Vatican City, May 14, 2016 / 06:06 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his catechesis for this Saturday's Jubilee of Mercy audience, Pope Francis addressed the theme of piety, and how it manifests God's mercy through compassion for the suffering and afflicted. “The piety of which we speak is a manifestation of God's mercy,” the Pope told the rain-soaked crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square. The pontiff explained that piety, or “pietà”  – which in Italian can also be translated as compassion, pity, or mercy – should not “be confused with compassion which we feel for the animals who live with us.” “It happens, in fact, that at times one feels this sentiment toward animals, and remains indifferent to the suffering of their brothers and sisters.” He added in off-the-cuff remarks: “How often do we see people greatly attached to cats, to dogs,” he said, but fail to “help their neighbor, their neighbor who is in need... This will not do.” The May 14 gathering at the Vatican was the latest in a series of special audiences for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, which are being held throughout the year in addition to the weekly general audiences on Wednesdays. The Jubilee of Mercy is an Extraordinary Holy Year that officially commenced December 8 – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica. It will close Nov. 20, 2016 with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Pope Francis centered Saturday's catechesis piety with regard to those “who need love.”  Piety is an aspect of mercy, and one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, he said.   As noted in the English language synthesis of the address, the word piety denotes a sense of “religiosity or devotion,” but it also relates to compassion and mercy. The concept of piety existed in the Greco-Roman world, the Pope explained in Italian, where it referred to being submissive toward superiors, such as the gods, one's parents, the elderly, etc. “Today, however, we must be careful not to identify piety with that pietism, fairly widespread, which is only a superficial emotion and which offends the dignity of others,” he said. The pontiff cited the many instances in the Gospel in which persons who were sick, possessed, in poverty, or otherwise afflicted would call on Jesus to “Have mercy” (“Abbi pietà” in Italian). “Jesus responded to everyone with his gaze of mercy and the comfort of his presence,” he said. In asking Jesus for help or mercy, each of these persons demonstrated their faith, referring to him as “Teacher,” “Son of David,” or Lord, the Pope explained. “They intuited that in him there was something extraordinary, that could help them leave behind the condition of sadness in which they had found themselves. They perceived in him the love of God himself.” Jesus, in turn, took pity, and called the suffering and wounded persons “to have faith in him and in his Word.” The pontiff explained that Jesus “shares the sadness of those he encounters,” while at the same time works in them to “transform them in joy.” Pope Francis said “we too are called to cultivate” attitudes of compassion when confronted with situations which shake us from “the indifference that prevents us from recognizing the needs of our brothers and sisters,” and free us from the “slavery of material goods.” He concluded his catechesis by invoking the example of Mary, who “cares for each of her children and for us believers,” and who is “the icon of piety.” Read more

Vatican City, May 14, 2016 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Economic worldviews based only on material well-being cannot contribute to dignified labor and new models of economic progress are needed, Pope Francis told a gathering of business experts on Friday. “An economic vision geared to profit and material well-being alone is – as experience is daily showing us – incapable of contributing in a positive way to a globalization that favours the integral development of the world’s peoples, a just distribution of the earth’s resources, the guarantee of dignified labour and the encouragement of private initiative and local enterprise,” Pope Francis said May 13 to the members of the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation. The foundation is in the midst of its international conference on “Business initiative in the fight against poverty: the refugee emergency, our challenge.” The foundation was founded in 1993 by St. John Paul II to study and promote Catholic social teaching. Pope Francis addressed the conference participants in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, where he expressed his gratitude for their “readiness to bring your expertise and experience to the discussion of these critical humanitarian issues and the moral obligations that they entail.” He said the refugee crisis is “especially close to my heart,” and recalled his visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, where many refugees seek to enter Europe, in April. “Apart from the immediate and practical aspect of providing material relief to these brothers and sisters of ours, the international community is challenged to devise long-term political, social and economic responses to issues that transcend national and continental boundaries, and affect the entire human family,” the Pope stated. He recalled that “the fight against poverty is not merely a technical economic problem, but above all a moral one, calling for global solidarity