(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a letter to the Bishops of Nigeria expressing his closeness to all those suffering in the country.
While acknowledging the progress the nation of 160 million has made in recent years, Pope Francis laments the “new and violent forms of extremism and fundamentalism” which are affecting the country on ethnic, social and religious grounds, which has led to murders, kidnappings, and forced many people to leave their homes.
“Every day I remember you in my prayers and I repeat here, for your encouragement and comfort, the consoling words of the Lord Jesus, which must always resound in our hearts: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you,’” Pope Francis writes.
“Peace – as you know so well – is not only the absence of conflict or the result of political compromise or fatalistic resignation,” the Pope continues. “Peace is for us a gift which comes from on high; it is Jesus Christ himself, the Prince of Peace.”
Pope Francis reminds the Bishops that, at the same time, peace is “a daily endeavour, a courageous and authentic effort to favour reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to extend bridges of dialogue, to serve the weakest and the excluded.”
“In a word, peace consists in building up a ‘culture of encounter’,” he said.
The full text of the Pope’s letter to the Bishops of Nigeria is below:
To the Bishops of Nigeria
Dear Brother Bishops,
While we walk this Lenten journey towards the Resurrection of the Lord united with the whole Church, I wish to extend to you, dear Archbishops and Bishops of Nigeria, a fraternal greeting, which I extend to the beloved Christian communities entrusted to your pastoral care. I would also like to share some thoughts with you on the current situation in your country.
Nigeria, known as the “African giant”, with its more than 160 million inhabitants, is set to play a primary role, not only in Africa but in the world at large. In recent years, it has experienced robust growth in the economic sphere and has again reasserted itself on the world stage as an attractive market, on account of its natural resources as well as its commercial potential. It is now considered officially the single largest African economy. It has also distinguished itself as a political player widely committed to the resolution of crisis situations in the continent.
At the same time, your nation has had to confront considerable problems, among them new and violent forms of extremism and fundamentalism on ethnic, social and religious grounds. Many Nigerians have been killed, wounded or mutilated, kidnapped and deprived of everything: their loved ones, their land, their means of subsistence, their dignity and their rights. Many have not been able to return to their homes. Believers, both Christian and Muslim, have experienced a common tragic outcome, at the hands of people who claim to be religious, but who instead abuse religion, to make of it an ideology for their own distorted interests of exploitation and murder.
I would like to assure you and all who suffer of my closeness. Every day I remember you in my prayers and I repeat here, for your encouragement and comfort, the consoling words of the Lord Jesus, which must always resound in our hearts: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27).
Peace – as you know so well – is not only the absence of conflict or the result of political compromise or fatalistic resignation. Peace is for us a gift which comes from on high; it is Jesus Christ himself, the Prince of Peace, who has made of two peoples one (cf. Eph 2:14). And only the man or woman who treasures the peace of Christ as a guiding light and way of life can become a peacemaker (cf. Mt 5:9).
At the same time, peace is a daily endeavour, a courageous and authentic effort to favour reconciliation, to promote experiences of sharing, to extend bridges of dialogue, to serve the weakest and the excluded. In a word, peace consists in building up a “culture of encounter”.
And so I wish here to express my heartfelt thanks to you, because in the midst of so many trials and sufferings the Church in Nigeria does not cease to witness to hospitality, mercy and forgiveness. How can we fail to remember the priests, religious men and women, missionaries and catechists who, despite untold sacrifices, never abandoned their flock, but remained at their service as good and faithful heralds of the Gospel? To them, most particularly, I would like to express my solidarity, and to say: do not grow tired of doing what is right!
We give thanks to the Lord for them, as for so many men and women of every social, cultural and religious background, who with great willingness stand up in concrete ways to every form of violence, and whose efforts are directed at favouring a more secure and just future for all. They offer us moving testimonies, which, as Pope Benedict XVI recalled at the end of the Synod for Africa, show “the power of the Spirit to transform the hearts of victims and their persecutors and thus to re-establish fraternity” (Africae Munus, 20).
Dear Brother Bishops, in perseverance and without becoming discouraged, go forward on the way of peace (cf. Lk 1:79). Accompany the victims! Come to the aid of the poor! Teach the youth! Become promoters of a more just and fraternal society!
I gladly impart to you my Apostolic Blessing, which I ask you to extend to priests, religious, missionaries, catechists, lay faithful and above all to those suffering members of the Body of Christ.
May the Resurrection of the Lord bring conversion, reconciliation and peace to all the people of Nigeria! I commend you to Mary, Queen of Africa, and I ask you also to pray for me.
FRANCISCUS PP.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The world is called to “better appreciate the full greatness of woman”, which does not just include those attributes she shares with men, but also the “unique gifts that pertain to her as woman, like her capacity for motherhood understood not just as a reproductive act, but as a spiritual, educational, affective, nurturing and cultural way of life.”
