Pope Francis laments false friendship, fundamentalism 2015-09-14 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) In his first interview with an independent radio station with no connection to any religious organization, Pope Francis spoke about friendship, fundamentalism, and the defense of Creation, saying “You, an Evangelist, I, a Catholic, let us work together for Jesus”. Pope Francis granted the interview to his personal friend and journalist, Marcelo Figueroa, at the Argentinian radio station, FM Milenium 106.7 out of Buenos Aires. It aired on Sunday afternoon, September 13th. The interview seems like a conversation between two friends – indeed, they have been for many years – so the theme of friendship takes a central place in the discussion. Pope Francis emphasized the holiness of true friendship, saying “Friendship is something very sacred. The Bible says ‘keep one or two friends’. Before considering someone your friend, let time test him, to see how he reacts in your regard.” At this point, Pope Francis introduces a more painful, personal note about false friends, saying that he has been used, or instrumentalized, by some who have claimed to be his ‘friends’. “But the utilitarian sense of friendship – to see what I can get out of being close to this person and making myself his friend – this pains me. I have felt used by some people who have presented themselves as ‘friends’ with whom I may not have seen more than once or twice in my lifetime, and they used this for their own gain. But this is an experience which we have all undergone: utilitarian friendship.” The Holy Father also went on to point out the dangers of religious fundamentalism which distances one from God, saying that fundamentalism in any religion “is a transversal darkness which robs us of an horizon, which closes us in convictions”. “No religion is immune from its own fundamentalisms. In any confession there will be a small group of fundamentalists, whose work is to destroy in the interests of an idea, not of a reality. Reality is superior to an idea. God, whether in Judaism, in Christianity, or in Islam, in the faith of those three peoples, accompanies God’s people with His presence. In the Bible we see it, Muslims in the Koran. Our God is a God of nearness, which accompanies. Fundamentalists push God away from the companionship of His people; they dis-Incarnate Him, they transform Him into an ideology. Therefore, in the name of this ideological God, they kill, attack, destroy, and calumniate. Practically, they transform this God into a Baal, into an idol,” Pope Francis said. The Holy Father also spoke of friendship towards Creation, underlining the dangers of deforestation and the hydroelectric installations in the Amazon rainforest. (from Vatican Radio) (from Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis speaks to Portugal’s Radio Renascença 2015-09-14 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis spoke about the refugee crisis during an interview with Portugal’s Radio Renascençawhich aired on Monday, calling it the “tip of an iceberg.” “These poor people are fleeing war, hunger, but that is the tip of the iceberg. Because underneath that is the cause; and the cause is a bad and unjust socioeconomic system, in everything, in the world – speaking of the environmental problem –, in the socioeconomic society, in politics, the person always has to be in the centre,” Pope Francis said. The Holy Father said the world must work to help people not feel the need to emigrate. “Where the causes are hunger, we have to create work, investments. Where the cause is war, search for peace, work for peace,” he said. “Nowadays the world is at war against itself, that is, the world is at war, as I say, in instalments, bit by bit, but it is also at war against the land, because it is destroying the land, our common house, the environment.” The Pope did, however, admit welcoming refugees is not a riskless proposition. “I recognize that, nowadays, border safety conditions are not what they once were,” Pope Francis said. “The truth is that just 400 kilometres from Sicily there is an incredibly cruel terrorist group. So there is a danger of infiltration, this is true.” The Pope said Rome itself would not be immune from this this threat. “But you can take precautions, and put these people to work,” he said. “But then there is another problem, that Europe is going through a very big labour crisis.” The Holy Father pointed out immigration is an international and timeless phenomenon, and added the low birthrate in Europe is creating “empty spaces,” which others will try to fill. “If a country has no children, immigrants come in and take their place,” he said. “I believe Europe’s greatest challenge is to go back to being a mother Europe,” Pope Francis said, as opposed to a “grandmother Europe.” Later in the interview, the Pope mentioned this was also his concern for the Church – “become too much of a grandmother, instead of a mother, incapable of generating life” – and he said he hoped the Jubilee of Mercy will allow people to “experience the Church as mother.” Pope Francis also used the interview to ask people to “pray a lot” for the upcoming Synod on the Family. “We have high expectations because, obviously, the family is in crisis,” he said. “Young people no longer get married. They don’t get married.” He also said the Synod would look at ways to help those families living in situations contrary to Church teaching. “At the synod we will be speaking about all the possible ways to help these families,” Pope Francis said. “But one thing should be very clear – something Pope Benedict left quite clear: people who are in a second union are not excommunicated and should be integrated into Church life. This was made crystal clear. I also said this quite clearly: Drawing closer to the mass, to catechesis, their children’s education, charity… There are so many different options.” Pope Francis admitted his life after becoming Pope has been an adventure, but said “I did not lose the peace." An English translation of the full interview can be found here. (from Vatican Radio)
Pope: "illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus" 8 20Print 2015-09-15 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says faith is a key that helps us to see how illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus who walks at our side, weighed down by the Cross. In a message for the World Day of the Sick, celebrated each year on Febuary 11, the Pope points out that it offers him an opportunity to draw close to those who are ill and to their carers. The theme of his message is “Entrusting Oneself to the Merciful Jesus like Mary”. In it he says that on this World Day of the Sick “let us ask Jesus in his mercy, through the intercession of Mary, his Mother and ours, to grant to all of us this same readiness to be serve those in need, and, in particular, our infirm brothers and sisters”. At times - Pope Francis says – “this service can be tiring and burdensome, yet we are certain that the Lord will surely turn our human efforts into something divine. We too can be hands, arms and hearts which help God to perform his miracles, so often hidden.” Please find below the full text of Pope Francis’s Message for the World Day of the Sick: Entrusting Oneself to the Merciful Jesus like Mary: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5) Dear Brothers and Sisters, The twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick offers me an opportunity to draw particularly close to you, dear friends who are ill, and to those who care for you. This year, since the Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated in the Holy Land, I wish to propose a meditation on the Gospel account of the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2: 1-11), where Jesus performed his first miracle through the intervention of his Mother. The theme chosen - Entrusting Oneself to the Merciful Jesus like Mary: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5) is quite fitting in light of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. The main Eucharistic celebration of the Day will take place on 11 February 2016, the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, in Nazareth itself, where “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (Jn 1:14). In Nazareth, Jesus began his salvific mission, applying to himself the words of the Prophet Isaiah, as we are told by the Evangelist