Vatican City, Jun 10, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- World Youth Day wasn't the only topic on the agenda for Panama's bishops during their meeting with Pope Francis this week: they also touched on the role of the laity and the dangers of gender ideology – both key topics for the universal Church. Archbishop José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta of Panama, president of the Panama bishops conference, told journalists June 8 that gender ideology “is really being pushed in Panama,” and was a major talking point in their meeting with Pope Francis. The bishops are concluding a trip to Rome for their ad limina visit, during which they met with several Vatican departments and had a nearly 2-hour discussion with Pope Francis June 8. Archbishop Ulloa described the meeting as “marvelous, a brotherly visit,” in which they exchanged jokes, asked questions, and voiced concerns freely. The international WYD encounter set to take place in Panama in 2019 was of course a big topic, as well as the youth in general. However, particular concern was raised about the growing threat gender ideology poses to youth and to families. “Let's say something that in other media doesn't sell so well: gender ideology is demonic,” Archbishop Ulloa said. “It wants to break with the reality of the family and it does so by getting in so softly that we don't realize it.” It is never permissible to impose an ideology, he said, stressing the need to respect others, “but having very clear the importance of the family according to the plan of God: man and woman.” In comments to CNA, Cardinal José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan of David said Pope Francis “is very worried about Latin America” and listened carefully to what the bishops had to say. “We listened to his concerns, he listened to our concerns, and from there we had a very fraternal dialogue, very nice, very friendly,” the cardinal said, explaining that the Pope allowed them to share and ask questions, and he responded by giving his own ideas and opinions. Cardinal Lacunza said that right now in Panama, “there is a real escalation in the media and in the environment to impose, even in the educational field, this theme of gender ideology (on) young children.” He said there is currently “a fight” between those who are pushing gender ideology as a human right and those who, from the perspectives of faith and reason, “say that it is in no way a human right.” “The homosexuals have a right to be respected in their dignity and not to be discriminated against,” the cardinal said, emphasizing the need to go from “a society that has to assume as good or acceptable this opinion,” to one that teaches children “that there is a very big path that we are not willing to take, we are not willing to compromise.” When asked what the Church can do to help, Cardinal Lacunza said it is essential to remember that “the Church” includes the laity – not just clerics. As bishops, “we can't do anything,” he said. “We can give orientations, guidelines, but the ones who have to take the baton in their hands are the laity.” It is the laity who must “fight for adequate legislation in education and other areas,” he said, and, pointing to a recent initiative in the country, said the push to have “an encyclopedia of genitalia” as if it were the most important educational text “is the wrong path.” There are already lay people working in this area, the cardinal said, adding that “this is what we want: that they are the ones with the baton.” Youth and laity were also key topics in the meeting with Pope Francis, stemming from discussion on World Youth Day. Francis has often condemned a clericalist attitude prevalent in Latin America, calling it in a 2016 letter to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America  “one of the greatest distortions of the Church” in the region. So it's not surprising that the role of the laity came up with the Panamanian bishops. In fact, Archbishop Ulloa said the Pope stressed “the importance of believing in the laity,” because the laity “are also capable of transforming our society.” This also includes the youth, the archbishop said, explaining that Pope Francis also focused on the “spaces and opportunities” that must be provided to the youth. “In the Church, in the world, many things will change, and youth will truly fight to have a place in this time of transformation,” he said, noting how Pope Francis said that youth “are not [just] the future,” but rather, “they are the present of the Church, and the present of humanity.” “What a responsibility it is for them also to be a youth in this time!” Archbishop Ulloa said, adding that the youth are “the fresh air that we have to continue hoping in for a different world.” If this world is possible, he said, “it's possible thanks to the youth.”  Alvaro de Juana contributed to this piece. Read more

