(Vatican Radio) Reality can be ugly, but despite the suffering, corruption and indifference in today’s world as Christians we must hold our heads high in hope said Pope Francis at Mass Thursday morning in Casa Santa Marta.
Listen to our report:
Basing his reflections on the Readings of the Day, Pope Francis spoke of the fate of the two cities of Babylon and Jerusalem. The Pope pointed out that both the First Reading from Revelation and the Gospel from St Luke Chapter 21, draw our attention to the end of this world.
He noted that they speak of the fall of two cities that refused to welcome the Lord and that drifted away from Him. These two cities fall for different reasons, he said. Babylon is the “symbol of evil, of sin” and “falls because of its corruption,” the city believed itself to be “the mistress of the world and of itself”. When ” sin accumulates – he warned – you lose the ability to react and you start to rot”. This also happens with “corrupt people, who do not have the strength to react”:
“Because corruption gives you some happiness, it gives you power and also makes you feel satisfied with yourself. But it leaves no room for the Lord, for conversion. The city is corrupt … this word ‘corruption’ says a lot to us today: not only economic corruption, but corruption with many different sins; the corruption of that pagan spirit, that worldly spirit. The worst [form of ] corruption is the spirit of worldliness!”.
This “corrupt culture”, he added, “makes you feel as if you were in Heaven, right here” but “within, the corrupt culture is a rotten culture”. Babylon is a symbol for “every society, every culture, every person who has distanced themselves from God, who has distanced themselves from love of neighbor, which eventually leads to rot”.
Jerusalem, however, Pope Francis said, “falls for another reason”. Jerusalem is the bride of the Lord, but is not aware of her Bridegroom’s visit, “she made the Lord weep”:
“Babylon falls because of its corruption; Jerusalem because of its distraction, its failing to welcome the Lord who comes to her rescue. She did not feel in need of salvation. She had the writings of the prophets, Moses, and this was enough. But sealed writings! She left no room for salvation: her door was closed to the Lord! The Lord was knocking at her door, but there was no willingness to receive Him, to listen, to be rescued by Him. And so she falls … ”
Pope Francis noted that these two examples, “make us ponder our own lives”: are we like “corrupt and self- sufficient Babylon” or “distracted” Jerusalem?
The Pope went on to stress that “the message of the Church in these days does not end with destruction: in both texts, there is a promise of hope”. Jesus urges us to lift up our heads, not to be “frightened by the pagans.” These, “have their time and we have to bear it with patience, as the Lord endured his Passion”:
“When we think of the end of time, with all of our sins, with our history, let us think of the banquet which will be freely offered us and let us lift up our heads. Do not give way to depression: Hope! Reality is ugly: there are many, many people, cities and people, so many people who are suffering; many wars, so much hatred, so much envy, so much spiritual worldliness and so much corruption. Yes, it’s true! All of this will fall! Let us ask the Lord for the grace to be prepared for the banquet that awaits us, always with our heads held high”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Breaking another record for papal trips, Pope Francis on Friday sets off on his second international journey this week, travelling to the Turkish cities of Ankara and Istanbul. Just three days after his trip to Strasbourg for meetings with the European Parliament and Council of Europe, the Pope takes off for Turkey at the invitation of both the government there and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the Orthodox world.
Francis is the fourth pope to travel to Turkey, following in the footsteps of his predecessors, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, while Archbishop Angelo Roncalli is also remembered with great affection by the Turkish people, as he served as apostolic delegate there for nine years before being elected Pope John XXIII.
But what kind of reception is Pope Francis likely to receive in this country, often described as a bridge between East and West? What preparations have been taking place in a country where Christians number less than 1 percent of the population, divided into different Catholic and Orthodox rites and communities?
To find some answers to those questions, Philippa Hitchen spoke to Dominican Father Claudio Monge, who heads a Centre for Cultural and Interreligious Dialogue in Istanbul….
Listen:
Fr Claudio says the Catholic community is, as he puts it, joining “the journey of Pope Francis that was organized first of all by the Patriarch” who invited him to celebrate the feast of Saint Andrew with the Orthodox Church on November 30th. At the same time, he says the Catholic community will have “a special time”, albeit a very short meeting with the Pope on November 29th in the Latin Catholic Cathedral. Although it’s a short encounter, he says “we need really this presence ….. as a tiny minority in this country, this is very important for us.
