Iranian miners look on at the scene of a blast at a coal mine in Tabas in Iran’s Khorasan province on Sept. 22, 2024. The blast caused by a gas leak at the coal mine in eastern Iran has killed at least 50 people, state media said Sept. 22, in one of Iran’s deadliest work accidents in years. / Credit: MOHSEN NOFERESTY/IRNA/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Sep 25, 2024 / 09:50 am (CNA).

Pope Francis said Wednesday he is praying for the dozens of victims of a deadly coal mine explosion in Tabas, Iran, that happened last Saturday.

The Sept. 21 incident in the South Khorasan Province killed at least 51 people and injured another 20, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The explosion was caused by a methane gas leak.

In a message of condolences signed by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope expressed his sorrow for those affected and sent “the assurance of his prayers for those who died and for their grieving families.”

“Likewise expressing his spiritual solidarity with the wounded, His Holiness invokes upon all affected by this tragedy the Almighty’s blessings of strength, consolation, and peace,” the short telegram to victims concluded.

A similar coal mine explosion in Iran in 2017 killed 42 people and injured at least 75 others.

The mine in Tabas, located about 340 miles from Tehran, is owned and operated by Madanjoo Company. There were 69 workers inside the coal mine at the time of the explosion at 9 p.m. local time.

Pope Francis spoke about pornography and how to avoid the temptation to sin during the 500th general audience of his pontificate, held in St. Peter's Square on Sept. 25, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Sep 25, 2024 / 05:55 am (CNA).

Pope Francis at his general audience on Wednesday called pornography a work of the devil, and warned Christians to reject this and other temptations accessed through the internet.

“Any cell phone has access to this brutality, this language of the devil,” the pope said at the weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square Sept. 25.

While modern technology has many positive resources to appreciate, he noted, it also gives the devil an opportunity to tempt us, “and many people fall for it.”

“Think of internet pornography, which there is a thriving market behind,” he continued. “We all know the devil works there.”

Pope Francis spoke about pornography and how to avoid the temptation to sin during the 500th general audience of his pontificate. 

Addressing thousands at the Vatican, he said pornography “is a very widespread phenomenon, but one that Christians must be very careful to guard against and strongly reject.”

At the Wednesday audience on the eve of a four-day trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, the pontiff spoke softly and had to pause occasionally to cough, after canceling two meetings on Monday morning due to suffering from “flu-like” symptoms, according to the Vatican.

Pope Francis walks to his chair for the general audience in St. Peter's Square, Sept. 25, 2024. The pope spoke softly and had to pause occasionally to cough after canceling two meetings earlier in the week due to what the Vatican said was a “mild flu-like condition.”. Credit: Daniel Ibanez/CNA

The pope’s catechesis was the latest in a series of reflections on the Holy Spirit as a guide, and took inspiration from the beginning of the fourth chapter of Luke, when, “filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.”

“In the wilderness, Jesus freed himself of Satan, and now he can deliver from Satan,” Francis underlined, noting that by going into the wilderness Jesus was following an inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Pope Francis offered advice for avoiding sin when tempted by the devil, including not to believe in superstition or to become involved with occultism, spiritualism, astrologers, sellers of spells and amulets, and satanic sects, which are prevalent despite modern society’s denial of the existence of Satan.

He also said, when temptation hits, to ask the Virgin Mary for help, and to immediately send the devil away — “do not dialogue with the demon.”

“Be careful because the devil is clever, but we Christians, thank God, are smarter than he is,” the pope reminded.

Quoting from a Father of the Church, Saint Caesarius of Arles, Francis said, “after Christ on the cross, defeated forever the power of the ‘ruler of this world,’ the devil … ‘is bound, like a dog on a chain; he cannot bite anyone except those who, defying the danger, go near him... He can bark, he can urge, but he can bite only those who want.’”

While it is true, the pontiff continued, that the devil is present and working in extreme forms of evil and wickedness in human history, do not be discouraged.

“The final thought must be, also in this case, of trust and safety,” he said. “Christ overcame the devil and gave us the Holy Spirit to make His victory our own. The very action of the enemy can turn to our advantage, if with God’s help we make it serve our purification.”

He concluded by encouraging everyone to ask the Holy Spirit for help, using words from the hymn, “Veni Creator:”

“Drive far away our wily Foe,

And Thine abiding peace bestow;

If Thou be our protecting Guide,

No evil can our steps betide.”

Pope Francis meets with Aung San Suu Kyi, winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, in the Diplomatic Corps Hall at the Vatican on Nov. 28, 2017. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano/CNA

Vatican City, Sep 24, 2024 / 12:55 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis said he has offered Myanmar’s imprisoned prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi to come to the Vatican.

In a meeting with Jesuits in Indonesia earlier this month, the pope said he “called for the release of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and received her son in Rome. I offered the Vatican as a place of refuge for her.”

The prime minister, who has been in prison since she was ousted in a military coup in February 2021, “is a symbol, and political symbols are to be defended,” Francis added.

The pope commented on the situation in Myanmar in a private meeting with about 200 Jesuits at the apostolic nunciature in Jakarta during his Sept. 2–13 trip to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania.

The transcript of Pope Francis’ three meetings with Jesuits — in Indonesia, East Timor, and Singapore — were published in the Jesuit journal La Civiltá Cattolica on Sept. 24. 

In the Sept. 4 meeting, a Jesuit from Myanmar spoke about the difficult situation in his country and asked Pope Francis’ advice. “We have lost our lives, family, dreams, and future. How do we not lose hope?” he said.

“The situation in Myanmar is difficult,” the pontiff responded. “Look, there is no universal answer to your question. There are good young people fighting for their homeland. In Myanmar today you cannot be silent; you have to do something! The future of your country must be peace, based on respect for the dignity and rights of all, on respect for a democratic order that allows each person to contribute to the common good.”

Myanmar in turmoil since 2021 coup d’état

Myanmar has been wracked by violent conflict since Aung San Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner elected in a November 2020 general election, was ousted in a military coup three years ago. 

The coup d’état triggered widespread resistance, mass protests, and an escalation of armed conflicts across the country, thrusting Myanmar into its current, unprecedented humanitarian and human rights crisis. 

In May, in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, archbishop of Yangon in Myanmar, said there is an “unprecedented state of turmoil and suffering, which seems to have no end” in the country after a coup d’état at the beginning of 2021.

The conflict has led to the bombing or damage of more than 100 places of worship, the cardinal said, and the violence has spread in many areas of the territory.

In addition, he said that almost 3 million people have been displaced and are in urgent need of assistance, which has been arriving little by little thanks to the work of the Catholic Church and other nongovernmental organizations such as Religions for Peace. 

Persecution of country’s Christians 

Amid the ongoing violent conflict between the military junta and resistance forces in the region, the aid group Christian Solidarity International warned in February of a rise in violence against the persecuted Christian minority in Myanmar, with an advocate warning that ethnic-minority Christians there “are subjected to cruel ethnic-cleansing campaigns.”

Although Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country, the constitution guarantees religious freedom. However, in the interview with ACI Prensa, Bo pointed out a worrying reality: “The last decade saw the emergence of fundamentalist forces that targeted minority religions.”

In April a Myanmar priest was shot while celebrating Mass in the state of Kachin, according to media reports.

Masked assailants shot Father Paul Khwi Shane Aung as he celebrated Mass at St. Patrick Church in the town of Mohnyin in the northern region of Myanmar. The priest “was rushed to a hospital in Mohnyin and was later moved to a hospital in Myitkyina,” according to UCA News.

Bishop Paul Kyung Sang Lee is auxiliary bishop of Seoul and general coordinator for WYD Seoul 2027. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Sep 24, 2024 / 12:25 pm (CNA).

The Vatican on Tuesday unveiled the theme of the next international World Youth Day — which will be in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027 — and the theme of the local World Youth Day happening during the Jubilee Year 2025 in Rome.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell also announced that in Rome on Nov. 24, the solemnity of Christ the King, participants in World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, Portugal, will hand over the symbols of the international Catholic gathering — the youth cross and an icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani — to young people from Seoul during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.

