Pope holds dramatic solitary service for relief vs COVID

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis stood alone in vast Saint Peter’s Square Friday to bless Catholics around the world suffering under the coronavirus pandemic, urging people to ease their fears through faith.

“Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void that stops everything as it passes by,” he said.

In a historic first, the Argentine performed the rarely recited “Urbi et Orbi” blessing from the steps of the basilica to an empty square, addressing those in lockdown across the globe via television, radio and social media.


“We find ourselves afraid and lost,” he said in a homily ahead of the blessing, as he stood under a canopy protecting him from a downpour.

He described the coronavirus “tempest” which he said had put everybody “in the same boat.”

The hour had come to “reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when

everything seems to be floundering,” he said.

‘Did not listen’

The blessing – which translates as “To the City (Rome) and the World” – is usually given on just three occasions: when a pope is elected, and each year

at Christmas and Easter.

The pontiff traditionally speaks out against armed conflicts around the globe before delivering the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

But on Friday, the COVID-19 pandemic which has already killed more than 23,000 people was in his sights – and humanity’s errors and lack of faith

leading up to the crisis.

“We have gone ahead at breakneck speed, feeling powerful and able to do anything. Greedy for profit, we let ourselves get caught up in things, and

lured away by haste,” said Francis in his homily.

“We were not shaken awake by wars or injustice across the world, nor did we listen to the cry of the poor or of our ailing planet. We carried on regardless, thinking we would stay healthy in a world that was sick.”

Today was not “the time of your judgement,” the Pope clarified, but rather a time for people to focus on the important, “a time to separate what is necessary from what is not.”

‘Forgotten people’  

The pontiff saluted “ordinary people – often forgotten people“ who are showing courage and selflessness in the current crisis, citing doctors and nurses, supermarket employees, police forces, volunteers, priests and nuns.

And at the end of the service, Francis granted Catholics the chance to have a rare remission for the punishment of sins.

Earlier this month, when the Italian capital was already in lockdown, Francis made a solitary pilgrimage to two of the city’s churches.

At one, he borrowed a crucifix believed to have saved Rome from plague in the 16th century. On Friday, that crucifix was placed in front of Saint Peter’s.

“During the plague in the Middle Ages, the Church was the only visible presence in public, through the processions of priests who were supposed to produce miracles,“ Vatican expert Marco Politi told AFP.

“The pope wants to recapture a part of that scene and of the collective imagination,“ he said.

The head of the world‘s 1.3 billion Catholics is a high-risk subject for

the virus himself. Since coming down with a cold late last month, the 83-year-old has remained largely secluded within the Vatican.

Italian media reported that the pope had tested negative for coronavirus after a prelate who lived at his residence – a guest house in the Vatican was hospitalized on Wednesday with the virus.

“The anti-contagion cordon has been tight around the pope for weeks,“ La Stampa daily wrote.

The Vatican has only officially reported four positive cases of the coronavirus within the tiny city state, without confirming the alleged case in the guest house.

Agence France-Presse

Pope 'tests negative for coronavirus': report

VATICAN CITY, Holy See — Pope Francis, who is suffering from a cold, has tested negative for the coronavirus, an Italian newspaper reported Tuesday, as Italy battles Europe's worst outbreak.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni did not respond to a request for comment on the report in the Messaggero newspaper.


Francis canceled a Lent retreat for the first time in his papacy this weekend, after axing all public meetings at the end of last week over the cold.

The new coronavirus has spread from China across much of the world, with Italy among the worst affected with over 2,000 people infected and 52 deaths.

The 83-year-old pontiff has been seen coughing and blowing his nose, but the Vatican on Sunday quickly shot down speculation that the pope himself had come down with COVID-19.


The Messaggero report did not say when Francis had been tested for the disease.

Agence France-Presse

Pope accepts resignation of McCarrick after sex abuse claims

VATICAN CITY  — In a move seen as unprecedented, Pope Francis has effectively stripped U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick of his cardinal's title following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy. The Vatican announced Saturday that Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" before a church trial is held.

Breaking with past practice, Francis decided to act swiftly on the resignation offered by the emeritus archbishop of Washington, D.C., even before the accusations are investigated by church officials. McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most visible Catholic church officials in the United States and was heavily involved in the church's yearslong response to allegations of priestly abuse there.

Francis received McCarrick's letter offering to resign from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening, after a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.


The pope then ordered McCarrick's "suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial," the Vatican said.

The McCarrick case posed a test of the pontiff's recently declared resolve to battle what he called a "culture of cover-up" of similar abuses in the Catholic church's hierarchy.

McCarrick had already been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations that he fondled a teenager more than 40 years ago in New York City. McCarrick has denied these allegations.

Another alleged victim, James , says McCarrick exposed himself to him when he was 11 and continued a sexually abusive relationship with him for more than two decades. McCarrick has not responded publicly to these accusations.

Asking to be identified by only his first name to protect his family's privacy, James told The Associated Press on Saturday that he hopes the pope's approval of McCarrick's resignation will help other victims "become free."

