Ukrainian Ambassador: If the Pope says he's coming tomorrow, we will be ready, 1. This takes real courage: the courage of compassion, a courage that goesbeyond complacency, beyond the mindset of it doesnt concern me and it has nothing to do with my life. BREAKING NEWS: POPE FRANCIS RETIREMENT SPEECH THAT SHOCKS THE WORLD | Don't Ignore! This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Two Augustinian sisters say the cloister opens unexpected horizons, 3. You can also change some of your preferences. Early on in his pontificate, Francis predicted a short papacy of two or three years, and credited Benedict with having "opened the door" to future papal retirements. Francis said he needed to take action because Benedict's 2007 decision to allow freer celebration of the old rite had divided the church and been exploited by conservatives. He who does not forgive sickens physically, emotionally and spiritually. We ask readers to log in so that we can recognize you as a registered user and give you unrestricted access to our website. You can also manage your account details and your print subscription after logging in. Above, Pope Francis meets migrants during his visit at. Pope Francis concludes his Lenten Spiritual Exercises, 2. He said of himself, "When I read this, I think about myself because I'm a bishop and I'll have to take my leave.". Instead he went straight to Vinicio and embraced him tightly. The April 28-30 trip to Budapest . Today, we too can be spectators of violence and war, of brothers killing brothers, like games we watch from a safe distance, indifferent, certain that they will never affect us. This is a commitment to care for creation, for the common home that we will leave to the young who will come after us. "Each of life's stages is a time to believe, hope and love," the pope tweeted Friday. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. Kissing the feet of formerly warring South Sudanese leaders, April 11, 2019. Washing the feet of prisoners, women and Muslims at Holy Thursday, March 28, 2013. Pope Francis: Thank you, Benedict, for praying for church By FRANCES D'EMILIO June 29, 2021 VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis on Tuesday offered an affectionate, public thank-you to Benedict XVI, whose retirement from the papacy in 2013 shocked the Roman Catholic Church and the world. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. He and his predecessor, Pope Benedict, . Here is the full prepared text of Pope Francis’ address at an interreligious meeting, delivered March 6, 2021, in the Plain of Ur, Iraq. We cannot allow the lives of entire peoples to become mere pawns in a game of power. We may not be indifferent onlookers. When you register, youll get unlimited access to our website and a free subscription to our email newsletter for daily updates with a smart, Catholic take on faith and culture from, Pope Francis greets family members as he arrives to lead his general audience in the San Damaso courtyard at the Vatican in this Sept. 9, 2020, file photo. Pope Francis prays in St. Peters Square for an end to the coronavirus pandemic,March 27, 2020. Once they are added to the ranks of princes of the church, Francis will have stacked the College of Cardinals with 83 of the 132 voting-age cardinals. He will be heading to the Italian city of LAquila later this summer for a feast. In fact, all 20th-century popes died in their early 80s or younger, with the exception of Pope Leo XIII, who was 93 when he died in 1903. It is exactly what Pope Celestine V did, one of the few pontiffs who resigned in the historical tradition. The Pope mentioned that St. Paul had to decide when to leave his flock of Christians to the care of others. ROME Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate by announcing he would visit the central Italian city of L'Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013. Are You A Liturgist With A Passion to Form Young Adults? "It's a call to change," she told a conference this week. A Reflection for Friday of the First Week of Lent, by Jill Rice. The basilica in L'Aquila hosts the tomb of Celestine V, a hermit pope who resigned after five months in 1294, overwhelmed by the job. Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions. We proclaim this against the backdrop of the Colosseum. We cannot continue to accept wars with the detachment with which we watch the evening news, but rather make an effort to see them through the eyes of the peoples involved. There is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. May ours not be empty words, but insistent appeals for the welfare of our brothers and sisters, opposing war and death in the name of the One who is peace and life. Nine. this helps us promote a safe and accountable online community, and allows us to update you when other commenters reply to your posts. Reverend Antonio Spadaro, an Italian Jesuit priest, said that he still sees "a lot of energy" in the pope. The timing coincides with the L'Aquila church's celebration of the Feast of Forgiveness, which was created by Celestine in a papal bull. We need to listen to others, make their sufferings our own and look into their faces. Pope Francis is 81, and he was elected at age 76. In the summer of 2021, Pope Francis had undergone surgery for diverticulitis, a condition which creates inflammation in the diverticula. Pope Francis spoke about when it will be time for him to retire during his homily on Tuesday. Message: . Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Yesterday, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis made a beautiful speech at his retirement.Regardless of religion, see how Pope Francis has beautifully written about the family."FAMILY, PLACE OF FORGIVENESS . Forgiveness is the asepsis of the soul, the purification of the spirit and the liberation of the heart. Thank you. In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) andinclude the authors name and geographic location. Those who do not forgive are physically, emotionally and spiritually ill. And they will suffer in two ways. Other popes that may have retired include: Pontian (became pope in 230 and likely resigned in 235); Marcellinus (became pope in 296 and resigned or died around 304); Liberius (became pope in 352 . Today they are fearful, because in all too many parts of the world, rather than dialogue and cooperation prevailing, military confrontation is once again becoming the decisive means for imposing ones own ends. And also, Keeping heartache of unforgiving in your heart is a self-destructive gesture. Sixteen of these new cardinals are under the age of 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a successor if Francis does retire. We do not have perfect parents, you are not perfect yourself and We do not marry a perfect person or we do not have perfect children. We said nothing, but he looked at me as if he was digging deep inside, a beautiful look that I would never have expected.. . A beam of light hits Pope Francis cross on his return flight from Dublin, Aug. 26, 2018. The logo features the symbol of the capital city and colors of both the Holy See and Hungary. It summons us to serve the truth and declare what is evil when it is evil, without fear or pretence, even and especially when it is committed by those who profess to follow the same creed as us (Message to the Participants in the G20 Interfaith Forum 2021, 7 September 2021). There is no healthy marriage or healthy family without the exercise of forgiveness. You can either click on the link in your confirmation email or simply re-enter your email address below to confirm it. We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. Our news comes in the form of job vacancies, scholarships, education and local news. As a frequent reader of our website, you know how important Americas voice is in the conversation about the church and the world. Pope Francis embraces a man with a severe skin condition, Nov. 6, 2013. Pope Francis began his speech by saying that he had come "as a pilgrim to a young country" that has "an ancient history" and "deep roots in the heart of Europe." Slovakia, he said, "has. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. During his six days in Canada, Francis had moments both of sturdiness and frailty. Unforgiving is Evil and a poison that intoxicates and kills the one who refuses to forgive. Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the VII Conference "Rome MED Dialogues" (20 November 2021) [ English - Italian ] Message of the Holy Father to participants in the World Meeting of Justice and Peace Commissions of Episcopal Conferences [Video Conference, 17 - 18 November 2021] (15 November 2021) While enjoying robust health at the time, Benedict said he simply didn't have the strength to carry on. Not even the sufferings of victims of war, migrants, young boys and girls trapped in conflicts and robbed of the carefree games of childhood. This is a pope who lives the phrase often attributed to his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi: Preach the Gospel at all times. Holy Father's Message, signed by the Secretary of State, to the young people taking part in the annual Taiz encounter (30 December 2021), Video message of the Holy Father for the inauguration of the academic year of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, in Milan, on the centenary of its foundation (19 December 2021), Message of Pope Francis to His Holiness Bartholomew I on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Andrew (30 November 2021), Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to mark the 70th anniversary of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) (29 November 2021), Video message of the Holy Father on the occasion of his upcoming Apostolic Journey to Cyprus and Greece [2-6 December 2021] (27 November 2021), Message of the Holy Father, signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, for the Semaines Sociales de France (26 November 2021), Video Message of the Holy Father for the 11th Festival of the Social Doctrine of the Church [Verona, 25-28 November 2021] (25 November 2021), Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities [3 December 2021] (20 November 2021), Video Message of the Holy Father to mark the conclusion of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture (23 November 2021), Message of the Holy Father to participants in the Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean [21-28 November 2021] (15 October 2021), Video Message of the Holy Father to the Daughters of Charity on the occasion of the General Assembly (20 November 2021), Message of His Holiness Pope Francis to Participants in the VII Conference Rome MED Dialogues (20 November 2021), Message of the Holy Father to participants in the World Meeting of Justice and Peace Commissions of Episcopal Conferences [Video Conference, 17 18 November 2021] (15 November 2021), Video message of the Holy Father to mark the 75th anniversary of Unesco (12 November 2021), Message of the Holy Father on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of UNESCO (11 November 2021), Message of the Holy Father on the occasion of the conference Promoting child safeguarding in the time of Covid-19 and beyond [Rome, 4 November 2021] (21 October 2021), Message of the Holy Father Francis to the Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow [Glasgow, 31 October - 12 November 2021] (29 October 2021), Message of His Holiness Pope Francis, signed by the Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the occasion of the opening of a high-level global meeting on the elimination of child labor in agriculture (2 November 2021), World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.