Pope asks cardinals to try to resolve conflict with Peruvian university
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has appointed three cardinals, including Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of Quebec, to try to resolve a long-standing dispute with a Peruvian university and see if it would be possible to restore the university's designation as "pontifical" and "Catholic."
Vatican says bureaucratic reforms won’t happen until 2015
VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis and his council of eight cardinals are unlikely to complete a radical shakeup of the Holy See’s administration, or Curia, before 2015, the Vatican said Tuesday (April 29).
Benedict says predecessor's faith, courage were signs of holiness
VATICAN CITY - Blessed John Paul II's deep spirituality and his courage to uphold the truth were clear signs of his sainthood, said his successor, retired Pope Benedict XVI.
The divine will always involved pain, struggle
Third Sunday of Easter (Year A) May 4 (Acts 2:14, 22b-28; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35)
There are two streams of history active in our world and they often work at cross-purposes. The first stream consists of human schemes and behaviour that are often the expression of desires, fears, jealousy and hatred. Even our best intentions are often fatally compromised by the presence of these tendencies. The world as we experience it is the unhappy result. The other stream is that of God’s will operating in history. It is relentless; even when temporarily diverted or blocked by human behaviour, it always triumphs in the end. God’s will is the redemption of all humanity and the transformation of the world.
We need to share our riches with the poor
We need to give away some of our own possessions in order to be healthy. Wealth that is hoarded always corrupts those who possess it. Any gift that is not shared turns sour.
Rome official: Retired pope to attend canonizations; spokesman cautious
VATICAN CITY - Retired Pope Benedict XVI is expected to attend the canonization of Blesseds John XXIII and John Paul II April 27, said Msgr. Liberio Andreatta, head of the Vatican-related pilgrim agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.
Vatican: Pope didn't change church teaching in call to Argentine woman
VATICAN CITY - Reports that Pope Francis told an Argentine woman civilly married to a divorced man that she can receive Communion "cannot be confirmed as reliable," said Jesuit Father Federico, the Vatican spokesman.
Letters left at John Paul's tomb show pilgrims see him as friend
VATICAN CITY - Every day, countless visitors to the tomb of Blessed John Paul II in St. Peter's Basilica leave letters and notes addressed to him.
Holy Fathers: Is being pope a shortcut to sainthood?
VATICAN CITY - "They call me Holy Father and that is what I must be," the future St. John XXIII wrote in his diary.
Resurrection reveals God as redeemer, not rescuer
Before you get serious about Jesus, first consider how good you are going to look on wood!
No substitutes for the Lord
Second Sunday of Easter (Year A) April 27 (Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31)
The Church had very simple beginnings. There were no impressive church buildings or elaborate liturgies. In those first generations of the faith, believers met together in their homes. Their new faith was not just a religion but a new way of life lived together and in common. The presence of the Spirit and their shared, unified life were the source of energy and power. There was no “mine and thine” attitude, for they shared all that they had, ensuring that no one was deprived of the basics of life. Their shared ideals and union of minds and hearts bound them together in what they called the body of Christ. This resulted in a community in which the trust and support level was very high. But far more powerful was the observation that they ate their shared meals with “glad and generous hearts.”