Catholic Fire

Pope Francis has given an interview to a Catholic weekly magazine, saying he hopes the forthcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy will enable people to discover an alternative to the atrocities, cruelty and exploitation of our world today. The Pope also talks about his personal discovery of God’s mercy in his own life and calls for a “revolution of tenderness” to encourage more just, tolerant and patient relationships between individuals and nations. In the interview with the official Jubilee publication ‘Credere’,  Pope Francis recalls that he dedicated his first Angelus address and his first homily in the Vatican parish of St Anna to the theme of mercy, noting that he’s following the teachings of his predecessors, especially Pope John Paul II who instituted Divine Mercy Sunday. We have become so used to bad news of cruelty and atrocities, the Pope says, but the world needs to discover that God is our Father, that mercy exists and that cruelty and condemnations are not the way forw...

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has issued his first Apostolic Exhortation on Tuesday, Evangelii Gaudium, translated into English as The Joy of the Gospel. The 224-page document outlines the Pope’s vision for a missionary Church, whose “doors should always be open”. The Pope speaks on numerous themes, including evangelization, peace, homiletics, social justice, the family, respect for creation, faith and politics, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and the role of women and of the laity in the Church. The Joy of the Gospel is the title Pope Francis has chosen for this first major document of his pontificate, putting down in print the joyous spirit of encounter with Christ that characterizes every public appearance he has made so far. The man who has constantly kept the media’s attention with his desire to embrace and share his faith with everyone he meets, now urges us to do exactly the same. To “recover the original freshness of the Gospel”, as he puts it, through a thorough renew...