(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday urged the “abolition of war” while meeting participants in a training course for military chaplains jointly organized by the Congregation for Bishops, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.
The course explored some of the current challenges of international humanitarian law regarding the protection of human dignity during internal armed conflicts and the so-called “new conflicts.”
Pope Francis told the participants the issue is “unfortunately, very topical” due to the increased violence and armed conflicts in different parts of the world, such as Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.
“In this age, in which we are experiencing a ‘piecemeal third world war ‘, you are called upon to supply the military and their families with the spiritual and ethical dimensions which help them to face the difficulties and often harrowing questions inherent in this peculiar service to their country and to humanity,” he said.
“Many soldiers return from war operations or peacemaking missions with real inner wounds,” Pope Francis said. “War can leave an indelible mark in them. War, in fact, always leaves an indelible mark.”
Pope Francis said it is appropriate to wonder how to treat the spiritual wounds of soldiers who have witnessed atrocities during war.
“These people and their families require specific pastoral attention, which allows them to feel the maternal presence of the Church,” Pope Francis said. “The role of the chaplain is to accompany them and support them in their journey, as a fraternal and comforting presence.”
Pope Francis also spoke of the role humanitarian law plays in safeguarding the essential principles of humanity in a context which is “itself dehumanizing.”
The Holy Father pointed out humanitarian law aims to protect non-combatants; tries to ban weapons which cause horrible and unnecessary suffering,; and attempts to protect the natural environment and cultural heritage. He said because of this important mission, humanitarian law deserves to be “promoted and spread” among all militaries and armed forces, “including non-state actors.”
“In addition, it needs to be further developed, to deal with the new reality of the war, which today, unfortunately, uses increasingly deadly tools,” said Pope Francis.
“However, as Christians, we are deeply convinced that the ultimate goal, the most worthy of the person and the human community, is the abolition of war,” he said.
“Therefore, we must always strive to build bridges that bring us together, and not walls that keep us apart; we always have to help search for an opening to mediation and reconciliation; we must never give in to the temptation of considering the other only as an enemy to be destroyed, but rather as a person, endowed with inherent dignity, created by God in His image,” Pope Francis said.
“Even in the midst of the lacerations of war” – the Holy Father said – “we must never get tired of remembering that each person is extraordinarily sacred.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Sunday 25 Oct. Lines of faithful spiraled around St. Peter’s Square from early on Sunday awaiting their chance to enter St. Peter’s Basilica for the closing Mass of the Synod on the Family. The Mass, presided over by Pope Francis, marked the end of the second gathering of the Synod of Bishops to discuss “The Mission and Vocation of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.”
Families from all over the world filled the Basilica. As the Synod Fathers walked down the aisle people waived eagerly when they spotted their own bishop – or, of course, their favourite cardinal!
In his homily Pope Francis concentrated on the readings of the day. He said that the three readings “show us God’s compassion, his fatherhood, definitively revealed in Jesus.”
The prophet Jeremiah, the Holy Father said, proclaims that God has saved his people, the remnant of Israel, because he is their Father. God takes care of his people and accompanies them on their way. “God will change their captivity into freedom, their solitude into communion,” he said.
Commenting on the Second Reading from the letter to the Hebrews, Pope Francis said that it reveals Jesus’ compassion. Jesus is “beset with weakness, so that he can feel compassion for those in ignorance and error.”
Pope Francis said that Gospel was directly linked to the First Reading. Jesus’ compassion frees Bartimaeus. “Jesus is moved by his request and becomes involved in his situation.” The Holy Father said that it was significant that he is told to “take heart” which means, “have faith, strong courage!” He went on to say that Jesus gives people strength to face difficult situations. He said that the second important word was “rise”. “When humanity’s cry, like Bartimaeus’, becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make Jesus’ words our own and, above all, imitate his heart.”
Pope Francis warned of temptations for those who follow Jesus. He said that Mark’s Gospel showed at least two of them. First, none of the disciples stopped to do anything for the blind man, they were deaf, and his problem was not theirs. The Holy Father said that we, today, could do the same. He said that this can be called a “spirituality of illusion” because “we can walk through the streets of humanity without seeing what is really there; instead we see what we want to see.”
