The Pope sends his heartfelt condolences to Metropolitan Yoan, the Holy Synod and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for the passing away of Patriarch Neofit.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis has expressed deep sorrow at learning of the passing of Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria. The head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church died of a multi-organ failure on 13 March at the age of 78.
In a telegram sent on Friday, 15 March, to the Metropolitan Yoan of Varna and Veliki Preslav, Locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, the Pope remembered the “valued service to the Gospel and to dialogue” of His Holiness Neofit who had succeeded late Patriarch Maxim February 24, 2013, after his death in 2012.
“Despite his many sufferings” said the Pope, he “remained a man of humility and joy, an example of a life consecrated to the Lord and his Church”.
“Thus, it is our prayerful hope that His Holiness Neofit is now living ‘where there is neither sorrow nor pain nor groaning’, he said.
Pope Francis concluded his message by assuring Meropolitan Yoan, the Holy Synod and all the members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church “of a special remembrance in my prayers, that Jesus Christ, who ‘rose from the dead, conquered death by his death and gave us life’ may fill your hearts with consolation and peace.”
Patriarch Neofit had met with Pope Francis during his Apostolic Journey to Bulgaria in May 2019.
Save the Children warns of the “complete psychological destruction” Gaza children are suffering due to five months of war. The humanitarian organization appeals once again for a ceasefire and for emergency aid to be able to reach the people immediately.
By Thaddeus Jones
With news of aid shipments finally arriving in Gaza on its shorelines, and from the skies through occasional air drops, aid agencies are still warning that much more is urgently needed to save lives. The primary means for massive aid to arrive is via land border crossings, but not nearly enough has been able to get through.
The charitable organization, Save the Children, among many other aid agencies, continues to sound the alarm on the lack of food and clean water that is causing “a catastrophic hunger crisis, with nearly every child in Gaza at risk of famine.”
In a statement released this week, Save the Children appealed once again for “an immediate, definitive ceasefire to save and protect the lives of children in Gaza” and called on Israeli authorities “to allow the unfettered flow of aid and the resumption of entry of commercial goods into Gaza to prevent children from dying of starvation and disease.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reports that more than 30,717 people, including 12,550 children, have been killed since the violence erupted in retaliation for the 7 October attacks on Israel killing 1,200 people, including 33 children, and the taking of more than 240 hostages.
Save the Children warned especially of the “relentless mental harm” being inflicted on the children in Gaza due to the intensity of five months of bombardments, deaths, destruction, and displacement, resulting now in starvation and disease. The charity warns that the latest escalation in violence has also brought about a total collapse of pre-existing mental health services in Gaza.
Jason Lee, Save the Children’s Country Director for Palestine, says that no child should have to endure this horrific reality, saying “children in Gaza are going through a period of mass-scale shock and grief,” while trying to flee from the violence and its deadlly aftermath. He add that with the right support, there is still hope children can receive the critical help and psychological support they need now, but “none of this is possible without an immediate, definitive ceasefire and safe, unfettered aid access so that humanitarians can provide the critical support needed.”
Since 1953, Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children impacted by the ongoing conflict with lifesaving humanitarian aid.
The Cardinal, Pope Francis says, served “the Lord and the Church with fidelity and generosity, attentive to the needs of the youth and the needs of fragile individuals.”
Vatican News
Pope Francis has mourned the passing of Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, who passed away yesterday in Rome at the age of 89.
In a telegram sent to his family, the Pope affectionately remembers the German Cardinal, “who served the Lord and the Church with fidelity and generosity, attentive to the needs of the youth and the needs of fragile individuals.”
The Pope remembers with gratitude Cardinal Cordes’ “diligent service” to the Holy See, “first as Vice President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and then as President of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, where he tirelessly witnessed to the Pope’s paternal solicitude for the poorest.”
The funeral of Cardinal Cordes will take place on Monday, March 18th, at 3:00 PM, at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
The funeral liturgy will be celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals, together with cardinals, archbishops, and bishops.
At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, Pope Francis will preside over the rite of Final Commendation and Farewell.
Cardinal Cordes played a significant role in the drafting of Pope Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, “Deus Caritas est,” in 2005. He was also instrumental in the inception of the Catholic World Youth Days and was a key supporter of new spiritual movements. The German Pope Benedict included his compatriot in the College of Cardinals in 2007.
In 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed the Cardinal as President of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum.” Cordes remained in this position until his retirement due to age in 2010. After his retirement, he participated in the conclave in March 2013, from which Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio emerged as Pope.
The Chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, praised Cardinal Cordes as a tireless collaborator of the Holy See under several Popes: “Paul Josef Cordes was the epitome of global coordination and support in disaster relief. He went to places where no one wanted to travel. In doing so, Paul Josef Cordes drew attention to the suffering in the refugee camps of Africa, human rights violations worldwide, and countless conflicts. For us, it is unforgettable that Archbishop Cordes was the first church representative to provide reconstruction aid after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq.”
Steadfastness and adherence to principles, a solid theological background, and subtle humor distinguished Paul Josef Cordes. “He did not hesitate to intervene in current church-political and theological debates and present the Roman perspective. He remained clear in substance and authoratative in tone,” explained Bishop Bätzing.
With the death of Cardinal Cordes, the College of Cardinals now consists of 238 cardinals, of whom 129 are eligible to vote.
Pope Francis recieves Wavel Ramkalawan, the President of Seychelles, at the Vatican on Saturday. Ramkalawan later met with Cardinal Pietro Paroin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
This morning, Saturday 16 March 2024, the Holy Father Francis received in audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the President of the Republic of the Seychelles, His Excellency Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, and His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
During the cordial discussions, which took place at the Secretariat of State, warm appreciation was expressed for the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Seychelles, as well as for the contribution of the Catholic Church at the service of society, especially in the welfare and educational spheres.
Finally, there was an exchange of views on the socio-political situation of the country, focusing in particular on themes of mutual interest, including environmental protection and the fight against drug use, as well as the international situation.
At the Audience, Pope Francis presented President Ramkalawan with a bronze sculpture entitled “The Care of Creation,” along with several volumes of papal documents, including this year’s Message for Peace and a book on the “Statio Orbis” of 27 March 2020.
For his part, President Ramkalawan gifted the Pope with a bronze sculpture of turtles on the sand, as well as a traditional bamboo roof tile.
Audience with Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles
Welcoming the community of the “Pope’s Hospital” in the Paul VI Hall Pope Francis encourages them to continue their “blessed work” of curing ill children from across the world.
By Lisa Zengarini
Around 3,000 people from the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital met with Pope Francis on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the internationally renowned hospital being donated to the Vatican by the Salviati family.
Among them some 200 children and their parents, including children from countries at war, such as Ukraine and Gaza who are receiving the medical treatment they were unable to get in their home countries.
Expressing his warm gratitude to the Bambin Gesù staff and benefactors, Pope Francis reflected on the “richness” of this institution, underscoring three features: gift, care and community.
In his speech, which was read out by Monsignor Filippo Ciampanelli, he recalled that gift has underpinned its mission all along its history. An anecdote has it that the children of the Duchess Arabella Salviati who found the hospital in 1869, made their own piggy bank where they put money for the most destitute, for sick children and the most needy.
That story, noted the Pope, “tells us that this great work is also based on humble gifts, like that offered by those children for the benefit of their sick peers.”
And this generosity continues still today with the many benefactors who sponsor the hospital, which also welcomes needy children from all over the world regardless of their backgrounds, and has allowed the recent opening of a new Palliative Care Centre near Rome.
“In all of this,” the Pope remarked, “gift is an indispensable element of your being and your action.”
A second feature the Pope highlighted was medical care which is constantly improved by the hospital’s biomedical research.
Pope Francis encouraged its scientific teams to carry out this research “with special attention towards the most fragile”, such as patients suffering from serious or rare diseases, but also to share their expertise and knowledge with everyone, “especially where there is the greatest need”, for example in Africa Asia and the Middle East.
He also praised the generous support given by the Bambin Gesù to the young patients’ families. “This – he said – is a qualifying element, which should never be overlooked, even if I know that sometimes you work in difficult conditions. Rather we sacrifice something else, but not kindness and tenderness.”
The third aspect highlighted by Pope Francis was community. The hospital’s mission, he noted, is carried out by several people “in a different way”: for some it involves a life-long dedication for others offering their time as volunteers; for others still donating blood or milk for new-borns and even of organs of deceased people or cells and tissues, by living people “What emerges is a ‘doing together’, where the different gifts contribute to the good of the young patients.”
Pope Francis has visited the Bambin Gesù and its branches several times. Concluding his speech he admitted that during those visits, he had mixed feelings of pain for the suffering of sick children and their parents; but at the same time “of great hope, seeing all that is being done there to treat them.” Concluding, he therefore warmly thanked the staff and encouraged them go forward in their “blessed work.”
“I bless you from the bottom of my heart and pray for you.”
Addressing members of the Fondazione Mons. Camillo Faresin as the organization celebrates the 20th anniversary of its establishment, Pope Francis highlights the group’s work with the “least” and their commitment to “working together.”
