IN LAST WEEK’S column, I quoted from an excellent essay in Commonweal (April 10, 2015) by Cardinal Walter Kasper: “Open House: How Pope Francis Sees the Church.” I confessed that I was fascinated by the expression “a mysticism of the people,” and that I wanted to understand just what it means.
Of all the injustices Pope Francis could address in the June 18 encyclical on ecology and climate, lack of access to clean water is emblematic.
Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Sii” (Praised Be), a line from St. Francis of Assisi’s “Canticle of Creatures,” will be released June 18.
Pope Francis said the Vatican was ready to make an announcement concerning the alleged Marian apparitions in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNS) – To overcome fear, discrimination and conflict, people must have a deep desire to open themselves up to God and His mercy, and work actively for peace every day, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis’ concern for those suffering on the margins and for small Catholic communities that have kept the faith alive through war or repression will take him to Bosnia-Herzegovina in early June.
FROM THE TIME he stepped out on the balcony right after his election as pope, Francis has fascinated me. The Holy Father has captured the minds and hearts of many thousands. I wait with joyful expectation for the next statement of his that might be reported in the press. So far I have not been disappointed.
This past week, Rome hosted two very different, but important meetings. The first was at the Vatican, chaired by Pope Francis himself, as a meeting of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops. This was a preparatory meeting held to get ready for October’s Synod on the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and Society.
Pope Francis said he will dedicate his one-day visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina to encouraging a minority Catholic community. NET-TV will broadcast highlights of his trip on Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m.
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Patty Johnson, immediate past president of the National Council of Catholic Women (NCCW), received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (For Church and Pope) Medal from Pope Francis.
