Pope Francis

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-thanks-mothers-for-their-precious-role

Pope thanks mothers for their precious role
2015-01-07 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis thanked all mothers for their precious role in society and for what they give to the Church and to the world.

Speaking on Wednesday morning at the General Audience, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, inspired, he said, by the Christmas image of Our Lady who presents her Son to the world.

Reflecting on the role of mothers in society and in the Church, he pointed out that the Church too is a mother, “our mother” and that no believer is an orphan.

The Pope said that for all our symbolic glorification of mothers, their important contribution to the life of society, their daily sacrifices and their aspirations are not always properly appreciated.

Even in Christian communities – he said – often mothers are not listened to. He said that their voices should be taken more into consideration and they should be supported in their aspirations.

Mothers, Pope Francis said, “are an antidote to the spread of self-centeredness, a decline in openness, generosity and concern for others”.

And speaking of motherhood, the Pope said that it “is more than childbearing; it is a life choice, entailing sacrifice”, respect for life, and commitment to passing on those human and religious values which are essential for a healthy society.
 

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-general-audience-address-on-mother-church-and-motherhood
Pope's General Audience Address: On Mother Church and Motherhood
Vatican City,  January 07, 2015

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http://www.news.va/en/news/upcoming-papal-voyage-highlights-popes-concern-for

Upcoming papal voyage highlights Pope's concern for Asia
2015-01-07 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) At a press conference in the Vatican on Wednesday, Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, the head of the Holy See Press Office, spoke about the significance of Pope Francis’ upcoming Apostolic Voyage to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and gave details of the trip.

Father Lombardi pointed out that this will be Pope Francis’ second trip to Asia, following his journey last summer to Korea. The decision to return again to the continent, Lombardi said, highlights the Holy Father’s attention to this “great continent.” He also noted that, as Benedict XVI was not able to make a trip to Asia, it was important to “recover a sense of the papal presence” in the continent that numbers a great part of the human population.

Pope Francis’ seventh Apostolic journey has a fairly precise schedule, with two full days in Sri Lanka, and three full days in the Philippines, with a travel day in between.

Father Lombardi also spoke about previous visits of Popes to the two countries. Blessed Pope Paul VI during a long trip to the region, visited both the Philippines and Sri Lanka in 1970. In a similarly extensive trip in 1995, Pope Saint John Paul II visited both countries; he had previously visited the Philippines in a trip to southeast Asia in 1981. These trips, Lombardi said, have been of “great importance” for relations between the Popes and the continent of Asia.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-condemns-horrible-attack-on-french-newspaper-78004/

Vatican condemns 'horrible attack' on French newspaper

Paris, France, Jan 7, 2015 / 12:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis has voiced his “strongest condemnation” of the “horrible attack” on a French satirical newspaper that published insulting cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed, and he urged opposition to all hatred and violence.

“Whatever may be the motivation, homicidal violence is abominable. It is never justified: the life and dignity of all must be firmly guaranteed and guarded; any instigation to hate refuted; and respect for the other cultivated,” Holy See press office director Father Federico Lombardi said Jan. 7.

He said Pope Francis “joins the prayers of the suffering and wounded, and of the families of the dead.” The Pope also expressed his closeness, spiritual solidarity and support for all those who “continue their constant efforts for peace, justice and law” in order to “heal in their depth the sources and causes of hate.”

The Pope “exhorts everyone to oppose, with every means, the spread of hatred and of every kind of violence, both physical and moral, with destroys human life, violates the dignity of the person, and radically undermines the strong foundation of peaceful coexistence among persons and peoples, notwithstanding differences of nationality, of religion, and of culture,” Fr. Lombardi said.
 

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/holy-see-statement-on-terrorist-attack-in-paris
Holy See Statement on Terrorist Attack in Paris
Vatican City,  January 07, 2015

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http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/concistoro-2015-38409/

01/ 7/2015
Almost half of cardinal electors are still European and Italy is in pole position

In his second batch of cardinal “creations” Pope Francis showed he is following along the path he set out on a year ago, giving the red biretta to a number of bishops from the world’s peripheries, bishops who are heads of dioceses or from countries that have never had a cardinal before. A quick look at the latest figures relating to each country and subdivided into seven main geographical areas, published by Italian Catholic blog Il Sismografo, shows that just under half of the cardinals in the electoral college of cardinals are Europeans. The electoral college of cardinals is the section of the College of Cardinals that is made up of prelates under the age of 80 who are therefore eligible to vote in a Conclave. This is according to what was established in the Motu Proprio Ingravescentem Aetatem issued by Paul VI in 1970.