By Christopher Wells
The members of the Camillo Faresin Foundation (Fondazione Mons. Camillo Faresin) “set out to pick up the baton” of charity from their namesake and his two brothers, making their own “their tenacity and fullness of vision in serving their neighbours,” Pope Francis said on Saturday.
The non-profit organization takes its inspiration from Bishop Camillo Faresin, an Italian Salesian missionary who became Bishop of Guiratinga, Brazil, and his brothers Don Santo, also a Salesian, and Giovanni Battista, who became a diocesan priest.
Founded twenty years ago, the Foundation is especially active in Brazil and Italy, working with the “least” members of society in fields as diverse as education, social assistance, health care, and providing decent living conditions and job opportunities.
In his address to the Foundation, which was read by an assistant, Pope Francis highlighted their commitment to working with the “least”, especially through their presence in the poorest communities, following the example of Bishop Camillo: “What he left us is a great example to imitate: to be with the least, always!”
This, the Pope said, “is the only way to feel the ‘pulse’ of the real needs of the brothers and sisters that the Lord puts in our path.”
The Holy Father also emphasized the importance “working together,” urging members of the Foundation “to always seek synergy” with others. “This is the right path,” he said. “Working together, in fact, is in itself a proclamation of the lived Gospel; and for you, besides being an intelligent way of optimizing resources, it is a way of training in charity and communion.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks by thanking members of the Foundation for their work, and asking them to keep alive the memory “of the great and generous pastoral heart of Bishop Camillo Faresin.”
CNA Staff, Mar 15, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis on Friday appointed an American former law enforcement professional as adjunct secretary to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and a Colombian bishop as secretary of the independent body tasked since 2014 with advising the pope on how the Church can best protect minors and vulnerable adults.
The Vatican announced March 15 that Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, a Chicago native and Illinois law enforcement professional, was named as the commission’s adjunct secretary. Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera of Bogotá, Colombia, was named secretary of the commission, replacing Father Andrew Small, who had served as temporary secretary since 2021. Both appointees were already members of the currently 19-member commission.
The commission, established by Pope Francis in March 2014, is headed by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, who turns 80 in June. O’Malley has defended the commission’s effectiveness, saying last March that “the protection of children and vulnerable persons remains at the heart of the Church’s mission.”
Kettelkamp formerly was appointed to lead the United States bishops’ Office for Child and Youth Protection in 2005, serving in that role until 2011. She was first appointed a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2018. She had previously worked on the drafting of the Guidelines for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults with the commission.
A former colonel with the Illinois State Police (ISP), Kettelkamp retired after 29 years of service, during which time she headed the ISP’s crime labs and crime scene services. She also, according to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors website, headed the ISP’s Division of Internal Investigation, which was responsible for the investigation of allegations of misconduct within the ISP as well as in the agencies, boards, and commissions under the executive branch of the Illinois state government.
Alí Herrera, who is also a psychologist, was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, on May 2, 1967, and was ordained a priest in 1992. After graduating with a degree in theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá in 2003, he obtained a degree in psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome (2007). He is a senior associate of the Colegio Colombiano de Psicólogos (Colombian School of Psychologists), Vatican News reported.
Pope Francis appointed him as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors in 2014 and appointed him an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Bogotá the following year.
The work and operations of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has garnered scrutiny in recent years, in part because of questions Small, the commission’s former temporary secretary, has faced since May 2023 about his management of funds at the Pontifical Mission Societies U.S.A. In addition, a prominent founding member of the commission, Jesuit Father Hans Zollner, resigned his post roughly a year ago, citing “issues that need to be urgently addressed” related to a perceived lack of “responsibility, compliance, accountability, and transparency.”
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In an interview with Vatican News, Indigenous knowledge holder, Mr. Herb Nakimayak of Canada, shares best practices in his industry, thanks the Pope and Vatican for their closeness, but calls for proper recognition and acknowledgement of indigenous knowledge leaders in co-led projects with the scientific community.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“I think the wisdom of Indigenous Peoples here at the Vatican is being valued and respected…”
In an interview with Vatican News on the sidelines of a Vatican-supported conference on Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous representative from Canada, Mr. Herb Angik Nakimayak, offered this perspective.
Mr. Nakimayak is Chair of the Inuvialuit Fisheries Joint Management Committee and Vice President of the Inuit Circumpolar Council in Canada. He spoke at the workshop as the Arctic representative of the Arramat Project, which coordinates 150 projects globally.
Listen to the interview:
Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the two-day workshop, organized in the Vatican on March 14–15 by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, on “Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and the Sciences: Combining knowledge and science on vulnerabilities and solutions for resilience.”
The conference has been exploring opportunities for cooperation between Indigenous Peoples and the science community on various key issues.
In his remarks, the Holy Father underscored the great need to preserve and value Indigenous expertise to address the climate and environmental crises. He encouraged a closer collaboration between Indigenous and scientific knowledge to address not only climate change, but also the loss of biodiversity and threats to food and health security.
Recalling the Pope’s meeting with the group yesterday, and his having expressed his closeness to Indigenous Populations on several occasions, Vatican News asked how he perceives such episodes.
“The wisdom of Indigenous Peoples here at the Vatican,” Mr Nakimayak responded, “is being valued and respected.”
“Through the reconciliation process, it’s given us a solid foundation to ensure that it also ensures that we’re able to carry out the work that we’re doing now into the future. It’s a foundation of respect, and a foundation that is looking forward.”
“I’m very grateful. We — myself, as an Indigenous knowledge holder, and, as someone who manages research programs between scientists and indigenous knowledge holders –, want to ensure that respect is maintained through this work, that Indigenous knowledge holders are fully respected.”
He also acknowledged how important it is that Indigenous knowledge holders “are also recognized in papers that come out in co-led projects,” between them and members of the scientific community.
Highlighting that Indigenous knowledge holders are now co-leading and leading projects in his region, he expressed the hope to see this trend also take effect, globally.
In her opening remarks, Sister Helen Alford, OP, the President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Science, remarked, “We are encouraging discussions on multiple and diverse perspectives on life, value systems, and spirituality among Indigenous Peoples and among science-driven communities.” She said the conversations were drawing inspiration “from the complementarities and synergies between faith and science” championed by the Pontifical Academies.”
Sister Helen Alford with Pope Francis
“Indigenous Peoples,” the PASS President underscored, have been able to thrive while living in harmony with nature, offering us all many insights for reducing the ecological footprint of non-Indigenous societies.”
With this spirit, Sister Alford expressed the Academies’ wish “to build bridges between the perspectives and knowledge systems of diverse Indigenous Peoples and the science communities” and “explore new avenues for solutions to global challenges, such as conflicts, environmental destruction, and poverty and inequity.”
Listen to Sister Helen Alford, President of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences:
Vatican Radio speaks with Teresa Kettelkamp, the newly appointed Adjunct Secretary for the Pontificial Commission for the Protection of Minors.
By Christopher Wells
Pope Francis’ decision to insert the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors within the Roman Curia has strengthened the Commission’s voice, says Teresa Kettelkamp, who on Friday was named as the new Adjunt Secretary of the Commission.
“I think our position in the Curia gives us a stronger voice in the Curia, especially our position within the DDF,” she told Vatican Radio in an interview following her appointment. “It has reinforced our permanency and reinforced the importance that the Holy Father has placed on protecting children and reaching out to survivors.”
Below you can find the full text of the interview with Ms Teresa Morris Kettelkamp, Adjunct Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Interview with Teresa Kettelkamp
Vatican Radio: And thank you, Ms. Kettlekamp, for joining us this afternoon. The Pope just now, just today, has appointed you as Adjunct Secretary and Bishop Ali Herrera as Secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Up until the present point, there was a single secretary. Now we have two people in the position of secretary and adjunct. Can you tell us why are there now two roles where there was in the past just one?
Teresa Morris Kettelkamp: I can only guess. I have not had any personal conversations with the Holy Father, though we do meet with him when we’re in Rome. But the role of the Pontifical Commission has greatly expanded from its inception.
You know, we were created back about ten years ago, and the mandate was not… I can’t say it was narrow because it was a huge responsibility, but it was really to advise the Holy Father on the clergy abuse crisis, and work locally and identify issues that we could bring to him for his kind of consideration to make sure that this abuse crisis – and I don’t like to use the word abuse crisis – but this horrible situation never happens again.
It just doesn’t happen again.
There are safeguards in place and mechanisms and methodologies and policies and procedures in place that really reduce risk of any type of abuse in the Catholic Church. And that was our mandate. And that still is our mandate.
But as we started working along the path of our mandate, we saw an evolution in being able to do that. Staff has increased. We’re working on [the] Memorare capacity building [initiative], and that’s an outreach to survivors.
And I don’t know if you know this, Christopher, but one of my first… when I was on the commission the first time, I headed a working group called Working with Survivors. And the whole purpose of that working group was to give survivors a voice in the ministry of the Church and include them in how we outreach to survivors. So that’s dear to my heart, and this capacity building locally to reach out to survivors is a huge initiative.
