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 Message 1897 
 Vatican Information Service to All 
 [2 of 2] VIS-News 
 06 Nov 15 08:25:04 
 
 Interviewer: Your namesake St. Francis chose radical poverty and even sold his
evangeliarium. As the Pope, and bishop of Rome, do you ever feel under pressure
to sell the Church's treasures?
 Pope Francis: "This is an easy question. They are not the treasures of the
Church, they are treasures of humanity. For example, if tomorrow I decide to
put
Michelangelo's Pieta up for auction, I cannot do this, since it is not the
property of the Church. It is kept in a church but it belongs to humanity. This
is true of all the treasures of the Church. But we have started to sell gifts
and other things that are given to me, and the proceeds from sales go to Msgr.
Krajewski, who is my almoner. Then there is the lottery. There were cars that
have all been sold or given away with a lottery and the proceeds are used for
the poor. There are things that can be sold, and we sell these".
 Interviewer: Are you aware that the wealth of the Church can give rise to this
type of expectation?
 Pope Francis: "Yes, if we make a catalogue of the assets of the Church, it
seems that the Church is very rich. But when the Concordat was made with Italy
in 1929 on the Roman Question, the Italian government at the time offered to
the
Church a large park in Rome. And the then Pope Pius XI said no, I would like
just half a square kilometre to guarantee the Church's independence. This
principle still stands.
 "Yes, the real estate of the Church is considerable, but we use it to maintain
the structures of the Church and to maintain many works that are carried out in
countries in need: hospitals and schools. Yesterday, for example, I asked for
50,000 euros to be sent to Congo to build three schools in poor villages, as
education is important for children. They went to the competent administration,
I made the request, and the money was sent".
 Interviewer: Holy Father, is it possible to imagine a world without the poor?
 Pope Francis: "I would like a world without the poor. We must fight for this.
But I am a believer and I know that sin is always within us. And there is
always
human greed, the lack of solidarity, the selfishness that creates poverty.
Therefore, would seem difficult to me to imagine a world without the poor. If
you think about children exploited for slave labour, or sexually abused
children. And another form of exploitation: children killed for the trafficking
of organs. Killing children to remove their organs is greed. Therefore, I do
not
know if we will be able to make a world without poverty, because sin is always
there and leads to selfishness. But we must always fight, always ...".

___________________________________________________________

 Christians and Hindus: promoting human ecology together
 Vatican City, 6 November 2015 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of
the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has written a message to
the
followers of Hinduism on the occasion of Deepavali, the Festival of Lights,
which will be celebrated on 11 November this year. The message, entitled
"Christians and Hindus: promoting human ecology together", is also signed by
Fr.
Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J, secretary of the same dicastery.
 In the text, Cardinal Tauran comments that Pope Francis, in his recent
encyclical "Laudato si'", addresses the environmental and human ecological
crisis threatening our planet. "Thus we deem it opportune to share, in keeping
with our cherished tradition, some thoughts on the need to promote human
ecology, and to foster a rediscovery of the interconnectedness of creation.
Human ecology points to the relationship and responsibility which humans have
towards the earth and to the cultivation of 'ecological virtues'. These virtues
include a sustainable use of the earth's resources through the adoption of
policies, at national and international levels, which respect the
interconnectedness and interdependence of human beings and nature. These
issues,
as we know, have a direct bearing not only on the current health of our earth -
the home of the human family - but also for generations to come".
 "Human selfishness, as evidenced in consumerist and hedonistic tendencies in
some individuals and groups, nurtures an insatiable desire to be 'masters' and
'conquerors' rather than 'guardians' and 'stewards' of nature. We are all
called, regardless of religious belief or national identity, to live with a
greater responsibility towards nature, to nurture life-giving relationships
and,
most of all, to reorder our lifestyles and economic structures according to the
ecological challenges facing us. Your tradition stresses the 'oneness' of
nature, humanity and the divine. The Christian faith teaches that the created
world is God's gift to all human beings. As stewards of the created order, we
are called to care for it responsibly and resolutely".
 "There is an inseparable link between our harmony with creation and our peace
with one another. If peace is to prevail in the world, we must, together and as
individuals, consciously give ourselves to 'protecting nature, defending the
poor, and building networks of respect and fraternity'. Promotion of human
ecology requires formation and education, at all levels, in ecological
consciousness and responsibility, and in the wise stewardship of the earth's
resources. This begins in the family, 'the first and fundamental structure for
'human ecology in which man receives his formative ideas about truth and
goodness, and learns what it means to love and to be loved, and thus what it
actually means to be a person'. Educational and governmental structures have a
responsibility to form citizens in a proper understanding of human ecology and
its relationship to the future of humanity and the created world".
 "United by our humanity and mutual responsibility, as well as our shared
values
and convictions, may we Hindus and Christians, together with people of all
religious traditions and good will, always foster a culture which promotes
human
ecology. In this way, there will be harmony within us, and in our relationships
with others, with nature and with God, which will 'favour the growth of the
tree
of peace'".
 "Praying for a healthy ecology and creating awareness of the various ways to
care for creation is a truly ennobling work. Pope Francis has instituted,
therefore, an annual 'World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation' to be
observed on 1 September. It is hoped that this initiative will increase
awareness among all people of the need to be good stewards of creation and,
thereby, promote a true human ecology".

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 6 November 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., secretary of the
Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith;
 - Archbishop Celestino Migliore, apostolic nuncio in Poland.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 6 November 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Bishop Juan Jose Omella Omella of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logrono, Spain as
archbishop of Barcelona (area 340, population 2,657,000, Catholics 2,116,479,
priests 826, permanent deacons 46, religious 3,092), Spain.
 - Bishop Jozef de Kesel of Bruges, Belgium, as archbishop of Malines-Bruxelles
(area 3,635, population 2,825,000, Catholics 1,807,000, priests 1,794,
permanent
deacons 88, religious 3,249), Belgium. He succeeds Archbishop Andre Leonard,
whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese upon reaching
the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Bishop Jozef de Kesel as military ordinary for Belgium.

___________________________________________________________

For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:
www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va

Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html

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

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