SUMMARY:
-
Francis: a Curia that is outdated, sclerotic or indifferent to others
is an ailing body
-
To employees of the Holy See: “Transform this Holy Nativity into an
opportunity to heal”
-
Angelus: at Christmas, Jesus calls out again to the heart of every
Christian
-
The Pope receives the Community of Pope John XXIII and praises its
generosity in helping people rise above material and moral
degradation
-
Audiences
-
Other Pontifical Acts
______________________________________
Francis:
a Curia that is outdated, sclerotic or indifferent to others is an
ailing body
Vatican
City, 22 December 2014 (VIS) – This morning in the Clementine Hall
the Holy Father held his annual meeting with the Roman Curia to
exchange Christmas greetings with the members of its component
dicasteries, councils, offices, tribunals and commissions. “It is
good to think of the Roman Curia as a small model of the Church, that
is, a body that seeks, seriously and on a daily basis, to be more
alive, healthier, more harmonious and more united in itself and with
Christ”.
“The
Curia is always required to better itself and to grow in communion,
sanctity and wisdom to fully accomplish its mission. However, like
any body, it is exposed to sickness, malfunction and infirmity. … I
would like to mention some of these illnesses that we encounter most
frequently in our life in the Curia. They are illnesses and
temptations that weaken our service to the Lord”, continued the
Pontiff, who after inviting all those present to an examination of
conscience to prepare themselves for Christmas, listed the most
common Curial ailments:
The
first is “the sickness of considering oneself 'immortal', 'immune'
or 'indispensable', neglecting the necessary and habitual controls. A
Curia that is not self-critical, that does not stay up-to-date, that
does not seek to better itself, is an ailing body. … It is the
sickness of the rich fool who thinks he will live for all eternity,
and of those who transform themselves into masters and believe
themselves superior to others, rather than at their service”.
The
second is “'Martha-ism', or excessive industriousness; the sickness
of those who immerse themselves in work, inevitably neglecting 'the
better part' of sitting at Jesus' feet. Therefore, Jesus required his
disciples to rest a little, as neglecting the necessary rest leads to
stress and agitation. Rest, once one who has brought his or her
mission to a close, is a necessary duty and must be taken seriously:
in spending a little time with relatives and respecting the holidays
as a time for spiritual and physical replenishment, it is necessary
to learn the teaching of Ecclesiastes, that 'there is a time for
everything'”.
Then
there is “the sickness of mental and spiritual hardening: that of
those who, along the way, lose their inner serenity, vivacity and
boldness and conceal themselves behind paper, becoming working
machines rather than men of God. … It is dangerous to lose the
human sensibility necessary to be able to weep with those who weep
and to rejoice with those who rejoice! It is the sickness of those
who lose those sentiments that were present in Jesus Christ”.
“The
ailment of excessive planning and functionalism: this is when the
apostle plans everything in detail and believes that, by perfect
planning things effectively progress, thus becoming a sort of
accountant. … One falls prey to this sickness because it is easier
and more convenient to settle into static and unchanging positions.
Indeed, the Church shows herself to be faithful to the Holy Spirit to
the extent that she does not seek to regulate or domesticate it. The
Spirit is freshness, imagination and innovation”.
The
“sickness of poor coordination develops when the communion between
members is lost, and the body loses its harmonious functionality and
its temperance, becoming an orchestra of cacophony because the
members do not collaborate and do not work with a spirit of communion
or as a team”.
“Spiritual
Alzheimer's disease, or rather forgetfulness of the history of
Salvation, of the personal history with the Lord, of the 'first
love': this is a progressive decline of spiritual faculties, that
over a period of time causes serious handicaps, making one incapable
of carrying out certain activities autonomously, living in a state of
absolute dependence on one's own often imaginary views. We see this
is those who have lost their recollection of their encounter with the
Lord … in those who build walls around themselves and who
increasingly transform into slaves to the idols they have sculpted
with their own hands”.
“The
ailment of rivalry and vainglory: when appearances, the colour of
one's robes, insignia and honours become the most important aim in
life. … It is the disorder that leads us to become false men and
women, living a false 'mysticism' and a false 'quietism'”.
Then
there is “existential schizophrenia: the sickness of those who live
a double life, fruit of the hypocrisy typical of the mediocre and the
progressive spiritual emptiness that cannot be filled by degrees or
academic honours. This ailment particularly afflicts those who,
abandoning pastoral service, limit themselves to bureaucratic
matters, thus losing contact with reality and with real people. They
create a parallel world of their own, where they set aside everything
they teach with severity to others and live a hidden, often dissolute
life”.
