Pope Francis’ geopolitics of mercy and realism

In his speech to diplomats accredited to the Holy See, the Bishop of Rome spoke about how the Church has presented the world with the perfect occasion – the year-long Jubilee – to deal together with the global emergencies facing us

Francis’ Holy Year of Mercy has a geopolitical goal as well. The Church is offering the Jubilee as a propitious time to defuse conflicts, stop the scourge of war and address global emergencies together. Pope Francis gave a concrete and direct description of this opportunity in his traditional beginning-of-the year speech to diplomatic representatives accredited to the Holy See. In his address, he reiterated “the complete readiness of the Secretariat of State to cooperate with you in favouring constant dialogue between the Apostolic See and the countries which you represent”, stressing: “I am certain that this Jubilee year (which was intentionally pre-inaugurated in Bangui, “in a country sorely tried by hunger, poverty and conflict”) will be a favourable occasion for the cold indifference of so many hearts to be won over by the warmth of mercy, that precious gift of God which turns fear into love and makes us artisans of peace”.

In the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis made it clear that he did not wish to turn the Holy Year into a “propitious time” exclusively for faithful of Catholics active in the faith, he intended it as an opportunity for reconciliation for non-Christians too, starting with Jews and Muslims. A time that does not exclude the possibility of taking into account the dynamics of the Jubilee in scrapping scores that need to be settled and in reconciliation between enemies, right from the outset, including when seeking solutions to the conflicts and international crises that are tormenting peoples and nations.

L’Osservatore Romano accuses Charlie Hebdo of “distorting faith”

The Vatican newspaper speaks out against the cover of the French satirical weekly, which marks the first anniversary of the attacks on its offices in Paris

The Holy See has strongly criticised the illustration on the special issue of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, which depicts God carrying a machine gun. Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano said the image “illustrates the sad paradox of a world that is becoming so sensitive to political correctness it is verging on the ridiculous”. The special issue marks a year since the attack by Islamist radicals on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. L’Osservatore Romano says the French daily’s gesture dismissed and disrespects “all believers’ faith in God , whatever their credo”.

“This episode is nothing new because behind the deceitful flag of an “uncompromising secularism”, the French weekly has once again forgotten what all religious leaders have been repeating for some time now, rejecting violence in the name of religion: using God to justify hatred constitutes real “blasphemy”, as Pope Francis has said on so many occasions.”

Russian Orthodox leader expresses concern that Montenegro may join NATO

 

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church received Serbia’s justice minister in audience on December 28 and expressed concern that Montenegro—which became independent from Serbia in 2006—may accept an invitation to join NATO.

“I wholeheartedly wish the Serbian people God’s help, spiritual and physical fortitude, and wisdom for preserving the sovereignty of our fraternal Serbia,” said Patriarch Kirill of Moscow. “We worry about the events in Montenegro as we see that people are against the plans of joining.”

“Russia today is a sovereign state in full measure and uses the sovereignty for its own defense and for defense of its friends,” he added.

Hilary Clinton: Islamic State’s killing of Christians should be labeled genocide

 

Distancing herself from Obama administration policy, presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said that she now believes that the Islamic State’s killing of Christians in Syria and Iraq should be labeled a genocide.

The Islamic State “deliberately aimed at destroying not only the lives, but wiping out the existence of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East in territory controlled by ISIS,” she said on December 29, according to a Politico report.

Pope Francis: Angelus appeal for peace

  

Pope Francis renewed his calls for peace and goodwill throughout the Earth on Friday, New Year’s Day, the Solemnity of the Mother of God and the World Day of Peace. The Holy Father’s appeal came at the Angelus prayer with pilgrims and visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square after Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. “Today we celebrate the World Day of Peace, whose theme is: ‘Overcome Indifference and win Peace’,” said Pope Francis. “That peace, which God the Father wants to sow in the world, must be cultivated by us,” he continued. “Not only: it must also be ‘conquered’. This involves a real struggle, a spiritual battle that takes place in our hearts, for the enemy of peace is not only war, but also indifference, which makes us think only of ourselves and creates barriers, suspicions, fears and closures [of mind and heart].”

Pope Francis went on to say, “We have, thank God, much information; but sometimes we are so inundated with news that we are distracted from reality, from the brother and sister who needs us: let us begin to open our hearts, awakening attention to the next.”
“This,” said Pope Francis, “is the way to win the peace.”

After the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, Pope Francis returned the New Year’s greetings he received the evening before from the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and offered thanks to all those involved in peace initiatives in Rome, throughout Italy and in all the world.

