Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

This morning, in the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father Francis received in audience a group of refugees who have reached Europe through humanitarian corridors, along with their families and representatives of the communities who receive them and assist in their integration.

The following is the address delivered by the Pope to those present:

 

Address of the Holy Father

Dear friends,

I am pleased to meet this large group of refugees and their families who have come to Italy, France, Belgium and Andorra through  humanitarian corridors . This initiative is due to the generosity and creativity of the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches and the Waldensian Table, the Catholic Church in Italy, particularly Caritas, and its network of hospitality, and the commitment of the Italian government and the other governments who have welcomed you.

The humanitarian corridors were established in 2016 as a response to the increasingly dramatic situation in the Mediterranean. Today, it must be said that this initiative is, tragically, not only most timely but also more necessary than ever, as the recent shipwreck in Cutro sadly attests. That disaster should never have happened, and everything possible needs to be done to ensure that it will not be repeated. Humanitarian corridors build bridges that many children, women, men, and older persons fleeing from unstable and gravely dangerous situations cross in order to arrive safely, legally and with dignity, in their host countries. These corridors cross borders and, more importantly, break down the walls of indifference that have shattered the hopes of so many people who have waited for years in painful and unbearable situations.

Each of you merits attention because of the difficult experiences you have had. I would like to mention in particular those who have passed through the detention camps in Libya; on many occasions, I have listened to their stories of suffering, humiliation and violence. Humanitarian corridors are a practicable way to avoid the tragedies and dangers associated with human trafficking. Still, much effort is needed to expand this work and to open even more legal migration routes. Where political will is lacking, effective models like yours offer new and viable avenues. For that matter, safe, orderly, regular and sustainable migration is in the interest of all countries. If this is not recognized, there is a risk that fear will erase people’s future and justify those barriers against which lives are shattered.

Your work of identifying and welcoming vulnerable people seeks to respond in the most appropriate way to a sign of the times. It points a way forward for Europe, to avoid its remaining frozen, fearful and lacking vision for the future. Indeed, “withdrawing into oneself or into one’s culture is never the right way to give new hope” ( Address to the “Roma Tre” University , 17 February 2017). European history has developed over the centuries through the integration of different peoples and cultures. So we should not be fearful of the future!

Humanitarian corridors not only aim to bring refugees to Italy and other European countries, rescuing them from situations of uncertainty, danger and endless waiting; they also work toward integration, since there is no acceptance without integration. At the same time, your work has taught you that integration is not without its difficulties. Not everyone who arrives is prepared to travel the long road that lies ahead. That is why it is important to expend even greater attention and creativity in enabling those granted the opportunity to come to Europe to understand and appreciate what they will encounter here. Let us not forget that people need to be accompanied constantly, from start to finish. Your role ends only when a person is truly integrated into our society. As Scripture bids us: “The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you” ( Lev  19:34).

Here I would greet the hundreds of individuals, families, and communities who have with great generosity made themselves available to carry out this praiseworthy work. You have opened your hearts and homes. You have supported the integration process with your resources and you have involved others as well. I thank you most heartily: you represent a beautiful face of Europe, one that is open, not without some sacrifice, to the future.

To the promoters of these “corridors”, to the men and women religious, and to the individuals and organizations who participate in this effort, I would like to say this: you are mediators of a history of integration, not intermediaries who profit from the needs and sufferings of others. You are not intermediaries but mediators, and you show that, once serious efforts are made to lay the groundwork, it is possible to welcome and integrate others effectively.

Your work of welcoming is a concrete commitment to peace. A number of Ukrainian refugees are present here; to them I want to say that the Pope does not give up seeking peace, hoping for peace and praying for peace. I do this for your gravely afflicted country and for other countries affected by war; in our midst are many people who have fled from other wars. This service to the poor and to refugees and displaced people is also a powerful experience of Christian unity. In effect, the initiative of humanitarian corridors is ecumenical. It is an impressive sign of unity between brothers and sisters who share their faith in Christ.

