Thursday, July 31, 2014

A visit to Albania

On Sunday, September 21 of this year, the Holy Father will travel across the Adriatic Sea to the city of Tirana (Albania) where he will spend one-day visiting with civic authorities and religious leaders, and where he will celebrate Mass with the faithful.

Today, the Vatican Press Centre published the programme for the Pope's one-day visit.


Apostolic Voyage of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to Tirana, Albania
Sunday, September 21, 2014

7:30am  
Scheduled departure from Rome's Fumicino Airport, destination Tirana, Albania

9:00am  
Estimated arrival at Mother Teresa International Airport in Tirana
The Holy Father will be officially welcomed by Prime Minister Edi Rama

9:30am
Official welcoming ceremony in the courtyard of the Presidential Palace
Courtesy visit with the President of the Republic in the Green Room at the Presidential Palace

10:00am
Meeting with Civic Authorities in the Reception Hall of the Presidential Palace
The Holy Father will deliver a speech

11:00am
Eucharistic Celebration in Mother Teresa Square
The Holy Father will preach the homily

Prayer of the Angelus Domini with greetings from the Holy Father

1:30pm
Luncheon meeting with the Albanian bishops and with the Papal party at the Apostolic Nunciature

4:00pm
Meeting with leaders of other religions and other Christian denominations at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic University
The Holy Father will deliver a speech

5:00pm
Celebration of Vespers with priests, religious, seminarians and lay movements in the Cathedral of Tirana
The Holy Father will deliver a speech

6:30pm
Meeting with children from the Bethany Centre, and with representatives and staff from other child care centres throughout Albania in the church at the Bethany Centre
The Holy Father will deliver a speech

7:45pm
Departure ceremony at the Mother Teresa International Airport in Tirana

8:00pm
Scheduled departure from Tirana for the flight to Rome's Ciampino airport

9:30pm
Scheduled arrival at Rome's Ciampino airport

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The next papal journey

This morning, the Vatican Press Centre announced that the Holy Father, Pope Francis will undertake an Apostolic Journey to Sri Lanka from January 12 to 15, 2015 and to the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015.  The details of this upcoming journey will be released in the near future.

Death of Cardinal Marchisano

On Sunday morning (July 27) at approximately 10:00am local time, His Eminence, Francis Cardinal Marchisano, Archpriest emeritus of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican died at the age of 85 years.

Created a Cardinal during the Consistory of October 21, 2003, he was entrusted with various responsibilities within the Roman Curia, including service as the President of the Pontifical Commission of the Cultural Goods of the Church and President of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archeology.  He also served as Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City and as President of the Fabric of Saint Peter and as President of the Office for Works of the Apostolic See.

The funeral Mass, which will be presided over by the Cardinal Dean of the College of Cardinals, will be celebrated on Wednesday morning, July 30 beginning at 8:00am local time in the Vatican Basilica.  The Holy Father will preside over the Rites of Final Commendation.

On Monday morning, the Vatican Press Centre released the text of the message of condolence which the Holy Father sent to the Archbishop of Turin, His Excellency, Cesare Nosiglia.


Message of Condolence sent by the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to the Archbishop of Turin

His Excellency, the Most Reverend
Cesare Nosiglia
Archbishop of Turin
Via Val della Torre, 3 10149, Turin

Having learned the news of the death of Cardinal Francisco Marchisano, illustrious son of that land, I wish to express to Your Excellency, to the presbyterate and to the entire Diocesan community, as well as to the relatives and friends of the late Cardinal, the assurance of my profound condolences.  I remember with affection, this beloved pastor who for so many years afforded his precious collaboration to the Apostolic See, especially in the Congregation for Catholic Education and then as Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, and finally as President of the Office of the Works of the Apostolic See.  He leaves the witness of a life spent in generous service to his vocation as a priest and as a bishop, always concerned about the needs of the faithful and about the world of art and culture.  I raise prayers of supplication to the Lord, asking that he be welcomed into the fullness of joy and eternal peace, and I send to all those who are saddened by his death, the comfort of my Apostolic Blessing.

Franciscus

Monday, July 28, 2014

Meeting with a friend

On Monday morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis returned to Caserta, following the pastoral visit which he paid on Saturday (July 26), in order to meet privately with the evangelical pastor Giovanni Traettino, with whom His Holiness has shared a friendship since the time when he served as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

The Pope travelled to Caserta by helicopter, departing the Vatican at approximately 10:15am local time and after a moment of private meeting at the home of Pastor Giovanni Traettino, His Holiness met the community of the Evangelical Protestant Church on the premises (which are still under construction) of the future Pentecostal Church of Reconciliation.

The meeting, introduced by Pastor Traettino, began with the singing of a few songs which were interspersed with three testimonials; then, following a word of introduction offered by Pastor Traettino, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared a speech with those who were present.


Introductory Remarks for the meeting with the Holy Father
at Caserta
prepared by Pastor Giovanni Traettino

It is good to stand before the Lord, true? (all respond: yes!)  There is no better place in the world than to be in the presence of God, and yet there is one place that is even better, to live in the presence of God!  There, we will know the fullness of joy, the truest joy; and there, lives will be transformed and we will become even more like Him.

I want to share with you a few reflections and, in particular, dearest Pope Francis, my beloved brother, our joy is increased by your visit, my own personal joy, the joy of my family and the joy of our community, our spiritual family, all are increased by the presence of our guests and of our friends.  This is a great and unexpected gift, unthinkable only a short time ago.  I can read this joy in the eyes of the children and of the elderly, of the young and of the families.  We love you!  There is one thing that you should know: for you personally, even among us evangelicals, there is such affection and many of us pray for you every day: every day, we pray for you.  It is so easy to love you.  Many of us even believe that your election as Bishop of Rome was the work of the Holy Spirit.  A special blessing for the world and for the whole of Christianity: this is what I personally believe.  With this gesture of yours, completely unexpected and surprising as it is, you lend visibility and concreteness to that which seems above all to be the driving force of your existence and of your ministry, for life always precedes ministry.  Overcoming the complications of protocol, you know how to go directly to the heart of life and human relationships and in particular to relationships with those who see you as a brother: to meet a brother, to meet him where he is, to meet him as he is.  In our case, in order to visit with us, you endured two days of fatigue, and for this we are most grateful!

For you, it is not enough to entrust your heart to a document, or to a messenger ... It seems as though you have reflected a lot on the Incarnation of Jesus Christ: he wanted to touch us, he wanted to come in person, to embrace us personally.  He showed great courage.  Freedom and courage!  He resigned himself to the simplicity and weakness of our diversity, but also to our embrace.  With men such as you, dear Pope Francis, there is hope for us Christians.  All of us!  With just one gesture you have opened the door, you have contributed to the realization of the dream of God.  This has become part of the answer to the prayer of Jesus: that they may all be one.  And you have done this with the glory of which John speaks in chapter 17 of his gospel: with the glory without which it would be impossible to build up unity.  I am speaking about the glory of unity.  As someone once said, humility is at the heart of glory.  And I would add:  it takes just a bit of power to be able to do things; but it takes a lot of power to be able to stay in the shadows.  God is infinitely ability to back away from self-interest, of hiding himself.  Even in this, perhaps because of it, we can see ourselves as disciples of Christ.

Truth is an encounter: it is the title of one of the latest collections of your lovely morning meditations at the Casa Santa Marta. Truth is an encounter, but it is also a central truth for every Christian, for everyone who has converted to Christ and had a personal encounter with Him. How many times in your teachings you return to the invitation to conversion and to the personal encounter with Christ. It is obvious that this truth is at the centre of your life, the living matter of your spiritual experience, an inspirational motive for your existence. For me, who observe you, it cannot be otherwise. It fills me with joy, because Christ is also the precious pearl, excuse me, He is the precious pearl of all Christians, also of us Evangelicals. I saw that day before yesterday you spoke of Him at Caserta. He is the centre and the heart of our life, the very reason for our existence. We would be lost without Jesus! Our sole reason to live and exist is Jesus! However, it is in fact the passion that we bear for the centrality of Christ that makes us Evangelicals, with solid and serene conviction. Therefore, we also live and experience in a new way our being Evangelicals, which is no longer nourished by anti-Catholicism – as it was for some time – but which, recognizes our own origins and roots in the historical tree of Christianity, Catholicism and the Reformation included.  You have learned to relate in a constructive and redemptive way with those whom you recognize as your fathers and brothers, and to take out from your treasure – as the Gospel writes – things new and things old. You have learned – we are always learning more – that the whole field must be bought, as Jesus says in another part of the Gospel, in order to take possession of the whole treasure. One must have the whole field to discover the treasure, without giving up on the work of discernment made with the Word of God, but examining everything and keeping the good. In this way we are less exposed to the risk of disdaining the contribution of brothers, of extinguishing the Spirit or even of attributing to other sources what instead is of the Lord, as Paul exhorts us in the Letter to the Thessalonians: Do not extinguish the Spirit, do not scorn the prophecies, but examine everything and keep the good. And again, each one must abstain from every sort of evil.