Pope’s Prayer Intentions for January 2016

 

At the start of the new year, Pope Francis will be praying that interreligious dialogue will produce fruits of peace.

The Apostleship of Prayer announced the intentions chosen by the Pope for January 2016.

His universal prayer intention is: “That sincere dialogue among men and women of different faiths may produce the fruits of peace and justice.”

Wishing you a Prosperous New Year

The Pope’s Te Deum for the end of the year: Rome needs to revive honesty and solidarity

 

From St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope denounces the “grave uncertainties that have dominated the world scene over the past year and are symptoms of a lack of commitment to the common good”

‘

In the Te Deum, the traditional end-of-year hymn of thanksgiving, pronounced in St. Peter’s, the Pope invited all inhabitants of “our city of Rome” to “overcome the difficulties of the present”. He expressed the hope that “a commitment to revive the fundamental values of service, honesty and solidarity may allow “the grave uncertainties that have dominated the world scene over the past year to be overcome, these being symptoms of a lack of commitment to the common good”.

“How meaningful it is to be gathered together to give praise to the Lord at the end of the year! The Church on so many occasions feels the joy and the duty of lifting up her song to God with these words of praise, which ever since the 4th century, have been an accompaniment to prayer during important moments of her earthly pilgrimage. The joy of thanksgiving emanates from our prayer almost spontaneously, in recognition of God’s loving presence in the events that take place during the course of our history. As is often the case though, we feel that in prayer, our voice alone is not enough. It needs to be reinforced with the accompaniment of God’s entire people, which expresses its thanks in unison. Hence, in the Te Deum we ask the Angels, the Prophets and all creation for their help in giving praise to the Lord. In this hymn, we retrace the history of salvation, which includes and encapsulates  – as part of God’s mysterious plan – the various events that took place in our lives over the past year.”

Over 3 million saw Pope at Vatican events in 2015

 

Over 3 million people attended public appearances by Pope Francis in 2015, the Vatican has announced.

On December 30, as the Holy Father held his final weekly public audience of the year, the Prefecture of the Papal Household released figures for attendance at the Pope’s audiences and liturgical celebrations.

The Pope’s general audiences, held on Wednesdays, drew 704,100 people. Special audiences attracted another 408,760. Midday audiences on Sundays and feast days added another 1,585,000. And the congregations at liturgical ceremonies in St. Peter’s basilica and St. Peter’s Square came to 513,000.

These figures cover only the Pope’s appearances at the Vatican. Not included are the crowds that saw him during his trips. In 2015, he traveled to Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cuba, the United States, Kenya, Uganda ,and the Central African Republic. Also not included are papal trips to parishes in the Rome diocese, or to other dioceses in Italy.

22 mission workers died violently in 2015

 

In the course of the year 2015, 22 Catholic pastoral workers have been killed, the Fides news service reports.

The victims of violence include thirteen priests, four women religious, and five lay Church workers. Most died in incidents that were described as robberies or attempted robberies. Some were murdered intentionally, and several were killed by the people they were trying to help.

The Fides report notes that the number of pastoral workers killed has climbed each year—a trend that reflects the danger of work in impoverished areas, as well as the rising tide of anti-Christian violence.

Bishop appeals for calm in Corsica after attack on Muslim prayer room

 

Bishop Olivier de Germay of Ajaccio, Corsica, called for calm after a Christmas Eve attack on two firefighters and the subsequent vandalism of a Muslim prayer room on Christmas Day.

On December 24, the firefighters were lured to a housing project with a large Arab population and were attacked. The following day, a crowd of 600 residents of Ajaccio gathered to show their support for the firefighters, but half marched on the housing project, vandalizing a Muslim prayer room and setting fire to books, including copies of the Quran.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France condemned the “intolerable attack” on the firefighters and the “unacceptable desecration” of the prayer room.

African bishops: Christmas, Mohammed’s birthday should spur interfaith dialogue

 

The Catholic bishops of Niger have said that the close convergence between Christmas and the Islamic celebration of Mohammed’s birth should be a spur to inter-religious dialogue, the Fides news service reports.

Mohammed’s birth, a moveable feast, was celebrated this year on December 24– the closest approximation to Christmas in nearly 500 years. “This sign invites us, Christians and Muslims, to dialogue in order to bring peace to the world in the name of our common faith in Abraham, ancestor of all believers,” said Archbishop Laurent Lompo of Niamey, the capital of Niger.

