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WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hacked emails show Hillary Clinton's campaign wrestled with how to announce her opposition to construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline without losing the support of labor unions that supported to project....
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(Vatican Radio) The Papal residence at Castel Gandolfo has long been known as the summer retreat of Popes. But now in an historic first the Papal apartments will be open to the public from October 22nd.Lydia O’Kane went along to see the private living quarters of the Pontiffs.Listen: The Papal residence at Castel Gandolfo in the Roman hills has been offering Pope’s down through the centuries rest and relaxation during the summer months from the official duties of office.The last Pope to reside here was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, but now Pope Francis has given permission for the papal apartments themselves to be open to the public. This follows the success of visits to the Villa Barberini Gardens and the Portrait Gallery of the Popes.For tourists and those passionate about Church art and history, it’s a chance to walk in the footsteps of Pontiffs. There is the Swiss Hall, and the Throne Room with their impressive lakeside view. But it's the Pope’s...
(Vatican Radio) The Papal residence at Castel Gandolfo has long been known as the summer retreat of Popes. But now in an historic first the Papal apartments will be open to the public from October 22nd.
Lydia O’Kane went along to see the private living quarters of the Pontiffs.
Listen:
The Papal residence at Castel Gandolfo in the Roman hills has been offering Pope’s down through the centuries rest and relaxation during the summer months from the official duties of office.
The last Pope to reside here was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, but now Pope Francis has given permission for the papal apartments themselves to be open to the public. This follows the success of visits to the Villa Barberini Gardens and the Portrait Gallery of the Popes.
For tourists and those passionate about Church art and history, it’s a chance to walk in the footsteps of Pontiffs. There is the Swiss Hall, and the Throne Room with their impressive lakeside view. But it's the Pope’s reserved quarters that evokes the most interest and gives a sense that one is imposing on a very private space. On the desk in the Pope’s private study there is still a pencil and eraser left by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and the Pope’s bedroom gives an air of elegance without being ostentatious. Then there is the private Chapel which houses a reproduction of the icon of the Madonna of Czestochowa.
So with this opening, will the summer retreat continue to be a Papal residence? Sandro Barbagallo Curator of Collections of the Vatican Museums says like Pope Francis, not all Popes lived here. He says, “from this point of view the choice of Pope Francis is his personal decision, we can’t do anything but accept it and anyway this choice doesn’t in anyway mean the end of Castel Gandolfo as a summer residence.”
In honour of this historic inauguration musicians came all the way from the Guangzhou Opera House in China to perform popular Chinese songs entitled “beauty unites us”, and another cultural element to this event.
Down the road, the residents in the town of Castel Gandolfo take pride in the fact that Popes down through the years have chosen to come here for their summer break. So what do they think of this new opening. Stefano, a barman in the local café says, “it’s an important historical event because it’s true it shows, let’s say, the new opening to the public of the Pope’s residence, but it also demonstrates an end for now of the Holy Father at Castel Gandolfo and we are very sorry about that.”
Who knows whether a future Pope will decide to reside here again, but until then visitors can enjoy and be inspired by the beauty of this residence fit for a Pope.
The Papal apartments at the Pontifical residence at Castel Gandolfo will be open from October 22.
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Junno Arocho EstevesCASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Francis is throwingopen the doors to the papal apartment -- including the bedroom where popes haveslept -- in the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo.The palace was for centuries the summer residence of theRoman pontiffs, but Pope Francis has decided not to use it. Instead in 2014, heopened the palace gardens to the public and last year opened a portion of theApostolic Palace as a portrait gallery.Pope Francis "wanted this place -- so rich in historyand so significant -- to be a gift for the people," Antonio Paolucci,director of the Vatican Museums, said Oct. 20 at the grand opening of the papalapartment. "Whoever passes through the gate of the ApostolicPalace of Castel Gandolfo will find pure beauty," Paolucci said. Among the rooms open now to the public are the Room of the Throne,the Consistory Room, the pope's bedroom and private study. Unlike his predecessors, Pope Francis spends his summers inRom...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Junno Arocho Esteves
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope Francis is throwing open the doors to the papal apartment -- including the bedroom where popes have slept -- in the Apostolic Palace at Castel Gandolfo.
