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21 May PRESENTATION OF LETTERS OF CREDENCE BY THE AMBASSADORS OF SINGAPORE, ZIMBABWE, BANGLADESH, ALGERIA, SRI LANKA, BARBADOS, SWEDEN, FINLAND AND NEPAL, ACCREDITED TO THE HOLY SEE ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

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Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to welcome you as you present the Letters accrediting you as
Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of your countries to the Holy
See: Singapore, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Algeria, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Sweden,
Finland, and Nepal. As the effects of the coronavirus continue to be felt,
travelling remains difficult, and so I thank each one of you for your presence
here today. I would ask you to convey to the Heads of State whom you
represent my sentiments of gratitude and esteem for themselves and for their
noble mission at the service of their people.
As a result of the pandemic, the social and economic crisis worldwide has
become all the more severe. On a personal level, many have lost loved ones and
their means of livelihood. Families in particular are facing grave economic
difficulties and often lack adequate social protection. The pandemic has made us
more conscious of our interdependence as members of the one human family
and our need to be attentive to the poor and the vulnerable in our midst. As we
seek to emerge from the present crisis, our societies are challenged to take
concrete, and indeed courageous, steps to develop a global “culture of care” (cf.
Message for the 2021 World Day of Peace) that can inspire new relationships and
structures of cooperation in the service of solidarity, respect for human dignity,
mutual assistance and social justice.
Sadly, the pandemic has also made us acutely aware that the international
community is experiencing “a growing difficulty, if not the inability, to seek
common and shared solutions to the problems of our world” (Address to the
Diplomatic Corps, 8 February 2021). In this regard, I think of the need to
confront such pressing global issues as migration and climate change, as well as
the humanitarian crises that they often bring in their wake. I think too of the
economic debt that burdens many countries struggling to survive and the
“ecological debt” that we owe to nature itself, as well as to peoples and countries
affected by human-induced ecological degradation and loss of biodiversity. These
issues are not simply political or economic; they are questions of justice, a
justice that can no longer be ignored or deferred. Indeed, they entail a moral
obligation towards future generations, for the seriousness with which we respond
to them will shape the world we leave to our children.
In the development of a global consensus capable of responding to these ethical
challenges facing our human family, your work as diplomats is of paramount
importance. For its part, the Holy See, through its diplomatic representations,
and its activity within the international community, supports every effort to build
a world in which the human person is at the centre, finance is at the service of
an integral development, and the earth, our common home, is protected and
cared for. Through her works of education, charity and healthcare worldwide, the
Church seeks to advance the integral development of individuals and peoples,
and in this way contribute to the cause of peace.
In this regard, my thoughts turn to the events taking place these days in the
Holy Land. I thank God for the decision to halt the armed conflicts and acts of
violence, and I pray for the pursuit of paths of dialogue and peace. Tomorrow
evening, the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, together with their faithful,
will gather to celebrate the Vigil of Pentecost in Saint Stephen’s Church in
Jerusalem and to implore the gift of peace. I take this occasion to ask all the
pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church to unite themselves spiritually with
this prayer. May every community pray to the Holy Spirit “that Israelis and
Palestinians may find the path of dialogue and forgiveness, be patient builders of
peace and justice, and be open, step by step, to a common hope, to coexistence
among brothers and sisters” (Regina Coeli, 16 May 2021).
Dear Ambassadors, with these thoughts, I now offer you my prayerful good
wishes for the responsibilities you now undertake, and I assure you of the
support and assistance of the offices of Holy See in the fulfilment of your duties.
Upon you and your families, your colleagues and co-workers, and all your fellow
citizens, I cordially invoke God’s blessings of wisdom, strength and peace.

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16 May POPE FRANCIS REGINA CAELI

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After the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father continued:
[…] “Laudato Si’ Week” begins today, to educate us more and more to listening
to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor. I thank the Dicastery for
Promoting Integral Human Development, the Global Catholic Climate Movement,
Caritas Internationalis and the numerous member organizations, and I invite
everyone to participate. […]

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15 May ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO MEMBERS OF THE “METER” ASSOCIATION

