Pope at Malmö ecumenical event: Christian unity a priority

(Vatican Radio) Saying Christian unity is a priority, Pope Francis spoke on Monday about the fruits of the ongoing dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church and said this mutual dialogue has “confirmed our desire to advance towards full communion.” Addressing an ecumenical event in the Swedish city of Malmö, the Pope also spoke about practical cooperation between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation exemplied by the signing of a joint statement between Caritas Inernationalis and the Lutheran World Federation World Service (its charitable arm) to promote human dignity and social justice across the world. 

Please find below an English transcript of the Pope’s prepared remarks at the ecumenical event in Malmö:

I thank God for this joint commemoration of the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation.  We remember this anniversary with a renewed spirit and in the recognition that Christian unity is a priority, because we realize that much more unites us than separates us.  The journey we have undertaken to attain that unity is itself a great gift that God gives us.  With his help, today we have gathered here, Lutherans and Catholics, in a spirit of fellowship, to direct our gaze to the one Lord, Jesus Christ.

Our dialogue has helped us to grow in mutual understanding; it has fostered reciprocal trust and confirmed our desire to advance towards full communion.  One of the fruits of this dialogue has been cooperation between different organizations of the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church.  Thanks to this new atmosphere of understanding, Caritas Internationalis and the Lutheran World Federation World Service will today sign a joint agreed statement aimed at developing and strengthening a spirit of cooperation for the promotion of human dignity and social justice.  I warmly greet the members of both organizations; in a world torn by wars and conflicts, they have been, and continue to be, a luminous example of commitment and service to neighbour.  I encourage you to advance along the path of cooperation.

I have listened closely to those who gave the witness talks, how amid so many challenges they daily devote their lives to building a world increasingly responsive to God’s plan.  Pranita talked about creation.  Clearly, creation itself is a sign of God’s boundless love for us.  Consequently, the gifts of nature can themselves lead us to contemplate God.  I share your concern about the abuses harming our planet, our common home, and causing grave effects on the climate.  As you rightly mentioned, their greatest impact is on those who are most vulnerable and needy; they are forced to emigrate in order to escape the effects of climate change. All of us, and we Christians in particular, are responsible for protecting creation.  Our lifestyle and our actions must always be consistent with our faith.  We are called to cultivate harmony within ourselves and with others, but also with God and with his handiwork.  Pranita, I encourage you to persevere in your commitment on behalf of our common home.

Mgr Héctor Fabio told us of the joint efforts being made by Catholics and Lutherans in Colombia.  It is good to know that Christians are working together to initiate communitarian and social processes of common interest.  I ask you to pray in a special way for that great country, so that, through the cooperation of all, peace, so greatly desired and necessary for a worthy human co-existence, can finally be achieved.  May it be a prayer that also embraces all those countries where grave conflicts continue.

Marguerite made us aware of efforts to help children who are victims of atrocities and to work for peace.  This is both admirable and a summons to take seriously the countless situations of vulnerability experienced by so many persons who have no way to speak out.  What you consider a mission has been a seed that has borne abundant fruit and today, thanks to that seed, thousands of children can study, grow and enjoy good health.  I am grateful that even now, in exile, you continue to spread a message of peace.  You said that everybody who knows you thinks that what you are doing is crazy.  Of course, it is the craziness of love for God and our neighbour.  We need more of this craziness, illuminated by faith and confidence in God’s providence.  Keep working, and may that voice of hope that you heard at the beginning of your adventure continue to move your own heart and the hearts of many young people.

Rose, the youngest, gave us a truly moving testimony.  She was able to profit from the talent God gave her through sport.  Instead of wasting her energy on adverse situations, she found fufilment in a fruitful life.  While I was listening to your story, I thought of the lives of so many young people who need to hear stories like yours.  I would like everyone to know that they can discover how wonderful it is to be children of God and what privilege it is to be loved and cherished by him.  Rose, I thank you from the heart for your efforts and your commitment to encouraging other young women to go back to school, and for the fact that you pray daily for peace in the young state of South Sudan, which so greatly needs it.

After hearing these powerful witnesses, which make us think of our own lives and how we respond to situations of need all around us, I would like to thank all those governments that assist refugees, displaced persons and asylum-seekers.  For everything done to help these persons in need of protection is a great gesture of solidarity and a recognition of their dignity.  For us Christians, it is a priority to go out and meet the outcasts and the marginalized of our world, and to make felt the tender and merciful love of God, who rejects no one and accepts everyone.

Shortly we will hear the testimony of Bishop Antoine, who lives in Aleppo, a city brought to its knees by war, a place where even the most fundamental rights are treated with contempt and trampled underfoot.  Each day the news tells us about the unspeakable suffering caused by the Syrian conflict, which has now lasted more than five years.  In the midst of so much devastation, it is truly heroic that men and women have remained there in order to offer material and spiritual assistance to those in need.  It is admirable too, that you, dear brother, continue working amid such danger in order to tell us of the tragic situation of the Syrian people.  Every one of them is in our hearts and prayers.  Let us implore the grace of heartfelt conversion for those responsible for the fate of that region.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us not become discouraged in the face of adversity.  May the stories we have heard motivate us and give us new impetus to work ever more closely together.  When we return home, may we bring with us a commitment to make daily gestures of peace and reconciliation, to be valiant and faithful witnesses of Christian hope.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Lutheran - Catholic humanitarian cooperation alive and well in Africa

On the occasion of Pope Francis’ apostolic visit to Sweden, Caritas Internationalis and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) ’s World Service sign a Declaration of Intent, to strengthen collaboration and cooperation. 

Through the signing, the humanitarian and development arms of the two Churches recommit themselves to working together in responding to the world’s humanitarian needs. Pope Francis is in Sweden for the ecumenical commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

In Africa, cooperation between Lutherans and Catholics is alive and well. In Zambia, for example, the signing ceremony will be seen as the cementing of a cordial relationship that has existed for years. Cooperation in the humanitarian and development areas has actually been going on for a long time. 

Christian denominations, in Zambia, tend to cooperate directly or through an alliance and platform popularly referred to (in the country) as the “three Church Mother bodies.” 

The three Church mother bodies comprise the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB); the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) which represents Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches as well as the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ). CCZ is the umbrella body for Protestant churches that traditionally are also members of the World Council of Churches.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia is a member of the Lutheran World Federation. With regard to size and numbers, there are not that many Lutheran Churches in Zambia. Notwithstanding this fact, the Lutheran Church in Zambia is spiritually vibrant and pulls more than its weight regarding humanitarian and development activities. As a core member of the three Church mother bodies in Zambia, the Lutheran Church participates and collaborates actively in the health and education sectors of the country. The Church mother bodies are also very outspoken on advocacy issues to do with democracy and the republican constitution.

Lutherans and Catholics have worked and continue to collaborate on HIV/AIDS and in the Malaria eradication campaigns under the auspices of the Churches Health Association of Zambia (CHAZ). The two Churches have been active in the management and implementation of Global Fund grants. In Zambia, Global Fund grants are channelled to Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) through CHAZ. 

Although the care of refugees in Zambia is a major reponsibility of the government and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Refugees have always been an important area of concern for both the Catholic Church and Lutherans. The Catholic Church in Zambia’s over fifty-year tradition of advocacy and care for refugees is equal to that of Lutherans. The latter started to care for refugees in Zambia when  Mayukwayukwa refugee camp was established to care for Angolans fleeing war in their homeland. Lutherans were also the lead agency for UNHCR Zambia’s Maheba camp and in 1986 when Ukwimi camp for Mozambican Refugees in the eastern part of the country was commissioned. 

It is therefore not surprising that the Declaration of Intent that re-commits the strengthening of collaboration between Caritas Internationalis and Lutheran World Federation/ World Service is being signed as Pope Francis is on this apostolic visit.  

Underlining the importance of the signing event, Caritas Internationalis’ Secretary General Michel Roy said the ecumenical activities in Sweden are more than commemoration. They also signal the start of concrete action by Lutherans and Catholics in service of the world’s poor.

