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 WASHINGTON-Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York called on everyone "concerned about the tragedy of abortion" to recommit to a "vision of life and love, a vision that excludes no one" on January 14. His statement marks the 43rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Cardinal Dolan chairs the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"Most Americans oppose a policy allowing legal abortion for virtually any reason - though many still do not realize that this is what the Supreme Court gave us," wrote Cardinal Dolan. "Most want to protect unborn children at later stages of pregnancy, to regulate or limit the practice of abortion, and to stop the use of taxpayer dollars for the destruction of unborn children. Yet many who support important goals of the pro-life movement do not identify as 'pro-life,' a fact which should lead us to examine how we present our pro-life vision to others."

"Even as Americans remain troubled by abortion," wrote Cardinal Dolan, a powerful and well-funded lobby holds "that abortion must be celebrated as a positive good for women and society, and those who cannot in conscience provide it are to be condemned for practicing substandard medicine and waging a 'war on women'." He said this trend was seen recently when President Obama and other Democratic leaders prevented passage of the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act, "a modest measure to provide for effective enforcement" of conscience laws.

"While this is disturbing," said Cardinal Dolan, "it is also an opportunity." Pro-life Americans should reach out to "the great majority of Americans" who are "open to hearing a message of reverence for life." He added that "we who present the pro-life message must always strive to be better messengers. A cause that teaches the inexpressibly great value of each and every human being cannot show disdain or disrespect for any fellow human being." He encouraged Catholics to take part, through prayer and action, in the upcoming "9 Days for Life" campaign, January 16-24. More information on the campaign is available online: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxJwfcefUiU

He also cited the Year of Mercy called by Pope Francis as a time for women and men to find healing through the Church's Project Rachel post-abortion ministry.

The full text of Cardinal Dolan's message is available online.
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Keywords: Roe v. Wade, anniversary, Pro-Life, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, 9 Days for Life, USCCB, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Year of Mercy, Project Rachel, Pope Francis
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis takes off for the Cuban capital, Havana on Friday for his historic encounter with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill. The largely private conversation between the two leaders will take place at Havana airport and is expected to last for a couple of hours, after which Pope Francis will continue onto Mexico City at the start of his pastoral visit to that Latin American nation.

Dominican Fr Hyacinthe Destivelle, who is in charge of relations with the Slavic Orthodox Churches at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will be in Havana for this unprecedented encounter. He told Philippa Hitchen that despite recent tensions between Moscow and Rome, the Russian Orthodox Church has a rich history of seeking reconciliation among the divided Christian Churches..

Listen: 

Father Destivelle explains that the Russian Orthodox Church is fifth in the traditional order of authority among the 14 autocephalous Orthodox Churches. In first place, with a primacy of honour, is the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople which has a special relationship with the Holy See. 

The relationship with Moscow is important, he says, because almost two thirds of the Orthodox are members of the Moscow Patriarchate, which, he notes, is not only the Church in Russia but rather a communion of local Churches in different countries. According to the Moscow Patriarchate, there are fourteen countries inside its Canonical territory, mostly within countries of the former Soviet Union. 

Russia as a bridge between East and West

The significance of the meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill can also be seen in light of the history of relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, Fr Destivelle continues. In the late 19th century, Russian philosopher Vladimir Solovyov developed the idea that the Russian Church could serve as a bridge between East and West. Following the First Vatican Council, he notes, the Russian Orthodox Church created “a fruitful dialogue” with the Old Catholic Church.

Ecumenical legacy 

Fr Destivelle cites other examples of how the Russian Orthodox Church has actively pioneered ecumenical relationships, noting it was the first Church to send observers to the Second Vatican Council. He speaks of the legacy of Metropolitan Nikodim, whom he describes as “the spiritual father” of Patriarch Kirill, noting the key role he played in influencing decisions between the two Churches. For example, from 1969 to 1986, Nikodim succeeded in allowing intercommunion between Orthodox and Catholics in special cases, such as those Catholics who had been sent to the Gulags and could not receive communion from a Catholic priest. Since the Patriarch considers himself “a son of Nikodim”, Fr Destivelle says, one can hope that he will follow “the ecumenical approach of his mentor”. 

