(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received representatives from the various Catholic aid agencies and charitable organizations under the leadership of the Pontifical Council Cor unum working in Iraq, Syria, and other countries in the region affected by the ongoing conflicts in both Syria and Iraq.
The Pontifical Council Cor unum is the Pope’s special instrument for carrying out humanitarian initiatives, promoting integral human development, coordinatinge the initiatives of Catholic Organizations, and encouraging the faithful to give concrete witness to the Gospel through charitable activity.
Below, please find Pope Francis’ prepared remarks, in their official English translation
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I thank you for your participation during this moment of common reflection on the Church’s work in the context of the Syrian and Iraqi crisis. I greet all of you, Bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful. In particular, I wish to greet Mr Staffan de Mistura, Special Envoy to Syria of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, whom I thank for his presence. I express my grateful appreciation to Monsignor Dal Toso and the Pontifical Council Cor Unum for the attentive and effective support for what the Church is doing to alleviate the suffering of the millions of victims of these conflicts. In this respect, I would like to stress the importance of renewed cooperation at all levels between the different actors working in this sector.
We must note with great sadness that since our last meeting a year ago, despite extensive efforts made in a variety of areas, the logic of arms and oppression, hidden interests and violence continues to wreak devastation on these countries and that, even now, we have not been able to put an end to the exasperating suffering and repeated violations of human rights. The dramatic consequences of the crisis are already visible well beyond the borders of the region. This is seen in the grave phenomenon of migration.
Violence begets violence, and we have the impression of being caught up in a spiral of arrogance and inertia from which there is no escape. This evil which grips our will and conscience should challenge us. Why, even at the cost of untold damage to persons, property and the environment, does man continue to pursue abuses of power, revenge and violence? We think of the recent attack on a United Nations humanitarian convoy… This is the experience of the mysterium iniquitatis, that evil which is present in man and in history and which needs to be redeemed. Destruction for destruction’s sake. And so, during this Year, in which we fix our gaze more intensely on Christ, on Mercy incarnate who has conquered sin and death, I am reminded of the words of Saint John Paul II: “The limit imposed upon evil, of which man is both perpetrator and victim, is ultimately the Divine Mercy” (Memory and Identity). It is the only limit. Yes, the answer to the drama of evil lies in the mystery of Christ.
Seeing the many suffering faces in Syria, in Iraq and in the neighbouring and distant countries where millions of refugees are forced to seek shelter and protection, the Church beholds the face of her Lord in his Passion.
The work of all who like you, represent so many workers in the field, who are committed to helping refugees and to safeguarding their dignity, is certainly a reflection of God’s mercy and, as such, a sign that evil has limits and does not have the last word. This is a sign of great hope, for which I wish to thank you, and also the many unnamed people – though not nameless to God – who, especially in this Jubilee Year, are praying and interceding in silence for the victims of conflicts, particularly for children and the weak, and who in this way are also supporting your work. In Aleppo, children have to drink polluted water!
Beyond the necessary humanitarian aid, what our brothers and sisters in Syria and Iraq want more than anything else today is peace. And so I will never tire of asking the international community for greater and renewed efforts to achieve peace throughout the Middle East, and of asking not to look the other way.
Putting an end to the conflict is also in the hands of men and women: each of us can and must become a peacemaker, because every situation of violence and injustice is a wound to the body of the whole human family.
This request is my daily prayer to God, to inspire the minds and hearts of all who have political responsibility, that they may be able to renounce their own interests in order to achieve the greater good: peace.
In this regard, our meeting gives me the opportunity to thank and encourage international organizations, in particular the United Nations, for their work of support and mediation among various governments, so that there can be agreement which ends conflict and finally gives priority to the good of defenceless populations. It is a path we must travel together with patience and perseverance, but also with urgency, and the Church will certainly continue to make her contribution.
Finally, my thoughts turn to the Christian communities of the Middle East who suffer the consequences of violence and look to the future with fear. In the midst of so much darkness, these Churches hold high the lamp of faith, hope and charity. As they courageously and without discrimination assist all who suffer and work for a peaceful coexistence, Christians in the Middle East today are a clear sign of God’s mercy. They have the admiration, recognition and support of the universal Church.
