Pope Francis

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-no-human-condition-grounds-for-exclusion-from

Pope: 'no human condition grounds for exclusion by God'
2016-01-31 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Sunday that “No human condition constitutes grounds for exclusion from the heart of the Father.”

The Pope was speaking during the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on the day upon which we mark the International Day of Leprosy.

The only privilege in the eyes of God – Pope Francis told the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square - is to have no privileges and to be abandoned in His hands."

And calling on all men and women to guard themselves against the temptation of treating religion as a human investment and of thinking they can “bargain” with God seeking to obtain their own interests, the Pope urged the faithful to open their hearts to the Lord and to his Revelation.

Pope Francis reflected on the Gospel reading of the day in which Jesus, speaking at the Synagogue,  mentions great prophets like Elijah and Elisha who were not given credit, and then he himself is driven out of town “but  passed through the midst of them and went away”.

He said that the Scripture passage is fulfilled today as it was during the time of Jesus.
 
Finally, the launch of coloured balloons symbolizing peace and a request that has become customary from Pope Francis but that never fails to touch one’s heart: “Please do not forget to pray for me.”

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Audio of the message, in English, at the link

http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-sends-video-message-to-iec-at-conclusion

The Pope sends video-message to IEC at conclusion of event
2016-01-31 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a video-message for the conclusion of the International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu, Philippines.

To the participants of the 51st IEC who have just wrapped up weeklong event which focussed and reflected upon the Eucharist, Pope Francis revealed that the next such Congress will take place in Budapest, Hungary in 2020.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

    I greet all of you gathered in Cebu for the Fifty-first International Eucharistic Congress.  I thank Cardinal Bo, who is my representative among you, and I offer a special greeting to Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop Palma and the bishops, priests and faithful in Cebu.  I also greet Cardinal Tagle and all the Catholics of the Philippines.  I am particularly happy that this Congress has brought together so many people from the vast continent of Asia and from throughout the world.

    Just one year ago, I visited the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda.  I was able to witness at first hand the deep faith and resilience of its people.  Under the protection of Santo Niño, the Filipino people received the Gospel of Jesus Christ some five hundred years ago.  Ever since, they have given the world an example of fidelity and deep devotion to the Lord and his Church.  They have also been a people of missionaries, speading the light of the Gospel in Asia and to the ends of the earth.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/02/01/pope_humility,_holiness_come_with_humiliation/1205165

Pope: humility, holiness come with humiliation
01/02/2016 12:13

(Vatican Radio)  Humility is the way of holiness. That’s what Pope Francis said in his Homily at Monday morning’s Mass at the Casa Santa Marta. The Pope focused on the story of King David who, aware of his own sin, accepts humiliation in a spirit of trust in the Lord. While God forgives sin, the Pope observed, “the wounds of corruption are difficult to heal."

King David "is one step away from corruption," says the Pope - but the prophet Nathan, sent by God, makes him understand the evil he has done. David, adds Francis, is a "sinner, but holy."

The wounds of corruption are difficult to heal

Though he is a sinner, David is not corrupt - the Pope notes - because "the corrupt do not realize that they are:"

"It takes a special grace to change the heart of a corrupt person. And David who had a noble heart, said: 'Oh, it's true: I have sinned!'  He acknowledges his guilt. And what does Nathan say? 'The Lord forgives your sin, but the corruption that you have sown will grow. You killed an innocent man to hide adultery. The sword shall never depart from your house.'  God forgives the sin; David converts but the wounds of corruption are difficult to heal. We see this in many parts of the world."
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-on-consecrated-life-prophesy-proximity-hope

Pope on consecrated life: Prophesy, proximity, hope
2016-02-01 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Thousands of religious gathered in the Paul VI hall on Monday for an audience with Pope Francis concluding the Year for Consecrated Life.

At the heart of Pope Francis’ address to the men and women religious were three words, prophesy, proximity and hope.

Putting aside his prepared remarks, the Pope spoke directly to those present about obedience and how difficult it is to be obedient all the time. That level of obedience, the Holy Father said, was what the Son of God had. But he added, that there were some religious men and women who had a high level of obedience and underlined that this gift from the heart was in its nature prophesy.

Turning his attention to the second word proximity, the Pope stressed how important it was for those consecrated persons to reach out to both Christians and non-Christians, in their sufferings, their problems.

The Holy Father also renewed is warning against the damage that can be caused by gossip in the religious life. He again compared the gossiping religious to a terrorist who throws a bomb into the middle of their community.
 