Shake-up in Russian Orthodox hierarchy

   

A key public representative of the Russian Orthodox Church has been dismissed from his post after a clash with the Patriarch of Moscow over Church-state relations.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who was removed from his position as chairman of the Russian Orthodox Synod’s department for Church and Society, explained that he had “tried to say that we should be more critical of immoral actions taken by authorities.”

The outgoing Orthodox leader—who has developed a reputation for blunt speech—went on to say that the Moscow Patriarchate “should in no case suck up to structures that challenge Orthodox faith.” Regarding Patriarch Kirill, he said that “I don’t think he is competent on all issues and can take certain decisions alone.”

Francis: “Let us not lose confidence in the family”

 

In the Vatican this Sunday the Pope celebrated a Holy Mass for Families to mark the Jubilee of Mercy. “Within the family we learn how to forgive”. At the Angelus, the Pope said: “Families that live the joy of faith are like leaven for society”

“Let us not lose confidence in the family! It is beautiful when we can always open our hearts to one another, and hide nothing. Where there is love, there is also understanding and forgiveness.” Pope Francis pronounced these words in the mass for families which he celebrated today, marking the Jubilee of Mercy. Addressing numerous Roman families and pilgrims in St. peter’s Basilica, the Pope said: “To all of you, dear families, I entrust this most important mission – the domestic pilgrimage of daily family life – which the world and the Church need, now more than ever.”

Referring back to the Bible passage on Joseph, Mary and Jesus’ pilgrimage to the temple of Jerusalem, the Pope pointed out “how important it is for our families to journey together towards a single goal! We know that we have a road to travel together; a road along which we encounter difficulties but also enjoy moments of joy and consolation. And on this pilgrimage of life we also share in moments of prayer.”

Pope Angelus: Forgive like St Stephen

 

On this St Stephen’s Day, Pope Francis recalled this Saint, the first martyr of the Church and remembered all those who suffer persecution in the name of the faith, calling them “our martyrs of today”

Following two days of ceremonies at the Vatican the Pope was back in St Peter’s Square on Saturday for the Angelus.

On this St Stephen’s Day, Pope Francis recalled this Saint, the first martyr of the Church and remembered all those who suffer persecution in the name of the faith, calling them “our martyrs of today.”

The Holy Father noted that Stephen is a faithful witness, because he does as Jesus does. He knows how to love, to give, but especially to forgive.

Forgiveness, the Pope explained, “leads to “results” and is not just “a good deed”: “Among those for which Stephen begged forgiveness, said Pope Francis, was St Paul. The Pope continued, “we can say that Paul was born by God’s grace and Stephen’s forgiveness”.

Francis: Only God’s mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil

  

In his Urbi et Orbi message this Christmas, Francis said: “The grace of God can convert hearts and offer mankind a way out of humanly insoluble situations.” He sent out appeals for Syria, Libya, the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Congo, Burundi, South Sudan, Ukraine and Colombia. And he spared a thought for victims of terrorism and prayed for persecuted Christians, “today’s martyrs”, for refugees, the unemployed and those in prison

“Only God’s mercy can free humanity from the many forms of evil, at times monstrous evil, which selfishness spawns in our midst. The grace of God can convert hearts and offer mankind a way out of humanly insoluble situations.” Pope Francis pronounced this year’s Christmas Urbi et Orbi (to the City and to the World) speech of his pontificate from the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

 

Asia Bibi’s Christmas: “I forgive my persecutors”

Mercy, not hate, dwells in the heart of the woman who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan. This is the 7th year she is celebrating the mystery of the Nativity in prison

For Asia Bibi, the Christian woman who was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan, this Christmas is shrouded in mercy. This is her 7th Christmas she is spending behind bars, in the women’s prison in Multan, a town in the province of Punjab, where Asia awaits the outcome of a re-examination of her blasphemy conviction. Pakistan’s Supreme Court, the third and final stage in the trial, has accepted Asia’s petition to appeal against her death sentence and the wait is now on for a hearing date to be set so that he final verdict can be issued.

For this 50-year-old mother of five, Christmas in the Year of Mercy is a celebration of forgiveness. Despite her suffering and isolation and her awareness of the immense injustice done to her, Asia is at peace. She is a woman who, inundated by the grace of God, gives her blessing to her own story, a story which human reason can only see as wrong, twisted and unfortunate.

