Pope Francis

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-daily-mass-christians-persecuted-i

Pope Francis at daily Mass: Christians persecuted in silence
2015-09-07 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Monday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, with the recently-elected Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, His Beatitude Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, as well as with the Bishops of Synod of the Apostolic Armenian Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.

In remarks following the readings of the day, the Holy Father spoke of the many Christians, who  continue to be persecuted, and of the complicit silence of many powerful world leaders. Even today, “Perhaps more than in the early days,” said Pope Francis, [Christians] are persecuted, killed, driven out, despoiled, only because they are Christians”:

“Dear brothers and sisters, there is no Christianity without persecution. Remember the last of the Beatitudes: when they bring you into the synagogues, and persecute you, revile you, this is the fate of a Christian. Today too, this happens before the whole world, with the complicit silence of many powerful leaders who could stop it. We are facing this Christian fate: go on the same path of Jesus.”

The Pope recalled, “One of many great persecutions: that of the Armenian people”:

“The first nation to convert to Christianity: the first. They were persecuted just for being Christians,” he said. “The Armenian people were persecuted, chased away from their homeland, helpless, in the desert.” This story - he observed - began with Jesus: what people did, “to Jesus, has during the course of history been done to His body, which is the Church.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-portuguese-bishops-clergy-laity-partners-i

Pope celebrates Santa Marta Mass with Armenian Patriarch
2015-09-07 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis’ morning Mass in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence on Monday was an extraordinary occasion: it saw the recently-elected Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, His Beatitude Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, concelebrate the liturgy with the Holy Father, and exchange with the Pope the concrete sign of ecclesial communion par excellence.

A statement from the Armenian Patriarchate describes the scene during the Liturgy: “[At the Rite of Communion], the Holy Father ... elevates the paten with the Body of Christ and offers it to the Patriarch. The two hold the Host high with their four hands. The Holy Father then raises the chalice with the Blood of Christ, offers it to the Patriarch, and they with their four hands keep it elevated. After a moment of silence, the Holy Father offers the Body of Christ, and together they communicate. The Holy Father takes the Blood of Christ from the chalice, then offers it to the Patriarch.”

“‘Communion’ is a concept held in great honor in the early Church and also today,” the statement explains. “t does not mean some vague sentiment, but an organic reality, which requires a legal form and that is at the same time animated by charity.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-to-portuguese-bishops-clergy-laity-partners-i

Pope to Portuguese Bishops: clergy, laity partners in evangelization
2015-09-07 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the bishops of Portugal on Monday, during the course of the bishops’ ad limina visits. In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered in written form, the Holy Father encouraged the bishops, “To persevere in the commitment of a constant and methodical evangelization, convinced that a truly Christian formation of conscience is of extreme and indispensable importance to help social maturity, and to assure the true and balanced well-being of Portugal.”
 

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http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-create-reformed-annulment-process-tuesday#.Ve2Tj6I3Faw.twitter

Francis to create reformed annulment process Tuesday, stressing mercy
by Joshua J. McElwee    |  Sep. 7, 2015

Vatican City --   Pope Francis will be decreeing Tuesday new reformed procedures for those seeking annulments of marriages in the Catholic church, in his latest move to emphasize God’s merciful nature less than one month before the opening of a hotly anticipated global meeting of Catholic bishops on family life.
 
The pontiff will be reforming the procedures with two decrees known as motu proprios, the Vatican announced in a brief press note Monday. The decrees will be made public during a press conference at mid-day in Rome Tuesday.

While the content of the reformed procedures is unknown, the announced names of the two decrees -- given in Latin as Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et misericors Iesus -- suggest the reforms put a special focus on Jesus’ qualities of being merciful and meek.

An annulment in the Catholic church is a decree from a church tribunal that a marriage between two persons was invalidly contracted. Such a decree is often sought by persons who are seeking to celebrate a different marriage.
 

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http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-to-announce-reforms-to-annulment-process

Pope to Announce Reforms to Annulment Process
Vatican City,  September 07, 2015

At midday tomorrow, Tuesday 8 September, a press conference will be held in the Holy See Press Office to present the two letters issued “Motu proprio” by Pope Francis, “Mitis ludex Dominus Iesus” and “Mitis et misericors Iesus” on the reform of canonical procedure for the annulment of marriage in the Code of Canon Law (CIC) and the Code of Canons of the Oriental Churches (CCEO) respectively.

