VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 222
DATE 15-12-2014

Summary:
- Audience with Dragan Covic: the importance of the Catholic contribution to
the reconstruction of Bosnia Herzegovina
- To Catholic television workers: avoid the sins of the media
- Pope Francis visits the Roman parish of San Giuseppe all'Aurelio
- Angelus: rediscover the true joy of Jesus Christ
- The Pope gives a prayerbook to the faithful
- Audience with Matteo Renzi: common concern about persistent social and
economic problems
- St. Lucy, patroness of the blind and visually-impaired, teaches us the
secret of true happiness
- Francis gives thanks to the foundation of Notre Dame des Sans-Abri for its
work with the homeless
- The Pope prays to the Virgin of Guadalupe that the future of Latin America
be forged for the poor
- "I received my first ecumenical sermon from my grandmother, in front of
you", says the Pope to the Salvation Army
- Cardinal Turkson to travel to Sierra Leone and Liberia to bring the
solidarity of the Church to two of the countries hardest hit by the Ebola virus
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Audience with Dragan Covic: the importance of the Catholic contribution to
the reconstruction of Bosnia Herzegovina
 Vatican City, 15 December 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Apostolic
Palace the Holy Father received in audience Dragan Covic, Croatian member of
the Collegial Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who subsequently met with
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
 During the cordial discussions, the Parties focused on the situation in the
country, with particular reference to the contribution of Catholics to the
edification of society and especially their commitment in the field of
reconstruction following the devastation caused by floods last spring.
Satisfaction was expressed regarding the good bilateral relations, and several
issues were discussed in relation to the application of the 2006 Basic
Agreement, which governs the relationships and collaboration between the
Church and the State for the common good.
 Finally, various themes relating to regional and international politics were
considered.

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 To Catholic television workers: avoid the sins of the media
 Vatican City, 15 December 2014 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis met with the
managers and workers of TV2000, an Italian Church television broadcasting
company, with whom he wished to share "three thoughts on the role of the
communicator", recalling that "the Catholic media have a very difficult
mission in relation to social communication: seeking to preserve it from all
that distorts and twists it for other purposes. Often communication is subject
to propaganda, ideologies, political ends, or for the control of the economy
or technology. The first thing that is beneficial to communication is
parrhesia, or rather the courage to speak directly, to speak frankly and
freely. ... If, instead, we are worried about tactical aspects, our words
become artificial, and we communicate nothing. Freedom also means freedom from
fashions, clichés, pre-packaged formulas. ... We must reawaken words. But
every word has a spark of fire and life within. Reawaken that spark, so that
it comes out. So this is the first task of the communicator: to reawaken the
word".
 Secondly, he emphasised the need to avoid "filling" and "closing"; the first
takes the form of "saturating our perceptions with an excess of slogans that
annul our thoughts instead of setting them into motion", whereas the second is
that of seeking short cuts instead of favouring longer and more complex routes
of understanding, "choosing to present an individual as if he or she could
solve all our problems, or on the contrary, as a scapegoat onto whom we can
discharge all our responsibilities. [It is] jumping to conclusions
immediately, instead of making the effort to represent the complexity of real
life".
 Finally, Francis mentioned the third mission, "speaking to the whole person
... avoiding the sins of the media: disinformation, slander and defamation".
Authentic communication, he stressed, "is not concerned with att
ntion-grabbing. ... It is necessary to speak to people as a whole: to their
mind and their heart, so that they know how to see beyond the immediate,
beyond a present that risks being forgetful and fearful of the future". Of
these three sins, "the most insidious is disinformation, as it leads to
mistakes and to believing only a part of the truth".
 These three tasks bring to life "the culture of encounter, so necessary in an
increasingly pluralistic context. Confrontation does not lead anywhere", he
concluded. "Creating a culture of encounter: it is an important job for you".

