To the editor:
In the January 21 issue of the Catholic Herald is an article about Pope Francis’ visit to a synagogue where he made the statement that all people are children of the same God.
Really??? That is not the teaching of the Scripture. 1 Peter 1:23-25 tells us that we become the children of God through receiving the gospel; Jesus is the Son of God, who came to the earth to die for the forgiveness of sins and will return to gather in those who are His and punish those who are not.
Have you ever seen a speaker weep when giving a talk on abortion? I have.
When I taught high school religion, a pro-life doctor gave a talk to my classes. As he described the tragedy of aborted babies, he wept.
Never before or since have I seen anyone weep while talking about aborted unborn babies. His tears convinced me that he truly believed that unborn babies were human persons and aborting them destroyed human life.
One New Year’s resolution often heard is: “I will cultivate a sense of humor.” Maybe we say this because we feel we’re too serious much of the time.
To the editor:
Pope Francis was prophetic when he wrote his encyclical on climate change and care of creation, Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Pope Francis released the encyclical on June 18, 2015.
This encyclical cannot be summarized in a letter, so I urge you to read it, but here is Pope Francis’ appeal: “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”[14]
One of my favorite books is Blessed Are You: Mother Teresa and the Beatitudes, by Eileen Egan and Kathleen Egan, OSB (1992). When Pope Francis announced that Blessed Teresa would be canonized in 2016, I took the book out again.
Each chapter of the book offers a short meditation on one of the Beatitudes, Blessed Teresa’s own reflections on that Beatitude, and how she and her order – the Missionaries of Charity — lived that Beatitude.
In the wake of terrorist attacks and violence happening in the United States and other parts of the world, Americans find themselves fearful and wary about what might happen next.
The recent events in San Bernardino, Calif., where a married couple killed 14 people at a holiday party, have especially left us shaken and wondering how to deal with the possibility of terrorists living within our own communities.
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“I desire that the year to come will be steeped in mercy, so that we can go out to every man and woman, bringing the goodness and tenderness of God! May the balm of mercy reach everyone, both believers and those far away, as a sign that the Kingdom of God is already present in our midst!” — Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, 5
“We serve to ensure that all individuals throughout the 11-county diocese are graciously invited every day to meet the person of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, face to face and be changed by Him.” – Mission Statement of the Diocese of Madison
To the faithful of the Diocese of Madison,
In calling for an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has issued a call meant not only to urge a return to the Almighty, but also to reinvigorate and inspire those of us who try to live lives as followers of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Holy Father has also unintentionally, but not surprisingly, endorsed our own diocesan “mission.”
The Holy Father begins his Bull of Indiction, Misericordiae Vultus, with the following words: “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy. These words might well sum up the mystery of the Christian faith.” In carrying out our diocesan mission of “inviting others to meet the person of Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, face to face, and be changed by Him,” we are inviting them to meet the face of the Father’s mercy — to meet mercy incarnate. This invitation is one which is tied up in a challenging realization with regard to who God is and who “I” am, and it should be a profound and even startling invitation for each woman and man who lives in, and grapples with, a world that is nearly completely lacking in mercy.
Our world and our culture offer a great deal of lip-service to certain notions of tolerance and license, but these notions are grounded in a premise that truth is what you make it, and is subject to change, if public opinion is swayed to agree on the matter. Absent a grounding in the Truth and a foundation in humanity’s authentic encounter with mercy itself, all attempts at justice and mercy are mere shadows, structures built on sand. To experience mercy and to grant mercy, individuals and cultures must be anchored in the Truth and in a recognition of sin and repentance.
It is no coincidence that Pope Francis designated that the Year of Mercy should begin on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, celebrated on December 8.
In his announcement of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis said, “I am convinced that the whole Church will find in this jubilee the joy needed to rediscover and make fruitful the mercy of God, with which all of us are called to give consolation to every man and woman of our time.
“From this moment, we entrust this Holy Year to the Mother of Mercy, that she might turn her gaze upon us and watch over our journey.”
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| A child lights a candle in Republique square in Paris November 14 in memory of victims of terrorist attacks. Coordinated attacks the previous evening claimed the lives of 129 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) |
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Using God’s name to try to justify violence and murder is “blasphemy,” Pope Francis said November 15, speaking about the terrorist attacks on Paris.
“Such barbarity leaves us dismayed, and we ask ourselves how the human heart can plan and carry out such horrible events,” the pope said after reciting the “Angelus” prayer with visitors in St. Peter’s Square.
The attacks in Paris November 13 — attacks the French government said were carried out by three teams of Islamic State terrorists — caused the deaths of at least 129 people and left more than 350 injured, many of them critically. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a soccer stadium, gunmen attacked customers at cafes and restaurants, and a team of terrorists gunned down dozens of people at a concert.
The attacks, Pope Francis said, were an “unspeakable affront to the dignity of the human person.”
“The path of violence and hatred cannot resolve the problems of humanity, and using the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy,” he said.
Pope Francis asked the thousands of people who gathered at St. Peter’s for the Sunday midday prayer to observe a moment of silence and to join him in reciting a “Hail Mary.”
“May the Virgin Mary, mother of mercy, give rise in the hearts of everyone thoughts of wisdom and proposals for peace,” he said. “We ask her to protect and watch over the dear French nation, the first daughter of the Church, over Europe and the whole world.”
“Let us entrust to the mercy of God the innocent victims of this tragedy,” the pope said.
Speaking November 14, the day after the terrorist attacks, Pope Francis had told the television station of the Italian bishops’ conference, “I am shaken and pained.”
MADISON — Pope Francis’ recent encyclical Laudato Si’ makes a firm and urgent case for taking care of God’s creation in order to care for the poor and vulnerable among us.
He asserts that environmental stewardship must always be tied to social justice and vice versa. For the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC), the encyclical is an affirmation of the work it has already been doing.