(Fr. Paul Samasumo, Vatican Radio)

Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope and President of LWF sign Joint statement

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis and Bishop Mounib Younan, President of the Lutheran World Federation signed a Joint Statement on Monday in which Catholics and Lutherans pledged to pursue their dialogue in order to remove the remaining obstacles that hinder them from reaching full unity. They also stressed their commitment to common witness on behalf of the poor, the needy and the victims of injustice. The Declaration was signed during the ecumenical prayer service held in Lund’s Lutheran Cathedral on the first day of the Pope’s visit to Sweden.

Please find below the full text of the Statement:

JOINT STATEMENT

on the occasion of the Joint Catholic-Lutheran Commemoration of the Reformation

Lund, 31 October 2016

 

«Abide in me as I abide in you.  Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me» (John 15:4).

With thankful hearts

With this Joint Statement, we express joyful gratitude to God for this moment of common prayer in the Cathedral of Lund, as we begin the year commemorating the five hundredth anniversary of the Reformation.  Fifty years of sustained and fruitful ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans have helped us to overcome many differences, and have deepened our mutual understanding and trust.  At the same time, we have drawn closer to one another through joint service to our neighbours – often in circumstances of suffering and persecution.  Through dialogue and shared witness we are no longer strangers.  Rather, we have learned that what unites us is greater than what divides us.

Moving from conflict to communion

While we are profoundly thankful for the spiritual and theological gifts received through the Reformation, we also confess and lament before Christ that Lutherans and Catholics have wounded the visible unity of the Church.  Theological differences were accompanied by prejudice and conflicts, and religion was instrumentalized for political ends.  Our common faith in Jesus Christ and our baptism demand of us a daily conversion, by which we cast off the historical disagreements and conflicts that impede the ministry of reconciliation.  While the past cannot be changed, what is remembered and how it is remembered can be transformed.  We pray for the healing of our wounds and of the memories that cloud our view of one another.  We emphatically reject all hatred and violence, past and present, especially that expressed in the name of religion.  Today, we hear God’s command to set aside all conflict.  We recognize that we are freed by grace to move towards the communion to which God continually calls us.

 Our commitment to common witness

As we move beyond those episodes in history that burden us, we pledge to witness together to God’s merciful grace, made visible in the crucified and risen Christ.  Aware that the way we relate to one another shapes our witness to the Gospel, we commit ourselves to further growth in communion rooted in Baptism, as we seek to remove the remaining obstacles that hinder us from attaining full unity.  Christ desires that we be one, so that the world may believe (cf. John 17:21).

Many members of our communities yearn to receive the Eucharist at one table, as the concrete expression of full unity.  We experience the pain of those who share their whole lives, but cannot share God’s redeeming presence at the Eucharistic table.  We acknowledge our joint pastoral responsibility to respond to the spiritual thirst and hunger of our people to be one in Christ.  We long for this wound in the Body of Christ to be healed.  This is the goal of our ecumenical endeavours, which we wish to advance, also by renewing our commitment to theological dialogue.

We pray to God that Catholics and Lutherans will be able to witness together to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, inviting humanity to hear and receive the good news of God’s redeeming action.  We pray to God for inspiration, encouragement and strength so that we may stand together in service, upholding human dignity and rights, especially for the poor, working for justice, and rejecting all forms of violence.  God summons us to be close to all those who yearn for dignity, justice, peace and reconciliation.  Today in particular, we raise our voices for an end to the violence and extremism which affect so many countries and communities, and countless sisters and brothers in Christ.  We urge Lutherans and Catholics to work together to welcome the stranger, to come to the aid of those forced to flee because of war and persecution, and to defend the rights of refugees and those who seek asylum.

More than ever before, we realize that our joint service in this world must extend to God’s creation, which suffers exploitation and the effects of insatiable greed.  We recognize the right of future generations to enjoy God’s world in all its potential and beauty.  We pray for a change of hearts and minds that leads to a loving and responsible way to care for creation.

One in Christ

On this auspicious occasion, we express our gratitude to our brothers and sisters representing the various Christian World Communions and Fellowships who are present and join us in prayer.  As we recommit ourselves to move from conflict to communion, we do so as part of the one Body of Christ, into which we are incorporated through Baptism.  We invite our ecumenical partners to remind us of our commitments and to encourage us.  We ask them to continue to pray for us, to walk with us, to support us in living out the prayerful commitments we express today.

Calling upon Catholics and Lutherans worldwide

We call upon all Lutheran and Catholic parishes and communities to be bold and creative, joyful and hopeful in their commitment to continue the great journey ahead of us.  Rather than conflicts of the past, God’s gift of unity among us shall guide cooperation and deepen our solidarity.  By drawing close in faith to Christ, by praying together, by listening to one another, by living Christ’s love in our relationships, we, Catholics and Lutherans, open ourselves to the power of the Triune God.  Rooted in Christ and witnessing to him, we renew our determination to be faithful heralds of God’s boundless love for all humanity.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Serving our common home together: Pranita Biswasi

Pope Francis: visit with Sweden's King Karl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with Sweden’s royal family on Monday, at the beginning of his visit to Malmo and Lund to participate in the start of a series of events that will culminate in a year’s time in the commemoration of the 500^th anniversary of the beginning of the Lutheran reform.

King Karl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden received the Holy Father at the king’s house in Lund, ahead of an ecumenical service in Lund’s Lutheran Cathedral.

The king and queen also attended the ecumenical service, which saw Pope Francis, Lutheran Bishop of Jordan and the Holy Land and President of the Lutheran World Federation, Munib Younan, and the Rev. Martin Junge, the General Secretary of the LWF jointly leading.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope urges Catholics and Lutherans to recognize past errors

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday urged Catholics and Lutherans to recognize past “errors” and seize "the opportunity to mend a critical moment of our history by moving beyond the controversies and disagreement that have often prevented us from understanding one another." He said the division between Catholics and Lutherans was “perpetuated historically by the powerful of this world” rather than by the faithful people of God. The Pope was speaking during his homily at an ecumenical prayer service in the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund shortly after his arrival in Sweden for a 26-hour pastoral visit.

Please find below an English transcript of the Pope’s prepared homily during the prayer service:

“Abide in me as I abide in you” (Jn 15:4).  These words, spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper, allow us to peer into the heart of Christ just before his ultimate sacrifice on the cross.  We can feel his heart beating with love for us and his desire for the unity of all who believe in him.  He tells us that he is the true vine and that we are the branches, that just as he is one with the Father, so we must be one with him if we wish to bear fruit.

Here in Lund, at this prayer service, we wish to manifest our shared desire to remain one with Christ, so that we may have life.  We ask him, “Lord, help us by your grace to be more closely united to you and thus, together, to bear a more effective witness of faith, hope and love”.  This is also a moment to thank God for the efforts of our many brothers and sisters from different ecclesial communities who refused to be resigned to division, but instead kept alive the hope of reconciliation among all who believe in the one Lord.

As Catholics and Lutherans, we have undertaken a common journey of reconciliation.  Now, in the context of the commemoration of the Reformation of 1517, we have a new opportunity to accept a common path, one that has taken shape over the past fifty years in the ecumenical dialogue between the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church.  Nor can we be resigned to the division and distance that our separation has created between us.  We have the opportunity to mend a critical moment of our history by moving beyond the controversies and disagreements that have often prevented us from understanding one another.

Jesus tells us that the Father is the “vinedresser” (cf. v. 1) who tends and prunes the vine in order to make it bear more fruit (cf. v. 2).  The Father is constantly concerned for our relationship with Jesus, to see if we are truly one with him (cf. v. 4).  He watches over us, and his gaze of love inspires us to purify our past and to work in the present to bring about the future of unity that he so greatly desires.

We too must look with love and honesty at our past, recognizing error and seeking forgiveness, for God alone is our judge.  We ought to recognize with the same honesty and love that our division distanced us from the primordial intuition of God’s people, who naturally yearn to be one, and that it was perpetuated historically by the powerful of this world rather than the faithful people, which always and everywhere needs to be guided surely and lovingly by its Good Shepherd.  Certainly, there was a sincere will on the part of both sides to profess and uphold the true faith, but at the same time we realize that we closed in on ourselves out of fear or bias with regard to the faith which others profess with a different accent and language.  As Pope John Paul II said, “We must not allow ourselves to be guided by the intention of setting ourselves up as judges of history but solely by the motive of understanding better what happened and of becoming messengers of truth” (Letter to Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, President of the Secretariat for Christian Unity, 31 October 1983).  God is the vinedresser, who with immense love tends and protects the vine; let us be moved by his watchful gaze.  The one thing he desires is for us to abide like living branches in his Son Jesus.  With this new look at the past, we do not claim to realize an impracticable correction of what took place, but “to tell that history differently” (LUTHERAN-ROMAN CATHOLIC COMMISSION ON UNITY, From Conflict to Communion, 17 June 2013, 16).

