Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Vatican launches digital library on Church and communications

(Vatican Radio) At a press conference in the Vatican on Wednesday, a new online digital library was launched, offering access to over a thousand papal documents on communications from the first to the twenty-first century. The initiative, known as the Baragli Project, features papal teachings on communication, translated into different languages, and is geared especially to those working in Catholic education and training centres.

Listen to our report: 

The Project is named after Jesuit Father Enrico Baragli, who died in 2001 and was in the forefront of research into the way the Catholic Church has communicated its message over the centuries. It is being promoted by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications , together with the Faculty of Social Communication at the Pontifical Salesian University, as well as the Vatican Publishing House and Vatican.va website.

The digital library features a “navigator” which helps to explore available online sources. It offers a platform for reading and personal study, as well as an open environment for collaboration with other users. The beta version in Italian went live on September 30th and can be found at http://ift.tt/1O1tZB5. But the archive will be continuously expanded to include new documents, as well as other material from individual Church leaders, from bishops conferences and from other Christian churches and communities.

Please find below the address of the President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications,  Archbishop Claudio Celli, at the launch of the Baragli Project

The PCCS is very pleased to support the Baragli Project.  The primary function of the PCCS, in accordance with the mandate given to it by Vatican II, is to promote the importance of communications in the life of the Church.  Communication is not just another activity of the Church but is at the very essence of its life.  The communication of the Good News of God’s love for all people, as expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is what unifies and makes sense of all the other aspects of the life of the Church.  This project is particularly valuable because it brings together, and makes available to a wider public, a long tradition of teaching and reflection by the Church precisely on the centrality of communications.

            The material themselves are hugely significant as they show how the Church has, throughout its history, sought to engage with the changing means and forms of communication which have shaped culture and human society.  This collection enables us to appreciate how the Church’s manner and means of expressing its message have been transformed over the years in order to take account of changes and developments in the dominant forms and technologies of mass communication.  It is interesting to see how the Church has adapted its understanding of how best to communicate as a predominantly oral culture yielded to one where the written word prevailed; as the world of manuscripts was transformed by the invention of the printing press; and as a world of mass communications developed progressively with the emergence  of newspapers, radio, cinema, TV and, more recently, digital media and social networks.  What one sees is a constant effort on the part of the Church to ensure that the Good News of the Gospel is made known to its contemporaries in ways that are culturally appropriate and that fully realize the potentials of new models of communications and developing technologies. 

            The publication of these materials on-line will provide the raw resources which will enable theologians and communications scholars to deepen their reflections on how the Church today should fulfil its responsibility to share its message with all people.  In his address to participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in February 2011, Pope Benedict spoke of the challenge of finding new languages to ensure an adequate expression of the Christian message in the context of the radical transformation being effected in the culture of communications by new technologies.  In particular, he identified the need for theological reflection and engagement:  The world of communications involves the entire cultural, social and spiritual universe of the human person.  If the new languages have an impact on the way of thinking and living, this in some way also concerns the world of faith and the understanding and expression of it.  According to a classical definition theology means the understanding of faith and we know well that understanding, perceived as reflective and critical knowledge, is not alien to the cultural changes that are under way. 

            These materials will also become available to those who are involved in the formation of future priests and pastoral leaders.  The PCCS has long advocated that more attention should be given to the preparation of future Church leaders in the area of communications.  The availability of this body of teaching and reflection in digital form makes it accessible to seminaries and other places of formation which previously would have had great difficulty in providing curriculum content.  Moreover, the on-line publication has been designed in such a way as to encourage those who access it to create networks with other users.  It is to be hoped that this facility will allow those who are involved in formation to work together to share ideas about how best to form good pastoral communicators and to identify best practices in this regard.

            I would like to acknowledge the great work of Father Lever and Prof Sparaci in bringing forward and executing this project.  I think their efforts witness to their commitment, and that of the Faculty of Communications at the Salesian University, to foster scholarship and excellence in the field of communication’s studies.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis to children on Mission of Peace to Lourdes

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a personal letter to young boy taking part in a “mission of peace” to the Marian sanctuary at Lourdes.

Eight-year-old Damian had written to the Pope inviting him to Lourdes to be with the children taking part in the Mission, which was sponsored by UNITALSI, an Italian organization which helps sick people travel to Lourdes and other international sanctuaries. Pope Francis responded to Damian’s request for a video message with a personal letter that will be read during the grand Eucharistic Procession at Lourdes on Wednesday, on the occasion of the Tenth Pilgrimage of Children on the Mission of Peace.

In his message, the Holy Father assured the children that he was accompanying them in prayer, and was spiritually close to them. He asked the children to share with Mary and Jesus their expectations, hopes, joys, and sufferings, and to “trust in the help of Jesus and the support of Mary.”

“Your mission is both a prayer and a testimony,” the Pope said. “You show adults that children are able to pray, to love Jesus, the friend who never betrays, to help each other, to hope for a better future.”

The Pope concluded his letter by asking the children to pray for all children who are attempting to make the voyage to Lourdes, and to pray, too, for him.

Below, please find Vatican Radio’s translation of Pope Francis’ letter to Damian and the children participating in the Tenth Pilgrimage of Children on the Mission of Peace

Dear Damian,
Dear children on the Mission of Peace to Lourdes,

I know that your mission of peace brings you this year to the Sanctuary of Lourdes, to the feet of the Madonna, to request her protection. I am happy about your voyage, promoted by U.N.I.T.A.L.S.I., and I want to tell you that I am accompanying you with prayer: know that I am spiritually close to each one of you, especially, to you who are sick.

With confidence, tell the Madonna and her son Jesus about your expectations, your hopes, your joys and your sufferings, and trust in the help of Jesus and the support of Mary.

Your mission is both a prayer and a testimony: you show adults that children are able to pray, to love Jesus, the friend who never betrays, to help each other, to hope for a better future.

And in this moment in which we see so many young children who are attempting the voyages of hope, the Pope asks you to pray for them to the Madonna of Lourdes. I renew my greetings and my encouragement for each of you, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. I bless you from the heart. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis album to be released in November

(Vatican Radio) A new CD combining the speeches of Pope Francis with different styles of music will be released on 27 November.

The album is called Wake Up!, and will bring together excerpts of speeches in different languages with music ranging from Gregorian chant to rock-n-roll.

Rolling Stone magazine’s website premiered the first track "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!", which uses a speech Pope Francis gave in South Korea, and the album can currently be pre-ordered on iTunes.

The Pope speaks in Italian, English, Spanish and Portuguese on the album, which has 11 tracks.

Among the contributors are Giorgio Kriegsch (also known as Nirvanananda Swami Saraswati), Tony Pagliuca, Mite Balduzzi, Giuseppe Dati, Lorenzo Piscopo, and the orchestral director Dino Doni.

 

Wake Up! Track List

1. "Annuntio Vobis Gadium Mangum"

2. "Salve Regina"

3. "Laudato Sie…"

4. "Poe Que' Sufren Los Ninos"

5. "Non Lasciatevi Rubare La Speranza!"

6. "La Iglesia No Puede Ser Una Ong!"

7. "Wake Up! Go! Go! Forward!"

8. "La Fa Es Entera, No Se Licua!"

9. "Pace! Fratelli!"

10. "Per La Famiglia"

11. "Fazei O Que Ele Vos Disser"

(from Vatican Radio)

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Cardinal Turkson hosts conference on mining operations

Pope Francis greets the sick in Paul VI hall

Before his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis greeted four hundred disabled and sick people and their four hundred carers from the German branch of the Order of Malta, in the Paul the VI hall.

The Pope thanked them for their visit and empathized with the difficulties they were facing. He said, that being ill was very hard, even despite care from doctors and nurses and medicine, but he stressed, “there is faith”, faith that encourages us…”. The Holy Father went on to say that God became ill for us, in that, “he sent His Son, who took upon himself all our diseases, to the Cross .”  When we look to Jesus and his patience, the Pope added, our faith is stronger.
 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Audience: God builds bridges when we build walls

(Vatican Radio) In his first General Audience since his return from an Apostolic Journey to Cuba and the United States, Pope Francis recalled that visit in an overcast St Peter’s Square on Wednesday. He told the thousands of pilgrims and tourists gathered, that in Cuba, he wished to embrace all Cubans without exception, to proclaim the transforming power of God’s mercy, and to renew the hope expressed by Saint John Paul II that Cuba will open itself to the world and the world to Cuba.  He also underlined how travelling from Cuba to the United States of America was a symbolic step, likening it to a bridge God is rebuilding.

The Pope said, God always wants to build bridges when we build walls, and he stressed, “walls always collapse.”

Speaking about the next leg of his journey to the United States, the Pope called to mind his visit to Washington, noting America’s tradition of religious freedom and its’ contribution to the life of the nation. 

The Holy Father also recalled his address to the United Nations in New York, saying he, renewed the Church’s encouragement for its efforts to promote peace, justice, integral human development and care for creation and reaffirmed his call to stop and prevent violence against ethnic and religious minorities and against civilian populations.

