Pope Francis

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-press-conference-on-flight-from-turkey-part-ii

Pope Francis' Press Conference on Flight from Turkey (Part II)
Rome,  December 03, 2014

Here is Part II of the transcript of the Holy Father's press conference with journalists aboard his flight from Apostolic Visit to Turkey.

Part I was published on Tuesday, December 2nd. Part III will be published on Thursday, December 4th.
* * *
(Father Lombardi)
Thank you very much. So, now we call Mimmo Muolo, for the Italian group, the journalist of “Avvenire.”

(Mimmo Muolo)
Good evening, Your Holiness.

(Pope Francis)
Are you all right?

(Mimmo Muolo)

I am well, thank you. Your Holiness, I am honored to ask you this question on behalf of the Italian journalists. I was struck by a phrase you said this morning during the Divine Liturgy: “I wish to assure each one of you that to attain the longed-awaited goal of full unity, the Catholic Church does not intend to impose any requirement.” We would like you to explain this phrase to us a bit more, it it’s possible, and if it concerns the problem of the Primacy to which you referred to earlier.

(Pope Francis)

That is not a requirement: it’s an agreement, because they also want it. It is an agreement to find a way that is more in keeping with that of the first centuries. Between parenthesis, what I feel most profoundly in this path of unity is the homily I gave yesterday on the Holy Spirit. Only the way of the Holy Spirit is the right way, because He is a surprise, He will make us see where the point is; He is creative … The problem is that – and this, perhaps, is a self-criticism, but it is more or less what I said in the General Congregations before the Conclave  -- the Church has the defect, the sinful habit, to look at herself too much, as if she believed she has her own light. But look: the Church doesn’t have her own light. She must look at Jesus Christ! The Church, as the early Fathers called her, is the “mysterium lunae,” the mystery of the moon, why? Because it gives light, but not its own, it is the light that comes from the sun. And when the Church looks at herself too much, divisions follow. And this is what happened after the first millennium. Today, […] we were talking about the moment, about a post – I don’t remember which – where a Cardinal went to give the Pope’s excommunication to the Patriarch: at that moment, the Church looked at herself! She did not look at Jesus Christ. And I think that all these problems that happen between us, between Christians -- I speak at least of our Catholic Church -- happen when she looks at herself: she becomes “self-referential.” Today, Bartholomew used a word that is not “self-referential” but is quite similar, very beautiful … I don’t remember it now, but it was very beautiful, very beautiful [the term, translated into English, was “introversion”]. They accept the Primacy; in today’s Litany they prayed for the “Shepherd and Primate.” As they said, “he who presides …”” They recognize him, they said so today, in front of me. However, on the issue of Primacy we must go to somewhat to the first millennium for inspiration. I am not saying that the Church was wrong, no. She followed her historic way. However, now the historic way of the Church is what Saint John Paul II asked for: “Help me to find a point of agreement in the light of the first millennium.” This is the key point. When the Church reflects herself, the Church gives up being Church and becomes a theological NGO.”
 

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http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1472/0/two-new-congregations-planned-in-vatican-as-rodriguez-says-doors-are-open-to-lay-leadership

Two new congregations planned in Vatican as Rodriguez says doors are open to lay leadership
03 December 2014 11:59



The cardinal responsible for overseeing Pope Francis’ reform of the Roman Curia has confirmed that two new congregations will be set up and suggested that lay people could be appointed to lead some of Rome’s dicasteries.

Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, co-ordinator of the so-called “C9” Council of Cardinals set up to re-organise the curia, told the Italian website Vatican Insider that two bodies dedicated to the laity and to charity were in the process of being set up.

These two congregations will be drawn from a merger of the existing pontifical councils for the laity, the family, migrants, health-care workers, justice and peace, and the Church’s charitable arm, Cor Unum. Cardinal Rodriguez also said the Secretariat of State would probably undergo a “redistribution of internal tasks”.

The Honduran cardinal also said that Rome’s congregations and pontifical councils did not have to be led by clergy. “It is also not necessary for there to be a cardinal or a bishop heading every dicastery: there could be a married couple in charge of family affairs, for example and for migrants there could be a nun who has specific experience in this area, a member of the Scalabrinian missionaries for instance.”
 

