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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has created a new Dicastery to better minister to the needs of the men and women the Church is called to serve.The new “Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development” was instituted in a Motu Proprio published on Wednesday in the Osservatore Romano. It will come into effect as from 1 January 2017 and will be especially “competent in issues regarding migrants, those in need, the sick, the excluded and marginalized, the imprisoned and the unemployed, as well as victims of armed conflict, natural disasters, and all forms of slavery and torture”.On that same date, four Pontifical Councils dedicated to charity and to the promotion of human development will cease to exist and effectively be encompassed in the new institution.The Pope has appointed Cardinal Peter Turkson as Prefect of the new dicastery. Turkson is the current President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace – one of those destined to be suppres...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is “pleased” that negotiations between the government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been finalized after four years of peace talks.A statement issued by the Secretariat of State said the Holy Father “reiterates his support for the goal of attaining the peace and reconciliation of the entire Colombian people, in light of human rights and Christian values, which are at the heart of Latin American culture.”The conflict between the government and the Marxist rebels has lasted over 50 years, and killed over 200,000 people.Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Tuesday called a plebiscite for 2 October to ratify the agreement. The full statement is below Statement of the Secretariat of State The Holy Father was pleased to learn that negotiations have been finalized between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP, concluding an intense process that took place over the last s...
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday addressed the World Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, which has been meeting in Rome since August 27th to explore the role of teamwork caring for patients with cardiovascular illness. Below, please find the full text of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks****************************************Ladies and Gentlemen,Good morning! I was pleased to accept the invitation of the Executive Committee of the European Society of Cardiology to meet with you on the occasion of this World Congress which brings together cardiologists from various countries. I am particularly grateful to Professor Fausto Pinto for his kind words and, through him, I thank each of you for the scientific work in these days of study and discussion, but above all for your dedication to so many who are sick.You look after the heart. How much symbolism is enshrined in this word! How many hopes are contained in this human organ! I...
Rome, Italy, Aug 31, 2016 / 03:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Mother Teresa didn't try to solve all of the world's problems: she simply lived her life in radical service and love of her neighbor, expecting God to take care of the rest, said her spiritual advisor.“Hindus, Muslims, and Christians alike saw in her a role model. She was popular because she was authentic and she loved people genuinely,” Msgr. Leo Maasburg told CNA.CNA interviewed Msgr. Maasburg in anticipation of Mother Teresa's canonization, which takes place in Rome Sept. 4. During the Q&A, the priest talked about her spiritual philosophy, how she helped society in India, her under-recognized political interest and her “darkness of the soul,” among other things.Msgr. Maasburg, a priest of the Archdiocese of Vienna who was ordained in 1982, met Mother Teresa a few years into his priesthood, remaining her good friend until her death in 1997. Over the years, Msgr. Maasburg joined Mother Te...
Vatican City, Aug 31, 2016 / 04:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday the Vatican announced Pope Francis’ decision to form a new mega-dicastery merging the Vatican offices for Justice and Peace, Migrants, charity and healthcare.Dedicated to “Promoting Integral Human Development,” the new department – also called a dicastery – was announced in an Aug. 31 communique from the Vatican.The announcement was accompanied by the Motu Proprio “Humanam progressionem,” meaning “Human Development,” by which Pope Francis formally established the dicastery “Promoting Integral Human Development.”Set to take effect Jan. 1, 2017, the new congregation will take on the tasks of the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace, Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, Cor Unum, and Healthcare Workers.It will be headed by Cardinal Peter Turkson, who since March 2013 has served as president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.Francis’ ...
London, England, Aug 31, 2016 / 05:33 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A relative of Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry has moved one step closer to sainthood.According to reports from the British news source Catholic Herald, a 20-year investigation into the life and works of Father Ignatius Spencer has recently been approved by Vatican historians.The positio, or document used in the process to declare someone “venerable,” has officially been passed to the theologians of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood.If sufficient “evidence of sanctity” is found, they will appeal to Pope Francis to declare the Passionist priest “venerable,” the second of four major steps on the path to canonization as a saint in the Catholic Church.Fr. Ignatius Spencer was born George Spencer in 1799 and was an Anglican clergyman in the area of Althorp, Northamptonshire, where Lady Diana was buried after she was killed in a Paris car crash in August 1997.Fr...
ISTANBUL (AP) -- Turkey on Wednesday dismissed reports of a cease-fire deal with Kurdish rebels in northern Syria, and vowed to continue its week-old military incursion into the neighboring country until all "terror entities are eliminated."...
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) -- Hillary Clinton plans to stress her support for American exceptionalism during a speech in the battleground state of Ohio, while arguing that Donald Trump has rejected the concept....
EVERETT, Washington (AP) -- Donald Trump will make a quick visit to Mexico on Wednesday, meeting with the president of a nation he derided as the home of rapists and criminals. The trip is a politically risky move for the Republican presidential nominee less than 10 weeks before the election....
As Christians, we may not all be called into a formal ministry but we're all called to minister throughout our lives. That could take the form of sharing the Gospel with someone at work, serving at...
