Category: 2022 News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – God always forgives and joyously welcomes back everyone who returns to him, even after a life of mistakes and sin, Pope Francis said.

“God does not know how to forgive without celebrating! And the father celebrates because of the joy he has because his son has returned,” the pope said before reciting the Angelus prayer March 27 with visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading about the parable of the prodigal son, “who has returned home after having squandered all his possessions,” Pope Francis said.

“We are that son, and it is moving to think about how much the Father always loves us and waits for us,” he said.

But the older son in the parable who becomes indignant because he has always obeyed his father “is also within us and we are tempted to take his side,” he said.

“He had always done his duty, he had not left home,” and he is angry seeing their father embracing the child who had behaved so badly, he said.

The problem with this reaction, the pope said, is the older son “bases his relationship with his father solely on pure observance of commands, on a sense of duty.”

“This could also be our problem, the problem among ourselves and with God: to lose sight that he is a father and to live a distant religion, composed of prohibitions and duties,” the pope said.

People who live this cold distance from God become rigid toward others and find it hard to welcome, much less rejoice over, the return of a repentant or struggling child of God, he added.

“Those who have made mistakes often feel reproached in their own hearts. Distance, indifference and harsh words do not help. Therefore, like the father, it is necessary to offer them a warm welcome that encourages them to go ahead,” the pope said.

People must “look for those who are far away,” have an open heart, truly listen and never make them feel uncomfortable, he said.

The father “celebrates because of the joy he has because his son has returned,” and, like the father, “we need to rejoice,” too, when someone repents, no matter how serious their mistakes may have been, he said.

In the parable, the father reassures the older son, saying, “you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”

The parable shows, the pope said, that the father has “two needs, which are not commands, but essentials for his heart.”

The pope asked people to reflect and “see if we too have in our hearts these two things the father needs” — to be able to celebrate and rejoice for others.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – The sacrament of reconciliation “is not so much about our sins” as it is about God’s forgiveness, Pope Francis said.

“Think about it: If our sins were at the heart of the sacrament, almost everything would depend on us, on our repentance, our efforts, our resolve,” but it is about God’s power, mercy and grace, the pope said March 25 during a Lenten penance service in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The service, with individual confessions, preceded the pope’s formal act of consecrating the world, particularly Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Pope Francis went to one of the confessionals in the basilica and, remaining standing because of knee trouble, confessed his sins before joining more than 100 other priests in hearing confessions.

The Vatican penance service was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Pope Francis began the service praying that God would “open our eyes, that we may see the evil we have committed, and touch our hearts, that we may be converted to you.”

The prayer booklet given to people participating in the service contained a 25-point “examination of conscience” designed to prepare them for confession and absolution by looking at their faith and prayer lives, the way they treat family members and others, whether they go to Mass every Sunday and holy day of obligation, how they practice charity, follow church moral teachings and how they use the time and talents God has given them.

Holding the service on the feast of the Annunciation, the Gospel read at the service was the story of the angel appearing to Mary and telling her she would become the mother of Jesus.

Mary, he said, is told to rejoice, because God is with her.

“Dear brother, dear sister, today you can hear those words addressed to you,” Pope Francis told people in the congregation. “You can make them your own each time you approach God’s forgiveness, for there the Lord tells you, ‘I am with you.'”

“All too often,” he said, “we think that confession is about going to God with dejected looks. Yet it is not so much that we go to the Lord, but that he comes to us, to fill us with his grace, to fill us with his joy.”

Pope Francis also had a word for priests about how they should be ministers of God’s forgiveness. “Offer to those who approach you the joy of this proclamation: ‘Rejoice, the Lord is with you.’ Set aside rigidity, obstacles and harshness; may you be doors wide open to mercy!”

If a priest is not prepared “to act in the person of the good shepherd, who takes his sheep into his arms and cradles them,” the pope said, it is better that he not hear confessions.

And, to those who find it hard to accept the forgiveness of a sin in their past or are upset by their inability to mend their ways, Pope Francis said: “Do not be afraid. God knows your weaknesses and is greater than your mistakes.”

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – As Russia’s violent monthlong invasion continued to devastate Ukraine, Pope Francis laid the fates of both countries at the feet of Mary in the hopes that peace would finally reign.

