VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 043
DATE 02-03-2015

Summary:
- To the prelates of North Africa: always be men of hope
- Pope Francis' prayer intentions for March
- Angelus: let us be transformed by love
- Syria, Iraq and Venezuela in the Pope's prayers
- The Pope to cooperatives: promote the economy of honesty
- Presentation of the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (REPAM): Incentive and
relaunch of the Church in the Amazon
- Cardinal Murphy O'Connor, Pope's special envoy to the 4th centenary of the
martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie, S.J.
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 To the prelates of North Africa: always be men of hope
 Vatican City, 2 March 2015 (VIS) - This morning, the prelates of the Regional
Episcopal Conference of North Africa (C.E.R.N.A), which encompasses the
dioceses of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya were received in audience by
the Pope at the end of their "ad Limina" visit. The Holy Father handed them a
written address in which he recalls that the history of the region has been
marked by many saintly figures from St. Cyprian and St. Augustine, a
"spiritual patrimony for all the Church", to Blessed Charles de Foucauld, who
died one hundred years ago next year.
 "For several years your region has been experiencing significant changes,
which offer hope that aspirations to greater freedom and dignity may be
fulfilled and which favour greater freedom of conscience", continues Francis.
"But at times these events have led to outbursts of violence. I wish to
mention, in particular, the courage, loyalty and perseverance of the bishops
of Libya, as well as the priests, consecrated persons and laypeople who stay
in this country despite the many dangers. They are genuine witnesses of the
Gospel. I thank them with all my heart and encourage them to continue their
efforts in contributing to peace and reconciliation throughout the region".
 "Your episcopal conference ... is an important forum for exchange and
dialogue, but it must also be a tool for communion, for deepening fraternal
relations and mutual trust", the Pope writes. "The pilgrimage to Rome is a
good opportunity to renew your joint commitment in the service of the Church's
mission in each of your countries. You carry out this mission with your
priests, your direct collaborators. They are from many countries and at times
it is difficult for them to adapt to new situations. Therefore, it is
particularly important to be close to them and to be attentive to their
continuing formation so that they can live their ministry fully and serenely.
... Men and women religious also have a special place in the life and in the
mission of your Church, and I thank them for their witness of fraternal life
and their generous commitment to the service of their brothers and sisters".
 "At the heart of your mission and at the origin of your hope there is, above
all, the personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the certainty that He is at
work in the world where you have been sent on His behalf. The evangelical
vitality of your dioceses depends, therefore, on the quality of your spiritual
and sacramental life", observes the Holy Father, who alongside the saints from
the region, mentions also "the men and women religious who have offered
everything to God and to their brothers, to the point of sacrificing their own
lives". He highlights the bishops' responsibility for developing this
spiritual legacy firstly among the faithful, but also opening it up to all. "I
am pleased to hear that in recent years, various Christian shrines have been
restored in Algeria. By welcoming all, kindly and without proselytising, your
communities show that they wish to be a Church with open doors, always
reaching out".
 "Universality is a feature of these Churches, where the faithful come from
many countries to form living communities. ... This offers the opportunity to
admire God's work, which spreads among all peoples and all cultures", writes
the Pontiff, who goes on to greet the many students from sub-Saharan Africa,
whom he invites to "stay firm in the faith" so as to be able to establish
"bonds of friendship, trust and respect" with all persons, "thus contributing
to the construction of a more fraternal world".
 Interreligious dialogue is also very important in the life of these Churches,
and Francis stresses that in this field "the imagination of charity can open
up countless ways of bringing the breath of the Gospel to the most diverse
cultures and social sectors. As you are aware, mutual ignorance is the source
of many misunderstandings and even conflicts. ... The most effective antidote
to any form of violence is education in the discovery and acceptance of
difference as richness and fertility. Therefore, it is essential that priests,
religious and laypeople in your dioceses are well-prepared in this area".
 In this regard, the Pope notes his satisfaction that the Pontifical Institute
for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI), born in Tunisia, will celebrate its
fiftieth anniversary this year. He invites the bishops to "support and make
use of this institution when necessary, to experience language and culture"
and to "deepen dialogue in truth and love between Christians and Muslims".
This dialogue is also experienced by bishops on a day-to-day basis with
Christians of other confessions, and Francis therefore expresses his desire
that the Al Mowafaqa Ecumenical Institute, founded in Morocco to promote
ecumenical and interreligious dialogue may also contribute to greater mutual
awareness.
 "A Church of encounter and dialogue, you also wish to be at the service of
all without distinction. Often with modest means, you manifest the charity of
Christ and all the Church towards the poor, the sick, the elderly, women in
need and the imprisoned. Thank you for your work in the assistance of the many
immigrants from Africa who seek in your countries a place of transit or of
welcome. Recognising their human dignity and working to awaken consciences
before so many human tragedies, you show God's love for each one of them".
 "Dear brothers in the episcopate", he concluded, "I wish to assure you of the
support of all the Church in your mission. You are in the 'peripheries', with
your special service of making manifest the presence of Christ and His Church
in this region. Your testimony of life in simplicity and poverty is an eminent
sign for all the Church. Be assured that the Successor of Peter accompanies
you on your rough road, and encourages you always to be men of hope".

