Young people from Israel, Palestine and the United States met in Rome to discuss the need to seek peace.
Young people from Israel, Palestine and the United States met in Rome to discuss the need to seek peace. All of them gave their testimonies, starting from the horrors of October 7, 2023.
This meeting was made possible by an interfaith event organized by the Scholas Ocurrentes Foundation.
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The Episcopal Conference has organized a major event to revive vocations in Spain and to make a positive and ambitious proposal.
"We are all called to ask ourselves "Who am I for?"SEEK24. Thousands of young Catholics take St. Louis12,000 young Europeans made the pilgrimage to SantiagoFrom February 7 to 9, 2025, the Spanish Episcopal Conference held at the Madrid-Arena pavilion the Vocations Congress under the theme "Who am I for? Assembly of Mission Callings". For three days, about 3,000 people from different ecclesial realities - dioceses, religious congregations, lay movements and new communities - gathered to reflect on the Christian vocation in all its forms.
The congress was inaugurated with a message from Pope Francis, who recalled that every vocation is born of the love of God and is sustained by generous self-giving. Cardinal José Cobo, Archbishop of Madrid, encouraged the participants to allow themselves to be surprised by the call of God, who always invites us to go out of ourselves. Archbishop Luis Argüello, president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, stressed in his speech that it is not only a question of asking ourselves 'for whom I am', but of making our life a concrete response to God's call.
The organization of this congress has been an ambitious commitment on the part of the Spanish Church, which has approached the topic of vocations with a great investment in means and logistics. The choice of the Madrid-Arena pavilion, a venue with a capacity for thousands of attendees, reflected the magnitude and importance of the event.
The congress responded to the need to promote a renewed vocational impulse at a time when the Church is facing great challenges in the transmission of the faith and the accompaniment of those who feel a special call from God. With a varied and dynamic program, the Episcopal Conference has sought to generate a lasting impact on the country's vocation ministry.
The event was organized around four major thematic itineraries: Word, Community, Subject and Mission. These axes served as a guide for the reflections, testimonies and activities, offering an integral vision of the Christian vocation.
Within these itineraries, the participants took part in a total of 64 workshops designed to deepen their understanding of different aspects of vocation. These spaces, led by experts, priests, religious and committed lay people, have included testimonies of people who have discovered and embraced their vocation in various ecclesial realities.
In addition to the workshops, the Congress offered moments of community prayer, spaces for adoration, vocational testimonies and liturgical celebrations, culminating with a sending Eucharist presided over by Bishop Luis Argüello. In his concluding remarks, the president of the EEC recalled that vocation is always a response of love to a God who calls us to serve with joy.
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It was only one year, but it was the first in my journey as a priest. I say goodbye to the Almendral School of La Pintana, where I was working as chaplain during the year 2024, and I take this opportunity to share his most exciting memories.
Chile and Peru: Pope defends women and indigenous peopleChile accepts a proposal in favor of religious freedomMicro 286 is moving fast. A shy sun has not risen high enough to provide warmth. A yawn escapes me as I look out the window. We go around areas with low houses and warehouses; then we leave the city flanking wide uncultivated lands, garbage here and there, homeless people with their cardboard houses; we ford the toll of the southern access to La Pintana and finally enter the El Castillo population. No news. There are stray dogs roaming the streets, work continues to fill holes in the asphalt, drug trafficking sleeps. My destination is the street La Primavera, more specifically, the Almendral school.
Between March and December 2024 I got to work there every Thursday and Friday. I could have been assigned to one of the other initiatives that Opus Dei supports on the same street: a little further down the street is the Nocedal school (for boys), the rectoral church of St. Josemaría (huge and colorful) and an activity center for families. I worked in a school for almost a thousand girls and, in four words, what a way to learn!
La Pintana is a lively dragon during the day, but dangerous at night. It was often in the news that such and such a neighbor had been murdered. According to the report of the National Prosecutor's Office, in the year 2023 there were 26 murders in the commune (that is, it was the ninth with the ninth highest number of homicides in the country). But nobody touches the schools of the Nocedal Foundation; on the contrary, the people take care of them and thank them to the point of tears.
At first I was warned to be careful. A few years ago, a Spanish priest was arriving at the Nocedal school in his car and got lost. Apparently, the street that was indicated by the Waze was occupied by the fair, so he decided to roll down the window and asked a young man:
-Do you know how I can get to St. Josemaría Rectory Church?
-Sure, let me see your cell phone and I'll let you know.
The priest held out his arm with the device, the young man received it gently and then fled into one of the narrow passages in the area. He did not return.
But the anecdote of the Spanish priest is in the past. Now worse things are happening. There are weapons, men who offer drug to children, crazy bullets. On one occasion, while talking with an 8th grade class in chapel, the topic of how to choose the ideal person to marry came up. I proposed a case: "You like a boy and one day you find out that he smokes marijuana, what would you think? Then a student asked, with her yellow tie a little loose and a frown on her face: "Father, I don't understand. So marijuana is bad?".
I was moved. That weed is in the girls' usual landscape, yet this was the first time they had heard anything to the contrary. But I wasn't moved by that, I was moved by something deeper: I realized that these girls were experiencing something as basic as it was absent in their day-to-day lives, conversation. We dialogued: they asked questions, exchanged ideas, thought, and we learned together. Gritty efforts if you live in a neighborhood where loud music, loud music, the Tik Tok or shouting.
I was being handed an important question on a platter: "So marijuana is bad?". A unique moment; now, would I be able to convince that little girl to stay off the drug for good?
It occurred to me to ask her back, "What do you think?". She put her hand to her chin to think and replied genuinely confused, "I don't know. In my passage a lot of people buy. And the other day my aunt told me that smoking once in a while was good for your health." I looked at the others and offered the floor. Several had similar anecdotes. The bell was coming, so I announced a change of plans for the catechetical program: "The next class will not be about the Sacraments. We'll be talking about marijuana." The class went out for recess. I felt challenged. In the next session I could not improvise, I had experienced the passion, the need to teach something.
Many students prefer to stay late for extracurricular activities in order to delay going home. Their alternative is to lock themselves in their room and spend the evening watching Tik Tok. I know because I saw the consequences.
On one occasion an 8th grade girl fainted during Mass. Her teachers and classmates took her to the infirmary on a stretcher. When I went to see her, she was gone, because her mother had come to pick her up. I asked. The nurse wanted to explain to me what had happened, but she couldn't find the words. I guess she didn't want to hurt me. A young teacher understood the situation and put me in context: "Father, this is not the first fainting spell we have had. This child probably didn't eat breakfast, nor did she eat last night. And perhaps she has been eating very little for several days...". I was surprised, since the school offers breakfast to all students who need it. To my bewilderment, she continued: "Let's see, Father. These girls come to school in the morning and they are fine here. But when they go home in the afternoon, since they can't leave the house much, they spend three or four hours surfing the Internet. Tik Tok. And then come the fashions. Now there are many who have the idea of losing weight. The problem is that the method they use is to stop eating. That's why they faint.
There is a lot to do and hands are missing. I can attest that the teachers' work is difficult and hidden. These girls need much more help than the school can give them, because they come with big problems from home. Once when I went out to the playground during recess, I started talking to a group of students in the third grade and I took the opportunity to ask them about their projects. One told me: "To study nursing"; another one, "I'm not sure"; and a third one, "the only thing that interests me is to reach the age of majority so I can leave home".
On another occasion, I was in the chapel telling the 4th grade students about the miracle of the wedding at Cana, and when I said "then Jesus transformed the water into wine, that is, into grape juice", a girl exclaimed with a smile: "Ah, my dad says that every night, he says he is only going to drink a little bottle of grape juice". Some classmates smiled. Others did not. Innocence is a short-lived treasure.
Something that has always struck me is that in all the classes there are cheerful girls, and others are crushed. In some of them their yellow uniforms shine, but in others it seems that even their faces have faded to gray. A former student of Nocedal gave me his theory: when night comes, it is not so easy to sleep, because there are noises, or shots are heard and the mother enters the daughters' room to make sure that they have been thrown to the floor. In any case, even if they have slept regularly, or in the morning they may skip breakfast, the girls go back to school happy. They like it. There they find friends, the teachers treat them well, they learn Nursing and Administration, eventually they plan a future. If they are lucky, they begin to dream.
The optimism radiated by the people who work at Almendral is striking. Since 1999, the teachers have not only been teaching their classes, but they also make an effort to talk personally with each student. For the 2024 Confirmation, for example, four students chose the same teacher as their godmother. As for the assistants, many proudly tell you that they have daughters studying in this or that class, or that they are already in university.
Now a nice anecdote, although a bit insolent. I was at the door of the chapel, greeting the students passing by during recess. Many little girls say they want to "say hello to Jesus", or simply come to make the sign of the cross with the holy water (sometimes they even wash their faces). Suddenly, a little girl about six years old comes running up and stares at me.
-Hello? -I asked.
-Hello," she replies, in a shy voice.
-Do you have any questions?
-Yes.
-Dale, ask with confidence.
-Father?
-Yes, tell me...
-How did his nose get so big?
Silence. I shuffle through the options. In the end I decide to think he's just been given a lecture on Pinocchio.
-Don't worry, I've always had this nose.
-Ah, thank you!
And she ran to the backyard to continue playing with her friends.
On another occasion, I was in the same place, next to the life-size statue of St. Josemaría. Like him, I am always in my cassock. Two girls were entering the chapel close together.
-Welcome," I said.
They both gasped, as if a ghost had appeared to them in the house of terror.
-Oh, Father, we thought St. Josemaría had risen from the dead!
What Almendral School does is colossal. Many girls I met there live with serious problems, but the school offers them an oasis and a launching pad. It gives them the opportunity to enter higher education (88% of the students manage to enroll). It is hard for me, but this 2025 I will stop going to La Pintana. That is why I wrote this article, as a small tribute to the teachers and assistants who are training all these young promises: they have to face all the hustle and bustle of training, and they manage to keep smiling in the midst of a hostile climate. They are the great heroines of this whole story. Thank you for teaching me so much, God bless you.
Lawyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Licentiate in Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome) and Doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarra (Spain).
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Juan Luis Lorda was honored at the School of Theology of the University of Navarra on his 70th birthday. In his lecture, the professor made a tour of the "wonderful intellectual heritage" of Christians.
John Henry Newman (1801-1890) A Saint for Our TimeJubilee 2025 begins: A Church with open doors and a hopeful outlookSt. Thomas Aquinas, a synthetic understanding of realitySpeech at the academic conference on Theology, humanism, UniversityThe event was held at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarra on January 17, 2025, on the occasion of his upcoming retirement.
We start the Jubilee Year 2025. And we can put together some ideas, going through other years 25.
In 225 (1800 years ago), Origen wrote the Peri archéThe first systematic attempt at theology. He had purchased a Hebrew manuscript, found in a jar, with which he was to begin the Hexapla. Thus began the work of theology in dialogue with human thought and with the Holy Scriptures.
In 325 (1700 years ago), the Church celebrated the Council of Niceawhich gave rise to a great Creed and defined the place of the Son of God with the term "Son of God". homoousios. It was possible thanks to the protection of Emperor Constantine. The first phase of Christianity began.
In 425 (1600 years ago), St. Augustine was writing the last books of The City of God on human history where divine history takes place. In barely a hundred years, it was observed that the Christian message was not enough to revitalize the old empire. The West, moderately Christianized, would fall with the barbarian invasions and another world (the Christian nations) would be born after a long period of gestation. The East, on the other hand, would last a thousand years more, until it was subdued by Islam (1453).
In 1225 (800 years ago), St. Thomas Aquinas was born. We owe him the basic structure of Catholic theology, which comes from the Summa. And many other insights. Although the story is not usually well told. What triumphed around 1220 were the Sentences of Peter Lombard, which defined theology for more than three centuries. The Sum later triumphed. In 1526, the Dominican Francisco de Vitoria won a professorship and substituted the Sentences of the Lombardy by the Summa Theologica as a basic book for the study of theology. In addition, he promoted the Law of Nations.
In 1525 (500 years ago), Juan Luis Vives, fed up with university scholasticism (by writing De disciplinis) and far from Spain (where his father was burned for Judaizing in 1524), he was in England with Thomas More, studying precisely The City of God. That year, Luther married Catherine of Bora. And King Henry VIII, who had merited the pontifical title of Fidei defender for opposing him (1521), he planned to divorce Catherine of Aragon, which would end up splitting the Anglican Church (1534).
In 1825 (200 years ago), John Henry Newman was ordained as an Anglican priest, started as a guide for university students, and began to study the Fathers and the Arian controversy, about which he would write an excellent book. He also began to study the legitimacy of the Anglican Church as a third way between Protestants and Catholics. This would lead him to the Catholic Church. In addition, he lived through the liberal secularization in England, the beginning of the end of the Christian nations forged in the Middle Ages, as the modern democratic and pluralistic state developed.
There are a lot of interesting things that happened 100 years ago.
In 1925, Maritain, a convert to the faith, to Thomism (and to political traditionalism), published Three Reformers. Luther, Descartes, Rousseau.but in 1926, with the condemnation of the L'Action (an unhealed wound), he went from nostalgia for (and vindication of) the Ancien Régime to the defense of the rule of law. He developed a philosophy of the person and of the state inspired by Thomism. And he considered how to live in a Christian way in a democratic and pluralistic society, especially in Integral humanism (1937). He will greatly influence Dignitatis humanae of the Second Vatican Council.
In 1925, Guardini had already set in motion his great dedications. He was helping the young people of Rothenfels, he had published The spirit of the Liturgy (1918) and the Self-training lettersand prepared Letters on Lake Como (1926), reflecting on the change of epoch and its Christian demands; he would rethink it in The decline of the Modern Age (1950). In addition, he had been a professor for two years. Weltanschauung (1923) rereading Kierkegaard, Dostoyevski, Pascal, Saint Augustine...
In 1925 Von Hildebrand (aged 36), organized circles on love. Inspired by faith, he dealt with spiritual affectivity (the heart) and its response to values. In addition, in those years he courageously defended other professors in the face of growing Nazi pressure at the German university.
In 1925, her colleague and friend, Edith Stein was working to form religious vocations in Speyer and was concerned about Heidegger's atheistic drift. They had been, almost at the same time, Husserl's assistants, and while Heidegger lost faith, Edith Stein found it. Thus, they originated two divergent metaphysics. Heidegger summarized it in Being and time, 1927. Edith Stein in Finite and eternal beingpublished posthumously, after his death in a concentration camp (1942). In its last part, he points out what is missing in Heidegger's metaphysics. Tragically parallel lives. It will be worth remembering in 2027.
In 1925, the Saint Serge Institute of Orthodox Theology was founded in Paris by a group of Russian thinkers and theologians, expelled in 1922. They left with the clothes on their backs. It was the turn of others to premiere the Gulaj Archipelago (1923). Saint Serge made patristic and Byzantine theology present live in Paris, and this is how De Lubac, Congar and other Catholic theologians came to know it. He gave identity to modern Orthodox theology and marked its red lines before Catholicism and Protestantism.
In 1925, De Lubac, in a Jesuit novitiate in England, read Rousselot (The eyes of faith1910) and Blondel, and was introduced to the Fathers. And Congar began his theological studies at Le Saulchoir (then in Belgium), with Chenu, who had proposed a new curriculum. These ferments would shape the theology of the twentieth century.
In 1925, Chesterton published The everlasting manThis is a brilliant and highly topical work, which struck a chord with C. S. Lewis and led to his conversion. In two parts, it vindicates the Christian deployment in history and the unique religious value of Jesus Christ in the face of modern "Arian" ("Unitarian") or pan-religious tendencies.
In 1925, St. Josemaría was ordained and began his priestly work, which, with God's inspirations, led him to found Opus Dei. His mission was not academic, but he shed much light on how to be a good Christian in the world. In addition, he had a marked humanistic disposition with his appreciation for the fruits of human labor, language, culture and study, education and virtues, civic and social responsibility.
First of all, we should be amazed and grateful for such a vast and beautiful patrimony, the fruit of so many Christians in dialogue with their times and with the Scriptures (with revelation). There is nothing so rich and coherent in the intellectual universe. Suffice it to recall the dominant communist ideology of the last century (and to read The drama of atheistic humanism de De Lubac). Today transmuted into culture wokewhich promises to be as ubiquitous, arbitrary (and suffocating) as communism was. Epidemics or intellectual covid.
The Gospel, in dialogue with every epoch and incorporating the legitimate fruits of the spirit, produces around it a Christian humanism. It helps us to understand ourselves. And it is a field of encounter (and evangelization) with all people of good will.
Thus we have an idea of God, which connects with the mystery of the world and with our deepest aspirations (we can no longer believe in other gods). And a rich and exact idea of the human being, of his spirit and development. And of his mysterious wound (brilliantly expressed in the 7 deadly sins). And of his end, happiness and salvation in Christ (way, truth and life, cfr. John 14,6). And it should be emphasized that the Rule of Law, with Human Rights, which is the legal framework of our societies (and our defense against the new tyrannies) is also the fruit of this Christian humanism, and today it is in danger amidst materialistic simplifications and ideological whims.
In its Introduction to Christianity (1967), Joseph Ratzinger warned that the Church is moving from ancient Christian societies to fervent minorities (a process that may take centuries). The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 5th and 6th centuries. And since the end of the 18th century, a secularization drive (partly legitimate) dismantles the Christian nations forged in the Middle Ages. And it turns us into a minority, which must carry out as a leaven the mission that the Lord has asked for: "Go and evangelize all nations". (Marcos 16, 15).
Many things have changed since our Faculty of Theology was founded in 1964. At that time almost 700 priests were ordained in Spain each year, and now there are just over 70. And a few months ago, a process of unification of the Spanish seminaries was initiated. A revision of the ecclesiastical studies will probably follow, because it is felt that they do not correspond to what the times demand: they do not sufficiently encourage the faith of the candidates and do not prepare them for the mission.
The German synodal journey has revealed the inadequacy of a strictly academic theology (with many means), perhaps too aseptic if not problematic, which has failed to nourish the faith of the ecclesiastical structures it has formed.
The subject of theology, by definition, is God. But God revealed in history and fully revealed in the Son. Today, a new Arianism wants to turn Jesus Christ into a good person. Chesterton warned in The eternal man and C. S. Lewis, when he posed his famous "trilemma" (see on Wikipedia).
Jesus Christ, the Son, has revealed to us the truth and beauty of God's love, manifested in his complete self-giving. This personal love (person to person) constitutes the Trinitarian union, through the Holy Spirit, and extends to the communion of saints. If Jesus Christ is not homoousiosA solitary God remains locked in his distant and veiled mystery. "No one has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father has revealed Him to us." (John 1, 18).
And we are left without the way of salvation, which is Jesus Christ. We need to renew and make the message of salvation meaningful for our contemporaries. The Gospel of Christ's love saves us from the meaninglessness of the world and of history, from our moral failures and those of humanity, from death and sin, which is the deepest and most mysterious thing. And what our contemporaries feel the least.
For this reason, we also need a believing reading of the Bible that makes clear the History of Revelation, of the Covenant and of Salvation, which culminates in Christ (cf. Letter to the Hebrews 1,1). And do not limit yourself to punctual exegesis, which disperses the attention. The detailed philological study is only a previous task (which does not need faith, nor does it kindle it).
The current internal debate in the Church calls for a fair and profound diagnosis of what has happened in order to understand the deep reasons for the crisis and to react accordingly.
It is necessary to review the confrontation of scholastic Thomism of the 1940s with the nouvelle theologie. It arose amidst many misunderstandings and was quite foreign to the true thought and disposition of St. Thomas. But it is in danger of being prolonged.
In addition, there are two philosophical areas where the legacy of St. Thomas requires developments (which he would make). The relationship with the sciences, which is expressed in the Philosophy of Nature and in Metaphysics. Gilson claimed it in the last pages of The philosopher and theology.
Also the relationship with political thought. In short, discernment on modernity: the legitimacy and value of the rule of law, with human rights and religious freedom. This thread comes from Francisco de Vitoria. It is taken up by Maritain and many others. The Second Vatican Council assumes it and originates, by reaction, the schism of Lefebvre.
The theology of the 19th (with Newman, Scheeben, Möhler and others) and 20th centuries (with so many interesting authors) is, without a doubt, a third golden age, together with patristics and scholasticism. And it is necessary to synthesize and incorporate it. The difficulty lies precisely in its richness and variety, and in the limits of what can be taught.
We also need a revision of Liberation Theology, which discerns the past and projects itself into the future. Because it runs the risk that the preferential option for the poor, the most noble and Christian thing it has, becomes an illusory revolutionary nostalgia or an inoperative rhetoric. Political and moral (and theological) efforts are needed to build just societies with Christian inspiration.
We have an immense heritage to inspire us and to engage in the evangelizing dialogue that we are engaged in today.
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My cousin ÁlvaroDaniela Saetta: "At the age of 17 I had no will to live".Mariano Ugarte: "The illness of a child affects many people".Álvaro was a troublemaker. He always was, even before he was ill. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) robbed him of his movement, but not of his ability - to paraphrase Pope Francis - to "make a mess". Tell that to Don Enrico! To record the videos of his weekly homilies - entitled "The Gospel to the sick" - with the help of his friends Mariano and Marco, he would prepare the best "location" and the whole set for the staging, without taking into account that later the parish priest would go crazy looking for the image of the Madonna that had been moved or the blue chasuble without which he could not celebrate Mass.
He was determined to redecorate the hall attached to the church where he spent most of the day receiving people and asked a friend to give him a painting. You had to see the faces of the other priests when the lady showed up with Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss". On another occasion, when a kind parishioner offered to bring her something from southern Italy, she did not think of anything better than asking for "sanguinaccio", thinking it would be similar to Spanish blood sausage, without suspecting that the good woman would have to deal in the black market because the sale of this macabre pork product has been forbidden since 1992.
I can't forget when I went to see him in the middle of the Roman "ferragosto" and, when I asked him what he wanted me to bring as a snack, he asked me for some olives stuffed with anchovies. The illness, as we can see, did not spoil his appetite.
Hands up whoever went to visit him and found that he had given an appointment at the same time to two other people. Or whoever was left wandering the aisles of the church because an unexpected friend had arrived for a confession or a consoling chat.
Last November 1st I went to the hospital where he was admitted for a medical operation and he asked me to give him a ride pushing the chair on the terrace. It was forbidden, but we both had fun with that little prank. He was then able to contemplate the green meadows surrounding that hospital and the horizon line, while the sunlight and the breeze hit his face.
When he couldn't enjoy them in nature, he used to watch videos on YouTube of Turkish shepherds walking through the mountains with their flocks, or drone shots of Noja, the village on the Cantabrian coast where he spent the summers of his childhood.
Alvaro was in love with life. In the homily he preached to his family on his 57th birthday, in 2021, he told us: "Love is the center of Christianity. We must love. We must love life. It was a preaching made flesh. And not just any flesh, but patient, which adds even more merit to his capacity for enjoyment. At times it was not easy.
The last season, when ALS was already affecting his speech and breathing capacity, he had a harder time smiling. He even had his dark night. But he did not give up. He told his sister, who went to visit him in Rome from Madrid, fourteen days before he died: "I am tempted to let myself die, but I ask God for the grace to cling to life to give Him glory with my illness as long as He wants".
Surely the most monumental tangle was to ask his brothers to bring his mother, ill with Parkinson's disease and recently convalescent, to the Eternal City last July, to say goodbye to her. He asked if there would be an 1% chance of making that trip happen, and to that 1% they "hung on". The ability to raise a ruckus either comes from the cradle or becomes contagious.
Don Santiago, who has devoted himself body and soul to caring for him in recent months, in a message to the family written last Christmas, said that "as Alvaro has dedicated himself to making life difficult and giving himself to others, he is now reaping, in the affection of the people, a little of the fruits of what he has sown".
Mariano, who in addition to being a "filmmaker" of Alvaro's homilies is also a cardiovascular surgeon, commented that as a doctor it was difficult for him to accept the fact that his friend's illness had no cure. So he set out to make him smile, as the best alternative therapy. He and Marco more than achieved this goal the last time I saw Alvaro. The parish hall that morning was the closest thing to the Marx Brothers' stateroom: first Angelina, a nurse, arrived, accompanied by a podiatrist to give him a pedicure and manicure.
Alessandro, another nurse, came to start the IV, improvising an IV drip with an upside-down hanger attached to a cassock hanger. Veronique, a new caregiver, who was on duty, tried to help by moving the oxygen cylinder.
Another parishioner and friend, Giuliana, kept her company while recording the scene with her cell phone. Then Mariano and Marco arrived with the fixed idea of cutting her hair. Marco handed him the clippers while Mariano held the respirator. In the background we could hear The Barber of Seville. Giovanni, the sacristan, burst in with a mirror and placed it in front of Álvaro so he could see how it was looking. There we found his sister with her husband and cousin, not believing our eyes.
Anyone who had seen us from the outside would have thought we were crazy. But that day we robbed God of a piece of heaven, of that heaven in which Álvaro would enter -through the big door- just two weeks later. From there he will continue doing what he did best here on earth: a big mess. Surely Don Enrico has some advice to pass on to St. Peter. By the way, we got a Monet landscape to replace the Klimt.
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Professor and choir director Timothy McDonnell explains in this interview with Omnes the close relationship between Gregorian chant and the Catholic liturgy, two aspects he asks today's Catholics to delve into in order to enjoy and protect the treasure received by the generations that have lived in the Church over time.
Liturgical music or music in the liturgy?In search of the theological foundation of sacred and liturgical musicTimothy McDonell is the director of Sacred Music at Hillsdale Collegewhere he directs the University Chapel Choir. Previously, Dr. McDonnell directed the graduate program in Sacred Music at The Catholic University of America. In addition, he was the choirmaster of the Pontifical North American College Choir at the Vatican before returning to the United States in 2008.
