SUMMARY:
-
“NO ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM THE POPE'S AFFECTION!”
-
POPE FRANCIS: JOURNALISTS, HELP ME WORK FOR THE GOOD OF SOCIETY
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
“NO
ONE IS EXCLUDED FROM THE POPE'S AFFECTION!”
Vatican
City, 23 July 2013 (VIS) – At 3.40 p.m. yesterday (twenty minutes
ahead of schedule) the aeroplane carrying the Pope landed at the
carioca airport of Galeao where he was received by the president of
the Republic of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, accompanied by the governor
of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Cabral Filho and the mayor of Rio de
Janeiro, Eduardo Paes. The Pope was also greeted by Archbishop Orani
Joao Tempesta of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, and Cardinal
Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida and president of
the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil. It was a warm and
informal welcome, without formal addresses, which were given later at
the official welcome ceremony at Guanabara Palace.
The
Holy Father travelled the eight kilometres from the airport to the
presidential palace in a utility vehicle with the back window open to
greet the crowd who thronged the route. During some parts of the
journey the vehicle was forced to stop since there were no security
cordons to hold back the crowd. Upon nearing the cathedral the
vehicle was exchanged for the unarmoured Popemobile which will be
used during the visit, and the route was unexpectedly changed to
enable the Pope to greet the crowds who had awaited him for hours.
Upon
arrival at Guanabara Palace, Francis greeted the senior state and
diplomatic representative and, after listening to the anthems of
Brazil and Vatican City State, he gave his first address as Pope in
the American continent.
He
began, “In his loving providence, God wished that the first
international trip of my pontificate should take me back to my
beloved Latin America, specifically to Brazil … I have learned
that, to gain access to the Brazilian people, it is necessary to pass
through its great heart; so let me knock gently at this door. I ask
permission to come in and spend this week with you. I have neither
silver nor gold, but I bring with me the most precious thing given to
me: Jesus Christ! I have come in his name, to feed the flame of
fraternal love that burns in every heart; and I wish my greeting to
reach one and all: The peace of Christ be with you!”
The
Pope went on to cordially greet the president for her warm welcome
and said to the bishops that, by his visit to Brazil, he wished to
“pursue the pastoral mission proper to the Bishop of Rome of
confirming my brothers in their faith in Christ, of encouraging them
to give an account of the reasons for the hope which comes from him,
and of inspiring them to offer everyone the inexhaustible riches of
his love”.
However,
he continued, “the principal reason for my visit to Brazil goes
beyond its borders. I have actually come for World Youth Day. I am
here to meet young people coming from all over the world, drawn to
the open arms of Christ the Redeemer. … These young people are from
every continent, they speak many languages, they bring with them
different cultures, and yet they also find in Christ the answer to
their highest aspirations, held in common, and they can satisfy the
hunger for a pure truth and an authentic love which binds them
together in spite of differences. … Christ has confidence in young
people and entrusts them with the very future of his mission, 'Go and
make disciples'. Go beyond the confines of what is humanly possible
and create a world of brothers and sisters! And young people have
confidence in Christ: they are not afraid to risk for him the only
life they have, because they know they will not be disappointed”.
He
emphasised that, in addressing the young, he is also speaking to
“their families, their local and national church communities, the
societies they come from, and the men and women upon whom this new
generation largely depends”. He recalled the saying, “'Our
children are the apple of our eyes'. How beautiful is this expression
of Brazilian wisdom, which applies to young people an image drawn
from our eyes, which are the window through which light enters into
us, granting us the miracle of sight! What would become of us if we
didn’t look after our eyes? How could we move forward? I hope that,
during this week, each one of us will ask ourselves this
thought-provoking question. … Young people are the window through
which the future enters the world, thus presenting us with great
challenges. Our generation will show that it can realize the promise
found in each young person when we know how to give them space; how
to create the material and spiritual conditions for their full
development; how to give them a solid basis on which to build their
lives”.
