Confession reforms the Church's life, says Pope
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On 15th November, Pope Francis greeted a large group of Dutch Pilgrims in St Peters Basilica. The group was made up of representatives of the Dutch Association of Catholic Organisations, who had come to Rome to take part in the Jubilee Year of Mercy.The group was accompanied by the Archbishop of Utrecht, Cardinal Wilem Eijk. The Cardinal had originally asked for Pope to be the celebrant of a Mass for the group. Although that wasn’t possible, the Pope joined the group at the end of the ceremony and greeted them. Cardinal Eijk also took the opportunity to present the Pope with a new book entitled “A Welcoming Netherlands.” The book describes the works undertaken by many Catholic projects in the Netherlands, in response to the Pope calling the Year of Mercy. The Dutch Bishops Conference will also be distributing copies of the book to all Dutch parishes, as a witness and encouragement to mercy.In his address, Pope Francis described the Year of Mercy as an opportunity...
On 15th November, Pope Francis greeted a large group of Dutch Pilgrims in St Peters Basilica. The group was made up of representatives of the Dutch Association of Catholic Organisations, who had come to Rome to take part in the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
The group was accompanied by the Archbishop of Utrecht, Cardinal Wilem Eijk. The Cardinal had originally asked for Pope to be the celebrant of a Mass for the group. Although that wasn’t possible, the Pope joined the group at the end of the ceremony and greeted them. Cardinal Eijk also took the opportunity to present the Pope with a new book entitled “A Welcoming Netherlands.” The book describes the works undertaken by many Catholic projects in the Netherlands, in response to the Pope calling the Year of Mercy. The Dutch Bishops Conference will also be distributing copies of the book to all Dutch parishes, as a witness and encouragement to mercy.
In his address, Pope Francis described the Year of Mercy as an opportunity to “enter even further into relationship with Jesus Christ, who is the face of the merciful Father.”
Speaking of the need to experience the Father’s mercy in Confession, the Pope reminded the group that “We never get used to this great mystery of God’s love. It is the source of our salvation. We all need divine mercy; it saves us, gives us life, and recreates us as true sons and daughters of God. And we experience the saving goodness of God in a special way in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Confession is where you receive the gift of forgiveness and mercy of God. Here begins the transformation of each of us and the reform of the Church’s life.”
After calling on the group to be channels of mercy, in order to help quench mankind’s thirst for God, the Pope asked them all to pray for him.
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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...
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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 ...
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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...