2014-09-05T08:04:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 5, 2014 at 8:04 am   By

Rome, Italy, Sep 5, 2014 / 02:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Each year, the Pontifical North American College in Rome celebrates Labor Day by pitting its second-year seminarians against the newly-arrived first years in a game of softball. The new seminarians lost this year's game 9-4, but that doesn't seem to have dampened their enthusiasm as they embark on this new phase in their seminary training. “One of the amazing things I've noticed from being here just a month and a week,” said first year seminarian Billy Burdier, “is the real fraternity” and willingness to “help one another to really become like Christ.” Burdier, 22, is studying for the Diocese of Providence, and will begin his theology training this fall. He is one of 51 new seminarians who arrived this past summer. Upon coming to Rome, he told CNA he was also moved by the “great witness of the love” and “service” from his fellow seminarians. “I feel really privileged, and I thank God and my bishop and my diocese for giving me the opportunity to be here,” he said. Fellow first-year, John LoCoco, also noted the sense of welcome upon his arrival. Despite its size – with the new class, the seminary is nearly at capacity with 256 men in house – he said it “still has had its moments where it felt very close.” Like all seminarians who come to the NAC, LoCoco, who hails from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, will begin studying theology in the fall, having already completed his philosophy training in the United States. He told CNA he was looking forward to “the opportunity to study theology finally,” adding: “to have the chance to take some classes that are directly translated into ministry in the future is an exciting prospect.” Monsignor James Checchio, rector of the NAC, was one of the spectators at Monday's Labor Day game, which he said “always brings new life to the College.” Remarking on the arrival of the seminarians, he noted how “every year it’s a new group, and they’re always different. They always come with their own gifts and bring a different character to the house by their personalities, but also graces.” This year, the NAC will have something else to look forward to: the inauguration of a new 10-story tower complete with state-of-the-art classrooms, offices, and a terrace overlooking Rome. Construction of the new building, which has been funded by the Mulva family, is expected to be completed this fall. The “tower” will also include additional guest rooms, meeting spaces for faculty, and a new reading room for students. The rector added that the construction project, which was funded by donations, is “a good sign of hope and support... The people of God are very generous to us, and supply what we need to offer the best quality program we can, and this will certainly help.” Taking into account the NAC's proximity to the Vatican – St. Peter's Basilica being visible from the rooftop of the seminary – Msgr. Checchio went on to say that Pope Francis provides an important example for the men in training for the priesthood. “He’s a great blessing for us, and a great example of priestly ministry for us,” the rector said, not only through “his generosity of spirit,” in “reaching out to all kinds of people,” but also by being “firmly rooted in the spiritual life.” “He’s a good example of a man who knows who Jesus Christ is, has developed this friendship with him, and then shares that with others.” Martin Mleziva, second-year seminarian from the Diocese of Green Bay, also acknowledged the significance of studying so close to the Vatican, under the guidance of Pope Francis. “It’s just such a blessing to be so close to our Holy Father,” he said. For seminarians in particular, he added, Pope Francis is “a great example…in helping us to become better Christians, challenging us in our faith,” and, with his closeness to the Blessed Mother, “showing us how to be good sons of hers.”   Read more

2014-09-05T06:03:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 5, 2014 at 6:03 am   By

