(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has written a letter of thanks and gratitude to His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevhchuk, Major Archbishop of Kiev and Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
The Archbishop, together with other members of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church have been meeting in Rome and released a statement in which they affirmed communion with the Catholic Church. They were received in audience by the Pope on Saturday.
In his letter to Archbishop Shevhchuk, Pope Francis recalls that some seventy years ago, a particular ideological and political context, as well as the existence of “ideas that were contrary to the very existence of your Church, led to the organization of a pseudo-synod in Lviv, and caused decades of suffering for the pastors and the faithful”.
“In sad memory of these events, he writes, we bow our heads in deep gratitude before those, who at the cost of suffering and even martyrdom, continued to witness the faith in the course of time and to show dedication to the Church in union with the Successor of Peter”.
At the same time, Pope Francis continues, “with eyes lit by the same faith, we look to the Lord Jesus Christ, to place in him, and not in human justice, all of our hope”.
“He is the true source of our trust in the present and in the future, as we are called to announce the Gospel also in the midst of suffering or difficulties” he says.
And the Pope goes on to express deep gratitude for the loyalty of Ukrainian Greek-Catholics and encourages them to be “tireless witnesses of that hope which makes our existence and the existence of all of our brothers and sisters more luminous”.
Pope Francis also renewed his feelings of solidarity with the pastors and faithful for all they do in these difficult times “marked by the hardships of war, to alleviate the suffering of the population and to seek the ways of peace for the beloved Ukrainian land”.
“In the Lord, he concludes, is our courage and our joy. It is to Him that I speak, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the martyrs of your Church, so that the divine consolation may illuminate your communities in Ukraine and other parts of the world”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says that the four nuns who were killed in Yemen are modern-day martyrs and victims of indifference.
During his address to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square after the Angelus prayer, the Pope prayed for the slain nuns who belonged to Mother Teresa’s “Missionaries of Charity” and who were serving in a home for the elderly which was attacked on Friday by gunmen in the city of Aden.
Expressing his closeness to the religious Order, he said the nuns “gave their blood for the Church”’ and that they were not only victims of the attackers but also of “this indifference of globalization.”
The nuns were among 16 people killed during an attack by terrorists who stormed the retirement home.
Pope Francis also praised an ecumenical project to fly refugees to Europe as “a concrete sign of commitment for peace and life.”
He described the “pilot” project as a reality that unites solidarity with security allowing the safe transfer of people who are fleeing war and violence, such as the “one hundred refugees who have already arrived in Italy and amongst whom there are minors, sick people, disabled people, war widows with children and elderly people”.
The group that arrived in Rome last month represents the first wave of the planned transfer of 1,000 particularly vulnerable refugees from camps in Lebanon, Morocco and Ethiopia.
Pope Francis said he is particularly happy the initiative is an ecumenical one that sees the support of the Community of Saint Egidio, the Federation of Italian Evangelical Churches, the Waldensian and the Methodist Churches.
Meanwhile, during his catechesis Pope Francis reflected on the parable of the prodigal son saying that God gives us the freedom to make mistakes, but he always welcomes us back to the fold with open arms.
Jesus, he said, teaches us to be merciful just as the Father is, and he warned against pride and arrogance that can derive from feelings of righteousness. That kind of attitude, he said, is evil. The Lord welcomes those who recognize their sinfulness.
The Pope concluded his catechesis saying that God loves us immeasurably and comes towards us with tenderness when we approach Him after having wandered.
“He welcomes us, Pope Francis concluded, and restores our dignity as God’s children.”
(from Vatican Radio)…