Hence truth is an encounter and the encounter with Christ is the encounter of life: it is what gives truth and foundation to every other encounter. This is my experience. My encounters and my relations with my neighbor are profoundly marked by my encounter with Jesus. This is the central message, the nucleus, the DNA of the Gospel. This is the heart of evangelical preaching; this is the terrain on which we must build every possible dialogue between us and the path of unity between the Churches. As it is written: No one can lay another foundation other than that already laid, namely Christ Jesus. And again: Each one must be careful of how he builds upon it.

Speaking of Evangelicals, some time ago, Father Raniero Cantalamessa described them as Christians with the charism of the essential. This is a description that I like very much. I share it. And some years ago, Cardinal Piovanelli of Florence, proclaimed to anyone who asked him a forecast for the third millennium: It will be an age in which there will be a return to the fundamental principles of Christianity. I also believe this. It is necessary, it is indispensable that we return to the fundamental principles. Cardinal Kasper, indeed, who I know is your friend, has spoken of a fundamental ecumenism and a spiritual ecumenism: here too we are in line. He says: Christians are not united among themselves, they are, first of all, one in Christ. And only that union and communion with Christ makes true communion possible between men and Him. The Lord is the centre of this unity. And the strength that works and orders this unity is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps it is in fact from this understanding that Christianity must start again. This is the fundamental perimeter of our communion and it is here that I believe I can say the greatest contribution lies – also historically and theologically – of the prophecy of the first Reformation and then of the evangelical world after. I believe this is the fundamental prophecy for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ and of the Church, if the history of Christianity has some meaning …

The Apostle Paul says: Because no one can lay another foundation other than that already laid – namely Christ Jesus. Therefore Christ -- to put Christ at the foundation; to build on Christ; to be pressed tightly around Christ; to grow towards Christ. He is the foundation of the life of the believer: conversion to Christ, a personal relationship with Christ, the imitation of Christ, which is not possible without the presence of the life of Christ. From Christ’s life we receive the strength for the imitation of Christ, to become saints. The formation of Christ is rendered possible by Christ’s life in us. He is the foundation on which we grow: we are born again, but then we grow. And this is the foundation on which the existence of the Church is built, again Christ: the Incarnation of Christ, as the proper method, as a style of life; identification with the poor, with the needy, with those in difficulty -- the life of Christ, the style with which He lived. And so often the Christianity of our time is in need of reformation and revision of life, because models are proposed which are very far from the Gospel. The life of Christ, the death of Christ: to be able to live like Christ, we too must die to ourselves, so that the life of the Spirit can exist in us and, therefore, the Resurrection and the Ascension, crowned by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is indispensable for us to be able to live the Christian life.

I also believe that, in the development of avenues of communion between the different communities, we must speak again of Christ, of the return to the essentials of the Gospel and there we discover that this space is again Christ, the proclamation of Christ – the kerigma, the teaching of Christ – the didake – the formation of Christ in us. Like you, I quote a most beautiful and ancient prayer, which I imagine you recite every day: In Christ, with Christ, by Christ, to you God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory for ever and ever. I think this makes a good synthesis of what the thought is, which I wish to stress.

One last word. We are, we live between the now and the not yet – as someone has said – and our experience is an experience of suffering, of pain, of toil in advancing in the dialogue between Christians, in experiencing communion. It is the plane of faith: you are only one body, of which dear Jorge Himitian spoke yesterday, may they be one, we are on the plane of faith, the Tabernacle of God among men, of which Revelation 21 speaks. This is the plane of faith, but then there is the plane of history. The plane of history is that of our experience, where we experience the shame of division, of wars between Christians, of hostilities, of persecutions, also in Italy: unfortunately for many years we experienced persecutions, the Pentecostals particularly, in the years from 1935 to 1955 were notorious… In the middle was the time of reconciliation, the time of ethics, if you wish, the time of love, the time of responsibility, which must be filled by men and women of reconciliation. You, with your visit here, which has demonstrated that you take reconciliation seriously, show that you are a man of reconciliation, I would say a prophet of reconciliation.

Through Christ, God has reconciled us with Himself – says the Apostle Paul (Second Letter to the Corinthians) , and He has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation. Our spiritual family has chosen this theme for its existence: Church of reconciliation. However, He has entrusted to all Christians the ministry of reconciliation, from the experience they have within this ministry. He has sown, implanted within us – says the Apostle Paul – the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). It is from this word of reconciliation, which is Jesus himself; He is the word of reconciliation within us, nourishing us with Himself, with his spirit, with his sensibility, with his death, so that we can be accustomed to being men and women of reconciliation. What does it mean, at times, to travel on the road of Calvary. It means, at times, to pass through the Cross; it means misunderstanding, misinterpretation; it means incomprehension, because there are so many Christians that are so self-defining that they don’t succeed in making space for love, they don’t succeed in living love. And we want to come out of this prison; we want to be men and women of reconciliation.

I am happy to conclude these reflections with a thought from Francis of Assisi, whom I’m sure you love very much, evidently, because you chose the name Francis. But I want to tell you that Evangelicals also love Francis very much, even from the historical point of view. If I think of the Waldensians, for instance: who have a sensibility which is – let’s say – profoundly Franciscan. They have the same type of cut, of sensibility, of spirituality and we are connected to that history; we are connected to that sensibility … Some modern sensibilities don’t please us in the life of a Christian. Francis says: Begin to do the necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you will discover you are able to do the impossible. This seemed an impossible thing! God bless you!

Now we introduce Pope Francis, who would like to share some thoughts with us, what he has in his heart …. There is nothing organized. This is a Pentecostal meeting, so we appeal to the Holy Spirit to guide Pope Francis. Please.


Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the meeting with the community of the
Evangelical Protestant Church

Good morning, Brothers and Sisters,

My brother, Pastor Giovanni, began by speaking of the centre of our life: to be in the presence of Jesus. And then he said to walk in the presence of Jesus. And this was the First Commandment God gave to His people, to our Father Abraham: Go, walk in my presence and be irreproachable. And then the people walked: sometimes in the presence of the Lord, many times not in the Lord’s presence. They chose idols, gods … But the Lord has patience; He has patience with the people that walk. I don’t understand a Christian who is still! A Christian who doesn’t walk, I cannot understand that! A Christian must walk! There are Christians that walk, but not in the presence of Jesus. We must pray for these brothers. Also for us, when at certain moments we don’t walk in Jesus’ presence, because we are all also sinners, all of us! If one of you isn’t a sinner, raise your hand … To walk in the presence of Jesus.

Christians who are still – this is harmful, because that which is still, which doesn’t walk, is corrupted. Like still water, which is the first water to be corrupted, water that doesn’t run … There are Christians who confuse walking with turning. They are not walkers, they are errant and turn here and there in life. They are in a labyrinth, and wander, wander there … They are lacking the parrhesia, the audacity to go forward; they are lacking hope. Christians without hope turn in life; they are not capable of going forward. We are secure only when we walk in the presence of the Lord Jesus. He illumines us; He gives us his Spirit to walk well.

I think of Abraham’s grandson Jacob. He was tranquil, there, with his children. However, at a certain point famine arrived, and he said to his children, to his eleven children, ten of whom were guilty of betrayal, for having sold their brother: Go to Egypt , go there and buy food, because we have money but we don’t have food. Take the money and buy there, where it is said there is food. And they began their journey, but instead of finding food, they found their brother! And this is very beautiful!

When one walks in God’s presence, there is this fraternity. When, instead, we are still, when we look too much to one another, there is another way … which is bad, bad!  -- the way of gossip. And we begin to say, but you, don’t you know? No, no, I’m not for you. I’m for this and that … I am for Paul, I am for Appollos, I am for Peter. And so we begin, and so from the first moment division began in the Church. And it isn’t the Holy Spirit who creates division! He does something that is quite similar to it, but not division. It’s not the Lord Jesus who creates division! He who creates division is in fact the Envious One, the king of envy, the father of envy: the sower of darnel, Satan. He interferes in communities and creates divisions, always! From the first moment, from the first moment of Christianity, this temptation was in the Christian community. I belong to this one, I belong to that one. No! I am the Church, you are a sect. And so the one who wins over us is him, the father of division – not the Lord Jesus who prayed for unity (John 17(), he prayed!