“Mother of God and our mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine,” the pope said March 25, pronouncing the Act of Consecration after leading a Lenten penance service in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Praying before a statue of Mary that was loaned by the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima at San Vittoriano on the outskirts of Rome, the pope pleaded with Mary to “accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end, and peace spread throughout the world.”

Sitting in front of the statue, which was placed before the steps of the main altar on a red platform and adorned with white roses, the pope proclaimed the act of consecration. During the prayer, the pope paused at several moments to gaze at the statue of Mary before continuing to recite the prayer.

“To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world,” he prayed.

After the consecration, the pope, accompanied by a young boy and girl, placed a bouquet of white roses at the feet of the statue. He then remained for a few moments, with eyes closed and head bowed in silent prayer, before stepping away.

According to the Vatican, an estimated 3,500 people filled St. Peter’s Basilica, while 2,000 people watched on video screens from St. Peter’s Square. Police asked pilgrims who entered St. Peter’s Basilica carrying or wearing Ukrainian flags to put them away, since the event was a prayer service.

Among those present at the liturgy were Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See. The consecration, he tweeted March 25, is “another attempt (by the pope) to defend Ukraine from the devil’s war,” referring to Russia’s attacks on the country.

Joe Donnelly, who soon will present his credentials to the pope as the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, also attended the service.

The Vatican announced March 18 that Pope Francis also asked bishops around the world to join him in consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, led a similar act of consecration at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.

Bishops from around the world had announced special services to coincide with the timing of the consecration in Rome, even in the early hours of the morning.

At the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatña, Guam, Archbishop Michael Byrnes led the faithful in praying the rosary before reciting the Act of Consecration at 2 a.m. local time March 26.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, private secretary of retired Pope Benedict XVI, had told reporters that the former pope would join in the consecration from his residence.

In a video released before the liturgy, Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, said he would join in the consecration “because today we need very much the victory of good.”

The consecration, Archbishop Shevchuk said, “means that it is never possible to make a deal, to cooperate with this evil that emerges from Russia today.”

“And that is why we must pray for its conversion, for the eradication of that evil, ‘so that it,’ as the Mother of God of Fatima said, ‘might not destroy other states, might not cause yet another world war.’ We, as Christians, have a duty to pray for our enemies,” he said.

In Rome, the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out after Pope Francis concluded the Act of Consecration.

In his homily during the Lenten penance service, the pope acknowledged that the war in Ukraine, which “has overtaken so many people and caused suffering to all, has made each of us fearful and anxious.”

While calls to “not be afraid” may soothe one’s helplessness in the face of war, violence and uncertainty, the pope said that “human reassurance is not enough.”

“We need the closeness of God and the certainty of his forgiveness, and once renewed by it, Christians can also turn to Mary and present their needs and the needs of the world,” he said.

Pope Francis said the Act of Consecration was “no magic formula but a spiritual act” of trust by “children who, amid the tribulation of this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, turn to their mother, reposing all their fears and pain in her heart and abandoning themselves to her.”

“It means placing in that pure and undefiled heart, where God is mirrored, the inestimable goods of fraternity and peace, all that we have and are, so that she, the mother whom the Lord has given us, may protect us and watch over us,” the pope said.

In his prayer, Pope Francis specifically asked Mary to be with those suffering directly because of the war.

“May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs,” he prayed to Mary. “May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your sorrowful heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.”

SCRANTON – The faithful of the Diocese of Scranton joined people around the world in prayer on March 25, placing the people of Russia and Ukraine under the special protection of Mary, the Mother of God, in an act of consecration.

The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, celebrated the 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton, which included the Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Nearly 200 people participated in-person with others taking part by livestream.

“While Saint John Paul II consecrated Russia to Our Blessed Mother in 1984, today’s act renews our trust in God and Mary’s intercession to protect the people of Russia and Ukraine in this time of great hardship and suffering,” Bishop Bambera said during his homily. “It is also a radical call to conversion for all peoples, including me and you, a call that ultimately sets the stage for true and lasting peace in our hearts, our families and our world.”

It has now been more than one month since Russian forces invaded neighboring Ukraine. Thousands of people have been killed and more than three million people have been forced to flee their homes.