"Basically, truth always prevails," said James, who lives in Virginia. "Thankfully, everybody in today's world is more understanding of the harm done by individual priests, and now we can start to heal," he added.

McCarrick's alleged sexual misconduct with adults was reportedly brought to the Vatican's attention years ago, including before McCarrick was appointed to the prestigious archbishop post in the U.S. capital in 2000 by then-pontiff John Paul II.

Two dioceses in New Jersey, Newark and Metuchen, say they have settled two of three complaints of misconduct by McCarrick toward adults.

The Vatican on Saturday didn't say where McCarrick would be confined nor when a church trial might begin, and its brief statement did not even allude to the grave accusations against the prelate.

McCarrick rose steadily and swiftly up the U.S. church's ranks, from auxiliary bishop in New York City, to bishop in Metuchen, to archbishop of Newark, and then to Archbishop of Washington, D.C.

A Catholic University canon law expert, Kurt Martens, noted this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial.

Other U.S. Catholics who follow sexual abuse scandals hailed stripping McCarrick of his cardinal's rank as an unprecedented shift in how the Vatican has dealt with allegations against top churchmen.

"The Vatican almost never moves at this speed," said Terence McKiernan, of BishopAccountability.org.Inc., a Massachusetts-based group that tracks clergy sexual abuse cases.

The pope appears to "understand the gravity of the situation and further harm to the Catholic church's status," he told the AP.

McKiernan wondered if the church investigation will reveal who among its hierarchy knew about the sex allegations against McCarrick and whether the Vatican will move to punish those clerics as well. He noted that the Vatican statement didn't spell out why the pope was disciplining the cardinal.

"We're still in the old world," McKiernan said, referring to the Vatican's avoidance of details about the abuse allegations against McCarrick. "(Still) it's a remarkable development."

In the case of Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, accused by former seminarians in 2013 of sexual misconduct, Francis only accepted his resignation after the Vatican's top abuse prosecutor conducted a full investigation, two years after the first revelations, and after the prelate himself relinquished the privileges that come with a cardinal's rank.

O'Brien, who died earlier this year, still remained a cardinal, however.

The Rev. James Martin, editor-at large at America Magazine, which covers church issues, noted in a tweet that Bernard Law was allowed to stay a cardinal after he resigned as Boston archbishop, following revelations that he had sanctioned the systematic cover-up of pedophile priests while presiding over that U.S. diocese.

After resigning from his Boston post, Law was transferred to a prestigious job at a Rome basilica, an appointment that triggered outrage from many abuse survivors. That happened under Pope John Paul II, who was widely considered to have underestimated the scope of the sex abuse scandals worldwide.

One of Francis' closest advisers, Cardinal George Pell, is the highest-ranking Catholic in the world to be charged in the church's global abuse scandal. The 77-year-old faces trial in his native Australia on decades-old child sex abuse allegations. Pell has denied wrongdoing. Details of the allegations haven't been made public.

Bishops have been implicated in the sexual abuse scandals that have stained the Catholic church's reputation worldwide for decades, most often for their roles in covering up for pedophile priests by shuffling them from parish to parish and keeping the faithful in the dark about the allegations.

Earlier this month, an Australia bishop became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to 12 months in detention by an Australian court in a landmark case seen as a strong warning to institutions that fail to protect children.

Critics of the Vatican's handling of abuse cases point out that despite recommendations from its advisory panel, the Holy See still hasn't set up a tribunal or other system to deal with accused bishops or cardinals.

It still is unclear just what church tribunal would decide McCarrick's case.

"That system is going to (have to) be created exactly for this most embarrassing and prominent case," McKiernan said.

___

Richmond, Virginia-based reporter Sarah Rankin and Rome-based reporter Nicole Winfield contributed to this report.

source: philstar.com

Pope, in year-end message, says 2017 was marred by war and lies

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis in his year-end message said that 2017 had been marred by war, lies and injustice, and he urged people to take responsibility for their actions.

At his last public event of the year, an evening vespers service in St. Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff said that humanity had “wasted and wounded” the year “in many ways with works of death, with lies and injustices”.

While war was the most obvious sign of “unrepentant and absurd pride”, many other transgressions had caused “human, social and environmental degradation”.

“We must take responsibility for everything before God, our brothers and our creation,” he said.

While the pope did not mention any specific events from 2017, he had made his voice heard on many of the world’s biggest issues over the course of the year.

In April, Francis condemned the “unacceptable massacre” of innocent civilians in a chemical weapons attack in Syria.

Just a month ago, he visited Myanmar, where more than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya people have been forced from their homes and into neighboring Bangladesh, speaking with authorities in an attempt to mitigate the crisis.

The pope also sought to encourage peace in Colombia during a trip in September and lobbied US President Donald Trump to address climate change issues in May. Amid heightening tensions between North Korea and the West, Francis expressed concern about nuclear arsenals.

At the end of the service, Francis walked across St. Peter’s Square, stopping to shake hands and pose for pictures, as he paid a brief visit to the life-size nativity set up outside.

