The homeless need urgent prayers in cold winter months, Pope says 

Vatican City, Jan 8, 2017 / 07:15 am (CNA/EWTN News) - On Sunday Pope Francis announced that his “urgent” prayer for the month of January is for all those who live on the streets with no shelter, expecially during the cold winter weather.

“During these very cold days, I think of and I invite you to think of all the people who live on the streets, affected by the cold and many times by indifference,” he said Jan. 8.

“Unfortunately some didn’t make it. Let us pray for them, and let us ask the Lord to warm our hearts so as to be able to help them.”

The Pope made his appeal looking out over frozen St. Peter's Square and the thousands of pilgrims bundled up below the window to the Apostolic Palace.
 
Temperatures in Rome have made a significant drop over the past few days, lowering enough to cause the fountains inside the square to freeze over, with ice on the cobblestone beside them where the water had splashed over.

Last week the Vatican announced that the Pope would be making some changes to his monthly prayer intentions in 2017, adding an “urgent” prayer intention himself each month, alongside the usual monthly intention, in order to garner rapid support for a cause.

His attention to the homeless isn't surprising, as it has been a consistent concern for Francis since the beginning of his pontificate.

Not only did he have showers and a barber service installed in the bathrooms in St. Peter's Square to help the homeless stay clean and tidy, he has invited them to several events in the Vatican, including concerts and tours of the museums, and they have consistently been his special guests for breakfast on his birthday.

Pope Francis announced the special prayer intention during his Sunday Angelus address on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Earlier that morning he celebrated Mass in the Sistine Chapel and baptized 28 babies.

The Baptism of the Lord is typically celebrated by the Church on the Sunday following Jan. 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, unless in a particular country the Epiphany is celebrated on Jan. 7 or 8, as it is in the US. In that instance the Baptism of the Lord is then celebrated the following Monday.

In his message before the Angelus, Francis said he would like to extend his “prayers to all parents who at this time are preparing for the Baptism of their child, or have just celebrated it.”

“I invoke the Holy Spirit upon them, and on children, because this Sacrament, so simple and yet so important, is lived with faith and joy,” he continued.

Speaking about Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, Francis reflected on how John says to Jesus, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”

John the Baptist “is aware of the fact that there is great distance between him and Jesus. But Jesus came precisely to bridge the gap between man and God,” he said.

“For that he asks John to baptize him, because it fulfills all righteousness, that is, you realize the plan of the Father which passes through the path of obedience and solidarity with the fragile and sinful man.”

This is one of the beautiful aspects of this feast day, the Pope noted. That it “makes us rediscover the gift and beauty” of being baptized people. That we are sinners “saved by the grace of Christ.”

Through the Holy Spirit, we are able to enter into the filial relationship of Jesus to God the Father, and be “welcomed into the bosom of Mother Church,” a relationship that knows “no boundaries and barriers,” he said.

The example Jesus gives us through his own baptism, is an example of the missionary style of Christ’s disciples, Francis said, which is “to proclaim the Gospel with meekness and firmness, without arrogance or imposition.”

The real mission is “never proselytism,” he continued, but “attraction to Christ,” which is brought out through strong union with God in “prayer, adoration and concrete charity, which is service to Jesus present in the least of our brothers.”

“In imitation of Jesus, good and merciful Shepherd, and animated by his grace, we are called to make our life a joyful witness that illuminates the path, that brings hope and love,” he said.

Is unity the most important thing to Pope Francis? 

Vatican City, Jan 9, 2017 / 04:04 pm (CNA) - Pope Francis has decided to begin 2017 in much the same way as he did last year: praying for Christian unity.

And it's this drive for unity – not only among Christians but with other religions as well – that's emerged as sort-of personal manifesto from practically the moment he took office.

In his newest and first prayer video for the year, Pope Francis prayed for Christian unity, specifically “that all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by striving with prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion and by collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.”

Released Jan. 9, the video shows images of different churches and people working together in service projects as the Pope, in his native Spanish, notes how “many Christians from various churches work together to serve humanity in need, to defend human life and its dignity, to defend creation and to combat injustice.”

As the screen changes to show different hands grabbing the same rope one at a time, Francis says the desire to walk together and collaborate “in service and in solidarity with the weakest and with those who suffer, is a source of joy for all of us.”

