(Vatican Radio) With the touch of a button and using a tablet, Pope Francis on Sunday evening switched on a giant Christmas tree designed in lights on a hillside above the Umbrian town of Gubbio in Italy. The lighting ceremony came after he delivered a message via video link up from the Vatican.
The Pope was following in the footsteps of Pope Benedict in 2011 and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.
The tree created in one thousand coloured lights was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records in 1991 as being the largest Christmas tree in the world, measuring about 750 metres tall by 450 metres wide.
See below an English language translation of the Pope’s message.
Good evening, I wish you a happy and holy Christmas.
In switching on the light of the Nativity scene, we wish for the light of Christ to be in us. A Christmas without light is not Christmas. Let there be light in the soul, in the heart; let there be forgiveness to others; let there be no hostilities, which are dark. Let there be the beautiful light of Jesus. This is my wish for all of you, when you turn on the light of the crib. Many thanks for your gift, it is beautiful. Also I give to you my warmest wishes, peace and happiness. If you have something dark in your soul, ask the Lord for forgiveness. Christmas is a great opportunity to cleanse the soul, eh! Do not fear, the priest is merciful, forgiving all in the name of God, because God forgives everything. let light be in your hearts, in your families, in your cities. And now, with this wish, turn on the light.
Blessed be God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Merry Christmas and pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis during the Angelus from the window of his studio above St Peter’s Square recalled the second Sunday of Advent saying that it was a wonderful time “that awakens in us the expectation of Christ’s return and the memory of his historic coming.”
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report
Focusing on the day’s liturgy the Holy Father said that it presents us with a hopeful message. Quoting from the Book of Isaiah “Comfort, give comfort to my people, the Pope explained this reading is about a time of joyful liberation and salvation, and a time of looking ahead with confidence to the future
He went on to say that Isaiah refers to people who went through a dark period, but now the time for comfort has come.
Sadness and fear give way to joy, said Pope Francis because the Lord himself leads his people to the path of liberation and salvation.
But, the Pope also underlined that we cannot be messengers of God’s comfort if we do not experience the joy of being comforted and loved by Him.
This, he said, is especially the case when we listen to the Gospel, that people, the Holy Father stressed, need to carry in their pocket.
Pope Francis noted that Isaiah’s message of comfort, that resounds on this second Sunday of Advent, is a balm on our wounds and an incentive to diligently prepare the way of the Lord.
Many situations, said the Pope, require our comforting witness. “I am thinking about those who are oppressed by suffering, injustice and oppression, about those who are slaves to money, power, success, and worldliness. We are all called to console our brothers, testifying that only God can eliminate the causes of existential and spiritual dramas.”
This prophet, he continued, speaks to our hearts today to tell us that God forgets our sins and comforts us if we entrust ourselves to Him a with humble and repentant heart. God, said Pope Francis,”will bring down the walls of evil, will fill the holes of our omissions, will flatten the bumps of pride and vanity, and will pave the way for our meeting with him.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 6 December 2014 (VIS) – Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, France, will transmit a video message from Pope Francis to the Christians and the population as a whole in Iraq, to be screened this afternoon in the city of Erbil. The twinning of the diocese with Mosul, which began last summer, has given rise to several initiatives to support the Iraqi population. The full text of the Pope’s message is published below: “ I would like to greet each and every one of you, along with Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who once again brings you the concern and the love of the entire Church. I too would like to be there with you, but since I am unable to travel, I will do this instead … but I am very close to you in these difficult moments. I said, during my return journey from Turkey: Christians are being driven out of the Middle East, with suffering. I thank you for the witness you give; and there is a great deal of suffering in your witness. Thank you! Many thanks. “ It would seem that there they do not want there to be any Christians, but you bear witness to Christ. I think of the wounds, of the pain of women with their children, the elderly and the displaced, the wounds of those who are victims of every type of violence. “ As I mentioned in Ankara, particular concern is caused by the fact that above all, due to an extremist and fundamentalist group, entire communities, especially, – but not only – Christians and Yazidi, have suffered and continue to suffer inhuman violence because of their religious and ethnic identity. Christians and Yazidis have been forced out of their homes, they have had to abandon everything to save their lives, but they have not denied their faith. Even holy buildings, monuments, religious symbols and cultural heritage have been affected by the violence, almost as if to cancel every trace, every memory of the other. “ As religious leaders, we are obliged to denounce all violations of the dignity and rights of humanity. “ Today I wish to draw closer those of you who tolerate this suffering, and to be close to you … And I think of St. Therese of the Baby Jesus, who said that she and the Church were like a rod: when the wind rises and the storm comes, the rod bends but it does not break. At the moment, you are like this rod: you bend painfully, but you have the strength to carry forth your faith, which is a testimony to us. You are God’s rod today! The rods that bend under this ferocious wind, but then rise up again. “ I wish to thank you again. I pray that the Spirit, Who makes all things new, will give each of you strength and resistance. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And I strongly urge, as I did in Turkey, greater international collaboration to resolve the conflicts that cause blood to be shed in your lands of origin, to combat the other causes that lead people to leave their homelands and to promote suitable conditions for them to remain or return. I hope that you will return, that you will be able to return. “ Dear brothers and sisters, you are in my heart and my prayers, and in the hearts and prayers of all Christian communities, whom I will ask to pray in a special way for you on 8 December, to pray to Our Lady to protect you: she is our mother and will protect you. “ Brothers and sisters, your resistance is martyrdom, it is dew that brings fruitfulness. Please, I ask you to pray for me. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady protect you. May God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, bless you”….
