Pope Francis to Vladimir Putin: A negotiated peace is better than an endless war
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=275409&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that "a negotiated peace is better than an endless war."CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O'Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff's residence in the Vatican.During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.O'Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: "Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an e...
Pope Francis prays during his Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on April 24, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Apr 25, 2024 / 16:10 pm (CNA).
Asked during a new interview if he has any message for Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who instigated the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis stated that "a negotiated peace is better than an endless war."
CBS News broadcast some excerpts April 24 from a new interview conducted by journalist Norah O'Donnell with Pope Francis at St. Martha House, the pontiff's residence in the Vatican.
During the exchange, the full version of which will be released on May 19, the Holy Father reflected on world conflicts and especially on the suffering of children during wars.
O'Donnell asked the Holy Father if he had any message for Vladimir Putin regarding Ukraine, to which the pontiff replied: "Please, countries at war, all of them... Stop the war. Seek to negotiate. Seek peace. A negotiated peace is better than an endless war," he said.
Regarding the children who are suffering the consequences of the war in Gaza, Pope Francis said that "every afternoon at 7 p.m. I call the parish in Gaza. There are about 600 people there, and they tell me what's happening. It's very hard. Very, very hard. And food comes in, but they have to struggle to get it. It's very hard," he lamented. The pope also assured that he prays a lot for peace to be achieved.
The pontiff also asked people to think about the children of Ukraine, who due to the war "forget how to smile," which he described as "very serious."
In the interview, Pope Francis also talked about climate change and said that those who deny it do so "because they don't understand it or for what benefits them," and stressed that "climate change exists."
Regarding those who don't see a place for themselves in the Catholic Church anymore, the Holy Father responded that in the Church "there is always a place," noting that "the Church is very big. It's more than a church building … you shouldn't flee from it."
Pope Francis' controversial 'white flag' statements
When referring to the conflict in Ukraine during an interview released in March by the Swiss radio station RSI, Pope Francis said: "I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people, and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates."
The words sparked some controversy, as they were interpreted as a call for Ukraine's surrender to Russia and had to be clarified by the spokesman for the Holy See's Press Office, Matteo Bruni.
The Vatican spokesman clarified that the Holy Father supported "a cessation of hostilities and a truce achieved with the courage to negotiate," rather than Ukraine's outright surrender.
Bruni also pointed out that it was the journalist interviewing the pontiff who had used the term "white flag" when asking the question.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275611&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
The "Holy Fire" is passed from inside Christ's tomb to pilgrims gathered inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jersusalem on May 4, 2024, for the annual Orthodox Christian ceremony, held on the day before Easter, according to the Julian calendar. / Credit: Marinella Bandini/CNAJerusalem, May 5, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).Pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for the annual "Holy Fire" ceremony at the revered site of Jesus' burial and resurrection, an ancient custom considered by many believers to be a miraculous event that takes place the day before the Orthodox Christian celebration of Easter.For safety reasons, attendance at the May 4 event was capped at 4,200 people inside the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, though the crowds were more manageable and somewhat subdued this year because of a lack of pilgrims from the Palestinian territories and abroad due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.Israeli police man a checkpoint inside the Old City of Jerusalem duri...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275610&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Pope Francis greets the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square on May 5, 2024. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, May 5, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).Pope Francis asked for a moment of silence as he spoke from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Sunday for people to thank the Lord for their friends. The pope reflected on the gift of friendship during his Regina Caeli address on May 5."Since childhood, we learn how beautiful this experience is: We offer friends our toys and the most beautiful gifts; then, growing up, as teenagers, we confide our first secrets to them; as young people we offer loyalty; as adults, we share satisfactions and worries; as seniors, the memories, considerations, and silences of long days," the 87-year-old pope said."The word of God, in the Book of Proverbs, tells us that 'Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel' (Prv 27:9). Let us think a moment of our friends and thank the Lord for them."S...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275607&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola's Archdiocese of Luanda. / Credit: Radio EcclesiaACI Africa, May 5, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Archbishop Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias of Angola's Archdiocese of Luanda has asked the people of God under his pastoral care to dedicate the last Sunday of the month to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as part of the preparations for the Church's 2025 Jubilee Year. Pope Francis on Jan. 21 announced the start of a Year of Prayer in preparation for the Church's 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his pontificate after the extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015."Following the Holy Father's call, as an archdiocese, we will be holding adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on the last Sunday of each month in all parishes and, in alternate months, a meditation on the importance of prayer in the life of the Church," the archbishop said in his April 18 message.Eucharistic adoration, he said, facilitates "a true encounter with Chri...