He closes his video asking viewers to “join your voice to mine in praying for all who contribute through prayer and fraternal charity to restoring full ecclesial communion in service of the challenges facing humanity.”

At the beginning of each year the Pope’s prayer intentions for the next 12 months are released, showing topics he wants to draw attention to throughout the year. This year, Christian unity is setting the tone.

Similarly, last January Pope Francis kicked off 2016 with a monthly intention for interfaith dialogue, praying that “sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce fruits of peace and justice.”

In his first-ever video on the monthly papal prayer intentions, Francis noted that “many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways.”

“In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God,” he said, adding that this “should lead to a dialogue among religions. We should not stop praying for it and collaborating with those who think differently.”

Both ecumenical and interfaith dialogue have been major priorities for Pope Francis in general. But 2016, which happened to coincide with the Jubilee of Mercy, was especially packed with ecumenical and interfaith meetings and encounters, some marking historic new steps.

Almost monthly, the Pope made some sort of new gesture or held a landmark meeting. If we take a look at some of the major events from last year, we see that from the very beginning this emphasis on dialogue was in many ways a papal priority for the year.

In addition to praying for interfaith dialogue in January, Pope Francis made his first visit to Rome’s synagogue that month, where he embraced Rome’s Chief Rabbi, Riccardo Di Segni, and urged Jews and Christians to unite against war and violence.  

A month later Pope Francis met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill Feb. 12 while on his way to Mexico, marking the first-ever meeting between a Pope and a Patriarch of Moscow.

The two signed a joint-declaration that focused at length on anti-Christian persecution, the threat of secularism to religious freedom and the Christian roots of Europe. While many, Greek Catholics in particular, weren’t happy with how the document handled the Ukraine crisis, for others it was a decent start to a nuanced yet positive process.

In March Pope Francis put this desire for interfaith unity into action by washing the feet of 12 migrants during his Holy Thursday Mass at a refugee welcome center on the outskirts of Rome. The migrants belonged to different faiths, and included Muslims, Christians and one Hindu.

April marked not only the Pope's daytrip to the Greek island of Lesbos where he met with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople and Orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and All Greece to draw attention to the migration crisis, but it was also the month Francis met with the head of the Society of Saint Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay.

After what has been a lengthy and at many times tumultuous process of dialogue between the SSPX and the Vatican to restore ties, recent steps have suggested a warming in relations.

Among these steps was Pope Francis' decision in September 2015 to allow SSPX priests to validly hear confessions during the Jubilee – a mandate he has indefinitely extended – as well as his decision that year to send a cardinal and three bishops to visit the seminaries of the SSPX in order to become better acquainted with the society, and to discuss doctrinal and theological topics in a less formal context.

These moves culminated in the Pope's meeting with Fellay in April 2016, during which “it was decided that the current exchanges would continue,” a statement from the Vatican describing the meeting read.

While the canonical status of the society was not directly addressed, the Pope and Bishop Fellay determined “that these exchanges ought to continue without haste.”

In May Pope Francis made what many viewed as a quantum leap in terms of Catholic-Muslim relations when he welcomed the rector of Egypt’s prestigious al-Azhar University, Imam Ahmen al-Tayyeb, to the Vatican for a private audience.

Relations were strained under Benedict in 2011 with claims he had “interfered” in Egypt’s affairs by condemning a bomb attack on a church, but they made a dramatic shift after Francis and Al-Tayyeb’s meeting. Following their May 2016 encounter, it was announced in October that the university and the Vatican will officially resume dialogue toward the end of April 2017.

In June Pope Francis traveled Armenia for a trip largely made to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and support the country’s Christian majority. During his visit the Pope met with Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, speaking to him of their brotherhood and placing a strong emphasis on unity.

At an ecumenical meeting with Armenian Orthodox leaders the day before his audience with the Patriarch, Francis prayed that they would “race toward our full communion” with determination.

As if the events of the first half of the year weren’t enough, after popping over to Poland for WYD in July, Francis made a quick visit to Assisi at the beginning of August to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the dedication of the Portiuncula chapel, the site where the Franciscan order began.

During the visit he had a surprise meeting with Mohamed Abdel Qader, the Imam of Perugia and Umbria, who was present with the Pope at the 30th World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi a month later.

Convoked by St. John Paul II in 1986, the gathering brings together representatives of various other religions, both Christian and non-Christian. During the September encounter, Francis was joined by Patriarch Bartholomew, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, as well as Imam Ahmen al-Tayyeb.

