Baptized and confirmed, we proclaim the Trinity

Here is the reflection I prepared for the Masses that were celebrated this weekend: an opportunity for us to welcome new members into the Church and to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation that took place last weekend.

Some thoughts about the Trinity

Last weekend, we celebrated the Solemnity of Pentecost.  With that celebration, we brought the Easter season to a close, but we are still basking in the light of that magnificent time of grace when Jesus spent some time with his disciples, helping them to understand all that he had taught them.  Last weekend, thirty-two young people from this parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation, and today we have the pleasure of welcoming them among us once again.  This is a time for us to celebrate this special moment in the lives of our newly Confirmed young adults, and to continue strengthening them with our prayer.  Even in the first days after the Holy Spirit had descended upon the disciples and strengthened their faith, they may still have felt as though they had just awoken from a dream, echoing the words that we heard in the first reading today: Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has it ever been heard of? (Deut 4:32) … and yet they knew deep within themselves, without even the shadow of a doubt that they were being led by the Spirit of God as they went about speaking about Jesus.  They also knew deep within them that each of them was a son or a daughter of God (Rom 8:14).

Today, we are the sons and daughters of God.  We are the ones who continue the work of the first disciples.  Like those eleven who went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them, we seek him and we worship him (cf Mt 28:16-17) each time we come to this church or to any place of prayer.

God has given a very special gift to our young people.  In fact, when they were Confirmed, the Holy Spirit presented them with seven very special gifts.  When God gives a gift, it's not like a tangible gift that we might receive and then hide.  The gifts of God are given so that we can share them with others.  So it is that when they came down from that mountain, the Lord sent his disciples into the world, instructing them to go out into the world, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing hem in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you (Mt 28:19-20).  

Since that time, Christ’s disciples and their descendants have continued the work of making disciples throughout the world.  In fact, this weekend, we also had the great joy of celebrating the baptisms of four young children.  As it was for the first disciples, we too are being asked to teach these young ones to obey all that we have been commanded.  

The young people who have recently celebrated Confirmation still need our help.  They have completed the Sacraments of Initiation but they still need us to pray for them, to support and encourage them and to help them in turn to be able to go out to the world, calling others to discover the joy of knowing Jesus, and of daring to become his disciples.

Angelus for the Trinity

At 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 gathered in Saint Peter's Square for the usual Sunday appointment.

Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

prior to the recitation of the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and happy Sunday!

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, which recalls the mystery of one God in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The Trinity is a communion of divine Persons who are one with the other, one for the other, one in the other: this communion is the life of God, the mystery of the love of the living God.  Jesus revealed this mystery.  He spoke with us with God as Father and he spoke with us about himself as the Son of God.  So it was that he revealed this mystery to us.  And when, once resurrected, he sent the disciples to evangelize the Gentiles, he told them to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19).  This command, Christ confides at all times to the Church, which has inherited the missionary mandate from the Apostles.

Therefore, today's liturgical Solemnity, while it allows us to contemplate the wonderful mystery from which we have come and toward which we are are headed, also renews in us the mission to live in communion with God and among us, following the model of divine communion.  We are called to live our lives not one without the other, above or against each other, but one with others, for others and in others.  This means that we are to welcome and bear witness to the concord and the beauty of the Gospel: to live in mutual love and for others, sharing joys and sufferings, learning to ask for and to grant forgiveness, valuing the various charisms under the guidance of our Shepherds.  In a word, we have been entrusted with the task of building up the community of the Church so that we may be more and more a family, able to reflect the splendor of the Trinity and to evangelize not only through words, but with the strength of God's love which is within us.

As I mentioned, the Trinity is also the ultimate goal toward which our earthly pilgrimage leads us.  The journey of all Christian life is in fact essentially trinitarian: the Holy Spirit guides us to the full knowledge of the teachings of Christ, and even reminds us of that which Jesus has taught: it is Jesus, in turn, who came into the world so that we could know the Father, to guide us to Him, so that we could be reconciled with Him.  In Christian life, everything revolves around the mystery of the Trinity and everything is accomplished according to this infinite mystery.  Let us therefore seek to always keep high the tone of our lives, remembering always to what end, for what glory we exist, we work, we struggle, we suffer; and the great prize to which we have been called.  This mystery embraces our entire lives and all of our Christian being.  We remember it, for example, every time we make the sign of the cross: in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Now, I invite you all to do it together, and with a loud voice, the sign of the cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

On this final day of the month of May, the month of Mary, we entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary.  May she who more than any other creature has known, adored and loved the mystery of the Holy Trinity, guide us by the hand: help us to perceive in world events the signs of the presence of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; help us to love the Lord Jesus with all our hearts and to continue toward the fulfillment of the vision of the Trinity, a marvelous goal toward which our lives are aimed.  Let us also ask her to help the Church to be the mystery of communion and a community of welcome, where every person, especially the poor and the marginalized can find welcome and know that he or she is a son or a daughter of God, wanted and loved.

Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:

Today in Bayonne, in France, a priest, Father Louis-Edouard Cestac, the founder of the Sister Servants of Mary was Beatified; his witness to the love of God, love for others and for the Church is a new reason to live the Gospel of charity with great joy.

I greet you all, dear Romans and pilgrims: families, parish groups, associations, schools.  In particular, I greet the faithful from La Valletta (Malta), Cáceres (Spain), and Michoacán (Mexico); all those who have come from Caltamissetta, Soave, Como, Malonno and Perciso Dosimo; and the group from Bovino, along with the Knights of Valleverde.  I greet the children who have received and who are preparing to receive Confirmation, encouraging them to be joyous witnesses of Jesus.

At the end of the month of May, I am spiritually united with all the expressions of devotion to Most Holy Mary; I especially want to mention the great pilgrimage of men to the Sanctuary of Piekary in Poland, which has as its theme this year: The family: a welcoming home.  There are so many Poles in the Square today: let us see you all!  May Our Lady help every family to be a welcoming home.

Next Thursday in Rome, we will have the traditional Corpus Christi procession.  At 7:00pm in the Square outside Saint John Lateran, we will celebrate the Mass and then we will adore the Blessed Sacrament as we walk to the Square outside Saint Mary Major.  I invite you to take part in this solemn public act of faith and of the love of Jesus in the Eucharist, present in the midst of his people.  Before I conclude, let us once again make the sign of the cross, with a loud voice, everyone!  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, remember the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

I wish you all a good Sunday.  Please, don't forget to pray for me.  Enjoy your lunch, and good bye!

With the Association for Science and Life

At 11:30am today, in the Sala Clementina at the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in a Convention which was organized by the Association of Science and Life which was held yesterday at the Tv2000 Congress Centre on the Via Aurelia.  The focus of the gathering was: What science for what life?

Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

to the Association of Science and Life

Dear brothers and sisters,

I welcome you on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the foundation of your Association, and I thank you for this encounter and for your commitment.  I especially want to thank Madam President for the courteous words that she offered to me in your name.

The service you offer t human persons is important and encouraging.  In fact, the protection of and the promotion of life represent a critical task, especially in a society marked by negative logic.  For this reason, I see your Association in the hands which reach out toward other hands to sustain life.

This is a compelling challenge, in which you guide the attitudes of openness, attention and closeness to others in their concrete situations.  This is very good.  Hands that are close not only guarantee stability and equality, they also transmit human warmth.

In order to protect the person, you must place yourselves in the middle of two essential actions: encountering and supporting.  The dynamism of this common motion progresses from the centre toward the periphery.  At the centre, there is Christ, and from this reference point we can orient ourselves toward various conditions of human life.

The love of Christ motivates us (cf 2 Cor 5:14) to make ourselves servants of children and the elderly, of every man and every woman, for whom the primordial right to life should always be protected.  The existence of the human person, to whom you dedicate your concern, is also your central principle; it is life in its unfathomable depth that begins and accompanies the whole scientific journey; it is the miracle of life that always undermines some form of scientific presumption, giving primacy to wonder and beauty.  So it is that Christ, who is the light of man and of the world, illuminates the way for science is wisdom at the service of life.  When this light is dimmed, when knowledge loses contact with life, it becomes sterile.  For this reason, I invite you to maintain the sacredness of every human person, so that science can truly be at the service of humanity, and not man at the service of science.

Scientific reflection uses a magnifying glass to pause and to analyze certain details.  Thanks to this capacity for analysis, we reaffirm the fact that a just society recognizes the primacy of the right to life from the moment of conception until natural death.  I want, however, that we go further, that we think attentively about the time that unites the beginning with the end.  Therefore, recognizing the inestimable value of human life, we should also reflect on the ways in which we use this gift.  Above all, life is a gift.  But this reality creates hope and a future if it is enlivened by fruitful ties and by familial and social relationships that open new perspectives.

The degree of a civilization's progress is measured by its capability to care for life, above all in its different phases of fragility, more than by the spread of technological instruments.  When we speak of humanity, we should never forget all the attacks on the sanctity of human life.  The scourge of abortion is an attack on life.  It is also an attack on life to leave our brothers on boats in the Straight of Sicily.  It is an attack on life if we allow our brothers to die on the job because they do not respect the minimum conditions of security.  It is an attack on life if we allow people to die from malnutrition.  Terrorism, war and violence are also attacks on life; but also euthanasia.  To love life means always to care for others, to love them, to cultivate and to respect their transcendental dignity.

Dear friends, I encourage you to re-launch a renewed culture of life, capable of building networks of trust and reciprocity and knowing how to offer horizons of peace, of mercy and of communion.  Do not be afraid to undertake a fruitful dialogue with everyone in the world of science, even with those who, while they may not be professing believers, remain open to the mystery of human life.

May the Lord bless you and may Our Lady take care of you.  Please, don't forget to pray for me.  Thank you.