and the development of more equitable approaches to the concrete needs and aspirations of individuals and peoples worldwide.” Pope Francis referred to the insistence of his predecessor, St. John Paul II, that “economic activity cannot be conducted in an institutional or political vacuum, but has an essential ethical component; it must always stand at the service of the human person and the universal common good.” He said that “an economy of exclusion and inequality has led to greater numbers of the disenfranchised and those discarded as unproductive and useless.” In more developed societies “the growth of relative poverty and social decay represent a serious threat to families, the shrinking middle class and in a particular way our young people,” he lamented. Pope Francis said high youth unemployment rates are not only an economic problem, but are also “a social ill, for our youth are being robbed of hope and their great resources of energy, creativity and vision are being squandered.” “It is my hope that your conference will contribute to generating new models of economic progress more clearly directed to the universal common good, inclusion and integral development, the creation of labour and investment in human resources,” he told them. The Pope then referred to the Second Vatican Council's teaching, in Gaudium et spes, that “for Christians, economic, financial and business activity cannot be separated from the duty to strive for the perfecting of the temporal order in accordance with the values of God’s Kingdom.” “Yours is in fact a vocation at the service of human dignity and the building of a world of authentic solidarity,” he told the conference participants. “May your work always contribute to the growth of that civilization of love which embraces the entire human family in justice and peace.” Read more

Vatican City, May 14, 2016 / 06:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Economic worldviews based only on material well-being cannot contribute to dignified labor and new models of economic progress are needed, Pope Francis told a gathering of business experts on Friday. “An economic vision geared to profit and material well-being alone is – as experience is daily showing us – incapable of contributing in a positive way to a globalization that favours the integral development of the world’s peoples, a just distribution of the earth’s resources, the guarantee of dignified labour and the encouragement of private initiative and local enterprise,” Pope Francis said May 13 to the members of the Centesimus Annus pro Pontifice Foundation. The foundation is in the midst of its international conference on “Business initiative in the fight against poverty: the refugee emergency, our challenge.” The foundation was founded in 1993 by St. John Paul II to study and promote Catholic social teaching. Pope Francis addressed the conference participants in the Vatican's Clementine Hall, where he expressed his gratitude for their “readiness to bring your expertise and experience to the discussion of these critical humanitarian issues and the moral obligations that they entail.” He said the refugee crisis is “especially close to my heart,” and recalled his visit to the Greek island of Lesbos, where many refugees seek to enter Europe, in April. “Apart from the immediate and practical aspect of providing material relief to these brothers and sisters of ours, the international community is challenged to devise long-term political, social and economic responses to issues that transcend national and continental boundaries, and affect the entire human family,” the Pope stated. He recalled that “the fight against poverty is not merely a technical economic problem, but above all a moral one, calling for global solidarity and the development of more equitable approaches to the concrete needs and aspirations of individuals and peoples worldwide.” Pope Francis referred to the insistence of his predecessor, St. John Paul II, that “economic activity cannot be conducted in an institutional or political vacuum, but has an essential ethical component; it must always stand at the service of the human person and the universal common good.” He said that “an economy of exclusion and inequality has led to greater numbers of the disenfranchised and those discarded as unproductive and useless.” In more developed societies “the growth of relative poverty and social decay represent a serious threat to families, the shrinking middle class and in a particular way our young people,” he lamented. Pope Francis said high youth unemployment rates are not only an economic problem, but are also “a social ill, for our youth are being robbed of hope and their great resources of energy, creativity and vision are being squandered.” “It is my hope that your conference will contribute to generating new models of economic progress more clearly directed to the universal common good, inclusion and integral development, the creation of labour and investment in human resources,” he told them. The Pope then referred to the Second Vatican Council's teaching, in Gaudium et spes, that “for Christians, economic, financial and business activity cannot be separated from the duty to strive for the perfecting of the temporal order in accordance with the values of God’s Kingdom.” “Yours is in fact a vocation at the service of human dignity and the building of a world of authentic solidarity,” he told the conference participants. “May your work always contribute to the growth of that civilization of love which embraces the entire human family in justice and peace.” Read more

