19/11/2015 13:08 (Vatican Radio)
“The whole world is at war,” and the rejection of the “path of peace” means that God Himself, that Jesus Himself, weeps. This was the message of Pope Francis to the faithful following the readings of the day at Mass on Thursday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.
“Jesus wept.”
Continue reading Pope Francis: the Lord weeps for the sins of a world at war
17/11/2015 12:59 (Vatican Radio)
The importance of safeguarding our Christian identity and not living double lives: that was the theme at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at the Santa Marta Mass on Tuesday morning. The Pope based his words on the daily readings which focus on the need for coherence between our spiritual and our temporal lives. Continue reading Pope warns against temptations of leading a double life
November 16, 2015
Two European bishops’ conferences and prominent Vatican observers are highlighting the significance of a recent article by one of Pope Francis’ closest confidants interpreting the Synod’s final report to allow Communion to “remarried” divorcees. They say the author’s interpretation signals the path Pope Francis will adopt himself.
In a recent article, papal friend and adviser Father Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor of La Civiltà Cattolica, declares that the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family opened the door for the “remarried” divorcees to possibly have access to Holy Communion. Continue reading Papal confidant signals Pope Francis will allow Communion for the ‘remarried’
24/10/2015 19:27 (Vatican Radio)
On Saturday evening the Synod on the Family came to a close when the Synod Fathers voted paragraph by paragraph on the final text. At the end of the vote the text was presented to the Holy Father. Continue reading Pope Francis addresses Synod of Bishops at conclusion
Vatican City, 24 October 2015 (VIS) – During this morning’s General Congregation, during Vespers for the conclusion of the Synod, the Synod Fathers launched a new appeal for peace and the resolution of conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine, asking the international Community to act via diplomatic channels and to engage in dialogue to end the suffering of thousands of people. Continue reading Declaration of the Synod of Bishops on the situation in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine
23/10/2015 17:18 (Vatican Radio)
How far has the Irish Church come in responding to the challenges facing families today? What have its leaders learnt from the same-sex marriage referendum earlier this year? What response are they continuing to provide for families devastated by clerical abuse? Continue reading Irish Church must respond better to challenges of family life
2015-10-23 (Vatican Radio)
Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, on Thursday said it was the “grave duty” of the Vatican to remind the international community that “extremists are seeking to eradicate religions, ethnic groups and cultures” that have been in the Middle East “for millennia.” Continue reading Holy See: Extremists seek to eradicate religions and cultures
2015-10-22 (Vatican Radio)
The Church’s youngest Cardinal, Soane Mafi, was a guest at the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family. He was joined by Cardinal Oswald Gracias from India (who is on the Synod’s drafting committee) and Archbishop José H.Gómez from the United States of America. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 15
2015-10-22 (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has announced he has established a new Dicastery dedicated to Laity, Family and Life. Continue reading Pope Francis announces the establishment of a new Dicastery
Vatican City, 21 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis held his usual Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square. In his catechesis, in which he revisited the theme of the family, he reflected on faithfulness and the promise of love between a man and a woman, on which the family is based, and which implies the promise to welcome and educate children, to care for elderly parents and the weakest members of the family, and to help each other to develop their own qualities and to accept their limitations. Continue reading Fidelity to the promise, a work of art
21/10/2015 12:10 (Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience this Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square. In his remarks to the faithful gathered in the Square, Pope Francis returned to the theme of the family, and specifically to the promises a man and a woman make to each other when they form a family in marriage. Continue reading Pope Francis: keep our word, heal our families, save the world
2015-10-20 (Vatican Radio) Cardinal Wilfrid Napier of South Africa cautioned against using “politically correct language” at the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family on Tuesday. Napier was a guest together with Cardinals Luis Martinez Sistach of Spain and Alberto Suarez Inda of Mexico. Continue reading Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 13
Vatican City, 19 October 2015 (VIS) – On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, the Holy Father addressed the Synod Fathers in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. An introduction was given by Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, and the president of the Episcopal Conference of Austria and cardinal archbishop of Vienna Christoph Schonborn pronounced a commemorative discourse.
Continue reading The Synod: walking together
Vatican City, 18 October 2015 (VIS) – This Sunday in St. Peter’s Square the Pope celebrated Holy Mass for the canonisation of Blesseds Vincenzo Grossi (1845-1917), diocesan priest and founder of the Institute of the Daughters of the Oratory; Maria Isabel Salvat Romero (Mary of the Immaculate Conception), (1926-1998), superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross; and the spouses Louis Martin (1823-1894) and Zelie Guerin (1831-1877). Continue reading The Pope canonises four new saints and appeals for peace in the Holy Land
Pope Francis marks the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops as a permanent body, Oct 17th, 2015 – AFP
17/10/2015 12:49 (Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis on Saturday morning marked the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops as a permanent body. Continue reading Pope Francis marks 50th anniversary of Synod’s institution
2015-10-15 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) ‘Mission impossible’ was how Fr Federico Lombardi on Thursday described the task of trying to sum up the dozens of daily interventions by participants in the Synod of Bishops on the Family, currently coming to the close of its second week in the Vatican’s Synod Hall.