“Not one of us in our cathedral has not been heartbroken by the suffering and death of countless numbers of innocent lives, inflicted because of greed, a lust for power and a disregard for the gift of human life,” the bishop added. “We Christians ought never forget that we do indeed have a way to respond to this tragic moment. We have the power of God, won for us through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus and given to us through the gift of faith.”

Before kneeling at the feet of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Cathedral sanctuary and reciting the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Bishop Bambera urged all people to open their hearts in faith to the abiding presence of God in their lives and pray for an end to war.

“It was very special and meaningful and we were really honored to come up here today,” Faith Sekol, a senior at Holy Redeemer High School said. “It really gives us a sense of unity which I think we need at this time, especially in solidarity with Ukraine.”

Several students involved in the Pro-Life Club at the Wilkes-Barre Catholic School left class, making a special trip to the Cathedral to attend the Mass.

“An important part of the pro-life club is respecting all life, regardless of whether it’s an unborn baby or the elderly. I think it was really important to come together and come up with a solution to this war,” Holy Redeemer senior Kathryn McIngvale added. “It’s something that needs to be talked about.”

The students at Holy Redeemer have been keeping the people in Ukraine close to their hearts in prayer in recent weeks. They’ve also raised money for relief efforts with dress down days and most recently wrote messages and prayers which were presented to the local Ukrainian Catholic Church in Wilkes-Barre.

“Take five minutes, say a prayer in the morning or at lunch. Think about it and God will answer those prayers,” McIngvale said.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Nine years after taking office, Pope Francis promulgated his constitution reforming the Roman Curia, a project he began with his international College of Cardinals shortly after taking office in 2013.

“Praedicate Evangelium” (“Preach the Gospel”), which was published only in Italian by the Vatican March 19, will go into effect June 5, the feast of Pentecost.

Merging some congregations and pontifical councils and raising the status of others — particularly the charitable office of the papal almoner — Pope Francis said he hoped the constitution would ensure that the offices of the Vatican fulfill their mission in helping promote the church as a community of missionary disciples, sharing the Gospel and caring for all those in need.

Part of that effort, he wrote, requires including more laypeople in Curia leadership positions.

“This new apostolic constitution proposes to better harmonize the present exercise of the Curia’s service with the path of evangelization that the church, especially in this season, is living,” the pope wrote in the document.

To emphasize the importance of the church’s missionary nature, in the new constitution Pope Francis specified that he is the prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization; he will be assisted by a “pro-prefect” for “basic questions regarding evangelization in the world” and a “pro-prefect” for “the first evangelization and the new particular churches,” those previously supported by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

In a similar way, until 1968, the popes were prefects of what became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“Pastor Bonus” began its description of the doctrinal congregation’s responsibility saying, “The proper duty of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the whole Catholic world; so, it has competence in things that touch this matter in any way.”

The new constitution begins its description by saying, “The task of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith is to assist the Roman pontiff and the bishops-eparchs in the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic doctrine on faith and morals, drawing on the deposit of faith and also seeking an ever deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions.”

The new constitution does away with the previous distinctions between “congregations” and “pontifical councils,” referring to all of them simply as “dicasteries.”

In addition to creating the Dicastery for the Service of Charity in place of the almoner’s office, the constitution merges the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization into the new Dicastery for Evangelization, and it merges the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture into the new Dicastery for Culture and Education.

“Praedicate Evangelium” replaces St. John Paul II’s 1988 constitution, “Pastor Bonus,” but, unlike it, does not reserve the leadership of certain offices only to cardinals and bishops, although the individual statutes of those offices may make such a specification.

However, Pope Francis wrote in the document that offices that have “their own statutes and laws shall observe them only insofar as they are not opposed to the present apostolic constitution and shall propose their adaptation for the approval of the Roman pontiff as soon as possible.”

Insisting that every Christian is “a missionary disciple,” the constitution said, the reform of the Curia also needed to “provide for the involvement of laymen and women, including in roles of governance and responsibility.”

The participation of laypeople “is indispensable, because they cooperate for the good of the whole church and, because of their family life, their knowledge of social realities and their faith that leads them to discover God’s paths in the world, they can make valid contributions, especially when it comes to the promotion of the family and respect for the values of life and creation, the Gospel as leaven for temporal realities and the discernment of the signs of the times.”

