Pope Francis: "On 25 November, Strasbourg, to speak at the Council of Europe
and the European Parliament. And then, perhaps, on 28 November, Turkey, to be
there to celebrate the feast of St. Andrew, with the Patriarch Bartholomaios".
 Q: "We have understood that you have a vision of Albania that is a little
different to that of the Europeans; that is, we look at Europe almost as if it
were the European Union, whereas you have chosen, as the first European
country to visit, a peripheral country that does not belong to the European
Union. What would you say to those who look only at the Europe of the
'powerful'?"
 Pope Francis: "That my trip is a message, it is a sign: it is a sign I wish
to give".
 Q: "We all saw you weep, I think, for the first time, we saw you very moved
during that encounter: it was, I think, the most moving moment of the trip..."
 Pope Francis: "To hear a martyr speak of his own martyrdom was very powerful.
I think that all of us who were there were moved, all of us. And they spoke as
if they were talking about other people, simply and with humility. It did me a
great deal of good".

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 The Holy Father receives the president of Latvia
 Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father Francis
received in audience Andris Berzins, president of the Republic of Latvia, who
subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied
by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
 During the discussions, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, the
existing good relations between Latvia and the Holy See were evoked, as well
as the positive contribution made by the Catholic Church to society,
especially in the fields of education and social welfare.
 Mention was then made of various aspects of life in the country, as well as
international matters of common interest, particularly in view of Latvia's
upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union, from 1 January 2015.
Special attention was paid to the situation in Ukraine, in the hope that a
political solution, based on law, may be sought through dialogue.

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 The Church needs pastors able to kneel before others
 Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican's
Clementine Hall, the Holy Father received the bishops participating in the
seminar organised by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Pope
Francis praised the courage of the bishops, who have not allowed themselves
"to be intimidated by the difficulties and challenges of the current world,
that make the mission of bishops even more arduous nowadays", but have instead
placed their trust in the Lord, "in imitation of the first disciples".
 He reminded them of the urgent need for missionary conversion "that involves
every baptised person and every parish", emphasising that pastors are required
to be the first to live and witness this conversion as the leaders of the
particular Churches. Therefore, he added, "I encourage you to direct your life
and your episcopal ministry towards this missionary transformation that
currently challenges the People of God".
 "Service to humanity is at the centre of this missionary conversion of the
Church. ... A shining example of this pastoral service is offered by the
Korean martyr saints ... whose liturgical memory we celebrate today. Anchored
in Christ, the Good Shepherd, they did not hesitate to shed their own blood
for the Gospel, of which they were faithful dispensers and heroic witnesses.
The Church needs pastors, that is, servants, bishops, who are able to kneel
before others to wash their feet. Pastors who are close to the people, meek
fathers and brothers, patient and merciful; who embrace poverty both as
freedom for the Lord and as simplicity and austerity in life".
 "Make efforts to give a new missionary impetus to your diocesan communities,
so that they continue to grow with new members, thanks to your witness of life
and your episcopal ministry, exercised as a service to the People of God. Be
close to your priests, pay attention to religious life, and love the poor". He
concluded by urging them to promote pastoral care for the family, "so that
families, accompanied and educated, may be increasingly better able to offer
their contribution to the life of the Church and society", and so that they
may provide the foundation for the work of evangelisation, "through their
educational mission and with their active participation in the life of parish
communities".

