This afternoon, the Holy Father, Pope Francis paid a visit to the Central Regional Hospital of Sant'Alessio-Margherita di Savoia in Rome. This Institute, which was initially called Cristoforo Colombo, undertakes various activities aimed at promoting social inclusiveness for the blind and the visually impaired.
With this visit, the Pope wanted to continue his so-called Mercy Fridays, during which he paid private visits once a month to various institutions during the Jubilee of Mercy, retracing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy in favour of those who live in situations of physical and social exclusion.
During today's visit, the Pope met the guests who are currently present, people with sensory disabilities related to the use of sight, those who have been unable to see since their birth or those who are dealing with serious pathologies as well as a few who are living with multiple disabilities. Among them, there were approximately 50 babies, who visit the Centre in order to receive special instruction which will help them achieve small daily tasks, and 37 elderly and adults who reside within the structure.
Upon his arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the President of the Centre, Amedeo Piva, and by the Director General, Antonio Organtini, who himself was blinded later in life, as well as all the medical personnel and the volunteers who are serving at the Centre.
During his visit, the Holy Father left a gift at the Institute and signed a parchment in the Chapel of the Centre as a remembrance of his visit.
The Pope returned to the Vatican at approximately 6:00pm local time.
At 11:50am today (Rome time), in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience a group of participants taking part in an International Study Convention which has been organized by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Science, marking the occasion of the V Centenary of the Lutheran Reform (1517-2017) focused on the theme: Luther 500 years afterwards. A re-reading of the Lutheran reform in it's historical ecclesial context which has taken place this week in Rome (from 29 to 31 March 2017).
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to the participants
taking part in the Study Convention
Dear brothers and sisters,
Ladies and gentleman,
I am pleased to greet all of you and to offer you a warm welcome. I thank Father Bernard Ardura for his introduction, which summarizes the purpose of your meeting on Luther and his reform.
I confess that my first response to this praiseworthy initiative of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences was one of gratitude to God, together with a certain surprise, since not long ago a meeting like this would have been unthinkable. Catholics and Lutherans together, discussing Luther, at a meeting organized by an Office of the Holy See: truly we are experiencing the results of the working of the Holy Spirit, who overcomes every obstacle and turns conflicts into occasions for growth in communion. From Conflict to Communion is precisely the title of the document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission prepared for our joint commemoration of the fifth centenary of the beginning of Luther’s reform.
I am particularly happy to know that this commemoration has offered scholars from various institutions an occasion to study those events together. Serious research into the figure of Luther and his critique of the Church of his time and the papacy certainly contributes to overcoming the atmosphere of mutual distrust and rivalry that for all too long marked relations between Catholics and Protestants. An attentive and rigorous study, free of prejudice and polemics, enables the churches, now in dialogue, to discern and receive all that was positive and legitimate in the Reformation, while distancing themselves from errors, extremes and failures, and acknowledging the sins that led to the division.
All of us are well aware that the past cannot be changed. Yet today, after fifty years of ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Protestants, it is possible to engage in a purification of memory. This is not to undertake an impracticable correction of all that happened five hundred years ago, but rather to tell that history differently (Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity, From Conflict to Communion, 17 June 2013, 16), free of any lingering trace of the resentment over past injuries that has distorted our view of one another. Today, as Christians, all of us are called to put behind us all prejudice towards the faith that others profess with a different emphasis or language, to offer one another forgiveness for the sin committed by those who have gone before us, and together to implore from God the gift of reconciliation and unity.
I assure you of my prayers for your important historical research and I invoke upon all of you the blessing of God, who is almighty and rich in mercy. And I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Encyclical Populorum Progressio, an international conference entitled Perspectives for the service of integral human development: 50 years after Populorum Progressio will take place in the New Synod Hall at the Vatican next week - on Monday and Tuesday, April 3 and 4, 2017.
The conference, which has been organized by the Discastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, hopes to deepen theological, anthropological and pastoral perspectives outlined in the encyclical, particularly in relation to the efforts of those working toward the promotion of the person, and formulating guidelines for the activities of the new Dicastery.
Participants at this meeting include: members of the Pontifical Councils who are included in the Dicastery (Justice and Peace, Cor Unum, Migrants and Itinerants, Health Care Workers), representatives of the Episcopal Conferences and their Social Commissions as well as Commissions for Justice and Peace, representatives of international Catholic charity organizations and members of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See.
On Monday, 3 April, following introductory remarks by Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, and a theological presentation on the theme of anthropology by Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the congress will be divided into three major areas of fundamental personal tensions: body-soul, man-woman, person-society. In addition to presentations by experts in various sectors, testimonials will also be provided about how the Church is working directly with those who are weak. The Cardinal Secretary of State will preside at a Eucharistic celebration which will take place in Saint Peter's Basilica on Monday, 3 April.
An audience with the Holy Father will take place on Tuesday, 4 April beginning at 11:30am.
Journalists and media representatives who wish to participate should send their requests for temporary accreditation through the module that is available online in the accredited section of the Holy See Press Centre's website. Those who have already been accredited should send a request for participation using the usual means. All requests should be submitted 48 hours before the beginning of the event.
The presence of journalists in the Hall will not be permitted on Monday, 4 April from 9:00am until 1:30pm.
At 12:20pm today (Rome time), in the Consistory Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in the 138th General Chapter of the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca (Somascan Fathers), which is taking place at the Albano Lazio (Rome) from 14 March until 1 April 2017. The theme of this gathering is Let us go to the other side, together with our brothers with whom we wish to live and die.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to the Somascan Fathers
Dear brothers,
I am pleased to welcome you and to cordially greet you, beginning with your Superior General, who I thank for his words. The theme that you have chosen for your General Chapter: Let us go to the other side, together with our brothers with whom we wish to live and die is inspired by the words of Jesus (cf Lk 8:22) refers to a crucial passage from the history of your Institute where it grasps its prophetic value. In fact, beginning in 1921, a small group of Somascans left the shores of Europe and landed on the shores of the far distant American continent. It was a matter of a decisive missionary openness, which gave new momentum and broad apostolic prospects to your religious family.
Now you have proposed drawing upon ideal motives that inspire evangelization, in order to implement these ideas in the modern-day Church and in society, faithful to the charism of your Founder and taking into account the changing social and cultural conditions. In this discernment, you are supported by the spiritual fruits of the Somacan Gubilee - 2011-2012 - which was such a blessing and which continues to inspire your community. In this significant circumstance, in which you have gratefully commemorated the fifth centenary of the foundation of your Order, my venerable predecessor Benedict XVI sent you a Message in which he exhorted you to follow the luminous example of Saint Jerome Emiliani, taking to heart every poverty of our youth, moral, physical, essential and above all the poverty of love, rooted in every serious human problem (20 July 2011).
The ideal that motivated Jerome Emiliani was the reform of the Church toward the works of charity. His project was aimed at reforming first himself in fidelity to the gospel, then the Christian community and the civil society, which cannot ignore the little ones and those who are marginalized but rather must rescue them and promote their integral human development. I too encourage you to remain faithful to this original inspiration and to place yourselves in service in order to go out toward humanity which is wounded and discarded with evangelically effective choices that arise from a knowing look at the world and humanity with the eyes of Christ. The characteristic feature of your vocation is above all the care of the forgotten ones, particularly orphans and abandoned youth, according to the teaching methods of your Founder, firmly centred on the person, his dignity, the development of his intellectual and manual capacity. And speaking of orphans, there are new kinds of orphans: migrants, teenagers, children who are alone in our lands and who need to find fatherhood and motherhood. I want to point this out: there are many who are alone in boats, many who need this presence. All this and more is your task.
