(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for peace in the Central African Republic following intense armed clashes there. He made the call following the Regina Caeli in St Peter's Square.Listen to our full report: The Holy Father said it pained him to hear about the violence in CAR especially after visiting the country in November 2015.He went on to say that the fighting had claimed many victims, displaced people and threatened the peace process.“I am close to the people and to the bishops”, the Pope added, “and to all those who work for the good of the people and for peaceful coexistence.”Pope Francis prayed for the deceased and the wounded and he renewed his appeal calling for an end to the violence. He also expressed the hope that good will and dialogue would prevail into order to bring peace and development to the country.During his Regina Caeli address the Holy Father looked to Asia saying, “on May 24, let us all join spiritually...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for peace in the Central African Republic following intense armed clashes there. He made the call following the Regina Caeli in St Peter's Square.
Listen to our full report:
The Holy Father said it pained him to hear about the violence in CAR especially after visiting the country in November 2015.
He went on to say that the fighting had claimed many victims, displaced people and threatened the peace process.
“I am close to the people and to the bishops”, the Pope added, “and to all those who work for the good of the people and for peaceful coexistence.”
Pope Francis prayed for the deceased and the wounded and he renewed his appeal calling for an end to the violence. He also expressed the hope that good will and dialogue would prevail into order to bring peace and development to the country.
During his Regina Caeli address the Holy Father looked to Asia saying, “on May 24, let us all join spiritually with the Catholic faithful in China on the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Help of Christians," venerated at the Sheshan Shrine in Shanghai.
To Chinese Catholics, said the Pope, “we look to our Mother Mary to help us discern God's will regarding the concrete path of the Church in China and may he support us in his generosity of love. Mary encourages us to offer our personal contribution to communion among believers and to the harmony of the whole of society. He continued, “let us not forget to bear witness to the faith with prayer and love, keeping us open always to encounter and dialogue.”
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...