The Holy Father greeted the representatives of the various associations from
the area that are occupied in "welcoming the suffering Christ", especially
those who have problems of substance abuse through support centres and homes,
and recalled last year's meeting with the detainees in the Castrovillari
prison, with the sick, and the extraordinary presence of the people on the
Sibaris plain. "May the Lord help you to be welcoming communities, to
accompany toward Christ those who find it difficult to discern his presence
that saves".
 "I would like to reaffirm a thought that I suggested to you during my visit:
he who loves Jesus, he who listens to Him and welcomes His Word, and he who
lives in a sincere way the response to the Lord's call cannot in any way lend
himself to the works of evil. Either Jesus, or evil! Jesus did not invite us
to dine with demons: he cast them out, because they were evil. It is not
possible to declare oneself Christian and then violate the dignity of people;
those who belong to the Christian community cannot plan and implement violent
acts against others and against the environment. The outward gestures of
religiosity, unaccompanied by true and public conversion, are not sufficient
to believe oneself in communion with Jesus and with His Church. The external
gestures of religiosity are not enough to credit as believers those who, with
the wickedness and arrogance typical of miscreants, make illegality their way
of living. To those who have chosen the way of evil and who are affiliated to
delinquent organisations, I renew my invitation to conversion. Open your heart
to the Lord! The Lord awaits you and the Church will welcome you if, just as
your decision to serve evil is public, your wish to serve good is clear and
public".
 "The beauty of your land is a gift from God and an asset to conserve and to
hand down in all its splendour to future generations", remarked Francis.
"Therefore, there is a need for courageous efforts by all, starting with the
institutions, to ensure that it is not defaced irreparably by sordid
interests". He went on to list the Emmanuel Community among the places of
beauty in the area: an place of "welcome and sharing" where young people whose
lives have been devastated by drug abuse can find a "good Samaritan who tends
to their wounds and knows how to anoint them with the balsam of closeness and
affection", and noted that it has restored hope to many families. "The Church
thanks you for this service", he said. "Placing yourself by the side of young
people and adults who suffer as a result of addiction, you have embraced the
suffering Christ and sowed hope".
 "Our time has a great need for hope!", exclaimed the Holy Father. "The young
can no longer be robbed of hope. ... The young need hope. It is necessary to
offer concrete signs of hope to those who experience pain and suffering.
Social organisations and associations, as well as individuals who strive
towards acceptance and sharing, are generators of hope. Therefore, I exhort
your Christian communities to be agents of solidarity, never to stop before
those who, for mere personal interest, sow self-centredness, violence and
injustice. Oppose yourselves to the culture of death and be witnesses to the
Gospel of life! May the light of God's Word and the support of the Holy Spirit
help you to look with new and willing eyes upon the new forms of poverty that
drive so many young people and families to desperation".

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 21 February 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
separate audiences:
 - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;
 - Cardinal Angelo Amato, S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes
of Saints.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 23 February 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Bishop Freddy Antonio de Jesus Breton Martinez of Bani, Dominican Republic,
as metropolitan archbishop of Santiago de los Caballeros (area 3,633,
population 1,320,000, Catholics 1,105,000, priests 128, permanent deacons 121,
religious 325), Dominican Republic. He succeeds Archbishop Ramon Benito de la
Rosa y Carpio, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese
upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Rev. Andres Napoleon Romero Cardenas as bishop of Barahona (area 6,973,
population 396,270, Catholics 215,000, priests 28, permanent deacons 2,
religious 54), Dominican Repubilc. The bishop-elect was born in Ramonal
Arriba, Dominican Republic in 1967 and was ordained a priest in 1995. He holds
a licentiate in philosophy and letters and in religious sciences from the
Pontifical University Mater et Magistra, Dominican Republic, and in biblical
theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and has served in a number
of pastoral and academic roles, including parish vicar, formator in the minor
seminary and diocesan director for priestly vocations, professor of sacred
scripture and research methodology, dean of the faculties of philosophy and
theology, and formator at the St. Thomas Aquinas Pontifical major seminary. He
is currently parish priest of the Cathedral of Santa Ana in the diocese of San
Francisco de Macoris. He succeeds Bishop Rafael Leonidas Felipe y Nunez, whose
resignation from the pastoral governance of the same diocese upon reaching the
age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Fr. Hector Rafael Rodriguez Rodriguez M.S.C., as bishop of La Vega (area
4,919, population 977,000, Catholics 801,000, priests 92, permanent deacons
65, religious 223), Dominican Republic. The bishop-elect was born in Sanchez,
Dominican Republic in 1961, gave his solemn vows in 1984 and was ordained a
priest in 1989. He holds a licentiate in spiritual theology from the
Pontifical Gregorian University. During his pastoral ministry he has served as
parish vicar and, within his community, director for aspirants at the
Vocational Centre, director of the post-novitiate, master of novices,
Provincial. He has also served as member of the Managing Body of the Dominican
Conference of Religious. He is currently first adviser of the Congregation of
Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. He succeeds Bishop Antonio Camilo Gonzalez,
whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the
age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Bishop Jose Miguel Gonzalez Rodriguez of Libano-Honda, Colombia, as bishop
of Facatativa (area 2,311, population 546,000, Catholics 512,000, priests 93,
permanent deacons 4, religious 305), Colombia.
 On Saturday, 21 February appointed Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, apostolic
nuncio in Pakistan, as apostolic nuncio in Mozambique.

___________________________________________________________

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