Year of St. Joseph

St. Joseph was proclaimed Patron of the Catholic Church on 8 December 1870. To mark its 150^th anniversary Pope Francis proclaimed a Year of St. Joseph to extend until 8 December 2021. Vatican News posted about the Year; the post includes a link to the letter of Francis.

#PopeFrancis proclaims a “Year of Saint Joseph” running from today to 8 December 2021.https://t.co/5fJb8NNmwz

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) December 8, 2020

Pope's Intention for December

 

Behind the Encyclical

A

ssistant producer of audio and video at AmericaMedia Colleen Dulle interviewed Austen Ivereigh about Pope Francis’ latest and very personal book. The book personalizes his most recent encyclical. As pope Francis may not have had time to bring to light his “personal Covids." A video excerpt of her "Inside the Vatican" podcast follows.

Justice Poetry

P ope Francis encouraged judges of Africa and South America that their decisions are poetry for people and for the world.

A Moral Imperative for Today

In a 12-minute TED Countdown Talk Pope Francis offered 3 actions steps to address climate change. He sounded notes from his encyclicals Laudato Si! and Fratelli Tutti.

This second address in this venue by the Pope was part of the of the TED Countdown Global Launch. The website hosting the video described it as “a visionary TED Talk from Vatican City.”

Triptych on Relationships

Austin Ivereigh sees Fratelli Tutti calling us to restore our relationships with others. It completes Francis’ earlier restorative calls: with God—Evangellii Gaudium and with creation—Laudato Si! The video is 4 minutes.

21st-Century Renaissance

Pope Francis’ most recent encyclical takes stock of human relationships in the world. He invites a renaissance in human relationships ([8], [35]), “a new style of life.” Two overviews help reading the encyclical.

• Panelists at an event hosted by Georgetown University noted key elements
• “Inside the Vatican” host Colleen Dulle offered 5 takeaways from it

"Two Key Words of Integral Ecology"

Pope Francis received a delegation of Laudato Si! Communities. He reflected on “contemplation and compassion” in his address. Jack Wolf tweeted the Vatican News post that offered context for Francis’ address and a summary. 

Pope: contemplation, compassion indispensable for integral ecology - Vatican News https://t.co/hAsjXYZddF via @GoogleNews

— JACK WOLF (@JackWolf57) September 13, 2020

Healing Catecheses Continue

Pope Francis continued his series of catecheses at the General Audience today. “To Heal the World” is the name of the series the Pope offers in the face of the pandemic. Today Francis highlighted solidarity and faith.

Vatican News summarized the catechesis.

“Preparing the Future That We Need”

At his 05August General Audience Pope Francis began a catechesis-series entitled “To heal the world”: ”In the next few weeks, I invite you to tackle together the pressing questions that the pandemic has brought to the fore, social ills above all. And we will do it in the light of the Gospel, of the theological virtues and of the principles of the Church’s social doctrine.” 

Catholic News Service has posted about the pope’s series.

In light of #COVID19 #Pandemic Pope Francis will begin new series of audience talks on social doctrine https://t.co/Sq8ExtOReD via @CatholicCourier pic.twitter.com/3hqXtynEgl

— Catholic News Service (@CatholicNewsSvc) August 5, 2020

Arson Against Nicaraguan Catholics

Pope Francis expressed his closeness to and prayers for the Catholics following the burning of the crucifix in the cathedral of the capital city.

#PopeFrancis expresses his closeness to Catholics in #Nicaragua, following an arson attack that destroyed a crucifix in Managua’s cathedral.https://t.co/reUo2NT5q0

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) August 2, 2020

Human Trafficking

Thursday was World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Pope Francis called it a “scourge” wounding the weakest. Cardinal Michael Czerny noted “that women religious ‘around the world have discovered, invented, developed the ministry to victims of human trafficking.’ Today they are also involved in prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration and raising awareness, he said, which shows that ‘their ministry is more developed than at the beginning.’”

Daughters of St. Paul Sr. Bernadette Mary Reis filed her report at Vatican News. It includes an audio interview.

