A quick internet search for Madagascar, Mozambique and Mauritius would lead travelers to believe they’ve found three gems, with paradise-like beaches that stretch on forever, avenues of sprawling Baobab trees, crystal blue lagoons, rainforests, unique wildlife and incredibly welcoming people.

In fact, that’s all true. Search deeper, however, and you’ll find the other side of the coin - poverty that “surpasses reason,” corruption, jihadism, political and social instability, financial scandal, civil war and harsh weather that scientists believe will become steadily more extreme.

Svetlana Stalin, the daughter of the murderous dictator Joseph Stalin, renounced materialism and converted to Catholicism. Joseph would not have approved. In fact, Svetlana once reportedly told an editor of National Review that “my father would have shot me for what I have done.”

Pope Francis returns to sub-Saharan Africa for the second time on Sept. 4 to 10. He will visit Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius—specifically the capitals of the countries that are all former colonies of different European powers.

During his Angelus address on Sunday, August 25, Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel passage from Luke, when someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

The way to heaven is difficult and the gate to enter small, but Jesus’ mother, Mary, who herself entered through the narrow gate, will help those who ask, Pope Francis said Sunday.

Mary can be invoked under the title “Gate of Heaven,” he explained in his Angelus address.

Gospel of 23rd August 2019 - Matthew 22: 34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' Jesus said, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.'

Reflection on the Sculpture

Pope Pius XII established Aug. 22 as the Memorial of the Queenship of Mary in 1954; but Mary’s role as queen over the universal Church finds its roots in the Scriptures.

At the Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would rule forever on the throne of David.
At the Visitation, Elizabeth called Mary the “mother of my Lord.”

Following is the text of the address delivered by Secretary General William Vendley Religions for Peace 10th World Assembly Lindau, Germany, on 20 August 2019:

Your Excellency President Steinmeier Your All Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch Your Eminence Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah Eminences, Venerables, Excellencies, Brothers and Sisters All

An unprecedented water crisis is looming in the Middle East and North Africa. From Qatar to the Holy land, from Iran to Lebanon, except for virtuous Oman, the countries of the region will soon face extremely high water stress.

According to World Resources Institute, 17 countries face extremely high water stress because they consume 80 per cent of their available water annually.

On the occasion of the 40th annual Meeting for Friendship among Peoples, which opened Sunday in the Italian city of Rimini on the theme “Your name was born from what you gaze upon,” Pope Francis sent a message on August 16 through Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, to the Bishop of Rimini, Francesco Lambiasi. The meeting closes later this week.

Foloowing is a ZENIT working translation of the message:

To His Most Reverend Excellency,

Monsignor Francesco Lambiasi, Bishop of Rimini

This Sunday as a community of faith, we continue our walk through Saint Luke’s Gospel. It’s an opportunity for us to re-hear the message of the Lord Jesus and to go deeper in our relationship with him.

In particular, this weekend we hear the Lord say to us: “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”