SUMMARY:
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Questions and answers on the Manila-Rome flight
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The Pope thanks the Virgin for the fruits of his apostolic trip
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Other Pontifical Acts
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Questions
and answers on the Manila-Rome flight
Vatican
City, 20 January 2015 (VIS) – At the end of his seventh apostolic
trip, on return flight from Manila to Rome, the Pope again answered
questions from the journalists who accompanied him on the flight. He
confessed that he had been most impressed and moved by the gestures
of the Filipino people, gestures which expressed “faith, love,
family, hopes, the future. … True enthusiasm,joy, happiness, able
to celebrate even in the rain”. On the other hand, he also noted
the resignation of the Filipinos, who “know suffering”.
The
Pontiff spoke about the possibility of an apostolic trip to Central
Africa or Uganda at the end of the year, and confirmed that he will
travel to Philadelphia to attend the World Meeting of Families, to
New York, where he will visit the United Nations, and Washington. He
commented that he would like to travel to California for the
canonisation of Junipero Serra, but time restrictions make this
unlikely. With regard to South America, he said that there were
proposals for trips to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay over the coming
year.
A
summary of the Pope's answers is given below.
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On the question about religious freedom and freedom of expression,
posed on the flight from Colombo to Manila, and the confusion it
generated
“In
theory, it may be said that the Gospel says we must turn the other
cheek. In theory, we can say that we have the freedom to express
ourselves, and this is important. In theory we are all in agreement,
but we are human, and so there is prudence, which is a virtue in
human coexistence. I cannot continually provoke or insult someone,
because I would risk angering them, I risk receiving a reaction that
is not right, not right. But it is human. Therefore, I say that the
freedom of expression must take into consideration the reality of
humanity, and for this reason I say that we must be prudent. This
means we must be polite and prudent, as prudence is the virtue that
regulates human relations”.
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On corruption throughout the world and in the Church
“In
today's world, corruption is the order of the day and corrupt
attitudes easily establish themselves in institutions, since an
institution has many components here and there, it has many heads and
deputies, and so is very easy for corruption to take root there. Any
institution can fall prey to this. Corruption means taking from the
population. A corrupt person, who makes corrupt deals, or who governs
in a corrupt fashion, or who associates with others to make corrupt
deals, steals from the people. They are the victims. … Today it is
a worldwide problem. … And with regard to corruption in
ecclesiastical institutions … when I speak about the Church, I like
to speak about the faithful, the baptised, all the Church. And in
this case it is better to speak about sinners. We are all sinners,
aren't we? But when we speak about corruption, we speak about corrupt
people, or Church institutions that have fallen prey to corruption,
and there are cases. … It is easy for corruption to take root, but
let's remember this: sinners yes, corrupt no! We must never be
corrupt. We must ask for forgiveness for those Catholics, those
Christians, who scandalise with their corruption. It is a wound in
the Church; but there are many saints, and sinners who are holy but
not corrupt”.
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On responsible parenthood
“I
think that three is the number of children per family that the
experts say is correct to maintain the population, three per couple.
When there are fewer than this, there is the other extreme, which we
see in Italy where I have heard – I do not know if it is true –
that from 2024 there will not be the money to pay pensioners. The key
phrase to answer this question is the one that the Church has always
used: responsible parenthood. How does one do this? Through dialogue.
Every person, accompanied by their pastor, must find out how to
achieve responsible parenthood. … Some believe that – excuse the
expression – to be good Catholics we must be like rabbits. No.
Responsible parenthood. This is clear, and for this reason in the
Church here are matrimonial groups, experts in this. I know of many,
many legitimate ways to achieve this. … On the other hand, for the
poorest people, a child is a treasure. It is true, we must also be
careful here. But for them, a child is a treasure. God knows how to
help them. Perhaps some are not careful in this respect, it is true.
Parenthood must be responsible. But look also at the generosity of
those fathers and mothers who see every child as a treasure”.
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On the Pope's remark that the world needs to weep
“One
of the things that is lost when there is too much comfort, or values
are not well-understood, or we get used to injustice, to this
throwaway culture, is the capacity to weep. It is a grace that we
must ask for. … We Christians must ask for the grace to weep,
especially those Christians who are well-off; to weep about injustice
and sin. Weeping opens you to the understanding of new realities or
new dimensions of reality”.
The
Pope thanks the Virgin for the fruits of his apostolic trip
Vatican
City, 20 January 2015 (VIS) – After landing at Rome's Ciampino
military airport at 5.30 p.m. local time, and before returning to the
Vatican, Pope Francis stopped at the Basilica of St. Mary Major to
pray to the Virgin “Salus populi romani”, and to give thanks for
the positive outcome of his apostolic trip to Sri Lanka and the
Philippines.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 20 January 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
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appointed Msgr. Jorge Giovanny Pazmino Abril, O.P., as bishop of
Ambato (area 3,844, population 538,800, Catholics 499,000, priests
98, permanent deacons 3, religious 216), Ecuador. The bishop-elect
was born in Banos, Ecuador in 1965, and was ordained a priest in
1995. He studied philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Catholic
University of Ecuador and holds a licentiate in dogmatic theology
from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome. He has served in a
number of pastoral and academic roles, including professor in
pastoral theology and philosophy at the School of Religious Sciences
of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, vocational promoter
of the Dominican vicariate general of Ecuador, president of the
Ecuadorian Conference of Religious, parish priest, professor in the
major seminary of Guayaquil and general secretary of the
Interprovincial Conference of Dominicans of Latin America and the
Caribbean. He is currently vicar general of the vicariate general of
“Santa Catalina de Siena” of Ecuador and head of contemplative
life in the archdiocese of Quito.
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accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of
Ispahan of the Latins, Iran, presented by Bishop Ignazio Bedini,
S.D.B., in accordance with canon 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of
the Eastern Churches.
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