MondayVatican
Those who know Pope Francis very well note that we are yet to see him at his best. They maintain that Pope Francis is a skilled «politician,» a man of great culture, even if up until now he has only shown the pastoral and – some would concede – populist aspects of his personality. [...]
In front of the Roman clergy, he spoke for one hour off-the-cuff, with no hesitation and with a certain serenity. And he denounced one of the “issues” with the Church, probably for him the pivotal one. Which is that there had been two Second Vatican Councils: one of the Fathers [...]
In four points, the Holy See has presented «the Catholic Church’s freedom and institutional autonomy» to the European Court of Human Rights. Four paragraphs to underline that «the Church is in no way to be confused with the political community and is not bound to any political system»; that «the distinction between [...]
The Church is 200 hundred years out of date. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini’s words in his last interview have travelled the world. Interpretations multiplied. In what, exactly, is the Church out of date? Is it because of the issue of communion and divorcees – even when the Pope wrote comprehensively about it [...]
The Holy See’s International agenda? The common good. Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States of the Vatican Secretariat of State, explained it in an insightful lecture on «The Social Doctrine of the Church in International Relations» to the young students of the Studium Aquinatis-Workshop on the Social Doctrine of the Church [...]
Easter Vigil, Saint Peter Basilica. The largest church in Christendom is in the dark for the start of the service to signify the darkness in Jesus’ tomb before what Christians believe was his resurrection from the dead three days after his crucifixion. Then, the some 10,000 faithful in the basilica lit candles as the [...]
To be adult faithful. Not to be slave of the dictatorship of the public opinion. In the midst of the utter chatters and the leaks, Benedict XVI meets the priests of the dioceses of Rome. He never talks about scandals, and it is obvious, since he gives a lectio divina, a “divine lesson”. [...]
«Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo» Benedict XVI wrote these words in the apostolic letter Porta Fidei for the indiction of the year of Faith.
«When we say: “We are Church” – well, it is true: that is what we are, we are not just anybody. But the “we” is more extensive than the group that asserts those words. The “we” is the whole community of believers, today and in all times and places. And so I always say: [...]
«Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world». These are the words Benedict XVI [...]
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