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IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Love and solidarity are what make theworld a better place, not a focus on physical perfection and hiding away thosewho do not fit a commercial ideal, Pope Francis said."The world does not become better because onlyapparently 'perfect' -- not to mention fake -- people live there, but whenhuman solidarity, mutual acceptance and respect increase," the pope saidJune 12 celebrating Mass for the Year of Mercy jubilee of the sick and personswith disabilities.Several altar servers with Down syndrome assisted PopeFrancis at the Mass in St. Peter's Square. Persons with disabilities proclaimed the first two Scripture readings, including by using braille.The Gospel story, about the sinful woman who washed Jesus'feet with her tears, was acted out while a deacon read it in Italian, and signlanguage interpreters were stationed throughout the square."Each of us, sooner or later, is called to face -- attimes painfully -- frailty and illness...
LONDON (AP) -- Britain, the European Union is coming for your bananas. And your kettles. Meanwhile, foreign criminals roam Britain's streets and migrants besiege its borders....
BEIRUT (AP) -- Syria's largest city, Aleppo, used to be the country's economic locomotive but four years of grinding battles have rendered it almost uninhabitable. Pummeled by bombs and rocket fire, residents on both sides of this divided metropolis have experienced severe water and power shortages, soaring living costs, and collapsing public services....
A gunman opened fire at a gay night club in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday, killing 50 people and wounding 53 more before he was killed in a shootout with SWAT team members. Authorities say he may have had a connection with radical Islamic terrorism, and his father said he became angry a couple of months ago when he saw two gay men kissing. Here's what we know about the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history:...
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The Latest on the shooting at an Orlando nightclub (all times local):...
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A gunman wielding an assault-type rifle and a handgun opened fire inside a crowded gay nightclub early Sunday, killing at least 50 people before dying in a gunfight with SWAT officers, police said. It was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted the participants of the Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled after the recitation of the Sunday Angelus, he turned his attention to those who live “on the edges” of society and to those affected by leprosy.Speaking to those present in the in St Peter’s Square for Sunday’s special Jubilee, Pope Francis thanked them for having wanted to be present for the celebration in their state of “illness or disability” and he expressed heartfelt gratitude to their caregivers. The Pope also had special words of thanks for all the doctors and medical workers who are present on Sunday at special “Health Centers” set up at the four Papal Basilicas in Rome and who are busy offering specialized medical visits to the hundreds of poor people in Rome who live on the margins of society. Pope Francis also recalled those who are affected by leprosy and said that within the context of the Jubilee...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has issued a heartfelt appeal to all men and women of goodwill to join in the effort to remove the causes of modern slavery.Speaking after the recitation of the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope, once again, highlighted some of the priorities of today's world and referred specifically to the World Day Against Child Labour marked on Sunday. "All together let us join in renewing the effort to remove the causes of this modern slavery that deprives millions of children of some fundamental rights and exposes them to serious danger. There are many child slaves in the world today!”Celebrated under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the focus of this year’s “World Day Against Child Labour” is on child labour and supply chains. The ILO points out that with 168 million children still in child labour, all supply chains, from agriculture to manufacturing, services to constructi...
Rome, Italy, Jun 12, 2016 / 06:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With a letter sent Wednesday to the general secretary of the Italian bishops' conference, Pope Francis established a bilateral working group on the reform of the process of investigating marriage nullity.His June 8 letter to Bishop Nunzio Galantino, 67, the Bishop Emeritus of Cassano all'Jonio, stated that the working group is to be chaired by Bishop Galantino, and will be composed of experts from both the Vatican and the Italian bishops' conference.The group has been established, according to the Italian bishops, “in order to encourage” and “define the main interpretative and application issues” around the reform.Pope Francis reformed the process for the causes of marriage nullity in the Code of Canon Law with the motu proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, which took effect Dec. 8, 2015. It places a stronger emphasis on local bishops than was previously the case – which includes a reform o...
Vatican City, Jun 12, 2016 / 06:59 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday, Pope Francis denounced the increasingly prevalent mentality which claims that sick and disabled persons cannot be happy, and should be kept out of sight from society. In reality, he said, true happiness is achieved by our capacity to love.“In an age when care for one’s body has become an obsession and a big business, anything imperfect has to be hidden away, since it threatens the happiness and serenity of the privileged few and endangers the dominant model,” the Pope said during his June 12 homily for Mass in St. Peter's Square.Speaking at the the Mass, which was the last major event of this weekend's Jubilee for sick and disabled persons, the pontiff decried the belief that such persons “cannot be happy, since they cannot live the lifestyle held up by the culture of pleasure and entertainment.”“In some cases, we are even told that it is better to eliminate them as soon as...
