(Vatican Radio) On the eve of the arrival of Pope Francis in Bosnia and Herzegovina Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo held a press conference during which he thanked all those who’ve prayed for the successful outcome of the Apostolic visit of Pope Francis. Cardinal Puljic also highlighted the joyful mood of the people of Sarajevo, giving a behind the scenes glance at some of the preparations. His words were translated into English…
A programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick :
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria. She subsequently met with the Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
A statement from the Holy See Press Office called their discussions “cordial”, and said mention was made of the existing good bilateral relations between the Parties, in the hope that they may be further strengthened within the framework of the provisions of international law.
Issues of common interest such as the protection of human life, education and social peace were then addressed. In this context, emphasis was placed on the role and the positive contribution of Catholic institutions in Chilean society, especially in relation to human promotion, education and assistance to those most in need.
The statement said this was followed by an overview of the situation in Latin America, with particular reference to various challenges affecting the continent.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Consistory Hall the Pope received in audience 120 participants in the General Chapter of the Priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonians), based on the theme “Merciful, in community, with the poor”. Francis took the opportunity to express his best wishes to the new Superior General, Fr. Heiner Wilmer, and to greet all the Dehonians who work “often in difficult conditions in various parts of the world”.
“Religious life is indicated as a fully evangelical life, in which the beatitudes are fully realised”, remarked the Pope. “Therefore, as consecrated persons, you are required to be merciful. This means, first and foremost, living in profound communion with God in prayer, in meditation on the Sacred Scripture, in the celebration of the Eucharist, so that all our life may be a path of growth in God’s mercy. To the extent to which we make ourselves aware of the freely-given love of the Lord and welcome it in ourselves, our tenderness, understanding and goodness towards the people around us will also grow”.
Religious life is also “the cohabitation of believers who feel they are loved by God and who seek to love Him. … In the experience of God’s mercy and His love you will also find the point of the harmonisation of your communities. This necessitates the commitment to increasingly savour the mercy that your brethren show to you and to offer them the wealth of your mercy”, said the bishop of Rome to the Dehonians, recalling in this regard the example of their founder, Fr. Leon Dehon (1843-1925).
“Mercy is the word that summarises the Gospel; we might say that it is the ‘face’ of Christ, that face that He showed when he went towards everyone, when he healed the sick, when he shared a table with the sinners, and especially when, nailed to the cross, he forgave: there we find the face of divine mercy. And the Lord calls upon us to be ‘channels’ of this love firstly towards the least among us, the poorest, who are privileged in His eyes. Let yourselves be continually challenged by the situations of fragility and poverty with which you come into contact, and endeavour to offer in the appropriate ways the witness of charity that the Spirit infuses in your hearts”. The Holy Father concluded, “Mercy will allow you to open up promptly to current needs and to be industriously present in the new areopagus of evangelisation, prioritising – even if this may involve sacrifices – openness towards those situations of extreme need, symptomatic of the maladies of today’s society”….
Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) – Missionary activity is the paradigm of all the work of the Church, said Pope Francis to the participants in the general assembly of the Pontifical Missionary Societies (PMS), and reiterated that the announcement of the Gospel is “the first and constant concern of the Church, her essential task, her greatest challenge, and the source of her renewal. … Without the restlessness and anxiety of evangelisation it is not possible to develop a credible and effective pastoral ministry uniting proclamation and human promotion”.
Therefore, the members of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and the national directors of the PMS have the difficult task of opening up to “the broad and universal horizons of humanity, its geographical and above all human boundaries”, accompanying the life of the young Churches throughout the world and encouraging the People of God to fully live the universal mission. “You know the wonders that the Holy Spirit works for humanity through these Churches, often with scarce resources and even through the difficulties and persecutions they suffer for their faith and their witness to the Word of God and in defence of humanity. In those human peripheries the Church is required to go into the streets, towards the many brothers and sisters of ours who live without the strength, light and consolation of Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to welcome them, without horizons of meaning and of life”.
The Pope emphasised that the PMS, on account of their characteristic charism, are attentive and sensitive to the needs of mission territories and, in particular, the poorest human groups. “They are instruments of communion between Churches, promoting and implementing the sharing of people and economic resources. They are committed to supporting seminarians, presbyters and women religious of the young Churches in mission territories in the Pontifical Colleges. Faced with such a beautiful and important task, faith and love of Christ have the capacity to lead us everywhere to announce the Gospel of love, fraternity and justice. This is achieved through prayer, evangelical courage and the witness of the beatitudes”.
However, he warned, “be careful not to give in to the temptation to become a non-governmental organisation, an office for the distribution of ordinary and extraordinary aid. Money helps but can also become the ruin of the Mission. Functionalism, when it is placed in the centre or occupies a major space, as if it were the most important issue, will lead you to ruin, as the first way to die is to take the ‘sources’ for granted – that is, He Who inspires the Mission. Please, with all your plans and programmes, do not cut Jesus Christ out of missionary work, which is His work. A Church that is reduced to pursuing efficiency of the party apparatus at all costs is already dead, even though the structures and programmes in favour of the clergy and ‘self-employed’ laity could last for centuries”.
“True evangelisation is not possible without the sanctifying energy of the Holy Spirit, the only one able to renew, revive and give impetus to the Church in her bold outreach to evangelise all peoples”, concluded the Pope….
Vatican City, 5 June 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has sent a telegram of condolences on behalf of the Holy Father to Bishop Joseph Osei-Bonsu of Konongo-Mampong, president of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, for the many victims of the explosion and subsequent fire in a petrol station in Accra.
“Deeply saddened to learn of the tragic incident at a petrol station in Accra in which so many people died or were seriously injured, the Holy Father sends heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased and injured, to the authorities and to the entire nation. His Holiness commends the souls of the departed to Almighty God and willingly invokes the divine gifts of consolation and strength upon those who mourn and upon all who have been affected by this tragedy”….