We’re doing more and more leadership training and of course the annual report is a huge undertaking. And it’s an annual report, it’s not just one report. So we’re working on finalizing the first annual report, which includes much information from the ad limina visits, which is another inclusive process that we’ve taken on to participate in those and meet with the bishops when they’re in Rome and talk about their safeguarding practices and outreach assistance to survivors.
And then also we’re working on structures for all the dioceses globally via guidelines on how to establish safe environment programs, who to include, how to reach out to survivors, how to develop methods and processes and codes of conduct locally that will help the local church leadership reduce risk and help survivors heal, [or] at least give them a voice to see what they need to heal, because everyone’s different.
You know that when you deal with survivors, what would work for me as a possible survivor might not help you at all. But they do need, we do need, to listen to survivors and see what their needs are and how we can help. And hopefully, we turn many of them to the Church for the graces the Church offers to the sacraments.
Q. And I’d like to talk a little bit about the voices of survivors. A lot of times it seems like the Church, maybe the Commission also, focuses on prevention, which is obviously very, very important. But I know that a lot of survivors are going to be asking things of the Church. They need a response from the Church. What do you see victims expecting in terms of a response when abuse has happened. How can the Church respond in terms of accountability and transparency? What do victims expect and how can the Commission help the Church respond to those expectations?
A. Well, that’s a huge, huge issue. We had a program years ago, the 64 million dolalr question, these days it would be a cheap question, but this could be a billion dollar question.
The survivors need to be heard and acknowledged and they need to be seen.
And I think, talking to those in the past, is they totally feel they’re ignored, they’re not important, their issues don’t count, the Church is more important about scandal, the Church is more important about saving money, the Church is more important about saving money, the Church is more important about other things than them.
I will say, and I hope this isn’t as disjointed as it may sound, the Church, when we say the Church, who are we talking about? Are we talking about the Holy Father himself? Are we talking about the 20 or so members of the Pontifical Commission?
I think when we talk about the Church, we’re talking about the local church at the local level, almost at the parish level. But we work through the diocese.
The guidelines are a terrific tool to help establish boundaries, policies, on how to reach out to survivors, how to reduce risk so we don’t have survivors today that we are working with survivors mostly from the past.
The Church is a safer place.
Going back to your question, the survivors, I believe, want to be heard. They want to be heard. They want to be acknowledged. They want their voices to be integrated into the ministries of the Church.
Do we have ministries at the local level that just focus on the trauma of survivors?
Not that I need to share anything from my past – and I’m not a survivor, but I do come from a family of alcoholics. And I know just going to Al-Anon and being heard and hearing other people was very healing for me.
Each survivor is different.One survivor would like to just come in, tell their story. Maybe they want to meet with the offender.
Or they just want to be heard to make sure that the offender does not offend anymore.
Another survivor may want something different.
Another survivor may want even a third something different.
And you can’t forget the trauma impact of the families. I learned that through when I worked with survivor advisory panels with the commission before this one. A big issue came up regarding how much trauma impacts the family when they realize one of their family members has been abused.
There’s a lot of guilt. There’s a lot of, “What could I do to have prevented that? How could I not know how many other people have been abused? Could I?”
And on and on.
So we have to include the family members in their being heard as well. And the Church, the Church, I would say, it’s the Church at the local level. It’s the bishop, the ordinary, who has the ultimate responsibility for the implementation of guidelines.
And they include not only guidelines for safe environment and creating that, but it’s for the outreach of survivors, it’s for openness and transparency, it’s for the formation of priests, it’s for the ongoing formation of priests.
I mean, it’s a whole lot of issues. It’s a complexity of issues that all work together for the common good and it’s hard to pull out one without impacting the other.
Q. And I want to ask another question about the current state of the Commission. In the past, the Commission was established as something of a semi-autonomous body outside the Curia. The Pope has now made it a stable part of the Church’s central governance. Now with this new appointment, the commission is led by a cardinal and a bishop. You also have an important role as adjunct secretary.
How can the commission ensure independence of its work and guarantee the voices of victims, survivors, ensure that they’re heard, and also have a concrete impact on the work of the commission?
A. Well, I think our position in the Curia gives us a stronger voice in the Curia, especially our position within the DDF.
I think our voice is strong. It’s like we’re part of the family. The Dicastery visits I have been on, I think have been very good.
I think before they saw – and I say ‘they’, the Curia members – saw the Commission as something outside, kind of looking in as a little side issue.
But with the Holy Father placing it within the Curia, within DDF, his message is very strong: One, we’re here to stay.
Two, he just placed the Bishop in charge of the Commission and added an adjunct secretary.
Three, we’re within DDF, which is a very powerful, strong, influential dicastery.
So I think it’s strengthened our position.
It has reinforced our permanency and reinforced the importance that the Holy Father has placed on protecting children and reaching out to survivors.
Now, whether or not the survivors will see that from the outside, I don’t think a normal person realizes the structure of the Vatican and the Curia.
But the members of the Curia definitely do, and church leadership globally certainly does.
So that’s with whom we are focusing our attention on, is working at the local level to reach out to survivors and victims. So hopefully that strengthens our voice and makes us more effective.
Q. Thank you. And I’ve got a final question for you. One of the things that Cardinal O’Malley emphasized in his statement today upon your appointment and the appointment of Bishop Ali Herrera is the sense of continuity.
You’ve both been a part of the Commission for some time, you know its inner workings, you’ve spoken a great deal with survivors of clerical sexual abuse, and you’ve seen the work of the Commission over the years. We’re now approaching the 10th anniversary of the Commission’s establishment. Can you give us your thoughts about these past 10 years and your hopes moving forward?
A. Well, my initial thoughts is that it takes a while to get your stride.
And I think the first commission was perfect for the first commission.
I think we evolved and were stronger with the second commission.
And I was blessed to have worked with the first commission, then on the second Commission, and now on the third.
[I have] great respect for the first commission. They were given a task of none before. And they worked out a lot of bugs, identified a lot of key issues, and I think laid a very, very good foundation to move forward.And then the second commission took that and moved the ball even further.
I don’t know if you’ve met the members of the current Commission, but we met recently with the Dicastery for Bishops. And as we went around the table and identified ourselves, I sat there kind of in awe of the blending of the skills and the global representation and the cultural diversity of this commission.
Now, I’m not familiar with other commissions and committees and et cetera, but I know that this Commission represents a huge part of the world. There are still areas that we’d like to be, have, stronger representation, but [there are] huge, huge skill sets sitting around that table.
And I think we have reached a point administratively with the Commission members, with our placement in the Curia, that we really are a strong, strong body to take on this issue – the issues of safeguarding and victim outreach – in a very, very effective way.
Not that it wasn’t in the past. But I think there were some growing pains and some feeling our way: different opinions on different ways which you go, different working groups. I think the initial commission had [something] like 17 committees, and then kind of whittled that down to much less.
So I think we’ve hit our stride.
I just am excited to work with the bishop and the members. I know the members. I like every single member. I respect every single member.
And I’m a little overwhelmed.
I’ll be on the scene, you know, taking on this role. I still need to sit down with the bishop and kind of work through some administrative, you know, dealings, who does what, when, and where.
I’m in the US, but I’m not opposed, of course, to coming to Rome, which I love.
So, we’ll have to work through a number of issues, but we’re on the same sheet of music… on everything I’ve brought to his attention for discussionm he’s with me on and vice versa.
So we’ve been on the commission now for a couple of years, so we’re good to go, I think.
At least 60 migrants are reported to have died of hunger, thirst, and burns after the engine of their rubber dinghy broke down during an attempted crossing from Libya to Italy.
By Susy Hodges
The migrants set off a week ago from the Libyan port of Zawiya to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy. Three days into the crossing, the dinghy’s engine broke down, leaving the dinghy adrift without food or water.
The survivors said at least 60 people perished on the way, including women and several children.
A spokesperson for the charity rescue group SOS Mediterranée, which picked up the migrants, said a survivor recounted how he lost his wife and one and a half-year-old baby. He said the infant died on the first day and the mother on the fourth day.
Survivors said the bodies of those who died were thrown into the sea. They spoke of seeing planes and helicopters fly overhead, but claimed their calls for help went unanswered.
The migrants were picked up by SOS Mediterranée’s Ocean Viking vessel.
Two of the survivors who were unconscious were flown by helicopter to the Italian island of Sicily for emergency medical treatment.
The charity said the Ocean Viking later rescued a total of 224 migrants in two separate operations.
The central Mediterranean is one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes.
According to the U.N. migration agency (IOM) almost 2,500 people died while trying to cross over to Europe from North Africa in 2023. That made it the deadliest year for migrants in that area since records began a decade ago.
Italy and other European Union governments are trying to curb the number of migrants making the risky crossing and have offered money or equipment to Libya and Tunisia to stop departures from their shores.
The IOM said it was deeply troubled by this latest migrant boat disaster and said urgent action is needed to strengthen maritime patrols and prevent further tragedies.
Listen to our report
It’s been a year since the ecumenical pilgrimage of Pope Francis to the war-torn country of South Sudan. The process of healing and reconciling after years of trauma is still in progress, and women religious are playing a significant role in it.
