Sunday, September 30, 2018

Doing God's work

Here is the text of the reflection I shared with those who came to pray with us today: some thoughts about the truly human interactions that took place among the disciples.  They help us to realize that we too can follow him.


God’s work

The disciples have been travelling with Jesus and, along the way, he has been teaching them a number of things.  They have arrived in Capernaum and they are talking together about the lessons that Jesus was teaching them.  The disciples are really eager students.  They want to understand what Jesus is teaching them, but sometimes, their enthusiasm gets the best of them.

John – the brother of James, the son of Zebedee – says: Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him because he was not following us (Mk 9:38).  We can almost hear the enthusiasm in his voice, mixed with a bit of hesitation, as if he’s trying to prove to Jesus that he’s done something really good, but at the same time, looking for his approval.  Have you ever encountered this situation in your own family, or in your workplace?  Have you ever found yourself in John’s position, eagerly trying to impress someone while at the same time hoping that you’re on the right track to understanding how things are supposed to be?

Poor John.  Can you imagine what he must have felt like when Jesus responded, not by saying: Right John, now you’re catching on.  No, Jesus replies in a surprising fashion.  He says: Do not stop him, for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me (Mk 9:39).  I can almost hear the disciples muttering among themselves: But what does he mean?  We’re the ones who he’s been teaching.  We’re the ones who have been learning about this new kingdom, we’re the ones who are supposed to be doing miracles, we’re the ones who he has chosen to be the leaders ... Their enthusiasm was getting the better of them, and Jesus had to stop them in their tracks.  He had to revise his lesson plan so he could help them to understand that the work God was calling them to do was much bigger than their own egos.

Human beings have always had difficulty grasping this concept:  the work that God is calling us to do is much bigger than our own egos.  Even in the time of the Prophets, when the Lord came down out of the cloud and took some of the spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders (Num 11:25), they were surprised that their ability to prophesy was limited ... but what was even more surprising was the fact that two other people, who were not among the elders, had also received the spirit of God and were able to prophesy (cf Num 11:26-27).  Here again, the work that God was calling the Israelite people to accomplish was much bigger than they could comprehend.

The same is true today.  When we look at our own lives, when we ask ourselves: what work does God want me to accomplish?, some of us might think that we have already done wonderful things: and we have.  Some of us might think that we’re retired and so it’s time to rest, but God’s plans for us are much larger in scope than we can comprehend.  This isn’t meant to scare anyone, but rather to keep us vigilant because God is full of surprises, but they are always accompanied with the gift of joy.  Ask God to show you what he wants you to do, and to give you the strength and the wisdom to accomplish it in his name.


La volonté de Dieu

Les disciples ont voyagé avec Jésus et, en cours de route, il leur a enseigné un certain nombre de choses. Ils sont arrivés à Capharnaüm et ils parlaient ensemble des leçons que Jésus leur avait enseignées. Les disciples étaient vraiment des étudiants ardents. Ils voulaient comprendre ce que Jésus leur enseignait, mais parfois, leur enthousiasme prenait le dessus.

Jean - le frère de Jacques, le fils de Zébédée – dit à Jésus: Maître, nous avons vu quelqu'un expulser les démons en ton nom; nous l’en avons empêché, car il n’est pas de ceux qui nous suivaient (Mc 9,38). On peut presque entendre l’enthousiasme de sa voix, et aussi un peu d’hésitation, comme s’il essayait de prouver à Jésus qu’il avait fait quelque chose de vraiment bien, mais en même temps on pourrait dire qu’il cherchait son approbation. Avez-vous déjà rencontré cette situation dans votre propre famille ou sur votre lieu de travail? Vous êtes-vous déjà trouvé dans la même position que Jean, essayant avec impatience d’impressionner quelqu'un tout en même temps espérant que vous êtes sur la bonne voie pour comprendre la situation?

Pauvre Jean. Pouvez-vous imaginer comment il a dû se sentir quand Jésus a répondu, non pas en disant: Bravo Jean, maintenant tu comprends. Non, Jésus a répondu de manière surprenante. Il a dit: Ne l’en empêchez pas, car celui qui fait un miracle en mon nom ne peut pas, aussitôt après, mal parler de moi (Mc 9,39). Je peux presque entendre les disciples marmonner entre eux: Mais que veut-il dire? Nous sommes ceux qu’il a enseignés. Nous sommes ceux qui ont appris à connaître ce nouveau royaume, nous sommes ceux qui sont sensés faire des miracles, nous sommes ceux qu’il a choisis pour être les chefs ... Leur enthousiasme a eu raison d’eux, et Jésus a dû les arrêter dans leurs traces. Il devait réviser son plan de cours pour pouvoir les aider à comprendre que les attentes de Dieu surpassaient leurs propres ego.

Les êtres humains ont toujours rencontré de la difficulté à comprendre ce concept: le plan de Dieu est beaucoup plus grand que notre propre ego. Même à l'époque des prophètes, quand le Seigneur descendit dans la nuée ... et prit une part de l'esprit qui reposait sur Moïse et le mit sur les soixante-dix anciens (Nombres 11:25), ils ont été surpris que leur capacité de prophétie fût limitée … mais ce qui était encore plus surprenant c’était le fait que deux autres personnes, qui ne faisaient pas partie des anciens, avaient également reçu l'Esprit de Dieu et étaient capables de prophétiser (cf Nombres 11: 26-27). Là encore, la tâche que le Seigneur a confiée aux israélites dépassait les limites de leur compréhension.

Quand nous regardons nos propres vies, quand nous nous demandons: quel est le plan de Dieu pour moi?, certains d'entre nous pourraient penser que nous avons déjà accompli des choses merveilleuses: et nous les avons faites. Certains d’entre nous pourraient penser que nous sommes à la retraite et donc il est temps de nous reposer, mais les plans de Dieu pour nous sont beaucoup plus vastes que ce que nous pouvons comprendre. Cela n’a pas pour but de faire peur à qui que ce soit, mais plutôt de nous garder vigilants, car Dieu est plein de surprises, mais elles sont toujours accompagnées du don de la joie. Demandons au Seigneur de nous dévoiler ses plans, ce qu'il veut que nous fassions et demandons-lui de nous donner la force ainsi que la sagesse de l'accomplir en son nom.

Angelus about others following Jesus

At noon today (6:00am EDT), 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 His Holiness, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

This Sunday's gospel (cf Mk 9:38-43; 45; 47-48) presents us with one of those very instructive details about Jesus' life with his disciples.  They had seen that a man, who was not part of the group who followed Jesus, was casting out demons in the name of Jesus, and for this reason they wanted to prevent him from doing so.  John, with the zealous enthusiasm that is typical of youth, refers the matter to Jesus, seeking his approval; but on the contrary, Jesus responds: Do not stop him, for there is no one who performs a miracle in my name who will then be able to speak against me: whoever is not against me is for me (Mk 9:39-40).

John and the other disciples demonstrate an attitude of closure in the face of an event that does not fit into their schemes, in this case, the actions - though good - of a person outside the circle of followers.  Instead, Jesus appears to be very free, fully open to the freedom of the Spirit of God, who in his actions is never limited by any confines or by any enclosures.  Jesus wants to teach his disciples, and even us today, about this interior freedom.

It would be good for us to reflect on this discussion, to make and examination of conscience.  The attitude of Jesus' disciples was very human, very common and we can recognize it in Christian communities of every era, probably also in our own times.  In good faith, even with zeal, people want to protect the authenticity of a certain experience, protecting the founder or the leader from false imitators.  But at the same time, there is a fear of competition - and this is terrible: fear of competition - that someone might be able to steal away new followers, and then we would not succeed in appreciating the good that the others are doing: this is not good because they don't belong to us, they say.  This is a form of self-reference.  Indeed, this is the root of proselytism, and the Church - Pope Benedict said - does not grow through proselytism, it grows through attraction, which is to say that it grows through the witness of others and the strength of the Holy Spirit.

The great freedom of God in giving himself to us is a challenge and an exhortation to change our attitudes and our relationships.  This is the invitation that Jesus offers to us today.  He calls us to not think in terms of friends and enemies, us and then, who is in and who is out, mine and yours, but to go further, to open our hearts in order to recognize his presence and the action of God even in unusual and unpredictable areas and in persons who are not part of our circles.  It is a matter of being more attentive to the genuineness of the good, the beautiful and the true that is accomplished, than to the name and provenance of those who do it. And - as the rest of the Gospel of today suggests - instead of judging others, we must examine ourselves, and cut away without compromise everything that can scandalize the weaker people in the faith.

May the Virgin Mary, a model of docile reception of God's surprises, helps us to recognize the signs of the Lord's presence in our midst, discovering Him wherever He shows Himself, even in the most unthinkable and unusual situations, teach us to love our community without jealousy and closures, and to be always open to the vast horizons of the action of the Holy Spirit.



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

Dear brothers and sisters,

I express my closeness to the people of the Island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia, who were struck by a strong tsunami.  I am praying for all those who have died - unfortunately there are many -, for those who have been wounded and for those who have lost their homes and their work.  May the Lord console them and support the efforts of those who are trying to bring relief.  Let us pray for our brothers and sisters on the island of Sulawesi: Hail Mary ...

