BREAKING NEWS: Pope to travel to Holy Land on May!

Vatican City, Jan 5, 2014 / 09:47 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has announced that he will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land this coming May to mark a key moment in Catholic and Orthodox Christian relations.

“In this atmosphere of joy, typical of this Christmas time, I wish to announce that from 24 to 26 (of) next May, God willing, I will carry out a pilgrimage in the Holy Land,” he said after the Jan. 5 Sunday Angelus to the crowds filling St. Peter’s Square.

Pope Francis will meet with the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, during his May pilgrimage. Along with representatives of “all the Christian churches of Jerusalem,” the two leaders will celebrate an ecumenical meeting at the site of the Holy Sepulchre, which Christians revere as the place of Jesus’ burial prior to the Resurrection.

The Pope explained that the “principal goal” of the trip is “to commemorate the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and the Patriarch Athenagoras I, that occurred precisely on January 5, as today, 50 years ago.”  [that is the reason behind the trip.]

In January of 1964, Pope Paul VI traveled to the Holy Land. He met with the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople on the Mount of Olives on January 5.

This historic meeting led to an improved relationship between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, including a momentous joint declaration issued in 1965. In that declaration both leaders expressed their desire “to overcome their differences in order to be again ‘one’ as the Lord Jesus asked of his Father for them.”

The Joint Catholic-Orthodox Declaration of His Holiness Pope Paul VI and the Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I lifted the centuries-long excommunications levied by the leaders of both Churches against each other in 1054. The excommunications helped finalize the schism between the major Churches of Eastern and Western Christianity.

In addition to Jerusalem, the Pope will also travel to Bethlehem and Amman, Jordan.

Patriarch Bartholomew I came to Rome for Pope Francis’s installation Mass in March 2013. During that visit, he asked the Pope to visit the Holy Land.

Pope Francis concluded his announcement with a request for spiritual support.

“Right now, I ask you to pray for this pilgrimage, which will be a pilgrimage of prayer,” he said.

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We pray and hope for the Orthodox Church to finally come back to the fold of Jesus Christ, under the one bark of Peter.

Pope Francis brings together men of other faiths

From Zenit

The full text of the Pope's address can be read here.

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Pope Francis received in audience today representatives of Churches, ecclesial communities, and international ecumenical and interreligious organizations. The delegations have come to Rome for the inauguration of Francis’ ministry as Bishop of Rome and Successor of the Apostle Peter.

On behalf of those present, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, greeted the Pope, recalling the “elevated, serious, and difficult task” that his ministry bears with it. He also reiterated the need for the Churches to shun worldly distractions and to work on the unity between Christians.  [The Ecumenical Patriarchate did not give this much weight on ecumenical dialogue but only during the pontificate of Benedict XVI.]

This was the first time that an ecumenical patriarch has attended a papal inauguration since the Schism of 1054.

Pope Francis, who was seated on an armchair rather than the throne that is customarily used in the Clementine Hall, thanked Bartholomew I, referring to him as “my brother Andrew”, a reference to the fact that the patriarchs of Constantinople are considered the successors of the Apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter.

The Holy Father stated that with their presence at yesterday’s Mass, he experienced “in an even more urgent way the prayer for unity among believers in Christ and together to see somehow foreshadowed that full realization, which depends on the plan of God and on our loyal collaboration.”

“I begin my Apostolic Ministry in this year which my venerable predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, with truly inspired insight, proclaimed the Year of Faith for the Catholic Church,” the Holy Father said.  [He called him "Pope", so those who worry too much with the title, there you have it.  The current pope, calls the retired pope, pope!  Three "popes" in one sentence! Ha!]

“With this initiative, which I want to continue and hope is a stimulus for the faith journey of all, he wished to mark the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, proposing a sort of pilgrimage towards that which is most essential for every Christian: the personal and transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, Son of God, who died and rose for our salvation.”  [Those who preach the wrong intrepretation of Vatican II claim that Christ did not bodily rise from the dead.  But he "rose" and is "alive" in our hearts.  I am not joking.  I heard this spoken in a parish seminar by a layman who attended a "seminar" at MST.]

Pope Francis stressed that the heart of Vatican II is in the desire to announce the “treasure of faith” to today’s man. The Holy Father assured those present of his determination to continue the path of ecumenical dialogue established by his predecessors.

Addressing the representatives of the Jewish people, Pope Francis thanked them for their presence while acknowledging that the two faiths are “joined in a very special spiritual bond.” Referring to the Nostra aetate declaration of the Second Vatican Council, the Holy Father reiterated that the Catholic Church recognizes that “the beginnings of her faith and her election are already, according to the divine mystery of salvation, in the Patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets.”

“Thank you for your presence and I am confident that, with the help of the Almighty, we will be able to continue profitably that fraternal dialogue that the Council advocated and that has actually been accomplished, bringing many fruits, especially in recent decades,” the Pope said.

The Pope addressed the other religious representatives present, in particular the Muslim delegation, who the Holy Father said “worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer.”

“I really appreciate your presence,” the Pope said. “In it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity.”

Concluding his address, Pope Francis recognized the need for a peaceful coexistence between faiths that protects man’s inherent search for the truth. “We know how much violence has been produced in recent history by the attempt to eliminate God and the divine from the horizon of humanity, and we experience the value of witnessing in our societies to the original opening to transcendence that is inherent in the human heart,” the Holy Father said.

“In this, we feel close even to all those men and women who, whilst not recognising themselves belonging to any religious tradition, feel themselves nevertheless to be in search of truth, goodness and beauty, this truth, goodness and beauty of God, and who are our precious allies in efforts to defend the dignity of man, in building a peaceful coexistence among peoples and in guarding Creation carefully.”