Turning his attention to the final part of his U.S trip, the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Pope Francis said, it was an opportunity to celebrate “the beauty of God’s plan for the family, which, as the fruitful covenant between a man and a woman, is the key to a future of authentic prosperity and solidarity for our world.”

Then, the Holy Family, greeting English speaking pilgrims, asked for prayers for the Synod on the Family which opens on the 4th October, and invited them to to be witnesses of God’s presence in the world and through family life. 

 

 

 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Cardinal Sandri leads Vatican delegation to Armenia

New Album of Sistine Chapel Choir recorded in Sistine Chapel

(VIS/Vatican Radio)  For the first time ever, the Vatican has opened the doors of the iconic Sistine Chapel for a studio recording with the Sistine Chapel Choir – the world’s oldest choir. The new album, “Cantate Domino. The Sistine Chapel and the music of Popes,” captures the sounds of the extraordinary acoustics of the Sistine Chapel, with music performed by the Pope’s own choir.  The album was released on Deutsche Grammophon on 25 September, and a presentation was given on Tuesday in the Holy See Press Office.

Presenting the CD were Archbishop Georg Ganswein, Prefect of the Papal Household; Msgr. Massimo Palombella, S.D.B., director of the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir; Mark Wilkinson, president of Deutsche Grammophon; and Mirko Gratton, director of the classical music section of Universal Italia.

“The Pontifical Musical Choir, also known as the Sistine Chapel Choir, is among the oldest choral institutions in the world and has the unique characteristic of being the Pope's choir,” explained Archbishop Ganswein.

He said this characteristic makes it part of the life of the ‘Pope's Home’ and places the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir within the structure of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, and gives it the specific task of being an entity whose service is entirely devoted to the Pope.

“The Prefecture is the point of reference for the Choir in terms of its artistic, administrative and disciplinary management,” he continued. “The release of a musical CD under the prestigious Deutsche Grammaphon label is an unprecedented event in the history of the Pontifical Musical Choir, and attests to the quality and professionalism that this Institution has achieved, thanks to its serious and diligent work under the guidance of Maestro Massimo Palombella.”

The album, released on 25 September, includes Renaissance music written for the Sistine Chapel Choir by Palestrina, Lassus and Victoria. There are also two pieces of Gregorian chant, alongside world premiere recordings of the original version of Allegri’s fabled Miserere (Sistine Codex of 1661) and a Nunc dimittis attributed to Palestrina which is still used during papal celebrations. Cantate Domino offers listeners the chance to hear these pieces as the composers intended – in Latin and in the surroundings for which they were originally written. In order to capture the magic, mystery and beauty of the music in such unique surroundings, Deutsche Grammophon set up a specially constructed studio within the Chapel. The mixing desk was set up in an ante-chamber, next to the “Sala del Pianto” (where the newly elected pontiff first dresses in the papal vestments).

“The Sistine Chapel was consecrated in 1483, and since then it has been home, without interruption, of the Pontifical Musical Choir,” explained Msgr. Palombella. “In recent years, after intense and specific study of Renaissance religious music and its aesthetic importance, we have been able to undertake an interesting and significant recording. My hope is that these musical masterpieces will reach millions of people throughout the world, bringing them into contact with the historical culture and profound spirituality of the Catholic Church.”

The Sistine Chapel Choir is made up of 20 adult singers and 30 boy choristers. Among the singers is British baritone Mark Spyropoulos, who is the first British full-time member of the choir.

“This extraordinary choir, which has served successive popes since the early centuries of Christianity, has never before made a commercial recording in its home,” said Mark Wilkinson, President of Deutsche Grammophon. “This very special record has the power, the beauty, and the excellence to find a truly global audience ‒ and an audience beyond the traditional confines and boundaries of classical music.”

The release of Cantate Domino stands as a prelude to the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, a Holy Year decreed by Pope Francis, which begins in December. During the last Holy Year in 2000, 25 million pilgrims visited Rome and the Vatican. 

Tracklisting:

1. Gregorian Chant - Rorate caeli desuper

2. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525–1594) - Ad te levavi

3. Orlande de Lassus (1532–1594) - Magnificat VIII toni

4. Gregorian Chant - Lumen ad revelationem gentium

 attrib. Palestrina – Nunc dimittis (World premiere recording)

5. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Super flumina Babylonis

6. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Improperium exspectavit cor meum

7. Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652) – Miserere Sistine Codex of 1661 (World premiere recording)

8. Gregorian Chant - Christus factus est pro nobis

9. Felice Anerio (c. 1560–1614) - Christus factus est pro nobis

10. Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548–1611) - Popule meus (Improperia)

11. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Adoramus te, Christe

12. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Sicut cervus

13. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Angelus Domini

14. Orlande de Lassus - Iubilate Deo

15. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Constitues eos principes

16. Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina - Tu es Petrus

There is also a trailer and excerpt from Allegri: Miserere on Youtube.

http://youtu.be/fc5YRYtclsM

http://youtu.be/6t5fEnPtYzs

(from Vatican Radio)



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Card. Parolin celebrates Mass at Vatican Radio

Vatican Astronomer: Liquid water on Mars is an exciting discovery

“Cantate Domino”, the music of Popes, recorded in the Sistine Chapel

Vatican City, 29 September 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office a conference was held to present the music CD “Cantate Domino. The Sistine Chapel and the music of Popes”, produced by Deutsche Grammophon. The speakers were Archbishop Georg Ganswein, prefect of the Papal Household; Msgr. Massimo Palombella, S.D.B., director of the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir; Mark Wilkinson, president of Deutsche Grammophon; and Mirko Gratton, director of the classical music section of Universal Italia.

“The Pontifical Musical Choir, also known as the Sistine Chapel Choir, is among the oldest choral institutions in the world and has the unique characteristic of being the Pope's choir”, explained Archbishop Ganswein. This characteristic makes it part of the life of the “Pope's Home” and places the Pontifical Sistine Chapel Choir within the structure of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, and gives it the specific task of being an entity whose service is entirely devoted to the Pontiff. “The Prefecture is the point of reference for the Choir in terms of its artistic, administrative and disciplinary management. It is a composite and structured entity made up of 20 adult singers regularly employed by the Holy See, with the addition of 20 pueri cantores who attend the private elementary school annexed to the Choir. The release of a musical CD under the prestigious Deutsche Grammaphon label is an unprecedented event in the history of the Pontifical Musical Choir, and attests to the quality and professionalism that this Institution has achieved, thanks to its serious and diligent work under the guidance of Maestro Massimo Palombella”.

The album, released on 25 September, includes Renaissance music written for the Sistine Chapel Choir by Palestrina, Lassus and Victoria. There are also two pieces of Gregorian chant, alongside world premiere recordings of the original version of Allegri’s fabled Miserere (Sistine Codex of 1661) and a Nunc dimittis attributed to Palestrina which is still used during papal celebrations. Cantate Domino offers listeners the chance to hear these pieces as the composers intended – in Latin and in the surroundings for which they were originally written. In order to capture the magic, mystery and beauty of the music in such unique surroundings, Deutsche Grammophon set up a specially constructed studio within the Chapel. The mixing desk was set up in an ante-chamber, next to the “Sala del Pianto” (where the newly elected pontiff first dresses in the papal vestments).

“The Sistine Chapel was consecrated in 1483, and since then it has been home, without interruption, of the Pontifical Musical Choir”, explained Msgr. Palombella. “In recent years, after intense and specific study of Renaissance religious music and its aesthetic importance, we have been able to undertake an interesting and significant recording. My hope is that these musical masterpieces will reach millions of people throughout the world, bringing them into contact with the historical culture and profound spirituality of the Catholic Church”.



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Theme announced for 2016 World Communications Day Message

(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for Social Communications on Tuesday announced the theme for the 2016 World Communications Day. It is Communication and Mercy: A Fruitful Encounter.

The day is celebrated each year on the Sunday before Pentecost, which next year is on 8 May.

World Communications Day was established by Paul VI after the Second Vatican Council  in order to draw attention to the “the vast and complex phenomenon of the modem means of social communication.”

This year’s theme was decided in order to coincide with the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the Holy Year called by Pope Francis to announce the Mercy of God.

 

The full text of the announcement of the theme is below

 

Communication and Mercy: a fruitful encounter

The choice of theme this years has clearly been determined by the Celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and the Holy Father undoubtedly desired that World Communications Day would provide the appropriate occasion to reflect on the deep synergy between communication and mercy.

In the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Year, in paragraph 12, the Pope affirms that: The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person.  He adds: Her language and her gestures must transmit mercy, so as to touch the hearts of all people and inspire them once more to find the road that leads to the Father. It is helpful, in this regard, to remember that our reflection is situated in the context of an awareness that communication is a key element for the promotion of a culture of encounter.

The Pope, on this occasion, refers to the language and gestures of the Church but the context makes it clear that all men and women in their own communications, in their reaching out to meet others, ought to be motivated by a deep expression of welcome, availability and forgiveness.

The Theme highlights the capacity of good communication to open up a space for dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation, thereby allowing fruitful human encounters to flourish. At a time when our attention is often drawn to the polarized and judgmental nature of much commentary on the social networks, the theme invokes the power of words and gestures to overcome misunderstandings, to heal memories and to build peace and harmony.

