Todos los foristas se disipan en cuentos de magia, filosofías raras, y elucubraciones mentales que nada edifican...¿ Pero donde están los verdaderos cristianos que nos recuerden las enseñanzas del Evangelio?.
Jesucristo nos dijo: "Id por todo el mundo y
predicad el
evangelio a toda criatura.
El que creyere y fuere bautizado, será salvo; mas el que no creyere,
será condenado". (Marcos 16:15-16).
The sixth international tour of the Saint Lawrence Band Club of Vittoriosa, took the band and its fans to Rome where it was busy with services in various places linked to the life of the patron saint and even to St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican .
On the last Wednesday of April, amid blue skies and wonderful weather, the general audience of Pope Francis had a Maltese twist.
The band in St. Peter’s Square came from musicians of the St. Lawrence band club which was part of a contingent of 120 people who took part in a tour in Rome, The band welcomed Pope Francis with various hymns and popular marches of its repertoire.
After the general audience, the Committee of the Musical Society together with the band, the Archpriest Canon Carmelo Busuttil and Mayor John Boxall took a commemorative photo with Pope Francis. This private moment also served as an occasion for Archpriest Busuttil to present €6,000 to the Pope to buy a medical instrument for eye testing. This will be used in a clinic founded by the Pope where doctors take care of the lives of the poor.
On the eve of the audience with the Pope, the Maltese contingent took part in Lawrence International Day which brings together communities whose patron saint is Saint Lawrence. The Birgu band club performed a musical program in the square in front of the Basilica of San Lorenzo Fuori le Mura. Among the engagements in Rome, the band played marches in the place where Saint Lawrence was martyred and in Amesano.
VENICE, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 03: Actor Laurence Fishburne and Gina Torres attends the "Contagion" premiere during the 68th Venice Film Festival at Palazzo del Cinema on September 3, 2011 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
LA MISERICORDIA NOS ENSEÑA A TENERLO TODO EN COMÚN...
Los dictadores codiciosos de las naciones no aman la misericordia, y obligan y condenan a los inocentes indefensos a la esclavitud y a los sacrifícios..., y así vivian los pueblos del mundo antes de Jesucristo... Entonces, Jesucristo que es Dios y que quiere la misericordia así les dijo:
"Si hubierais comprendido qué quiere decir: "Misericordia quiero, y no sacrificios", no condenaríais a los inocentes" (Mateo 12:7)
AJACCIO, Corsica (AP) — Pope Francis on the first papal visit ever to the French island of Corsica on Sunday called for a dynamic form of laicism, promoting the kind of popular piety that distinguishes the Mediterranean island from secular France as a bridge between religious and civic society.
Francis appeared relaxed and energized during the one-day visit, just two days before his 88th birthday, still displaying a faded bruise from a fall a week ago.
He frequently deviated from his prepared homily during Mass at the outdoor La Place d’Austerlitz, remarking at one point that he had never seen so many children as in Corsica — except, he added, in East Timor on his recent Asian tour.
“Make children,″ he implored. ”They will be your joy and your consolation in the future.”
Earlier, at the close of a Mediterranean conference on popular piety, Papa Francescu, as he is called in Corsican, described a concept of secularity “that is not static and fixed, but evolving and dynamic,” that can adapt to “unforeseen situations” and promote cooperation “between civil and ecclesial authorities.”
The pontiff said that expressions of popular piety, including processions and communal prayer of the Holy Rosary “can nurture constructive citizenship” on the part of Christians. At the same time, he warned against such manifestations being seen only in terms of folklore, or even superstition.
Pope Francis meets with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, for their third private audience in the Vatican, and discusses the desire to promote peace in a world overtaken by war, especially the war in Ukraine.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Pope Francis received French President Emmanuel Macron in the Vatican on Monday.
This marks their third private audience since the start of the pontificate.
Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron
War in Ukraine
According to a brief statement from the Holy See Press Office, the conversations were cordial and were especially focused on the ongoing war in Ukraine.
"During the cordial discussions, which took place in the Secretariat of State," it said, "the parties focused on matters of an international nature, starting from the conflict in Ukraine, with special attention to the humanitarian situation."
"Particular consideration," it continued, "was given to the region of the Caucasus, the Middle East, and Africa."