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, noted the significance of today’s audience, in particular with His Holiness Bartholomew I. Prior to the audience, Fr. Lombardi said the Holy Father and the Ecumenical Patriarch had a private meeting which lasted for roughly 20 minutes. The meeting, he said, was both “beautiful and intense”.

The Holy Father also received Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, who came representing the Patriarch of Moscow, Kirill. Fr. Lombardi stated that the Metropolitan delivered a personal message from the Patriarch to Pope Francis, as well as an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The audience with all the delegations, Fr. Lombardi said, “is also significant to the continuing dialogue with all religions, particularly with the Jewish and Muslim people.”

“It is known that with the Jewish community in Argentina, the Holy Father had a wonderful relationship. There were many within the Jewish delegation who were very enthusiastic and happy, as well as within the Muslim [delegation].”

“We can see,” Fr. Lombardi continued, “that the Pope is a person that has the fame of being very open and has an experience of good relations with other religious communities.”

Obviously not covered by the bigoted Western media

Yeah, you saw the photos.

Well, just this photo.

That is Ethiopian runner Meseret Defar. She held up an icon of the Mother of Perpetual Help after bagging the gold medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 10, 2012 in London, England. She won two gold medals during the games.

There were other photos that the Western media did not show.

Here they are:

She pulls out the cloth bearing the image from under her jersey as soon as she crossed the finish line to win the gold.

And this is one of the image that the Western Media would not want you to see.

Orthodox Christian Defar falls on her knees, places the image on her face and prays in between sobs.

And oh, for the Anti-Catholic-only Atheist who think they think, I'd rather call them Free-to-be-Idiots, they'll 'scientifically' explain that the runner had more training, her body is lighter and blah blah blah...

Yeah, we Catholics agree about that.

But what they cannot understand is that image inspired this woman to reach for her goals.

Which makes me think...

Can the atheists try to scientifically explain how inspiration can uhm......INSPIRE?

Ha!


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PS:  Here is a supposed "interview" of the reaction of the Blessed Mother on hearing that Her photo was shown throughout the world during the games.

Jusus Christ, the son of God and His Mother Mary expressed delight and happiness after their picture was shown to the whole world by Ethiopian Meseret Defar after she won women's 5000 Olympics in London.
When Meseret defar wins the women's 5000m gold medal, the world expected to see the usual Ethiopian celebration: holding the Green, Yellow and Red flag and circling around the stadium.

However before that, the Ethiopian Athlete showed the picture of Mary and baby Jesus to the world that she hide in her jersey during the whole 5000 meters.
According to our reporters, both Mary and Jesus did not expect to see their picture on live tv but both of them expressed happiness.

Mary said "I love that picture. It shows me and my son together."

Jesus said "I am happy. You know so many athletes just make the cross sign or look into the sky these days during celebration. No one bothers to show my picture. Finally someone from my favorite country has the balls to do it. Thank you Meseret. Thank you Ethiopia." [I don't think Jesus would use the b word.]

Jesus added he has one request for his followers.

"My request is next time please get the picture of me taken when I was herding sheep. I like that one."

This one.

Moral of this post?

Be proud to show the whole world how proud you are as a Catholic Christian.....

Without insulting or killing anyone.

Like theis group.

First Nuncio to Russia!

VATICAN CITY, JULY 27, 2010 (Zenit.org) - Archbishop Antonio Mennini, until now the Pope's representative to the Russian Federation, is now the Holy See's first apostolic nuncio to the country, the Vatican is reporting. [HUZZAH!!!]

The archbishop presented his letters of credence to Foreign Affairs Minister Sergej Lavrov on July 15 in a ceremony that was followed by a "cordial" meeting, reported the Vatican press office.

Last December, Benedict XVI and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to upgrade relations between the two sides to full diplomatic ties, which raises the level of representation to apostolic nuncio and embassy.

The two sides have maintained representation below the rank of ambassador since 1990.

In an address to the new nuncio, Alexander Krusko, the vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, reviewed the development of bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and the Holy See. He noted that the relations between the two were "characterized by a growing understanding and spirit of collaboration," reported L'Osservatore Romano.

Krusko also assured Archbishop Mennini, on behalf of the Russian president, of "a fruitful collaboration in the great moral and ethical challenges posed to man today." [Diplomatic language if taken soooo seriously has a very deep an serious meaning especially in a very highly secularized Europe.]

For his part, the archbishop transmitted the Pope's greeting to the Russian president, assuring his "collaboration for a further reinforcement of relations with the government, as well as for the spiritual and moral growth of the Russian people." 

This ceremony brought to an end the exchange of embassies, which began on June 26 in Rome with the presentation of the letters of credence of the first Russian ambassador to the Holy See, Mikolaj Sadlichov.

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Take note that this is a huge step!

The Russian Orthodox Church under its former Patriarch Alexy is soooo paranoid of the Roman Catholic Church that even a meeting between the Pope and him is soooo hard to organize.  They charge that Rome is proselytizing on traditionally Orthodox land, while they go and build Orthodox churches in traditionally Latin Church grounds.  Remember in 2009, they built a Church in....Rome itself.  Did they hear the Pope throw a nutty?  Nope.

But things have changed since the election of Kirill to the Patriarchate.  Alexy is seen as very hardline and seemingly highly suspicious of the Latin Church.  But under Kirill, things have changed.  The once archbishop was the leading ecumenism champion who dialogued with Rome's Cardinal Kasper to improve relations between Rome and Moscow.

In February 11, 2002, Moscow was raised to the dignity of a Metropolitan Archdiocese with Saratov, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk as suffragans. The current archbishop is Paolo Pezzi, FSCB.  (pictured at left)

So things are improving.  Praying for the best.