I also greet with affection those of you who have already passed through humanitarian corridors and are now living a new life. You have shown a firm resolve to live in freedom from fear and insecurity. You have found friends and supporters who are now a second family for you. You have studied new languages and learned about new societies. This has been difficult, but also enriching. I say this as the son of a family of immigrants who took a similar path. Your good example and industriousness help to dispel fear and apprehension about foreigners. Indeed, your presence can be a blessing to the countries in which you live, and whose laws and culture you have learned to respect. The hospitality you were offered has motivated you to give in return: indeed, some of you are already engaged in serving others in need.

Dear brothers and sisters, in this meeting of ours, where those who welcome and those welcomed come together and intermingle, we can savour the words of the Lord Jesus: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” ( Mt  25:35). Those words point all of us towards the path we must take. A path that needs to be travelled  together  and  with perseverance . Thank you for leading the way! Keep moving forward! May the Lord bless you and may the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Way, watch over you. I bless you from my heart, and I ask you, please, to pray for me.

This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the young people of the “Progetto Policoro”, organized by the Italian Episcopal Conference.

The following is the Pope’s address to those present at the meeting:

 

Address of the Holy Father

Dear Archbishop Baturi, dear young people, welcome!

Thank you for your greetings. This meeting gives me the opportunity to encourage the path of socio-political formation that continues the Italian Church’s “Progetto Policoro”. I like to emphasize that the need for this journey arose from the grass roots, from your need to be trained in service in society and in politics; and also in order to be able, in turn, to collaborate in the formation of other young people.

This year, you have peace as your theme. It is a theme that cannot be lacking from socio-political formation, and unfortunately it is also urgent due to the current situation. War is the failure of politics. This must be stressed: war is the failure of politics. It feeds on the poison that considers the other as an enemy. War brings home to us the absurdity of the arms race and the use of weapons to resolve conflicts. An expert told me that, if weapons were not produced for one year, world hunger could be eliminated. Therefore, there is a need for a “better politics” (cf. Encyclical Fratelli tutti , chapter 5), that presupposes precisely what you are doing, that is, education for peace. This is the responsibility of everyone. Wage war, but another war, an inner one, a war on ourselves to work for peace.

Today politics does not enjoy a good reputation, especially among the young, because they see scandals, many things that we all know. The causes are several, but how can one not think of corruption, inefficiency, distance from the lives of the people? Precisely for this reason, there is even greater need for good politics. And people make the difference. We see this in local administrations: it is one thing to have a mayor or a councillor who is available, another to have one who is inaccessible; one thing is politics that listens to reality, that listens to the poor, quite another that which is closed up in palaces, a “rarefied” politics.

I am reminded of the biblical episode of the King Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth. The king wants to appropriate for himself the vineyard of Naboth, to extend his garden; but Naboth does not want this and cannot sell it, because that vineyard is the legacy of his forefathers. The king is angry and sulks, like a spoiled child. Then his wife, Queen Jezebel – who is a devil! – solves the problem by contriving to eliminate Naboth on a false charge. So Naboth is killed and the king takes his vineyard. Ahab represents the worst kind of politics, that of forging ahead and making room for oneself by eliminating others, that pursues not the common good but particular interests, and uses every means to satisfy them. Ahab is not a father, he is a master, and his rule is dominion. Saint Ambrose wrote a book on this bible story, entitled De Nabuthae , “On Naboth”. At a certain point, addressing the powerful, Ambrose writes: “"Why do you cast out those who share in the goods of nature and claim for yourselves alone the possession of natural goods? The earth was created in communion for all, for rich and for poor. [...] Nature knows not what the rich are, she who begets all equally poor. When we are born we have no clothes, we do not come into the world laden with gold and silver. This earth brings us into the world naked, in need of food, clothing and drink. Nature [...] creates us all equal and all equally encloses us in the womb of a tomb” (1,2). This short but precious work by Saint Ambrose will be useful for your formation. Politics that exercises power as dominion and not as service is not capable of caring, it tramples on the poor, exploits the earth and deals with conflict through war; it does not know how to dialogue.

