Latest news with #Exhortation
Herald Malaysia
4 days ago
- General
- Herald Malaysia
'We transmit the faith with Jesus at the center,' Pope Leo XIV tells Italian Bishops
Pope Leo XIV invites Italy's Bishops to embrace their primary responsibility of proclaiming and transmitting the faith, while always keeping Christ at the forefront, urging them to cultivate peace and work together. Jun 17, 2025 Pope Leo XIV meets with the Italian Bishops' Conference in the Vatican (@Vatican Media) By Deborah Castellano Lubov"A renewed impulse is required to proclaim and transmit the faith. This means placing Jesus Christ at the center." Pope Leo XIV gave this reminder when addressing the Italian Bishops' Conference, or the CEI, in the Vatican's Hall of Blessings on Tuesday morning. In his remarks, the Pope called for collegiality, witness, and, most of all, "helping people live a personal relationship with the Lord," following the path indicated by the late Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium , "so they may discover the joy of the Gospel." 'This means placing Jesus Christ at the center, and, following the path indicated by Evangelii gaudium, helping people to live a personal relationship with Him, so they may discover the joy of the Gospel.' Returning to foundations of our faith Saying we live in a time of great fragmentation, the Holy Father called for returning "to the foundations of our faith, to the kerygma ." This, he said, is the first great commitment that motivates all the others, namely "bringing Christ 'into the veins' of humanity, by renewing and sharing the apostolic mission." Pope Leo invited the Italian Bishops to discern ways to bring the Good News to everyone, "with pastoral actions capable of reaching those who are furthest away," and "with suitable tools for renewing catechesis and the language of proclamation." 'Let us be drawn to Him' Pope Leo invited them to join him in walking together, "with joy in our hearts and a song on our lips," for God, he noted, "is greater than our mediocrity." "Let us be drawn to Him! Let us place our trust in His providence," he said. 'Dearest brothers, let us walk together, with joy in our hearts and a song on our lips. God is greater than our mediocrity: let us be drawn to Him! Let us place our trust in His providence.' The Pope told the Italian Bishops to foster a Church that embodies the Gospel and is a sign of the Kingdom of God, by proclaiming the Gospel, peace, human dignity, and dialogue. The relationship with Christ, the Holy Father underscored, calls us to develop pastoral attention to the theme of peace. "The Lord sends us into the world to bring His very gift: 'Peace be with you!'—and to become its artisans in the places of daily life," the Pope said, noting he thinks of parishes, neighborhoods, inner areas of the country, and urban and existential peripheries. "Where human and social relationships become difficult and conflict arises, even subtly," he urged, "there must be a visible Church of reconciliation." The Pope also urged them to promote collegiality among themselves and with the Successor of Peter and to reflect the principle of communion through cooperation with civil authorities. "The CEI is, in fact," he observed, "a place of dialogue and synthesis of the Bishops' thought regarding the most important issues for the common good." Challenges on the ground The Pope recalled when his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, in 2006, described the Church in Italy as 'a very vibrant reality which maintains a widespread presence among people of all ages and conditions' and where 'Christian traditions are still often deeply rooted and continue to bear fruit.' Nevertheless, Pope Leo lamented, the Christian community in the country has long been facing new challenges "tied to secularism, a certain disaffection with the faith, and the demographic crisis." Yet, the Holy Father echoed the late Pope Francis' frequent reminder "to not be disturbed" and to work toward peace. Saying every community should become a 'house of peace," Pope Leo stressed that peace "is not a spiritual utopia," but rather a humble path, made of daily actions. The Pope also named challenges "that call into question the respect for the dignity of the human person," such as artificial intelligence, biotechnologies, the data economy, and social media, which, he observed, profoundly transform our perception and experience of life. "In this context," he warned, "the dignity of the human being risks being flattened or forgotten, replaced by functions, automatisms, simulations," especially since "the person is not a system of algorithms: he or she is a creature, a relationship, a mystery." We are sent to proclaim the Gospel Pope Leo expressed his hope that the journey of the Church in Italy may include, "in coherent symbiosis with the centrality of Jesus, an anthropological vision as an essential instrument of pastoral discernment." "Without a living reflection on the human being—in his or her corporeality, vulnerability, thirst for the infinite, and capacity for relationship," the Pope warned, "ethics is reduced to a code, and faith risks becoming disembodied." Going forward in unity Before concluding, the Holy Father exhorted the Bishops to advance in unity, urging them to look with serenity toward tomorrow and not be afraid of courageous choices. "No one can prevent you from being close to the people, from sharing life, from walking with the least, from serving the poor," he said. And "no one," Pope Leo underscored, "can stop you from proclaiming the Gospel—and it is the Gospel that we are sent to bring, because this is what everyone—ourselves first of all—needs in order to live well and to be happy." 'No one can stop you from proclaiming the Gospel—and it is the Gospel that we are sent to bring, because this is what everyone—ourselves first of all—needs in order to live well and to be happy.' Welcoming lay faithful as 'protagonists' The Pope also urged the Bishops of Italy to be attentive that the lay faithful, nourished by the Word of God and formed in the Social Doctrine of the Church, "may be the protagonists" of evangelization in their workplaces, in schools, in hospitals, in social and cultural settings, in the economy, and in politics. Before imparting his Apostolic Blessing, Pope Leo XIV concluded by entrusting the Italian Bishops to the protection of the Blessed Mother, Our Lady of Loreto, of Pompeii, and of the countless shrines that are scattered throughout Italy. --Vatican News
