MESSAGE FOR TWENTY-FIFTH WORLD YOUTH DAY

VATICAN CITY, 4 MAR 2009 (VIS) - The Message of the Holy Father for twenty-fifth World Youth Day has just been published. The Day, which is due to be celebrated in all the dioceses of the world on Palm Sunday 28 March, has as its theme this year: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Extracts from the Message are given below:

"The present 25th Youth Day represents a stage on the journey towards the next World Youth Day, which will take place in August 2011 in Madrid, Spain, where I hope many of you will come to experience that event of grace.

"To prepare ourselves for this celebration, I would like to suggest some reflections on this year's theme: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?", taken from the Gospel account of Jesus' meeting with the rich young man, a topic already considered in 1985 by Pope John Paul II in a most beautiful Letter, addressed to young people for the first time".

1. Jesus Meets a Young Man

"The Gospel narrative effectively expresses Jesus' great concern for young people. ... His desire is to meet with you personally and establish a dialogue with each one of you".

2. Jesus Looked at Him and Loved Him

"In the evangelical narrative, St. Mark stresses how 'Jesus looking at him, loved him'. The Lord's gaze was at the core of that very special encounter, and of all Christian experience. In fact, Christianity is not primarily an ethic, but an experience of Jesus Christ Who loves us personally, young and old, poor and rich; He loves us even when we turn our backs on Him".

"The awareness that ... Christ loves everyone and always ... enables us to overcome any trial: ... sins, suffering or discouragement. In this love lies the source of all Christian life and the fundamental reason for evangelisation; for if we have truly found Jesus, we cannot but bear witness to Him to those people who have not yet encountered His gaze".

3. Discovering a Plan for Life

"The rich young man asks Jesus: 'What must I do?' The stage of life you are currently experiencing is a time of discovery: discovery of the gifts that God has lavished on you, and of your responsibilities. It is, moreover, a time of fundamental choices to create a plan for your lives. It is a moment, therefore, to question yourselves about the authentic meaning of existence and to ask: 'Am I satisfied with my life? Is there something lacking?'"

"Do not be afraid to address these questions! ... They await answers, answers that are not superficial but able to satisfy your authentic expectations of life and happiness. To discover the life plan that can make you fully happy, listen to God, Who has a plan of love for each one of you.

4. Come and follow me!

"The Christian vocation springs from a proposal of love from the Lord, and can only be fulfilled through a response of love. ... Dear friends, following the example of so many disciples of Christ, joyfully accept His invitation to follow, in order to live intensely and fruitfully in this world.

"The sadness of the rich young man of the Gospel is that which arises in the heart when a person does not have the courage to follow Christ, to make the right choice. However, it is never too late to respond to Him!

"In this Year for Priests, I would like to exhort boys and young men to be attentive as to whether the Lord is inviting them to a greater gift ... in ordained ministry, and generously and enthusiastically to make themselves ready to accept this sign of special predilection, undertaking with a priest or spiritual director the necessary path of discernment. Do not be afraid, dear young people, if the Lord calls you to the religious, monastic or missionary life, or to a life of special consecration: He is able to give profound joy to those who respond with courage.

"Moreover, I invite all those who feel the vocation to marriage to accept it with faith, committing themselves to laying solid foundations for a love that is great, faithful and open to the gift of life, which is a source of richness and grace for society and the Church".

5. Oriented to Eternal Life

"To ask ourselves about the definitive future awaiting each of us gives full meaning to existence, because it orients our life plan toward horizons that are not limited or fleeting, but broad and profound; horizons which lead us to love the world so loved by God himself, to dedicate ourselves to its development, but always with the freedom and joy born of faith and hope. These horizons help us not to make absolute values of earthly realities, aware that God is opening greater prospects for us. ... Dear young people, I exhort you not to forget this perspective in your own lives: We are called to eternity".

6. The Commandments, the Way of Authentic Love

"Jesus also asks you if you know the commandments, if you are concerned to form your conscience according to divine law and if you will put it into practice. These are certainly questions that go against the tide of the present-day mentality, which presents freedom as disconnected from values, rules and objective norms, and invites us to reject any limitation to momentary desires".

"God gave us the commandments because He wants to educate us to true freedom, because He wants to build with us a Kingdom of love, justice and peace. To listen to them and to put them into practice does not mean to be alienated, but to find the path of authentic freedom and love, because the commandments do not limit happiness, but show how to find it".

7. We Have Need of You

"Young people today find themselves facing many problems arising from unemployment, and from the lack of solid ideals, and of concrete prospects for the future. ... Despite the difficulties, do not let yourselves be discouraged and do not give up your dreams! Rather, cultivate great desires of fraternity, justice and peace in your hearts. The future is in the hands of people who know how to seek and discover powerful reasons for life and hope"

"In my recent Encyclical 'Caritas in Veritate' on integral human development, I listed some of the great modern challenges, which are urgent and essential for the life of this world: the use of the resources of the earth, respect for ecology, the just division of wealth, the control of financial mechanisms, solidarity with poor countries, ... the struggle against hunger in the world, the promotion of the dignity of human work, service to the culture of life, the building of peace between peoples, inter-religious dialogue, and the correct use of the social communications media.

"These are challenges to which you are called to respond in order to build a more just and fraternal world; challenges that call for an exacting and passionate life plan, into which to pour all your richness according to the design that God has for each one of you".

"In this Year for Priests, I invite you to study the lives of the saints, especially those of saintly priests. You will see that God guided them and that they found their path day after day, in faith, hope and love. Christ calls each of you to commit yourselves, with Him, and to assume your responsibilities to build a civilisation of love".

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SUDANESE BISHOPS: PREACH RECONCILIATION AND FORGIVENESS

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAR 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received prelates of the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference at the end of their "ad limina" visit. "Your fidelity to the Lord and the fruits of your labours amid difficulties and sufferings bear eloquent witness to the power of the Cross which shines through our human limitations and weakness" he told them, beginning his English-language address.

"I know how much you and the faithful of your country long for peace", he added, "and how patiently you are working for its restoration. Anchored in your faith and hope in Christ the Prince of Peace, may you always find in the Gospel the principles needed to shape your preaching and teaching, your judgements and actions.

"Inspired by those principles, and echoing the just aspirations of the entire Catholic community, you have spoken out with one voice in rejecting 'any return to war' and in appealing for the establishment of peace at every level of national life", noted the Holy Father, likewise highlighting how, if peace is to triumph, "efforts must be made to diminish the factors contributing to unrest, particularly corruption, ethnic tensions, indifference and selfishness. Initiatives in this regard will surely prove fruitful if they are based on integrity, a sense of universal brotherhood and the virtues of justice, responsibility and charity", he said.

Benedict XVI then called on the prelates to draw inspiration from the recent Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops "as you continue to preach reconciliation and forgiveness. The effects of violence may take many years to heal, yet the change of heart which is the indispensable condition for a just and lasting peace must even now be implored as a gift of God's grace".

The Pope went on: "As heralds of the Gospel, you have sought to instil in your people and in society a sense of responsibility towards present and future generations, encouraging forgiveness, mutual acceptance and respect for commitments taken. You have likewise worked to advance fundamental human rights through the rule of law and have called for the application of an integral model of economic and human development. I appreciate all that the Church in your country is doing to assist poor people to live in dignity and self-respect, to help them find long-term work and to enable them to make their proper contribution to society".

The Holy Father then turned to consider the bishops' relations with their priests, in which context he told them "you yourselves must be the first teachers and witnesses of our communion in faith and the love of Christ, sharing common initiatives, listening to your collaborators, helping priests, religious and faithful to accept and support one another as brothers and sisters, without distinction of race or ethnic group, in a generous exchange of gifts".

Finally Pope Benedict expressed his appreciation to the bishops for their efforts "to maintain good relations with the followers of Islam. As you work to promote co-operation in practical initiatives, I would encourage you to stress the values that Christians share in common with Muslims as the basis for that 'dialogue of life' which is an essential first step towards genuine inter-religious respect and understanding. The same openness and love should be shown to people belonging to the traditional religions".
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PRIME MINISTER OF CROATIA MEETS WITH POPE

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:

"This morning the Holy Father received in audience Jadranka Kosor, prime minister of the Republic of Croatia. The prime minister subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

"The focal point of the cordial discussions was a fruitful exchange of opinions on a number of current international questions, and on the situation in the region. Particular attention was given to the condition of the Croatian community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the three peoples who make up that country. Subsequently the parties reconfirmed their mutual will to continue constructive dialogue on matters of joint interest for the Church and the Croatian State. Finally attention turned to certain themes concerning Croatia's path towards full integration into the European Union.
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ANGELUS: PARABLE OF PRODIGAL SON IS A PEAK OF SPIRITUALITY

VATICAN CITY, 14 MAR 2010 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered below in St. Peter's Square.

Before the Marian prayer the Holy Father reflected on today's Gospel reading, saying that St. Luke's narrative "represents an all-time literary and spiritual high point.

"What indeed would our culture, our art and, more generally, our civilisation be without this revelation of a Father God full of mercy?" he added. "Once Jesus told us of the merciful Father, things were not as they were before: now we know God. ... Our relations with Him are constructed over the course of time, just as happens with a child and his parents. At first he is dependent on them, then he claims his own autonomy and finally - if there is a positive development - the relationship matures, based on recognition and authentic love".

The Pope went on to point out that these stages in human relations reflect the various moments in a human being's relationship with God, which "may also have a phase similar to infancy: a religion inspired by need and dependency". Then, as a person grows, "he wishes to free himself from this submission" and "to become capable of looking after himself, of making his own independent choices, sometimes thinking he can do without God".

This delicate phase, noted the Holy Father, "can lead to atheism, but that too, not infrequently, conceals a need to discover the true face of God. Luckily for us, God never fails in His faithfulness and, even if we move away and become lost, He continues to follow us with His love, forgiving our errors and speaking to our conscience in order to call us back to Him".

"Only by experiencing forgiveness, by recognising that we are loved with a gratuitous love that is greater than our own abjection, and than our justice, do we finally enter into a truly filial and free relationship with God", Benedict XVI concluded.
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POPE TO SPEND THE ENTIRE SUMMER AT CASTELGANDOLFO

VATICAN CITY, 13 MAR 2010 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office has announced that in summer this year the Holy Father will travel directly from Rome to Castelgandolfo, where he will spend the entire summer period.

Benedict XVI, the text continues, "greatly appreciates all the invitations he has received to spend several weeks in alpine locations and sincerely thanks the bishops who sent them, but this year he prefers to start the summer period of rest and study immediately, without the commitment of further transfers".
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