Meeting with the Christian Union of Business Executives

At 12:15pm today, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the members of the Christian Union of Business Executives (UCID).

Speech of His Holiness, Pope Francis

to members of the Christian Union of Business Executives

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I extend a cordial welcome to all of you, and I thank Cardinal De Giorgi and the National President for having introduced our gathering.

The Christian Union of Business Executives brings together Catholic entrepreneurs who set a goal for themselves of being architects of development for the sake of the common good.  In order to do this, you give great importance to Christian formation, brought about above all through the deepening of the social teachings of the Church.  This commitment to training is the basis for the action, both personal, in order to live out your profession, and that which is associated with the apostolate of the environment.  I therefore urge you to enthusiastically persevere your formative activities, in order to be able to provide both fermentation and stimulation through your words and your example in the business world.

As an ecclesial association, recognized by the Bishops, you are called to live in fidelity to the call of the gospel and of the social doctrine of the Church in your families, in your work and in society.  This witness is very important, and this is the reason why I encourage you to live your entrepreneurial vocation in a spirit of lay missionaries.  The activity of entrepreneurs is in fact a noble work, a noble vocation, provided that those engaged in it see themselves challenged by a greater meaning in life; this will enable them truly to serve the common good by striving to increase the goods of this world and to make them more accessible to all (Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 203). 

Companies and the executive offices within such companies can become places of holiness, through a common commitment to building fraternal relationships between entrepreneurs, managers and staff, encouraging co-responsibility and collaboration in regard to common interests.  It is crucial that you pay particular attention to the quality of the work life of your employees who are the most precious resources a company can have; especially attention that is paid to harmonizing work and family.  I am particularly concerned about women: the challenge is to care both for their right for work that fully recognizes their vocation of motherhood and their presence within the family.  How many times, how many times have we heard that a woman goes to her boss and says: I have to tell you that I am pregnant, and the employer replies: At the end of the month, you are no longer employed.  Women must be cared for, assisted in this double work: their right to work and their right to be mothers.  It is also the responsibility of enterprise to defend and to care for creation and to bring about progress that is healthier, more human, more social and more integral (Encyclical Letter, Laudato Si', 112).

This call to be missionaries of the social dimension of the gospel in the difficult and complex world of work, the economy and enterprise, also brings with it an openness and an evangelical closeness to various situations of poverty and fragility.  It is also a matter of an attitude, of a style with which you carry out various plans for promotion and support, increasing the many and praiseworthy concrete works of sharing and solidarity that you support in various parts of Italy.  This will also be a way for you yourselves to put into practice the grace of the Jubilee of Mercy.  Someone among you might say to me: Ah, Father, I am merciful ... we do a bit of charitable work ... It is not enough to help, it is not enough to do a little bit of charity, this is not enough, maybe it is a first step.  We have to direct economic activity in an evangelical sense, that is to say in service to people and to the common good.  From this perspective, you are called to work together in order to increase an entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiarity, in order to face together the ethical challenges and those of the market, first among all the challenges of creating good opportunities for work.  Be mindful of the young, I think that 40% of the youth in this part of the world today are unemployed.  In another nearby country, the rate is 47%; in another one close by, it is more than 50%.  Be mindful of the youth but be creative in finding opportunities for work which will help them to grow and give them employment, for those who have no work not only cannot earn their living but they also lose their dignity!  As you trace out the way ahead, contribute also to initiatives aimed at helping them to work and to study, in order to be of assistance to them.

Business has an asset of common interest, even if it is privately owned and operated, for the mere fact that it pursues objectives of general interest and relevance, such as economic development, innovation and employment for example, and for this reason it should be protected as a good in and of itself.  Institutions in the first place are called to do this work as well as entrepreneurs, economists, financial agencies and banks, and all those involved must not fail to act with competence, honesty and a sense of responsibility.  The economy and business need ethics in order to function well; not any kind of ethic, but an ethic which focuses on people and communities.  Today, I renew with you the mandate to be committed together to this end; and to bear fruit to the extent that the gospel is lived and present in your hearts, your minds and your actions.

I entrust you all, your work, your families and your employees to the protection of Saint Joseph the worker, the great Saint Joseph.  I invoke upon each of you the blessing of the Lord, and I ask you please to pray for me: I also entrust this work to you!

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the Vatican

This morning, Saturday 31 October 2015, the Holy Father Francis received in audience in the Vatican Apostolic Palace His Excellency Mister Gjorge Ivanov, President of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, who subsequently met with His Eminence, the Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

During the discussions, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, the Parties expressed their satisfaction at the existing good bilateral relations, and their hope for the realization of the country’s aspirations and increasing efforts to join the European Union.

Attention then turned to various themes of international politics in the current global context, also in relation to persistent difficulties of an economic and social nature, and the need for joint efforts to offer assistance to the great number of refugees arriving in the region.

Finally, the Parties recognized the importance of further encouraging the co-existence of and dialogue between the various ethnic and religious groups in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

With pilgrims from El Salvador

At 12:20pm today, in the Sala Regia at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a group of pilgrims from El Salvador who are in Rome to thank God for the Beatification of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero.

Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

to pilgrims from El Salvador

Dear brothers in the Episcopacy,
Authorities,
Priests, Religious Men and Women, Seminarians,
brothers and sisters.

Good morning.  With great joy I receive your visit today, and I welcome you here most cordially, wishing to demonstrate my affection for all people of your beloved nation.  I thank His Excellency, José Luis Escobar, President of your Episcopal Conference for his words of welcome, and I thank you all for the warmth of your presence and your enthusiasm.

You bring with you to Rome your joy at the Beatification of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero, a good shepherd who was filled with love for God and always stayed close to his brothers.  Living the dynamism of the Beatitudes, he gave his life in a most violent way, while celebrating the Eucharist, the supreme sacrifice of love, sealing with his own blood the gospel he proclaimed.

From the beginning of the Church's life, Christians, motivated by the words of Christ which remind us that unless a grain of wheat should fall into the ground and die, it remains a simple grain (Jn 12:24),  we have always had the conviction that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity, as Tertulian said.  The blood of many Christian martyrs even today, in dramatic fashion, is still shed in the field of the world, with the certain hope that it will bear fruit in a rich harvest of holiness, justice, reconciliation and love of God ... but remember that we are not born martyrs.  This is a grace that is given by the Lord in a way that concerns all the baptized.  Archbishop Romero recalled: We must be willing to die for our faith, even if the Lord does not give us this honour ... Giving one's life does not only mean being assassinated; giving life - having the spirit of martyrdom - means offering it in silence, in prayer, in the honest fulfillment of one's duty; in the silence of everyday life; giving life little by little (General Audience, 7 January 2015).

Indeed, the martyr is not someone relegated to the past, a beautiful image that adorns our churches and which we recall with a certain nostalgia. No, the martyr is a brother, a sister, who continues to accompany us in the communion of saints and who, united with Christ, does not ignore our earthly pilgrimage, our sufferings, our anxieties. In the recent history of this beloved country, the witness of Archbishop Romero has joined that of other brothers and sisters … who are a treasure and well-founded hope for the Church and for Salvadoran society. The impact of his commitment can still be felt in our time.

Dear Salvadoran friends, just a few weeks before the beginning of the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, the example of Archbishop Romero constitutes, for his beloved nation, a stimulus toward a renewed proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to announce it in a way that all people can understand, so that the merciful love of the Divine Saviour enters the heart and the history of this good people. The holy people of God who continue their pilgrimage in El Salvador have a series of difficult tasks ahead of them, which require, as in the rest of the world, an evangelizing proclamation which will help them to work toward the promotion and advancement of a nation in search of true justice, authentic peace and reconciliation of hearts.