Programme for the visit to Turin

This morning, the Vatican Press Centre published the itinerary for the Holy Father's upcoming visit to the city of Turin (Italy), where the well-known Shroud believed to once have enwrapped the body of Jesus is kept.

Itinerary for the visit of His Holiness, Pope Francis

to Turin (Italy) - June 21-22, 2015

Sunday, June 21, 2015
6:30am
Departure from the Vatican for Ciampino Airport

7:00am
Takeoff from Ciampino Airport for the flight to the Torino Caselle Airport

8:00am
Arrival at the Torino Caselle Airport
The Holy Father will be welcomed by

• His Excellency, Cesare Nosiglia, Archbishop of Turin;
• The Honourable Sergio Chiamparino, President of the Piemonte Region;
• Doctor Paola Basilone, Prefect of Turin; and
• The Honourable Piero Fassino, Mayor of Turin.

Transfer by car to Reale Square.  When they reach Rebaudengo Square, the Holy Father will exit the car and continue on foot.

8:30am
In Reale Square, the Holy Father will meet with people from the working world, and will be greeted publicly by a labourer, a farmer and a businessman.  The Holy Father will then deliver a speech, and at the conclusion of the encounter, he will walk to the Cathedral.

9:15am
Inside the Cathedral, the Pope will pray before the Shroud and he will also stop briefly at the altar of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati.  Present with the Holy Father, there will be some cloistered Sisters, priests who are guests at the Diocesan Clergy houses, the Chapter of Canons, the Shroud Commission, some of the relatives of Blessed Piergiorgio Frassati, Cardinal Poletto and the bishops from the Episcopal Conference of Piemonte and Valdosta.

10:00am
The Holy Father will leave the Cathedral and travel to Vittorio Square

10:45am
In Vittorio Square, the Holy Father will preside at the celebration of Mass and will speak the homily.  At the conclusion of the Mass, he will lead the prayer of the Angelus.  Following the Marian prayer, the Holy Father will be publicly thanked by His Excellency, Cesare Nosiglia, Archbishop of Turin.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the Holy Father will travel by car to the Archbishop's residence.  Along the way, as the Holy Father passes by, students from the nearby Military Formation College will line the route.

1:00pm
Inside the Archbishop's residence, the Pope will share lunch with some youth who are presently detained at the Ferrante Aporti Correctional Centre, as well as some immigrants, some homeless people and a family

2:30pm
The Holy Father will leave the Archbishop's residence and travel to the Consolata Shrine

2:40pm
At the Consolata Shrine, His Holiness will spend a moment in private prayer before greeting seminarians who are staying there.  This meeting will take place inside the Shrine.

2:45pm
The Holy Father will leave the Shrine and travel to the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians.  There, he will meet with Salesians and with the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians.  Outside the Basilica, in the nearby Square, the Holy Father will greet young teachers and animators from the Oratory.

The Pope will be formally greeted by Father Ángel Fernández Artime, Major Rector of the Salesians and by Sister Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General of the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians.  The Holy Father will also deliver a speech.

4:00pm
The Holy Father will travel by car to Cottolengo.  In the church at Cottolengo, he will meet with the sick and the disabled.

The Pope will be formally greeted by Father Lino Piano, Father of the Little House and by the father of one of the sick children.  The Holy Father will then address those who are gathered.

5:30pm
At the conclusion of the meeting with the sick, the Holy Father will leave Cottolengo and travel by car to Vittorio Square.

6:00pm
In Vittorio Square, he will meet with young people and will entertain questions from a few of those who are present.  After his talk with the young people, the Pope will return to the Archbishop's residence.

7:30pm
At the Archbishop's residence, the Holy Father will have supper and then rest.

Monday, June 22, 2015
8:45am
The Holy Father will leave the Archbishop's residence and travel by car to the Valdese Temple located on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II.

9:00am
At the entrance to the Temple, the Holy Father will be welcomed by

• Pastor Eugenio Bernardini, Moderator of the Valdese Table;
• The President of the Consistory of the Valdese Evangelical Church; and
• Pastor Paolo Ribet.

In the Temple, there will be greetings presented by Pastor Paolo Ribet, greetings presented by Pastor Eugenio Bernardini, a speech by the Holy Father, songs sung by the choir and the prayer of the Our Father.  When the meeting is completed, the Holy Father will go to an adjoining room where he will meet with a delegation and exchange gifts.

10:15am

The Holy Father will leave the Valdese church and return to the Archbishop's residence.  There the Holy Father will meet privately with a few relatives, celebrate a private Mass with them in the chapel of the Archbishop's residence and then have lunch there with them.

4:30pm
Before leaving the Archbishop's residence, the Holy Father will meet briefly with members of the Committee responsible for the organization of the Shroud exhibition as well as some of the supporters.

5:00pm
The Holy Father will leave the Archbishop's residence and travel by car to the Torino Caselle Airport.  Along the way, the Holy Father will be greeted by youth from the Summer Boys camp.

5:30pm
Departure from Torino Caselle Airport.

6:30pm
Arrival at the Ciampino Airport from where the Holy Father will immediately travel by car to the Vatican.

