Pope's visit to Sri Lanka and Philippines confirms interest in Asia

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 06/11/2014 - 13:22

Only the date was missing, and it came by mouth of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo: Pope Francis will visit Sri Lanka from 13 to 15 January next year, as part of a trip to Asia (the second after the one in South Korea from 14 to 18 August) that will also take him to the Philippines (the Archbishop of Manila is the young Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle for whom Pope Francis has also had words of appreciation recently).

Bringing together the three “brothers”: the strength of an unprecedented gesture

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 06/10/2014 - 14:54

"There are gestures that come from the heart, in that precise instant ..." This is how Pope Francis answered two weeks ago after being asked how that tribute, with a kiss on the hand of the survivors of the Holocaust in Yad Vashem, was born. And it is in this way that, during a short trip to the Holy Land last May, Bergoglio had the idea of bringing together in prayer the leaders of the two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian. The dream could not come true on-site, but the Pope did not give up, and so he invited Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas to his home.

Pope tells presidents only God can bring peace to Holy Land

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/09/2014 - 02:51

Praying for peace in the Holy Land alongside leaders of long-antagonistic nations, Pope Francis called on God to act where human efforts had failed, to end what he described as violence inspired by the devil.

"More than once we have been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, employing a variety of means, has succeeded in blocking it," the pope said June 8 at an evening ceremony in the Vatican Gardens. "That is why we are here, because we know and we believe that we need the help of God."

Pope Francis’ dream: Israelis and Palestinians will live together in peace

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/09/2014 - 02:01

Pope Francis has a dream that one day, in the not so distant future, Israelis and Palestinians will live together, in separate independent states, in peace, security, and mutual respect, as befits the sons and daughters of the one Merciful God in whom he and the vast majority of them believe.

Pope ‘struck by Jordanians’ ‘generosity’

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 06/09/2014 - 00:27

Pope Francis has said that he was “struck” by the generosity of the Jordanian people in welcoming Syrian refugees: “the many who flee from war in that area”.

According to Father Imad Twal, a Jordanian priest who attended Wednesday Mass, in which the Pontiff shared his pilgrimage experience in Jordan and Palestine, Pope Francis reiterated his call on the world to help Jordan carry out its humanitarian mission.

Peace prayer by Palestinians and Israelis in Vatican Gardens Sunday

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 06/06/2014 - 20:24

Politics and spirituality do not always go hand in hand, not even in the quest for peace, but most certainly the religious aspect can summon unsuspected resources and cross what might appear as otherwise unsurmountable boundaries – as foreseen by Pope Francis when he extended his invitation to President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas during his recent visit to Jerusalem.

On the biblical trail under the Jordanian sun

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 06/05/2014 - 17:52

Jordan offers sights to delight pilgrims and explorers alike.
“If there’s only one nation in the sky, shouldn’t all passports be valid for it?” The answer to this question posed by Yann Martel in his bestselling novel Life of Pi came to us from our Jordanian tour guide Salah. Proudly sporting a shirt that says, ‘No use for a Name.’ Salahuddin aka Salah is a testament to Jordan’s reputation as a harmonious melting pot of religions and cultures. He tells us that his father is a Muslim, while his grandfather, a Jew.