The second temptation the Pope spoke of was the danger of falling into a “scheduled faith.” He said this is when we are able to walk with the People of God but we already have “our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed”. By doing this, the Holy Father said, we run the risk of becoming like the “many” in the Gospel who lose patience with Bartimaeus.
Pope Francis said “Just a short time before, they scolded the children, and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him. They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus.”
In the end, Pope Francis added, Bartimaeus “did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus.”
The Holy Father thanked the Synod Fathers who have “walked together.” He said that, with eyes fixed on Jesus, they have searched for paths “which the Gospel indicates for our times so that we can proclaim the mystery of family love.” He told the Synod Fathers that now they have to “follow the path the Lord desires” not allowing “ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.”
The prayers of the faithful were read in five languages – including Chinese, French, Polish, English, and Hindi – praying for the Church, families, world leaders, the economic situation and the poor, suffering and lonely.
The president-delegates of the Synod and the general secretaries concelebrated with Pope Francis.
At the end of the Mass, before leaving the Basilica, the Salve Regina was sung. The Holy Father paused at the image of the Holy Family during the Salve Regina and then, left the Basilica with the bishops in procession down the main aisle.
(Fr. Russell Pollitt, SJ)
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Prayerful and practical solidarity with every family that has been forced to flee a homeland torn by strife and to seek a better future in distant lands and far-off shores: this was the promise of Pope Francis in remarks to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square before the Angelus prayer this Sunday.
Drawing on the first reading of the XXX Sunday in Ordinary Time, from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, which tells of the Lord’s promise to deliver His faithful people from captivity and restore them to liberty, Pope Francis said, “[T]his prophecy of a people on their way is one I have also confronted with the images of refugees making their way along the streets of Europe, a dramatic reality of our times. God says to them: ‘They left weeping, I shall lead them back amid consolations.’ Those families most suffering, uprooted from their land, were present with us in the Synod as well: in our prayers and in our work, through the voice of some of their pastors present at the meeting. These people in search of dignity, these families searching for peace, remain with us still: the Church does not abandon them, for they are part of the people that God desires to free from slavery and lead to freedom.”
The traditional prayer of Marian devotion followed Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, to mark the closing of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which met in Rome over the past three weeks for prayerful reflection and discussion of the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.
In his homily, Pope Francis reflected on the story recounted in the reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark, in which the Lord miraculously restores the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, to sight. The Holy Father focused on the way the story dramatizes the need for all of us in the Church to make sure that our desires are ordered to Christ, and then to be confident in approaching Him with humility as we ask Him for every blessing – even as we are mindful of all He has done for us, and desirous of sharing the Good News with those, who need it most.
“Let us follow the path that the Lord desires,” said Pope Francis. “Let us ask Him to turn to us with his healing and saving gaze, which knows how to radiate light, as it recalls the splendour which illuminates it.” The Holy Father concluded, saying, “Never allowing ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass being offered on Sunday morning, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, to mark the close of the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, who have been gathered in Rome for the past three weeks to reflect on and discuss the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.
Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks
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Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis
Holy Mass for the Closing of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops
30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 25 October 2015
The three Readings for this Sunday show us God’s compassion, his fatherhood, definitively revealed in Jesus.
In the midst of a national disaster, the people deported by their enemies, the prophet Jeremiah proclaims that “the Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel” (31:7). Why did he save them? Because he is their Father (cf. v. 9); and as a Father, he takes care of his children and accompanies them on the way, sustaining “the blind and the lame, the women with child and those in labour” (31:8). His fatherhood opens up for them a path forward, a way of consolation after so many tears and great sadness. If the people remain faithful, if they persevere in their search for God even in a foreign land, God will change their captivity into freedom, their solitude into communion: what the people sow today in tears, they will reap tomorrow in joy (cf. Ps 125:6).
We too have expressed, with the Psalm, the joy which is the fruit of the Lord’s salvation: “our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongues with shouts of joy” (v. 2). A believer is someone who has experienced God’s salvific action in his life. We pastors have experienced what it means to sow with difficulty, at times in tears, and to rejoice for the grace of a harvest which is beyond our strength and capacity.