At the end of September Pope Francis made his visit to the Caucasus nations of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

While in Georgia, which is a majority Orthodox nation where relations with Catholics have traditionally been tense, the Pope met with Catholicos and Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II, saying unity is necessary and love for God and the Gospel must overcome “the misunderstandings of the past” and the problems of the present and future.

Despite obvious tensions felt during the visit, demonstrated by the visible presence of members of the Orthodox Church protesting the Pope’s visit as well as the failure of the Orthodox delegation to show up at the only public Mass the Pope celebrated, Francis has on several occasions spoken highly of Ilia, calling him “a man of prayer.”

In Azerbaijan, which marked the first time Francis has traveled to a majority Shi’ite Muslim nation, he praised the peaceful coexistence of Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox and Jews the country enjoys. Only 600-700 Catholics live in the country.

Then in October Pope Francis made his historic visit to Sweden for a joint commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The event also marks 50 years of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation.

During a large ecumenical encounter Pope Francis and Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan, president of the Lutheran World Federation, signed a joint statement together. In a separate event later that day, Francis stressed that “we remember this anniversary with a renewed spirit and in the recognition that Christian unity is a priority, because we realize that much more unites us than separates us.”

Pope Francis gave an interview in November ahead of the close of the Jubilee of Mercy that focused heavily on the rapid progress ecumenical and interfaith relations seem to be making during his pontificate.

In the interview, Francis credited this pace to his predecessors, saying the “small and large steps” that have been taken during his tenure are not of his own doing, but are rather indicative of the path of dialogue outlined during the Second Vatican Council “which moves forward, intensifies.”

“I have met the primates and those responsible, it’s true,” he said in the interview, “but my predecessors have also had their encounters.”

While John Paul II was the first Pope to do make many of the signs Francis is known for now, such as visiting synagogues and mosques, Francis noted that “the measure in which we go forward the path seems to go faster.”

So while it has always been fairly obvious that ecumenical and interfaith dialogue have had a front row seat in Francis’ pontificate, taking a look back puts into perspective just how much of a priority it’s been.

In addition to highlighting this priority, the Pope’s prayer video this month is also a clear reflection of his preference to focus on shared areas of interest and collaboration in ecumenical and interfaith discussions, rather than points of theological division, as a means of providing both sides the common ground on which to move forward.

For Francis, while questions of theology and doctrine are important, working together to serve the poor and vulnerable is the privileged place where ecclesial unity is expressed, even if the theological wrinkles have yet to be ironed out.

And if his prayer intention this month is any indication, as we look ahead to 2017 we can anticipate that the type of events and encounters we saw in 2016 won’t slow down, but will likely continue to gain steam.

Therese of Lisieux's parents inspired this drug rehab project 

Montevideo, Uruguay, Jan 10, 2017 / 05:01 am (CNA/EWTN News) - A project to end the drug scourge in Uruguay has drawn inspiration from the recently canonized parents of the “Little Flower” Saint Therese of Lisieux.

Saint Louis Martin and Saint Zelie Guerin, whom Pope Francis canonized in October 2015, are the namesakes of a chapel in the headquarters of the Renacer Project. The Catholic initiative, whose name refers to being born again, has worked for 28 years to aid the full rehabilitation of drug addicts and their families.

Cardinal Daniel Sturla of Montevideo celebrated the dedication Mass on Dec. 28, the Solemnity of the Holy Innocents.

“How good it is that this chapel is dedicated to those holy parents, a holy couple. Here we see the victory of love, purity, beauty, and the joy of the family gathered together,” he said.

The Mass featured the enthronement of first class relics of the couple, which came directly from their shrine at Alençon, France.

In his homily, Cardinal Sturla recalled the history of these two saints. Both had asked to consecrate their lives to God. Louis wanted to join the monks of the Great Saint Bernard Monastery in the Alps. Zelie wanted to join the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul.

Neither one was accepted since God had another plan for them. They met and their rapport was so quick that they were married on July 13, 1858, just three months after they first met.

Nine children were born to this union, four of whom died prematurely. Among the five surviving daughters was Saint Therese, the future patron saint of the missions.

Cardinal Sturla quoted the words Saint Therese dedicated to her parents: “They were more worthy of heaven than of earth.”