In order to make your service to the gospel even more close to the concrete examples of the lives of people, you are working on new ways to accomplish your mission. In particular, beginning with the modern-day reality of your Order, you are facing the question of its international and inter-cultural makeup as this pertains to the service you offer to the poor and the forgotten. I encourage you to be attentive to the various forms of marginalization in the geographic and existential peripheries. Do not be afraid to leave the old wineskins, and to address the transformation of structures where this would be useful in order to provide more evangelical service that is coherent with your original charism. The structures, in certain cases, provide false protection and hinder the dynamism of the charity and service done for the sake of the Kingdom of God. I want to repeat this: the structures, in some cases, give false protection and slow the dynamism of the charity and service done for the sake of the Kingdom of God. But at the foundation of all these processes there is always the joyous experience of the encounter with Christ and consecration to Him, there is the joyous need for the primacy of God and of placing nothing else before Him and the things of the Spirit, there is the gift of demonstrating his mercy and his tenderness in fraternal life and in mission.
To provide adequate service in the field of under-aged or juvenile discomfort, you have the opportunity of engaging Somascan laity, in a greater effort in the social field of charism. Human rights, caring for minors, the rights of infants and adolescents, caring for cases of under-aged workers, preventing exploitation and trafficking are all questions that must be addressed with the freeing strength of the gospel and, at the same time, with adequate operational tools and professional skills.
Saint Jerome Emiliani, a contemporary of Luther, experienced suffering and tears for the sake of Catholic unity as he cultivated and promoted the reform of the Church in Italy - his ardent thirst - with the work of charity, obedience to Pastors, contemplation of the Crucified Christ and of his mercy, catechetical teaching, faithfulness to the Sacraments, Eucharistic practice and the love of the Virgin Mary. May his example and his intercession motivate you to consecrate your strengths to the proclamation of salvation in Christ, so that you may reach the people and the community of nations in which you are present and their traditions; so that inculturation may progress - a necessary condition for the rooting of the Church in the world. In particular, I wish to encourage you to actively continue your work of forming catechists, lay animators and clergy. One of the most grave dangers - stronger than the Church today - is clericalism. Work with the laity, encourage them to carry on, to have the courage to keep going, and support them and help them in their priestly work, as religious. This is a very precious service to the local Church, in communion with your Pastors and in union with the entire Church and her living tradition.
Even ecumenical dialogue is worthy of your support. The path toward full and lasting unity requires patient listening to that which the Spirit says to the Churches and, today in particular, to the ecclesial community in Africa and in Asia, in which you are working with apostolic ardour. Possible collaboration between all the baptized and the search for greater fidelity to the one Lord are all part of the mission. May the Lord support your efforts in this regard.
Dear brothers, before you lies the task of continuing and developing the work inspired by God and by Saint Jerome Emiliani, who was declared by Pope Pius XI as universal patron saint of orphans and of abandoned youth. May renewed missionary zeal inspire you to dedicate yourselves in service to the Kingdom of God through education of the young, so that they may grow strong in their faith, free and responsible, courageous in bearing witness and generous in serving others. I encourage you to continue your journey of following and developing your apostolic zeal, so that it may remain rich in the number of its efforts and always open to new expressions, according to the most urgent needs of the Church and of society at various times and in various circumstances. Faithful to the charism of the Institute and united to your Pastors, continue to give fruitful contributions to the evangelizing mission of the Church. I ask the Holy Spirit, with the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, to illuminate you in your Chapter work and I willingly impart my Apostolic blessing.
This morning, the Vatican Press Centre published a letter which was sent by His Holiness, Pope Francis to the Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, His Eminence, Kevin Farrell, in preparation for the IX World Meeting of Families which will take place from 21 to 26 August 2018 in Dublin (Ireland), focused around the theme: The Gospel of the Family - joy for the world.
Letter of His Holiness, Pope Francis
in preparation for the IX World Meeting of Families
To the Venerable Brother
Cardinal Kevin Farrell
Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life
At the end of the Eighth World Meeting of Families, held in Philadelphia in September 2015, I announced that the subsequent meeting with Catholic families of the world would take place in Dublin. I now wish to initiate preparations, and am pleased to confirm that it will be held from 21 to 26 August 2018, on the theme The Gospel of the Family: joy for the world. Indeed, it is my wish for families to have a way of deepening their reflection and their sharing of the content of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.
One might ask: does the Gospel continue to be a joy for the world? And also: does the family continue to be good news for today’s world?
I am sure the answer is yes! And this yes is firmly based on God’s plan. The love of God is His yes to all creation and at the heart of this latter is man. It is God’s yes to the union between man and woman, in openness and service to life in all its phases; it is God’s yes and His commitment to a humanity that is often wounded, mistreated and dominated by a lack of love. The family, therefore, is the yes of God as Love. Only starting from love can the family manifest, spread and regenerate God’s love in the world. Without love, we cannot live as children of God, as couples, parents and brothers.
I wish to underline how important it is for families to ask themselves often if they live based on love, for love and in love. In practice, this means giving oneself, forgiving, not losing patience, anticipating the other, respecting. How much better family life would be if every day we lived according to the words, please, thank you and I’m sorry. Every day we have the experience of fragility and weakness, and therefore we all - families and pastors - are in need of renewed humility that forms the desire to form ourselves, to educate and to be educated, to help and to be helped, to accompany, discern and integrate all men of good will. I dream of an outward-focused Church, not a self-referential one, a Church that does not pass by far from man’s wounds, a merciful Church that proclaims the heart of the revelation of God as Love, which is Mercy. It is this very mercy that makes us new in love; and we know how much Christian families are a place of mercy and witnesses of mercy, and even more so after the extraordinary Jubilee. The Dublin meeting will be able to offer concrete signs of this.
I therefore invite all the Church to keep these indications in mind in the pastoral preparation for the next World Meeting.
You, dear Brother, along with your collaborators, have the task of translating in a special way the teaching of Amoris Laetitia, with which the Church wishes families always to be in step, on that inner pilgrimage that is the manifestation of authentic life.
My thoughts go in a special way to the Archdiocese of Dublin and to all the dear Irish nation for the generous welcome and commitment involved in hosting such an important event. May the Lord reward you even now, granting you abundant heavenly favours.
May the Holy Family of Nazareth guide, accompany and bless your service, and all the families involved in the preparation of the great World Meeting in Dublin.
Information about the Papal Charities known as Peter's Pence can now be accessed on Twitter and Instagram.
The aim of this increased presence is to go out to those who want to help the most needy and to make them aware of the charitable works being carried out through the solidarity of the faithful throughout the world, including men and women religious, lay faithful, societies, institutions and foundations, together with the offices closely assisting the Holy Father in the exercise of his mission.
After the launch last November of the new website for Peter's Pence, the longstanding charitable Office will now be on social networks.
The Twitter and Instagram accounts of Peter’s Pence have been active since 1 March of this year, with the goal of communicating directly, accurately and transparently with Catholics throughout the world and with all people who want to help those most in need.
Peter’s Pence can be found on Twitter in Italian, English and Spanish, whereas there is one Instagram account.
