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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the members of the Corps of Diplomats accredited to the Holy See on Monday morning on the occasion of his traditional exchange of New Year’s greetings with the ambassadors. The US Ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth Hackett, visited the studios of Vatican Radio to share his impressions of and first reflections on the Holy Father’s remarks, which this year focused strongly on the issue of migration – a critical global issue that is the cause of and occasion for serious political and social tension in many countries around the world.

Ambassador Hackett said Pope Francis challenged the diplomats as a pastor, rather than as a political leader. “Everything is obviously grounded in the Gospel message – and it is that, which is the touchstone, or the jumping-off point for any kind of issue: be it care of the earth, be it migration, be it poverty, sustainable development – it’s all there, with the Gospel as a ‘platform’ from which to move.”

Asked what, if anything, he thinks people at home in the US might find particularly challenging in the address, Ambassador Hackett said, “Once again – as he has done [often in the past] – [Pope Francis] talked about exclusion – last year he went into great depth about the ‘throw-away’ society, and how we treat certain people – the aged, the sickly, the mentally ill, migrants, [as though they don’t ‘matter’] – this year he didn’t go into [the same] depth there, but he did talk about people being pushed aside, and [about] poverty and exclusion.”

Ambassador Hackett went on to say, “[H]e is preaching all the time: he is not giving a ‘State of the Union’ per se, he is preaching still, even though he covers conflicts in parts of Africa and Syria, and [all throughout] the Middle East and elsewhere, he is still preaching.”

Click below to hear Ambassador Kenneth Hackett’s extended conversation with Chris Altieri

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The Catholic bishops of southern India’s Kerala state has slammed the state government for not addressing the issues of farmers.  In a circular, which was read out in Catholic churches in the state on Sunday, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) urged farmer cutting across religious lines to unite to strengthen the Indian Farmers’ Movement (Infarm), based in Kottayam district.   The Farmer’s Day celebrations conducted by the government were mere shams, the KCBC claimed.  “Apart from the fall in prices of agriculture and cash crops, the issues in fisheries sector, climate changes, bogus environmentalism, debts and disputes over title deeds have posed huge challenges for the survival of farmers.  Both the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government and officials neglect the farmers who produce food for the entire population and raw materials for industries,” the circular read. 

The KCBC also flayed the government for forcing an entire section of people to agriculture by giving loans and subsidies and turning their back on farmers at the time of crisis.  “The government orders financial benefits for government employees and pensioners every year and writes off debts of companies and boards which were locked up due to malfunctioning, but it does nothing for the farmers, fisherfolk and the poor,” the circular alleged.  Kerala’s bishops criticized the state that the government failed to ensure price stability for crops, including rubber, solve issues of farmers and fisherfolk on the basis of the reports of Gadgil, Kasturirangan and Meenakumari panels, and settle issues regarding title deeds distribution, Manoramaonline reported.

The KCBC is a permanent association of Catholic bishops of three ritual Churches in Kerala – the Latin, the Syro-Malabar and the Syro-Malankara.  (Source: Matters India)

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis reveals his vision of mercy in a book by the title of “The Name of God is Mercy”.  The book to be released in 86 countries on the 12th of January is the result of a series of interviews with Vatican reporter Andrea Tornielli. Several extracts were made available by the publisher, Piemme, ahead of its official release.

Among these there’s one in which the Holy Father recalls how touched he was by the writings of one of his predecessors to the See of Peter, John Paul I, Albino Luciani: “There is the homily when Albino Luciani said he had been chosen because the Lord preferred that certain things not be engraved in bronze or marble but in the dust, so that if the writing had remained, it would have been clear that the merit was only God’s…”

Veronica Scarisbrick brings you the exact words quoted by Pope Francis. They were pronounced by  Pope John Paul I during his first weekly general audience with the faithful gathered around him on Wednesday 6th of September 1978. For the record it was during the first of four such encounters during his thirty- three day pontificate. 

