Calling the Syrian conflict “a great tribulation,” Pope Francis said tensions throughout the Middle East must give way to dialogue and reconciliation.
The “dumbing down of the Catholic faith” that impacted catechesis in the mid-1960s “was a pastoral disaster of the first order,” Father Robert Barron told a crowd of about 500 people at the Catholic Media Conference in Denver June 19.
The photos of refugees projected on the facade of Rome’s Gesu Church are reminders of what Pope Francis would call the suffering body of Christ today, said the head of Jesuit Refugee Service.
In 2011, Luis Martinez, 29, traveled to Madrid, almost by accident. He said it was destiny that took him from his home in Fresnillo, Mexico, as a pilgrim to World Youth Day. Someone could not go at the last minute, and he ended up taking the spot. Now Luis is volunteering in Rio de Janeiro, preparing for 2 million pilgrims that will arrive in the city July 23-28 for World Youth Day.
It is “truly scandalous” that the global level of food production is enough to feed the planet’s people, yet millions of people are malnourished and millions more “must be satisfied with the crumbs falling from the table,” Pope Francis said.
The church is the body of Christ, but when Catholics fight among themselves or Catholics and other Christians are in conflict with one another, they make Christ’s body suffer, Pope Francis said.
When Christians address God as “our Father” they acknowledge that God created and loves them, but they also recognize that all people are their brothers and sisters, Pope Francis said.
While church leaders repeatedly call for global aid for the poor and hungry, a Vatican official urged efforts to end another sort of hunger: the so-called “book famine.”
Syrian refugees fleeing their homeland’s civil war deserve support from the international community in the form of food, water, shelter and education, said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, of Tucson, Ariz., chairman of the board of Catholic Relief Services.
Having “Former member of the Swiss Guard” on one’s resume would be perfect for breaking into a career as a police officer or security specialist. But it turns out that being a papal protector is also a great gateway into the priesthood.