“This is an evocative ‘passing of the baton’ that will mark the beginning of the Korean Church’s spiritual preparation for World Youth Day,” the prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family, and Life said at a press conference at the Vatican on Sept. 24.

‘Take Courage! I Have Overcome the World’

The theme of World Youth Day 2027 in South Korea (and in 2026) will be: “Take Courage! I Have Overcome the World,” taken from the Gospel of John 16:33.

Next year, World Youth Day will take place as part of the Jubilee Year celebrations in Rome, during the Jubilee of Youth from July 28–Aug. 3, 2025.

The theme for the mini World Youth Day 2025 will be “You Also Are My Witnesses, Because You Have Been With Me,” from John 15:27.

The Catholic Church has celebrated World Youth Day (WYD) since the event was first established by Pope John Paul II in 1985.

WYD is observed annually in local dioceses, but every several years there is a weeklong international celebration, typically in July or August, drawing hundreds of thousands of people. 

The themes for the next World Youth Days “are taken from the Gospel of John. They belong to what is known as Jesus’ ‘farewell discourse,’ when he prepares his disciples to experience the mystery of his passion and death in the certainty of his resurrection,” Farrell said.

Thematic focus

The two themes, the cardinal said, focus “on witnessing and on the courage that stems from Jesus’ paschal victory.”

The theme was chosen because the world we live in has become so secularized and “there is a great possibility that young people could lose their hope, could lose their courage to live their faith,” Farrell said.

WYD is an opportunity to encourage young people to evangelize through their lives and example, he said: “Don’t change people’s ways of living by preaching, do it by actual practice. That’s what young people are good at doing. It’s not the amount of knowledge they have but the testimony that they give.”

We can show young people, he continued, that “we can overcome the problems of the world today, but it takes courage to step forward.”

“Around 1,000 young Koreans are expected to travel to Rome in 2025 for the Jubilee of Youth,” Archbishop Peter Soon-Taick Chung, OCD, of Seoul said at the Sept. 24 press conference. The hope is “that through this pilgrimage, they will come to discern the empowering force of hope bestowed by faith and experience a profound personal encounter with Christ within the universal Church,” he said.

First WYD in predominantly non-Christian country

The archbishop of Seoul said WYD 2027 will be the first of these gatherings to take place in a predominantly non-Christian country.

South Korea has nearly 6 million Catholics, just 11% of the total population, according to 2022 statistics from the country’s Catholic bishops’ conference.

A 2020 survey by a Korean research journal tracking recent religious demographic changes in the country found that now about 50% of South Koreans are nonreligious, while 32% are Protestant Christians and 16% are Buddhist.

“We definitely have concrete plans to include people from different religious backgrounds — and those who have no religion — to come together during our preparatory process,” the archbishop said.

Bishop Paul Kyung Sang Lee, an auxiliary bishop of Seoul and the general coordinator for WYD Seoul 2027, said Korea has a unique context from past WYD hosts, where the country was mainly Christian, because the Catholic Church in Korea is “characterized by the harmonious coexistence of diverse religious traditions.”

“Amid the persistent reality as a ‘divided nation,’ the Church has diligently worked to resolve the conflicts inherent in this division over the past seven decades, seeking peace and unity for the Korean people,” he said.

Soon-Taick said young North Koreans will be invited to and welcome at World Youth Day in Seoul, though the current political situation is unfortunately not favorable for their attendance. “Certainly we hope,” he said.

Whether Pope Francis will attend the international youth gathering is unknown at this time, and whether a visit to the country would include a stop in North Korea is dependent on an invitation from North Korea’s local leaders, Farrell explained.

Pope Francis visited South Korea in 2014. During the five-day trip, he beatified 124 Korean martyrs and took part in the sixth Asian Youth Day.

Charism of the Catholic Church in Korea

“The Korean Catholic Church stands as a testament to the voluntary and dynamic faith of its first believers, who embraced the seeds of the Gospel without the assistance of missionaries, guided by the Holy Spirit,” Soon-Taick said.

He added that “the pilgrimage of WYD Seoul 2027 will be more than just a large gathering. It will be a meaningful journey where young people, united with Jesus Christ, reflect on and discuss the modern challenges and injustices they face.”

“It will be a grand celebration, allowing everyone to experience the vibrant and energetic culture created by Korean youth,” he continued. “It will also be an opportunity to immerse in and share the dynamic and passionate culture that Korea’s youth have created.”

While organizers declined to give a number for an expected attendance at the South Korea World Youth Day, Farrell noted that attendance at World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023 exceeded expectations.

He said they planned for approximately 750,000 participants but were unprepared for the estimated 1.5 million young people who ended up attending.

“I believe that there will be a similar surge of visitors and young people to World Youth Day in Seoul,” the cardinal said.

Father Timothy Radcliffe told the Synod on Synodality delegates that the time before the 2024 assembly “will be probably the most fertile time of the whole synod, the time of germination.” / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Sep 23, 2024 / 13:25 pm (CNA).

Just days after organizers of the second session of the Synod on Synodality in October said topics were not the focus of discussions, two prominent participants have publicly weighed in on the question of Catholics identifying as LGBTQ.

Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe and Jesuit Father James Martin on Sept. 19 published personal reflections on pastoral approaches to Catholics experiencing same-sex attraction.

Radcliffe, who served as a spiritual assistant at the 2023 synod assembly, has courted controversy in the past with statements on same-sex attraction. He wrote in the Sept. 19 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, the newspaper of the Holy See, about being on “the synodal path with gay Catholics.”

The 79-year-old Dominican wrote that same-sex “desires,” like all desires, are “God-given” and need to be “educated” rather than denied. Radcliffe praised “mature gay Catholics” in “committed relationships.”

“Church teaching is already developing as it is refreshed by lived experience: gay people are no longer seen only in terms of sexual acts but as our brothers and sisters who, according to Pope Francis, can be blessed,” Radcliffe added.

Strong opposition at the synod

Meanwhile, Father James Martin on Sept. 19 for America Magazine covered conversations he had with synod delegates over the past year regarding what he described as “LGBTQ issues.”

Father James Martin, SJ. Credit: Flickr by Shawn (CC BY-NC 2.0)

The controversial Jesuit, who attended the 2023 synod as a papal appointee, reported encountering strong opposition.

The priest, who founded the pro-LGBTQ group Outreach, outlined several objections he heard from synod participants, including that LGBTQ ideology represents a form of neo-colonialism imposed on traditional cultures.

“In the end, the best way to help those who oppose” LGBTQ, Martin wrote, “is to meet them, listen to them, and come to know them as beloved children of God, that is, our brothers and sisters in Christ.”

Critics have over the years accused Martin of rejecting Catholic teaching on the sinfulness of homosexual acts, but he has insisted that he does not reject the teaching of the Church.

The Church’s consistent teaching on homosexuality is outlined in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which states that while individuals with homosexual tendencies “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity,” homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered” and “under no circumstances can they be approved” (CCC, 2357–2358).

The catechism further emphasizes that persons experiencing same-sex attraction “are called to chastity” and can draw nearer to Christian perfection through self-mastery, prayer, and sacramental grace (CCC, 2359).

Apostolates like Courage International offer spiritual support and fellowship for Catholics seeking to live according to Church teaching on this issue. Courage takes a chastity-based approach, helping members grow in holiness while embracing the Church’s vision of human sexuality.

The articles by Radcliffe and Martin come as the Synod on Synodality prepares to hold its second and final session from Oct. 2–27 at the Vatican.

The gathering of bishops and other participants is expected to discuss a range of issues related to the Church’s mission and internal life.

Controversial topics — such as LGBTQ questions — have been delegated to the competency of 15 study groups, whose mandate extends beyond the October synod to June 2025.

These groups will provide an update on their work at the beginning of the synod session in October.