Once again, Pope Francis is reminding us that, in its essence, communication is a profoundly human achievement. Good communication is never merely the product of the latest or most developed technology, but is realized within the context of a deep interpersonal relationship.World Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican Council (“Inter Mirifica”, 1963), is marked in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost (in 2016, May 8th).

The Holy Father's message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24).

(from Vatican Radio)

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World Communications Day 2016 - Communication and Mercy: a fruitful encounter

Communication and Mercy: a fruitful encounter

The choice of theme this years has clearly been determined by the Celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and the Holy Father undoubtedly desired that World Communications Day would provide the appropriate occasion to reflect on the deep synergy between communication and mercy.

In the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Year, in paragraph 12, the Pope affirms that: The Church is commissioned to announce the mercy of God, the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person. He adds: Her language and her gestures must transmit mercy, so as to touch the hearts of all people and inspire them once more to find the road that leads to the Father.

It is helpful, in this regard, to remember that our reflection is situated in the context of an awareness that communication is a key element for the promotion of a culture of encounter.

The Pope, on this occasion, refers to the language and gestures of the Church but the context makes it clear that all men and women in their own communications, in their reaching out to meet others, ought to be motivated by a deep expression of welcome, availability and forgiveness.

The Theme highlights the capacity of good communication to open up a space for dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation, thereby allowing fruitful human encounters to flourish. At a time when our attention is often drawn to the polarized and judgmental nature of much commentary on the social networks, the theme invokes the power of words and gestures to overcome misunderstandings, to heal memories and to build peace and harmony.

Once again, Pope Francis is reminding us that, in its essence, communication is a profoundly human achievement. Good communication is never merely the product of the latest or most developed technology, but is realized within the context of a deep interpersonal relationship.

World Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican Council (“Inter Mirifica”, 1963), is marked in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost (in 2016, May 8th).

The Holy Father's message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24).



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Cardinal Turkson: Catholic institutions bring "moral framework" to climate change

(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Peter Turkson, the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, on Monday spoke at a conference on climate change being held at Boston College, a Catholic university in Massachusetts.

“What Catholic institutions should bring to the public square is a constant focus on the moral framework in which climate change arguments should occur,” Cardinal Turkson said.

“Catholic universities should help their entire community to think about shared responsibility, universal access to creation, common good, compassion and solidarity, and the grounding of all this in the equal human dignity of all persons,” he continued. “They should help their members and publics (faculty, students, staff and families) to see beyond the current dominant culture and to act consequently.”

He also spoke about the new Encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato si’, saying it “calls to action at every level.”

 

The full text of Cardinal Turkson's lecture is below

 

Our Common Home: An Ethical Summons to Tackle Climate Change

Boston College, 28-30 September 2015

Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Planet

Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson

 

Thank you for your warm welcome and for the privilege of speaking on the opening day of this important interdisciplinary conference entitled “Our Common Home: An Ethical Summons to Tackle Climate Change”. Boston College has set itself the task of exploring the implications of Pope Francis's recent encyclical on the environment and climate change. I am delighted to talk with you about how his encyclical, Laudato si’, can shape the road to the 2015 Paris Climate Conference this December (COP21). It seems especially fitting to talk about the encyclical of the first Jesuit pope at a leading Jesuit university.

Your undertaking is courageous because, given the full embrace of Pope Francis’s vision, you need to reach far and wide but you also need to touch yourselves. This week’s important inquiry will prosper if the reflections and exchanges are grounded in shared civic values, based on competent scholarship and conducted in a transparent manner—all this in a generous Christian spirit of solidarity.

I will begin with a reflection on “common home.” Next I will set the views of Pope Francis on climate change and the environment within our Catholic tradition and explore how the encyclical is being received and how it can ‘make a difference’ in current environmental discussions. In Part 3, I will turn to practical action by Catholics and their institutions, including in this country. Simply put, how can America respond to the Pope’s call to action? I very much look forward to our exchange and pray for God’s blessing on the coming days dedicated to the ethical summons to care for our common home.

PART 1: The GLOBAL COMMONS of “Our Common Home”

You are probably aware of the broad vision of Laudato si’. Here are some of the main points:

·         humanity is not separate from the environment in which we live; rather humanity and the natural environment are one;

·         the accelerating change in climate is undeniable, catastrophic, and worsened by human activities, but it is also amenable to human intervention;

·         the grave errors that underlie our disastrous indifference to the environment include a throwaway culture of consumerism, and a naïve confidence that technological advances and undirected commercial markets will inevitably and automatically solve our environmental problems;

·         the two-fold crisis can be overcome, not by more of the same, but through changes arising from generous dialogue and fundamental ethical and indeed spiritual decision-making at every level.

 

The very sub-title of the encyclical, “On Care for our Common Home”, conveys an important conviction. Individual homes are not isolated, each on its own planet. They are located within a single, worldwide common home. The encyclical is about the implications of living together in a common home.

Boston is an ideal location in which to explore this notion. A most striking feature of the city is its large park, the Boston Common.[1] During the 1630s, its 50 acres were used by many families as a cow pasture. However, this “common good” lasted for only a few years. Affluent families bought additional cows, and this led to overgrazing. Fortunately, the common resource of this pasture land was rescued by a shared agreement limiting the number of cows to 70.

There are two lessons for our topic.

First, there is the over-grazing. The environmental degradation was not due to necessity but to excess. Overgrazing by the extra livestock of affluent families happened because of materialism, greed, consumerism, perhaps vanity. It was not due to concern for the poor. It did not embody ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ In the chapter called “Human Roots of the Ecological Crisis”, Laudato si’ points to such vices as sources of the depletion of the natural environment. When many act on private self-interest, it endangers the “common” home. The roots of the problem are the bondage of individualism and putting short-term gain above longer-term sustainability.

The second lesson is about decisions. A limit on use of the pasture was set. The Bostonians must have had a way of deciding and of making the decisions stick. Who did the limiting? How was the decision formulated, endorsed, implemented, enforced? Pope Francis calls most forcefully for responsibility, decisiveness and implementation. These are exactly what our common home needs, with the General Assembly deciding upon the Sustainable Development Goals and with the world’s nations converging on COP21 in Paris at the end of November.

Boston Common and over-grazing is a historical example of what has come to be known as the tragedy of the commons.[2] This expression can apply to all situations where the self-interested actions of one or more agents deplete a common resource. For instance, in Laudato si’ the Pope declares the climate and the atmosphere to be common goods “belonging to all and meant for all” (§23). The oceans and other natural resources should likewise be considered as a global commons and protected by an appropriate system of governance (§174). “The principle of the universal destination of the goods of creation is also applied to the global carbon sinks of the atmosphere, oceans and forests. In order to protect the poorest and to avoid dangerous climate change, these sinks must be prevented from overuse.”[3] Let me ask the same questions again: who is going to decide, fairly and squarely, and are the decisions really going to be carried out?

 

PART 2: THE INFLUENCE OF POPE FRANCIS AND THE CHURCH

Pope Francis’ concern for climate change as a moral issue and his call for climate change policies are firmly rooted in traditional Catholic teaching. So let us briefly note the development of Catholic ecological ethics.

The Christian commitment to care for our common home is as old as Genesis itself. There, we read that all Creation is good (Chapter 1). Moreover, we are told that humanity is formed out of the “dust of the earth” itself and mandated by the loving Creator “to till and to keep” the earth.

Catholic Social Teaching since the Second Vatican Council has increasingly recognized that the care of creation is intimately connected to other Christian ethical commitments. In particular, environmental harm compromises the commitments to promote the common good and protect the human life and dignity of individuals—especially of the poor and vulnerable. Human-forced climate change is unequivocally a moral issue. Therefore the Church has called for public policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and assist those most affected by the adverse effects of climate change. Blessed Paul VI first articulated this teaching in 1971; Saint John Paul II elaborated it greatly in the 1990s, and it was further developed by Pope Benedict XVI. Throughout these years, individual bishops and episcopal conferences including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops spoke powerfully at national and continental levels.[4]

What has Pope Francis added? Beginning with his choice of a name, he has made concern for the poor and the planet a signature of his Papacy. Moreover, he has explicitly inserted his teaching and indeed leadership into the international political process trying to respond to climate change. Let us explore this in some detail.

 

A. Can Laudato si’ make a difference in global discussions of environmental issues such as at COP21?

COP21 will be a huge affair. The organizers expect 25,000 official delegates and another 25,000 participants with various interests. With so much going on, why should we expect Laudato si’ to cut through and be a major influence?