Some thoughts on promoting the New Evangelization

At 12:15pm today, in the Consistory Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

addressed to participants in the 

Plenary of the Pontifical Council for the 

Promotion of the New Evangelization

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am happy to be able to receive you at the conclusion of your Plenary Session which has committed you to a theme that is of great importance for the life of the Church: the relationship between evangelization and catechesis.  I am also happy to welcome the members of the International Council for Catechesis, which from now on will enjoy an integral place in your Dicastery.  I thank His Excellency, Rino Fisichella for the initial greeting and, together with him, I thank all the members of the Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization which is committed to the preparation of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy: a Holy Year which I have confided to you so that you might make more evident the fact that the gift of mercy is to be proclaimed and that the Church is called to pass on this good news in her work of evangelization, especially in this time of great change.

These very changes are a happy challenge to recognize the signs of the times that the Lord offers to the Church so that she is capable - as she has been capable of doing during the past two thousand years - of bringing Jesus Christ to men and women of our time.  The mission is still the same, but the language with which the gospel is proclaimed needs to be renewed with pastoral wisdom.  This is essential in order that the message might be understood by our contemporaries, and in order that the Catholic Traditions might speak to the culture of today's world and help it to aspire to the perennial fruitfulness of Christ's message.  These are very challenging times, which we should not be afraid to make our own.  In fact, only in the measure to which we are willing to care for others will we be able to offer coherent responses that have been elaborated upon in the light of the gospel.  This is what people expect from the Church today: that she be able to walk with them offering the company of the witness of faith, which renders one united with all, in particular with those who are most alone and marginalized. How many poor – including those who are poor in faith – await the Gospel that liberates! How many men and women, in the existential peripheries generated by the consumer, atheist society, await our closeness and our solidarity! The Gospel is the proclamation of the love of God that, in Jesus Christ, calls us to participate in his life. Hence, the New Evangelization is this: to be aware of the merciful love of the Father so that we also become instruments of salvation for our brothers.

This awareness, which is sowed in the heart of every Christian from the day of his Baptism, calls for growth, together with the life of grace in order to bear much fruit. The great topic of catechesis is inserted here as the space within which the life of Christians matures because it experiences the mercy of God. Not an abstract idea of mercy, but a concrete experience through which we understand our weakness and the strength that comes from on high. It is good that the daily prayer of the Church begins with these words: Be pleased, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! (Psalm 70:2). The help we invoke is already the first step of God’s mercy toward us. He comes to save us from the condition of weakness in which we live. And his help consists in making us grasp his presence and his closeness. Touched by his compassion, day by day we can also become compassionate to all (Misericordiae Vultus, 14).

The Holy Spirit, who is the protagonist of evangelization, is also the architect of the growth of the Church in understanding the truth of Christ. It is He who opens the hearts of believers and transforms them, so that the forgiveness received can become an experience of love for our brothers. It is always the Spirit that opens the minds of Christ’s disciples to understand in greater depth the commitment required and the ways with which to give weight and credibility to the testimony. We are in such need of the Spirit, to open our minds and our hearts.

Therefore, the question about how we are educating in the faith is not rhetorical but essential. The answer calls for courage, creativity and determination to undertake ways that have yet to be explored. Catechesis, as a component of the process of evangelization, needs to go beyond the simple scholastic sphere to educate believers from the time of childhood, to encounter Christ, alive and working in his Church. It is the encounter with Him that arouses the desire to know him better and then to follow him: to become his disciples. Therefore, the challenge of the New Evangelization and of catechesis is in fact staked on this fundamental point: how to encounter Christ, and what is the most coherent place to find Him and follow Him.

I assure you of my closeness and my support in this very urgent task for our communities. I entrust you to the Virgin Mother of Mercy; may her support and her intercession help you in this exacting task. I bless you with all my heart and please, I ask you to pray for me.

Slovenia at the Vatican

This morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Miro Cerar, who subsequently met with His Eminence, the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

In the cordial discussions, the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Slovenia were highlighted, and the Parties confirmed their common will to continue constructive dialogue on bilateral themes regarding the relations between Church and State, with particular reference to the process of national reconciliation, human and religious values, and joint collaboration to promote the common good of society and of the poor.

Conducting another train

Today, we celebrated a funeral for one of the parishioners who was known and loved by many.  He has been infirmed for a number of years, but despite his physical absence from our weekly assemblies, he has not been forgotten.

Funeral homily for André Rioux

We have come to this place today to pray for our brother André.  This moment of prayer is both a time for remembering the good that we have known throughout the years that God has granted us to share with him, and a time for looking forward to the ways in which we will use the wisdom we have learned from him to better our own lives.