“The joy of a truly Christian family is to experience the joy and honor it means that Jesus has laid his eyes on one of their children and called him or her to the priestly or religious life. And until there are many families in Uruguay who feel that, how far we will really be from being Christians,” the cardinal said.

For the cardinal, the key to this marriage was “the systematic life they lived of daily Mass, prayer, meditation and teaching the children about God from an early age.”

“Christian parents know that the most important thing they can hand on to their children is the faith. It is the footprint that God left in each one of us,” he said.

The Chapel of Saint Louis Martin and Saint Zelie Guerin is the Renacer Project’s third chapel. Its dedication coincided with the 25th anniversary of the ordination of its founding priest, Carmelite Father Gustavo Larrique.

“What do Zelie, Louis and their daughters hand on to us from this place, which was a stable and now is a little chapel? The beauty of marriage, the beauty of the family. That great school of humanity and holiness,” Fr. Larrique said near the close of Mass.

With the Renacer Project, he explained, “we try to tell everyone that life is a very precious gift, and that you have to take care of it.”

Hoy bendije en la obra Renacer la capilla dedicada a los santos Luis y Celia, esposos. Santuario de la familia pic.twitter.com/AH2dDFEY8s

Amid Christmas rush, don't forget to make time for silence, Pope says 

Vatican City, Dec 18, 2016 / 05:24 am (CNA/EWTN News) - On Sunday Pope Francis said that with Christmas just around the corner, it’s important to stop and make time for silent reflection on the true meaning of the holiday, specifically on figures in the Nativity.  

“Next Sunday will be Christmas. This week let us try to find a moment to pause, to have a bit of silence,” the Pope said Dec. 18.

He encouraged pilgrims to take time to reflect on what it was like for Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, imagining “the path, the fatigue, but also the joy, the emotion and then then anxiety of finding a place, the worry” and whatever else might come to mind.

Contemplating the Nativity scene is a good way to keep one’s focus where it should be, he said, and voiced his hope that everyone would be able to really enter into “the true Christmas,” in which Jesus draws near to us as “God with us.”

The grace of Christmas is one of love, humility and tenderness, he said, and prayed that all would be able to receive this grace with openness and confidence in God.

Pope Francis spoke to pilgrims on his final Sunday Angelus address before Christmas, centering his brief speech on the figures of Mary and Joseph in the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew in which Joseph had decided to divorce Mary quietly after finding out about her pregnancy, but changes his mind and takes her as his wife after the angel Gabriel appeared to him in a dream, telling him not to fear.

In becoming man, “God draws near to the human being taking the flesh of a woman,” the Pope said, noting that God also draws near to us, but in a different way.

Through his grace, God enters our lives and offers his own Son as a gift, Francis said, asking “what do we do? Do we welcome him, or refuse him, kicking him out?”

Just as Mary allowed God to “change the destiny of mankind” by opening herself freely to him, we must also try to seek Jesus and to follow his will every day, he said. If we do this, we will be able to cooperate “in his plan of salvation for us and for the world.”

Mary appears to us, then, as a model to look to and support on whom we count in our search for God and in our commitment to building a civilization of love.”

Pointing to St. Joseph, Pope Francis said that as shown in the Gospel, on his own he can’t give an explanation for what he sees unfolding before him. However, it is precisely in that moment that God draws near to him through the angel, revealing the true nature of Mary’s mysterious pregnancy.

In responding to the angel’s invitation, Joseph “doesn’t repudiate his bride, but takes her with him,” Francis said, explaining that Joseph welcomed Mary with full knowledge and love for “he who in her was conceived by the marvelous work of God, for whom nothing is impossible.”

“Joseph, a humble and just man, teaches us to always trust in God, to let ourselves be guided by him with willing obedience,” he said.

Francis closed his address saying that Mary and Joseph truly introduce us “to the mystery of Christmas.”

“Mary helps us to put ourselves in an attitude of availability to welcome the Son of God in our concrete lives, in our flesh. Joseph spurs us to always seek the will of God and to follow it with full trust,” he said, and led pilgrims in praying the Angelus.

After reciting the traditional Marian prayer, Francis offered special prayers for the ongoing political dialogue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The DRC is currently entangled in a political headlock as the country’s president, Joseph Kabila, faces the end of his final term, set for Dec. 19.

However, the elections, originally scheduled to take place in November, were never organized, and according to a deal struck between Kabila and an opposition faction in October, the president is allowed to stay in power until official polls are held.