The passage from the Letter to the Hebrews shows us Jesus’ compassion. He also “is beset with weakness” (5:2), so that he can feel compassion for those in ignorance and error. Jesus is the great high priest, holy and innocent, but also the high priest who has taken on our weakness and been tempted like us in all things, save sin (cf. 4:15). For this reason he is the mediator of the new and definitive covenant which brings us salvation.
Today’s Gospel is directly linked to the First Reading: as the people of Israel were freed thanks to God’s fatherhood, so too Bartimaeus is freed thanks to Jesus’ compassion. Jesus has just left Jericho. Even though he has only begun his most important journey, which will take him to Jerusalem, he still stops to respond to Bartimaeus’ cry. Jesus is moved by his request and becomes involved in his situation. He is not content to offer him alms, but rather wants to personally encounter him. He does not give him any instruction or response, but asks him: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk 10:51). It might seem a senseless question: what could a blind man wish for if not his sight? Yet, with this question made face to face, direct but respectful, Jesus shows that he wants to hear our needs. He wants to talk with each of us about our lives, our real situations, so that nothing is kept from him. After Bartimaeus’ healing, the Lord tells him: “Your faith has made you well” (v. 52). It is beautiful to see how Christ admires Bartimaeus’ faith, how he has confidence in him. He believes in us, more than we believe in ourselves.
There is an interesting detail. Jesus asks his disciples to go and call Bartimaeus. They address the blind man with two expressions, which only Jesus uses in the rest of the Gospel. First they say to him: “Take heart!”, which literally means “have faith, strong courage!”. Indeed, only an encounter with Jesus gives a person the strength to face the most difficult situations. The second expression is “Rise!”, as Jesus said to so many of the sick, whom he took by the hand and healed. His disciples do nothing other than repeat Jesus’ encouraging and liberating words, leading him directly to Jesus, without lecturing him. Jesus’ disciples are called to this, even today, especially today: to bring people into contact with the compassionate Mercy that saves. When humanity’s cry, like Bartimaeus’, becomes stronger still, there is no other response than to make Jesus’ words our own and, above all, imitate his heart. Moments of suffering and conflict are for God occasions of mercy. Today is a time of mercy!
There are, however, some temptations for those who follow Jesus. The Gospel shows at least two of them. None of the disciples stopped, as Jesus did. They continued to walk, going on as if nothing were happening. If Bartimaeus was blind, they were deaf: his problem was not their problem. This can be a danger for us: in the face of constant problems, it is better to move on, instead of letting ourselves be bothered. In this way, just like the disciples, we are with Jesus but we do not think like him. We are in his group, but our hearts are not open. We lose wonder, gratitude and enthusiasm, and risk becoming habitually unmoved by grace. We are able to speak about him and work for him, but we live far from his heart, which is reaching out to those who are wounded. This is the temptation: a “spirituality of illusion”: we can walk through the deserts of humanity without seeing what is really there; instead, we see what we want to see. We are capable of developing views of the world, but we do not accept what the Lord places before our eyes. A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts.
There is a second temptation, that of falling into a “scheduled faith”. We are able to walk with the People of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother. We run the risk of becoming the “many” of the Gospel who lose patience and rebuke Bartimaeus. Just a short time before, they scolded the children (cf. 10:13), and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him. They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus.
In the end, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on his path (cf. v. 52). He did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus. Dear Synod Fathers, we have walked together. Thank you for the path we have shared with our eyes fixed on Jesus and our brothers and sisters, in the search for the paths which the Gospel indicates for our times so that we can proclaim the mystery of family love. Let us follow the path that the Lord desires. Let us ask him to turn to us with his healing and saving gaze, which knows how to radiate light, as it recalls the splendour which illuminates it. Never allowing ourselves to be tarnished by pessimism or sin, let us seek and look upon the glory of God, which shines forth in men and women who are fully alive.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) 24 Oct. On Saturday evening the Synod on the Family came to a close when the Synod Fathers voted paragraph by paragraph on the final text. At the end of the vote the text was presented to the Holy Father. All 94 points received the required two-thirds majority vote.
Click below to listen to the report by Fr. Russell Pollitt SJ
General Secretary of the Synod, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldiserri, thanked the Holy Father and all the Synod Fathers as well as the auditors, experts, support personnel and the media.
