Feed aggregator
Vatican approves devotion at Medjugorje while not pronouncing on authenticity of ‘alleged messages’
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/CNAThe 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 messagesA 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.”
Parolin: International human rights conventions must be safeguarded in Russia-Ukraine war
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 says the Catholic Church is ‘more alive’ outside of Europe
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/CNAIn 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/CNAPope 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.
Pope Francis tells young people to prioritize the Eucharist like Carlo Acutis
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 DaysPope 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 worldPope 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: Diverse religious identities are ‘a gift from God’
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–DurrësThe 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 Álvarez chosen by Pope Francis to participate in Synod on Synodality
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.
Here’s what will be new at the Synod on Synodality part 2
Rome Newsroom, Sep 16, 2024 / 16:15 pm (CNA).
Before the second session of the Synod on Synodality kicks off in Rome at the beginning of October, participants will gather in retreat to pray together and ask forgiveness for sins in a penitential prayer vigil led by Pope Francis.
In addition, four new forums will be conducted on two dates alongside the monthlong assembly and will provide a public platform for reflection and debate on theological topics being discussed during the synod.
These and other changes to the second part of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 2–27 were highlighted by synod organizers on Monday.
Organizers discuss the upcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality at a press conference at the Holy See Press Office on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAPenitential vigilThe day before the synod begins, a prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 1 will mark the conclusion of a two-day retreat at the Vatican for synod members. At the public vigil, “some of the sins that cause the most pain and shame will be called by name, invoking God’s mercy,” synod secretary Cardinal Mario Grech said at a press conference Sept. 16.
During the prayer service, three people will speak about their experiences of being harmed by sexual abuse, war, and indifference toward migrants, and there will be a “confession of various types of sins,” Grech said. “It will not be about denouncing the sin of others but about recognizing ourselves as part of those who, by action or at least omission, become the cause of the suffering suffered by the innocent and helpless.”
The event has been organized by the synod secretariat in collaboration with the Diocese of Rome, the Union of Major Superiors, and the International Union of Major Superiors.
According to a press release, attendees will request forgiveness “in the name of all the baptized” for “sin against peace, sin against creation, against Indigenous populations, against migrants; sin of abuse; sin against women, family, youth; sin of using doctrine as stones to be hurled; sin against poverty; sin against synodality/lack of listening, communion, and participation of all.”
The Synod on Synodality will then have its official start with an opening Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2.
Participants and methodologyCardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general for the Synod on Synodality, said Sept. 16 that there have been “no great changes” to the 368 voting members and 96 nonvoting participants in the second session of the assembly.
To date, only 25 changes have been recorded, mostly replacements for people who are no longer able to attend, he explained, including several for health reasons.
The number of fraternal delegates, representatives of non-Catholic Christian faiths, has increased from 12 to 16 at the request of Pope Francis. The new additions are representatives of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and all of Africa, the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Lutheran World Federation, and the World Mennonite Conference.
The overall format for the nearly monthlong meeting remains very similar to the prior year’s gathering — including daily prayer, theological reflections, and “conversation in the Spirit” in small working groups divided by language.
But organizers noted Monday that there will be fewer plenaries (when members have the opportunity to address the entire assembly) in 2024, and instead, representatives of each of the working groups will meet among themselves to share what emerged during conversations.
There will also be “more pauses for prayer and reflection,” according to Sheila Pires, who is on the synod’s communication team.
One of these pauses will be another retreat day on Oct. 21, according to Father Giacomo Costa, SJ, a synod special secretary. He explained that this retreat will allow members to spiritually prepare for the presentation of the draft of the synod’s final document, which they will be called to provide feedback for before voting on the document’s final content.
There will also be voting during the synod to determine what topics will be concretely discussed, he said.
Organizers discuss the upcoming second session of the Synod on Synodality at a press conference at the Holy See Press Office on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNATheological-pastoral forumsOrganizers insist that hot-button topics discussed during the first session will not be on the program in October, which will focus on “how the synodal Church is on mission.”
This year, however, the theological and pastoral underpinnings of the synodal discussions will be open to the public to learn about during four forums on Oct. 9 and Oct. 16 in Rome.
The forums will be on “The People of God, Subject of the Mission,” “The Role and Authority of the Bishop in a Synodal Church,” “The Mutual Relationship Between the Local Church and the Universal Church,” and “The Exercise of Primacy in the Synod of Bishops.”
In each forum, four or five theologians, canonists, and bishops will introduce “the principle questions, focusing on the different perspective from which these issues can be viewed,” Father Riccardo Battocchio, a special secretary of the synod, said Sept. 16.
