Saturday, October 31, 2015

Pope's general prayer intention for November is for dialogue

The general prayer intention of Pope Francis for the month of November is for dialogue – that we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.  

At a meeting in Brazil, Pope Francis said: “When leaders in various fields ask me for advice, my response is always the same: dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.”  He said, “It is the only way for individuals, families, and societies to grow along with the culture of encounter, a culture in which all have something good to give and all can receive something good in return.”  And an important ingredient for a successful encounter and dialogue, according to the Pope, is the spirit of openness and the capacity to listen to the other.   However, there is no true peace without truth, he warns.  There cannot be true peace if everyone sticks to his own criterion, always claims exclusively his own rights, without caring for the good of others, of everyone.   Dialogue does not mean denying objective truth, but rather respecting the dignity of the other person “in a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced.”  Let’s therefore join Pope Francis in praying during the month of November, so that we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.  

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: Companies and executive offices can become places of holiness

Friday, October 30, 2015

Pope: God’s pardon is not a sentence from a law court

To the Santa Marta Group: combating human trafficking is a moral imperative for States

Vatican City, 30 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the Santa Marta Group, an initiative launched by the Holy Father in the battle against human trafficking, involving the security forces of various countries, episcopates, social organisations and representatives of various religious confessions. The group is currently gathered at the San Lorenzo del Escorial in Spain, a meeting inaugurated this Friday by Queen Sofia and attended by cardinals, bishops, social activists and around fifty heads of police from around the world.

In the short time of its existence, writes Francis, this worthy group has made significant achievements and is called upon to play a decisive role in the eradication of human trafficking and modern slavery. He recalls that during the last year there have been important institutional changes that have without doubt supported its activity, starting with the meeting of mayors in Vatican City on 21 July, in which key figures signed a declaration expressing their commitment to eliminating the new forms of slavery that constitute a crime against humanity.

He also mentions the recent approval of the Agenda 2030, with the new United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which include the adoption of immediate and effective means for eradicating forced labour, putting an end to modern forms of slavery and human trafficking and ensuring the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including the recruitment and deployment of child soldiers, with a view to putting an end to all forms of child labour by 2025.

The Pope also refers to his address to the United Nations in New York on 25 September, in which he affirmed that the world demands of government leaders “a will which is effective, practical and constant, concrete steps and immediate measures for preserving and improving the natural environment and thus putting an end as quickly as possible to the phenomenon of social and economic exclusion, with its baneful consequences. … Such is the magnitude of these situations and their toll in innocent lives, that we must avoid every temptation to fall into a declarationist nominalism which would assuage our consciences”. “Today the 193 states of the United Nations have a new moral imperative to combat human trafficking, a true crime against humanity. Collaboration between bishops and the civil authorities, each in accordance with his own mission and character and with the aim of discovering best practice for the fulfilment of this delicate task, is a decisive step to ensuring that the will of governments reaches the victims in a direct, immediate, constant, effective and concrete way”.

“For my part, I pray that God Almighty grant you the grace of carrying forward the delicate, humanitarian and Christian mission of healing the open and painful wounds of humanity, which are also Christ's wounds. I assure you of all my support and my prayer, and the support and prayer of the faithful of the Catholic Church. With God's help, and your collaboration, the indispensable service of the Santa Marta Group will be able to free the victims of new forms of slavery, rehabilitate them, along with the imprisoned and the marginalised, unmasking the traffickers and those who create this market, and provide effective assistance to cities and nations; a service for the common good and the promotion of human dignity, able to bring out the best in every person and every citizen”.



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The Pope's 60th anniversary message to the Latin American Episcopal Council on its: love your people, open paths of greater equality, justice and peace

Vatican City, 30 October 2015 (VIS) – To commemorate 60 years of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), the Pope has written a message to the president Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez in which he expresses his gratitude for all the good the Lord has gradually sown there, and that has borne fruit through the service of God's Church in Latin America.

“I hope that CELAM, making pastoral and missionary conversion its priority, may increasingly participate in, support and give momentum to this evangelising movement towards all environments and all frontiers. It is important that our communities are a 'home and school of communion', which attract by a surprising fraternity based on the recognition of the common father, and help always to keep alive in the Church in Latin America the passion for our peoples, the bearing of our sufferings and the capacity for Christian discernment of the vicissitudes of their recent history, to open up paths of greater equality, peace and justice”.

He also emphasises that the upcoming opening of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy “will be an event of grace in which CELAM must provide a fundamental service of inspiration, exchange and celebration”.

Finally, the Pope imparts his apostolic blessing to all members of CELAM, their collaborators, and the episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, placing all these intentions under the protection of the mantle of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of America, so that by her intercession “Our Lord Jesus Christ may inspire new and holier missionary disciples in our Churches, and more courageous builders of peace and justice in our nations”.



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Pope Francis' prayer intentions for November

Vatican City, 30 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father's universal prayer intention for November is: “That we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own”.

His intention for evangelisation is: “That pastors of the Church, with profound love for their flocks, may accompany them and enliven their hope”.



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Pope Francis: Martyrdom is a grace from God

Pope gets cricket bat after Anglican-Vatican match

Pope Francis has received an unusual gift aimed at boosting relations between the Catholic and Anglican Churches - a cricket bat signed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and his team following their recent rematch with the Vatican's XI on Rome's Campanelle grounds.

Australian Cardinal George Pell, a former rugby player who nevertheless knows cricket, gave Francis the bat on Thursday after the St. Peter's Cricket Club beat the Church of England's XI by 43 runs in a 20-over match this weekend.  Pope Francis promptly signed it himself.

The Vatican team includes seminarians and priests studying at Rome's pontifical universities. They are 4-0 this season ahead of an April rematch with the Royal Household.  Australia's Vatican ambassador, John McCarthy, said the Anglicans' visit ``strengthened personal and institutional relations'' between the two churches.  (Source: AP)

(from Vatican Radio)

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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Transmitting Christian hope: the Pope receives the participants in the 6th World Congress of Radio Maria

Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning the Pope received in the Sala Clementina the participants in the Radio Maria 6th World Congress, taking place in the shrine of Collevallenza, Italy from 25 to 30 October and attended by the presidents and priests who direct the 75 Radio Maria broadcasters throughout the world and the further six who will shortly become active. Thousands of volunteers contribute to the running of Radio Maria, which has around 30 million listeners worldwide.

Pope Francis began his address by commenting that ever since its creation the aim of Radio Maria has been to help the Church in her task of evangelising, and to do so in its own special way, “with closeness to the concerns and problems of the people, with words of consolation and hope, the fruit of faith and commitment to solidarity. … The spread of Radio Maria in many environments, very diverse in terms of culture, language and tradition, is good news for all as it shows that, when we have the courage to propose high profile content from a clearly Christian position, the initiative is well-received, beyond our best predictions, and at times by those who thereby perhaps come into contact with the message of the Gospel for the first time”.

The Pope invited the members of Radio Maria to continue their work, trusting in Providence that has always enabled them to find the means to respond to their daily needs regarding the modernisation of technologies and the development of the radio station, which has spread rapidly and organically. “In this respect, the challenge is to maintain your style of sobriety, while continuing to seek suitable tools”.

The work of Radio Maria has become “a true mission”, which must be carried out “with fidelity to the Gospel and to the Magisterium of the Church, and listening to society and to the people, especially the poorest and most marginalised, so as to be a point of reference and a support to all your listeners. … All those who listen to your radio programmes recognise you as a broadcaster that offers ample space to prayer, demonstrating that when one opens up to prayer, one opens the door … to the Lord. Your model in this is Our Lady. It is therefore necessary to love Mary with your heart to live and feel in harmony with the Church”.

The Pope concluded by urging the directors “always to cultivate the inner garden of prayer, of listening to the Word of God”, and to seek out “good readings, so as to deepen your faith. In other words, always be aware that you give something great and unique: Christian hope, which is far more than a mere spiritual consolation, since it is based on the power of the Resurrection, witnessed with faith and works of charity”.



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Programme of Pope Francis' visit to Prato and Florence

Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office today made public the programme of the Holy Father's visit to Prato and Florence, Italy on 10 November for the Fifth National Congress of the Italian Church.

The Pope will depart at 7 a.m. from the Vatican heliport and will arrive an hour later at the municipal sports camp in Prato. From there he will transfer to the cathedral and will address workers from the square. At 9 a.m. he will travel by helicopter from Prato to Florence where, after arrival at the Luigi Ridolfi stadium, he will visit the baptistery and will meet with the representatives of the National Congress of the Italian Church in Piazza Santa Maria del Fiore. At midday he will pray the Angelus and greet the sick in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, after which he will lunch with the poor who attend the San Francesco Poverino refectory. After celebrating Holy Mass in the Artemio Franchi municipal stadium, the Holy Father will greet the authorities and depart for Rome at 5 p.m., where he is due to arrive around 6 p.m.



