AMONG the many titles under which Catholics invoke the Blessed Mother, Pope Francis has asked them to add “Mother of Mercy,” “Mother of Hope” and “Comfort of Migrants.” Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, sent a letter to the presidents of bishops’ conferences around the world asking that the titles be inserted into ... Read More »
A BRISBANE group planning to mark the 50th anniversary of Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the city last weekend had no idea they would end up celebrating it with Pope Francis. COVID-19 restrictions put paid to celebrations that were to have been held at Bardon but CCR members in Brisbane celebrated with the Pope and people from around the world instead. ... Read More »
POPE Francis has advanced the sainthood causes of two women and 11 men, including a miracle attributed to Blessed Charles de Foucauld. In a meeting with Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes, the Pope also authorised decrees recognizing miracles attributed to Blessed Cesar de Bus, founder of the Fathers of Christian Doctrine, and Blessed Maria ... Read More »
WHILE isolation, social distancing and economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic prove to be a challenge, Christians are called by God to take part in the church’s mission in the world, Pope Francis wrote in a message for World Mission Sunday 2020. “The impossibility of gathering as a church to celebrate the Eucharist has led us to share the ... Read More »
Marking the 25th anniversary of St John Paul II’s encyclical on Christian unity, Pope Francis said he shares “the healthy impatience” of those who think more can and should be done, but he also insisted that Christians must be grateful for the progress made. “Many steps have been taken in these decades to heal the wounds of centuries and millennia,” ... Read More »
THE COVID-19 pandemic gives John McCarthy QC an added dimension to his anti-slavery work but he remains sharply focused on the bigger picture. The chair of Sydney archdiocese’s Anti-Slavery Taskforce and member of the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network, like Pope Francis, wants to see the eradication of slavery globally. Mr McCarthy, Australian Ambassador to the Holy See from 2012 to ... Read More »
THE Vatican has declared a “Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year” starting almost immediately, and a seven-year action plan emphasising “ecological conversion”, and safeguarding and care for the earth. “I’m delighted, and it brings great blessings as well,” Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission executive officer Peter Arndt said, describing the measures as a visionary step. “It is a great ... Read More »
AS countries continue to reel from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis offered prayers for the men and women who have been unable to work. “In these days, many people have lost their jobs, were not rehired or work off the books,” Pope Francis said on May 11, at the start of his Mass in the Domus ... Read More »
POPE Francis asked Catholics to make a special effort in May to pray the Rosary, knowing that by doing so they would be united with believers around the world asking for Mary’s intercession in stopping the coronavirus pandemic. “Contemplating the face of Christ with the heart of Mary, our mother, will make us even more united as a spiritual family ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