Jesus reminds us: “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (v. 5).  He is the one who sustains us and spurs us on to find ways to make our unity ever more visible.  Certainly, our separation has been an immense source of suffering and misunderstanding, yet it has also led us to recognize honestly that without him we can do nothing; in this way it has enabled us to understand better some aspects of our faith.  With gratitude we acknowledge that the Reformation helped give greater centrality to sacred Scripture in the Church’s life.  Through shared hearing of the word of God in the Scriptures, important steps forward have been taken in the dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation, whose fiftieth anniversary we are presently celebrating.  Let us ask the Lord that his word may keep us united, for it is a source of nourishment and life; without its inspiration we can do nothing.

The spiritual experience of Martin Luther challenges us to remember that apart from God we can do nothing.  “How can I get a propitious God?”  This is the question that haunted Luther.  In effect, the question of a just relationship with God is the decisive question for our lives.  As we know, Luther encountered that propitious God in the Good News of Jesus, incarnate, dead and risen.  With the concept “by grace alone”, he reminds us that God always takes the initiative, prior to any human response, even as he seeks to awaken that response.  The doctrine of justification thus expresses the essence of human existence before God.

Jesus intercedes for us as our mediator before the Father; he asks him that his disciples may be one, “so that the world may believe” (Jn 17:21).  This is what comforts us and inspires us to be one with Jesus, and thus to pray: “Grant us the gift of unity, so that the world may believe in the power of your mercy”.  This is the testimony the world expects from us.  We Christians will be credible witnesses of mercy to the extent that forgiveness, renewal and reconciliation are daily experienced in our midst.  Together we can proclaim and manifest God’s mercy, concretely and joyfully, by upholding and promoting the dignity of every person.  Without this service to the world and in the world, Christian faith is incomplete.

As Lutherans and Catholics, we pray together in this Cathedral, conscious that without God we can do nothing.  We ask his help, so that we can be living members, abiding in him, ever in need of his grace, so that together we may bring his word to the world, which so greatly needs his tender love and mercy.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Catholics, Lutherans, stronger together to serve the world

Pope Sweden: LWF President stresses unity and closeness

Pope Francis in Sweden to mark 500th anniversary of Reformation

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis has arrived in Sweden for a two-day apostolic journey where, together with the heads of the Lutheran World Federation he will jointly preside at an ecumenical prayer service in Lund cathedral, followed by a public witness event in the nearby city of Malmö.

On Tuesday morning, All Saints Day, the Pope will celebrate Mass in Malmö for Sweden’s tiny Catholic community.

Highlighting the importance of this apostolic journey to Sweden to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the protestant Reformation, the Pope asked journalists to help the public understand.

Greeting media professionals travelling on board the papal plane to Malmo on Monday morning, Pope Francis said: “This journey is important because it is an ecclesial journey, it’s very ecclesial in the field of ecumenism.

“Your work will be a big contribution in making sure people understand well” he said.

The formal occasion for the Pope’s visit to Sweden is to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The event comes as the culmination of years of theological progress, from the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification in 1999, to the publication of a shared history of the Reformation in the 2013 document ‘From Conflict to Communion’.

Before travelling to the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund for the joint ecumenical prayer service on Monday afternoon, an official welcome ceremony at Malmö International Airport saw state and religious authorities on the tarmac to receive Pope Francis.

As per protocol, the Prime Minister of the host country, Sweden’s Stefan Löfven, and the Minister of Culture and Democracy meet privately with the Pope at the Airport.

Also before the ecumenical service which is scheduled to begin at 2.15pm, the Pope will pay a courtesy visit to the Swedish King and Queen, Carl XVI Gustav and Silvia, at Lund’s Royal Palace (the Kungshuset).

    

(from Vatican Radio)

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Sweden's Catholic Church awaiting Pope's message of faith

Pope Francis departs on Apostolic visit to Sweden

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has departed from Rome’s Fiumicino airport on his 17th Apostolic visit to Sweden for a joint commemoration of the Reformation, together with leaders of the Lutheran World Federation. 

Following his arrival at Malmo international airport the Pope will be greeted by the Swedish Prime Minister. The Holy Father is also due to pay a courtesy visit to the King and Queen of which will be followed this afternoon by an ecumenical prayer service at the Lutheran Cathedral of Lund.

The Holy Father's Apostolic journey concludes on Tuesday afternoon November 1st after the celebration of Mass at the Swedbank Stadioum in Malmo.

 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Expectations for the Pope's ecumenical encounter in Sweden

Pope reflects on story of Zacchaeus at Angelus

(Vatican Radio) In his reflection ahead of the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis spoke about the day’s Gospel, which told the story of Jesus meeting, and dining with, Zacchaeus, a publican. Because he was a public sinner, and because of his small stature, Zacchaeus had to climb a tree in order to see Jesus when He came to Jericho. When the Lord arrived, He called out, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”

“We can imagine the amazement of Zacchaeus!” Pope Francis said. Jesus’ mission of salvation, he said, includes all humanity, and even extends to Zacchaeus, “a dishonest man, despised by all.” But the gaze of Jesus, the Pope said, “goes beyond sins and prejudices. He sees the person with the eyes of God, which does not stop at past evil, but sees the good future.”

The Holy Father said that, although we sometimes seek to correct or convert sinners by rebuking or reproaching them, Jesus shows us another way: helping someone who has made mistakes to see their true worth, “the worth God continues to see despite everything, despite their mistakes.” This approach, he said, sometimes leads to a positive surprise, it can help the person to grow and change.

Pope Francis concluded his reflection with the prayer: “May the Virgin Mary help us to see the good that is in the people we encounter each day, so that all might be encouraged to bring out the image of God impressed on their hearts.”

Following the Angelus, and after his greetings to various pilgrim groups, Pope Francis asked for prayers for his upcoming voyage to Sweden on the occasion of the commemoration of the Protestant Reformation: “I ask all of you to pray that this voyage might be a new stage in the journey of fraternity toward full communion.”

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: We entrust persecuted Christians to prayers of Spanish Martyrs

(Vatican Radio) At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis noted the beatification in Madrid of four Spanish martyrs: Blessed José Antón Gómez, Antolín Pablos Villanueva, Juan Rafael Mariano Alcocer Martínez and Luis Vidaurrázaga Gonzáles. The four Benedictine priests were killed during the Spanish Civil War.

In his remarks following the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis said, “We praise the Lord, and we entrust to their intercession our brothers and sisters who unfortunately still today, in various parts of the world, are persecuted for their faith in Christ. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis prays for victims of earthquake in Norcia

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis prayed for victims of an earthquake that struck Italy near the town of Norcia on Sunday. The powerful temblor was felt as far away as Rome and Venice.

“I express my closeness to the people of central Italy,” the Pope said. “I pray for the wounded and the families that have suffered major damage; as well as for the personnel” involved in rescue efforts and in aiding the victims.

The Holy Father concluded his remarks with the prayer “May the Risen Lord give them strength, and the Madonna watch over them.”

Sunday’s earthquake was the latest in a series of seismic events to strike central Italy. Earlier this month, Pope Francis visited the area to express his closeness to victims of magnitude 6.2 quake that hit the region in August, killing almost 300 people.

The earthquake that struck Norcia on Sunday was even stronger, measuring approximately 6.5 on the Richter scale. It is believed to be the strongest quake in Italy in decades. No deaths have been reported, but a number of people have been gravely injured. There was widespread devastation, with many buildings, already compromised by earlier quakes, suffering severe damage. The Basilica of St Benedict, built over the birthplace of Sts Benedict and Scholastica; and the nearby Cathedral of Norcia, were both completely destroyed.