On this occasion, with much affection for each one of you who is present, and for all Salvadorans, I make my own the sentiments of Blessed Archbishop Romero, who with well-founded hope longed to see the happy time when the terrible suffering of many of our brothers, due to hate, violence and injustice, would disappear. May the Lord, with a shower of mercy and goodness and a torrent of grace convert all hearts, and may the beautiful homeland He has given you, that bears the name of the Divine Saviour, be transform into a country where all are redeemed and all are brothers, without differences, since we are all one in Christ our Lord (cf Archbishop Óscar Romero, Homily at Aguilares, 19 June 1977).

I also wish to add something we are forgetting. The martyrdom of Archbishop Romero was not fulfilled at the moment of his death – it was a martyrdom of witness, of prior suffering and prior persecution, up to the moment of his death. But even afterwards, following his death – I was a young priest and a witness to this – he was defamed, slandered, his memory despoiled, and his martyrdom continued also for his brothers in the priesthood and in the episcopate. I do not speak of rumours, but rather things I have heard. Or perhaps it is best to see it thus: a man who continues to be a martyr. After having given his life, he continues to give it by allowing himself to be assailed by all this misunderstanding and slander. This gives me strength. Only God knows the stories of those people who have given their lives, who have died, and continue to be stoned with the hardest stone that exists in the world: language.

Through the intercession of Our Lady of Peace, whose feast we celebrated a few days ago, I invoke the blessing of God upon you and upon all the beloved sons and daughters of this beloved land.

Thank you very much.

A quick visit to Florence

The Holy See's Press Office has released the schedule for the Holy Father's upcoming visit to Prato and Florence to mark the occasion of the 5th National Convention of the Italian Church.

Itinerary for the visit of His Holiness, Pope Francis

to Prato and Florence

Tuesday, 10 November 2015
7:00am
Departure of the helicopter from the Vatican

8:00am
Arrival at the community sports field in Prato

8:15am
Visit to the Cathedral of Prato
Meeting with labourers in the Cathedral Square
(Speech by the Holy Father)

9:00am
Departure for Florence

9:15am
Arrival at the Luigi Ridolfi Stadium in Florence

9:45am
Visit to the Baptistry in Florence

10:00am
Meeting with participants in the National Convention of the Italian Church in the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
(Speech by the Holy Father)

12:00pm
Recitation of the Angelus and greetings to the sick in the Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation

12:30pm
Lunch with the poor at the Table of Saint Francis the Poor in Annunciation Square

3:15pm
Mass in the Artennio Franchi Stadium
(Homily by the Holy Father)

4:45pm
Final greetings to Authorities in the Luigi Ridolfi Stadium

5:00pm
Departure of the helicopter from Florence

6:00pm
Arrival of the helicopter at the Vatican

An Inter-religious General Audience

At 10:00am this morning, in Saint Peter's Square, an Inter-religious General Audience was held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate.  Before making his way to the General Audience in Saint Peter's Square, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with some sick and disabled pilgrims who were gathered in the Paul VI Hall due to inclement weather.

Present at today's General Audience were representatives of various religions and participants who are taking part in an International Convention which was organized on this occasion by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue in collaboration with the Commission for religious relations with Jews and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, as well as the Pontifical Gregorian University.

This meeting began with greetings offered by the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, and by the President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, Cardinal Kurt Koch; then, following the reading of an excerpt from Nostra Aetate in various languages, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared a meditation on this theme.

The Pope also extended particular greetings to groups of the faithful who were present.  He then issued a call for solidarity with the people of Pakistan and of Afghanistan who recently experienced a devastating earthquake.

The Audience concluded with a moment of personal silent prayer and a greeting offered to representatives of various religions who were present.

Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

to the sick and disabled gathered in the Paul VI Hall

Good morning to all of you!  You are here today not because we have placed you in isolation!, but because the weather is bad today and it's raining.  Now, I believe that the rain has stopped, but it is still unstable, so here you will be more comfortable and you can watch the audience on the jumbo-tron.  I will tell the people in the Square that you are here and we will have a chance to greet one another and to be together.  I ask you to pray for me, and I pray for you.

May you offer to Jesus the suffering of your illnesses: sickness is brutal for everyone, everyone; may you be able to offer your suffering to Jesus and continue by asking for the grace to move from the sadness of your sufferings to never losing hope.  Hope that brings us joy.

Now, let us pray the Hail Mary together, and I will give you my blessing.

Hail Mary ...

Enjoy the Audience from here, and please pray for me!

Greetings offered by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran

at the beginning of the General Audience

Your Holiness,

Fifty years have now passed since the proclamation of the Conciliar Declaration Nostra Aetate, when the Church, paying heed to the rapidly changing world, began in a decisive way to invite her members to promote relationships of respect, friendship and dialogue with persons of other religions.

Present here today, among others, are participants taking part in an International Convention on Nostra Aetate, which is taking place at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and representatives of various religions.  We are encouraged in our common quest for peace by the promise of the prophet Isaiah: The Lord will tear from this mountain the veil that covers the face of all peoples (Is 25:7).

The journey toward this mountain, though at times an arduous climb, has also been exhilarating during these first fifty years and we who are gathered here with Your Holiness are witnesses, heirs and protagonists of this journey.

Thank you for your illuminating witness, which encourages us to continue along the path of inter-religious dialogue, going out to meet other believers with a clear understanding of our own identity, but with a spirit of great respect, esteem and friendship, ready to work together with all those who pray and think in ways which are different from ourselves.

Thank you Holy Father for your continued and untiring invitations, extended to all believers and to all men and women of good will, to work for peace by eliminating injustices and inequalities, and taking care of our common home.

Today, gathered here in Rome, along with you, the Successor of Peter, we want to pray for peace - as we did in the past in Assisi, and to bear witness to everyone in the world that fraternity is possible.

Thank you.

Greetings offered by Cardinal Kurt Koch

at the beginning of the General Audience

Holy Father,

It is a joy for me and an honour to be able to greet Your Holiness in Saint Peter's Square, on behalf of the representatives of the Jewish community who are participating in the International Convention on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the proclamation of Nostra Aetate, and especially in the name of the delegation from the World Jewish Congress.  Today's Audience is an important contribution to the deepening of the culture of encounter between persons, people and religions which are very close to Your Holiness' heart.

A meeting filled with promise also took place at the beginning of this process and led to the writing of Nostra Aetate.  It was a dialogue that took place on 13 June 1960 between Pope Saint John XXIII and the well-known Jew, Jules Isaak, who presented to the Supreme Pontiff a Denkschrift with an urgent request to promote a new vision of relationships between the Church and Judaism.  Only a few months after that meeting, Pope John XXIII assigned the task of preparing, for the Council, a Declaration concerning the Jewish people.  The text was eventually introduced as the fourth article in the Declaration on relationships between the Church and non-Christian religions.

This article represented not only the point of departure, but the focus of the entire Declaration Nostra Aetate.  In fact, the Church has a particular relationship with the Jewish people, as we read in the first phrase of the Declaration: As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock (Nostra Aetate, 4).  In the light of this communion which has existed between Jews and Christians throughout the history of salvation, the Council placed into evidence the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and recognized the great common spiritual patrimony shared by Christians and Jews.  The Council also deplored all hatred and manifestations of violence directed even by Christians toward the Jewish people and condemned every form of anti-semitism.

Nostra Aetate is rightly considered to be the basis and the Magna Carta of a fruitful relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.  On the 50th anniversary of this Declaration, we can remember with gratitude the fact that even after the Council, all the Popes who have followed have consolidated and expanded upon the encouraging prospects that are found in Nostra Aetate.  Holy Father, you have repeated time and again your great appreciation for the Jewish people; you have especially expressed this truth during your visit to the Holy Land with your prayer at the Western Wall and your poignant reflection at the Yad Vashem Memorial.

