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Pope Francis calls for Olympic truce for countries at war

The opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games will be held in Paris on July 26 with the participation of 205 delegations of athletes, who will parade on more than 80 boats on the Seine…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis on Sunday voiced his hope that the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide an opportunity for countries at war to respect an ancient Greek tradition and establish a truce for the duration of the Games.

“According to ancient tradition, may the Olympics be an opportunity to establish a truce in wars, demonstrating a sincere will for peace,” Francis said during his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope stressed that sport also has “a great social power, capable of peacefully uniting people from different cultures.”

The opening ceremony of the 33rd Olympic Games will be held in Paris on July 26 with the participation of 205 delegations of athletes, who will parade on more than 80 boats on the Seine.

“I hope that this event can be a sign of the inclusive world we want to build and that the athletes, with their sporting testimony, may be messengers of peace and valuable models for the young,” Francis added.

The pope, as always, asked the faithful to pray for peace, recalling the ongoing conflicts around the world.

“Let us not forget the martyred Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, Myanmar, and many other countries at war. Let us not forget, war is a defeat,” he concluded.

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Pope allegedly used derogatory term for gay people

Pope Francis, who is 87, has so far been credited with leading the Roman Catholic Church into taking a more welcoming approach towards the LGBT community…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis used a highly derogatory term towards the LGBT community as he reiterated in a closed-door meeting with Italian bishops that gay people should not be allowed to become priests, Italian media reported on Monday.

La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, Italy’s largest circulation dailies, both quoted the pope as saying seminaries, or priesthood colleges, are already too full of “frociaggine”, a vulgar Italian term roughly translating as “faggottness”.

The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment.

La Repubblica attributed its story to several unspecified sources, while Corriere said it was backed up by a few, unnamed bishops, who suggested the pope, as an Argentine, might have not realised that the Italian term he used was offensive.

Political gossip website Dagospia was the first to report on the alleged incident, said to have happened on May 20, when the Italian Bishops Conference opened a four-day assembly with a non-public meeting with the pontiff.

Pope Francis, who is 87, has so far been credited with leading the Roman Catholic Church into taking a more welcoming approach towards the LGBT community.

In 2013, at the start of his papacy, he famously said, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?”, while last year he allowed priests to bless members of same-sex couples, triggering substantial conservative backlash.

Nevertheless, he delivered a similar message on gay seminarians – minus the reported swear word – when he met Italian bishops in 2018, telling them to carefully vet priesthood applicants and reject any suspected homosexuals.

In a 2005 document, released under Pope Francis’s late predecessor Benedict XVI, the Vatican said the Church could admit into the priesthood those who had clearly overcome homosexual tendencies for at least three years.

The document said practicing homosexuals and those with “deep-seated” gay tendencies and those who “support the so-called gay culture” should be barred.

ALSO READ-Pope calls anti-migrant attitudes at US border ‘madness’

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Pope warns against ‘spiral of violence’ after Iran attack

His last international journey was a two-day stay in Marseille, France in September. In November, he pulled out of a trip to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai because of a lung inflammation…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis on Sunday made a “pressing appeal” against a “spiral of violence” after Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel, warning of a potential regional conflagration.

“I make a pressing appeal for an end to any action which could fuel a spiral of violence that risks dragging the Middle East into an even greater conflict,” the Argentinian pontiff declared following his traditional Sunday prayer in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

“I am praying and following with concern, but also pain, the news that has come in recent hours about the worsening situation in Israel due to Iran’s intervention,” the pope told worshippers.

“No one should threaten the existence of others. All countries must, however, side with peace and help Israelis and Palestinians to live in two states, side by side and in security,” he said.

“That is their right,” Francis insisted as he once again repeated earlier calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and “negotiation.”

The pontiff futhermore demanded the world “help the population facing a humanitarian crisis” in Gaza and urged the “immediate release of the hostages kidnapped months ago” by Hamas, setting in train the latest chapter of violence in the region.

Pope to embark on Asia trip

Pope Francis will travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore from September 2-13, the Vatican said on Friday, announcing his first overseas trip of the year and the longest of his 11-year papacy.