 ‘Before God, the right position is that of Abraham, who said: "I am only dust and ashes before you, O Lord!" We must feel small before God. When I say, "Lord I believe" I am not ashamed to feel like a child before his mother; one believes in one's mother; I believe in the Lord, in what he has revealed to me. The commandments are a little more difficult to observe; but God gave them to us not to satisfy a whim, not in his own interest, but only in our interest.’

Listen to the voice of Pope John Paul I in a programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick:

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A church building in eastern Pakistan has been set ablaze following a row over the use of its loudspeakers during Muslim prayer times.   The Free Apostolic Church in the Baath neighborhood in Lahore was conducting a healing prayer session under tents outside the church in the evening on Jan. 7.   Sardar Musthaq Gill, a Christian lawyer and head of the Legal Evangelical Association Development, told UCANEWS that Muslim villagers asked Pastor Yaqoob Saroya to turn the loud speaker off, saying that it was the time for Islamic prayers but he refused.   Gill said that night someone broke into the church building, set furniture, tents and other stuff on fire and escaped, leaving behind several burnt copies of the Bible.   Soba Saroya, brother of the local pastor who lodged a police complaint, said local Muslims were cooperating with church officials to help identify the culprits.  There no tension between the two communities, and both sides came together on Sunday to settle the matter amicably, Saroya said. 

The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) has condemned the arson attack on the church. “This is the first incident of attack on our place of worship this year. The government should immediately apprehend those responsible and urge people against taking the law into their own hands,” said NCJP director, Father Emmanuel Yousaf Mani.  He said he has always been careful about Mass timings clashing with the Muslim call for prayers.   Nonetheless, “both sides should respect another’s religious practices,” he added.    (Source: UCAN)

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(Vatican Radio) The World Day of Migrants and Refugees will be celebrated on Sunday 17^th January 2016. Pope Francis' message to mark the day was released in October 2015. Based on the theme, “Migrants and Refugees Challenge Us. The Response of the Gospel of Mercy”, the Holy Father recalls what he said in the Bull of indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Misericordiae Vultus; that is, “at times we are called to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives.”

He points out that migration continue to grow worldwide as more and more refugees are fleeing from their homes. Although this can challenge traditional ways of life, Pope Francis urges people not to take the suffering of others for granted.

“Today, more than in the past,” he says, “the Gospel of mercy troubles our consciences.” He added that migration movements are now a structural reality, and the priority at this time must be to provide programmes which address the causes of migration and the changes it entails, including its effect on the makeup of societies and peoples.

In a desperate plea for justice, Pope Francis reminds us that migrants are our brothers and sisters in search of a better life, one in which poverty, hunger and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources is overcome.

Concerning some of the challenges that migrants and refugees face, he said that they must change some of their most distinctive characteristics and, whether they like it or not, those who welcome them are forced to change too. This challenge to the societies who welcome them must be overcome in order to prevent the danger of discrimination or extreme nationalism.

Referring to the Bible, the Holy Father reminds us that in welcoming the stranger we welcome God, and that in the faces of others we see the face of Christ. As such, he stresses that the Church cannot fail to be inspired to action and to the realisation that the response to the Gospel is mercy.

Pope Francis concludes by imparting on all migrants and refugees an Apostolic blessing, and by pleading with them, that they do not allow themselves to be robbed of the hope and joy of life born of an experience of God’s mercy, as manifested in the people they meet on their journey.

Click here to read the Pope’s Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

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(Vatican Radio) Combatting terrorism, promoting peaceful co-existence among peoples and nations and above all responding to the migration crises in Europe and beyond: these themes were at the heart of Pope Francis’ words to the Holy See’s diplomatic corps, gathered in the Vatican on Monday for their annual encounter.

In the speech, often dubbed the Pope’s ‘state of the world’ address, the Holy Father spoke of worrying tensions which continue to plague the Gulf and Middle East regions, as well as the Korean peninsula. In this Jubilee year of Mercy, inaugurated in the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui, the Pope urged the diplomats to help promote a new culture of dialogue, justice and peace.