On Jan. 1, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics will say a Mass to mark the Church’s World Day of Peace.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope to mayors: Don't build towers, expand piazzas

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is urging Italian mayors to redouble their efforts to welcome migrants and refugees and promote ways to integrate them into their new communities.

In a meeting yesterday with the mayors, Francis said he understood the difficulties of providing accommodation and services for the waves of migrants who have arrived in Italy in recent years. But he called for a new ethics-based model of local leadership "that doesn't leave those who arrive on our territory on the margins," and creates spaces for people to meet and get to know one another.

He said: "It's not about building higher towers, but expanding piazzas."

This week Francis launched an education campaign urging politicians and people to go out and meet migrants and hear their stories, rather than considering them faceless statistics.

source: philstar.com

Pope wows Washington but takes on controversial church sex abuse, immigration, climate change

WASHINGTON DC - Pope Francis received a rapturous welcome to Washington on Wednesday but did not shy away from controversy, addressing church sex abuse and urging action on immigration and climate change.

President Barack Obama was clearly delighted to welcome to the White House a pontiff who can lend moral and spiritual force to his own priorities, but others may be left uncomfortable by the pope's stances.

Meeting Catholic bishops in Washington, he praised their handling of the child sex abuse scandal that rocked the US church.

"I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you," he said.

"And I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims…and to work to ensure such crimes will never be repeated."

The Argentine pontiff waded into another bitter US political debate when he urged the church to embrace new immigrants, speaking "not only as the Bishop of Rome, but also as a pastor from the South."

"Perhaps it will not be easy for you to look into their soul. Perhaps you will be challenged by their diversity. But know that they also possess resources meant to be shared," he said.

He later moved on to conduct his first mass in North America, a ceremony to canonize a Franciscan friar who brought Christianity to California, Junipero Serra -- a figure also shrouded in controversy.

Native Americans hold Serra responsible for the suppression of their centuries-old culture and the death of many thousands of their ancestors.

Consternation over his elevation to sainthood did not overshadow the visit, however, and Francis was cheered by euphoric crowds with breathless wall-to-wall televised coverage as he toured Washington's stately boulevards.

'Welcoming the stranger'

Obama, America's first black president, gave the first Latin American pope an effusive welcome to the White House, praising his moral leadership.

"I believe the excitement around your visit must be attributed not only to your role as pope, but to your unique qualities as a person," Obama said, praising Francis' humility, simplicity, and generosity of spirit.

Though Francis has inveighed against the materialism that the United States seems to embody like no other country, he is also a potential political ally for Obama, sharing many of his progressive goals and bringing along many of America's 70 million Catholics.

Speaking in fluent, if accented, English, the 78-year-old returned the warm blessings of his host.

"As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families," he said.

Francis said he would address Congress "to offer words of encouragement to those called to guide the nation's political future in fidelity to its founding principles."

Obama lauded Francis for reminding the world that "the Lord's most powerful message is mercy."

"That means welcoming the stranger with empathy and a truly open heart, from the refugee who flees war-torn lands to the immigrant who leaves home in search of a better life," Obama said.

Their message may also resonate strongly in a Europe convulsed by a refugee crisis.

And, as many US conservatives question the very existence of man-made climate change, Francis and Obama made a de facto joint appeal for action.

"Holy Father, you remind us that we have a sacred obligation to protect our planet, God's magnificent gift to us," Obama said.

Francis took up the call.

"Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation," Francis said.

Pomp and circumstance

The pope was afforded a full ceremonial welcome and a 40-minute one-on-one meeting with Obama in the Oval Office.

But the White House held off a planned 21-gun salute that would not have chimed with the pope's stature as a man of peace.

That was the only expense spared during a historic first visit to Washington -- a political city that shrugs when presidents, queens, and sheikhs roll through.

The visit was a political mirror of Pope Benedict's 2008 visit to George W. Bush's White House. Those two leaders were as conservative as their successors are progressive.

Still, the White House insisted it is not co-opting a holy man in order to batter Republican foes in Congress.

"The goal of the pope's visit, and certainly the goal of the meeting was not to advance anyone's political agenda," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

The Vatican played a crucial role in brokering talks between Cold War foes Havana and Washington that led to the recent restoration of diplomatic ties.

But the pope told reporters that he would not specifically bring up Washington's embargo of Cuba in his speech Thursday before American lawmakers, who largely favor a tough line with Havana.

Republicans are already crying foul.

Congressman Paul Gosar, who is Catholic, declared he would boycott the pontiff's address to protest his "leftist" views.

'The people's pope'

Nevertheless, there is no mistaking the political value of enlisting a popular pope's moral authority.

Seven out of ten Americans have a favorable impression of Francis, according to a Washington Post-ABC poll.

The pontiff will make two speeches during his visit, the address to Congress and another to the United Nations on Friday.

He will wrap up his historic six-day US trip on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia at an international festival of Catholic families.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope Francis declares special Holy Year of mercy

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis announced on Friday the Roman Catholic Church will mark an extraordinary Holy Year, one of its most important events, in which faithful make pilgrimages to Rome and other religious sites around the world.

