Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero: a martyr who knew how to guide, defend and protect his flock

Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has sent a letter to Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, president of the Episcopal Conference of El Salvador, for the beatification of Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamez, former archbishop of the same archdiocese and martyr, killed in hatred of the faith on 24 March 1980. The the beatification Mass, celebrated in Plaza del Divino Salvador del Mundo in the Salvadoran capital, was attended by the Pope's special envoy Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

The following is the full text of the letter:

“The beatification of Msgr. Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamex, who was the pastor of this beloved archdiocese, is a cause for great joy for Salvadorans and for those who rejoice in the example of the best sons of the Church. Msgr. Romero, who built peace with the strength of love, bore witness to faith, giving his life to the extreme.

The Lord never abandons His people in difficulties, and always shows solicitude to its needs. He sees oppression, He hears the cries of pain of His children, and he comes to their aid to free them from oppression and to lead them to a new land, of 'milk and honey', fertile and spacious. Just as He chose Moses to guide His people in His name, He continues to raise pastors after His own heart, who graze His flock with wisdom and prudence.

In this beautiful central American country, bathed by the Pacific Ocean, the Lord granted His Church a zealous bishop who, loving God and serving his brothers, converted himself in the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. In times of difficult co-existence, Msgr. Romero knew how to guide, defend and protect his flock, remaining faithful to the Gospel and in communion with all the Church. His ministry was distinguished by his particular care for the poorest and most marginalised. And at the moment of his death, as he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of love and reconciliation, he received the grace of fully identifying himself with He Who gave His life for his flock.

On this day of celebration for the Salvadoran nation, and also for our brother countries in Latin America, let us give thanks to God for granting to the bishop martyr the capacity to see and hear the suffering of his people, and for forming his heart so that, in His name, he was guided and enlightened, and his work was filled with Christian charity.

The voice of the newly Blessed continues to resonate today, reminding us that the Church, a convocation of brothers around the Lord, is the family of God, in which there should be no division. Faith in Jesus Christ, when it is well understood and its full consequences are realised, generates communities that are builders of peace and solidarity. This is what the Church is called to do today in El Salvador, America and the world at large: to be rich in mercy, to convert into leaven for reconciliation for society.

Msgr. Romero invites us to good sense and reflection, respect for life and harmony. It is necessary to reject 'the violence of the sword, of hatred' and to live 'the violence of love, which caused Christ to be nailed to a cross, which enables us all to overcome our selfishness and ensures there may no longer be such cruel inequalities between us'. He was able to see and to experience in his own flesh 'the selfishness that lurks in those who do not wish to give what is theirs for the benefit of others'. And, with a father's heart, he cared for the 'poor majority', urging the powerful to transform their weapons into ploughshares.

May those who regard Msgr. Romero as a friend in faith, those who invoke him as a protector and intercessor, those who admire him, find in him the strength and encouragement to build the Kingdom of God, and to commit themselves to creating a more equitable and dignified social order.

It is the right time for true national reconciliation when faced with today's challenges. The Pope participates in your hopes, and unites himself to your prayers so that the seed of martyrdom may flourish and become entrenched in the true paths of the sons and daughters of that nation, which proudly bears the name of the divine Saviour of the World.

Dear brother, I ask you to pray and to ask for prayers for me, and I impart my apostolic blessing to all those who join in any way in the celebration of the new Blessed”.

Pope's message for the Second International Conference on Women

Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) – The Pope has sent a message of greetings and encouragement to the participants in the Second International Conference on Women held in Rome, and which today comes to an end. The event was organised by the Pontifical Pontifical Council “Justice and Peace”, in cooperation with the World Union of Women’s Catholic Organisations and the World Women’s Alliance for Life and Family, on the theme “Women and the post-2015 development agenda: the challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

“Women face a variety of challenges and difficulties in various parts of the world”, he writes. “In the West, at times they still experience discrimination in the workplace; they are often forced to choose between work and family; they not infrequently suffer violence in their lives as fiancees, wives, mothers, sisters and grandmothers. In poor and developing countries, women bear the heaviest burdens: it is they who travel many miles in search of water, who too often die in childbirth, who are kidnapped for sexual exploitation or forced into marriages at a young age or against their will. At times they are even denied the right to life simply for being female. All of these problems are reflected in the proposals for the post-2015 Development Agenda currently being discussed in the United Nations.