The palace was for centuries the summer residence of the Roman pontiffs, but Pope Francis has decided not to use it. Instead in 2014, he opened the palace gardens to the public and last year opened a portion of the Apostolic Palace as a portrait gallery.
Pope Francis "wanted this place -- so rich in history and so significant -- to be a gift for the people," Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums, said Oct. 20 at the grand opening of the papal apartment.
"Whoever passes through the gate of the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo will find pure beauty," Paolucci said.
Among the rooms open now to the public are the Room of the Throne, the Consistory Room, the pope's bedroom and private study.
Unlike his predecessors, Pope Francis spends his summers in Rome rather than at the peaceful residence 20 miles away in the cooler hills. However, Sandro Barbagallo, curator of historical collections at the Vatican Museums, said that the "non-presence of the pope fits perfectly within the palace's history."
"Thirty-three popes have reigned since the Apostolic Palace was first acquired. Of those 33 popes, only 15 have actually resided here at Castel Gandolfo," he noted.
To celebrate the papal apartment's grand opening to the public and its historical significance, artists from the Guangzhou Opera House in Beijing performed a short concert titled, "Beauty unites us."
Playing both classical and traditional instruments, the eight female artists filled the palace courtyard with the sounds of China while famed calligrapher, Cui Zimo, painted an artistic representation in honor of the Year of Mercy titled "Anima Mundi" ("The Soul of the World").
Zimo said his artwork, as well as the presence of the musicians from the Guangzhou Opera House, was "an artistic contribution to the pope's Year of Mercy," and he hoped that it would be "a new start to the relationship between China and the Vatican."
The artwork, he said, was inspired by Michelangelo's "Creation of Adam," in which God is depicted reaching his finger toward Adam, "yet their fingers are barely touching."
Zimo said he suddenly realized "what those hands mean" when he had a chance to meet Pope Francis and shake his hand. "It is love that allows those hands to be together and that small distance (between them) can disappear," he said.
"This merciful love not only means the coming together of two persons but also (the coming together of) different peoples and different nations,"Zimo said.
Visitors can purchase tickets to the Apostolic Palace and the papal apartment in Castel Gandolfo through the Vatican Museums' website (www.museivaticani.va).
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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When a choir director and parish priestdiffer over liturgical music, the choir should follow in good faith the wishesof the priest for the sake of unity, said the papal liturgist.When it comes to celebrating the liturgy, "we shouldnever fight," Msgr. Guido Marini told choir members, directors and priests."Otherwise, we distort the very nature" of what the people of God shouldbe doing during the Mass, which is seeking to be "one body before theLord."The papal master of liturgical ceremonies spoke Oct. 21 at a conference openinga three-day jubilee for choirs. Hundreds of people involved in providingmusic for the liturgical celebrations in Italian dioceses and parishes -- suchas singers, organists and musicians -- attended, as did directors of diocesan liturgy offices andschools of sacred music.During a brief question-and-answer period after his talk on the role of thechoir, a participant asked Msgr. Marini what she termed "an ...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When a choir director and parish priest differ over liturgical music, the choir should follow in good faith the wishes of the priest for the sake of unity, said the papal liturgist.
When it comes to celebrating the liturgy, "we should never fight," Msgr. Guido Marini told choir members, directors and priests. "Otherwise, we distort the very nature" of what the people of God should be doing during the Mass, which is seeking to be "one body before the Lord."
The papal master of liturgical ceremonies spoke Oct. 21 at a conference opening a three-day jubilee for choirs. Hundreds of people involved in providing music for the liturgical celebrations in Italian dioceses and parishes -- such as singers, organists and musicians -- attended, as did directors of diocesan liturgy offices and schools of sacred music.
During a brief question-and-answer period after his talk on the role of the choir, a participant asked Msgr. Marini what she termed "an uncomfortable, practical question."
"Many times, in our parishes, the priest wants the choir to perform songs that are inappropriate, both because of the text" and because of the moment the song is to be performed during the service, she said.