Today, in Marseille, Jean-Baptiste Fouque, a diocesan priest who was Associate Pastor all his life, was proclaimed Blessed.  He was a beautiful example for climbers!  He lived between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, promoting the efforts of many welfare and social work efforts in favour of young people, the elderly, the poor and the sick. May the example and the intercession of this apostle of charity support us in our commitment to welcome and to share with those who are weak and disadvantaged.  Let us all applaud Blessed Jean-Baptiste!

With affection, I greet all of you, Romans and pilgrims from various countries.  In particular, I greet the faithful from Calpe (Spain), a group of mayors and administrators from the region of Salzburg and the international delegation of deaf persons who are here to celebrate the World Day of the Deaf.

I greet the members of the Sant'Egidio Community, the youth who are part of the Shalom Movement from Fucecchio and the faithful from Foggia and from Rapallo.

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

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Greetings for Italian State Police

At 12:10pm today (6:10am EDT) in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience the National Association of State Police.


Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the members of the
National Association of State Police

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I am pleased to meet with you today and to share wishes and resolutions with you and with your entire National Association. I thank your President, the Head of the State Police, for his words and I greet all those who are part of the Association. It unites the members of the Police who are still on the job wth those who, even though they have finished their service, still feel part of it and carry forward its ideals. The Association proposes to pass on the traditions of the State Police (Statute, article 2.1) favouring the union of all its members, whether they are on leave or in service. In this way the experience of the elderly members and their historical-cultural heritage is enhanced.  This treasure should not be lost; it should be handed down and increased, for it helps to strengthen the link between various generations, a link that is sometimes unfortunately compromised in the context of social relations.

It is very significant that some members of the public can participate in your Association, even if they are not members of the Police; in this way, they take on their values and their commitment and together constitute a great family: a family open to all those who want to commit themselves to the common good starting with your principles.  Yours is a family that would like to involve and welcome every citizen, to spread a culture of legality, respect and security.

Without these foundations, no social context can achieve the common good, but it will sooner or later become a tangle of personal interests, unrelated to each other, even opposed. The good of a society, in fact, is not determined by the well-being of the majority, nor by the respect of the rights of almost all. Instead, it is found by the good of the collectivity as a group of people, so that, as long as someone suffers, all the members suffer with him (cf 1 Cor 12:26).

When legality and security are lacking, the weak are always the first to be damaged, because they have less means to defend themselves and provide for themselves. In fact, every injustice affects the poor most acutely, and all those who in various ways can be called last. Last in our world are those who leave their land because of war and misery, and must start from scratch in a completely new context; the last are those who have lost their homes and jobs, and are struggling to support their families; the last are those who live marginalized and sick, or those who are victims of injustice and abuse. To all of them you are close when you try to prevent crime and you work to combat bullying and fraud; when you put your time and energy into the training of young people and into the supervision of schools, into the protection of the territory and of the artistic heritage; into organizing conferences and training for a more active and conscious citizenship.

It is a matter of satisfaction and hope to see how many areas are reached by your initiatives, moved not by attention to a single aspect of civil life, but by concern for people, which you reach in every situation of need or in the pitfalls in which they can find themselves, like any good parent who does not limit himself to telling his son once and for all that he must be careful of the dangers, but who is interested in the various pitfalls he might face, and who is gradually trying to teach him and accompany him.

I thank you for the message of sharing and solidarity that you transmit, often in hidden demonstrations of your commitment. Aim to become more and more promoters of this loving care of people, which is the synthesis of your own ideals, knowing that you are capable of generating new relationships and giving life to a more just order. In fact, with your commitment you contribute to the insertion, in the midst of society, of the ferment of equality and of fraternity, which never fails to produce its fruit.

We see this clearly if we consider the first centuries of Christianity: how the values ​​transmitted by the Gospel have radically transformed the life and mentality of all human society. This is how the proclamation of brotherhood among all men, brought about by the first disciples of Jesus and their successors, has gradually undermined the bases on which slavery was justified, to the point where it was perceived as a sinful institution and provoked its extinction. In the same way, the message of a God who dies on the cross without accusing but forgiving, and accepting suffering and humiliation out of love, has overturned the hierarchy of values ​​and given new dignity to derelicts and the excluded. Furthermore, Jesus' actions towards women, the sick and the children marked a profound cultural turning point in relation to everything that came before Christ, and he branded every attitude of violence as unjust for future centuries and disinterest in these categories of people.

I have briefly recalled some fruits of the spread of the Gospel message in human society, to help you always keep in mind how the placing of the values of solidarity and peace, which find their summit in the person and message of Jesus, have been capable, and the are still able today, to renew interpersonal and social relationships. It is precisely what we hope for our time, knowing that when we practice charity, it changes the world and history, even if we do not immediately notice its effects. This is our goal, and this is what you contribute to doing as a National Association of State Police whenever, following the example of your Patron Saint Michael the Archangel, you oppose everything that hurts or destroys mankind.

Greeting all of you, I thank you for the work you carry out with such dedication, and ask you to pray for me as I invoke on your Association and all its members the blessing and protection of God. Thank you.
(Original text in Italian)

Canada's presence at the Synod

Last fall, Salt and Light TV broadcast a special televised event called, Young People, Faith and Discernment, Forum 2017 Canada, hosted by Emilie Callan, Julian Paparella, Father Thomas Rosica, CSB, and Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the newly established Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, and featuring a special video message from Pope Francis to the young people of Canada.

This event was held in anticipation of the upcoming Synod of Bishops on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment to be held in Rome from October 3 to 28, 2018. The goal of the event was to provide a platform for young adults across Canada to respond to Pope Francis’ invitation to ask questions, to express concerns and identify issues that youth and young adults face today, in society, in their faith and the Church.

We also produced a high-quality magazine explaining the purpose and focus of the synod and showcasing articles by Canadian youth who wrote about their understanding of vocation and their hopes for the Church.

The 2018 Synod of Bishops offers young people around the world an opportunity to share their hopes, desires, dreams and experience with the Universal Church. It is a unique opportunity for the leaders of the Church to listen to the voices of the young and to reflect on the Church’s outreach to young people as they discern their futures.

In March 2018, the Holy Father invited three hundred and fifty young adults from around the world to help the Synod Fathers prepare for their deliberations at the Synod of Bishops in October. This pre-synodal meeting was held over the course of a week, and the delegates took part in large group and small language group discussions to respond to 15 questions. Their answers were synthesized into one final document, which was incorporated into the Instrumentum laboris (working document), the basis for the Synod Fathers’ deliberations beginning October 3, 2018.

Salt and Light TV’s Emilie Callan was selected by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to represent French-speaking Canadians at this pre-Synod meeting and was a key participant in her group and had the privilege of being one of the writers of the final document.

The Holy Father has appointed four young people from the team at Salt+Light Media to participate in the Synod of Bishops on Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment.  This is a great sign of affirmation from Pope Francis and the Church’s recognition of Salt + Light’s mission of bringing the flavour of the Gospel and the light of Christ to the world.

Here are the members of our Salt and Light team participating in the October 2018 Synod of Bishops:

Auditors

Emilie Callan
Emilie, born in Cornwall, Ontario, is a Producer in our Parish and Community Outreach Program and has worked for Salt and Light TV for the past four years. She has a degree in Theatre and French Literature from the University of Ottawa. Prior to joining the Salt and Light family, Emilie was a lay campus missionary with Catholic Christian Outreach, a national movement focused on evangelization of young adults on university campuses.

Julian Paparella
Julian, from London, Ontario, is a graduate student of theology at the Institut Catholique de Paris and has worked at Salt and Light for the past seven summers as writer, host and editor. Julian is currently a Campus Minister at Montreal’s Newman Centre on the campus of McGill University. Together with Emilie Callan, Julian co-hosted last October’s National Television Forum in preparation for the upcoming Synod of Bishops.

Collaborators at the Synod

Prevain Devendran
Prevain, a native of Toronto, holds a law degree and is the Manager of Operations at Salt and Light. He is also currently a part-time student of theology at Regis College in Toronto.

Allyson Kenny
Allyson, born in Burlington, Ontario, is an Associate Producer at Salt and Light. She has a degree in International Development Studies & Sociology and a Master’s of Business in Public Relations from the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. She has also studied theology and catechesis with a particular focus on Catholic social teaching and youth evangelization.

Synod Commission for Information

Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
The Vatican has also appointed Father Thomas Rosica, CSB, CEO of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, as a member of the Commission for Information of the Synod of Bishops. He will work closely with the Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for Communications in daily communications with world media.

The Salt and Light team will join the Bishops of Canada at the Synod of Bishops:

Elected member of the Synod of the Greek Ukrainian Catholic Church

Most Rev. Brian J. Bayda, Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of Saskatoon

Elected Members of the Episcopal Conference of Canada

Most Rev. Luc Cyr, Archbishop of Sherbrooke
Most Rev. Thomas Dowd, Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal
Most Rev. Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil
Most Rev. Stephen Arthur Jensen, Bishop of Prince George

Member participating as leader of a Roman dicastery

His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

Member appointed by the Holy Father

His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada

Pray the Rosary during October

The Holy Father has decided to invite all the faithful throughout the world to pray the Holy Rosary every day during the entire month of October; and to unite ourselves in this way, in communion and in penance, with the entire people of God, in asking the Holy Mother of God and Saint Michael the Archangel to protect the Church from the devil, who seems to be trying to divide us and to distance us from God.

