A family that chooses to watch TV or play with their smartphones rather than talk at the dinner table is “hardly a family”, Pope Francis said.
The dignity and rights of workers must never be compromised, not only with regard to fair wages and pension, but also in “their right to rest,” Pope Francis said.
Archbishop Timothy Costello has this week responded to the news from the Federal Government, announcing the distribution of visa’s to refugees in Syria.
Pilgrims travelling to Rome can experience the best of both worlds, earthly and spiritual, when they find themselves at Domus Australia.
Businesses are called on to promote harmony between work and family for their employees, especially for women with children or those who are starting families, Pope Francis said on 31 October in an audience with the Christian Union of Italian Business Executives.
The presidents of the US and Canadian bishops conferences have this week joined leaders of the regional bishops conferences of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Oceania and Europe in signing an appeal for government leaders to reach a “fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement” at a summit in Paris. Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai, President of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, signed the appeal on 26 October at the beginning of a joint news conference at the Vatican.
Directing music for an American Catholic parish drove a Christian musician down a 25-year journey as a contributor to the Church’s liturgical music. In 1973, Marty Haugen took what he thought was a temporary job as music director for the Catholic Church in Minnesota.
The first task of the Catholic Church “is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim the mercy of God”, Pope Francis has told members of the Synod of Bishops on the Family. At the end of the synod’s final working session on Saturday, 24 October, Pope Francis was honest about the differences of opinion present among synod participants and about the tone of their discussions sometimes exceeding the bounds of charity. But he framed all those differences as an opportunity for learning.
While not specifically mentioning the controversial proposal of a path toward full reconciliation and Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried, members of the Synod of Bishops on the Family handed Pope Francis a report emphasising an obligation to recognise that not all Catholics in such a situation bear the same amount of blame.