The Year for Consecrated Life concludes on February 2nd with a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica presided over by the Holy Father.

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http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/01/pope-francis-movie

Pope Francis to appear in children's movie
Posted February 1 2016 — 11:59 AM EST

Is Pope Francis gunning for the EGOT? Just a few months after releasing his debut rock record, Wake Up!, His Holiness is now set to appear in a feature film.

Beyond the Sun, from AMBI Pictures, is a family film about children from different cultures learning to emulate the apostles and understand the message of Jesus’ parables. Pope Francis will portray himself in the film, having inspired its creation by asking the filmmakers to make a children’s movie about Jesus’ teachings. All proceeds from Beyond the Sun will go to two charities for at-risk youth, El Almendro and Los Hogares de Cristo, both located in Francis’ native Argentina.
 
Filming for Beyond the Sun is set to begin in early 2016 in Italy.

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/02/02/vigan%c3%b2_pope_francis_not_an_actor/1205379

Viganò: Pope Francis not an actor
02/02/2016 12:09

(Vatican Radio) The Prefect of the recently established Secretariat for Communications, Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, has refuted press reports claiming Pope Francis “will play himself” in an upcoming film.

The film production company ENVI Pictures issued a statement on Monday saying Pope Francis will appear in the film “Beyond the Sun.”

“The Pope is not an actor,” Msgr. Viganò said.

He added that no scenes for the movie were filmed “for purpose,” although he does not exclude “as has happened before, video clips of the Pope  could appear in the film.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/francis-wishes-a-happy-new-year-to-china-may-dialo

Pope Francis wishes a happy New Year to China: may dialogue between peoples contribute to peace and development

Vatican City, February 2016 (VIS) - To mark the occasion of the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Holy Father Francis has granted an extensive interview to the online daily Asia Times, Hong Kong. The Pope took the opportunity to express his wishes to President Xi Jinping and all the Chinese people, and his high esteem for the Chinese people and their culture, in the hope that the Chinese contribution to dialogue between peoples may contribute to peace and the integral development of the human family.

The original text can be found on the Asia Times website at atimes.com.; an abridged version is published below.

Asia Times: "What is China for you? How did you imagine China to be as a young man, given that China, for Argentina, is not the East but the far West? What does Matteo Ricci mean to you?"

Pope Francis: "For me, China has always been a reference point of greatness. A great country. But more than a country, a great culture, with an inexhaustible wisdom. For me, as a boy, whenever I read anything about China, it had the capacity to inspire my admiration. ... Later I looked into Matteo Ricci’s life and I saw how this man felt the same thing in the exact way I did, admiration, and how he was able to enter into dialogue with this great culture, with this age-old wisdom. He was able to “encounter” it. … Ricci’s experience teaches us that it is necessary to enter into dialogue with China, because it is an accumulation of wisdom and history. It is a land blessed with many things. And the Catholic Church, one of whose duties is to respect all civilisations, before this civilisation, I would say, has the duty to respect it with a capital “R”. The Church has great potential to receive culture".
 
http://zenit.org/articles/pope-francis-interview-with-asia-times/
Pope Francis’ Interview With Asia Times
February 2, 2016

Below is the text of the interview that Pope Francis released to Asia Times. Asia Times has granted ZENIT permission to republish the text of the interview, which first appeared on the Asian news source’s website.

The hour-long, Jan. 28 interview was conducted by Francesco Sisci, Asia Times columnist and China Renmin University senior researcher, in the Vatican, and marks the Pope’s first-ever interview on China and the Chinese people.
***
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-calls-on-consecrated-persons-to-make-courageo

Pope closes Year of Consecrated Life, calls religious to make courageous choices
2016-02-02 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday called on consecrated men and women to make courageous and prophetic choices, to not be afraid of getting their hands dirty and of walking the geographical and existential peripheries of mankind today.

The Pope was speaking to consecrated men and women during the closing Mass of the Year of Consecrated Life in St. Peter's Basilica.

The Year, which was celebrated throughout the world, began on the First Sunday of Advent in November 2014 and came to a close on the World Day of Consecrated Life on 2 February 2016.

The initiative, called for by Pope Francis, aimed to be an occasion of renewal for men and women in consecrated life, of thanksgiving among the faithful for the service of sisters, brothers, priests, and nuns, and an invitation to young Catholics to consider a religious vocation.

