(Vatican Radio) The challenges facing the Church in Puerto Rico were under the spotlight in the Vatican on Monday as Pope Francis met with the bishops of the Caribbean archipelago.
Among the difficulties facing people there, the Pope mentioned the serious economic situation leading to widespread migration, unemployment, corruption, drugs trafficking and domestic violence.
Stressing the need to focus on the pastoral care of the family, Pope Francis also spoke of the challenge of gender ideology in his prepared remarks which were handed to the bishops during the audience .
In his discourse, the Pope again invites the Church to distance itself from ideologies and political trends and asks the Church leaders to bind together to address the many problems facing the Caribbean country and U.S. territory.
The sacrament of marriage is one of the Latin American people’s most important treasures, the Pope says, and it must be defended. He urges them to emphasize family pastoral ministry in order to counter “serious social problems” such as “the difficult economic situation, migration, domestic violence” and “unemployment, drug trafficking and corruption.”
No to gender ideology, protecting the complementarity between men and women
The complementarity between a man and a woman is being questioned by the so-called gender ideology in the name of a freer and more just society, the Pope observes. In fact, he warns, the differences between men and women are not a question of “opposition or subordination but rather of communion and generation… always in the image and likeness of God.” Without mutual giving- he adds – neither can have an in-depth understanding of the other.
Bishops are united to face the country’s problems
The Pope invites the Church leaders not simply to pray but also to reach out in friendship and “fraternal aid” to address the many serious problems facing Puerto Rico. And, he warns them against “wasting energy in divisions and clashes.” “The more intense the communion…the more it favors the mission,” he says.
Pope Francis encourages the bishops to distance themselves from any ideologies or political trends that can “waste their time and a real passion for the Kingdom of God.” Because of its mission, he points out, the Church is not tied to any political system so that it may always safeguard the transcendence of the human person.
Be merciful pastors, care for vocations
The bishop, the Pope affirms, “is a model for his priests and motivates them to always seek spiritual renewal and rediscover the joy of leading his flock in the great family of the Church.” In view of the forthcoming Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Pope therefore asks bishops and priests to be “servants of God’s forgiveness, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. To have good shepherds , he notes, one must start with the seminaries so that they can generate an adequate number of vocations. And, he urges the faithful of Puerto Rico, in particular associations and movements, to cooperate generously in proclaiming the Gospel in every environment including the most hostile and alienated from the Church.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Eastern Catholic Church leaders of Europe meeting in Prague say the Family must be a priority in the pastoral work of their respective churches and are expressing their concern over the situation in Ukraine and what they see as borderline “discrimination” against the Church in South-East Europe.
More than 40 Eastern Catholic bishops in Europe participated in their annual meeting 4-7 June in the Czech capital and Břevnov, looking ahead to the Synod on the Family later this year. In a final communique, they expressed their commitment to providing “evermore careful preparation for the sacrament of matrimony” where couples are open to life. They also committed themselves to spiritually accompanying and guiding families.
They expressed the hope that, “in times of great vulnerability and major moral, economic and social crisis,” governments will “become more aware of the important role of the social and educative cohesion of the family” and will “legislate on its behalf, on work and on migration.”
Ukraine: “international misinformation” seeks to undermine Christian unity
With regard to Ukraine where they observed “the on-going situation of external aggression in the east of the country,” the Church leaders expressed their solidarity with people of Ukraine, and “above all the Greek Catholics.” They exhorted them “to pursue the path of dialogue and unity between the country’s Christian churches which a particular attitude of misinformation – especially at the international level – aims to undermine.”
The Catholic Church leaders affirmed that “at this dramatic moment in the country’s history,” all the churches are committed to rebuilding the difficult path of social cohesion firstly through conversion, “the only weapon in the face of those who think of corruption as the only controlling principle of society.”
Hunger and poverty do not take holidays
Describing the situation in Ukraine as “the greatest humanitarian disaster since the fall of the totalitarian regime,” the communique said the Major Archbishop of Kiev, His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk thanked the bishops for their prayers and spiritual closeness and recalled the generosity of the local Caritas organizations. He called for greater solidarity from the international community, saying hunger and poverty do not take holidays!
Catholic Church in South-East Europe faces “borderline discrimination”
The Eastern Church leaders expressed particular concern about what they described as a “too ‘discretionary’ attitude – bordering on discrimination – of numerous local administrations which seem to want to attack the Catholic Church under the administrative, economic and financial profile.”
They noted various attempts to “discredit the Church” over its financial transparency while recognizing the need for national and local churches to work for ever greater transparency in financial management and to adhere to management models in force in their respective countries. They called for the impartiality of the justice system.
The next meeting of the Eastern rite Church leaders of Europe will take place in Fatima, Portugal in October 2016.
(from Vatican Radio)…
During the flight to
Rome, Pope Francis met with journalists in a press conference. Fr Federico
Lombardi introduced the meeting and journalists followed with their questions.
The following is the Englist text of the transcription of the meeting. [Silvije Tomašević]
Good evening, Your Holiness. As one
might expect, many Croats came as pilgrims to Sarajevo, and want to know if Your
Holiness is coming to Croatia… But since we are in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
there is also great interest concerning a declaration on the phenomenon of
Medjugorje… In regard to the issue
of Medjugorje, Pope Benedict XVI at the time convened a committee presided over
by Cardinal Camillo Ruini; there were other Cardinals, theologians and
specialists on the committee as well.