Luke: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19). Illness, above all grave illness, always places human existence in crisis and brings with it questions that dig deep. Our first response may at times be one of rebellion: Why has this happened to me? We can feel desperate, thinking that all is lost, that things no longer have meaning… In these situations, faith in God is on the one hand tested, yet at the same time can reveal all of its positive resources. Not because faith makes illness, pain, or the questions which they raise, disappear, but because it offers a key by which we can discover the deepest meaning of what we are experiencing; a key that helps us to see how illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus who walks at our side, weighed down by the Cross. And this key is given to us by Mary, our Mother, who has known this way at first hand. At the wedding feast of Cana, Mary is the thoughtful woman who sees a serious problem for the spouses: the wine, the symbol of the joy of the feast, has run out. Mary recognizes the difficulty, in some way makes it her own, and acts swiftly and discreetly. She does not simply look on, much less spend time in finding fault, but rather, she turns to Jesus and presents him with the concrete problem: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). And when Jesus tells her that it is not yet the time for him to reveal himself (cf. v. 4), she says to the servants: “Do whatever he tells you” (v. 5). Jesus then performs the miracle, turning water into wine, a wine that immediately appears to be the best of the whole celebration. What teaching can we draw from this mystery of the wedding feast of Cana for the World Day of the Sick? The wedding feast of Cana is an image of the Church: at the centre there is Jesus who in his mercy performs a sign; around him are the disciples, the first fruits of the new community; and beside Jesus and the disciples is Mary, the provident and prayerful Mother. Mary partakes of the joy of ordinary people and helps it to increase; she intercedes with her Son on behalf of the spouses and all the invited guests. Nor does Jesus refuse the request of his Mother. How much hope there is in that event for all of us! We have a Mother with benevolent and watchful eyes, like her Son; a heart that is maternal and full of mercy, like him; hands that want to help, like the hands of Jesus who broke bread for those who were hungry, touched the sick and healed them. All this fills us with trust and opens our hearts to the grace and mercy of Christ. Mary’s intercession makes us experience the consolation for which the apostle Paul blesses God: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow” (2 Cor 1:3-5). Mary is the “comforted” Mother who comforts her children. cont. on next page:
cont. At Cana the distinctive features of Jesus and his mission are clearly seen: he comes to the help of those in difficulty and need. Indeed, in the course of his messianic ministry he would heal many people of illnesses, infirmities and evil spirits, give sight to the blind, make the lame walk, restore health and dignity to lepers, raise the dead, and proclaim the good news to the poor (cf. Lk 7:21-22). Mary’s request at the wedding feast, suggested by the Holy Spirit to her maternal heart, clearly shows not only Jesus’ messianic power but also his mercy. In Mary’s concern we see reflected the tenderness of God. This same tenderness is present in the lives of all those persons who attend the sick and understand their needs, even the most imperceptible ones, because they look upon them with eyes full of love. How many times has a mother at the bedside of her sick child, or a child caring for an elderly parent, or a grandchild concerned for a grandparent, placed his or her prayer in the hands of Our Lady! For our loved ones who suffer because of illness we ask first for their health. Jesus himself showed the presence of the Kingdom of God specifically through his healings: “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (Mt 11:4-5). But love animated by faith makes us ask for them something greater than physical health: we ask for peace, a serenity in life that comes from the heart and is God’s gift, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, a gift which the Father never denies to those who ask him for it with trust. In the scene of Cana, in addition to Jesus and his Mother, there are the “servants”, whom she tells: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5). Naturally, the miracle takes place as the work of Christ; however, he wants to employ human assistance in performing this miracle. He could have made the wine appear directly in the jars. But he wants to rely upon human cooperation, and so he asks the servants to fill them with water. How wonderful and pleasing to God it is to be servants of others! This more than anything else makes us like Jesus, who “did not come to be served but to serve” (Mk 10:45). These unnamed people in the Gospel teach us a great deal. Not only do they obey, but they obey generously: they fill the jars to the brim (cf. Jn 2:7). They trust the Mother and carry out immediately and well what they are asked to do, without complaining, without second thoughts. On this World Day of the Sick let us ask Jesus in his mercy, through the intercession of Mary, his Mother and ours, to grant to all of us this same readiness to be serve those in need, and, in particular, our infirm brothers and sisters. At times this service can be tiring and burdensome, yet we are certain that the Lord will surely turn our human efforts into something divine. We too can be hands, arms and hearts which help God to perform his miracles, so often hidden. We too, whether healthy or sick, can offer up our toil and sufferings like the water which filled the jars at the wedding feast of Cana and was turned into the finest wine. By quietly helping those who suffer, as in illness itself, we take our daily cross upon our shoulders and follow the Master (cf. Lk 9:23). Even though the experience of suffering will always remain a mystery, Jesus helps us to reveal its meaning. If we can learn to obey the words of Mary, who says: “Do whatever he tells you”, Jesus will always change the water of our lives into precious wine. Thus this World Day of the Sick, solemnly celebrated in the Holy Land, will help fulfil the hope which I expressed in the Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy: ‘I trust that this Jubilee year celebrating the mercy of God will foster an encounter with [Judaism and Islam] and with other noble religious traditions; may it open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and discrimination’ (Misericordiae Vultus, 23). Every hospital and nursing home can be a visible sign and setting in which to promote the culture of encounter and peace, where the experience of illness and suffering, along with professional and fraternal assistance, helps to overcome every limitation and division. For this we are set an example by the two Religious Sisters who were canonized last May: Saint Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas and Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified Baouardy, both daughters of the Holy Land. The first was a witness to meekness and unity, who bore clear witness to the importance of being responsible for one another other, living in service to one another. The second, a humble and illiterate woman, was docile to the Holy Spirit and became an instrument of encounter with the Muslim world. To all those who assist the sick and the suffering I express my confident hope that they will draw inspiration from Mary, the Mother of Mercy. “May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness” (ibid., 24), allow it to dwell in our hearts and express it in our actions! Let us entrust to the Virgin Mary our trials and tribulations, together with our joys and consolations. Let us beg her to turn her eyes of mercy towards us, especially in times of pain, and make us worthy of beholding, today and always, the merciful face of her Son Jesus! With this prayer for all of you, I send my Apostolic Blessing. (from Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis: Church is a mother, not a rigid association 2015-09-15 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says the Church is a mother and must have that loving and tender maternal feeling and human warmth as otherwise all that remains is rigidity and discipline. That was the message at the heart of the Pope’s homily on Tuesday (15th September) at the Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta Residence. Tuesday’s Mass was also attended by the C-9 Cardinals who are meeting in the Vatican this week. The inspiration for Pope Francis’ reflections in his homily came from Jesus’ words spoken from the Cross to Mary and to the apostle whom he loved when he entrusted each of them to the other’s care. Jesus, he stressed, does not leave us orphaned, we have a mother who protects us. Jesus doesn't leave us as orphans “In these times where I don’t know if it’s the prevailing sense but there is a great sense in the world of being orphaned, it’s an orphaned world. This word has a great importance, the importance when Jesus tells us: ‘I am not leaving you as orphans, I’m giving you a mother.’ And this is also a (source of) pride for us: we have a mother, a mother who is with us, protects us, accompanies us, who helps us, even in difficult or terrible times.” This motherhood of Mary, the Pope explained, goes beyond her and is contagious. From it, comes a second motherhood, that of the Church. Without motherhood, only rigidity and discipline remain “The Church is our mother. She is our ‘Holy Mother Church’ that is generated through our baptism, makes us grow up in her community and has that motherly attitude, of meekness and goodness: Our Mother Mary and our Mother Church know how to caress their children and show tenderness. To think of the Church without that motherly feeling is to think of a rigid association, an association without human warmth, an orphan.” “The Church is our mother and welcomes all of us as a mother: Mary our Mother, our Mother Church, and this motherhood are expressed through an attitude of welcome, understanding, goodness, forgiveness and tenderness.” “And where there is motherhood and life, there’s life, there’s joy, there’s peace and we grow in peace. When this motherhood is lacking all that remains is rigidity, discipline and people do not know how to smile. One of the most beautiful and human things is to smile at a child and make him or her smile.” In conclusion, the Pope said “May our Lord make us feel his presence today as well, just as when He once more offered himself up to the Father on behalf of us: (saying) ‘Son, this is your mother!’” (from Vatican Radio)
Teen Arrested for Planning Alleged ISIS-Inspired Attack on Pope The FBI quietly arrested a 15-year-old boy outside of Philadelphia last month for allegedly threatening to launch an ISIS-inspired assault on Pope Francis while the world leader tours the United States next week, ABC News has learned. The case, like so many others in recent months, highlights just how effective ISIS has become in using social media to radicalize Americans, particularly children. “The minor was inspired by [ISIS] and sought to conduct a detailed homeland attack which included multiple attackers, firearms, and multiple explosives, targeting a foreign dignitary at a high-profile event,” according to a joint intelligence bulletin by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued to law enforcement across the country on Aug 14. The “foreign dignitary” mentioned in that bulletin is the Pope, who will finish his U.S. trip with two days of events in Philadelphia, sources told ABC News. In fact, the case is what the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Mike McCaul, was likely referring to Sunday when he disclosed that U.S. authorities “have disrupted one particular case” involving threats to attack the Pope, sources said. “The minor obtained explosives instructions and further disseminated these instructions through social media,” according to the joint intelligence bulletin. Pope Francis Meets with Americans in Virtual Audie … Play video The boy has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization and attempting to provide material support to terrorist activity, the bulletin added. But sources familiar with the case emphasized that any threat from him was not imminent, and that the boy's plans were "aspirational." Additionally, the sources said, there are questions about the boy's mental health. In addition, despite repeated threats from ISIS and other groups to target the Pope and the Vatican more broadly over the past year, there is no specific, credible threat to the Pope during his visit to the United States next week, law enforcement officials said Monday. “The FBI is working closely with the United States Secret Service and our federal, state and local partners in advance of the papal visit to ensure the safety and security of all,” a spokeswoman for the FBI’s field office in Philadelphia said in a statement. She would not comment on any specific cases or threats. Meanwhile, the FBI-DHS intelligence bulletin noted that “several recent instances” –- including the case now tied to the Pope’s upcoming visit -– “demonstrate some youth are vulnerable to messaging from [ISIS] and its supporters.” View gallery Teen Arrested for Planning Alleged ISIS-Inspired Attack on Pope (ABC News) Their "innovative use of social media and messaging has played a key role in motivating young U.S.-based males and females to travel to join the self-declared Islamic State or allegedly attempt to conduct attacks in the Homeland on behalf of” ISIS, the bulletin said. “These incidents also show that some U.S.-based youth are willing to connect over social media with like-minded persons, and have proven adept at obfuscating such social media usage from their parents and guardians,” the bulletin added. https://gma.yahoo.com/teen-arrested...ack-pope-113025798--abc-news-topstories.html#
Pope Francis Urges Sick to Entrust Trials, Tribulations to Mary http://vatican.com/news/frame.aspx?...s-sick-to-entrust-trials-tribulations-to-mary "Let us entrust to the Virgin Mary our trials and tribulations, together with our joys and consolations. Let us beg her to turn her eyes of mercy towards us, especially in times of pain, and make us worthy of beholding, today and always, the merciful face of her Son Jesus!" The Pope said this in his message for the 24th World Day of the Sick, released by the Vatican this morning, which has the title, ”Entrusting oneself to the merciful Jesus like Mary: 'do whatever he tells you.” The World Day of the Sick is celebrated anually on Feb. 11, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. This year, its main Eucharistic celebration will be in the Holy Land, in Nazareth. The Holy Father reflected on the Gospel account of the Wedding Feast at Cana (Jn 2: 1-11), in which Mary observes the wine has run out. Reacting to the problem, she tells the servants: “Do whatever he tells you,” Jesus performs the miracle, turns water into wine, and the celebration continues. Francis asked: What teaching can we draw from this mystery of the wedding feast of Cana for the World Day of the Sick? Saying the wedding feast of Cana is an image of the Church, he stressed this account illustrates Jesus and His mission of coming to help those in difficulty and need. In Mary’s concern, Francis also underscored, we see the tenderness of God, that same tenderness which "is present in the lives of all those persons who attend to the sick and understand their needs, even the most imperceptible ones, because they look upon them with eyes full of love." "How many times has a mother at the bedside of her sick child, or a child caring for an elderly parent, or a grandchild concerned for a grandparent, placed his or her prayer in the hands of Our Lady! For our loved ones who suffer because of illness we ask first for their health. Jesus himself showed the presence of the Kingdom of God specifically through his healings." Francis said the World Day of the Sick offers him an opportunity to draw particularly close to “you, dear friends who are ill, and to those who care for you." "Illness, above all grave illness, always places human existence in crisis and brings with it questions that dig deep. Our first response may at times be one of rebellion: Why has this happened to me? We can feel desperate, thinking that all is lost, that things no longer have meaning," the Pope acknowledged. In these situations, he noted, faith in God is tested, but it also reveals all its positive resources.This is the case, the Pope said, "not because faith makes illness, pain, or the questions which they raise, disappear, but because it offers a key by which we can discover the deepest meaning of what we are experiencing; a key that helps