Vatican City, Feb 18, 2015 / 08:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After a meeting with Italian officials on Tuesday, Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters that swift action is needed in Libya, where continual conflict since a 2011 revolution has resulted in rival governments and a foothold for Islamists. Amid the chaos in the north African nation, Islamic State affiliates beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians over the weekend. Cardinal Parolin said Feb. 17 the incident was “terrifying,” but the men's fidelity to Christ “provides a wonderful testimony of Christian martyrdom … May God give us the grace to die in the same way.” “We are usually today led to underline the aspect of cruelty – and it is an unspeakable cruelty – and it is unbelievable that there can be incidents like this during our time,” he said. “But, we look to the other part, the part of the testimony these martyrs gave. It has always been like this, in the history of the Church.” Libya has been unstable since a 2011 revolution which ousted longtime president Muammar Gaddafi, and a civil war began in earnest in May 2014. The internationally recognized government is based in Tobruk and controls much of eastern Libya, while a rival Islamist government was established in Tripoli in August, and controls much of the west. In response to the Libyan crisis, Cardinal Parolin stressed that “a quick response” is needed because the “situation is grave,” yet added that “any armed intervention must be carried forward under the framework of international law” and “under the umbrella of the United Nations.” The day after Cardinal Parolin's meeting with Italian officials, Italy's foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni told parliament that the “deterioration of the situation on the ground forces the international community to move more quickly before it's too late,” highlighting a “clear risk” of alliances between Islamic State and Libyan Islamists. The Libyan issued overshadowed the Vatican-Italian meeting, which was held to celebrate the anniversary of the 1929 Lateran Treaty, which established Vatican City State and which governs relations between the two states. The 40-minute meeting took place at the Italian embassy to the Holy See, and marked the first time newly-elected Italian president Sergio Mattarella took part. Cardinal Parolin was joined by several officials at the Secretariat of State as well as the president and secretary of the Italian bishops conference; the Italian delegation included the president, prime minister, and several government ministers and parliamentarians. Topics of discussion included care for immigrants – which the Libyan crisis has exacerbated – freedom of education, and security. According to Cardinal Parolin, the talks were not about the same-sex unions bill to be soon discussed in Italy's parliament. The cardinal emphasized that the Church fosters the welcoming of immigrants, and that while “there is a duty of charity, above all there is a duty of justice.” “For the Italian authorities there are international conventions to which they are obligated,” he said. “We as a Church principally underline the charitable aspects.” During the talks, the Italian government acknowledged the importance of the contribution given by Catholic schools to the Italian school system. Regarding civil unions, both delegations issued a generic appeal about the importance of family, but no specific mention was made of the civil union bill that member of parliament will soon discuss. With respect to security, Cardinal Parolin stated that terrorists have made “no specific threats against the Vatican,” and that “this does not mean we should not be attentive and vigilant, but without falling into alarmism.” Read more

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2015 / 12:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- In his Ash Wednesday homily, Pope Francis said the time of Lent is a call to leave hypocrisy behind and reconcile with God through fasting, charity and prayerful tears before our merciful Father. “I ask you a question: do I cry? Does the Pope cry? Do cardinals cry? Do bishops cry? Do consecrated men and women cry? Do priests cry?” the Pope said during his Feb. 18 Ash Wednesday Mass. Pope Francis focused during the Mass on the idea of “weeping in prayer.” In keeping with papal tradition for Ash Wednesday, Pope Francis began the Lenten liturgy with a procession, during which he walked from Rome’s Sant’Anselmo church to the church of Santa Sabina on Aventine Hill. He immediately turned to the words of the prophet Joel, who calls the people to penance and conversion due to a locus invasion plaguing the land. Joel tells the people to beg the Lord for deliverance with prayer, fasting and the confession of their sins, since God is the only one who can save them from the “scourge.” The prophet’s call to “return to me with all your heart” is an invitation to an interior conversion that is not “superficial or transient,” but rather signals a journey involving the most intimate part of ourselves, the Pope said. In his prophesy, Joel focuses largely on the prayer of priests, saying it should be “accompanied by tears,” Francis noted, and encouraged faithful to pray for the gift of tears during Lent “so as to make our prayer and journey of conversion ever more authentic and without hypocrisy.” Francis turned to the day’s Gospel reading from Matthew, in which the apostle recounts Jesus’ reinterpretation of the traditional works of piety put forth in the Mosaic law: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Over the course of time, “these requirements have been eroded by the rust of external formalism, or were even changed into a sign of social superiority,” the Pope said. However, in the Gospel, Jesus warns his disciples against common temptations surrounding these pious works when he tells them to “perform righteous deeds” in secret rather than in front of others, and not to “blow a trumpet” when the give alms. Jesus also cautions his disciples not to pray in front of others so as to attract attention, and tells them not to “look gloomy” when they fast, lest they be like the hypocrites. Hypocrites, Francis said, “don't know how to cry. They have forgotten how to cry. They don't ask for the gift of tears.” Pope Francis noted that when we perform a good work, there is often an almost “instinctive” reaction to look for respect and admiration for it. Jesus’ invitation during Lent is instead to let go of our desire for satisfaction when performing good works, and trust in the reward we will receive in heaven. “Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord does not ever tire of having mercy on us, and wants to offer us his forgiveness still one more time, inviting us to return to him with a new heart, purified from evil, so as to take part in his joy,” the Pope said. But welcoming this invitation to conversion takes more than just our human effort, he said, explaining that reconciliation with God can only be achieved thanks to the mercy and love of the Father. Only in Christ, who died for our sins even though he himself was sinless, can we ourselves become just, Francis said, asking those present, “Please, let's stop. Let's pause a little and let ourselves be reconciled with God.” Pope Francis closed his homily by noting that as Lent begins, the phrases “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return,” and “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel” are said along with the distribution of the ashes. Both of these lines are a reminder that as human beings, we are limited and are sinners always in need of penance and conversion, Francis noted. The call to conversion, he said, “is therefore a push to return, as did the son of the parable, to the arms of God and to cry in those arms, to trust him and to trust in him.”   Read more