English Archbishop Paul Gallagher is the Holy See’s foreign minister, or Secretary for Relations with States. Following the encounter, he sat down with Philippa Hitchen to discuss some of the central themes of the Pope’s message to the diplomatic corps…

Listen: 

Commenting on the overall tone of the address, Archbishop Gallagher says the Pope wanted to reinforce the fact that the Holy See is aware of the challenges being faced by the international community, including the ongoing battle against terrorism and the refugee crisis. Pope Francis, he says, wants to encourage the international community to face up to these challenges and to seek solutions “for the good of humanity.”

Concerning the Pope’s denouncement of recent “brutal” terrorist attacks, and his call for dialogue with the Muslim world, Archbishop Gallagher said Pope Francis wants to highlight the complexity of the problem, and to emphasise that as well as dialogue between the West and the Muslim world, it is essential that there be dialogue amongst Muslims themselves, so that “the true voice of Islam may be heard in the world.”

Integration is difficult, he said, and it has not always been done well in Europe. In order to face this challenge, he stressed, the European community must look for common solutions. The Pope, he added, recognizes the complexity of the problems, but there is a danger of reducing it simply to a problem, and not seeing beyond it to the lives of people involved.

Asked how countries that have been slow to take up responsibility in the refugee crisis might respond to Pope Francis’ address, Archbishop Gallagher said “We have to be careful that fear doesn’t enter into our hearts,” but he also noted the migrants and refugees have a responsibility to integrate themselves into the societies in which they find themselves. It is a two-way process, he insisted, and as such the decision to simply close borders is “to some extent, kicking the can down the road.”

Asked about the forthcoming Apostolic visit to Mexico, Archbishop Gallagher said the Pope will return to the theme of migration during his visit since he is aware of the “terrible dangers which migrants consistently expose themselves to.”

Finally, commenting on the focus of the Holy See's diplomacy over the coming months, Archbishop Gallagher said his office will continue to work on the whole question of the Middle East, the conflict in Syria and the neighbouring refugee problems in Jordan and Lebanon. He said he hoped that progress will also be made on resolving the conflict in Ukraine which is "bringing about a serious humanitarian crisis in that country this winter".

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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday gave his annual address to the Holy See’s diplomatic corps, focusing especially on the migrant crisis facing Europe and other countries around the world. There are currently 180 nations with full diplomatic ties to the Vatican, as well as a representation of the European Union, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine.

In the speech, sometimes called the Pope’s ‘state of the world’ address, the Holy Father spoke of the need to combat terrorism and fundamentalism, while promoting development and poverty alleviation in the poorest countries. In this Jubilee year of Mercy, inaugurated in the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui, the Pope urged the diplomats to help promote a new culture of dialogue, justice and peace.

Among those listening to the Pope’s words was Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See, Nigel Baker, who spoke to Philippa Hitchen about his reactions to the encounter…..

Listen: 

Ambassador Baker spoke about the central theme of migration, noting that the Pope not only identified it as a serious issue, but he recognized the impact it is having on all countries involved, including destination countries.

He said the Pope recognized the efforts that the international community has been making and reminded the diplomats that migration is not a new issue, since the Bible tells the story of a “humanity on the move.” He also reminded them that whenever we face new migration situations, new solutions, new creativity and new energy is needed.

The second area of interest the ambassador highlighted was the search for peace as the primary function of Holy See diplomacy. The Pope, he noted, stressed that the “authentic practice of religion cannot fail to promote peace” and he gave some examples from his own journeys as pontiff, showing that in fact mercy is something that can be put into practice. 

Asked about the UK’s slow to response to the refugee crisis, the ambassador said the British government will respond positively to the Pope’s recognition of the complexity of these issues, particularly of integration and the need for longer term solutions, which is very much the British focus.

Secondly, he said, the Pope’s recognition of the generosity of the countries neighboring Syria ties in with a major conference that will be held in London on 4th February (which Archbishop Paul Gallagher will be attending) about how wealthier countries can support those nations in the immediate vicinity of Syria.

