CANONIZING TWO ROLE MODELS OF THE CHURCH

Today, two giants of the Roman Catholic faith will become saints and millions of people, including Nigerians have traveled to Rome for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Pope Francis’ decision to declare two of his predecessors, Pope John XXIII and John Paul II saints at the same time is unprecedented and taking the world by storm. The church offers the lives of outstanding women and men to us as models of holiness, declaring them “Blessed” or “Saint”. This is not a statement about perfection. It does not mean that the person was without imperfection or sin. Beatification and canonization mean that a person lived his or her life with God, relying totally on God’s infinite mercy, going…

Becoming Holy Humans In Christ, A 2014 Easter Message

On Sunday the 27th April 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday, Blessed Pope John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II, will be canonized, that is officially proclaimed saints by Pope Francis at the St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Rome. Over a million pilgrims catholic and non-catholic from all over the world are expected at the canonization. Nigerians, including a number from Imo State will be there to represent us.   Although Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II continue to have enormous influence in our contemporary world and Church it is the holiness of their personal human lives that is the reason for their canonization. With this event they become for all Christians and humans heroes…

Vatican set for Canonization of Blessed John XXIII, John Paul II April 27

Recognizing that Blessed John XXIII and John Paul II have widespread reputations for holiness and that years of studying their lives and actions have proven their exceptional virtue, Pope Francis announced he would declare his two predecessors saints at a single ceremony April 27. The pope made the announcement Sept. 30 at the end of an “ordinary public consistory,” a gathering of cardinals and promoters of the sainthood causes of the two late popes. The consistory took place in the context of a prayer service in Latin and included the reading of brief biographies of the two sainthood candidates. Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, read the biographies and highlighted the…

Lent: Don’t be discouraged by sin – Pope

Returning to the Vatican after a week of Lenten spiritual exercises, Pope Francis emphasized that we should not be discouraged by sin, but rather renew our commitment to following Christ. “We are all sinners but we want to follow Jesus,” the Holy Father said upon departing from the annual retreat for the Pope and members of the Curia. The retreat took place outside the Vatican for the first time this year; it was held in the nearby town of Ariccia. Pope Francis thanked Father Angelo de Donatis, who preached the Lenten retreat on the subject of “purification of the heart.” “I would like  to offer you thanks on my behalf and on behalf of all…

Corruption: Pope creates office to oversee Vatican finances

Pope Francis has taken his boldest step yet to overhaul the Vatican’s scandal-plagued finances, creating a new department with broad powers to oversee all of its economic and administrative affairs, the Vatican said. The Secretariat for the Economy will answer directly to the Pope and will be headed by Australian Cardinal George Pell, currently the Archbishop of Sydney.  The Pope will also name an auditor with oversight powers, according to a papal document known as a Motu Proprio, Latin for “by his own initiative”, formalizing the changes. The Secretariat will be guided in policy making by a new 15-member Council for the Economy, which will be made up of eight Cardinals and Bishops and seven…

A Big Heart Open to God (5)

“Talking with Pope Francis is a kind of volcanic flow of ideas that are bound up with each other.”   Editor’s Note: This interview with Pope Francis took place over the course of three meetings during August 2013 in Rome. The interview was conducted in person by Antonio Spadaro, S.J., editor in chief of La CiviltàCattolica, the Italian Jesuit journal. Father Spadaro conducted the interview on behalf of La CiviltàCattolica,America and several other major Jesuit journals around the world. The editorial teams at each of the journals prepared questions and sent them to Father Spadaro, who then consolidated and organized them. The interview was conducted in Italian. After the Italian text was officially approved, America…

Pope expands role, reach of Vatican Financial Intelligence Authority

As part of the Vatican’s ongoing efforts to ensure that all its financial activities comply with international standards, particularly those aimed at preventing money laundering and the financing of terrorism, Pope Francis has expanded the role and the reach of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority. Less than a month after he updated the Vatican’s criminal code to include all Vatican employees around the world and not just those working in Vatican City, Pope Francis issued new rules Aug. 8 broadening Vatican City finance laws to cover all the offices of the Roman Curia. The rules also apply to the non-profit organizations operating out of the Vatican, including Caritas Internationalis and Aid to the Church in…