The
sickness of “chatter, grumbling and gossip: this is a serious
illness that begins simply, often just in the form of having a chat,
and takes people over, turning them into sowers of discord, like
Satan, and in many cases cold-blooded murderers of the reputations of
their colleagues and brethren. It is the sickness of the cowardly
who, not having the courage to speak directly to the people involved,
instead speak behind their backs”.
“The
sickness of deifying leaders is typical of those who court their
superiors, with the hope of receiving their benevolence. They are
victims of careerism and opportunism, honouring people rather than
God. They are people who experience service thinking only of what
they might obtain and not of what they should give. They are mean,
unhappy and inspired only by their fatal selfishness”.
“The
disease of indifference towards others arises when each person thinks
only of himself, and loses the sincerity and warmth of personal
relationships. When the most expert does not put his knowledge to the
service of less expert colleagues; when out of jealousy … one
experiences joy in seeing another person instead of lifting him up or
encouraging him”.
“The
illness of the funereal face: or rather, that of the gruff and the
grim, those who believe that in order to be serious it is necessary
to paint their faces with melancholy and severity, and to treat
others – especially those they consider inferior – with rigidity,
hardness and arrogance. In reality, theatrical severity and sterile
pessimism are often symptoms of fear and insecurity”.
“The
disease of accumulation: when the apostle seeks to fill an
existential emptiness of the heart by accumulating material goods,
not out of necessity but simply to feel secure. … Accumulation only
burdens and inexorably slows down our progress”.
“The
ailment of closed circles: when belonging to a group becomes stronger
than belonging to the Body and, in some situations, to Christ
Himself. This sickness too may start from good intentions but, as
time passes, enslaves members and becomes a 'cancer' that threatens
the harmony of the Body and causes a great deal of harm – scandals
– especially to our littlest brothers”.
Then,
there is the “disease of worldly profit and exhibitionism: when the
apostle transforms his service into power, and his power into goods
to obtain worldly profits or more power. This is the disease of those
who seek insatiably to multiply their power and are therefore capable
of slandering, defaming and discrediting others, even in newspapers
and magazines, naturally in order to brag and to show they are more
capable than others”.
After
listing these ailments, Pope Francis continued, “We are therefore
required, at this Christmas time and in all the time of our service
and our existence – to live 'speaking the truth in love, we are to
grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom
the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it
is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow
so that it builds itself up in love'”.
“I
once read that priests are like aeroplanes: they only make the news
when they crash, but there are many that fly. Many criticise them and
few pray for them”, he concluded. “It is a very nice phrase, but
also very true, as it expresses the importance and the delicacy of
our priestly service, and how much harm just one priest who falls may
cause to the whole body of the Church”.
To
employees of the Holy See: “Transform this Holy Nativity into an
opportunity to heal”
Vatican
City, 22 December 2014 (VIS) – This morning Pope Francis met with
employees of the Holy See, whom he thanked fervently for their work
during the last year. He dedicated some special words to the Italians
present, as “during all the history of the Church and the Roman
Curia they have worked regularly with a generous and faithful spirit,
placing at the service of the Holy See and Peter's Successor their
unique laboriousness and filial devotion, offering the Church great
Saints, Popes, martyrs, missionaries and artists that no passing
cloud in history will be able to obscure”. He also thanked workers
from other countries, “who generously work in the Curia, far from
their homelands and their families, representing for the Curia the
face of the Church's 'Catholicity'”.
The
Pope encouraged those present to consider a text that he had
mentioned in his discourse to the Roman Curia shortly beforehand,
treating it as a “starting point for a fruitful examination of
conscience in preparation for the Holy Nativity and the New Year. He
exhorted them to receive the Sacrament of Confession “with a docile
heart, to receive the mercy of the Lord, who knocks on the door of
our heart, in the joy of the family”.
Francis
emphasised the word “care” and explained that “caring means
manifesting diligent and thoughtful interest, that directs our heart
and our activities towards someone or something; it means looking
with attention to those who are in need of care without thinking of
anything else; it means accepting to give or receive care”. To
“transform this Holy Nativity into a true opportunity to heal every
wound and every lack”, he urged those present to take care of their
spiritual life, their relationship with God, and to look after their
family life and relationships with others. This means caring about
one's way of speaking, purifying language of offensive words; healing
the wounds of the heart with the oil of forgiveness; caring for one's
work, performing it with enthusiasm, humility and passion; curing
oneself of envy, lust, hatred and the negative feelings that devour
our inner peace and transform us into destroyed and destructive
people; curing oneself of the rancour that leads us to revenge and
the idleness that leads to existential euthanasia. Caring for the
poorest, the elderly, the sick, the hungry, the homeless and
foreigners, and making sure that the Holy Nativity never becomes a
celebration of commercial consumerism, appearances and pointless
gifts, or superfluous waste, but rather of the joy of welcoming the
Lord into the creche of the heart”.
