Pope Francis meets with members of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Aug 30, 2024 / 16:32 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has affirmed that there are no objections to the 19th-century apparitions of Our Lady of Mercy at the Shrine of Pellevoisin in France and the faithful “are authorized to give to it their adherence in a prudent manner.”

On Aug. 22, the Holy See issued a “nihil obstat” (no objection) to the miraculous visions and physical healing of French woman Estelle Faguette following the request of Archbishop Jérôme Daniel Beau of Bourges, France, for the decree.  

“Estelle’s accounts are striking for their simplicity, clarity, and humility,” reads the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) letter to the archbishop of Bourges. “It is very valuable to note how the merciful Mother treats Estelle.”

Struggling with an incurable illness, Faguette said she was often visited and consoled through Our Lady’s presence, “serene gaze,” and “words of mercy,” particularly during times of spiritual anguish at the thought of her parents being left in a state of poverty and missing her.

According to the DDF, Faguette’s “generous dedication to others” is what touched the motherly heart of Mary.  

“Life that is used to taking care of others is what touched the Mother’s heart the most,” reads the Aug. 22 letter. “The Mother knows how to recognize all the good that is hidden behind our words.”

Following her healing that “surpassed all natural explanations,” Faguette emphasized that it was not by her own merits that she obtained the miracle from the Son of God through Mary’s intercession.

“Be convinced of one thing: that it was not for my own merits that the Blessed Virgin obtained my cure from her Son; on the contrary, it was to show many people that, despite our sins, we have a good mother who spoils us and intercedes for us,” she stated.

In the letter, the DDF also noted that the merciful Mother always gave exhortations, as well as reprimands, with a “reassuring gentless” that inspired Faguette and continues to inspire visitors to the sanctuary dedicated to the All-Merciful Mother in central France.    

“When Estelle says that she would rather die, the Virgin responds with a smile: ‘O, you of little gratitude! If my Son gives you life, it is because you need it. What has he given to man on earth that is more precious than life?’” the letter reads.    

Other messages the Blessed Mother conveyed to Faguette during her apparitions include the desire to bring peace in the Church, as “there is not that calm I desire,” and to lead people toward the heart of Christ particularly through the devotion of wearing the scapular — which shows the open heart of Jesus.

“The treasures of my Son have been open for a long time ... I love this devotion [of the scapular],” Our Lady shared with Faguette.

According to the DDF, the All-Merciful Mother also expressed to the visionary her sorrow for “the lack of love for Christ reflected in those who receive the Eucharist coldly or distractedly.”

The United Nations logo is seen at U.N. headquarters in New York on Oct. 4, 2023. / Credit: DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images

CNA Staff, Aug 30, 2024 / 14:12 pm (CNA).

A representative of Pope Francis recently reaffirmed the Vatican’s opposition to lethal autonomous weapons systems, known popularly as “killer robots,” with the Vatican stressing that “no machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.”

Archbishop Ettore Balestrero, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations in Geneva since 2023, spoke at a United Nations forum in Geneva this week, the Second Session of the 2024 Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS).

Balestrero strongly urged countries to consider the ethical implications of new weapons and lamented the fact that new and more sophisticated armaments are often tested on real battlefields.

“For the Holy See, given the pace of technological advancements and the research on weaponization of artificial intelligence, it is of the utmost urgency to deliver concrete results in the form of a solid legally binding instrument and in the meantime to establish an immediate moratorium on their development and use,” Balestrero said in an Aug. 26 address.

“In this regard, it is profoundly distressing that, adding to the suffering caused by armed conflicts, the battlefields are also becoming testing grounds for more and more sophisticated weapons.”

No universally agreed-upon definition of LAWS exists, but numerous countries around the world — including Israel, China, Russia, and the United States — are reportedly investing heavily in weapons with autonomous capabilities. These systems have the ability to navigate on their own and select targets without human input. 

The Vatican and Pope Francis have raised concerns about LAWS for years, with the Holy See questioning whether such weapons systems could irreversibly alter the nature of warfare, create detachment from human agency, and call into question the humanity of societies. 

