Vatican City, Sep 16, 2016 / 01:10 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Like the Good Samaritan in the parable, you have been called to show the mercy of God to the men and women God has placed in your path, Pope Francis said to a group of new bishops on Friday. “Be bishops with a heart wounded by such a mercy and so tireless in the humble task of accompanying the man who 'by chance' God has put in your way,” the Pope encouraged. The Roman Pontiff's Sept. 16 audience was with the participants in an annual training course for bishops held in Rome organized by the Congregation of Bishops and the Congregation of Eastern Churches. “Men have need of mercy,” the Pope said. The Good Samaritan is “interested in (the man's) recovery and his future … mercy, which had broken his heart, needs to pour and pour.” Just as Christ was close to his disciples, accompany your priests first “with patient care”, Pope Francis exhorted the new bishops. He added that priests should feel comfortable going to their bishop to ask questions or for explanations. He also told the bishops to take special care of seminaries and seminarians, not focusing just on the number of vocations, but rather on the “quality of discipleship.” “Do not deprive the seminarians of your firm and tender fatherhood,” he said. The Holy Father also talked about the importance of introducing people to the sacraments, to the fullness of truth in the Church, and to mercy. “The Mercy of God is the only reality that allows men to not get completely lost, even when unfortunately he tries to escape his appeal,” the Pope said. “Bishops, be able to launch your Churches in this abyss of love.” Pope Francis told the bishops that they were caught “from the heart of God to guide his Holy People” and thus should not be afraid to live out their calling. “Know that this time it is your name that the Father wanted to say,” he said. “Indeed, abandon the pretense of self-sufficiency to rely as little children on him who reveals his small kingdom.” The bishops have been called to their vocation and position by God, Pope Francis said, and it is their job to attract people to the mercy of God and to help them discern the whisper of God amid the noise of the world. “A god distant and indifferent you can ignore, but (you cannot) easily resist a God so near and moreover wounded for love,” the Pope continued. “Goodness, beauty, truth, love, good – here is what we can offer to this beggar, the world, although in half-broken bowls.” Pope Francis also encouraged the bishops to accompany families, rejoicing in their generous love and encouraging the immense good they do in the world. “Put before their eyes the true joy of love and grace with which God elevates the share of his Love. So many people need to rediscover it, others have never known (it), some (are) waiting it redeem it, not a few will bring him the weight of having irretrievably lost,” he said. “Please keep them company in discernment and with empathy.” The Pope reminded the bishops that above all, it is the work of God that they do in their ministries. “It is comforting to keep in our hearts the memory of his voice that has called us, despite our shortcomings,” he said. “He gives peace, surrender to certainty that it will be him, not us, to bring to fulfillment what he himself started.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 16, 2016 / 12:38 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has confirmed that the impediments preventing one from being ordained – such as homicide, abortion, or attempted suicide – apply whether or not the man was Catholic at the time the act occurred. As the law is written, a doubt existed that the “irregularities,” as they are called, applied only to those who were Catholic – and thus those who were under the law – at the time they were committed. Pope Francis affirmed the definitive interpretation, that the law does apply to non-Catholics who have performed the acts, in a meeting with members of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts on May 31. The letter was made public by the Vatican Sept. 15. The purpose of the law is to provide extra protection to the sanctity of the Sacrament of Holy Orders – in the episcopate, priesthood, and diaconate – Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, said in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano. He clarified that it is not a punishment for the irregularizing act, but merely an upholding of the dignity of Holy Orders.Canon 1041 of the Code of Canon Law states that, among others, “any person who has committed voluntary homicide or procured a completed abortion and all those who positively cooperated in either” and “a person who has mutilated himself or another gravely and maliciously or who has attempted suicide” is “irregular for receiving (holy) orders.” Bishop Arrieta told reporters Thursday that it is possible for a dispensation to be granted by special intervention of the bishop if the person is truly contrite, “but a warning sign remains.” Precaution is required in order to “protect the dignity of the sacrament,” he said. The definitive interpretation is substantiated by a reasoned, rather than overly formalistic reading of the law, Bishop Arrieta said in L'Osservatore Romano. “A different interpretation” of the canon, he continued, “would lead to propose a discriminatory treatment by applying different rules depending on the condition of whether or not Catholic at the time of the facts.” This would be “particularly paradoxical and unjust, because both Catholics and non-Catholics are equally bound to respect for his own life and that of others, as belonging to the natural order,” he said. Pope Francis also issued changes this week to the Latin code of canon law, with an eye toward clarifying ministry to Eastern Catholics. The Pope cited concern for harmony between the different codes. The name of the Pope’s apostolic letter, De concordia inter Codices, in fact means “Concerning harmony between laws.” It is dated May 31 and was released Sept. 15 and concerns topics such as baptism, marriage, and change of ecclesiastical rite. The Pope said the changes were motivated by the presence of many Eastern Catholics in predominantly Latin Catholic regions. Read more

Vatican City, Sep 16, 2016 / 11:19 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday, Pope Francis visited a neonatal hospital unit and a hospice for the terminally ill, stressing the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. The Sept. 16 visit is the late... Read more

Vatican City, Sep 15, 2016 / 05:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has issued new changes to canon law that modify Latin Church code with an eye towards clarifying ministry to Eastern Catholics. The Pope cited concern for harmony between the differe... Read more

Vatican City, Sep 15, 2016 / 01:35 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Created in the image of God, human beings have a dignity they are in danger of degrading when they place material possessions above God in their hearts, Pope Francis said Thursday.   “Reflect on how we are created, formed in the image and likeness of the Creator, the difference with other creatures and with all creation is essential,” Pope Francis said during an audience with the Italian Biblical Association Sept. 15. “This helps us to understand the dignity that we all have, men and women, dignity which has its roots in the same Creator.” Pope Francis met with the Italian Biblical Association on the occasion of National Bible Week about their work, which has included discussing the relationship between man and woman as it is written in Scripture. Pope Francis referenced St. Pope John Paul II's general audience addresses on the “Theology of the Body,” given from 1979-1984, and his own catechesis from a general audience on April 15, 2015, commenting on the first account of creation. “I had occasion to stress that 'God, having created the universe and all living things, created the masterpiece that is the human being, made in his image,'” the Pope said. “I have always been impressed that our dignity is precisely that of being children of God,” Francis continued. And that it “is manifested in the fact that he guides us like a father does with a son.” God made us in the way of an artist, “shaping the mud from the earth... He created us not only with his words but with his hands and his breath, as if to say that the whole being of God is involved in giving life to the human being,” he said. However, it is possible that this dignity can “degrade,” Francis noted. This is what happens when we embrace idolatry and allow material things, such as wealth, to take the place of God in our hearts. So this raises a question, the Pope observed: “how can I share this dignity, so that it develops in a positive reciprocity? How can I make the other feel worthy?” It is good to often ask ourselves: how do I accept my own dignity? How am I helping others to grow in their dignity? he said. For, he concluded, “God gave us the dignity of being his children.” Read more