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ Special Envoy, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, celebrated Mass on Thursday in the town of Nazareth in the Holy Land to mark the Church’s World Day of the Sick. The Mass took place in Nazareth’s Basilica of the Annunciation and was the centerpiece of events marking the 2016 World Day of the Sick that is celebrated each year on February 11th, the feast day of St. Bernadette of Lourdes.

In his homily at the Mass, Archbishop Zimowski, who is President of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, reminded his listeners that the central theme of Pope’s Francis’ message for this year’s World Day of the Sick is the need for us to entrust our lives to the Merciful Jesus like Mary did.  Archbishop Zimowski said all of us are called in our different ways to help the person who is suffering and stressed we must not be intimidated by the fact that we cannot help in a satisfactory way, in the way that Jesus did. “The important thing,” he said, “is to go, to be at the side of the man who suffers.”

Please find below an English translation of Archbishop Zimowski’s homily at the Mass in Nazareth:

Entrusting oneself to the merciful Jesus like Mary.

‘Do whatever he tells you’ (Jn 2:5)

“Your Blessedness, dear brothers in the episcopate, and priests, deacons and consecrated people, representatives of the sister Churches and Christian communities, civil authorities, dearest brothers and sisters, especially dear sick people, your family relatives, volunteers and health-care workers.

The reason for our presence today in Nazareth, in this Basilica of the Annunciation, is the celebration of the twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick. We are celebrating the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes, that place where 162 years ago Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette, giving to the sick and the suffering her beautiful smile. She came from heaven, reminding humanity that her Son has prepared a place for us up above and that one must never separate heaven from the earth or the earth from heaven. In commemorating the liturgical memorial of Lourdes we thank St. John Paul II who, on 13 May 1992, instituted this World Day. The Year of Mercy that we are living through constitutes a propitious opportunity to intensify the spirit of mercy that it is in each one of us.

Here I would like to recall what Pope Francis in his Message writes about this: ‘On this World Day of the Sick let us ask Jesus in his mercy, through the intercession of Mary, his Mother and ours, to grant to all of us this same readiness to be serve those in need, and, in particular, our infirm brothers and sisters. At times this service can be tiring and burdensome, yet we are certain that the Lord will surely turn our human efforts into something divine. We too can be hands, arms and hearts which help God to perform his miracles, so often hidden. We too, whether healthy or sick, can offer up our toil and sufferings like the water which filled the jars at the wedding feast of Cana and was turned into the finest wine. By quietly helping those who suffer, as in illness itself, we take our daily cross upon our shoulders and follow the Master (cf. Lk 9:23). Even though the experience of suffering will always remain a mystery, Jesus helps us to reveal its meaning’ (Message of Pope Francis for the Twenty-Fourth World Day of the Sick. 15 September 2015).

1. Called to a Vocation that is Totally Singular

We are in Nazareth where ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (Jn 1:14) We are ‘here in the city of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, we have come together to entrust ourselves to the merciful Jesus like Mary’ in order to enter the ‘school of initiation in understanding the life of Jesus, the school of the Gospel of mercy. Here one learns to observe, to listen, to meditate, to penetrate the meaning – which is so deep and mysterious – of that very simple, very humble, very beautiful apparition. Here one learns the method by which we can enter the intelligence of Christ. Here, in this school, one understands the need to have spiritual discipline, if one wants to become a pupil of the Gospel and a disciple of Christ’ (Paul VI, 5 January 1964).

