Vatican City, 10 May 2015 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received in
private audience the president of the Republic of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz. The
meeting took place in the Pope's study adjacent to Paul VI Hall.
 Upon arrival, at 9.30 a.m., the president was received by the Prefect of the
Papal Household, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, accompanied by his substitute,
Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, and the secretary for Relations with States,
Bishop Paul Richard Gallagher. A personal meeting with the Pope then took place
in the study, which lasted more than 50 minutes and was very cordial.
 The president, as he declared before leaving the Vatican, thanked the Holy
Father for his active role in improving relations between Cuba and the United
States. He also expressed the sentiments of the Cuban people as they await and
prepare for his upcoming visit to the island in September.
 The Pope and the president then proceeded to the adjacent room for the
presentation of the delegation accompanying Raul Castro, composed of around a
dozen figures including the deputy prime minister, the minister for foreign
affairs and the ambassador to the Holy See.
 The exchange of gifts was very meaningful. The president offered the Pope a
valuable commemorative medal of the Cathedral of Havana and a contemporary
painting, depicting a large cross made up of wrecked boats, with a migrant in
prayer in the foreground. The artist, the Cuban Kcho, was present and explained
to the Pope that it was inspired by his great efforts to raise awareness in the
world of the problems faced by migrants and refugees, beginning with his famous
trip to Lampedusa. The Pope gave the president a copy of his apostolic
exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium" and a large medallion depicting St. Martin
covering the poor man with his cape. The Holy Father observed that he was
particularly keen to give this gift, as it recalled the commitment not only to
protecting the poor but also to promoting dignity.
 President Raul Castro and his delegation left the Vatican shortly after 10.30
a.m.

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 Regina Coeli: love is a concrete path
 Vatican City, 10 May 2015 (VIS) - During this Sunday's Regina Coeli, before
thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope commented on the
day's Gospel reading which "takes us back to the Cenacle, where we hear Jesus'
new commandment, 'that you love one another as I have loved you'". He affirmed,
"these words, pronounced during the Last Supper, summarise all Jesus' message;
or rather, they summarise all He has gone. Jesus gave His life for His friends.
Friends who had not understood Him, who had at the crucial moment abandoned,
betrayed and denied Him. This shows us that He loves us even though we do not
deserve His love: this is how Jesus loves us!".
 "In this way, Jesus shows us the road to follow Him, the path of love. His
commandment is not a simple precept, ... something abstract and external with
regard to life. Christ's commandment is new because He was the first to realise
it, He gave flesh to it, and thus the law of love is written once and for all
in
the heart of man. ... It is a concrete path, a road that leads us out of
ourselves
to reach out to others. Jesus showed us that God's love is implemented in love
for our neighbour. They both go together. The pages of the Gospel are full of
this love: adults and children, the cultured and the simple, rich and poor, the
righteous and sinners all find welcome in Christ's heart".
 "This Word of the Lord calls upon us to love each other, even if we do not
always understand each other, even if we do not always agree ... but it is
precisely there that we see Christian love. A love that is shown even if there
are differences of opinion and character: but love is greater than these
differences. And this is the love that Jesus has taught us. ... This love of
Christ, that the Holy Spirit pours into our hearts, works wonders every day in
the Church and in the world. There are many large and small gestures that obey
the Lord's commandment".
 "Little everyday gestures, gestures of closeness to an elderly person, a
child,
a sick person, someone who is alone or in difficulty, homeless, jobless, an
immigrant, a refugee. ... Thanks to the strength of this Word of Christ, every
one
of us can be close to the brother and the sister he encounters. Gestures of
closeness, of proximity. In these gestures, the love that Christ has taught us
is made manifest".
 Following the Regina Coeli, the Pope greeted, among others, the Italian State
Forestry Corps, which is organising the national day for National Reserves for
the rediscovery and respect for the beauty of creation; the participants in the
conference, promoted by the Italian Episcopal Conference in support of
high-quality schooling open to families; a delegation of women from "Komen
Italia", an association engaged in the fight against breast cancer; and those
who have taken part in an initiative for life which took place in Rome this
morning.
 "And, speaking of life", he added, "today in many countries we celebrate
Mother's Day: let us remember all mothers with gratitude and affection, and let
us applaud them, all the mothers who are here in the Square. And with this
applause, let us embrace all mothers, all our dear mothers: those who live with
us physically, but also those who remain with us spiritually. May the Lord
bless
them all, and may Our Lady, to whom this month is dedicated, protect them".

