Other groups like the Trappists and Benedictines welcome those who seek something beautiful from retreating into a desert experience.

Where is the desert today? Is it within? “The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in the stars, but in ourselves,” writes Shakespeare. Is it without as well?

What of the woman who couldn’t bear to see what she considered the monks doing nothing? It should be noted that Catholic monasteries have long waiting lists, very long waiting lists, of men and women who are eager to retreat into the desert, if only for a weekend, there to meet God or their unknown God. They long to savor the silence, to listen to Gregorian chant, and to pray the Liturgy of the Hours, to reflect, to pray for their families and for direction in their lives, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit as Paul was in his desert. Or, simply to be in the presence of a monastic community that witnesses to Transcendence. Finally, to emerge refreshed as new creations.

Out of Paul’s Desert … a Garden of Wonder and Delight

Paul’s letters are surely a garden of wonder and delight. His memorable expressions are flowers bringing their color and vibrancy into our lives. In the end, it was through his letters that St. Paul changed the course of history. Some verses are suggested below for prayer.

1 Thessalonians

4:4 What God wants is for you to be holy.

4:11 Live quietly attending to your own business and earning your living.

5:2 The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Galatians

5:6 What matters is that faith makes its power felt through love.

5:14 If you go snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, you had better watch or you will destroy the whole community.

6:2 You should carry one another’s burdens and troubles, and thus to fulfill the law of Christ.

Letters to the Corinthians

In all, there are four.

Letter One is lost.

Letter Two is 1 Corinthians.

Letter Three, the ‘letter of tears’ about the Corinthians, is lost.

Letter Four is 2 Corinthians.

1 Corinthians

1:25 For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

2: 3 I preach only Christ and Christ crucified.

3: 16-17 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you? The temple of God is sacred, and you are that temple.

5: 7 So get rid of all the old yeast and make yourselves into a completely new batch of bread.

12 and 13 Both chapters

2 Corinthians

5:17 If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

5:20 We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Philippians

1:3 I thank my God whenever I think of you; every time I pray for you, I pray with joy.

2: 5-11 The Hymn of Self-Emptying

3:12, 14 I am still running, trying to capture the prize, and I strain ahead for what is still to come. … I am racing for the finish, for the prize.

Ephesians

2:10 We are God’s work of art created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as he had meant us to live it from the beginning.

3:20-21 He whose power is at work in us is powerful enough and more than powerful enough to carry out his purpose beyond all our hopes and dreams (Ronald Knox translation)..

Romans

5:21 Where sin did abound, grace did more abound.

6:8 We believe that having died with Christ, we shall also live with Christ.

7:15-16 I cannot understand my own behavior. I fail to carry out the things I want to do, and I find myself doing the very things I hate.

8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Sr. Joan L. Roccasalvo, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, Brentwood, NY, holds degrees in philosophy (Ph.L), musicology (Ph.D.), theology (M.A.), and liturgical studies (Ph.D). She has taught at all levels of Catholic education and writes with a particular focus on a theology of beauty and the sacred arts. Her e-mail address is jroccasalvo@optonline.net.

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Choose Life and Compassion

by Jennifer Manning • January 22, 2015

Today the House is set to vote on a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks gestation. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill, and frankly, the outrage surrounding this bill is heartbreaking — it has been called an “assault” on women’s reproductive rights and a “dismantling” of reproductive freedom. There are many angles to this story — women’s rights, the child’s rights, how to define the beginning of a human life — but I’d like to write on something rarely mentioned: compassion.

I am a new mom. My son was born just 8 weeks ago, and when he is sleeping (which is rare) I like to gaze at him and watch his little chest rise and fall as he breathes. He is just 8 weeks old — a tiny, ten pound human person — and I’ve loved him from the second I found out that I was pregnant.

