(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with Bodo Ramelow, the Minister-President of the German state of Thüringen.
Ramelow is the first politician from the Left Party – which is descended from East Germany’s Communist party – to govern a German state.
After the meeting, Ramelow told Vatican Radio’s German Programme he invited the Holy Father to visit Thüringen to mark the anniversary of the Reformation, although he admitted it was unlikely to happen, given the Pope’s schedule.
“I explained to him that we have created a new programme called Achawa, which is the Hebrew word for brotherhood,” said Ramelow, a practicing Protestant. “This has brought together Catholics, Protestants, and many representatives of civil society… We think about the issues of the Reformation as a common theme, and encourage people to think about faith.”
The two men also spoke about the German response to the current refugee crisis. Ramelow said the first step was “to invite the people to have courage, not fear.”
“We want to talk to them about the fears they have,” he added. “But we do not want to give room to those who would stoke those fears, and certainly we cannot provide a stage to the preachers of hate.”
Ramelow told Vatican Radio he was pleased with his meeting with the Pope, adding “this key term ‘mercy,’ the central element of this pontificate, is truly lived by [Pope Francis]”
During the meeting, Ramelow gave the Pope a replica of a 1534 Bible and a bronze statue of St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday morning received in audience the President of Argentina, Mauricio Macri, who subsequently met with the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States.
Listen to Vatican Radio’s report:
President Macri assumed office in December, and was previously the Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires from 2007 to 2015. Previously, he represented the City of Buenos Aires in the lower house of Argentina’s Congress from 2005 to 2007. Pope Francis served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 until his election to the see of Peter in 2013.
A statement released by the Holy See Press Office called the meeting between the two men “cordial,” and said this “demonstrated the good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the Argentine Republic.”
The statement went on to say themes of common interest were considered, such as assistance for integral development, respect for human rights, the fight against poverty and drug trafficking, justice, peace and social reconciliation.
In this context – the statement continued – the positive contribution of the episcopate and Catholic institutions in Argentine society was reiterated, especially in the fields of human promotion and the formation of the new generations, and particularly in the current economic climate. Finally, reference was made to various issues of broader significance and interest at regional and global level.
During the encounter, President Macri gave Pope Francis several gifts, including a poncho, CD’s with traditional Argentine music and tango, and a wooden Matara Cross, the symbol of evangelization in Latin America.
Pope Francis gave the President a Peace Medallion, with the symbol of an olive tree.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday met with members of the Italian association of manufacturing companies, Confindustria, calling them to reflect together on the ethics of doing business.
Listen to Devin Watkins’ report:
In remarks prepared for the occasion, Pope Francis spoke with the more than 7,000 businessmen and women from Italy’s largest manufacturing association about their slogan ‘ Work Together ‘.
Calling them to make that slogan into a true business program, the Holy Father meditated with the members of Confindustria on its deeper meaning of a way to contribute to a more just society.
“Your proposal,” the pope said, “is to reflect together on the ethics of doing business; together you have decided to focus your attention on values, values which are the ‘backbone’ of any formation project, of the appreciation of your country, and of promoting social relations, and which allow for a concrete alternative to the consumeristic model of profit at all costs.”
He went on to list how a program based on the slogan ‘ Work Together ‘ would take into account the various groups in society most in need and most often forgotten.
These include the family, “in which the work experience, the sacrifice which sustains it, and the fruits which it produces find meaning and import”. It also takes into account those weaker and more marginalized categories of people, like the elderly and young people whose potential for work should not be imprisoned in uncertainty and unemployment.
“All these strengths combined,” Pope Francis said, “can make a difference for a business which places at its center the person, the quality of their relations, and the truth of his or her work to build a more just world, a world truly for all.”
The Pope continued, saying “This attention to the concrete person carries with it a series of important choices: It means giving to each his own, relieving of mothers and fathers of families the worry of not being able to give a future, or even a present, to their children. It means knowing how to direct, but also knowing how to share projects and ideas with humility and trust. It means acting in such a way that one task creates another, one responsibility creates other responsibilities, hope generates other hopes, especially for the younger generations, which today are more than ever are in need.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks by calling the business people to altruism in favor of the dignity of every person.
“May justice always be your teacher,” he said, “justice which refuses the ‘easy-way-out’ of recommendations and favoritisms, and the dangerous deviations of dishonesty and easy compromises. […] For there is no freedom without justice, and there is no justice without respect for the dignity of every person.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday paid a surprise visit to the San Carlo community at the Italian Centre for Solidarity (CeIS) near Castelgandalfo in the Alban hills. Founded by Father Mario Picchi, the San Carlo community works to prevent and combat social exclusion, focusing especially on those suffering from drug addiction.
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
The unscheduled visit came as part of the Pope’s plan to make a concrete gesture linked to the works of mercy on one Friday of every month throughout this Jubilee year.