Afterward, the floor will open up for questions and responses from those present.
According to a press release, the forums are intended for all participants in the Assembly (members, special guests, fraternal delegates, experts). Journalists accredited to the Holy See Press Office are also invited and members of the public may attend according to available space. Registration will be required for anyone who wants to participate, with details on how to register to be released at a later date.
These four forums, Battocchio said, “intend to offer a further contribution of reflections ... to those who will participate in the second session ... but also to other people interested in the themes of the synod.”
They will tackle, he continued, themes connected to several sections in the Instrumentum Laboris.
The forums’ speakers have not yet been published.
The October assembly of the Synod on Synodality will mark the end of the discernment phase of the Church’s synodal process, which Pope Francis opened in 2021.
The third phase of the synod — after “the consultation of the people of God” and “the discernment of the pastors” — will be “implementation,” according to organizers.
The Instrumentum Laboris for the final part of the Synod on Synodality, published July 9, focused on how to implement certain of the synod’s aims while laying aside some of the more hot-button topics from the October 2023 gathering, such as women deacons, priestly celibacy, and LGBTQ outreach.
These more controversial subjects and others have been delegated to the competency of 15 study groups formed starting late last year.
The 2024 guiding document instead offered concrete proposals for instituting a listening and accompaniment ministry, greater lay involvement in parish economics and finances, and more powerful parish councils.
“Without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible,” the Instrumentum Laboris, or “working tool,” said.
The 15 study groups will continue to meet through June 2025 but will provide an update on their progress at the beginning of the second session in October.
Vatican announces press conference on ‘spiritual experience’ of Medjugorje
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 16, 2024 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Cardinal Víctor Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, will lead a press conference on the “spiritual experience” of Medjugorje this Thursday, Sept. 19, at the Vatican.
The Vatican Press Office informed that at Thursday’s press conference on Medjugorje, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. local time, Fernández will be joined by Monsignor Armando Matteo, who serves as secretary to the dicastery’s Doctrinal Section, along with Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication.
The press conference is scheduled to be broadcast live on Vatican News’ YouTube page.
Although no additional details about the event have been released, the press conference is being held within the framework of the new “Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena,” published in May by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Since then, the Holy See has issued rulings on various alleged Marian apparitions and devotions.
What’s happening in Medjugorje?The alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje (Bosnia-Herzegovina) began on June 24, 1981. Six children were said to have been the recipients of the Virgin’s messages, of which three say they continue receiving messages daily.
In January 2014, the then-Congregation — now Dicastery — for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded a report requested by Pope Francis who, in November 2013, stated that the Virgin “is not a chief of the post office who would send messages every day,” without specifically mentioning Medjugorje.
Summarizing the content of the report, in 2017 Pope Francis indicated that the initial apparitions are something that “must continue to be investigated” while with regard to “presumed current apparitions, the report has its doubts.”
On that same occasion, the Holy Father pointed out “people go there and convert. People encounter God, change their lives.” This isn’t a result of “magic,” he said, but is a valid spiritual and pastoral fact that “can’t be ignored.”
Earlier that same year, the pontiff had appointed Bishop Henryk Hoser as “special envoy” to Medjugorje. When he died in 2021, he was replaced by Monsignor Aldo Cavalli.
Since May 2019, Pope Francis has officially authorized the organization of pilgrimages to Medjugorje while cautioning that such pilgrimages should avoid “creating confusion or ambiguity under the doctrinal aspect.”
In recent years, including 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, Pope Francis has also sent messages to youth festivals held at Medjugorje.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Pope Francis urges release of Hamas hostages, end of conflict in Israel and Palestine
Rome Newsroom, Sep 15, 2024 / 09:36 am (CNA).
During his Sunday Angelus, Pope Francis appealed for the release of the remaining Hamas hostages as he remembered 23-year-old American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five others whose bodies were recovered by Israeli military in Gaza last month.
“I am praying for the victims and continue to be close to all of the families of the hostages,” the pope said on Sept. 15 after praying the traditional Marian prayer.
The bodies of Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat were found in a tunnel in Gaza by Israel Defense Forces on Aug. 30. The IDF said postmortems indicate the hostages were killed by two gunmen using two separate weapons on the evening of Aug. 29.
Speaking from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis recalled meeting Rachel Goldberg, the mother of Goldberg-Polin, together with other family members of Israeli hostages, at the Vatican in November 2023. “I was struck by her humanity. I accompany her in this moment,” the pontiff said.
“Cease the conflict in Palestine and Israel, cease the violence, cease the hatred, release the hostages, continue negotiations, and find peace solutions,” he added.
