Pope: humility, holiness come with humiliation
(Vatican Radio) Humility is the way of holiness. That’s what Pope Francis said in his Homily at Monday morning’s Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope focused on the story of King David who, aware of his own sin, accepts humiliation in a spirit of trust in the Lord. While God forgives sin, the Pope observed, “the wounds of corruption are difficult to heal."
33 Refugees Drown While Germany's Asylum Seekers Face Attacks
(Vatican Radio) Turkey's state-run media say at least 33 people, including five children, have drowned in the Aegean Sea after their Greece-bound boat capsized off the Turkish coast, while far away in Germany refugees struggled in the aftermath of far-right attacks against them. Coast guards reportedly rescued 75 others from the sea Saturday near the resort of Ayvacik en route to the Greek island of Lesbos.
Pope appoints new bishop in East Timor
Pope Francis on Saturday appointed a new bishop to the Diocese of Dili, the Capital of Timor Leste, East Timor. Fr. Virgilio Do Carmo Da Silva, the provincial superior of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Timor Leste is the new bishop. The See of Dili has been vacant since Feb. 9, 2015, after late Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva stepped down.
Australians urged to fight human trafficking, injustice
The Catholic Church of Australia is calling on its citizens not to be indifferent to human trafficking and take simple steps to combatting global injustice. The Australian Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral life (BCPL) and Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) are calling for a day of prayer, reflection and action against human trafficking on 8 February, the Feast of St Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese slave who was rescued and later became a Canossian nun, and was declared a Saint in 2000. Last year, the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the International Union of Superiors General, promoted the first “International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking”, or Bakhita Day, on Feb. 8.