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Pope: God can only love and not condemn

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says God can only love and not condemn and that love is His weakness and our victory. He said we are so closely bound to God’s love that nothing can sever us from it. That was the message at the heart of the Pope’s homily delivered on Thursday (29th October) at the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his cue from St Paul’s letter to the Romans, Pope Francis’s homily was a reflection on God’s unwavering love for us and how no person, or power or thing can separate us from this love. He said St Paul explains how Christians are the victors because “if God is for us, who can be against us.” This gift from God, he continued, is being held by Christians in their own hands and it’s almost as if they could say in a triumphalistic manner, “now we are the champions!”  But the meaning is another: we are the victors not because we are holding this gift in our hands but for another reason.  And that is because “nothing can ever separate us from God’s love which is in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

“It’s not because we are the victors over our enemies, over sin. No! We are so closely bound to God’s love that no person, no power, nothing can ever separate us from this love. Paul saw beyond the gift, he saw more, who is giving that gift: it is a gift of recreation, it’s a gift of regeneration in Jesus Christ. He saw God’s love. A love that cannot be explained.”

God’s impotence is His inability not to love

Pope Francis noted that every man, every woman can refuse this gift by preferring their own vanity, pride or sin but despite this God’s gift is always there for us.

“The gift is God’s love, a God who can’t sever himself from us. That is the impotence of God.  We say: ‘God is all powerful, He can do everything!” Except for one thing: Sever Himself from us! In the gospel, that image of Jesus who weeps over Jerusalem, helps us understand something about that love. Jesus wept! He wept over Jerusalem and that weeping is all about God’s impotence: his inability to not love (us) and not sever himself from us.”

Our safeguard: God cannot condemn but only love

The Pope goes on to explain how Jesus’ weeping over Jerusalem that kills its prophets and those that announce its salvation is an image of God’s love and tenderness. He admonishes Jerusalem and all of us saying: “How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you refused!”  He said that is why St Paul understands and can say: “I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever will be able to come between us and the love of God.”

“It’s impossible for God to not love us!  And this is our safeguard. I can refuse that love, I can refuse just like the Good Thief did, until the end of his life.  But that love was waiting for him there. The most wicked and the most blasphemous person is loved by God with the tenderness of a father.  And just as Paul said, as the Gospel said, as Jesus said: ‘Like a hen with her brood.’  And God the all-powerful, the Creator can do everything: God weeps!  All of God’s love is contained in this weeping by Jesus over Jerusalem and in those tears.  God weeps for me when I move away from him: God weeps for each one of us: God weeps for the evil people who do so many bad things, cause so much harm to mankind… He is waiting, he is not condemning (us) and he is weeping.  Why?  Because he loves (us)!” 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis receives Lithuanian President in private audience at Vatican

(Vatican) Pope Francis received Her Excellency Ms. Dalia Grybauskaitė,  president  of  the  Republic  of  Lithuania, in a private audience in the Vatican on Thursday. She subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions Ms Grybauskaitė expressed appreciation to the Catholic Church for the positive contribution it has made to Lithuanian society.

Attention then turned to a number of themes of common interest, such as European integration, the need for greater solidarity between nations to face various current challenges, the reception of migrants in Europe, peace and security at regional and international level, the conflict in Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to Syria and the Holy Land.

The President gave Pope Francis two gifts: two two highly revered images which celebrate Divine Mercy: 'The Divine Mercy' and 'The Mother of Mercy'.

The Image of Divine Mercy is venerated by pilgrims from around the world. This is the first and original image of Divine Mercy that was painted by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in 1934. In order to protect it from being destroyed during Soviet occupation, the image was removed from the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, and taken to a remote parish. The image was returned to Vilnius in 1986 and Pope John Paul II prayed before it on 5 September 1993 with the Polish community of Lithuania.

The Image of the Mother of Mercy (Mater Misericordiae) has been displayed in the Chapel of the Gate of Dawn since the 17th century, where it soon became renowned as a source of grace. The holy image is venerated by Roman Catholic and Orthodox faithful of many countries.

(from Vatican Radio)



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Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Chirograph for the institution of the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis

Vatican City, 28 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has instituted the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis by a chirograph bearing today's date. In the text, the Holy Father expresses his gratitude to the Congregation for Catholic Education for the initiatives organised to commemorate the fiftieth year since the declaration “Gravissimum educationis” on Christian education, promulgated the the Vatican Ecumenical Council II on 28 October 1965.

“I am likewise pleased to learn that the same Dicastery wishes to constitute on this occasion a Foundation entitled Gravissimum Educationis, with the aim of pursuing “scientific and cultural ends, intended to promote Catholic education in the world”, he adds. “The Church recognises the 'extreme importance of education in the life of man and how its influence ever grows in the social progress of this age', are profoundly linked to the fulfilment of 'the mandate she has received from her divine founder of proclaiming the mystery of salvation to all men and of restoring all things in Christ'”, he writes, quoting the conciliar Declaration.

The Pope goes on to institute as public canonical and civil juridical persons the Foundation Gravissimum Educationis, whose premises will be located in Vatican City and which will be subject to current canon law, current civil law in Vatican City, and its statutes.



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Archbishop Tomasi on interethnic, interreligious and intercultural exchange at IOM Conference

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva, spoke at a conference on Tuesday entitled “Migrants and Cities: New Partnerships to Manage Mobility”, organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Mons. Tomasi introduced his statement with figures illustrating how, “for the first time in human history, the density of population in urban areas surpasses the population in rural areas”. He said such demographic change could “turn much of the world into a global city”. The Archbishop outlined the positive effects of this trend, namely “the promise of economic progress, upward social mobility, greater access to jobs… improved education opportunities and healthcare”. 

However, he did go on to illustrate the many challenges faced by migrants and their host cities. Mons. Tomasi expressed concern about the fact that “migrants have been relegated to confined areas”; he explained that “these areas function as a type of exclusive social “barrier”, a sort of enclave for the wealthy classes, who shelter themselves within walls of protection against the insecurity that comes from social inequalities”. This fragile situation led the Archbishop to call for “a rethinking of the relationship between the city and migrants… in terms of urban space… and their interactions with other social groups”.

Mons. Tomasi then turned to the positive role played by migrants, demonstrating how they “contribute to the economic and social development of host cities”. He pointed out that “their involvement in the social and civic life of the urban community facilitates their integration and allows them to give back to the host country what they have received”.

He called for all urban citizens to “interact and to become involved together in issues of common interest and develop interethnic, interreligious and intercultural activity”. Such interchange will, he hopes, lead to a “dynamic two-way integration process, required for the creation of a shared citizenship”.

He reminded those gathered at the conference that “migrants become the “living proof” of the quality of a democracy”. He observed that “policies supportive of migrants… offer an extraordinary occasion for reflection on the values on which a democracy is based”. In other words, such policies “constitute a unique opportunity to improve respect for human rights and the basic principles of civilization”.

Concluding his statement, Archbishop Tomasi quoted Pope Francis: “The multicultural character of society today… calls us to deepen and strengthen the values needed to guarantee peaceful coexistence between persons and cultures”.

(from Vatican Radio)



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Pope appeals for solidarity for Pakistan/Afghanistan quake victims

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed for concrete solidarity for the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have been struck by a devastating earthquake.

The Pope’s appeal came during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square two days a massive earthquake that struck the remote Hindu Kush Mountains on the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Officials are warning that the death toll which has soared above 300 will likely leap once relief workers return from remote villages. 

“We remain close to the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have been struck by a strong earthquake, which has caused numerous victims and terrible damage” the Pope said.  

And assuring his prayers “for the deceased and their families, for all the wounded and those who remain without a home, imploring God for relief in their suffering and courage in the face of adversity" the Pope said: "May our concrete solidarity not lack for these our brothers.” 

Pope Francis’ appeal came on the heels of his weekly catechesis which was dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of  the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate” on the Church’s relations with other religions.

Recalling that this theme was very close to the heart of the Blessed Pope Paul VI who established the “Secretariat for non-Christians” which today is the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Pope expressed a specially warm greeting of welcome to people of different religions present in the Square for the Audience.

Noting that the Second Vatican Council represented an extraordinary time of reflection, dialogue and prayer to renew the vision of the Catholic Church regarding itself and the world.