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 Pope Francis visits the Roman parish of San Giuseppe all'Aurelio
 Vatican City, 14 December 2014 (VIS) - This afternoon Pope Francis visited
the Roman parish of San Giuseppe all'Aurelio, in the Primavalle suburb of the
capital. Before celebrating the Eucharist, Francis met with various groups of
people and spoke informally with them.
 First, he met with some children who were preparing for their First
Communion, and spoke about his own, which took place on 8 October 1944. "I
remember it as if it were today. I prepared for a year with a very kind nun
and two catechists. ... In those times, its was not possible to drink a little
water before Mass, nothing - not even a drop of water. It was Pope Pius XII
who saved us from this dictatorship! ... And we all arrived in the Church with
our hands together, singing. ... And later, in the afternoon, we returned to
the Church for our Confirmation: the same day. And you, who will take your
first Communion, will remember that day for ever, all your life: the first day
Jesus came to you. He comes, He makes Himself one with us, he nourishes us to
give us strength. ... Do not forget the date, and every year, on that day,
confess and take communion, will you?"
 He then spoke to the Rom families in the parish, wishing them peace within
their families and adding, "May there be work, and may there be joy. The joy
of Jesus, the peace of Jesus, and so on. Do not lose hope in difficult
moments, as hope never disappoints: the Lord gives it to us. And the Lord,
sooner or later, He always awaits us, always".
 The Holy Father then met with the sick, and began by thanking them for their
witness of patience, of love for God and of hope in the Lord. "This does great
good to the Church", he affirmed. "You continually nurture the Church with
your life, with your suffering, with your patience. Thank you, truly. The
Church, without the sick, would not carry on. You are the strength of the
Church, her true strength".
 Finally, he encountered newly baptised children with their parents. "A child
always offers a word of hope simply by being. ... A child is a seed of the
future. .... And you, parents, will say to God, protect my child in the
future. Our hopes reside in our children. We hand them the torch of faith and
life, and they will pass it on to their children, our grandchildren. This is
life. And in Baptism, you have given them faith, and thus faith from Jesus'
time up to the present day is like a chain, transmitted by parents. And this
is a real responsibility! Never forget the day of your Baptism".
 Finally, after revealing that he was baptised on 25 December, just eight days
after his birth, as was the custom at the time, Francis asked all those
present to pray for him, and added, "babies and children cry, they make noise,
they run about ... and it bothers me greatly when a child cries in church and
people expect him or her to leave. No! It is the best sermon. The cry of a
child is the voice of God. Never, ever send them out of the church!"
 Following his meetings with the parishioners, Pope Francis confessed several
people and then celebrated Mass. In his homily, he mentioned that "the Church
this Sunday anticipates the joy of the Nativity, and it is therefore called
'Gaudete Sunday', joyful Sunday". The joy of the Nativity, he said, is a
special joy the the Christian experiences not only on that day, but throughout
all his or her life. "It is a serene, calm joy, a joy that always accompanies
a Christian. Even in difficult moments, this joy is transformed into peace.
The true Christian never loses this peace, even during suffering. This peace
is a gift from the Lord".
 Francis emphasised that we encounter Christian joy in prayer and in giving
thanks to God, and he spoke about all those people who do not know how to
thank God and who are always looking for something to complain about. "A
Christian cannot live like this, always complaining. ... No saint has ever had
a sad face. The saints always had joyful faces. Or at least, in moments of
suffering, their faces showed peace". In this way, the Pontiff explained that
in order to obtain this Christian joy, which is not the joy of consumerism on
24 December, first one must pray and give thanks - but then there exists a
further dimension, which is bringing the glad tidings to others. "Go to
others, those who are in need, both materially and spiritually. They are many
people who suffer and are distraught as a result of family problems. Bring
them peace, the anointing of Jesus, the oil of Jesus which does so much good
and consoles the soul".

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 Angelus: rediscover the true joy of Jesus Christ
 Vatican City, 14 December 2014 (VIS) - Today, the third Sunday of Advent,
known as the "Sunday of Joy" (Gaudete), Pope Francis appeared at the window of
his study to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's
Square, including many children who had brought their figurines of the baby
Jesus from their Nativity displays, to be blessed by the Holy Father.
 Francis remarked that the time of Advent, which began two weeks ago, invites
us to spiritual vigilance to prepare the way for the Lord who is on his way.
"On this third Sunday the liturgy proposes to us another inner attitude with
which to await the Lord: joy. Man's heart desires joy. We all wish for joy,
every family, every population aspires to happiness. But what is the joy that
the Christian is required to live and to bear witness to? It is that which
comes from closeness to God, from His presence in our life. Ever since Jesus
entered into history, with his birth in Bethlehem, humanity has received the
germ of the Kingdom of God, like the terrain that receives the seed, the
promise of a future harvest. There is no need to search elsewhere! Jesus has
come to bring joy to all for ever. It is not merely a hoped-for joy, or a joy
postponed to paradise: here on earth we are sad but in paradise we will be
joyful. No! It is not this, but rather it is a joy that is already real and
that can be experienced now, because Jesus Himself is our joy, and with Jesus
our home is joyful".

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