Pope Francis has written a message for the 50th World Day of Peace, which is celebrated on January 1st, on the theme: ‘Nonviolence: A Style of Politics for Peace’.
Pope Francis
Australia: Pope Francis writes to Indigenous Australians – Never lose your Traditions
In a letter to John Lochowiak, Chairperson of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, Pope Francis has recalled John Paul II’s words to indigenous Australians, urging them to never lose their identity nor tradition.
Pope Francis to visit Assisi, again
For the second month in a row, Pope Francis will visit Assisi, the Italian town famously associated with his namesake St. Francis. This time, the pontiff will take part in a gathering of leaders from different religious and cultural backgrounds organized by the Community of San’t Egidio, Assisi, Italy.
Pope’s Address to “America in Dialogue: Our Common Home” Interfaith Symposium
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On Thursday, Pope Francis received in audience the participants in a Symposium promoted by the Organization of American States and the Institute of Inter-Religious dialogue of Buenos Aires on the theme: “America in Dialogue: Our Common Home” (Augustinianum, Rome, September 7-8).
Pope to Benedictine Abbots: Start New Monasteries
Pope Francis today received in audience some 250 participants in the congress of Benedictine abbots and abbesses gathered in Rome to reflect on the monastic charism received from St. Benedict and their faithfulness to it in a changing world.
Pope Francis tells, ‘It’s wrong to identify Islam with violence’
Pope Francis said on Sunday that it was wrong to identify Islam with violence and that social injustice and idolatry of money were among the prime causes of terrorism. “I think it is not right to identity Islam with violence,” he told reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome after a five-day trip to Poland. “This is not right and this is not true.”
Refugee Week: Pope Francis Has Refugees With Him on Stage
Christians must not exclude, and are to welcome their suffering brothers and sisters. Pope Francis stressed this today during his General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, where he was accompanied by a group of at least 14 refugees seated near him on the stage.
Laudato Si’ first anniversary: interfaith impact
(Vatican Radio) June 18th marks the first anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, focused on the care of our common home.
Pope Praises 1st Graduates of Gregorian’s Safeguarding Minors Diploma
From Vatican Radio:
Pope Francis has commended the Pontifical Gregorian University’s recently created Centre for Child Protection (CCP) and expressed his hope that new graduates will be “brave and committed” to the prevention of sexual abuse of minors. On Tuesday, the first 19 students of the Centre’s new Diploma of Advanced Studies, “Safeguarding Minors” received their degree in a graduation ceremony in Rome.
Sexual Abuse: Pope Specifies Rules for Removing Negligent Bishops From Office
Pope Francis on Saturday released an apostolic letter in the form of a Motu Proprio, stipulating that bishops who have been negligent in protecting their flock from sexual abuse can be removed from office.
Pope Francis meets with Jains
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday thanked the Jain community for its commitment to protect “our sister Earth.” The Pope’s words came as he received members of the Institute of Jainology in private audience in the Vatican before leading the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.
Pope Francis meets top Egyptian cleric at Vatican, ending five-year freeze in relations
Pope Francis has met the grand imam of Egypt’s highest Islamic authority, Al-Azhar, looking to heal Vatican relations with the influential centre of Sunni Muslim learning after dialogue was frozen five years ago. The 1,000-year-old mosque and university centre cut contacts with the Vatican in 2011 over what it said were repeated insults towards Islam from Francis’s predecessor, Pope Benedict.
There’s no app for happiness, Pope Francis tells Teens
Happiness “is not an ‘app’ that you can download on your phones nor will the latest update help you become free and great in loving,” Pope Francis told thousands of teenagers. The Pope also surprised many teenagers by appearing in St Peter’s Square to hear the sacrament of reconciliation.
The Vatican’s Cricket Team
(Vatican Radio) As Britain’s Queen Elizabeth turns 90 years old, the Royal Household of Windsor Cricket team is arriving in Rome on Thursday for an encounter with the Vatican XI, St. Peter’s Cricket Club, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture.
Pope Calls for End to Death Penalty
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis on Sunday called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, saying the commandment “You shall not kill” was absolute and equally valid for the guilty as for the innocent.
Pope Francis Meets Head Of Russian Orthodox Church In Havana
The reported first words of Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill on their historic meeting – for historic it was, however hackneyed the word – were revealing. “Finally” said the Pontiff, adding “we are brothers”. Kirill was equally satisfied but perhaps less effusive: “Yes, things are much easier now”.
Mini-course explaining the Pope's Encyclical "Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home"
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network on-line education program (SDSNEDU) has produced a self-paced mini-course explaining Pope Francis’s Encyclical “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home“. It’s free and open to everyone.
There is no conflict between our faiths and the science of climate change
> Three International Vice Presidents of Religions for Peace, Rabbi David Rosen, Cardinal John Onaiyekan and Professor Dr. Din Syamsuddin have given an opinion editorial on the Pope’s Letter (Encyclical) to the World on Climate Change. This work emphsises the common grounds for faiths to work together on Climate Change.