I’ll never forget the joy and excitement that my husband and I felt during the 20 week anatomy scan. We watched in awe as the ultrasound technician waved her wand across my ever-expanding belly. We saw all of his major organs — his heart, stomach, brain. We were especially in awe of his spine; we could see every tiny little bone. It was breathtaking.

But pregnancy is not perfect. Mothers and fathers receive devastating news about their child’s development in utero. Children are conceived through the violence of rape. Children are conceived by single mothers, by women without any support system. As with all things in life, what is a source of boundless joy for one can be an unspeakable challenge for another.

But in spite of it all, why must it be legal in this country to take the life of another human being? And why must it not only be legal, but be trumpeted as this great right belonging to women? Can we not be people of compassion — people who care deeply about both the mother and child? Why do we insist that the rights of mother and child be mutually exclusive?

Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for women, recently wrote a piece for the Huffington Post titled, “Abortion rights are human rights.” O’Neill asks, “Why are my rights as a woman less important that anyone else’s?” The answer: They aren’t. And they aren’t more important either. Human rights are human rights — rights that belong to each and every human. No one’s rights trump those of another. O’Neill goes on to argue that, “If you accept that human rights exist, and that they apply to all of us, you can’t pick and choose which rights you like and which you want to eliminate. Abortion rights are human rights, and no one should be denied their most basic human rights.” Yet what right is more basic than the right to life itself? And if today it is ok to deny human beings — tiny, developing, defenseless human beings — the right to life, what will be acceptable tomorrow? The mentality that one (stronger) person can have power over the life of another (weaker) person is the most dangerous ideology in modern times. Accept this, believe this, and pave the way for more atrocities.

If all of us have an equal right to life — and by “all of us” I mean every man, woman, and child (even the developing ones) — how do we support the women who see abortion as the answer? Compassion. We have to acknowledge that in order to make abortion unthinkable, women need help. They need to know that they are not alone.

I had the joy of meeting this week with Sr. Lizen, a sister of the Missionaries of Charity. The sisters run a home in Dorchester, MA that provides shelter and meals to under-supported women and their babies. At the end of our visit, Sr. Lizen led us into their chapel and I noticed a list of prayer intentions on the wall. Here, the women and others who visit the home can write their prayers and be assured of the loving compassion of the sisters. The work that these women do is just one small example of what we need to be doing to encourage women to choose life both for themselves and for their little ones.

Today thousands of people will march in Washington, D.C. to stand up for that most basic of human rights — the right to life. Let us join them in prayer and in hope for a more compassionate world.

Jennifer Manning is a Catholic schoolteacher in Massachusetts and a volunteer with Catholic Voices USA.

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Wine into Water

by Alice von Hildebrand • January 23, 2015

One of the gems that Kierkegaard has left us is to remind us that the Bible should be read on our knees - thereby condemning secular Biblical scholars who approach it “critically,” aiming at “debunking myths.” They pride themselves that they are “scientifically minded” and that science alone can give us valid knowledge.

Christmas is one of the most joyous days of the year. The overwhelming news given to Mary by Gabriel at Nazareth, now finds its fulfillment in a humble cave at Bethlehem. What is most striking in this face to face holy dialogue between the Angel and the young virgin is its sparseness of words. His greeting, however, is eloquent: he calls her “full of grace,” and shares with her the divine message. She is deeply troubled by his words, and raises a question: “how can this be?” He puts her mind at peace, and then, the Blessed one utters words that should resound in our hearts every day of our lives: “I am the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to Thy words.” He then departs.

For the next nine months, the Son of the most High will grow, hidden in the sacred temple of Mary’s womb. This unfathomable mystery will, however, be revealed in a dream to her holy spouse (Matt 1- 20). Joseph is never granted a face to face dialogue. Finally on the 25th of December, in the cave of a small village, the Blessed One among women, gives birth to the Savior of the world.

Whereas we are deigned to know the words spoken by Gabriel and Mary’s reply, here there is only deafening silence. Mary gave birth to a son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and put Him in a manger.

