Vatican City, 1 July 2013 (VIS) - Pope Francis' first encyclical, entitled
“Lumen Fidei”, will be published on Friday 5 July. The document,
described as “not very extensive” by the director of the Holy See
Press Office, Fr.
Federico Lombardi S.J., will be presented at a Press Conference by Cardinal
Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith, and Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting New
Evangelization.
POPE FRANCIS WILL PRAY FOR IMMIGRANTS IN LAMPEDUSA
Vatican City, 1 July 2013 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office today
communicated that the Holy Father will visit the island of Lampedusa, Sicily,
on Monday 8 July. The communique states that the Pope, “profoundly moved
by the recent wreck
involving a boat transporting migrants from Africa, the latest in a series of
similar tragedies, intends to pray for those who have lost their lives at sea,
to visit the survivors and refugees, to give encouragement to the island's
inhabitants and to
appeal to the responsibility of all to care for these brothers and sisters in
extreme need. Due to the specific nature of the circumstances, the visit will
be carried out as discreetly as possible, also with regard to the presence of
bishops from the
region and the civil authorities.
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THE HOLY FATHER'S PROGRAMME FOR AUGUST
Vatican City, 1 July 2013 (VIS) – According to a communique issued
today by the Prefecture of the Papal Household, the general audiences will be
suspended during the month of August and will recommence on Wednesday 4
September.
Throughout the entire month of August, the Angelus Marian prayer will
continue in the Vatican, with the exception of Thursday 15 August, solemnity
of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On that day, the Holy Father
will celebrate the Holy Mass
in the parish of Castel Gandolfo and will subsequently pray the Angelus from
the apostolic palace of his summer residence.
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SIX THOUSAND YOUNG PEOPLE BEAR WITNESS TO THEIR VOCATION
Vatican City, 01 July 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press
Office a presentation was given for the “Great Event of the Year of
Faith, a Day for seminarians, novices, and all those who have taken the path
of vocation”. The
participants were Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting New Evangelization, Archbishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas,
secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, and Msgr
Graham Bell,
under-secretary of the same Pontifical Council. The initiative is entitled
“I trust in you”, to indicate the act by which the young may still
find the strength and courage to consecrate themselves to the Lord and to the
priestly or
consecrated life as a sign of generosity to the Lord Who calls upon them to
follow Him.
The event will begin on 4 July with a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter.
It will depart from the gardens of Castel Sant'Angelo and continue along the
entire length of Via della Conciliazione, concluding at St. Peter's Basilica
where Cardinal Angelo
Comastri will address those present.
The following day, 5 July, will be dedicated to catechesis in various
languages, and will take place in designated churches throughout the historic
centre of the capital. The day will conclude at Piazza del Campidoglio where
there will be a
celebration with various singers; two seminarians and a young Italian nun will
relate their own experiences.
The morning of Saturday 6 July will be dedicated to the celebration of
reconciliation and Eucharistic adoration. For the superiors accompanying the
young seminarians and religious there will be the opportunity to reflect on
matters of formation at
the Lateran University. In the afternoon, in the Paul VI Hall, Cardinal Mauro
Piacenza, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, will offer some thoughts
prior to an encounter with Pope Francis, who will offer privileged testimony
of his own
vocation. Musical accompaniment will be provided by the Irish group “The
Priests” and by the nun Glenda. Finally, there will be a Marian
procession in the Vatican Gardens, concluding at St. Peter's Basilica with a
final address from Cardinal
J. Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated
Life.
On the morning of Sunday 7 July, the Pope will celebrate Mass in St.
Peter's Basilica followed by the Angelus.
It is hoped that some six thousand young people from 66 different countries
will participate in the initiative; representatives, according to Archbishop
Fisichella, of the “thousands and thousands of other young people who
will be spiritually
united with them in bearing witness to their vocation”.
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POPE FRANCIS RECALLS BENEDICT XVI'S EXAMPLE
Vatican City, 30 June 2013 (VIS) – Jesus' steadfast decision to set
out on the path to Jerusalem, his final destination and the place where He
fulfilled His mission of salvation, and His freedom of conscience were the
themes of the Pope's final
Angelus in the month of June, prayed with tens of thousands of faithful
gathered in St. Peter's Square.
