(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a videomessage on the occasion of the Day for Christian Unity which took place in Phoenix, Arizona in the United States on May 23rd.
Below is the English translation of the Pope’s Message.
Brothers and sisters, may the peace of Christ be with you.
Forgive me if I speak in Spanish, but my English isn’t good enough for me to express myself properly. I speak in Spanish but, above all, I speak in the language of the heart.
I have the invitation you sent me for this celebration of Christian Unity, this day of reconciliation. And I wish to join you from here. “Father, may we be one so that the world may believe you sent me”. This is the slogan, the theme of the meeting: Christ’s prayer to the Father for the grace of unity.
Today, Saturday May 23rd, from 9in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, I will be with you spiritually and with all my heart. We will search together, we will pray together, for the grace of unity. The unity that is budding among us is that unity which begins under the seal of the one Baptism we have all received. It is the unity we are seeking along a common path. It is the spiritual unity of prayer for one another. It is the unity of our common labour on behalf of our brothers and sisters, and all those who believe in the sovereignty of Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, division is a wound in the body of the Church of Christ. And we do not want this wound to remain open. Division is the work of the Father of Lies, the Father of Discord, who does everything possible to keep us divided.
Together today, I here in Rome and you over there, we will ask our Father to send the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and to give us the grace to be one, “so that the world may believe”. I feel like saying something that may sound controversial, or even heretical, perhaps. But there is someone who “knows” that, despite our differences, we are one. It is he who is persecuting us. It is he who is persecuting Christians today, he who is anointing us with (the blood of) martyrdom. He knows that Christians are disciples of Christ: that they are one, that they are brothers! He doesn’t care if they are Evangelicals, or Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics or Apostolic…he doesn’t care! They are Christians. And that blood (of martyrdom) unites. Today, dear brothers and sisters, we are living an “ecumenism of blood”. This must encourage us to do what we are doing today: to pray, to dialogue together, to shorten the distance between us, to strengthen our bonds of brotherhood.
I am convinced it won’t be theologians who bring about unity among us. Theologians help us, the science of the theologians will assist us, but if we hope that theologians will agree with one another, we will reach unity the day after Judgement Day. The Holy Spirit brings about unity. Theologians are helpful, but most helpful is the goodwill of us all who are on this journey with our hearts open to the Holy Spirit!
In all humility, I join you as just another participant on this day of prayer, friendship, closeness and reflection. In the certainty that we have one Lord: Jesus is the Lord. In the certainty that this Lord is alive: Jesus is alive, the Lord lives in each one of us. In the certainty that He has sent the Spirit He promised us so that this “harmony” among all His disciples might be realised.
Dear brothers and sisters, I greet you warmly, with an embrace. I pray for you. I pray with you.
And I ask you, please, to pray for me. Because I need your prayers in order to be faithful to what the Lord wants from my Ministry.
God bless you. May God bless us all.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over Mass in St Peter’s Basilica this Pentecost Sunday saying that, the world needs men and women who are filled with the Holy Spirit.
Below is the English translation the Pope’s homily this Pentecost Sunday
“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you… Receive the Holy Spirit” (Jn 20:21-22). The gift of the Spirit on the evening of the Resurrection took place once again on the day of Pentecost, intensified this time by extraordinary outward signs. On the evening of Easter, Jesus appeared to the Apostles and breathed on them his Spirit (cf. Jn 20:22); on the morning of Pentecost the outpouring occurred in a resounding way, like a wind which shook the place the Apostles were in, filling their minds and hearts. They received a new strength so great that they were able to proclaim Christ’s Resurrection in different languages: “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). Together with them was Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the first disciple and the Mother of the nascent Church. With her peace and her smile, she accompanied the joyful young Bride, the Church of Jesus.
The word of God, especially in today’s readings, tells us that the Spirit is at work in individuals and communities filled with the Spirit: he guides us into all the truth (cf. Jn 16:13), he renews the face of the earth (Ps 103:30), and he gives us his fruits (cf. Gal 5:22-23).