During his homily the Pope described the just-ended Year of Consecrated Life as "a river", saying "it now flows into the sea of mercy, into the immense mystery of love that we are experiencing through the Extraordinary Jubilee".

The final days of the Year of Consecrated Life were marked in the Vatican with a theological symposium on religious life, on the theme Consecrated Life in Communion. A common foundation in the diversity of styles.

Please find below Vatican Radio translation of the Pope's homily:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY5JNr5LBKc
Holy Mass with Consecrated Persons - 2016.02.02

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http://www.news.va/en/news/general-audience-gods-justice-is-mercy

General audience: God's justice is mercy

Vatican City, 3 February 2016 (VIS) – The relationship between mercy and justice, in the light of the Sacred Scriptures, was the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis in this Wednesday's general audience, which took place in St. Peter's Square and was attended by more than ten thousand people.

"The Sacred Scripture presents God as infinite mercy, but also as perfect justice", he said. "How can the two be reconciled? They may appear to be contradictory, but this is not the case, as it is precisely God's mercy that leads us to achieve true justice. In the legal administration of justice, we see that those who consider themselves to have been victims of abuse consult a judge in court and ask that justice be done. It is a retributive justice, inflicting punishment on the guilty, according to the principle that each person receives what he deserves. … But this route does not lead to true justice, as in reality it does not conquer evil, it simply limits it. Instead, only by responding with good can evil truly be conquered".
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-audience-greets-un-peacekeepers

Pope Francis at Audience greets UN Peacekeepers
2016-02-03 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday met with a group of soldiers serving as United Nations peacekeepers from Paraguay and Argentina. The group was attending the weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

UN peacekeepers are identified by their blue helmets or berets, and  to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace.

UN Peacekeepers from Latin America have been serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Haiti, and other countries
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/02/03/pope_francis_life_without_striving_is_a_mediocre_life/1205646

Pope Francis: Life without striving is a mediocre life
03/02/2016 11:46

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted members of the American Circus, which performed during his weekly general audience.

Speaking off the cuff, Pope Francis thanked the performers, and reiterated his remarks from last week, when another circus performed in St. Peter’s Square.

“I am going to repeat what I said a week ago, when there was another performance such as this one,” Pope Francis said. “You make beauty, and beautiful things bring us closer to God. Thank you for this.”

However, Pope Francis said he wanted to emphasize another point: Such a performance “cannot be improvised.”

“Behind this beautiful show, there are hours and hours of exhausting training,” Pope Francis said.

“Training is hard work,” continued the Holy Father. “The Apostle Paul tells to get to cross finish line and win, you must train, and this is an example to us all – because the seduction of an easy life, to seek a good outcome without effort, it’s a temptation.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2016/02/03/pope_receives_book_about_1657_battle_involving_papal_fleet/1205667

Pope receives book about 1657 battle involving Papal fleet
03/02/2016 13:26

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday received a copy of the book La Squadra Pontificia ai Dardanelli 1657 / İlk Çanakkale Zaferі 1657 from the author, Rinaldo Marmara.

The book is an Italian and Turkish transliteration of a manuscript from the Chigi collection of the Vatican Apostolic Library that is an account of the Papal fleet that participated in the Second Battle of the Dardanelles in 1657, which took place during the Cretan War, also called the Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War.

During a presentation of the book on Tuesday evening, the author said that his objective was to make important archival material from the Vatican Archives and Vatican Library accessible to Turkish historians and researchers.

The Ottomans won the Battle of the Dardanelles, and later conquered the island of Crete.

The following Press Release was issued on Wednesday morning
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/interview-with-the-pope-seeking-the-richness-of-fa

Interview with the Pope: seeking the richness of faith in Mexico

Vatican City, 3 February 2016 (VIS) – Next week Pope Francis will begin his apostolic trip to Mexico. From 12 to 17 February he will visit Mexico City, Ecatepec, Tuxtla Gutierrez, San Cristobal de Las Casas, Morelia and Ciudad Juarez, and will pray before Our Lady of Guadalupe. For the occasion, the agency Notimex recorded a series of brief questions and expressions of hope for the Mexican people in four videos, presented to the Holy Father. The Pope responded with a video that will be broadcast today on the Notimex website. The following is a summary of the questions and answers. The images can be obtained from the Vatican Television Centre.

Question: Why are you coming to Mexico? What brings you to Mexico?