“From that time forth after His steadfast decision, Jesus aims
straight for the finish line, and even to the people he meets and who ask to
follow Him, He clearly states the conditions: not having a permanent abode;
knowing how to detach
oneself from familiar affections; not succumbing to nostalgia for the past.
But Jesus also said to his disciples, charged with preceding Him on the way to
Jerusalem to announce His coming, not to impose anything: if they do not find
willing welcome,
they are simply to continue, to move on. Jesus never imposes” Pope
Francis emphasized. “Jesus is humble. Jesus extends invitations: 'If you
want, come'. The humility of Jesus is like this: He always invites us. He does
not impose”.
“All this makes us think … of the importance, even for Jesus,
of conscience: listening in his heart to the Father's voice, and following it.
Jesus, in his earthly life, was not, so to speak, 'remote-controlled': He was
the Word made
flesh, the Son of God made man, and at one point he made a firm decision to go
up to Jerusalem for the last time - a decision taken in His conscience, but
not on His own: ??with the Father, in full union with Him! ... For this
reason, then, the decision
was steadfast: because it was taken together with the Father. In the Father,
then, Jesus found the strength and the light for His journey. Jesus was free.
His decision was a free one. Jesus wants us Christians to be free as he is:
with that liberty,
which comes from this dialogue with the Father ... Jesus wants neither selfish
Christians, who follow their egos and do not speak with God, nor weak
Christians, without will: 'remote-controlled' Christians,
incapable of creativity, who seek always to connect with the will of another
... Jesus wants us free, and this freedom – where is it found? It is to
be found in the inner dialogue with God in conscience. If a Christian …
does not know how
to listen to God, in his own conscience, then he is not free – he is not
free”.
“So we also must learn to listen more to our conscience. Be careful,
however: this does not mean we ought to follow our ego, do whatever interests
us, whatever suits us, whatever pleases us. That is not conscience. Conscience
is the interior
space in which we can listen to and hear the truth, the good, the voice of
God. It is the inner place of our relationship with Him, who speaks to our
heart and helps us to discern, to understand the path we ought to take, and
once the decision is made,
to move forward, to remain faithful”.
Pope Francis highlighted a wonderful example of how this relationship with
God in one's own conscience may be: Pope Benedict XVI, “when the Lord
showed him in prayer the step he had to take, followed his conscience with a
great sense of
discernment and courage; that is, he followed the will of God that spoke to
his heart”. This example “is of benefit to all of us, as an
example to follow”.
“May Mary help us to become more and more men and women of
conscience, free in our conscience … able to hear the voice of God and
follow it with decision” concluded the Pope.
After the Angelus, the Holy Father remarked that today in Italy we
celebrate the Day of charity of the Pope, and he thanked the bishops and all
the parishes, especially the poorest, for the prayers and offerings that
support the many pastoral
initiatives and charitable activities of the Successor of Peter in every part
of the world.
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POPE'S MESSAGE TO YOUNG LITHUANIANS
Vatican City, 30 June 2013 (VIS) – The Pope has written a message to
the participants in the Sixth Youth Day, to be held in Kaunas, Lithuania from
28 to 30 June.
The Pope writes, “Jesus wants to be your friend, … a master of
truth and life who will show you the path to happiness, to your
elf-realization according to God's plan for each of you. And this, Jesus'
friendship, which brings us mercy
and the love of God, is 'free', a pure gift. He asks nothing of you in return,
He asks only that you welcome Him. Jesus wishes to love you for what you are,
even in your fragility and weakness as, touched by His love, you may be
renewed”.
“The encounter with God's love in the friendship of Christ is
possible first and foremost through the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist
and the Reconciliation. … Jesus always forgives us. Another privileged
way to grow in Christ's
friendship is to listen to His word. The Lord speaks to us … through
the Sacred Scriptures, He speaks to us through prayer. … And here I
would like to emphasize the beauty of simple contemplative prayer, accessible
to all, old and young,
the cultured and the simple; it is the prayer of the Sacred Rosary. …
Indeed, in the Rosary, repeating Hail Mary, we meditate upon the Mysteries,
the events in the life of Christ, in order to know him and love him
more”.