Primarily it is because of Pope Francis himself. Since his election in March 2013, he has repeatedly conveyed his deep and sincere care for people’s concerns and problems, especially of those suffering and excluded. As I said to a National Geographic writer some months ago:

“Just before the conclave, when all the cardinals gathered, we shared our views. There was a certain mood: Let’s get a change. That kind of mood was strong inside. No one said, ‘No more Italians or no more Europeans’—but a desire for change was there. Cardinal Bergoglio was basically unknown to all those gathered there. But then he gave a talk—it was kind of his own manifesto. He advised those of us gathered there that we need to think about the church that goes out to the periphery—not just geographically but to the periphery of human existence. For him the Gospel invites us all to have that sort of sensitivity. That was his contribution. And it brought a sort of freshness to the exercise of pastoral care, a different experience of taking care of God’s people.”[5]

People trust Pope Francis as a deeply caring person. For the sake of all, he calls for care, so that the marginalized can participate more fully in society, so that youth may find purpose in their lives and the elderly can end their days in dignity, so that the desperate victims of violence may reach a better life and not drown in their frantic flight.

This caring appears in Laudato si’. More than any other leader today, the Pope firmly links the issues of the natural world with those of the social world. He does so with “authority”, as the Gospels say of Jesus. So, millions “connect” with him and trust him.

The Pope speaks to the longing of people to be cared for and in turn to exercise caring. He brings the basic message of Jesus— “love one another, as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34, 15:12) —into the very heart of the world’s greatest challenges: to care for the poor and to care for the planet.

So Laudato si’ can help shape COP21 at several levels. First, it can nudge the negotiators and representatives to give greater weight to the real needs of many in each country. Secondly, it can impel the conversations and resolutions to reflect the indissoluble moral linkage between natural and social environment. Thirdly, it can convince decision-makers that the world is now ready for real action, as people express their assent to Laudato si’ in terms of political support for bold agreement and real action. Thus Laudato si’ can reduce the risk of non-agreement like in Copenhagen, and the even greater risk of a good agreement, as at Rio in 1992, which largely remained un-implemented.

 

B. What are the specific contributions of Laudato si’ to the negotiation of international agreements on the environment?

Laudato si’ is a formidable document. It may well make a robust contribution in the following three ways:

The first way is through the encyclical’s articulation of virtues and ethical principles that should shape negotiations about climate change policy. These are essentially taken from the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church[6] and include staples of Catholic theological ethics:

the virtue of prudence, that is to say “right reason applied to action” (cf. §186);[7]
justice, which gives each person his or her due as a child of God;
temperance, which moderates sense pleasures and consumption;
fortitude, which strengthens resolve against adversity;
a commitment to protect human life and dignity;
a preferential option for the poor and vulnerable;
solidarity, that is to say, a firm commitment to the common good;
respect for the common destination of created goods;
companionship, by which we act on the awareness that we are part of God’s creation; and
integral ecology, the innovative term that Pope Francis uses to name the ancient awareness that all of creation—both human and non-human individuals, groups and systems—are fundamentally interconnected.

These ten virtues and ethical principles can open up the negotiation and decision-making to the needed commitments at global, national and local levels; in their absence, I am afraid, Paris will reduce to “business as usual”.

A second way that Laudato Si’ can shape the road to Paris is appropriating the sorts of practical judgments which Pope Francis illustrates in the Encyclical.

He insists that the global north has been a disproportionate consumer of creation’s goods and contributor to ecological harm; therefore it must repay its “ecological debt” to the global south (§51).
He emphasizes the need to remove the influence of “special interests” from politics (§54).
He urges that countries not “place their national interests above the global common good” (§169).
He argues against an ideology that myopically cares only for economic profit, absolutizes technology and material progress, and discounts ecological concerns (§§36, 106-114, 118, 187-191).
He advocates for investment practices that consider the ecological costs of transactions (§§42, 183).
And he asserts that “technology based on the use of highly polluting fossil fuels—especially coal, but also oil and, to a lesser degree, gas—needs to be progressively replaced without delay” (§165).

Thus, from the dozen traditional virtues and principles, Pope Francis derives concrete and relevant recommendations. The negotiators and decision-makers at Paris are urgently encouraged to do likewise.

A third way that Laudato Si’ can catalyse an international climate change agreement is via the actions of others whom it inspires and guides. Speaking at the World Meeting of Popular Movements earlier this year, Pope Francis recognized that justice often requires prudent political action from elected officials.[8] At the same time, the Holy Father recognized that it is often not enough to simply rely on well-known or high-profile leaders for action. “The future of humanity does not lie solely in the hands of great leaders, the great powers and the elites,” he said. Rather, “It is fundamentally in the hands of peoples and in their ability to organize. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of change.”

This suggests that the 50,000 representatives who gather for the COP21 need more than to hear the Pope’s views on virtue, ethics and application. A successful COP21 will require the message of Laudato si’ to be complemented by pro-active, organized efforts of citizens who echo the Pope’s message in the halls of power and demand courageous action by leaders on behalf of our common home.

C. How is the Pope’s message being received?

Let me begin with a comparison. In the middle of the last century, cultural historians, social scientists and policy-makers were trying to understand the sad legacy of slavery in the United States and the plague of racism. They had different insights to offer, different solutions to propose, and these were taken up by political and cultural leaders, too. But when Martin Luther King Junior declared “I have a dream” in August 9163, he somehow said much much more. He translated comprehension into conviction, conviction into commitment, commitment into willingness to act and even to risk.

Similarly, the Pope’s climate change encyclical expresses a passionate vision of our current predicament and aims to inspire groups and institutions to come to terms with the depth of the climate problem and to act collectively and justly.[9]

Elected politicians, public servants, research scientists, educators, business and religious leaders, shapers of culture and public opinion, are playing important roles in shaping humanity’s response (or lack of response) to the environment. In Laudato si’, the Holy Father does not shrink from naming the ideological distortions and pragmatic errors that have brought the world to the very difficult decisions facing us today. Nevertheless, neither pointing an accusing finger nor wagging it in condemnation will lead to change. Instead, it will be by “seeing” afresh and by reflection; it will be by honest self-questioning and conversion; it will be by dialogue and only by dialogue. These are clearly the attitudes and convictions that set the Pope apart and have all leaders of all stripes looking to him for what everyone says is missing but no one admits to lacking: moral leadership!

The environmental “tragedy of the commons” affects those directly involved, and climate being global, it also affects all the bystanders throughout the world. But it can be overcome. Instead of following narrow, reductionist or short-term imperatives, we must adopt the imperative of care. Instead of maximizing greed and power, we can target what is best, that is, the optimum: the level of consumption that is enough to satisfy our needs and leave an adequate supply for all others. I believe that world leaders and citizens are learning to receive the Pope in this way—not as just another leader seeking to outdo all others, but as an exemplar of the imperative to ‘love one another.’

I trust that millions of people have listened to the Pope’s message with open minds and hearts. His message is fresh because it applies our deepest spiritual beliefs to our greatest challenges. I have little doubt that the message is getting through to most people in most places, and his visit to the United States brought it home to the American people and, I hope, the majority of its economic, political, cultural and religious leaders too.

D. What is the role of Catholics and their institutions?

Catholic institutions are committed to seeing farther and deeper, to looking beyond the current popular and conventional positions. While they may have strengths in science and economics and so on, their Catholic uniqueness is to be “experts in humanity.” This means openness to all dimensions of the human—without reducing the human to only a few aspects. What Catholic institutions should bring to the public square is a constant focus on the moral framework in which climate change arguments should occur. Catholic universities should help their entire community to think about shared responsibility, universal access to creation, common good, compassion and solidarity, and the grounding of all this in the equal human dignity of all persons. They should help their members and publics (faculty, students, staff and families) to see beyond the current dominant culture and to act consequently.

The third paragraph of Laudato si’ recalls that St John XXIII’s Pacem in terris was addressed to all people of good will, but now, more than 50 years later, Pope Francis needs “to address every person living on the planet” (§3). The degradation of both the natural planet and the human world cannot leave anyone indifferent; no branch of science, no form of wisdom including culture, religion and spirituality (cf §63), should be neglected. Though not addressing Catholics alone, the Pope hopes that Catholics in their varied contexts will be especially attentive and take the lead. Let this not be an issue left to someone else, for the survival of all is at stake!

PART 3: LAUDATO SI’, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE ROAD TO PARIS

In discussing how Laudato si’ can influence the path to Paris, it is important to include the relationship between faith and public life.[10] Traditional Catholic teaching emphasizes that faith is not a private matter that can be compartmentalized apart from the “non-religious” aspects of life. Rather, the fullness of faith should inspire every aspect of individual and communal life, and inspire all efforts to make the world more loving and just. Since public policies are one instrument by which to transform the world, and since both persons and institutions have a civic responsibility to participate in public life, it follows that Catholics must bring their faith to bear on political matters. This seems especially so in the United States, where the First Amendment to the Constitution protects citizens’ freedom of religious expression.

When someone objected to Laudato si’ saying, “I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals, or from my Pope. … I think religion ought to be about making us better as people, and less about things that end up getting into the political realm,” I called the comments unfortunate, a very unhappy distinction. “What is morality about, if not about our conduct, our decisions, our conscience, and the choices we make? And we don’t make those choices in a vacuum.… Morality has to do with the decisions and choices we make in certain concrete situations, including economic situations.… So I would wish that we stop making this artificial separation between moral issues, theological issues, and business issues” and indeed environmental issues like climate change.[11]

Given the public nature of faith and the responsibility for Catholics to exercise what the U.S. bishops call “faithful citizenship”,[12] Pope Francis has sought through Laudato si’ to shape the discourse and negotiations leading up to COP21. The Holy Father timed the release of Laudato si’ so as to contribute to Paris, and throughout the encyclical he emphasizes the need for an international climate change agreement. Addressing the U.S. Congress (23.09), the Pope quoted Laudato Si’ to “call for a courageous and responsible effort to ‘redirect our steps’ (§61), and to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity.” And to the United Nations General Assembly (25.09), he said: “We cannot permit ourselves to postpone ‘certain agendas’ for the future.” These are rather gentle words expressing very forceful reminders.