The President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who accompanied the Holy Father, said the 55 young people and the volunteers living at the community centre were astonished to see him arrive unannounced and without a security escort.
The Archbishop said Pope Francis spent time talking to each one of them and listening to their stories of battling drug dependency. Founded in the late 1960s, the centre also welcomed Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II, who met with its young residents during an official visit in September 1983.
“With this sign,” the Archbishop said, Pope Francis “wanted to emphasize the need for continued confidence in the power of Mercy, which continues to support our pilgrimage and which, even in the coldest hours, makes us feel the warmth of God’s presence.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
Charity is the “beating heart” in the life
of the Church and the “compass” which orients our steps. Pope Francis spoke on
Friday morning, 26 February, to the participants in an international conference
organized by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum on the 10 th
anniversary of the publication of Benedict XVI’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est.
The following is the English text of the Holy Father’s address which was
delivered in Italian. Dear Brothers and Sisters, I welcome you on the occasion of the
International Conference on the theme: “Love will never end (1 Cor 13:8):
Prospects ten years on from the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est ”, organized
by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum, and I thank Monsignor Dal Toso for the
words of greetings addressed to me on behalf of all of you. The first Encyclical of Pope Benedict xvi
concerns a theme that allows us to retrace the entire history of the Church,
which is also a history of charity. It
is a story of the love received from God, to be carried to the world: this
charity received and given is the fulcrum of the history of the Church and of
the history of each one of us. The act
of charity is not, in fact, simply almsgiving to ease one’s conscience. It includes a “loving attentiveness towards
the other” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium , 199), which considers the other as
“one with himself” (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, ii-ii, q. 27, art.
2), and desires to share friendship with God.
Charity, therefore, is at the centre of the life of the Church and, in
the words of St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, is truly the heart of the Church. Both for individual members of the faithful
and for the Christian community as a whole, the words of Jesus hold true: that
charity is the first and greatest of the commandments: “You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength…. You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Mk
12:30-31). The present Jubilee Year is also an
opportunity to return to this beating heart of our life and our witness, to the
centre of the proclamation of faith: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). God does not
simply have the desire or capacity to love; God is love: charity is his
essence, it is his nature. He is unique,
but not solitary; he cannot be alone, he cannot be closed in on himself because
he is communion, he is charity; and charity by its nature is communicated and
shared. In this way, God associates man
to his life of love, and even if man turns away from him, God does not remain
distant but goes out to meet him. This
going out to meet us, culminating in the Incarnation of his Son, is his
mercy. It is his way of expressing
himself to us sinners, his face that looks at us and cares for us. The Encyclical reads: “Jesus’ programme is ‘a
heart which sees’. This heart sees where
love is needed and acts accordingly” (n. 31).
Charity and mercy are in this way closely related, because they are
God’s way of being and acting: his identity and his name. The first aspect which the Encyclical
recalls for us is the face of God: who is the God we can encounter in Christ?
How faithful and unsurpassable is his love?
“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s
friends” (Jn 15:13). All our expressions of love, of solidarity, of sharing are
but a reflection of that love which is God.
He, without ever tiring, pours out his love on us, and we are called to
become witnesses to this love in the world.
Therefore, we should look to divine charity as to the compass which
orients our lives, before embarking on any activity: there we find direction;
from charity we learn how to see our brothers and sisters and the world. Ubi amor, ibi oculus , say the
Medievals: where there is love, there is the ability to see. Only by “remaining in his love” (cf. Jn
15:1-17) will we know how to understand and love those around us. The Encyclical — and this is the second aspect
I wish to emphasize — reminds us that this charity needs to be reflected more
and more in the life of the Church. How
I wish that everyone in the Church, every institution, every activity would
show that God loves man! The mission
that our charitable organizations carry out is important, because they provide
so many poor people with a more dignified and human life, which is needed more
than ever. But this mission is of utmost
importance because, not with words, but with concrete love it can make every
person feel loved by the Father, loved as his son or daughter and destined for
eternal life with him. I would like to
thank all those who daily are committing themselves to this mission which
challenges every Christian. In this
Jubilee Year, my intention has been to emphasize that we can all experience the
grace of the Jubilee by putting into practice the spiritual and corporal works
of mercy: to live the works of mercy means to conjugate the verb “to love”
according to Jesus. In this way then,
all of us together can contribute concretely to the great mission of the
Church: to communicate the love of God which is meant to be spread. Dear brothers and sisters, the message of
the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est remains timely, indicating the ever
relevant prospect for the Church’s journey.
The more we live in this spirit, the more authentic we all are as
Christians. Thank you again for your commitment and for
what you will be able to achieve in this mission of charity. May the Blessed Mother always assist you, and
my blessing be with you. Please do not
forget to pray for me. Thank you….