The region is still suffering from aftershocks, and victims of the quake have asked for prayers. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis gives interview ahead of trip to Sweden

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has given an interview with the Jesuit Catholic journal La Civiltà Cattolica ahead of his ecumenical Apostolic Trip to Sweden. The interview was conducted by Father Ulf Jonsson S.J., the director of the Swedish cultural journal of the Jesuits, Signum.

Pope Francis mentioned the recent interreligious meeting for peace in Assisi, which he called “very important.”

“All of us talked of peace and we asked for peace,” – the Pope said – “ We together said strong words for  peace, what the religions truly want.”

When asked about the suffering of the Christians in the Middle East, Pope Francis called the region “a land of martyrs.”

“I believe that the Lord does not leave his people on their own,” – the Holy Father said – “He will not abandon them. When we read of the hard trials of the people of Israel in the Bible or remember the trials of the martyrs, we see how the Lord always comes to the aid of his people.”

The purpose of the trip to Sweden is to mark the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, and much of the discussion in the interview covered ecumenical affairs.

Speaking about the mutual enrichment possible between Christian communities, the Pope was asked what Catholics could learn from Lutherans.

“Two  words  come  to  my  mind:  ‘reform’ and  ‘Scripture’,” - Pope Francis said – “I will try to explain. The first is the word 'reform'.  At the beginning, Luther’s was a gesture of reform in a difficult time for the Church. Luther wanted to remedy a complex situation.  Then this gesture —also  because  of  the  political  situations,  we  think  also  of  the cuius  regio  eius religio (whose realm , his religion) —became a ‘state’ of separation, and not a process of reform of the whole Church, which is fundamental,  because the Church is semper reformanda (always  reforming).”   

“The second  word  is  ‘Scripture’,  the  Word  of  God,” – the Pope continued – “Luther took a great step by putting the Word of God into the hands of the people. Reform and Scripture are two things that we can deepen by looking at the Lutheran tradition. The General  Congregations  before  the  Conclave comes  to  mind and how the request for a reform was alive in our discussions.”

The Holy Father was later asked about how the Ecumenical movement can move forward. He responded by saying “theological dialogue must continue,” and pointing to the Joint Declaration on Justification as an important point, but added “it will not be easy to go forward because of the different ways of understanding some  theological questions.”

“Personally, I believe that enthusiasm must shift towards common prayer and the works of mercy -- work done together to help the sick, the poor, and the imprisoned,” – Pope Francis said – “To do  something  together is a high and effective form of dialogue.   I also think about education.  It is important to work together and not in a sectarian way. There is a policy we should have clear in every case: to proselytize in the ecclesial field is a sin."

The full text of the interview can be found on the website of La Civiltà Cattolica here.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis: address to Consecrated Life conference

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday addressed the organizers and participants in the first-ever International Conference for the Vicars and Episcopal Delegates for Consecrated Life.

Organized by the  Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life for the purpose of the conference is to respond to the call, which the Holy Father made to Pastors of particular Churches around the world when he proclaimed the Year for Consecrated Life, “[T]o show special concern for promoting within [their] communities the different charisms, whether long-standing or recent.”

In the Letter, the Holy Father went on to ask them to do this by support and encouragement, assistance in discernment, and, “tender and loving closeness to those situations of suffering and weakness in which some consecrated men or women may find themselves.”

“Above all,” Pope Francis wrote, “do this by instructing the People of God in the value of consecrated life, so that its beauty and holiness may shine forth in the Church.”

In remarks prepared for the roughly 200 people involved in the initiative and delivered in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace on Friday, Pope Francis spoke of the bridge-building and relationship-strengthening roles of Vicars and Delegates – especially those serving newer communities and congregations. “Build mutual relations on the basis of an ecclesiology of communion, on the principle of co-essentiality, and on the autonomy that belongs rightfully to consecrated persons.”

The three-day formation congress is being hosted by the Pontifical University Antonianum, the flagship university of the Franciscan order in Rome, and closes Sunday.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Vatican: Preview of World Meeting of Popular Movements

(Vatican Radio) Details of the upcoming Third World Meeting of Popular Movements taking place in Rome from 2-5 November were presented in the Vatican on Friday.

Please find below a communique in English from the Holy See’s Press Office:

This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present the Third World Meeting of Popular Movements, to be held in Rome from 2 to 5 November 2016. The speakers were Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations and delegate secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Juan Grabois, consulter to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and co-founder of the Movement of Excluded Workers of the Conference of the Popular Economy.

Following the two meetings in Rome 2014 and Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in 2015, next week around two hundred members will meet, representing 92 popular movements from 65 countries. The themes to be considered in the third meeting will again be “las tres T: Trabajo, Techo, Tierra”; (“The three Ls: Labour, Lodgings and Land”); care for nature; and migrants and refugees.

The meeting will take place at the Pontifical International Maria Mater Ecclesiae College from 2 to 4 November. Then, on 5 November, the Holy Father Francis will receive the participants in audience in the Paul VI Hall. The attendees will include Don Luigi Ciotti, founder of the Abel group which fights against abuse by the Mafia throughout Italy; Vandana Shiva, Indian philosopher and environmentalist; and Pepe Mujica, president of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015.

For further information, see:

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(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: Jesus who is praying for us is the cornerstone of our life

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said the cornerstone of life for Christians is Jesus who is praying for us, pointing out that Jesus always turned to prayer at all the key moments in his life. His remarks came during his Mass celebrated on Friday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his cue from the Gospel reading recounting how Jesus spent the night in prayer before choosing his disciples, the Pope’s homily reflected on the fundamental importance of prayer for Christians. He said whilst Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church and there is no Church without Him, the key to this cornerstone is Jesus who is praying for us.

The cornerstone of the Church is Jesus in front of the Father who is praying for us

“‘Jesus went up to the mountain to pray and he spent the night in prayer to God.’ And then the rest followed, the crowds, the choosing of his disciples, the healings, the casting out of demons… Yes, the cornerstone is Jesus but Jesus who prays. Jesus is praying. He prayed and he continues to pray for the Church. The cornerstone of the Church is our Lord in front of the Father who intercedes on our behalf, who is praying for us. We pray to Him but the key thing is that He is praying for us.”

Our security is Jesus praying for each one of us

Pope Francis went on to describe how Jesus always prayed for his followers, be it at the Last Supper or before performing a miracle such as when he prayed to the Father before raising Lazarus from the dead.

“Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives, on the Cross, he ended praying: his life ended in prayer. And this is our security, this is our foundation, this is our cornerstone: Jesus who is praying for us! Jesus who is praying for me!  And each of us can say this: I am certain that Jesus is praying for me; that he is in front of the Father and naming me. This is the cornerstone of the Church: Jesus in prayer.”

Another example of Jesus praying for his followers, said the Pope, came before his Passion when Jesus told Peter he had been praying for him to withstand Satan’s temptation and for his faith to hold firm.

“And what Jesus tells Peter, he tells you and you and me, everybody: ‘I have prayed for you, I am praying for you, I am now praying for you’ and when He comes onto the altar, He comes to intercede, to pray for us. As he did on the Cross.  And this gives us a great sense of security. I belong to this community that’s solid because Jesus is its cornerstone, Jesus who is praying for me, who is praying for us. Today we’d do well to reflect on the Church, reflect on this mystery of the Church. We are all like a building but its foundation is Jesus, Jesus who is praying for us, Jesus who is praying for me.”

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope meets trafficking victims, encourages Santa Marta Group

Pope: God still weeps over today's calamities and wars waged for money

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said God weeps over the calamities and over the wars waged nowadays to worship ‘the idol of money’ and for the many innocent victims killed by the bombs. He stressed that God weeps because humanity does not understand “the peace that He offers us.” His words came during the Mass celebrated on Thursday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his inspiration from a reading from the gospel of Luke where Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, the “closed” city that “kills the prophets and stones those sent” to it, Pope Francis’ homily reflected on some of the moments of weeping during Christ’s ministry. He explained that Jesus had the tenderness of His Father looking at his children when he wept over the city of Jerusalem in the gospel account saying: “How many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling.”

“Somebody said that God became man in order to be able to weep, to weep over what His children had done. The weeping in front of the tomb of Lazarus is the weeping of a friend. This is the weeping of the Father.”