In our days, at a time when unfortunately, there have been new waves of antisemitism, you, Holy Father, constantly remind us Christians that it is impossible to be both Christian and antisemitic.  For your clear message and for the good will that you have always demonstrated toward our Jewish brothers and sisters, I thank you with all my heart, and also in the name of the Jewish representatives who are here present as well as the entire Jewish community, and I ask you to give us your special beracha (blessing).  Schalom!

Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the Inter-religious General Audience

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

There are often persons or groups belonging to other religions present at the General Audiences; but today this presence is very special as we remember together the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Declaration Nostra Aetate concerning the relationships between the Catholic Church and non-Christian religions.  This theme was strongly present in the heart of Blessed Pope Paul VI, who on the feast of Pentecost during the year preceding the end of the Council, had already instituted the Secretariat for non-Christians, which is presently known as the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.  I therefore wish to express my gratitude and my warm welcome to persons and groups from various religions who are present here today, especially to those who have travelled great distances.

The Second Vatican Council was an extraordinary time of reflection, dialogue and prayer in order to renew the Catholic Church's regard for herself and for the world.  A reading of the signs of the times in view of an update which is aimed at a double faithfulness: faithfulness to ecclesial tradition and faithfulness to the history of men and women of our time.  In fact, God, who revealed himself in creation and throughout history, who has spoken through the prophets and most fully through his Son made man (cf Heb 1:1), speaks to the heart and the spirit of every human being who seeks truth and ways to practice it.

The message of the Declaration Nostra Aetate remains present.  I want to recall very briefly some of its most important points:

• growing interdependence of people (cf NA, 1);
• the human quest for a sense of life, of suffering, of death: questions which are always part of our journey (cf NA, 1);
• the common origin and the common destiny of humanity (cf NA, 1);
• the unity of the human family (cf NA, 1);
• religions as quests for God or for the Absolute, within various ethnicities and cultures (cf NA, 1);
• the benevolent gaze of the Church which is attentive to other religions: which rejects nothing in them which is beautiful and true (cf NA, 2);
• the Church also regards with great esteem all believes from all religions, appreciating their spiritual and moral commitment (cf NA, 3);
• the Church, which is open to dialogue with all people, and which at the same time is faithful to the truth in which it believes, beginning with the salvation offered to all people that finds its origin in Jesus, the only saviour, and within which the Holy Spirit is at work as a source of peace and love.

There have been so many events, initiatives, institutional or personal relationships with non-Christian religions during these past fifty years, and it is difficult to recall them all.  One event which was particularly significant was the Meeting in Assisi on 27 October 1986.  It was the desire of and was promoted by Saint John Paul II, who one year prior, therefore thirty years ago, spoke with young Muslims in Casablanca and expressed his wish that all believers in God should work toward friendship and union among all men and peoples (19 August 1985).  The flame, which was lit at Assisi, has expanded throughout the world and is now a permanent sign of hope.

We especially give thanks to God for the real transformation that has taken place over the past 50 years in the relationship that exists between Christians and Jews.  Indifference and opposition have been transformed into cooperation and good will.  Enemies and strangers have become friends and brothers.  The Council, with the Declaration Nostra Aetate, has paved the way: yes to the rediscovery of Christianity's Jewish roots; no to every form of anti-semitism and condemnation of every insult, discrimination and persecution that come about because of it.  Knowledge, respect and mutual esteem are the path that, if they are particularly important to our relationship with Jews, are equally as important to our relationships with other religions.  I think especially of Muslims who - as the Council recalled - adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men (NA, 3).  They refer to the patrimony of Abraham, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, they honour his virgin Mother Mary, they await the day of judgement and they practice prayer, almsgiving and fasting (cf NA, 3).

The dialogue that is needed must be open and respectful, and therefore able to bear fruit.  Mutual respect is a condition and, at the same time, an end of inter-religious dialogue: respect for every person's right to life, to physical dignity and to fundamental freedoms including freedom of conscience, of thought and of religious expression.

The world is watching us believers, encouraging us to work together and with with all men and women of good will who do not profess any religion in search of effective answers to many things: peace, hunger, the suffering of millions of people, the crises of our time, violence, especially that which is committed in the name of religion, corruption, moral degradation, crises within families, in the economy, in the world of finance and above all those that affect hope.  We believers do not possess recipes for these problems, but we have a great resource: prayer.  We believers pray.  We need to pray.  Prayer is our treasure, which we practice according to various traditions in order to ask for the gifts that we need.

Because of violence and terrorism, an attitude of suspicion or fear of religious condemnation has spread.  In truth, even though no religion is immune from the risk of fundamentalism or extremism in individuals or groups (cf Speech to the Congress of the United States of America, 24 September 2015), we must maintain existing positive values and that are worthy of being promoted, since they are sources of hope.  We must raise our focus in order to continue along the path.  Dialogue that is based on respectful trust can lead to the planting of good that in time will become seeds of friendship and cooperation in many ways, and above all in service to the poor, the little ones, the elderly, in welcoming migrants, in paying attention to those who are excluded.  May we walk together, caring for one another and for all of creation.  All believers of all religions.  Together, may we praise the Creator for having entrusted us with the garden of the world, to cultivate it and to care for it as a common good, and may we work together to combat poverty and to ensure conditions of dignified living for every man and woman.

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which will soon begin, is an ideal occasion for us to work together in the field of charitable work.  In this effort, where compassion is the most important, may there be united with us many other people who do not feel that they are believers or that they seek God or truth, persons who focus on the faces of others, especially the faces of their brothers and sisters in need.  The mercy that we are promised embraces all of creation, which God has entrusted to us and made us stewards, not exploiters, or even worse, destroyers.  We should always propose to leave the world a better place than we first found it (cf Encyclical Laudato Si', 194), beginning with the communities in which we live and the little gestures of our daily lives.

Dear brothers and sisters, as to the future of inter-religious dialogue, the first thing that must be done is prayer.  Prayer for one another: we are all brothers and sisters!  Without the Lord, nothing is possible; with him, all things come into being!  May our prayer - every one of us according to our own traditions - make it possible for us to fully embrace the will of God, who desires that all men and women should be recognized as brothers and sisters and that they might live with each other, forming together one great human family in harmony and diversity.

Following the established custom, the Holy Father's meditation was then summarized and presented in various languages, and His Holiness offered particular greetings to each of the groups of pilgrims who were present.  To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including those from England, Wales, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Nigeria, Israel, Australia, Indonesia, Japan and the United States of America. In a particular way I greet the ecumenical delegation from Korea, and I renew my thanks to the representatives of the different religions who have joined us today. God bless you all!

Following the summaries of today's meditation, the Holy Father issued the following call for prayer:

We are close to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have suffered a forceful earthquake, which has caused many deaths and much destruction.  Let us pray for those who have died and for their families, for all those who have been wounded and those who are now homeless, asking that God may grant them relief from their suffering and courage in the face of such adversity.  We must demonstrate to these, our brothers, concrete signs of our solidarity.

The General Audience concluded with a moment of silent prayer, during which the Holy Father asked all those present to pray for the victims of this earthquake, for God's continued guidance in the work begun by the Declaration Nostra Aetate and for peace in the world.  

Soon to Uganda, Kenya and the Central African Republic

The agenda for the Holy Father's upcoming visit to three African countries was issued by the Vatican Press Centre today.

