VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 096
DATE 25-05-2015

Summary:
- Meeting of the Council of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
- Pentecost: the Holy Spirit makes us capable of dedicating ourselves to works
of justice and peace
- Regina Coeli: the Church is not born isolated
- The Pope urges the international community to help refugees in the Bay of
Bengal
- Message for World Missions Day: "There is an inseparable bond between our
faith and the poor"
- Francis prays with the Pentecostal evangelical pastors of Phoenix for the
unity of the Church
- The Pope to Christian workers' association: fight for free, creative,
participatory and fraternal work
- Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero: a martyr who knew how to guide, defend and
protect his flock
- Pope's message for the Second International Conference on Women
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

___________________________________________________________

 Meeting of the Council of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
 Vatican City, 25 May 2015 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father chaired the
meeting of the Council of the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.

___________________________________________________________

 Pentecost: the Holy Spirit makes us capable of dedicating ourselves to works
of
justice and peace
 Vatican City, 24 May 2015 (VIS) - "Strengthened by the Spirit - who guides,
who
guides us into the truth, who renews us and the whole earth, and who gives us
his fruits - strengthened in the Spirit and by these many gifts, may we be able
to battle uncompromisingly against sin, to battle uncompromisingly against
corruption, which continues to spread in the world day after day, by devoting
ourselves with patient perseverance to the works of justice and peace", said
the
Holy Father during Mass in St. Peter's Basilica on the solemnity of Pentecost.
 Pope Francis repeated several times during his homily that the Holy Spirit,
today as yesterday, guides, renews and bears fruit, acting through people and
communities, and making them capable of receiving God, "capax Dei" the Holy
Fathers have affirmed.
 "On the evening of Easter, Jesus appeared to the Apostles and breathed on them
his Spirit; on the morning of Pentecost the outpouring occurred in a resounding
way, like a wind which shook the place the Apostles were in, filling their
minds
and hearts. They received a new strength so great that they were able to
proclaim Christ's Resurrection in different languages. ... Together with them
was Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the first disciple, there too as Mother of the
nascent Church. With her peace, with her smile,with her maternity, she
accompanied the joyful young Bride, the Church of Jesus".
 In the Gospel, Jesus promises his disciples that, when he has returned to the
Father, the Holy Spirit will come to "guide them into all the truth", and
explains to them that its action will bring them to understand ever more
clearly
what he, the Messiah, has said and done, especially with regard to his death
and
resurrection. "To the Apostles, who could not bear the scandal of their
Master's
sufferings, the Spirit would give a new understanding of the truth and beauty
of
that saving event. At first they were paralysed with fear, shut in the Upper
Room to avoid the aftermath of Good Friday. Now they would no longer be ashamed
to be Christ's disciples; they would no longer tremble before the courts of
men.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, they would now understand 'all the truth': that
the
death of Jesus was not his defeat, but rather the ultimate expression of God's
love, a love that, in the Resurrection, conquers death and exalts Jesus as the
Living One, the Lord, the Redeemer of mankind, the Lord of history and of the
world. This truth, to which the Apostles were witnesses, became Good News, to
be
proclaimed to all".
 The Holy Spirit also renews the earth. "Respect for creation, then, is a
requirement of our faith: the 'garden' in which we live is not entrusted to us
to be exploited, but rather to be cultivated and tended with respect. Yet this
is possible only if Adam - the man formed from the earth - allows himself in
turn to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, only if he allows himself to be
re-formed
by the Father on the model of Christ, the new Adam. In this way, renewed by the
Spirit of God, we will indeed be able to experience the freedom of the sons and
daughters, in harmony with all creation. In every creature we will be able to
see reflected the glory of the Creator".
 "The world needs men and women who are not closed in on themselves, but filled
with the Holy Spirit", exclaimed the Pope at the end of his homily. "Closing
oneself off from the Holy Spirit means not only a lack of freedom; it is a sin.
There are many ways one can close oneself off to the Holy Spirit: by
selfishness
for one's own gain; by rigid legalism - seen in the attitude of the doctors of
the law to whom Jesus referred as 'hypocrites'; by neglect of what Jesus
taught;
by living the Christian life not as service to others but in the pursuit of
personal interests; and in so many other ways. However, the world needs the
courage, hope, faith and perseverance of Christ's followers. The world needs
the
fruits, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Paul lists them: 'love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control'.
The gift of the Holy Spirit has been bestowed upon the Church and upon each one
of us, so that we may live lives of genuine faith and active charity, that we
may sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace".