Cardinal Michael Czerny shares how the Church’s first responders to victims have developed their ministry over the years. #EndHumanTrafficking https://t.co/kptGbFLEAF

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 30, 2020

Point of Care

This ship’s “crew is now committed to raising awareness and providing information to the local populations and offers on-the-spot first-stage outpatient treatment.”



The “Pope Francis Hospital Ship” brings medical equipment and assistance to #coronavirus-hit communities along the Amazon River in #Brazil. https://t.co/CHHvGWRTVD
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 13, 2020

Pope Francis' Sadness

Pope Francis at the Sunday Angelus: “And the sea carries me a little farther away in my thoughts: to Istanbul. I think of Hagia Sophia, and I am very saddened.” For the Vatican transcription of the pope’s remarks at the Sunday Angelus.“

#PopeFrancis says he thinks about #HagiaSophia and is "very saddened". The ancient Christian Basilica in Istanbul was recently transformed into a mosque.https://t.co/qfHGPUL9LK

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) July 12, 2020

Radical Rethink

Pope Francis has called this time of pandemic one of conversion: “…pass from the hyper-virtual, fleshless world to the suffering flesh of the poor. This is the conversion we have to undergo. And if we don’t start there, there will be no conversion.” The turn toward “suffering flesh” is not immediately inviting.

At Thinking Faith Karen Eliasen considers a story to assist this turn, the “story of Miriam’s wilderness bout of...‘a harmful skin disease’.” Ms. Eliasen notes the story of Miriam speaks to today's circumstances: “...in a complex mix of power struggle, emotional outbursts, disease, isolation–and even spitting. Add to this already compelling mix the timeless ur-issues of gender and prayer, and the juicy ingredients are all there to be squeezed for contemporary pandemic relevance.”

Are you familiar with the story of Miriam in Numbers 12? An episode that reads as a heated and traumatic encounter with Moses, Aaron and God might well lead us towards something entirely more hopeful, suggests Karen Eliasen. https://t.co/Yy4GsGAjQ0

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 4, 2020

July Prayer Intention from Pope Francis

Families.

pic.twitter.com/8QN3ZZlcMs

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) July 2, 2020

Christian Unity

The Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul has occasioned exchange of delegations to and from the sister sees of Rome and Constantinople. The pandemic precluded that this year, yet Francis still feels “close.” Gerard O’Connell reported on the blessing of pallia and the mass.

#PopeFrancis expresses his spiritual closeness with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, as the Covid-19 pandemic keeps his delegation from making a traditional visit to Rome. #coronavirus https://t.co/0AjzqRJwpH

— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) June 29, 2020

First the Launch; Then Five Years Later

A press conference at the Vatican heralded Francis’ Laudato Si! five years ago. Another press conference (video below) marked the encyclical’s anniversary.

The Vatican also released a book on the occasion. America Magazine’s Vatican correspondent Gerald O’Connell noted the just-released book “contains incisive and challenging proposals for the practical implementation of Pope Francis’ encyclical throughout the church and in the wider world.”

___________________

Wiki-image Air pollution by brick factories by “Janak Bhatta - Own work | CC BY-SA 4.0"

Lamb and Francis

On the “Inside the Vatican” podcast Colleen Dulle conversed with Christopher Lamb. Mr. Lamb’s recent book explores the opposition Pope Francis receives as he reforms the church. On the podcast: Neither liberal nor conservative, the pope is radical, said Mr. Lamb.

___________________

Wiki-image Coat of Arms of Francis by “SajoR | CC BY-SA 2.5"

Attitudes Shifted with Laudato Si!

Two “Princeton University doctoral candidates in political science…recently released a paper studying the impact of “Laudato Si’.” On the America Magazine podcast, Inside the Vatican, Colleen Dulle conversed with authors Sam Winter-Levy and Bryan Schonfeld. They found a “significant shift” in opinion after the publication of Francis’ encyclical: “churchgoing Catholics [believe] that climate change is real and caused by humans, and that there is a moral imperative to take action on it.”

In addition to the link to their conversation, the article contains links to read more, including the full paper.

___________________

Wiki-image Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge by “Diego Delso | CC BY-SA 4.0"