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MOSCOW (AP) -- Thousands of people crowded into Moscow's Pushkin Square on Sunday for an unsanctioned protest against the Russian government, part of a wave of demonstrations taking place throughout the country....
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Gunfire erupted inside a crowded nightclub early Sunday, killing one person and wounding more than a dozen others....
The Republican Party of "no" for Democrat Barack Obama's eight years is having a hard time getting to "yes" in the early Donald Trump era....
The most entertaining college basketball game of the regular season came in December....
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Bulgarians are heading to the polls for the third time in four years in a snap vote that could tilt the European Union's poorest member country closer to Russia....
LONDON (AP) -- British police investigating an assault on Parliament that claimed four victims and wounded dozens say they still believe the assailant acted alone....
HONG KONG (AP) -- A committee dominated by pro-Beijing elites chose Hong Kong's next leader Sunday in the first vote since huge pro-democracy protests erupted over the election system in 2014....
ATLANTA (AP) -- Americans who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act are feeling some relief at the failure of Republican efforts to repeal it, but they face new anxieties with President Donald Trump tweeting that "ObamaCare will explode."...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenROME (CNS) -- Visiting Milan, the center of Italian fashionand finance, Pope Francis spent the morning with the poor and those whominister to them.He had lunch at the city's historic San Vittore prison,where all 893 inmates -- men and women -- are awaiting trial. But Pope Francis began his visit March 25 on the outskirtsof the city, at the "White Houses," a housing development for thepoor built in the 1970s. Three families welcomed the pope into theirapartments: Stefano Pasquale, 59, who is ill and cared for by his 57-year-oldwife, Dorotee; a Muslim couple and their three children from Morocco; and theOnetes. Nuccio Onete, 82, was home for the pope's visit, but hiswife, Adele, was hospitalized with pneumonia three days earlier, so the popecalled her on the telephone.The people of the neighborhood gave Pope Francis a handmadewhite stole, which he put on before addressing the crowd.The fact that it was homemade, he said, "makes it muchmore preciou...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Cindy Wooden
ROME (CNS) -- Visiting Milan, the center of Italian fashion and finance, Pope Francis spent the morning with the poor and those who minister to them.
He had lunch at the city's historic San Vittore prison, where all 893 inmates -- men and women -- are awaiting trial.
But Pope Francis began his visit March 25 on the outskirts of the city, at the "White Houses," a housing development for the poor built in the 1970s. Three families welcomed the pope into their apartments: Stefano Pasquale, 59, who is ill and cared for by his 57-year-old wife, Dorotee; a Muslim couple and their three children from Morocco; and the Onetes.
Nuccio Onete, 82, was home for the pope's visit, but his wife, Adele, was hospitalized with pneumonia three days earlier, so the pope called her on the telephone.
The people of the neighborhood gave Pope Francis a handmade white stole, which he put on before addressing the crowd.
The fact that it was homemade, he said, "makes it much more precious and is a reminder that the Christian priest is chosen from the people and is at the service of the people. My priesthood, like that of your pastor and the other priests who work here, is a gift of Christ, but one sewn by you, by the people, with your faith, your struggles, your prayers and your tears."
Arriving next at Milan's massive Gothic cathedral, Pope Francis met with the archdiocese's pastoral workers and responded to questions from a priest, a permanent deacon and a religious sister, urging them to trust in God, hold on to their joy and share the good news of Christ with everyone they meet.
"We should not fear challenges," he said. "It is good that they exist" and Christians must "grab them, like a bull, by the horns."
Challenges "are a sign of a living faith, of a living community that seeks the Lord and keeps its eyes and heart open."
Asked by Father Gabriele Gioia about evangelization efforts that do not seem to result in "catching fish," Pope Francis said the work of an evangelizer -- of all Christians -- is to set out and cast the nets. "It's the Lord who catches the fish."
Preoccupation with numbers is never a good thing, Pope Francis said.
Responding to Ursuline Sister Paola Paganoni, who spoke of the challenge of reaching out when so many orders are experiencing an aging and declining membership, the pope spoke as a Jesuit, saying, "The majority of our founding fathers and mothers never thought they'd be a multitude."
Rather, he said, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to respond to the real needs of their time and "to build the church like leaven in the dough, like salt and light for the world."
Just think, he said, a dish with too much salt would be inedible. And, "I've never seen a pizzamaker who took a half kilo of yeast and 100 grams of flour to make a pizza. No, it has to be the opposite" proportion. Christians must be concerned with being leaven in society more than with being a majority.
It is not up to the pope to tell religious orders what their focus should be, he said. They must look to their founding charisms and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But in all they do, he said, "ignite the hope that has been extinguished and weakened by a society that has become insensitive to the pain of others. Our fragility as congregations can make us more attentive to the many forms of fragility that surround us and transform them into spaces of blessing."