Pope Francis then delivered his closing address. He too begun by thanking all those involved in Synod. The Holy Father said now that the Synod has come to an end he asks “What will it mean for the Church to conclude this Synod devoted to the family?” He said that the Synod was not about settling issues but attempting to see them in the light of the Gospel and the Church’s tradition and two thousand year history. The Pope said that it was about interpreting reality through God’s eyes.
He said that it was about making clear that the Church is a Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners seeking forgiveness. The Holy Father said that it was about trying to “broaden horizons, rising above conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints”. He went on to say that in the course of the Synod different viewpoints were freely expressed – he added “and at times, unfortunately, not entirely in well-meaning ways” – that led to a rich and lively dialogue “[offering] a vivid image of the Church which does not simply ‘rubberstamp’, but draws from the sources of her faith living waters to freshly parched hearts.”
He said that the Synod had heard what is normal for one bishop is not for another, what is considered a violation of a right in once society is an evident and inviolable rule in another,” depending on contexts. He said that at the conclusion of Vatican II the Church spoke about inculturation as the “intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity, and the taking root of Christianity in the various human cultures.” He said that inculturation does not weaken true values, but demonstrates their true strength and authenticity “since they adapt without changing; indeed they quietly and gradually transform the different cultures.”
The Holy Father said that without falling into relativism or demonising others the Synod sought to embrace, fully and courageously, the goodness and mercy of God who transcends our every human reckonings and desires.
Quoting Benedict XVI, Pope Francis said “Mercy is indeed the central nucleus of the Gospel message”. The Holy Father said that many of the delegates felt the working of the Holy Spirit who is “the real protagonist and guide of the Synod.” To conclude the Synod, he said, is to “return to our true ‘journeying together’ in bringing to every part of the world, every diocese, to every community and every situation, the light of the Gospel, the embrace of the Church and the support of God’s mercy!”
Below, please find the official English translation of the Holy Father’s address:
Dear Beatitudes, Eminences and Excellencies, Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I would like first of all to thank the Lord, who has guided our synodal process in these years by his Holy Spirit, whose support is never lacking to the Church.
My heartfelt thanks go to Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, Bishop Fabio Fabene, its Under-Secretary, and, together with them, the Relator, Cardinal Peter Erdő, and the Special Secretary, Archbishop Bruno Forte, the Delegate Presidents, the writers, consultors and translators, and all those who have worked tirelessly and with total dedication to the Church: My deepest thanks!
I likewise thank all of you, dear Synod Fathers, Fraternal Delegates, Auditors and Assessors, parish priests and families, for your active and fruitful participation.
And I thank all those unnamed men and women who contributed generously to the labours of this Synod by quietly working behind the scenes.
Be assured of my prayers, that the Lord will reward all of you with his abundant gifts of grace!
As I followed the labours of the Synod, I asked myself: What will it mean for the Church to conclude this Synod devoted to the family?
Certainly, the Synod was not about settling all the issues having to do with the family, but rather attempting to see them in the light of the Gospel and the Church’s tradition and two-thousand-year history, bringing the joy of hope without falling into a facile repetition of what is obvious or has already been said.
Surely it was not about finding exhaustive solutions for all the difficulties and uncertainties which challenge and threaten the family, but rather about seeing these difficulties and uncertainties in the light of the Faith, carefully studying them and confronting them fearlessly, without burying our heads in the sand.
It was about urging everyone to appreciate the importance of the institution of the family and of marriage between a man and a woman, based on unity and indissolubility, and valuing it as the fundamental basis of society and human life.
It was about listening to and making heard the voices of the families and the Church’s pastors, who came to Rome bearing on their shoulders the burdens and the hopes, the riches and the challenges of families throughout the world.
It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family.
It was about trying to view and interpret realities, today’s realities, through God’s eyes, so as to kindle the flame of faith and enlighten people’s hearts in times marked by discouragement, social, economic and moral crisis, and growing pessimism.
It was about bearing witness to everyone that, for the Church, the Gospel continues to be a vital source of eternal newness, against all those who would “indoctrinate” it in dead stones to be hurled at others.
It was also about laying bare the closed hearts which frequently hide even behind the Church’s teachings or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families.
