(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Wednesday with English Cardinal Vincent Nichols and four Muslim leaders from Britain who came to highlight the deep-rooted interfaith relations among the different religious communities in the UK today.
For the past three decades, Nichols and other Catholic leaders have been working to develop strong ties with local Muslim communities. Among some of the practical, grass roots initiatives that have resulted are the setting up of shared food banks for the needy and the welcoming of newly arrived refugee families.
Just two weeks ago, Cardinal Nichols stood side by side with the Archbishop of Canterbury plus Muslim and Jewish leaders in London to condemn the terror attack at the Houses of Parliament. As prayers were said for the victims, the cardinal read out a message from Pope Francis offering condolences to the grieving families and solidarity with the whole nation.
Just ahead of the papal audience in the Vatican, Philippa Hitchen sat down with Cardinal Nichols and two of the Muslim leaders on the delegation, Muhammad Shahid Raza, originally from India and Syed Ali Raza Rizvi, originally from Lahore in Pakistan. They highlight the importance of standing together to combat hatred, intolerance and violence in the name of religion
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Moulana Muhammad Shahid Raza begins by saying they bring a message of “thanks and gratefulness for the kindness and sympathy the Muslim community has always received from Vatican”. He also highlights their “great appreciation” for Cardinal Nichols and the Catholic Church in the UK which made the audience possible.
The cardinal notes that Muslim leaders like Muhammad Shahid Raza have been working on interfaith relations in Britain for the past 30 years and he hopes the papal audience will serve to encourage that work. He also thanks the pope for his message of solidarity following the incidents in Westminster two weeks ago.
Moulana Syed Ali Raza Rizvi says that “when people see the reality of faith leaders together,” it shows clearly that “what a few criminals are doing is different to what faith leaders are saying”. Standing together, he says, “has a very positive reflection” showing that faith does not divide, but rather it unites people.
He continues by noting that “in difficult times, people look to faith communities” and the projects that Muslims and Christians are working on together, especially with refugees “gives a very positive image of faith in the 21st century”. In recent years, he adds, the cardinal has helped “not just [to] bring us together but [to] create a friendship and that has made us increasingly respectful of each other and our communities”.
Cardinal Nichols says he and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby are seeking to “create a platform from which the Muslim voice can be heard in the UK” . Following the recent terror attack, he says, “Muslims all over the country stood up and said not in our name, Islam is a religion of peace and we condemn these actions” but that voice is not heard. He says he hopes that one of the tangible results of the papal audience is “the right amplification of this voice in our midst”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is praying for the victims of a bomb attack in Russia and for all those affected by the tragedy.
Addressing the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the General Audience , the Pope turned his attention to the “serious attack of the past days in the St. Petersburg subway”, which he said, caused victims and a sense of loss and confusion in the Russian population.
A bomb exploded in a carriage of the St. Petersburg subway on Monday killing 14 people and injuring 50 others.
“While I entrust all those who are tragically deceased to the mercy of God, I express my spiritual closeness to their loved ones and to all those who are suffering because of this dramatic event” he said.
Investigators say they have searched the home of the suspected suicide bomber behind Monday’s deadly explosion on the St. Petersburg subway.
Russian investigators said they suspect a 22-year old Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen of having detonated the bomb.
Another bomb, hidden in a bag, was found and de-activated at another St. Petersburg station just half an hour before the blast.
The investigators have also reportedly arrested 6 people in St. Petersburg on suspicion of “aiding terrorist activities.” They said that at this moment there is no evidence of connection or acquaintance of the detained with executor of the terrorist action in the St. Petersburg metro”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his catechesis on Christian hope during his Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, saying that God’s infinite love is the basis for all our hope.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
Reflecting on the First Letter of the apostle Peter, Pope Francis at his General Audience invited Christians to imitate the Lord’s redemptive suffering by bearing witness to God’s infinite love as revealed on the Cross.
He said God’s love as sealed in the resurrection is the basis of all our hope.
“Our hope is not a concept, it is not a sentiment, it is not a mobile phone, it is not a heap of riches! Our hope is a Person, it is the Lord Jesus Whom we recognize as living and present in us and in our brothers, because Christ is risen.”
The Holy Father went on to say that Christian hope is not theoretical but must be lived and witnessed in our daily lives.
Our hope, he said, “must necessarily be released outwards, taking the exquisite and unmistakable form of gentleness, respect and goodness towards our neighbour, to the point of forgiving those who do us harm.”
He said this contrasts with the attitude of the Mafiosi, who believe “evil can be defeated by evil”, because they “do not have hope”.
Pope Francis then invited all to be suffer for good in the large and small situations of daily life and to offer a blessing instead of evil.
This, he said, “is the proclamation of God’s love, a love without bounds, that is inexhaustible, that never runs out and constitutes the true basis for our hope.”
Please find below the official English translation of the Pope’s catechesis:
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
The First Letter of the apostle Peter is extraordinarily rich. We must read it once, twice, three times to understand its extraordinary import: it succeeds in bringing great consolation and peace, showing how the Lord is always by our side and never abandons us, especially in the most delicate and difficult times of our lives. But what is the “secret” of this Letter, and in particular of the passage we have just listened to (cf. 1 Pt. 3:8-17)? This is a question. I know that you will take the New Testament, look for the First Letter of Peter and read it very slowly, to understand the secret and the strength of this Letter. What is the secret of this Letter?