(Vatican Radio) The members of the III Christian-Muslim Summit of Religious Leaders and Scholars released a statement after their 3-day meeting this week in Rome. The theme was “Christians and Muslims: Believers in Society”.
The statement said the meeting was “characterised by mutual respect, opening and listening to each other; this constitutes a message of reconciliation, peace and fraternity of which our world is in great need.”
The full text of the statement is below
Press Release of the Christian-Muslim Summit of Religious Leaders and Scholars (Rome, 2-4 December 2014)
The Christian-Muslim Summit is a gathering of Christian (Catholics and Anglican Episcopal) and Muslim (Sunni and Shia) Religious Leaders and Scholars from around the world who come together for purposes of fostering interreligious and intercultural relationships and to address issues of conflict, in particular between the followers of both religions.
The III Summit was held in Rome from Tuesday 2 to Thursday 4 December 2014. The Catholic delegation was headed by His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue; the Sunni delegation was led by HRH Prince El Hasan bin Talal of Jordan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies (Amman, Jordan); the Right Reverend John Bryson Chane, Eighth Bishop of the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and Senior Advisor on Interreligious Dialogue to Washington National Cathedral, headed the Anglican Episcopal Delegation; Ayatollah Sayyed Prof. Mustafa Mohaghegh Damad, Director of Islamic Studies, Iran Academy of Sciences, led the Shia Delegation. Guests of Honour were invited; among them was His Eminence Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, representing the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and Rabbi Abraham Skorka, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The theme chosen for reflection and discussion by the participants is “Christians and Muslims: Believers in Society”. The four Principals and their respective delegations, along with the guests of honour from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, from Judaism, along with others, are aware of this dramatic time in our world, especially in the Middle East and in some African countries, with an un-preceded and unhuman violence. The Principals and the other participants were pleased to be received in a Private Audience by His Holiness Pope Francis, who expressed his joy for receiving them and for their meeting.
A public Session took place at the end of the Seminar, to which Diplomats accredited to the Holy See, persons involved in interreligious dialogue and media operators were invited. The “Call for Action of the Summit” was read, followed by questions and answers. The meeting was characterised by mutual respect, opening and listening to each other; this constitutes a message of reconciliation, peace and fraternity of which our world is in great need.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, offered a clarification on Friday in response to journalists’ questions regarding statements made by the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, in connection with the ongoing financial review and reform efforts in the Vatican. In an exclusive piece for the new Catholic Herald Magazine (a preview of which appeared on December 3 rd in the Herald’s online pages), Cardinal Pell wrote, “[S]ome hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet.”
Responding to journalists asking follow-up questions, Fr. Lombardi specified, “It should be noted that Cardinal Pell did not speak of illegal or mismanaged funds, but of funds that were not in the official accounts of the Holy See and Vatican City State, and of the existence of which the Secretariat for the Economy learned in the course of the ongoing process of study and review of the Vatican administrations, in order to achieve a more adequate [and] comprehensive understanding of [matters] with a view to the streamlining of operations.”
“This,” his statement continued, “is precisely the sign and fruit of constructive cooperation among the different institutions of the Vatican.”
Fr. Lombardi went on to stress that, as the Prefecture for Economic Affairs had already amply explained and made known to the public, the yearly consolidated financial statements of the Holy See and Vatican City State, which are presented to the Council of 15 Cardinals for review, have never been exhaustive, but have included only the principal institutions of the Curia and the Vatican City State.
Listen to our report
(from Vatican Radio)…