(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with newly accredited non resident Ambassadors to the Holy See telling them that those who hold public office at national and international levels are called to cultivate a nonviolent style in their consciences and in the exercise of their duties.
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Below find the English translation of the Pope’s discourse to the Ambassadors
Your Excellencies,
I am pleased to receive you for presentation of the Letters accrediting you as Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Holy See on the part of your respective countries: Burundi, Fiji, Mauritius, Moldova, Sweden and Tunisia. I thank you for your kind words, which attest to your desire to maintain and develop the relations of esteem and cooperation which you enjoy with the Holy See, and I ask you to convey to the Heads of State whom you represent my gratitude and the assurance of my prayers for them and for their nations.
You have come from distant and very different areas of the world. Here in Rome this is always a source of satisfaction, since the horizon of the Holy See is intrinsically universal. This is due to the vocation and mission entrusted by God to the Successor of the Apostle Peter, a mission that is essentially religious, yet in the course of history has also involved relations with states and those who govern them. The Catholic Church, whose centre of unity and direction is found, as it were, in the Holy See, is called to pass on and bear witness to those spiritual and moral values grounded in the very nature of human beings and society, and which, as such, can be shared by all those committed to the pursuit of the common good.
Preeminent among these values is that of peace, as seen in the fact that for fifty years now, the Popes have dedicated the first day of January to peace, addressing a special Message to the world’s civil and religious authorities, and to all men and women of goodwill. The Message for the coming World Day of Peace, published just three days ago, has as its theme: Nonviolence: A Style of Politics for Peace. The happy occasion of our meeting today allows me to share with you some brief reflections on that theme.
Nonviolence is a typical example of a universal value that finds fulfilment in the Gospel of Christ but is also a part of other noble and ancient spiritual traditions. In a world like our own, sadly marked by wars and numerous conflicts, to say nothing of widespread violence evident in various ways in day-to-day life, the choice of nonviolence as a style of life is increasingly demanded in the exercise of responsibility at every level, from family education, to social and civil commitment, to political activity and international relations. In every situation, this means rejecting violence as a method for resolving conflicts and dealing with them instead through dialogue and negotiation.
In a particular way, those who hold public office on the national and international levels are called to cultivate a nonviolent style in their consciences and in the exercise of their duties. This is not the same as weakness or passivity; rather it presupposes firmness, courage and the ability to face issues and conflicts with intellectual honesty, truly seeking the common good over and above all partisan interest, be it ideological, economic or political. In the course of the past century, marred by wars and genocides of unheard-of proportions, we have nonetheless seen outstanding examples of how nonviolence, embraced with conviction and practised consistently, can yield significant results, also on the social and political plane. Some peoples, and indeed entire nations, thanks to the efforts of nonviolent leaders, peacefully achieved the goals of freedom and justice. This is the path to pursue now and in the future. This is the way of peace. Not a peace proclaimed by words but in fact denied by pursuing strategies of domination, backed up by scandalous outlays for arms, while so many people lack the very necessities of life. Dear Ambassadors, it is my desire, and that of the Holy See, to advance, together with the governments of your countries, this process of promoting peace and those other values that contribute to the integral development of individuals and society. With this in mind, I now offer you my heartfelt best wishes for the mission that you begin today, while assuring you of the ready cooperation of the Roman Curia. Upon you and your families, and upon your respective countries, I invoke an abundance of divine blessings.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Brazilian Cardinal Paulo Evaristo Arns died on Wednesday morning, aged 95, after a long struggle with lung and kidney problems.
The Archbishop Emeritus of Sao Paulo was the last living Cardinal to be appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1973.
Cardinal Arns served as Archbishop of Sao Paulo from 1970 to 1998. A pastor at heart, never far from his flock, Cardinal Arns was much beloved by the faithful.
He was also known for having challenged leaders of the brutal Brazilian military dictatorship of 1964-1985 and for his fight against torture in Latin America.
A commission created by Cardinal Arns at his Archdiocese documented many cases of torture and helped later governments pay damages to victims and shame perpetrators of violence.
“Let us praise God for the Franciscan life of Dom Paulo and for his courageous engagement in the defense of human dignity and inalienable rights of each person,” Sao Paulo Archbishop Odilo Scherer said in a statement.
Cardinal Arns will be buried in Sao Paulo’s Central Cathedral.
