St. Maria Goretti Parish

Cardinal Mario Zenari, Apostolic Nunico to Syriapapal representative in Damascus since 2008, whose mandate was extended by Francis—who created him cardinal in 2016—submitted his resignation Monday upon reaching the age limit. Over these nearly seventeen years, he has carried out intense diplomatic and humanitarian activity in the Middle Eastern country, becoming a steady point of reference for a population suffering from war, poverty, terrorism, sanctions, crises, and earthquakes.

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Presiding over Mass in Bratislava on the 25th anniversary of the Fundamental Treaty between the Holy See and Slovakia, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, insists that paths leading to peace must always be kept open.

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In a message to a commemoration one month after the deadly Crans-Montana fire, Pope Leo XIV reassures victims and their loved ones that nothing is over in Christ and that a better day will come, in which they will feel joy and experience their loved ones' closeness again.

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As the Holy See and Malta mark 60 years of diplomatic relations, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin celebrates Mass in Valletta, praising the relationship as “communion already lived” in dialogue and encounter.

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Pope Leo XIV prays for the hundreds of people who died this week when a coltan mine collapsed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and recalls the victims of storms in Mozambique and Portugal.

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Pope Leo XIV expresses concern for the rising tensions between the United States and Cuba, joining the Cuban Bishops in calling for dialogue, profound reform, and respect for human dignity in the country.

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Ahead of the Winter Olympic Games that begin on February 6, Pope Leo XIV urges nations in conflict to respect the traditional Olympic truce.

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WASHINGTON – This week, the U.S. Department of State officially published three rules, significantly expanding the “Mexico City Policy,” which historically limited certain federal funds from going to foreign non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortion abroad. The State Department is referring to these three rules collectively as the Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance (PHFFA) Policy. Three bishop-chairmen of committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) responded:

“God entrusts us with a responsibility to share our blessings to help preserve the lives and dignity of our brothers and sisters in need. We support robust funding for authentic lifesaving and life-affirming foreign assistance and applaud new policies that prevent taxpayer dollars from going to organizations that engage in ideological colonization and promote abortion or gender ideology overseas. We also call for the implementation of any related policies to be carried out in a manner that recognizes the inherent dignity of every human person and does not harm those who are racially or ethnically marginalized.”

The bishop-chairmen were Bishop Edward J. Burns of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, Bishop Daniel E. Thomas of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop A. Elias Zaidan of the Committee on International Justice and Peace. Earlier in the week, Bishop Thomas had also offered a statement, in part, addressing the rule related to the performance and promotion of abortion.

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ROME (CNS) -- Thanks to a 17th-century Italian priest, skis made their way from their origin in Scandinavia to Central Europe.

Father Francesco Negri, born in Ravenna, Italy, in 1623, was a natural history and geography buff and longed to discover the secrets of the North. 

According to an article first published by the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire in 2006, Father Negri is thought to be the first tourist to travel to Norway's North Cape and the first Central European to don a pair of skis and spread this sleek, winter transport technology to Italy, host country to the Olympic Winter Games in Milano-Cortina Feb. 6-22.

During the Italian priest's 1663-66 voyage to the snow-covered lands of Sweden and Norway, he met with and wrote extensively about the Scandinavian peoples, according to the article.

In his book, "Viaggio Settentrionale," he marveled at how the native hunters darted toward their reindeer prey using "two thin boards no wider than the foot, but 8 to 9 palms long, with the tip turned up a bit so as not to dig in the snow."

He also made drawings and described how the skier used sticks that had a round piece of wood driven into one end, so the poles would not perforate the snow.

Not the passive observer, Father Negri also strapped the unfamiliar "skie" to his feet and experimented. 

He noted that it was important to keep the skis straight and parallel. Possibly speaking from personal experience, he warned the user would fall if the skis spread too far apart or if the front tips or back ends crossed.

In his book, published posthumously in 1700, the Italian priest offered some other helpful hints for successful skiing.

It helps "to eat and drink abundantly," he wrote. He said it was best to fuel up on generous portions of distilled liquor, or "aquavit," early in the morning in order to burn through the deep, cold drifts.

Over the years, the pastime grew in popularity, becoming a more common hobby in middle-class society. Among the many Central Europeans who became avid skiers was St. John Paul II. Born in Poland in 1920, he loved the outdoors and would still go swimming, skiing and mountain climbing while he was bishop and cardinal of Krakow, Poland. 

He did not let becoming pope in 1978 and moving to the Vatican stop him from his love for sport. St. John Paul regularly left the Vatican unannounced and, in his early years, he would spend an afternoon skiing or hiking.

According to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the late pope's private secretary, St. John Paul made more than 100 secret trips to ski or hike in the Italian mountains, particularly the Gran Sasso mountain in Abruzzo.

Another well-known saint-skier is St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, whom St. John Paul beatified in 1990, and Pope Leo XIV canonized Sept. 7, 2025. 

Born in Turin, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2006, St. Frassati loved the outdoors and was an avid mountain climber. An iconic image of the young man shows him on a mountain summit with a hiking stick and smoking a pipe, illustrating the motto he was best known for, "Verso l'alto" ("To the heights").

 

ROME (CNS) -- Asked about the deadly shootings by U.S. federal agents in Minneapolis, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, said the violence unfolding there is "unacceptable."

"The position of the Holy See is always to avoid any kind of violence, obviously, and therefore we cannot accept episodes of this kind. That is our position, as you know," he told reporters when asked about operations underway by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota, which have led to the shootings and deaths of two U.S. citizens.

"Difficulties, problems and contradictions must be resolved in other ways," he said Jan. 28, describing the situation as "unacceptable" and agreeing with recent statements by U.S. bishops. 

The cardinal spoke with reporters on the sidelines of an evening event at LUMSA University in Rome Jan. 28.

Asked about the possibility of the U.S. sending ICE agents to the Winter Olympics in northern Italy as part of security measures for the U.S. delegation, the cardinal said he was aware of the proposal, "but I know there is also controversy surrounding it. We don't get involved" in such controversies.

Meanwhile, secretary-general of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Giuseppe Baturi, told reporters during a news conference Jan. 28 that "We hope that respect for public order will be ensured as much as possible by our own (Italian) authorities," adding that there has been no official statement from the conference on the issue.