Christmas joy comes from knowing God loves and saves us, pope says
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IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Christmas approached, St. Peter'sSquare was filled with balloons, singing and an incredible variety of BabyJesus figurines -- everything from plastic figures that would fit in a walnutshell to those that were larger-than-life sized.For Pope Francis, the most important ingredient in the mixwas joy.Reciting the Angelus Dec. 11 and blessing the Baby Jesusstatues children brought for their home or school Nativity scenes, the popeinsisted that the true meaning of Christmas should bring Christians a deep andabiding sense of joy.Unlike "superficial happiness" or even thegiddiness shopping can bring, he said, "it is a joy that touches the depthsof our being while we await Jesus, who already has come to bring salvation tothe world, the promised Messiah, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary.""God entered history to free us from slavery to sin; hepitched his tent among us to share our existence, heal our wounds, bandage ourinjuries...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Christmas approached, St. Peter's
Square was filled with balloons, singing and an incredible variety of Baby
Jesus figurines -- everything from plastic figures that would fit in a walnut
shell to those that were larger-than-life sized.
For Pope Francis, the most important ingredient in the mix
was joy.
Reciting the Angelus Dec. 11 and blessing the Baby Jesus
statues children brought for their home or school Nativity scenes, the pope
insisted that the true meaning of Christmas should bring Christians a deep and
abiding sense of joy.
Unlike "superficial happiness" or even the
giddiness shopping can bring, he said, "it is a joy that touches the depths
of our being while we await Jesus, who already has come to bring salvation to
the world, the promised Messiah, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary."
"God entered history to free us from slavery to sin; he
pitched his tent among us to share our existence, heal our wounds, bandage our
injuries and give us new life," the pope said. "Joy is the fruit of
this intervention of salvation and God's love."
The Christmas decorations and lights and the Nativity scenes
being set up in homes all over the world are signs of that joy, Pope Francis
said. They are a call "to welcome the Lord who always knocks at our door,
the doors of our hearts, to draw near to us" and "to recognize his
footsteps in those of our brothers and sisters passing by, especially the
weakest and neediest."
Pope Francis asked the children to pray in front of their
Nativity scenes with their parents. "Ask Baby Jesus to help us all love
God and our neighbors."
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null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...
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The St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use in the United States, on April 9, 2020, in New Orleans. / Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:50 pm (CNA).A criminal investigation into the Archdiocese of New Orleans is based on a suspicion that it may be linked to child sex trafficking, according to allegations presented in a search warrant granted to Louisiana State Police.The affidavit requesting the search warrant, first obtained by the New Orleans-based WWL Radio, alleges that multiple sex abuse victims provided statements that claim they were transported to other parishes and outside of Louisiana, where they were sexually abused. It further alleges a scheme within the archdiocese in which abused children were instructed to provide "gifts" to certain priests, which were meant to signal that the children were targets for sexual abuse.According to the ...
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Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore pack the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen during a concluding listening session on the archdiocese's major parish restructuring plan on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew BalanBaltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city's parishes.Several parishes from the state's largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore's "Seek the City" parish restructuring proposal. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of...