Pope
Francis concluded by asking everyone to “show consideration towards
each other and, if possible, the sympathy needed to establish
friendly dialogue”. He added, “The arms of the Pope now spread to
embrace all of Brazil in its human, cultural and religious complexity
and richness. From the Amazon Basin to the pampas, from the dry
regions to the Pantanal, from the villages to the great cities, no
one is excluded from the Pope’s affection”.
After
his address, Pope Francis met privately with the president and with
the governor and major of Rio de Janeiro. He then transferred to the
Sumare residence, which belongs to the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro,
where he will stay during his visit.
Today,
Tuesday, the Pope will spend the day resting and acclimatising, and
will resume activities tomorrow with a visit to the shrine of
Aparecida, 200 kilometres from the Brazilian capital.
POPE
FRANCIS: JOURNALISTS, HELP ME WORK FOR THE GOOD OF SOCIETY
Vatican
City, 23 July 2013 (VIS) – During the flight from Rome to Rio de
Janeiro, Pope Francis personally greeted the seventy media
representatives who accompanied him on the aircraft. On this, his
first international apostolic journey for World Youth Day 2013, he
expressed his gratitude and, thanking those present, explained the
meaning of his journey and his wish to encounter the young and to
promote a society able to unite the forces of youth with the
experience and wisdom of maturity.
“This
first trip is precisely to meet the young, but to find them not
isolated from their lives – I would like to find them as part of
the social fabric, in society. Because, when we isolate the young, we
do a great injustice: we remove their sense of belonging. The young
belong – they belong to family, a homeland, a culture, a faith...
they belong in this way, and we must not isolate them! But above all,
we must not isolate them from the rest of society. They – it is
true – are the future of the people, this is true! But not the
young alone. They are the future, they have the strength, they are
young, they go ahead”.
The
Pope then recalled the “other extreme of life, the elderly - they
too are the future. A populace has a future if it advances on both
sides. … I often think we do injustice to the elderly; we cast them
aside as if they had nothing to offer us. They have wisdom, the
wisdom of life, the wisdom of history, the wisdom of the homeland,
the wisdom of the family, and we need all this”.
The
Holy Father emphasised that “the global crisis does not bring good
to the young … we run the risk of having a generation that has
never had a job, and work brings the personal dignity of earning a
living. The young, at this time, are in a situation of crisis. We are
somewhat accustomed to this culture of rejection: too often we
discard the elderly. But now, also with the young unemployed, the
culture of rejection reaches them too. We have to eliminate this
habit of rejection!” The Pope concluded by asking that the
journalists help him in working for the good of society, for both
young and old.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 23 July 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:
-
appointed Bishop Luis Armando Tineo Rivera as bishop of Carora (area
11,708, population 298,000, Catholics 288,000, priests 34, permanent
deacons 2, religious 42), Venezuela. Bishop Tineo Rivera, previously
auxiliary of Caracas, Venezuela, was born in Caracas, Venezuela in
1948, was ordained to the priesthood in 1980, and received episcopal
ordination in 2007.
-
appointed Msgr. Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta as bishop of Oran (area
55,000, population 360,000, Catholics 285,000, priests 35, permanent
deacons 3, religious 80), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in
Rosario, Argentina in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1991. He was
subsequently appointed secretary for the Commission for the Ministers
of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, and has served in a number of
pastoral roles, including priest in the parish of San Francisco de
Asis, parish administrator in N.S. del Puente, Berazategui, director
of the pre-seminary, secretary to the bishop emeritus of Quilmes,
professor in the Profesorado de Ciencias Sagradas and in the seminary
of Quilmes, and chancellor of the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano. He
obtained a licentiate in fundamental theology from the Gregorian
Pontifical University in 2000 and is currently executive
under-secretary of the Argentine Episcopal Conference.
You
can find more information at: www.visnews.org
The
news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used,
in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S.
-Vatican Information Service.
Copyright
© Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City
No comments:
Post a Comment