Vatican City, Jun 10, 2015 / 01:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In the second meeting between Pope Francis and Russian president Vladimir Putin, held on Wednesday at the Vatican, the discussion focused on the current crises in both Ukraine and the Middle East. Under Putin, Russia has annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine; and according to the Ukrainian government and Western nations, Russian arms and soldiers are fighting alongside pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. Putin has denied the presence of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. A June 10 communique from the Vatican revealed that Pope Francis stressed to Putin the need to “engage in a sincere and great effort to achieve peace” in the Ukrainian conflict. He also emphasized the importance of rebuilding a climate of dialogue in which all parties are committed to carry out former peace agreements decided on in Minsk earlier this year. Mention was also made of the serious humanitarian situation, with particular regard to the access of humanitarian workers to areas in need. Putin and Pope Francis also discussed the situation in the Middle East, particularly Iraq and Syria, where Russia has backed president Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war. The situation had also been the central point of the Francis' and Putin's first meeting, in 2013. They spoke of the urgency of pursuing peace in the region with the help of the international community, and the need to protect religious minorities, particularly Christians. After a delay of 70 minutes, Putin arrived at the Vatican by way of the Via della Conciliazione, the large street leading up to St. Peter’s Square. The private encounter lasted 50 minutes, and was conducted in through two interpreters, one for the Pope in Italian and one for Putin in Russian. Once the Russian president arrived, Pope Francis greeted him by saying “welcome” in German, and the president responded saying nothing, but giving a nod of acknowledgment. Although the two looked at each other once they sat down in the meeting room, they remained silent until the door was closed. Pope Francis was described as being “very serious” from the moment the two greeted each other, although he began to “warm up” a bit during the group photo. Putin gave the Pope a golden embroidery of the church of San Salvatore, saying “this is the Church of San Salvatore, which was destroyed in the Soviet age and was rebuilt.” For his part, Pope Francis gave the president a large medal of the Angel of Peace crafted by artist Guido Veroi as well as a copy of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. When giving Putin the medal, Francis told him that this is “the angel of peace, who defeats all war and speaks about solidarity among peoples,” and said that the joy of the Gospel “has many religious, human, geopolitical and social reflections” while handing him the exhortation. At the end of the encounter Putin told the Pope that “it has been a great pleasure, an honor to meet you,” and said goodbye. Before heading to the Vatican, Putin had been in Milan to meet with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi. The two discussed their countries’ longstanding good relations, but also highlighted areas of contention, mostly surrounding current European Union sanctions against Moscow due to the Ukrainian conflict. Conflict erupted in Ukraine in February of last year when the country’s former president was ousted following months of violent protest, and a new government appointed. In March 2014 Ukraine’s eastern peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia, and pro-Russian separatist rebels have since taken control of eastern portions of Ukraine around Donetsk and Luhansk. It is estimated that nearly 6,000 people have died in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Rebels have been supported by both Russian arms and troops, according to both Ukraine and Western nations. A ceasefire agreed on in Minsk officially began at midnight Feb. 15, and called for all sides to pull back heavy weapons. However, despite the agreement of a ceasefire and the slight fall in violence since it was reached, shelling in the eastern region of the country has continued, and the number of casualties has continued to rise. In a May 27 interview with CNA, Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Sviatoslav Shevchuk said the ceasefire is being violated. “It’s true that the intensity of fighting on the occupied territories has decreased, but it doesn’t mean that the fighting has stopped at all. Every day we receive sad news that someone has been killed or wounded in the result of continued fighting,” he said. Most alarming for Ukrainians however, is the fact that “over the last months, hundreds of pieces of heavy weaponry have reached Ukrainian territory from the side of the Russian Federation,” the archbishop said. “This equipment includes tanks – there are about 700 of them in Donbass according to the Ukrainian authorities – heavy artillery, mobile rocket launchers etc.,” he noted. In addition, Archbishop Shevchuk said that according to information from the Ukrainian government and international observers, “there is a massive accumulation of Russian troops in Ukraine and on the Russian border.” The archbishop said the current aggression against Ukraine “is a challenge for preserving peace in the world which cannot pretend that nothing happens in Eastern Europe.” He noted how Pope Francis has often expressed his commitment to ensuring that another war does not break out in Europe, and pledged that the Holy See will do its best in securing peace agreements in Ukraine. Read more

