my strength is all too little. It is better to be content with small things,
less grand but more realistic, more within my reach'. I can understand that
reaction; it is normal to feel weighed down by difficult and demanding things.
But take care not to yield to the temptation of a disenchantment which
paralyses
the intellect and the will, or that apathy which is a radical form of pessimism
about the future. These attitudes end either in a flight from reality towards
vain utopias, or else in selfish isolation and a cynicism deaf to the cry for
justice, truth and humanity which rises up around us and within us.
"But what are we to do? How do we find paths of hope in the situations in
which
we live? How do we make those hopes for fulfilment, authenticity, justice and
truth, become a reality in our personal lives, in our country and our world? I
think that there are three ideas which can help to keep our hope alive.
"Hope is a path made of memory and discernment. Hope is the virtue which goes
places. It is not simply a path we take for the pleasure of it, but it has an
end, a goal which is practical and lights up our way. Hope is also nourished by
memory; it looks not only to the future but also to the past and present. To
keep moving forward in life, in addition to knowing where we want to go, we
also
need to know who we are and where we come from. Individuals or peoples who have
no memory and erase their past risk losing their identity and destroying their
future. So we need to remember who we are, and in what our spiritual and moral
heritage consists. This, I believe, was the experience and the insight of that
great Cuban, Father Felix Varela. Discernment is also needed, because it is
essential to be open to reality and to be able to interpret it without fear or
prejudice. Partial and ideological interpretations are useless; they only
disfigure reality by trying to fit it into our preconceived schemas, and they
always cause disappointment and despair. We need discernment and memory,
because
discernment is not blind; it is built on solid ethical and moral criteria which
help us to see what is good and just.
"Hope is a path taken with others. An African proverb says: 'If you want to go
fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with others'. Isolation and aloofness
never generate hope; but closeness to others and encounter do. Left to
ourselves, we will go nowhere. Nor by exclusion will we be able to build a
future for anyone, even ourselves. A path of hope calls for a culture of
encounter, dialogue, which can overcome conflict and sterile confrontation. To
create that culture, it is vital to see different ways of thinking not in terms
of risk, but of richness and growth. The world needs this culture of encounter.
It needs young people who seek to know and love one another, to journey
together
in building a country like that which JosΘ Martø dreamed of: 'With all, and for
the good of all'.
"Hope is a path of solidarity. The culture of encounter should naturally lead
to a culture of solidarity. I was struck by what Leonardo said at the
beginning,
when he spoke of solidarity as a source of strength for overcoming all
obstacles. Without solidarity, no country has a future. Beyond all other
considerations or interests, there has to be concern for that person who may be
my friend, my companion, but also someone who may think differently than I do,
someone with his own ideas yet just as human and just as Cuban as I am. Simple
tolerance is not enough; we have to go well beyond that, passing from a
suspicious and defensive attitude to one of acceptance, cooperation, concrete
service and effective assistance. Do not be afraid of solidarity, service and
offering a helping hand, so that no one is excluded from the path.
"This path of life is lit up by a higher hope: the hope born of our faith in
Christ. He made himself our companion along the way. Not only does He encourage
us, He also accompanies us; He is at our side and He extends a friendly hand to
us. The Son of God, He wanted to become someone like us, to accompany us on our
way. Faith in His presence, in His friendship and love, lights up all our hopes
and dreams. With Him at our side, we learn to discern what is real, to
encounter
and serve others, and to walk the path of solidarity.
"Dear young people of Cuba, if God Himself entered our history and became
flesh
in Jesus, if He shouldered our weakness and sin, then you need not be afraid of
hope, or of the future, because God is on your side. He believes in you, and He
hopes in you.
"Dear friends, thank you for this meeting. May hope in Christ, your friend,
always guide you along your path in life. And, please, remember to pray for me.
May the Lord bless all of you".
___________________________________________________________
Other News
___________________________________________________________
Message to the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East
Vatican City, 21 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to
His Holiness Mar Gewargis, on the occasion of his election as Catholicos
Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, in which he extends his "good
wishes and prayerful solidarity" to the Patriarch and his faithful. He adds
that
it is his prayer that His Holiness may be an inspirational pastor for the flock
entrusted to his care and "an untiring builder of peace and harmony, serving
the
common good and the good of the entire Middle East".
He continues, "I join your Holiness in prayer and solidarity with all who
suffer because of the tragic situation in the Middle East, especially our
Christian brothers and sisters and other religious minorities in Iraq and
Syria.
With you, I ask the Lord to grant them strength so that they may persevere in
their Christian witness. In expressing gratitude to Almighty God for the bonds
of fraternity between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East,
I
hope and pray that our continuing friendship and dialogue may be further
developed and deepened".
___________________________________________________________
Message to Hungarian religious: seek the concerns and expectations of the
people
Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis sent
a
video message to the participants in the Meeting of Consecrated Persons in
Hungary, an initiative linked to the Year of Consecrated Life.
"In the various forms of consecrated life, I think of you as close to the
troubles and expectations of the people; I think of you as committed in the
contexts in which you are inserted, with their difficulties and signs of hope.
I
encourage you to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who
weep; to ask of God a heart capable of compassion, to tend to the wounds of the
body and the spirit and to bring God's consolation to many people. I believe
that the most beautiful side of a country and a city is that of the Lord's
disciples - the bishops, religious and lay faithful - who live with simplicity,
in their daily lives, in the style of the Good Samaritan and who are close to
the flesh and the wounds of their brethren, in whom they recognise the flesh
and
wounds of Jesus".