I entrust these communities and those who work at the service of victims of this crisis to the intercession of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, exemplar of charity and mercy.
May the Lord bless you and our Blessed Mother keep you.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sets off on a three-day Apostolic Journey to Georgia and Azerbaijan on Friday, as a continuation of the pastoral visit he began to the Caucuses region with his trip to Armenia last June.
Ecumenical challenges will be at the heart of his encounters in Georgia, alongside the task of encouraging the small Catholic community in the predominantly Orthodox nation.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report from Tbilisi:
When Pope John Paul II visited this former Soviet nation, it was only the second time he had travelled to a majority Orthodox country. Just a decade on from the fall of the Berlin wall, he was pursuing his vision of reconciliation between the East and Western Churches so that Europe could, as he put it, breathe with both lungs again.
His trip to Romania earlier in the year had been hailed as a step in that direction, as he and Patriarch Teoctist made history by attending liturgies in Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Not so in Georgia though, where it was President Eduard Shevardnadze, the former Soviet foreign minister, who had to persuade Patriarch Elia to invite the pope, while Orthodox leaders warned worshippers to stay away from a papal Mass at the sports stadium in Tbilisi.
So what can Pope Francis expect and what progress has been made on the ecumenical scene in this country where Catholics, of 3 different rites, make up less than 2 percent of the population?
At one level relations remain difficult, as Georgia’s ambassador to the Holy See told me frankly ahead of the papal visit. The Orthodox Church here did not take part in the pan-Orthodox Council last June, did not approve of the document signed by the international dialogue commission in Chieti last week and does not take part in other ecumenical bodies like the World Council of Churches.
Two days before the pope’s arrival, the English speaking ‘Georgia Today’ paper ran a ‘Focus on Church wars’, detailing protests by a handful of ultra-nationalist agitators and arch-conservative priests.
But at a deeper level, the patient dialogue has produced results, with the same Patriarch Elia this time sending official representatives to the papal Mass at the sports stadium on Saturday morning.
Over the past two decades the local Caritas, the Camilian fathers, Salesian sisters and others have built trust and respect through their hospitals and schools, drop-in centres and soup kitchens for the poorest people living in the run down suburbs and rural areas. More recently they’ve also been providing support for refugees fleeing from the conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
While the Orthodox Church is recognised in the Constitution as playing a special part in the country’s history, Catholics have been quietly working wherever they can at parish level to provide spiritual and practical support to all people in need.
The Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Church, Mgr Giuseppe Pasotto puts its neatly when he says “we are free to be who we are, with nothing to defend and everything to give”.
So there are no Vatican flags or papal posters plastered on the walls here – only photos of the candidates in next week’s parliamentary elections. Don’t expect any ecumenical breakthrough or even the kind of warm embraces that we saw the pope receiving from other Orthodox leaders in Assisi recently.
But what the pope will do is to strengthen the small but vibrant Catholic Church here. He’ll bring a much needed message of peace to the still volatile region. And I wouldn’t mind betting that he will somehow find ways of furthering that vision of reconciliation begun by Pope John Paul 17 years ago.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The theme for the Church’s 2017 World Day for Social Communications was published on Thursday. The theme or motto chosen for this event is: “Fear not, for I am with you” (Is 43.5). Communicating hope and trust in our time.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday invited the people of Mexico to sing the ‘Guadalupana,’ a traditional hymn to Our Lady of Guadalupe, for the suffering of the nation’s people.
The Holy Father’s remarks came during his greetings to Spanish-speaking pilgrims at the weekly General Audience .
“Pray for all those who suffer for any reason or who feel abandoned, so that looking at the Crucified, they are able to discover and feel the comfort and forgiveness of Christ, the Face of the Father’s Mercy,” Pope Francis said.
The murder of three priests has made headlines in Mexico, and Pope Francis sent a telegram strongly condemning the “brutal attacks.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis lit a symbolic torch at his Wednesday General Audience for the ‘Week of the Family‘ event to be held by the Diocese of Rome on 2-8 October.
The Holy Father said the flame was a ‘symbol of the love of Roman families and those of the whole world’.
The ‘Week of the Family’ seeks to highlight the centrality of the family in Rome and to rediscover its beauty.
(from Vatican Radio)…