Asked whether he thought the UK Government was doing enough to promote dialogue and cooperation to combat terrorism and extremism, Ambassador Baker said his country is probably one of the global leaders, if only because of the UK’s experiences with multi-ethnic and multi-religious communities. He said there is extraordinary work being done in British cities by faith leaders who are working with local, regional and central government, both to tackle deep-seated issues and to respond in emergencies.  

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Vatican City, Jan 11, 2016 / 07:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday Pope Francis gave his first major speech of the year to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, focusing on the hot-button topic of migration and the need to find dignified solutions to the problem.

While the increasing number of migrants certainly poses a challenge, Francis said that the basic human dignity of those seeking a better life shouldn’t be overshadowed by the problems that come with them.

“Over the past year Europe has witnessed a great wave of refugees – many of whom died in the attempt – a wave unprecedented in recent history, not even after the end of the Second World War,” the Pope told diplomats Jan. 11.

Migrants coming from Asia and Africa see Europe as “a beacon” for principles such as equality before the law as well as for values “inherent in human nature,” like the recognition dignity and equality of each person, respect for others regardless of origin or affiliation, freedom of conscience and solidarity, he said.

The Pope acknowledged that the massive number of arrivals on European shores “appear to be overburdening the system of reception painstakingly built on the ashes of the Second World War.”

“Given the immense influx and the inevitable problems it creates, a number of questions have be raised” about what is realistically possible in terms of accepting and accommodating so many people.

Along with these questions come concerns regarding changes in the cultural and social structures of the countries who receive migrants, as well as the reshaping “of certain regional geopolitical balances,” he said.

Fears about safety and security are “exacerbated” by the growing threat of terrorism, Francis observed, explaining that the wave of migration appears to be “undermining the foundations of that humanistic spirit which Europe has always loved and defended.”

However, in the midst of so many challenges and concerns, Pope Francis said that the basic principles of dignity and respect shouldn’t be forgotten.

“There should be no loss of the values and principles of humanity, respect for the dignity of every person, mutual subsidiarity and solidarity, however much they may prove, in some moments of history, a burden difficult to bear,” he said.

Francis then reaffirmed his conviction that Europe “has the means to defend the centrality of the human person and to find the right balance between its twofold moral responsibility to protect the rights of its citizens and to ensure assistance and acceptance to migrants.”

Pope Francis spoke to the Diplomatic Corps Accredited to the Holy See as part of his traditional exchange of New Year’s greetings with the diplomats. There are currently 180 ambassadors of other countries to the Holy See, 86 of whom reside in Rome.

An annual occurrence, the Pope’s speech to diplomats is one of the most important that he gives at the beginning of the year just begun, and sets the Holy See’s diplomatic tone for the rest of the year.

In his lengthy speech, Francis pointed to several important agreements of 2015, in particular to two fiscal agreements reached with Italy and the United States, as well as the Holy See’s agreement with the State of Palestine, which recently went into effect.

He then recapped his five apostolic voyages to Sri Lanka and the Philippines; Bosnia and Herzegovina; his tour of South America, which took him to Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay; Cuba and the United States, and his recent visit to Africa.

Family was also a major theme for 2015, he noted, adding that it is “the first and most important school of mercy, in which we learn to see God’s loving face and to mature and develop as human beings.”

However, he warned that the family is being “threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage by relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life.”

Today there is “a widespread fear of the definitive commitment demanded by the family,” he said, explaining that and that those who pay the price “are the young, who are often vulnerable and uncertain, and the elderly, who end up being neglected and abandoned.”

Francis also cautioned the diplomats of developing an individualistic attitude, which he said “is fertile soil for the growth of that kind of indifference towards our neighbors which leads to viewing them in purely economic terms.”

The lack of concern for their humanity, he said, ultimately leads to feelings of “fear and cynicism,” and noted that this is the attitude frequently adopted toward society’s poor and marginalized populations.

A prime example of these persons are migrants, who “with their burden of hardship and suffering” daily search for a place to live in peace and dignity, “often in desperation,” he said.