In recent days, before his departure for the Baltic States, the Holy Father met with Father Fréderic Fornos, SJ, the International Director of the World Network of Prayer for the Pope; and asked him to spread this call for prayer throughout the world, to all the faithful, inviting them to conclude the recitation of the rosary with the ancient invocation: Sub Tuum Praesidium (Under your protection) and with the prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, asking him to protect and to help us in our fight against evil (cf Rev 12:7-12).

This prayer - the Pontiff affirmed a few days ago, on 11 September, in a homily he offered at the Casa Santa Marta, quoting from the first book of Job - is our weapon against the Great Accuser who travels around the world seeking out accusations.  Only prayer can defeat him. The Russian mystics and the great saints of all traditions advised, in moments of spiritual turbulence, that the faithful should protect themselves under the mantle of the Holy Mother of God by pronouncing the invocation Sub Tuum Praesidium.

The Sub Tuum Praesidium invocation is worded as follows:

Sub tuum praesidium confugimus Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo Gloriosa et Benedicta.

Under your protection, we seek refuge O Holy Mother of God.  Do not despise our supplications for we are facing trials, but free us from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.

With this intercessory request, the Holy Father is asking the faithful of the whole world to pray to the Holy Mother of God, asking her to place the Church under her protective mantle: to preserve her (the Church) from the attacks of the evil one, the great accuser, and to make her (the Church) at the same time always more aware of the faults, the mistakes, the abuses committed in the present and in the past and committed to fight without any hesitation so that evil will not be able to prevail.

The Holy Father has also asked that the recitation of the rosary during the month of October conclude with the prayer written by Pope Leo XIII:

Il Santo Padre ha chiesto anche che la recita del Santo Rosario durante il mese di ottobre si concluda con la preghiera scritta da Leone XIII:

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in this battle. Be our defence against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Friday, September 28, 2018

A Message to the Deaf

Today, the Holy See Press Centre published the text of the Holy Father's Message, sent to the National Association for the Deaf on the occasion of the World Day of the Deaf which is celebrated today.


Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the World Day of the Deaf

Dear brothers and sisters!

I wanted to be with you today, but unfortunately it was not possible; therefore I am making myself present with this message in order to express my closeness to all of you, in anticipation of being able to meet you the next time.

On this observance of the 60h World Day of the Deaf - the first was celebrated in Rome on 28 September 1958 - I want first of all to thank the Lord for the witness that your Association, the National Association for the Deaf, provides for many men and women of good will, who for many years have been committed to fighting against exclusion and the throw-away culture, in order to protect and to promote, in every area, the value of the life of every human being and, in particular, the dignity of deaf people.

The history of the National Association for the Deaf is a story made up of people who believed in unity, solidarity, sharing common goals, in the strength of being a community on a long journey studded with progress, sacrifice and daily battles. A story made by those who did not give up and instead continued to believe in the self-determination of deaf people. This is a great result if I think of the many deaf people and their family members who, faced with the challenge of disability, no longer feel alone.

In recent decades, great progress has been made in various fields: scientific, social and cultural; but at the same time the dangerous and unacceptable culture of waste has also spread, as a consequence of the anthropological crisis that no longer puts man at the centre, but rather seeks economic interest, power and unbridled consumption (cf. Evangelii gaudium, 52-53). Among the victims of this culture are the most vulnerable people, the children who have difficulty participating in school life, the elderly who experience loneliness and abandonment, young people who lose their sense of life and see themselves steal the future and better dreams.

Thinking of you, I would like to remember that being and making association is in itself a value. You are not a sum of people, but you have joined in order to live and transmit the will to accompany and support those, like you, who are in difficulty but are first of all a priceless human wealth. Today there is a great need to live the associative dimension with joy and commitment: being united, meeting, sharing experiences, successes and failures, pooling resources, all of this contributes to increasing the human, social and cultural heritage of a people. Associations like yours - thank God in Italy are not few - encourage everyone to create community, indeed, to be a community, to welcome each other with our limits and our efforts, but also with our joys and our smiles. Because we all have capacities and limits!

We are called together to go against the current, struggling above all so that the right of every man and every woman to a dignified life is always protected. It is not just a matter of satisfying certain needs, but even more of recognizing one's own desire to be welcomed and to be able to live independently. The challenge is that inclusion becomes a mentality and a culture, and ensures that legislators and rulers do not lack this consistent and concrete support for this cause. Among the rights to be guaranteed, we should not forget those of study, work, home and accessibility to communication. For this reason, while the dutiful fight against architectural barriers is being pursued with tenacity, efforts must be made to break down all the barriers that prevent the possibility of relationships and meeting in autonomy in order to reach an authentic culture and practice of inclusion. This applies to both civil society and the ecclesial community.

Many of you have reached your social and professional positions, even at high levels, with great difficulty because of deafness, and this is a great human and civil conquest. But how happy I am when I see that you, as well as other people with disabilities, by virtue of your Baptism achieve these goals even within the Church, especially in the field of evangelization! This becomes an example and stimulus for Christian communities in their daily lives.

I hope that in every diocese all of you who are deaf, together with the pastoral agents prepared in sign language, lip reading and subtitling, cooperate so that deaf people are fully integrated into the Christian community and that the sense of belonging may grow within them. This requires an inclusive pastoral care in parishes, associations and schools.

The first place of inclusion is, however, as always, the family. Therefore, even in this case, families with deaf people are protagonists of the renewal of mentality and lifestyle. They are both recipients of services, who dutifully claim from the competent institutions as subjects of promotional action in the civil, social and ecclesial sphere.

Dear friends, much has been done - thanks also to you - to increase acceptance, inclusion, meetings and solidarity. However, much remains to be done for the promotion of deaf people, overcoming the isolation of many families and redeeming those who are still the subject of unacceptable discrimination. May my prayer and my blessing accompany you in this renewed effort. But you too, please, do not forget to pray for me and for the whole Church, so that it may become ever more a fraternal and hospitable community.

From the Vatican
28 September 2018

Francis
(Original text in Italian)

Greetings for Vatican Patrons of the Arts

At 11:00am this morning (5:00am EDT), in the Consistory Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience the Patrons of the Arts from the Vatican Museums who are celebrating the 35th anniversary of their Association.


Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Patrons of the Arts

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of your meeting in Rome, which this year coincides with the thirty-fifth anniversary of your Association’s foundation.

Your generosity over these years has contributed to the restoration of numerous art treasures held in the Vatican Museums. In this way you have continued a centuries-long tradition, imitating the achievements of those who contributed to the Church’s history through art. These works include the frescoes and sarcophagi in the catacombs, the great Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, and the masterpieces of Michelangelo, Raphael, Bernini and Canova.

Throughout history, art has been second only to life in bearing witness to the Lord. It was, and remains, a majestic road allowing us more than by words and ideas to approach the faith, because it follows the same path of faith, the path of beauty. The beauty of art enriches life and creates communion, because it unites God, man and creation in a single symphony. It connects the past, the present and the future, and it attracts – in the same place and with the same gaze – different and far-off peoples.

Celebrating your anniversary allows us to recall this history with gratitude, but it also enables us to renew our awareness of the important mission of preserving such a beautiful heritage that is so beneficial to men and women. Contemplating great art, which expresses the faith, helps us rediscover what truly matters in life. In leading us both within and above ourselves Christian art points us to the love that created us, to the mercy which saves us, and to the hope that awaits us.

In today’s troubled world, unfortunately so often torn and damaged by selfishness and the thirst for power, art represents, perhaps even more than in the past, a universal need because it is a source of harmony and peace, and it expresses the dimension of generosity. Thanking you warmly for the good that you do, I willingly impart my Blessing accompanied by my best wishes for peace, to you and your families. And please do not forget to pray for me. May the Lord bless you all!
(Original text in Italian; translation by Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

Speaking about Christian Unity

At 10:30am this morning (4:30am EDT), in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity.


Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
addressed to members of the Pontifical Council
for the Promotion of Christian Unity

Your Eminences,
Dear brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to welcome you and I am grateful to Cardinal Koch for the words he has addressed to me. I warmly and sincerely thank all of you, collaborators, members and counsellors of the Pontifical Council, because with your daily commitment you help me to offer my ministry as the Bishop of Rome as a service of unity and communion, with different modalities and forms, for all those who believe in Christ.

Recently, some meetings with Christians of different traditions have been of great importance and comfort. Praying together with the leaders of Eastern Orthodox and Orthodox churches in Bari, in communion with those suffering in the beloved and tormented Middle East, has reminded us that we cannot remain indifferent to the suffering - unfortunately still present - of many of our brothers and sisters. Christians of various traditions in Geneva, as part of the seventieth anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Churches, had an opportunity to thank God for the abundant fruits of the ecumenical movement and to renew our irreversible commitment to the promotion of ever greater unity among believers. Celebrating together with many Pentecostal brothers, the 50th anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in Rome, at the Circus Maximus, in one of the places where Christians of the first centuries suffered most because of Christ, allowed Catholics and Pentecostals to show their gifts and charisms bestowed by the same Spirit in a symphony of praise to the Lord Jesus, renewing our commitment to extend the missionary mandate to the ends of the earth. These were some salient moments of the ecumenical journey that all Christians are called to realize by walking together, praying together and working together, waiting for the Lord to lead us to the recomposition of full unity. And I would also like to add the annual meeting - His Eminence was present at two of them - with the John 17 group of the United States and the pastors ...: there is a great friendship and familiarity that helps a lot.

