Listen to God for guidance to build better world, pope tells students
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=148164&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Upholding the truth and moralvalues isn't easy, especially for young people, Pope Francis said."But with God's help and with the sincere will to dogood, every obstacle can be overcome," he told international students andthose who minister to them.Students studying abroad and about 100 campus ministers and representativesof bishops' conferences participated in the Fourth World Congress on thePastoral Care of International Students Nov. 28-Dec. 2. The congress wassponsored by the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.Pope Francis said it was important that new generations alwaysbe inspired and guided to build a "healthier society," especiallywhen it comes to dealing with moral dilemmas.Today, "the moral challenges to be addressed are manyand it is not always easy to fight for affirming the truth and values,especially when one is young," he said, but it can be done with God's helpand honest intentions.He said he was pleased to see so many yo...
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Upholding the truth and moral
values isn't easy, especially for young people, Pope Francis said.
"But with God's help and with the sincere will to do
good, every obstacle can be overcome," he told international students and
those who minister to them.
Students studying abroad and about 100 campus ministers and representatives
of bishops' conferences participated in the Fourth World Congress on the
Pastoral Care of International Students Nov. 28-Dec. 2. The congress was
sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers.
Pope Francis said it was important that new generations always
be inspired and guided to build a "healthier society," especially
when it comes to dealing with moral dilemmas.
Today, "the moral challenges to be addressed are many
and it is not always easy to fight for affirming the truth and values,
especially when one is young," he said, but it can be done with God's help
and honest intentions.
He said he was pleased to see so many young students
attending the congress because it showed that "challenges do not make you
afraid, rather they drive you to work to build a more humane world. Never stop
and don't get discouraged because Christ's Spirit will guide you if you listen
to his voice."
Pursuing higher studies, especially abroad in a new
social and cultural context, helps students and the communities that host them
to broaden their horizons, become more tolerant and welcoming, build trust and
spark a desire to work for the common good, he said.
The pope told educators and pastoral workers to help
deepen foreign students' love for the Gospel and their desire to live it out
concretely and share it with others.
By teaching how to think critically and to grow in Christian
values, one forms young people who are "thirsty for truth and not power,
ready to defend values and live mercy and charity -- fundamental foundations
for a healthier society."
While the pope praised the benefits of getting an
education abroad, he lamented "brain drain" -- that is, the
"painful" lack of social or employment opportunities in poorer countries, which
pushes bright students to "abandon their own nation."
- - -
Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
Full Article
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275467&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
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...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275466&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
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 ...
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&url=10&view=post&articleid=275461&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
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...