And speaking of “Nostra Aetate” Pope Francis said the Council’s Declaration was an expression of the Church’s esteem for the followers of other religious traditions, and her openness to dialogue in the service of understanding and friendship.
  
And, he said, its message is important and timely today as peoples become increasingly interdependent as one human family.

The Pope noted that The past fifty years have seen much progress and expressed gratitude for the significant advances made in relations between Christians and Jews, and in those between Christians and Muslims.  

The world, he said,  rightly expects believers to work together with all people of good will in confronting the many problems affecting our human family.  

Pope Francis concluded expressing his hope that the forthcoming Jubilee of Mercy will be an occasion for ever greater interreligious cooperation in works of charity, reconciliation and care for God’s gift of creation.  

“As we look to the future of interreligous dialogue, let us pray that in accordance with God’s will, all men and women will see themselves as brothers and sisters in the great human family, peacefully united in and through our diversities” he said.

(from Vatican Radio)



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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Pope: prayers for earthquake victims

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has expressed his sorrow at “the tragic loss of life in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of the earthquake in the region.” The Pope’s remarks were conveyed in a telegram from Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, addressed to Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader, the Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan.

Below, please find the full text of the telegram:

His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic loss of life in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of the earthquake in the region. He expresses his heartfelt solidarity with all those affected by this disaster, and he offers the assurance of his prayers for the dead, as well as for the injured and those still missing. Upon all those who mourn the loss of loved ones and upon the civil authorities and emergency personnel involved in the relief efforts, Pope Francis invokes the divine blessings of consolation and strength.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State

(from Vatican Radio)

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Esteem and appreciation for Patriarch Bartholomew I, awarded the Sophia University Institute's first doctorate honoris causa

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the cardinal archbishop of Florence, Giuseppe Bettori, Grand Chancellor of the On the occasion of the Sophia University Institute, Loppiano, Italy, following the conferral of a doctorate honoris causa in “Culture of Unity” to His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

The Holy Father greets those present, expresses his closeness, and offers a special thought for his beloved brother Bartholomew, to whom, he writes, “I renew my sentiments of profound esteem and heartfelt appreciation, rejoicing in the present initiative which, as well as constituting heartfelt recognition for his commitment to the promotion of the culture of unity, contributes favourably to the common journey our Churches take towards full and visible unity, to which we aspire with dedication and perseverance”.

“In the hope that the Sophia University Institute, following the charism of the Focolari Movement and open to the action of the Spirit, may continue to be a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and religions, I assure my prayerful remembrance and, asking for your prayers, I impart my Blessing to all present”, the Pope concludes.



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Presentation of the 51st International Eucharistic Congress

Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, to take place in Cebu, Philippines from 24 to 31 January 2016 on the theme “Christ in you, our Hope of glory; the Eucharist, source and goal of mission”. The speakers were Archbishop Jose S. Palma of Cebu, Philippines, Archbishop Piero Marini, Italy, president of the Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, and Fr. Vittore Boccardi, S.S.S., member of the same committee.

Archbishop Palma commented on the importance of the choice of Asia and the Philippines to host the Congress. “In recent years, Asia is the continent that has become one of the great engines of world growth in the economic and social point of view”, he said. “From the religious point of view, however, it is still a contingent that has to be evangelised; … where the Catholic Church is a small minority; in spite of being the continent where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again. The 51st Eucharistic Congress, therefore, could become the mirror of the Asian Church in the sense that it will see how the Catholic Church carries out its task of evangelisation. As with the previous Congresses, representatives of the different Churches and a myriad of pilgrims from all over the world will be attending”.

The Congress, he continued, is expected to be attended by “around 20 cardinals, 50 bishops from other countries and at least 100 Filipino bishops who gather for the Catholic Bishops Conference Plenary Assembly in January 2016. As of October 2015, we already have 8,345 registered pilgrims representing 57 nations”. In addition, said Archbishop Palma, so far there are 600 registered host families ready to welcome pilgrims.

The events of the Congress will be divided into two main parts: the first, the “Theological Symposium”, will take place from 20 to 22 January, and the “Congress Proper”, from 24 to 31 January. The basic themes for reflection during the Theological Symposium are: “The Christian Virtue of Hope”; “Eucharist in the Gospel of St. John”; “Liturgy and Inculturation”; “The History of the Novus Ordo”; “Evangelising the Secular World” and “A Catechism on the Sunday Eucharist”. During the Congress Proper, the themes will be “Christ our Hope of Glory”; “Christian Hope”; “The Eucharist as Celebration of the Paschal Mystery”; “The Eucharist as Mission”; “Mission as Dialogue”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with Cultures”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with the Poor”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with other Religions” and “The Eucharist and Mary”.

Archbishop Marini, with reference to the theme of the Congress, affirmed that “the evangelical announcement and faith in the Lord Jesus professed by the Christian community are important and necessary for Asia, but must be presented in accordance with the methods of dialogue, methods that have distinguished the activity of the particular Churches of the continent in the last thirty years. It is precisely this programme of dialogue with cultures, religious traditions and the multitudes of the poor that forms, in an entirely natural and evident way, the fabric of pastoral reflections contained in the basic text. The text explains that the Eucharist is the source and culmination of the mission of the Church and identifies the added value offered by the Eucharistic celebration for a mission that is committed to leavening through the enzymes of dialogue, reconciliation, peace and future, of which Asia is in great need”.

“The Eucharistic Congresses, then, will go to Cebu to recall that the mission is an exchange of gifts between those who announce and who receive the evangelical message”, he added. “They go to the city that is the cradle of Christianity in the East to give and to receive, to evangelise and to be evangelised, to speak but also to listen. In that human environment that is not linked to the labyrinth of rationalism, the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery is bound with the experience of poverty, suffering and affections and continues to build communities that wish to break bread in the Kingdom of God”.

Finally, Fr. Boccardi commented that the event in Cebu, along with the World Youth Days, World Family Day, and so on, will become “an extraordinary resource for bearing witness, through its celebration, to how the Eucharist is not only the source of life in the Church but also the place of its projection in the world. Every particular Church that celebrates the Eucharist in any part of the world, is called upon to demonstrate the maturity of giving to others, of mutual listening, of availability and concrete collaboration so that the community of faithful might become the house of God and of our brothers amid the homes of mankind. There it will be possible to live that 'dialogue of life” that is a starting point for the joyful witness of the Gospel”.



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Monday, October 26, 2015

Pope holds out Indian bishop as example of vocations among Gypsies

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday noted there was a strong growth in vocations to the priesthood and ‎religious ‎life from among the gypsy people, holding out an Indian bishop from among them as case in ‎point.  ‎‎“Today we have with us Bishop Devprasad Ganawa, a son of this people,” Pope Francis said, ‎pointing ‎to the first bishop from among the gypsies appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to Jhabua, ‎Madhya ‎Pradesh, in 2009 and then to Udaipur, Rajasthan, in 2012. The remark of Pope Francis ‎came in his meeting with some 7000 gypsies from around the world who on Monday ended a ‎‎4-day ‎pilgrimage to Rome, to commemorate 50 years of the historic visit of Blessed Pope Paul ‎VI to a ‎gypsy ‎camp in Pomezia, near Rome.  ‎

‎“Dear consecrated people, your brothers and sisters look up to you with trust and hope for your ‎role ‎and all you are able to do for reconciliation within society and the Church,” the Pope told the ‎religious ‎and priests from among the nomadic people.  He urged them to accompany their ‎people not only in ‎their spiritual journey but also in their daily life with all their struggles, joys and ‎preoccupations. ‎

Noting that the nomadic people are subject to discrimination, Pope Francis said, ‎“No one must feel isolated and no one is entitled to trample on the dignity and the rights of ‎others.” adding, “Time has come to uproot secular prejudice, preconceived ideas and ‎the ‎reciprocal diffidence that are often at the base of discrimination, racism and xenophobia,”  ‎the Pope stressed.

The Pope's meeting with Gypsies wore a carnival look with music and dance. At the end, the Pope crowned a statue of the Virgin Mary with Jesus. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: Telegram on death of Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram to the head of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference expressing his condolences on the death of Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec, S. J., Bishop emeritus of Nitra, Slovakia. Cardinal Korec died on Saturday 24 October 2015 in Nitra. He was 91 years old.

In the telegram, addressed to Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský of Bratislava, Pope Francis described the late Cardinal as a “zealous and generous pastor who, during his long ecclesial ministry showed himself to be a fearless witness of the Gospel and a strenuous defender of the Christian Faith and the rights of the human person.” The Holy Father noted that Cardinal Korec was imprisoned during Soviet Communist rule in what was then Czechoslovakia – but although he was impeded for many years from exercising his episcopal ministry, the Pope said, “he was never intimidated” but always gave “a luminous example of strength and confidence in the divine providence, as well as of fidelity to the See of Peter.”

