(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned against conflicts within the Christian community and said priests who struggle to be merciful should not be hearing confessions. He also reiterated his condemnation of those who produce lethal arms to be used in wars and said Christians must forgive and show mercy in all that they do. The Pope’s remarks came during his homily at Mass on Thursday (10th September) celebrated at the Santa Marta residence.
Mercy, peace and reconciliation as an antidote to war and hatred were the key themes focused on by Pope Francis during his homily. He asked whether we are always able to accept the gift of peace that we receive via Jesus and lamented the many wars, destruction, hatred and enmity that we see and read about every day on TV and in the newspapers.
“There are also many men and women who work hard — really hard – in order to manufacture lethal weapons, arms that eventually become bathed in the blood of so many innocent people, so many of them. There are wars (being waged)! There are these wars and there is also that wickedness of preparing for war, of making weapons (to be used) against other people in order to kill! Peace saves us, peace makes you live, it makes you grow: war annihilates you, it drags you down.”
A person who can’t forgive is not a Christian
Pope Francis went on to warn that wars can take other forms, saying they exist “within our Christian communities, between us.” He said the key word in today’s liturgy talks about forgiveness and we need to make peace among ourselves.
“If you can’t forgive, you are not a Christian. You may be a good man, a good woman…. but you are not doing what our Lord did. What’s more, if you can’t forgive, you cannot receive the peace of the Lord. And every day when we pray the ‘Our Father:’ Forgive us as we have forgiven those……It’s a condition. We are trying to ‘convince’ God that we’re good, that we’re good by forgiving: in reverse. (It’s just) words, right? As that beautiful song went: ‘Words, words, words,’ wasn’t it? I think it was (the Italian singer) Mina who sung it. Words! Forgive one another! Just as the Lord has forgiven us, you do likewise.”
The Pope paid tribute to the many heroic men and women who patiently put up with so much hardship and injustice in order to support their families, describing them as the good people. But at the same time, he warned, there are also people who speak badly about others and make war that way. He said it was important to “understand other people, not condemn them.”
Saying God is always merciful, Pope Francis stressed the need for priests to show mercy and forgiveness in the confessional box.
“If you are a priest and you can’t manage to be merciful, tell your bishop who will give you a job in administration but please don’t go into the confessional box! A priest who is not merciful does a lot of harm in the confessional box! He beats people. ‘No, Father, I am merciful but I’m a bit stressed….? It’s true…. Before going to hear confessions, go to your doctor who will give you some pills to make you less stressed! But show mercy! And also show mercy among ourselves. ‘But this person did that…. What have I done?’ ‘That person is more of a sinner than me!’ Which of us can say that, that the other person is more of a sinner than me? None of us can say this! Only our Lord knows this.”
The Pope urged all of us to show feelings of kindness, goodness and humility, saying this is the Christian style, rather than being arrogant or condemning or speaking badly about others. May the Lord, he concluded, give all of us the grace to provide support to others, to forgive and be merciful, just as our Lord is merciful with us.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) It will be a momentous moment for all South Africans on Sunday, 13 September, when Benedict Daswa is Beatified and put on the track to become the Nation’s first Saint and martyr.
Pope Francis in January authorized the signing of the proclamation for the Beatification of Daswa, a lay person from the Southern African province of Limpopo.
He was a dedicated Catholic husband, father and schoolteacher in the remote rural town of Tschitanini when he was brutally murdered in 1990 for having opposed witchcraft beliefs and practices.
Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, will represent Pope Francis during the Beatification ceremony.
The diocese of Tzaneen, which encompasses the area, opened an inquiry into Daswa’s death that ended in July 2009. It resulted in 850 pages of testimonies from people who witnessed the life and death of Daswa. This was forwarded to Cardinal Amato after they were signed by the then bishop of Tzaneen, Hugh Slattery.
Linda Bordoni spoke to the current Bishop of the Diocese of Tzaneen, Joao Noe Rodriguez, who says the Beatification ceremony is taking place in the village where Benedict Daswa came from.
Listen to the interview:
Bishop Rodriguez says Benedict was born in that area and spent most of his life there and in the neighboring Nweli village where he helped build a Catholic Church and where he was Principle of the Primary School.
Rodriguez, who of course is in charge of organizing the event and has closely been following the whole process, says it is very difficult to make an exact estimate of the numbers of people who will be attending the Beatification as many will be travelling long distances from different parts of South Africa.
“On the other hand it is a big venue in terms of being able to accommodate from 20 to 30 thousand in the open-air area” and at least 20,000 are definitely expected he says.
He says it is a unique occasion: “we’ve never had anything like this before in South Africa but the word has got around (…) and people are opening their homes in welcome”.
Rodriguez explains that the main celebrant of the Beatification will be Cardinal Angelo Amato, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints who will be arriving with Monsignor Sarno.
He points out that most South African bishops will be present and will be concelebrating as well as South Africa’s Cardinal, Wilfrid Fox Napier.
Speaking of the importance of the event for the Catholic Church in South Africa Bishop Rodriguez explains that the nation is made up of a very diverse population in terms of cultures.