The theme chosen for your Plenary - Pentecostals, charismatics and evangelicals: impact on the concept of unity - is very timely. The constant growth of these new expressions of Christian life is a very significant phenomenon, which can not be overlooked. The concrete forms of the communities inspired by these movements are often linked to the particular geographical, cultural and social context in which they develop, and therefore my brief reflection will not take into account the individual situations, but will refer to the overall phenomenon.

First of all, we have the duty to discern and recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit in these communities, trying to build with them the bonds of authentic fraternity. This will be possible by multiplying the opportunities for meeting and overcoming mutual distrust, motivated many times by ignorance or lack of understanding. And I would like to offer you a personal experience and also offer a mea culpa. When I was Provincial Superior, I had forbidden Jesuits to enter into relationships with these people - with the Catholic Renewal - and I said that more than a prayer meeting, it seemed like a samba school! Then I apologized, and as a bishop I had a good relationship with them, with Mass in the Cathedral ... But it takes a journey to understand. Among the various shared activities are prayer, listening to the Word of God, service to the needy, the proclamation of the Gospel, the defence of the dignity of the person and of human life. In a fraternal mutual acquaintance, we Catholics can learn to appreciate the experience of many communities that, often in ways different from those to which we are accustomed, live their faith, praise God and witness to the Gospel of charity. At the same time, they will be helped to overcome prejudices about the Catholic Church and to recognize that in the priceless treasure of tradition, received from the Apostles and kept in the course of history, the Holy Spirit is not at all extinguished or suffocated, but continues to operate effectively.

I am aware that, in many cases, relations between Catholics and Pentecostals, charismatics and evangelicals are not easy. The sudden appearance of new communities, linked to the personality of some preachers, strongly contrasts with the ecclesiological principles and experience of the historical Churches and can conceal the danger of being carried away by the emotional waves of the moment and or of enclosing the experience of faith in protected and reassuring environments. The fact that many of the Catholic faithful are attracted to these communities is a source of friction, but this can become - for our part - a matter of personal examination and pastoral renewal.

In fact, many communities are inspired by these movements and encounter authentic Christian experiences in contact with the Word of God and in docility to the action of the Spirit, which leads to love, witness and service. Even these communities, as the Second Vatican Council taught, are by no means devoid of meaning and value in the mystery of salvation (cf Unitatis redintegratio, 3). Catholics can welcome those riches that, under the guidance of the Spirit, contribute greatly to the fulfillment of the mission of proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In fact, the Church grows in fidelity to the Holy Spirit the more she learns not to tame it, but to accept its freshness without fear and at the same time with serious discernment. The Holy Spirit is always new. Always. And we have to get used to it. It is news that makes us understand things more deeply, with more light, and it makes us change so many habits, even disciplinary habits. But He is the Lord of new things. Jesus told us that He will teach us; he will remind us of what He has taught us, and then he will teach us. We must be open to this. It is therefore necessary to avoid settling on static and immutable positions, to embrace the risk of venturing into the promotion of unity: with faithful ecclesial obedience and without extinguishing the Spirit (cf 1 Thes 5:19). It is the Spirit who creates and recreates the newness of Christian life, and it is the Spirit himself who leads everything back to true unity, which is not uniformity. For this openness of heart, the search for communion and careful discernment are the attitudes that should characterize our relationships according to the Spirit.

In this regard, the dialogues carried out by your Pontifical Council with the Pentecostals, the charismatics and the evangelicals at the international level, and through initiatives such as the Global Christian Forum, represent a significant contribution and encouragement to develop better relationships at the local level.

This week I had the joy of having mature ecumenical experiences in the Marian Land: the ecumenical celebration in the capital of Latvia, then the ecumenical meeting in front of the Madonna's Gate in Vilnius ... These were moments of ecumenical maturity. I never thought that the ecumenical movement was so mature in those places. In the certainty of being able to count on your dedication, as well as on your prayer for me, I renew my gratitude and willingly, I give you my Blessing.
(Original text in Italian)

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Speaking about Marriage and Family

This afternoon, at 5:00pm local time (11:00am EDT) at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, the Holy Father, Pope Francis received in audience those who are participating in a formation course organized by the Diocese of Rome and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota focusing on Marriage and family.  The conference is taking place at the Lateran Basilica from 24 to 26 September 2018.  Participants include pastors, permanent deacons, spouses and staff who are working to strengthen the pastoral life of families.



Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for participants studying Marriage and family

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am happy to meet you at the end of the formation course on marriage and family promoted by the Diocese of Rome and the Tribunal of the Roman Rota. I address my cordial greetings to each of you, and I thank the Cardinal Vicar, the Dean of the Rota and all those who have worked together during these days of study and reflection. They have given you the opportunity to examine the challenges and pastoral initiatives concerning the family, considered as a domestic church and a sanctuary of life. It is a vast, complex and delicate apostolic field, to which we must dedicate energy and enthusiasm, with the intention of promoting the Gospel of the Family and of Life. How can we not recall, in this regard, the broad and far-sighted vision of my predecessors, especially Saint John Paul II, who courageously promoted the cause of the family, which is so decisive and irreplaceable for the common good of the peoples?

In their wake I developed this theme, especially in the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia, focusing on the urgency of a serious journey of preparation for Christian marriage, which is not reduced to a few meetings. Marriage is not just a social event, but a true sacrament that involves adequate preparation and a conscious celebration. In fact, the marriage bond requires an engaged choice on the part of the engaged couple, which focuses on the will to build together something that must never be betrayed or abandoned. In various dioceses of the world initiatives are being developed to make family pastoral care more appropriate to the real situation, meaning with this expression in the first place the accompaniment of engaged couples toward marriage. It is important to offer engaged couples the opportunity to participate in seminars and prayer retreats, which involve animators, in addition to priests, including married couples with consolidated family experience and experts in the psychological disciplines.

So many times the ultimate root of the problems that come to light after the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage is to be found not only in a hidden and remote immaturity that suddenly explodes, but above all in the weakness of the Christian faith and in the non-ecclesial accompaniment, in the solitude in which newly-married couples are often left behind after the wedding celebration.  Only when they are faced with the daily prospect of life together, which calls the spouses to grow in a path of self-giving and sacrifice do some realize that they have not fully understood what they were going to start. And they find themselves inadequate, especially if they are confronted with the scope and value of Christian marriage, with regard to the concrete implications connected to the indissolubility of a bond, much less openness to transmitting the gift of life and fidelity.

This is why I repeat the need for a permanent catechumenate for the Sacrament of Marriage concerning its preparation, celebration and the first years of married life. It is a shared journey between priests, pastoral workers and Christian spouses. Priests, especially parish priests, are the first to enter into dialogue with young people who wish to form a new family and get married in the Sacrament of Marriage. The accompaniment of the ordained minister will help the newlyweds to understand that marriage between a man and a woman is a sign of the spousal union between Christ and the Church, making them aware of the profound meaning of the step they are about to make. The more the journey of preparation will be deepened and extended in time, the younger the couples will learn to correspond to the grace and strength of God and to develop the antibodies they need to face the inevitable moments of difficulty and fatigue inherent in marriage and family life.

In the courses of preparation for marriage it is essential to resume the catechesis of Christian initiation in the faith, whose contents are not to be taken for granted or understood as if they were already acquired by the engaged couple. In most cases, however, the Christian message is all to be rediscovered for those who have remained stuck to some elementary notion of the catechism of the first Communion and, if all goes well, of Confirmation. Experience shows that the time of preparation for marriage is a time of grace, in which the couple is particularly open to listening to the Gospel, to welcoming Jesus as the teacher of life. Through a sincere attitude of welcoming couples, adequate language and a clear presentation of the contents, it is possible to activate dynamics that overcome the widespread gaps today: both the lack of catechetical formation and the lack of a filial sense of the Church, which are all part of the foundations of Christian marriage.

The greater effectiveness of pastoral care is realized where the accompaniment does not end with the celebration of the wedding, but escorts the couple through at least the first years of married life. Through interviews with the couple and community moments, it is a matter of helping young spouses to acquire the tools and the supports necessary to live their vocation. And this can only happen through a path of growth in the faith of the couples themselves. The fragility that, under this profile, is often found in young people who approach marriage makes it necessary to accompany their journey beyond the celebration of the wedding. And this - experience tells us - is a joy for them and for those who accompany them. It is an experience of joyful motherhood, when newlyweds are the object of the attentive care of the Church which, in the footsteps of her Master, is a caring mother who does not abandon, does not discard, but approaches with tenderness, embraces and encourages.