Thanks to his academic and professional work, Timothy McDonnell has deepened his understanding of the close relationship between Gregorian chant and the liturgy Catholic. Such a relationship that one cannot be understood without the other, so the director of sacred music encourages Catholics to restore Gregorian chant to its special place in the liturgy and to recognize its legacy.
- This brings us to the heart of the matter, because all sacred music is special and reserved for sacred purposes. But Gregorian chant in particular has some special characteristics that I believe make it especially suitable for the Catholic liturgy and reflect the spirituality of this liturgy.
Among the characteristics I would list is directness, because Gregorian chant is a simple musical form, with only one musical line. So it has a certain simplicity, but at the same time it is a very refined music. It is music that has taken centuries to be created, but it retains that directness and simplicity in its expressiveness.
The other thing I would mention would be that it comes from a tradition, which I think is very important in a religious context because the premise of religion is that there is a transmission, that we pass on from Christ and his mission given to the apostles.
This idea of a musical tradition in the Church is a kind of symbol of that process of transmitting the treasure. And so music itself is a kind of metaphor for tradition in musical terms. For example, the different modes or tonalities in which Gregorian chant is composed are derived from ancient formulas for reciting and singing the Psalms.
And the third point I would make is that the liturgy itself is designed and coordinated perfectly with liturgical chant. Gregorian chant always refers to something outside of itself: to the liturgy, on the one hand, and to Sacred Scripture, on the other. So it is profoundly biblical music. In a way it embodies the chant of Scripture.
- The liturgy has gradually changed over time. This is an important idea because the liturgy and its music grew together. To give an example, between the seventh and ninth centuries Gregorian chant was composed by the clergy responsible for the creation of our liturgical calendar.
These clerical musicians chose liturgical texts, which themselves suggested a melodic content. In other words, the melody emerges from the text. And so when this changes the text, there is an influence on the liturgy.
- This is an incredibly important point. In fact, it is perhaps the most important consideration in terms of music and liturgy in our time. For if music is something that is passed down from generation to generation like a treasure, we have to understand liturgical reforms in the context of the reception of that treasure. So if we stray too far from what we learn from the musical treasure of the Church in the way we pursue liturgical reform, there's going to be too much of a disconnect with our tradition.
I think it is crucial that we understand that music provides us with a context in which to understand all the other ritual changes that have taken place. And I can give a couple of positive and perhaps negative examples of this.
There has been, for example, a process of recovery in the liturgy of the Divine Office around the hymns of the Divine Office. Because in the 17th century, there was a revision of the hymns that changed the original hymns, and all the texts were recreated. And we lost something very important because of those changes.
After the Second Vatican Council something wonderful happened, and that was that those hymns were restored. And so they became the official hymns of the Divine Office. This is a positive example where the recovery has taught us something about our past and we have had a kind of restoration.
But these things were not taken especially seriously by the generation that followed the Second Vatican Council and there was a lowering of ideals. And I think that was partly because of practical circumstances. There was a loss of energy and vigor to pursue that.
Now, the good news is that in the younger generations there is a growing interest in finding the energy to do what the Council called for with regard to restoring Gregorian chant and making it a central mode of prayer for the whole Church.
On the other hand, it should be noted that the prayer of the Mass has been made shorter in the reformist liturgy, yet the music is sometimes too long. So here is a case where music and liturgy are not compatible in a certain way. This is a challenge we have to face.
Another challenge in this regard is that there is a kind of politicization of the objectives of the Second Vatican Council. There is a "progressive" and a "conservative" side. This is something that the Council was not looking for, but people decided to politicize the liturgy and turn it into a political matter, instead of being the vessel of truth from which we learn our faith. However, I am hopeful that we will return to this idea that music is a companion to the liturgy and we can listen to this received tradition as we look at the prayer of the Church.
-There are many criticisms in this regard. There are those who think that those who support the traditional Mass are stuck and unrealistic. Honestly, I don't think that's what motivates people who come to the traditional Mass. I think in this rite they hear the voice of the Church in a special way and it moves them in a way that the Novus Ordo does not.
Anyway, I think that the Church is the same voice all the time. There is no yesterday, there is no tomorrow, there is only a now in which the Church is praying, it is Christ who prays today through the liturgy. He is here now praying with and as the Church, because he is the head. If we keep this in mind, perhaps the debate about past, present and future could calm down a bit.
As for this issue having an effect on prayer, Pope Benedict XVI had a very good idea on the subject when he said that the old form has to inform the new form in the liturgy. These two things have to be seen as compatible and not in opposition.
The music itself is a link between the Novus Ordo and the tradition. If we decide that we need a totally different music for a new liturgy, we will have lost some connection to this idea that we received the liturgy from the ancient Church.
Now, Gregorian chant is not as old as the prayer of the apostles, that is true. We don't really know where it comes from or when it begins. However, there are several theories that claim that Jewish prayer formulas influenced its development. Knowing this, if you could hear the way the apostles, who were Jewish, prayed, wouldn't you want to know more about it?
- During the last century and a half we can observe a kind of hatred for the past. I even think that some Catholics have realized that we should not be especially attached to the past, because then you are not living in the present and you are not facing the real challenges of our day. This inordinate attachment is not healthy, but neither is it healthy to feel hatred towards the past, because it is essential to understand who you are and where you come from.
In terms of liturgy and sacred music, the most important thing in understanding the liturgy is its history. And what is the history of the liturgy? The history of music. You have to know them together because music and liturgy were the same thing, they didn't develop independently.
In the 20th century this idea that music and liturgy are two different worlds took root. But historians show us that this is false and that one cannot understand the history of liturgy without understanding the history of music.
For all this, we have to lose the fear that if we look at our past we will somehow fail in our present. It is not a rational fear. If I do not understand and value the past, that history we have mentioned, I have nothing to carry forward. Therefore, I am forced to constantly invent reality.
We cannot forget that religion connects us with the past, we cannot be religious without carrying the past with us.
With this challenge in mind, we need to know that Gregorian chant is not only ancient, but regenerates over time. It is not stuck, but evolves. It is essential that musicians understand this idea and make it part of their education.
- I think it is important to recognize that Gregorian chant has multiple levels. There is a congregational level and then there is a more developed level, in which the congregation can participate but which requires more practice. Above that, there is a level of Gregorian chant that is reserved for more experienced people.
For me this is a beautiful thing, because it reflects the liturgy itself. In the liturgy there are things that only the "experts", the priests, can do. That is, liturgy is hierarchical, just like music.
What happened is that at the time of the Reformation that hierarchy was broken. Therefore, in order to move forward we have to recognize that Gregorian chant is hierarchical, just like the liturgy, and that is why we need specialized musicians. We also need to promote the practice of chant in the congregation so that they can sing things like the Credo, the Kyrie Eleison or the Agnus Dei.
Another aspect to consider about which there are different opinions is the openness to sing in the vernacular language. I think it is possible to translate musical pieces into other languages, but it takes a lot of discipline not to lose the original beauty.
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On February 8, the Church celebrates St. Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman enslaved as a child who, after her liberation, consecrated herself to Jesus Christ as a Canossian nun in Italy. She is the patroness of Sudan. Today she is invoked in a special way, as it is the 11th World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking. It is also the feast of St. Jerome Emilianus, patron of orphans.
Born in Darfur, Sudan, in 1869, she was abducted by slave traders when she was still a child and sold in African markets, cruelly mistreated as a child, and then sold in African markets. slave. Bakhita, whose name means Fortunate, was freed by an Italian merchant, and through a married couple who were friends of his, already in Italy, she met Jesus, was baptized and professed as a Canossian nun for 51 years. The inhabitants of Schio, where she lived and died, discovered in their "little mother morenita" a great inner strength, based on prayer and charity.
In its Message for the XI World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Hunger and Poverty Human TraffickingPope Francis, who also dedicated to him a special message of thanksgiving, which takes place today, Pope Francis, who also dedicated to him a catechesis in 2023, he wrote: "Together - trusting in the intercession of St. Bakhita - we will succeed in making a great effort and creating the conditions so that trafficking and exploitation be outlawed and that respect for fundamental human rights always prevail, in the fraternal recognition of our common humanity".
Saint Bakhita pardoned to the traffickers, and forgiveness set her free, Pope Francis wrote. Thanks to the message of reconciliation and mercy Josephine Bakhita was beatified and named "Universal Sister" by St. John Paul II in 1992. In the ceremony St. Josemaría Escrivá was also beatified. St. Josephine Bakhita was canonized by St. John Paul II in October 2000. The Italian director Giacomo Campiotti directed the film Bakhita.
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Pornography fosters a culture of self-indulgence and instant gratification, often at the expense of the well-being of others. Many users are drawn into a pattern of consumption that prioritizes personal satisfaction over meaningful attachments.
"New revolution": the project to curb pornographyEduardo Verástegui:Child trafficking starts with pornography".Alejandro Villena: "Mobile phones are the main entry point for pornography".In today's digital age, pornography is more accessible than ever. It is presented as harmless entertainment, a form of self-expression or even an educational tool. However, beneath this appearance lies a deeper reality: pornography is not just adult entertainment, but an industry based on the exploitation, degradation and commodification of human intimacy. It alters perceptions of relationships, distorts expectations and fuels social detachment from authentic human connection.
Pornography fosters a culture in which individuals become objects of gratification rather than worthy individuals with inherent value. A young woman I met a few years ago, whose name I will not mention for reasons of privacy, shared with me her experience with a addicted partner to pornography. "I always felt like I was competing with an unattainable ideal," she says. "It made me question my worth."
The effects of pornography go beyond mere entertainment; they disrupt real-life relationships by creating unrealistic expectations and eroding trust. It reinforces canons of beauty unattainable and unrealistic sexual behaviors, leading many to feel inadequate in their relationships. Coupled with media-driven representations of perfection, it cultivates dissatisfaction and self-doubt, causing people to compare themselves to artificial standards rather than embrace real human connections. This influences social interactions, shaping expectations of appearance and behavior in ways that can damage trust, relationships and even mental health.
In addition, research suggests that excessive pornography consumption alters brain function. As is the case with substances addictiveThe drug triggers the release of dopamine, creating a dependency that translates into a need for more extreme content. This desensitization affects the ability to establish genuine emotional connections, leaving users feeling empty despite temporary gratification.
Overconsumption creates unrealistic expectations of intimacy, making authentic relationships seem unsatisfying by comparison. This creates a cycle in which personal relationships become strained, trust is eroded and authentic connection is replaced by digital gratification.
On a social level, pornography fosters a culture of self-indulgence and instant gratification, often at the expense of the well-being of others. Instead of valuing mutual love, respect and emotional intimacy, many users are drawn into a pattern of consumption that prioritizes personal satisfaction over meaningful bonds.
More and more teenagers are getting into pornography before they fully understand human intimacy. Take, for example, the case of a high school student who, through a simple Internet search, stumbles upon explicit content. Lacking the emotional maturity to process what they see, they absorb unrealistic depictions of relationships in which domination, aggression and objectification are normalized. Over time, this shapes their expectations, leading to problems in their own interpersonal relationships.
Schools and parents may struggle to address the problem. While education focuses on responsible Internet use, many overlook the need to discuss the psychological and emotional impact of pornography. Without guidance, young minds adopt skewed perceptions of relationships, often believing that what they see on the screen represents reality. For example, adolescents who consume large volumes of explicit content may begin to view relationships through a transactional lens, expecting instant gratification without emotional connection. This distancing can make it difficult for them to establish healthy, meaningful relationships in the future.
In addition, the accessibility of pornography through smartphones and social networks means that even those who do not actively seek it out may be exposed to it through advertisements, pop-ups, or links shared by peers. Parents who assume their children are immune to this type of exposure often underestimate the pervasiveness of explicit content on the Internet. Without parental guidance, young people may turn to peers or unreliable sources of information, further exacerbating the problem.
One concrete step to address this crisis is to encourage open dialogue in families and schools. Parents who establish clear, age-appropriate conversations about privacy and respect help children develop a healthy understanding of relationships before they encounter harmful content.
Schools can integrate media literacy programs that teach students to distinguish between real-life relationships and the distorted representations seen in pornography. When teens gain knowledge, they are better prepared to navigate digital spaces responsibly and critically evaluate the media they consume.
The pornography industry is not limited to the production of consensual adult content, but is a multi-billion dollar enterprise with a dark undercurrent. Reports of coercion, trafficking and exploitation within the industry emerge frequently. Many people enter the industry in financial distress, while others are manipulated into performing on terms they never agreed to. In some cases, artists suffer long-term trauma and struggle with psychological repercussions long after leaving the industry.
Behind the scenes, some people, especially vulnerable young women, are lured with false promises of economic security and career opportunities, only to find themselves trapped in exploitative contracts. Others are forced to participate through threats or blackmail. Beyond direct exploitation, the industry has been linked to the dissemination of non-consensual content, such as revenge porn and leaked materials. The rapid dissemination of explicit material through digital platforms has made it almost impossible for some victims to reclaim their dignity and privacy once their images are circulated without consent.
While society increasingly recognizes the harms of pornography, real solutions require proactive engagement. Education plays a crucial role: teaching young people dignity, respect and authentic love. Open conversations in families, schools and faith communities can help people understand that true intimacy is based on trust, not objectification.
In addition, digital accountability tools, such as Internet filters and screen time management, offer practical ways to limit exposure. Support groups and counseling provide a path to recovery for those struggling with addiction, offering hope that change is possible.
At bottom, the fight against pornography is a fight for human dignity. A society that respects people does not condone their commodification. Just as we reject exploitation in other forms - human trafficking, child labor or abuse - we must also challenge an industry that profits by reducing people to objects of desire.
Change is possible, but awareness must come first. Counseling, support groups and family support are valid ways to overcome pornography addiction. It is possible to regain self-esteem, repair relationships and rediscover the beauty of authentic human connection, but to do so, awareness of pornography and its problems must be raised.
The impact of pornography is far-reaching, affecting minds, relationships and even social structures. The challenge before us is not only to resist temptation, but to foster a culture that values authentic love, respects human dignity and promotes relationships based on mutual care and respect. By addressing this issue head-on, we take a crucial step toward restoring the sacredness of intimacy and human connection.
Founder of "Catholicism Coffee".
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For Giovanni Allevi, emotion is the language through which we communicate with sincerity, undressing ourselves without fear of showing ourselves fragile and defenseless, because it is in fragility where our strength lies in a world dragged by reason towards extreme competitiveness.
Allevi is a musician who, when he ends up exhausted on stage after having given his all in a piano concert, while listening to the applause of the audience, he pats the instrument with his thanks, as if not taking credit for what happened on stage.
I happened to run into him on a flight. I had him in front of my seat and I recognized him because his curly black lion's mane was sticking out of the back of his seat (he's a very tall guy). I couldn't resist my curiosity and I don't know how I did it, but I found myself chatting with him. I told him that I admired his talent and listened to his music. At the time, he would have been about 50 years old, but he seemed much younger in dress and dynamism.
The feeling he gave me was that of a normal guy, active, nervous, creative, charming, kind, an artist. Giovanni Allevi was coming back from MadridHe told me he was fascinated by the city, to record for a television program. It did not escape my notice that he was carrying one of those cell phones that were no longer in use (the ones that only serve to call and receive calls). I could not resist asking him the reason for this choice and his answer was beautiful: "I am a musician and I compose, I need inner silence. The electronic sound and the images on the screen distract me from my goal: inspiration. The music. I was shocked, but I understood the answer perfectly. I remember that he communicated with me with words, but also with his soul, I could understand very well what he wanted to say even though he didn't speak much.
When we arrived at Malpensa airport in Milan, everyone went their own way to pick up their bags. I was with my three young children and I was making sure that none of them got lost in the crowd. Suddenly, I saw a tall man with curly black hair approaching me to say goodbye: Allevi. He told me that I had beautiful children, I think he, at that moment, was missing his own. I was shocked, because I thought that celebrities rushed through airports so as not to be recognized by the masses. When, for professional reasons, he was away from his family, he felt a slight sense of guilt, like any good father. He compensated by living intensely the moments he spent with his children and dedicating some of his compositions to them.
Famous people -I also believed before that meeting with the musician- did not say goodbye to people they met casually an hour ago on an airplane trip. I noticed in him a great sensitivity that must be consubstantial to being a composer. I understood that he listens to silence and fills the space with melody.
About two years after this meeting I learned from the media that in the summer of 2022, Giovanni Allevi announced that he was suffering from a tough disease: multiple myeloma. It is an incurable disease and his survival is between 3 and 4 years. The disease he suffers from has a serious prognosis because only 3 percent of patients are still alive after 10 years. He has a cancer that has led him to be admitted to the Milan Tumor Institute to receive the appropriate therapy. The musician recognizes that he is "heroically getting out of hell". This is a very expressive way of communicating what he is going through: multiple myeloma cells are abnormal plasma cells that accumulate in the bone marrow and form tumors in many bones of the body. He must be in a lot of pain: he has trouble maintaining the correct posture while playing the piano and his hands are shaking.
Giovanni Allevi is 55 years old, married to a pianist who is also his manager, Nada Bernardo, and they have two children: Giorgio and Leonardo. Of his private life not much more than this is known. Despite his fame, he has always kept well away from selling his intimacy. As a musician he only offers his gift, music.
Now, tormented, with wounds and nightmares, his hands tremble... and, in his low hours, he also has to give up the greatest thing he has inside: music. When he feels a little better, he offers a concert to his audience. Life has hit him in body and soul, but he is happy when the piano is waiting for him.
She has an instagram account (you can tell she has been advised she should have one) and recently wrote to her followers, "My condition confirms to me that there is a world made of humanity, gentleness, authenticity and courage."
A very special being, to whom life had prepared a hard test that he is bearing with courage. In addition to the gift of music, we now discover his great ability to show pain without fear. Allevi thinks that, as a composer, it is his music that he can offer us. He is aware of having received a gift, a gift: music. The same gift that now gives him hope and encouragement to LIVE. It seems to me that this Italian musician is an example that the gifts received are to serve and relieve others.
Fortunately, in music there are no winners or losers, only the desire to share emotions and experiences. For the pianist, emotion is the language through which we communicate with sincerity, undressing ourselves without fear of showing ourselves fragile and defenseless, because it is in fragility where our strength lies in a world dragged by reason towards extreme competitiveness.
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Opus Dei categorically rejects the approach of the MAX docuseries "Heroic Minute: I also left Opus Dei". According to the Work's communiqué, the production "does not represent the reality of Opus Dei", but presents the facts "in a biased way".
Opus Dei has published a press release to respond to the accusations made in the MAX docuseries "Heroic Minute: I also left Opus Dei".
The platform defines this documentary as an investigation in which "women who formed part of the Opus Dei tell their experiences for the first time, denouncing the psychological, religious and economic abuses they have suffered". As the trailer explains, "Heroic Minute" promises to uncover, through the testimonies of thirteen women from diverse backgrounds, the "manipulation", "pressure" and "demands" that members of the prelature systematically suffer.
Faced with these accusations, Opus Dei begins its communiqué by apologizing for the occasions in which members of the Work have caused "pain in others" and admitting that "the criticism of former members has facilitated an institutional reflection to improve and change ways of doing things".
Likewise, Opus Dei accepts some errors that it has tried to improve in recent years: "failures in the discernment processes; too demanding standards for living the vocational commitment; lack of sensitivity to understand the weight that this requirement meant for some people; eventual shortcomings in the accompaniment during the process of leaving.
However, the Work categorically rejects "the approach that the docuseries assumes", since it "does not represent the reality of Opus Dei", but rather presents the facts "in a biased way", pointing to the Work "as an organization of evil people whose motivation is to do harm".
This bias has also been denounced by some critics of the series, who doubt that an authentic journalistic investigation can be carried out based on the testimonies of 13 celibate women, which, taking into account the number of members of Opus Dei, do not even represent 10 % of the entire Work. An example of this is the published review by Ana Sánchez de la Nieta in Aceprensa.
The proof that the accusations are false, the statement continues, can be found both in the teachings of St. Josemaría and in "the experience of thousands of people who live or have lived an experience of fullness and development in Opus Dei, as a path of encounter with God in everyday realities."
Other accusations pronounced in "Heroic Minute" and rejected by the organization are "recruitment", "reduction to servitude" and "abusive system to manipulate people". The Work explains in the communiqué that "these statements are a decontextualization of the formation or vocation freely chosen by some women" and that it is all part of "a narrative" constructed by some people known for trying to present an image of Opus Dei "alien to an approach of faith and Christian commitment."
In spite of everything, the Work understands that "any process of disengagement, when there is a personal commitment lived with intensity, generates pain and suffering. For this reason, it reiterates that "currently the majority of people who leave Opus Dei do so in an accompanied way, without severing the relationship".
The organization also explains in the communiqué the "healing and resolution protocols aimed at receiving any negative experiences that may have occurred, asking for forgiveness and making amends in appropriate situations".
Finally, Opus Dei denounces that during the four years in which MAX has been working on "Heroic Minute", "the production company did not contact the information offices of the Work, neither in Rome nor in Spain or in other countries". Only at the end of the recording did they ask for the intervention of the Prelate or an authorized person in conditions that, according to Opus Dei, "were not the usual ones for a series of these characteristics".
Faced with this situation, the Work "declined to participate in what was a product created from a previous framework and with a bias that only wanted to be confirmed". Opus Dei, therefore, points out that there was "no prior expressed desire for dialogue" on the part of the producer and complains that they were only offered "the possibility of a reply at the last moment".
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This is the central message of the Pope's prayer intention in the video for the month of February 2025: "God continues to call young people even today". The theme of the intention is entitled "For Vocations to the Priestly and Religious Life". In the video, the Pope shares his personal story.
"When I was 17 years old," Pope Francis points out in the video message made by the Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network in collaboration with Vatican Media and archdiocese of Los AngelesI was a student and I worked, I had my projects. I didn't think at all about becoming a priest. But one day I entered the parish... and there was God waiting for me! begins by saying Pope Francis.
Open 'The Pope's VideoThe photos of his youth - at school, in the family, in church - then give way to scenes from the daily life of today's young people: times change, but the Lord's ability to speak to the heart of those who seek him does not change.
"God continues to call young people today as well, sometimes in ways we never imagined. At times we did not hear it because we are very busy with our things, with our projects, even with our Church things."
"But the Holy Spirit He also speaks to us through dreams, and he speaks to us through the concerns that young people feel in their hearts," the Pontiff continued. "If we accompany their journey, we will see how God does new things with them. And we will be able to welcome his call in ways that better serve the Church and the world of today."
And the Pope encourages: "Let us trust in young people! And, above all, let us trust in God: because He calls each one of us! Let us pray that the ecclesial community will welcome the desires and doubts of young people who feel the call to live the mission of Jesus in life: be it priestly life or religious life".
"The challenge, then, is that of trust in young people, in their ability to contribute significantly to the Church and to the world. In fact, in the video Pope Francis invites us to hope in young people and, above all, in God, 'because He calls each one of us,'" encourages the World Prayer Network.
"Our God is a God who takes seriously the lives and gifts of young people," said Archbishop José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles. "The mission of the Church," continues the bishop of the largest U.S. diocese, who contributes to the production of this video with the professionals of his digital team, "is to walk with young people to help them grow in their faith and work to transform this world into the Kingdom that God wants for his people.
On the other hand, the international director of the Pope's World Prayer Network, Fr. Cristobal Fones, S.J., recalls that "trust in young people is essential to encourage them to freely examine their own vocation and to respond to it with courage. An approach to vocation ministry that truly values dialogue and accompaniment also accepts and welcomes the concrete concerns, questions and aspirations of the young person as an important component of the vocational process".
"Moreover, the Pope tells us that, through the words of young people-sometimes even challenging or questioning-God can also indicate new paths for today's Church, and even offer us an occasion for our own conversion."
The Pope's prayer intentions for the month of January was "For the right to education: Let us pray that migrants, refugees and those affected by wars may always see their right to education respected, education necessary to build a more humane world".
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After five years, the Holy See has definitively approved the statutes of Regnum Christi. From the headquarters of the general direction of the federation they affirm that "this approval represents a recognition by the Holy See that gives solidity and stability to the Federation".
After five years, the Holy See definitively approves the statutes of Regnum Christi, which were presented in 2019 by the Federation and had been on trial since then.
From the headquarters of the general management of the organization, they affirm in a press release that "this approval represents a recognition by the Holy See that gives solidity and stability to the Federation".
These statutes are the result of a long journey of renewal that began in 2010. Aware that it was necessary to express more clearly the charism of the organization, the Federation began a process of deepening its spirit. Thus, on May 31, 2019, the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life canonically erected the Regnum Christi Federation and approved "ad experimentum" its statutes.
Among the changes presented in 2019 were greater participation of the laity and new measures to prevent cases of abuse within the organization. However, the most significant change took place in the definition of the canonical structure, with the aim of finding a figure "that expresses the spiritual unity and apostolic collaboration of all, promotes the identity and legitimate autonomy of each consecrated reality, and allows the other faithful of Regnum Christi to belong to the same apostolic body in a canonically recognized way," as they explained in 2019.
For this reason, the statutes approved in 2019 state that "the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, the Society of Apostolic Life Consecrated Sisters of Regnum Christi and the Society of Apostolic Life Consecrated Laity of Regnum Christi are linked to each other through the Regnum Christi Federation".
The Holy See points out that all these changes are intended to help the members of the Federation "to promote the common charism and to foster collaboration in view of the mission entrusted to them by the Church".
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On February 7, the Catholic saints' calendar celebrates Blessed Pius IX (1792-1878), the longest-serving Pope in the Catholic Pontificate, 31 years and 7 months, perhaps second only to St. Peter. St. Richard of Wessex, father of holy evangelizers of Germany.
