Catholics should make an “examination of conscience” about how they use social media, how they allow it to influence them and about the opportunities it provides them to share the Gospel, build community and care for others, said the Vatican Dicastery for Communication.
Pope Francis
The Catholic Church’s current Synod of Bishops should not be a “parliament for demanding rights,” but a “journey in accordance with the Spirit,” Pope Francis said. The synod, which seeks to gather input from all baptized Catholics on building a listening church, is not “an occasion for following wherever the wind is blowing, but the opportunity to submit to the breath of the Spirit,” he said.
Pope Francis prayed that Catholics in China would be free to share the Gospel and live their faith fully.
Christians should pray on Pentecost that the Holy Spirit would give them the courage and strength to share the Gospel, Pope Francis said.
Pope Francis will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima during his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023, the Vatican said.
St. Francis Xavier offers the faithful, especially young people who are itching to make a difference in the world, a wonderful example of how to find courage in prayer and spread the joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis said.
Engaging in ecumenical or interreligious dialogue involves respecting others and listening to where the one God may be working in the lives and communities of others, Pope Francis said.
Christians have no need to be afraid or hopeless because Jesus always tells the faithful where they are going and how to get there, Pope Francis said.
The strong roots of faith and community helped the people of Hungary resist and survive Nazi occupation and communism, Pope Francis said, and the people must draw on those roots today to resist the more subtle threats of consumerism and individualism.
World Youth Day is an antidote against indifference, isolation and lethargy, Pope Francis said. Since World Youth Days were established by St. John Paul II in 1985, “they have involved, moved, stirred and challenged generations of women and men,” he said in the preface of a new book, “A Long Journey to Lisbon,” by Aura Miguel, a Portuguese journalist for Rádio Renascença. Vatican News published the preface May 2.