Tag: pope

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Mary C. Uhler

Peace on earth: It’s possible if we see each other as brothers and sisters

Although we all seem to long for peace on earth and in our own lives, peace seems to be an elusive commodity. Is peace on earth really possible?

Some would say we may have to wait until our earthly life is over to experience real peace. However, Jesus said to his disciples, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” He has sent his apostles and all of his disciples — including us — to establish peace on earth.

Treating each other as sisters and brothers

But how do we achieve that peace? In his message for the World Day of Peace, observed on January 1, Pope Francis says that peace will happen if we treat each other as sisters and brothers, remembering that God is the father of all.

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Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Pope prays, calls for aid for typhoon victims

Young residents in Cebu, Philippines, hold signs asking for help and food along the highway November 11 after Super Typhoon Haiyan hit. The typhoon, one of the strongest storms in history, is believed to have killed tens of thousands, but aid workers were still trying to reach remote areas. (CNS photo/Charlie Saceda, Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis led prayers for people hit by a deadly typhoon in the Philippines and surrounding region and asked that concrete aid be sent soon.

During the Angelus with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on November 10, the pope expressed his concern and prayers for the estimated tens of thousands of people dead and others affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated parts of the central Philippines November 8.

“I wish to express my closeness to the people of the Philippines and that region that has been hit by a terrible typhoon. Unfortunately the victims are many and the damage is enormous,” the pope said.

He asked the tens of thousands of people gathered in the square to join him in a moment of silent prayer “for these brothers and sisters and let’s try also to make our concrete help reach them.”

Pope makes donation

In response to the tragedy, Pope Francis made an initial donation of $150,000 for the relief efforts through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.

The money, sent through the local churches hardest hit by the storm, was earmarked to support “assistance for the displaced and those impacted by the flooding,” the Vatican said in a written statement.

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Lindsay Becher, For the Catholic Herald

Local youth return from World Youth Day 2013

After a long, 25-hour adventure of traveling that got us to Rio de Janeiro for the beginning of World Youth Day, the Madison pilgrims, having joined with our new friends from the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, were finally en route to the church we would be able to call home for the week.

On the bus, we travelled across the entire city all the way to a far west suburb, Recreio dos Bandeirantes. As we passed through famous areas of Rio, Copacabana, and Ipanema, I craned my neck to try to find the statue of Christ the Redeemer towering above the city, welcoming us to town.

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Noah teDuits, For the Catholic Herald

Local teens make pilgrimage to Rio

Journey is a poor word to describe our pilgrimage to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for World Youth Day. The better way to describe it would be to call it a quest. A quest in which the forces of light battle the hordes of darkness. However, in this case the darkness is inside of us. This darkness is the thought that we are alone in our fight against evil, that Church is weak, diminishing, powerless against the aggressive advances of the devil in our world.

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Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Bishop Morlino comments on Pope Francis

MADISON — Less than an hour after Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was announced as the new pope, taking the name Francis, Bishop Robert C. Morlino of Madison addressed reporters on the selection.

Bishop Morlino recalled being familiar with Cardinal Bergoglio from eight years ago, when Pope Benedict XVI was elected pope. Bergoglio was reportedly in heavy consideration to replace Pope John Paul II. Bishop Morlino said the new pope can be a leader who could “raise the Church out of mediocrity” around like world like he did in his native Argentina.

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Maureen Arcand

Keeping a promise to God upon receiving papal award

To the editor:

This letter is an attempt to keep a promise I made to God when I first heard that I was receiving the Benemerenti Medal. I felt totally unworthy of any recognition from the pope. When I prayed about it, I realized that God, who has given me so many opportunities to serve other people, expected me to see this as another opportunity. There was a strong sense that there was something I was to share.

That was when I made the promise. As the weeks went by, I began to see the award as a symbol of God’s forgiveness and mercy. Would there be an opportunity to share with others my confidence in God’s mercy?

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Tony Magliano

Reflections on pope’s Day of Peace message

In his January 1, 2013, World Day of Peace Message titled “Blessed are the Peacemakers,” Pope Benedict XVI immediately lays out for us the foundation upon which the Church’s ministry for world peace must be built.

Using a challenging proclamation from the Second Vatican Council, the pope teaches that Christians must be committed “to sharing humanity’s joys and hopes, grief and anguish.”

More than absence of war

The Holy Father is reminding us that God’s peace is much more than the absence of war — it is the universal experience of justice and love.

 

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