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NEW YORK (AP) -- For the combatants in America's long-running culture wars, the triumph of Donald Trump and congressional Republicans was stunning - sparking elation on one side, deep dismay on the other....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even before Donald Trump chooses a Supreme Court nominee, the new president can take steps to make several contentious court cases go away....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday reminded the faithful that even the most sacred human constructions are "transitory" and warned them not to place their faith in them or in “false messiahs” who speculate on people's needs.Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, the Pope said that our only certainty is that our life is in the hands of the Lord, and that God will never abandon us.Nothing can be lost if we place our lives in the hands of the Lord – Pope Francis said – as he reflected on the Gospel reading of the day which tells of the destruction of the Temple and the signs of the end of times.And commenting on the many “false messiahs” that exist in the world today – people who speculate on the human need for security – Francis invited the faithful not to be terrified or disorientated by wars, revolutions and calamities “because they too are part of the reality of the world...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday reminded the faithful that even the most sacred human constructions are "transitory" and warned them not to place their faith in them or in “false messiahs” who speculate on people's needs.
Speaking to the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, the Pope said that our only certainty is that our life is in the hands of the Lord, and that God will never abandon us.
Nothing can be lost if we place our lives in the hands of the Lord – Pope Francis said – as he reflected on the Gospel reading of the day which tells of the destruction of the Temple and the signs of the end of times.
And commenting on the many “false messiahs” that exist in the world today – people who speculate on the human need for security – Francis invited the faithful not to be terrified or disorientated by wars, revolutions and calamities “because they too are part of the reality of the world”.
He pointed out that the history of the Church is full of examples of people who have endured terrible suffering and tribulations with serenity because they placed themselves fully in God’s hands.
“He is a faithful Father, a caring Father, who never abandons his children” he said.
“What really counts – he said – is to stand firm in the Lord, to walk in hope and to work to build a better world, despite the difficulties and the sad events that mark personal and collective existence.”
Pointing out that, on the day in which all the Holy Doors are closed signaling the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, the Pope said “on the one hand the Holy Year has urged us to keep our eyes fixed on the ultimate fulfillment of God's Kingdom, and on the other, to build a future on earth, working to evangelize the present, so as to make it a time of salvation for all.”
After the recitation of the Angelus prayer, the Pope recalled the observance of the Italian Day of Thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and of human labor, and he expressed his hope for a sustainable cultivation of mother earth.
“The Church is close and grateful towards the world of agriculture and exhorts all not to forget those who, in various parts of the world, are deprived of essential goods such as food and water” he said.
Vatican City, Nov 13, 2016 / 05:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung Coadjutor Bishop of the diocese of Hong Kong, the Vatican announced Sunday.Bishop Yeung, 69, has been auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong since Aug. 30, 2014. At the same time, he was also named Titular Bishop of Mons in Numidia by Pope Francis. He succeeds Cardinal John Tong Hon, 77, who has passed the minimum retirement age of 75.Born in Shanghai on Dec. 1, 1946, Bishop Yeung was ordained a priest of the diocese of Hong Kong on June 10, 1978. He held a variety of pastoral and administrative roles. From 1980-1982 he received a master’s in social communications at Syracuse University in the U.S.Returning to China, he served as director of the office of Social Communications for the diocese of Hong Kong from 1982-1986. He later returned to the U.S. to study at Harvard University, where he received a master’s degree in philosophy of education.He then held the posit...
Vatican City, Nov 13, 2016 / 05:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung Coadjutor Bishop of the diocese of Hong Kong, the Vatican announced Sunday.
Bishop Yeung, 69, has been auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong since Aug. 30, 2014. At the same time, he was also named Titular Bishop of Mons in Numidia by Pope Francis. He succeeds Cardinal John Tong Hon, 77, who has passed the minimum retirement age of 75.
Born in Shanghai on Dec. 1, 1946, Bishop Yeung was ordained a priest of the diocese of Hong Kong on June 10, 1978. He held a variety of pastoral and administrative roles. From 1980-1982 he received a master’s in social communications at Syracuse University in the U.S.
