Click to download Bulletin for 1/10/16
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the members of the Corps of Diplomats accredited to the Holy See on Monday morning on the occasion of his traditional exchange of New Year’s greetings with the ambassadors. The US Ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth Hackett, visited the studios of Vatican Radio to share his impressions of and first reflections on the Holy Father’s remarks, which this year focused strongly on the issue of migration – a critical global issue that is the cause of and occasion for serious political and social tension in many countries around the world.
Ambassador Hackett said Pope Francis challenged the diplomats as a pastor, rather than as a political leader. “Everything is obviously grounded in the Gospel message – and it is that, which is the touchstone, or the jumping-off point for any kind of issue: be it care of the earth, be it migration, be it poverty, sustainable development – it’s all there, with the Gospel as a ‘platform’ from which to move.”
Asked what, if anything, he thinks people at home in the US might find particularly challenging in the address, Ambassador Hackett said, “Once again – as he has done [often in the past] – [Pope Francis] talked about exclusion – last year he went into great depth about the ‘throw-away’ society, and how we treat certain people – the aged, the sickly, the mentally ill, migrants, [as though they don’t ‘matter’] – this year he didn’t go into [the same] depth there, but he did talk about people being pushed aside, and [about] poverty and exclusion.”
Ambassador Hackett went on to say, “[H]e is preaching all the time: he is not giving a ‘State of the Union’ per se , he is preaching still, even though he covers conflicts in parts of Africa and Syria, and [all throughout] the Middle East and elsewhere, he is still preaching.”
Click below to hear Ambassador Kenneth Hackett’s extended conversation with Chris Altieri
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Combatting terrorism, promoting peaceful co-existence among peoples and nations and above all responding to the migration crises in Europe and beyond: these themes were at the heart of Pope Francis’ words to the Holy See’s diplomatic corps, gathered in the Vatican on Monday for their annual encounter.
In the speech, often dubbed the Pope’s ‘state of the world’ address, the Holy Father spoke of worrying tensions which continue to plague the Gulf and Middle East regions, as well as the Korean peninsula. In this Jubilee year of Mercy, inaugurated in the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui, the Pope urged the diplomats to help promote a new culture of dialogue, justice and peace.
English Archbishop Paul Gallagher is the Holy See’s foreign minister, or Secretary for Relations with States. Following the encounter, he sat down with Philippa Hitchen to discuss some of the central themes of the Pope’s message to the diplomatic corps…
Listen:
Commenting on the overall tone of the address, Archbishop Gallagher says the Pope wanted to reinforce the fact that the Holy See is aware of the challenges being faced by the international community, including the ongoing battle against terrorism and the refugee crisis. Pope Francis, he says, wants to encourage the international community to face up to these challenges and to seek solutions “for the good of humanity.”
Concerning the Pope’s denouncement of recent “brutal” terrorist attacks, and his call for dialogue with the Muslim world, Archbishop Gallagher said Pope Francis wants to highlight the complexity of the problem, and to emphasise that as well as dialogue between the West and the Muslim world, it is essential that there be dialogue amongst Muslims themselves, so that “the true voice of Islam may be heard in the world.”
Integration is difficult, he said, and it has not always been done well in Europe. In order to face this challenge, he stressed, the European community must look for common solutions. The Pope, he added, recognizes the complexity of the problems, but there is a danger of reducing it simply to a problem, and not seeing beyond it to the lives of people involved.
Asked how countries that have been slow to take up responsibility in the refugee crisis might respond to Pope Francis’ address, Archbishop Gallagher said “We have to be careful that fear doesn’t enter into our hearts,” but he also noted the migrants and refugees have a responsibility to integrate themselves into the societies in which they find themselves. It is a two-way process, he insisted, and as such the decision to simply close borders is “to some extent, kicking the can down the road.”
Asked about the forthcoming Apostolic visit to Mexico, Archbishop Gallagher said the Pope will return to the theme of migration during his visit since he is aware of the “terrible dangers which migrants consistently expose themselves to.”
Finally, commenting on the focus of the Holy See’s diplomacy over the coming months, Archbishop Gallagher said his office will continue to work on the whole question of the Middle East, the conflict in Syria and the neighbouring refugee problems in Jordan and Lebanon. He said he hoped that progress will also be made on resolving the conflict in Ukraine which is “bringing about a serious humanitarian crisis in that country this winter”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated on Sunday 17 th January 2016. Pope Francis’ message to mark the day was released in October 2015. Based on the theme, “Migrants and Refugees Challenge Us. The Response of the Gospel of Mercy”, the Holy Father recalls what he said in the Bull of indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Misericordiae Vultus ; that is, “at times we are called to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives.”