These were the words of Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, at a panel discussion on “The Family As Agent for Women’s Equality and Human Rights: Fulfilling the Promises of Beijing Defending Human Dignity in Reproductive Health.”
“This work of fostering a wholesome atmosphere is ever more urgent, because we’re living in a time when the unique value and dignity of motherhood in some societies is insufficiently defended, appreciated and advanced, leaving women culturally and legally in a position to choose between their intellectual and professional development and their personal growth as wives and mothers,” Archbishop Auza said.
“Women’s essential contributions to the development of society through their dedication to their family and to raising the next generation is inadequately acknowledged,” he added.
The full text of Archbishop Auza’s speech is printed below
Remarks of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza
Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations
at a Panel discussion:
The Family As Agent for Women’s Equality and Human Rights:
Fulfilling the Promises of Beijing Defending Human Dignity in Reproductive Health
United Nations, New York, March 13, 2015
Excellencies, Colleagues, Distinguished Panelists, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great joy to join the co-Sponsors and organizers in welcoming all of you here this morning for this conference on the role of the family in promoting women’s equality, dignity and rights.
These days, the United Nations premises in New York are welcoming thousands if not tens of thousands of mostly female members of delegations, of nongovernmental organizations and guests, to discuss the status of women today. Within this context, it is fitting that we must talk also of the dignity of woman in the context of marriage, motherhood and family. True respect for woman starts with accepting her according to all aspects of her humanity. It involves creating the conditions for her to live freely and fully. Pope John Paul II used the expression “feminine genius” to highlight woman’s special wisdom in caring for the intrinsic dignity of everyone, in nurturing life and love and in developing others’ gifts. When women are given the opportunity to thrive in full appreciation for all their talents and potential, the whole of society benefits.
We are thus called to foster that atmosphere in which men and boys – and women and girls themselves – can better appreciate the full greatness of woman, which includes not just the aspects she shares in common with man, but also the unique gifts that pertain to her as woman, like her capacity for motherhood understood not just as a reproductive act, but as a spiritual, educational, affective, nurturing and cultural way of life.
This work of fostering a wholesome atmosphere is ever more urgent, because we’re living in a time when the unique value and dignity of motherhood in some societies is insufficiently defended, appreciated and advanced, leaving women culturally and legally in a position to choose between their intellectual and professional development and their personal growth as wives and mothers. Women’s essential contributions to the development of society through their dedication to their family and to raising the next generation is inadequately acknowledged.
Sometimes their invisible and often heroic service is even disparaged as an antiquated and
unwholesome model of feminine life. Such criticism does not come from a genuine appreciation of woman in her totality and her true equality, in complementarity and reciprocity, with man. A notion of womanhood that defines equality as “identity” in all things with man impoverishes all of humanity.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that “motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance” and that the “family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.” A number of Conventions and Treaties, as well as nonbinding documents, also enshrine this principle. When this “fundamental group unity of society” is ignored or attacked, we must stand and speak up for it candidly and with respect for all, and courageously advocate for better structures and policies that support working women who desire to have children or who want to dedicate themselves, partially or fully, to the care of their family.
Pope Francis is one of those speaking out. Last month, in a Vatican conference on “Feminine Cultures: Equality and Difference,” among other themes he spoke about the importance of motherhood and praised especially those women who are working to renew institutions with their feminine genius. He exhorts all of us to direct “an intense gaze upon all mothers,” and, I must add, to renew our personal devotion and gratitude to our own mothers.
Humanity owes its survival to the choice women make not just to welcome children, but raise them to be virtuous and authentically human: mothers give children the trust and security they need to develop their personal identity and positive social bonds. Could there be a greater bond among humans than that between the mother and child? Our future is already mirrored in how we, as individuals and as a society, support mothers to raise strong and healthy families.
Studies indicate that behind cases of juvenile delinquency and children in distressed and distressing situations is often a weak or a broken family. In this sphere, Pope Francis expressed appreciation for the contribution of so many women who work within the family, in the areas of teaching the faith, and in all areas of social, education and cultural development. He affirmed that “women know how to embody the tender face of God, his mercy, which is translated into a willingness to give time rather than to occupy space, to welcome rather than to exclude.”
As Pope John Paul II stressed in his 1995 Letter to Women, we need “an effective and intelligent campaign for the promotion of women, concentrating on all areas of women’s life and beginning with a universal recognition of the dignity of women.” Women cannot flourish when they are the victims of prejudice and discrimination, in particular simply for the fact that they are women.
The twentieth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration is a propitious occasion for us to ponder all of these issues more deeply. I thank the co-sponsors and organizers of this event, and I thank you all for coming, so that together we might ponder and act, towards an ever fuller recognition and appreciation of the irreplaceable and enormous contributions women have to our past, to our present and to our future.