Vatican City, May 13, 2016 / 04:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ visit to Armenia this summer comes at a poignant time in the country’s history. The Holy Father’s June 24-26 visit comes just after the close of the 100-year anniv... Read more

Vatican City, May 13, 2016 / 04:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Yesterday Pope Francis raised eyebrows around the world after declaring his openness to establishing a commission to study the female deaconate, but a careful look at his full response is less of a shocker, and points to nothing new. In fact, in addition to giving a brief summary of a deaconesses duties in the ancient Church, Pope suggested that in modern times, nuns perhaps already fill the role. “(The question) touches the problem of the permanent deaconate. One could say that the 'permanent deaconesses' in the life of the Church are the sisters,” he said May 12, with a laugh. What were these deaconesses? Were they ordained or no?” he asked, and noted that the Council of Chalcedon in 451 spoke about the topic, but was “a bit obscure.” It is because of this obscurity the Pope said he wanted to form a commission to study the topic. Francis’ comments came in response to a question posed by a sister and member of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), who met with the Pope May 12 as part of their May 9-13 Plenary Assembly, which focuses largely on the role of women in the Church, and obstacles hindering it. Francis’ lengthy discussion with the sisters consisted of four questions that touched on the lack of consecrated and lay women in decision-making roles in the Church, how to better insert women into the life of the Church, as well as the temptations of both feminism and clericalism. In the question on deaconesses, the sister asked why the Church doesn’t include women in the permanent deaconate, since they already work with the poor and sick, and, in some cases where there is no priest, distribute communion, lead prayer services and even give the equivalent of a small homily. “What stops the Church from including women from being permanent deacons, like in the ancient Church? Why not form an official commission to study the question?” the sister asked. Part of the Church’s sacrament of Holy Orders, the diaconate is currently only open to men. Pope Francis said the topic of the female deaconate was something that interested him a lot when he came to Rome for meetings. He usually stayed at the Domus Paolo VI residence on this trips, and there met a Syrian theologian who was an expert on the topic of the permanent deaconate. After asking the man, whom he described as “a good professor, wise, a scholar,” about the role of female deacons, Francis said the answer he got was that their role in the early Church was “to help in the baptism of women, in the immersion…for decency,” and to anoint women's bodies. In addition to assisting with the full-immersion baptisms of women, deaconesses would also serve as an aide to the bishop in determining the authenticity of domestic abuse, he said. The Pope recalled how the Syrian professor told him that “when there was a matrimonial judge because the husband beat the wife and she went to the bishop to complain, the deaconesses were in charge of looking at the bruises on the woman’s body from her husband’s beatings and informed the bishop.” “This, I remember,” he said, noting that while the Church has already published documents on the topic of the permanent deaconate which touch on the topic of deaconesses, including a 2002 document from the International Theological Commission, the conclusion for modern times was still “unclear.” The document, which gave a thorough historical context of the role of the deaconess in the ancient Church, overwhelmingly concluded that female deacons in the early Church had not been equivalent to male deacons, and had “no liturgical function,” nor a sacramental one. It also maintained that even in the fourth century “the way of life of deaconesses was very similar to that of nuns.” However, given the lack of clarity on the issue today and due to the fact he was only speaking on the basis on his conversation with the Syrian professor, Francis said that “I think that I’ll ask the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to refer me to the studies on the issue.” He also voiced his desire “to establish an official commission to clarify this point. I am in agreement, and I will speak to do something of this kind.” “To me it seems useful to have a commission that clarifies this well, above all regarding the ancient times of the Church.” In her question, the sister also asked the Pope to give an example of where he sees “the possibility of a better insertion of women and women consecrated in the life of the Church.” While concrete areas of insertion didn’t immediately come to his mind, the Pope said that “consecrated women must participate” in consultations and assemblies with religious, “this is clear.” Women, he said, see things “with a different originality than that of men, and this enriches: both in consultations and in decisions, and in concreteness.” The work consecrated women carry out with the poor and marginalized, in teaching catechesis and accompanying the sick and the dying, “are very maternal works, where the maternity of the Church can be expressed more,” he said. Read more