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(Vatican Radio)  Authorities in Istanbul, Turkey say a car bomb attack Tuesday morning targeted a police vehicle in the center of the city, killing 11 people and injuring at least 36 others, 3 of whom seriously.

Governor Vasip Sahin said the attack occurred in Istanbul's Vezneciler district. The area is popular among students and tourists and is home to a major university. According to the Turkish daily, Hurriyet, the blast was caused by a bomb activated from a distance as the police vehicle passed on its way towards the university.  The dead included seven police officers and four civilians.

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(Vatican Radio)  Member states of the NATO military alliance and their partners have begun their biggest-ever joint military exercises in Poland.  The drills come amid concerns in some Eastern European countries about what they see as an increasingly aggressive Russia. The exercises begin just weeks ahead of a key NATO summit in Warsaw.

Listen to the report by Stefan Bos:

At the opening ceremony, many Polish and other troops marched in front of an assembled army of reporters. Organizers want to send a message to Moscow that the NATO military alliance remains concerned over Russia's actions in Ukraine, where it annexed the Crimean Peninsula and allegedly supports Russian backed separatists with weapons and troops.

The largest war game in eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War is being held in Poland as former Soviet-occupied NATO member states and partners want to mount a counter display of strength amid worries over Russia’s assertiveness and actions.

The 10-day military exercise, involves 31,000 troops participating in land, sea and air exercises and is called Anaconda-16.  Thousands of vehicles from 24 participating countries are also being used in the operation.

Though the war games have been welcomed by NATO’s eastern allies, defense experts have warned that any mishap could prompt an offensive reaction from Moscow.

RUSSIA ANGRY

Russia has already warned that NATO troops close to its borders are a threat to its security and that it will take counter measures. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said NATO actions would, in his words, activate Russia's "right to provide its own safety with methods that are adequate for today's risks."

NATO leaders, Poland and other countries in the region have stressed that any military presence or exercises are purely defensive and deterrent measures focused on threats from the Middle East. 

The Anaconda exercises began in 2006 and take place every two years.

About 12,000 Polish and 14,000 American troops are taking part along with 1,000 soldiers from Britain and others from NATO states and five partner nations.
 

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(Vatican Radio) The countdown is well and truly on to the start of World Youth Day in Krakow which will take place with Pope Francis from the 26th to the 31st of July. Speaking about the event, the Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow, Stanislaw Dziwisz said the theme of mercy will be at the heart of the celebrations.

Listen to Lydia O’Kane's report

In less than two months time young people from 194 countries around the globe will be packing their bags and heading to Poland for World Youth Day which will take place in Krakow.

This celebration will have special significance as it is taking place in the homeland of its founder Pope Saint John Paul II.

According to the Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow, Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was also personal secretary to the Polish Pope, there is great enthusiasm in his country ahead of the event.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Cardinal Dziwisz said it will be the World Youth Day of Mercy.

“They wish to come to Krakow to meet the Holy Father, but I also think that they want to come here in this Year of Mercy, because Krakow is the capital of the Divine Mercy. There Jesus Christ gave messages to the whole world: he give them to Sister Faustina, but what could she do alone? Then another apostle, came John Paul II, who brought this message, this fire on the devotion of Divine Mercy to the whole world; and now the Holy Father Francis comes, with the same theme, that of mercy. 

Cardinal Dziwisz also noted that since the  pontificate of Pope John Paul II successive Popes have reached out to young people and actively participated in World Youth Days.

"Certainly we see a continuity", he said,  "John Paul II began it, then followed Pope Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. John Paul II saw that young people seek, ask, you have to give them answers, we must guide them. Young people need a good shepherd…”

World Youth Day 2016 takes place in Poland from 26th to the 31st July.

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Rome, Italy, Jun 7, 2016 / 03:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During last week's Jubilee for Priests in Rome, Bishop Robert Barron sat down for an interview with CNA where he discussed Pope Francis' view on the meaning of the priesthood.

“In the vision of Pope Francis, (priests) are the key players in communicating the Divine Mercy to the world. He sees that as our primary mission,” Bishop Barron said June 3.

