Catholic News 2
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was shot and killed in a case of road rage by a man who had rear-ended his car, police said Sunday....
(Vatican Radio) The Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has sent a letter to Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan and President of the Giuseppe Toniolo Institute for Higher Studies, which founded and and continues to promote Italy’s premier Catholic institution of higher learning, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart – Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and Rome, on occasion of the 92nd “Day for the Catholic University” in Italy.In his letter, Cardinal Parolin writes of the ever-present and pressingly urgent need today to recover and to continue the conversation between timeless truth and contemporary culture. “Without an eye to the fundamental values of truth, goodness, justice and peace, which comes from a genuine opening of the spirit,” writes Cardinal Parolin, “you cannot counter the strong impulses toward materialism and scientific positivism that seem to be the dominant coordina...
(Vatican Radio) The Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has sent a letter to Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan and President of the Giuseppe Toniolo Institute for Higher Studies, which founded and and continues to promote Italy’s premier Catholic institution of higher learning, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart – Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and Rome, on occasion of the 92nd “Day for the Catholic University” in Italy.
In his letter, Cardinal Parolin writes of the ever-present and pressingly urgent need today to recover and to continue the conversation between timeless truth and contemporary culture. “Without an eye to the fundamental values of truth, goodness, justice and peace, which comes from a genuine opening of the spirit,” writes Cardinal Parolin, “you cannot counter the strong impulses toward materialism and scientific positivism that seem to be the dominant coordinates on which the culture and society of our time seem to move.”
The theme chosen for the 92nd Day for the Catholic University – celebrated Sunday, April 10th – was: “The Italy of tomorrow: I’ll be there, starting today!”
Cardinal Parolin notes in his letter how a core element of Catholic education is its ability to create and foster a spirit of service. “A distinctive sign of the Catholic institution of higher learning,” he writes, “must always and ever more be that of an education energetically ordered to solidarity and the service of the least among us, through all dimensions of knowledge and human life.”
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- SpaceX has made good on a high-priority delivery: the world's first inflatable room for astronauts....
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Olympic inspectors are taking their final look this week at Rio de Janeiro's preparations....
IDOMENI, Greece (AP) -- Migrants waged running battles with Macedonian police Sunday after they were stopped from scaling the border fence with Greece near the border town of Idomeni, and aid agencies reported that hundreds of stranded travelers were injured....
PARIS (AP) -- The law firm at the center of the Panama offshore accounts scandal routinely usurped the name of the Red Cross and other charities to help obscure the origin of millions of dollars in questionable funds, two newspapers involved in the investigation reported Sunday....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Regina coeli with pilgrims and tourists gathered in a sun-drenched St. Peter’s Square at noon on Sunday. In his remarks ahead of the traditional Eastertide prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel reading of the day, which tells of Our Lord’s third appearance to the disciples following His resurrection, and the episode of the miraculous catch of fish, in which the disciples, returned to their old workaday lives, encounter the Risen Jesus on the shore of Lake Galilee.Click below to hear our report “The presence of Jesus,” explained Pope Francis, “transforms everything: darkness is overcome by light; vain labor is made once again fruitful and promising; the sense of fatigue and abandonment gives way to a new élan, and to the certainty that He is with us.”The Pope went on to say that the renewal of hope and missionary spirit, which the disciples experienced then, are with the ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Regina coeli with pilgrims and tourists gathered in a sun-drenched St. Peter’s Square at noon on Sunday. In his remarks ahead of the traditional Eastertide prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel reading of the day, which tells of Our Lord’s third appearance to the disciples following His resurrection, and the episode of the miraculous catch of fish, in which the disciples, returned to their old workaday lives, encounter the Risen Jesus on the shore of Lake Galilee.
Click below to hear our report
“The presence of Jesus,” explained Pope Francis, “transforms everything: darkness is overcome by light; vain labor is made once again fruitful and promising; the sense of fatigue and abandonment gives way to a new élan, and to the certainty that He is with us.”
The Pope went on to say that the renewal of hope and missionary spirit, which the disciples experienced then, are with the Church still today.
“If it may seem, by a superficial glance, that the shadows of evil and the weariness of everyday life have the upper hand, the Church knows with certainty that the light of Easter shines with undimming brilliance on all those who follow the Lord Jesus.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks with an exhortation: “May the Lord renew Paschal faith in us as well: may He make us ever more aware of our mission in service of the Gospel and of our brothers and sisters; may He fill us with the Holy Spirit so that, sustained by the intercession of Mary, we might with all the Church proclaim the greatness of His love and the richness of His mercy.”
Vatican City, Apr 10, 2016 / 05:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Sunday issued an appeal for the release of kidnapped Salesian priest, Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, and all persons being held captive in conflict regions.“Dear brothers and sisters, in the hope given to us by the Risen Christ, I renew my appeal for the freeing of all kidnapped persons in armed conflict zones,” the Pope told the crowds in St. Peter's Square after the recitation of Regina Caeli prayer.“In particular, I wish to remember Salesian priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in Aden, Yemen last March 4.”Fr. Uzhunnalil, an Indian national, was abducted last month when four gunmen attacked a Missionaries of Charity-run retirement home in Aden, Yemen, killing 16 people, including four Missionary of Charity sisters. The attacks are thought to have been perpetrated by Islamist terrorists, though no group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have a ...
