(Vatican Radio) Chicago’s new Archbishop, Blase Cupich, was in Rome this week with board members of Catholic Extension – a national fundraising organization committed to supporting and strengthening poor mission dioceses in the United States. Established by Pope St Pius X in 1905 as a “papal society” with a mission to build churches in America’s most rural regions, Catholic Extension remains committed to strengthening and supporting the Catholic Church across the United States.
While in Rome, Archbishop Cupich took time to come to Vatican Radio, where he spoke with Christopher Wells about his meeting with Pope Francis and about the Holy Father’s upcoming visit to the United States.
Listen:
The meeting with Pope Francis, said Archbishop Cupich, “was an opportunity for us to welcome the Holy Father to the United States, not only on behalf of the dioceses he’s going to visit, but [also] the 94 dioceses that Catholic Extension would help throughout the year – 94 in all that mostly are rural and poorer dioceses. So it was an opportunity for us to welcome him to the United States on behalf of that broader community.”
Archbishop Cupich has been a Bishop for seventeen years, the majority of that time being in smaller dioceses. His first assignment as a Bishop was to the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, one of the smallest dioceses (by Catholic population) in the country. Later he served as Bishop of Spokane, Washington. He said, “It is an experience of being a part of mission dioceses that moves me to want to have Catholic Extension succeed.”
During their visit with the Holy Father, Archbishop Cupich, with the representatives of Catholic Extension, also had the opportunity to present Pope Francis with a cross that had belonged to Blessed Junipero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan missionary who evangelized much of the southwestern United States. Junipero Serra carried the cross with him from Spain and was buried with it when he died. ““It was important, I think, as a gesture, to allow the Holy Father to see this cross, to touch it,” Archbishop Cupich said. “And then he took it in a very caressing way and kissed it, and he was very touched by that.”
He connected the visit of Pope Francis to the United States with the missionary labours of Bd Junipero Serra. Now, he said, we have “this new Francis, this new Franciscan, come again to bring the Gospel to the United States, and being in touch with that initial impulse of the Franciscan order in sending Serra, Father Serra, bringing it really to full circle.” Archbishop Cupich said he hopes the cross will be on the altar when Pope Francis celebrates the canonization Mass for Blessed Junipero Serra in Washington on September 23.
Finally, Archbishop Cupich had words of greeting for his flock in Chicago. He said he prayed for all of them at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome, with the realization that “as we move forward as a local church, we depend on the support and the unity that we enjoy with the See of Peter.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called on European parishes and religious communities to offer shelter to a migrant family.
The Pope’s appeal came during the Sunday Angelus in St Peter’s Square.
“Every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary of Europe, take in one family” he said.
And appealing for this gesture of solidarity, he said this solidarity would start right here in the Vatican where two parishes will take in a family of refugees in the coming days.
The Pope said that as we witness the “tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees that flee death in conflict and hunger and are on a journey of hope, the Gospel calls us to be close to the smallest and to those who have been abandoned”.
And reminding the faithful of the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, he said that offering shelter to the needy is a “concrete act in preparation” for the Holy Year.
Turning specifically to European Bishops, the Pope asked them to support his appeal.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Pope Francis has used his Sunday Angelus appeal to send, among other messages, good wishes to the All Africa Games currently taking place in Congo Brazzaville.
“Two days ago the eleventh Africa games opened in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo, involving thousands of athletes from all over the (African) continent. I hope that this great sports festival will contribute to peace, brotherhood and the development of all countries of Africa. We greet the Africans who are participating in these games,“ said Pope Francis on 6 September.
Africa’s 54 countries are currently converged in what is known as the birth place of the All-Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville. Over 7,000 athletes are competing in over 20 sports disciplines that include Athletics, Basketball, Boxing, Fencing, Gymnastics, Weightlifting, Karate, Judo, Swimming, Taekwondo, table Tennis and Beach Volleyball among others.
The President of Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso officially opened the pan-Africa Games in the sparkling purpose-built Kintele Stadium. The games in Brazzaville, for the first time, are being held under the auspices of the African Union (AU) which is celebrating its golden anniversary as an organisation.