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/inquiries-and-interviews/detail/articolo/curia-curia-curia-37845/
12/ 1/2014
Maradiaga: "Curia reform will foster collegiality"

Interview with the coordinator of the C9, the council that is helping Francis restructure Vatican dicasteries: “There will be fewer cardinals in the Vatican and a reform of the Secretary of State is being looked into”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/12/04/pope_the_hidden_holiness_of_the_saints_of_daily_life/1113513

Pope: the hidden holiness of the saints of daily life
04/12/2014 12:21

(Vatican Radio) There are many hidden saints, men, women, fathers and mothers of families, sick people, priests who every day put into practice the love of Jesus; and this give us hope. That was the message of Pope Francis today at his daily morning Mass at Santa Marta.

The true Christian puts the Word of God into practice; it is not enough to say that you have faith. Commenting on the parable of the house built on rock or on sand, taken from the day’s Gospel, Pope Francis said we should not be “Christians in appearance,” made-up Christians, because when the rain comes, the make-up runs off. It is not enough to belong to a very Catholic family, or to an association, or to be a benefactor, if we do not follow God’s will. “So many ‘apparent Christians,’ collapse at the first temptation,” he said, because “there is no substance there,” they have built on sand. On the other hand, there are many saints among the People of God – “not necessarily canonized saints, but saints” – who “put the love of Jesus into practice.” They build their houses on the rock, which is Christ:
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/ratzingers-retraction-the-fruit-of-42-years-of-theological-maturation-54465/

Ratzinger's retraction: the fruit of 42 years of theological maturation


Pope Benedict XVI. Photo Credit: Mazur.

Vatican City, Dec 4, 2014 / 03:16 pm (CNA).- News broke weeks ago that a new volume of Benedict XVI's collected works was being released in German with an updated version of a 1972 essay, which no longer suggests that the divorced and remarried can receive Communion, as it once did.

But thanks to Sandro Magister and his translator Matthew Sherry, the full text of his “Retractatio” is now available in English.

As CNA reported Nov. 25, Joseph Ratzinger published an essay in 1972, while a priest of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which argued for access, under certain limited conditions, to Communion for the divorced and remarried. This line of argument was taken up in a 1977 book by Walter Kasper, who was then a priest of the Diocese of Rottenburg.

Fr. Kasper is now Cardinal Kasper, who in a February address to cardinals advocating for the admission to Communion of the divorced and remarried cited Ratzinger's essay.

But as doctrine developed, Ratzinger moved away from his 1972 essay, humbly retracting the suggestion he had then offered.

In 1991, he wrote that the suggestions had been made “as a theologian in 1972. Their implementation in pastoral practice would of course necessarily depend on their corroboration by an official act of the magisterium to whose judgment I would submit … Now the Magisterium subsequently spoke decisively on this question in the person of (St. John Paul II) in Familiaris consortio.”

Dr. Nicholas Healy, an assistant professor at the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, told CNA Nov. 24 that the development in Ratzinger's thought “shows us what it means to think with the Church. ‘Sentire cum ecclesia’ means allowing one’s partial perspectives to be integrated into the greater whole of the Church’s faith and occasionally corrected by the teaching office of the Church.”

Magister's Dec. 3 article includes both the original conclusion of Ratzinger's 1972 essay, and the new conclusion written in 2014. He writes that “it comes as no surprise … that Ratzinger should have maintained that it was inappropriate for Kasper to cite his 1972 article in support of his own theses, as if nothing had happened after that year.”

The new version of the essay has more than doubled in length – from 922 words in English, to 2,059. And it reflects a personal maturation of thought, from the writing of a 45-year-old theologian-priest to an 87-year-old man who has been a bishop, the Vatican's guarantor of doctrine, Pope, and finally Pope Emeritus.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-receives-president-of-mozambique

Pope receives President of Mozambique
2014-12-04 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has received in audience the President of the Republic of Mozambique, Armando Emilio Guebeza.

The meeting, which took place on Thursday in the Apostolic Palace, focused on areas of common interest and on the contribution of the Catholic Church in the development of the Southern African nation.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/coming-soon-the-vaticans-report-on-us-women-religious-27814/

Coming soon: the Vatican's report on US women religious

Vatican City, Dec 4, 2014 / 01:51 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican has confirmed it will release its report on the state of women religious in the United States later this month, following up on the apostolic visitation that concluded in January 2012.

“It’s true, it’s true…It’s the congregation that asked us to put this conference in the calendar.” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., told CNA Dec. 4, confirming reports in the United States.

The report, from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, will concern the survey of women’s religious and their communities in the U.S. known as an apostolic visitation.

