Pope Francis spoke to participants in a Feb. 16-18, 2023, conference on how pastors and laypeople can work together better / Vatican Media Vatican City, Feb 18, 2023 / 09:00 am (CNA). The Church is a home that priests and laypeople need to care for together, Pope Francis said on Saturday.“It is time for pastors and laypeople to walk together, in every area of the Church’s life, in every part of the world,” he said in the Vatican’s New Synod Hall on Feb. 18.“The lay faithful are not ‘guests’ in the Church, they are at home, so they are called to take care of their own home,” he said. “The laity, and especially women, need to be more valued in their human and spiritual skills and gifts for the life of parishes and dioceses.”Pope Francis’ speech was addressed to the participants in a Feb. 16-18 conference on how pastors and laypeople can work together better for the mission of the Church.“Together with pastors, they must bear Christian witness in secular environments: the world of work, culture, politics, art, social communication,” the pope said. “We could say: laypeople and pastors together in the Church, laypeople and pastors together in the world.”Francis went on to list some of the many ways laypeople can participate in the life of the Church: performing some forms of preaching; collaborating with priests in the formation of children, young adults, seminarians, and religious novices; spiritual directing, preparing engaged couples for marriage, and accompanying married couples.“They should always be consulted when preparing new pastoral initiatives at every level: local, national, and universal,” he said.“This is why,” Pope Francis said, “pastors need to be trained from seminary days onward in daily and ordinary collaboration with the laity, so that living communion becomes a natural way of acting for them, and not an extraordinary and occasional occurrence.”“One of the worst things that happens in a pastor is to forget the people from whom he came, the lack of memory,” he continued. “To him can be addressed that much-repeated word of the Bible, ‘Remember;’ ‘remember from whence you were taken, of the flock from which you were taken to return to serve it, remember your roots’ (cf. 2 Tim. 1).”

The procession from St. Anselm parish to Santa Sabina preceding Mass for Ash Wednesday in Rome, March 6, 2019. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA. Vatican City, Feb 17, 2023 / 04:30 am (CNA). In his message for Lent 2023, Pope Francis encouraged Catholics to listen to what Jesus wants to tell them through the Scriptures and through others.Using the story of Jesus’ Transfiguration as a launching point, Francis addressed both the journey of Lent and the Catholic Church’s ongoing Synod on Synodality in the message released Feb. 17.The pope recalled “the command that God the Father addresses to the disciples on Mount Tabor as they contemplate Jesus transfigured. The voice from the cloud says: ‘Listen to him.’”“The first proposal, then, is very clear: We need to listen to Jesus,” he said. “Lent is a time of grace to the extent that we listen to him as he speaks to us.”“During this liturgical season,” he continued, “the Lord takes us with him to a place apart. While our ordinary commitments compel us to remain in our usual places and our often repetitive and sometimes boring routines, during Lent we are invited to ascend ‘a high mountain’ in the company of Jesus and to live a particular experience of spiritual discipline — ascesis — as God’s holy people.”Pope Francis said one of the ways Jesus speaks to us is through the Word of God, which we can hear at Mass. But if one cannot attend Mass during the week, it is a good idea to still read the daily readings of the liturgy, the pope encouraged.“In addition to the Scriptures, the Lord speaks to us through our brothers and sisters, especially in the faces and the stories of those who are in need,” he added.Francis’ second suggestion for Lent was to confront the difficulties of ordinary life remembering that Lent is a period that leads to Easter.“Do not take refuge in a religiosity made up of extraordinary events and dramatic experiences, out of fear of facing reality and its daily struggles, its hardships and contradictions,” the pope said.“The light that Jesus shows the disciples is an anticipation of Easter glory, and that must be the goal of our own journey, as we follow ‘him alone,’” he said. “Lent leads to Easter: the ‘retreat’ is not an end in itself, but a means of preparing us to experience the Lord’s passion and cross with faith, hope, and love, and thus to arrive at the resurrection.”Pope Francis compared the journey of Lent and the Church’s ongoing Synod on Synodality to a “strenuous mountain trek.”While we hike up the mountain, we must keep our eyes on the path before us, but at the top, we are rewarded by the beautiful panorama that confronts us.“So too, the synodal process may often seem arduous,” he said, “and at times we may become discouraged. Yet what awaits us at the end is undoubtedly something wondrous and amazing, which will help us to understand better God’s will and our mission in

Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti with Pope Francis / Vatican Media Vatican City, Feb 16, 2023 / 11:55 am (CNA). A Vatican archbishop will visit Catholics in Syria and Turkey as they continue to help those affected by the result of multiple devastating earthquakes.Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti is the new prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches. He travels to Syria and Turkey from Feb. 17-21.A Feb. 16 press release said Gugerotti undertakes the trip “to express the Holy Father’s closeness to the people severely affected by the recent disastrous earthquake and to meet with bishops, Caritas workers, and other agencies committed to bringing aid to the suffering.”The trip takes place as Pope Francis continues his appeals for both prayers and concrete aid to the suffering people of Turkey and Syria, reeling from the aftermath of the multiple strong earthquakes on Feb. 6.Reuters reported that an estimated 42,000 people have been killed and over 100,000 people have been injured in the disaster. Approximately 2.4 million people are displaced from their homes.Francis received the new ambassador of Turkey to the Holy See, Ufuk Ulutaş, at the Vatican on Feb. 16. During the meeting, the pope also hand-wrote a brief message of encouragement to Turkey.During the pope's audience with the Ambassador of Turkey, H.E. Ufuk Ulutaş, the Holy Father wrote a message to the Turkish people. Vatican Media“My thoughts and prayers go to the noble Turkish people at this time of such sorrow,” the note said. “Dear brothers and sisters, I am close to you and I pray [for you]. With fraternal affection, Franciscus.”Gugerotti’s schedule in Syria and Turkey includes meetings with local Church leaders and Catholic charities.He will fly into Beirut, Lebanon, and from there transfer by car to Aleppo, Syria, where he will visit places sheltering people left homeless by the earthquakes.The prefect will celebrate Mass in the Latin Catholic parish and meet the local Catholic and Orthodox bishops, as well as Muslim leaders.On the morning of Feb. 19, Gugerotti will meet local charities, including Aid to the Church in Need, Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Syria, Jesuit Refugee Service, and Associazione Pro Terra Sancta, among others. He will also visit a mosque providing refuge to victims.In the evening he will celebrate Divine Liturgy in the Greek-Melkite cathedral.Gugerotti will travel to Damascus the next day, where he will meet with Catholic and Orthodox bishops and patriarchs before returning to Beirut to take a flight to Istanbul.On the morning of Feb. 21 he will meet with the Catholic bishops of Turkey and some of the local leaders of Caritas.

Pope Francis met with bishops, priests, and religious in St. Theresa Cathedral in Juba, South Sudan, on Feb. 4, 2023. / Vatican Media Rome Newsroom, Feb 16, 2023 / 08:34 am (CNA). Pope Francis addressed once again the question of whether he will resign the papacy in two conversations with Jesuit priests in Africa this month.“I believe that the pope’s ministry is ‘ad vitam.’ I see no reason why it should not be so,” the pope said Feb. 2 during a private conversation with 82 Jesuits in the Democratic Republic of Congo.Francis met the group of priests at the apostolic nunciature in Kinshasa, where he was staying during his Jan. 31-Feb. 3 visit to the DRC.The conversations were reported in the Jesuit-run journal La Civiltà Cattolica.The pope, repeating information he had revealed in a prior interview, said that he signed a resignation letter two months after his election as pope in case he should become incapacitated.He said he gave the letter to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state at the time, but he does not know now where the letter is.“However, this does not at all mean that resigning popes should become, let’s say, ‘the fashion,’ a normal thing. Benedict had the courage to do it because he did not feel like going on because of his health. I for the moment do not have that on my agenda,” he said.“Think that the ministry of the great patriarchs is always for life,” he added. “And the historical tradition is important.”Pope Francis also said that if the Church listened to the gossip it should change popes every six months.The pope again addressed the question of his possible resignation in a meeting with Jesuit priests in South Sudan, which he visited Feb. 3-5.The encounter with 11 Jesuits serving in the east African country took place on Feb. 4 in Juba.Francis told the group that “no, [resignation] didn’t cross my mind.”He mentioned again the letter he signed in case his health should deteriorate to a point he could not resign and pointed to the resignation letter Venerable Pope Pius XII prepared in case he should be kidnapped by Hitler.

