Pope Francis addresses the participants of the 3rd edition of the European Catholic Social Days

Pope Francis addressed the participants of the 3^rd edition of the European Catholic Social Days on Friday 18 March 2022, thanking Church actors for the “prompt and coordinated response in coming to the aid” of the refugees from Ukraine. Read the message of Pope Francis

On the occasion of the opening session of the 3^rd edition of the European Catholic Days held in Bratislava on 17-20 March 2022, the Holy Father addressed the participants of the event with a message focused on the current war and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

“The distressing cry for help of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters urges us as a community of believers not only to reflect seriously, but to weep with them and to do something for them; to share the anguish of a people whose identity, history and tradition have been wounded”, reads Pope Francis’ message.

“Once again humanity is threatened by a perverse abuse of power and vested interest, which condemns defenseless people to suffer all forms of brutal violence”, the message continues.

While thanking all those who acted with a “prompt and coordinated response in coming to the aid of the people, guaranteeing them material help, shelter and hospitality”, the Holy Father prayed for a general “commitment to rebuild an architecture of peace at the global level, where the European home, born to guarantee peace after the world wars, plays a primary role”.

President of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference, Zuzana Čaputová. (Credit: Slovak Bishops’ Conference)The opening session also included the participation of Zuzana Čaputová, President of the Slovak Republic. “All the moral and spiritual qualities that we are discovering and mobilising in ourselves today – she stated referring to the ongoing war in Ukraine and to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to our societies –  will undoubtedly be needed in the future, when we face the challenges that lie ahead. The war has erupted at a moment when our continent is facing a number of serious and interlinked challenges, including the climate crisis, ageing, changes in the labour market and social inequalities”. Read the speech of President Zuzana Čaputová

Mgr. Zvolenský, President of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference. (Credit: Slovak Bishops’ Conference)

Following the European Catholic Social Days held in Gdansk (2009) and in Madrid (2014), this third edition – entitled “Europe after the pandemic – towards a new beginning” – gathered hundreds of delegates of the Bishops’ Conferences to discuss about the most pressuring socialchallenges in Europe.

This event aims at reflecting upon the demographic, technological and ecological transition processes taking place in European societies. Moreover, as highlighted by H. E. Mgr. Stanislav Zvolenský, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Slovakia, in his opening remarks, “the theme of the war confrontation and its consequences, especially from a social point of view […], has become particularly topical in this regard”. Read the speech of Mgr. Stanislav Zvolenský

H. Em. Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich SJ, President of COMECE, reiterated the “fraternal closeness and solidarity with our brother and sisters in Ukraine”, welcomed the event as the occasion to “reflect on the importance of solidarity and social justice in Europe” and invited all participants to “rediscover together our vocation to fraternity, and to reflect and debate on the way forward towards a just recovery in Europe, leaving no one behind”. Read the speech of Cardinal Hollerich

CCEE President Mgr. Grušas at the European Catholic Social Days. (Credit: Slovak Bishops’ Conference)

“We embark with the hope of helping one another find a path on which we can assist in the renewal of the Church in Europe and of our European society” –the President of CCEE, H.E. Mgr. Gintaras Grušas, added.

“The challenges before us are great, but our coming together to pray, to analyze the current situation and to look for solutions is at an appropriate moment”, he continued. Read the speech of Mgr. Grušas

H. Em. Cardinal Michael Czerny took part in the opening session of the European Catholic Social Days following his visit to some of the structures receiving refugees at the Slovakian-Ukrainian border. “[I saw war] in displaced and desperate eyes, in personal and family histories abruptly ended”, he stated.

“How do we, as Christian or non-Christian citizens, as laity or clergy and hierarchy, contribute to peace in Europe? Such an examination of conscience invites us to meditate on the violent history of the 20th century and the first 20 years of the 21st. The vocabulary and thinking of such an examen may be found in ‘Fratelli tutti’”, he continued. Read the speech of Cardinal Czerny

Ecumenical Prayer for peace in Ukraine and the world. St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava. (Credit: Slovak Bishops’ Conference)

During the first day of the event, participants joined various workshops and reflected and explored the social, ecological and demographic challenges in today’s Europe, including the road to recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch the videos

A powerful ecumenical prayer closed the first day of the third edition of the European Catholic Social Days. The ceremony was celebrated at the Saint Martin’s Cathedral of Bratislava, where participants, including the Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger, prayed for peace in Ukraine and in the world.

Visit the official website of the event to download the programme, speeches, contributions, videos and photos: www.catholicsocialdays.eu

World Soprano Svetlana Kasyan offers Album for Pope Francis’ Birthday

Interview: Russian Soprano Svetlana Kasyan offers an Album for Pope Francis’ Birthday

Russian world soprano opera singer Svetlana Kasyan is one of the most rising figures in the world of opera today. But she is also a close friend of Pope Francis, who blessed her voice and awarded her the star of the lyric of the Grand Cross of the Pontifical Order of Saint Sylvester for her 35^th birthday. She is the first and only lady awarded with this honor. So it’s a fair return that she dedicates her new album Fratelli Tutti to the pontiff, and decides to release it the day of his 85^th birthday, on 17 December.

