Pope Francis encourages breastfeeding in public says "It's OK to breast-feed in public, even in Sistine Chapel"

Pope Francis encourages breastfeeding in  public says "It's OK to breast-feed in public, even in Sistine Chapel"  

Pope Francis assured mothers that breast-feeding their babies in public, even during a papal Mass in the Sistine Chapel, is OK. No chorus is as wonderful as the squeaks, squeals and banter of children, the pope said during a Mass in which he baptized 32 babies on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Jan. 12.  "Some will cry because they are uncomfortable or because they are hungry," he said during his brief and unscripted homily. "If they are hungry, mothers, let them eat, no worries, because here they are the main focus," he said.    

Pope Francis Releases New Apostolic Exhortation: 9 Things you Need to Know about Evangelii Gaudium

Pope Francis Releases New Apostolic Exhortation: 9 Things you Need to Know about Evangelii Gaudium

The Vatican, Yesterday, Tuesday 26^th November 2013 published an English Translation of Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. It is his first apostolic exhortation and it is devoted to the theme of the new evangelization. Here are nine things Jimmy Akin, a senior Catholic Apologist at Catholic Answers and a contributing editor to the National Catholic Register wants you to know about the Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation.

1) What does “Evangelii Gaudium” mean?

It’s Latin for “The Joy of the Gospel.”

2) What is an apostolic exhortation?

It’s a papal document that, as the name suggests, exhorts people to implement a particular aspect of the Church’s life and teaching.

Its purpose is not to teach new doctrine, but to suggest how Church teachings and practices can be profitably applied today.

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2013

MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

 This year, as we celebrate World Mission Day, the Year of Faith, which is an important opportunity to strengthen our friendship with the Lord and our journey as a Church that preaches the Gospel with courage, comes to an end. From this perspective, I would like to propose some reflections. 

 1. Faith is God’s precious gift, which opens our mind to know and love him. He wants to enter into relationship with us and allow us to participate in his own life in order to make our life more meaningful, better and more beautiful. God loves us! Faith, however, needs to be accepted, it needs our personal response, the courage to entrust ourselves to God, to live his love and be grateful for his infinite mercy. It is a gift, not reserved for a few but offered with generosity. Everyone should be able to experience the joy of being loved by God, the joy of salvation! It is a gift that one cannot keep to oneself, but it is to be shared. If we want to keep it only to ourselves, we will become isolated, sterile and sick Christians. The proclamation of the Gospel is part of being disciples of Christ and it is a constant commitment that animates the whole life of the Church. Missionary outreach is a clear sign of the maturity of an ecclesial community" (BENEDICT XVI, Verbum Domini, 95). Each community is "mature" when it professes faith, celebrates it with joy during the liturgy, lives charity, proclaims the Word of God endlessly, leaves one’s own to take it to the “peripheries”, especially to those who have not yet had the opportunity to know Christ. The strength of our faith, at a personal and community level, can be measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to spread and live it in charity, to witness to it before those we meet and those who share the path of life with us. 

Personal Thoughts on the Election of the New Pope Francis

Personal Thoughts on the Election of the New Pope Francis

By Uwakwe Chibuike MFC

The New Pope former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has chosen the Papal name – Pope Francis, is a man of inestimable simplicity and humility. As CNN commentators describe him, he is a man that requires no introduction. He is 76 years old but his physical appearance speaks more of his fitness for the papacy. His humility is confirmed when he bowed down and requested for the blessings of all the pilgrims gathered at St. Peter's Square. 

We attribute his election to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and that is what it is. But if we may ask, why not any of the other 114 cardinals? The answer is clear, he was elected because he is the most qualified. Like Jeremiah we can say that God may have prepared him ahead of time like He also did to the Madonna, but Bergoglio struggled to maintain that divine grace of preparation in him. Simply put, he used the grace of God to work out his success. We all have a unique gift which we can use to work out our success and salvation. Perhaps someone reading this now has the potential of becoming a bishop, a manager of a big firm, a governor or a great leader, so always be conscious of the limitless nature of what God can do with you when you act so that you act in such a manner that will not be an impediment to your future career but a stepping stone. 

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio Elected New Pope Francis

Catholic Church Gets New Pope: Pope Francis I

Finally, the Catholic Church has gotten a new Pope. Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina has been elected the New Pope. He has chosen Pope Francis as his papal name. He is from Argentina and the first South American to be elected a Pope. He is a Jesuit priest and the first Jesuit to be elected a Pope as well. 

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 17 1936, he is one of the five children of an Italian railway worker and his wife. He was ordained a Jesuit priest on December 13, 1969, by Archbishop Ramón José Castellano. Between 1973 and 1979, he served as Provincial Superior for Argentina.

On February 28 1998, he was appointed bishop for the Eastern Catholics in Argentina. On February 2001, he was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II.  On November 8 2005 he was elected President of the Argentine Episcopal Conference for a three year term that was renewed on November 11, 2008.

He majored in Pastoral work as a theologian and this is advantageous to his papcy. Besides, he is a strict defender of the Catholic doctrine and faith. He opposed the Argentine government on issues bordering on abortion, same sex marriage, distribution of contraceptives, child adoption by same sex couples, social justice, etc.