(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a video message to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Tuesday during their annual fall General Assembly regarding the Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro.
The Holy Father called on his brother bishops to ‘create a culture of encounter’ and to ‘break down walls and build bridges’.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
In his video message, Pope Francis commended the upcoming ‘Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro’ taking place in the dioceses of the United States from January 2017 to September of 2018.
He said the Encuentro, or encounter, is a programme designed to ‘acknowledge and value the specific gifts that Hispanic Catholics have offered and continue to offer, to the Church’ in the US.
Pope Francis reminded US bishops that the Church in America is called to ‘go out’ and ‘build bridges’.
“Our great challenge is to create a culture of encounter, which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experiences, to break down walls and to build bridges. The Church in America, as elsewhere, is called to ‘go out’ from its comfort zone and to be a leaven of communion.”
He also said the Church must become “ever more fully a community of missionary disciples” and a “sign and prophecy of God’s plan for the entire human family”.
“We are called to be bearers of good news for a society gripped by disconcerting social, cultural and spiritual shifts, and increasing polarization. It is my hope that the Church in your country, at every level, will accompany the Encuentro with its own reflection and pastoral discernment.”
The Holy Father concluded by expressing his hope that ‘local Churches can best respond to the growing presence, gifts and potential of the Hispanic community’.
The full text of the video message can be found here .
Watch the Pope’s video message:
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video-message to the General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB):
The full text of the Pope’s message can be found below:
Video Message of His Holiness Pope Francis
To the General Assembly of the USCCB
14-17 November 2016
Dear Brother Bishops,
I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to you. Just a year ago, I was with you during my Pastoral Visit to the United States. There I was impressed by the vitality and diversity of the Catholic community. Throughout its history, the Church in your country has welcomed and integrated new waves of immigrants. In the rich variety of their languages and cultural traditions, they have shaped the changing face of the American Church.
In this context, I would commend the coming Fifth National Hispanic Pastoral Encuentro . The celebration of this Fifth Encuentro will begin in your Dioceses in this coming January and conclude with a national celebration in September 2018.
In continuity with its predecessors, the Encuentro seeks to acknowledge and value the specific gifts that Hispanic Catholics have offered, and continue to offer, to the Church in your country. But it is more than that. It is part of a greater process of renewal and missionary outreach, one to which all of your local Churches are called.
Our great challenge is to create a culture of encounter, which encourages individuals and groups to share the richness of their traditions and experiences, to break down walls and to build bridges. The Church in America, as elsewhere, is called to “go out” from its comfort zone and to be a leaven of communion. Communion among ourselves, with our fellow Christians, and with all who seek a future of hope.
We need to become ever more fully a community of missionary disciples, filled with love of the Lord Jesus and enthusiasm for the spread of the Gospel. The Christian community is meant to be a sign and prophecy of God’s plan for the entire human family. We are called to be bearers of good news for a society gripped by disconcerting social, cultural and spiritual shifts, and increasing polarization.
It is my hope that the Church in your country, at every level, will accompany the Encuentro with its own reflection and pastoral discernment. In a particular way, I ask you to consider how your local Churches can best respond to the growing presence, gifts and potential of the Hispanic community. Mindful of the contribution that the Hispanic community makes to the life of the nation, I pray that the Encuentro will bear fruit for the renewal of American society and for the Church’s apostolate in the United States.
With gratitude to all engaged in the preparation of the Fifth Encuentro , I assure you of my prayers for this important initiative of your Conference. Commending you, and the clergy, religious and lay faithful of your local Churches, to the prayers of Mary Immaculate, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of grace and peace in the Lord.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday sent a message to the ‘Reinventing Peace’ meeting organized by UNESCO, the UN’s cultural heritage arm, and the Focolari Movement.
The meeting celebrates the 20th anniversary of Chiara Lubich being awarded the UNESCO Peace Education Prize.
The Holy Father encouraged the meeting’s participants to “research and develop effective ways to ‘reinvent’ a peace which is the fruit of integral development for all and of an effective awareness of the universal community founded upon respect, listening, attention to the needs of each person, justice, dialogue, and sharing”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) ‘Pope Francis in His Own Words’ was the title of a new documentary screened in the Vatican on Tuesday that includes direct filmed testimony from the Pope about his family, his vocation and his vision of the Church. The 46-minute documentary includes video coverage of a series of key events where the Pope has spoken about himself over the past three years during his travels and his meetings with people. It also includes the history of his vocation to the priesthood, the role of his grandmother in his faith journey, the importance of forgiveness in his life and his dreams as a seminarian. In addition to covering the Pope’s in-flight press conferences, the documentary shows pictures of the house where Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born, the primary school he attended and the church where he discerned his vocation. One of the highlights of the documentary was Pope Francis’s pastoral visit to the U.S. where he addressed both houses of Congress and attended the World Meeting of Families.
The project was produced by the TV news agency Rome Reports that specializes in video news about the Pope and the Church and included collaboration from the Mideast Theological Forum of Chicago.
(from Vatican Radio)…