In the Gospel, Jesus promises his disciples that, when he has returned to the Father, the Holy Spirit will come to guide them into all the truth (cf. Jn 16:13). Indeed he calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth”, and explains to his disciples that the Spirit will bring them to understand ever more clearly what he, the Messiah, has said and done, especially in regard to his death and resurrection. To the Apostles, who could not bear the scandal of their Master’s sufferings, the Spirit would give a new understanding of the truth and beauty of that saving event. At first they were paralyzed with fear, shut in the Upper Room to avoid the aftermath of Good Friday. Now they would no longer be ashamed to be Christ’s disciples; they would no longer tremble before the courts of men. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they would now understand “all the truth”: that the death of Jesus was not his defeat, but rather the ultimate expression of God’s love, a love that, in the Resurrection, conquers death and exalts Jesus as the Living One, the Lord, the Redeemer of mankind, of history and of the world. This truth, to which the Apostles were witnesses, became Good News, to be proclaimed to all.
The gift of the Holy Spirit renews the earth. The Psalmist says: “You send forth your Spirit… and you renew the face of the earth” (Ps 103:30). The account of the birth of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles is significantly linked to this Psalm, which is a great hymn of praise to God the Creator. The Holy Spirit whom Christ sent from the Father, and the Creator Spirit who gives life to all things, are one and the same. Respect for creation, then, is a requirement of our faith: the “garden” in which we live is not entrusted to us to be exploited, but rather to be cultivated and tended with respect (cf. Gen 2:15). Yet this is possible only if Adam – the man formed from the earth – allows himself in turn to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, only if he allows himself to be re-formed by the Father on the model of Christ, the new Adam. In this way, renewed by the Spirit of God, we will indeed be able to experience the freedom of the sons and daughters, in harmony with all creation. In every creature we will be able to see reflected the glory of the Creator, as another Psalm says: “How great is your name, O Lord our God, through all the earth!” (Ps 8:2, 10).
In the Letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul wants to show the “fruits” manifested in the lives of those who walk in the way of the Spirit (cf. Gal 5:22). On the one hand, he presents “the flesh”, with its list of attendant vices: the works of selfish people closed to God. On the other hand, there are those who by faith allow the Spirit of God to break into their lives. In them, God’s gifts blossom, summed up in nine joyful virtues which Paul calls “fruits of the Spirit”. Hence his appeal, at the start and the end of the reading, as a programme for life: “Walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:6, 25).
The world needs men and women who are not closed in on themselves, but filled with the Holy Spirit. Closing oneself off from the Holy Spirit means not only a lack of freedom; it is a sin. There are many ways one can close oneself off to the Holy Spirit: by selfishness for one’s own gain; by rigid legalism – seen in the attitude of the doctors of the law to whom Jesus referred as “hypocrites”; by neglect of what Jesus taught; by living the Christian life not as service to others but in the pursuit of personal interests; and in so many other ways. The world needs the courage, hope, faith and perseverance of Christ’s followers. The world needs the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22). The gift of the Holy Spirit has been bestowed upon the Church and upon each one of us, so that we may live lives of genuine faith and active charity, that we may sow the seeds of reconciliation and peace. Strengthened by the Spirit and his many gifts, may we be able uncompromisingly to battle against sin and corruption, devoting ourselves with patient perseverance to the works of justice and peace.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to the Archbishop of San Salvador, Msgr. José Luis Escobar Alas, on the occasion of the beatification of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero Galdámez.
Listen to the report by Devin Watkins:
In the letter, the Holy Father says that “the voice of the newly Blessed continues to resonate today to remind us that the Church, a convocation of brothers surrounding their Lord, is the family of God, in which there should be no division.”
He recalled Archbishop Romero’s words as he wrote of the necessary to renounce “the violence of the sword, of hate” and to live “the violence of love, that left Christ nailed to the Cross, that makes each one of us overcome selfishness and so that there be no more such cruel inequality between us.”
In so doing, those who invoke him as intercessor and protector will ‘find in him the strength and courage to build the Kingdom of God, to commit to a more equal and dignified social order.’
Please find below a Vatican Radio translation of the letter:
His Excellency José Luis Escobar Alas
Archbishop of San Salvador
President of the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador
Dear Brother:
The beatification of Archbishop Óscar Arnulfo Romero Galdámez, who was Pastor of that dear Archdiocese is a cause for great joy for the Salvadoran people and for those who rejoice by the example of the best children of the Church. Archbishop Romero, who built peace with the strength of love, gave witness to the faith with his life, given to the extreme.
The Lord never abandons his people in difficulties, and has always shown Himself solicitous with your needs. He sees oppression, He hears the cries of pain of His children, and comes to their aid to free them from oppression and bring them to a new land, fertile and spacious, that “flows with milk and honey” (cf. Ex 3, 7-8). Equally he chose Moses one day so that, in His name, he would guide His people, He continues to raise up pastors according to His heart, who feed their flocks with knowledge and prudence (cf Jer 3, 15).