Fr. Lombardi said that the congregation had requested a press conference on its report. The conference will take place Dec. 16.
 
The apostolic visitation is distinct from an inquiry into the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, a canonically-approved body which has over 1,500 leaders of women religious communities as members.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in April 2012 released a doctrinal assessment of the conference recommending “greater emphasis” on both the conference’s relationship with the U.S. bishops’ conference and on the need to provide “a sound doctrinal foundation in the faith of the Church.”

The assessment found serious theological and doctrinal errors in presentations at the conference’s annual assemblies, including statements that constituted “a rejection of faith.” Some conference programs and presentations also contained “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith” that risked distorting Catholic teaching on the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Holy Trinity, the Eucharist and the inspiration of Sacred Scripture.

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http://www.news.va/en/news/first-advent-homily-by-papal-preacher-fr-cantalame

First Advent homily by papal preacher Fr Cantalamessa
2014-12-05 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) The preacher of the Pontifical Household, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on Friday gave his first Advent homily in the Redemptoris Mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. Fr Cantalamessa said he has decided to focus all three of his reflections for the Advent season on the theme of peace, since peace is “the loudest cry that is in the heart of billions of people”.

While the first meditation explores the theme of peace as gift of God in Christ Jesus, the papal preacher said the second meditation next Friday will focus on peace as a task to work for and the third, on Friday 19th, will look at peace as fruit of the Spirit, namely, of the soul’s inner peace.

Please find below the first Advent homily by the preacher of the Pontifical Household, Father Raniero Cantalamessa

“MY PEACE I GIVE TO YOU” (John 14:27)

Peace as Gift of God in Christ Jesus

1.         We are at peace with God!
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-the-role-of-women-in-theology

Pope Francis: the role of women in theology
2014-12-05 Vatican Radio



In his address, the Holy Father noted the mission of the Commission, “to study doctrinal problems of great importance, especially those which present new points of view, and in this way to offer its help to the Magisterium of the Church.” This mission, he said, requires not only “intellectual competence, but also spiritual dispositions.” Among those spiritual dispositions, the Pope said he wanted to draw particular attention to the importance of listening.

The theologian, he said, is first of all a believer who hears the word of God. But the theologian must also “humbly listen” to “‘what the Spirit says to the Churches’ through the diverse manifestations of the lived faith of the Church.” In particular, he noted the significantly greater presence of women on the Commission. “In virtue of their feminine genius,” he said, “female theologians are able to take up… certain unexplored aspects of the unfathomable mystery of Christ.” He invited the Commission “to draw greater profit from this specific contribution of women to the understanding of the faith.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/fr-lombardi-sj-makes-clarification-on-vatican-fina

Fr Lombardi SJ makes clarification on Vatican finance reform
2014-12-05 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) The Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, offered a clarification on Friday in response to journalists’ questions regarding statements made by the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, in connection with the ongoing financial review and reform efforts in the Vatican. In an exclusive piece for the new Catholic Herald Magazine (a preview of which appeared on December 3rd in the Herald’s online pages), Cardinal Pell wrote, “(S)ome hundreds of millions of euros were tucked away in particular sectional accounts and did not appear on the balance sheet.”

Responding to journalists asking follow-up questions, Fr. Lombardi specified, “It should be noted that Cardinal Pell did not speak of illegal or mismanaged funds, but of funds that were not in the official accounts of the Holy See and Vatican City State, and of the existence of which the Secretariat for the Economy learned in the course of the ongoing process of study and review of the Vatican administrations, in order to achieve a more adequate [and] comprehensive understanding of [matters] with a view to the streamlining of operations.”

“This,” his statement continued, “is precisely the sign and fruit of constructive cooperation among the different institutions of the Vatican.”
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/renewal-in-the-spirit-neocatechumenal-way-leaders-meet-with-pope

Renewal in the Spirit, Neocatechumenal Way Leaders Meet with Pope
Rome,  December 05, 2014

Pope Francis held two private audiences with the heads of Renewal in the Spirit (Charismatic) movement and the Neocatechumenal Way.

In a statement released today, Martinez, the President of Renewal in the Spirit in Italy, said that both recalled the national meeting which took place in June at Rome’s Olympic Stadium.

Martinez also stated that the Holy Father expressed his gratitude for the Family of Nazareth International Center, which is run by Renewal in the Spirit. The foundation took part in the recent Synod on the Families, giving out copies of their book “Rosario della Famiglia” (Family Rosary).