During the last Holy Year -- or Jubilee -- in 2000, millions of pilgrims came to Rome to take part in religious festivities throughout the year.

Making the surprise announcement in St. Peter's Basilica on the second anniversary of his election, Francis said the Holy Year will focus on the topic of mercy, one of the most important themes of his papacy.

It will start on December 8 of this year and end on November 20, 2016. This will be only the 29th Holy Year in the Church since the tradition started more than 700 years ago.

Holy Years normally take place every 25 years unless a pope decrees an extraordinary one to bring attention to a particular topic or need. The next one had been scheduled for 2025.

Francis, who says he wants his Church of 1.2 billion members to be more merciful and less rigid towards sinners, said the Jubilee would be an occasion for all members -- and the Church itself -- to rediscover the need to be forgiving and generous.

"The Church is the home that accepts everyone and refuses no one ... the greater the sin, the greater the love that the Church should show towards those who convert," he said.

During a Holy Year, one of the entrances to St. Peter's Basilica, which is known as the Holy Door and normally bricked up, is opened so pilgrims can pass through it. The Holy Doors of Rome's other basilicas are also opened.

According to the Vatican website, a Holy Year should be a time of reconciliation with adversaries and an occasion to promote solidarity, hope and justice in the world.

Faithful who make pilgrimages to religious sites or do good works during a Holy Year can receive indulgences, or the remission of punishment for sins, under certain conditions.

The Vatican said the official proclamation of the Holy Year, known as a papal bull, will be published next month. Cathedrals and other religious venues around the world are expected to be designated at national pilgrimage sites.

The last extraordinary Holy Year was called in 1983 by Pope John Paul II to mark the 1,950 years after the death of Jesus.

source: interaksyon.com

PNoy gifts Pope with sculpture of 'Mary, Undoer of Knots,' papal visit coins

MANILA, Philippines -- President Benigno Aquino III gifted Pope Francis during their private meeting in Malacanang with a sculpture of “Mary, Undoer of Knots,” and P50 and P500 commemorative coins issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the papal visit.

"In this sculpture, in Mary, Undoer of Knots, in His Holiness' life, and in the story of the Filipino people, we see the beauty of faith and the strength of devotion, amidst the suffering and challenges of life," he told the Pope.

The image was carved from a piece from a century-old acacia tree that once stood in the grounds of Malacanang but was felled by typhoon Glenda in July 2014.

Fred Baldemor, a multi-awarded sculptor from Paete, Laguna, hand-carved the image several months ago.

Baldemor's works can also be found at the Immaculate Concepcion Parish in Pasig City and St. Patrick Cathedral in New York and has been featured in many exhibits.

The limited edition coins were issued in commemoration of the state and pastoral visit of Pope Francis.  Both coins are legal tender and will be sold for P100 and P1,000, respectively, to cover production, packaging and other costs.

The coins are minted under a licensing agreement with the Vatican.

As a matter of policy, the BSP commemorates significant events in the country’s history through the minting of coins, medals or overprints on our banknotes. Papal commemorative coins were also issued for the 1970 visit of Pope Paul VI, and for the 1981 and 1995 papal visits of Pope John Paul II.

The 50-piso Commemorative Coin for Pope Francis is made of Nickel Brass while the 500-piso is made of Nordic Gold with gold plating.

source: interaksyon.com

LGBT groups seek audience with Pope Francis during PH visit

Filipino lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) groups are seeking an audience with Pope Francis during his apostolic and state visit on January 15 to 19.

In an open letter (http://www.scribd.com/doc/252015071/Letter-to-Pope-Francis-From-Filipino-LGBT-Groups) published Thursday, representatives of GANDA Filipinas, The Red Whistle Campaign, GAYON-Albay, Pinoy FTM, CURLS-Cebu, SHINE-SOCCSKSARGEN, STRAP, Akbayan LGBT Collective, Task Force Pride, GALANG Philippines, TLF Share, Babaylanes Inc., and University of the Philippines Babaylan said they wanted to have a “constructive and meaningful dialogue” with the leader of the Catholic Church.

“(Y)ou are arriving at a moment of great challenges for the Filipino LGBT community. The widespread belief that we are accepted in the country conceals the deeply embedded stigma and discrimination that dehumanize our existence and our lives, exposing many of us to harm and danger,” they wrote.

The groups cited the murder of transwoman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in Olongapo City in October last year, where she was apparently strangled, her body marked with cuts and wounds. United States Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton is now facing murder charges over Laude’s death.

“Her story is a narrative familiar to many trans people who face physical abuse and hate crimes simply for identifying with the gender that they’re born with. It is a story known to lesbians who encounter sexual assaults that are meant to correct their sexual orientation and sexual behaviors,” the groups said.

At least 20 transgender people have been killed in the Philippines since 2008, according to GANDA (Gender and Development Advocates) Filipinas. 157 cases of hate crimes against members of the LGBT community, meanwhile, were recorded by Philippine Hate Crime Watch from 1996 to 2011.

