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Herald Malaysia
05-07-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Pope Leo dialogues with children: "Build bridges from an early age"
Pope Leo has a dialogue with children participating in the Vatican's summer camp who gathered with him yesterday in the Paul VI Hall. With them also a group of around 300 young students from Ukraine, hosted in Italy by Caritas for the summer. Jul 05, 2025 Pope Leo XIV during his dialogue with children of the Vatican summer camp (@VATICAN MEDIA) By L'Osservatore Romano"Even as children, we can learn to be builders of bridges and seek opportunities to help others." This is the conviction of Pope Leo XIV, who, in response to questions from children he met yesterday in the Vatican, encouraged them to seek friendship with Jesus by attending Mass, welcoming those who are different, and committing themselves to building peace. The occasion was a midday visit to the Paul VI Hall, where more than 300 participants in the Vatican's annual summer camp program had gathered, joined shortly beforehand by an equal number of children from Ukraine hosted by Caritas Italiana. Responding to three questions posed by three children representing various age groups, the Pope engaged in an informal dialogue with those present. One of the event's leaders introduced the initiative, now in its sixth year. Coordinated by Salesian priest Father Franco Fontana and organized in a similar way to the youth centers of St. John Bosco. The theme for discussions at the summer camp looks at how to help children overcome prejudice in a time when it's increasingly difficult to talk, connect, and share words, thoughts, and even playtime with others. Attending Mass as a child The first question came from Giulia, who asked if the Pope went to Mass as a child. "Of course!" he answered enthusiastically. "Always, every Sunday, with Mom and Dad." He then shared memories from his childhood in Chicago: "Around age six, I was also an altar server in my parish. Before going to school — it was a parish school — we would attend 6:30 a.m. Mass. Mom always woke us up saying, 'Let's go to Mass.'" Serving at Mass was something he truly enjoyed. "From an early age, I was taught that Jesus is always near, that He is your best friend, and Mass was a way to find that friend, to be with Jesus — even before my First Communion." Pope Leo also recalled that back then Mass was in Latin: "We had to learn Latin for Mass, but then it changed to English for me since I was born and raised in the U.S." However, he emphasized, "What mattered wasn't the language of the celebration, but the experience of being with other kids serving Mass, the friendship, and that closeness to Jesus in the Church. It was always something beautiful." Building bridges Next came a question from Edoardo, who, referring to the summer camp's theme, asked how children can welcome those who are different. The Pope greeted the Ukrainian group in English, noting, "Experiences like this — meeting people from different countries, lands, languages, with so many differences between us — are very important." He encouraged the children to embrace "the experience of encounter, of meeting one another, of mutual respect, and learning to be friends with one another." Switching back to Italian for the rest of the group, he reminded them that Ukraine is 'a land that is suffering greatly because of the war.' Speaking to the challenges of communication due to language differences, he acknowledged, "Yes, it can be hard to understand each other." But he emphasized that when there is an opportunity to meet someone different, it is vital to learn mutual respect. "Don't focus on the differences," he said. "See how to live an encounter with respect — to build bridges, build friendship, recognize that we can all be friends, brothers, sisters. That way, we can walk together and move forward." The Pope admitted this isn't always easy: "Sometimes it takes special effort, because we think, 'He's not like me, she's different, doesn't speak like me… looks different…'" Still, he stressed the need to "learn to respect each other, to know that we can live together as friends." Working for peace Finally, Damiano returned to the topic of the conflict in Ukraine, asking what young people can do to build peace. The Pope responded that "even from a young age, we can all learn to be builders of peace and friendship." He offered practical advice: "Don't go to war, don't get into fights, never promote hatred. There are many small things even for you — like when you look at someone and think, 'I like those shoes, and I don't have them…' and then you feel envy or something unpleasant in your heart." Instead, he said, "Jesus calls us to learn to be friends, brothers and sisters to all. In that experience, whether we are Italian, American, Ukrainian — whatever our country — we are all sons and daughters of God." He urged them to learn from childhood "to have mutual respect," to "see the other as someone like me," and to understand that "they're not so different. 'They speak another language; I can't talk to them' — that's not true! There are also gestures. There are ways to approach the other. You can share a bit of bread, find a way to help." Pope Leo XIV concluded, "Even the smallest can start seeking opportunities to be promoters of peace, promoters of friendship and love among all."--Vatican News
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As Biden-era ‘junk fee' rule takes effect, Ticketmaster says it will display fees more clearly
As a Biden administration ban on so-called 'junk fees' took effect Monday, Ticketmaster said it would start displaying the full price of a ticket as soon as consumers begin shopping. Ticketmaster, long a subject of complaints about hidden fees and other issues, was among those targeted by the new rule, which was announced in December by the Federal Trade Commission. The rule requires ticket sellers, hotels, vacation rental platforms and others to disclose processing fees, cleaning fees and other charges up front. Ticketmaster said it agreed with the FTC's action. 'Ticketmaster has long advocated for all-in pricing to become the nationwide standard so fans can easily compare prices across all ticketing sites,' Ticketmaster Chief Operating Officer Michael Wichser said in a statement. SEE ALSO: Ticketmaster data breach has affected at least 500 Rhode Islanders Ticketmaster said it will also tell customers where they are in line when they log in to buy tickets to an event. It will also give real-time updates to customers whose wait times exceed 30 minutes, letting them know ticket price ranges, availability and whether new event dates have been added. Ticketmaster, which is owned by Beverly Hills, California-based concert promoter Live Nation, is the world's largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets each year in more than 30 countries. Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster said Monday's changes would bring North America in line with the rest of the world, where full ticket prices typically are displayed as soon as customers start shopping. SeatGeek, a platform for buying and selling original and resale tickets, said it also updated its features Monday to make 'all-in pricing the default' setting. 'Fans deserve pricing that's clear from the start,' said SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger said. 'We're proud to roll this out across our platform and encouraged to see the industry move in this direction.' MORE: Game, concert tickets will be harder to resell under new Mass. law Ticketmaster has been in the hot seat since 2022, when its site crashed during a presale event for Taylor Swift's upcoming stadium tour. The company said its site was overwhelmed by both fans and attacks from bots, which were posing as consumers in order to scoop up tickets and sell them on secondary sites. Thousands of people lost tickets after waiting for hours in an online queue. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly that drives up U.S. ticket prices and asking a court to break them up. That case is ongoing. President Donald Trump is also eyeing the industry. In March, he signed an executive order that he said would help curb ticket scalping and bring 'commonsense' changes to the way live events are priced. Under the order, the FTC must ensure 'price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process' and take enforcement to prevent unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct. 'Anyone who's bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years — no matter what your politics are — knows that it's a conundrum,' said Kid Rock, who joined Trump in the Oval Office as Trump signed the order. DOJ: Illegal monopoly drives up ticket prices for fans Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