It was about making clear that the Church is a Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners seeking forgiveness, not simply of the righteous and the holy, but rather of those who are righteous and holy precisely when they feel themselves poor sinners.
It was about trying to open up broader horizons, rising above conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints, so as to defend and spread the freedom of the children of God, and to transmit the beauty of Christian Newness, at times encrusted in a language which is archaic or simply incomprehensible.
In the course of this Synod, the different opinions which were freely expressed – and at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways – certainly led to a rich and lively dialogue; they offered a vivid image of a Church which does not simply “rubberstamp”, but draws from the sources of her faith living waters to refresh parched hearts. (1)
And – apart from dogmatic questions clearly defined by the Church’s Magisterium – we have also seen that what seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion. Cultures are in fact quite diverse, and each general principle needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied. (2) The 1985 Synod, which celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, spoke of inculturation as “the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity, and the taking root of Christianity in the various human cultures”. (3) Inculturation does not weaken true values, but demonstrates their true strength and authenticity, since they adapt without changing; indeed they quietly and gradually transform the different cultures. (4)
We have seen, also by the richness of our diversity, that the same challenge is ever before us: that of proclaiming the Gospel to the men and women of today, and defending the family from all ideological and individualistic assaults.
And without ever falling into the danger of relativism or of demonizing others, we sought to embrace, fully and courageously, the goodness and mercy of God who transcends our every human reckoning and desires only that “all be saved” (cf. 1 Tm 2:4). In this way we wished to experience this Synod in the context of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy which the Church is called to celebrated.
Dear Brothers,
The Synod experience also made us better realize that the true defenders of doctrine are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit; not ideas but people; not formulae but the gratuitousness of God’s love and forgiveness. This is in no way to detract from the importance of formulae, laws and divine commandments, but rather to exalt the greatness of the true God, who does not treat us according to our merits or even according to our works but solely according to the boundless generosity of his Mercy (cf. Rom 3:21-30; Ps 129; Lk 11:37-54). It does have to do with overcoming the recurring temptations of the elder brother (cf. Lk 15:25-32) and the jealous labourers (cf. Mt 20:1-16). Indeed, it means upholding all the more the laws and commandments which were made for man and not vice versa (cf. Mk 2:27).
In this sense, the necessary human repentance, works and efforts take on a deeper meaning, not as the price of that salvation freely won for us by Christ on the cross, but as a response to the One who loved us first and saved us at the cost of his innocent blood, while we were still sinners (cf. Rom 5:6).
The Church’s first duty is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim God’s mercy, to call to conversion, and to lead all men and women to salvation in the Lord (cf. Jn 12:44-50).
Blessed Paul VI expressed this eloquently: “”We can imagine, then, that each of our sins, our attempts to turn our back on God, kindles in him a more intense flame of love, a desire to bring us back to himself and to his saving plan… God, in Christ, shows himself to be infinitely good… God is good. Not only in himself; God is – let us say it with tears – good for us. He loves us, he seeks us out, he thinks of us, he knows us, he touches our hearts us and he waits for us. He will be – so to say – delighted on the day when we return and say: ‘Lord, in your goodness, forgive me. Thus our repentance becomes God’s joy”. (5)
Saint John Paul II also stated that: “the Church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy… and when she brings people close to the sources of the Saviour’s mercy, of which she is the trustee and dispenser”. (6)
Benedict XVI, too, said: “Mercy is indeed the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God… May all that the Church says and does manifest the mercy God feels for mankind. When the Church has to recall an unrecognized truth, or a betrayed good, she always does so impelled by merciful love, so that men may have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10)”. (7)
In light of all this, and thanks to this time of grace which the Church has experienced in discussing the family, we feel mutually enriched. Many of us have felt the working of the Holy Spirit who is the real protagonist and guide of the Synod. For all of us, the word “family” has a new resonance, so much so that the word itself already evokes the richness of the family’s vocation and the significance of the labours of the Synod. (8)
In effect, for the Church to conclude the Synod means to return to our true “journeying together” in bringing to every part of the world, to every diocese, to every community and every situation, the light of the Gospel, the embrace of the Church and the support of God’s mercy!
Thank you!
_____________________________
(1) Cf. Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina on the Centenary of its Faculty of Theology, 3 March 2015.
