SUMMARY:
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POPE FRANCIS: “OH, HOW I WISH FOR A CHURCH THAT IS POOR AND FOR THE
POOR!”
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HOLY FATHER PROVISIONALLY CONFIRMS HEADS AND MEMBERS OF ROMAN CURIA
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POPE VISITS CARDINAL MEJIA IN HOSPITAL
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ACTIVITIES OF THE HOLY FATHER
______________________________________
POPE
FRANCIS: “OH, HOW I WISH FOR A CHURCH THAT IS POOR AND FOR THE
POOR!”
Vatican
City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the the Paul VI
Audience Hall, the Holy Father greeted over 6,000 journalists and
those working in the media as well as for the Holy See, accredited
either permanently or temporarily, to cover the events related to the
Conclave. He addressed them with the following words:
“Dear
friends, I am pleased, at the beginning of my ministry in the See of
Peter, to meet with you who have worked here in Rome at this very
intense period that began with the surprising announcement of my
venerated predecessor Benedict XVI, this past 11 February. I warmly
greet each of you.”
“The
role of the mass media has been continuously growing in recent
times,” he said, “so much so that it has become essential to
narrate the events of contemporary history to the world. I therefore
especially thank you for your distinguished service these past few
days—you have had a bit of work to do, haven't you?—when the eyes
of the Catholic world, and not only, were turned toward the Eternal
City, in particular to this area that has St. Peter's tomb as its
focal point. In these past few weeks you've gotten a chance to talk
about the Holy See, the Church, her rites and traditions, her faith,
and, in particular, the role of the Pope and his ministry.”
“A
particularly heart-felt thanks goes to those who have been able to
observe and present these events in the Church's history while
keeping in mind the most just perspective in which they must be read,
that of faith. Historical events almost always require a complex
reading that, at times, can also include the dimension of faith.
Ecclesial events are certainly not more complicated than political or
economic ones. But they have one particularly fundamental
characteristic: they answer to a logic that is not mainly that of, so
to speak, worldly categories, and this is precisely why it is not
easy to interpret and communicate them to a wide and varied audience.
In fact, the Church, although it is certainly also a human,
historical institution with all that that entails, does not have a
political nature but is essentially spiritual: it is the people of
God, the holy people of God who walk toward the encounter with Jesus
Christ. Only by putting oneself in this perspective can one fully
explain how the Catholic Church works.”
“Christ
is the Church's Shepherd, but His presence in history moves through
human freedom. Among these, one is chosen to serve as his Vicar,
Successor of the Apostle Peter, but Christ is the centre, the
fundamental reference, the heart of the Church! Without Him, neither
Peter nor the Church would exist or have a reason for being. As
Benedict XVI repeated often, Christ is present and leads His Church.
In everything that has happened, the protagonist is, ultimately, the
Holy Spirit. He has inspired Benedict XVI's decision for the good of
the Church; He has guided the cardinals in their prayers and in their
election. Dear friends, it is important to take due account of this
interpretive horizon, this hermeneutic, to bring the heart of the
events of these days into focus.”
“From
this is born, above all, a renewed and sincere thanks for your
efforts in these particularly challenging days, but also an
invitation to always seek to know more the Church's true nature and
the spiritual motivations that guide her and that are the most
authentic for understanding her. Rest assured that the Church, for
her part, is very attentive to your precious work. You have the
ability to gather and express the expectations and needs of our
times, to provide the elements necessary to read reality. Like many
other professions, your job requires study, sensitivity, and
experience but it bears with it a particular attention to truth,
goodness, and beauty. This makes us particularly close because the
Church exists to communicate Truth, Goodness, and Beauty 'in person'.
It should be clear that we are all called, not to communicate
ourselves, but rather this existential triad that shapes truth,
goodness, and beauty.”