In the Consistory that will be held on February 14th, the total number of cardinals will be 228, 125 of these will be electors and 103 will be over-80s. 34 of the cardinal electors were nominated by John Paul II, 60 by Benedict XVI and 31 by Francis. The figures relating to each continent show that Europe has 57 cardinal electors, the Americas have 36 (subdivided as such: North America 18; Central America 6; South America 12), Africa has 15, Asia has 14 and Oceania has 3.

The cardinal electors represent 56 different countries. Only two countries are represented by cardinal electors whose numbers are composed of two digits: Italy and the United States. Italy has as many as 26 cardinals with the right to vote in a Conclave, 10 of them are residential bishops and 16 are members of the Curia: this accounts for 21% of the electoral college. Meanwhile, the US has 11 cardinal electors.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-love-leads-us-to-god

Pope Francis : love leads us to God
2015-01-08 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis reminded the faithful that Christian love is to be expressed with concrete acts, and he pointed out that words are not enough.

Speaking during his homily on Thursday morning during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, the Pope said that God leads the way with love, and that it is through love that we get to know God.

Reflecting on what he called the “key word” in the liturgy during this time of the year, Pope Francis said Jesus ‘manifests’ himself at the Epiphany, at the Baptism, at the Wedding of Cana, but he asked: “how can we know God?” Francis explained that this truth is explained less by the intellect than by the heart.

WE GET TO KNOW GOD ON THE PATH OF LOVE
“God is love! It is only on the path of love that you can know God. ‘Reasonable love’, ‘love accompanied by reason’. But love! And how can we love what we do not know? Love your neighbors”. This, the Pope said, is the doctrine of two Commandments: the most important is ‘You  shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. And he pointed out that “to get to the first we must ascend the steps of the second: that means that through our love for our neighbor we can get to know God, who is love. Only through loving can we reach love”.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-telegram-to-cardinal-vingt-trois

Pope Francis: telegram to Cardinal Vingt-Trois
2015-01-08 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram expressing his condolences to the families of the victims of Wednesday's terror attack in Paris, an promising prayers for the victims, their loved ones, and for the whole French people. The telegram, signed by the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, renews the Holy Father's condemnation of the violence. Please find Vatican Radio's English translation of the telegram, below.
****************************************
To His Eminence, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois
Archbishop of Paris

Having learned of the terrible attack in Paris at the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, which claimed so many victims, His Holiness Pope Francis joins in prayer with the pain of the bereaved families and the sadness of all the French. He entrusts the victims to God, full of mercy, praying that He might welcome them into His light. The Holy Father expresses his deepest sympathy to the injured and to their families, asking the Lord to give them comfort and consolation in their ordeal. The Holy Father reiterates his condemnation of the violence, which generates so much suffering, and, imploring God to give the gift of peace, he assures the affected families and all the French the benefit of divine blessings.
 

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http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/angelina-jolie-visits-the-vatican-to-meet-pope-screen-unbroken-201581
Angelina Jolie Meets the Pope, Hosts Unbroken Screening at the Vatican
Jan. 8, 2015 AT 6:30AM

Pope Francis meets Angelina Jolie during a private audience at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Credit: L'Osservatore Romano/Sipa USA

http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/01/08/pope-francis-meets-two-american-stars-angelina-jolie-and-cardinal-raymond-burke/
Pope meets two American stars: Angelina Jolie and Cardinal Burke
January 8, 2015

ROME — Pope Francis met two American media stars on Thursday, though of vastly different types and levels of celebrity: Actress Angelina Jolie, whose fame speaks for itself, and Cardinal Raymond Burke, a hero to conservative Catholic critics of the maverick pontiff.

Jolie was in town to promote a new film she directed, “Unbroken,” about an American Olympic athlete and prisoner of war during World War II, which she has described as a story of “strength and forgiveness.”

Jolie has also said the experience of making the film has reopened her to the idea of the divine, if not any specific religious faith.

A screening of the movie was staged Thursday morning at the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Sciences, an office led by Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, an Argentine and a confidante of Francis.

In a statement, Jolie called the chance to present the film at the Vatican “an honor.”

