Vatican City, Jul 6, 2016 / 07:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis met with a group of poor and disabled pilgrims, calling them the “treasures off the Church,” and entrusting them with the special task of praying for the proud, greedy, vain and the hypocrites. “The treasures of the Church are the poor,” the Pope told a group of 200 poor, sick and disabled pilgrims from the French diocese of Lyon, and gave them a special mission. This mission, he said, is one that “only you in your poverty will be able to fulfill.” He noted how in the Gospel, Jesus was at times “very severe and strongly reproached” those who didn’t welcome his Father’s message. While Jesus spoke the beautiful words that “blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated and persecuted,” he also said another word, which coming from him “is scary: he said ‘woe.’” Jesus said this “to the rich, to the wise, to those who now are laughing, to those who like to be adored, to the hypocrites,” Francis noted, and gave his audience the task “to pray for them, so that the Lord changes their hearts.” He asked them to pray “for those guilty of your poverty so they convert,” and to pray for wealthy people who “make merry with large banquets without realizing that at their doors there are many Lazarus’ eager to be fed the leftovers of their table.” Francis also encouraged the pilgrims to pray for priests who, like the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, see someone in distress and pass by, “looking the other direction because they don’t have compassion.” The Pope also urged pilgrims to pray for those who share in their poverty, and to smile at these people “from the heart, desiring their good and ask Jesus for their conversion.” “I assure you that if you do this, there will be great joy in the Church, in your hearts and also in the beloved France.” Pope Francis met with the group, headed by the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall July 6. Since the Pope is taking a break from his general audiences for the month of July, the small, private meeting with the Lyon pilgrims served as a replacement for the weekly encounter. In his speech, Francis said that no matter what their condition, story or burden is, Jesus is the one “who unites us inside himself” and welcomes each person as they are. Jesus was also tested during his life, the Pope said, telling the pilgrims that this serves as proof that “you are precious in his eyes, and that he is close to you.” Francis told the group that they “are in the heart of the Church” since during his life Jesus “always gave priority to people like you, who lived similar situations.” The Church, “who loves and prefers what Jesus loved and preferred,” he added, can’t rest until she has reached all those who experience rejection, exclusion and “who don't count for anyone.” As people suffering in the flesh, the poor, suffering and disabled show us how to encounter Christ, since they speak to us about him with their “entire lives,” the Pope said. He said that each one of them bears witness to the importance of “small gestures,” reminding us that “we are brothers and that God is Father for all of us.” Before closing his speech Pope Francis offered special thanks to the caretakers and those who assist the sick and disabled, telling them that a life lived alongside the poor “transforms and converts us.” Not only do caregivers go out to meet the needs of even those who are ashamed and hidden, they “walk with them, endeavoring to understand their suffering, to enter into their desperation.” Furthermore, “you raise a community around them, thereby restoring to them an existence, an identity, a dignity,” Francis said, explaining that the Jubilee of Mercy is the ideal opportunity to rediscover and live solidarity, fraternity and mutual support. He closed his speech by asking the pilgrims to maintain courage and hope in the midst of their anguish, telling them that as witnesses of Christ, “you are intercessors before God who grants in a very special way your prayers.” After closing his speech Pope Francis led the group in praying the Our Father in French, and took the time to greet each person individually before leaving the hall. Read more

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2016 / 07:27 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Wednesday Pope Francis met with a group of poor and disabled pilgrims, calling them the “treasures off the Church,” and entrusting them with the special task of praying for the proud, greedy, vain and the hypocrites. “The treasures of the Church are the poor,” the Pope told a group of 200 poor, sick and disabled pilgrims from the French diocese of Lyon, and gave them a special mission. This mission, he said, is one that “only you in your poverty will be able to fulfill.” He noted how in the Gospel, Jesus was at times “very severe and strongly reproached” those who didn’t welcome his Father’s message. While Jesus spoke the beautiful words that “blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are hated and persecuted,” he also said another word, which coming from him “is scary: he said ‘woe.’” Jesus said this “to the rich, to the wise, to those who now are laughing, to those who like to be adored, to the hypocrites,” Francis noted, and gave his audience the task “to pray for them, so that the Lord changes their hearts.” He asked them to pray “for those guilty of your