BANGUI (ACI).- El Papa Francisco señaló que ante la violencia y el odio ciego que..

As I write, our new Pope Francis has just celebrated his inaugural Mass as the spiritual head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. The ceremony marks the close of what has been a historic and unforgettable 40 days of Lent for Catholics.

The unexpected drama started two days before Ash Wednesday, when Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation — the first time a Pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years.

Now as we approach the start of Holy Week, we welcome a new Pope who is the first non-European in nearly 1,300 years — and the first Pope from the Americas.

The election of…

We are praying for the new Pope!
As I write, the historic conclave of cardinals has just begun.

We are living in a moment like we read about in the Acts of the Apostles. I’ve been thinking a lot about the first Church Council, the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. At the end of the Council, the apostles announced, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us.”

This is the beautiful mystery of what is going on right now in Rome.

Jesus promised his Spirit of truth to guide his Church. In this sacred conclave, the successors of the apostles will decide, with the Holy…

We need to become better at forgiveness.
That is one of the messages we hear in our Gospel readings as we approach the half-way point of this holy season of Lent.

In one of the Gospels this week, St. Peter asks Jesus how many times he has to forgive someone. And Jesus tells him, “Seventy times seven times.” In other words, every time. And the Gospel for this coming Sunday is the parable of the Prodigal Son, which is a beautiful lesson in God’s mercy and forgiveness.

This is a lesson that we all need to learn more and more.

We ask God for this grace every day in the prayer…

We are living through a historic moment in the life of the Catholic Church.

For the first time in centuries, the “seat” of St. Peter is vacant because the Pope has resigned office. As I write, Pope Benedict XVI is stepping down and arrangements are being made for a conclave of the College of Cardinals who have the sacred duty to select a new Pope.

This is a beautiful spiritual moment for all of us in the Church, a time for prayer, sacrifice and worship. Sadly, this spiritual moment has become also a time of scandal. Groups that want to manipulate the Cardinals’ decisions are…

These days I’ve been praying a lot about our Church and her leadership.

I’ve been praying for Cardinal Roger Mahony as he gets ready to leave for Rome to exercise his sacred duty as Cardinal Elector to help select our new Pope. I’ve been praying for our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI as he steps down.

As you know, I had the privilege to spend a lot of time with the Pope this past October, when he chose me for the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization. I didn’t know that those days would be the last time for me to concelebrate the Holy Eucharist with him. I will treasure…

I was surprised, as I’m sure you all were, by the Pope’s announcement that he would be stepping down from his office at the end of this month.

Pope Benedict XVI has truly been a Holy Father to the family of God, his Catholic Church. His decision to resign is a beautiful, Christ-like act of humility and love for the Church.
This is the act of a saint.

This is the act of one who thinks not about himself but only about the will of God and the good of God’s people. May we all be given the grace to be so humble and so selfless in our ministries and daily responsibilities.

I…

There have been challenging days for our local Church here in Los Angeles.

I have been talking and reflecting with Cardinal Mahony and Bishop Curry, along with our other Auxiliary Bishops about the events of last week. We are committed to moving forward in our ministries with hope and confidence in God’s grace.

We need to keep praying for those who are hurting. We need to ask again for forgiveness for the sins of the past and for our own failings. And we need to match our prayers for grace with concrete actions of healing and renewal.

And recent events should inform our prayer,…

Editor’s Note: The following is adapted from Archbishop Gomez’s keynote address to the annual Multi-Faith Prayer Breakfast hosted by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca’s Executive Clergy Council at Temple Beth El in West Hollywood, Jan. 17.

My friends, I am honored to be with you this morning as we ask God for his help in all our efforts to serve the people of this great city.

As I was thinking about being here today in this beautiful temple, I thought it would be good to start our reflection with the words of one of the Hasidic masters, Rabbi Israel of Ruzhyn. The great rabbi…

Reflections on Religious Liberty and Service to Society Today

Temple Beth El
West Hollywood, California
January 17, 2013

My friends, I am honored to be with you this morning as we ask God for his help in all our efforts to serve the people of this great city.
As I was thinking about being here today in this beautiful temple, I thought it would be good to start our reflection with the words of one of the Hasidic masters, Rabbi Israel of Ruzhyn. The great rabbi once prayed:

Dear God, I did not ask you to explain to me
why the world was created, or why the good suffer and the…