Pope Francis: "What moves me most is this: what are coming to look for in Mexico? I will come to Mexico not like a Wise Man loaded with things to bring, messages, ideas, solutions to problems … I come to Mexico as a pilgrim, to look for something among the Mexican people. … I come to seek the wealth of faith you have, I come for that infectious wealth of faith. You have an idiosyncrasy, a way of being that is the fruit of a very long road, a history that has been forged slowly, with pain, with success, with failures, with searching, but with a common thread. You have great richness in your heart and, above all, you are not an orphaned people, as you are proud to have a Mother, and when a man or a woman or a people do not forget their Mother, this provides a wealth that cannot be described; it is received and transmitted. So, I will go in search of some of this in you. A people that does not forget its Mother, the Mother who forged her people in hope".
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-the-faith-is-the-greatest-inheritance-we-can

Pope: The Faith is the greatest inheritance we can leave
2016-02-04 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The most beautiful inheritance we can leave to others is the Faith: that was Pope Francis’ message during Holy Mass on Thursday morning at the Casa Santa Marta. In his homily, he invited us to not fear death, because the course of life continues.

Thinking about death illuminates life

The day’s first reading tells the story of the death of King David. “In every life there is an ending,” the Pope said. This is a thought “that is not pleasing to us,” that we always pass over, but “it is an everyday reality.” Thinking about death is “a light that illuminates life” and “a reality that we should always have before us”:

“In one of the Wednesday audiences there was among those who were sick a very old sister, but with face of peace, a luminous countenance: ‘But how old are you, sister?’ With a smile she said, ‘Eighty-three, but I am finishing my course in this life, to begin another with the Lord, because I have pancreatic cancer.’ And so, in peace, that woman had lived her consecrated life with great intensity. She did not fear death: ‘I am finishing my course of life, to begin another.’ It is a passage. These things do us good.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-meets-members-of-scholas-occurrentes-educatio

Pope meets members of 'Scholas Occurrentes' educational network
2016-02-04 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday met with members of the Pontifical Foundation ‘Scholas Occurrentes’ – an international project based in Argentina that brings together schools and educational networks from different cultures and religious backgrounds.

Following an opening greeting from the Pope, participants presented the work of three projects, linking young people around the world through art, through sports and through a citizenship initiative. Among those taking part in the meeting were a number of well-known sports personalities, including the top Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-makes-surprise-visit-to-3-roman-curia

Pope Francis makes surprise visit to 3 Roman Curia offices
2016-02-04 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis on Thursday paid a surprise visit to the offices of three dicasteries of the Roman Curia: the Congregation for Oriental Churches and the Pontifical Councils: Cor Unam and for the New Evangelisation. During his visit, the Pope agreed to answer a number of questions put to him by the staff of the three organisations.

In an interview afterwards, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Council for promoting the New Evangelisation said they were deeply grateful for this visit by Pope Francis. Archbishop Fisichella said the Pope had given them valuable advice on how best to promote the new evangelization, especially when it comes to the question of pastoral conversion and the catechesis.

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http://www.news.va/en/news/relics-of-saint-pio-and-st-leopold-arrive-in-rome

Relics of Saint Pio and St Leopold arrive in Rome
2016-02-03 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) On Wednesday two great saints, renowned for their holiness and for their dedication to the Sacrament of Confession, came to Rome as part of celebrations for the Jubilee of Mercy.

Huge crowds greeted the arrival of the relics of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina – better known as Padre Pio – and Saint Leopold Mandic at the Basilica of San Lorenzo Outside-the-Walls in Rome. Later they will be taken to the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro, before being taken in procession to St Peter's Basilica on Friday.

At a press conference last week, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, said, “Such an occasion is of great significance for it is an unprecedented event, given the stories of these two saints who spent their lives in the service of the mercy of God.”

Saint Pio and Saint Leopold were well known as confessors and spiritual guides. The two Franciscans, both of whom lived well into the twentieth century, were famous for spending many hours each day hearing confessions of people from all over the world. Pope Francis himself requested that the relics of the saints come to Rome, in part to inspire the ministry of the priests who have been chosen as Missionaries of Mercy for the Jubilee. The Missionaries of Mercy, said Archbishop Fisichella, “are a select number of priests who have received from the Pope the charge to be privileged witnesses in their respective Churches of the extraordinariness of this Jubilee event.”  On Ash Wednesday, more than 1,000 Missionaries of Mercy will concelebrate Mass with Pope Francis, who will give them their mandate for the Jubilee Year, including faculties to absolve even those sins normally reserved to the Holy See.
 

