05/22/2013VATICAN Pope says no to intolerance, everyone can and must do good, even atheists As he celebrated Mass this morning, Francis said that the possibility of doing good is part of creation, and that Christ redeemed all of us, not only Catholics. Doing good "is a beautiful path towards peace" whilst "killing in the name of God is blasphemy."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Man, who was created in God's image "must"
do good. This concerns us all, independently of ideologies and religions, even
atheists, for the Lord "redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ;
all of us, not just Catholics....
05/22/2013VATICAN-CHINA Pope: pray for Chinese Catholics that they may "never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world and the world to Jesus" At the General audience, Francis speaks of the "duty" to evangelize that belongs to every Christian: the Spirit urges us to preach the Good News “courageously, loudly" and to all. Also a prayer "for the victims, especially the children of the disaster in Oklahoma. May the Lord himself console everyone, in particular parents who have lost a child in such a tragic way".
05/21/2013VATICAN Pope: there should be no power struggle within the Church, because real power, according to Jesus, is service In this morning's Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae, Francis stressed how the Gospel shows that the disciples were already arguing over who was greatest among them. In the Church however, "the greatest is the one who serves the most, the one who is in the service of others the most." This "is the rule." And yet, from the start until now, there have been "power struggles within the church."
05/20/2013LEBANON Maronite patriarch slams Lebanese politicians who "don't deserve to rule" Bisharah Al-Rahi attacks the government's action during a trip to South America. The electoral law and poverty top the list of problems. However, Syria's civil war continues to be the main concern. Lebanon should not "interfere in the conflict in Syria".
05/20/2013PIME Father Ferruccio Brambillasca new PIME Superior General Elected today by a two-thirds majority, he was regional superior in Japan. Before that, he was an educator (1989-1993) in Ducenta, Italy, and a teacher at the seminary in Pune, India.
05/20/2013VATICAN Pope: courageous “open-hearted prayer"," enables Jesus to perform miracles During Mass this morning Francis says that we must overcome that "piece of disbelief" that is in all of us. "Prayer to ask for a miracle, ask for an extraordinary action must be an involved prayer, which unites us all." An episode in Argentina demonstrates that at times we must also “struggle” in our prayer.
05/19/2013VATICAN Pope to Movements: The action of the Spirit is newness, harmony, mission At Mass for Pentecost, along with movements and lay associations, Francis asks believers not close in on themselves for fear the 'God’s surprises', defending ourselves " barricaded in transient structures which have lost their capacity for openness." The harmony of the Spirit brings unity, not exclusivism or standardization. "The Holy Spirit ... saves us from the threat of a Church which is gnostic and self-referential, closed in on herself" and " drive us to the very outskirts of existence in order to proclaim life in Jesus Christ." The final thanks of the Pope: "You are a gift and a treasure for the Church."
05/19/2013VATICAN Pope to Movements: man is in crisis. No to a church closed in on itself, but a Church that goes out, At the Vigil for Pentecost, Pope Francis pushes Christian witness in a world that has become the enemy of man, where the collapse of financial markets makes the news, but not the death of workers or child hunger. A great event for the Year of Faith, 200 thousand people are present: from CL and Renewal in the Spirit, to the Neocatechumenal Way, Focolare, Sant'Egidio, international associations. The testimony of John Waters, an Irish journalist, and Paul Bhatti, former minister for minorities in Pakistan. The Pope invites all to pray every day for persecuted Christians and to work for religious freedom. The Church is not an efficient NGO. Her main contribution is "to live the Gospel."
05/17/2013VATICAN The life of the Church and of the Churches is the mission, pope says In meeting the national directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Francis focuses on the duty to bring the Gospel to the world, which includes "educating every Christian, from childhood, to have a genuinely universal and missionary spirit," and giving "special attention to the young Churches, which often operate in a climate of difficulty, discrimination, and persecution, so that they might be sustained and assisted in witnessing the Gospel in word and in deed."
05/16/2013VATICAN Pope: Church does not need lukewarm, "backseat" Christians In this morning's Mass, Francis spoke about Saint Paul's apostolic zeal. "Paul is a nuisance. He is a man who, with his preaching, his work, his attitude irritates others, because he bears witness to Jesus Christ". We can ask the Holy Spirit "to give us all this apostolic fervour to be nuisance in the Church's comfort zones and the grace to reach the outer edges of existence."
05/16/2013VATICAN Pope: Money must serve and not rule Addressing a group of ambassadors, Francis criticizes the role that economics and finance have on people and society today, reducing humanity to being consumers and consumer goods. The rejection of God and ethics "considered counterproductive as too human, because it relativizes money and power, as a threat, because it rejects the manipulation and submission of the person."
05/16/2013SYRIA - UN With a non-binding resolution UN condemns Assad and supports rebels The text is passed with 107 votes in favor. Increasing abstentions. Russia and China slam resolution. For Moscow it does not help attempts at reconciliation between rebels and regime. Approved economic aid to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to handle the refugee emergency.
05/15/2013VATICAN Pope: Pray for priests and bishops so they do not yield to temptation of money and careerism During Mass celebrated this morning, Francis comments on the phrase of St. Paul that exhorts the "elders" of the Church of Ephesus to be vigilant of themselves and their flock, shepherds attentive to the "ravenous wolves." "When a priest, a bishop goes after money, the people do not love him and that's a sign. But he ends up badly." "And when a bishop, a priest travels the road of vanity, enters into the spirit of careerism - which hurts the Church so much – he ends up being ridiculous, he boasts, he likes to be seen, all powerful ... And the people did not love that. "
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