By Sr. Paola Moggi, SMC
South Sudan is a very young nation; it was born on July 9, 2011, after decades of civil war. When a peace agreement was signed in January 2005, the war had left almost 5 million people displaced and 2.5 million dead, leaving a legacy of deep-rooted distrust among rival ethnic groups.
In January 2011, the historic referendum for the independence of the South took place despite mounting challenges. But when the Republic of South Sudan was born amid shouts of joy on July 9, the wounds of mistrust and fear were far from fully healed.
Religious women serving in the new-born nation were aware of this setback, and have been instrumental in promoting peace initiatives.
Since 2010, the Catholic Health Training Institute (CHTI) of Wau has fostered intercultural dialogue and helped students, both male and female, overcome deeply rooted prejudices.
It was set up by Solidarity with South Sudan, a joint venture of women and men religious, and has developed residential trainings for teachers and nurses and given special attention to food security, pastoral formation, and trauma healing.
The Institute’s first graduation ceremony took place in 2013, and by 2022, CHTI had graduated 181 trained nurses and 87 midwives.
Sr. Brygida Maniurka, a Franciscan Missionary of Mary from Poland, has worked at CHTI since February 2022. “Our students come from different tribes, States, religions, and speak different languages. CHTI constantly emphasizes respect for all cultures and tolerance of differences. Through various activities and exercises we forge bonds of friendship and promote peace and unity. Besides nursing and midwifery, our students learn the art of building relationships and working together,” said Sr Brygida.
She added that accompanying the students on their journey of growth takes many hours of dialogue, “but what a joy to see their transformation after 3 years!” she said.
“And our joy is even bigger when we hear words of praise about them from their home community and from the institution where they work,” added Sr. Brigyda.
Sr. Brygida Maniurka with the students of the Catholic Health Training Institute in Wau in 2023
In Yambio, another initiative devotes special attention to traumatised women.
Sr. Filomena Francis, known as Sr. Bakhita, is from Nzara, a little town in Western Equatoria. She first lived in Khartoum, where almost 5 million South Sudanese were seeking refuge, before reaching Egypt and joining the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (MFIC).
In 1995, before leaving for Papua New Guinea, she managed to visit her family in what is now South Sudan. By then, the area had been conquered by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and her family and sisters were in good condition. But by 1999, sexual violence and abuse by soldiers had made their lives miserable.
The drama suffered by Sr. Filomena’s family inspired her to start a counselling and trauma healing programme. This materialised in 2006 with Adeesa (Women) Support Group Organization (ASGO), started by Sr. Filomena and two other women.
Women of Masia Market receiving new bikes in Adeesa (Women) Support Group Organization (ASGO) office
In 2013, a community of MFIC was opened in the Catholic Diocese of Tambura Yambio, and Sr. Filomena started training local women and men to become actively involved in the healing programme.
She says she was inspired by the history of South Sudan. In 1964, all missionaries had become eye witnesses of the violence inflicted on civilians by the Khartoum government and were expelled with little notice. Despite the situation, the Catholic Church in the area continued thanks to Sudanese bishops, a few local priests, and many lay catechists.
Then, in 2016, a new outbreak of violence stormed Yambio and its surrounding areas, causing further suffering to the people and even to the family of Sr. Filomena.
“My own trauma as a child led me to start this programme. The pain and the loss that my family and I continue to go through encourages me to serve in this programme,” said Sr. Filomena. “I believe that a holistic approach to trauma healing in South Sudan will lead to sustainable peace and will save the lives of many women, girls and also young men who have been raped to punish their ethnic group,” concludes Sr. Filomena.
The first graduates of the Bible Based Trauma Healing Counselling march from ASGO office to St. Mary Catholic Parish in June 2022
Catholic Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and Sao Tome (CEAST) have condemned restrictions on the freedom of Sunday worship in some parts of Angolan society.
Vatican News and Anastácio Sasembele – Luanda, Angola.
The Bishops meeting as CEAST for their first annual plenary session of 2024, say they are concerned about reports of the faithful, especially civil servants, being forced to take part in political party activities on days of worship, especially in some remote areas of the country.
In a Pastoral Letter, “With Deep Surprise: On the Freedom of Sunday Worship,” the Bishops condemned the practice of holding political party activities and events on days of worship where the faithful, especially civil servants, were obliged to attend. Many locals attend the party activities out of fear of victimisation or reprisals from authorities and local party functionaries.
Some of the Catholic Bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and Sao Tome (CEAST) at an open-air Mass.
Presenting the Pastoral Letter at a press conference, on behalf of CEAST, Archbishop Luzizila Kiala of Malanje Archdiocese reiterated that Sunday is a special day of the week dedicated for worship.
Quoting from the Pastoral Letter, the Archbishop denounced the prohibition of “sacred ministers -priests and catechists from carrying out any worship and compulsorily forcing them to take part in party political activities.” This, the Archbishop said, goes against the country’s “constitution, human rights, hurts common sense and is out of date.”
In an interview with Vatican News on the sidelines of the Vatican-sponsored workshop regarding Indigenous Peoples, Professor Joachim von Braun, the President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, says Indigenous wisdom in the field of healthcare, and other areas, has enriched mankind.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Indigenous Peoples have a wealth of wisdom to protect the world, that, with the help of the sciences, can tackle crises plaguing the planet. In particular, they have dramatically contributed to the field of healthcare.
In an interview with Vatican News on the sidelines of a Vatican-supported conference on Indigenous Peoples, Dr. Joachim von Braun, the President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS), made this point.
Pope Francis on Thursday addressed the two-day workshop, organized in the Vatican on March 14–15 by the Pontifical Academy to discuss the role of ethnoecological knowledge in developing local solutions that can have global consequences for climate and biodiversity agendas.
Titled “Indigenous Peoples’ Knowledge and the Sciences: Combining knowledge and science on vulnerabilities and solutions for resilience,” the conference is exploring opportunities for cooperation between Indigenous Peoples and the science community on these issues.
In his remarks, the Holy Father underscored the great need to preserve and value Indigenous expertise to address the climate and environmental crises. He encouraged a closer collaboration between Indigenous and scientific knowledge to address not only climate change, but also the loss of biodiversity and threats to food and health security.
Below is a transcript of the interview with Dr Joachim von Braun.
***
This workshop has brought together Indigenous leaders and leaders of international organizations to discuss the link between Indigenous Peoples’ wisdom and the sciences. How are the two related and what overlaps have you discovered?
Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge has been generated over many generations. Humankind has learned by experience, by trial and error, and fundamentally by wondering about solutions and opportunities. This really combines Indigenous knowledge with science. Scientists also are driven by curiosity, wondering, and finding solutions to humanity’s problems. Where the two really differ is that science has become more narrowly focused, experimental-theory based, rather than experiential. Bringing the two together is offering great opportunities to deal with biodiversity, health and agriculture.
During the audience with Pope Francis yesterday, the Holy Father said a conversion is required in our world so that we accept an alternative vision to the zero-sum, conflictual worldview currently dominant. How does this workshop help achieve that goal with the help of Indigenous Peoples?
Indigenous Peoples’ worldviews relate more closely to nature, especially with their respect for nature and natural processes, than the typical urbanized global population’s do. Therefore, learning from them and their wisdom also suits us in the science communities. We in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences do not see a conflict between faith and science, and the same applies to Indigenous Peoples’ communities. We have a common ground. We need to both focus on reducing consumerism, because it is not only the way we treat nature and produce, but indirectly. Our consumption habits in the world are driving climate change, biodiversity loss and destruction of nature. Thus, science and Indigenous knowledge need to address the production and consumption side of our lifestyles.
Can you share something that you have learned from Indigenous voices related to the sciences during this workshop?
Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge in the field of health has served humanity tremendously. Many people don’t know that about 50% of our medications go back to Indigenous Peoples knowledge about plants and mixtures, which cure major diseases. That was known to many of us, but not by the general public. What we find, unfortunately, is that Indigenous Peoples are, still today, lacking equal rights. Youth and women in particular of Indigenous Communities are suffering from lack of rights and opportunities. What we have learned is that innovative education systems, which address these issues, can make a major difference. Education systems that serve the youth of Indigenous Peoples, and the youth of the world in general, by drawing on wisdom from nature and perspectives, can help understand and shape sustainability in the future.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge does not just deal with Earth, but looks to the skies and the heavens. There were serious concerns expressed, which need to be addressed. Looking into the skies is increasingly inhibited by light pollution and by the tens and tens of thousands of satellites, which prevent us from looking at the skies.
“Let us join in extinguishing the fires of hatred, violence and war, and instead light the gentle candle of peace.” These words underscore the appeal of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue in its Message for the Month of Ramadan and ‘Id Al-Fitr to our Muslim brothers and sisters. The message calls on Christians as well to work together for peace, the respect and protection of human life.
