(Vatican Radio) Straight off the plane from Turkey, Pope Francis resumed his daily activities at the Vatican Monday morning which included a meeting with Swiss bishops who are on their 5 yearly Ad limina visit.
The Pope handed them a pre-prepared text and then greeted them one by one. In the text the Pope praises Switzerland’s history of being at the forefront of working for peace, through its witness to cultural and religious coexistence.
He writes “although many citizens are distant from the Church, the majority recognize the positive role played by Catholics and Protestants in the social field”.
Here Pope Francis urges the bishops to look back on their nations long Christian tradition – and next year’s celebration of 1500 years of continuous religious life in the iconic Abbey of Saint-Maurice – to keep the faith alive in Switzerland. “Without a living faith in the risen Christ the beautiful churches and monasteries gradually become museums, the commendable works and institutions lose their soul, leaving only empty spaces and lost people”.
Pope Francis says the mission entrusted to the bishops is to “feed the flock”. “The people of God cannot be without a shepherd” , he continued and the role of bishops and priests is to serve the unity of the faith and ensure that it is taught according to Church tradition. He urges the bishops to have renewed sense of collegiality as a form of mutual support in their mission and calls on them bishops to have a united and clear voice on society’s ills.
This united voice, he writes is important at a time when some people – even within the Church – try to “withhold the realism of the social dimension of the Gospel”. Pope Francis notes that the Gospel has an inherent, original prepositive power and that it’s the pastors’ job to make the full extent of this accessible to people experiencing difficulties in their everyday life – without tarnishing its beauty or weakening its appeal – particularly for people who are searching for meaning in their lives, or those who have turned away from the Church.
The Pope comments on how the Gospel is a powerful force to counter a thinking that deliberately denies the transcendent dimension of man, of life and of human relations, especially in the face of suffering and death. Here, he continues, the witness of Christians and parishes can really brighten the way and support the pursuit of happiness for people. In this way, Pope Francis states “the Church in Switzerland will clearly be the Body of Christ, the People of God, and not only a beautiful organization, another NGO”.
In the text Pope Francis also observes that the faith we have received from the Lord invites us to reach out to those with whom we come in contact, even if they differ from us in their culture, religion or belief.
He notes that “if we believe in the free and generous work of the Spirit, we can better understand each other and work together to better serve society and contribute to peace”. In this ecumenism is a contribution not only to the unity of the Church, but also to the unity of the human family, as it favors a fertile, peaceable and fraternal coexistence.
The Pope adds however, that in prayer and in the joint proclamation of the Lord Jesus, we must be careful to allow the faithful of every Christian denomination, to live their faith clearly and free of confusion at the expense of truth without the differences. He warns against an ecumenism which – on the pretext of “a certain accommodation” hides our Eucharistic faith, which implies that we take neither our own “greatest treasure” nor our interlocutor seriously enough.
He also encourages the bishops to continue their efforts for the formation of seminarians. “We are talking about a question for the future of the Church” he writes. “She needs priests who have enjoyed a thorough familiarity with the tradition and teaching of the Church of Christ” so they can be increasingly conformed to Him. In the text Pope Francis emphasizes the importance that bishops give time to their priests, especially those who have distanced themselves from their bishop. “A simple, true and fraternal dialogue” he notes can often allow for a new relationship to begin.
“The mission of the laity in the Church has an important place, because they contribute to the life of parishes and church institutions, whether as a full-time workers or volunteers”, concludes Pope Francis. He adds that while their commitment and support should be appreciated, clear respect must always be shown for the difference between the common priesthood of the faithful and sacramental priesthood.
