Pope – Faith Matters

Pope urges Iraq to embrace its Christians on historic visit

Faith Matters — Fri, 05 Mar 2021 16:48:03 +0000

Pope Francis has urged Iraqis to treat their Christian brothers as a precious resource to protect, not an “obstacle” to eliminate, as he opened the first papal visit to Iraq with a plea for tolerance and fraternity among Christians and Muslims.

Francis brushed aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns to resume his globe-trotting papacy after a year-long gap under Covid-19 lockdown in Vatican City.

His primary aim over the weekend is to encourage Iraq’s dwindling number of Christians, who were violently persecuted by the so-called Islamic State group and still face discrimination by the Shiite majority, to stay and help rebuild the country devastated by wars and strife.

“Only if we learn to look beyond our differences and see each other as members of the same human family will we be able to begin an effective process of rebuilding and leave to future generations a better, more just and more humane world,” Francis told Iraqi authorities in his welcoming address.

The 84-year-old donned a facemask during the flight from Rome and throughout all his protocol visits, as did his hosts, but the masks came off when the leaders sat down to talk, and social distancing and other health measures appeared lax at the airport and on the streets of Baghdad, despite the country’s worsening Covid-19 outbreak.

Francis was transported around Baghdad in what Iraqi security officials said was an armoured black BMW, flanked by rows of police on siren-blaring motorcycles. It was believed to be the first time Francis had used a bulletproof car.

Iraqis seemed keen to welcome Francis and the global attention his visit was bringing, with some lining the road to cheer his motorcade and banners and posters hanging high in central Baghdad depicting Francis with the slogan “We are all Brothers”.

In central Tahrir Square, a mock tree was erected emblazoned with the Vatican emblem, while Iraqi and Vatican flags lined empty streets.

The government is eager to show off the relative security it has achieved after years of wars and its defeat of the IS insurgency.

Francis’s first main event was a pomp-filled courtesy visit with President Barham Salih at the Baghdad palace inside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

Afterwards, Francis told Mr Salih and other Iraqi officials that Christians and other minorities should not be considered second-class citizens in Iraq but deserve to have the same rights and protections as the Shiite Muslim majority.

“The religious, cultural and ethnic diversity that has been a hallmark of Iraqi society for millennia is a precious resource on which to draw, not an obstacle to eliminate,” he said.

“Iraq today is called to show everyone, especially in the Middle East, that diversity, instead of giving rise to conflict, should lead to harmonious co-operation in the life of society.”

Mr Salih echoed his call and praised Francis for coming to make it in person in Iraq despite the pandemic and security concerns.

“The East cannot be imagined without Christians,” he said. “The continued migration of Christians from the countries of the east will have dire consequences for the ability of the people from the same region to live together.”

Christians once constituted a sizeable minority in Iraq, estimated at around 1.4 million, but their numbers began to fall after the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein opened a wave of instability in which militants repeatedly targeted Christians.

They received a further blow when IS militants in 2014 swept through northern Iraq, including traditionally Christian towns across the Nineveh plains, some of which date from the time of Christ.

Their extremist version of Islam forced residents to flee to the neighbouring Kurdish region or further afield.

Few have returned — estimates suggest there are fewer than 300,000 Christians still in Iraq and many of those remain displaced from their homes.

Pope names first black American cardinal

Faith Matters — Sun, 25 Oct 2020 23:50:51 +0000

Pope Francis has named 13 new cardinals, including Washington DC Archbishop Wilton Gregory.He will become the first Black US prelate to earn the coveted red hat.

In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St Peter’s Square, Francis said the churchmen will be elevated to a cardinal’s rank in a ceremony on November 28.

Francis asked for prayers so the new cardinals “may help me in my ministry as bishop of Rome for the good of all God’s faithful holy people”.

The selection of Gregory won praise from LGBTQ advocates in the United States, days after Pope Francis grabbed headlines for voicing support for civil unions for gay couples.

Other new cardinals include an Italian who is the long-time papal preacher at the Vatican, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, a Franciscan friar; Kigali Archbishop Antoine Kambanda; Capiz Archbishop Jose Feurte Advincula, and Santiago Archbishop Celestino Aos.

Another Franciscan who has been elevated is Friar Mauro Gambetti, in charge of the Sacred Convent in Assisi.

The Pope, when elected in 2013, chose St Francis of Assisi as his namesake saint and earlier this month the pontiff visited the hill town in Umbria to sign an encyclical, or important church teaching document, about brotherhood.

Mr Gambetti was so surprised that at first he thought the Pope was joking when he heard he was named, convent spokesman the Rev Enzo Fortunato said.

He quickly pledged to “put himself at the service of humanity at a time so difficult to us all”, including offering compassion to the needy.

In a reflection of the Pope’s stress on helping those in need, especially the poor, Francis also named the former director of the Rome Catholic charity, Caritas, the Rev Enrico Feroci, to be a cardinal.

The prestigious Washington archdiocese traditionally brings elevation to cardinal’s rank so the appointment of Mr Gregory, 73, last year by the Pope had positioned him to be approached for the honour.