By Antonella Palermo
The increasing number of conflicts in the world has led the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue to focus once again on the theme of working for peace in its annual Message for the Month of Ramadan and ‘Id Al-Fitr addressed to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
The Message of “closeness and friendship” came out on Friday 15 March and features an appeal to both Christians and Muslims to “extinguish the fire of war and light the candle of peace.” The premise underlying the text comes from the observation of the “truly alarming” increase in conflicts: from military combat to armed clashes of varying intensity involving states, organized crime, armed gangs and civilians.
The text dwells on the causes of conflicts by identifying the continued production and trade of arms as the main motive, which is accompanied by the “perennial human desire for domination, geo-political ambitions and economic interests.” While there are those who suffer “grievously from the devastating effects,” it notes, there are also some who “cynically rejoice in the great economic profit deriving from this immoral commerce.” It underscores this point by quoting Pope Francis who once described this like “dipping a morsel of bread in the blood of our brother.”
The Prefect of the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, and the Secretary, Msgr. Indunil Kodithuwakku Janakaratne Kankanamalage, who signed the message, underscore on the other hand that “the desire for peace and security is profoundly rooted in the soul of every person of good will.” They note that destruction of infrastructure and property makes life hopelessly difficult, if not impossible. And they highlight the troubling plight of the displaced and refugees forced to flee due to wars, while reiterating unequivocally, “every war is fratricide, useless, senseless, and dark” and that “in war, everyone loses.”
The message for Ramadan recalls that all religions consider human life sacred and therefore worthy of respect and protection. It also welcomes the fact that the number of states that have the death penalty are reducing in number year by year. “A reawakened sense of the respect for this fundamental dignity of the gift of life will contribute to the conviction that war must be rejected and peace cherished.” Hence there is an appeal that consciences be formed “to respect the absolute value of the life of each person and his or her right to physical integrity, security and a dignified life.” This way forward will contribute to “the condemnation and rejection of war, any war and all wars.”
The message concludes with an exhortation to look to the Almighty as the God of peace, the source of peace, and while peace is a divine gift, it is also the fruit of human efforts. It must be established and preserved.
The message emphasizes, “Let us join in extinguishing the fires of hatred, violence and war, and instead light the gentle candle of peace, drawing upon resources for peace that are present in our rich human and religious traditions.”
In conclusion, the messsage encourages that, “may your fasting and other pious practices during Ramadan and the celebration of ‘Id al-Fitr that concludes it, bring you abundant fruits of peace, hope and joy.”
Addressing members of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Pope Francis reflects on the Jubilee of Hope and calls for a new approach to evangelization and the promotion a “spirituality of mercy” to overcome secularism.
By Lisa Zengarini
“When evangelization is carried out with the anointment and the style of mercy it receives a better hearing, and the heart opens more willingly to conversion.”
Pope Francis offered this reminder on Friday as he addressed the members of the Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization of the Dicastery for Evangelization meeting for its plenary assembly.
The Pope started his speech, which was read by Monsignor Filippo Ciampanelli, with a reflection on the need for a new approach to evangelization in our secularized and individualistic world.
He remarked that over the past decades secularism has caused “enormous difficulties” which span “from the loss of the sense of belonging to the Christian community, to indifference regarding faith and its contents”.
These negative effects, the Pope noted, have been further accentuated by the new digital culture which “also brings with it a vision of mankind that appears problematic when referring to the need for truth that resides in every person, joined with the need for freedom in interpersonal and social relationships.”
“Therefore,” he said “the major issue before us is to understand how to overcome the rupture that has occurred in the transmission of faith. To this end, it is urgent to recover an effective relationship with families and with formation centres.”
“In order to be transmitted, faith in the risen Lord, which is the heart of evangelization, requires significant experience lived within the family and the Christian community as an encounter with Jesus Christ who changes life. Without this encounter, real and existential, we will always be subject to the temptation to make faith a theory and not a testimony of life.”
In this regard, Pope Francis welcomed the new Directory for Catechesis released in 2020 by the then Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization as a “valid” and effective tool “not only for the renewal of the catechetical methodology, but above all “for the involvement of the Christian community as a whole.”
Emphasizing the crucial role of catechists, he expressed his hope “that bishops will be able to nurture and accompany vocations to this ministry”, especially among the young, “so that the gap between generations may be narrowed and the transmission of the faith may not appear as a task entrusted only to older people.”
“I encourage you to find ways for the Catechism of the Catholic Church to continue to be known, studied, and valued, so that it may respond to the new needs that manifest themselves with the passing decades.”
Pope Francis went on to highlight that the “spirituality of mercy” is a fundamental component of the work of evangelization: “God’s mercy is never lacking, and we are called to bear witness to it and, so to speak, to make it circulate in the veins of the body of the Church”, he said.
In this regard, he pointed to the precious work carried out by the Missionaries of Mercy he established the in the 2015 papal bull Misericordiae vultus, proclaiming the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. “with their generous service to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, they offer witness that should help all priests to rediscover the grace and the joy of being ministers of God who forgives, always and without limits”, he said.
Finally, Pope Francis reflected on the preparation of the 2025 Jubilee of Hope which he will officially proclaim in an Apostolic Letter to be released in the weeks to come: “I hope that those pages will be able to help many people to reflect and above all to experience hope in a real way”, he said remarking that “The holy people of God needs it so much!”
Thanking the Dicastery for its efforts to welcome the millions of Jubilee pilgrims flowing to Rome next year, Pope Francis concluded by recalling importance of prayer to prepare for the event for which has designated 2024 a Year of Prayer.
“We need to rediscover prayer as the experience of being in the Lord’s presence, of feeling we are understood, welcomed and loved by Him,” he said.
“Let us start, brothers and sisters, to pray more, to pray better, in the school of Mary and of the saints.”
Listen to our report
Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the Preacher of the Papal Household, delivers his fourth Lenten sermon to the Roman Curia, in the presence of the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Today he looks at Jesus’ self-revelation: “I am the resurrection and the life”.
By Sr. Francine-Marie Cooper
In his fourth sermon for the Roman Curia, Cardinal Cantalamessa continued his meditations on the “I Am” sayings of Jesus.
Today he looked more closely at the word from chapter 11 of John’s Gospel, “I am the resurrection and the life”.
He summarized the teaching of this chapter, saying: “the resurrection of Lazarus causes the death of Jesus; the death of Jesus causes the resurrection of all who believe in Him!”
The Cardinal outlines how Jesus revealed to Martha that the resurrection He was referring to was different to that which she had come to know and understand.
He was not speaking of the resurrection at the end of time, but a resurrection that begins here and now.
Cardinal Cantalamessa explained, “Jesus can say ‘I am the resurrection’ because He is the Risen One!”
He described how many non-believers reproach believers for not being able to be objective, “since faith imposes on them, from the start, the conclusion they must arrive at”.
He argues that these non-believers actually do the same as they start with the assumption that God does not exist.
And yet, he continues, “no event in antiquity is supported by as many first-hand testimonies as this one. Some of them date back to personalities of the intellectual caliber of Saul of Tarsus who had previously fiercely fought against this belief”.
Having reaffirmed the historical fact of the Resurrection of Christ, the Cardinal then took a look at the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words: “I am the resurrection and the life”.
Using the Apostles as an example, Cardinal Cantalamessa pointed out that “hope” was the key component of their experience.
St. Peter starts his first Letter by praising God, who “in His great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pt 1: 3-4).
The Cardinal contemplated “what a surge of hope could produce in our spiritual life”, comparing us to the cripple who was healed by the apostles and began “jumping and praising God” (Acts 3:1–9).
He continued to explain that the presence of hope changes everything, “even when externally nothing changes”. Hope is an anchor and a sail; it keeps us secure and is a driving force that encourages us to move forward.
Cardinal Cantalamessa said that tribulation “leads us to hope only in God. It leads to that state of perfection that consists in hoping when there seems to be no hope (Rom 4:18)”.
“Such was Mary’s hope under the cross”, he added, and explained that popular “piety is not wrong when it invokes Mary with the title of Mater Spei, mother of hope”.
He reassured his listeners that, “God does not promise to remove the reasons for weariness and exhaustion, but he gives hope”. And he continued, “It is really like putting on wings.”
The Cardinal concluded his sermon with the words of the Apostle Paul:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:13)”.
Pope Francis appoints Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrerra as Secretary, and Ms Teresa Morris-Kettelkamp as Adjunct Secretary for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Pope Francis has named Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera, Auxiliary Bishop of Bogota, as the new Secretary for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. At the same time, the Holy Father also appointed Ms Teresa Morris Kettelkamp as Adjunct Secretary of the Commission. Both have been serving as Members of the Commission.
The new appointments were announced on Friday by the Holy See Press Office.
In a statement following the announcement, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the President of the Commission, said the new appointments mark “a further important step in making our Church an ever-safer place for children and vulnerable persons.”
Cardinal O’Malley said that, while “coming from different backgrounds and possessing unique gifts in safeguarding,” the new Secretary and Adjunct Secretary “share a common passion for the well-being of children and vulnerable people, with lifetimes of service to the Church” in this field.
The President of the PCPM also expressed his gratitude to the outgoing Secretary, Fr Andrew Small, OMI. “With vision and tenacity, Fr Small has helped realize several important initiatives that the Commission has embraced,” he said.
