(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis renewed his condemnation of the practice and culture of corruption on Monday. The Holy Father’s denunciation came during the course of remarks he made to open the annual General Assembly of the Italian Bishops’ Conference – remarks that centered on the need to recover “Ecclesial sensitivity.”
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
“Ecclesial sensitivity,” involves, “taking on Christ’s attitudes of humility, compassion, mercy, concreteness and wisdom,” said Pope Francis. “Ecclesial sensitivity also involves being neither timid nor irrelevant in denouncing and defeating a diffuse mentality of public and private corruption that has succeeded in impoverishing – without a trace of shame – families, pensioners, honest laborers, Christian communities,” and ruined the lives of young people, who, because of the culture and practice of corruption, have lost all hope in the future. “Above all,” continued Pope Francis, “[corruption] pushes aside the weakest and most needy.”
Another major aspect of ecclesial sensitivity, and a key to combatting corruption effectively, is “Reinforcing the indispensable role of the laity willing to take on the responsibilities that are properly their own,” said Pope Francis. “In reality,” he continued, “lay men and women who have an authentic Christian formation do not need a ‘bishop-pilot’ or a ‘monsignor-pilot’ or clerical input to assume their responsibilities at every level from the political to the social, from the economic to the legislative,” he continued. “Instead,” said Pope Francis, “they need a ‘bishop-pastor.’”
The meeting of the Italian Bishops Conference runs from May 18-21, and is exploring the reception of Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, “The Joy of the Gospel,” among the faithful.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Saying he was giving them a “mission,” Pope Francis has asked religious sisters from Bethlehem and the Middle East to pray for peace in the region and for two new Palestinian saints.
19 th century Sister Miriam of Jesus Crucified Baouardy and Sister Marie-Alphonsine Ghattas were canonized in a big outdoor Mass presided by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s square on Sunday.
Many of the Carmelite and Rosary sisters who had attended the canonization had flown into Rome from Jordan – on the same plane as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who was also present as the two Palestinian religious were made saints. In receiving the visiting nuns in the Clementine Hall in the Apostolic Palace Monday, Pope Francis said the president had told him the flight was “full of sisters!” “Poor pilot,” the Pope chuckled.
The Pope urged the nuns to pray for an end to “this interminable” conflict in the Holy Land so that “there will be peace” between Israelis and Palestinians.
He also called for prayers for “persecuted Christians, kicked out of their homes, from the land” and decried what he called “persecution with white gloves – persecution and ‘white terrorism’ – also ‘white gloved terrorism’.” “It is veiled, but it happens!”
Before reciting the Hail Mary together with the sisters from the Middle East, Francis urged them to “Pray a lot for peace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis canonized four women religious on Sunday, all 19th century nuns who worked in education.
Listen to Christopher Wells’ report:
During Mass for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis canonized four women religious: Marie-Alphonsine and Mary of Jesus Crucified from the territory that made up historical Palestine; Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve of France; and Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception from Italy.
In his homily for the Mass, the Holy Father focused on the first reading, from Acts, which told how after the Ascension, the twelve Apostles chose a man to take the place of Judas. Even today, we base our faith on the testimony of the Twelve, who were witnesses of Jesus’ Resurrection. In fact, every disciple of Jesus “is called “to become a witness to his resurrection, above all in those human settings where forgetfulness of God and human disorientation are most evident.”
Pope Francis identified several traits, exemplified by the new Saints, that are necessary for Christians to be witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection. Christians, he said, must “remain in the risen Christ and in His love.” This is “the secret of the saints: abiding in Christ, joined to him like branches to the vine, in order to bear much fruit (cf. Jn 15:1-8). And this fruit is none other than love.”
The Holy Father said that “A relationship with the risen Jesus is the ‘atmosphere’ in which Christians live, and in which they find the strength to remain faithful to the Gospel, even amid obstacles and misunderstandings.” Ardent love for Christ allows His disciples to give themselves to others.
Authentic Christian witness also requires unity among the disciples. Jesus, on the eve of His Passion, prayed to God the Father that His disciples would be “one” just as the Trinity is one. This love leads us to live lives of service to one another.
“To abide in God and in his love, and thus to proclaim by our words and our lives the resurrection of Jesus, to live in unity with one another and with charity towards all. This is what the four women Saints canonized today did,” Pope Francis said. He concluded his homily with the prayer: “When we return home, let us take with us the joy of this encounter with the risen Lord. Let us cultivate in our hearts the commitment to abide in God’s love. Let us remain united to him and among ourselves, and follow in the footsteps of these four women, models of sanctity whom the Church invites us to imitate.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis appealed on Sunday (May 17th) for an end to the violence in Burundi and urged its people to act responsibly for the good of the nation. Burundi saw an attempted coup earlier this week and has been the scene of violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the president. The Pope’s appeal for peace in Burundi came during his address just before the recitation of the traditional Easter Marian prayer, the Regina coeli.
Below, please find Vatican Radio’s translation of Pope Francis’ remarks ahead of the Regina coeli:
Dear brothers and sisters,
At the end of this celebration, I want to greet all of you who have come to pay homage to the new Saints, in a particular way the official Delegations from Palestine, France, Italy, Israel, and Jordan. I greet with affection the Cardinals, Bishops, priests, as well as the spiritual daughters of the four Saints. Through their intercession, may the Lord grant a new missionary impulse to their respective countries. Inspired by their example of mercy, charity, and reconciliation, may the Christians of these lands look to the future with hope, continuing in the journey of solidarity and fraternal coexistence.
