HOW POPE CALLS FOR RESPECT OF THE DIGNITY OF ALL WOMEN, FOUR WOMEN STRUGGLING FOR PEACE... (1283 hits)
For Immediate Release From Vatican News!
Remembering Friday's annual International Women's Day, Pope Francis expressed his nearness to all women, especially to those whose dignity is not respected. He says there is still so much work to be done by all institutions in this area. By Vatican News
While addressing pilgrims and visitors during Sunday's Angelus, Pope Francis recalled that two days ago we marked the annual International Women's Day. He wished to express his nearness to all women around the world, especially those whose dignity is not respected.
So Much Yet To Be Done
He observed there is still so much to be done by each and every one of us to promote the equal dignity of women so that it concretely is recognised.
He recalled that social and political institutions have the fundamental duty to protect and promote the dignity of every human person, offering women, the bearers of life, the necessary living conditions so they are able to accept the gift of life and ensure their children a dignified existence.
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Cardinal O’Malley: ‘We Want Children To Be Safe’
Following Pope Francis' audience with the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, Cardinal Seán O’Malley, the Commission's President, says trust is necessary for the Church to succeed in evangelization. By Christopher Wells
In the ten years since its foundation by Pope Francis, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM) has grown considerably, from a small group of dedicated volunteers and staff to a group of highly qualified men and women committed to safeguarding in the Church.
“We’ve been very blessed by the extraordinary commitment of the members of the Commission,” PCPM President Cardinal Seán O’Malley told Vatican News in an interview following the Commission’s audience with the Holy Father on Thursday.
The Cardinal emphasized the value of lay members of the Commission, especially women, as well as the important contributions of victims and their parents.
‘The Commission Has Accomplished A Lot’
Reviewing the work of the PCPM in the past decade, Cardinal O’Malley highlighted the meetings organized by the Commission between Pope Francis and victims of abuse; recommendations about the accountability of bishops that resulted in legislation including Come una madre amorevole and Vos estis lux mundi; and the summit of presidents of Bishops' Conferences on abuse in the Church.
The Cardinal also pointed to the ongoing Memorare initiative, aimed at providing assistance for countries lacking the human and material resources necessary for effective safeguarding. The initiative provides funding for safeguarding work and helps ensure the presence of personnel for screening and training of pastoral workers as well as for pastoral outreach for victims.
Memorare and similar initiatives are aimed at building relationships with bishops and with Bishops' Conferences, so that the Commission can be seen as a partner rather than an adversary in fostering a “culture of safeguarding within the Church.”
“So I think the Commission has accomplished a lot,” the PCPM President said.
‘We Want Children To Be Safe’
Cardinal O’Malley noted that much of the Commission’s current focus is on the global south, hoping to ensure that local Churches have the necessary resources and training to combat abuse.
This, he said, involves developing policies and guidelines to ensure a response that is consistent throughout the Church, and that respects the needs and rights of victims, the accused, the community, the Church, and the civil government.
The Cardinal emphasized, too, the importance of “a huge educational campaign everywhere around issues of safeguarding” and centred on the prevention of abuse.
“We want children to be safe,” said Cardinal O’Malley. “We want the children and the parents to have confidence that when their children are in a Catholic school or in a Catholic parish, they are safe.”
Responding to the idea that safeguarding is a distraction to the Church’s mission, the President of the PCPM insisted that, “We will not be able to be successful in our mission to evangelize if we do not have the trust of the people, if we cannot prove to them that they’re important to us and the safety of their children is a priority to us.”
The Task Of The Commission
Asked about criticisms of the Commission, Cardinal O’Malley recognized that some people are impatient with the slow pace of the Church’s response to the crisis of abuse within the Church.
With regard specifically to the PCPM, the Cardinal said unrealistic expectations rooted in a misunderstanding of the Commission’s competence “have put us in the crosshairs.” He noted that the Commission was not established to deal with particular cases: “That was never our competence.”
Instead, the Commission was tasked with making recommendations and others on how to improve the Church’s response to s*xual abuse.
Nonetheless, the Commission has worked to help victims by helping them get in touch with those who can help them. “Certainly, listening to the voice of victims is a very important part of what our mission is,” Cardinal O’Malley said.
Assisting The Local Churches
At the same time, an important part of the PCPM’s mandate is to assist local Churches in responding to victims, as well as to assist them in prevention and training.
PCPM Secretary Father Andrew Small, OMI, noted the numerous “memoranda of understanding” signed between the Commission and national Bishops' Conferences to date. These aim at promoting a consistent “One Church” response, ensuring that resources exist in the local Churches to accompany victims.
“That’s obviously difficult for those [Churches] that are resource-poor and don’t have all the experts” necessary to “welcome” victims. “We’re helping to fix that,” Fr. Small said, adding, “That’s not going to happen overnight, but we’re making great strides.”
The Right To Be Told The Truth
Cardinal O’Malley also noted efforts to offer greater transparency in the Church with regard to the handling of abuse, pointing to earlier recommendations to make changes to the so-called “pontifical secret” as well as ongoing efforts to provide clarity when bishops are removed from office.
“So, yes, transparency is very, very important,” the Cardinal asserted, adding, “Trust cannot be restored unless we have transparency at all levels of the Church.”
Father Small concurred, saying that it has become clear that “what people want more than anything else is to be told the truth.”
“I think people do have the right to be told the truth,” he continued. “And sometimes, as leaders, we’re afraid of trusting people with the truth—but we can’t be. If we don’t trust people with the truth, they won’t trust us. And I think that’s sort of the frontier around transparency, honesty, and openness that we sort of need to work on a lot more.”
