Dressed in purple vestments to mark the Lenten season, Pope Francis said Lent is a chance for Christians to ensure their relationship with God “is not reduced to mere outward show.”
The appointment is in conjunction with Archbishop Costelloe’s concurrent appointments as a Member of the Preparatory Commission, and as one of the nine President Delegates to the Synod.
Pope Francis said that the power of St John’s preaching is linked to the silence he experienced in the desert, which allowed him to listen to the Holy Spirit.
The 1983 declaration states that Catholics enrolled in Masonic associations “are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion.”