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Pope’s Angelus for New Year’s Day 2025: ‘God Is the First to Forgive Debts’…

After his traditional New Years’ Day Angelus prayer, Pope Francis issues a powerful call to political leaders, urging them to “set a good example by canceling or significantly reducing the debts of the poorest countries.” By Vatican News Addressing a crowded St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis once again emphasized his firm “no” to war, declaring that it “always destroys.” He also urged that no country or people should be “crushed by debt.” Debt cancellation for poorer nations Speaking after his traditional New Years’ Day Angelus, he made an appeal to world leaders “God is the first to forgive debts, as we always ask in the ‘Our Father,’” Pope Francis said. “The Jubilee calls us to translate this forgiveness into social terms so that no individua...

Vatican on Death of Jimmy Carter: ‘The Holy Father Commends Him to the Infinite Mercies of Almighty God’…

Pope Francis recalls Jimmy Carter’s “firm commitment, motivated by deep Christian faith, to the cause of reconciliation and peace between peoples, the defense of human rights and the welfare of the poor and those in need” in a telegram of condolence for the death of the former US President. By Christopher Wells Pope Francis says he is “saddened to learn of the death of former president Jimmy Carter” and offered his “heartfelt condolences” and prayers for those who mourn his passing. In a telegram signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the Pope recalled Carter’s “firm commitment, motivated by deep Christian faith, to the cause of reconciliation and peace between peoples, the defense of human rights and the welfare of the poor and those in need,” and commended him “to the infi...

Pope Francis Delivers Rare Papal Radio Message on BBC’s ‘Thought for the Day’…

The Pope has called for “hope and kindness” in a message for Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Pope Francis emphasised the importance of humility in the recording broadcast on Saturday. “A world full of hope and kindness is a more beautiful world. A society that looks to the future with confidence and treats people with respect and empathy is more humane,” he said. He also quoted British writer GK Chesterton, whom the pontiff says invites us to “take the elements of life with gratitude and not for granted”. The message – recorded in Italian and translated into English – marks the Catholic Church’s Jubilee year, which began on 24 December. A jubilee is a Church tradition which takes place only once every 25 year...

Angel Expert: Apparitions Reveal ‘Strong Link’ Between St. Michael and Divine Mercy…

Father Pierre Doat, rector of France’s Mont Saint Michel sanctuary since September 2023, describes his role as one immersed in daily wonder and standing in sharp contrast to the secular Western world, where social disintegration and the culture of death reveal a profound disenchantment. Since his arrival at this landmark of Christendom, which is actually a tidal island in Normandy, this young priest of the Community of St. Martin, a public clerical association of pontifical right, has witnessed firsthand the powerful evangelizing force of St. Michael the Archangel. Building on this rich experience, he recently wrote Le Roman des Anges, a novel that depicts an encounter between Arnaud, a young lawyer grappling with the meaning of life, and his guardian angel at the moment of his death. Thro...

For First Time in History, Pope Opens Jubilee Year Holy Door Inside a Prison…

In the Rebibbia New Complex Prison in Rome, Pope Francis opens a Holy Door and celebrates Mass for prisoners. By Kielce Gussie “I wanted the second Holy Door I open to be here at a prison,” Pope Francis explained. For the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, the first Door to be opened was the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on 24 December 2024, then, for the first-time ever, the Pope opened the Holy Door at a prison. Pope greets a prisoner in the Church of Our Father Arriving at the Rebibbia New Complex Prison in Rome, the Pope spoke about the importance of opening the Door there. In front of the prison’s chapel, the Church of Our Father, he explained that he wanted everyone to “have the opportunity to fling open the doors to their hearts and to understand that hope never disappoints.̶...

President Biden Commutes Sentences of 37 of 40 Federal Prisoners on Death Row…

US President Joe Biden commutes the sentences of 37 prisoners on federal death row to life imprisonment without parole, expressing his conviction that “we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.” Pope Francis, who had a telephone conversation with the US leader in recent days, had launched an appeal to pray for the prisoners on America’s death row, an appeal supported by the US bishops and humanitarian associations. By Christopher Wells In an act of clemency prior to the end of his term in office, US President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners on federal death row to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. “Make no mistake: I condemn these murderers, grieve for the victims of their despicable acts, and ache for all the fa...

Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Support and Defend the Sacred Value of the Life of the Little Ones in the Womb’…

Angelus Angelus Dómini nuntiávit Mariæ.Et concépit de Spíritu Sancto.Ave Maria… Ecce ancílla Dómini.Fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum.Ave Maria… Et Verbum caro factum est.Et habitávit in nobis.Ave Maria… Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei génetrix.Ut digni efficiámur promissiónibus Christi. Orémus.Grátiam tuam, quǽsumus, Dómine,méntibus nostris infunde;ut qui, Ángelo nuntiánte, Christi Fílii tui incarnatiónem cognóvimus, per passiónem eius et crucem, ad resurrectiónis glóriam perducámur. Per eúndem Christum Dóminum nostrum. Amen. Gloria Patri… (ter)Requiem aeternam… Benedictio Apostolica seu Papalis Dominus vobiscum.Et cum spiritu tuo.Sit nomen Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus,Pa ter, et Fi lius, et Spiritus Sanctus. Amen. The Angelus Prayer The Angel of the Lord d...

Jimmy Lai Quizzed Over ‘Seditious Retweet’ in Hong Kong Court…

Jimmy Lai quizzed over ‘seditious retweet’ in HK court Skip to content The jailed Catholic publisher Jimmy Lai returned to court in Hong Kong Monday to give testimony in his trial under the territory’s controversial National Security Law. Lai, who has been in prison since 2020, is accused of colluding with foreign powers and publishing seditious materials. If convicted, he faces life in prison. Jimmy Lai. Image via Doughty Street Chambers. In court appearances Dec. 13 and 16, his legal team sought to contextualize and defend alleged attempts to conspire with foreign forces against the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China, specifically by lobbying foreign government officials to sanction the Hong Kong government and local officials. Share On Friday, Lai was asked to explain his accou...

Pope Francis Visits Corsica: ‘Popular Piety Fosters Evangelization and Community’…

Addressing the “Conference on Popular Piety in the Mediterranean” in Ajaccio, Pope Francis highlights the importance of these expressions of faith as a means of fostering evangelization in our increasingly secularized societies and communities. By Lisa Zengarini Far from being an obsolete folkloristic expression, popular piety can be a powerful means for evangelization today, fostering community and belonging, Pope Francis said in his first speech during his Apostolic Journey to Corsica. 15/12/2024 Pope Francis has boarded the papal plane and left Italy, travelling to the French island of Corsica. Speaking at the Palais des Congrès et d’Exposition of Ajaccio at the conclusion of the “Congress on Popular Piety in the Mediterranean”, the Pope reiterated that the “acti...

Pope Francis Set to Visit French Island of Corsica on Sunday — 47th Trip Abroad During Papacy…

On 15 December, Pope Francis’ 47th Apostolic Journey abroad will take him to Corsica, known as the Île de beauté, where he will take part in the Conference on Popular Religiosity in the Mediterranean before meeting with the clergy and faithful of the French island. By Salvatore Cernuzio On the one hand, popular piety, the faith of ordinary people, expressed in pilgrimages, acts of devotion in sanctuaries, traditional songs and prayers; on the other, the Mediterranean with its challenges, the echoes of war, the tragedy of migration that has turned the Mare Nostrum into an ‘open-air cemetery’: Pope Francis’ apostolic journey on 15 December to Corsica, Napoleon’s birthplace, known as Île de beauté, the “island of beauty” with its landscapes framed by forests, beaches and mountains, enda...

Female ‘Episcopal Delegate’ Added to Eucharistic Prayer Alongside Pope and Bishop in Belgian Province…

Lay ‘episcopal delegate’ added to Eucharistic Prayer in Belgian province Skip to content Pastors in a Belgian province have been asked to include an episcopal delegate in the Eucharistic Prayer at Masses. Rebecca Alsberge, episcopal delegate for the vicariate of Brabant Walloon, Belgium. Screenshot from @vicariatdubrabantwallon4305 YouTube channel. A Nov. 6 archdiocesan memo to clergy in the vicariate of Brabant Walloon, a French-speaking area south of the capital, Brussels, proposed naming Rebecca Alsberge alongside the pope and the local bishop in the Eucharistic Prayer. Leave a comment In Belgium, an episcopal delegate is a territorial coordinator responsible for a region of a diocese. The position is called in some countries a regional vicar — though the term “vicar” is reserved for re...

Pope’s Wednesday Audience: ‘May the Holy Spirit Help Us Abound in Hope’…

At the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis concludes his cycle of catechesis on the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church, and recalls that the Holy Spirit is the “ever-flowing source of Christian hope.” By Christopher Wells Pope Francis dedicated his reflection at the General Audience to the theme of “The Holy Spirit and the Bride: the Holy Spirit guides the People of God towards Jesus our hope”, the title of the cycle of catechesis that concluded on Wednesday. The Holy Father looked to the Book of Revelation, with the eschatological invocation, “Come,” addressed to the risen Christ by “the Spirit and the Bride.” noting that our hope for the final coming of Jesus is always present in the Church. At the same time, the Pope said, the Church also expects the c...