Pope Francis offered thanks to God for His gift of Cardinal Korec to the Church, and prayed that the Lord might welcome him into “His eternal joy, after so many sufferings.” 

(from Vatican Radio)



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Bishops call for "transformational" climate agreement

(Vatican Radio) Bishops from around the world have appealed to the COP 21 meeting in Paris to create a “fair, legally binding, and truly transformational” climate agreement.

The bishops are the presidents of several regional episcopal bodies representing every continent on earth, and presented their appeal on Monday in the Holy See Press Office.

The Paris meeting taking place from 7- 8 December will bring together leaders from governments, business and finance, the United Nations, NGOs, and other members of civil society to help create an agreement to protect the environment.

Citing Pope Francis’ encyclical letter, Laudato si’, the bishops reaffirm “the natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone.”

The full text of the appeal is below.

APPEAL TO COP 21 NEGOTIATING PARTIES

The following appeal is issued by Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops from across the globe representing the continental groupings of national episcopal conferences. It is addressed to those negotiating the COP 21 in Paris and it calls on them to work toward the approval of a fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement.

Representing the Catholic Church from the five continents, we Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops have come together to express, on our own behalf and on behalf of the people for whom we care, the widely-held hope that a just and legally binding climate agreement will emerge from the negotiations of the COP 21 in Paris. We advance a ten-point policy proposal, drawing on the concrete experience of people across the continents, and linking climate change to social injustice and the social exclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens.

Climate Change: challenges and opportunities

In his encyclical letter, Laudato si’ (LS), addressed ‘to every person living on this planet’ (LS 3), Pope Francis claims that ‘climate change represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity today’ (LS 25). The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all (LS 23). The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone (LS 95).

Whether believers or not, we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. For believers, this becomes a question of fidelity to the Creator, since God created the world for everyone. Hence every ecological approach needs to incorporate a social perspective which takes into account the fundamental rights of the poor and the underprivileged (LS 93).

Damage to climate and environment has enormous repercussions. The problem arising from the dramatic acceleration of climatic change is global in its effects. It challenges us to re- define our notions of growth and progress. It poses a lifestyle question. It is imperative that we find a solution that is consensual, because of the scale and global nature of the climate’s impact, it invites a solidarity that is universal, a solidarity that is ‘intergenerational’ and ‘intragenerational’. (LS 13, 14, 162)

The Pope defines our world as ‘our common home’ and, in the exercise of our stewardship, we must keep in mind the human and social degradation which is a consequence of a damaged environment. We call for an integral ecological approach, we call for social justice to be placed centre stage ‘so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ (LS 49).

Sustainable development must include the poor

While deploring the dramatic impact of rapid climate change on sea levels, extreme weather events, deteriorating ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity, the Church is also witness to how climate change is affecting vulnerable communities and peoples, greatly to their disadvantage. Pope Francis draws our attention to the irreparable impact of unrestrained climate change in many developing countries across the world. Moreover, in his address to the United Nations the Pope said the misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion.1

Courageous Leaders seeking enforceable agreements

The building and maintenance of a sustainable common home requires courageous and imaginative political leadership. Legal frameworks are required which clearly establish boundaries and ensure the protection of the ecosystem (LS 53).

Reliable scientific evidence suggests that accelerated climate change is the result of unrestrained human activity, working to a particular model of progress and development, and that excessive reliance on fossil fuels is primarily responsible. The Pope and Catholic Bishops from five continents, sensitive to the damage caused, appeal for a drastic reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide and other toxic gases.

We join the Holy Father in pleading for a major break-through in Paris, for a comprehensive and transformational agreement supported by all based on principles of solidarity, justice and participation.2 This agreement must put the common good ahead of national interests. It is essential too that the negotiations result in an enforceable agreement that protects our common home and all its inhabitants.

We, Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops, issue a general call and make ten specific policy proposals. We call on COP 21 to forge an international agreement to limit a global temperature increase to within those parameters currently suggested from within the global scientific community to avoid catastrophic climatic impacts, especially on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. There is, we agree, a common but also differentiated responsibility of all nations. Different countries have reached a different stage on the development spectrum. The need to work together in a common endeavour is imperative.

Our ten calls:

  1. to keep in mind not only the technical but particularly the ethical and moral dimensions of climate change as indicated in Article 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  2. to accept that climate and atmosphere are global common goods that are belonging to all and meant for all.
  3. to adopt a fair, transformational and legally binding global agreement based on our vision of the world that recognises the need to live in harmony with nature, and to guarantee the fulfilment of human rights for all, including those of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth and workers.
  4. to strongly limit a global temperature increase and to set a goal for complete decarbonisation by mid-century, in order to protect frontline communities suffering from the impacts of climate change, such as those in the Pacific Islands and in coastal regions.                             to ensure that the temperature threshold is enshrined in a legally binding global agreement, with ambitious mitigation commitments and actions from all countries recognising their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC), based on equity principles, historical responsibilities, and the right to sustainable development.                                                                                        to secure that the emissions reductions by governments are in line with the decarbonisation goal, governments need to undertake periodic reviews of the pledges they make and of the ambition they show. And to be successful these reviews need also to be based on science and equity and shall be mandatory.
  5. to develop new models of development and lifestyles that are climate compatible, address inequality and bring people out of poverty. Central to this is to put an end to the fossil fuel era, phasing out fossil fuel emissions, including emissions from military, aviation and  shipping,  and  providing affordable, reliable  and  safe renewable energy access for all.
  6. to ensure people’s access to water and to land for climate resilient and sustainable food systems, which give priority to people driven solutions rather than profits.
  7. to ensure inclusion and participation of the poorest, most vulnerable and impacted at all levels of the decision-making process.
  8. to ensure that the 2015 agreement delivers an adaptation approach that adequately responds to the immediate needs of the most vulnerable communities and builds on local alternatives.
  9. to recognise that adaptation needs are contingent on the success of mitigation measures taken. Those responsible for climate change have  responsibilities to assist the most vulnerable in adapting and managing loss and damage and to share the necessary technology and knowhow.
  10. to provide clear roadmaps on how countries will meet the provision of predictable, consistent, and additional finance commitments, ensuring a balanced financing of mitigation actions and adaptation needs.

All this would call for serious ecological awareness and education (LS 202-215).

Prayer for the Earth

God of love, teach us to care for this world our common home. Inspire government leaders as they gather in Paris:

to listen to and heed the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor;
to be united in heart and mind in responding courageously;
to seek the common good and protect the beautiful earthly garden you have created for us, for all our brothers and sisters, for all generations to come.

Amen.

_________________

1 Address of the Holy Father, United Nations Headquarters, New York, Friday 25 September 2015.

2 Address of the His Holiness Pope Francis to the Environment Ministers of the European Union, Vatican City, 16 September 2015.

BISHOP SIGNATORIES TO THIS DECLARATION:

HIS EMINENCE OSWALD CARDINAL GRACIAS

Archbishop of Bombay, India
President of FABC (Asia)

HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP GABRIEL MBILINGI

Archbishop of Lubango, Angola
President of SECAM (Africa)

HIS EMINENCE PÉTER CARDINAL ERDŐ

Archbishop of Esztergom –Budapest
President of CCEE (Europe)

HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH KURTZ

Archbishop of Louisville
President of USCCB (USA)

HIS EMINENCE REINHARD CARDINAL MARX

Archbishop of Munich, Germany
 President of COMECE (Europe)

HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP JOHN RIBAT

Archbishop of Port Moresby, PNG
 President of FCBCO (Oceania)

HIS EMINENCE RUBEN CARDINAL SALAZAR GÓMEZ

Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia
 President of CELAM (Latin America)

HIS EXCELLENCY BP. DAVID DOUGLAS CROSBY OMI

Bishop of Hamilton, Canada
President of CCCB-CECC (Canada)

HIS BEATITUDE BECHARA BOUTROS CARDINAL RAI

Patriarch of Antioch (Maronite)
President of CCPO (Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient)
                                                                                                         

Written in collaboration with our Catholic networks CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis and with the sponsorship of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

(from Vatican Radio)



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Pope urges Gypsies to take responsibility for their present and their future

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called on Gypsies to “turn the page” and give life to a new chapter in the history of the traditionally nomadic people.

“Time has come, he said, to uproot secular prejudice, preconceived ideas and the reciprocal diffidence that are often at the base of discrimination, racism and xenophobia” he said.