Pope Francis meets with members of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 23, 2024 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Pope Francis has named 28 new consultors to the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, including moral theologian Father Maurizio Chiodi, who has expressed opinions contrary to Church teaching.

Chiodi, a moral theologian, has come under media scrutiny in recent years for suggesting contraception use in marriage could be morally permissible in some circumstances.

In a 2017 lecture in Rome, the priest also said that homosexual relationships “under certain conditions” could be “the most fruitful way” for those with same-sex attraction “to enjoy good relations.”

Chiodi was made a theology professor at the Pontifical John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and the Family Sciences in 2019 following its refounding by Pope Francis. He has also been a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life since 2017.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican office responsible for issues of doctrinal orthodoxy in the Catholic Church and the investigation and prosecution of sex abuse by priests, has been under the leadership of Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández since September 2023. 

In the past year, the DDF has faced internal and ecumenical fallout from Fiducia Supplicans, the dicastery’s declaration permitting nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples. It has also published a document on human dignity, Dignitas Infinita, that addresses growing concerns over gender theory, sex changes, surrogacy, and euthanasia in addition to abortion, poverty, human trafficking, and war.

In May, the dicastery also issued new norms on judging alleged Marian apparitions, subsequently approving Marian devotion at a number of spiritual sites, including most recently at Medjugorje.

The nearly three dozen new external consultants — experts in theology, canon law, and Scripture — will meet with existing DDF consultors to advise the dicastery’s leadership and members at regular intervals.

The 28 new appointments are mostly Italian priest-theologians but also include six women — two religious sisters and four lay theologians — and two lay male theologians.

The full list of new consultors is below:

Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology

Father Giovanni Ancona, theology professor

Father Giacomo Canobbio, scientific director of the Catholic Academy of Brescia

Father Carlo Dell’Osso, secretary of the Pontifical Institute of Christian Archeology in Rome

Father Basilio Petrà, theologian

Father Bruno Fabio Pighin, canonist

Father Mario Stefano Antonelli, rector of the Pontifical Lombardo Seminary of Sts. Ambrogio and Carlo in Rome

Father Pasquale Bua, theologian

Father Maurizio Chiodi, theologian

Father Massimo Del Pozzo, canonist

Father Aristide Fumagalli, theologian

Father Federico Giuntoli, biblicist

Father Pier Davide Guenzi, moral theologian

Father Franco Manzi, theologian

Father Massimo Regini, theologian

Father Raffaele Talmelli, superior general of the Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete and exorcist

Father Denis Chardonnens, OCD, theologian

Father Armando Genovese, MSC, theologian

Father Juan Manuel Granados Rojas, SJ, biblicist

Father Dominic Sundararaj Irudayaraj, SJ, biblicist

Mario Bracci, theologian

Sister Giuseppina Daniela Del Gaudio, SFI, director of the Observatory for Apparitions and Mystical Phenomena regarding the Virgin Mary in the World

Sister Benedetta Rossi, Missionaries of Mary, biblicist

Donatella Abignente, theologian

Claudia Leal Luna, theologian

Sandra Mazzolini, theologian

Ignazia Siviglia, theologian

Emanuele Spedicato, canonist

Pope Francis addresses the faithful during second vespers on the feast of Our Lady of the Snows at the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Aug. 5, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 23, 2024 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis canceled his meetings on Monday due to suffering from symptoms of a “mild flu-like condition,” the Holy See Press Office said.

“As a precautionary measure given the travel in the coming days, the papal audiences scheduled for today are canceled,” the one-line note said Sept. 23.

The 87-year-old pontiff is set to leave Thursday for four days of travel to the small European countries of Luxembourg and Belgium Sept. 26–29, just under two weeks after returning from an ambitious 12-day trip to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania — Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

Pope Francis was scheduled to meet Monday morning with the members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and with young participants in a Christmas contest sponsored by the Gravissimum Educationis–Culture for Education Pontifical Foundation.

Though he no longer met with the groups due to illness, the Vatican published the pope’s planned addresses as “speech delivered.”

In the written message to contest participants, Francis said he “would like to recall with you, young singers and musicians who are dedicated to promoting the values of Christmas, that the birth of Jesus was accompanied by a heavenly song, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’”

“The incarnation of Jesus Christ, who brings true peace to the world — and how much we need it today! — has inspired, over the centuries, countless artists of every language and culture, who have portrayed paths of fraternity in the world,” he said. 

“You are part of this great movement, with your originality, stories, and voices,” he added, “and it is always God’s love, made man in Jesus Christ, that speaks to your hearts.”

In his speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope Francis praised “the academy’s desire to draw attention to marginalized and poor people in its various conferences, and to include Indigenous peoples and their wisdom in its dialogues.”

He expressed his gratitude for the academy’s work to propose appropriate regulations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), which he noted can be beneficial, and also “have serious negative implications for the general population.”

“Furthermore, the risks of manipulative applications of artificial intelligence for shaping public opinion, influencing consumer choices and interfering with electoral processes need to be acknowledged and prevented,” the pope added.

“At a time when crises, wars and threats to world security seem to prevail, your own quiet contributions to the progress of knowledge in the service of our human family are all the more important for the cause of global peace and international cooperation,” he said.

Pope Francis waves from a window of the Apostolic Palace at the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square for his weekly Angelus address on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 22, 2024 / 09:25 am (CNA).

On Sunday, Pope Francis recalled Jesus’ teaching that true power is found by taking care of others, not by exploiting them or using them.

“With a word as simple as it is decisive, Jesus renews our way of living. He teaches us that true power does not lie in the dominion of the strongest but in care for the weakest,” the pope said in his weekly Angelus address Sept. 22.

“True power,” Francis emphasized, “is taking care of the weakest; that makes you great.”

The pontiff delivered his brief reflection on the day’s Gospel from a window of the Apostolic Palace, which overlooks St. Peter’s Square, where thousands had gathered to see the pope and to pray with him.

After leading the Angelus prayer in Latin, Pope Francis remembered a Catholic man who dedicated his life to serving the weak: Juan Antonio López, a Catholic environmental activist who was killed after leaving his church in Tocoa in northeastern Honduras on Sept. 14.

In addition to his work in defense of the environment, López was a delegate of the Word of God in the Diocese of Trujillo, where, with the permission of the local bishop, he would lead celebrations of the Word of God, which include the proclamation of the Gospel and the distribution of Eucharistic hosts previously consecrated by priests. Delegates of the Word of God serve in places where priests visit infrequently.

López was also his diocese’s social justice coordinator, a founding member of the integral ecology council, and a member of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa. The Catholic husband and father was known for his defense of creation and the rights of the poor and Indigenous in the face of environmental exploitation in Honduras.

“I join in the mourning of the Church and the condemnation of all forms of violence,” the pontiff said. “I am close to those who see their elementary rights trampled upon and those who work for the common good in response to the cry of the poor and the earth.”

In St. Peter's Square, pilgrims waved and held flags from their countries, including a large flag from Guatemala, during Pope Francis' Sunday Angelus Sept. 22, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“How many people, how many, suffer and die because of power struggles,” Pope Francis said in his reflection before the Angelus. “Theirs are lives that the world rejects, as it rejected Jesus… When [Jesus] was delivered into the hands of men, he found not an embrace but a cross. Nevertheless, the Gospel remains a living and hopeful word: He who was rejected is risen; he is Lord!”

In his message, Pope Francis described the scene in the day’s Gospel passage: “Today the Gospel of the liturgy (Mark 9:30-37) tells us about Jesus who announces what will happen at the culmination of his life: ‘The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.’”

“The disciples, however, while they are following the Master, have other things in their mind and on their lips,” the pope pointed out. “When Jesus asks them what they were talking about, they do not answer.”

This silence, Francis noted, is telling. “The disciples are silent because they were discussing who was the greatest. What a contrast with the words of the Lord! While Jesus confided in them the meaning of his very life, they were talking about power.”