With regard to those spouses who experience serious problems in their relationship and find themselves in crisis, we need to help them to revive faith and rediscover the grace of the sacrament; and, in some cases - they need to be assessed with rectitude and inner freedom - so that we can offer appropriate indications to undertake a process of nullity. How many have become aware of the fact that their union is not a true sacramental marriage and want to get out of this situation? They must find in bishops, priests and pastoral workers the necessary support, which is expressed not only in the communication of legal norms but first of all in an attitude of listening and understanding. In this regard, the legislation on the new marriage process is a valid instrument, which must be applied concretely and indiscriminately by everyone, at every ecclesial level, since its ultimate reason is the salus animarum (salvation of souls)! I was delighted to learn that many bishops and judicial vicars promptly welcomed and implemented the new marriage process, to bring comfort and peace to consciences, especially those of the poor and those who are far from our ecclesial communities.

Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for your commitment to the proclamation of the gospel of the family.  I hope that the horizon of the diocesan family ministry will be ever wider, assuming the style of the gospel, meeting and welcoming even those young people who choose to live without getting married. The beauty of marriage must be witnessed to them! May the Holy Spirit help you to be creators of peace and consolation, especially for those who are more fragile and in need of support and pastoral care. I cordially impart my blessing and ask you to please pray for me.
(Original text in Italian)

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Press Conference from Tallinn to Rome

Yesterday, during the flight from Tallin (Estonia) back to Rome at the conclusion of the Apostolic Voyage to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (22-25 September 2018), the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with journalists aboard the plane and held a Press Conference.


In-flight Press Conference of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
from Tallinn (Estonia) to Rome

Greg Burke
Good evening, Holy Father.  Thank you, most of all.  Three countries in four days is not easy; it is a bit tiring ... It seemed a bit like four countries in four days, because the first day, there was the surprise in China, and now we have also done this: we have drawn closer to China.  Let us try to stay focused - we have said this many times - speak about the trip.  We will certainly start with local journalists from every country, but let's try in the press conference to talk about the trip to the Baltic countries. I do not know if you want to say something before ...

Pope Francis
First of all, thank you for the work you have done, because for you too, three countries in four days is not easy. Above all, moving from one side to the other is tiring. Thank you so much for the service you are offering to people on this trip, which is the most important thing about your communication: what happened there ... There were very interesting things on this trip, and I expect the questions in this direction.

Greg Burke
Thank you.  The first is Saulena Žiugždaite, Bernardinai.LT, from Lituania.

Saulena Žiugždaite
Bernardinai LT
Holy Father, thank you for this moment and for this journey. When you spoke in Vilnius about the Lithuanian soul, you said that we must be a bridge between East and West. But it is not easy to be a bridge: you are always crossed by others. Someone says that our tragedy is that we are on the bridge. Maybe someone might say: It is definitely better to become part of the West with its values. What did you mean, what does it mean to be a bridge?

Pope Francis
It's true ... It's clear that you are today, politically, part of the West, of the European Union, and you have done so much to enter the European Union. After independence, you immediately made all the formalities, which are not easy, and you managed to enter the European Union, that is, a membership of the West. You also have relations with NATO: you belong to NATO, and this says the West. If you look at the East, there is your history: a difficult history. Even part of the tragic history came from the West, from the Germans, from the Poles, but especially from Nazism, this came from the West. And, as far as the East is concerned, from the Russian Empire.

Building bridges supposes, demands strength. Strength not only for belonging to the West, which gives you strength, but for your identity. I realize that the situation in the three Baltic countries is always in danger, always. The fear of invasion ... Because history itself reminds you of this. And you are right when you say it is not easy, but this is a game that is played every day, one step after another: with culture, with dialogue ... But it is not easy. I believe that it is our duty to help you with this: more than helping you, being close to you, with your heart.

Greg Burke
Thank you, Holy Father.  The next question comes from Gints Amolins, Latvijas Radio (Lettonia).

Gints Amolins
Latvijas Radio
Good evening, Holiness. In the Baltics, you have often spoken about the importance of roots and identity. From Latvia, and also from Lithuania and Estonia, there are many people who left for more prosperous countries and many are already taking root elsewhere. And then, there are also, as in Europe in general, demographic problems, due to the low birth rate. So, in this situation what can and should our countries do, the leaders of our countries and also each one personally? How should this problem be assessed?

Pope Francis
In my homeland, I did not know people from Estonia and Latvia, while Lithuanian immigration is very strong - in relative terms. There are many in Argentina. And they bring culture and history there, and they are proud of the two-pronged effort of entering the new country and also of preserving their identity. In their parties there are traditional clothes, traditional songs, and always, whenever they can, they come back to their homeland ... I think the struggle to keep their identity makes them very strong, and you have this: you have a strong identity. An identity that has been formed in suffering, in defence and in work, in culture.

And what can be done to defend your identity? Recourse to your roots, this is important. Identity is an ancient thing, but that must be transmitted. Identity is part of belonging to a people, and belonging to a people must be passed on. Roots are passed on to new generations, and this is done with education and dialogue, especially between the elderly and the young. And you must do it, because your identity is a treasure. Every identity is a treasure, but conceived as belonging to a people. This is what comes to me, I do not know if it corresponds to your question ...

Greg Burke
Thank you, Holy Father.  And now, Evelyn Kaldoja, Postimees (Estonia).

Evelyn Kaldoja
Postimees
Thank you. I would like to ask the question in English. In today's homily, you said that there are some who scream and threaten the use of weapons and the use of armies, and so on. Considering where we were, in that same square there were NATO soldiers who were sent to Estonia as security. Many have thought about the situation on the eastern borders of Europe. Are you worried about the tensions in that area and for the Catholics living on the borders of Europe?

Pope Francis
The threat of weapons. Today, world arms costs are scandalous. They tell me that with what is spent on weapons in a month, you could feed all the hungry people in the world for a year. I do not know if it's true, it's terrible. Industry, the arms trade, even the smuggling of weapons is one of the biggest sources of corruption. And before this there is the logic of defence. David was able to win the battle with a slingshot and five stones, but today there are no Davids. I believe that to defend a country, we need a reasonable and not an aggressive army of defence. Reasonable and not aggressive. Thus defence is lawful; and it is also an honour to defend one's country. The problem comes when it becomes aggressive, not reasonable, and border wars are created. We have many examples of border wars, not only in Europe - towards the East - but also on other continents: we fight for power, to colonize a country. This is, in my opinion, the answer to your question. Today, the arms industry is scandalous, in the face of a hungry world. Second: it is lawful, reasonable, to have an army to defend borders, because this is an honour; just as it is lawful to have the key to the front door. For defence purposes.

Greg Burke
Thank you, Holy Father.  The next question is from the German group: Stefanie Stahlhofen, from Agenzia cattolica tedesca CIC (Germania)

Stefanie Stahlhofen
Agenzia cattolica tedesca CIC
Holy Father, in the ecumenical meeting in Tallinn you said that young people, in the face of sexual scandals, do not see a clear condemnation on the part of the Catholic Church. In Germany, a new inquiry into sexual abuse and how the Church has dealt with so many cases has just come out today.

Pope Francis
I will speak about this afterwards.  First, I will respond to questions about the trip.  Thank you.  This is the rule.  But this will be the first question after the others about the trip.

Greg Burke
Let us remain focused on the trip ... Now, here comes a journalist from Radio-Televisione Lithuania.

Edvardas Spokas
Radio-Televisione Lithuania
I will speak in English. In all three countries, you said that you are in favour of openness: openness towards migrants, openness towards others. But, for example, in Lithuania there was a confrontation concerning the story of a girl who greeted you upon your arrival, in front of the plane: she did not have a very Lithuanian appearance. She was partly Italian, with slightly darker skin ... My question is: do people in the Baltic countries listen to only what they want to hear, or do they listen to what you are trying to tell them? Did they listen to your message about openness?

Pope Francis
The message about openness to migrants is far enough advanced among your people, there are no strong populist fires, no. Estonia and Latvia are also open peoples who want to integrate migrants, but not massively, because they cannot, integrate them with the prudence of the government. We talked about this with two of the three Heads of State, and they touched on the subject, not me. And in the Presidents' speeches, you will see that the words welcome and openness are frequent. This indicates a will for universality, to the extent that, for the sake of space, work can be done, etc; to the extent that they can be integrated - this is very important - and to the extent that it is not a threat to one's identity. These are three things that I understood about the migrations of the people. And this has touched me a lot: cautious and well thought-out openness. I do not know if you can think of anything else.

Edvardas Spokas
My question concerns how your message was received.

Pope Francis
I believe so.  In this sense that I have spoken of because today, the problem of migrants all over the world - and not only external migration, but also internal migration among continents - is a serious problem, not easy to study.  In every country, in every place, it has different connotations.

Greg Burke
Thank you, Holy Father; we are finished with questions about the trip.

Pope Francis
Very good.  I would like to tell you something about some points of the journey that I experienced with a special strength.

