On May 9, 2019 Pope Francis published a Motu Proprio entitled Vos estis lux mundi. A Motu Proprio, in Catholic Canon law, refers to a document issued by the pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him. Vos estis lux mundi can be translated into English as “You are the Light of the World.” This document is the result of ongoing collaboration among various Church entities over the past decade, the February 2019 global summit on abuse, and perhaps more importantly, listening to survivors of abuse. Various offices of the Archdiocese put together some questions and answers for pastors to share with parishioners about the Motu Proprio. I presented two of those questions last week. Here are the remaining seven questions.
Cardinal Séan O’Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston, is also the President of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. In his most recent blog Cardinal O’Malley issued a statement to mark the publication of Vos estis lux mundi, an Apostolic Letter by Pope Francis on May 7, 2019. After an international summit held in Rome earlier this year, Pope Francis promised that there would be “concrete measures” to respond to the clergy sexual abuse crisis in the Church. Pope Francis and others consider it one means of fulfilling that promise to establish specific mandatory protocols and reporting systems for matters concerning such abuse. I want to present Cardinal O’Malley’s remarks posted on the Archdiocese of Boston website on May 10, 2019. There he welcomed the Apostolic Letter. I consider him a very important and trustworthy voice when he comments about the sad and painful issue facing the church in the United States and indeed over all the world.
Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s Day was first observed soon after the turn of the twentieth century in the Methodist Church as a memorial service for those who had lost their mothers. The observance spread to other churches, and in 1914 became a civic holiday. Chapter 55 of the Book of Blessings offers intercessions and a special prayer over the People for this day.
Hundreds of worshipers at three Christian churches in Sri Lanka were killed on Easter Sunday in a coordinated series of bombings. Three luxury hotels packed with tourists were also targeted by suicide bombers. The government of Sri Lanka has blamed the local Islamist terrorist group National Throwheed Jamath (NTJ) for the suicide bombings.