Pope Francis Francis permits seafarers to grant absolution for sins
Pope Francis has given priests who minister to seafarers special permission to grant absolution for sins that usually would require the intervention of a bishop or the Vatican itself. “Many seafarers come or will come to priest chaplains with problems on their conscience that make them suffer a lot because they have never had a chance to deal with them,” the Pope said last week during a meeting with chaplains and volunteers of the Apostleship of the Sea working at European ports. “Be merciful. Be merciful,” Pope Francis told the chaplains.
“To help you with this mercy,” he said, “I concede to all seafarer chaplains the same permissions that I gave to the ‘missionaries of mercy’ so that you can help many hearts find interior peace.”
The “missionaries of mercy” were priests chosen by the Vatican for the 2015-2016 Year of Mercy to preach about God’s mercy and, especially, to encourage Catholics to rediscover the grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
In a permission later extended to all priests, Pope Francis granted them the power to absolve penitents who regretted having an abortion or playing a role in someone’s decision to have an abortion. He also authorised them to lift some penalties imposed by canon law.
Vatican in final stages of reform project
Pope Francis could receive a final draft of a new constitution for the Roman curia as soon as September, according to the secretary of the Pope’s Council of Cardinal Advisors.
Bishop Marcello Semeraro said that the group was in the final stages of drafting the new constitution, titled Praedicate Evangelium, or ‘Proclaim the Gospel’, marking the near completion of a key reform project which began with the establishment of the Council of Cardinals in 2013, one month after Francis was elected. Since that time, the group has worked to advise the Pope on Church governance and reform, with the drafting of a new constitution a key priority.
The draft text is expected to place renewed emphasis on evangelisation as the structural priority of the Church’s mission, with some predicting the merger of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation into a single larger department.
Bishop Semeraro said the text of the constitution must take into consideration “a changing world”, and that the reforming efforts drew inspiration from Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world.
Tragedy of worldwide hunger must be fought – Pope Francis
If the world is to succeed in eradicating the scourge of hunger, it must first fight against the indifference, apathy and broken promises that allow the crisis to continue, Pope Francis has said.
Addressing participants in the 41st session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation conference on June 27, the Pope said that “the goal of zero hunger worldwide remains a great challenge”.
“The origin of this tragedy lies above all in a failure of compassion,” he said.
While the lack of food and safe drinking water may seem like a problem exclusive to “the most poor and vulnerable countries”, he said, it is an issue that concerns everyone.
Humanity, he added, is called “to hear their desperate cry and to find ways of enabling them to remain alive and see their most basic rights respected.”
Among the ways to achieve this is to reduce the waste of food and water by raising “awareness of the problem and a greater sense of social responsibility” especially with young people.