(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his greetings to the faithful of the Eastern Churches who are celebrating Holy Easter on Sunday, May 1 according to the Julian calendar.
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Regina Coeli prayer he said: “May the Risen Lord bring to our brothers of the Eastern Churches all the gifts of His light and His peace. Christos anesti!”
Earlier, in a tweet launched through his @Pontifex account, the Pope said “I address a cordial greeting to the faithful of the Eastern Churches who are celebrating Holy Pascha today. Χριστὸς ἀνέστη!”
Meanwhile during negotiations in Minsk, on the occasion of the Eastern Orthodox Easter, it was agreed that Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists were to observe a comprehensive cease-fire in the south-east of Ukraine where the festivity is observed both by the Orthodox and by Greek Catholics.
The armistice was supposed to go into effect at midnight Saturday, but according to Ukrainian government sources a soldier was killed and several wounded on Sunday in the country’s east in what appears to be a violation of the armistice.
In a message, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, urged the faithful to bear witness to the love of their neighbors amid the atrocities of the contemporary world which, he said, is torn by terrorism, wars and suffering.
The Orthodox Metropolitan of Italy and Malta, Gennasius, also issued an appeal “to purify one’s heart” to be able “to fully feel the presence of the Risen One”, while the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Irinej, sent a message asking the faithful to forgive, “not to judge others” and “not to be afraid of the world in spite of worldly ideologies, disunity, hatred and violence.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday reiterated his plea for peace in Syria appealing to all parties involved in the conflict to respect the cessation of hostilities and commit to dialogue.
Speaking after the Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope said he is deeply pained by the dramatic news of the spiral of violence in Syria which, he said, “continues to aggravate the already desperate humanitarian situation in the country”.
He referred in particular to the situation in the city of Aleppo which continues to “claim innocent victims, even amongst children, sick people and those who, at the cost of great sacrifice, are bringing aid to those in need”.
And Francis had words of encouragement for an Italian association that fights all forms of abuse against minors: “This is a tragedy! We must not tolerate the abuse of minors! We must defend minors and severely punish those who abuse them” he said, thanking the “Associazione Meter” for its dedicated work.
And marking May 1st, International Labour Day, the Pope also mentioned an International Conference which opens on Monday in Rome on the theme: “Sustainable Development and the most Vulnerable Forms of Work” which takes place within the context of the Jubilee of Mercy.
“I hope – he said – that the event will sensitize the authorities, political and economic institutions and civil society in order to promote a model of development that will safeguard human dignity within full respect for labour and environmental legislation”.
Pope Francis also had a special greeting to “our brothers of the Eastern Churches who are celebrating Easter.”
“May the risen Lord – he said – bear his gifts of light and peace to all. Christos anesti!”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday held an extraordinary Jubilee Audience in St. Peter’s Square for thousands of eager pilgrims. The Audience also celebrated the Jubilee for members of the police and armed forces.
The Holy Father focused in his catechesis on a very important point of mercy: reconciliation, taking the apostle St. Paul’s words in the second letter to the Corinthians 5:20-21 as his guide: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
‘Be reconciled to God’
Pope Francis said St. Paul’s words ‘be reconciled to God’ are an invitation for all Christians, especially in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. He said God constantly offers us his forgiveness, and our sins can never keep us from God’s mercy.
“Often we believe our sins push God away from us: in reality, by sinning we push ourselves away from Him, but He, seeing us in danger, keeps searching for us. God never accepts the possibility that someone could remain estranged from His love, as long as He finds in that person some sign of contrition for the evil committed.”
The Holy Father went on to say that, in our sinfulness, we can only return to God by freely accepting his grace. For this, he has given us his Son Jesus, whose cross is a bridge leading us back to the Father.
“The sinner sees only himself and thus pretends to be self-sufficient; for this reason, sin distances us ever more from God, and this can become a barrier. However, Jesus comes to look for us like a good shepherd who is not content until he has not found the lost sheep (cf. Luke 15:4-6). He rebuilds the bridge which connects us to the Father and allows us to rediscover our dignity as sons and daughters. With the offer of his life, he has reconciled us to the Father and given us the gift of eternal life (cf. John 10:15). ‘Be reconciled to God!”
Reconciliation brings peace and contributes to society
He said this Holy Year of Mercy is a time for each of us to accept this offer of reconciliation and, in our communities, to bring it to the world around us. Being reconciled with God not only brings inner healing and peace, but also impels us to work for reconciliation within society at every level, and thus contribute to the building of a global culture of peace, justice and solidarity.
“Let us accept, therefore, the invitation to be reconciled to God to become new creatures and to be able to radiate His mercy among our brothers and sisters.”
After the audience Pope Francis offered a special welcome to the members of the armed forces and police from throughout the world, especially those present at the audience from Canada, Kenya, Korea, the Philippines, and the United States of America.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The body can work as its own “pharmacy” with its own tool kit to heal itself – that’s one of the revolutionary concepts to come out of a Vatican conference on regenerative medicine and its cultural impact on society.
On day two of the three day conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Stem For Life Foundation , researchers from some of the world’s leading cancer institutes presented their ground-breaking technologies in immunotherapy and expressed high hopes that a cure for the all-too-often deadly disease may be just around the corner.
Need for prevention, access and affordability
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son to cancer, addressed participants saying his son’s doctors told him that just in the last 4-5 years, cancer research has reached a turning point and that for the first time in history, many disciplines are working together to bring a cure. Echoing the call of Pope Francis , he said the tens of thousands of cases of cancer need to be prevented, and patients need access to affordable treatment. Fewer than 5% of patients end up in clinical trials.