The speakers in the conference, in the order in which they will intervene, are:
 
The conference will be live streamed on the following platforms:

VaticanPlayer via web: http://player.rv.va

Vatican YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/vatican

Vatican Radio app: via Android – iPhone – Windowsphone. You may download the app directly from the Vatican Radio website: www.radiovaticana.va

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http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-meek-and-merciful-jesus-with-synod.html

Monday, September 07, 2015
"The Meek and Merciful Jesus" – With Synod In the Balance, Pope To Unveil Annulment Reform

It's not intentional – we think – but whatever the reason, Stateside holidays in the reign of Francis have invariably brought significant developments on the Vatican beat, whether they're PopeTrips over Memorial Day and Thanksgiving, doc-drops on the 4th of July or Consistories every President's Weekend...

 ...and lo and behold, just when this Labor Day was finally looking to be a last gasp of calm two weeks before his arrival in Washington, he did it again: at Roman Noon this Monday, the Holy See suddenly announced a major midday press conference tomorrow to release two surprise legal texts "on the reform of the canonical process for causes of the declaration of the nullity of marriage": put simply, the ever-charged question of annulments.

 Closing out the work of an ad hoc group of a dozen canonists Francis tasked with studying the issue in the quiet of August last year, the documents – both issued motu proprio (i.e. on the Pope's own initiative) – will be called Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus ("The Gentle Judge, The Lord Jesus") for the Latin Code of Canon Law, and Mitis et misericors Iesus ("The Meek and Merciful Jesus") for the 1991 text governing the Eastern Churches.

 That the release of the texts was announced only on the eve of their publication – a striking contrast to the usual week's notice for major Vatican documents – signals the Pope's intent for the move to come as a complete surprise, and as an ostensible means of short-circuiting any attempt by critics of the changes to derail whatever he's decided. In addition, that the commission completed its work in roughly a year is about the closest thing you'll see to "lightning speed" for a process of this kind: to use a counter-example, the consultation and drafting of Benedict XVI's tightened-up global norms on sex-abuse extended over at least three years before their release in 2010.

 While no specifics of their contents are yet known, the announced titles and formats of the texts hint not only at the most significant revamp of annulment procedures at least since the 1983 publication of the revised Latin Code – and, unlike then, a loosening of the process this time – but likewise an overhaul of the relevant canons in each of the volumes which would enact a permanent, global, perhaps sweeping change to the laws overseeing the church's discernment of whether a valid sacramental marriage indeed exists.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/09/08/pope_francis_god_walks_with_all_of_us,_saints_and_sinners/1170348

Pope Francis: God walks with all of us, saints and sinners
08/09/2015 12:40

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis says God reconciles and brings peace in the little things and accompanies all of us, saints and sinners. His comments came during his homily at Mass on Tuesday (8th September) in the Santa Marta residence.

Noting that Tuesday was the date on which the Church commemorates the birth of Mary, the Pope’s homily took its cue from this to underline how all Christians are called to be humble and close to their neighbours as taught in the Beatitudes. We need, he said, to become like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of God as “God reconciles and brings peace in the little things” of everyday life.   
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/09/08/press_conference_details_marriage_law_reforms/1170376

08/09/2015 13:41
Press conference details marriage law reforms

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis issued two Apostolic Letters motu proprio on Tuesday, by which he introduced reforms to the legal structures of the Church, which deal with questions of marital nullity. At a news conference presenting the reforms to journalists at the Press Office of the Holy See on Tuesday, the President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio – who was also a member of the Special Commission appointed to study the issue and make the recommendations on which the reform is based – explained that the reforms do not touch the nature and purpose either of marriage, or of the Church’s marriage law: marriage is a sacrament and is by its nature indissoluble; when a marriage is accused of nullity, the Church merely investigates to see whether the parties presumed to be married ever actually executed a valid marriage contract in the eyes of the Church.

“We are not strictly talking then, about a legal process that leads to the ‘annulment’ of a marriage,” as though the act of the Church court were one of nullification. “Nullity,” Cardinal Coccopalmerio explained, “is different from annulment – declaring the nullity of a marriage is absolutely different from decreeing the annulment of a marriage.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/09/08/pope_francis_reforms_church_law_in_marital_nullity_trials/1170336

Pope Francis reforms Church law in marital nullity trials
08/09/2015 12:27

 
According to the prefatory remarks attached to both Letters, the reforms are the result of an expert group appointed to study the current state of law and practice in the Church as far as marriage law is concerned. The Holy Father goes on in the preface to explain that the reforms are guided by seven specific criteria, ample excerpts of which Vatican Radio offers below in its own unofficial English translation:

That there be only one sentence in favor of executive nullity – It appeared opportune, in the first place, that there no longer be required a twofold decision in favor of marital nullity, in order that the parties be admitted to new canonically valid marriages: the moral certainty reached by the first judge according to law should be sufficient.

