Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Pope Francis: ‘I am ready to go to Moscow’ to end the war in Ukraine

May 5, 2022

Pope Francis greets the crowd during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican April 27, 2022. (CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters)

~ by Gerard O’Connell, AMERICA

Pope Francis is deeply concerned that the war in Ukraine shows no signs of slowing and said he is ready to go to Moscow to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin in attempt to bring it to an end. He revealed in an interview with Corriere della Sera, the leading Italian daily, that he let the Russian leader know this 20 days after the war started, but said that he has not yet received a reply from him.

In the interview, Francis recalled that “on the first day of the war I called the Ukrainian President Zelensky by phone, but I did not call Putin. I had spoken with him in December, but this time no. I did not call him.” Instead, he said, I wished to make a clear gesture that the whole world could see, and for this reason I went to the Russian ambassador. I asked him to explain to me [the reason for the war]. I told him, ‘Please stop [the war[.’ Then, after 20 days of war, I asked Cardinal Parolin to get the message to Putin that I am ready to go to Moscow.”

“Certainly, it is necessary that the leader of the Kremlin should open a window (for this to happen), but we have not yet received an answer,” Pope Francis said. “But we continue insisting, even though I fear that Putin cannot and does not wish to have this encounter at this moment. But how can one not stop such brutality?”

Asked whether it was right for Western countries to send so much weaponry to Ukraine, Francis said he “was too far away (from the war)” to respond to this question. But, he remarked, “one thing is clear they are trying out new weapons” in this conflict. Moreover, “the Russians now know that tanks are of little use and so are thinking of other things,” perhaps alluding to the supersonic missiles or nuclear weapons that the Kremlin has publicly threatened it could use.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has also invited Francis to come to Kyiv, but Francis feels the moment is not right. “I feel that I should not go (now). I must first go to Moscow. I must first meet Putin,” he said. “I am a priest, what can I do? I do what I can. If Putin opens the door…”

Pope Francis described the Ukrainians as “a proud people” that “paid a heavy price” during World War II, and that today are a “martyred people, with many who have died.”

Pope Francis laments ‘Easter of war’ in Ukraine

April 21, 2022

~ by Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter

ROME – Pope Francis used his Easter message to again appeal for peace in Ukraine, saying the country has been “dragged” into a “cruel and senseless war” and warning that if the conflict escalates, it could lead to the destruction of humanity.

“May the leaders of nations hear people’s pleas for peace,” the Pope said on Easter Sunday,. “May they listen to that troubling questions posed by scientists almost 70 years ago.”

The Pope read from the 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto, “shall we put an end to the human race, or shall mankind renounce war?” which warned of the global destruction that could be caused by nuclear weapons.

“May there be an end to the flexing of muscles while people are suffering,” the Pope pleaded. “Please, let us not get used to war!”

“I hold in my heart all the many Ukrainian victims, the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons, the divided families, the elderly left to themselves, the lives broken and the cities razed to the ground,” the Pope said on Easter Sunday.

The pope noted that despite the pain and destruction caused by warm he was pleased to see countries throughout Europe opening their borders and homes to refugees fleeing the conflict.

Francis lamented that after two years of a global health crisis – where many people have come together “pooling our strengths and resources” the world is now facing an ‘Easter of war’. “We need the crucified and risen Lord so that we can believe in the victory of love, and hope for reconciliation.”

Pope Francis opens Holy Week with call for Easter Truce

April 13, 2022

~ Associated Press

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis opened Holy week on April 10 with a call for an Easter truce in Ukraine to make room for a negotiated peace, highlighting the need for leaders to “make some sacrifices for the good of the people.”

Celebrating Palm Sunday Mass before crowds in St. Peter’s Square for the first time since the pandemic, Francis called for “weapons to be laid down to begin an Easter truce, not to reload weapons and resume fighting, no! A truce to reach peace through real negotiations.”

Francis did not refer directly to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the reference was clear, and he has repeatedly denounced the war and the suffering brought to innocent civilians.

During his Palm Sunday homily, the pontiff denounced “the folly of war” that leads people to commit “senseless acts of cruelty. When we resort to violence…we lose sight of why we are in the world. We see in this folly of war, where Christ is crucified yet another time.”

Pope Francis: The Synod Must Hear Excluded Voices

March 31, 2022

~ by Brian Fraga, National Catholic Reporter (NCR)

“If we believe in the imago Dei, that the image of God is in everyone, then if we do not hear from those voices, we are not hearing from the entire body of Christ. And that’s our loss,” said Mary O’Meara, the executive director of the Deaf and Disabilities Ministry for the Archdiocese of Washington.