Returning to China, he served as director of the office of Social Communications for the diocese of Hong Kong from 1982-1986. He later returned to the U.S. to study at Harvard University, where he received a master’s degree in philosophy of education.
He then held the position of director of the Office of Education in the diocese of Hong Kong from 1990-2013. He was appointed vicar general of the diocese in 2009 and a member of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.
Bishop Yeung’s appointment comes after the Vatican issued a statement Nov. 7 declaring that unverified reports of bishop ordinations taking place within the so-called “underground Church” in China had neither the authorization of the Holy See, nor had they been officially communicated.
“The Holy See has not authorized any ordination, nor has it been officially informed of such events. Should such episcopal ordinations have occurred, they would constitute a grave violation of canonical norms,” the communique read.
Signed by Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, the statement referred to recent unsubstantiated reports that, without authorization from the Pope, the ordination of some bishops took place recently in the so-called “underground Church” in Continental China.
As the statement read: “In recent weeks, there has been a series of reports regarding some episcopal ordinations conferred without Papal Mandate of priests of the unofficial community of the Catholic Church in Continental China.”
“The Holy See hopes that such reports are baseless,” it continued. “If not, it will have to await reliable information and sure documentation before adequately evaluating the cases.”
“However, it is reiterated that it is not licit to proceed with any episcopal ordination without the necessary Papal Mandate, even by appealing to particular personal beliefs.”
The announcement was made amid recent reports of a possible agreement between the Holy See and China concerning the appointment of Chinese bishops.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s Secretary of State, told nuncios gathered in Rome Sept. 16-18 that the talks with China deal with the appointment of bishops, and do not deal with any possibility of establishing diplomatic ties.
The agreement, if it takes place, will likely be based on Cardinal Parolin’s model implemented in Vietnam back in 1996: the Holy See proposes a set of three bishops to the Hanoi government, and Hanoi makes its choice.
Problems with this model do exist, however, including that the Vietnam administration often delays its approval, leaving dioceses vacant for years. Then, when they make the choice, they usually prefer a pro-government candidate.
Ever since the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, the Holy See has had a reduced diplomatic presence in Beijing, with the nunciature being moved to Taiwan in 1951.
China-Vatican relations have been cool, with some apparent thaws. Benedict XVI wrote a letter to Catholics in China in 2007, after which followed a series of bishops’ appointments approved both by the Chinese government and the Holy See.
The Church in China is in a difficult situation. The government of the Chinese People’s Republic never recognized the Holy See’s authority to appoint bishops. Instead, it established the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, a sort of ecclesiastical hierarchy officially recognized by the Chinese authorities.
For this reason, Chinese bishops recognized by the Holy See entered a clandestine state, thus giving life to the so called “underground Church” that is not recognized by the government.
Cardinal Joseph Zen Zekiung, archbishop emeritus of Hong Kong, disapproved of the potential agreement between the Chinese government and the Holy See regarding bishop appointments.
In a long open letter, he lamented that nothing would change in terms of religious freedom in China. He expressed his concern that this path would be a return of the “Ostpolitik,” the Cold War policy put into action under Pope Paul VI by the Holy See.
The Vatican made reciprocal concessions with countries on the other side of Europe’s Iron Curtain in order to guarantee a peaceful life to Christians in the countries under Soviet communist domination.
Cardinal John Tong Hon, Cardinal Zen’s successor as Archbishop of Hong Kong, responded to Cardinal Zen. He specified that final choice on a bishop’s appointment was always the Pope’s. He highlighted the fact that papal nuncios themselves can seek opinions from external lay people when they are examining candidates for the episcopate.
Vatican City, Nov 13, 2016 / 09:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The reality that everything in this world is passing shouldn’t frighten us, Pope Francis said, but instead it should strengthen us to place our trust completely in Christ, recognizing that what is truly important endures: the Lord and our neighbor.The readings for the day, he said, “remind us that almost everything in this world is passing away, like running water. But there are treasured realities that remain, like a precious stone in a sieve. What endures, what has value in life, what riches do not disappear?”“Surely these two: the Lord and our neighbor. These are the greatest goods; these are to be loved. Everything else – the heavens, the earth, all that is most beautiful, even this Basilica – will pass away; but we must never exclude God or others from our lives,” he said in his homily Nov. 13.Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as the closing celebration for...