I extend my greetings to the families, the parish groups, the associations, and the schools present, especially to those being confirmed from the Archdiocese of Genoa. I address a special though to the faithful of the Czech Republic, gathered in the sanctuary of Svatý Kopeček, near Olomouc, who today are remembering the twentieth anniversary of the visit of Saint John Paul II.
Yesterday, in Venice was the beatification of the priest Luigi Caburlotto, pastor, educator, and founder of the Daughters of Saint Joseph. Let us give thanks to God for this exemplary pastor, who led an intense spiritual and apostolic life, totally dedicated to the good of souls.
I wish to invite all you to pray for the beloved people of Burundi which is living through a delicate moment: May the Lord help all people to flee the violence and to act responsibly for the good of the nation.
With filial love let us turn now to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, Queen of the Saints, and model of all Christians:
Regina coeli …
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis canonized four women religious on Sunday, all 19th century nuns who worked in education. St Marie-Alphonsine and St Mary of Jesus Crucified were from the territory that made up historical Palestine; St Jeanne Emilie de Villeneuve was a French nun and foundress; and St Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception came from Italy.
“To abide in God and in His love, and thus to proclaim by our words and our lives the resurrection of Jesus, to live in unity with one another and with charity towards all – this is what the four women Saints canonized today did,” Pope Francis said in his homily. “Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians.”
Below, please find the full English translation of Pope Francis’ homily for Holy Mass for the VII Sunday of Easter with the Rite of Canonization:
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
17 May 2015
The Acts of the Apostles have set before us the early Church as she elects the man whom God called to take the place of Judas in the college of the Apostles. It is has to do not with a job, but with service. Indeed, Matthias, on whom the choice falls, receives a mission which Peter defines in these words: “One of these men… must become a witness with us to his resurrection”, the resurrection of Christ (Acts 1:21-23). In this way Peter sums up what it means to be part of the Twelve: it means to be a witness to Jesus’ resurrection . The fact that he says “with us” brings us to realize that the mission of proclaiming the risen Christ is not an individual undertaking: it is to be carried out in common, with the apostolic college and with the community. The Apostles had a direct and overwhelming experience of the resurrection; they were eyewitnesses to that event. Thanks to their authoritative testimony, many people came to believe; from faith in the risen Lord, Christian communities were born and are born continually. We too, today, base our faith in the risen Lord on the witness of the Apostles, which has come down to us through the mission of the Church. Our faith is firmly linked to their testimony, as to an unbroken chain which spans the centuries, made up not only by the successors of the Apostles, but also by succeeding generations of Christians. Like the Apostles, each one of Christ’s followers is called to become a witness to his resurrection, above all in those human settings where forgetfulness of God and human disorientation are most evident.
If this is to happen, we need to remain in the risen Christ and in his love , as the First Letter of Saint John has reminded us: “He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). Jesus had repeated insistently to his disciples: “Abide in me… Abide in my love” (Jn 15:4, 9). This is the secret of the saints: abiding in Christ, joined to him like branches to the vine, in order to bear much fruit (cf. Jn 15:1-8). And this fruit is none other than love. This love shines forth in the testimony of Sister Jeanne Émilie de Villeneuve, who consecrated her life to God and to the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the exploited, becoming for them and for all a concrete sign of the Lord’s merciful love.
A relationship with the risen Jesus is the “atmosphere” in which Christians live , and in which they find the strength to remain faithful to the Gospel, even amid obstacles and misunderstandings. “Abiding in love”: this is what Sister Maria Cristina Brando also did. She was completely given over to ardent love for the Lord. From prayer and her intimate encounter with the risen Jesus present in the Eucharist, she received strength to endure suffering and to give herself, as bread which is broken, to many people who had wandered far from God and yet hungered for authentic love.
An essential aspect of witness to the risen Lord is unity among ourselves, his disciples , in the image of his own unity with the Father. Today too, in the Gospel, we heard Jesus’ prayer on the eve of his passion: “that they may be one, even as we are one” (Jn 17:11). From this eternal love between the Father and the Son, poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:5), our mission and our fraternal communion draw strength; this love is the ever-flowing source of our joy in following the Lord along the path of his poverty, his virginity and his obedience; and this same love calls us to cultivate contemplative prayer. Sister Mariam Baouardy experienced this in an outstanding way. Poor and uneducated, she was able to counsel others and provide theological explanations with extreme clarity, the fruit of her constant converse with the Holy Spirit. Her docility to the Spirit also made her a means of encounter and fellowship with the Muslim world. So too, Sister Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas came to understand clearly what it means to radiate the love of God in the apostolate, and to be a witness to meekness and unity. She shows us the importance of becoming responsible for one another, of living lives of service one to another.
To abide in God and in his love, and thus to proclaim by our words and our lives the resurrection of Jesus, to live in unity with one another and with charity towards all. This is what the four women Saints canonized today did. Their luminous example challenges us in our lives as Christians. How do I bear witness to the risen Christ? How do I abide in him? How do I remain in his love? Am I capable of “sowing” in my family, in my workplace and in my community, the seed of that unity which he has bestowed on us by giving us a share in the life of the Trinity?
When we return home, let us take with us the joy of this encounter with the risen Lord. Let us cultivate in our hearts the commitment to abide in God’s love. Let us remain united to him and among ourselves, and follow in the footsteps of these four women, models of sanctity whom the Church invites us to imitate.
(from Vatican Radio)…