(Vatican Radio) The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has issued a message for the 71st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan at the end of World War II, on August 6th and 9th respectively.
The message was delivered by Fr. Michael Czerny, SJ – a member of the Council – on August 6 at a two-day conference on disarmament and security sponsored by Religions for Peace at the United Nations University in Tokyo. The inter-religious meeting hosted by the Tendai Buddhist Community, and the Diocese of Hiroshima’s programme including a concelebrated Mass at the Cathedral on August 6th.
Fr. Michael was invited to deliver the message at the end of the liturgy.
The full text of the message – entitled ‘God’s great river of mercy’ – is below:
On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, of Cardinal Peter Turkson its president, and of all its members, consultors and staff: peace to you from God our Father!
It is always an important grace to commemorate the tragic anniversary of the atom-bombings of Hiroshima and of Nagasaki. For me it is a special honour to do so in person; and to extend to everyone here present, to the Church in Japan and to the entire Japanese nation, the most sincere prayer of solidarity and hope.
For over a thousand years, many Christian denominations have celebrated the solemn feast of the Transfiguration. The Transfiguration reveals the glory of Christ and demands a response of listening to Jesus Christ and of following him. His glory is revealed because, as Pope Francis preached on 1 March 2015, his “full adherence to the will of the Father makes his humanity transparent to the glory of God, who is Love” and mercy.
On 6 August we also remember the passing from this life of Pope Paul VI, 38 years ago, who most famously declared at the United Nations on 4 November 1965, “Never again one against the other, never, never again! … Never again war, never again war!” With the challenging encouragement of Blessed Pope Paul, let us pray and act in solidarity with the victims of the atom bombs and of all wars and all terrorism around the world.
With all the significance of 6th August, then, what makes 2016, the 71st anniversary, a unique and special occasion for our prayerful commemoration?
By Divine Providence, it takes place during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy established by Pope Francis. This Jubilee gives each and every one of us the opportunity to revisit the sinful and sorrowful moments of our lives, not in order to be crushed and to despair, but in order to allow God’s loving grace to enter with forgiveness and healing.
Our Heavenly Father “never tires of casting open the doors of his heart and of repeating that he loves us and wants to share his love with us … From the heart of the Trinity, from the depths of the mystery of God, the great river of mercy wells up and overflows unceasingly … The Church is called above all to be a credible witness to mercy, professing it and living it as the core of the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Misericordiae Vultus, § 25). Especially today, we pray that God may flood all our sins, recriminations and discouragement with His “great river of mercy”.
As we commemorate the atomic bombings of 71 years ago, may the Year of Mercy and the feast of the Transfiguration inspire, teach and guide us. May they open us to the mercy with which our Heavenly Father so ardently wishes to flood our hearts. May the graces of pardon, reconciliation, solidarity and hope touch each person, each faith community and social group we encounter.
Together we pray to our all-merciful Father in the name of Jesus Christ and with the intercession of our Blessed Mary, Mother of Mercy, and of Blessed Paul VI, Amen!
Michael Czerny S.J.
Office of the President
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Hiroshima, 6 August 2016
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a letter to the Refugee Olympic Team as they prepared to compete in the Olympic Games 2016 taking place in Rio de Janeiro, wishing each of them success in the competition.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
The letter – written in Spanish and dated 26 July 2016 – is addressed to all refugee athletes, calling each by name.
Pope Francis writes of his own research into each squad member’s life through their interviews with various media sources.
The Holy Father goes on to wish each of them success, expressing his desire that ‘your courage and strength find expression through the Olympic Games and serve as a cry for peace and solidarity. May humanity understand through you that peace is possible, and that with peace everything is a triumph; while with war everything is a loss.’
He closes the letter by assuring the refugee team of his prayers for them.
An English translation of the Pope’s letter is below:
Dear brothers and sisters Rami Anis, Yiech Pur Biel, James Nyang Chiengjiek, Yonas Kinde, Anjelina Nada Lohalith, Rose Nathike Lokonyen, Paulo Amotun Lokoro, Yusra Mardini, Popole Misenga and Yolande Bukasa Mabika:
I have learned about your team and read some of your interviews so that I could get closer to your lives and your aspirations.
I extend my greetings and wish you success at the Olympic Games in Rio — that your courage and strength find expression through the Olympic Games and serve as a cry for peace and solidarity.
Your experience serves as testimony and benefits us all. I pray for you and ask that you, please, do the same for me. God bless you.
In brotherhood,
Francis
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Here in Rome a meeting organized by the US Embassy to the Holy See in conjunction with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops focused on maritime trafficking and modern slavery at sea.