What does the Holy Spirit do? I said he does something else, which perhaps one might think is division, but it isn’t. The Holy Spirit creates diversity in the Church. Read the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 12. He creates diversity! And this diversity is truly very rich, very beautiful. But then, the Holy Spirit himself creates unity, and so the Church is one in diversity. And, to use the word of an Evangelical whom I love very much, a reconciled diversity by the Holy Spirit. He creates both things: He creates the diversity of charisms and then He creates the harmony of charisms. Therefore, the early theologians of the Church, the early Fathers – I am speaking of the 3rd or 4th century – said: The Holy Spirit is harmony, because He creates this harmonious unity in diversity.

We are in the age of globalization, and we wonder what globalization is and what the unity of the Church should be: perhaps a sphere, where all points are equidistant from the centre, where all are equal? No! This is uniformity. And the Holy Spirit does not create uniformity! What figure can we find? We think of the polyhedron: the polyhedron is a unity, but with all different parts; each one has its peculiarity, its charism. This is unity in diversity. It is on this path that we, Christians, do what we refer to with the theological name of ecumenism. We try to have this diversity become more harmonized by the Holy Spirit and become unity. We seek to walk in the presence of God to be irreproachable. We seek to find the nourishment of which we are in need to find our brother. This is our way, this is our Christian beauty! I refer to what my beloved brother said at the beginning.

Then he spoke of something else, of the Lord’s Incarnation. The Apostle John is clear: He who says that the Word did not become flesh, is not of God! He is of the devil. He is not ours, he is an enemy! Because there was the first heresy – let’s say the word between us – and it was this, which the Apostle condemns: that the Word did not come in the flesh. No! The Incarnation of the Word is at the base: it is Jesus Christ! God and man, Son of God and Son of man, true God and true man. And this is how the first Christians understood him, and they had to struggle so much, so much to keep this truth: the Lord is God and man. The Lord Jesus is God made flesh. It is the mystery of the flesh of Christ: one does not understand love for one’s neighbor; one does not understand love for one’s brother, if one does not understand this mystery of the Incarnation. I love my brother because he too is Christ; he is the flesh of Christ. I love the poor, the widow, the slave, one who is in prison … Let us think about the protocol on which we will be judged: Matthew 25. I love all of them, because these persons who suffer are Christ’s flesh, and for us who are on this path of unity, it will do us good to touch the flesh of Christ. To go to the fringes where, in fact, there are so many needy, or – let us say it better – there are so many needy, so many needy … including those who are needy for God, who are hungry – but not for bread, they have so much bread – but for God! And to go there, to express this truth: Jesus Christ is the Lord and He saves you. But go always to touch the flesh of Christ! A purely intellectual Gospel cannot be preached: the Gospel is truth but also love and it is also beauty! And this is the joy of the Gospel! This is in fact the joy of the Gospel.

On this path we have very often done the same thing as Joseph’s brothers, when jealousy and envy have divided us. Those who arrived first wanted to kill their brother – Ruben succeeded in saving him – and then sold him. Our brother Giovanni also spoke of this sad story. That sad story in which the Gospel was lived by some as a truth who did not realize that behind this attitude there were ugly things, things that were not of the Lord, a terrible temptation of division. That sad story, in which the same thing was done that Joseph’s brothers did: denunciation, the laws of these people: it goes against the purity of the race … And these laws were sanctioned by the baptized! Some of those who made these laws and some of those who persecuted, denounced their Pentecostal brothers because they were enthusiasts, almost madmen  who ruined the race, some were Catholics … I am the Pastor of Catholics: I ask forgiveness for this! I ask forgiveness for those Catholic brothers and sisters who did not understand and who were tempted by the devil and did the same thing that Joseph’s brothers did. I ask the Lord to give us the grace to admit and forgive … Thank you!

Then brother Giovanni said something which I share totally: truth is an encounter, an encounter between persons. Truth is not made in a laboratory; it is made in life, seeking Jesus in order to find Him. However, the most beautiful, the greatest mystery is that when we find Jesus we realize that He was seeking us first, that He found us first, because He arrives before us! In Spanish I like to say that the Lord firsts us {primerea). It’s a Spanish word: He precedes us, and He always waits for us. He is the first among us. And I believe that Isaiah or Jeremiah -- I have a doubt – says that the Lord is like the flower of the almond tree, which is the first to flower in spring. And the Lord waits for us! Is it Jeremiah? Yes! It is the first one that flowers in spring, it is always the first.

This encounter is beautiful. This encounter fills us with joy, with enthusiasm. We think of the encounter of the first disciples, Andrew and John. When the Baptist said: Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. And they followed Jesus, stayed with Him the whole afternoon. Then, when they left, when they went home, did they say: We heard a Rabbi … No!  We have found the Messiah! That encounter which transforms; everything comes from that encounter. This is the path of Christian holiness: to seek Jesus every day to find Him and every day to allow oneself to be sought by Jesus and to allow oneself to be encountered by Jesus.

We are on this path toward unity between brothers. Some might be astonished: But the Pope went to the Evangelicals. He went to find brothers! Yes! Because – and what I will say is truth – because they were the ones who came first, in Buenos Aires, to find me. And there is a witness here: Jorge Himitian can tell the story about when they came, they approached us … And so this friendship began, this closeness between Pastors of Buenos Aires, and today we are here. Thank you so much. I ask you to pray for me, I am in need of it so that at least I won’t be so bad. Thank you!

At the conclusion of this encounter, the Holy Father was invited to share lunch with the Community of the Evangelical Pentecostal Church.  After the fraternal gathering was completed, the Holy Father returned to the Vatican.

Sunday, July 27, 2014

The value of faith

Here is the text of the reflection I shared with those who came to pray with us this weekend, some thoughts on faith: a priceless treasure.


The pearl of great price

I've been ordained a priest for 21 years now, but before I was ordained, I spent five years in formation as a seminarian, and before that, I spent four years completing a degree in Business Administration and Economics.  In the field of Business Administration, the concept of Marketing revolves around defining the product that we want to sell, establishing a price at which we are willing to sell it, determining the best placement or avenue to get that product to the consumer, and promoting the value of that product for the potential purchaser.

I have a feeling that Jesus was doing some of this Marketing in the passage of Matthew’s gospel that we heard today.  The product in question was and is the kingdom of heaven.  The price for us to enter heaven is … free – Jesus paid the price for us by dying on the cross, once for all time.  As Saint Paul explained to the Romans, God … has called us to this eventual goal.  Jesus chose to sell his idea in the midst of the crowds.  In other words, he didn’t wait for people to come to him; he went to them, and this is what we too must do.  The first reading we heard today tells us that God rewarded Solomon for his wisdom.  Across the centuries, God has called on David, Solomon, and many others including us to share the good news of the kingdom of heaven with those we meet.  He still calls us to continue this same task: promoting the kingdom of heaven by sharing the joy of the gospel with those we encounter.

The world around us needs desperately to hear the good news we have to share.  Have you experienced the joy of encountering Jesus?  Do you remember what that was like?  When we look around us, the media is filled with images of struggle, pain and trial, because tragedy sells.  Jesus tells us that if we realized the value of the gift he is offering us, we would know that it is much more valuable than any other treasure.  We would be willing to sell everything we have in order to acquire it.

During the past week, we have heard the news of two more aviation accidents, and the deaths of hundreds of innocent passengers.  We have heard news about the repatriation of the bodies of Dutch children which have now been returned home, and we have heard countless other stories of misery and suffering: this is what sells.  But have you heard about the young woman who met with Pope Francis this week?  Her name is Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag.  Her father is a Muslim, but her mother is Ethiopian Orthodox.  From early childhood, she was raised according to the faith tradition of her mother.  She married a Christian man and was subsequently reported to the Muslim authorities for allegedly committing adultery by marrying a Christian.  In May of this year, she was sentenced to death for allegedly renouncing her Islam faith: the prosecution claimed that even though she has always said she is Christian, she should have followed the faith tradition of her father.  Therefore they demanded that she renounce her Christian faith, and the judge supported this claim, but she refused to comply.  Her husband appealed the court’s decision and on June 24, she was released by order of the Sudanese appeal court, but she was arrested again when she tried to leave the country and fly to the United States because the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said that the granting of an exit visa was a criminal violation.  With the help of the American Ambassador in Khartoum, she took refuge at the American Embassy there while negotiations continued.  On Thursday of this week, she finally arrived in Rome where she met with the Holy Father before continuing her journey to the United States.

