(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday (May 15th) urged Catholic bishops of the Central African Republic (CAR) to promote inter-religious dialogue and peaceful co-existence and encourage their flock to respond to hatred and violence with forgiveness and love. The Pope’s appeal came in a speech that was handed to the bishops of the African nation during an audience with him in the Vatican. CAR is just emerging from two years of violent conflict between Muslim and Christian armed groups that killed thousands of people and displaced around a million others.
Listen to this report by Susy Hodges:
In his address to the CAR bishops who are in Rome on their ad-limina visit, Pope Francis referred to the recent sectarian violence in the African nation and the huge suffering this has caused to many of its population. He said he was particularly grateful for the assistance that many Catholic communities provided to victims of the violence and to those who were displaced. “Your task is difficult,” he told the bishops but stressed that when violence and hatred are unleashed, that’s when Christians “are called to respond with forgiveness and love.” The Pope expressed regret that this was “not always the case” during the recent fighting and said this was a sign that “the Gospel has not yet penetrated sufficiently deeply into the hearts of the people everywhere” to prompt them to “change their reflexes and behaviour.”
Despite this, Pope Francis urged the bishops not to feel discouraged by the conflict that has swept through their nation but instead find through faith and hope, a renewed sense of enthusiasm and dynamism to continue their work of evangelization.
Referring to the ongoing efforts to guide the CAR towards peace, the Pope said the bishops have an “irreplaceable prophetic” role to play in bearing witness to the key values of justice, truth, honesty which form the cornerstone of any renewal process. In this context, he also urged them to continue their efforts “to promote dialogue and peaceful co-existence between members of different religions and ethnic groups,” saying this will encourage reconciliation and social cohesion.
Turning next to the question of priestly formation, Pope Francis said there was a need for a particular emphasis on the human and affective formation of the seminarians so that they are able to remain faithful to their celibacy vows, saying no compromise on this can be accepted.
The Pope’s address concluded with words of encouragement and support for the family, which he described as the best place to learn to practice the culture of forgiveness, peace and reconciliation which is so badly needed in the CAR.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Bishops and delegates in charge of relations with Muslims in Europe are meeting in St Maurice in Switzerland from 13-15 May. The representatives of the European Bishops’ Conferences are discussing the theme of “The Radicalization of Islam: Experience of Dialogue in Act.” In his opening address, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, the Archbishop of Bordeaux, asked a number of probing questions about the state of Islam in the contemporary world. “What is the true face of Islam? Can there be a peaceful perception of the presence of Muslims in our European societies? Are we perhaps seeing a radicalisation of some Muslims? How can we analyse the different currents sweeping through Muslim communities today? What do we think of those young people who ‘convert’ to Islam and are tempted to join the armed forces of the Islamic State?” He noted that the international situation, including attacks in different European countries, have focused awareness on how conflict in the Middle East can affect our daily lives; he also spoke of the experience of Christians who have been expelled from their homes by the so-called Islamic state. These actions, he said, have led to an increase in “Islamophobic reactions,” even, at times, in Christian communities. Cardinal Ricard suggested “analysing with realism our situation today” and strongly expressing our convictions as a beginning to finding solutions to the issues he raised at the beginning of his address. We know, he said, that “only the path of dialogue, awareness, collaboration and mutual respect can realistically prepare for the future. This is both a challenge for our societies and a call from the Lord.” Below, please find the complete text of the press release by the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE) on Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard’s address: Radicalisation of Islam and the increase in Islamophobia in Europe Cardinal Ricard: “Only the path of dialogue, awareness, collaboration and mutual respect can realistically prepare for the future” St Maurice, 13 May 2015 – “What is the true face of Islam? Can there be a peaceful perception of the presence of Muslims in our European societies? Are we perhaps seeing a radicalisation of some Muslims? How can we analyse the different currents sweeping through Muslim communities today? What do we think of those young people who ‘convert’ to Islam and are tempted to join the armed forces of the Islamic State?”