A single judge under the responsibility of the Bishop – The constitution of a single judge in the first instance, who shall always be a cleric, is placed under the responsibility of the Bishop, who, in the pastoral exercise of his own proper judicial power shall guarantee that no laxity be indulged in this matter.

The Bishop is judge – In order that the teaching of the II Vatican Council be finally translated into practice in an area of great importance, the decision was made to make evident the fact that the Bishop is, in his Church – of which he is constituted pastor and head – is by that same constitution judge among the faithful entrusted to him. It is desired that, in Dioceses both great and small, the Bishop himself should offer a sign of the conversion of ecclesiastical structures, and not leave the judicial function completely delegated to the offices of the diocesan curia, as far as matters pertaining to marriage are concerned.

Increased brevity in the legal process – In fact, beyond making the marriage annulment process more agile, a briefer form of trying nullity cases has been designed – in addition to the documentary process already approved and in use – which is to be applied in cases in which the accusation of marital nullity is supported by particularly evident arguments. In any case, the extent to which an abbreviated process of judgment might put the principle of the indissolubility of marriage at risk, did not escape me [writes Pope Francis – ed.]: thus, I have desired that, in such cases the Bishop himself shall be constituted judge, who, by force of his pastoral office is with Peter the greatest guarantor of Catholic unity in faith and in discipline.

Appeal to the Metropolitcan See – It is fitting that the appeal to the Metropolitan See be re-introduced, since that office of headship of an Ecclesiastical province, stably in place through the centuries, is a distinctive sign of the synodality of the Church.
The proper role of the Bishops’ Conferences – The Bishops’ Conferences, which must be driven above all by the anxious apostolic desire to reach the far-off faithful, should formally recognize the duty to share the aforesaid conversion, and respect absolutely the right of the Bishops to organize judicial power each within his own particular Church.

There-establishment of vicinity between the judge and the faithful, in fact, shall not be successful if the stimulus does not come from the Conferences to the single Bishops, along with the necessary assistance, to put into practice the reform of the marital nullity process. 

Appeal to the Apostolic See – It is fitting that the appeal to the ordinary Tribunal of the Apostolic See, i.e. the Roman Rota, be maintained: this, in respect of a most ancient juridical principle, so that the bond between the See of Peter and the particular Churches be reinforced – having care, in any case, in the discipline of the use of said appeal, to contain any and all abuse of right, in order that the salvation of souls be given no cause for harm.
 

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http://saltandlighttv.org/blog/fr-thomas-rosica/questions-answers-and-reflections-about-marriage-and-pope-francis-annulment-reform

Questions, answers and reflections about Marriage and Pope Francis’ Annulment Reform
September 8, 2015 by Fr. Thomas Rosica

In response to numerous questions received regarding the two Motu proprio decrees of Pope Francis and the annulment reform announced this morning,I hope that these reflections may respond to your questions.

Catholic annulments look to many to be a simple Catholic divorce. Divorce says that the reality of marriage was there in the beginning and that now the reality is broken. “Annulment” means a ruling by a Church court that a union between a man and a woman, even if it began with a Church wedding, is not a valid marriage because it fails one of the traditional tests, such as a lack of genuine consent or a psychological incapacity to undertake the obligations, or unwillingness of one of the spouses to have children. Prior to this point, the procedure required annulments to be issued by one court and confirmed by another. Many have rightly said that this process was fraught with unnecessary delays and difficulties and added to the pain and suffering of those involved in separation, divorce and re-marriage outside the Church community.

At this morning’s press conference at the Vatican, Pope Francis issued two Apostolic Letters motu proprio (on his own authority) by which he introduced reforms to the legal structures of the Church dealing with questions of marital nullity. Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et misericors Iesus are the names in Latin of the two decrees respectively. The first one translates to “The Gentle Judge, The Lord Jesus.” The second is translated“The Meek and Merciful Jesus.” These new rulings make it faster, easier, and less expensive to obtain a marriage annulment. Both documents were signed by Pope Francis on August 15, 2015. They will take effect December 8, 2015, the first day of the Holy Year of Mercy.