In that beautiful Central American land, bathed by the Pacific Ocean, the Lord granted his Church a zealous Bishop who, loving God and serving the brothers and sisters, converted into an image of Christ the Good Shepherd. In times of difficult coexistence, Archbishop Romero knew how to lead, defend and protect his flock, remaining faithful to the Gospel and in communion with the whole Church. His ministry was distinguished by a particular attention to the most poor and marginalized. And in the moment of his death, while he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of love and reconciliation, he received the grace to identify himself fully with He who gave his life for his sheep.
On this feast day for the Salvadoran nation, and also for neighboring Latin American countries, we give thanks to God because he granted the martyred Bishop, the ability to see and hear the suffering of his people, and molded his heart so that, in His name, he could direct them and illuminate them, even making of his work a full exercise of Christian charity.
The voice of the newly Blessed continues to resonate today to remind us that the Church, a convocation of brothers surrounding their Lord, is the family of God, in which there should be no division. Faith in Jesus Christ, when understood well and its final consequences assumed, generates communities of that are builders of peace and solidarity. This is what the Church in El Salvador is called to today, in America and in the whole world: to be rich in mercy and to convert into the leaven of reconciliation for society.
Archbishop Romero invites us to sanity and reflection, to respect for life and harmony. It is necessary to renounce “the violence of the sword, of hate” and to live “the violence of love, that left Christ nailed to the Cross, that makes each one of us overcome selfishness and so that there be no more such cruel inequality between us.” He knew how to see and experienced in his own flesh “the selfishness that hides itself in those who do not wish to give up what is theirs for the benefit of others.” And, with the heart of a father, he would worry about the “poor majority”, asking the powerful to convert “weapons into sickles for work.”
May those who have Archbishop Romero as a friend of faith, those who invoke him as protector and intercessor, those who admire his image, find in him the strength and courage to build the Kingdom of God, to commit to a more equal and dignified social order.
It is a favorable moment for a true national reconciliation in front of the challenges we are facing today. The Pope participates in your hopes, and unites Himself to your prayers so that the seed of martyrdom may flourish and become entrenched in the true paths of the sons and daughters of that nation, which proudly hears the name of the divine Saviour of the World.
Dear brother, I ask of you a favor: that you pray and that you may pray for me, while I impart my Apostolic Blessing to all who united in various ways to celebrate the newly Blessed
Fraternally yours,
Francis
Vatican, 23 Mary, 2015
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis spoke to the Italian Christian Workers Associations (ACLI) on Saturday in the Vatican on occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Association.
Listen to the report by Devin Watkins:
In his speech to the Italian Christian Workers Associations – also known as the ACLI – Pope Francis exhorted those present to support a culture of dignified labour.
He denounced the ‘god of money’ at the heart of our global economic system, promoting a culture of waste which throws away children and the elderly.
Recalling his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, the Holy Father focused on the need for a culture of ‘ free, creative, participatory, and mutually-supportive labour ’, by examining each term in depth.
‘True freedom of labour means that man, continuing the work of the Creator, helps the world rediscover its purpose: to be the work of God which incarnates and extends the image of his presence in Creation and in human history’, the Pope said.
The relational aspect is the truly human characteristic of labour which allows man to leave his mark on reality. This means that labour must be done in solidarity in order to be of benefit for all.
Closing his remarks, Pope Francis noted that Christian inspiration is the cornerstone of the ACLI Association which allows them to apply the social doctrine of the Church to the challenges of the contemporary world.
By being faithful to their founding commitments – to workers, to democracy, and to the world – ACLI workers can apply the Church’s teaching in a new and timeless – commitment to the poor .
Below, please find the English translation of the Pope’s address to ACLI
Speech to the Italian Christian Workers Associations (ACLI)
23/05/2015 12.00
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet you with affection on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Italian Christian Workers Associations, and I thank the President for his kind words. This anniversary is an important opportunity to reflect upon the “soul” of your Association and upon the fundamental reasons which prompted you and which prompt you still to live it with commitment and passion.
New questions knock at the gates of your association today, which require new and qualified answers. That which has changed in the global world are not so much the problems, as their size and urgency. Incomparable are the amplitude and the speed of reproduction of inequalities. This we cannot allow! We must propose fair alternatives which are truly practicable.
