As is his custom at the beginning of a trip, Pope Francis thanked the traveling press corps and semi-apologized for the crazy hours they would work in Cuba Feb. 12 and in Mexico through Feb. 17.
International News
Pope Tells Confessors Not to Be Invasive or Inappropriate
On the eve of sending off “missionaries of mercy” to all corners of the globe, Pope Francis told his specially appointed men that the reassuring strength of God’s love – not the “bludgeon of judgment” – will bring the “lost sheep” back to the fold.
Pope’s Chiapas Visit Will Affirm Controversial Bishop
Long before Pope Francis spoke of a poor church for the poor and taking the church to the peripheries, Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia of San Cristobal de Las Casas built the church in southern Chiapas state.
Pope Will View Improved Prison System in Mexico
The Ciudad Juarez prison once symbolized the city’s problems. It suffered 12 riots and 216 murders in 2010. Last year, there were no riots registered in the prison and only one homicide, according to Chihuahua state statistics.
Lent Has Begun
Carnival, better known in the U.S. as Mardi Gras, is the traditional period of revelry that precedes Ash Wednesday and Lent, a time of sacrifice and penance that prepares the Church for Easter.
Vatican: Pope Will Not Make Acting Debut
Pope Francis will not be an actor in a proposed movie based on the Gospels, a Vatican spokesman said.
Papal Trip to Mexico Is Mission of Mercy
Pope Francis said his reasons for his apostolic visit to Mexico Feb. 12-17 are “easy and simple.” “I want to come as a missionary of mercy and peace,” the pope said in a video message to the Mexican people.
Pope Will Bless Participants in Texas
The Diocese of El Paso, Texas, announced that Pope Francis will bless the attendees at the “Two Nations, One Faith” event at the Sun Bowl on Feb. 17, during the historic Mass on the border of Juarez and El Paso.
Filipino Pilgrim’s Pride At Eucharistic Congress
I was blessed and grateful to be among the pilgrims from Brooklyn and Queens who travelled to the Philippines for the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in the Philippines…
Pope: Don’t Be Confused; Marriage Is Between One Man and One Woman
Pope Francis said there can be no confusion between God’s plan for marriage as an indissoluble bond between one man and woman who are open to life, and other sorts of unions.