His voice rising with emotion, he challenged the scientists and doctors to share their research and data with each other: “Why do you wait? Do it now!”
Many of the researchers have begun to do just that thanks to a new approach among donors and philanthropists who are encouraging them to work in teams and share the data they gather. Many, as we heard Friday, are already seeing success with immunotherapy – using the body’s own immune system to attack malignant cells – as well as with stem cells and combined therapies to treat cancer. Work is also underway to create and test personalized, patient-specific vaccines that hold the promise of preventing tumors from ever developing.
Dr. Robin Smith, President of the Stem For Life Foundation, spoke to Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure about the interest in the Vatican meeting…
Listen:
“Really it’s important for us to search for the cures and help bring solutions to people who are suffering around the world and we’re starting to see everyone really focusing on that,” says Smith.
Over the last five years, results in cancer trials have been “amazing”
“Immunotherapy, the way that you can take your immune system and educate it to kill cancer cells or to stop being over-active and killing good tissue” are just some of the exciting advances to come to the fore, Smith explains. “We are learning more about how our body acts and we are learning more how we are able to really use what we have, what God has given us, to influence our health and cells that are damaged along the way.”
A cure for cancer is on the way, need for speedy regulatory approval
“A cure is on the way,” says Smith. “More effective therapies – not just treating symptoms but actually treating the underlying cause of their disease – is underway. It’s just a matter of time and we have to band together to get the regulatory bodies focused on getting these therapies approved and into the clinic and to the patients who need them.
Some countries, like Japan, have been able to speed up the regulatory process .
“They’ve changed some legislation – if they know [the therapy] is safe and it shows a sign of efficacy – to allow patients to get the therapy while it continues along the development program for final approval.” “So we all need to take a look at that and figure out how to make [the process] quicker. Maybe [the answer is] it’s not as many patients because these trials are so costly.” Development can take up to 10-15 years and costs can be upwards of US$ 500 million. “And for people who are sick and suffering through their lifetime, that’s too long.”
Pope Francis’ words to participants , Smith says, offered a very “consistent” message.
“It’s the Year of Mercy, he’s focused on helping people, people’s needs, the focus on children, and you know, the fact that you have rare diseases that affect very few people – people aren’t focused on this. It’s not economically feasible to come up with the therapies to treat those diseases as they take so long and cost so much. So from a corporation point of view, it’s very difficult. And [the Pope’s] point is that we need to focus: someone needs to get out there and realize that there are many millions of people with rare diseases and we have to look for solutions and people aren’t doing that right now and he wants the world to come together and focus on those people who need advocates and who need people to really push on their behalf.”
To find out more about the conference:
#unitetocure and go to the website http://www.stemforlifefoundation.com/
Newsletter: https://www.stemforlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/SFL_Newsletter_FALL12.pdf
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned Christians against having double lives, displaying an outer facade of light but having darkness in their hearts. He urged them to walk in the light and not tread dark paths, saying God’s truth cannot be found there. The Pope’s remarks came during his homily at Mass celebrated on Friday morning in the Santa Marta residence.
Taking his cue from the reading of St John’s First Letter, Pope Francis reflected on the eternal struggle against sin, saying we must be pure like the Father but even if we sin we can count on his pardon and his tenderness. He stressed the Apostle’s warning to believers to tell the truth and not have double lives, saying one thing but doing another.
Walk in the light
“If you say you are in communion with the Lord, then walk in the light. But no to double lives! Not that! That lie that we are so used to seeing and where we too sometimes fall (into temptation), don’t we? To say one thing and do another, right? It’s the never ending temptation. And we know where that lie comes from: in the Bible, Jesus calls the devil ‘the father of lies’, the liar. It’s for this reason that this grandfather says with infinite tenderness and meekness to the ‘adolescent’ Church: ‘Don’t be a liar! You are in communion with God, walk in the light. Do works of light, don’t say one thing and do another. No to double lives and all that.”
Bigger than our sins
Noting how John began his Letter with the greeting, ‘children’, Pope Francis said this affectionate beginning is just like the tone of a grandfather towards his ‘young grandchildren’ and reveals the tenderness and light contained in this reading. It also recalls Jesus’ words when he promised “rest” to all those “who labour and are overburdened.” In the same way, the Pope continued, John urges his readers not to sin but if somebody does, to not be discouraged by this.
“We have a Paraclete, a word, an advocate, a defender at the Father’s side, it’s Jesus Christ, the Upright One. He makes us righteous. It is He who pardons us. A person may feel like saying to this grandfather who gives us this advice: ‘But is it such a bad thing to have sins?’ ‘No, a sin is a bad thing! But if you have sinned, look at who is waiting to pardon you.’ Always! That’s because He, our Lord, is greater than our sins.”
The Pope concluding by saying this is God’s Mercy and his greatness and it’s from Him alone that we can get our strength.
“We must walk in the light because God is Light. Don’t walk with one foot in the light and the other in darkness. Do not be liars. And one other thing: we have all sinned. Nobody can say: ‘This man is a sinner, this woman is a sinner.’ I, thanks to God, am upright.’ No, only one is Upright, He who paid for us. And if somebody sins, He is waiting for us and pardons us because He is merciful and knows very well what we are shaped from and remembers that we are but dust. May the joy that this Letter gives us, carry us forward in the simplicity and the transparency of the Christian life, above all when we turn to the Lord… with truth.”
(from Vatican Radio)…