Before the Angelus, Pope Francis gave a short reflection on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Mark. In the passage, Jesus asks his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”
“Peter answers on behalf of all the group, saying, ‘You are the Christ,’” the pope said. “However, when Jesus starts to talk about the suffering and death that await him, the same Peter objects, and Jesus harshly rebukes him: ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.’”
Francis said this scene prompts us too, to ask ourselves what it means to really know Jesus.
“The words with which Peter responds are ‘right,’ but his way of thinking has not changed,” the pontiff commented. “He still has to change his mindset; he still has to convert. This is an important message for us too.”
“Indeed, we too have learned something about God, we know the doctrine, we recite the prayers correctly and, perhaps, we respond well to the question ‘Who is Jesus for you?’ with some formula we learned at catechism. But are we sure that this means really knowing Jesus?” he said.
The pope underlined that really knowing the Lord means not just knowing something about him but actually following him and having a relationship with him.
Knowing Jesus is a life-changing encounter, he continued. “It changes your way of being, it changes your way of thinking, the relationships you have with your brothers and sisters, your willingness to accept and forgive, the choices you make in life. Everything changes if you have truly come to know Jesus!”
Pope Francis referenced a quotation from the Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed for being a Nazi dissident. “What is bothering me incessantly is the question of what Christianity really is, or indeed who Christ really is, for us today,” Bonhoeffer wrote, as published in the book “Letters and Papers from Prison.”
“Unfortunately, many people no longer pose themselves this question and remain ‘unbothered,’ slumbering, even far from God,” the pontiff noted.
“Instead, it is important to ask ourselves: Do I let myself be bothered, do I ask who Jesus is for me and what place he occupies in my life? Do I follow Jesus only in word, continuing to have a worldly mentality, or do I set out to follow him, allowing the encounter with him to transform my life?”
Pope Francis will not go to Paris for Notre Dame cathedral reopening
Aboard the papal plane, Sep 13, 2024 / 14:28 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis definitively ruled out the possibility of visiting France for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral on his return flight on Friday from Southeast Asia.
Speaking during an in-flight press conference on the papal plane on Sept. 13, the pope resolutely stated: “I will not go to Paris!”
French President Emmanuel Macron invited Pope Francis to visit Paris for the long-awaited reopening of the historic cathedral, which is set to take place on Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
Pope Francis traditionally celebrates the Marian feast with the city of Rome in the piazza at the foot of the Spanish Steps.
In 2019 the world mourned the damage done to the medieval Paris cathedral by a fire that devastated the 315-foot-tall oak spire and timber roof of the eight-centuries-old cathedral.
Major religious and artistic treasures of the cathedral were removed as the fire began, including a relic of Christ’s crown of thorns.
Authorities have not yet found any evidence that the blaze was not an accident, with an initial investigation conducted in the months after the fire concluding it may have been caused by an electrical malfunction.
Almost immediately after the disaster, debate began as to whether the cathedral would be restored as it looked before the fire or if it would be updated with modern architectural designs and flourishes atop the ancient portion of the church.
The French Parliament subsequently enacted a law mandating that the reconstruction must “preserve the historic, artistic, and architectural interest” of the original structure.
The spire was not original to the 800-year-old structure, having been added during a 19th-century renovation. In 2020, President Emmanuel Macron of France announced, amid controversy over the possibility of a new and contemporary design, that the spire would be rebuilt as a replica of the one destroyed.
Friends of Notre Dame de Paris, a nonprofit supporting the renovation, said the new spire is constructed of an oak framework covered with lead, just as the old one was. Construction of the cathedral originally began in 1160 and took nearly two centuries. While most work was done by 1260, it was finally completed in 1345.
While the pope does not plan to visit Paris for the reopening, he did express his desire to travel to the Canary Islands, an autonomous Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa, in part to visit its migrant population.
Pope Francis said that he would also like to go to his native Argentina, but “it is still not decided” because “there are a number of things to resolve first.”
The 87-year-old pope spoke about his future travel wishes on the return from the longest trip of his pontificate to date — a nearly two-week tour of four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.
In the press conference, in which Pope Francis discussed the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the pope repeated his dream of visiting another country.
“I would like to visit China. It’s a great country,” he said.
The pope is scheduled to travel to Belgium and Luxembourg Sept. 26–29.
Pope Francis’ message to global literacy event: Multilingual education promotes dialogue
CNA Staff, Sep 9, 2024 / 14:10 pm (CNA).
In a letter to the director-general of UNESCO on Monday on the occasion of International Literacy Day 2024, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, conveyed a message from the Holy Father to all those involved in the event.
