By Carol Glatz
VATICAN
CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis will deliver his monthly prayer intentions on video over
social media as part of a Jesuit-run global prayer network.
The
new video messages, featuring the pope asking for prayers and action on various
challenges facing the world today, will begin Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany
of the Lord.
Often
people are inundated with so much bad news that they might feel helpless, but
“to pray together with Pope Francis for these challenges will us help a
lot,” Jesuit Father Frederic Fornos told Vatican Radio Jan. 4.
The
Jesuit priest is the head of the international Apostleship of Prayer, a
Jesuit-run outreach that has given Catholics the pope’s monthly prayer
intentions since 1890.
Working
with the Vatican Television Center, the apostleship will launch the monthly
videos of the pope’s universal prayer intentions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and YouTube.
While
the pope will speak in Spanish, the videos will have subtitles for a total of 10
languages, Father Fornos said.
Pope
Francis’ general prayer intentions for 2016 will include: greater care for
creation; more support for families in difficulty; just compensation for small farmers;
greater respect for women and indigenous peoples; helping sports contribute to
peace; encouraging journalists to respect truth and be more ethical; greater
support for countries that take in refugees; and an end to the use of child
soldiers.
– – –
Follow Glatz on Twitter: @CarolGlatz.
– – –
Copyright © 2016 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. www.catholicnews.com. All rights reserved. Republishing or redistributing of CNS content, including by framing or similar means without prior permission, is prohibited. You may link to stories on our public site. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. To request permission for republishing or redistributing of CNS content, please contact permissions at cns@catholicnews.com.