During their 30-minute meeting, Pope Francis thanked Meriam and her family for their courageous witness to the faith, and she in turn thanked the Holy Father for his continued prayers on her behalf.

The product we have is Jesus Christ, he offers us the possibility of knowing him free of charge.  Sometimes, depending on the places and situations we are placed in, the risk of promoting faith can indeed be very high but if a 28-year-old woman, her husband, their two-year-old son and their two-month-old daughter (who was born in prison) can do it, perhaps we can too.

Angelus on the kingdom of God

At 12:00 noon today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims who had gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the weekly meeting.


Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The brief comparisons put forward in today's liturgy conclude the chapter of Matthew’s Gospel dedicated to the parables of the Kingdom of God (13:44-52). Among these are two small masterpieces: the parables of the treasure hidden in the field, and of the pearl of great price. They tell us that the discovery of the Kingdom of God can come suddenly, as when the peasant farmer is ploughing, finding the treasure unexpectedly; or after a long search, such as was the case with the pearl for the merchant, who finally found the pearl of great price he had long dreamed of. But in both cases, the primary fact remains that the treasure and the pearl are worth more than all other goods. Therefore, the farmer and the merchant, when they find them, give up everything else in order to buy them. They do not need to reason, to think, to reflect: they realize immediately the incomparable value of what they have found, and are willing to lose everything in order to have it.

So it is with the Kingdom of God: whoever finds it has no doubts, he feels that it is what he has been looking and waiting for, and that it responds to his most authentic aspirations. And it is really so: those who know Jesus, who meet him personally, remain fascinated, attracted by so much goodness, so much truth, so much beauty, and all in great humility and simplicity. Look for Jesus, encounter Jesus. This is the great treasure!

How many people, how many saints, reading the Gospel with an open heart, have been so struck by Jesus, converted to Him. Consider Saint Francis of Assisi. He was already a Christian, but a watered-down Christian. When he was reading the Gospel, at a decisive moment in his youth, he met Jesus, and found the Kingdom of God, and then all his dreams of earthly glory vanished. The Gospel makes us know the real, living Jesus. He addresses our hearts and changes our lives. So yes, leave everything behind. You can actually change your way of life, or continue to do what you did before, but you are different, you are born again. You find that you discover meaning, flavour, light in everything, even in hardships, even in suffering, even in death. Read the Gospel, read the Gospel. We’ve said this before, remember? Read a passage of the Gospel every day. Also carry a small copy of the Gospel with you, in your pocket, in your handbag – have one at hand, always. And there, reading a passage, you will find Jesus.

Everything makes sense when you find this treasure, which Jesus called the Kingdom of God, that is, God reigning in your life, in our lives. He is love, peace and joy in every man and in all men. This is what God wants, it is that for which Jesus gave himself up to death on a Cross, to free us from the power of darkness and draw us into the realm of life, beauty, goodness, joy! Read the Gospel and find Jesus, and you will have this Christian joy and the gift of the Holy Spirit within you.

Dear brothers and sisters, you see, the joy of having found the treasure of the Kingdom of God shines through. A Christian cannot conceal his faith, because it shines through in every word, every gesture, even in the most simple, everyday ones: the love of God shines through; it is given to us through Jesus. Let us pray, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that his kingdom of love, justice and peace comes to us and to the whole world.

At the conclusion of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Tomorrow marks the one hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, which caused millions of deaths and immense destruction. This conflict, which Pope Benedict XV called a senseless slaughter, resulted, after four long years, in a most fragile peace. Tomorrow, as we remember this tragic event, I hope that the mistakes of the past won’t be repeated, but that the lessons of history will always be taken into account, so that the demands of peace through patient and courageous dialogue are always made to prevail.

In particular, my thoughts go out to three areas of crisis: the Middle East, Iraq and Ukraine. I ask that you continue to join me in prayer that the Lord may grant to the people and authorities of those areas the wisdom and strength needed to push ahead with the path of peace by addressing each dispute with the tenacity of dialogue and negotiation and with the force of reconciliation. That at the centre of every decision.  Pray that special interests aren’t put forward, but rather that the common good and respect for every person be the object of our focus. Let’s remember that all is lost with war, and nothing is lost with peace (applause).

Brothers and sisters, no more war! No more war! Above all, I think of the children, those who have been denied hope of a decent life, of a future: dead children, wounded children, maimed children, orphaned children, children who have remnants of war for toys, children who don’t know how to smile. Please stop!  I ask you with all my heart, it's time to stop! Please stop! (applause).

I extend a cordial greeting to all of you, pilgrims from Italy and other countries.

I greet the group of Brazilians, the parishes of the Diocese of Cartagena (Spain), the scouts from Gavião (Portugal), young people from Madrid, Asidonia-Jerez (Spain), and those from Monteolimpino (Como), those from Conselve and Ronchi Casalserugo, the cubs from Catania and the faithful from Acerra.

I wish everyone a good Sunday. Don’t forget to pray for me. Have a good lunch. Goodbye!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Celebrating Saint Ann in Caserta

After his meeting with the priests, the Holy Father presided at the celebration of the Eucharist beginning at 6:00pm local time in front of the Royal Palace of Caserta.  In this way, His Holiness commemorated the Patronal Feast of Saint Anne with the people of the Diocese of Caserta.

At the conclusion of the Mass, His Excellency, Giovanni D'Alise, Bishop of Caserta thanked the Holy Father for his visit.


Homily of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the celebration of the Eucharist
with the faithful of Caserta

Jesus addressed his listeners with simple words that everyone could understand. Also this evening, we have heard that he speaks to us through short parables that refer to the daily life of the people of that time. The parallels of the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great price have, as protagonists, a poor peasant and a wealthy merchant. The merchant searched for a thing of value all his life, something that would satisfy his thirst for beauty, travelling the world, without giving up, in the hope of finding what he is looking for. The other, the peasant, has never moved away from his field and is working all the time, with the usual daily routine. Yet for both, the final outcome is the same: the discovery of something valuable, a treasure for one, and a pearl of great price for the other. Both are also united by a common sentiment: the surprise and joy of having found the fulfillment of every desire. In the end, both of them don't hesitate to sell everything in order to buy the treasure they have found. Through these two parables, Jesus teaches what the kingdom of heaven is, how to find it, what to do to possess it.

What is the kingdom of heaven? Jesus doesn’t bother to explain it. He states from the beginning of his Gospel: The kingdom of heaven is at hand. And also today He is near and among us ... He is near. However, he never makes it possible for us to see it right away, but always as a consequence, through the narrating of the actions of a master, of a king, of ten virgins ... He prefers to let us understand, in parables and similes, and above all by revealing their effects: the kingdom of heaven is capable of changing the world, like yeast hidden in the dough. It is small and humble, like a mustard seed, but becomes as large as a tree. The two parables on which we want to reflect make us understand that the kingdom of God makes itself present in the very person of Jesus. He is the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. It encompasses the joy of the peasant and the merchant: they found it! It is the joy of all of us when we discover the closeness and the presence of Jesus in our lives – a presence that transforms our lives and makes us sensitive to the needs of our brothers; a presence that invites us to accept each other’s presence, including those who are foreigners and immigrants. He is a welcoming presence, a joyful presence, a fruitful presence, and so it becomes in us.

And then one might ask: How is the kingdom of God found? Each of us has a particular path. For some, the encounter with Jesus is awaited, desired, long sought after, as is shown in the parable of the merchant. For others it happens suddenly, almost by accident, as in the parable of the peasant. This reminds us that God lets Himself be found, because it is He who first wants to meet us, and first tries to meet us. He came to be God with us. And Jesus is with us, He is here today. When you come together in my name, I am with you. The Lord is here, with us, among us. It is He who seeks us and makes Himself discoverable, even for those who do not seek him. Sometimes he lets Himself be found in unusual places and unexpected times. When Jesus is discovered, we are fascinated, conquered, and it is a joy to leave our usual way of life which is sometimes dry and apathetic, to embrace the Gospel, to be guided by the new logic of love and of humble and disinterested service. The Word of Jesus, the Gospel. Let me give you a question, but I do not want you to raise your hands (there is laughter). How many of you each day read a passage from the Gospel? But how many of you, perhaps, hasten to finish work to not miss a soap opera ... Keep the Gospel in your hands, leave the Gospel on the table, keep the Gospel in your bag, have the gospel in your pocket and open it to read the Word of Jesus; this is how the Kingdom of God comes among us. Contact with the Word of Jesus brings us closer to the kingdom of God. Think about it: keep a small copy of the Gospel always at hand, open it to a random point and read what Jesus says, and Jesus is there.

