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(Vatican Radio)  Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI celebrated his 90th birthday with German friends, family, and traditional Bavarian music and beer on Monday.

In brief remarks to a crowd which included his brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger, and Bavarian prime minister, Horst Seehofer, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI thanked God for “the 90 years that the good God has given me”.

“There have been challenges and difficult times, but He has always guided me and pulled me out [of those situations], so that I could continue my path. And I am full of gratitude above all that He gave me such a beautiful homeland.”

The Pope Emeritus went on to sing the praises of his native Bavaria.

“Bavaria has been beautiful ever since her Creation, for her bell towers, the houses with balconies full of flowers, and the goodness of her people. It is beautiful, in Bavaria, because one knows God, knows that He has created the world, and knows that it is good when we work to better it with Him.”

To the Gebirgsschützen (Bavarian mountain riflemen) present in the gardens of his Vatican residence, he said, “Thank you so much for having brought Bavaria here, that Bavaria open to the world, alive, happy, which can be so because its roots are embedded in faith.”

Finally, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI sent his greetings and blessings to his native land.

“I wish upon you the blessing of God. Bring my greetings home and my thankfulness to you. With what pleasure in my heart, I continue to walk and live in our landscapes. And I hope that it stays the same. ‘Vergelt’s Gott’ (May God reward you.)”

Since his real birthday occurred on Easter Sunday, Benedict XVI marked the occasion the next day.

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Washington D.C., Apr 18, 2017 / 06:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A group of women and children from Central America who have been prioritized for deportation lost a legal battle Monday, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prevented a federal judge from reviewing their expedited deportation orders.

The families were detained in Texas soon after illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. They claimed asylum, but immigration judges ruled they lacked “credible fear” of persecution. They were placed in expedited removal proceedings and detained at a residential center in Pennsylvania, Reuters reports.

Expedited removal applies to non-citizens without valid documents for entry to the U.S.

The legal challenge claimed violation of the women and children’s right to due process under the U.S. Constitution. The Supreme Court let stand a ruling from the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

The families are composed of 28 women and 33 children ages 2-17 come from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The lead plaintiff in the case, Rosa Castro, fled El Salvador to escape rape, beatings and emotional abuse by her son’s father. Her son was six years old when they arrived in the U.S. In 2015. Another plaintiff, Lesly Cruz, fled Honduras to protect her daughter from sexual assault from gang members, court papers said.

Other families said they had fled to the U.S. to escape threats, violence and situations where police authorities were unable or unwilling to help them.

Twelve women and their children remain detained in Pennsylvania, while the others have been released under supervision.

Tens of thousands of Central American refugees and migrants enter the U.S. each year. Their numbers included a 2014 surge of nearly 70,000 unaccompanied minors.

Immigration enforcement has been ongoing in the U.S., but it has taken on more prominence under the Trump administration, which has planned to target more people for expedited removal.

In May 2016, Bishop Eusebio Elizondo, then-chair of the U.S. bishops’ immigration committee, criticized immigration raids.

“Sending women and children back to Central America will not serve as an effective deterrent to migration because this is a humanitarian crisis and individuals from the region are being forced to flee for their lives,” he said.

In February 2017, the U.S. and Mexican bishops issued a joint statement on the right to migrate.

“We reiterate our commitment to care for pilgrims, strangers, exiles, and migrants affirming that all persons have a right to live in conditions worthy of human life. If these are not given, they have a right to migrate,” they said, citing Pope Pius XII’s 1952 apostolic constitution “Exsul Familia Nazarethana.”  

 

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Vatican City, Apr 18, 2017 / 07:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Just two months after Pope Francis faced intense backlash for his reforms when critical posters were plastered around Rome, a new set went up around the city over Easter, this time praising the Pope for his commitment to mercy and inclusion.

“Thank you Pope Francis! For your true Christian engagement with love and mercy, as demanded by Jesus so often in our Holy Bible.”

This was the phrase written on some 300 posters that were hung April 14 around Rome’s city center and near the Vatican, and which will remain until April 22.  

Sponsored by The Global Tolerance Initiative, the posters referred to a website called “Love is Tolerance,” which explained that Pope Francis had been named by the organization as their “Global Champion of Tolerance Easter 2017.”

Written in both Italian and English, the posters call on all cardinals, priests and bishops to follow with love the “wise advice” of the Pope, and to “read our Holy Bible with open eyes, hearts and minds.”

The posters conclude with an appeal for everyone to “pray for you and the Church with a ‘thinking heart and loving mind.’”

