(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with the President of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, on Friday morning. A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See informs that the Pope and the President held cordial discussions on a range of topics, including the contribution of the Catholic Church to the upbuilding of Zambian society, the promotion of peaceful co-existence through a culture of dialogue and encounter, migration, climate change and the protection of the environment. The Holy Father and the President also discussed international issues, with special focus on the conflicts that affect various areas of Africa and the commitment of the country to regional peace.
Below, please find the full text of the official Communiqué, in English
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On the morning of Friday 5 February 2016, the Holy Father Francis received in audience, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the president of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
During the cordial discussions, the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Zambia were noted. The Parties focused on the contribution of the Catholic Church through her educational, social and healthcare institutions, as well as her collaboration in combating poverty and social inequality, and the promotion of peaceful social and religious co-existence through a culture of dialogue and encounter. Attention then turned to themes of common interest, including migration, climate change and the protection of the environment.
Finally, mention was made of the international situation, with special attention to the conflicts that affect various areas of Africa and the commitment of the country to the peace processes in the Region.
(from Vatican Radio)…
John the Baptist, “the greatest of the
prophets”, teaches us a fundamental rule of Christian life: humble ourselves so
that Jesus may grow. This is “God’s approach”, as opposed to “mankind’s
approach”, as the Pope pointed out during Mass at Santa Marta on Friday
morning, 5 February. In
the day’s Gospel passage, Mark writes that “the people were talking about
Jesus, because his ‘name had become known’” (6:14-29). In other words,
“everyone was talking” and they asked themselves who he really was. One person
said: “He is one of the prophets who has returned”. And another: “He is John
the Baptist, who has been raised”. The fact is that “people were intrigued” by
Jesus. Meanwhile King Herod, Mark writes, was also “fearful and perplexed”
because he was “haunted by the ghost of John”, whom he had killed. In addition,
Francis noted, “other characters appear in this Gospel passage: a wicked woman,
who was hateful and had a grudge; a girl who did not understand anything and
whose only interest was vanity”. Thus, the story of Herodias and her daughter
is “like a novel”. This
is how the evangelist frames “the end of John the Baptist, ‘the greatest man
born of woman’ as the canonization formula states”. And “this formula was not
stated by a Pope: Jesus said it!”. John truly “is the greatest man born of
woman, the greatest saint: this is how Jesus canonized him”. But
John “meets his end in prison, with his throat cut”. The Gospel passage seems
to end on a note of “resignation”. John’s “disciples heard of it, they came and
took his body, and laid it in a tomb”. This is how “the greatest man born of
woman” meets his end. “A great prophet, the last of the prophets, the only one
allowed to see the hope of Israel”. Yes, “the great John who called for
repentance: all the people followed him and asked him ‘what must we do?’”. The
Pontiff added that “even soldiers” followed him. “Everyone followed him in
order to be baptized, to ask forgiveness, to the point that the doctors of the
law went to ask him: ‘are you the one we have been waiting for?’”. John’s
answer is clear: “No, no, not me. There is another who comes after me. It is
he. I am only the voice of one crying in the wilderness”. On
this point, the Pope explained, “St Augustine makes us think hard when he says:
‘Yes, John says of himself that he is the voice, because behind him comes the
word’”. And “Christ is God’s word, the Word of God”. Truly, “John is great”,
Francis repeated. Great when he says he is not the awaited one: “this phrase is
his destiny, his life plan: ‘He, the one who comes after me, must increase; I
instead must decrease’”. This is precisely “what John’s life was like:
decreasing, decreasing, decreasing and ending in such a prosaic fashion, in
anonymity”. Thus, John was “a great man who sought not his own glory but
God’s”. It
doesn’t end there. The Pontiff then remarked that John “suffered in prison —
let’s say the word — the inner torture of doubt”. He ends up asking himself:
“Might I have made a mistake? This messiah is not how I imagined the Messiah
would be!”. Thus, “he sent his disciples to ask Jesus: ‘Tell the truth, are you
he who is to come’”. Obviously,
“that doubt made him suffer” and he asked himself: “Was I wrong to proclaim one
who isn’t he? Have I deceived people?”. Thus, he had “great suffering and inner
loneliness”. His words return in all their strength: “I instead must decrease,
but decrease in this way: in spirit, in body, in all”. To John’s doubt, “Jesus
responded: ‘Watch what happens’. He is confident, he doesn’t say, ‘I am he’. He
says: ‘Go and tell John what you have seen’. He also gives signs, and leaves
him alone with his doubt, to interpret the signs”. Thus,
Francis affirmed, “this is the great prophet”. However, also regarding John,
“there is a final thing that gives us something to think about: with this
attitude of ‘decreasing’ so that Christ may ‘increase’, he prepared the way for
Jesus. Jesus died in anguish, alone, without the disciples”. John’s “great
glory”, therefore, is being “a prophet not only with words, but also with his
flesh: with his life he prepared the way for Jesus. He is a great man!”. In
conclusion, indicating that “it will do us good”, the Pope suggested “reading
this passage of the Gospel of Mark today, the sixth chapter”. Yes, he said
again, “read that passage” in order “to see how God overcomes: God’s approach
is not mankind’s approach”. In the light of this Gospel passage, let us “ask
the Lord for the grace of John’s humility, and not to attribute to ourselves
the merits or glories of others”. And ask “especially for the grace that in our
life there may always be room for Jesus to grow as we become more lowly, to the
very end”….
