VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 025
DATE 04-02-2015

Summary:
- General audience: the importance of a father's presence in the family
- Appeal for an end to the fratricidal violence in Ukraine
- Archbishop Oscar Romero, blessed and defender of the poor and justice

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 General audience: the importance of a father's presence in the family
 Vatican City, 4 February 2015 (VIS) - The positive and decisive aspect of the
father figure was the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the catechesis of
today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall.
 "Every family needs a father", he began, "and I would like to talk about this
role starting from several phrases we find in the Book of Proverbs, words that
a father addresses to his son: 'My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart
will be glad indeed. My inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is
right'".
 "One could not better express the pride and emotion of a father who
acknowledges that he has transmitted to his son what truly counts in life, a
wise heart", he affirmed, explaining that the phrase in the Book of Proverbs
is that of father who says, "This is what I wanted to leave to you, so that it
might become yours: feeling, acting, speaking and judging with wisdom and
rectitude. And in order for you to be able to do this, I taught you things you
did not know, I corrected errors you did not see. ... I myself, first of all,
had to test the wisdom of my heart, and monitor my excesses of sentiment and
resentment, to bear the weight of the inevitable misunderstandings, and to
find the right words to make myself understood".
 "A father knows well how to transmit this legacy: with closeness, gentleness
and firmness. However, what consolation and compensation he receives, when his
children honour his legacy! It is a joy that repays every hardship, that
overcomes every misunderstanding and heals every wound".
 To be a good father, the first requirement is "to be present in the family.
To be close to his wife, to share in everything, joy and pain, burdens and
hopes. And to be close to the children as they grow: when they play and when
they make efforts, when they are carefree and when they are distressed, when
they dare and when they are afraid, when they make missteps and when they
return to the right path. A father must always be present, but" - the Holy
Father warned - "being present is not the same as controlling. Fathers who
seek to control end up stifling their children; they do not let them grow".
 "The Gospel provides us with the example of the Father in heaven - the only
one, Jesus says, who can truly be described as a 'good Father'. Everyone knows
the extraordinary parable of the prodigal son, or better of the merciful
father in the Gospel according to Luke. How much dignity and tenderness we
find in the father who stays at the door of his house awaiting the return of
his son! Fathers need to be patient. Sometimes you can do nothing other than
wait; pray and wait with patience, gentleness, magnanimity, and mercy. A good
father knows how to wait and how to forgive, from the bottom of his heart. He
certainly also knows how to correct firmly. ... A father who knows how to
correct without humiliating is the same as he who knows how to protect
unstintingly".
 "If there is anyone who knows how to explain in depth the Lord's Prayer,
taught by Jesus, it is precisely he who experiences paternity in the first
person", continued the Pope. "Without the grace that comes from the Father in
heaven, fathers lose courage, and abandon the field. But children need to find
a father who awaits them when they return home after their failures. They will
do everything to avoid admitting or showing this, but they need him, and not
finding him opens up wounds that are difficult to heal".
 "The Church, our mother, is committed to supporting with all her power the
good and generous presence of fathers in families", Pope Francis concluded,
"as, like St. Joseph, they are the indispensable guardians and mediators of
the faith for new generations, in goodness, justice and God's protection".

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 Appeal for an end to the fratricidal violence in Ukraine
 Vatican City, 4 February 2015 (VIS) - At the end of today's catechesis the
Pope launched an appeal for an end to the violence among the "beloved
Ukrainian people". "Unfortunately, the situation is worsening", he said, "and
there is an escalation of hostilities between the parties. Let us pray firstly
for the victims, many of whom are civilians, and their families, and let us
ask the Lord for an end, as soon as possible, to this horrible fratricidal
violence. I renew my heartfelt appeal that every effort be made - also at an
international level - to resume dialogue, the only way possible to restore
peace and harmony to this ravaged land".
 "Brothers and sisters", he continued, "when I hear the words 'victory' or
'defeat', I feel great suffering, a great sadness in my heart. These are not
the right words: the only right word is 'peace'. This is the only right word.
I think of you, Ukrainian brothers and sisters. ... Think, this is a war
between Christians! You have all had the same baptism! You are fighting among
yourselves, with other Christians. Think of this scandal. And let us all pray,
so that our prayer might be our protest before God in this time of war".

