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 Angelus: the mission of the Christian community is to evangelise the poor
 Vatican City, 25 January 2016 (VIS) - The evangelising activity of Jesus was
the theme of Pope Francis' reflection in this Sunday's Angelus. The Holy Father
explained to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square for the Marian prayer
that Christ was very different to the teachers of his time because, among other
things, He did not open a school for the study of the Law, but instead "went
about everywhere to preach and teach: in the synagogues, in the streets, in the
houses. Jesus also differs from John the Baptist, who proclaims the imminent
judgement of God, while Jesus proclaims the forgiveness of the Father".
 Francis cites the Gospel of St. Luke, who narrates the scroll of the prophet
Isaiah in the Synagogue of Nazareth, when Jesus stands to read the Holy
Scripture and recites the passage "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
He
has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor". Then, after a moment of
expectant silence, He says, to general amazement: "Today this Scripture passage
is fulfilled in your hearing".
 "To evangelise the poor: this is the mission of Jesus, according to what He
Himself says", affirmed the Pope. "This is also the mission of the Church, and
of every person baptised in the Church. To be Christian and to be a missionary
is the same thing. To proclaim the Gospel, with words, and, even before that,
with one's life, is the principle end of the Christian community and of each of
its members. It is known that Jesus addresses the Good News to everyone,
without
excluding anyone; and yet, He privileges those who are furthest away, the
suffering, the sick, those discarded by society. But let us ask ourselves a
question. What does it mean to evangelise the poor? It means above all being
close to them, having the joy of serving them, freeing them from oppression,
and
all this in the name of and with the Spirit of Christ, because He is the Gospel
of God, He is the Mercy of God, He is the liberation of God. It is He Who was
made poor in order to enrich us with His poverty. ... The messianic
proclamation
of the Kingdom of God that has come amongst us is addressed in a preferential
way to the marginalised, to prisoners, to the oppressed."
 "Probably in the time of Jesus these people were not at the centre of the
community of faith. And we can ask ourselves: today, in our parish communities,
in the associations, in the movements, are we faithful to Christ's programme?
Is
the evangelisation of the poor, bringing them the good news, our priority? This
is not about providing social assistance, much less about political activity.
It
is about the strength of the Gospel of God, Who converts hearts, heals the
wounded, and transforms human and social relationships according to the logic
of
love. Indeed, the poor are at the centre of the Gospel".
 The Pope concluded by asking that the Virgin Mary, "Mother of evangelisers",
help us to "feel strongly the hunger and thirst for the Gospel that exists in
the world, especially in the heart and the flesh of the poor" so that each one
of us and every Christian community may "bear concrete witness to the mercy
that
Christ has given to us".

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 Cardinal Puljic, Pope's special envoy to Dubrovnik
 Vatican City, 23 January 2016 (VIS) - In a letter published today, written in
Latin and dated 30 December 2015, the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Vinko
Puljic, archbishop of Vrhbosna, Croatia, as his special envoy at the events
scheduled to take place in Dubrovnik on 3 February to commemorate the
seventeenth centenary of the martyrdom of St. Blaise, patron of the diocese,
and
the 600th anniversary of the Ragusan law against the slave trade.
 The mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of Msgr. Ivan Simic,
dean of the deanery of Dubrovnik, and Rev. Slavko Grubsic, former rector of the
church of St. Blaise in Dubrovnik.

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 25 January 2016 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Neven Pelicaric, ambassador of Croatia, presenting his credential letters;
 - Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, apostolic nuncio in Romania and Moldavia;
 - Archbishop Wojciech Zaluski, apostolic nuncio in Burundi;
 - Archbishop Mario Antonio Cargnello of Salta, Argentina;
 - Budiarman Bahar, ambassador of Indonesia, on his farewell visit;
 - Cardinal Giuseppe Betori, archbishop of Florence, Italy.
 On Saturday 23 January, the Holy Father received in audience:
 - Matthew S. Lee, ambassador of the Republic of China, presenting his
credential letters;
 - His Beatitude Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of Antioch of the
Maronites, Lebanon;
 - Prefect Francesco Paolo Tronca, Commissioner of the Municipality of Rome;
 - Cardinal Ruben Salazar Gomez, archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, with
Archbishop
Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunja, president of the Episcopal Conference of
Colombia; Archbishop Oscar Urbina Ortega of Villavicencio, deputy president;
Bishop Jose Daniel Falla Robles, auxiliary of Cali, general secretary.
 Bishop Roberto Rodríguez, emeritus of La Rioja, Argentina.
 In the afternoon of Friday 22 January, the Holy Father received in audience
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 25 January 2016 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - erected the diocese of San Francisco de Asis de Jutiapa (area 3219,
population 458,321, Catholics 389,573, priests 24, religious 82), Guatemala,
with territory taken from the diocese of Jalapa, making it a suffragan of the
archdiocese of Santiago de Guatemala.
 - appointed Fr. Antonio Calderon Cruz as bishop of the new diocese of San
Francisco de Asis de Jutiapa, Guatemala. The bishop-elect was born in Guatemala
City, Guatemala in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1986. He has served in a
number of pastoral roles, including administrator, head of diocesan youth
pastoral ministry, formator in the "Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion" national
major seminary, parish priest, episcopal vicar for pastoral ministry, and
diocesan administrator. He is currently parish priest in the diocese of San
Marcos.
 On Saturday 23 January the Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Miroslaw Milewski
as
auxiliary of Plock (area 11,000, population 3,779,000, Catholics 69,900,
priests
106, permanent deacons 34, religious 89), Poland. The bishop-elect was born in
Ciechanow, Poland in 1971 and was ordained a priest in 1997. He holds a
doctorate from the Catholic University of Lublino, Poland, and has served in a
number of pastoral and academic roles, including deputy priest, prefect of
discipline in the major seminary of Plock, and adjunct professor of Social
Doctrine of the Church at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University of Warsaw.
He
is currently vicar general and chancellor of the Curia, lecturer at the major
seminary of Plock, and member of the College of Consultors, the presbyteral
council and the pastoral council. In 2012 he was named Chaplain of His
Holiness.

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