“You are the clear majority of the population of this land, and your presence fills it with life, hope and a future,” the Holy Father told about 1,000 young people, Wednesday 11 September during his visit to Timor Leste.
Since arriving in Papua New Guinea from Indonesia Friday 6 September, Pope Francis had been hearing about the work of the government and the local church to combat clan-based violence and to assist people accused of bringing evil to their communities.
If every baby brings joy, the Holy Father said, how much more should people marvel at the fact that in Christ, God himself became human “to draw close to us and save us.”
Speaking at the Vatican on 25 August, Pope Francis said, “If someone commits evil against his people, he will be guilty of that, but he cannot have committed evil just because he prayed.”
The statement examines rising tensions around the world, the nature of truth, the spread of misinformation and disinformation, the arms race, domestic cohesion, the need for dialogue and education for peace.
As the Israel-Hamas war edges toward the one-year mark, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem is calling on the faithful to pray for peace while observing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Aug. 15.
Every Christian, but especially seminarians, should set aside their screens regularly and spend time with a book of literature or poetry, Pope Francis has said.
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris and Bishop Emmanuel Gobilliard of Digne, special representative of the Holy See for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, celebrated a solemn Mass in the presence of over a hundred diplomatic delegations.
The Holy Father reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from St Mark (6:7-13) about the mission of the twelve disciples in which Jesus sent them out “two by two” and told them “to take nothing for the journey” but only what was necessary.