December
Monday 11
Pope Francis expresses concern about Italy’s future
Pope Francis on December 11 received the prefects of the Italian Republic in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace and expressed his concern about the low birth rate in the country, lamenting that many times “dogs take the place of children.” The Pope reminded that the task of these government authorities is to act as intermediaries “between the state and the territory, constantly linking the whole with the parts, the center with the peripheries, the common good with care for people.” The pontiff highlighted three challenges that the prefects face: public order, critical environmental issues, and taking care of the migrants flowing in. Regarding public order, the pontiff stressed that it’s a priority, where “respect for the law with care for humanity” must be combined. (CNA)
Sunday 17
Pope Francis celebrates 87th birthday with children who receive aid from Vatican Clinic
Pope Francis celebrated his 87th birthday on December 17 by meeting with children and families. (Photo Grzegorz Galazka).
Pope Francis celebrated his 87th birthday on December 17 by meeting with children and families who are assisted by the Vatican’s Santa Marta Pediatric Dispensary.
Addressing the families present — who presented the Holy Father with a cake and a bouquet of sunflowers and sang “Happy Birthday” — the Pope used the opportunity to speak on the importance of preparing for Christmas. “We think and remember when Jesus came; he came to be with us,” the Pope said to the nearly 200 families gathered in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican.
Reminding the children that this is a season to “prepare our hearts for Christmas, to receive Jesus,” the Pope challenged them: “What will I ask Jesus? What will I ask Jesus this Christmas? Now each of you think: What will I ask Jesus? In silence, eyes closed, and you think: What will I ask Jesus? Have you thought about it yet? All right.”
“And I wish you a merry Christmas, a merry Christmas to all of you! Always with a smile, and may the Lord give you everything you want,” he added. (CNA)
Friday 22
Pope Francis sends Papal Almoner to Holy Land for Christmas as a sign of solidarity
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski during mass in the Grotto of the Nativity for Christmas. His mission: to bring hope to people suffering amid the war
Pope Francis sent Cardinal Konrad Krajewski to the Holy Land for Christmas as his personal representative to bring solidarity to people suffering amid the war.
“The Holy Father really wanted me to be in the Holy Land to represent him, to pray, and be close to people who are suffering greatly,” Krajewski said in an interview with Vatican Radio.
“So I will spend these days in prayer in this place, so dear to all Christians,” he said.
The Vatican Dicastery for the Service of Charity announced Krajewski’s visit on December 22 as a “concrete sign” of solidarity with all who “experience firsthand the consequences of war in this Christmas season.” (CNA)
Friday 29
Pope Francis speaks with Zelenskyy about peace efforts in Ukraine
Pope Francis spoke by telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on December 28 to discuss peace efforts to end the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, according to a video message Zelenskyy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We discussed our joint work on the Peace Formula,” Zelenskyy said. “More than 80 states are already involved at the level of their representatives. There will be more. I am grateful to the Vatican for supporting our work.”
Zelenskyy said the pontiff expressed “his wishes of peace — just peace for all of us.” (CNA)
January
Wednesday 3
Benedictine nuns move into Mater Ecclesiae Monastery
The Argentine Benedictine nuns invited by Pope Francis to reside in Mater Ecclesiae, the monastery in the heart of the Vatican Gardens that was the home of the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, for almost a decade after his historic resignation, arrived at their new home on January 3.
The six nuns belong to the Benedictine Order of the Abbey of Santa Scholastica in Victoria, Buenos Aires Province (Diocese of San Isidro), Argentina. The Pope invited them with a handwritten letter dated October 1, 2023, and the nuns “generously accepted the invitation.”
Following his resignation from the papacy on February 11, 2013, Benedict XVI expressed a desire to reside in Mater Ecclesiae, where he dedicated himself to prayer, study and music until his death on December 31, 2022. (VaticanNews)
Thursday 4
Pope Francis: Catholic news media can’t be ‘neutral’ in the message they convey
Pope Francis said people working in Catholic media must not refrain from being involved in the evangelizing mission of the Church and that, therefore, “they cannot remain ‘neutral’ with respect to the message they convey.”
The pontiff made his remarks at a January 4 audience with a delegation from the Society of Catholic Publicists of Germany on the 75th anniversary of its foundation.
According to Vatican News, the Holy Father also explained that “interreligious dialogue, ecumenism, and the defense of peace, freedom, and human dignity” should be the goals of communication professionals, especially if they are Catholic.
“How many conflicts today, instead of being extinguished by dialogue, are fueled by fake news or inflammatory statements in the media! That’s why it’s all the more important that you, strong in your Christian roots and in living the faith daily, ‘demilitarized’ in your heart by the Gospel, support the disarmament of language,” the Pope said in his discourse, which he gave in writing to the delegation.
To achieve this “demilitarization” of language, he shared four guidelines that Catholics in the media can put into practice: “Foster a tone of peace and understanding, build bridges, be available to listen, and engage in respectful communication toward others and their reasons.” (CNA)
Friday 12
Pope Francis calls for greater dialogue and cooperation between Christians, Marxists
Pope Francis called for cooperation between Christians and Marxists as a way to achieve greater “dialogue” and help in the search for the “common good.” “I thank you for your commitment to dialogue,” the Pope said in a private meeting on January 10 with 15 representatives of DIALOP (Transversal Dialogue Project), an association of European leftist politicians and academics that seeks to bridge Catholic social teaching and Marxist theory. “There is always a great need for dialogue, so do not be afraid,” the Pope said during the event at the Paul VI Audience Hall. Highlighting the nexus between social, economic, and ecological issues, the Pope said that “politics that is truly at the service of humanity cannot let itself be dictated to by finance and market mechanisms.” (CNA)
Wednesday 17
Pontifical universities to offer online course on integral ecology
Pontifical universities in Rome are coming together to launch a new Joint Diploma in Integral Ecology. This is a key concept for Pope Francis, stressing the interconnectedness of environmental, economic, political, social, and ethical issues.
The course will run from January to June 2024, and be taught by an international group of prominent academics, leaders and activists.
In a press release, the Pontifical Universities said that the course was a response to “the unprecedented challenge facing the planet.”
“In 2015,” they write, “Pope Francis gifted us Laudato si’”, his landmark Encyclical calling all people of good will to action on climate change.
However, they say, as Pope Francis recognizes in his more recent Exhortation Laudate Deum, “our responses have not been adequate,” and “the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing breaking point.” (VaticanNews)
Monday 29
In new interview, Pope affirms blessings of people, not unions
Making a list of which sinners are welcome in the Church and which sinners are not goes against the teaching of the Gospel, Pope Francis told an Italian newspaper.
The Pope said more than one person had asked him why he approved the declaration of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith permitting priests to give informal blessings to gay couples and couples not married in the Church as long as those blessings do not give the appearance of blessing the couple’s union.
“I respond that the Gospel is to sanctify everyone,” the Pope said in the interview with La Stampa published January 29.
Pope Francis said that when he was in Lisbon, Portugal, in August for World Youth Day and repeatedly said the Church is open to “todos, todos, todos” — everyone, everyone, everyone — he was affirming the Gospel, and particularly the parable about the wedding feast where the invited guests don’t arrive so the king tells his servants to go out to the streets and invite everyone, “good and bad alike.” (OSV)