The LGBT groups added in their letter to Pope Francis that there was also a rise in the number of gays, bisexuals, other men who have sex with men, and trans people living with HIV. There were more HIV-related deaths in the LGBT community as well, they said.

They attributed this to the “lack of access to sex and sexuality education and the exclusion of LGBTs from sexual health services.”

More than that, the LGBT groups said that they experienced “stigma and various human rights violations” due to “faith-based prejudices” and “interpretations of the Catholic doctrine.”

They accused Catholic leaders of promoting “homophobic and transphobic notions” which rationalized abuses against LGBT children, in particular, by their own families.

“Your Holiness… you are in the best position to dismantle faith-based stigma and the human rights violations that it fuels,” they said.

They called on the Holy Father “to openly condemn the dehumanization and human rights violations experienced by LGBTs.”

source: interaksyon.com

Pope Francis criticizes corruption in Rome in New Year's Eve message

VATICAN CITY - In the traditional year-end Vespers prayers, Pope Francis denounced the corruption infecting the city of Rome.

Before thousands who were packed into Saint Peter's Basilica, he said: ”Without a doubt, the serious affairs of corruption in these recent days require serious heart-searching and action for a spiritual and moral rebirth of the city of Rome, as well as a commitment to build a more just and brotherly city, where the poor, the weak and the marginalized are at the center of our actions and daily activities."



He was referring to a police investigation that uncovered a network of connections between politicians and criminals in Rome.

The Pope delighted the masses after his homily when he paid a visit to the nativity in St. Peter's Square.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope leads global praise for 'historic' thawing of US-Cuba ties

PARIS, France -- Pope Francis led a chorus of global plaudits for Wednesday's breakthrough in US-Cuban relations, hailed as "historic" in Europe and South America and prompting celebrations on the streets of Havana.

In a personal coup for the pope, it emerged that the Vatican had played a central role in bringing together the global capitalist superpower and the tiny communist island.

The Argentinian pontiff sent "warm congratulations" to the former arch-foes for overcoming "the difficulties which have marked their recent history."

The Vatican said the pope had appealed to US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro to end the standoff, offering negotiators his offices in October, paving the way for "solutions acceptable to both parties."

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted that his country -- which never broke off ties with Cuba -- had also played its part by hosting the first secret talks in 2013, and welcomed the "overdue development."

The European Union, which is itself moving to normalise ties with Cuba, hailed the announcement as a "historical turning point."

"Today another Wall has started to fall," said EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini, adding that the 28-member bloc hoped ultimately to be able to "expand relations with all parts of Cuban society."

In South America, the detente elicited a euphoric response from leaders of the five-nation Mercosur bloc meeting in Argentina, who broke into applause at the news.

Best birthday present

"We're living a historic day," said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, leader of Cuba's closest ally and one of its biggest benefactors, at the Argentina summit.

Maduro, whose forerunner Hugo Chavez was a close confidant of Fidel Castro, immediately claimed the thaw as "a moral victory" and "a victory for Fidel."

Praising Pope Francis, who turned 78 on Wednesday, Maduro noted: "It was with his help, and it's the best birthday present."

In Bogota, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos saluted "the audacity and courage" of the US and Cuban leaders in helping further "the dream of a continent where there will be absolute peace between nations and within them."

And Chile's Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz spoke for those in Latin America who were frustrated by the diplomatic divide, declaring: "This is the beginning of the end of the Cold War in the Americas."

In Europe, Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said the move was "of great significance" and seized the opportunity to urge Cuba to improve its rights record.

"This future can only be built on the basis of respect for democracy and human rights," he told reporters in Madrid.

German Foreign Affairs Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the breakthrough "very good news in these times rich with conflict."

Celebrations and anger

In Havana's historic center, overjoyed Cubans took to the streets to celebrate the news, voicing hopes that the breakthrough would lead to an economic revival.

"I have goosebumps all over," said 52-year-old cafeteria worker Ernesto Perez. "It's very important news that will change all our lives."

But among Cubans in Miami's Little Havana, the reaction was one of anger and dismay.

Dozens of people gathered outside Cafe Versailles, a Little Havana landmark, to protest the rapprochement.

"It is a betrayal. The talks are only going to benefit Cuba," said Carlos Munoz Fontanil in Calle Ocho, the heart of an exile community that has long pined for the fall of the Castro regime in Havana.

Some Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Washington took a similar view and warned Congress would block efforts to lift the trade embargo.

"The White House has conceded everything and gained little," said Republican Senator Marco Rubio, blasting the deal as "inexplicable."

source: interaksyon.com

Pope, world religious leaders, pledge to fight modern slavery

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis and Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Christian leaders pledged on Tuesday to use their religions to help stamp out modern slavery and human trafficking by 2020.

Francis was lead signatory of a declaration also signed by among others the head of the Anglican Communion, two rabbis, a Hindu from India, a Vietnamese Buddhist, an Egyptian imam and an Iraqi ayatollah. It called human trafficking, forced labor and prostitution and organ trafficking "a crime against humanity."