Despite the call of the Catholic Church for public policies in response to climate change as a moral issue, the world has failed to mitigate rising global greenhouse gas emissions and to provide sufficiently for those impacted by this reality. The global atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide today is nearly fifty parts per million higher—roughly 15% higher —than when Saint John Paul II first addressed climate change in 1990.[13]

Some nations, communities and individuals are already committed to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions. Promising grassroots, municipal and business efforts towards this end are underway. But to arrest global warming is a global challenge. So at COP21, nations will hopefully agree on binding enforceable plans to keep the global temperature from rising more than 1.5 or 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Take Tuvalu for example, a group of nine tiny islands in the South Pacific. No point of their land is higher than 4.5m above sea level. Climate change could see the islands swamped by rising sea levels. Alone, Tuvalu can do nothing to save itself. Two days ago, at a Holy See-sponsored event at the United Nations, the Tuvalu foreign minister pleaded eloquently that global temperature be kept from rising any more than 1.5 degree Celsius.

 

What about the role of the United States? Pope Francis encouraged American leadership on this issue—at the political level, in terms of supporting an agreement to stop climate change; and at a personal level, to develop those deep-rooted ecological virtues necessary for healing, protecting, and preserving our planet – in other words, ecological conversion (the expression of St John Paul II, treated in LS §§ 216-221).

 

At the White House, Pope Francis ended with these words: “I would like all men and women of good will in this great nation to support the efforts of the international community to protect the vulnerable in our world and to stimulate integral and inclusive models of development, so that our brothers and sisters everywhere may know the blessings of peace and prosperity which God wills for all his children.”

The Pope is calling on America to honour its traditions and founding principles. There is a great stream of environmental reverence in American sensibility and thought, going back to the writings of Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. In the early 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt championed the idea of “conservation”.

The U.S. is also renowned for the decency, selflessness, and generosity of its people. It is one of the top countries in the world for charitable giving. It is built on a tradition of welcoming the migrant and offering everyone a fresh start. Pope Francis made this connection immediately in his White House address: “As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.”

The U.S. is also founded on a strong tradition of natural rights, emphasizing the dignity of every human being. Deeply respectful of religious liberty, it does not seek to banish religion from the public square. Indeed, many of the great social justice movements in this country have religious roots. I am thinking of the abolition of slavery; Martin Luther King’s campaign against institutionalized racism; Dorothy Day’s “passion for justice and for the cause of the oppressed”; or how Msgr. John A. Ryan used Catholic social teaching to influence President Roosevelt’s New Deal.

In practice, the U.S. has often been willing to take the lead in solving important global problems. I am thinking about the Marshall Plan after World War II, and the commitment to global solidarity through institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. I am thinking of President Kennedy’s brave efforts to build peace when the world seemed at the brink of a nuclear war, or of President Reagan’s goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

Today, American leadership is more needed than ever, specifically to help solve the crisis of climate change. This may well be the most important challenge of the 21st century. It calls for global dialogue and leadership. It is a moral issue of the highest order. No country can solve this problem alone, nor can the poorer ones without much help. The threat to our common home requires common solutions. It requires strong international agreements to phase out harmful carbon emissions and move instead to renewable energy. This is a central message of Laudato si’.

Yet the Encyclical is also grounded in realism. It does not shy away from naming the impediments to action, and it delves into the human roots of the environmental crisis. Pope Francis is strongly critical, not of capitalism, but of an ideology or “magical conception” of the market, as he puts it—because he knows the market alone cannot solve problems like social exclusion or a degraded global climate. As I said to Caritas Internationalis in May 2015, “Corporations and financial investors must learn to put long-term sustainability over short-term profit, and to recognize that the financial bottom line is secondary to, and at the service of, the common good.”[14] This is not a sentimental or naïve abstraction. Just this past week, we have the example of a major manufacturer hiding its impact on the environment—on all the people of the world—for the sake of profits. No, the market left entirely on its own is not automatically good.[15] It needs moral leadership, both from within and outside its precincts.[16]

Pope Francis is critical of the “bondage of individualism” and a culture of instant gratification that gives the immediate individual wants higher priority than the longer-term needs of many. He is critical of the “technocratic paradigm” which sacrifices morality on the altar of economic efficiency, and which places profit as the exclusive economic goal. He is critical of the myth of “infinite or unlimited economic growth”, based on the false belief that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s resources.

In some circles in the U.S., we can see traces of this excessive individualism, this belief in the liberating power of the market, this exaltation of technology and progress. We see evidence of short-term-ism—the politician subject to the electoral cycle, the business executive or investor putting short-term financial return over long-term sustainability. We see some public figures creating a dichotomy between economic issues and moral issues, forgetting that—as Pope Benedict XVI said—“every economic decision has a moral consequence”.

And internationally, negotiations leading up to Paris have at times been hampered by the “positions taken by countries which place their national interests above the global common good”[17] that Pope Francis sees as contributing to the failure of previous international summits.

Yet I am confident that America can tap into the very best of its moral foundations and traditions, and play a strong leadership role in overcoming this crisis. I know there is a lot of good work going on already. The Environmental Protection Agency has announced the Clean Power Plan that will reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants—and Pope Francis explicitly praised President Obama for his efforts to reduce air pollution.[18] Additionally, the U.S. has pledged $3 billion to the international Green Climate Fund that will enable lesser-developed nations to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

We also find progress at the local level. In July 2015, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences convened a meeting of the world’s mayors, and climate change was at the top of the agenda. It was gratifying to hear about the efforts of America’s local leaders to reduce carbon emissions and move to a more sustainable future, in places like New York and California.

But we need more progress. Much more. Stopping climate change is not just a job for politicians. Every single citizen has a stake in this.

Laudato si’ has given a tremendous boost to Catholic advocacy and efforts are being made to disseminate its teaching. In this country, the Conference of Catholic Bishops continues to advocate for a national carbon pollution standard. The bishops also urge the U.S. Congress to fulfil the nation’s commitment to the international Green Climate Fund. Internationally, bishops and Catholic development organizations continue to press nations for a just, science-based international climate agreement in Paris.

I know that the Catholic Climate Covenant is doing great work in supporting the advocacy of the U.S. bishops on climate change both domestically and internationally. Specific efforts include writing letters, signing petitions and visiting lawmakers’ offices around a national carbon pollution standard, the Green Climate Fund, and COP21 in Paris.[19] Additionally, Catholics are urged to form Creation Care Teams in their parish and work with their pastor to integrate Laudato si’ deeper into parish life. In conjunction with these efforts, I would strongly encourage people to write letters to the editor of their local newspaper urging that lawmakers support the bishops’ climate change advocacy positions. This is important with respect to a national carbon pollution standard, since the strength of an agreement at the Paris Climate Conference will partly depend on the commitments of the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Internationally, the Global Catholic Climate Movement has organized a petition to international leaders urging that they support an international climate agreement that “drastically cuts carbon emissions and aids the world’s poor in coping with climate change impacts.”[20] The petition has been endorsed by Pope Francis and can be signed online any time prior to the December Paris Climate Conference. On the multi-religious front, Religions for Peace has a global “Faiths for Earth” campaign, which is calling on all believers to promote the transition a hundred percent renewable energy by 2050.

Ultimately, I believe that America can marshal its best resources to solve the climate challenge and protect our common home—its creativity, its ingenuity, its willingness to tackle practical problems, its spirit of hard work. But also its core values like compassion, human rights, sense of solidarity, and commitment to the global common good. America has risen to such occasions before; it can do so again.

CONCLUSION

I have challenged you my patient audience with a great deal of material. I hope to have presented you with useful materials for your work ahead:

tools that arise from the comprehensive and morally-grounded vision of human and natural ecology of Pope Francis;
tools found in the writings of other Popes and in Catholic Social Teaching;
tools produced by the ongoing experience and innovation of courageous leaders and activists who focus on the common destiny of all nations and peoples, and on a shared engagement instead of insistence on being an exception to worldwide conditions.

Laudato si’ calls to action at every level. As a New Englander wisely commented recently, “We know what we need to know about the causes and consequences of our actions. What we don’t know is how to stop ourselves …”[21]

The great threat to our world now is carbon compounds in the atmosphere. Fifty years ago, when Pope Paul VI addressed the United Nations, it was nuclear bombs. Yet the message still applies—humans need to pause and reflect on the perilous effects of our actions.