The years during which Pius IX governed the Church were years of great political turmoil in Italy. In 1848 he had to go into exile in Gaeta while in Rome the Roman Republic of Mazzini was established, which declared the fall of the temporal power of the Pope. In 1850 he was able to return to Rome, and years later he faced the consequences of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. Earlier he had reconciled with the Protestant monarchies of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Blessed Pius IX, born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti, worked to preserve the Papal States, which he lost; he promulgated the encyclical 'Quanta cura' with the famous 'Syllabus errorum', proclaimed the dogma of Immaculate Conception (1854) and convoked the First Vatican Council (1869-1870), where papal infallibility as Pastor of the universal Church in matters of faith and morals was defined. His brother Gabriel declared that John Mary considered himself to be "simply a priest"He also became archbishop, cardinal and pope. He was beatified in 2000 by St. John Paul II together with St. John XXIII.
As for St. Richard of Wessex, it is appropriate to cite the Englishman in this way, because there is another Richard in the saints' calendar, such as Bishop Richard of Wyche (April 3). Richard of Wessex was a man of prayer and the father of three sons who accompanied him in pilgrimage After his death, miracles were recorded at his tomb. A son of yours joined St. Boniface and became the first bishop of Eichstätt in Bavaria.
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In the traditional audience to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Judicial Year, Pope Francis pointed out that, on the occasion of the latest reform, he urged the bishops to make the faithful aware of the abbreviated process of marriage annulment. Moreover, it is important "to ensure that the procedures are free of charge". The reform seeks "not the nullity of marriages, but the celerity of the processes".
The inauguration of the Judicial Year of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota was the main act of the Holy Father last Friday, when he received at audience the prelate auditors, officials, lawyers and collaborators of the Tribunal, presided over by its dean, the Spanish archbishop Monsignor Alejandro Arellano Cedillo.
Before the speech of the Pope, he delivered a few words of greeting Monsignor ArellanoIn them, he recalled that "on Christmas Eve, after opening the Holy Door and giving the starting signal for the Jubilee Year, you firmly addressed the whole world: set out without delay to 'rediscover lost hope, renew it in us, sow it in the desolations of our time and of our world'".
"Holy Father," added the dean of the CourtWe feel directly challenged by the challenges of the present and the future, aware that the Roman Rota, as the Tribunal of the Christian family, is only a 'flap of the mantle' of the Church; nevertheless, it seems to us that it is not foreign to our hope that, by the touch of that mantle, through the administration of justice, wounded persons may find peace, in order to foster tranquillitas ordinis in the Church.
In this line, the dean said, among other things, that "this is our desire: to be sowers of hope for all wounded families, far from the Church or in difficulty, who have lost hope in justice, in mercy, in the love of God that resurrects man and restores his dignity".
The inauguration of the Judicial Year of the Court of the Roman Rota "gives me the opportunity to renew the expression of my appreciation and gratitude for your work. I cordially greet the Dean and all of you who serve in this Tribunal," the Pope began.
"This year marks the tenth anniversary of the two Motu Proprio 'Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus' and 'Mitis et Misericors Iesus', with which I reformed the process for the declaration of the nullity of marriage. It seems appropriate to me to take advantage of this traditional occasion to meet with you to recall the spirit that permeated that reform, which you applied with competence and diligence for the benefit of all the faithful".
The aim of the reform was to "respond in the best possible way to those who turn to the Church to clarify their marital situation (cf. Speech to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, January 23, 2015).
"I wanted the diocesan bishop to be at the center of the reform. Indeed, it is up to him to administer justice in the diocese, both as the guarantor of the proximity of the tribunals and of vigilance over them, and as the judge who must decide personally in cases where nullity is manifest, that is, through the 'processus brevior' as an expression of the solicitude of the 'salus animarum,'" the Pontiff continued.
"For this reason, I have urged that the activity of the tribunals be incorporated into diocesan pastoral care, charging the bishops to see to it that the faithful are made aware of the existence of the 'processus brevior' as a possible remedy to the situation of need in which they find themselves," the Pope noted. "It is sometimes sad to note that the faithful are unaware of the existence of this path. Moreover, it is important 'that the gratuitousness of the procedures be assured, so that the Church [...] manifests the gratuitous love of Christ by which we have all been saved' (Proemium, VI)."
In particular, Francis specifies, "the bishop's concern is to guarantee by law the constitution in his diocese of the tribunal, staffed by persons - clerics and laity - well trained and suitable for this function; and to ensure that they carry out their work with justice and diligence. Investment in the formation of these workers-scientific, human and spiritual formation-always benefits the faithful, who have the right to have their petitions considered with attention, even when they receive a negative response."
"Concern for the salvation of souls (cf. Mitis Iudex, Proemium) has guided the reform and must guide its implementation. We are challenged by the pain and hope of so many of the faithful who seek clarity about the truth of their personal condition and, consequently, about the possibility of participating fully in the sacramental life. For so many who 'have lived an unhappy marital experience, the verification of the validity or otherwise of marriage represents an important possibility; and these people must be helped to travel this path as smoothly as possible' (Address to the participants in the Course promoted by the Roman Rota, March 12, 2016)".
The recent reform, the Holy Father concluded, "also wished to favor 'not the nullity of marriages, but the celerity of the processes, no less than a just simplicity, so that, because of the delay in the definition of the sentence, the hearts of the faithful who await the clarification of their state may not be oppressed for a long time by the darkness of doubt' (Mitis Iudex, Proemio)" (Mitis Iudex, Proemio)".
Indeed, "in order to prevent the saying 'summum ius summa iniuria' ('Excessive right, excessive injustice') (Cicero, De Officiis I,10,33) from occurring as a result of overly complex procedures, I have abolished the need for the trial of double conformation and have encouraged more rapid decision in cases where nullity is manifest, seeking the good of the faithful and wishing to bring peace to their consciences".
All this, the Pope noted, "requires two great virtues: prudence and justice, which must be informed by charity. There is an intimate connection between prudence and justice, since the exercise of prudentia iuris aims at knowing what is just in the concrete case' (Speech to the Roman Rota, January 25, 2024)".
"Every protagonist in the process approaches the conjugal and family reality with veneration," the Pontiff stressed at the end of his reflection. "Because the family is a living reflection of the communion of love that is God the Trinity (cf. Amoris laetitia, 11). Moreover, spouses united in marriage have received the gift of indissolubility, which is not a goal to be attained by their own efforts, nor even a limitation on their freedom, but a promise of God, whose fidelity makes human beings possible".
"Your work of discerning whether or not a valid marriage exists," the Pope told the prelate auditors, "is a service to the salus animarum, for it enables the faithful to know and accept the truth of their personal reality. Indeed, 'every just judgment on the validity or nullity of a marriage is a contribution to the culture of indissolubility, both in the Church and in the world' (St. John Paul II, Speech to the Roman Rota, January 29, 2002)".
In concluding, Pope Francis invoked upon all, "pilgrims in spem, the grace of joyful conversion and the light to accompany the faithful to Christ, who is the meek and merciful Judge. I bless you from my heart and I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you.
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The Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, noted the "inflation of the word love" in today's society, to the detriment of friendship, which is "an inexhaustible path of humanization and hope," on the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas at the San Damaso Ecclesiastical University.
In a act presided over by the Archbishop of Madrid and Grand Chancellor of the San Dámaso Ecclesiastical UniversityCardinal José Cobo, and presented by the Rector of the corporation, Nicolás Álvarez de las Asturias, the Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça praised friendship as a necessary asset for the academic community.
On the celebration of the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Cardinal Prefect of Culture and Education at the Holy See, pointed out that "the University would fulfill its mission well if one day it were remembered by those who were formed there, not only for the quality of teaching and research that they found, but also for the beautiful friendships that began there".
However, the reflection of the Portuguese cardinal, a poet as well as a theologian, went further, and constituted a diagnosis of today's society, with regard to the words love and friendship, under the title 'In Praise of Friendship: Rediscovering a Necessary Good'.
"I hope you will not find it strange that I have chosen friendship as my academic argument, when there would seem to be a thousand more urgent and pertinent issues to propose to a university community in this historical and cultural period of accelerated change," he began.
"In St. Thomas the centrality of reflection on friendship is evident, to the point of asking whether perfect beatitude in glory does not also require the company of friends. But the very history of the University would not be understood without the idea of societas amicorum".
The Cardinal went on to note that "it seems that our era only knows how to speak of love. As we witness the inflation of this word, its expressive force is clearly diminishing and it seems to have been hijacked by a monotonous and equivocal use. We know less and less what we are talking about when we speak of love. But this does not constitute a brake".
With the same word, he added, "we designate conjugal love and attachment to a sports team, relationships between relatives and those of consumption, the deepest individual aspirations, but also the most frivolous. Everything is love. It is not by chance that the magnificent poetry of W.H. Auden, which the last century chose as one of its songs, is summed up in the question: 'The truth, please, about love'".
In his opinion, as he explained to a large audience at San Damaso, "the danger presented by the massive use of the vocabulary of love is that of losing ourselves in the indefinite, drowning in the limitlessness of subjectivity: we do not really know what love is; it is always everything; it is a task without limits; and this inextricable totality, all too often, is consumed in a disillusioned rhetoric. Friendship is a more objective, more concretely designed form that is perhaps more possible to experience."
"In the religious universe, unfortunately, the situation is not much different," Cardinal Tolentino de Mendonça continued. "The term love suffers from an excessive use that does not always favor realism and the deepening of the paths of faith. The reference to love is dissipated in homilies, catechetical discourses, moral propositions: a path so varied that its meaning is diluted."
"We have become accustomed to hearing the call to love, receiving it or reproducing it without much knowledge. I am convinced that an important part of the problem lies in the absence of reflection on friendship."
His argument continued in the same vein, skeptical of the indiscriminate use of the word love, and praising friendship. "We ambiguously call 'love' certain affective relationships and practices that would gain greater consistency if we thought of them as modes of friendship. Friendship is a universal experience and represents, for each person, an inexhaustible path of humanization and hope."
Later, he quoted Raïssa Maritain, wife of Jacques Maritainwho composed a kind of autobiography recounting the personal experiences of his friends. "And it is true: friends are our best autobiography. But not only that: they expand it, they conspire to make it luminous and authentic (...). Friends bear witness to our heart that there is always a way".
"Friendship does not contain that pretension of possession that, many times, is characteristic of an exaggeratedly narcissistic love. Friendship is nourished by the acceptance of limits," added the cardinal. "Perhaps the great difference between love and friendship lies in the fact that love always tends toward the unlimited, while in friendship we face limitations lightly, we accept that there is a life without us and beyond us."
The Vatican Prefect for Culture and Education mentioned in his lecture Pope Francis. "It is of vital wisdom to embrace boundaries as multiple aspects and links of the same truth, according to what Pope Francis first enunciated in Evangelii gaudium and has often reiterated in his pontificate: 'The model is not the sphere, where every point is equidistant from the center and there are no differences between one point and another. The model is the polyhedron, which reflects the confluence of all the partialities that in it maintain their originality' (EG n. 236)".
In conclusion, he cited the recent note on Artificial Intelligence that his Dicastery has prepared together with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which reminds us that "human intelligence is not an isolated faculty, but is exercised in relationships, finding its full expression in dialogue, collaboration and solidarity. We learn with others, we learn thanks to others" (n. 18).
The document exhorted Catholic and ecclesiastical universities to become active "as great laboratories of hope at this crossroads of history." "I believe that we will achieve this best if we do it together, as masters of the friendship that constitutes a concrete expression of hope," he concluded.
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I have been in Spain, the most Catholic country in Europe, for two years now, and I am confused by the eagerness of some people to turn the Liturgy into something that, in their view, reminds me of my Protestant childhood in a rented room in the neighborhood library.
I was born in St. Petersburg in 1994. In those years, in the most culturally "western" city of post-Soviet Russia, being "weird" was very common. My family was also "weird": we were fervent Protestants.
The community we frequented was a mixture of Evangelicals and Baptists. Every Sunday we had a meeting in a neighborhood library building. We sang, prayed, listened to sermons and talked with our peers, evangelized by American and English pastors.
The "liturgy" of these meetings was quite simple: first, we hung large signs with the words "Jesus" and "God is faithful" on the walls of the rented assembly hall, then a musical group came on stage - it was their service to the community - with drums, bass, acoustic guitar, violin, flute and keys.
The lyrics of the songs were projected right there. The lyrics were simple, understandable for everyone and motivating, sometimes they even made us cry, either from joy or from feeling like forgiven sinners in the hands of God. They often played world hits of Protestant pop groups translated into Russian. Sometimes we clapped along with them.
Then came the meditation of the Word led by one of the pastors, the moment of "giving peace", - about 5-10 minutes a little uncomfortable, in which we asked ourselves how we were doing and if everything was going well -, followed by a symbolic remembrance of the Last Supper.
There were also retreats (retreats): weekends in cottages spent in silence, praying together, studying the Scriptures and many other activities. Thanks to this Protestant community many people began to read the Bible daily, to address Jesus in their own words and "not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ" (cf. Rom 1, 16).
About the more "traditional" Christians, such as the Orthodox and Catholics, if mentioned at all, it was said that their ways of doing things were obsolete, did not respond to the needs of contemporary society and often preferred their archaic rituals to a living relationship with God.
A special comparison was made with the whole Orthodox tradition, the dominant Christian confession in Russia. They criticized the "idolatry" towards icons, long rites in an incomprehensible language (the Liturgy is celebrated in Church Slavonic), the strange clothing of the clergy and old women who scold you if you do not cross yourself when you enter the church or, if you are a woman, when you enter wearing pants or without covering your head. Most of these criticisms, besides not having much real foundation, are nothing more than isolated and punctual events, which have been taken to the extreme and have become stereotypes among people who have not spent a minute to be interested in the why of the things we Christians do.
My family converted to Catholicism thanks to my father's intellectual restlessness when I was fourteen years old. My father became interested in early Christian history and one day he took us - my mother, my younger brother and me - to a nearby church. Besides not having to learn Bible verses by heart, being a recent convert from Protestantism, it is unnecessary to relearn how to pray; that same Jesus with whom you had spoken earlier in your personal prayer is in this box that Catholics call the Tabernacle. More than a conversion, it is an encounter.
From this encounter, all the "complexity" and "archaism" of the Liturgy - both Roman and Byzantine - began to seem to me a requirement of common sense. There, before the living Christ, one could not sing the same songs or do the same as in the Protestant community: everything I had done before, all the "modernity" and "clarity" of Protestant worship seemed inadequate. The presence of the living God demanded not "modernity", but "eternity"; not the "understanding" of language, but the "mystery", because God, being eternal, is something more than "modern", and being Mystery, is much more than one can understand.
I don't know what drives certain pastoral decisions, but I suppose that to someone who has encountered God in a Catholic temple, it is strange to see the Alpha and Omega hidden behind a sign - composed in "a current and understandable language" - of the pop genre. As if God cares more about fashions than people.
It seems that there are musical genres whose form is inseparable from the event to which they are dedicated. For example, singing "Cumpleaños feliz" or "Las Mañanitas" only makes sense in the context of the event for which they are intended. However, Mexicans would not think of changing their birthday song - either because it might be "difficult for others to understand" or because it is considered "old-fashioned". It is curious that something similar does not happen with music intended for events such as Mass, an event that has a much deeper meaning in the lives of Christians than a birthday.
I have been in Spain, the most Catholic country in Europe, for two years now, and I am confused by the eagerness of some people to turn the Liturgy into something that, in their opinion, reminds me of my Protestant childhood in a rented room of the neighborhood library: some signs, a stage, a backing entrance song, a sweet melismatics that touches the feelings, but does not help to order them; a "temazo" that says nice things, but whose genre condemns it to monopolize the limelight. "It's what people like. It attracts young people." That's what they used to say in my beloved Protestant community.
Linguist and translator, PhD in philology from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (Moscow).
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On February 6, the Church celebrates St. Paul Miki and 25 companions martyred. After the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in Japan (1549-1551), Paul Miki, a Jesuit, was the first Japanese religious to be martyred. With him were crucified in Nagasaki two other Jesuits, six Franciscans and 17 lay people, some of them Spaniards.
Saints Paul Miki (1564-1597), Juan de Goto and Diego Kisai are the first Jesuits who gave their lives to imitate the crucified Lord in Japan. Miki came from a well-to-do family near Osaka, and became a Christian when the family's conversion took place. At the age of 20 he enrolled in the Azuchi seminary, taken by the Jesuits, and two years later he entered the Society. He spoke very well and succeeded in attracting Buddhists to the Christian faith. He was only two months away from ordination when he was arrested.
St. Francis Xavier had sown Christianity in Japan since 1549. He himself converted and baptized a good number of pagans. Later, entire provinces received the faith. It is said that in 1587 there were more than two hundred thousand Christians in Japan. This growth provoked reticence in some authorities, who feared that Christianity was the first step of Spain to invade the country.
They expelled the missionaries from Japan and the persecution intensified, ending with the crucifixion near Nagasaki of the Jesuits, Franciscans and Tertiaries (26) in 1597. The Franciscan saints were Pedro Bautista, Martin De Aguirre, Francisco Blanco, Francisco de San Miguel, Spaniards, Felipe de Jesus, born in Mexico, not yet ordained, and Gonzalo Garcia. The remaining 17 martyrs were Japanese, several catechists and interpreters. From the cross, Pablo Miki pardoned his executioners and delivered a sermon inviting people to follow Christ with joy.
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On March 27 and 28, the centenary of the priestly ordination of St. Josemaría, founder of Opus Dei, which took place on March 28, 1925, will be celebrated in Saragossa. After the Archbishop of Saragossa, Msgr. Carlos Escribano, Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, and the Prelate of Opus Dei, Prelate Fernando Ocáriz, among other participants, will take part in the celebrations.
St. Josemaría Escrivá was ordained a priest on March 28, 1925 in Saragossa, in the church of the Seminary of San Carlos, by Bishop Miguel de los Santos Díaz Gómara.
One hundred years have passed, and on the occasion of the centenary of his ordination to the priesthood, a series of events will take place in the Aragonese capital, in which will participate the Cardinal Lazaro You Heung-sik, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, and the Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz.
About the program of eventsthe organizers, the Alacet Priests' Library, with the collaboration of CARF Foundation and Omnes, inform that first of all, the academic act will take place on Thursday 27th, which is reported below.
At its conclusion, at 7:00 p.m., a Eucharistic concelebration will take place in the Basilica del Pilar for the priests who wish to attend.
Afterwards (8:00 p.m.), a prayer vigil for vocations will be held for seminarians, young people and families in the church of the Royal Seminary of San Carlos Borromeo, presided over by the Cardinal Lazzaro You.
On March 28, the anniversary day, there will be a solemn Eucharistic concelebration, also in the church of the Seminary of St. Charles Borromeo, in thanksgiving for the fruits of priestly holiness. Afterwards, a fraternal meal will be held in the Throne Room of the Archbishop's Palace.
The academic ceremony on the 27th will begin with welcoming remarks by Archbishop Carlos Escribano, Archbishop of Zaragoza, who currently presides over the Episcopal Commission for the Laity, Family and Life of the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
Cardinal Lazzaro You, in addition to being Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, is also a member of the Dicasteries for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; for Bishops; for Evangelization; for Culture and Education; and of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses. At the conference he will speak on the holiness and mission of the priest.
Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, born in Paris in 1944, has been prelate of Opus Dei since January 2017. He is a physicist and theologian, consultor to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith since 1986 and to the Dicastery for Evangelization since 2022. In 1989 he joined the Pontifical Theological Academy. He will speak in Zaragoza on the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the priest.
Before, José Luis González GullónThe panel discussion will focus on St. Josemaría's seminary and ordination years. In the afternoon, there will be a round table discussion on the universal heart of the priest: from East to West, passing through the rural world.
The following will participate at the table Esteban AranazJorge de Salas, a priest from the Diocese of Tarazona, a missionary in China; Jorge de Salas, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei living in Sweden, judicial vicar of the diocese of Stockholm; and Antonio Cobo, a priest of the Diocese of Almeria in the Alpujarra.
St. Josemaría celebrated his Golden Jubilee of priesthood on March 28, 1975, a year before his death in Rome. In mid-January, before crossing the Atlantic on a catechetical trip to America, he addressed a letter to the faithful of Opus Dei in which, as he transcribes Andrés Vázquez de Prada in his biography, he told them:
"I ask you to be very united on that day, with a deeper gratitude to the Lord - it is Good Friday this March 28 - who has pushed us to participate in his Holy Cross, that is to say, of the Love that does not set conditions".
St. Josemaría He also asked them: "Join me in adoring Our Redeemer, truly present in the Holy Eucharist, in all the Monuments of all the churches of the world, on this Good Friday. Let us live a day of intense and loving adoration".
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In marriage, complaints are often not reproaches, but requests, which invites us to be strong and fight the complaining attitude, more typical of pettiness than of sanity and positivity.
The Catechism of the Catholic ChurchIn its No. 1808, it states that "Fortitude is the moral virtue that assures firmness and constancy in the pursuit of the good in difficulties. It reaffirms the resolution to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude makes one capable of overcoming fear, even of death, and of facing trials and persecutions. It enables one to go so far as to renounce and sacrifice one's life to defend a just cause (...)".
Are we born strong or do we become strong? Rather the latter, especially in the case of human beings, who come into the world absolutely dependent on others for their survival. It is as one acquires experience of life - that is why it is a virtue, that is, a good operative habit - that one becomes strong.
We are interested in emphasizing what is stated in the above-mentioned point: the one who, having contracted a marriage, seeks the good, wants to preserve it in its authenticity and beautydoing whatever it takes to keep your marriage fresh, no matter what it takes, and becoming strong enough to face setbacks.
In the rite of canonical marriage, the future spouses commit themselves to remain faithful to each other in prosperity and adversity; in other words, they assume that their marriage will be difficult, that there will be suffering, but that they will still be faithful to their commitment of love.
In marriage storms appear, but after the storm clouds the sun reappears. That is why when sailors see the winds coming, they prepare themselves to fight against adversity with all their strength, because they know that they will always win in the end and the sea will become calm again; they sail against all odds in the hope that they will find a peaceful, navigable sea.
The same thing happens in marriage: after a setback, well managed, comes the overcoming, and that is where one recognizes the fruit of fidelity to the yes given at the time of contracting it; and that is where one recognizes the beauty of corresponding to love even at the cost of life's setbacks, putting effort and trust, hoping.
The strength of marriage lies in its unity, in the fact that the spouses feel that they are a single reality. For that reason it is convenient to share - to communicate - the difficulties as if the problem of the other one was also with you. Ask him/her about its meaning, about what it represents, and try to put yourself in his/her place.
We may be able to make sounds, but communicating goes much further. We need to know how to express our ideas without hurting others, describing our point of view, starting with "I" and ending with "we", and expressing our feelings and affections.
Active listening, even more important and necessary than speaking, requires an apprenticeship: paying and maintaining attention, and making sure that the other feels listened to and taken into account. This is difficult, and it is often necessary to "do violence to oneself", from a position of strength, to achieve it.
In marriage it is important to learn to listen to feelings. Focus on what the spouse feels rather than what he or she says. In the sentence "John -a son- is unbearable; I can't take it anymore!", the important thing is not "John is unbearable", but "I can't take it anymore"; and before addressing John's problem, you have to empathize with your spouse's feeling: "You are right: there is no one who can stand it" What can we do?". And that exercise usually requires effort.
Respect is essential in itself. To take into account the questions and approaches of others, giving them at least the same value or more than one's own ideas. Not to impose one's thoughts, nor to transform one's opinions into dogmas.
Always prioritize the spouse. It is the one who gives meaning to the very existence of the marriage and of each of the spouses. Not to put the desires of others before those of one's own spouse, being prudent, and of course never taking sides against him or her or limiting oneself to "being neutral". Try to put yourself in the other's place. What it means to him or her. That costs...
Taking care of the smallest details of living together, with the constant sacrifice that this requires. We all know that the greatness of things is in the details. On the other hand, if you are careful with the small gestures, you will be preparing yourself for more challenging challenges, and that in marriage finds its space and is a guarantee of fidelity, which is happiness.
Arguing in married life, which will sometimes be necessary, should always be done with serenity: it is appreciated by oneself and by the spouse with whom one has argued. It is a matter of applying a balance between reason and heart, something that often requires effort.
If a spouse feels a strong emotion, it is best to let it flow without manipulating it and, when it has subsided, confront the cause of the disagreement.
And in any case, to laugh a little at life, without dramatizing, without absolutizing excessively. Laughing "with" and not "at" unites much more than we think. But sometimes it is difficult and it is necessary to make an effort to achieve it.
It has been proven that verbal complaints weaken us and infect others with negative attitudes. It is better to look for something positive and not to insist on things that do not provide solutions or do not help to lift our spirits.
Even so, when one hears complaints from one's spouse, one had better think that, in marriage, complaints are often not reproaches, but requests, which, again, invites us to be strong and fight the complaining attitude, more typical of pettiness than of sanity and positivity.
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On the 300th anniversary of Kant's birth, we review some lesser-known facets of the first and most important representative of criticism and precursor of German idealism, courageous defender of freedom against political and religious powers.
The recent biography by Manfred Kuehn (2024) reveals a Kant little known to the general public and who was an excellent host and devoted friend. Associated with the Enlightenment, he witnessed the birth of the modern world, and his thought is both an expression of a fast-paced era and a way out of its aporias, becoming one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe and universal philosophy.
Kant's life spans almost the entire 18th century. His coming of age witnessed some of the most significant changes in the Western world-changes that still resonate today. It was the period during which the world we live in today originated. Kant's philosophy was very much an expression of and a response to those changes. His intellectual life reflected the most significant speculative, political and scientific developments of the time. His views are reactions to the cultural climate of his time. English and French philosophy, science, literature, politics and manners formed the fabric of his daily conversations. Even events as relatively distant as the American and French revolutions had a definite impact on Kant, and thus also on his work. His philosophy must be viewed in this global context.