When Mr Gregory headed the Atlanta diocese earlier in his career, he wrote positively in a column about his conversations with Catholic parents of LGBTQ children.

An advocate for LGBTQ Catholics, Francis DeBernardo, said choosing Mr Gregory for a cardinal’s post signals Francis wants “LGBTQ people to be part of the church, and he wants church people to respect them”.

Mr DeBernardo linked the appointment to Francis’ recently reported comments supporting civil unions for same-sex couples.

He also praised the elevation to cardinal’s rank of a Vatican bishop who comes from Malta, a tiny, traditionally Catholic nation which has made significant progress in LGBTQ civil rights and protections in recent years.

Mr DeBernardo was referring to Mario Grech, 63, who serves at the Vatican as secretary general of the Synod of Bishops office and who formerly headed the diocese on the Maltese island of Gozo.

Nine of the new cardinals are younger than 80 and thus eligible to elect the next pontiff in a secret conclave.

No details were immediately given by the Vatican about the formal ceremony to make the churchmen cardinals, especially in view of travel restrictions involving many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Others receiving the honour include Monsignor Marcello Semeraro, an Italian serving as prefect of the Vatican office that runs the saint-making process; Bishop Cornelius Sim, apostolic vicar of Brunei; the Italian archbishop of Siena and nearby towns in Tuscany, Augusto Lojudice; the retired bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, Monsignor Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, and an Italian former Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi.

Pope recognises ‘decisive’ measures against abuse by Chile’s bishops

Faith Matters — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 08:50:33 +0000

Pope Francis recognised on Monday measures that Chile’s bishops said they would take to assist prosecutors investigating allegations of sex abuse that have plagued the Roman Catholic Church in Chile, including that they would work to reach an agreement with prosecutors on an exchange of information.

The pontiff wrote in a letter released to media on Monday by the Chilean Church that the steps taken at a conclave last week were “realistic and concrete” and that he was confident they would make a “decisive” difference.

After a week-long leadership conclave, the bishops asked for forgiveness, saying in a statement on Friday that they had failed to aid and accompany victims who had suffered “grave sins and injustices committed by priests and clergy.”

Fernando Ramos, secretary-general of the Episcopal Conference, said last Friday that they also wanted “to reach an agreement [with prosecutors] to assure a fluid exchange of information, one that meets our standards, as well as the requirements of the Public Ministry.”

Chilean law enforcement is investigating 38 accusations of sexual abuse against 73 bishops, clerics and lay workers, involving 104 victims.

“I was impressed by the reflection, discernment and decisions that were made,” the pope wrote. “But what struck me most was the example of a unified episcopal community. Thank you for this edifying example.”

Chilean prosecutors said last week that they had asked the government to submit a formal request to the Vatican for information about nine clergymen and lay workers who have been accused of sexual abuse of children.

“We will make public every prior investigation into alleged sexual abuse of children that has occurred in our jurisdictions. We will ask the same of officials at all religious congregations,” Santiago Silva, president of the Episcopal Conference, told reporters last week.

‘Mother’ should not be used to describe a bomb, Pope says

Faith Matters — Sat, 06 May 2017 18:22:04 +0000

Pope Francis on Saturday criticised the naming of the U.S. military’s biggest non-nuclear explosive as “the Mother of All Bombs”, saying the word “mother” should not be used in reference to a deadly weapon.

The U.S. Air Force dropped such a bomb, officially designated as the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) on suspected Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan last month. The nickname was widely used in briefings and reporting on the attack.

“I was ashamed when I heard the name,” Pope Francis told an audience of students on Saturday. “A mother gives life and this one gives death, and we call this device a mother. What is happening?”

Pope Francis is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on May 24 in a potentially awkward encounter given their opposing positions on immigration, refugees and climate change.

Pope Speaks out Against the Deadly Blast in Egypt

Faith Matters — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 11:22:25 +0000

Pope Francis condemned a deadly blast at a church in Egypt and said at a Palm Sunday Mass that the world was suffering from wars, terrorism and “interests that are armed and ready to strike”.

Francis, who has not made any direct public comment on the current Middle East crisis, said the Mass as international tensions increased following the U.S. missile strike on a Syrian air base, which the Pentagon says was involved in a chemical weapons attack that killed 87 people.

While the pope, who is due to visit Egypt April 28-29, was celebrating the Mass for tens of thousands of people, the Vatican received word of the blast that killed at least 21 people and injured 50 in a Coptic church in the Nile Delta.

“I pray for the dead and the victims. May the Lord convert the hearts of people who sow terror, violence and death and even the hearts of those who produce and traffic in weapons,” he said in hastily prepared comments at the end. The blast was the latest assault on a religious minority that has increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants, and there have been deep security concerns over the pope’s trip.

Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week that culminates on Easter Sunday, commemorates the day Christians believe Jesus entered Jerusalem and was welcomed as the messiah, only to be crucified five days later.

Francis, marking the fifth Easter season of his pontificate, blessed palm and olive branches in the centre of St. Peter’s Square before saying Mass.

“He (Jesus) is present in our many brothers and sisters who today endure sufferings like his own: they suffer from slave labour, from family tragedies, from diseases,” he said.

