Bishop urges prayer after Diego Maradona’s death

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dec 31, 2020 / 12:56 pm (CNA).- In a post published on Wednesday, December 30, just hours after abortion was legalized by the Argentinian Senate, one of the international branches of Planned Parenthood, the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPFWHR), boasted about having financed a large operation in the South American country to push to legalize abortion.

The celebratory post on the IPPFWHR website contradicts the claims of Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, who presented the abortion law and who repeatedly rebuffed pro-life concerns that the law was in fact being pushed by international organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the Ford Foundation rather than the will of the Argentinian people.

According to a November 2020 survey carried by independent pollster Giacobbe & Asociados, 60% of Argentinians opposed the law, while only 26.7% were in favor.

“Argentina’s Senate just voted to legalize abortion up to 14 weeks! This is a historic moment for our region, our incredible partners in Argentina, and the countless activists and organizers who formed ‘the green wave’,” the IPPFWHR posted.

The post also revealed that the IPPFWHR “has nurtured an ecosystem of feminist organizations and activists for more than 15 years that contributed to make today possible.”

“IPPFWHR directly supports seven partners in Argentina, who in turn sub-grant funds to 20 other grassroots organizations from around the country. They have been coalescing around shared activities, such as advocating with policymakers and ensuring communication campaigns in favor of so called abortion rights featured prominently in the public discourse. They’re also actively planning how to best support the implementation of the new law.”

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Cartagena, Colombia, Sep 10, 2017 / 06:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On his last day in Colombia, Pope Francis said the peace process shouldn’t be reduced to bureaucratic talks between two parties, but must above all focus on and involve the people, who themselves must take steps toward reconciliation, rather than revenge.

“We have learned that these ways of making peace, of placing reason above revenge, of the delicate harmony between politics and law, cannot ignore the involvement of the people,” the Pope said Sept. 10.

“Peace is not achieved by normative frameworks and institutional arrangements between well-intentioned political or economic groups,” he said. Rather, “Jesus finds the solution to the harm inflicted through a personal encounter between the parties.”

It’s also necessary that any peace processes draw on the experience “of those sectors that have often been overlooked, so that communities themselves can influence the development of collective memory.”

“The principal author, the historic subject of this process, is the people as a whole and their culture, and not a single class, minority, group or elite,” he said. While Colombia has sought peace for decades, two sides meeting for dialogue “is not enough; it has also been necessary to involve many more actors in this dialogue aimed at healing sins.”

“We do not need plans drawn up by a few for the few, or an enlightened or outspoken minority which claims to speak for everyone. It is about agreeing to live together, a social and cultural pact.”

Pope Francis offered his reflections during Mass at the port of Contecar in Cartagena on the last day of his Sept. 6-11 visit to Colombia. Prior to celebrating the liturgy, he blessed and laid the cornerstones for a homeless shelter and prayed the Angelus at the Shrine of Jesuit priest St. Peter Claver y Corberó.

In his homily, the Pope began by noting that Cartagena has for the past 32 years been known as a champion of human rights, and was called “heroic” for it’s role in fighting to maintain independence in the early 1800s.

On the human rights front, Francis quoted the 1985 Congress of Colombia praising the role of Jesuit priests Peter Claver, Alonso de Sandoval and Br. Nicolás González, who in the 7th century sought to “alleviate the situation of the oppressed of that time, especially of slaves, of those who implored fair treatment and freedom.”

With this backdrop, the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew, which recounts the parable of the Good Shepherd who leaves the 99 to find the one lost sheep, offers timely and relevant insights into forgiveness, correction, community and prayer, he said.

“This fact pervades the entire text: there is no one too lost to deserve our care, our closeness and our forgiveness,” the Pope said, adding that from this perspective, “we can see that a fault or a sin committed by one person challenges us all, but involves, primarily, the victim of someone’s sin.”

“He or she is called to take the initiative so that whoever has caused the harm is not lost,” he said, recalling the many testimonies he heard throughout the visit from people who suffered “irreparable losses,”but who, despite their own suffering, were able to reach out and “take the first step” on a path other than violence or revenge.

Francis said peace above all begins with the people, and the path to reintegration into the community “begins with a dialogue of two persons.”

“Nothing can replace that healing encounter; no collective process excuses us from the challenge of meeting, clarifying, forgiving,” he said, explaining that the deep, historic wounds the country has suffered “necessarily require moments where justice is done.”

This means giving victims the opportunity to know the truth, ensuring that damages are adequately repaired and making clear and firm commitments to not repeat the same crimes in the future.

However, the Pope said this is “only the beginning” of the Christian response. Followers of Christ, he said, must generate a change in culture “from below,” so that we “respond to the culture of death and violence, with the culture of life and encounter.”