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus address on Feb. 12, 2023. / Vatican Media Rome Newsroom, Feb 15, 2023 / 07:50 am (CNA). Pope Francis on Wednesday created a new independent supervisory commission for the Diocese of Rome.The commission will meet once a month and report directly to the pope in a yearly meeting.The oversight committee is part of the pope’s reform of the governance of the Rome Diocese, a reorganization that centralizes more of the diocese’s activities under his authority.In a document issued Feb. 15, Pope Francis established norms for the commission and nominated its first members.The six-member commission is intended to act as internal oversight on financial, administrative, and legal issues for the Diocese of Rome, as stated in the apostolic constitution issued Jan. 6.The members of the supervisory group are appointed for a three-year term. All six members are laypeople who come from the professional world.The bishop of the Diocese of Rome is the pope. Under him, the diocese, run by the Vicariate of Rome, is led by a cardinal vicar, vicegerent (deputy), and auxiliary bishops.Pope Francis on Jan. 6 issued a constitution reforming the Vicariate of Rome in what he called a time of “epochal change.”The apostolic constitution, In Ecclesiarum Communione, replaces a 1998 constitution promulgated by Pope John Paul II. It went into effect on Jan. 31.

Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience in Paul VI Hall on Feb. 15, 2023. / Vatican Media Vatican City, Feb 15, 2023 / 06:10 am (CNA). Pope Francis said Wednesday that Christians are called to bring the Gospel into the world without becoming worldly.“For the Church, falling into worldliness is the worst thing that can happen,” the pope said.Speaking in his general audience in Paul VI Hall on Feb. 15, Pope Francis reflected on Jesus’ words to his disciples: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep among wolves” (Mt. 10:16).Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Feb. 15, 2023. Vatican MediaMany Christians will be tempted to think “let us become relevant, numerous, prestigious, and the world will listen to us and respect us and we will defeat the wolves,” the pope said, but instead, the Lord asks us to “be humble.”“He asks us to be like this, to be meek and with the will to be innocent, to be disposed to sacrifice. This is what the lamb represents: meekness, innocence, dedication, tenderness. And he, the Shepherd, will recognize his lambs and protect them from the wolves,” Francis said.A religious sister reads a translation of the pope's message at his general audience on Feb. 15, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNAPope Francis quoted a homily by St. John Chrysostom in which the late fourth-century Church Father wrote: “As long as we are lambs, we will conquer, and even if we are surrounded by many wolves, we will overcome them.”“But if we become wolves … we will be defeated because we will be deprived of the shepherd’s help. He does not shepherd wolves, but lambs.”The pope also noted that it is striking that Jesus told his disciples “what not to bring” rather than what to bring on a mission: “Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick” (Mt. 10:9-10).“The Lord makes you lighten your load. … He says not to lean on material certainties, but to go into the world without worldliness. That is to say, I am going into the world, not with the style of the world, not with the world’s values, not with worldliness,” Francis said.The livestreamed address was the fourth in Pope Francis’ cycle of catechesis on “the passion for evangelization.”Pope Francis said that the Church is “completely missionary and in the mission it finds its unity.”“So, go forth, meek and good as lambs, without worldliness, and going together,” he said.At the end of the audience, Pope Francis asked Catholics not to forget to pray for the people of Ukraine that “their cruel suffering” may soon be over. Pope Francis greets a youth orchestra who performed at the general audience on Feb. 15, 2023. Daniel Ibanez/CNAHe also thanked musicians from a youth orchestra who performed at the general audience and greeted pilgrims who traveled from England, Vietnam, France, Portugal, Italy, the United States, and other countries.“Inspired by Sts. Cyril and

