freedom Tag

Franz Reinisch
GERMANY, Maria Fischer • “If you get involved with him, you can’t turn back. He is dangerous because he is unbribable and relentless when the truth and the voice of the conscience are at stake. The way he stood at the scaffold is a sign of protest against every form of opportunism and bootlicking”. These were the words of Fr Martin Emge, regional dean in Forchheim in the Archdiocese of Bamberg when I spoke to him about Franz Rsinisch.  “He really captures you. My first conscious experiences with Fr FranzRead More
HUNGARY, Csermák Kálmán – Schoenstatt Movement, Hungary/Maria Fischer • Róbert Gódány, one of the founders of the Hungarian Schoenstatt Family, died in the afternoon of 19 September 2017. As one of the first Schoenstatt families in Hungary, the Gódány family settled in Obudavar on Lake Balaton after their return from Austria, and this is where the first Schoenstatt shrine in Hungary was dedicated in 2005. When Robert visited Fr Kentenich in Milwaukee, the words of advice he received came to a climax in the motto: “My home country (Hungary) hasRead More
GERMANY, Sr. M. Elinor Grimm • On 3 September 2017, the 75th anniversary of Father Albert Eise’s death was celebrated at the Dachau concentration camp memorial as well as in his hometown of Oeffingen. Unfortunately there is no report about the celebration in Oeffingen. The motto was: “Nobody can bear being a slave in the long run” – a statement from Father Albert Eise, who then put this sentence before it: “How beautiful it is to be allowed to think.” Konrad E. Pflug, born in Oeffing in 1946, has beenRead More
Dear readers and followers of schoenstatt.org, The purpose of this letter is to share with all of you some of our reflections and concerns, but above all to thank you for following us and giving meaning to what we do. Data collected over the last two years shows that schoensttat.org has more than 360,000 readers in 196 countries on five continents who have accessed almost 1,700,000 pages on the website in its five languages.  These are impressive figures that encourage all those who are behind the page: a large teamRead More
Before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of young people at the vigil of the World Youth Day in Krakow, Pope Francis gave an emotive and extensive talk in which he encouraged the youth to be signs of mercy, protagonists of history and to leave their mark on the world. Complete text of the Holy Father’s speech: Dear Young Friends, good evening! It is good to be here with you at this Prayer Vigil! At the end of her powerful and moving witness, Rand asked something of us.  She said:Read More
FRANCIS IN ROME — HOLY YEAR OF MERCY • Many Catholics and pilgrims from various countries again gathered in St. Peter’s Square on the third Wednesday of April to attend Pope Francis’ general audience, where he continued his catechetical series on Mercy in the New Testament.   Complete text of the Holy Father’s catechesis on 20 April 2016 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning! Today we would like to stop and wonder at an aspect of mercy which is well presented in the passage we heard from the Gospel ofRead More
ITALY, by Pamela Fabiano • The Roman family participated in the Covenant of Love of three girls from the Girls’ Youth on 18 December, at Cor Ecclesiae Shrine, Via Aurelia Antica, Rome. It had been several years since a Covenant of Love had been celebrated within the Italian Girls’ Youth, and not because the Blessed Mother had not called the girls’ hearts to herself. The desire to entrust their lives to the Blessed Mother, will all that it entails, and to allow themselves to be educated by her, was veryRead More
FRANCIS IN ROME • “For the Church, to be missionary does not mean to proselytize: for the Church to be missionary means to give expression to her very nature, which is to receive God’s light and then to reflect it,” said Pope Francis during his homily on the Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, during Mass in St. Peter’s on 6 January 2016. Reflecting on the words of the Prophet Isaiah directed to the holy city of Jerusalem: “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory ofRead More
FRANCISCO in the USA, schoenstatt.org with press agencies • A challenging historical conference from a Church that sets out to encounter those who control the destiny of the planet and of millions of people. It was a conference filled with political impact similar to the visits to Strasbourg and Paraguay, in an encounter with those who build society. The address was broadcast live in full around the world, not only in the church media but also on TN24 in Argentina and Phoenix in Germany. For the first time, a Pope spokeRead More
PARAGUAY, by María Fischer, with Fr. Pedro Kühlcke • “After having read the Gospel, Orlando drew closer to greet me and told me: ‘I ask you to pray for the freedom of each one of us, of everyone.’ This is the blessing that Orlando asked for each of us. This is the blessing that we now ask together: freedom.” This is how Pope Francis began the most spontaneous speech of his trip through South America on Sunday 12 July. “Orlando, the youth that made the Pope change his speech,” wereRead More