Each year, Pope Francis baptizes a group of children of Vatican employees in the Sistine Chapel. On this occasion, the Pope showed his compassion for the parents.
POPE FRANCIS
If they cry—for the moment they are silent, but one of them might give the note to start “the concert”—let them cry. If they are hungry, feed them, calmly, here. If they are hot, take off their clothes, sometimes the heat can be bad for them.
Also at the beginning of each year, Pope Francis holds an audience with the world's ambassadors to the Vatican. Amid the ongoing conflicts in both Ukraine and Gaza, the Pope used his address to call for peace.
POPE FRANCIS
A disarmament policy should be pursued, as it is illusory to think that armaments have a deterrent value. Rather, the opposite is true: the availability of weapons incentivizes their use and increases their production. Weapons create distrust and divert resources. How many lives could be saved with the resources devoted to armaments today?
The head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith sought to clarify the meaning of Fiducia Supplicans—the document that allows the blessing of same-sex couples. The clarifying letter released insisted that same-sex blessings should not be confused with the sacrament of marriage and appealed to the necessity of “pastoral prudence” in its application.
Also in January of 2024, Pope Francis used his Sunday Angelus to announce the beginning of a year of prayer. In view of the Jubilee of 2025, the Pope asked the faithful to prepare themselves “to rediscover the great value and absolute necessity of prayer.”
PA
TR: AT
