MERCY, THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY

VATICAN CITY, 17 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This afternoon, the Holy Father began his pastoral visit to the Italian cities of Savona and Genoa, departing from Rome's Ciampino airport at 3.30 p.m. and landing at Christopher Columbus airport in Genoa at 4.20 p.m. From there he travelled by helicopter to Savona and thence to the nearby shrine of Our Lady of Mercy.

  On his arrival at the shrine Benedict XVI was greeted by the religious authorities. He then entered the building, pausing in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and praying before the image of the Virgin, at whose feet he laid a golden rose in memory of his visit. Subsequently he was taken in an open-top car to Savona's Piazza del Popolo where he celebrated Mass and pronounced a homily.

  In his remarks, the Pope commented on the day's readings where, in a passage from Exodus, God reveals His name to Moses. "The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness", said the Pope quoting the biblical text. "These are human words", he added, "they tell us the truth about God. They were true yesterday, they are true today and they will be true always. They cause us to see the face of the Invisible with the eyes of the mind. They tells us the name of the Ineffable. That name is Mercy, Grace, Faithfulness".

  He then recalled how the Virgin Mary had appeared to a local peasant in the year 1536, and how she is still venerated today with the name of Virgin of Mercy. "This is the essence of Christianity because it is the essence of God Himself", he exclaimed. "God is One in that He is entirely and solely Love, but precisely because He is Love He is openness, acceptance, dialogue. And in His relations with us, sinful mankind, He is mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness. God created everything for existence, and He always and exclusively wills life".

  "During the history of the Church, the Virgin Mary has always invited her children to return to God, to entrust themselves to Him in prayer, to knock with trusting insistence at the door of His merciful Heart. ... My visit to Savona on the day of the Blessed Trinity is above all a pilgrimage, through Mary, to the font of faith, of hope and of love".

  Benedict XVI then recalled the figure of his predecessor Pius VII. "Two centuries on", he said, "I have come to renew the recognition of the Holy See and of the Church for the faith, the love, and the courage with which your fellow citizens supported the Pope during the exile imposed upon him here by Napoleon Bonaparte".

  "That dark page of European history has, by the power of the Holy Spirit, become a rich source of grace and education, even for our own time. It teaches us the courage to face the challenges of the world (materialism, relativism, laicism), never giving way to compromise but ready to pay in person in order to remain faithful to the Lord and His Church".

  Those events, and the apparition of the Virgin at a tragic moment in the history of Savona, "come together to transmit a message of hope to the Christian generations of our own day. They encourage us to have faith in the instruments of Grace which the Lord places at our disposal in all situations".

  Among these "instruments of Grace", the Holy Father highlighted "individual, family and community prayer". In this context he also recalled how "Sunday needs to be rediscovered in its Christian roots, beginning with the celebration of the Risen Lord", and how "the Sacrament of Penance" represents a "fundamental means of spiritual development".

  "Works of charity are other indispensable means of growth", he continued. "In the modern world, which often makes beauty and physical efficiency an ideal to be pursued in every possible way, we are called as Christians to discover the face of Jesus Christ, 'the most handsome of men', in the suffering and the excluded".

  In this context, the Holy Father then greeted "prisoners and staff in the St. Augustine penitentiary of Savona" and the sick people of the city.

  Turning to address members of the clergy, the Pope invited them "to trust in the effectiveness of your daily priestly service", and to "go out and seek people, as the Lord Jesus did, ... making your presence felt in all areas of work and life". To religious he reiterated the fact that "the world has need of your witness and your prayer".

  Finally, Pope Benedict called upon young people "to put your youth at the service of God and your fellows. ... Give this city the passion and enthusiasm that derive from your living experience of faith, an experience that does not dampen the expectations of human life but exalts them by sharing in Christ's own experience".