In addition to the text, the posters also feature three black-and-white images of Pope Francis taken during the Pope’s historic visit to the Holy Land in June 2014, including one of him in a helicopter and one of his pectoral cross.

The overwhelmingly positive tone of these posters stands in stark contrast to the unsigned posters that appeared in Rome Feb. 4, criticizing Pope Francis for several recent decisions made as part of his ongoing process of reform.

Depicting a sour-faced Pope Francis, the posters read: “Ah Francis, you’ve taken over congregations, removed priests, decapitated the Order of Malta and the Franciscans of the Immaculate, ignored Cardinals…but where’s your mercy?”

Whereas the February posters were quickly covered by “abusive posting” signs and removed by the city of Rome, the posters praising the Pope have the city’s official stamp of approval, allowing them to stay up from April 14-22.

On the website, The Global Tolerance Initiative said that in addition to the 300 posters that went up around the city, another 700 have been handed out to priests, bishops, students, media and activists in Rome as part of a larger project intended to draw attention both to well-known individuals and the “unsung, hidden champions from different cultures.”

The photos of the Pope are part of the “Champions and the Art of Tolerance Project” by Dr. Hubertus Hoffmann – in cooperation with Esra Rotthoff and the recently deceased Tom Lemke – and depict the three photos together in the style of a three-paneled art piece, called a triptych.

Besides Pope Francis, other honorees on the site include the Dalai Lama, teenage Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, and Bishop William Shomali, Patriarchal Vicar of the Latin Patriarchate of Jordan.

The organization is calling the Pope Francis Easter posters “street art action,” intended to celebrate “a Pope of love, tolerance and mercy,” Hoffman said, according to the news site Globalo.

“We represent the majority of people, not only Catholics, who admire Pope Francis for his crystal clear vision of Christianity with a lovely smiling face of deep humanity,” Hoffman said.

Whether a Christian or not, Hoffman said “he is our Lighthouse of Hope Easter 2017.”

Throughout his pontificate, Pope Francis has been a strong promoter of both ecumenical and interfaith dialogue, speaking frequently about the need to treat others – no matter their differences – with openness and mercy.

Easter was no exception. In his Regina Coeli address on Easter Monday, Francis preached about how Christ’s resurrection brought hope and life into the world, and how we are called to live that out in how we act toward our brothers and sisters around the world.

“In the midst of events that afflict the world,” he said April 17, “in the midst of worldliness that is distant from God,” we are called to show solidarity, welcoming and peace to people.

These are only human signs that we can give, he continued, but “inspired and sustained by faith in the Risen Lord,” we can gain effectiveness “well beyond our capacity.”

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Octavio Duran

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WASHINGTON (CNS) -- During what the Roman Missal describes as the "mother of all vigils," the U.S. Catholic Church welcomed thousands of new Catholics at the Easter Vigil April 15 in churches big and small across the country.

About 60 of the nearly 200 dioceses in the United States reported numbers of catechumens and candidates entering the church in 2017 to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington.

Catechumens receive the sacraments of initiation -- baptism, confirmation and first Communion -- during the Easter Vigil, having prepared for this moment through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. Candidates, who are already baptized, also go through the preparation program to receive confirmation and first Communion to enter full communion with the church.

The Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the largest diocese in the United States, welcomed 1,756 catechumens and 938 candidates, while the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston reported 1,667 catechumens and 708 candidates. The Archdiocese of Seattle had 679 catechumens and 409 candidates, the Archdiocese of Miami had 524 catechumens and 214 candidates, and the Archdiocese of Washington reported 483 catechumens and 698 candidates.

Not far behind was the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York, which reported 387 catechumens and 528 candidates.

The Tablet, Brooklyn's diocesan newspaper, said that the numbers of new Catholics entering the church and those seeking full communion in the church were so staggering that the diocese had to hold two different ceremonies for the Rite of Election in early March.

On Holy Saturday, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, the "greatest and most noble of all solemnities" took a little longer than usual this year. In addition to the dramatic symbols of light and the seven Old Testament readings, 52 catechumens and 25 candidates were welcomed into the church.

"Now that I am an adult, I better understand my call to faith. I have a responsibility to cooperate with my faith in God," said Kari Morales, a native of Mexico, who was joining the church at Easter. "I've heard a lot of misconceptions about the church," added Morales, a psychologist at a public school. "There's a lot of negativity out there. The period of preparation opened my eyes to the truth."

In the Diocese of Rochester, New York, the RCIA involvement of Dan and Michaela Cady -- along with their sons Aidan, 15, Solas, 12, and Merritt, 10 -- was spurred by a family tragedy. Two years ago, their daughter and sister Kennis, then 12, died unexpectedly.

