Catholic News 2
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- For the second month in a row, the aerospace upstart SpaceX landed a rocket on an ocean platform early Friday, this time following the successful launch of a Japanese communications satellite....
FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) -- Thousands of people from across the Navajo Nation and beyond shared their grief Friday at the funeral of an 11-year-old girl who was lured to her death by a beckoning stranger....
ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had harsh words Friday for Europe, saying his nation won't reform its anti-terrorism legislation just for the sake of getting visa-free travel for its citizens there....
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Two weeks have passed since the bodies of eight family members were found on April 22 at four different homes in Ohio. No arrests have been made, and a motive for the Pike County killings remains unclear. Autopsies show the victims were shot, some of them multiple times. Here's a look at the killings and what's known:...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States will endorse a tougher tone with Israel in an upcoming international report that takes the Jewish state to task over settlements, demolitions and property seizures on land the Palestinians claim for a future state, diplomats told The Associated Press....
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) -- A federal security officer suspected in three fatal shootings outside a high school, a mall and a supermarket in the Washington, D.C., area was arrested Friday, police said....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the event that the U.S. economy crashed, Donald Trump has floated a recovery plan based on his own experience with corporate bankruptcy: Pay America's creditors less than full value on the U.S. Treasurys they hold....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A fractured Republican party showed few signs of mending Friday as Donald Trump bashed House Speaker Paul Ryan for not falling in line behind him. The two agreed to meet next Thursday....
(Vatican Radio) On Thursday 5 May, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, spoke at a conference at the Palazzo Madama on the subjects of religious freedom, human rights, and globalization. The Cardinal said ecumenical and interreligious dialogue is not a luxury but something that our increasingly injured world needs, otherwise we will continue in a cycle of violence and suffering.Cardinal Parolin called on religious leaders to act as instruments of peace for their governments by combining the concept of dialogue and the concept of peace, for the service of the greater good. He asked that they do everything possible for reconciliation between parties, and not only resolve conflicts, but offer alternatives to military action. He said peace will be ensured through recognizing fundamental human rights.The Cardinal said this is the new border of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, that religions can come together in order to develop the process of pea...
(Vatican Radio) On Thursday 5 May, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican, spoke at a conference at the Palazzo Madama on the subjects of religious freedom, human rights, and globalization. The Cardinal said ecumenical and interreligious dialogue is not a luxury but something that our increasingly injured world needs, otherwise we will continue in a cycle of violence and suffering.
Cardinal Parolin called on religious leaders to act as instruments of peace for their governments by combining the concept of dialogue and the concept of peace, for the service of the greater good. He asked that they do everything possible for reconciliation between parties, and not only resolve conflicts, but offer alternatives to military action. He said peace will be ensured through recognizing fundamental human rights.
The Cardinal said this is the new border of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, that religions can come together in order to develop the process of peace and avoid suffering, resentment, and revenge, as well as poverty and other forms of injustice.
He also spoke about the significant evolution of the role of the Catholic Church and the protection of religious freedom. He said that this does not refer only to the “libertas Ecclesiae”, the liberty of the Church, but to the protection of all believers and all those religious and ethnic minorities who are suffering.
Cardinal Parolin said that “the distinction between the spiritual and the temporal” which “has born much fruit” was produced by Christianity, but he strongly criticized that “persistent secularist practice that wants to eliminate religions from public spaces”. The distinction proposed by the Church on the other hand is “a mature inclusive and welcoming laicization with respect to the dignity of others and the rejection of every form of violence to human dignity”. And he expressed his dismay at the increasing numbers of Christian martyrs and the indifference that involves everyone.
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis this afternoon received the International Charlemagne Prize at an awards ceremony in the Vatican.The prestigious award is conferred each year on an individual or institution for their service in favor of European unification, and is awarded annually by the German city of Aachen to someone who has contributed to the ideals upon which the Prize was founded.Listen: Pope Francis stressed that he would receive the award with an intention to offer it to Europe, adding, "Ours is not so much a celebration as a moment to express our shared hope for a new and courageous step forward for this beloved continent.”After hearing speeches from the Lord Mayor of Aachen, Martin Philipp, President Shulz of the European Parliament said, “Europe is going through turbulent times, and faces what may be a decisive test of its unity.” Other speakers at the event included the President of the Council of Europe and the President of the European Commi...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis this afternoon received the International Charlemagne Prize at an awards ceremony in the Vatican.
The prestigious award is conferred each year on an individual or institution for their service in favor of European unification, and is awarded annually by the German city of Aachen to someone who has contributed to the ideals upon which the Prize was founded.
Listen:
Pope Francis stressed that he would receive the award with an intention to offer it to Europe, adding, "Ours is not so much a celebration as a moment to express our shared hope for a new and courageous step forward for this beloved continent.”
After hearing speeches from the Lord Mayor of Aachen, Martin Philipp, President Shulz of the European Parliament said, “Europe is going through turbulent times, and faces what may be a decisive test of its unity.” Other speakers at the event included the President of the Council of Europe and the President of the European Commission.
In his Address, Pope Francis pleaded for a revitalized Europe, saying, “I am convinced that resignation and weariness do not belong to the soul of Europe, and that even our problems can become powerful forces for unity.”
Referring to his 2014 address to the European Parliament, he reflected on his comparison between Europe and an aging, weary grandmother. He challenged the people of Europe, asking, “What has happened to you, the Europe of humanism, the champion of human rights, democracy and freedom? What has happened to you, Europe, the home of poets, philosophers, artists, musicians, and men and women of letters? What has happened to you, Europe, the mother of peoples and nations, the mother of great men and women who upheld, and even sacrificed their lives for, the dignity of their brothers and sisters?”
He spoke of a Europe that can give birth to a new humanism based on three capacities: the capacity to integrate, the capacity for dialogue, and the capacity to generate. He noted that the roots of Europeans were consolidated down the centuries by a constant need to integrate a number of varied cultures. He added that a culture of dialogue “should be an integral part of the education imparted in our schools”, helping to give young people the necessary tools to settle conflicts in a new way.
The Pope stressed that all countries – the smallest and the greatest – have an active role to play in the creation of an integrated and reconciled society. Of special importance is the role of young people, who “are not the future of our peoples, they are the present.” He asked those in attendance, “How can we tell them that they are protagonists, when the levels of employment and underemployment of millions of young Europeans are continually rising? How can we avoid losing our young people, who end up going elsewhere in search of their dreams and a sense of belonging, because here, in their own countries, we don’t know how to offer them opportunities and values?”
To create dignified and well-paying jobs, especially for young people, Pope Francis emphasised the need to move away from a “liquid economy”, one directed at revenue and profiting from speculation, to a “social economy”, one that invests in people by creating jobs.
Pope Francis concluded by describing his own dream for Europe: a place still capable of being a mother who has life because she respects and offers hope for life; a place attentive to the infirm and elderly; a place where people “breathe the pure air of honesty.”
