Archbishop Bernardito Auza Pope Francis responds to nine-year-old’s pilgrimage invitation
An Italian boy called Andrea invited the Pope to join him and other children on a “Pilgrimage of Joy” to the Marian Shrine of Loreto Italy.
The nine-year-old was so moved by his experience that he asked the Pontiff to join him next year.
Pope Francis replied: “Thanks for the invitation you have made me, to go on a pilgrimage with you, being with children is for me the greatest joy. A proverb says: ‘Never say never.’ Therefore let us entrust this dream into the hands of providence”.
Andrea and 130 sick and disabled children were accompanied by nuns on the pilgrimage last month and asked for the Pope’s blessing.
Pope Francis also said: “It was so nice to receive your letter and to hear about the enriching adventure you experienced with UNITALSI during the Pilgrimage of Joy to Loreto for children.”
He added that “I was praying to Our Lady of Loreto for you, and blessed you straight from the heart along with your parents, volunteers, priests and UNITALSI leaders”.
Pope calls bin-man who recovers from leg amputations
A garbage man who lost his legs in a freak accident received a surprise call last week from Pope Francis.
An Argentinian father of five, Maximiliano Acuña (33), was collecting rubbish in Buenos Aires when he was hit by a car travelling at about 130kmh.
Both his legs were amputated as a result.
A Buenos Aires legislator, Gustavo Vera, emailed the Pope explaining that Mr Acuña’s prognosis was for the worst.
He told Pope Francis: “In the best case scenario, he was expected to be in a vegetative state or to have serious neuronal damage, and in the worst case it was going to be the end for him.”
After that he made a speedy recovery to the surprise of his doctors, and last week, just before being honoured at a special ceremony, he received a call from the Pontiff.
Mr Acuña emotionally recounted him saying: “I’m Pope Francis. A friend sent me a letter, and I was moved and struck by how much strength you have. Always go forward, because you’re an example.”
People should be central to UN sustainability goals
Sustainability goals should bring about the “true good” of people around the world and encourage care for “our common home”.
The UN sustainable development goals were agreed upon in 2015, and should not be seen as “ends in themselves”, said the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. Archbishop Bernardito Auza said that religious leaders must partner with one another, as well as the international community, to make sure the good of humanity is integral to these goals.
He noted the “enormous work” the world’s religions carry out, from alleviating poverty and feeding the hungry to providing health care and promoting the dignity of women.
The archbishop said each religions’ greatest long-term contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity being realised, will be to keep the UN focused on the human person.
“Within the specific context of the sustainable development agenda, if we lose sight of these fundamental human coordinates, there’s the serious risk that the SDGs may be understood in only partial ways, through excessively economic, environmental, or sociological lenses, while missing their deeper ethical and anthropological context and purposes,” Archbishop Auza said.