"In these situations, must the choir master follow the wishes of the priest even with the knowledge that by doing so, the choir is no longer serving the liturgy, but the priest?" she said to applause.
Asked for his advice, Msgr. Marini smiled, cast his eyes upward and rubbed his chin signaling his awareness that it was a hot-button topic. He said he felt "sandwiched" "between two fires, between priests and choirs."
Acknowledging the difficulty of such a situation, he said he sided with the priest.
There are situations where priests may not be giving completely correct guidance, he said, and there are directors that could be doing better. But in either case, conflict and division should be avoided and "humility and communion be truly safeguarded," he said.
This, like with all disagreements, he said, requires that all sides be very patient with each other, sit down and talk, and explain the reasons behind their positions.
But if no conclusion or final point is reached, then "perhaps it is better also to come out of it momentarily defeated and wait for a better time rather than generate divisions and conflict that do no good," he said to applause.
Live the path of communion and unity in the parish "with lots of goodness, cordiality and sometimes the ability to sacrifice something of oneself, too," Msgr. Marini advised.
Just like the grain of wheat, he said, "sometimes all of us must die in something" knowing that it will bear future fruit.
Msgr. Marini responded to the question after delivering a 50-minute speech, in which he received a standing ovation.
Titled, "The Role of the Choir in Liturgical Celebrations," the monsignor outlined five fundamental elements of the liturgy and how choirs should help serve each of those aspects.
The liturgy is the work of Christ and it should express the Savior's living presence, he said. Choir members, therefore, must be people who have Christ present in their hearts.
While much care must be given to the artistic and technical aspects of liturgical music's performance, the hearts of those who perform must be cared for as well so that they are men and women of faith who feel "a burning love for Christ" and find their life's meaning in him, he said.
The liturgy also must evoke the church's universality, where there is a harmonious union of diversity and continuity between tradition and newness, he said. This means that the choir must never be "front and center" or seem separate from the faithful because they are part of the assembly.
Pope Francis has insisted that liturgical music for papal liturgies "never go beyond the rite" and force celebrants and the assembly to wait for the singing to finish before proceeding on to the next moment of the Mass, he said. "Song integrates itself into the rite," serving the ceremony and not itself.
He also asked that choirs help the liturgy in its purpose of gathering everyone together to conform themselves more closely to God and his will.
The Mass is about overcoming individual distinctions so that "it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me," he said. That means the choir should help everyone in the assembly be an active participant during the moments of song including by stirring people's emotional or spiritual feelings.
Choirs must help the liturgy by inviting all of creation to lift its gaze toward God on high, he said. People should feel elevated and pulled out of the mundanity of the ordinary and everyday -- not to escape from it, but so as to return renewed to one's everyday life after Mass.
If song is not "a bridge over eternity" then it is not doing its job, he said. Song must not be worldly and unworthy, but must in some way be the "song of angels."
Lastly, he said, choirs must be missionary like the church and the liturgy by way of attraction, which it does by revealing God's beauty, wonder and infinite mercy.
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Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United Nations celebrated Wonder Woman's 75th birthday on Friday by naming the comic book character as its new Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Woman and Girls, despite frustration from both inside and outside the world organization that the spot should go to a real - and less sexualized - woman....
BEIRUT (AP) -- A cease-fire to allow wounded civilians and rebels to leave besieged parts of Aleppo has been extended into the weekend by Russia, but hoped-for medical evacuations didn't materialize by Friday evening because of a lack of security guarantees, officials and residents said....
BERLIN (AP) -- Europe's experimental Mars probe hit the right spot - but at the wrong speed - and may have ended up in a fiery ball of rocket fuel when it struck the surface, scientists said Friday....
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) -- Raeda Paulos could hardly conceal her joy when the television inside her cramped trailer showed Iraqi forces raising the national flag over a church in her hometown, a day after it was freed from Islamic State rule....
KIRKUK, Iraq (AP) -- Islamic State militants launched a wave of pre-dawn attacks in and around the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, killing at least 14 people and setting off fierce clashes with Kurdish security forces that were still raging after sundown....