Immanuel, who later changed his name to Immanuel, was the son of Johann Georg Kant (1683-1746), a master saddler in Königsberg, and Anna Regina Reuter (1697-1737), daughter of another saddler in the same city. Kant was the fourth child of the couple, although when he was born only a five-year-old sister survived. On the day he was baptized, his mother wrote in her prayer book, "May God keep him according to His Promise of Grace to the end of his days, for the love of Jesus Christ, Amen." The name imposed seemed to her to be a very good omen. This prayer was not only the expression of a pious longing, but it also responded to a real desire and expressed a very deep feeling. Of the five siblings born after Kant, only three survived early childhood.
The great philosopher always kept a deep appreciation for the education received from his parents, mainly through his life example. His family was affected by professional quarrels between different guilds: "... in spite of them, my parents treated their enemies with such respect and consideration and with such firm confidence in the future that the memory of this incident will never be erased from my memory, even though I was only a boy at the time".
Years later, his friend Kraus wrote: "Kant once remarked to me that when he looked more closely at the education in the house of a count not far from Königsberg... he often thought of the incomparably nobler training he had received at home from his parents. He was very grateful to them for that, adding that he had never heard or seen anything indecent in their house."
Kant had only good things to say about his parents. Thus, in a letter from later in his life he wrote: "Both my parents (who belonged to the artisan class) were perfectly honest, morally decent and disciplined. They did not bequeath me a fortune (but neither did they leave me debts). And, from the moral point of view, they gave me an absolutely superb education. Every time I think of this I am overcome with feelings of the most intense gratitude.".
His mother died at the age of forty, when the future philosopher was only 13 years old and was deeply affected. She died infected by the illness of a sick friend whom she cared for on her deathbed. Kant wrote years later that "her death was a sacrifice to friendship." When his father died in 1746, a nearly twenty-one-year-old Immanuel wrote in the family Bible: "On March 24 my dear father has left us with a peaceful death... May God, who did not bring him many joys in this life, allow him to share in eternal bliss.".
Kant's parents were religious people strongly influenced by Pietism, a religious movement within the Protestant churches of Germany that was largely a reaction to the formalism of Protestant orthodoxy. Pietists stressed the importance of independent Bible study, personal devotion, the exercise of the priesthood among the laity, and a faith embodied in acts of charity. It usually involved insistence on a personal experience of radical conversion or rebirth and disregard for worldly success, which could often be precisely dated. The "old self" had to be overcome by the "new self" in a battle fought with the help of God's grace. Each believer was to form in his environment a small church of "true Christians.", different from the formal church that may have strayed from the true meaning of Christianity.
About the religious ideas of his parents, which would appear as the "demands of sanctity" in Kant's second "Critique," he also wrote: "Even if the religious ideas of that time... and the conceptions of what was called virtue and piety were not clear and sufficient, people were really virtuous and pious. One can say as many evils as one likes about pietism. But the people who took it seriously were characterized by a certain kind of dignity. They possessed the noblest qualities that a human being can have: that tranquility and gentleness, that inner peace which is undisturbed by any passion. No need, no quarrel could enrage them or make them anyone's enemy."
In his "Lessons on Pedagogy" (1803) he will leave good ideas for the moral education of children, who must be taught the common duties towards oneself and towards others. Duties based on "a certain dignity that the human being possesses in his inner nature which dignifies him in comparison with all other creatures. It is his duty not to deny this dignity of humanity in his own person".
Drunkenness, unnatural sins and all kinds of excesses are for Kant examples of that loss of dignity by which we place ourselves below the level of animals. The action of "groveling"-drawing in compliments and begging for favors-also places us below human dignity. Lying should be avoided, for it "makes human beings the object of general contempt and tends to rob the child of his or her self-respect.", something that everyone should possess. And when a child avoids another child because he is poorer, when he pushes him or hits him, we should make him understand that such behavior contradicts the right of humanity.
In his "Metaphysics of morals". (1785) offers the example of a man who abandons his project of dedication to an activity that pleases him "immediately, though reluctantly, at the thought that if he were to pursue it he would have to omit one of his duties as a civil servant or neglect a sick father", and that in so behaving he was testing his freedom to the utmost degree.
Kant was horrified when he recalled his school years at the Collegium Fridericianum and, with some exception, said of his professors that "they would be incapable of lighting a fire with a possible spark of our mind about philosophy or mathematics, but would prove very good at putting them out.". Kant recognized that "it is very difficult for every individual to get out of that minority of age, which has almost become his nature... Principles and formulas, mechanical instruments of rational use - or rather abuse - of his natural endowments, are the shackles of a permanent minority of age"..
Faced with the rigorism of his teachers, he wrote in his lessons on anthropology that playing cards "cultivates us, tempers our spirits and teaches us to control our emotions. In this sense it can exert a beneficial influence on our morality.". Because of several unpleasant experiences with soldiers in his city, his concept of the military establishment was not very high.
In his work "The Only Possible Argument in a Demonstration of the Existence of God". (1763) Kant ends by stating that "it is absolutely necessary to be convinced that God exists; but that His existence has to be demonstrated, however, is not equally necessary.". And in his "Observations on the sentiment of the beautiful and the sublime". (1764) comments that "Men who act according to principles are very few, which is even very convenient, because these principles easily turn out to be wrong, and then the harm that results from this goes so much further the more general the principle is and the firmer the person who has adopted it" (1764).. Kant thought that at the age of forty the definitive character was acquired and he thought that the first and most relevant maxim to judge the character of a person is that of truthfulness with oneself and with others.
In a famous passage from the "Critique of Practical Reason". (1788) Kant says: "Two things fill the mind with admiration and respect, ever new and growing the more frequently reflection deals with them: the starry sky above me and the moral law within me.".
He was an enthusiastic supporter of the French Revolution, which he saw as the first practical triumph of the philosophy that had helped to create a government based on the principles of an orderly and rationally constructed system. In his work "Religion within the Limits of Mere Reason." (1794) states that it may happen that "the person of the master of the only religion valid for all worlds is a mystery, that his appearance on earth and his disappearance from it, that his eventful life and his passion are pure miracles... that the very history of the life of the great master is itself a miracle (a supernatural revelation); we can give to all these miracles whatever value we wish, and honor even the envelope... which has set in motion a doctrine that is inscribed in our hearts...".
In 1799, when his weakness was not yet very evident, Kant affirmed to some of his acquaintances: "My lords, I am old and weak, and you must regard me as a child... I am not afraid of death; I shall know how to die. I swear to you before God that, if I feel death approaching during the night, I will join my hands and exclaim God be praised. But if an evil demon were to stand at my back and whisper in my ear: You have made human beings unhappy, then my reaction would be very different.". On February 12, 1804 Kant died at 11:00 a.m., two months short of his 80th birthday.
Being a man with errors, like everyone, St. John Paul II admired him for his defense of the dignity of the human person (never using the person as a means). He was an upright man and truly concerned about the foundations of morality. His most criticizable aspect is his gnoseology, which served as the basis for later subjectivism, although he himself was probably never a subjectivist, as is evident from some of his most famous sentences.
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Joseph Evans comments on the readings for February 9, 2025 which corresponds to the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
There is a clear theme of call in today's readings. The first reading offers us the extraordinary revelation of God's glory that the prophet Isaiah received in the Temple of Jerusalem in the eighth century B.C.
The second reading speaks to us of the appearances of the risen Jesus to his disciples after the Resurrection, principally to the apostle Peter (Cephas). Finally, the Gospel gives us the first miraculous catch of fish, which for Peter was like a revelation of the power of Christ.
However, in spite of the extraordinary character of these episodes, they were also very ordinary. Isaiah was exercising his priestly activity. Peter and his companions were performing the most mundane of tasks: mending their nets.
Jesus enters his boat. He does not ask their permission. Once in it, he complicates Peter's life, asking him to "to move it away from the ground a little". It was only a small request, which interrupted the apostle's work. But it had a decisive effect: it forced Peter to listen. Jesus forces Peter to leave his work to listen to his preaching. Christ meets us and calls us in the midst of our work. But we too need to stop working to listen, to hear and reflect on the word of God.
After having listened to Jesus, the latter can issue Peter a challenge: "Put out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.". Christ always challenges us to get out of the shallow waters of our comfort and mediocrity.
Peter had had a fruitless night. But he had faith. His own failure did not discourage him. "Master, we have been struggling all night and have gathered nothing; but at your word, I will let down the nets.". Anyone trying to win souls for Christ will know this feeling. But a soul of faith does not give up. True to Jesus' command, it casts its nets again and again. Finally, such a great catch is caught that it brings with it the good problem of being temporarily unable to cope with so much abundance.
Before this miracle, Peter is overwhelmed. The power of God in Christ leaves him feeling totally sinful, as Isaiah had felt sinful at the sight of the divine glory. "Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man.", he says. To which Jesus replies: "Fear not; from now on you will be a fisher of men.". In other words, precisely because you recognize your unworthiness, I call you to the apostolate. The humble acceptance of our misery does not disqualify us from serving Christ. Rather, from this awareness, Our Lord calls us.
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During today's Audience, Pope Francis encouraged us to place ourselves "in the school of Mary," who in the Visitation feels the impulse of love and goes out to meet others. He also considered the Magnificat of Our Lady as a "song of redemption" and urged us to pray also for "the displaced people of Palestine".
With a cold that prevented him from delivering the catechesis, having to leave the speech to an official of the Secretary of State, Pier Luigi Giroli, Pope Francis has resumed in the Audience This Wednesday the theme that will be developed throughout the Jubilee Year, 'Jesus Christ, our hope'. The reflection was based on the Gospel of St. Luke (1:39-42), with the title: "And blessed is she who believed" (Lk 1:45).
In a Paul VI Hall packed with pilgrims, the Pope's meditation focused on the Visitation of Our Lady to her cousin St. Elizabeth, the second joyful mystery of the Rosarioand in the Magnificat.
The Pontiff encouraged us to ask today "the Lord for the grace to know how to wait for the fulfillment of all his promises; and may he help us to welcome Mary's presence in our lives. By placing ourselves in her school, may we all discover that every soul that believes and hopes 'conceives and begets the Word of God' (St. Ambrose, Exposition of the Gospel according to St. Luke 2:26)".
In his greeting to the Polish pilgrims, the Pope encouraged them "to pray for priests and consecrated men and women who carry out their ministry in poor countries, and to pray for the priests and consecrated men and women who work in the poorest countries of the world. war-tornespecially in Ukraine, the Middle East and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For many, this presence is proof that God always remembers them".
At the end, addressing the pilgrims in Italian, Francis again asked for prayers for "the martyred Ukraine, Israel, Jordan, so many countries that are suffering, and for the displaced people of Palestine. Let us pray for them," he prayed.
The Successor of Peter asked the French-speaking pilgrims to "follow the school of Mary, cultivating a heart open to God and to our brothers and sisters"; to the English-speaking pilgrims, his wish that "the Jubilee be for you an occasion of spiritual renewal and growth in the joy of the Gospel"; to the English-speaking pilgrims, his wish that "the Jubilee be for you an occasion of spiritual renewal and growth in the joy of the Gospel"; To the German-speaking faithful, "may we too bring Christ to the men and women of our time"; to the Spanish-speaking faithful, who, like the Poles, made their presence felt, he asked them to "raise to God the song of the Magnificat, like Mary, recalling with gratitude the great things he has done in our lives".
The Pontiff exhorted the Chinese-speakers to "always be builders of peace"; the Portuguese-speakers to "learn from her the availability to serve those in need"; and the Arabs to "bear witness to the Gospel in order to build a new world with meekness, through the gifts and charisms they have received".
Before praying the Our Father and giving the final blessing, the Pope personally read two other prayers. First, "I hope that the visit to the tombs of the Apostles will inspire a renewed desire for adherence to Christ and Christian witness in your communities.
In conclusion, he said: "As the Apostle Paul exhorts us, I urge you to be joyful in hope, strong in tribulation, persevering in prayer, and attentive to the needs of your brethren (cf. Rom 12:12-13).
In his catechesis, and using the Virgin Mary as an example, the Pope encouraged the following go out to meet of others. "This young daughter of Israel does not choose to protect herself from the world, she does not fear the dangers and judgments of others, but goes out to meet others. When a person feels loved, she experiences a force that sets love in motion; as the Apostle Paul says, 'the love of Christ possesses us' (2Co 5:14), it impels us, it moves us."
"Maria She feels the impulse of love and goes to help a woman who is a relative of hers, but also an elderly woman who, after a long wait, welcomes an unexpected pregnancy, difficult to cope with at her age. But Our Lady also goes to Elizabeth to share her faith in the God of the impossible and her hope in the fulfillment of his promises".
The massive presence of the Easter motif, the Holy Father commented, "also makes of the Magnificat a song of redemption, which has as its background the memory of Israel's liberation from Egypt. The verbs are all in the past tense, impregnated with a memory of love that enkindles the present with faith and illuminates the future with hope: Mary sings the grace of the past, but she is the woman of the present who carries the future in her womb".
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The Church celebrates on February 5 St. Agatha (Agatha), patron saint of Catania. She was a Christian martyr during the persecution of Emperor Decius (3rd century), after defending her virginity and her faith. Her name appears in the Roman Canon together with Felicity and Perpetua, (Agatha), Lucia, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia...
Born into a Christian family, Agatha decided at a young age to consecrate herself to God, took a vow of virginity and received from the Bishop of Catania the red veilsymbol of the consecrated virgins. This represented her commitment to live a life of purity and service to God. The story of St. Agatha takes place between Catania and Palermo, which dispute her birthplace.
Coinciding with the persecution of Decius against the Christians, the proconsul Quincianus took notice of her beauty. When rejected, she was tortured with the tearing of her breasts and mutilated. Her prayers were heard and according to tradition, she was comforted with the apparition of St. PeterWhen Quinciano ordered that Agueda, wrapped only in the red veil of the bride of Christ, be burned in burning coals, an earthquake prevented it. She died in the cell.
The minutes of the martyrdom that a year later, there was a great eruption of the volcano Etna, and the lava flow was heading towards the city of Catania. Many people went to the tomb of Agatha to ask for her intercession, and her veil was placed in front of the river of lava. Miraculously, the lava stopped. Her relics are preserved in Catania, in the cathedral dedicated to her. The feast of St. Agatha is an institution in the city, and its primitive cult. It is named in Prayer I- .Roman Canon.
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A conference at the University of Holy Cross, March 6-8, will explore the relevance of altruism and the culture of care. Professor Francesco Russo explains some specific aspects in this interview.
"Privilege care for all, so that the weakest are not discarded."Silvia LibradaSociety is aging and will need more care".Grandparents and the elderly at the heart of the ChurchIn the context of a contemporary world marked to a large extent by individualism and anthropological crisis, the next academic proposal of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross - its XXVth Congress of Studies-will be dedicated to altruism.
This act, which is part of a three-year research project on the culture of care, aims to explore the role of altruism in human existence, beyond reductionist interpretations that link it to simple acts of charity or utilitarian calculations.
The activity, which will take place from March 6 to 8, will include contributions from philosophers, neuroscientists, physicians, sociologists and economists, and is intended to take place within the framework of the cultural and educational challenge to which Pope Francis has often referred, inviting a profound rethinking of the relationship between the individual and the community. In this framework, OMNES interviewed Prof. Francesco Russo, Professor of Anthropology of Culture and Society and member of the conference organizing committee.
- Because philosophy is not alien to its sociocultural context and today everyone agrees that we live in a society sick with individualism. That is why it is important to reflect on altruism in order to understand its role in human existence.
Philosophical reflection is necessary because it cannot be reduced to a superficial gesture of charity, nor can it be framed in what is called "effective altruism," according to a vision that derives basically from utilitarianism or egocentrism in search of mere emotional well-being. Altruism is the essential link between the self and the you, and is an essential human trait, involving compassion and empathy.
- The anthropological crisis to which you refer was pointed out in 2009 by Benedict XVI and recently highlighted on several occasions by Pope Francis. Faced with the problems to be confronted, political or sociological or economic solutions will not suffice if we do not realize that the identity and specificity of the human person are at stake. On Veritatis GaudiumPope Francis, in n. 6, invited scholars, in particular universities and ecclesiastical faculties, to become aware that "what is emerging before our eyes today is 'a great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge that will entail long processes of regeneration'".
For this reason, in the research project promoted by the Faculty of Philosophy of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, we have involved 14 researchers from ten European and American university institutions to help re-found the culture of care, which constitutes the deep vocation of the human person, as Pope Francis himself recalled in his Message for the 2021 World Day of Peace: the care of the human being and its flourishing in the different dimensions of existence (such as, for example, relationships, the environment, the common good, the artistic heritage, the sacred).
- Dialogue is not only possible, but indispensable. Indeed, the conference will be attended not only by philosophers, but also by neuroscientists, physicians, sociologists, educationalists and economists. This interdisciplinarity is reflected not only in the main papers, but also in the forty or so communications that will be presented.
The human sciences, particularly neuroscience, are advancing considerably, but they do not capture the person in his or her corporeal-spiritual integrity: we are not just a biologically complex organism governed by a highly specialized brain. Otherwise, pain, freedom, compassion for others, dedication to others, the very search for the truth about our human condition and the meaning of our actions would remain without explanation or meaning. The rigor of science and the holistic vision of philosophical anthropology can and must confront and dialogue.
- As for the sentimental sphere, the omnipresence of technology accentuates illiteracy, because it does not help us to understand, express and recognize our own and other people's feelings. On the other hand, compassion and empathy do not only involve the emotional plane, in the sense that they go beyond a passing state of mind. On the contrary, they are two existential attitudes that imply an openness of heart to the needs of others, an awareness of our constitutive relationality and a willingness to seek the good of others.
I like to emphasize that, providentially, the conference coincides with the Jubilee of Volunteering; we only realized this once the dates were set and we saw in it a confirmation of what I have mentioned: altruism is inherent to human nature, even if individualistic culture blurs its features and scope.
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If there is one thing the Word of God encourages us to do, it is to sing: "Sing!
The saved people sing and dance. It does so in the middle of the desert, when Mary, the sister of Moses, encouraged to sing "to the Lord, exalted conqueror". Dance David "with all their enthusiasm, singing with zithers and harps, with tambourines, sistrums and cymbals."Mary intones a rhythmic psalmody, the Magnificat, at the gates of Elizabeth's house; Christ himself laments the unbelief of the people with a musical comparison: "we have sung to the sound of the flute and you have not danced.".
– Supernatural music is intimately linked to the deepest human emotions and there is God. Worshipping God with songs and dances shows this total surrender of man: that movement that is born from the depths of the heart and manifests itself physically.
It is not in vain that music is said to be the language of the angels, created for the eternal adoration and praise of God. God sings and creates; he creates by singing and there are those who imagined the creation of the world as a musical composition following the powerful image of C. S. Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia.
Men and women of all times have sung of their deepest aspirations and desires, their clearest loves, their beginning and end. The Church too, as the people of God, has sung of the center of his love since its origins: "the musical tradition of the universal Church constitutes a treasure of inestimable value which stands out among other artistic expressions, mainly because sacred chant, united with words, constitutes a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy". affirms the Sacrosanctum Concilium.
In a masterful, and not uncontroversial, article by Marcos Torres published in Omnes on October 9, 2024, the author points out how "to such an extent has religious music been important in the transmission of the truth of the contents of the faith, that the Church through apostolic succession has always taken care to discern and verify the concrete expressions and forms of the various musical creations.". Expressions ranging from liturgical music, proper to the celebration of the Eucharistic sacramental mystery, to the new musical movements linked to adoration (worship).
Music, as a profoundly human and divine expression, is a privileged vehicle to worship God and transmit faith, to incarnate love and to love the God who became man and who, surely, also danced and sang.
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The Church in Africa is going through a time of great dynamism and challenges. While the continent is experiencing significant growth in the number of faithful, it is also facing difficulties such as violence against Christian communities, poverty and political instability in various regions.
Christianophobia: data show rising trendHow promising is the future of the Church in Africa?Which priest for which Africa?The Catholic education system in Mali faces serious threats due to the increase in jihadist violence in the country. Extremist groups have attacked and destroyed schools, especially in the northern and central regions of Mali, forcing the closure of numerous educational centers. This situation jeopardizes the education of thousands of children and young people, and severely affects local Christian communities.
The Catholic Church, through its educational institutions, has played a crucial role in promoting peace and coexistence in Mali. However, growing insecurity hampers its work and threatens to dismantle the Catholic educational system in the country.
The National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) and the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC), which brings together 64 Protestant and evangelical denominations, have signed the "Social Pact for Peace and Coexistence in the Congo". Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Great Lakes Region". This agreement seeks to restore peace in the country's eastern provinces, affected by more than 30 years of violence and the presence of numerous armed groups, many with foreign support. The pact is inspired by the African concept of "Bumuntu", which promotes empathy, mutual respect and solidarity, fostering social cohesion and rejecting exclusion and violence.
To implement the pact, CENCO and ECC will form thematic commissions on peace and social cohesion, charged with drafting a National Charter for Peace and Harmony. In addition, an "International Conference for Peace, Co-Development and Co-Existence in the Great Lakes" will be convened.
In Nigeria, Catholic priests have become "soft targets" for kidnappers. The belief that the Church is a wealthy institution is reinforced by observing the vehicles some priests drive, leading criminals to assume that by kidnapping them, the Church will pay a substantial ransom. Kidnapping has become a lucrative business, and priests are seen as vulnerable targets with access to financial resources.
While religious hatred may also play a role in these kidnappings, economic factors play a crucial role. The rector of the seminary, Father Raymond Olusesan Aina, regrets the violence that Christians and Catholics in particular face in NigeriaThe company's mission is to provide a service to the people, noting that many have suffered and even lost their lives because of their faith, particularly in the northern part of the country.
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As Mercedes Temboury Redondo argues, the theological error of the Inquisition consisted in trying to force the conversion of the defendant through a legal process.
Mercedes Temboury Redondo, PhD in Modern Spanish History and tireless researcher of the Spanish Supreme Inquisition and its suffragan courts in the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, in the funds of the National Historical Archive of Spain, presents in this extensive volume which we now comment on a synthesis of his research.
The angle of vision of this work and its objective coincide in offering a synthesis of the Inquisition from the perspective and interests of the Spanish Empire in Europe, Asia and America during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
This vision attempts to illuminate the dark points of the black legend fabricated especially by Juan Antonio Llorente, the last Secretary of the Supreme Inquisition who went into exile in France in the 19th century and lived off the publication of the "secret" papers he had taken from the archives.
In fact, it has been many years since the Pope St. John Paul II provided the necessary light to understand the origin and theological errors of the Spanish Inquisition. On March 12, 2000, in an impressive ceremony at the Vatican in front of a 12th century crucifix, the Holy Father, surrounded by his cardinals of the Curia, asked forgiveness for all the sins of all Christians of all times and, especially, for the use of violence to defend the faith.
Indeed, Roman law affirmed, and as such passed on to the Church the principle: "de internis neque Ecclesia iudicat". Of internal things neither the Church can judge, only God knows the interior of man.
The theological error of the Inquisition consisted, therefore, in trying to force the conversion of the accused by means of a juridical process. As is the common doctrine of the Church, and as the New Testament and Tradition state, only the grace of God can open the soul to conversion: "No one comes to me unless the Father draws him" (Jn 6:40). Therefore, only persuasion and prayer and penance and good example can stir souls to repentance and rectification.
As all those who have exercised spiritual direction or spiritual accompaniment know well, when a person is sincere in the Sacrament of Penance, with that gift comes the gift of contrition and the soul can regain the peace of God's mercy. To catch a person in the lack of coherence of faith and life and attempt repentance only leads to hardening of the heart and wounded pride.
Indeed, the studies that we have carried out on the subject and that we have published in many articles and monographs on the "theological error of the Inquisition", shed this light: the objective of the inquisitorial process was to objectify the theological error in which the defendant had fallen and then seek conversion under pressure: the Judaizing heresy, the apostasy and return to Islam of the new convert, the denial of the sins established by the positive divine law. The inquisitors usually had a good heart and knew that they had to give an account to the Supreme Court of their rectitude of intention and to God who is the Lord of consciences, that is why so many files are preserved and so prolix.
Evidently, this was a mistake for which we must ask forgiveness because, even if only a single process had taken place, we should already repent and rectify. It is necessary to return to trust in God who will move the soul to conversion and in man who can repent and rectify before the good example and happiness of other Catholics: "If your brother sins against you, go and correct him alone with him. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. If he does not listen, then take with you one or two, so that any matter may be made firm by the word of two or three witnesses But if he will not listen to them, tell it to the Church. If he will not listen to the Church either, consider him a pagan and a tax collector" (Mt 18:15-17).
On the other hand, our author's analysis is full of juridical finesse, thanks to which she demonstrates that the procedural system of the Inquisition protected the defendants from the temptation to seize the assets of the accused or to be condemned for false accusations or to resolve problems of enmity or litigation in the villages. In fact, as the author demonstrates, the complex legal system yielded impressive results: most of the trials ended in the acquittal of the accused because they were not really heretics but people with a lack of elementary Christian education. A few were indeed condemned for heresy, but, upon repentance, they were given medicinal sentences. And only a very few were condemned to death. As Jaime Contreras has already shown in his Inquisition database, only 1.8 % were handed over to the secular arm.