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 The Church must be a sign of closeness to God's mercy
 Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - The participants in the international
meeting, "The pastoral project of Evangelii gaudium", organised by the
Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelisation" and chaired by
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, were received in audience by Pope Francis in the
Vatican's Paul VI Hall yesterday.
 In his address, the Holy Father spoke of the urgency of the evangelising
mission in our times, presenting as an example, first and foremost, the
passage from the Gospel according to Matthew in which Jesus feels compassion
towards the crowd that follows Him, tired and exhausted like a flock without a
shepherd.
 "How many people, in so many of the existential peripheries of our time, are
tired and exhausted, and await the Church? They await us!" he exclaimed. "How
can we reach them? ... It is not the task of the Pope to offer a detailed and
complete analysis of contemporary reality, but to invite all the Church to
grasp the signs of the times that the Lord continually offers us. ... These
signs ... must be reread in the light of the Gospel: this is the moment of
solid commitment, the context in which we are called upon to work in order to
enable the growth of God's Kingdom. How much poverty and solitude we see in
today's world, unfortunately! How many people live in conditions of great
suffering and ask the Church to be a sign of the Lord's goodness, solidarity
and mercy. This is a task, in particular, for those who have the
responsibility of pastoral ministry. ... They are required to recognise and
interpret these signs of the times in order to offer a wise and generous
response".
 "Before so many pastoral needs, before the many demands of men and women, we
run the risk of being afraid and of turning inwards in an attitude of fear and
defence. Herein there lie the temptations of sufficiency and clericalism, of
the codification of faith in rules and instructions, just as the scribes,
pharisees and doctors of the law did in Jesus' time. Everything is clear and
orderly, but the population of believers and seekers will continue to hunger
and thirst for God. I have said many times that the Church seems like a
military hospital to me: many injured people who need our closeness, who ask
of us what they asked of Jesus: closeness, proximity. And if we assume the
attitude of the scribes, the doctors of the law and the pharisees, we will
never offer a testimony of closeness".
 In this regard, the Pope cited the parable in which Jesus speaks of the owner
of a vineyard who, in need of workers, left his home at different times of the
day to look for them. "He did not go out just once", he emphasised. "All those
who are responsible for pastoral care can find a good example in this parable.
Go forth at all times of the day to find those who are in search of the Lord.
Reach the weakest and the least fortunate to offer them support so they can be
useful in the Lord's vineyard, even if it is only for an hour".
 "Another aspect: please, let us not follow the song of the sirens who call us
to transform pastoral care into a convulsive series of initiatives, without
grasping the essence of commitment to evangelisation. At times it appears as
if they are more concerned with multiplying their activities rather than
taking care of people and their encounter with God. A pastoral care that lacks
this attention will gradually become sterile".
 Finally, the Pope advised those present to consider two important qualities:
patience and perseverance. "The Word of God entered with 'patience' in the
moment of the Incarnation and thus unto death on the Cross. Patience and
perseverance. We do not have a 'magic wand' for everything, but we do have our
trust in the Lord Who accompanies us and never abandons us. ... Let us do
good, but without expected to be recompensed. Let us sow and offer witness.
Our witness is the beginning of an evangelisation that touches the heart and
transforms is. Words without example are of no use! Our witness is that which
brings and gives validity to our words".
 "Thank you for your commitment", he concluded. "I bless you and, please, do
not forget to pray for me, because I have to talk a lot and also give a little
Christian witness!".

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 Special Commission to study marriage annulment reform
 Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today
issued the following communique:
 "On 27 August 2014, the Holy Father decided to institute a special Commission
to study the reform of the canonical marriage annulment process.
 The Commission will be chaired by Msgr. Pio Vito Pinto, dean of the tribunal
of the Roman Rota, and will be composed of the following members: Cardinal
Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative
Texts; Msgr. Luis Francisco Ladario, secretary of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith; Bishop Dimitri Salachas, Apostolic Exarch of the Greek
Byzantine Catholic Church; Msgrs. Maurice Monier, Leo Xavier Michael Arokiaraj
and Alejandro W. Bunge, prelate auditors of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota;
the Rev. Fr. Nikolaus Schoch, O.F.M., substitute promotor of Justice of the
Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura; Fr. Konstanc Miroslav Adam, O.P.,
rector of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum); Fr.
Jorge Horta Espinoza, O.F.M., Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law of the
Pontifical University Antonianum; and Prof. Paolo Moneta, formerly professor
of Canon Law at the University of Pisa.
 The work of the Special Commission will begin as soon as possible and will
focus on the preparation of a proposal for the reform of the marriage
annulment process, seeking to simplify and streamline the procedure, while
safeguarding the principle of the indissoluble nature of marriage".

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 Cardinal Scola special envoy to Cologne
 Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - Today a letter was published, written
in Latin and dated 6 August, by which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Angelo
Scola, archbishop of Milan, as his special envoy to the celebrations for the
850th anniversary of the translation of relics of the Magi from Milan to
Cologne, Germany, scheduled to take place on 28 September. The pontifical
mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of Msgr. Klaus Kramer of
the clergy of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, president of Missio-Aachen, and Rev.
Provost Hubertus Bottcher of the clergy of Paderborn, dean of Arnsberg.

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in audience:
 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;
 - Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, and
entourage;
 - Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference;
 - Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain;
 - Bishop Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto, emeritus of San Isidro, Argentina;
 - Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, president of the Argentine Republic.

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of
Chicago (area 3,654, population 6,251,000, Catholics 2,438,000, priests 1,559,
permanent deacons 660, religious 2,787), U.S.A. He succeeds Cardinal Francis
E. George, O.M.I., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same
metropolitan archdiocese, upon reaching the age limit, was accepted by the
Holy Father.
 - Rev. Fr. Riccardo Luca Guariglia, O.S.B., as ordinary abbot of the
territorial abbey of Montevergine (area 3, population 232, Catholics 232,
priests 12, religious 27), Italy. Fr. Guariglia is currently lecturer in
fundamental theology at the "Madonna delle Grazie" Theological Institute in
Benevento, Italy, and claustral prior and master of novices of the monastic
community of Montevergine.
 - Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India, as his special envoy
to the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the evangelisation of
Myanmar, to be held in Yangon from 21 to 23 November 2014.
 - Msgr. Paolo Rudelli, nunciature advisor, as special advisor and Holy See
permanent observer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.

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