(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby , together with the new director of Rome’s Anglican Centre, Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi of Burundi. Following their half hour encounter in the Apostolic Palace, the two Anglican archbishops and their wives joined the pope for lunch in his Santa Marta residence to continue the conversation.
On Thursday, the Anglican leader presided at Vespers at Rome’s Caravita church for the installation of Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi as his official representative to the Holy See. The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, who previously served as nuncio in Burundi, preached the homily, stressing that ecumenical engagement is a moral imperative for all Christians.
Philippa Hitchen caught up with Archbishop Welby at the end of his brief visit to Rome to find out more about his meeting with the pope and their plans for a joint visit to war-torn South Sudan …
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The Anglican archbishop says his meetings with the pope were “full of meaning, but also full of joy, a good deal of laughter, very relaxed but very thoughtful”. In particularly, he says, they talked about mutual concerns on conflict, human trafficking, and the need for Church unity in a fractured world.
Progress in Anglican-Catholic dialogue
He notes that, like his predecessors during their visits to Rome, he wears the episcopal ring that Pope Paul VI gave to Archbishop Michael Ramsey in 1966. He says there has been enormous progress towards unity since then and both ARCIC and IARCCUM “continue the theological and missional dialogues very, very effectively”. Alongside that, there is ecumenism of action, and of prayer, something which has grown out of the theological work, he says, but is also pushing it forward.
Separation in the Eucharist
Speaking about the lack of unity in the Eucharist, Archbishop Welby says he is reminded of that each day in Lambeth Palace, celebrating with Catholic and non-Catholic members of the youth community of St Anselm. It is painful, he says, but in another sense, it is “a healthy pain that compels us to work harder” for unity.
Appeal to South Sudan’s leaders
Asked about a joint visit to South Sudan, the Anglican leader says “a visit like that has to be done at a moment when it can make an enormous difference” and “tip the balance towards peace”. He says that he and the Holy Father call on the political leaders “to turn away from violence and think of the people in South Sudan”. He recalls a recent visit to refugee settlements in northern Uganda housing 260.000 people, a small fraction of those who’ve fled the violence. We are “waiting and praying” for a change of heart from the political leaders, he says.
Don’t be paralised by disagreements
Asked about divisions within the Anglican world, in particular over homosexuality, Archbishop Welby says “you can’t be paralised by disagreements”, which all Churches are currently facing. In a communion as diverse as the Anglican world, he adds, there are bound to be disagreements “but we have to see the call of Christ to be united in the service of the poor…..and not let anything distract us from the proclamation of the Good News”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican Weekend for October 29th, 2017 features our weekly reflection on the Sunday Gospel reading, “There’s more in the Sunday Gospel than Meets the Eye,” plus our resident Vatican watcher Joan Lewis reviews the past week’s events in the Vatican.
Listen to this program produced and presented by Susy Hodges:
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday sent a video message to participants in the 48th Social Week for Italian Catholics gathered in the Sardinian city of Cagliari.
In the lengthy message, the pope focuses on the dignity of work and the importance of putting people, not profits, at the heart of all economic systems.
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Recalling that in the Bible, there are many people defined by the type of work they do – from farmers and fishermen, to carpenters or administrators – Pope Francis says God calls us through our jobs to put our skills and talents at the service of the common good.
He talks about the different kinds of work, including that which degrades, humiliates or exploits people through slavery, the arms trade, the black market, or jobs which offer no security from one month to the next.
The pope speaks of his own conversations with so many people living in fear of losing their jobs. Such precariousness is “immoral”, he says, as it “kills” people’s dignity, damaging their health, their families and the whole of society.
He mentions also those who work in dangerous or unhealthy conditions, leading to the deaths and injuries of hundreds of people here in Italy. He expresses his solidarity with all those who are unemployed or underemployed and are losing hope of ever finding a decently paid job.
The global economic system, the pope says, is focused on consumerism and not on human dignity or protection of the environment. But this is as dangerous as trying to cycle on a bicycle with flat tyres, he exclaims!
Finally the pope points to signs of hope, embodied by those who seek to create better working conditions and more trusting, respectful relationships in the workplace. Technological innovations must be put to the service of people and not be seen as an economic idol in the hands of the powerful.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis spoke via satellite link with the crew of the International Space Station on Thursday. Astronaut Randolph Bresnik of the US commands the current, 53rd ISS expedition, which has a complement of 5 mission specialists: Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli; Russian astronauts Sergey Ryanzansky and Alexander Misurkin; and US astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei.
Click below to hear our report
The video link-up lasted about 20 minutes, with the Holy Father speaking to the astronauts from the “auletta” of the Paul VI Hall, in the presence of the President of the Italian Space Agency (ASA), Roberto Battiston, and the Director of Earth Observation Programmes of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher.
During the course of the virtual visit, Pope Francis asked questions of the astronauts, on topics ranging from the place of humanity in the universe, to the difference in perspective that living on the ISS brings, to the role of the “That Love which moves the sun and the other stars,” in their work of understanding, to their reasons for desiring to explore space. Watch the full video below…
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) “Jesus calls us to change our lives, to change paths, calls us to conversion .” And this means fighting against evil, even in our own hearts, “a struggle that does not give you ease, but gives you peace.” That was the message of Pope Francis in his reflection during the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta . Inspired by the day’s Gospel , Pope Francis explained that this is the “fire” that Jesus sets on earth – a fire, he said, that calls for change:
“Changing our way of thinking, changing our way of feeling. Your heart, which was worldly, pagan, now becomes Christian with the strength of Christ: to change, this is conversion. And changing your manner of acting: your works must change.”
It is, he continued, a conversion that “involves everything, body and soul, everything.” Pope Francis emphasized:
“It is a change, but it is not a change that is made with make-up. It is a change that the Holy Spirit makes, within. And I have to make it mine so that the Holy Spirit can act. And this means a battle, fighting!”
“Easy-going Christians, who don’t fight, don’t exist,” the Pope added. “Those are not Christians, they are lukewarm .” The tranquility necessary for sleep can be found “even with a pill,” he said, “but there are no pills” for inner peace. “Only the Holy Spirit,” can give “that peace of the soul that gives strength to Christians.” And, he said, “we must help the Holy Spirit,” by “making space in our hearts.” A daily examination of conscience “can help us in this,” the Pope said. It can help us “to fight against the maladies the enemy sows,” which he called “maladies of worldliness .”
“The fight Jesus wages against the devil, against evil, is not something old, it is a modern thing, a thing of today, of all days,” Pope Francis said, because “the fire that Jesus has come to bring us is in our hearts.” And so we must allow Him to enter, and must “ask ourselves, each day: how have I passed from worldliness, from sin, to grace? Have I made room for the Holy Spirit, so that He could act?”
“The difficulties in our lives are not resolved by watering down the truth. The truth is this: Jesus has brought fire, and struggle. What am I going to do?”
For conversion, Pope Francis concluded, “a generous and faithful heart” is needed: “generosity that always comes from love,” and “is faithful, faithful to the Word of God.”
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(from Vatican Radio)…