Pope Francis began the month of November is typical fashion, by visiting a cemetery for All Souls' Day. This year, he visited the Teutonic Cemetery inside the Vatican.
During a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, he prayed for all of the bishops who had died in the passed year, and he read a letter sent to him by a Lutheran minister who cares for orphans in Ukraine.
POPE FRANCIS
He said, this is my service, to be with these abandoned ones who lost their parents. War is cruel, and left them by themselves.
The following day, he flew to Bahrain to participate in a forum promoting dialogue between the East and the West. There, he asked Muslim leaders in the Arabian Peninsula to actively condemn religious fanaticism.
POPE FRANCIS
It is not enough to say that a religion is peaceful, it is necessary to condemn and isolate the violent people who abuse its name. Nor is it enough to distance oneself from intolerance and extremism, it is necessary to act in the opposite direction.
On his return flight to Rome, he discussed the complimentary relationship between men and women, and said that true equality between the sexes must be pursued.
POPE FRANCIS
Women are a gift. God did not create man and then gave him a dog to play with, no. He made two, equals, man and woman.
For World Day of the Poor, the Pope blessed a statue made by Canadian sculptor Tim Schmalz depicting the Holy Spirit caring for a homeless person. Pope Francis ate lunch with people in need after celebrating Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, where he invited Catholics to do everything they could for peace in Ukraine.
POPE FRANCIS
What is the Lord saying to us in the face of this third world war? What is the Lord saying to us? And while these evil events that create poverty and suffering are happening, Christians must ask themselves: What good can I do, concretely?
Germany's bishops then traveled to Rome and met with Pope Francis on an Ad Limina visit. They also met with members of the Curia, who expressed their objections to how their country's synod is progressing.
The Pope also made time for family in November. He traveled to Asti, in northern Italy to visit his cousin for her 90th birthday.
And thank you for the reception.
-It was nothing. You were always nice to everyone. You are always afraid to bother anyone.
At the end of the month, the Vatican's former auditor general, Libero Milone, announced that he was opening a lawsuit against the Vatican Secretariat of State. He was removed from his role in 2017 for allegedly spying on members of the Curia. He denies the allegations and says that he was fired for simply for doing his job and checking the accounts of the more than 100 financial entities in the Vatican.
Pope Francis ended the month by overhauling the Vatican's international charity arm, Caritas Internationalis, to improve its work environment. He removed the entire leadership and appointed an Italian layperson to oversee its transition until its general assembly in May 2023.
RM
TR: JM