Describing the personnel of the offices, the constitution said the leadership, “as far as possible, shall come from the different regions of the world so that the Roman Curia may reflect the universality of the church.”

They can be clergy, religious or laypeople “who are distinguished by appropriate experience, knowledge confirmed by suitable qualifications, virtue and prudence. They should be chosen according to objective and transparent criteria and have an adequate number of years of experience in pastoral activities.”

Pope Francis described the reform of the Curia as part of the “missionary conversion” of the church, a renewal movement aimed at making it reflect more “the image of Christ’s own mission of love.”

He also linked it to the ongoing process of promoting “synodality,” a sense of the shared responsibility of all baptized Catholics for the life and mission of the church.

True communion among all Catholics, he said, “gives the church the face of synodality; a church, that is, of mutual listening in which each one has something to learn: the faithful people, the College of Bishops (and) the bishop of Rome listening to the other, and all listening to the Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth.”

Addressing one of the main concerns expressed by bishops around the world in the past, the constitution said, “The Roman Curia does not stand between the pope and the bishops, but rather places itself at the service of both in ways that are proper to the nature of each.”

Pope Francis wrote that in reorganizing the Curia, he wanted to promote a “healthy decentralization” that would, at the same time, promote “co-responsibility” and communion with the bishops and among the Vatican offices.

The Curia, he said, should support individual bishops in their mission as pastors as well as the work of bishops’ conferences and synods of Eastern Catholic bishops.

Because “the face of Christ” is reflected in the faces of his disciples, the document said, members of the Roman Curia should be “distinguished by their spiritual life, good pastoral experience, sobriety of life and love for the poor, spirit of communion and service, competence in the matters entrusted to them, and the ability to discern the signs of the times.”

In the ordering of the Roman Curia, the Secretariat of State maintains its position of leadership and coordination, but the new Dicastery for Evangelization is placed above the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The description of the organization of the doctrinal dicastery includes changes announced by Pope Francis in February, creating separate doctrinal and disciplinary sections, reflecting the growing importance of the office that investigates allegations of clerical sexual abuse and the abuse of office by bishops or religious superiors.

The constitution places the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors “within the dicastery” and says “its task is to provide the Roman pontiff with advice and consultancy and to propose the most appropriate initiatives for the protection of minors and vulnerable people.

Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley of Boston, president of the commission and a member of the Council of Cardinals that drafted the constitution, said, “For the first time, Pope Francis has made safeguarding and the protection of minors a fundamental part of the structure of the church’s central government.”

“Linking the commission more closely with the work of the new Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith represents a significant move forward in upgrading the place and mandate of the commission, which can only lead to a stronger culture of safeguarding throughout the Curia and the entire church,” he said in a statement March 19.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – As the nation awaits the U.S. Supreme Court’s most significant abortion ruling in decades, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the chairmen of eight USCCB committees joined together “in prayer and expectant hope that states will again be able to protect women and children from the injustice of abortion.”

“As we affirm the value of every human life, we welcome the possibility of saving countless unborn children as well as sparing women and families the pain of abortion,” they said in a statement released late March 21.

All eyes are on the high court for its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which involves a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks.

If the court’s ruling in Dobbs, expected in June or early July, overturns the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide, it will leave abortion to the states. Already, lawmakers in several states are working to codify Roe in their laws; other states have passed bills similar to the Mississippi law.

In their statement, Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, USCCB president, and the chairmen of USCCB committees concerned with pro-life activities, domestic and international policy, evangelization and other issues reviewed the years of outreach by the Catholic Church through various initiatives, parishes, agencies other entities to pregnant women in need and their children and families.

They recommitted the USCCB and its various resources and ministries to these initiatives and urged Catholic dioceses, parishes, agencies and institutions to do the same.

“We proclaim a vision for our society that upholds the truth that every human life is sacred and inviolable — a society in which the legal protection of human life is accompanied by profound care for mothers and their children,” the bishops said.

“We exhort our nation to prioritize the well-being of women, children, and families with both material resources and personal accompaniment so that no woman ever feels forced to choose between her future and the life of her child,” they added.

