Pope Francis

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/07/12/pope_francis_address_to_civil_society_representatives/1157818

Pope Francis: address to civil society representatives
12/07/2015 00:10


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday (July 11th) urged representatives of civil society in Paraguay not to be closed in on themselves and but work together with others using dialogue to build a more inclusive society. He warned those listening to not just take their “own slice of the cake” but discuss, think, and discover together a better solution for everybody.   

Please find below the English translation of the Pope’s prepared remarks for his address to the representatives of civil society in Paraguay:

Dear Friends,

                I am pleased to be with you, the representatives of civil society, and to share our hopes and dreams for a better future.  I thank Bishop Adalberto Martínez Flores, Secretary of the Paraguay Bishops’ Conference, for his words of welcome in your name.

                Seeing all of you together, each coming from his or her own sector or organization within Paraguayan society, each bringing his or her own joys, concerns, struggles and hopes, makes me grateful to God.  A people unengaged and listless, passively accepting things as they are, is a dead people.  In you, however, I see great vitality and promise.  God always blesses this.  God is always on the side of those who help to uplift and improve the lives of his children.  To be sure, problems and situations of injustice exist.  But seeing you and listening to you helps to renew my hope in the Lord who continues to work in the midst of his people.  You represent many different backgrounds, situations and aspirations; all together, you make up Paraguayan culture.  All of you have a part to play in the pursuit of the common good.  “In the present condition of global society, where injustices abound and growing numbers of people are deprived of basic human rights and considered expendable” (Laudato Si’, 158), to see you before me is a real gift.

                I also want to thank those of you who prepared the questions.  These have enabled me to see above all your commitment to keep working together for the good of the nation.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-in-paraguay-homily-at-vespers-on-satu

Pope Francis in Paraguay: homily at Vespers on Saturday
2015-07-12 Vatican Radio


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis presided over Vespers with the bishops, priests, deacons, men and women religious, seminarians and representatives of Paraguay's Catholic movements on Saturday evening in the cathedral of Asunciòn. Below, please find the full text of the Holy Father's prepared remarks in their official English translation.
*************************************************
APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO ECUADOR, BOLIVIA AND PARAGUAY.
Vespers with Bishops, Priests, Deacons, Men and Women Religious, Seminarians and Catholic Movements Metropolitan Cathedral, Asunción

How good it is for all of us to pray Vespers together!  How can we not dream of of a Church which reflects and echoes the harmony of voices and song in her daily life!  That is what we are doing in this Cathedral, rebuilt so many times over the years.  This Cathedral symbolizes the Church and each one of us.  At times, storms from without and within force us to tear down what had been built and to begin again, but always with the hope given us by God. When we look at this building, we can surely say that it has not disappointed the hopes of the Paraguayan people… because God never disappoints!  For this we give thankful praise.
 

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http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/07/11/photos-pope-francis-in-paraguay/

Photos: Pope Francis in Paraguay
July 11, 2015

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http://cnstopstories.com/2015/05/08/vatican-releases-details-of-popes-trip-july-5-12-to-south-america/

 
Here is the pope’s itinerary as released by the Vatican. Times listed are local, with Eastern Daylight Time in parentheses. Bolivia and Paraguay are on Eastern Daylight Time.
 
Sunday, July 12 (Asuncion, Rome)

— 8:15 a.m. Meeting with the people of the Banado Norte neighborhood in the Chapel of St. John the Baptist. Speech by pope.

— 10 a.m. Mass in the field at Nu Guazu Park. Homily by pope.

— 1 p.m. Meeting with the bishops of Paraguay in the Cultural Center of the apostolic nunciature.

— 1:30 p.m. Lunch with the bishops of Paraguay and members of the papal entourage.

— 5 p.m. Meeting with youths along the Costanera riverwalk. Speech by pope.

— 7 p.m. Departure by plane for Rome.

