Pope Francis urges De La Salle Brothers to bring renewed hope to Catholic schools

Vatican City, Nov 7, 2017 / 07:16 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday the Vatican announced Pope Francis’ appointment of two lay women – experts in bioethics and canon law – as the first two under-secretaries of the mega-dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

The appointment of Dr. Gabriella Gambino for the section on life and Dr. Linda Ghisoni for the section on laity was announced in a Nov. 7 Vatican communique, bringing the leadership of the dicastery more clearly into shape after it’s establishment in 2016.

The Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life officially began its work Sept. 1, 2016, replacing the former Pontifical Council for the Laity and Pontifical Council for the Family, which were dissolved.

The department is responsible for projects relating to the apostolate of laity, families, and the institution of marriage, within the Church, and is responsible for the organization of events such as the World Meeting of Families, which will take place in Dublin in August 2018.

Both Gambino and Ghisoni join dicastery secretary Fr. Alexandre Awi Mello and prefect Cardinal Kevin Farrell, in leading the department. However, the appointment of a third under-secretary for the section on family is still forthcoming.

Gambino, 49, is currently a professor at the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences, is a professor of bioethics at the Faculty of Philosophy, and a researcher and associate professor in the philosophy of law at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata.”

Originally from Milan, she holds a doctorate in bioethics from the Institute of Bioethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome.

From 2001-2007, she taught and did research at the Institute of the Methodology of Social Sciences of the LUISS-Guido Carli University in Rome, and in 2002 was appointed scientific expert of the National Committee for Bioethics at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Gambino collaborated with the former Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Academy for Life from 2013-2016.

She is married with five children, and has written numerous publications on the themes of life, family and marriage. In addition to Italian, she speaks five other languages.

Dr. Linda Ghisoni, 52, works as a judge at the First Instance Court of the Vicariate of Rome, as a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and as a professor of law at Roma Tre University.

She is from the town of Cortemaggiore in the north of Italy and studied philosophy and theology at the Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen, Germany.

In 1999 she received a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and in 2002 she received the diploma of Rotary Attorney at the Studium rotale of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.

Since 1997 Ghisoni has held various positions at the Tribunals of First Instance and Appeal of the Vicariate of Rome, including Notary, Defender of the Bond, Auditor and Judge.

She has also served as Judicial Counselor at the Tribunal of the Roman Rota from 2002-2009, and Commissioner of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments for the Defense of the marital bond in causes for the dissolution of the marriage “ratum sed non consummatum” (ratified but not consummated).

Since November 2011, she has also worked at the Tribunal of the Roman Rota. From 2013-2016, she collaborated with the former Pontifical Council for the Laity in the field of specialist laity studies in the Church. She is married and has two daughters.

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Vatican City, Jul 2, 2017 / 09:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a brief interview given just hours after hearing that he would no longer be heading the Vatican’s doctrine office, Cardinal Gerhard Müller said the decision was normal, and was not the result of conflict between him and Pope Francis.

“There were no differences between me and Pope Francis,” Cardinal Müller told Allgemeine Zeitung, a regional German paper from Mainz.

Müller spoke to the paper while in Mainz for his 50th high school reunion. He traveled to the city Friday after meeting with Pope Francis earlier that morning, receiving the news that his term as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith would not be renewed.

The cardinal, 69, said that while he doesn’t know the specifics of why his 5-year term was not extended, the Pope informed him of his desire to move away from trend of renewing curial mandates.

Although it has until now been common for these 5-year terms to be renewed, Müller said that during their meeting, Pope Francis said he wants to progressively move toward a general practice of limiting mandates to just 5 years, “and I happened to be the first one to which this applied.”

“It doesn’t matter much to me,” Müller said, adding that “at some point, everyone has to stop.”

Müller was tapped to head the Vatican’s doctrine office, the most important dicastery in the Roman Curia, by Benedict XVI before his resignation in 2012. The charge included the positions of president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” the Pontifical Biblical Commission and the International Theological Commission.

Pope Francis renewed Müller’s appointment to the CDF and to each of the commissions after his election, allowing the prelate to serve the entirety of his 5-year term in each, which ends July 2.