us to see how illness can be the way to draw nearer to Jesus who walks at our side, weighed down by the Cross. And this key is given to us by Mary, our Mother, who has known this way at first hand." On this World Day of the Sick, the Pope prays that Jesus in his mercy, through Mary's intercession, grants to all of us this same readiness to serve those in need, and especially our infirm brothers and sisters. At times, the Pope recognized, this service can be tiring and burdensome, but we are certain, he assured, "that the Lord will surely turn our human efforts into something divine." "We too can be hands, arms and hearts which help God to perform his miracles, so often hidden. We too, whether healthy or sick, can offer up our toil and sufferings like the water which filled the jars at the wedding feast of Cana and was turned into the finest wine." When we quietly help those who suffer, as in illness itself, we take our daily cross upon our shoulders and follow the Master, Pope Francis said. "Every hospital and nursing home can be a visible sign and setting in which to promote the culture of encounter and peace, where the experience of illness and suffering, along with professional and fraternal assistance, helps to overcome every limitation and division." He urged all those who assist the sick and the suffering to draw inspiration from Mary the Mother of Mercy. “May the sweetness of her countenance watch over us in this Holy Year, so that all of us may rediscover the joy of God’s tenderness” (ibid., 24), allow it to dwell in our hearts and express it in our actions! " Before concluding, the Holy Father assured the sick and those who care for them of his prayers and imparted his Apostolic Blessing. ***
Prayers needed for Pope Francis' protection and those traveling to be with him!! "Michael Hayden to Newsmax: US Faces Big Challenge in Protecting Pope" http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Michael-Hayden-arrest-plot-against/2015/09/15/id/691728 GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
Pope calls for peaceful solution to wars in Syria and Iraq 2015-09-17 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called for a peaceful solution to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Speaking on Thursday morning to participants of a meeting in the Vatican on the Iraqi-Syrian humanitarian crisis, the Pope points out that “the international community seems unable to find adequate solutions while the arms dealers continue to achieve their interests”. The meeting, promoted by The Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” is attended by Catholic charities that are active in the Middle East and by the bishops of the region. Describing the consequences of the conflicts in Iraq and Syria as “one of the most overwhelming human tragedies of recent decades, the Pope says that “Millions of people are in distressing state of urgent need”. He highlights the particularly cruel predicament of Christians in the war-torn nations “where many brothers and sisters are oppressed because of their faith, driven from their land, kept in prison or even killed”. Pointing out that today’s media broadcasts live the images and the stories pertaining to the catastrophe, Francis said: “No one can pretend not to know! Everyone is aware that this war weighs in an increasingly unbearable way on the shoulders of the poor. We need to find a solution, which is never a violent one, because violence only creates new wounds”. Please find below the full text of the Pope’s Address to Participants of the Meeting on the Iraqi-Syrian Humanitarian Crisis: Dear Brothers and Sisters, Thank you very much for your participation in this meeting of sharing between the charitable organizations and the local Churches. I am grateful for the assistance brought to the victims of the crisis in Syria, Iraq and neighboring countries, as well as for the comfort that your presence and your work inspire in those who suffer. I also think of many other organizations that are working in this context. I greet all of you, Bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful, along with a special thought for Mr. Steven O’Brien, the Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations. I greet Monsignor Dal Toso and thank the Pontifical Council Cor Unum for consistently following this humanitarian crisis, which challenges us all. One of the most overwhelming human tragedies of recent decades are the terrible consequences that the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have on civilian populations as well as on cultural heritage. Millions of people are in distressing state of urgent need. They are forced to leave their native lands. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey today carry the weight of millions of refugees, which they have generously received. Faced with such a situation and conflicts that are expanding and disturbing in an alarming way the internal and regional equilibrium, the international community seems unable to find adequate solutions while the arms dealers continue to achieve their interests. With arms that are covered in the blood of innocent people. Yet, today, unlike in the past, atrocities and unspeakable human rights violations, which characterize these conflicts, are transmitted live by the media. Therefore, they captured the attention of the whole world. No one can pretend not to know! Everyone is aware that this war weighs in an increasingly unbearable way on the shoulders of the poor. We need to find a solution, which is never a violent one, because violence only creates new wounds. In this ocean of pain, I urge you to give special attention to the material and spiritual needs of the weakest and most defenseless: I think particularly of the families, the elderly, the sick and the children. Children and young people, the hope of the future, are deprived of basic rights: to grow up in the serenity of the family, to be looked after and cared for, to play and study. With the continuation of the conflict, millions of children are deprived of the right to education and, consequently, they see the horizon of their future becoming obscured. Do not miss your commitment in this vital area. There are many victims of this conflict: I think in all of them and I pray for all. However, I cannot fail to mention the serious harm to the Christian communities in Syria and Iraq, where many brothers and sisters are oppressed because of their faith, driven from their land, kept in prison or even killed. For centuries, the Christian and Muslim communities have lived together in these lands on the basis of mutual respect. Today the very legitimacy of the presence of Christians and other religious minorities is denied in the name of a “violent fundamentalism claiming to be based on religion” (Benedict XVI Apost. Exhort. Ecclesia in Medio Oriente, n. 29). Yet, the Church responds to the many attacks and persecution that she suffers in those countries by bearing witness to Christ with courage, through her humble and fervent presence, sincere dialogue and the generous service in favor of whoever that are suffering or in need without any distinction. In Syria and Iraq, evil destroys buildings and infrastructures, but especially the conscience of man. In the name of Jesus, who came into the world to heal the wounds of humanity, the Church feels called to respond to evil with good by promoting an integral human development of “each man and of the whole man” (Populorum Progressio, n. 14). To answer this difficult call, Catholics must strengthen the intra-ecclesial collaboration and the bonds of communion, which unite them with other Christian communities, seeking also cooperation with international humanitarian institutions and with all men of good will. I encourage you, therefore, to continue on the path of cooperation and sharing, and working together and in synergy. Please: do not abandon the victims of this crisis, even if the world’s attention were to lessen. I ask that you all bring my message of profound solidarity and closeness to those who are in trial and enduring the tragic consequences of this crisis. In communion with you and with your communities, I pray unceasingly for peace and the end of the torments and injustices in your beloved lands. (from Vatican Radio)
"Pope Francis Puts Syrian Refugee Family in Vatican Apartment"http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Europe-migrants-Vatican-religion/2015/09/18/id/692167/ GOD SAVE ALL HERE!