Monday, July 13

— 1:45 p.m. (7:45 a.m.) Arrival at Rome’s Ciampino airport.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aMCdWRsU0I

Pope Francis in Paraguay-Visit to the People of Bañado Norte
Scheduled for Jul 12, 2015
Asuncion local time: 08.05-Pope Francis visits the People of Bañado Norte, near the Chapel of San Juan Bautista, a very poor area of wetlands of the capital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soUb1PbajA8

Pope Francis in Paraguay-Holy Mass in the large field of Ñu Guazú and Angelus
Scheduled for Jul 12, 2015
Asuncion local time:09.00- Pope Francis celebrates Holy Mass in the large field of Ñu Guazú,at the end the recitation of the Marian prayer of the Angelus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HJ_ZI-o6G8

Pope Francis in Paraguay-Meeting with Youth
Scheduled for Jul 12, 2015
Asunction Local time: 16.50-Pope Francis meets the Youth of the country along the "Costanera" riverfront of Asuncion, at the end of his apostolic journey to Latin America.

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-to-paraguays-poor-faith-without-solidarity-is-dead-44186/

Pope to Paraguay’s poor: faith without solidarity is dead

Asunción, Paraguay, Jul 12, 2015 / 08:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On his final day in South America Pope Francis visited the poorest neighborhood in Paraguay’s capitol, encouraging residents to practice solidarity, because without it one’s faith is either hypocritical or dead.

“Jesus didn't have any problem with lowering, humbling himself unto death for each one of us out of this solidarity among brothers, this love that his Father had for each one of us,” the Pope said in off-the-cuff remarks July 12.

“Remember; when a faith doesn’t have solidarity, it's weak, it's ill or it's dead. It's not the faith of Jesus.”

He said that faith makes us aware of our commitment and solidarity, with others, which he said is “a human and Christian virtue that many, many, including ourselves, need to understand. A faith which does not draw us into solidarity is a faith which is dead, or which lies.”

The strongest witness their community can give is one of solidarity, he said, explaining that the devil will try to cause division, and if that happens “he breaks you and steals your faith. Solidarity among brothers and sisters. This solidarity is the message for the whole city.”

On the final day of his July 5-13 tour of South America Pope Francis stopped to visit the Bañado Norte neighborhood in Paraguay's capital Asunciòn, where roughly 100,000 of the poorest of the poor live. Before coming to Paraguay, the Pope visited the nations of Ecuador and Bolivia.

Before giving his speech, the Pope heard testimonies from two residents, who spoke out against the abuse of human rights, the low economy and poor living conditions in the neighborhood.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-visits-banado-norte-slum-in-asuncion

Pope Francis visits Banado Norte slum in Asuncion
2015-07-12 Vatican Radio


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday (June 12th) began his final day in Paraguay with a visit to the Banado Norte slum in the capital, Asuncion. In an address to the inhabitants, he praised their strong sense of solidarity despite their daily struggles and said a faith which does not draw us into solidarity is a dead faith.

Please find below an English translation of the Pope’s prepared remarks to the inhabitants of Banado Norte:
 

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July 12, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/roccopalmo

Rocco Palmo ‏@roccopalmo  · 52m52 minutes ago 
On visit to Asuncion slum, Pope goes Mr Rogers, tells residents "I want to be your neighbor": http://bit.ly/1ITzbFj 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/07/12/pope_francis_celebrates_final_mass_of_his_visit_to_paraguay/1157949

Want to preach the Gospel effectively? Be welcoming, Pope says


Asunción, Paraguay, Jul 12, 2015 / 09:41 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In the final homily of his trip to South America Pope Francis said that a key aspect of Christian spirituality and evangelization is to have a welcoming attitude toward others, especially those most in need.

“How many times do we see evangelization as involving any number of strategies, tactics, maneuvers, techniques, as if we could convert people on the basis of our own arguments?” the Pope asked at his July 12 Mass in Asuncion, Paraguay.

In the day’s Gospel, taken from Matthew, “the Lord says to us quite clearly: in the mentality of the Gospel, you do not convince people with arguments, strategies or tactics. You convince them by learning how to welcome them.”

Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the Campo Grande in the Nu Guazú park of Paraguay’s capitol, Asuncion, on the last day of his July 5-13 trip to South America. Before coming to Paraguay, the Pope visited the nations of Ecuador and Bolivia.

Standing in front of a large altar locals made out of rice and coconuts, Francis focused his homily on the day’s Gospel from Matthew, in which Jesus sends his disciples out two by two.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/07/12/pope_francis_celebrates_final_mass_of_his_visit_to_paraguay/1157949

Pope Francis celebrates final Mass of his visit to Paraguay
12/07/2015 15:28

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Sunday (July 12th) wrapped up his journey to Latin America by celebrating an open-air Mass at Nu Guazu outside Asuncion on the final day of his visit to Paraguay. In his homily at the Mass which was attended by hundreds of thousands of faithful including many from his native Argentina, the Pope stressed the importance of welcoming others, showing hospitality and warned about the evil of isolation which he said eats away at our life and makes us closed in on ourselves.

Please find below an English translation of the Pope’s homily at the Mass:
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/spectacular-paraguay-altar-destined-to-be-broken-down-recycled-11771/

Spectacular Paraguay altar destined to be broken down, recycled

Papal altar at Asuncion’s Ñu Guazú park in Paraguay. July 2015.

Asunción, Paraguay, Jul 12, 2015 / 03:07 pm (CNA).- The more than 60,000 corncobs, 20,000 squashes and 150,000 coconuts that adorn the altarpiece in Asuncion’s Ñu Guazú park where Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the last day of his visit to Paraguay won’t be going to waste.

Now that the Mass and the Pope have come and gone, the products will be recycled.

“The coconuts will be used to make soap and the corncobs are destined to feed animals. The squash will be given to people. From it, a sweet called ‘andai’ is made,” the artist, Kiko Ruiz, told CNA days before the celebration.

“It’s made me very happy to do this job. There’s a great excitement among the people who collaborated with me in making the altar. This happiness motivated me to make this artwork,” he said.

“I know that the Pope’s visit has great significance because it’s bringing happiness and a message of peace.”

Ruiz is the plastics artist who was charged with the creation of the altar. The structure’s base is 131 feet long and nearly 56 feet tall with a pyramidal shape. The total surface area is more than 4,305 square feet covered with corn, coconuts and squash. In the center, there’s a cross.

On either side are mosaics, St. Francis on the left and St. Ignatius of Loyola on the right, in honor of the Franciscan and Jesuit missions that evangelized Paraguay. For this job, thousands of local seeds were used.
 

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July 12, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/FatherRosica

Thomas Rosica retweeted
Catholic News Svc ‏@CatholicNewsSvc  · 1h1 hour ago 
"You told them to stir things up, and here they are," Bishop Valenzuela says of young people. #PapaEnParaguay

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-off-the-cuff-to-young-people-dont-waste-your-lives-99929/

Pope Francis off-the-cuff to young people: Don't waste your lives

Asunción, Paraguay, Jul 12, 2015 / 04:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis tossed aside his prepared remarks in a talk to thousands of Paraguay's young people – urging the crowd to go against the cultural current and to live for Jesus with a “free heart.”

 “I wrote a speech for you, but prepared speeches are boring,” the Pope said as cheers erupted from the scores of young people who packed the “costanera” or beach front of the Paraguay river in Asuncion.

The inland nation is the last of the three stops on the Pope's trip to South America. He visited Ecuador July 5-8 and spent a few days in Bolivia before heading to Paraguay on July 10 to finish his visit.

“We don't need young people who waste their lives,” he said enthusiastically. “We need young people with hope! Because they know Jesus and they have a free heart.”

The idea of a liberated heart was central to the Pope’s address.
 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbo3m3AQaZk

Pope Francis in Paraguay-Departure by air for Rome

Asuncion local time: 18.45-Farewell ceremony for Pope Francis at the end of his visit to Paraguay, final leg on his Apostolic journey to Latin America.

