"Today, at the end of the month of May, we celebrate the feast day that   
   commemorates her visit to St. Elizabeth. The Gospel tells us that, after the   
   angel's annunciation, she went in haste, she went immediately to serve. This   
   is the virgin of readiness ... Our Lady of Prompt Succour. She immediately   
   comes to our assistance when we pray, when we ask for help and protection. In   
   many moments in life, when we need her help and her protection, let us   
   remember that she does not make us wait: she is the Virgin of Prompt Succour   
   and immediately comes to our aid".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    THE POPE ON THE CHILDREN'S TRAIN   
    Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall   
   the Holy Father received in audience the five hundred children from Naples and   
   Rome participating in the "Il Treno dei Bambini" ("The Children's Train")   
   initiative organised by the Pontifical Council for Culture, within the ambit   
   of the "Courtyard of the Gentiles for Children", which completes its second   
   edition this year.   
    The children presented the Pope with bracelets made by hand with coloured   
   rubber bands, which he immediately put on, and a plant in a vase with earth   
   from the Neapolitan catacombs of St. Gennaro. Francis enjoyed their adaptation   
   of the famous song, "O Sole mio", as "O Papa mio", sung by a choir of children   
   and, after listening to them, he chatted with the participants, and told them   
   that the plant they had given to him was a plant of light.   
    The pontiff, recalling that the catacombs were dark, said, "You have brought   
   me earth that comes from the darkness ... so that it turns into light. ...   
   Light is always more important than darkness. ... We must go in search of   
   light. Always, inside ourselves. Because light gives us joy and hope. ... And   
   thanks to the light it is possible to do what you said when you gave me the   
   plant: ensure that the fruits help us to make a better world. Can we make a   
   better world? Yes! And how do we do this? With hate? No, with love, all   
   together as brothers and sisters, fighting alongside each other for love. And   
   for this, let me tell you something: when the Apostle John, who was a great   
   friend of Jesus, wanted to say who God is, do you know what he said? He said,   
   'God is love'. ... And we go towards the light to find God's love. But God's   
   love is inside us. ... Even in moments of darkness, he never abandons us".   
    All the Pope's words were interspersed with answers from the children. At the   
   end, Francis said that he was very happy to have spent time with them, and   
   said he would pray to the Lord to make them into boys and girls, men and women   
   who would go forward with love. "When God's love goes ahead, everything goes   
   well". Finally, he asked the children to sing another song together.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    THE POPE: SILENCE WEAPONS IN SYRIA   
    Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Pope delivered a   
   message to the participants in the meeting with Catholic charitable   
   associations who work in the context of the crisis in Syria, organised by the   
   Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".   
    "We meet again to evaluate the work carried out so far and to renew our will   
   to follow this path", he writes. "But we must accept with great sorrow that   
   the Syrian crisis has not been resolved, but instead continues, and there is   
   the risk of growing accustomed to it: of forgetting the victims claimed on a   
   daily basis, the unspeakable suffering, the thousands of refugees, which   
   include the elderly and children, who suffer and at times die of hunger and of   
   diseases causes by the conditions of war. This indifference is harmful! Once   
   again we must repeat the name of this illness that does so much damage in   
   today's world: the globalisation of indifference".   
    He continues, "The action of peace and the work of humanitarian aid carried   
   out by Catholic charitable entities in this context constitute a faithful   
   expression of God's love for his children, who find themselves in conditions   
   of oppression and anguish. God hears their cry, He knows their suffering, and   
   He wishes to free them; and you lend your hands and your abilities to Him. ...   
   This meeting offers a useful opportunity to identify suitable forms of stable   
   collaboration, in dialogue between the various actors, in order to improve the   
   organisation of our efforts to support the local Churches and all the victims   
   of the war, without distinction on ethnic, religious or social grounds".   
    Pope Francis launches a further appeal to the consciences of the parties to   
   the conflict, to world institutions and public opinion, and affirms: "We are   
   all aware that the future of humanity is built with peace and not by war: war   
   destroys, kills, and impoverishes peoples and countries. I ask that all   
   parties, with a view to the common good, immediately consent to humanitarian   
   aid and to silence their weapons as soon as possible, making efforts to   
   negotiate and to make their first priority the well-being of Syria, of all her   
   inhabitants, including the many who have had to seek refuge elsewhere and who   
   have the right to return to their homeland as soon as possible. I think in   
   particular of the dear Christian communities, the face of a Church who suffers   
   and hopes. Their survival in the Middle East is of profound concern to the   
   universal Church: Christianity must be able to continue to live there, where   
   its origins lie".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    EPISCOPAL ORDINATION IN ST. PETER'S: PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE, LIKE MOSES   
    Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, in the Vatican   
   Basilica, the Holy Father conferred episcopal ordination to Msgr. Fabio   
   Fabene, under-secretary of the Synod of Bishops.   
    During the Eucharistic celebration, he pronounced the ritual homily from the   
   Roman Pontifical for the ordination of bishops, making various off-the-cuff   
   additions. "You have been chosen by the flock: may vanity, pride and arrogance   
   never come to you. And you have been constituted by men: may your attitude   
   always be one of service, like Jesus. ... I advise you to keep before you the   
   words of Paul that we have heard: Keep watch over yourselves and keep watch   
   over God's flock. This watchfulness means keeping vigil, being attentive, to   
   defend yourself from many sins and many worldly attitudes, and to defend the   
   people of God from the wolves that Paul said would come. ... And overseeing   
   the people also means praying, praying for the people, as Moses did: with   
   raised hands, that prayer of intercession, that courageous prayer,   
   face-to-face with the Lord, for the people".   
    The Pope also reminded the new bishop to pay great attention to those who do   
   not belong to Christ's single flock, as they too have been entrusted to him by   
   the Lord. "And pray for them", he added.   