The polls are tentatively set for April 2018, however, many parties in opposition to Kabila’s government oppose the deal, and are calling for the president to step down and schedule the elections for 2017.

As tensions mount, fears are also increasing that there will be a repeat of a Sept. 19 demonstration by one of the opposition groups turned violent, leading to the death of more than 50 people in just two days.

Catholic bishop in the country have intervened in negotiations in hopes that a crisis might be averted with Kabila’s term ends tomorrow.

Pope Francis himself prayed after the Angelus that the talks would be “conducted with serenity in order to avoid any type of violence, and for the good of the entire country.”

He thanked everyone who sent him birthday wishes yesterday for his 80th birthday, and wished the pilgrims a merry Christmas before asking for prayers.

Homework from Pope Francis: Let your joy be contagious 

The dangers of spiritualizing your psychological problems 

Denver, Colo., Dec 19, 2016 / 02:17 pm (CNA/EWTN News) - Maria had been struggling with some depressive and anxious thoughts for a while, although at the time, she didn’t recognize them as such. Probably because she was 14 years old.  

Bishops mourn victims of deadly truck detour on Berlin Christmas market 

Vatican City, Dec 20, 2016 / 01:50 am (CNA/EWTN News) - After 12 people were killed when a truck rammed into crowds at a Berlin Christmas market, the German bishops have voiced their sorrow, and have invited people to join them in praying for the victims and their families.

“The news from Berlin has deeply shaken me,” Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the German Bishops Conference, said in a Dec. 20 statement following the incident.

“The violence on the Christmas market is the opposite of what the visitors wanted, and my sympathy goes to the relatives of the dead and the injured, for whom I will pray,” he said, adding that in this “difficult time for the city of Berlin and our country, we must stand together as a society.”

According to CNN, the truck barreled into crowds of Christmas shoppers at a Christmas market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin’s western Breitscheidplatz neighborhood around 8p.m. local time Dec. 19, going roughly 40 mph.

Berlin police have confirmed that so far 12 people have died and 48 others were injured.

The driver of the truck fled the scene on foot, but was later arrested about a mile and a half from the crash site. Initial reports say the man is either Afghan of Pakistani asylum seeker, however, whether or not he entered Berlin as a refugee earlier this year remains unclear.

A passenger was found dead inside the truck, and a tweet by the Berlin police confirm that the man was a Polish citizen.

The owner of the truck company, Ariel Zurawski, told media that he believes the truck was hijacked, since his cousin, the usual driver, would never have done something like that intentionally, CNN reports.

Although it has yet to be officially confirmed, Berlin police have said they believe the truck was driven into the crowd intentionally, and are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

In a Dec. 19 tweet shortly after the incident took place, the Archbishop of Berlin, Heiner Kock, sent a tweet thanking the police, paramedics and emergency responders for their service.

He sent another tweet inviting faithful to gather at St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin for a 12p.m., Dec. 20 prayer service for the victims and their families.

The attack in Berlin comes at a time when fears are heightened regarding the threat of terrorism in Europe.
    
Just in July an eerily similar attack took place in Nice, France when a truck plowed into crowds celebrating Bastille Day at the city’s Promenade des Anglais, killing 86.

Germany itself has throughout 2016 been the site of other terrorist threats and activities, including several knife attacks on trains as well as shootings and bombings. 

"LKW fährt in Weihnachtsmarkt". Herzliche Einladung zum Gebet für Angehörige und Opfer, morgen, Dienstag, 12.00 Uhr, St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale

— Heiner Koch (@ErzbischofKoch) December 19, 2016

Pope Francis pleads for end to 'homicidal madness' of terrorism 

Vatican City, Dec 20, 2016 / 06:44 am (CNA/EWTN News) - What are being called two major acts of terrorism in just the past 24 hours have prompted Pope Francis to again beg for an even stronger commitment to putting such bloody attacks, which have marred many parts of the world over the past 18 months, to an end.

“Pope Francis unites to all men and women of good will who commit so that the homicidal madness of terrorism no longer finds space in our world,” a Dec. 20 telegram from the Vatican read.

“In this sense, His Holiness implores God the merciful Father for consolation, protection and his comforting blessing.”

The note, signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was addressed to Berlin Archbishop Heiner Koch after an apparent terrorist attack yesterday left 12 dead and 48 wounded.

