World news

Our world

28 CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD

(Right) Pope Francis and Orthodox Archbishop Job of Telmessos, head a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, pray in front of the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

(Below) Deacons ascend the stairs from near the tomb of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican June 29 as they carry palliums for Pope Francis to bless and distribute to archbishops named during the past year. The pope blesses the palliums, woolen stoles worn around the shoulders, during Mass each year on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

CNS | VATICAN MEDIA

Pope at pallium Mass: Freedom comes from welcoming Christ

JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — Sts. Peter and Paul were great not just because of their zeal for the Gospel, but because they allowed Christ to enter their hearts and change their lives, Pope Francis said.

“The Church looks to these two giants of faith and sees two apostles who set free the power of the Gospel in our world, but only because first they themselves had been set free by their encounter with Christ,” the pope said during his homily at Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

The feast day celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica included the traditional blessing of the pallium, the woolen band that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments.

The pallium symbolizes an archbishop’s unity with the pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the pope entrusted to him. The pope blessed the palliums after they were brought up from the crypt above the tomb of St. Peter.

According to the Vatican, 34 archbishops from 18 countries who were named over the past 12 months were to receive the palliums.

“This sign of unity with Peter recalls the mission of the shepherd who gives his life for the flock,” the pope told the archbishops before concluding his homily. “It is in giving his life that the shepherd, himself set free, becomes a means of bringing freedom to his brothers and sisters.”

Keeping with a long tradition, a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople was present for the Mass and, afterward, went with Pope Francis down the stairs below the main altar to pray at St. Peter’s tomb.

In his homily, the pope reflected on the lives of Sts. Peter and Paul, the “two pillars of the Church” who, after experiencing God’s love in their lives,

“became apostles and ministers of freedom for others.”

Because of Jesus’ unconditional love, Peter was set free “from his sense of inadequacy and his bitter experience of failure,” the pope explained. While Peter “often yielded to fear,” Jesus “was willing to take a risk on him” and encouraged him to not give up.

“In this way, Jesus set Peter free from fear, from calculations based solely on worldly concerns,” the pope said. “He gave him the courage to risk everything and the joy of becoming a fisher of men. It was Peter whom Jesus called to strengthen his brothers in faith.”

On the other hand, the pope continued, Paul experienced a different kind of freedom “from the most oppressive form of slavery, which is slavery to self.”

Christ also freed Paul “from the religious fervor that had made him a zealous defender of his ancestral traditions and a cruel persecutor of Christians,” he added.

“Formal religious observance and the intransigent defense of tradition, rather than making him open to the love of God and of his brothers and sisters, had hardened him,” the pope said. God, however, did not spare Paul from “frailties and hardships,” such as illness, violence and persecution during his missions, thus revealing to the apostle that “God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong,” he said. Pope Francis encouraged Christians to be free from fear like Peter and, like Paul, to be free “from the temptation to present ourselves with worldly power rather than with the weakness that makes space for God” and “free from a religiosity that makes us rigid and inflexible.”

“Peter and Paul bequeath to us the image of a Church entrusted to our hands, yet guided by the Lord with fidelity and tender love,” the pope said.

“A Church that is weak, yet finds strength in the presence of God. A Church set free and capable of offering the world the freedom that the world by itself cannot give: freedom from sin and death, from resignation, and from the sense of injustice and the loss of hope that dehumanizes the lives of the women and men of our time,” he said. catholicnewsherald.com | July 8, 2022

Amid war, reconciliation among Christians can foster peace, pope says

JUNNO AROCHO ESTEVES CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY — Now more than ever, divided Christians must reconcile with each other and become signs of peace in a time of war, Pope Francis said.

Meeting with a delegation from the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople June 30, the pope said that as war continues to rage in Ukraine, it is a time not for “talking and discussing, but for weeping, for helping others and for experiencing conversion ourselves.”

“Reconciliation among separated Christians, as a means of contributing to peace between peoples in conflict is a most timely consideration these days, as our world is disrupted by a cruel and senseless war of aggression in which many, many Christians are fighting one another,” he said.

Continuing a long-standing tradition, the delegation, led by Orthodox Archbishop Job of Telmessos, was in Rome to participate in the celebration of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.

In turn, a delegation from the Vatican travels to Istanbul every year in November to commemorate the Orthodox feast of St. Andrew the Apostle.

