(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday addressed the participants of a training course for clerics and laity held by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota.
In his prepared remarks, Pope Francis focused on new matrimonial norms and Super Rato procedures .
In particular the Pope said, “it is necessary to give greater attention and proper analysis to the two recent motu proprios: Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et misericors Iesus , in order to apply the new procedures that have been established.”
Spirit of the Synod
These two measures, he said arose “from a synodal context, and are the expression of a synodal path.” The Pope explained that the Synod had the purpose of promoting and defending marriage and the Christian family.
Listen to the report:
Pope Francis also urged those gathered to strive to be missionaries and witnesses of the spirit of the Synod when they return to their communities. He stressed the importance of “pastoral consolation ,” which is the goal of the new matrimonial norms.
“Let that synodal spirit,” he said, “become the basis of your action in the Church, especially in such a delicate field as marriage and the family.”
The Pope told the participants, that they were called “ to be close to the loneliness and suffering of the faithful waiting for ecclesial justice and to provide the help needed to regain the peace of their consciences and the will of God on readmission to the Eucharist.”
Role of Diocesan Bishop
During his discourse Pope Francis said he had decided to definitively clarify some of the fundamental aspects of the two recent motu proprios, in particular the role of the diocesan bishop.
In a series of points the Holy Father said the diocesan bishop was the natural judge in the new “shorter process.” He added that the shorter process was not simply another option that the Bishop may choose; rather, it is an obligation that comes from his consecration and the mission that has been entrusted to him.
The Pope also underlined several fundamental criteria for the shorter process: mercy, in the first place, and closeness and gratuity , which the Holy Father said “are the two pearls the poor need, and which the Church must love above all else.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegramme of condolence for Friday’s attack on a mosque in Egypt, saying he was “profoundly grieved to learn of the great loss of life caused by the terrorist attacks on Rawda mosque in North Sinai”.
At least 235 people were killed as they gathered for Friday prayers at the al-Rawda mosque in the town of Bir al-Abed.
Witnesses said dozens of gunmen arrived in off-road vehicles and bombed the mosque before opening fire on people as they attempted to flee.
Signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the telegramme says, “In expressing his solidarity with the Egyptian people at this hour of national mourning, [Pope Francis] commends the victims to the mercy of the Most High God and invokes divine blessings of consolation and peace upon their families.”
The Pope also renewed “his firm condemnation of this wanton act of brutality directed at innocent civilians gathered in prayer”.
Finally, Pope Francis said he joins “all people of good will in imploring that hearts hardened by hatred will learn to renounce the way of violence that leads to such great suffering, and embrace the way of peace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday received in audience the members of the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.
In greetings to the Commission, the Pope thanked God “for today’s signing of the Joint Declaration.”
“We can now look to the future with even greater confidence and I ask the Lord that your continuing work may help bring about that blessed and long-awaited day when we will have the joy of celebrating, at the same altar, our full communion in Christ’s Church,” he said.
The full text of the Pope’s address is below:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I extend a warm welcome to all of you. I thank you for your visit and Metropolitan Meelis Zaia for his kind words on your behalf. Through you I convey my fraternal greeting in the Lord to His Holiness Mar Gewargis III, recalling with joy our cordial meeting a year ago, which marked a further step on our journey towards deeper growth in mutual solidarity and communion.
Our meeting today offers us the opportunity to look with gratitude upon the progress made by the Joint Commission, established following the historic signing of the Common Christological Declaration here in Rome in 1994. After professing the same faith in the mystery of the Incarnation, the Commission planned two phases of dialogue: one on sacramental theology and one on the constitution of the Church. I join you in thanking the Lord for today’s signing of the Joint Declaration which brings to a happy conclusion the phase regarding sacramental life. We can now look to the future with even greater confidence and I ask the Lord that your continuing work may help bring about that blessed and long-awaited day when we will have the joy of celebrating, at the same altar, our full communion in Christ’s Church.
I would like to emphasize one aspect of the new Joint Declaration, where the sign of the cross is referred to as “an explicit symbol of unity among all sacramental celebrations”. Some authors of the Assyrian Church of the East have included the sign of the cross among the sacred mysteries, convinced that every sacramental celebration depends precisely on the Pasch of the Lord’s death and resurrection. This is a beautiful insight, because the Crucified and Risen One is our salvation and our life. Hope and peace come from his glorious cross, and from the cross flows the unity of the sacred mysteries we celebrate, as well as our own unity, for we were baptized into the same death and resurrection of the Lord (cf. Rom 6:4).
When we look at the cross, or make the sign of the cross, we are also invited to remember sacrifices endured in union with Jesus and to remain close to those who today bear a heavy cross upon their shoulders. The Assyrian Church of the East, along with other Churches and many of our brothers and sisters in the region, is afflicted by persecution, and is a witness to brutal acts of violence perpetrated in the name of fundamentalist extremism. Situations of such tragic suffering take root more easily in contexts of great poverty, injustice and social exclusion, largely caused by instability, often fuelled by external interests, and by conflicts that have also led in recent times to situations of dire need, giving rise to real cultural and spiritual deserts, within which it becomes easy to manipulate people and incite them to hatred. Such suffering has recently been exacerbated by the tragedy of the violent earthquake on the border between Iraq, the homeland of your Church, and Iran, where your communities have also long been established, as well as in Syria, Lebanon and India.
