The Pope made two proposals for facing these challenges: to reach out to
encounter God, "Who lives in the cities and in the poor", to facilitate the
encounter of others with God, making the Sacraments accessible, and to work
towards a Samaritan Church, "with concrete witness of mercy and tenderness
that endeavours to be present in the existential and poor peripheries, acting
directly on the social subconscious, producing guidance and meaning for city
life".

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 To the Pauline family: take the breath of the Gospel to the most diverse
cultures and social contexts
 Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received in
audience the members of the Pauline Family, the group of institutions that
encompasses the Society of St. Paul and the Daughters of St. Paul (Paulines),
dedicated to the apostolate through means of communication. Founded by Blessed
Giacomo Alberione (1884-1971), the Pauline Family is composed of ten members:
five religious congregations, four aggregated institutes and an association of
lay collaborators. This year it celebrates the centenary of its foundation
and, to commemorate this anniversary, Francis invited them to renew their
"commitment to living and communicating faith", especially through the
editorial and multimedia tools typical of their charism.
 He also encouraged them to continue the path their founder opened up and
which the Family has followed so far, "always keeping your gaze on broader
horizons", adding that we must never forget that "evangelisation is
essentially connected with the proclamation of the Gospel to those who do not
know Jesus Christ, or have always denied Him. ... Everyone has the right to
receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty of announcing it without
excluding anyone. This impulse to move towards the people, but also to
existential peripheries, this 'Catholic' impulse, is something you have in the
blood, in your DNA, for the very fact that your founder was inspired by the
figure and the mission of the apostle Paul".
 Francis explained that Blessed Giacomo Alberione saw, in the announcement of
Christ and of the Gospel to the masses, the most authentic and most necessary
form of charity that could be offered to men and women who thirst for truth
and justice". He added, "you too are called to serve the people of today, to
whom the Spirit sends you, with creativity and dynamic fidelity to your
charism, identifying the most appropriate ways of announcing Jesus. ... The
imagination of charity knows no bounds, and knows how to open up ever new
roads to bring the breath of the Gospel into the most diverse cultures and
social environments".
 "Vatican Council II presented the Church to us as a population on the move
... a vision that expresses Christian hope. ... Therefore, our being a Church
in progress, while it roots us in the task of announcing Christ and His love
for every creature, also prevents us from being imprisoned by earthly and
mundane structures; it keeps the spirit open and makes us capable of outlooks
and demands that find their fulfilment in the beatitude of the Lord.

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 Holy Father's calendar for December 2014 and January 2015
 Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations
of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical
celebrations at which the Holy Father will preside in December 2014 and
January 2015:
 DECEMBER
 Monday 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At 4 p.m. in Piazza di Spagna, veneration of the image of Mary Immaculate.
 Friday 12: Feast of Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. At 6 p.m. in the
Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for Latin America.
 Sunday 14: "Gaudete Sunday" Third of Advent. At 4 p.m., pastoral visit to the
Roman Parish of "San Giuseppe all'Aurelio".
 Wednesday 24: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. At 9.30 p.m. in the
Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.
 Thursday 25: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. Central loggia of the
Vatican Basilica, at 12 p.m., "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.
 Wednesday 31: Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. At 5 p.m. First
Vespers and Te Deum, in Thanksgiving for the past year.
 JANUARY
 Thursday 1: Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. 48th World Peace Day.
At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.
 Tuesday 6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. At 10 a.m. in the Vatican
Basilica, Holy Mass.
 Sunday 11: Sunday after the Epiphany: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. At
9.30 a.m. in the Sistine Chapel. Holy Mass and baptism of babies.
 Monday 12 to Monday 19: Apostolic trip in Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
 Sunday 25: Solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul. At 5.30 in the Basilica
of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Vespers.

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 Christians and Muslims condemn extremism and violence committed in the name
of religion
 Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - The Centre for Interreligious Dialogue
of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation and the Pontifical Council
for Interreligious Dialogue held their Ninth Colloquium of dialogue from 24 to
26 November in Teheran, Iran, under the joint chairmanship of Abuzar Ibrahimi
Turkaman, president of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation, and
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue. At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed on
the following:
 1. Two decades of dialogue between the abovementioned institutions have
provided the occasion for better knowledge and mutual understanding;
 2. The participants emphasised that Christian-Muslim constructive dialogue
plays a crucial role in making a better society;
 3. Spirituality is a both a divine gift and the fruit of a human journey
leading to truth;
 4. A genuine spirituality enables us to recognise God's presence and action
within ourselves and in the world;
 5. The media are called to play their distinctive role in the promotion of
positive relations between Christians and Muslims;
 6. The participants condemned all kinds of extremism and violence, especially
committed in the name of religion.
 The participants decided to hold the next colloquium in Rome in 2016, which
will be preceded by a preparatory meeting 2015.

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Archbishop Michael A. Blume, apostolic nuncio in Uganda;
 - Archbishop Ramiro Moliner Ingles, apostolic nuncio in Albania.

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