Blinken, Putin congratulate Pope Francis on 11th anniversary of election
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Pope Francis presides greets pilgrims at a penitential service at St. Pius V Parish in Rome on March 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNARome Newsroom, Mar 14, 2024 / 09:20 am (CNA).The international community on Wednesday sent congratulatory messages to Pope Francis to mark the 11th anniversary of his election to the pontificate, praising him for his leadership and peace initiatives over his nearly-dozen years at the Vatican. "Today, I join millions of Americans in congratulating the Holy Father on this anniversary as he continues his work of leading the Catholic Church and inspiring people around the globe to seek peace, charity, and compassion," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in a March 13 statement. Blinken in his statement noted that the U.S. and the Vatican are "united by common values such as respect for human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression." "We continue to work together to address the challenges of...
Pope Francis presides greets pilgrims at a penitential service at St. Pius V Parish in Rome on March 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Mar 14, 2024 / 09:20 am (CNA).
The international community on Wednesday sent congratulatory messages to Pope Francis to mark the 11th anniversary of his election to the pontificate, praising him for his leadership and peace initiatives over his nearly-dozen years at the Vatican.
"Today, I join millions of Americans in congratulating the Holy Father on this anniversary as he continues his work of leading the Catholic Church and inspiring people around the globe to seek peace, charity, and compassion," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote in a March 13 statement.
Blinken in his statement noted that the U.S. and the Vatican are "united by common values such as respect for human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression."
"We continue to work together to address the challenges of climate change, human trafficking, food security, and the humanitarian effects of conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere," Blinken concluded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also congratulated Francis on his anniversary in an official correspondence on Wednesday, remarking that the pope is a "a true and honest defender of peace and one of the few leaders with an honest strategic vision of world problems."
The Russian Embassy to the Holy See also wrote a congratulatory message on X, calling the pope "a true and sincere advocate of humanism, peace and traditional values," and "one of the few political leaders with a truly strategic viewpoint on world problems."
Other world leaders such as Tsai Ing-wen, the president of the Republic of China, expressed "profound respect" for the pope's leadership over the last 11 years, lauding him for having "promot[ed] peace and goodwill, particularly in Ukraine and Palestine."
Ilham Aliyev, the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, likewise reflected on the pope's anniversary, noting his country's "genuine dialogue and mutual understanding" with the Holy See, which has contributed "to preserving universal values and fostering solidarity among representatives of various religions and cultures."
Pope Francis — born Jorge Mario Bergoglio — was elected as the 265th successor to St. Peter on March 13, 2013, following the historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. He previously served as the archbishop of Buenos Aires in his native Argentina.
Francis, the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas, has centered his pontificate on the care of migrants, environmental protection, and building a Church that reaches out to the poor and the peripheries.
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A patient at the new Misky María Palliative Care Hospital located on the outskirts of Lima, Perú. / Credit: Asociación de las Bienaventuranzas (Association of the Beatitudes)ACI Prensa Staff, May 4, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).In the context of the recent news of the death of Ana Estrada, the first person to request and receive euthanasia in Peru, there is a contrasting story to tell on care for the dying in that country: that of a new Catholic hospital on the outskirts of Lima that provides palliative care, which extends the love of Christ to those in extreme poverty who are in the final stages of their lives.The beginning of the 'Misky María' HospitalIn 2021, Father Omar Sánchez Portillo, a priest known for his extensive charitable work in the district of Lurín (south of Lima) and founder of the Association of the Beatitudes, had the dream of building a center to serve, with the "sweetness of Mary," people in situations of abandonment and extreme poverty who have terminal illnesses...
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Father Roger Landry, Catholic chaplain at Columbia University, discusses the protests at Columbia University in New York City on EWTN's "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo" on May 2, 2024. / Credit: EWTN News The World Over / ScreenshotWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 3, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).Father Roger Landry, a Catholic chaplain at Columbia University, said on Thursday that the protests making national headlines at the New York City school are being organized in part by "explicitly communist" outside forces. "There is an instrumentalization of what's going on in Gaza to advance an agenda," he said. "And that is to deconstruct our present world order at which the United States is considered the top of that order."Speaking on EWTN's "The World Over with Raymond Arroyo," Landry said that he had been walking through the encampment nearly daily, conversing with student protesters and other "outside agitators." While he said he believes that many of the protesters we...