As a positive biblical example, we can take the figure of Joseph, son of Jacob. Remember that he was sold as a slave by his brothers, who were jealous of him, and taken to Egypt. There, after a series of vicissitudes, he is freed, enters the service of the Pharaoh and becomes a sort of viceroy. Joseph does not behave like a master, but like a father: he cares for the country, and when famine strikes, he organizes the grain reserves for the common good, so much so that the Pharaoh says to the people: “Go to Joseph; what he says to you, do” ( Gen 41:55) – the same phrase that Mary will say to the servants at the wedding in Cana, referring to Jesus. Joseph, who has suffered injustice personally, does not pursue his own interest, but that of the people, he pays personally for the common good, he makes himself an artisan of peace, he forges relationships capable of innovating society. As Don Lorenzo Milani wrote: “Others’ problems are like mine. To come out of them together is good politics. To come out alone is stinginess”. [1] It is like that, it is simple.

These two biblical examples, one negative, the other positive, help us understand what kind of spirituality can fuel politics. I will highlight just two aspects: tenderness and fruitfulness. Tenderness is “that love that draws near and becomes real. … Tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women. Amid the daily concerns of political life, the smallest, the weakest, the poorest should touch our hearts: indeed they have a ‘right’ to appeal to our heart and soul” (Encyclical Fratelli tutti , 194). Fruitfulness is made up of sharing, a long-term outlook, dialogue, trust, understanding, listening, time spent, answers ready and not deferred. It means looking to the future and investing in the future generations; undertaking processes rather than occupying spaces. This is the golden rule: is your activity to occupy a space for yourself? That will not do. For your group? That will not do either. Occupying spaces will not do: initiating processes will. Time is superior to space.

Dear friends, I would like to conclude by proposing the questions that every good politician should ask: “How much love did I put into my work? What did I do for the progress of our people? What mark did I leave on the life of society? What real bonds did I create? What positive forces did I unleash? How much social peace did I sow? What good did I achieve in the position that was entrusted to me?” ( ibid ., 197). Your concern should not be electoral consensus or personal success, but involving people, generating entrepreneurship, making dreams flourish, making people feel the beauty of belonging to a community. Participation is the balm on the wounds of democracy. I invite you to give your contribution, to participate and to invite your peers to do likewise, always with the purpose and style of service. The politician is a servant; when the politician is not a servant, he or she is a bad politician, not a politician.

Thank you for your commitment. Go forward, and may Our Lady accompany you. I wholeheartedly bless you, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you!

____________________________________  

[1] Letter to a teacher , Florence 1994, 14.

Appointment of member of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches

Appointment of consultors of the Special Commission for the Liturgy of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches

 

Appointment of member of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, as member of the Dicastery for Evangelization, in the Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches.

 

Appointment of consultors of the Special Commission for the Liturgy of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches

The Holy Father has appointed the following as consultors of the Special Commission for the Liturgy of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches: the Reverends András Dobos, rector of the Greek-Catholic Seminary of Nyíregyháza, Hungary; Vartan Kirakos Kazanjian , parish priest of Saint John Chrysostom of the Armenian Catholics in Istanbul, Turkey; Jacob Thekeparampil, director of the Saint Ephrem Ecumenic Research Institute , India; Daniel Galadza, professor of Byzantine liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute, Rome, Italy.

This morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience:

- His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops;

- His Eminence Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, major penitentiary; with Msgr. Krzysztof Jozef Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary;

- Ms. Anne Hidalgo, mayoress of Paris, and entourage;

- His Eminence Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, archbishop of Madrid, Spain, and entourage;

- Young people of the “Progetto Policoro”, organized by the Italian Episcopal Conference

- Refugee families who have fled through Humanitarian Corridors.

In the audience granted to me, due to the need to implement the new Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium with reference to the organization of the newly-constituted Dicastery for Evangelization and to the particular provisions regarding, on the one hand, the management of the Pontificial Mission Societies (art. 67) and, on the other, the administration of the assets destined for the missions (art. 68),

the HOLY FATHER

Has clarified and ordered that the Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization have two Adjunct Secretaries:

(a) the first, in the capacity of President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, responsible for the management of economic resources intended for missionary cooperation and for their equitable distribution;

(b) the second, in the capacity of Director of the special Office of the Dicastery responsible for the administration of the assets destined for the missions.

Both shall report directly to the Pro-Prefect for the Section for first evangelization and the new particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization, to whom the representation of the Dicastery in economic affairs is attributed.

From the Vatican, 1 August 2022

Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle Pro-Prefect