Catholic News 2
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hacked emails from the personal account of Hillary Clinton's top campaign official show some of the attention her team paid to courting black voters....
Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Oct 22, 2016 / 12:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Used for centuries as a private summer residence for Popes, the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo has now been opened to the public. Visitors may access rooms where Popes have died and where some 50 babies were born during the Second World War.“Whoever crosses the threshold of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo will encounter pure beauty,” Director of the Vatican Museums Antonio Paolucci said in an Oct. 21 statement.“Reaching the great terrace they will see below the blue eye of the lake and the mountains covered with intact forests that surround it,” he said. “Crossing the room of the Apostolic Apartment they will hear the buzz of history and think of the emotion and wonder, but also of the gratitude that each visitor will have for this unexpected gift from the Pope.”Tours of the Pontifical Villa are being managed by the Vatican Museums. Castel Gandolfo was opene...
Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Oct 22, 2016 / 12:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Used for centuries as a private summer residence for Popes, the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo has now been opened to the public. Visitors may access rooms where Popes have died and where some 50 babies were born during the Second World War. “Whoever crosses the threshold of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo will encounter pure beauty,” Director of the Vatican Museums Antonio Paolucci said in an Oct. 21 statement. “Reaching the great terrace they will see below the blue eye of the lake and the mountains covered with intact forests that surround it,” he said. “Crossing the room of the Apostolic Apartment they will hear the buzz of history and think of the emotion and wonder, but also of the gratitude that each visitor will have for this unexpected gift from the Pope.” Tours of the Pontifical Villa are being managed by the Vatican Museums. Castel Gandolfo was opened to the public Oct. 22, with tickets available for purchase on the museums’ website. The gardens of the papal residence, called the Barberini Gardens, were opened to the public in 2014 as a way to increase revenue for the town, which thrived on tourism brought by visitors who had come to see the Pope during his stay. For Benedict XVI, the villa was a favorite summer getaway during his pontificate. It was conceded to the Holy See as one of their extraterritorial possessions under the Lateran Pact of 1929. Following major restoration efforts, the villa has served as the papal summer residence since the pontificate of Urban VIII during the 17th century. It has a small farm created by Pope Pius XI, which produces eggs, milk, oil, vegetables and honey either for local employees, or for sale in the Vatican supermarket. Popes up until Benedict XVI used the residence as a summer getaway. However, it has been empty since the election of Pope Francis, who prefers to spend his summers in Rome. The residence was officially presented to journalists Oct. 21, in the company of Antonio Paolucci, the Director of the Pontifical Villa Osvaldo Gianoli, and the Curator of the Historical Collections of the Vatican Museums Sandro Barbagallo. Tours of the papal residence, Set to coincide with the opening and closing hours of the Apostolic Palace itself, includes a visit to the Swiss Hall where the Pope’s personal guards, the Swiss Guard, kept watch round the clock. Other stops include the Throne Room, the Consistory Hall, the Bedroom of the Holy Father and Library, the Private Study and its attached private chapel. It was inside the private chapel of Castel Gandolfo that Pope Francis and Benedict XVI prayed together shortly after Francis was elected following Benedict’s historic resignation in 2013. It marked the first time a Pope and his successor had ever prayed together. Also noteworthy is the fact that at least for a few months during the Second World War, the papal residence in the town was used as a both a shelter for refugees and a neonatal unit. After Italy was occupied by Nazi forces in January 1944, the area around Castel Gandolfo quickly became the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting during the war. Thousands of people were displaced overnight and forced to become refugees. Pope Pius XII, who was reigning at the time, was largely confined within the Vatican walls, in large part out of fear that he would be arrested by Nazi forces should he leave. When his secretary Msgr. Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, informed him what was happening around Castel Gandolfo, the Pope immediately ordered that the palace be made available to whoever wanted to come. The doors were opened to the public Jan. 22, 1944. It soon filled up, eventually hosting some 12,000 people with no inquiry into their political affiliation or request for a baptismal certificate. Many Jews from Rome were among those accommodated. During the four months the Villa served as a shelter, the Pope’s own bedroom was reserved for women in labor. Some 50 babies were born inside the room, and as a result were called “the Pope’s children.” Popes have also died in the papal bedroom at Castel Gandolfo. Pius XII himself died there in 1958, as did Pope Paul VI two decades later.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Could millions of connected cameras, thermostats and kids' toys bring the internet to its knees? It's beginning to look that way....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Grab some popcorn - AT&T wants to take you to the movies....
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Drivers in Texas busted for drunken driving, not paying child support or low-level drug offenses are among thousands of "high-threat" criminal arrests being counted as part of a nearly $1 billion mission to secure the border with Mexico, an Associated Press analysis has found....
BOSTON (AP) -- Tim Kaine is sounding a hopeful note that a Democratic White House could work with Republicans to bridge deep divides laid bare by this bitter presidential campaign....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Clinton bested Donald Trump in three debates. She leads in many preference polls of the most competitive states. Barring a significant shift in the next two weeks, she is in a strong position to become the first woman elected U.S. president....