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July 12, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/FatherRosica

Thomas Rosica ‏@FatherRosica  · 41m41 minutes ago   Rome, Lazio   
The future of the Swiss Guards is in Paraguay...

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http://cnstopstories.com/2015/07/13/pope-says-hell-read-critiques-of-his-economic-thought-before-u-s-trip/

Pope says he’ll read critiques of his economic thought before U.S. trip
Posted on July 13, 2015

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM PARAGUAY (CNS) — Before arriving in the United States in September, Pope Francis said, he will study American criticisms of his critiques of the global economy and finance.

“I have heard that some criticisms were made in the United States — I’ve heard that — but I have not read them and have not had time to study them well,” the pope told reporters traveling with him from Paraguay back to Rome July 12.

“If I have not dialogued with the person who made the criticism,” he said, “I don’t have the right” to comment on what the person is saying.

Pope Francis said his assertion in Bolivia July 9 that “this economy kills” is something he believes and has explained in his exhortation “The Joy of the Gospel” and more recently in his encyclical on the environment.

In the Bolivia speech to grass-roots activists, many of whom work with desperately poor people, the pope described the predominant global economic system as having “the mentality of profit at any price with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature.”

Asked if he planned to make similar comments in the United States despite the negative reaction his comments have drawn from some U.S. pundits, politicians and economists, Pope Francis said that now that his trip to South America has concluded, he must begin “studying” for his September trip to Cuba and the United States; the preparation, he said, will include careful reading of criticisms of his remarks about economic life.

Spending almost an hour answering questions from journalists who traveled with him July 5-12 to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, Pope Francis also declared that he had not tried coca leaves — a traditional remedy — to deal with the high altitude in Bolivia, and he admitted that being asked to pose for selfies makes him feel “like a great-grandfather — it’s such a different culture.”

The pope’s trip to Cuba and the United States Sept. 19-27 was mentioned frequently in questions during the onboard news conference. U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro publicly thanked Pope Francis and the Vatican last December for helping them reach an agreement to begin normalizing relations.

Pope Francis insisted his role was not “mediation.” In January 2014, he said, he was asked if there was some way he could help. “To tell you the truth, I spent three months praying about it, thinking what can I do with these two after 50 years like this.” He decided to send a cardinal — whom he did not name — to speak to both leaders.

“I didn’t hear any more,” he said.

“Months went by” and then one day, out of the blue, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, told him representatives of the two countries would be having their second meeting at the Vatican the next day, he said.

The new Cuba-U.S. relationship was the result of “the good will of both countries. It’s their merit. We did almost nothing,” the pope said.

Asked why he talks so much about the rich and the poor and so rarely about middle-class people who work and pay taxes, Pope Francis thanked the journalist for pointing out his omission and said, “I do need to delve further into this magisterium.”

However, he said he speaks about the poor so often “because they are at the heart of the Gospel. And, I always speak from the Gospel on poverty — it’s not that it’s sociological.”

Pope Francis was asked about his reaction to the crucifix on top of a hammer and sickle — the communist symbol — that Bolivian President Evo Morales gave him July 8. The crucifix was designed by Jesuit Father Luis Espinal, who was kidnapped, tortured and killed in Bolivia in 1980.

The pope said the crucifix surprised him. “I hadn’t known that Father Espinal was a sculptor and a poet, too. I just learned that these past few days,” he said.

Pope Francis said that he did know, however, that Father Espinal was among the Latin American theologians in the late 1970s who found Marxist political, social and economic analysis helpful for understanding their countries and their people’s struggles and that the Jesuit also used Marxist theories in his theology. It was four years after the Jesuit’s murder that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said plainly that Marxist theory had no place in a Catholic theology, the pope pointed out.

Father Espinal, he said, “was a special man with a great deal of geniality.”

The crucifix, the pope said, obviously fits into the category of “protest art,” which some people may find offensive, although he said he did not.

“I’m taking it home with me,” Pope Francis said.
 

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Unofficial transcripts of the in-flight interview of Pope Francis (Paraguay to Rome, July 12, 2015).

