VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 160
DATE 21-09-2015

Summary:
- The Pope speaks with journalists on the papal flight
- The Pope arrives in Cuba, a meeting point for all peoples who come together
in
friendship
- Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion: the importance of a people is based on how it
serves its most vulnerable members
- Angelus: Francis asks for definitive reconciliation in Colombia
- Meeting with President Raul Castro and with Commander Fidel in the Palace of
the Revolution
- Vespers in the Cathedral of Havana
- Francis meets with the young, Cuba's hope for the future
- Other News
- Message to the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East
- Message to Hungarian religious: seek the concerns and expectations of the
people
- The Pope speaks with young people from Cuba and the United States before his
apostolic trip
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 The Pope speaks with journalists on the papal flight
 Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) - Shortly after beginning his trip from
Rome to Havana, the Pope greeted the 76 journalists accompanying him on the
flight. As indicated by the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico
Lombardi, S.J., the media coverage of this trip will be more intense than
usual.
In a very cordial atmosphere, the Holy Father enquired about the journalists'
families and received various edible gifts, including dulce de leche and an
empanada, a typical Argentinian pastry, that he offered to all those present.
 "Thank you for the welcome", he said. "I wish you a good journey. If I am not
mistaken, I think this is the longest trip I have made. ... Fr. Lombardi
mentioned
peace. Today's world thirsts for peace. There are wars, immigrants who flee,
this wave of immigration as a result of war, to escape from death and in search
of life. Today I am happy as I was greeted at the door of St. Anna by one of
the
two families residing in the Vatican, in the parish of the same name. They are
Syrian refugees. You can see the suffering in their faces. ... This word:
peace. I
thank you for all that you do in your work to build bridges: small bridges, but
bridges nonetheless, that together all form the great bridge of peace. I wish
you a good trip and good work. Pray for me. Thank you".
 He also offered a greeting to all the journalists' colleagues working in their
offices.

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 The Pope arrives in Cuba, a meeting point for all peoples who come together in
friendship
 Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) - "Missionary of Mercy" is the theme
chosen by Pope Francis for his visit to Cuba, where he began his tenth
apostolic
trip yesterday. The Holy Father arrived in the Jose Marti airport in Havana at
4
p.m. local time (10 p.m. in Italy) after a twelve-hour flight, and was welcomed
by the president of Cuba, Raul Castro, and by the cardinal archbishop of
Havana,
Jaime Ortega y Alamino, accompanied by Archbishop Dionisio Guillermo Garcia
Ibanez, president of the Episcopal Conference.
 After the protocol greetings and national anthems of Cuba and Vatican City
State, President Castro gave a welcome address on behalf of the government and
people of Cuba. The Pope thanked the president and asked him to convey
sentiments of particular respect and consideration to his brother Fidel. "I
would like my greeting to embrace especially all those who, for various
reasons,
I will not be able to meet, and to Cubans throughout the world", continued
Francis.
 After remarking that 2015 marks the eightieth anniversary of the establishment
of uninterrupted diplomatic relations between the Republic of Cuba and the Holy
See, the Pope affirmed that his arrival in this "beloved nation" follows "the
indelible path opened by the unforgettable apostolic journeys which my two
predecessors, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, made to this island. I know
that the memory of those visits awakens gratitude and affection in the people
and leaders of Cuba. Today we renew those bonds of cooperation and friendship,
so that the Church can continue to support and encourage the Cuban people in
its
hopes and concerns, with the freedom, the means and the space needed to bring
the proclamation of the Kingdom to the existential peripheries of society".
 This Apostolic Journey also coincides with the first centenary of Pope
Benedict
XV's declaration of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre as Patroness of Cuba, and
Francis commented that it was the veterans of the War of Independence who,
moved
by sentiments of faith and patriotism, wanted the Virgen mambisa to be the
patroness of Cuba as a free and sovereign nation. "Since that time she has
accompanied the history of the Cuban people", he said, "sustaining the hope
which preserves people's dignity in the most difficult situations and
championing the promotion of all that gives dignity to the human person. The
growing devotion to the Virgin is a visible testimony of her presence in the
soul of the Cuban people. In these days I will have occasion to go to El Cobre,
as a son and pilgrim, to pray to our Mother for all her Cuban children and for
this beloved nation, that it may travel the paths of justice, peace, liberty
and
reconciliation".
 "Geographically, Cuba is an archipelago, facing all directions, with an
extraordinary value as a 'key' between north and south, east and west. Its
natural vocation is to be a point of encounter for all peoples to join in
friendship, as Jose Marti dreamed, 'regardless of the languages of isthmuses
and
the barriers of oceans'. Such was also the desire of St. John Paul II, with his
ardent appeal: 'May Cuba, with all its magnificent potential, open itself to
the
world, and may the world open itself to Cuba'".
 "For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: the
process of normalising relations between two peoples following years of
estrangement. It is a sign of the victory of the culture of encounter and
dialogue, 'the system of universal growth' over 'the forever-dead system of
groups and dynasties'. I urge political leaders to persevere on this path and
to
develop all its potentialities as a proof of the high service which they are
called to carry out on behalf of the peace and well-being of their peoples, of
all America, and as an example of reconciliation for the entire world. The
world
needs reconciliation, in this climate of a piecemeal third world war in which
we
are living".
 The Pope concluded his first discourse on Cuban soil by invoking "the
protection of our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Blessed Olallo Valdes and
Blessed
Jose Lopez Piteira, and Venerable Felix Varela, the great promoter of love
between Cubans and all peoples, so that our bonds of peace, solidarity and
mutual respect may ever increase".