poverty so they convert,” and to pray for wealthy people who “make merry with large banquets without realizing that at their doors there are many Lazarus’ eager to be fed the leftovers of their table.” Francis also encouraged the pilgrims to pray for priests who, like the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, see someone in distress and pass by, “looking the other direction because they don’t have compassion.” The Pope also urged pilgrims to pray for those who share in their poverty, and to smile at these people “from the heart, desiring their good and ask Jesus for their conversion.” “I assure you that if you do this, there will be great joy in the Church, in your hearts and also in the beloved France.” Pope Francis met with the group, headed by the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall July 6. Since the Pope is taking a break from his general audiences for the month of July, the small, private meeting with the Lyon pilgrims served as a replacement for the weekly encounter. In his speech, Francis said that no matter what their condition, story or burden is, Jesus is the one “who unites us inside himself” and welcomes each person as they are. Jesus was also tested during his life, the Pope said, telling the pilgrims that this serves as proof that “you are precious in his eyes, and that he is close to you.” Francis told the group that they “are in the heart of the Church” since during his life Jesus “always gave priority to people like you, who lived similar situations.” The Church, “who loves and prefers what Jesus loved and preferred,” he added, can’t rest until she has reached all those who experience rejection, exclusion and “who don't count for anyone.” As people suffering in the flesh, the poor, suffering and disabled show us how to encounter Christ, since they speak to us about him with their “entire lives,” the Pope said. He said that each one of them bears witness to the importance of “small gestures,” reminding us that “we are brothers and that God is Father for all of us.” Before closing his speech Pope Francis offered special thanks to the caretakers and those who assist the sick and disabled, telling them that a life lived alongside the poor “transforms and converts us.” Not only do caregivers go out to meet the needs of even those who are ashamed and hidden, they “walk with them, endeavoring to understand their suffering, to enter into their desperation.” Furthermore, “you raise a community around them, thereby restoring to them an existence, an identity, a dignity,” Francis said, explaining that the Jubilee of Mercy is the ideal opportunity to rediscover and live solidarity, fraternity and mutual support. He closed his speech by asking the pilgrims to maintain courage and hope in the midst of their anguish, telling them that as witnesses of Christ, “you are intercessors before God who grants in a very special way your prayers.” After closing his speech Pope Francis led the group in praying the Our Father in French, and took the time to greet each person individually before leaving the hall. Read more

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has marked the feast of the young martyr St. Maria Goretti by calling the faithful to follow her example and be forgiving to those who wrong them. The memory of Maria Goretti's example should “encourage you to commit yourselves, like the Saint you venerate, to being witnesses of forgiveness,” the Pope wrote in a letter for the July 6 feast of the  Italian who is known for having forgiven her attacker. The June 20 letter was addressed to Bishops Mariano Crociata of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno and Marcello Semeraro of Albano, the dioceses of the regions where Maria Goretti – who is even now affectionately known as “Marietta” – lived  and died. The young saint, who was killed at age 11 while resisting a rape, is renowned both as a martyr for chastity and as a witness of forgiveness: as Maria lay dying from wounds inflicted by her would-be rapist, Alessandro Serenelli, she prayed for his conversion. Lauding Maria Goretti's ability to forgive her attacker as she lay dying, Francis quoted the 2015 Bull of Indiction for the Year of Mercy, saying: “At times how hard it seems to forgive! And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart.” This “generous offer of forgiveness,” he said, accompanied “the peaceful death of the young Marietta,” establishing for her killer the “sincere journey of conversion which, in the end, led him to taste the faithful abandonment in the arms of his merciful Father.” Francis cited Maria Goretti's “intensity of love for the Eucharistic Jesus,” which led to her having the strength to make the “fundamental choice of her brief existence,” the Pope said, in reference to her martyrdom. Born in the city of Corinaldo, Italy in 1890, St. Maria Goretti was the third of seven children.  