VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 112
DATE 18-06-2014

Summary:
- BEING CHURCH MEANS HAVING A SENSE OF BEING IN GOD'S HANDS
- THE POPE PRAYS FOR REFUGEES: "JESUS WAS ONE OF THEM"
- PROGRAMME OF THE POPE'S APOSTOLIC TRIP TO KOREA
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
- NOTICE

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 BEING CHURCH MEANS HAVING A SENSE OF BEING IN GOD'S HANDS
 Vatican City, 18 June 2014 (VIS) - During this Wednesday's general audience
Pope Francis began a new series of catechesis on the Church, "like a son who
speaks about his mother, about his own family. The Church is not an
institution that exists for its own ends, or a private association, an NGO;
neither must she limit her view to the clergy or the Vatican. The Church is a
far broader entity, open to all humanity, and not born unexpectedly. She was
founded by Jesus but consists of a people with a long history behind them,
prepared long before Christ Himself".
 "This story, or 'prehistory' of the Church, is already found in the pages of
the Old Testament. According to the Book of Genesis, God chose Abraham ... and
asked him to leave his earthly homeland behind to go towards another land,
that He would show to him. But God did not call upon Abraham alone, as an
isolated individual, but instead from the very beginning He involved all of
his family, his relatives and all those who served in his house. ... The first
important fact is this: starting with Abraham, God formed a people in order to
bring His blessing to all families on earth. And Jesus was born within this
population".
 The second element is that it was not Abraham who convoked the people around
him. ... Typically man sought the divine, seeking to bridge the distance and
invoking support and protection. In this case, however, we see something
unprecedented: it was God Himself Who took the initiative and addressed His
word to man, creating a bond and a new relationship with him. In this way God
constitutes a people of all those who listen to His word and who set out on
their path, trusting in Him. This is the sole condition: trusting in God. If
you place your trust in God, listen to Him and set out on His path, this means
being a Church. God's love precedes everything ... He precedes us. The prophet
Jeremiah said that God was like the flower of the almond-tree, as it is the
first tree that flowers in spring, meaning that God always flowers before us.
When we arrive, He is already there waiting for us. ... He is always there
before us".
 "Abraham and his family listened to the call of God and set out on their way.
... But this does not mean that they are always convinced and faithful. On the
contrary, ever since the beginning there has been resistance, man has
withdrawn into himself and his own interests, and has been tempted to bargain
with God in order to solve problems on his own terms. There are the betrayals
and sins that mark the path of the people throughout the history of salvation,
which is the history of God's fidelity to His people, and the infidelity of
the people of God. However, God never tires, He is patient and over time He
continues to educate and form His people, like a father with his son. He
maintains this same attitude with the Church".
 "Indeed, we too, in spite of our intention to follow the Lord Jesus,
experience every day the selfishness and hardness of our hearts. However, when
we recognise ourselves as sinners, God fills us with His mercy and His love.
This is what enables us to grow as the people of God, as a Church; it is not
our cleverness, our merits, but rather the daily experience of how much the
Lord loves and cares for us. This is what makes us truly feel that we are His,
that we are in His hands,and it enables us to grow in communion with Him and
among ourselves. Being Church means having a sense of being in the hands of
God, Who is our father and loves us, Who awaits us".
 The Pope underlined that this is God's plan: "to form a people blessed by His
love and able to bring his blessing to all populations on earth. This project
does not change, and is always in process. It found its culmination in Christ,
and God continues to carry it out in the Church to this day. Let us then ask
the grace to remain faithful in following the Lord Jesus and in listening to
His Word, ready to set out every day, like Abraham, towards the land of God
and man, our true homeland, and thus to become a blessing and sign of God's
love for all His children".
 He added, "I like to think that a synonym, another way we could describe
Christians is this: we are men and women, we are people who bless. The
Christian, through his life, should always bless, should bless God and others.
We Christians are people who bless, who know how to bless. It is a beautiful
vocation".

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 THE POPE PRAYS FOR REFUGEES: "JESUS WAS ONE OF THEM"
 Vatican City, 18 June 2014 (VIS) - After his greetings in various languages
at today's general audience, the Holy Father mentioned that Friday 20 June
will be World Day for Refugees, dedicated by the international community to
those who are forced to leave their homelands to flee from conflict and
persecution. "The number of our brethren who become refugees is increasing
and, in recent days, thousands more people have had to leave their homes to
save themselves. Millions of refugee families from many countries, of every
religious faith, live through dramatic and painful events from which it is
difficult for them to recover and heal. Let us be close to them, sharing their
fears and uncertainty for the future, and alleviating their suffering in a
concrete way. May the Lord support those people and institutions who work
generously to guarantee welcome and dignity for refugees, and to give them
reasons for hope".
 "We think that Jesus was a refugee, who had to flee for His life, with St.
Joseph and the Virgin", remarked the Pope. "He went to Egypt as a refugee".
The Holy Father concluded by asking the faithful to pray a Hail Mary for the
Virgin "who knows the suffering of refugees".