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I am pleased to meet you, representatives of the “Meter” Association, which
since 1989 — when few spoke of this scourge — has been engaged in the fight
against paedophilia in Italy and in other countries. I greet and thank Bishop
Antonio Staglianò and Fr Fortunato Di Noto, who founded this important
organization. And I greet and thank Cardinal Paolo Lojudice, and those who in
various ways support the Association, for the protection and defence of abused
and mistreated children.
Throughout these years, with your generous work, you have contributed to
making visible the Church’s love for the smallest and most helpless. How often,
like the Good Samaritan of the Gospel, you have drawn near with respect and
compassion to welcome, console and protect! Closeness, compassion and
tenderness: it is the style of God. How many spiritual wounds you have bound!
The ecclesial community is grateful to you for all this.
We can compare your Association to a home. When we say “home”, we think of a
place of welcome, of shelter, of safekeeping. The word “home” has a typically
familial flavour that evokes the warmth, affection, and tenderness that can be
experienced precisely in a family, especially in moments of anguish and pain.
And you have been and are a “home” for many children whose innocence has
been violated or who have been enslaved by the selfishness of adults. You have
been and are a house of hope, fostering in many victims a path of liberation and
redemption. I therefore encourage you to continue in this worthy social and
human activity, continuing to offer your valuable contribution at the service of
the protection of childhood.
Your work is more necessary than ever since, unfortunately, the abuse of
children continues. I am referring in particular to the solicitation that takes place
through the internet and the various social media, with pages and portals
dedicated to child pornography. This is a scourge that, on the one hand, needs to
be tackled with renewed determination by public institutions and authorities,
and on the other, requires an even greater awareness on the part of families and
the various educational agencies. Even today we see how often in families the
first reaction is to cover everything up; a first reaction that is still present in
other institutions, and in the Church too. We must fight against this old habit of
covering up. I know that you are always vigilant in protecting children even in
the context of the most modern means of communication.
Child abuse is a kind of “psychological murder” and in many cases an erasure of
childhood. Therefore, the protection of children against sexual exploitation is a
duty of all States, who are called to identify both traffickers and abusers. At the
same time, it is all the more a duty to denounce and prevent child abuse in the
various spheres of society: school, sports, recreational and cultural institutions,
religious communities and individuals. In addition, in the field of the protection
of minors and in the fight against paedophilia, specific interventions must be
organized to provide effective assistance to victims.
On all these fronts, the Meter Association actively cooperates with institutional
bodies and with various sectors of civil society, also through appropriate
memoranda of understanding. Continue your work without hesitation, paying
particular attention to the educational aspect, so as to form an unwavering
conscience in people and eradicate the culture of abuse and exploitation.
The logo of your Association is made up of a large letter “M” which evokes the
idea of a womb, welcome, protection and an embrace for the littlest ones. Inside
the ‘M’ are twelve stars, the symbol of the crown of the Virgin Mary, Mother of
Jesus and mother of all children. She, a caring mother, committed to loving her
Son Jesus, is a model and guide for the whole Association, encouraging us to
love with evangelical charity children who are victims of slavery and violence.
Love for our neighbour is inseparable from the love that God has for us and that
we have for him. For this reason I urge you always to root your daily activity in
your daily relationship with God: in personal and community prayer, in listening
to his Word and above all in the Eucharist, the sacrament of unity and bond of
love.
Dear brothers and sisters, I renew my appreciation and gratitude to the leaders,
members, volunteers and those who cooperate with your Association. Do not be
afraid in the face of misunderstandings and difficulties; there are many, but do
not be afraid. Go forth with courage and perseverance. I accompany you with
my prayer and also with my blessing. And you too, please do not forget to pray
for me. Thank you!

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03 May MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR THE 107th WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES 2021

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, I expressed a concern and a hope that remain uppermost in my thoughts: “Once this health crisis passes, our worst response would be to plunge even more deeply into feverish consumerism and new forms of egotistic self-preservation. God willing, after all this, we will think no longer in terms of ‘them’ and ‘those’, but only ‘us’” (No. 35).

For this reason, I have wished to devote the Message for this year’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees to the theme, Towards An Ever Wider “We”, in order to indicate a clear horizon for our common journey in this world.

The history of this “we”

That horizon is already present in God’s creative plan: “God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply’” (Gen 1:27-28). God created us male and female, different yet complementary, in order to form a “we” destined to become ever more numerous in the succession of generations. God created us in his image, in the image of his own triune being, a communion in diversity.

When, in disobedience we turned away from God, he in his mercy wished to offer us a path of reconciliation, not as individuals but as a people, a “we”, meant to embrace the entire human family, without exception: “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them” (Rev 21:3).