André and his wife Jeanine lived for many years in Chapleau.  It was there that they raised their two children: Jocelynne and Gerald.  During this period of his life, André worked for many years with C.P. Rail.  A dedicated employee, he was also a loving father, who together with his wife raised two wonderful children and taught them everything they could about living life to the fullest, about the value of an honest day’s work, and about the great gift of our faith.  When André retired, he and Jeanine moved to North Bay and they began attending this parish.  It wasn’t long before they too caught the Spirit of Saint Peter’s and began making friends here and sharing their talents and gifts with this community.  A few years ago, when Jeanine died, it was this community that helped André and his family to face the pain of their loss and to remember the good news that we all carry within us: Jesus Christ is risen from the dead (2 Tim 2:8).  This is the truth that each of us has come to know. 

The true strength of our faith, the reason why we are gathered here today, is the fact that Jesus Christ suffered and died … and then he rose from the dead.  Because Jesus rose from the dead, we have the gift of hope, and hope is the gift which made it possible for Saint Paul to say to Timothy, his disciple in faith: if we have died with Christ, then we shall live with him; if we hold firm, then we shall reign with him (2 Tim 2:11-12).  Hope is the gift that André saw every day in the eyes of his beloved wife; hope is the gift he saw in the eyes of his children and his grandchildren, and in the eyes of each one of the children who rode the Heritage Railway, a cause to which he was dedicated for many years. Hope is the gift he witnessed in the eyes of every one of the clients who came into the soup kitchen.  Hope is the virtue that made it possible for him to continue giving of his time in so many ways. 

Even in his latter years, when a stroke made it no longer possible for him to volunteer his time, when his physical mobility was limited and he was figuratively nailed to a cross beside Jesus, he did not lose hope.  In moments of human weakness, we might be tempted to respond to such trials with the words that were spoken by one of the voices that day: If you are the Christ, save yourself and us as well (Lk 23:39), but although he may have asked such a question at another moment, André asked only one thing of Jesus: remember me when you come into your kingdom (Lk 23:42).  These are the words of one who has truly come to know how much he is loved – the words of a man of faith who has known his share of successes and failures, trials and tribulations – the words of one who knows that when all is said and done, Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and if Christ rose from the dead, so will we.

In this life, André truly knew the gift of love, made known to him in the relationships he shared with co-workers, with friends and most especially with the members of his family: his wife, his children and his beloved grandchildren.  Today we rejoice with him because now that his earthly journey is complete, he is able to experience a still deeper meaning of love as he sits at the banquet table in heaven: a banquet of rich food (Is 25:6), a banquet of spending eternity in the company of those he loves and those who love him, a banquet that awaits us all, a banquet that we too will share when our journey is complete.  That day, it will be said: See, this is our God in whom we hoped for salvation … we exult and rejoice that he has saved us.

Annual Report of the AIF

At 11:00 this morning, in the John Paul II Hall at the Vatican Press Centre, there was a briefing held to present the Annual Report of the Financial Information Authority (AIF) concerning the activity of financial information and vigilance that is being followed in order to prevent and to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing during the third year of the AIF's existence (2014).

Presentations during this Press Conference were provided by Doctor René Brülhart, President of the AIF and Doctor Tommaso Di Ruzza, Director of the AIF.

Press Release

concerning the 2014 Annual Report

published by the AIF

Supervisory framework and international cooperation system further strengthened

The Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria (AIF) of the Holy See and the Vatican City State has presented its Annual Report for 2014. The report reviews the activities and statistics of the AIF for the year 2014.

2014 has seen a continuous strengthening of the legal and institutional framework of the Holy See and the Vatican City State to regulate supervised entities, fostering international cooperation of the Vatican competent authority with its foreign counterparts and to consolidate the prevention and countering of potential illicit financial activities.

With the introduction of Regulation No. 1, we have completed the prudential supervisory framework of the Holy See and Vatican City State, said René Brülhart, President of AIF. By signing Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) with other Financial Intelligence Units of 13 countries, including Australia, France and the UK as well as with the Regulators of Germany, Luxembourg and the United States of America, we have also massively strengthened international cooperation.

The reporting system has been consolidated after having received 6 suspicious transaction reports (STR) in 2012, 202 in 2013 and 147 in 2014. Such development is a consequence both of the full implementation of the legal framework and of the substantial improvement in the operational performance of the supervised entities with regard to the prevention of financial crime. Seven (7) reports have been passed on to the Vatican Promoter of Justice for further investigation by judicial authorities. The number of cases of bilateral cooperation between AIF and foreign competent authorities has increased from 4 in 2012 to 81 in 2013 and 113 in 2014. This continuous increase is a result of the systematic efforts undertaken by AIF as well as the strong commitment of the Holy See and the Vatican City State to cooperate actively with other jurisdictions to prevent and combat potential illicit financial activities globally, said Tommaso di Ruzza, Director of AIF.

Since 2012, the number of declarations of outgoing cash above the amount of EUR 10,000 has steadily decreased from 1,782 (2012) to 1,557 (2013) and 1,111 in 2014. Declarations for incoming cash have also decreased from 598 (2012) to 550 (2013) and 429 in 2014. This is due to an increased monitoring by the competent authorities and the introduction of reinforced procedures at the supervised entities.