The Messages of Pope Francis found on the Peter’s Pence website are being published daily on Twitter and Instagram, together with photos, reflections and further information on the charitable works of the Holy See carried out through this historic initiative of Christian charity.
As was tweeted in one of the inaugural tweets: Mercy is about moving together, it is about meeting the needs of the needy. It is in this spirit that Peter’s Pence has committed itself to sustaining small and large projects throughout the world, such as the creation of a paediatric hospital in Bangui in the Central African Republic, the collection taken up to alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and support for the first Catholic University on Jordanian soil.
An initiative of the Holy See and the result of close collaboration between the Secretariat of State, the Secretariat for Communication and the Governorate of Vatican City, the three Twitter accounts
Obolo di San Pietro: @obolus_it;
Obolo de San Pedro: @obolus_es;
Peter’s Pence: @obolus_en;
and the Instagram account Obolus: obolus_va
can now be followed by Catholics throughout the world who are inspired by a common path of mercy: #movingMercy.
This morning, in the atrium of the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, the Holy Father received in audience a group of participants taking part in a meeting of the Permanent Committee for Dialogue between the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and various Iraqi Superintendents: Shiite, Sunni and those representing Christians, Yazidis, and Sabeans/Mandaeans.
This morning's General Audience began at 9:30am in Saint Peter's Square. The Holy Father, Pope Francis met there with groups of pilgrims and the faithful from Italy and from every corner of the world.
In his speech, the Pope added a meditation on the theme: Hope against every hope (cf Rom 4:16-25).
After having summarized his catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father added particular greetings for each group of the faithful in attendance. Then, after having greeted the delegation of Iraqi Superintendents composed of representatives from various religious groups who were present at today's Audience, he issued an invitation for prayer in favour of reconciliation in Iraq.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic blessing.
Catechesis of His Holiness, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The passage from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans which we have just heard gives us a great gift. In fact, we are used to recognizing in Abraham our father in faith; today, the Apostle helps us to understand that Abraham is for us a father in hope: not only a father in faith, but a father in hope. And this is because in his case, we can already recognize a proclamation of the Resurrection, of new life that triumphs over evil and death itself.
In the text, we are told that Abraham believed in a God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence, things that do not exist (Rom 4:17); and then it stated: He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body as already dead ... and the dead womb of Sarah (Rom 4:19). This is the hope in which we too are called to believe. The God who revealed himself to Abraham is the God who saves, the God who calls us out of desperation and death, the God who calls us to life. In the story of Abraham, everything becomes a hymn to God who frees us and regenerates us, everything becomes a prophecy. And it does this for us, us who now recognize and celebrate the fulfilment of all this in the mystery of Easter. In fact, God raised Jesus from the dead (Rom 4:24), so that in Him, even we can pass from death to live. And therefore Abraham can truly be known as a father of many peoples, as resplendent as the proclamation of a new humanity - us! -, redeemed from sin and death by Christ and introduced once and for all to the embrace of our loving God.
At this point, Paul helps us to focus on the close ties between faith and hope. In fact, he affirms that Abraham believed, hoped and believed even though there seemed to be no hope (Rom 4:18). Our hope is not based on reasoning, forecasts and human reassurances; it appears where there is no hope, where there is nothing left to hope in, just as it was for Abraham, faced with his imminent death and the sterility of his wife Sarah. The end was drawing near for them, they could not have children, and in that situation, Abraham believed and had hope against all hope. And this was great! Great hope is rooted in faith, and especially for this reason it is able to reach beyond all hope. Yes, for it is not based on our words, but on the Word of God. Also in this sense then, we are called to follow the example of Abraham, in which, even when he was faced with the evidence of a reality that seemed destined toward death, he trusted in God, fully convinced that what he had promised, he was also capable of bringing to completion (Rom 4:21). I would like to ask you a question: we, all of us, are we convinced of this? Are we convinced that God loves us and that everything he has promised us he is willing to bring to its completion? But father, how much will we have to pay for all this? There is only one price: open your heart. Open your hearts and this strength from God will carry you, it will accomplish miraculous things and it will teach you what it means to hope. This is the only price: open your heart to faith and He will do the rest.
This is the paradox and at the same time, the strongest element, the highest point of our hope! A hope that is founded on a promise which from the human point of view seems uncertain and unpredictable but which does not fail even in the face of death, as it is promised by the God of resurrection and life. This promise is not made by just anyone! The one who promises it is the God of resurrection and life.
Dear brothers and sisters, today, let us ask the Lord for the grace to remain rooted not so much on our own security, on our own capacity, but on the hope that is drawn from the promise of God, as true sons of Abraham. When God makes a promise, he brings to completion that which he promises. He never goes back on his word. Therefore our life takes on a new light, in the knowledge that the One who has raised his Son will also raise us and make us truly one with Him, together with all our brothers in faith. We all believe this. Today, we are all in the square, let us praise the Lord, let us sing the Our Father, then let us receive the blessing ... But this will pass. But this too is a promise of hope. If today we have our hearts open, he assures us all that we will meet him in the square of Heaven that never passes away. This is the promise of God and this is our hope, if we open our hearts. Thank you.
This catechesis was then summarized in various languages and the Holy Father offered particular greetings to each group of the faithful in attendance. To English-speaking pilgrims, he said:
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Scotland, Finland, Norway, the Philippines and the United States of America. I offer a special welcome to the United Kingdom’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Holy See, with appreciation for their work. With prayerful good wishes that this Lent will be a time of grace and spiritual renewal for you and your families, I invoke upon all of you joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all!
At the conclusion of the Audience, the Holy Father encouraged everyone in attendance to pray for reconciliation in Iraq.
I am happy to greet the delegation of Iraqi leaders composed of representatives of various religious groups, accompanied by His Eminence, Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. The treasure of the dear Iraqi nation is truly found in the mosaic that represents unity in diversity, the strength of unity, the prosperity of harmony. Dear brothers, I encourage you to continue along this path and I invite you to pray that Iraq may find reconciliation and harmony among her various ethnic and religious peoples, along with peace, unity and prosperity. My thoughts go out to the civilians who are trapped in western regions of Mosul and those who have been displaced because of war; to them I am united in their suffering through prayer and spiritual closeness. While expressing profound sadness for the victims of this bloody conflict, I renew to all people a call to engage with all forces possible in the protection of civilians as an imperative and urgent obligation.
Today, the Vatican issued details concerning the celebrations that will take place during Holy Week, at which the Holy Father will preside.
Liturgies presided over by His Holiness, Pope Francis
during Holy Week at the Vatican
Sunday, 9 April 2017
Palm Sunday
and the Passion of the Lord
XXXII World Youth Day focused on the theme: The Almighty has done great things for me (Lk 1:49)
The Holy Father will bless palms and olive branches in Saint Peter's Square beginning at 10:00am. At the conclusion of the procession with palms and olive branches, His Holiness will celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Passion.
Thursday, 13 April 2017
Holy Thursday
The Holy Father will preside over the concelebration of the Mass of Chrism with Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops and priests (diocesan and religious) who are present in Rome. The Chrism Mass will be celebrated in the Vatican Basilica beginning at 9:30am.
Friday, 14 April 2017
Good Friday
The Holy Father will preside over the Liturgy of the Word, the Adoration of the Holy Cross and the Rite of Communion inside the Vatican Basilica beginning at 5:00pm.