“For the Holy See, autonomous weapons systems cannot be considered as morally responsible entities,” Balestrero continued. 

“The human person, endowed with reason, possesses a unique capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making that cannot be replicated by any set of algorithms, no matter how complex.”

“In conclusion, the development of ever more sophisticated weapons is certainly not the solution,” the archbishop said. 

“The undoubted benefits that humanity will be able to draw from the current technological progress will depend on the degree to which such progress is accompanied by an adequate development of responsibility and values that place technological advancements at the service of integral human development and of the common good.”

In 2021, in light of reports of development of swarms of “kamikaze” mini-drones in modern warfare, the Holy See said it was critical to maintain “meaningful human control over weapon systems.”

“The unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making is more than a complex collection of algorithms, and such a capacity cannot be replaced by, or programmed into, a machine,” the Vatican’s then-U.N. Geneva ambassador said.

At a G7 summit in June, Pope Francis himself had urged leaders to reconsider the development of lethal autonomous weapons and to ban their use. The pope himself made a similar call at an AI ethics conference in July.

A Synodal Mass in progress at St. Dominic’s Church at Aluva in the Ernakulam Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church on July14, 2024. / Credit: Anto Akkara

Vatican City, Aug 30, 2024 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

The Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, an Eastern Catholic rite in full communion with Rome, appointed two new bishops for Changanacherry and Shamshabad in India on Friday.

The appointments come after years of internal tensions among Syro-Malabar Church leaders regarding a synodal, unified liturgy of the ancient Oriental Church.

In May, Pope Francis warned the Church’s leaders that division comes from the work of “the devil, the divider” and that unity of the Eastern Church with Rome is essential.

“Apart from Peter, apart from the major archbishop, there is no Church,” stated the Holy Father in the May meeting with leaders and members of the Syro-Malabar Church at the Vatican.

On the July 3 feast day of St. Thomas the Apostle, the patron of the Syro-Malabar Church, a compromise was reached to resolve the liturgical feud sharply dividing leaders and the faithful of the Eastern-rite Church.

“The Holy Qurbana [Mass] should not be the reason for division in the Church,” Syro-Malabar Church spokesman Father Antony Vadakkekara told CNA in July. “That is why the synod made the compromise proposal to say at least one synodal Mass in each of the parishes [in India].”

Approximately 5 million people belong to the Syro-Malabar Church worldwide across eparchies (dioceses) in India, the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Auxiliary Bishop Major Thomas Tharayil will soon become the major archbishop of Changanacherry following the resignation of major archbishop Joseph Perumthottam. He has served as auxiliary bishop in the archeparchy since 2017.

Tharayil was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 1, 2000, and served as a deputy parish priest for various parishes in Changanacherry after completing his psychology doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome.

Major Antony Prince Panengaden, bishop-elect of Shamshabad chosen by the Syro-Malabar Synod of Bishops, was ordained a priest in 2007 after completing studies in philosophy at Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram Institute in Bangalore and in theology at the Ruhalaya Major Seminary in Ujjain.

During his 17-year pastoral ministry, Panengaden served as a priest in parishes in Goa and Adilabad and also obtained a doctorate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. In 2015, he was elected and installed as bishop of the Adilabad eparchy.

The Syro-Malabar Church dates its historical origins to the evangelizing mission of St. Thomas the Apostle to southern India in the first century.

Pope Francis addresses members of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who are meeting in an extraordinary plenary assembly Aug. 29–30, 2024, to discuss the future of the Pontifical Urban University, which educates priests and religious from the Catholic Church’s mission territories. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Aug 30, 2024 / 09:08 am (CNA).

Pope Francis expressed disagreement on Friday with a proposal to absorb a 400-year-old missionary-focused university in Rome into other pontifical universities.

Members of the Dicastery for Evangelization are meeting in an extraordinary plenary assembly Aug. 29–30 to discuss the future of the Pontifical Urban University, which educates priests and religious from the Catholic Church’s mission territories.

“There is some plan to ‘dissolve’ [the university] with the other universities: No, this will not do,” Francis said in his address Aug. 30 to the cardinals, bishops, priests, and religious gathered for the plenary.