The pope noted the words of Jesus to his disciples: “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

Then Jesus, Pope Francis explained, illustrated his point by embracing a child, telling his disciples: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”

“The child has no power; he has needs,” he said. “We, all of us, are alive because we have been welcomed, but power makes us forget this truth. Then we become people who dominate, not servants, and the first to suffer as a result are the last: the little ones, the weak, the poor.”

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (right), relator general of Synod on Synodality, speaks to the media on June 20, 2023, at the temporary headquarters of the Holy See Press Office in Vatican City. Beside him is Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary general for the Synod of Bishops. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 21, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

The second Vatican assembly for the global Synod on Synodality will kick off on Oct. 2, bringing together clerics and laity alike for nearly one month of discussions. Here is what you need to know:

What is the Synod on Synodality?

The Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021, is a multiyear, worldwide undertaking during which Catholics were asked to submit feedback to their local dioceses on the question “What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our ‘journeying together?’”

The Catholic Church’s massive synodal process has already undergone diocesan, national, and continental stages as well as the first global assembly at the Vatican in October 2023. The upcoming October 2024 session will be the second and final global assembly, culminating the discernment phase of the synod.

What does synodality mean?

Synodality was defined in the 2023 summary report as “the walk of Christians with Christ and toward the kingdom, together with all humanity.” It involves “coming together in assembly at the different ecclesial levels of life, listening to one another, dialogue, communal discernment, consensus-building as an expression of Christ’s making himself present alive in the Spirit, and decision-making in differentiated co-responsibility.”

Pope Francis has said that he envisions the Synod on Synodality as “a journey in accordance with the Spirit, not a parliament for demanding rights and claiming needs in accordance with the agenda of the world, nor an occasion for following wherever the wind is blowing, but the opportunity to be docile to the breath of the Holy Spirit.”

What are the main questions and themes for the 2024 synod assembly?

The 2024 Instrumentum Laboris, building on the results of the 2023 session, outlines three overarching questions:

1. How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?

2. How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?

3. What processes, structures, and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?

The document focuses on “how the synodal Church is on mission” and proposes concrete ways to implement a more synodal approach in Church governance, theology, mission, and discernment of doctrine.

What are some of the topics that could be addressed in the synod assembly?

The 2024 Instrumentum Laboris has avoided emphasizing some controversial topics already discussed in the 2023 session. Instead of directly addressing issues like LGBTQ demands, these topics have been delegated to specialized study groups for further examination.

The document also proposes what it describes as new ways of approaching “controversial” issues within the Church. It suggests promoting “initiatives that allow for shared discernment on doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues” and proposes confidential meetings of experts, possibly including those directly affected by these issues.

How does the Synod on Synodality differ from past synods of bishops?

A synod is a meeting of bishops gathered to discuss a topic of theological or pastoral significance in order to prepare a document of advice or counsel to the pope.

For the first time, the Synod of Bishops in 2023 included voting delegates who are not bishops. Nearly a third of the 364 voting delegates were chosen directly by the pope, including laypeople, priests, consecrated women, and deacons. Fifty-four voting members are women.

Who are the participants?

The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops has reported that the initial diocesan listening phase concluded with the participation of 112 out of 114 of the world’s Catholic bishops’ conferences.

According to a report from the U.S. bishops’ conference, about 700,000 people participated in the diocesan phase of the synod in the U.S. out of 66.8 million Catholics in the country, or about 1%.

The October assembly will include 368 voting members and 96 nonvoting participants. 

Who are the key organizers of the Synod on Synodality?

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the 66-year-old archbishop of Luxembourg, remains one of the leading organizers of the Synod on Synodality as the relator general. The Jesuit cardinal is a member of Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisers. In a March 2023 interview, Hollerich expressed openness to the possibility of women priests in the future and described the part of Church teaching calling homosexuality “intrinsically disordered” as “a bit dubious.”

Cardinal Mario Grech continues to serve as the secretary general for the Synod of Bishops. The former bishop of Gozo, Malta, Grech was one of two authors of the Maltese bishops’ controversial pastoral guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, which stated that divorced and remarried Catholics, in certain cases and after “honest discernment,” could receive Communion. In 2022, Grech decried the public criticism of the German “Synodal Way” as “denunciation.”

What happens after the synod?

The October 2024 assembly marks the end of the discernment phase. The next phase will focus on implementation. Fifteen study groups, formed to address topics from the 2023 session, will continue their work through June 2025. So while they will provide progress updates at the beginning of the October session, their work extends past the October synod.

The Instrumentum Laboris asserts that “without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible.”

Is there a prayer for the Synod on Synodality?

The following “Prayer of Invocation to the Holy Spirit” was published by the organizers:

“We stand before you, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in your name. With you alone to guide us, make yourself at home in our hearts; teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it. We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. Let us find in you our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right. All this we ask of you, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.”

This article was updated on Sept. 20, 2024.

Pope Francis meets with priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians) on June 27, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Staff, Sep 21, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Seventy-one years ago, on Sept. 21, 1953, a young Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s priestly vocation was born. He would enter the novitiate of the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1958, and be ordained a priest on Dec. 13, 1969, just days before his 33rd birthday. On March 13, 2013, he would be elected pope.

In a homily given in May 2013, Pope Francis shared the story of when he felt the stirrings of the call to the priesthood: “I passed by the parish where I was going, found a priest, whom I did not know, and felt the need to go to confession. This was an experience of encounter: I found that someone was waiting for me.”

The pope explained that he didn’t know why he felt so called to go to confession, especially since he didn’t know the priest. After confession, he felt “that something had changed.”

“I was not the same. I had heard something like a voice, a call: I was convinced that I should become a priest,” he said. 

The day of Pope Francis’ life-changing experience also happened to be the day the Church celebrates the feast of St. Matthew, the tax collector whom Jesus called to become an apostle. 

Given that his own vocation came through an experience of God’s mercy, Pope Francis chose his motto, “Miserando atque eligendo,” from a homily given by St. Bede on the call of St. Matthew. The quote translates to “by having mercy, he called him.”

The pope has also repeatedly described the painting of the vocation of St. Matthew by Caravaggio in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.

In a homily given on Sept. 21, 2017, Pope Francis recalled: “Jesus came from healing a paralytic and as he was leaving he found this man called Matthew. The Gospel says: ‘He saw a man called Matthew.’ And where was this man? Sitting at the tax booth. One of those who made the people of Israel pay taxes, to give them to the Romans — a traitor to his country.”

“The man felt looked down upon by Jesus. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. But what happened? That is the power of Jesus’ gaze. Surely he looked at him with so much love, with so much mercy, that look of the merciful Jesus. ‘Follow me, come,’” he said. “And the other looking sideways, with one eye on God and the other on money, clinging to money as Caravaggio painted him: just like that, clinging and also with a surly, gruff look. And Jesus loving, merciful. And the resistance of the man who wanted money — he was such a slave to money — falls.”

The pope has also shared that he often feels like he can relate to Matthew. 

“That finger of Jesus like that, toward Matthew. That’s how I am. That’s how I feel. Like Matthew,” Pope Francis said in an interview with Father Antonio Spadaro. 

“It is Matthew’s gesture that strikes me,” the pope said. “He grabs his money, as if to say: ‘No, not me! No, this money is mine!’ Here, this is me: a sinner to whom the Lord has turned his eyes. And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pope.”

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta on May 1, 2020, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. / Credit: Vatican Media

Madrid, Spain, Sep 20, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis has called on cardinals to work to achieve the goal of “zero deficit” in the economy of the Catholic Church through cost reduction, the search for external resources, and evangelical generosity.

In a Sept. 16 letter released Friday by the Vatican Press Office, Pope Francis recalled that 10 years ago the reform of the Roman Curia began in the spirit of the principle “Ecclesia semper reformanda” (“the Church always reforming”). During this time, he pointed out, “despite the difficulties and, sometimes, that temptation of immobility and inflexibility in the face of change, many results have been accomplished in these years.”

Focused on the economic reform of the Holy See — “one of the topics that has most characterized the general congregations prior to the conclave,” he pointed out — Pope Francis said “an extra effort is now required from everyone so that a ‘zero deficit’ is not just a theoretical goal but an actually achievable objective.” 