(from Vatican Radio)…
The journeys of Francis are of vital
importance and, as such, they take as their main model those of his Predecessor
Paul vi and of that innovative
papacy half a century ago. The same import that has been evident from his
journey to Lampedusa and up to his very recent trip to Strasbourg, also marked
Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey, in accordance with the particular measure
typical of Bergoglio: the logic of personal encounter. The
Pope evoked this concept as he spoke at the end of the Divine Liturgy
celebrated in Fanar for the Feast of St Andrew, and the entire itinerary which
led the Pontiff from Ankara to Istanbul should be read in the context of
encounter. The journey was, on one hand, directed toward Muslims and, on the
other, toward sister Orthodox Churches. And holding these two sides together
was a mysterious truth: the Holy Spirit. It
is in fact the Spirit who gives life to the Church, Francis recalled as he
celebrated a Holy Mass for Catholic faithful from various rites who gathered in
the Cathedral of Istanbul, where he also met with refugees, because it was not
possible for him to visit to a refugee camp. Those he met were displaced
primarily from Syria and Iraq, finding shelter in Turkey in order to protect
themselves against terrorist brutality. “Only the Holy Spirit is able to kindle
diversity, multiplicity and, at the same time, bring about unity”, Francis
observed, adding that it is the same Spirit who brings harmony. As
the soul of the Church — and thus of the mission, to which one can only truly
respond by going out of oneself — the Spirit moves her by the breath “which
does not transmit a power, but rather an ability to serve in love, a language
which everyone is able to understand”. Here, in the breath of the divine
Spirit, also lies the root of his journey, emphasized by the strength of the
conciliar years and directed toward friendly encounter with every human being,
without distinction of faith or of ideology. And
the logic of personal encounter was again made manifest during these days in
Turkey, the destination of four papal journeys in fewer than 50 years and the
place where Francis trustingly extended his open hand to shake those of eminent
Muslim leaders, as the Pope recalled during the return flight press conference.
We need to “raise the bar” in the dialogue between Christians and Muslims, the
Pontiff said, and it is essential that all Islamic leaders condemn violence and
intolerance, which are incompatible with authentic faith in God. As
a journey of friendship, the Pope’s three days in Turkey marked a milestone —
correctly termed ‘historical’ — on the
path toward union between the Churches of Rome and Constantinople, and more generally between
Catholic and Orthodox faithful. The gestures and words of Francis and
Bartholomew truly called to mind the insights and actions of Athenagoras and
Paul vi who, half a century ago
and after a millennium of division and enmity, had the courage to set off on a
new path, followed by their Successors, Demetrius, John Paul ii and Benedict xvi, for the light of Christ shines only in unity. g.m.v….
(Vatican Radio) Half a century on from the first meeting between a Pope and an Orthodox Patriarch, one of the frequently asked questions at the end of this visit to Turkey is how long will it take before the two Churches are reunited again? A second question that’s been on everyone’s lips in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation is what difference will this trip make to the interreligious tensions that continue to inflame conflicts in countries such as Syria, Iraq and Nigeria, to cite just those places that have been mentioned by name over the past three days. Pope Francis responded to both these questions during a lengthy press conference on the plane back to Rome. (He also walked down between the seats shaking all of our hands with a smile, a joke, a word of thanks for the job that we do).
On the ecumenical front, he noted that not all Catholics and Orthodox are happy with the progress that’s been made, but he said the work of convincing the more conservative factions must continue with patience and humility. While remaining sceptical that theologians will announce a breakthrough in the dialogue any time soon, the Pope also reiterated his firm conviction that Christians must continue with the daily practise of praying, working and teaching together. No-one is putting a timeframe on the reconciliation of East and Western Christianity, but there is hope that a synod of leaders from around the Orthodox world, planned for 2016 (with Catholic observers possibly in attendance) will help to speed up this urgent ecumenical journey.
On the interfaith front, the Pope spoke warmly of his meeting at the Diyanet in Ankara with Muslim leaders, saying we need to take a step forward in the quality of conversations between people of different religious beliefs. He said he told Turkish president Erdogan that leaders must clearly condemn all terrorist violence that has nothing to do with the Koran, which he called “a book of peace”. He also mentioned his visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque where he said he prayed for peace in Turkey and beyond. Both the encounter with the Grand Mufti in his place of prayer and his tour of the ancient Hagia Sophia museum, while not novelties in themselves, will surely encourage trust and open doors to understanding the pain of each other’s historical memories.
