By Cindy Wooden MANILA, Philippines (CNS) – New situations are opportunities to learn new things, even about the 78-year-old Pope Francis. After two days of watching the pope tenaciously keep his appointments in the Philippines despite pouring rain Jan. 17-18, one lesson is that the papal wardrobe needs to be expanded to include rain gear. […]
Pope Francis
Pope, at Mass With Millions, Tells Filipinos to Protect the Family
The pope’s homily at the Jan. 18 Mass, which drew an estimated 6-7 million people, also reprised several other themes he had sounded during the four-day visit, including environmental problems, poverty and corruption.
Crowds in Manila Just Get Glimpses of Pope on His First Popemobile Ride
By Simone Orendain MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Pope Francis shot past the crowd very quickly during his first popemobile drive-by in Manila Jan. 15, but nobody seemed to mind that he was gone in a matter of seconds. Ferdinand Agood, a retired overseas contract worker who lives on the opposite side of Manila from the […]
Exuberant Crowds Greet Pope in Philippines
By Cindy Wooden MANILA, Philippines (CNS) — Although it was not called a welcoming ceremony, Pope Francis was greeted by government and church officials and an exuberant crowd Jan. 15 at Manila’s Villamor Air Base. The pope arrived 13 minutes earlier than scheduled at the base near Manila’s international airport following a six-hour flight from […]
Pope: Market Won’t Solve Poverty
“Markets and financial speculation cannot enjoy absolute autonomy,” the Pope said. There must be “programs, mechanisms and procedures aimed at a better distribution of resources, job creation and the integral advancement of those who are excluded.”
Pope Visits Sri Lanka, On Way to Philippines
By Francis X. Rocca COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNS) – Arriving in Sri Lanka, a country recovering from two-and-a-half decades of ethnic and religious civil war, Pope Francis said reconciliation would require its people to explore their painful recent history and accept persistent differences within their multicultural society. “The process of healing also needs to include the […]
Pope Offers Mass for Victims of Paris Attack
The morning after 12 people were shot to death and 11 others injured at the Paris office of a satirical weekly newspaper, Pope Francis dedicated his early morning Mass to the victims and their families.
Pope Likely to Visit New York
Asked if Pope Francis would visit the United Nations in New York in September, the Vatican secretary of state replied: “I think so, but no official announcement has been done. But everybody is speaking of that.”
‘No Longer Slaves…’
As we begin this new year, there are two important messages from our Holy Father, Pope Francis. The first, in his Message for the World Day of Peace, celebrated Jan. 1, he took the theme “No Longer Slaves, But Brothers and Sisters” directly from the Scriptures and the words of St. Paul as he commends the slave Onesimus as he returns to Philemon his owner. St. Paul urges Philemon to treat Onesimus as a brother and as a fellow Christian, so that fraternity will be the fundamental bond of family life and the basis of life in society.
The Lessons of 2014
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, In the last issue of The Tablet for 2014, the questions are always posed to me to look back on the year which has just passed and emphasize the lessons which, perhaps, we have learned. Like all years, this past year has contained challenges and surprises, joys […]