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Steering his campaign toward controversy yet again, Donald Trump vowed Saturday to sue every woman who has accused him of sexual assault or other inappropriate behavior. He called them "liars" whose allegations he blamed Democrats for orchestrating....
(Vatican Radio) During Saturday’s Jubilee of Mercy audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis extended a special greeting to the Polish pilgrims present, remembering the 1050th anniversary of the baptism of their nation, and the feast day the Polish-born pontiff, St John Paul II.Listen to Ann Schneible’s report: “Exactly 38 years ago, at about this time, in this square, there resounded these words to men and women throughout the world: ‘Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ’.”In remembrance of the feast day of St John Paul II, Pope Francis recalled these words delivered by his predecessor during his first Mass as the Roman pontiff on October 22, 1978.The legacy of the papacy of John Paul II, who was born Karol Józef Wojtyla, is a prolific one.Over the course of his more than 26 years in office, he visited 129 countries, founded World Youth Day, and was instrumental in the fall of the Berlin Wall.St John Paul II also had a special d...
(Vatican Radio) During Saturday’s Jubilee of Mercy audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis extended a special greeting to the Polish pilgrims present, remembering the 1050th anniversary of the baptism of their nation, and the feast day the Polish-born pontiff, St John Paul II.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
“Exactly 38 years ago, at about this time, in this square, there resounded these words to men and women throughout the world: ‘Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ’.”
In remembrance of the feast day of St John Paul II, Pope Francis recalled these words delivered by his predecessor during his first Mass as the Roman pontiff on October 22, 1978.
The legacy of the papacy of John Paul II, who was born Karol Józef Wojtyla, is a prolific one.
Over the course of his more than 26 years in office, he visited 129 countries, founded World Youth Day, and was instrumental in the fall of the Berlin Wall.
St John Paul II also had a special devotion to the Divine Mercy; in the year 2000, he officially designated the first Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday which he himself had founded.
A poet and an avid sportsman, he continued to write poetry throughout his pontificate, and remained active until his final years.
The Polish-born pontiff was also known for his writings on human sexuality, most notably his Theology of the Body.
John Paul II was beatified in 2011 by Benedict XVI, and was canonized three years later by Pope Francis on the feast of Divine Mercy.
Addressing the 100,000 pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square this Saturday, Pope Francis reflected on how it was Poland’s historical and cultural inheritance which filled John Paul II with hope, strength, and courage to “open wide the doors of Christ”.
“This invitation,” the Pope said, “was transformed by an unceasing proclamation of the Gospel of mercy for the world and for mankind, of which this Jubilee Year is a continuation”
The Holy Father went on to reflect on the feast of St John Paul II, especially his relevance for young people, the suffering, and newly married couples.
“May his consistent witness of faith be a lesson for you, dear young people, for confronting the challenges of life,” the Pope said. He then invited the sick to “embrace with hope the cross of illness,” and told newly married couples to seek his intercession in order that their new families may never be lacking in love.
(Vatican Radio) Tens of thousands of people showed up on cool but beautiful Saturday morning for the Pope’s monthly Jubilee audience.Listen to Christopher Wells' report: In his catechesis, Pope Francis used the Gospel account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman to reflect on the importance of “dialogue” as an aspect of mercy.“Dialogue,” the Pope said, “allows people to know themselves and to understand the one another’s needs.” It is both a sign of respect, an expression of charity; it allows us to see one another as a gift from God.But often when we encounter one another, we are not prepared to listen, preferring instead to interrupt and convince the other that we are right. True dialogue, the Pope said, requires moments of silence, and the ability to welcome the other as a gift from God.“Dear brothers and sisters,” the Pope said, “dialoguing helps people to humanize relationships and to ov...
(Vatican Radio) Tens of thousands of people showed up on cool but beautiful Saturday morning for the Pope’s monthly Jubilee audience.
Listen to Christopher Wells' report:
In his catechesis, Pope Francis used the Gospel account of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman to reflect on the importance of “dialogue” as an aspect of mercy.
“Dialogue,” the Pope said, “allows people to know themselves and to understand the one another’s needs.” It is both a sign of respect, an expression of charity; it allows us to see one another as a gift from God.
But often when we encounter one another, we are not prepared to listen, preferring instead to interrupt and convince the other that we are right. True dialogue, the Pope said, requires moments of silence, and the ability to welcome the other as a gift from God.
“Dear brothers and sisters,” the Pope said, “dialoguing helps people to humanize relationships and to overcome misunderstandings.” He continued, “There is a great need for dialogue in our families, and how much more easily would questions be resolved if we could learn to listen to one another!”
The Holy Father concluded his catechesis, saying, “Dialogue breaks down the walls of divisions and misunderstandings; it creates bridges of communication and does not allow anyone to remain isolated, closing themselves into their own little world.” How much better the world will be, he said, if we could listen to one another, explain ourselves meekly, rather than shouting at one another. “Through dialogue, we can make the signs of the mercy of God grow, and make them instruments of welcome and respect.”