Diocesan officials, chaplains, social workers, lay ministers, parish leaders and others are listening to people with intellectual and physical disabilities. They are reaching out to those in prisons, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and mobile home communities. Pastors have organized parish listening sessions for LGBTQ parishioners and seasonal farmworkers near the U.S. southern border.

Pope Francis and other church leaders have framed synodality as a decisive step in the church’s renewal that the Second Vatican Council proposed more than a half century ago. As the Pope has explained it, a synodal church journeys together with all the baptized, including those whose voices are usually not heard.

“Pope Francis’ main question is critical,” said Sr. Donna Ciangio, the chancellor for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, told NCR. “What does the Holy Spirit expect of the church in the 21st century? We can sit around and look inward, but if we’re not hearing from everyone, we won’t know how we can get the Gospel out today.”

Archdiocese of Chicago
“You can’t be any more marginalized than an inmate in jail,” said Msgr. John Pollard, the synod coordinator for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Pollard told NCR that the Archdiocese is relying on its Kolbe House Jail Ministry to hear from the estimated 700 Catholic pre-trial detainees at the Cook County Jail, one of the largest single-site pre-detention county facilities in the United States.

“It’s important to hear from them because they are human beings,” said Emily Cortina, the coordinator of outreach and formation at Kolbe House. “We’re following the model Jesus gave us to listen to the voices of those who have stumbled and fallen and are still reaching out for grace and mercy, because that’s really where we find God.”

Diocese of El Paso, Texas
In the colonias, or unincorporated communities, surrounding El Paso, Texas, volunteers are knocking on doors, asking residents how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted them, and how the church can help them regroup and get back on their feet.

“If you are doing a consultation with the people who are already in the pews, who are already coming to church, that’s great, and helpful,” said Surya Kalra, a lead organizer. “The difficult part is figuring out how to reach out to people we don’t see [in church], who used to be here, or would be here if we were different. That requires much more persistence and creativity. They are reaching out to those voices on the margins in house meetings, which are small informal group meetings in private homes.”

Archdiocese of Washington
At Holy Trinity Church in Georgetown, a couple dozen LGBTQ parishioners and their families earlier this year attended a special listening session. Jesuit Fr. Kevin Gillespie, the pastor, said there were tears and some anger directed at the Catholic Church.

“They expressed pain that their relationships aren’t recognized by the church,” Gillespie said. “They expressed their desires for sacramental marriage. In that group session, they expressed how important faith is for them, and how important a welcoming community is for them.”

Archdiocese of Seattle
Catholic Community Services of Western Washington (CCSWW) is planning bilingual in-person listening sessions at food banks, homeless shelters and rural mobile home communities in and around Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington.

We know the people who are served in those programs, and we feel they’d be comfortable with us,” said Erin Maguire, a regional network builder with CCSWW.

Diocese of San Diego
Marioly Galvan, chancellor for the Diocese of San Diego, told NRC that Catholic Charities of San Diego is helping the diocese to connect with migrant seasonal farmworkers. “We want to remain mindful of those communities. We’re all brothers and sisters, so to hear from their reality and lived experience, I think will be very enlightening for everyone to hear,” said Galvin.

“This moment is an opportunity for renewal and reawakening,” she said. “It is a moment that will lead us to become a more conscious church, to perfect and improve our ways in which we minister to others, and the ways that we listen to one another and journey with others.
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College Students Watch for ‘More than Business as Usual’ in the Church

March 22, 2022

~ by Miguel H.Diaz, National Catholic Reporter

The historic February 24 encounter between Pope Francis and college students from across the Americas was part of a larger continental experience of synodality that involved 58 universities in 21 countries. For two months university students across seven regions in the Americas gathered virtually in a synodal process exploring the root causes of migration and dreaming together just resolutions.

The initiative was born from a collaboration between Argentinian theologian Emilce Cuda and Loyola University Chicago. The powerful public meeting between Francis and university students was mutually rewarding. Afrikaan Sahra, a refugee from Somalia, described the process as life changing. He observed how the Pope “was tenderhearted and very open-minded to differences.” A number of the students were touched by the fact the Pope listened to them, took notes during the Zoom meeting, and commented on their ideas and proposals to tackle the root causes of migration. Cuda commented that Francis “is still caught up in joy, delighting in the moment that he shared with them.”

Many have now begun to ask what comes next. These students want more than business as usual in the church. They want conversation to evolve into concrete actions, and they want marginalized people to be recognized as agents of change. As these students dream of a new beginning in the church, they are ready to take the lead in this innovative educational and synodal initiative to address the salient signs of the times within and beyond our American continent

Welcoming new minds, hearts and hands lies at the heart of a synodal church. As Pope Francis mentioned in his conversation with the students, this means that the church, as people of God, must be willing “to open its doors and exit from its temples to meet Jesus in the streets.”

