(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received Birthday Wishes and a celebratory cake on Thursday as he greeted members of the Italian “Azione Cattolica” movement thanking them for their commitment to welcome migrants.
It was a special morning in the Vatican as a large group of children and young people who belong to the non-political lay organization sang “Happy Birthday” to the Pope as he received them for the annual Christmas audience on the day that marks his 79th birthday.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
In a festive atmosphere, the Pope commended them for their desire to live the Gospel to the full, and for their mission to involve family members, parishes and communities in an actively Christian life.
He said that by participating actively in the Mass and in Catechism, they become like missionaries and are able to bring Jesus to others.
The Pope complimented them on the motto of their formative programme for the current year which is “Journeying towards You” and said that to “journey towards the Lord means to take the good road – not the evil one; it means to put oneself on the road of forgiveness, of peace, of solidarity”.
“In this regard – he said – your initiative in favour of Migrants in the Agrigento diocese is a very good one.”
And he invoked the Lord’s blessing for the project which – he said – aims to give and exemplary welcome to “so many brothers and sisters or ours who arrive full of hope, but are also wounded and in desperate need of so much, including peace and bread”.
With your enthusiasm and your prayers – the Pope said – you can make a special contribution; and he encouraged them to also share their belongings with other young people who have none.
Pope Francis concluded with a special greeting to some of the leaders of “Azione Cattolica” who were present at the audience and thanked them for the commitment they show imparting a Christian education.
And he invoked the Lord’s blessing for the project which – he said – aims to give and exemplary welcome to “so many brothers and sisters or ours who arrive full of hope, but are also wounded and in desperate need of so much, including peace and bread”.
With your enthusiasm and your prayers – the Pope said – you can make a special contribution; and he encouraged them to also share their belongings with other young people who have none.
Pope Francis concluded with a special greeting to some of the leaders of “Azione Cattolica” who were present at the audience and thanked them for the commitment they show imparting a Christian education.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday said today’s globalization of indifference is rooted in a distorted or unbalanced humanism in which “man has taken the place of God and therefore has become in turn a victim of various forms of idolatry.” At the same time, he pointed to a positive development, saying we are witnessing from those with more mature consciences a growing “non-violent reaction” to the wars and terrorism that have marked this year. The Pope’s remarks came in an address to the Ambassadors from India, Latvia, Guinea and Bahrain to the Holy See who were presenting their Letters of Credence.
In his discourse, Pope Francis urged the Ambassadors to work together to promote a culture of solidarity in our world that can help counteract the globalization of indifference which, he said, is unfortunately “one of the negative trends of our times”. Whilst recognizing that this attitude of indifference can take many different forms and there are many causes that help to feed it, Pope Francis said its roots can be found in today’s “distorted humanism in which man has taken the place of God.” As a result of this, he added, “mankind has become in turn a victim of various forms of idolatry.”
He went on to say that “indifference towards God, towards our neighbour and towards the environment is inter-linked” and each helps to feed the other. Saying this indifference can only be counteracted with a response that tackles all three elements, the Pope called for “a renewed humanism that reinstates human beings in their correct relationship with the Creator, with others and with creation.”
In order to achieve this aim, said Pope Francis, we need to promote a culture of solidarity and sharing and this requires the active involvement of political, social, cultural and educational leaders, as well as the mass media that nowadays exert a strong influence on personal and social attitudes.
Noting that 2015 unfortunately has been marked by a growing number of violent conflicts and terrorist attacks, Pope Francis said there was some good news as this situation was triggering “a growing non-violent reaction” that is spiritual and moral among those with more mature consciences. He said the Catholic Church through its Jubilee of Mercy wishes to encourage this process by spreading throughout the world the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis will on Friday open a Holy Door at a newly refurbished homeless centre run by the Church near Rome’s main train station. Lydia O’Kane went along to see the newly completed project which offers a bed, a meal and ray of hope to hundreds of people every night.