In his address to the United Nations last Friday morning, Pope Francis quoted the prophetic words of Pope Paul VI: “For the danger comes neither from progress nor from science; if these are used well they can, on the contrary, help to solve a great number of the serious problems besetting mankind. The real danger comes from man, who has at his disposal ever more powerful instruments that are as well fitted to bring about ruin as they are to achieve lofty conquests.”[22]

Yes, “the real danger comes from man”, and equally the two-fold solution as summarized in my title, “sustainable humanity, sustainable planet.” Let us courageously take up the challenges of sustaining humanity and caring for our common home, the beautiful Planet Earth.

 

[1] http://ift.tt/1WScyqF

[2] http://ift.tt/1iQsjtw

[3] Ottmar Edenhofer and Christian Flachsland, "Laudato Si’: Concern for Our Global Commons", ThinkingFaith

[4] Catholic Climate Covenant, "Climate Change Teaching & Resources," Catholic Climate Covenant, http://ift.tt/1KNOI5L (accessed September 21, 2015).

[5] Cardinal Turkson quoted in the August 2015 National Geographic magazine, “Will the Pope Change the Vatican?” by Robert Draper. p. 56-57

[6] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (Washington, DC: USCCB Publishing, 2004).

[7] Thomas Aquinas, The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Second and Revised ed. (London: Burns, Oats & Washburne Ltd., 1920), II-II, 47.8.

[8] Pope Francis, "Speech at World Meeting of Popular Movements," Vatican Radio, http://ift.tt/1dPgHsI (accessed September 21, 2015).

[9] Robert J. Brulle and Robert J. Antonio, “The Pope’s fateful vision of hope for society and the planet,” Nature Climate Change 5 (October 2015), 901. http://ift.tt/1uSKa7A

[10] Michael J. Himes and Kenneth R. Himes, Fullness of Faith: The Public Significance of Theology (Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1993), 4-25.

[11] http://ift.tt/1RdExLT

[12] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship: A Call to Political Responsibility from the Catholic Bishops of the United States (Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011).

[13] National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, "Trends in Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide," National Oceanic

& Atmospheric Administration, http://ift.tt/rYo4M5 (accessed September 21, 2015).

[14] turkson_speech_at_caritas_general_assembly_2015

[15] “Neo-classical economics and selfish notions of utilitarianism are driving the globalized economy. Those approaches are destined to fail as they have no brake to discourage humanity from consuming, populating, or polluting enough to harm the life support system of our planet. As they take lives for proprietary gain, neo-classical economics and its decision tool, cost-benefit analysis, work to increase humanity’s foreseeable risks. We should reject the theory and its tools. We need to search for ways to control rather than follow neo-classical economics. We need a careful discussion about the needed changes and their timing.” John William Draper, “Why Law Now Needs to Control Rather than Follow Neo-Classical Economics,” Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper Series Research Paper No. #15-27, http://ift.tt/1KNOFaj

[16] Responding to Pope Francis’s call for decisive action on climate, the C.E.O. of Siemens declared, in the name other major companies like PepsiCo, Walmart and U.P.S., “Corporations have a responsibility to address the causes of climate change before it is too late… We have the technologies, we have the business cases and we have the responsibility. Now all we need is the commitment.” Joe Kaeser, “Addressing climate change pays off,” International New York Times (22 September 2015), 6.

[17] LS § 169. Pope John Paul II called them “forms of exaggerated nationalism and economic interests” in “Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All of Creation” (Message for World Day of Peace, 1990), 9. http://ift.tt/1FEZgZ8

[18] “You are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation…. To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to honour it” (23.09.15)

[19] Catholic Climate Covenant, "Advocate," Catholic Climate Covenant, http://ift.tt/1FEZi30 (accessed June 30, 2015).

[20] Global Catholic Climate Movement, "Sign the Catholic Climate Petition," Global Catholic Climate Movement, http://ift.tt/1bXyL2P (accessed June 30, 2015).

[21] http://ift.tt/1Kf6yDb Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature and Schumann Distinguished Scholar, Middlebury College

[22] http://ift.tt/1FEZi34

(from Vatican Radio)

from News.va http://ift.tt/1PLaoEa
via IFTTT

Archbishop Gallagher: Family key to sustainable development

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, spoke on 26 September at the United Nations Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

In his address, he said the “family, the natural and fundamental unit of society, is the primary agent of sustainable development, and therefore the model of communion and solidarity among nations and international institutions.”

Archbishop Gallagher said a shared concern for the family can help with poverty reduction, and better outcomes for children.

“It would do us well not to forget the ample evidence that family-friendly policies – including respect for religion and the right of parents to educate their children – contribute effectively to the achievement of development goals, including the cultivation of peaceful societies,” he said.

 

The full text of Archbishop Gallagher’s address is below

 

United Nations Summit for the Adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda

New York, 26 September 2015

 

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

 

The Holy See wishes to congratulate the International Community for adopting the Post-2015 Development Agenda.  Indeed, the “adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the World Summit is an important sign of hope”.[1]

The Holy See appreciates the Agenda’s focus on the eradication of poverty and hunger, based on the centrality of the human person and the related commitment to ensure that no one is excluded. Yesterday Pope Francis reminded us that “economic and social exclusion is a complete denial of human fraternity and a grave offence against human rights and the environment”.[2]  The 2030 Agenda should be built, he said, “on the foundations of a right understanding of universal fraternity and respect for the sacredness of every human life, of every man and every woman, the poor, the elderly, children, the infirm, the unborn, the unemployed, the abandoned…  This common home of all men and women must also be built on the understanding of a certain sacredness of created nature”.[3]

In this way, the pillars of integral human development: “housing, dignified and properly remunerated employment, adequate food and drinking water; religious freedom and, more generally, spiritual freedom and education – have a common foundation – the right to life and, more generally, what we could call the right to existence of human nature itself”.[4]

The 2030 Agenda for Development could be effective and practical if it provides immediate access, on the part of all, to essential material goods and respect for one’s freedom to attain essential spiritual goods.

That poverty has many forms means that sustainable development can neither be conceived nor measured in mere economic and statistical terms.  Various aspects of the 2030 Agenda pertain to human activity as such, and for this reason they entail an ethical dimension with attention to spiritual, moral and religious values,[5] namely those “categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what is human”.[6]

For our own sake and that of future generations, we need models of development that do not compromise human dignity and the health of our environment.  In the words of Pope Francis, “we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences.  We need to ensure that our institutions are truly effective in the struggle against all these scourges”.[7]

          The number and complexity of the problems require that we possess technical instruments for measuring progress.  But there are two risks.  On the one hand, we might become content with the merely “bureaucratic exercise of drawing up long lists of good proposals – goals, objectives and statistical indicators.” [8]   On the other hand, we might delude ourselves into thinking that “a single theoretical and aprioristic solution will provide an answer to all the challenges.”[9]  In the end, it must never be forgotten that political and economic undertakings are prudential activities, “guided by a perennial concept of justice and constantly conscious of the fact that, above and beyond our plans and programmes, we are dealing with real men and women who live, struggle and suffer, and are often forced to live in great poverty, deprived of all rights”.[10]

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

It is widely recognized that achieving each of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, and the many related targets, is a formidable challenge.  We must avoid diverting precious resources from the pursuit of the most fundamental goals.  In this regard, the Holy See has already made its reservations clearly known and is on record concerning certain targets as well as expressions.

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

In adopting this Agenda, the international community has chosen solidarity over egoism: solidarity with the excluded of today, solidarity with the poor of tomorrow, solidarity with future generations.

The family, the natural and fundamental unit of society, is the primary agent of sustainable development, and therefore the model of communion and solidarity among nations and international institutions.  A shared concern for the family and its members is a sure contributor to poverty reduction, better outcomes for children, equality between girls and boys, women and men, as well as improved work-family-rest balance, and stronger intra- and inter-generational bonds.  It would do us well not to forget the ample evidence that family-friendly policies – including respect for religion and the right of parents to educate their children – contribute effectively to the achievement of development goals, including the cultivation of peaceful societies.

Solidarity and cooperation are not mere sentiments; for them to be genuine, they must move us to action. Thus our choice must mean the determination to mobilize the resources needed to achieve our commitment.  It must mean building capacities in poorer countries at the earliest stages to ensure success.  It must mean sharing with the poor countries the technological know-how that can help them emancipate their people from extreme poverty, without placing heavy costs on the developed countries.  It must mean, on the part of all, justice, the rule of law, a strong commitment to fight corruption, and a genuine spirit of service for the sake of the common good.

Consequently, as we commit to the task of achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda, we must start with the conviction of “our common origin, our history, our common destiny”.[11]  We are a single human family in need of one another, with shared responsibilities and with a common destiny inseparably linked to our planet, our common home for which we all must care.

Distinguished Co-Chairs,

I would like to conclude by paraphrasing a passage from the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes of the Second Vatican Council: the joys and the hopes, the grief and the anguish of the people of our time, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of us all. Indeed, nothing genuinely human must ever fail to raise an echo in our hearts.[12]

Thank you.

 

[1] Pope Francis, Address to the United Nations Organization, New York, 25 September 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] The Holy See Position Part III Preparatory Committee of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, 13-15 June 2012 (cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, Nos. 36 and 37).