Besides Archbishop Gomez, the bishops who signed the statement and their committees are: Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, Washington, Catholic education; Auxiliary Bishop Robert P. Reed of Boston, communications; Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota, evangelization and catechesis; Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, domestic justice and human development; Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Illinois, international justice and peace; Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone of San Francisco, laity, marriage, family life and youth; Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville of Washington, migration; and Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, pro-life activities.

“The Catholic Church has a long history of service to those who are most vulnerable and remains the largest private provider of social services in the United States,” they said. “Through the sacrificial efforts of faithful Catholics, the church serves millions through diocesan ministries and agencies, Catholic hospitals and health care systems, immigration clinics, shelters, and Catholic schools and parishes.

“From religious communities to pregnancy care centers, from refugee resettlement services to foster care and adoption agencies, and from maternity homes to parish-based ministries, the church consistently bears witness in word and deed to the beauty and dignity of every human life — including both mother and child.”

The prelates said the U.S. church will recommit itself to its many pro-life efforts, including:

— Accompanying women and couples facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies and during their early years of parenthood, “offering them loving and compassionate care through initiatives such as Walking with Moms in Need and countless others.”

“Walking with Moms in Need” is a nationwide initiative launched by the U.S. bishops “to engage every Catholic parish in providing a safety net to ensure that pregnant and parenting moms have the resources, love and support they need to nurture the lives of their children.”

— Ensuring “our Catholic parishes are places of welcome for women facing challenging pregnancies or who find it difficult to care for their children after birth, so that any mother needing assistance will receive life-affirming support and be connected to appropriate programs and resources where she can get help.”

— Helping Catholics “recognize the needs of pregnant and parenting moms in their communities, enabling parishioners to know these mothers, to listen to them, and to help them obtain the necessities of life for themselves and their children.”

— Being witnesses “of love and life by expanding and improving the extensive network of comprehensive care including pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, and Catholic health care and social service agencies.

— Proclaiming “with a clear and united voice that our society can and must protect and care for both women and their children.”

— Redoubling “our advocacy for laws that ensure the right to life for unborn children and that no mother or family lacks the basic resources needed to care for their children, regardless of race, age, immigration status, or any other factor.”

— Continuing to support and advocate for public policies and programs directed toward “building up the common good and fostering integral human development, with a special concern for the needs of immigrants and low-income families.”

“We are deeply conscious that, after nearly half a century of legalized abortion, more than 65 million children have died from abortion and an untold number of women, men and families suffer in the aftermath,” the bishops said.

In response to this suffering, they said the USCCB’s committees and other Catholic entities will recommit themselves “to proclaim God’s mercy after abortion and compassionately accompany women and men who are suffering after an abortion.”

They also said the church will expand diocesan “abortion healing ministries,” commonly known as Project Rachel Ministry, “so that women and men receive forgiveness, healing, and spiritual renewal through Christ’s infinite mercy.”

The prelates also pledged to “transform our parishes into what Pope Francis calls ‘islands of mercy in a sea of indifference'” by raising Catholic awareness of “the great struggle involved in an abortion, and the guilt, pain and grief that follow.”

“In all these ways and more, the Catholic Church witnesses to the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death, and works to build a true culture of life in our nation,” they said.

“May a renewed commitment to life overflow into increased protection of unborn children and expanded support for their mothers and families,” they said in conclusion.

 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Russia’s war on Ukraine and international reaction to it show how nations still attempt “to govern the world as a chessboard, where the powerful study moves to extend dominance to the detriment of others,” Pope Francis said.

While not specifically mentioning NATO, whose members have announced they are increasing their military spending in response to the war, the pope said, “I was ashamed when I read that, I don’t know, a group of states have made a commitment to spending 2% of their GDP to buy weapons.”

“It’s madness,” Pope Francis said March 24 during a meeting with representatives of the Italian Women’s Center, an association founded after World War II to defend the dignity of women and promote their involvement in political and social life.

The association, he said, shares the Catholic Church’s vision of politics as a form of charity aimed always at the promotion of the common good.

Obviously, he said, “good politics cannot come from the culture of power understood as domination and exploitation, but only from a culture of care, care of the person and his or her dignity and care of our common home.”

The “shameful” war in Ukraine, the pope said, is proving his point.

