Pope to visit Rome synagogue for first time

The Sacrament of Penance is often missing. Fewer and fewer Catholics receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or contract a Catholic marriage.

The pope addressed a group of priests and bishops who were participating in a conference sponsored by the Congregation for Clergy to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s decrees on priestly formation and on the priestly ministry and life. Certainly it is not possible to rebuild from the relics of the “good old days” in the past.

“The path of violence and hate does not resolve the problems of humanity”, Pope Francis said, adding, “to use the name of God to justify this path is blasphemy”.

Like others in the sea of humanity at St. Peter’s Square November 15, Father Joe Weber raised his cell phone and recorded video of Pope Francis speaking from a top-floor window at the papal residence.

“We need to be vigilant, but life continues”, said priest Father Sergio, in the Vatican to hear Pope Francis speak. “An excessive centralization complicates the life of the church and its missionary dynamism rather than helping it”.

How people watch over this door says a lot about the church and the community, he said, so how one cares for “the doorway” calls for great discernment and must inspire confidence and trust in people on the outside. The church “has a face that is not rigid, a body that moves, grows and feels: It is the body of Jesus Christ”.

Pope Francis has high hopes for the end of war, and has been praised many times for his gestures toward peace. Jesus once said: “You can not serve two masters: it’s either God or money.’ War is the choice for money: ‘We’ll make weapons, then the economy will balance out a bit, and we’ll go forward serving our own interests.’ The Lord has a strong word for this: ‘Cursed!’ For he said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’ Those who make war, who wage wars, are cursed, they are criminals”. “At the same time, we support all humanitarian initiatives that aim at ensuring conditions in their countries of origin are more tolerable”. “They surrounded themselves with tinted glass to avoid seeing out”.

Such people are “difficult to reach”, he observed. “But we will not let ourselves be paralyzed by fear”.

On social media, Islamic State militants claimed responsibility, but Pope Francis insisted there can be no “religious or human” excuse for killing innocent people and sowing terror. Confession is the place where the gift of God’s forgiveness and mercy is given.