Category: Documents

During his weekly General Audience, Pope Francis continues his catechesis series on virtues and vices, this week focusing on the sins of envy and vainglory, suggesting there are remedies to each, both of which involve making ourselves less at the center, embracing weakness, and letting God operate in our lives.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov
28 February 2024

Envy and vainglory are dangerous vices, but there are remedies to combat each.

Pope Francis suggested this during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday morning in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall, as he continued his catechesis series on virtues and vices, this week examining envy and vainglory. 

Given the Pope’s recent flu-like symptoms, the Holy Father opted for an official of the Vatican Secretariat of State, Msgr. Filippo Ciampanelli, to read his remarks on his behalf, as he has done for the Holy Father on other occasions.

Speaking first about envy, the Pope recalled the sin, even as early as in the story of Cain and Abel, proved to be a destructive force fuelled by resentment towards others, that often leads to deadly hatred. 

“Envy,” he observed, “is an evil that has not only been investigated in the Christian sphere: it has attracted the attention of philosophers and wise men of every culture.”

God’s ‘math’ is different

At envy’s basis, the Holy Father suggested, is a relationship of hate and love. “One desires the evil for the other, but secretly desires to be like him.

“His good fortune,” he continued, “seems to us an injustice: surely, we think to ourselves,  we would deserve his successes or good fortune much more!

At the root of this vice, he noted, is “a false idea of God,” where “we do not accept that God has His own ‘math,’ different from ours.”

Remedies to envy and vainglory

The remedy to envy, the Pope suggested, lies in Saint Paul’s exhortation: “Love one another with brotherly affection, compete in esteeming one another.”

Meanwhile, vainglory, which is excessive or ostentatious pride especially in one’s achievements, he said, is marked by an inflated self-esteem and “a craving for constant praise,” “frequently prone to using other people for one’s own ends.”

This sin, the Holy Father pointed out, goes hand in hand with “the demon” of envy, saying both vices are characteristic of a person “who aspires to be the centre of the world.”

God’s power made perfect in weakness

The vainglorious person, the Pope indicated, is completely self-absorbed.

To combat this vice, the Pope suggested following Saint Paul’s example of boasting of his weakness rather than achievements, which “offers an effective way for overcoming vainglory.”

Pope Francis urged the faithful to imitate Saint Paul in knowing that God’s grace is sufficient, since His power is made perfect in weakness.

As we accept and even embrace our weaknesses, the Holy Father suggested, the power of Christ will set us free for a more generous love of others.

Jose F. Cardinal Advincula
University of Santo Tomas, Manila
February 17, 2024

Rev. Fr. Filemon dela Cruz, Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of the Philippines; Rev. Fr. Richard Ang, O.P., university rector; my dear Dominican fathers and brothers; administrators, faculty, personnel, and students of the university; dearly beloved in Christ,

Together, we walk for life.

This is the theme we have chosen for our Walk for Life 2024. We want to highlight the fact that in life, we cannot walk alone. As we uphold, promote, and defend the sacredness of life and the dignity of every person, we cannot be alone. We need one another. We need to journey together. An African proverb tells us, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Indeed, our defense and promotion of a culture of life in our society today is not a short-term engagement or a temporary battle. From experience, we know that as long as there are subtle and not so subtle attacks against the family and human life, we will be there to register our firm objection and make sure that our united stand is heard.

Today, I would like to honor and appreciate all of you who have been at the forefront of our mission to proclaim the Gospel of Life, a message lovingly received day after day by the Church and preached with dauntless fidelity as good news to the people of every age and culture. For some of you, this has been your life-long task and advocacy. Thanks to all of you, missionaries for the Gospel of Life, we can fulfill our prophetic role in a rapidly changing world that is oftentimes more welcoming to a civilization of death and so hostile to a civilization of life and love. I encourage you to continue to be passionate in your ministry. Do not be disheartened if sometimes you feel that what you have been doing is not even noticed or ends up in an apparent failure. Take courage. You are not alone. As the prophet Isaiah said in the first reading, “The Lord will guide you alwaysand give you plenty even on the parched land.He will renew your strength,and you shall be like a watered garden,like a spring whose water never fails.”

The theme “Together, we walk for life,” is also a challenge for us to explore new pathways to respond better to the dominant values of our contemporary times. Kailangan na rin nating harapin ang katotohanan na napakaraming isyu sa pamilya at lipunan ngayon ang hindi na maaaring sagutin ng “Huwag ka nang magtanong. Sumunod ka na lang.” We need to engage in more listening and dialogue. This is part of walking for life. Yes, we are clear about our teachings on the different issues connected with life and family. But we also need to rethink our approaches, methodologies, and strategies. How do we deal with the dilemmas and complexities of modern families, the irregular situations in the home, the diversity in understanding identity and personhood, the wounds caused and inflicted because of polarization even in the home? Pope Francis has pointed us to the style of synodality so we can listen and discern together. It is important that all of us here in this walk must help each other to become a synodal Church in mission.

Jesus, in our Gospel today from St. Luke, gave us the best example of how to walk for life together. He dined and dialogued with the known sinners of His time. He called Levi, a tax collector, to follow Him. He attended the banquet which Levi prepared in his house. He had no problem being on the same table with a large crowd of tax collectors! He told the scribes and pharisees who were complaining about his impertinent behavior, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.

By RVA News | December 21, 2023

An Interview with Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, part 2

On the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and couples of the same sex, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said in a statement on Wednesday that “the document speaks for itself and therefore does not require much explanation.”

Pablo Virgilio David, also the Bishop of Kalookan, referred to the Declaration entitled “Fiducia Supplicans,” which was released on December 18 by the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith with the approval of Pope Francis.

“It is clear in its content and intent. Basically, it elaborates ‘On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings’,” said David. He cited paragraph 41 which says “What has been said in this Declaration regarding the blessings of same-sex couples is sufficient to guide the prudent and fatherly discernment of ordained ministers in this regard. Thus, beyond the guidance provided above, no further responses should be expected about possible ways to regulate details or practicalities regarding blessings of this type.”

Speaking for the CBCP, David gave the link to the document for those interested to know and understand what the document itself is saying https://www.vatican.va/…/rc_ddf_doc_20231218_fiducia…

He described the document with an introduction where the Prefect of the said dicastery, Victor Manuel Cardinal Fernandez pointed out that “this declaration remains firm on the traditional doctrine of the Church about marriage, not allowing any type of liturgical rite or blessing similar to a liturgical rite that can create confusion.”

What Cardinal Fernandez considers as unique value of this document is that “…it offers a specific and innovative contribution to the pastoral meaning of blessings, permitting a broadening and enrichment of the classical understanding of blessings…”, said David.