How is the kingdom of God possessed? On this point, Jesus is very clear: enthusiasm, the joy of discovery, is not enough. The precious pearl of the kingdom should precede every other earthly good; we must put God first in our lives, prefer Him to everything. Giving primacy to God means having the courage to say no to evil, violence, oppression, living a life of service to others and in favor of the law and the common good. When a person finds God, the true treasure, they leave a selfish lifestyle and look to share with others the love that comes from God. Whoever becomes a friend of God loves his brothers, is committed to safeguarding their lives and their health, to respecting the environment and nature. I know that you suffer for these things. Today, when I arrived, one of you approached me and said: Father, give us hope. But I cannot give you hope, I can tell you that where there is Jesus there is hope; where there is Jesus each of us loves the other like brothers, we are committed to safeguarding their lives and their health and also to respecting the environment and nature. This is the hope which never disappoints, the hope that Jesus gives! This is particularly important in your beautiful land that needs to be protected and preserved. It requires you to have the courage to say no to any form of corruption and lawlessness, it requires everyone to be servants of the truth and to assume every situation in the style of the living Gospel, which is manifested in the gift of self and attention to the poor and to the excluded.

On the feast of Saint Anne, I like to call her the grandmother of Jesus, and today is a good day to celebrate grandmothers. When I was doing the incense, I saw a beautiful thing: the statue of Saint Anne is crowned, her daughter, Mary, is crowned. And this is nice. Saint Anne is the woman who prepared her daughter to become queen, to become the queen of the heavens and the earth. She did a nice job, this woman: the patron saint of Caserta. Gathered here are the various components of the diocesan community, with the bishop and the presence of civil authorities and the representatives of various social entities. I would encourage everyone to live the feast of your patroness free of every preconception, expressing only the faith of a people that recognizes God's family and which strengthens the bonds of brotherhood and solidarity. Saint Anne may have heard her daughter Mary proclaim the words of the Magnificat: He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things (Lk 1, 51-53). She will help you to search for the unique treasure, Jesus, and she will teach you to discover the way of God; He turned the judgments of the world upside down, he comes to the rescue of the poor and the little, and fills the humble with good things, those who entrust their existence to Him. Have hope, the hope that never disappoints. And I would like to repeat: Don't let yourselves be robbed of hope!

At the conclusion of the Eucharistic celebration, the Pope was taken to the heliport of the NCO Military Aeronautics School, and after bidding farewell to the civil authorities who had welcomed him upon his arrival, the helicopter departed and returned to Rome.

Meeting the priests of Caserta

At 3:00pm today, the Holy Father left the Vatican heliport and traveled by helicopter to Caserta, where he paid a pastoral visit.

Upon his arrival at the heliport of the NCO School of Military Aeronautics near the Royal Palace of Caserta, the Pope was welcomed by His Excellency, Giovanni D'Alise, Bishop of Caserta; by Doctor Carmela Pagano, Prefect of the city; by the Mayor, Mister Pio Del Gaudio; by the Honorable Domenico Zinzi, President of the Province; and by Colonel Veniero Santoro, Commander of the NCO School of Military Aeronautics.

The Holy Father then traveled by car to the Military Aeronautics Officers' Club inside the Royal Palace of Caserta where, beginning at 4:00pm, he met with priests of the Diocese of Caserta in the Presentation Hall.


Dialogue between the Holy Father 
and the priests of Caserta

His Excellency, Giovanni D'Alise, Bishop of Caserta
Your Holiness, I didn't prepare a written speech because I thought that you wanted to spend some time in a more intimate and less formal setting with the priests.  So I say to you: welcome.  This is our Church, the priests, and afterward we will go and visit with the rest of the Church, during the celebration of the Eucharist.  For me, this is an important moment, because I've been here for two months.  I'm beginning my episcopate with your visit; your blessing is truly for me a grace.  We are waiting for your words, and knowing that you wanted a dialogue, the priests have prepared a few questions for you.

Holy Father
I prepared a speech, but I will leave it with the Bishop.  Thank you very much for your welcome.  Thank you.  I am happy and I feel bad that I've caused you so many problems on your patronal feast day.  But I didn't know.  When I called the Bishop to tell him that I wanted to come and visit privately, here, with a friend, with Pastor Traettino, he told me: Ah, on the feast day of our patron!  I immediately thought: The day afterward, the newspapers will say: on the patronal feast day of Caserta, the Pope went to visit with the Protestants.  That would be nice, eh?  So it was that we organized things, a bit rushed, but the Bishop helped me a lot, and also the people at the Secretariat of State.  I told the Substitute, when I called him: Please, take the rope away from my neck. and he did it.  Thank you for the questions you prepared ... now we can get started; you ask your questions and I will try to answer two or three of them at a time, otherwise, I'll answer them one at a time.

Question
Your Holiness, thank you.  I am the Vicar General of Caserta, Father Pasquariello.  Thank you very much for your visit here in Caserta.  I want to ask a question: the good work that you are doing for the Catholic Church through your daily homilies, the official documents, especially Evangelii Gaudium, are focused above all on spiritual conversion, they are intimate, they are personal.  This is a necessary reform, in my humble opinion, not only in the spheres of theology, biblical exegesis and philosophy.  In addition to this personal conversion which is essential for eternal salvation, I think it might be useful to hear some advice from Your Holiness, which might be helpful to the People of God, simply as people.  Let me explain.  For 900 years, our diocese has had absurd boundaries: some territories are shared with the Dioceses of Capua and Acerra.  In fact, the station in the city of Caserta, less than one kilometre from the city, is part of the Diocese of Capua.  For this reason, Most Holy Father, I ask for your intervention so that our community doesn't have to suffer any more as a result of unnecessary travel and so that the pastoral unity of our faithful is not caused to suffer any longer.  It is clear, Holiness, that you, in No. 10 of Evangelii Gaudium, these are matters suited to the episcopate, but I remember that 47 years ago, young priests would travel with Bishop Roberti - he had left the Secretariat of State - and they would take their problems even there; they would say, after having explained things a bit: Let's come to an agreement with the Bishops and we will sign it.  This would be something beautiful, but when will the Bishops be in agreement?

Holy Father
Some Church historians say say that in some of the first Bishops’ Councils they even resorted to blows, but then they agreed. And this is a bad sign. It is bad when Bishops speak ill of one another, or are tied together. I don’t say we must have unity of thought or unity of spirituality, because this is good, I say tied in the negative sense of the word. This is bad because, in fact, the unity of the Church is broken. This isn’t of God. And we Bishops should give the example of unity that Jesus asked the Father for the Church. But we can’t go speaking ill of one another: And this one does it this way and that one does it the other way. But go, say it openly! In the first Councils, our forbearers did so with blows, and I prefer that four strong things be shouted and that then they embrace and not that they speak in a hidden manner about one another. This, as a general principle, namely: important in the unity of the Church is the unity among Bishops. You underscored a way that the Lord willed for his Church. And this unity among the Bishops is the one that fosters agreement on this or that. In a country – not in Italy – there is, on one hand, a diocese whose boundaries were remade, but because of the location of the treasure of the Cathedral, they have been in conflict in the courts for more than 40 years. For money: this can’t be understood. It is here where the devil celebrates. He is the one who wins.

It’s lovely, then, that you say that the Bishops must always be in agreement: but agreement in unity, not in uniformity. Each one has his charism; each one has his way of thinking, of seeing things. Sometimes this variety is the fruit of mistakes, but many times it is the fruit of the Spirit himself. The Holy Spirit willed that there be this variety of charisms in the Church. The same Spirit that makes diversity then succeeded in making unity; unity in the diversity of each one, without anyone losing his own personality. However, I hope that what you said will go forward. And then we are all good, because we all have the water of Baptism, we have the Holy Spirit within us who helps us to go forward.

Question
I am Father Angelo Piscopo, parish priest of Saint Peter the Apostle and Saint Peter in the Chair. My question is this: Your Holiness, in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, you invited us to encourage and reinforce popular piety, that precious treasure of the Catholic Church. However, at the same time, you showed the risk – unfortunately ever more real – of the spread of an individual and sentimental Christianity, more attentive to traditional forms and to revelation, deprived of the fundamental aspects of the faith and deprived of influence in social life. What suggestions can you give us for a pastoral approach that, without mortifying popular piety, can re-launch the primacy of the Gospel? Thank you, Your Holiness.