The Holy Father will preside over the pious devotion of the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) inside the Roman Colosseum beginning at 9:15pm. At the conclusion of the meditations, he will address a word to the faithful and impart his Apostolic blessing.
Saturday, 15 April 2017
Holy Saturday
The Holy Father, Pope Francis will bless the new fire in the atrium of the Basilica of Saint Peter beginning at 8:30pm. He will then participate in the procession into the Basilica accompanying the Paschal candle. Upon arrival at the high altar of Saint Peter's, the Easter proclamation (Exsultet) will be chanted before the Holy Father presides over the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of Baptism and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, accompanied by Cardinals, Bishops and priests who are able to attend.
Sunday, 16 April 2017
Easter Sunday
The Holy Father will preside over the celebration of the Mass in Saint Peter's Square beginning at 10:00am. At the conclusion of the Mass, he will climb to the central loggia of the Basilica to impart his Urbi et Orbi Blessing (to the city and the world).
His Eminence, Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, has sent a Letter in the name of the Holy Father to the X Forum for the future of agriculture, which is taking place today in Brussels (Belgium).
Letter of His Eminence, Cardinal Pietro Parolin
addressed to the X Forum for the future of agriculture
To Mister Janez Potočnik
President of the Forum for the Future of Agriculture
The work of the Tenth Forum for the Future of Agriculture affords His Holiness Pope Francis the opportunity to express his encouragement to all those who, with their different duties and responsibilities, are called to offer solutions to the needs of the agricultural sector in all its various elements.
A cursory look at the world situation is sufficient to show the need for greater commitment to supporting agricultural activity. This would entail not only improving systems of production and commerce, but also, and primarily, emphasizing the right of every human being to healthy and sufficient nourishment, in accordance with individual needs, and an integral role in the implementation of decisions and strategies. It is increasingly clear that at the heart of all activity must be the person, whether he or she be an agricultural worker, an economic agent or a consumer. Such an approach, if viewed as a shared goal and not simply a technical question, will allow greater consideration to be given to the close relationship between agriculture, the care and protection of creation, economic growth, levels of development, and the present and future needs of the world population.
The expectations linked to the Sustainable Development Goals set for the entire international community require facing the situation of some countries and regions where agricultural activity remains deficient, because insufficiently diversified and consequently incapable of responding to the local environment and climate change. At present we are witnessing low levels of employment and therefore of overall earnings, as well as malnutrition, at times chronic, affecting millions of human beings. This is a complex mechanism, striking above all the most vulnerable sectors. These are not only excluded from processes of production, but are also frequently forced to leave their lands and to seek refuge in search of a better life.
This is not to say that the future of agriculture lies in the imposition of a model of production that greatly benefits limited groups and a tiny portion of the world’s population. Nor does it mean viewing agricultural work on the basis of laboratory findings. Those approaches may bring immediate benefits to some, yet have we adequately considered the harm they can do to others? Every effort should be directed primarily to helping each country increase its own resources in order to achieve alimentary self-sufficiency. This will involve contemplating new models of development and consumption, facilitating forms of community structures that value small producers and that protect local ecosystems and biodiversity (cf Laudato Si’, 129, 180). It will also mean adopting policies of cooperation that do not aggravate the situation of less developed peoples and their dependence on others.
The distance between the enormity of the problems and the positive results obtained to date must never be a reason for discouragement or diffidence, but rather an incentive to greater responsibility. Through the dialogue promoted by the Forum over which you preside, may each participant be inspired to intensify the work already begun and to make it ever more creative and better organized. Truly, much can be done! (LS, 180).
In the name of Pope Francis, I express the hope that this meeting will prove most fruitful. To you and to all taking part I offer my own cordial best wishes.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis has sent a Message to the UN Conference which is aimed at negotiating a legally binding instrument for the prohibition of nuclear arms, leading to their total elimination. The first part of this meeting is taking part in New York, in the United States of America from 27 to 31 March 2017.
Pope Francis' Message was read aloud by Monsignor Antoine Camilleri, Under-secretary for Relations with States, who is leading the Holy See's delegation at the Conference.
Message of His Holiness, Pope Francis
to the UN Conference
New York City (USA)
To Her Excellency Elayne Whyte Gómez
President of the United Nations Conference
to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument
to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons,
Leading Towards their Total Elimination
I extend cordial greetings to you, Madam President, and to all the representatives of the various nations and international organizations, and of civil society participating in this Conference. I wish to encourage you to work with determination in order to promote the conditions necessary for a world without nuclear weapons.
On 25 September 2015, before the General Assembly of the United Nations, I emphasized what the Preamble and first Article of the United Nations Charter indicate as the foundations of the international juridical framework: peace, the pacific solution of disputes and the development of friendly relations between nations. An ethic and a law based on the threat of mutual destruction – and possibly the destruction of all mankind – are contradictory to the very spirit of the United Nations. We must therefore commit ourselves to a world without nuclear weapons, by fully implementing the Non-Proliferation Treaty, both in letter and spirit (cf Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations, 25 September 2015).
But why give ourselves this demanding and forward-looking goal in the present international context characterized by an unstable climate of conflict, which is both cause and indication of the difficulties encountered in advancing and strengthening the process of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation?
If we take into consideration the principal threats to peace and security with their many dimensions in this multipolar world of the twenty-first century as, for example, terrorism, asymmetrical conflicts, cybersecurity, environmental problems, poverty, not a few doubts arise regarding the inadequacy of nuclear deterrence as an effective response to such challenges. These concerns are even greater when we consider the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that would follow from any use of nuclear weapons, with devastating, indiscriminate and uncontainable effects, over time and space. Similar cause for concern arises when examining the waste of resources spent on nuclear issues for military purposes, which could instead be used for worthy priorities like the promotion of peace and integral human development, as well as the fight against poverty, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We need also to ask ourselves how sustainable is a stability based on fear, when it actually increases fear and undermines relationships of trust between peoples.
International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on simply maintaining a balance of power. Peace must be built on justice, on integral human development, on respect for fundamental human rights, on the protection of creation, on the participation of all in public life, on trust between peoples, on the support of peaceful institutions, on access to education and health, on dialogue and solidarity. From this perspective, we need to go beyond nuclear deterrence: the international community is called upon to adopt forward-looking strategies to promote the goal of peace and stability and to avoid short-sighted approaches to the problems surrounding national and international security.
In this context, the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative. A concrete approach should promote a reflection on an ethics of peace and multilateral and cooperative security that goes beyond the fear and isolationism that prevail in many debates today. Achieving a world without nuclear weapons involves a long-term process, based on the awareness that “everything is connected” within the perspective of an integral ecology (cf Laudato Si’, 117, 138). The common destiny of mankind demands the pragmatic strengthening of dialogue and the building and consolidating of mechanisms of trust and cooperation, capable of creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons.
Growing interdependence and globalization mean that any response to the threat of nuclear weapons should be collective and concerted, based on mutual trust. This trust can be built only through dialogue that is truly directed to the common good and not to the protection of veiled or particular interests; such dialogue, as far as possible, should include all: nuclear states, countries which do not possess nuclear weapons, the military and private sectors, religious communities, civil societies, and international organizations. And in this endeavour we must avoid those forms of mutual recrimination and polarization which hinder dialogue rather than encourage it. Humanity has the ability to work together in building up our common home; we have the freedom, intelligence and capacity to lead and direct technology, to place limits on our power, and to put all this at the service of another type of progress: one that is more human, social and integral (cf LS, 13, 78, 112; Message for the 22nd Meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Agreement on Climate Change (COP22), 10 November 2016).
