(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday sent a message to a Portuguese radio station celebrating its 80th anniversary, saying it has done “exceptional work” in promoting “fraternal solidarity”.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
In his message for Radio Renascença’s 80th anniversary, Pope Francis said he valued the station’s work of carrying “the Gospel of Jesus” to “Portugal and the immense Portuguese-speaking world”.
He said the Radio has sown “fraternal solidarity and the mercy of God in the heart of humanity”.
Pope Francis’ message was sent by Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Substitute of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, and read to the Grupo Renascença Multimédia by Archbishop Rino Passigato, Apostolic Nuncio to Portugal.
“Pope Francis cordially greets the great family of ‘Radio Renascença’ as its celebrates its 80th anniversary,” the message reads, “and expresses his appreciation for the work of all those who, over the years, have served the Church with their daily work through this medium of social communications.”
The Holy Father also assured Radio Renascença of his “prayers for the fruitfulness of its many evangelizing initiatives”.
Transmitting out of Lisbon in Portugal, Radio Renascença (‘Radio Renaissance’) is a private, commercial station under the ownership of various organizations of the Portuguese Catholic Church.
The group celebrated its 80th anniversary with a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Manuel Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon, and a tribute to the Radio’s employees.
Pope Francis granted an interview to Radio Renascença in September 2015 .
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has urged scientists and experts in biotechnologies to always be aware of the effects their decisions can have on human life and on creation.
The Pope was addressing members of the National Committee for Biosafety, Biotechnology and Life Sciences at an audience in the Vatican.
The main issues addressed by the Committee’s various working groups include: genetic testing, gene therapy, tissue engineering, development of biotechnology, cloning, Italian and European legislation, clinical trials, GMOs, infrastructure, information, genetic testing, biobanks, and bio nanotechnology.
Remarking on the fact that the themes and issues that the committee faces are of great importance for contemporary man, both as individuals and in relation to the social dimension, the Pope said: “your task is not only to promote the harmonious and integrated development of scientific and technological research that relates to the biological processes of plant, animal and human life”; you are also asked to predict and prevent the negative consequences that a distorted use of science and technology can result in when “they are used to manipulate life”.
Highlighting the principle of accountability which, the Pope said, is an essential cornerstone of human action, he said that various fields of technology and science put a “huge and growing power into the hands of man”.
“A grave risk is that citizens, and at times even those who represent and govern them, are not fully aware of the seriousness of the challenges that arise, of the complexities of the problems to be solved, and are in danger of misusing the power that sciences and biotechnologies put in their hands”.
Pope Francis said that when the connection between economic power and the power of technology is a strong one, interests can come into play; choices can be taken in light of possible profits for industrial and commercial groups to the detriment of populations and of the poorest nations.
“It is not easy to reach a harmonious composition of the different scientific, productive, ethical, social, economic and political realities that promotes a sustainable development that respects our ‘common home’” he said.
It is something that requires humility, courage and openness, he said, certain that the contribution given by men of science to truth and to the common good, contribute to the development of civil conscience.
Pope Francis reminded those present that sciences and technologies are made for man and for the world and not the opposite.
“May they be put to the service of dignified and healthy lives for all, now and in the future, and may they help render our common home more livable and supportive, more cared for and safe-guarded” he said.
The Pope concluded his address encouraging those present to initiate and sustain processes of consensus amongst scientists, technology experts, businessmen and representatives of the institutions, and to identify strategies to enhance public awareness on the issues raised by developments in Life Sciences and biotechnology.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday renewed his condemnation of last week’s terror attack in Stockholm, Sweden, entrusting the victims of Friday’s attack to Our Lord and Our Lady.
Pope Francis made his appeal in remarks to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with him after Mass on Palm Sunday.
