VATICAN CITY JANUARY 10, 2017 (CISA) – Pope Francis on January 9 stated that in the course of last year, the number of African countries that signed or ratified bilateral Agreements with the Holy See had increased.
The Pope was speaking during his annual address to members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See where he said the number of ambassadors accredited to the Holy See has also grown, reported Vatican Radio.
The establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a month ago, brings to 182 countries and entities that have diplomatic relations with the Holy See in the world.
Pope Francis named the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Benin as African countries that signed or ratified agreements aimed at recognizing the Catholic Church’s juridical status, last year.
Speaking to Pope Francis on behalf of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, the Dean, His Excellency Armindo Fernandes do Espírito Santo Vieira, of Angola, thanked the Holy Father for his concrete steps in reducing suffering in the word as evidenced during the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
The ambassador thanked the Pope for his leadership in encouraging peace; his stand on migration, social change and the climate.
“Despite many efforts, we feel sad because certain tragedies (in the world) highlight our inability to prevent them. The attacks in Germany, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Egypt, the United States, France, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tunisia, Turkey and many other countries,” he said.
“The suffering of the civilian population in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen reveal that the road to peace is still a long way off,” added Ambassador Armindo said.
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
How to Achieve Business Excellence »
“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before Kings; He will not stand before unknown men.” Proverbs 22:29
Spiritual Development for our Youth »
Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
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