Vatican City, Jun 10, 2015 / 10:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his weekly general audience, Pope Francis lauded families for the “hidden heroism” of caring for a sick loved one. “These are the heroes. This is heroism of the family!” the pontiff said during his June 6 catechesis. The Pope spoke of men and women who come to work, sleep-deprived after having cared for a sick family member. “This hidden heroism is done with tenderness and with courage when someone is sick at home,” he said. The Pope's address, delivered Wednesday to pilgrims in Saint Peter's Square, was the latest in a series of catechesis dedicated to the family. Since late year, the pontiff has been centering his Wednesday addresses on this theme as part of the lead-up to the World Meeting of Families in September, as well as October’s Synod of Bishops on the Family. Pope Francis focused his latest address on the particular sufferings experienced when a family member falls ill. “It is an experience of our fragility which we live mostly in the family, from children, and above all the elderly,” he said. He added that because of the love we feel for family members and loved ones, we feel their sufferings even more. This is particularly the case when parents suffer from the illness of a son or daughter, he said. In many parts of the world, families do not have ready access to hospitals, the pontiff noted. In these cases, the family becomes the “closest hospital,” in that caring for the sick person falls to the parents, grandparents, and siblings. Pope Francis observed how, in general, families grow in times of sickness. For this reason, he stressed the importance of teaching children from a young age with a sense of solidarity during such times. “We must educate children to solidarity with the sick so that they are not anesthetized to the sufferings of others, but rather are capable of helping the ill and of living fully each human experience,” the Pope said. Throughout his catechesis, the Holy Father recounted several scenes from the Gospel in which Jesus heals the sick. “(Jesus) publicly demonstrates himself as one who fights against illness, and who has come to heal man of every evil: The evil of the spirit and the evil of the body,” he said. Pope Francis recalled a scene from the Gospel of Mark in which the people brought sick and possessed people to Jesus. Recalling how the doctors of the law reproved Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, the Pope said: “But the love of Jesus was to give health, and do good.” The pontiff cited particularly the scene of the man born blind, and the debate over whether he had been deprived of sight because of his sins or his parents' sins. “The Lord clearly said: neither him nor his parents; and thus he manifested in him the work of God, and healed him.” This is God's glory, and the Church's task, the Pope said: “to always help, console, to lift up, and be close to the sick.” Pope Francis also emphasized the Church's invitation to continuously pray for those “struck by disease.” “And we must pray more, be it personally or in community.” Pope Francis said that the Christian community knows that the family, in times of sickness, is never alone. “We must thank the Lord for the beautiful experiences of fraternity in the Church which help families through difficult moments of pain and suffering,” he said. “This Christian closeness, from family to family, is a real treasure for the parish: a treasure of wisdom, which helps families during difficult times and makes them better understand the Kingdom of God.” “These are God's caresses,” he said. Read more

Vatican City, Jun 10, 2015 / 09:07 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Bishop accountability in the mishandling of abuse cases and abuse allegations were key themes in the Vatican’s latest round of meetings on Curial reform, which also addressed the reform of V... Read more

Vatican City, Jun 10, 2015 / 02:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- During his visit to the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts last week, Pope Francis was updated on the office's important work, which is focused on interpreting the laws of the Church. As part of his tour of various dicasteries in the Roman Curia, the Pope on June 1 visited the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, followed by the Congregations for the Causes of Saints, Bishops, and Divine Worship. Upon his arrival at the pontifical council, Francis was greeted by the council's president, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, who is a member of the commission established in August 2014 to prepare a proposal of the reform of the marriage annulment process. The commission is meant to simplify and streamline the procedure while safeguarding the indissolubility of marriage, and its work was mentioned during the meeting. An official from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts recalled how the Holy Father, once greeted by the cardinal as well as the secretary, Bishop Juan Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, and the undersecretary, Msgr. Markus Graulich, went on to greet each person present in a “very cordial manner” by shaking their hands and chatting with them. In all, there were 12 persons present at the meeting with the Pope, including seven officials and two ushers. In his welcoming address to the Pope, Cardinal Coccopalmerio gave an overview of the works and projects currently going on at the dicastery, and presented a brief reflection on the meaning of canon law. He stressed that the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts is not itself a legislator, but rather assists the Pope, who is the Church's supreme legislator, in his role of promoting canon law. The task “is not easy,” the cardinal said, and explained that it includes suggesting to the Pope which legislative actions would be “appropriate to carry out,” and