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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday paid his first official visit to Italy’s head of state, Giorgio Napolitano, at Rome’s Quirinale Palace where he also met leading members of the Italian government. In his address to President Napolitano, the Pope touched on the social and economic problems afflicting Italy such as unemployment and urged the state institutions to do their utmost to support the family. He also said he would like to knock at the door of every home in Italy to offer the healing words of the gospel.
Pope Francis visited President Napolitano at Rome’s Quirinale, a Renaissance Palace, which up until 1870 had been a residency of the papacy for many centuries. His visit to the Italian head of State came 5 months after President Napolitano was received in audience by him at the Vatican.
In his address to Napolitano, Pope Francis said his visit confirmed the excellent relations that exist between Italy and the Holy See and recalled his predecessor’s visit to the Quirinale Palace in 2008. "Ideally," said the Pope, "I would wish to knock at the door of every inhabitant of Italy and offer to everybody the healing and ever new words of the Gospel."
Pope Francis said in their separate roles both Church and State share many common concerns such as the economic crisis and the resulting lack of jobs which he described as "one of its most painful consequences." He urged everyone to redouble their efforts to alleviate the consequences of this.
"The Church’s main task," the Pope continued, "is to bear witness to God’s mercy and to encourage a generous response of solidarity." In this way, we can help build a more just and humane society and promote a sustainable and healthy development.
Recalling his pastoral visits to the islands of Lampedusa and Sardinia and to the city of Assisi, the Pope said that in all these places he witnessed and touched with his hands "the wounds" that afflict so many suffering people.
Turning to the family, the Pope urged everyone to support the family unit, saying it needs to be "appreciated, valued and protected" so it can carry out its vital mission in society. He ended by expressing his hope that "Italy can recover its creativity and harmony" so it can promote the well-being and dignity of every human person.
In his own address, President Napolitano praised Pope Francis for his desire to carry out "a dialogue with everyone, even opponents and those who are most distant," saying the spirit of the Second Vatican Council vibrates in his words. Napolitano also spoke of the need to counter a spreading egoism and social insensitivity and said politics need to be freed from the plague of corruption and the promotion of person
(Vatican Radio) A first international meeting of chaplains serving in Parliaments is taking place at the Pontifical Justice and Peace Council this week, reflecting on ways of supporting Catholics engaged in political life.
The encounter, entitled ‘Pastoral Care of Politicians: Spiritual Companionship and Promotion of the Common Good’, was opened on Thursday by Council President, Cardinal Peter Turkson, who spoke of “new and serious issues” facing those searching for a right relationship between Christian faith and political decision making.
During a break in the meeting, Philippa Hitchen caught up with Cardinal Turkson to find out more about the goals of the two day conference:
Please find below the text of Cardinal Turkson's introduction to the meeting:
Your Excellencies, Rev. Fathers, Distinguished Speakers and Participants, dear friends:
1. It is a joy for me to welcome you to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace for this first meeting of chaplains serving parliaments. Thank you for making yourselves available for these two days of discussion and labour. Let me especially thank the speakers who have agreed to enrich our reflections.
2. We are gathered here to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II. As we begin our deliberations, we cannot avoid thinking of the emphasis in Gaudium et Spes on participation in the political sphere: “There is no better way to establish political life on a truly human basis than by fostering an inward sense of justice and kindliness, and of service to the common good, and by strengthening basic convictions as to the true nature of the political community and the aim, right exercise, and sphere of action of public authority.” The mission of priests involved in various ways with political figures fits into this desire of Vatican II. This mission is not only one of defending particular positions, even if it is sometimes necessary to do so. Above all, it is imperative to assist those in public life to give their political engagement proper foundations and direction in an interiorized manner, through reflection and prayer, rather than leaving it merely to formal conventions.
3. A little more than ten years ago, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued its Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life. It noted that “today’s democratic societies ... call for new and fuller forms of participation in public life by Christian and non-Christian citizens alike.” It analyzed the “cultural process” in which we are engaged, which combines the “great strides made in ... humanity’s progress in attaining conditions of life which are more in keeping with human dignity” with “the real dangers which certain tendencies in society are promoting through legislation, nor can one ignore the effects this will have on future generations.” The text went on to deplore “a kind of cultural relativism [that] exists today, evident in the conceptualization and defence of an ethical pluralism, which sanctions the decadence and disintegration of reason and the principles of the natural moral law.” The Doctrinal Note then proposed a thorough study of the conditions for a just secularism. Overall it urged a closer accompaniment of Christians involved in politics, to form them to engage in ever more serious subjects with true ethical discernment – that is, both fully rational and open to the light of Revelation.