Vatican City, Sep 5, 2014 / 12:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Holy See on Monday urged the UN to provide humanitarian aid to Iraq during a special session of the Human Rights Council, which chose to dispatch a mission to the nation to investigate alleged violations and abuses of international human rights. The special session of the UN Human Rights Council was held Sept. 1 and concluded with a resolution adopted without a vote, through which the Council condemned the abuse of human rights law which had taken place in Iraq, and requested the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to  dispatch a mission to Iraq. The Human Rights Council’s task is that of strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and of addressing situations of human rights violations and to make recommendations on them. The Holy See had strongly promoted a special session of the Human Rights Council to discuss the Iraqi situation. In his intervention, Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi, Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations office in Geneva, called on the UN to provide aids and also underscored the special responsibility of the leaders of the different religions. Archbishop Tomasi stressed that “even prior to considerations of international humanitarian law and the law of war, and no matter the circumstances, the indispensable requirement is respect for the inviolable dignity of the human person, which is the foundation of the human rights.” The archbishop addressed the “tragic failure to uphold such basic rights,” that was evident in “the self-proclaimed destructive entity, the so-called 'Islamic State'.” “People were decapitated as they stood for their beliefs, women were violated without mercy and sold like slaves in the market, children were forced into combat, and prisoners were slaughtered against all juridical provisions,” the nuncio said. Archbishop Tomasi stressed that the Holy See “calls on all regional and international actors to explicitly condemn the brutal, barbaric, and uncivilized behavior of the criminal groups fighting in eastern Syria and northern Iraq.” The Holy See admonished the UN that “the responsibility to protect must be assumed in good faith, within the framework of international law and humanitarian law,” and that civil society cannot “become an instrument of regional and international geopolitical games.” Archbishop Tomasi urged the appropriate UN agencies to provide “adequate humanitarian aid, food, water, medicine and shelter” to “those are fleeing violence,” but it also underscored that this aid “should be temporary emergency assistance.” “The forcibly displaced Christians, Yazidis and other groups have the right to return to their homes, receive assistance for the rebuilding of their houses and places of worship and live in safety,” the nuncio said. Archbishop Tomasi also maintained that “blocking the flow of arms and the underground oil market, as well as any indirect political support of the so-called Islamic State group, will help to put an end to violence.” At the same time, “perpetrators of these crimes against humanity must be pursued with determination. They must not be allowed to act with impunity, thereby risking the repetition of the atrocities that have been committed by the so-called Islamic State group.” The Holy See’s call to action was shared by the 47 members of the Human Rights Council. The council adopted a resolution in which “it requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right sto urgently dispatch a mission to Iraq to investigate the alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and associate terrorist groups, and to establish facts and circumstances of such abuses and violations, with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring full accountability,” a UN release reads. The resolution was adopted without a vote. The council also condemned “with the strongest possible terms systematic violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law resulting from the terrorist acts committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and thee associate groups.” Read more

2014-09-04T23:54:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 11:54 pm   By

Washington D.C., Sep 4, 2014 / 05:54 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican's investigation of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious is not a ‘nunquisition,’ as one Time magazine writer has said, but an effort to renew the Church, according to a senior fellow with The Catholic Association. “Is there a great ‘Nunquisition’? No, there’s not,” Ashley McGuire told CNA Sept. 4. “That’s a total exaggeration. It’s just part of a bigger process that the Church regularly has to undergo to look into its various organs to make sure everything is doctrinally sound.” Author Jo Piazza, writing in an Aug. 31 essay for Time.com, contended that contemporary religious sisters are “dying and not being replaced” and that their work is not sufficiently appreciated by Church leaders. Piazza characterized as “attacks” the Vatican’s investigation of the LCWR. Vatican inquiries have reported a doctrinal crisis within the canonically-recognized group of U.S. women religious superiors. “Today’s nuns are simply too progressive for the Vatican. The Vatican chooses not to celebrate nuns and it chooses not to empower them,” Piazza said. McGuire rejected this claim. “I think the Church very much values the work of women religious,” she said, pointing to the U.S. bishops’ defense of the Little Sisters of the Poor against federal regulations that require them to violate Catholic teaching in their health care plans. She noted that the Conference of Major Superiors of Women, another U.S. organization for vowed religious leaders, has more novices in formation and is growing at a faster rate. “Young millennial women, especially those drawn to religious life, show growing attraction to traditional religious life where there is a strong emphasis on fidelity to the Church.” “Catholic women love the Church. Attacking Church teaching or attacking Church leaders is not what Catholic women are looking for.” McGuire compared the apostolic visitation to similar actions reviewing the state of seminaries and church architecture and liturgy in the U.S. Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reflected on the LCWR inquiry and the place of women in the Church in an interview published Sept. 1 in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's newspaper. He said the Vatican is working to reduce conflict with the LCWR and hopes to help them “rediscover their identity.” “We undoubtedly have a different conception of religious life, but we hope to help them to find their identity back.” The cardinal said the conference is “a group of North American nuns who gathered in an association,” and does not represent all U.S. nuns. “We have received many sorrowful letters from other nuns who belong to their same congregations and who suffer very much for the approach they give to their mission.” He noted that religious congregations with no more vocations “risk being extinguished.” Cardinal Mueller voiced thanks to Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle, who is overseeing the LCWR reform, describing him as “a very gentle man.” The cardinal criticized the present situation facing women in which, because of family breakdown, they must work more to educate and nurture their children. He also denounced “macho” culture. He described women as “welcomed collaborators” in diocesan offices, saying they “intensely collaborate with the life of the Church.” He said there are many women collaborating with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and not only secondary posts. He praised his personal secretary and other collaborators, almost all of whom are married with children. Read more

