(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, during the course of which he began a new chapter in his catecheses on mercy, one focusing specifically on Christ’s fulfillment of the promise and action of mercy revealed to humanity through God’s Chosen People, as expressed in the New Testament.
The Holy Father said that the Gospels show us a Jesus who, in every moment of His earthly life, made mercy visible: meeting the crowds, announcing the Gospel, healing the sick, drawing close to the forgotten, pardoning sinners.
Click below to hear our report
The Pope went on to say that the love Christ showed was a love open to all, a love which was fulfilled on the Cross. “Jesus,” said Pope Francis in an emphatic departure from his prepared remarks, “did not bring hatred, nor did He bring enmity: He brought love – a great love – a heart open to all – to all of us – a love that saves.”
The Holy Father went on to say that no one is excluded from God’s merciful love – and that He proved this once and for all from the Cross. “We are all sinners,” he said in another emphatic departure, “but we are all forgiven: we all have the possibility of receiving this pardon, which is the mercy of God; we need not fear, therefore, to recognize ourselves sinners, confess ourselves sinners, because every sin was carried by the Son to the Cross.”
Pope Francis concluded with an exhortation to frequent the Sacrament of Reconciliation, saying that it offers us the forgiveness that flows from the Cross and which renews us in His grace, and inviting everyone everywhere in this Jubilee Year to embrace the Gospel with greater vigor and be heralds of the Father’s mercy and forgiveness.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, during the course of which he began a new chapter in his ongoing catechetical reflections on mercy. Specifically, the Holy Father began a series focusing on Christ’s fulfillment of the promise and action of mercy revealed to humanity through God’s Chosen People, as it is expressed and articulated in the New Testament.
Below, please find the text of the official English-language summary of Pope Francis’ main catechesis, which was delivered in Italian
************************************
Dear Brothers and Sisters: today I wish to reflect on God’s mercy fulfilled in Jesus, who is mercy incarnate. In every moment of his earthly life, Jesus made mercy visible: meeting the crowds, announcing the Gospel, healing the sick, drawing close to the forgotten, pardoning sinners. He showed a love open to all, a love which was fulfilled on the cross. His mission of mercy began in humble surroundings at the Jordan, where he stood in line with sinners to be baptized by John. The Father confirmed this mission at Jesus’ Baptism when he sent the Holy Spirit upon him and said: “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased” ( Mk 1:11). We can contemplate this mystery by gazing upon the cross, for there Jesus offered to the Father the sin of the world, our sins. From the cross, Jesus shows us that no one is excluded from God’s merciful love: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” ( Lk 23:34). We should, therefore, never fear to acknowledge and confess our sins, for the sacrament of Reconciliation offers us the forgiveness which flows from the cross and which renews us in his grace. In this Jubilee Year, let us embrace the Gospel with greater vigour and be heralds of the Father’s mercy and forgiveness.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Press Office of the Holy See has called a conference and briefing for journalists in connection with the publication of Pope Francis’ highly anticipated post-Synodal Exhortation, Amoris Laetitia , on “The Joy of Love”, for 11:30 AM Rome Time on Friday, April 8 th , in the John Paul II Hall of the sala stampa facility.
Presenting the document will be the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, and the Archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn OP, along with a couple of married academics, Professor Francesco Miano and Professor Giuseppina De Simone, of the University of Tor Vergata (Rome) and the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy, respectively.
Below, please find the official announcement in English
*************************************
Accredited journalists are informed that on Friday 8 April 2016at 11.30 a.m., in the Aula Giovanni Paolo II of the Holy See Press Office, a Press Conference will be held for the presentation of the post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation of the Holy Father Francis, Amoris laetitia , on love in the family.
The panel will be composed of:
Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops;
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P., archbishop of Vienna;
The married couple Professor Francesco Miano, lecturer in moral philosophy at the University of Rome at Tor Vergata, and Professor Giuseppina De Simone in Miano, lecturer in philosophy at the Theological Faculty of Southern Italy in Naples.
A simultaneous translation service will be available in Italian, English and Spanish.
The Press Conference can be seen via live streaming (audio-video) on the site:
http://player.rv.va(Vatican Player, Vatican Radio) where it will subsequently remain available on
demand.
The Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia is to be considered under embargo until 12.00
p.m. on Friday, 8 April 2016. Accredited journalists may find the text of the Apostolic Exhortation in pdf format in the Reserved Area of the Holy See Press Office Bulletin web page from 18.00, Thursday 7 April, in Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese. In addition – in the same languages – a summary of the same Apostolic Exhortation can be consulted, again in the reserved area. The paper version of the Exhortation (in the available languages) will be available to
accredited journalists from 8.00 on Friday 8 April 2016.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Monday afternoon at the Casa Santa Marta, Dr. Alberto Gasbarri, the administrative director of Vatican Radio and co-ordinator of papal travel, was honoured by Pope Francis with the Medal of the Knight’s Cross of the Pius Order in recognition of his 34 years of loyal service to the Holy See.
During the presentation of the award, the Deputy Secretariat of the State, Monsignor Angelo Bacciu, thanked Dr. Gasbarri for his professionalism in a demanding and engaging job, whilst always continuing to serve the Church and the Holy Father. Dr. Gasbarri took the opportunity to thank his family and his colleagues who had become almost a ‘second family’ during the long time they had spent together.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ video for April’s prayer intentions focuses on the plight of the small farmer. The Pope Video is a global initiative developed by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer) to assist in the dissemination of the Holy Father’s monthly intentions related to the challenges the humanity faces.
The full text of the videomessage is below:
I thank you, small farmer. What you do is essential for the life of all. As a person, as a child of God, you deserve a decent life.
But I wonder: how is your work compensated?
This earth is a gift from God. It is not right to exploit it for the benefit of just a few, depriving the great majority of their rights and benefits.
Please consider adding your voice to mine in this prayer: that small farmers may receive just compensation for their invaluable work.
(from Vatican Radio)…