Pope Francis arrives in Cuba, encourages reconciliation 2015-09-20 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis began his apostolic visit to Cuba Saturday, touching down in the nation’s capital Havana where he was greeted by the country’s president Raúl Castro, other authorities, and bishops. The Holy Father’s 19-22 September visit to the island nation coincides with the eightieth anniversary of the renewal of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Holy See. This year, the country also celebrates one hundred years since our Lady of Charity of El Cobre was named patroness of Cuba by Pope Benedict XV. Pope Francis is the third pontiff to go to the Caribbean nation, which was visited by Saint John Paul II in 1998, and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2012. Please find below the full prepared text of Pope Francis’s speech at the welcoming ceremony at the Havana airport: Mr President, Distinguished Authorities, Brother Bishops, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you, Mr President, for your greeting and your kind words of welcome in the name of the government and the entire Cuban people. I also greet the authorities and the members of the diplomatic corps present at this ceremony. My gratitude also goes to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, Archbishop of Havana, the Most Reverend Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and President of the Episcopal Conference, the other bishops and all the Cuban people, for their warm welcome. I thank, too, all those who worked to prepare for this Pastoral Visit. Mr President, I would ask you to convey my sentiments of particular respect and consideration to your brother Fidel. I would like my greeting to embrace especially all those who, for various reasons, I will not be able to meet, and to Cubans throughout the world. This year of 2015 marks the eightieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Holy See. Providence today enables me to come to this beloved nation, following the indelible path opened by the unforgettable apostolic journeys which my two predecessors, Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI, made to this island. I know that the memory of those visits awakens gratitude and affection in the people and leaders of Cuba. Today we renew those bonds of cooperation and friendship, so that the Church can continue to support and encourage the Cuban people in its hopes and concerns, with the freedom, the means and the space needed to bring the proclamation of the Kingdom to the existential peripheries of society. This Apostolic Journey also coincides with the first centenary of Pope Benedict XV’s declaration of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as Patroness of Cuba. It was the veterans of the War of Independence who, moved by sentiments of faith and patriotism, wanted the Virgen mambisa to be the patroness of Cuba as a free and sovereign nation. Since that time she has accompanied the history of the Cuban people, sustaining the hope which preserves people’s dignity in the most difficult situations and championing the promotion of all that gives dignity to the human person. The growing devotion to the Virgin is a visible testimony of her presence in the soul of the Cuban people. In these days I will have occasion to go to El Cobre, as a son and pilgrim, to pray to our Mother for all her Cuban children and for this beloved nation, that it may travel the paths of justice, peace, liberty and reconciliation. Geographically, Cuba is an archipelago, facing all directions, with an extraordinary value as a “key” between north and south, east and west. Its natural vocation is to be a point of encounter for all peoples to join in friendship, as José Martí dreamed, “regardless of the languages of isthmuses and the barriers of oceans” (La Conferencia Monetaria de las Repúblicas de América, in Obras escogidas II, La Habana, 1992, 505). Such was also the desire of Saint John Paul II, with his ardent appeal: “May Cuba, with all its magnificent potential, open itself to the world, and may the world open itself to Cuba” (Arrival Ceremony, 21 January 1998, 5). For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: the process of normalizing relations between two peoples following years of estrangement. It is a sign of the victory of the culture of encounter and dialogue, “the system of universal growth” over “the forever-dead system of groups and dynasties” (José Martí, loc. cit.). I urge political leaders to persevere on this path and to develop all its potentialities as a proof of the high service which they are called to carry out on behalf of the peace and well-being of their peoples, of all America, and as an example of reconciliation for the entire world. I place these days under the protection of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Blessed Olallo Valdés and Blessed José López Pietreira, and Venerable Félix Varela, the great promoter of love between Cubans and all peoples, so that our bonds of peace, solidarity and mutual respect may ever increase. Once again, thank you, Mr. President. (from Vatican Radio)
Pope in Cuba: serve rather than be served 2015-09-20 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) On the first full day of his Apostolic Journey to Cuba, Pope Francis celebrated the Sunday Mass in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución, focusing on the theme of service. As the Holy Father arrived in the Plaza, he stopped along the way to bless and embrace several young people with special needs, a gesture to which he gave voice in his homily: "Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability." The Pope also praised the Cuban people’s love of beauty, saying “God’s holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for parties, for friendship, for beautiful things." Below please find the full text of Pope Francis’ prepared homily for the Holy Mass celebrated in Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, Cuba: Homily of Pope Francis Holy Mass, Havana, Plaza de la Revolución Sunday, 20 September 2015 The Gospel shows us Jesus asking a seemingly indiscreet question of his disciples: “What were you discussing along the way?” It is a question which he could also ask each of us today: “What do you talk about every day?” “What are your aspirations?” The Gospel tells us that the disciples “did not answer because on the way they had been arguing about who was the most important”. The disciples were ashamed to tell Jesus what they were talking about. As with the disciples then, we too can be caught up in these same arguments: who is the most important? Jesus does not press the question. He does not force them to tell him what they were talking about on the way. But the question lingers, not only in the minds of the disciples, but also in their hearts. Who is the most important? This is a life-long question to which, at different times, we must give an answer. We cannot escape the question; it is written on our hearts. I remember more than once, at family gatherings, children being asked: “Who do you love more, Mommy or Daddy”? It’s like asking them: “Who is the most important for you?” But is this only a game we play with children? The history of humanity has been marked by the answer we give to this question. Jesus is not afraid of people’s questions; he is not afraid of our humanity or the different things we are looking for. On the contrary, he knows the “twists and turns” of the human heart, and, as a good teacher, he is always ready to encourage and support us. As usual, he takes up our searching, our aspirations, and he gives them a new horizon. As usual, he somehow finds an the answer which can pose a new challenge, setting aside the “right answers”, the standard replies we are expected to give. As usual, Jesus sets before us the “logic” of love. A mindset, an approach to life, which is capable of being lived out by all, because it is meant for all. Far from any kind of elitism, the horizon to which Jesus points us is not for those few privileged souls capable of attaining the heights of knowledge or different levels of spirituality. The horizon to which Jesus points us always has to do with daily life, also here on “our island”, something which can season our daily lives with eternity. Who is the most important? Jesus is straightforward in his reply: “Whoever wishes to be the first among you must be the last of all, and the servant of all”. Whoever wishes to be great must serve others, not be served by others. Here lies the great paradox of Jesus. The disciples were arguing about who would have the highest place, who would be chosen for privileges, who would be above the common law, the general norm, in order to stand out in the quest for superiority over others. Who would climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry certain benefits. Jesus upsets their “logic”, their mindset, simply by telling them that life is lived authentically in a concrete commitment to our neighbor. The call to serve involves something special, to which we must be attentive. Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability. Caring for the vulnerable of our families, our society, our people. Theirs are the suffering, fragile and downcast faces which Jesus tells us specifically to look at and which he asks us to love. With a love which takes shape in our actions and decisions. With a love which finds expression in whatever tasks we, as citizens, are called to perform. People of flesh and blood, people with individual lives and stories, and with all their frailty: these are those whom Jesus asks us to protect, to care for, to serve. Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it. That is why Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most vulnerable. There is a kind of “service” which truly “serves”, yet we need to be careful not to be tempted by another kind of service, a “service” which is “self-serving”. There is a way to go about serving which is interested in only helping “my people”, “our people”. This service always leaves “your people” outside, and gives rise to a process of exclusion. All of us are called by virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which truly serves, and to help one another not to be tempted by a “service” which is really “self-serving”. All of us are asked, indeed urged, by Jesus to care for one another out of love. Without looking to one side or the other to see what our neighbor is doing or not doing. Jesus tells us: Whoever would be first among you must be the last, and the servant of all”. He does not say: if your neighbor wants to be first, let him be the servant! We have to be careful to avoid judgmental looks and renew our belief in the transforming look to which Jesus invites us. This caring for others out of love is not about being servile. Rather, it means putting our brothers and sisters at the center. Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in some cases, “suffers” in trying to help. Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people. God’s holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for parties, for friendship, for beautiful things. It is a people which marches with songs of praise. It is a people which has its wounds, like every other people, yet knows how to stand up with open arms, to keep walking in hope, because it has a vocation of grandeur. Today I ask you to care for this vocation of yours, to care for these gifts which God has given you, but above all I invite you to care for and be at the service of the frailty of your brothers and sisters. Do not neglect them for plans which can be seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of the person beside you. We know, we are witnesses of the incomparable power of the resurrection, which “everywhere calls forth the seeds of a new world” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 276, 278). Let us not forget the Good News we have heard today: the importance of a people, a nation, and the importance of individuals, which is always based on how they seek to serve their vulnerable brothers and sisters. Here we encounter one of the fruits of a true humanity. “Whoever does not live to serve, does not ‘serve’ to live”. (from Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis urges young Cubans to keep hope alive 2015-09-21 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday urged young Cubans to follow a path of hope, built on solidarity and encounter with others. The Pope’s words came in a meeting with several thousand young students gathered at the Fr Felix Varela cultural centre in Havana at the end of his first full day in the Cuban capital. The centre, set up in 2011 by the local Archdiocese with the support of the Pontifical Council for Culture, offers courses in theology, philosophy, sociology, psychology and business administration. It also houses conferences, concerts, exhibitions and co-sponsors Havana’s Latin American film festival. After listening to the Rector and a young student share their hopes for the future of their country, the Pope spoke off-the-cuff encouraging them to keep alive their dreams and to focus on the things that unite, rather than the things which divide them. The Pope also spoke about the problem of youth unemployment and the need for young people to create a culture of encounter, urging the students to keep their hearts and minds open, rather than being closed in on themselves. In his prepared text meanwhile, Pope Francis shared with the students three ways of finding the path of hope in their lives – firstly, by drawing on the memory of their spiritual and moral heritage. Secondly, by journeying together with others and thirdly by showing solidarity, without which, he said, “no country has a future”. Please find below the prepared text of the Pope’s words to young people in Havana: Meeting with Students at the Fr. Félix Varela Cultural Center, Havana Sunday, 20 September 2015 Dear Friends, I am very happy to be with you here in this Cultural Center which is so important for Cuban history. I thank God for this opportunity to meet so many young people who, by their work, studies and training, are dreaming of, and already making real, the future of Cuba. I thank Leonardo for his words of welcome, and particularly because, although he could have spoken about so many other important and concrete things such as our difficulties, fears, and doubts – as real and human as they are – he spoke to us about hope. He talked to us about those dreams and aspirations so firmly planted in the heart of young Cubans, transcending all their differences in education, culture, beliefs or ideas. Thank you, Leonardo, because, when I look at all of you, the first thing that comes into my mind and heart, too, is the word “hope”. I cannot imagine a young person who is listless, without dreams or ideals, without a longing for something greater. But what kind of hope does a young Cuban have at this moment of history? Nothing more or less than that of any other young person in any other part of the world. Because hope speaks to us of something deeply rooted in every human heart, independently of our concrete circumstances and historical conditioning. Hope speaks to us of a thirst, an aspiration, a longing for a life of fulfillment, a desire to achieve great things, things which fill our heart and lift our spirit to lofty realities like truth, goodness and beauty, justice and love. But it also involves taking risks. It means being ready not to be seduced by what is fleeting, by false promises of happiness, by immediate and selfish pleasures, by a life of mediocrity and self-centeredness, which only fills the heart with sadness and bitterness. No, hope is bold; it can look beyond personal convenience, the petty securities and compensations which limit our horizon, and can open us up to grand ideals which make life more beautiful and worthwhile. I would ask each one of you: What is it that shapes your life? What lies deep in your heart? Where do your hopes and aspirations lie? Are you ready to put yourself on the line for the sake of something even greater? Perhaps you may say: “Yes, Father, I am strongly attracted to those ideals. I feel their call, their beauty, their light shining in my heart. But I feel too weak, I am not ready to decide to take the path of hope. The goal is lofty and my strength is all too little. It is better to be content with small things, less grand but more realistic, more within my reach”. I can understand that reaction; it is normal to feel weighed down by difficult and demanding things. But take care not to yield to the temptation of a disenchantment which paralyzes the intellect and the will, or that apathy which is a radical form of pessimism about the future. These attitudes end either in a flight from reality towards vain utopias, or else in selfish isolation and a cynicism deaf to the cry for justice, truth and humanity which rises up around us and within us. But what are we to do? How do we find paths of hope in the situations in which we live? How do we make those hopes for fulfillment, authenticity, justice and truth, become a reality in our personal lives, in our country and our world? I think that there are three ideas which can help to keep our hope alive: Hope is a path made of memory and discernment. Hope is the virtue which goes places. It isn’t simply a path we take for the pleasure of it, but it has an end, a goal which is practical and lights up our way. Hope is also nourished by memory; it looks not only to the future but also to the past and present. To keep moving forward in life, in addition to knowing where we want to go, we also need to know who we are and where we come from. Individuals or peoples who have no memory and erase their past risk losing their identity and destroying their future. So we need to remember who we are, and in what our spiritual and moral heritage consists. This, I believe, was the experience and the insight of that great Cuban, Father Félix Varela. Discernment is also needed, because it is essential to be open to reality and to be able to interpret it without fear or prejudice. Partial and ideological interpretations are useless; they only disfigure reality by trying to fit it into our preconceived schemas, and they always cause disappointment and despair. We need discernment and memory, because discernment is not blind; it is built on solid ethical and moral criteria which help us to see what is good and just. Hope is a path taken with others. An African proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with others”. Isolation and aloofness never generate hope; but