(Vatican Radio) “From Conflict to Communion – Together in Hope” is the title of the event in the Malmö Arena that sees the participation of Pope Francis, leaders from Church of Sweden and the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, and leaders of the World Lutheran Federation.The celebratory event also features testimonies and performances by a number of artists, choirs and guests.Organizers of the event have pointed out that all ecumenical events taking place in Sweden on Monday highlight topics that still require further theological discussion and agreement to be able to achieve full Christian unity.One of these is the commitment to common witness and service which will be particularly emphasized at the Arena in Malmö. During this public event an agreement of cooperation will be signed between the WLF World Service, which currently serves more than 6 2.3 million refugees globally, and Caritas Internationalis, which is present in 164 countries around the w...
(Vatican Radio) “From Conflict to Communion – Together in Hope” is the title of the event in the Malmö Arena that sees the participation of Pope Francis, leaders from Church of Sweden and the Catholic Diocese of Stockholm, and leaders of the World Lutheran Federation.
The celebratory event also features testimonies and performances by a number of artists, choirs and guests.
Organizers of the event have pointed out that all ecumenical events taking place in Sweden on Monday highlight topics that still require further theological discussion and agreement to be able to achieve full Christian unity.
One of these is the commitment to common witness and service which will be particularly emphasized at the Arena in Malmö.
During this public event an agreement of cooperation will be signed between the WLF World Service, which currently serves more than 6 2.3 million refugees globally, and Caritas Internationalis, which is present in 164 countries around the world and has an impressive record of diaconal service to people in need.
Those present will underline that their pledge to leave conflict behind will not only remain among these two communions, but bear fruit in compassionate and loving service to the neighbor in a world wounded and fragmented by conflict, violence and ecological destruction.
One person who will be giving testimony of her own experience and commitment in today’s broken world is Rose Lokonyen, a South Sudanese refugee-cum-athlete who was chosen to be the flag-bearer of the first ever refugee team to take part in the Olympic Games last summer.
Philippa Hitchen asked Rose to talk about her personal experience as a refugee and about the significance of being able to represent refugees across the world in public occasions.
Pope Francis waves while traveling by boat in Venice, Italy, for a meeting with young people at the Basilica della Madonna della Salute on April 28, 2024. Earlier in the day he met with inmates at a women's prison. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis opened his one-day visit to Venice on Sunday morning with a meeting with female inmates where he reaffirmed the importance of fraternity and human dignity, noting that prison can be a place of new beginnings. "A stay in prison can mark the beginning of something new, through the rediscovery of the unsuspected beauty in us and in others, as symbolized by the artistic event you are hosting and the project to which you actively contribute," the pope said to the female inmates gathered in the intimate courtyard of the Women's Prison on the Island of Giudecca. Pope Francis left the Vatican by helicopter at approximately 6:30 in the mo...
Pope Francis prays in front of the tomb of St. Mark the Evangelist inside St. Mark's Basilica in Venice on April 28, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Apr 28, 2024 / 09:35 am (CNA).Pope Francis had a full slate of events Sunday during his day trip to Venice, a trip that tied together a message of unity and fraternity with the artistic patrimony of a city that has been a privileged place of encounter across the centuries. "Faith in Jesus, the bond with him, does not imprison our freedom. On the contrary, it opens us to receive the sap of God's love, which multiplies our joy, takes care of us like a skilled vintner, and brings forth shoots even when the soil of our life becomes arid," the pope said to over 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Mark's Square. Framing his homily during the Mass on the theme of unity, one of the central points articulated throughout several audiences spread across the morning, Pope Francis reminded Christians: "Remaining ...
Prayer house at San Simeone, Italy, September 2012. / Credit: Courtesy of Ricostruttori nella preghieraRome, Italy, Apr 28, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).Across Italy there are houses of prayer run by the Ricostruttori (Reconstructors) community, a Catholic movement dedicated to people who are far from the Church but attracted to spirituality, particularly Eastern meditation and Buddhist practices. The Reconstructors was founded in 1978 by Jesuit Father Gian Vittorio Cappelletto. "During the postconciliar period, the Church was faced with the need for new forms of evangelization and apostolate, to reach out to people who were drifting away," Don Roberto Rondanina, priest and superior of the Ricostruttori, explained to CNA. "It was a time when Eastern meditation, Hinduism, Buddhism, the New Age ... were beginning to spread in Europe." "Father Cappelletto, who lived in Turin, sought to understand the meaning of this 'flight to the East' and felt the need to find new forms of sp...