“Some
people didn't know why the Bishop of Rome wanted to call himself
'Francis'. Some though of Francis Xavier, Francis de Sales, even
Francis of Assisi. I will tell you the story. At the election I had
the archbishop emeritus of Sao Paulo next to me. He is also prefect
emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes
[O.F.M.]: a dear, dear friend. When things were getting a little
'dangerous', he comforted me. And then, when the votes reached the
two-thirds, there was the usual applause because the Pope had been
elected. He hugged me and said: 'Do not forget the poor.' And that
word stuck here [tapping his forehead]; the poor, the poor. Then,
immediately in relation to the poor I thought of Francis of Assisi.
Then I thought of war, while the voting continued, until all the
votes [were counted]. And so the name came to my heart:: Francis of
Assisi. For me he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man
who love and safeguards Creation. In this moment when our
relationship with Creation is not so good—right?—He is the man
who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man … Oh, how I wish
for a Church that is poor and for the poor!”
“I
wish the best for you, I thank you for everything that you have done.
And I think of your work: I wish you to work fruitfully and with
serenity and to always know better the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the
reality of the Church. I entrust you to the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of evangelization. I I wish the best for
you and your families, for each of your families, and I
wholeheartedly impart to all of you the blessing.”
After
personally greeting some of the journalists present, Pope Francis, in
Spanish, concluded: “I told you I wholeheartedly imparted my
blessing. Many of you don't belong to the Catholic Church, others are
not believers. From my heart I impart this blessing, in silence, to
each of you, respecting the conscience of each one, but knowing that
each of you is a child of God: May God bless you.”
HOLY
FATHER PROVISIONALLY CONFIRMS HEADS AND MEMBERS OF ROMAN CURIA
Vatican
City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – Holy Father Francis has expressed the
desire that the Heads and members of the Dicasteries of the Roman
Curia, as well as their Secretaries, and also the President of the
Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, continue,
provisionally, in their respective positions.
The
Holy Father wishes to reserve time for reflection, prayer, and
dialogue before any final appointment or confirmation.
POPE
VISITS CARDINAL MEJIA IN HOSPITAL
Vatican
City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, Pope Francis paid
a visit to Cardinal Jorge Mejia in the Pius XI private clinic.
Cardinal Mejia, who is 90 years old, is archivist and librarian
emeritus of the Holy Roman Church. The clinic's patients and
personnel were very surprised by the encounter with the new pontiff
and greeted him with warm applause. The Pope, in his address to the
College of Cardinals yesterday in the Clementine Hall, informed them
of the heart attack that the cardinal had suffered.
ACTIVITIES
OF THE HOLY FATHER
Vatican
City, 16 March 2013 (VIS) – Following is a list of the upcoming
activities of the Holy Father scheduled between 17 and 24 March.
17
March, Sunday:10:00am, private Mass in the Vatican parish of Santa
Ana. At 12:00pm, Angelus from the window of his private study
overlooking St. Peter's Square.
18
March, Monday:12:50pm, meeting with the President of the Republic of
Argentina at the Domus Sancthae Marthae.
19
March, Tuesday:9:30am, Eucharistic celebration to inaugurate the
Petrine ministry in St. Peter's Square (Entrance into the square will
be permitted beginning at 6:30am. No tickets will be issued for that
Mass. All who wish may attend.) Afterwards, before the Altar of the
Confession in the Basilica, he will receive the greetings of heads of
official delegations and later will return to the Domus Sancthae
Marthae for lunch.
20
March, Wednesday: 11:00am, audience with fraternal delegates in the
Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace.
22
March, Friday: 11:00am, audience with members of the diplomatic corps
accredited to the Holy See in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic
Palace.
23
March, Saturday: 12:00pm, departure in helicopter from the Vatican
heliport. At 12:15pm he will meet and lunch with Pope emeritus
Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo and will then return to the Vatican.
24
March, Sunday:9:30am, Palm Sunday Eucharistic celebration in St.
Peter's Square. At 12:00pm, Angelus.
You
can find more information at: www.visnews.org
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in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
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