In the initial trimester of 2014, AIF conducted the first ordinary on-site inspection of the IOR to verify the implementation of the measures taken to prevent and counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism pursuant to Law No. XVIII dated 8 October 2013. The first on-site inspection of the IOR is an important consequence and a concrete sign of the effectiveness of the AML/CFT system adopted by the Holy See and the Vatican City State, said Tommaso Di Ruzza. To follow closely the implementation of and compliance with the new prudential regulatory framework by the supervised entities will be one of the key tasks of AIF in the near future.

The inspection has shown no fundamental shortcomings at the IOR. As a result of the inspection, AIF has developed an action plan for the full and systematic adjustment of existing procedures to the required standards in accordance with Law No. XVIII.

About AIF

The Financial Intelligence Authority is the competent authority of the Holy See and the Vatican City State for supervision and financial intelligence for the prevention and countering of money-laundering and financing of terrorism.

Established by Pope Benedict XVI with the Apostolic Letter in form of Motu Proprio dated 30 December 2010, AIF carries out its institutional activity according to the Statute adopted by Pope Francis on 15 November 2013 and to Vatican City State Law No. XVIII dated 8 October 2013, concerning transparency, supervision and financial intelligence.

In 2014, AIF signed MOUs with Argentina, Australia, Cyprus, France, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Peru, Poland, the United Kingdom, Romania, San Marino and Switzerland. In previous years, AIF had already signed MOUs with Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and the United States of America. AIF is a member of the Egmont Group since 2013.

Bishops from the Dominican Republic at the Vatican

At 9:00am today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience, the Bishops from the Episcopal Conference of the Dominican Republic who are in Rome for their visit ad Limina Apostolorum.

Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

to the Bishops of the Dominican Republic

Dear brothers in the Episcopacy,

I welcome you most warmly on the occasion of your visit ad limina Apostolorum.  I hope that these days of reflection and prayer at the tombs of the Saints Peter and Paul are a source of renewal for you and that they serve to strengthen the ties of ecclesial communion in order that you might respond more fervently to the promotion of a joint and coordinated effort toward the promotion of spiritual and material growth in the portion of the People of God that has been confided to your care.  I appreciate the kind words that His Excellency, Gregorio Nicanor Peña Rodríguez, Bishop of Our Lady of Altagracia in Higüey and President of the Dominican Episcopal Conference has offered in your name.

The beginnings of evangelization on the American continent always bring to mind the memory of Dominican soil which first received the rich deposit of faith brought by the missionaries and which they faithfully and consistently proclaimed.  Its effect is still perceived today in the Christian values that encourage coexistence and various social efforts toward education, culture and health.  In addition, the Church in the Dominican Republic is alive with many parishes which include a large group of committed lay faithful and a consistent number of vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life.  Together, we thank the Lord for all that has been done and all that is being done in each of your local Churches.

Today, the Church is present, walking in those beloved lands along with her children in search of a happy and prosperous future in spite of the challenges of our time which affect social and ecclesial life, and especially the lives of families.  Thus I call upon you to accompany men and women on their journey in search of strengthening the faith and identity of all members of the Church.

Both marriage and the family are experiencing a period of cultural crisis.  However, this does not mean that either has lost its importance, rather that we feel even more the need for their presence.  The family is the place where we learn to share our lives, even in moments of difficulty, to forgive and to experience forgiveness, and where fathers pass on to their children the values and especially the faith.  Matrimony, seen merely as a form of emotional gratification, remains an indispensable contribution to society (cf Evangelii gaudium, 66).  During the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy, do not give up on the work of matrimonial and family reconciliation, nor on the search for a peaceful coexistence: There is urgent need for a broad catechetical effort regarding the Christian ideal for conjugal communion and family life including a spirituality for fatherhood and for motherhood.  You must pay greater pastoral attention to the roles men play as husbands and fathers, and the responsibility they share with their wives for their marriages, their families and for the education of their children (Ecclesia in America, 46).  Let us present the beauty of Christian Marriage - being married in the Lord - as an act of faith and love in which the spouses, through their freely-given consent, themselves become transmitters of the blessing and grace of God for the Church and for society.

I invite you to dedicate some time and to look after the priests, to take care of each one of them, to defend them from the wolves that also attack the pastors. The Dominican clergy is distinguished for its fidelity and its practice of Christian life. May your commitment to the weak and needy help you to overcome the worldly tendency toward mediocrity. Do not neglect human, intellectual and spiritual formation in the Seminaries, ensuring a true encounter with the Lord, without ceasing to cultivate pastoral dedication and an affective maturity that will make the seminarians ideally suited to embrace priestly celibacy and capable of living and working in communion. The Seminaries cannot be filled with any kind of motivations, and less so if these are related to affective insecurities, the search for forms of power, human glories or economic wellbeing (EG, 107).

