VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 104
DATE 05-06-2015

Summary:
- The Pope receives the president of Chile: further intensify existing good
relations
- To the Dehonians: be present in the new areopagus of evangelisation
- Pontifical Missionary Societies: opening up to geographic and human
boundaries
- Condolences for victims of explosion in a service station in Accra, Ghana
- Solemnity of Corpus Christi: the Eucharist is not a reward for the good
- Pope Francis' new encyclical to be published on 18 June
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts
- Notice

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 The Pope receives the president of Chile: further intensify existing good
relations
 Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace
Pope Francis received in audience the president of the Republic of Chile,
Michelle Bachelet Jeria, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State
Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for
Relations with States.
 During the cordial discussions, mention was made of the existing good
bilateral
relations between the Parties, in the hope that they may be further
strengthened
within the framework of the provisions of international law. Issues of common
interest such as the protection of human life, education and social peace were
then addressed. In this context, emphasis was placed on the role and the
positive contribution of Catholic institutions in Chilean society, especially
in
relation to human promotion, education and assistance to those most in need.
 This was followed by an overview of the situation in Latin America, with
particular reference to various challenges affecting the continent.

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 To the Dehonians: be present in the new areopagus of evangelisation
 Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Consistory Hall the Pope
received in audience 120 participants in the General Chapter of the Priests of
the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians), based on the theme "Merciful, in
community, with the poor". Francis took the opportunity to express his best
wishes to the new Superior General, Fr. Heiner Wilmer, and to greet all the
Dehonians who work "often in difficult conditions in various parts of the
world".
 "Religious life is indicated as a fully evangelical life, in which the
beatitudes are fully realised", remarked the Pope. "Therefore, as consecrated
persons, you are required to be merciful. This means, first and foremost,
living
in profound communion with God in prayer, in meditation on the Sacred
Scripture,
in the celebration of the Eucharist, so that all our life may be a path of
growth in God's mercy. To the extent to which we make ourselves aware of the
freely-given love of the Lord and welcome it in ourselves, our tenderness,
understanding and goodness towards the people around us will also grow".
 Religious life is also "the cohabitation of believers who feel they are loved
by God and who seek to love Him. ... In the experience of God's mercy and His
love
you will also find the point of the harmonisation of your communities. This
necessitates the commitment to increasingly savour the mercy that your brethren
show to you and to offer them the wealth of your mercy", said the bishop of
Rome
to the Dehonians, recalling in this regard the example of their founder, Fr.
Leon Dehon (1843-1925).
 "Mercy is the word that summarises the Gospel; we might say that it is the
'face' of Christ, that face that He showed when he went towards everyone, when
he healed the sick, when he shared a table with the sinners, and especially
when, nailed to the cross, he forgave: there we find the face of divine mercy.
And the Lord calls upon us to be 'channels' of this love firstly towards the
least among us, the poorest, who are privileged in His eyes. Let yourselves be
continually challenged by the situations of fragility and poverty with which
you
come into contact, and endeavour to offer in the appropriate ways the witness
of
charity that the Spirit infuses in your hearts". The Holy Father concluded,
"Mercy will allow you to open up promptly to current needs and to be
industriously present in the new areopagus of evangelisation, prioritising -
even if this may involve sacrifices - openness towards those situations of
extreme need, symptomatic of the maladies of today's society".

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 Pontifical Missionary Societies: opening up to geographic and human boundaries
 Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) - Missionary activity is the paradigm of all
the work of the Church, said Pope Francis to the participants in the general
assembly of the Pontifical Missionary Societies (PMS), and reiterated that the
announcement of the Gospel is "the first and constant concern of the Church,
her
essential task, her greatest challenge, and the source of her renewal. ...
Without
the restlessness and anxiety of evangelisation it is not possible to develop a
credible and effective pastoral ministry uniting proclamation and human
promotion".
 Therefore, the members of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples
and the national directors of the PMS have the difficult task of opening up to
"the broad and universal horizons of humanity, its geographical and above all
human boundaries", accompanying the life of the young Churches throughout the
world and encouraging the People of God to fully live the universal mission.
"You know the wonders that the Holy Spirit works for humanity through these
Churches, often with scarce resources and even through the difficulties and
persecutions they suffer for their faith and their witness to the Word of God
and in defence of humanity. In those human peripheries the Church is required
to
go into the streets, towards the many brothers and sisters of ours who live
without the strength, light and consolation of Jesus Christ, without a
community
of faith to welcome them, without horizons of meaning and of life".
 The Pope emphasised that the PMS, on account of their characteristic charism,
are attentive and sensitive to the needs of mission territories and, in
particular, the poorest human groups. "They are instruments of communion
between
Churches, promoting and implementing the sharing of people and economic
resources. They are committed to supporting seminarians, presbyters and women
religious of the young Churches in mission territories in the Pontifical
Colleges. Faced with such a beautiful and important task, faith and love of
Christ have the capacity to lead us everywhere to announce the Gospel of love,
fraternity and justice. This is achieved through prayer, evangelical courage
and
the witness of the beatitudes".
 However, he warned, "be careful not to give in to the temptation to become a
non-governmental organisation, an office for the distribution of ordinary and
extraordinary aid. Money helps but can also become the ruin of the Mission.
Functionalism, when it is placed in the centre or occupies a major space, as if
it were the most important issue, will lead you to ruin, as the first way to
die
is to take the 'sources' for granted - that is, He Who inspires the Mission.
Please, with all your plans and programmes, do not cut Jesus Christ out of
missionary work, which is His work. A Church that is reduced to pursuing
efficiency of the party apparatus at all costs is already dead, even though the
structures and programmes in favour of the clergy and 'self-employed' laity
could last for centuries".
 "True evangelisation is not possible without the sanctifying energy of the
Holy
Spirit, the only one able to renew, revive and give impetus to the Church in
her
bold outreach to evangelise all peoples", concluded the Pope.

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 Condolences for victims of explosion in a service station in Accra, Ghana
 Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin

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