Thank you!
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday received in audience their Excellencies Giancarlo Terenzi and Guerrino Zanotti, the Captains Regent of the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.
A Vatican press released revealed that during the cordial discussions, deep satisfaction was expressed regarding the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino, and the active collaboration in the social field between public institutions and the Church was underlined.
Finally, mention was made of the fruitful collaboration between the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino at a bilateral level and in the context of the international community.
After being received by the Pope, their Excellencies Giancarlo Terenzi and Guerrino Zanotti met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
The Captains Regent of San Marino are elected every six months by the Grand and General Council – the country’s parliament. They serve as heads of state and government. Normally the Regents are chosen from opposing parties and their mandate lasts six months. The investiture of the Captains Regent takes place on 1 April and 1 October every year, beginning in 1243.
The practice of dual heads of government (Diarchy) is derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic, equivalent to the consuls of ancient Rome.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says we are loved by God in a way that no theologian can explain.
He was speaking during morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta.
Taking his cue from the first letter of the prophet Isaiah in which the Lord says He is “about to create new heavens and a new earth”, Pope Francis said that God’s second creation is even more “wonderful” than the first because when he makes the world over he does so in Jesus Christ. He renews everything and manifests his immense joy:
“We find that the Lord has so much enthusiasm: he speaks of joy and says ‘I will exult in my people’. The Lord thinks of what He will do and of how He will rejoice with His people. It’s almost as if he has a dream. He has a dream. His dream is about us. ‘Oh, how beautiful it will be when we are all together, when this and that person will walk with me… I will exult in that moment!’ To bring you an example that can help us better understand, it’s like when a girl or a boy think of their beloved: ‘when we will be together, when we marry…’. It’s God’s ‘dream’”.
“God – the Pope continued – thinks of each of us and loves each of us. He ‘dreams’ about us. He dreams of how He will rejoice with us. That’s why the Lord wants to ‘re-create’ us, He wants to renew our hearts so that joy can triumph:
“Have you thought about it? The Lord dreams of me! He thinks of me! I am in the Lord’s mind and in His heart! The Lord can change my life! And he has many projects: ‘we will build houses and plant vineyards, we will share our meals’… these are the dreams of someone who is in love…. Thus we can see that the Lord is in love with his people. And when he says to his people: ‘I haven’t chosen you because you are the strongest, the biggest, the most powerful. I have chosen you because you are the smallest of them all. You could add: the most miserable. This is whom I have chosen’. This is love”.
God “is in love with us” – Francis repeated, as he commented on the Gospel reading that speaks of the miraculous healing of the son of a Royal official:
“I don’t think a theologian exists who can explain this: it is impossible to explain. We can only think about it, we can feel, we can cry with joy. The Lord can change us. ‘And what must I do?’ Believe. I must believe that the Lord can change me, that He has the power to do so: just like the man in the Gospel whose son was sick. ‘Sir, come down before my child dies’. ‘You may go (Jesus said to him). Your son will live!’ That man believed in the words of Jesus and had set off. He believed. He believed that Jesus had the power to change his child, the health of his child. And he won. To have faith is to make space for God’s love, to make space for his power, for God’s power. Not for the power of a powerful person, but for the power of one who loves me, who is in love with me and who wants to rejoice with me. This is faith. This is believing: making space for the Lord so that he can come and change me”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the bishops of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, during the course of the bishops’ ad limina visits.
In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered on Monday morning, Pope Francis focused on three specific points: meeting the challenge of emigration, with the attendant difficulties of family separations and desires for reunion – at home or abroad – often frustrated by persistent social ills and the still-raw wounds of conflict; the challenges of living in and ministering to a multiethnic and religiously plural population, in which the bishops are called at once to be fathers to all, and custodians of the traditions unique to the Catholic community; the pastoral, ecumenical and interreligious dimensions of leadership that constitute at once a delicate set of circumstances in which to be witnesses to the truth, and a powerful asset in the cause of the Gospel.
Click below to hear our report
The Holy Father also spoke of the need to cultivate relationships of mutual respect, support and collaboration among the diocesan and religious clergy, saying, “In this Year dedicated to Consecrated Life, we must evidence how all charisms and ministries are ordered to the glory of God and the salvation of all men, making sure that they are all effectively oriented to the up-building of the Kingdom of God.”
Pope Francis concluded his remarks with a look forward to his upcoming visit to the country. “Dear brothers,” he said, “as I wait expectantly to meet your people in Sarajevo, I desire to convey to you the charity, the attention and the closeness of the Church of Rome to you, who are the heirs to so many martyrs and confessors, who, all throughout the much-tried centuries of your country’s history, have kept the faith.”
(from Vatican Radio)…