The Asia trip has been on the papal agenda for some time, but there had been doubts on whether the 87-year-old pontiff would embark on it given his increasing frailty, with a record of skipping engagements due to health problems.

His last international journey was a two-day stay in Marseille, France in September. In November, he pulled out of a trip to the COP28 climate conference in Dubai because of a lung inflammation.

Francis is now scheduled to be in Jakarta between Sept 3-6, Port Moresby and Vanimo between Sept 6-9, Dili September. 9-11 and Singapore Sept 11-13, his spokesman said in a statement.

Vietnam, which had been suggested by the pope and Vatican officials as a possible further destination during the nearly two-week long Asia trip, was not mentioned.

In recent months, the pope has been suffering on and off from what have been described as a cold, bronchitis and influenza, and he needs a wheelchair or a cane to move around due to a knee ailment.

His agenda this year also foresees Italian day trips to Venice on April. 28, Verona on May 18 and Trieste on July 7, and a visit to Belgium whose dates have not been confirmed, but expected in the second half of September.

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Pope exposes confidential details of past conclaves

Francis said he put an end to the maneuvering by announcing that he wouldn’t accept being pope, after which Ratzinger was elected…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis has exposed the political “maneuvers” used to sway votes during the two most recent elections of popes, while denying he is planning to reform the process for future conclaves, in a book-length interview published Tuesday.

The confidential revelations are contained in “The Successor: My Memories of Benedict XVI,” in which the Argentine pope reflects on his relationship with the late German pope and settles some scores with Benedict’s longtime aide.

The book, written as a conversation with the correspondent for Spain’s ABC daily, Javier Martínez-Brocal, comes at a delicate time for the 87-year-old Francis. His frail health has raised questions about how much longer he will remain pope, whether he might follow in Benedict’s footsteps and resign, and who might eventually replace him.

In the book, Francis revealed previously confidential details about the 2005 conclave that elected Benedict pope and the 2013 ballot in which he himself was elected, saying he was allowed to deviate from the cardinals’ oath of secrecy because he is pope.

In 2005, Francis said, he was “used” by cardinals who wanted to block the election of Benedict — then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — and that they managed to sway 40 out of 115 votes his way. The idea wasn’t to elect the Argentine but rather to force a compromise candidate after knocking Ratzinger out of the running, he said.

“They told me afterward that they didn’t want a ‘foreign’ pope,” — in other words, a non-Italian one — Francis said, making clear that the process wasn’t so much about the Holy Spirit inspiring cardinals as it was a cold, hard political calculus.

Francis said he put an end to the maneuvering by announcing that he wouldn’t accept being pope, after which Ratzinger was elected.

“He was the only one who could be pope in that moment,” Francis said, adding that he, too, voted for Ratzinger.

In 2013, after Benedict’s resignation, there was also political maneuvering involved. Francis — who at the time was Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio — said he only realized after the fact that cardinals were coalescing behind him, pestering him with questions about the church in Latin America and dropping hints that he was gaining support.

He said it finally dawned on him that he might be pope when Spanish Cardinal Santos Abril y Castelló came running after him after lunch on March 13, just before what would become the final ballot.

ALSO READ-Pope calls for ceasefire in Gaza, Ukraine  

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Pope calls for ceasefire in Gaza, Ukraine  

Dhaka: Pope Francis addresses priests and nuns at the Holy Rosary Church in Dhaka on Dec 2, 2017. (Photo: bdnews24/IANS)

On Sunday, Pope Francis was helped into a wheelchair as he greeted cardinals celebrating Easter Mass…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis has used his traditional Easter message to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and for the return of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The 87-year-old pontiff led Easter Mass at the Vatican in front of thousands, despite concerns over his health.

Referring to conflicts around the world, the Pope pleaded not to “yield to the logic of weapons and rearming”. “Peace is never made with arms, but with outstretched hands and open hearts,” he said.

Tens of thousands of worshippers gathered in St Peter’s Square to hear the Pope.

