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25 Apr ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF SOUTH AFRICA ON THEIR “AD LIMINA” VISIT

Posted at 17:48h in by

[…] I have also noted the concern which you expressed about the breakdown of Christian morals, including a growing temptation to collude with dishonesty. This is an issue which you prophetically addressed in your pastoral statement on corruption. As you pointed out, “corruption is theft from the poor… hurts the most vulnerable… harms the whole community… destroys our trust”. The Christian community is called to be consistent in its witness to the virtues of honesty and integrity, so that we may stand before the Lord, and our neighbours, with clean hands and a pure heart (cf. Ps 24:4) as a leaven of the Gospel in the life of society. With this moral imperative in mind, I know that you will continue to address this and other grave social concerns, such as the plight of refugees and migrants. May these men and women always be welcomed by our Catholic communities, finding in them open hearts and homes as they seek to begin a new life. […]

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12 Apr ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PONTIFICAL COMMITTEE FOR HISTORICAL SCIENCES

Posted at 17:45h in by

[…] Among the initiatives you have planned, I think particularly of the international conference to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. In it you will review research’s most recent findings, paying special attention to the Holy See’s diplomatic initiatives during the tragic conflict and the contribution Catholics and other Christians made by coming to the aid of the wounded, refugees, orphans and widows, by searching for the missing, as well as by rebuilding a world torn apart by what Benedict XV termed “needless carnage” (Letter to Leaders of the Peoples at War, 1 August 1917). And the heartfelt appeal of Pius XII still resonates today as timely as ever: “Nothing is lost by peace. Everything may be lost by war” (Radio message: Un’ora grave to the Heads of State and peoples of the world, 24 August 1939). When we listen again to these prophetic words, truly we realize that history is the “magistra vitae”. […]

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10 Apr ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS TO PARTICIPANTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Posted at 17:43h in by

[…] I greet each of you participating in this Conference, the second such gathering held here in the Vatican to promote united efforts against human trafficking. I thank Cardinal Nichols and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales for organizing this meeting, and the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences for hosting it. This is a conference – an important conference – but it is also a sign: it is a sign of the Church and a sign of men and women of good will who want to cry out, “Enough!”.

Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ. It is a crime against humanity. The very fact of our being here to combine our efforts means that we want our strategies and areas of expertise to be accompanied and reinforced by the mercy of the Gospel, by closeness to the men and women who are victims of this crime.[…]

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19 Mar POPE FRANCIS: GENERAL AUDIENCE

Posted at 17:40h in by

[…] Let us not forget that guarding faithfully over the Child’s life also entailed the Flight to Egypt, the harsh experience of living as refugees — Joseph was a refugee with Mary and Jesus — so as to escape the threat of Herod.[…]

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16 Mar POPE FRANCIS: ANGELUS

Posted at 17:38h in by

After the Angelus:

Brothers and sisters, I greet all of you, dear faithful in Rome and pilgrims!

A word goes to the Community of Pope John XXIII, founded by Don Oreste Benzi, who will lead through the streets of Rome a special Way of the Cross this Friday evening for the victims of the trafficking of women. How good these people are![…]

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05 Mar POPE FRANCIS: GENERAL AUDIENCE

Posted at 17:34h in by

[…] Living our Baptism to the full — the second invitation — also means not accustoming ourselves to the situations of degradation and misery that we encounter as we walk along the streets of our cities and towns. There is a risk of passively accepting certain forms of behaviour and of not being shocked by the sad reality surrounding us. We become accustomed to violence, as though it were a predictable part of the daily news. We become accustomed to brothers and sisters sleeping on the streets, who have no roof to shelter them. We become accustomed to refugees seeking freedom and dignity, who are not received as they ought to be.[…]

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28 Feb ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CONFEDERATION OF ITALIAN COOPERATIVES

Posted at 17:20h in by

[…] For this reason I tell you that you are doing well — and I also tell you to always do more of it — to counter and combat the false cooperatives, those which prostitute the very name of cooperatives, namely of a truly good organization, in order to deceive people with aims of profits contrary to those of true and authentic cooperation. Do well, I tell you, because, in the field you operate in, to take on an honourable façade but to instead pursue dishonourable and immoral aims, often directed at exploiting labour, or at manipulating the market, and even at scandalous and corrupt trafficking, is a shameful and extremely serious lie that is absolutely unacceptable. Fight against this! How do you fight? With words alone? With ideas? You fight with fair and true cooperation, the kind which always prevails.[…]

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25 Feb MESSAGE OF POPE FRANCIS: FOR THE LENTEN BROTHERHOOD CAMPAIGN IN BRAZIL

Posted at 17:31h in by

Dear Brazilians,

Bearing in mind the greatness of your hearts and the warmth of your welcome you gave me when I visited your country last July, allow me to accompany you on this Lenten journey, that begins on 5 March, by speaking to you about the Brotherhood Campaign that reminds you of the victory of Easter: “for freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1). By his Passion, death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ freed humanity from the fetters of death and sin. During the next 40 days we will strive to be more aware of the infinite mercy that God has given us and has asked us to give to others, especially to those most in need: “You are free! Go and help your brothers to be free as well!”. In this sense, wishing to mobilize Christians and people of goodwill in Brazil’s society against the scourge of society of human trafficking, our brothers, the Brazilian bishops propose as a theme this year: “Brotherhood and Human Trafficking”.

