VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 155
DATE 14-09-2015

Summary:
- 11th Meeting of the Holy Father with the Council of Cardinals
- In two interviews the Pope reaffirms that unfair economic systems cause
migration and insists on care for creation
- Angelus: following Jesus means rejecting the worldly mentality
- The Pope recalls the first Catholic martyr of South Africa
- Cooperatives must defend and promote an economy of honesty
- Pope's message for the opening of the plenary Assembly of the Council of
Episcopal Conferences of Europe
- Holy Father's calendar for September to November 2015
- Cor Unum convenes meeting on the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq
- The Courtyard of Francis, from 23 to 27 September in Assisi
- Cardinal Kurt Koch, Pope's special envoy to the 1500th anniversary of the
Swiss Abbey of Saint-Maurice
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 11th Meeting of the Holy Father with the Council of Cardinals
 Vatican City, 14 September 2015 (VIS) - This morning the eleventh meeting of
the Holy Father with the Council of Cardinals began. The work of the "Council
of
Nine" will continue until Wednesday 16 September.

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 In two interviews the Pope reaffirms that unfair economic systems cause
migration and insists on care for creation
 Vatican City, 14 September 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has recently granted two
interviews: one to the Portuguese broadcaster Radio Renascenca, on the occasion
of the Portuguese bishops' "ad Limina" visit, and the other to the Argentine
Radio Milenium, focusing on care for creation and the value of friendship and
dialogue.
 In the first, in response to a question regarding an eventual visit to
Portugal
to commemorate the centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin at Fatima,
Francis
expresses his wish to visit the country and adds that "the Virgin always asks
us
to receive and care for the family and the commandments. She does not ask for
anything unusual. ... And she appears to children. It is curious, she always
seeks
the simplest souls".
 With regard to the phenomenon of migration to Europe, he affirms, "it is the
tip of an iceberg. We see these refugees, these poor people, who flee from war,
from hunger. ... But behind this there is the cause, and the cause is an unfair
socio-economic system". He adds, "Speaking of the ecological issue, within our
socio-economic structure, within politics, at the centre there must always be
the person. And today's dominant economic system has replaced the person at the
centre with the god of money, the idol". Therefore, he says, it is necessary to
look to the root causes. "When the cause is hunger, create jobs and invest.
When
the cause is war, seek peace, work for peace. Today the world is at war; it is
at war against itself".
 In this respect, the Pope reaffirms the importance of acceptance. "Accepting
people, and welcoming them as they come". With regard to his appeal to all
parishes in Europe to host a family of refugees, he specified, "When I talk
about a parish welcoming a family, I do not mean that they should go and live
in
the parish house, but rather that the parish community seek a place, a corner
where they can make a little apartment or, if there is no other option, rent a
modest apartment for this family; that they should have a roof over their
heads,
they should be welcomed, and that they should be included within the
community".
 He also considers the theme of the culture of well-being, commenting that the
birthrate is very low in many countries such as Italy, Portugal and Spain.
"When
there is an empty space, people seek to fill it. If a country has no children,
migrants come to occupy that space. ... Not wanting children is, in part - and
this is my interpretation, I don't know if it is correct - it is linked to the
culture of comfort, isn't it? And then the elderly are left alone. I think that
the great challenge facing Europe is to become once again Mother Europe, rather
than Grandmother Europe. ... It must be recognised that Europe has an
exceptional
culture - centuries of culture - and must regain her capacity for leadership in
the concert of nations. Or rather, she must become once again the Europe who
shows the way, as she has the culture to do so. ... Europe must assume her role
once again, as she has the culture to do so, to recover her identity. It is
true
that Europe has made mistakes. I do not reproach, I merely recall this. When
she
has wanted to speak about her identity, she has avoided recognising what is
probably the deepest part of it: her Christian roots. We all make mistakes in
life, but for Europe it is not too late to change".
 The Pope also emphasises that the Church must be outbound and must be willing
to take risks. "If a church, a parish, a diocese, an institute, lives closed up
in itself, it comes to a halt. It is the same thing that happens to a closed up
home. We end up with an unhealthy Church, with fixed rules, without creativity,
'insured' but not safe. Instead, if a church or a parish goes out and
evangelises, the same thing happens that can occur to any person who goes out
into the street - accidents can befall them. So, between a sickly Church or an
accident-prone one, I would prefer an accident-prone Church as at least she
reaches out".
 With reference to his expectations of the Jubilee of Mercy, he expresses his
hope that "everyone will come. May they come and experience God's love and
forgiveness", and with regard to the letter to Archbishop Fisichella in which
he
requests forgiveness during the Jubilee for the most difficult cases and to his
two Motu Proprios on the reform of processes for declaring nullity of marriage,
he explains that his intention is "to simplify ... to facilitate faith among
the
people ... to enable the Church to be a mother".
 In the interview granted to Milenium, Francis says that "we are mistreating
creation; at times we treat it as if it were our worst enemy", and "we live in
a
system that, to earn money, has displaced man from the centre and put money in
his place, leading to the existence of "corrupt systems, with slavery, forced
labour and disregard for creation".
 In relation to fundamentalism "as its followers are faithful to an idea but
not
to a reality", Francis warns of the danger represented by this "darkness that
obscures our horizon" and causes us to become closed up in our own convictions
and 'ideologies'. "It is a wall that prevents encounter with others".