"It just turned our heads about life," Dan Cady said. He added that his family was grateful for the support it received from the staff of St. Jerome Parish in East Rochester, and from there opted to pursue RCIA. Dan said he was confident that his daughter was watching over the family as they continue on their faith journey.

"We would like to think it's orchestrated by her," he said. Some of the family members received the sacraments this year, and others will next year. Overall, the Diocese of Rochester this year reported 96 catechumens and 149 candidates.

Elsewhere in New York state, the Diocese of Rockville Centre reported 232 catechumens and 327 candidates; the Diocese of Buffalo had 56 catechumens and 105 candidates; and the Diocese of Syracuse had 49 catechumens and 70 candidates.

Jarrid Perusse of Most Precious Blood Parish in Oviedo, Florida, said that while he was in Orlando, Florida, he "got saved on a porch" during a summer internship as a door-to-door salesman. He realized that God was reaching out to him, and "it was my turn to start reaching back," Perusse said.

In the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 175 catechumens and 249 candidates received the sacraments. Among them, Mac, 90, and Barb Harless, 85, joined the church this Easter after finding their parish, St. John Paul II Church in Cedar Springs, Michigan, to be a source of prayer, peace and hope during Barb's battle with cancer.

Other archdioceses reported the following totals: Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, 201 catechumens and 623 candidates; Archdiocese of Philadelphia, 235 catechumens and 322 candidates; Archdiocese of Louisville, Kentucky, 227 catechumens and 279 candidates; Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, 290 catechumens and 368 candidates; Archdiocese of San Francisco, 174 catechumens and 207 candidates; Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, 499 catechumens and 693 candidates; and the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, 63 catechumens and 94 candidates.

In California, the Diocese of Stockton welcomed 284 candidates and 532 catechumens; the Diocese of Oakland, 176 catechumens and 376 candidates; the Diocese of San Diego, 333 catechumens and 635 candidates; the Diocese of Fresno, 593 catechumens and 56 candidates; and the Diocese of San Jose, 496 catechumens and candidates.

In Florida, the Diocese of St. Petersburg had 456 catechumens and 514 candidates; the Diocese of Orlando, 586 catechumens and candidates; and the Diocese of Palm Beach, 147 catechumens and 474 candidates.

Other dioceses reporting hundreds of catechumens and candidates included: Diocese of Dallas, 945 catechumens and 1,230 candidates; Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas, 252 catechumens and 324 candidates; Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, 187 catechumens and 208 candidates; Diocese of Salt Lake City, 273 catechumens and 153 candidates; Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey, 200 catechumens and 508 candidates; Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina, 160 catechumens and 317 candidates; Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, 78 catechumens and 241 candidates; Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, 106 catechumens and 172 candidates; Diocese of Tucson, Arizona, 111 candidates and 209 catechumens; Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, 97 catechumens and 130 candidates; Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts, 114 catechumens and 101 candidates; Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, 95 candidates and 67 catechumens; Diocese of Belleville, Illinois, 54 catechumens and 120 candidates; the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota, 11 catechumens and 69 candidates.

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Editor's Note: More numbers of catechumens and candidates in other dioceses can be found at http://bit.ly/2prKimb.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Paulo Cunha, EPA

By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While conversion and prayer are at the heart of Mary's messages at Fatima, Portugal, the miracles and unexplained phenomenon that accompanied the events 100 years ago continue to intrigue believers and nonbelievers alike.

The apparitions of Mary at Fatima in 1917 were not the first supernatural events reported there.

Two years before Mary appeared to the three shepherd children -- Lucia dos Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto -- they saw a strange sight while praying the rosary in the field, according to the memoirs of Sister Lucia, who had become a Carmelite nun.

"We had hardly begun when, there before our eyes, we saw a figure poised in the air above the trees; it looked like a statue made of snow, rendered almost transparent by the rays of the sun," she wrote, describing what they saw in 1915.

The next year, Francisco and Jacinta received permission to tend their family's flocks and Lucia decided to join her cousins in a field owned by their families.

It was 1916 when the mysterious figure appeared again, this time approaching close enough "to distinguish its features."

"Do not be afraid! I am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me," Sister Lucia recalled the angel saying.

The three told no one about the angel's visit and received no more heavenly visits until May 13, 1917. While the children tended their sheep and played, they were startled by two flashes of lightning.

As they made their way down a slope, the children saw a "lady all dressed in white" standing on a small tree. It was the first of six apparitions of Mary, who gave a particular message or revelation each time:

-- May 13, 1917. When asked by the children who she was and where she came from, the lady said she was "from heaven" and that she would reveal her identity later. She asked the children to come back to the Cova da Iria on the 13th day of the month for the next six months, and she asked them to pray the rosary every day "in order to obtain peace for the world" and the end of World War I.