How tempting for modern man, infected by the poison of an unhealthy curiosity triggered by television, to assume that some concrete detail about this divine birth will make it more savory, more “convincing,” more likely to be accepted by “modern man.” This is why it has been suggested that, following Jesus’ birth, the blessed one among women, like all mothers, ejected a placenta. I recall touching upon this theme with Cardinal Arinze. His Eminence’s comment was: God has revealed what we need to know for our redemption, but He said nothing to satisfy our curiosity. Such suggestions, however well meant, must make the angels cry: for the supernatural is inevitably desecrated by being dragged down on a purely natural level.

This is the temptation menacing many “biblical scholars” – with the tragic consequences that faith is inevitably undermined.

In fact, what are we entitled to know? Our blessed faith tells us that Mary was a virgin prius ac posterius, that is both when she conceived our Savior and when she gave him birth: To be a mother and remain a virgin, to give birth and remain a virgin, never entered a man’s head: the supernatural must be received on our knees, in fear and trembling. How inspired G.K Chesterton was when he wrote that man should not forget “how tall he is on his knees.” The birth of Christ, like his conception, is an unfathomable mystery.

St. Joseph alone was present. This most privileged human male, several times mentioned in the Gospel, is one of the most mysterious in the New Testament. He never utters a single word, and moreover, all the messages he received are given to him in dreams. It was by means of a dream that he was informed that his holy wife - visibly pregnant - had been fecundated by the Holy Spirit. He believed. It is also in a dream that he is ordered to take the child and his mother to Egypt to escape from the murderous intentions of Herod (Matt. 2- 13). He does not question or object: he obeys. Once again it is this mysterious means of communication which tells him to take the Mother and her Child to Nazareth where they settled; he obeys (Matt. 2- 19). We also know that he was a carpenter, providing by means of his trade the needs of the Holy Family. He never says a word, but his deafening silence teaches us a most precious lesson - namely, that trembling reverence and reverent trembling are the only adequate responses when facing a mystery. Joseph listens and obeys. What a lesson for us: this most silent of all saints is in some way the most eloquent precisely because – to those who have ears to hear – the willingness to listen in silence grants us insights into the “Mysteries of the great King,” compared with which long perorations are only a mere flatus vocis. Many are those who do not hear because they do not want to. To purposely close our ears explains “the hardness of the human heart” mentioned by Christ – a hardness that can only be softened by humility. The condition sine qua non for hearing a divine message is the willingness to obey it once perceived. Deafness goes hand in hand with the unwillingness to obey. A deaf person knowing that he is deaf will desperately try to perceive others’ voices, often has recourse to a hearing aid to be receptive to its information or command. The very opposite takes place in this case. Many are those, alas, who willingly blocks their ears, and then can “honestly”say : “I did not hear.”

One of the many dangers menacing us today is noise: we are deafened by it wherever we go; moreover we are bombarded by a deluge of visual sensations. One wonders whether it does not damage the human brain, incapable of registering such a torrent of images. To place a small child in front of television, so that mammy “can have peace” is, I fear, a very risky solution. Psychologists will tell you how many children are restless and already at an early age, manifest psychological problems. Common sense tells us that stability and quiet are crucial for infants, and not only for them. I know young children age one or two who have already traveled thousands and thousands of miles. Their parents are so restless that any excuse is good to go away from home. It is not by accident that in his holy rule, St. Benedict underlines the crucial importance of stability and silence in spiritual life. As a matter of fact, a monk is not permitted to speak until questioned, and is told never open his mouth except to relay necessary information or share words of loving wisdom. (Holy Rule: Chapter VI)

The Gospel tells us that when we shall face our Creator, we shall be held responsible for every unnecessary word we have uttered. How many of us, when making our examination of conscience at night, ask ourselves: how often in the course of the day “have I disobeyed this wise advice, nay this command?” It is, however, related that once the greatest King of France, St.Louis IX invited St. Thomas Aquinas to dinner. Apparently the Silent Ox never opened his mouth. The King gently hinted at the fact that when sharing a meal, it is lovingly charitable to exchange ideas.

