(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video message to the Congress of the Scholas Occurentes which concludes on Wednesday in Jerusalem. The Congress focused on the theme “ Between the University and the School, building peace through the culture of encounter .”
Christopher Wells reports on the Pope’s message:
In his message, Pope Francis encouraged the participants, young and old, who had come from Israel, the Palestinian territories, and from other countries from across the globe. “I want to celebrate these days lived out there in Jerusalem,” he said, “because you yourselves, beginning from your differences, have achieved unity.”
The Holy Father praised them for seeing one another without prejudice; an attitude, he said, that is essential “because it produces an encounter.” This encounter, he said, gives our lives meaning and purpose.
And it is precisely because our lives have meaning that we feel the need to celebrate. Even more, this meaning leads us to a feeling, a sentiment, of gratitude. And it is this sentiment, the Pope said, that the Scholas has perceived to be of the essence of education, which opens us to the unknown, which frees us from prejudices that keep us from dreaming and seeking new paths. It is for this reason, he continued, “that we adults cannot take from our children and young people the capacity to dream, or to play—which is, in a certain sense, a waking dream.”
Pope Francis said the Congress in Jerusalem teaches us that we have a duty to hear young people, and to give them a context of hope so that their dreams might grow and be shared. Shared dreams can produce a “utopia” to strive after; and the utopia of the Scholas is to create a culture of encounter that allows people to arrive, not at uniformity, but at harmony.
The Pope concluded his address by thanking the adults for not closing themselves up in themselves; and for putting their learning at the service of listening. And he thanked the young people for committing themselves “to dreaming, to seeking meaning, to creating, to being grateful, to celebrating, to offering their minds, their hands, and their hearts in order to transform the culture of encounter into reality.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegramme upon the death of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop emeritus of Cologne, who died on Wednesday at the age of 83. “With profound emotion I learned that, suddenly and unexpectedly, Cardinal Joachim Meisner was called from this earth by the God of mercy,” the Pope wrote. The Pope addressed his telegramme to Cardinal Rainer Woelki, current Archbishop of Cologne. He said Cardinal Meisner was “dedicated to the proclamation of the Good News” with “profound faith and sincere love for the Church”. “May Christ the Lord reward him for his faithful and intrepid efforts in favour of the good of people of East and West.” Pope Francis closed the telegramme by imparting his Apostolic Blessing on all who “commemorate the late Pastor with prayers and sacrifices”. With the death of Cardinal Joachim Meisner, the College of Cardinals stands at 224, 121 of whom are Cardinal electors. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to the Italian news agency ANSA (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata), expressing his approval and support for the new InfoMigrants news portal aimed at providing migrants with accurate information.
InfoMigrants.net was launched in March by ANSA, in coordination with France’s Media Monde and Germany’s Deutsche Welle, and publishes content in English, Arabic, and French.
Pope: ‘Project promotes integration’
In the letter to ANSA’s Editor-in-Chief, Luigi Contu, Pope Francis said he learned “with pleasure” about the “important project”. The service seeks to provide migrants and prospective migrants with information regarding all aspects of the journey to Europe and life there once they have arrived.
“I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the important project, and I hope, on the one hand, that it promotes the integration of these persons with all due respect for the laws of the countries which welcome them and, on the other, that it elicit within society a renewed commitment to an authentic culture of welcome and solidarity,” the Pope wrote.
Opportunity for human growth
He went on to describe the phenomenon of migration as an “opportunity for human growth”.
“The presence of so many brothers and sisters who experience the tragedy of immigration is an opportunity for human growth, encounter, and dialogue between cultures in view of the promotion of peace and fraternity among peoples.”
Pope Francis assured those involved in the project his prayers and invoked the protection of God, “Father of all, that He may accompany all who are constrained to leave their homelands because of armed conflicts, terrorist attacks, famine, and oppressive regimes.”
Finally, the Pope said he hoped migrants encounter “brothers and sisters under every sky, who share with them bread and hope along our common journey.”
(from Vatican Radio)…