2014-09-04T23:02:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 11:02 pm   By

New Orleans, La., Sep 4, 2014 / 05:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Following a judge's Wednesday ruling upholding a Louisiana amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, New Orleans' archbishop has affirmed the importance of ministering to persons who identify as part of the LGBT community. A federal judge in the state upheld its traditional marriage amendment Sept. 3, breaking a streak of more than 20 defeats in federal court for marriage amendments.   The Louisiana amendment passed in 2004, with 78 percent of the vote. It defines marriage in the state as “only of the union of one man and one woman” and forbids the conferral of marriage or “the legal incidents thereof” on any other union. “It is my hope that through our pastoral ministry to the Catholic LGBT community we can minister to their spiritual needs and walk with them through their life journeys because as our brothers and sisters and children of God they must be loved and respected and always treated with dignity,” Archbishop Gregory Aymond told CNA Sept. 4. “The redefinition of marriage is a moral one for us as Catholics,” he added, commenting that “we as Catholics believe marriage is defined in the Bible and through our Catholic Church teaching as a union between a man and a woman.” District Judge Martin Feldman wrote in his decision that “the State of Louisiana has a legitimate interest under a rational basis standard of review for addressing the meaning of marriage through the democratic process,” and that the “defendants in this passionately charged national issue have the more persuasive argument.” Same-sex marriage “had no place at all in this nation’s history and tradition,” Feldman wrote, “until recent years.” Thus, “any right to same-sex marriage is not so entrenched as to be fundamental. There is simply no fundamental right, historically or traditionally, to same-sex marriage.” He added that the law met the court’s “rational basis review,” meaning the law is “rationally related to a legitimate state interest.” “Defendants rejoin that the laws serve a central state interest of linking children to an intact family formed by their biological parents. Of even more consequence, in this Court’s judgment, defendants assert a legitimate state interest in safeguarding that fundamental social change, in this instance, is better cultivated through democratic consensus. This Court agrees.” The National Organization for Marriage praised the decision as a “great win” for marriage. “What we saw this judge bravely standing up and doing is fighting against this false narrative that’s been perpetuated since the summer ruling on Windsor, that there’s somehow this constitutional mandate requirement for recognizing same-sex unions,” a spokesman for the organization told CNA. “We don’t believe that’s true,” he continued. “In fact, the legacy of the Windsor decision, the logic of the Windsor decision is that the states have every right to determine their marriage laws through the democratic process and that the courts shouldn’t impose a one-size-fits-all model on all 50 states, that America has always been the traditional purview of the individual states and not the federal government.” According to the National Organization for Marriage, Feldman was the third federal judge to have upheld traditional marriage laws, and that in August a judge in Tennessee ruled that under the U.S. constitution, the state is not barred from defining marriage traditionally via an amendment. Read more

2014-09-04T22:47:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 10:47 pm   By

Washington D.C., Sep 4, 2014 / 04:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Religious freedom advocates are voicing hope as the Obama administration drops its appeal in three lawsuits involving for-profit companies that object to the federal contraception mandate. Th... Read more

2014-09-04T22:08:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 10:08 pm   By