which are no longer relevant. Every law, he said, “is essentially an indication of love. And, more profoundly, it's an indication of love for a person in need – in other words, for the poor.” If a law is not an indication of love then it can’t be considered a law, he said, but is rather an empty and “even downright dangerous” formulation. Cardinal Coccopalmerio also noted the importance of the pontifical council in making sure that the order of canon law is effectively applied. “It would be useless to have good laws if then these are not applied, or are forgotten or contradicted with a practice that doesn’t comply. Hence an attentive vigilance.” This vigilance is applied particularly in judging the legitimacy of new norms that the various actors in the Church, beginning with the Roman Curia, are constantly producing. A recent example the cardinal indicated was the statutes for the Secretariat for the Economy, which were reviewed by the pontifical council before being sent to the Pope. They officially went into effect March 1. Among the projects the pontifical council is currently working on is a revision of Book VI of the Code of Canon Law, which regards sanctions in the Church. The revision was commissioned by Benedict XVI, with the purpose of updating the canons regarding delicts and penalties. The commission charged with proposing reforms to the marriage annulment process was also discussed. In a Feb. 19 interview with CNA, Bishop Arrieta spoke about his dicastery’s work in developing options to better facilitate the marriage process ahead of October’s Synod on the Family. He said part of the ongoing project has involved discussion of “how to correctly abbreviate the marriage annulment process, how to validate a marriage that took place, and that the spouses, as husband and wife, wanted it to be true, how to facilitate things.” Bishop Arrieta said then that the annulment process can “certainly” be faster, and that his dicastery is currently “exploring ways to facilitate” this. He noted that the gratuity of annulments is also a point of discussion, saying that making them free of charge presents challenges because “these things cost money.” “The tribunal has to employ staff,” he explained: “the secretary, the lay judge, who could be the father of a family that needs to bring money home, so we have to pay him. This is what costs money,” he said. A Vatican official noted to CNA that the Pope was also informed at the June 1 meeting that while canon law discusses extensively the sacrament of marriage, “it does not have canons dealing with the family per se.” Thus the pontifical council is seeking to develop proposals for norms addressing the wider theme of the family, “including those that would govern the rights and duties of Catholic families.” At the meeting during the Roman Pontiff’s visit, the harmonization of the codes of canon law for the Latin Church and the Eastern Churches was also discussed, since there are “some examples of contrasting canons,” noted the official who was present. “For example, in the Latin Code, the couple celebrating marriage are actually ministers of their sacrament, while the priest is a witness; in the Eastern Code, it's the priest who is the minister who effects the sacrament, not the couple.”   A task of the pontifical council is therefore to ensure that both codes better reflect their common theological foundations, while still maintaining the unique qualities of each tradition, he said. Moreover, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts also seeks a wider knowledge of canon law throughout the Church. Throughout the presentation, the official recalled, Pope Francis “listened intently…and nodded in approval after each point made.”   “It was clear that the Holy Father only wanted to listen and provide a chance for us to interact with him,” he said, explaining that “without lengthy responses or observations,” the Holy Father immediately opened the floor for everyone to comment or ask questions. Each person then introduced himself and spoke to the Pope about a particular aspect of legislative activities within the pontifical council. Francis responded by giving “short, practical, and to the point answers, typical of his style,” the official said.   “The Pope really struck a chord with me when he kept reminding us that behind each letter of the law is a face, a person with a name, and hence the person must be always kept at the center of the Church’s juridical activity,” he added. Examining a document of the pontifical council which showed how requests for canonical interventions and clarifications of the law arrive daily from across the world, the Pope alluded briefly to the numerous petitions he himself receives every day, and noted that behind each of them “is a real person in need.”   “The Holy Father believes that communicating the mercy of God will help people love the law and appreciate its value as a guiding tool in their spiritual journey,” the official said. On the general topic of the reform of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis indicated that he prefers to listen more than to talk in the discussions, so that he can better appreciate the situation. The Pope, the official said, “is confident that the reform is going well. He trusts his collaborators … to help him in the process.” At the end of the meeting, Pope Francis was presented with books on canon law; he then “made everyone laugh” with a joke about how fast the time had gone by and that the other group downstairs [the Congregation for the Causes of Saints] must have been wondering whether the Pope would arrive. Those present at the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts were quite impressed by Pope Francis’ “informal, down to earth, and very pastoral style during the visit,” the official noted.   Read more