VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 209
DATE 26-11-2014

Summary:
- The Pope addresses press on the return flight from Strasbourg: "I never give
up a cause for lost"
- General Audience: the Church on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven
- Francis asks for prayers for his trip to Turkey
- Pope Francis' message to the International Pastoral Congress on the World's
Big Cities
- First International Prayer Day and reflection on human trafficking
- In brief
- Other Pontifical Acts

___________________________________________________________

 The Pope addresses press on the return flight from Strasbourg: "I never give
up a cause for lost"
 Vatican City, 26 November 2014 (VIS) - During his return journey from
Strasbourg, where he addressed both the European Parliament and the Council of
Europe, Pope Francis answered questions posed by the journalists who
accompanied him on the flight. The questions and the Holy Father's answers are
published below.
 Q: "Your Holiness addressed the European Parliament with pastoral works that
may also be regarded as political words, and which may be linked, in my
opinion, to a social-democratic stance - for example, when you say that we
must ensure that the true expressive force of populations is not removed by
multinational powers. Could we say that you are a social-democrat Pope?"
 Pope Francis: "This would be reductive. It makes me feel as if I am part of a
collection of insects: 'This is a social-democratic insect ...'. No, I would
say not. I don't know if I am a social-democrat Pope or not. I would not dare
to define myself as belonging to one side or another. I dare say that this
comes from the Gospel: this is the message of the Gospel, taken up by the
social doctrine of the Church. In reality, in this and in other things -
social and political - that I have said, I have not detached myself from the
social Doctrine of the Church. The social Doctrine of the Church comes from
the Gospel and from Christian tradition. What I said - the identity of the
people - is a Gospel value, is it not? In this sense, I say it. But you have
made me laugh, thank you!"
 Q: "There is almost no-one on the streets of Strasbourg this morning. The
people say they are disappointed. Do you regret not visiting the Cathedral of
Strasbourg, that celebrates is millennium this year? And when will you make
your first trip to France, and where? Lisieux, perhaps?"
 Pope Francis: "No, it is not yet planned, but one should certainly go to
Paris. Then, there is a proposal to go to Lourdes. I have asked to visit a
city where no Pope has yet been, to greet the citizens. But the plan has not
yet been made. No, for Strasbourg, a visit to the cathedral was considered but
it would have mean already making a visit to France, and this was the problem".
 Q: During your address to the Council of Europe I was struck by the concept
of transversality, especially with reference to your meetings with young
politicians in various countries, and indeed you spoke of the need for a sort
of pact between generations, an intergenerational agreement at the margins of
this transversality. Also, if I may ask, is it true that you are devoted to
St. Joseph, and have a statue of him in your room?"
 Pope Francis: "Yes, it is true. Whenever I have asked something of St.
Joseph, he has granted it to me. The fact of 'transversality' is important. I
have seen in dialogue with young politicians in the Vatican, from different
parties and nations, that they speak with a differetn music, that tends
towards transversality, and this is valuable. They are not afraid of coming
out of their own territory, without denying it, but coming out in order to
engage in dialogue. They are courageous! I believe that we must imitate this,
along with intergenerational dialogue. This tendency to come out to find
people of other origins and to engage in dialogue: Europe needs this today".
 Q: "In your second discourse, to the Council of Europe, you spoke about the
sins of the sons of the Church. I would like to know if you have received the
news on the events in Granada [alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests in
the archdiocese, Ed.], that in a certain sense you brought to light..."
 Pope Francis: "I received the news - it was sent to me, I read it, I called
the person and I said, 'Tomorrow you must go to the bishop', and I wrote to
the bishop asking him to begin work, to start the investigation and go ahead.
How did I receive the news? With great pain, with very great sadness. But the
truth is the truth, and we cannot hide it".
 Q: "In your addresses in Strasbourg, you spoke frequently of both the threat
of terrorism and the threat of slavery: these are attitudes that are also
typical of the Islamic State, which threatens much of the Mediterranean, which
threatens Rome and also threatens you personally. Do you think it is possible
to engage in dialogue with these extremists, or do you think this is a lost
cause?"
 Pope Francis: "I never give something up as a lost cause: never. Perhaps
dialogue is not possible, but never close the door. It is difficult, one might
say almost impossible, but the door is always open. You have used the word
'threaten' twice: it is true, terrorism is a threat. ... But slavery is a real
situation embedded in the today's social fabric, and has been for some time.
Slave labour, human trafficking, the trade in children ... it is a crisis! We
must not close our eyes to this. Slavery, today, is a reality, the
exploitation of people ... And then there is the threat of these terrorists.
But there is another threat, and it is State terrorism. When the situation
becomes critical, and each State believes it has the right to massacre the
terrorists, many who are innocent fall prey alongside the terrorists. This is
a form of high-level anarchy that is very dangerous. It is necessary to fight
terrorism, but I repeat what I said during my previous trip: when it is
necessary to stop an unjust aggressor, it must be done with international
consensus".
 Q: "In your heart, when you travel to Strasbourg, do you travel as Peter's
Successor, as the bishop of Rome, or as the archbishop of Buenos Aires?"
 Pope Francis: "As all three, I think. My memory is that of the archbishop of
Buenos Aires, but I am no longer in that role. Now I am the bishop of Rome and
Peter's Successor, and I think that I travel with this memory but with these
realities; I travel with all these things. Europe worries me at the moment; it
is good for me to go ahead in order to help, as the bishop of Rome and Peter's
Successor; in this respect I am Roman".

___________________________________________________________

 General Audience: the Church on the path to the Kingdom of Heaven
 Vatican City, 26 November 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father dedicated the
catechesis of this morning's general audience to "a fundamental truth that
Vatican Council II kept clearly in mind, and which must never be forgotten:
the Church is not a static reality, still, an end in itself, but is instead
continually in progress through history, towards the final, marvellous
destination that is the Kingdom of Heaven, of which the earthly Church is the
seed and the beginning". He continued, "When we face this horizon, we realise
that our imagination stops and discovers that it is only just able to intuit
the splendour of the mystery that overcomes our senses. And certain questions
arise spontaneously in us: when will this final passage take place? What will
the new dimension in which the Church enters be like? What will become of
humanity? And of the Creation that surrounds us? But these questions are not
new; they had already been posed by Jesus' disciples in those times".
 Francis explained that, faced with these questions, the Council Constitution
"Gaudium et spes" affirms that "we are unaware of when the earth and humanity
will come to an end, and we do not know how the universe will be transformed.
Certainly, the appearance of this world, deformed by sin, will pass away.
However, we know from Revelation that God prepares a new home and a new land,
in which justice will abide, and whose joy will superabundantly satiate all
the desires for peace that arise from the heart of man. ... We will finally be
clothed in joy, peace and God's love, completely and without any limit, face
to face with Him".
 In this way, the Pontiff emphasised that it is good to perceive that there is
a basic continuity and communion between the Church in Heaven and the Church
in her earthly path, without forgetting that we are always invited to offer
good works, prayers and the Eucharist to alleviate the suffering of souls that
still await endless beatitude. "From a Christian perspective the distinction
is no longer between those who are already dead and those who are not, but
between those who are with Christ and those who are not. This is the decisive
element for our salvation and for our happiness".

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