___________________________________________________________

 Regina Coeli: the Church is not born isolated
 Vatican City, 24 May 2015 (VIS) - As is usual on a Sunday, the Pope appeared
at
the window of his study at midday today to pray the Regina Coeli with the
thousands of pilgrims and faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
 Before the Marian prayer he again referred to the solemnity of Pentecost,
which
represents "the baptism of the Church, which thus begins her path through
history, guided by the strength of the Holy Spirit". He continued, "That event,
which changes the heart and the life of the apostles and the other disciples,
is
immediately reflected outside the Cenacle. Indeed, the door that had been kept
closed for fifty days is finally opened and the first Christian Community, no
longer closed in on itself, begins to speak to the crowds of different origins
of the great things that God has done. ... And every person present hears the
disciples speak in his own language. The gift of the Spirit re-establishes the
harmony of language lost in Babel, and prefigures the universal dimension of
the
apostles' mission".
 The Church "is not born isolated: she is born universal, one, Catholic, with a
precise identity but open to all, not closed, an identity that embraces the
whole world, without exception. The Mother Church does not close her door to
anyone! Not even the greatest sinner! And this is due to the strength and the
grace of the Holy Spirit. The Mother Church throws her doors wide open to all,
because she is a mother".
 Pentecost is also "the beginning of a new season: the season of witness and
fraternity. It is a season that comes from above, that comes from God, like the
flames of fire that came to rest of the head of each disciple. It was the flame
of love that burned away all bitterness; it was the language of the Gospel that
crosses the boundaries set by man and touches the hearts of the multitude,
without distinction of language, race or nationality. As on that day of
Pentecost, today too the Holy Spirit is continually poured onto the Church and
on each one of us, so that we leave behind our mediocrity and na
row-mindedness,
and communicate the merciful love of the Lord to all the world ... so that as
we
announce Jesus, resurrected, living and present in our midst, we warm our own
heart and the heart of peoples, drawing them close to Him, the path, the truth,
and life".

___________________________________________________________

 The Pope urges the international community to help refugees in the Bay of
Bengal
 Vatican City, 24 May 2015 (VIS) - Following today's Regina Coeli the Pope
voiced his concern and suffering for the fate of the many refugees stranded at
sea in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, expressing his appreciation for
the efforts made by those countries which "have shown their willingness to
welcome these people who face great suffering and danger", and urged the
international community to offer humanitarian aid.
 He went on to recall that today marks the centenary of Italy's entry into the
First World War, "that senseless slaughter". "Let us pray for the victims", he
said, "asking the Holy Spirit for the gift of peace".
 He also mentioned the beatification yesterday of Archbishop Oscar Romero in El
Salvador and the Italian religious sister Irene Stefanini in Kenya. "The first
was killed in hatred of the faith as he celebrated the Eucharist", he remarked.
"This zealous pastor, following Jesus' example, chose to stay among his people,
especially the poor and oppressed, even at the cost of his own life. Sister
Irene Stefanini, Missionary of Consolation, served the Kenyan population with
joy, mercy and tender compassion. May the example of these blesseds inspire in
every one of us the wish to bear witness to the Gospel with courage and
self-sacrifice".
 Finally, on the feast day of Mary Help of Christians, he greeted the Salesian
community, asking that the Lord might give them the strength to continue in
their work in the spirit of St. John Bosco.

___________________________________________________________

 Message for World Missions Day: "There is an inseparable bond between our
faith
and the poor"
 Vatican City, 24 May 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father's message for the 89th World
Mission Day was published today. To be held on Sunday 18 October 2015, this
year
the Day will take place in the context of the Year of Consecrated Life and will
therefore highlight the bond between faith and mission.
 The following is the full text of the message:
 "The 2015 World Mission Sunday 2015 takes place in the context of the Year of
Consecrated Life, which provides a further stimulus for prayer and reflection.
For if every baptised person is called to bear witness to the Lord Jesus by
proclaiming the faith received as a gift, this is especially so for each
consecrated man and woman. There is a clear connection between consecrated life
and mission. The desire to follow Jesus closely, which led to the emergence of
consecrated life in the Church, responds to his call to take up the cross and
follow him, to imitate his dedication to the Father and his service and love,
to
lose our life so as to gain it. Since Christ's entire existence had a
missionary
character, so too, all those who follow him closely must possess this
missionary
quality.
 The missionary dimension, which belongs to the very nature of the Church, is
also intrinsic to all forms of consecrated life, and cannot be neglected
without
detracting from and disfiguring its charism. Being a missionary is not about
proselytising or mere strategy; mission is part of the 'grammar' of faith,
something essential for those who listen to the voice of the Spirit who
whispers
'Come' and 'Go forth'. Those who follow Christ cannot fail to be missionaries,
for they know that Jesus 'walks with them, speaks to them, breathes with them.
They sense Jesus alive with them in the midst of the missionary enterprise'.
 Mission is a passion for Jesus and at the same time a passion for his people.
When we pray before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of his love which gives
us
dignity and sustains us. At the same time, we realise that the love flowing
from
Jesus' pierced heart expands to embrace the People of God and all humanity. We
realise once more that he wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved
people and all those who seek him with a sincere heart. In Jesus' command to
'go
forth', we see the scenarios and ever-present new challenges of the Church's
evangelising mission. 'l her members are called to proclaim the Gospel by their

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)