Vatican City, Apr 10, 2016 / 05:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis on Sunday issued an appeal for the release of kidnapped Salesian priest, Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, and all persons being held captive in conflict regions.
“Dear brothers and sisters, in the hope given to us by the Risen Christ, I renew my appeal for the freeing of all kidnapped persons in armed conflict zones,” the Pope told the crowds in St. Peter's Square after the recitation of Regina Caeli prayer.
“In particular, I wish to remember Salesian priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in Aden, Yemen last March 4.”
Fr. Uzhunnalil, an Indian national, was abducted last month when four gunmen attacked a Missionaries of Charity-run retirement home in Aden, Yemen, killing 16 people, including four Missionary of Charity sisters. The attacks are thought to have been perpetrated by Islamist terrorists, though no group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda have a presence in the area.
During Holy Week, rumors circulated of Fr. Uzhunnalil having been crucified on Good Friday. However, it was later revealed by India's government and bishops that the abducted priest was alive, and efforts were underway to ensure his safe return.
Before leading the crowds in the Regina Caeli, Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel reading for the third Sunday of Easter which recounts the Risen Jesus appearing to the disciples in Galilee.
“The story is placed within the framework of the disciples' daily life,” after their return to their work as fishermen following Jesus' death and resurrection, the Pope said.
After fishing through the night, the Gospel recounts, the disciples fail to catch any fish. The empty nets represent the disciple's experience to a certain extent, the Pope said: “they knew him, they had left everything to follow him, full of hope... and now what?”
In the account, Jesus then appears to the disciples after they have spent all night fishing on the lake, although they do not recognize him at first. Calling to the disciples from the beach, Jesus tells them to let down their nets once more; they obey, and catch more fish than their nets can contain. Upon recognizing Jesus – exclaiming, “It is the Lord!” -- they rush toward him, with Peter jumping from the boat and swimming to shore.
With this exclamation “It is the Lord!” the Pope said, “there is all the excitement of Easter faith, full of joy and amazement, which contrasts sharply with the bewilderment, despair, and sense of helplessness that had accumulated in the minds of the disciples.”
“The presence of the risen Jesus transforms everything: darkness is overcome by light, fruitless work once again becomes fruitful and promising, the sense of fatigue and neglect gives way to a new momentum and the assurance that he is with us.”
Since then, the Pope said, “these same sentiments have enlivened the Church, the Community of the Risen.”
This “profound joy” and “invincible hope” in the Risen Christ continues to resonate today, and challenges the faithful to spread the message, Francis said.
It may seem as though “the darkness of evil and fatigue of daily life have the upper hand,” he said, but “the Church knows with certainty that those who follow the Lord Jesus now shine (with) the everlasting the light of Easter.”
“Today too the Church continues to resonate this festive announcement: the joy and hope continue to flow into the hearts, the faces, gestures and words.”
The Pope said Christians are called to “communicate the message of the Resurrection to those we encounter, especially the suffering, the alone, those who are in dangerous conditions, the sick, the refugees, the marginalized.”
Jesus “renews in us the Easter faith,” Francis concluded. “May he make us ever more aware of our mission at the service of the Gospel and of the brothers; may he fill us with His Holy Spirit in order that, supported by the intercession of Mary, we may proclaim to the whole Church the greatness of his love and the richness of his mercy.”
Vatican City, Apr 10, 2016 / 08:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the victims and relatives of a fireworks accident on Sunday that killed at least 100 people and injured hundreds of others in India's Kerala state during celebrations of the local Hindu new year.The Pope was “saddened to learn of the tragic fire at the Puttingal temple complex in Paravur,” said the telegram which was addressed to the victims of the blaze, and was signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.Francis also sent his “condolences to the relatives of the deceased and injured.”100 people were killed and over 380 were wounded at the Puttingal Devi temple during Hindu new year celebrations when a firecracker landed on a shed storing the rest of the fireworks, resulting in a series of explosions, Reuters reports.The explosions caused a temple building to collapse, causing many of the deaths, the BBC reports.Reuters reports that thousand...
Vatican City, Apr 10, 2016 / 08:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has sent his condolences to the victims and relatives of a fireworks accident on Sunday that killed at least 100 people and injured hundreds of others in India's Kerala state during celebrations of the local Hindu new year.
The Pope was “saddened to learn of the tragic fire at the Puttingal temple complex in Paravur,” said the telegram which was addressed to the victims of the blaze, and was signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Francis also sent his “condolences to the relatives of the deceased and injured.”
100 people were killed and over 380 were wounded at the Puttingal Devi temple during Hindu new year celebrations when a firecracker landed on a shed storing the rest of the fireworks, resulting in a series of explosions, Reuters reports.
The explosions caused a temple building to collapse, causing many of the deaths, the BBC reports.
Reuters reports that thousands of people had gathered at the temple to attend the fireworks display which began at midnight and lasted four hours.
The telegram concludes: “Praying for all affected by this tragedy, and for the relief efforts underway, Pope Francis invokes upon the nation the divine blessings of strength and peace.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Dubai is reaching for the sky once again, with the developer of the world's tallest building vowing Sunday to build an even taller tower bedecked with rotating balconies and elevated landscaping inspired by the mythical hanging gardens of Babylon....