The extension of insecurity, illegal labour, and gangster-style blackmail cause the sensation, especially among the younger generations, that job insecurity takes away dignity, prevents the fullness of human life, and calls for an immediate and vigorous answer. It must be a prompt and vigorous response against this global economic system where the center of human life is an idol, the god of money. That is what truly commands! And this god of money destroys and causes the culture of waste: one discards babies because they are not conceived, or they are exploited or killed before birth. The elderly are discarded, because they do not have decent care, do not have medicine, or receive miserable pensions. And now, we even discard young people. Think, in this land so generous, think about that 40% of young people aged 25 years and under who do not have work, are waste material, but are also the sacrifice which this society, worldly and selfish, is offering to the god of money, which is the center of our world economic system. Before this culture of waste, I call upon you to realize a dream which soars higher. We must ensure that, through labour – “free, creative, participatory, and mutually-supportive labour” (cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, 192) – the human being expresses and increases the dignity of their lives. I would like to focus on these four characteristics of labour.
Free labour. True freedom of labour means that man, continuing the work of the Creator, helps the world rediscover its purpose: to be the work of God which incarnates and extends the image of his presence in Creation and in human history. Too often, however, labour is subject to oppression at different levels: of one person over the other; of new slavery organizations which oppress the poor; in particular, many women and children endure an economy which forces them to work in degrading conditions that contradict the beauty and harmony of Creation. We must ensure that labour is not an instrument of alienation, but of hope and new life.
Creative labour. Every man carries within himself an original and unique ability to draw, from himself and from the people with whom he works, the good which God has put in his heart. Every man and woman is a poet, capable of being creative. But this can occur only when man is permitted to express freedom and creativity in some form of enterprise or collaborative work done in community, which allows him and others a complete economic and social development. We cannot clip the wings of all, especially young people, who have so much to offer with their intelligence and ability. They must be freed from the burdens which oppress them and which prevent them from entering in their own right into the world of labour.
Participatory labour. In order to leave his mark on reality, man is called upon to express his labour according to the logic imbedded in him – the relational aspect – that is, to see always the purpose of labour as the face of the other and as responsible cooperation with other persons. It is there, where, because of a purely economic vision, one thinks of a person in an egocentric key and of others as a means and not as an end. At that point, labour loses its primary sense of the continuation of the work of God, a work destined for all humanity so that all may benefit.
Mutually-supportive labour. Every day you each meet people who have lost their jobs – this makes one cry –, or are seeking employment. They take what may come. Some months ago, a lady told me that she had taken a job of 10 to 11 hours, with no contract, for 600 euros per month. And when she said: “But, nothing more?” “Ah, if you don’t like it then go away! Look at the line behind you.” How many people are looking for jobs, people who want to bring home bread not only to eat, but to bring home food, that is, dignity. People want to bring home bread for their family. A proper response must be given to these people. First, it is a duty to offer one’s proximity and solidarity. The many “circles” of ACLI, which are today represented here by you, can be places of welcome and meeting. Then, however, appropriate tools and opportunities must also be given. What is needed is the commitment of your Association and the services it offers to contribute these job opportunities and new avenues of employment and professionalism.
So: freedom, creativity, participation, and solidarity. These features are part of the history of the ACLI. Today, more than ever, you are called to put them in the field, without sparing yourselves, in the service of a decent life for all.
I would like to touch briefly upon three more aspects. The first: your presence outside Italy. Begun in the wake of Italian emigration, even overseas, it has a very current value. Today many young people go abroad to find a job suitable to their studies or to live a different experience of professionalism. I encourage you to welcome them, to support them on their path, and to offer your support for their inclusion [in the local society]. In their eyes you can find a reflection of the look of your parents or your grandparents who went far away for work. May you be a good reference point for them.
In addition, your Association is addressing the issue of the fight against poverty and the impoverishment of the middle classes. The proposal of support – not only economic – to people below the absolute poverty line, which in Italy have increased in recent years, can bring benefits to all of society. At the same time, those who until recently lived a dignified life must not be allowed to slip into poverty. In the parish Caritas, we see this every day: men and women who come hidden to take food to eat. They come in secret because they have become poor in from one month to the next. They are ashamed. It is all too easy to become poor today: job loss, an elderly person who is no longer self-sufficient, an illness in the family, even – think of the terrible paradox – the birth of a child. It is an important cultural battle to consider the welfare infrastructure as a development structure and not as a cost. You can act as coordinators and as the motor of the ”new Alliance against poverty “, which aims to develop a national plan for decent and dignified labour.