He says that his own diocese is part of Venda Land after the name of the Venda culture, on the Eastern side there are the Tsonga speaking people and on the South Western side the Northern Sotho people, and then of course there are many other cultures and languages in South Africa.
“In a way the Beatification is a very important event for us who are Catholics because South Africa is largely a Protestant Christian country in the sense that most Christians belong to various Protestant Churches of different kinds as well as more recent Christian movements (…) so the Catholic Church is a smaller presence. But at the same time we are very organized and we have a good network so this event will bring many Catholics together and it will really be a celebration of our Catholic faith” he says.
Rodriquez speaks about Benedict Daswa and of how important his model is explaining that he was not born into a Christian family. He says: “they became Catholics and it is a unique fact that his mother, who is still alive, will be present for the Beatification.”
All of his children will also be present “so it will be a wonderful occasion to celebrate the joy and the grace of God” he says.
Rodriguez points out that Benedict is also an intercessor “so this growing devotion will also help Catholics to understand and appreciate that someone who is recognized as a martyr and a saint in the Church is someone who is praying for them and who has the interests of our life in his heart”.
He is also a wonderful model as he was a dedicated father and the Principle of a School, and Rodriguez says “education is so precious in our region, it is still a huge challenge, and he is an important inspiration for people involved in this field”.
Rodriguez lists all those who have been invited to attend the Beatification and those include political leaders as well as leaders of other faiths as well.
He speaks of the ceremony itself which will reflect the variety of cultures present in the Limpopo region but says English will be the main language of communication.
Pointing out that Benedict Daswa comes across as a very “approachable” figure; I asked Bishop Rodriguez if he thinks Benedict is a Saint for everyone.
He says the unique aspect of his Beatification is that he was not a well-known person in the sense he did not become a well-known figure internationally for political or other reasons.
“Benedict Dasia was really an ordinary man and we are not celebrating him for national achievements, but he was a man of great faith. And that is the wonderful thing (…) he was one of us but deeply committed to Jesus Christ, deeply committed in his family life, in his work life, in his community life. A man who was serving, helping, educating: an overall inspiration of faith for anyone”.
The beatification of Benedict Daws takes place on Sunday 13 September 2015 at Benedict Daws Shrine Site in Tshitanini near Thohoyandou (17 kms north -east of the Thohoyandou Stadium) in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. For more information click here .
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 10 September 2015 (VIS) – The bishops are witnesses to the risen Christ, educators, spiritual guides and catechists, mystagogues and missionaries, Pope Francis affirmed this morning as he received in audience in the Clementine Hall the new bishops ordained during the past year. They were accompanied by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The following are extensive extracts from the Holy Father’s address.
“Bishops .. are witnesses of the Resurrected Christ. This is your primary and indispensable task. You have been entrusted the preaching of the reality that holds up the entire edifice of the Church. Jesus is risen! … We too will be resurrected with Christ. … This is not an obvious or easy proclamation. The world is so content with … what it is seemingly able to provide that appears useful to suppress the demand for what is definitive. … However, we are assailed by questions, the answers to which can only come from a definitive future. … How can we face our difficult present if our sense of belonging to the community of the Risen Christ fades? Will we be able to remember the greatness of human destiny if there abates in us the courage to subordinate our life to the love that does not die?”.
“I think of great challenges such as globalisation, which brings together those who are distant from each other yet at the same time separates those who are close; I think of the epochal phenomenon of migration that unsettles our times; I think of the natural environment, the garden God gave to us as the habitat for human beings and for other creatures, threatened by short-sighted and often predatory exploitation; I think of the dignity and future of human work, of which entire generations are deprived; I think of the desertification of relationships, a widespread abdication of responsibility … the bewilderment of many young people and the solitude of many elderly. … I do not wish to focus on this agenda of tasks to complete as I do not want to alarm you. … I wish only to offer to you the joy of the Gospel. … Remember always that it is the Gospel that protects you and therefore do not be afraid to go everywhere and to be with those whom God has entrusted to you. … No sphere of human life is excluded from the interest of the heart of the pastor. … Be on your guard against the danger of neglecting the many and singular situations of the members of your flock; do not renounce encounters with them; do not spare preaching of the living Word of the Lord; invite all to the mission”.
Bishops as educators, spiritual guides and catechists
“With those who are at home, who frequent your communities and partake of the Eucharist, I invite you to be educators, spiritual guides and catechists, able to take them by the hand and to lead them up Mount Tabor, guiding them in the knowledge of the mystery they profess. … Do not spare any efforts in accompanying them and do not let them resign themselves to staying on the plain”.
Bishops as mystagogues
“I think of baptised people who do not however respond to the demands of their Baptism. Perhaps it has long been thought that the land on which the seed of the Gospel falls is not in need of care. Some have drifted away as they are disillusioned by the promises of faith or perhaps because the path to realising them has appeared too challenging. Some instead leave, slamming the door behind them, holding our weaknesses against us or seeking, while not entirely successfully, to convince themselves that they had been deceived by hopes that were ultimately dashed. Be bishops able to intercept their path. … Do not be scandalised by their pain or their disappointments. Enlighten them with a humble flame … always able to illuminate those who are reached by its light that is, however, never blinding. Devote time to meeting them on the road to their Emmaus. Offer them words that show to them what they are still unable to see: the hidden potential of their very delusions. … More than with words, warm their hearts by humbly listening, interested in what is truly good for them, so that they open their eyes and are able to reverse course, returning to Him, from Whom they had drifted.
