Pope prays for persecuted Christians
The prayer intention of Pope Francis for March 2017 is “that persecuted Christians may be supported by the prayers and material help of the whole Church”.
In a monthly reflection on the papal prayer intention, the Apostleship of Prayer notes that Pope Francis has asked for special prayers for persecuted Christians during one month each year, and this year’s request falls at the start of Lent, “a good time to include fasting and almsgiving for them”.
The reflection goes on to observe that there are two sorts of persecution experienced by Christians today: the “clear, explicit type of persecution” in which believers suffer and die for the faith; and what Pope Francis called “polite” persecution, “disguised as culture, disguised as modernity, disguised as progress.”
Pontifical Council offers Confession guide
The Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation has issued a guide for the ‘24 Hours for the Lord’ initiative, for individuals preparing for the full day of Confessions around the Fourth Sunday of Lent.
The 63-page downloadable guide offers answers to questions on why one should go to Confession as well as reflections on the sacrament. There are also two plans for lectio divina, containing suggestions on how to examine ones conscience and how to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.
The pastoral guide ‘24 Hours for the Lord’ can be downloaded at: www.osv.com/24hoursfortheLord
El Salvador submits ‘Romero miracle’ to Vatican
The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has received the findings of a Church of El Salvador investigation into a “presumed healing” attributed to Blessed Oscar Romero.
In a move that could bring the assassinated prelate closer to canonisation, the submission from El Salvador contains medical records of Cecilia Maribel Flores, a woman believed cured by his intercession.
The documentation will now be studied by a six-strong commission of theologians, a seven-strong panel of medical experts, and the 14 cardinals making up the Congregation for the Causes of Saints before any final submission is forwarded to Pope Francis for his decision.
Pope to receive European Union leaders
The Holy See Press Office has announced that Pope Francis will receive the heads of state and government of the nations of the European Union in a March 24 audience. The leaders will be in Rome to commemorate – on March 25 – the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, the organisation that eventually developed into the EU.
The audience will be the third meeting of this kind after the Pope’s visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in November 2014 followed by the 2016 audience with the leaders of the European institutions, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, where Pope Francis received the Charlemagne prize.