We are here to celebrate the World Day of the Sick during this Holy Year of Mercy which Pope Francis wanted. In the Message that he gave to us he asks us ‘to entrust ourselves to the merciful Jesus like Mary’. ‘This year, since the Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated in the Holy Land, I wish to propose a meditation on the Gospel account of the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2: 1-11), where Jesus performed his first miracle through the intervention of his Mother’.

Today, dearest brothers and sisters, in this Basilica of the Annunciation, we should think for a few moments about the response of the Virgin Mary to the call of God: her fiat, ‘Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word’ (Lk 1:38). Mary is called ‘Handmaid of the Lord’, and thus Mary is placed next to the ‘servants of the Lord’, like Moses, David and the prophets. Mary is called to a totally singular service: that of being the mother of he who is the Son of God, of he through whom God gives to humanity fullness of life and salvation. How can we not emphasise here a link between Mary, the Handmaid of the Lord, and the servants of the wedding feast of Cana? Jesus himself always places at the centre of his behaviour ‘listening to, and putting into practice, the Word of God’  (cf. Lk 8:21; 11:25). Mary asks the same of the servants: ‘Do whatever he tells you’ (Jn 2:5).

During her life Mary remained a ‘handmaid’ of the Lord. Just as she herself is united to Jesus, so does she lead all men to him. This means that we must turn all our attention to Jesus because from him we receive the right instructions: ‘do whatever he tells you’. Mary has complete trust in Jesus and allows him to decide how to act. She has confidence in the fact that in every circumstance he will do good things. For this reason, the Holy Father in his Message writes: ‘The wedding feast of Cana is an image of the Church: at the centre there is Jesus who in his mercy performs a sign; around him are the disciples, the first fruits of the new community; and beside Jesus and the disciples is Mary, the provident and prayerful Mother. Mary partakes of the joy of ordinary people and helps it to increase; she intercedes with her Son on behalf of the spouses and all the invited guests. Nor does Jesus refuse the request of his Mother. How much hope there is in that event for all of us! We have a Mother with benevolent and watchful eyes, like her Son; a heart that is maternal and full of mercy, like him; hands that want to help, like the hands of Jesus who broke bread for those who were hungry, touched the sick and healed them. All this fills us with trust and opens our hearts to the grace and mercy of Christ’.

2. The Role of Servants in the Culture of Encounter and Peace

The words of the Virgin Mary to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’, indeed, echo those addressed by Moses to the whole of the people of Israel in the revelation of Sinai, which was to appear again as a significant background to the wedding feast of Cana. In Sinai, Moses, after listening to the word of the Lord, called together the elders of the people and told them what the Lord had ordered him: ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do’ (Ex 19:7-8). At Cana, Mary of Nazareth exhorts the servants to do the same, to do everything that Jesus tells them. In this way, she performs the task of ‘mediation’ between Jesus and the servants who have been called to listen to her voice, a role similar to that of Moses at the foot of the Sinai where he was between the Lord and the assembly of his brethren, the servants of the Lord.

The action of the Mother of Jesus, therefore, has the task of preparing the servants of the wedding feast to listen to the voice of Jesus, to obey what he tells them. Rightly, the Blessed Pope Paul IV, in his Marialis cultus (n. 57), wrote that the words of Mary to the servants of Cana are ‘a further reason in favour of the pastoral value of devotion to the Blessed Virgin as a means of leading men to Christ…And they are words which harmonise wonderfully with those spoken by the Father at the theophany of Mount Tobor: “Listen to him” (Mt 17:5)’. Mary of Nazareth is for us a clear indication that leads to the centre of the Christian experience.

I would like to remember the event that took place here, near to Nazareth, in Capernaum. The centurion addresses Jesus with simple words: ‘Lord, my servant is being paralysed at home, in terrible distress’. Jesus answered immediately: ‘I will come and heal him’ (Mt 8:6-7). This is an example, one of very many, indeed the whole of the Gospel is full of similar events. Christ, trustingly called to go to sick people. Christ, called by the sick. Christ, at the service of men who suffer. St. Mark in his Gospel, in particular, reminds us of the miracles of healing that were performed by Jesus.

