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Pope Francis to offer Mass in Venice’s St. Mark’s Square

St. Mark's Square in Venice, Italy. / Shutterstock|maziarz

Vatican City, Mar 25, 2024 / 11:45 am (CNA).

Pope Francis will travel by motorboat along Venice’s canals and offer Mass in St. Mark’s Square during his visit to the “floating city,” the Vatican announced Monday.

The Holy See Press Office has released the schedule for the pope’s upcoming day trip to Venice — the pope’s only scheduled trip so far in 2024.

Pope Francis will preside over a public Mass in St. Mark’s Square at 11 a.m. on Sunday, April 28, as he visits the Vatican pavilion at the Venice Biennale art exhibition

The 87-year-old pope will travel by helicopter from Vatican City to Venice in under two hours and will land on Giudecca Island, home to Venice’s women’s prison.

The pope’s first meeting will be with inmates in the prison, where he will also tour the Vatican art exhibit being displayed there and meet with the featured artists. 

Pope Francis will then travel by motorboat from Giudecca Island to Venice’s Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, a place of pilgrimage in the city built in thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary for saving Venice from the terrible plague of 1630. 

The pope will give a speech to young people from dioceses throughout Italy’s northern Veneto region in the piazza in front of the basilica before crossing a bridge over the Grand Canal to arrive at St. Mark’s Square.

After the Mass, Pope Francis will privately venerate the relics of St. Mark the Evangelist inside the basilica. He will leave St. Mark’s Square via motorboat to arrive at a heliport on Sant’Elena Island, where he will depart by helicopter at 1 p.m. after having spent only five hours in Venice.

Pope Francis will be the first pope to visit the prestigious Venice Biennale art exhibition, which will be open to the public from April 20 to Nov. 24.

The Vatican has participated in the Art Biennale since 2013. The first Holy See Pavilion was commissioned by Pope Benedict XVI, who also visited Venice in 2011 and traveled across the Grand Canal in the same gondola as Pope John Paul II did in 1985.

Norway bishops: Proposal to expand abortion abandons ‘Christian and humanistic heritage’

Ultrasound of baby at 12 weeks / arhendrix/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 10:30 am (CNA).

Norway’s Council of Catholic Bishops is warning that a proposal to liberalize the country’s abortion laws “represents a step away from Norway’s Christian and humanistic heritage” and “obscures our understanding of what is, and is not, a human life.”

A special abortion commission instituted by the Norwegian government has recommended Norway legalize elective abortion through the 18th week of pregnancy and legalize abortion in some cases even later into the pregnancy. 

Current law allows elective abortions through the 12th week of pregnancy but only allows abortion in limited circumstances in the 13th week through the 18th week of pregnancy. 

Under the current law, abortions after the 12th week of pregnancy require the woman to submit an application to a medical association board, with each reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The proposal would eliminate this requirement through the 18th week. 

The bishops’ conference submitted a letter to Norway’s Ministry of Health and Care outlining its objections to the proposal, stating that it fails to consider the interests of the preborn child, establishes an ambiguous concept of human life, and undermines the country’s traditional values.

“The law proposal cancels the fetus as a subject entitled to rights,” the bishops wrote, according to an unofficial translation published by the website Coram Fratribus.

“The consideration of abortion has, in the strict sense of this word, a tragic dimension,” they continued. “In every case an accomplished abortion is an occasion for grief, a loss to the community. Only on this basis, such is our conviction, can our society rightly consider the welfare of all parties concerned in a way that is responsible and rational.”

If the commission succeeds in extending elective abortions by six weeks, the bishops warned that it develops an “ambiguity” on how society understands life. The abortion law, they noted, would treat the preborn child “as a growth on the women’s body, an organic parasite.” 

On the other hand, a woman who intends to give birth to her preborn child “may see a fabulous video of a 17-weeks-old ‘baby’ ‘in a very active period’” with the current technology. 

“We are able, at one and the same time, to regard an 18-week-old fetus as a nonperson and as a beloved baby displaying characteristic personality,” the bishops noted. “The criterion of difference in discernment is the degree to which the baby is wanted.”

The letter further claimed that the language in the proposal marks a significant shift from current law. The current standard, according to the bishops, recognizes that “abortion is complex.” It ensures that a pregnant woman considering abortion is offered information about support she can receive to continue her pregnancy and bring her preborn child to term.

Although “she is granted the possibility to interrupt her pregnancy within clearly defined boundaries … it is made clear that the choice in question is a matter of life and death,” the bishops noted. The proposal from the commission changes this approach, stating that women “are entitled to abortion” through 18 weeks, according to the bishops.

“The vocabulary of legislation is rhetorically translated from a register of humanity to a register to consumerism rooted in terms such as ‘right,’ ‘claim,’ and ‘quality provision,’” the bishops added. “The woman’s decisional process is entirely privatized.”

The bishops further disparaged the language of the proposal, arguing that it simplifies the complexity of abortion by characterizing it as a matter of individual rights and women’s rights — while neglecting to acknowledge the preborn child.

“Of course women, as men, should enjoy autonomy and the right to dispose of their bodies,” the bishops explained. “The question of abortion, however, cannot be reduced … to a question of gender conflict. What makes the question complex is the fact that it touches, not just one subject — the pregnant woman — but two subjects, inasmuch as the unborn child must also be recognized as a person.”