Speaking about the Catholic community in Turkey, Fr Claudio continues, means not only a tiny minority but also of a community that is split in at least four major rites, Latin, Armenian, Syrian, and Chaldean, and it is not always easy to find a common way, even to experience a common Eucharist together…..
Asked how the role and place of the Catholic Church in Turkish society has changed since the previous visit of Pope Benedict in 2006, Fr Claudio says in a juridical sense, not much has changed. “I mean at that time and even today, we know very well the first biggest problem is that we don’t have juridical statues, he says, “we are really foreigners in this country, with no official rights”…… Although recently there was a process to reform the Constitution, he says, everything seems to have been put on hold because of the other urgent problems of the region, especially on the Iraqi border which takes the attention of the Turkish government….
Speaking of the difficulties within the Catholic Church, Fr Claudio says two bishops are very close to retirement age so there is a tendency “to wait for something new that will come in few months”. Furthermore he reiterates the fact that the Turkish Catholic Bishop’s conference is composed of churches of different rites, something which is a richness but at the same time “demands much more important organization” in order to share together daily or to work together on training and formation. This is a very big problem, he says, and the tendency is to be limited to normal Sunday liturgical life without any effort to create new ties and to think about new generations. Although the Latin Catholic Church struggles to keep young people in Turkey, there are still quite numerous Armenian or Syrian young people, but he says there is a growing distance between the generations, requiring a “renewal of deep faith” and “Christian engagement in the daily life”….
Asked what message he hopes the Pope can bring in this very complex context, Fr Claudio says it’s essential to remember that “our sources and the origin of the Christian message was based also in this (region) because in Anatolia, Asia Minor, as it was called at the time of the New Testament, Christianity was “a simple, fresh, testimony in a hard time, and never, never in these places Christians were majority”. Because of this, he says, “it is important, even in our weakness, to welcome Pope Francis ….we are actually a church that is a bit like a hospital of people that are weak, that need to be supported, need to be encouraged, but I think that the good news is still working here” ….
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Reaction continues around the world to Pope Francis’s wide-ranging discourses made to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe during his 4 hour visit to Strasbourg on Tuesday. In his two addresses, the Pope touched on many different issues, including human dignity, the need for Europe to rediscover its vigour and its core values, immigration, unemployment and solidarity. Bishop William Kenney is the spokesman on European affairs for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and gave Susy Hodges his personal reaction to the Pope’s remarks in Strasbourg. Listen to the full interview with Bishop Kenney:
Describing the Pope’s two speeches as “brilliant”, Bishop Kenney said he found them infused with “hope” despite the many problems that Europe is facing. Asked which parts of the addresses he was most struck by, the bishop singled out Pope Francis’ appeal for Europe to rediscover its “core values.” Some of the most-quoted remarks in the media following the papal visit to the European institutions focused on the Pope’s description of Europe as somewhat elderly and haggard, rather like a grandmother that has lost her vigour and fertility. Bishop Kenney said he agreed with those who see this as an “apt criticism” of some aspects of European society and but said that overall this was a “rallying” speech. (from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 26 November 2014 (VIS) – During his return journey from Strasbourg, where he addressed both the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, Pope Francis answered questions posed by the journalists who accompanied him on the flight. The questions and the Holy Father’s answers are published below. Q: “Your Holiness addressed the European Parliament with pastoral works that may also be regarded as political words, and which may be linked, in my opinion, to a social-democratic stance – for example, when you say that we must ensure that the true expressive force of populations is not removed by multinational powers. Could we say that you are a social-democrat Pope?” Pope Francis: “This would be reductive. It makes me feel as if I am part of a collection of insects: ‘This is a social-democratic insect …’. No, I would say not. I don’t know if I am a social-democrat Pope or not. I would not dare to define myself as belonging to one side or another. I dare say that this comes from the Gospel: this is the message of the Gospel, taken up by the social doctrine of the Church. In reality, in this and in other things – social and political – that I have said, I have not detached myself from the social Doctrine of the Church. The social Doctrine of the Church comes from the Gospel and from Christian tradition. What I said – the identity of the people – is