Francis then questioned those present on both how hard they have worked for peace, and, on the contrary, how much they have neglected in the process, “allowing barbarity to become enfleshed in the life of our people.”

“How many times have we ‘normalized’ the logic of violence and social exclusion, without prophetically raising our hands or voices!” he said, noting that there were thousands of Christians around during the time of St. Peter Claver, including many who were consecrated, “but only a handful started a counter-cultural movement of encounter.”

St. Peter Claver didn’t have “prestigious academic qualifications, and he even said of himself that he was mediocre in terms of intelligence,” the Pope observed. “But he had the genius to live the Gospel to the full, to meet those whom others considered merely as waste material.”

In the process of encountering others, we discover our rights and rebuild our lives so they can reemerge as “authentically human,” he said, and urged all men and women to defend the sacredness “of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned, those considered disposable because they are only considered as part of a statistic.”

However, when looking to the Gospel, Jesus shows us that some choose to stay closed, continuing to do evil.

“We cannot deny that there are people who persist in sins that damage the fabric of our coexistence and community,” he said, and pointed to the “heartbreaking drama” of drugs, the destruction of nature due to pollution, the exploitation of labor and money laundering and human trafficking.

The Pope went off-the-cuff briefly to emphasize the evil of trafficking.

“This evil is a direct attack against the dignity of the human person and progressively breaks the image that the creator infused in us,” he said. “I firmly condemn this scourge which has put an end to so many lives and which is sustained by unscrupulous men.

“You cannot play with the life of a human being, nor manipulate their dignity. I make a call to find ways to end drug trafficking, which sows death everywhere, truncating so many hopes and dreams and destroys so many families.” 

Returning to his script, Pope Francis then spoke about prostitution, “which ever day reaps innocent victims, especially the young, robbing them of their future,” and condemned the crimes and abuses against minors, as well as the “frequently overlooked” plight of migrants, “who are often victims of disgraceful and illegal manipulation.”

Society must be prepared for this, “and solidly base ourselves upon principles of justice that in no way diminish charity,” the Pope said, adding that “it is only possible to live peacefully by avoiding actions that corrupt or harm life.”

Finally, Pope Francis said Jesus asks everyone to pray together for peace, so that this prayer, “even with its personal nuances and different emphases, becomes symphonic and arises as one single cry.”

“I am sure that today we pray together for the rescue of those who were wrong and not for their destruction, for justice and not revenge, for healing in truth and not for oblivion,” he said, and, pointing to the theme of the trip “let us take the first step,” voiced hope that “this first step be in a common direction.”

The Pope closed his speech saying that if Colombia wants a stable and lasting peace, “ it must urgently take a step in this direction, which is that of the common good, of equity, of justice, of respect for human nature and its demands.”

“Only if we help to untie the knots of violence, will we unravel the complex threads of disagreements,” he said, and urged the people to go out and meet others, taking the risk of making a correction “that does not want to expel but to integrate.”

“We are asked to be charitably firm in that which is not negotiable,” the Pope said, adding that the Lord “is able to untie that which seems impossible to us, and he has promised to accompany us to the end of time, and will bring to fruition all our efforts.”

After Mass, Pope Francis gave a final greeting to the people before heading to the airport to return to Rome.

He said the final word he wanted to leave them with is to “not be content with ‘taking the first step,’” but to instead “continue our journey anew each day, going forth to encounter others and to encourage concord and fraternity.”

“We cannot just stand still,” he said, and pointed to the example of St. Peter Claver, who died in Cartagena after 40 years of  tireless work on behalf of the poor, as an example.

“He did not stand still: his first step was followed by many others. His example draws us out of ourselves to encounter our neighbors,” Francis said, telling Colombians that “your brothers and sisters need you. Go out to meet them. Bring them the embrace of peace, free of all violence.”

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Bogotá, Colombia, Sep 7, 2017 / 10:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking to youth in Colombia Thursday, Pope Francis urged them to move away from the violence of the past and to work toward healing and building a culture of encounter, which he said often begins simply with a drink or a cup of coffee.

“For you, young people, it is so easy to encounter one another. All you need is a good coffee, a good drink or any other excuse to meet,” the Pope said Sept. 7, his first full day in Colombia.

Topics such as art and music can often bring people together, he said.

“Even a final between Atlético Nacional and América de Cali is an opportunity to be together,” he exclaimed, referring to the rival association football teams from Medellin and Cali who compete in Colombia’s premier tournament league.

Youth are able to teach their elders that “the culture of meeting is not in thinking, living or reacting to everyone in the same way; it is rather in knowing that beyond our differences we are all part of something greater that unites and transcends us; we are part of this wonderful country.”

“Help us, your elders, to enter into this culture of encounter that you practice so well,” he implored them.

