SUMMARY:
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POPE FRANCIS: DIPLOMACY MUST PROMOTE A CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER
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THE BIRTH OF JESUS IS NOT A FAIRYTALE!
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AUDIENCES
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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POPE
FRANCIS: DIPLOMACY MUST PROMOTE A CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER
Vatican
City, 20 December 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Pope received the
ceremonial diplomatic staff of the Italian Republic and the Italian
Embassy to the Holy See, to exchange Christmas greetings.
Francis
thanked them for the help, often not easily recognised, that they
offer to his ministry, recalling in particular the diplomatic
activity behind the ceremony that took place on 19 March 2013, when
the Holy Father began his Petrine ministry with a solemn Mass in St.
Peter's Square in the presence of heads of State from all over the
world.
“Through
your service, you are in a position to promote the culture of
encounter. You are diplomatic functionaries and all of your work is
orientated towards ensuring that the representatives of countries,
international organisations and institutions may encounter one
another fruitfully. How important this service is! The most
specifically ceremonial, most visible element is aimed towards that
which is not immediately apparent: to the growth of positive
relationships, based on mutual knowledge, respect, and the common
search for pathways to development and peace”.
The
Holy Father underlined that the Italian diplomats have “an extra
card to play: Italian cultural heritage. Italy has always been a
synonym, throughout the world, for culture, art and civilisation. You
contribute to ensuring that its value is recognised for the culture
of encounter, that this heritage is put to the service of the common
good, for that which Paul VI called the civilisation of love”.
“Christmas,
which is now close, is the celebration of the encounter between God
and man. We are given the gift of a Child in Whom this encounter is
fully achieved. The message of Christ's birth calls out even to those
who are not Christians. I hope that each one of you may live
intensely this mystery of love, and that it profoundly inspires your
service”.
THE
BIRTH OF JESUS IS NOT A FAIRYTALE!
Vatican
City, 20 December 2013 (VIS) - “There is no play without You” is
the slogan adopted by the children of Italian Catholic Action, who
met with the Holy Father this morning in the Consistory Hall of the
Vatican Apostolic Palace. The children exchanged Christmas greetings
with the Pope, who encouraged them always to be “living stones
united with Jesus” within the Church.
“Christmas
is the celebration of the presence of God who came among us to save
us”, said the Pontiff. “The birth of Jesus is not a fairytale! It
is the story of a real event, which occurred in Bethlehem two
thousand years ago. Faith allows us to recognise in the Child born to
the Virgin Mary the true Son of God, made man for our love. In the
face of the child Jesus we contemplate the face of God, who did not
show Himself to us in strength, in power, but in the weakness and
fragility of a newborn. This is our God, who comes so close to us, as
a child. This Child shows the trust and tenderness of the boundless
love with which God surrounds each one of us. This is why we
celebrate Christmas, reliving the same experience of the shepherds of
Bethlehem. Along with many fathers and mothers who work hard every
day, making many sacrifices; along with the young, the sick and the
poor, we celebrate, because it is the celebration of our encounter
with God in Jesus”.
Pope
Francis asked them if they were aware of how much Jesus loves them
and wants to be their friend. “If you are convinced of this, you
will certainly be able to transmit the joy of this friendship
everywhere: at home, in Church, at school, with friends … and for
your enemies, pray that they might be closer to God. And in this way
you will be able to bear witness, like true Christians: ready to lend
a hand to those in need … and also to those who don't like you ...
without judging others, without speaking badly of them”, he
concluded. “Those who speak ill of others are not good … because
gossiping is not Christian … and we should not do it”.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 20 December 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
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Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal.
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Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci, territorial prelate of Loreto,
pontifical delegate for the Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto.
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James K. Bebaako-Mensah, the new ambassador of Ghana to the Holy See,
presenting his credential letters.
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Professor Ilaria Morali.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 20 December 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father appointed Fr.
Alfredo Espinoza Mateus as bishop of Loja (area 11,476, population
621,000, Catholics 574,000, priests 218, permanent deacons 1,
religious 362), Ecuador. The bishop-elect was born in Guayaquil,
Ecuador in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1988. He holds a
licentiate in science of education from the Pontifical Catholic
University of Ecuador. He has served in the following roles in the
field of education: administrator of several Salesian colleges in
Guayaquil, Manta and Riobamba, member of the Permanent Commission of
the Salesian National Council for Education, and of the Economic
Council of the Salesian Polytechnic University of Ecuador. He is
currently director of the Inspectorial House in Quito and
Inspectorial delegate of the Vocational Fund of Ecuador. In 2008 he
was appointed as delegate of the Salesian Fathers in Ecuador in the
26th General Capital of the Salesians of St. John Bosco.
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