The July meeting shone the spotlight on the global scourge that violates the human dignity of laborers at all stages of the seafood supply chain and aquaculture industries.
Kari Johnstone , Deputy Director of the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons was at the Rome meeting to connect with the USCCB’s advisory group called Compass , which is a coalition of organizations and ministries promoting the abolition of slavery at sea.
She told Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni that it was a wonderful occasion which brought together people from both Catholic and non-Catholic organizations who are working together to combat human trafficking at sea…
Listen :
Kari Johnstone says that she deeply appreciates the fact that the meeting brought together religious organizations, other civil society groups, government representatives as well as the private sector:
“it really takes a chorus of voices to try and combat this crime that seems to be growing and evolving. To be able to get ahead of it and stay ahead of it we need to work together which is one of the reasons we are so thrilled Pope Francis has brought his voice with such moral clarity to this issue that is indeed one of the most challenging of our time” she says.
She points out that not only has he used his voice and moral authority to draw attention to and to denounce the issue, but also his convening power to bring together leaders on at least three different occasions where he has hosted summits at the Vatican.
“We’re thrilled to see that very pro-active and visionary leadership” she says.
Johnstone speaks of the incredible and precious work so many nuns and religious do in combatting trafficking and in assisting the victims.
“They are in many places around the world, on the frontline, they are the service providers; they are often the first people trafficking victims have interaction with, they may be the ones who explain to them this is a crime […] and they provide critical services to trafficking victims in many places where there are no other people providing services to them” she says.
She also points out that they are also very useful in helping experts, judges, policymakers involved in fighting the crime to better understand the problem because they often have “unique insight and access to the victims”.
Johnstone points out that during this meeting of the advisory group of Compass focusing on trafficking at sea, it is largely through the pastorship at ports for example that many of the victims receive basic assistance and perhaps a sympathetic ear.
Johnstone says a distinction must be made between trafficking at sea and migration and between smuggling and trafficking.
“Smuggling, as defined by international law, is really an immigration crime: it’s a crime against a State and its immigration policies” she says.
Many people she points out will voluntarily pay smugglers to help them cross borders (usually out of desperation) and often, somewhere along the line, many of them will eventually become trafficking victims.
“Human trafficking is a crime against individuals, where they are exploited through forced fraud or coercion. It may be sexual exploitation, it may be labour exploitation through forced labour” she says.
She says that at sea human trafficking often takes place within the fishing and seafood industries.
“Fisherman are often lured through false promises or fraudulent recruitment practices, even if they voluntarily sign up to work on a fishing boat, once they get there they are stuck on the boat for months – sometimes years – at a time, and the abuses we hear about are very disturbing” she says.
Johnstone goes on to talk about the work the US State Department Office is doing to combat and monitor the trafficking of persons and also about the importance of awareness raising and what can be done by civil society – across the board – to fight this crime.
“Civil society, religious communities, consumers, the private sector and governments all have a role to play in combatting this crime” she says and she points out some indicators to look out for.
Trafficking, she says, affects a wide range of people throughout the world, and although the victims are prevalently poor and uneducated people, in fact “it can happen anywhere to anyone”.
Johnstone also speaks about the progress that has been made in the past years to fight trafficking but points out that it is a hidden crime so it is very difficult to measure. And she says so many victims are psychologically manipulated by traffickers and are afraid to speak to authorities about their situation and this makes it very difficult to bring the extent and the gravity of the crime to light.
“That’s one of the reasons we think it is so important to identify trafficking victims as ‘victims’ – recognize them as such – and it is very important that governments don’t penalize the victims for any non-violent crimes they may have been forced to commit” she says.
It’s been good here in Rome, Johnstone concludes, meeting with the Advisory Council of Compass and seeing just how many people are bringing their voices to this so that the chorus of voices can get louder and stronger and raise awareness and improve all of our collective efforts.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made a private pilgrimage on Thursday to the Italian town of Assisi and spoke about the importance of forgiveness, saying only the path of forgiveness can truly renew the Church and the world. He lamented that “too many people are caught up in resentment and harbour hatred because they are incapable of forgiving.” “These people,” he went on, “ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them.”
The Pope’s words came during an address delivered inside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi after earlier going to pray in silence inside the small Porziuncola chapel where the Italian saint founded the Franciscan order in the 13th century. The purpose of Pope Francis’ pilgrimage there was to mark the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi” during this Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Please find below a translation into English of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks inside Assisi’s Basilica of St Mary of the Angels:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today I would like, before all else, to recall the words that, according to an ancient tradition, Saint Francis spoke in this very place, in the presence of all the townsfolk and bishops: “I want to send you all to heaven!” What finer thing could the Poor Man of Assisi ask for, if not the gift of salvation, eternal life and unending joy, that Jesus won for us by his death and resurrection?