The Vatican announced July 1 that taking Müller’s place will be Jesuit Archbishop Luis Ladaria, who was appointed secretary to the CDF by Benedict XVI in 2008, and is known to be simple, orthodox in his theology, highly intellectual and is described by those who know him as not being a “yes man.”
 
In his interview with “Allgemeine Zeitung,” Müller simply stated that his 5 year mandate as prefect of the CDF “had now run its course,” and the decision to replace him had nothing to do with conflict that’s been painted between he and the Pope.

Nor was it the result of differing opinions on Francis’ 2016 post-synodal apostolic exhortation “Amoris Laetitia.” While the two didn’t agree on all aspects of the text, the cardinal insisted there was no fight about it.

Despite their disagreements on some points, Müller is known to have been a conservative voice within the Curia, and, contrary to other German prelates, backed more traditional interpretations of Chapter 8 of the document, which touched on the reception of communion for divorced and remarried couples.

However, the cardinal did voice his disappointment in Francis’ decision to dismiss three members of his staff a few weeks ago, noting that the officials “were competent people.”
 
Regarding his new role, Müller said that after ceasing his position as head of the CDF July 3, he will stay at the Vatican.

“I will work academically, continue to serve in my role as cardinal, do pastoral work. There is enough for me to do in Rome,” he said, adding that “in any case, I would normally be a pensioner by now.”

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Vatican City, Jan 31, 2021 / 06:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis announced Sunday the establishment of an international day to honor grandparents and the elderly to take place each year in July.

“The Holy Spirit … arouses thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly today: their voice is precious because it sings the praises of God and guards the roots of peoples. They remind us that old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between generations, to transmit to young people an experience of life and faith,” Pope Francis said in the library of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace Jan. 31.

“Grandparents are often forgotten and we forget this wealth of preserving and passing on the roots. For this reason, I have decided to establish the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly,” the pope said.

The World Day for the Grandparents and the Elderly will take place annually on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the feast of the grandparents of Jesus, Saints Joachim and Anne.

This year it will take place on Sunday, July 25, and Pope Francis will offer a special Mass to mark the occasion, according to the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life.

In his Angelus address — offered via a live video broadcast due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the pope recalled the upcoming liturgical celebration of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple by Mary and Joseph.

“The day after tomorrow, February 2, we will celebrate the feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, when Simeon and Anna, both elderly, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, recognized Jesus as the Messiah,” the pope said.

Pope Francis also pointed to the example of the Virgin Mary who “always kept Jesus’ words and gestures in her heart and followed Him with total willingness and faithfulness.”

“May she help us too to listen to Him and follow Him, to experience the signs of His salvation in our life,” he prayed.

The pope said that Jesus “speaks not with human authority, but with divine authority, because he has the power to be the definitive prophet, that is, the Son of God who saves us, heals us all.”

He asked: “Do we listen to the words of Jesus which are authoritative?”

“Always, do not forget, carry a small Gospel in your pocket or bag, to read it during the day, to listen to that authoritative word of Jesus,” he said.

The pope explained that Jesus’ ministry of healing, exorcisms, and “preaching with authority” show that Christ “aimed at defeating the evil present in humankind and in the world.”

“Jesus’ teaching has the same authority as God speaking; in fact, with a single command he easily frees the possessed from the evil one and heals him,” he said.

“His word points directly at the kingdom of Satan: it puts him in crisis and makes him retreat, forcing him to leave,” Francis said.

After the Angelus prayer, children from the diocese of Rome joined the pope in the Apostolic Palace to read a letter about the importance of peace. The children are participants in the virtual “Caravan of Peace” organized by Catholic Action.

Pope Francis also highlighted World Leprosy Day, which occurs each year on the last Sunday of January. He appealed to world leaders to join efforts to treat those suffering from leprosy – officially called Hansen’s Disease – and to work for their social inclusion.

“I express my closeness to those who suffer from this disease, and I encourage missionaries, health workers and volunteers committed to their service,” the pope said.

“The pandemic has confirmed how necessary it is to protect the right to health for the most vulnerable people.”

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