Last but not least, may your commitment always have its principle and its glue in what you call Christian inspiration, which refers to the constant fidelity to Jesus Christ and to the Word of God, to study and apply the Social Doctrine of the Church when confronted with the new challenges of the contemporary world.
Christian inspiration and the popular dimension determine the proper understanding with which to re-enact the historic triple commitments of ACLI: to workers, to democracy, and to the Church. To the point that in the current context, in some way you could say that your historical three commitments are reassumed in a new and timeless: commitment to the poor.
Thank you for this meeting, and I bless you and your labour. Please do not forget to pray for me.
Now, before giving the blessing, I invite you to pray to the Virgin: the Madonna who is so faithful to the poor, because she was poor. Hail Mary, …
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis sent a letter on Friday to Cardinal Turkson – President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace – on occasion of the International Conference held on the theme ‘Women and the post-2015 Development Agenda: the Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’.
Listen to the report by Devin Watkins:
The conference is being held in Rome from 22 to 24 May 2015 by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, together with the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO), and the World Women’s Alliance for Life and Family (WWALF) to reflect on women’s issues as reflected in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
In his letter, Pope Francis acknowledges the many difficulties and challenges faced by women, including discrimination in the workplace, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence.
He writes, ‘Issues relating to life are intrinsically connected to social questions. When we defend the right to life, we do so in order that each life – from conception to its natural end – may be a dignified life, one free from the scourge of hunger and poverty, of violence and persecution.’
He closed his letter by encouraging Cardinal Turkson, and all present at the assembly, to be ‘constantly guided by the spirit of humanity and compassion’, so that the ‘feminine genius’ may nuture life at every level of society.
Please find below Pope Francis’ letter to Cardinal Turkson:
To His Eminence Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson
President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace
Your Eminence,
I offer cordial greetings and encouragement to the participants of the Second International Conference on Women, meeting in Rome from 22 to 24 May 2015. This Conference, organized by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in cooperation with the World Union of Women’s Catholic Organizations and the World Women’s Alliance for Life and Family, has for its theme Women and the Post-2015 Development Agenda: The Challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals.
I was pleased to learn of this timely initiative, which highlights the concerns of Catholic women’s organizations in the international discussions leading to the drafting of a new Post-2015 Development Agenda at the level of the United Nations. Many women and men wish to contribute to this Agenda, as they work to defend and promote life, and to combat the poverty, the forms of enslavement and the many injustices which women of all ages, and throughout the world, too often experience.
Women face a variety of challenges and difficulties in various parts of the world. In the West, at times they still experience discrimination in the workplace; they are often forced to choose between work and family; they not infrequently suffer violence in their lives as fiancées, wives, mothers, sisters and grandmothers. In poor and developing countries, women bear the heaviest burdens: it is they who travel many miles in search of water, who too often die in childbirth, who are kidnapped for sexual exploitation or forced into marriages at a young age or against their will. At times they are even denied the right to life simply for being female. All of these problems are reflected in the proposals for the Post-2015 Development Agenda presently being discussed in the United Nations.
Issues relating to life are intrinsically connected to social questions. When we defend the right to life, we do so in order that each life – from conception to its natural end – may be a dignified life, one free from the scourge of hunger and poverty, of violence and persecution. Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, highlighted how the Church “forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized” (No. 15).
I encourage you, who are engaged in defending the dignity of women and promoting their rights, to allow yourselves to be constantly guided by the spirit of humanity and compassion in the service of your neighbour. May your work be marked first and foremost by professional competence, without self-interest or superficial activism, but with generous dedication. In this way you will manifest the countless God-given gifts which women have to offer, encouraging others to promote sensitivity, understanding and dialogue in settling conflicts big and small, in healing wounds, in nurturing all life at every level of society, and in embodying the mercy and tenderness which bring reconciliation and unity to our world. All this is part of that “feminine genius” of which our society stands in such great need.
With renewed gratitude for your work, I send cordial good wishes for the Conference that you have organized and whose theme is so urgent. I pray for all of you, and I ask you to pray for me and my intentions. To you and your loved ones, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 22 May 2015
(from Vatican Radio)…