The main theme of the next Synod, on young people, is vocational discernment. On hearing the word “vocation,” the first thing that comes to mind is the vocation to the consecrated life. However, the call of God is broader; it is not limited to “perfect” forms of life. It is also the humble and continuous… Read the full article
Why are we now offering our readers a text by then-Fr. Jorge Mario Bergoglio dated Christmas 1987? Before replying to this question we need to understand something about the context in which it was written. Fr. Bergoglio signed a short preface to a collection of eight letters from two Superiors General of the Society of… Read the full article
We have just celebrated the fifth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis. The question journalists are trying to respond to, gathering analyses and opinions, seems to be: How has the Church changed over the last five years? But this question risks overlooking a significant fact: the Church is always changing, for it walks the… Read the full article
President Trump’s declaration on Jerusalem On December 6, 2017, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, simultaneously declaring that he would relocate the U.S. Embassy there as soon as possible. The president announced this decision as “a long overdue step” that his predecessors were not courageous… Read the full article
In speeches intended to foster a climate of world peace, Pope Francis has often used metaphors referring to walls and bridges in opposition to each other. Walls are an eloquent symbol of division and incommunicability, while bridges are an equally clear symbol of encounter between different shores – between different nations, religions and people. The… Read the full article
Gaudete et Exsultate Sources, Structure and Meaning of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Five years after his election Pope Francis has decided to publish his third apostolic exhortation, titled Gaudete et Exsultate (GE). As the subtitle explicitly states, its theme is “the call to holiness in today’s world.” The pontiff launches a plain, essential message, indicating… Read the full article
Pope Francis spoke about Jerusalem at his general audience on December 6, 2017, just a few hours before US President Donald Trump affirmed that his government recognizes Jerusalem as “the capital of Israel.”[1] Pope Francis said: “I cannot remain silent about my deep concern for the situation that has developed in recent days and, at… Read the full article
On January 15, 2018, at 8:30 a.m., a flight with Pope Francis, the papal entourage and accredited journalists on board departed Rome for Santiago de Chile. Thus began the pope’s 22nd apostolic journey overseas, this time to Chile and Peru. Here we will try to illustrate two particular focal points – future and unity –… Read the full article
Reading newspapers or surfing the web in the days after a recent intervention by Pope Francis on end-of-life issues, one would have found it difficult to get a clear idea of the actual content of his message. The various headlines, often on the front page, spanned a wide range from “Living Will, the Change of… Read the full article