. With these questions Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux, yesterday afternoon opened the meeting of bishops and delegates from the Bishops’ Conferences in charge of relations with Muslims in Europe (St Maurice, 13-15 May 2015). For Cardinal Ricard, “the evolution of the international situation, its impact on the European continent and the attacks which have taken place in different European countries, have suddenly made us aware that the conflict in the Middle East could reach us in our daily lives. The drama of the expulsion of Christians in areas which have passed to the control of the Islamic State has touched many members of our Christian communities. The assertion of an Islam, conqueror and warrior, by leaders of this State, has disturbed consciences”. Hence the increase in Islamophobia in Europe to which the Cardinal Archbishop of Bordeaux referred. “We see in our societies an increase in Islamophobic reactions. I am struck by the fact that these are being expressed ever more openly, even in our Christian communities. We notice that a certain number of Muslims take badly the fact of being continually challenged to show their loyalty to the laws of our European societies, when they are not considered simply as a ‘fifth column’, the accomplices of a tough and conquering Islam”. To respond to these questions, the solution proposed by Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard is that of “analysing with realism our situation today and to strongly express our convictions once again. We know that: only the path of dialogue, awareness, collaboration and mutual respect can realistically prepare for the future. This is both a challenge for our societies and a call from the Lord”. (from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 15 May 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office Fr. Rifat Bader, director of the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media in Amman, Jordan, presented the figure of the Palestinian blesseds Sister Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, founder of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem, and the descalzed Carmelite Maryam Baouardy (Mary of Jesus Crucified). Along with another two women religious, the French Jeanne-Emilie de Villeneuve and the Italian Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando, they will be canonised by Pope Francis this coming Sunday in St. Peter’s Square. The solemn celebration will be attended by cardinals and bishops resident in Rome and from various parts of the world, including a delegation of 2124 people from the Palestine territories and Jordan headed by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal. The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will also be present, along with numerous prelates from Lebanon, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Cyprus. “Patriarch Fouad Twal affirmed that ‘the declaration of the sainthood of the two nuns from Palestine is a spiritual event of prime importance for the citizens of the Holy Land, amid the difficulties we are experiencing, as the two saints enlighten our path’”, said Fr. Badir. “As the Holy Land, wrecked by violence and dissent, has for some time had a tarnished image, our two saints emerge to restore its sanctity, reminding us that sanctity is possible even in the most difficult circumstances. The canonisation of the two girls from the East during these dark times is an invitation from His Holiness Pope Francis to pray, knowing that only prayer can miraculously help save our faith in the midst of these times of trial. Now we have two new saints who represent a model of perfection for Christians, as well as for Muslims and Jews alike. They are both named Mary, and this name is widespread and commonly used among all three traditions. It is a sign of our modern time which suggests that we can talk about the three religions without any discrimination”. This grand event”, added Fr. Badir, “is a message of solidarity and encouragement to the Christians of the Holy Land, especially for those in all other Middle East countries, to those who have been forcibly displaced and deported from their home countries, and to all those who suffer persecution, and whose persecutors sometimes think that by killing they are offering a sacrifice to God, as Jesus Himself warned”. The new saint Mary of Jesus Crucified was “subjected to acts of extremism and an attempt on her life, seeking to force her to change her religion. She now intercedes for those who are being killed because of their religion and their religious affiliation. Her life and intercession are a cry urging respect for religious and ethnic differences as well as acknowledging human beings as creatures who are made in the image and likeness of God”. St. Marie-Alphonsine “succeeded in gaining the support of the religious authorities to set up the first Arab religious congregation, and placing the Arab world on the map in the fields of education and religious teaching”. “Furthermore, the rosary schools associated with this Arab religious congregation have a prominent and influential presence in Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Rome. We realise that during the late 19th and early 20th century this religious congregation contributed to increasing the Arab role in culture, social awareness, spiritual guidance and education of generations of men and women. Illiteracy has been eliminated in many parts of the Middle East as a direct result of the active contribution of nuns and religious congregations to literacy education”. He concluded, “The two saintly nuns, whose canonisation coincides with the Church celebrations of the year of consecrated life and the blessed Marian Month of May, pray that the Lord would bring peace and calmness to our hearts and minds, and that we will return to worshipping the Almighty. … We view the consecration of the founder of the Rosary Sisters as an invitation to intensify the daily Rosary prayers in Churches, houses, and parish groups to bring peace, love and mutual respect among all the peoples of the Middle East”….