[6] pope francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, No. 11

[7] pope francis, Address to the United Nations Organization, New York, 25 September 2015.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, No.1.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Monday, September 28, 2015

Pope Francis visits Basilica of Saint Mary Major after trip to Cuba-USA

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis visited the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Monday, after his arrival at Rome’s Ciampino Airport. The Pope had just concluded a 10-day Apostolic Voyage to Cuba and the United States.

The Holy Father brought flowers to put before the image of “Salus Populi Romani”,  a Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child located in the Basilica’s Pauline Chapel.

Pope Francis traditionally visits the icon before and after each of his Apostolic trips. 

On Monday, several people were waiting for the Pope’s arrival, and he greeted and waved at them. He had avoided the photographers before his departure on Saturday, 19 September, by visiting the icon the previous evening.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis makes surprise visit to St. Joseph's University

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at Philadelphia’s Saint Joseph’s University on Sunday, shortly before celebrating the final Mass for the World Meeting of Families.

Pope Francis blessed a new statue -  “Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time” – which commemorates the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate, the Vatican II Document on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions.

The bronze work located in front of the Chapel of St. Joseph is by Philadelphia artist Joshua Koffman, and was  dedicated on 25 September.

Saint Joseph’s University is a Jesuit institution, and was the first University in the United States to found an Institute for Jewish-Catholic Relations.

 “To have him actually set foot on our campus was unforgettable, said Mark C. Reed, Saint Joseph’s president.

“This is a truly historic day for Saint Joseph’s University, Jesuit education across the country and the importance of interfaith relations,” he added.

Rabbi Abraham Skorka of Buenos Aires, a longtime friend of Pope Francis, was also at the brief ceremony.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis: "I’m not a star, but the servant of servants of God”

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis speaks about his just concluded visit to the United States and Cuba and touches on many issues including the sex abuse scandal in the Church, the right to be a conscientious objector, the peace accord in Colombia, migration and the upcoming Synod on the Family.  

The Pope was speaking to journalists on the papal flight that departed from Philadelphia on Sunday evening and landed in Rome on Monday morning, ending his 10th Apostolic Journey to Cuba, the United Nations and the United States.

During the journey Pope Francis answered questions put to him by 11 journalists on board the American Airlines flight.

The in-flight press conference lasted 47 minutes. Questions were asked in English, Spanish and Italian. 

Please find below our translation of the full transcript of the press conference:

Pope Francis: 
Good evening to all and thank you for the work because you went about from one place to the other and I was in a car but you… thank you very much. 

Elizabeth Dias, Time Magazine:
Thank you so much Holy Father Elizabeth Dias from TIME magazine. We are all so curious…this was your first visit to the US. What surprised you about the US and what was different to what you might have expected? 

Pope Francis: 
It was my first visit. I’d never been here before. What surprised me was the warmth, the warmth of the people, so lovable. It was a beautiful thing and also different: in Washington the welcome was warm but more formal; New York was a bit exuberant. Philadelphia very expressive. Three different kinds of welcome. I was very struck by this kindness and welcome but also by the religious ceremonies and also by the piety, the religiosity of the people... you could see the people pray and this struck me a lot. Beautiful. 

Elizabeth Dias, Time Magazine:
Was there some sort of challenge that you didn’t expect in the United States?  

Pope Francis: 
No, thank God no…everything was good. No challenge. No provocation. Everyone was polite. No insults and nothing bad.

Elizabeth Dias, Time Magazine:
Well, what is the challenge? 

Pope Francis: 
We must continue to work with the faithful like we have always done, until now. Accompanying people in their growth - through the good times but also through the difficult ones - accompanying people in their joy and in their bad moments, in their difficulties when there is no work, ill health. The challenge of the Church… now I understand: the Church’s challenge is staying close to the people. Close to the United States… not being a Church which is detached from the people but close to them, close, close and this is something that the Church in America has understood, and understood well. 

David O’Reilly, Philadelphia Inquirer: 
Holy Father: Philadelphia, as you know, has had a very difficult time with sex abuse. It’s still an open wound in Philadelphia. So I know many people in Philadelphia were surprised that you offered bishops comfort and consolation and I think many in Philadelphia would ask you why did you feel the need to offer compassion to the bishops? 

Pope Francis: 
In Washington I spoke to all the US bishops… they were all there no? I felt the need to express compassion because something really terrible happened. And many of them suffered who did not know of this. I used words from the bible from Apocalypse: You are coming from a large tribulation. What happened was a great tribulation. But also the suffering (emotional). What I said today to the victims of abuse. I wouldn’t say an apotheosis but almost a sacrilege. We know abuses are everywhere: in families, in neighborhoods, in schools, in gyms. But when a priest abuses it is very serious because the vocation of the priest is to make that boy, that girl, grow towards the love of God, toward maturity, and towards good. Instead this is squashed and this is nearly a sacrilege and he betrayed his vocation, the calling of the Lord. For this reason the Church is strong on this and one must not cover these things up. Those who covered this up are guilty. Even some bishops who covered this up, It is a terrible thing and the words of comfort were not to say: ”Don’t worry that was nothing… no, no, no even some bishops who covered this up, It’s a terrible thing and the words of comfort were not to say “don’t worry that was nothing…no, no , no, but it was so bad that I imagine that you cried hard”… that was the sense of what I meant and today I spoke strongly. 

Maria Antonieta Collins, Univision:
You have spoken a lot about forgiveness, that God forgives us and that we often ask for forgiveness. I would like to ask you, after you were at the seminary today. There are many priests that have committed sexual abuses to minors and have not asked for forgiveness for their victims. Do you forgive them? And on the other hand, do you understand the victims or their relatives who can’t or don’t want to forgive?

Pope Francis: 
If a person has done wrong, is conscious of what he has done and does not say sorry, I ask God to take him into account. I forgive him, but he does not receive that forgiveness, he is closed to forgiveness. We must forgive, because we were all forgiven. It is another thing to receive that forgiveness. If that priest is closed to forgiveness, he won’t receive it, because he locked the door from the inside. And what remains is to pray for the Lord to open that door. To forgive you must be willing. But not everyone can receive or know how to receive it, or are just not willing to receive it. What I’m saying is hard. And that is how you explain how there are people who finish their life hardened, badly, without receiving the tenderness of God.

Maria Antonieta Collins, Univision:
Regarding victims or relatives who don’t forgive  - do you understand them?

Pope Francis: 
Yes, I do. I pray for them. And I don’t judge them. Once, in one of these meetings, I met several people and I met a woman who told me “When my mother found out that I had been abused, she became blasphemous, she lost her faith and she died an atheist.” I understand that woman. I understand here. And God who is even better than me, understands her. And I’m sure that that woman has been received by God. Because what was abused,  destroyed, was her own flesh, the flesh of her daughter. I understand her. I don’t judge someone who can’t forgive. I pray and I ask God… God is a champion in finding paths of solutions. I ask him to fix it.

Andres Beltramo, Notimex:
Thanks, first of all for this moment. We’ve all heard you speak so much about the peace process in Colombia between the FARC and the government. Now, there’s an historic agreement. Do you feel involved in this agreement and you’ve said that you wished to go to Colombia when this agreement was made, right? Now there are a lot of Colombians awaiting you. 

Pope Francis: 
When I heard the news that in March the accord will be signed I said to the Lord, 'Lord, help us reach March.'  The willingness is there on both sides. It is there, even in the small group, everyone is in agreement. We have to reach March, for the definitive accord, which is the point of international justice. I was very happy and I felt like I was a a part of it because I’ve always wanted this. I spoke to president Santos twice about this problem. Not only myself, but also the Holy See. The Holy See was always willing to help and do what it could.
    
Thomas Jansen, CIC:
Holy Father, I wanted to ask something about the migrant crisis in Europe. Many countries are building new barriers out of barbed wire. What do you think of this development? 

Pope Francis:
You used a word, crisis. It’s become a state of crisis after a long process. For years, this process has exploded because wars for which those people leave and flee are wars waged for years. Hunger. It’s hunger for years. When I think of Africa… this is a bit simplistic. But I see it as an example. It comes to me to think about Africa, “the exploited continent.” They went to pick up the slaves there, then its great resources. It’s the exploited continent. And, now the wars, tribal or not. But they have economic interests behind them. And, I think that instead of exploiting a continent or a nation, make investments there instead so the people are able to work and this crisis would have been avoided. It’s true, as I said at Congress, it’s a refugee crisis not seen since World War II. It’s the biggest. You asked me about barriers. You know what happens to all walls. All of them. All walls fall. Today, tomorrow or in 100 years, they will fall. It’s not a solution. The Wall isn’t a solution. In this moment, Europe is in difficulty, it’s true. We have to be intelligent. We must find solutions. We must encourage dialogue between different nations, to find them. Walls are never solutions. But bridges are, always, always. I don’t know. What I think is that walls can last a little time or a long time. The problem remains but it also remains with more hatred. That’s what I think.

Jean Marie Guenois, Le Figaro:
Holy Father, you obviously cannot anticipate the debate of the synod fathers, we know that well. But we want to know just before the Synod, in your heart as a pastor, if you really want a solution for the divorced and remarried. We want to also know if your ‘motu proprio’ on the speeding-up of annulments has closed this debate. Finally, how do you respond to those who fear that with this reform, there is a de-facto creation of a so-called 'Catholic divorce.' Thank you.

