VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXIV - # 100   
   DATE 28-05-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - POPE FRANCIS RECALLS HIS PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND   
   - FRANCIS GIVES THANKS FOR PRAYERS FOR HIS PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND   
   - MESSAGE TO THE ILO: IT IS UNACCEPTABLE THAT SLAVE LABOUR IS COMMON CURRENCY   
   - "COR UNUM" IN THE SYRIAN CRISIS   
   - AUDIENCES   
   - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
   - NOTICE   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    POPE FRANCIS RECALLS HIS PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND   
    Vatican City, 28 May 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father arrived punctually in St.   
   Peter's Square this Wednesday morning, and began his general audience by   
   touring the square in the popemobile to greet the 35,000 faithful and pilgrims   
   who awaited him, kissing children and blessing religious objects. He then went   
   on to speak about his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, from which he   
   returned on Monday. "It was a great gift for the Church", he commented, "and I   
   give thanks to God. He led me to that blessed Land, that has seen the   
   historical presence of Jesus and where events fundamental to Judaism,   
   Christianity and Islam took place".   
    He explained that "the main aim of this pilgrimage was to commemorate the   
   fiftieth anniversary of the historic encounter between Pope Pope VI and the   
   Patriarch Athenagoras. It was the first time that a Successor of Peter visited   
   the Holy Land: Paul VI thus inaugurated, during Vatican Council II, the   
   tradition of papal trips outside Italy during the contemporary era. This   
   prophetic gesture on the part of the bishop of Rome and the Patriarch of   
   Constantinople constituted a milestone in the arduous but promising path   
   towards unity among all Christians, which has taken important steps since   
   then. Therefore, my encounter with His Holiness Bartholomew, beloved brother   
   in Christ, was the culmination of the visit. We prayed together at the Holy   
   Sepulchre, along with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos   
   III, and the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch Nourhan, as well as archbishops and   
   bishops from various Churches and Communities, civil authorities and many   
   faithful".   
    "In that place, where the proclamation of the Resurrection resounds, we all   
   felt the bitterness and suffering of the divisions that continue to exist   
   between Christ's disciples, and this has really done great harm, harm to the   
   heart. We are still divided; in that place, where the proclamation of the   
   Resurrection resounds, where Jesus gives us life, we are still divided. But   
   above all, in that celebration so rich in mutual brotherhood, esteem and   
   affection, we strongly heard the voice of the Risen Good Shepherd who wishes   
   to bring together all His sheep in one flock; we felt the desire to heal the   
   wounds that are still open and to follow with tenacity the path to full   
   communion".   
    "Once more, like my predecessors, I ask forgiveness for what we have done to   
   promote that division, and I pray that the Holy Spirit may help us to heal the   
   wounds we have inflicted on other brethren. We are all brothers in Christ, and   
   with the Patriarch Bartholomew we are friends, brothers; we have shared the   
   desire to walk together, to do what we are able to do today: to pray together,   
   to work together for God's flock, to seek peace and protect creation, the many   
   things that we have in common. We must move forward like brothers".   
    Pope Francis went on to speak about a second aim of the pilgrimage: that of   
   encouraging, in the region, the path to peace, "which is both a gift from God   
   and a commitment for humankind". He continued, "I always did this as a   
   pilgrim, in the name of God and of humankind, carrying in my heart a great   
   compassion for the sons of that Land, who have lived in conditions of war for   
   too long and have the right to finally experience days of peace! For this   
   reason I exhorted the Christian faithful to let themselves be anointed by the   
   Holy Spirit, with an open and docile heart, to increasingly able to make   
   gestures of humility, fraternity and reconciliation. The Spirit enables us to   
   assume these attitudes in our daily life, with people of different cultures   
   and religions, and to thereby become peacemakers". He added, "peace is crafted   
   day by day, and with an open heart to allow God's gift to enter".   
    The Pontiff commended the efforts made by the Jordanian authorities and   
   people to welcome the many refugees from war zones: "a humanitarian effort   
   that deserves and needs the constant support of the international community. I   
   was impressed by the generosity of the Jordanian people. May the Lord bless   
   this welcoming people". He also commented that in other places during his   
   pilgrimage he had "encouraged the authorities involved to continue in their   
   efforts to alleviate the tensions in the Middle East, especially in war-torn   
   Syria, and to continue their search for an equitable solution to the   
   Israeli-Palestinian conflict". "For this reason", he added, "I invited the   
   president of Israel and the president of Palestine, men of peace and artisans   
   of peace, to join me in the Vatican to pray together for peace".   
    He commented that the trip had also offered "the opportunity to confirm the   
   faith of the Christian communities, who suffer greatly, and to express the   
   gratitude of all the Church for the presence of Christians in that area and   
   throughout the Middle East. These brothers of ours are courageous witnesses of   
   hope and charity, 'salt and light' in the Land. Through their life of faith   
   and prayer, and with their greatly appreciated educational and welfare   
   assistance, they work for reconciliation and forgiveness, contributing to the   
   common good of society".   
    "With this pilgrimage", he concluded, "I wished be the bearer of a word of   
   hope, but I also received this in return! I received it from the brothers and   
   sisters who hope 'against all hope', amid the suffering of those who have fled   
   their own countries on account of conflicts; of those who, throughout the   
   world, are derided and discriminated against for their faith in Christ. Let us   
   stay close to them! Let us pray for them, and for peace in the Holy Land and   
   in the Middle East. May the prayer of all the Church also support the path to   
   full unity between Christians, so that the world may believe in God's love   
   that in Jesus Christ came to live among us".   
    Pope Francis concluded by inviting the faithful to pray a Hail Mary for world   
   peace.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    FRANCIS GIVES THANKS FOR PRAYERS FOR HIS PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND   
    Vatican City, 28 May 2014 (VIS) - In his greetings in various languages   
   following today's catechesis, the Holy Father invited all those present to   
   pray for peace in the Holy Land and throughout the Middle East, and gave   
   thanks to those who accompanied with prayer his recent apostolic pilgrimage.   
   He addressed special greetings to the English and Welsh pilgrims, members of   
   the Catholic Police Association, as well as the members of the International   
   Catholic Commission for Migration who are holding their plenary session in   
   these days, and expressed his hope that this "concerted commitment may   
   contribute to assisting many of our brethren in need". He also thanked the   
   Arab-speaking pilgrims, above all those from Jordan and the Holy Land, for the   
   affectionate and generous welcome received during his trip and assured them   
   that he will hold them forever in his heart and in his prayers, invoking   
   "abundant goodness, continuing prosperity and lasting peace".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)