To become this synodal presence in the world is to embrace the mind, the heart and the hands of Jesus and seek to encounter and serve him preferentially among the poor and marginalized. The students who participated in this synodal process expressed deep commitments to become this synodal presence in the world, especially by placing themselves, their studies and their talents in service to re-incorporating those who have been disenfranchised from church and society, marginalized and oppressed by ecclesial and socioeconomic realities.

Pope Francis Speaks to President Zelensky Offers Vatican Peace Negotiation

March 22, 2022

~ by Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter

ROME – On March 22, Pope Francis spoke for a second time by phone with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said he would welcome a Vatican mediation to bring about an end to the Russian invasion against the country.

The call, which was first made public on social media by Ukraine’s Vatican ambassador, and then by Zelensky’s own Twitter account, was late confirmed by the Holy See press office. The Vatican did not provide a read out of the conversation.

According to Zelensky’s account, during his call with Pope Francis, the president said he discussed the “difficult humanitarian situation and the blocking of rescue corridors by Russian troops.”

He went on to note that Ukraine would welcome a mediation from the Holy See to help end the conflict, something the Vatican has offered on numerous occasions, though Russia has yet to express interest in such an option.

Zelensky also addressed the Italian parliament on March 22, where he also recalled his conversation with the Pope.

Francis first spoke by phone with Zelensky on February 26 less that 48 hours after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began. During that call, the Pope reportedly expressed his sorrow and solidarity with the country.

According to Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s Vatican ambassador, Zelensky on March 22 repeated his desire for Pope Francis to visit the country.

Earlier this month, Kyiv’s mayor appealed to Pope Francis urging him to visit the Ukrainian capital, saying his physical presence could help bring about peace in the war-torn country.

‘Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine.’

March 10, 2022

‘Rivers of blood and tears are flowing in Ukraine.’
~ Gerard O’Connell, AMERICA Magazine

“Rivers of blood and of tears are flowing in Ukraine,” Pope Francis said on March 6 as he made a passionate and robust appeal for an end to the war in Ukraine that has now entered its 13th day. He called for a stop to the armed attacks in the country, and for negotiations and good sense to prevail. He appealed for a return to the respect of international law, which has been broken by the invasion of the country by Russian forces.

“Above all else, I implore that the armed attacks stop, that negotiations prevail, and that good sense also prevails, and that there be a return to respect the international law,” he said in a heartfelt and emotion-packed appeal that drew strong applause from the thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square this Sunday, March 6th.

He appealed too for “the true securing” and guaranteeing of “humanitarian corridors” and for making vital aid available to the populations of the cities and towns under siege by the Russian forces that, as reports show, lack food, water, and electricity, and who are living in fear.

Significantly, he added that in Ukraine today “one is not dealing with a military operation only, but with war that sows death, destruction and misery.” By stating his categorically, the Pope has called out the big lie being propagated by President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin authorities who continue to insist that what is happening in the Ukraine is “a military operation” not an invasion of a sovereign state and a war. Journalists or people who state otherwise in Russia now risk heavy penalties following legislation passed in the Duma, the Russian parliament, last Friday.

“The victims are ever more numerous, as are the people in flight, especially mothers and children,” Francis stated, referring to the thousands being killed and wounded, and the more than 1.5 million people who, according to the United Nations, have already fled the war in the country and become refugees in neighboring European states.

“In that martyred country there grows hour by hour the necessity of humanitarian assistance, the Pope said.

Aware that these [people are living] mostly in bomb-shelters and to a large extent lack food, water and medical supplies, Pope Francis asked that “there be guaranteed and facilitated the access to aid for the besieged people so as to offer vital help to our brothers and sisters who are oppressed by the bombs and fear.” To read the entire article please click here

Papal Pleas for Peace: Even if unheeded, Pope Francis continues tradition

March 2, 2022

A Ukrainian residing in Japan shows a placard during a protest rally denouncing Russia over its actions in Ukraine, near the Russian Embassy in Tokyo Feb. 23, 2022. Pope Francis expressed “great sorrow” over the situation in Ukraine and called on Christians to observe a day of prayer and fasting for peace on Ash Wednesday, March 2. (CNS photo/Issei Kato, Reuters)

~ by Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis knows his appeals for an end to the war in Ukraine carry little weight with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he also knows he has an obligation to continue speaking out and rallying others to join him in praying for peace.

In April 2021 – 10 months before Putin invaded Ukraine – the Pope expressed his concerns about a buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and an escalation in the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatists in Easter Ukraine.

He did the same in December, in January and repeatedly in February as it seemed Putin was serious about launching an offensive.

Emphasizing the seriousness of his concern, Pope Francis did not summon the Russian ambassador to the Holy See, but instead went in person to the embassy on February 25.

