VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 105
DATE 05-06-2014

Summary:
- THE POPE RECEIVES ARAM I, CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF
CILICIA: WE SHARE THE SAME HOPES
- FRANCIS: GYPSIES ARE ONE OF THE GROUPS MOST VULNERABLE TO NEW FORMS OF
SLAVERY
- FUNERAL OF CARDINAL LOURDUSAMY
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

___________________________________________________________

 THE POPE RECEIVES ARAM I, CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF
CILICIA: WE SHARE THE SAME HOPES
 Vatican City, 5 June 2014 (VIS) - "On our journey towards full communion, we
share the same hopes and a similar sense of responsibility as we strive to be
faithful to the will of the Lord Jesus Christ". With these words, Pope Francis
greeted His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
Cilicia, during their meeting in the Vatican this morning.
 As the Pope observed, His Holiness Aram I's commitment to the cause of
Christian unity is well known to all. The Catholicos has played an important
role in the World Council of Churches and in the Middle East Council of
Churches, which support Christian communities in the Middle East, and has made
a significant contribution to the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue
between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
 Francis also remarked that Aram I represents "a part of the Christian world
that is irrevocably marked by a history of trials and sufferings courageously
accepted for the love of God. The Armenian Apostolic Church has had to become
a pilgrim people; it has experienced in a singular way what it means to
journey towards the Kingdom of God. The history of emigration, persecutions
and the martyrdom experienced by so many of the faithful has inflicted deep
wounds on the hearts of all Armenians. We must see and venerate these as
wounds inflicted on the very body of Christ, and for this very reason a cause
for unfailing hope and trust in the provident mercy of the Father".
 "Trust and hope. How much these are needed! They are needed by our Christian
brothers and sisters in the Middle East, especially those living in areas
racked by conflict and violence. But we too need them, as Christians who are
spared such sufferings yet so often risk losing our way in the desert of
indifference and forgetfulness of God, or living in conflict with our brothers
and sisters, or succumbing in our interior struggle against sin. As followers
of Jesus Christ, we need to learn humbly to bear one another's burdens and to
help each other to be better Christians, better followers of Jesus. So let us
advance together in charity, as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us,
offering Himself to God as a pleasing sacrifice".
 "In these days before Pentecost ... in faith, let us invoke the Spirit, the
Lord and Giver of Life, that he may renew the face of the earth, be a source
of healing for our wounded world, and reconcile the hearts of all men and
women with God the Creator. May He, the Paraclete, inspire our journey towards
unity. May He teach us to strengthen the fraternal bonds which even now unite
us in the one baptism and in the one faith", concluded Francis.
 After the meeting, the Catholicos and the Pope prayed together in the
Redemptoris Mater Chapel.

___________________________________________________________

 FRANCIS: GYPSIES ARE ONE OF THE GROUPS MOST VULNERABLE TO NEW FORMS OF SLAVERY
 Vatican City, 5 June 2014 (VIS) - "New civil, cultural and social approaches,
and a new pastoral strategy for the Church" against "modern forms of
persecution, oppression and slavery" are necessary to face the situation of
gypsies throughout the world, said Pope Francis during this morning's audience
with the participants in the meeting "The Church and gypsies: proclaiming the
Gospel in the peripheries", organised by the Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
 The theme of the meeting, said Francis, involves "the memory of a
relationship, that between the ecclesiastical community and the gypsy
population, the history of a journey to get to know each other, to encounter
one another; and then the challenge for today, a challenge that regards both
ordinary pastoral care and new evangelisation".
 He commented that often gypsies find themselves on the margins of society,
"and at times are looked upon with hostility and suspicion; they are rarely
involved in the political, economic and social dynamics of the country". He
continued, "We know that it is a complex reality, but certainly the gypsy
population is also required to contribute to the common good, and this is
possible with adequate itineraries of co-responsibility, the observance of
duties and the promotion of the rights of every person".
 He observed that among the causes of misery among various sectors of the
population there are factors such as "a lack of educational structures for
cultural and professional formation, the difficulty of access to healthcare,
discrimination in the employment market and a lack of decent accommodation".
He added that while these social ills affect everyone, "the weakest groups are
those who most easily become victims of new forms of slavery. Indeed, the
least protected are those who fall into the trap of abuse, forced begging and
other forms of abuse. Gypsies are among the most vulnerable, especially those
who are receive no help in relation to integration or the promotion of the
person in the various dimensions of civil life".
 The care of the Church is relevant here: "Indeed, the Gospel is the
proclamation of joy for all and especially for the weakest and most
marginalised. We are called upon to ensure our closeness and solidarity to
these people, following the example of Jesus Christ, who demonstrated His
Father's predilection for them". However, alongside this united action in
favour of the gypsy population, there needs to be "commitment on the part of
local and national institutions and the support of the international
community, to identify projects and action for improving quality of life".
 The Holy Father concluded by urging the Pontifical Council to continue in its
task and not to be discouraged, adding, "May gypsies find in you brothers and
sisters who love them with the same love that Christ had for the marginalised.
Be, for them, the welcoming and joyful face of the Church".

___________________________________________________________

 FUNERAL OF CARDINAL LOURDUSAMY
 Vatican City, 5 June 2014 (VIS) - At 11.30 this morning, at the major altar
of St. Peter's Basilica, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of
Cardinals, presided at the funeral mass for Cardinal Simon Lourdusamy, prefect
emeritus of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, who died on Monday in
Rome at the age of 90.
 In his homily, the dean of the College of Cardinals described Cardinal
Lourdusamy as "a zealous priest who worked for more than ten years in his
beloved diocese of Pondicherry and then, for almost a decade, was pastor of
the archdiocese of Bangalore. He then generously accepted Pope Paul VI's call
to Rome, to serve in the missionary Congregation of Propaganda Fide. Here, for
twenty years, he dedicated his energies to the great cause of the
evangelisation of peoples, until finally, submitting to the trials of illness,
he continued to serve the Church in prayer and suffering, with an attitude of
great serenity".
 Following the Eucharistic celebration, the Holy Father administered the rites
of "Uitima Commendatio" and "Valedictio".

___________________________________________________________

 AUDIENCES
 Vatican City, 5 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has received in audience:
 - Archbishop Charles Daniel Balvo, apostolic nuncio in Kenya and South Sudan;
permanent observer of the Holy See for the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
 - Doug Coe of the National Prayer Breakfast, U.S.A., and entourage.

___________________________________________________________

 OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
 Vatican City, 5 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - approved the appointment by the Cardinal Secretary of State of Tommaso Di
Ruzza as vice-director "ad interim" of the Financial Information Authority
(AIF). Dr. Di Ruzza was previously study assistant at the AIF.
 - appointed, for a further five-year period, the following members of the
managing board of the Financial Information Authority: Maria Bianca Farina,
managing director of Poste Vita and Poste Assicura, Italy; Marc Odendall,
administrator of various foundations and financial advisor for the
philanthropic sector, Switzerland; Joseph Yuvaraj Pillay, president of the
Council of Consultors of the president of the Republic of Singapore,
Singapore; Juan C. Zarate, senior advisor at the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) and lecturer in law at Harvard University, U.S.A.

___________________________________________________________

For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:
www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va

Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)