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http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/relics-of-st-padre-pio-st-leopold-arrive-in-rome-for-jubilee.cfm

Relics of St. Padre Pio, St. Leopold arrive in Rome for jubilee
By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service
2.4.2016 10:17 AM ET

CNS photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters
The exhumed body of St. Padre Pio is carried into a Catholic church in Rome Feb. 3. Pope Francis asked the Capuchins to bring the relics of St. Padre Pio and St. Leopold to Rome for the Year of Mercy, particularly the Feb. 10 celebration of Ash Wednesday and the commissioning of the official "missionaries of mercy." (CNS photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters) See PADRE-PIO-LEOPOLD-MERCY Feb. 4, 2016

ROME (CNS) -- Thousands of people waited hours outside a Rome church to glimpse the mortal remains of St. Padre Pio and St. Leopold Mandic, two Capuchins popular as miracle workers and known particularly for the long hours they would spend hearing confessions.

Pope Francis asked the Capuchins to bring the relics of St. Padre Pio and St. Leopold to Rome for the Year of Mercy, particularly the Feb. 10 celebration of Ash Wednesday and the commissioning of the official "missionaries of mercy."

The hearse carrying Padre Pio's crystal coffin was about 90 minutes late getting to Rome's Basilica of St. Lawrence Feb. 3 because pockets and clusters of faithful repeatedly forced it to slow down as it drove from San Giovanni Rotondo, 235 miles to the southeast.

Posters pasted up all over the center of Rome giving the detailed schedule for Masses, prayer services and other devotions feature a large photo of Padre Pio and a smaller photo of St. Leopold.

In the celebrations, St. Leopold "is given the backseat, but that's been his life," said Capuchin Father Clayton Fernandes, secretary-general of the order. St. Leopold was a Croatian-born friar who ministered in Padua, Italy, and died in 1942. Father Fernandes said, "He was 4-feet-5-inches tall," and was known to prophesy and to levitate.

While St. Leopold is well known in Croatia and around Padua, his fame pales in comparison to that of Padre Pio, who was born in 1887 and died in 1968.

From 1918 to the very end of his life, Padre Pio bore the stigmata, wounds similar to those inflicted on Christ when he was crucified.
 

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http://www.lastampa.it/2016/02/04/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/chinese-media-publish-and-comment-on-popes-interview-gc79OpzubKiM6vtj83twCL/pagina.html

Chinese media publish and comment on Pope’s interview
04/02/2016 

The message Pope Francis sent Xi Jinping’s China in his “Chinese” interview with Asia Times was heard loud and clear. The various articles, accounts, comments and reactions to the papal interview that have been circulating in Chinese media of all kinds confirm this. Even “official” media such as the People’s Daily and CCTV, China’s state broadcaster communicated the news. Some of the country’s most popular websites published the news photos and comments, websites such as soho.com and sino.com, which gave a thoughtful account, stating that the papal interview “speeded up the improvement in relations between the Holy See and China”. Even the government issued an official statement via the ministry for foreign affairs. As always every word was carefully chosen and formulated.

In his daily briefing with journalists, spokesperson Lu Kang, stated that the Chinese government “has taken note” of the papal interview “in question”. “China has always been sincere about improving Sino-Vatican ties, and have made many efforts in this regard,” the official said. “We,” the government spokesman said, “are still willing to have constructive dialogue with the Vatican based on this principle, meeting each other half way, and keep pushing forward the development of the process of improving bilateral relations”. “We also hope that the Vatican can take a flexible, pragmatic attitude to creating conditions for improving ties.” A journalist then asked whether the government is considering inviting the Pope to China: “I don’t have any information regarding this,” the spokesman said. This is the typical response given by someone whose job it is to simply report instructions. But it is not a “no”.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-meets-with-president-of-zambia

Pope Francis meets with President of Zambia
2016-02-05 Vatican Radio


(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met with the President of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, on Friday morning. A communiqué from the Press Office of the Holy See informs that the Pope and the President held cordial discussions on a range of topics, including the contribution of the Catholic Church to the upbuilding of Zambian society, the promotion of peaceful co-existence through a culture of dialogue and encounter, migration, climate change and the protection of the environment. The Holy Father and the President also discussed international issues, with special focus on the conflicts that affect various areas of Africa and the commitment of the country to regional peace.

Below, please find the full text of the official Communiqué, in English