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'Giving and forgiveness are the essence of the glory of God,' Pope tells pilgrims (Vatican Press Office)

Reflecting on John 12:20-33, the Gospel reading of the day, Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the Fifth Sunday of Lent that “from the Cross, the ‘cathedra of God,’ the Lord teaches us that true glory, that which never fades and makes us happy, is made up of giving and forgiveness.”

“Giving and forgiveness are the essence of the glory of God,” the Pope emphasized in his Sunday Angelus address, which he read aloud—unlike the previous day, when an aide read the Pope’s remarks on his behalf.

“May the Virgin Mary, who followed Jesus faithfully at the hour of His Passion, help us be living reflections of the love of Jesus,” Pope Francis concluded.

'Working among the last,' 'working together': papal encouragement for Italian charity (Vatican Press Office)

In a March 16 audience, Pope Francis encouraged members of the Camillo Faresin Foundation, an Italian charitable organization, in their work, as the charity celebrated its 20th anniversary. Bishop Camillo Faresin (1914-2003), after whom the foundation is named, was a Salesian missionary who ministered as a bishop in Brazil.

“Looking at your effort, I would like to emphasize and encourage two important lines of action: working among the last and working together,” the Pope said.

The Pope added that Bishop Faresin “left us a great example to imitate: to stay with the last, always! But how? By choosing and favoring, in your projects, the poorest and most neglected situations as special places to stay in.”

“Working together is already in itself a proclamation of the lived Gospel; and for you, as well as being an intelligent way of optimizing resources, it is a way of formation in charity and communion,” the Pope continued. “Working together, finally, is also an expression of faith in Divine Providence ... And the most important resources for the works of the Lord are not things, but rather ourselves, wisely placed close to one another so that we share what we are: our passion, our creativity, our skills and experience, and also our weaknesses and frailties.”

Pope remembers late German cardinal's care for the poor (Vatican Press Office)

Pope Francis has written a telegram of condolence to the nephews of Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, who died on March 15 at the age of 89.

“I remember with affection this brother who served the Lord and the Church faithfully and generously, attentive to the demands of the world of the young and the needs of fragile people, to whom he communicated Christ’s love and tenderness,” Pope Francis wrote. “He spared no energy in bearing witness to the Pope’s paternal care for the poorest.”

Giving, care, and community: papal remarks for 100th anniversary of Bambino Gesù Hospital (Vatican Press Office)

In a speech read aloud by an aide, Pope Francis emphasized the importance of “giving, care, and community” as Bambino Gesù Hospital, a pediatric hospital under Vatican jurisdiction, celebrated its 100th anniversary.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I confess that when I come to Bambino Gesù I feel two opposing sentiments: I feel sorrow for the suffering of the sick children and their parents, but at the same time I feel great hope, seeing everything that is done there to treat them,” the Pope said. “Thank you! Thank you for all of this. Keep going forward in this blessed work.”

An estimated 3,000 people attended the audience, which took place in Paul VI Audience Hall.

Theme of 4th Lenten sermon to the Curia: 'I am the resurrection and the life' (Cantalamessa.org (Italian))

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap, the preacher of the papal household since 1980, preached on Christ’s words, “I am the resurrection and the life,” on March 15, in his fourth Lenten sermon to Pope Francis and the Roman Curia, delivered in Paul VI Audience Hall.

The overarching theme of Cardinal Cantalamessa’s 2024 Lenten sermons is “But who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). In each Friday sermon, the prelate has preached on a different “I am” statement made by Christ. His first sermon was devoted to “I am the bread of life”; his second sermon to “I am the light of the world”; and his third sermon, to “I am the Good Shepherd.”

At the beginning of his second sermon, Cardinal Cantalamessa made the claim that the “I am” statements of Jesus in St. John’s Gospel, while true in one sense, are “not of the historical Jesus.” Thus, the prelate professed his conviction that Christ really is “the way, the truth, and the life,” even as he questioned whether “the sentence was in fact historically pronounced by the earthly Jesus.” (In contrast, the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation taught that the four Gospels “faithfully hand on what Jesus Christ, while living among men, really did and taught.”)