Evidently, only an inquisitorial process would be enough to ask forgiveness for having violated conscience, even if it is argued, as the author does, that the inquisitorial process saved us from events such as: the 50,000 Huguenots murdered in France on the night of Saint Bartholomew, August 23-24, 1572; the 500,000 witches burned in Germany in the Lutheran trials without papers; the death of Michael Servetus by Calvin simply to compensate for the offended divine justice and the martyrdom of the Jesuit Edmund Edmund Servetus.000 witches burned in Germany in the Lutheran trials without papers; the death of Michael Servetus by Calvin simply to compensate the offended divine justice and the martyrdom of the Jesuit Edmund Campion and many other Catholic priests in England because the Anglican inquisitorial court considered them guilty of death for celebrating the Catholic Mass as that would be high treason to Queen Elizabeth, head of the Anglican Church.
In reality, this work is a new vision of the Inquisition taken from the reading and research of many files taken from the National Historical Archive and other archives consulted. The author has focused especially on the second life of the inquisitorial process. That is, from 1511 to 1833. In this period, the Inquisition should have disappeared since it had been created for the processes against judaizers and these practically disappeared during this time.
Indeed, it is understood that the aim of this book is to demonstrate that the Inquisition worked above all at the service of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the Spanish Empire at a time of close union between civil and ecclesiastical power when the unity of the faith was capital for the renewal of the Church after Trent and the expansion of the Spanish empire in America and Asia.
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Pope Francis is preparing a document addressed to children and focused on children's rights, he confirmed on February 3 at the end of a summit on the subject held at the Vatican.
"Bring children close to the elderly", Pope asksAlejandro Monteverde (Sound of Freedom): "Children should be protected by the whole world".-(OSV News / Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service)
At the end of a Vatican summit on the rights of children, the Pope Francis announced that he would publish a papal document dedicated to children.
He described the February 3 summit, held in the frescoed halls of the Apostolic Palace, as a kind of "open observatory" in which the speakers explored "the reality of childhood throughout the world, a childhood that unfortunately is often wounded, exploited, denied."
Some 50 experts and leaders from around the world, who shared their experience and compassion, he said, also "elaborated proposals for the protection of children's rights, considering them not as numbers, but as faces."
"Children are watching us," he said, "to see how we are doing" in this world. The Pope said he planned to prepare a papal document "to give continuity to this commitment and promote it throughout the Church." The audience applauded the Pope and his brief closing remarks and gave him a standing ovation.
The one-day summit of world leaders, entitled "Love and Protect Them," discussed several issues of concern, including children's right to food, health care, education, family, leisure time and the right to live free from violence and exploitation. It was organized by the newly created Pontifical Committee for World Children's DayEnzo Fortunato, presided by the Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato.
Among the guests were Nobel laureates, ministers and heads of state, leaders of international and non-profit organizations, senior Vatican officials and other experts.
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said in his speech: "The threat of ecological devastation - encompassing the climate crisis as well as the biodiversity crisis - is a terrible burden that we are imposing on our children.
He praised the Pope for stressing that "the spiritual crisis we face comes in part from the willful blindness that prevents so many from seeing the way our economic system is leading us toward exploitation of both people and the planet, at the expense of our moral values and the future of children."
"Those in power today must change our thinking; and our new thinking must lead to profound changes that transform our current systems of economics and politics, ushering in a more just and ecological system that places environmental and social justice at the center of our plans and efforts," Gore said. "We have all the solutions we need."
India's Kailash Satyarthi, co-winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize and an activist who campaigns against child labor in India and advocates for the universal right to education, said in his talk that while he trusts everyone's concern for children, he also feels ashamed.
"I'm embarrassed because we are failing our children every day. I'm ashamed to hear all these facts and statistics that I've been hearing" and talking about for the last 45 years," he said.
"We know the problems, we know the solutions," he said, but so far it has all remained rhetoric and words.
The world's problem solvers "are not really honest (with) those who suffer the problems," he said, when they lack any sense of "moral responsibility and moral accountability."
"The solution lies in genuine feeling and connection" with each child as if he or she were one's own, he said. Only when people feel genuine compassion will they feel "the sincere urge to act urgently."
"We have to combat this threat (of child labor and poverty) and all other crises through compassion in action. We have to create a culture of problem solving. Let us globalize compassion because they are all our children," Satyarthi said.
This article is a translation of an article first published in OSV News. You can find the original article here.
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Francis drew the outlines of a Christian educational program that could well be called a pedagogy of hope, illuminating the path of this Jubilee Year.
In the middle of Christmas time, on January 4, Pope Francis dedicated an address to an important group of Italian Catholic educators, based on what he called "the most important and most important of the Italian Catholic educators". Pedagogy of God. With quick strokes he outlined a program for Christian-inspired education. A program that we could call pedagogy of hopeand that illuminates our path in the Jubilee year.
"¿What is -Francisco wondered. God's educational method?"And the answer was: "It is that of proximity and closeness". The trinomial that he usually repeats resounded in the background: closeness, compassion and tenderness. And this may lead us to ask ourselves: how should we Christians deal with a pedagogy of hope?
The curtain opens on the divine pedagogy: "Like a teacher who enters the world of his students, God chooses to live among men in order to teach through the language of life and love. Jesus was born in a condition of poverty and simplicity: this calls us to a pedagogy that values what is essential and places humility, gratuitousness and acceptance at the center.".
In contrast," the Pope explains, "pedagogy that is distant and distant from the students is neither useful nor helpful. In fact, Christmas teaches us that greatness is not manifested in success or wealth, but in love and service to others.
"God's -he shelled out- is a pedagogy of gift, a call to live in communion with Him and with others, as part of a project of universal fraternity, a project in which the family occupies a central and irreplaceable place.".
Let us note how this orientation resonates with the main chords of Francis' teachings, whose center is communion with God and with people. And which leads to praising and thanking him (Laudato si'(the gift that has been given to us in the Heart of Christ (Dilexit uswho loved us). Such is the horizon of Christian proclamation (Evangelii gaudiumof the joy of the Gospel). A proclamation that implies, in fact, the project of a universal fraternity (Fratelli tutti, all siblings), in which the family plays a nuclear role (Amoris laetitiathe joy of love).
For this reason, he continues, God's pedagogy is "an invitation to recognize the dignity of every person, beginning with the discarded and marginalized, as shepherds were treated two thousand years ago, and to appreciate the value of every stage of life, including childhood. The family is the center, let us not forget it!"
The Declaration of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith should be mentioned here, Dignitas infinita (April 8, 2024) which underlines the value of human dignity, easily recognized by the believer, since God loves every human being with an infinite love and "...".thereby conferring infinite dignity" (Fratelli tuttiThe expression is from John Paul II, Message to the disabled16-XI-1980).
With regard to the family, and in order to invite communication in the family, the Pope stops to recount an event. On Sunday, someone was eating in a restaurant. At the next table there was a family, the father and the mother, the son and the daughter, each one attentive to his cell phone, without talking to each other. This gentleman got up and told them that since they were a family, why didn't they talk to each other. The result is that they sent him on his way and went on with what they were doing....
In the second part of the speech, Francis placed himself in the the way of the jubilee we are beginning. With the Incarnation of the Son of God, the hope has entered the world.
"The Jubilee -noted- has much to say to the world of education and schools. In fact, 'pilgrims of hope' are all those who are searching for meaning in their lives, and also those who help young people to walk this path.".
That's right. A parenthesis. In the Global education pact that Francis has been proposing, and whose launch was interrupted by the pandemic, the issue of the address occupies a central place (cfr. Instrumentum laboris(2020) In outlining the general lines of the educational task we need today, Benedict XVI is quoted in his Letter to the diocese and city of Rome on the urgent task of education (21-I-2008) when it states: "There is talk of a great 'educational emergency', confirmed by the failures in which very often end our efforts to form solid people, capable of collaborating with others and giving meaning to their lives.".
In fact, the increasing numbers of suicides among young people only confirm this urgency (in 2023, a study showed that in Spain, suicide is the leading cause of death in young people and adolescents between 12 and 29 years of age).
Let us continue with Francis' speech. He maintains the evidence that education has to do in a central way with hope: the hope, supported by the experience of human history, that people can mature and grow. And this hope sustains the educator in his task:
"A good teacher is a man or woman of hope, because he or she is committed with confidence and patience to a project of human growth. His or her hope is not naïve, it is rooted in reality, sustained by the conviction that every educational effort has value and that every person has a dignity and a vocation that deserves to be cultivated.".
In this regard, the Pope expresses his pain when he sees children who have no education and who go to work, often exploited, or who go to look for food or things to sell where there is garbage.
But, he asks, "How can we not lose hope and nourish it every day?"
And he advises: "Keep your gaze fixed on Jesus, teacher and companion on the way: this allows you to be truly pilgrims of hope. Think of the people you meet at school, children and adults.".
It was already said in the Bull for the convocation of the Jubilee: "Everyone hopes. In the heart of every person nestles hope as a desire and expectation of the good, even in ignorance of what tomorrow will bring." (Spes non confundit, 1).
This is an argument that had already appeared in the encyclical Spe salvi (cf. Benedict XVI, nn. 30 ff.): there are the small or greater human hopes (which everyone has, in relation to love, work, etc.), depending also on the times of life. And then there is the hope proclaimed by the Christian faith: "the greatest hope that cannot be destroyed even by frustrations in small things or by failure in events of historical importance." (n. 35).
Well, Francis says: "These human hopes, through each and every one of you -educators-, can find Christian hope, the hope that is born of faith and lives in charity.". He adds: "let us not forget: hope does not disappoint. Optimism disappoints, but hope does not disappoint. A hope that surpasses all human desire, because it opens minds and hearts to life and to eternal beauty.".
How, then, can this be done in schools or in Christian-inspired colleges?
Here is the proposal of Francisco: "You are called to elaborate and transmit a new culture, based on the encounter between generations, on inclusion, on the discernment of the true, the good and the beautiful; a culture of responsibility, personal and collective, to face global challenges such as the environmental, social and economic crises, and the great challenge of peace. At school we can 'imagine peace', that is, lay the foundations for a more just and fraternal world, with the contribution of all disciplines and the creativity of children and young people.".
Let us note some elements of the proposal. First of all, the Christian educator does not fly over human hopes in order to take a shortcut to the only important thing, which would be Christian hope. To understand this would be a mistake. Christian hope assumes human hopes, whether personal or social, as long as they are true, good and beautiful, even if some of them can be considered as more small by its scope or duration. "Christian hope assumes all hopes". that we have today, such as peace, although its achievement may seem difficult or distant.
In the second place, the great Christian hope, on this path of assuming the smallest - if we want to speak in this way - human hopes, is making a new culture, to be "a culture of personal and collective responsibility".precisely through education. But this requires an effort, in the personal and social field, in the direction of encounter, inclusion, ethical responsibility.
Third, teaching, not only at the university level but also in schools and colleges, needs the interdisciplinarityThe work of bringing together the different subjects of the curricula so that each one contributes its best in dialogue with the others, thus enriching education and helping students in their personal growth.
In its apostolic constitution Veritatis gaudium (2017), on that anthropological or cultural basis of interdisciplinarity, Francisco proposes a further step: the. transdisciplinarity, understood "as the location and maturation of all knowledge in the space of Light and Life offered by the Wisdom that flows from the Revelation of God". (cfr. 4 c).
Fourth and last, all of it asks, from school or college, discernment and creativity. First, in the teachers, in their minds, in their work, personally and as a team. And then, they must teach the students these fundamental attitudes: to discern the true, the good and the beautiful; and to encourage their creativity. And not to lose themselves in useless imaginations or daydreams, but to "laying the groundwork" of a more just and fraternal world; for a more just and "meeting the challenges" both personal and global.
Someone might ask: aren't these too many goals? Isn't this educational project proposed by Francis somewhat utopian, perhaps attractive, but unattainable in reality?
And just before this question, at that moment, it is when our hope is testedthat of each educator. And, before that, that of each family. And, afterwards and at the same time, that of each educational center.
So we could say or tell them, or tell us: you have (have) so much hope, you will have (will have) so much engine, for your (or your) educational task.
For the rest, the Pope does not abandon realism. He says: all of this (imagining peace with realistic dreams) will not be possible if the school allows the "wars"between educators or the bullying Then peace would be unimaginable, as would be all the dreams of education.
The end of the speech is near. What is important in a school or college is not the building, but the people. By its very nature, the educational task involves a path and a community, a place for the testimony of human values.
This was known to the great promoters and educators of educational institutions in which those who listened to the Pope that day were working. Those of us who are now reading this speech know it and wish to take advantage of it to continue in the educational field or to regain new impetus.
Francis knows this well. And he offers, in conclusion, a few pieces of advice or suggestions that, in their apparent simplicity, deserve to be meditated upon and worked on. They appeal both to the "educational passion" and to the responsibility and discernment of educators and school administrators.
They are condensed in this paragraph:
"Never forget where you come from, but do not walk with your heads turned backwards, lamenting the old days. Think rather of the present of the school, which is the future of society, in full epochal transformation. Think of the young teachers who are taking their first steps in school and of the families who feel alone in their educational task. Propose to each one your educational and associative style with humility and novelty".
Francis encourages us to work together on the path of hope: "Hope never disappoints, never, hope never stands still, hope is always on the way and keeps us going".
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The approach to music must be theological and liturgical. If this perspective had been adopted from the beginning, many historical problems could have been avoided, and the spiritual fruits in the world would have been greater.
Liturgical music or music in the liturgy?I will sing to the Lord: meaning and reason for music in the liturgy.Some time ago, while preparing a conference on sacred music, I remembered a biblical episode that always strikes me for its power: the song of the People of Israel after crossing the Red Sea. That scene, recorded in the book of Exodus, shows us a response of amazement and gratitude in the face of God's saving intervention:
I will sing to the Lord, glorious is His victory... My strength and my power is the Lord, He was my salvation. (Ex 15:1b-18).
This moment is not only a historical account, but also a theological key. In the face of the ineffable - the love of God, his wonder to save the people - words are not enough. It is then that song emerges as a language capable of expressing what the moment demands.
To illustrate the lecture, I wanted to find out how classic films about Moses had depicted these moments. My surprise was great: many omitted the song, focusing on the wonder of the open water, blurring the reaction of the people. This led me to ask myself a question: are we losing the ability to recognize the ineffable?
We live in a culture that seems convinced that everything can be said, explained or defined. But reality reminds us again and again that there are things that escape our words: how to describe the color yellow to a person born blind? How to explain the sound of a trumpet to a deaf person? Even in matters as human as love or friendship, words fall short.
So, if we are unable to grasp what surrounds us with ordinary language, how can we put into words the mystery of God, the love he has for us, our fear and gratitude? Moreover, how could we truly dialogue with Him if we refuse to deploy all the capacities that He Himself has imprinted in our nature to do so?
Let us think of the liturgy. It is the privileged place where God speaks to us about Himself, not only with words, but also through signs, gestures, colors, smells and, of course, music. The liturgy that Jesus Christ has given us has a profoundly dialogical character: it wants to be an encounter between Him and us. And St. Augustine, despite the personal dilemma he had with music because of its Neoplatonic roots, tells us: "Singing is an expression of joy and, if we consider it more attentively, it is an expression of love" (Sermon 34).
A fundamental point, of another order: if it turns out that Jesus Christ himself and his disciples sang at the Last Supper, who could claim any objection against liturgical chant?
Up to this point, everything seems beautiful and coherent. But then, what is happening in our parishes today?
First of all, the 'Music'. What is a topic like this doing in such a serious theological journal as Omnes? The question is not obvious and deserves consideration. Joseph Ratzinger considers it 'music of faith', because it proceeds from faith and leads us to it. This alone would be enough to justify the place of sacred music in theological reflection.
However, when we speak of 'liturgical music', his words take on even greater weight. Commenting on the Second Vatican Council - "sacred song, united with words, constitutes a necessary or integral part of the solemn Liturgy" (Sacrosanctum Concilium112), Ratzinger points out clearly: music itself is liturgy. Therefore, the answer is given: we speak of music in Omnes -of certain music, of course- because we speak of theology.
Beauty', which also has much to say in this area, will be dealt with later. As for 'Mystery', we will focus our reflection mainly on liturgical music, without neglecting to illuminate what it can bring us about sacred music in general. In this way we will be able to go deeper with greater clarity.
After twenty-one centuries of Church history, liturgical music remains an unresolved issue in many places. The problems are obvious and can be observed with a simple test: ask the opinion of two or three people from the same parish about the music of the Mass. Chances are, if the conversation is not handled tactfully, the discussion will end in conflict.
Then a question arises: why don't the musician and the liturgist talk to clarify things? Although the idea seems logical, today, in many cases, it is impossible. The reason is clear: the content of such a conversation should be theological and liturgical, but the theology necessary to support it is not yet sufficiently elaborated.
Imagine a conversation between a liturgist and a musician:
- Liturgist (L): I need you to compose something for the offertory at Sunday Mass.
- Musician (M): All right, what do you want me to say my music?
- L: I don't know, something nice, you know!
- M: Wait, I know about music, but I'm asking you what my music should express in this Sunday's offertory. That's something you should tell me.
- L (mumbling): These musicians... always complicating everything!
The conversation ends in stalemate because neither has the tools necessary to move forward. The musician seeks meaning and purpose; the liturgist cannot articulate it. And it's not ignorance on the part of a particular liturgist. Proof? Liturgical books use expressions such as, "Sing here a chant. appropriate". In more favorable cases the indications go as far as proposing the text of a psalm, as an example. And the music? When is it 'appropriate'? Or is the music neutral and not says nothing? These are the questions we urgently need to address in order to build a fruitful dialogue.
The lack of communication between musicians and liturgists is not superficial; it has deep roots. Let us remember that the liturgy is not simply a human event: it is a divine gift, given at the price of the Cross. Its proper configuration does not depend solely on good intentions; it requires us to recognize that its true work is carried out by the Holy Spirit, even if He wants to count on our collaboration. Here, precisely, lies the heart of musical activity within liturgical chant.
Two reflections help to better understand this point. First, let us consider how difficult it would be to make a minimal change in the text of the Eucharistic Prayer. Now let us contrast this with the ease with which, at times, the chanting of the Mass is improvised or trivialized, even in solemn celebrations. Not to mention the unusual offers available on the internet for the music of a Catholic marriage....
The second reflection comes from an experience lived in the beloved American continent. In a theology faculty, I was trying to explain these arguments about the need for a theological development of liturgical music. At first, it seems that I was not clear, because a professor commented: -So, what you are looking for is the style of liturgical music, right?
This commentary gave me the opportunity to clarify a fundamental point: the focus is not on styles or instruments. It is in the theological foundations.
A serious theological development is needed on a subject that always seems to slip through our fingers. Bringing music to this depth opens to the freedom, richness and depth of the Mystery of God. Without this perspective, any discussion of liturgical music ends up reduced to personal taste or the possibility of using violins or guitars. In fact, this tension is not new: more than a millennium ago, something similar was already being debated, albeit in other forms.
The pontifical Magisterium has left many indications, but theological development is still insufficient. The questions, at times, are surprising: what does it mean that Gregorian chant is "supreme model of all sacred music" (St. Pius X, Motu proprio Among the applications, 4)? At other times, the questions are essential: what must a piece of music have in order to be called liturgical?
This theological development is necessary and requires the joint effort of theologians and liturgists, musicians, musicologists and philosophers. It is an open and active question, for all this volume of study must end in the composition and performance of a music, which is liturgical.
What we want to convey is that we are witnessing an important novelty: an epistemological path is opening up that invites us to a new era in our work. This is the program that we wish to propose in these lines and in successive contributions: these paths and ways that allow scholars of subjects that have traditionally been considered disparate to work together, but which are not, because they say of God and they say to God in the liturgy.
Therefore, the approach to music must be theological and liturgical. If this perspective had been adopted from the beginning, many historical problems could have been avoided, and the spiritual fruits in the world would have been greater.
We would like to focus on one key idea: music. says. To skeptics, the communicative impact of music may seem debatable. However, when economic interests are involved, the issue is immediately recognized. Just think of how music is used strategically in advertising or cinema to convey specific messages. To illustrate this, we recommend these publicly accessible videos, which are eloquent examples:
Example 1:
Example 2:
The task of conveying that musical message belongs to the art and craft of the composer. That is where the potential dialogue between musician and liturgist begins, provided both are willing and clear about their craft. The central question will be what is it that the music has to say in the liturgical context.
In this series of publications that we are initiating, our intention is to start from what already exists in the history of music -which has witnessed countless successes- and learn from it. In this way we will be able to discern what we should continue to do and how to do it better. The advantage we have today -we insist- is that we now know the method. However, the work ahead is still immense.
Before describing this general approach, we would like to dwell on a starting point that may be familiar to some. We are talking about liturgy and, as we have explained, in liturgy words are not enough.
Romano Guardini, in The spirit of the liturgyproposed a little more than a century ago that liturgy, under certain aspects, can be understood as a game. Games create a small universe where everyday concerns fade away and a world with its own rules emerges, appearing and disappearing in time.
The legend of the conversion of Prince Vladimir of Kiev adds an important dimension to this idea. According to the story, in seeking a religion for his people, Vladimir called representatives of some of the major religions to speak with them. Since none convinced him, he decided to send emissaries to the religious celebrations of the different faiths. On their return, those who had attended the liturgy in Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, gave a moving testimony: "We do not know whether we were in heaven or on earth. But we have experienced that there, God is among men." The liturgy was not intended to convince anyone. The definitive argument for Prince Vladimir was that there all things were done, not for a purpose, but only to please God.
Ratzinger, without completely rejecting Guardini's vision, qualifies the idea. The liturgy can resemble a game, but not just any game, because it has to do with the right way to adore God. He alone knows how He wants to be adored, and Jesus Christ has wanted to reveal this to us. From this perspective, the liturgy becomes an anticipation of the future life (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 8).
Therefore, a game with a rules for worship, in which we know that we please God. Within these rules, we play in freedom. Everyone plays by the same rules, although some do it better than others, because the key is to set out in search of what is essential: a space of truth and beauty where God comes to meet us so that we may seek and find him. Now, the dialogical character of the liturgy is understood in greater depth.
Well, this context of truth and beauty, of freedom to find what is essential, is pointed out by two authors as important for the development of sacred music. The two authors are Joseph Ratzinger and Father Angelo De Santi, S.J. (1847-1922), who was directly involved in the drafting of the Motu Proprio Among the applications of St. Pius X (1903). The reference made by both of them is chapter VIII of the Policy of Aristotle, together with the notion of paideia Greek. The development is not immediate, but we can propose here the conclusions.
– Supernatural paideia The Greek religion was an educational guide with a religious dimension, oriented to lead the individual to the essential. On the other hand, the contents of this final chapter of the Policy approaches education as the means to form the individual beyond useful and practical needs, orienting it towards leisure, understood as a noble and elevated activity. This leisure is not mere rest, but a space for the cultivation of truth, beauty and human fulfillment.
The key to our reflection is that Aristotle identifies music as the main discipline for this training, thanks to its unique ability to mold the soul and the emotions. More than mere entertainment, music is an educational tool that fosters inner harmony, virtuous character and integration into a community oriented to the common good. Joseph Ratzinger explains it this way:
If we think that the Church, due to the place in which it was formed, made its own, in many aspects, the attitude of the polis classical, the Aristotelian association of polis and music would have been an ideal starting point for the question of sacred music.
And also:
The theory of music that Aristotle develops in his Policy VIII is strongly influenced by the idea of the paideiaThe idea is that, in music education, it goes beyond what is necessary and useful, and aims to train for the good use of free time, thus becoming an education for freedom and beauty.
(J. Ratzinger, The theological foundation of sacred music).
In order to approach this treatment of music as liturgy, we will begin with a series of articles on music in the history of the Church. It will be a particular journey, from a history of sacred music. The conclusion will be, at the same time, disturbing and hopeful.
Subsequently, we will devote ourselves to unfolding the theological question. We point out at this point that the development requires not one, but two theological perspectives, distinct and complementary. A brief description will now serve:
1. Theology of sacred music (TMS). This approach seeks to answer fundamental questions about sacred music, analogous to how theology reflects on the nature of liturgy and worship. It is a broad study that draws on contributions from a variety of disciplines, from theological and philosophical anthropology to specific areas such as Christology, eschatology, theology of creation, incarnation and liturgy. Its main objective is to understand what sacred music is, what its nature is and how it is linked to divine revelation.
2. Liturgical-musical theology (TLM). Here we find the most novel epistemological proposal. TLM is an extension of liturgical theology that is integrated with the specific means of music and musicology. To better understand this approach, it is useful to look at how liturgical theology is understood in general.
Liturgical theology studies the liturgy. in actuThe theological meaning of a responsorial psalm in the context of a specific celebration; the symbolism of certain gestures of the celebrant; or the peculiarities of a particular liturgical moment. It analyzes, for example, the theological meaning of a responsorial psalm in the context of a specific celebration; the symbolism of certain gestures of the celebrant; or the peculiarities of a particular liturgical moment. This approach transcends the descriptive and responds to the classical motto fides quaerens intellectumThe liturgy itself is the act of seeking God and his Word.
Similarly, the TLM focuses on the theological study of liturgical music. in actu. Its task is to explore how music contributes to the existential theology proper to each celebration, adding a unique and specific dimension not found in any other element of the liturgy.
Our proposal holds that TMS and TLM should develop in constant communication. TMS provides the conceptual and theological foundations, while TLM focuses on the concrete application of music in the liturgical context. However, the result of this collaboration does not remain theoretical: it culminates in the musical act, which has the capacity to express liturgically the Word of God and to manifest the Christ present in the liturgy.
This project transcends the strictly theological field and involves disciplines such as musicology, anthropology and aesthetics so that theology finds its final expression in music. In this sense, the liturgical musical act is not only art, but also lived theology.
In the next articles of this series, we will begin our particular journey through history.
