“Our eyes need to focus on the particular signs God has given us, to see His merciful love first-hand”, Francis said.
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ABC News reports that elephant seal had repeatedly tried crossing the highway despite being guided back to a bay multiple times. Callers first reported that the 225 kg mammal was trying to climb the divider wall near Sears Point in Sonoma.
He challenges journalists to report on these “tokens of love”, saying “good things don’t make the news”, but they “cannot and should not be obscured by the arrogance of evil”. “Good always triumphs, even if in some moments it may seem weaker and hidden”.
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According to President Muhammadu Buhari , Nigeria has ” technically defeated” Boko Haram. Also in Maiduguri, a female suicide bomber detonated an explosive at a checkpoint.
Pope Francis aimed to boost morale through his speech during a service held at the Vatican on New Years’ Eve. In particular, the final words of the hymn – “Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee” – have a special resonance during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
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It is estimated that more than 200,000 women, mainly from Korea and China, were forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels. There are 46 surviving Korean “comfort women”, many of whom have actively campaigned for an apology.
He gave a brief homily during his celebration of Vespers on the eve of the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, and the start of the new year.
The “Te Deum”, he said, is the church’s way of giving thanks and recognizing the loving presence of God throughout history. More than 3.2 million pilgrims visited and attended papal events, liturgies or prayer services at the Vatican in 2015, the Vatican said.
Speaking in a broadcast on BBC One on New Year’s Day, Welby said: “Jesus was a refugee – fleeing as a baby with his parents, returning years later to a unusual new home”.
“We’re called to reflect on whether the events of the world were realized according to the will of God”, Francis said, “or if what prevailed was largely the projects of human beings, often weighed down by private interests, by an insatiable thirst for power and by gratuitous violence”. Francis also presided over exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
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Security was tight. Police checked the bags of people blocks away from St. Peter’s Square and about 10,000 people went through additional, airport-style screening to get into St. Peter’s Basilica and hear Francis celebrate Mass.