According to Agenzia Fides, a missionary-focused news agency under the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Rome assembly is an intermediate step in discussions about “the present and future” of the Pontifical Urban University.

Also known as the “Urbaniana,” the missionary university was founded as the Urban College in 1627 by Pope Urban VIII, part of the educational aspect of the then-Sacred Congregation of Propaganda Fide. 

In 1962, it was elevated to a pontifical university. Its mission is to train and educate the priests, religious, and laypeople who help spread the Gospel in places without a strong Christian presence or where the Church has few financial resources.

Earlier this year, the Vatican’s publishing house signed an agreement with the pontifical university’s press to help with the editorial production of some of its publications.

The Libreria Editrice Vaticana will assist the Urbaniana University Press with “the editorial management of the scientific production” of the university’s historic publishing service, according to a July 18 press release.

The change is part of an overall restructuring to increase operational cooperation between the Urban University and other pontifical universities in Rome.

The reconfiguration comes with a reduction in teaching staff. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the university will have 47 full and 40 adjunct and visiting professors, reduced from 62 full and 113 adjunct and visiting professors during the prior academic year.  

Financially supported by the Dicastery for Evangelization, the university is also aiming to reduce costs by a projected 1.5 million euros ($1.66 million) in 2025.

In his speech on Friday, Pope Francis thanked the dicastery’s members for traveling to Rome “to reflect on the identity, mission, expectations, and future of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.”

“I, too, would like to offer some thoughts on this,” he added, underlining that the Urbaniana “has its own identity.”

The pope reflected on the still-relevant missionary vocation of the Urban University and the need to balance that identity with the issues faced by the Church and world today.

He also said the need to raise the quality of educational and research offerings must be balanced with a necessary rationing of human and economic resources. 

“Making good use of resources,” Francis said, “means unifying equal paths, sharing faculty from the six [pontifical] institutions, eliminating waste, planning activities wisely, and abandoning outdated practices and projects.”

“In the specific case of the Urbaniana, it is important that, in the quality of the educational offerings, its missionary and intercultural specificity emerges even more, so that those who are being trained are able to mediate with originality the Christian message in the relationship with other cultures and religions,” he said.

The Vatican Observatory together with the University of Padua have investigated eternity from new scientific perspectives. / Credit: Vatican Media

Madrid, Spain, Aug 30, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

“Eternity Between Space and Time: From Consciousness to the Cosmos” is the title of an upcoming report to be released by the Vatican Observatory, where “unpublished reflections” on eternity studied from different disciplines will be presented.

The University of Padua in Italy together with the Vatican Observatory have investigated eternity from new scientific perspectives thanks to 24 contributions from some of the world's greatest scholars in different disciplines such as physics, psychology, philosophy, and theology.

Contributors include Nobel Prize winners Gerard ‘t Hooft and Roger Penrose, joined by Federico Faggin, Mauro D’Ariano, Gabriele Veneziano, Massimo Cacciari, Giulio Goggi, and Kurt Appel.

Questions about God and consciousness are addressed alongside quantum theory, black holes, cosmic inflation, and the Big Bang and string theory, considering the contributions of neuroscience and artificial intelligence.

The report, which will be released on Sept. 6, is the result of the international conference on the theme of eternity held in May 2022 at the University of Padua.

The conference was attended by the world’s leading scholars in the fields of physics, philosophy, theology, and psychology.

The presentation of the report will take place at the headquarters of the Curia General of the Society of Jesus in Rome and will be attended by Father Gabriele Gionti, a member of the Vatican Observatory Research Group; Fabio Scardigli, Polytechnic University of Milan; Ines Testoni, University of Padua; and Father Andrea Toniolo, faculty of theology of Triveneto, Padua, Italy.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni Church, an Indian-Mughal style Catholic church in Medan, Indonesia. / Credit: MarlonH/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Aug 30, 2024 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis will embark on an 11-day trip on Sept. 2 that will bring him to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste (East Timor), and Singapore. 

