(Vatican Radio) The Vatican newspaper, Osservatore Romano reported Monday that Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, is the winner of the “Golden Pen” award. The prize, awarded by the Italian Presidency of the Council of Ministers, is given to journalists and writers who have brought honor to the country. Established in 1957 in memory of Giovanni Papini, the “Golden Pen” has been assigned in recent years to Salvatore Quasimodo, Eugenio Montale, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Giuseppe Prezzolini, Alberto Moravia, Ugo Spirito, Bacchelli, Mario Soldati and, in the last two editions, to Paolo Mieli and Eugenio Scalfari. The decision was taken unanimously by a panel of jurists. The award ceremony will take place on 2 July during celebrations organized by the Ischia Prize Foundation in Lacco Ameno on the southern Italian island. It will be preceded by a series of debates involving journalists, politicians, economy and foreign policy experts .
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in reference to the situation in the country. The chief of the Vatican Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi sj confirmed the news without giving information about the letter’s contents, on Monday.
Amid triple-digit inflation rates, Venezuela is undergoing one of the most serious economic crises of its history and basic goods and food are increasingly difficult to find. Shortages have led to smuggling and a thriving black market while power outages have led to looting.
“The Pope is following with great attention and participation the situation in Venezuela,” Lombardi said and cited the pontiff’s “most recent public remarks” and the “ample passage, very eloquent” which the Pope dedicated to Venezuela on Easter Sunday in the message before the Urbi et Orbi Blessing.
The Pope said: “With the weapons of love, God has defeated selfishness and death. His son Jesus is the door of mercy wide open to all. May his Easter message be felt ever more powerfully by the beloved people of Venezuela in the difficult conditions which they are experiencing, and by those responsible for the country’s future, that everyone may work for the common good, seeking spaces of dialogue and cooperation with all. May efforts be made everywhere to promote the culture of counter, justice and reciprocal respect, which alone can guarantee the spiritual and material welfare of all people.”
“The seriousness of the situation appears clearly from the recent Statement of Bishops on 27 April,” Fr. Lombardi stated. “For his part, the Nuncio, S.E. Msgr. Giordano, has committed very clearly to encourage the dialogue desired by the Pope.”
“In this context, I can say that the Pope himself did recently have a personal letter given to President Maduro, with reference to the situation of the country,” Lombardi said.
Venezuelan Bishops press government to permit Church to help
In their 27 April statement, Venezuela’s bishops urged the government of President Maduro to allow the Church to bring in much-needed supplies such as food and medicine.
They warned that never before had the country suffered from such an “extreme lack of goods and basic food and health products” combined with “an upsurge in murderous and inhuman crime, the unreliable rationing of electricity and water, and deep corruption in all levels of the government and society.”
They recalled that the government is duty-bound to “encourage all forms of assistance to its citizens” and to provide basic goods and services.
Authorization, the bishops said, “is urgently needed for private institutions in the country, such as Caritas or other programs of different religious denominations…to bring in food, medicine, and other basic needs from national and international aid groups, and to organize distribution networks in order to meet the urgent needs of the people.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is to receive 6 thousand homeless people from all over Europe, who will be making a pilgrimage to Rome from November 11 th to 13 th , at the close of the Year of Mercy.
Organized by the FRATELLO Association – an initiative born in the wake of the 2014 pilgrimage of 150 people then living on the streets in France – the 2016 pilgrimage is one in which organizations throughout Europe aiding the poorest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters in society are invited to participate.
The event program for the 2016 European Festival of Joy and Mercy , includes catechetical sessions – including several occasions to pray with and hear from Pope Francis – group activities organized by language, and breakout sessions with team leaders.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On the Sixth Sunday of Easter at the Pontifical Scots College in Rome, three seminarians were ordained to the diaconate.
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The three men were ordained by Bishop Joseph Toal from the Diocese of Motherwell in Scotland. Paul Denney, Bernard Mournian and Jonathan Whitworth have been in priestly formation for six years. The men are now transitional deacons, meaning that they have made promises of obedience and celibacy. They intend to be ordained to the priesthood in Scotland next year.
Whitworth, from the Diocese of Paisley and a student of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, said the entire day was a humbling experience. Reflecting on the Mass, he noted, “What comes to mind is the Litany of the Saints, when we were prostrated on the ground. When you hear the names of the saints being called out, asking them for their petitions, it is a deeply humbling experience. That’s what will stay with me forever, I’m sure.”
Bishop Toal was invited to the Eternal City to ordain the men because two of them are from his own diocese. Speaking ahead of the Ordination Mass, he said, “As some of the young men from today’s group of Scottish seminarians come to their diaconate ordination the Church in Scotland looks forward with anticipation and longing to their diaconal and priestly ministry in our dioceses – some may also be called later to the episcopal ministry, although it is unlikely I will be around to reminisce!”
Although the formation programme at the Scots College lasts seven years, Mournian believes that it is important to soak up as much of the Roman way of life as possible before returning to Scotland. “The gift of these years in Rome has been an incomparably precious privilege as I continue in my vocation. I cannot thank the Lord enough for giving me the opportunity to study and live in this wonderful place, which I will always consider as my second home.”
Almost two hundred people were present at the Mass. Special guests of honor included the newly ordained deacons’ families and a second Scottish Bishop, Stephen Robson, who was formerly a Spiritual Director at the College. The Rector, Fr Daniel Fitzpatrick, was delighted with how smoothly everything went, giving special thanks to the College community for their support and prayers in the period before the ordination.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday received the participants in the General Chapter of the The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy – the Mercedarian Order – which was founded in 1218 by Saint Peter Nolasco , as an international community of priests and brothers, who live a life of prayer and communal fraternity based on the Rule of Saint Augustine, with the distinguishing characteristic of their charism being their willingness – expressed in a special vow – to lay down their lives for those in danger, especially those in danger of losing their faith.
Mercedarians have always understood the redemption of captives as a permanent service for the faith of those Christians who were most in danger of denying Jesus Christ and, as a result, in danger of losing their souls.
The Mercedarians are celebrating their General Chapter in view of the upcoming 800 th Jubilee of their Order’s founding.
In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered on Monday morning, Pope Francis celebrated the illustrious history of the Mercedarian Order, and called on participants to make a prayerful search for ways to adapt their history of heroic witness to the needs of the present.
“May this chapter may be a privileged occasion for a sincere and fruitful dialogue,” said Pope Francis, “[one] that will not remain in the glorious past, but examines the difficulties encountered on that path, hesitations and errors.” The Holy Father went on to say, “The real life of the Order must be sought in the ongoing effort to adapt and renew itself, in order to give a generous response to the real needs of the world and the Church, in a manner faithful to the perennial heritage of which [the Mercedarians of today] are depositaries.”
In the world today, the Mercedarians are present in 17 countries, where they continue to rescue people from modern types of captivity, especially those social, political, and psychological forms of captivity, which endanger their faith. They work in jails, marginal neighborhoods, among addicts, and in hospitals. In the United States, the Order of Mercy gives special emphasis to preserving the faith of families through education and parish work.
The Holy Father concluded with an exhortation, saying, “In the eighth centenary of the Order, do not cease ‘to proclaim the Year of Favor of the Lord’ to all those to whom you are sent: to those held prisoner and persecuted because of their faith; to victims of trafficking; to the young people in your schools; to all those who are served by your works of mercy and to all the faithful you serve in the parishes and missions with which you have been entrusted by the Church.”
(from Vatican Radio)…