Continue reading Synod: Bishops must welcome families as teachers and pastors
“I came across a quote from someone who knew him (Pope Francis) in Argentina. ‘Apparently, he loves to be loved by all and please everyone, so one day he could make a speech on TV against abortion, and the next day, on the same television show, bless the pro-abortion feminists in the Plaza de Mayo; He can give a wonderful speech against the Masons and, a few hours later, be dining and drinking with them in the Rotary Club.’ So, how can you make a decision about a man like this, who is everybody’s friend?”
Source: The WILD VOICE
By Michael O’Loughlin National reporter October 9, 2015
ROME – As bishops wrap up the first week of deliberations about family life, hints are emerging that complex pastoral challenges could ultimately be addressed not with sweeping changes in Rome, but at the local level. Could national bishops’ conferences come up with their own rules about annulments, Communion, and how to minister to gays and lesbians? Maybe. Continue reading Synod bishops may punt the tough issues to the local level
By Inés San Martín, Vatican correspondent October 12, 2015
ROME — An Italian journalist banned from the Vatican press office for publishing the pope’s encyclical on the environment too early has dropped another bombshell: A letter to the pope allegedly signed by 13 cardinals raising concerns about left-wing manipulation of the process at the bishops’ synod. There’s just one problem: Four of the cardinals deny they signed it. And a source says that although such a letter exists, the report of its content isn’t accurate. Continue reading Uncertainty surrounds cardinals’ letter voicing doubts about the synod
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. 12 Oct 2015
On Friday, an unprecedented letter written to Pope Francis by thirteen cardinals taking part in the Vatican synod on marriage and the family was published online, revealing contention regarding the revamped synodal process as well as the suitability of the draft document being used to guide the bishops’ discussions. Continue reading Cardinals’ Letter to Pope Reveals Rift in Vatican Synod
by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D. 25 Oct 2014
Rome provides a “neutral brokerage” where religious leaders can work together for peace, says Jerry White, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. In an interview with Vatican Radio, White spoke of the need for faith leaders to work harder to prevent religiously motivated violence. Islamic state extremists have brought the question of faith and violence to the fore, and the world religions must be in the forefront of the peace process. Continue reading US Representative in Rome to Push for ‘Global Covenant of World Religions’
But Francis has rejected their requests en bloc. And meanwhile, the “Relatio finalis” has disappeared from the program of the synod
by Sandro Magister
[POST SCRIPTUM]
A spokesperson for Cardinal George Pell said that a private letter should remain private but it seems that there are errors in both the content and the list of signatories. Continue reading Thirteen Cardinals Have Written to the Pope. Here’s the Letter
Edward Pentin’s “The Rigging of a Vatican Synod” is well worth reading. It is subtitled “An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family.” One commentator suggested that Ignatius Press must have insisted on the question mark in the main title and the “alleged” in the subtitle. I’m not sure this is fair. Edward Pentin does present a studiously balanced account, giving quotations and arguments from both sides. The evidence that is presented is clear enough, but it is not forced on the reader. Continue reading Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried but not for those who refuse the Church tax?
Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship – RV
12/10/2015 11:36
Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship has said that the people of Africa need to keep themselves informed about what is happening at the Synod on the Family because, “love of the Church includes our readiness to know what the Church is doing. However, knowledge alone is not enough. We should also pray for the Synod fathers,” he said. Continue reading Cardinal Arinze to Africa: Be informed and pray for Synod
Claire Bernish September 14, 2015
What do Syria, New Jersey, Lord Jacob Rothschild, and former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson have in common?
Besides sounding like the introduction to a wince-worthy conspiracy quip, the most elementary answer is also nauseatingly cliché as an explanation for the penchant the U.S. government displays for inserting itself in the domestic affairs of nearly every country in the Middle East: Continue reading What Rothschild, Murdoch, Cheney, and Israel Love Most About Syria
Vatican City, 9 October 2015 (VIS). The Pope exhorted bishops to dedicate the Terce prayer “to the intention of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East”, as he opened the fourth General Congregation of the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City this morning. The Pope also launched an appeal to the international community to find a way of resolving current conflicts, and finally urged the bishops to include in their prayer all those zones in Africa that are experiencing similar situations of conflict.
Continue reading Synod Terce Prayer: Appeal for peace in the Middle East and Africa
By Michael O’Loughlin National reporter October 9, 2015
As 270 Catholic bishops from around the world debate issues related to the family inside the Vatican’s Synod Hall from Oct. 4-25, activists, advocacy groups, and ordinary people with a cause to promote or a question to raise have descended on Rome to be active on the sidelines of the event, representing views across the spectrum. Crux is offering periodic snapshots of this “synod outside the synod,” profiling people and their causes.
ROME — Even as the Western world increasingly accepts same-sex marriage and moves on to other battles in the culture wars, the Catholic Church remains steadfast in its conviction that marriage is, and will always be, the union of one man and one woman. Continue reading A gay Catholic activist hopes for a softer tone and a merciful attitude
8/10/15
Will the Catholic Church discuss “World Hunger” at the synod and take an active role in helping eliminate this world travesty?
This video below was produced in 2006 and nine years later “World Hunger” is still a problem. There is enough food for all. Why? Continue reading World Hunger at Synod???
2015-10-07 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square – the first of three Wednesday Audiences scheduled to take place during the course of the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, dedicated to reflecting on the family in the life of the Church and of society. Below, please find the official English-language summary of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks Continue reading Pope Francis at weekly General Audience
The Loud Cry 
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