One week before Putin launched the invasion, Pope Francis told members of the Congregation for Eastern Churches – including Eastern Catholic leaders from Ukraine, Iraq, Syria and Ethiopia – that too often “the warnings of both popes and men and women of goodwill are unheard.”

Humanity, he said, seems to have “an attachment to war, and this is tragic.”

Still, Pope Francis noted, modern popes, beginning with Pope Benedict XV before World War I, have tried to appeal to consciences and to warn of the “useless slaughter” and the unforeseen consequences of going to war.

Papal appeals for peace and dialogue always look first to the impact violence and war will have on civilians, especially the elderly and children. In military calculations, they are “collateral damage,” but as Pope Francis noted on February 27, they are always the first victims of conflict.

The most thorough papal examination of the folly of war to date is “Pacem in Terris,” published in 1963 by Pope St. John XXIII.

In June, the Vatican publishing house released “Peace on Earth: Fraternity is Possible,” a collection of Pope Francis’ words and speeches on the importance of praying and working for peace.

“We can no longer think of war as a solution because its risks will probably always be greater than its supposes benefits, one of the main criteria of just-war theory, he wrote in the document. “In view of this, it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a ‘just war.’ Never again war!
To read the full article, please click here

Pope Francis’ February Prayer Intention is for Religious Sisters and Consecrated Women

February 10, 2022

~ by Soli Salgado, Global Sisters Report

For the month of February, Pope Francis’ prayer intention is for all religious sisters and consecrated women, for “what would the church be without religious sisters and consecrated laywomen?” he said in a video message announcing his theme for the month. “The church cannot be understood without them.”

The pope has focused on women religious before: His October 2020 intentions was for women’s leadership in the church, and his October 2018 intention was for the “role of the religious.” Now, he prays that sisters “show the beauty of God’s love and compassion as catechists, theologians and spiritual guides.”

“I invite them to fight when, in some cases, they are treated unfairly, even within the church; when they serve so much that they are reduced to servitude – at times, by men of the church,” Francis said in the video message. “Do not be discouraged. May you keep making God’s goodness known through the apostolic works you do, but, above all, through your witness of consecration.”

The pope encouraged all women religious to discern and choose what is best for their missions and to “find new responses to the challenges of our times.”

He also asked that sisters continue making an impact on the poor and marginalized, in particular, as well as those enslaved by traffickers.

Pope Francis Goes to College

January 27, 2022

Vatican Announces Virtual Meeting with University Students Across the Americas
~ by Gerard O’Connell, AMERICA

Pope Francis will engage in a dialogue with university students from North, Central and South America on February 24. The historic event will by hosted by Loyola University Chicago in collaboration with Argentinian theologian, Emilce Cuda, the head of the office of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, who convinced the pope to participate.

Ms. Cuda, whom Francis appointed on July 26 to be the first woman ever to head this Vatican office, explained that Loyola University invited her to lead a dialogue on the synodal process that is now underway in the Catholic Church worldwide.

The genesis of the upcoming event with students and the pope, Ms. Cuda said that in June 2021, before Pope Francis had appointed her to the Vatican post, Loyola University invited her to give a lecture on the topic of synodality, in which she would facilitate a conversation on how to interpret what is meant by “the synodal way.” But, she told Loyola that she was not interested merely giving another conference on synodality. Instead, she “proposed to do a synodal action that involves migrant university students [from the Americas.] Ms. Cuda explained she wanted to focus on migration, not from the humanitarian point of view of “assisting migrants” when they arrive in a new country, but instead “looking at the root causes of migration from the scientific and technological perspectives, and asking what we can do to resolve them.

Ms. Cuda said she wants “to involve our advanced students to seek solutions in each country.” Most migrants from Latin America are economic migrants, not refugees, she noted, and in her view, the root causes of migration are “structural” and, for example, linked to foreign countries taking resources away from countries in the region.

Migrants are portrayed in the media as cleaners or manual workers in the gig economy. Ms. Cuda added, while the media rarely shows migrants working in scientific or technical fields. To correct this she wants to give greater visibility to this second, under-represented group of migrants. She proposed to Loyola a synodal action – which in the spirit of synodality, would involve students’ gathering together to discuss and to listen to one another’s thoughts on the root causes of migration – rather than a conference.

Ms. Cuda sent the pope a letter in which she proposed that Francis join in on the event, and she was surprised and overjoyed when on December 20 he replied, “Yes, I will participate, but you must help me.”

To read the full account please click here

Pope Francis greets Emilce Cuda, an Argentine theologian and head of office of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, at the Vatican March 17, 2017. Cuda, a participant at the Nov. 21-28 Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean in Mexico City, said the meeting did not issue a new pastoral plan for the region, but will continue evangelization efforts outlined in the 2007 Aparecida document. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)