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2017 / 04:31 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis participated in a Google Hangout on Friday with youth from around the world, emphasizing that “everyone has meaning,” even though the world will try to exclude certain people. Combatting a world which promotes elitism and exclusion, the Pope said June 9, “you have a meaning, everyone … has meaning, you have a meaning, it is in your hands to discover the meaning I have in life, what I am like, with the potentiality that you can … and how to give this meaning to others.” The hangout, Pope Francis’ third time for the meeting, was organized for the inauguration of a new Vatican office of the Scholas Occurentes, a world-wide initiative in schools to encourage social integration and the culture of encounter through technology, arts, and sports. Society “is accustomed to exclude, to select, to attack, to shut out people,” he lamented. However, he said Scholas isn’t like the world, but instead it will “include, shake hands, give a hug, [refrain from] attack, and recognize that no one is a ‘no’… everyone is a ‘yes,’ a ‘yes’ for them and a ‘yes’ for others. To include, a ‘yes’ to give.” The video chat included youth from the countries of Italy, Colombia, Haiti, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates. Each group took turns giving a short presentation on the impact of their local “Scholas Ciaudadania” group. The Pope listened intently to each one before making his comments in Spanish. “This work that you're doing, of encountering one another, dialoguing … is an example for us grownups,” he said. Scholas was started by Pope Francis when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. In 2013 it was approved as an ecclesiastical institute by the Holy See. With just a few youth involved at its beginning, the foundation now consists of a worldwide network of over 400,000 state and religious schools, which are organized by Argentine school headmasters Enrique Palmeyro and José María del Corral. Read more

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2017 / 02:56 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- During Mass on Friday, Pope Francis urged Christians to more prayer and hope, especially during the difficult times, instead of finding pleasures in vanity. He reflected on the suffering endured in the Book of Tobit – blindness, exile, strained marriages – which tempted Tobit and Sarah to desire death; but rather than giving into despair they committed themselves to prayer and hope. “This is the attitude that saves us in bad times – prayer. Patience – because both of them are patient with their pains. And hope – that God will listen to us and help us tide over these bad moments,” said the Holy Father at the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta June 9. “In moments of sadness, little or much, in moments of darkness, prayer, patience and hope. Do not forget this." Pope Francis recognized that everyone will suffer, and “know how it feels in times of darkness, in moments of pain, in times of difficulty,” and that “after the test” God reveals “beautiful and authentic moments.” But he warned against an artificial beauty – something he calls “beautiful makeup” or “fireworks.” Asking what Tobit, Sarah, and Tobiah do with authentic moments of beauty, he said, “They thank God, broadening their hearts with prayers of thanksgiving.” He challenged his audience to discern what is happening in their souls, especially during times of suffering. To encounter these moments without vanity, he said we must commit “to pray, to have patience and have at least a bit of hope.” Like Tobit and Sarah, he said we must “wait, in prayer and in hope for the Lord's salvation.” The Pope encouraged his audience to read the short book of Tobit over the weekend and to “ask for [the] grace of discerning what happens in the bad times of our lives and how to go on and what happens in the beautiful moments and not be misled by vanity.”   Read more

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2017 / 08:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- After twin terrorist attacks killed at least 17 people in Tahran, Iran, earlier this week, Pope Francis condemned the 'barbaric' act of violence and offered his prayers for the victims and their families.   “His Holiness Pope Francis sends his heartfelt condolences to all those affected by the barbaric attack in Tehran, and laments this senseless and grave act of violence,” a June 9 letter signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin read. “In expressing his sorrow for the victims and their families, His Holiness commends the souls of the deceased to the mercy of the Almighty, and he assures the people of Iran of his prayers for peace.” On Wednesday, June 7, deadly twin attacks on Iran's parliament building and a monument containing the tomb of the republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killed at least 17 people and wounded several others. According to CNN, six attackers simultaneously carried out gun and suicide bomb assaults around 10a.m. local time. The violence began when four of the gunmen, allegedly dressed as women, stormed the gate of the parliament building and opened fire. The assailants took several hostages before one detonated a suicide bomb. Sporadic gunfire was heard before Iranian security forces eventually killed all four of the attackers. Also called the Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majlis, Iran's parliament is the country's main legislative body. It has a total of 290 members, including women and representatives of minority religions, such as Christians and Jews. At the same time as the parliament attack, two gunmen went on a shooting spree at the Ayatollah Khomeini mausoleum, which is located roughly 15 miles away and is a popular destination for tourists and pilgrims. Khomeini, the Iranian Republic's founder and first supreme leader, led the revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979, and remained the supreme leader of the republic for the next 10 years. ISIS militants claimed responsibility for the attack, marking the first time the organization, a Sunni Muslim group fighting Iranian-backed forces in Syria, took responsibility for an attack in Iran, a predominantly Shiite nation. The last major attack in Iran took place in 2010 when a Sunni extremist group launched a suicide attack against a mosque in Sistan-Baluchistan that killed 39 people. The Tahran attack was the latest in a string of terrorist attacks claimed by ISIS in recent days. On June 4, seven people were killed and 48 others injured when three men drove a van into a crowd of people on London Bridge before going on a knife spree at local bars and pubs. A separate car and knife attack took place in Westminster in March that left five people dead, and the Manchester bombing at a concert less than two weeks ago, in which 22 people were killed. Several attacks have also taken place in Egypt over the past few months, raising concerns surrounding terrorism all over the world. Read more