Vatican City, Sep 4, 2014 / 04:08 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- According to prominent Vatican analyst Sandro Magister, the Holy See views the aggression of the Islamic State as a religious war, and believes that international action taken so far is inadequate. In a Sept. 4 post on his Settimo Cielo blog at l'Espresso, Magister made note of an editorial which appeared in the most recent issue of La Civiltà Cattolica, the Jesuits' Italian-language cultural review. “Obviously, to promote peace it is necessary to know what the war truly is, and not what one would like it to be. It is crucial to study and to comprehend why and how the Islamic State fights. Theirs is a war of religion and of annihilation,” reads the editorial penned by Fr. Luciano Larivera, S.J. The article continues, “It should not be confused or reduced to other forms, such as the Bolsheviks or the Khmer Rouge. They instrumentalize the power of religion, and not vice versa. Their danger is greater than that of al-Qaeda.” Magister posited that La Civiltà's editorial represents in fact the stance of the Holy See. “Each line of 'La Civiltà Cattolica' is passed beforehand for examination by authorities of the Vatican, who allow publication, or not,” he began his blog post. CNA has itself previously noted that La Civiltà's articles “are approved by the Vatican’s secretary of state before publication.” On the basis of this Vatican approval for the lines appearing in the periodical, Magister wrote that Fr. Lavirera's editorial, titled “Halt the humanitarian tragedy in Iraq”, “should not pass by unobserved.” The editorial in La Civiltà Cattolica mentions in particular the inadequacy of the limited military intervention thus far carried out against the Islamic State. “Military analysts attest that the existing military solution is not effective.” The US and Iraq have carried out air strikes against the Islamic State, and the UK's prime minister is considering doing the same. Both France and the UK have armed the Kurdish peshmerga militants who are fighting the caliphate. La Civiltà Cattolica's editorial writes that “being limited to this medium can continue to permit the Islamic State to conquer territory, and give it occasion to commit further atrocities.” “The Islamic State should be cut off from its supply of arms, the recruitment and training of new combatants, it financing channels, energy infrastructure, and logistics.” In recent weeks, the peshmerga and Iraqi forces have made inroads against the Islamic State, recapturing some towns and breaking its sieges on others. The Islamic State emerged as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, one of the rebel groups fighting in the Syrian civil war; this spring it spread its operations to Iraq, taking control of Mosul and swaths of territory in the country's north and west. While Iraq's population is majority Shia Muslim, the Islamic State was able to consolidate control of Sunni-majority areas, where the people have perceived discrimination at the hands of the Shia-led government. The Islamic State has persecuted all non-Sunni persons in its territory: Christians, Yazidis, and Shias have all fled the caliphate. La Civiltà's editorial further noted the importance of forming an Iraqi government in which Sunnis are represented, and given the same place at the table as other ethnic and religious groups, while also noting that the conflict between Sunnis and Shias in Iraq is a mirror of a conflict taking place between Iran and the rest of the Persian Gulf states. The editorial's abstract notes that while “the prophetic cry of the Church is 'no more war!”, her magisterium includes just war theory as well as just peace, solidarity, and charity. “The Church is not tasked with proposing war strategies and tactics. This is does not fit in with her mission and her competence, but is up to the civil and military authorities, and lay experts, including Catholics,” the abstract states. In the introduction, the editorial noted the importance of seeing that Islamic State militants consider theirs a war of religion, such that domestic politics, diplomacy, religion, and economics can all be brought to bear in ending the conflict. “The worldwide Islamic community has a duty to destroy in the heart of all Muslims an extremist conception of the conception of the Quran and of Islamic tradition.”   Read more

2014-09-04T19:16:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 7:16 pm   By

Madrid, Spain, Sep 4, 2014 / 01:16 pm (CNA).- The Spanish newspaper La Razon has published an interview with recently-named archbishop of Valencia, Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, who says he is thankful to God and to the Pope for his transfer to t... Read more

2014-09-04T15:42:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 3:42 pm   By

