(Vatican Radio) Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Vatican Press Office, briefed journalists after the reading of the verdicts in the so-called ‘Vatileaks 2’ trial.
Father Lombardi explained that the trial had to take place because a Law was promulgated in 2013 specifically to contrast the illegal leaking of documents and information.
The proceedings, he continued, had to go ahead in order to give tangible evidence of the firm decision within the Holy See to put an end to all tensions and controversial discussions surrounding internal Vatican matters that too often – in recent times – have stemmed from the leaking of confidential information to the media and have resulted in ambiguous and negative contexts.
“To be able to understand and evaluate the diverse aspects of this situation”, the right thing to do – Lombardi said – was to courageously tackle the issue and understand which was the effective responsibility of the journalists notwithstanding predictable polemical comments regarding press freedom issues.
Father Lombardi said the trial was conducted by competent Lawyers and Judges within the full respect of Laws and procedures and in full (and public) transparency.
The verdict – he concluded – was formulated by the Judges taking part in the formation of the Court in full autonomy, with an attitude of justice and clemency.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Pope Francis became “a spokesman for the deepest
longings of indigenous peoples” in the message disseminated in recent days on
his Worldwide Prayer Network, the
Apostleship of Prayer (www.apmej.org). Speaking in Spanish – the video is
available with subtitles in six languages at www.thepopevideo.org – the Pope
said that his universal prayer intention for the month of July is respect for
those populations whose origins in a particular place date back to prehistoric
times. “I want you to add your voice to mine”, the Pope urges, while images
move across the screen displaying the faces of men and women from different
ethnic groups in traditional dress, “in a heartfelt prayer that all will
respect indigenous peoples, threatened in their identity and even in their
existence”. The video
message for July on the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network was inspired by the
speech St. John Paul II addressed to indigenous people at
the Latacunga airport in Ecuador on 31 January 1985. It was an important part
of his apostolic journey, which, 30 years ago, took him to Venezuela, Ecuador,
Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago from 26 January to 5 February. On that occasion
Pope Wojtyła told the
indigenous people that he wanted to be “a spokesman for” their “deepest
longings”. Pope Francis revived those words in the days marking the first
anniversary of his trip to Latin America, during which he travelled to Ecuador,
Bolivia and Paraguay from 5 to 12 July 2015. In each of these three countries, the first Latin
American Pope spent time meeting with indigenous peoples, and the liturgies
celebrated there contained elements of native languages, arts and cultures,
such as Quechua or Guarani. In particular, while participating in the Second
Meeting of World Popular Movements, held at the Expo Feria Exhibition Centre in
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on Thursday, 9 July 2015, Pope Francis quoted
his predecessor’s specific request for forgiveness. “I wish to be
quite clear, as was Saint John Paul II:
I humbly ask forgiveness, not only for the offences of the Church herself, but
also for crimes committed against the native peoples during the so-called
conquest of America”….
(Vatican Radio) Religious liberty and the importance of the family were among the themes touched on by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn during his mission as papal envoy to Belarus to mark the 25 th anniversary of the establishment of the Minsk-Mohilev archdiocese.
The July 1-2 celebrations were held in the Marian shrine of Budslav.
The cardinal, who represented Pope Francis for the event, met with political representatives, and visited the memorial monument for the victims of national socialism in Trostents, near Minsk. During meetings with religious and state representatives, Cardinal Schönborn emphasized the importance of religious liberty, and the need to have good relations between Church and State.
In his homily for Mass at the Budslav shrine, which was attended by some thirty thousand people, the archbishop of Vienna also spoke on the importance of the family, and how totalitarian regimes – along with other ideologies – want to destroy it.
“We, however, believe in the strength of the family,” Cardinal Schönborn said.
The following Sunday, 3 July, the Cardinal consecrated a new Catholic Church in Minsk.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis encouraged everyone to visit the Blessed Sacrament every day, if possible, in a message for of the upcoming Eucharistic Congress in Geneva, Italy.
“On this happy occasion which is offered to us, I encourage all the Faithful to always honor the most blessed Eucharist,” the Pope said in the message, which was addressed to the president of the Italian Bishop’s Conference, Cardinal Agnelo Bagnasco.
Citing the Second Vatican Council document Sacrosantum Concilium , the Pope referred to the Eucharist as “a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity,” and he called the faithful to be nourished by it “in order to be fraternally united among themselves, and cooperate in the building of the Church and the good of the world.”
“Moreover, I want to encourage everyone to visit – if possible, every day – especially amid life’s difficulties, the Blessed Sacrament of the infinite love of Christ and His mercy, preserved in our churches, and often abandoned, to speak filially with Him, to listen to Him in silence, and to peacefully entrust yourself to Him.
The Eucharistic Congress will take place 15-18 September in the northern Italian city of Geneva.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Wednesday with a large group of French pilgrims, including very poor and homeless people supported by the Sappel community. The group of 200 pilgrims from the Lyon region of France is marking the upcoming one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Fr Joseph Wresinski who founded the ATD Fourth World international movement working for the eradication of chronic poverty across the globe.
Listen to Philippa Hitchen’s report:
In his words to the group, the Pope stressed the important witness that this pilgrimage provides of walking together and supporting each other. He told his guests how welcome they were in the Vatican and reminded them that Jesus came to share in their condition of poverty and rejection by the people of his day.
Quoting the words of Fr Wresinski, Pope Francis said ‘You are in the heart of the Church’ because Jesus always gave priority to the poor and suffering. You help us to encounter Jesus, he said, not through words, but through the witness of your lives and by reminding us that we are all children of God the Father.
Keep hope alive
The Pope urged his listeners to always be courageous and to keep alive the joy of hope, because we believe, he said, in a God who repairs injustice, who comforts the suffering and who rewards those who maintain their faith in him.
Pray for those responsible for poverty
He also asked them to pray for a conversion of hearts of those responsible for poverty in the world: the rich, the hypocrites, those who ignore the cry of the hungry at their doors. Pray too for the priests and Levites, the Pope said, all those who see people in pain and need, but who lack compassion and who pass by on the other side of the road.
Finally the Pope thanked those accompanying the group and carrying on the work of Fr Wresinski, noting that it is through sharing life with the poor that we are transformed and converted.
Rediscover solidarity with the poor
Born in France to very poor immigrant parents, Joseph Wresinski founded the (ATD) Fourth World movement in 1957 to end the exclusion and injustice of poverty and to bring the voices of the excluded into the public square. During this year of Mercy, Pope Francis said, it is time to rediscover and to live out this dimension of solidarity, fraternity and mutual support.
(from Vatican Radio)…