“To those who abuse minors I would say this: convert and hand yourself over to human justice, and prepare for divine justice.” Those were the words upon which reporters rightly seized, and from which headline […]
Beirut, Lebanon, Dec 23, 2018 / 02:40 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On the last Saturday before Christmas, a community of Iraqi refugees living in Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut gathered together for the celebration of Mass.
Like the city they live in,… […]
Vatican City, Dec 23, 2018 / 05:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After a deadly tsunami struck Indonesia Saturday night, killing more than 200 people and injuring hundreds more, Pope Francis has asked for everyone to join him in prayer for the suffering victims this Christmas.
“My thoughts go out right now to the populations of Indonesia, affected by violent natural disasters, which have caused serious losses in human lives, numerous people missing and homeless, and extensive material damage,” Pope Francis said after his Angelus prayer Dec. 23.
“I invite everyone to join me in prayer for the victims and their loved ones,” he said, calling for solidarity and support from the international community.
The tsunami left at least 222 people dead and more than 840 injured, according to Sutopo Purwo Nugroho from Indonesia’s disaster management agency.
Researchers suspect the destructive waves were triggered by a volcanic eruption in the Sunda Strait between two Indonesian islands.
Pope Francis expressed his wish to be “spiritually close” to the displaced and “to all the people who are imploring God for relief in their suffering.”
The pope reflected on the importance of families being together at Christmas, but said he understood that “many people do not have this possibility, for different reasons.”
To people apart from their families at Christmas, Pope Francis extended an invitation to find a “true family” in the Catholic Church.
“Our heavenly Father does not forget you and does not abandon you. If you are a Christian, I wish you to find in the Church a true family, where you can experience the warmth of fraternal love,” he said.
Francis stressed that the doors of the Catholic community are open to Christians and non-Christians alike this Christmas. “Jesus is born for everyone and gives everyone the love of God,” he said.
The pope encouraged people preparing for Christmas to fix their gaze on Mary, who spent her months of waiting for Christ’s coming in service to her elderly relative, Elizabeth.
“The Gospel of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth prepares us to live Christmas well, communicating to us the dynamism of faith and charity,” Pope Francis said.
“A dynamism full of joy, as seen in the meeting between the two mothers, which is all a hymn of joyous exultation in the Lord, who does great things with the little ones who trust Him,” he continued.
May the Virgin Mary obtain for us the grace of living a Christmas centered, not on ourselves, but on Jesus and our brothers and sisters in need, Pope Francis prayed.
New York City, N.Y., Dec 21, 2018 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- The Archdiocese of New York is facing questions about the sequence of events which led to the recent removal from ministry of one of its retired priests, Fr. Donald Timone. Fr. Timone is accused of s… […]
Hanging up the presidential pen she received for her role in helping to push through President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in 2010, Sister Carol Keehan will retire on June 30, 2019 from her role […]
Washington D.C., Dec 21, 2018 / 02:00 pm (CNA).- Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have questioned a candidate for the federal bench over his membership of the Knights of Columbus, with some calling the group’s Catholic views on abortion … […]
Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2018 / 01:22 pm (CNA).- After communion at Mass this morning, our parish school choir began one of my favorite hymns.
The first line filled my heart.
“Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand.&… […]
This year, with crisis boiling over and the weakness of clerical and hierarchical leadership daily on unseemly and discouraging display: with Christians around the world facing real, violent, and sometimes bloody persecution; with amity and […]
Brussels, Belgium, Dec 21, 2018 / 12:30 pm (CNA).- A recent survey of Jewish people living in the European Union found that over a quarter of respondents had been the victims of anti-Jewish harassment over the past year.
The report, titled &l… […]
Vatican City, Dec 21, 2018 / 05:45 am (CNA).- Pope Francis strongly condemned clerical sex abuse in his annual Christmas speech to the Roman Curia Friday, promising that the Church leadership will never again cover-up […]
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