Vatican City, Sep 4, 2014 / 09:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his daily homily on Thursday, Pope Francis spoke on the importance of having an encounter with Christ, saying without it one becomes lukewarm and unable to evangelize. “If a Christian is not able to feel themselves a sinner and saved by the blood of Christ, this crucified one, they are a half-way Christian, a tepid Christian,” Pope Francis told mass attendees Sept. 4. “When we find decadent churches, when we find decadent parishes, decadent institutions, surely the Christians who are there have never encountered Jesus Christ or have forgotten about this encounter with Jesus Christ.” Pope Francis took his cue from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians in the first reading when he says that “If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool, so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God.” Speaking to those gathered in the chapel of the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse, the pontiff referred to how the apostle tells us that “the power of the Word of God, which changes the heart, which changes the world, which gives us hope, which gives us life,” is not found “in human wisdom.” “It's not a nice talk or to say nice things with human intelligence. No. This is foolishness,” he said. “The strength of the Word of God comes from another part.” Drawing attention to how St. Paul himself states that “I can only boast of my sins” and “I can only boast in Christ and this crucifix,” the Bishop of Rome explained that to say this “is scandalous.” “The strength of the Word of God is in that encounter between my sins and the blood of Christ, which saves me,” he said, “and when there is no encounter, there is no strength in the heart.” “When we forget that encounter that we had in life, we become worldly, we want to speak about the things of God with human language, and this is not good: it doesn't give life.” Pope Francis then turned his attention to the day’s Gospel reading, taken from Luke, in which Peter tells Jesus “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man” following the miraculous catch of fish. It is precisely in this moment, the Pope explained, when Peter finds salvation. “The privileged place for an encounter with Jesus Christ are precisely our sins,” he observed, stating that “If a Christian is not able to feel themselves a sinner and saved by the blood of Christ, this crucified one, they are a half-way Christian, a tepid Christian.” Pope Francis concluded his reflections saying: “The strength of the Christian life and the strength of the Word of God are precisely in that moment were I, a sinner, encounter Jesus Christ.” “And that encounter renews my life, changes my life...and gives me the strength to announce salvation to others.” Read more

2014-09-04T13:32:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 1:32 pm   By

Rome, Italy, Sep 4, 2014 / 07:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the wake of the suspension of Archbishop Fulton Sheen's cause for canonization due to an ownership dispute of his remains, the office promoting his sainthood says it doesn't expect the halt to last long. Postulator Dr. Andrea Ambrosi “has been aware of the issue regarding the transfer of Archbishop Sheen's remains, but does not believe that this will be a lasting impediment,” his office said in comments made to CNA Sept. 4. He expects “that the suspension of the cause will be temporary, since there are many people still committed to this cause and the Beatification of Archbishop Sheen,” they explained. “At this point, however, he cannot give a timeframe as it depends upon negotiations between others.” Dr. Ambrosi was chosen by the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation a number of years ago to serve as the postulator for the cause, and represents it before the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The suspension of Archbishop Sheen’s cause was announced “with sadness” by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of Peoria, President of the Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Foundation, in a Sept. 3 statement published on the diocese’s website. Explaining how the Holy See “expected that the remains of Venerable Sheen would be moved to Peoria where official inspection would be made and first class relics be taken,” the statement said that the Archdiocese of New York had denied Bishop Jenky's request to move the body to Peoria. “After further discussion with Rome, it was decided that the Sheen Cause would now have to be relegated to the Congregation’s historic archive.” The diocese recognized explained that Bishop Jenky was “personally assured on several occasions” by the New York archdiocese that “the transfer of the body would take place at the appropriate time.” “New York’s change of mind took place as the work on behalf of the Cause had reached a significant stage,” the statement read, explaining how Bishop Jenky has “prayed and labored” for Archbishop Sheen’s canonization for the last 12 years. “The Bishop is heartbroken not only for his flock in Peoria but also for the many supporters of the Sheen Cause from throughout the world who have so generously supported Peoria’s efforts.” Dr.  Ambrosi's office explained that although “Issues like this between two dioceses that lead to the suspension of a cause at this point in the process are very rare,” they believe “that this matter can be resolved.” “Negotiations on this particular issue of the transfer of the remains of Archbishop Fulton Sheen have been handled primarily between the representatives of the Diocese of Peoria and the Archdiocese of New York,” they observed.   On how the postulator has been “aware of the issue regarding the transfer of Archbishop Sheen's remains,” the office said that he “does not believe that this will be a lasting impediment, but that the suspension of the cause will be temporary.” In 2012, retired pontiff Benedict XVI authorized a decree that recognized the heroic virtues of the beloved host of the “Catholic Hour” radio show and the ABC television show “Life is Worth Living.” Archbishop Fulton Sheen authored many books and headed the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. He served as an auxiliary bishop of New York and as Bishop of Rochester. He continued to be a leading figure in U.S. Catholicism until his death in 1979 at the age of 84. His cause for sainthood was opened in 2002. An authenticated miracle is now needed for Ven. Fulton Sheen to be beatified, the last step before canonization. Despite the immense sadness on the part of Bishop Jenky and the Church in Peoria at the delay of Archbishop Sheen’s cause, the diocese affirmed that “saints are always made by God not by man.” “Efforts for many causes have sometimes taken decades or even centuries. Bishop Jenky urges that those who support the Sheen Cause continue their prayers that God’s will be made manifest.” Alan Holdren contributed to this report. Read more

