Pope Francis calls 100 days of war in Ukraine ‘negation of God’s dream’

Vatican City, Apr 19, 2018 / 12:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This week, Catholic communicators gathered in Rome to discuss the need for more respectful dialogue in the public sphere, saying that fake news and polemics must be overcome with truth, mercy and openness.

When it comes to modern day public discourse, Irish Archbishop Eamon Martin said, “we have to be aware of our language, because nowadays people switch off, they don’t hear, and we cannot get the Gospel message out simply condemning everyone who lives their lives contrary to what we believe in.”

Now more than ever when emotions are high, polemics are strong, and digital communication is increasingly more impersonal, mutual respect is needed in order to effectively communicate with those we don’t agree with, both within the Church, and outside of it, he said.

This is also true “in the kind of culture wars which we are engaging in sometimes even within the Church; they simply drown out any opportunity for people to make that personal commitment to Christ, which is really what the Gospel is about.”

“This is a challenge for us within the Church, and it’s exemplified by blogs countering blogs, Twitter countering Twitter, where everyone is shouting and absolutely no one is hearing anything.”

The remedy, Martin said, is to focus, in every exchange, on communicating the fact that “God loves you, he loves you personally, he’s calling you to conversion in your own personal life story.”

Archbishop Martin spoke on the first day of an April 17-19 conference for Catholic communicators in Rome. Co-organized by the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and EWTN, the three-day seminar was dedicated to the theme of “Dialogue, Respect and Freedom of Expression in the Public Arena.”

Speakers and panelists included media representatives and experts from around the world who touched on issues such as polarization, fake news, defamation and how to promote values through the media.

Michael Warsaw, Chairman of the Board and CEO of EWTN Global Catholic Network, gave a keynote speech on fake news and the responsibility of journalists on the final day of the conference.

Warsaw pointed to a recent example of a fake story that gained a lot of steam during the U.S. presidential election of 2016.

During the campaign season, a fake news site published an article titled “Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President, Releases Statement,” which gained more than 100,000 comments, shares, and reactions on Facebook alone, and nearly 1 million Facebook engagements, making it “the single biggest fake news hit of the U.S. Election.”

Shortly after, another fake news article appeared saying Pope Francis had endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, he said, noting that it is thanks to articles like this that modern society has come to be known as the “post-truth” or “post-fact” world.

Warsaw cited various studies showing that consumers of fake news are no small minority, and, quoting the pope, said that because of this, journalists in particular are called to be “the protectors of news.”

“Pope Francis, in his 2018 message, rightly condemns that ‘spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests,’…But, the challenges facing journalism and the public at large today go deeper than the ‘fake news’ phenomenon,” he said.

Rather, the real crux of the matter is growing general distrust of media, as well as a loss of trust in data, analysis, and objective facts, he said.

Because of this, those who work in social communications must be offered ongoing formation, both spiritual and professional, so that both individual journalists and media outlets “become more trusted by the public, and are seen as objective and reliable.”

Quoting Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Social Communications, Warsaw said the most “radical antidote” to the phenomenon of fake news is “purification by the truth.”

“As Catholic communicators and media, we are called to do our part to be truth tellers,” he said, and “we must take heart in knowing that we are not the first Catholics to live in a ‘post truth’ era.”

In his comments to CNA, Archbishop Martin stressed the importance of fostering an environment where true and honest dialogue can take place, and where media can help “engage in a culture of encounter.”

“We meet people where they are at, some of whom are completely against what we stand for, others who are open to conversation,” he said, explaining that when things get heated, “pacifying” one’s tone is a good place to start in terms of having a fruitful exchange.

“I think this conference has courageously opened up a sort of middle-ground where we can engage in a type of court of the gentiles, where we enter that space in which there are some people who are diametrically opposed to what we stand for.”

And this, the archbishop said, can only happen “out of respect, and it can only happen when there is a culture of freedom to speak.”

For those involved in communication, “we can only hope that with the help of the Holy Spirit and by the grace of God, that we can invite people, that we can win them for Christ, by our witness, by our example, and by the strength and courage of our message.”
 

[…]

Denver Newsroom, Feb 28, 2021 / 12:50 pm (CNA).- The apostolic nunciature in Iraq reported on Sunday, Feb. 28 that the Nuncio Mitja Leskovar, has tested positive for COVID less than a week before Pope Francis trip to the country.

"The Apostolic N… […]

Vatican City, Oct 9, 2018 / 05:01 pm (ACI Prensa).- Among those being canonized on Sunday are Fr. Franceso Spinelli, a diocesan priest through whose intercession a newborn was saved from death in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The child was born April 25, 2007 at a hospital in Kinshasa served by the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament

The newborn and his mother were discharged three days after the baby was born. But on her way  home, the mom tripped and instinctively clutched the baby to herself, but so hard that that she induced a severe hemorrhage.

Returning to the hospital, the doctors tried to help him for 45 minutes. In order to save him they had to give him an emergency blood transfusion. But the baby’s condition was so bad that his veins were thinning, which made the procedure impossible.

Given the lack of technology at the hospital and the impossibility of quickly transferring him to another hospital, the doctors gave the baby up for dead.

While this was going on, Sister Adeline, the Adoration sister in charge of the hospital’s maternity unit, noted the serious condition of the baby and asked her community to pray that the child would survive.

The superior of the congregation, Sister Antonietta Musoni, asked the intercession of Fr. Spinelli and they began to prayer a novena to him.

Sister Adeline placed a holy card of Fr. Spinelli under the baby’s sheets and when the doctors made a final effort they miraculously found a vein just as big as an adult’s to give the blood transfusion.

With just three or four drops of blood the baby began to kick and cry. He completely recovered in a few hours.

The parents, realizing the miracle obtained through the intercession of the founding father of the Institute of the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament, changed the name of their son from Ambrosio María Díaz to Francisco María Spinelli Díaz.

The child has grown up to be healthy, with no after-effects from that episode. Medical exams performed on the child during the process of investigating Fr. Spinelli’s cause demonstrated his perfect state of health.

Brief Biography

Francesco Spinelli was born in Milan April 14, 1853. He entered the seminary at Bergamo and was ordained a priest Oct. 17, 1875.

He began his apostolate educating the poor and at the same time he served as a seminary professor, spiritual director, and counselor for several women’s religious communities.

In 1882, Fr. Spinelli met Caterina Comensoli, with whom he would found the Institute of the Adorers of the Blessed Sacrament.

The sisters dedicated themselves to Eucharistic adoration day and night which inspired their service to the poor and suffering.

Due to several setbacks,  Fr. Spinelli  transferred from the Diocese of Bergamo to the Diocese of Cremona where he continued to lead the Adoration Institute in Rivolta d’Adda/

The priest died Feb. 6, 1913, and was buried in the church of the Adoration Sisters in Rivolta d’Adda. At that time, the institution had founded 68 communities in different countries.

Currently, the institute has around 250 communities in Italy, Congo, Senegal, Cameroon, Colombia, and Argentina. Their ministries include caring for people with HIV, orphans, drug addicts, and prisoners.
 
Fr. Spinelli was beatified by St. John Paul II June 21, 1992 at the Marian Shrine of Caravaggio.

He will be beatified Oct. 14 at the Vatican along with Paul VI, Bshop of Rome from 1963 to 1978; Oscar Romero, a martyr who was Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 to 1980; Vincenzo Romano, a diocesan priest from Torre de Greco in Italy; Maria Caterina Kasper, a German nun and founder of the Institute of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ; and Nazaria Ignazia of Saint Teresa of Jesus, founder of the Congregation of the Misioneras Cruzadas de la Iglesia Sisters.

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

[…]