Holy Father
One hears it said that this is a time when religiosity has gone down, but I don’t believe this so much, because there are these currents, these schools of private religiosity, like the Gnostics, that engage in a pastoral approach that is similar to a pre-Christian prayer, a pre-biblical prayer, a Gnostic prayer, and Gnosticism has entered the Church in these groups of private piety: I call this does no good; it is something for me, I am calm, I feel full of God. It is a bit – it isn’t the same – but somewhat the way of the New Age. There is religiosity, but a pagan religiosity, or actually heretical. We mustn’t be afraid to say this word, because Gnosticism is a heresy, it was the first heresy of the Church. When I speak of religiosity, I speak of that treasure of piety, with so many values, which the great Paul VI described in Evangelii Nuntiandi. Think of this: in the Aparecida Document, which was the Document of the 5th Conference of the Latin American Episcopate, there is a synthesis at the end of the Document itself, in the penultimate paragraph  -- because the other two were of thanksgiving and prayer  -- which had to wait 40 years to take a piece of Evangelii Nuntiandi, which is the post-Conciliar Document that is yet to be surpassed.

It is of enormous present importance. In that Document, Paul VI describes popular piety, affirming that sometimes it must also be evangelized. Yes, because as with every piety there is the risk of going a bit on one side and a bit on the other or of not having a strong expression of faith. However, the piety that people have, the piety that enters into the heart through Baptism is an enormous strength, to the point that the People of God that has this piety as a whole, cannot err, it is infallible in all believers: this is explained in Lumen Gentium, in No. 12. True popular piety is born of that sensus fidei of which this conciliar Document speaks and guides in devotion to Saints, to Our Lady, and also with folkloric expressions in the good sense of the word. Therefore, popular piety is fundamentally inculturated; it cannot be a popular piety in the laboratory, ascetic, for it is always born of our life. Little mistakes can be made – so one must  be vigilant – however, popular religiosity is an instrument of evangelization. We can think of today’s young people. Young people – at least the experience that I had in my other diocese – the young people, the youth movements in Buenos Aires didn’t work. Why? They were told: let’s have a meeting to talk … and in the end the young people were bored. However, when parish priests found the way to involve young people in the small missions, to engage in mission activities during periods of vacation, the catechesis of people in need of it, in small countries that don’t have a priest, then they got involved.

Young people really want this missionary activity and they learn from it to live a form of piety which can also be called popular piety: the missionary apostolate of young people has something of popular piety in it. Popular piety is active, it is a profound sense of faith – says Paul VI – which only the simple and the humble are able to have. And this is great! In Shrines, for instance, one sees miracles! Every July 27 I went to the Shrine of San Pantaleo in Buenos Aires, and I heard Confessions in the morning. However, I returned renewed from that experience, I returned ashamed of the holiness that I found in simple people, sinful but holy, because they told their own sins and then described how they lived, the problem of their son or daughter, or of this or that person, and how they went to visit the sick - an evangelical sense shone through. I found these things in the Shrines. The Shrines’ Confessionals are a place of renewal for us priests and Bishops. They are a course in spiritual updating, because of contact with popular piety. And when the faithful come to Confession, they tell you their miseries, but one sees, behind those miseries, the grace of God that leads them to this moment. This contact with the People of God that prays, that is pilgrim, that manifests its faith in this form of piety, helps us so much in our priestly life.

Question
You allow me to call you Father Francis, also because paternity implies inevitable holiness, when it is authentic. As a pupil of the Jesuit Fathers to whom I owe my cultural and priestly formation, I will mention an impression of mine, and then a question that I address to you particularly. The identity kit of the priest of the third millennium: human and spiritual balance; missionary conscience; dialogical openness with other faiths, religious or not. Why this? You certainly have wrought a Copernican revolution by your language, lifestyle, behaviour and Catholic-Christian witness. The question I ask is: how is it possible in this society, with a Church that hopes for growth and development, in this society in a dynamic and conflicting evolution and very often far from the values of the Gospel of Christ, we are a Church that very often is slow. Your linguistic, semantic and cultural revolution of evangelical witness is certainly arousing in consciences an existential crisis for us priests. Can you suggest imaginative and creative ways to us, to surmount or at least to deaden this crisis which we perceive? Thank you.

Holy Father
Look, how is it possible to go forward with a growing and developing Church? You said several things: balance, dialogical openness … But, how can we go forward? You said a word that pleases me very much: it is a divine word, if it is human it is because it is a gift of God: creativity. It is the commandment that God gave to Adam: Go and make the earth grow. Be creative. It is also the commandment that Jesus gave his own, through the Holy Spirit, for instance, the creativity of the early Church in relations with Judaism: Paul was creative; Peter, on the day when he went to Cornelius’ house, was afraid of them, because he was doing something new, something creative. But he went there. The word is creativity. And how can this creativity be found? First of all – and this is the condition if we wish to be creative in the Spirit, namely, in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus – there is no other way than prayer. A Bishop that doesn’t pray, a priest that doesn’t pray has closed the door, has closed the way of creativity. It is in fact in prayer when the Spirit makes you feel something, then the devil comes and makes you feel something else; but prayer is the condition to go forward., even if prayer so often can seem boring.

Prayer is so important – not only the prayer of the Divine Office, but the liturgy of the Mass, calm, well done with devotion, personal prayer with the Lord. If we don’t pray, we might be good pastoral and spiritual entrepreneurs, but without prayer the Church becomes an NGO, she does not have the unctio Spiritu Sancti. Prayer is the first step, because it is opening oneself to the Lord to be able to open oneself to others. It is the Lord who says: Go here, go there, do this … he arouses in you that creativity which cost so much of so many Saints. Think of Blessed Anthony Rosmini, he who wrote The Five Wounds of the Church, was in fact a creative critic, because he prayed. He wrote what the Spirit made him hear, therefore he went to a spiritual prison, namely, to his house: he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t teach, he couldn’t write, his books were on the Index. Today he is Blessed! So many times creativity leads to the cross. However, when it comes from prayer, it bears fruit. Not a creativity that is somewhat sans facon and revolutionary, because today it is fashionable to be a revolutionary; this is not of the Spirit. But when creativity comes from the Spirit and is born in prayer, one can bear problems. Creativity that comes from prayer has an anthropological dimension of transcendence, because through prayer one is open to transcendence, to God. However, there is also another transcendence: to open oneself to others, to one’s neighbour. There is no need to be a Church shut in on herself, which looks at her navel, a self-referential Church , which looks at herself and is incapable of transcendence. The twofold transcendence is important: to God and to one’s neighbour. To come out of oneself isn’t an adventure; it is a way, it is the way that God has indicated to men, to people, since the first moment when He said to Abraham: Go from your land. To go out of oneself. And when I come out of myself, I encounter God and others.

How do I encounter others? -- from afar or up close? One must meet them up close, closeness. Creativity, transcendence and closeness. Closeness is a key word: to be close. Not to be afraid of anything. To be close. The man of God is not frightened. Paul himself, when he saw so many idols in Athens, was not frightened but he said to those people: You are religious, you have so many gods … but I will speak to you of another. He was not frightened and he came close to them, he even quoted their poets: As your poets say … It is about closeness to a culture, closeness to persons, to their way of thinking, to their sorrows, to their resentments. So often this closeness is in fact a penance, because we must hear annoying, offensive things. Two years ago, a priest who went as a missionary to Argentina –he was from the diocese of Buenos Aires and he went to a diocese in the South, in an area where there had been no priest for years, and the Evangelicals had arrived – told me that he went to the house of a woman who had been a teacher of the people, and then the principal of the school of the area. This lady made him sit down and she began to insult him, not with bad words, but to insult him with force. You have abandoned us, you have left us alone, and I who am in need of the Word of God had to go to the Protestant worship and I became a Protestant. This young priest, who is meek and one who prays, when the woman finished her tirade, said: Lady, only one word: forgiveness. Forgive us, forgive us. We abandoned the flock. And the tone of that woman changed. However, she remained a Protestant and the priest did not enter the argument about which was the true religion: this couldn’t be done at that moment. Finally, the lady began to smile and said: Father, would you like a coffee? – Yes, let’s have coffee. And when the priest was about to leave, she said: Stop, Father, come, and she led him to the bedroom, opened the closet in which was the image of Our Lady: You must know that I never abandoned her. I’ve hidden her because of the pastor, but she is in my home! It’s an anecdote that shows how closeness and meekness, made this woman reconcile with the Church, because she had felt abandoned by the Church. And I asked a question which should never be asked: And then, how did it end? How did the thing end? However, the priest corrected me: Ah, no, I haven’t asked for anything: you continue to go to the Protestant worship, but if you see that it is a woman who prays:  the Lord Jesus. And he didn’t go beyond, he did not invite her to return to the Catholic Church. It is that prudent closeness, which knows where it must reach. However, closeness means pure dialogue; one must read in Ecclesiam Suam, the doctrine on dialogue, later repeated by other Popes.

