14
IN THE CHURCH
March 5, 2019 | The Valley Catholic
‘Evil’s Days Are Numbered,’ Pope Says at Audience
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY -- The holiness of
God is a power that is constantly ex-
panding and will defeat all evil once
and for all, Pope Francis said.
“Evil’s days are numbered,” the
pope said February 27 during his
weekly general audience. “One thing is
certain: It is evil that should be afraid,
and this is beautiful.”
Continuing his audience talks about
the Lord’s Prayer, Pope Francis said the
prayer is divided into three requests
about God -- that his name be made
“hallowed” or holy, that his kingdom
come and that his will be done -- and
four petitions about basic human needs
for daily bread, forgiveness of sins, help
in resisting temptation and liberation
from evil.
The prayer, he said, has everything
that is essential for a Christian prayer:
contemplation of God in his mystery
and goodness, and a “sincere and cou-
rageous request for what we need to
live and live well.”
“When we speak with God,” he said,
“we do not do it to reveal to him what
we have in our heart; he already knows
that better than we do.”
“God is like those moms who, with
just a glance, understand everything
about their children, whether they are
Pope Francis waves during his general au-
dience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican
Feb. 27, 2019. (CNS photo/Yaraara Nardi,
Reuters)
happy or sad, whether they are sincere
or hiding something,” Pope Francis
said.
Turning to the line “hallowed be thy
name,” the pope said it is a recognition
of God’s greatness and an expression of
hope that all people will recognize and
love him for who he is. It also is a plea
that “his name would be sanctified in
us, in our families, in our communities,
in the whole world.”
While obviously it is God who
makes people and the world holy, be-
lievers must “manifest the holiness of
God in the world,” he said. “The holi-
ness of God must be mirrored in our
actions, in our lives.”
“God’s holiness is a force in expan-
sion,” the pope said, and people can be
assured that evil will never have the
final word.
Nuns Hope More Women at Summit sets Standard for Future Vatican Meetings
ROME (CNS) -- The Catholic sisters
who took part in Pope Francis’ sum-
mit on clergy sexual abuse say they
hope the presence of a dozen women
at the gathering sets a standard for a
growing presence of women at Vatican
meetings of bishops.
“We would like to think that this
is how things will be in the future,”
Maltese Sister Carmen Sammut, one
of the women invited to attend the
Feb. 21-24 summit on child protection,
said at a Feb. 25 briefing. While three
women religious participated in the
2018 Synod of Bishops, 10 attended the
summit, reported Global Sisters Report.
“We hope that this is an example of
what will happen in the future, that
we will have more say, more places in
synods and other big meetings at the
Vatican,” Sammut said.
Sister Sammut, who heads both
the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of
Africa and the Rome-based umbrella
group International Union of Supe-
riors General, or UISG, spoke at the
briefing alongside five other sisters
who took part at the summit: Irish
Blessed Virgin Mary Sister Pat Mur-
ray, Nigerian Sister Veronica Openibo,
congregational leader of the Society of
the Holy Child Jesus; German Holy
Spirit Sister Maria Hornamann, Sister
Aurora Torres, head of the Sisters of
Mary Reparatrix; and Indian Sister
Monica Joseph, superior general of
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Sister Murray, UISG’s executive
secretary, said the group represents
about 1,900 religious congregations
around the world that consist of more
than 600,000 women.
“We had an important role to play
(at the summit), representing the
women religious of the world and also
taking on the responsibility that we
have for running so many institutions,
projects and programs,” she said.
“We saw also ourselves speaking on
behalf of women in general,” she said.
“We didn’t just see ourselves speaking
for the women religious of the world,
but also for women in general.”
Women religious from around the world
are seen at a Rome briefing following their
participation in the Vatican summit on pro-
tection of minors. (CNS photo/Joshua J.
McElwee, Global Sisters Report)
Relic of ‘Holy Priest’ Offers Chance
to Pray for Church and her Ministers
VAN NUYS, Calif. (CNS) -- In the
few moments she spent up close and
personal with the incorrupt heart of
Saint John Vianney during its visit to
Saint Elisabeth of Hungary Church in
Van Nuys Feb. 22, Milagros “Lally”
Guiao only asked the legendary saint
for one thing. “Give us holy priests.”
There were plenty of other things
Guiao could have asked the French
saint’s intercession for during the relic’s
only stop in the San Fernando Valley
during its Feb. 20-26 tour through
several parishes of the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles. But as the reawakening
clergy abuse crisis continues to afflict
the Catholic Church, Guiao and her
husband, Rey, a deacon at Our Lady of
Peace Church in North Hills, believe
the relic’s visit could not have come at
a better time. “Becoming a priest at this
time in our church is not easy; there are
a lot of challenges and difficulties,” said
Deacon Guiao, who noted that Saint
John Vianney himself suffered and
faced persecution during his life. “We
want our priests to remain faithful to
their vocations, to continue to encour-
age and strengthen the parish and the
flock that they were given,” added the
deacon. The Los Angeles visit was part
of a six-month “Heart of a Priest” tour
throughout the U.S. sponsored by the
Knights of Columbus, whose members
stand guard over the relic in shifts at
all hours during its public exposition.