Br Francesco Patton is the new Custos of
the Holy Land, succeeding Br Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who led the Custody for
the past ten years. The nomination by the General Council of the Order of
Friars Minor was ratified by the Holy See, according to the Pontifical Statutes
dealing with this entity of the Franciscan Order. The
new Custos was born in Vigo Meano, Italy in the Archdiocese of Trent on 23
December 1963, and belongs to the Province of St Anthony of the Friars Minor of
northern Italy. He made his first
religious profession on 7 September 1983 and his solemn profession on 4 October
1986. He was ordained a priest on 26 May 1989. In 1993 he earned a Licentiate
in Communication Sciences at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome. He
has served in various capacities in his province and also within the Order. He
was twice Secretary General of the General Chapters in 2003 and 2009; Visitator
General in 2003; Minister Provincial of St Vigilium of Trent from 2008 to 2016;
and President of the Conference of Provincial Ministers of Italy and Albania (COMPI) from 2010 to 2013. Br
Francesco has also served in many capacities outside of the Order, including:
as member of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council and secretary of the Diocesan
Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese of Trent; professor of Social
Communications at the Studio Teologico Accademico Tridentino; collaborator of
the Diocesan Weekly, of Diocesan Radio and of Telepace Trento. He has also been
enrolled with the journalists of Trentino-Alto Adige as a publicist since 1991….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday urged Italian football (soccer) players to not just be champions in their sport but above all champions in their lives, by displaying key moral values such as brotherhood, mutual respect, understanding and forgiveness. His remarks came during an audience at the Vatican with top representatives of Italy’s Seria A Football League as well as players from the Juventus and AC Milan teams. The two Seria A teams play each other at the weekend in the final of the Italian cup (Coppa Italia) in Rome’s Olympic Stadium.
A keen football fan himself, Pope Francis reminded the players, that as role models for many fans, especially the young, their behaviour should always reflect “the authentic values of sport.” He said the success of a team depends on a fusion of human and moral virtues such as “harmony, loyalty, friendship, dialogue and solidarity.” By being a witness of those moral virtues, he continued, you can emphasize even more the real purpose of the world of sport that is “sometimes marred by negative episodes.”
The Pope reminded the players that they are not just footballers but first and foremost a human being, each with their own conscience, and urged them to always show “brotherhood, mutual respect, understanding and forgiveness.” “Be champions in sport but above all champions in your life,” he stressed.
Pope Francis concluded by encouraging the players to always highlight whatever is “truly good and beautiful” and to not be afraid to share and display with their fans “the moral and religious principles” on which they wish to base their life.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Announcing the word of God should never be dissociated from the understanding of human weakness. That was Pope Francis’ message during the daily Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. Commenting on the Gospel passage in which Christ speaks with the Pharisees about adultery, he said the Lord overcomes the human vision which would reduce the vision of God to a casuistic equation.
The Gospel, the Pope said, is full of examples of the Pharisees and the doctors of the law attempting to trap Jesus by catching Him off guard, seeking to undermine the authority and favour he enjoys with the people. One of those attempts is related in the day’s Gospel, in which the Pharisees tempt Him by asking if it is licit for a man to put away his wife.
Truth, not casuistry
Pope Francis speaks of the “trap” of “casuistry,” concocted by “a small group of enlightened theologians,” convinced that they “have all the knowledge and wisdom of the people of God.” It is a snare from which Jesus escapes, he says, by going “beyond,” “to the fullness of matrimony.” The Lord had already done so with the Sadducees, the Pope recalled, when they had questioned Him about the woman who had had seven husbands. At the resurrection, Jesus affirmed, she would not be the wife of any of them, because in heaven “they neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
In that case, the Pope said, Christ looked to the “eschatological fullness” of marriage. With the Pharisees, on the other hand, He referred to “the fullness of the harmony of creation.” “God created them male and female,” and “the two became one flesh.”
“ They are no longer two, but one flesh,” and so “no human must separate what God has joined. Both in the case of the levirate marriage and in this case, Jesus responds with the overwhelming truth, with the blunt truth: This is the truth! Always from the fullness. And Jesus never negotiates with the truth. And these people, this small group of enlightened theologians, always negotiate with the truth, reducing it to casuistry. And Jesus never negotiates with the truth. And this is the truth about marriage, there is no other.
