Junno Arocho Esteves, Author at Crux

Pope: Clergy in Middle East must be the ‘last among the least’
- Catholic News Service, Vatican
- June 23, 2017
Pope Francis called clergy in the Middle East to “learn to be the last among the least,” and lamented the continued plight of Christians suffering due to persecution. “Let us not forget,” the pope said, that “Christians — it doesn’t matter whether they are Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant — shed their blood as a seal of their witness.”
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Holiness means being open to God, pope says
- Catholic News Service, Vatican
- June 21, 2017
During his general audience, Pope Francis said the lives of the saints serve as a reminder that “God never abandons us” and in times of trial and suffering, he “sends one of his angels to comfort us and fill us with consolation.”
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Rosary prayer unites life with Christ, pope says in video message
- Catholic News Service, Vatican
- June 20, 2017
In a video message to pilgrims of the Ta Pinu Marian Shrine in Malta, Pope Francis spoke of the importance of praying the rosary which allows faithful to understand the deep tie between our lives and the life of Christ. The shrine inaugurated new mosaics by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik depicting the mysteries of the rosary.
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Hypocrisy kills the Christian community, pope says at morning Mass

“Hypocrisy is not the language of Jesus. Hypocrisy is not the language of Christians. A Christian cannot be a hypocrite and a hypocrite cannot be a Christian. This is very clear,” Pope Francis said in his homily during morning Mass. “Hypocrisy can kill a community.”

Dialogue with Muslims, defend human dignity, pope tells missionaries

“You are called to further your charism, to project yourselves with renewed zeal in the work of evangelization, in view of pastoral urgencies and new forms of poverty,” Pope Francis told a group of men and women missionaries at the Vatican and encouraged them to build bridges with Muslims.