“It is unbearable to see what has happened and is happening in Ukraine,” he said, “but, unfortunately, this is the fruit of the old logic of power that still dominates so-called geopolitics. The history of the last 70 years proves it: Regional wars have never been lacking; that’s why I have said we are seeing ‘the Third World War in bits and pieces,’ a bit everywhere.”

But, Pope Francis insisted, Russia’s war on Ukraine is different. It has “a larger dimension and threatens the whole world.”

The solution “is not more weapons, more sanctions, more political-military alliances, but a different approach, a different way of governing the now globalized world — not by baring teeth, as is happening now — but a different way of setting up international relations,” one that emphasizes care for one another.

However, he said, a way must be found to ensure that it is not subject to “economic-technocratic-military power.”

Pope Francis said he wanted to share his reflection with the women’s association because “women are the protagonists of this change of course, of this conversion, provided they do conform to the prevailing power system, provided they maintain their identity as women.”

As women acquire more power in politics and in society, he said, “they can change the system” and “convert power from the logic of domination to the logic of service, to the logic of care.”

“I wanted to speak to you about this to remind myself and everyone else, starting with us Christians, that this change of mentality concerns everyone and depends on each one of us,” the pope told them.

“It is the school of Jesus, who taught us how the kingdom of God always develops from the small seed. It is the school of Gandhi, who led a people to freedom on the path of nonviolence,” he said. “It is the school of the men and women saints of every age, who make humanity grow through the witness of a life spent in the service of God and neighbor.”

“But,” he said, “it is also – and I would say, above all – the school of countless women who have nurtured and cherished life; of women who have cared for the fragile, who have healed injuries, who have healed human and social wounds; of women who have dedicated mind and heart to the education of new generations.”

 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – While Pope Francis and bishops around the world will consecrate themselves and all humanity to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, they will include the phrase, “especially Russia and Ukraine.”

In the text of the pope’s prayer sent to chanceries around the globe so that bishops can join the pope March 25, a key passage for many observers reads: “Mother of God and our mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.”

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and responding to a request particularly from Ukrainian bishops, Pope Francis had announced that he would make the act of consecration during a previously scheduled Lenten penance service in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, will lead the act of consecration at the same time at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. When Mary appeared to three shepherd children at Fatima in 1917 with a message encouraging prayer and repentance, she also asked for the consecration of Russia to Mary’s immaculate heart.

While popes, especially St. John Paul II in 1984, made acts of consecration, they did not mention “Russia” out loud, which led some people to think that the Fatima request had not been fulfilled, even though the last surviving visionary, Sister Lucia dos Santos, said St. John Paul had done so.

The papal text pleads with Mary to “accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end, and peace spread throughout the world.”

By saying “yes” to God’s plan – an event remembered on the March 25 feast of the Annunciation – Mary “opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace,” the prayer says. “We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more.”

“To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world,” the prayer says.

Written with the penance service and the Fatima call to repentance in mind, the pope began the prayer with a statement of trust in Mary’s maternal love for all believers.

“You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the prince of peace,” the prayer says. “Yet we have strayed from that path of peace.”

Humanity, it says, has forgotten the lessons of the 20th century with its “sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars.”

What is more, it says, “we have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young.”

“We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns,” the text says.

“We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons,” it continues, acknowledging also how people have “ravaged the garden of the earth with war.”

“By our sins,” it says, “we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters.”

“Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord,” the pope wrote.

The abiding presence of Mary, the text says, is a reminder that God never abandons people and is always ready to forgive.

“In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion,” the pope wrote. “At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: ‘Am I not here, I who am your Mother?'” as Our Lady of Guadalupe said to Juan Diego.

Like at the wedding feast of Cana, the text says, “in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!”

“Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace,” the pope wrote. “May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.”

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Here is the Vatican text of the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, sent by the Vatican to bishops throughout the world. Pope Francis has invited bishops and the rest of the world to join him when he recites the prayer March 25 in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Basilica of St. Peter
March 25, 2022

O Mary, Mother of God and our mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our mother, you love us and know us: No concern of our hearts is hidden from you. Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the prince of peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace. We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns.

We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbor’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war, and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust. We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.

Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.

Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.

Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.

Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your sorrowful heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way, he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (Jn 19:27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history.

At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace. We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “fiat,” on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope,” water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace. Amen.