VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 197
DATE 09-11-2015
Summary:
- Audience with the president of Poland: family, the needy and migrants
- Angelus: generosity is not a question of the wallet, but of the heart
- Pope Francis: the theft of private documents will not divert me from the task
of reform
- On the defence of working rights
- Cardinal Ranjith, Pope's special envoy to India's National Eucharistic
Congress
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
Audience with the president of Poland: family, the needy and migrants
Vatican City, 9 November 2015 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Francis received
in
audience Andrzej Duda, president of the Republic of Poland, who subsequently
met
with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Msgr. Antoine
Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with States.
During the cordial discussions, the Church's positive contribution to Polish
society was emphasised, also in view of the Holy Father's planned visit to
Krak≤w next year on the occasion of World Youth Day. Attention then turned to
various themes of mutual interest, such as the promotion of the family, support
for social groups most in need, and the welcome of migrants.
Finally, some themes regarding the international community were discussed,
such
as peace and security, the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle
East.
___________________________________________________________
Angelus: generosity is not a question of the wallet, but of the heart
Vatican City, 8 November 2015 (VIS) - Before this Sunday's Angelus the Pope
commented on the day's Gospel reading, divided into two parts: the first on how
not to be a follower of Christ and the second, conversely, on the model of an
ideal Christian. "In the first part, Jesus criticises the scribes, teachers of
the law, for three defects in their lifestyle: pride, greed and hypocrisy".
Under their solemn appearances "they are hiding falsehood and injustice. ...
There
is a risk that these attitudes exist even in our day. For example when prayer
is
separated from justice, because we cannot worship God and cause harm to the
poor. Or when one claims to love God, and instead offers God one's vainglory,
to
one's own advantage".
The second part describes the scene in the Temple of Jerusalem, precisely in
the place where people threw coins as offerings. "There are many rich people
who
pay a lot of money, and there is a poor woman - a widow - contributing just two
mites, two small coins. ... The rich gave with great show what for them was
superfluous, while the widow, with discretion and humility, gave - Jesus says -
"all she had to live"; for this - Jesus says - she gave the most of all".
Today, continued the Holy Father, "Jesus also tells us that the measurement is
not quantity but fullness. There is a difference. ... It is possible to have a
lot of money but to be empty. There is no fullness in a heart like this".
He concluded by encouraging all those present to think during this week of the
difference between quantity and fullness. "It is not a question of the wallet,
but of the heart. Faced with the needs of others, we are called to deprive
ourselves of essential things, not only the superfluous; we are called to give
the necessary time, not only the surplus that is left over; we are called to
give immediately and unconditionally some of our talent, not only after using
it
for our own purposes or for those of our group".
___________________________________________________________
Pope Francis: the theft of private documents will not divert me from the task
of reform
Vatican City, 9 November 2015 (VIS) - After the Angelus prayer, the Holy
Father
addressed some words to those present on the events of recent days in the
Vatican:
"I know that many of you are concerned by the news that has circulated in
recent days regarding reserved documents of the Holy See that have been stolen
and published. Therefore, I would like to say to you, first and foremost, that
stealing those documents is a crime. It is a deplorable and unhelpful act. I
myself had asked for that study to be undertaken; my collaborators and I were
very familiar with the documents and measures had been taken that had started
to
bear fruit, including some that were visible".
"Therefore I wish to assure you that this sad event will certainly not divert
me from the work of reform that we are carrying forward with my collaborators
and with the support of all of you. Yes, with the support of all the Church,
because the Church is renewed with the prayer and daily sanctity of every
baptised person. Therefore, I thank you and I ask you to continue to pray for
the Pope and for the Church, without letting yourselves be disturbed, but
instead going ahead with trust and hope".
He went on to speak about the Italian Day of Thanksgiving, whose theme this
year is "The earth, a common good". "I join with the bishops in hoping that all
will act as responsible administrators of an inestimable common good, the
earth,
whose fruits have a universal destiny. I wish to express my gratitude to the
world of agriculture, and encourage the cultivation of the earth in such a way
as to conserve its fertility so that it produces food for all, today and for
future generations".
___________________________________________________________
On the defence of working rights
Vatican City, 9 November 2015 (VIS) - The right to rest, a retirement pension
and maternity leave, among other workers' rights, "based on the very nature of
the person and his or her transcendent dignity", were the key themes of Pope
Francis' address in St. Peter's Square this morning to 23,000 member of the
Italian National Social Security Institute (INPS).
The Pope emphasised the meaning of safeguarding the right to rest. "I do not
refer only to that rest that is supported by an legitimised by social policy
(such as the weekly day of rest and annual leave, to which every worker is
entitled), but also and above all to a dimension of the human being that does
not lack spiritual roots".
God, Who instructs man to rest, also chose to rest on the seventh day. "Rest,
in the language of faith, is therefore a human and divine dimension at the same
time", commented Francis. "With a single prerogative, though: that of not being
a simple abstention from ordinary labour and effort, but rather an opportunity
to fully live one's condition as creatures elevated to filial dignity by God
Himself. The need to 'sanctify' rest is therefore linked to that - offered each
week on Sunday - of a time that enabled family, cultural, social and religious
life to be taken care of, making a space and time for God and for many in all
these aspects".
The Pope then referred to the complex situations in the world of work
nowadays,
from unemployment to precarious guarantees for employees. "If you live like
this, how can you ever rest? Rest is a right we all have when we work, but if
the situation of unemployment, social injustice, illegal work and
precariousness
is so serious, how can I rest? What can we say? We can say - it is shameful -
'But do you want to work?'. 'Yes!'. 'Very well, let's make a deal. You can
start
work in September, but until July, and then July, August, and part of September
you will neither eat nor rest...". This happens these days! And it happens all
over the world; it happens here in Rome, too! Rest, when there is work;
otherwise there is no rest".
The Holy Father went on to note that until just a short while ago it was
normal
to associate retirement and pensions with reaching old age in which it was
possible to enjoy a well-earned rest and offer wisdom and advice to the new
generations. However, "the contemporary age has significantly altered these
rhythms. On the one hand, the possibility of rest has been brought forward, at
times diluted, and at times renegotiated to aberrant extremes, to the point of
distorting the very idea of ceasing to work. On the other hand, existential
needs have not diminished for those who have lost or never had a job, or for
those who are obliged to stop working for the most varied reasons. If you stop
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* Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)
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