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 Angelus: following Jesus means rejecting the worldly mentality
 Vatican City, 13 September 2015 (VIS) - The path of those who follow Jesus
does
not lead to glory but is instead destined for true freedom, explained the Pope
to the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square this morning to
pray
the Angelus.
 Francis commented on today's Gospel reading in which Jesus, on the path to
Caesarea Philippi, asks His disciples what the people said about Him, as some
of
them considered Him to have been sent by God, but did not yet recognise Him as
the Messiah. The apostles answered that some considered Him as the living image
of John the Baptist, others Elijah or one of the great prophets. Jesus then
asked His disciples, "But who do you say that I am?".
 "Here is the most important question, that Jesus addresses to those who
followed him, to confirm their faith. Peter answers on behalf of all of them,
without hesitation, 'You are the Christ'. Jesus is moved by Peter's faith and
recognises that it is the 'fruit ... of the special grace of God the Father'.
And
so he openly reveals to the disciples what awaits him in Jerusalem: that is,
that 'the Son of Man must suffer many things ... and be killed, and after three
days rise again'. But upon hearing this Peter, who has just proclaimed his
faith
in Jesus as the Messiah, is horrified. He takes the Master aside and rebukes
him. Jesus reacts with great severity, saying 'Get behind me, Satan! For you
are
not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man'".
 "Jesus realises that in Peter, as in the other disciples - and in each one of
us! - the grace of God is opposed by the temptation of the Evil one, that would
divert us from God's will. By announcing that He must suffer and be put to
death
to then rise again, Jesus wishes to show to those who follow Him that He is a
humble servant. And the Servant obeys His Father's Word and will, unto the
complete sacrifice of His own life. Therefore, turning to the crowd around Him,
He declares that he who wishes to be His disciple must accept being a servant,
as He has made Himself a servant, and warns, 'If anyone would come after me,
let
him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me'".
 "Following Jesus means bearing one's own cross - we all have one - to
accompany
Him on the way, a rough path that is not that of success or fleeting glory, but
which leads to true freedom, which liberates us from selfishness and sin. It
means clearly refusing that worldly mentality that places the self and one's
own
interests at the centre of existence. ... Jesus instead invites us to give our
life for Him, for the Gospel, so as to receive it again renewed, fulfilled and
authentic. We are certain, thanks to Jesus, that this path leads ultimately to
resurrection, to full and definitive life with God. The decision to follow our
Master and Lord Who made Himself the Servant to all demands that we walk behind
Him and listen carefully to His Word - reading every day a passage from the
Gospel, and in the Sacraments".
 Finally he addressed the young people in the Square: "I ask you: have you felt
the wish to follow Jesus more closely? Think, pray, and let the Lord speak to
you".

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 The Pope recalls the first Catholic martyr of South Africa
 Vatican City, 13 September 2015 (VIS) - After today's Angelus prayer, the Pope
mentioned that today in South Africa Samuel Benedict Daswa, the Catholic
Church's first martyr in that country, is proclaimed blessed. A primary school
teacher, Daswa was stoned to death in 1990 in Tshitanini, a village in the
province of Limpopo, for attributing a fire affecting some huts to lightning
and
not to the forces of evil, and for refusing to pay for the services of a
sangoma
to end the storms. "In his life, he always showed great coherence, bravely
assuming Christian attitudes and refusing worldly and pagan habits. May his
witness especially help families to spread Christ's truth and charity. His
witness joins that of many of our brothers and sisters, young and elderly,
children, persecuted, cast out and killed for confessing Jesus Christ. We thank
all these martyrs for their witness, Samuel Benedict Daswa and all of them, and
ask them to intercede for us".
 He concluded by greeting teachers from Sardinia in precarious working
conditions, and expressed his hope that the problems of the world of work "be
faced taking into full consideration the family and its needs".

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 Cooperatives must defend and promote an economy of honesty
 Vatican City, 12 September 2015 (VIS) "The Church knows the value of
cooperatives. Many of them originated from priests, committed lay faithful, and
communities inspired by the spirit of Christian solidarity ... and in the
encyclical 'Laudato si'' I have underlined their value in the fields of
renewable energy and agriculture", said the Pope this morning as he received in
audience in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall more than seven thousand people,
including directors, employees and their families, from the Cooperative Credit
Bank of Rome (BCC).
 In his address Francis reiterated the suggestions he made in February to the
Confederation of Cooperatives, adding that each one should dedicate itself to
its specific mission: "Continue to be a motor for the development of the
weakest
part of local communities and of civil society, thinking especially of the
young
unemployed and aiming at the birth of new cooperative enterprises. Be agents in
proposing and implementing new welfare solutions, starting in the field of
healthcare. Occupy yourselves with the relationship between the economy and
social justice, keeping the dignity and value of the person at the centre. The
person must always be at the centre, not the god of money. Facilitate and
encourage family life, and propose cooperative and mutual solutions for the
management of common goods, that cannot become the property of the few or the
object of speculation. Promote a fraternal and social use of money, in the
style
of the true cooperative, in which people are not guided by capital, but instead

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