Vatican City, 20 February 2015 (VIS) – Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations in New York addressed the 53rd Session of the Commission for Social Development on 10 February. He highlighted the Holy See’s concerns regarding economic growth which has led to new challenges, but has not benefited everyone in…
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Vatican City, 20 February 2015 (VIS) – Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations in New York addressed the 53rd Session of the Commission for Social Development on 10 February. He highlighted the Holy See’s concerns regarding economic growth which has led to new challenges, but has not benefited everyone in society equally. Significant inequalities remain and many of the most vulnerable groups in society have been left behind. Without addressing these inequalities, especially as we transition into the post 2015 development agenda, we risk undermining the impact of economic growth on poverty and on the well-being of society as a whole. “To be sustainable and beneficial for all, social development must be ethical, moral and person-centred”, he said. “We must be attentive to those indicators that give a complete picture of the well-being of every individual in society while promoting policies that encourage a truly integral approach to the development of the human person as a whole”. He continued, “It is not enough to have gainful employment. Work must also be dignified and secure. Investments in education, access to basic health-care services, and the creation of social safety nets are primary, not secondary factors to improving a person’s quality of life, and ensuring the equitable distribution of wealth and resources in society. By placing the human person at the centre of development and encouraging investments and policies that meet real needs, the progress made towards eradicating poverty remains permanent and society more resilient in the face of potential crises”. The archbishop reiterated that the market economy does not exist to serve itself, but rather to serve the common good of all of society, and therefore particular attention must be given to the welfare of the most vulnerable. He added that “the authentic integral development of the person and the eradication of poverty are achievable only by focusing on the tremendous value of the family to society”, and by adopting a strategic approach towards the eradication of poverty, “based on true social justice in order to help reduce the suffering of millions of our brothers and sisters. … Social development policies must address not only the economic and political needs, but also the spiritual and ethical dimension of each human person”….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the Bishops of Ukraine, who are in Rome for their ad limina visit. The Bishops were led by Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; and Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins.
In keeping with recent custom, the Holy Father’s prepared remarks were delivered to Bishops at the beginning of the audience, giving Pope Francis the opportunity to speak personally with the assembled prelates.
In his prepared remarks, Pope Francis spoke about the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, assuring the Bishops of his continued closeness and prayers for the people of Ukraine. The Holy Father said he prayed especially for peace, and called on all parties in the conflict to “apply the agreements reached by mutual accord” and “to be respectful to the principle of international legality.”
The Pope emphasized that the Bishops are “full citizens” with the right to express their opinions on the future of the country – not, he said, in the sense of promoting a concrete political agenda, but by proposing common values and working for “harmony and the common good.” He assured the Bishops “the Holy See is at your side, even in international forums, to ensure your rights, your concerns, and the just evangelical values that animate you are understood.”
The ongoing crisis in the country, Pope Francis said, also has grave repercussions for families. But families are also affected by the “misguided sense of economic liberty” that enriches the few at the expense of the great majority of the population. This, he said, “has generated an unjust poverty in a generous and rich land.” The Pope encouraged the Bishops to renew their “pastoral zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel in Ukrainian society,” and “to support one another with effective collaboration.”
Finally, the Holy Father offered his reflections on the relationship between the members of the episcopate in the country. The presence of both the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Latin Church present in Ukraine has, at times, affected relations between the Bishops. “The fact that both episcopates are Catholic and are Ukrainian is indisputable, even in the diversity of rites and traditions,” the Pope said. “It is painful for me personally to hear that there are misunderstandings and injuries. There is need of a doctor — and this is Jesus Christ, whom you both serve with generosity and with your whole hearts.” Both Greek-Catholics and Latins, he said, are sons of the Catholic Church. He encouraged the Bishops to unite their forces and support one another in their common mission.
Finally, commending them to the intercession of the martyrs and saints of Ukraine, and to the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin, Pope Francis bestowed upon the Bishops, their communities, and upon all the people of Ukraine, a “special” Apostolic Blessing.
Belowed, please find the complete English translation of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks:
Your Beatitude,
Archbishop,
Dear Brother Bishops,
I welcome you into this house which is also your house. And you know this well, because the Successor of Peter has always welcomed with fraternal friendship the brothers from Ukraine, a land that is rightly considered the borderland between the heirs of Vladimir and Olga, and those of Adalbert and of the great Carolingian missions, as well as those that look back to the Apostles of the Slavs, Saints Cyril and Methodius. You are welcome, my very dear friends.
I have carefully learned of the many problems you face, as well as of your pastoral programs. I entrust them to God’s Mother, and ours, that she might watch over them with tender love.
1. You find yourselves, as a country, in a situation of grave conflict, which has been going on for several months and continues to claim numerous innocent victims and to cause great suffering to the entire population. In this period, as I have assured you personally and conveyed by Cardinal envoys, I am very close to you with my prayers for the dead and for all those struck by violence, with the prayer to the Lord that He might speedily grant peace, and with the appeal to all the interested parties that they might apply the agreements reached by mutual accord and might be respectful toward the principle of international legality; in particular, that the recently signed truce might be observed and all the other commitments, which are the conditions for avoiding a resumption of hostilities.
I recognize the historical events that have marked your land and are still present in the collective memory. They deal with questions that have a partially political base, and to which you are not called to give a direct response; but they are also socio-cultural realities and human tragedies that await your direct and positive contribution.
In such circumstances, what is important is that you listen attentively to the voices that come from the territories where the people entrusted to your pastoral care live. Listening to your people, you will be attentive to the values that characterize it: encounter, collaboration, the ability to resolve controversies. In a few words: the search for possible peace. It is with charity, the divine love that springs from the heart of Christ, that you have made this ethical patrimony fruitful. I am well aware that, at the local level, you have specific arrangements and practices among you, the heirs of two legitimate spiritual traditions — the Eastern and the Latin — as well as with the other Christians present among you. As well as a duty, this is an honour that must be recognised.
2. On the national level, you are full citizens of your country, and so you have the right to express, even in the common way, your thought on its destiny — not in the sense of promoting a concrete political action, but in the indication and re-affirmation of the values that constitute the coagulating element of Ukrainian society, persevering in the tireless pursuit of harmony and of the common good, even in the face of grave and complex difficulties.
The Holy See is at your side, even in international forums, to ensure that your rights, your concerns, and the just evangelical values that animate you are understood. It is seeking, too, how to meet the pastoral necessities of those ecclesiastical structures that have found themselves facing new juridical questions.
3. The ongoing crisis in your country has, understandably, had serious repercussions in the life of families. To this is united the consequences of that misguided sense of economic liberty that has allowed the formation of a small group of people that are enormously enriched at the expense of the great majority of citizens. The presence of such a phenomenon has, unfortunately, contaminated in various ways even the public institutions. This has generated an unjust poverty in a generous and rich land.
Never tire of proposing to your fellow citizens the considerations that faith and pastoral responsibility suggest to you. The sense of justice and of truth, is moral before it is political, and this task is entrusted to your responsibility as Pastors. The more you are free ministers of the Church of Christ, so much more, even in your poverty, will you make yourselves defenders of the family, of the poor, of the unemployed, of the weak, of the sick, of the elderly pensioners, of invalids, of displaced persons.
I encourage you to renew, with the grace of God, your pastoral zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel in Ukrainian society, and to support one another with effective collaboration. May you always have the gaze of Christ, who saw the abundance of the harvest and asked to pray the Lord that He might send labourers (cf Mt 9:37-38). This signifies praying and working for vocations to priesthood and consecrated life, and at the same time attentive care for the formation of clerics, and of men and women religious, in the service of a more profound and organic understanding of the faith within the people of God.
4. I would like, too, to leave you a further reflection on the relations between you brothers in the episcopate. I recognise the complex historical events that weigh on mutual relations, as well as some aspects of a personal nature.
The fact that both episcopates are Catholic and are Ukrainian is indisputable, even in the diversity of rites and traditions. It is painful for me personally to hear that there are misunderstandings and injuries. There is need of a doctor — and this is Jesus Christ, whom you both serve with generosity and with your whole hearts. You are a single body and, as was said to you in the past by Saint John Paul II, and by Benedict XVI, I in my turn urge you to find among yourselves a manner of welcoming one another and of sustaining one another generously in your apostolic labours.
The unity of the episcopate, as well as giving good witness to the People of God, renders an inestimable service to the Nation, both on the cultural and social plane and, above all, on the spiritual plane. You are united in fundamental values and you have in come the most precious treasures: the faith and the people of God. I see, therefore, of paramount importance the joint meetings of the Bishops of all the Churches sui iuris present in Ukraine. May you always be generous in speaking among yourselves as brothers!