In the same way, the Pope continued, we can look at the behaviour of the father of the prodigal son and what happens when this son asks for his inheritance and leaves home. He said the father did not go to his neighbours to say “Look what has happened to me! This horrible thing he did to me! But I will curse this son…” Pope Francis said he is certain that the father did not do this although maybe he went “to weep alone in his bedroom.”

“And why do I tell you this? Because the Gospel does not talk about this, it says that when his son returned home, he saw him from afar: this means that the Father was continually going up onto the terrace to look at the road to see if his son was coming back. And a father who does this is a father who lives in tears, waiting for his son to return home. This is the weeping of God the Father. And with his weeping, the Father recreates through his Son all of creation.”

Turning next to the moment when Jesus is carrying the cross to Calvary, Pope Francis reflected on the pious women who were weeping, saying they were not weeping over Him but over their own children. He stressed that this weeping like that of a father and of a mother is one that God still continues to do in our times.

“Even nowadays in front of the calamities, the wars waged in order to worship the god of money, the many innocent people killed by the bombs launched by those who worship the idol of money, God still weeps and He also says: ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, my children, what are you doing?’ And he also says this to the poor victims, to the arms traffickers and to all those who sell the life of people. We’d do well to think both about how God our Father became man in order to be able to weep and how God our Father weeps nowadays: he weeps over humanity that ends up not understanding the peace that He offers us, the peace of love.”

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis addresses JPII Institute

Pope Francis: ‘the Rosary is the prayer of my heart’

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday reminded the faithful that the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary and invited all believers to recite the Marian prayer.

In a tweet, just a few days ago, on the day when the Church celebrates the feast of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, the Pope said “the Rosary is the prayer that always accompanies my life: it is also the prayer of simple people and saints...it is the prayer of my heart”. 

At the conclusion of  the weekly General Audience, he explained that the Rosary is “a synthesis of Divine Mercy”:
 
“With Mary, in the mysteries of the Rosary  we contemplate the life of Jesus which irradiates the mercy of the Father. Let us rejoice in His love and forgiveness, let us recognize it in foreigners and in those who are needy, let us live His Gospel every day”.
 
And greeting the young, the sick and the newly wedded, Pope Francis said:

“May this simple Marian prayer show you, young people, the way to give life to God’s will in your lives; dear sick people, love this prayer because it brings consolation for the mind and the heart; and dear newly wedded spouses, may it represent a privileged moment of spiritual intimacy within your new family”.
  
Pope Francis gives all people he meets a Rosary. “Our Lady – he says – is always close to Her children and ready to help when we pray to her, when we ask for her protection… let us remember she is always ready to serve and never keeps anyone waiting”. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: 'the only solution to the migration crisis is solidarity'

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday called for solidarity with migrants and refugees.

Speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly General Audience, the Pope reflected on two particular corporal works of mercy - welcoming the stranger and clothing the naked – and said that the growing numbers of refugees fleeing war, famine and dire poverty calls us to welcome and care for these brothers and sisters.

Pope Francis reflected on the many stories of migration that are to be found in the Bible and on how, through the centuries, so many committed Christians have found generous ways of meeting the needs of people fleeing violence and injustice. 

“Today – he said – the current economic crisis unfortunately fosters attitudes of closure instead of welcome”.   

“In some parts of the world walls and barriers are being built. It appears that the silent work of men and women who, in different ways, do what they can to help and assist refugees and migrants, is being drowned out by the noise made by those who give voice to an instinctive egoism” he said. 

And saying that closure is never a solution, the Pope said it actually ends up favouring criminal trafficking. The only solution, he said,  is solidarity: “Solidarity with the migrant, solidarity with the foreigner…” 

Pope Francis reiterated that this is a commitment that we must all make: “no one excluded”.

“Dioceses, parishes, religious institutes, organisations and individual Christians: we are all called to welcome our brothers and sisters who are fleeing war, hunger, violence and cruel conditions of  life” he said.

And setting aside his text, Pope Francis told the story of a lady who was approached by a refugee asking directions for the Holy Door. The man, the Pope said, was dirty and  barefoot but wanted to go to St. Peter’s Basilica to cross the holy threshold. The woman took stock of his bare feet and called a taxi, but the taxi driver initially didn’t want him on board because he was ‘smelly’. The taxi driver ended up boarding the woman and the man who, during the drive, told his story of pain, war, hunger and migration.
 
Upon destination, Pope Francis recounted that the taxi driver, the same man who initially didn’t want the refugee to board his taxi because he was ‘smelly’, refused to accept payment for his service from the woman because he said: “It is I who should pay you because thanks to you I have listened to a story that has changed my heart”.

The Pope continued saying that the woman was well aware of the pain of a migrant because she had Armenian blood and knew the suffering of her people.

“When we do something like that initially there is some discomfort – ‘a smell’ – but at the end, a story like this brings fragrance to our soul, and changes us. Think about this story and think what you can do for refugees” he said.        

So too, ‘clothing the naked’ he said, increasingly means caring for those whose dignity has been stripped from them, and working to ensure that it is upheld and safeguarded. 

And this, he explained, means literally giving clothes to those who have none, but it also means thinking of women whose bodies are exploited by human traffickers and  of the many other ways people – even minors – are used as a form of merchandise.

“Having no job, no home, no just salary is also a form of nakedness, as is suffering discrimination because of race or faith. These are all forms of ‘nakedness’ that we Christians are called to act upon” he said. 
 
As followers of Christ, Pope Francis concluded, may we never close our hearts to those in need. By being open to others, our lives are enriched, our societies can enjoy peace and all people can live in a way befitting their dignity.

 

(from Vatican Radio)

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General Audience: English summary

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday urged the faithful to offer welcome and care to refugees fleeing war, famine and poverty.

He was speaking during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter's Square.

Please find below the English language summary of his catechesis:  

Dear Brothers and Sisters:  In our catechesis for this Holy Year of Mercy, we now consider two particular corporal works of mercy: welcoming the stranger and clothing the naked.  Jesus mentions both of these in connection with the Last Judgement (cf. Mt 25:35-36).  Nowadays, the “stranger” is often the immigrant in our midst.  In every age, the phenomenon of immigration calls for a response of openness and solidarity.  In our own day, the growing influx of refugees fleeing war, famine and dire poverty is a summons to welcome and care for these brothers and sisters.  Like so many committed Christians who have gone before us, such as Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, we need to find generous and creative ways of meeting their immediate needs.  So too, “clothing the naked” increasingly means caring for those whose dignity has been stripped from them, and working to ensure that it is upheld and safeguarded.  As followers of Christ, may we never close our hearts to those in need.  For by openness to others, our lives are enriched, our societies enjoy peace and all people can live in a way befitting their God-given dignity.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Cataloguing of archives related to Argentine dictatorship ended

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican issued a statement on Tuesday announcing the work of the cataloguing and digitalizing of the archival material possessed by the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, the Apostolic Nunciature in Buenos Aires, and the Vatican’s Secretariat of State related to Argentina’s Military Dictatorship Period (1976-1983) has ended.

The statement said the Executive Committee of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States, on Saturday, 15 October, to assess the project.

The Executive Committee of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina is composed of the President, Archbishop of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, José María Arancedo; the First Vice President, Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli; the Second Deputy, Archbishop of Salta, Mario Antonio Cargnello; and the Secretary General, Bishop of Chascomus, Carlos Humberto Malfa.

The statement noted the process of organization and digitization, “which was performed in accordance with the decisions and directives of the Holy Father, and is the continuation of work already started years ago by the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, has ended.”

It went on to say “based on a protocol to be established soon,” the documents will be able to be accessed and consulted by the victims, the immediate family members of the desaparecidos (disappeared) and detained, and – in the case of religious and ecclesiastical personnel – their superiors.

The statement said those involved wanted to “emphasize this work was performed by having it its heart the service of truth, justice, and peace by continuing a dialogue open to the culture of encounter.”

It concluded by saying “the Holy Father and Episcopate of Argentina entrust their homeland to the merciful protection of Our Lady of Luján, trusting in the intercession of the beloved Saint José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.”

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: God’s Kingdom grows through docility not with organization charts

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said God’s kingdom grows through its members showing docility and warned Christians against concentrating too much on structures and organization charts. He was speaking during his morning Mass on Tuesday celebrated in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his inspiration from the day’s readings, Pope Francis reflected on the nature of God’s kingdom during his homily, saying it is not a fixed structure but constantly evolving and describing what helps it to grow. He stressed that God’s law is not just there to be studied but to journey forward with during our lives.