The pontiff did not attend the screening, which occurred at the same time he was holding meetings with Burke and other senior prelates. Afterward, however, Jolie had the chance to greet the pope briefly.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-only-the-holy-spirit-opens-our-hearts

Pope Francis: Only the Holy Spirit opens our hearts to love God
2015-01-09 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis said only the Holy Spirit has the power to open our hearts to God and his love and not thousands of spirituality, yoga or zen courses. His words came during his homily at morning Mass on Friday celebrated in the Santa Marta residence.

The Pope’s reflections came from the day's gospel reading that recounted how the apostles were terrified when they saw Jesus walking on water.  And the reason for their terror, he explained, is that their hearts were hardened.

"Mirror" men and women and religious narcissists

Pope Francis said a person’s heart can be made of stone for many reasons, such as, for example, a painful experience in one’s life. But as he went on to point out, another reason for hardened hearts is because people are closed in on themselves.

“Creating a world within one self, all closed in.  Closed within oneself, in one’s community or parish, but always closed in.  And this closure can revolve around so many things. But let’s think about pride, self-sufficiency, thinking I am better than others, and vanity too, right?  There are ‘mirror-men and women’ (who are wedded to their own image in the mirror), who are closed in on themselves and are constantly looking at themselves, right? These religious narcissists, right?  But they have a hardened heart because they are closed in on themselves, they are not open.  And they seek to defend themselves with these walls that they have created around themselves.”

Hardened hearts because of insecurity and fear

The Pope said these hardened hearts in people can also arise from a problem of insecurity, such as those who barricade themselves behind the laws and rules, as though inside a prison, to feel safer and follow these rules to the letter,

“When a heart becomes hardened, it’s not free and if it’s not free it’s because that person isn't capable of love, that was the fate of the Apostle John in the first Reading.  A love that’s perfect banishes fear: in love there’s no fear, because fear is expecting a punishment and a person who's afraid doesn’t have a perfect love. He or she is not free. They are constantly afraid that something painful or sad will occur, that will cause their life to go badly or will endanger their eternal salvation… What an (over-active) imagination, because he or she can’t love. A person who isn't capable of loving is not free.  And their heart was hardened because they hadn’t learnt how to love.”

The Spirit makes us free and docile not yoga or zen courses.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-receives-a-delegation-of-yezidi

The Pope receives a delegation of Yezidi



Vatican City, 8 January 2014 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father received in audience a delegation from the World Community of Yezidi, according to the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. The delegation was led by the Head of all the Yezidi, Mir Tahsin Said Ali Beg, and their supreme spiritual Head, the “Baba Sheikh”, Sheikh Khato, both resident in Iraqi Kurdistan. The group also comprised three representatives of the Yezidi of North Iraq, Georgia and the diaspora in Germany.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/francis-convokes-a-conference-in-the-vatican-on-ha

Pope Francis convokes a conference in the Vatican on Haiti, five years after the earthquake

Vatican City, 9 January 2014 (VIS) – “The communion of the Church: memory and hope for Haiti five years after the earthquake” is the title of the conference beginning this morning in the Vatican. The event was organised by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” and the Pontifical Commission for Latin America in collaboration with the bishops of Haiti, and is a response to the Holy Father's wish to maintain close attention to a country that continues to suffer the consequences of the earthquake, and to reiterate the Church's closeness to the Haitian people during the reconstruction phase. It will above all offer the opportunity to present the balance of aid destined for the country and to analyse the results of the implementation of the projects carried out from 2010 to the present day.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/01/08/sri_lankan_bishop_catholics_are_thrilled_about_papal_visit/1117433

Sri Lankan bishop: Catholics are thrilled about Papal visit
08/01/2015 03:35



(Vatican Radio) Bishop Joseph Ponniah is Bishop of Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka and he says local Catholics are “thrilled” about Pope Francis’ 3-day visit to the island from January 13th-15th. At the same time, he said many Sri Lankans are hoping to hear a message of reconciliation from the Pope because many wounds from the nation’s long-running civil war have yet to be healed, especially among the minority Tamil community. He spoke to Susy Hodges.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/vatican-spokesman-encyclical-on-ecology-will-most-likely-be-released-before-summer

Vatican Spokesman: Encyclical on Ecology Will Most Likely Be Released Before Summer
Rome,  January 08, 2015

The director of the Holy See Press Office refuted claims that Pope Francis’ anticipated encyclical on ecology will be released by the end of January.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi made his remarks on the encyclical during a press conference yesterday that detailed the Holy Father’s upcoming trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Responding to a journalist’s question, Fr. Lombardi stated that the encyclical is “still being prepared” and it’s release “is not imminent.”

