Mounting anticipation for the new portal vaticannews.va. There has been talk of it for months, since the Vatican media reform project started to take shape, although, as reiterated on several occasions, the reform does not consist in the new website. In fact the latter is one of its fruits. Now the time has come: vaticannews.va is online and it replaced previous information channels…

“Intom l-istilla ta’ dan il-pajjiż. F’soċjetà fejn tirrenja l-inċertezza, jien nammira minn qalbi x-xogħol kbir li intom tagħmlu biex tgħinu lil tant studenti u familji fil-bżonn.” Dan kien il-qofol tal-messaġġ li l-President ta’ Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, għaddiet lill-membri kollha tas-Segretarjat għall-Edukazzjoni Nisranija, fil-Kappella Russa ġewwa l-Palazz ta’ San Anton fl-okkażjoni tal-Milied.

Din hi t-tielet sena li l-membri kollha tas-Segretarjat inġabru fil-Palazz biex fimkien jagħtu l-awguri u jiċċelebraw il-festa tal-Milied…

Konkatidral ta’ San Ġwann, il-Belt Valletta

18 ta’ Diċembru 2017

San Ivo, patrun tal-avukati, li għex fis-seklu tlettax u l-bidu tas-seklu erbatax (1253-1303) u ġie kanonizzat fl-1347 iġorr miegħu sentenza partikulari li ssibha f’diversi rappreżentazzjonijiet tiegħu u nimmaġina li intom familjari magħha. Bil-Latin: “Sanctus Ivo erat brito, advocatus et non latro, res miranda populi”…

L-Arċisqof Mons. Charles J. Scicluna, l-Arċisqof Emeritu Mons. Pawlu Cremona u l-Vigarju Ġenerali Mons. Joe Galea Curmi ser jilqgħu lill-awtoritajiet tal-Istat u lill-korpi kostitwiti għall-bdil tal-awguri tal-Milied u l-bidu tas-Sena l-Ġdida, nhar l-Erbgħa, 27 ta’ Diċembru, fil-Palazz tal-Arċisqof, il-Belt Valletta, fit-3:00 p.m.

Fl-okkażjoni tal-festi ta’ żmien il-Milied u l-bidu tas-Sena l-Ġdida, l-Arċisqof Mons. Charles J. Scicluna, l-Arċisqof Emeritu Mons…

Il-presepju Naplitan għal sekli sħaħ saħħar bosta artisti, storiċi u kollezzjonisti. L-istorja tiegħu tmur lura għall-bidu tas-seklu sittax, fejn il-presepju kiseb popolarità fi żmien ta’ tiġdid fid-dinja Kattolika.

Il-presepju Naplitan kiseb livelli għolja ta’ manifattura fis-seklu tmintax matul ir-renju ta’ Karlu VII ta’ Bourbons, Re ta’ Napli, li aktar tard kien elett bħala Karlu III, Re ta’ Spanja…

Pope Francis has urged that “news be communicated with serenity, precision and completeness, using a calm ‎language in favour of a fruitful reflection; thoughtful and clear words, which reject the tempers of ‎allusive, clamorous and ambiguous speech,  Pope Francis told representatives of Italian periodicals on Saturday.  “It is important that the criteria of judgment and information are offered patiently and methodically so that ‎public opinion is able to understand and discern, and is not stunned and disoriented,” the Pope told some 350 members of the Italian Periodical Press Union (USPI) and the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies (FISC) who met him in the Vatican. 

Reliable information close to reality

The Pope told them that they have a mission to inform properly, to offer everyone a version of the facts as close as possible to reality.  “Your free and responsible voice,” he said, “is fundamental for the growth of any society that wants to be called democratic, so that a continuous exchange of ideas and a profitable debate based on real and correctly reported data are assured…

If your calendar is as crowded as mine, you may just be noticing that Advent is shorter than usual this year. It’s still four Sundays, but because December 25 is a Monday, there are only 22 days of the preparatory season.

There’s another thing about this shortened schedule that’s suddenly dawning on everyone. Sunday, December 24 is not only the Fourth Sunday of Advent, but also Christmas Eve! …