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Vatican Weekend for December 3, 2016 features a report on the General Audience, a reflection on the Church’s English martyrs whom we remember each December, plus a spiritual reflection for this holy month of the Lord’s birth. The programme ends with a musical meditation marking the 2nd Sunday of Advent and a segment celebrating the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady…Listen to this programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:
Vatican Weekend for December 4, 2016 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s More in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye” and EWTN’s Rome bureau chief, Joan Lewis looks back at the past week's events in the Vatican.Listen to this programme produced and presented by Tracey McClure:
(Vatican Radio) On 1 December, the Holy Father Pope Francis received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.In the course of the audience, the Supreme Pontiff authorized the Congregation to promulgate decrees regarding: The miracle, attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Giovanni, Schiavo, professed Priest of the Congregation of San Giuseppe; born 8 July 1903 and died 27 January 1967; The martyrdom of the Servant of God Vicente Queralt Lloret, professed Priest of the Congregation of the Missions, and 20 Companions, amongst them six professed priests of the same Congregation, five diocesan Priests, two religious Daughters of Charity, and seven Lay members of the Association Sons of Mary of the Miraculous Medal, killed in hatred of the Faith during the civil war in Spain between 1936 and 1937; The martyrdom of the Servant of God Teofilius Matulionis, Archbishop-Bishop of Kaišiadorys (Lithuania), ...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a Message to mark the Calasanctian Jubilee Year – a special Jubilee marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Pious Schools, which provide free education to the sons of the poor, and the Religious Order that runs them, commonly known as the Piarists, by St. Joseph Calasanctius (Joseph of Calasanz), Sch.P.Click below to hear our report In his Message, Pope Francis says, “[The Piarist Fathers] have always exercised their ministry in school, but have been able to incarnate their charisma also in several other areas. And, at the same time, they have been able to respond to the requests of the Church, assuming pastoral services wherever necessary.”He goes on to say, “Today more than ever we need an evangelizing pedagogy capable of changing the heart and reality in harmony with the Kingdom of God, making people protagonists and participants in the process. Christian education, especially among the po...
(Vatican Radio) Following the closure of the Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Doors in Jerusalem and Nazareth will be closed respectively on December 3 and 9, during Solemn Masses in the Church of All Nations and the Basilica of the Annunciation. The masses will be presided by Patriarchal Vicars Bishop William Shomali in Jerusalem, Bishop Giacinto Marcuzzo in Nazareth and by Fr. Francesco Patton, Custos of the Holy Land.The Apostolic Administrator of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa spoke to Linda Bordoni of the meaning of the event in the Holy Land.Listen: Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa points out that the Holy Door will also be closed in Anjara in Jordan that together with Getsemane and Nazareth are the three most significant Holy places in the Holy Land.“The meaning is the same as it is all over the world: first of all to close the Jubilee Year but also to remind the community that the commitment to mercy for us Christians isn’t over, but must ...
Vatican City, Dec 2, 2016 / 03:35 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Stephen Hawking’s visit to the Vatican this week has raised curiosity, with some asking what exactly the famed astrophysicist and self-proclaimed atheist was doing in the heart of the Catholic Church.But for the Vatican, his visit was nothing out of the ordinary. Hawking is a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences – which includes 80 of the most brilliant scientists in the world – and he was in Vatican City for the group’s annual meeting.This year’s conference was focused on “Science and Sustainability.” Hawking himself gave a talk on “The Origin of the Universe,” the topic that has earned him world renown.Religious belief – Catholic or otherwise – is not a criterion for membership in the Pontifical Academy. The group’s president, Werner Arber, a former Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine, is a Protestant. And members of the Academy are Catholics, atheist...
Vatican City, Dec 2, 2016 / 04:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his latest prayer video, which highlights his prayer intention for the month of December, Pope Francis focused on putting an end to the phenomenon of child-soldiers, which he called a “form of slavery.”The video, published Dec. 1, shows a soldier suiting up for battle in the dark, boots, gun and ammo included. When the soldier’s face is shown, it’s a young boy with the lower half of his face covered by a bandana.As the child pulls the bandana down revealing his entire face, Francis’ voice is heard in his native Spanish, saying: “in this world, which has developed the most sophisticated technologies, weapons are sold that end up in the hands of child soldiers.”The scene then changes to show children running and playing in the sun, while the Pope says “we must do everything possible so that the dignity of children may be respected, and end this form of slavery.”“Whoeve...
By VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis has recognized themartyrdom of Father Stanley Rother of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, makinghim the first martyr born in the United States.The Vatican made the announcement Dec. 2. The recognitionof his martyrdom clears the way for his beatification.Father Rother, born March 27, 1935, on his family's farmnear Okarche, Oklahoma, was brutally murdered July 28, 1981, in a Guatemalanvillage where he ministered to the poor.He went to Santiago Atitlan in 1968 on assignment fromthe Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. He helped the people there build a smallhospital, school and its first Catholic radio station. He was beloved by thelocals, who called him "Padre Francisco."Many priests and religious in Guatemala became targetsduring the country's 1960-1996 civil war as government forces cracked down onleftist rebels supported by the rural poor.The bodies of some of Father Rother's deacons andparishioners were left in front of his church and soon he receive...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- When Donald Trump named his Treasury secretary, Teena Colebrook felt her heart sink....
BEIRUT (AP) -- The Latest on the conflict in Syria (all times local):...
