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Pope Francis created 20 new cardinals for the Catholic Church during a liturgy in Saint Peter's Basilica on Saturday. “Jesus calls us by name; he looks us in the eye and he asks: Can I count on you?” Pope Francis said in a homily addressed to the College of Cardinals and its new members on August 27. “The Lord,” he said, “wants to bestow on us his own apostolic courage, his zeal for the salvation of every human being, without exception. He wants to share with us his magnanimity, his boundless and unconditional love, for his heart is afire with the mercy of the Father.” During the ceremony, the new cardinals made a profession of faith by reciting the Creed. They then pronounced an oath of fidelity and obedience to the pope and his successors. Each cardinal then approached Pope Francis, kneeling before him to receive the red birretta, the cardinal's ring, and a document naming the titular church he has been assigned. Pope Francis embraced each new cardinal, saying to him: “Pax Domini sit semper tecum,” which is Latin for “the peace of the Lord be with you always.” Each cardinal responded: “Amen.”
catholicnewsagency.com/news/252141/jesus-asks-us-can-i-count-on-you-pope-francis-creates-20-cardinals-for-the-catholic-church
Pope Francis became the first pope in 728 years to open the Holy Door of a 13th-century basilica in L’Aquila, Italy, on Sunday. During a visit to the Italian city located about 70 miles northeast of Rome on Aug. 28, the pope participated in a centuries-old tradition, the Celestinian Forgiveness, known in Italian as the Perdonanza Celestiniana. The opening of the Holy Door marked a key moment in the annual celebration established by Pope Celestine V in 1294. In his brief Angelus message, the pope offered a prayer for the people of Pakistan, where flash floods have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced thousands more.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252145/pope-francis-becomes-first-pope-in-more-than-700-years-to-open-the-holy-door-in-l-aquila
Today, the Church commemorates the beheading of John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. As an adult, he lived as a hermit in the wilderness. After the Spirit inspired him, he went about preaching that the people should repent of their sins and be baptized in order to prepare for the Messiah. Herod imprisoned John because he had condemned Herod for committing adultery by living with his brother's wife, Herodias. At he celebration for Herod on his birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for him, and Herod was so impressed that he said he would offer her anything she liked. She consulted with Herodias who told her to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. Herod did not want to kill John for fear or what his follwers might do, but because of his promise to the girl he could not refuse, and so John was beheaded.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/the-beheading-of-john-the-baptist-578