1. The secret resides in the fact that this text is rooted directly in Easter, in the heart of the mystery we are about to celebrate, thus allowing us to perceive all the light and joy that spring from the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ is truly risen, and this is a beautiful greeting we can give each other on the day of Easter: “Christ is risen! Christ is risen!”, as many peoples do. Let us remember that Christ is risen, He lives in our midst, and abides in each one of us. This is why St. Peter strongly urges us to adore Him in our hearts (cf. v. 16). There the Lord made His dwelling at the moment of our Baptism, and from there He continues to renew us and our life, filling us with His love and with fullness of Spirit. This is why the Apostle reminds us to acknowledge the hope that is in us (cf. v. 16): our hope is not a concept, it is not a sentiment, it is not a mobile phone, it is not a heap of riches! Our hope is a Person, it is the Lord Jesus Whom we recognise as living and present in us and in our brothers, because Christ is risen. Slavic peoples, when they greet each other, instead of saying “Good morning” or “Good evening” on the days of Easter, they greet each other with this “Christ is risen!”. “Christos voskrese!”, they say to each other, and they are happy to say so! And this is the “Good morning” and “Good evening” they offer one another: “Christ is risen!”
2. We understand, then, that we cannot give a reason for this hope at a theoretical level, but above all through the witness of life, both within the Christian community and outside it. If Christ is living and abides in us, in our heart, then we must also allow Him to be made visible, not to hide Him, and to act in us. This means that the Lord Jesus must increasingly become our model: our model of life and that we must learn to behave as He behaved. Do what Jesus did. The hope that abides in us, then, cannot remain hidden inside us, in our heart: it would be a weak hope, that does not have the courage to come out and let itself be seen; but our hope, as is clear in the Psalm 33 cited by Peter, must necessarily be released outwards, taking the exquisite and unmistakable form of gentleness, respect and goodness towards our neighbour, to the point of forgiving those who do us harm. A person who does not have hope is not able to forgive; he is not able to give the consolation of forgiveness and to receive the consolation of forgiveness. Yes, because this is what Jesus did, and in this way He continues to do so through those who make space in their heart and their life for Him, in the awareness that evil is not vanquished with evil, but with humility, mercy and gentleness. Mafiosi think that evil can be defeated with evil, and so they seek revenge and do all those things we know about. But they do not know what humility, mercy and gentleness area. And why? Because Mafiosi do not have hope. Think about this.
3. This is why St. Peter affirms that “it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (v. 17); this does not mean that it is good to suffer, but that when we suffer for good, we are in communion with the Lord, Who accepted to suffer and to be put on the cross for our salvation. So when, in the smallest or the largest situations of our life, we too accept suffering for good, it is as if we sprinkled the seeds of resurrection, the seeds of life around us, and made the light of Easter shine in the dark. This is why the Apostle urges us always to respond “blessing” (v. 9): blessing is not a formality, or merely a sign of courtesy, but rather a great gift that we are the first to have received, and that we have the possibility of sharing with our brothers. It is the proclamation of God’s love, a love without bounds, that is inexhaustible, that never runs out and constitutes the true basis for our hope.
Dear friends, we understand also why the apostle Peter calls us “blessed”, when we must suffer for justice (cf. v.13). It is not only for a moral or ascetic reason, but it is because each time we take the side of the last and the marginalized, or that we do not respond to evil with evil, but instead forgive without vengeance, forgiving and blessing, every time we do this we shine as living and luminous signs of hope, thus becoming an instrument of consolation and peace, in accord with the heart of God. And in this way we go ahead with sweetness and gentleness, being amiable and doing good even to those who do not wish us well, or who harm us. Onwards!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis appealed to the consciences of local and international leaders to bring an end to the Syrian tragedy.
Speaking during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope said that it is “with horror” that we witness the events that have taken place in Syria.
72 people, including 20 children were killed in a rebel-held town in Idlib province on Tuesday in a chemical gas attack that also injured dozens of civilians.
“I firmly deplore the unacceptable carnage that took place yesterday in Idlib province, where scores of helpless people, including many children, were killed” he said.
And while the Pope said he is praying for the victims and their families, he issued an urgent appeal to “the consciences of those who have political responsabilities, on a local and international level, to halt this tragedy and bring relief to the population that has been sorely tried by war for far too long” he said.
Pope Francis also encouraged those who, notwithstanding the insecurity, are continuing in their efforts to bring help to the inhabitants of the region.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday encouraged Christians to show hope by imitating Jesus’ concern for the needs of others, and by forgiving those who have offended us.
The Pope was continuing his catechesis on Christian hope during the weekly General Audience in St. Peter’s Square.
Please find the English Summary below:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our continuing catechesis on Christian hope, we now turn to the First Letter of Peter. The Apostle encourages us to rejoice in Christ’s resurrection from the dead and to sanctify him in our hearts. Because we have received the gift of new life in Christ, Saint Peter urges us to “account for the hope” that is in us. We are to show forth that hope by imitating Jesus’ loving concern for the needs of our brothers and sisters, but also by forgiving those who have offended us. Peter tells us that “it is better to suffer for doing good”, for in this way we imitate the Lord’s redemptive suffering and bear witness to God’s infinite love, revealed on the cross and sealed in the resurrection. That love is the basis of all our hope. May our lives radiate the hope that is Christ himself, who dwells within us and acts through us to bring his mercy and peace to our world.
(from Vatican Radio)…