MondayVatican
The synod of bishops that has just finished revealed two certainties. The first one: there is hope in the Church peripheries. The second: that the most hopeful peripheries are not those that one might expect. It is not Latin America, from which Pope Francis hails, and where the Church has assumed the social [...]
Pope Francis gave a very clear indication of the method the synod should follow: bishops should speak frankly. Without any reverential fear. Even without being afraid of not coinciding with the Pope’s own opinion. The synodal fathers, instead, have opted for confidentiality. Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, General Secretary of the Synod, warned them, «You [...]
The reference to «the spirit of Francis» in characterizing the new document that will regulate the functions of the offices of the Roman Curia is the most prominent and newsworthy aspect of the presentation of its introduction. The draft of the new introduction has been discussed during the six meetings of the Council [...]
There is a Council in the Pope’s mind. Not the Third Vatican Council, wished by many, especially within progressive circles. Rather, it is the Second Vatican Council, as it seems that Pope Francis is pursuing the spirit of the Council. The same spirit that 50 years ago had put the Church in a [...]
«The Church is proud of having sons like you. You are her strength and the concrete and authentic testimony of the Church’s salvation, forgiveness and message of love. I embrace you all, may the Lord bless you and always protect you.» At the end of the September 3 General Audience, Pope Francis directed [...]
Perhaps under Pope Francis the big transition of bishops started under Benedict XVI is going to be completed. In appointments for two key posts, Pope Francis has shown he is following the line traced by the now Pope emeritus: the appointment of Cardinal Reinhard Woelki as Archbishop of Cologne and that of
The time for the diplomacy of truth came into play when the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released a strongly worded statement last Aug. 12. For the first time, a Vatican dicastery listed all the horrible acts of the Caliphate, subtly reminding the secular world that it was the secularist [...]
The guidelines for the management of the religious institutes have been outlined in a circular letter signed Aug. 2 by Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The letter did not grab media headlines, since the focus was rightly on [...]
The “nota verbale” (verbal note) sent by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State to all the ambassadors accredited to the Holy See represents Pope Francis’ most recent initiative to promote peace. It is through persuasion, dialogue and prayer that Pope Francis hopes to influence current armed conflicts, to bring them to an end. In [...]
The visit Pope Francis wanted to privately pay to the Evangelical Pastor Giovanni Traettino in Caserta (Southern Italy) is not simply a visit the Pope is paying to a friend. Pope Francis wanted this visit to be private and unique and – as the news of his arrival in Caserta spread – he [...]
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