Tag Archives: Pope Francis

“COP28 must accelerate practical action on mitigation, adaptation loss and damage and climate finance and build a fully inclusive COP28 that leaves no one behind”. (COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, EU Climate Commissioner and Chief COP28 Negotiator Wopke Hoekstra, Brussels – Nov 13th 2023). COP28 UAE will take place at Expo City Dubai from November 30-December 12, 2023. The ...

As this phase of the Synod on the future of the Church comes to a close on Sunday, 29th October, and the delegates prepare to return home, Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, offered the following spiritual reflection on Tuesday 24th October, entitled:  ‘The seed germinates.’ This is a very apt and beautiful meditation that we too, as Church, can live together. ...

Pope Francis has been very forthright in his language and content in his recently published an Apostolic Exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’ (‘Praise God’) building on his 2015 Laudato Si’ encyclical. Laudato Si’ (‘Praise be to you’) was written to engage the scientific, political, and religious communities – addressed really to “every living person on this planet”, to summon us all to ...

On Sunday morning, October 1, Dominican Friar and former Master of the Order of Preachers, Father Timothy Radcliffe’s gave a second meditation for those who would participate in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops set to begin on Wednesday, 4 October.  This meditation focused on the theme “At home in God and God at home in us”. See ...

On the 4th October, the close of the Season of Creation and the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi,  Pope Francis has published an Apostolic Exhortation ‘Laudate Deum’ (‘Praise God’) building on his 2015 Laudato Si’ encyclical. We are not doing enough, he says, we’re close to breaking point. He criticises climate change deniers, saying that the human origin ...

On Sunday morning (1 October 2023), Dominican Friar and former Master of the Order of Preachers, Father Timothy Radcliffe, reflected on the meaning of Hoping against hope with those who will participate in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops set to begin on Wednesday, 4 October. This rather unique and special opportunity to share in this reflective and prayer-filled ...

“The path to Christian unity and the path of synodal conversion of the Church are linked. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that on Saturday 30 September, an ecumenical prayer vigil will be held on St. Peter’s Square, with which we will entrust the work of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. For ...

Pope Francis’s encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, published in 2020, set the universal context as to how our response should be to migrants and refugees. It expresses the need to “acknowledge, appreciate and love each person, regardless of physical proximity, regardless of where he or she was born or lives.”  In today’s context, this concept is increasingly under threat from nationalist or ...

The International Day of Peace (IDP) is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. Never has our world needed peace more.  This year’s theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. It is a call ...

The Church has been celebrating the World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) since 1914 as an opportunity to express concern for different vulnerable people on the move; to pray for them as they face many challenges; and to increase awareness about the opportunities that migration offers.  Every year the WDMR is the last Sunday of September; in 2023 it will ...