Dialogue is so important, but two things are necessary for dialogue: one’s own identity as the point of departure and empathy with others. If I’m not sure of my identity and I go to dialogue, I end up by exchanging my faith. One cannot dialogue if one doesn’t begin from one’s own identity, and empathy, that is, not to condemn a priori. Every man, every woman has something of their own to give; every man, every woman has his/her own story, his/her own situation and we must listen to it. Then the prudence of the Holy Spirit will tell us how to respond to them. Begin from one’s own identity to dialogue, but dialogue isn’t to engage in Apologetics, even if sometimes it should be done, when questions are posed that require an explanation. Dialogue is a human thing, it is hearts and spirits that dialogue, and this is so important! Don’t be afraid to dialogue with anyone. A Saint said somewhat jokingly – I don’t remember , I believe it was Saint Philip Neri, but I’m not sure – who was able to dialogue even with the devil. Why? Because he had that freedom to listen to all persons, but beginning from the conviction of his own identity. He was so sure, but to be sure of one’s identity does not mean to engage in proselytism. Proselytism is a trap, which Jesus also condemns somewhat, en passant when he speaks to the Pharisees and the Sadducees: “You who go around the world to find a proselite and then you remember that … But it is a trap. And Pope Benedict has a very beautiful expression, which he expressed at Aparecida, but I think he repeated it somewhere else: The Church grows not by proselytism but by attraction. And what is attraction? It is this human empathy which is then led by the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, what will the profile of the priest of this very secularized century look like? A man of creativity, who follows God’s commandment  to  -- create things; a man of transcendence, be it with God in prayer or with others, always; a man of closeness who approaches people. To distance oneself from people is not priestly and sometimes people are sick and tired of this attitude, and yet the same thing comes from us. However, one who welcomes people and is close to them, dialogues with them because he is sure of his own identity, which drives him to have a heart open to empathy. This is what comes to my mind, what I have to tell you, in answer to your question.

Question
Dearest Father, my question concerns the place where we live: the diocese, with our Bishops, relationships with our brothers. And I ask you: this historic moment which we are living has expectations in our dealings as presbyters, namely of a clear, open and joyful witness – as you are inviting us to do – precisely with the novelty of the Holy Spirit. I ask you: in your opinion, what could be in fact specifically the foundation of the spirituality of a diocesan priest? It seems to me that I read somewhere that you say: The priest isn’t a contemplative. However, before, it wasn’t so. Therefore, can you give us an icon to keep present for the rebirth, the communal growth of our diocese.  And above all, I am interested in how we can be faithful, today, to man, not so much to God.

Holy Father
Look, you said the novelty of the Holy Spirit. It’s true, but God is the God of surprises, He always surprises us, always, always. We read in the Gospel and find one surprise after another. Jesus surprises us because he arrives before us: He waits for us first, he loves us first, when we seek him he is already seeking us. As the prophet Isaiah or Jeremiah says, I don’t remember well: God is like the flower of the almond tree, it is the first to flower in spring. He is the first, always the first, he always awaits us. And this is the surprise. So many times we seek God, however he awaits us there, and then we come to the spirituality of the diocesan clergy. Contemplative priest, but not like one who is in the Certosa, I don’t mean this kind of contemplation. The priest should have contemplation, a capacity to contemplate God or men. He is a man who looks, who fills his eyes and hears with this contemplation: with the Gospel before God, and with human problems before men. However, where is the centre of the spirituality of the diocesan priest? I would say that it is in the diocese. It is the capacity to open oneself to the diocese. The spirituality of a religious, for instance, is the capacity to open himself to God and to others in the community: be it the smallest or the largest of the Congregation.

Instead, the spirituality of the diocesan priest is to open himself to the diocese. And you, religious, who work in parishes must do both things, that is why the dicastery of Bishops and the dicastery of Consecrated Life are working on a new version of the Mutuae relations, because the religious has both memberships. But let us turn to what is of the diocese: what does it mean? It means to have a relationship with the Bishop and a relationship with the other priests. The relationship with the Bishop is important, it is necessary. A diocesan priest can’t be detached from the Bishop. But the Bishop doesn’t love me, the Bishop here, the Bishop there … The Bishop could be perhaps a man with a bad character, but he is your Bishop. And you must find, also in that negative attitude, a way to maintain your relationship with him. This, in any case, is the exception. I am a diocesan priest because I have a relationship with the Bishop, a necessary relationship. Very significant is the moment in the rite of Ordination when the vow of obedience is made to the Bishop. I promise obedience to you and to your successors. A relationship with one's diocese means a relationship with the Bishop that must be acted on and made to grow continually. In the majority of cases it is not a catastrophic problem, but a normal reality. In the second place the diocese entails a relation with other priests, with the whole presbyterate. There is no spirituality of the diocesan priest without these two relationships: with the Bishop and with the presbyterate. And they are necessary. Yes, I get along well with the Bishop, but I don’t go to the meetings of the clergy because stupid things are said. However, with this attitude you are lacking something: you don’t have the true spirituality of the diocesan priest.

It’s all here: it’s simple, but at the same time it isn’t easy. It isn’t easy because to be in agreement with the Bishop is not always easy, because one thinks one way and the other another way, but one can discuss … and yes, really discuss! And can it be done in a loud voice? Yes, frankly. How many times does a son discuss with his father and in the end they remain always father and son. However, when diplomacy enters in these relationships, be it with the Bishop or with the presbyterate, the Spirit of the Lord isn’t there, because the spirit of freedom is lacking. One must have the courage to say I don’t think of it this way, I think differently, and also the humility to accept a correction. It’s very important. And what is the greatest enemy of these two relationships? Gossip. I often think – why do I also have this temptation to gossip, we have it within us, the devil knows that the seed bears fruit when it is well sown – and I wonder if it isn’t a consequence of a celibate life lived as sterility, not as fecundity. A man alone ends up embittered, he isn’t fruitful and gossips about others. This is an area that doesn’t do good, it is in fact what impedes that evangelical and spiritual and fruitful relationship with the Bishop and the presbyterate. Gossip is the strongest enemy of the diocese, namely, of spirituality. But, you are a man, then, if you have something against the Bishop, go and tell him so. But then there will be consequences that aren’t good. You will carry the cross, but be a man!  If you are a mature man and you see something in your brother priest for which he cannot tolerate correction, go and tell the Bishop and the closest friend of that priest, so that he can help him to correct himself. But do not speak of it to others, because that is to soil one another's reputation, and the devil is happy with that banquet, because in this way he attacks in fact the centre of the spirituality of the diocesan clergy. For me, gossip does much harm. And it’s not a post-conciliar novelty.  Saint Paul already had to face it.

Remember the phrase: I am of Paul, I am of Apollos … Gossip was a reality that was present at the beginning of the Church, because the devil doesn’t want the Church to be a fruitful, united, joyful  Mother. Instead, what is the sign of these two relationships, between the Bishop and between the priest and the other priests, are they going well? It’s joy. Just as bitterness is the sign that there isn’t true diocesan spirituality, because a good relationship is lacking with the Bishop or with the presbyterate, joy is the sign that things are working. One can discuss and get angry, but there is joy above all, and it is important that it remain always in these two relationships which are essential for the spirituality of the diocesan priest.

I would like to turn to another sign, the sign of bitterness. A priest in Rome once said to me: But I see that so many times we are a Church of angry men, always angry with one another; we always have something to be angry about. This leads to sadness and bitterness: there is no joy. When we find in a diocese a priest who lives with so much anger and with tension, we think but in the morning this man has vinegar for breakfast. Then, at lunch, the vegetables have vinegar, and then at night he has a nice lemon juice. So his life isn’t going well, because he is the image of a Church of angry men. Instead, joy is the sign that all is well. One can get angry; it’s also healthy to get angry once in awhile. However, the state of anger is not of the Lord and leads to sadness and a lack of unity. And in the end, you said fidelity to God and to man. It’s the same thing we said earlier. It is a twofold fidelity and a twofold transcendence: to be faithful to God is to seek him, to open oneself to him in prayer, remembering that he is the faithful one, he cannot deny himself, he is always faithful. And then to open ourselves to man and to have that empathy, that respect, that feeling, and to say the right words with patience.