He points out that migration continue to grow worldwide as more and more refugees are fleeing from their homes. Although this can challenge traditional ways of life, Pope Francis urges people not to take the suffering of others for granted.
“Today, more than in the past,” he says, “the Gospel of mercy troubles our consciences.” He added that migration movements are now a structural reality, and the priority at this time must be to provide programmes which address the causes of migration and the changes it entails, including its effect on the makeup of societies and peoples.
In a desperate plea for justice, Pope Francis reminds us that migrants are our brothers and sisters in search of a better life, one in which poverty, hunger and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources is overcome.
Concerning some of the challenges that migrants and refugees face, he said that they must change some of their most distinctive characteristics and, whether they like it or not, those who welcome them are forced to change too. This challenge to the societies who welcome them must be overcome in order to prevent the danger of discrimination or extreme nationalism.
Referring to the Bible, the Holy Father reminds us that in welcoming the stranger we welcome God, and that in the faces of others we see the face of Christ. As such, he stresses that the Church cannot fail to be inspired to action and to the realisation that the response to the Gospel is mercy.
Pope Francis concludes by imparting on all migrants and refugees an Apostolic blessing, and by pleading with them, that they do not allow themselves to be robbed of the hope and joy of life born of an experience of God’s mercy, as manifested in the people they meet on their journey.
Click here to read the Pope’s Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.
(from Vatican Radio)…
In his speech to the diplomatic corps
accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis dedicated the most significant
passages to “the grave crisis of migration which we
are facing”. The diplomats had gathered in the Regia Hall on Monday morning, 11
January, for the traditional audience at the beginning of the year. The choice
was motivated by the Pope’s wish to help discern the causes of the crisis and “consider possible solutions”,
in order to defeat “the inevitable fears associated with this massive and
formidable phenomenon”. As
customary, the meeting offered the Pontiff the opportunity for a broad
international overview. It was preceded by a
meaningful report on the results of the Holy See’s diplomatic efforts in
2015, a year in which the number of ambassadors residing in Rome increased and
in which important international agreements were reached. The work found new
motivations and perspectives in the “common thread”
of mercy indicated by Pope Francis to the Church and to the world with the
induction of the extraordinary Jubilee. The Pontiff reaffirmed the need to “to
set out anew and resume dialogue” and to reject every attempt to use religion as
reason to “kill in the name of God”, as has happened in the recent terrorist
attacks in in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Turning
to current global complexities laden with “challenges” and “more than a few tensions”, the Pope focused attention on the
migratory phenomenon in which, he observed, the consequences of the great
humanitarian tragedies afflicting the planet have become concentrated: wars,
violations of human rights, religious-based persecution, extreme poverty,
malnutrition, climate change. All are tragic situations that fuel events of
genuine mass exodus, forcing millions of men, women and children to flee their
lands in order to escape violence and “unspeakable acts of cruelty towards
vulnerable persons”. “Many of the causes of migration” — Francis realistically
observed — “could have been addressed some time ago”. Yet today too, there is much that “could be done to end these tragedies and to build peace”.
However, this can be accomplished only if we have the courage to call into
question “entrenched habits and practices”, starting with “the arms trade, the
provision of raw materials and energy, investment, policies of financing and
sustainable development”. According to the Pontiff there is a need for “for
mid-term and long-term planning which is not limited to emergency responses”,
and which has the twofold intent to provide “effective assistance for
integrating migrants in their receiving countries” and to promote “the
development of their countries of origin through policies inspired by
solidarity”. While the massive number of arrivals in Europe seem to be
overburdening the system of reception, Francis encouraged the Old Continent not
to lose “the values and principles of humanity”, while safeguarding the right
balance between the “moral responsibility to protect the rights of its
citizens” and the need to “ensure assistance and acceptance to migrants”. They
in turn have “the responsibility to respect the values, traditions and laws of
the community which takes them in”. The Pope expressed particular gratitude to
those countries, Italy among them, who have demonstrated generosity to
refugees: “It is important”, he stated, “that nations in the forefront of
meeting the present emergency not be left alone”….