“Christ's love is not an illusion … neither is it reserved to
the few. … Do not be afraid to live in faith! Be witnesses to Christ in
your daily lives, with simplicity and courage. To those you meet, to your
peers, show above all
the face of the mercy and love of God, Who always forgives, encourages and
gives hope. Always show care for others, especially to the poorest and
weakest, thereby living in fraternal love, against all forms of egotism and
narrow-mindedness”.
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THE BISHOP OF ROME IS CALLED TO CONFIRM IN FAITH, LOVE AND UNITY
Vatican City, 29 June 2013 (VIS) - This morning, on the solemnity of the
apostles Peter and Paul, Pope Francis celebrated the Holy Mass in St. Peter's
Basilica, during which the Pallium, a symbol of the bond of unity with the See
of Peter, was
imposed upon thirty-four new metropolitan archbishops.
The Holy Father concelebrated the Eucharist with the new archbishops. As is
traditional on the feast of the patrons of Rome, the Pope received in audience
a delegation from the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, sent on
behalf of ecumenical
Patriarch Bartholomaios I and led by the metropolitan of Pergamo Ioannis
(Zizioulas), co-president of the Mixed Commission for Theological Dialogue
between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.
In his homily, Pope Francis spoke of the meaning of the verb “to
confirm” in the context of the Petrine ministry, in response to the
question, “What has the Bishop of Rome been called to confirm?”.
“First, to confirm in faith”, he said. “The Gospel speaks
of the confession of Peter: 'You are Christ, the Son of the living God', a
confession which does not come from him but from our Father in heaven. Because
of this confession,
Jesus replies: 'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church'. The
role, the ecclesial service of Peter, is founded upon his confession of faith
in Jesus, the Son of the living God, made possible by a grace granted from on
high. In the second
part of today’s Gospel we see the peril of thinking in worldly terms.
When Jesus speaks of his death and resurrection, of the path of God which does
not correspond to the human path of power, flesh and blood re-emerge in Peter:
'He took Jesus
aside and began to rebuke him ... This must never happen to you'. Jesus’
response is harsh: 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me'. Whenever
we let our thoughts, our feelings or
the logic of human power prevail, and we do not let ourselves be taught and
guided by faith, by God, we become stumbling blocks. Faith in Christ is the
light of our life as Christians and as ministers in the Church!”
“To confirm in love” is the second answer. “In the second
reading we heard the moving words of Saint Paul: I have fought the good fight,
I have finished the race, I have kept the faith'”, continued the Holy
Father. “But
what is this fight? It is not one of those fights fought with human weapons
which sadly continue to cause bloodshed throughout the world; rather, it is
the fight of martyrdom. Saint Paul has but one weapon: the message of Christ
and the gift of his
entire life for Christ and for others. It is precisely this readiness to lay
himself open, personally, to be consumed for the sake of the Gospel, to make
himself all things to all people, unstintingly, that gives him credibility and
builds up the
Church. The Bishop of Rome is called himself to live and to confirm his
brothers and sisters in this love for Christ and for all others, without
distinction, limits or barriers. And not only the Bishop of Rome: each of you,
new
archbishops and bishops, have the same task: to let yourselves be consumed by
the Gospel, to become all things to everyone. It is your task to hold nothing
back, to go outside of yourselves in the service of the faithful and holy
people of
God”.
Finally, the Pope continued, “To confirm in unity. Here I would like
to reflect for a moment on the rite which we have carried out. The pallium is
a symbol of communion with the Successor of Peter, 'the lasting and visible
source and foundation
of the unity both of faith and of communion'. And your presence today, dear
brothers, is the sign that the Church’s communion does not mean
uniformity. The Second Vatican Council, in speaking of the hierarchical
structure of the Church, states
that the Lord 'established the apostles as college or permanent assembly, at
the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from their number'. To confirm in
unity: the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the primate. Let us go forward on
the path of
synodality, and grow in harmony with the service of the primacy. And the
Council continues, 'this college, in so far as it is composed of many members,
is the expression of the variety and universality of the people
of God'. In the Church, variety, which is itself a great treasure, is always
grounded in the harmony of unity, like a great mosaic in which every small
piece joins with others as part of God’s one great plan. This should
inspire us to work always
to overcome every conflict which wounds the body of the Church. United in our
differences: there is no other Catholic way to be united. This is the Catholic
spirit, the Christian spirit: to be united in our differences. This is the way
of Jesus! The
pallium, while being a sign of communion with the Bishop of Rome and with the
universal church, with the Synod of Bishops, also commits each of you to being
a servant of communion”.
