SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (CNS) – Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba is a sign of his closeness to the nation’s people as they “breathe the air of hope” that relations with the U.S. will improve, said Bishop Wilfredo Pino Estevez of Guantanamo-Baracoa.
A pope needs friends, needs mercy and needs to reach out to all people, Pope Francis said in two radio interviews. He told Portugal’s Catholic Radio that he goes to confession “every 15 days, 20 days.”
To be a true Christian means being forgiving, kind, humble, gentle, generous, merciful and very patient, Pope Francis said in a morning homily. Priests must be especially merciful, he added, saying if that they weren’t, they should “never walk into a confessional, I beg you.”
The Vatican said seeing the flags of the Holy See and Palestine flying with the banners of the 193 full member-countries of the UN is not its desire.
Romans and tourists crowded outside Alessandro Spiezia’s shop on Via del Babuino near Piazza di Spagna to catch a glimpse of the pope as he had his eyes measured.
Given the ongoing crisis of people fleeing from war and poverty, Pope Francis asked every parish and religious community in Europe to take in a family of refugees as a concrete sign of hope and God’s mercy.
Rewriting a section of the Latinrite Code of Canon Law and of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Pope Francis said he’s not “promoting the nullity of marriages,” but a quicker, cheaper and much more pastoral process.
Eleven cardinals have urged Church leaders to maintain Church rules on marriage and strengthen Catholic education on marriage and family life.
Pope Francis asked the international community to “put a stop to the violence and oppression” after calling attention once again to the fate of persecuted Christians.
In an extraordinary gesture for the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis has extended to priests worldwide the authority to absolve women for the sin of abortion.