Associate Professor, Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. MBM International Project (Music, Beauty and Mystery)
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Jay Boren, principal of St. Benedict Classical Academy since 2015, believes that cultivating wisdom and virtue in the pursuit of truth and conformity to Christ is the ultimate purpose of Catholic classical education.
-OSV News / Charlie Camosy
Jay Boren, director of the St. Benedict Classical Academy since 2015, believes that cultivating wisdom and virtue in the pursuit of truth and conformity to Christ is the ultimate purpose of classical Catholic education. He spoke recently with Charlie Camosy of OSV News about returning to the heart of the education Catholic and whether Catholic education is experiencing a "renaissance" moment following a promising increase in Catholic school enrollment in 2023.
- Classical Catholic education is less about learning Latin and reading "The Odyssey" and more about returning to what people in the classical and medieval tradition thought was the true purpose of education, namely, the cultivation of wisdom and virtue, and the conversion of our minds and hearts to what is true, good and beautiful.
As Catholics, we believe that this process of conversion conforms us to Christ and leads us to God. In other words, a classical Catholic education helps us to fulfill the purpose for which we were created: to know, love and serve God.
Classical Catholic education strives to regain a connection to this traditional understanding of what education is. Certainly we think that reading classical texts and learning Latin is important, but only because they connect us to the wisdom of our tradition.
We want our students to know what is true, good and beautiful, but it would be terribly presumptuous to think that it is up to us to decide what counts as "truth." To do that, we have to humbly return to our tradition: to what has stood the test of time and to what the best minds and noblest souls in history have taught and shown us about those things.
This idea of what education is for contrasts with a perspective that sees education primarily as college or career preparation. Certainly we want our students to find meaningful work, earn a living and support their families. But that goal is secondary. If we are producing graduates who get into top colleges and end up making a lot of money in their jobs, but are not virtuous, do not strive for holiness and have no desire to seek truth, we would not consider that a success. This does not sell well to our students. They are called to much more.
They are called to flourish fully, with all the faculties of their minds, hearts and souls freed to know what is true, to love what is beautiful and to do what is good. St. Irenaeus said that the glory of God is man fully alive. We want our students to be fully alive so that they can give glory to God.
- I don't know if it's an explosion or not, but it's certainly a renaissance! New schools are being founded every month in every region of the country. I personally talk to eight or ten people a year who are in the process of founding a new school. It is very exciting to hear about new things being founded within the Church and mostly by lay people. The schools came first, but we are also seeing a lot of new initiatives being founded to respond to the needs of those schools. The revival of classical education is also serving as a creative vehicle for connecting faithful Catholics across the country who are involved in the renewal of Catholic education.
These new schools are responding to a very real demand that exists in the Church at this time. There are many parents who fervently desire a rigorous classical education that is formed and grounded in authentic Catholicism. I believe this is definitely a "moment" for the Church and for Catholic education. It is up to us how we deal with that moment.
One of the things that excites me most about this movement is that it forces us to revisit the Catholic school model and reimagine our conception of Catholic education.
Many of these schools were founded by lay people. They are usually run and governed by a lay board of trustees. They are leaving behind a model that relied heavily on religious orders. Figuring out how to manage their schools after the loss of those orders is something that the American Church has failed at. This is very exciting, because instead of managing the decline, we are building something new that is alive and growing. As our chaplain, Father Peter Stamm, points out, "Healthy things grow."
- All of this has been a blessing and an incredibly exciting thing to be a part of. Our school is 12 years old, I've been here for 10 years. We've gone from 60 students when I arrived to over 320 this year. A school that started in a shared office space has just moved into a school building of majestic beauty and classic design.
However, as beautiful as the school is, the best thing about this school is the community. We have families who drive an hour each way, passing many schools along the way, to bring their children to our school. To have a school that is mission-aligned across the board is unique and a blessing. We have worked hard to ensure that mission-aligned families who desire this education can access it, regardless of their ability to pay full tuition. We have fought to keep tuition as affordable as possible and also remain adamant about investing in a robust tuition assistance program. We plan to award more than $1,000,000 in tuition assistance next year.
I love everything about this school, but the most important aspect, without a doubt, is the community. I often say that what I love most about this school are my daughters' friends. It has been so uplifting to see how many families want this education for their children and see it as a worthy investment of their time, energy and money.
- Every day new initiatives emerge to face this moment. We are members of the Institute for Liberal Catholic Education. They were really at the forefront of designing programs to support schools that were changing their programming or were being founded. Many Catholic colleges are designing programs to help train students who want to work in these schools.
Tom Carroll has founded the Catholic Talent Project to help recruit and train teachers for these schools. A lot of good things are happening. I believe this trend will only continue and we will need even more initiatives to help address this moment. So many priests have supported our efforts and our local seminary and seminarians have been so supportive, I would love to see more partnerships grow between seminaries and these new schools.
Moreover, from an even broader perspective, I hope that the Church will continue to inspire and encourage young people to study literature, history, philosophy... the liberal arts! And I trust that the effort to master these great disciplines at the highest levels of education will help them discern their personal and professional vocation.
We have hired incredibly talented young teachers who have not studied education explicitly and yet, through close mentoring, professional development and, most importantly, the deep wisdom they have gained through their own studies, have been able to hit the nail on the head as teachers.
This article is a translation of an article first published in OSV News. You can find the original article here.
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A plane flies over Ronald Reagan Washington Airport following the collision of American Eagle Flight 5342 and a helicopter.
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Pope Francis prayed the Angelus before more than 20,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. During his message, the pontiff made a special appeal to couples, inviting them to embrace the gift of life and to value the importance of the family as a divine gift. He also stressed the need to protect and care for life in all its stages, recalling the fundamental role of love and responsibility in building a more caring and humane future.
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Both Pope Francis and the Prefect for Institutes of Consecrated Life, Sr. Simona Brambilla, stressed over the weekend the "antidote to solitary individualism" that the vows of consecrated life represent.
The way consecrated women and men live their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience can offer light and hope to a world searching for authentic relationships marked by love and self-giving, Pope Francis said in the eves of the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
Looking ahead to the Catholic Church's celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Consecrated LifeThe Pope thanked the members of religious congregations for their witness, noting that it is "leaven for the Church".
Pope Francis was accompanied by hundreds of sisters, brothers, consecrated virgins and priests of religious orders, including the new leadership of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Consolata Missionary Simona Brambilla, prefect; and Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, Salesian, pro-prefect.
On the eve, the Pontiff invited consecrated men and women to be light bearers and peace through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. And he recalled that the most important "return to the origins" "is the return to Christ and his 'yes' to the Father," Vatican News reported.
Poverty "is rooted in the very life of God, the eternal and total reciprocal gift of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the exercise of poverty, the consecrated person, with a free and generous use of all things, becomes for them, bearer of blessing".
Chastity has its "origin in the Trinity and manifests a reflection of the infinite love that unites the three divine Persons". Its profession, in the renunciation of conjugal love and in the path of continence, reaffirms the absolute primacy, for the human being, of the love of God, accepted with an undivided and nuptial heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-36), and indicates it as the source and model of every other love".
Regarding the vow of obedience, the Pontiff indicated that "it is an antidote to such solitary individualism, promoting instead a model of relationship based on effective listening, in which 'saying' and 'hearing' are followed by the concretization of 'acting,' even at the cost of renouncing one's own tastes, programs and preferences. In fact, only in this way can the person experience to the full the joy of the gift, defeating loneliness and discovering the meaning of one's existence in God's great plan.
In a reflection on the World Day published in L'Osservatore Romano, the prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Sister Simona Brambilla referred to the fact that "the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality affirms that 'consecrated life is called to challenge the Church and society with its prophetic voice'.
And he noted "Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken of the call to move from the I to the we, of the need to 'meet in a we that is stronger than the sum of small individualities' (Fratelli tutti, 78), of the 'challenge to discover and transmit the mystique of living together' (Evangelii gaudium, 87), of the 'liberating and responsible experience of living as Church the mystique of the we' (Veritatis gaudium on universities and ecclesiastical faculties, 4)."
"The synodal process has taken up, among other things, the Pauline image of the one body, and has made us experience the 'spiritual flavor' of being the People of God, gathered from all tribes, languages, peoples and nations, living in different contexts and cultures. It is never the mere sum of the baptized, but the communitarian and historical subject of synodality and mission," wrote the Prefect.
"This is the refrain that runs through the 'Laudato si' of Pope Francis. The image of the body expresses in a plastic and clear way the connection that exists between us: we creatures, we humans, we Christians, we members of the Body of Christ which is the Church, we belonging to an Institute of Consecrated Life, to a Society of Apostolic Life, to a spiritual Family animated by a unique and original charism. As in a physical body, each part, each organ, each cell of a "charismatic body" influences the rest (...).
Simona Brambilla then adds: "The Charism is not the property of an Institute, of a Society, of a Charismatic Family. It is a gift of God to the world, it is Spirit, it is Life. The Institute (or Society, or Family) and each sister and brother who is a member of it, receives it as a free gift, a vital force to be allowed to flow creatively, freely, not to be 'mummified' or embalmed like a museum piece".
"In the words of Pope Francis: 'Every charism is creative, it is not a museum statue, no, it is creative. It is about remaining faithful to the original source by striving to rethink it and express it in dialogue with new social and cultural situations. It has firm roots, but the tree grows in dialogue with reality. This work of updating is all the more fruitful when it is carried out in harmony with creativity, wisdom, sensitivity to all and fidelity to the Church' (To the Focolare Movement, February 6, 2021)".
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The French St. Ansgarius (Oscar) was bishop of Hamburg and Bremen, and sowed in Scandinavian lands the first seed of the proclamation of faith in Christ. The Church also celebrates today, February 3, St. Blaise, physician and later bishop of Sebaste (Armenia) in the 4th century. St. Blaise performed numerous miracles and is invoked for throat diseases.
Saint Ansgarius (Oscar), a native of Corbie (France), was a great scholar who from a very young age studied with the Benedictines in the Abbey of Corbie. While a monk, he was designated by Pope Gregory IV as a legacy for all the Scandinavian lands of Northern Europe, proclaiming the Gospel in the Denmark and Sweden. At a very young age he was bishop of Hamburg.
Years later, due to the push from the Vikings, he was forced to taking refuge in Bremen where, as bishop, he spent the last years of his life working, according to some sources, on the edition of a Bible for the poor. Fragments of this ancient Bible are preserved in the cathedral of the city. St. Oscar died in the year 865, without having seen the dream of a profound evangelization of northern Europe, but with the joy of having sown the first seed of faith in those lands.
The Church also celebrates today the patronage of St. Blaise of otorhinolaryngologists and for throat ailments. It is because, according to tradition, he once saved the life of a child who had a fish bone stuck in his throat. In the 17th century, the bishop and martyr Saint Blaise enjoyed great popularity as a protector saint against illnesses, which is why he was depicted in the imagery of the Oviedo Cathedral. In the monastery of the Pelayas, next to the cathedral, a relic of the saint is venerated, which is very popular in Paraguay.
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Capuchin Bishop Paolo Martinelli (Milan, 1958) is Vicar of South Arabia, an ecclesiastical jurisdiction that includes Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. During his visit to Madrid, he said that he wishes to take up again the presence of the Church in Yemen. He also reveals that "in Dubai we have the largest parish in the world, with more than 150,000 faithful every weekend, from one hundred countries. All migrants. It is a 'miracle'".
At the age of 66, the Italian Paolo Martinelli shows the drive of a young man in his twenties. He has just preached this week the spiritual exercises to the priests of Communion and Liberation in Spain, and he is in great spirits.
Martinelli went from being auxiliary bishop of Milan (2014) to vicar of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of South Arabia (2022), with almost one million Catholic faithful, coming from more than a hundred countries, 65 priests, 50 religious sisters. "South Arabia is a church of migrants," he says.
Eighty-five percent are of the Latin rite, and 15 percent are from Eastern Catholic churches. "We are all migrants, even the bishop is a migrant," he said in Madrid. In fact, some hundreds of people from Communion and Liberation listened to him and applauded enthusiastically in the space of the Paul VI Foundation, and who knows if he stuck the missionary harpoon into more than one attendee.
On the poster, under the title of the colloquium with José Luis Restán ('Being a Christian in the Middle East'), there was a phrase of his, which he later developed: "Being on mission means being sent by someone, to someone, with someone".
Martinelli went from the city to a desert with gigantic and intelligent infrastructures, surrounded by migrants. A unique place also from an environmental point of view, the desert. "I was followed by a few friars, and 42 degrees in the shade." And he concluded by saying that southern Arabia is a "laboratory for the future of the Church".
"My predecessor (Paul Hinder, who was 80 years old, 20 years in the Gulf), was also a Capuchin, three quarters of the clergy are Capuchins (45 out of 65 priests), and not a few of them had been my students in Rome. I realized that my Order has been committed to this land since the first half of the 19th century". That is why, the bishop there has almost always been a Capuchin. "This election of Pope Francis was fulfilling something that was written in my life. I came to Arabia because I was sent to Arabia."
The United Arab Emirates (UAE), center and seat of the vicariate, is constituted by the union of 7 emirates, since 1971. The state is officially Islamic. The president is the emir of Abu Dhabi, which has ten million inhabitants, of whom 9 million are migrants: 4.5 million are Indians, and apart from Islam, there are Christians, Buddhists, etc. The countries of origin are almost two hundred, and "in the vicariate we have one million Catholics, of whom 850,000 live in the emirates. Most of them are Filipinos, many Indians and from other countries", he explained in the colloquium.
The emirates have had from the beginning a very tolerant attitude towards all cultures and religions. We even have a Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence, he added.
"It is striking that modernity and tradition coexist peacefully, unlike the occdental situation. The father of the nation was a great visionary, and the development of the country has been very rapid."
"The immigration policy has been very careful. There is an important presence of workers, in various groups. Many arrive without families. The Church tries to have a stable relationship with all of them, promoting initiatives of support and contact with Catholics who wish to live a life of faith."
Bishop Martinelli says, "We have 9 parishes in the various emirates. In Dubai we have the largest parish in the world, with more than 150,000 faithful every weekend. It is a miracle to make it possible for everyone to participate in Mass and catechesis, it is truly a miracle. We are all migrants, a Church in continuous movement, whose organization depends on the work of its faithful, from a hundred countries".
For this reason, he adds, "the parish is structured in linguistic communities, which are the first sign of the Church's closeness to the people. They take care of newcomers, help them to maintain their traditions, their language, etc., to support them in their needs".
"When Pope Francis visited the United Arab Emirates, said that the vocation of this church is to be "a polyphony of faith". This is the way to experience the true universality of the Church. Being different, we have received the same Baptism, the same Faith, the same Spirit".
What does it mean to be sent? "On the plane, I reflected: mission means that someone sends you. It is Christ who sends. Jesus said: as the Father has sent me, so I send you. Through someone, through the Church, through the Pope, through a call you receive unexpectedly".
"Then I thought, I am not going alone. I go with someone, the subject of the mission is always a Communion, with my brothers, the priests, it would be impossible to be there alone; it was also a great help to know about some families of the Movement, especially some of them. Memores Dominiare a special gift", and he expressly quoted Giussani.
"And to someone: I am thinking especially of all the migrants who live in the Gulf. Ours is a Church of migrants".
"I am there to confirm them in their faith and to be a sign of unity. At the same time, I recognize that I am sent to the faithful of other religions, especially the faithful of Islam, supported by the example of St. Francis of Assisibut also the Hindus, and so many others," he added yesterday. "To bear witness to the Gospel, to recognize in them the glimmer of that truth that enlightens all men, and to work together for a more fraternal and human world."
In short, "the word mission, the experience of being sent is a principle of action because it moves you, sets you in motion, a principle of knowledge and a principle of affection. Being sent makes you love people".
Three sentences about other countries of the vicariate of South Arabia. First, about YemenFor us it has a fundamental historical importance, because the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia was born in Yemen 135 years ago and its headquarters was there.
After ten years of civil war, very little remains. The four churches are in ruins, and only in the north, under the command of the Houthi rebels, are there two communities of Missionaries of Charity (St. Teresa of Calcutta), who carry out a great work of charity, and a priest. In 1998 and in 2026, the sisters of Mother Teresa suffered attacks that cost the lives of 7 nuns, martyrs of our time, as Pope Francis defined them.
Only a few hundred Catholics remain. Almost all the migrants have been leaving Yemen. "My greatest wish would be to resume the presence of the Church in Yemen, where there are indigenous Catholics, which is not the case in other Gulf States."
The internal situation between North Yemen and South Yemen "is now quite calm compared to the past. We pray that new avenues of Christian presence will open up, and we hope that the truce between Hamas and Israel can bring some change to Yemen as well."
The situation in Oman is very different, because violence is rejected, explained Vicar Martinelli. The country is a sultanate and the population is very docile: "They are interlocutors of Yemen, and in any case, our relationship with the authorities of Oman is very good, and that of the nuncio as well. We have 4 parishes, although there are no schools for the moment, and the good relations with the Holy See make us foresee that in the future there could be new parishes, and perhaps some kindergartens".
We think that in Oman there are many Catholics, but they are not involved in the life of the Church, perhaps because of the distance to the places of worship, because they do not have a vehicle, considers the vicar. This is the case of the Filipinos, more than 45,000 in Oman, almost all of them Catholics. There are also Indian Catholics.
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The historic March for Life in Washington had among its speakers the new Vice President J.D. Vance. His personal history explains his strong commitment to the defense of life.
Jesús Poveda and the silenced protest: Where are the limits of the defense of life?Can we overcome social polarization on the issue of abortion?Sex, lies and abortion lawsLast January 24, 2025 was the massive and historic March for Life in Washington, a few days after Trump signed multiple express executive orders-among which the Born-Alive Abortion Survivor Protection Act is noteworthy-as Omnes recounted in the article by María Wiering and Marietha Góngora V. (OSV News)The article highlighted the speech of the vice-president of the United States on the impressive pro-life day. But who is this person and where does his commitment to life come from?
James David Vance turned 40 years old on August 2, 2024. He was born in Middletown, Ohio. The son of a broken family and a drug-addicted mother, he was a Marine and served in the Iraq war, then went to law school, earning his J.D. from Yale in 2013. He married Usha, a fellow Yale law school student, in 2014. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has three. In 2016 he wrote a book explaining his background and ideas "Hillbilly, a rural elegy".
In 2017 he started working for Revolution LLC, in Silicon Valley. In 2019 he was received into the Catholic Church and chose St. Augustine of Hippo as his confirmation patron saint, for his ability to transmit the faith. From that same year is his famous article, entitled "An elegy for the American dream", published in the digital magazine Unherd in 2019. In 2023, he was elected senator for Ohio, after a few years dedicated to preparing his political career. In the month of July 2024 he was chosen by Trump as a candidate for vice president of the USA, even though in the past he had been his staunch opponent. And he is currently the vice president of this country.
In Unherd's aforementioned article, republished by the same magazine in July 2024, he briefly explains his conservative ideas, which stem largely from a lack of them in his childhood, such as the absence of a structured family.
One of his top priorities is life and its defense as can be read in that journalistic piece: "When I think about my own life, what has made my life better is the fact that I am the father of a two-year-old boy. When I think about the demons of my own childhood and how those demons have vanished in the love and laughter of my oldest child; when I look at friends of mine who have grown up in difficult circumstances and have become parents and have become more connected to their communities, to their families, to their faith, because of the role of their own children, I say we want babies not just because they are economically useful. We want more babies because the children are good."
This testimony gives a better understanding of the speech he gave at the March for Life, when he said, "Let me say very simply, 'I want more babies in the United States of America: I want more babies in the United States of America." This pro-life revival is going unnoticed in Europe, but it will eventually help to stop this silent genocide that is ravaging the world.
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On the occasion of the anniversary of "Gaudium et spes" and as a path of reflection towards the centenary of the founding of Opus Dei, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross has prepared a three-year program of in-depth study, with seminars and meetings of experts, on topics such as the relationship between faith and culture, work and the role of Christians in society.
St. Josemaría Escrivá's legacy lives onThe professional vocation in the teachings of St. JosemaríaOn the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the publication of the Pastoral Constitution "....Gaudium et spes"The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross has prepared a three-year program of reflection on the relationship between faith and culture, the meaning of work and the role of Christians in the promotion of the common good, with seminars and meetings of experts, as a way of reflecting on the centenary of the founding of Opus Dei (1928-2028).
The second event of this initiative took place on Monday, January 13, in the Alvaro del Portillo Hall, with the participation of Luis Romera, Professor of Metaphysics in the School of Philosophy, and Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti, Professor of Fundamental Theology in the School of Theology, who spoke on the theme "Identity and telos of secular realities in the light of St. Josemaría's thought.
The debate was opened by Luis Romera, with a reflection on the centrality of work in the thinking of the founder of the Opus DeiIn this way, every human activity, even the most seemingly ordinary, acquires a transcendent value. "Work is not only a means of subsistence, but a call to participate in God's creative and redemptive plan," he explained, echoing number 40 of "Gaudium et spes."
The philosopher then quoted the German theologian Gerhard Lohfink to underscore how the Kingdom of God is not relegated to eschatology, but is realized in the present through the responsible action of believers. He then reiterated the importance of work as a means of making God's love visible: "Christ is present at the very heart of human work: he inspires it, transforms it and directs it towards the Father," he added.
In a central passage, Romera pointed out that this vision requires a profound theological and intellectual formation, capable of combining competence and faith. Indeed, "it is not enough to know the catechism; it is necessary to understand it in depth, because only in this way can the Christian live authentically his commitment in the world".
The professor of Metaphysics concluded his talk by strongly recalling the role of the Christian as a builder of the Kingdom of God through his work: "every gesture, every activity, if done in Christ, can contribute to making God's love visible in the world. And this is not "a distant utopia, but a reality that is built in the present", since every Christian "is called to transform secular realities, making them a reflection of God's love".
Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti's talk focused on numbers 33-39 of Gaudium et Spes, dedicated to the theme of the autonomy of earthly realities. The theologian analyzed how modernity has transformed the concept of autonomy into a pretension of self-affirmation and rejection of God, leading to results such as relativism and nihilism. Rather, he explained, citing authors such as Cornelio Fabro and Augusto Del Noce, "modernity has misunderstood autonomy, separating it from its ontological bond with God."
The scholar then pointed out that in St. Josemaría's thought there are valuable elements for overcoming this misunderstanding, since "autonomy and filiation do not exclude each other, but refer to each other. Moreover, true freedom is not opposition to God, but a filial relationship with him.
Particularly incisive was the reference to the "forma Christi," that is, to the Christian's ability to transform the secular world from within, inspired by charity and divine filiation. "Filial freedom does not diminish man's autonomy, but is its foundation and strength," he added.
The same applies to the question of Christian secularity, which is distinct from secularization. In fact, Christian secularity "does not deny the autonomy of earthly realities, but recognizes them as a space for living the faith. It is the place where the creature exercises its freedom in charity, leading the world towards its fullness in Christ".
In concluding his speech, the theologian launched an invitation to practice, concretizing this synthesis between Christianity and modernity beyond theoretical reflection and through "life experiences that reveal how the forma Christi can inform all aspects of human existence."
The next initiative planned by Holy Cross in this three-year program of deepening the centenary of Opus Dei will be a meeting of experts who will reflect on the Images of human work in contemporary thought. It will take place on May 29 and 30, and for the occasion a call of papers.
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On February 1, the Church celebrates St. Bridget, founder of one of the first monasteries in Ireland, in Kildare. She was a faithful continuator of St. Patrick's work of evangelization and shares the patronage of Ireland with St. Patrick and St. Columbanus. She is considered the first Irish nun.
There are numerous writings that attest to the cult of St. Bridget in Ireland, but there are not so many proven facts about her life. According to history, she was born in the 5th century in Faughart, near Dunkalk, at a time when the evangelization of Europe was taking place, and from an early age she consecrated herself to God and was chosen by Him. She went to account that her mother would send her to collect the butter that the women made from the milk of the cows, and she would give it to the poor.
Very little is known about the great religious foundation at Kill-dara (the oak temple) and its rule. It is supposed to have been a 'double monastery', i.e. it included both men and women, as was common practice among the Celts. It is quite possible that St. Bridget presided over both communities. To this Irish saint are attributed to numerous miracles, such as restoring sight to blind people, quenching plagues, multiplying food, and even turning water into beer to quench thirst in some religious celebration. She is also known as the patron saint of milkmen.
Santa Brígida has been represented in the art with the church of Kildare in flames. Thanks to it, the paganism of the place was replaced by the fire of Christ's Passover. The image of the oak is linked to that of the burning bush, because it is near the tabernacle. The Virgin who generates the body of Christ is the burning bush, the Church is this burning bush.
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With the Enlightenment and secularization, many things that were taken for granted have been questioned, to the point of denying the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as his divine identity.
We live in a time of great uncertainty. We often blindly believe what influencers on social networks propose to us, without digging deeper. However, we are hungry for truth and certainty.
The same thing has happened to the Christian faith in the last two centuries: with the Enlightenment and secularization, many things that were taken for granted have been questioned, to the point of denying the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as his divine identity. At the same time, credit is given to self-styled historians who spread theories without sources or solid foundations.
For those who wish to approach the historical figure of Jesus, we will undertake a journey through the sources and methods of research on the Nazarene that follows a series of articles already published by Omnes on the life of Jesus of Nazareth, his cultural and geographical environment and his death.
Let us begin by defining what history is. First, it should be noted that the term derives from the Greek ἱστορία (historia) meaning research, and has the same root ιδ- as the verb ὁράω (orao, to see, to see, verb with three roots: ὁρά-; ιδ-; ὄπ-). The perfect ὁίδα, òida, then, means literally 'I saw', but, by extension, 'I know'. It refers, in practice, to observe and, consequently, to know after experiencing: the same sense we find also in the root of the Latin verb video (v-id-eo and in the term of Greek origin 'idea'). I would add, moreover, that a requirement of historical research is, in addition to the critical sense, intelligence, in the literal sense of the Latin word: intus lĕgĕre, that is, to read inside, to go deeper, maintaining the ability to consider the whole of facts and events.
