Message to Hungarian religious: seek the concerns and expectations of the people

Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis sent a video message to the participants in the Meeting of Consecrated Persons in Hungary, an initiative linked to the Year of Consecrated Life.

“In the various forms of consecrated life, I think of you as close to the troubles and expectations of the people; I think of you as committed in the contexts in which you are inserted, with their difficulties and signs of hope. I encourage you to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep; to ask of God a heart capable of compassion, to tend to the wounds of the body and the spirit and to bring God's consolation to many people. I believe that the most beautiful side of a country and a city is that of the Lord's disciples – the bishops, religious and lay faithful – who live with simplicity, in their daily lives, in the style of the Good Samaritan and who are close to the flesh and the wounds of their brethren, in whom they recognise the flesh and wounds of Jesus”.

“This charity full of mercy – we know well – comes from the heart of Christ, and we find this in prayer, especially in adoration, and in partaking with faith in the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance. May Mary, our Mother, help us always to be men and women of prayer”.

The Pope speaks with young people from Cuba and the United States before his apostolic trip

Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) – On 17 September Pope Francis participated in a programme organised by “Scholas Occurrentes” - an initiative organised between the students of various countries, cultures and religions – broadcast by CNN on Friday 18, in which two groups of students from Havana and New York also took part. The Holy Father answered questions posed by the students, starting with one from a girl from New York on the responsibility of the young in the care of the environment.

“It is one of the things that we have to learn from when we are young”, he said. “The environment, at this time, is one of the excluded. It cries to us to pay attention and to take care of it. So, how can a young person take care of the environment? First of all, by seeing the problems that exist in his or her neighbourhood, city and nation. … By looking for concrete measures you can take. The waste of paper is impressive. Avoid wasting electricity … What little you can do, but it is still a little more, a little more, a little more. Add to the will to save our common home”.

A girl from Havana asked the second question, regarding the capacity for leadership attributed to the Pope. “A leader is a good leader if he is capable of making other leaders emerge among the young”, he said. “If a leader wishes to lead alone, then he is a tyrant. Or rather, true leadership is fruitful. ... Sole leaders are here today and gone tomorrow. There are those who are born leaders: leaders in thought, leaders of action, leaders of joy, leaders of hope, leaders in building a better world. This is the path for you to follow; but you already have the seed of leadership within you. If they do not sow leadership in others, if they do not serve, they are dictators. I have no desire to be a dictator. I like to plant the seed of leadership in others”.

The third question was asked by a girl from New York, who showed the Pope a photograph of a dead tree with a bird perched on a branch.

“Yes, in the photo the tree is dead and the bird is alive”, observed Francis. “In a few months' time the bird will need to build a nest to lay its eggs and care for its young, but if the tree is dead, how will it be able to make a nest? This is what happens when we do not take care of the environment. One death leads to another, and then, instead of sowing growth, instead of sowing hope, we sow death. The way is the opposite: caring for life”.

A boy from Havana then spoke about the need to lift the embargo against Cuba. “I too will do everything possible not to forget”, replied the Holy Father. “Building bridges and removing obstacles to communication, so that communication can lead to friendship. One of the most beautiful things is social friendship. That's what I would like you to seek: friendship”.

The final two questions regarded education of boys and girls. “Education is one of the human rights”, affirmed Pope Francis. “A child has the right to be loved … to play … and to receive an education. Do you think about the number of children who, in countries at war at the moment, do not receive an education? … It is a challenge that must be faced. And it is up to us to start. … Do not wait for States to make agreements or governments to agree. Many years will pass in the meantime, as it is difficult. … So many children of your age, so many boys and girls devote their weekends and holidays to teach them. … A people that is not educated, who either because of war or for other reasons cannot receive an education, decays; it decays and declines even to the level of mere instinct. … We must be committed to the education of the young”.

“This morning I received a group of young people”, the Pope revealed. “One boy was from a country at war and he gave me a bullet, one of the many that rain down continually on his city. The young, in order to survive, have to stay closed up inside their homes, and no longer have the right to play. … We have lost the idea of how many children do not experience the joy of play, either because of war, or poverty, or because they live on the streets. And these children do not know how to communicate with the joy of play. They become easy prey to traffickers, who use them and lead them into delinquency, theft, drug abuse, prostitution, and many other things. So, the best way to begin to educate children is to give them the opportunity to play”.

At the end of the broadcast, the presenter invited the Pope to plant an olive tree in a pot placed nearby, and asked the Pope to give him the bullet so as to bury it in the ground on which the olive tree will grow.

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 21 September 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Bishop Ferenc Palanki, auxiliary of Eger, Hungary, as bishop of Debrecen-Nyiregyhaza, (area 11,300, population 1,137,000, Catholics 250,000, priests 93, religious 33), Hungary. He succeeds Bishop Nandor Bosak, whose resignation from the pastoral ministry of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

On Saturday 19 September the Holy Father:

- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Koszalin-Kolobrzeg, Poland, presented by Bishop Pawel Cieslik, upon reaching the age limit.