Dearest brothers and sisters, we are also constantly called. All of us, in a certain sense, are called, even though each one of us is called in a different way. The call – the invitation – that the centurion of the Gospel addressed to Jesus is repeated unceasingly. Man suffers in various places; at times he ‘suffers terribly’ and calls another man. He needs his help. He needs his presence. At times we are intimidated by the fact that we cannot help in a satisfactory way, in the way that Jesus did. We try to overcome this embarrassment. The important thing is to go, to be at the side of the man who suffers. Perhaps, more than healing, he needs the presence of a man, of a human heart full of mercy, of human solidarity.

 We are dealing here with medical doctors, with nurses, with all the different categories of health-care workers. We are dealing here with institutions that serve human health: medical and dental surgeries, pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, therapeutic resorts, sanatoria, and nursing homes; the welcoming walls of our homes, our family relatives, and the disinterested solidarity of numerous volunteers who work in the socio/health-care field. In particular, one must, therefore, at any cost, support a fine tradition: the work of a medical doctor and of a nurse must always be seen not only as a profession but also, and perhaps first of all, as a service, a ‘vocation’. Care for the physically disabled, care for the mentally ill – these sectors constitute, more than any other setting of social life, the yardstick of the culture of a society and a state, as we have seen and experienced when visiting various nursing homes in recent days.

We must be the true servants of those who suffer in various ways, because of violence, persecution, exile and discrimination as well.

Here I cannot neglect to refer to the recommendations made by Pope Francis: ‘If we can learn to obey the words of Mary, who says: “Do whatever he tells you”, Jesus will always turn the waters of our lives into precious wine’.

Thus this World Day of the Sick, celebrated solemnly in the Holy Land, will help to meet the wish that Pope Francis expressed in his Bull for the indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee: that it ‘will foster an encounter with [Judaism and Islam] and with other noble religious traditions; may it open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination’ (Misericordiae Vultus, 23). ‘Every hospital and nursing home can be a visible sign and setting in which to promote the culture of encounter and peace, where the experience of illness and suffering, along with professional and fraternal assistance, helps to overcome every limitation and division’ (Message for the Twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick, 2016).

3. Mercy for those who are God-fearing

     Let us now try to allow ourselves to be impregnated by the scent of the Word of the Lord which has just been proclaimed. The narrative account of the Gospel that we have now listened to on the liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin of Lourdes has a special moment – the beatitude of Mary: ‘Blessed is she who believed in the fulfilment of the words of the Lord’. In the Annunciation, Mary abandons herself to God completely. She replied, therefore, with all of her ‘I’. ‘And Mary’s “yes” is for all Christians a lesson and example of obedience to the will of the Father, which is the way and means of one’s own sanctification’ (Paul VI, Marialis Cultus, n. 22).

a. The Faith and the Beatitude of Mary and Joseph

Mary’s completion in the eyes of God is characterised by the words: ‘Blessed is she who believed’. One characteristic of Mary is her faith – which parallels that of Abraham – by which she recognises that the word of God is trustworthy and fully valid.

But we must also remember the faith of St. Joseph. As soon as he learnt and understood God’s plan from the Angel, without uttering a word he took Mary to his home. The ‘fiat’ of Mary and the action of Joseph express the same faith. ‘When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife’ (Mt 1:24). He took her in all the mystery of her motherhood; he took her together with the Son who would come into the world by work of the Holy Spirit: in this way he demonstrated a readiness to act, similar to that of Mary, in line with what God had asked him to do through His messenger.

