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Vatican City, Nov 14, 2016 / 12:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Always close to his heart, around 3,600 homeless men and women were given the chance to be also physically near the Pope this weekend – and near the heart of the Church – as they participated in the Jubilee of Mercy.

From 22 countries around Europe, the men and women came at the invitation of Pope Francis, who has called the poor the “treasures of the Church,” to participate in the European Festival of Joy and Mercy held in Rome Nov. 11-13.

From the UK, Josephine Kandeba said meeting Pope Francis was like “a daughter talking with her father.”

“He is very humble,” she told CNA. “He listened to me. When I stopped him, I said, 'Holy Father, if you don’t mind, I want to say something'. He stopped, while I was holding his hand and while he was holding mine, and I said what I wanted to say to him.”

Having been on the streets for years, Josephine now lives at a shelter in London. She said she never thought that one day she “could see the Pope.”

Other pilgrims attending the event said they were struck by Francis’ great love for the poor, and the attention he showed to all of them.

“Do you know why we’re here?” asked Terence, another pilgrim from the UK. We’ve come “from all over the world at the Holy Father’s invitation; that’s why we’re here.”

Terence also pointed out that Pope Francis said “he’s the Pope of the poor, and that has really stuck in my mind. Never before has a Pope said he’s the pope of the poor. He’s an exceptional man.”

Organized by the French organization Fratello, the event brought in groups of pilgrims from around Europe and the UK, including a large number from France and Poland, and Rome itself. It was organized as a way to help the homeless participate more fully in the Church and in the Jubilee of Mercy.

An organization in London called The Passage brought a group of around 50 from London. The Passage has a day center and two hostels with beds for the homeless.

The weekend’s schedule for pilgrims included an audience and catechesis with Pope Francis on Friday, a vigil of Mercy at the basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on Saturday evening, and concluded with Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday.

In between these, the schedule included Morning Prayer, faith sharing, and of course, some free time to tour Rome and to walk through the Holy Doors for the Jubilee.

Charlie Egan, another pilgrim, told CNA that he found it very moving when an older homeless man from France spoke to the Pope on Friday, with “tears in his eyes.”

“And the Pope, he showed so much love,” even giving the Frenchman a hug, Charlie said. “And then the Pope didn’t go away, he had a chat as if they were in a restaurant.”

“The Pope talked about every person, homeless or not, looking for that dream and that goal, talking about peace and love and charity.”

Charlie said that before going on the pilgrimage, he had four days to “look back” at his life. He said that he had “messed up” his life by drinking and had practiced no religion for years, only coming back to the faith a few years ago.

But at the vigil at St. Paul Outside the Walls, Charlie said he had the chance to speak with a priest “about everything,” and he came out afterward “with a bit of emotion.”

One of the messages he said he received that weekend was that even if you’ve lived a “bad life,” there is still the sacrament of confession.

“Everything that Pope Francis said was brilliant,” said Jacob Mensah, a young man, also from London. What struck him was what Pope Francis said about dreams being for everyone, and that they all “have dignity.”

Fr. Padraig Regan, a chaplain at The Passage, said the weekend was a huge “sign of respect” for everyone who participated. It was incredibly important for each of them to be “taken seriously” by the Church.

One of the organizers of the group from the UK, Bénédicte Miolane, is a member of Fratello who now lives in London. She said that Fratello is already talking about how they can include even more people from around the world next year.

The goal, she said, would be to make it like a World Youth Day, but a version specifically for the poor and homeless.

Terence said that another major thing that struck him “and changed his view” was the love he witnessed between “rough sleepers” (what they call those who sleep on the street) and the “ordinary” people also participating in the event.

“It was the love between them that I noticed,” he said. “They have something about them, they show each other affection.”

Speaking to pilgrims at the event’s concluding Mass Nov. 13, Pope Francis said: “Let us look with trust to the God of mercy, with the certainty that ‘love never ends.’”

“And let us open our eyes to our neighbor, especially to our brothers and sisters who are forgotten and excluded. That is where the Church’s magnifying glass is pointed.”

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Baltimore, Md., Nov 14, 2016 / 12:50 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- As the country recovers from a divisive election and many in the U.S. are living in uncertainty, the Church must offer everyone hope, the outgoing president of the U.S. bishops' conference maintained Monday.

“The Church at her best has always been a beacon of hope,” Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville stated Nov. 14 at a press conference during the bishops’ fall general assembly in Baltimore.

He added that the Church “advocates for people who feel that they’re disenfranchised or are filled with fear,” and pointed to statements he made earlier in the morning to migrants and refugees, who might be fearful after the recent presidential election.

Just as Christ said in the Gospels “I am with you,” he exhorted his fellow bishops to repeat to these persons who have fled violence and persecution: “we are with you.”

The bishops are meeting for their annual general assembly Nov. 14-16 in Baltimore. On Monday they heard the final presidential address of outgoing president Archbishop Kurtz, as well as an address by the Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Christophe Pierre.

Regarding the recent presidential election, Archbishop Kurtz said earlier on Monday that he had written to President-elect Donald Trump expressing a “willingness to work together” for the “protection of life” and the “promotion of human dignity.”

The bishops “have been very clear for the right to life of the child in the womb,” Archbishop Kurtz insisted, adding that the Church is defending human dignity by opposing the legalization of assisted suicide, which was recently approved by voters in Colorado and by the city government of Washington, D.C.

Trump’s victory has been met with protests in cities across the country, capping what was already a polarizing election cycle.

Bishops responded to the protests by stating their respect for freedom of speech while insisting that a “peaceful transition of power” take place. “I think that these can be reconciled,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, chair of the bishops’ domestic justice and human development committee, of the protests and peace.