As a result, particularly during periods of greater suffering and deprivation, large numbers of the faithful have had to leave their lands and emigrate to other countries, thus increasing the diaspora community, with the many trials it faces. Arriving in some societies, émigrés encounter challenges stemming from an often difficult integration, and a marked secularization, which can hinder their efforts to preserve the spiritual riches of their traditions, and even prevent their witness of faith.
In all of this, the constant repetition of the sign of the cross is a reminder that the Lord of mercy never abandons his brothers and sisters, but embraces their wounds within his own. By making the sign of the cross we recall Christ’s wounds, which the Resurrection did not eliminate but rather filled with light. So too the wounds of Christians, including those still open, become radiant when they are filled with the living presence of Jesus and his love, and thus become signs of Easter light in a world enveloped by so much darkness.
With these sentiments, both heartfelt and hope-filled, I invite you to keep journeying, trusting in the help of many of our brothers and sisters who gave their lives in following the Crucified Christ. They, who are already fully united in heaven, are the heralds and patrons of our visible communion on earth. Through their intercession, I also pray to the Lord that the Christians of your lands may continue to labour in peace and in full respect for all, in the patient work of reconstruction after so much devastation.
In the Syriac tradition, Christ on the cross is represented as the Good Physician and Medicine of life. I pray that He will completely heal our wounds of the past as well as the many wounds that continue to be caused by the havoc of violence and war. Dear brothers and sisters, let us continue together on the pilgrimage of reconciliation and peace, on which the Lord Himself has set us! With gratitude for your commitment, I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon all of you, along with the loving protection of His Mother and ours. And I ask you, please, also to remember to pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Change is healthy, and one needs to change in order to be faithful both to God and to man, Pope Francis said in a video message to a 4-day Italian workshop on the social doctrine of the Church. The Pope’s message inaugurated the 5th Social Doctrine Festival , Thursday evening in the northern city of Verona . The event is discussing the theme of “ Fidelity and Change ” with regard to issues such as labour, justice, economy and culture.
Word of God helps change
The Pope pointed out that the Word of God helps us in distinguishing the two faces of change . The first is fidelity, hope in and openness to new things ; the second is the difficulty of leaving a secure place for something unknown. He noted we feel more secure within our fence, preserving and repeating our usual words and gestures. But this prevents us from going out and starting new processes.
Abraham
“In order to be faithful one must have the capacity to change” and launch out, the Pope said, holding out the figure of Abraham, who in his old age heeded the Lord’s command and left his homeland for a new land. The Lord’s call radically changed Abraham’s life, made him enter a new history and opened unexpected horizons for him with new heavens and new earths. Likewise, when one responds to God, the Pope pointed out, a process begins that leads to something unexpected we never imagined before.
Going out
Fidelity to man, the Pope explained, means going out of ourselves to meet a concrete person, to open our eyes and heart to the poor, the sick, the jobless, the refugees fleeing violence and war, and the many who are wounded by indifference and by an economy that discards and kills. Fidelity to man, he stressed, means overcoming the centripetal force of one’s interests and egoism and giving way to the passion for others.
In this way, the Pope said, fidelity to God and fidelity to man converge into a dynamic movement that changes us and the reality, overcoming “immobilism and convenience”, creating space and work for young people and their future. Hence change is healthy not only when things go badly but also when everything goes well and we are tempted to sit back over results achieved.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Pope Francis on Friday suggested watchfulness, service and gratuitousness as three attitudes that can help us keep clean the temple of the Holy Spirit. He made the exhortation in his homily at the morning Mass in the chapel of the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta residence.
Listen to our report:
The Pope was reflecting on the first reading from the Book of the Maccabees where Judas and his brothers were re-consacrating the temple desecrated by the pagans, and the Gospel reading where Jesus was driving out merchants from the temple, that was transformed into a den of thieves.
Temple of God – our heart
The Pope pointed out that the most important temple of God is our heart, where the Holy Spirit dwells.
The Holy Father asked whether we keep watch over this interior temple, and are careful about what happens in the heart, who comes in and who goes out, the feelings, the ideas… “Do we talk to the Holy Spirit and listen to Him?” the Pope asked and urged all to keep watch over what happens within.
The Pope then explained how this temple can be safeguarded and cared for through service . The Pope urged Christians to examine their conscience, whether they come forward to help, to clothe and console those in need . In this regard, he recalled St. John Chrysostom reprimanding those who were making many offerings to decorate the church but were not caring for the needy saying, “This is not good. First service, then decoration.” “Purifying the temple means caring for others, the Pope said, adding, “ when we come forward to serve, to help, we resemble Jesus who is inside us.”
The Pope then spoke about how gratuitousness , the third attitude, helps in keeping the temple clean. He wondered, “How many times we sadly enter a temple – a parish, a bishop’s house and so on, not knowing whether were are in the house of God or in a supermarket .” “There we have business, including the price list for the sacraments – nothing is free!” But the Pope argued that God saved us freely, without making us pay.
God’s providence
In this regard, he asked whether money is needed to maintain building, priests and so on… And the Pope answered, “ You give freely and God will do the rest .” “God will provide what is lacking,” the Pope said wishing our churches be “churches of service, free churches.”
(from Vatican Radio)…