(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has appealed to warring parties in Central African Republic to put an end to the cycle of violence afflicting the nation. Speaking on Sunday during the Angelus Prayer, the Pope expressed “strong worry” for the “painful episodes of the past days that have worsened the situation in Central African Republic”. Appealing to the parties involved to take action to end the violence, he said he is spiritually close especially to the Comboni missionary fathers at the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Bangui who are assisting many displaced people. Pope Francis also expressed his solidarity to the Catholic Church, to other religious denominations and to the entire Central African Republic as they make every possible effort to overcome divisions and undertake a journey of peace. And reiterating his closeness to the “afflicted and tormented nation” the Pope urged all of its people to be witnesses of mercy and to work for reconciliation. Pope Francis concluded his appeal telling those present that he hopes to travel to the Central African Republic at the end of the month and that he desires to open the Holy Door in Bangui Cathedral during his apostolic journey there. (from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegramme of condolences to the Russian President and to the people following the crash of Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt in which 224 people were killed.
Please find below the text of the telegramme sent by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on behalf of the Pope .
His Excellency Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
Having learned with sadness of the tragic crash of the Russian airline in the Sinai Peninsula, His Holiness Pope Francis conveys his condolences to you and the Russian people. He offers the assurance of his prayers for all who have died and for those who mourn their loss. Upon the nation and all involved in the recovery efforts His Holiness invokes the strength and peace of Almighty God.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…
The general prayer intention of Pope Francis for the month of November is for dialogue – that we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.
At a meeting in Brazil, Pope Francis said: “When leaders in various fields ask me for advice, my response is always the same: dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.” He said, “It is the only way for individuals, families, and societies to grow along with the culture of encounter, a culture in which all have something good to give and all can receive something good in return.” And an important ingredient for a successful encounter and dialogue, according to the Pope, is the spirit of openness and the capacity to listen to the other. However, there is no true peace without truth, he warns. There cannot be true peace if everyone sticks to his own criterion, always claims exclusively his own rights, without caring for the good of others, of everyone. Dialogue does not mean denying objective truth, but rather respecting the dignity of the other person “in a way that everyone can see in the other not an enemy, not a rival, but a brother or sister to be welcomed and embraced.” Let’s therefore join Pope Francis in praying during the month of November, so that we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed 7000 Italian Christian Business Executives in the Paul VI hall on Saturday, telling them that companies can become places of holiness.
Listen:
The Christian Union of Italian Business Executives brings together Catholic entrepreneurs who set themselves the goal of being the architects for the development of the common good.
Meeting the executives in the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis told them that their emphasis on Christian formation and training, mainly through the deepening of the social teaching of the Church, was a noble work. He also spoke about the importance of having the right balance between work and family life.
The Pope noted how a company and the executive office of companies can become places of holiness, by the commitment of everyone to build fraternal relations between entrepreneurs, managers and workers, encouraging co-responsibility and collaboration in the common interest.
The Holy Father also noted that the call to be missionaries of the social dimension of the Gospel in the difficult and complex world of labour, economics and business, involved being open and close to diverse situations such as poverty.
Speaking at one point off the cuff, the Pope spoke about women in the workplace and the challenges they can face. Giving one example to applause, he said, “how many times has a women gone to her boss and said I am pregnant and at the end of the month she is let go”.
Pope Francis stressed that increasing the praiseworthy concrete works of sharing and solidarity that the executives support in various parts of Italy, would be a way for them to put into practice the grace of the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy.
The Pope went on to say that it was necessary to direct economic activity in the evangelical sense, that is at the service of the person and the common good. In this perspective, he said “you are called to cooperate in order to grow an entrepreneurial spirit of subsidiarity, to deal with the ethical challenges of the market and, above all the challenge of creating good employment opportunities.”
The Holy Father concluded by urging them to engage together for this purpose telling those gathered that it would bear fruit,” to the extent that the Gospel is alive and present in your hearts, in your mind and in your actions.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says a good priest knows how to empathize and get involved in the life of his flock. He said God pardons us like a father and not like an official in a law court. The Pope’s words came during his homily at Mass on Friday at the Santa Marta residence that was given in Spanish.
The focus of Pope Francis’s homily was God’s compassion for each one of us and for the whole of humanity and how He sent His Son to “heal, regenerate and renew” the human race.
“It’s interesting that in the parable that we all know of the Prodigal Son, it’s said that when the father – who’s the figure of a forgiving God – sees his son arriving he feels compassion. God’s compassion isn’t about feeling pity: it’s nothing at all to do with that.”
“I can feel pity,” he explained, “for a dog that is dying,” but God’s compassion is different, it means “empathizing with another person’s problem, empathizing with that person’s situation.”
“Jesus healed people but he is not a healer. No! He healed people as a sign, as a sign of God’s compassion, to save that person, to bring back the lost sheep to the fold, the money that went missing from the woman’s purse. God has compassion. God loves us like a Father. He does this for each one of us. And when God forgives, he forgives like a Father and not like an official in the law court who reads out the verdict saying: ‘Acquitted for lack of evidence.’ He forgives us from within his heart. He forgives because he loved that person.”
Jesus, continued the Pope, was sent to bring the good news, “to free those who are oppressed” and “to enter the heart of each one of us, to free us from our sins and evil.”
“This is what a priest does: he feels empathy towards others and becomes involved in the life of people because he is a priest, like Jesus is a priest. How many times – and then we must go to confession – do we criticize those priests who are not interested in what is happening to those in their congregation, who don’t care about them. He is not a good priest! A good priest is one who empathizes.”
Pope Francis said a good priest is somebody who gets involved in all human problems. He concluded his homily by paying tribute to Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who was present at the Mass, to celebrate his 60 years of priesthood. He praised the Cardinal’s work on behalf of the Church when he headed the Dicastery for Health Workers and said let us give thanks to God for these 60 years and for God’s compassion.
(from Vatican Radio)…