By today’s Papal decrees, the annulment process will be free of charge because “the Church, showing itself to the faithful as a generous mother, in an matter so closely linked to the salvation of souls manifests the gratuitous love of Christ by which we were saved.” Many dioceses had already eliminated the fees for marriage annulments requested to cover for administrative costs. Also every diocese in the world has the responsibility of naming a judge or a church tribunal to process requests, with the possibility of the bishops acting as judges.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/09/09/pope_francis_families_and_churches_must_be_open,_welcoming/1170547

Pope Francis: families and churches must be open, welcoming
09/09/2015 11:12

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Wednesday continued his catechesis on the family, focusing his attention on the relation between the family and the Christian community.

At his General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis noted that the bond between the family and the Christian community is a “natural” bond, because “the Church is a spiritual family, and the family is a little Church.” The Church, he continued, “is the home of those who believe in Jesus as the source of the brotherhood between all men.” The great events of worldly power “are written in the history books, and remain there, but the story of human affections is written directly on the heart of God, and that is the story that remains in eternity.” And this, he said, is why the family is so important.

Jesus Himself, after living for thirty years in the midst of the family in Nazareth, gathered a community around Himself, which is the Church. And this family, the Pope said, is not an “exclusive, closed sect” but a welcoming family that includes not only the Apostles, but also the hungry and the thirsty, the stranger and the persecuted, sinners and Pharisees.
 
http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/general-audience-on-the-family-and-the-christian-community
GENERAL AUDIENCE: On the Family and the Christian Community
Vatican City,  September 09, 2015

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-a-person-who-cant-forgive-is-not-a-ch

Pope Francis: A person who can’t forgive is not a Christian
2015-09-10 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis warned against conflicts within the Christian community and said priests who struggle to be merciful should not be hearing confessions. He also reiterated his condemnation of those who produce lethal arms to be used in wars and said Christians must forgive and show mercy in all that they do. The Pope’s remarks came during his homily at Mass on Thursday (10th September) celebrated at the Santa Marta residence.

Mercy, peace and reconciliation as opposed to war and hatred were the key themes focused on by Pope Francis during his homily. He asked whether we are always able to accept the gift of peace that we receive via Jesus and lamented the many wars, destruction, hatred and enmity that we see and read about every day on TV and in the newspapers.

“There are also many men and women who work hard --  really hard – in order to manufacture lethal weapons, arms that eventually become bathed in the blood of so many innocent people, so many of them. There are wars (being waged)!  There are these wars and there is also that wickedness of preparing for war, of making weapons (to be used) against other people in order to kill! Peace saves us, peace makes you live, it makes you grow: war annihilates you, it drags you down.” 

A person who can’t forgive is not a Christian
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/to-new-bishops-no-sphere-of-human-existence-is-exc

To new bishops: no sphere of human existence is excluded from the pastor's interest

Vatican City, 10 September 2015 (VIS) – The bishops are witnesses to the risen Christ, educators, spiritual guides and catechists, mystagogues and missionaries, Pope Francis affirmed this morning as he received in audience in the Clementine Hall the new bishops ordained during the past year. They were accompanied by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The following are extensive extracts from the Holy Father's address.

“Bishops .. are witnesses of the Resurrected Christ. This is your primary and indispensable task. You have been entrusted the preaching of the reality that holds up the entire edifice of the Church. Jesus is risen! … We too will be resurrected with Christ. … This is not an obvious or easy proclamation. The world is so content with … what it is seemingly able to provide that appears useful to suppress the demand for what is definitive. … However, we are assailed by questions, the answers to which can only come from a definitive future. … How can we face our difficult present if our sense of belonging to the community of the Risen Christ fades? Will we be able to remember the greatness of human destiny if there abates in us the courage to subordinate our life to the love that does not die?”.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-receives-the-equipes-notre-dame-christian

Pope greets couples from the Equipes Notre Dame movement

Vatican City, 10 September 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Paul VI Hall the Pope received in audience the participants in the International Meeting of the Equipes Notre Dame (Teams of Our Lady, END), held in Rome on the theme, “Here I am Lord, send me”. The Equipes are a lay movement focusing on married spirituality, established in response to the needs of couples to live fully the sacrament of marriage, using its own method and exploring the complex reality of married couples today. The END were founded in France in 1938 upon the initiative of a number of couples and the priest Fr. Henri Caffarel, whose cause for beatification has been received in Rome.