During this longest journey of his pontificate so far — which includes numerous events in the largest majority-Muslim country on earth, Indonesia — the pope is expected to emphasize themes of interreligious dialogue, solidarity, and peace.

Here’s a closer look at all the destinations the pope will visit during his apostolic journey, but first, a broader look at the seven flights he will embark on, carrying him approximately 20,000 miles (over 32,000 km) in total:

Flight 1: Rome to Jakarta (7,055 miles/11,354 km, 13 hours and 15 minutes)

Leaving Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport in the early evening, the pope’s plane will cross over the Middle East and India en route to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Jakarta is a sprawling metropolis and the capital of Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority nation in the world in terms of population. 

Indonesia, an archipelago with nearly 1,000 inhabited islands, is about 7.5% Protestant and 3% Catholic. Many of the country’s Catholics live on Flores, an island that was recently designated as an international pilgrimage destination by the government. 

The pope will be officially welcomed in Jakarta when he arrives on Sept. 3 and will take the rest of the day to rest. The following day, Sept. 4, there will be a welcome ceremony outside the Istana Merdeka Presidential Palace before the pope visits with President Joko Widodo.

Francis will be the third pope to visit Indonesia after St. Paul IV and St. John Paul II. 

The pope’s second full day in Jakarta begins with an interreligious meeting in the Istiqlal Mosque, the ninth-largest mosque in the world.

Security in Indonesia for the pope’s visit is expected to be high; Indonesia has seen numerous terrorist attacks in recent years that have targeted the country’s Christian minority. 

Pope Francis will conclude his time in Indonesia with a Mass on the evening of Sept. 5 in Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 77,000, after meeting with beneficiaries from local charitable organizations.

Flight 2: Jakarta to Port Moresby (2,916 miles/4,693 km, 6 hours and 5 minutes)

On Sept. 6, Pope Francis will fly to Papua New Guinea’s capital of Port Moresby, making him the second pope to visit after St. John Paul II, who visited twice. 

Despite being extremely diverse, more than 98% of Papua New Guinea citizens identify as Christian and the Church plays a crucial role in education, health care, and social services. 

Catholicism represents the largest Christian denomination in the country with an estimated 4 million people — about 25% of the total population. The country suffered violence from rioting earlier this year in a spate of unrest on Jan. 10 now dubbed “Black Wednesday.”

Pope Francis will visit local ministries that care for street children and persons with disabilities on his first full day in Papua New Guinea on Sept. 7, which also includes a speech to the local political authorities and an address to the local clergy at the Shrine of Mary Help of Christians.

The following day, the pope will meet with Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, before presiding over Sunday Mass in Port Moresby’s Sir John Guise Stadium. He will then head to Vanimo for the remainder of the day.

Flight 3: Port Moresby to Vanimo (616 miles/991 km, 2 hours and 15 minutes)

Vanimo is a city in the northwesternmost province of Papua New Guinea, where Pope Francis will greet local missionaries and address local Catholics in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral before departing.

Flight 4: Vanimo to Port Moresby (616 miles/991 km, 2 hours and 15 minutes)

Pope Francis will return to the capital city on Sunday night. On Monday, Sept. 9, there will be a farewell ceremony for the pope before he leaves for East Timor.

Flight 5: Port Moresby to Dili (1,601 miles/2,578 km, 3 hours and 30 minutes)

Pope Francis will travel on Sept. 9 to the small country of East Timor, which has a population that is more than 97% Catholic and whose most prominent archbishop Francis made a cardinal in 2022.

In Dili, the country’s capital, Pope Francis will visit children with disabilities, meet local clergy and religious in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, give a speech at the Presidential Palace, and preside over Mass in the Esplanade of Tasitolu over the course of two days.

Flight 6: Dili to Singapore (1,640 miles/2,640 km, 4 hours)

The pope’s final stop before returning to Rome will be the island of Singapore, the country with the highest GDP per capita in Asia and the second-highest population density of any country in the world. Despite the relative stability of Singapore itself, observers have warned that anti-Israel Malaysian militant groups (Singapore is Malaysia’s immediate neighbor) may stage rallies in Malaysia to protest the pope’s visit.