“The Holy See gladly renews its appreciation of the contribution made by UNESCO in promoting linguistic and cultural diversity, and indeed multilingualism,” Parolin said in his letter.
International Literacy Day 2024 is being celebrated in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Sept. 9–10. The global event is sponsored by UNESCO in cooperation with the government of Cameroon and has been celebrated yearly since 1967 to help combat illiteracy and encourage all those who promote literacy and education.
Much of Parolin’s letter was dedicated to the increasingly important role multilingualism plays in “expanding knowledge and fostering openness to other peoples and different cultures, but also by encouraging dialogue, listening, and mediation.”
“Polyglots are often in demand precisely because, in addition to their ability to understand and speak several languages, they tend to have finer analytical abilities, better communication and social skills, and a greater aptitude for discernment. In this sense, they are better equipped to appreciate the richness of other cultures, including those far removed from their own,” the letter said.
Parolin relayed in the letter the Holy Father’s call to “political decision-makers, educators, and the general public to appreciate more deeply the vital role played by literacy in the building of a more educated, fraternal, supportive, and peaceful society.”
The cardinal also sent “prayerful good wishes” on behalf of the pope “upon you and your co-workers, and upon all the members of the networks involved in promoting literacy, intercultural dialogue, and mutual understanding between peoples.”
The letter was sent while the Holy Father continues his 12-day trip in Southeast Asia and Oceania, where he is visiting four countries.
Archbishop Paglia writes new book about old age as a ‘time for inner growth’
CNA Staff, Sep 3, 2024 / 14:07 pm (CNA).
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, 79, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, has written a new book titled “Destinati alla Vita,” which translates to “Destiny for Life.” The book is a reflection on old age and highlights how this time of life can serve as a time for inner growth.
In an excerpt published by L’Osservatore Romano, Paglia praises Pope Francis’ work throughout his papacy to honor the elderly and their importance in our lives, especially in the establishment of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly.
“Pope Francis has taken up the spiritual challenge of old age … As a pope he developed his teaching even more, to the point of establishing a special liturgical feast to celebrate his grandparents,” Paglia wrote. “But it is through the specific catechesis on the subject that he proposed a more articulated and comprehensive help to the elderly — in particular the believers, but not only — so that they face this last age of life as a time of grace, an appropriate time, a time of growth even if the body becomes fragile.”
He continued: “The years of old age lead to the fulfillment of every personal existence. We do not walk in the void and aimlessly at the mercy of fate,” he said.
Speaking about the COVID-19 pandemic, Paglia emphasized that the experience people endured served as a reminder that we are all fragile — not just the elderly.
He also touched on an “anti-age ideology” that “has led to a deep fracture between generations.”
“The ties have weakened, they have no duration, they have no history, they have no destination,” he said. “The effect is a sort of endless adolescence that empties affections and bonds. The change is sending the traditional humanistic parameters of training out of the axis.”
The archbishop went on to ask: “How can you educate the new generations to the values of life that are not consumed over time if the time of old age is assimilated to that of an expired product?”
In his book, Paglia urged that a “new alliance between generations” be formed, “especially among the elderly and the young.”
Pope Francis sends telegram of condolence to Cardinal Parolin after mother’s death
Vatican City, Sep 3, 2024 / 10:15 am (CNA).
Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolence on Tuesday to Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin following the death of the Italian prelate’s mother.
After landing in Jakarta, Indonesia — the first destination of the Holy Father’s 45th apostolic journey in Southeast Asia and Oceania — Pope Francis assured Parolin of his closeness with him and his extended family during their “moment of human suffering.”
“I raise my prayer to the Lord that he may welcome her into eternal joy, and for all of you relatives who mourn her departure, I invoke consolation in faith in the risen Christ,” the Holy Father’s telegram reads.
Parolin presided over the funeral Mass of his 96-year-old mother on Tuesday morning at the Church of Schiavon in the northeastern Italian diocese of Vicenza.
Though postponing his Sept. 2 departure from Rome to be with his family during their time of mourning, the Vatican state secretary is soon expected to join and accompany Pope Francis on his 45th apostolic journey.
During his 12-day journey, the pope will meet with both Catholic and civil leaders and communities in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Singapore.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis will meet with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Istana Merdeka Presidential Palace and give an address to the country’s leaders and diplomatic corps.
Parolin has served as the Vatican’s secretary of state since October 2013, after Francis chose him for the position shortly after being elected pope in March of the same year.
He has worked with the diplomatic service of the Holy See since 1986.
Pope Francis begins historic apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania
Vatican City, Sep 2, 2024 / 08:18 am (CNA).
