General Audience of the Pope Wednesday June 7, 2023 on Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus as a witness of apostolic zeal.

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The operation lasted three hours.

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The Pope approached the urn of Santa Teresita, gave her flowers, gathered himself in prayer and dedicated the weekly catechism to her.

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Similarly, rises in the number of people identifying as Muslim, Hindu and non-denominational or evangelical Christians is a trend related to new migration patterns. It is also a trend we are likely to see continuing.

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ROME (CNS) -- Pope Francis was conscious and alert after a three-hour abdominal surgery that was performed "without complications" to treat a hernia, the Vatican said.

The 86-year-old pope was taken to Rome's Gemelli hospital shortly after his general audience June 7. He was put under general anesthesia and underwent abdominal surgery to treat a hernia that developed at the site of abdominal incisions from previous operations, Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the chief surgeon operating on the pope, said at a news conference at the hospital following the operation.

Speaking to journalists after the surgery, Alfieri said Pope Francis had a number of internal scars and adhesions from two operations many years ago, possibly in Argentina; one was to treat peritonitis -- inflammation of abdominal tissue -- caused by an infected gallbladder and another to treat hydatid disease caused by cysts containing a parasite. It was this last operation that had left behind scars in the pope's abdominal tissue where another hernia had developed.

Alfieri said that during the three-hour operation adhesions were found between the intestine and the membrane that lines the abdomen, that for months caused an "aggravating, painful" intestinal blockage.

The adhesions were freed during the surgery and the opening in the abdomen's wall that led to the hernia was repaired with prosthetic mesh.

Alfieri, who also operated on the pope in 2021, said the pope had no complications and responded well to the general anesthesia he was administered during this surgery and the one in 2021 that removed part of his colon.

The chief surgeon underscored that, in both operations, all affected tissue had been benign.

"The pope does not have other illnesses," he said.

Alfieri explained that while the medical team that follows the pope had been discussing the scheduled operation for several days, the final decision to operate was not taken until June 6, when Pope Francis briefly visited the hospital for a medical checkup and tests.

"It was not urgent," he said, "or else we would have operated on him then."

Before going to the hospital the pope seemed well and in good spirits, holding his general audience as usual, riding in the popemobile, blessing babies, walking with a cane and meeting special guests afterward. He had held two private meetings before the general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Vatican News reported he arrived at the Gemelli hospital around 11:30 a.m. local time in the compact Fiat 500 he often rides in. The windows of the papal suite on the 10th floor of the hospital were opened just after 6 p.m.

Alfieri noted that shortly after the surgery Pope Francis was already working and making jokes, and had asked the surgeon in jest: "When are we doing the third (surgery)?"

While Alfieri said recovery for this operation typically lasts about seven days. Vatican News reported that the pope's audiences have been canceled until June 18 as a "precaution."

Pope Francis was scheduled to meet with 29 Nobel Peace Prize winners at the Vatican June 10 for an event to celebrate human fraternity. Before going to the hospital, the pope encouraged its organizers to continue with the event as planned, a statement from the foundation organizing the event said.

This was Pope Francis' third hospitalization at the Gemelli hospital, the most recent was from March 29 to April 1 when he was admitted for an acute respiratory infection.

WASHINGTON - In a letter to members of the U.S. Congress, four bishops who serve as chairmen of committees in the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) encouraged lawmakers to address the growing problem of the exploitation of children over the Internet and through mobile technology. The bishops lead committees that include among their purview the issues of protecting children and the vulnerable and upholding healthy individuals and families.

“As pastors, we have seen the destructive effects of the reprehensible offenses of child exploitation firsthand,” the bishops wrote. “And as leaders of an institution that, for many years, failed to meet its responsibility to protect all children, we know all too well the consequences of a culture that fails to give adequate attention to the problem of child sexual exploitation.” The bishops noted that the exploitation of children has always been a problem but has increased exponentially over the last several years in large part due to the Internet and mobile technology. 