“What is the Kingdom of God?  Well, perhaps the Kingdom of God is a very well-made structure, everything tidy, organization charts all prepared, everything and the person who does not enter (into this structure) is not in the Kingdom of God. No, the same thing can happen to the Kingdom of God as happens to the Law: unchanging, rigidity…    the Law is about moving forward, the Kingdom of God is moving, it is not standing still. What’s more: the Kingdom of God is re-creating itself every day.”

The Pope reminded how Jesus in his parable about things in our daily lives spoke about the yeast that does not remain yeast because in the end it is mixed in with the flour and therefore it is on a journey and becomes bread. And then there is the seed that does not remain a seed because it dies and gives life to the tree.  Both the yeast and the seed, explained Pope Francis, are on a journey to do something but in order to do this they die. It is not a problem of smallness, be it small, of little count or a big thing. It’s a question of journeying and whilst on this journey the transformation occurs.

The Pope went on to warn against being a person who sees the Law but does not journey forward and has a rigid attitude.

“What is the attitude that the Lord asks from us in order that the Kingdom of God can grow and be bread for everybody and is a house too for everybody?  Docility: the Kingdom of God grows through docility to the strength of the Holy Spirit. The flour ceases to be flour and becomes bread because it is docile to the strength of the yeast and the yeast allows itself to be mixed in with the flour… I don’t know, flour has no feelings but allowing itself to be mixed in one could think that there is some suffering here, right? But the Kingdom too, the Kingdom grows in this way and then in the end it is bread for everybody.”

Just as the flour is docile to the yeast, continued Pope Francis, the seed too allows itself to be fertilized and loses its identity as a seed and becomes something much larger: it transforms itself. He said it’s the same with the Kingdom of God that is journeying “towards hope” and “journeying towards fullness.”

Saying the Kingdom of God re-creates itself every day, the Pope stressed that the Kingdom grows through our docility to the Holy Spirit that, just like the pinch of yeast or the tiny seed, transform themselves in order to grow. He warned that if Christians do not journey forward they become rigid and this rigidity makes them orphans without the Father.

“A rigid person only has masters and no father. The Kingdom of God is like a mother that grows and is fertile, gives of herself so that her children have food and lodging, according to the example of the Lord. Today is a day to ask for the grace of docility to the Holy Spirit. Many times we are not docile to our moods, our judgements. ‘But I do what I want….  The Kingdom does not grow in this way and neither do we grow. It is docility to the Holy Spirit that makes us grow and be transformed like the yeast and the seed.  May the Lord give us all the grace of this docility.”  

(from Vatican Radio)

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Holy See speaks out over world hunger

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s representative to the United Nations has decried the fact that hundreds of millions of people still face hunger and undernourishment, in a speech given on Monday to the UN General Assembly.

“Despite progress made since 1990 in reducing hunger, nearly 800 million people are still undernourished, at a time when global challenges to reducing malnutrition are becoming increasingly more complex,” – said Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York – “An equally troubling fact is that more than two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, among whom are some of the most vulnerable members of the world’s population, including more than 200 million children under the age of five years, who are either stunted or wasted.”

The Archbishop went on to reaffirm the Holy See’s commitment to “firm, political and societal” action in order to combat world hunger and undernourishment.

The full text of Archbishop Auza’s speech is below:

Mr. Chair,

The Secretary General’s report (A/71/283) on agricultural development, food security and nutrition provides both a timely and candid account of progress being made on the two fundamental global concerns of ending hunger and eliminating malnutrition for all. The Secretary General’s report serves as a stark reminder of the magnitude of the challenges that still lie ahead if we are to end hunger, improve nutrition, and achieve food security by 2030. Despite progress made since 1990 in reducing hunger, nearly 800 million people are still undernourished, at a time when global challenges to reducing malnutrition are becoming increasingly more complex. An equally troubling fact is that more than two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, among whom are some of the most vulnerable members of the world’s population, including more than 200 million children under the age of five years, who are either stunted or wasted.

The challenges to increase agricultural productivity, to address the effects of climate changes, and to reduce food losses are compounded by mass migrations of peoples, both within and between countries, and by war and violence that have uprooted large populations from productive areas. Consequently, as the Secretary General’s report observes, it is already clear that  without  a  “firm  political  and  societal  commitment,  large  segments  of  the  world’s population will remain undernourished by 2030.”

This  “political  and  societal  commitment”  is  fundamental  if  we  are  to  reach  the  second sustainable development goal “to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. In his June 2016 Address to the World Food Programme in Rome, Pope Francis warned of the dangers of seeing hunger and poverty purely as statistics and of slowly becoming immune to other people’s tragedies, viewing them almost as something “natural” and thus inevitable in the world in which we live. We must thus “denaturalize” extreme poverty by seeing it as a troubling reality and not as an inevitable statistic, “because” – as the Pope affirmed – “poverty has a face: it has the face of a child; it has the face of a family; it has the face of people, young and old; it has the face of widespread unemployment; it has the face of forced migrations, and of empty and destroyed homes.”

The Pope also asked to “debureaucratize” hunger. In his Address to the Second International Conference on Nutrition of the Food and Agricultural Administration in November 2015, Pope Francis spoke of the paradox that, while there is more than enough food for everyone, yet not all can eat, even as we witness “waste, excessive consumption and the use of food for other purposes.” The “bureaucratization” of hunger also finds expression in the paradox that whereas various forms of aid and development projects are obstructed by political decisions and policies, by  skewed ideologies  and by  impenetrable customs’  barriers, the  trade  in weaponry is not. The Pope lamented the fact that “it makes no difference where arms come from; they circulate with brazen and virtually absolute freedom in many parts of the world. As a result, wars are fed, not persons. In some cases, hunger itself is used as a weapon of war.”

In  closing,  my  delegation  reiterates  its  commitment  to  the  goal  of  ending  hunger  and eliminating malnutrition for all by 2030. For it to become a reality, however, we will need not only increased food production and better food distribution: we must also summon the finest human qualities of peace, social justice, solidarity, compassion and empathy, so that we may be aware of the hungry and thirsty around us and around the world.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Vatican issues new document on Christian burial and cremation

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Tuesday published a new instruction on the burial of the dead and on the conservation of the ashes in cases of cremation.

The instruction reiterates the long held view that the Church is not opposed to the practice of cremation, though it continues to recommend that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.

However the new document insists that ashes should not be kept in private houses and that the scattering of ashes on land or at sea is not permitted.

Please see below the full English text of the new instruction from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation

1.         To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must “be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). With the Instruction Piam et Constantem of 5 July 1963, the then Holy Office established that “all necessary measures must be taken to preserve the practice of reverently burying the faithful departed”, adding however that cremation is not “opposed per se to the Christian religion” and that no longer should the sacraments and funeral rites be denied to those who have asked that they be cremated, under the condition that this choice has not been made through “a denial of Christian dogmas, the animosity of a secret society, or hatred of the Catholic religion and the Church”.  Later this change in ecclesiastical discipline was incorporated into the Code of Canon Law (1983) and the Code of Canons of Oriental Churches (1990).

            During the intervening years, the practice of cremation has notably increased in many countries, but simultaneously new ideas contrary to the Church’s faith have also become widespread. Having consulted the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and numerous Episcopal Conferences and Synods of Bishops of the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has deemed opportune the publication of a new Instruction, with the intention of underlining the doctrinal and pastoral reasons for the preference of the burial of the remains of the faithful and to set out norms pertaining to the conservation of ashes in the case of cremation.

2.         The resurrection of Jesus is the culminating truth of the Christian faith, preached as an essential part of the Paschal Mystery from the very beginnings of Christianity: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve” (1 Cor 15:3-5).

Through his death and resurrection, Christ freed us from sin and gave us access to a new life, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rm 6:4). Furthermore, the risen Christ is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep […] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20-22).

It is true that Christ will raise us up on the last day; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. In Baptism, actually, we are immersed in the death and resurrection of Christ and sacramentally assimilated to him: “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col 2:12). United with Christ by Baptism, we already truly participate in the life of the risen Christ (cf. Eph 2:6).

Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning. The Christian vision of death receives privileged expression in the liturgy of the Church: “Indeed for your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended, and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven”.  By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. In our own day also, the Church is called to proclaim her faith in the resurrection: “The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead; believing this we live”.

3.         Following the most ancient Christian tradition, the Church insistently recommends that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.

In memory of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, the mystery that illumines the Christian meaning of death,  burial is above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.

The Church who, as Mother, has accompanied the Christian during his earthly pilgrimage, offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of her grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory.

By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body,  and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity.  She cannot, therefore, condone attitudes or permit rites that involve erroneous ideas about death, such as considering death as the definitive annihilation of the person, or the moment of fusion with Mother Nature or the universe, or as a stage in the cycle of regeneration, or as the definitive liberation from the “prison” of the body.

Furthermore, burial in a cemetery or another sacred place adequately corresponds to the piety and respect owed to the bodies of the faithful departed who through Baptism have become temples of the Holy Spirit and in which “as instruments and vessels the Spirit has carried out so many good works”.

Tobias, the just, was praised for the merits he acquired in the sight of God for having buried the dead,  and the Church considers the burial of dead one of the corporal works of mercy.

Finally, the burial of the faithful departed in cemeteries or other sacred places encourages family members and the whole Christian community to pray for and remember the dead, while at the same time fostering the veneration of martyrs and saints.

Through the practice of burying the dead in cemeteries, in churches or their environs, Christian tradition has upheld the relationship between the living and the dead and has opposed any tendency to minimize, or relegate to the purely private sphere, the event of death and the meaning it has for Christians.

4.         In circumstances when cremation is chosen because of sanitary, economic or social considerations, this choice must never violate the explicitly-stated or the reasonably inferable wishes of the deceased faithful. The Church raises no doctrinal objections to this practice, since cremation of the deceased’s body does not affect his or her soul, nor does it prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life. Thus cremation, in and of itself, objectively negates neither the Christian doctrine of the soul’s immortality nor that of the resurrection of the body.

The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows a greater esteem towards the deceased. Nevertheless, cremation is not prohibited, “unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine”.

In the absence of motives contrary to Christian doctrine, the Church, after the celebration of the funeral rite, accompanies the choice of cremation, providing the relevant liturgical and pastoral directives, and taking particular care to avoid every form of scandal or the appearance of religious indifferentism.

5.         When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority.

            From the earliest times, Christians have desired that the faithful departed become the objects of the Christian community’s prayers and remembrance. Their tombs have become places of prayer, remembrance and reflection. The faithful departed remain part of the Church who believes “in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church”.

            The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community. It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventuality is possible, most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has too passed away. Also it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices.

6.         For the reasons given above, the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence is not permitted. Only in grave and exceptional cases dependent on cultural conditions of a localized nature, may the Ordinary, in agreement with the Episcopal Conference or the Synod of Bishops of the Oriental Churches, concede permission for the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence. Nonetheless, the ashes may not be divided among various family members and due respect must be maintained regarding the circumstances of such a conservation.

7.         In order that every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism be avoided, it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewelry or other objects. These courses of action cannot be legitimized by an appeal to the sanitary, social, or economic motives that may have occasioned the choice of cremation.

8.         When the deceased notoriously has requested cremation and the scattering of their ashes for reasons contrary to the Christian faith, a Christian funeral must be denied to that person according to the norms of the law.

The Sovereign Pontiff Francis, in the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect on 18 March 2016, approved the present Instruction, adopted in the Ordinary Session of this Congregation on 2 March 2016, and ordered its publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 15 August 2016, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Gerhard Card. Müller,  Prefect

Luis F. Ladaria, S.I., Titular Archbishop of Thibica, Secretary

(from Vatican Radio)

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Vatican sends message to Hindus for Diwali

(Vatican Radio) The President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran has sent a Message to Hindus for the Feast of Deepavali (Diwali), entitled Christians and Hindus:  Promoting hope among families.

“The health of society depends on our familial bonds and yet we know that today the very notion of family is being undermined by a climate that relativizes its essential significance and value,” Cardinal Tauran writes.

“It is in the family that children, led by the noble example of their parents and elders, are formed in the values that help them develop into good and responsible human beings,” – the Cardinal Tauran continues – “Too often, however, the optimism and idealism of our youth are diminished by circumstances that affect families. It is especially important, therefore, that parents, together with the wider community, instil in their children a sense of hope by guiding them towards a better future and the pursuit of the good, even in the face of adversity.”

 

The full text of the Message is below

 

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Christians and Hindus:  Promoting hope among families

MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF DEEPAVALI  2016

Vatican City

 

Dear Hindu Friends,

1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we offer our best wishes as you celebrate Deepavali on 30 October 2016. May your celebrations around the world deepen your familial bonds, and bring joy and peace to your homes and communities.

2. The health of society depends on our familial bonds and yet we know that today the very notion of family is being undermined by a climate that relativizes its essential significance and value. So too, family life is often disrupted by harsh realities such as conflicts, poverty and migration, which have become all too commonplace throughout the world. There are, however, strong signs of renewed hope due to the witness of those who hold fervently to the enduring importance of marriage and family life for the wellbeing of each person and society as a whole. With this abiding respect for the family, and keenly aware of the global challenges daily confronting us, we wish to offer a reflection on how we, Christians and Hindus together, can promote hope in families, thus making our society ever more humane.

3. We know that the family is “humanity’s first school” and that parents are the “primary and principal” educators of their children. It is in the family that children, led by the noble example of their parents and elders, are formed in the values that help them develop into good and responsible human beings. Too often, however, the optimism and idealism of our youth are diminished by circumstances that affect families. It is especially important, therefore, that parents, together with the wider community, instil in their children a sense of hope by guiding them towards a better future and the pursuit of the good, even in the face of adversity.

4. Providing a formation and education in hope is thus a task of paramount importance for families (cf. POPE FRANCIS, Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, 274-275), as it reflects the divine nature of mercy which embraces the disheartened and gives them purpose. Such an education in hope encourages the young themselves to reach out, in charity and service, to others in need, and so become a light for those in darkness.

5. Families, therefore, are meant to be a “workshop of hope” (POPE FRANCIS, Address at the Prayer Vigil for the Festival of Families, Philadelphia, 26 September 2015), where children learn from the example of their parents and family members, and experience the power of hope in strengthening human relationships, serving those most forgotten in society and overcoming the injustices of our day. Saint John Paul II said that “the future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 86). If humanity is to prosper and live in peace, then families must embrace this work of nurturing hope and encouraging their children to be heralds of hope to the world.

6. As Christians and Hindus, may we join all people of good will in supporting marriage and family life, and inspiring families to be schools of hope. May we bring hope’s light to every corner of our world, offering consolation and strength to all in need.

We wish you all a joyful Deepavali!

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran President

+ Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ Secretary

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope meets Venezuelan President

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday evening received, in private, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. A statement from the Holy See Press Office said, the meeting took place within the framework of the worrying political, social and economic situation that the country is going through, and that is having serious repercussions on the daily lives of the entire population.

In this way, the statement continued, the Pope, who has the welfare of all Venezuelans at heart, wanted to continue to offer his contribution to the country's institutionality and every step that will help to resolve the outstanding issues and build trust between all parties.

The Pope invited the parties to show courage in pursuing the path of sincere and constructive dialogue to alleviate the suffering of the people, the poor first, and promote a climate of renewed social cohesion, which allows the nation to look with hope to the future.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis tells Jesuits the Church needs them

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday paid a visit to the 36th Jesuit General Congregation taking place in Rome.

He addressed his Jesuit brothers – who elected the new Jesuit Superior General, Father Arturo Sosa Abascal, during this General Congregation – telling them that Church needs them:

“As my predecessors have often told you, the Church needs you, counts on you and continues to turn to you with confidence, particularly to reach the geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach, or find it difficult to reach” he said.   

Please find below the Jesuit General Curia’s synthesis of Pope Francis’ address in English:  

Rome – October 24, 2016. The Holy Father, Pope Francis, this morning visited members of General Congregation 36 at the Jesuit General Curia. Welcoming the Holy Father to the Aula of the Congregation, Father General Arturo Sosa said, “Dear Pope Francis, in the name of the Society of Jesus meeting in the GC36 I welcome you to this Aula. Thank you for coming to our house. This meeting occurs in a very important moment of the GC36. We are discerning about the issues proposed by the whole Society.”

