Pope Francis has said that to retain a sense of peace he writes down all his problems in notes to St Joseph.
During an audience with religious superiors, the Pope said there was “corruption” in the Vatican but that he was at peace. When asked by one of the superiors about how he keeps his sense of peace, Pope Francis joked that he didn’t take tranquillisers.
He said: “The Italians offer a good lesson – to live in peace you need a healthy ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude. I don’t mind telling you that what I am going through is a completely new experience for me.
“In Buenos Aires I was more anxious, I admit it. I felt more tense and worried. Basically I wasn’t like I am now.
“From the moment I was elected I had a very particular feeling of profound peace. And that has never left me. I am at peace. I don’t know how to explain it.” He added: “There is corruption in the Vatican.”
If a problem comes up, Francis explained that he writes it down on a piece of paper and puts it underneath a statue of a sleeping St Joseph which he has in his room. “Now he sleeps on a mattress of notes!” the Pope said, explaining that this is why “I sleep well: it is the grace of God.”
Pope Francis also pointed to the power of prayer. After praying, “the peace within me grows… my peace is a gift from the Lord,” Pope Francis said.
The Pope made the remarks to 140 superiors general of male religious organisations and congregations at the end of November, at the conclusion of the 88th general assembly of the Union of Superiors General. The text of the conversation was published as part of the 4,000th issue of Jesuit-run newspaper La Civiltà Cattolica.
Nun kidnapped by armed men in ‘quiet’ area of Mali
Security forces in Mali have arrested two suspects who they believe were involved in the kidnapping of a Colombian nun.
Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez Argoti, 56, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Mary Immaculate, was taken by armed men in Karangasso village near the Burkina Faso border, according to Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
At 9pm, a group of armed men broke into the parish, snatched Sister Narvaez, and drove off in an ambulance that belonged to the church.
The news agency Agence France-Presse reported that a security source said the two suspects were stopped while heading toward Burkina Faso in the ambulance. “The abductors initially threw her into the ambulance of the Church, which led to their arrest,” the source stated.
Fr Edmond Dembele, secretary general of the Mali bishops’ conference, told Fides that “the area where the religious woman was kidnapped is a quiet area and that is what is surprising. That area of the country has not yet been touched by the insecurity that affects other areas of Mali.”
Bishop welcomes refugee ruling
The chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration has welcomed a court ruling upholding a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump’s travel ban on refugees from seven countries. Bishop Joe Vasquez of Austin, Texas, said: “We respect the rule of law and the American judicial process. We remain steadfast in our commitment to resettling refugees and all those fleeing persecution.” He said welcoming people was a “vital part of our Catholic faith”.
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