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LONDON (AP) -- Several people have died following an explosion Monday night at an Ariana Grande concert in northern England, police and witnesses said. The singer was not injured, according to a representative....
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday greeted the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master (PDDM) and encouraged them to go forward in their mission to bring the Gospel to the men and women of today with joy in unity, giving voice to plurality and respecting each other’s differences.The Pope words came as he addressed the Sisters who are holding their 9th General Chapter in Rome (10 April-28 May) on the theme “New wine in new wineskins.”Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni: First of all, Pope Francis said to the Sisters, always be open the Holy Spirit, Master of diversity, Master of unity within differences.“Walk together in communion, he said, respecting plurality and tirelessly weaving your legitimate differences into unity, taking into account you are present in different Countries and cultures”.Basing his discourse on the many fruits yielded by communion, the Pope encouraged the Sisters to allow each other to express themselves freely, to...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday afternoon met with Italian Church leaders who are holding the 70th General Assembly of their bishops’ conference.The meeting began with a brief introduction from the outgoing President of the conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco. After that, the Pope greeted the bishops during a session, open to journalists, in the Vatican Synod Hall, before continuing the meeting behind closed doors.On Tuesday the bishops will elect three names which will be forwarded to the Pope to select a new president for the conference. They will then proceed with discussions on the main theme for this assembly, which is focused on an effective evangelization of young people. On Wednesday the bishops will celebrate Mass in St Peter’s Basilica and on Thursday they will hold a concluding press conference in the Paul VI audience hall.After a brief speech of greeting during which Pope Francis thanked Cardinal Bagnasco for his ten years of service and for &n...
(Vatican Radio) When dealing with today’s large movements of refugees and migrants, it’s essential to use “adequate tools of analysis, rather than letting fear and self-interest prevail”.That was the message at the heart of a speech by Jesuit Father Michael Czerny, Undersecretary of the Vatican’s new department for Integral Human Development, to an event organised by the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York on Monday.The event, jointly promoted by the International Catholic Migration Commission, Caritas Internationalis and the Center for Migration Studies of New York, came during a second informal thematic session of the Global Compact on “Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants"In the address, Fr Czerny – whose section of the new dicastery answers directly to Pope Francis – spoke about the reasons driving the current, complex movements of migrants and refugees, which few would de...
(Vatican Radio) The Holy See’s ‘foreign minister’, Archbishop Paul Gallagher has highlighted the need to protect Christians and other religious minorities facing persecution in different parts of the globe.The words of the Secretary for Relations with States came on Saturday during an international meeting organised by the ‘Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice’ Foundation. Participants at the meeting also met with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Saturday morning.Please find below the full address of Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, entitled “The Holy See’s Action to protect Christians and other religious minorities in different parts of the world”Distinguished guests,Dear Friends,Following our meeting last year, it is a pleasure to be with you again this morning and to have the opportunity to present the Holy See’s action to protect Christian and other religious minorities i...
Vatican City, May 21, 2017 / 06:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis offered his prayer and support for victims of a recent jump in violence in the Central African Republic, repeating his frequent call for the use of dialogue, rather than weapons, to solve conflicts.“Painful news unfortunately comes from the Central African Republic, which I carry in my heart, especially after my visit in November 2015,” the Pope said May 21, noting that recent clashes “have caused numerous victims and displaced, and threaten the process of peace.”He voiced his closeness to the people, the bishops, and to “all those who work for the good of the people and for peaceful coexistence” in the CAR.Francis then prayed for the deceased and the wounded before renewing his appeal that “weapons be silenced and the good will of dialogue prevail in order to give peace and development to the country.”The Pope’s words come after a spike in violent fig...
Washington D.C., May 22, 2017 / 10:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The United States House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that issues additional sanctions against supporters of Syria’s Assad regime, and those providing arms for the regime.“This bill is a big step in the right direction,” Phillippe Nassif, executive director of the group In Defense of Christians, told CNA.The House passed the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act May 17, issuing additional sanctions on the Assad regime and its “backers,” especially human rights violators and those involved in the trade of weapons or weapons parts with the regime. Those supporters could include Russia and Iran, international allies of Assad.The Syrian civil war is now in its sixth year, and over 400,000 have died, with over 11 million displaced from their homes, including 5 million registered refugees. Civilian witnesses have given testimonies to the carnage – hospitals bombed, chorine gas bom...
Vatican City, May 22, 2017 / 12:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When Pope Francis was asked last week about his upcoming meeting with U.S. president Donald Trump, he made headlines for answering that he always tries to look for common ground.Given that they have vocally disagreed on prominent issues in the past, what will the areas of shared agreement be?The two are set to meet at the Vatican Wednesday, May 24, at 8:30 a.m., before Pope Francis' weekly general audience.President Trump arrives to Italy May 23 after stopping in both Saudi Arabia and Israel as part of his first international trip, which lasts nine days. He will also attend a NATO meeting in Brussels on May 25 and a G7 summit in Sicily on May 26.Perhaps the most prominent area of disagreement between Trump and Francis is immigration.During a Feb. 18, 2016, in-flight press conference, the Pope was asked to respond to Donald Trump’s immigration stand, particularly his threat to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border....
South Bend, Ind., May 22, 2017 / 02:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence challenged University of Notre Dame graduates on Saturday to promote human dignity and the sanctity of life in the workplace.“I urge you, as the rising generation – carry the ideals and the values that you’ve learned at Notre Dame into your lives and your careers,” Pence told the graduates, praising the university for its rich traditions of defending human life and religious liberty in the face of persecution.The vice president delivered the commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on March 20. He called on the graduates to “be exceptional from this day forth.”Pence commended the university’s defense of religious liberty, noting that it was among the plaintiffs in lawsuits against the Obama administration’s contraception mandate.“Just as Notre Dame has stood strong to protect its religious liberty, I’m proud that this Pres...
By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis, who described himself ascoming from "the ends of the earth," continues to go to the farreaches of the globe to seek those who will advise him and possibly elect thenext pope.Announcing May 21 that he was adding five churchmen to theCollege of Cardinals, Pope Francis said their geographic mix -- two Europeans, an African, an Asianand a Central American -- reflect the catholicity of the church.After the June28 consistory, 62 countries will have at least one cardinal elector -- acardinal under the age of 80 and, therefore, eligible both to vote in aconclave to elect a new pope, but also available for membership on variousVatican congregations, councils and dicasteries.Obviously, Pope Francis is continuing the big push begununder Blessed Paul VIto internationalize the College of Cardinals. The cardinal electors that chose St. John Paul II in 1978 camefrom 49 countries. The group that elected now-retired Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 came f...