“The news that has come out recently, that said that we would receive it in late January or February, is unreliable,” he said.

However, the Vatican spokesman told journalists that while the encyclical needs more time, he believes that it will be released “before the summer.”
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1500088.htm

Jan-9-2015
Panel advising Vatican unanimous that Archbishop Romero is a martyr


Archbishop Oscar Romero is pictured in a 1979 photo in San Salvador. (CNS/Octavio Duran)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A panel of theologians advising the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes voted unanimously to recognize the late Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero as a martyr, according to the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference.

The panel declared Jan. 8 that the archbishop had been killed "in hatred for the faith," Avvenire reported Jan. 9.

The decision is a key step in the archbishop's cause, following an extended debate over whether he was killed for political reasons or for his faith.

The next step in the process lies with the cardinals and bishops who sit on the Congregation for Saints' Causes, who will vote on whether to advise the pope to issue a decree of beatification. A miracle is not needed for beatification of a martyr, though a miracle is ordinarily needed for his or her canonization as saint.
 

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APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO SRI LANKA AND THE PHILIPPINES
(12-19 January 2015)

January 9, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/roccopalmo

Rocco Palmo @roccopalmo 
  ·  8h 8 hours ago   
Liturgy texts http://bit.ly/1y04LKy  and schedule http://bit.ly/1BJd4gi  for Pope's weeklong trek to Sri Lanka & Philippines, starting Tues

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-baptize-33-infants-to-commemorate-jesus-ba

Pope to baptize 33 infants to commemorate Jesus' Baptism
2015-01-10 Vatican Radio

Pope Francis will observe a papal tradition on Sunday, the feast of the Baptism of Lord, baptizing 33 infants during a Mass amid the splendor of Michelangelo’s ‎frescos in the Vatican’s famed Sistine Chapel.  The 12 male and 21 females are children of Vatican ‎employees.   Pouring water over their heads, he will formally welcome the babies as members of the Catholic Church.  The commemoration of the Baptism of Jesus by St. John the Baptist in the River Jordan, marks the end of Christmas season in the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church, and the start of Ordinary Time. 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-people-must-be-at-the-center-of-the-c

Pope Francis: People Must Be at The Center of the Church’s Activity in Haiti
2015-01-10 Vatican Radio

Pope Francis addressed the participants of a meeting convened by the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” and the Pontifical Council for Latin America to mark the fifth anniversary of the earthquake that struck Haiti. Among those present were representatives of the Holy See, bishops and Episcopal conferences, as well as charitable and religious organizations.

The two day conference, entitled "The Communion of the Church: Memory and Hope for Haiti, 5 Years After the Earthquake” sought to place a spotlight on continuing reconstruction efforts on the island.

In his address, Pope Francis thanked the bishops of Haiti as well as the representatives of the charitable institutions who continue to aid the people of the island-nation.

“Through the help given to our brothers and sisters in Haiti, we have shown that the Church is a great body, one in which the various members care for one another. It is in this communion, prompted by the Holy Spirit, that our charitable service finds its deepest motivation.”

Turning his attention towards rebuilding efforts, the Pope explained that all that needs to be done “rests on three solid pillars: the human person, ecclesial communion, and the local Church.”
 

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http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/pope-francis-baptizes-33-infants-in-sistine-chapel-1.2182850

Pope Francis baptizes 33 infants in Sistine Chapel
Published Sunday, January 11, 2015 7:51AM EST 
Last Updated Sunday, January 11, 2015 2:34PM EST 

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis on Sunday baptized 33 babies in the Sistine Chapel as part of an annual tradition, this year repeating an invitation to mothers to nurse their babies if crying out of hunger.

Francis pronounced each baby's name and poured water from a golden shell-shaped cup on to their foreheads, welcoming them into the faith as some squirmed in their mothers' arms and others slept peacefully. The 13 infant boys and 20 infant girls, including a set of twins, were all the children of Vatican employees.