Bishops as missionaries
“As pastors and missionaries of God’s gratuitous salvation, seek also those who do not know Jesus or have simply refused Him. Go in their direction … without fear or unease. … It is not true that we can do without these distant brothers. It is not permissible for us to dispense with our concerns about their fate. … Seeing in us the Lord Who calls to them, perhaps they will have the courage to respond to the divine invitation. If so, our communities will be enriched by what they have to share and our Pastors’ hearts will rejoice to repeat once more, “Today salvation has come to this house”….
Vatican City, 10 September 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Paul VI Hall the Pope received in audience the participants in the International Meeting of the Equipes Notre Dame (Teams of Our Lady, END), held in Rome on the theme, “Here I am Lord, send me”. The Equipes are a lay movement focusing on married spirituality, established in response to the needs of couples to live fully the sacrament of marriage, using its own method and exploring the complex reality of married couples today. The END were founded in France in 1938 upon the initiative of a number of couples and the priest Fr. Henri Caffarel, whose cause for beatification has been received in Rome.
Recalling the upcoming Synod on the family, Francis invited the members of the END to pray for the Synod Fathers and for what they must reflect upon in the assembly on the “vital cell of our societies … in the difficult current cultural context”, and devoted his discourse primarily to the missionary role of the Equipes Notre Dame.
“Christian couples and families are often in the best position to announce Jesus Christ to other families, to support them, to strengthen and encourage them. What you live in the couple and the family – accompanied by the charism typical of your movement – this profound and unique joy that the Lord enables you to experience in the intimacy of domestic life, between joy and suffering, you must bear witness to … so that others, in turn, take the same path”.
The Pope encouraged all the couples to live deeply the “concrete aspects of commitment” of the movement, such as prayer in couples and in the family, a “beautiful and necessary tradition that has always supported the faith and hope of Christians, and unfortunately abandoned in many regions of the world”. He also emphasised the importance of monthly dialogue between spouses, “that well-known and challenging ‘need to sit down’ that is counter to the habits of our frenetic and agitated world riven with individualism”. Finally, participation in the life of a team brings “the wealth of teaching and sharing, as well as the help and comfort of friendship”. In this respect Francis underlined the mutual fruitfulness of meeting with the accompanying priests, and thanked the couples of the END for the support and encouragement in the ministry of their priests “who always find, in contact with your Equipes and your families, priestly joy, fraternal presence, emotional balance and spiritual paternity”.
The missionary task of the movement is of supreme importance and the Holy Father indicated various fields of action, such as accompanying young couples and forming them in faith before and after marriage, or closeness to wounded families, “of whom there are so many these days, due to unemployment, … health problems, bereavement … the imbalance caused by distance or absence, or a climate of violence. We must have the courage to enter into contact with these families, in a discreet but generous way, materially, humanly and spiritually, in those circumstances in which they are vulnerable”.
Finally, the Pope encouraged couples to “be instruments of the mercy of Christ and the Church towards those whose marriage has failed. Never forget that your conjugal fidelity is a gift from God, and that mercy has been shown to every one of us. A united and happy couple can understand better than any other, from within, the harm and the suffering caused by abandonment, betrayal, and a lack of love. It is necessary, therefore, that you bring your witness and your experience to help Christian communities to discern the real situations in which these people find themselves, to welcome them with their wounds, and to help them to journey in faith and in truth, under the gaze of Christ the Good Shepherd, to take part in the life of the Church in an appropriate way. Nor must you forget the unspeakable suffering of the children who experience these painful family situations….
(Vatican Radio) During his Sunday Angelus last weekend Pope Francis called on parishes and religious communities to take in one migrant family who has fled war and hunger in their own country. He said that welcoming refugee families would be part of the build-up to the upcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will begin this December. Since then Catholics around Europe have been heeding that call. The Jesuit Refugee Service has been contacted by thousands of people eager to host refugees in their homes, provide clothing or offer other help to those in need. JRS France has seen an upsurge in interest from those who want to help. It already runs a project called the “Welcome to France programme” which matches host families with asylum seekers needing short term accommodation. Speaking to Lydia O’Kane, Michel Croc of JRS France says that what he has heard is that “Bishops are organising to transmit this call from the Pope to their parishes and they are building relationships with the cities too.” He goes on to say that with the project they run, those who they welcome “is a friend for us, he is a human being…” Listen
In more than 15 cities in France, JRS matches an asylum seeker to a family or religious community that can host the asylum seeker for up to one month. The guest also rotates to other homes until space is available in a government centre for asylum seekers. Many of those who come to France have fled from countries in the Middle East and Africa. But in Paris many of the asylum seekers that are being assisted are from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, as more and more people over to help, JRS Europe says it’s stepping up its operations. (from Vatican Radio)…