“Imagine
how our world would change if each one of us began straight away”,
he remarked. “This is the true Nativity: the feast of the poverty
of the God Who annihilated Himself, assuming the nature of a slave;
of God Who served at the table; of God Who hid Himself from the
intelligent and the wise and instead revealed Himself to the
smallest, the simple and the poor. It is above all the feast of Peace
brought to earth by the baby Jesus, … the peace the Angels sang”.
He continued, “Peace needs our enthusiasm, our care, to warm our
frozen hearts, to encourage distrusting souls and to brighten jaded
eyes with the light of Jesus' face”.
The
Pope concluded by asking forgiveness for his shortcomings, and those
of his colleagues, and also for the various scandals “that do a
great deal of damage”, he commented. “Forgive me and, please,
pray for me”.
Angelus:
at Christmas, Jesus calls out again to the heart of every Christian
Vatican
City, 21 December 2014 (VIS) – On the fourth and final Sunday of
Advent, with Christmas just around the corner, the Gospel narrates
the Angel's annunciation to Mary and the Virgin's “yes” that made
possible the Incarnation, the revelation of a mystery “enveloped in
silence for eternity”. Before this morning's Angelus prayer, Pope
Francis addressed the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square,
focusing on two essential aspects of Mary's attitude as a model to
prepare for Christmas.
The
first is her faith, which consists of listening to the Word of God in
order to surrender herself entirely to it, with full willingness of
both mind and heart. “In her 'yes', full of faith, Mary does not
know which road she will have to embark upon, how much pain she will
have to suffer, what risks she will run. But she is aware that it is
the Lord Who asks her to entrust herself entirely to Him, and she
surrenders herself to His love. This is Mary's faith”.
“Another
aspect is the capacity of the Mother of Christ to recognise the time
of God. Mary teaches us to seize the favourable moment in which Jesus
passes into our life and asks for a prompt and generous response”.
“And
Jesus passes”, added the Pope, “because the mystery of Jesus'
birth in Bethlehem, which historically took place more than two
thousand years ago, occurs as a spiritual event on the 'today' of the
Liturgy. The Word, that finds a home in the virginal womb of Mary,
during the celebration of the Nativity calls out to the heart of
every Christian; it passes, and knocks on the door. Each one of us is
called to answer, like Mary, with a personal and sincere 'yes',
placing ourselves entirely at the disposal of God and His mercy, His
love”.
“How
many times does Jesus pass into our lives!”, he exclaimed. “And
how many times he sends us an angel, and how often we do not realise,
because we are too preoccupied, immersed in our thoughts, in our
affairs and even, these days, in our preparations for Christmas, to
realise that He passes and knocks at the door of our heart, asking
for welcome, asking for a 'yes', like that of Mary”.
“A
saint once said, 'I am afraid that the Lord will pass'. Do you know
why he was afraid? He was afraid he would not welcome Him, that he
would let Him pass by. When we feel in our heart, 'I would like to be
a better person', “I feel remorse for doing that”, it is the Lord
Who is calling. He makes you feel this: the wish to be better, the
wish to stay closer to others and to God. If you feel this, then
stop. It is the Lord Who is there! And pray, perhaps go to
Confession, to clean up a little … this does you good. But keep in
mind: if you feel this desire to improve, it is He Who is calling: do
not let Him pass by”.
Francis
also recalled, in the mystery of the Nativity, the silent presence of
Joseph and emphasised the example that he and Mary offer as an
invitation to receive with total openness the Lord Jesus, “who for
love made Himself into our brother, and came to bring light to the
world”, as the angels proclaimed to the shepherds: 'on earth peace,
good will toward men'”.
“The
precious gift of Christmas is peace”, he concluded. “Christ, Who
is our true peace, calls to our hearts to give us peace, the peace of
the soul. Let us open the doors to Christ”.
The
Pope receives the Community of Pope John XXIII and praises its
generosity in helping people rise above material and moral
degradation
Vatican
City, 20 December 2014 (VIS) – Today in the Paul VI Hall the Holy
Father received 7,500 members of the Community of John Paul XXIII,
founded by the Italian priest Oreste Benzi in 1968. The association,
currently present in 34 countries, is concerned with situations of
marginalisation and poverty and promotes the non-violent removal of
the root causes. It follows the principle of sharing of life in a
number of contexts: minors and young people in difficult conditions,
the disabled, detainees, itinerant communities, drug users,
alcoholics, those without fixed abode, the elderly, the sick, mothers
with problems and women forced into prostitution.