Thus Mary is called ‘blessed’. She is recognised as having all the reasons to be blessed and have overflowing joy. The beatitude that Elizabeth addresses to her cousin pre-supposes that the words of God had been addressed to Mary. The beatitude that was expressed by a woman of the people: ‘“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked”, was explained and broadened by Jesus: ‘“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it’ (Lk 11:27-28). Jesus does not dispute that Mary has this beatitude but he makes this depend on a relationship with God and His words. Mary in an exemplary way entrusted herself to these words. After Elizabeth explained what she had been able to understand about Mary, the Virgin spoke and spoke exclusively about God, and her words reveal deep knowledge about the Lord.

b. Fear of God is a Gift of the Holy Spirit

Mary of Nazareth states first and foremost: ‘And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation’. These words refer not to men who are afraid of God but, rather, to those who treat Him with respect.  Fear of God is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. I will now address families: ‘dear parents, bring up your children in this God-fearing spirit. St. Augustine said: “If God holds pride of place in our lives, everything will be in place”’.

Let us pray therefore: ‘O God of my fathers and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things by the word, and by thy wisdom has formed man, to have dominion over the creatures thou hast made…give me the wisdom…who understands what is pleasing in thy sight and what is right according to thy commandments. (Canticle Wis 9:1-10).

At the end of our reflections let us see Mary as our example for our trusting response to the Lord. ‘Mary, therefore, is the one who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God’s mercy. She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her the Mother of mercy: our Lady of Mercy, or Mother of divine mercy; in each of these titles there is a deep theological meaning, for they express the special preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to perceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and the whole of humanity, that mercy of which “from generation to generation” people become sharers according to the eternal design of the most Holy Trinity’ (John Paul II, Dives in misericordia, n.9).

The canticle of the Magnificat was the response of Mary of Nazareth to the mercy of the Father: ‘he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation…he has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy’. With Mary, our Mother of Mercy, the Virgin of the Visitation, we also raise to the Lord our ‘magnificat’ which is the song of the trust and the hope of all poor people, sick people, the suffering people of the world, who exult with joy because they know that God is at their sides as the Saviour. To him we entrust our lives, following the example of Mary, making ours the wish that Pope Francis expresses in his Message; may his words find room and joyous practical expression in our daily lives: ‘To all those who assist the sick and the suffering I express my confident hope that they will draw inspiration from Mary, the Mother of Mercy. May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness, allow it to dwell in our hearts and express it in our actions!’ Amen.”

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(Vatican Radio) The President of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday morning to honour Saint “Padre” Pio of Pietrelcina and Saint Leopoldo Mandic.

The two saints have been in the Basilica for a week as part of the celebrations for the Jubilee of Mercy.

In his homily, Archbishop Fisichella said during the Holy Year “the Lord calls on us to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Jesus – as did Saint Pio and Saint Leopoldo.”

The two saints were last week initially brought to the Roman Basilica of St. Lawrence-Outside-the-Walls, before being taken to the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro. On Friday, they were processed down the pilgrim’s path which has been established for the Jubilee Year to Saint Peter’s Basilica.

After the Mass on Thursday morning, the mortal remains of Padre Pio began the journey back to San Giovanni Rotondo, while Saint Leopoldo was returned to his resting place in Padua.

The authorities of the city of Rome estimate over 500,000 people saw the two saints during their stay in the city.

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(Vatican Radio)  Veronica Scarisbrick, our correspondent covering the papal visit to Mexico looks at the long-standing devotion by the Mexican faithful to Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose shrine will be visited by Pope Francis on Saturday. She retraces the bitter persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico during a large part of the 19th century when anti-clericalism was enshrined in the nation’s constitution for many decades.

Listen to this report by Veronica Scarisbrick, Vatican Radio’s correspondent covering the papal visit to Mexico: 

“Like many of the pilgrims I met at the Shrine of the Basilica of ‘Santa Maria de Guadalupe’ Pablo and Maria were clutching in their arms a rather large and very colourful statue of Our Lady. Surrounded by their children and grandchildren, their weather beaten faces bore the marks of simple people, the expression in their eyes was one of longtime suffering.