This objective is based on the awareness that “the economic resources at the service of the mission are limited and must be managed with rigor and seriousness so that the efforts of those who have contributed to the patrimony of the Holy See are not wasted.” 

Along with the objective of not going into debt, the pontiff pointed out “the need for each institution to strive to find external resources for its mission, setting an example of transparent and responsible management in the service of the Church.”

In addition, Pope Francis called for setting an example on the cost reduction front by trying to avoid “the superfluous” and selecting priorities well, “favoring mutual collaboration and synergies.”

“We must be aware that today we are faced with strategic decisions that we must take with great responsibility, because we are called upon to guarantee the future of the mission,” the Holy Father indicated.

Learn from family solidarity

To achieve the goal of better resource management, Pope Francis pointed out that “the institutions of the Holy See have much to learn from the solidarity of good families” that help one another. Thus, “bodies with a surplus should contribute to covering the general deficit. This means taking care of the good of our communities, acting with generosity, in the Gospel sense of the word, as an indispensable precondition for asking for generosity from outside.”

Finally, the pope asked the cardinals to welcome “this message with courage and a spirit of service” and called for support for these reforms “with conviction, loyalty, and generosity, contributing actively with your knowledge and experience.”

“Each one of the institutions of the Holy See forms with all the others a single body: Therefore, authentic collaboration and cooperation toward the sole objective, the good of the Church, represents an essential prerequisite of our service,” Pope Francis concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

​​Etsurō Sotoo is an enthusiastic advocate of the cause of canonization of Gaudí, known as “God's architect.” / Credit: Public Domain CC-BY-SA-4.0 Wikimedia Commons

Madrid, Spain, Sep 20, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).

For the first time, a sculptor and native of Japan will be awarded the Ratzinger Prize.

His name is Etsurō Sotoo, born in 1953 in Fukuoka, Japan, and a graduate of Kyoto University.

A 1978 visit to Spain changed the course of his life forever. 

Arriving in the city of Barcelona, he was impressed by the construction of the Sagrada Familia basilica and asked to work there as a sculptor.

Following instructions left by Antoni Gaudí, the renowned Spanish architect of the monument, still under construction, Sotoo began his work on the basilica’s Nativity façade.

During his stay in Barcelona, ​​Etsurō Sotoo converted to Catholicism and received the sacrament of baptism. 

Sotoo is an enthusiastic advocate of the cause of canonization of Gaudí, known as “God’s architect.”

Sotoo’s handiwork is found in various parts of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia and in other places in Spain as well as in Japan and Italy, in the Cathedral of Florence.

Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the Sagrada Familia basilica during a trip to Barcelona in 2010, expressing his great appreciation for the figure and art of Antoni Gaudí. 

Cyril O’Regan

Irish theologian Cyril O’Regan is also a winner of the 2024 Ratzinger Prize.

Since 1999, he has been a professor of systematic theology in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

He studied philosophy in Ireland and earned a doctorate, also earning another doctorate in theology at Yale University in Connecticut. 

Cyril O'Regan is Huisking Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Credit: McGrath Institute for Church Life lecture series/Screenshot

O’Regan is the author of numerous articles and several books, including “The Heterodox Hegel” (1994), “Gnostic Return in Modernity” (2001), “Theology and the Spaces of Apocalyptic” (2009), “Anatomy of Misremembering,” and “Newman and Ratzinger” (publication in progress).

His lectures are highly appreciated by his students, and he has dedicated several relevant articles to the figure and teachings of Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

“I am delighted and also feel incredibly honored given the caliber of scholars and thinkers who have received it before me,” O’Regan said of the recognition.

Nov. 22 award ceremony and Mass

On Friday, Nov. 22, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, is scheduled to present the prize to both professor O’Regan and Sotoo. 

The ceremony will take place in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace. That same morning, a Mass will be celebrated in memory of Pope Benedict XVI at his tomb in the Vatican Grottoes. The two winners will be received by Pope Francis.

What is the Ratzinger Prize?

The Ratzinger Prize was started in 2011 to recognize scholars whose work demonstrates a significant contribution to theology in the spirit of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Bavarian theologian who became Pope Benedict XVI.

The awardees are chosen by Pope Francis based on the recommendations of a committee made up of five cardinals who are members of the Roman Curia.

It is currently made up of Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Luis Ladaria, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Archbishop Salvatore Fisichica, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization; and Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer Regensburg, president of the Pope Benedict XVI Institute.

With the 2024 edition, the total number of Ratzinger prize winners ascends to 30. These are mainly eminent personalities in the studies of dogmatic or fundamental theology, sacred Scripture, patristics, philosophy, law, sociology, or in artistic activity such as music, architecture, and now sculpture. 

The winners, who hail from 18 different countries on five continents, are not only Catholics but also belong to other faith traditions, such as Anglicanism, Lutheranism, and Judaism.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Family members of Mafia victims take part in a demonstration organized by Libera on the occasion of the National Day of Remembrance and Commitment to Remembering the Victims of the Mafia on March 21, 2023, in Milan, Italy. / Credit: Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images

Vatican City, Sep 19, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Thursday called on participants of the Conference on the Social Use of Assets Confiscated from the Mafia to work toward recovering the well-being — not just the assets — of victims and communities wounded by organized crime.

“I invite you to focus the conversations of these days on the urgency of recovering the well-being of all people, men and women, the good of each one, where everyone counts and no one is discarded,” the pope said in his message originally written in Spanish on the occasion of the conference taking place at the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican on Sept. 19–20.

The Holy Father insisted that it is neither “possible nor tolerable” to forget the damage done to the dignity of millions of men and women who suffer “hunger and fear of violence, oppression, or injustice” because of transnational criminal operations.

“Only by understanding this damage can we discern how to assist, protect, and repair aspects essential to resolving conflicts and bringing about peace,” the pope said.

The conference, organized by the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Italian anti-Mafia organization Libera, aims to highlight the need for international cooperation and an integrated approach to mitigate the activities and impact of criminal networks and structures.    

Pope Francis asked conference participants also to be guided by Catholic social teaching on human dignity and the principle of the common good as outlined in Gaudium et Spes (No. 26), the Second Vatican Council’s 1965 pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world.

The Holy Father also referred to the protocols outlined in the United Nations’ Palermo Convention (2000) as an aid in discussing criminal justice.

In his message, the pope stated organized crime is an attack on the common good that requires political will and a coordinated global response to fight against “one of the most important challenges for the international community.”

“Organized crime, which is defined as a structured group that establishes itself over time and acts together to commit crimes with the aim of obtaining a material or economic benefit, has a transnational vocation and covers all major trafficking,” he said.

“Together with terrorism, [organized crime is] the most important nonmilitary threat to the security of each nation and international economic stability,” he added.

The pope also praised Italian anti-Mafia initiatives dedicated to rebuilding peace and the common good by directing criminal profits “toward repairing the damage caused to victims and to society.”

Before concluding his message with well wishes and the promise of his prayers for those attending the conference, the Holy Father stressed that study and reflection on law and justice should lead participants to take action to build a better world.

“And with these sentiments, I reaffirm my prayers for you and your families, I bless you, and I ask you, please, to pray for me.”

A hearing in the Vatican finance trial on May 20, 2022. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Sep 19, 2024 / 11:36 am (CNA).

The Vatican is cooperating with Italian prosecutors on an investigation into the leaking of financial information related to the Vatican’s major finance trial that ended last year.

Italian media report that two men are being investigated for having gained unauthorized access hundreds of times to a database of suspicious financial activity shared with Italy by banks, which includes potentially compromising information on Italian politicians and defendants in the Vatican trial.

The database is used by anti-mafia prosecutors and judges in cases of money laundering and terrorism financing.

A brief note to journalists from the Holy See Press Office on Tuesday said Vatican prosecutor Alessandro Diddi and the commander of the Vatican gendarmes, Gianluca Gauzzi, met Sept. 17 with the public prosecutor and deputy public prosecutor of Perugia, Italy.

