Cardinal O’Malley: ‘Padre Pio shows us the power of the cross’

The flag of Colombia. / Politicnico Grancolombiano Departamento de Comunicaciones via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)

ACI Prensa Staff, Jun 18, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).
The bishops of the dioceses located in the Valle del Cauca district of Colombia have de… […]

Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 28, 2023. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Vatican City, Jul 5, 2023 / 04:02 am (CNA).

The Vatican announced Wednesday the creation of a commission to research and catalog the stories of Christian martyrs from the third millennium.

In a letter published July 5, Pope Francis said he has established the “Commission of New Martyrs — Witnesses of the Faith” within the Dicastery for the Causes of the Saints.

The commission’s task will be to create an archive of the lives of Christian martyrs, both Catholic and non-Catholic, killed in the last quarter century, the pope said.

Pope Francis noted that he is not modifying canon law on the formal recognition of martyrdom in the Catholic Church, but wants the testimonies of those killed for being Christian to stand “side by side with the martyrs officially recognized by the Church…”

“As I have said many times,” he wrote, “the martyrs ‘are more numerous in our time than in the early centuries:’ they are bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, lay people and families, who in the different countries of the world, with the gift of their lives, have offered the supreme proof of charity.”

The pope said he created the commission in light of the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, which will focus on the theme of hope.

“Hope keeps alive the deep conviction that good is stronger than evil because God in Christ has overcome sin and death,” he said.

Francis also recalled that St. Pope John Paul II had formed a similar commission on new martyrs for the Great Jubilee 2000.

The earlier commission, which received 13,000 testimonies of men and women who gave their lives for Christ in the 20th century, shared some of the stories during an ecumenical prayer service in the Colosseum on May 7, 2000.

Pope Francis said the 2025 Jubilee Year will include a similar event in order to remember what he has called the “ecumenism of blood.”

“Even in our time, in which we are witnessing a change of epoch, Christians continue to show, in contexts of great risk, the vitality of Baptism that unites us,” the pope said.

He noted that some Christians, though aware of the danger to their lives, have yet publicly lived their faith and participated in the Sunday liturgy; others have been killed while performing works of charity to the poor; and still others have been “silent victims,” losing their lives in violent upheavals.

“To all of them we owe a great debt and cannot forget them,” he emphasized.

The pope referenced St. John Paul II’s 1994 apostolic letter, Tertio Millennio Adveniente, which said that “everything must be done so that the legacy of the cloud of ‘unknown soldiers of the great cause of God’ is not lost.”

“In a world in which it sometimes seems that evil prevails, I am certain,” he said, “that the elaboration of this catalog, also in the context of the now upcoming Jubilee, will help believers to also read our time in the light of Easter, drawing from the treasure chest of such generous faithfulness to Christ the reasons for life and goodness.”

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Pope Francis celebrates Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the World Day of the Poor Nov. 13, 2022. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.

Vatican City, Nov 13, 2022 / 04:30 am (CNA).

On the World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis encouraged Christians to not be brought down by the “doom and gloom” of the world, but to witness to the joy of the Gospel through service to those in need.

“Let us take to heart the clear and unmistakable summons in the Gospel not to be led astray. Let us not listen to prophets of doom,” the pope said at Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Nov. 13.

“Instead, let us bear witness,” he said. “Let us light candles of hope in the midst of darkness. Amid dramatic situations, let us seize opportunities to bear witness to the Gospel of joy and to build a more fraternal world, at least a little more fraternal. Let us commit ourselves courageously to justice, the rule of law and peace, and stand at the side of the weakest.”

Pope Francis, assisted by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated Mass for the 6th annual World Day of the Poor, which was established at the conclusion of the Year of Mercy.

The poor were special guests at the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. The day was also marked by a number of initiatives to aid those in need, including a free meal and medical care.

In his homily, Pope Francis urged Christians to not let themselves become victims of the many crises happening in the world — such as war, famine, poverty, and natural disasters — but take action where they can.

He pointed to the day’s Gospel, Luke 21:5-19, in which Jesus says to not be deceived by false prophets.

“It is not by chance that Jesus’ second exhortation, after ‘do not be led astray,’ is positive,” the pope said. “He says: ‘This will give you an opportunity to testify.’”

“I want to emphasize this fine word: opportunity,” Francis said. “It means having the chance to do something good, starting from our situation in life, even when it is not ideal.”

“A disciple of the Lord,” he added, “should not yield to resignation or give in to discouragement, even in the most difficult situations, for our God is the God of resurrection and hope, who always raises up: with him we can lift up our gaze and begin anew.”

Pope Francis said Christians, when encountering trials, should ask themselves: “What is the Lord saying to us through this moment of crisis?”

The poor pay the heaviest price, he said, issuing a warning about hardened hearts.

“If our heart is deadened and indifferent, we cannot hear their faint cry of pain, we cannot cry with them and for them, we cannot see how much loneliness and anguish also lie hidden in the forgotten corners of our cities.”

Put your trust in God the Father, he said: “We should always repeat this to ourselves, especially at times of greatest trouble: God is a Father, and he is at my side. He knows and loves me; he does not sleep, but watches over me and cares for me. If I stay close to him, not a hair of my head will perish.”

“Since he loves us, let us resolve to love him in the most abandoned of his children,” the pope said, and “let us care for the poor, in whom we find Jesus, who became poor for our sake.”

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