Agenda for the Holy Father's visit

to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic

Wednesday, 25 November 2015
7:45am
Departure of the papal flight from Rome's Fumicino International Airport toward Nairobi, Kenya

5:00pm
Arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi
Welcoming ceremony at the State House

6:00pm
Courtesy visit with the President of the Republic at the State House in Nairobi

6:30pm
Meeting with various Kenyan Authorities and with members of the Diplomatic Corps
(Speech by the Holy Father)

Thursday, 26 November 2015
8:15am
Inter-religious and Ecumenical meeting in the Salon at the Apostolic Nunciature in Nairobi
(Speech by the Holy Father)

10:00am
Mass on the Campus of the University of Nairobi
(Homily by the Holy Father)

3:45pm
Meeting with clergy, Religious Men and Women and Seminarians on the sports field at Saint Mary's School
(Speech by the Holy Father)

5:30pm
Visit to the United Nations Office at Nairobi
(Speech by the Holy Father)

Friday, 27 November 2015
8:30am
Visit to the poor neighbourhood of Kangemi in Nairobi
(Speech by the Holy Father)

10:00am
Meeting with youth in the Kasarani Stadium
(Speech by the Holy Father)

11:15am
Meeting with Bishops of Kenya in the VIP room at the stadium

3:10pm
Departure ceremony at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi

3:30pm
Departure of the papal flight from Nairobi to Entebbe

4:50pm
Arrival at the Entebbe International Airport in Uganda
Welcoming ceremony

5:30pm
Courtesy visit to the President in the State House in Entebbe

6:00pm
Meeting with Authorities and with members of the Diplomatic Corps in the Conference Room at the State House
(Speech by the Holy Father)

7:15pm
Visit to Munyonyo and greetings to catechists and teachers
(Greetings by the Holy Father)

Saturday, 28 November 2015
8:30am
Visit to the Shrine of Anglican Martyrs in Namugongo

9:00am
Visit to the Shrine of Catholic Martyrs in Namugongo

9:30am
Mass for the Martyrs of Uganda near the Catholic Shrine
(Homily by the Holy Father)

3:15pm
Meeting with youth on the Kololo Air Strip in Kampala
(Speech by the Holy Father)

5:00pm
Visit to the House of Charity in Nalukolongo
(Greetings by the Holy Father)

6:00pm
Meeting with the Bishops of Uganda at the Archbishop's residence

7:00pm
Meeting with priests, Religious Men and Women and Seminarians in the Cathedral
(Speech by the Holy Father)

Sunday, 29 November 2015
9:00am
Departure ceremony at the Entebbe Airport

9:15am
Departure of the papal aircraft from Entebbe for the flight to Bangui, Central African Republic

10:00am
Arrival at the M'Poko International Airport in Bangui
Welcoming ceremony

11:00am
Courtesy visit to the President of the State of Transition in the Presidential Renaissance Palace

11:30am
Meeting with leaders and with members of the Diplomatic Corps
(Speech by the Holy Father)

12:15pm
Visit to a refugee camp

1:00pm
Meeting with the Bishops of the Central African Republic

4:00pm
Meeting with the Evangelical Community at the offices of the FATEB (Faculty of Evangelical Theology at Bengui)
(Speech by the Holy Father)

5:00pm
Mass with priests, Religious Men and Women, catechists and youth in the Cathedral of Bangui
(Homily by the Holy Father0

7:00pm
Confessions of some youth and participation in a Vigil of Prayer in the square outside the Cathedral
(Speech by the Holy Father)

Monday, 30 November 2015
8:15am
Meeting with the Muslim Community in the central Mosque of Koudoukou in Bangui
(Speech by the Holy Father

9:30am
Mass in the Stadium at the Barthélémy Boganda Sports Complex
(Homily by the Holy Father)

12:15pm
Departure ceremony at the M'Poko International Airport in Bangui

12:30pm
Departure of the papal aircraft for Rome

6:45pm
Arrival at the Ciampino Airport in Rome

Commemorating 50 years of the Synod

This morning in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, a commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops was held.

The commemoration began at 9:00am with an introduction by the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri; and a Commemorative report presented by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna and President of the Episcopal Conference of Austria; and continued with reports presented by five of the Prelates in attendance, representing the various continents.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Holy Father, Pope Francis shared the following speech with those who were in attendance.

Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis

for the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary

of the inauguration of the Synod of Bishops

Your Beatitudes,
Your Eminences,
Your Excellencies,
Brothers and Sisters,

As the Ordinary General Assembly is in full session, this commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops is, for all of us, a cause for joy, praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. From the time of the Second Vatican Council until the present Assembly, we have experienced ever more intensely the necessity and beauty of journeying together.

On this happy occasion I offer cordial greetings to Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, the Secretary General, the Undersecretary, Archbishop Fabio Fabene, the Officials, the Consultors and the other collaborators in the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, those who are behind the scenes and work late each evening. I also greet and thank the Synod Fathers and the other participants in the current Assembly, as well as all those present.

At this time we also wish to remember those who, in the course of the last fifty years, have offered their services to the Synod, beginning with the successive General Secretaries: Cardinal Władysław Rubin, Cardinal Jozef Tomko, Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte and Archbishop Nikola Eterović. I also take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to those — both living and deceased — who contributed so generously and competently to the Synod’s work.

From the beginning of my ministry as Bishop of Rome, I sought to enhance the Synod, which is one of the most precious legacies of the Second Vatican Council (Pope Francis, Letter to the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, on the elevation of the Undersecretary, Monsignor Fabio Fabene. to the episcopal dignity, 1 April 2014).  For Blessed Paul VI, the Synod of Bishops was meant to reproduce the image of the Ecumenical Council and reflect its spirit and method (Blessed Paul VI, Address for the Opening of the first Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 30 September 1967).  Pope Paul foresaw that the organization of the Synod could be improved upon with the passing of time (Blessed Paul VI, Motu proprio Apostolica Sollicitudo, 15 September 1965, Proemium).  Twenty years later, Saint John Paul II echoed that thought when he stated that this instrument might be further improved. Perhaps collegial pastoral responsibility could be more fully expressed in the Synod. (Saint John Paul II, Address for the Conclusion of VI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 29 October 1983).  In 2006, Benedict XVI approved several changes to the Ordo Synodi Episcoporum, especially in light of the provisions of the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which had been promulgated in the meantime (cf Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 98, 2006, pp 755-779).

We must continue along this path. The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve, even with its contradictions, demands that the Church strengthen cooperation in all areas of her mission. It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.

Blessed Pope Paul VI

What the Lord is asking of us is already in some sense present in the very word synod. Journeying together — laity, pastors, the Bishop of Rome — is an easy concept to put into words, but not so easy to put into practice.

After stating that the people of God is comprised of all the baptized who are called to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 21 November 1964, 10), the Second Vatican Council went on to say that “the whole body of the faithful, who have an anointing which comes from the holy one (cf 1 Jn 2:20, 27), cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural sense of the faith (sensus fidei) of the whole people of God, when from the bishops to the last of the faithful it manifests a universal consensus in matters of faith and morals (LG, 10).  These are the famous words infallible in credendo.

In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I emphasized that the people of God is holy thanks to this anointing, which makes it infallible in credendo (EG, 119), and added that all the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients (EG, 120).  The sensus fidei prevents a rigid separation between an Ecclesia docens and an Ecclesia discens, since the flock likewise has an instinctive ability to discern the new ways that the Lord is revealing to the Church (cf Pope Francis, Address to the Leadership of the Episcopal Conferences of Latin America during the General Coordination Meeting, Rio de Janeiro, 28 July 2013, 5, 4; ID, and Address on the occasion of a meeting with Clergy, Consecrated Persons and members of Pastoral Councils, Assisi, 4 October 2013.

Such was the conviction underlying my desire that the people of God should be consulted in the preparation of the two phases of the Synod on the family, as is ordinarily done with each Lineamenta. Certainly, a consultation of this sort would never be sufficient to perceive the sensus fidei. But how could we speak about the family without engaging families themselves, listening to their joys and their hopes, their sorrows and their anguish? (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudium et Spes, 7 December 1965, 1). Through the answers given to the two questionnaires sent to the particular Churches, we had the opportunity at least to hear some of those families speak to issues which closely affect them and about which they have much to say.