May I suggest that there is still another reason for veiling what happened in the course of the Christmas night. The Bible informs us that the King has secrets, and in this vale of tears, very few are granted to have insights into some of them. We should realize that “we are not worthy” to know them. In eternity, when everything “will be made new,” we shall grow new organs, that will enable us to have some insight into divine mysteries. The degree of ‘intimacy’ with these divine secrets will depend upon the degree of holiness that, with God’s grace, we have attained. It was St. Teresa who wrote that not two persons in heaven will have exactly the same degree of closeness to God. But whether small or great, all the blessed ones will all joyfully join the choir of angels singing ‘Holy Holy Holy.’

Indeed we should read the Gospels on our knees.

Alice von Hildebrand is a lecturer and an author, whose works include: The Privilege of Being a Woman (2002) and The Soul of a Lion: The Life of Dietrich von Hildebrand (2000), a biography of her late husband. She was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory by Pope Francis in 2013.

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Movie Review: ‘Mortdecai’

by Carl Kozlowski • January 24, 2015

Johnny Depp has had a rough time in the last couple of years, with a string of bombs including “The Lone Ranger” and “Transcendence.” Now, he’s returned as yet another in his endless string of oddball characters in “Mortdecai,” an art-heist farce that I’ll admit most critics have derided but which I - and the audience of regular folks that I saw it with - laughed heartily at.

It stars Depp as Charlie Mortdecai, a wealthy yet financially imperiled and shady art dealer who travels the globe selling famous paintings at nonetheless overpriced levels. His tendency to sell paintings that aren’t supposed to be sold - classics that are supposed to be in museums - for outrageous amounts frequently gets him in trouble and requires him to have an assistant named Jock (Paul Bettany), who is always ready to help Mortdecai fight or shoot his way out of a tense situation with angry customers.

Mortdecai’s other main associate is his wife Johanna (Gwyneth Paltrow), who jumps in to save the day when necessary. As the movie opens, the couple are eight million pounds in debt to the British government in back taxes, making them obligated to help out when an old friend of theirs, a secret-police inspector named Martland (Ewan McGregor), shows up and asks them to help track down a painting by the famed artist Goya that’s been stolen and is believed to be also pursued by a Syrian terrorist.

They come to realize that the painting in question has long been rumored to have been in Nazi hands at one point, and that the back of the frame has codes to a bank account worth millions. With numerous private collectors dying to get their hands on the painting - including the terrorist, the MI5 intelligence agency, and assorted other angry past clients who want to make up for Mortdecai’s scheming and rip him off in return - globetrotting comic escapades ensue.

“Mortdecai” has been savaged by most critics as being heavy-handed, but I and the audience I saw it with laughed and chuckled throughout. Depp’s character is an utterly self-absorbed twit who, in a running gag, values his new mustache more than his wife (who hates it and threatens to leave him if he won’t shave it off).

It resembles “Austin Powers” movies, if they were made in the lush visual style of Wes Anderson (of “Grand Budapest Hotel” and “The Royal Tenenbaums”) fame. There are sexual innuendos at a rapid clip throughout the movie, but most of them are still much less crass than those uttered by Mike Myers’ Austin Powers in those films.

In fact, some of the lines are quite brilliant and really quite tame in the scheme of things. However, there is one truly crass line in the movie and the only actual sex shown is a three-second glimpse of a young Johanna on top of Mortdecai in a college dorm room in their pre-marriage days, with it implied that she’s nude but no breasts or other sexual organs are shown.

Mortdecai and Martland were romantic rivals for Johanna in college, until Martland stumbled across Mortdecai and Johanna engaged in their illicit activity. Thus, there is also some teasing between the men, as Martland keeps joking that he’ll step in and replace Mortdecai if she chooses to leave him over the mustache or their poor finances.