"The physical, economic, sexual and psychological exploitation of men and women, boys and girls, is chaining tens of millions of persons to inhumanity and humiliation," the pope said, before signing the pledge to do "all in our power, within our faith communities and beyond" to end modern slavery.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics called modern slavery "an atrocious plague."

The second global slavery index released last month by the Walk Free Foundation, an Australia-based human rights group, estimated that almost 36 million people were living as slaves, trafficked into brothels, forced into manual labor, victims of debt bondage or born into servitude.

Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world's 300 million Orthodox Christians, addressed the group via a video link-up from his base in Istanbul.

The event was organized by the Global Freedom Network, a multi-faith anti-slavery group.

Organizers said religious leaders could inspire their faithful to combat slavery and human trafficking through education, funding, demanding legal reform and enforcement and promoting ethical purchasing to avoid buying goods that could be the product of forced labor.

Cecilia Oebanda, president of the Visayan Forum, which is recognized worldwide for its efforts against child labor and human trafficking, witnessed the event herself in Rome on invitation of the Global Freedom Network.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope Francis lands cover of 'Rolling Stone'

Pope Francis is taking his place alongside the icons of American popular culture by appearing on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, which hits newsstands Friday.

It's the first time the staunchly liberal rock-music bible has featured a Roman Catholic pontiff on its cover, which is typically graced by pop stars and movie idols.

"Pope Francis: the times they are a-changin'," reads the cover headline that borrows the title of Bob Dylan's classic early 1960s anthem.

The Argentine-born pope, who took office in March last year, has previously been Time magazine's Person of the Year. He also made the cover of The Advocate, the respected US gay rights magazine.

In an accompanying 8,000-word profile, seen on its website Wednesday, Rolling Stone hailed the pontiff's relaxed style and his less aggressive stance on such hot-button issues as homosexuality compared to his two predecessors.

In a statement, Rolling Stone's editors said they had been struck by his seeming effort to play down "culture war issues" and his willingness to talk "about real world economic issues in starkly moral terms."

"His tone is a breath of fresh air, but his message is a wake-up call," they said.

Roman Catholics make up the biggest Christian denomination in the United States, but polls indicate lay Catholics don't all share the national church leadership's hardline stance on abortion, contraception and gay marriage.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope calls for global solidarity in New Year blessing

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Wednesday called for greater solidarity in the world in his first New Year blessing as pontiff in front of crowds of pilgrims on St Peter's Square.

"We all have a responsibility to act so that the world may be a community of brothers who respect each other, who accept their diversity and who take care of one another," the pope said on Catholic World Peace Day.

The first pope from Latin America said violence and injustice "cannot leave us indifferent or immobile" and said 2014 should bring "a real commitment to build a society with more justice and more solidarity".

"We have to stop on this road of violence! What is happening in the heart of man? In the heart of humanity? We have to stop!" the pope said.

Francis said he hoped that greater "fraternity" and a "cry for peace" from war-torn parts of the world would encourage more dialogue and "tear down walls that prevent enemies from seeing each other as brothers".

At a New Year mass in St Peter's Basilica earlier on Wednesday, Francis prayed in his homily for people "who hunger and thirst for justice and peace" in the world.

He also called on the faithful to show "strength, courage and hope" in the year to come, speaking in his homily in front of thousands of people in the church.

Francis was elected in March 2013 following his predecessor Benedict XVI's momentous resignation -- a first for the Catholic Church since the Middle Ages.

His down-to-earth style and commitment to reforming the Vatican have raised hopes in the Roman Catholic Church following a years of turmoil due to shocking child sex abuse scandals and growing secularization in the West.

The 77-year-old Francis has called for the Church to reach out more to the vulnerable and has said it should be a "poor Church for the poor" that is less "Vatican-centric" and gives more power to local bishops.

source: interaksyon.com

To unify Catholics, conservative Pope John Paul II to be canonised alongside progressive John XXIII

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican said late popes John Paul II and John XXIII will be made saints at an unprecedented joint ceremony on April 27, 2014, in a bid to unite Catholic conservatives and liberals.

Pope Francis made the announcement on Monday at a meeting of cardinals known as a consistory.

The canonisations of two popular popes are set to bring hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Rome.

The popular Polish pope John Paul and his Italian predecessor, two of modern-day Catholicism's most influential figures, will be canonised at a joint ceremony at the Vatican.

The unprecedented double sainthood for two popes is seen by Vatican watchers as an attempt to breach a traditional left-right divide in the Church.

"John XXIII is generally a hero to the church's progressive wing while John Paul II is typically lionized by Catholic conservatives," said John Allen, Vatican expert for the US National Catholic Reporter.

Allen said the decision could be interpreted as "a statement that any attempt to set them at odds is artificial, and that what they had in common is more fundamental than any perceived differences".

Sainthood normally requires two "confirmed" miracles, though Francis has approved the canonisation of John XXIII (1958-1963) -- with whom he shares a personal touch and reformist views -- based on just one.