Pope Francis departed Rome on Monday to commence his 45th apostolic journey, one that will take him to Southeast Asia and Oceania over the course of nearly two weeks.
During his 11-day journey — the longest trip of his papacy to date — the 87-year-old pontiff will visit Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Singapore from Sept. 2–13.
Prior to commencing his trip, the pope paid a visit to Salus Populi Romani (the Byzantine icon depicting the Blessed Virgin as the health and protector of the Roman people) at the Basilica of St. Mary Major on Sunday to entrust his journey to the Mother of God.
On Sept. 3, the Holy Father will first land in Jakarta, Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, to promote religious harmony and interfaith dialogue between Christians and Muslims in the country.
During his visit the pope will meet with Catholic bishops, priests, religious brothers and sisters, seminarians, and catechists at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in the Archdiocese of Jakarta.
Francis will also meet with the country’s President Joko Widodo on Sept. 4 and deliver a speech to political leaders at the Istana Merdeka Presidential Palace.
The Holy Father will also participate in an interreligious meeting at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, located directly opposite the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption.
Following Indonesia, the pope will travel to Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea, on Sept. 6. Approximately 4 million Catholics live in the country, representing the largest denomination in the majority-Christian nation.
The pope will meet with the country’s civil and religious leaders as well as visit a number of communities involved with Catholic ministries aimed at promoting the spiritual and social welfare for the people of the Oceania nation.
The motto chosen by the bishops of Papua New Guinea for Pope Francis’ apostolic visit — the second papal visit in the country’s young history — is “Pray,” inspired by the passage in the Gospel of Luke “Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1).
From Sept. 9–11, the Holy Father will visit Timor-Leste (East Timor) and meet with Catholic leaders and faithful at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in the country’s capital, Dili. The Holy Father will also meet with the country’s leaders and deliver a speech at the Presidential Palace.
The pontiff will also preside over Mass in Esplanade of Tasitolu, which is expected to attract the attendance of thousands of Catholics from around the country.
Pope Francis’ visit will mark the first visit by a pontiff to the 97%-majority Catholic country.
Singapore is the last country in the pope’s itinerary of his apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania.
Between Sept. 11–13, Pope Francis will meet with both civil and religious leaders in the Asian city-nation before presiding over the Holy Mass at the National Stadium.
The elderly, sick, and the youth are a priority for the Holy Father in his first visit to Singapore.
He will visit residents of St. Theresa’s Home, a nursing home founded by the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1935, as well as participate in a youth-led interreligious meeting at Catholic Junior College before returning to Rome at the conclusion of the journey.
On Monday, meanwhile, Vatican News reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin would not be leaving with the pope on his Monday flight due to the death of the prelate’s mother, Ada, who died on Aug. 31.
Parolin will celebrate the funeral of his mother in Schiavon, in the Italian province of Vicenza, on Sept. 3.
Pope Francis urges release of hostages, aid for polio outbreak in Gaza
Vatican City, Sep 1, 2024 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
After the bodies of six hostages killed by Hamas were recovered by Israeli forces this weekend, Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for peace in the Holy Land, urging the release of the remaining hostages and humanitarian aid for the polio outbreak in Gaza.
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus prayer, the pope expressed deep concern at the risk of the war between Israel and Hamas “spreading to other Palestinian cities.”
“I appeal for the negotiations to continue, for an immediate cease-fire, the release of hostages, and relief to the people of Gaza, where many diseases are also spreading, such as polio,” Pope Francis said on Sept. 1.
“May there be peace in the Holy Land!” he urged. “May there be peace in Jerusalem. May the Holy City be a place of encounter where Christians, Jews, and Muslims feel they are respected and welcomed, and no one questions the status quo in the respective Holy Places.”
The pope’s comments come just hours after Israel announced on Sunday that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages killed by Hamas from a subterranean tunnel in the Gazan city of Rafah shortly before the arrival of Israeli Defense Forces and as a humanitarian polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza.
Among the hostages killed was 23-year-old Israeli American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose mother met Pope Francis last fall to appeal for the hostages’ release and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August. According to the Associated Press, Israel believes that 101 hostages remain captive by Hamas in Gaza, including 35 who are believed to be dead.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a “humanitarian pause” for three consecutive days to allow aid workers to begin the campaign, which aims to vaccinate more than 640,000 Palestinian children under the age of 10 against polio.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated rapidly as the conflict drags on. Aid agencies’ officials in the territory have warned of a potential public health disaster if immediate action is not taken.