The games which started on 4 September will end on the 19 September 2015.
The All-Africa Games (AAG) are a continental multi-sports event held every four years, a year before the Olympic Games. They are seen as a major rendezvous for African athletes. In fact, they are a milestone in preparations for the Olympic Games as they are an opportunity for the continent’s athletes to express their potential.
Pope Francis’ Angelus appeal comes when he himself is preparing for his first visit to Africa in November. The visit has been confirmed by the Bishops of Kenya. The Pope is expected to visit Kenya, Uganda and the conflict-ridden Central African Republic.
Many analysts have said that Africa needs peace in order for it to maximise its potential as a continent. It has often been acknowledged that Africa, in general, is a land of rich resources. The continent has one of the highest economic growth rates in the world yet beyond GDP and economic indicators, the reality is that it is equally a land of endless conflicts, hunger, corruption and poverty. As one Kanayo Nwanze told African Union leaders, last year, in the UK Guardian newspaper, Africa is also a continent that is “prey to foreign exploiters.”
(Paul Samasumo, VR)
e-mail: engafrica@vatiradio.va
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis greeted an estimated 5000 members of the Parish Evangelizing Cell movement on Saturday in the Paul the VI Hall
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report
Parish Evangelizing Cells was founded in South Korea by the Pastor Paul Yonggi Cho with the aim of promoting the spirit of evangelization.
This system has flourished in many countries including the United States, Italy, Ireland and Australia.
In his remarks to those present in the Paul VI Hall, Pope Francis on Saturday spoke about the importance of being a missionary and said above all this requires listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit who is at the heart of evangelization.
He also underlined how their daily work helps the parish community become a family, where, the Pope said, “we find the rich and multifaceted reality of the Church”, and where no one is judged.
He also added, that sharing time together, such as in the home “is a genuine experience of evangelization that is very similar to what happened in the early days of the Church.”
Finally, the Holy Father encouraged the group present to make the Eucharist the heart of their mission of evangelization, so that each cell is a Eucharistic community “where the breaking of the bread is to recognize the real presence of Jesus Christ in our midst.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis told the people of the United States he wanted to “draw close to their path and history” during his upcoming visit to the United States.
Pope Francis was speaking to three-groups around the country via satellite during a Virtual Audience which aired Friday evening on the television programme 20/20.
Listen to Charles Collin’s report
The encounter was filmed on Monday, was moderated by ABC News. For one hour, Pope Francis spoke from the Vatican via satellite to people in an inner-city high school in Chicago, with homeless people in Los Angeles, and a border-community in McAllen, Texas.
He was not making doctrinal statements, but acting as a pastor.
In one example during the meeting, Ricardo Ortiz told the Holy Father he lost a scholarship to university, since he was not a US citizen. Due to an injury his father suffered, he became the breadwinner for his family.
“We are all created for friendship in society. All of us bear responsibility for everyone else,” Pope Francis said. “And each one has to make a choice in his or her heart. And we have to help that choice to be made in the heart. Escaping it through addiction, through violence, does not help. Only closeness and giving of myself, all that I have to give, the way you gave everything you could as a boy, when you supported your family. Don’t forget that.”
Afterwards, Ricardo said Pope Francis is “really doing something to make a difference,” .
Pope Francis also spoke to Sister Norma Pimentel, the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley.
“I want to thank you, and through you to thank all the sisters of religious orders in the U.S. for the work that you have done and that you do in the United States,” Pope Francis said. “It’s great. I congratulate you. Be courageous. Move forward.”
But Pope Francis did not stop there.
“I’ll tell you one other thing,” he added. “Is it inappropriate for the Pope to say this? I love you all very much.“
Pope Francis told the people of the United States what is important to him is “closeness,” saying it is “difficult” for him not to be close people.
“When I approach people, as I’m going to do with you, it’s easier for me to understand them and help them along life’s path,” Pope Francis said. “That’s why this trip is so important, for me to draw close to your path and your history.”
(from Vatican Radio)…