They told me they’d come here all the way from Puebla to ask for protection from Our Lady. It made me think of Pope Francis’ words when he recently explained in an interview how he too seeks from Our Lady of Guadalupe security and tenderness. How when he comes to this all embracing circular basilica where the miraculous image is housed  to celebrate Holy Mass on Saturday 13th of February together with the Guadalupe faithful he will draw from their faith. From the popular piety of people like Pablo and Maria. He believes it has the potential for faith to be embodied in a culture and passed on to future generations.

Rather like what happened in Mexico during the years the expression of religion was banned - when the faith lived on despite the sometimes pitiless persecution. You may remember how Pope Pius XI wrote three encyclicals between 1926 and 1937. You may remember too the more popular description of the 'whisky priest' in Graham Greene's novel 'The Power and the Glory'.

An anti-clericalism, enshrined in the Mexican Constitution of 1917, which gave rise to a dark complex chapter in the history of the Catholic Church in this nation. Known as the 'Cristero War' it lasted from 1926 to 1929. The battle cry of this group which stemmed from the local Catholic Action was 'Viva Cristo Rey'. It left thousands dead.

Mexican-born Dominican Father Alejandro Crosthwaite grew up long after that horrific war. It was roughly the mid-twentieth century but while violent oppression of the Catholic Church had fizzled out, draconian legal measures hadn't.

Catholic education was passed down in secret. He recounts how the nuns in his school even had to hide a  statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a closet for fear of being discovered, how every morning the closet would be opened,  prayers would be said and then Our Lady would be placed safely back in the closet for the next day.

 A situation which only changed in 1995. By that time Pope John Paul II had concluded three out of the five visits to Mexico. But the breakthrough came in 1979 when he appeared in Mexico for the first time in his white cassock, forbidden at the time in public, for religious garb was then allowed exclusively in Church. But the mould had been broken and the outcome was, believe it or not, that the Pope received a fine which the President of the time paid for him rather tellingly in public.

And now all these years later Pope Francis will reap the legacy of St John Paul II and of Benedict XVI, now Pope Emeritus who came here in 2012.

Just think - front pews have been reserved for the President, during Holy Mass at the Basilica of Guadalupe, unthinkable back in 1979.

But above all he'll reap the legacy of those who kept the faith in this overwhelmingly Catholic country. People like Pablo and Maria with their weather beaten faces.”

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(Vatican Radio)  Our correspondent covering the papal visit to Mexico is Veronica Scarisbrick who looks at the main political, social and economic problems afflicting the Latin America nation.

Listen to Veronica Scarisbrick’s report: 

Mexico is a land of contrasts, of deep religiosity and helpless violence.

Where the people who are 80% mestizo are part of their colonial past but represent both conquerors and conquered.

Where in popular spirituality there’s a blend of Spanish Catholicism and native American religious traditions somehow united in the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Where despite signs of improvement at an economic level, with an emerging middle class tied to its northern neighbour the United States, most people live in what the nation’s President Enrique Pena Nieto has admitted is “backwardness and poverty”  while a happy few prosper.

Pope Francis comes as ‘a messenger of peace’ during this Jubilee Year of Mercy. But while he has said he isn’t coming to Mexico to solve problems he has also outlined these problems beginning with the drug issue, drugs which he has described as “messengers of death”.

His exact words to the Mexican people in an interview with the agency ‘Notimex’ were: “If I come to you it is to receive the best of you and to pray with you”. But then he did add that he did not want to sweep under the carpet the Mexico of violence. On the contrary his message on this occasion was to urge Mexicans to fight against corruption, against war, against disunity, against organised crime, against human trafficking.

Pope Francis knows all too well that many of his priests here are doing exactly that at a grass roots level. Speaking to some of them here , like Bishop Raul Vera Lopez who outlined to me the root causes of the escalating issue of the ‘desaparecidos’ I was astonished at the courage he had in denouncing  uncomfortable truths in which these contrasts emerge. Truths related to abuse of human rights he communicated to Pope Francis in the Vatican in December of last year.