John Paul II, who served as pontiff from 1978-2005, was credited with his first miracle just six months after his death, when a French nun said she had been cured, through prayer, of Parkinson's -- a disease he had also suffered from.

His second miracle was reportedly carried out on a woman in Costa Rica, who said she was healed from a serious brain condition by praying for John Paul's intercession on the same day he was beatified in 2011.

The Polish pope was popular throughout his 27-year papacy and helped topple Communism -- although he alienated many with his conservative views and was blamed for hushing up paedophile priest scandals.

At his funeral in 2005, crowds of mourners cried "Santo Subito!" -- "Sainthood Now!" -- prompting the Vatican to speed up the path to sainthood, which normally begins five years after death.

Nicknamed "The Good Pope", John XXIII made his name by calling the historic Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) which overhauled the Church's rituals and doctrines, reached out to other faiths and raised the status of lay people.

Many compare the Italian pope, who died in 1963, with the current head of the Roman Catholic Church for their similar pastoral attitudes, humble, open manner and sense of humour.

The reportedly miraculous healing of an Italian nun who had severe internal hemorrhages was attributed to John XXIII when he was beatified in 2000.

Francis is believed to have waived the need for a second miracle because his canonisation had been called for by the participants of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, who wanted to pay homage to the man who ushered the Church into modern times.

Francis also promises to be a reformist pope, planning an overhaul of the Vatican bureaucracy and finances and promising a "poor Church for the poor".

On Tuesday, he will begin three-day talks with an advisory board of eight cardinals he has appointed to help him clean up the troubled Roman Curia -- the intrigue-filled administration -- and improve communication between the Vatican and local churches.

Vatican experts say it is not clear whether details from the meetings will be made public, but liberal Catholics hope that the conciliatory tone adopted by Francis on many issues will translate into action.

Topics may include the role of women in the Church, whether priests should be able to marry, if Catholics who remarry should receive the Eucharist and the Church's position on homosexuality and gay clergy.

source: interaksyon.com

Poland's Catholic church apologizes as pedophile scandal spreads

WARSAW - Poland's powerful Roman Catholic church on Friday apologized over two alleged pedophile priests as prosecutors on both sides of the Atlantic began probing the men, one a former Vatican envoy.

Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic have asked Interpol to arrest fugitive Polish priest Wojciech Gil, 36, who allegedly abused several young boys while serving on the Caribbean island.

A Vatican probe is already under way into allegations of child sex abuse against Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, a 65-year-old Pole who served as papal envoy in Santo Domingo for around five years.

Senior Polish church officials said they were unaware of the whereabouts of both men on Friday as prosecutors in Warsaw also launched criminal investigations against them.

"Trust in the church is waning. We are sorry. This is the least we can do," Bishop Wojciech Polak, a senior official with the Polish episcopate, told reporters on Friday.

The church would however not offer victims any material compensation, he said in Warsaw.

"The scale of pedophilia in the church in Poland is unknown," Jesuit priest Adam Zak, responsible for child and youth welfare in the Polish episcopate, said at the same press conference.

"The cases that end up in court are just the tip of the iceberg," he said, pointing to 27 priests convicted of child sex abuse in Poland over the last decade.

In the latest scandal to make headlines, a Warsaw priest who was convicted of committing so-called "other sexual acts" continued to work with children, with the full consent of his superiors.

Unlike the United States or Ireland, the string of crimes in heavily Catholic Poland has not provoked widespread public outcry.

Wesolowski was recalled by the Vatican on August 21 after the allegations of abuse surfaced.

He is suspected of engaging in sexual relations with underage prostitutes in the historic center of the Dominican capital, Santo Domingo, according to press reports.

Reports also linked him with the fugitive Gil, accused of raping minors in the city of Santiago, about 155 kilometers (96 miles) north of the capital.

Gil went missing in May when the allegations surfaced and he was suspended from his duties as a priest.

"We have had no contact with him since May 28," Father Tadeusz Musz, spokesman for Gil's order of the Michaelite Fathers, said at the press conference.

Bishop Polak added that Wesolowski had served under the Vatican's jurisdiction and was not "an archbishop in Poland or a member of the Polish Episcopate".

Religious affairs experts in Poland say its powerful church is ill-prepared to deal with the pedophiles in its ranks.

"The Polish church isn't ready to confront this issue. It's a rigid institution, very bureaucratic, detached from reality and certain of its power," Warsaw-based sociologist Pawel Boryszewski told AFP Friday.

"These cases could fuel a wave of criticism against the church."

Wesolowski was ordained in 1972 by then-Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II.

The late pontiff named Wesolowski the Vatican's envoy to Bolivia. He was later posted to several Asian countries before being dispatched to the Dominican by former pope Bendict XVI in 2008.

Earlier this month, Pope Francis came under fire from victims groups following news he had quietly sacked Wesolowski.