    Finally, he emphasised that, by virtue of his mission, the prelate must be   
   show concern for all the Churches, generously assisting those most in need. He   
   concluded, "I think that this will be easy for you, considering the task that   
   has been entrusted to you in the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    DECLARATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE FOR THE LIBERATION   
   OF THE MISSIONARIES ABDUCTED IN CAMEROON   
    Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - The Director of the Holy See Press Office,   
   Father Federico Lombardi, S.J, has issued the following declaration:   
    "The release of the two Italian missionary priests from Vicenza, Gianantonio   
   Allegri and Giampaolo Martha, and of the Canadian nun Gilberte Bussière, who   
   had been kidnapped in Cameroon at the beginning of April, is news that fills   
   us with joy. The Holy Father, who had followed the dramatic story from the   
   outset, was promptly informed. We thank God that this incident has come to a   
   successful conclusion. At the same time we continue to pray and to make   
   efforts so that every form of violence, hatred, and conflict in the various   
   regions of Africa and in other parts of the world might be overcome; and we   
   renew the memory of, and the commitment to, the many other innocent people in   
   different conditions and of different ages, who - as we know well - are   
   victims of unacceptable abductions in different places of conflict".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    HIS HOLINESS ARAM I, CATHOLICOS OF THE ARMENIAN APOSTOLIC CHURCH OF CILICIA,   
   TO VISIT ROME   
    Vatican City, 31 May 2014 (VIS) - His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the   
   Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, will visit Rome to meet with His   
   Holiness Pope Francis. His Holiness Aram I was elected Catholicos of Cilicia   
   of Antelias in 1995.   
    The Armenian Church consists of two catholicates and two patriarchates, and   
   around six million faithful. The two catholicates of Etchmiadzin and Antelias   
   are in full communion, but they are independent from an administrative point   
   of view. The Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Armenian Patriarchate   
   of Constantinople refer to Etchmiadzin for spiritual questions.   
    Following Vatican Council II, new relations have developed between the   
   Catholic Church and the Armenian Church. Representatives of the two   
   Catholicates of Etchmiadzin and Antelias are members of the Mixed   
   International Commission for theological dialogue between the Catholic Church   
   and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.   
    His Holiness Aram I visited the Church of Rome and met with Pope John Paul II   
   from 23 to 26 January 1997. More recently, the Catholicos Aram I visited Pope   
   Benedict XVI in November 2008, and on that occasion they presided over an   
   ecumenical prayer together.   
    On Thursday 5 June the Catholicos will meet Pope Francis and they will pray   
   together. They will visit the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity   
   and various other dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Finally, they will visit the   
   tomb of St. Peter and pray before the statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator,   
   which is located on the north courtyard of the Vatican Basilica.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    AUDIENCES   
    Vatican City, 2 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy father received in audience:   
    - Mehriban Aliyeva, president of the "Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Azerbaijan.   
    - Eight prelates of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, on their "ad   
   limina" visit:   
    Archbishop Alexander Thomas Kaliyanil, S.V.D., of Bulawayo;   
    Bishop Xavier Johnsai Munyongani of Gweru;   
    Bishop Joseph Albert Serrano Anton, I.E.M.E., of Hwange;   
    Bishop Michael Dixon Bhasera of Masvingo;   
    Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu of Harare;   
    Bishop Dieter Bernd Scholz , S.J., of Chinhoyi;   
    Bishop Angel Floro Martinez, I.E.M.E., of Gokwe;   
    Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa of Mutare.   
    On Saturday, 31 June, the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.   
    - Twelve prelates of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina"   
   visit:   
    Archbishop Valentin Sanchez Espinosa of Puebla de los Angeles, with his   
   auxiliaries, Bishop Eugenio Andres Lira Rugarcia, Bishop Rutilo Felipe Pozos   
   Lorenzini, and Bishop Tomas Lopez Duran;   
    Bishop Teodoro Enrique Pino Miranda of Huajuapan de Leon;   
    Bishop Rodrigo Aguilar Martinez of Tehuacan;   
    Archbishop Jesus Carlos Cabrero Romero of San Luis Potosi;   
    Bishop Roberto Octavio Balmori Cinta, M.J., of Ciudad Valles;   
    Bishop Sigifredo Noriega Barcelo of Zacatecas;   
    Archbishop Domingo Diaz Martinez of Tulancingo;   
    Bishop Gerardo de Jesus Rojas Lopez of Tabasco;   
    Bishop Georges M. Saad Abi Younes, O.L.M., of Nuestra Senora de los Martires   
   del Libano en Mexico of the Maronites.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
    Vatican City, 2 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:   
    - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of   
   Paramaribo, Suriname, presented by Bishop Wilhelmus de Bekker, upon reaching   
   the age limit. He is succeeded by Fr. Antonius te Dorshorst, O.M.I., as   
   apostolic administrator "sede vacante et at nutum Sanctae Sedis" of the same   
   diocese.   
    - appointed Fr. Tadeusz Kusy, O.F.M. as coadjutor of the diocese of   
   Kaga-Bandoro (area 95,000, population 251,000, Catholics 91,691, priests 20,   
   religious 20), Central African Republic. The bishop-elect was born in Cieszyn,   
   Poland in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1974. He holds a licentiate in   
   theology from the Institute of Science and Theology of Religions, Paris,   
   France, and has served in a number of pastoral roles, including: master of   
   novices in Mbujimayi and Lukafu, Democratic Republic of Congo, and priest of   
   the parishes of Obo and Rafai, Central African Republic. He is currently   
   master of postulants and head of formation in the archdiocese of Bangui, head   
   of the diocesan commission for consecrated life, and member of the council of   
   consultors.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
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   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)