(Vatican Radio) The Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, has sent a letter to Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan and President of the Giuseppe Toniolo Institute for Higher Studies, which founded and and continues to promote Italy’s premier Catholic institution of higher learning, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart – Università cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and Rome, on occasion of the 92 nd “Day for the Catholic University” in Italy. In his letter, Cardinal Parolin writes of the ever-present and pressingly urgent need today to recover and to continue the conversation between timeless truth and contemporary culture. “Without an eye to the fundamental values of truth, goodness, justice and peace, which comes from a genuine opening of the spirit,” writes Cardinal Parolin, “you cannot counter the strong impulses toward materialism and scientific positivism that seem to be the dominant coordinates on which the culture and society of our time seem to move.” The theme chosen for the 92 nd Day for the Catholic University – celebrated Sunday, April 10 th – was: “The Italy of tomorrow: I’ll be there, starting today!” Cardinal Parolin notes in his letter how a core element of Catholic education is its ability to create and foster a spirit of service. “A distinctive sign of the Catholic institution of higher learning,” he writes, “must always and ever more be that of an education energetically ordered to solidarity and the service of the least among us, through all dimensions of knowledge and human life.” (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed the Regina coeli with pilgrims and tourists gathered in a sun-drenched St. Peter’s Square at noon on Sunday. In his remarks ahead of the traditional Eastertide prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father reflected on the Gospel reading of the day, which tells of Our Lord’s third appearance to the disciples following His resurrection, and the episode of the miraculous catch of fish, in which the disciples, returned to their old workaday lives, encounter the Risen Jesus on the shore of Lake Galilee.
“The presence of Jesus,” explained Pope Francis, “transforms everything: darkness is overcome by light; vain labor is made once again fruitful and promising; the sense of fatigue and abandonment gives way to a new élan, and to the certainty that He is with us.”
The Pope went on to say that the renewal of hope and missionary spirit, which the disciples experienced then, are with the Church still today.
“If it may seem, by a superficial glance, that the shadows of evil and the weariness of everyday life have the upper hand, the Church knows with certainty that the light of Easter shines with undimming brilliance on all those who follow the Lord Jesus.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks with an exhortation: “May the Lord renew Paschal faith in us as well: may He make us ever more aware of our mission in service of the Gospel and of our brothers and sisters; may He fill us with the Holy Spirit so that, sustained by the intercession of Mary, we might with all the Church proclaim the greatness of His love and the richness of His mercy.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a message expressing condolences and promising prayers for the victims of a deadly fire at a Hindu temple in the Indian state of Kerala overnight, as well as for the victims’ families. Sent via telegram through the Secretary of State of the Holy See, the Pope’s message also also asks God to bless the whole nation of India.
Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ telegram, in its official English version
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His Holiness Pope Francis was saddened to learn of the tragic fire at the Puttingal temple complex in Paravur, and he sends condolences to the relatives of the deceased and injured. Praying for all affected by this tragedy, and for the relief efforts underway, Pope Francis invokes upon the nation the divine blessings of strength and peace.
C ardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis appealed for the immediate release of Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, SDB, who was taken captive on March 4 th during the course of a murderous terror attack on a home for the elderly operated by the Missionaries of Charity in Yemen, in which four religious sisters of the congregation founded by Bl. (soon-to-be St.) Teresa of Calcutta were slain along with a dozen other people at the facility.
The specific appeal for the Salesian missionary priest immediately followed a general appeal for the immediate release of all persons taken captive in war zones.
“In the hope given us by the Risen Christ,” said Pope Francis to the great crowd of pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Regina coeli prayer on Sunday, “I renew my appeal for the liberation of all persons seized in areas of armed conflict: in particular, I desire to remember the Salesian priest, Tom Uzhunnalil, kidnapped at Aden in Yemen this past March 4th.”
(from Vatican Radio)…