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(Vatican Radio) The British ambassador to the Holy See, Sally Axworthy, has hosted an official launch for the English edition of the prestigious Jesuit journal ‘La Civiltà Cattolica’. Founded in 1850 and originally available only in Italian, the magazine will now be published monthly in English, French, Spanish and Korean as well.

In a recent meeting with the editors, Pope Francis said their writing must not just defend Catholic ideas, but must rather witness to Christ in the world with a restless, open-ended and imaginative spirit. He urged them to build bridges with people on the margins of society, saying the new language editions would serve to broaden their horizons and enter into dialogue with people in different parts of the globe.

At the launch on Tuesday evening, Philippa Hitchen caught up with the journal’s editor in chief, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro to find out more:

Listen: 

Fr Spadaro explained that 'La Civiltà Cattolica' started out in an international context in 1850, before the unification of Italy, but  became an Italian national publication in 1861. “Now we felt a push to spread our content in different contexts”, he said, “because the Pope asked us to be bridges.”

He said the journal will now receive articles in different languages which can be translated into other languages as well, making 'La Civiltà Cattolica' into a platform , “a real spiritual and cultural bridge among different nations, cultures and languages”

Fr Spadaro, who is also widely known for tweeting about the activities of Pope Francis and the Holy See, said there is a need, both for long articles that “go deeper into a subject matter” but also for “wisdom that can be received” while we are at work or travelling.

“So I think there is no contradiction between a long, profound article and profound wisdom condensed in a tweet,” he said.

Certified by the Vatican

Asked about the need for all the journal’s articles to be approved before publication, Fr Spadaro says this is not censorship but rather a way of being “in tune to what the Holy See thinks about different matters”, including politics, economics, the arts, philosophy and theology.

He says that since he took over as editor in 2011 he has been able to engage in “a deep, interesting talk” with officials at the Secretariat of State to “develop a real dialogue about the articles we write”.

“We feel very close to what the Pope thinks”, he says, but at the same time the revision of the review at the highest level gives the journal  a unique authority as it has been “certified by the Vatican”.

Popes 'proofread' publications

The relationship between the publication and the Holy See has been so close that up until the pontificate of John XXIII, it was the popes themselves who used to ‘proofread’ all the articles.  Now Fr Spadaro says the Jesuit writers continue to maintain “a deep relationship” with Pope Francis and “with his own way of thinking.”

“So we are loyal to him and our effort and our challenge also is to be tuned with his Magisterium,” Fr Spadaro says. He concludes by admitting that it “was a great honour” when Pope Francis told the writers he keeps a copy of “this ancient and prestigious” publication on his desk.

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Vatican City, Mar 1, 2017 / 09:54 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his message for Lent 2017, Pope Francis reminded the faithful that they should heed the Scriptures and treat each human person they encounter as a gift.

“Lent is the favorable season for renewing our encounter with Christ, living in his word, in the sacraments and in our neighbor,” he said. “May the Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can rediscover the gift of God’s word, be purified of the sin that blinds us, and serve Christ present in our brothers and sisters in need.”

Scripture is also a gift, the Pope said in his message, which was released last October to help Catholics across the globe prepare for the 2017 Lenten season.

In his message, Pope Francis reflected on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In that story, a poor man named Lazarus lives on the doorstep of a wealthy man who ignores him. When they die, Lazarus rests in paradise, while the rich man suffers.

Although Lazarus is “practically invisible to the rich man,” Pope Francis said, we should see him as a concrete person, whom God views as a priceless treasure.

“Lazarus teaches us that other persons are a gift,” the pontiff said. “A right relationship with people consists in gratefully recognizing their value. Even the poor person at the door of the rich is not a nuisance, but a summons to conversion and to change.”

In this way, the parable invites us to see each person as a blessing, he said, and Lent is a particularly fitting time to open our door to all those in need and the face of Christ in them.

“Each life that we encounter is a gift deserving acceptance, respect and love. The word of God helps us to open our eyes to welcome and love life, especially when it is weak and vulnerable.”

Another important lesson from the parable is how sin can blind us, Pope Francis said. He pointed to the rich man’s ostentatious displays of wealth, saying, “In him we can catch a dramatic glimpse of the corruption of sin, which progresses in three successive stages: love of money, vanity and pride.”

“Money can come to dominate us, even to the point of becoming a tyrannical idol,” the Pope warned. “Instead of being an instrument at our service for doing good and showing solidarity towards others, money can chain us and the entire world to a selfish logic that leaves no room for love and hinders peace.”

“For those corrupted by love of riches, nothing exists beyond their own ego,” the Holy Father warned.

“The result of attachment to money is a sort of blindness. The rich man does not see the poor man who is starving, hurting, lying at his door.”

The end of the parable offers an additional lesson, the Pope continued. In the afterlife, the rich man calls out to Abraham from his place of torment. This is the first mention of the fact that he belongs to the people of God, for during his life, “his only God was himself.”

When the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, who are still living, Abraham responds, “They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them…If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”

Thus, we ultimately see that the problem of the rich man is a “failure to heed God’s word,” Pope Francis said. “As a result, he no longer loved God and grew to despise his neighbor.”

“The word of God is alive and powerful, capable of converting hearts and leading them back to God. When we close our heart to the gift of God’s word, we end up closing our heart to the gift of our brothers and sisters.”