As fresh truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas were due to begin, Pope Francis said: “I appeal once again that access to humanitarian aid be ensured to Gaza, and call once more for the prompt release of the hostages seized on 7 October and for an immediate ceasefire in the Strip.

Referring to the impact of the war on civilians, beginning with children, he said: “How much suffering we see in their eyes! With those eyes, they ask us: Why? Why all this death? Why all this destruction? War is always an absurdity and a defeat.”

Pope Francis also warned countries against re-arming themselves and spoke about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine just over two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour.

Children in Gaza have lost their smiles, the Pope said

“In calling for respect for the principles of international law, I express my hope for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine,” the Pope said.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas’s unprecedented attack in southern Israel during which about 1,200 people were killed and some 253 taken hostage.

Israel launched a retaliatory operation, saying it was aimed at destroying Hamas. Since then, 32,782 Palestinians have been killed and 75,298 injured, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Easter Sunday marks a major part of the Catholic calendar and is followed by 1.3 billion people around the globe.

On Sunday, Pope Francis was helped into a wheelchair as he greeted cardinals celebrating Easter Mass.

He then travelled around St Peter’s Square in the popemobile waving to large crowds. Two days ago, Pope Francis presided over the Good Friday service in Saint Peter’s Basilica – but he skipped the traditional Way of the Cross ceremony and procession at Rome’s Colosseum to protect his health, the Vatican said.

A statement from the Vatican said the Pope had decided to rest as a precautionary measure.

In the last year Pope Francis has had a number of health issues. In March 2023 he was admitted to hospital with bronchitis – months later he underwent abdominal surgery on a hernia.

The Vatican said in November the Pope cancelled a planned trip to the COP28 climate summit in Dubai due to influenza and lung inflammation.

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Pope condemns killing of unarmed women in Gaza Church

“Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire,” Pope said, invoking scripture on the devastating impacts of war…reports Asian Lite News

Two women were killed and seven others were injured by an Israeli military sniper inside a Catholic Church in Gaza on Saturday, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, CNN reported.

The mother and daughter were walking to the Sister’s Convent at the Holy Family Parish in Gaza, the patriarchate said, when gunfire erupted. “One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,” it said on Sunday.

Seven others were also shot and wounded in the attack at the complex, where most Gaza’s Christian families have taken refuge since the start of the war, according to the patriarchate, which oversees Catholic Churches across Cyprus, Jordan, Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

“No warning was given, no notification was provided,” the statement continued. “They were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the parish, where there are no belligerents.”

Expressing his sorrow, Pope Francis addressed the tragic deaths during his Sunday Angelus prayer, highlighting the vulnerability of unarmed civilians in Gaza, the statement said, CNN reported.

“Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire,” Pope said, invoking scripture on the devastating impacts of war.

“I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza. Unarmed civilians are targets for bombs and gunfire. And this has happened even within the parish complex of the Holy Family, where there are no terrorists, but families, children, people who are sick and have disabilities, sisters,” the Pope said during his weekly Angelus prayer.

“Some are saying, ‘This is terrorism and war.’ Yes, it is war, it is terrorism. That is why Scripture says that ‘God puts an end to war… the bow he breaks and the spear he snaps,'” the Pope continued.

“Let us pray to the Lord for peace,” he added.

According to the patriarchate, the Convent of the Sisters of Mother Theresa, housing 54 disabled individuals, was also targeted by Israel Defence Forces tanks. The convent’s generator, its sole electricity source, along with fuel resources, solar panels, and water tanks, were destroyed by IDF rockets. The patriarchate further reported that the convent had become uninhabitable due to the attacks, CNN reported.

Despite attempts to reach the Israel Defence Forces for comment, CNN has not received a response.

On Friday, UK lawmaker Layla Moran, whose family sought refuge in the church, said they were “beyond desperate and terrified” as conditions worsened.

She informed the UK House of Commons about a family member’s death on November 15 and reported the cessation of electricity generators at the church. Moran also mentioned alleged incidents of white phosphorous use and gunfire within the compound, including the shooting of the bin collector and janitor, whose bodies remained uncollected.