In his address, the pope said the presence of the delegation at the June 29 Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica “was a source of great joy for me and for all present,” as well as a visible reminder of “the closeness and fraternal charity of the church of Constantinople toward the Church of Rome.”

The exchange of delegations each year, he added, serves as “a tangible sign that the days of distance and indifference, when our divisions were considered irreparable, is long past.”

Recalling the words of the late Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, the pope said that as “sister churches, brother peoples,” Orthodox Christians and Catholics must unite in answering the call to help those suffering in war.

Pope Francis subtly alluded to support by leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“We also need to experience conversion and to recognize that armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism have nothing to do with the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed,” the pope said.

It has “nothing to do with the risen Lord, who in Gethsemane told His disciples to reject violence, to put the sword back in its place, since those who live by the sword will die by the sword, and who, cutting short every objection, simply said: ‘Enough!’” he said.

The long-sought goal of Christian unity, he continued, can become a reality when both churches exemplify “a more fraternal humanity” and follow Jesus’ call “to be merciful and never violent, to be perfect as the Father is perfect, and not be conformed to the world.”

“Let us start anew from Him and recognize that it is no longer the time to order our ecclesial agendas in accordance with the world’s standards of power and expediency, but in accordance with the Gospel’s bold prophetic message of peace,” the pope said.

Pope Francis expressed his hope that the continuing theological dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Church will help to promote “a new mentality” that can help both sides “look together to the present and future, without letting ourselves be trapped in the prejudices of the past.”

“Let us not be content with an ‘ecclesiastical diplomacy’ that would allow us to politely maintain our own points of view, but instead journey together as brothers and sisters,” he said.

For the latest news 24/7: catholicnewsherald.com In Brief

Catholics need better understanding of the Mass, pope says in new apostolic letter

VATICAN CITY — The “sense of mystery” and awe Catholics should experience at Mass is not one prompted by Latin or by “creative” elements added to the celebration, but by an awareness of sacrifice of Christ and His Real Presence in the Eucharist, Pope Francis said. “Beauty, just like truth, always engenders wonder, and when these are referred to the mystery of God, they lead to adoration,” he wrote in an apostolic letter “on the liturgical formation of the people of God.” Titled “Desiderio Desideravi” (“I have earnestly desired”), the letter was released June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. The title comes from Luke 22:15 when, before the Last Supper, Jesus tells His disciples, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” In the letter, Pope Francis insisted that Catholics need to better understand the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council and its goal of promoting the “full, conscious, active and fruitful celebration” of the Mass. “With this letter I simply want to invite the whole Church to rediscover, to safeguard and to live the truth and power of the Christian celebration,” the pope wrote. “I want the beauty of the Christian celebration and its necessary consequences for the life of the Church not to be spoiled by a superficial and foreshortened understanding of its value or, worse yet, by its being exploited in service of some ideological vision, no matter what the hue.” Pope asks Catholics to study Vatican II before Holy Year 2025

VATICAN CITY — Before celebrating the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis is asking Catholics around the world to dedicate time in 2023 to studying the documents of the Second Vatican Council. Presenting the official logo for the Holy Year June 28, Archbishop Rino Fisichella also announced the pope’s plan for helping Catholics prepare for the celebration: focusing on the four constitutions issued by Vatican II in 2023; and focusing on prayer in 2024. The four Vatican II constitutions are: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (“Sacrosanctum Concilium”); Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (“Lumen Gentium”); Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (“Dei Verbum”); and Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (“Gaudium et Spes”). Archbishop Fisichella, whom the pope appointed to coordinate planning the Holy Year, said, “A series of user-friendly resources, written in appealing language, are being produced to arouse curiosity in those who have no memory” of the council, which was held 1962-’65. Details about the 2024 year of prayer and spiritual preparation for the jubilee are still being worked out, the archbishop said. The Vatican already had announced that Pope Francis chose “Pilgrims of Hope” as the theme for the Holy Year.

