Does God lead people into temptation? Not anymore, at least if you’re a Catholic in France, Spain, or - as of this week - Italy, where the Bishops’ Conference has approved (with Pope Francis’ blessing) a translation of the Our Father that wrestles the blame for sin away from God, and into the world.
“This probe seems like an attempt to harass the nuns, who work for the rejected and the neglected poor in society. The state should help them in their work rather than harassing them,” the archbishop said.
Fair Trade is a boon for indigenous Philippine people and for those who consume the fruits of nature and their labor. Buying the produce of the hard work of the poor for higher fair trade prices is one way to support them and reduce poverty. They struggle to survive in their remote villages without electricity, roads or nearby schools. There are few social services or government assistance to help them make a life of dignity for themselves and their children.
The Colloquium of Six Religious Leaders of Hong Kong, which comprises representatives of the Catholic Church, Protestant Church, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Confucius, also released a statement calling on the government and the public to seek a solution in a restrained and peaceful manner.
Speaking on the Papal plane returning from Romania to Rome, the Pope pointed out that the global financial system, which leaves many young people unemployed and others discarded, makes it difficult for individual countries to solve problems alone. Solidarity, where poorer countries received support from wealthier ones, is vital for the common good.
President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist plans to convert the former Carthusian monastery of Trisulti, near Frosinone, 47 miles south-east of Rome, into an academy for defenders of Judaeo-Christian values.
According to the new translation, the Lord's Prayer will no longer say "and lead us not into temptation" but will become "do not let us fall/be abandoned into temptation." The Holy See no longer gives a recognitio by which it approves vernacular translations; it now gives a confirmatio that confirms decisions made by the bishops' conferences.
Pope Francis has opted for continuity with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who died last July, in his appointment of Spanish Bishop Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot to head the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Born in Seville, Southern Spain in 1952, Bishop Ayuso discovered his religious vocation at an early age, deciding to join the Combonian missionaries, a congregation of Italian origin that is particularly active in eastern Africa.
The pope encouraged the young people to play a sport so they can engage with others rather than isolating themselves especially through social media.
"I only wish [the politicians'] apparent devotion to Mary translates into genuine service to people and actual practice of Christian values in their personal and official lives," said Benedictine nun Mary John Mananzan. Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga said what the legislators did was "very inspiring and interesting good news" and spoke of the Filipino culture of being "pro-God" and "pro-mother."
Back in Rome less than 24 hours after visiting refugees in camps in Greece, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski turned on some lights and found himself being threatened by Italy's deputy prime minister. Salvini said the occupants of the building owed the electric company 300,000 euros and he would be sending the cardinal the bill.
Architects have asked church leaders in Vietnam’s oldest diocese to conserve an iconic cathedral instead of pulling it down for a new one. But local Catholics and government authorities have backed the diocese’s plan to demolish 134-year-old Bui Chu Cathedral on May 13. Bui Chu Cathedral is as old as Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City and St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hanoi.
On the island of Bantayan in the central Philippines, artists were adding the finishing touches to a mural on the ceiling of the island's old church days before Holy Week. The church's priest, Joselito Enriquez Danao in 2016, when he was assigned to the Saints Peter and Paul Parish on the island, started the concept of “dibuho kisame,” which literally means "ceiling painting."
In many Christian communities the month of May is especially linked to the cult of the Virgin Mary. The "prayer of flowers" is an exercise in popular piety, an invocation addressed to the Mother of Jesus: "Come, and let us all go with flowers to Mary, who is our Mother."
At least 15,000 young Catholics attended the first day of this year's National Youth Day celebrations being held in the central Philippine province of Cebu. Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu welcomed the delegates on April 24 at a sports center by telling them that to "trust in the memory of God and His memory is not the hard disk that saves and archives all our data."
Pope Francis has called on an Asian church-run radio station, which celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 11, to help build “a more just and united society". In his message to Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), the pontiff expressed hope that the station would pursue its mandate to preach the Gospel and be a "channel of love by being the voice of the poor."
Founded in 2009 by Anne Soupa and Christine Pedotti to promote male-female equality in the Church, the Skirt Committee (Comité de la Jupe) announced that "in view of various affairs in the Catholic Church" it had launched a new petition reaffirming "its opposition to the condition currently given to women in their own Church."
The Lord's Prayer is meant to ignite the same deep love Jesus felt for his father, the same passion to "transform the world with love." Christians do not believe in random, unalterable or "inescapable fate," the pope said. Rather, they truly believe "that God can and wants to transform reality, conquering evil with good," and this, he said, is why people pray.
Christianity and its teachings found fertile ground among tribal communities whose communal lifestyle, fellowship and fraternity coalesced with that of the new religion. Many tribes embraced Christianity en masse, bringing phenomenal growth of Christianity in the northeast. Christians are now a majority in Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram, three of the seven states in the region.