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Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
'I still consider myself a missionary' - Pope Leo XIV in past interviews
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost of the United States appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, May 8, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane VATICAN CITY - U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost, who on Thursday was elected as the new leader of the Catholic Church taking up the name of Leo XIV, is a soft-spoken figure who has shunned the limelight during his priestly career. The 69-year-old from Chicago has served as a missionary in Peru and has given few media interviews. However, he spoke to Vatican News in May 2023, upon his appointment as head of the Vatican department that oversees bishops' appointments, and to RAI Italian public television before the conclave. Here are some extracts from those interviews: ON HIS FAMILY BACKGROUND: "I was born in the United States ... But my grandparents were all immigrants, French, Spanish ... I was raised in a very Catholic family, both of my parents were very engaged in the parish." (RAI) ON CONSIDERING DROPPING PLANS FOR PRIESTHOOD: He talked with his father about "very concrete things, doubts that a young man may have (such as) 'perhaps it is better (that) I leave this life and I get married, I have children, a normal life". (RAI) ON BEING PROMOTED TO A TOP VATICAN JOB IN 2023: "I still consider myself a missionary. My vocation, like that of every Christian, is to be a missionary, to proclaim the Gospel wherever one is." (Vatican News) ON HOW TO BE A BISHOP: "We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine, the way of living our faith, but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ and to bear witness to our closeness to the Lord." (Vatican News) ON CHURCH DIVISIONS: "Divisions and polemics in the Church do not help anything. We bishops especially must accelerate this movement towards unity, towards communion in the Church." (Vatican News) ON THE CHURCH AS AN INSTITUTION: "Too many times we have allowed the Church to become an institution in part or in its entirety... One thinks of the Vatican, the Holy See, there are institutional dimensions, but that is not the heart of what the Church is and must be." (RAI) ON WOMEN BEING APPOINTED AS MEMBERS OF THE VATICAN'S DICASTERY FOR BISHOPS, AN INNOVATION BY POPE FRANCIS: "On several occasions we have seen that their point of view is an enrichment." (Vatican News) ON THE DUTY OF BISHOPS TO ACT AGAINST SEX ABUSE: "We cannot close our hearts, the door of the Church, to people who have suffered from abuse. The responsibility of the bishop is great, and I think we still have to make great efforts to respond to this situation that is causing so much pain in the Church. It will take time." "In any case, silence is not an answer. Silence is not the solution. We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal. There is a great responsibility in this, for all of us." (Vatican News) ON FINANCIAL CHALLENGES FOR THE CHURCH: "The (late) Pope (Francis) has told us that he wants a Church that is poor and for the poor (...) Personally, I am not of the opinion that the Church should sell everything and 'only' preach the Gospel in the streets. However, this is a very big responsibility, there are no one-size-fits-all answers." (Vatican News) ON THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA "Social media can be an important tool to communicate the Gospel message reaching millions of people. We must prepare ourselves to use social media well." "(There are) situations where we really have to think several times before speaking or before writing a message on Twitter, in order to answer or even just to ask questions in a public form, in full view of everyone. Sometimes there is a risk of fuelling divisions and controversy." (Vatican News) REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Journal
02-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Chimney installed on the roof of the Sistine Chapel as conclave to elect new pope nears
VATICAN FIREFIGHTERS HAVE installed a chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel as the 7 May conclave to elect a new pope grows nearer. The chapel's chimney is an important fixture in the conclave. After every two rounds of voting, ballots are burned in a special furnace to indicate to the outside world how its papal election is going. If a pope has been elected, ballots are mixed with potassium chlorate, lactose and chloroform resin as they burn to produce white smoke from the chimney, telling onlookers that the new pontiff has been chosen. Advertisement Vatican News Vatican News However, if voting concludes with no election – which requires two-thirds of votes from eligible cardinals – the ballots are mixed with cartridges containing potassium perchlorate, anthracene (a component of coal tar) and sulphur to produce black smoke that will steam from the chapel's chimney. The election of Pope Francis in 2013 came after the fifth ballot and two days. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, was also elected after two days. Many people will crowd outside the chapel, waiting for the white smoke to appear. The Journal's Diarmuid Pepper will be in Rome throughout the conclave next week – you can follow him on X here Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Herald Malaysia
28-04-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Participants in Youth Jubilee take part in 'Via Lucis'
