Talbert Zoo

Vatican City, Dec 25, 2019 / 05:30 am (CNA).- On Christmas, Pope Francis prayed for Christ to bring light to the instability in Iraq, Lebanon, Venezuela, Yemen, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, and other parts of the world experiencing conflict. “The Son is born, like a small light flickering in the cold and darkness of the night. That Child, born of the Virgin Mary, is the Word of God made flesh … There is darkness in human hearts, yet the light of Christ is greater still,” Pope Francis said from the center…

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Los Angeles, Calif., Dec 23, 2019 / 11:07 am (CNA).- The true story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic woman who helped smuggle thousands of Jewish children out of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw during World War II, will feature in a new historical thriller film produced by and starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot. Gadot, an Israeli actress well-known for her 2017 role as Wonder Woman, is co-producing the film, “Irena Sendler,” with her husband Jaron Varsano as the first project for their new production company, Pilot Wave. “As producers,…

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Vatican City, Dec 22, 2019 / 08:23 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Sunday attended a party with the children and families receiving treatment and help at the Vatican's 98-year-old free health clinic. “Giving children joy is a really great thing,” he said Dec. 22, greeting around 300 sick children and their families. “Also, when parents know how to play with children, they do a really great thing,” he added. “Playing with children, the expression of children who are innocence, promise, many good things.” Receiving “gifts” from three children dressed as the…

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Vatican City, Dec 21, 2019 / 07:54 am (CNA).- Pope Francis Saturday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Angelo Sodano as dean of the College of Cardinals and declared that the position will now have a five-year term limit with the possibility of renewal. Previously, cardinal dean, considered “first among equals,” was a life position. Pope Francis created the five-year limit in an apostolic letter issued motu proprio Dec. 21, the same day he accepted Sodano’s resignation. The 92-year-old Sodano was elected dean of the College of Cardinals in 2005. According…

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Würzburg, Germany, Dec 20, 2019 / 10:24 am (CNA).- In what came as a surprise to many members of the Catholic elite in Germany, Pope emeritus Benedict XVI has launched a foundation for Catholic journalism in his home country. “I want the Catholic voice to be heard,” the retired Roman pontiff, who has resided in a Vatican monastery since his 2013 resignation, said of his decision. Named after a weekly Catholic newspaper, the goal of the “Tagespost Foundation for Catholic Journalism” is to raise the equivalent of about $500,000 in…

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Vatican City, Dec 19, 2019 / 12:51 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis Thursday hung a cross encircled by a life jacket inside a Vatican building in memory of migrants and refugees who have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea. He also welcomed Dec. 19 a group of asylum seekers brought to Italy by the head of the papal charities office, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski. The transparent cross was hung inside an entrance to the apostolic palace reached from the Belvedere Courtyard – where diplomats and heads of state arrive for audiences…

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