Regarding the “grave crisis of migration” the world is currently facing, Francis noted that in 2015 it most heavily impacted Europe, as well as certain regions of Asia and North and Central America.

He turned to the Bible, explaining that the issue of migration is nothing new, but is in fact a key element throughout all of scripture. The Bible as a whole, he said, recounts the history “of a humanity on the move, for mobility is part of our human nature.”

“Human history is made up of countless migrations, sometimes out of an awareness of the right to choose freely, and often dictated by external circumstances,” he observed.

The Pope then decried “the arrogance of the powerful” who exploit the weak, forced to leave their homes, “reducing them to means for their own ends or for strategic and political schemes.”

“Where regular migration is impossible, migrants are often forced to turn to human traffickers or smugglers, even though they are aware that in the course of their journey they may well lose their possessions, their dignity and even their lives,” he lamented.

Francis again repeated his frequent appeal for an end to human trafficking, saying that “the image of all those children who died at sea, victims of human callousness and harsh weather, will remain forever imprinted on our minds and hearts.”

“Those who survive and reach a country which accepts them bear the deep and indelible scars of these experiences, in addition to those left by the atrocities which always accompany wars and violence.”

Among these people, he noted, are many Christians abandoned their homelands by the thousands over the past few years, despite the fact that they have been there since the earliest days of Christianity.

Many migrants would willingly stay in their homeland if they were able to find security and sustenance, he noted, and pointed specifically to Christians in the Middle East as examples.

Pope Francis lamented the fact that many of the root causes behind today’s migration crisis “could have been addressed some time ago,” and “so many disasters could have been prevented, or at least their harshest effects mitigated” had there been the will by those in power.

He encouraged the diplomats to make efforts in building peace, but said that doing so would mean “rethinking entrenched habits and practices,” beginning with the arms trade, financing and sustainable development policies, the provision of raw materials and energy, investment, as well as “the grave scourge of corruption.”

Both short-term and long-term planning is needed in order to find solutions, he observed, saying such plans shouldn’t be limited to just “emergency responses.”

Francis also pointed to the role of religious affiliation in the migration issue. Both extremism and fundamentalism, he said, “find fertile soil not only in the exploitation of religion for purposes of power but also in the vacuum of ideals and the loss of identity – including religious identity – which dramatically marks the so-called West.”

“This vacuum gives rise to the fear which leads to seeing the other as a threat and an enemy, to closed-mindedness and intransigence in defending preconceived notions,” he said.

The phenomenon of migration raises what the Pope called a “serious cultural issue” that demands a response.

Accepting migrants provides an opportunity to broaden the horizons of both the people who come, as well as the countries who receive them, he said.

Those who are accepted into a new society “have the responsibility to respect the values, traditions and laws of the community which takes them in,” while those who welcome them “are called to acknowledge the beneficial contribution which each immigrant can make to the whole community,” the Pope affirmed.

He then pointed to several “important international agreements” that took place in 2015, which he said “give solid hope for the future.”

Specifically, Francis mentioned the Iran nuclear deal, “which I hope will contribute to creating a climate of détente in the region,” and the climate agreement reached at the recent summit in Paris.

“It is now essential that those commitments prove more than simply a good intention, but rather a genuine duty incumbent on all states to do whatever is needed to safeguard our beloved earth for the sake of all mankind, especially generations yet to come,” he said.

Francis then stressed that the role of the international community is “of fundamental importance” in ending global conflicts, such as those in Burundi, the Democratic Repuclic of the Congo, South Sudan and Ukraine.

“The support which the international community, individual states and humanitarian organizations can offer the country from a number of standpoints, in order to surmount the present crisis,” is essential, he said.

Francis closed his speech by affirming that the Holy See will never cease to work for peace on a diplomatic level, and encouraged further cooperation.

He expressed his hope that the Jubilee of Mercy will be “a favorable occasion for the cold indifference of so many hearts to be won over by the warmth of mercy, that precious gift of God which turns fear into love and makes us artisans of peace.”

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