Participants in Youth Jubilee take part in 'Via Lucis' Thousands of young people from around the world, in Rome for their Jubilee and to pay their respects to Pope Francis, gather to pray the 'Via Lucis', reflecting on the Resurrection. Apr 28, 2025 The Via Lucis for the Jubilee of Young People VATICAN: "Dear young people, let us experience the joy of your Jubilee of Young People by retracing some of the stages of the Via Lucis: the journey of the Risen Christ together with his disciples. Our life is full of joys and sorrows, questions and queries, but also expectations and hopes.' With these words, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation welcomed the tens of thousands of teenagers who had arrived in Rome for the Jubilee of Young People. At 6pm, they all gathered at the Steps of the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in southern Rome to experience the first event of their Jubilee: the Via Lucis, a prayer initiative begun in 1988 by the Salesians which takes inspiration from the "Via Crucis", or stations of the cross, but focuses on the Resurrection. Songs, prayers, meditations After having travelled to St Peter's to pay their respects to Pope Francis, the young people travelled to the south of Rome. They waved flags, sang together with the choir of the Diocese of Rome and above all prayed during this special moment in the life of the universal Church. A youth theatre troupe read the passages of the seven stations of the 'Via Lucis', and meditations taken from the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. With the background music, the icon of the Virgin was enthroned and the unforgettable song of the 2000 World Youth Day - Jesus Christ you are my life - was sung. "The Via Lucis, taking inspiration from the stages of the Lenten Way of the Cross, retraces the encounters of the risen Jesus with the eyewitnesses to the resurrection, from Easter Day to Pentecost," explains Fr Massimo Tellan, the Roman parish priest who organised the prayer moment. Living grief with hope The Paschal Candle was present next to the Pope's coffin last Wednesday as it was translated to St Peter's, and it was also present for the Via Lucis, where seven torches were lit from its flame. "For us believers, a funeral is an accompaniment towards the Father's house," Don Massimo goes on to explain, "and being able to pray with this perspective helps the young people to see this moment of transition and pain in the light of the Hope that does not disappoint, which is Christ himself".--Vatican News
9 News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- 9 News
'His compassion will long endure': Australian leaders pay tribute to Pope Francis
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here BREAKING Pope Francis dies aged 88 Albanese said the Pope was as close to the people of Australia as the first pontiff from the Southern Hemisphere, in an address to the nation after the announcement of the pope's death on Easter Monday. "Pope Francis's love for humanity was powerful and profound," Albanese said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses the media following the death of Pope Francis, in Melbourne. (Alex Ellinghausen) "The memory and example of his compassion will long endure." The prime minister, who wore a black suit and tie, has asked for flags across Australia to be flown at half-mast tomorrow. At times, he appeared emotional. "Australian Catholics and faithful around the world give thanks for the life of their holy Father. Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome," Albanese said. "Today, the prayers of more than a billion people from all nations in every walk of life go with Pope Francis to his rest. Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on Sunday, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) "His was a papacy of firsts, the first pope to hail from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name of that great champion of the poor, Saint Francis of Assisi. "Pope Francis' compassion embraced all humanity, and today he will be mourned by Catholics and non-Catholics alike." Albanese visited St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne to pay his respects. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also paid tribute on behalf of the Coalition. "His Holiness, Pope Francis, served God with the utmost devotion throughout his life. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (right) together with Monsignor Stuart Hall (left) departs Saint Patrick's Cathedral after paying his respects following the death of Pope Francis, in Melbourne, on Monday 21 April 2025 (Alex Ellinghausen) "He was the first Pope from the Jesuit order and the first Latin American Pope. "He lived frugally and simply. "Above all else, he was driven by Christ's values of mercy and forgiveness. "He emphasised those values in his last Christmas address saying, 'God's mercy can do all things. It unties every knot; it tears down every wall of division; God's mercy dispels hatred and the spirit of revenge.'" The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has said Pope Francis "embodied Christ's command to care for all people, especially the most vulnerable." "The Church in Sydney and Australia joins with people throughout the world in mourning the passing of the Holy Father, Pope Francis," Fisher said. "As priest, bishop and pope, he embodied Christ's command to care for all people, especially the most vulnerable." Pope Francis Pope World VATICAN Italy CONTACT US