“No one must feel isolated” the Pope continued, and “no one is entitled to trample on the dignity and the rights of others”.

Pope Francis was speaking to some 7000 Gypsies gathered in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican for an audience marking the 50th anniversary of the Blessed Paul VI’s historic meeting with Roma people in a gypsy camp near Rome.

And highlighting the fact that every person has the right to a dignified life and a dignified job with access to education and health care, he told  those present that they have the responsibility of building bridges with the rest of society in the name of a “peaceful co-habitation” in which different cultures and traditions can safeguard their values with an attitude of openness, with dialogue and integration.

“We do not want to have to witness any more family tragedies in which children die from cold or are burnt in fires” he said.

Nor – he continued - do we want to see children who are used like objects by depraved persons, or young people and women implicated in the trafficking of drugs or people.

Pope Francis exhorted the Roma, Sinti and other itinerant peoples to become protagonists of fraternity and sharing in our cities in which there is so much individualism.

“You can do this if you are good Christians, avoiding all that is not worthy of this name: lies, frauds, swindles, altercations” he said.

And the Pope held up the example of the Blessed Zeffirino Giménez Malla as a model of life and religiosity.

And urging those present to avoid giving the media and public opinion occasions to speak badly of Gypsies, he told them to be protagonists of their present and of their future.

And speaking of future Pope Francis said “children are your most precious treasure” and he pointed out that education is at the base of the healthy development of the person.

It is known, he said, that an insufficient level of education of many young Gypsy people represents the main obstacle in entering the world of work.

“Your children have the right to go to school, do not stop them from doing so!” he said.

And noting that it is the responsibility of adults to make sure their children obtain an education that will enable them to become citizens who can fully participate in the social, political and economic life of the country, Pope Francis also asked civil institutions to guarantee adequate formation courses for young Gypsies, giving those families most in need the possibility of being integrated in educational and labour programmes. 

             

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope to Chaldean Synod: ‘exercise of communion demands self-abasement’

Pope Francis: Christians must work for "abolition of war"

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday urged the “abolition of war” while meeting participants in a training course for military chaplains jointly organized by the Congregation for Bishops, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

The course explored some of the current challenges of international humanitarian law regarding the protection of human dignity during internal armed conflicts and the so-called “new conflicts.”

Pope Francis told the participants the issue is “unfortunately, very topical” due to the increased violence and armed conflicts in different parts of the world, such as Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

“In this age, in which we are experiencing a ‘piecemeal third world war ‘, you are called upon to supply the military and their families with the spiritual and ethical dimensions which help them to face the difficulties and often harrowing questions inherent in this peculiar service to their country and to humanity,” he said.

“Many soldiers return from war operations or peacemaking missions with real inner wounds,” Pope Francis said. “War can leave an indelible mark in them. War, in fact, always leaves an indelible mark.”

Pope Francis said it is appropriate to wonder how to treat the spiritual wounds of soldiers who have witnessed atrocities during war.

“These people and their families require specific pastoral attention, which allows them to feel the maternal presence of the Church,” Pope Francis said. “The role of the chaplain is to accompany them and support them in their journey, as a fraternal and comforting presence.”

Pope Francis also spoke of the role humanitarian law plays in safeguarding the essential principles of humanity in a context which is “itself dehumanizing.”

The Holy Father pointed out humanitarian law aims to protect non-combatants; tries to ban weapons which cause horrible and unnecessary suffering,; and attempts to protect the natural environment and cultural heritage. He said because of this important mission, humanitarian law deserves to be “promoted and spread” among all militaries and armed forces, “including non-state actors.”

“In addition, it needs to be further developed, to deal with the new reality of the war, which today, unfortunately, uses increasingly deadly tools,” said Pope Francis.

“However, as Christians, we are deeply convinced that the ultimate goal, the most worthy of the person and the human community, is the abolition of war,” he said.

“Therefore, we must always strive to build bridges that bring us together, and not walls that keep us apart; we always have to help search for an opening to mediation and reconciliation; we must never give in to the temptation of considering the other only as an enemy to be destroyed, but rather as a person, endowed with inherent dignity, created by God in His image,” Pope Francis said.

“Even in the midst of the lacerations of war” – the Holy Father said – “we must never get tired of remembering that each person is extraordinarily sacred.”

(from Vatican Radio)



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Sunday, October 25, 2015

Pope Francis celebrates closing Mass of Synod of Bishops on Family

(Vatican Radio) Sunday 25 Oct. Lines of faithful spiraled around St. Peter's Square from early on Sunday awaiting their chance to enter St. Peter’s Basilica for the closing Mass of the Synod on the Family. The Mass, presided over by Pope Francis, marked the end of the second gathering of the Synod of Bishops to discuss "The Mission and Vocation of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World."

Families from all over the world filled the Basilica. As the Synod Fathers walked down the aisle people waived eagerly when they spotted their own bishop – or, of course, their favourite cardinal!

In his homily Pope Francis concentrated on the readings of the day. He said that the three readings "show us God's compassion, his fatherhood, definitively revealed in Jesus."

The prophet Jeremiah, the Holy Father said, proclaims that God has saved his people, the remnant of Israel, because he is their Father. God takes care of his people and accompanies them on their way.  "God will change their captivity into freedom, their solitude into communion," he said.

Commenting on the Second Reading from the letter to the Hebrews, Pope Francis said that it reveals Jesus' compassion. Jesus is "beset with weakness, so that he can feel compassion for those in ignorance and error."

Pope Francis said that Gospel was directly linked to the First Reading. Jesus' compassion frees Bartimaeus. "Jesus is moved by his request and becomes involved in his situation." The Holy Father said that it was significant that he is told to "take heart" which means, "have faith, strong courage!" He went on to say that Jesus gives people strength to face difficult situations. He said that the second important word was "rise". "When humanity's cry, like Bartimaeus', becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make Jesus' words our own and, above all, imitate his heart."

Pope Francis warned of temptations for those who follow Jesus. He said that Mark’s Gospel showed at least two of them. First, none of the disciples stopped to do anything for the blind man, they were deaf, and his problem was not theirs. The Holy Father said that we, today, could do the same. He said that this can be called a "spirituality of illusion" because "we can walk through the streets of humanity without seeing what is really there; instead we see what we want to see."

The second temptation the Pope spoke of was the danger of falling into a "scheduled faith." He said this is when we are able to walk with the People of God but we already have "our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed". By doing this, the Holy Father said, we run the risk of becoming like the "many" in the Gospel who lose patience with Bartimaeus.

Pope Francis said “Just a short time before, they scolded the children, and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded.  Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him.  They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus.”

In the end, Pope Francis added, Bartimaeus “did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus.”

The Holy Father thanked the Synod Fathers who have “walked together.”  He said that, with eyes fixed on Jesus, they have searched for paths “which the Gospel indicates for our times so that we can proclaim the mystery of family love.” He told the Synod Fathers that now they have to “follow the path the Lord desires” not allowing “ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.”

The prayers of the faithful were read in five languages – including Chinese, French, Polish, English, and Hindi – praying for the Church, families, world leaders, the economic situation and the poor, suffering and lonely.

The president-delegates of the Synod and the general secretaries concelebrated with Pope Francis.

At the end of the Mass, before leaving the Basilica, the Salve Regina was sung. The Holy Father paused at the image of the Holy Family during the Salve Regina and then, left the Basilica with the bishops in procession down the main aisle.

(Fr. Russell Pollitt, SJ)

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis: Angelus appeal for migrant families

(Vatican Radio) Prayerful and practical solidarity to every family that has been forced to flee a homeland torn by strife and to seek a better future in distant lands and far-off shores: this was the promise of Pope Francis in remarks to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square before the Angelus prayer this Sunday.

Drawing on the first reading of the XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time, from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, which tells of the Lord’s promise to deliver His faithful people from captivity and restore them to liberty, Pope Francis said, “[T]his prophecy of a people on their way is one I have also confronted with the images of refugees making their way along the streets of Europe, a dramatic reality of our times. God says to them: ‘They left weeping, I shall lead them back amid consolations.’ Those families most suffering, uprooted from their land, were present with us in the Synod as well: in our prayers and in our work, through the voice of some of their pastors present at the meeting. These people in search of dignity, these families searching for peace, remain with us still: the Church does not abandon them, for they are part of the people that God desires to free from slavery and lead to freedom.”

The traditional prayer of Marian devotion followed Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, to mark the closing of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which met in Rome over the past three weeks for prayerful reflection and discussion of the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.