Cardinal Cantalamessa customarily preaches sermons to the Pope and members of the Roman Curia on Fridays during Advent and Lent, as well as the Good Friday homily in St. Peter’s Basilica. An exception was made for the first Lenten sermon of 2020, when Father Marko Ivan Rupnik took Cantalamessa’s place—despite Rupnik’s canonical conviction, two months earlier, of the offense of absolving an accomplice in a sexual sin.

Papal tribute to Patriarch Neophyte, late head of Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Vatican Press Office)

In a message of condolence to the temporary leader of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria (CNEWA profile), Pope Francis paid tribute to Patriarch Neophyte, who died on March 13 at the age of 78, 11 years after his election as Patriarch.

“His Holiness Neophyte gave valued service to the Gospel and to dialogue, and despite his many sufferings remained a man of humility and joy, an example of a life consecrated to the Lord and his Church,” the Pope wrote.

During his 2019 apostolic journey to Bulgaria, Pope Francis delivered an address to the Patriarch and Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria. The following year, Pope Francis gave relics of Pope St. Clement I and St. Potitus to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Vatican publishing house highlights Catholics who opposed Hitler (Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Libreria Editrice Vaticana, the Vatican publishing house, has published La Lama e la Croce [The Blade and the Cross], a work by journalist and pacifist Francesco Comina that offers profiles of Catholics who opposed the Nazi regime.

Among the Catholics discussed by Comina was Father Max Josef Metzger (1887-1944), who was officially recognized as a martyr by Pope Francis on March 14.

New officials named to pontifical abuse commission (CNS)

Pope Francis has named Auxiliary Bishop Luis Manuel Alí Herrera of Bogota, Colombia, as the new secretary of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

The prelate succeeds Father Andrew Small, OMI, who was appointed in 2021. Last year, the Pope criticized “alleged corruption” in the Church’s missionary work amid a Vatican investigation into the transfer of $17 million from the Pontifical Mission Societies in the US, previously led by Father Small, to a nonprofit investment fund.

Cardinal Seán O’Malley, president of the commission, lauded Father Small’s “vision and tenacity,” as well as his “energy and ingenuity,” and said that “many people will benefit from his efforts for years to come.”

The Pope also appointed Teresa Kettelkamp as the pontifical commission’s adjunct secretary. The former Illinois State Police colonel served as executive director of the US bishops’ Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection from 2005 to 2011.

Cardinal O’Malley said that Bishop Herrera and Kettelkamp “share a common passion for the well-being of children and vulnerable people, with lifetimes of service to the Church in this important area. They bring both stability to the commission’s agenda and a high degree of professionalism to their new roles.”

Vatican newspaper recalls anniversary of Syrian civil war (L'Osservatore Romano (Italian))

The Vatican newspaper devoted prominent front-page coverage in its March 15 edition to the 13th anniversary of the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

L’Osservatore Romano noted that “there are over 507,000 victims, of whom 164,000 are civilians, including 25,000 minors. The humanitarian situation is disastrous: over 16 million people require assistance, while internally and externally displaced people exceed 13 million, and 90% of the population lives below the poverty line.”

“Against this ‘desert of death,’ as Pope Francis defined it, may prayer and commitment to peace remain constant everywhere,” the unsigned article concluded.

Biden proclaims Catholic faith at St. Patrick's day brunch (Fox)

President Joe Biden emphasized the importance of his Catholic faith as he played host to influential Catholics at a St. Patrick’s Day brunch on March 17.

Biden said that his Catholic education taught him that “every single human being deserves to be treated with dignity.” He did not mention abortion.

The President welcomed “so many friends from the Catholic bishops’ conference as well as the Archdiocese of Washington” to the event, before sitting at a table flanked by Ireland’s Taoiseach (prime minister) Leo Varadkar and Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio in Washington.