“The blood of our
Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out”. Pope Francis
recalled the barbaric killing of a group of Egyptian Coptic Christians by
jihadists in Sirte. The Pope spoke about the situation – improvising a few
phrases in Spanish – in his address to the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, whom he received
on Monday morning, 16 February. Today, the Pontiff
said, “I read about the execution of those twenty-one or twenty-two Coptic
Christians. Their only words were: ‘Jesus, help me!’. They were killed simply
for the fact that they were Christians. You, my brother, in your words referred
to what is happening in the land of Jesus. The blood of our Christian brothers
and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard. It makes no difference
whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians!
Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ. As we recall
these brothers and sisters who died only because they confessed Christ, I ask
that we encourage each another to go forward with this ecumenism which is
giving us strength, the ecumenism of blood. The martyrs belong to all
Christians”. The full text of the Holy Father’s address…
(Vatican Radio) On Monday, Pope Francis received members of the “Pro Petri Sede” Association from the countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, which annually offers economic assistance for the needs of the Holy See.
In his address, the Holy Father said “The growing number of people who are marginalized or who live in great insecurity challenges us and demands a burst of solidarity to give them the material and spiritual support they need.” At the same time, he said, “we have much to receive from the poor whom we approach and whom we help.” The poor “are often witnesses of what is essential, of family values; they are able to share with those who are even poorer than they, and they know how to rejoice,” the Pope said, remarking that he had seen this himself in his recent Apostolic Voyage to Asia.
Pope Francis thanked the members of the Association for their generous donation to assist the poor, and called on them to pray earnestly for peace.
Below, please find the English translation of Pope Francis’ remarks, which were delivered in Italian:
Dear friends,
With joy I welcome you, members of the Association “Pro Petri Sede”, on the occasion of your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles, by which you nourish your faith and manifest your fidelity to the Successor of Peter.
I express my gratitude for your commitment to the service of the poor. The growing number of people who are marginalized or who live in great insecurity challenges us and demands a burst of solidarity to give them the material and spiritual support they need. And at the same time we have much to receive from the poor whom we approach and whom we help. Struggling with their difficulties, they are often witnesses of what is essential, of family values; they are able to share with those who are even poorer than they, and they know to rejoice, as I was able to note in my recent Apostolic Voyage to Asia. Indifference and selfishness are always lurking. Care for the poor enriches us, placing us on the path of humility and of truth. Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “What do you possess that you have not received?” (1 Cor 4:7). Their presence is a reminder of our common humanity, of the fragility of life, of the dependence on God and on our brothers and sisters. I invite you, therefore, especially on the occasion of Lent, which is about to begin, to ask the Lord to give you a merciful and poor heart, [a heart] that recognises its poverty and that spends itself for others (cf. Message for Lent 2015).
With the precious gift you give today to the Successor of Peter, you come in aid of populations sorely tried in different parts of the world. With this solidarity you offer them also the spiritual comfort of not feeling forgotten in their trials, and of preserving hope. I warmly thank you on their behalf. I invite you to pray earnestly for peace, so that political leaders might find paths of dialogue and of peace.
Dear friends, I hope that your pilgrimage will increase in each of you the sense of belonging to the Church, which is a great family, and the joy of announcing the Gospel to all; that fraternity among yourselves might be so reinforced that you will be able to carry on your mission of service to the poor and the small, for whom Jesus has a special love. I entrust you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to Saint Peter, and to the Saints of your countries, from the heart imparting the Apostolic Blessing upon you, your families, and all the members of your Association. And please, don’t forget to pray for me!
Thank you.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday denounced the murder of 21 Coptic Christians by ISIL militants in Libya. The Islamist terrorist organization released a video of the killings on Sunday.
Speaking in Spanish to an ecumenical delegation from the Church of Scotland, the Holy Father noted those killed only said “Jesus help me.”
“They were murdered just for the fact they were Christians,” Pope Francis said.
“The blood of our Christian brothers is a witness that cries out,” said the Pope. “If they are Catholic, Orthodox, Copts, Lutherans, it is not important: They are Christians. The blood is the same: It is the blood which confesses Christ.”
Pope Francis said that in remembering “these brothers who have been killed simply for confessing Christ,” Christians should encourage one another in the ecumenical goal, noting the “ecumenism of blood.”
