(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the Republic of Croatia’s head of government, Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković, on Thursday morning at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The Prime Minister subsequently met with the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was accompanied by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for Relations with States. A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See informs that the Pope and the Prime Minister held cordial talks, in which they remarked the good relations existing between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia, of which the Thursday visit was “a significant expression”. They confirmed their shared desire to continue constructive dialogue on bilateral issues arising in relations between the ecclesial and civil community, and focused on the prominent place the Croat faithful assigned to the figure of Blessed Aloysius Stepinac (the great Archbishop of Zagreb from 1937 until 1960, who was martyred under Communism in the country and beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1998), as well as the situation of the Croatian minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Communiqué also says Pope Francis and Prime Minister Orešković touched in their conversation upon a broad range of international and regional issues: concern was expressed, in particular, for the humanitarian crisis of refugees from the Middle East, for the conflicts that affect different regions of the world, and for attempts to weaken base of civil society (Croatia held a nationwide referendum in which participating citizens voted overwhelmingly in favor of a constitutional amendment enshrining the traditional understanding of marriage in the nation’s fundamental law). (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will travel to the Greek island of Lesbos on Saturday, April 16. A communiqué from the Vatican Press Office has confirmed next week’s papal visit which aims to show support and solidarity for refugees in the front line of Europe’s migrant crisis. The press release says the Pope has accepted the invitations of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, His Holiness Bartholomew, and of the Greek President. It says Pope Francis will meet with the refugees on the island together with the Ecumenical Patriarch and with His Holiness Jerome II, Archbishop of Athens and all Greece.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many fleeing the war in Syria, have poured onto the Aegean island over the past year.
This is a particularly delicate moment for them as, under a contested plan, the European Union started returning newcomers to neighbouring Turkey this month. Pope Francis has repeatedly appealed for support for migrants and refugees. His first journey, after having been elected Pope in 2013, was to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which, like Lesbos, has received hundreds of thousands of migrants. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) At his daily Mass on Thursday, Pope Francis said it is “the saints of ordinary life, and the martyrs of today that carry the Church forward.” They do so, he said, “with their consistent and courageous witness to the Risen Christ, thanks to the working of the Holy Spirit.”
The Christian “puts his life on the line” by giving a true witness
The first Reading taken from the Acts of Acts of the Apostles, speaks of the courage of Peter, who, after the healing of the crippled man, preached the Gospel before the leaders of the Sanhedrin. Enraged at his boldness, they wanted to put Peter to death. They had already forbidden the Apostles to preach in the Name of Jesus, but Peter continued to proclaim the Gospel – because, as he said, “We must obey God rather than men.” This “courageous” Peter, the Pope said, has nothing in common with “Peter the coward” who denied Christ three times on the night of Holy Thursday. Now Peter is strong in his testimony. Christian witness, Pope Francis continued, follows the path of Jesus, even to the point of giving one’s life. In one way or another, he said, the Christian “puts his life on the line” by giving true witness:
“Consistency between our life and what we have seen and heard is indeed the beginning of witness. But there’s something else to Christian witness; it’s not just giving it. Christian witness always has two parts: ‘We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit.’ Without the Holy Spirit, there is no Christian witness – because Christian witness, the Christian life, is a grace, it is a grace that the Lord gives us with the Holy Spirit.”
The martyrs of today
Without the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis continued, “we cannot be witnesses.” The true witness is the person who is consistent “in what he says, what he does, and what he has received,” namely the Holy Spirit. “This is Christian courage, this is the witness”:
“It is the witness of our martyrs of today – so many! – chased out of their homeland, driven away, having their throats cut, persecuted: they have the courage to confess Jesus even to the point of death. It is the witness of those Christians who live their life seriously, and who say: ‘I can’t do this; I cannot do evil to another; I cannot cheat; I cannot lead life halfway, I have to give my witness.’ And the witness consists in saying what has been seen and heard in faith, namely, the Risen Jesus, with the Holy Spirit that has been received as a gift.”
Everyday saints
In difficult moments in history, Pope Francis said, we hear it said that “our country needs heroes – and this is true, this is right.” But, he asked, “what does the Church need today? It needs witnesses, martyrs”:
“These are the witnesses, that is, the saints, the saints of everyday, of ordinary life, but life [lived with] consistency; and also the witness ‘to the end,’ even to death. These are the life blood of the Church; these are the ones that carry the Church forward, the witnesses, who attest that Jesus is Risen, that Jesus is alive, and they bear witness through the consistency of their life, with the Holy Spirit they have received as a gift.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with members of the World Methodist Council, the Methodist Council of Europe, and the Methodist Church in Britain.
The representatives of the Methodist community are in Rome to mark the opening of the new Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome.
Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks for the meeting:
Meeting of His Holiness Pope Francis
with Members of the World Methodist Council,
the Methodist Council of Europe, and
the Methodist Church in Britain
Thursday, 7 April 2016
Dear brothers and sisters,
I offer warm greetings to you in this Easter season, as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord who enlightens the whole world. We come together united in the faith that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised him from the dead. This baptismal faith makes us truly brothers and sisters. I greet also the bodies that you represent: the World Methodist Council, the Methodist Council of Europe and the Methodist Church in Britain.
I was pleased to learn of the opening of the Methodist Ecumenical Office in Rome. It is a sign of our growing closeness, and particularly of our shared desire to overcome all that stands in the way of our full communion. May the Lord bless the work of the office and make it a place where Catholics and Methodists can encounter one another and grow in appreciation of one another’s faith, whether they be groups of pilgrims, those training for ministry, or those who guide their communities. May it also be a place where the progress achieved through our theological dialogue is made known, celebrated, and advanced.
Almost fifty years have passed since our joint commission began its work. Although differences remain, ours is a dialogue based on respect and fraternity, one which enriches both our communities. The document currently being prepared, which should be published later this year, clearly witnesses to this. Building on the Methodist acceptance of the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, it has as its theme “The Call to Holiness”. Catholics and Methodists have much to learn from one another in how we understand holiness and how it can be lived out. We both must do what we can to ensure that members of our respective congregations meet regularly, come to know one another, and encourage one another to seek the Lord and his grace. When we read the Scriptures, either alone or in a group, but always in an atmosphere of prayer, we open ourselves to the Father’s love, given in his Son and in the Holy Spirit. Even where differences remain between our communities, these can and must become the impetus for reflection and dialogue.
John Wesley, in his Letter to a Roman Catholic , wrote that Catholics and Methodists are called to “help each other on in whatever . . . leads to the Kingdom”. May the new common statement encourage Methodists and Catholics to help one another in our lives of prayer and devotion. In the same letter, Wesley also wrote, “if we cannot as yet think alike in all things, at least we may love alike”. It is true that we do not as yet think alike in all things, and that on issues regarding ordained ministries and ethics, much work remains to be done. However, none of these differences constitute such an obstacle as to prevent us from loving in the same way and offering a common witness to the world. Our lives of holiness must always include a loving service to the world; Catholics and Methodists together are bound to work in different ways in order to give concrete witness to the love of Christ. When we serve those in need, our communion grows.
In today’s world, afflicted by so much evil, it is more than ever vital that as Christians we offer a joint witness inspired by the light of Easter, becoming a sign of the love of God, which in the resurrection of Jesus is victorious. May this love, also through our humble and courageous service, reach the hearts and lives of our many brothers and sisters who are looking for such love even without knowing it. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15: 57).
(from Vatican Radio)…
At Wednesday’s general audience, Pope Francis met and blessed the eyes of Lizzy Myers, a five year old girl from Ohio suffering from Usher Syndrome Type II, a rare condition causing the gradual loss of vision and hearing.
When Lizzy was first diagnosed, her parents, Steve and Christine Myers, decided to make a “visual bucket list” to help Lizzy see as much of the world as she could before she starts to lose her sight. One of their first visits was to an observatory, where Lizzy could see the moon, stars, and meteors. Once the media picked up this story, Turkish Airlines offered to cover the cost of a trip to anywhere in the world. When they decided on Rome, the Italian charity U.N.I.T.A.L.S.I. invited them to the Vatican for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
“I never expected this in a million years when we first started the journey,” Steve Myers said.
Upon meeting the Holy Father, Lizzy handed him a small meteorite. He thanked Lizzy, told her parents he will pray for their family, and asked them to pray for him as well. Vatican Radio’s Sophia Pizzi spoke to Lizzie’s parents after the audience and asked them about their feelings on meeting the Pope.
Listen to the voices of Christine and Steve Meyers, the parents of Lizzie:
Awestruck, Steve Myers said he was nervous beforehand, but a sense of calmness came over him as the Pope blessed his daughter. Christine Myers described it as “the first time she had felt an overwhelming sense of peace” since the diagnosis of their daughter’s illness.
The family originally chose to visit Rome because of its rich visuals in artwork and architecture. So far, Lizzy has been “enthralled” by everything she has seen, including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Sistine Chapel. “You have to be with her to understand how much she enjoys everything she sees,” her father said after describing how she sat and stared at the walls of the Sistine Chapel.
Next on Lizzy’s bucket list is a visit to Wyoming, though her parents note that not everything on the list involves travel. It includes normal activities too, such as catching fireflies at night, blowing bubbles, and flying a kite.
(from Vatican Radio)…