N E WS
POPE MONITOR KEEPING UP WITH POPE FRANCIS POPE MEETS UNUSUAL PILGRIM CARRYING MESSAGE OF HOPE FOR REFUGEES
HOLINESS DOESN’T COME FROM FOLLOWING RIGID RULES Redemption is the work of God, not of human beings, so be careful and don't listen to "fundamentalists" who claim holiness comes through following certain laws, Pope Francis said during his weekly general audience. The belief that holiness comes by observing particular laws "leads us to a rigid religiosity, a rigidity that eliminates that freedom of the Spirit which Christ's redemption gives us. Beware of this rigidity that they propose," he said on September 1 to those gathered in the Paul VI audience hall at the Vatican. God's saving grace is received through faith in the Gospel message of Christ's death and resurrection, and God invites people to rejoice in the righteousness received through that faith in Christ, he said. The pope continued his series of talks on St Paul's Letter to the Galatians by looking at the apostle's explanation of justification by faith and of graces flowing from the Spirit, not from works of the law.
7
VACCINATION IS AN ACT OF LOVE When pilgrims pass through Rome, they don't always get to meet Pope Francis, much less get an 'undersized' handshake. But 'Little Amal', an 11-foot puppet who is on a 5,000-mile pilgrimage from Syria through eight countries to the UK, got to offer the pope her enormous hand, which he welcomed by grasping one finger. Supported by her puppet masters and surrounded by hundreds of children in the Vatican's San Damaso Courtyard of the Apostolic Palace, Little Amal arrived in Rome on September 10 after leaving the Syrian-Turkish border on July 27. She is due to reach Manchester in early November. Little Amal represents an unaccompanied nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl who is looking for her mother and hoping to start a new life. "Will the world let her?" "How will you welcome Amal?" are some of the questions being asked of those who encounter her, according to organisers who want to highlight the vulnerability and the potential of displaced children and unaccompanied minors fleeing war or hardship. According to the project's website, WalkWithAmal.org, she is 11 feet tall "because we want the world to grow big enough to greet her. We want her to inspire us to think big and to act bigger," said Amir Nizar Zuabi, the artistic director of this unique outdoor public art project called 'The Walk' and starring Amal, whose name means 'hope'. According to the website, the aim is to tell the stories of those who are often marginalised, feared or pitied and help promote dialogue and collaboration.
When each individual makes a small act of charity, like getting the COVID-19 vaccine, every gesture added together can transform the world, Pope Francis says in a global ad campaign. "Being vaccinated with vaccines authorised by the competent authorities is an act of love. And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love — love for oneself, love for one's family and friends, love for all people," he said in a public service announcement released on August 18 in Rome. The video message was part of a global effort by the US-based nonpartisan, nonprofit Ad Council and the COVID Collaborative's 'It's Up To You' campaign to increase people's confidence in COVID-19 vaccines by reminding them that the vaccines are safe, effective and save people's lives. The Vatican's Dicastery for Integral Human Development also cooperated with the educational initiative. The three-minute video in Spanish with English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles features Pope Francis and six cardinals and archbishops from North and South America. The 'It's Up To You' campaign has been inviting "trusted messengers" to deliver "fact-based and life-saving information to populations hesitant about the COVID-19 vaccines, helping them to make informed decisions for themselves and their families," it said in a joint news release with the Ad Council.
