Pope taps Scicluna to investigate Barros accusations

Pope Francis embraces a child during his meeting with participants in the Children’s Train initiative at the Vatican on June 4, 2022. / Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jun 5, 2022 / 05:35 am (CNA).

Pope Francis had a poignant exchange Saturday with a young Ukrainian boy who asked him to visit Ukraine “to save all the children who are suffering there now.”

The conversation took place at the Vatican where the pope met with 160 schoolchildren of various faiths participating in the program “Treno dei Bambini,” Italian for “Children’s Train,” an initiative of the Pontifical Council for Culture in collaboration with the Italian state railways.

The request for Pope Francis to visit Ukraine came from a young Ukrainian boy named Sachar, who left Ukraine as a refugee and now lives in Rome, according to Vatican Media.

“I do not have a question but a request: Can you come to Ukraine to save all the children who are suffering there now?” the boy asked.

“I am glad that you are here. I think a lot about the children of Ukraine, and for that I have sent some cardinals to help there and to be close to all the people, to the children,” responded the pope, who was seated in his wheelchair.

“I would like to go to Ukraine,” he continued. “I just have to wait for the moment to do it, you know, because it’s not easy to make a decision that can do more harm than good to the whole world.”

The pope went on to say that “this coming week I will be receiving representatives of the Ukrainian government, who will come to talk, also to talk about my possible visit there. Let’s see what happens.” You can watch the pope’s interactions with the children in the EWTN video below:

June 3 marked the 100th day of the war in Ukraine. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, since Russia’s invasion began on Feb. 24, 4,183 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, of whom 268 are minors. In addition, 5,014 people have been injured, including 427 minors.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that nearly 7 million refugees have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries since the fighting started, and millions more have been displaced from their homes to other parts of Ukraine.

This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language sister news agency. The story was translated and edited by CNA.

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Vatican City, May 3, 2017 / 04:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis recalled his recent visit to Egypt, saying that given its rich biblical and cultural history, the country is a sign of hope, and has a special role to play in brokering peace in the Middle East.

“Egypt for us was a sign of hope, of refuge and of help,” the Pope said during his May 3 general audience.

He noted how in scripture Jacob and his sons traveled to the region when it was in famine, and later Jesus himself also found refuge there from Herod.

“So recounting this trip enters on the path of recounting hope,” he said, adding that for Christians, “Egypt has the sense of speaking about hope, whether in history or today, and of this brotherhood that I am telling you about.”

Pope Francis spoke just days after returning from his April 28-29 visit to Egypt, which was made largely as the result of a recent thawing in relations between the Vatican and the prestigious al-Azhar University, one of the highest institutional authorities in Sunni Islam, which had been strained since 2011.

The visit also took place in wake of increasing attacks on Egypt’s Coptic community, and as such was meant to offer support for local Christians as well as cement Catholic-Muslim relations.

During his visit, Pope Francis met with the Great Imam of al-Azhar, Ahmed Mohamed al-Tayyeb, at the al-Azhar University, where he also spoke to the International Conference for Peace. He then met with Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, and civil authorities before sharing a moment of prayer with Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II.

He also spent time with Egypt’s Christian community, celebrating Mass for Catholics on the second and final day of his trip, and meeting with the country’s priests, religious and seminarians.

In his general audience address, the Pope thanked Egypt for “the truly warm welcome” he was given, saying President el-Sisi and the Egyptian authorities made “an extraordinary commitment so this event could take place in the best of ways.”

The goal, he said, was for the visit to be “a sign of peace for Egypt and for that entire region, which unfortunately suffers from conflicts and terrorism.”

Francis told pilgrims that his visit to the al-Azhar University had the “double horizon” of promoting dialogue between Christians and Muslims, and of promoting peace on a global level.

“In this context, I offered a reflection that valued the history of Egypt as a land of civilization and alliance,” he said, explaining that Egypt is widely considered to be “synonymous with ancient civilization and with treasures of art and knowledge.”

This serves as a reminder “that peace is built through education, the formation of wisdom, of a humanism which includes as the religious dimension, the relationship with God, as an integral part,” he said, pointing to the speech given by al-Tayyeb.

“Peace is also built starting from the alliance between God and man, founded on the alliance between men,” he said, explaining that this is a law which can be summed up in the two commandments of love of God and neighbor.

Francis then said this same foundation is also the basis of building “the social and civic order, in which all citizens of every culture, origin and religion are called to participate.”

Because of “the great historic and religious patrimony” of Egypt and its role in the Middle East, the country has “a peculiar task on the path toward a stable and lasting peace, which does not rely on the law of force, but the force of the law.”

Turning to his encounter with Egypt’s Christian community, the Pope said that Christians in Egypt, as in every other nation, “are called to be the leaven of brotherhood,” which is only possible if they are in communion with Christ.

Recalling how he signed a joint-declaration with Patriarch Tawadros, Francis said the two renewed their commitment to finding a shared baptism, and prayed together for the “the martyrs” who have died in recent attacks on the Coptic community.

“Their blood fertilized that ecumenical encounter,” he said, noting that in addition to himself and Tawadros, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople was also present.  

Francis then pointed to the Mass he celebrated with Egyptian Catholics, calling it a celebration of “faith and fraternity,” in which the presence of the Risen Lord was truly felt.

He also recalled his meeting with the priests, religious and seminarians of Egypt, saying he saw in them “the beauty of the Church in Egypt,” and could pray with them for all Christians in the Middle East, that “they be salt and light in that land, in the midst of that people.”

Speaking off-the-cuff, he noted that Egypt has “a lot of seminarians,” which he said is “a consolation.”

He closed by offering his thanks and praying that the Holy Family of Nazareth, who “emigrated on the banks of the Nile to avoid the violence of Herod,” would always bless and protect the Egyptian people, “and guide them on the path of prosperity, fraternity and peace.”

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Vatican City, Dec 1, 2020 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis said Tuesday that inculturated liturgy can teach Catholics to better appreciate the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In a preface to a new book, Pope Francis said “this process of liturg… […]