Pilgrims gather in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus prayer on Sept. 1, 2024, where Pope Francis appealed for peace in the Holy Land and called for aid to the people in Gaza and for the hostages to be released. The pope also expressed his closeness to the people of Burkina Faso after hundreds were killed there in a terrorist attack on Aug, 24. Credit: Vatican MediaDuring his Angelus address, the pope also prayed for the hundreds of people who were killed in a terrorist attack in Burkina Faso on Aug. 24. An Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group in West Africa known as Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) claimed responsibility for the attack.
“In condemning these heinous attacks against human life, I express my closeness to the nation as a whole and my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. May the Virgin Mary help the beloved people of Burkina Faso to regain peace and security,” Pope Francis said.
The pope also expressed his concern that over a million people have been left without electricity and water after attacks on energy infrastructure in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“I am always close to the tormented Ukrainian people, hard hit by attacks on the energy infrastructure. Besides causing deaths and injuries, they have left over a million people without electricity and water,” he said.
“Let us remember that the voice of the innocent is always heard by God, who does not remain indifferent to their suffering,” Francis added.
In his reflection on Sunday’s Gospel, Pope Francis warned against the temptation of hypocrisy and underlined the importance of having genuine purity of heart.
“Purity, Jesus says, is not linked to external rites but is first and foremost linked to inner dispositions, interior dispositions,” the pope said, citing chapter 7 of the Gospel of Mark.
“To be pure, therefore, it is no use washing one’s hands several times if one then, within the heart, harbors evil feelings such as greed, envy, or pride, or evil intentions such as deceit, theft, betrayal, and slander.”
Pope Francis added that Christians should take care not to live a “double life” in which they appear “pious in prayer but then treat one’s own relatives at home with coldness and detachment, or neglect their elderly parents, who are in need of help and company” or “gossip wickedly” in front of the church after Mass.
“Let us ask ourselves, then: Do I live my faith in a consistent manner, that is, what I do in Church, do I try to do outside in the same spirit?” he said.
“And may Mary, Mother most pure, help us to make our life, in heartfelt and practiced love, worship pleasing to God,” Pope Francis prayed.
At the end of the Sunday Angelus on Sept. 1, 2024, Pope Francis asked for prayers for his apostolic journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore Sept. 2-13, which will be the longest international trip of his pontificate. Credit: Vatican MediaThe 87-year-old pope also asked for prayers for his apostolic journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore Sept. 2–13, which will be the longest international trip of his pontificate.
Vatican grants ‘nihil obstat’ to Our Lady of Mercy shrine in France
Vatican City, Aug 30, 2024 / 16:32 pm (CNA).
The Vatican has affirmed that there are no objections to the 19th-century apparitions of Our Lady of Mercy at the Shrine of Pellevoisin in France and the faithful “are authorized to give to it their adherence in a prudent manner.”
On Aug. 22, the Holy See issued a “nihil obstat” (no objection) to the miraculous visions and physical healing of French woman Estelle Faguette following the request of Archbishop Jérôme Daniel Beau of Bourges, France, for the decree.
“Estelle’s accounts are striking for their simplicity, clarity, and humility,” reads the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) letter to the archbishop of Bourges. “It is very valuable to note how the merciful Mother treats Estelle.”
Struggling with an incurable illness, Faguette said she was often visited and consoled through Our Lady’s presence, “serene gaze,” and “words of mercy,” particularly during times of spiritual anguish at the thought of her parents being left in a state of poverty and missing her.
According to the DDF, Faguette’s “generous dedication to others” is what touched the motherly heart of Mary.
“Life that is used to taking care of others is what touched the Mother’s heart the most,” reads the Aug. 22 letter. “The Mother knows how to recognize all the good that is hidden behind our words.”
Following her healing that “surpassed all natural explanations,” Faguette emphasized that it was not by her own merits that she obtained the miracle from the Son of God through Mary’s intercession.
“Be convinced of one thing: that it was not for my own merits that the Blessed Virgin obtained my cure from her Son; on the contrary, it was to show many people that, despite our sins, we have a good mother who spoils us and intercedes for us,” she stated.
In the letter, the DDF also noted that the merciful Mother always gave exhortations, as well as reprimands, with a “reassuring gentless” that inspired Faguette and continues to inspire visitors to the sanctuary dedicated to the All-Merciful Mother in central France.
“When Estelle says that she would rather die, the Virgin responds with a smile: ‘O, you of little gratitude! If my Son gives you life, it is because you need it. What has he given to man on earth that is more precious than life?’” the letter reads.
Other messages the Blessed Mother conveyed to Faguette during her apparitions include the desire to bring peace in the Church, as “there is not that calm I desire,” and to lead people toward the heart of Christ particularly through the devotion of wearing the scapular — which shows the open heart of Jesus.
