THE CHURCH IS ROOTED IN THE APOSTLES BUT LOOKS TO THE FUTURE

Vatican City, 16 October 2013 (VIS) – After considering the unity, holiness and catholicity of the Church, as defined by the Creed, the Holy Father today addressed her apostolic nature. During the catechesis of the Pope's general audience in St. Peter's Square, he stated that “to profess that the Church is apostolic means underlining her constitutive bond with the Apostles, with that small group of twelve men whom Jesus called to Him by name one day, to ask them to stay with Him and to send them to preach. Indeed, 'apostle' is a Greek word meaning 'messenger', 'envoy'.

“The Apostles were chosen, called and sent by Jesus in order to continue His work, that is, prayer, the first task of an apostle, and secondly, to proclaim the Gospel”, continued the Pope, recalling that in the first years of the Church, to enable the apostles to have enough time for prayer, they instituted deacons to help them with their evangelising mission. “And when we think of their successors, of the bishops – including the Pope, because he too is a bishop”, he added, “we have to wonder if this successor of the Apostles prays, first of all, and then proclaims the Gospel. This is what it means to be an apostle, and this is why the Church is apostolic”.

The Church is apostolic “because she is based on the preachings and prayer of the Apostles, on the authority given to them by Christ Himself”, said the Pope, quoting St. Paul who, in his letter to the Christians of Epheseus compared them to “living stones, forming a house that is the Church, and this edifice is based on the Apostles, who are its columns, and the cornerstone of Jesus Himself. Without Jesus there can be no Church – he is the base and foundation. The Apostles lived with Jesus, they listened to His words, they shared in His life and, above all, they witnessed His Death and Resurrection. Our faith, the Church that Christ wanted, is not based on an idea, on a philosophy, but on Christ Himself. And the Church is like a plant that grows throughout the centuries … and has borne fruit, but the roots are planted deeply in Him, and the fundamental experience of the Apostles, chosen and sent by Jesus, reaches us”.

“But”, Pope Francis asked, “how is it possible for us to connect with this testimony of those who lived with and listened to Him?” He responded that it is the Catechism that affirms that the Church is apostolic, since she “keeps and hands on the teaching, the 'good deposit', the salutary words she has heard from the Apostles”; that is, “she conserves over the centuries the valuable treasure of the Sacred Scripture, the doctrine, the sacraments, the ministry of the pastors, so that we can be faithful to Christ and participate in His life. It is like a river flowing through history … but the water that flows is always that which emerges from the source, from Christ Himself. He is the Risen One, the Living One, and His words do not pass away from us. Christ never passes away from us, He is here, among us”.

Addressing the thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father said, “Do we ever think of how it has been precisely the Church who, in her path across these centuries, in spite of difficulties, problems and weakness, who has transmitted Christ's authentic message to us, and who gives us the security that what we believe in is really what Christ communicated to us?”

Finally, the Church is apostolic because “she is sent to bring the Gospel to all the world. She continues, on her path through history, the very mission that Christ entrusted to the Apostles: 'Go and make disciples of all nations. … And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age'. I insist on the missionary aspect of the Church, because Christ invites us all to the encounter with others, He sends us, He asks us to be on our way, to bring the joy of the Gospel to all!”

The Holy Father concluded, “The Church has her roots in the teaching of the Apostles, authentic witnesses of Christ, but looks to the future, and has the fixed awareness of being sent by Christ, of being Christ's missionary, of bringing forth Christ's name by prayer, proclamation and witness. A Church closed in on herself and the past, a Church who focuses only on minor rules and habits, betrays her own identity”.

POPE FRANCIS COMMEMORATES 35 YEARS SINCE BLESSED JOHN PAUL II'S ELECTION TO THE PAPACY

Vatican City, 16 October 2013 (VIS) – In his greetings in several languages at today's general audience, the Pope addressed, among others, the German students of the Mulhausen Liebfrauenschule. “Learn from St. Augustine who said, 'seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand'. May the Holy Spirit accompany you in your endeavours”.

“Today in Katowice”, he said to the Polish pilgrims, “an important cultural and religious event is taking place: a holy representation of the life and spirituality of St. Francis, with the participation of hundreds of actors and thousands of spectators. I express my wish to the organisers and participants that this artistic encounter with the 'Poverello' of Assisi may arouse in the hearts of all those present the love for God the Creator, respect for creation and true charity for all those in need of spiritual and material assistance”.

“I entrust all present, and your loved ones, to the heavenly intercession of Blessed John Paul II, on the thirty-fifth anniversary of his election to the Chair of St. Peter, and impart my heartfelt blessing”.

In Italian he warmly addressed the staff of the various embassies to the the Holy See, whom he thanked for their valuable work, and the delegates of the “Mouvement International Quart Monde”, “on the eve of the World Day for the Refusal of Misery and on World Food Day, convened by the United Nations”.

A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE CAN LIVE WITH DIGNITY

Vatican City, 16 October 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father has written a message to Jose Graziano de Silva, director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on the occasion of World Food Day, celebrated every year on October 16 to mark the foundation of the FAO, and which this year focuses on the theme: “Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition”.

“Paradoxically, in a moment in which globalisation allows us to be informed of situations of need throughout the world, and to multiply exchanges and human relations, there appears to be a growing tendency towards individualism and inwardness, which leads to a certain attitude of indifference – at a personal, institutional and State level – towards those who die of hunger and suffer as a result of malnutrition, as if it were an inescapable fact”, writes the Pope. “But hunger and malnutrition can never be considered a fact of life, to which we must accustom ourselves, almost as if it were 'part of the system'. Something must change in us, in ourselves, in our mentality, in our societies”.

For these changes to be made, Pope Francis adds that “an important step is to break down decisively the barriers of individualism, of being wrapped up in ourselves, of slavery to profit at all costs, and this applies not only to the dynamics of human relations, but also in the global economic and financial dynamics”.

He continues, “I think that it is necessary, today more than ever, for us to educate ourselves in solidarity, rediscovering the value and meaning of this uncomfortable word which is so often set aside, and to turn it into the attitude that forms the basis of decisions made at a political, economic and financial level, and of relations between people, populations and nations”.

Although steps have been taken, “we are still far from a world in which everyone may live in a dignified way”, he writes. “This leads to serious questions on the need to modify our lifestyles in a concrete way”, including our approaches to food which, “in many areas of the planet, are marked by consumerism, waste and squander. … It would be sufficient to eliminate such waste to drastically reduce the number of people who go hungry”.

Pope Francis introduces a third element for consideration: “education in solidarity and a lifestyle that rejects the 'throwaway culture', and which truly places each person and his or her dignity in the centre, begins in the family”. He concludes by emphasising that “the Catholic Church walks this path with you, aware that charity and love are the soul of her mission”.