VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 110   
   DATE 16-06-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - THE POPE RECEIVES THE PRIMATE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH: GREAT SAINTS, TEACHERS   
   AND COMMUNITIES DEMONSTRATE OUR COMMON ROOTS   
   - IMPACT INVESTING FOR THE POOR: "IT IS INTOLERABLE THAT FINANCIAL MARKETS   
   SHAPE THE DESTINY OF PEOPLES"   
   - TO THE SANT'EDIGIO COMMUNITY: CONTINUE ALONG THE PATH OF PRAYER FOR THE POOR   
   AND FOR PEACE   
   - ANGELUS: IT IS CONTRADICTORY TO IMAGINE CHRISTIANS WHO HATE EACH OTHER   
   - FRANCIS PRAYS FOR PEACE AND RECONCILATION IN IRAQ   
   - MESSAGE FOR WORLD MISSION DAY   
   - LET US IMITATE JESUS IN FACING THE HUMAN TROUBLES WE ENCOUNTER EVERY DAY   
   - THE HOLY FATHER'S PROGRAMME FOR JULY AND AUGUST   
   - POPULORUM PROGRESSIO FOUNDATION: INCREASE PROJECTS IN EDUCATION AND   
   PROFESSIONAL TRAINING   
   - CARDINAL CYPRIEN LACROIX TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS TITULAR CHURCH   
   - AUDIENCES   
   - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    THE POPE RECEIVES THE PRIMATE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH: GREAT SAINTS, TEACHERS   
   AND COMMUNITIES DEMONSTRATE OUR COMMON ROOTS   
    Vatican City, 16 June 2014 (VIS) - The awareness that the objective of unity   
   may seem distant, but is always the aim of the path of ecumenism and common   
   concern for the ills of humanity, especially human trafficking, were some of   
   the key themes in the Holy Father's encounter with His Grace Justin Welby,   
   archbishop of Canterbury, in the Vatican this morning.   
    "The Lord's question - 'What were you arguing about on the way?' - might also   
   apply to us. When Jesus put this question to his disciples they were silent;   
   they were ashamed, for they had been arguing about who was the greatest among   
   them. We too feel ashamed when we ponder the distance between the Lord's call   
   and our meagre response. Beneath his merciful gaze, we cannot claim that our   
   division is anything less than a scandal and an obstacle to our proclaiming   
   the Gospel of salvation to the world. Our vision is often blurred by the   
   cumulative burden of our divisions and our will is not always free of that   
   human ambition which can accompany even our desire to preach the Gospel as the   
   Lord commanded".   
    Despite these difficulties, "The Holy Spirit gives us the strength not to   
   grow disheartened and invites us to trust fully in the power of His works. As   
   disciples who strive to follow the Lord, we realise that the faith has come to   
   us through many witnesses. We are indebted to great saints, teachers and   
   communities; they have handed down the faith over the ages and they bear   
   witness to our common roots".   
    The bishop of Rome went on to remark that yesterday, on the Solemnity of the   
   Most Holy Trinity, the archbishop of Canterbury celebrated Vespers in the   
   Church of San Gregorio al Celio, "from which Pope Gregory the Great sent forth   
   Augustine and his monastic companions to evangelise the peoples of England,   
   thus inaugurating a history of faith and holiness which in turn enriched many   
   other European peoples. This glorious history has profoundly shaped   
   institutions and ecclesial traditions which we share and which serve as a   
   solid basis for our fraternal relations".   
    "On this basis, then, let us look with confidence to the future. The   
   Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission and the International   
   Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission represent especially   
   significant forums for examining, in a constructive spirit, older and newer   
   challenges to our ecumenical engagement. He also emphasised their shared   
   "horror in the face of the scourge of human trafficking and forms of   
   modern-day slavery" and thanked Archbishop Welby "for the leadership you have   
   shown in opposing these intolerable crimes against human dignity".   
    "In attempting to respond to this urgent need, notable collaborative efforts   
   have been initiated on the ecumenical level and in cooperation with civil   
   authorities and international organisations. Many charitable initiatives have   
   been undertaken by our communities, and they are operating with generosity and   
   courage in various parts of the world. I think in particular of the action   
   network against the trafficking in women set up by a number of women's   
   religious institutes". He concluded, "Let us persevere in our commitment to   
   combat new forms of enslavement, in the hope that we can help provide relief   
   to victims and oppose this deplorable trade. I thank God that, as disciples   
   sent to heal a wounded world, we stand together, with perseverance and   
   determination, in opposing this grave evil".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    IMPACT INVESTING FOR THE POOR: "IT IS INTOLERABLE THAT FINANCIAL MARKETS   
   SHAPE THE DESTINY OF PEOPLES"   
    Vatican City, 16 June 2014 (VIS) - A congress to identify current and   
   practicable forms of investment for greater social equality, entitled "Impact   
   Investing for the Poor", has been organised by the Pontifical Council "Justice   
   and Peace", is being held in Rome this week. The participants, including   
   representatives of the Roman Curia, were received in audience by Pope Francis   
   this morning.   
    Impact Investing is a form of investment that "can benefit local communities   
   and the environment, as well as providing a reasonable return". Investors who   
   follow this practice, the Pontiff explained, "are conscious of the existence   
   of serious unjust situations, instances of profound social inequality and   
   unacceptable conditions of poverty affecting communities and entire peoples.   