This Conference intends to negotiate a Treaty inspired by ethical and moral arguments. It is an exercise in hope and it is my wish that it may also constitute a decisive step along the road towards a world without nuclear weapons. Although this is a significantly complex and long-term goal, it is not beyond our reach.
Madam President, I sincerely wish that the efforts of this Conference may be fruitful and provide an effective contribution to advancing an ethic of peace and of multilateral and cooperative security, which humanity very much needs today.
Upon all those gathered at this important meeting, and upon the citizens of the countries you represent, I invoke the blessings of the Almighty.
This morning at the Vatican, Pope Francis met with the Bishops from Western Canada who are in Rome for their visit Ad Limina Apostolorum (literally to the thresholds of the Basilicas of the Apostles). This is the second group of Canadian Bishops to make their visit to Rome this year, following the Bishops of Atlantic Canada who were in Rome from 13 to 18 March 2017.
Ad Limina visits usually occur every five years. In anticipation of the physical visit to Rome, each Diocesan Bishop sends a report detailing the current state of his diocese. These reports form the basis of the discussions that take place with representatives of the various offices within the Roman Curia, and the Holy Father receives the Bishops in Audience.
In some cases, the Bishops of entire countries visit together, but in Canada, the Bishops visit according to various regions - Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario or Western. The Assembly of Western Catholic Bishops (AWCB) was established in 1974 and gathers the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches of the four western Canadian provinces as well as the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.
The Bishops of Ontario will travel to Rome after Easter for their Ad Limina and the Bishops of Quebec will visit in May.
For the fourth Sunday of Lent, the scriptures propose the encounter of Jesus with a man who was born blind. Here is my reflection about the ways in which we are called to a new gift of sight.
With renewed sight
The scripture passages we have heard today all speak of
the importance of sight and perception.Samuel is sent in search of a new king who has been chosen from among
the sons of Jesse, but it was only when the Lord confirmed his choice that
Samuel was able to anoint him (cf 1 Sam 16:6-13).
The gospel recounts the story of the cure of a man who
was blind from birth (Jn 9:1) and
Saint Paul’s letter to the Ephesians reminds us that once we were darkness, but now in the Lord, we are light. Therefore we must live as children of the light (Eph 5:8).
The need for renewed sight is not something that is
confined to the scriptures; we too can benefit from the wisdom that is shared
with us today, and from the gift of new sight that our faith provides.Lent is a time of grace during which the Lord
invites us to come back to him, to see the world around us through his
eyes.Renewed by our experience of
conversion, he gives us the gift of new sight so that we can continue his work
of pointing out the injustices to which so many people are blind.We are the ones that Jesus counts on to do
what we can to change situations of injustice into opportunities for new life.
This year, the Share Lent campaign organized by
Development and Peace is focused on Women
at the heart of change.The
information that is provided helps to open our eyes to the plight of our
brothers and sisters, but it is up to us to do something about it, otherwise
these words will have fallen on deaf ears.
In this part of the world, we are extremely fortunate,
but our fortune often blinds us to the reality of situations that must be faced
by many others.We are surrounded by
lakes and we have access to one of the largest reserves of fresh water in the
world, yet how many women and girls spend the majority of their days carrying
water jugs in search of clean water so that their families can cook, wash and
drink?
A vast swath of Canada’s land is covered by the boreal
forest, yet there are parts of our world where our brothers and sisters must
struggle daily to find enough wood to cook their meals and to provide warmth
for their families.
Most of us are fortunate enough to have a roof over our
heads, yet there are some – even in this city – who are homeless, and then
there are the countless others who live in other parts of the world and must
struggle to rebuild their lives over and over again, each time that an
earthquake, a typhoon or some other disaster strikes.
And lest we be lulled into thinking that we are far
distanced from the world of struggle, let us not forget the plight of Canada’s
indigenous people.They live side by
side with us and yet far too often we are unaware of the wealth they have to
offer.
Jesus restored sight to the man who was born blind so
that he could come to believe that what seems impossible can be made possible
(cf Jn 9:1-41).He offers the gift of
new sight to all of us.How will we make
a difference this week in the world around us?Once, we too were in darkness, but now we walk as children of the
light.It is up to us to live each day
by the light of our faith so that others may see for themselves and come to
believe the good news.
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.
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
At the centre of the gospel for this fourth Sunday of Lent we find Jesus and a man who was blind from birth (cf Jn 9:1-41). Christ restores his sight and works this miracle with a kind of symbolic rite: first he mixes some of the dirt with saliva and then he rubs it over the eyes of the blind man; he then orders him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The man goes, washes himself and regains his sight. He had been blind from birth. With this miracle, Jesus shows himself and he manifests himself in us as light for the world; and the blind man represents every one of us, who have been created to know god, but because of sin, we are like blind people, we need a new light; we all need a new light: the light of faith, which Jesus gives us. In fact, when the blind man in the gospel regained his sight, he opened himself to the mystery of Christ. Jesus asked him: Do you believe in the Son of man? (Jn 1:35). And who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?, the man responded (Jn 1:36). You have seen him: he is the one who is speaking with you (Jn 1:37). Lord, I believe, and he prostrated himself before Jesus.
This episode leads us to reflect on our faith, our faith in Christ, the Son of God, and at the same time it also refers to Baptism, which is the first Sacrament of faith: the Sacrament by which we come to the light, through which we are reborn in water and the Holy Spirit; this is the same as it was for the man born blind, who had his eyes opened after he had washed in the waters of the pool of Siloam. The blind man who is healed is us when we do not realize that Jesus is the light, the light of the world, when we look elsewhere, when we prefer to rely on smaller lights, when we fumble in the dark. The fact that this blind man did not have a name helps us to see ourselves, with our faces and our names as part of the story. We too have been illuminated by Christ at Baptism, and from that point onward, we are called to live as children of the light. Living as children of the light means that we must radically change our mentality, develop an ability to look at mankind and at things with a different measure of values, which comes from God. In fact, the sacrament of Baptism urges us to choose to live as children of the light and to journey in light. If I were to ask you: Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that you can change your heart? Do you believe that you can live according to the way he sees reality and not as we see it? Do you believe that He is light, that he gives us the true light? How would you respond? Everyone respond in your heart.
What does it mean to have the true light, to walk in the light? First of all it means abandoning false lights: the cold light that provokes prejudices against others, because prejudice distorts reality and leads to hate against those who make judgements without mercy and condemn without possibility of appeal. This is an everyday occurrence! When we gossip with others, we are not journeying toward the light, we are journeying in shadows. Another false light, which is so seductive and ambiguous, is self-interest: the temptation to evaluate people based on the possibility of our own personal gain, our own pleasure, our prestige; there is no truth in such relationships and situations. If we follow this path of seeking only personal interests, we are walking in shadows.
May the Blessed Virgin, who first welcomed Jesus, the light of the world, obtain for us the grace to welcome the light of faith anew this Lent, and to rediscover the inestimable gift of Baptism, which we have all received. May this new illumination transform our attitudes and actions so that we too can be bearers of rays of Christ's light beginning with our own poverty and sense of smallness.
After having recited the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
Yesterday in Almería (Spain), José Alvarez-Benavides y de la Torre and 114 companions who were martyred were all declared Blessed. These priests, religious and lay people were heroic witnesses of Christ and of his gospel of peace and fraternal reconciliation. May their example and their intercession support the commitment of the Church to building the civilization of love.
I greet all of you, people of Rome, those who have come from various parts of Italy and from other countries, especially the pilgrims from Córdoba (Spain), the young people from Saint-Jean de Passy College in Paris, the faithful from Loreto, the faithful from Quartu Sant'Elena, Rende, Maiori, Poggiomarino and the teenages from the Romana-Vittoria area of Milan. In regard to Milan, I want to thank the Cardinal Archbishop and all the Milanese people for the warm welcome I received yesterday. Truly, I felt at home, in every aspect, with believers and non-believers. Thank you very much, dear people of Milan, and I will tell you something: I found that what people say is true: In Milan, they receive you with heart in hand.
I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye.
At 5:45pm today, in the Meazza-San Siro Stadium in Milan, the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with recently-Confirmed young men and women.
At the entrance to the Stadium, the Pope was welcomed by the President of the structure, Roberto Ruozzi.
During the encounter, the Pope responded to some questions asked by one of the boys who had recently been confirmed, as well as a married couple and one of the catechists.
Responses of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to some questions asked during his encounter
with recently confirmed young people
Question asked by one of the boys:
Hi, I am Davide and I come from Cornaredo. I want to ask you a question: For you, when you were our age, what helped you to grow in your friendship with Jesus?
Pope Francis:
Good evening! David asked a very simple question, which it is easy for me to answer, because all I have to do is a bit of memory of the times in which I was your age. And his question is: When you were our age, what helped you to grow in your friendship with Jesus? There are three things, but with a connecting line that unites all three of them. The first thing that helped me was my grandmothers. But Father, how can grandmothers help us to grow in love with Jesus? What do you think? Can they or can't they?
Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis:
But grandmothers are old!
Children:
No!
Pope Francis:
No? They are not old? Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis:
They are old ... Grandmothers are from another time: grandmothers don't know how to use a computer, they don't have cell phones ... I'll ask another time: grandmothers, can they help us to grow in our friendship with Jesus? Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis:
And this was my experience: my grandmothers spoke normally about the things of life. One of my grandfathers was a carpenter and he taught me how Jesus learned the same trade by working with his father, and in this way, when I watched my grandfather, I would think about Jesus. The other grandmother used to tell me to never go to bed without saying a word to Jesus, telling him good night. My grandmother taught me to pray, and even my mother; the other grandmother did the same thing ... What's important is this: grandparents have the wisdom of life. What do grandparents have?
Children:
The wisdom of life.
Pope Francis:
They have the wisdom of life. And with this wisdom, they teach us how to go closer to Jesus. They did this with me. First of all, my grandparents. A word of advice: speak with your grandparents. Speak to them, ask them all the questions you want. Listen to them. This is important, in these modern times, it's important to speak with grandparents. Have you understood? Children:
Yes! Pope Francis:
And you, those of you whose grandparents are still alive, do you make an effort to speak with them, to ask them questions, to listen to them? Do you make an effort to do this? Do you do this work? Children:
Yes.
Pope Francis:
You don't sound too convinced. Do you do this work?
Children:
Yes! Pope Francis:
Grandparents. Then, it helped me a lot to play with friends, because playing well, playing and feeling the joy of playing with friends, without insulting one another, and thinking that this was the way Jesus must have played ... But, ask yourself, did Jesus play? O no?
Children:
Yes! Pope Francis:
But he was God! God no, he can't play ... Did Jesus play?
Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis:
You are sure. Yes, Jesus played, and he played with others. And it is good for us to play with our friends, because when we play cleanly, we learn to respect others, we learn to form a squad, a team, we learn to work all together. And this unites us with Jesus. Playing with friends. But - there is something that I believe one of you said - does fighting with our friends help us to know Jesus? Children:
No! Pope Francis:
What was that? Children:
No!
Pope Francis:
Good. And if someone fights, because it is normal to fight, but afterwards he says that he's sorry, that's the end of the story. Is it clear? Children:
Yes! Pope Francis:
It helped me a lot to play with friends. And a third thing that helped me to grow in friendship with Jesus and with the parish, the oratory, was to go to the parish, to go to the oratory and to spend time with others: this is important! Do you like to go to your parish? Children:
Yes! Pope Francis:
Do you like - but tell me the truth - do you like to go to Mass?
Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis (laughing):
I'm not sure ... Do you like to go to your local oratory? Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis:
Ah, yes, this you like. And these three things you will do - truly, this is a word of advice that I offer to you - these three things you should do to grow in friendship with Jesus: speak with your grandparents, play with your friends and go to your parish and your parish oratory. Because, with these three things, you will pray more. (applause) And prayer is the thread that unites these three things. Thank you. (applause) Question asked by two parents:
Good evening. We are Monica and Alberto, and we are parents of three children, the last one will be Confirmed next October. The question that we want to ask you is this: how can we pass on the beauty of the faith to our children? Sometimes, it seems so complicated to speak about these things without becoming boring or banal or, worse yet, authoritarian. What words should we use? Pope Francis:
Thank you. I had these questions ahead of time ... Yes, because they sent them to me, and in order to be clear about my response, I took a few moments, I wrote something, and now I want to respond to Monica and Alberto.
a. I believe that this is one of the key questions that touches on our lives as parents: the transmission of the faith, and it also touches on our lives as pastors, and as educators. The transmission of the faith. And I would like to ask you this question. I invite you to recall who were the persons who left a mark on your faith and what was it about them that remained most impressed upon you. The things that the children just asked me, I ask them of you. Who are the people, what are the situations, the things that helped you to grow in faith? I invite you parents to become, with the help of your imagination, for just a few moments, children, and remember the people who helped you to grow. Who helped me to grow? My father, my mother, my grandparents, my catechists, an aunt, the pastor, a neighbour, who knows ... We carry them all in our memory, but especially we carry in our hearts someone who has helped us to believe. Now, I'll give you a challenge. Let's be silent for a moment ... and everyone think: who helped me to believe? And I respond for myself, and in order to tell the truth I have to return to the memory of Lombardy ... (great applause). For me, one of the people who helped me a lot, who helped me to grow in my faith, was a priest from Lodi, from the Diocese of Lodi; a good priest who baptized me and then all through my life, I would go to him; sometimes more often, at other times less so ...; and he accompanied me until I entered the Jesuit novitiate. I am grateful to you Lombards for this gift, thank you! (applause). And i will never forget that priest, never, never. He was an apostle of the confessional, an apostle of the confessional. Merciful, good, a hard worker. This is how he helped me to grow.
Everyone of us has thought of a person? I told you who helped me.