Fratelli Tutti is made of 14 folk songs in 14 different languages and will be available here on the 17^th of December, and you can have a short but powerful preview below the interview.

European Times met with the beautiful soprano for a few questions:

European Times: Your album is called Fratelli Tutti and you dedicated it to Pope Francis, what’s the story behind it?

Svetlana Kasyan: This album is the story of my life. I was born in Georgia, then during the war we moved to Kazakhstan, I studied in Moscow, won a competition in China and China opened an international career for me, 12 years of contracts in Italy, and so on… So that is what is behind the choice of having songs from many countries, in many languages. Then, my close relationship with Pope Francis has always been a blessing, and he has always been very kind to me.

Svetlana Kasyan: This album is the story of my life. I was born in Georgia, then during the war we moved to Kazakhstan, I studied in Moscow, won a competition in China and China opened an international career for me, 12 years of contracts in Italy, and so on… So that is what is behind the choice of having songs from many countries, in many languages. Then, my close relationship with Pope Francis has always been a blessing, and he has always been very kind to me.

ET: What do you think an artist is responsible for in our world? Does creating peace is amongst the responsibilities of a singer like you?

SK: Yes, for me, the main mission of music is to unite the whole world. With my creativity, I want to speak and create that there be no war, although it is very difficult. But music has tremendous power.

ET: You live in Russia, and became a real diva here and in Italy. Nevertheless, are you not afraid that dedicating an album to the head of the Catholic Church, while you are a Christian Orthodox, can trigger some strong reactions in your country?

SK: Well, I posted some excerpts from the album on social networks and already faced negative comments. I am very sad about it! People wrote that because of the wars I should not include so many different songs in one album. But I will continue to do this, and I believe that in the hearts of many people it will help settling the world!

ET: Are you planning to travel around the world to promote your album? Where will we be able to see you in the times to come?

SK: Yes, I would like to sing this beautiful repertoire all around the world. In addition, I have more songs with different languages in my repertoire than in my album. So it would be a very interesting program. But nothing is planned for the moment as regards playing these songs on stage.

ET: Any further plans for the future?

SK: I have a lot of interesting contracts in Italy, Germany and Russia with beautiful music and a new repertoire. So at least, you’ll see me in these countries. But 2022 is not yet started, so there could be many surprises.

The pope asks the Vatican media who reads their news

Pope Francis called on Vatican media officials to justify their work by asking how many people read their news at all. Francis asked this during a visit to the Media and Public Relations Office, which costs the Holy See more than all its embassies around the world. The pope visited the Dicastero per la Comunicazione on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of Vatican Radio and the 160th anniversary of the Vatican newspaper L’Oservatore Romano. Faced with a major pension shortfall and a projected Vatican deficit of 50m euros this year, Pope Francis has ordered a three to 10 percent pay cut for senior Vatican officials and suspended two-year seniority bonuses.

The Holy Father has vowed not to fire anyone to make up for the loss of the financial crisis as a result of the pandemic, which affected one of the Vatican’s main sources of income – ticket sales for Vatican museums. But in a sort of warning to Vatican communications staff, he began his unannounced remarks with the question: “There are many reasons for concern about radio, the newspaper, but one thing touches my heart: How many people listen to radio?” How many people read L’Osservatore Romano? ”The pope asks. He said that they work well, their offices are nice and organized, but there is a “danger” that the result of their work will not go where it should. He warned them not to fall victim to “deadly” functionality – when they do everything they need to do, but they really don’t achieve anything.

The question of the relationship between the costs and benefits of the Vatican’s media operations has been raised many times, as the communications service spends more on the Holy See’s annual budget than any other department. According to the latest figures, the Dicastero per la Comunicazione has a budget of € 43 million for 2021, which is about 20 percent of the Vatican’s total budget. The cost of the service is higher than the total cost of ten other Vatican departments. The Vatican has long justified these costs because communication operations are paramount to the Holy See’s core mission: to spread the Catholic faith throughout the world.

The head of this service, Paolo Rufini, said he understood the pope’s words as an invitation to a creative vision for the future, although he acknowledged the harsh media reality today. He recalled that Francis had told officials to “let reality slap them” and that the comment was a kind of call to wake up. Vatican Radio broadcasts 1,000 radio networks around the world in various languages. L’Oservatore Romano says 21,500 readers read it every day through the print and online versions, although that number rises to 40,000 when the different languages ​​distributed by the dioceses are taken into account.

Vatican News, the Holy See’s main Internet portal, has an average of 21 million page views per month, but it’s not clear how many readers it is.