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2015 / 12:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In this week’s general audience, Pope Francis spoke on the role of siblings in family life, saying the fraternity we learn from them teaches us how to overcome barriers and leads to greater ... Read more

Vatican City, Feb 18, 2015 / 12:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis' newly elevated cardinals reflected on their roles as shepherds within a vast, multicultural Church – and the many challenges and opportunities of service the modern world poses to their peripheral dioceses. Cardinal Soane Patita Paini Mafi of Tonga said being named a cardinal is a “really big thing” for the small Pacific island nation, which has never had a cardinal before. He told CNA Feb. 14 that Pope Francis' choice reflected a vision of a Church that is “inclusive of the 'little ones.'” Cardinal Mafi said the people of Tonga who traveled to Rome “come with pride, with a sense of belonging to the Church.” He said he hopes and prays that their faith “will be deepened, deepened by this new call and responsibility to me.” Pope Francis created 20 new cardinals at the Feb. 14 consistory. Cardinal Mafi explained that Tonga’s pastoral challenges include the response to a “globalized world.” “We are no longer isolated in a way, because communication now will bring us together closer,” he said. “It brings good things, and also challenging aspects, and there can be some challenge to the faith, like secularism, materialism, individualism.” “We people are very much communal, we still live together as families, very much a big value for us. So I think there is a big challenge for us, for the faith, (in) that the people have more opportunities now economically and so forth.” Other new cardinals also reflected on the consistory and the state of their home countries. Cardinal John Atcherley Dew of Wellington, New Zealand said he received an “incredible welcome” from the cardinals that has reinforced for him “that we belong to the universal Church, and that we’re not just a little place isolated on our own.” Cardinal Dew said among the pastoral challenges in New Zealand is the “multicultural nature of the Church.” “We’ve always had people from other countries, like a lot of European people after the war, in the 1950s and 1960s,” he said. There have also been major waves of migration from Polynesian people. Lately there have been many migrants from various Asian countries. “Involving them, and including them in the life of the Church, is a very big challenge,” he said. He noted the “wonderful work” of refugee support and family reunification going on in New Zealand, though this work is not necessarily being done by the Church. Some Pacific Islanders are being forced to leave home because of global warming and rising sea levels, he said. Another of the new cardinals hails from Thailand. Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanit of Bangkok reflected on Pope Francis’ statement that becoming a cardinal “is not something that is given for your honor” but rather for “service and love.” The cardinal said his Buddhist friend who came for the ceremony repeated these words to him. The cardinal added: “this is the way of a Christian, is a way of a priest or bishop, and also a cardinal.” Cardinal Kovithavanij said that secularism is a “really strong” challenge not only in Thailand, but “everywhere in the world.” “Not only for the Christian Catholics, (but) also for all men and women of religion. They need to collaborate together,” he said. He said he wants to bring back to Thailand his experience as a Christian who “wants to live the gospel, and also give this good news to everyone.” Read more