Francis also mentioned that today is World Leprosy Day, and expressed his
closeness to "all those who suffer from this disease, as well as those who
care for them and those who fight to eradicate the causes of contagion, that
is, living conditions that are not worthy of mankind. Let us renew our
commitment to solidarity with these brothers and sisters".
 Finally, he addressed the Filipino community of Rome. "The Filipino people
are wonderful for their strong and joyful faith. May the Lord also support
those of you who live far from your homeland. Many thanks for your witness,
and thank you for all the good you do for us, as you sow faith among us and
offer a beautiful witness of faith".

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 The most effective antidote to violence is accepting difference as richness
 Vatican City, 24 January 2015 (VIS) - "In recent years, despite various
misunderstandings and difficulties, strides ahead have been made in
interreligious dialogue, even with followers of Islam. Listening is essential
for this. It is not only a necessary condition in a process of mutual
comprehension and peaceful co-existence, but it is also a pedagogic duty in
order to 'acknowledge the values of others, appreciate the concerns underlying
their demands and shed light on shared beliefs'", said Pope Francis this
morning, as he received in audience the participants in a meeting organised by
the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and lslamic Studies (PISAI), commemorating
the fiftieth anniversary of its foundation. The meeting was held at the
Pontifical Urbanian University from 22 to 24 January on the theme: "Studying
and Understanding the Religion of the Other. Towards Mutual Recognition
between Religions and Cultures in Today's World".
 Francis emphasised the need for adequate education, "so that, secure in our
own identity, we can grow in mutual knowledge. We must take care not to fall
prey to a syncretism that is conciliatory but ultimately empty and a harbinger
of a totalitarianism without values. A comfortable and accommodating approach,
'which says "yes" to everything in order to avoid problems', ends up being 'a
way of deceiving others and denying them the good which we have been given to
share generously with others'. This invites us, first of all, to return to the
basics".
 "At the beginning of dialogue there is encounter", he continued. "This
generates the first knowledge of the other. If, indeed, we start from the
presumption of our common human nature, it is possible to overcome prejudice
and falsehood, and to begin to understand the other from a new perspective".
Francis remarked that now there is a need, like never before, for an
institution dedicated expressly to research and the formation of dialogue with
Muslims, since "the most effective antidote to any form of violence is
education in the discovery and acceptance of difference as richness and
fruitfulness". This task, affirmed the Pope, is not easy, but "is born of and
matures from a strong sense of responsibility".
 He continued, "Islamic-Christian dialogue, in a special way, requires
patience and humility accompanied by detailed study, as approximation and
improvisation can be counterproductive and or even the cause of unease and
embarrassment. There is a need for lasting and continuous commitment in order
to ensure we do not find ourselves unprepared in various situations and in
different contexts. For this reason it demands a specific preparation, that is
not limited to sociological analysis but rather has the characteristics of a
journey shared by people belonging to religions that, although in different
ways, refer to the spiritual fatherhood of Abraham. Culture and education are
not secondary to a true process of moving towards each other that respects in
every person "his life, his physical integrity, his dignity and the rights
deriving from that dignity, his reputation, his property, his ethnic and
cultural identity, his ideas and his political choices".
 The Pope expressed his wish that this "valuable" Institute, may increasingly
become "a point of reference for the formation of Christians who work in the
field of interreligious dialogue" and that it may establish a fruitful
collaboration with other Pontifical universities and research centres, both
Christian and Muslim, throughout the world. He concluded by encouraging the
community of the PISAI "never to betray the primary task of listening and
dialogue, based on clear identities and the keen, patient and rigorous search
for truth and beauty, which are placed in the hearts of every man and woman
and truly visible in every authentic religious expression".

