Pope: Speechless before horror of Holocaust, pray it never happen again
http://www.myspiritfm.com/apps/articles/default.asp?blogid=0&view=post&articleid=153066&link=1&fldKeywords=&fldAuthor=&fldTopic=0
By Carol GlatzVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anti-Semitism is absolutelycontrary to Christianity, and the church has a duty to denounce and repel suchhatred, Pope Francis said.There are no words, however, that could ever adequatelyaddress "the horrors of cruelty and sin" of the Holocaust, he added.There is only prayer "that God may have mercy and that such tragedies maynever happen again."The pope made his comments Feb. 9 at the Vatican duringan audience with a delegation of the Anti-Defamation League, an organizationthat fights anti-Semitism."Sadly, anti-Semitism, which I again denounce in allits forms as completely contrary to Christian principles and every visionworthy of the human person, is still widespread today," the pope said.He reaffirmed that the Catholic Church "feelsparticularly obliged to do all that is possible with our Jewish friends torepel anti-Semitic tendencies."More than ever, the fight against anti-Semitism needseffective tools of education and formation that teach resp...
By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anti-Semitism is absolutely
contrary to Christianity, and the church has a duty to denounce and repel such
hatred, Pope Francis said.
There are no words, however, that could ever adequately
address "the horrors of cruelty and sin" of the Holocaust, he added.
There is only prayer "that God may have mercy and that such tragedies may
never happen again."
The pope made his comments Feb. 9 at the Vatican during
an audience with a delegation of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization
that fights anti-Semitism.
"Sadly, anti-Semitism, which I again denounce in all
its forms as completely contrary to Christian principles and every vision
worthy of the human person, is still widespread today," the pope said.
He reaffirmed that the Catholic Church "feels
particularly obliged to do all that is possible with our Jewish friends to
repel anti-Semitic tendencies."
More than ever, the fight against anti-Semitism needs
effective tools of education and formation that teach respect for everyone and
protection for the weakest.
"Caring for the sacred gift of all human life and
safeguarding its dignity, from conception to death, is the best way of
preventing every type of violence," he said.
"Faced with too much violence spreading throughout
the world, we are called to a greater nonviolence, which does not mean
passivity, but active promotion of the good," he said. "Indeed, if it
is necessary to pull out the weeds of evil, it is even more vital to sow the
seeds of goodness."
That requires cultivating justice, promoting harmony and
sustaining integration "without growing weary."
Pope Francis encouraged the
delegates to continue their work, knowing that "the best remedies against
the rise of hatred consist in making available the means necessary for a dignified
life, in promoting culture and favoring religious freedom everywhere, as well
as in protecting believers and religions from every form of violence and
exploitation."
- - -
Copyright © 2017 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...