Fr Andrew Small, outgoing Secretary for the Pontifical Commission
Cardinal O’Malley concluded his statement by highlighting Pope Francis’ affirmation of the Commission’s “expanded mandate” as well as its direction. “With today’s announcement” of the new appointments, he said, “the Commission continues on this path of making safeguarding a stable part of every aspect of the Church’s life and ministry.”
Bishop Luis Manuel Ali Herrera
Auxiliary Bishop, Psychologist
Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Colombia
Bishop Alí Herrera was the director of the Psychological Orientation Area at the Conciliar Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá (2007 – 2015), where he also taught psychology of human development, social psychology, and pastoral psychology.
He was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, in 1967, and attended the Conciliar Seminary of Bogotá being ordained to the priesthood in 1992.
After graduating in theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá (2003) he obtained a degree in psychology from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome (2007). He is a senior associate of the Colegio Colombiano de Psicólogos (Colombian School of Psychologists).
In 2015, Pope Francis nominated him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, and Titular Bishop of Giubalziana. Also in 2015 he was appointed to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors
In 2021, he was nominated Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Colombia.
In 2022, Pope Francis reappointed him a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Ms Teresa Morris Kettelkamp with Pope Francis
Former Colonel with Illinois State Police. Expert in policies and guidelines for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults. Former Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.
Teresa Morris Kettelkamp is a former Colonel with Illinois State Police. She is an expert in policies and guidelines for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults and former Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection.
Teresa M. Kettelkamp retired from Illinois State Police after 29 years with the rank of Colonel. At the time of her retirement, she headed the ISP’s Division of Forensic Services: crime labs and crime scene services.
Previously, she headed the ISP’s Division of Internal Investigation, which was responsible for the investigation of allegations of misconduct within the ISP, as well as in the agencies, boards and commissions under the executive branch of Illinois state government.
Teresa Kettelkamp retired from the ISP for the purpose of working for the Gavin Group, Inc. in conducting the first annual compliance audits of the United State’s Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.
She was appointed the Executive Director of the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2005. She resigned from the Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection in 2011 to do consulting work.
In January 2016, Teresa Kettelkamp moved to Rome to work for the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Her focus at the PCPM was to work on universal guidelines for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, as well the healing and care for victims and survivors.
In 2018, Pope Francis appointed her as a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors where she served as moderator for the working group focused on the healing of survivors as well as integrating their voices into the ministry of the Church.
In 2022, Pope Francis reappointed her a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
The seminarians in Morogoro, Tanzania, make use of what they have to complete their journey of faith, as they follow in the footsteps of St. Vincent de Paul with compassion and generosity.
By Francesca Merlo – Morogoro, Tanzania
The first Vincentian missionaries arrived in Tanzania in 1993, and since then, the mission has been growing constantly. “Proclaiming the Word of the Lord” is the religious order’s charism, and the Vincentians in Tanzania do precisely this.
We weren’t sure what to expect as we drove the five-hour-long journey to Morogoro from Dar es Salaam.
What we certainly did not expect when we finally arrived at the St. Vincent de Paul Seminary was for the car park to be filled with 41 smiling, dancing, and singing seminarians.
“Your coming is a blessing to us all,” they sang, as they put flowers around our necks and danced us into their dining hall where we shared a meal together.
That was when we first noticed that there could be a problem. The seminarians crowded around their small round tables, squeezing as many as possible on each one so that we, too, would have a table at which to eat. There was barely enough room for everyone.
After dinner, a quick walk around the seminary—even in the dark, you could make out its brightly painted walls, cheerful and fun, just like our welcome, or “Karibu” in Swahili, had been.
Courtyard of the seminary
The seminarians had all gathered to watch the Tanzanian Premier League: Simba vs. Singhita Fountain Gate in the recreation room; those who were lucky got seats, and the others stood behind.
We walked down the corridor and reached the chapel, each pew crammed with the seminarian’s books and pens, each place assigned—the last to arrive got chairs at the back.
“We don’t know where to put everyone,” says Fr. Mushi, Rector of the seminary. He pointed at the chairs at the back of the chapel. “These have filled up,” but if someone new arrives, they will have nowhere to go.
In fact, commented Fr. Yuda, Regional Superior of the Vincentians in Tanzania, over the last few years, the congregation has had to turn down several men who wanted to join. “We don’t have a problem with vocations,” he explained, “we have a capacity problem.”
A seminarian at study
The men are already sharing rooms, most of them in twos, others in fours. They’ve created a family, a real community, following in the legacy of their founding father, who never asked for much.
And although these young men don’t ask for much either, it is clear that they need more. In the rainy season, their bicycles don’t get them across the muddy earth to their universities, and in the dry season, the lack of water does not allow their vegetable patch to flourish.
Their chickens and ducks are kept for special guests because, as Fr. Mushi joked, “these boys would finish them off in half a day!”
As they sit in the garden smashing dry sunflowers to extract the seeds, from which they then make their cooking oil, it is clear that these men are as self-sufficient as their means allow them to be.
Seminarians extract oil from sunflower seeds
Humphrey, who is studying third-year philosophy, smiles at me. He shyly tells me about his journey of faith and about his desire to dedicate it to humbly helping the poor. Humphrey is a fine example of humility, dedicating his journey of faith to following in the footsteps of St. Vincent de Paul. All the seminarians are.
We visit their rooms, looking at the posters on their walls and their books.
All 41 of them share eight computers, and “a single printer would be nice,” they say. They are all students, and traveling and spending money on printing is not always possible.
One of eight computers the 41 men share
But they make everything seem possible, guided by their rector, who in turn is guided by the regional superior, each caring for the other enormously, and this shines through clearly.
Then, we bid farewell. The chairs were moved to the side of the room, and the men came in one by one, singing a traditional song, dressed in traditional clothing, singing, dancing, and laughing.
They obviously enjoyed performing for us, and we had so much fun watching. One of the recently-ordained deacons gave us a thank-you speech, and the group broke out into a perfectly harmonised “Ave Maria,” merging two beautiful cultures into one powerful vocation.
The Church, Tanzania, and the entire world deserve more seminarians like these, and these young men deserve a space to live in and in which to study, in order to become the wonderful leaders that they are destined to be.
Vincentian seminarians sing the Ave Maria
CNA Newsroom, Mar 14, 2024 / 16:30 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis has no plans to resign from office — though he says some in the Church wish he would.
The pontiff addresses the topic in “Life: My Story Through History,” his forthcoming autobiography. Excerpts from the book, which explores in detail the most significant moments of the 87-year-old’s life up until the present day, were published March 14 by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
In the book, Pope Francis says that despite the criticism and medical issues he has faced during his 11-year pontificate, he considers the Petrine ministry to be “for life” and sees no conditions for resignation, barring serious physical impairment.
“Over the years, perhaps some people have hoped that sooner or later, perhaps after hospitalization, I would make an announcement like this, but there is no such risk: Thanks to the Lord, I enjoy good health, and God willing, there are many projects still to realize.”
The pope says that some are already focusing on who might succeed him, which he says was “only human,” but he also warns that this kind of speculation can be motivated by personal gain or “for profit in the newspapers.”
Addressing criticism leveled against him during his more than 10 years as pontiff, the Argentinian pope acknowledges that he was hurt by those who claim that he is “destroying the papacy.” But he says that he would have to go to the psychologist once a week if he paid attention to all of the criticism, which he suggests is motivated by opposition to his desire to make the Church more pastoral and less monarchical.
The pope also writes that it has “pained” him to see Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013 and lived in the Vatican as pope emeritus before passing away on Dec. 31, 2022, used against him for “ideological and political purposes” by “unscrupulous people who, not having accepted his resignation, have thought of their own gain and their own little garden to cultivate, underestimating the dramatic possibility of a fracture within the Church.”
In the new book, Pope Francis also defends arguably the most divisive move of his papacy: the Vatican’s recent controversial approval of blessings for same-sex couples. The pope said that the promulgation of Fiducia Supplicans confirms that “God loves everyone, especially sinners,” and that if some decide not to implement the guidance, as many bishops and some entire episcopal conferences have, “it does not mean that this is the antechamber of a schism, because the doctrine of the Church is not called into question.”
While the pope says that marriage between people of the same sex is not a possibility, he reiterates his approval of civil unions, stating that “it is right that these people who live the gift of love can have legal coverage like everyone else.”
The forthcoming autobiography reveals many details of the pope’s family history, upbringing, and ordained ministry — including several twists and turns and “near misses” along the way.
For instance, the pope shares how his paternal grandparents and father were almost aboard an Italian ship that sank in 1927 en route to Argentina, resulting in the death of 300 emigrants. But the Bergoglio family didn’t have enough money to buy tickets and were providentially spared from the doomed voyage.
Pope Francis also recounts how as a seminarian he developed a “small crush” on a young woman he met at his uncle’s wedding, whom he was “dazzled by.”
“For a week I always had the image of her in my mind and it was difficult for me to pray! Then luckily [thoughts of her] passed, and I dedicated body and soul to my vocation.”