The bishops argued that the bill fails to succeed in its stated goal of protecting “the integrity of individual persons” because it neglects the preborn child. They add that it fails to uphold the principle embedded in Article 2 of the country’s constitution, which states “our values will remain our Christian and humanist heritage.”

“Is it to Norway’s benefit to develop legislation sentimentalizing the very notion of personhood, ascribing personhood to a wanted individual but withholding recognition of personhood from one that is unwanted, and on this basis expediting that individual either towards survival or to death?” the bishops asked in the letter.

“We hold that it is not to Norway’s benefit to develop such legislation,” they said.

Pope Francis gives thanks to young Nigerian priests and nuns who answered God’s call

Pope Francis meets with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Rome Newsroom, Mar 25, 2024 / 09:30 am (CNA).

Pope Francis gave thanks on Monday for the many young Nigerians who have answered God’s call to the priesthood or religious life.

In a meeting with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, the pope said he was grateful for all that Nigerian Catholics have done to bear witness to the Gospel, especially as many parts of the country are experiencing insecurity and Christian persecution.

“I also join you in thanking Almighty God for the many young Nigerians who have heard the Lord’s call to the priesthood and consecrated life and responded with generosity, humility, and perseverance,” Pope Francis said.

Pope Francis meets with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“There are some here among you, young priests and young nuns,” he remarked. “May you always be missionary disciples, grateful that the Lord has chosen you to follow him and has sent you to zealously proclaim our faith and contribute to the construction of a more just and humane world.”

Nigeria has had a vocations boom in the past 50 years. In 2019, more than 400 diocesan priests were ordained in the West African country, which also sends priests to serve dioceses facing priest shortages in the United States and Europe.

Last year, Nigeria was recognized as having the highest Mass attendance in the world. A study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University found that 94% of Nigeria’s 30 million Catholics say they attend Mass at least weekly or more, while only 17% of American Catholics attend Mass weekly.

Nigeria has also been recognized as one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Christian. According to Open Doors International 4,998 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2023 amid attacks by Islamic militants, kidnappings by armed bandits, and overall insecurity.

Catholic bishops in Nigeria’s Ibadan ecclesiastical province issued a statement last month lamenting the country’s recurrent and pervasive security challenges. 

“Our dear country Nigeria is fast becoming a hostile killing field,” the bishops said.

Kidnappings from seminaries, monasteries, and other places of religious formation have been on the rise in Nigeria. While some victims of the kidnappings have been killed, seminarians who survived the ordeal have shared in interviews with ACI Africa, CNA’s news partner in Africa, how they have come back stronger — and ready to die for their faith.

Pope Francis addressed Nigeria’s security challenges during the audience and assured the Nigerian community of his prayers for security and unity in their country.

Pope Francis meets with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
Pope Francis meets with Nigerians living in Rome on March 25, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“Unfortunately, many regions of the world are experiencing conflict and suffering, and Nigeria is also experiencing difficult times,” the pope said.

“In assuring you of my prayers for the security, unity, and spiritual and economic progress of your nation, I invite everyone to encourage dialogue and listen to each other with an open heart, without excluding anyone on a political, social, and religious level,” Francis added.

The pope also encouraged Nigerians to be “heralds of the great mercy of the Lord, working for reconciliation between all your brothers and sisters, contributing to alleviating the burden of the poor and the most needy.”

“In this way all Nigerians will be able to continue to walk together in fraternal solidarity and harmony,” he said.

“I entrust your community to the loving protection of the Virgin Mary, queen and patroness of Nigeria, and I heartily bless you. And please don’t forget to pray for me,” Pope Francis said.

Holy Week in the Holy Land: Forgiveness is the only way to peace

As Christians enter the holiest part of the year, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem talks to Vatican News about the Easter celebrations in the Holy Land, amidst ongoing violence and conflict, and calls for forgiveness to move towards peace.

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Zimbabwe: Arts festival for Catholic Schools empowers young people to be agents of evangelization.

Twelve Catholic Secondary Schools under the Diocese of Gweru including the recently acquired St. Xavier Sibangani and St. Kizito Musilahobe participated in the Inter Catholic Secondary Schools Arts festival hosted at Serima Mision where the overall winner was Shungu High School.

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Brazil: Church's experience strengthens migration policies

The extensive networking efforts carried out by Catholic institutions with civil society organizations and the Brazilian state ensure that their contributions and opinions are highly valued when addressing the challenges posed by the arrival of migrants.

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Pope Francis’ schedule released for pastoral visit to Venice

The Vatican releases the programme for Pope Francis’ pastoral visit to the Italian city of Venice, on April 28, to explore the Holy See Pavilion of the Venice Art Biennale.

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Synod: Pacific dioceses invite Catholics to ‘get into the boat’

As the Church journeys toward the second Synod session in October, Catholics across the Pacific islands are trying to keep up the momentum of synodality by inviting everyone to “get into the boat,” according to Bishop Ryan Jimenez.

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Zambia: Ecumenical Palm Sunday procession unites Catholics and United Church of Zambia Communities.

In a heartwarming display of unity for a shared faith, the town of Mongu in Zambia’s Western Provice on Palm Sunday, witnessed a historic event as Protestant members of the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) and two Catholic parishes came together for an ecumenical Palm Sunday Procession.

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Pope to Rome’s Nigerian community: Embrace unity, reject division

Pope Francis meets with Nigerians resident in Rome, thanking them for their witness to the Gospel, and stressing that "the diversity of ethnicities, cultural traditions, and languages in your nation is not a problem, but a gift."

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