Trusting in God’s Providence, Asia told members of her family who went to the prison to visit her on the morning of Christmas Eve: “Christmas is a celebration of God’s mercy. I forgive my persecutors, those who have made false accusations against me and I await their forgiveness.” These words had profound impact on Asia’s husband Ashiq Masih, her children and Joseph Nadeem, the family’s legal advisor and director of Lahore’s Renaissance Education Foundation.

Tonight there is no room for doubt, only joy and gladness”

  

During tonight’s mass celebration for the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord, Francis recalled that “in a society so often intoxicated by consumerism and hedonism, wealth and extravagance, appearances and narcissism, this Child calls us to act soberly, in other words, in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential.” “Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, may we too, with eyes full of amazement and wonder, gaze upon the Child Jesus”

“In a society so often intoxicated by consumerism and hedonism, wealth and extravagance, appearances and narcissism, this Child calls us to act soberly, in other words, in a way that is simple, balanced, consistent, capable of seeing and doing what is essential.” Pope Francis said this in his homily for the midnight mass he celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica. 

“Joy and gladness,” Francis said, “are a sure sign that the message contained in the mystery of this night is truly from God. There is no room for doubt; let us leave that to the sceptics who, by looking to reason alone, never find the truth. There is no room for the indifference which reigns in the hearts of those unable to love for fear of losing something. All sadness has been banished, for the Child Jesus brings true comfort to every heart.”

“Today,” he continued, “the Son of God is born, and everything changes. The Saviour of the world comes to partake of our human nature; no longer are we alone and forsaken. The Virgin offers us her Son as the beginning of a new life. The true light has come to illumine our lives so often beset by the darkness of sin. Today we once more discover who we are! Tonight we have been shown the way to reach the journey’s end. Now must we put away all fear and dread, for the light shows us the path to Bethlehem. We must not be laggards; we are not permitted to stand idle. We must set out to see our Saviour lying in a manger.”

 

Indonesia: “Creative mercy” is making headway

 

The Archbishop of Jakarta, Ignatius Suharyo, has written to faithful urging “compassion and solidarity” and is hoping for a meeting between President Joko Widodo and Pope Francis in Europe, in January

Those executions that took place as the Jubilee Year of Mercy approached did not sit well with him at all. On more than one occasion he has called for clarity in relation to the norms regulating the building of non-Muslim places of worship. The Archbishop of Jakarta, Ignatius Suharyo, is a good friend and compatriot of Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, who at the time of his election over a year ago, welcomed as a president who could guarantee respect for the rights of minorities, human rights, religious freedom, the principles of justice and equality in the world’s most populous majority Muslim nation, with Muslims making up over 80% of its 220 million population.

Suharyo harbours strong hopes about a potential visit by Widodo to the Vatican and a possible meeting with Pope Francis. He made this wish known during Widodo’s very recent visit to Indonesian bishops – the President being a frequenter of Christian circles. According to Suharyo, Widodo’s scheduled tour of Europe in January would be the perfect time for this.

The much-hoped-for meeting with the Pope “would help show the world that Indonesia is a Muslim country with an open, tolerant, respectful and supportive mind-set,” the archbishop said. “I hope that the President, in dialogue with Pope Francis will be able to showcase Indonesia as a country that is characterised by peaceful co-existence and harmony,” he added.

Kosovo’s ‘Crypto-Catholics’ Are Making Their Way Back to the Church

 

Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008, is home to a little known remarkable community of “crypto-Catholics.” Though considered Muslims, their roots, explained Magda Kaczmarek—who oversees a number of countries in Eastern Europe for the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need—are in Catholicism.

Their stories go back hundreds of years: in the 16th century, conquering Ottomans forced the region’s population to convert to Islam. Most complied to avoid discrimination—but in their hearts they remained Christian. The majority hailed from the region of Rugova, which was the childhood home of the late former president of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova. It is public knowledge that he was baptized shortly before his death; he also gave a plot of land to the Church in the heart of the capital city of Pristina, where now stands the new Cathedral of St. Mother Teresa.

There are some 50,000 regular Catholics in the fledgling nation, whose population of 1.9 million is largely Muslim. However, says Kaczmarek, a growing number of Muslims, especially young people, are discovering their Christian roots and are joining the Church, which “expects these young people to spread their faith in their personal networks and later on within their families,” said Ms. Kaczmarek.

Father Marjan Uka is a Kosovo priest charged with looking after the newly baptized ‘crypto-Catholics.’ He has to make do with very little funding from the Church, relying on aid agencies instead. Mass stipends are one form of income. Adnan (not his real name) is one of the priests’ charges. Along with his wife and two children, he was recently baptized.