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(Vatican Radio) The preacher of the Pontifical Household, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa gave the first Lenten sermon on Friday for Pope Francis and other Vatican officials gathered in the town of Ariccia for their annual Lent retreat.The Capuchin friar will be giving another four reflections for the Pope and members of the Pontifical Household on the Fridays leading up to Holy Week. This year the theme of these Lenten homilies is the work of the Holy Spirit, based on the biblical verse from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 3: ‘No-one can say “Jesus is Lord”, except by the Holy Spirit.’In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, Fr Cantalamessa explains the two reasons why he wanted to focus on the Holy Spirit for both Lent and for last year’s season of Advent.Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report: Firstly, Fr Cantalamessa says, he chose this subject because the real novelty of the...
Rome, Italy, Mar 10, 2017 / 02:50 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Hundreds of musicians and pastors from around the world have signed a document urging parishes and publishers should take care to develop the Church’s rich musical traditions, not discard them.They did so after outlining trends within the Church’s musical traditions in the past five decades that they deem harmful to the Church’s liturgical life and musical heritage.The statement’s authors write that they “cannot avoid being concerned about the current situation of sacred music, which is nothing short of desperate, with abuses in the area of sacred music now almost the norm rather than the exception.”The letter, entitled “Cantate Domino Canticum Novum”, or “Sing a New Song Unto the Lord”, was signed by over 200 musicians, pastors, and musical scholars from around the globe, and published in six languages.Its publication commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Marc...
Vatican City, Mar 10, 2017 / 05:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After spending a week in Ariccia with members of the Curia for their annual Lenten spiritual exercises, Pope Francis returned to the Vatican Friday with words of gratitude and his own brief reflection.Shortly before leaving the Casa Divin Maestro retreat house in Ariccia, the Pope voiced his gratitude to Franciscan priest Giulio Michelini, who led the meditations for the week, saying “I want to thank you for the good you have wished us to have and for the good you have done us.”He thanked the friar first of all for his openness and for being “natural” during the preaching, sharing himself “without artifice.”Francis also gave thanks for all of the work Michelini put into preparing the meditations. “It’s true, there is a mountain of things to meditate on,” he said, but noted that as St. Ignatius says in the Exercises, when one encounters feelings of consolation or desolation, ...
BEIRUT (AP) -- The main Syrian Kurdish force fighting Islamic State militants in northern Syria claimed on Friday that it has enough fighters to take the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa with the help of the U.S.-led coalition - remarks that reflected a veiled warning to Ankara and also to rival, Turkey-backed opposition forces making headway toward the city....
GENEVA (AP) -- The Turkish government should investigate hundreds of alleged killings and other rights abuses in Turkey's southeast, the U.N. human rights office said on Friday, releasing a report on an upsurge in violence there over 18 months....
LONDON (AP) -- A 2-year-old boy in England wasn't very impressed with a chance to meet Queen Elizabeth and showed it by throwing a tantrum in front of her majesty....
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- That Duindorp has no immigrant community to speak of is part of its charm for Willem van Vliet, who runs the "Willem and Toet" fish bar in the neighborhood's small parade of shops, serving crispy homemade shrimp croquettes and other Dutch snacks....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- This was not supposed to happen in South Korea. It was too divided, too corrupt, too much in thrall to the rich and powerful who'd always had their way....
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- South Korea's Constitutional Court removed impeached President Park Geun-hye from office in a unanimous ruling Friday over a corruption scandal that has plunged the country into political turmoil and worsened an already-serious national divide....
Khartoum, Sudan, Mar 10, 2017 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Christians who are criticizing government action against churches are facing pressure from Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services.“They told me not to talk about the demolition of churches or the two church leaders who are in jail,” Rev. Mubarak Hamad, chairman of Sudan’s Council of Churches, told Radio Tamazuj, a broadcaster in Sudan and South Sudan.The Sudanese government plans to demolish 25 church buildings in and near the capital of Khartoum, which it says were built on illegal lands which are zoned for other uses. The targeted churches include both Catholic and Protestant buildings.The order to demolish the churches was made in June 2016. Government officials notified several congregations in September to vacate their property.Christian officials have challenged the claims, saying the properties were legally obtained and have legal titles.“This is not an isolated act but shoul...