Pope tells Jewish group: Dialogue prevents religious extremism, encourages fraternity and peace

VATICAN CITY — Interreligious dialogue is key to preventing “the extremism that, sadly, is a pathology that can appear also in religions,” Pope Francis said in a message to members of a Jewish group engaged in dialogue for more than 50 years. The pope had been scheduled to meet June 30 with members of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, but the Vatican press office said “a recurrence of knee pain” prevented him from doing so. Instead, the pope gave the group his prepared remarks. “Interreligious dialogue is a sign of our times and, I would say, a providential sign, in the sense that God Himself, in His wise plan, has inspired, in religious leaders and in many others, the desire to encounter and come to know one another in a way respectful of religious differences,” the pope wrote to the group. Dialogue, he said, “is a privileged path to the growth of fraternity and peace in our world.” Pope Francis praised the groups that joined together in 1970 to establish the committee to engage in dialogue with the Vatican; the groups include: the American Jewish Committee, AntiDefamation League, B’nai B’rith International, Israel Jewish Council on Interreligious Relations and the World Jewish Congress. The committee now is also involved in dialogue with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and with the World Council of Churches.

Missionaries of Charity kicked out of Nicaragua

MEXICO CITY — The Missionaries of Charity have been expelled from Nicaragua, the latest in a series of attacks on the Catholic Church and its ministries from the Central American country’s increasingly repressive government. The order of sisters – founded by St. Teresa of Kolkata, known popularly as Mother Teresa – operates a home for abandoned adolescents, a home for the elderly and a nursery for lowincome families in Nicaragua. Several Catholic leaders reported and tweeted news of the expulsion June 28. Nicaraguan media reported the sisters’ exit as part of a crackdown on nongovernmental organizations by the ruling Sandinistas. Auxiliary Bishop Silvio José Baez of Managua, currently based in Miami due to safety concerns, tweeted, “It saddens me that the dictatorship has forced the (sisters) ... to abandon the country. Nothing justifies depriving the poor of charitable attention. I’m a witness to the loving service the sisters provide. May God bless them.” Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his allies have increasingly persecuted the Catholic Church and civil society. The president, who won reelection last year in polls considered rigged by opponents and outside observers, is concentrating power; he continues to hold political prisoners and has closed outlets for political expression.

Vatican completes sale of controversial London building

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican announced it has completed the sale of a property in London that is at center of a Vatican trial for 10 people, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, accused of financial malfeasance. In a statement released July 1, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, known by its Italian initials APSA, said the building at 60 Sloane Avenue in London’s posh Chelsea district was sold to Bain Capital, an American investment company, for 186 million pounds ($223.3 million). Between 2014 and 2018, it is believed the Vatican Secretariat of State invested 200 million euros in purchasing the London property. In addition, payments to brokers and debts collected on the property raised the total investment to 350 million euros. APSA said the losses from the sale of the property were absorbed by the “reserves” of the Vatican Secretariat of State “without touching funds from the Peter’s Pence collection and donations from the faithful in any way.” However, some officials have argued that the “reserves” are, in fact, money set aside annually from the Peter’s Pence collection, which funds the charities of the pope and helps offset the costs of the Roman Curia and the Vatican nunciatures around the globe. — Catholic News Service

Put faith into your work

EDITOR

The Diocese of Charlotte seeks a passionate, curious and innovative veteran journalist to become the next editor of the Catholic News Herald and catholicnewsherald.com, our growing and award-winning news outlets. This person will oversee content development and editorial direction for the Catholic News Herald’s print (60,000 circ.) and digital channels (website, social media, email and video) in alignment with the diocese’s overall communication and evangelization mission. At least 3-5 years of experience as an editor, plus a bachelor’s degree or higher in journalism or related field. Must be a Catholic and familiar with Church teaching.

CONTENT PRODUCER

Do you thrive on crafting stories, shooting photos or producing videos that capture the beauty, goodness and truth of our Catholic faith? We are growing and seeking full-time content producers to create compelling content for the diocese’s various print and digital platforms to inform, inspire and educate the people of the Diocese of Charlotte. From covering events for the Catholic News Herald to producing content to serve the diocese’s 2,700 employees, this position is ideal for a creative and enthusiastic person with a keen eye for detail, a commitment to accuracy, and a heart for sharing the Gospel. At least 1-3+ years of experience, plus a bachelor’s degree in journalism, marketing or related field. For details about each position and their required qualifications and skills: www.catholicnewsherald.com/jobs Email your résumé to: catholicnews@charlottediocese.org No phone calls, please. Deadline to apply: Monday, July 11

The Diocese of Charlotte is an equal opportunity employer. We offer a competitive benefits package that includes salary commensurate with experience, health and dental insurance, 403(b) and paid holidays.