“Issues relating to life are intrinsically connected to social questions. When we defend the right to life, we do so in order that each life – from conception to its natural end – may be a dignified life, one free from the scourge of hunger and poverty, of violence and persecution. Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate, highlighted how the Church 'forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalised'.

“I encourage you, who are engaged in defending the dignity of women and promoting their rights, to allow yourselves to be constantly guided by the spirit of humanity and compassion in the service of your neighbour. May your work be marked first and foremost by professional competence, without self-interest or superficial activism, but with generous dedication. In this way you will manifest the countless God-given gifts which women have to offer, encouraging others to promote sensitivity, understanding and dialogue in settling conflicts big and small, in healing wounds, in nurturing all life at every level of society, and in embodying the mercy and tenderness which bring reconciliation and unity to our world. All this is part of that 'feminine genius' of which our society stands in such great need”.

Audiences

Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father received in audience:

- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;

- Boyko Borissov, prime minister of Bulgaria, and entourage;

- Nikola Gruevski, president of the government of the ex-Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, with his wife and entourage.

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

- Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers, Algeria, as apostolic nuncio to Pakistan.

- Sergio Melillo as bishop of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia (area 781, population 74,970, Catholics 74,270, priests 44, permanent deacons 8, religious 80), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in 1955 in Avellino, Italy and was ordained a priest in 1989. A licentiate in dogmatic theology, he has exercised his pastoral ministry in the diocese of Avellino in the roles of parish priest, vice director of diocesan Caritas and parish vicar of the Cathedral. He has also served as lecturer in dogmatic theology at the “San Giuseppe Moscati” Higher Institute of Religious Sciences, lecturer in religious culture the Avellino “Università della Terza Età”. He is currently vicar general and a member of the presbyteral council and college of consultors.

Pope Francis, protagonist of the Ninth International Meeting of the Silos School of Thought

Vatican City, 22 May 2015 (VIS) – The Silos School of Thought, Spain, will dedicate its next two international meetings to the study and dissemination of the thought and action of Pope Francis. It is the ninth encounter of the School which, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair in Spain, and under the auspices of the Benedictine Abbey of Silos, gathered together figures from the worlds of science and culture in an atmosphere of respectful pluralism and convergence in relation to universal values.

In a letter to the Steering Committee of the School, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, writes: “In the two years of his papacy Pope Francis has transformed into a media phenomenon. … And, however, … beyond these direct, concise, effective, high-impact phrases we have grown accustomed to, we discover vigorous and spiritual theological thought. He expresses this theology, with its Latin American accent and flavour, imbued with wisdom born of closeness to the people … with his own methods of communication. His reflection is part of the faith of the people, and this gives special strength and nuance to his thought. If John Paul II was the pope of Man, the path of the Church, and Benedict XVI of the word and the primacy of the search for God, Francis is the pope of the People of God, recipient and bearer of revelation, called to go forth in towards an encounter with others, with a message of mercy”.

The Ninth Meeting of the School, entitled “Thought and Action of Pope Francis: a voice for all”, will be divided into two phases. The first, on 6 June, in the Abbey of Silos, will be based on the paper “Pope Francis: words and gestures”, by Professor Angel Cordovilla Perez, director of the Department of Dogmatic and Fundamental Theology at the Pontifical University of Comillas, Madrid, Spain. The session will be chaired by Professor Manuel Balado Ruiz-Gallegos, director of the Silos School of Thought.

The second Meeting will be held during the first trimester of 2016 and will study the conclusions of the Synod on the family.