You may be wondering why I used this little exercise. Our children are always watching us; even when we are not paying attention, they are observing us all the time and learning at the same time. (applause) The children are watching us: this is the title of a film by Vittorio De Sica from 1943. Look for it. Look for it. The children are watching us. And, by the way, I'd like to say that these Italian post-war films and a bit afterwards, were - generally - a true source of catechesis about humanity. Close the parentheses. The children are watching, and you cannot imagine the anguish that a child feels when his parents are fighting. They suffer! (applause) And when parents separate, they are the ones who pay the price. (applause) When we bring a child into the world, we should be conscious of this: we take on the responsibility to help this child to grow in faith. It would be very useful for you to read the Exhortation Amoris laetitia, especially the first chapters, on love, matrimony, the fourth chapter which is a must, a key part. But don't forget: when you fight, your children suffer and their faith does not grow (applause). Children know our joys, our sorrows and our preoccupations. They manage to capture everything, they notice everything, and since they are very very intuitive, they draw their own conclusions and intuit their own lessons. They know when we are setting traps for them and when we aren't. They know. They are very clever. Therefore, one of the first things that I would say to you is: take care of them, take care of their hearts, their joys and their hopes.
Your children's little eyes eventually memorize and read with the heart how faith is one of the best inheritances that they could ever receive from their parents and from your ancestors. If they realize it. And if you give them faith and live it well, faith will be passed on.
Show them how faith helps us to go on, to face the many challenges that we face, not with pessimism but with trust, this is the best witness that you can give to them. There is a saying: Words are like wind, but what they sow in our memories, in our hearts, remains forever.
b. Another thing. In various places, many families have a very beautiful tradition of going to Mass together and afterwards they go to the park, they take their children to play together. In this way, faith becomes a part of the family and includes other families, with friends, family friends ... This is good and it helps us to live the commandment of keeping feast days holy. Not only going to church to pray or to sleep during the homily - it happens! - not only this, but then going to play together. Now that we have begun this beautiful day, for example, on Sunday after having gone to Mass with the family, it is good to be able to go to the park or to a square, to play, to spend some time together. In my homeland, this practice is called dominguear, spending Sunday together. But our climate makes it difficult to do this at times because many parents, in order to feed their families, have to work even on festival days. And this is terrible. I always ask parents, when they tell me that they lose patience with their children, my first question is always: How many children do you have? - Three, four, they tell me. And I ask them a second question: Do you play with your children? - Play? And they don't know what to say. Parents in our times cannot, or they have lost the habit of playing with their children, of spending time with their children. A father once said to me: Father, when I leave to go to work, they are still in bed, and when I return late at night, they are already in bed. I only see them on festival days. This is terrible! This kind of life kills humanity! Keep in mind: playing with the children, spending time with children is also an act of transmitting faith. It is free, the grace of God.
c. And one last thing: family education in solidarity. This is an act of transmitting faith with education in solidarity, in the works of mercy. The works of mercy make faith grow in our hearts. This is very important. I like to place the accent on celebration, on gratitude, on seeking other families and living faith as a something to be enjoyed; I believe that it is also necessary to add another element. There can be no feast without solidarity. Like there can be no solidarity without a feast, because when we are in solidarity, we are joyous and we share our joy.
I don't want to bore you, but I want to share with you something that I encountered in Buenos Aires. A mother was at lunch with her three children: they were six, four and a half and three years old; and there were two others. her husband was at work. They were at lunch, each of them was eating a cutlet alla milanese, yes, because they told me, and every one of the children had one in his or her plate. There was a knock at the door. The oldest of the children went to open the door and returned saying: Mama, there is a poor man who is asking for something to eat. And the mother, she was wise, asked: What should we do? Should we give him something or not? - Yes, mama, let's give him something! There were other cutlets there. The mother said: Ah, great: let us make two sandwiches: all of you cut your cutlets in half and let us make two sandwiches. - Mama, but what about these! - No, they are for supper. And in this way, the mother taught them to be in solidarity, but also that there is a cost involved! For example, this would normally be enough, but you will laugh to hear the end of the story. One week later, the mother had to go to the grocery store, in the afternoon, at about four o'clock, and she left the three children alone for about an hour - they were good children. She went shopping. When the mother came home, there were not only three children, there were four! In addition to the three children, there was a beggar (laughter) who had asked for money and they had invited him in; together, they were drinking caffelatte ... This is an ending that makes us laugh a bit ... Teaching children about solidarity, about the works of mercy. Thank you.
Question asked by a catechist:
Good evening, I am Valeria, a mother and a catechist from one of the parishes in Milan, from Rogoredo. You have taught us that we need a village in order to teach a child: our Archbishop also has inspired us over the years to work together, so that there will be a level of collaboration between various educating figures. So we want to ask you for some advice, so that we can open ourselves to a dialogue and to a comparison with all the educators who have a role to play with teaching our children ... Pope Francis:
a. I suggest an education based on think-feel-do, an education for the intellect, the heart and the hands, all three languages. Teach in harmony with these three languages, so that your young people - boys and girls - can think about what they are feeling and doing, feel what they are thinking and doing, and do what they are thinking and feeling. Don't separate these three things, but keep all three together. Don't teach only the intellect: this will give them intellectual ideas, which are important, but without the heart and he hands ideas are useless. There should be harmony in education. But we can also say: teach with content, ideas and attitudes about life and with values. We can also say it this way. But never teach only, for example, with notions and ideas. No. The heart should also be able to grow through education; and also the ability to do things, people's attitudes, their behaviour in life.
b. In reference to the preceding point, I remember that once in a school there was a graduate who was a phenomenal soccer player but he was a disaster in class. One rule that we had given him was that if he did not behave in class he would have to stop playing soccer, which he loved so much! Since he continued his bad behaviour, he spent two months without being able to play, and this made matters worse. Be careful when you punish: this boy got worse. It's true, I knew him, this boy. One day, his coach spoke to the principal, and explained: Things are not going well! Let me try, the principal said, and he asked if the child could begin playing again. Let's try, said the woman. The coach put him in as captain of the squad. That child, that young man felt valued, he felt as though he could do better, and he began not only to behave better, but his performance also got better. It seems to me that this is very important in education. Very important. Among our students, there are some who are inspired by sports and not so much by science, but others succeed better at art rather than at mathematics while others excel at philosophy rather than at sports. A good teacher, an educator or a coach knows how to inspire good qualities in his students while not neglecting the others. In such cases, he provides the pedagogical phenomenon known as transference: doing one thing well and pleasantly, the benefit transfers to the others. Look for the places where students have more responsibility, where they are happier, and they will do well. It is always good to motivate them, but children also need to have fun and to sleep. Teaching alone, without making space for gratitude is not good.
And I finish with one more thing. There is a terrible phenomenon in recent times, that is very concerning for me, in education: bullying. Please, be careful (thunderous applause) Now, I ask you, newly Confirmed young people. In silence, listen to me. In silence. In your school, in your neighbourhood, is there someone about whom you make fun, that you play tricks on because they have a defect, because they are fat, because they are thin ... this one, or that one? Think about them. And do you like to make them feel ashamed and even hit them or beat them because of those things? Think about it. This behaviour is called bullying. Please ... (increasing applause) No, no! I am not finished. Please, for the sake of the Sacrament of Holy Confirmation, make a promise to the Lord to never do this and to never allow anyone else to do this in your college, in your school, in your neighbourhood. Do you understand? Children:
Yes! (thunderous applause)
Pope Francis:
Promise me: never, never make fun of others, play tricks on school friends, children in your neighbourhood ... Do you promise me this, today?
Children:
Yes.
Pope Francis:
The Pope is not happy with your response ... Do you promise me this?
Children:
(shouting) Yes!
Pope Francis:
Good. This yes, you have said to the Pope. Now, in silence, think about how terrible this behaviour is, and think about whether you are able to make such a promise to Jesus. Can you promise Jesus that you will never be a bully?
Children:
Yes!