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 Archbishop Oscar Romero, blessed and defender of the poor and justice
 Vatican City, 4 February 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press
Office Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the
Family and postulator of the cause for the beatification of Oscar Arnulfo
Romero, presented the figure of the Salvadoran archbishop assassinated in 1980
while celebrating Mass and whose martyrdom was acknowledged yesterday with the
signing of the necessary decree by Pope Francis. Historian Roberto Morozzo
della Rocca, professor of modern history at the University of Rome III and
author of a biography of Oscar Romero, also participated in the conference.
Extensive extracts of Archbishop Paglia's presentation are published below.
 "It is an extraordinary gift for all of the Church at the beginning of this
millennium to see rise to the altar a pastor who gave his life for his people;
and this is true for all Christians. This can be seen in the attention of the
Anglican Church, which has placed a statue of Romero in the facade of
Westminster Abbey alongside those of Martin Luther King and Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, and for all of society that regards him as a defender of the poor
and of peace. Gratitude is also due to Benedict XVI, who followed the cause
from the very beginning and on 20 December 2012 - just over a month before his
resignation - decided to unblock the process to enable it to follow the
regular itinerary".
 "The work of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, with Cardinal Angelo
Amato, S.D.B., has been careful and attentive. The unanimity of both the
commission of cardinals and the commission of theologians confirmed his
martyrdom in odium fidei. ... The martyrdom of Romero has given meaning and
strength to many Salvadoran families who lost relatives and friends during the
civil war. His memory immediately became the memory of other victims, perhaps
less illustrious, of the violence".
 "Following a lengthy procedure that encountered many difficulties, on account
of opposition due to both the archbishop's thought and pastoral action, and
the situation of conflict that developed in relation to him, the itinerary
finally reached its conclusion. Romero becomes, as it were, the first of a
long line of contemporary New Martyrs. 24 March - the day of his death -
became, by decision of the Italian Episcopal Conference, the "Day for Prayer
for Missionary Martyrs". The United Nations have proclaimed that day
"International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights
Violations and for the Dignity of Victims".
 The world has changed greatly since 1980, but that pastor from a small
Central American country speaks powerfully. It is not without significance
that his beatification will take place precisely when there is for the first
time in history a Latin American Pope who wants a 'poor Church, for the poor'.
It is a providential coincidence".
 Romero the pastor
 "Romero believed in his role as a bishop and primate of his country, and he
considered himself responsible for the population, especially the poorest.
Therefore, he took upon himself the bloodshed, pain and violence, denouncing
their causes in his charismatic Sunday preaching that was listened to on the
radio by the entire nation. We might say that it was a 'pastoral conversion',
with the assumption by Romero of a strength that was indispensable in the
crisis that beset the country. He transformed himself into a defensor
civitatis following the tradition of the ancient Fathers of the Church,
defending the persecuted clergy, protecting the poor, and affirming human
rights".
 "The climate of persecution was palpable. However, Romero clearly became the
defender of the poor in the face of cruel repression. After two years as
archbishop of San Salvador, Romero counted thirty lost priests - killed,
expelled or forced to flee from death. The death squads killed scores of
catechists from the base communities, and many faithful disappeared from these
communities. The Church was the main target of accusation and therefore the
hardest hit. Romero resisted and accepted giving his life to defend his
people".
 Assassinated at the altar during Mass
 "He was killed at the altar. Killing him was intended to strike at the Church
that flowed from Vatican Council II. His death - as the detailed documentary
examination clearly showed - was not only politically motivated, but due also
to hatred for a faith that, combined with charity, would not stay silent when
faced with the injustices that implacably and cruelly afflicted the poor and
their defenders. His assassination at the altar - without doubt a more
uncertain death as it meant shooting from a distance of thirty metres rather
than an attempt from a shorter range - had a symbolic nature that resounded as
as terrible warning for whoever wished to follow the same route. John Paul II
himself - who was well aware of the other two saints killed at the altar, St.
Stanislaus of Krakow and St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury - noted effectively,
'they killed him precisely at the most sacred moment, during the highest and
most divine act. ... A bishop of God's Church was assassinated while he
exercised his sanctifying mission, offering the Eucharist'. On a number of
occasions he repeated forcefully, 'Romero is ours, Romero is of the Church!'".
 Romero and the poor
 "Romero had always loved the poor. As a very young priest in San Miguel he
was accused of communism because he asked the rich to give a fair salary to
the peasant coffee cultivators. He told them that not only did they act
against justice, but also that they themselves opened the doors to communism".
 "Romero understood increasingly clearly that being a pastor to all meant
starting with the poor. Placing the poor at the centre of the pastoral
concerns of the Church and therefore of all Christians, including the rich,
was the new pastoral way. His preferential love for the poor not only did not
attenuate his love for his country, but on the contrary supported it. In this
sense, Romero was not partisan, although to some he appeared that way; rather,
he was a pastor who sought the common good of all, starting however with the
poor. He never ceased to seek out the way for the pacification of the country.
 Romero, man of God and of the Church
 Romero was a man of God, a man of prayer, of obedience and love for the
people. He prayed a lot ... and he was harsh on himself, a severity linked to
an old-fashioned spirituality made up of sacrifices. He had a 'linear'
spiritual life, in spite of having a character that was not always easy -
rigorous with himself, intransigent, tormented. But in prayer he found rest,
peace and strength. When he had to make complicated or difficult decisions, he
withdrew in prayer".
 "He was a bishop faithful to the magisterium. From his papers there clearly
emerges his familiarity with the documents of Vatican Council II, Medellin,
Puebla, the social doctrine of the Church and other pontifical texts in
general. ... It has often been said that Romero was suborned by liberation
theology. Once, a journalist asked him, 'Do you agree with liberation
theology?'. He answered, 'Yes, of course. But there are two forms of
liberation theology. There is the one that sees liberation solely as material
liberation. The other is that of Paul VI. I am with Paul VI'".

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