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'The gift of Pope Francis:' Oklahoma leaders share statements of hope in wake of pope's death
Oklahoma Catholic leaders shared statements about Pope Francis, who died on Monday. He was 88. "We are saddened this Easter Monday to learn of the passing of Pope Francis, who has been called home to the Father's house. This ecclesial moment offers us the opportunity to consider the work of God in and through those He has called to serve Him and His people. Over the past few weeks, I have been reflecting upon the life and ministry of our Holy Father, Pope Francis. "From the first moments of his papacy, he sought to utilize prophetic gestures as a principal means of his universal pastoral ministry. Pope Francis was a shepherd for whom the Church's witness to the world was at the forefront of his mind. His special pastoral concern for the marginalized, the disenfranchised and the excluded in society was always first and foremost when proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world. "He charted the course of his papacy with the publication of his 2013 post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation called the 'Joy of the Gospel' (Evangelii Gaudium). He wrote about the need for a renewed proclamation of the Good News of Jesus' incarnation, passion, death and resurrection. He called for this Kerygma to be at the center of the life and the witness of the Church. More: Pope Francis, 266th occupant of the throne of St. Peter, has died "There is a certain fittingness — and poetic beauty — that the Lord called his servant home during the Easter octave and Jubilee of hope. In a certain sense, Pope Francis began and ended his service of the Petrine Ministry with the theme of hope. We give thanks to almighty God for the gift of Pope Francis. We pray for the repose of his soul, and we pray for the universal Church in this time of transition. "With gratitude for his ministry, we bid our prayerful farewell to Pope Francis and commend him to the Lord. We now turn with great confidence to the Father and pray for the one whom He will choose to shepherd the Church as our next pope, the Vicar of Christ and Bishop of Rome. "Mary, Mother of the Church, pray for us." "The light of faith: this is how the Church's tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus. These are the first words of 'Lumen Fidei,' the first Encyclical of Pope Francis at the beginning of his pontificate. "As a Jesuit priest, then bishop, then cardinal, and finally as our Holy Father these past 12 years, Pope Francis dedicated his life to inviting all to see and know Jesus Christ, the light of the world, the light of faith and the loving Savior. "His heroic service, well past the age most people retire and begin to rest, is a testament to his burning desire to make Jesus known, especially to those on the margins. Now, as we commend him to God, let us take up and continue the ministry of the Church: Spreading the good news that Jesus is Lord and loves and saves all who put their faith in him." "Today, Oklahoma joins over a billion Catholics mourning the loss of Pope Francis. For twelve years, he led the Catholic Church, embodying Jesus' call to Matthew ― 'Follow me' ― a command he often reflected on throughout his pontificate. "I remember when he addressed Congress in 2015 and spoke about the need for empathy and the importance of working in the best interests of all people. May he rest in peace with the Lord." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Pope Francis dies at 88: Oklahoma leaders remember his message of hope
Axios
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Pope Francis' legacy includes call for climate action
Pope Francis, who died Monday at 88, was an outspoken advocate of tougher moves to address climate change and brought unprecedented Vatican focus to the topic. The big picture: A first-time papal encyclical on climate, Laudato Si', in 2015 expressed concern about harms to poor people and vulnerable nations. In 2018, he addressed oil execs (and others) at a Vatican conference where he credited some of their work but called the continued search for new fossil fuel reserves "worrying." More recently, Francis issued an "Exhortation" in 2023 that lamented the lack of global progress on climate and said "abandonment" of fossil fuels isn't happening fast enough. He was slated to become the first pontiff to attend an annual UN climate summit that year, but he had to cancel due to illness. In 2024, he told CBS News that "climate change at this moment is a road to death." What they're saying: Climate advocates this morning are lauding Francis' influence. The 2015 encyclical is a "founding text of Christian commitment to climate action, which has inspired & marked a new generation of committed people," said Laurence Tubiana, the former French climate diplomat who helped craft the Paris Agreement, posted on social media today. The intrigue: Veteran climate journalist Michael Grunwald wrote in 2015 that the encyclical had some "sensible and useful" passages. But it went heavier on topics like "aesthetic education" and "misguided anthropocentrism." "There are quasi-Marxist passages that sound like Noam Chomsky on acid. There are technophobic passages that sound like they were written by an Amish hippie grad student," he wrote.
