(Vatican Radio) Our Director of English Programming, Sean-Patrick Lovett, is just returned from the Philippines, where he was visiting on a lecture tour that took him first to the University of Manila and then to Davao, on the island of Mindanao – and smack into the middle of a war zone.Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte had in fact declared martial law on Mindanao after an attempt to apprehend a suspected leader of a terror group associated with the so-called Islamic State resulted in major clashes between Islamic militants, the torching of buildings, and kidnappings.“I was there [in Davao] at a particularly tense time,” Lovett said.“Hence, a message like ‘Do not fear, I am with you’,” which is the theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 51st World Day of Communications, marked in the Church throughout the world this past Sunday, and the occasion of Lovett’s visit to Davao, “became much more than just a Papal document.&rd...
(Vatican Radio) Our Director of English Programming, Sean-Patrick Lovett, is just returned from the Philippines, where he was visiting on a lecture tour that took him first to the University of Manila and then to Davao, on the island of Mindanao – and smack into the middle of a war zone.
Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte had in fact declared martial law on Mindanao after an attempt to apprehend a suspected leader of a terror group associated with the so-called Islamic State resulted in major clashes between Islamic militants, the torching of buildings, and kidnappings.
“I was there [in Davao] at a particularly tense time,” Lovett said.
“Hence, a message like ‘Do not fear, I am with you’,” which is the theme of Pope Francis’ message for the 51st World Day of Communications, marked in the Church throughout the world this past Sunday, and the occasion of Lovett’s visit to Davao, “became much more than just a Papal document.”
Duterte declared martial law on Tuesday, May 23, following the outbreak of fighting in Marawi City, saying the declaration might last from over a month to a year.
The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, however, says the imposition of martial law should not exceed 60 days, and that any extension has to be approved by Congress.
The bishops of the Philippines issued a statement last week recognizing the legitimacy of martial law as an emergency measure, and urging restraint and prudence in the use of what must remain, they say, extraordinary powers well circumscribed in both their duration and the scope of their exercise.
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...