4. This is the context in which you exercise your ministries to parliaments, and in which we gather here today. New and very serious issues call for a more vigorous commitment of the Church to politicians. This commitment must be both intellectual and spiritual. At the same time as helping Christian politicians to rationally discern the common good, we must nourish their hope and bolster their courage. But it is not for the clergy to replace the laity. Rather it is a matter of helping these politicians to exercise their baptismal responsibility fully and justly, in the spirit of Lumen Gentium and Christifideles Laici. Nor is it a matter of interfering with legitimate pluralism, but of helping those whose mission is to serve human dignity in all its dimensions. The preferential option for the poor includes the unborn and social insecurity, migrants and the elderly, the unemployed and the environment. One characteristic of Christians involved in politics is or should be an ability to promote an all-encompassing and coherent principle of humanity. Fr. Francesco Occhetta of La Civiltà Cattolica will open the reflection on dimensions of the Catholic political commitment, while Fr. Paolo Benanti will consider important new opportunities and challenges which come with the Digital Age we are in.
5. As a group, you practice your ministry in extremely varied conditions. Some of you have official status – you carry out functions that are recognized by your country’s governments. Others, particularly in more strictly secular States, are limited to offering ecclesial support more or less informally, outside of the parliamentary institution. For some, the ministry is primarily spiritual and oriented to worship, while others give most attention to ethical discernment. Some of you are engaged full-time with parliamentarians, while for others it is just one pastoral preoccupation among many, especially in countries where no genuine parliamentary ministry exists – or at least, not yet. We could regard the variety of your situations as an accurate reflection of the complexity of a right relationship of Christian faith to political life. Thus it will be productive for us to learn from each other’s experience.
6. In order for this sharing of experience to be as fruitful as possible, we thought that it should be enriched with a fundamental theological reflection on “the principles and relevance of Catholic theology of politics” and a broad sociological perspective on “Church-State relations in the world”. This is what Fr. Frédéric Louzeau and Professor José Casanova will provide this afternoon. The Doctrinal Note that I mentioned earlier asked important questions a decade ago; it is worthwhile to assess its impact and, with the benefit of hindsight, to explore the outlook for the years to come. For this we will hear from His Excellency Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
7. Ministry to parliamentarians, I have said, is a context of particular interest for collaboration between clergy and laity. That is why it was important to also have lay persons share their experiences and expectations with us. Spanish parliamentarian José Miguel Castillo Calvín and Tugdual Derville, Executive Director of Alliance Vita, will be our speakers. The latter will talk about “new models of Christian action”: it is very important nowadays to avoid restricting political action to the parliamentary or institutional setting, but to be active as well with lobbies and think tanks and with the worlds of public communication and social reflection.
8. This first meeting is mainly European and Western in focus. Accordingly, it is important to consider the specific conditions for political ministry in Europe. Bishop Piotr Mazurkiewicz, Professor of Political Science in Warsaw and former Secretary General of COMECE, is a particularly appropriate speaker on this topic. Several chaplains will share their experiences: Bishop Lorenzo Leuzzi from Italy, Mons. Karl Jüsten from Germany and Fr. Patrick Conroy from the United States. However, the catholicity of the Church is a persistent reminder to situate political action in the complex and fascinating perspective of globalization. Therefore I am especially pleased that a pioneer in this ministry from South Africa, Fr. Peter John Pearson, can also give us his testimony. Finally, Bishop Mario Toso, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will review the various dimensions of the pastoral care and spiritual accompaniment of politicians and the promotion of the common good.
9. Dear friends, we shall devote two days to reflection and to sharing our experiences. But we will also experience a time of fraternity—that fraternity which is at the heart of the Christian experience and which is ours to share with a world longing for unity and peace. We will celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrament of unity and peace, and pray for those in positions of public authority today.
During the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, Blessed John Paul II, soon to be declared a Saint, named St. Thomas More as patron of politicians. Let us entrust our labours to his prayerful guidance. Through the intercession of St. Thomas More, I ask God to raise authentic servants of the common good throughout the world and priests who know how to accompany them. May the Lord bless our discussions and our work.