After meeting with Pope Francis, President Macron met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and Multilateral Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
Exchange of gifts
The audience with the Pope in the Apostolic Palace lasted almost an hour, and there was the customary exchange of gifts.
The Pope gifted a collection of his works, as well as a bronze medallion representing Saint Peter and the colonnade. The papal documents included this year's Message for Peace, the Document on Human Fraternity, and the book on the Statio Orbis of 27 March 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Pope and President Macron of France exchange gifts
The French President gifted the Pope a first edition, in French, of the book For Perpetual Peace by German philosopher Emmanuel Kant.
On Sunday, President Macron was among the opening speakers at the Rome-held ‘Spirit of Assisi’ event, sponsored by the Community of Sant’Egidio.
The three-day annual peace event, whose theme this year as war wages on in Ukraine is ‘The Cry for Peace,’ will conclude with the speech and participation of Pope Francis on Tuesday at the Colosseum at the prayer for peace.
Past encounters
On Sunday evening, President Macron also met with Italy's new Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.
The French president had previously visited the Pope on 26 November 2021 and 26 June 2018.
During those meetings, issues of major concern were the situation of refugees and migrants, climate change, and the Middle East.
Over the years, the Pope and French President have had several phone calls, including when the Pope expressed his condolences for the 2020 stabbing attack at the Notre Dame Cathedral de Nice, where three people were killed; and when the French President contacted the Pope to emphasize the significance of his Apostolic Visit to Iraq in 2021, marking the first-ever visit of a Pope to the war-torn Middle Eastern country.
Macron and Pope Francis spoke for nearly an hour in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace
The two discussed “protection of the environment, migration, and commitment to conflict prevention and resolution"
VATICAN CITY: French President Emmanuel Macron, accused at home of straining France’s secular foundations by seeking to mend ties with the Catholic Church, had an unusually long and cordial meeting with Pope Francis on Tuesday. They spoke for nearly an hour in the official papal library in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, about twice as long as Francis usually spends with heads of state or government. A Vatican statement said the two discussed “protection of the environment, migration, and multilateral commitment to conflict prevention and resolution, especially in relation to disarmament.” They also spoke about prospects for resolving conflicts in the Middle East and Africa and the future of Europe, it said. At the end of the private part of the audience, Macron gave Francis a rare copy of Goerges Bernanos 1936 book “Diary of a Country Priest.” “I’ve read this book many times and it has done me good. It is a book that I have always loved very much,” the pope told Macron, 40, who was accompanied in the public parts of the meeting by his wife Brigitte, 65. Francis gave Macron a medallion depicting Martin of Tours, a 4th century saint who is depicted cutting his cloak in half to give it to a beggar in winter. “This means the vocation of those who govern is to help the poor. We are all poor,” Francis told Macron as he was giving him the medallion. As Macron left the library, he and Francis exchanged a two-cheek kiss, another very usually gesture between a pope and a visiting head of state. The Vatican was expected to issue a statement later on the themes discussed during the private talks. Two months ago, Macron called for stronger ties between the state and the Catholic Church, a move critics said blurred a line that has kept French government free of religious intervention for generations. The issue is particularly sensitive in historically Catholic France, where matters of faith and state were separated by law in 1905 and which is now home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities. France’s guiding principles also hold that religious observance is a private matter, for all faiths. Macron was raised in a non-religious family and was baptized a Roman Catholic at his own request when he was 12. On Tuesday afternoon Macron was due to be installed as the “First and Only Honorary Canon” of the Rome Basilica of St. John’s in Lateran, which is the pope’s cathedral in his capacity as bishop of Rome. Under a tradition that began in the 15th century when France was a monarchy, French leaders are automatically given the title.
It will be the first visit by a pope to the island in the Mediterranean, which belongs to France.
The 87-year-old will take part in a conference on the topic of religiosity in the Mediterranean region and celebrate mass there.
A meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron is also planned. A meeting between the Pope and the head of state is planned for the afternoon at Ajaccio International Airport.
The Pope will then leave the island at 6.15 pm after a short farewell ceremony. The entire visit will last nine hours.
The bishop of the Corsican regional capital Ajaccio, Cardinal Francois-Xavier Bustillo, had already given a press conference on Thursday on the occasion of the possible visit and presented a website for the event.
