Pope: Jesus was a free man

In his Angelus address last Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about Jesus as a free man:

“He was free in the face of wealth, in the face of power, in the face of the quest for fame. And this is important for us too. Indeed, if we let ourselves be conditioned by the quest for pleasure, power, money or consensus, we become slaves to these things. If instead we allow God’s freely given love to fill us and expand our heart, and if we let it overflow spontaneously, by giving it back to others, with our whole selves, without fear, calculation or conditioning, then we grow in freedom, and spread its good fragrance around us too.

“So we can ask ourselves: am I free? Or do I let myself be imprisoned by the myths of money, power and success, sacrificing my serenity and peace, and that of others, to these things? In the places where I live and work, do I spread the fresh air of freedom, sincerity and spontaneity?”

‘Gambling humiliates’

Addressing an anti-gambling conference, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, said “gambling humiliates people” and “takes away dignity”. The cardinal said “there is so much suffering and loneliness” tied to gambling.

“We are going backwards on gambling; the situation has worsened. There is a very dangerous intertwining of the legal and the illegal that is cloaked in shameful justifications.”

Bishops’ advice to UK voters

In a statement released after the UK election was announced, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales said during the election campaign, Catholics should be looking at: criminal justice, domestic poverty, family life and taxation, education, environment, international relations, human rights and peace building, life issues and migration.

While calling on voters to be “willing to get involved and vote” they also added that Christians can have a different way of looking at politics.

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)