In his 2022 Lenten Message, Pope Francis has said Christians are called to sow goodness their entire lives, but even more so during Lent.
Christians must resist “concupiscence,” the tendency to sin, which is a weakness that leads to “selfishness and all evil and finds in the course of history, a variety of ways to lure men and women into sin,” he wrote.
As part of ongoing measures to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has approved restructuring the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the oldest of the congregations.
With the words “pilgrims” and “hope” representing key themes of Pope Francis’ pontificate, he has last month approved “Pilgrims of Hope” as the motto for the Holy Year 2025.
The motto aims to give a concise sense of the full meaning of the jubilee journey.
The Catholic Church worldwide is showing good progress and “much joy” after the opening of the synodal process, but there also have been some “uncertainties” and challenges, said the ordinary council of the Synod of Bishops. By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service.
Hundreds of men and women belonging to religious orders attended the Mass for the celebration of Candlemas — the feast of the Presentation of the Lord — which also marks the Vatican celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life on 2 February at the Vatican.
Speaking during his weekly general audience, Wednesday 26 January, Pope Francis has said that parents, in particular, often must grapple with situations or problems that are out of their control, such as when their child is sick or has a chronic illness. “How much pain is there!”.
American Archbishop Charles Balvo, a veteran of the Vatican’s diplomatic service for more than 30 years, will assume the role of Apostolic Nuncio to Australia. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Archbishop Coleridge said Archbishop Balvo “comes to us at a complex and challenging time in the Church and in Australia.
The Vatican announced that Pope Francis sent more than 100 000 euros ($113 868) for the relief of the population, in relief aid to the Philippines after typhoon Rai struck in December. The pope also will send 100 000 euros to help migrants stranded on the border of Belarus and Poland and to Caritas Poland, which has been working to assist them. By Junno Arocho Esteves, Catholic News Service.
“What is Christmas? Is it a tree? A statue of a baby with a woman and a man nearby? Yes, it is Jesus, the birth of Jesus,” he said, so “stop for a bit and think of Christmas as a message, a message of peace.”