During
the audience, various members of the Community narrated to the Pope
their experiences, which as Francis said, spoke of “slavery and
liberation, of the selfishness of those who imagine they can build up
their lives by exploiting others and taking advantage of the
generosity of those who help others to rise up from material and
moral degradation. They are experiences that shed light on the many
forms of poverty that unfortunately afflict our world, and they
reveal the most dangerous misery of all, the cause of all others:
distance from God, the presumption of being able to do without Him.
This is the blind misery of those who believe that the aim of their
existence is material wealth, the pursuit of power and pleasure, and
the enslavement of the lives of others to these objectives”.
“Yes,
my friends, it is the presence of the Lord that makes the difference
between the freedom of good and the slavery of evil … it broadens
horizons … and gives us the strength necessary to overcome
difficulties and obstacles. … Faith, indeed, moves the mountains of
indifference and apathy, of disinterest and sterile self-centredness.
… Faith opens the doors of charity … giving us the courage to act
according to the example of the Good Samaritan. Fr. Oresti Benzi, the
founder of your association, understood this well. His love for the
least and for the poor, for the excluded and the abandoned, was
rooted in his love for Jesus crucified, Who made Himself poor for us.
… From the mission of involving adolescents and encouraging their
interest in the figure of Jesus, there was born the idea of
organising for them a vital and radical encounter with Him as a hero
and friend, through testimonies of life, fully demonstrating the
Christian message, but in a joyful or even joking fashion”.
“In
this way your community was born, now present in 34 countries with
its family-houses, its social and educational cooperatives, its
houses of prayer, services for accompanying difficult motherhood and
other initiatives”, continued the Pope. “Providence has enabled
you to grow, demonstrating the vitality of the charism of your
Founder, who liked to say that “to get onto your feet, you need to
kneel first”.
Pope
Francis concluded by inviting those present to be attentive to their
spiritual formation, and to partake frequently of the Sacraments,
especially the Eucharist, as “it fills the heart with the love for
God that is the wellspring of charity towards our brothers and
sisters”.
Audiences
On
Saturday, 20 December, the Holy Father received in audience:
-
His Royal Highness Jaime Bernardo, Prince of Bourbon de Parme,
ambassador of the Netherlands to the Holy See, presenting his letters
of credence;
-
Clelio Galassi, ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Holy
See, presenting his letters of credence;
-
Eduardo Felix Valdes, ambassador of the Republic of Argentina to the
Holy See, presenting his letters of credence.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 22 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has
-
appointed Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, auxiliary of the archdiocese
of Indianapolis, U.S.A., as bishop of Burlington (area 23,651,
population 651,000, Catholics 123,700, priests 133, permanent deacons
43, religious 149), U.S.A.
-
appointed Bishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Kaolack, Senegal, as archbishop
of Dakar (area 4,803, population 3,677,000, Catholics 455,000,
priests 168, religious 645), Senegal. He succeeds Cardinal
Theodore-Adrien Sarr, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same archdiocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy
Father.
-
accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese
of Basel, Switzerland, presented by Bishop Martin Gachter upon
reaching the age limit.
-
erected the new diocese of Kuzhithurai (area 915, population 855,485,
Catholics 264,222, priests 131, religious 269) India, with territory
taken from the diocese of Kottar, making it a suffragan of the
metropolitan church of Madurai. He appointed Fr. Jerome Dhas Varuvel,
S.D.B., as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born
in Paduvoor, India in 1951, gave his perpetual vows in 1981, and was
ordained a priest in 1985. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics
and theology, and a licentiate in education from the Pontifical
Salesian University, Rome, and has served in a number of roles,
including vice rector of the novitiate in Vellakinar, rector of the
pre-novitiate in Tirupattur and Maiyam, dean of the Salesian student
body in Trichy, parish priest and rector of the con-Cathedral of
Madras-Mylapore, provincial counsellor, director of Kalvi Solai in
Tirupattur and in Ennore, and director of Mount Don Bosco in
Thalavadi. He is currently master of novices in Yeallagiri Hills,
Vellore.
On
Saturday, 20 December, the Holy Father appointed:
-
Bishop Jose Guadalupe Torres Campos of Gomez Palacio, Mexico, as
bishop of Ciudad Juarez (area 29,639, population 2,727,000, Catholics
2,318,000, priests 116, permanent deacons 19, religious 206), Mexico.
He succeeds Bishop Renato Ascencio Leon, whose resignation from the
pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was
accepted by the Holy Father.
-
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue as camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church;
-
Archbishop Giampiero Gloder, apostolic nuncio and president of the
Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, as vice camerlengo of the Holy
Roman Church.
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