“The treasures of my Son have been open for a long time ... I love this devotion [of the scapular],” Our Lady shared with Faguette.
According to the DDF, the All-Merciful Mother also expressed to the visionary her sorrow for “the lack of love for Christ reflected in those who receive the Eucharist coldly or distractedly.”
Vatican again calls for a moratorium on killer robots
CNA Staff, Aug 30, 2024 / 14:12 pm (CNA).
A representative of Pope Francis recently reaffirmed the Vatican’s opposition to lethal autonomous weapons systems, known popularly as “killer robots,” with the Vatican stressing that “no machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”
Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva since 2023, spoke at a United Nations forum in Geneva this week, the Second Session of the 2024 Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS).
Balestrero strongly urged countries to consider the ethical implications of new weapons and lamented the fact that new and more sophisticated armaments are often tested on real battlefields.
“For the Holy See, given the pace of technological advancements and the research on weaponization of artificial intelligence, it is of the utmost urgency to deliver concrete results in the form of a solid legally binding instrument and in the meantime to establish an immediate moratorium on their development and use,” Balestrero said in an Aug. 26 address.
“In this regard, it is profoundly distressing that, adding to the suffering caused by armed conflicts, the battlefields are also becoming testing grounds for more and more sophisticated weapons.”
No universally agreed-upon definition of LAWS exists, but numerous countries around the world — including Israel, China, Russia, and the United States — are reportedly investing heavily in weapons with autonomous capabilities. These systems have the ability to navigate on their own and select targets without human input.
The Vatican and Pope Francis have raised concerns about LAWS for years, with the Holy See questioning whether such weapons systems could irreversibly alter the nature of warfare, create detachment from human agency, and call into question the humanity of societies.
“For the Holy See, autonomous weapons systems cannot be considered as morally responsible entities,” Balestrero continued.
“The human person, endowed with reason, possesses a unique capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making that cannot be replicated by any set of algorithms, no matter how complex.”
“In conclusion, the development of ever more sophisticated weapons is certainly not the solution,” the archbishop said.
“The undoubted benefits that humanity will be able to draw from the current technological progress will depend on the degree to which such progress is accompanied by an adequate development of responsibility and values that place technological advancements at the service of integral human development and of the common good.”
In 2021, in light of reports of development of swarms of “kamikaze” mini-drones in modern warfare, the Holy See said it was critical to maintain “meaningful human control over weapon systems.”
“The unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making is more than a complex collection of algorithms, and such a capacity cannot be replaced by, or programmed into, a machine,” the Vatican’s then-U.N. Geneva ambassador said.
At a G7 summit in June, Pope Francis himself had urged leaders to reconsider the development of lethal autonomous weapons and to ban their use. The pope himself made a similar call at an AI ethics conference in July.
Pope agrees to appointments of two bishops chosen by Syro-Malabar Church for India
Vatican City, Aug 30, 2024 / 13:40 pm (CNA).
The Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic rite in full communion with Rome, appointed two new bishops for Changanacherry and Shamshabad in India on Friday.
The appointments come after years of internal tensions among Syro-Malabar Church leaders regarding a synodal, unified liturgy of the ancient Oriental Church.
In May, Pope Francis warned the Church’s leaders that division comes from the work of “the devil, the divider” and that unity of the Eastern Church with Rome is essential.
“Apart from Peter, apart from the major archbishop, there is no Church,” stated the Holy Father in the May meeting with leaders and members of the Syro-Malabar Church at the Vatican.
On the July 3 feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle, the patron of the Syro-Malabar Church, a compromise was reached to resolve the liturgical feud sharply dividing leaders and the faithful of the Eastern-rite Church.
“The Holy Qurbana [Mass] should not be the reason for division in the Church,” Syro-Malabar Church spokesman Father Antony Vadakkekara told CNA in July. “That is why the synod made the compromise proposal to say at least one synodal Mass in each of the parishes [in India].”
Approximately 5 million people belong to the Syro-Malabar Church worldwide across eparchies (dioceses) in India, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Auxiliary Bishop Major Thomas Tharayil will soon become the major archbishop of Changanacherry following the resignation of major archbishop Joseph Perumthottam. He has served as auxiliary bishop in the archeparchy since 2017.
Tharayil was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 1, 2000, and served as a deputy parish priest for various parishes in Changanacherry after completing his psychology doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome.
Major Antony Prince Panengaden, bishop-elect of Shamshabad chosen by the Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops, was ordained a priest in 2007 after completing studies in philosophy at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram Institute in Bangalore and in theology at the Ruhalaya Major Seminary in Ujjain.