The Enlightenment raised doubts about the figure of the Nazarene, but it also prompted the development of historical research through the historical-critical method, aimed at assessing the reliability of the sources. This method, developed since the 17th century, is applied not only to the Gospels, but to any text transmitted in different variants, in order to reconstruct its original form and verify its historical content.
In the last 150 years, the need to historically substantiate Christian doctrine has led the Catholic Church to firmly reaffirm the historicity of the Gospels, while historians, scholars and archaeologists have used the historical-critical method to distinguish between the "historical Jesus" and the "Christ of faith". However, an excessively ideological application of this method has often led to a clear separation between the pre-Gospel Jesus and the "Christ of faith". Easter and the Christ after Easter. To respond to these doubts, the Church has deepened the exegetical and archaeological study, reaffirming in the Second Vatican Council ("Dei Verbum") "firmly and without any hesitation the historicity" of the Gospels, which "faithfully convey what Jesus, Son of God, during his life among men, actually did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day he was taken up to heaven."
The Church's position thus combines the "historical Jesus" and the "Christ of faith" in a single figure. However, the vast majority of historians - Christian, Jewish, Muslim or non-believer - do not doubt the historical existence of Jesus of Nazareth. On the contrary, the historical and archaeological evidence in his favor continues to mount, reinforcing the reliability of the Gospels and other New Testament writings.
Today, most historians agree on the historical existence of Jesus, with an increasing amount of corroborating historical and archaeological evidence. This is because historical research has developed around his figure in three main phases:
While the First Search was conditioned by rationalist ideology and the Second Search introduced a more balanced approach, the Third Search is characterized by a greater attention to the historical context and interdisciplinarity, combining philology, archaeology and hermeneutics. Today, thanks to this method, we have an increasingly solid picture of the historical existence of Jesus and his relevance in the history of the first century.
The exponents of this Third Quest start from the assumption formulated by Albert Schweitzer: one cannot ideologically reject everything in the Gospels and the New Testament that has a miraculous character, discarding it because it does not conform to the canons of enlightened rationalism. Moreover, as Benedict XVI (exponent of the Third Quest, together with authors and scientists such as the Italians Giuseppe Ricciotti and Vittorio Messori, the Israeli Jew David Flusser and the German Joachim Jeremias) adds in his book Jesus of Nazareth, the limits of the historical-critical method consist substantially in "leaving the word in the past", without being able to make it "current, today"; in "treating the words in front of us as human words"; finally, in "further subdividing the books of Scripture according to their sources, but the unity of all these writings as Bible does not result as an immediate historical fact".
The Third Search resorts to textual analysis and hermeneutics to get as close as possible to the original form of the sources under consideration (in this case those relating to Jesus) and includes, as we said, scholars such as the Israeli Jew David Flusser (1917-2000), author of fundamental writings on ancient Judaism and convinced, like many other contemporary Jews, that the Gospels and Pauline writings represent the richest and most reliable source for the study of Second Temple Judaism, like many other contemporary Jews, that the Gospels and the Pauline writings represent the richest and most reliable source for the study of Second Temple Judaism, given the loss of other contemporary materials due to the destruction caused by the Jewish Wars (between 70 and 132 AD.C.). c.).
In the following articles we will see how this methodology has already been applied by the Church, over the centuries, to historical and archaeological sources about the figure of Christ.
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I had the immense good fortune of being a student of Cardinal Fernando Sebastián, a true man of God who was a key figure in the political transition in Spain. In contrast to the majority thinking, he explained to us how it was precisely the Church that put the most effort into the separation of Church and State.
Rector of the Pontifical University of Salamanca since 1971, his enormous intellectual stature led Cardinal Tarancón, then president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, to choose him as his trusted advisor. He accompanied him in the secret meetings he held with the main leaders of the left and right, some of them still in hiding. Ordained bishop in 1979, he was secretary general of the Spanish bishops in the 1980s and vice-president in various periods of the following two decades. An exceptional witness and, on numerous occasions, a protagonist of those historic events, he reminded us that the social and political doctrine that emerged from the Second Vatican Council was key to bringing Spain to democracy in a peaceful manner.
In the famous text: Affirmations for a time of searching (1976)Fernando asked "to differentiate the Church from civil society, from its institutions and objectives". The position of the Church at that time was not to accept any type of privilege, beyond religious freedom and the recognition of the Catholic Church in a non-confessional state, as was finally included in the Constitution of 1978.
I recover the memory of the wise and beloved professor because I am a bit fed up, as a citizen, of having to keep quiet when some try to present an anti-democratic image of the Spanish Church. This prejudice of a Church greedy for political power, which only seeks privileges and does not value freedom, is a big lie, no matter how much they can always bring out with a lot of noise the particular outrage of this or that person or minority group.
In his "Memories with Hope" (Encuentro, 2016), the Cardinal expressed his sadness for this manipulation of the memory of the role of the Catholic Church in those difficult years: "I have the impression that nowadays the contribution of the Church to the peaceful advent of democracy in Spain has been somewhat forgotten. The conciliar renewal -he recalled- helped us Spanish Catholics to decisively support the establishment of a free and open society, respectful of the political, cultural and religious freedoms of all, without privileges of any kind".
What is paradoxical is that those who continue today with the refrain, using the supposed privileges of the Catholic Church and demanding an even greater separation Church-State, are on the other hand turning the tables and wanting to submit the faith of the Church to the moral and ideological assumptions of the party. It is no longer that they want to confine the voice of the Church to the sacristies; it is that they want to be the ones who, from the sacristies, interpret the Gospel and the ecclesial tradition and explain it to the faithful. In a sort of extemporaneous caesaropapism, they threaten with coercive laws and sanctions, intimidating the personnel and endangering religious freedom, the one for which the Spaniards fought and voted, invading the independence and autonomy of the religious confessions in their own sphere.
Perhaps we should take to the streets to demand, not the separation of Church-State, but the separation of State-Church, because if we continue in this way, we will run the risk of ending up with a national church like China.
In days like these, in which the Transition is being re-read in a self-interested way, I end with another prophetic warning that I have found in the memoirs of D. Fernando, whose death, by the way, has just been six years ago: "We have not just overcome the anti-clerical resabios," said the wise professor. It is true that clericalism has been strong among us. But things have changed almost fifty years ago. In spite of which our leftists are still determined to impose what they call the "secular State", with an excluding and anti-religious secularism that is clearly unconstitutional. The temptation of exclusionary secularism threatens the democratic clarity of our society. Restrictions to the full religious freedom of citizens are a deficit in democracy". Be careful, we are at stake.
Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.
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For years, religious information analysts have been discussing whether the provisional agreement between the Chinese government and the Vatican for the appointment of bishops is being positive. We interviewed a Spanish priest working in China about the situation of the Church in the country.
The Holy See and China to renew agreement on the appointment of bishopsLetters from ChinaPope Francis and China: diplomatic strategyFather Esteban Aranaz is a priest from Aragon, incardinated in the diocese of Tarazona (Zaragoza) and carries out his pastoral ministry in China. He has been in Shanghai for nearly ten years, although his priestly work in Asia began 22 years ago in Taiwan, where he worked for seven years. Before leaving for China he was Rector of the Major Seminary and Director of the Theological Institute of his Diocese, professor of the same and Vicar General in Tarazona. He speaks Mandarin and seven other languages. He is passionate about art and music.
We spoke with him about the situation of the Church in China and his assessment of the operation of the agreement between the Church and the Chinese government for the appointment of bishops. It is estimated that there are between 15 and 20 million Catholics in China, representing approximately 1% of the population. In comparison, the evangelical community is somewhat larger.
- I am a diocesan priest from Tarazona, Spain. My priestly work in Asia began 23 years ago in Taiwan. I was there for seven years before moving to Shanghai, where I have been for ten years.
My work in China focuses on the pastoral care of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking Catholic Community of Shanghai and the Community of Yiwú, in the province of Zhejiang. In addition, I travel monthly to Beijing to carry out other pastoral work, where I also give two retreats for young people.
- In China there are restrictions on the presence of foreign priests, but my work falls within an authorized framework for the foreign community, and my situation has improved considerably in the last three years. Officially, I minister to Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking Catholics, but through personal contact and friendship, I also have a significant relationship with many Chinese. Since last Christmas in fact, I am organist at the Shanghai Cathedral.
Although I dedicate my ministerial work exclusively to foreigners, working in China nevertheless involves adapting to a complex reality. It is not only a question of administrative restrictions, but also of knowing how to move with prudence and discretion, respecting at all times the legal framework in a country that is finally opening its doors and welcoming you. For this reason, although the number of conversions every year is important, the growth of the Church in China is not massive or noisy, but develops in small circles, in daily life, in the trust that is generated with each person. Faith here is a seed that grows in silence, but has deep roots.
- The piety of Chinese Catholics is impressive. In Asia, in general, there is a great reverence for religion, and in China it is reflected in a very active participation in the liturgy. In the cathedral of Shanghai, for example, on Sundays up to 700 faithful gather for each celebration with an attitude of deep faith and devotion.
Unlike many Catholics in the West, here it is common to see the faithful, many of them very young, actively participating in the Mass and maintaining a posture of deep piety. Gestures are very important: kneeling, keeping hands together at all times, are expressions that speak of a deep faith before the mystery. The liturgy is very well cared for and the choirs are exceptional, as music is highly appreciated among the Chinese.
Foreigners are very surprised by this fervor. Many are shocked to see the depth and respect with which the Chinese live their faith. I always recommend to those who visit the country to attend a Mass in Chinese, even if they do not understand the language. The attitude and devotion of the faithful speak for themselves.
- The presence of the Church in China is both cultural and social. And therefore one cannot speak of the Catholic faith as a faith of foreigners, as in the past. In China, in practically every city, no matter how small, there is at least one Catholic church. In addition, in many dioceses there are homes for the elderly and orphanages run by nuns or lay faithful. However, access to certain public spaces and responsibilities within the state is still restricted for believers, at least officially.
In some provinces, such as Hebei and Shanxi, the Catholic presence is more visible, with large communities and well-kept temples. Even so, the Church remains a minority community and does not have the same social influence as in other countries.
- China has several prestigious seminaries, such as the diocesan seminary in Beijing or the national seminary also in the capital, which houses more than 100 seminarians and more than 30 religious sisters as a formation center. It must be said that the formation is serious and well structured, with libraries, study rooms and a solid theological formation.
In addition to the seminaries in Beijing, there are other training centers, such as the Sheshan Seminary in Shanghai, which in the past had great relevance and, after a few years of decline, is now making a comeback. There is also the Xi'an Seminary and the Shijiazhuang Seminary in Hebei Province, the latter, with more than 100 students, is the largest in the country.
For years the situation of the formation of Chinese priests has been improving thanks to the material improvements of the seminaries within the country and the help of "Propaganda Fide" and various ecclesial institutions in places like Rome, Germany, Salamanca, Pamplona, France, Belgium, the United States, etc... This has significantly raised the level of the clergy in China. Dioceses such as those of Beijing or Shanghai, among many others, have been pioneers in the formation of a young and well-prepared clergy, with many priests who, in addition to their ecclesiastical studies, have even completed civil careers.
- In China, despite what some believe, the doctrine, morals and liturgy of the Church have never been modified in history. Apostolic succession has always been maintained. That is why Rome has never considered the Church in China as a schismatic Church.
- In his 2007 letter to Chinese Catholics, Benedict XVI explained that clandestinity is an exceptional situation in the life of the Church and is not the normal way of living the faith. For this reason, the German Pope urged the clandestine communities to integrate whenever possible, and little by little progress is being made in this direction. It must be said that it is not always easy, as there are priests who seek to regularize themselves within Chinese legality, but the authorities in some places still set very restrictive conditions.
- Since the signing of the agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese government in 2018, all bishops in China are recognized by the Holy See and in communion with the Pope. This means that one can no longer speak of an official and an underground Church. While there are still many bishops and some communities that have not yet acquired public recognition by the state, on an ecclesiastical and doctrinal level, the Church in China is one, with its bishops fully recognized by Rome.
This provisional agreement, which was initially renewed for two-year periods, will be in force for four years as of September 2024. This is very positive and significant, as it has allowed the Church to grow in unity and strengthen the ties between the Chinese Catholic community and the universal Church.
- The interim agreement between the Holy See and China was, in my opinion, a very positive thing. Although for some it is still a controversial issue, I think it should be analyzed with serenity. It is not a complete or definitive agreement, as it only focuses on the appointment of bishops. However, it has allowed the regularization of many bishops and has helped to normalize the ecclesial and pastoral life of many dioceses, as has happened in Shanghai, facilitating dialogue with the authorities. Although the content of the agreement is not public, its aim is to preserve the unity of the Church in China and to guarantee the communion of all bishops with the Pope.
In such a complex context, any progress, however small, is of great value, even if there are still many challenges ahead. In my view, the attitude of dialogue promoted by Pope Francis and the work of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See have been positively received by the Chinese authorities and all this is helping to make significant progress after years of estrangement and misunderstandings.
- I have great appreciation and respect for Cardinal Zen, with whom I have had the opportunity to converse on several occasions. In fact, it was he who told me on one occasion years ago "that giving support to the official community or the underground community was equally important because in China there was only one Church."
However, I believe that his critical view of this agreement, while understandable and very respectable, does not favor a constructive approach to China's current reality. Rome has clearly opted for a cautious but more dialogical strategy that seeks to avoid confrontation. This does not mean running away from the cross or anything like it, as is sometimes perceived in the West. But we must move forward.
- It should be noted that in China there is freedom of worship and the religious practice of Catholics as well as that of other confessions is respected, formation is allowed and the faithful can attend the sacraments, in the seminaries there are books and they do not study with photocopies as in the past. In short, if one looks at things from here one notices that there are many things that have improved.
To me, this situation of winning on the one hand, assuming things that still need to be improved, reminds me of what we experienced in Spain during the Transition. In that context, everyone had to give in on some points, facilitating harmony and reconciliation. There comes a time in the life of individuals and peoples that if you do not forgive, it is impossible to live together and move forward,
- Although my pastoral work is carried out in China, I am still incardinated in Tarazona, and I maintain regular communication with my bishop in Spain, informing him of my work and always receiving his support.
But I also live my priesthood in full communion with the local bishop of Shanghai, whom I consider my pastor in this context. Although I cannot yet have a contractual relationship with the Diocese of Shanghai, I participate actively in its ecclesial life. Since the arrival of the new Bishop Joseph Shen, I have been able to concelebrate the Eucharist three times in Xujiahui Cathedral. This double linkage reflects the universality of the Church and the collaboration between different dioceses for evangelization, which also strengthens ecclesial communion.
Since September 29 last year, my priestly work and the community I serve in Shanghai have been officially recognized by the authorities, which has helped me to live and work as a priest practically fully integrated into the local Church.
- Since 2018, 11 bishops have been appointed respecting the agreement between the Holy See and the Chinese government, which is progress. Outside of what happened in Shanghai, where the transfer of Bishop Shen took place unilaterally by Beijing, the Pope ended up recognizing the appointed bishop, I sincerely prefer to see the bottle half full and underline the positives of the process. As in the world of bullfighting, it is not just a matter of outwitting the bull, it is necessary to enter with courage and determination until the task is successfully completed.
- In China the presence and control of the state is present in all areas of public and economic life, education, the media and therefore also in religious life, because administratively the Church, and all religious denominations in China, are dependent on the state. In spite of this, the Church is able to carry on with its mission despite so many challenges.
What I do recommend to everyone is not to lose perspective so as not to forget the special circumstances of this immense country in terms of its size and population, which has undergone, as we all know, evident changes and transformations over the last few decades. However, in the West, there is still a lot of mistrust and prejudices about this country. I invite people to visit it, to know its reality and to understand its particular context.
For this reason, it is important to understand in its proper measure the process of "sinization" of all areas of public and social life in China, which logically also affects the life of the Church, facing under this new concept very important challenges, but also opportunities for growth. A few months ago I participated in an important meeting organized by the diocese of Beijing with the attendance of bishops, priests, religious, seminarians and various lay people, professors and members of the government. I had a communication that allowed me to express frankly some opinions about this interesting process of "sinization".
In my opinion, China can contribute a lot to the universal Church and on the contrary, the Church in China needs to keep alive the communion with the universal Church for its growth and mission.
- I am optimistic. The faith in China has not died out, but is still alive and growing in the daily lives of many Chinese. As Pope Francis recalled during his trip to Mongolia: "Catholics in China must be good citizens and good Christians". The challenges are many, the Church has always known how to adapt and find ways to evangelize. The future will depend on the Church's ability to keep alive the apostolic zeal to also continue to foster a constructive dialogue with the authorities that encourages the faithful to continue to live their faith authentically.
- Friendship is key, I call it the "eighth sacrament". Although my official work is with foreigners, I really have many Chinese friends. Besides, music and art have been valuable tools to get closer to them, through initiatives such as "Friends of Beauty", meetings and gatherings where we share the cultural richness of China and Christian humanism over a good cup of tea. Now, together with some friends, I am promoting an Institute that I believe is a very interesting project.
- We want to establish the "Diego de Pantoja Institute", a project to build bridges between China and the West in all areas of human relations: history, art, philosophy, business and economics, international relations and diplomacy. Diego de Pantoja, a native of Valdemoro (Madrid) was a Jesuit contemporary of Mateo Ricci, who promoted dialogue between China and Europe in the 17th century. Through the Institute, we promote academic and artistic exchanges, such as the one we have recently carried out by collaborating in the installation of some pictorial works of great artistic value, by the Malaga painter Raúl Berzosa, in the South Cathedral of Beijing or a musical project for the Cathedral of Shanghai, among others.
- My work in China would not be possible without the prayers and support of my family and many friends. In this regard I would like to point out the spiritual and human help of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross. Opus Dei is certainly not perfect, like no institution, but despite its mistakes and difficulties, it provides an invaluable service to the Church and especially to diocesan priests.
I would like to say it loud and clear, Opus Dei has been committed to accompanying priests since its origins. And the formation of the clergy has been one of its priorities, promoting a large number of grants and scholarships, the result of the generosity of many good people, to study in Pamplona and in Rome. Most of the priests trained there do not belong to the Work; today some of them are even bishops, but all have benefited from means that have long since redounded to the benefit of the universal Church.
This is a legacy that we have to thank a diocesan priest of Saragossa and universal saint, Josemaría Escrivá, who loved and lived for priests. Blessed Alvaro del Portillo continued this work. There are institutions such as the Bidasoa International Seminary in Pamplona and the Sædes Sapientiæ in Rome, the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome and many other centers that continue to help the Church and priests throughout the world.
I myself studied at the University of Navarra, which is my "alma mater", and I was trained at the Bidasoa Ecclesiastical College. After several years of ministerial life, I obtained a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
-If I may, I would not like to end this interesting encounter without sharing with our readers a thought I wrote a few years ago that may help to understand my love for China:
"We owe our existence to God, to our parents who gave us life. We are part of a tradition with our ancestors! But the heart responds only to the freedom of love! And I, because I am free, for love of Christ, have decided to give it forever to the Chinese people. That is why no matter where Providence takes me, wherever I am, I want to be always one more Chinese!"
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A great pedagogue, a great teacher of the spiritual life and an apostle of devotion to Mary. Auxilium Christianorum. The life and legacy of St. John Bosco, which the Church celebrates on January 31, is a guide for thousands of people today.
St. John Bosco was born on August 16, 1815 in Castelnuovo d'Asti, a small town near Turin, in a small village near Turin. family of peasants, poor and very Christian. His father died when he was less than two years old, so he was raised exclusively by his saintly mother, Margherita Occhiena.
On October 30, 1835, he entered the Seminary of Chieri. He was ordained a priest on June 5, 1841 in Turin, where he exercised his priestly ministry in prisons, on the streets and in workplaces. He soon gathered around himself a group of young peopleHe placed them under the patronage of St. Francis de Sales. In 1846 he rented premises in Valdocco, a suburb north of Turin, which constituted the first stable nucleus of his work with young people.
St. John Bosco clearly understood that, when the new industrial world was born, the youth had to be prepared for life, not only morally, but also professionally, so he founded the first professional schools and subsequently numerous other schools. On December 28, 1859, with 17 young people, he founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales, so its members are called "Salesians". Its Constitutions were definitively approved by the Holy See on April 3, 1874. On August 5, 1872, he founded the female branch, the Congregation of the "Daughters of Mary Help of Christians".
He died on January 31, 1888, at the age of 72. He was beatified by Pius XI on June 2, 1929, and canonized by the same Pope on April 1, 1934. On May 24, 1989, he was proclaimed Patron Saint of Youth by St. John Paul II.
St. John Bosco wrote many works, but not systematic treatises, but rather of a pastoral nature, always moved by the circumstances of his life and apostolate. They can be classified into the following genres: pedagogical writings, entertainment, theatrical, hagiographical, biographical, autobiographical, religious instruction, prayer, government documents and epistolary.
St. John Bosco was first and foremost a great pedagogueThe "preventive system", which consisted of preventing misconduct, was advocated in his schools at a time when the educational system was still "repressive", consisting of repressing and punishing the mistakes made by the students.
He was also a great teacher of the spiritual life, which he based on a solid sacramental piety. Frequent reception of the sacraments was an essential element in his pedagogy to lead young people towards holiness, and was the key to his educational project: frequent Communion and Confession, daily Mass.
He taught that frequent Communion is highly recommended, because the Eucharist is both medicine and nourishment for the soul: "Some say that in order to receive Communion frequently, one must be a saint. This is not true. This is a deception. Communion is for those who wish to become saints, not for saints; medicine is given to the sick, nourishment is given to the weak". Communion, therefore, is necessary for all Christians: "All have need of Communion: the good to remain good, the bad to become good: and so, young people, you will acquire the true wisdom that comes from the Lord".
St. John Bosco insisted much on the need for mental prayer. A personal recollection of Blessed Philip Rinaldi, who in 1922 became the Rector Major of the Salesian Society, and who treated his founder during the last years of the latter's life, shows the importance he gave to meditation: "Going to confession with him during the last month of his life, I told him: "You must not tire yourself, you must not speak, I will speak; you will say only one word to me at the end". The good Father, after listening to me, said only one word: Meditation! He added no more, no explanation or comment. Just one word: Meditation! But that word was worth more to me than a long speech."
St. John Bosco's spirituality was eminently Marian. He said that, together with Holy Communion, Mary is the other pillar on which the world rests. He also affirmed: "Mary Most Holy is the foundress and the one who sustains our works". For this reason, he had the image of the Virgin Mary placed in every corner of the Salesian houses, so that she could be invoked and honored as the inspiration and protector of the Salesian Society. He did not hesitate to say and to assure: "The multiplication and spread of the Salesian Society can be said to be due to Mary Most Holy".
St. John Bosco was the apostle of devotion to Mary. Auxilium Christianorumbut he ended up preferring this title to that of Mary Help of Christians. In December 1862 he communicated his decision to erect a church in Turin under the invocation of Mary Help of Christians, whose foundation stone was laid on April 27, 1865.
However, on her deathbed it was not the invocation "Auxiliatrix" that came from her lips, but that of "Mother", for she died saying: "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum...Mother...Mother, open to me the gates of Paradise".
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Influenced by St. Teresa of Calcutta, English journalist Malcolm Muggeridge converted to Catholicism with his wife in 1982. Now, in 2025, his great-grandson Sebastian Muggeridge will be ordained a priest.
"All for you", the testimony of a young seminarianAlder, Nicaraguan seminarian: "The Pope asked us to be courageous".Influenced by St. Teresa of Calcutta, the English journalist Malcolm Muggeridge converted, with his wife, to Catholicism in 1982, at the age of 79. In 1969 he had produced the documentary Something Beautiful for God for the BBC, and two years later he had written a book of the same name about the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, making her known to the world.
On May 24, 2025, a great-grandson of his will be ordained a priest, Canadian Sebastian Muggeridge, 32 years old, one of the 5 sons of John Muggeridge Jr. and his wife Christine.
The only daughter, Cecilia, is an assistant numerary of Opus Dei. She works at the Roman College of Holy Mary in Rome. Mens sana in corpore sano: it is useful for Cecilia to know English, French, Spanish and Italian, as she helps to maternally care for dozens of female students studying Theology, Canon Law, Philosophy, and Institutional Social Communication of the Church at the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce. In one minute she gives her testimony.
The Muggeridge family lives in Ottawa, Ontario; but Omnes spoke with Deacon Sebastian, Companion of the Cross (CC) from Montreal by WhatsApp, connecting with him where he studies: at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, USA. Let us first transcribe a quote from the founder of the Companions of the Cross, Father Bob Bedard: “I love the Church... ‘the sleeping giant.’ Once we begin to rediscover what it means to evangelize and to undertake a full-scale revival of this ministry, I see the Church awakening and coming alive in such an explosive way that, with the power of the Holy Spirit, it will shake the earth and the nations with its dynamic presence.”
– If someone had told me in high school that I would be a priest I would have laughed. Then, studying nursing at the University of Ottawa, I lived as if God didn't exist. Everything changed in 2013 with a confession that brought me deep joy. It was at a university retreat and the priest was a Companion of the Cross. A young university missionary encouraged me to ask Jesus daily that He be at the center of my life. That's what I prayed and that transformed me. I started going to daily Mass.
Some ladies who saw me in church asked me why I didn't become a priest. When I told a priest about it, he reassured me that you don't give yourself a vocation, it is God who puts it in your heart. But one day, sitting in my parish church, I prayed a dangerous prayer: “God, I will do whatever you want, even get ordained. All I ask is that you put that desire in my heart.”