Both as Greek-Catholics and as Latins you are sons of the Catholic Church, which in your land too was for a long time subject to martyrdom. The blood of your witnesses, who intercede for you from heaven, is a further motive that urges you to true communion of hearts. Unite your forces and support one another, making historical events a motive of sharing and unity. Rooted in the catholic communion, you will also be able to carry forward the ecumenical commitment with faith and patience, so that unity and cooperation between all Christians may grow.
5. I am certain that your decisions, in accord with the Successor of Peter, will be adequate to meet the expectations of your People. I invite you all to govern the communities entrusted to you ensuring as far as possible your presence and your closeness to the priests and to the people.
I am hopeful that you will be able to have respectful and fruitful relations with the public Authorities.
I urge you to be attentive and considerate to the poor: they are your wealth. You are Pastors of a flock entrusted to you by Christ: may you be ever more conscious [of this], even in your internal organs of self-governance. These should be understood as instruments of communion and of prophecy. In this sense, I am hopeful that your intentions and your actions might always be oriented to the general wellbeing of the Churches entrusted to you. In this let the love of your communities guide you, in the same spirit that sustained the Apostles, of whom you are the legitimate successors.
May the memory and the intercession of so many martyrs and saints, whom the Lord Jesus has raised up among you, support you in your work. May the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin reassure you on your journey of encounter with Christ Who comes, strengthening your purposes of communion and collaboration. And, while asking you to pray for me, I affectionately impart a special Apostolic Benediction upon you, upon your Communities, and upon the dear population of Ukraine.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the Bishops of Ukraine, who are in Rome for their ad limina visit. The Bishops were led by Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; and Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins. In keeping with recent custom, the Holy Father’s prepared remarks…
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(Vatican Radio) Saying we must never use God as a cover for injustice, Pope Francis warned on Friday (February 20th) against those who follow all the outward signs of piety but then exploit or mistreat their employees. The Pope’s words came during his homily at his morning Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence.
Pope Francis used his homily to reflect on how Christians, especially during Lent, should not confine themselves to outside signs of piety like fasting and charity and instead must reach out to those in need.
He said Jesus wants from us a fasting that breaks the evil chains, frees those who are oppressed, clothes those who are naked and carries out justice. This, he explained, is a true fasting, a fasting which is not a just an outward appearance or observance but a fasting which comes from the heart.
Love of God and neighbour are one and the same
“And in the tablets of the law, there’s the law towards God and the law towards our neighbour and both of these go together. I can’t say: ‘But no, I follow the three commandments first and the others more or less.’ No, if you don’t follow one, you can’t follow the other and if you follow one you must follow the other. They are united: Love of God and love of our neighbour is one and the same thing and if you want to show genuine and not just formal penance, you must show it before God and also towards your brothers and towards your neighbour.”
Grave sin to use God as a cover for injustice
Pope Francis highlighted the example of somebody who goes to Mass every Sunday and receives communion but then asked: does that person pay his or her employees in cash under the table, maybe a salary below the going rate and without making the necessary social security contributions?
“So many men and women of faith, have faith but then divide the tablets of the laws. ‘Yes, I do this’ – ‘But do you practice charity?’ – Yes of course, I always send a cheque to the Church’ – ‘Ok, that’s good. But at your home, within your own Church, are you generous and are you fair with those who are your dependents – be they your children, your grandparents, your employees?’ You cannot make offerings to the Church on the shoulders of the injustice that you practice towards your dependents. This is a very serious sin: using God as a cover for injustice.”
At Lent make room in our hearts for those who have erred
The pope went on to explain how during Lent Christians should be reaching out to those who are less fortunate, be they children, old people without private health insurance who may have to wait eight hours to be seen by a doctor and those who have erred and who are now in prison.
“No, with those types of people I don’t (associate) ….’ He’s in prison: if you’re not in prison it’s because our Lord has helped you not to sin. Do you have room in your heart for prisoners in jail? Do you pray for them so that the Lord can help them to change their life?’ May the Lord accompany us on our Lenten journey so that our external observance becomes a profound renewal of the Spirit. That’s what we prayed for. That the Lord may give us this grace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…