The fact of your history, of the history of the Baltic States: a history of invasions, of dictatorships, of crimes, of deportations ... When I visited the Museum, in Vilnius: museum is a word that makes us think of the Louvre ... No. That museum is a prison, it is a prison to which prisoners, for political or religious reasons, were brought. And I saw cells of the size of this seat, where you could only stand up, torture cells. I have seen places of torture where, with the cold in Lithuania, they took the naked prisoners and threw water on them, and made them stay there for hours, to break their resistance. And then I entered the classroom, in the great hall of executions. The prisoners were taken there by force and killed with a blow to the back of the head; then they were taken out on a conveyor belt and loaded onto a truck that threw them into the forest. More or less, they killed forty a day. In the end, there were about fifteen thousand who were killed there. This is part of the history of Lithuania, but also of other countries. What I saw was in Lithuania. Then I went to the place of the Great Ghetto, where thousands of Jews were killed. Then, in the same afternoon, I went to the Memorial in memory of those who were condemned, murdered, tortured, deported. That day - I'm telling you the truth - I was destroyed: it made me reflect on cruelty. But I tell you that based on the information we have today, cruelty is not over. The same cruelty is found today in many places of detention, today it is found in many prisons; even the overpopulation of a prison is a system of torture, a way of life without dignity. A prison today, which does not envisage giving the inmate a prospect of hope, is already torture. Then we saw, on television, the cruelties of ISIS terrorists: that Jordanian pilot who was burned alive, those Coptic Christians slaughtered on the beach in Libya, and many others. Today cruelty is not over. It exists all over the world. And this message I would like to give to you, as journalists: this is a scandal, a serious scandal of our culture and our society.

Another thing I have seen in these three countries is the hatred of the past regime for religion, whatever it is. Hatred. I saw a Jesuit bishop, in Lithuania or Latvia, I do not remember well, he was deported to Siberia for ten years and then to another concentration camp ... Now he is old, smiling ... So many men and women, for defending their own faith, which was their identity, were tortured and deported to Siberia, and they did not return; or they were killed. The faith of these three countries is great, it is a faith that comes from martyrdom, and this is something that you have seen, talking to people, as you journalists do, to get news about the country.

Moreover, this experience of faith which is so important has produced a singular phenomenon in these countries: an ecumenical life like nowhere else, in general. There is a true ecumenism: ecumenism between Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans and even Orthodox. In the Cathedral yesterday, at the ecumenical meeting in Latvia, in Riga, we saw it: a great thing; brothers, neighbours, together in one church ..., neighbours. Ecumenism has taken root there.

Then, there is another phenomenon in these countries that is important to study, and perhaps you can do many good things in your profession, studying this: the phenomenon of the transmission of culture, identity and faith. Usually, the transmission was done by the grandparents. Why? Because the fathers worked, fathers and mothers had to work, and they had to be absent - both in the Soviet and Nazi regime - and they were also educated in atheism. But grandparents were able to pass on faith and culture. In the time when Lithuanian language was banned in Lithuania, it was taken away from the schools, when they went to religious services - both Protestant and Catholic - they took away prayer books to see if they were in Lithuanian or in Russian or German. And many - one generation, at that time - learned their mother tongue from their grandparents: it was their grandparents who taught  them to write and read their mother tongue. This makes us think, and it would be nice to see some article, some television programme on the transmission of culture, language, art, faith in moments of dictatorship and persecution. You could not think of anything else, because all the media, which at that time were few - limited to the radio - was controlled by the state. When a government becomes, when it wants to become dictatorial, the first thing it does is take over the media.

These are the things that I wanted to point out.

And now, I want to speak about today's meeting with young people. Young people are scandalized: here, I want to address the first question that was outside of the theme of travel. Young people are scandalized by the hypocrisy of great people. Wars are scandalous, incoherence is scandalous, corruption is scandalous. And in this measure of corruption comes what she pointed out, sexual abuse. It is true that there is an accusation against the Church, and we all know, we know the statistics, I will not speak here about that. But even if there had only been a single priest to abuse a child, a child, this would still be monstrous, because that man was chosen by God to bring the child to heaven. I understand that young people are scandalized by this great corruption. They know that there is scandal everywhere, but in the Church it is more scandalous, because we must take the children to God, and not destroy them. Young people try to work their way through experience. The meeting with young people today was very clear: they ask us to listen, they ask for listening. They do not want fixed formulas. They do not want directive accompaniment. And the second part of this question, which was the first one beyond the journey, was that the Church does not do things as it should in this matter, in cleaning up this corruption.  I take the Pennsylvania Report, for example, and I see that until the early 70s there were many priests who fell into this corruption. Then, more recently, the number decreased because the Church realized that she had to fight in another way. In the past, these things were covered up. They also covered cases up in homes, when an uncle was raping his granddaughter, when a father raped his children: they covered for each other, because it was a very shameful thing. It was the way of thinking of the past centuries, and of the last century. In this, there is a principle that helps me to interpret history: a historical fact must be interpreted with the hermeneutics of the era in which this fact occurred, not with today's hermeneutics. For example: indigenousness. There have been so many injustices, so many brutalities. But they cannot be interpreted with today's hermeneutics when we have another awareness. One last example: the death penalty. Even the Vatican as a state, when it was a Papal State, had the death penalty; the last person was beheaded in about 1870, a criminal, a young man. But then the moral conscience grows, the moral conscience grows. It's true that there are always loopholes, there are always hidden death sentences: you are old, you are annoyed, I do not give you medicines ... and then they say: he's gone. It is a death sentence - a social death sentence - today. I think I have answered the question. The Church: I take the example of Pennsylvania, look at the proportions and see that when the Church became aware of this, she put it all together. And in recent times I have received many, many convictions issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and I said: Go on, go on. Never, never have I signed a request for pardon after a sentence has been written. On this matter, there is no room to negotiate, there is no negotiation.

Greg Burke
Antonio Pelayo, from Vida Nueva (Spain)

Antonio Pelayo
Vida Nueva
Holy Father, three days ago, an Agreement was signed between the Holy See and the government of the People's Republic of China.  Can you give us some additional information about this, about its content? Because some Chinese Catholics, especially Cardinal Zen, are accusing you of having sold the Church to the communist government in Beijing after so many years of suffering. What is your response to this accusation?

Pope Francis
This is a process that has gone on for years, a dialogue between the Vatican Commission and the Chinese Commission, to agree on the appointment of bishops. The Vatican team has worked hard. I would like to point out some of the people involved: Monsignor Celli, who patiently went, talked, came back ... years, years! Then, Monsignor Rota Graziosi, a humble 72-year-old curial official who wanted to be a priest in the parish but remained in the Curia to help with this process. And then, the Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, who is a very devoted man, but who has a special devotion to the details: he has studied all the documents, studied them point by point, every comma, all the accents ... And this gives me a very high level of security. And this team has gone on with these qualities. You know that when you make a peace agreement or a negotiation, both parties lose something, this is the rule. Both sides. And it goes on. This process went like this: two steps forward, one back, two forward, one back ...; then months passed without talking to each other, and then ... These are the times of God, which resemble Chinese time: the process goes slowly ... This is wisdom, the wisdom of the Chinese. The situations of the bishops who were in difficulty were studied on a case-by-case basis, and eventually the dossiers arrived on my desk and I was responsible for the signature, in the case of the bishops. As for the Agreement, the drafts passed over my desk, we talked, I gave my ideas, the others argued and then went on. I think of resistance, about the Catholics who have suffered: it is true, they will suffer. In an agreement there is suffering. But they have great faith and they write, they send messages, stating that what the Holy See says, what Peter says, is what Jesus says: that is, these people's martyrdom of faith goes on today. They are great. And I signed the Agreement, the Plenipotentiary Letters to sign that Agreement. I am the one who bears the responsibility. The others, whom I have appointed, have worked for more than ten years. It is not an improvisation: it is a journey, a true journey.

And now, a simple anecdote and a historical fact, two things before ending. When there was that famous communiqué of a former Apostolic Nuncio, the episcopates of the world wrote to me saying that they felt close to me, that they were praying for me; even the Chinese faithful wrote, and that letter was signed by a bishop - so to speak - of the traditional Catholic Church and a bishop of the Patriotic Church: together, both of them, and the faithful of both the Churches. For me, this was a sign from God. And the second thing: we forget that in Latin America - thank God this is finished! - we forget that for 350 years, the kings of Portugal and Spain used to appoint bishops. And the Pope gave only jurisdiction. Let's not forget the case of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Maria Teresa got tired of signing bishop appointments, and gave jurisdiction to the Vatican. And there were other times, thank God, that they are not repeated! But the current case does not concern appointments: it is a dialogue about possible candidates. The work is done in dialogue. But the appointment is from Rome; the appointment is from the Pope, this is clear. And we pray for the suffering of some who do not understand or who have many years of clandestine life behind them.

Thank you very much!  They are saying that supper is ready and the flight is not so long.  Thank you very much!  Thank you for your work.  And pray for me.

Greg Burke
Thank you, Holy Father.  Enjoy your supper, and rest well.

A Message for the G20 Inter-religious Forum

The Holy Father has sent a Message to the participants taking part in the G20 Inter-religious Forum (G20 Interfaith), which is taking place in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from 26 to 28 September 2018 focused on the theme: Building consensus for a fair and sustainable development: the contribution of religions toward a worthy future.


Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to participants taking part in the
G20 Inter-religious Forum

I affectionately greet the organizers and participants taking part in the G20 Inter-religious Forum, which is taking place this year in Buenos Aires. These inter-religious conferences, within the framework of the G20 Summit meetings, aspire to offer the international community the contribution of their different religious and philosophical traditions and experiences to illuminate those social issues that concern us today in a special way.

During these days of exchange and reflections, they intend to deepen the role of religions and their specific contributions to the construction of a consensus, for a just and sustainable development that ensures a decent future for all. Certainly, the challenges that the world has to face at this time are many and very complex. We are currently facing difficult situations that not only affect so many of our neglected and forgotten brothers, but they also threaten the future of all humanity, and men of faith can not remain indifferent to these threats.

Thinking about religions, I believe that beyond the differences and different points of view, a first fundamental contribution to the world today is to be able to show the fertility of constructive dialogue  in order to find the best solutions to the problems that affect us all: a dialogue that does not mean renouncing one's identity (cf Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, 251), but being willing to go out to meet others, to understand their reasons, to be able to weave respectful human relationships with the clear and firm conviction that listening to the one who thinks differently is above all an occasion of mutual enrichment and growth in fraternity. Because it is not possible to build a common home by leaving aside people who think differently, or what they consider important and that belongs to their deepest identity. It is necessary to build a fraternity that is not a laboratory, because the future is in the respectful coexistence of differences, not in the homologation of a single, theoretically neutral thought (Address to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, 28 November 2013).

Faced with a world in which a technocratic development paradigm is affirmed and consolidated, with its logic of domination and control of reality in favour of economic interests and profits, I think that religions have a great role to play, over all thanks to this new look on human beings, which comes from faith in God, the creator of man and the universe. Any attempt to seek authentic economic, social or technological development must take into account the dignity of the human being; the importance of looking each person in the eyes and not as a mere number or a cold statistic. We are driven by the conviction that man is the author, the centre and the end of all socio-economic life (Constitution, Gaudium et Spes, 63). Let us therefore offer a new way of looking at mankind and at reality, no longer with a manipulative and dominant desire, but with respect for their own nature and their vocation in the whole of creation, because being created by the same Father, all the beings of the universe are united by invisible bonds and we form a kind of universal family, a sublime communion that moves us to a sacred, affectionate and humble respect (Encyclical Letter, Laudato si', 89).

Dear friends, I wish to renew once again, and before this very qualified assembly, my call to protect our common home through concern for the whole human family. An urgent invitation to a new dialogue on how we are building our society, in the search for a sustainable development and convinced that things can change.

Allow me to conclude by recalling once again that we are all necessary in this work, and that we can collaborate together as God's instruments to protect and care for creation, each one contributing their culture and their experience, their talents and their faith.

And please, I ask you to pray for me.

From the Vatican
6 September 2018

Francis
(Original text in Spanish)

Message to the Church in China

This morning, the Holy See Press Centre published a Message which the Holy Father, Pope Francis has addressed to Chinese Catholics and to the universal Church.


Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
to the Church in China
and to the universal Church

“Eternal is his merciful love;
He is faithful from age to age”
(Psalm 100:5)

Dear brother bishops, priests, consecrated men and women and all the faithful of the Catholic Church in China, let us thank the Lord, for eternal is his merciful love! He made us, we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep of his flock (Ps 100:3).

At this moment, my heart echoes the words of exhortation addressed to you by my venerable predecessor in his Letter of 27 May 2007: Catholic Church in China, you are a small flock present and active within the vastness of an immense people journeying through history. How stirring and encouraging these words of Jesus are for you: ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom’ (Lk 12:32)! … Therefore, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Mt 5:16)” (Benedict XVI, Letter to Chinese Catholics, 27 May 2007, 5).

1. Of late, many conflicting reports have circulated about the present and, in particular, the future of the Catholic communities in China. I am aware that this flurry of thoughts and opinions may have caused a certain confusion and prompted different reactions in the hearts of many. Some feel doubt and perplexity, while others sense themselves somehow abandoned by the Holy See and anxiously question the value of their sufferings endured out of fidelity to the Successor of Peter. In many others, there prevail positive expectations and reflections inspired by the hope of a more serene future for a fruitful witness to the faith in China.

This situation has become more acute, particularly with regard to the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, which, as you know, was signed in recent days in Beijing. At so significant a moment for the life of the Church, I want to assure you through this brief Message that you are daily present in my prayers, and to share with you my heartfelt feelings.

They are sentiments of thanksgiving to the Lord and of sincere admiration – which is the admiration of the entire Catholic Church – for the gift of your fidelity, your constancy amid trials, and your firm trust in God’s providence, even when certain situations proved particularly adverse and difficult.

These painful experiences are part of the spiritual treasury of the Church in China and of all God’s pilgrim people on earth. I assure you that the Lord, through the crucible of our trials, never fails to pour out his consolations upon us and to prepare us for an even greater joy. In the words of the Psalmist, we are more than certain that those who are sowing in tears, will sing when they reap (Ps 126 (125):5).

Let us continue to look, then, to the example of all those faithful laity and pastors who readily offered their good witness (cf 1 Tim 6:13) to the Gospel, even to the sacrifice of their own lives. They showed themselves true friends of God!

2. For my part, I have always looked upon China as a land of great opportunities and the Chinese people as the creators and guardians of an inestimable patrimony of culture and wisdom, refined by resisting adversity and embracing diversity, and which, not by chance, entered into contact from early times with the Christian message. As Father Matteo Ricci, S.J., perceptively noted in challenging us to the virtue of trust, before entering into friendship, one must observe; after becoming friends, one must trust (De Amicitia, 7).

I too am convinced that encounter can be authentic and fruitful only if it occurs through the practice of dialogue, which involves coming to know one another, to respect one another and to walk together for the sake of building a common future of sublime harmony.

This is the context in which to view the Provisional Agreement, which is the result of a lengthy and complex institutional dialogue between the Holy See and the Chinese authorities initiated by Saint John Paul II and continued by Pope Benedict XVI. Through this process, the Holy See has desired – and continues to desire – only to attain the Church’s specific spiritual and pastoral aims, namely, to support and advance the preaching of the Gospel, and to reestablish and preserve the full and visible unity of the Catholic community in China.

With regard to the importance of this Agreement and its aims, I would like to share with you a few reflections and provide you with some input of a spiritual pastoral nature for the journey we are called to undertake in this new phase.

It is a journey that, as in its earlier stages, requires time and presupposes the good will of both parties (Benedict XVI, Letter to Chinese Catholics, 27 May 2007, 4). But for the Church, within and outside of China, this involves more than simply respecting human values. It is also a spiritual calling: to go out from herself to embrace the joys and the hopes, the grief and anguish of the people of our time, especially those who are poor or afflicted (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 1) and the challenges of the present that God entrusts to us. It is thus an ecclesial summons to become pilgrims along the paths of history, trusting before all else in God and in his promises, as did Abraham and our fathers in the faith.

Called by God, Abraham obeyed by setting out for an unknown land that he was to receive as an inheritance, without knowing the path that lay ahead. Had Abraham demanded ideal social and political conditions before leaving his land, perhaps he would never have set out. Instead, he trusted in God and in response to God’s word he left his home and its safety. It was not historical changes that made him put his trust in God; rather, it was his pure faith that brought about a change in history. For faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received God’s approval (Heb 11:1-2).

3. As the Successor of Peter, I want to confirm you in this faith (cf Lk 22:32) – in the faith of Abraham, in the faith of the Virgin Mary, in the faith you have received – and to ask you to place your trust ever more firmly in the Lord of history and in the Church’s discernment of his will. May all of us implore the gift of the Spirit to illumine our minds, warm our hearts and help us to understand where he would lead us, in order to overcome inevitable moments of bewilderment, and to find the strength to set out resolutely on the road ahead.

Precisely for the sake of supporting and promoting the preaching of the Gospel in China and reestablishing full and visible unity in the Church, it was essential, before all else, to deal with the issue of the appointment of bishops. Regrettably, as we know, the recent history of the Catholic Church in China has been marked by deep and painful tensions, hurts and divisions, centred especially on the figure of the bishop as the guardian of the authenticity of the faith and as guarantor of ecclesial communion.

When, in the past, it was presumed to determine the internal life of the Catholic communities, imposing direct control above and beyond the legitimate competence of the state, the phenomenon of clandestinity arose in the Church in China. This experience – it must be emphasized – is not a normal part of the life of the Church and history shows that pastors and faithful have recourse to it only amid suffering, in the desire to maintain the integrity of their faith (Benedict XVI, Letter to Chinese Catholics, 27 May 2007, 8).

I would have you know that, from the time I was entrusted with the Petrine ministry, I have experienced great consolation in knowing the heartfelt desire of Chinese Catholics to live their faith in full communion with the universal Church and with the Successor of Peter, who is 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). In these years, I have received numerous concrete signs and testimonies of that desire, including from bishops who have damaged communion in the Church as a result of weakness and errors, but also, and not infrequently, due to powerful and undue pressure from without.