Pope Francis at his Angelus address on Jan. 29, 2023. / Vatican Media Rome Newsroom, Feb 15, 2023 / 05:15 am (CNA). The Vatican is joining the Italian government and NGOs in sending help to the suffering people of Turkey and Syria.According to Vatican News, Pope Francis has provided 10,000 thermal shirts for people who do not have adequate shelter in Turkey and Syria.The pope has also sent financial aid to Syria through the country’s apostolic nunciature, Vatican almoner Cardinal Konrad Krajewski told Vatican News.Boxes of thermal shirts took sail from the port of Naples, Italy, on the morning of Feb. 15, together with other aid from NGOs and the Italian government. The shirts were brought to the southern port city on the evening of Feb. 14 by Krajewski.The shirts and other supplies are expected to arrive in Turkey’s port city of Iskenderun in two days.The small city was one of those heavily damaged by the Feb. 6 earthquakes believed to have killed more than 41,000 people in the region — a death toll that rises daily as rescuers continue to search through building rubble. Iskenderun was also further damaged by subsequent floods and fires.From Iskenderun, the thermal shirts will be brought to a refugee camp in Kilis, which is close to the border with Syria, less than 40 miles from Aleppo.Vatican News reported that the Italian nonprofit Fondazione Rava will distribute the shirts to those in need.Pope Francis urged people to continue to help the devastated region during his weekly Angelus address on Sunday.“Dear brothers and sisters, let us continue to be close with prayer and concrete support to the earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey,” he said Feb. 12.Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis described how he was moved by the images of pain and suffering from the catastrophe that he saw on television and urged people to “pray and think of what we can do for them.”The United Nations reports that millions have been left homeless after two back-to-back earthquakes on Feb. 6 led thousands of buildings to collapse in parts of Turkey and Syria.According to the director of Caritas Syria, the earthquake heavily impacted northwest Syria where 4.1 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance after more than a decade of civil war.

Quebec Cardinal Gérald Lacroix speaks at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 7, 2021. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA. Rome Newsroom, Feb 14, 2023 / 11:45 am (CNA). The Catholic cardinal of Quebec said Tuesday that pastors are to be shepherds who help their people grow in a relationship with Jesus Christ, not “the boss” or manager of laypeople.Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix spoke at a Feb. 14 press conference previewing a three-day Vatican meeting on how to improve collaboration among laypeople, priests, and bishops.Lacroix, the archbishop of Quebec and primate of Canada, will be giving a talk on the second day of the Feb. 16-18 conference on the role of pastors in effective co-responsibility.“What is our role as priests and bishops in this beautiful adventure?” he asked. “Well, our main role is to be pastors. We’re not managers, we’re not the boss: We’re pastors, shepherds.”“Helping the lay faithful,” he continued, “helping our Church to encounter the Lord and to grow in a relationship with God. That is our mission.”The title of the conference is “Pastors and Lay Faithful Called to Walk Together.” It has been organized by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, headed by Cardinal Kevin Farrell.The final day of the Vatican’s invite-only meeting will be an audience with Pope Francis.Lacroix told journalists Feb. 14 that part of effective co-responsibility is Catholics growing in love for the Lord together so that they can better fulfill their baptismal call to share the Gospel with others.Within this, the role of pastors is, he said, “to make sure we are all walking together toward this same goal: to be missionary disciples of the Lord.”The cardinal emphasized that pastors need to be focused on the mission of helping people grow in holiness. “Evidently we’ve been working on this a long time — about 2,000 years I would say,” he added.More than half of the 210 conference participants will be laypeople; there will also be 67 bishops and 36 priests in attendance.The participants were asked to complete a short survey before the conference.Lacroix said in his talk he wants to encourage priests to not only invite laypeople into their parish activities and programs but also to ask how they can support parishioners where they are already present.“The laypeople are not there at our service. We are there together at the service of the Church,” he underlined, noting that the Church needs “better formation, better awareness, and a lot of work” to bring this vision to fruition.Lacroix recalled a time before he was a cleric, when he gave this advice to pastors: “Resist inviting us to come into your things. Recognize that some of us are in school, some of us are in our profession, and we need to be good disciples there.”“You’re always asking how we can serve you, which isn’t a bad thing, but it needs to be more than that.”Cardinal Farrell told journalists “it is very important that we do not reduce the role of the laity in the Church