A synodal Church is a Church which listens, which realizes that listening is more than simply hearing (Evangelii Gaudium, 171). It is a mutual listening in which everyone has something to learn. The faithful people, the college of bishops, the Bishop of Rome: all listening to each other, and all listening to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (Jn 14:17), in order to know what he says to the Churches (Rev 2:7).

The Synod of Bishops is the point of convergence of this listening process conducted at every level of the Church’s life. The Synod process begins by listening to the people of God, which shares also in Christ’s prophetic office, (Lumen Gentium, 12) according to a principle dear to the Church of the first millennium: Quod omnes tangit ab omnibus tractari debet. The Synod process then continues by listening to the pastors. Through the Synod Fathers, the bishops act as authentic guardians, interpreters and witnesses of the faith of the whole Church, which they need to discern carefully from the changing currents of public opinion. On the eve of last year’s Synod I stated: For the Synod Fathers we ask the Holy Spirit first of all for the gift of listening: to listen to God, so that with him we may hear the cry of his people; to listen to his people until we are in harmony with the will to which God calls us (Pope Francis, Address at the Prayer Vigil for the Synod on the Family, 4 October 2014).  The Synod process culminates in listening to the Bishop of Rome, who is called to speak as pastor and teacher of all Christians (First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus,18 July 1870, ch. IV: Denz. 3074; cf. Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 749, § 1), not on the basis of his personal convictions but as the supreme witness to the fides totius Ecclesiae, the guarantor of the obedience and the conformity of the Church to the will of God, to the Gospel of Christ, and to the Tradition of the Church (Pope Francis, Address to the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 18 October 2014).

The fact that the Synod always acts cum Petro et sub Petro — indeed, not only cum Petro, but also sub Petro — is not a limitation of freedom, but a guarantee of unity. For the Pope is, by will of the Lord, the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 23; cf. First Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, Prologue: Denz. 3051).  Closely related to this is the concept of hierarchica communio as employed by the Second Vatican Council: the Bishops are linked to the Bishop of Rome by the bond of episcopal communion (cum Petro) while, at the same time, hierarchically subject to him as head of the college (sub Petro) (Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 22; Decree Christus Dominus, 28 October 1965, 4.

Synodality, as a constitutive element of the Church, offers us the most appropriate interpretive framework for understanding the hierarchical ministry itself. If we understand, as Saint John Chrysostom says, that Church and Synod are synonymous (Saint John Chrystostom, Explicatio in Ps. 149: PG 55, 493) inasmuch as the Church is nothing other than the journeying together of God’s flock along the paths of history towards the encounter with Christ the Lord, then we understand too that, within the Church, no one can be raised up higher than others. On the contrary, in the Church, it is necessary that each person lower himself or herself, so as to serve our brothers and sisters along the way.

Jesus founded the Church by setting at her head the Apostolic College, in which the Apostle Peter is the rock (cf Mt 16:18), the one who must confirm his brethren in the faith (cf Lk 22:32). But in this Church, as in an inverted pyramid, the top is located beneath the base. Consequently, those who exercise authority are called ministers, because, in the original meaning of the word, they are the least of all. It is in serving the people of God that each bishop becomes, for that portion of the flock entrusted to him, vicarius Christi (Lumen Gentium, 27),  the vicar of that Jesus who at the Last Supper bent down to wash the feet of the Apostles (cf Jn 13:1-15). And in a similar perspective, the Successor of Peter is nothing else if not the servus servorum Dei (cf. Pope Francis, Address to the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 18 October 2014).

Let us never forget this! For the disciples of Jesus, yesterday, today and always, the only authority is the authority of service, the only power is the power of the cross. As the Master tells us: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave (Mt 20:25-27). It shall not be so among you: in this expression we touch the heart of the mystery of the Church, and we receive the enlightenment necessary to understand our hierarchical service.

In a synodal Church, the Synod of Bishops is only the most evident manifestation of a dynamism of communion which inspires all ecclesial decisions.

The first level of the exercise of synodality is had in the particular Churches. After mentioning the noble institution of the Diocesan Synod, in which priests and laity are called to cooperate with the bishop for the good of the whole ecclesial community (Codex Iuris Canonici, 460-468), the Code of Canon Law devotes ample space to what are usually called organs of communion in the local Church: the presbyteral council, the college of consultors, chapters of canons and the pastoral council (CIC, 495-514).  Only to the extent that these organizations keep connected to the base and start from people and their daily problems, can a synodal Church begin to take shape: these means, even when they prove wearisome, must be valued as an opportunity for listening and sharing.

The second level is that of Ecclesiastical Provinces and Ecclesiastical Regions, Particular Councils and, in a special way, Conferences of Bishops (CIC, 431-459).  We need to reflect on how better to bring about, through these bodies, intermediary instances of collegiality, perhaps by integrating and updating certain aspects of the ancient ecclesiastical organization. The hope expressed by the Council that such bodies would help increase the spirit of episcopal collegiality has not yet been fully realized. We are still on the way, part-way there. In a synodal Church, as I have said, it is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound ‘decentralization’ (Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 16 and 32).

The last level is that of the universal Church. Here the Synod of Bishops, representing the Catholic episcopate, becomes an expression of episcopal collegiality within an entirely synodal Church (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree Christus Dominus, 5; Codex Iuris Canonici, 342-348

Two different phrases: episcopal collegiality and an entirely synodal Church. This level manifests the collegialitas affectiva, which can also become in certain circumstances “effective”, joining the Bishops among themselves and with the Pope in solicitude for the People God (Saint John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Gregis, 16 October 2003, 8).

The commitment to build a synodal Church — a mission to which we are all called, each with the role entrusted him by the Lord — has significant ecumenical implications. For this reason, speaking recently to a delegation from the Patriarchate of Constantinople, I reaffirmed my conviction that a careful examination of how, in the Church’s life, the principle of synodality and the service of the one who presides are articulated, will make a significant contribution to the progress of relations between our Churches (Pope Francis, Address to the Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, 27 June 2015).

I am persuaded that in a synodal Church, greater light can be shed on the exercise of the Petrine primacy. The Pope is not, by himself, above the Church; but within it as one of the baptized, and within the College of Bishops as a Bishop among Bishops, called at the same time — as Successor of Peter — to lead the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches (Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Epistula ad Romanos, Proemium: PG 5, 686).

While reaffirming the urgent need to think about a conversion of the papacy, (Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 32), I willingly repeat the words of my predecessor Pope John Paul II: As Bishop of Rome I am fully aware ... that Christ ardently desires the full and visible communion of all those Communities in which, by virtue of God’s faithfulness, his Spirit dwells. I am convinced that I have a particular responsibility in this regard, above all in acknowledging the ecumenical aspirations of the majority of the Christian Communities and in heeding the request made of me to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation (Saint John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint, 25 May 1995, 95.

Our gaze also extends to humanity as a whole. A synodal Church is like a standard lifted up among the nations (cf Is 11:12) in a world which — while calling for participation, solidarity and transparency in public administration — often consigns the fate of entire peoples to the grasp of small but powerful groups. As a Church which journeys together with men and women, sharing the travails of history, let us cherish the dream that a rediscovery of the inviolable dignity of peoples and of the function of authority as service will also be able to help civil society to be built up in justice and fraternity, and thus bring about a more beautiful and humane world for coming generations (Evangelii Gaudium, 186-192; Laudato Si', 156-162).

Thank you.

Pope visits homeless shelter

Last evening, at the conclusion of the Synod meetings, shortly before 7:00pm, the Holy Father went to the new dormitory for homeless persons located on the Via dei Penitenzieri, one of a number of places operated by the General House of the Society of Jesus.