There is nothing “more American than a peaceful transition of power,” he stated.

The bishops were also asked about the fear of immigrants and refugees. Trump ran on a strong immigration platform that called for, among other things, a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for those deported from the U.S. who try to illegally re-enter.

Last year he called for a halt on Muslims being able to enter the country, for national security reasons. He expanded that policy this past summer by saying that the U.S. should not accept refugees from countries “compromised by terrorism.”

He said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he plans to deport 2 to 3 million undocumented persons “that are criminal and have criminal records” after he is sworn in as president.

Archbishop Wenski recognized the validity of fears many in the U.S. have of being deported, but exhorted them to stay calm.

In 1980, when President Reagan was elected, the archbishop recalled he met with Haitian detainees who were crying in fear. He recalled telling them, “don’t worry, nothing’s changed,” pointing to other countries where violent riots might take place during a transition of power.

“We have a rule of law,” Archbishop Wenski said on Monday. “Nobody can arbitrarily try to send out of the country, in one fell swoop, 11 million people.”

“Those people [Haitians] are still here,” he added, saying that “it’s time to take a deep breath” and to “continue our advocacy.”

“If they build a wall, we have to make sure they put some doors in that wall,” he said, referring to Trump’s campaign promise to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Catholics should also support those who have been helping immigrants all along, Archbishop Kurtz added. Many Catholic Charities workers have been serving immigrants for a long time, and we must “encourage and even salute in some ways” these workers, he said.

Plus, there is public support for immigration reform which would include a “path to permanent residency” and “eventual citizenship,” Archbishop Wenski said.

The bishops were also asked about the implementation of Amoris laetitia, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation on love in the family, and if it would uphold Pope St. John Paul II’s teaching in Familiaris consortio that the divorced-and-remarried may receive reconciliation in the sacrament of Confession only if they have repented of having broken the sign of the covenant and, if for serious reasons they cannot separate, they agree to live in complete continence, living as brother and sister.

Archbishop Kurtz instructed Catholics to “read first chapter four and five” of the letter, and pointed to what “our Holy Father has said,” that “very clearly that there is no desire on his part to make any canonical changes or any new doctrine.”

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By Rhina Guidos

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- In a letter read Nov. 14 during the fall general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the chairman of the bishops' Committee on Migration, Auxiliary Bishop Eusebio Elizondo of Seattle, called on President-elect Donald Trump "to continue to protect the inherent dignity of refugees and migrants."

In a television interview Nov. 13, Trump said he is looking at a plan to deport 2 million to 3 million people whom he described as "criminal and have criminal records" and entered the country without permission. A day later, the U.S. bishops, meeting in Baltimore, affirmed Bishop Elizondo's letter encouraging efforts "to work together to promote the common good, especially those to protect the most vulnerable among us."

In the letter, first released late Nov. 11, Bishop Elizondo said he was praying for Trump, "all elected officials and those who will work in the new administration. I offer a special word to migrant and refugee families living in the United States: Be assured of our solidarity and continued accompaniment as you work for a better life."

Bishop Elizondo asked for the protection of the family unit, as "the cornerstone of society," and asked that the new administration recognize the contributions of refugees and immigrants "to the overall prosperity and well-being of our nation."

He said the migration committee would continue to work to protect human policies for refugees and immigrants and their inherent dignity.

"Serving and welcoming people fleeing violence and conflict in various regions of the world is part of our identity as Catholics," he said. "The church will continue this life-saving tradition."

With more than 65 million forcibly displaced around the world, he said, "the need to welcome refugees and provide freedom from persecution is more acute than ever, and 80 of our dioceses across the country are eager to continue this wonderful act of accompaniment born of our Christian faith."

Trump, during his campaign, vowed to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border and have Mexico pay for it and deport 11 million immigrants who have entered the country illegally by using a "deportation force." He also said he would ban Muslims from entering the country and he called for a "pause" in allowing refugees into the country until some form of "extreme vetting" of their background could be put in place.

During his interview with CBS, he told interviewer Lesley Stahl: "What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers. We have a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million. We are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate. But we're getting them out of our country, they're here illegally."

Bishop Elizondo said the bishops' committee was willing to work with the new administration "to continue to ensure that refugees are humanely welcomed without sacrificing our security or our core values as Americans," adding that "a duty to welcome and protect newcomers, particularly refugees, is an integral part of our mission to help our neighbors in need."

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Follow Guidos on Twitter: @CNS_Rhina.

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The Archbishop of Tokyo on Sunday dedicated a shrine inside the cathedral that includes relics of two famous Polish apostles of Divine Mercy as a perpetual commemoration of the Year of Mercy.  During a Mass on Nov. 13 marking the close of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Archbishop  Takeo Okada declared that St. Mary's Cathedral would be the archdiocesan Shrine of the Divine Mercy.  Following Mass, Archbishop Okada enshrined the relics of Sts. Maria Faustina Kowalska of the Blessed Sacrament and Pope John Paul II in the cathedral.  The relics were sent from the Archdiocese of Krakow, Poland, last December.  Before being enshrined, the relics toured dioceses throughout the country during the jubilee year, which also marked the 35th anniversary of St. John Paul's visit to Japan.  In giving his blessing at the ceremony, Archbishop Okada said, "I pray that all who trust in the Divine Mercy may grow spiritually here."

The cathedral has two other major relics, one is of St. Francis Xavier, the first Catholic missionary to Japan, and the other is of the Biblical Magi, both of which were given by the Archdiocese of Cologne, Germany.  (Source: UCAN)

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