A Voice For Victims
At the conclusion of the interview, Cardinal O’Malley emphasized, “The most important part of our mission is to try to be a voice for the victims, and to work hard so that this will be a priority everywhere in the Church.”
Pope: Confession Offers ‘Unique Moment Of Grace And God’s Forgiveness’
Pope Francis meets with future priests in an annual course on the internal forum, and invites them to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation with a focus on “the sweetness of God’s love.” By Devin Watkins
“May this year of preparation for the Jubilee see the Father's mercy blossom in many hearts and places, and so God may be ever more loved, recognized, and praised.”
Pope Francis expressed that hope on Friday as he met with seminarians taking part in a course on the internal forum organized by the Apostolic Penitentiary.
The annual course seeks to guide priests and future priests studying in Rome in the art of administering the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Experiencing ‘Sweetness’ Of God’s Love
In his prepared remarks, the Pope told participants that their task is to help people who come for confession to experience “the sweetness of God’s love.”
“I encourage you,” he said, “to live each confession as a unique and unrepeatable moment of grace and to generously give the Lord's forgiveness, with affability, fatherhood, and I dare say, even with maternal tenderness.”
Pope Francis focused his reflections on three elements of the Act of Contrition, which penitents recite during confession before receiving absolution.
Repenting Of Our Sins, Not Condemning Ourselves In Guilt
The Pope first spoke about “repentance,” saying it differs greatly from the psychological sense of guilt.
Repentance, he said, springs “entirely from the awareness of our misery in the face of God's infinite love and his limitless mercy.”
Christian repentance is not self-destructive but rather filled with confidence and trust in God’s forgiveness and fatherhood.
“The sense of sin is directly proportional to the perception of God's infinite love,” he said. “The more we feel his tenderness, the more we desire to be in full communion with Him, and the more evident the ugliness of evil in our lives becomes.”
Trusting In God’s Goodness
Pope Francis then turned to the aspect of “trust,” as the Act of Contrition describes God as “all good and deserving of all my love.”
He noted that loving God above all things means putting God at the centre of our lives and entrusting everything to Him.
Pope Francis: Put God’s Forgiveness At The Centre Of The Church
Pope Francis presides over a penitential liturgy at Rome's St. Pius V Parish to open the "24 Hours for the Lord" initiative, and says confession puts us back on the path of new life that began at Baptism. By Christopher Wells
Confession, the Sacrament of God’s forgiveness, allows us to start again on the journey of new life that began with our Baptism, Pope Francis said during a penitential liturgy on Friday afternoon.
The celebration, which took place in the Roman parish of St. Pius V, kicked off the annual “24 Hours for the Lord,” a Lenten initiative established by Pope Francis with the aim of keeping churches open throughout the day to offer opportunities for prayer and confession.
'Walking In The New Life'
In his reflection at Friday’s service, Pope Francis focused on the theme of this year’s event, “Walking in the new life.”
In the journey of our daily life, the Pope observed, we can often lose sight of the beauty of our new life in Christ, with harmful consequences for our relationships with God and with others.
“We remain on our way, but we need a new signpost, a change of pace, direction to help us find again the way of our Baptism, our original beauty, the sense of going forward,” he said.
“Brothers and sisters,” Pope Francis continued, “what is the way to resume the path of new life? It is the way of God’s forgiveness.” God’s forgiveness “puts us back together again… cleanses us within, returning us to the condition of our baptismal rebirth.”
But, the Pope said, while it is necessary for us to have open and contrite hearts – like the leper who cried out to Jesus, “If you will, You can make me clean” – our own efforts are not enough. “Only God knows and heals the heart; only He can deliver it from evil.”
Pope Francis emphasized that this is what Jesus wants for us, so that we might be renewed, free, happy, and able to continue along the path of our new life.
The Empowerment Of Four Women Struggling For Peace
The four most recent winners of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity met in Abu Dhabi at the beginning of February and shared their experiences as leaders in different areas of society. They also share with us as women the uniqueness that brings to their work for justice. By Felipe Herrera-Espaliat in Abu Dhabi
When Nelly, Shamsa, Latifa and Michèle speak about the role of women in today's society, they do not do so theoretically but on the basis of their own experiences. They dedicate their lives on a daily basis for thousands of people in various continents who benefit from the projects they started and which are now known around the world.
They not only share the fact that they are women They not only share the fact that they are women and leaders, but also that they have received the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity, an honour bestowed on those who work to bridge the gaps in various areas of society and promote justice and peace, often at the cost of great personal sacrifice. The award is the fruit of a historic Document on Human Fraternity signed in 2019 by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmad Al-Tayyeb.
During the most recent annual award ceremony on 5 February, these four women met in Abu Dhabi and were able to share in detail the difficult path each has travelled, but they also delved into the special nature that feminine genius brings to human advancement, the struggle for justice, and the quest for peace at the local and global levels.
Breaking The Grip Of Terrorism In France
Latifa Ibn Ziaten says she had almost no time to grieve after the death of her son Imad in 2012, a victim of an attack in the southern French city of Toulouse. The perpetrator was a Muslim radical, considered a hero by many young people after that attack. Struck with grief as a mother, but also bewildered by the reaction of young people, Latifa decided to devote herself to preventing the radicalisation of youth by creating the Imad Association. The project is growing across Europe and works with young people, families and communities to promote peace and prevent terrorism.