Salvation history thus has a “we” in its beginning and a “we” at its end, and at its centre the mystery of Christ, who died and rose so “that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21). The present time, however, shows that this “we” willed by God is broken and fragmented, wounded and disfigured. This becomes all the more evident in moments of great crisis, as is the case with the current pandemic. Our “we”, both in the wider world and within the Church, is crumbling and cracking due to myopic and aggressive forms of nationalism (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 11) and radical individualism (cf. ibid., 105). And the highest price is being paid by those who most easily become viewed as others: foreigners, migrants, the marginalized, those living on the existential peripheries.

The truth however is that we are all in the same boat and called to work together so that there will be no more walls that separate us, no longer others, but only a single “we”, encompassing all of humanity. Thus I would like to use this World Day to address a twofold appeal, first to the Catholic faithful and then all the men and women of our world, to advance together towards an ever wider “we”.

A Church that is more and more “catholic”

For the members of the Catholic Church, this appeal entails a commitment to becoming ever more faithful to our being “catholic”, as Saint Paul reminded the community in Ephesus: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:4-5).

Indeed the Church’s catholicity, her universality, must be embraced and expressed in every age, according to the will and grace of the Lord who promised to be with us always, until the end of the age (cf. Mt 28:20). The Holy Spirit enables us to embrace everyone, to build communion in diversity, to unify differences without imposing a depersonalized uniformity. In encountering the diversity of foreigners, migrants and refugees, and in the intercultural dialogue that can emerge from this encounter, we have an opportunity to grow as Church and to enrich one another. All the baptized, wherever they find themselves, are by right members of both their local ecclesial community and the one Church, dwellers in one home and part of one family.

The Catholic faithful are called to work together, each in the midst of his or her own community, to make the Church become ever more inclusive as she carries out the mission entrusted to the Apostles by Jesus Christ: “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment” (Mt 10:7-8).

In our day, the Church is called to go out into the streets of every existential periphery in order to heal wounds and to seek out the straying, without prejudice or fear, without proselytising, but ready to widen her tent to embrace everyone. Among those dwelling in those existential peripheries, we find many migrants and refugees, displaced persons and victims of trafficking, to whom the Lord wants his love to be manifested and his salvation preached. “The current influx of migrants can be seen as a new “frontier” for mission, a privileged opportunity to proclaim Jesus Christ and the Gospel message at home, and to bear concrete witness to the Christian faith in a spirit of charity and profound esteem for other religious communities. The encounter with migrants and refugees of other denominations and religions represents a fertile ground for the growth of open and enriching ecumenical and interreligious dialogue” (Address to the National Directors of Pastoral Care for Migrants, 22 September 2017).

An ever more inclusive world

I also make this appeal to journey together towards an ever wider “we” to all men and women, for the sake of renewing the human family, building together a future of justice and peace, and ensuring that no one is left behind.

Our societies will have a “colourful” future, enriched by diversity and by cultural exchanges. Consequently, we must even now learn to live together in harmony and peace. I am always touched by the scene in the Acts of the Apostles when, on the day of the Church’s “baptism” at Pentecost, immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the people of Jerusalem hear the proclamation of salvation: “We… Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs – in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power” (2:9-11).

This is the ideal of the new Jerusalem (cf. Is 60; Rev 21:3), where all peoples are united in peace and harmony, celebrating the goodness of God and the wonders of creation. To achieve this ideal, however, we must make every effort to break down the walls that separate us and, in acknowledging our profound interconnection, build bridges that foster a culture of encounter. Today’s migration movements offer an opportunity for us to overcome our fears and let ourselves be enriched by the diversity of each person’s gifts. Then, if we so desire, we can transform borders into privileged places of encounter, where the miracle of an ever wider “we” can come about.

I invite all men and women in our world to make good use of the gifts that the Lord has entrusted to us to preserve and make his creation even more beautiful. “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back’” (Lk 19:12-13). The Lord will also demand of us an account of our work! In order to ensure the proper care of our common home, we must become a “we” that is ever wider and more co-responsible, in the profound conviction that whatever good is done in our world is done for present and future generations. Ours must be a personal and collective commitment that cares for all our brothers and sisters who continue to suffer, even as we work towards a more sustainable, balanced and inclusive development. A commitment that makes no distinction between natives and foreigners, between residents and guests, since it is a matter of a treasure we hold in common, from whose care and benefits no one should be excluded.