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 Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion: the importance of a people is based on how it
serves its most vulnerable members
 Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) - After spending the night in the
apostolic nunciature in Havana, the Pope began his second day in Cuba by
greeting the thousands of people who lined the streets on his journey by
popemobile to Plaza de la Revolucion Jose Marti, dedicated to the poet and
writer who fought for Cuban independence. The square, where the Holy Father
celebrated Holy Mass attended by more than 200,000 faithful, is a strongly
symbolic location for the island, and has provided the backdrop to important
demonstrations.
 Francis, who before the Eucharistic celebration met with the representatives
of
other Christian confessions present in Cuba in a provisional sacristy, devoted
his homily to the importance of serving the weakest and frailest among us. "Let
us not forget the Good News we have heard today: the importance of a people, a
nation, and the importance of individuals, which is always based on how they
seek to serve their vulnerable brothers and sisters. Here we encounter one of
the fruits of a true humanity. Whoever does not live to serve, does not ‘serve'
to live".
 The Pope commented on the Gospel passage in which Jesus asks a seemingly
indiscreet question of His disciples: "What were you discussing along the way?"
to which they did not answer because on the way they had been arguing about who
was the most important, and were ashamed.
 "Who is the most important?", continued the Pope. "This is a life-long
question
to which, at different times, we must give an answer. ... The history of
humanity has been marked by the answer we give to this question. Jesus is not
afraid of people's questions; He is not afraid of our humanity or the different
things we are looking for. On the contrary, He knows the 'twists and turns' of
the human heart, and, as a good teacher, He is always ready to encourage and
support us. As usual, He takes up our searching, our aspirations, and he gives
them a new horizon ... He somehow finds an the answer which can pose a new
challenge, setting aside the 'right answers', the standard replies we are
expected to give. As usual, Jesus sets before us the 'logic' of love. A
mindset,
an approach to life, which is capable of being lived out by all, because it is
meant for all".
 "Far from any kind of elitism, the horizon to which Jesus points us is not for
those few privileged souls capable of attaining the heights of knowledge or
different levels of spirituality. The horizon to which Jesus points us always
has to do with daily life, also here on "our island", something which can
season
our daily lives with eternity. Who is the most important? Jesus is
straightforward in His reply: 'Whoever wishes to be the first among you must be
the last of all, and the servant of all'. Whatever wishes to be great must
serve
others, not be served by others".
 "Here lies the great paradox of Jesus", emphasises the Pope. "The disciples
were arguing about who would have the highest place, who would be chosen for
privileges ... in order to stand out in the quest for superiority over others.
Who would climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry certain
benefits. Jesus upsets their 'logic', their mindset, simply by telling them
that
life is lived authentically in a concrete commitment to our neighbour. That is,
in serving".
 But the call to serve "involves something special, to which we must be
attentive. Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability. Serving
means caring for the vulnerable of our families, our society, our people.
Theirs
are the suffering, fragile and downcast faces which Jesus tells us specifically
to look at and which He asks us to love. With a love which takes shape in our
actions and decisions. With a love which finds expression in whatever tasks we,
as citizens, are called to perform. People of flesh and blood, people with
individual lives and stories, and with all their frailty: these are those whom
Jesus asks us to protect, to care for, to serve. Being a Christian entails
promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for
it. That is why Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes
and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most
vulnerable".
 "There is a kind of 'service' which truly 'serves' others, yet we need to be
careful not to be tempted by another kind of service, a 'service' which is
'self-serving'. There is a way to go about serving which is interested in only
helping 'my people', 'our people'. This service always leaves 'your people'
outside, and gives rise to a process of exclusion. All of us are called by
virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which truly serves, and to
help
one another not to be tempted by a 'service' which is really 'self-serving'.
...
Without looking to one side or the other to see what our neighbour is doing or
not doing. Jesus tells us: Whoever would be first among you must be the last,
and the servant of all. He will be the servant of all. He does not say: if your
neighbour wants to be first, let him be the servant! We have to be careful to
avoid judgemental looks and renew our belief in the transforming look to which
Jesus invites us. This caring for others out of love is not about being
servile.
Rather, it means putting our brothers and sisters at the centre. Service always
looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in
some cases, 'suffers' in trying to help. Service is never ideological, for we
do
not serve ideas, we serve people".
 "God's holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for
celebration, for friendship, for beautiful things", he concluded. "It is a
people which marches with songs of praise. It is a people which has its wounds,
like every other people, yet knows how to stand up with open arms, to keep
walking in hope, because it has a vocation of grandeur. This is how it raised
its heroes. Today I ask you to care for this vocation of yours, to care for
these gifts which God has given you, but above all I invite you to care for and
be at the service of the frailty of your brothers and sisters. Do not neglect
them for plans which can be seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of
the
person beside you. We know, we are witnesses of the incomparable power of the
resurrection, which 'everywhere calls forth the seeds of a new world'".

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 Angelus: Francis asks for definitive reconciliation in Colombia
 Vatican City, 20 September 2015 (VIS) - At the end of Mass, the Pope spoke for
a few minutes before praying the Angelus.
 "We have heard in the Gospel how the disciples were afraid to question Jesus
when He spoke to them about His passion and death. He frightened them, and they
could not grasp the idea of seeing Jesus suffer on the cross. We too are
tempted
to flee from our own crosses and those of others, to withdraw from those who

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