Franco Pisano

The Nativity scene "brings the Gospel to the places where we live: homes, schools, workplaces and meeting places, in hospitals and nursing homes, in prisons and in squares. And where we live, it reminds us of an essential thing: that God did not remain invisible in heaven, but came to Earth, he became man, a child”.

They will no longer be covered by the pontifical secret - the highest of the canonical order - reporting of cases, trials and the decisions concerning the cases of violence and sexual acts carried out by a cleric under threat or abuse of authority or abuse on minors and vulnerable people; the cases of child pornography; the cases of failure to report and cover up abusers by bishops and general superiors of religious institutes.

Today's meeting with Italy’s National Association of Elderly Workers gave Pope Francis an opportunity to stress the "gift" that comes from seniors getting more involved “in voluntary work and associations”. Also, "dialogue" is important to pass on the experiences of a family, community, and people to young people.

"To put God in the corner" and not to get involved are attitudes of "Rosewater Christians"; Christians like this: without consistency. An attitude is to put God in the corner: "Either you do this to me or I will no longer go to a church." And what does Jesus say ?: "Okay, go. Deal with it yourself''.

Francis celebrated Simbang Gabi (Night Mass) with Rome’s Filipino community. “Salvation is offered to all,” he said, “but the Lord shows a special tenderness for the most vulnerable, the most fragile, the poorest of his people.” And “since the inhabitants of the existential peripheries still continue to be numerous, we must ask the Lord to renew the miracle of Christmas every year, offering ourselves as instruments of his merciful love for the last.”

Thousands of children brought statues of the Baby Jesus to be blessed by the Pope during the Angelus. Francis announced that “in less than a year, the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Budapest from 13 to 20 September 2020.”

"It is decisive for the Church and for the credibility of her proclamation that she be a living firsthand witness to mercy. Her language and gestures must convey mercy to penetrate the hearts of people and spur them on to find their way back to the Father ".

The role of women in the Church should not be reduced to the functions they perform because such an attitude belittles their nature and calling.

Francis' Message for the World Day of Peace. “We need to pursue a genuine fraternity based on our common origin from God and exercised in dialogue and mutual trust. The desire for peace lies deep within the human heart, and we should not resign ourselves to seeking anything less than this". "Paradoxical" build a peace based on fear of others, mutual destruction or a threat of total annihilation.

At the general audience, Francis speaks of persecution "with white gloves, that is, left aside, marginalized ...". "There will always be martyrs among us: this is the signal that we are on the path of Jesus. It is a blessing from the Lord, whether there is in the people of God, some who are witnesses of martyrdom".

"How often do we complain, do we lament and think that our sins, our limits cannot be forgiven. And there, the voice of the Lord comes and says: "I console you, I am near you", and takes us with tenderness. The powerful God who created the heavens and the earth, the God-hero, to put it this way, our brother, who let himself be led to the cross to die for us, is able to caress us and say: "Don't cry".

The four "neighborhoods" of diocesan priests. "Being close to God in prayer", "being close to the bishop, always close to the bishop: without the bishop the Church does not move forward, without the bishop the priest can be a leader but he will not be a priest. Third closeness: to be near fellow priests, near to eachother”. "And the fourth closeness: closeness to the people of God".