Another near redirection occurred after World War II when the young Jesuit asked to go to Japan as a missionary. But his request was denied due to health concerns.
“If they had sent me to that mission land, my life would have taken a different path; and maybe someone in the Vatican would have been better off now,” the pope quips, referring to his detractors in the Curia.
Francis also recounts some of the highlights of his ordained ministry, such as the 2013 conclave that elected him pope, but also the more difficult stretches, such as his experience during the Argentinian dictatorship of 1976–1983 and his “exile” into rural Argentina by his Jesuit superiors.
“It was a period of purification,” the pope says of his years in Cordoba in the 1990s, which came about after mistakes he committed “due to my authoritarian attitude.”
“I was very closed in on myself, a little depressed.”
Important formative figures also factor into Pope Francis’ autobiography, including his paternal grandparents, Giovanni and Rosa, but also his boss while a student in a laboratory: a woman named Esther whom the pope describes as “a true communist.”
In “Life: My Story Through History,” Pope Francis also states his views on some of the most pressing issues facing the Church and society.
He reiterates his description of abortion as “a criminal act” akin to hiring “hitmen.”
“No more abortions, please! It is essential to always defend and promote conscientious objection.”
The pope also condemns surrogacy as “inhuman,” as it “threatens the dignity of men and women, with children treated as commodities.”
On the topic of the protection of creation, Pope Francis writes that “time is running out” to save the planet but urges activists to not resort to violence or “defacing works of art” in their efforts to push for change.
The pope also emphasizes the need for the Church to follow Christ’s example of going to people on the margins in its care for same-sex-attracted and trans-identifying people, “who are often marginalized within the Church.”
“Make them feel at home, especially those who have received baptism and are to all intents and purposes part of the people of God.”
Pope Francis co-wrote “Life: My Story Through History” with Fabio Marchese Ragona, a Vatican journalist and personal friend. The highly anticipated autobiography, which is being published in the United States and Europe by HarperCollins, is expected to be released in full on March 19.
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The Holy See Press Office hosts a briefing to present two documents that will help the Church prepare for the second session of the Synod General Assembly in October.
By Salvatore Cernuzio
The Synod is not about engaging in “ecclesiastical politics,” or about bringing controversial issues like priestly celibacy or blessings for homosexual couples to the table in light of the doctrinal document Fiducia supplicans, but rather serving a process—the synodal process—initiated and carried forward by the people of God and responding to their requests, concerns, and needs.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the General Relator of the Synod, clarified that point at a press conference in the Holy See Press Office on Thursday. He reiterated the intentions of the journey started “from below” in 2021, which continues and will conclude with the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, scheduled to take place in the Vatican on October 2–27, 2024.
He was joined by Cardinal Mario Grech, General Secretary of the Synod Secretariat, as they presented two documents: one titled “How to be a synodal Church in mission? Five perspectives to deepen theologically in view of the Second Session,” whereas the second is “Study groups on questions arising in the First Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to deepen in collaboration with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia.”
Two documents represent visible “fruits” of the Synod, emphasized Cardinal Grech.
Focusing on the themes, Cardinal Hollerich clarified how their selection and division are a direct result of what emerged in the Final Synthesis Report of the first session, and in turn, the outcome of discussions among participants at the assembly, themselves the result of the involvement of local Churches from five continents.
This is what the work of the ten Groups aims to reflect: something that moves forward and that “does not end with the Synod on synodality,” as emphasized by theologian Mgsr. Piero Coda, General Secretary of the International Theological Commission: “Certainly, there will be important repercussions in the continued assembly itself.”
“We are servants of the synodal process,” Cardinal Hollerich emphasized. This does not mean that “we deal with all points that emerge in the discussion in the Synod, but only those presented by the people of God. We are not doing ecclesiastical politics; we are servants of this synodal process. I have never put my contents, but the contents of the people of God.”
Cardinal Grech said the issue of married priests “has never been put on the table,” nor will it be discussed in the working group dealing with the relationship with the Eastern Churches which have married priests. Neither, he added, will the blessing of homosexual couples, as proposed by the Fiducia supplicans document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, be a topic of discussion.
Not because they are uninteresting topics, he said, quite the opposite: “Fiducia supplicans is an important document; I find it very beautiful because it means that God loves everyone, even those who find themselves in irregular situations,” Cardinal Hollerich emphasized. However, it is “a pastoral document, not a doctrinal one. This is an initiative that helps me in my pastoral context, but it has already been addressed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and with the authority of the Pope and is not a question to be revisited in the Synod.”
However, other issues will be central to the work of the study groups entrusted with exploring the theological and canonical issues regarding specific ministerial forms, including the ordination of women as deacons, which emerged during the Synodal Assembly of October 2023.
“It is about agreeing on this requirement through a study, taking into account the results of the two commissions that Pope Francis has established,” further clarified Monsignor Coda. A work in progress, as is the theme of the selection of episcopal candidates (also a subject examined by another Study Group): “It’s an open table, where listening is the fundamental dimension.”
Cardinal Grech highlighted the importance of listening as one of most evident results of the synodal journey.
“The fruits we already see confirm that the Holy Spirit is present, active in today’s Church,” he said, citing numerous initiatives arising from the Synod experience.
He especially indicated the international meeting of parish priests, scheduled to take place in the Vatican from April 29 to May 2, which will conclude with a dialogue in the presence of the Pope. Cardinal Grech said the event aims to listen and value “the experience that parish priests live in their respective local Churches,” because “only those who experience synodality understand better what its fruits are.”
The event with parish priests, like many other appointments around the world organized in these months by Dioceses or Bishops’ Conferences, in which the leaders of the General Secretariat of the Synod have participated.
Sister Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary of the Synod Secretariat, has just returned from Tokyo, while the other Undersecretary, Bishop Luis Marín de San Martín is currently in Chile.
These initiatives, said Cardinal Grech, keep the synodal dynamics “alive” in local Churches, “so that an increasing number of people can have direct experience of it.”
This is an experience from which “there is no turning back,” said Sister Simona Brambilla, Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life.
“We move forward and go deeper, involved and taken in a spiral movement that, with strength and sweetness, leads us to the essence of what we are as Christians: brothers and sisters in Christ, lightened, disarmed, and freed from various armors and garments we may wear,” she said.
The Synod, added Sr. Brambilla, is “a movement that transforms, frees, unites, and harmonizes, without ever flattening, homogenizing, or standardizing.”
As Archbishop Filippo Iannone, Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, noted, the Synod has the “sole mission” of “announcing Christ to the world.”
Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the new president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, speaks about the challenges he faces in his new position in an interview with Vatican Radio and Vatican News.
By Paweł Rozwód – Warsaw
The Metropolitan of Gdansk was elected to the office of president of the Polish Bishops’ Conference on Thursday during the group’s plenary assembly of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
“This is an enormous challenge. I did not expect that despite my short experience as a bishop—seven years—I would be elected. This is a credit of trust. I will try not to let it down in cooperation with the entire Polish Bishops’ Conference, which leads the Church in Poland,” he said in his first statement to the media.
Archbishop Wojda listed forming a synodal Church, a task delegated by Pope Francis, among his priorities. “This long process requires cooperation with the laity, who must be further dynamised and included. We also face social challenges related to the family, youth, catechetical teaching, or Church–state relations,” he added.
Asked about the contribution the Church in Poland can make to the Church in Europe and the world, he pointed out that the Church is one, Catholic and universal. “On the other hand, the expression of the particular Church is the local Church, which gathers the wealth resulting from culture, tradition, and history. Each local Church brings this wealth to the universal Church,” the new President of the Polish Episcopate noted.
Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, SAC, was born on January 29, 1957, to a large family as the fourth child of Władysław and Aniela (née Pietrzyk). His younger brother is also a priest in the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines), while his older sister is in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Elizabeth.
In 1976, he joined the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (SAC) and was ordained to the presbyterate in 1983. In 1989, he completed his doctorate in missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University. From 1990 to 2017, he worked at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and was appointed undersecretary to this Congregation by the Pope in 2012.
In addition, he was a chaplain of the Italian Red Cross Physical Education Center for the Disabled since 1991 and a chaplain of the Borromean Sisters’ community in Rome since 1996.
On April 12, 2017, the Holy Father Francis appointed him Archbishop Metropolitan of Bialystok. In 2021, Archbishop Wojda was appointed Metropolitan of Gdansk by Pope Francis. The motto of Archbishop Wojda’s episcopal ministry is the words from the Gospel according to St. Mark (13:10): “Oportet praedicari Evangelium” (That the Gospel may be preached).
Representatives of several religious denominations in Chile, led by the president of the of the Chilean Catholic Bishops’ Conference issue a joint statement urging political leaders to engage constructively in meaningful negotiations to address the current insecurity crisis in the country.
By Felipe Herrera-Espaliat
They have come together as they often did when Chile needed them. The leaders of several religious denominations have joined their voices in a statement to reflect on the growing insecurity facing the country which, national media say, has put a large part of the Chilean citizens in a permanent state fear and tension.