“‘Move without caging the Holy Spirit’”, Martinez said, recalling the Pope’s words. The Pope has shown great joy for the commitment of the Movement in translating a new service of missionary responsibility, the pastoral teachings contained in the Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”.

He also stated that the Pope encouraged the members of Renewal in the Spirit to carry on the “spiritual and social renewal of our time.”

Communities in Mission

Kiko Argüello, founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, met with the Holy Father shortly after in which he explained several new initiatives.

In an interview with Vatican Radio, Argüello said the Pope recognized and appreciated the fruits born of the Way which “do much good for the Church” and “for vocations.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/popes-video-message-for-the-christians-and-people

Pope's video message for the Christians and people of Iraq

Vatican City, 6 December 2014 (VIS) – Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, France, will transmit a video message from Pope Francis to the Christians and the population as a whole in Iraq, to be screened this afternoon in the city of Erbil. The twinning of the diocese with Mosul, which began last summer, has given rise to several initiatives to support the Iraqi population. The full text of the Pope's message is published below:

“I would like to greet each and every one of you, along with Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who once again brings you the concern and the love of the entire Church. I too would like to be there with you, but since I am unable to travel, I will do this instead … but I am very close to you in these difficult moments. I said, during my return journey from Turkey: Christians are being driven out of the Middle East, with suffering. I thank you for the witness you give; and there is a great deal of suffering in your witness. Thank you! Many thanks.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-what-women-do-for-families-makes-unparalleled-contribution-to-society

Pope Francis: What Women Do for Families Makes 'Unparalleled' Contribution to Society
Vatican City,  December 05, 2014

Family plays an increasingly important role in the social, cultural and political development of a country.

Pope Francis made this observation in a message sent to participants of the Festival of the Family, held in Riva del Garda, Italy, which began Monday and concludes tomorrow. This year's theme is "The ecosystem, life, and work. Female employment and fertility, prosperity, and economic growth."

The festival includes a series of cultural and scientific activities, sports, and debates. One of its outcomes is to create a thesis which considers how to support families in Italy. Organizers and collaborators included family-related institutions of the province of Trento, Upper Garda, and the town of Riva del Garda in Northern Italy, as well as the Department for Family Policies of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

The family, the Pope's message began, occupies an 'irreplaceable and fundamental' position, both in civil society and in the Church. Since "the future of humanity passes through the family," he continued, it must be given the attention it deserves.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/on-the-lord-s-consolation

On the Lord's Consolation
Vatican City,  December 07, 2014

Here is the translation of the Holy Father's address before and after the recitation of the Angelus today to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Dear brothers and sisters,

This Sunday marks the second stage of the Time of Advent, a wonderful time that awakens in us the expectation of the return of Christ and the memory of his historic coming. Today’s liturgy presents us with a message full of hope. It is the Lord’s invitation expressed by the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.” (40,1). With these words, the Book of consolation is opened, in which the prophet addresses to the people in exile the joyful announcement of liberation. The time of tribulation is ended; the people of Israel can look towards the future with confidence: the return home finally awaits them. And this is the reason for the invitation to let ourselves be consoled by the Lord.

Isaiah addresses the people who have passed through a dark time, that have undergone a very hard trial; but now the time of consolation has come. Sadness and fear can make way for joy, because the Lord Himself will guide his people on the path of freedom and salvation.

In what way will He do this? With the care and tenderness of a shepherd who takes care of His flock. He will give unity and security to the flock, they will graze, the scattered sheep will be gathered safely, He will pay special attention to the most fragile and weak (v.11). This is God’s attitude towards us, His creatures. Hence, the prophet invites the listener - which includes us, today - to spread among the people this message of hope. The message that the Lord consoles us, to make way for the consolation that comes from the Lord.
 

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Latest interview with Pope Francis with English translation...
December 7, 2014

https://twitter.com/FatherRosica

Thomas Rosica @FatherRosica 
  ·  11h 11 hours ago   
Pope Francis: "God has bestowed on me a healthy dose of unawareness" http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1750350   via @lanacioncom



http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1750350-pope-francis-god-has-bestowed-on-me-a-healthy-dose-of-unawareness
Domingo 07 de diciembre de 2014 | Publicado en edición impresa.
Pope Francis: "God has bestowed on me a healthy dose of unawareness"

ROME.- "God is good to me, he has bestowed on me a healthy dose of unawareness. I just do what I have to do. From the start I said to myself, 'Jorge, don´t change, just keep on being yourself, because to change at your age would be to make a fool of yourself'".