Vatican City, Nov 13, 2016 / 09:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The reality that everything in this world is passing shouldn’t frighten us, Pope Francis said, but instead it should strengthen us to place our trust completely in Christ, recognizing that what is truly important endures: the Lord and our neighbor.
The readings for the day, he said, “remind us that almost everything in this world is passing away, like running water. But there are treasured realities that remain, like a precious stone in a sieve. What endures, what has value in life, what riches do not disappear?”
“Surely these two: the Lord and our neighbor. These are the greatest goods; these are to be loved. Everything else – the heavens, the earth, all that is most beautiful, even this Basilica – will pass away; but we must never exclude God or others from our lives,” he said in his homily Nov. 13.
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as the closing celebration for participants in the European Festival of Joy and Mercy held in Rome Nov. 11-13. The pilgrims all come from precarious situations such as extreme poverty and homelessness.
Organized by the French organization Fratello, the event brought in groups of pilgrims from 22 different countries, including a large number from France, Poland, and Rome itself. It was organized as a way to help the homeless participate more fully in the Church and in the Jubilee of Mercy.
Quoting the day’s first reading from the Book of Malachi, Pope Francis said these words are for those who trust in the Lord: “For you… the sun of justice shall rise, with healing in its wings.”
“For those who are materially poor but rich in God, the sun of justice will rise. These are the poor in spirit, to whom Jesus promised the kingdom of heaven and whom God, through the words of the Prophet Malachi, calls ‘my special possession,’” he said.
These are contrasted with the proud, those who think they can live a secure and self-sufficient life of earthly possessions, but with no need of God.
“This last page of the Old Testament raises challenging questions about the ultimate meaning of life,” Francis noted.
“Where do I look for security? In the Lord or in other forms of security not pleasing to God? Where is my life headed, what does my heart long for? The Lord of life or ephemeral things that cannot satisfy?”
Our hope and trust should be placed in the Lord and in our neighbor: “The human person, set by God at the pinnacle of creation, is often discarded, set aside in favor of ephemeral things. This is unacceptable, because in God’s eyes man is the most precious good,” he emphasized.
“Even the strongest kingdoms, the most sacred buildings and the surest realities of this world do not last forever; sooner or later they fall.”
In the Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus says that there will be wars and insurrections, powerful earthquakes, famines and plagues, the Pope said. “Jesus does not want to frighten us, but to tell us that everything we now see will inevitably pass away.”
People have always been curious about the end of the world, Francis said, “yet Jesus does not care for such curiosity.”
“Those who follow Jesus pay no heed to prophets of doom, the nonsense of horoscopes, or frightening sermons that distract from the truly important things. Amid the din of so many voices, the Lord asks us to distinguish between what is from him and what is from the false spirit.”
“This is important,” he said, “to distinguish the word of wisdom that God speaks to us each day from the shouting of those who seek in God’s name to frighten, to nourish division and fear.”
Francis asked that today, as the Holy Doors of Mercy are closed in the cathedrals and basilicas around the world, we all “ask for the grace not to close our eyes to God who sees us and to our neighbor who asks something of us.”
“Let us look with trust to the God of mercy, with the certainty that ‘love never ends,’” he said. “And let us open our eyes to our neighbor, especially to our brothers and sisters who are forgotten and excluded. That is where the Church’s magnifying glass is pointed.”
This is something we must do, the Pope said, because there is no peace in the homes of the prosperous “as long as justice is lacking in the home of everyone.”
We must “persevere in the good” and place “all our trust in God, who does not disappoint,” he said, quoting the passage from Luke 21 that says, “Not a hair of your head will perish.”
“God does not forget his faithful ones, his precious possession. He does not forget us.”
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