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 PROGRAMME OF THE POPE'S APOSTOLIC TRIP TO KOREA
 Vatican City, 18 June 2014 (VIS) - Today the programme of Pope Francis'
apostolic trip to Korea (13-18 August), to attend the 6th Asian Youth Day, was
published.
 The Pope will depart on Wednesday 13 August at 4 p.m. from Rome's Fiumicino
airport and will arrive in Seoul at 10.30 a.m. on Thursday 14. After
celebrating Holy Mass in private at the apostolic nunciature, he will make a
courtesy visit to the president of the Republic and will meet with the
political authorities, whom he will address at the Blue House. The first day
will conclude with a meeting with the bishops of Korea at the offices of the
Episcopal Conference.
 On Friday 15, Solemnity of the Assumption, the Pope will transfer by
helicopter to Daejeon where he will celebrate Mass in the World Cup Stadium.
He will then lunch with some young people in the major seminary and from there
will proceed by helicopter to the shrine of Solmoe to meet with the young of
Asia, returning to Seoul in the late afternoon.
 On Saturday 16, he will visit the shrine of the Martyrs of Seo So Mun and at
10 a.m. he will celebrate Mass for the beatification of Paul Yun Ji-Chung and
123 companion martyrs at the Gwanghwamun Gate in Seoul. Following the ceremony
he will transfer, again by helicopter, to Kkottongnae, where he will visit the
House of Hope, a rehabilitation centre for the disabled. Shortly after he will
meet with the religious communities of Korea in the "School of Love" Training
Centre. At 6.30 p.m. he will meet with leaders of the apostolic laity at the
Spirituality Centre, before returning to Seoul around 7 p.m.
 On Sunday 17, the Pope will meet with the bishops of Asia in the shrine of
Haemi. After lunching with the prelates, Francis will celebrate Holy Mass at
4.30 p.m. to mark the closing of the 6th Asian Youth Day in the castle of
Haemi, from where he will fly to Seoul.
 On Monday, 18 August, the Holy Father will spend his final day in Korea
meeting with religious leaders in the building of the old Curia of the
Archdiocese of Seoul. At 9.45 a.m. he will celebrate Mass for peace and
reconciliation in the cathedral of Myeong-dong, at 12.45 p.m. there will be a
farewell ceremony at the Seoul air base, and finally at 1 p.m. he will depart.
He is expected to arrive at Rome's Ciampino airport at around 5.45 p.m.

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 OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
 Vatican City, 18 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - appointed Bishop Philippe Mousset of Pamiers, France, as bishop of
Perigueux (area 9,060, population 412,082, Catholics 355,900, priests 91,
permanent deacons 9, religious 184), France. He succeeds Bishop Michel
Mouisse, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese, upon
having reached the age limit, was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - appointed Bishop Segundo Rene Coba Galarza, auxiliary of Quito, Ecuador, as
military ordinary of Ecuador (priests 60, religious 10). He succeeds Bishop
Miguel Angel Aguilar Miranda, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same military ordinariate, upon having reached the age limit, was accepted by
the Holy Father.
 - appointed Msgr. Luis Gabriel Ramirez Diaz, as bishop of El Banco (area
12,535, population 484,000, Catholics 449,000, priests 20, religious 16),
Colombia. The bishop-elect, currently apostolic administrator of the same
diocese, was born in Margarita, Colombia in 1965 and was ordained a priest in
1993. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including priest of the
parish of "San Pedro martir de Verona", administrator of the parish of "La
Inmaculada Concepcion" in Remolino, vocational promoter, formator and rector
of the "San Jose" major seminary of the diocese of Santa Marta, priest of the
parish of "San Sebastian", delegate for priestly pastoral in the diocese of El
Banco, priest of the parish of "La Inmaculada Concepcion" in Plato, and vicar
general of El Banco.

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 NOTICE
 Vatican City, 18 June 2014 (VIS) - Tomorrow, Thursday 19 June, Solemnity of
Corpus Domini and feast day in the Vatican, the VIS will not transmit its
daily bulletin. Service will resume on Friday, 20 June.

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