closeness to others and encounter do. Left to ourselves, we will go nowhere. Nor by exclusion will we be able to build a future for anyone, even ourselves. A path of hope calls for a culture of encounter, dialogue, which can overcome conflict and sterile confrontation. To create that culture, it is vital to see different ways of thinking not in terms of risk, but of richness and growth. The world needs this culture of encounter. It needs young people who seek to know and love one another, to journey together in building a country like that which José Martí dreamed of: “With all, and for the good of all”. Hope is a path of solidarity. The culture of encounter should naturally lead to a culture of solidarity. I was struck by what Leonardo said at the beginning, when he spoke of solidarity as a source of strength for overcoming all obstacles. Without solidarity, no country has a future. Beyond all other considerations or interests, there has to be concern for that person who may be my friend, my companion, but also someone who may think differently than I do, someone with his own ideas yet just as human and just as Cuban as I am. Simple tolerance is not enough; we have to go well beyond that, passing from a suspicious and defensive attitude to one of acceptance, cooperation, concrete service and effective assistance. Do not be afraid of solidarity, service and offering a helping hand, so that no one is excluded from the path. This path of life is lit up by a higher hope: the hope born of our faith in Christ. He made himself our companion along the way. Not only does he encourage us, he also accompanies us; he is at our side and he extends a friendly hand to us. The Son of God, he wanted to become someone like us, to accompany us on our way. Faith in his presence, in his friendship and love, lights up all our hopes and dreams. With him at our side, we learn to discern what is real, to encounter and serve others, and to walk the path of solidarity. Dear young people of Cuba, if God himself entered our history and became flesh in Jesus, if he shouldered our weakness and sin, then you need not be afraid of hope, or of the future, because God is on your side. He believes in you, and he hopes in you. Dear friends, thank you for this meeting. May hope in Christ, your friend, always guide you along your path in life. And, please, remember to pray for me. May the Lord bless all of you. (from Vatican Radio)
Flowers for Our Lady: Pope Francis in Santiago 2015-09-22 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) The head of Vatican Radio's English Programme, Sean Patrick Lovett, is travelling with Pope Francis in Cuba and describes the scene of Pope Francis' arrival at National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre on Monday afternoon. The road up to the Sanctuary has been freshly tarred, the vegetation scrupulously trimmed on either side. All the way up the hill, every house and wall sports a conspicuously new coat of paint, only on the side that faces the road, of course. The Papal motorcade moves quickly. This is hurricane season in Cuba and it’s raining so heavily the Sierra Maestra mountains are a black silhouette in the background. People huddle in doorways and under leaky umbrellas and they wave timidly as they strain identify a man in white in every car that splashes past. And when he does drive past waving back to them encouragingly, there are none of the wild chants and cheers that usually accompany a Papal arrival. That’s because this is sacred soil. This is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. It’s here that one of the most revered Marian icons in the world is preserved: a tiny, wooden statue of Mary and the Christ child that’s over 400 years old. More than a statue, it’s a symbol of Cuba itself. It’s an image so sacred that even Earnest Hemingway felt its charisma and donated his gold Nobel Prize medal to the Shrine in 1953. Both John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI came here, both of them bearing gifts – a gold crown and a golden rose – in 1998 and in 2012, respectively. Because that’s what you do when you visit a Marian sanctuary. And it’s here, far from the cheering, chanting crowds that Pope Francis chose to meet and pray with the bishops of Cuba – a private, closed-door meeting with no official speeches, no cameras, and no microphones – a chance to speak freely and frankly with his brother bishops about what really concerns him and them. After they talked, they prayed. And after they prayed, Pope Francis left his own gift: a silver vase filled with a dozen yellow and white ceramic roses. Because that’s what you do when you visit a Marian Sanctuary, especially this one. (from Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis: ‘We Are Asked to Live the Revolution of Tenderness As Mary’ http://vatican.com/news/frame.aspx?...-to-live-the-revolution-of-tenderness-as-mary Cuba has been visited by the maternal presence of Mary. These were the words of Pope Francis during today’s Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, patroness of Cuba. The Mass commemorated the centenary of the naming of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as patroness of Cuba by Pope Benedict XV. Reflecting on the Gospel, which recalled Mary’s visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. This event, he said, reminds us of what the Lord does with us. “These are images which we are asked to contemplate over and over again. God’s presence in our lives never leaves us tranquil: it always pushes to do something,” he said. “When God comes, he always calls us out of our house. We are visited so that we can visit others; we are encountered so as to encounter others; we receive love in order to give love.” The 78 year old Pontiff said that like her cousin Elizabeth, Mary has also visited the island of Cuba, which is warmed by their devotion to Our Lady of Charity. The Virgin Mary, he said, continues to protect their identity so “that we may never stray to paths of despair.” “The soul of the Cuban people, as we have just heard, was forged amid suffering and privation which could not suppress the faith, that faith which was kept alive thanks to all those grandmothers who fostered, in the daily life of their homes, the living presence of God, the presence of the Father who liberates, strengthens, heals, grants courage and serves as a sure refuge and the sign of a new resurrection.” The Pope reminded the faithful that they are called daily to “live the revolution of tenderness as Mary” which is lived out through closeness, compassion and service. Concluding his homily, Pope Francis said that the greatest legacy one can leave is to follow Mary’s example and to learn to pray with Her. This prayer, he said, “is the living reminder that God passes through our midst; the perennial memory that God has looked upon the lowliness of his people, he has come the aid of his servant, even as promised to our forebears and their children forever.”
Fascinating interview with the Pope as he traveled from Cuba to the US http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/n...es-in-flight-interview-from-cuba-to-us-78637/ I particularly thought this exchange was interesting given all the questions and hand wringing even on this forum: Gian Guido Vecchi, Corriere della Sera: Holiness, your reflections, also your denouncements of the inequity of the world economic system, the risk of self-destruction of the planet are also very uncomfortable, in the sense that they touch the powerful interests of arms trafficking, etc. Before this trip, there were some bizarre manifestations that came out. Also, very important world media picked them up and and sectors of North American society were even asking themselves if the Pope was Catholic. There have already been discussions about a communist Pope, now there are event those who speak of a Pope who isn’t Catholic. In the face of these considerations, what do you think? Pope Francis: A cardinal friend of mine told me that a very concerned woman, very Catholic, went to him. A bit rigid, but Catholic. And she asked him if it was true that in the Bible, they spoke of an antichrist, and she explained it to him. And also in the Apocalypse, no? And, then, if it was true that an anti-pope, who is the antichrist, the anti-Pope. But why is she asking me this question, this cardinal asked me? “Because I’m sure that Pope Francis is the anti-pope,” she said. And why does she ask this, why does she have this idea? “It’s because he doesn’t wear red shoes.” The reason for thinking if one is communist or isn’t communist. I’m sure that I haven't said anything more than what’s written in the social doctrine of the Church. On another flight, a colleague asked me if I had reached out a hand to the popular movements and asked me, “But is the Church going to follow you?” I told him, “I’m the one following the Church.” And in this it seems that I’m not wrong. I believe that I never said a thing that wasn’t the social doctrine of the Church. Things can be explained, possibly an explanation gave an impression of being a little “to the left”, but it would be an error of explanation. No, my doctrine on this, in Laudato si', on economic imperialism, all of this, is the social doctrine of the Church. And it if necessary, I’ll recite the creed. I am available to do that, eh.