They did an investigation and Cardinal Ruini came to me and gave me the
study they did, after many years of labour, I don’t know, maybe three of four
years, more or less. They did a fine job, a fine job indeed. Cardinal Müller (Prefect of the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith) told me that he would be having a feria
quarta (a meeting dedicated to this specific question) at the right time; I
think it was done on the last Wednesday of the month. But I am not sure… We are close to coming to
a decision. And then the results will be
communicated. For the moment, all that
is being done is to give guidelines to the bishops, but along the lines that
will be taken. Thank you! [Silvije Tomašević] And
your visit to Croatia? A visit to
Croatia? I don’t know when that will
be. But I remember that you mentioned to
me when I went to Albania: “The first European country you are visiting does
not belong to the European Community”, to which I replied, “It is a sign. I wish the first countries that I visit in
Europe, be the smallest countries, and the Balkans are martyred countries, they
have suffered so much!” They have
suffered much. And thus my preference
lies here. Thank you. [Anna Chiara Valle] You
spoke of those who deliberately stir up an atmosphere of war, and then you said
to the young people that there are those world leaders who speak openly of
peace while selling weapons under the table.
Would you like to explain this concept a little more… Sure: there’s always
hypocrisy! Thus I said that it is not
enough just to talk about peace, one must also work for peace! And the one who only talks about peace but
doesn’t work for it is contradicts himself; and the one who speaks of peace
while promoting war, for example, through the selling of weapon, is a
hypocrite. It’s that simple… [Katia Lopez] Holy Father, during your last meeting, with
the youth, you spoke in great detail about the need to pay careful attention to
what they read, to what they watch: you did not mention explicitly the word
“pornography”, but you did refer to “evil fantasy”. Could you explain somewhat the concept of the
waste of time… There are two different
things here: the medium and the content.
Concerning the medium, there is one thing that hurts the soul and that
is, to be too attached to computers. Too
attached to the computer! This damages
the soul and takes away freedom: it makes you a slave of the computer. It’s curious: many mothers and fathers tell
me that, in their families, they are together at the dining table with their
children but the children have their telephones and are in another world. It’s true that the virtual language is a
reality and we cannot ignore it; but we must direct it in the right way,
because it does represent human progress.
But when this leads us away from a common life, from family life, from
social life, and also from sports, from the arts, and we are glued to our computer…
this is a psychological illness. I am
sure of it! Secondly, the question of
content. Yes, there are dirty things,
from various degrees of pornography, to empty and valueless shows, such as
relativistic, hedonistic, consumerist ones, which foment these things. We know that consumerism is a cancer on
society, that relativism is a cancer on society. I will speak about this in the forthcoming
encyclical, to be published this month.
I don’t know if I have answered your question. I used the word “filth” in a general way, but
we all know this. There are parents who
are so concerned that they do not allow their children to have computers in
their room; the computers must be in a common area of the house. These are small ways that help parents to
avoid precisely this problem. The Pontiff then added: Thank you for your
work, for all your efforts on this visit…
Thank you very much for all you do, thank you! And pray for me. Thank you. Responding to a
question from Caroline Pigozzi on the possibility of a visit in France, the
Pope said: Yes, yes, I have it in
mind to go to France. I promised as much
to the Bishops….
“The Eucharist, source
of love for the life of the Church, is the school of charity and solidarity”.
Pope Francis said this at the Angelus on Sunday, 7 June, in St Peter’s Square,
recalling the celebration of the Solemnity of Corpus Domini. This celebration,
the Pope said, pushes us to welcome the invitation to conversion and service,
to love and to forgiveness. “It urges us to become, with our life, imitators of
that which we celebrate in the Liturgy. The Christ, who nourishes us under the
consecrated species of bread and wine, is the same One who comes to us in the
everyday happenings; He is in the poor one who extends a hand, is in the
suffering one who begs for help, is in the brother or sister who asks for our
availability and awaits our welcome. He is in the child who knows nothing about
Jesus, about salvation, who does not have faith. He is in every human being,
even the smallest and the defenceless”. The Holy Father also
spoke about his visit in Sarajevo and recalled that this Friday is the
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as well as World Day Against Child
Labour. “Many children in the world,” he said, do not have the freedom to play,
to go to school, and end up being exploited as labourers. I hope for the
international community’s earnest and constant commitment to the promotion of
the active recognition of the rights of the child”. The Pope’s words in Italian at the Angelus …
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday afternoon met with the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
The two met for over 90 minutes in the Studio of the Paul VI Audience Hall. During the meeting, President Fernández de Kirchner expressed the affection felt for the Pope by the people of Argentina, and asked for the Pope’s blessings on his countrymen.
After his meeting with the President, Pope Francis met with the delegation accompanying the president on her trip to Italy. The president will attend the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Conference, as well as meet Italian officials, before travelling to the Expo Milan.
The president brought several gifts for the Pope, including a portrait of Blessed Oscar Romero by Argentine artist Eugenio Cuttica; a book by Alberto Methol-Ferré, a favorite author of Francis Pope (“Los Continentales estados y el Mercosur”); an edition of the national poem “Martin Fierro”, which has been cited by Pope Francis; two bas-reliefs for the blind, with their titles written in Braille, which represent the Virgin of Lujan, and a portrait of the Pope; a basket with typical Argentine food and an important volume on the architectural heritage of Argentina published for the nation’s bicentennial.
For his part, Pope Francis gave the president a reproduction of a Russian icon of the eleventh century, depicting the “Virgin of Tenderness”.
The encounter was the fifth meeting between Pope Francis and President Fernández de Kirchner since his election to the Papacy.
(from Vatican Radio)…