As we start the journey of Lent, with its emphasis on fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, we have a chance at a new beginning in our own lives, the Pope noted.

“This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God with all their hearts, to refuse to settle for mediocrity and to grow in friendship with the Lord,” he said, adding that Christ waits for us patiently, ready to forgive us when we fall short.

“Let us pray for one another so that, by sharing in the victory of Christ, we may open our doors to the weak and poor,” he concluded. “Then we will be able to experience and share to the full the joy of Easter.”

 

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Los Angeles, Calif., Mar 1, 2017 / 12:51 pm (CNA).- The answer to society’s dysfunctions can be found in one person: Jesus Christ.

That message is at the core of Archbishop José H. Gomez’ new pastoral letter – “For Greater Things You Were Born” – released March 1, Ash Wednesday. The letter is a 16,000-word meditation on human nature, which the archbishop maintains can only be understood in relation to God.

“Jesus Christ alone knows who we are and he is the one teacher of life,” he writes. “He alone shows us the way to live in order to lead a truly human life.”

The elections revealed rifts in American society. The archbishop notes in particular “the persistence of racist thinking,” class divisions, “cruel indifference to the sufferings of immigrants” and efforts to “normalize” abortion and euthanasia. The “divisions and dysfunctions” in American society expose unanswered questions about the meaning of life, the archbishop writes. By forgetting God, society has lost a common foundation on which to build.

“So many of our neighbors seem to be not really living but only existing,” the archbishop writes. But, recalling that human beings are created in the image of God, he writes “God made us for greater things!”

The title of the pastoral letter is from Venerable Mother Maria Luisa Josefa, who founded the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. As he mentioned in his first homily in Los Angeles, she would “tell everyone: ‘For greater things you were born!’”

The letter — broken into 40 sections — covers the vast implications of a Christian anthropology: the duty as stewards of creation, love for others as brothers and sisters, the beauty of marriage and the call to saintly life in imitation of Christ. The archbishop also outlines a “plan of life,” including reading the Gospels, going to Mass and confession and carrying out acts of service.

The letter relies heavily on Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the teachings of the saints, like St. Junípero Serra, Blessed Oscar Romero and Servant of God Dorothy Day. The archbishop also quotes Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II.

“We are made out of love, a thing of beauty in God’s eyes and the glory of his creation,” he writes. “We are made to share in his divine nature as his beloved children. We are made to be holy, to be saints!”

Republished with permission from Angelus News.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters

By Dennis Sadowski

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Megan Crowley, a University of Notre Dame student born with a rare disease, was recognized by President Donald Trump during his address to a joint session of Congress.

The president Feb. 28 acknowledged Megan Crowley, 20, who has Pompe disease, for her strength and character while living with the inherited disorder since being diagnosed at 15 months of age.

Trump pointed to Megan Crowley, who was seated in a wheelchair in the House of Representatives gallery and received two standing ovations, on Rare Disease Day. Traditionally marked on the last day of February, the day first was designated in 2008 by the European Organization for Rare Diseases.

Megan Crowley was not expected to live past 5, Trump said, but her father, John Crowley, founded a pharmaceutical company to develop the enzyme replacement treatment she needs to cope with symptoms of the disease.

"Megan's story is about the unbounded power of a father's love for a daughter," Trump said.

Parents John and Aileen Crowley attended the address. Megan Crowley's younger brother, Patrick, 18, also has Pompe disease. Another brother, John, 22, attends Holy Cross College in South Bend, Indiana. The college is a neighboring campus to Notre Dame.

Megan Crowley's father wrote about the family experience in Congress and the White House on Facebook Feb. 28.

"I cannot tell you what it means as parents for me and Aileen to watch as the president of the United States and all of our nation's leaders give your daughter two standing ovations for her strength, courage and character. I felt that my heart was literally bursting with pride. Just the most amazing young lady. And now the world knows our Megan. ... I knew someday it would," his post said.

The president cited the family's situation as a reason to improve the "slow and burdensome approval process" at the Food and Drug Administration that he said has kept advances in treatments from reaching people in need.

"If we slash the restrains, not just at the FDA, but across our government, then we will be blessed with far more miracles like Megan," Trump said.

Pompe disease is a rare and inherited disorder, occurring in 1 of about every 40,000 births. Someone with the disease experiences progressive weakness in skeletal muscles and the heart and hampered breathing, and usually dies at a young age. The disease prevents the body from producing an enzyme that breaks down stored sugar, called glycogen, into glucose for use by the body. As a result, excessive amounts of glycogen accumulate in body tissues, leading to major damage.

John Crowley founded Novazyme Pharmaceuticals in 1999 to develop protein engineering technologies to treat diseases such as Pompe. Genzyme Corp. acquired the company in 2001 and Novazyme eventually developed the enzyme replacement therapy the young Crowleys continue to use.

Today, John Crowley is CEO of Amicus Therapeutics, a Cranbury, New Jersey, biotechnology firm with more than 250 employees. The company specializes in therapies for rare and orphan diseases.

A 2010 drama, "Extraordinary Measures," centers on the efforts of the Crowleys to find a researcher who might develop a cure for their two children's rare genetic disorder.

Megan Crowley has a blog, High Heeled Wheels, where she writes about life and her experiences living with the disease. She also serves as president of Notre Dame's Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter.

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Follow Sadowski on Twitter: @DennisSadowski.

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