The public prosecutor of Perugia has jurisdiction over the investigation of crimes committed by magistrates and public prosecutors in Rome.

During the meeting, the two judicial offices agreed to collaborate on an ongoing investigation into “unauthorized access to a computer or telematic system,” a crime in Italian law, for the clandestine collection of information on individuals. In common Italian parlance, the action is often called “dossieraggio.”

It has not been publicly reported for what purpose the information was gathered and if it was done on behalf of anyone.

The Perugia prosecutor is going after a lieutenant of Italy’s financial police, Pasquale Striano, who was working at the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Bureau, as well as one of the bureau’s public prosecutors, Antonio Laudati, for having allegedly accessed nonpublic information on possibly up to 172 Italian politicians and other media figures.

Striano is also accused of being the source of reports published by two journalists from the Italian daily Domani, who are also under investigation for allegedly reporting protected information, Italian newspaper Il Giornale reported.

Striano and Laudati have both publicly denied the accusations.

According to the press office’s note, Vatican prosecutor Diddi has also opened his own case on the “alleged illegal accesses [to information] made during the course of investigations in the well-known inquiry concerning the purchase of the London building.”

Il Giornale also reported last March on accusations that in 2019, Striano was allegedly asked by some unknown person, possibly someone inside the Vatican, to get information on at least five people, all of whom were later charged and convicted in the Vatican’s major finance trial that concluded in December 2023: Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Cecilia Marogna, Raffaele Mincione, Fabrizio Tirabassi, and Gianluigi Torzi.

In 2019, the Vatican’s prosecutor’s office was in the early stages of the investigation into the Secretariat of State’s London investment, gathering its case against the 10 individuals later charged with crimes including financial fraud.

A statue of Our Lady in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. / Credit: Gnuckx via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Rome Newsroom, Sep 19, 2024 / 09:23 am (CNA).

In a highly anticipated report on the alleged decadeslong apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Medjugorje, the Vatican’s doctrinal office on Thursday endorsed prudent devotion to Mary at the popular pilgrimage site in Bosnia and Herzegovina yet withheld any declaration on whether the alleged visions are supernatural in origin.

The Sept. 19 note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), signed by prefect Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and approved by Pope Francis in an Aug. 28 audience, grants a “nihil obstat” to the spiritual experience at Medjugorje. The authoritative judgment means that pilgrims may continue to visit and pray at the site, as some 40 million people from around the world have done since the apparitions allegedly first began 43 years ago. 

Six children, who are now middle-aged, first reported experiencing visions of the Blessed Mother, originally on a hilltop near the rural village of Medjugorje, on June 24, 1981. The Vatican’s report notes that the remote site, formerly part of Yugoslavia, is now widely “perceived as a space of great peace, recollection, and a piety that is sincere, deep, and easily shared.”

While it offers no definitive judgment on the supernatural authenticity of the alleged apparitions, the Vatican’s report highlights the abundant good fruits that have come from Medjugorje.

“The positive fruits are most evident in the promotion of a healthy practice of a life of faith, in accordance with the tradition of the Church,” the report states. 

It points to “abundant conversions, a frequent return to the sacraments (particularly, the Eucharist and reconciliation), many vocations to priestly, religious, and married life, a deepening of the life of faith, a more intense practice of prayer, many reconciliations between spouses, and the renewal of marriage and family life.” 

“It should be noted,” the report emphasizes, “that such experiences occur above all in the context of pilgrimages to the places associated with the original events rather than in meetings with the ‘visionaries’ to be present for the alleged apparitions.”

Fernández presented the report in a two-hour-long press conference at the Holy See Press Office on Sept. 19.

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, holds aloft the book "Medjugorje: The Complete Collection of Messages from the Queen of Peace" at a press conference on Medjugorje in Rome, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

The prelate quoted Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger’s 1985 statement that emphasized separating the question of supernatural origin from spiritual fruits.

Fernández pointed out that Ratzinger said even if modern critical thinking might question some aspects, “this doesn’t detract from the fact that those pilgrimages were fruitful, useful, important for the life of the Christian people.”

On this view, he added, Pope Francis said there was “no magic wand” to determine the authenticity of the phenomena, but “the spiritual pastoral fact cannot be denied.”

Spirituality of the messages

A significant portion of the document is a summary of the central points and spirituality of the numerous alleged messages received by the alleged visionaries, identifying “Queen of Peace” as the “most original title in the alleged messages,” though Mary most frequently refers to herself as “Mother.”

The predominant themes of those communications — which the Vatican stresses should be referred to as “alleged messages” — are calls for conversion, peace, reconciliation, and a return to the sacraments, along with a “constant call to abandon a worldly lifestyle and excessive attachment to worldly goods.” 

“One of the prevailing characteristics of the spirituality that emerges from the messages is that of trust in God through a total trust in Mary, in order to become instruments of peace in the world,” the Vatican’s document says.

The note quotes from some of the messages to illustrate that in the missives, “Our Lady does not place herself at the center but shows herself to be fully directed toward our union with God.”

The spirituality of the messages is also one of communion with the pope and with the whole Church, it said, and the spirituality of Medjugorje is overall “joyful, celebratory, and includes a call to live the joy of following Christ.”

During Thursday’s press conference, Fernández quoted from several of the alleged messages he found to be edifying.

“Most of the messages have a beautiful content that can stimulate the faithful to conversion, to grow in their encounter with Christ, to be peacemakers in the world,” he said.

‘Misleading messages’

The report also notes that as in other spiritual experiences and alleged supernatural phenomena, “positive and edifying elements are mixed with other elements that are to be ignored,” adding: “But this fact should not lead one to spurn the richness and the good of the Medjugorje proposal as a whole.”

The report draws attention to a number of “misleading messages” from Mary, particularly when she reprimands or makes threats, or when she insists strongly on listening to her messages: “This risks creating a dependence and an excessive expectation on the part of the faithful, which could ultimately obscure the central importance of the revealed word.”

The note said this becomes “even more problematic” when the messages give orders about specific dates, places, and practical decisions “unlikely to be of supernatural origin.”

“Although messages of this type are infrequent in Medjugorje, we can find some of them that are explained solely from the personal desires of the alleged visionaries,” the note said. “It is reasonable for the faithful, using prudence and common sense, not to take these details seriously nor heed them.”

The dicastery also said “those messages that attribute to Our Lady the expressions ’my plan’ or ‘my project’ also show a certain problematic aspect,” and these expressions “might create some confusion” because “in reality, everything Mary accomplishes is always at the service of the Lord’s plan and his divine plan of salvation.”

Another term requiring special attention is “the possible misuse of the word ‘mediatrix’ in reference to Mary” in the messages.

When the messages say “I am the mediatrix between you and God” (July 17, 1986) and “I desire to be the link between you and the Heavenly Father, your mediatrix” (March 18 2012), they “fail to express adequately the fact that, as St. John Paul II explained, Mary’s mediatory cooperation is ‘subordinate’ to the mediation of Christ,” the note explained. 

The DDF said Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, special apostolic visitor to the parish community of Medjugorje, will continue the duties already entrusted to him and will be responsible for authorizing the publication of any future messages.

The dicastery advised people who may visit Medjugorje that pilgrimages should not be made to meet with alleged visionaries but to have an encounter with Mary, Queen of Peace and with her son, Jesus Christ, through participation in the sacraments.

Some of the alleged messages of Mary the Vatican found problematic were those containing explicit and repeated exhortations to the parishioners of the local church, St. James, the Vatican said.

Those messages are “an understandable expression of the alleged visionaries’ intense love for their parish community,” the note said. “However, Our Lady’s messages cannot replace the ordinary role of the parish priest, the pastoral council, and the synodal work of the community regarding decisions that are the subject of communal discernment, through which the parish matures in prudence, fraternal listening, respect for others, and dialogue.”

‘Nihil obstat’

In accordance with new norms on the discernment of “alleged supernatural phenomena,” the local bishop must consult and receive final approval from the Vatican after investigating and judging alleged apparitions and connected devotions.