“The martyrs are from all the Christians,” he said.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, to offer thanks to God together with the College of Cardinals, one day after bestowing the Red Hat on twenty new prelates from around the world. In his homily, the Holy Father focused on Christ’s compassion, His charity, and His perfect devotion to being a vessel and vehicle for the healing mercy of God the Father – the essence of ecclesial service and the soul of the Cardinalate.
Click below to hear our report
Reflecting on the Gospel reading of the day, in which St. Mark the Evangelist speaks of Christ’s battle against all manner of evil, especially in favor of those who are suffering in body and spirit, specifically telling of the Lord’s miraculous healing of a leper, Pope Francis said, “The leper, once cured, became a messenger of God’s love.” He went on to say, “Dear new Cardinals, this is the ‘logic’, the mind of Jesus, and this is the way of the Church. Not only to welcome and reinstate with evangelical courage all those who knock at our door, but to go out and to seek, fearlessly and without prejudice, those who are distant, freely sharing what we ourselves freely received.”
It was a theme to which the Holy Father returned in his remarks before reciting the Angelus on Sunday, with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
“The mercy of God overcomes all barriers,” said Pope Francis. “The hand of Jesus touched the leper,” he continued, explaining that Christ does not act from a safe distance, nor does He act by proxy, but is exposed directly to the contagion of our evil. “So,” the Holy Father went on to say, “our own evil becomes the place of contact: He, Jesus, takes our sick humanity from us and we take from Him His healing – His healthy humanity. This happens every time we receive a sacrament with faith: the Lord Jesus ‘touches’ us and gives us His grace. In this case we think especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to heal us from the leprosy of sin.”
Pope Francis concluded, saying that, if we would be imitators of Christ as St. Paul exhorts us to be in his 1 st Letter to the Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor 11:1) before the poor or the sick, we should not be afraid to look the afflicted person in the eye, and be close to the suffering person with tenderness and compassion. “If evil is contagious,” he said, “so is good: therefore, we must allow good to abound in us, more and more; let us be infected by goodness, and let us spread the good contagion.”
After offering the traditional noontide Marian devotion, the Holy Father offered special greetings to all those, who in various parts of the world are in these days marking the lunar new year. “These festivities offer the happy occasion to rediscover and live intensely that fraternity, which is the precious bond of family life and the foundation of social life,” he said, adding an expression of the hope that this annual return to the roots of the person and of the family might help all peoples marking the lunar new year to build a society in which interpersonal relations are woven with respect, justice and charity.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis recited the Angelus on Sunday, with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square. In remarks ahead of the prayer, the Holy Father offered a reflection on the Gospel reading of the day, in which St. Mark the Evangelist speaks of Christ’s battle against all manner of evil, especially in favor of those who are suffering in body and spirit, specifically telling of the Lord’s miraculous healing of a leper.
“The mercy of God overcomes all barriers,” said Pope Francis. “The hand of Jesus touched the leper,” he continued, explaining that Christ does not act from a safe distance, nor does He act by proxy, but is exposed directly to the contagion of our evil. “So,” the Holy Father went on to say, “our own evil becomes the place of contact: He, Jesus, takes our sick humanity from us and we take from Him His healing – His healthy humanity. This happens every time we receive a sacrament with faith: the Lord Jesus ‘touches’ us and gives us His grace. In this case we think especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to heal us from the leprosy of sin.”
Pope Francis concluded, saying that, if we would be imitators of Christ as St. Paul exhorts us to be in his 1 st Letter to the Corinthians (cf. 1 Cor 11:1) before the poor or the sick, we should not be afraid to look the afflicted person in the eye, and be close to the suffering person with tenderness and compassion. “If evil is contagious,” he said, “so is good: therefore, we must allow good to abound in us, more and more; let us be infected by goodness, and let us spread the good contagion.”
After offering the traditional noontide Marian devotion, the Holy Father offered special greetings to all those, who in various parts of the world are in these days marking the lunar new year. “These festivities offer the happy occasion to rediscover and live intensely that fraternity, which is the precious bond of family life and the foundation of social life,” he said, adding an expression of the hope that this annual return to the roots of the person and of the family might help all peoples marking the lunar new year to build a society in which interpersonal relations are woven with respect, justice and charity.
(from Vatican Radio)…