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Gulf Pine Catholic • April 28, 2023 18 Pope asks mentally disabled, caretakers to be missionaries of God’s love BY JUSTIN MCLELLAN VATICAN CITY ( CNS ) -- Everyone has gifts and talents that can be a public witness to God’s love and mercy, Pope Francis told a group of people with intel- lectual disabilities and their teachers. “It is beautiful that in our smallness we can be wit- nesses of Jesus, missionaries of mercy, missionaries of His love,” the pope said April 15. “Jesus looks at us and is happy at our effort and the love we are able to trans- mit.” Pope Francis made his comments in a meeting with members of the Mother of Hope of Talavera de la Reina Foundation, a project of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, that provides education and vocational training to children and adults with intellectual disabilities and promotes their inclusion in society. One of the group’s largest projects each year is an annual Way of the Cross ceremony, which, the pope said, teaches those involved “the humility to recognize that we can’t go it alone.” “There are many things to prepare; you must listen, learn, experiment” to prepare for the ceremony before later “asking the Lord for the courage to go out in the street, carrying his image for all to contemplate.” Just like the yearly procession through the city Pope Francis gets a hug from a child during an audience with the Mother of Hope of Talavera de la Reina Foundation, part of theArchdiocese of Toledo, Spain, at the Vatican April 15. CNS photo/Vatican Media streets, Pope Francis said, their lives are outward signs that transmit God’s love to others through their actions, songs and prayers, even if they aren’t always aware of it. Pope Francis praised the artwork created by some members of the foundation in their workshops. While selling their art is important for supporting the foundation financially, the pope said that “the ben- efit of the labor is greater for those who receive these small objects” and “see all the love you were able to put into its production.” “How important it is to see in the labor of each per- son the wonder of learning, the patience of their teach- ers to show them, the teamwork that is capable of converging each person’s different abilities into a final result that belongs to everyone,” he said. The pope said that when they work as a team, the artists are the hands of Jesus -- but not only -- they are also His feet, voice and heart when they share the joy of Christ. “How?” he asked. “By giving thanks to God for your parents, for your siblings, for your teachers, for your priests, for all the people that love you.” Papal academy launches study center to evaluate Marian apparitions BY CAROL GLATZ ROME ( CNS ) -- The Pontifical International Marian Academy has created a commission to study and moni- tor cases of alleged Marian apparitions and other mysti- cal phenomena. The new “observatory” or monitoring body was officially inaugurated at the academy in Rome April 15 and will study cases that have not yet received an offi- cial church pronouncement regarding their authenticity. Its purpose is “to provide concrete support to the study, authentication and correct disclosure of such events, always in harmony with church teaching, rele- vant authorities and applicable norms of the Holy See,” Franciscan Father Stefano Cecchin, president of the Marian academy, said April 13. It will specialize in cases such as alleged Marian apparitions, “weeping” statues of Mary, private revelations and stigmata. “It is important to provide clarity because often presumed messages generate confusion, spread anxi- ety-inducing apocalyptic scenarios or even accusations against the pope and the church,” he said in a written press release. “How could Mary, mother of the church, undermine (the church’s) integrity or sow fear and conflict, she who is mother of mercy and queen of peace?” he asked. “At the same time, it is important to provide forma- tive support because facing certain cases requires ade- quate preparation,” Father Cecchin added. The observatory will be made up of experts from different fields, including a lawyer specializing in safe- guarding people who are susceptible to criminal manip- ulation, fraud or deceit. Father Cecchin said the body will set up commis- sions on the national and international level to “evalu- ate and study apparitions and mystical phenomena Gisella Cardia kneels and looks skyward Aug. 3, 2020, in the moment devotees claim Mary appeared to her and revealed a message. The alleged apparitions take place in Trevignano Romano, Italy. CNS photo/Robert Duncan reported in various parts of the world” and to promote opportunities for keeping people updated and educated about the events and their “spiritual and cultural sig- nificance.” The local commissions will also serve the local church and its bishops by acting as consultants and providing accurate information. The new monitoring body was inaugurated just as an alleged visionary in a town 30 miles from Rome faced increased scrutiny by law enforcement and the local bishop. Gisella Cardia, who claims she receives messages from Mary on the third day of every month, is cur- rently under investigation by the district attorney’s office of Civitavecchia for “abuse of public credulity” or trust. A commission set up by the local bishop is also conducting its own investigation. Cardia also claimed a statue of Mary that she bought in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, cried tears of blood. However, a private investigator recently pro- vided evidence to law enforcement alleging that the blood came from a pig. Cardia had been found guilty and convicted of bankruptcy fraud in a business she used to run before moving to Trevignano Romano and claiming to receive messages from Mary. Hundreds of people flock to the site the third of each month to hear the alleged mes- sages.