(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his condolences upon learning about the death of Cardinal László Paskai, OFM, the Archbishop emeritus of Esztergom-Budapest, who died on Monday at the age of 88.
Pope Francis sent a telegram to the current Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Péter Cardinal Erdő, which says he was “saddened to learn the news of the death” of his predecessor.
“I offer prayerful condolences to you, the clergy, men and women religious and lay faithful of the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest, and I thank Almighty God for his many years of service to the Church in Hungary,” Pope Francis writes.
“In commending his to the merciful love of the Father and uniting myself spiritually to all assembled for the solemn funeral rites, I impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of consolation and peace in the Lord,” the message concludes.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has said the Jubilee of Mercy will be a “good opportunity for increasing the collaboration between pastors and the laity in the mission of affectionately and tenderly caring for the sick and dying.”
His words were conveyed in a message sent to Manuel Martin Sjöberg, President of the Federación de Servicios de sacerdotales Urgencia y Nocturno (Federation of Priestly Emergency Services).
The society was founded in 1952 in Cordoba, Argentina, to help those in need receive the sacraments, especially when it is difficult to find a priest.
Pope Francis also quoted from Misericordiae Vultus, the Bull of Indiction announcing the Year of Mercy, which urges people to be close to those who are suffering “so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship and our fraternity.”
Pope Francis thanked the volunteers of the association for their sixty years of performing “works of Christian mercy”, noting “we will be judged” on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, because in “each of these ‘smallest ones’, Christ himself is present.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal László Paskai, O.F.M., Archbishop emeritus of Esztergom-Budapest, died on Monday at the age of 88 after a long battle with cancer.
He was born on 8 May 1927 in Szeged, in the south-eastern zone of Hungary. He entered the Order of Friars Minor and studied theology in Gyoongyos and at the seminary of Budapest. He was ordained a priest on 3 March 1951, and began his pastoral ministry in the diocese of Nagyvárad.
On 2 March 1978, Paul VI appointed him titular Bishop of Bavagaliana and apostolic administrator of Veszprém. He received episcopal ordination on 5 April 1978.
Pope John Paul II appointed him Archbishop of Veszprém on 31 March 1979, and then eight years appointed him Primate of Hungary and Archbishop of Esztergom. He was created Cardinal the following year.
He retired in 2002, but participated in the 2005 conclave which elected Pope Benedict XVI.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson, on Monday sent greetings to a two-day Islamic Climate Change Symposium taking place in Istanbul.
In a Message presented by Fr. John T. Brinkman, Cardinal Turkson called the on-going ecological crisis “the gravest and most intractable of all” the problems facing the modern world.
“A great motivation which unites Christians, Muslims and many others is the firm belief in God,” the Message reads.
“This faith compels us to care for the magnificent gift he has bestowed upon us – and, God-willing, upon those, who will follow us. Our urgent action will surely be more effective if we believers of different religious communities find ways to work together.”
The full text of the Message is below
Solidarity Message from the Catholic Faith
to the Islamic Climate Change Symposium
Istanbul, 17-18 August 2015
To all gathered here in Istanbul to launch the Islamic Climate Change Declaration, it gives me great pleasure to convey the warm greetings and solidarity of H.E. Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City.
It is clear that we are living at a particularly turbulent and decisive moment in world history. Humanity faces a number of urgent challenges which demand our prayers and action. The on-going ecological crisis is the gravest and most intractable of all.
Earlier this year, Pope Francis issued an encyclical letter, Laudato si’, in which he invites each living person to undergo an ecological conversion of heart. We have to re-imagine our commitment to what he calls “the care of our common home”, this planet, the earth, in the light of our faith. It is not enough, he says, to propose merely technical solutions, for they are “powerless to solve the serious problems of our world if humanity loses its compass, if we lose sight of the great motivations which make it possible for us to live in harmony, to make sacrifices and to treat others well.” (LS, 200)
A great motivation which unites Christians, Muslims and many others is the firm belief in God. This faith compels us to care for the magnificent gift he has bestowed upon us – and, God-willing, upon those, who will follow us. Our urgent action will surely be more effective if we believers of different religious communities find ways to work together.
So, it is with great joy and in a spirit of solidarity that I express to you the promise of the Catholic Church to pray for the success of your initiative and her desire to work with you in the future to care for our common home and thus to glorify the God who created us.
Presented by
Fr. John T. Brinkman, M.M.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The website of the Holy See’s Pavilion at the Expo Milan 2015 has released an English version . The theme of the Universal Exhibition taking place in Milan is Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life . The theme of the Holy See Pavilion is Not by bread alone .
2015 is the second time Milan has hosted the Universal Exposition; the first was in 1906. This year’s Expo opened on May 1, and will close on October 31.
The website – which was launched in Italian at the beginning of the Expo – includes many features, including a history of the Holy See’s involvement in the International Exposition movement , from the time of Pius IX and the era of the Papal States. It also has a video tour of the Holy See’s Pavilion.
The Pavilion has been organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture, whose President is Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi.
“We want to be the ‘thorn in the flesh’ of this exhibition, and stir consciences with uncomfortable questions,” Cardinal Ravasi said on June 11th.
“One of these is the need of everyone for their daily bread, where bread takes on a symbolic meaning as well, of beauty,” he continued. “I often quote the Indian parable of the hyacinth: if one has two loaves to spare, the first should be donated to the poor, and the second sold to buy a hyacinth that is also donated to the poor, because they have a right to beauty, too.”
The website can be found at the following address: http://www.expoholysee.org/eng-home
(from Vatican Radio)…