But while Mexico may be a land of contrasts Pope Francis is not a man of extremes, he believes in dialogue and his message is always the same. It’s contained in a document he helped pen as Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio of Buenos Aires in 2007. It’s the ‘Aparecida’ document which encapsulates his vision of the Church. A document he’s presented to all of the Latin American heads of State he’s met since the beginning of his pontificate. If that’s correct that includes Mexico’s President, Enrique Pena Nieto.

The message of that document is that of a preferential and evangelical option for the poor. And on February 12th of February he comes to walk through the peripheries with the people in a missionary drive as part of a service to humanity and the environment here in Mexico. Mexico... a word which means the navel of the moon.

Awaiting Pope Francis in Mexico, I’m Veronica Scarisbrick

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Princeton, N.J., Feb 11, 2016 / 06:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On a day marked by flowers, chocolate and romantic greeting cards, the Love and Fidelity Network is trying to bring back authentic relationships, especially to college campuses where dating seems to be a thing of the past.

“We’ve heard from students so many times over the years that most people on campus – those engaged in the hookup culture and those who have already chosen to forgo it – simply don’t know how to go on a date,” Caitlin La Ruffa, Love and Fidelity Network executive director, told CNA Feb. 9.

“Instead,” she explained, “romantic relationships on campus tend to take two forms – anonymous hookups where attachment, communication, or care are against the ‘rules’ or co-dependent serially monogamous pairings where ‘the relationship’ is defined long before suitability of the partnership has been assessed.”

“Going on casual dates – which allow a person to express an appropriate level of interest and to begin getting to know another person and opening themselves up to be known – runs radically counter to both of those trends.”

Spanning from coast to coast, the Bring Dating Back campaign is being hosted at 36 college campuses this week leading up to Valentine’s Day, including several Ivy League schools such as Yale, Harvard, Brown, Princeton, and Columbia. That number grew from some 30 campuses participating last year.

“We wanted to build off the success of last year’s campaign and give students practical tips on how to navigate romance on campus without having to participate in a ‘hook-up culture’ that is increasingly being understood as what it is – unfulfilling, dehumanizing, and, frankly, less fun,” La Ruffa said.

The Bring Dating Back campaign is being run by the Love and Fidelity Network, a national program aimed towards teaching college students about the integrity of human sexuality, the importance of marriage, and the special role of the family in society.

On participating campuses, student groups are hosting special events leading up to Feb. 14, all dedicated to teaching students how to date casually instead of just “hooking up.”

Some campuses are screening classic romance films, hosting speakers, or holding workshops all while canvassing their campuses with posters in both English and Spanish offering students light-hearted advice on how to bring back dating.

“This year our focus with the posters is a message of encouragement aimed at assuaging some common sources of anxiety around dating – that it’s way too complicated, or it’s going to be awkward, or it’s ultra old-fashioned or just plain scary,” La Ruffa said.

One of the posters features a Victorian-esque couple exchanging greetings while a nosey bystander gasps in disbelief with a caption that reads, “It’s not that old-fashioned.” Below we see the modern-day alternative with a guy and girl sharing some frozen yogurt with a dating “pro-tip” to “Keep it casual. Think fro-yo, not filet mignon.”

The group compiled a full list of tips with advice from how to ask someone out (“Relax. They’re human too”) to how to treat a date well (“Don’t expect to spend the night”) to how to have a great time (“It’s just a date. Have fun”).

At University of Pennsylvania, recent Harvard grad Rachel Wagley, a Love and Fidelity Network alumna, will give a talk on dating. The Providence College Ambrose Society is hosting a student-led discussion about what love really means. Some students at Brown University are hosting a screening of the Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck classic, “Roman Holiday.”