Consequently, after carefully examining every individual personal situation, and listening to different points of view, I have devoted much time to reflection and prayer, seeking the true good of the Church in China. In the end, before the Lord and with serenity of judgment, in continuity with the direction set by my immediate predecessors, I have determined to grant reconciliation to the remaining seven official bishops ordained without papal mandate and, having lifted every relevant canonical sanction, to readmit them to full ecclesial communion. At the same time, I ask them to express with concrete and visible gestures their restored unity with the Apostolic See and with the Churches spread throughout the world, and to remain faithful despite any difficulties.

4. In the sixth year of my Pontificate, which I have placed from the beginning under the banner of God’s merciful love, I now invite all Chinese Catholics to work towards reconciliation. May all be mindful, with renewed apostolic zeal, of the words of Saint Paul: God … has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18).

Indeed, as I wrote at the conclusion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, no law or precept can prevent God from once more embracing the son who returns to him admitting that he has done wrong but intending to start his life anew. Remaining only at the level of the law is equivalent to thwarting faith and divine mercy … Even in the most complex cases, where there is a temptation to apply a justice derived from rules alone, we must believe in the power flowing from divine grace (Apostolic Letter Misericordia et Misera, 20 November 2016, 11).

In this spirit, and in line with the decisions that have been made, we can initiate an unprecedented process that we hope will help to heal the wounds of the past, restore full communion among all Chinese Catholics, and lead to a phase of greater fraternal cooperation, in order to renew our commitment to the mission of proclaiming the Gospel. For the Church exists for the sake of bearing witness to Jesus Christ and to the forgiving and saving love of the Father.

5. The Provisional Agreement signed with the Chinese authorities, while limited to certain aspects of the Church’s life and necessarily capable of improvement, can contribute – for its part – to writing this new chapter of the Catholic Church in China. For the first time, the Agreement sets out stable elements of cooperation between the state authorities and the Apostolic See, in the hope of providing the Catholic community with good shepherds.

In this context, the Holy See intends fully to play its own part. Yet an important part also falls to you, the bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful: to join in seeking good candidates capable of taking up in the Church the demanding and important ministry of bishop. It is not a question of appointing functionaries to deal with religious issues, but of finding authentic shepherds according to the heart of Jesus, men committed to working generously in the service of God’s people, especially the poor and the most vulnerable. Men who take seriously the Lord’s words: Whoever would become great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be the slave of all (Mk 10:43-44).

In this regard, it seems clear that an Agreement is merely an instrument, and not of itself capable of resolving all existing problems. Indeed, it will prove ineffective and unproductive, unless it is accompanied by a deep commitment to renewing personal attitudes and ecclesial forms of conduct.

6. On the pastoral level, the Catholic community in China is called to be united, so as to overcome the divisions of the past that have caused, and continue to cause great suffering in the hearts of many pastors and faithful. All Christians, none excluded, must now offer gestures of reconciliation and communion. In this regard, let us keep in mind the admonition of Saint John of the Cross: In the evening of life, we will be judged on love (Dichos, 64).

On the civil and political level, Chinese Catholics must be good citizens, loving their homeland and serving their country with diligence and honesty, to the best of their ability. On the ethical level, they should be aware that many of their fellow citizens expect from them a greater commitment to the service of the common good and the harmonious growth of society as a whole. In particular, Catholics ought to make a prophetic and constructive contribution born of their faith in the kingdom of God. At times, this may also require of them the effort to offer a word of criticism, not out of sterile opposition, but for the sake of building a society that is more just, humane and respectful of the dignity of each person.

7. I now turn to you, my brother bishops, priests and consecrated persons who serve the Lord with gladness (Ps 100:2). Let us recognize one another as followers of Christ in the service of God’s people. Let us make pastoral charity the compass for our ministry. Let us leave behind past conflicts and attempts to pursue our own interests, and care for the faithful, making our own their joys and their sufferings. Let us work humbly for reconciliation and unity. With energy and enthusiasm, let us take up the path of evangelization indicated by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.

To everyone, I say once more with great affection: Let us be inspired to act by the example of all those priests, religious, and laity who devote themselves to proclamation and to serving others with great fidelity, often at the risk of their lives and certainly at the cost of their comfort. Their testimony reminds us that, more than bureaucrats and functionaries, the Church needs passionate missionaries, enthusiastic about sharing true life. The saints surprise us; they confound us, because by their lives they urge us to abandon a dull and dreary mediocrity (Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate, 19 March 2018, 138).

I ask you wholeheartedly to beg for the grace not to hesitate when the Spirit calls us to take a step forward: Let us ask for the apostolic courage to share the Gospel with others and to stop trying to make our Christian life a museum of memories. In every situation, may the Holy Spirit cause us to contemplate history in the light of the risen Jesus. In this way, the Church will not stand still, but constantly welcome the Lord’s surprises (GE, 139).

8. In this year, when the entire Church celebrates the Synod on Young People, I would like to say a special word to you, young Chinese Catholics, who enter the gates of the house of the Lord giving thanks and with songs of praise (Ps 100:4). I ask you to cooperate in building the future of your country with the talents and gifts that you have received, and with the youthfulness of your faith. I encourage you to bring, by your enthusiasm, the joy of the Gospel to everyone you meet.

Be ready to accept the sure guidance of the Holy Spirit, who shows today’s world the path to reconciliation and peace. Let yourselves be surprised by the renewing power of grace, even when it may seem that the Lord is asking more of you than you think you can give. Do not be afraid to listen to his voice as he calls you to fraternity, encounter, capacity for dialogue and forgiveness, and a spirit of service, regardless of the painful experiences of the recent past and wounds not yet healed.

Open your hearts and minds to discern the merciful plan of God, who asks us to rise above personal prejudices and conflicts between groups and communities, in order to undertake a courageous fraternal journey in the light of an authentic culture of encounter.

Nowadays there is no lack of temptations: the pride born of worldly success, narrow-mindedness and absorption in material things, as if God did not exist. Go against the flow and stand firm in the Lord: for he is good; eternal is his merciful love; he is faithful from age to age (Ps 100:5).

9. Dear brothers and sisters of the universal Church, all of us are called to recognize as one of the signs of our times everything that is happening today in the life of the Church in China. We have an important duty: to accompany our brothers and sisters in China with fervent prayer and fraternal friendship. Indeed, they need to feel that in the journey that now lies ahead, they are not alone. They need to be accepted and supported as a vital part of the Church. How good and pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together in unity! (Ps 133:1).

Each local Catholic community in every part of the world should make an effort to appreciate and integrate the spiritual and cultural treasures proper to Chinese Catholics. The time has come to taste together the genuine fruits of the Gospel sown in the ancient Middle Kingdom and to raise to the Lord Jesus Christ a hymn of faith and thanksgiving, enriched by authentically Chinese notes.

10. I now turn with respect to the leaders of the People’s Republic of China and renew my invitation to continue, with trust, courage and farsightedness, the dialogue begun some time ago. I wish to assure them that the Holy See will continue to work sincerely for the growth of genuine friendship with the Chinese people.

The present contacts between the Holy See and the Chinese government are proving useful for overcoming past differences, even those of the more recent past, and for opening a new chapter of more serene and practical cooperation, in the shared conviction that incomprehension serves the interests of neither the Chinese people nor the Catholic Church in China (Benedict XVI, Letter to Chinese Catholics, 27 May 2007, 4).

In this way, China and the Apostolic See, called by history to an arduous yet exciting task, will be able to act more positively for the orderly and harmonious growth of the Catholic community in China. They will make efforts to promote the integral development of society by ensuring greater respect for the human person, also in the religious sphere, and will work concretely to protect the environment in which we live and to build a future of peace and fraternity between peoples.

In China, it is essential that, also on the local level, relations between the leaders of ecclesial communities and the civil authorities become more productive through frank dialogue and impartial listening, so as to overcome antagonism on both sides. A new style of straightforward daily cooperation needs to develop between local authorities and ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, priests and community elders – in order to ensure that pastoral activities take place in an orderly manner, in harmony with the legitimate expectations of the faithful and the decisions of competent authorities.

This will help make it clear that the Church in China is not oblivious to Chinese history, nor does she seek any privilege. Her aim in the dialogue with civil authorities is that of building a relationship based on mutual respect and deeper understanding (Benedict XVI, Letter to Chinese Catholics, 27 May 2007, 4).

11. In the name of the whole Church, I beg the Lord for the gift of peace, and I invite all to join me in invoking the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary:

Mother of Heaven, hear the plea of your children as we humbly call upon your name!

Virgin of Hope, we entrust to you the journey of the faithful in the noble land of China. We ask you to present to the Lord of history the trials and tribulations, the petitions and the hopes of all those who pray to you, O Queen of Heaven!

Mother of the Church, we consecrate to you the present and the future of our families and our communities. Protect and sustain them in fraternal reconciliation and in service to the poor who bless your name, O Queen of Heaven!

Consolation of the Afflicted, we turn to you, for you are the refuge of all who weep amid their trials. Watch over your sons and daughters who praise your name; make them one in bringing the proclamation of the Gospel. Accompany their efforts to build a more fraternal world. Grant that they may bring the joy of forgiveness to all whom they meet, O Queen of Heaven!

Mary, Help of Christians, for China we implore days of blessing and of peace. Amen!

From the Vatican
26 September 2018

Francis