Papal Documents

Following the final Mass of the Jubilee year — the Mass of the Ephiany, the Holy Father signed an Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte ("At the Beginning of the New Millennium"), which calls for a "pastoral plan" for the new millennium, and expresses the Holy Father’s hope for the future in Catholic youth...

For those who know little of the man or the background to the new Pope, this is an excellent introduction. Into this small book, Greg Watts has packed a lot of information; he gives a brief biography of Joseph Ratzinger from childhood, through the war years, to Seminary, brief Parish life and becoming an academic Theologian. He sets the scene for Vatican II and explains how Ratzinger came to attend. In 1977 how Ratzinger became an Archbishop and a Cardinal and how in 1981 Pope John Paul appointed him to become the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and it is in this role that many of us have read of him in the newspapers. Greg Watts takes us through many of the events that reached the headlines, giving the facts, and their background. The picture of Pope Benedict XVI that emerges, is of a very clever, a very wise man, faithfully carrying out what he prayerfully believes is right...

I Believe in One God, The Creed Explained with a foreword By the late George Cardinal Pell. Drawing on the rich heritage of homilies, catechesis and speeches of Benedict XVI, this book covers the basic contents of the Christian Faith. In the perspective of the Year of Faith, the Pope leads us to revive and deepen the Christian truths, offering a good opportunity to begin that journey of knowledge, conversion and prayer to which the Church calls us in this year of grace. A book dedicated to all Christians, written in a clear and direct language and designed to help them better live their faith...

The prophetic role of consecrated people in the Church and the world is explored in this letter throught the teachings of Pope Francis. Like watchmen, working constantly at the junction between the Church and the world, consecrated people have a unique role in reading and interpreting the signs of the times. ..

Pope Francis has exhorted all Christians to announce the Gospel with joy, and has asked Consecrated people to ensure that wherever they are present, joy is present also. This letter from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, based on the magisterium of Pope Francis, is an ideal preparatory text for the Year of Consecrated Life 2014-2015. Themes include evangelisaiton and a faithful, joyful and fertile love for those most in need. The text also contains questions for all Consecrated people to ponder for the forthcoming year promted by the teaching of Pope Francis. ..

On the world stage and in the life of the Catholic Church, John Paul II became known as the Great Mercy Pope — devoting his second encyclical to God’s mercy, forgiving his would-be assassin, making Sr. Faustina, the great apostle of Divine Mercy, a saint and establishing Divine Mercy Sunday as a universal feast day in the Church. Now, more than three years into his own papacy, his successor, Benedict XVI, has become known as a Pope of Mercy in his own right. He opened the first ever World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Rome last April and at its conclusion called the participants to “go forth and be witnesses of God’s mercy.” Further, during a pastoral visit to Poland in 2006, this Pope of Mercy called the sick to be “eloquent witnesses God’s mercy” and said he was passing on the “Flame of Mercy” to the youth he met. Discover in Pope Benedict’s Divine Mercy Mandate, how the Holy Father spoke of receiving a gift of Divine Mercy when he was elected Pope in 2005 and how he then stressed D..

In a conversation with Vatican expert Andrea Tornielli, Pope Francis discloses the core of his papacy and, in his own words, conveys the great message of the Holy Year of Mercy.  For the first time, Pope Francis addresses each woman and each man on Earth in a deep, simple and intimate dialogue. Through his own experience as a priest and shepherd, the pope talks about Mercy, a subject of central importance in his teaching and testimony. He explains the reasons for this extraordinary Holy Year, and in doing so he speaks to all the souls - inside and outside the Church - who are looking for a meaning in life, for a road to peace and reconciliation, for a healing to their physical and spiritual wounds. It is the summing up of his teachings and papacy. AUTHOR INFORMATION  Born in Buenos Aires in December 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been the Bishop of Rome and 266th Pope of the Catholic Church since the 13th of March 2013. On the 13th of March 2015 he decided to give a decisive turn to h..

This encyclical, drawing its name from St. Francis' Canticle of the Creatures, reminds us that earth is our common home and that we must care for it. Pope Francis calls the entire world to take action to embrace what he called ecological conversion. The document is some 40,000 words and 184 pages long, but it comes alive and is more accessible in this unique, in-plain-English reading guide. This guide offers a summary of every article in Pope Francis groundbreaking document and a small group reflection process to help everyone read it and understand it. The article numbers in the original are retained for ease in moving between the guide and the actual encyclical. The six small group sessions outlined here include group reading, discussion, prayer, and action suggestions (for communal or personal use) making it ideal for youth ministry, confirmation programs, parish leaders, small communities, clergy groups, adult formation, the RCIA, or families...

In this latest letter to consecrated men and women,we are called to direct our gaze into the dephts of our life; to seek the reasons underlying our pilgrimage in search of God and to examine the contemplative dimension of our lives so we may recognise the mystery of grace that sustains us exhilarate us and transfigures us...

CHRISTUS VIVIT: CHRIST LIVES Christus Vivit: Christ Lives Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation to Young People By Francis, Pope (Author) $13.50 Pope Francis has written a very personal letter to young people, and to the entire People of God, following the 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. In his engaging and easy to read style, the Pope draws from young saints and biblical figures, and even the young Jesus, to remind today’s young people that their voice must be listened to. The Pope offers some guidance to young people, exploring vocation discernment and encouraging friendship with Jesus. He also addresses the Church as a whole, reminding us of the youthfulness the Church should embody, while also considering how to renew youth ministry and emphasising the importance of attracting young people to the Church. This is an important document to be read by anyone – young people, those involved in youth ministry, and all those who wish to help pave the wa..

EVANGELII GAUDIUM (CTS) The Joy of the Gospel By Pope Francis (Author) $16.99 Pope Francis encourages every Christian to rediscover the joy of a personal encounter with Jesus and then to engage with renewed vigour in the mission of spreading that joy of the Gospel and becoming spirit-filled evangelizers. “I have chosen to present some guidelines which can encourage and guide the whole Church in a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality... I have decided, among other themes, to discuss at length the following questions: · the reform of the Church in her missionary outreach; · the temptations faced by pastoral workers; · the Church, understood as the entire People of God which evangelizes; · the homily and its preparation; · the inclusion of the poor in society; · peace and dialogue within society; · the spiritual motivations for mission.”..

APERUIT ILLIS Aperuit Illis APOSTOLIC LETTER INSTITUTING THE SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD By Francis, Pope (Author) With this Apostolic Letter, Pope Francis establishes that “the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time is to be devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the Word of God”. He invites local communities to find ways to “mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity”. As Pope Francis writes: “The relationship between the risen Lord, the community of believers and sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our minds to them [as he did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus], it is impossible to understand the Scriptures. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures the events of the mission of Jesus and his Church would remain incomprehensible.” Hence, St Jerome could rightly claim: ‘ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’.”..