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 Pope Francis' prayer intentions for March
 Vatican City, 1 March 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father's universal prayer
intention for March is: "That those involved in scientific research may serve
the well-being of the whole human person".
 His intention for evangelisation is: "That the unique contribution of women
to the life of the Church may be recognised always".

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 Angelus: let us be transformed by love
 Vatican City, 1 March 2015 (VIS) - "On this second Sunday of Lent, the Church
shows us the ultimate goal of this itinerary of conversion, or rather,
participation in the glory of Christ", said the Pope before this Sunday's
Angelus prayer upon returning from the week of spiritual exercises. He also
recalled that last Sunday's Gospel passage presented Jesus resisting Satan's
temptations in the desert.
 "Today's Gospel tells us of the event of the Transfiguration, which takes
place at the culmination of Jesus' public ministry. He is on the path to
Jerusalem, where the prophecies of the Servant of God will be fulfilled and
His redemptive sacrifice will be consummated". Francis remarked that neither
the multitude nor the apostles understood that the outcome of Jesus' mission
of suffering would be His glorious passion, and so He decided to show a
glimpse of His glory to the apostles Peter, James and John, to confirm them in
their faith and to encourage them to follow him on the path of trial, on the
way of the Cross. "From the heavens, they heard the voice of the Father: 'This
is my beloved Son; hear him'".
 The Pope explained that listening to Christ involves assuming the logic of
his Paschal mystery, placing ourselves on the path with Him in order to make
of our existence a gift of love for others, in docile obedience to the will of
God the Father, with an attitude of detachment from worldly things and of
inner freedom. "It means, in other words, being ready to 'lose one's life', to
sacrifice it so that all men might be saved; in this way we find eternal joy.
There will always be a cross to bear and there will be trials along the way,
but in the end it will always lead us to happiness". Finally, the Pope
encouraged those present to let themselves be transfigured by love, which is
capable of transforming everyone, and to invoke the Virgin Mary to support us
on our way.

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 Syria, Iraq and Venezuela in the Pope's prayers
 Vatican City, 1 March 2015 (VIS) - Following today's Angelus prayer the Pope
made an appeal regarding "the dramatic situation in Syria and Iraq, involving
violence, abduction and abuse of Christians and other groups. I wish to assure
those involved in these situations that we have not forgotten them; rather, we
are close to them and pray ceaselessly for a swift end to the intolerable
brutality they are subjected to". He also commented that, along with the
members of the Roman Curia, he offered the second Holy Mass of the spiritual
exercises to this intention, and asked all persons, as far as possible, to
work to alleviate the suffering of those afflicted, often merely because of
the faith they profess. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters who suffer
for the faith in Syria and Iraq".
 The Pontiff also commented on the acute tension that Venezuela is
experiencing at present. "I pray for the victims and, in particular, for the
boy who died a few days ago in San Cristobal. I urge all involved to reject
violence and to respect the dignity of every person and the sacredness of
human life, and encourage them to undertake a joint path for the good of the
country, reopening space for sincere and constructive encounter and dialogue".

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 The Pope to cooperatives: promote the economy of honesty
 Vatican City, 28 February 2015 (VIS) - "The Church has always acknowledged,
appreciated and encouraged the cooperative experience", Pope Francis affirmed
this morning, greeting more than seven thousand members of the Confederation
of Italian Cooperatives who group together a number of different sectors, from
agriculture to construction, including fishing and the distribution of
consumer goods.
 In this regard, Francis referred to various documents of the Magisterium,
such as the encyclicals "Rerum Novarum", with Leo XIII's appeal for a society
in which "All [are] owners, not all proletarians", and "Caritas in Veritate",
in which Benedict XVI underlines the importance of the economy of communion
and the non-profit sector, and the "extraordinary social teaching of Blessed
Paul VI". He went on to urge the members of the Confederation to look not only
to the past, but also to the future: "It is a real mission that requires
creative imagination to find forms, methods, attitudes and tools to combat the
throwaway culture cultivated by the powers that support the economic and
financial policies of the globalised world".
 "Globalising solidarity, today, means thinking about the vertiginous increase
in unemployment, the incessant tears of the poor, the need to reinstate a
development that involves a genuine and full progress of the person, who is
certainly in need of income, but not this alone. Let us think about healthcare
needs, that the traditional welfare systems are no longer able to satisfy; the
pressing needs of solidarity, to place human dignity once more at the centre
of the world economy".
 Pope Francis suggested a series of concrete suggestions to help achieve this
mission. The first was that cooperatives should "continue to be the motor for
lifting up and developing the weakest part of our local communities and of
civil society". This involves "giving first place to the foundation of new
cooperative enterprises, along with the further development of those already
in existence, so as to create, above all, new work opportunities that
currently do not exist ... especially for the young, as we know that youth
unemployment ... destroys their hope", but also for the "many women who need
and wish to enter the world of work. We must not neglect the adults who often
find themselves prematurely without work. Aside from new enterprises, let us
look also to the companies in difficulty, those that the old owners leave to
die, which could instead be revived through 'workers' buy out' initiatives.
 Becoming active agents of new welfare solutions was his second suggestion,
addressed above all to he healthcare sector, "a delicate field where many poor
people no longer find their needs to be adequately met". The answer may be
found in applying subsidiarity, "with strength and coherence", creating an
effective network of assistance and solidarity between cooperatives, parishes
and hospitals.

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