These are some of the things Pope Francis said, as spontaneous as ever, during the exclusive interview with the argentine newspaper LA NACION almost 21 months after he was elected Pope.

Though he certainly does not look it, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires will be 78 next December 17. He said the reform of the Roman Curia will not be ready next year, as had been initially anticipated. He also admitted that ¨there still is a long way to go" to complete the cleansing work in the Vatican and spoke very naturally about the resistance he faces, which he said does not worry him.

"Certain resistance has surfaced; I think it´s a good sign when things are discussed openly and not secretly if people don´t agree. It´s good to discuss things openly, it´s healthy", he said in a 50 minute interview last Thursday, in suite 201 of the second floor of casa Santa Martha, in the Vatican, his home ever since he ascended to the throne of St. Peter on March 13, 2013.
 

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More from the interview that was posted today, December 7, 2014

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1750351-the-synod-on-the-family-the-divorced-and-remarried-seem-excommunicated

The synod on the family: "The divorced and remarried seem excommunicated"
Domingo 07 de diciembre de 2014

ROME.- The extraordinary synod of bishops held last October on the challenges posed by the family was just the beginning of a process which shall finalize in October, next year, with another synod, the Pope being the ultimate guarantor. When he was asked about this issue during the interview, Francis maintained that he is not afraid of the synod road which they have begun to walk. He did admit there were different positions and stated that the doctrine of the Church on marriage was not addressed, except for the issue of divorced Catholics who have remarried, and he stated that "nobody brought up the issue of gay marriage".

 - The recent extraordinary synod of bishops on the family allowed two different visions of the Church to surface, one sector open to debate and the other one refusing to hear anything about it. Is this the case, what do you think?

- I wouldn´t say that´s quite so... True enough, if you wish to simplify in order to explain things, we might say that there were a few more on this side, or on the other side. What we benefitted from was the synodal process, which is no parliamentarian process but rather a protected space where the Holy Spirit may endeavour. Two clear qualities are needed: courage to speak and humbleness to listen. And that worked very well. There are, indeed, positions more inclined this way or that way, but in the pursuit of truth. You could ask me "are there any that are completely stubborn and won´t move from their positions?". Yes, there surely are. But that is not my concern. It´s a question of praying for the Holy Spirit to convert them, if any. The prevailing feeling was a brotherly one, trying to find a way to tackle the family´s pastoral issues. The family is so beaten up, young people don´t get married. What´s the problem? When they finally come to get married, having already moved in together, we think it´s enough to offer them three talks to get them ready for marriage. But it´s not enough because the great majority are unaware of the meaning of a lifetime commitment. Benedict said it twice in his last year, that we should takethis into account in order to grant nullity, each person´s faith at the time of getting married. Was it something general, though understanding perfectly well what marriage is about, understanding it enough to convey it to another person? That´s something we need to look into in depth, to analyse how wecan help...
 

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The third segment (on the church in Argentina) of the interview was posted today, December 7, 2014 (in Spanish; English translation not provided at the link)

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1750240-el-pais-tiene-que-llegar-al-termino-del-mandato-en-paz
Domingo 07 de diciembre de 2014
"El país tiene que llegar al término del mandato en paz"

A fourth segment (on the changes of the Swiss Guard) of the interview was posted today, December 7, 2014 with English translation

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1750369-changes-of-the-swiss-guard-it-was-a-mere-renewal-is-sane-to-know-that-nobody-goes-on-forever
Domingo 07 de diciembre de 2014 | 12:18.
Changes of the Swiss Guard: "It was a mere renewal... is sane to know that nobody goes on forever"

A few days after the italian press published the news that the Pope had dismissed the commander ofthe Pontifical Swiss Guard, Col. Daniel Anrig, for being too rigid and authoritarian, the Pope denied that version during the interview with LA NACION.

When asked about it, Francis explained that it was actually a normal turnover and that there was "nothing unusual in it. There is no sin in him, no guilt." He also stressed the qualities of Anrig, 40 and father of four children. He praised him as an excellent man, and even said he had spoken directly with him, face to face, about his replacement many months ago, after concluding that a "renewal" was convenient.

"It was just a renovation, because he ended his term and it's healthy to know that no one goes on forever," he said.

The news of the dismissal of Anrig, appointed in 2008 by the now emeritus pope Benedict XVI as head of the pontifical small army created 500 years ago, who was part of that elite guard since 1992, was revealed last Wednesday, after the information was published by L'Osservatore Romano.

