(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday greeted participants in a conference promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, entitled “ Luther: 500 Years Later: A rereading of the Lutheran Reformation in its historic ecclesial context “, which took place in Rome from 29 to 31 March 2017.
The Pope expressed his gratitude to God for the event, calling it a “working of the Holy Spirit”.
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Gratitude to God and surprise, Pope Francis said, were his first responses upon hearing of the conference on the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther presenting his 95 theses.
He called the initiative promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences “praiseworthy” and said, “not long ago a meeting like this would have been unthinkable.”
“Truly we are experiencing the results of the working of the Holy Spirit,” the Pope said, “who overcomes every obstacle and turns conflicts into occasions for growth in communion.”
He notes that the title of the joint document commemorating the fifth centenary of Luther’s reform is “From Conflict to Communion”.
Pope Francis went on to say he is “happy” such an historical event has given scholars an opportunity to “study those events together”.
“Serious research into the figure of Luther and his critique of the Church of his time and the papacy certainly contributes to overcoming the atmosphere of mutual distrust and rivalry that for all too long marked relations between Catholics and Protestants,” he said.
The Holy Father said “an attentive and rigorous study, free of prejudice and polemics” is the correct way to find “all that was positive and legitimate in the Reformation, while distancing themselves from errors, extremes and failures, and acknowledging the sins that led to the division.”
He said “the past cannot be changed”, but “it is possible to engage in a purification of memory”, that is, to “tell that history differently”.
In conclusion, Pope Francis offered his prayers for the successful outcome of the conference, inviting all to “offer one another forgiveness for the sin committed by those who have gone before us and together to implore from God the gift of reconciliation and unity.”
Please find below the official English translation of the Pope’s remarks:
Greeting of His Holiness Pope Francis to participants in the Meeting promoted by the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences: “Luther: 500 Years Later”
Clementine Hall, 31 March 2017
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Ladies and Gentleman,
I am pleased to greet all of you and to offer you a warm welcome. I thank Father Bernard Ardura for his introduction, which summarizes the purpose of your meeting on Luther and his reform.
I confess that my first response to this praiseworthy initiative of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences was one of gratitude to God, together with a certain surprise, since not long ago a meeting like this would have been unthinkable. Catholics and Lutherans together, discussing Luther, at a meeting organized by an Office of the Holy See: truly we are experiencing the results of the working of the Holy Spirit, who overcomes every obstacle and turns conflicts into occasions for growth in communion. From Conflict to Communion is precisely the title of the document of the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission prepared for our joint commemoration of the fifth centenary of the beginning of Luther’s reform.
I am particularly happy to know that this commemoration has offered scholars from various institutions an occasion to study those events together. Serious research into the figure of Luther and his critique of the Church of his time and the papacy certainly contributes to overcoming the atmosphere of mutual distrust and rivalry that for all too long marked relations between Catholics and Protestants. An attentive and rigorous study, free of prejudice and polemics, enables the churches, now in dialogue, to discern and receive all that was positive and legitimate in the Reformation, while distancing themselves from errors, extremes and failures, and acknowledging the sins that led to the division.
All of us are well aware that the past cannot be changed. Yet today, after fifty years of ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Protestants, it is possible to engage in a purification of memory. This is not to undertake an impracticable correction of all that happened five hundred years ago, but rather “to tell that history differently” (LUTHERAN-ROMAN CATHOLIC COMMISSION ON UNITY, From Conflict to Communion, 17 June 2013, 16), free of any lingering trace of the resentment over past injuries that has distorted our view of one another. Today, as Christians, all of us are called to put behind us all prejudice towards the faith that others profess with a different emphasis or language, to offer one another forgiveness for the sin committed by those who have gone before us, and together to implore from God the gift of reconciliation and unity.
I assure you of my prayers for your important historical research and I invoke upon all of you the blessing of God, who is almighty and rich in mercy. And I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Ratzinger Prize-winning theologian Anne-Marie Pelletier is authoring the meditations for this year’s Good Friday Via crucis at the Colosseum here in Rome.
Pelletier is a laywoman, born in 1946, who is married and has three children.
She has spent her entire life in academia, compiling an impressive array of accolades, including the 2014 Ratzinger Prize in Theology – the first woman to receive the award.
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An expert in hermeneutics and biblical exegesis, Pelletier has dedicated most of her research to the theme of women in Christianity.