Poverty forced the family to relocate, and they ultimately settled in a town just outside of Nettuno. The earth was “fertile but insidious because of malaria,” the Pope said, referring to death of Maria Goretti's father when she was six. “The family lived this situation with dignity,” the Pope said, recalling how, after her father's death, Maria assisted her mother in housework and in caring for her younger siblings. In 1902, Maria was stabbed 14 times when Serenelli, then a neighboring farmhand who had made previous inappropriate comments and sexual advances toward her, attempted to rape her. She died in hospital in the nearby town of Nettuno. While in prison several years later, Alessandro converted after having a dream in which Maria handed him 14 white flowers that burst into flame. The flowers represented the 14 wounds he had inflicted upon her; the flames symbolized forgiveness. After being released from prison he became a Capuchin tertiary and attended Maria’s beatification alongside her mother. In the letter, Pope Francis also compared the trials experienced by the Goretti family with those faced by families today, such as poverty and forced migration. “Poverty and the urgent need for work pushed the Goretti to immigrate from their native Corinaldo,” the Pope said. Francis compared the “tears and poverty” which accompanied the Goretti family's migration to the journeys made by families for “the most varied reasons,” including poverty. “It is a situation which makes us feel every closer to this girl,” the Pope reflected. Read more

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2016 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has marked the feast of the young martyr St. Maria Goretti by calling the faithful to follow her example and be forgiving to those who wrong them. The memory of Maria Goretti's example should “encourage you to commit yourselves, like the Saint you venerate, to being witnesses of forgiveness,” the Pope wrote in a letter for the July 6 feast of the  Italian who is known for having forgiven her attacker. The June 20 letter was addressed to Bishops Mariano Crociata of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno and Marcello Semeraro of Albano, the dioceses of the regions where Maria Goretti – who is even now affectionately known as “Marietta” – lived  and died. The young saint, who was killed at age 11 while resisting a rape, is renowned both as a martyr for chastity and as a witness of forgiveness: as Maria lay dying from wounds inflicted by her would-be rapist, Alessandro Serenelli, she prayed for his conversion. Lauding Maria Goretti's ability to forgive her attacker as she lay dying, Francis quoted the 2015 Bull of Indiction for the Year of Mercy, saying: “At times how hard it seems to forgive! And yet pardon is the instrument placed into our fragile hands to attain serenity of heart.” This “generous offer of forgiveness,” he said, accompanied “the peaceful death of the young Marietta,” establishing for her killer the “sincere journey of conversion which, in the end, led him to taste the faithful abandonment in the arms of his merciful Father.” Francis cited Maria Goretti's “intensity of love for the Eucharistic Jesus,” which led to her having the strength to make the “fundamental choice of her brief existence,” the Pope said, in reference to her martyrdom. Born in the city of Corinaldo, Italy in 1890, St. Maria Goretti was the third of seven children.  Poverty forced the family to relocate, and they ultimately settled in a town just outside of Nettuno. The earth was “fertile but insidious because of malaria,” the Pope said, referring to death of Maria Goretti's father when she was six. “The family lived this situation with dignity,” the Pope said, recalling how, after her father's death, Maria assisted her mother in housework and in caring for her younger siblings. In 1902, Maria was stabbed 14 times when Serenelli, then a neighboring farmhand who had made previous inappropriate comments and sexual advances toward her, attempted to rape her. She died in hospital in the nearby town of Nettuno. While in prison several years later, Alessandro converted after having a dream in which Maria handed him 14 white flowers that burst into flame. The flowers represented the 14 wounds he had inflicted upon her; the flames symbolized forgiveness. After being released from prison he became a Capuchin tertiary and attended Maria’s beatification alongside her mother. In the letter, Pope Francis also compared the trials experienced by the Goretti family with those faced by families today, such as poverty and forced migration. “Poverty and the urgent need for work pushed the Goretti to immigrate from their native Corinaldo,” the Pope said. Francis compared the “tears and poverty” which accompanied the Goretti family's migration to the journeys made by families for “the most varied reasons,” including poverty. “It is a situation which makes us feel every closer to this girl,” the Pope reflected. Read more

Vatican City, Jul 6, 2016 / 03:50 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After the tragic death of Beau Solomon in Rome late last week, Pope Francis offered to meet with the young student’s parents, who traveled to the city once they heard that their son was missing. “This morning…around 9a.m. the Pope met with the parents of Beau Solomon, the young American student found dead in the Tiber in the past days,” a July 6 communique from the Holy See Press Office read. Francis, it said, expressed his sentiments of “deep sympathy and compassion,” as well as his closeness in prayer for the youth, who “so tragically passed away.” Pope Francis’ encounter with the Solomon parents took place shortly before an audience with a group of 200 sick and disabled pilgrims from the French diocese of Lyon, headed by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin. It was just two days after the young student’s body had been found in the Tiber