(Vatican Radio) It was announced on Friday that Pope Francis will hold a meeting with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Cuba on February 12th. It marks the first ever such meeting between a Roman Pontiff and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Please find below the Joint Press Release of the Holy See and of the Patriarchate of Moscow:
The Holy See and the patriarchate of Moscow are pleased to announce that, by the grace of God, His Holiness Pope Francis and His Holiness Patriarch Kirilll of Moscow and All Russia will meet on February 12th next. heir meeting will take place in Cuba, where the Pope will make a stop on his way to Mexico, and where the Patriarch will be on an official visit. It will include a personal conversation at Havana’s Jose Marti International Airport, and will conclude with the signing of a joint declaration.
This meeting of the Primates of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, after a long preparation, will be the first in history and will mark an important stage in relations between the two Churches. The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will. They invite all Christians to pray fervently for God to bless this meeting, that it may bear good fruits.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) God’s ‘style’ is not man’s ‘style,’ because God triumphs through humility. That was Pope Francis’ message in his homily during daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
God’s style can be seen in the death of the greatest of the prophets, St John the Baptist. This “just and holy man,” the “greatest man,” the man who had prepared the people for the coming of the Messiah, was beheaded in the darkness of his cell, alone, condemned by the vindictive hatred of a queen and the cowardice of a submissive king.
The ultimate prophet
And yet that is how “God triumphs,” the Pope said, commenting on the day’s Gospel which relates the circumstances of John’s death:
“John the Baptist, ‘the greatest man born of a woman’ – so says the formula for the canonization of John. But this formula was used not of a Pope, or even of Jesus. That man is the greatest man born of a woman: The greatest saint: Thus Jesus canonized him. And he ended his life in jail, beheaded, and the final phrase [of the Gospel reading] seems almost one of resignation: ‘When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.’ This is the end of ‘the greatest man born of a woman.’ A great prophet. The ultimate, the last of prophets. The only one to whom it was granted to see the hope of Israel.”
The suffering of the greatest
Pope Francis took his congregation beyond the text of the Gospel, inviting them to enter into John’s cell, to look into the soul of the voice crying out in the desert, of the one who baptized the crowds in the name of Him who was to come, the one who was now weighed down not only by the iron chains that bound him in his prison, but by the shackles of some doubt, despite everything:
“But he also suffered in prison – let us say the word – the interior torture of doubt: ‘But maybe I made a mistake? This Messiah is not how I imagined the Messiah would be.’ And he invited his disciples to ask Jesus: ‘But tell us, tell us the truth: are you He who is to come?’ because that doubt made him suffer. ‘Was I mistaken in proclaiming someone who isn’t [who I thought]?’ The suffering, the interior solitude of this man. ‘I, on the other hand, must diminish, but diminish thus: in soul, in body, in everything…”
Humble to the very end
“To diminish, diminish, diminish.” That “was the life of John,” Pope Francis repeated. “A great man who did not seek his own glory, but the glory of God”; a man who died in such a prosaic manner, in anonymity. But with this attitude, the Pope concluded, John “prepared the way for Jesus,’ who, in a similar manner, “died in agony, alone, without the disciples’:
“It does us good to read this passage from the Gospel, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6. Reading this passage, seeing how God triumphs: the style of God is not the style of man. Asking the Lord for the grace of humility that John had, and not leaning on our own merits or the glory of others. And above all, the grace that in our life that might always be a place that Christ might grow greater, and we might come down, even to the very end.”
(from Vatican Radio)…