Pope Francis: 
I’ll start with the last one. In the reform of the procedure and the way, I closed the door to the administrative path, which was the path through which divorce could have entered. You could say that those who think this is 'Catholic divorce' are wrong because this last document has closed the door to divorce by which it could have entered. It would have been easier with the administrative path. There will always be the judicial path.
Continuing with the third (question): the document…. I don’t remember the third but you correct me. 

Jean Marie Guenois, Le Figaro:
The question was on the notion of Catholic divorce, if the motu proprio has closed the debate before the synod on this theme?

Pope Francis:
This was called for by the majority of the Synod fathers in the synod last year: streamline the process because there are cases that last 10-15 years, no? There’s one sentence, then another sentence, and after there's an appeal, there's the appeal then another appeal. It never ends.  The double sentence, when it was valid that there was an appeal, was introduced by Papa Lambertini, Benedict XIV, because in central Europe, I won’t say which country, there were some abuses, and to stop it he introduced this but it's not something essential to the process. The procedure changes, jurisprudence changes, it gets better. At that time it was urgent to do this, then Pius X wanted to streamline and made some changes but he didn’t have the time or the possibility to do it. The Synod fathers asked for it, the speeding up of the annulment processes. And I stop there. This document, this ‘motu proprio’ facilitates the processes and the timing, but it is not divorce because marriage is indissoluble when it is a sacrament. And this the Church cannot change. It's doctrine. It’s an indissoluble sacrament. The legal trial is to prove that what seemed to be a sacrament wasn't a sacrament, for lack of freedom for example, or for lack of maturity, or for mental illness. There are so many reasons that bring about (an annulment), after a study, an investigation. That there was no sacrament. For example, that the person wasn't free.  Another example: now it’s not so common but in some sectors of common society at least in Buenos Aires, there were weddings when the woman got pregnant: 'you have to get married.' In Buenos Aires, I counselled my priests, strongly, I almost prohibited them to celebrate weddings in these conditions. We called them “speedy weddings”, eh? (They were) to cover up appearances. And the babies are born, and some work out but there's no freedom and then things go wrong little by little they separate (and say) 'I was forced to get married because we had to cover up this situation” and this is a reason for nullity. So many of them. 
Cases of nullity, you have, you can find them (the reasons) on the internet there all there are many, eh? Then, the issue of the second weddings, the divorcees, who make a new union. You read what, you have the “instrumentum laboris.” what is put in discussion seems a bit simplistic to me to say that the Synod is the solution for these people and that they can have communion. That's not the only solution. No, what the “Instrumentum laboris” proposes is a lot more, and also the problem of the new unions of divorcees isn't the only problem. In the “Instrumentum laboris” there are many. For example, young people don’t get married. They don’t want to get married. It's a pastoral problem for the Church. Another problem: the affective maturity for a marriage. Another problem: faith. 'Do I believe that this is for ever? Yes, yes, yes, I believe.' 'But do you believe it?' the preparation for a wedding: I think so often that to become a priest there's a preparation for 8 years, and then, its not definite, the Church can take the clerical state away from you. But, for something lifelong, they do four courses! 4 times… Something isn't right. It’s something the Synod has to deal with: how to do preparation for marriage. It’s one of the most difficult things.
There are many problems, they're all are listed in the “Instrumentum laboris.”
But, I like that you asked the question about 'Catholic divorce.' That doesn't exist. Either it wasn't a marriage, and this is nullity -- it didn't exist. And if it did, it's indissoluble. This is clear. Thank you.

Terry Moran, ABC News:
Holy Father, thank you, thank you very much and thank you to the Vatican staff as well. Holy Father, you visited the Little Sisters of the Poor and we were told that you wanted to show your support for them and their case in the courts. And, Holy Father, do you also support those individuals, including government officials, who say they cannot in good conscience, their own personal conscience, abide by some laws or discharge their duties as government officials, for example in issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. Do you support those kinds of claims of religious liberty?
    
Pope Francis:
I can’t have in mind all cases that can exist about conscience objection. But, yes, I can say the conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right.Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right, a human right. Otherwise we would end up in a situation where we select what is a right, saying 'this right that has merit, this one does not.' It (conscientious objection) is a human right. It always moved me when I read, and I read it many times, when I read the “Chanson de Roland” when the people were all in line and before them was the baptismal font and they had to choose between the baptismal font or the sword. They had to choose. They weren’t permitted conscientious objection. It is a right and if we want to make peace we have to respect all rights.

Terry Moran, ABC News:
Would that include government officials as well?
    
Pope Francis: 
It is a human right and if a government official is a human person, he has that right. It is a human right.

Stefano Maria Paci, Sky News:
Holiness, you used very strong words at the UN to denounce the world’s silence on the persecution of Christians, who are deprived of their homes, thrown out, deprived of their possessions, enslaved and brutally killed. Yesterday, President Hollande announced the beginning of a bombing campaign by France on ISIS bases in Syria. What do you think of this military action?   Also, the mayor of Rome, city of the Jubilee, declared that he came to the World Meeting of Families because you invited him.  Can you tell us how it went?

Pope Francis:
I will start with your second question.  I did not invite Mayor Marino. Is that clear?  I didn’t do it and I asked the organizers and they didn’t invite him either. He came. He professes to be a Catholic and he came spontaneously. That’s the first thing. But it is clear, heh? And now about bombardments. Truly, I heard the news the day before yesterday, and I haven’t read about it. I don’t know much about the situation. I heard that Russia took one position and it wasn’t clear yet about the United States.  I truly don’t know what to say because I haven’t fully understood the situation. But, when I hear the word bombing, death, blood… I repeat what I said in Congress and at the UN, to avoid these things. But, I don’t know, I can’t judge the political situation because I don’t know enough about it.  

Miriam Schmidt, German DPA Agency:
Holy Father, I wanted to ask a question about the relationship of the Holy See with China and the situation in this country which is also quite difficult for the Catholic Church. What do you think about this? 

Pope Francis:
China is a great nation that offers the world a great culture, so many good things. I said once on the plane when were flying over China when we were coming back from Korea that I would very much like so much to go to China. I love the Chinese people and I hope there is possibility of having good relations, good relations. We’re in contact, we talk, we are moving forward but for me, having a friend of a great country like China, which has so much culture and has so much opportunity to do good, would be a joy.

Maria Sagrarios Ruiz de Apodaca, RNE:
Thank you. Good evening, Holy Father. You have visited the U.S. for the first time, you had never been there before. You spoke to Congress, you spoke to the United Nations. You drew multitudes. Do you feel more powerful? And another question, we heard you draw attention to the role of religious women, of the women in the Church in the United States. Will we one day see women priests in the Catholic church as some groups in the U.S. ask, and some other Christian churches have?

Pope Francis:
He’s telling me not to answer in Spanish (referring to Fr. Federico Lombardi.) The sisters in the United States have done marvels in the field of education, in the field of health. The people of the United States love the sisters. I don’t know how much they love the priests, (laughs) but they love the sisters, they love them so much. They are great, they are great, great, great women. Then, one follows her congregation, their rules, there are differences. But are they great. And for that reason I felt the obligation to say thank you for what they have done. An important person of the government of the United States told me in the last few days: “The education I have, I owe above all to the sisters.” The sisters have schools in all neighborhoods, rich and poor. They work with the poor and in the hospitals. This was the first. The second? The first I remember, the second? 

Maria Sagrarios Ruiz de Apodaca, RNE
If you feel powerful after having been in the United States with your schedule and having been successful? 

Pope Francis:
I don’t know if I had success, no. But I am afraid of myself. Why am I afraid of myself? I feel always – I don’t know – weak in the sense of not having power and also power is a fleeting thing, here today, gone tomorrow. It’s important if you can do good with power. And Jesus defined power, the true power is to serve, to do service, to do the most humble services, and I must still make progress on this path of service because I feel that I don’t do everything I should do. That’s the sense I have of power.

Third, on women priests, that cannot be done. Pope St. John Paul II after long, long intense discussions, long reflection said so clearly. Not because women don’t have the capacity. Look, in the Church women are more important than men, because the church is a woman. It is “la” church, not “il” church. The Church is the bride of Jesus Christ. And the Madonna is more important than popes and bishops and priests. I must admit we are a bit late in an elaboration of the theology of women. We have to move ahead with that theology. Yes, that’s true.

Mathilde Imberty, Radio France
Holy Father, you have become a star in the United States. Is it good for the Church if the Pope is a star? 

Pope Francis:
The Pope must… Do you know what the title was of the Pope that ought to be used? Servant of the servants of God. It’s a little different from the stars. Stars are beautiful to look at. I like to look at them in the summer when the sky is clear. But the Pope must be, must be the servant of the servants of God. Yes, in the media this is happening but there’s another truth. How many stars have we seen that go out and fall. It is a fleeting thing. On the other hand, being servant of the servants of God is something that doesn’t pass. 

 

(from Vatican Radio)

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