Pope Francis will be welcomed to Singapore’s world-renowned Changi International Airport on Sept. 11. He will meet President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sept. 12 before presiding over Mass in Singapore’s Sports Hub National Stadium, the third stadium Mass of the trip.

On his last day in Asia, the pope will preside over an interreligious meeting with young people in Singapore’s Catholic Junior College and visit a group of elderly people. 

Flight 7: Singapore to Rome (5,945 miles/9,567 km, 12 hours and 35 minutes)

Pope Francis will make the 6,000-mile journey back to Italy on a chartered Singapore Airlines flight scheduled to land in Rome at 6:25 p.m. on Sept. 13.

Isabella Salandri gives visitors a preview tour of the Vatican Gardens in Vatican City on Aug. 23, 2024. / Credit: Hannah Brockhaus/CNA

Vatican City, Aug 29, 2024 / 11:18 am (CNA).

The Vatican Museums this summer introduced a new family-friendly excursion through the papal gardens, an experience designed to teach children how to “contemplate and appreciate nature,” according to the tour’s originator.

Whether skipping down a tree-lined path, sitting on a tree stump, or spotting turtles in a fountain, children and their families now have the chance to encounter the Vatican Gardens in a way tailored to capture the attention of some of its youngest visitors.

“There was a desire to give families something to actually do together in the museum. There’s such a wealth of possibilities. And so we wanted to, for the first time, dedicate an actual tour to families,” Sister Emanuela Edwards of the Missionaries of Divine Revelation told CNA during an Aug. 23 preview of the tour.

Edwards, who designed the tour as part of her role heading the Vatican Museums’ office of educational activities, said one of the first activities on the walk is to listen to the sounds of nature in the English Garden.

“We start by identifying all the different sounds from the natural world,” she said. “But of course, what can be more joyful and more natural than to hear children laughing and enjoying themselves as well? And so to the natural world, we also add this wonderful and essential human element, which is the joy of being together in the family.”

The roughly two-hour “Capture Nature” tour is currently offered on Saturday mornings in English and Italian to groups of about 20 people. It is fully accessible to children with intellectual or physical disabilities — something Edwards said was very important to them when designing the visit.

On a recent tour with two families, CNA followed 5-year-old twins Francesco and Chiara Salvatori and 7-year-old Margherita Scavetta as they played games inviting them to use their senses in various areas of the gardens.

A highlight for all the children was trying to count the number of turtles living in the fountain next to the Casina Pio IV, the home of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

Another game asked the kids to work together with their parents to find and identify certain plants from the Bible in the Scripture garden.

With the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica as a backdrop, the three children were asked to spot particular plants or features of fountains and buildings.

During one stop in the walk — which passes statues of Mary, including a replica of the Marian grotto at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France — the children got to create their own “masterpieces” with leaves, bird feathers, and twigs collected along the way. 

Edwards, whose religious order is sometimes called by the nickname “the green sisters” for the unusual color of their habits, explained that the tour also takes some of its inspiration from Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical Laudato Si’.

“A few steps away there’s the Vatican Museums, where there are the masterpieces of art,” she said. “But in the garden, we’re able to teach the young children that the trees are also the masterpieces of the garden. And so they learn how to care for those masterpieces as well.”

Guide Isabella Salandri, one of several tour guides handpicked by Edwards to lead the family tours, interacted with Francesco, Chiara, and Margherita in an engaging way, telling them in lively tones about features of the Vatican Gardens, especially those involving animals, like the monumental Aquilone Fountain, which features a large eagle, the personification of the north wind in Roman mythology.

“The opportunity for the children to do something very interactive we found quite original and fun,” Margherita’s mom, Paola Nuccetelli, said. “Even we are having fun getting to see something we don’t usually see in the city. ... And then, who expects to see woods in the heart of Rome?”

Near the end of the tour, the families were surprised by an appearance from Vatican gardener Augusto Minosse, who drove up to the group in his little work van. He asked the kids about their visit and posed for a selfie with Margherita.

