Pope Francis to visit Hungary in April

Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney at a Vatican press conference Oct. 5, 2018. / Daniel Ibanez.

Sydney, Australia, Nov 11, 2021 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
The Archbishop of Sydney has urged the faithful to speak out against euthanasia as New South Wale… […]

Vatican City, Dec 20, 2019 / 07:40 am (CNA).- Pope Francis and the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres recorded a video message together at the Vatican Friday in which the two leaders urge the importance of religious freedom, human dignity, and environmental protection.

“We must not remain indifferent to the human dignity trampled on and exploited, to attacks against human life, whether it is yet to be born or that of every person in need of care,” Pope Francis said in the video message recorded with the the UN Secretary General at the Vatican Apostolic Palace Dec. 20.

“We cannot, we must not turn away when the believers of various faiths are persecuted, in different parts of the world. The use of religion to incite hatred … cries out for God’s justice,” the pope said.

The UN Secretary General added: “Tragically we see Jews being murdered in synagogues, their gravestones defaced with swastikas; Muslims gunned down in mosques, their religious sites vandalized; Christians killed at prayers, their churches torched. We need to do more to promote mutual understanding and tackle rising hatred.”

“Our meeting is especially meaningful during this Christmas season. This is a time of peace and goodwill and I am sad to witness Christian communities – including some of the world’s oldest – unable to celebrate Christmas in safety,” Guterres said.

Antonio Guterres, former prime minister of Portugal, has served as the UN Secretary General since 2017. He first met Pope Francis at the Vatican as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2013, and again as secretary general during the pope’s 2015 visit to UN headquarters in Geneva.

“You are a messenger for hope and humanity – for reducing human suffering and promoting human dignity,” the UN Secretary General told the pope.

He thanked Pope Francis for being a “clear moral voice” and for promoting interfaith relations, particularly through the Abu Dhabi declaration on human fraternity with the Grand Imam of Al- Azhar.

“This declaration is extremely important when we see such dramatic attacks on religious freedom and the lives of believers,” he said. “The United Nations has also launched a Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites and a strategy to combat hate speech.”

In August, the UN General Assembly inaugurated the first International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief to be marked each year on Aug. 22.

UN Secretary General also thanked Pope Francis for highlighting the issue of climate change in his encyclical Laudato Si.

“To promote love of people and care for our planet. To uphold our common humanity and protect our common home. Our world needs that more than ever. Coming to Rome from the COP25 in Madrid, I call on all countries around the globe to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with what the scientific community tells us is necessary to rescue the planet,” Guterres said.

Pope Francis said that the need to reduce polluting emissions is  “urgent and necessary” for an integral ecology. “​Let’s do something before it’s too late,” he said.

In a 40-minute private meeting at the Vatican, the two leaders discussed “the crisis of multilateralism” in addressing global issues such as migration, human trafficking, climate change, and disarmament, according to the Holy See Press Office.

They also focused on the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and current conflict situations and humanitarian emergencies.

Following the meeting, the UN Secretary General also met with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Secretary for Relations with States Richard Gallagher.

“Confidence in dialogue between people and between nations, in multilateralism, in the role of international organizations, in diplomacy as a tool for understanding and understanding, is indispensable for building a peaceful world,” the pope said in the video message.

“Christmas, in its genuine simplicity, reminds us that what really matters in life is love,” he said. “These are days when our eyes are turned to the heavens to entrust to God the people and situations that we most cherish.”

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The cover of Raymond Arroyo’s album “Christmas Merry & Bright.” / Credit: Sophia Music Group

CNA Staff, Nov 16, 2023 / 12:40 pm (CNA).

Combining warm vocals and the classic sound of a New Orleans jazz band, Raymond Arroyo’s album “Christmas Merry & Bright” offers a fresh spin on treasured Christmas melodies. The recently released album currently stands among the top 5 on Billboard’s seasonal and jazz charts, top 10 overall on Amazon’s music chart, and top 25 on Barnes & Noble’s bestselling chart for all genres. 

Arroyo, host of EWTN’s “The World Over,” called the process of making the album “an explosion and a journey of joy” in an interview with CNA and credited his audience for the inspiration behind his album. 

Over the years, Arroyo has performed with the likes of Johnny Mathis and Aaron Neville, among others, on several Christmas specials, which led many to ask him about making his own Christmas album.

When he was first approached by a record producer to consider recording an album, he said his initial thought was no. However, after praying about it, he thought about how he could make it original.  

“I dug into the origin stories of so many of these Christmas carols and songs we take for granted and discovered these incredible backstories and approaches to the songs that I had never heard before or considered before,” he explained. 

Together with Kevin Kaska — composer and arranger for hit shows such as “The Greatest Showman” and Disney’s “The Jungle Book” and “The Lion King,” among others — the album showcases the big band jazz sound from Arroyo’s native New Orleans in the rendition of Christmas classics such as “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Deck the Halls,” and “Feliz Navidad” with José Feliciano. 

Arroyo shared that this is the first time Feliciano agreed to do a new rendition of his beloved Christmas song. When he first wrote it in 1970, Feliciano was “under duress” due to his producer pressuring him to come up with something original, Arroyo explained.

“So, he wrote ‘Feliz Navidad’ in literally 10 minutes. But in his mind, he was thinking of celebrating Christmas by sitting with his brothers on the shores of Puerto Rico, beating on tin cans and boxes, whatever they could find, and singing Spanish carols.”

Inspired to go back to the original context of the song, Arroyo proposed a bossa nova feel to the song and that it be sung “like two brothers on a beach.” Feliciano agreed. 

Arroyo shared that many of his fans are surprised to learn that he has a musical background. He attended a performing arts school in New Orleans, studied acting at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and took part in several musicals. 

“Growing up in New Orleans you can’t help but be influenced and surrounded by music,” he said. “It’s a part of your life. … So, there was a rich jazz world that swirled around me my entire life.” 

Before returning to the recording studio, Arroyo saw a vocal coach every week, ran his scales, and is now preparing for a tour that will include stops in Phoenix; Dallas; Tampa, Florida; Cleveland; and Nashville, Tennessee.

Arroyo said he was “humbled and aghast” when he saw his Christmas album climbing to the top of the charts. 

“When you see an album like this that really was a labor of love, and anytime you sing, it’s such a vulnerable art,” he added. “You’re putting your heart out for public consumption because it’s not like speech or book, there’s something removed there. It’s your voice; it’s your breath; it’s your mind behind it all. So there’s something very personal about it.”

Arroyo said that during this difficult time in the world, the album is a “gift” for his audience and a reminder to “focus on joy and the ultimate joy, which is the coming of the Christ Child.”

“It’s a touchstone of joy in the midst of chaos and gloom and darkness that light still shines in Bethlehem. And that really is the through-line to all these songs … the light still dawns in Bethlehem.”

He pointed out that Christmas music “is the only genre of music that your great, great, great, grandparents sang, you are singing, and your children’s children will be singing in the future.”

“There’s no other genre of music that has that power. None,” Arroyo said. “And I think it’s because it touches Jesus. That’s my take. It’s wrapped up in the Incarnation and in God, which is why it’s the only eternal music.” 

As for future projects, Arroyo said he hopes to make another album but will “wait on the inspiration.”

“Mother Angelica used to say, ‘When God inspires you to do something, don’t question it. Run at it.’ And I’ve done that my whole life. Really since she told me that, because I watched her do that.”

A segment about “Christmas Merry & Bright” was recently featured on EWTN’s “The World Over”:

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