Ave Maria Living.com
Ave Maria, Florida – the town with a Catholic heart.©™ Stories & information for residents & visitors.Archive for Pope Francis
Vatican’s Humanum marriage colloquium: Pope Francis presides, AMU alum’s films featured, AMU faculty attend
This past week Pope Francis made headlines as he presided over the opening of a Vatican sponsored event called “Humanum” by unreservedly reaffirming that the complementarity of man and woman is at the very root of marriage and family and that each child has the right to be nurtured by both a mother and a father. The Humanum event is described as “An International Interreligious Colloquium on The Complementarity of Man and Woman”:
The Complementarity of Man and Woman: An International Colloquium is a gathering of leaders and scholars from many religions across the globe, to examine and propose anew the beauty of the relationship between the man and the woman, in order to support and reinvigorate marriage and family life for the flourishing of human society.
Each session of the colloquium began with the screening of one of a series of six short films that were created by Ave Maria University alumnus RG Delgado (AMU ’06). One of the films features AMU professor Maria Fedoryka. Present at the colloquium as an invited participant was AMU professor Catherine Pakaluk.
AMU alumnus RD Delgado
Comments off
Pope Francis names Theology of the Body expert Mary Healy, daughter of AMU’s founding president, to Pontifical Biblical Commission
Congratulations to Nick and Jane Healy upon today’s Vatican announcement that Pope Francis has named their daughter, theology professor Mary E. Healy, to the Pontifical Biblical Commission. This is a most interesting appointment, given the ongoing Synods on Marriage and Mary Healy’s expertise in Pope Saint John Paul II’s papal teaching on Marriage and Human Sexuality that is known as the Theology of the Body. Nick Healy was the founding president of Ave Maria University and he and Jane spend part of the year at their home in Ave Maria.
Professor Mary E. Healy
Our neighbor Novak’s deft reply to New York Times’ attempt to pit Pope Francis against Pope Saint John Paul II
Queerly, the New York Times seems to be advocating that papal pronouncements ought to influence culture and public policy, and in that vein has posed this question and then published five responses:
Jesus drove money changers out of the Temple, calling them “a den of thieves.” Of the profit-centric world view, Pope Francis warned, “We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market,” to provide economic justice. Others call Christianity and capitalism inextricable. Is contemporary capitalism compatible with Christian values?
Novak presents shirt reading “Centisimus Annus” to Pope Saint John Paul II – click to see it and other photos at Novak’s website
Interestingly, that setup by the Times ignores how Pope Saint John Paul II described capitalism in the magisterial encyclical Centisumus Annus:
… an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector … circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality.
But Michael Novak did not let the Times get away with that omission (or the Times’ lame attempt to pit Pope Francis against his canonized predecessor John Paul); Novak’s is one of the five published responses, and it begins with the saint’s definition and discusses why capitalism is the most moral of the economic systems. It is worth reading.
One year ago: Habemus Papam
One year ago, a daughter of Ave Maria was among these holy women as they joyfully received the news “habemus papam”. Can you spot her big smile?
Comments off
In case you missed it: Ave Maria’s Waldstein reacts to Pope Francis
Did you miss this, too? Last summer Ave Maria University theology professor Susie Waldstein and resident Bill Dunstan superbly answered media inquiries about Pope Francis. Dr. Waldstein and her husband, professor Michael Waldstein, previously served on the Pontifical Council for the Family.
Comments off
3 degrees of unity: Ave Maria pastor requests Synod input from the faithful
While sometimes we think Rome is so far away, in fact each Catholic parishioner is only three steps from the Pontiff: parishioner to pastor, pastor to bishop, bishop to pope. As requested by Pope Francis, our local shepherd, Bishop Frank Dewane, has asked our pastor Father Cory Mayer to gather from parishioners feedback for the upcoming extraordinary synod having the theme “Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization”. As is the custom with a synod, the pope has asked for input from all parts of the globe so as to assist the bishops as they prepare for and participate in the synod meeting. 
This exercise is a shining example of the real love and concern that is shared across these relationships we have with our pastors at every level – their pastoral love and concern for us and our love and concern for them as brothers in Christ and as the shepherds God has provided to lead us on life’s pilgrimage. This is a unique opportunity to share our views and concerns with our spiritual leaders at every level.
Comments off
Ave Maria Living.com 