Pope Francis: pleased about U.S. and Cuba agreement
Pope Francis spoke on Thursday at his joy over the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, two nations who have been estranged for many years, saying this was a result of diplomacy. His remarks came in a  brief off-the-cuff address to non-resident Ambassadors to the Holy See; Bahamas, Bangladesh, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, New Zealand, Rwanda, Tanzania  and Togo. He said the work of an Ambassador is to take small steps aimed at building peace, bringing the hearts of people closer together and sowing brotherhood between peoples and nations. Please find below an English translation of the pope’s remarks to the non-resident Ambassadors: “I give you a warm welcome and I hope that every time you ...

Pope: God walks in history with us and adjusts it’s course
Pope Francis on Thursday invited the faithful to rely on God even in the darkest hours, even if sometimes we do not understand how He is working, because he always walks with us in the history of Salvation. The Pope’s words came during his homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta. “God’s will has been to save us in history” – the Pope said – our Salvation “is not sterile, as in a laboratory. No! It’s history. He has walked through history with his people. “Therefore – he said – “there is no salvation without history. And to get to the point: history goes back a long time”: “And so, step by step, history is made. God makes ...

Pope prays for conversion of terrorists who do not even spare children
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has asked for prayers for the victims of the “inhuman terror attacks perpetrated in the past days in Sydney, Australia and in Peshawar, Pakistan”. Concluding his address to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope asked those present to join him in his prayers to the Lord to receive the deceased in peace, to bring comfort to their families and to convert the hearts of the violent who do not hold back even before children. ” Taliban militants in Pakistan killed at least 132 children and 9 staff members at a school in Peshawar on Tuesday, whilst an Islamist militant killed 2 people during a siege on a Café in ...

Happy Birthday, Pope Francis!
There was a festive atmosphere at the weekly General Audience on Wednesday, as Pope Francis celebrated his 78th birthday. As he made his way through the crowds, Pope Francis stopped by a group of seminarians from the Legion of Christ, who offered him a birthday cake, complete with lighted candles. The Holy Father also took the opportunity to take a sip of maté, a traditional Argentinian drink, offered my pilgrims at the Audience. On the Via della Conciliazione, which leads up to St Peter’s Square, tango enthusiasts danced in the street to celebrate the Pope’s birthday. Among those sending birthday greetings from around the world was Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster. “I would like to sing happy birthday for him,” ...

Daughter writes an open letter to her porn-addicted dad
Dear Dad, I want to let you know first of all that I love you and forgive you for what this has done in my life. I also wanted to let you know exactly what your porn use has done to my life. You may think that this effects only you, or even your and mom’s relationships. But it has had a profound impact on me and all of my siblings as well. I found your porn on the computer somewhere around the age of 12 or so, just when I was starting to become a young woman. First of all, it seemed very hypocritical to me that you were trying to teach me the value of what to let into ...

“I will teach my child only one thing: love”
In 1995, during the war in the former Yugoslavia, Sister Lucy Vertrusc and two other religious sisters were raped by Serbian soldiers. As a consequence, she found out later that she was pregnant. An Italian newspaper published years later a heartfelt letter that Sr Vertrusc wrote to her mother superior with an amazing witness of a spousal-love towards Jesus Christ. The letter was published at the request of the mother superior herself perhaps in an attempt to show the world that a person who experienced God’s love can always give a different answer to the culture of death. After such a dreadful experience one can expect a letter filled with pain, sorrow or bitter. Instead, what it is found is a deep sense ...

Pope Francis: Everything is a grace, a gift given freely by God
Before the recitation of the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on Monday, Pope Francis devoted his address to the Virgin Mary on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. He said that this feast can be summed up in these words: everything is a grace, everything is a gift given freely by God, because of His love for us. The Holy Father explained that the Angel Gabriel calls Mary “full of grace” because in her there is no room for sin. God, he said, had always chosen her to be the mother of Jesus, and had preserved her from original sin. The Pope went on to say that Mary responds to this grace and abandons herself saying to the angel : “Let ...

Pope at Audience: Fruits of pilgrimage to Turkey
Pope Francis had words of praise and thanks for Turkey and the Salesian fathers of Istanbul, for all the good and “hidden” work they do for countless refugees from the Iraqi and Syrian wars. Retracing the steps of his recent pilgrimage to Turkey during his general audience Wednesday, the Pope also highlighted the constant need for prayer on the journey towards full communion with the Orthodox Church and reiterated the importance of Christians and Muslims working together in solidarity for peace. Rain pounded umbrellas in St. Peter’s Square Wednesday, forcing the audience to be split in two – as the Pope himself noted greeting the ‘brave’ pilgrims before him.  Before heading out among the thousands in the Square the Pope ...

Pope Mass: a humble heart knows God, theology is done on one’s knees
Those who study the mystery of God are brought to their knees because God reveals more to a humble heart. Those were the Pope’s words during his Homily at Mass Tuesday morning at the Casa Santa Martha. The eyes of the poor, said Pope Francis, are most likely to see Christ and, through him, to see the face of God. Others who claim to fathom this mystery with the resources of intelligence must first get down on their “knees”, in an act of humility , otherwise “they will not understand anything.” During his Homily the Pope focused on the Gospel of St Luke from the morning’s liturgy, reflecting on Christ’s relationship to the Father, both praising and thanking him. “He ...