Motivating the choice of Pelletier as one of two persons to receive the Prize in 2014, the Cardinal-vicar-emeritus of Rome and then-President of the Scientific Committee of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation, Camillo Ruini described her as, “a distinguished figure in contemporary French Catholicism,” one, “with deserved scientific prestige, a great and versatile cultural liveliness and an authentic dedication to causes of the highest importance for Christian witness in society.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) People around the world can now connect directly with the Peter’s Pence Office on Twitter ( @Obolus_EN ) and Instagram. The Office collects donations offered by the faithful as signs of their sharing in the Pope’s concerns for the many different needs of the Universal Church.
Following the successful launch of a website in November 2016, the charitable Office’s goal of communicating directly, accurately and transparently with Catholics around the world and with all people who want to help the most needy has led to the launch of new accounts in English, Italian and Spanish.
Pope Francis’ messages, which can already be found on the Peter’s Pence website, are being posted on Twitter and Instagram on a daily basis, along with photos, reflections and more information about the charitable works of the Holy See. The Office has committed to sustaining projects of all sizes around the world, including the creation of a paediatric hospital in Bangui in the Central African Republic and supporting the first Catholic university in Jordan.
Follow Peter’s Pence on Instagram account. Click here to visit the Twitter accounts in Italian and in Spanish. Interact with the Office by using the hashtag: #movingMercy .
Please find below the full communique:
Peter’s Pence is now on social network sites Twitter and Instagram
The aim is to go out to those who want to help the most needy and to make them aware of the charitable works being carried out through the solidarity of the faithful across the world, including men and women religious, lay faithful, societies, institutions and foundations, together with the offices closely assisting the Holy Father in the exercise of his mission.
After the launch last November of the new website www.obolodisanpietro.va , the longstanding charitable Office will now be on social networks. The Twitter and Instagram accounts of Peter’s Pence have been active since 1 March last, with the goal of communicating directly, accurately and transparently with Catholics throughout the world and with all people who want to help those most in need. Peter’s Pence can be found on Twitter in Italian, English and Spanish, whereas there is one Instagram account.
The Messages of Pope Francis found on the Peter’s Pence website are being published daily on Twitter and Instagram, together with photos, reflections and further information on the charitable works of the Holy See carried out through this historic initiative of Christian charity. As was tweeted in one of the inaugural tweets: “Mercy is about moving together, it is about meeting the needs of the needy”. It is in this spirit that Peter’s Pence has committed itself to sustain small and large projects throughout the world, such as the creation of a pediatric hospital in Bangui in the Central African Republic, the collection taken up to alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and support for the first Catholic University on Jordanian soil.
An initiative of the Holy See and the result of close collaboration between the Secretariat of State, the Secretariat for Communication and the Governorate of Vatican City, the three Twitter accounts – “Obolo di San Pietro: @obolus_it ”; “Obolo de San Pedro: @obolus_es ”; “Peter’s Pence: @obolus_en ” – and the Instagram account “Obolus: obolus_va ” can now be followed by Catholics throughout the world who are inspired by a common path of mercy: #movingMercy .
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday encouraged Somascan Fathers to continue and further develop their mission to serve the poor and take care of orphans and abandoned youth.
Receiving a group of Somascan Fathers who are holding their General Chapter , the Pope expressed appreciation for the theme chosen for the Chapter: “Let’s cross to the other side with our brothers with whom we live and die” and he highlighted their missionary openness.
Pope Francis recalled the shining example provided by the Somascan Fathers’ founder, St. Girolamo Emiliani, and quoted the words of Pope Benedict XVI in a message to the Order asking them “to take to heart every kind of poverty experienced by our youth: moral, physical, existential poverty; and above all the poverty of love, the root of every serious human problem”.
He pointed out that the ideal at the root of St. Girolamo Emiliani’s mission was to reform the Church through works of charity.
His first project, he said, was to renew his own commitment to faith and the Gospel and then to reach out to the Christian community and to civil society highlighting the plight of the poor and the marginalized and promoting integral human development.
“I encourage you to remain faithful to the original inspiration of your Order and to go out into the world assisting humanity that is wounded and discarded, with evangelically effective choices that arise from the ability to look at the world and humanity through the eyes of Christ” he said.
Underscoring the fact that the care for youth and their human and Christian education is the mark of the charism of Somascans, the Pope lauded their method of education which is centered on the person, on his or her dignity, on the development of intellectual and manual skills.
