• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Pope Francis greets the crowd.
Pope Francis greets the crowd as he leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Aug. 30, 2020. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

Cross is sign of God’s love, not superstitious ornament, pope says

August 31, 2020
By Junno Arocho Esteves
Catholic News Service
Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christ’s cross is a powerful symbol of God’s love for humanity and not just a decoration or trinket, Pope Francis said.

While Christians often hang a crucifix on the wall or wear one around their necks, it should be used as a sign “of our desire to be united with Christ” and not “reduced to a superstitious object or an ornamental necklace,” the pope said Aug. 30 during his Sunday Angelus address.

“Each time we fix our gaze on the image of Christ crucified, let us contemplate that he, as the true servant of the Lord, has accomplished his mission, giving life, spilling his blood for the forgiveness of sins,” the pope said.

Before concluding his address, the pope made an appeal for peace in “the Eastern Mediterranean area which is under threat from various outbreaks of instability.”

According to Bloomberg News, tensions between Greece and Turkey over contested territorial waters and energy resources in the Mediterranean Sea continued to escalate.

The recent stationing of Greek troops on the island of Kastellorizo was seen as a provocation by the Turkish government, which demanded their immediate withdrawal.

“I appeal, please, for constructive dialogue and respect for international law and order to resolve the conflicts that threaten the peace of the peoples of that region,” the pope said.

But before praying the Angelus prayer with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, the pope reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from St. Matthew, in which Jesus tells his disciples that he will be killed but will rise again on the third day.

The disciples, Pope Francis said, do not understand the need for Christ to suffer and die because their faith “is still immature and too closely tied to the mentality of this world. They think of too earthly a victory, and therefore they do not understand the language of the cross.”

Peter’s reaction — “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you” — showed that “he has faith, he believes in Jesus, he believes — he wants to follow him, but does not accept that his glory will pass through the Passion,” the pope explained.

“For Peter and the other disciples — but for us as well — the cross is a stumbling block, a ‘hindrance,’ whereas Jesus considers the ‘hindrance’ escaping the cross, which would mean avoiding the Father’s will, the mission that the Father has entrusted to him for our salvation,” he said.

Nevertheless, Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan,” which indicates that the temptation to flee “is typical of the evil spirit, it is typical of the devil to make us stray from the cross, from the cross of Jesus,” the pope said.

Pope Francis said that in calling his disciples to deny themselves and take up their cross, Jesus also calls on all Christians to experience “a reversal of mentality and of values” and to bear daily tribulations “with faith and responsibility.”

“The life of Christians is always a struggle,” the pope said. “The Bible says that the life of Christians is a military undertaking: fighting against the evil spirit, fighting against evil.”

Copyright © 2020 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Junno Arocho Esteves

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • The ‘both/and’ pope

  • Patrick Brice sentenced to home detention for attacks on elderly pro-life supporters

  • Mount St. Mary’s launches new physician assistant program

  • The three questions young people asked Pope Leo XIV — and his answers

  • Movie Review: ‘The Naked Gun’

| Latest Local News |

Patrick Brice sentenced to home detention for attacks on elderly pro-life supporters

Notre Dame of Maryland University joins with Milwaukee college to address teacher shortage

Sister Agnese Neumann dies at 95

Maryland Catholic Conference pleads for peace on 80th Anniversary of atomic bombings

Father Donio receives Knights’ highest award for work as chaplain

| Latest World News |

For these young adults, soon-to-be-saint Frassati has ignited their faith amid fellowship

‘Rerum Novarum’ 2.0? Catholic labor advocates heartened by Pope Leo’s direction

Catholic MBA programs see business as force for good, blending doctrine, commerce

Amid ‘reverse migration,’ sisters in Mexico accompany migrants trapped by US policies

When nuns perished during adoration in wartime Warsaw, white doves rose into sky

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • We’re at the Beach. Let’s Go See the Sunrise
  • For these young adults, soon-to-be-saint Frassati has ignited their faith amid fellowship
  • ‘Rerum Novarum’ 2.0? Catholic labor advocates heartened by Pope Leo’s direction
  • Catholic MBA programs see business as force for good, blending doctrine, commerce
  • Patrick Brice sentenced to home detention for attacks on elderly pro-life supporters
  • Amid ‘reverse migration,’ sisters in Mexico accompany migrants trapped by US policies
  • Movie Review: ‘The Naked Gun’
  • When nuns perished during adoration in wartime Warsaw, white doves rose into sky
  • Nagasaki Franciscan monastery that survived atomic blast still stands as messenger of peace

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en