- appointed Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, archbishop emeritus of Palermo, as his special envoy to the concluding celebration of the fifth centenary of the creation of the diocese of Lanciano (present-day archdiocese of Lanciano-Ortona), Italy, to be held on 22 November 2015.

On Friday 18 September the Holy Father appointed Fr. Guy Joseph Consolmagno, S.J., as director of the Vatican Observatory. Fr. Consolmagno is currently a member of the same scientific institution and president of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.

Pope's video message for Cuba: I will be among you as a missionary of mercy

Vatican City, 18 September 2015 (VIS) – In view of his imminent trip to Cuba, the Pope has sent a message to the country, to be broadcast on television at 8.30 p.m. local time (2.30 in Rome), the full text of which is reproduced below:

“There are only a few days remaining before my trip to Cuba. For this reason, I wish to send a fraternal greeting before we meet in person. I will visit you to share faith and hope, so that we can strengthen each other in following Jesus. It is very good for me and of great help to me to think of your faithfulness to the Lord, of the spirit in which you face everyday difficulties, of the love with which you help and support each other on the path of life. Thank you for this very valuable witness.

For my part, I wish to convey a very simple message, but one that I think is important and necessary. Jesus loves you very much. Jesus loves you truly. And He always carries you in His heart; He knows better than anyone what each person needs, what he yearns for, his deepest desire; He knows our heart. He never abandons anyone; when we do not behave as He would hope, He is always ready to welcome us, to console us, to give us new hope, a new chance, a new life. He is always there.

I know that you are preparing for this visit with a prayer. I thank you infinitely. We need to pray, we need prayer, this contact with Jesus and Mary. And it gives me great joy to know that, following the advice of my brother bishops of Cuba, you are repeating several times a day the prayer we learned as children. Sacred Heart of Jesus, make my heart like yours. It is beautiful to have a heart like Jesus', so as to know how to love like Him, to forgive, to give hope and to accompany.

I wish to be among you as a missionary of God's mercy and tenderness, but allow me to encourage you too to be missionaries of God's infinite love. May no-one lack the witness of our faith and our love. May all the world know that God always forgives, that God always stays by our side, that God loves us.

I will go to the Shrine of Our Lady of Cobre as a pilgrim, as a child who looks forward to arriving at his mother's house. To her I entrust this trip and also all Cubans. And please, I ask you to pray for me. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin care for you. Thank you”.

The Pope praises the work of the Vatican Observatory

Vatican City, 18 September 2015 (VIS) – The Vatican Observatory is holding an international symposium to celebrate the eightieth anniversary of its transfer to Castel Gandolfo at the behest of Pope Pius XI, who decided upon the move since the lights of the city of Rome made it impossible for astronomers to study the less bright stars. The observatory is one of the oldest in the world, established in the second half of the sixteenth century when Gregory XIII erected in the Vatican the Tower of the Winds and invited the the Jesuits, astronomers and mathematicians of the Roman College to prepare the reform of the calendar promulgated in 1582.

Today the Pope received in audience the participants in this meeting, affirming that “the universe is more than a scientific problem to be solved: it is a joyful mystery that we contemplate with wonder and praise”. He added, “St. Ignatius of Loyola understood this language well. He himself said that his greatest consolation was to look at the sky and the stars, as when he did so he felt a great desire to serve the Lord”.

Francis recalled that throughout the years the astronomers of the Observatory have undertaken paths of research, creative paths following in the wake of the astronomers and Jesuits of the Roman College, from Fr. Christoph Clavius (celebrated for his contribution to the creation of the Gregorian calendar) to Fr. Angelo Secchi (pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy), by way of Fr. Matteo Ricci and many others.

“On this anniversary, I wish to recall Benedict XVI's address to the Fathers of the last General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, in which he remarked that the Church urgently needed consecrated persons to dedicate their lives to the frontier between faith and human knowledge, between faith and modern science. … In the context of interreligious dialogue, more urgent today than ever before, scientific research into the universe can offer a unique perspective, shared by believers and non-believers alike, to help achieve a better religious understanding of creation. In this respect the Schools of Astrophysics that the Observatory has organised in the last thirty years represent a valuable opportunity for young astronomers throughout the world to engage in dialogue and to collaborate in the search for truth”.

Francis also mentioned that during the symposium the members of the Observatory discussed the importance of communicating that the Church and her pastors embrace, encourage and promote genuine science. “It is very important that you share the gift of your scientific knowledge of the universe with the people, freely giving what you have freely received”, he said.

“In the spirit of gratitude to the Lord for the witness of science and faith that the members of the Observatory have given in these decades, I encourage you to continue on your path … with those who share the enthusiasm and effort of the exploration of the universe”, he concluded.