The following is the full text to Pope Francis’ homily at the 2021 Chrism Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.
Vatican
Jesus Takes on Human Suffering to Draw Even Closer to People, Pope Francis Says
A Christian life should be filled with amazement — astonishment at the son of God suffering and dying for humanity and awe at realizing how precious and loved people are in his eyes, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis Approves Pay Cuts for Cardinals, Top Management, Religious at Vatican
With the need to reduce costs and make sure employees are not laid off, Pope Francis has approved pay cuts for cardinals, clergy, religious and upper management officials who work in the Roman Curia and other Vatican entities.
Priests Must be Welcoming Fathers Like St. Joseph, Pope Francis Says
Like St. Joseph who had other plans for his life, but lovingly embraced his role as Jesus’ foster father, a priest assigned to a new parish cannot impose his own ways on that community, Pope Francis said.
Vatican Rules Out Church Blessings for Same-Sex Unions
Responding to efforts in some parts of the Catholic world to devise “blessings” of same-sex unions by the Church, the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog released a statement Monday saying that such blessings are “not legitimate,” as homosexual unions are “not ordered to the Creator’s plan.”
Analysis: At His Eight-Year Mark, Will Pope Francis Try Turning Down the Temperature?
Internally, his to-do list features a long-simmering reform of the Roman Curia, a sweeping clean-up in money management, the fight against clerical sexual abuse, empowerment of women and laity, a more collaborative (“synodal,” to use his word) mode of decision-making, and more.
Cardinals Sarah, Comastri Retire From Vatican Posts
Pope Francis accepted the resignations of 75-year-old Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and 77-year-old Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and vicar for Vatican City State.
Getting COVID-19 Vaccine Included in Vatican Employee Safety Regulations
As a last resort, the Vatican may sanction employees who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine for non-medical reasons, according to a new Vatican decree.
Vatican Laments ‘Massacre of Elderly’ Due to COVID
After the “massacre of the elderly” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican is calling for the world to re-think the way it cares for old people.
In ‘State of the World’ Speech, Pope Francis Talks COVID, Myanmar, 9/11
Pope Francis said Monday that the COVID-19 pandemic shows there are parts of the world that are “seriously ill,” not as a result of the virus but in its natural environment, its economic and political processes, and even more so in in its human relationships.