The Pope was welcomed by the Elemosiniere (the Papal Almsgiver), His Excellency, Konfrad Krajewski; by Monsignor Diego Ravelli, from the office of the Elemosiniere; by Father Adolfo Nicolás, the Jesuit General and by Father Joachin Barrero, Superior of the Community of the Jesuit Curia; by three of Mother Teresa's sisters and by a few of the volunteers who run the new dormitory.  He individually greeted all the guests, about thirty in all, who were gathered in the common room and who later stood by their beds while the Pope visited the dormitory and other parts of the building.

The Pope spoke cordially with them for twenty minutes and was visibly moved and happy to have visited with them.

As has previously been communicated, the dormitory was opened on October 7 of this year and is already functioning regularly.  It is maintained by the Apostolic Elemosiniere and can accommodate 34 men who can remain for a maximum of 30 days, making use of evening meals which are offered at the nearby Casa Dono di Maria located in the Vatican, which is maintained by the sisters of Mother Teresa and which offers 50 beds for women.

A message about local economic development

This morning, the Holy See Press Office released the text of a Message which was sent by the Holy Father, Pope Francis to those who are participating in the World Forum on Local Economic Development, taking place in Turin (Italy) from October 13 to 16.

Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis

for the World Forum on Local Economic Development

Illustrious Sirs
Honorable Piero Fassino
Mayor of Turin

I send my cordial greetings to you, to the authorities and to all of those who are taking part in the III World Forum on Local Development, taking place in Turin from October 13 to 16 of this year.  Very appropriately, you intend to reflect and dialogue about the possibilities for local economic development, as a motivating force for different vision of the economy, of development, of the relationship with the earth and between people.  May God grant enlightenment and inspiration to your meeting, a very important step in promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, inclusion, environmental protection and an integral human development.  In order to contribute to your efforts, I would like to mention a few ideas which I have mentioned recently at the Assembly of the United Nations about the Objectives of Sustainable Development, which are a source of hope for humanity, provided that they are promoted in an appropriate manner.

The implementation of the 2030 Agenda is urgent and indispensable.  The decisions that were made by the International Community are important, but there is still a temptation to fall into a declamatory minimalism with a tranquilizing effect on consciences.  In addition, the multiplicity and the complexity of the problems requires the use of technical measurements.  This, however, brings with it a double peril: limiting ourselves to a bureaucratic exercise of drawing up long lists of good proposals - goals, objectives and statistical information - or, believing that one particular solution chosen a priori can respond to every challenge.

Political and economic action is a prudent activity, guided by a perennial concept of justice which is always aware that, above and beyond any programs, there are real women and men, equal to those who govern, who live, struggle and suffer, and who should be masters of their own destiny.  Integral human challenge is the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed.  They must be constructed and produced by each individual, by individual families, along with other human beings and in right relationship with all the areas in which human society is developed - friendship, community, villages and towns, schools, business and trade unions, provinces and nations.

Therefore, from this perspective, the local economic challenge seems to be the most adequate response to the challenges that are faced by a globalized economy and one which is often cruel in its outcomes.  The III Forum rightly intends to present and to discuss practices and strategies relative to the local processes in worldwide development and to focus the potential of these practices and strategies, as essential resources, at all levels, including regional, national and international ones.  I pointed out at the United Nations that measurement is the simplest and best indicator of the proper fulfillment of the new Agenda will be effective access, practical and immediate, for all people to indispensable material and spiritual goods: their own habitations, decent work that is adequately remunerated, adequate food and drinking water, religious freedom and, more generally, freedom of speech and education.  I would add that the only way to truly and permanently obtain these objectives is to work at the local level.  In my meetings with popular movements and with Italian cooperatives, I have recalled and developed these ideas, which can be summed up in two axioms: small is beautiful; and small is effective.

Ongoing world crises have shown how economic decisions which, in general, seek to promote the progress of all people through generating new consumption and the permanent increase of profits are unsupportable in the global economy.  We should also add that these are per se immoral, from the moment they leave on the margins every question about what is right and about what really serves the common good.  Instead, public and private political and economic decisions should question themselves about how to integrate ethical criteria in their structures and their decisions.  The fundamental focus on the local level, as is the desire of the Forum on Local Development, seems to be one of the major steps toward a true ethical discernment and the creation of economies and businesses that are truly free: free of ideologies, free of political manipulation and above all free from the law of profit at any cost and from perpetual expansion of business, in order to be truly at the service of others and the reintegration into social life of those who have been excluded.

Christian social thought, in Italy, advanced by people such as Giuseppe Toniolo, Father Sturzo and others, following along the lines of Pope Leo XIII outlined in his Encyclical Rerum norarum, have defined an economic analysis that, beginning precisely at the local and territorial levels, proposes options and directions for the world economy.  In addition, a good part of the common social thought, beginning with various premises, also arrive at similar proposals.  Such a vision of an economy which goes from local levels to world levels is developed also in other countries by many studies.  Here, I will limit myself to recalling Ernst Friedrich Schumacher and his celebrated work Small is beautiful.

Mister Mayor, I hope that these brief reflections might offer some useful contribution to your discussions and to the future activity of the Forum, in order to strengthen local development and above all to inspire the reform of larger global models.  I therefore renew my wish for the success of your gathering, while I invoke divine blessings upon you, upon other Authorities and upon all the participants in the Forum, as well as upon their respective families and endeavours.

From the Vatican
10 October 2015

Francis

More reports from the study groups

This morning, during the Eighth General Congregation at the Ordinary Synod on the Family, reports from the 13 study groups were presented based on the work accomplished during their meetings which have been held in the past few days to consider the second part of the Instrumentum Laboris, in the light of contributions which have been spoken in the Hall and the discussion that has developed during preceding General Congregations.

Below are the texts of today's reports from the three English-speaking study groups, based on the work they have accomplished on Monday and Tuesday of this week, October 12 and 13.  Reports of other working groups (in Italian, French, German and Portuguese-Spanish) in their original transcriptions can be found on the Vatican website.

Report from English Working Group A

Reflections on the Second Part of the Instrumentum Laboris

Moderator
Cardinal George Pell

Relator
His Excellency, Joseph Edward Kurtz

In Jesus, the fulfilment of God’s revelation, the family uncovers its calling within the universal call to holiness. For the disciple of Jesus, every vocation calls the person and the community in two distinct and complementary dimensions. We are called to communion and we are called for mission. We see this in the call of the 12 Apostles. They are called to be friends of Jesus and sent out to preach. The same is true of those disciples who are called to family life. Our group reflected on this gift and vocation, and on prayer and discernment as means to foster it.

While the sense of the word vocation is clear when applied to the priesthood, more clarity is needed when we talk about the phrase vocation to the married life. We must recognize that the family itself also has a vocation.

Seen through the lens of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the text would benefit from a more abundant use of Sacred Scripture, notably Luke Chapters 1 and 2, as well as examples from the Old Testament. So many Old Testament couples, such as those from the Book of Tobit, responded beautifully to the vocation to marriage and family life.

The Church’s vision of the vocation of the family captures the beauty of God’s self-giving love. Considerable attention was given to locating a firm theological base for the Divine Pedagogy, flowing from the outpouring of love from the Trinity. At the core of the family is the original act of creation, the redemption by Jesus Christ and the orientation to eternal life.

The priority of listening to the Word of God and following Jesus opens up the good news for the family, which leads to a life of joy as well as an ever-deepening conversion from selfishness and sin.

The baptismal identity of every Christian matures in the seedbed of the family, which is often the first and primary evangelizer in which one discerns a vocation to a particular state in life. In this Year of Consecrated Life, we give special thanks for the gift of men and women in religious life and their families.

The final document would benefit from a consideration of best practices, which would show families how to more fully and faithfully live out their vocation. At the heart of such best practices is the receiving of the Word of God in the family. We make special mention of the great strides within the Church over the past 50 years in which study and reflection on Sacred Scripture have been integrated into the lives of families. While much remains to be done, such progress needs to be acknowledged.These best practices should also address proper catechesis and prayer and worship, including prayer within each family. Such a call would wisely and explicitly encourage the use of para-liturgical prayers and rituals within the setting of the family.