  Following the Eucharistic celebration, the Pope travelled by car to the port of Savona whence he was taken by helicopter to Genoa where he spent the night at the shrine of Our Lady of Guard.
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VISIT TO GENOA'S "GASLINI" PAEDIATRIC HOSPITAL

VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This morning the Pope visited the shrine of Our Lady of Guard in Genoa. He then travelled to the city's "Giannina Gaslini" paediatric hospital where he greeted sick children and their parents, as well as the directors and medical personnel of the institution.

  In his address to them the Holy Father recalled how the hospital was founded on 15 May 1938 and how, "with understandable pride, the Genoese look upon it as a precious heritage".

  After thanking the hospital staff "for the professionalism and dedication of their service" which "covers almost all areas of paediatric specialisation", the Pope noted that "the hope cultivated here has, then, good foundations. Nonetheless, in order to face the future effectively, it is vital that this hope be upheld by an exalted vision of life, one that enables scientists, doctors, professionals, assistants, parents themselves, to use all their capacities, sparing no effort to obtain the best results that science and technology can offer in both prevention and cure".

  Turning to address the hospital's young patients, Benedict XVI told them: "The Pope loves you. Next to you I see your relatives, who share these moments of trepidation and hope with you. Be sure that God never abandons us. Remain united to Him and you will never lose your serenity, not even in the darkest and most difficult moments".
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THAI BISHOPS: EDUCATION AND INTER-RELIGIOUS CO-OPERATION

VATICAN CITY, 16 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.

  Speaking to them in English, the Pope pointed out that the mission of their country's small Catholic community "is undertaken within a context of relationships, most especially with Buddhists. In fact, you have readily expressed to me your great respect for the Buddhist monasteries and the esteem you have for the contribution they make to the social and cultural life of the Thai people.

  "The coexistence of different religious communities today unfolds against the backdrop of globalisation", he added, noting how "on the one hand there is the growing multitude of economic and cultural bonds which usually enhance a sense of global solidarity and shared responsibility for the well-being of humanity, on the other there are disturbing signs of a fragmentation and a certain individualism, ... pushing the transcendent and the sense of the sacred to the margins and eclipsing the very source of harmony and unity within the universe.

  "The negative aspects of this cultural phenomenon, which cause dismay to yourselves and other religious leaders in your country, ... point to the importance of inter-religious co-operation", In this context, the Pope called on the prelates to promote, "in concordance with Buddhists, ... mutual understanding concerning the transmission of traditions to succeeding generations, the articulation of ethical values discernible to reason, reverence for the transcendent, prayer and contemplation".

  "The outpouring of the Spirit is both a gift and a task, ... the presentation of Christ and His love to the world", said Pope Benedict, indicating that, "in Thailand, that gift is encountered particularly through the Church's medical clinics and social works as well as through her schools".

  "Catholic schools and colleges make a remarkable contribution to the intellectual formation of numerous young Thais. They should also make an outstanding contribution to the spiritual and moral education of the young," Benedict XVI told the bishops. He also appealed "to the many men and women religious who diligently serve in Catholic institutions of learning in your dioceses. Theirs should not primarily be a role of administration but of mission. ... It is of the utmost importance, therefore, that religious remain close to the students and their families, most especially through their classroom teaching of the catechism for Catholics and others interested, and through moral formation and care for the spiritual needs of all in the school community". He also called on religious congregations to ensure that schools "become increasingly accessible to the poor who so often long for the faithful embrace of Christ".

  The Holy Father pointed out that the task of spreading the Word of God cannot be left to catechists alone. "It is the ministry of your priests", he told the prelates, "to 'announce the divine word to all' and to 'labour in preaching and teaching'".

  The Pope expressed his appreciation "for the efforts of the entire Catholic community of Thailand to uphold the dignity of every human life, especially the most vulnerable. Of particular concern to you is the scourge of the trafficking of women and children, and prostitution. Undoubtedly poverty is a factor underlying these phenomena, and in this regard I know much is being achieved through the Church's development programmes.