According to the May 17 norms, a “nihil obstat” judgment means: “Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged ‘in the midst’ of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far.”

In its Sept. 19 note, the DDF explained that “through the ‘nihil obstat’ about a spiritual event, the faithful ‘are authorized to give it their adherence in a prudent manner’ (Norms, art. 22, §1; cf. Benedict XVI, Verbum Domini, par. 14).”

“While this does not imply a declaration of the supernatural character of the phenomenon in question (cf. Norms, art. 22, §2) — and recalling that the faithful are not obliged to believe in it — the nihil obstat indicates that the faithful can receive a positive encouragement for their Christian life through this spiritual proposal, and it authorizes public acts of devotion,” the dicastery continued.

“Such a determination is possible,” it said, “insofar as many positive fruits have been noted in the midst of a spiritual experience, while negative and dangerous effects have not spread among the people of God.”

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin attends a plenary session at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine at the Burgenstock resort near Lucerne, Switzerland, on June 16, 2024. / Credit: ALESSANDRO DELLA VALLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Rome Newsroom, Sep 18, 2024 / 13:20 pm (CNA).

Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin met with Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova via video conference on Sept. 16 to highlight the need to safeguard international human rights conventions in the Russia-Ukraine war. 

According to a Sept. 18 Holy See Press Office statement, Parolin thanked Moskalkova for her role in securing the June 28 release of two Ukrainian Redemptorist priests, Father Ivan Levytsky and Father Bohdan Geleta, following their 18-month captivity by Russian forces in the occupied city of Berdyansk.

In a Religious Information Service of Ukraine report, the two priests chose to stay with, and minister to, the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic communities they served in Berdyansk. On Nov. 22, 2022, both were arrested by Russian military forces on charges of weapons possession.  

Pope Francis had thanked God for the release of Levytsky and Geleta during his June 29 special Angelus address on the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul. “I give thanks to God for the freeing of the two Greek Catholic priests,” the pope said. “May all the prisoners of this war soon return home.”

In July, Parolin met with both priests, who belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, during his July 19–24 visit to Ukraine to meet with religious and civil leaders in Kyiv and Odesa.        

During the Monday meeting, Parolin and Moskalkova discussed the need to uphold “the fundamental human rights enshrined in the international conventions.”

According to an Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report published in February, more than 10,500 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and approximately 20,000 others injured since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.  The true toll is “likely significantly higher,” the report said.

Other matters discussed in the Sept. 16 meeting included humanitarian issues such as assistance to Ukrainian military prisoners in Russia and the mutual exchange of soldiers detained in Russia and Ukraine. 

OSV News reported that Geleta revealed in an hourlong interview with the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church’s television channel Zhyve TV that the two priests were psychologically and physically tortured in a prison alongside other prisoners of war.

“[We] could also hear screams from our cell in the corridors,” Geleta said in the Zhyve TV interview. “Father Ivan was beaten so severely that he lost consciousness twice.” 

After regaining their freedom both priests have the desire to share their story to encourage other people who have relatives of prisoners of war to not lose hope but to turn to God in prayer. 

“The Lord God knows that even through these sufferings he leads everyone to himself. We do not know this, it is a mystery. Otherwise, a person might not be able to bear it,” Geleta told Zhyve TV.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Vatican City, Sep 18, 2024 / 08:54 am (CNA).

Pope Francis on Wednesday said the Catholic Church is “more alive” outside of Europe as he reflected back on his recent apostolic journey to Southeast Asia.

“A first reflection that comes spontaneously after this trip is that in thinking about the Church we are still too Eurocentric, or, as they say, ‘Western,’” the pope said in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 18.

“But in reality, the Church is much bigger, much bigger than Rome and Europe … and may I say much more alive in these countries,” he added.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

In his first general audience since returning from the longest international trip of his pontificate, the pope expressed gratitude to God for his experiences in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore Sept. 2–13.

“I thank the Lord who allowed me to do as an elderly pope what I would have liked to do as a young Jesuit,” Francis said.

The pope, who turns 88 in December, expressed his enthusiasm for the “missionary, outgoing Church” he encountered on his visit to the four island nations in Asia and Oceania.

In Indonesia, where only 3% of the Muslim-majority country’s population is Catholic, Pope Francis said that he encountered “a lively, dynamic Church, capable of living and transmitting the Gospel.”

The pope recalled his visit to the grounds of the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, where he signed a joint declaration with Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar condemning religious-based violence and promoting religious harmony. 

“There, I saw that fraternity is the future, it is the answer to anti-civilization, to the diabolical plots of hatred, war, and also sectarianism,” he said.

Pope Francis arrives at his general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Pope Francis commented that the missionaries and catechists were the “protagonists” of his visit to Papua New Guinea, where the pope was welcomed by the beating drums of some of the country’s Indigenous tribes who have accepted the Catholic faith.

“I rejoiced to be able to stay a while with the missionaries and catechists of today; and I was moved to listen to the young people’s songs and music: In them, I saw a new future, without tribal violence, without dependency, without economic or ideological colonialism; a future of fraternity and care for the wondrous natural environment,” Francis said.

The pope added that he has “a beautiful memory” from traveling to the remote coastal town of Vanimo, a jungle outpost where he said Argentine missionaries “go into the jungle in search of the most hidden tribes.”

Pope Francis said that he experienced the “air of springtime” in East Timor, a small Catholic country that gained its independence from Indonesia in 2002.

He praised the Catholic country for its many large families and many religious vocations.

“I will never forget the smiles of the children,” he said. “In East Timor, I saw the youthfulness of the Church: families, children, young people, many seminarians and aspirants to consecrated life.”

Frequently throughout his trip, Pope Francis commended the high birth rates found not only in East Timor but also in Indonesia, saying that such high fertility rates should be an example for other countries around the world. 

On his return flight to Rome, the pope praised East Timor’s “culture of life,” adding that wealthier countries, including Singapore, could learn from the small country that “children are the future.”

Looking back on his final stop in Singapore, the pope remarked that the modern city-state was very different from other countries he visited during his apostolic journey.

“Even in wealthy Singapore there are the ‘little ones,’ who follow the Gospel and become salt and light, witnesses to a hope greater than what economic gains can guarantee,” he added.

Pope Francis reflected on his journey to the four tropical islands on a cloudy fall morning in Rome. The pope was quite animated as he spoke about his travels, frequently making extra comments off the cuff to the crowd. 

He underlined to the crowd that an “apostolic journey” is much different than tourism because “it is a journey to bring the Word of God, to make the Lord known, and also to know the soul of the people.”

At the end of the audience, the pope offered a prayer for the victims of the recent severe flooding in Europe and encouraged the local Catholic communities who are working to provide relief to the flooding caused by Storm Boris.

“In these days, heavy torrential rains have hit Central and Eastern Europe causing victims, missing persons, and extensive damage in Austria, Romania, Czech Republic, and Poland, who have to cope with tragic inconveniences caused by the floods. I assure everyone of my closeness, praying for those who have lost their lives and their families,” he said.

Pope Francis commented that there were many newly married couples who came to the general audience to receive his blessing for their marriages, with the Holy Father giving a shoutout to two Vatican employees who will be married in Vatican City this weekend.

The pope asked the Virgin Mary’s intercession for the newlyweds to have the grace “to accept work and daily crosses as opportunities for growth and purification of your love.”

Francis also prayed for the sick, elderly, and disabled present at the general audience.

“May Our Lady of Sorrows, whom we recalled a few days ago in the liturgy, help you, dear sick and elderly people, to grasp in suffering and difficulties the call to make of your existence a mission for the salvation of your brothers and sisters,” he said.

A reliquary containing relics of Blessed Carlo Acutis at the Church of Sant’Angela Merici in Rome, Oct. 11, 2021. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Rome Newsroom, Sep 17, 2024 / 12:52 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis in his youth message released on Tuesday encouraged young people to imitate Blessed Carlo Acutis in prioritizing “the great gift of the Eucharist.”

