Pope Francis closed the
Year of Faith by calling on people to keep Christ at the center of their
lives, especially in times of trouble. "When Jesus is at the center,
light shines even the darkest moments of our lives; he gives us hope,"
he said in his homily November 24, the feast of Christ the King. The closing
Mass in St. Peter's Square also saw, for the first time, the exposition
for public veneration of bones believed to be those of St. Peter. The
apostle is believed to have been martyred on a hill overlooking St.
Peter's Square and buried a tomb now located two levels below the main
altar of St. Peter's Basilica. Eight bone fragments, each two to three
centimeters long, were nestled in an open bronze reliquary displayed to
the side of the altar. During the ceremony, the pope -- the 265th
successor of Peter -- held the closed reliquary for several minutes in
silent prayer while choirs sang the Nicene Creed in Latin. The bones,
which were discovered during excavations of the necropolis under St.
Peter's Basilica in the 1940s, are kept in the pope's private chapel but
had never been displayed in public. While no pope has ever declared the
bones to be authentic, Pope Paul VI said in 1968 that the "relics" of
St. Peter had been "identified in a way which we can hold to be
convincing." How can you not love Pope Francis? His honesty and decision to make the papacy as transparent as possible recalls the ministry of Jesus Christ while He was on earth. I am thankful that God has decided to allow Pope Francis to lead His church.
Pope Saint John Paul II , a towering figure of the 20th century, was a staunch critic of socialist ideologies. He recognized the inherent flaws in systems that sought to control economies and societies through centralized planning and state ownership. The pontiff's teachings offered a prophetic warning against the dangers of such regimes, which often led to oppression, poverty, and the erosion of individual freedoms. Recently, a conference organized by the Catholic Association of Propagandists in Spain brought together prominent figures who echoed the concerns raised by the late Pope. Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante boldly declared socialism an "enemy of the cross," highlighting its incompatibility with Christian values. He emphasized the need for a spiritual renewal, urging individuals to embrace the cross as a path to true happiness and fulfillment. French philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj also addressed the challenges posed by modern society, warning ag...