  "But there is a further aspect which must be acknowledged and collectively addressed if this abhorrent human exploitation is to be effectively confronted. I am speaking", the Holy Father concluded, "of the trivialisation of sexuality in the media and entertainment industries which fuels a decline in moral values and leads to the degradation of women, the weakening of fidelity in marriage and even the abuse of children".
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A COMMON COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT FAMILIES

VATICAN CITY, 16 MAY 2008 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received representatives from the Forum of Family Associations and from the European Federation of Catholic Family Associations, who are in Rome to participate in a conference entitled: "Alliance for the Family in Europe, associations in the leading role".

  In his comments, the Pope recalled how the conference aims "to compare the experiences of various types of family association, and has the objective of raising the awareness of political leaders and public opinion on the central and irreplaceable role that the family plays in our society".

  The Holy Father recalled the fact that this year marks the 40th anniversary of Paul VI's Encyclical "Humanae vitae", and the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the "Charter of the Rights of the Family", presented by the Holy See in 1983.

  "The Charter of the Rights of the Family is principally addressed to political leaders", said the Pope, and it "offers those invested with responsibility for the common good a model and a point of reference upon which to base appropriate political legislation for the family. At the same time, it is addressed to all families, encouraging them to come together in the defence and promotion of their rights".

  Benedict XVI then quoted John Paul II, "the Pope of the family", who used to say that "the future of humanity passes by way of the family" and he added: "Biblical revelation is above all an expression of a story of love, a story of alliance with God and with mankind. This is why the story of love and union between a man and a woman in the alliance of marriage was taken up by God as a symbol of the history of salvation".

  Turning to consider the difficulties facing families in the modern world, the Pope said: "From so many families, in a worryingly precarious state, we hear a cry for help, often an unconscious one, which clamours for a response from civil authorities, from ecclesial communities and from the various educational agencies. Accordingly, there is an increasingly urgent need for a common commitment to support families by every means available, from the social and economic point of view".

  Among the proposals to emerge from the conference, the Holy Father praised that of "the laudable commitment to mobilise citizens in support of the initiative for 'family-friendly fiscal policy'", which aims to urge "governments to promote family-related policies that give parents a real possibility of having children and bringing them up in the family".

  "For believers, the family (cell of communion at the very foundations of society) is like a 'small domestic church' called to reveal God's love to the world. ... Help families to be a visible sign of this truth, to defend the values which are written in human nature itself and which are therefore common to all humanity: life, the family and education. These are not principles deriving from a [particular] confession of faith but from the application of a justice respectful of the rights of each human being. This", he concluded, "is your mission, dear Christian families".
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PRAYER OF THE POPE TO OUR LADY OF SHESHAN

VATICAN CITY, 16 MAY 2008 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has composed a prayer to Our Lady of Sheshan to mark the Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which is due to be celebrated on 24 May.

  In a Letter written to the faithful of the Catholic Church in China in May 2007, the Holy Father expressed the hope that 24 May, liturgical memorial of Our Lady Help of Christians who is venerated with such devotion at the Marian shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai, would become a day of prayer for the Church in China.

  The full text of the English-language version of the Holy Father's prayer is given below:

  "Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother,
venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title 'Help of Christians',
the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection.
We come before you today to implore your protection.
Look upon the People of God and, with a mother's care, guide them
along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be
a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens.

  "When you obediently said 'yes' in the house of Nazareth,
you allowed God's eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb
and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption.
You willingly and generously co-operated in that work,
allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul,
until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary,
standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live.

  "From that moment, you became, in a new way,
the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith
and choose to follow in His footsteps by taking up His Cross.
Mother of hope, in the darkness of Holy Saturday you journeyed
with unfailing trust towards the dawn of Easter.
Grant that your children may discern at all times,
even those that are darkest, the signs of God's loving presence.

  "Our Lady of Sheshan, sustain all those in China,
who, amid their daily trails, continue to believe, to hope, to love.
May they never be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world,
and of the world to Jesus.
In the statue overlooking the Shrine you lift your Son on high,
offering him to the world with open arms in a gesture of love.
Help Catholics always to be credible witnesses to this love,
ever clinging to the rock of Peter on which the Church is built.
Mother of China and all Asia, pray for us, now and for ever. Amen!"
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