In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the story recounted in the reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, in which the Lord miraculously restores the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, to sight. The Holy Father focused on the way the story dramatizes need for all of us in the Church to make sure that our desires are ordered to Christ, and then to be confident in approaching Him with humility as we ask Him for every blessing – even as we are mindful of all He has done for us, and desirous of sharing the Good News with those, who need it most.

“Let us follow the path that the Lord desires,” said Pope Francis. “Let us ask Him to turn to us with his healing and saving gaze, which knows how to radiate light, as it recalls the splendour which illuminates it.” The Holy Father concluded, saying, “Never allowing ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.”  

(from Vatican Radio)



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Pope Francis: homily at closing Mass for Synod Assembly

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass being offered on Sunday morning, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, to mark the close of the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, who have been gathered in Rome for the past three weeks to reflect on and discuss the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.

Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy Father's prepared remarks

***************************************************************

Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis

Holy Mass for the Closing of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly

of the Synod of Bishops

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 25 October 2015

The three Readings for this Sunday show us God’s compassion, his fatherhood, definitively revealed in Jesus.

In the midst of a national disaster, the people deported by their enemies, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims that “the Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel” (31:7).  Why did he save them?  Because he is their Father (cf. v. 9); and as a Father, he takes care of his children and accompanies them on the way, sustaining “the blind and the lame, the women with child and those in labour” (31:8).  His fatherhood opens up for them a path forward, a way of consolation after so many tears and great sadness.  If the people remain faithful, if they persevere in their search for God even in a foreign land, God will change their captivity into freedom, their solitude into communion: what the people sow today in tears, they will reap tomorrow in joy (cf. Ps 125:6).  

         We too have expressed, with the Psalm, the joy which is the fruit of the Lord’s salvation:  “our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongues with shouts of joy” (v. 2).  A believer is someone who has experienced God’s salvific action in his life.  We pastors have experienced what it means to sow with difficulty, at times in tears, and to rejoice for the grace of a harvest which is beyond our strength and capacity. 

         The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews shows us Jesus’ compassion.  He also “is beset with weakness” (5:2), so that he can feel compassion for those in ignorance and error.  Jesus is the great high priest, holy and innocent, but also the high priest who has taken on our weakness and been tempted like us in all things, save sin (cf. 4:15).  For this reason he is the mediator of the new and definitive covenant which brings us salvation.

         Today’s Gospel is directly linked to the First Reading: as the people of Israel were freed thanks to God’s fatherhood, so too Bartimaeus is freed thanks to Jesus’ compassion.  Jesus has just left Jericho.  Even though he has only begun his most important journey, which will take him to Jerusalem, he still stops to respond to Bartimaeus’ cry.  Jesus is moved by his request and becomes involved in his situation.  He is not content to offer him alms, but rather wants to personally encounter him.  He does not give him any instruction or response, but asks him: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk 10:51).  It might seem a senseless question: what could a blind man wish for if not his sight?  Yet, with this question made face to face, direct but respectful, Jesus shows that he wants to hear our needs.  He wants to talk with each of us about our lives, our real situations, so that nothing is kept from him.  After Bartimaeus’ healing, the Lord tells him: “Your faith has made you well” (v. 52).  It is beautiful to see how Christ admires Bartimaeus’ faith, how he has confidence in him.  He believes in us, more than we believe in ourselves.

         There is an interesting detail.  Jesus asks his disciples to go and call Bartimaeus.  They address the blind man with two expressions, which only Jesus uses in the rest of the Gospel.  First they say to him: “Take heart!”, which literally means “have faith, strong courage!”.  Indeed, only an encounter with Jesus gives a person the strength to face the most difficult situations.  The second expression is “Rise!”, as Jesus said to so many of the sick, whom he took by the hand and healed.  His disciples do nothing other than repeat Jesus’ encouraging and liberating words, leading him directly to Jesus, without lecturing him.  Jesus’ disciples are called to this, even today, especially today: to bring people into contact with the compassionate Mercy that saves.  When humanity’s cry, like Bartimaeus’, becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make Jesus’ words our own and, above all, imitate his heart.  Moments of suffering and conflict are for God occasions of mercy.  Today is a time of mercy!

         There are, however, some temptations for those who follow Jesus.  The Gospel shows at least two of them.  None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did.  They continued to walk, going on as if nothing were happening.  If Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf: his problem was not their problem.  This can be a danger for us: in the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered.  In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like him.  We are in his group, but our hearts are not open.  We lose wonder, gratitude and enthusiasm, and risk becoming habitually unmoved by grace.  We are able to speak about him and work for him, but we live far from his heart, which is reaching out to those who are wounded.  This is the temptation: a “spirituality of illusion”: we can walk through the deserts of humanity without seeing what is really there; instead, we see what we want to see.  We are capable of developing views of the world, but we do not accept what the Lord places before our eyes.  A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts.

         There is a second temptation, that of falling into a “scheduled faith”.  We are able to walk with the People of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother.  We run the risk of becoming the “many” of the Gospel who lose patience and rebuke Bartimaeus.  Just a short time before, they scolded the children (cf. 10:13), and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded.  Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him.  They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus.

         In the end, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on his path (cf. v. 52).  He did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus.  Dear Synod Fathers, we have walked together.  Thank you for the path we have shared with our eyes fixed on Jesus and our brothers and sisters, in the search for the paths which the Gospel indicates for our times so that we can proclaim the mystery of family love.  Let us follow the path that the Lord desires. Let us ask him to turn to us with his healing and saving gaze, which knows how to radiate light, as it recalls the splendour which illuminates it.  Never allowing ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.

(from Vatican Radio)



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Saturday, October 24, 2015

Pope Francis addresses Synod of Bishops at conclusion

Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 17

Synod's final document focuses on discernment in familiy life

Telegram of condolences for the accident at Puisseguin

Vatican City, 24 October 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has sent a telegram of condolences on behalf of the Holy Father to Archbishop Jean-Pierre Richard of Bordeaux, France, following the road accident that took place at Puisseguin involving a truck and a bus carrying elderly people, claiming 43 victims.

Pope Francis joins in prayer in the suffering of the bereaved families, and commends the victims to God's mercy so that He may welcome them in His light. He expresses his spiritual closeness to the injured and to the families of those involved, and to the rescue services. As a pledge of consolation the Holy Father offers his special apostolic blessing to all those affected by the tragedy”.



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Synod: an experience of grace, communion, collegiality and service, says the bishop of Bilbao

Vatican City, 24 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning Bishop Mario Iceta Gavicagogeascoa of Bilbao, Spain, pronounced the final meditation before the Synod Fathers participating in the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, which will close tomorrow, Sunday 25 October, with a solemn Mass to be celebrated by the Holy Father in St. Peter's Basilica.

“We are concluding the work of the Synod as an experience of grace, communion, collegiality and service”, said the prelate. “We have asked for the gift of the Holy Spirit and we wished for Him to guide our work. The Holy Father affirmed at the beginning of this assembly that the Synod can be a space for the action of the Holy Spirit only if we clothe ourselves in apostolic courage, evangelical humility and trustful prayer. Therefore, faced with the decisions that we must take in our episcopal ministry, the passage of the decision to bring Matthew into the apostolic college comes to mind. “They prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen”. This is our method: show us what You want, let us know Your will. Immersed in prayer, asking God to show us the way, so we can see what is His plan and not our own, so we can see the paths we must travel to accompany families in fidelity to the vocation to which they have been called”.

“Along with prayer, we must remember the need for evangelical humility so as to know God's will. 'I thank you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children'. … As the Book of Proverbs tells us, 'When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom'. And St. Teresa of Avila, the fifth centenary of whose birth we have just celebrated, wisely tells us that to proceed in humility is to go towards the truth”.

“This prayerful life, this evangelical humility, will allow us to act with apostolic courage, the parrhesia St. Paul tells us about, with our eyes on Christ and serving the families of this world with love for Him, enlightening their path with the Word of God and the living Tradition of the Church, supporting and accompanying them in joys and sorrows, so that they may fully live the covenant of love which dispels darkness, overcomes loneliness and individualism, recreates humanity, generates life and hope, welcomes and heals what appears lost, and builds up the Church and the world”.

“I conclude today, Saturday, by invoking the maternal intercession of Our Lady. Mothers are those who transform a house into a home. She ensures that the Church is not merely a Temple but also a home, a warm and familiar place of welcome and mercy. We turn to her this morning. She is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, by Whom she conceived virginally. We welcome this morning under her protection. In Her we learn how to receive the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, Love in Person, that enlightens us and helps us fulfil the task that has been entrusted to us today”.