God answered me by my befriending almost without realizing it several priests, some of whom were Companions. I asked to enter their novitiate in 2016. I was ordained a deacon on September 14, 2014, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and will be ordained a priest at Notre Dame Cathedral by the Archbishop of Ottawa, Marcel Damphousse.
– Since 2003 we have been a Society of Apostolic Life, founded as a community of clerical brothers 40 years ago in Ottawa by then diocesan priest Bob Bedard. I never met him, as he passed away, in Ottawa, in 2011. We have over 40 priests, and two Canadian bishops are Companions as well.
Near this Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit our community has a formation house of our own where we, a dozen CC seminarians, reside. Our charism is evangelization, we do a lot of parish work, and we are also involved in other work such as university chaplaincies. We are in the provinces of Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and in the states of Michigan and Texas. Our Superior General is Father Roger Vandenakker.
– As my sister Cecilia relates in a video, it is part of the oral tradition of our family to tell the story of Malcolm, who after having lived a worldly life as a youth converted to Catholicism, with his wife Kitty Dobbs. She was the niece of the well-known English feminist and socialist Beatrice Webb. Of Malcolm's three sons, one also converted, my grandfather John Sr., whose wife, Anne Roche Muggeridge, was a well-known Canadian Catholic writer of two books on the challenges in the Church following Vatican II. Anne helped my grandfather and my great-grandparents convert. John and Anne had 4 sons, one daughter and 28 grandchildren.
– If I had the answer, it would be a very valuable answer... We have to give young people a chance to encounter the person of Christ. They have difficulty in making decisions. But they want authenticity. Deep down, they want to give themselves in a real, noble and inspiring way. We must encourage this encounter, so that many may feel the call to religious life, to the priesthood, to marriage.
I encourage young people to try this dangerous prayer that I did at one time, which is terrifying, but worthwhile. Now I appreciate my sister’s vocation better; since she is older than me, when she joined Opus Dei, I understood it less than I do now. Her dedication is inspiring. Now it’s easier to understand her vocation of service. I began to notice it at the Manoir de Beaujeu, a retreat house near Montreal, where she worked for a while. I will see her this spring when she will visit Canada for my ordination and for my younger brother’s wedding. I hope to return the visit in Rome during the Jubilee once I am ordained.
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Gray has its own beauty and richness, with a unique ability to complement and enhance other colors. My nostalgia for the blue skies of summer had blinded me to the subtle splendor of gray.
Summer is one of the most cherished seasons in Europe. Its charm has been celebrated for centuries, and one need only glance at Shakespeare's sonnets to see how he glorifies its beauty. Personally, I also love summer, especially for the radiant blue of the sky. It's a deep, vibrant hue, which I prefer to describe as a "beautiful blue."
Leaving Europe for the summer, I said goodbye to the deep blue skies to return to the tropics for the rainy season. Upon arrival, I was greeted by a cloudy sky, dominated by gray clouds. It seemed that nature was not smiling on me, as if it had conspired to take away my joy and hope, replacing the lively blue with a somber gray. I had traded "beautiful blue" for "dull gray." Days passed, and prejudices toward the gray weather began to affect my mood. I began to perceive the gray sky as lacking beauty, believing it would doom me to a series of drab, lifeless days.
In this state of mind, little by little he fell into what he G.K. Chesterton describes it as the "heresy" to label a gray day as "colorless." He asserts the opposite, asserting that gray is, in fact, a color, a powerful and pleasing one. If blue is beautiful, so is gray. If blue is vibrant, gray is equally rich. So why do we equate gray with lifelessness? Gray has its own beauty and richness, with a unique ability to complement and enhance other colors. My nostalgia for the blue skies of summer had blinded me to the subtle splendor of gray.
Let's stop to consider the great capacity for change and adaptation that the color gray possesses. There is strength in diversity, and gray has a lot of it. Let's think about the many shades of gray; someone once said there are fifty, but I disagree. It could be forty-nine or fifty-one, I don't care. What matters is the incredible range of its expressions. Some days, the gray clouds gleam like silver; other days, they evoke the gleam of steel, the softness of a dove's plumage, or the pale beauty of ashes, a reminder of that solemn Ash Wednesday.
At times, the clouds become dense and heavy, resembling the machinery of a steel factory. They hold the rain inside and release it as delicate streams falling on rooftops and streets, turning the gray sky into a great steel pipe maker, long tubes of water. "Pour down the rain, heavens, from above!" we might exclaim, marveling at their generosity. Rorate Caeli!
Gray skies are not only beautiful in their own right, they are also catalysts for other colors. They are generous, they make other colors more vivid. When the rains come, they paint the earth brighter greens and deeper reds; we have greener foliage and redder mud.
Do we still need to doubt the beauties of gray? Not only does it allow other colors to bloom, but it also knows how to mix and match with them. I used to wonder why my students matched gray pants or skirts with pink blouses or blue shirts, until I watched the sunrise filtering through gray clouds.
The subtle interplay of gray with the pinks and oranges of sunrise or sunset reflects the choices of these uniforms: the influence of nature at its finest. Also, the patches of gray clouds scattered in a blue sky fit perfectly. I've stopped asking myself that question.
Will we continue to sing the glories of gray? The gray clouds act like a great parasol over the earth, an umbrella that attenuates the sun's rays that reach us, making its warmth more pleasant, more human.
Gray, although a distinctive color, has something of an intermediate character. The dictionary will tell us that it is an intermediate color between black and white. It always seems to be on the verge of something, on the threshold of evolving; to see it is to be on the verge of witnessing a change.
Chesterton captures this essence beautifully, noting that gray exists so that "we may be perpetually reminded of the indefinite hope that is in doubt itself; and when there is gray weather on our hills or gray hair on our heads, we may still be reminded of morning."
Gray is, without a doubt, a glorious color. And if anyone still has doubts, consider this: I have written this essay with a lead pencil, a tool as gray as the skies I have come to admire.
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Banco Sabadell reinforces its role as an ally for religious and Third Sector institutions, extending its framework of action to other Spanish cities.
Banco Sabadell and Amundi promote responsible investmentsBanco Sabadell awards more than 200 thousand euros to solidarity initiativesBanco Sabadell has taken an important step in its specialization strategy by deploying specialized units for Religious Institutions and the Third Sector in key cities such as Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and the Balearic Islands, in addition to the already existing unit in Madrid. This expansion reflects the bank's commitment to providing personalized, high-quality service to these sectors, which have shown remarkable growth since the service's inception in 2018.
Since its launch, the segment has experienced remarkable success, with the number of customers increasing fourfold and the volume of business handled tripling by the end of 2024. To respond to the needs of these organizations, Banco Sabadell has designed innovative products such as the DONE System, the first digital system in Spain for collecting donations by means of cards, and a special offer aimed at brotherhoods and fraternities with which it has agreements.
Santiago Portas, director of Religious Institutions and Third Sector at Banco Sabadell, emphasizes that the proximity and high specialization of these new units position the entity as a benchmark in this segment. "Our professionals are trained to offer the best service and close advice, adapting to the needs of each client," says Portas.
In addition to traditional financial services, Banco Sabadell promotes collaboration between religious institutions and Third Sector entities through regular events and training programs. One of these programs is the Financial Advisor Course for Religious and Third Sector Entities, organized together with the Francisco de Vitoria University, whose fourth call for applications is already open.
With clear policies based on transparency and ESG (environmental, social and governance) standards, Banco Sabadell ensures that both large and small institutions can access services and support tailored to their needs. This specialized approach facilitates the fulfillment of the entities' foundational objectives, while promoting a sustainable and responsible management model.
With these new openings and its continuous development of innovative products, Banco Sabadell reinforces its role as an ally for religious and Third Sector institutions.
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Priestly celibacy and sexual abusePope confirms policy to fight sexual abuse with definitive "Vos estis lux mundi".Vos estis lux mundi. Safe ways for the protection of minorsThe succession of communiqués, affirmations and accusations that, for several days now, have been published as a result of the leak of a denunciation against the former Archbishop of Lima for two decades, leaves, besides the evident need to continue fighting against this reality, the importance of a transparent management by the Church in these painful cases.
The following is a detailed chronology of the different communiqués that have taken place over the last week.
The newspaper El País reports that, in 2019, Pope Francis removed Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani, former archbishop of Lima and a member of Opus Dei, after he was accused of sexual abuse to a minor in 1983. The victim, now 58 years old, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that the events occurred when she was 16 or 17 years old at an Opus Dei center in Lima and consisted of certain touching.
A few hours later, Cipriani published a letter categorically denying the facts and assuring that he has never committed any sexual abuse. He shows his regret for the leak of such delicate information and reiterates his unity with Pope Francis.
In his letter, he points out that the complaint filed against him was not handed over to him and no process was opened against him, although the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith imposed on him as precautionary measures to live outside Peru and to limit his ministerial activity. He also adds that, in an audience with Pope Francis in February 2020, he was allowed to resume part of his priestly activity (preaching retreats, public celebration of the sacraments, etc.).
On the same day, the regional vicar of Opus Dei in Peru issues a statement apologizing for not having met with Cipriani's whistleblower when the latter asked for an audience in 2018.
He explains that, since Cipriani was being investigated by the Vatican, he had no juridical competence in the case and preferred not to interfere in the process so as not to cause an untimely interference. However, he recognizes that he could have offered him his personal and spiritual support.
He also clarifies that there is no record of a formal process against Cipriani while the cardinal was incardinated in the prelature. The now regional vicar points out that in those years there were no protocols as rigorous as the current ones, which could have allowed complaints to go unregistered.
Emphasizes that, nowadays, any accusation follows a clear procedure and is not limited to private conversations. Reaffirms its commitment to prevention, improved complaint management and solidarity with victims of abuse.
Asked by some media, the Vatican spokesman confirms that, in 2019, disciplinary measures were imposed on Cardinal Cipriani due to allegations of pederasty. These measures included his retirement, residence outside Peru, prohibition from making public statements and the use of cardinal symbols.
It also assures that the precautionary measures were still in force, something especially relevant because Cipriani had received on January 7, 2025 an important civil recognition, the most important medal of merit of the city of Lima.
Communiqué of the Archbishop of Lima
The Archbishop of Lima, Carlos Castillo, issues a communiqué in support of victims of pederasty and journalists who denounce these cases. He strongly criticizes those who deny the truth and reject the decisions of the Holy See, urging them to conversion and to abandon justifications.
He does not explicitly quote Cipriani, but his message was understood as a position on the case, taking into account the context of the controversy.
The Episcopal Conference expresses its sorrow for the news about Cardinal Cipriani and regrets the suffering of the victim and the ecclesial community. The Peruvian bishops value the decision of Pope Francis, highlighting the combination of justice and mercy in the measures imposed and call for prayers for the complainant, for Cipriani and for the Church, so that it may be a safe space of reconciliation.
After the various manifestations around this issue, Cardinal Cipriani writes a letter to his brothers in the Peruvian episcopate. In it he reiterates his innocence and maintains that he signed the restrictions imposed by the Vatican in 2019, declaring in the same act that the accusation was false and that he obeyed out of love for the Church. He insisted that he accepted the preventive measures while the truth was being clarified, although he claims not to have been able to defend himself.
In this letter, the former archbishop of Lima for two decades, expresses his surprise that the Peruvian episcopate has not respected his presumption of innocence in the face of the accusations and reiterates his communion with the Pope and his fidelity to the Church.
The call Cipriani case has raised several questions since, less than a week ago, and in a completely surprising way, it came to light. The doubts, expressed from various media and institutions begin with the fact that the cardinal was sanctioned in 2019 without having had a clear legal process.
To date, the Vatican has not denied that the Peruvian cardinal did not have access to the complaint, nor the conditions under which Cipriani assures that he signed the restrictions imposed. Likewise, some have pointed out the "coincidence" that the leak of this case occurred at a time when thousands of communicators were meeting in Rome on the occasion of the Jubilee of CommunicatorsThe Vatican's Sala Stampa, which is not usually open on public holidays, is open to the public.
While the fact of the lawsuit and the disciplinary measures by the Vatican is confirmed by both parties, it gives the impression that there has been no formal investigation of the facts, nor a normalized legal process of the case, despite the fact that it was in 2019 when the canonical process of this nature is clarified by Vos estis lux mundi. A series of questions that make it difficult to understand this process, which continues to raise questions at this time.
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The Vatican warns about the ethical use of artificial intelligence, recalling that it must serve the common good and not cause harm. While recognizing its positive potential, the document urges regulation that guarantees human dignity and avoids abuses.
Vatican also has guidelines on artificial intelligencePope reflects on artificial intelligenceOmnes-CARF meeting addressed the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence(OSV News). "Technological progress is part of God's plan for creation," the Vatican said, but people must take responsibility for using technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to help humanity and not harm individuals or groups.
"Like any tool, the IA is an extension of human power, and while its future capabilities are unpredictable, mankind's past actions provide clear warnings," says the document signed by Cardinals Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
The document, approved by Pope Francis on January 14 and made public by the Vatican on January 28 - the day after International Holocaust Remembrance Day - says that "the atrocities committed throughout history are sufficient to raise deep concern about possible abuses of AI."
Entitled "Antiqua et Nova (Old and New): A Note on the Relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence," the paper focuses especially on the moral use of technology and the impact that artificial intelligence is already having or could have on interpersonal relationships, education, work, art, health care, law, war and international relations.
AI technology is not only used in applications such as ChatGPT and search engines, but also in advertising, self-driving cars, autonomous weapons systems, security and surveillance systems, robotics in factories and data analysis, even in healthcare.
The Popes and Vatican institutions, in particular the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, have been monitoring and expressing concern about the development and use of artificial intelligence for more than 40 years.
"Like any product of human creativity, artificial intelligence can be directed toward positive or negative ends," the Vatican document states. "When used in a way that respects human dignity and promotes the well-being of individuals and communities, it can make a positive contribution to the human vocation."
"However, as in all areas where human beings are called to make choices, here too the shadow of evil looms," the dicasteries said. "Where human freedom allows for the possibility of choosing what is wrong, the moral evaluation of this technology must take into account how it is directed and used."
Humans, not machines, make the moral decisions, the paper said. Therefore, "it is important that ultimate responsibility for decisions made using AI rests with human decision-makers and that there is accountability for the use of AI at every stage of the decision-making process."
The Vatican document insisted that, although artificial intelligence can quickly perform some very complex tasks or access large amounts of information, it is not truly intelligent, at least not in the same way that humans are.
"A proper understanding of human intelligence cannot be reduced to the mere acquisition of facts or the ability to perform specific tasks. On the contrary, it implies a person's openness to the ultimate questions of life and reflects an orientation toward the true and the good."
Human intelligence also involves listening to others, empathizing with them, building relationships and making moral judgments, actions that even the most sophisticated AI programs cannot perform, he says.
"Between a machine and a human being, only the human being can be sufficiently self-aware to the point of listening to and following the voice of conscience, discerning with prudence and seeking the good that is possible in each situation," the document said.
The Vatican dicasteries issued several warnings or caveats in the document, calling on individual users, developers and even governments to exercise control over how AI is used and to commit "to ensure that AI always supports and promotes the supreme value of the dignity of every human being and the fullness of the human vocation."
First, they noted, "impersonating AI should always be avoided; doing so for fraudulent purposes is a serious ethical violation that could erode social trust. Similarly, using AI to deceive in other contexts - such as in education or in human relationships, including the sphere of sexuality - should also be considered immoral and requires careful oversight to avoid harm, maintain transparency, and ensure the dignity of all individuals."
The dicasteries warned that "AI could be used to perpetuate marginalization and discrimination, create new forms of poverty, widen the 'digital divide' and worsen existing social inequalities."
While AI promises to increase productivity in the workplace by "taking over mundane tasks," according to the paper, "it often forces workers to adapt to the speed and demands of machines, rather than machines being designed to help those who work."
Parents, teachers and students should also be wary of their reliance on AI, he says, and should know their limits.
"The widespread use of AI in education could increase students' dependence on technology, impairing their ability to perform some tasks autonomously and exacerbating their dependence on screens," the paper states.
And while AI can provide information, according to the paper, it does not actually educate, which requires thinking, reasoning and discernment.
Users should also be aware of the "serious risk of AI generating manipulated content and false information, which can easily mislead people because of its resemblance to the truth." This misinformation can occur unintentionally, as in the case of AI "hallucination," where a generative AI system outputs results that appear real but are not, as it is programmed to respond to all requests for information, regardless of whether it has access to it or not.
Of course, according to the paper, AI falsehood can also "be intentional: individuals or organizations intentionally generate and disseminate false content with the aim of misleading or causing harm, such as images, videos and audio...". deepfake -referring to a false representation of a person, edited or generated by an AI algorithm".
Military applications of AI technology are of particular concern, according to the paper, because of "the ease with which autonomous weapons make warfare more viable," the potential for AI to eliminate "human oversight" of weapons deployment, and the potential for autonomous weapons to become the subject of a new "destabilizing arms race, with catastrophic consequences for human rights."
This article is a translation of an article first published in OSV News. You can find the original article here.
OSV News
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Listening to music composed for the ordinary of the Mass by a great composer is always an experience that nourishes faith and aesthetic enjoyment. If the composer is also a sincere Catholic, and the music is extraordinarily appropriate to a particular spiritual and historical situation, listening to the Mass becomes an interesting spiritual and human experience. A good example of this is the "Nelson Mass" by Franz Joseph Haydn.
When we think of great Catholic composers, we find some who are Catholic in name only and others who lived an authentic life of faith, devotion and practice in the bosom of the Church. Of the latter, one of the most relevant is the Austrian Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), the great patriarch of Viennese musical classicism, who developed the most important part of his musical career at the height of the secularist Enlightenment, in the second half of the 18th century. At a time when the Catholic faith was often associated in the most cultivated circles with superstition, obscurantism and cultural immobilism, we are surprised to find a true Catholic among the most balanced, luminous and imaginative musicians of the Age of Enlightenment.
Without going into the personal details of his religious life, we are going to dwell on one of the most evident examples of his faith: one of the Masses belonging to his extensive catalog of compositions for the Catholic liturgy. Many of his contemporaries dedicated themselves to this type of music, among them his great friend Mozart or his brother Michael Haydn, but in none of them do we find the sincerity of expression, the illustration of faith with the music and the serene dignity of the liturgical style as in Franz Joseph Haydn.
A first series of eight Masses was composed between 1749 (at the age of 17, the first, dedicated to St. John of God) and 1782 (at the age of 50, composed for the sanctuary of Mariazeller). His obligations to Prince Esterhazy, his patron, and his trips to London to premiere his music, meant a long break in his dedication to liturgical music. Between 1782 and 1795 he would devote himself intensely to these two commitments, and in this period he would marvelously develop his compositional style for chamber music and for orchestra, to the point that he is considered the father of the string quartet and the symphony, the two most relevant genres in both types of music.
Therefore, when in 1796 he returned to the composition of Masses, his style already had an admirable maturity and mastery of orchestral technique, which makes his last series of six Masses, composed between 1796 and 1802, surely the most important collection of Catholic liturgical music of the classical period. The annual rhythm of the Masses is due to the fact that they were each composed for the feast day of his patron saint and friend Maria, wife of Prince Nicholas of Esterhazy. Therefore, for each September 12, Haydn had already composed a magnificent Mass to be performed in the liturgical celebration of Mary's Name. The third of these, composed in 1798, is possibly the best: the "Missa in angustiis", known as the "Nelson Mass".
It is striking that a Mass composed for a festive occasion should bear such a dramatic name. The circumstances in which its composition took place, however, explain this dark and disturbing tone suggested by the title, and also the appearance of Admiral Horatio Nelson in the title by which it is usually known. In 1798 Haydn, aged 66, is going through difficult times. His health is deteriorating more and more (he will die 11 years later), and his strength is exhausted by the tremendous work involved in finishing his masterpiece, the oratorio "The Creation", premiered in April 1798. On the other hand, the summer of 1798 was very hard for Austria and Vienna, his favorite city, successively threatened and defeated by Napoleon's revolutionary armies.
As if that were not enough, the war economy substantially cut the musical budget of Prince Esterhazy, who had to do without all the wind players (horns, oboes, flutes, clarinets and bassoons). As it is these that give color to Haydn's orchestra, the Mass had to be composed for a somewhat obscure staff: only strings, trumpets and timpani. The atmosphere, no doubt, suggests in all its dimensions anguish and very strong worries.
However, shortly before the premiere of the Mass, on August 1, 1798, the English fleet, commanded by Lord Nelson, tore apart the French squadron in the battle of Egypt, and thus dealt the first mortal blow to Napoleon's unstoppable expansionism. The admiral's name became synonymous with hope in the face of the French, and his figure immediately rose to the prominence of a savior, like a divine answer to Haydn's imploring plea in his Mass. As if that were not enough, Nelson himself went to Vienna and the Esterhazy palace in 1800, and possibly Haydn, well known to the English public after his trips to London, would perform in his honor the Mass he composed for that time of anguish and danger. Since then, it has been universally known as the "Nelson Mass".
The first number of the Mass, "Kyrie", with its trumpet and timpani strokes, written in the somber D minor mode, contains some thrilling invocations of the choir in unison, invoking divine mercy in dark times. It has little to do with the usually luminous beginnings of the Masses of the classical period, in major mode and full of melody and balance. After a brief imitative period in the choir, a chilling coloratura from the soprano, the solo part of the Mass that requires the most virtuosity, bursts over the trumpets, crying "eleison": have mercy.
The "Gloria", on the other hand, is initiated by the soprano in D major, in a more conventional and luminous style, reminiscent of the best choruses of the oratorio "The Creation". Solo and choral interventions lead into a calmer section, in B-flat major, which is recreated with the words "qui tollis peccata mundi," "you who take away the sin of the world." The tone of faith-filled prayer is serenely transparent in this luminous passage, warm and harmonious in the context of anguish and continuous musical alterations. The bass, another soloist part of great virtuosity, accompanies the soprano in this marvelous duet, completed with small interventions by the choir and solo passages by the organ. The end of the "Gloria" repeats its beginning, thus tracing a balanced musical structure typical of Viennese classicism.
The central passage of the "Credo" is one of the most elaborate and original parts of the "Nelson Mass", in which one can perceive with what detail Haydn contemplates musically the central dogma of the faith he professed with all his heart: the incarnation, passion, death and Resurrection of the Son of God. Indeed, after a light beginning, again in D major, the music pauses at the words "He came down from Heaven." A large, slow section, in G major, written for strings and soprano only, sweetly illustrates the incarnation of the Son of God.
After the echo of the choir, the music moves on to the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, accompanied by trumpet and timpani blasts, as in a terrible funeral procession. The deep contemplative tone, and at the same time of exposition of the faith of this passage, reaches a moving moment when the soprano, in the recapitulation of the Crucifixion by the soloists, repeats three times "pro nobis": "for us". After her, only the cellos of the orchestra silently accompany the memory of Christ's burial: "et sepultus est".
Finishing the Mass, before arriving at the solemn "Agnus Dei", which culminates the Mass with a triumphant final D major, Haydn leaves in the second part of the "Sanctus" (the "Benedictus") another moment of inspired originality. Alluding to the one "who comes in the name of the Lord," he composes a military march in 2/4 time signature, again in the somber key of D minor. A strange formula for a section that in the Masses of this period is usually composed in major mode and in a serene and melodious tone. But circumstances dictate: the savior "who comes in the name of the Lord" will have to come in the midst of war and with sovereign military power to overcome the threats and anxieties that dominate the atmosphere. If we cannot literally say that Lord Nelson was the answer to this tremendous plea, we must recognize that his figure fits surprisingly well with the anxieties and hopes expressed by Haydn in this magnificent Mass.
Next, Eraldo Salmieri conducts the Slovak Philharmonic in their performance of the "Nelson Mass".
Doctor of Theology
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Joseph Evans comments on the readings of the Presentation of the Lord (C) for Sunday, February 2, 2025.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a more important feast than we often think. In fact, in various rites and calendars it marks the conclusion of the Christmas season. So it is not surprising that this year it continues to be celebrated, even though it falls on a Sunday.
The feast speaks to us of hope, of the heart, of desire. We think of the hope of the elders Simeon and Anna, who were waiting for "the consolation of Israel" y "the liberation of Jerusalem". We could content ourselves with meaner consolations: some pleasure or satisfaction. We see more clearly Simeon's desires when he speaks of Christ as "...".Salvador" y "light to enlighten the nations and the glory of your people Israel". This is extraordinary. Faced with the public mission of Christ and his teaching, this man is concerned both that the light of faith should reach the pagans and that Israel should discover the true glory of God, revealed in Jesus.
This is a man guided by the Holy Spirit - the gospel tells us explicitly - a man whose desires had been inspired and shaped by the Spirit, whose heart had been formed by the Spirit. And that's why he was so generous and universal, even Catholic. At a time when Jews were, in general, fanatically anti-foreigners, here was a man deeply concerned for the salvation of all men, Jew and Gentile.
The example of Simeon calls us to have a heart with great desires: he was an old man, but his heart burned with a universal desire, the salvation of all. Indeed, petty desires prevent us from seeing Christ. Many other people were in the Temple that day, but they had probably gone for small reasons: for routine, or to check a box, or to be seen, or to pray for success in a business or that the children would marry and do well, etc. They were seeking things of God, not God. They were looking for things of God, not God himself. That is why they did not recognize Jesus. Our Lord is recognized by those who have a great heart and great desires. Simeon was in relationship with the Holy Spirit, he was led by the Spirit. He found God in the arms of a poor villager, because God is found in poverty and in the poor.
Anne found God through her deep life of faith. For some 60 years she had dedicated herself to "with fasting and prayers night and day"in the Temple. His was a deep and sincere search for God, which was rewarded with an encounter with Christ.
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