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-pope-francis-in-flight-interview-from-paraguay-to-rome-38213/

Full text of Pope Francis' in-flight interview from Paraguay to Rome

Aboard the papal plane, Jul 13, 2015 / 11:43 am (CNA).- In the course of his 64 minute in-flight press conference while en route to Rome, Pope Francis answered questions ranging from politics, his upcoming trip to the Unites States, and his feelings about taking selfies.

The Pope responded in Italian to 14 questions posed by journalists during his July 12 overnight flight from Asuncion to Rome.

Paraguay was the last of the three stops on the Pope's trip to South America. He visited Ecuador July 5-8 and spent a few days in Bolivia before heading to Paraguay on July 10 to finish his visit.

Please read below the full text of the Pope’s inflight interview:
 

http://americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/pope-says-he-will-give-more-attention-middle-class
Pope Says He Will Give More Attention to the Middle Class (Full Transcript of Pope's Press Conference)
Jul 13 2015 - 11:45am

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/francesco-sudamerica-42350/
07/13/2015
Francis on the poor: “I am the one who follows the Church because I preach its social doctrine”

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http://www.news.va/en/news/holy-see-views-iran-deal-in-a-positive-light

Holy See views Iran deal in a "positive light"
2015-07-14 Vatican Radio


(Vatican Radio) The Holy See views the new agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme in “a positive light”, according to Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, the head of the Holy See Press Office.

The deal was reached by Iran and the so-called P5+1 (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany) after nine years of negotiations in an effort to ensure Iran’s nuclear programme will be used only for peaceful purposes.

The agreement includes giving inspectors from the United Nations access to nuclear sites in Iran.

“It constitutes an important outcome of the negotiations carried out so far, although continued efforts and commitment on the part of all involved will be necessary in order for it to bear fruit,” Fr. Lombardi said.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1503060.htm

Jul-15-2015
Bishop: Vatican is free to work with everyone, UN is not the 'devil'

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The United Nations is not "the devil," so a papal think tank is free to collaborate with the international body as well as people of any political persuasion, said Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

The church will continue to collaborate with the United Nations on any joint project that "does not go against the doctrine of the church," he said at a news conference July 15.

The Vatican academy is sponsoring a one-day symposium July 22 with the United Nations' global initiative, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, headed by U.S. economist Jeffrey Sachs.

The academy is also sponsoring a related daylong workshop July 21, bringing together 60 mayors and top-level representatives of major cities around the world to take concrete steps against modern-day forms of slavery in their communities. Many mayors also will attend the next day's Vatican event in the hopes of adding their voice and support to sustainable development goals that will be up for approval at the United Nations in September.

The meeting is the second the pontifical academy has organized this year with key leaders and advisers from the United Nations.

While some have objected to the Vatican cooperating with organizations and individuals who promote population control in ways that clearly violate church teaching, Bishop Sanchez said the church works with everyone in order to join forces on common concerns.

"The invitation is open to everyone. If you would like to invite other people, we would be very pleased," the bishop replied to a journalist who asked why the 12 Italian mayors participating in the conference were mostly from center-left political coalitions or parties.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/07/16/vatican_releases_financial_statements_for_2014/1158846

Vatican releases Financial Statements for 2014
16/07/2015 13:46

(Vatican Radio) The Vatican's final Financial Statements for 2014 showed a deficit on the part of the Holy See, but entities falling under the separate Vatican City State budget performed well.

In the Statements released in the Vatican on Wednesday emphasized that 2014 was a year of transition to the new Financial Management policies.

Please find below the official Press release in English:

Press Communiqué: Financial Statements for 2014: Consolidated Financial Statements of the
 Holy See and Financial Statements of the Governorate of Vatican City State

At the Council for the Economy meeting on 14 July 2015, Cardinal Pell and the staff from the Secretariat for the Economy presented the Consolidated Statements for the Holy See and the Financial Statements for the Governatorato. The Statements had been prepared by the Prefecture for Economic Affairs and reviewed and verified by the Secretariat, the Audit Committee of the Council and the External Auditor.