Pope Francis:
You promise Jesus ...
Children:
(shouting) Yes!
Pope Francis:
Thank you. And may the Lord bless you!
Congratulations to all of you (the children who had performed the choreography on the field): you are very good!
Let us pray together: Our Father ...
(Blessing)
Please, I ask you to pray for me. And before we leave, one more question: with whom should we speak more often at home?
Children:
With our grandparents!
Pope Francis:
Good! And you, parents, what should you do more often with your children? Parents:
Play!
Pope Francis:
Play. And you teachers, how can you make education better, with what kind of language? With the language of the head, the heart and the hands!
Thank you and good bye!
At the conclusion of the meeting, at 7:00pm, the Holy Father travelled to Milan's Linate airport where, at 7:40pm, he bid farewell to the persons who had welcomed him this morning and left for the return trip to Rome. The aircraft carrying Pope Francis landed at Rome's Ciampino airport at 8:45pm. Then, at 9:15pm, the Pope returned to the Vatican.
At 3:30pm this afternoon, in Monza Park, the Holy Father, Pope Francis presided over the concelebration of the Eucharist for the faithful of the Archdiocese of Milan.
Upon his arrival, the Holy Father travelled by car to various parts of the park, greeting the faithful.
Then, arriving at the sacristy, the Pope was welcomed by Doctor Giovanna Vilasi, Prefect of Monza; Doctor Pietro Luigi Ponti, President of the Province and Doctor Roberto Scannagatti, Mayor of Monza. The Holy Father then met briefly with the concelebrating Bishops and those who organized the visit.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the Archbishop of Milan, His Eminence, Cardinal Angelo Scola offered the Pope a few words of gratitude.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
during the Mass celebrated in Monza Park (Milan)
We have just heard the most important announcement of our history: the Annunciation to Mary (cf Luke 1:26-38) – a dense passage, full of life, which I like to read in the light of another announcement: that of the birth of John the Baptist (cf Luke 1:5-20). Two announcements that follow one another and that are united; two announcements that, when contrasted, show us what God gives us in His Son.
The annunciation of John the Baptist happened when Zechariah, the priest, ready to begin the liturgical ceremony entered the Sanctuary of the Temple, while all the assembly was outside waiting. The Annunciation of Jesus happened in a lost place of Galilee, in a peripheral city and without a particularly good reputation (cf John 1:46), in the anonymity of the home of a girl called Mary.
A contrast, that doesn’t count for little, which indicates that the new Temple of God, the new encounter of God with His people will take place in places that we generally do not expect, in the margins, in the periphery. There, they would meet, there they would encounter one another, God would become flesh there in order to walk together with us from the womb of His Mother. Now He would no longer be in a place reserved for a few while the majority remained outside in expectation. Nothing and no one would be indifferent to him, no situation would be deprived of His presence: the joy of Salvation began in the daily life of the home of a girl of Nazareth.
God Himself is the one who takes the initiative and chooses to insert Himself, as He did with Mary, in our homes, in our daily struggles, full of anxieties together with desires. And it is in fact within our cities, our schools and universities, squares and hospitals that the most beautiful announcement we can hear is fulfilled: Rejoice, the Lord is with thee! It is a joy that generates life, that generates hope, that is made flesh in the way we look at the morrow, in the attitude with which we look at others. It is a joy that becomes solidarity, hospitality, and mercy towards all.
Like Mary, we can also be at a loss. How will this come about in times so full of speculation? There is speculation about life, about work, about the family. There is speculation about the poor and about migrants; there is speculation about young people and about their future. All seems to be reduced to numbers, forgetting, on the other hand, that the daily life of so many families is tinged with precariousness and insecurity. While grief knocks at many doors, while so many young people grow dissatisfied due to the lack of real opportunities, speculation abounds everywhere.
The dizzying rhythm to which we are subjected certainly seems to rob us of hope and of joy. The pressures and the impotence in the face of so many situations seem to wither the mind and make us insensitive in the face of the innumerable challenges. And, paradoxically, when everything is accelerated to build – in theory – a better society, in the end there is no time for anything or anyone. We lose time for the family, time for the community, we lose time for friendship, for solidarity and for remembering.
It will do us good to ask ourselves: How is it possible to live the joy of the Gospel today within our cities? Is Christian hope possible in this situation, here and now?
These two questions touch our identity, the life of our families, of our countries and of our cities. They touch the life of our children, of our young people and they exact on our part a new way of situating ourselves in history. If Christian joy and hope continue to be possible we cannot, we do not want to remain before so many painful situations as mere spectators who look at the sky hoping that it will stop raining. All that is happening leads us to look at the present with audacity, with the audacity of one who knows that the joy of salvation takes shape in the daily life of the home of a girl of Nazareth.
In the face of Mary’s bewilderment, in the face of our bewilderment, there are three keys that the Angel offers us to help us to accept the mission that is entrusted to us. Evoke the memory. The first thing the Angel does is to evoke the memory, thus opening Mary’s present to the whole history of Salvation. He evokes the promise made to David as fruit of the Covenant with Jacob. Mary is a daughter of the Covenant. We also are invited today to remember, to look at our past so as not to forget from where we came, so as not to forget our ancestors, our grandparents and all that they went through to come to where we are today. This land and its people have known the grief of two world wars and sometimes have seen their merited fame for industry and civilization polluted by unruly ambitions. Our memory helps us not to remain prisoners of discourses that sow fractures and divisions as the only way to resolve conflicts. To evoke the memory is the best antidote to our disposition in the face of the magical solutions of division and estrangement.
Belonging to the People of God. Memory enables Mary to appropriate her belonging to the People of God. It does us good to remember that we are members of the People of God! Milanese, yes, Ambrosians, certainly, but part of the great People of God – a people made up of a thousand faces, histories, backgrounds, a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic people. This is one of our riches. We are a people called to welcome differences, to integrate them with respect and creativity and to celebrate the novelty that comes from others; we are a people that is not afraid to embrace confines, frontiers; we are a people that is not afraid to give hospitality to one in need because we know that our Lord is present there.
Nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37): thus ends the Angel’s answer to Mary. When we believe that everything depends on our capacities, on our strengths, on our myopic horizons, when, instead, we are ready to allow ourselves to be helped, to let ourselves be counselled, when we open ourselves to grace, it seems that the impossible begins to become possible. These lands are well aware that, in the course of their history, they have generated so many charisms, so many missionaries, so much richness for the life of the Church! The many times that, overcoming sterile and divisive pessimism, they opened themselves to God’s initiative and became signs of how fruitful a land can be if it is not closed in upon its own ideas, within its limitations and in its capacities, but rather open to others.
As it was yesterday, God continues to seek allies, He continues to seek men and women capable of believing, capable of remembering, of feeling part of His people to cooperate with the Spirit’s creativity. God continues to tread our suburbs and streets. He pushes Himself in every place in search of hearts capable of listening to His invitation and makes them become flesh here and now. Paraphrasing Saint Ambrose in his comment on this passage, we can say: God continues to seek hearts like Mary’s, willing to believe even in altogether extraordinary conditions (cf Esposizione del Vangelo secondo Luca II: 17: PL 15, 1559). May the Lord make this faith and this hope grow in us.
At the conclusion of the Mass, at 5:00 pm, the Holy Father travelled by car to the Meazza-San Siro Stadium for the meeting with recently confirmed young people.
