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Tag: Syndicated

Pope Francis to German Bishops: Use Jubilee to revive Church

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday told the bishops of Germany the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy offers the opportunity to “rediscover the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.”
The bishops were meeting with the Holy Father during their ad limina visit to Rome.
In a speech handed to the bishops at the meeting,  Pope Francis noted a sharp decline in sacramental participation among the Catholics in Germany.
“Whereas in the 1960’s the faithful almost everywhere attended Mass every Sunday, today it is often less than 10 percent,” he said.
“The Sacraments are always approached less often,” the Pope continued.
“The Sacrament of Penance is often missing.  Fewer and fewer Catholics receive the Sacrament of Confirmation or contract a Catholic marriage,” he continued. “The number of vocations to the ministerial priesthood and to the consecrated life has significantly diminished. Given these facts, one can truly speak of an erosion of the Catholic faith in Germany.”
Pope Francis said the solution to the crisis depends upon overcoming “paralyzing resignation,” and cannot be based upon an attempt to “rebuild from the wrecks of ‘the good old days’ in the past,” but it can be inspired by the life of the early Christians.
He turned the bishops attention to the biblical figures of Priscilla and Aquila, the married couple who witnessed with their words and lives to the love of Christ.
“The example of these ‘volunteers’ can help us reflect, given the trend towards a growing institutionalization,” Pope Francis said.
“We always inaugurate new facilities, from which, in the end, the faithful are missing,” Pope Francis said.
“It is a sort of new Pelagianism, which puts its trust in administrative structures, in perfect organizations” – the Pope continued – “excessive centralization, rather than helping, complicates the life of the Church and her missionary dynamics.”
He told the bishops to give more attention to Confession during the Jubilee of Mercy, since “in Confession is the beginning of the transformation of each individual Christian and the reform of the Church.”
“It is also necessary to highlight the intimate connection between the Eucharist and the priesthood,” the Holy Father said.  
“The precious collaboration of the laity, especially in those places where vocations are missing, cannot become a surrogate for the ministerial priesthood, or give it the semblance of being simply optional,” he said. “If there is no priest, there is no Eucharist.”
The Pope also said a task of the Bishop which is always underappreciated is the commitment to life.
“The Church must never get tired of being the advocate of life, and should never step back from proclaiming that human life must be protected unconditionally from conception to natural death,” he said.
He said any compromise on this issue makes one guilty of being part of a “throwaway culture,” noting the wounds caused in society due to the suffering of the weakest and most defenseless: The unborn, the elderly, and the sick.
“All of us in the end will suffer the painful consequences,” he said.
Pope Francis also spoke about the refugee crisis affecting Europe, and thanked the Churches and individual citizens who have offered their help in accommodating those “seeking refuge from war and persecution” with their assistance, on both a material and human level.
“In the spirit of Christ, we must continue to meet the challenge of the great number of people in need,” he said. “At the same time, we support all humanitarian initiatives to ensure that the living conditions in the countries of origin become more bearable.”
(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Francis calls for sustainable lifestyle for authentic development

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent his good wishes to the XII International Media Forum on the Protection of Nature taking place in Rieti, Italy, and sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Family and Greenaccord.
In a telegram sent through the Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy Father greeted the scientists, journalists, students, and other participants taking part in the event, and welcomed the initiative, “which helps us reflect on the common responsibilities of the custodians of Creation, and of the design of God written in Nature.”
The Pope made an urgent appeal to the scientists and journalists to contribute to the raising of awareness of political institutions and citizens of the need for a lifestyle that is sustainable on the human and ecological level, and works to ensure the full realization of each person and the authentic development of Creation.
(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Francis to travel to Kenya, Uganda and Central African Republic

