Catholics pledge to have Masses said in support of Sheen beatification
- Dec 7, 2019
In a special Jubilee session with his nuncios, or ambassadors, in the various countries of the world, Pope Francis advised them to focus on delivering service rather than involvement in political affairs, and said their core duty is to make “mercy palpable in this crushed and wounded world.”
“A spiritualistic piety, a nuanced piety is much easier; but to enter into the logic of the flesh of Christ, this is difficult,” Pope Francis said on Friday, declaring that Christian faith holds “We will resurrect like the risen Christ, with our own flesh.”
Speaking to a gathering of alumni from schools run by his own Jesuit religious order on Saturday, Pope Francis once again called on Europeans to be generous in welcoming the refugees arriving today on the Old Continent, calling it “our greatest security against hateful acts of terrorism.”
The sacredness of human life is so absolute that performing or helping procure an abortion or attempting suicide is an obstacle to ordination as a Catholic priest, even if the man was not Catholic at the time the events occurred, said a new Vatican ruling personally okayed by Pope Francis.
On Friday, Pope Francis visited a neonatal hospital unit and a hospice for the terminally ill, stressing the dignity of human life from conception to natural death. The Sept. 16 visit is the latest in the Pope’s “Mercy Friday” initiatives, to spend time with various groups each month during the Jubilee of Mercy.
Pope Francis met with the Italian Biblical Association on the occasion of National Bible Week about their work. He made the point that consumerism and idolizing material things degrades us.