The dream begins

The prophet Joel predicted that the messianic future would be a time of dreams and visions inspired by the Spirit: “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:28). We are called to dream together, fearlessly, as a single human family, as companions on the same journey, as sons and daughters of the same earth that is our common home, sisters and brothers all (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 8).

Prayer

Holy, beloved Father,
your Son Jesus taught us
that there is great rejoicing in heaven
whenever someone lost is found,
whenever someone excluded, rejected or discarded
is gathered into our “we”,
which thus becomes ever wider.

We ask you to grant the followers of Jesus,
and all people of good will,
the grace to do your will on earth.
Bless each act of welcome and outreach
that draws those in exile
into the “we” of community and of the Church,
so that our earth may truly become
what you yourself created it to be:
the common home of all our brothers and sisters. Amen.

Rome, Saint John Lateran, 3 May 2021
Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

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02 May POPE FRANCIS: REGINA CAELI

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After the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters,

[…] My thoughts today also go to the Meter Association, which I encourage to continue in its efforts to assist children who are victims of violence and exploitation. […]

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25 Apr POPE FRANCIS: REGINA CAELI

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After the Regina Caeli, the Holy Father continued:

[…] I confess I am very saddened by the tragedy that has once again taken place in the Mediterranean in recent days. One hundred thirty migrants died in the sea. They are people. They are human lives who begged for help in vain for two whole days — help that never arrived. Brothers and sisters, let us all ask ourselves about this umpteenth tragedy. It is a time for shame. Let us pray for these brothers and sisters, and for the many who continue to die in these tragic crossings. Let us also pray for those who can help but prefer to look the other way. Let us pray for them in silence. […]

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11 Apr POPE FRANCIS: REGINA CAELI

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Before concluding this celebration, I would like to thank those who collaborated in preparing it and broadcasting it live. And I greet all those who are connected via the media.

I address a special greeting to you, present here in the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, the Shrine of Divine Mercy: regular faithful, nursing staff, inmates, people with disabilities, refugees and migrants, Hospitaller Sisters of Mercy, and Civil Protection volunteers.

You represent some of the situations in which mercy is made tangible; it becomes closeness, service, care for those in difficulty. I hope you will always feel you have been granted mercy, so as to be merciful to others in turn.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, obtain this grace for us all.

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04 Apr LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE 2021 SPRING MEETINGS OF THE WORLD BANK GROUP AND INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

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To the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund

I am grateful for the kind invitation to address the participants in the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund 2021 Spring Meetings by means of this letter, which I have entrusted to Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Holy See’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

In this past year, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, our world has been forced to confront a series of grave and interrelated socio-economic, ecological, and political crises. It is my hope that your discussions will contribute to a model of “recovery” capable of generating new, more inclusive and sustainable solutions to support the real economy, assisting individuals and communities to achieve their deepest aspirations and the universal common good. The notion of recovery cannot be content to a return to an unequal and unsustainable model of economic and social life, where a tiny minority of the world’s population owns half of its wealth.

For all our deeply-held convictions that all men and women are created equal, many of our brothers and sisters in the human family, especially those at the margins of society, are effectively excluded from the financial world. The pandemic, however, has reminded us once again that no one is saved alone. If we are to come out of this situation as a better, more humane and solidary world, new and creative forms of social, political and economic participation must be devised, sensitive to the voice of the poor and committed to including them in the building of our common future (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 169). As experts in finance and economics, you know well that trust, born of the interconnectedness between people, is the cornerstone of all relationships, including financial relationships. Those relationships can only be built up through the development of a “culture of encounter” in which every voice can be heard and all can thrive, finding points of contact, building bridges, and envisioning long-term inclusive projects (cf. ibid., 216).

While many countries are now consolidating individual recovery plans, there remains an urgent need for a global plan that can create new or regenerate existing institutions, particularly those of global governance, and help to build a new network of international relations for advancing the integral human development of all peoples. This necessarily means giving poorer and less developed nations an effective share in decision-making and facilitating access to the international market. A spirit of global solidarity also demands at the least a significant reduction in the debt burden of the poorest nations, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Relieving the burden of debt of so many countries and communities today, is a profoundly human gesture that can help people to develop, to have access to vaccines, health, education and jobs.