“They suffer from wars and terrorism, from interests that are armed and ready to strike. Women and men who are cheated, violated in their dignity, discarded,” he added.

Before the U.S. missile strike, Francis said he was horrified by the suspected chemical weapons attack, calling it an “unacceptable massacre” of innocent civilians.

Allies of the United States have expressed support for Washington’s actions, calling them a proportionate response to Syrian forces’ suspected use of chemical weapons. But they were denounced as illegal by Syria and its allies Russia and Iran.

Palm Sunday marks the start of a hectic week for the Pope, who on Thursday he visits a prison south of Rome to wash and kiss the feet of 12 inmates, commemorating Jesus’ gesture of humility towards his apostles the night before he died.

Previous popes held the service either at the Vatican or a Rome basilica but Francis changed the tradition to stress the importance of going to the poor, the sick and the imprisoned.

He has drawn ultra-traditionalist ire for including Muslims and women in a service previously limited to Catholic men.

Pope pays tribute to Iraqi Christians persecuted by Islamic State

Faith Matters — Tue, 27 Dec 2016 00:20:47 +0000

Pope Francis paid tribute on Monday to Middle East Christians who have clung to their faith during persecution by Islamist militants, saying there are more Christians martyrs now than in the Church’s early days.

The pope spoke to thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his holiday blessing on the feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.

He mentioned the persecution of Christians in Iraq, many of whom where able to spend their first Christmas since 2013 in churches after towns and cities were retaken from Islamic State.

“This was an example of fidelity to the Gospel,” he said. “Despite trials and dangers, they courageously show that they belong to Christ,” he said.

“Today, we want to think of them and be close to them with our affection, our prayers and even our tears,” the pope said.

Christians in northern regions of Iraq held by Islamic State were given an ultimatum: pay a tax, convert to Islam, or die by the sword. Most of them fled to the autonomous Kurdish region to the east.

Leaders of various churches, including the Coptic Church in Egypt, whose members have been beheaded and churches bombed, have called the fact that Christians of all denominations were being killed in the Middle East an “ecumenism (unity) of blood.”

“There are more Christian martyrs today than in the first centuries,” said the pope, who has often denounced Islamic State and condemned the concept of killing in God’s name.

Pope says gender theory part of ‘global war’ on marriage, family

Faith Matters — Sun, 02 Oct 2016 02:16:36 +0000

Pope Francis warned on Saturday of a “global war” against traditional marriage and the family, saying both were under attack from gender theory and divorce.

Francis made his comments in an impromptu response to a question at a meeting of the small Catholic community in the ex-Soviet republic of Georgia.

“You mentioned a great enemy of marriage: gender theory,” the pope said in response to a woman who had asked about it being taught in schools.

He did not elaborate.

Gender theory is broadly the concept that while a person may be biologically male or female, they have the right to identify themselves as male, female, both or neither.

“Today, there is a global war out to destroy marriage,” Francis said. “Not with weapons but with ideas … we have to defend ourselves from ideological colonisation.”

The pope has used the phrase “ideological colonisation” in the past to denounce what he says are attempts by rich countries to link development aid to the acceptance of social policies such as those allowing gay marriage and contraception.

Francis, who has been more accepting of homosexuals than his predecessors but opposes gay marriage, also appeared to be referring to it when he said “marriage is the most beautiful thing that God has created” adding that the Bible says God created man and woman to become one flesh.

In the same answer, he said the growing acceptance of divorce was another threat to the family.

Pope Francis visits the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

" data-medium-file="https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia-600x404.jpg" data-large-file="https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia.jpg" class="size-medium wp-image-5952" src="https://faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia-600x404.jpg" alt="Pope Francis visits the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili" width="600" height="404" srcset="https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia-600x404.jpg 600w, https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia-297x200.jpg 297w, https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia-768x516.jpg 768w, https://www.faith-matters.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Pope-Francis-in-Georgia.jpg 800w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" />

Pope Francis visits the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia, October 1, 2016. REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

Annulment of Marriage Made Shorter in Specific Cases by the Pope

Faith Matters — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 01:35:29 +0000

Pope Francis has made the annulment of marriage simpler and easier with a call for bishops to be more welcoming to divorced couples. It is one of the biggest changes around guidance regarding divorce in the Catholic church for over 250 years. Yet, all is not what it seems and the Catholic Church’s position is one where there are specific clauses to what may constitute a quicker annulment of the marriage.

Previously, couples looking for an annulment of their marriage would have to wait years and the frustration for some couples meant that they were unable to marry again and were left having to live in limbo until an annulment was granted some years down the line. With the new procedure highlighted in a document called Motu Proprio (meaning ‘by his own initiative’), the Pope re-affirms the Church’s commitment to marriage though it will be easier for separated couples to receive an annulment within 45 days based on whether the Church decides that a marriage was not valid in the first place because of issues of psychological immaturity, co-ercion etc.

Previously annulments of marriages carried heavy fees, and delays due to a second tribunal which mandatorily reviewed the initial annulment decision. However, this ‘speeding up’ of the process may only be relevant for clear cut cases.