Cardinal Peter K.A. Turkson
President
(Vatican Radio) The spirit of curiosity generates confusion and distances a person from the Spirit of wisdom, which brings peace, said Pope Francis in his homily during Thursday morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
The Pope began his homily by commenting on the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which describes “the state of the soul of the spiritual man and woman”, of true Christians, who live “in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. And this wisdom carries them forward with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit”.
“This is journeying in life with this spirit: the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity. And holiness is exactly this. That which God asked of Abraham—‘Walk in my presence and be irreproachable’—is this: this peace. To follow the movement of the Spirit of God and of this wisdom. And the man and woman who walk this path, we can say they are wise men and women… because they follow the movement of God’s patience.”
In the Gospel, the Pope underlined, “we find ourselves before another spirit, contrary to the wisdom of God: the spirit of curiosity”.
“And when we want to be the masters of the projects of God, of the future, of things, to know everything, to have everything in hand… the Pharisees asked Jesus, ‘When will the Kingdom of God come?’ Curious! They wanted to know the date, the day… The spirit of curiosity distances us from the Spirit of wisdom because all that interests us is the details, the news, the little stories of the day. Oh, how will this come about? It is the how: it is the spirit of the how! And the spirit of curiosity is not a good spirit. It is the spirit of dispersion, of distancing oneself from God, the spirit of talking too much. And Jesus also tells us something interesting: this spirit of curiosity, which is worldly, leads us to confusion.”
Curiosity, the Pope continued, impels us to want to feel that the Lord is here or rather there, or leads us to say: “But I know a visionary, who receives letters from Our Lady, messages from Our Lady”. And the Pope commented: “But, look, Our Lady is the Mother of everyone! And she loves all of us. She is not a postmaster, sending messages every day.”
Such responses to these situations, he affirmed, “distance us from the Gospel, from the Holy Spirit, from peace and wisdom, from the glory of God, from the beauty of God.”
“Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom.”
“ ‘The Kingdom of God is among you,’ said Jesus, and it is this action of the Holy Spirit, which gives us wisdom and peace. The Kingdom of God does not come in (a state of) confusion, just as God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the wind, in the storm (but) he spoke in the soft breeze, the breeze of wisdom.”
“Saint Teresa of the Child Jesus would say that she had always to stop herself before the spirit of curiosity," he said. "When she spoke with another sister and this sister was telling a story about the family, about people, sometimes the subject would change, and she would want to know the end of the story. But she felt that this was not the spirit of God, because it was a spirit of dispersion, of curiosity.
“The Kingdom of God is among us: do not seek strange things, do not seek novelties with this worldly curiosity. Let us allow the Spirit to lead us forward in that wisdom, which is like a soft breeze," he said. "This is the Spirit of the Kingdom of God, of which Jesus speaks. So be it.”
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis called on the faithful Wednesday to humbly ask forgiveness every time they sin. As part of his catechesis during this Wednesday's General Audience in St. Peter's Square, Pope Francis said, like Baptism, which washes away original sin and personal sin, the Sacrament of Confession can “open the door to a new life” as the merciful God “enters our lives.” The Pope invited Catholics to renew the grace of Baptism by going to Confession often and with a contrite heart: “The Church teaches us to confess our sins with humility, because only in forgiveness, received and given, do our restless hearts find peace and joy.”
Below, please find Pope Francis' remarks to English speaking pilgrims, read out in English by an assistant:
“Dear Brothers and Sisters: Today I would like to continue our catechesis on the Creed by turning to the Sacrament of Baptism. Each Sunday when making our Profession of Faith, we pray: I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Let us look at each of these words. I confess – This solemn declaration highlights the importance of Baptism and affirms our identity as children of God. In the Sacrament, our faith is also linked to the remission of sins. When we confess our sins, we renew and strengthen our Baptismal identity. Baptism, then, is the point of departure for a lifelong journey of conversion sustained by the Sacrament of Penance. One Baptism – The word Baptism literally means immersion. Through the Sacrament, we are immersed spiritually in the death of Jesus Christ and we rise with him as a new creation. Regenerated by water and the Holy Spirit, we are illuminated by grace which dispels the darkness of sin. For the forgiveness of sins – Baptism forgives original sin and personal sin. The door to a new life is opened and the mercy of God enters our lives. But human weakness remains. The Church teaches us to confess our sins with humility, because only in forgiveness, received and given, do our restless hearts find peace and joy.”
