APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS FRANCIS TO CYPRUS AND GREECE (2-6 DECEMBER 2021) MEETING WITH PRIESTS, CONSACRATED PERSONS, DEACONS, CATECHISTS, ECCLESIAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MOVEMENTS OF CYPRUS ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Maronite Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace in Nicosia
[…] I also greet the Latin Church, present here for more than a millennium,
which over time has witnessed the enthusiasm of the faith increase, together
with her children. Now, thanks to the presence of many of our migrant brothers
and sisters, it appears as a “polychrome” people, a true point of encounter
between different ethnicities and cultures. This face of the Church reflects
Cyprus’ own place in the European continent: it is a land of golden fields, an
island caressed by the waves of the sea, but above all else a history of
intertwined peoples, a mosaic of encounters. The Church, as catholic, universal,
is an open space in which all are welcomed and gathered together by God’s
mercy and invitation to love. Walls do not and should not exist in the Catholic
Church. Let us never forget that! None of us has been called here to proselytize
as preachers, never. Proselytism is sterile and does not give life. We have all
been called by the mercy of God, who never tires of calling, never tires of being
near, never tires of forgiving. Where do we find the roots of our Christian
vocation? In God’s mercy. We must never forget that. The Lord does not
disappoint us; his mercy does not disappoint us. He is always waiting for us.
Please remember, walls do not and should not exist in the Catholic Church. For
the Church is a common home, a place of relationships and of coexistence in
diversity, with a variety of rites. One person thinks this way, another sees things
that way, this Sister sees things in a different way… This is the diversity of the
whole; and there, in that diversity, is the richness of unity. Who makes this
unity? The Holy Spirit. Who makes this diversity? The Holy Spirit. Whoever sees
this will understand. The Holy Spirit is the author of diversity and the author of
harmony. Saint Basil used to put it this way: “Ipse harmonia est”. The Spirit is
the one who gives the diversity of gifts and makes the harmonious unity of the
Church. […]
