Releases climate change letter
Pope Francis blames human selfishness for global warming in his long-awaited encyclical calling for action on climate change. In the letter, he urges the rich to change their lifestyles to avert the destruction of the ecosystem. In excerpts from the 184-page document:
What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? The question not only concerns the environment in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal…Today, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.
Angel of Peace medal
The Pope presents presents Abbas with a medallion with the angel of peace on it, and praises his efforts at establishing a Palestinian State peacefully.
This gift is appropriate since you are an angel of peace destroying the bad spirit of war.
Israel: Treaty does not promote peace process
Israel is releases a statement about the Vatican’s treaty recognizing Palestine as a State.
This move does not promote the peace process and distances the Palestinian leadership from returning to direct and bilateral negotiations. Israel will study the agreement and will consider its steps accordingly.
Pays tribute to today’s martyrs
During Palm Sunday’s celebrations, Francis pays tribute to those who have been and who are being killed for their faith, especially referring to victims of ISIS.
We think too of the humiliation endured by all those who, for their lives of fidelity to the Gospel, encounter discrimination and pay a personal price…We think too of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because they are Christians, the martyrs of our own time. There are many of them. They refuse to deny Jesus and they endure insult and injury with dignity.
Vatican statement
The Vatican issues a statement regarding Francis’ comments about ‘Mexicanization’. Rev. Federico Lombardi:
The pope intended only to emphasize the seriousness of the phenomenon of the drug trafficking that afflicts Mexico and other countries in Latin America. It is precisely this importance that has made the fight against drug trafficking a priority for the government.
Responds to ‘Mexicanization’ comment
Meade responds to Pope Francis’ ‘Mexicanization’ comment.
We would like to express our sadness and concern about the statements made regarding a private letter from Pope Francis.
‘Mexicanization’ comment
0 CommentsFrancis comments on the ‘Mexicanization’ of his native country Argentina, referring to the increase in drug trafficking in the country, in a private e-mail to Argentine lawmaker, Gustavo Vera, who publishes it on his website for the Alameda Foundation.
Hopefully, we are still in time to avoid the ‘Mexicanization.’
Pope calls refugees
0 CommentsPope Francis makes a surprise call to refugees fleeing ISIS and located in a tent camp in Ankawa. He says they are like Jesus as there is no place for them:
You’re like Jesus on this night, and I bless you and am close to you. I embrace you all and wish for you a holy Christmas.
Urges world to be open to God
0 CommentsPope Francis urges 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide to allow God into their lives to help combat darkness and corruption. It is his second Christmas as the first non-European Pope in 1,300 years. Homily:
[God’s message of peace] is stronger than darkness and corruption. The question put to us simply by the infant’s presence is, ‘Do I allow God to love me?’ Do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us …? How much the world needs tenderness today!
Homily: World needs tenderness
0 CommentsText is released of Pope Francis’s Christmas Eve homily:
The question put to us simply by the Infant’s presence is: do I allow God to love me?
More so, do we have the courage to welcome with tenderness the difficulties and problems of those who are near to us, or do we prefer impersonal solutions, perhaps effective but devoid of the warmth of the Gospel? How much the world needs tenderness today!
Gives sleeping bags to homeless
0 CommentsPope Francis celebrates his 78th birthday by handing out hundreds of sleeping bags to homeless people living on the streets in Vatican City. His archbishop in charge of charitable giving, Konrad Krajewski, leads a group of volunteers to distribute the bags.
Says Qu’ran is book of peace
0 CommentsPope Francis says the Islamic holy text is a book of peace and that extreme actions by fundamentalist Islamists should not be held as representative of the faith itself:
The Qur’an is a book of peace. It is a prophetic book of peace. You just can’t say that [extremists represent the entire faith], just as you can’t say all Christians are fundamentalists. We have our share of [fundamentalists]. All religions have these little groups.
Man’s greed will destroy the world
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Pope Francis tells the Second International Conference on Nutrition (CIN2) in Rome that over-use of the planet’s resources will create a doomsday event:
God always forgives, but the earth does not. Take care of the earth so it does not respond with destruction
To make first visit to US
0 CommentsPope Francis plans to make his first trip to the United States as the head of the Catholic Church in September 2015. Pope Francis is to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput in a statement:
It is the answer to the countless prayers of so many people who have asked God to guide Pope Francis to Philadelphia, the culmination of many months of hopeful anticipation, and the fulfillment of my own confidence that the Holy Father would grace us with his presence next year.
Says heaven is a party
0 CommentsPope Francis says in a homily during Mass that heaven is like a feast or party, where people rejoice together, rather than a show or spectacle like a wedding where people go to see or be seen. Pope Francis:
The Lord never says that the Kingdom of God is a show. It’s a party! But it is different. And a party is beautiful, of course. A big party. And Heaven will be a party.
Arrives in Albania
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Pope Francis arrives in Albania to meet with 11 heads of various religious communities to promote harmony. Francis is only the second pope to visit Albania. Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1992. Due to reported planned attacks by Islamic militants, security is very tight. Albania has raised its police force alert to the highest level, and the Interior Ministry is promising “maximum” protection by the deployment of 2,500 police and the setting up of 29 security checkpoints in the capital, Tirana. During the visit, Francis will meet Albanian President Bujar Nishani, celebrate mass in Mother Teresa square in Tirana,and meet with religious leaders, including those of the Muslim, Orthodox, Bektashi, Jewish and Protestant faith. According to official data, 59 percent of Albania’s population are Muslim, while Catholics make up 10 percent and Orthodox Christian slightly less.
Marries 20 couples
0 CommentsPope Francis marries 20 couples at the Vatican, including some who had lived together and one that had a child before marriage. Sex outside marriage remains a sin according to Vatican doctrine. Francis says the church has a duty to forgive:
To spouses who ‘have become impatient on the way’ and who succumb to the dangerous temptation of discouragement, infidelity, weakness, abandonment, God the Father gives his Son Jesus, not to condemn them.
Guido Tassaro, who married partner Gabriella Improt with whom he has children, says being married by the Pope had seemed ‘impossible’:
When we discovered that it was happening, that it wasn’t a dream — well, it transformed us.
Vatican observers say the ceremony is designed to send a signal that the church is becoming more inclusive. The previous marriage ceremony by a pontiff was performed in 2000.
‘Third world war’
Pope Francis says that conflicts around the globe represent a third World War. During a Mass held at Italy’s largest war memorial, a Fascist-era monument where 100,000 soldiers who died in World War One are buried, the pontiff appears to be referring to the recent conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Gaza, Ukraine and Africa. The homily:
Humanity needs to weep and this is the time to weep … War is madness. Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction … War is irrational; its only plan is to bring destruction: it seeks to grow by destroying. Greed, intolerance, the lust for power. These motives underlie the decision to go to war and they are too often justified by an ideology.
Vatican: Pope threat ‘nothing serious’
The Vatican downplays the possibility of ISIS posing a threat to the Pope, following a report by Il Tempo newspaper that the pontiff is being targeted by the militant group as the world’s most prominent Christian leader. A spokesman:
There is nothing serious to this. There is no particular concern in the Vatican.
Report: ISIS targeting Pope
A report in Il Tempo newspaper cites unnamed intelligence officials as saying that ISIS is targeting Pope Francis in order to ‘raise the level of confrontation’ in the Western world. It says the pontiff is the ‘greatest exponent of the Christian religions’ and a ‘bearer of false truths’ against Islam, and that he is…
…in the crosshairs of ISIS