In a country ravaged by war and bloodshed, the pope delivered a speech promoting a culture of freedom and mercy.
In a country ravaged by war and bloodshed, the pope delivered a speech promoting a culture of freedom and mercy.
In Iasi, the historical and cultural capital of Romania, the pope emphasized the importance of an intergenerational encounter between the elderly and the young in order to engage the future while being solidly rooted in the past.
Pope Francis landed in the Eastern European country of Romania on Friday, where he warned about the “hurdles” created by progress and called for “a greater collaboration” among its political and religious authorities.
Both clad in white in the cream-colored hall of the Patriarchal Palace, Pope Francis and the Orthodox Patriarch of Romania on Friday confirmed their commitment to strengthening relations twenty years after Saint John Paul II’s historic visit to the country.
In a jam-packed Saint Joseph Cathedral in Romania on Friday, Pope Francis encouraged the local church to embrace a culture of encounter while giving a shout-out to women in the country.
The Catholic Church has universal laws valid around the globe, but many of those laws — including on handling allegations of abuse — must be further refined on a local level to respond to national laws and cultures.
Caritas Internationalis is the umbrella organization that serves as a federation for more than 160 national Catholic charities all over the world, from Sri Lanka and Ukraine, to Nicaragua and Haiti.
Addressing participants at a Vatican meeting on medical care for “extremely fragile” babies and on the pastoral care of their parents, Pope Francis said the Catholic Church’s total opposition to abortion is not primarily a religious position, but a human one.
Opening the general assembly of Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based federation of national Catholic charities, Pope Francis celebrated Mass May 23 with some 450 delegates from around the world.
Pope Francis hopes his visit to Romania will strengthen the bonds of faith that unite Orthodox and Catholics in the country.