PROGRAMME OF THE POPE'S PASTORAL VISIT TO CASERTA

Vatican City, 21 July 2014 (VIS) – The programme of the Holy Father's pastoral visit to Caserta, Italy, scheduled for Saturday 26 July, was published today.

The Pope will leave the Vatican by helicopter at 3 p.m. and will land 45 minutes later at the heliport of the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) School in the Reggia or Royal Palace of Caserta. At 4 p.m. he will meet the priests of the diocese at the Air Force Officer's Club and at 6 p.m. he will celebrate Mass in the square adjacent to the Royal Palace. At 7.30 p.m. he will depart for the Vatican where he is expected to arrive at 8.15 p.m.

IMITATE GOD'S PATIENCE AND AWAIT THE HARVEST WITH HOPE

Vatican City, 20 July 2014 (VIS) – “In a field where the master sows the grain, one night an enemy sowed tares among them, a plant whose name in Hebrew has the same root as 'Satan' and refers to the concept of division. The following morning the servants wanted to remove the weed, but the master stopped them, 'Lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them'”. The Holy Father commented on this parable on Sunday morning, as he appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. “The parable of the good seed and the tares takes on the problem of evil in the world”, explained the Pope, “and highlights God's patience”.

“The teaching of the parable is twofold. First, it says that the evil in the world does not come from God, but from His enemy, the devil. This enemy is astute; he has sown evil amidst the good, so that it is impossible for man to clearly separate the two; but God, in the end, will do so”. The Holy Father went on to consider the second theme: “the constrast between the impatience of the servants and the patient waiting of the master of the field, who represents God”. He remarked that often we are hasty to judge, classify and sort the good from the bad, and emphasised that God, on the other hand, knows how to wait. “He looks at the 'field' of each person's life with patience and mercy. He sees, far better than we do, the dirt and the evil, but He also sees the seeds of good and waits confidently for them to mature. God is patient, He knows how to wait”.

“The attitude of the master is that of hope, based on the certainty that evil has neither the first nor the last word. And, thanks to God's patient hope, that same weed may in time become good grain. But beware: evangelical patience is not indifference to evil; one must not confuse good and evil! Faced with the weeds in the world, the Lord's disciple is called to imitate God's patience, to nurture hope with the support of an unshakeable faith in the final victory of good, of God. In the end, we will all be judged by the same yardstick with which we ourselves have judged: the mercy we have shown to others will be used also with us. Let us ask Our Lady, our Mother, to help us to grow in patience, hope and mercy”.

APPEAL FOR THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Vatican City, 20 July 2014 (VIS) – “I have received with some concern the news from the Christian communities of Mosul, Iraq, and from other parts of the Middle East who, ever since the beginnings of Christianity, have co-existed there alongside their fellow citizens, making a significant contribution to the good of society”, said the Pope after today's Angelus prayer. “Today they are persecuted. Our brothers are persecuted, they are cast out, they are forced to leave their homes without having the chance to take anything with them. To these people I wish to express my closeness and my constant prayer. Dear brothers and sisters, so persecuted, I know how much you suffer, I know that you have been deprived of everything. I am with you in faith in He Who conquered evil”.

He urged them to continue their prayer for the situations of tension and conflict that persist in many areas of the world, especially in the Middle East and Ukraine. “May the God of peace rouse in everyone an authentic desire for peace and reconciliation. Violence cannot be overcome with violence. Violence is defeated with peace! Let us pray in silence, for peace; all of us, in silence. Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!”.

POPE FRANCIS: TERRORISM IS A MADNESS THAT KNOWS ONLY HOW TO KILL

Vatican City, 19 July 2014 (VIS) – On Friday 18 July the Holy Father sent a video message to the Argentine Israeli community, to convey his closeness to the families of the victims of the bombing of the AMIA (Argentine Israelite Mutual Association), which took place twenty years ago in Buenos Aires (18 July 1994). It caused 85 deaths and more than 200 casualties, making it one of the most significant terrorist attacks the country has experienced.

“Terrorism is a form of madness”; says Francis in the recorded message. “Terrorism knows only how to kill – it does not build, it destroys. Therefore, I wish to express my closeness to all those who have seen lives derailed and hopes dashed, ruined. Sometimes it is said that Buenos Aires is a city that needs to mourn, but has not yet wept enough. At the risk of repeating a well-worn cliché, I repeat: we need to mourn more. We tend to set things aside, not to come to terms with our history, with our sufferings, with things that could have been beautiful but were not. For this reason, it is so difficult for us to find the path to justice, to settle the debt that this tragedy has contracted with society. Along with my closeness, along with my prayers for all the victims, today I wish to add my desire for justice to be done. May God bless you all, institutions and families. And may God give peace to those who died in this act of lunacy”.

CARDINAL SANDRI TO THE ORIENTAL CHRISTIANS: YOUR TEARS AND HOPES ARE OURS

Vatican City, 21 July 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, celebrated Mass in the Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles, United States, on the occasion of the festivity of Sts. Charbel and Elias, commemorated by Lebanese Maronites all over the world on the third Sunday of July. Around four hundred faithful of the Oriental Churches participated in the celebration.

According to a communiqué from the dicastery, the cardinal spoke in his homily of the immense suffering caused by the desperate fate of many innocent people and remarked that, while the Christians in Mosul in Iraq and Aleppo in Syria are the most afflicted, the entire area is in a state of insecurity, unfortunately maintained by widespread indifference. He also made reference to those affected by current events in Palestine, “who are in tears, unable to be men and Christians in serenity and dignity. We tell them that their tears are ours, nonetheless we share the same hope, and its name is Christ; and Jesus Christ is faithful. For this, we persevere together in the same journey”.

After reading the appeal in support of persecuted Christians, launched by Pope Francis during yesterday's Angelus, the Cardinal invited the faithful to pray in silence and emphasised the Church's closeness to the Patriarchs, the bishops and the people of the Syro-Catholic and Chaldean Churches. He emphasised the Church's participation in their suffering and urged them to persevere in the defence of human rights and religious freedom, “particularly where Christians have been living for two thousand years since the beginning of Christianity” to the benefit of society, and where they may continue to offer their contribution to the human community.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 21 July 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Joseph Gebara, coadjutor of the eparchy of Nossa Senhora do Paraiso em Sao Paolo, Brazil, as bishop of the same eparchy (Catholics 436,000, priests 11, permanent deacons 3, religious 4). He succeeds Bishop Fares Maakaroun, M.S.P., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy in accordance with canon 210 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches was accepted by the Holy Father.

On Saturday, 19 July, the Holy Father appointed Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Family, as his special envoy to the consecration of the new Shrine of San Gabriele dell'Addolorata, Teramo, Italy, scheduled for 21 September 2014.