We also addressed questions related to methodology. In the past, the Holy Father often used the final approved texts as a basis for an Apostolic Exhortation and we spoke of the fruitfulness of this approach. However, we recognize the limitations of a document that will be approved at the conclusion of this Synod. Though every effort should be made to provide for streamlined, attractive language, a primary concern was the clarity of well-grounded explanations of Church teaching on marriage and the family.

With our eyes fixed on Jesus, we give thanks for the vocation of the family – a call to communion with Him and with each other and a call for mission in the world.

Report from English Working Group B

Reflections from the Second Part of the Instrumentum Laboris

Moderator
Cardinal Vincent Gerard Nichols

Relator
His Excellency, Diarmuid Martin

The group took an innovative approach in its examination of Part II. We recognize the centrality of this part to the entire reflection of the Synod. In addition to examining the Instrumentum Laboris paragraph by paragraph, the group sought first to identify a number of the basic themes of the Church’s wisdom on marriage and the family which we feel ought to be given prominence in the final document. A renewed and deeper reflection on the theology of marriage should be one of the fruits of the Synod.

These themes included: The Divine Pedagogy, the Word of God in the Family, Indissolubility and Faithfulness, The Family and the Church, Mercy and Brokenness. The group proposed individual modi to some paragraphs, but above all it sought to reorder the succession of paragraphs in order to restore the natural flow of the paragraphs of the Relatio Synodi.

The group strongly recommends that the entire Part II should be introduced by a much more detailed reflection on the Family and Divine Pedagogy. This reflection would constitute a new paragraph 37.

The reflection should illustrate how the Divine Pedagogy for marriage and the family has accompanied the entire history of salvation and continues right until our day. We propose that the paragraph begin with Genesis, which already provides a definition of marriage as a unique union between a man and a woman, so total and intimate that because of it a man must leave his father and mother in order to be united with his wife. This account of the creation of marriage presents also the three basic characteristics of marriage, as it was in the beginning – monogamy, permanence, and equality of the sexes.

However, as sin entered the history of humanity it brought with it the reversal of these basic characteristics. Polygamy, divorce, and submission of the wife to her husband became not just common place, but were even institutionalized in sectors of Jewish society. Through the prophets God constantly called for a change from this situation of sin and for the re-establishment of the original dignity of marriage, which was to come with Jesus Christ. The prophet Hosea found union and love between husband and wife as an appropriate paradigm to illustrate God’s love for his people. The Song of Songs gave a unique reflection on human love as a dialogue between two lovers praising each other, yearning for each other, and rejoicing in sexual intimacy.

But the Divine pedagogy of salvation history concerning marriage and the family reached its climax with the Son of God’s entry in human history, as Jesus Christ was born into a human family. It was considered inappropriate for a Rabbi to speak with a woman yet Jesus dared to speak to a woman, who was a Samaritan – an excommunicated and a renowned sinner – something even more scandalous. To a woman who was brought before him prior to her being stoned for the fact that she had committed adultery, he said: I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more. He dirtied his hands through work, but not with stones to throw at others.

The group presents this elaborated text recognizing that it is lengthy and new, and may not seem in line with the Synod methodology. Why do we do this? It is only through reflection on the Divine Pedagogy that we will understand our ministry as mirroring God’s patience and mercy. The Divine Plan continues even in our time. It is the Divine Pedagogy which provides content and tone for the teaching of the Church. It is the Divine Pedagogy which today continues the constant call of conversion, healing, and mercy to families as they struggle to realize their God-given vocation.

The group set out, then, to apply such a pedagogy into our search for a language accessible to the men and women of our times. We propose alongside the term indissolubility, the use of a language that is less legal, and which shows better the mystery of God’s love speaking of marriage as a grace, a blessing, and a lifelong covenant of love.

We recalled the testimony of couples who live a fully Christian marriage as a lifelong covenant of love, its permanence unto death being a sign of God’s faithfulness to his people. Indeed we can say that God recognizes the image of Himself in the faithfulness of his spouses and confirms with his blessing this fruit of his grace.

The deepest meaning of the indissolubility of marriage, is then, the affirmation and protection of these beautiful and positive qualities that sustain marriage and family life, most especially in times of turbulence and conflict. The Church, therefore, looks to married couples as the heart of the entire family, which, in turn, looks to Jesus especially to his faithful love in the darkness of the cross.

A stress on the divine pedagogy would also focus on the centrality of the Word of God in the theology of marriage, in the pastoral care of the family, and in family piety. The Christian community welcomes the Word of God especially when proclaimed at the Sunday Liturgy. Thus a goal for every couple and family would be to worship together faithfully at Mass every Sunday.

Married couples and families also encounter the Word of God in the array of devotions and celebrations that are part of our Catholic heritage. Such piety includes approaching together the sacrament of reconciliation, common prayer and reading of the Scriptures, and other encounters with God’s word in catechesis and prayer. It was stressed that Catholic schools are an extension of parish and family catechesis. The Synod should encourage parents to seek out these schools as a uniquely compelling way to enhance and deepen the religious education which begins in the family.

All of us need God’s mercy. In many societies today there is a sense of self-sufficiency, whereby people feel that they have no need of mercy and no awareness of their own sinfulness. At times this is due to an inadequate catechesis on sin, not recognizing sin as a wounding of our relationship with God and with each other, a wound which can be healed only through the saving power of God’s mercy.

On the other hand there can be a tendency for us to put human limits on God’s mercy.

The group felt a strong need for a deeper reflection on the relationship between mercy and justice, particularly as it is presented in Misericordiae Vultus.

As we move on towards our reflection on the difficult situations to be examined in Part III, we should always remember that God never gives up on his mercy. It is mercy that reveals God’s true face. God’s mercy reaches out to all of us, especially to those who suffer, those who are weak, and those who fail. How can I give you up, O Ephraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel … My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender (Hosea 11:8-9). As Pope Francis stresses in Misericordiae Vultus, God’s anger lasts for a moment, but his mercy lasts forever.

Report from English Working Group C

Reflections from the Second Part of the Instrumentum Laboris

Moderator
His Excellency, Eamon Martin

Relator
His Excellency, Mark Benedict Coleridge

After the travails of the first week, we decided to adopt a different approach to Part II of the Instrumentum Laboris and moved through it more briskly than we did through Part I. As our sense of the task has clarified, our modus procedendi has matured, and this is encouraging as we begin work on the long and complex Part III.

I now present the issues from Part II which were central to the group's discussion:

1) The need to speak a heartfelt word of appreciation and encouragement to couples who, by God’s grace, are living their Christian marriage as a genuine vocation, since this is a unique service to the Church and the world.

2) The need to develop for couples and families catechetical programmes that are attuned to different cultures, to revise them periodically and to adapt National Catechetical Directories in the light of these where applicable.

3) The need to develop resources in the vital area of family prayer, understood in both formal and less formal ways, both liturgically and devotionally. These resources would again have to be culturally sensitive.

4) The need to explore further the possibility of couples who are civilly married or cohabiting beginning a journey towards sacramental marriage and being encouraged and accompanied on that journey.

5) The need to present the indissolubility of marriage as a gift from God rather than a burden and to find a more positive way of speaking about it, so that people can fully appreciate the gift. This relates to the larger question of language, as the Synod looks to shape a language which, in the words of the Instrumentum Laboris, is symbolic, experiential, meaningful, clear, inviting, open, joyful, optimistic and hopeful.

6) There is a need to draw more deeply and richly from the Scripture, not just in citing biblical texts but in presenting the Bible as a matrix for Christian married and family life. As at Vatican II, the Bible would be a prime resource for the shaping of a new language to speak of marriage and the family; and the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini could serve as a resource for practical suggestions.