"This charity full of mercy - we know well - comes from the heart of Christ,
and we find this in prayer, especially in adoration, and in partaking with
faith
in the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance. May Mary, our Mother, help us
always to be men and women of prayer".
___________________________________________________________
The Pope speaks with young people from Cuba and the United States before his
apostolic trip
Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) - On 17 September Pope Francis
participated in a programme organised by "Scholas Occurrentes" - an initiative
organised between the students of various countries, cultures and religions -
broadcast by CNN on Friday 18, in which two groups of students from Havana and
New York also took part. The Holy Father answered questions posed by the
students, starting with one from a girl from New York on the responsibility of
the young in the care of the environment.
"It is one of the things that we have to learn from when we are young", he
said. "The environment, at this time, is one of the excluded. It cries to us to
pay attention and to take care of it. So, how can a young person take care of
the environment? First of all, by seeing the problems that exist in his or her
neighbourhood, city and nation. ... By looking for concrete measures you can
take.
The waste of paper is impressive. Avoid wasting electricity ... What little you
can do, but it is still a little more, a little more, a little more. Add to the
will to save our common home".
A girl from Havana asked the second question, regarding the capacity for
leadership attributed to the Pope. "A leader is a good leader if he is capable
of making other leaders emerge among the young", he said. "If a leader wishes
to
lead alone, then he is a tyrant. Or rather, true leadership is fruitful. ...
Sole leaders are here today and gone tomorrow. There are those who are born
leaders: leaders in thought, leaders of action, leaders of joy, leaders of
hope,
leaders in building a better world. This is the path for you to follow; but you
already have the seed of leadership within you. If they do not sow leadership
in
others, if they do not serve, they are dictators. I have no desire to be a
dictator. I like to plant the seed of leadership in others".
The third question was asked by a girl from New York, who showed the Pope a
photograph of a dead tree with a bird perched on a branch.
"Yes, in the photo the tree is dead and the bird is alive", observed Francis.
"In a few months' time the bird will need to build a nest to lay its eggs and
care for its young, but if the tree is dead, how will it be able to make a
nest?
This is what happens when we do not take care of the environment. One death
leads to another, and then, instead of sowing growth, instead of sowing hope,
we
sow death. The way is the opposite: caring for life".
A boy from Havana then spoke about the need to lift the embargo against Cuba.
"I too will do everything possible not to forget", replied the Holy Father.
"Building bridges and removing obstacles to communication, so that
communication
can lead to friendship. One of the most beautiful things is social friendship.
That's what I would like you to seek: friendship".
The final two questions regarded education of boys and girls. "Education is
one
of the human rights", affirmed Pope Francis. "A child has the right to be loved
... to play ... and to receive an education. Do you think about the number of
children who, in countries at war at the moment, do not receive an education?
...
It is a challenge that must be faced. And it is up to us to start. ... Do not
wait
for States to make agreements or governments to agree. Many years will pass in
the meantime, as it is difficult. ... So many children of your age, so many
boys
and girls devote their weekends and holidays to teach them. ... A people that
is
not educated, who either because of war or for other reasons cannot receive an
education, decays; it decays and declines even to the level of mere instinct.
...
We must be committed to the education of the young".
"This morning I received a group of young people", the Pope revealed. "One boy
was from a country at war and he gave me a bullet, one of the many that rain
down continually on his city. The young, in order to survive, have to stay
closed up inside their homes, and no longer have the right to play. ... We have
lost the idea of how many children do not experience the joy of play, either
because of war, or poverty, or because they live on the streets. And these
children do not know how to communicate with the joy of play. They become easy
prey to traffickers, who use them and lead them into delinquency, theft, drug
abuse, prostitution, and many other things. So, the best way to begin to
educate
children is to give them the opportunity to play".
At the end of the broadcast, the presenter invited the Pope to plant an olive
tree in a pot placed nearby, and asked the Pope to give him the bullet so as to
bury it in the ground on which the olive tree will grow.
___________________________________________________________
Other Pontifical Acts
Vatican City, 21 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Bishop
Ferenc Palanki, auxiliary of Eger, Hungary, as bishop of Debrecen-Nyiregyhaza,
(area 11,300, population 1,137,000, Catholics 250,000, priests 93, religious
33), Hungary. He succeeds Bishop Nandor Bosak, whose resignation from the
pastoral ministry of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted
by the Holy Father.
On Saturday 19 September the Holy Father:
- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of
Koszalin-Kolobrzeg, Poland, presented by Bishop Pawel Cieslik, upon reaching
the
age limit.
- appointed Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, archbishop emeritus of Palermo, as
his special envoy to the concluding celebration of the fifth centenary of the
creation of the diocese of Lanciano (present-day archdiocese of
Lanciano-Ortona), Italy, to be held on 22 November 2015.
On Friday 18 September the Holy Father appointed Fr. Guy Joseph Consolmagno,
S.J., as director of the Vatican Observatory. Fr. Consolmagno is currently a
member of the same scientific institution and president of the Vatican
Observatory Foundation.
___________________________________________________________
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www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va
Copyright (VIS): the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source: V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html
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