The text, which aims to offer a contribution to peace and the harmonious development of national coexistence, was signed by Archbishop Fernando Chomali Garib, of Santiago who serves as president of the Chilean Episcopal Conference, along with the highest representatives of the Orthodox, Anglican, Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches of the country, as well as to the leaders of the Jewish and Muslim communities.
The statement examines the current social climate in Chile, marked by the progressive deterioration of civic relations hindering dialogue and reducing the ability to find solutions to the many challenges that afflict the Latin American nation.
The religious leaders point in particular to insecurity, given the reportedly increase of murders.
“Contempt for life, for private property and for the law has become commonplace”, they lamented. “The spreading of drugs and the presence of organized crime, which was unknown in Chile, is destroying the essential elements of civil life and in particular our neighborhoods, our families and our young people.”
The signatories also denounce “the countless cases of corruption that have affected various public and private bodies across the board, raising public outcry as they set a bad example of dishonesty from those who have a particular responsibility for the common good”.
Between 2021 and 2023 Chile made two attempts to write a new Constitution, but both texts presented by democratically elected constituent assemblies were overwhelmingly rejected in two referendums.
Underscoring these failures and other setbacks the joint statement affirms the need to “take a decisive step” towards “a true consensus policy to reach a national agreement” , putting aside partisan differences, and “focusing on the solution of the serious social, economic and political problems that we face.”
The Chilean religious leaders extended their appeal to all citizens, so that the country may return “to the paths of mutual understanding and working for progress”, while expressing their willingness to contribute to “this great goal.”
Over 3,000 employees from the six campuses of the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital, together with patients and their families, are set to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its donation to the Holy See with Pope Francis on Saturday.
By Sr. Francine-Marie Cooper
In a press statement released on Thursday, the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital informed journalists of an upcoming audience with Pope Francis on Saturday, March 16.
The hospital explained the audience takes place to mark “the 100th anniversary of the donation of the Hospital to the Holy See by the Salviati family, who founded it in 1869.”
The hospital was donated to the Holy See on February 20, 1924.
“The Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital, the first Italian hospital completely dedicated to children, has become for all ‘the Pope’s Hospital,’” the press release noted.
Further, it emphasized that “the hospital on the Gianicolo Hill is now a leading academic centre for paediatric research and care in Europe.”
The hospital now offers care at 6 sites in Rome and around Rome, “offering 627 beds and managing approximately 95,000 emergency room visits, 30,000 hospitalizations, over 32,000 surgical and interventional procedures, and 2.5 million outpatient services annually.”
The press release describes how the hospital also helps many foreign-born children, especially from countries torn by war.
“Every year, over 300 patients are welcomed on humanitarian grounds by the Hospital, which is also involved in international cooperation projects in 18 countries for the training of healthcare personnel and the provision of highly specialized interventions.”
The hospital also announced the day’s program, which will include a papal audience.
“Participants in the audience will gather in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall in the morning, where volunteers from various associations collaborating with Bambino Gesù will entertain the children, starting at 8:30 a.m.”
After the Pope arrives and a group of 50 children unfurl a banner with the slogan “Lives that help life,” which will accompany the various initiatives that will characterize 2024 as the “year of giving”, Pope Francis will give a speech.
The Pope will then greet the president of Bambino Gesù, Tiziano Onesti, Duchess Maria Grazia Salviati, heiress of the family that founded the Hospital, and the young patients with their families.
Throughout the weeks leading up to the audience, patients of the hospital have written down their thoughts for the Pope.
A basket containing these messages will be handed over to Pope Francis at the end of the audience.
Mr. Onesti said: “We sincerely thank Pope Francis for the opportunity for this meeting, because by welcoming us for this occasion, he once again demonstrates his closeness and affection for ‘our’ Hospital, confirming us in our commitment.”
He expressed his gratitude also to “the doctors, nurses, and all healthcare personnel who cannot attend the audience because they are engaged in hospital service that never stops.”
The president explained that through their service of “treating children and young people from all over the world,” they “take care of our future.”
The audience will be broadcast live by Vatican Media and covered on Bambino Gesù’s social media channels.
In an autobiography hitting bookshelves on March 19, Pope Francis shares his childhood memories during Argentina’s dictatorship, thoughts on his ministry as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, and his belief that serving the most vulnerable is “what every man or woman of God should do.”
By Vatican News
The Italian newspaper “Corriere della Sera” releases several passages from Pope Francis’ autobiographical book entitled “Life. My Story in History,” written with Vatican journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona, set to be released on March 19 by HarperCollins.
In the passages released on Thursday, the Pope clarified that were he to resign, he would not choose to be called “Pope Emeritus” but simply “Bishop Emeritus of Rome.”
In that case, he would live in the Basilica of St. Mary Major “to return to being a confessor and bring communion to the sick.”
The Pope clarified this possible scenario in case of his resignation, which, however, he emphasized, “is a distant hypothesis” because there are no “so serious reasons” to consider this possibility, which he said he never considers, “despite moments of difficulty.”
There are no “conditions for a resignation,” according to Pope Francis, unless “a serious physical impediment” arose, in which case a “letter of resignation” deposited in the Secretariat of State signed by Bergoglio at the beginning of his pontificate would apply.
He added that the possibility remains remote, since the Pope “is in good health and, God willing, there are many projects still to be realized.”
The book spans over 300 pages and covers all aspects of Pope Francis’s life, from his relationship with his family, especially with his grandparents, their emigration to Argentina in 1929, a “little derailment” during his seminary period, and World War II with its dramatic atomic epilogue.
“The use of atomic energy for war purposes is a crime against humanity, our dignity, and any future possibility in our common home,” said the Pope, posing the heavy question of how one can claim to be a “champion of peace and justice while building new weapons of war.”
The pages traverse the history of the Argentine dictatorship, the deep connections that Jorge Mario Bergoglio had with those who did not survive it, his commitment to sheltering young people at risk during General Jorge Rafael Videla’s regime, and the failed attempt to save his influential teacher, Esther.
What happened in Argentina “was a generational genocide,” wrote the Pope, who also addressed accusations of being somehow complicit with the dictatorship, refuted by the evidence of his opposition to “those atrocities.”
Pope Francis wrote about Esther, a “true communist,” an atheist “but respectful” who “never attacked faith. She taught me so much about politics.”
This memory provided the Pope an opportunity, once again, to repeat that “talking about the poor does not automatically make you a communist” since “the poor are the flag of the Gospel and are in Jesus’ heart,” and that “in Christian communities, property was shared: this is not communism, this is pure Christianity!”
The book continued through the Pope’s staunch defense of human life, “from conception to death,” where abortion “is murder,” performed by “hired killers, hitmen!”, calling the practice of surrogacy “inhumane.”
The book also includes a chapter on soccer, Bergoglio’s passion, writing about Maradona and his vow “to no longer watch TV.”
The pages cover his time spent in Cordoba, leading to the Pope’s reflection on mistakes “made because of my authoritarian attitude, to the extent of being accused of being ultraconservative. It was a period of purification. I was very closed in myself, a bit depressed.”
The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the subsequent conclave, and his election as Pope, with the choice of the name Francis, are another chapter in the autobiography.
Pope Francis described his pain at seeing “the figure of the Pope Emeritus ‘instrumentalized,’ with ideological and political purposes by unscrupulous people,” and the consequent “controversies” that “in ten years have not been lacking and have hurt both of us.”
“Life. My Story in History” covers the period of the pandemic, recalls appeals about the wealth of cultures and differences of peoples inherent in the European Union. He expressed his hope that such an appeal will be heard by Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, “so that he understands that there is always so much need for unity,” as well as from Brussels “which seems to want to standardize everything, which should respect Hungarian uniqueness.”
In the book, Pope Francis touched on topics dear to him, such as the protection of creation, and addressed young people, asking them to “make noise,” because “time is running out, we don’t have much left to save the planet.”
The Church that Pope Francis imagines is a “mother Church, which embraces and welcomes everyone, even those who feel wrong and who have been judged by us in the past,” thinking of homosexuals or transsexuals “who seek the Lord and have instead been rejected or expelled.”
The Pope repeated his yes to “blessings for irregular couples,” because everyone is loved by God, “especially sinners. And if some brother bishops decide not to follow this path, it does not mean that this is the antechamber of a schism, because the doctrine of the Church is not questioned.”
While homosexual marriage remains impossible, he said, this is not the case for civil unions, because “it is right that these people who live the gift of love can have legal coverage like everyone else.”
As in other moments, Pope Francis’s words are an encouragement to make people who are often marginalized within the Church feel at home, “especially those who have received baptism and are in all respects part of the people of God. And those who have not received baptism and wish to receive it, or who wish to act as godfathers or godmothers, please, let them be welcomed.”
The Pope did not hide the wounds caused by those who believe he “is destroying the papacy.”
Even if there is “always someone trying to hinder reform, who would like to remain stuck in the times of the Pope-king,” he said, the fact remains that “the Vatican is the last absolute monarchy in Europe, and that often inside here, reasoning and court maneuvers are made, but these schemes must be definitively abandoned.”
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