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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will say Mass to mark the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th in St. Peter's Basilica. A press release from the Pontifical Commission for Latin America explains that the Mass will begin at 6PM Rome Time. A Rosary will precede the Mass, beginning at 5:15 PM.Please find the full text of the press release, below***********************************************************Holy Mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrated by Pope FrancisSaint Peter's Basilica, December 12, 2016PRESS RELEASEFor the third consecutive year, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on December 12 in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Pope Francis, through the President of the Pontifical Commission on Latin America, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, communicated his desire to once again preside at this celebration on the day when millions of Catholics around the world give honor to the Patroness of America and of the Philippines. The Eucharist wil...
(Vatican Radio) New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has visited towns affected by a powerful earthquake, saying officials are doing everything they can to restore infrastructure, but that damage is so extensive it will take some time.The 7.8 magnitude quake on November 14 killed two people and triggered landslides that still block a major coastal highway. Hundreds of tourists have been evacuated from Kaikoura in helicopters and by a navy ship. The town is a popular whale-watching venue.Although various humanitarian organizations are offering support, rescue efforts have been affected by a wave of aftershocks, Caritas Aotearoa is one of the organizations currently providing assitance to the affected regions. Monsignor Gerard Burns, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Wellington and President of Caritas Oceania, spoke with Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni about the aid Caritas Aotearoa is providing and about how it works in collaboration with the indigenous people...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Thursday that corruption is a form of blasphemy which leads to the worship of money and the exploitation of others. His words came during the homily at his regular Santa Marta Mass for this last week of the Church’s liturgical year.Listen to Philippa Hitchen's reports:Reflecting on the readings for the day which speak of the end of the world, of judgement and redemption for God’s faithful people, Pope Francis talked about corruption which led to the downfall of the great city of Babylon.Corruption is a blasphemous way of living, the Pope warned, it’s the language of Babylon and worldly living. Corruption is a form of blasphemy where there is no God, he went on, but only the gods of money and wellbeing through the exploitation of others.Yet this worldliness which seduces the powerful will be torn down, the Pope said, just as we hear the victory cry of the angel, in the reading from Revelation, announcing the fall of Babylon...
Drug dependency is a ‘new form of slavery’ and a ‘wound in our society’ which should be combatted with education and rehabilitation.That was Pope Francis’ message to a Vatican conference called ‘Narcotics: Problems and Solutions of this Global Issue’, which was hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on 23-24 November.Listen to Devin Watkins’ report: Pope Francis told the two-day conference on Narcotics that those who fall into the snares of drugs are victims who have “lost their freedom” in return for “a new form of slavery”.Reflecting on the causes of drug dependency, the Holy Father said it results from a variety of factors: “the absence of a family, social pressure, propaganda from traffickers, the desire to live new experiences”.However, he said, “every dependent person brings with them a distinct personal history, which should be listened to, understood, loved, and, where possible,...
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Wednesday, awarded death sentences to a Muslim cleric and four others for burning alive a Christian couple two years ago. An anti-terrorism court in Lahore delivered the verdict after the prosecution presented all witnesses.Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Azam also imposed a fine of 200,000 rupees on each convicted for lynching the couple. Eight other suspects were sentenced to two years in prison, the Press Trust of India reported.The incident occurred on November 4, 2014 at Kot Radha Kishan area of Kasur district, 64 kilometers southwest of Punjab’s Lahore city. Shahbaz Maseeh, 26, and his wife Shama Bibi, 24, were attacked by colleagues at a brick factory in Punjab province where they worked. The couple were accused of setting fire to several verses of the Koran. The couple were planning to flee with their children when the mob caught them.According to the charge-sheet, the accused gathered a mob by making announcements from m...
The Government of Kenya through the Nairobi county government has named one of Nairobi’ streets after the Servant of God, Cardinal Maurice Michael Otunga, who died in 2003. This is in recognition of virtues that Cardinal Otunga championed and demonstrated his life.Speaking during the unveiling of Cardinal Otunga Road, near the Holy Family Minor Basilica adjacent to City Hall Anne, John Cardinal Njue thanked the County Government of Nairobi for naming a section of the street after the Servant of God. Cardinal Njue said, Otunga was a moral icon worthy of the honour.“May the street prompt us to emulate Cardinal Otunga’s exemplary life of prayerfulness and humility; may his intercession merit the city of Nairobi and the entire country, Gods protection and abundant blessing. Cardinal Otunga will continue to speak to the people of Nairobi and all Kenyans through his great virtues of courage, good cheer, care and concern for others,” Cardinal Njue Said.Cardi...
Vatican City, Nov 24, 2016 / 02:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis met Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang at the Vatican for a meeting largely focused on collaboration between the Church and State, as well as how to move forward in cementing better relations.In the course of the “cordial talks,” specific mention was made of the “good relations existing between the Holy See and Vietnam,” which are supported by “a common spirit of dialogue and of the constant search for the most appropriate tools so they can further advance,” a Nov. 23 communique from the Vatican read.Collaboration between the Church and the State “in various levels of local society” was also emphasized.President Dai Quang arrived to the Vatican around 5p.m. local time, and was accompanied by a delegation of 10 people.After their private discussion, Dai Quang gifted the Pope a small drum with a bronze base, while Francis, for his part, gave the Vietnamese...
Washington D.C., Nov 24, 2016 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Gratitude to God was the focus of the U.S. bishops’ conference for its Thanksgiving wishes to Americans as the bishops offered prayers for the poor, the elderly, and holiday travelers.“On Thanksgiving, millions of Americans, from big cities to rural countryside, will bow their heads to say grace,” the heads of the U.S. bishops’ conference said Nov. 23. “They will be successful and struggling, citizen and newcomer, sisters and brothers to us all. Diverse as we are, we are united in the debt we owe to God and our desire to give Him thanks.”The message was signed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, the new president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles, the conference's new vice-president.“Let us pray for everyone separated from the abundance of our country that God may comfort them and opportunities may open for them to f...
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and President-elect Donald Trump have talked about immigration, infrastructure and the Olympics in their first phone call since the election....
SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAINS, Philippines (AP) -- Communist guerrillas warned that a peace deal with President Rodrigo Duterte's government is unlikely to be reached if he won't end the Philippines' treaty alliance with the United States and resist foreign control by other countries he's trying to befriend, like China and Russia....