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is to set off for his first apostolic journey to Africa on the morning of Wednesday 25 November. At the heart of his 6-day journey, taking him to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic is his desire to bring a message of peace, reconciliation, dialogue and the impetus to overcome internal divisions. Speaking on Thursday morning at a Press Conference in the Vatican, Press Office Director Fr Federico Lombardi said for Jorge Mario Bergoglio it will be a first time in Africa, and  not only as Pope. This apostolic visit will be Francis’ 11 th journey abroad, but Lombardi pointed out: two Popes have been to these very countries before him. The first was Blessed Paul VI who visited Uganda in 1969. Then it was the turn of Saint John Paul II who visited some 42 African nations during his pontificate including Kenya in 1980, in 1985 and in 1995; Uganda in 1993; and Central African Republic in 1975. During his three-nation trip Pope Francis will be accompanied by Cardinal Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, his deputy Angelo Becciu and the Cardinals Filoni and Turkson, respectively prefect the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as well as by masters of ceremonies, other Vatican staff, some 75 journalists and of course, security personnel. Pope Francis is scheduled to spend one and a half days in each country; in Nairobi, Kampala and Bangui he will celebrate Mass with the faithful, hold meetings with political and religious authorities, exchange views with the bishops, spend time with the poor and the needy, meet with the youth, participate in ecumenical encounters. In Kenya he will also address leaders and staff of the United Nations; in Uganda he will celebrate the Ugandan martyrs; in war-torn CAR he will open Bangui Cathedral’s Holy Door in a powerful gesture leading up to the Jubilee Year of Mercy. One of Pope Francis’ last commitments before he boards the Papal plane bringing him back to Rome on November 30, will be a visit to Bangui’s Central Mosque for a meeting with the Muslim community. (from Vatican Radio)…

Cardinal Parolin on the priesthood: “intense moments of joy"

( Vatican Radio) In two addresses in Rome this week Cardinal Parolin reflected on the vocation, formation and mission of the Catholic priest. The first address took place at the Capitoline Museum on the occasion of the presentation of a book by Vincenzo Carbone on Mgr Pericle Felici, Secretary General of Vatican Council II. The book relies on the diary of Mgr Felici and reveals a view of Vatican II from the inside, as well as a deep priestly spirituality. Mgr Felici records his desire to live in humility, always subject to the will of God and working with utmost commitment. In his diary he says, “For the voice of your Vicar you have assigned me to work; I will work as best I can.”
The second address took place at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in the course of a conference convened for the purpose of examining two great documents of the second Vatican Council on the priesthood: Optatam Totius and Presbyterorum Ordinis. These “pearls” of priestly formation rely upon the image of priest as shepherd. Despite challenges for the Church in the fifty years since the Council, Cardinal Parolin notes that we have also experienced “intense moments of communion and joy.” In both challenges and joys we should commit all of our energies to support vocations and the renewal of priestly identity.
Priestly formation can be compared to the care of a “rough diamond” the Cardinal continued. In some ways, this cannot be taught; it must be lived in intimacy with the Master. Priests are not chosen on the basis of personal merit or ability, nor are the fruits of their ministry proportional to their pastoral methods. They are partakers in Christ’s mission. They walk in the Master’s footsteps. The Cardinal concludes: it is a vocation because it is the choice of God; it is a formation because it is about transformation; it is a mission because it is about evangelization in every form.
(from Vatican Radio)…

Pope Francis warns against "medicine of desires"

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday met with participants attending a Conference for International Healthcare Workers taking place in Rome.
Greeting the conference members gathered, Pope Francis in his prepared remarks, began by reminding them that this International Healthcare Workers event also coincided with the thirtieth anniversary of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers and the twentieth anniversary of the publication Pope Saint John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter Evangelium vitae.
He told the participants that the issues that they have been debating this week such as respect for the value of life, and, even more, the love of it, was fundamental in taking care of those who suffer in body and spirit.
The Pope added that these attitudes would be further highlighted during the Jubilee of Mercy.
Returning to the encyclical Evangelium Vitae, Pope Francis said it contained the vital elements of hospitality, compassion, understanding and forgiveness.
During his address the Holy Father also noted and warned against, what he called the “medicine of desires”: a mentality, he said, increasingly common in affluent countries, characterized by the pursuit of physical perfection at any cost, the illusion of eternal youth; a mentality that leads precisely to discarding or marginalizing those who are not seen as “efficient”.
Turning his attention to the gift of creation, the Pope said the anxiety that the Church has, in fact, is the fate of the human family and of all creation which needs to be nurtured in order to be passed on to future generations.
Finally, in keeping with this theme, Pope Francis encouraged the participants present to keep in mind, in their work, the reality of those populations that suffer most from the damage caused by environmental degradation, which can has severe and often permanent consequences on their health.
 
(from Vatican Radio)…