It is impossible to remain indifferent knowing that there are human beings who are treated like merchandise! Think of the children adopted for organ transplants, of women who are deceived and forced into prostitution, of exploited workers without rights or a voice, etc. This is human trafficking! “It is precisely on this level that we need to make a good examination of conscience: how many times have we permitted a human being to be seen as an object, to be put on show in order to sell a product or to satisfy an immoral desire? The human person ought never to be sold or bought as if he or she were a commodity. Whoever uses human persons in this way and exploits them, even if indirectly, becomes an accomplice of this injustice” (Address to the new Ambassadors, 12 December 2013). If we then go to the family level and enter a home, how often does abuse reign! Parents who enslave their children, children who enslave their parents; spouses who forget their promises, who use each other as if they were disposable goods, goods to be used and thrown away; elderly without a place, and children and adolescents with no voice. How many attacks there are against the basic values that constitute the fabric of family life and of social coexistence! Yes, there is the need for a deep examination of conscience. How can we proclaim the joy of Easter without supporting those who are deprived of their freedom on this earth?

Dear Brazilians, we can be sure: I offend the human dignity of others only because I have sold my own first. In exchange for what? For power, fame, material goods.… All this – amazingly enough! – in exchange for my dignity as a son and a daughter of God, delivered at the cost of the blood of Christ on the Cross and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit who calls out within us: “Abbà!, Father!” (Gal 4:6). Human dignity is the same for all human beings: when I trample on the dignity of another, I am trampling on my own. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free! Last year when I was with you, I said that the people of Brazil were teaching a good lesson in solidarity; certain of this, I hope that Christians and people of goodwill may commit themselves to working so that no man, woman, young person or child will ever again be a victim of human trafficking! This is the most effective foundation on which to re-establish human dignity and proclaim Christ’s Gospel in the countryside and in the cities, because Jesus desires to pour out an abundance of life everywhere (cf. Evangelii gaudium, n. 75). […]

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05 Feb ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF GREECE ON THEIR “AD LIMINA” VISIT

Posted at 17:04h in by

[…] This diakonia of fraternity on the one hand postulates the preservation and reinforcement of the cultural traditions and the Christian roots of Hellenic society, and on the other, asks for openness toward the cultural and spiritual values borne by numerous migrants, in the spirit of sincere welcome toward these brothers and sisters, without distinction of race, language or religious creed. Your Christian communities, by showing that they are truly united among themselves and at the same time open to encounter and acceptance, especially with regard to the most disadvantaged, are able to make a real contribution to transforming society, in order to render it more consistent with the Gospel ideal. I am pleased to know that you are already committed to this pastoral and charitable action, especially in favour of immigrants, also illegal ones, many of whom are Catholic. I wholeheartedly encourage you to persevere with a renewed impetus to spread the Gospel, especially involving young people in this work: they are the nation’s future.[…]

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19 Jan POPE FRANCIS: ANGELUS

Posted at 17:28h in by

After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, today we are celebrating the World Day for Migrants and Refugees with the theme: Migrants and Refugees: Towards a Better World, which I developed in the message that was published some time ago. I extend a special greeting to the representatives of the various ethnic communities gathered here, especially the Catholic communities of Rome. Dear friends, you are close to the Church’s heart, because the Church is a people on a journey towards the Kingdom of God which Jesus Christ has brought into our midst. Do not lose the hope in a better world. My hope is that you might live in peace in the countries that welcome you, while preserving the values of the cultures of your homeland. I would like to thank those who work with migrants to welcome and accompany them in difficult moments, to defend them from those whom Blessed Scalabrini called “traffickers in human flesh”, who want to enslave migrants! In a particular way, I wish to thank the Congregation of Missionaries of St Charles, the Scalabrinian Fathers and Sisters who do so much good for the Church and who become migrants with the migrants.

At this time, we think of the many migrants, the many refugees, of their sufferings, their lives, many times without work, without documents, in such great sorrow; and we can all together say a pray for migrants and refugees who live in the most serious and difficult situations: Hail Mary…[…]