“To confess the Lord by letting oneself be taught by God; to be
consumed by love for Christ and his Gospel; to be servants of unity. These,
dear brother bishops, are the tasks which the holy apostles Peter and Paul
entrust to each of us, so
that they can be lived by every Christian”, the Holy Father
concluded.
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SAINTS PETER AND PAUL TRANSMIT TO THE CHURCH THE FAITH IN A GOD OF LOVE AND
GRACE
Vatican City, 29 June 2013 (VIS) – Following the Holy Mass celebrated
in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study to
pray the Angelus on Sunday with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s
Square, and recalled
that the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul was a special feast for the Church
of Rome, founded on the martyrdom of both apostles, and also for the Universal
Church, “since all the People of God owe to them the gift of
faith”.
While Peter “was the first to confess that Jesus is Christ, the Son
of God, Paul spread this news throughout the Greek-Roman world. And Providence
wished that both of them might reach Rome and there shed blood for the faith.
The Church of Rome
therefore became, spontaneously, the point of reference for all Churches
around the world. Not for the power of the Empire, but for the strength of
martyrdom and witness to Christ! In the end, it is always and only the love of
Christ that generates
faith and sustains the Church along her way”.
The Holy Father remarked that when Peter confessed his faith in Jesus,
“he did not do so because of His human capacities, but rather because he
had been moved by the grace Jesus emanated, by the love he felt in His words
and saw in His
gestures”. And the same happened to Paul when, as a young man and enemy
of Christians, he was called upon by the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus
and transformed by his vision: “He understood that Jesus was not dead,
but alive, and loved
even he who was His enemy. It was this experience of mercy, of God's
forgiveness through Jesus Christ: this is the Good News, the Gospel the Peter
and Paul experienced themselves and for which they gave their lives. Mercy,
forgiveness! The Lord always
forgives, the Lord has mercy, is merciful, has a merciful heart and awaits us
always … what joy it is to believe in a God Who is all love, all grace!
This is the faith that Peter and Paul received from Christ and which they
have transmitted to the Church”.
Pope Francis also spoke of the apostle Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
who shared with him his experience of faith in Jesus, and who had indeed
encountered Him first. “I like to remember him also because today, in
accordance with a
beautiful tradition, Rome receives the delegation of the Patriarchate of
Constantinople, whose patron is indeed the apostle Andrew”. The Pope
went on to invite those present to pray together a Hail Mary for Patriarch
Bartholomaios I, and to pray
also for the metropolitan archbishops of the various Churches who received the
Pallium this morning.
After the Marian prayer, the Pope greeted the pilgrims who had gathered to
celebrate with the metropolitan archbishops: “I pray for their
communities, and in particular I encourage the central African people, sorely
tested at this time, to
continue on their path with faith and hope”.
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CARDINAL TAURAN, POPE'S SPECIAL ENVOY TO BUDSLAU SANCTUARY
Vatican City, 29 June 2013 (VIS) – A papal letter was published
today, written in Latin and dated 30 May, naming Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran,
president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, as the Holy
Father's special envoy to
the closing ceremony of the fourth centenary of the arrival of the image of
the Blessed Virgin at Budslau, Belarus, scheduled for the 5 and 6 July
2013.
Also named were the members of the mission who will accompany the cardinal:
Fr. Viktar Burlaka, O.F.M., of the parish of Assunta in Budslau and custodian
of the national Marian sanctuary of Budslau, and Fr. Uladzislau Zavalniuk, of
the parish of St.
Simon and St. Helen in Minsk.
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AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 1 July 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Holy Father
received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion
of Christian Unity;
- Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the Banco Interamericano de Desarollo
(BID) with his consort and retinue;
- Enrique Valentin Inglesias Garcia, secretary-general of the SEGIB
(Segretaria General Iberoamericana)
This afternoon, he is scheduled to receive:
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
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