Amnesty International reports a 31% drop in 2018 over the previous year. Last year, executioners took the lives of 690 people compared to 993 in 2017. The five major executioners are China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and Iraq. In Iran, the number of executions dropped by 50 per cent.
During Holy Week, by praying "the Our Father, we can ask for one of these graces: to live our days for the glory of God, that is to live with love; to know how to entrust ourselves to the Father in trials and to say 'dad' to the Father and to find forgiveness and the courage to forgive in enountering the Father. Francis again recalled the fire of Notre-Dame: "the work of reconstruction: it can be a choral work, for the praise and glory of God".
Card Ravasi notes that “at a religious level the dialogue between the official Church and the so-called underground Church has begun,” so "What will happen during the Expo will be a different kind of dialogue, purely cultural. Its task is to create an atmosphere in which it is possible to speak a little more about possible exchange, not only in the religious sphere, but also in the fields of art, culture and scientific research."
Disbelief and sadness at the "terrible fire that devastated the cathedral of Notre Dame, a symbol of Christianity in France and the world".
Persecution and martyrdom are signs of today's Christians. In Holy Week, we should remember our commitment to evangelization. Even as a minority.
Francis met with members of Italy’s National Amateur League, a football (soccer) association, on the 60th anniversary of its foundation, telling them that overcoming “all the walls that unjustly divide people” is a goal that can be achieved “by promoting the involvement and appreciation of everyone on the basis of a team spirit that is the true hope of humanity.”
In Lanzhou another priest forcibly taken away. A church destroyed in Xiangtao (Hubei). Underground priests do not feel safe: they can disappear at any time. The faithful are holding a sit-in from this morning in front of the local government office.
In the moment of triumph and in that of the Passion, Jesus rejects the temptation of the Evil One. For today's Youth Day the invitation "to young people and to all" to pray the Rosary for peace, "especially for peace in the Holy Land and the Middle East".
Receiving the Archicofradia de la Virgen de la Cinta of Tortosa, Francis emphasized that "Living in this way, as united brothers and sisters, supposes effort and renunciation, but I assure you that it is worth it, because it is a sign before a society that is often divided, though it may be outdated now, it has always been and remains a social sin to be divided”.
At the end of the spiritual retreat in the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis called on South Sudan’s civil and Church authorities present to pay attention to the gaze of God and the people. He urges them to “reflect on our own lives and the common mission the Lord has entrusted to us”. The civil war that followed independence has left 400,000 people dead. Currently some seven million people suffer extreme hunger, whilst four million are refugees. The retreat was held on the day Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir was removed from power. The pope donated a copy of the Bible to participants.
In a long essay published today, the Pope Emeritus highlights the causes of the moral crisis in the Church, which he attributes to the sexual revolution and liberation of 1968, along with a relativism in moral theology and a misunderstanding of the Vatican Council II. The absence of God in society undermines the capacity to distinguish good from evil and to the endorsement of paedophilia. The path of renewal in the Church and society requires the recovery of faith in the Church, of the mystery of the Eucharist, and of witness. His thanks go to Pope Francis.
In fact, trafficking disfigures the humanity of the victim, offending his freedom and dignity. But, at the same time, it dehumanizes those who carry it out, denying them access to "life in abundance". Those who aim to "restore and promote" our humanity and that of others are in line with the mission of the Church.
"The Christian who prays asks God, first of all, to forgive his trespasses, namely, his sins, the bad things he does. This is the first truth of every prayer: even if we were perfect persons, even if we were crystalline saints who never deflect from a life of goodness, we always remain children who owe all to the Father”.
Since yesterday evening the faithful have been holding a sit-in to protect the sanctuary, located in the district of Taibai, a very poor mountainous area. The authorities want the whole diocese to join the Patriotic Association. The faithful ask all Christians to pray for the preservation of the sanctuary and the salvation of the population.
At Mass in Santa Marts, Pope Francis compares the lives of many Christians to that of the Jewish people in the desert: "They could not stand the journey". It gave rise to complaints, dissatisfactions, negativity, attachment to failure. The "snake that had seduced Eve ... always bites in desolation".