Language-wise, there is just one F-word, but an assortment of British bad-slang terms including “bugger,” “bloody,” “bastard,” “balls,” “hell,” and “sod,” plus “bitch” are heard several times throughout. God’s name is heard in vain about 10 times total, in the form of “Jesus,” “God” and “Christ.” But in an age when R-rated movies are packed wall to wall with F-words, hearing just one here and having British slang replace cruder American terms is much easier on the ears than many other films.

There is plenty of comic action violence throughout, with shootings, bodies found stabbed, a couple of accidental fires and a very funny car chase, but all of it is played at a level that’s cartoonish and which children could easily enjoy if it weren’t for the rating being slapped on for the innuendos. For the record, this movie was rated OK for 6 year olds in Canada and 12 or 13 year olds pretty much everywhere else on the planet. I’m usually fine with accepting American film ratings and never normally say an R-rated film is okay for kids (though “American Sniper” should be seen by most older teens, 15 or 16 and up), but “Mortdecai” really is one that will not harm most kids age 10 or 12 and up and might likely make for a funny family trip to the movies for those with older children and teens.

Carl Kozlowski has been a professional film critic and essayist for the past five years at Pasadena Weekly, in addition to the Christian movie site Movieguide.org, the conservative pop culture site Breitbart.coms Big Hollywood, the Christian pop culture magazine Relevant and New City newspaper in Chicago. He also writes in-depth celebrity interviews for Esquire.com and The Progressive. He is owner of the podcasting site radiotitans.com, which was named one of the Frontier Fifty in 2013 as one of the 50 best talk-radio outlets in the nation by talkers.com and will be relaunching it in January 2014 after a five-month sabbatical. He lives in Los Angeles.

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SUNDAY • JANUARY 25, 2015

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Jon 3:1-5, 10; NRSVCE)

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

Second Reading (1 Cor 7:29-31; NRSVCE)

I mean, brothers and sisters, the appointed time has grown short; from now on, let even those who have wives be as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.

Gospel Reading (Mk 1:14-20; NRSVCE)

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea — for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

MONDAY • JANUARY 26, 2015

Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus

First Reading (2 Tm 1:1-8; NRSVCE)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God — whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did — when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God

Gospel Reading (Mk 3:22-30; NRSVCE)

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” And Jesus called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

“Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” — for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

TUESDAY • JANUARY 27, 2015

Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Heb 10:1-10; NRSVCE)

Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach. Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,

but a body you have prepared for me;

in burnt offerings and sin offerings

you have taken no pleasure.

Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’

(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”

When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Gospel Reading (Mk 3:31-35; NRSVCE)

Then the mother of Jesus and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to Jesus and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 28, 2015

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas

First Reading (Heb 10:11-18; NRSVCE)

And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

“This is the covenant that I will make with them

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their hearts,

and I will write them on their minds,”

he also adds,

“I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Gospel Reading (Mk 4:1-20; NRSVCE)

Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”

When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that

‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,

and may indeed listen, but not understand;

so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”

And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

THURSDAY • JANUARY 29, 2015

Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Heb 10:19-25; NRSVCE)

Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Gospel Reading (Mk 4:21-25; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”

FRIDAY • JANUARY 30, 2015

Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

First Reading (Heb 10:32-39; NRSVCE)

But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet

“in a very little while,

the one who is coming will come and will not delay;

but my righteous one will live by faith.

My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.”

But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.

Gospel Reading (Mk 4:26-34; NRSVCE)

Jesus said to the crowd, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”

He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

SATURDAY • JANUARY 31, 2015

Memorial of Saint John Bosco

First Reading (Heb 11:1-2, 8-19; NRSVCE)

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old — and Sarah herself was barren — because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.”

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, of whom he had been told, “It is through Isaac that descendants shall be named for you.” He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead — and figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Gospel Reading (Mk 4:35-41; NRSVCE)

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”