The Love and Fidelity Network began in 2007 in Princeton, N.J. to challenge the poor treatment of sexuality, marriage, and family on college campuses. The group now boasts a presence on 38 campuses.
 

Photo credit: MNStudio via www.shutterstock.com

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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- What do a new social media campaign, a new fundraiser and new features for a popular app have in common?

Launched by different Catholic organizations for Lent, the three efforts aim to help Catholics enrich their Lenten prayer experience, sacrifice to help others in need and learn more about the church's penitential season overall.

Chicago-based Catholic Extension announced development of a social media campaign that will create a video chain of Lenten mercy prayers.

"The three pillars of Lent are fasting, prayer and charity," it said, and the new campaign "is promoting the second pillar and asking American Catholics to focus their Lenten prayers on mercy" during the church's Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Extension's "National Year of Mercy Prayer" -- launched Feb. 10, Ash Wednesday, and running all through Lent -- is asking people to share their prayer intentions through short digital videos. The website www.mercyprayer.org invites Catholics to use their smartphones to record short videos -- about 10 seconds long -- of themselves stating a simple prayer intention followed by "Lord, have mercy."

A short introductory video posted on the website asks people to "help us harness the power of prayer to change the world." Examples in that video include: "For college students and young adults seeking to discern their place in the world, Lord have mercy"; "For the wisdom to see Christ in the stranger, Lord have mercy"; and "For my family and the unity of all families, Lord have mercy."

"Your intention can be as general or specific as you would like," the announcement says. But it also tells people to "remember that it will be made public and posted online as a part of our prayer."

Catholic Extension, which supports the work and ministries of U.S. mission dioceses, asked people to send their brief videos to socialmedia@catholicextension.org "and to spread the word to their families, friends and parishes." Participants were encouraged to post their intentions on social media; other intentions can be viewed using the hashtag #MercyPrayer.

The final video prayer and full list of intentions will be posted on Catholic Extension's website, www.catholicextension.org, and its social media on the first Sunday after Easter, April 3, which is Divine Mercy Sunday.

The Knights of Columbus, based in New Haven, Connecticut, is asking those considering a Lenten sacrifice to give "40 Bucks for Lent" and use the hashtag #40BucksForLent to help Middle Eastern Christians and other religious minorities suffering religious persecution in that region of the world.

"Since many people give up something for Lent, we wanted to provide an opportunity for their sacrifice to make a difference -- not only in their own life, but in the lives of others," said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson in a Feb. 9 statement. 

"During the Lenten season, we recall Christ's suffering and death," he said. "In turn, remembering and assisting those who are today suffering and dying for their belief in Christ is an excellent way to do good where it is most needed and to enter more deeply into the spirit of this season."

The Knights of Columbus began its Christian Refugee Relief Fund in 2014. To date, nearly $10 million has been raised to provide housing, food, medical aid, education and general relief to persecuted Christians and other religious minorities especially from Iraq and Syria, and to raise awareness about their plight.

In Denver, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, known as FOCUS, has added several new features to its Lentsanity app this Lenten season.

The app features illustrated guides, daily Mass readings and reflective articles for Lent. The app-exclusive Meat Police Early Warning System sends reminders to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent.

The Lentsanity app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app also can be accessed at focus.org/lentsanity.

Launched in 2014, the FOCUS app shares several illustrated guides to the Catholic faith -- including on topics such as Lenten fasting and abstinence; "lectio divina," the prayerful reading of Scripture; solemnities, feasts and memorials; and the Triduum. Three new guides are set to be released for the app: on the Stations of the Cross (Feb. 18); confession (Feb. 21) and acts of mercy (March 7).

The Confession Week features will start Feb. 21 with a #ConfessionConfession mini-campaign to inspire people to share their experiences with the sacrament. It will include a contest for creating and sharing #ConfessionConfession videos.

The app and website will include a Confession FAQ and Examination of Conscience megapost with links to different types of examinations.

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