General audience: Francis' trip to Turkey

Vatican City, 3 December 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis dedicated the catechesis of this Wednesday's general audience to his recent visit to Turkey, a land dear to many Christians for being the birthplace of the apostle Paul, hosting the first seven councils, and for the presence, near Ephesus, of the “House of Mary”. In the same way as he asked the faithful, before his journey, to accompany him in prayer, today he asked them to give thanks to the Lord for the success of the trip and to pray that it might bear the fruit of dialogue in our relationship with our Orthodox and Muslim brothers, and in the path towards peace among peoples.

Francis spoke first of his meeting with the authorities on Friday 29, thanking them for the care and respect with which they greeted him. In a constitutionally secular country with a Muslim majority, the Pope noted that it is oblivion to God and not His glorification that engenders violence, and insisted before the leaders of the nation on the importance of concerted efforts between Christians and Muslims for solidarity, peace and justice, reaffirming the need for States to guarantee real freedom of worship to citizens and religious communities.

On the second day, the Pope visited the Museum of Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, highly symbolic places for the different religions that co-exist in Turkey. “I did so, feeling within my heart the wish to invoke the Lord, God of Heaven and Earth, merciful Father of all humanity”. The central event of the day was the Mass held in the Cathedral, attended by pastors and faithful of the various Catholic rites in Turkey, along with representatives of other confessions, to invoke together the Holy Spirit, “who builds the unity of the Church: unity in faith, unity in charity, unity in internal cohesion”, so that the People of God, “in the richness of their traditions”, may grow in openness and obedience to His divine action”.

The feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, patron of the Church of Constantinople, on 30 November, offered the ideal context for consolidating the fraternal relations between the Bishop of Rome and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I, who renewed their joint commitment to the path of re-establishing full communion between Catholics and Orthodox, and signed a Joint Declaration which represents a significant step along the way. Francis expressed his joy at having participated in the Divine Liturgy and for the dual blessing imparted by the Pope and the Patriarch at the end. “Prayer is the foundation of any fruitful ecumenical dialogue under the guidance of the Holy Spirit”.

The Holy Father's final meeting, of which he spoke with emotion, was with a group of young refugees from the war zones of the Middle East, under the care of the Salesians. “It was very important for me to meet them”, he said, “both to express my closeness and that of the Church, and to highlight the importance of hospitality; a value to which Turkey is committed”. The Pope again thanked the country for its work in this field, praised the Salesians for their work with the young refugees, and concluded by again asking all those present to pray for refugees and internally displaced people, and for the removal of the causes of this “painful scourge”.

Declaration by the Director of the Holy See Press Office

Vatican City, 3 December 2014 (VIS) – The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., answered questions posed by journalists late yesterday afternoon on the situation regarding the ex-nuncio Msgr. Wesolowski.

“This morning, the Promoter of Justice of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, Professor Gian Piero Milano, met with the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Dominguez Brito, upon request by this latter, during a trip in Europe to make contacts in Poland and the Vatican. The meeting took place within a broader context of international level cooperation amongst the investigative bodies engaged in the proceedings against Msgr. Wesolowski and the related investigations in progress, and it was useful for both parties given the complexity of the enquiry and the possibility of a letter rogatory from the Vatican to request further elements.

Meanwhile, regarding the situation of Msgr. Wesolowski, I am able to state that the Magistrature of Vatican City State, continuing its investigations, has already questioned the defendant, and future rounds of questioning will take place. As the custody time limit has lapsed, and in view of his state of health, Msgr. Wesolowski has been permitted a certain freedom of movement, but is obliged to remain within the State and is subject to appropriate restrictions on external communications”.

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 3 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- appointed Rev. Ivan Pereira as bishop of Jammu-Srinagar (area 222,236, population 13,849,892, Catholics 18,161, priests 61, religious 214), India. The bishop-elect was born in Vasai, India in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1993. He holds a B.A. in education and a Master's degree in English, and has served in a number of pastoral and administrative roles, including parish vicar in Jammu; parish priest in various parishes, including the Cathedral and “Our Lady of Fatima”, Srinagar; rector of St. Paul's minor seminary, Akalpur, Jammu; secretary of the Regional Catholic Council of North India; and president of the Regional Conference of Diocesan Priests, North India. He is currently director of the Diocesan Education Board of the diocese of Jammu-Srinagar and principal of the Burn Hall Higher Secondary School, Srinagar. He succeeds Bishop Peter Celestine Elampassery, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese was accepted by the Holy Father, upon having reached the age limit.

- appointed Bishop Odelir Jose Magri, M.C.C.J., of Sobral, Brazil, as bishop of Chapeco (area 15,663, population 772,000, Catholics 635,000, priests 85, religious 223), Brazil.

- appointed Bishop Zanoni Demettino Castro of Sao Mateus as coadjutor archbishop of Feira de Santana (area 6,730, population 963,000, Catholics 895,000, priests 73, permanent deacons 9, religious 157), Brazil.

- appointed Bishop Waldemar Passini Dalbello, auxiliary of Goiania, Brazil, as coadjutor bishop of Luziania (area 16,424, population 776,000, Catholics 624,000, priests 55, permanent deacons 4, religious 100), Brazil.