Listen:
As you arrive at the Holy Door of the Caritas centre for the homeless at Rome’s Termini Station you can’t fail to notice the mosaic logo of the Year of Mercy depicting Jesus the Good Shepherd by Marko Ivan Rupnik.
The door will be opened by Pope Francis on December 18th and he will also have the chance to see for himself the newly refurbished night hostel and canteen which are named after Caritas Rome founder Don Luigi Di Liegro and Pope Saint John Paul II.
Speaking at the inauguration of the new centre which he described as a place of dignity and welcome, the present Director of Caritas Rome, Monsignor Enrico Feroci quoted the words of Don Luigi who said, “a city in which one man suffers less is a better city”.
Those words are inscribed on the walls of the new pristine canteen which caters for up to 600 homeless people every evening and offers a much needed respite from the streets outside where people can come, for warmth, contact with others, and a good meal.
As I make my way to the hostel itself, I am impressed by how welcoming they have made the 200 bed dormitories, each one with its own signature colour.
It’s taken years of work and co-operation to have both the canteen and hostel ready for Pope Francis’ Jubilee visit as Fulvio Ferrari, the Chief Engineer responsible for the project explains.
“We work during two years… in the last 6 months we work strongly and for the Jubilee”.
So why does he think Pope Francis chose to open a Holy Door here?
He says it’s because it is putting service at the heart of the Church’s mission.
This is a centre that offers hope and help to all who pass through its doors, but here at Termini there is also general agreement that in this Jubilee of Mercy more and more people are increasingly in need of services like these.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 16 December 2015 (VIS) – The report of the Moneyval Committee, dated 8 December, confirms that during the last two years the Holy See and Vatican City State have achieved significant progress in the construction of an adequate and functioning institutional and regulatory framework for preventing and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism (c.f., in particular, paragraphs 18-19: Vatican tribunals have frozen 11.2 million Euros as a result of the current investigations). With regard to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, the investigations are complex from a technical point of view, and require careful analysis. They have a strong international or transnational dimension, involving offences committed outside Vatican territory and persons from outside the Vatican (c.f. Paragraph 18). The Holy See has established an international network that enables it to collaborate actively with other States in these cases, at the levels of both the AIF and the tribunals. The information and statistics contained in the Report demonstrate this clearly. The Vatican Tribunal requested and received reciprocal legal assistance (letters rogatory) from other States. The Report confirms that mutual legal assistance is widely used (paragraph 79). The Holy See welcomes the Moneyval Committee’s invitation to strengthen further the capacity of its Tribunals and Gendarmerie to conduct more incisive investigations in criminal matters, and to punish the crimes of money laundering and the financing of terrorism committed within the sphere of the Holy See and Vatican City State. …
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednsday. In his catechetical remarks to the faithful, the Holy Father focused on the signs of the recently-opened Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, saying that by practicing charity, mercy and forgiveness, we can be a sign of the power of God’s love to transform hearts and to bring reconciliation and peace.
Below, please find the official English summary of the Holy Father’s reflection
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Dear Brothers and Sisters: The Jubilee of Mercy was inaugurated this past week by the opening of the Holy Door, not only here in Rome but in dioceses worldwide, as a visible expression of our communion in the universal Church. Fifty years ago, the Second Vatican Council reminded us that the Church is called to be, in Christ, the visible sign of God’s merciful love for the entire human family. Each of us, by practicing charity, mercy and forgiveness, can be a sign of the power of God’s love to transform hearts and to bring reconciliation and peace. By passing through the Door of Mercy during this Holy Year, we show our desire to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s redemptive love. Jesus tells us that he himself is the door to eternal life (cf. Jn 10:9), and he asks us, through genuine conversion, to open the doors of our hearts to a more sincere love of God and neighbour. A special sign of grace in this Jubilee of Mercy is the sacrament of Penance, in which Christ invites us to acknowledge our sinfulness, to experience his mercy, and to receive the grace which can make us ever more effective signs of his reconciling love at work in our world.
(from Vatican Radio)…