Following his death, the College of Cardinals is composed of 227 Cardinals, of whom 120 are Cardinal Electors, while 107 are Cardinal Non-Electors.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Council of 9 Cardinals met this week in the Vatican, from Monday, December 12 th , to Wednesday, December 14 th . The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Greg Burke, held a briefing on Wednesday to inform journalists of the work done during the sessions.
Two key issues emerged as guidelines for the reform of the Curial dicasteries: missionary thrust and synodality.
The Cardinals have concluded their study of other departments (Doctrine of the Faith, Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Causes of Saints and Promotion of Christian Unity) and delivered their final proposal to the Holy Father.
Considerable time was devoted to the projects of the two new dicasteries.
Cardinal Kevin Farrell spoke of the Congregation for Laity, Family and Life, of which he is Prefect. The discussion focused on the role of the laity, with an invitation to all to re-read the letter of Pope Francis to Card. Marc Ouellet, President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Cardinal Peter Turkson presented the work plan for the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, which combines four offices: Justice and Peace, Cor Unum , Health Care, and Migrants and Itinerant People. Card. Turkson was accompanied by Archbishop Silvano Maria Tomasi, who explained the new department as an implementation of the conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes .
Cardinal Sean O’Malley presented the most recent activities of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, while Cardinal George Pell reported on the latest developments related to the Secretariat for the Economy.
The afternoon of Wednesday, December 14 th , was to be devoted to a presentation by Msgr. Dario Edoardo Viganò, Prefect of the Secretariat for Communication, detailing the steps taken and those coming for the reform of the Holy See’s communications apparatus, with particular attention to personnel training.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for February 13 th – 15 th , 2017.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis offered thanks for the many well-wishes he has received ahead of his 80th birthday this coming Saturday.
Speaking to Italian pilgrims after the main catechetical portion of the weekly General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis departed from his prepared greetings to say, “I thank you all for your well-wishes for my upcoming birthday,” he said, adding again, “many thanks!” The Holy Father went on to tease the crowd, saying, “Those, who offer birthday congratulations ahead of time, are jinxes!”
The Holy Father in his greetings also offered thanks to the pilgrims representing participants in the “Oeration Safe Roads” initiative during the recently concluded Jubilee Year of Mercy, as well as a group of faithful from Petrignano d’Assisi, who brought the Pope a gift of an artistic Christmas crèche.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the theme of ‘Christian hope’ at his Wednesday General Audience, saying the Kingdom brought by Jesus at his birth calls us to be joyful heralds in a world that “yearns for justice, truth, and peace”.
Pope Francis focused his reflection on the words of the prophet Isaiah: “How beautiful upon the mountains, are the feet of the one bringing good news” (Is 52:7,9-10).
He said these words help us prepare for the coming feast of Christmas by opening ourselves to the hope of salvation.
The prophet calls God’s people to rejoice, for the Lord is near, bringing freedom from exile and the promise of renewal and redemption for the faithful “remnant” who continued to hope in his word.
Pope Francis noted how the prophet speaks “not of the messenger but of the messenger’s feet”.
Comparing this to the spouse in the Song of Songs (Sg 2:8), he said, “So also the messenger of peace races to bring the proclamation of liberation, of salvation, and declaring that God reigns.”
The Pope said God’s kingdom means that “God has not abandoned His people and has not let them be overcome by evil, because He is faithful and His grace is greater than sin… And the fulfillment of so much love will be exactly the Kingdom established by Jesus, that Kingdom of pardon and peace, which we celebrate at Christmas and which is manifested conclusively in Easter.”
“These,” he said, “are the reasons for our hope. When all seems over, when in the face of so many negative realities faith grows weary and the temptation to say that all has lost meaning comes, rather, [look to] the good news brought by those quick feet: God is coming to make something new, to establish a kingdom of peace. God has ‘extended His arm’ and brings liberty and consolation.”
Pope Francis went on to say that, strengthened by this promise, we can face difficulties in the confident knowledge that God’s reign has begun, and that we ourselves are called to be its joyful heralds in a world that “yearns for justice, truth, and peace”.
This Christmas, he said, may we open our hearts to the message of salvation brought by the Christ Child, the Son of God who shows his great power by embracing smallness, weakness, and poverty.
“This,” he concluded, “is the surprise of a child God, of a poor God, of a weak God, of a God who abandons His greatness in order to draw near to each of us.”
(from Vatican Radio)…