Pope Francis noted that in the effort to make their service more effective, the Somascan Fathers and Brothers are working on new ways to accomplish their mission.
He encouraged them to be attentive to new and different forms of marginalization in geographical and existential peripheries.
And, he said: “Do not be afraid to ‘leave the old wineskins’ and address the transformation of structures where this would be useful for a more evangelical and consistent service. Structures, he said, in some cases can give false security and hinder the dynamism of charity”.
But he pointed out that at the basis of these processes there must always be the joyful encounter with Christ.
The Pope invited those present to engage with laypeople of the Somascan community in the effort to protect human rights, enforce child protection and the rights of children and adolescents, oppose child labor, prevent exploitation and fight trafficking.
“These are issues that must be addressed through the liberating power of the Gospel and, at the same time, through adequate operational tools and professional skills” he said.
Pope Francis recalled that St. Girolamo Emiliani was a contemporary of Luther and suffered for the tear in the fabric of Christian unity.
He urged the Somascan Fathers to continue to teach catechism and to provide formation to catechists in fidelity to the Sacraments and within the love for the Virgin Mary, but he also encouraged them to support ecumenical dialogue and urged them to continue their collaboration with other ecclesial communities, in particular in Africa and in Asia.
“Dear Brothers, you have the task to go forward with the work inspired by St. Girolamo Emiliani, who was declared patron of orphans and abandoned youth by Pope Pius XI” he said.
“I encourage you, Pope Francis concluded, to carry on your journey following your apostolic zeal, always open to new expressions according to the most urgent needs of the Church and society in different times and places”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Beware of following fantasies and false idols, for only God loves us and waits for us like a father. That was Pope Francis’ message at Mass on Thursday morning in the Casa Santa Marta.
Commenting on the First Letter from the Book of Exodus, the Holy Father focused on God’s love for His people, despite their infidelity. Even today, he said, it is good for us to ask whether we distance ourselves from the Lord to follow after idols and worldliness.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
Pope Francis took inspiration from the Book of Exodus to reflect on the “dreams and disappointments of God”. The people, he said, is “God’s dream. He dreamed of them because he loved them.” But the people betrayed the Father’s dreams and so God “began to be disappointed,” asking Moses to come down from the mountain where he had gone to receive the Law. The people “did not have the patience to wait for God” for even 40 days. They had made themselves a golden calf and “they forgot God who had saved them”.
Temptation to infidelity towards God
The prophet Baruc, Pope Francis said, “had a good expression for this people: ‘You have forgotten the One who reared you’”.
“To forget God who made us, who raised us, and who accompanies us in our lives: this is the disappointment of God. And many times in the Gospel Jesus speaks in parables about that man who builds a vineyard, which then fails, because the workers want to take it for themselves. In the human heart there is always this restlessness! It is not satisfied with God, with faithful love. The human heart always tends towards infidelity. This is a temptation.”
God is “disappointed” by the infidelity of His people who go after idols
God, therefore, “through the prophet rebukes this people”, which “is inconstant and does not know how to wait”. They go astray from God to seek another god.
“The disappointment of God is the infidelity of the people… And we are God’s people. We know well how [the dispositions] of our heart, and every day we must take up again the path so as not to slide slowly towards idols, fantasies, worldliness, and infidelity. I think it would do us good today to reflect on the disappointed Lord: ‘Tell me, Lord, are you disappointed in me?’ In something, yes, surely. But reflect, and ask yourself this question.”
Reflect in Lent whether we have distanced ourselves from God
God, Pope Francis affirmed, “has a tender heart, the heart of a father”. He recalled that Jesus wept “over Jerusalem”. Let us ask ourselves, he said, if “God weeps for me”, if “He is disappointed in me”, and if “I have distanced myself from the Lord”. He asked aloud, “How many idols do I have, which I am unable to remove, which make me a slave? The idolatry that we have within us… And God weeps for me.”
“Let us reflect today on this disappointment of God, who created us for love, whilst we go in search of love, of wellbeing elsewhere and not in His love. We distance ourselves from this God who raised us. This is a thought for Lent. It will do us good. Do this small examination of conscience daily: ‘Lord, you who have so many dreams for me, I know that I have gone away from you, but tell me where and how to return…’ The surprise will be that He ever awaits us, like the father of the prodigal son who saw him from afar, because he was waiting for him.”
(from Vatican Radio)…