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Happy Trinity Sunday, and Happy Father’s day!

Today Pope Francis visited the city of Camerino in Italy, which was struck by earthquakes 3 years ago that took the lives of nearly 300 people.

Vatican News reports that in his homily, he spoke about healing woulds and rebuilding after such a tragic event:

“Remembering is a key word for life”, said Pope Francis. “Remembering gives us the strength not to surrender”. The Pope admitted that bad memories return, even when we don’t want them to. To free ourselves “from the negative memories that keep us prisoner, from the regrets that paralyze us, we need someone to help us carry the burdens we have inside”, he said. Jesus does not offer us the “quick and easy solution” of taking away our burdens, explained the Pope. Instead, He sends us the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who transforms “the wounds of the past into memories of salvation…because the Holy Spirit is the rebuilder of hope”.

He also spoke on the Holy Trinity:

Pope Francis continued his homily referring to this Sunday’s Feast of the Most Holy Trinity. “The Trinity is not a theological puzzle”, he said, “but the splendid mystery of God’s closeness”. God is not “up there, distant and indifferent”. God sends us the Spirit, knowing that “it takes more strength to repair than to build”. The Pope recalled how “almost three years have passed” since the earthquake struck in 2016. “The risk is that, after the first emotional and media involvement, attention falls and promises are forgotten”, he said. “The Lord instead pushes us to remember, repair, rebuild, and to do so together”, he said, “without ever forgetting those who suffer”.


Here are some more notable and interesting articles and posts from around the web:

First, at Patheos, Scott Eric Alt takes note of the response of Pope Francis’s detractors, many of whom criticized him harshly on social media after he addressed the gathered nuncios of the world in Rome this week. In the address, Francis instructed them,

Being a “Representative,” the Nuncio must continually update himself and study, in order to know well the thought and the instructions of the one he represents. He also has the duty to continually update and inform the Pope on the different situations and on the ecclesiastical and socio-political changes of the country to which he is sent. Therefore, it’s indispensable that he has a thorough knowledge of its customs and possibly of the language, keeping the door of the Nunciature and of his heart always open to all. It’s irreconcilable, therefore, to be a Pontifical Representative criticizing the Pope behind his back, to have blogs or to downright join groups hostile to him, to the Curia and to the Church of Rome.

Alt compares these words to those of Pope St. Pius X, who wrote:

“In order to demonstrate our love for the Pope, it is necessary to obey him. Therefore, when we love the Pope, there are no discussions regarding what he orders or demands, or up to what point obedience must go, and in what things he is to be obeyed.”

Read it all.

Also at Patheos, Msgr. Eric Barr asks, “What in the world is Cardinal Burke doing?” We’ve been asking the same question since the inception of WPI. Msgr. Barr discusses the question in light of the so-called “Declaration of Truths,” signed by Burke and four bishops from Latvia and Kazakhstan and widely believed to be a challenge to Francis’s teachings and authority. Barr describes what Burke and the others are doing as an attempt to create a “parallel Magisterium.” He writes:

Here’s the problem with what they’ve done.  A bishop must ensure orthodox, i.e. correct belief, in his diocese.  Only two of the signatories actually have a diocese to govern.  But no bishop or cardinal has the power to correct or mandate what the worldwide Catholic Church should believe.  Nor does anyone other than the Pope, or the the universal body of Bishops in union with the Pope, have the authority to define that belief.  Cardinal Burke and companions would no doubt agree with this, but the document leaves the impression of what I called above a parallel magisterium.  That would be a separate system of truths that these clerics believe better explains Catholic dogma and doctrine.  They worry that the current situation confuses the laity, but they are printing a document that Catholics could easily believe supplants, clarifies, or improves upon the Cathechism of the Catholic Church and papal teaching.  Well you know something?  No one but the pope gets to do that.  Cardinal Burke knows better and so do the other signatories.

Read it all.

Finally, the new Archbishop of Washington, DC, Wilton Gregory, ordained ten men to the priesthood on Saturday. This was his first ordination since his arrival in the nation’s capital. After a tumultuous year in my home diocese, I was inspired by the words of our new archbishop in his homily, in which he reminded the men of the significance of the priesthood, and spoke to them of the sacraments, living lives of prayer, the gift of celibacy, and told them to live lives of goodness. As reported by the Catholic Standard:

Archbishop Gregory said the Eucharist should be at the heart of their ministry and at the center of their lives. “The Bread of Life which you break for people must be the source of your strength,” he said.

He also encouraged them to remember the mystery of the sacraments they celebrate and never let their liturgical ministries become routine, because they represent God’s presence. The archbishop also asked them to be men of deep prayer in imitation of Jesus, and let their journey of faith and their words and service reflect their prayerful search for the Lord.

While priestly celibacy might seem an enigma to the world, “still it remains a wondrous gift for the Church,” Archbishop Gregory said, noting that the priests by witnessing to Christ’s selfless love can be like the grain of wheat in the Gospel that can lead to a bountiful harvest for God.

“Be men of transparent goodness,” he said, encouraging them to reflect joy, integrity, honesty and warmth in their priesthood.

Read the full report here. Watch the entire ordination Mass here.


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Mike Lewis is the founding managing editor of Where Peter Is. He and Jeannie Gaffigan co-host Field Hospital, a U.S. Catholic podcast.

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