“It was really an immense joy to see [our childrens’] wonder at nature, at creation,” the twins’ dad, Daniele Salvatori, said.

“Certainly for us, and I think also for others, when one is immersed in nature, you become closer to God,” his wife, Romina Zicca, added.

As the tour wrapped up under the hot, noonday sun, guide Salandri asked the three children: “Are you ready for the last game?”

“Does it have to be the last?” Margherita asked.

Archbishop Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo leads a Christmas Mass at Jakarta Cathedral in Jakarta on Dec. 25, 2023. / Credit: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

Vatican City, Aug 28, 2024 / 14:37 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, the archbishop of Jakarta, has decried how the poor in Indonesia ultimately pay the price for the country’s endemic corruption.

In an interview with “EWTN News In Depth” in Jakarta ahead of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Indonesia, the cardinal emphasized that despite the country’s abundant natural resources, widespread corruption continues to undermine its potential.

“If there is no corruption, Indonesia would have become a prosperous country,” Suharyo said.

“We have everything,” he said. “Natural resources — we have plenty. … But corruption destroys the ideal of becoming a prosperous nation.”

Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, has long struggled with corruption in both the public and private sectors. Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index consistently ranks Indonesia poorly, indicating that more than 1 in 3 Indonesians said they had paid a bribe for public services in the past year.

The cardinal pointed out that corruption in Indonesia has broader social consequences. “The corruption is so huge,” he said. “Human trafficking is becoming more widespread.” 

“Social justice for all is written in the five principles,” Suharyo added, referencing Pancasila, the foundational philosophy of Indonesia. He lamented how corruption in the country’s governance is an obstacle to achieving that ideal.

Yanuar Nugroho, an expert in sustainable development with Indonesia’s Ministry of National Development Planning, echoed Suharyo’s concerns. 

Corruption is rampant, Nugroho told EWTN. “Every case here in Indonesia, if you trace back, then you will find corruption. The root cause … is the absence of accountability, the absence of integrity.”

Nugroho, a Catholic, reflected the need for good governance, particularly in times of crisis, pointing to the Asian financial crisis of 1998, which nearly brought the country to its knees. “When the economic crisis hit the country… it basically crumbled, as if it was built on the sands, with a very weak foundation. This is where I think the understanding about good governance slowly emerged,” he explained.

Despite these challenges, both Suharyo and Nugroho acknowledged that there is a growing awareness in Indonesia of the need to fight corruption.

The cardinal noted that while freedom of speech allows for open criticism of corruption, significant obstacles remain.

“Professors teaching in the university, they speak loudly against the corruption. But corruption continues,” he noted. “Sometimes the corruption is used for political purposes.”

According to data from the World Bank, 26 million people in Indonesia lived below the national poverty line in 2022. Corruption also exacerbates the existing inequalities between Indonesia’s rural and urban centers, diverting resources that could otherwise be used to improve infrastructure, health care, and education for the poor.

Suharyo, who regularly visits the poor rural areas within his archdiocese, has advocated for the incoming Indonesian government to make it more of a priority to address the infrastructure gaps to help the poor have better access to education and health services.

The cardinal is busy as Indonesia prepares to welcome Pope Francis. Jakarta is the first stop in the pope’s four-country visit to Southeast Asia and Oceania Sept. 2–13.

Suharyo said that Indonesians are touched by Pope Francis’ generosity in making the long trip at the age of 87. He expressed hope that Pope Francis’ visit will inspire a renewed commitment to brotherhood and compassion among Indonesians of all faiths.

A full preview of Pope Francis’ trip to Southeast Asia, including the interview with Suharyo and other Catholic leaders in the region, will air on “EWTN News In Depth” on Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. ET.

Pope Francis meets with the bishops of the Arabian region on Aug. 28, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Aug 28, 2024 / 12:50 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis met Wednesday with the Latin-rite Catholic leaders of some of the Middle Eastern and Arabic-speaking countries amid fears of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.

He encouraged the bishops to “bear witness to faith in [the Lord], also through respectful and sincere dialogue with everyone.”

