The individual elected pope, Benedictine Father Donato Ogliari said, “must courageously and gently bear the weight of the church, advance without fear in the challenges of the present time, and be for all a living sign of the Lord’s merciful closeness.”

During the general congregations, or “pre-conclave” meetings, cardinals receive meditations to help prepare them for their future decision. In his meditation on April 29, Father Ogliari outlined the spiritual qualities the next pope should embody, a portrait the cardinals will consider when they gather in conclave beginning Wednesday, May 7.

To guide the cardinals spiritually, Ogliari urged them to center their choice on Christ and be led by the Holy Spirit. He also reminded them of the crucial impact their decision would have on the future of the church, while emphasizing the need for the cardinals to remain open to the challenges of the contemporary world. “Even though the place of the ‘conclave’—as the term itself indicates—is a place locked away, it will, in reality, be wide open to the entire world.”

In this presentation, Sr. Donna Ciangio, Chancellor to Cardinal Tobin in Newark, New Jersey, offered a step-by-step guide to setting up diocesan and parish pastoral councils. Sister used PowerPoint slides, which you can save and use to set up a new council or adjust existing councils that need to be more inclusive of lay representation in your community.

In this session, it became clear that the Catholic and Lutheran Churches played a significant role in promoting Hitler. After looking at the similarities that concern us that we are once again repeating history, participants then shared ideas among themselves of what we might do as Christians, since we are called by virtue of our baptism to stand up to injustices affecting innocent victims and those being inappropriately persecuted.

For those who missed it, we encourage you to listen to the recording of our introductory presentation exploring similarities between the rise of Adolf Hitler during Nazism and the rise of Donald Trump under the current U.S. administration:...

Here is the YouTube recording of our online presentation about the moral corruption being observed and experienced under the current U.S. administration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2UpWsoccHg. This video opens with historian, Dr. Jon Rosebank, offering salient...