7) In speaking of the joy of marriage and family life, there is a need to speak also of the life of sacrifice and even the suffering which this involves and so to set joy within its proper context of the Paschal Mystery.

8) The need to see more clearly how the Church through the ages has come to a deeper understanding and surer presentation of the teaching on marriage and the family which has its roots in Christ himself. The teaching has been constant, but the articulation of it and the practice based upon that articulation have not been.

9) The need for a more nuanced understanding of why young people these days decide not to marry or to delay marriage, often for a long time. The Instrumentum Laboris presents fear as the dominant motive. But it is also true that young people at times do not see the point of marriage or regard it as a purely personal or private matter which makes a public ceremony irrelevant to them. They are also affected in many ways by a culture of options which baulks at closing doors, and they prefer to test a relationship before making any final commitment. Powerful economic factors can also have their effect. We need to beware of a too simplistic reading of a complex phenomenon.

10) One thing which the Synod might consider producing is a list of practical initiatives or strategies to support families and to help those that are in trouble. This would be something concrete and would be in keeping with the essentially practical character of this second Synod on marriage and the family.

On many of these points there was consensus, on others there was wide if not universal agreement, and on a few there was significant disagreement.

A great richness and challenge of our discussions continues to be the different modulations of marriage and the family in the various cultures represented in the group. There are certainly points of convergence, arising from our shared sense of God’s plan which is inscribed in creation and which comes to its fullness in Christ crucified and risen, as proclaimed by the Church. But the different ways in which that mystery takes flesh in different parts of the world make it challenging to balance the local and the universal. That remains an overarching task of this Synod.

Report from English Working Group D

Reflections from the Second Part of the Instrumentum Laboris

Moderator
Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins

Relator
His Excellency, Charles Joseph Chaput, OFM Cap.

Members of English circle D reviewed Section II far more quickly than Section I. The material was simpler. So was working together and offering commentary and modi.

On the family and divine pedagogy, members thought the text’s reflections on the reading of Scripture should be strengthened. They stressed that as we listen to God’s word, we need to encounter it in the context of the Church, sacred tradition and the teaching authority of bishops. Many customs of reading Scripture already exist in the various cultures of our English-speaking group. Some should be incorporated into the text. Several group members promoted Lectio Divina, even when read within an inter-faith context. Others thought the Lectio Divina process too complex for people of today. Some bishops felt that we need to better understand the relationship between the newness of the Christian sacrament of matrimony and the natural structure of marriage built into God’s plan from the start. The natural marriage of our original parents had its own order of grace.

The Instrumentum Laboris nowhere defines marriage. This is a serious defect. It causes ambiguity throughout the text. Most bishops agreed that the document should add the definition of marriage from Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes 48, as a correction. (The intimate partnership of married life and love has been established by the Creator and qualified by His laws, and is rooted in the conjugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. Hence by that human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each other a relationship arises which by divine will and in the eyes of society too is a lasting one. For the good of the spouses and their off-springs as well as of society, the existence of the sacred bond no longer depends on human decisions alone. For, God Himself is the author of matrimony, endowed as it is with various benefits and purposes. All of these have a very decisive bearing on the continuation of the human race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of the individual members of a family, and on the dignity, stability, peace and prosperity of the family itself and of human society as a whole. By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children, and find in them their ultimate crown. Thus a man and a woman, who by their compact of conjugal love are no longer two, but one flesh (Mt 19:ff), render mutual help and service to each other through an intimate union of their persons and of their actions. Through this union they experience the meaning of their oneness and attain to it with growing perfection day by day. As a mutual gift of two persons, this intimate union and the good of the children impose total fidelity on the spouses and argue for an unbreakable oneness between them. [GS, 48])

Taken as a whole, the text has many good insights on marriage. But the Catholic doctrine on marriage stretches over too many paragraphs. It needs to be brought together in a more concise, compelling way. One person felt the text’s grasp of Scripture could be improved by embracing newer scholarship. The person worried that many of us were reading Scripture in too fundamentalist a manner, and other ways of interpreting Scripture might be more fruitful. Others disagreed and thought that the understanding of Scripture in the text was adequate.

Some said the text needs to frame the notion of indissolubility more positively, rather than treating it as a burden. Others saw a danger in referring to Catholic teaching as simply an ideal to be pursued and honoured but not practical for the living of daily life. They described this as an approach that implies that only the pure can live the Gospel, but not ordinary people. Some stressed that we should always speak of virtues, not just values. They are not the same thing.

In the material on family and God’s salvific plan, the text lacks grounding in the Book of Tobit and the Song of Songs, which is vital to the Scriptural presentation of marriage. Bishops voiced concern that the document seems to present Mosaic divorce as one of the stages of God’s plan, yet we know that divorce is never part of God’s will for humanity, but was a consequence of original sin.

In several of the document’s confusing passages, a better translation of the Italian text led to clarity. Several bishops focused on the notion of seeds of the Word or seeds of the Logos in the world around us. In the tradition of the Church, this reflection - which dates back to Justin Martyr - has always focused on cultural issues rather than on people’s personal lives. The text tends to treat irregular relationships as somehow also containing seeds of the Word. Some bishops felt this was inappropriate and misleading.

Some discussion ensued about the meaning of arranged marriages, where this practice still commonly occurs. Such marriages are sometimes seen as lacking the agreement of the persons being married. But what the practice more typically means is that whole families get involved in the entire process of marriage and family life. Various cultures believe that families marry one another, not just the individuals making marital promises. Some bishops saw this as a rich concept. It should be better appreciated.

Various bishops questioned the use of the expression The Gospel of Family. What does it actually mean? The text offers no answers. The expression comes from Pope Saint John Paul’s Letter to Families 1994, number 23.

Regarding No. 48 of the text, much discussion took place on the various forms of witness that families might give in living out their communion as a domestic church. Along with the ones listed in the document, the following were suggested:

• The witness of holiness in prayer.
• The witness of not being self-referential.
• The witness of being sensitive to environmental issues.
• The witness of simply living together in charity, in shared, everyday life.

Bishops felt that these actions should be seen as the fruit of baptism and confirmation.

Some in our group spoke about the need for the text to list devotions that both enhance and express family life and spirituality. The rosary was central to the discussion; so was the importance of parents reading Scripture to children, and siblings reading Scripture together. Bishops stressed the value of families attending Sunday Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations together, and were surprised the text didn’t focus on this in greater detail. Some suggested that various practices of popular piety be listed as concrete expressions of family devotions.

Various bishops noted the importance of women in the life of the Church and the need to focus more attention on giving them appropriate leadership roles. Some felt the document should be more sensitive to women abused by their husbands or within their families, and who therefore carry extra burdens. One person felt that exemplary families are sometimes difficult for people in painful circumstances to see as positive. Exemplary families may intimidate them rather than helping them to see the possibility of living that way themselves.

Bishops said the text should present the canonical reasons for separation of spouses and reasons for seeking an annulment. We need to be realistic about marital problems rather than simply encouraging people to stay together. Again, violence against women was a key part of the discussion.

One of the bishops emphasized that priests are not trained to be marriage counsellors. If they present themselves as such, they risk legal problems for their local Churches. Priests should move away from marriage counselling and do clearly defined spiritual guidance instead.

On the question of why young people fear to marry, many bishops observed that young people are afraid to fail in any area of life. Youth ministry in parishes and dioceses should help young couples understand the value of marriage. We need to focus on Pope John Paul’s exhortation not to be afraid and also to be aware that in the Gospel, Jesus took care of a young married couple whose marriage celebration was about to run out of wine. The Lord will always take care of young couples who trust in him in the way.

Circle D accepted this report unanimously. Our group is marked by great diversity and many different perspectives – 29 persons, 21 of them bishops, coming from 20 countries. Bishops made many suggestions for changes in the text. They will bring these forward in the various modi.