The Aug. 28 meeting took place as part of the plenary assembly of the Conference of the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions (CELRA), which covers Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Djibouti, Somalia, and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula.

CELRA is headed by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, responsible for Latin Catholics in Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and Cyprus.

The vice president is Bishop Cesar Essayan, OFM Conv, apostolic vicar for Latin Catholics in Beirut, Lebanon.

The bishops’ meeting with Pope Francis took place amid growing worries in the region about a broader war as the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and Iran, its regional patron, appeared to escalate hostilities over the past weekend.

During the meeting at the Vatican, the pope noted the “very strong tension” in the Middle East region, “which in some contexts lead to open clashes and outbursts of war.”

“The conflict, instead of finding an equitable solution, seems to be becoming chronic, with the risk that it will spread to ignite the entire region,” he said. 

“This situation has caused thousands and thousands of deaths, enormous destruction, immense suffering, and the spread of feelings of hatred and resentment, which prepare the ground for new tragedies.”

Francis in his address conveyed his closeness to the prelates and to the Catholics in their flocks. 

“May you keep hope alight,” he added. “Be yourselves, for everyone, signs of hope, a presence that fosters words and gestures of peace, brotherhood, and respect. A presence that, in itself, invites reason, reconciliation, overcoming with goodwill the divisions and enmities stratified and hardened over time, which are becoming increasingly inextricable.”

The pontiff also asked the Latin-rite Catholic leaders to ensure students in public schools receive a good Christian formation, especially where Christians are a minority.

“This formation is of great importance, so that the content of faith may be known and accompanied by reflection and so that faith, in confrontation with culture, may thus be strengthened and have the means to give reasons for Christian hope,” he said.

Pope Francis addresses the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square for his Angelus address on Aug. 25, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Aug 28, 2024 / 12:20 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis this week congratulated Catholics and Orthodox Christians for collaborating together for the XVII Inter-Christian Symposium taking place Aug. 28–30 in Italy. 

This year’s symposium, titled “What Is Man? In the Time of Anthropological Mutation” and taking place in Trani, Italy, seeks to reflect upon the challenges that all Christians face in upholding the dignity of each person during a time of a cultural “revolution.”

In the letter sent to Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, to be shared with organizers and participants of the symposium, the Holy Father said rapid technological developments have profoundly shaped how society understands what it means to be human in our world today.

“What is happening nowadays could be defined as a real revolution,” the pope wrote. “The development of artificial intelligence and the incredible developments in the field of science force today’s men and women to rethink their identity, their role in the world and in society, and their vocation to transcendence.” 

“In fact, the specificity of the human being in the whole of creation, its uniqueness compared to other animals, and even its relationship with machines, are constantly being questioned,” he added.

Participants of this year’s symposium, organized by the Franciscan Institute of Spirituality of the Pontifical University Antonianum and the Department of Theology of the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, were encouraged by the pope to have a spirit of openness and inclusivity so as to properly address the anthropological questions raised during the three-day conference.

“It is not possible to react only with denial and criticism. Rather, a profound reflection is needed, capable of renewing the thinking and choices to be made,” the pope asserted. 

“In light of the teaching of sacred Scripture and Christian tradition, it is necessary to reiterate that every human being is entitled to dignity by the mere fact of existing, as a spiritual being, created by God,” he added.

In his letter, Pope Francis stated that a person’s decision on whether or not to “act in accordance” with his or her dignity, as well as their socio-cultural, political or economic circumstances, should not deter Christian churches from working together to uphold the dignity of every person.

“The defense of this dignity in the face of very concrete threats such as poverty, war, exploitation, and others represents a common commitment for all the churches, on which we must work together,” the pope exhorted in his letter.

In April, the Vatican released Dignitas Infinita (Infinite Dignity), in which the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith stressed Catholic teaching on the importance of the human person and condemned “grave and current violations of human dignity” in our time.

The declaration outlined specific concrete violations against human dignity recognized by the Church including human trafficking, sexual abuse, abortion, and surrogacy as well as “digital violence.”

The document echoes Pope Francis’ call to all Christians to “defend human dignity in every cultural context and every moment of human existence.”