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Declaration of the Synod of Bishops on the situation in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine

Vatican City, 24 October 2015 (VIS) – During this morning's General Congregation, during Vespers for the conclusion of the Synod, the Synod Fathers launched a new appeal for peace and the resolution of conflicts in the Middle East, Africa and Ukraine, asking the international Community to act via diplomatic channels and to engage in dialogue to end the suffering of thousands of people. In the declaration, the full text of which is published below, the Fathers make special reference to families compelled to flee their homes, and give thanks to the countries that have welcomed refugees.

“Gathered around the Holy Father Francis, we the Synod Fathers, along with the fraternal Delegates and Auditors participating in the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, turn our thoughts to all the families of the Middle East.

For years now, due to bloody conflicts, they have been victims of unspeakable atrocities. Their conditions of life have been further aggravated in recent months and weeks.

The use of weapons of mass destruction, indiscriminate killings, beheadings, kidnapping of human beings, trafficking in women, the enrolment of children into militias, persecution on the basis of religious belief or ethnicity, the destruction of cultural heritage and countless other atrocities have forced thousands of families to flee their homes in search of refuge elsewhere, often in conditions of extreme precariousness. Currently they are prevented from returning and from exercising the right to live in dignity and safety on their own soil, contributing to the reconstruction and the material and spiritual well-being of their respective countries.

In such a dramatic context, there are continual violations of the fundamental principles of human dignity and of peaceful and harmonious co-existence among persons and peoples, of the most basic rights, such as the rights to life and religious freedom, and of international humanitarian law.

Therefore, we wish to express our closeness to the Patriarchs, the Bishops, the priests, consecrated persons and faithful, as well as all the inhabitants of the Middle East, to demonstrate our solidarity and to assure them of our prayers. We think of all the people who have been kidnapped and ask for their liberation. Our voices unite with the cry of so many innocent people: no more violence, no more terrorism, no more persecution! May the hostilities and weapons trafficking cease immediately!

Peace in the Middle East must be sought not with choices imposed by force, but rather with political decisions that respect the cultural and religious particularities of the individual Nations and their various components.

Although we are grateful especially to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and many European countries for the welcome they have granted to refugees, we wish to make a further plea to the international community so that in the search for solutions they set aside particular interests and make use of the tools of diplomacy, dialogue and international law.

Let us recall the words of Pope Francis to 'all communities who look to Abraham: may we respect and love one another as brothers and sisters! May we learn to understand the sufferings of others! May no one abuse the name of God through violence! May we work together for justice and peace!'.

We are convinced that peace is possible, and that it is possible to stop the violence in Syria, Iraq, Jerusalem and throughout the Holy Land that every day involves increasing numbers of families and innocent civilians and aggravates the humanitarian crisis. Reconciliation is the fruit of fraternity, justice, respect and forgiveness.

Our sole wish, like that of the people of goodwill who form part of the great human family, is that we may all live in peace, so that 'Jews, Christians and Muslims find in other believers brothers and sisters to be respected and loved, and in this way, beginning in their own lands, give the beautiful witness of serenity and concord between the children of Abraham'.

Our thoughts and our prayers extend, with equal concern, solicitude and love, to all the families that find themselves involved in similar situations in other parts of the world, especially in Africa and Ukraine. We have kept them in mind during the work of this Synod Assembly, like the families of the Middle East, and for them too make a strong plea for a return to a calm and dignified life.

Let us entrust our intentions to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, accustomed to suffering, so that the world may soon become one family of brothers and sisters”.



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Friday, October 23, 2015

Synod: Ugandan bishops focus on vocation and mission of family

Irish Church must respond better to challenges of family life

Synod of bishops fine-tuning final document on family life

Pope: Times change and Christians must change continuously

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis said on Friday (23rd October) that the times are changing and we Christians must change continuously, freely but within the truth of the faith. He urged Christians to look at the signs of the times and warned them against succumbing to the comfort of conformity. The Pope’s remarks came during his homily at the morning Mass celebrated at the Santa Marta residence.

Reading the signs of the times

Taking his cue from the reading of St Paul’s letter to the Romans, Pope Francis’s homily reflected on the discernment that the Church needs to employ whilst looking at the signs of the times and doing what Christ wants. He noted how St Paul’s preaching stressed the freedom which has saved us from sin whilst Christ himself spoke of reading the signs of the times. God set us free, the Pope explained, and in order to have this freedom, we must open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit and clearly understand what is happening within and around us through discernment.

“We have this freedom to judge whatever is happening around us.  But in order to judge, we must have a good knowledge of that is happening around us.  And how can we do this?  How can we do this, which the Church calls ‘recognizing the signs of the times?’ Times are changing.  And it’s precisely Christian wisdom that recognizes these changes, recognizes the changing times and recognizes the signs of the times. What one thing and another thing means. And do this freely, without fear.” 

Pope Francis conceded that is this is not an easy thing to do on account of the external conditioning that pressures Christians as well, encouraging many of them to seek comfort in doing nothing. 

“This is something that we usually don’t do: we stick with conformity, we reassure ourselves with (words like) ‘they told us, I heard, people said they read….’ In this way we are reassured.  But what is the truth?  What is the message that the Lord wants to give me with this sign of the times?  First of all, in order to understand the signs of the times we need silence: to be silent and observe. And afterwards we need to reflect within ourselves. One example: why are there so many wars nowadays?  Why did something happen? And pray… silence, reflection and prayer.  It’s only in this way that we can understand the signs of the times, what Jesus wants to tell us.”

Freedom within the truth of the Gospel

Understanding the signs of the times, noted the Pope, should not be confined to an elite cultural group. He recalled how Jesus didn’t tell us to look at how the professors, the doctors and the intellectuals do things but instead urged us to look at the farm labourer who knows how to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

“Times are changing and we Christians must change continuously. We must change whilst remaining fixed to our faith in Jesus Christ, fixed to the truth of the Gospel but we must adapt our attitude continuously according to the signs of the times. We are free. We are free thanks to the gift of freedom given to us by Jesus Christ. But our job is to look at what is happening within us, discern our feelings, our thoughts and what is happening around us and discern the signs of the times – through silence, reflection and prayer.” 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Thursday, October 22, 2015

Pope Francis announces the establishment of a new Dicastery

Today, at the beginning of the afternoon General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops, the Holy Father made the following announcement:

"I have decided to establish a new Dicastery with competency for Laity, Family and Life, that will replace the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Pontifical Academy for Life will be joined to the new Dicastery.

To this end, I have constituted a special commission that will prepare a text delineating canonically the competencies of the new Dicastery. The text will be presented for discussion to the Council of Caridnals at their next meeting in December."



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Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 15

Pope's message to international congress on Fr. Matteo Ricci

Vatican City, October 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has sent a telegram on behalf of the Holy Father Francis to the bishop of Macerata, Nazzareno Marconi, on the occasion of the international congress on the Jesuit Fr. Matteo Ricci, organised by the University of Macerata, Italy, and the Confucius Institute (founded by the “Hanban” Office of the Chinese Ministry of Education, for teaching the Chinese language and culture), and held from 21 to 23 October.

In his text, the Pope expresses his appreciation for the initiative, intended to facilitate detailed study of the missionary work and cultural activity carried out by Fr. Ricci, born in Macerata and a “friend of the dear Chinese people”. The Holy Father also hopes that “the memory of such a zealous man of the Church, attentive to social changes and committed to interweaving relations between the European and Chinese cultures, may reaffirm the importance of dialogue between cultures and religions in a climate of mutual respect and with a view to the common good”.

The congress “New perspectives in the study of Fr. Matteo Ricci”, an initiative suggested by the president of Hanban and Chinese deputy minister of education Xu Lin during his official visit to the Confucius Institute of Macerata in 2013, is one of the most important on the figure of the Italian Jesuit who lived from 1552 to 1610.

Three themes will be considered, regarding little known aspects of the life and activity of Fr. Matteo Ricci. The first relates to work carried out in private and public archives in China on unpublished documents in Chinese regarding Matteo Ricci and his interlocutors, especially his Chinese correspondence.

Secondly, the conference will propose new models of analysis of Ricci's work, studying hitherto little explored themes or works that have not been adequately understood. In particular, there will be two presentations on Michele Ruggeri and Matteo Ricci's Portuguese-Chinese dictionary, as well as analyses using the tools of linguistics, semiology, rhetoric and intercultural comparativism. There will also be a discussion on the importance of cartography in the experience of Ricci and the Jesuits in China, Japan and Korea.

