Pope Francis’ Lenten message, Through the Desert God Leads Us to Freedom, for 2024 echoes the theme of freedom and liberation found in the Exodus story. He reminds believers that God’s message is always one of freedom, as seen in the words given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
We take a look at the Pope’s new Apostolic Exhortation on integral ecology, Laudate Deum, and give you a way in which you can take action leading up to the upcoming climate conference in Dubai.
The Pope calls for a ceasefire amidst the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He also calls for a day of prayer and fasting this Friday 27 October.
In a world that often seems divided by differences and inequalities, we come together together each year to observe two important events: Anti-Poverty Week and the World Day of the Poor.
We share more on Pope Francis’ Message for the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation and provide details about two opportunities for you to harmonise your heartbeat with God’s heartbeat and the heartbeat of the earth.
We explore Pope Francis’ prayer intention for April which focusses on non-violence.
The victims and survivors of sexual abuse are the focus of Pope Francis’ prayer intention for March. In speaking about it, the Pope sets out some significant challenges for the Church in how it treats victims and survivors.
Peter Arndt, Director of the Office reflects on Advent and particularly on seeing God with us each day. The hustle and bustle of this time of year can stop us seeing and hearing God in our day-to-day lives. He urges us to keep Christ in our celebrations of Christmas by remembering and including people excluded from society and our brother and sisters in the environment in our celebrations. Peter farewells Patrice Moriarty who is moving on from her support of the Office.
Pope Francis released a message on the International Day for People with Disability. In it he spoke of people with disability’s role in teaching the rest of the church about their own experience, on building a welcoming, warm and inclusionary church as well as gift of their strength and faith to the church. He said, “with regard to the disabled – there can be no us and them, but a single us, with Jesus Christ at the centre, where each person brings his or her own gifts and limitations.”
How do we continue to seek ecological conversion during Christmas a time that can easily become about consumption and materialism. This reflection gives you ideas for how to have a Laudato Si’ Christmas. “Invite Christ who became human just like us to replace our longing for stuff with a longing for a simple and sustainable life, for justice and peace in our world and for a commitment to caring for our common home.”