“(My family) are reporting white phosphorous and gunfire into their compound,” she said. “The bin collector and the janitor have been shot and their bodies are laying outside and remain uncollected.”

CNN, however, cannot independently verify the reported conditions in and around the church or the allegations of the use of incendiary munitions. (ANI)

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Pope says Church not bent on conversion

Beijing has maintained communications with the Vatican, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing when asked about the pope’s comments in Mongolia…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis on Monday wrapped up a historic trip to Mongolia which took on international connotations because of his overtures to its neighbour China over freedom of religion.

At the end of a Mass on Sunday, the pope sent greetings to China, calling its citizens a “noble” people and asking Catholics in China to be “good Christians and good citizens”.

On Monday, China’s foreign ministry said it has taken a positive attitude on improving relations with the Vatican.

Beijing has maintained communications with the Vatican, ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a press briefing when asked about the pope’s comments in Mongolia.

The main purpose of Francis’ trip was to visit the tiny Catholic community. He ended his five-day mission on Monday with a stop to inaugurate the House of Mercy, which provides health care to the most needy in the Mongolian capital as well as to the homeless, victims of domestic abuse and migrants.

Situated in a converted school and the brainchild of Mongolia’s top Catholic cleric, Italian Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, the House of Mercy will coordinate the work of Catholic missionary institutions and local volunteers.

“The true progress of a nation is not gauged by economic wealth, much less by investment in the illusory power of armaments, but by its ability to provide for the health, education and integral development of its people,” Francis said at the house.

He also said he wanted to dispel “the myth” that the aim of Catholic institutions was to convert people to the religion “as if caring for others were a way of enticing people to ‘join up'”.

Mostly Buddhist Mongolia has only 1,450 Catholics in a population of 3.3 million and on Sunday just about the entire Catholic community was under the same roof with the pope.

On Monday, around two dozen Chinese Catholics surrounded the pope’s motorcade attempting to receive his blessings. The devotees, who identified themselves as Catholics from mainland China and wearing uniforms with the phrase “Love Jesus”, crowded outside the House of Mercy.

As Francis’s motorcade departed the centre, they sang a Christian hymn dedicated to the pope in Mandarin and attempted to dodge security and reach his car. One woman managed to get through security and received a blessing.

“I am just too happy, I can’t even control my emotions now,” said the woman.

Mongolia was part of China until 1921 and the pope’s trip was dotted by allusions or appeals to the superpower next door, where the Vatican has scratchy relations with its ruling Communist Party.

On Saturday, in words that appeared to be aimed at China rather than Mongolia, Francis said governments have nothing to fear from the Catholic Church because it has no political agenda.

Beijing has been following a policy of “Sinicisation” of religion, trying to root out foreign influences and enforce obedience to the Communist Party.

A landmark 2018 agreement between the Vatican and China on the appointment of bishops has been tenuous at best, with the Vatican complaining that Beijing has violated it several times.

ALSO READ-Pope lauds Mongolia’s tradition of religious freedom

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Pope urges peace in Ukraine, Middle East in Easter message

Pope Francis. (File Photo: IANS)

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have sharply increased since Israeli police raids last week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which caused outrage across the Arab world…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis in his Easter address at the Vatican on Sunday prayed for both Russians and Ukrainians and called for a resumption of dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, reported DW News.

The pontiff decried “the darkness and the gloom in which, all too often, our world finds itself enveloped.” “Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey towards peace, and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia,” he said.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the pontiff has mentioned Ukraine in almost all of his public speeches and has increasingly criticized Moscow.

He also voiced “deep concern” over a flare-up in tensions between Israel and Palestinians.

Recent violence in the Middle East “threatens the desired climate of trust and mutual respect needed to resume dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians,” Francis said.

Israeli-Palestinian tensions have sharply increased since Israeli police raids last week on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, which caused outrage across the Arab world.

Francis, 86, presided at a solemn Easter day Mass in a sunny St Peter’s Square after unseasonal cold forced him to skip an outdoor service on Friday — a precaution following his hospitalisation for bronchitis at the end of March.

Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital after three nights at the start of this month because of a bronchial infection. It was the pope’s second stay in the hospital since 2021, and he has increasingly suffered from health issues in recent years. He now uses a wheelchair because of knee pain, reported DW News.

He also presided over the Vigil mass — a 2 1/2 hour ceremony before 8,000 people — in the Vatican Basilica on Saturday evening. At that service, he lamented the “icy winds of war” and other injustices.

However, Francis did not attend the annual “Way of the Cross” prayer service on Good Friday as a precautionary measure because of the cold weather. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Pope Francis leaves hospital

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Pope Francis admitted to hospital with respiratory infection

“Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expressed his gratitude for the closeness and prayer.”..reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital with a respiratory infection after experiencing difficulty breathing in recent days, and will remain in the Rome hospital for several days of treatment, the Vatican said.

“In the past days, Pope Francis had lamented some respiratory difficulties and this afternoon was brought to the Gemelli Hospital for a medical check,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The result of these [tests] highlighted a respiratory infection (excluding COVID-19 infections) that will require several days of appropriate hospital treatment,” Bruni said.

“Pope Francis is touched by the many messages received and expressed his gratitude for the closeness and prayer.”

The 86-year-old pontiff’s schedule for tomorrow and Friday has been cancelled, the Italian news agency ANSA reported, adding that the pope already had a chest CT scan and that his blood’s saturation levels were fine. No heart problems have been detected, it added.

Overall, the situation should not be of particular concern, medical sources told ANSA. In a previous statement, Bruni said that the visit to the hospital had already been planned.

It remains unclear when Francis will return to the Vatican, where Palm Sunday and Holy Week celebrations leading up to Easter will be held next week.

The Argentine-born leader of the Roman Catholic Church held his weekly general audience on St Peter’s Square in front of thousands of believers on Wednesday morning.

He was scheduled to give a television interview afterward, but had to cancel and was taken to the hospital by ambulance instead.

Television news crews, reporters and press photographers were posted outside the hospital on Wednesday evening, where they watched the room on the 10th floor where the pontiff is staying.

In July 2021, Francis had intestinal surgery at the same hospital and spent 11 days there recovering. In a recent interview, he indicated that he was again having trouble with his intestines.

The pope has also been suffering from severe knee problems for more than a year, which often require him to use a wheelchair.

Francis has so far declined to undergo surgery on his knee – reportedly in part because he did not react well to anaesthesia during the previous operation.

ALSO READ-Pope nationalizes Vatican assets, property in new reform

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Pope nationalizes Vatican assets, property in new reform

The action outlined in a new law published Thursday marks Francis’ latest initiative to centralize Vatican assets so they can be managed properly…reports Asian Lite News

Pope Francis has essentially nationalized all assets and property owned by Vatican departments and affiliated institutions, declaring them to be sovereign patrimony owned by the Holy See and not any individual or office.

The action outlined in a new law published Thursday marks Francis’ latest initiative to centralize Vatican assets so they can be managed properly, following years of mismanagement that led to huge losses and, prosecutors allege, criminal wrongdoing.

Francis previously stripped the Vatican’s secretariat of state of its 600 billion-euro ($635 billion) portfolio and ordered the assets transferred to the Vatican’s patrimony office following a scandal involving a 350 million-euro investment in a London property.

Vatican prosecutors have charged 10 people, including a cardinal, of defrauding the Holy See of tens of millions of euros through the London venture.

The new law makes clear that the Holy See owns any asset, security or property owned or acquired by a Vatican office or affiliated institution. This “ecclesiastic public property” is “entrusted” to individual departments to use but is destined for the universal needs of the church to fulfill its mission, the law states.

In previous stages of Francis’ financial reforms, the Vatican ordered all Vatican offices to submit to standardized annual budgeting and accounting measures. Individual offices, or congregations, were allowed to operate in financial silos before then.

The pope also centralized and overhauled the Vatican’s investment strategy to ban speculative investments and to prioritize prudent investing in industries that promote the common good.

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