“I think (the Pope) sees the mercy emphasis as the best way to renew the priesthood for our time.”

Bishop Barron, founder of Word On Fire Catholic ministries and auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, was invited to give a catechesis to the English-language participants during the June 1-3 Jubilee of Priests.

The three day event is the latest initiative in the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which began last December and will continue until November.

Before being appointed auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles in July of last year, Bishop Barron served as the rector of Mundelein seminary, starting 2012.

A couple years earlier, the Chicago native launched the Word On Fire online ministries in 2000.

See the rest of CNA's interview with Bishop Robert Barron below:

You gave a catechesis to the English-speaking priests taking part in the Jubilee, with some 800 priests gathered at the Church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. What were some of the main points you discussed?

I talked about the woman at the well, which is a favorite of Pope Francis. I drew four points from it about God’s mercy. (First), that God’s mercy is relentless, crossing boundaries and borders as Jesus does, reaching out to this triple outsider. Secondly, the Divine mercy is divinizing. It’s not just padding us on the head and healing our wounds; it lifts us up to share in the very divine life. He wants to give the woman at the well water bubbling up to eternal life. And then thirdly, I talked about Divine mercy as challenging. I’m against the view that the more you say ‘mercy,’ the less you say ‘moral challenge.’ No: it’s both/and. It’s mercy all the way, and that implies transformation – metanoia. Finally, mercy sends us on mission.

There have been numerous Jubilees during this Holy Year of Mercy. What makes the Jubilee for Priests so special?

I think priests, in the vision of Pope Francis, are the key players in communicating the Divine Mercy to the world. He sees that as our primary mission. So, we’re other Christs. What was Christ doing, but bearing the Father’s mercy to the world? That’s our job, as other Christs.

I think he sees the mercy emphasis as the best way to renew the priesthood for our time. As I listen to him talking to priests, I hear that over and over again.

Pope Francis is the spiritual father of all priests in the Church, and during this Jubilee, he led a spiritual retreat specifically for priests. From your perspective, having been charged with the formation of priests at Mundelein seminary, what does it mean for the Pope himself to take charge of a retreat for these priests?

It’s super important. You say it just right, that he’s the spiritual father. The Pope is more than the leader. He’s more than a guy with smart ideas. He’s the father. He’s the father of the whole Catholic Church, but in a very particular way of priests.

I found when I was seminary rector, that was my primary role: to be the spiritual father of that community. That’s how the Church is structured. Without spiritual fatherhood, we drift. And so priests, looking to him, hearing him, but – more importantly – watching him in action, learn what they’re supposed to be, the same way a child learns from his father.

I think it’s super important that he personally is here to shepherd us and to father us.

When the faithful prays for priests, what should we be praying for? What are the biggest challenges they are facing, especially today?

Bishop Barron: I would say pray for our spiritual integrity. That priests remain grounded in Christ, grounded in the sacraments, especially in the sacrament of reconciliation and the Eucharist, that we retain the spiritual center. I would pray – because the priesthood, as you know, is under attack in many ways in our culture, in our society – that priests remain grounded in Christ, they know who they are. I’d also pray for their protection... Ask the Blessed Mother to protect priests.

And, I would also say, pray for vocations. One thing I found very edifying when I was rector of Mundelein seminary (was that) the vocations kept coming, even though a lot of us felt, oh gosh, with the scandals the numbers would go down. They really didn’t. Vocations kept coming. So, pray for that, that the numbers continue to grow.

Do have any other impressions of the different events in which you’ve taken part over the course of the Jubilee for Priests?

The night I gave a talk at Andrea delle Valle, it was at the end of Mass – I celebrated Mass after the talk – and, seeing this army of white robed priests coming forward to receive the Eucharist. So, the Eucharist was on the altar, and the priests were coming forward to receive it. I just thought of the book of Revelation, and the white-robed members of the Church. It just moved me very deeply. And then afterward, talking to so many priests – (from) Canada, America, Great Britain, Ireland, Ghana, the Cameroons, different parts of eastern Europe, all over the world – That image has stayed with me very powerfully.

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