Pope Francis welcomed by President Obama to USA 2015-09-23 Vatican Radio (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has arrived. His flight landed at Joint Base Andrews (formerly known as Andrews Air Force Base), shortly after 3:30 PM local time in the US state of Maryland. The welcome ceremony – otherwise little more than a simple observance of only the most absolutely necessary protocol – was punctuated by two particularly poignant elements: the first was the presence of the President of the United States, Barack Obama – and his family – to greet his nation’s guest; the second was the Spanish language alongside English, in which the gathered crowd – some hundreds of young people from Washington, DC area schools among them – cheered their welcome. President Obama’s presence was remarkable precisely inasmuch as it seemed – it looked and it felt – like a matter of course – and it did. Nevertheless, it is not Standard Operating Procedure for the President to greet a visiting head of state at the airport. Spanish is Pope Francis’ native tongue, and it is also the language of an already large and still increasing number of immigrants to the United States, whose presence and participation in US society constitutes an accomplished fact: taken together, the election of the first Pope from Latin America and the plain social reality of a significant and growing number of people in the United States who are of Latin American origin, constitute at once proof of the ascendancy of the global south, and incontrovertible evidence of the enduring importance of US leadership on the global stage. This, at any rate, is one of the interpretative lenses through which the significance of the historic canonization of Bl. Junipero Serra on Wednesday afternoon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, following Pope Francis’ official White House welcome and his visit with the Catholic bishops of the United States in St. Matthew’s Cathedral, begins for this reporter to come into focus. Pope Francis’ focus in all this, has always been, and we may fairly expect shall continue to be, primarily pastoral: he is the universal Pastor of the Universal Church; he is here to “strengthen the brethren” and “feed the sheep” and also – no, primarily – to speak to all people of good will about the man in whose stead the Pope stands on earth: Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. These are neither platitudes, nor by-words, but the elements that explain the theme and motto of this Papal visit to the United States – or rather for the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which is the original reason for and culmination of this Papal visit: “Love is our mission” – our mission. No one is to be excluded, and no one is to be excused from doing his or her part. Pope Francis is here to challenge people, to move people, to get people of every age and state and walk of life out of their comfort zones. If you look around, and listen, you will find he is already doing it. (from Vatican Radio)
A lovely story: Has Pope Francis' intercession healed this baby? http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/.../inspiration-nation-pope-holds-baby/72671356/
Pope Francis makes historic address to U.S. Congress 2015-09-24 Vatican Radio Pope Francis on Thursday (24th September) made history by becoming the first Pope ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress. In his wide-ranging address that was frequently interrupted by applause, the Pope touched on many themes including the need for politics to serve the common good, the importance of cooperation and solidarity, the dangers of fundamentalism, the refugee crisis, abolition of the death penalty, the need for courageous acts to avert environmental deterioration, the evils of the arms trade and threats to the family from within and without. During his speech he also mentioned four great Americans from the past, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton, saying that each of them helped build a better future for the people of the U.S. The full text of Pope Francis’ address to the Joint Session of the United States Congress: Mr. Vice-President, Mr. Speaker, Honorable Members of Congress, Dear Friends, I am most grateful for your invitation to address this Joint Session of Congress in “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. I would like to think that the reason for this is that I too am a son of this great continent, from which we have all received so much and toward which we share a common responsibility. Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility. Your own responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation. You are the face of its people, their representatives. You are called to defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk. Legislative activity is always based on care for the people. To this you have been invited, called and convened by those who elected you. Yours is a work which makes me reflect in two ways on the figure of Moses. On the one hand, the patriarch and lawgiver of the people of Israel symbolizes the need of peoples to keep alive their sense of unity by means of just legislation. On the other, the figure of Moses leads us directly to God and thus to the transcendent dignity of the human being. Moses provides us with a good synthesis of your work: you are asked to protect, by means of the law, the image and likeness fashioned by God on every human face. Today I would like not only to address you, but through you the entire people of the United States. Here, together with their representatives, I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save money and –one step at a time – to build a better life for their families. These are men and women who are not concerned simply with paying their taxes, but in their own quiet way sustain the life of society. They generate solidarity by their actions, and they create organizations which offer a helping hand to those most in need. I would also like to enter into dialogue with the many elderly persons who are a storehouse of wisdom forged by experience, and who seek in many ways, especially through volunteer work, to share their stories and their insights. I know that many of them are retired, but still active; they keep working to build up this land. I also want to dialogue with all those young people who are working to realize their great and noble aspirations, who are not led astray by facile proposals, and who face difficult situations, often as a result of immaturity on the part of many adults. I wish to dialogue with all of you, and I would like to do so through the historical memory of your people. My visit takes place at a time when men and women of good will are marking the anniversaries of several great Americans. The complexities of history and the reality of human weakness notwithstanding, these men and women, for all their many differences and limitations, were able by hard work and self-sacrifice – some at the cost of their lives – to build a better future. They shaped fundamental values which will endure forever in the spirit of the American people. A people with this spirit can live through many crises, tensions and conflicts, while always finding the resources to move forward, and to do so with dignity. These men and women offer us a way of seeing and interpreting reality. In honoring their memory, we are inspired, even amid conflicts, and in the here and now of each day, to draw upon our deepest cultural reserves. I would like to mention four of these Americans: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. This year marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, the guardian of liberty, who labored tirelessly that “this nation, under God, [might] have a new birth of freedom”. Building a future of freedom requires love of the common good and cooperation in a spirit of subsidiarity and solidarity. All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today. Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners. The contemporary world, with its open wounds which affect so many of our brothers and sisters, demands that we confront every form of polarization which would divide it into these two camps. We know that in the attempt to be freed of the enemy without, we can be tempted to feed the enemy within. To imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place. That is something which you, as a people, reject. Our response must instead be one of hope and healing, of peace and justice. We are asked to summon the courage and the intelligence to resolve today’s many geopolitical and economic crises. Even in the developed world, the effects of unjust structures and actions are all too apparent. Our efforts must aim at restoring hope, righting wrongs, maintaining commitments, and thus promoting the well-being of individuals and of peoples. We must move forward together, as one, in a renewed spirit of fraternity and solidarity, cooperating generously for the common good. The challenges facing us today call for a renewal of that spirit of cooperation, which has accomplished so much good throughout the history of the United States. The complexity, the gravity and the urgency of these challenges demand that we pool our resources and talents, and resolve to support one another, with respect for our differences and our convictions of conscience. In this land, the various religious denominations have greatly contributed to building and strengthening society. It is important that today, as in the past, the voice of faith continue to be heard, for it is a voice of fraternity and love, which tries to bring out the best in each person and in each society. Such cooperation is a powerful resource in the battle to eliminate new global forms of slavery, born of grave injustices which can be overcome only through new policies and new forms of social consensus. Here I think of the political history of the United States, where democracy is deeply rooted in the mind of the American people. All political activity must serve and promote the good of the human person and be based on respect for his or her dignity. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776). If politics must truly be at the service of the human person, it follows that it cannot be a slave to the economy and finance. Politics is, instead, an expression of our compelling need to live as one, in order to build as one the greatest common good: that of a community which sacrifices particular interests in order to share, in justice and peace, its goods, its interests, its social life. I do not underestimate the difficulty that this involves, but I encourage you in this effort. Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from Selma to Montgomery fifty years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his “dream” of full civil and political rights for African Americans. That dream continues to inspire us all. I am happy that America continues to be, for many, a land of “dreams”. Dreams which lead to action, to participation, to commitment. Dreams which awaken what is deepest and truest in the life of a people. cont. on next page.
