Pope sends condolences to victims of tragedies in Laos and Greece

Pope Francis blesses a young woman during a general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall in December 2022. / Vatican Media.

Rome Newsroom, Jan 10, 2023 / 05:00 am (CNA).

Sickness and vulnerability is scary because it is a threat to the culture of efficiency, Pope Francis said on Tuesday, in a message published ahead of the World Day of the Sick.

“We are rarely prepared for illness. Oftentimes, we fail even to admit that we are getting older,” the pope said Jan. 10. “Our vulnerability frightens us and the pervasive culture of efficiency pushes us to sweep it under the carpet, leaving no room for our human frailty.”

“We are all fragile and vulnerable, and need that compassion which knows how to pause, approach, heal, and raise up. Thus, the plight of the sick is a call that cuts through indifference and slows the pace of those who go on their way as if they had no sisters and brothers,” he said.

The Catholic Church will mark the 31st annual World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in southwestern France is associated with the sick because of the presence of a miraculous spring from which many people have obtained physical healing.

This year’s papal message is titled “Take care of him: Compassion as a synodal exercise of healing.”

“It is not only what functions well or those who are productive that matter,” Pope Francis said. “Sick people, in fact, are at the center of God’s people, and the Church advances together with them as a sign of a humanity in which everyone is precious and no one should be discarded or left behind.”

He said it is crucial that the whole Church strive to follow the example of the Good Samaritan.

Just as the Samaritan asked the innkeeper to take care of the wounded man, “Jesus addresses the same call to each of us,” Francis said.

“As I noted in Fratelli Tutti, ‘The parable shows us how a community can be rebuilt by men and women who identify with the vulnerability of others, who reject the creation of a society of exclusion, and act instead as neighbors, lifting up and rehabilitating the fallen for the sake of the common good’ (No. 67),” he said.

“Indeed,” the pope continued, “‘we were created for a fulfillment that can only be found in love. We cannot be indifferent to suffering’ (No. 68).”

Pope Francis also noted that sickness and weakness are part of the human journey, thus, it can be an act of synodality to walk together in community with those who are suffering.

“I invite all of us to reflect on the fact that it is especially through the experience of vulnerability and illness that we can learn to walk together according to the style of God, which is closeness, compassion, and tenderness,” he said.

Pope Francis also addressed the role injustice plays in the lack of access to adequate medical care which many people experience.

The COVID-19 pandemic, he said, showed the limits of existing public welfare systems.

“It is no longer easy to distinguish the assaults on human life and dignity that arise from natural causes from those caused by injustice and violence,” he said.

“In fact,” he continued, “increasing levels of inequality and the prevailing interests of the few now affect every human environment to the extent that it is difficult to consider any experience as having solely ‘natural’ causes. All suffering takes place in the context of a ‘culture’ and its various contradictions.”

“Gratitude, then, needs to be matched by actively seeking, in every country, strategies and resources in order to guarantee each person’s fundamental right to basic and decent healthcare,” the pope said.

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Pope Francis prays during a general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 20, 2023. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, patriarch of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, celebrates Easter Sunday Mass at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on April 4, 2021. / Credit: (L) Daniel Ibanez/CNA. (R) Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.

Rome Newsroom, Oct 8, 2023 / 08:45 am (CNA).

Pope Francis and the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem have responded to the sudden outbreak of conflict in Israel and Palestine over the weekend.

The pope said at the end of a public address on Sunday he is following the violence “with apprehension and sorrow,” and issued an appeal to “please stop weapons attacks!”

The head of the Catholic Church in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, called for a de-escalation of the situation in a statement Oct. 7.

“The continuing bloodshed and declarations of war remind us once again of the urgent need to find a lasting and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in this land,” he said.

A series of rocket attacks and incursions on Israel from Hamas militants had reportedly killed hundreds and wounded many between Saturday and Sunday morning.

The surprise attacks began early on the morning of Oct. 7, the start of the observance of the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah.

Israel reacted to the attacks by fighting back in southern Israel and launching airstrikes in Gaza. Israeli military official Daniel Hagari told reporters Sunday morning that “hundreds of terrorists” had been killed during fighting in Gaza and southern Israel, the Associated Press reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday Israel is “at war.”

In an appeal at the end of his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Francis said “terrorism and war do not bring any solution, but only death and suffering for many innocent people. War is a failure. Every war is a failure.”

He said he is close to the families of the victims and called for prayers “that there will be peace in Israel and Palestine.”

The pope also recalled that the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary, and asked Catholics to continue to pray through the intercession of Mary “for the gift of peace for the many countries of the world marked by war and conflict.”

Pizzaballa, who was created a cardinal by Pope Francis in a consistory Sept. 30, called the sudden outbreak of violence in Israel and Palestine “very concerning due to its extension and intensity.”

“The too many casualties and tragedies, which both Palestinians and Israeli families have to deal with, will create more hatred and division, and will destroy more and more any perspective of stability,” the patriarch added.

“We ask God to inspire world leaders in their intervention for the implementation of peace and concord,” he said, “so that Jerusalem may be a house of prayer for all peoples.”

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem also announced that “due to the present circumstances,” celebrations in honor of Pizzaballa’s inclusion in the College of Cardinals have been canceled until further notice.

An Oct. 7 joint statement from the patriarchs and heads of the Churches in Jerusalem also called for the protection of both Israelis and Palestinians.

“As custodians of the Christian faith, deeply rooted in the Holy Land, we stand in solidarity with the people of this region, who are enduring the devastating consequences of continued strife,” the statement said.

The Christian leaders in the Holy Land condemned “any acts that target civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, or faith” and called for all parties to immediately cease violence.

“Our faith, which is founded on the teachings of Jesus Christ, compels us to advocate for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians,” it said.

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Vatican City, Dec 8, 2019 / 09:09 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Sunday appointed Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines, to lead the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

Tagle, 62, follows Cardinal Fernando Filoni as prefect, usually referred to by its historic name of Propaganda Fide.

Charged with the Church’s missionary works and territories, Propaganda Fide is one of the largest curial departments, with a size and scope exceeding almost any other.

The beneficiary of centuries of dedicated legacies and bequests, Propaganda Fide is also the most financially autonomous curial department.

Praedicate evangelium, the new curial constitution, not yet promulgated, is expected to place an even further emphasis on evangelization as the structural priority of the Church’s mission, with the possible merger of the  Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization into a single larger department.

As the head of a curial department, Tagle will no longer be the archbishop of Manila, a post he has held since December 2011. He was made a cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2012.

Since 2015, he has been president of Caritas Internationalis. Tagle was also very involved in the October 2018 youth synod.

Tagle was born in Manila in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1982 for the Diocese of Imus, Philippines. He served as bishop of Imus from 2001 to 2011.

His episcopal motto is Dominus est (It is the Lord). From 1997 to 2002 he was on the International Theological Commission, appointed by St. Pope John Paul II.

Filoni, who headed Propaganda Fide since 2011, was Dec. 8 named Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, following the retirement of Cardinal Edwin O’Brien at the age of 80.

In a statement Dec. 8, O’Brien said he accepts and appreciates the pope’s decision to accept his resignation, appointing Cardinal Filoni as his successor.

The order supports around 80% of the total operating budget of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, supporting parishes, schools, and Christians in Jordan, Palestine, Israel and Cyprus.

“Throughout my more than eight years as Grand Master, my personal faith and love of our Church have deepened as I have witnessed our members’ commitment to the goals of our Order, expressed in different cultures and languages, all profoundly Catholic!” O’Brien said.

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