Nor can we overlook another kind of debt: the “ecological debt” that exists especially between the global north and south. We are, in fact, in debt to nature itself, as well as the people and countries affected by human-induced ecological degradation and biodiversity loss. In this regard, I believe that the financial industry, which is distinguished by its great creativity, will prove capable of developing agile mechanisms for calculating this ecological debt, so that developed countries can pay it, not only by significantly limiting their consumption of non-renewable energy or by assisting poorer countries to enact policies and programmes of sustainable development, but also by covering the costs of the innovation required for that purpose (cf. Laudato Si’, 51-52).

Central to a just and integrated development is a profound appreciation of the essential objective and end of all economic life, namely the universal common good. It follows that public money may never be disjoined from the public good, and financial markets should be underpinned by laws and regulations aimed at ensuring that they truly work for the common good. A commitment to economic, financial and social solidarity thus entails much more than engaging in sporadic acts of generosity. “It means thinking and acting in terms of community. It means that the lives of all are prior to the appropriation of goods by a few. It also means combatting the structural causes of poverty, inequality, the lack of work, land and housing, the denial of social and labour rights… Solidarity, understood in its most profound meaning, is a way of making history” (Fratelli Tutti, 116).

It is time to acknowledge that markets – particularly the financial ones – do not govern themselves. Markets need to be underpinned by laws and regulations that ensure they work for the common good, guaranteeing that finance – rather than being merely speculative or financing itself – works for the societal goals so much needed in the context of the present global healthcare emergency. In this regard, we especially need a justly financed vaccine solidarity, for we cannot allow the law of the marketplace to take precedence over the law of love and the health of all. Here, I reiterate my call to government leaders, businesses and international organizations to work together in providing vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy (cf. Urbi et Orbi Message, Christmas Day 2020).

It is my hope that in these days your formal deliberations and your personal encounters will bear much fruit for the discernment of wise solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future.
A future where finance is at the service of the common good, where the vulnerable and the marginalized are placed at the centre, and where the earth, our common home, is well cared for.

In offering my prayerful best wishes for the fruitfulness of the meetings, I invoke upon all taking part God’s blessings of wisdom and understanding, good counsel, strength and peace.

From the Vatican, 4 April 2021

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02 Apr THE WAY OF THE CROSS: LED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

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Tenth Station

Jesus is stripped of his garments

[The soldiers] crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. This was to fulfil the Scripture, “They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (Mk 15:24; Jn 19:24).

Meditation

On the shelves in my room I had many dolls, each one of them different. I would receive a new doll as a gift on special occasions, and I was very fond of all my little friends.

One Sunday, during the announcements at the end of Mass, the priest mentioned a collection of toys for refugee children from Kosovo.

When I got back home, I looked at my dolls and thought: “Do I really need them?”.

Somewhat reluctantly, I chose a few of them, the oldest ones, the ones I liked the least. I prepared a box to bring them to church the following Sunday.

That evening, however, I felt I had not done enough. By the time I went to sleep the box was full of dolls and the shelves were empty.

Getting rid of things we don’t need lightens the soul and frees us from selfishness.

Giving makes us happier than receiving.

Children’s prayer

Jesus, watch over my heart. Free it from enslavement to material goods. Help me to give away not only the things I don’t need, but also some of those I do.

Prayer

Lord, loving Father, bridge our distances,
make us generous in sharing the gifts of your providence
with all our brothers and sisters.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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31 Mar POPE FRANCIS: GENERAL AUDIENCE

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[…] Good Friday is the day of penance, fasting and prayer. Through the texts of the Sacred Scripture and the liturgical prayers, we will be as though gathered on Calvary to commemorate the redemptive Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. In the intensity of the rite of the Liturgical Action, the Crucifix will be presented to us to adore. Adoring the Cross, we will relive the journey of the innocent Lamb sacrificed for our salvation. We will carry in our minds and hearts the sufferings of the sick, the poor, the rejected of this world; we will remember the “sacrificed lambs”, the innocent victims of wars, dictatorships, everyday violence, abortions… Before the image of the crucified God, we will bring, in prayer, the many, the too many who are crucified in our time, who can receive comfort and meaning in their suffering only from him. And nowadays there are many: do not forget the crucified of our time, who are the image of Jesus Crucified, and Jesus is in them. […]