The Bishops of Quebec call on Christian communities to respond “to the call of those who are hungry,” to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.

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The head of the Justice and Peace Commission in Chad’s Diocese of Sarh has told Vatican News about the heavy toll exacted on lives, livestock and property as a result of unknown gunmen

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Pope Francis invites Discalced Carmelites to immerse themselves entirely in the Lord's presence in order to be filled with joy and love.

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In a statement addressed to the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the 23rd Session in New York on April 16, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN, spoke of the importance of supporting indigenous people, especially young people, and cultivating dialogue.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Exercising the virtue of temperance is not a recipe for a boring life, Pope Francis said, but rather it is the secret to enjoying every good thing.

If one wants "to appreciate a good wine, savoring it in small sips is better than swallowing it all in one go. We all know this," the pope said April 17 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Continuing a series of audience talks about vices and virtues, the pope focused on temperance, which the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines as "the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods."

Temperance is "the virtue of the right measure" in what one does and what one says, the pope said. "In a world where so many people boast about saying what they think, the temperate person prefers instead to think about what he or she says."

"Do you understand the difference?" Pope Francis asked people in the square. It means "I don't say whatever pops into my head. No, I think about what I must say."

A temperate person does not allow "a moment’s anger to ruin relationships and friendships that can then only be rebuilt with difficulty," the pope said. Temperance with words is especially important in families to keep "tensions, irritations and anger in check."

"There is a time to speak and a time to be silent, but both require the right measure," he said.

Being temperate, he said, does not mean never getting annoyed or frustrated, Pope Francis said, but he kept repeating the phrase with "the right measure" and "the right way."

For example, "a word of rebuke is at times healthier than a sour, rancorous silence," he said. "The temperate person knows that nothing is more uncomfortable than correcting another person, but he or she also knows that it is necessary; otherwise, one offers free reign to evil."

A temperate person "affirms absolute principles and asserts non-negotiable values," the pope said, but he or she does so in a way that shows understanding and empathy for others.

In other words, he said, a temperate person has the gift of balance, "a quality as precious as it is rare" in a world given to excess.

"It is not true that temperance makes one gray and joyless," Pope Francis said. On the contrary, it increases "the joy that flourishes in the heart of those who recognize and value what counts most in life."

 

The ousted leader of the National League for Democracy Party and Nobel-laureate has been moved out of prison along with Myanmar former President Win Myint due to a major heat wave.

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Pope Francis pens the preface for a new book by Fr. Lucio Bonora on Pope St. Pius X, and praises the early 20th century Pope for the depth of his catechesis and opposition to World War I.

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The Holy See emphasises the need for solidarity and urgent action in response to Ethiopia's humanitarian crisis, stressing the dire conditions of over 4.4 million internally displaced people and over one million refugees, along with severe drought, malnutrition, and economic difficulties.

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Pope Francis turns his attention to prisoners of war, prays for their freedom and denounces the tortures many of them are subjected to.

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During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis focuses on the fourth and final cardinal virtue of temperance, saying that our ability to have power over ourselves will help us savour all we have in life, in a much more meaningful and joyful way, akin to sipping a glass of wine, rather than drinking it all at once.

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