The third theme regards Europe's reflection on itself in the light of the image of Chinese civilisation transmitted by Ricci, the Jesuits and other religious orders, especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The reactions of the European Enlightenment to the image of China will be considered, along with the repercussions of Chinese philosophy for Jesuits in the history of European philosophy and finally, the relationship between Ricci's quotation and interpretations of the Analects of Confucius and the first translations of the work by the Jesuits.



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Pope Francis: our effort opens the door to the Holy Spirit

(Vatican Radio) The efforts of Christians are aimed at opening the door of the heart to the Holy Spirit. That was the message of Pope Francis during morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday. The Pope emphasized that conversion, for the Christian, a daily task that leads us to the encounter with Jesus. As an example of this, Francis told the story of a mother suffering from cancer, who gives her all to overcome the illness.

For the Christian, “conversion is a duty” a job we must work at every day. Pope Francis commented on the reading from St Paul to the Romans to emphasize that in order to pass from a life of iniquity to a life of sanctity, we must work at it every day.

We are not fakirs, our efforts lead to sanctification

Saint Paul, the Pope said, uses the image of the athlete, the man who “trains in order to prepare himself for game, and makes a great effort.” This is what an athlete does to win a match; but what about us, who should be striving to win that great victory of Heaven? What should we do? Saint Paul, the Pope said, “exhorts us to go forward with this effort”:

“Ah, Father, are we able to think that sanctification comes through the effort I make, like the victory that comes to sportsmen comes through training? No. The efforts we make, this daily work of serving the Lord with our soul, with our heart, with our body, with our whole life only opens the door to the Holy Spirit. It is He who enters into us and saves us! He is the gift in Jesus Christ! Otherwise, we would make ourselves like: No, we are not fakirs. We, with our efforts, open the door.”

Going forward, not falling back in the face of temptation

Pope Francis acknowledged that this is a difficult task, “because our weakness, original sin, the devil” are always trying to get us to turn back. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews, he said, “warns us against this temptation to turn back”; he warns us “not to go back, not to fall.” We need to continue to go forward, he said, “a little bit each day,” even “when there is great difficulty”:

“A few months ago, I met a woman. Young, the mother of a family – a beautiful family – who had cancer. An ugly cancer. But she moved with happiness, she acted like she was healthy. And speaking about this attitude, she told me, “Father, I would do anything to beat the cancer!” It’s that way with the Christian. We have received this gift in Jesus Christ and we have passed from sin, from the life of iniquity to the life of the gift in Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, we must do the same. Every day a step. Every day a step.”

Let us seek the grace to be strong in training ourselves for life

Pope Francis pointed out some temptations – such as the “desire to gossip” about others. And in that case, he said, you need to make the effort to be silent. Otherwise, if we don’t work to overcome temptations, “there comes a little bit of slumber,” and we won’t have the “will to pray,” but then we try to pray a little bit. These small efforts, the Pope said, “help us not to fall, not to go back, not to return to iniquity but to go forward toward this gift, this promise of Jesus Christ which is precisely the encounter with Him. Let us ask this grace from the Lord: to be strong, to be strong in this training of life towards the encounter, that we might receive the gift of justification, the gift of grace, the gift of the Spirit in Christ Jesus.”

(from Vatican Radio)



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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 14

The Circuli Minori conclude their examination of the Instrumentum Laboris

Vatican City, 21 October 2015 (VIS) – On Monday and Tuesday this week the Synod Fathers examined the third part of the Instrumentum Laboris, which deals with, among other themes, irregular family situations, admission of divorced and remarried faithful to communion, the pastoral care of homosexuals, and responsible parenthood.

The working groups analyses the special needs of families in irregular or difficult situations, acknowledging, as affirmed by the English-speaking group C whose rapporteur is Archbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge, that “those cohabiting are in a quite different situation from those who are divorced and civilly remarried. We also agreed that cohabitation, though very widespread in many cultures now, could not be considered a good in itself. We were prepared to recognise that there may be good in the relationship of those cohabiting rather than in cohabitation in some quasi-institutional sense”.

“We know that that are many other families who feel they are far from the ideal model, and others who to a greater or lesser extent do not even think it is for them”, comments the French group represented by Bishop Laurent Ulrich. “Divided families, mixed families, single parent families, families without marriage, even civil only; we cannot reject them, and we do not wish to think that their path does not lead them to God, Who loves and draws all people towards Him. We believe that in them we see the Spirit of the Lord Who inspires much of their behaviour in their lives, and this detracts nothing from Christian families whom we support and encourage”.

With regard to the divorced and civilly remarried, there is general agreement about the need to provide more effective pastoral accompaniment for these couples, and especially for their children who also have rights. Some groups express perplexity, however, in relation to what the Instrumentum Laboris refers to as a “a penitential path”. “It is not clear to name the journey taken by the divorced and remarried as a 'penitential path'”, remarks the Spanish-speaking group represented by Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo. “Perhaps it would be better to speak about itineraries of reconciliation, as there are some irreversible situations that cannot be subject to a penitential path without the possibility of overcoming this”.

“It would appear that, with regard to the issue of closeness, we are all in agreement, but what happens when we consider access to the sacraments?” asked the Spanish-speaking group whose rapporteur is Cardinal Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, O.A.R. “Without doubt, we need to set in motion a generous movement removing many of the obstacles from the way so that divorced and remarried faithful can participate more widely in the life of the Church: at the moment they cannot be godparents, they cannot be catechists, and they are not able to teach religion. … We must show that we are listening to the cry of many people who suffer and who call to participate as fully as possible in the life of the Church”.

“With regard to the discipline of remarried divorcees, at present it is not possible to establish general criteria covering all cases, which are very diverse”, observes the Italian group represented by Cardinal Maurizio Piacenza. “There are divorced and remarried faithful who apply themselves to following the path of the Gospel, offering significant witness of charity. At the same time, it is undeniable that in some circumstances, factors are present that limit the possibilities of acting differently. As a consequence, the judgement on an objective situation cannot be assumed in the judgement on subjective 'impunity'. The limits and conditions thus become an appeal to discernment – primarily on the part of the bishop – which must be accurate and respect the complexity of such situations”.

The English group A, whose rapporteur is Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz, expresses the view that “pastoral practice concerning admission to the Sacrament of the Eucharist by the divorced and civilly remarried ought not to be left to individual episcopal conferences. To do so would risk harm to the unity of the Catholic Church, the understanding of her sacramental order, and the visible witness of the life of the faithful”.

The English group represented by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin requests that “the Holy Father, taking into account the rich material which has emerged during this synodal process, consider establishing during the Jubilee Year of Mercy a Special Commission to study in depth the ways in which the disciplines of the Church which flow from the indissolubility of marriage apply to the situation of people in irregular unions, including situations arising from the practice of polygamy”.

There are many references to this issue in St. John Paul II's encyclical “Familiaris consortio”.

The condition of homosexual persons is considered primarily from the perspective of the family context. The English group C insists that “we address this issue as pastors, seeking to understand the reality of people's lives rather than issues in some more abstract sense”. The group also asks that “the final document include at an appropriate point a clear statement of Church teaching that same-sex unions are in no way equivalent to marriage”.

On the same issue, the English group A reiterates that “the Church as the spouse of Christ patterns her behaviour after the Lord Jesus, Whose all-embracing love is offered to every person without exception. Parents and siblings of family members with homosexual tendencies are called to love and accept these members of their family with an undivided and understanding heart”.

Some Fathers suggest that the issue be eliminated from the discussions in this Synod as its importance would call for a specific Synod on the matter.

The theme of responsible parenthood has given rise to lively exchange, and is of great current importance in relation to the dignity of the person and of life. The working groups also considered mixed marriage, and called for greater pastoral focus on the defence of women and children in precarious situations.

With regard to the Synod methodology, the French group represented by Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher writes, “like agronomists who talk about different methods of irrigation, we have talked about the method of our Synod. Is it well-suited to its purpose? We expend an enormous amount of energy, from all points of view. People are exhausted from the work they are doing. Will the result be worth the effort? Perhaps we could have identified some specific themes to examine between the two Synods, so as to have more time to study. Will Pontifical Commissions be appointed to carry out the work we hope will be done? … We have enjoyed the greater amount of time given to us in small groups. From our exchanges, there strongly emerges the ministry of communion that is ours as bishops”.

“The theme of mercy has run throughout the Synod, challenging our pastoral ministry”, concludes the Italian group B. “We are aware that the mystery of the Incarnation fully expresses the salvific will of God. This divine determination has also been entrusted to our mission and to the sacramental means that find their true hermeneutic in the sense of being an appeal to conversion, support, a medicine and an aid for our salvation”.



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