Pope Francis said, “To Christ, who today enters upon His passion, and to the Holy Virgin, we entrust the victims of the terror attack that occurred this past Friday in Stockholm, along with all those still sorely tried by war, [which is] a calamity for all mankind.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis condemned the terror attack on a Coptic church dedicated to St. George – Mar Girgis – in the city of Tanta, north of Cairo, which killed upward of two dozen people and injured nearly 60 others.
“[W]e pray for the victims claimed this [Sunday] morning,” Pope Francis said in remarks to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray the Angelus with him following Palm Sunday Mass.
“To my dear brother, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II,” Pope Francis continued, “to the Coptic Church and to all the dear Egyptian nation I express my deep condolences. I pray for the dead and the injured, and I am close in spirit to the family members [of the deceased and injured] and to the entire community.”
Pope Francis went on to pray, “May the Lord convert the hearts of the people who are sowing terror, violence and death, and also the hearts of those who make and traffic weapons.”
Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Cairo at the end of this month.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass on Palm Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. Below, please find the full text of his prepared remarks.
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Today’s celebration can be said to be bittersweet. It is joyful and sorrowful at the same time. We celebrate the Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem to the cries of his disciples who acclaim him as king. Yet we also solemnly proclaim the Gospel account of his Passion. In this poignant contrast, our hearts experience in some small measure what Jesus himself must have felt in his own heart that day, as he rejoiced with his friends and wept over Jerusalem.
For thirty-two years now, the joyful aspect of this Sunday has been enriched by the enthusiasm of young people, thanks to the celebration of World Youth Day. This year, it is being celebrated at the diocesan level, but here in Saint Peter’s Square it will be marked by the deeply moving and evocative moment when the WYD cross is passed from the young people of Kraków to those of Panama.
The Gospel we heard before the procession (cf. Mt 21:1-11) describes Jesus as he comes down from the Mount of Olives on the back of a colt that had never been ridden. It recounts the enthusiasm of the disciples who acclaim the Master with cries of joy, and we can picture in our minds the excitement of the children and young people of the city who joined in the excitement. Jesus himself sees in this joyful welcome an inexorable force willed by God. To the scandalized Pharisees he responds: “I tell you that if these were silent, the stones would shout out” ( Lk 19:40).
Yet Jesus who, in fulfilment of the Scriptures, enters the holy city in this way is no misguided purveyor of illusions, no new age prophet, no imposter. Rather, he is clearly a Messiah who comes in the guise of a servant, the servant of God and of man, and goes to his passion. He is the great “patient”, who suffers all the pain of humanity.
So as we joyfully acclaim our King, let us also think of the sufferings that he will have to endure in this week. Let us think of the slanders and insults, the snares and betrayals, the abandonment to an unjust judgment, the blows, the lashes and the crown of thorns… And lastly, the way of the cross leading to the crucifixion.
He had spoken clearly of this to his disciples: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” ( Mt 16:24). Jesus never promised honour and success. The Gospels make this clear. He had always warned his friends that this was to be his path, and that the final victory would be achieved through the passion and the cross. All this holds true for us too. Let us ask for the grace to follow Jesus faithfully, not in words but in deeds. Let us also ask for the patience to carry our own cross, not to refuse it or set it aside, but rather, in looking to him, to take it up and to carry it daily.
This Jesus, who accepts the hosannas of the crowd, knows full well that they will soon be followed by the cry: “Crucify him!” He does not ask us to contemplate him only in pictures and photographs, or in the videos that circulate on the internet. No. He is present in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like his own: they suffer from slave labour, from family tragedies, from diseases… They suffer from wars and terrorism, from interests that are armed and ready to strike. Women and men who are cheated, violated in their dignity, discarded… Jesus is in them, in each of them, and, with marred features and broken voice, he asks to be looked in the eye, to be acknowledged, to be loved.
It is not some other Jesus, but the same Jesus who entered Jerusalem amid the waving of palm branches. It is the same Jesus who was nailed to the cross and died between two criminals. We have no other Lord but him: Jesus, the humble King of justice, mercy and peace.
(from Vatican Radio)…