“Online child exploitation threatens the safety and well-being of our young people and destroys families and communities. The ability of a child to grow into adulthood in peace and security is both a human right and a demand of the common good: the dignity of the human person requires protections for our young people so that they may flourish as they mature,” they said. They encouraged lawmakers to consider three longstanding moral principles in discerning legislation that addresses the protection of children online:

• Respect for life and dignity
• The call to family
• The call to community and participation

The signatories of the letter are Bishop James V. Johnston, Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, chairman of the Committee on Protection of Children & Young People; Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Ukrainian Archeparchy of Philadelphia, chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; Bishop Robert P. Reed, auxiliary bishop of Boston, and chairman of the Committee on Communications; and Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, and chairman of the  Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth.

A copy of the bishops’ letter to Congress may be found here.  

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Individuals become Christian because they have been touched by Christ's love, not because they have been convinced or coerced by someone else, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church needs missionary disciples who have hearts like St. Thérèse of Lisieux and who "draw people to love and bring people closer to God," he told people at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square June 7.

"Let us ask this saint for the grace to overcome our selfishness and for the passion to intercede that Jesus might be known and loved," he said.

The pope continued his series of talks about "zeal" for evangelization by focusing on St. Thérèse, the 19th-century French Carmelite nun who is patron saint of missions and a doctor of the church.

Before beginning his general audience talk, the pope walked with his cane to a large reliquary containing the relics of St. Thérèse that was placed on a table near where he sits to deliver his catechesis. He placed a large white rose before the ornate reliquary and stood a few moments in prayer.

During his catechesis he announced was planning to dedicate an apostolic letter to her to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth this year.

Pope Francis has said he has a special devotion to the saint, once telling an interviewer that he used to keep a photo of this 19th-century French Carmelite nun on his library shelf when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. He told journalist Sergio Rubin in 2010, "When I have a problem I ask the saint, not to solve it, but to take it in her hands and help me accept it, and, as a sign, I almost always receive a white rose."

St. Thérèse displayed patience, trust in God and a "spirit of humility, tenderness and goodness," that God "wants from all of us," Pope Francis has said.

During his Wednesday general audience talk, the pope asked Christians to find inspiration in the life of St. Thérèse, who lived "according to the way of littleness and weakness," defining herself as "a small grain of sand."

She lived in poor health and died at the age of 24, but "her heart was vibrant, missionary," the pope said.

The Carmelite nun wanted to be a missionary and served, from her monastery, as a "spiritual sister" to several missionaries, accompanying them through her letters and prayers, he said.

"Without being visible, she interceded for the missions, like an engine that, although hidden, gives a vehicle the power to move forward," Pope Francis said. "Such is the power of intercession moved by charity; such is the engine of mission!"

Therefore, missionaries are not only those who "travel long distances, learn new languages, do good works and are good at proclamation," he said. "No, a missionary is anyone who lives as an instrument of God's love where they are" so that "through their witness, their prayer, their intercession, Jesus might pass by."

St. Thérèse's daily resolution was to "make Jesus loved" and to intercede for others, the pope said. "Following the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, her zeal was directed especially toward sinners."

Apostolic zeal never works with proselytism or coercion, he said. "One does not become a Christian because they are forced by someone, but because they have been touched by love."

"The church needs hearts like Thérèse's, hearts that draw people to love and bring people closer to God," he said.

The pope ended the audience with his usual greetings to special guests and then went to Rome's Gemelli hospital for abdominal surgery that was scheduled for that afternoon. He was expected to remain for several days, according to the Vatican press office.

WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, June 7, Pope Francis underwent abdominal surgery at Gemelli Hospital in Rome. Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement regarding the Holy Father:

“As Pope Francis recovers from surgery, he is strengthened by faith in the healing power of our merciful God. Please keep Pope Francis and all those in the hospital in your prayers today and every day. Jesus always walks with us and is even closer whenever we need healing and comfort.”

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Matteo Zuppi handed over a letter from Pope Francis to Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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On 5th June 2022, 41 people were killed and more than 80 were injured when terrorists opened fire and detonated explosives during Mass at St Francis Xavier’s Church, Owo, south-west Nigeria.

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