Vatican City, Jun 9, 2017 / 07:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday Pope Francis said women have an essential role to play in interreligious dialogue given their natural ability to build relationships and fraternity, making their involvement necessary in all areas of society. “Today more than ever it's necessary that women are present,” the Pope said June 9. “Woman, possessing special characteristics, can offer an important contribution to dialogue with her ability to listen, to welcome and to generously open herself to others.” Francis spoke to members of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, headed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who are gathered in Rome for their annual plenary assembly. During the plenary discussion, members of the council explored the theme of “the Role of women in educating in universal fraternity.” In his speech, Pope Francis said the topic is “of prime importance for the path of humanity toward peace and fraternity; a path which is not at all obvious and clear, but marked by difficulty and obstacles.” “Unfortunately today we see how the figure of woman as an educator in universal fraternity is blurred and often unrecognized due to many evils that afflict this world and which, in particular, affect women in their dignity and in their role,” he said, noting that women and children are the most frequent victims of the “blind violence” that takes place in the world today. However, women have a key role to play, he said, stressing women must collaborate with men in carrying out their mission as an educator “in a serene and effective way.” The Pope pointed to three main areas of reflection for council members to consider regarding the theme of their discussion: valuing the role of women, educating in fraternity and dialogue. When it comes to valuing the role of women, Pope Francis said that within a complex society marked by plurality and globalization, “there is need for a greater recognition of the ability of women to educate in universal fraternity.” If women are able to freely put their gifts at the service of the entire community, “the way in which society understands and is organized is positively transformed, reflecting better the substantial unity of the human family,” he said. Because of this, a beneficial model for society is one that amplifies the presence of women in social, economic and political life at the local, national and international levels, “as well as in the ecclesial,” he said. “Women have the right to be actively involved in all areas, and their right must be asserted and protected even by legal means wherever they prove necessary.” This, Francis said, involves “expanding the spaces of a more incisive feminine presence.” “There are so many and many women who, in their daily commitments, with dedication and conscience, with courage that is at times heroic, have developed and put their genius to use, their precious traits in the most varied, specific and qualified skills combined with the real experience of being mothers and teachers.” On the plenary theme of educating in fraternity, the Pope said women as educators “have a special vocation, capable of creating and growing new forms of acceptance and esteem.” “The feminine figure has always been at the center of familiar education, not exclusively as a mother,” he said, adding that the contribution of women in the field of education is “inestimable.” Education, he said, “ brings a wealth of implications both for the woman herself, for her way of being, and for her relationships, for the way she deals with human life and life in general.” Because of this, men and women are called to contribute together in fostering universal brotherhood, which is, in the end, also an education “in the peace and complimentarity of their various and sensitive roles.” “Women, intimately linked to the mystery of life, can do much to promote the spirit of brotherhood, with their care for the preservation of life and with their conviction that love is the only force that can render the world habitable for all,” he said. In effect, women are often the only ones to accompany others, particularly the weakest in the family and in society, and victims of conflicts. “Thanks to their contribution, educating in fraternity – due to their nature of inclusion and generating ties – can overcome the culture of waste,” Francis said. Educating in fraternity is also an essential part of interreligious dialogue, he said, noting that women are often committed more than men in this area, “and so contribute to a better understanding of the challenges characteristic of a multicultural reality.” However, “women can also become fully involved in exchanges at the religious level, as well as those at the theological level,” the Pope said, noting that many women “are well prepared to face encounters of interreligious dialogue at the highest levels and not just from the Catholic side.” “This means that the contribution of women is not limited to 'feminine' arguments or to encounters of only women,” he said, adding that dialogue “is a path that man and woman must accomplish together.” Read more