Pope Francis inaugurates the new art gallery at the Vatican Apostolic Library, Nov. 5, 2021. / Vatican Media. Vatican City, Feb 14, 2023 / 05:50 am (CNA). Pope Francis has appointed Salesian Father Mauro Mantovani the next prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library.The Italian priest, 57, succeeds Father Cesare Pasini, who served as prefect from 2007 and recently turned 73 years old.As prefect, Mantovani will help run the Vatican’s library alongside Archivist and Librarian Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani, who was named to that role in September 2022.Zani was formerly secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education.The Vatican Library preserves thousands of manuscripts and over 1 million printed books, most of which are available for study by researchers and scholars.Mantovani, a member of the Salesians since 1986 and a priest since 1994, is rector of the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome.He has a doctorate in philosophy and letters and a second doctorate in Thomistic theology. He has been a professor at the Pontifical Salesian University since 2007.The priest is also a member of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas and of the scientific committee of the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesial Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO).The Vatican Apostolic Library, pictured on Feb. 24, 2016. Alexey Gotovskiy/CNA.The modern iteration of the Vatican Apostolic Library is believed to have begun in the 14th century, though there is evidence that the Catholic Church has preserved a library and archive from as early as the 4th century.A papal bull in 1475 opened the library and archive to study by scholars. Archival material was formally separated from the library in the early 17th century and entrusted to the Vatican Secret Archives (now called the Vatican Apostolic Archive).According to its website, the Vatican Library “preserves over 180,000 manuscripts (including archival units), 1,600,000 printed books, about 9,000 incunabula, over 300,000 coins and medals, more than 150,000 prints, thousands of drawings and engravings, and over 200,000 photographs.”The revamped website of the papal library, unveiled in 2020, also gives researchers and students free access to high-resolution digitized manuscripts, inventories, archival materials, coins, medals, and incunabula, which are books printed in Europe before the 16th century. The building that houses the library was built in the latter part of the 16th century.

Pope Francis (left); Bishop Rolando Álvarez (right) / Vatican Media; Diocese of Matagalpa Vatican City, Feb 12, 2023 / 08:20 am (CNA). Pope Francis entrusted Nicaragua to the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary on Sunday after Bishop Rolando Álvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison by Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship.“The news from Nicaragua has grieved me a great deal, and I cannot but remember with concern Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, whom I care about deeply,” the pope said on Feb. 12.Speaking at the end of his Angelus address, Pope Francis said that he was also praying for the 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners who were deported to the United States and “for all those who are suffering in that dear nation.”“We also ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, to open the hearts of political leaders and all citizens to the sincere search for peace, which is born of truth, justice, freedom, and love and is achieved through the patient exercise of dialogue,” Francis said. Álvarez, an outspoken critic of Ortega’s regime, was charged with being a “traitor of the homeland” on Feb. 10.Ortega’s government has in recent years detained, imprisoned, and likely tortured numerous Catholic leaders, including at least one bishop and several priests. His government has also taken action to repress Catholic radio and television stations, and driven Catholic religious orders, including the Missionaries of Charity, from the country.Ortega, who leads Nicaragua’s socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front party, has governed Nicaragua continuously since 2007 along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, who is now the vice president. The regime has variously been accused of corruption, voter fraud, imprisoning critical dissenters and journalists, and committing violent human rights abuses against the people of Nicaragua.Álvarez’s sentence came one day after the bishop refused to get on the plane with the other released political prisoners, including four priests, who were flown to the U.S. in an agreement with the State Department.Ortega said in a televised speech that Álvarez was in the line to board the plane when he suddenly decided not to get on and was taken to Modelo prison.Álvarez had been under house arrest since August. Riot police prevented the bishop — along with priests, seminarians, and a layman — from leaving the chancery in Matagalpa from Aug. 4 to Aug. 19. At that point, the police of the Nicaraguan dictatorship abducted Álvarez in the middle of the night and took him to Managua, the country’s capital.U.S. Representative Chris Smith praised Álvarez as a “Christ-like figure with a servant’s heart” for deciding to stay to accompany those who are suffering under the Ortega regime.Smith, who serves as the chair of the Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives, said: “We must continue to work to combat the brutal Ortega regime and free the remaining prisoners — including courageous Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who refuses to abandon his flock.”