Truth and understanding
“But Jesus,” Pope Francis continued, “so merciful, He is so great, that he never, never, never, closes the door to sinners.” And so He does not limit Himself to proclaiming the truth of God, but goes on to ask the Pharisees what Moses had established in the Law. And when the Pharisees responded that Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce, Jesus replied that this was permitted “because of the hardness of your hearts.” That is, the Pope explained, Jesus always distinguished between the truth and “human weakness” without “twisting words.”
In the world in which we live, with this culture of the provisional, this reality of sin is so strong. But Jesus, recalling Moses, tells us: “But there is hardness of heart, there is sin, something can be done: forgiveness, understanding, accompaniment, integration, discernment of these cases… But always… But the truth is never sold. And Jesus is capable of stating this very great truth, and at the same time being so understanding with sinners, with the weak.
Forgiveness is not an equation
And so, Pope Francis emphasized, these are “the two things that Jesus teaches us: truth and understanding.” This is what the “enlightened theologians” fail to do, because they are closed in the trap of “a mathematical equation” of “Can it be done? Can it not be done?” and so they are “incapable both of great horizons, and of love” for human weakness. It is enough to see, the Pope concluded, the “delicacy” with which Jesus treated the adulteress woman who was about to be stoned: “Neither do I condemn you: Go forth, and sin no more.”
May Jesus teach us to have at heart a great adhesion to the truth, and also at heart a great understanding and accompaniment for all our brothers who are in difficulty. And this is a gift, this is what the Holy Spirit teaches us, not these enlightened doctors, who to teach us need to reduce the fullness of God to a casuistic equation. May the Lord give us this grace.
Listen:
(from Vatican Radio)…
Click to download bulletin for 5/29/2016
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday received Letters of Credence from the Ambassadors to the Holy See from Estonia , Malawi , Namibia , the Seychelles , Thailand and Zambia .
In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered Thursday morning in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, Pope Francis reflected with Ambassadors Väino Reinart of Estonia, Michael Barth Kamphambe Nkhoma of Malawi, Andreas B. D. Guibeb of Namibia, Thomas Selby Pillay of the Seychelles, Nopadol Gunavibool of Thailand, and Muyeba Shichapwa Chikonde of Zambia, on the concrete reminder of our common humanity that diplomatic service provides, and upon mindfulness of which effective diplomatic activity depends.
Click below to hear our report
“This service,” said Pope Francis, “has taken on a particular urgency, as so many in our world are suffering conflicts and war, forced migration and displacement, and the uncertainty born of economic hardship.” The Holy Father went on to say, “These problems demand not only that we reflect upon them and discuss them, but that we also express concrete signs of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in grave need.”
Peace was a central focus of Pope Francis’ reflections, specifically and especially the service to the cause of peace the nations of the world are called to render by finding ways creatively and effectively to manage the tensions created and exacerbated by conflicts that destroy whole societies and drive people from their homes. “While our initiatives on behalf of peace should help people to remain in their homelands,” he said, “this present hour urges us to assist migrants and those caring for them: we must not allow misunderstanding and fear to weaken our resolve; rather, we are called to build a culture of dialogue, one which ‘enables us to view others as valid dialogue partners, to respect the foreigner, the immigrant and people from different cultures as worthy of being listened to’ ( Conferral of the Charlemagne Prize , 6 May 2016).”
The Holy Father went on to say, “In this way, we will promote an integration which respects the traditions of migrants and preserves the culture of the community receiving them, all the while enriching both.”
Warning against ceding to the temptations of partial and short-sighted solutions, which do not address the underlying issues that block the way toward genuine, just and lasting peace among peoples in the world. “If misunderstanding and fear prevail,” he said, “something of ourselves dies, our cultures, history and traditions are weakened, and our own peace is compromised.”
“When,” however, “we foster dialogue and solidarity, both individually and collectively, it is then that we experience the best of humanity and secure an enduring peace for all, as intended by our Creator,” Pope Francis said.
The Holy Father concluded his remarks with particular greetings through the newly-accredited Ambassadors to the Pastors and faithful of the Catholic communities present in their countries, encouraging the Catholic communities there always to be heralds of hope and peace.
The Pope made explicit reference to those Christian and minority communities suffering persecution for their beliefs. “[T]o them I renew my prayerful support and solidarity,” he said.
“For its part,” Pope Francis said finally, “the Holy See is honoured to be able to strengthen with each of you [Ambassadors] and with the countries you represent an open and respectful dialogue and a constructive collaboration.”
(from Vatican Radio)…