We must stop now, out of love for the faithful who are waiting … But I truly want to thank you, and to ask you to pray for me, because I also have the difficulties of every Bishop and I must also take up again every day the path of conversion. Prayer for one another will do us good to go forward. Thank you for your patience.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Condolences to Alger

The Holy Father had a telegram of condolence sent to the Archbishop of Alger concerning the victims of yesterday's accident which occurred in the skies above Mali involving an AirAlgérie jetliner.


Telegram of condolence
for the aviation accident in Mali

His Excellency, Ghaleb Bader
Archbishop of Alger

Having learned of the tragic accident involving an AirAlgérie jetliner which took place in the skies above Mali, involving many victims, His Holiness, Pope Francis is united in prayer with all the families who are now suffering the loss of those who are dear to them.  He expresses to them his sincere condolences and assures them of his profound sympathy in this moment of suffering and trial.  His Holiness asks the Lord to welcome the dead into the fullness of peace, while praying also for comfort and hope for all those who are affected by this dramatic occurrence.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State

Praise for her witness

Yesterday afternoon at 1:00pm local time, the Holy Father met with Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the 26-year-old Sudanese woman who was imprisoned and sentenced to death a few months ago for having married a Christian man.  The meeting took place at the Domus Sanctae Marthae in the Vatican.



She was accompanied by her husband, Daniel Wani and their two children, Martin (aged thirteen months) and Maya, who was born in prison two months ago.

Along with her family members, Meriam was also accompanied by the Italian Associate Minister for Foreign Affairs, Lapo Pistelli is working with her and with her family to prepare for their transfer to the United States.

The Audience with the Holy Father lasted a little less than thirty minutes and was conducted in a climate of serenity and affection.  The Pope thanked Meriam and her family for their courageous witness to constancy in the faith.  In turn, Meriam expressed her gratitude to the Pope for the support and comfort received from his prayer and from the prayers offered by many other believing people and people of good will.

Pope Francis' personal secretary, Monsignor Yohannis Haid, served as interpreter for the meeting, at the end of which, the Holy Father also greeted the Italian personnel who were accompanying Meriam and her family during their short visit to Italy.

Through this gesture, the Pope wished to demonstrate his closeness, his attentiveness and his prayers which are also being offered for all those who suffer for their faith, particularly for Christians who suffer persecution or other limitations which are placed on their religious freedom.

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Condolences to Taiwan

This morning, the Vatican Press Office published the text of a telegram which was sent yesterday by the Cardinal Secretary of State to the Archbishop of Taipei (Taiwan) in the name of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, after he had learned of an airline accident involving one of the regional transport aircraft operated by TransAsia Airways.


Telegram of Condolences
for the victims of the airline disaster
near Magong (Taiwan)

The Most Reverend John Hung Shan-Chuan
Archbishop of Taipei
President of the Chinese Regional Bishops' Conference

The Holy Father learned with sadness of the air accident near Magong airport and he asks you kindly to convey his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the assurance of his prayers for all affected by this tragedy.  Upon all, he invokes God's blessings of consolation, strength and peace.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Calling for peace at the UN

Today in Geneva, Switzerland, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of the Holy See to the United Nations addressed the 21st Special Session of the Human Rights Council concerning the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory including East Jerusalem.


Statement of His Excellency, Silvano Tomasi
the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations
on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Mr. President,

As the number of people killed, wounded and uprooted from their homes continues to increase in the conflict between Israel and some Palestinian groups, particularly in the Gaza Strip, the voice of reason seems submerged by the blast of arms. Violence will lead nowhere either now or in the future. The perpetration of injustices and the violation of human rights, especially the right to life and to live in peace and security, sow fresh seeds of hatred and resentment. A culture of violence is being consolidated, the fruits of which are destruction and death. In the long run, there can be no winners in the current tragedy, only more suffering.  Most of the victims are civilians, who by international humanitarian law, should be protected. The United Nations estimates that approximately seventy percent of Palestinians killed have been innocent civilians. This is just as intolerable as the rockets and missiles directed indiscriminately toward civilian targets in Israel. Consciences are paralyzed by a climate of protracted violence, which seeks to impose solutions through the annihilation of the other. Demonizing others, however, does not eliminate their rights. Instead, the way to the future, lies in recognizing our common humanity.

During his Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Francis demanded that the present unacceptable situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict be brought to an end (Address of Pope Francis in Bethlehem, May 25, 2014). For the good of all, he said, there is a need to intensify efforts and initiatives aimed at creating the conditions for a stable peace based on justice, on the recognition of the rights of every individual, and on mutual security. The time has come for everyone to find the courage to be generous and creative in the service of the common good, the courage to forge a peace which rests on the acknowledgment by all of the right of two States to exist and to live in peace and security within internationally recognized borders. The legitimate aspiration to security, on one side, and to decent living conditions, on the other, with access to the normal means of existence like medicines, water and jobs, for example, reflects a fundamental human right, without which peace is very difficult to preserve.

The worsening situation in Gaza is an incessant reminder of the necessity to arrive at a cease-fire immediately and to start negotiating a lasting peace. Peace will bring countless benefits for the peoples of this region and for the world as a whole, adds Pope Francis, and so it must resolutely be pursued, even if each side has to make certain sacrifices. It becomes a responsibility of the international community to engage in earnest in the pursuit of peace and to help the parties in this horrible conflict reach some understanding in order to stop the violence and look to the future with mutual trust.

Mr. President,

The Delegation of the Holy See reiterates its view that violence never pays. Violence will only lead to more suffering, devastation and death, and will prevent peace from becoming a reality. The strategy of violence can be contagious and become uncontrollable. To combat violence and its detrimental consequences we must avoid becoming accustomed to killing. At a time where brutality is common and human rights violations are ubiquitous, we must not become indifferent but respond positively in order to attenuate the conflict which concerns us all.

The media should report in a fair and unbiased manner the tragedy of all who are suffering because of the conflict, in order to facilitate the development of an impartial dialogue that acknowledges the rights of everyone, respects the just concerns of the international community, and benefits from the solidarity of the international community in supporting a serious effort to attain peace. With an eye to the future, the vicious circle of retribution and retaliation must cease. With violence, men and women will continue to live as enemies and adversaries, but with peace they can live as brothers and sisters (Words spoken by Pope Francis in the Vatican Gardens, June 8, 2014).

Thank you, Mr. President.

Words having a major impact

The international community learned yesterday that some flights to Tel Aviv's airport were cancelled because of the danger of rocket fire.  The ongoing conflict between militants in Gaza and Israel are being closely watched, and diplomatic possibilities are dwindling although still being pursued.  Meanwhile, the apostolic delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine has recently confirmed that Pope Francis' words on the conflict in Gaza are having an impact in the Holy Land and on a truly tragic situation.


In an interview with Vatican Radio, Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto said the Pope’s words have had a major impact and relayed on all the official media.

Everyone has repeated the appeal of the Holy Father, he continued. That's what we all hope here because the situation is becoming truly tragic. There is a loss of human life that is not acceptable. We must put an end to violence because this creates other conflict situations. They open new wounds that continue to produce even more death.

The Archbishop added: It is urgent that those responsible understand that there is no other path than that of dialogue and negotiation; stakeholders must be helped and should be brought to the negotiating table.

A diplomatic push to broker a truce in Gaza was intensifying on Tuesday as Israel continued its military operation against militants in the territory.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met U.N. Chief Ban Ki-moon in Cairo, and more high-profile talks will be held later. More than 600 Palestinians and 29 Israelis have been killed in the past 14 days of fighting, officials say.

On Sunday, Pope Francis’ renewed his appeal for dialogue and an end to the violence.

Archbishop Lazzarotto said Pope Francis sowed the first seed of dialogue when he hosted the Invocation for Peace in the Holy Land at the Vatican last month. But now it is important to “surround this seed with care, make it grow and make it bear the fruit that it should give.  The gesture needs to be translated into concrete actions which take courage.

People are tired, because the conflict has lasted too long. These recurring incidents of conflict naturally create more frustration, but most of the people want peace.  He said that with the resources it has available, the Church in the Holy Land is doing everything it can in this situation to help, such as providing on-site assistance through local Catholic aid agencies such as Caritas.

Archbishop Lazzarotto concluded by appealing to pilgrims not to stay away from the Holy Land, noting that many pilgrims have canceled their trips, their pilgrimages: But I say that coming to the Holy Land is also a nice gesture of solidarity. It helps to know that other Christians - despite everything - come here.