   These investors turn to financial institutes which will use their resources to   
   promote the economic and social development of these groups through investment   
   funds aimed at satisfying basic needs associated with agriculture, access to   
   water, adequate housing and reasonable prices, as well as with primary health   
   care and educational services".   
    Investments of this type are intended to have positive social repercussions   
   on local communities, such as job creation, access to energy, training and   
   increased agricultural productivity. The financial return for investors tends   
   to be more moderate than in other types of investment. Pope Francis emphasised   
   that "the logic underlying these innovative forms of intervention is one which   
   acknowledges the ultimate connection between profit and solidarity, the   
   virtuous circle existing between profit and gift ... Christians are called to   
   rediscover, experience and proclaim to all this precious and primordial unity   
   between profit and solidarity".   
    "It is important that ethics once again play its due part in the world of   
   finance and that markets serve the interests of peoples and the common good of   
   humanity". He exclaimed, "It is increasingly intolerable that financial   
   markets are shaping the destiny of peoples rather than serving their needs, or   
   that the few derive immense wealth from financial speculation while the many   
   are deeply burdened by the consequences. Advances in technology have increased   
   the speed of financial transactions, but in the long run this is significant   
   only to the extent that it better serves the common good. In this regard,   
   speculation on food prices is a scandal which seriously compromises access to   
   food on the part of the poorest members of our human family. It is urgent that   
   governments throughout the world commit themselves to developing an   
   international framework capable of promoting a market of high impact   
   investments, and thus to combating an economy which excludes and discards".   
    Francis mentioned that today the Church celebrates the memorial of Saints   
   Quiricus and Giulitta, a son and mother who, persecuted under Diocletian, left   
   all their possessions to the poor and accepted martyrdom. He concluded, "I   
   join you in asking the Lord to help us never to forget the transience of   
   earthly goods and to renew our commitment to serve the common good with love   
   and with preference for the most poor and vulnerable of our brothers and   
   sisters".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    TO THE SANT'EDIGIO COMMUNITY: CONTINUE ALONG THE PATH OF PRAYER FOR THE POOR   
   AND FOR PEACE   
    Vatican City, 15 June 2014 (VIS) - On Sunday afternoon the Pope visited the   
   Sant'Egidio Community in the Roman quarter of Trastevere. In his address, he   
   commented that prayer "preserves the anonymous man of the city from the   
   temptations that may also be ours: the 'protagonism' of those who think that   
   the world revolves around them, indifference, victimism. Prayer is the first   
   task of your Community, and consists of listening to the Word of God, the   
   bread that gives us strength and enables us to go forth. ... He who looks to   
   the Lord, sees others. You too have learned to see others, in particular the   
   poorest among you; and I hope that you will be able to live out what Professor   
   Riccardi has described - that is, that among you, you forget who gives and who   
   receives help. A care that slowly ceases to be 'care' and transforms into   
   encounter and embrace. ... Who is at the centre of this? Both, or rather, the   
   embrace itself".   
    The Holy Father rejoiced to see many elderly among those present, and   
   commented on the importance of the alliance between the young and the elderly,   
   in which everyone receives and gives. "A population who does not care for the   
   elderly and does not care for the young is a population without future, a   
   people without hope. Because the young - children, young people - and the   
   elderly are those who carry history forth. The young with their natural   
   strength, and the elderly, providing their memory. But when a society loses   
   its memory, it is finished". The Pope also spoke against the "throwaway   
   culture", which currently afflicts Europe - "a tired Europe that doesn't know   
   what to do". "We must rejuvenate her and help her to find her roots. It is   
   true that she has disavowed her roots, but we must help her to rediscover   
   them". He affirmed that change in society starts with the poor and the   
   elderly. "Nowadays, unfortunately, the speculative economy has made the poor   
   ever poorer, depriving them of the essentials for life, such as a home and   
   employment. This is unacceptable! Those who live in solidarity with others do   
   not accept this and react. It seems that many people would prefer to remove   
   this word 'solidarity' from the dictionary, as within a certain culture it can   
   seem almost like a profanity. No! Solidarity is a Christian word!".   
    The Pope encouraged all those who collaborate with the Community from other   
   countries to be friends of God, of the poor, and of peace, "because those who   
   live in this way find blessings in life and will be a blessing for others".   
   Before concluding, he emphasised again the need for prayer and dialogue, but   
   always starting out from one's own identity. "Go forth along this road:   
   prayer, the poor, and peace. In this way you will help compassion grow in the   
   heart of society - which is the true revolution, that of compassion and   
   tenderness - and help friendship to grown instead of enmity and indifference".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    ANGELUS: IT IS CONTRADICTORY TO IMAGINE CHRISTIANS WHO HATE EACH OTHER   
    Vatican City, 15 June 2014 (VIS) - At midday sharp today, as on every Sunday,   
   the Pope appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace   
   to pray the Angelus with the thousands of faithful and pilgrims who awaited   
   him in St. Peter's Square. Before the prayer, Francis spoke briefly about the   
   Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, "profound communion and perfect love", the   
   origin and objective of all creation. He said, "in the Trinity we also   
   recognise the model of the Church, in which we are called upon to love each   
   other as Jesus loved us. Love is the concrete sign that manifests faith in God   
   the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Love is the distinctive feature of the   
   Christian, as Jesus told us: 'By this everyone will know that you are my   
   disciples, if you have love for one another'. It is a contradiction to think   
   of Christians who hate each other. It is a contradiction! And the devil seeks   
   precisely this: to make us hate each other, because he sows the discord of   
   hate: he does not know love, the love that is God's!".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)