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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.
IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis asked 45,000 children preparingfor confirmation to promise Jesus they would never engage in bullying.Turning stern during a lively and laughter-filled encounterMarch 25, Pope Francis told the youngsters he was very worried about thegrowing phenomenon of bullying. He asked them to be silent and reflect on if there weretimes when they made fun of someone for how they looked or behaved. And, as acondition of their confirmation, he made them promise Jesus that they wouldnever tease or bully anyone.The pope ended his daylong visit to Milan by participatingin an expanded version of the archdiocese's annual encounter for pre-teenspreparing for confirmation. An estimated 78,000 people filled the city's famedSan Siro soccer stadium; the archdiocese expects to confirm about 45,000 youngpeople this year.A boy named Davide asked the pope, "When you were ourage, what helped your friendship with Jesus grow?"First of all, the pope sa...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Cindy Wooden
ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis asked 45,000 children preparing for confirmation to promise Jesus they would never engage in bullying.
Turning stern during a lively and laughter-filled encounter March 25, Pope Francis told the youngsters he was very worried about the growing phenomenon of bullying.
He asked them to be silent and reflect on if there were times when they made fun of someone for how they looked or behaved. And, as a condition of their confirmation, he made them promise Jesus that they would never tease or bully anyone.
The pope ended his daylong visit to Milan by participating in an expanded version of the archdiocese's annual encounter for pre-teens preparing for confirmation. An estimated 78,000 people filled the city's famed San Siro soccer stadium; the archdiocese expects to confirm about 45,000 young people this year.
A boy named Davide asked the pope, "When you were our age, what helped your friendship with Jesus grow?"
First of all, the pope said, it was his grandparents. One of his grandfathers was a carpenter, who told him Jesus learned carpentry from St. Joseph, so whenever the pope saw his grandfather work, he thought of Jesus. The other grandfather taught him to always say something to Jesus before going to sleep, even if it was just, "Good night, Jesus."
His grandmothers and his mother, the pope said, were the ones who taught him to pray. He told the kids that even if their grandparents "don't know how to use a computer or have a smartphone," they have a lot to teach them.
Playing with friends taught him joy and how to get along with others, which is part of faith, the pope said. And going to Mass and to the parish oratory also strengthened his faith because "being with others is important."
A couple of parents, who introduced themselves as Monica and Alberto, asked the pope's advice on educating their three children in the faith.
Pope Francis borrowed little Davide's question and asked the parents to close their eyes and think of the people who transmitted the faith to them and helped it grow.
"Your children watch you continually," the pope said. "Even if you don't notice, they observe everything and learn from it," especially in how parents handle tensions, joys and sorrows.
He also encouraged families to go to Mass together and then, if the weather is nice, to go to a park and play together. "This is beautiful and will help you live the commandment to keep the Lord's day holy."
An essential part of handing on the faith, he said, is teaching children the meaning of solidarity and engaging them in the parents' acts of charity and solidarity with the poor. "Faith grows with charity and charity grows with faith," he said.
Before going to the soccer stadium, Pope Francis celebrated an afternoon Mass for the feast of the Annunciation in Milan's Monza Park.
The annunciation of Jesus' birth to Mary took place in her home in a small town in the middle of no where, which is a sign that God desired to meet his people "in places we normally would not expect," the pope said in his homily.
Just as "the joy of salvation began in the daily life of a young woman's home in Nazareth," he said, God wants to be welcomed into and given life in the homes of all people.
God is indifferent to no one, the pope said, and "no situation will be deprived of his presence."
Tens of thousands of people gathered on a warm spring day for the Mass amid the new leaves and fragile buds on the trees of the park.
Pope Francis used Milan's Ambrosian rite, a Mass that differs slightly from the Latin rite used in most parts of the world. Some of the differences included the pope blessing each of the readers and not only the deacon who proclaimed the Gospel, and the Creed being sung after the offertory, rather than after the homily.
In his homily, the pope said that like Mary at the Annunciation, people today naturally wonder how God's promises could be fulfilled. "But how can this be?" Mary asked.
The same question arises "at a time so filled with speculation. There's speculation on the poor and migrants, speculation on the young and their future," the pope said. "While pain knocks on many doors, while young people are increasingly unsatisfied by the lack of real opportunities, speculation is abundant everywhere."
Finding and living the joy of the Gospel, he said, is possible only following the path the Angel Gabriel led Mary on when he told her she would bear God's son. People must remember the great things God has done and remember that they belong to the people of God, a community that "is not afraid to welcome those in need because they know the Lord is present in them."
Finally, he said, they must have faith in the "possibility of the impossible," demonstrating the same "audacious faith" that Mary showed.
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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.