According to CNN, a large truck barreled into crowds of shoppers at a Christmas market near the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin’s western Breitscheidplatz neighborhood around 8p.m. local time Dec. 19, going roughly 40 mph.

The driver of the truck fled the scene on foot, but is believed to have been arrested about a mile and a half from the crash site. However, the man apprehended by police, a Pakistani who had sought asylum, denies the act.

A passenger was found dead inside the truck, and a tweet by the Berlin police confirm that the man was a Polish citizen.

Berlin police have said they are confident the truck was driven into the crowd intentionally, and are treating the incident as a terrorist attack, though until now no claim of responsibility has been made.

In the telegram, Pope Francis said he learned of the attack with “deep emotion,” and expressed his own participation “in the mourning of their relatives expressing his compassion and assuring of his closeness to their pain.”

“In prayer he entrusts the deceased to the mercy of God beseeching him for the healing of the wounded,” the telegram read, expressing gratitude to emergency security services for their “active commitment” in the situation.

The Berlin attack came on the heels of another act of terrorism, when the Russian ambassador to Turkey was assassinated Dec. 19 by an off-duty policeman, who shouted “allahu akbar,” meaning “God is great,” after firing eight rounds at the diplomat.

The ambassador, Mr. Andrei Karlov, 62, had been giving a speech at an art gallery in Ankawa at the time of his death.

According to statements the gunman made before being shot dead, such as “don’t forget Aleppo,” the attack is believed to have been in retaliation for Russian involvement in Syria.

In a separate Vatican telegram, also signed by Cardinal Parolin and addressed to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Pope Francis said he was “saddened” to learn of the ambassador’s assassination.

He offered his condolences to Karlov’s family, and entrusted his soul to God. The Pope assured Putin that he and all members of the Russian Federation of his “prayers and spiritual solidarity” at this time.

In addition, earlier this morning Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with the States, called the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, Alexander Avdeev, to offer his condolences for Karlov’s murder.

In stressing error of clericalism, Francis calls for humble priests 

Vatican City, Dec 13, 2016 / 04:50 pm (CNA/EWTN News) - In his homily at Mass Tuesday, Pope Francis spoke harshly about what he considers one of the great dangers of clericalism: that it alienates members of the Church by refusing to be close to them, and reinforces the belief that priests are above the laity.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Pope Francis has spoken out against clericalism – in fact, it could easily be considered one of the most frequently-repeated topics of his pontificate; most recently to a group of Jesuits, but he has also strongly condemned it in the Church in Latin America.  

The Pope’s homily Dec. 13 was given before members of the Council of Cardinals, an advisory body of the Pope, with whom he has been meeting this week. The Council, which last met Sept. 12-14, has been helping to facilitate Francis’ reform of the Roman Curia.

After the September meetings, Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano, secretary of the Council of Cardinals, published a summary of their work, linking the Council’s actions to the “needs for a pastoral conversion” that Pope Francis discussed in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.

Francis’ emphasis on the pastoral mission of the priest is again highlighted in his Dec. 13 homily. Criticizing the chief priests and elders found in the Gospels, he pointed out how even when the traitor Judas came back to them repentant, they turned him away, saying, “It’s your problem.”

The reason for this, the Pope said, is that they “had forgotten what it was to be a pastor” and instead “they were the intellectuals of religion, those who had the power, who advanced the catechesis of the people with a morality composed by their own intelligence and not by the revelation.”

In this quote, Pope Francis condemns those who do not heed God’s command in Proverbs 3:5 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely.”

“Clerics feel they are superior, they are far from the people;” they have no time to hear the poor, the suffering, prisoners, the sick,” Francis said.

Placing it in the context of Advent, and people awaiting the birth of the Savior, Pope Francis said that the Father has “always sought to be close to us: he sent his Son. We are waiting, waiting in joyful expectation, exulting.”

“But the Son didn’t join the game of these people: The Son went with the sick, the poor, the discarded, the publicans, the sinners – and that is scandalous – the prostitutes. Today, too, Jesus says to all of us, and even to those who are seduced by clericalism: ‘The sinners and the prostitutes will go before you into the Kingdom of Heaven’.”

With his focus on the ministry of the priesthood as pastors, it isn’t surprising that Francis has criticized this superior attitude in his addresses to seminarians as well, telling a group from Southern Italy Dec. 10, to be involved and get their “hands dirty.”