-- June 13, 1917. The lady said she would take Francisco and Jacinta to heaven soon while Lucia would remain on earth for "some time longer" to establish devotion to the Immaculate Heart.

-- July 13, 1917. The lady said she would reveal her identity in October and "perform a miracle for all to see and believe." After telling the children to make sacrifices for sinners, she revealed three secrets; two of the secrets were not shared publicly until 1941 and the third secret, written down by Sister Lucia and sent to the Vatican, was not released until 2000.

The first secret involved a vision of hell in which the children saw "a sea of fire" with demons and human souls shrieking "in pain and despair." In her memoir, Sister Lucia said people nearby, who had begun gathering around the children on the 13th of the month, heard her "cry out" during the frightening revelation.

The second secret was that while World War I would come to end, a "worse one will break out" if people continued offending God.

The children were told that calamity would be prevented if Russia was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart. Although Sister Lucia confirmed that the consecration was done properly by Pope Pius XII in 1942 and by St. John Paul II in 1984, some Fatima devotees continue to argue that it was not.

The third and final secret, published 83 years after the Fatima apparitions, was a vision of a "bishop dressed in white" shot down amid the rubble of a ruined city. The official Vatican interpretation, discussed with Sister Lucia before its publication, was that it referred to the persecution of Christians in the 20th century and, specifically, to the 1981 assassination attempt on the life of St. John Paul II.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith at the time of the third secret's publication in 2000. Presenting the secret and the interpretation to the press, he said the vision's purpose was not to show an "irrevocably fixed future" but to "mobilize the forces of change in the right direction."

-- Aug. 13, 1917. The lady again said she would perform a miracle in October and asked that the money given by pilgrims be used to build a chapel on the site of the apparitions.

-- Sept. 13, 1917. The lady asked them to continue to pray the rosary "to obtain the end of the war," and she said that Jesus, St. Joseph, Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Carmel would appear during the miracle in October.

-- Oct. 13, 2017. Despite the pouring rain, tens of thousands of people went to the Cova da Iria to witness the long-awaited miracle.

The lady identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary" and said the war would end and the soldiers would return home. After asking that people cease to offend God, she opened her hands, which reflected a light toward the sun.

Sister Lucia recalled crying out, "Look at the sun!" As the crowds looked on, the sun appeared to "dance," spinning and changing colors. The children also saw the promised figures of Jesus, St. Joseph and Mary.

Amazement at the "dancing sun" turned to panic when the sun seemed to hurl toward earth. Fearing the end of the world, some people screamed and ran, some tried to hide and others remained on their knees, praying for mercy. Then the sun returned to its place.

Thirteen years after Mary's final apparition at Fatima, the bishop of Leiria declared the visions of the three shepherd children "worthy of belief" and allowed the veneration of Our Lady of Fatima. However, the bishop did not recognize the "dancing sun" as miraculous.

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Follow Arocho on Twitter: @arochoju.

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Copyright © 2017 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.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A bit of Bavaria, including German beer and pretzels, came to the Vatican to help celebrate retired Pope Benedict XVI's 90th birthday.

"Thank you for bringing Bavaria here," he told his guests, commenting on the beauty of gathering together under a blue Roman sky with white clouds -- colors that "recall the white and blue flag of Bavaria" and how "it's always the same sky" no matter where one finds oneself in the world.

The Bavarian-born pope's birthday fell on Easter Sunday, April 16, so a small informal party was held April 17 outside his residence, the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican gardens. Pope Francis visited his predecessor April 12, before the start of the Easter Triduum, to offer him birthday greetings.

Special guests at the Bavarian party included: Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, the retired pope's 93-year-old brother; Archbishop Georg Ganswein, the retired pope's personal secretary; Birgit Wansing, a longtime administrative assistant; and the consecrated laywomen from Memores Domini, who assist him.

A German delegation was present, led by the minister president of Bavaria, Horst Seehofer, and including a group of men dressed in the traditional uniforms of the "Schutzen" with their dark green wool hats decorated with feathers, pins and springs of greenery.

Pope Benedict said his heart was filled with gratitude "for the 90 years the good Lord has given me. There have been trying and difficult times, but he always guided me and pulled me through."

He thanked God for his beautiful homeland "that you now bring to me," and which is "open to the world, lively and happy" because it is rooted so deeply in the Christian faith.

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Copyright © 2017 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.

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