Besides, what is heaven if not the mystery of love that eternally unites us to God, to contemplate him forever? The Church has always professed this by expressing her belief in the communion of saints. We are never alone in living the faith; we do so in the company of all the saints and of our loved ones who practised the faith with joyful simplicity and bore witness to it by their lives. There is a bond, unseen but not for that reason any less real, which makes us, by baptism, “one body” moved by “one Spirit” (cf. Eph 4:4). When Saint Francis asked Pope Honorius III to grant an indulgence to all who visited the Porziuncula, he was perhaps thinking of Jesus’ words to the disciples: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (Jn 14:2-3).
Forgiveness – pardon – is surely our direct route to that place in heaven. Here at the Porziuncola everything speaks to us of pardon! What a great gift the Lord has given us in teaching us to forgive and in this way to touch the Father’s mercy! We have just heard the parable where Jesus teaches us to forgive (cf. Mt 18:21-35). Why should we forgive someone who has offended us? Because we were forgiven first, and of infinitely more. The parable says exactly this: just as God has forgiven us, so we too should forgive those who do us harm. So too does the prayer that Jesus taught us, the Our Father, in which we say: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Mt 6:12). The debts are our sins in the sight of God, and our debtors are those whom we, for our part, must forgive.
Each of us might be that servant in the parable burdened with so great a debt that he could never repay it. When we kneel before the priest in the confessional, we do exactly what that servant did. We say, “Lord, have patience with me”. We are well aware of our many faults and the fact that we often fall back into the same sins. Yet God never tires of offering us his forgiveness each time we ask for it. His is a pardon that is full and complete, one that assures us that, even if we fall back into the same sins, he is merciful and never ceases to love us. Like the master in the parable, God feels compassion, a mixture of pity and love; that is how the Gospel describes God’s mercy towards us. Our Father is moved to compassion whenever we repent, and he sends us home with hearts calm and at peace. He tells us that all is remitted and forgiven. God’s forgiveness knows no limits; it is greater than anything we can imagine and it comes to all who know in their hearts that they have done wrong and desire to return to him. God looks at the heart that seeks forgiveness.
The problem, unfortunately, comes whenever we have to deal with a brother or sister who has even slightly offended us. The reaction described in the parable describes it perfectly: “He seized him by the throat and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’” (Mt 18:28). Here we encounter all the drama of our human relationships. When we are indebted to others, we expect mercy; but when others are indebted to us, we demand justice! This is a reaction unworthy of Christ’s disciples, nor is it the sign of a Christian style of life. Jesus teaches us to forgive and to do so limitlessly: “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven” (v. 22). What he offers us is the Father’s love, not our own claims to justice. To trust in the latter alone would not be the sign that we are Christ’s disciples, who have obtained mercy at the foot of the cross solely by virtue of the love of the Son of God. Let us not forget, then, the harsh saying at the end of the parable: “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (v. 35).
Dear brothers and sisters, the pardon of which Saint Francis made himself a “channel” here at the Porziuncola continues to “bring forth heaven” even after eight centuries. In this Holy Year of Mercy, it becomes ever clearer that the path of forgiveness can truly renew the Church and the world. To offer today’s world the witness of mercy is a task from which none of us can feel exempted. The world needs forgiveness; too many people are caught up in resentment and harbour hatred, because they are incapable of forgiving. They ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them rather than finding the joy of serenity and peace. Let us ask Saint Francis to intercede for us, so that we may always be humble signs of forgiveness and channels of mercy.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis was making a private pilgrimage to the Italian hill town of Assisi on Thursday afternoon to visit the Porziuncola chapel there to mark the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi.”
The Porziuncola is a small chapel housed inside the town’s Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels which St. Francis of Assisi restored and where he founded the Franciscan order at the start of the 13th century.
Pope Francis previously visited Assisi on the feast day of the Italian saint, his namesake, on October the 4th, 2013.
His visit this year coincides with the 800th anniversary of the “Pardon of Assisi” which is the possibility to receive a plenary indulgence during the first two days of August. The tradition began after the saint received a divine vision and asked God to grant an indulgence to all pilgrims who visit the church.
Pope Francis’ Schedule:
The Pope will arrive in Assisi by helicopter around 3.40 pm and will go to the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels where he will pray inside the Porziuncola chapel. Afterwards he will offer a reflection on forgiveness taken from the Gospel of Matthew and then meet with Franciscan bishops and superiors before addressing pilgrims gathered in the square outside the basilica.
At 6pm the Pope will be taken by car to the Migaghelli sports field where he will board the helicopter for his flight back to the Vatican.
(from Vatican Radio)…