Thursday, October 29, 2015

Audience with the president of Lithuania: greater solidarity between nations


Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father Francis received in audience Dalia Grybauskaite, president of the Republic of Lithuania, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions appreciation was expressed for the positive contribution of the Catholic Church to Lithuanian society. Attention then turned to a number of themes of common interest, such as European integration, the need for greater solidarity between nations to face various current challenges, the reception of migrants in Europe, peace and security at regional and international level, the conflict in Ukraine, and the situation in the Middle East, with particular reference to Syria and the Holy Land.

Transmitting Christian hope: the Pope receives the participants in the 6th World Congress of Radio Maria


Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning the Pope received in the Sala Clementina the participants in the Radio Maria 6th World Congress, taking place in the shrine of Collevallenza, Italy from 25 to 30 October and attended by the presidents and priests who direct the 75 Radio Maria broadcasters throughout the world and the further six who will shortly become active. Thousands of volunteers contribute to the running of Radio Maria, which has around 30 million listeners worldwide.

Pope Francis began his address by commenting that ever since its creation the aim of Radio Maria has been to help the Church in her task of evangelising, and to do so in its own special way, “with closeness to the concerns and problems of the people, with words of consolation and hope, the fruit of faith and commitment to solidarity. … The spread of Radio Maria in many environments, very diverse in terms of culture, language and tradition, is good news for all as it shows that, when we have the courage to propose high profile content from a clearly Christian position, the initiative is well-received, beyond our best predictions, and at times by those who thereby perhaps come into contact with the message of the Gospel for the first time”.

The Pope invited the members of Radio Maria to continue their work, trusting in Providence that has always enabled them to find the means to respond to their daily needs regarding the modernisation of technologies and the development of the radio station, which has spread rapidly and organically. “In this respect, the challenge is to maintain your style of sobriety, while continuing to seek suitable tools”.

The work of Radio Maria has become “a true mission”, which must be carried out “with fidelity to the Gospel and to the Magisterium of the Church, and listening to society and to the people, especially the poorest and most marginalised, so as to be a point of reference and a support to all your listeners. … All those who listen to your radio programmes recognise you as a broadcaster that offers ample space to prayer, demonstrating that when one opens up to prayer, one opens the door … to the Lord. Your model in this is Our Lady. It is therefore necessary to love Mary with your heart to live and feel in harmony with the Church”.

The Pope concluded by urging the directors “always to cultivate the inner garden of prayer, of listening to the Word of God”, and to seek out “good readings, so as to deepen your faith. In other words, always be aware that you give something great and unique: Christian hope, which is far more than a mere spiritual consolation, since it is based on the power of the Resurrection, witnessed with faith and works of charity”.


Programme of Pope Francis' visit to Prato and Florence


Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office today made public the programme of the Holy Father's visit to Prato and Florence, Italy on 10 November for the Fifth National Congress of the Italian Church.

The Pope will depart at 7 a.m. from the Vatican heliport and will arrive an hour later at the municipal sports camp in Prato. From there he will transfer to the cathedral and will address workers from the square. At 9 a.m. he will travel by helicopter from Prato to Florence where, after arrival at the Luigi Ridolfi stadium, he will visit the baptistery and will meet with the representatives of the National Congress of the Italian Church in Piazza Santa Maria del Fiore. At midday he will pray the Angelus and greet the sick in the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata, after which he will lunch with the poor who attend the San Francesco Poverino refectory. After celebrating Holy Mass in the Artemio Franchi municipal stadium, the Holy Father will greet the authorities and depart for Rome at 5 p.m., where he is due to arrive around 6 p.m.


Message from Cardinal Tauran to the Religions for Peace European Assembly: from fear to trust


Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, has sent a message to the participants in the Religions for Peace European Assembly, currently gathered in Castel Gandolfo to discuss the theme “Welcoming Each Other in Europe: from Fear to Trust”.

The cardinal mentioned the Assembly's concept paper, which underlines the multiple challenges of today's Europe: fear of losing one's identity leading to radicalism and fundamentalism, tendency to withdraw into oneself, xenophobia, rising intolerance towards different religions and minorities and increasing tides of forced migration due to wars, dictatorial regimes and ecological crisis.

“How can we change fear into trust, discrimination into respect, enmity into amity, polarisation into solidarity, a selfish lifestyle into a selfless one, a throwaway culture into a caring culture, and confrontation into encounter and dialogue? The true mission of religion is peace because religion and peace go together. No true religious leader can ignore the culture of dehumanisation and violence or preach and support it. We all agree that peace or violence and trust or fear come from the human heart. Prayer, spiritual practices, and actions for justice and peace can awaken our hearts to overcome the polarised vision of seeing our neighbour as another separate person. As religious leaders our urgent challenge today, is to transform distrust , suspicion, intolerance into a new culture based on respect, mutual understanding, non-violence, solidarity and peaceful conflict resolution. Since our spiritual patrimony is so great, let us work together to remedy these social and cultural ills through dialogue and cooperation”.


Audiences


Vatican City, 29 October 2015 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime;

- Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy.