(Vatican Radio) The sacrifice of one hundred and forty seven Swiss Guards who laid down their lives in defense of Pope Clement VII and the Holy Mother Church during the Sack of Rome in 1527 is commemorated each year on May 6. Yet again, that important date will be remembered on Wednesday afternoon during the…
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(Vatican Radio) The sacrifice of one hundred and forty seven Swiss Guards who laid down their lives in defense of Pope Clement VII and the Holy Mother Church during the Sack of Rome in 1527 is commemorated each year on May 6. Yet again, that important date will be remembered on Wednesday afternoon during the…
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has composed a special prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will run from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. In the prayer, the Holy Father entreats the Lord to make the Jubilee of Mercy a year of grace so that the Church, “with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind.”
Below, we publish the text of Pope Francis’ prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have taught us to be merciful like the heavenly Father,
and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.
Show us your face and we will be saved.
Your loving gaze freed Zacchaeus and Matthew from being enslaved by money;
the adulteress and Magdalene from seeking happiness only in created things;
made Peter weep after his betrayal,
and assured Paradise to the repentant thief.
Let us hear, as if addressed to each one of us, the words that you spoke to the Samaritan woman:
“If you knew the gift of God!”
You are the visible face of the invisible Father,
of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:
let the Church be your visible face in the world, its Lord risen and glorified.
You willed that your ministers would also be clothed in weakness
in order that they may feel compassion for those in ignorance and error:
let everyone who approaches them feel sought after, loved, and forgiven by God.
Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing,
so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord,
and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor,
proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,
and restore sight to the blind.
We ask this through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Mercy,
you who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.
Amen.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has composed a special prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will run from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. In the prayer, the Holy Father entreats the Lord to make the Jubilee of Mercy a year of grace so that the Church, “with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news…
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(Vatican Radio) Radio is the most popular form of communication in Papua New Guinea, and recently a group of Catholic communicators held a workshop on the island to help train staff from several of the country’s radio stations.
Vatican Radio, the Centre for Research and Education in Communication (CREC) , and Signis (The World Catholic Association for Communication) worked together on the initiative.
The head of Vatican Radio’s English Section, Seàn-Patrick Lovett, participated in the workshops, and wrote this reflection.
Papua New Guinea – The Ultimate Periphery
Before you continue reading this article I suggest you check a map of the world, or go to Google, to make sure you really know where Papua New Guinea is.
Yes, that’s it: that green stretch of land and blue chain of islands way over there in Oceania, somewhere above Australia. Don’t be embarrassed if you didn’t know. Most people don’t.
Because Papua New Guinea is the ultimate “periphery” – the term Pope Francis uses to describe the outer limits, the margins, the point furthest from the centre (both geographically and psychologically). The only tour guidebook available for Papua New Guinea describes it as “challenging…like you’re stepping into the great unknown”. And you are.
We left Rome on Friday morning and arrived (four flights later) on Sunday afternoon. Which is nothing if you think of the first missionaries who came here 150 years ago: they travelled by ship and it took them over a year. Some died of scurvy or dysentery or shipwreck along the way. And those who arrived safely were often cut to death on the beach as they stepped ashore. But that didn’t stop more missionaries from taking up the challenge again and venturing into the great unknown.
Many of the country’s current bishops are their successors, courageous and practical men, at whose invitation CREC held a workshop for radio professionals in Rabaul. A township on the island of New Britain (look up to the right on your map), Rabaul is most famous for its dangerously active volcano, known locally as Tavurvur (the “water-churner”), which last erupted in 1995 and totally destroyed the town. Earthquakes are also common, which is why most buildings are made of wood and are rarely more than one story high.
Nearly all of Papua New Guinea’s population (7 million) lives in remote areas, on the islands or in the tropical highland forests – some of which have yet to be explored. Speaking more languages than any other country on earth (over 800), the people of Papua New Guinea are also the world’s most culturally and ethnically diverse. The majority professes Christianity, but witchcraft and sorcery are still widely practiced. There are few roads or infrastructures and traditional communications systems are often non-existent. Which is why radio is so important: it’s cheap and flexible, and it tells you what you need to know, where and when you need to know it.
In Papua New Guinea people listen to the radio. It’s what keeps them connected. And the Catholic bishops use radio to keep their scattered and diverse flock both informed and inspired. That’s why they felt that a training session – organized by CREC, Vatican Radio and SIGNIS – was so important. This collaboration brought together the educational skills of CREC, the experience of Vatican Radio and the technical know-how of SIGNIS. A truly holistic-experiential combination. Once again, creativity became the key that allowed participants (who came from all over Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands) to unlock their potential as multimedia professionals and to apply their talents as effective communicators.
And it doesn’t end here. The same team, Seàn-Patrick Lovett (Vatican Radio English Programme Director) and Fr Fabrizio Colombo (Director of SIGNIS Rome) will be returning to Papua New Guinea next year for Phase Two: creating a radio community that, ideally, will allow the periphery to dialogue with the centre – and the centre with the periphery. Pope Francis would like that.
Seàn-Patrick Lovett
(from Vatican Radio)…