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 Pope's message to His Holiness Tawadros II: continuing friendship between the
Orthodox Coptic Church and the Catholic Church
 Vatican City, 11 May 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has sent a message to His
Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark,
to commemorate the second anniversary of their meeting in Rome.
 "Today more than ever we are united by the ecumenism of blood, which further
encourages us on the path towards peace and reconciliation. I assure you and
the
Christian community in Egypt and throughout the Middle East of my unceasing
prayer, and I remember in particular the Coptic faithful recently martyred for
their Christian faith. May the Lord welcome them into his Kingdom".
 He continues, "with thanksgiving to the Lord, I recall our advances along the
path of friendship, united as we are by one baptism. Though our communion is
yet
imperfect, what we have in common is greater than what divides us. May we
persevere on our journey to full communion, and grow in love and
understanding".
 "It is particularly encouraging that the Joint International Commission for
Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox
Churches has recently finalised the document 'The Exercise of Communion in the
Life of the Early Church and its Implications for our Search for Communion
Today'. I am certain that Your Holiness shares my hope that this vital dialogue
will carry on and bear abundant fruit. I am especially grateful for the
willingness of the Patriarchate of the See of Saint Mark to hold the next
meeting of the Commission in Cairo".
 "Christians throughout the world are facing similar challenges, which require
us to work together in confronting these issues. I appreciate your appointment
last year of a delegate to participate in the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops
dedicated to the family. It is my hope that our cooperation in this area may
continue, especially in addressing matters related to mixed marriages".
 He concludes, "With these sentiments, and recalling what has rightly become
known as the day of friendship between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the
Catholic Church, I exchange with Your Holiness a fraternal embrace in Christ
the
Lord".

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 Pope's letter for the bicentenary of the coronation of Our Lady of Mercy
 Vatican City, 11 May 2015 (VIS) - Today in the shrine of Our Lady of Mercy of
Savona, Italy, the coronation of the statue of the Virgin Mary by Pope Pius VII
on 10 May 1815 will be celebrated. Pope Francis has therefore sent as letter to
Bishop Vittorio Lupi of the diocese of Savona-Noli, in which he recalls that
Benedict XVI too was a pilgrim to the shrine, erected almost five centuries ago
in the place where the Virgin appeared to the peasant Antonio Botta, asking for
penance and conversion, and bidding him farewell with the words "Mercy, not
justice". "An exhortation that is more valid than ever in our age", he writes,
"which is, in particular, a time for mercy".
 "In such a dramatic moment in the history of Europe", he continues, "Pope Pius
VII, kidnapped by Napoleon and imprisoned in Savona, was able to go to the
Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy and he vowed that, once freed, he would return
there
to crown her; this took place on 10 May 1815, and on 24 May he instituted the
feast of Mary Most Holy, Help of Christians. Indeed, the Mother of Mercy is
always close and helps all her children when they find themselves in danger,
or,
as is often the case in our times, they suffer discrimination and persecution.
I
hope that, as we draw closer to the Extraordinary Holy Year, all the Church may
deepen and spread her trust in the Mother of Mercy, who in this land gave a
perennial sign of her tenderness and her closeness to the pilgrm People of God
in this world".

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 To the bishops of Mozambique: always live among the faithful
 Vatican City, 9 May 2015 (VIS) - The bishops of the Episcopal Conference of
Mozambique were received this morning by the Pope at the end of their "ad
Limina" visit. In the written discourse that he handed to them during the
audience, he first recalls Jesus' question to the apostle Peter: "Do you love
me?", and before the latter's affirmative response He asked him to be the
shepherd to His flock. Christ, Who made Himself poor for us, requires of the
bishops the same love for their own flock, along with their full availability
and complete commitment. He calls them to set aside false presumptions in order
to "wash the feet of those the Lord has entrusted to us".

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