While the Holy Father cannot participate in the General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, he can request that Society consider certain matters of greater importance with regard to mission.

The Holy Father began his address by recalling messages of his predecessors to previous General Congregations. He thus started by saying, “While praying over what I would like to say, I remembered with particular affection the words of Pope Paul VI to us as we came to the end of the 32nd General Congregation: “This is the way, this is the way, Brothers and Sons. Forward, in nomine Domini. Let us walk together, free, obedient, united to each other in the love of Christ, for the greater glory of God.”

The Holy Father also referred to the message of Pope Benedict XVI to members of General Congregation 35 in 2008, saying, “As my predecessors have often told you, the Church needs you, counts on you and continues to turn to you with confidence, particularly to reach the geographical and spiritual places where others do not reach, or find it difficult to reach.” He reminded the Jesuits that their mission is to walk together with the Pope, “free and obedient – going to the peripheries where others do not reach, under Jesus’ gaze and looking to the horizon which is the ever greater glory of God, who ceaselessly surprises us.” He noted that the vocation of a Jesuit is “to travel through the world and to live in any part of it where there is hope of greater service to God and of help of souls,” [Constitutions, 304]. The Holy Father reminisced that one of the early Jesuits, Jerome Nadal, used to say, “For the Society the whole world is our home.”

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis reminded the Society of Jesus about the importance that Saint Ignatius of Loyola placed on the works of mercy. “Works of mercy – caring for the sick in hospitals, begging for alms, sharing, teaching catechism to children, and the patient suffering of insults… are the daily bread of Ignatius and his first companions. They took care that none of these became obstacles!” The Pope noted, “The Jubilee of Mercy is an appropriate time to reflect about the works of mercy. I am saying it in plural, because mercy is not an abstract word, but a lifestyle that places concrete gestures before the word. These gestures touch the flesh of the neighbour and become institutionalised in works of mercy.”

The Holy Father reminded members of General Congregation 36 that the Society of Jesus has the important mission of bringing consolation and joy in the lives of the people of God. “We can always take a step forward asking insistently for consolation. In the two Apostolic Exhortations and in Laudato Si, I consistently underlined the importance of joy. In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius invites us to contemplate ‘the office of consolation,’ which is the work of the Risen Christ Himself. This is the true work of the Society: to console the faithful people of God and to help them through discernment so that the enemy of human nature does not rob us of our joy: the joy of evangelising, the joy of the family, the joy of the Church, the joy of creation.”

Historically, whenever Jesuits have gathered for a General Congregation, they have requested an audience with the Holy Father. It is an opportunity for the Holy Father to directly give a mission to the Society of Jesus in accordance with the fourth vow, the vow of obedience to the Holy Father in matters of mission, which many Jesuits profess.

From the foundation of the Society, Ignatius Loyola and the early companions desired to make themselves available to the Pope for missioning.

For members of General Congregation 36 who are in the midst of discerning the mission of the Society of Jesus within the larger mission of the Church, the audience with the Holy Father, to whom Jesuits have a special vow of obedience, was an important moment.

The original text of Pope Francis' address in Spanish can be found here. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: 'God calls us to be merciful and good, not rigid'

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday warned against excessive rigidity and said God gives us the freedom and the gentleness to be merciful.

He was speaking during the homily at morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta.

Drawing inspiration from the Gospel reading of the day which tells of when Jesus, who was teaching in the synagogue, healed a crippled woman and ignited the anger of the righteous, Pope Francis said “it is not easy to keep to the path indicated by God’s Law.

The reading by Matthew tells us that Jesus’ action provoked the fury of the leader of the synagogue who was “indignant that he had cured the woman on the Sabbath” because - he said - Jesus had violated God’s Law by doing so on the Sabbath day which is set aside for rest and worship. 

And pointing out that the Jesus responded calling the leaders of the synagogue ‘hypocrites’, the Pope observed that this is an accusation Jesus often makes to those who follow the Law with rigidity. “The Law – he explained – was not drawn up to enslave us but to set us free, to make us God’s children”.

Concealed by rigidity, Pope Francis said, there is always something else! That’s why Jesus uses the word ‘hypocrites!’: 

"Behind an attitude of rigidity there is always something else in the life of a person. Rigidity is not a gift of God. Meekness is; goodness is; benevolence is; forgiveness is. But rigidity isn’t!” he said.

In many cases, the Pope continued, rigidity conceals the leading of a double life; but, he pointed out, there can also be something pathological. 

Commenting on the difficulties and suffering that afflict a person who is both rigid and sincere, the Pope said this is because they lack the freedom of God's children: “they do not know how to walk in the path indicated by God’s Law”.

“They appear good because they follow the Law; but they are concealing something else: either they are hypocritical or they are sick. And they suffer!” he said.

Pope Francis also recalled the parable of the prodigal son in which the eldest son, who had always behaved well, was indignant with his father because he had joyfully welcomed back the youngest son who returns home repentant after having led a life of debauchery. This attitude - the Pope explained - shows what is behind a certain type of goodness: “the pride of believing in one’s righteousness”.

The elder son -  Pope said -  was rigid and conducted his life following the Law but saw his father only as a master. The other put rules aside, returned to his father in a time of darkness, and asked for forgiveness.

“It is not easy to walk within the Law of the Lord without falling into rigidity” he said.

The Pope concluded his homily with this prayer:

"Let’s pray for our brothers and sisters who think that by becoming rigid they are following the path of the Lord.  May the Lord make them feel that He is our Father and that He loves mercy, tenderness, goodness, meekness, humility. And may he teach us all to walk in the path of the Lord with these attitudes.”

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis at Angelus: a time of courage in mission

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis used his remarks to pilgrims and tourists ahead of the traditional Sunday Angelus prayer to reflect on our being creatures in time, but destined for eternity with God – the uncreated author of all that is, the source of our being, and the font of truth and joy: all in the key of mission.

Drawing on the Second Reading of this XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time and World Mission Day, which was taken from the 2^nd Letter of St. Paul to Timothy, Pope Francis said, “Today is a time of mission and it is time of courage: courage to strengthen tottering steps, to rediscover the delight of spending ourselves for the Gospel, to regain confidence in the strength that mission brings with itself.”

Courage, however, cannot guarantee victory.

“It is time of courage, although courage does not mean having assurance of success: courage is required to fight, not necessarily to win; to proclaim, not necessarily to convert.”

The Holy Father went on to say, “Today what is required of us is courage to be alternative in the world, without ever becoming argumentative or aggressive. What is required of us is the courage to be open to all, without ever diminishing the absoluteness and uniqueness of Christ, the one Savior of all.”

“Courage,” continued Pope Francis, “is required of us to stand up to unbelief, without becoming arrogant.”

Then, in a departure from his prepared remarks, the Holy Father said, “There is also required of us in this day the courage of the publican in today's Gospel,” taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, with the parable of the proud Pharisee and the humble tax collector who averts his eyes from heaven and begs the Lord forgiveness – the parable that concludes with the admonition according to which whosever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis: Angelus appeal for Mosul

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made an appeal for the safety of citizens trapped inside the embattled Iraqi city of Mosul on Sunday.

Speaking to pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis said, “In these dramatic hours, I am close to the entire population of Iraq, especially that of the city of Mosul.” The Holy Father went on to say, “Our hearts are shocked by the heinous acts of violence that for too long have been perpetrated against innocent citizens: whether they be Muslims, whether they be Christians, or people belonging to other ethnic groups and religions.”

Having departed from his prepared text, Pope Francis added, “I was saddened to hear news of the killing – in cold blood – of many sons and daughters of that beloved land, including many children: this cruelty makes us weep, leaving us without words.”

The Holy Father concluded his appeal saying, “Along with this word of solidarity goes assurance of my remembrance in prayer so that Iraq, while gravely stricken, might be both strong and firm in the hope of moving toward a future of security, reconciliation and peace.”

The Pope then invited all those gathered to join him in a moment of silent prayer, before leading them in the recitation of the Ave Maria. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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