“As Blessed Carlo Acutis said, the Eucharist is the highway to heaven,” the pope wrote in his message for diocesan World Youth Days published on Sept. 17.

Pope Francis pointed to how Blessed Carlo made praying before the Eucharist “his most important daily appointment,” which gave him the strength to persevere in his journey of faith.

“I encourage all of you to rediscover the great gift of the Eucharist!” the pope said.

Pope Francis highlighted the witness of Acutis, whom he will soon canonize as the first millennial saint. 

The Italian computer-coding teenager who died of cancer in 2006 is known for his great devotion to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Carlo attended daily Mass as an elementary and high school student at his neighborhood parish, describing his life goal as “to be always united with Jesus.”

Pope Francis approved the second miracle attributed to Acutis’ intercession in the spring, paving the way for his canonization during the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

Local World Youth Days

Pope Francis’ message was released ahead of the next diocesan World Youth Day, to be celebrated on Nov. 24, the solemnity of Christ the King, in Catholic dioceses across the world.

The Catholic Church has celebrated World Youth Day annually in local dioceses since the event was established by St. John Paul II in 1985.

In his message, Pope Francis said “the precious gift of the Eucharist” is the food that “God gives us to sustain us on our way” in the pilgrimage of life. 

Pope Francis invited young people to discover “a deeper kind of rest, the repose of the soul,” which is “found in Christ alone.” 

“Realize that all your inner weariness can find repose in the Lord, who says to you: ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,’” the pope said.

“When the weariness of the journey weighs you down, come back to Jesus, learn to rest in him and abide with him, for ‘those who hope in the Lord ... will run and not be weary (Is 40:31).’”

Hope for a weary world

Pope Francis acknowledged the profound challenges facing today’s generation and called for renewed hope and perseverance in the face of adversity. 

“Today, we too live in times marked by dramatic situations that generate despair and prevent us from looking to the future with serenity,” the pope said. He highlighted how young people in some parts of the world pay a high price when faced with the tragedy of war, social injustices, and inequalities.

The pope also pointed to the temptation to despair when faced with uncertainty about the future, saying that young people today who live without hope can be “prisoners of boredom, depression, and even be drawn to risk-taking and destructive behaviors.”

“For this reason, dear young people, I would like the message of hope to come to you,” he said. “Today too, the Lord is opening a highway before you.”

“The Christian life in particular is a pilgrimage toward God, our salvation and the fullness of every good thing,” he said. “Our goals, achievements, and successes along the way, if they remain only material, will, after an initial moment of satisfaction, still leave us hungry, longing for something  greater.” 

“They cannot completely satisfy our soul, because we were created by One who is infinite; as a result, we have an innate desire for transcendence.’”

The pope cautioned against the dangers of complacency and inaction. He said: “The solution to tiredness, oddly enough, is not to stand still and rest. It is to set out and become pilgrims of hope.”

The theme for this year’s World Youth Day is “Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Run and Not Be Weary,” taken from Isaiah 40:31 in the Bible. The pope said he wanted the theme to connect it with the theme for the 2025 Jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Pope Francis said: “Those who visit St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome cross the great square surrounded by the colonnade built by the celebrated architect and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The entire colonnade appears as two open arms, an image of the Church, our mother, who embraces all her children.”

“In this coming Holy Year of Hope, I invite all of you to experience the embrace of our merciful God, to experience his pardon and the forgiveness of all our ‘interior debts,’ as in the biblical tradition of the jubilee years.”

“I entrust your journey to the Virgin Mary, so that, following her example, you may be able to look forward with patience and confidence to the fulfillment of all your hopes, even now, as you persevere in your journey as pilgrims of hope and of love,” he said.

Pope Francis addresses young adults gathered in Tirana, Albania, for the Mediterranean Encounters 2024 conference on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. / Credit: The Archdiocese of Tiranë–Durrës

Rome Newsroom, Sep 17, 2024 / 10:50 am (CNA).

Pope Francis praised cultural and religious diversity as “a gift from God” in a video message to an interreligious youth conference on Tuesday.

“Contemplate the diversity of your traditions as a wealth, a wealth willed by God,” the pope told young adults gathered in Tirana, Albania, for the Mediterranean Encounters 2024.

“Unity is not uniformity,” he added, “and the diversity of our cultural and religious identities is a gift from God.”

Francis’ comment about diverse religious identities being a gift willed by God followed shortly after the pontiff made headlines over the weekend for telling young people in Singapore on Sept. 13 that “all religions are path[ways] to reach God.”

The pope’s video message Sept. 17 was sent to 50 young adults from 25 Mediterranean and Black Sea countries participating in Mediterranean Encounters 2024 (Med24) in Tirana, Albania, Sept. 15–21.

Young adults gather in Tirana, Albania, for the Mediterranean Encounters 2024 on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Credit: The Archdiocese of Tiranë–Durrës

The meeting’s theme is “Pilgrims of Hope, Builders of Peace” and comes one year after Pope Francis participated in the Mediterranean Encounters in Marseille, France, on Sept. 23, 2023.

The interreligious conference is focused on the themes of peace, migration, and human dignity and includes moments of dialogue, prayer, and cultural visits.

In his message, Pope Francis asked Med24 participants to “put the voices of those who are not heard at the center,” especially the poor and migrants.

“I think of those who, often very young, must leave their country for a better future,” he said. “Take care of each one. It is not about numbers but about people, and each person is sacred; it is about faces, whose dignity must be promoted and protected. We renounce the culture of fear to open the door of welcome and friendship.”

The pontiff also encouraged the young adults from Albania in particular to “walk in the footsteps of your martyrs.”

“Their courage is a living testimony that can inspire your commitment to resist all the violence that disfigures our humanity, as Blessed Maria Tuci did at only 22 years of age,” he said. 

Maria (also spelled Marije) Tuci is one of 38 Albanese martyrs beatified in 2016.

The young Albanian woman, a teacher in a Catholic elementary school who was also in formation to become a religious sister, was arrested and imprisoned by the anti-Catholic communist state in 1949.

She died in 1950 at the age of 22 after being brutally tortured in prison.

Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matalgalpa, Nicaragua. / Credit: Archdiocese of Managua

Madrid, Spain, Sep 17, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez is slated to be among the participants in the second and last session of the Synod of Synodality, set to take place at the Vatican next month from Oct. 2–27.

The name of the bishop of Matagalpa, who was deported to Rome on Jan. 14 by the Daniel Ortega regime, appears on the list of synod participants chosen directly by Pope Francis.

Álvarez’s participation in the synod will mark a major change from the low profile he has kept since arriving in the Eternal City earlier this year. 

Up until now, the bishop, known for his unwavering defense of human rights and harsh criticism of the Nicaraguan dictatorship, has had few public appearances.

On Jan. 15, the first images of the bishop in exile were published when he joined other banished priests celebrating Mass in a church in Rome.

In June he visited the Spanish city of Seville as well as the Sanctuary of Covadonga in Asturias, Spain.

Who is Bishop Rolando Álvarez?

Álvarez, 57, was appointed bishop of Matagalpa in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI. His fierce defense of human rights against the abuses of the regime — especially during the civil demonstrations of 2018 — resulted in his being relentlessly persecuted by the government of dictator Ortega.

Beginning in August 2022, Álvarez was forced to remain confined to his episcopal house along with other priests, seminarians, and a layman.

Two weeks later, when they had almost run out of food, the police broke into the house and kidnapped Álvarez to Managua, the capital of the country.

On Feb. 10, 2023, the dictatorship sentenced him to 26 years and four months in prison, accusing him of being a “traitor to the country.” He was incarcerated in La Modelo prison, where political prisoners are sent.

One day before being sentenced, Álvarez had refused to board a plane full of more than 200 political prisoners that the regime sent to the United States.

He was finally exiled to Rome on Jan. 14 after mediation by the Vatican, together with the bishop of Siuna, Isidoro Mora, and other priests and seminarians.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.