(Vatican Radio) Communities that are fearful and without joy are sick, they are not Christian communities. That was the message of Pope Francis at his morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
“Fear” and “joy” – those are the two words of the liturgy of the day. Fear, the Pope said, “is an attitude that harms us. It weakens us, it diminishes us. It even paralyzes us.” A person who is afraid “does nothing, doesn’t know what to do.” He is focused on himself, so that nothing bad will happen.” Fear “brings you to a self-centred selfishness and paralyzes you.” He continued, “A fearful Christian is a person who has not understood the message of Jesus”:
“This is why Jesus says to Paul: ‘Do not be afraid. Continue to speak.’ Fear is not a Christian attitude. It is an attitude, we could say, of a caged animal, without freedom, who does not have the freedom to look ahead, to create something, to do good… no, always: ‘No, but this is dangerous, there is something else, something else…’ And this is a vice. It is the fear of doing evil.”
“Do not be afraid, and ask for the grace of courage, the courage of the Holy Spirit that He sends us”:
“There are fearful communities, that always go on the safe side: ‘No, no, we aren’t doing this… No, no, this can’t be done, this can’t be done.’ It seems they have written on the gateway: ‘Forbidden.’ Everything is forbidden because of fear. And you enter into this community and the air is stale, because it is a sick community. Fear makes a community sick. The lack of courage makes a community sick.”
Fear, the Pope explained, must be distinguished from the “fear of the Lord,” which is holy. The fear or awe of adoration before the Lord, the fear of God is a virtue. But the fear of God does not diminish, does not weaken, does paralyze: it carries us forward, to the mission the Lord gives us.
The other word of the liturgy is “joy.” “No one can take away your joy” Jesus tells us. And, the Pope said, “in the saddest moments, in moments of sorrow” joy “brings peace.” Instead “a happy event, in a moment of sorrow becomes obscure, becomes dark. A Christian without joy is not Christian. A Christian who continually lives in sadness is not Christian. And a Christian who, in the moment of trial, of illness, of so many difficulties, loses peace – something is lacking in him.”
“Christian joy is not simply enjoyment, is not a fleeting cheerfulness. Christian joy is a gift, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And having a heart that is always joyful because the Lord has triumphed, the Lord reigns, the Lord is at the right hand of the Father, the Lord has looked upon me and called me and has given me His grace, and has made me a Son of the Father… That is Christian joy. A Christian lives in joy.”
And, too, a “community without joy” is a community that is sick. Perhaps it would be a “fun-loving community” but “it has grown sick with worldliness, because it does not have the joy of Jesus Christ. And thus, “when the Church is fearful and when the Church does not receive the joy of the Holy Spirit, the Church is sick, the communities are sick, the faithful are sick.” Pope Francis concluded with this prayer: “Lift us up, O Lord, to Christ seated at the right hand of the Father… raise our spirit. Take away our every fear, and grant us joy and peace.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin has sent a message on the Pope’s behalf to the Co-Presidents and Secretary General of Pax Christi International on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the foundation of Pax Christi International which is being marked in Bethlehem.
Please find below the message in English
His Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to be informed of the seventieth anniversary of the foundation of Pax Christi International, to be observed during the Global Assembly in Bethlehem from 13 to 17 May 2015. He sends cordial greetings to all those present for the celebration and he assures them of his spiritual closeness. Recalling that “to the extent that [Christ] reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal fraternity, justice, peace and dignity” (Evangelii Gaudium, 180), His Holiness prays that the Assembly will be an occasion for all members of Pax Christi to open anew their hearts to Christ and to see their union in him as their greatest offering to the communities they serve. Commending all the Assembly participants to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace, the Holy Father willingly imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in Risen Lord.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Secretary of State
(from Vatican Radio)…