This will be Francis' third short visit to France - after Strasbourg in 2014 and Marseille in 2023.
An official state visit to Paris is still pending.
Cardinal Bustillo as a beacon of hope
Corsica is one of the economically poorest regions in France and is characterised by a relatively strong Catholicism with strong local traditions.
Cardinal Bustillo, Bishop of Ajaccio since 2021, comes from the Basque Country and studied in Italy. He speaks fluent Spanish, Italian and French, among other languages. For some years now, he has been seen as a new beacon of hope in the crisis-ridden French Catholic Church.
Last autumn, Pope Francis made the cleric, who belongs to the Franciscan order, a cardinal. The Vatican announced his trip to Corsica on Bustillo's 56th birthday. It had been described in Vatican circles as "as good as certain" for weeks.
Dispute over independence from France
According to Bustillo, there were still "protocol-related" problems that had to be resolved first.
The "Femu a Corsica" party, which is in favour of autonomy for the island, has had an absolute majority in the Corsican regional parliament since 2021.
Corsica's political situation has been characterised for decades by the dispute over independence from France.
Between 1976 and 2014, the FLNC liberation movement repeatedly rocked the island with bomb attacks.
In 2022, there were violent clashes between young Corsican nationalists and the French police in Ajaccio.
Just eight months ago, the Corsican regional parliament approved a constitutional reform at the suggestion of President Macron. It is intended to grant the island extensive autonomy within the French Republic.
However, radical Corsican nationalists see the reform as merely a first step on the road to independence.
The official motto of the Pope's trip was written in Corsican and reads "Papa Francescu in Corsica".
Pope Francis declines Notre Dame reopening amid Macron's pleas
Pope Francis will not attend the opening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The head of the Church believes that his presence could distract attention from the ceremony's purpose.
Pope Francis has decided not to attend the opening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
He felt that his presence might distract from the main goal of the event.
Emmanuel Macron tried multiple times to convince the Pope to change his decision.
The French station BFM TV reports that the Pope was irritated by the insistence from the President of France.
Macron, on the other hand, was frustrated by the refusals from Francis.
The Pope emphasised that his visit might distract the faithful from the ceremonies related to the reopening of the cathedral after its five-year reconstruction.
The opening is planned for 8 December.
The cathedral will be open until 10 p.m. on the 14th of the month. Archbishop Ulrich expressed hope that the cathedral will once again become a meeting place for "15 million visitors" annually.
On 29 November, Macron will visit the construction site to thank everyone involved in the reconstruction.
Then, on 7 December, a service will be held during which the state will symbolically hand over the rebuilt cathedral to the Church.
Representatives of countries that financially supported the reconstruction will participate in the ceremony, although not all of them represent Christian culture.
At a private audience in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace on Tuesday, Pope Francis and France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, exchange gifts and discuss the environment, migration, and disarmament.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Francis met on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron, who later inherited the title of honorary canon of the Lateran Basilica. Macron was accompanied at the papal audience by his wife, Brigitte.
The Pope and the French president discussed protection of the environment, migration, and conflict prevention, according to a communique from the Holy See Press Office.
Their comments on global issues included the need for “multilateral commitment to conflict prevention and resolution, especially in relation to disarmament.”
Report by Devin Watkins
Each one shared their views on conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, and reflected on the “prospects of the European project.”
Pope Francis and President Macron talked about how religions contribute to “the common good” of France, especially the Catholic Church’s commitment to bettering society.
Exchange of gifts
The two men exchanged gifts, with Pope Francis giving Macron, who was baptized a Catholic at the age of 12, a medallion of St. Martin of Tours, depicted cutting his cloak in half to give it to a beggar in winter.
President Macron gave the Pope a rare copy of Georges Bernanos’ 1936 book “Diary of a Country Priest”.
Afterwards, President Macron met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
Honorary Canon of Lateran Basilica
Later in the afternoon, Emmanuel Macron received the title “First and Only Honorary Canon” of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome.
French leaders automatically inherit the title of “Honorary Canon” under a tradition that dates back to the 15th century when France was a monarchy. Cardinal-elect Angelo De Donatis presided over the ceremony and conferred the title on President Macron.
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