River. Beau, 19, was a sophomore visiting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a five week summer study abroad course at Rome’s John Cabot University. He arrived in the Italian capital Thursday, and was reported missing by his roommate when he failed to show up for an orientation meeting Friday morning. According to reports, Solomon had been with a group of friends at a pub in Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood Thursday night, and was last seen around 1a.m. In a statement issued Sunday, John Cabot said that on Friday Solomon’s roommate became “worried when he did not see Beau at orientation that morning,” and contacted the school authorities, who then notified the Italian police. Solomon’s body was found in the Tiber River Monday with a head wound. According to the Telegraph, the Beau’s parents had called their son’s credit card company when he went missing, and discovered it had been stolen with roughly 1,500 euros worth of charges. The youth’s cell phone had also been stolen. On Tuesday Italian police arrested a homeless man, Massimo Galioto, 40, in relation to Beau’s death. According to Italian news agency ANSA, police said the man was detained “as a suspect of the crime, seriously suspected of aggravated homicide.” John Cabot said Tuesday that it was “greatly saddened” by Beau’s death. In the statement, published on the university’s website, they committed to assisting his family and sought to reassure students about their safety in Rome. “There have not been any indications of elevated threats to our students or the local community,” the statement said. “The university continues to work tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of all our students.” As a child Beau had survived a rare form of cancer and in 2005 was able to meet his favorite American football player, Brett Favre, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In comments to NBC News before Beau’s body had been found, his older brother, Jake Solomon, said that “in our family, (Beau) is the one who does it all right. He's an incredible athlete. He is the one that keeps us all together.” Read more

Vatican City, Jul 5, 2016 / 06:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday, it was announced that Pope Francis will make a private pilgrimage to Assisi early next month to celebrate the eighth centenary of the dedication of the Portiuncula chapel, the site where the Franciscan order began. On Aug. 4, the Pope will visit the small chapel, which is located within the larger Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, according to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization. The visit was announced July 4 by Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi and representatives of the Franciscan order. The papal pilgrimage will come two days after the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi,” a Franciscan feast which commemorates St. Francis persuading Pope Honorius III to allow pilgrims to receive a plenary indulgence at the Portiuncula.   Last week, Pope Francis remembered the Portiuncula – translated as the “little portion” – during celebrations of the 65th anniversary of Benedict XVI's priestly ordination. In his June 28 address, the Pope the described the site as “a hidden corner near the Mother of the Church, near Mary whom, because of her steadfast faith and a life entirely lived for the love of the Lord and in His love, all generations will call blessed.” According to tradition, St. Francis experienced a vision of Jesus and Mary in the Portiuncula chapel on Aug. 1, 1216, during which he prayed that all pilgrims to the chapel would receive a plenary indulgence; the prayer was granted on the condition that he received permission from the Pope. The site is also believed to be where St. Clare – who founded the Franciscan Poor Clares – was officially received into the order by St. Francis in 1211. Last year, Pope Francis marked the Pardon of Assisi -- celebrated as the feast of Our Lady of the Angels of Porziuncola -- during his weekly Angelus address by stressing the importance of the sacrament of Confession. The feast “is a powerful reminder to bring ourselves closer to the Lord in the Sacrament of Mercy, and to receive Communion,” he said during his Aug. 2, 2015 address.Pope Francis has previously visited the medieval town, which is located in the heart of the Italian region of Umbria. Several months after his 2013 election to the papacy, the Pope spent a day in Assisi to celebrate the Oct. 4 feast of St. Francis. The Assisi-born founder of the Franciscan order has held special significance for the current Pope, who took the name Francis upon his election to the papacy. A few days after after taking office, the pontiff told journalists he chose the name because St. Francis of Assisi “is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we?”A plenary indulgence can be received on Aug. 2 by anyone who visits a Catholic church with the intention of honoring Our Lady of the Angels and recites the Creed, the Our Father, and prays for the Pope's intentions, along with fulfilling other conditions. Read more

Vatican City, Jul 5, 2016 / 04:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his message for a new campaign promoting peace in Syria, Pope Francis called out world leaders who speak of ending the conflict, but at the same time fund the war through the sale of arms. &ldq... Read more