a Gospel value, is it not? In this sense, I say it. But you have made me laugh, thank you!” Q: “There is almost no-one on the streets of Strasbourg this morning. The people say they are disappointed. Do you regret not visiting the Cathedral of Strasbourg, that celebrates is millennium this year? And when will you make your first trip to France, and where? Lisieux, perhaps?” Pope Francis: “No, it is not yet planned, but one should certainly go to Paris. Then, there is a proposal to go to Lourdes. I have asked to visit a city where no Pope has yet been, to greet the citizens. But the plan has not yet been made. No, for Strasbourg, a visit to the cathedral was considered but it would have mean already making a visit to France, and this was the problem”. Q: During your address to the Council of Europe I was struck by the concept of transversality, especially with reference to your meetings with young politicians in various countries, and indeed you spoke of the need for a sort of pact between generations, an intergenerational agreement at the margins of this transversality. Also, if I may ask, is it true that you are devoted to St. Joseph, and have a statue of him in your room?” Pope Francis: “Yes, it is true. Whenever I have asked something of St. Joseph, he has granted it to me. The fact of ‘transversality’ is important. I have seen in dialogue with young politicians in the Vatican, from different parties and nations, that they speak with a differetn music, that tends towards transversality, and this is valuable. They are not afraid of coming out of their own territory, without denying it, but coming out in order to engage in dialogue. They are courageous! I believe that we must imitate this, along with intergenerational dialogue. This tendency to come out to find people of other origins and to engage in dialogue: Europe needs this today”. Q: “In your second discourse, to the Council of Europe, you spoke about the sins of the sons of the Church. I would like to know if you have received the news on the events in Granada [alleged sexual abuse of minors by priests in the archdiocese, Ed.], that in a certain sense you brought to light…” Pope Francis: “I received the news – it was sent to me, I read it, I called the person and I said, ‘Tomorrow you must go to the bishop’, and I wrote to the bishop asking him to begin work, to start the investigation and go ahead. How did I receive the news? With great pain, with very great sadness. But the truth is the truth, and we cannot hide it”. Q: “In your addresses in Strasbourg, you spoke frequently of both the threat of terrorism and the threat of slavery: these are attitudes that are also typical of the Islamic State, which threatens much of the Mediterranean, which threatens Rome and also threatens you personally. Do you think it is possible to engage in dialogue with these extremists, or do you think this is a lost cause?” Pope Francis: “I never give something up as a lost cause: never. Perhaps dialogue is not possible, but never close the door. It is difficult, one might say almost impossible, but the door is always open. You have used the word ‘threaten’ twice: it is true, terrorism is a threat. … But slavery is a real situation embedded in the today’s social fabric, and has been for some time. Slave labour, human trafficking, the trade in children … it is a crisis! We must not close our eyes to this. Slavery, today, is a reality, the exploitation of people … And then there is the threat of these terrorists. But there is another threat, and it is State terrorism. When the situation becomes critical, and each State believes it has the right to massacre the terrorists, many who are innocent fall prey alongside the terrorists. This is a form of high-level anarchy that is very dangerous. It is necessary to fight terrorism, but I repeat what I said during my previous trip: when it is necessary to stop an unjust aggressor, it must be done with international consensus”. Q: “In your heart, when you travel to Strasbourg, do you travel as Peter’s Successor, as the bishop of Rome, or as the archbishop of Buenos Aires?” Pope Francis: “As all three, I think. My memory is that of the archbishop of Buenos Aires, but I am no longer in this role. Now I am the bishop of Rome and Peter’s Successor, and I think that I travel with this memory but with these realities; I travel with all these things. Europe worries me at the moment; it is good for me to go ahead in order to help, as the bishop of Rome and Peter’s Successor; in this respect I am Roman”….
Vatican City, 26 November 2014 (VIS) – Following today’s catechesis, the Pope offered special greetings to the Arab-speaking faithful, in particular those from Iraq and the Middle East. “The violence, suffering and the seriousness of the sins committed must lead us to leave all to the justice of God, who will judge each one according to his works. Be strong and cling to the Church and to your faith, so as to purify the world with your confidence; transform with your hope and heal with your forgiveness, with the love and patience of your witness. May the Lord protect and support you”. Finally, during his greetings in Italian, and recalled that tomorrow his three-day apostolic trip to Turkey will begin, he invited those present to pray that “Peter’s visit to his brother Andrew may bring fruits of peace, sincere dialogue between religions and harmony in the Turkish nation”….