"The Holy Father ordered the colonel to end his service on January 31, 2015, once the extension granted to his mandate is over," read the information.

These lines fueled speculation of all kinds in the Italian press, which stated that the reason for the replacement was not only the authoritarianways of the Colonel -"it is the end of a dictatorship", confessed one guardwhen he heard of the renewal-, but also with the fact that Anrig had moved to an extremely luxurious apartment.

-Is it true that youfired the head of the Swiss Guard, Daniel Anrig, for being too strict?

-No, that's not true. Last year, two months after my election, his five year term expired. Then I told the Secretary of State -Pietro Parolin wasnt there yet- that I could neither appoint him or dismiss him, because I didn't know the man. So I decided to extend his mandate with the typical formula "donec alitur provideatur", "until provided otherwise." It seemed unfair to make a decision at that time, one way or the other. Then I learnt more about all that, I visited the barracks, I spent an afternoon with the swiss guards, I also stayed for dinner one evening, I got to know the people and I felt a renovation would be healthy. It was a mere renewal, because his term was over and it is healthy to know that nobody is eternal. So I talked to him and we agreed that he was leaving by the end of the year. Heknew that since July.
 

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http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/176637/pope-francis-calls-for-cfk-%E2%80%98to-end-mandate-in-peace%E2%80%99

Sunday, December 7, 2014
Pope Francis calls for CFK ‘to end mandate in peace’

Argentines across the political spectrum should work to maintain stability ahead of October's presidential election, Pope Francis said in an interview published by La Nación newspaper.

"Argentina needs to get to the end of this administration in peace. Breaking with the democratic, constitutional system at this moment would be a mistake. Everybody should work together in this and then elect a new government," Francis said in what the paper called his first interview with Latin American media.

To avoid the appearance of partisanship, the Pope said he would hold no more private meetings with Argentine politicians until after the October 2015 election.

“Ahead of next year’s elections I do not meet with politicians,” he stressed and he suggested them to attend general audiences held every Wednesday.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-everything-is-a-grace-a-gift-given-fr

Pope Francis: Everything is a grace, a gift given freely by God
2014-12-08 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Before the recitation of the Angelus in St Peter’s Square on Monday, Pope Francis devoted his address to the Virgin Mary on the feast of the Immaculate Conception. He said that this feast can be summed up in these words: everything is a grace, everything is a gift given freely by God, because of His love for us.

The Holy Father explained that the Angel Gabriel calls Mary "full of grace" because in her there is no room for sin. God, he said, had always chosen her to be the mother of Jesus, and had preserved her from original sin.

The Pope went on to say that Mary responds to this grace and abandons herself saying to the angel : "Let it be done to me according to your word".

Pope Francis underlined that “we too are asked to listen to God speaking to us and to welcome his will.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/prayers-to-mary-on-the-feast-of-the-immaculate-con

Prayers to Mary on the feast of the Immaculate Conception
2014-12-08 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Monday prayed to Our Lady at Piazza di Spagna in Rome, asking her to invoke her maternal protection "for us, our families, this city and the whole world." He also prayed that humanity would be free from every form of spiritual and material slavery.

Please find below a full Vatican Radio translation of Pope Francis’ prayer on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
 

[grace-land]

http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-pays-homage-to-our-lady-at-piazza-di
Pope Francis pays homage to Our Lady at Piazza di Spagna
2014-12-08 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) One of the highlights of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Rome is the visit of the Pope to Piazza di Spagna where he traditionally pays homage to the statue of Our Lady that commemorates the proclamation of the dogma in 1854.

The statue of Our Lady stands above a 12-metre high ancient Roman column that dominates the bustling shopping area of Rome’s historic centre. It was placed here on September 8th 1857 and commemorates Pope Pius IX’s proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception which states that Mary is the only human being who was born without original sin. 

The column and statue were originally erected with the help of 220 firemen, which is why the floral tributes always include a garland of flowers placed in Our Lady’s arms by a member of Rome’s fire department.  The tradition of offering flowers to her image here on this feast day was begun by Pope Pius XII.

Traffic stopped and holiday-makers paused to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis as he arrived in Piazza di Spagna with his own massive bouquet of white roses which was placed at the foot of the column. Before singing the litanies of the Blessed Virgin, the Pope invoked Mary’s “maternal protection on us, our families, this city and the whole world”.
 

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