SUMMARY:
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General audience: the spiritual and human alphabet of ministers of
the Church
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Francis expresses his closeness to persecuted Christians and the
Mexican people
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Audiences
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Other Pontifical Acts
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General
audience: the spiritual and human alphabet of ministers of the Church
Vatican
City, 12 November 2014 (VIS) – What is required of ministers of the
Church – bishops, priests and deacons – for their service to be
authentic and fruitful?”. This was the question posed by Pope
Francis in his catechesis during this Wednesday's general audience in
St. Peter's Square.
In
his pastoral epistles, St. Paul lists, alongside faith and spiritual
life, a number of human qualities essential for these ministries:
hospitality, temperance, patience, gentleness, reliability, and
goodness of heart. These, said the Holy Father, are “the alphabet,
the grammar at the base of every ministry! Without this
predisposition to encounter, know, enter into dialogue with,
appreciate and relate to one's brethren in a respectful and sincere
way, it is impossible to offer a service and a truly joyful and
credible witness”.
There
is another basic attitude that Paul recommends to his disciples and,
consequently, to all those in whom pastoral ministry is invested: the
continual renewal of the gift received. “This means always keeping
alive the awareness that one does not become a bishop, priest or
deacon for being more intelligent or better than others, but by
receiving a gift from God … for the good of His people. This
knowledge is truly important and constitutes a grace to be asked for
every day. Indeed, a pastor who is aware that his ministry stems
solely from the mercy and from the heart of God can never assume an
authoritarian attitude, as if he had everyone at his feet and as if
the community were his own property, his own personal kingdom”.
“The
awareness that it is all a gift, it is a grace, also helps the pastor
not to give in to the temptation to place himself at the centre of
attention and to trust only in himself. These are the temptations of
vanity, pride, sufficiency, arrogance. God does not like it when a
bishop, priest or deacon thinks that he knows it all, that he always
has the right answer for everything and has no need for anyone else”,
exclaimed Francis. “On the contrary, the knowledge that he, first
and foremost, is the object of God's mercy and compassion must lead a
minister of the Church always to be humble and understanding towards
others. While in the knowledge of being required to courageously
guard the faith entrusted to him, he must always be willing to listen
to the people. Indeed, he is aware that there is always something to
learn, even from those who may be distant from the faith and from the
Church. All this must lead him to assume, with his brethren, a new
attitude characterised by sharing, corresponsibility and communion”.
“We
must always be grateful to the Lord Who, in the person and the
ministry of the bishops, priests and deacons, continues to guide and
form His Church, enabling her to grow along the path of sanctity. At
the same time, we must continue to pray, so that the pastors of our
communities may be the living image of communion and of God's love”,
concluded the bishop of Rome.
Francis
expresses his closeness to persecuted Christians and the Mexican
people
Vatican
City, 12 November 2014 (VIS) – “It is with great trepidation that
I follow the dramatic events of Christians who in various parts of
the world are persecuted and killed for their religious beliefs. I
feel the need to express my profound spiritual closeness to the
Christian communities who are so badly afflicted by an absurd
violence that shows no sign of stopping, and I encourage the pastors
and all faithful to be strong and firm in their hope”.
The
Pope thus launched a heartfelt appeal to all those with political
responsibility at local and international levels, as well as all
persons of good will, “to mobilise consciences on a large scale in
favour of persecuted Christians. They have the right to find safety
and serenity in their own countries, freely professing their faith”.
Before
concluding the general audience, the Pope greeted the faithful in
various languages, and dedicated some off-the-cuff comments to
pilgrims from Mexico. “I wish to express to the Mexicans, those
present and those in their homelands, my closeness in this painful
moment following the formal disappearance, which we know to be the
assassination, of students. This makes visible the dramatic reality
of the criminality behind the trade and trafficking in drugs. I am
close to you and your families”.
Francis
also recalled that in these days the thirtieth anniversary of the
signing of the peace treaty between Argentina and Chile, which was
achieved as a result of the “will to dialogue”, and, recalling
with gratitude the role played by St. John Paul II and Cardinal
Antonio Samore in this treaty, he expressed his hope that “all
peoples in conflict for any reason, territorial or cultural, will be
encouraged to resolve them through dialogue and not by the cruelty of
war”.
Audiences
Vatican
City, 12 November 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
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a delegation from the Catholic-Muslim forum;
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a group of sick children and disabled persons.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
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appointed Bishop Cesar Augusto Franco Martinez as bishop of Segovia
(area 6,949, population 166,200, Catholics 156,200, priests 185,
religious 387), Spain. Bishop Franco Martinez is currently auxiliary
of the archdiocese of Madrid. He succeeds Bishop Angel Rubio Castro,
whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon
reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
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appointed Fr. Antonio Tourinho Neto as auxiliary of the archdiocese
of Olinda e Recife (area 4,058, population 3,996,000, Catholics
3,777,000, priests 275, permanent deacons 23, religious 1,216),
Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Jequie, Brazil in 1964 and was
ordained a priest in 1990. He holds a licentiate in canon law from
the Institute of Canon Law of the archdiocese of Sao Sebastiao do Rio
de Janeiro and has served in a number of pastoral roles in the
diocese of Jequie, including: defender of the bond and promoter of
justice, judge auditor of the Ecclesiastical Chamber, parish priest
of the Santo Antonio Cathedral, chancellor of the diocesan curia,
spiritual director of the Joao Paulo II diocesan seminary, and parish
priest of the community of Santo Antonio do Quilometro Cem in the
municipality of Brejoes. He is currently vicar general in the diocese
of Jequie.
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accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of
Zaragoza, Spain, presented by Archbishop Manuel Urena Pastor, in
accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
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