03/07/2014VATICAN Pope: Christianity is not "ethics", but "a story of salvation" and the "bending over the flesh" of our brothers and sisters "Do not be ashamed of the sick, poor or elderly flesh of our brothers or sisters", because "it is our same flesh. We will be judged for whatever we do for this brother, this sister".
Vatican
City ( AsiaNews) - Christianity is not "ethics", but "a story of
salvation" and the "bending over the flesh" of our brothers and
sisters and not being ashamed of it: It is going to break bread with the
hungry, cure the sick, the elderly, those who...
03/06/2014VATICAN Pope: Time of mercy, closeness to wounded for entire Church Encountering priests of the diocese of Rome, Francis says that “we must think of the Church today like a ‘field hospital'". "I always carry a small cloth pouch" containing a cross, in memory of a "great confessor", and when I have bad thoughts about someone my hand reaches for it". Confessors must be neither too "lax" nor too "rigorous".
03/05/2014VATICAN Pope: Lent, a time of conversion to be able to "react to the reality of evil that always challenges us " Francis points out two "commitments" for the period leading up to Easter: live the redemptive work of Christ with greater awareness and live our baptism with greater commitment. The "risk of not no longer being shocked by the sad reality that surrounds us", such as violence, injustice, "a society that claims it can make do without God".
03/04/2014VATICAN Pope: Remember that among Christians "there are more martyrs today than in the early days of the Church" "The world does not tolerate the divinity of Christ. It doesn’t tolerate the announcement of the Gospel. It does not tolerate the Beatitudes". "They are condemned because they have a Bible. They can not make the sign of the Cross", "they can not go to Mass, because it is forbidden". How often "does a priest come in secret, among them, they pretend they are having a meal, taking tea and there they celebrate Mass", "so they will not see them".
03/03/2014VATICAN Pope: May God send us priests and nuns free from the idolatry of vanity, power and money "How many young people feel this ' call ' to get closer to Jesus in their hearts, and are enthusiastic " and "want to follow him, but when they have a heart full of something else and are not brave enough to empty it, the take a step back, and that joy becomes sadness".
03/02/2014VATICAN Pope launches "pressing appeal" for Ukraine, for "all initiatives in favor of dialogue and harmony" "This week we begin Lent, which is the journey of the People of God towards Easter, a journey of conversion, to combat evil with the weapons of prayer, fasting and mercy". "The shroud has no pockets! It is better to share, because we bring into Heaven only what we have shared with others".
02/27/2014VATICAN Pope: bishops are not managers but witnesses to the Risen Christ who lives for and near his flock Francis chaired a meeting of the Congregation for Bishops today. For him "To identify a bishop, it is not necessary to list his human, intellectual cultural or even pastoral skills". To "choose," we "need to elevate ourselves, to rise to the 'upper level'. We must rise above and overcome any eventual preferences, sympathies, provenances or tendencies to arrive at God's broad horizon".
02/27/2014VATICAN Pope: inconsistency between Christian life and faith causes scandal, "it does so much damage”, it "kills" "If you find yourself in front of an atheist and he tells you that he does not believe in God, you can read him a whole library, where it says that God exists and also prove that God exists, and he will still not believe. But if you give a coherent witness of Christian life to this atheist, something will begin to work in his heart".
02/26/2014LEBANON Francis and Benedict XVI "united in Prayer" for Christians and Muslims in Lebanon by Fady Noun The Pope Emeritus told Patriarch al-Rahi that he prays every day for the country that gave him "unforgettable moments." Today, major figures in Christian circles and among the elite are dejected for having "worked for nothing," bitter that they "were wrong to stay." Others believe that Islam will not allow them full religious freedom.
02/25/2014VATICAN Pope: war leaves children starving in refugee camps as lords of war who make and sell weapons throw parties "Wars, hatred, enmity - he replied - can not be bought at the market: they are here in our hearts". "This spirit of war, which leads us away from God, is not only far from us" it is "also in our homes”. "How many families are destroyed because the father, the mother is unable to find the path of peace and prefer war".