“Do not feel different from your peers,” or that you are better than other people, he said. “If tomorrow you will be priests who live in the midst of the holy people of God, begin today to be young people who know how to be with everyone, who can learn something from every person you meet, with humility and intelligence.”

An updated version of the Vatican’s document on priestly formation, released Dec. 7, touched on the issue of clericalism as well, emphasizing that, as Cardinal Beniamino Stella said, to be a good priest “a demonstrated human, spiritual and pastoral maturation is necessary.”

Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Cardinal Stella was commenting on The Gift of Priestly Vocation, his department’s newest edition of the fundamentals of priestly formation, which says that seminarians “should be educated so that they do not become prey to ‘clericalism,’ nor yield to the temptation of modeling their lives on the search for popular consensus.”

“This would inevitably lead them to fall short in exercising their ministry as leaders of the community, leading them to think about the Church as a merely human institution.”

The document reiterates that priestly ordination, while making its recipient “a leader of the people,” should not “lead him to ‘lord it over’ the flock.”

At the heart of this message is an echo of what Pope Francis continues to repeat in his words to priests: there is a need for clergy who walk with the people, just as Jesus did, discarding no one.

Failing to live up to this calling results in priests afflicted with “the spirit of clericalism,” which in the words of Pope Francis, is “a very ugly thing.”

Pope tells ambassadors to make 'courageous' choice for nonviolence

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2016 / 05:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday Pope Francis accepted the credentials of six new ambassadors to the Holy See, urging them to work toward promoting the common good in their respective countries by adopting tactics of nonviolence at a political level.

“In a particular way, those who hold public office on the national and international levels are called to cultivate a nonviolent style in their consciences and in the exercise of their duties,” the Pope said in the Dec. 15 audience.

“This is not the same as weakness or passivity; rather it presupposes firmness, courage and the ability to face issues and conflicts with intellectual honesty, truly seeking the common good over and above all partisan interest, be it ideological, economic or political.”

The six new ambassadors met with Pope Francis in the Clementine Hall in the Vatican. They are from Sweden, Fiji, Moldova, Mauritius, Tunisia and Burundi.

His audience with the diplomats took place as violence and instability plague many areas of the world, including Burundi, which has maintained only a precarious peace in the 10 years since the country underwent an incredibly violent 12-year long civil war.

It also fell just three days after the release of his massage for the next World Day of Peace, celebrated Jan. 1 of every year, and which in 2017 will focus on the theme of nonviolence. Instituted by Bl. Paul VI in 1968, the message is sent to all foreign ministers around the world, and indicates the Holy See’s diplomatic tone during the coming year.

Speaking to the ambassadors, Francis stressed that despite the various conflicts raging throughout the world, peace is achievable, as seen in the examples and efforts of some national and international leaders in the world.

“In the course of the past century, marred by wars and genocides of unheard-of proportions, we have nonetheless seen outstanding examples of how nonviolence, embraced with conviction and practiced consistently, can yield significant results, also on the social and political plane,” he said.

Specific figures cited by the Pope in his message for peace included St. Teresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Ghandi, Pashtun independence activist Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Martin Luther King Jr. and Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee.

“Some peoples, and indeed entire nations, thanks to the efforts of nonviolent leaders, peacefully achieved the goals of freedom and justice,” he said.

Francis then explained that peace can’t be achieved merely through words alone, but must be pursued through the refusal to participate in a politics of domination and in arms trafficking. This is especially true, he said, when many people in the country may be lacking in the basic necessities for life, such as the case in Venezuela.

“This is the path to pursue now and in the future. This is the way of peace,” he said.

The fact that the new ambassadors come from very different parts of the world, “is always a source of satisfaction” in Rome, the Pope said, “since the horizon of the Holy See is intrinsically universal.”

“This is due to the vocation and mission entrusted by God to the Successor of the Apostle Peter, a mission that is essentially religious, yet in the course of history has also involved relations with states and those who govern them.”

Although the Holy See governs the Vatican City State, the Pope explained that its primary values are spiritual and moral, not temporal, as is usually the case for Sovereign States.

In the Holy See is found the “center of unity and direction of the Catholic Church,” he said.

Because of this, it is called “to pass on and bear witness to those spiritual and moral values grounded in the very nature of human beings and society, and which, as such, can be shared by all those committed to the pursuit of the common good.”