The pastoral and charitable care of immigrants, especially those from neighbouring Haiti, who seek better conditions of life in the Dominican territory, does not admit the indifference of the pastors of the Church. What is needed is that you continue collaborating with the civil authorities to reach unified solutions to the problems of those who are deprived of documents or are denied their basic rights. It is inexcusable not to promote initiatives of fraternity and peace between the two nations, which make up that beautiful Island in the Caribbean. It is important to be able to integrate the immigrants into society and to receive them in the ecclesial community. I thank you for being close to them and to all those who suffer, as a gesture of the loving solicitude for a brother who feels alone and unprotected, one with whom Christ himself identified.

I know of your efforts and concerns to appropriately address the grave problems that affect our nations, such as the trafficking of drugs and of persons, corruption, domestic violence, the abuse and exploitation of minors and social insecurity. From the intimate connection that exists between evangelization and human promotion, all actions of Mother Church must seek and look after the good of the less favoured. All efforts that are motivated in this way will enhance the presence of the Kingdom of God that Jesus Christ brought, at the same time as they will give credibility to the Church and relevance to the voice of her pastors.

The Continental Mission, promoted by the Document of Aparecida , and the Third National Pastoral Plan must be the two engines driving the joint activity of the local Churches. However, keep in mind that it is not enough to have well-formulated plans and festive celebrations if they do not permeate the daily life of our people.

Therefore, it is indispensable that the Dominican laity, which is perceived as very present in the works of evangelization at the national, diocesan, parish and community levels, not neglect its doctrinal and spiritual formation, and receive constant support, so that it is able to bear witness to Christ by penetrating those environments where often the Bishops, priests and Religious cannot reach. It is also necessary that the pastoral activities for young people receive careful attention so that they are not distracted by the confusion of the anti-values that seek to overwhelm youth today.

Without having the orientation that the parents and the Church want to give to the formation of the new generations, the civil laws tend to substitute the teaching of religion in the school with religious education of a multi-confessional nature or by mere illustration of ethics and religious culture. A vigilant and courageous attitude cannot be lacking in those committed to this service and educational mission, so that in all schools there is an education in keeping with the moral and religious principles of the families (cf. Gravissimum educationis, 7). It is important to offer children and young people catechetical teaching in accordance with the truth we have received from Christ, the Word of the Father.

Finally, to conclude, and keeping in mind the beauty and colour of the countryside of the beautiful Dominican Republic, I invite all of you to renew your commitment to the conservation and care of the environment. Man’s relationship with nature must not be governed by greed, manipulation or unbridled exploitation, but it must preserve the divine harmony between creatures and creation in order to place them at the service of all people including future generations.

Brothers, I ask you please, to take to the beloved Dominican sons and daughters the Pope’s affectionate greeting, which he entrusts to the intercession of Our Lady of Altagracia, whom they contemplate in the mystery of Her divine maternity. I ask you to pray for me and I impart to you my heartfelt Apostolic Blessing.

Croatia at the Vatican

This morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Her Excellency Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of Republic of Croatia, who subsequently met with the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia, further reinforced by the recent Agreements stipulated between the Parties, was affirmed. Furthermore, themes of common interest were considered, such as the collaboration between the Church and the State for the common good of Croatian society, especially the support of families and the young.

Attention then turned to the social consequences of the global economic crisis, and the main challenges at a regional level, with particular attention to the situation of Croatians in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

General Audience on the period of engagement

Today's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square, where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from various parts of Italy and all corners of the world.

During his speech, the Pope continued the cycle of catecheses on the family, focusing on the period of engagement between a couple who intends to be married.

The teaching was then summarized in various languages and the Holy Father offered greetings to each of the groups of faithful that was present.

The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster  and the Apostolic Blessing.

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the General Audience

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Continuing the catecheses on the family, today, I want to speak about the period of engagement.  Being engaged - we hear it in the word - is about trust and confidence and reliability.  Confidence in the vocation that God gives, for matrimony is above all the discovery of a call from God.  Certainly, it is a good thing that today young people can choose to be married based on mutual love.  But the freedom to enter into such a commitment requires a conscious harmony in the decision, not only a simple intention based on attraction or sentiment, a passing fancy based on a brief experience ... it is a part of the journey.

In other words, engagement is the time in which two people are called to work hard on love, an in-depth task that requires participation and shared commitment. As they discover one another, that is, as a man gets to know woman by getting to know this woman, his fiancée; and a woman gets to know man by getting to know this man, her fiancé. We must not underestimate the importance of this knowledge: it is a necessary obligation, and love itself requires it, because it is not only a light-hearted happiness, an enchanted emotion ... The biblical account speaks of the entire creation as the good work of the love of God; the Book of Genesis says that God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). Only when all was created did God rest.  From this image we understand that the love of God, which brought the world into being was not an extemporaneous decision. No! It was good work. The love of God created the conditions for an irrevocable, solid alliance that is destined to last.