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 Francis: "Unity is achieved by walking together"
 Vatican City, 24 January 2015 (VIS) - At midday in the Consistory Hall of the
Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father met with the participants in the
ecumenical colloquium of men and women religious organised by the Congregation
for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, on
the occasion of the Year for Consecrated Life. He highlighted that it is
particularly meaningful that the meeting took place during the Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity: "Each year this [week] reminds us that spiritual
ecumenism is the soul of the ecumenical movement". He went on to share with
those present some thoughts regarding the importance of consecrated life to
Christian unity.
 "The wish to re-establish unity among all Christians is present naturally in
all Churches, and regards both clergy and laypeople", he began. "But religious
life, which is rooted in Christ's will and the common tradition of the
undivided Church, has without doubt a particular vocation in the promotion of
this unity. ... The search for union with God and unity within the fraternal
community is proper to religious life, which thus realises in an exemplary
fashion the prayer to the Lord that 'that they all may be one'". Religious
life, he continued, "shows us precisely that this unity is not the fruit of
our efforts, but is a gift of the Holy Spirit, Who realises unity in
diversity. It also shows us that this unity can be achieved only by journeying
together, if we take the path of fraternity in love, in service, and in mutual
acceptance".
 The Pontiff emphasised that there is no unity without conversion, prayer, or
holiness of life. He remarked that religious life reminds us that "at the
heart of every search for unity, and therefore every ecumenical effort, there
is above all the conversion of the heart, that leads to asking for and the
granting of forgiveness", and that the commitment to ecumenism responds, first
and foremost, to the prayer of the Lord Jesus and it is based essentially on
prayer". He added that "religious life helps us to become aware of the call
addressed to baptised persons: the call to holiness of life, that is the one
true path towards unity". He concluded by expressing his gratitude for the
witness to the Gospel given by men and women religious, and for their service
in the cause of Christian unity.

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 Ten years after "Dignitas connubii": in search of swift solutions
 Vatican City, 24 January 2015 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis received in
audience the participants in the international congress commemorating the
tenth anniversary of the publication of the Instruction "Dignitas connubii".
The symposium was organised by the faculty of canon law of the Pontifical
Gregorian University, Rome, and with the patronage of the Pontifical Council
for Legislative Texts and the "Consociatio internationalis studio iuris
canonici promovendo".
 The Pope declared that the extensive participation in this meeting indicates
the importance of the Instruction "Dignitas connubii", "which is not directed
principally to jurists but rather to those who work in local tribunals, and
noted that "experience teaches us that he who knows the path to follow travels
more rapidly. The knowledge of and familiarity with this Instruction may in
the future also help ministers of the courts to streamline proceedings, often
perceived by married couples as long and tiresome. The resources that this
Instruction makes available for rapid proceedings, free of any formalism, have
not yet been fully explored; similarly, the possibility of future legislation
intended for the same purpose cannot be excluded".
 Finally, he commented on the importance of the contribution of the defender
of the bond in cases of marriage annulment, specifying that "his presence and
the faithful fulfilment of his task does not condition the judge, but rather
allows and promotes the impartiality of his judgement by setting before him
the arguments for and against annulment".

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 26 January 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Cardinal Luis Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain;
 - Bishop Gastone Simoni, emeritus of Prato, Italy;
 - Bishop Francesco Micciche, emeritus of Trapani, Italy;
 - Rev. Fr. Alejandro Moral Anton, prior general of the Order of St. Augustine
(Augustinians).
 On Saturday 24 January, the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;
 - Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, Italy, president of the
Italian Episcopal Conference;
 - Maria De Los Angeles Marechal, co-president of the Fundacion Leopoldo
Marechal, Argentina.

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 26 January 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - appointed Msgr. Stefan Hesse as archbishop of Hamburg (area 32,493,
population 5,797,975, Catholics 397,331, priests 248, permanent deacons 60,
religious 221), Germany. The bishop-elect was born in Cologne, Germany in 1966
and was ordained a priest in 1993. He studied theology in Bonn and Regensburg,
and holds a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the High School of the
Pallottine Fathers in Vallendar. He has served as parish priest in a number of
parishes in the archdiocese of Cologne, and is currently canon of the
Metropolitan Chapter of Cologne and vicar general. He served as diocesan
administrator from March to September 2014.
 - restored the title of metropolitan archdiocese to Cashel and Emly, Ireland.
Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly, currently metropolitan archbishop of Cashel and
apostolic administrator of Emly, was appointed as metropolitan archbishop of
the new ecclesiastical circumscription.
 On Saturday, 24 January the Holy Father appointed Fr. Ivica Petanjak, O.F.M.
Cap., as bishop of Krk (area 1,119, population 40,447, Catholics 35,499,
priests 79, religious 110), Croatia. The bishop-elect was born in Drenje,
Croatia in 1963, gave his perpetual vows in 1988 and was ordained a priest in
1990. He holds a bachelor's degree in theology from the faculty of theology in
Zagreb, Croatia, and a doctorate in church history from the Pontifical
Gregorian University, Rome. He has served in a number of pastoral roles,
including deputy master of seminarians, parish vicar and hospital chaplain in
Split, master of clerics, provincial minister, parish priest of the "Our Lady
of Lourdes" parish in Rijeka and master of postulants. He is currently
guardian of the Capuchin monastery of Osijek and provincial definitor. He
succeeds Bishop Valter Zupan, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

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