On a Sunday morning ten years ago while visiting the fascinating city of Istanbul, I left my hotel to attend Mass in one of the few catholic churches of the city. I went early since I did not have the exact address, but the concierge at the hotel had somewhat explained to me where the church was located. I walked back and forth, back and forth, down two blocks of a busy street and I could not find the church. ... Read more
In 1998, the Guatemalan government murdered Bishop Juan Jose Gerardi of Guatemala City in his house two days after the Bishop presented an official report compiled by the Archdiocese detailing years of right-wing government and military oppression towards the indigenous population. In 1991, two young Franciscan Polish priests, Blessed Michele Tomaszek and BlessedZbigneo Strzalkowski, were brutally murdered in my home country of Peru by the Shining Path, a Maoist Guerrilla, since the friars did not agree with their revolutionary ideas. In... Read more
Last week Pope Francis traveled to Krakow, Poland to join hundreds of thousands of young men and women gathered to live out their faith as one. Hailing from 187 countries, almost every country in the world was represented. Catechesis was held for pilgrims in thirty-three languages. Many cardinals, over one thousand bishops, and tens of thousands of priests and religious traveled with their faithful to be present at this unique gathering of youth which Saint John Paul II started in... Read more
Johannes de Jong, Archbishop of Utrecht, the Netherlands, ordered all Catholic parishes in his country to read a pastoral letter on Sunday July 26, 1942 during Mass condemning the Nazi treatment of the Jewish people. The pastoral letter included a transcript of the telegram he had previously sent to Nazi authorities in union with other Dutch churches: “The undersigned Dutch churches, already deeply shocked by the actions taken against the Jews in the Netherlands that have excluded them from participating... Read more
La semana pasada el Papa Francisco viajó a la ciudad de Cracovia en Polonia para unirse a cientos de miles de jóvenes reunidos para vivir su fe juntos. Provenientes de 187 países, los jóvenes representaron a casi todos los países del mundo. Catequesis se llevó a cabo para los peregrinos en treinta y tres idiomas. Numerosos cardenales, más de mil obispos y decenas de miles de sacerdotes y religiosos viajaron con sus feligreses para asistir este encuentro único de jóvenes... Read more
The fact that the president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, was attending World Youth Day should have given it away. The immediate fact that he was sitting next to Poland’s president during the closing Mass today should have also given it away. The announcement by Pope Francis was received with an enormous cheer: “I am happy to announce that the next World Youth Day – after the two that will be held on the diocesan level – will take place in... Read more
“And here,“ the smiling sister said to me, “is our second chapel.” I entered the room a bit confused as she explained, “this is our second chapel because here we also encounter Christ.” The religious sister had led me into a room with about fifteen girls, all suffering from various birth defects and severe ailments. This room housed the older girls of the house, the few that had lived past just a few years after being abandoned by their parents... Read more
I noticed earlier today that the press in the United States has picked up the fact that Pope Francis tripped and fell during Mass today at Czestochowa. He did fall when he approached an unexpected step while incensing the altar at the beginning of Mass. It took less than ten seconds for things to continue. There was somewhat of a gentle gasp as he lost his balance. He did not appear to be in pain, nor did the incident disturb the... Read more
“Y aquí,” la hermana me dijo sonriendo, “está nuestra segunda capilla.” Entré al salón un poco confundido mientras explicaba la hermana, “esta es nuestra segunda capilla porque aquí también encontramos a Cristo.” La hermana religiosa me había invitado a entrar a un salón con unas quince jóvenes, todas las cuales sufrían de defectos congénitos y enfermedades graves. En este salón se encontraban las jóvenes mayores del hogar, las pocas que habían vivido más allá de unos pocos años después de... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In
The other side of World Youth Day in Poland
On August 1st, 1944, the single largest military resistance during World War II began in Warsaw, Poland. As World Youth Day concludes, an event filled with great joy and hope, today marks the seventy-second anniversary of a glorious uprising that ended tragically. Today’s anniversary, as well as the events of World War II, remind us that evil is present in the world, and that evil can quickly and effectively take away our joy and hope (if we allow it to... Read more