Pope Francis spoke to the youth gathered below the balcony of the Cardinal’s Palace in Bogota. He greeted the crowd and offered his blessing after meeting the country’s authorities earlier that morning, marking the first day of official appointments during his Sept. 6-11 visit to Colombia.

Immediately before his greeting to the faithful, Francis had visited Bogota’s Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, leading a Marian litany for peace in the country.

In his address, Pope Francis said he had come to Colombia “as a pilgrim of peace and hope” and “to understand you”, and “to learn from your faith, your strength in the face of adversity. You have endured difficult and dark moments, but the Lord is near you, in the heart of every son and daughter of this country. He is not selective, he does not exclude anyone but embraces all; and we are all important and essential to him.”

“During these days I would like to share with you the most important truth: that God loves you with the love of a Father who encourages you to continue looking for and desiring peace, that peace which is authentic and abiding.”

He reiterated that “God loves us with the love of a father,” and then had the youths repeat his words – something he did several times in his address when he wanted to emphasize a point.

the Pope said he’s always happy when he meets young people, and told them to “keep joy alive,” because it is “a sign of a young heart, of a heart that has encountered the Lord.”

“Do not let anyone rob you of joy,” he said, and asked them to preserve the joy that “unites everyone in the knowledge of being loved by the Lord,” because “the flame of the Lord Jesus’ love makes this joy burst forth, and is sufficient to set the whole world ablaze.”

“How could you not be capable of changing this society and accomplishing all you decide to do!” he said, and told them to “dare to dream big … please, don’t think small. Dream high, and dream big!”

Youth have a special knack for recognizing pain and suffering in others, he said, noting that this is made obvious by the sheer number of youth who serve as volunteers in programs to help the poor and needy.

But this quality can also emerge “in contexts where death, pain and division have impacted you so deeply that they have left you half-dazed, as if numb,” he said, alluding to the effects of the country’s longstanding civil war, which has largely de-escalated, thanks in part to the encouragement of Pope Francis and the Holy See.

With as many as 260,000 killed and millions displaced in the five-decade conflict, Francis told the youth to “allow the suffering of your Colombian brothers and sisters to strike you and mobilize you! Help us, your elders, not to grow accustomed to pain and neglect.”

Those who come from complex backgrounds and different family situations “have grown used to seeing that not everything is black and white; you have seen that daily life is made up of a broad scale of grey tones, and that this can expose you to the risk of falling into a climate of relativism, thus discarding that potentiality which young people have, of perceiving the pain of those who suffered.”

Youth not only have the ability to recognize and point out mistakes, but they are also capable of something more “beautiful (and) constructive.” This, he said, is the ability of “understanding. An understanding that even behind a wrong – for wrong is (always) wrong and cannot be just smoothed over – lies an endless number of causes, of mitigating factors.” He reiterated that “wrong is always wrong: you can’t put lipstick on it.”

“Colombia needs you so much to put yourselves in the shoes of those who, many generations earlier, could not or did not know how to do so, or did not come up with the right way to reach understanding,” he said.

Another unique ability which, while generally difficult, comes a bit easier to youth is the ability to forgive, especially those who have hurt us, Francis said.

“It is remarkable to see how you do not get entangled in old stories, how you watch with surprise when we adults repeat events that divide us simply by being tied to resentments,” he said, telling youth they are able to help their elders “in the desire to leave behind what has hurt us, to look to the future without the burden of hatred.”

“You make us see the wider world which stands before us, the whole of Colombia that wishes to grow and continue its development; that Colombia which needs all of us, and which we older people owe to you,” he said.

Because of this, youth now face the challenging task of “helping us to heal,” he said.

“An atmosphere of anxiety sickens the soul; it sees no way out of problems, and ostracizes those who try,” he said, and voiced hope that the dreams of the youth would “give fresh life to Colombia, and fill the country with wholesome goals.”

“Only in this way will people be motivated to discover the country hidden behind the mountains, the one that goes beyond newspaper headlines and which does not seem to be a daily concern since it is so far away,” he said.

The Pope noted that young people are often “spurred into action” when faced with great challenges, and told them he believes they have what it takes “to build the nation we have always dreamed of.”

Pope Francis closed his address by offering a word to all those present “as someone bringing you hope.”

“Do not let difficulties weigh you down; may violence not break you; may evil not overwhelm you,” he said, noting that as Christians, we believe Christ has already conquered evil, sin, and death, and “all we need to do is go out to meet him.”

“I invite you not to be just dutiful but to be committed to renewing society, so that it will be just, stable and fruitful,” he said, and urged them to place their trust in the Lord, “who is the only one who sustains us and inspires us to contribute to reconciliation and peace.”

Concluding, the Pope led those gathered in praying the Hail Mary, and gave them his blessing.

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