(2) Cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, Fede e cultura alla luce della Bibbia. Atti della Sessione plenaria 1979 della Pontificia Commissione Biblica, LDC, Leumann, 1981; SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Gaudium et Spes, 44.
(3) Final Relatio (7 December 1985), L’Osservatore Romano, 10 December 1985, 7.
(4) “In virtue of her pastoral mission, the Church must remain ever attentive to historical changes and to the development of new ways of thinking. Not, of course, to submit to them, but rather to surmount obstacles standing in the way of accepting her counsels and directives” (Interview with Cardinal Georges Cottier, in La Civiltà Cattolica 3963-3964, 8 August 2015, p. 272).
(5) Homily, 23 June 1968: Insegnamenti VI (1968), 1177-1178.
(6) Dives in Misericordia, 13. He also said: “In the paschal mystery… God appears to us as he is: a tender-hearted Father, who does not give up in the face of his childrens’ ingratitude and is always ready to forgive (JOHN PAUL II, Regina Coeli, 23 April 1995: Insegnamenti XVIII, 1 [1995], 1035). So too he described resistance to mercy: “The present-day mentality, more perhaps than that of people in the past, seems opposed to a God of mercy, and in fact tends to exclude from life and to remove from the human heart the very idea of mercy. The word and the concept of ‘mercy’ seem to cause uneasiness…” (Dives in Misericordia [30 November 1980] 2).
(7) Regina Coeli, 30 March 2008: Insegnamenti IV, 1 (2008), 489-490. Speaking of the power of mercy, he stated: “it is mercy that sets a limit to evil. In it is expressed God’s special nature – his holiness, the power of truth and of love” (Homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, 15 April 2007: Insegnamenti III, 1 [2007], 667).
(8) An acrostic look at the word “family” [Italian: “famiglia”] can help us summarize the Church’s mission as the task of: Forming new generations to experience love seriously, not as an individualistic search for a pleasure then to be discarded, and to believe once again in true, fruitful and lasting love as the sole way of emerging from ourselves and being open to others, leaving loneliness behind, living according to God’s will, finding fulfilment, realizing that marriage is “an experience which reveals God’s love, defending the sacredness of life, every life, defending the unity and indissolubility of the conjugal bond as a sign of God’s grace and of the human person’s ability to love seriously” (Homily for the Opening Mass of the Synod, 4 October 2015: L’Osservatore Romano, 5-6 October 2015, p. 7) and, furthermore, enhancing marriage preparation as a means of providing a deeper understanding of the Christian meaning of the sacrament of Matrimony; Approaching others, since a Church closed in on herself is a dead Church, while a Church which does leave her own precincts behind in order to seek, embrace and lead others to Christ is a Church which betrays her very mission and calling; Manifesting and bringing God’s mercy to families in need; to the abandoned, to the neglected elderly, to children pained by the separation of their parents, to poor families struggling to survive, to sinners knocking on our doors and those who are far away, to the differently able, to all those hurting in soul and body, and to couples torn by grief, sickness, death or persecution; Illuminating consciences often assailed by harmful and subtle dynamics which even attempt to replace God the Creator, dynamics which must be unmasked and resisted in full respect for the dignity of each person; Gaining and humbly rebuilding trust in the Church, which has been gravely weakened as a result of the conduct and sins of her children – sadly, the counter-witness of scandals committed in the Church by some clerics have damaged her credibility and obscured the brightness of her saving message; Labouring intensely to sustain and encourage those many strong and faithful families which, in the midst of their daily struggles, continue to give a great witness of fidelity to the Church’s teachings and the Lord’s commandments; Inventing renewed programmes of pastoral care for the family based on the Gospel and respectful of cultural differences, pastoral care which is capable of communicating the Good News in an attractive and positive manner and helping banish from young hearts the fear of making definitive commitments, pastoral care which is particularly attentive to children, who are the real victims of broken families, pastoral care which is innovative and provides a suitable preparation for the sacrament of Matrimony, rather than so many programmes which seem more of a formality than training for a lifelong commitment; Aiming to love unconditionally all families, particularly those experiencing difficulties, since no family should feel alone or excluded from the Church’s loving embrace, and the real scandal is a fear of love and of showing that love concretely.
(from Vatican Radio)…