During his homily, the pope likened the word of God to "substantial food," that would help children grow well. He took the opportunity to tell the mothers "give your children milk," and then repeated his explicit invitation from the same occasion last year for mothers to feed their children, "also now, if they are crying for hunger, nurse them."
 

http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-homily-at-mass-on-the-feast-of-the-baptism-of-the-lord
Pope's Homily at Mass on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
Vatican City,  January 11, 2015

Video at the link--

http://www.romereports.com/pg159845-live-broadcast-pope-francis-baptizes-children-at-the-sistine-chapel-en
LIVE BROADCAST: Pope Francis baptizes children at the Sistine Chapel
2015-01-11

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/angelus-address-on-the-baptism-of-the-lord

Angelus Address: On the Baptism of the Lord
Vatican City,  January 11, 2015 

Here is the translation of the Holy Father's address before and after the recitation of the Angelus prayer to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square today.
* * *
Dear brothers and sisters, Good morning!

Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which concludes the Christmas season. The Gospel describes what happened on the shores of the Jordan. In the moment in which John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, the heavens opened. “On coming up out of the water - St. Mark says - he saw the heavens being torn open” (1,10). The dramatic supplication of the prophet Isaiah comes to mind: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Is 63,19). This cry was heard in the event of the Baptism of Jesus. Thus the time of the “closed heavens” was over, which indicated the separation between God and man, a consequence of sin. Sin alienates us from God and interrupts the link between earth and heaven, determining our misery and failure of our lives. The opened heavens show that God has given His grace so that the earth may bear fruit (cfr Sal 85, 13). Thus the earth has become the dwelling place of God among mankind and each one of us has the possibility of meeting with the Son of God, experiencing all the love and infinite mercy. We can find it truly present in the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. We can recognize it in the face of our brothers and sisters, particularly in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the refugees: they are the living flesh of the suffering Christ and visible image of the invisible God.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-economy-must-have-human-person-at-its

Pope Francis: economy must have human person at its heart
2015-01-11 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The director of La Stampa’s Vatican Insider magazine, Andrea Tornielli, has teamed with the Italian daily’s Vatican beat reporter, Giacomo Galeazzi, to write a book profiling the social teaching of the Church under the direction of Pope Francis. The Italian language volume, titled Papa Francesco. Questa economia uccide – “Pope Francis: this economy kills” – closes with an interview with the Holy Father, which the authors conducted in October of 2014, ample excerpts of which appeared in the Sunday edition of La Stampa  just ahead of the book’s scheduled January 13th release date.

In the published excerpts, Pope Francis focuses on the human cost of the present world economic order, and repeats his call for Christians to have great care for the poor and the marginalized, explaining that such care is essential to living the Gospel and to making Christ’s Church credible. “I recognize that globalization has helped many people to lift themselves out of poverty,” says Pope Francis in response to a question regarding the current state and direction of the global economy, “but it has condemned many others to starve.” The Pope’s answer goes on to say, “It is true that in absolute terms the world's wealth has grown, but inequality has also increased and new [forms of] poverty have arisen.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-intl-community-must-take-concrete-steps-for-p

Pope: “Int’l community must take concrete steps for peace
2015-01-12 Vatican Radio



(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has called on the international community to take concrete steps to bring about peace and to protect all those who are victims of war and persecution.

In a wide-ranging discourse to members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, the Pope focused on a series of urgent issues which – he said - derive from a culture of rejection “which severs the deepest and most authentic human bonds, leading to a breakdown of society and spawning violence and death”.
     Speaking in Italian to the representatives of the 180 States which have diplomatic relations with the Holy See,  the Pope said we see painful evidence of the consequences of this culture of rejection “in the events reported daily in the news, not least the tragic slayings which took place in Paris a few days ago”.

And moving across the globe, again and again the Pope mentioned the “tragic mentality of rejection” and “culture of enslavement” which are manifested in a “never ending spread of conflicts”. In this regard he spoke of Ukraine, of the Middle East -  in particular of the Holy Land - and of the spread of fundamentalist terrorism in Syria and in Iraq, where – he said – “this phenomenon is a consequence of the throwaway culture being applied to God”.

In the annual speech that has come to be known as his "State of the World" address, Francis expressed  his hope that religious, political and intellectual leaders, especially those of the Muslim community, will condemn all fundamentalist and extremist interpretations of religion that attempt to justify such acts of violence.
 
http://www.news.va/en/news/full-text-of-pope-francis-address-to-the-diplomati
Full text of Pope Francis' address to the Diplomatic Corps
2015-01-12 Vatican Radio