Pope Francis has vowed to crack down on abuse in the Catholic Church, reiterating the zero-tolerance approach taken up by his predecessor Benedict XVI after a wave of revelations.

source: interaksyon

Peru confirms bishop defrocked for alleged pedophilia

LIMA - A Peruvian bishop has been defrocked over allegations of pedophilia in line with an order from Rome, the Peruvian Bishops Conference said Thursday.

This is the first time a bishop has been accused of abusing children in Peru.

The alleged offender is Gabino Miranda, until now the auxiliary bishop of Ayacucho in southeastern Peru. His whereabouts are unknown.

His punishment -- being reduced to a layman -- was first reported September 15 by another Peruvian bishop. Now it has been confirmed by the full blown bishops conference. It is the harshest punishment the Vatican can impose on a clergyman.

Pope Francis notified Peru in July via the Vatican's embassy here that Miranda must be dismissed and stripped of his status as a clergyman, said Salvador Pineiro, president of the bishops conference.

Pineiro said he supported a government investigation under way into Miranda's alleged pedophilia.

Pineiro is archbishop of Ayacucho and thus had worked with the alleged pedophile.

"In the two years I have been archbishop of Ayacucho, I have never received a complaint against him," Pineiro said in a statement.

After news of the case first broke, Ayacucho prosecutor Gary Nunez began proceedings to have Peru's foreign ministry ask the papal nuncio -- the pope's ambassador -- for information so as to launch a probe of Miranda.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope announces world day of fasting, prayer for Syria

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis has called for the world to unite on Saturday in a day of fasting and prayer for Syria and said "God and history" would judge anyone using chemical weapons.

"May the cry for peace enter the hearts of everyone," the pope told tens of thousands of pilgrims at his traditional weekly blessing in the Vatican on Sunday.

"I condemn with particular force the use of chemical weapons. I still have in my mind and heart the terrible images of the past days," he said.

"There is judgment from God and history on our actions that no one can escape," he said, in his first explicit reference to the chemical arms claims.

He urged the international community to make "every effort" to begin a process of dialogue in Syria.

The pope said he would lead the prayers with a five-hour vigil in St Peter's Square on Saturday, just two days before the US Congress meets to debate possible strikes by the United States on Syria.

The relatively rare call for a global day of fasting and prayer was similar to one made by late pope John Paul II following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Vatican expert Luigi Accattoli told AFP.

Although he did not apportion blame for the alleged chemical attack, the pope's reference to divine judgment was also similar to John Paul II's call for members of the Italian mafia to confess their crimes and repent, Accattoli said.

His exhortation "Never again to war!" echoed a famous speech made by another of his predecessors, Paul VI, at the United Nations during the Vietnam War.

The pope's call came as the United States, France and other countries were making plans for a limited armed response against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.

The Vatican has repeatedly pushed for a negotiated solution to the conflict and has already criticised plans by global powers for an armed intervention.

It has been more cautious, however, than some Christian leaders in Syria and the region who have openly defended the current Syrian government seeing it as a guarantor of a multi-religious state.

Christian minorities are concerned about the rise of radical Islam in the region and point to the example of Iraq, where there has been an exodus of Christians faced with violence and discrimination.

"My heart is profoundly wounded in these days by what is happening in Syria and I am anxious about the prospect of dramatic developments," the pope said.

"War leads to more war, violence to more violence," he said, voicing hope that "a chain of commitment for peace will unite all women and men of good will."

"Never again to war!" the pope said in his emotional speech, echoing a call made by late pope Paul VI at the United Nations during the Vietnam War.

The pope said he extended his invitation to push for peace in Syria to all Christians and the faithful from other religions, as well as non-believers.

"With all my strength, I call on the warring parties to listen to the voice of their own consciences, not to close themselves in their own interests but to look on the other as a brother," he said.

Saturday's prayers in St Peter's Square will begin at 1700 GMT and end at 2200 GMT, he said.

Fasting in the Catholic tradition is not as strictly interpreted as in other denominations or faiths.

"Everyone interprets it how they want. It can mean not eating or not drinking or missing only some meals or some courses in a meal," Accattoli said.

He said there have been other days of fasting and prayer for peace in Catholic Church history but these are rarely linked to a specific conflict.

source: interaksyon.com

Nun takes pictures of a girl in a bikini before Pope Francis' arrival in Rio de Janeiro

RIO DE JANEIRO—A nun takes pictures of bathers before the arrival of Pope Francis on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on July 26.

It was reported that Pope Francis, Latin America’s first pope, received a warm welcome in Brazil even though violent protests have marred his visit.

source: interaksyon.com

Pope Francis officially begins ministry in ceremony at St Peter's Square

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis has officially begun his ministry as the 266th pope, receiving the ring symbolising the papacy and a wool stole symbolising his role as shepherd of his 1.2-billion strong flock.

A cardinal intoned the rite of inauguration at the start of Tuesday's Mass, saying "the Good Shepherd charged Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep; today you succeed him as the bishop of this church."

Later a half-dozen cardinals approached the Argentine-born pope to vow their obedience.

The installation occurred in sun-drenched St. Peter's Square before tens of thousands of people, princes, sheiks, rabbis and presidents.

source: straitstimes.com