The Pope also talked about a question that surprisingly hasn’t been under the spotlight – next year’s centenary of the Armenian genocide in which a million and a half people died at the hands of the Ottoman forces. While Turkey has long denied this historical tragedy, the Pope noted that President Erdogan has recently mentioned the event, saying any such attempts to reach out are positive, however small they may be.
Finally, as we’ve so often seen, Pope Francis’ thoughts at the end of this Turkish trip were with the refugees – those who rarely make news headlines, but with whom he had a last brief encounter before leaving Istanbul. And that’s what this visit was really all about: not grand political gestures or historical religious agreements, but rather about personal encounters and small signs of hope through which we witness to the human values at the heart of our different faiths.
(Philippa Hitchen)
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has just concluded a three-day pastoral visit to Turkey which took him to the cities of Ankara and Istanbul. It was a journey that had a strong emphasis on ecumenical relations and interfaith dialogue and saw the Pope and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I sign a joint declaration pledging to intensify their search for Christian unity and calling for a constructive dialogue with Islam. Our correspondent travelling with the Pope to Turkey was Philippa Hitchen and in an interview with Linda Bordoni, she revisited some of the highlights of this papal trip.
Listen to the full interview with Vatican Radio’s correspondent Philippa Hitchen:
Pope Francis’ final engagement before he left Istanbul on Sunday was a meeting with a group of young people including many refugees from conflict zones of the Middle East and Africa. Philippa described the event as a “very poignant” visit and “personal encounter” between the refugees and the Pope that also helps to remind the international community of the huge number of refugees who have flocked to Turkey from neighbouring countries, especially Syria.
Turning to the Pope’s many other engagements during this “very busy” visit, Philippa said there were many moving and significant moments. One particularly striking moment for her was the Pope’s gesture of bowing his head and asking for the blessing of the Orthodox Patriarch during a Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Church of St. George in Istanbul and she said this spoke volumes about the friendship between the two leaders and the ecumenical dialogue between their Churches.
“How could you not be moved by the moment that Pope Francis bowed his head and asked the Orthodox Patriarch to bless him and the patriarch planted a kiss on his head….. a real symbol of the friendship between these two people and also a real symbol of the direction that their Churches are taking..…a slow but steady progress towards reconciliation and Christian unity between East and West.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Sunday morning in Istanbul was dedicated to ecumenism with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, the signing of the Joint Declaration by Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, and then lunch in which the two leaders participated together with their respective delegations.
Vatican Radio’s Philippa Hitchen, who is travelling in Turkey with the Pope, spoke briefly to Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Holy See Press Office about the ongoing push for unity.
Listen to the interview :
Father Lombardi says that “Every time you pray together you do something that is very important, because we believe that unity is a gift of God” and – he says – “if you don’t pray very much you will never succeed in achieving unity”.
“I think in the atmosphere and also in the tone of the speech there was the expression of a very strong will to go forward” he continued.
Lombardi says that these two leaders – Pope Francis and the Patriarch Bartholomew are really willing to go forward and “I think they are trying to force the resistances’ that be, and also to encourage the progress of reflection and theological studies” he says.
Lombardi points out that theological reflection can take a long time, but one can press it to go faster if there is really is the inspiration and the mutual will to listen and to find solutions. “In this sense there is a very important impulse driven forward by these two men” he says.
And he says there are also other steps that can be taken, like the work of the Theological Commission the preparation of the Pan orthodox Council.
Lombardi concludes that even the crisis in the world today has awakened a new common sensibility giving us “many occasions in which we can go forward ecumenically”.
(from Vatican Radio)…