Recalling the upcoming Synod on the family, Francis invited the members of the END to pray for the Synod Fathers and for what they must reflect upon in the assembly on the “vital cell of our societies … in the difficult current cultural context”, and devoted his discourse primarily to the missionary role of the Equipes Notre Dame.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-receives-kuwaiti-prime-minister-in-audience

Pope receives Kuwaiti Prime Minister in audience
2015-09-10 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) On Wednesday, 10 September 2015, the Pope Francis received in audience Sheik Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, prime minister of the State of Kuwait, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, various themes of mutual interest were reviewed, including the positive contribution the historical Christian minority offers to Kuwaiti society. The Parties also focused on the importance of education in promoting a culture of respect and peaceful coexistence between different peoples and religions.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/un-secretary-general-pope-francis-a-man-of-moral-v

UN Secretary General: Pope Francis a man of moral voice and purpose
2015-09-10 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) “[Pope Francis] is a man of humility and humanity, and he is a man of moral voice, and purpose.” There were the words with which the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, described the Holy Father in an exclusive interview with Vatican Radio ahead of the Pope’s visit to the United Nations in New York at the end of September. “We are looking forward with great excitement [to] His Holiness, Pope Francis’ visit to the United Nations,” said Ban, adding, “I’m grateful for his compassionate leadership for peace and humanity.”

In a broad-ranging conversation with Paolo Mastrolilli, long-time US correspondent for Vatican Radio’s Italian-language news service, Ban addressed the ongoing refugee crisis in the Mediterranean basin and at the borders of Europe, persecution of minorities, climate change, sustainable development, and international political and security issues ranging from poverty reduction to the recently-reached nuclear agreement between the so-called P5+1 nations including the United States, and Iran.
 

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/vatican-officially-confirms-pope-francis-visit-to-africa-in-november-23580/

Vatican officially confirms Pope Francis' visit to Africa in November

Vatican City, Sep 10, 2015 / 07:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican today officially announced that Pope Francis will travel to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic in November, a plan informally revealed by the Pope himself this summer.
 
After accepting “the invitation issued by the respective Heads of State and the Bishops,” Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the African continent from Nov. 25-30, a Sept. 10 communique from the Vatican announced.

He will set foot in Kenya first, where he will stay from Nov. 25-27, before moving on to Uganda Nov. 27-29. His last stop will be the Central African Republic, from Nov. 29-30.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-we-all-risk-being-hypocrites-includin

Pope Francis: We all risk being hypocrites including me
2015-09-11 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis says that we must learn to not judge others or we all risk becoming hypocrites including the Pope himself. At the same time, he said, we need to have the courage to acknowledge our own faults in order to become merciful towards others. The Pope’s comments came during his homily on Friday (11th September) at the morning Mass in the Santa Marta residence.

Pope Francis’s homily was a reflection taken from St Paul’s teaching on mercy, forgiveness and the need to avoid judging others. He said the Lord speaks to us about the reward contained within this: do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned.

Have the courage to acknowledge our own faults
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-discusses-refugee-crisis-with-serbian

Pope Francis discusses refugee crisis with Serbian President
2015-09-11 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis met on Friday with the President of the Serbian Republic Tomislav Nikolic to discuss common interests, including the current refugee crisis, as well as relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in the Balkan country. A statement from the Vatican press office after the private meeting said the two leaders also discussed Serbia’s progress towards integration into the European Union and the Catholic Church’s contribution to the common good of Serbian society.

Please find below the full text of the press office statement on the Pope’s meeting with the President of the Serbian Repubblic:
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-thanks-the-claretians-for-their-missionar

The Pope thanks the Claretians for their missionary work


Vatican City, 11 September 2015 (VIS) – “Called to evangelise: witnesses and messengers of the joy of the Gospel”, was the theme of the General Chapter of the Congregation of Missionaries, Sons of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Claretians) whom Pope Francis received this morning in audience in the Consistory Hall. The following are extensive extracts from the written discourse the Pope handed to the attendees of the Chapter, to whom he also addressed some unscripted remarks.

“'Witnesses' because joy cannot be communicated if it is not present and deeply rooted both in one's own life and in that of the community”, writes the Holy Father. “'Messengers' because good must be shared and, in sharing, joy is purified and multiplied, becoming truly 'evangelical'”.