During his 17-year pastoral ministry, Panengaden served as a priest in parishes in Goa and Adilabad and also obtained a doctorate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. In 2015, he was elected and installed as bishop of the Adilabad eparchy.
The Syro-Malabar Church dates its historical origins to the evangelizing mission of St. Thomas the Apostle to southern India in the first century.
Pope Francis opposes idea to ‘dissolve’ 400-year-old missionary university in Rome
Vatican City, Aug 30, 2024 / 09:08 am (CNA).
Pope Francis expressed disagreement on Friday with a proposal to absorb a 400-year-old missionary-focused university in Rome into other pontifical universities.
Members of the Dicastery for Evangelization are meeting in an extraordinary plenary assembly Aug. 29–30 to discuss the future of the Pontifical Urban University, which educates priests and religious from the Catholic Church’s mission territories.
“There is some plan to ‘dissolve’ [the university] with the other universities: No, this will not do,” Francis said in his address Aug. 30 to the cardinals, bishops, priests, and religious gathered for the plenary.
According to Agenzia Fides, a missionary-focused news agency under the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Rome assembly is an intermediate step in discussions about “the present and future” of the Pontifical Urban University.
Also known as the “Urbaniana,” the missionary university was founded as the Urban College in 1627 by Pope Urban VIII, part of the educational aspect of the then-Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide.
In 1962, it was elevated to a pontifical university. Its mission is to train and educate the priests, religious, and laypeople who help spread the Gospel in places without a strong Christian presence or where the Church has few financial resources.
Earlier this year, the Vatican’s publishing house signed an agreement with the pontifical university’s press to help with the editorial production of some of its publications.
The Libreria Editrice Vaticana will assist the Urbaniana University Press with “the editorial management of the scientific production” of the university’s historic publishing service, according to a July 18 press release.
The change is part of an overall restructuring to increase operational cooperation between the Urban University and other pontifical universities in Rome.
The reconfiguration comes with a reduction in teaching staff. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the university will have 47 full and 40 adjunct and visiting professors, reduced from 62 full and 113 adjunct and visiting professors during the prior academic year.
Financially supported by the Dicastery for Evangelization, the university is also aiming to reduce costs by a projected 1.5 million euros ($1.66 million) in 2025.
In his speech on Friday, Pope Francis thanked the dicastery’s members for traveling to Rome “to reflect on the identity, mission, expectations, and future of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.”
“I, too, would like to offer some thoughts on this,” he added, underlining that the Urbaniana “has its own identity.”
The pope reflected on the still-relevant missionary vocation of the Urban University and the need to balance that identity with the issues faced by the Church and world today.
He also said the need to raise the quality of educational and research offerings must be balanced with a necessary rationing of human and economic resources.
“Making good use of resources,” Francis said, “means unifying equal paths, sharing faculty from the six [pontifical] institutions, eliminating waste, planning activities wisely, and abandoning outdated practices and projects.”
“In the specific case of the Urbaniana, it is important that, in the quality of the educational offerings, its missionary and intercultural specificity emerges even more, so that those who are being trained are able to mediate with originality the Christian message in the relationship with other cultures and religions,” he said.
What can science tell us about eternity? Vatican Observatory to present latest reflection
Madrid, Spain, Aug 30, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).
“Eternity Between Space and Time: From Consciousness to the Cosmos” is the title of an upcoming report to be released by the Vatican Observatory, where “unpublished reflections” on eternity studied from different disciplines will be presented.
The University of Padua in Italy together with the Vatican Observatory have investigated eternity from new scientific perspectives thanks to 24 contributions from some of the world's greatest scholars in different disciplines such as physics, psychology, philosophy, and theology.
Contributors include Nobel Prize winners Gerard ‘t Hooft and Roger Penrose, joined by Federico Faggin, Mauro D’Ariano, Gabriele Veneziano, Massimo Cacciari, Giulio Goggi, and Kurt Appel.
Questions about God and consciousness are addressed alongside quantum theory, black holes, cosmic inflation, and the Big Bang and string theory, considering the contributions of neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
The report, which will be released on Sept. 6, is the result of the international conference on the theme of eternity held in May 2022 at the University of Padua.
The conference was attended by the world’s leading scholars in the fields of physics, philosophy, theology, and psychology.
The presentation of the report will take place at the headquarters of the Curia General of the Society of Jesus in Rome and will be attended by Father Gabriele Gionti, a member of the Vatican Observatory Research Group; Fabio Scardigli, Polytechnic University of Milan; Ines Testoni, University of Padua; and Father Andrea Toniolo, faculty of theology of Triveneto, Padua, Italy.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.