From the historic church in Goa to the cathedral in Xi’an, there are many places across Asia that commemorate the message of the saint from Assisi, on the 800th anniversary of his death. Among the most recent is the chapel built in the image of the Porziuncola near the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas.
Already in the inaugural Mass of his pontificate, Pope John , who as a young man wanted to enter PIME, said that the Pope's most important quality is his apostolic zeal towards those sheep who are not in Christ’s fold. And John Paul II wrote, "My travels in Latin America, Asia and Africa have a eminently missionary purpose".
Hundreds of thousands of faithful, 122 delegations from around the world, two billion people connected via TV and radio for the canonization of John XXIII and John Paul II. Among the concelebrants Benedict XVI. "They were priests, bishops and popes of the twentieth century. They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful; faith was more powerful".
In a video message broadcast on Polish TV, Francis expresses the gratitude of the people of God for the Polish Pope "for his tireless service, his spiritual leadership, for having introduced the Church into the third millennium of faith and for his extraordinary testimony of holiness".
On several occasions, the current pope highlighted Pope John XXIII's humility and surrender to God's and John Paul II's consistency, courage and missionary strength as examples of how the Catholic world ought to be.
Like the disciples at the appearance of the Risen Jesus, we "are afraid of the closeness of Jesus, because it gives us joy." "The Christian life should be a dialogue with Jesus, because - this is true - Jesus is always with us, always in times of problems, difficulties and good works".
For the first time, a US president directly addresses the issue of the Senkaku/Diayou, a group of small islands claimed by both China and Japan. For the US president, on a visit to Japan, the islands "fall within the scope of Article 5 of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Co-operation and Security." For Beijing, this is mistake, worthy of the "Cold War" era.
At the General Audience, Pope Francis reflects on the Angels’ words at the tomb: "Why look among the dead for someone who is alive?". And what do I do ? Which route do I follow to encounter the living Christ . He will always be close to us to correct our course if we have gone wrong".
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