The covenant of love between man and woman, a covenant for life, is not improvised; it is not made from one day to another. There is no express marriage: one must work on love, one must journey. The alliance of love between man and woman is learned and refined. Permit me to say that it is a crafted alliance. To make two lives into only one life, is also almost a miracle, a miracle of freedom and of the heart, entrusted to faith. Perhaps we must make more of an effort on this point, because our sentimental coordinates have become somewhat confused. One who pretends to want everything immediately, then yields also to everything - and right away - at the first difficulty -  (or on the first occasion). If this tendency prevails, there is no hope for the trust and the fidelity of the gift of self to consume love as a sort of integrator of psychic-physical wellbeing. This is not love! The period of engagement puts into focus the will to protect together something that must never be purchased or sold, betrayed or abandoned, no matter how tempting the offer might be. However God also, when he speaks of the alliance with his people, does so at times in terms of engagement. In the Book of Jeremiah, speaking of the people that had distanced themselves from him, he reminds them of a time when they were the bride of God and says: I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride (Jeremiah 2:2). And God undertook this journey of engagement; then he also made a promise: we heard it at the beginning of this audience, in the Book of Hosea: I will make you my bride for ever, I will make you my bride in justice and in law, in love and in benevolence. I will make you my bride in fidelity and you will know the Lord (Hosea 2:21-22). Long is the journey that the Lord travels with his people in this course of engagement. In the end, God marries his people in Jesus Christ: he marries the Church in Jesus. The People of God is the bride of Jesus. But what a long way we have travelled! And you, Italians, in your literature have a masterpiece on the subject of engagement (I Promessi Sposi - The Spousal Promises). Young people need to know about this masterpiece; they need to know that they should read it. It is a masterpiece, which tells the story of an engaged couple who suffered so much pain; they travelled a path full of difficulties until they arrived in the end at marriage. Do not leave aside this masterpiece on engagement that Italian literature has in fact offered you. Go ahead, read it and you will see the beauty, the suffering, but also the fidelity of the engaged couple.

In her wisdom, the Church keeps the distinction between being engaged and being married – it is not the same – precisely in view of the delicacy and depth of this verification. Let’s be careful not to scorn light-heartedly this wise teaching, which is nourished also by the experience of conjugal love that is happily lived. The strong symbols of the body hold the keys of the soul: we cannot treat the bonds of the flesh with frivolity, without opening some lasting wound in the spirit (1 Corinthians 6:15-20).

Certainly today’s culture and society have become rather indifferent to the delicacy and the seriousness of this passage. And on the other hand, it cannot be said that modern-day culture is generous with young people who are seriously intending to start a home and bring children into the world! Rather, it often puts a thousand obstacles in their path, both mental and practical. The period of engagement is a stage of life that must mature like fruit, it is a path of maturation in love, until the moment when it becomes marriage.

Pre-marital courses are a special expression of this preparation, and we see so many couples who perhaps arrive at the course somewhat against their will, But these priests make us take a course! But why? We already know everything we need to know! – and they attend against their will. But afterwards they are happy and thank us, because in fact they found an occasion – often the only one! – to reflect on their experience in terms that aren't trivial. Yes, many couples are together for a long time, perhaps also in intimacy, sometimes living together, but they don’t really know one another. It seems strange, but experience shows that it is so. Because of this, the engagement period is re-evaluated as a time of getting to know one another and of sharing a plan. Preparation courses for marriage are marked by this perspective, also making use of the simple but intense testimony of Christian spouses and pointing also to the essential: the Bible, which must be rediscovered together, in a conscious way; prayer, in its liturgical dimension, but also in domestic prayer, must be lived in the family, the Sacraments, the sacramental life, Confession, ... in which the Lord comes to dwell with the engaged couple and prepares them to truly receive one another with the grace of Christ; and fraternity with the poor, with the needy, who stir us to sobriety and sharing. Engaged couples that work on these aspects grow ... and all this leads to preparing a lovely celebration of Marriage in a different way, not in a worldly but in a Christian way! We think of these words of God that we heard when he spoke to his people as the fiancé to his fiancée: I will make you my bride for ever, I will make you my bride in justice and in law, in love and in benevolence. I will make you my bride in fidelity and you will know the Lord (Hosea 2:21-22). May every engaged couple think of this and say to one another: I will make you my bride, I will make you my husband. To wait for that moment; it is a moment, it is a path that goes slowly ahead, but it is a path toward maturation. The stages of the journey must not be ignored. Maturation is done like this, step by step.

The time of engagement can truly become a time of initiation, to what end? To surprise! -- to the surprise of spiritual gifts with which the Lord, through the Church, enriches the horizon of the new family that is preparing to live in his blessing. Now I invite you to pray to the Holy Family of Nazareth: Jesus, Joseph and Mary. Pray that all families will undertake this course of preparation; pray for engaged couples. Let us pray all together to Our Lady a Hail Mary for all engaged couples, that they may understand the beauty of this journey toward Marriage. (Hail Mary ...) And to the engaged couples that are in the Square: Have a good period of engagement!

The Holy Father's catechesis was then repeated in summary in various languages, and he himself offered greetings to each of the linguistic groups present for the Audience.  To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from Great Britain, Switzerland, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Canada and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke an abundance of joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!