2014-09-04T10:55:00+00:00

Last updated on: September 4, 2014 at 10:55 am   By

Rome, Italy, Sep 4, 2014 / 04:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has drawn praise for his firm pro-life stance as well as his approach to the topic – which goes to the heart of the issue and teaches the Church how to truly embrace humanity. “I believe he has a very integral approach to teaching the faith. In other words, anything that we teach as a Church he adheres to 1,000 percent. Like he said, 'I am a son of the Church,'” pro-life activist Father Frank Pavone told journalists in an Aug. 31 interview. “There's no question here about does he himself buy into whole heart and soul everything the Church teaches. Of course he does. The question is, how does he want to present that?” Fr. Pavone, the national director of Priests for Life, explained that although there is still “a level of discomfort” regarding the pontiff’s approach to pro-life issues in the United States, his style is “a particular blessing” for all those involved the pro-life movement. Referring to the Pope’s great concern regarding those who are alienated or distant from the Church,  the priest said that his desire to relate “everything the Church teaches to the heart and core of it which is Jesus Christ and the joy of knowing him” is a more effective means of evangelization. Despite the fact that he tends to be less outspoken on life issues than his predecessors,  Pope Francis offers the pro-life movement a new, fresh perspective that doesn’t pin it down to merely saying “the Church teaches that abortion is wrong.” Calling to mind  the shock experienced by many at the closing Mass of a pro-live event in the Vatican in June 2014 when the pontiff failed to make any mention of issues such as abortion or euthanasia, Fr. Pavone stated that if we really think about it,  his words that day offered something more essential. “God is life. If we’re saying yes to God we’re saying yes to life…any idea or action contrary to life is idolatry,” he said, quoting the Pope’s homily.  When we compare someone who says “abortion is wrong, the Church is against it” with someone who says: “’Any action or thought against life is idolatry,’ which of those explanations puts it on a firmer basis?” “Just to say that the Church rejects abortion is like saying ‘that’s today, but in ten years it will change, or that’s not essential to the faith,’” the priest explained,  but “Is the Church ever going to say idolatry is ok?” “In other words what he’s doing is taking the teaching and relating it to the most fundamental foundation of the Church: the worship of God, the one God. You can’t get any stronger than that in talking about the Church’s pro-life teaching.” His style, Fr. Pavone continued, shows the Church how to truly care for humanity and how to look after the well-being of the human person in a way that does not condemn, but rather brings mercy. Referring to a homily Pope Francis gave earlier this summer during a daily Mass at his residence in the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse, the priest recalled how it was all about “touching the wounds of Jesus.” Noting how the pontiff “exemplifies this in what he does,” Fr. Pavone explained how in his homily the Pope said that “we have to go to the wounds, we have to go where the people are who are wounded, and not only do we have to go to them, we have to embrace those wounds even physically.” “This is a whole aspect of spirituality that can really bless the pro-life movement because if we have to go to embrace the wounds of the poor, the homeless, the dying, the outcasts, the prisoners, then so we have to do for the unborn.” In this context, what Pope Francis is doing is “laying the groundwork” for what the pro-life movement needs to emphasize, he said, observing how the movement can often seem “abstract.” “The more we can concretize it” and show that “there are victims whose blood is being shed, and we can go and embrace them literally, this is what’s going to help us make progress.” Read more

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