The Pontiff went on to remark that in today's provisional culture, care must   
   be taken not to lose sight of the definitive. "We are afraid of the   
   definitive. And to choose a vocation, any vocation, including vocations that   
   involve a 'state' such as marriage, consecrated life, the priesthood, one must   
   choose with a view to the definitive. This is contrary to the culture of the   
   provisional. It is a part of the culture in which we must live in this time,   
   but we must live through this and conquer it".   
    In conclusion, the Pope encouraged all present to sing the "Salve Regina" and   
   imparted his blessing to all the young people and their families, asking them   
   to pray for him.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    MADAGASCAR: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION ON THE PATH TO   
   RECONCILIATION AND STABILITY   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Apostolic   
   Palace the Holy Father Francis received in audience the president of the   
   Republic of Madagascar, Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina, who subsequently met   
   with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Msgr. Antoine   
   Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with States.   
    During the cordial discussions, after expressing satisfaction with the good   
   relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Madagascar, the Parties   
   focused on the current phase of recovery within the country, underlining the   
   positive contribution of the Catholic Church on the path to national   
   reconciliation and political stability, as well as her contribution in the   
   education and healthcare sectors. Themes of common interest were then   
   considered, such as the struggle against poverty and social inequality.   
    Mention was made of the international situation and the conflicts affecting   
   various regions in the world.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    ECUMENISM: LET US SEE OURSELVES ACCORDING TO GOD'S PLAN, NOT THE HISTORICAL   
   CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2014 (VIS) - The Solemnity of the Holy Patrons of the   
   Church of Rome, the Apostles Peter and Paul, again provided Pope Francis the   
   opportunity to meet with a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of   
   Constantinople, which always visits Rome on this date. In exchange, a   
   delegation from the Vatican visits Instanbul, Turkey, every 30 November, St.   
   Andrew's Day.   
    On this occasion the delegation was headed by the metropolitan of Pergamo,   
   Ioannis (Zizioulas), co-president of the international mixed Commission for   
   theological dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, who   
   was accompanied by Archbishop Job de Telmissos and the patriarchal archdeacon   
   John Chryssavgis.   
    The Holy Father recalled with great affection his "beloved brother"   
   Bartholomaios, with whom he shared his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land,   
   during which they were able to repeat the historical embrace between their   
   predecessors, Athenagoras I and Paul VI, which took place fifty years ago in   
   the holy city of Jerusalem. "That prophetic gesture gave a decisive impulse to   
   a journey which, thank God, has never ceased", remarked Pope Francis. "I   
   consider it a special gift from the Lord that we were able to venerate the   
   holy places together and to pray at each other's side at the place of Christ's   
   burial, where we can actually touch the foundation of our hope". The joy of   
   their common prayer was then renewed during the recent meeting in the Vatican   
   Gardens where they joined in prayer, together with the Presidents of Israel   
   and Palestine, to invoke the gift of peace in the Holy Land".   
    "The Lord granted us these occasions of fraternal encounter, in which we were   
   able to express the love uniting us in Christ, and to renew our mutual desire   
   to walk together along the path to full unity", continued the Holy Father. "We   
   know very well that this unity is a gift of God, a gift that even now the   
   Almighty grants us the grace to attain whenever, by the power of the Holy   
   Spirit, we choose to look at one another with the eyes of faith and to see   
   ourselves as we truly are in God's plan, according to the designs of his   
   eternal will, and not what we have become as a result of the historical   
   consequences of our sins. If all of us can learn, prompted by the Spirit, to   
   look at one another in God, our path will be even straighter and our   
   cooperation all the more easy in the many areas of daily life which already   
   happily unite us".   
    This theological vision "is nourished by faith, hope and love; it gives rise   
   to an authentic theological reflection which is truly 'scientia Dei', a   
   participation in that vision which God has of himself and of us. It is a   
   reflection which can only bring us closer to one another on the path of unity,   
   despite our differing starting points. I hope and I pray, then, that the work   
   of the Joint International Commission can be a sign of this profound   
   understanding, this theology 'on its knees'. In this way, the Commission's   
   reflections on the concepts of primacy and synodality, communion in the   
   universal Church and the ministry of the Bishop of Rome will not be an   
   academic exercise or a mere debate about irreconcilable positions. All of us   
   need, with courage and confidence, to be open to the working of the Holy   
   Spirit. We need to let ourselves be caught up in Christ's loving gaze upon the   
   Church, his Bride, in our journey of spiritual ecumenism. It is a journey   
   upheld by the martyrdom of so many of our brothers and sisters who, by their   
   witness to Jesus Christ the Lord, have brought about an ecumenism of blood",   
   concluded the Pope.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    THE POPE CANCELS HIS VISIT TO THE GEMELLI HOSPITAL   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis did not make his scheduled   
   visit to Rome's Agostino Gemelli Hospital on Friday afternoon due to a mild   
   indisposition. The Mass at which the Holy Father was expected to preside was   
   instead celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, who also   
   pronounced the homily prepared by the Pontiff.   
    The director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J.,   
   confirmed the Holy Father's engagements planned for Saturday 28 and Sunday 29   
   and emphasised that there is no cause for concern regarding the Pope's health.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    GOD IS NOT AFRAID OF HIS BONDS WITH US   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2014 (VIS) - Below are extensive extracts from the   
   homily the Holy Father prepared for his planned visit to the Roman "Agostino   
   Gemelli" Hospital, which he did not attend due to a mild indisposition. The   
   homily was read on behalf of the Pontiff by Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop   
   of Milan, during the Mass celebrated at the hospital yesterday.   
    "God is bound to us, He chose us, and this bond is for ever, not because we   
   are faithful but because the Lord is faithful and tolerates our infidelity,   
   our slowness, our lapses. God is not afraid of bonding with us. ... He loves   
   these bonds, he creates bonds; bonds which free, rather than constrain".   
    "Nowadays, in particular, fidelity is a value under threat, as we are induced   
   always to seek change, presumed novelty, negotiating the roots of our   
   existence, of our faith. Without fidelity to its roots, however, a society   
   does not move ahead; it may make great technical progress, but not the full   
   progress of all man and all humankind. God's faithful love towards His people   
   was made manifest and fully realised in Jesus Christ ... [who] remains   
   faithful and never betrays; even when we err, He always awaits us to forgive   
   us: He is the face of the merciful Father".   
    "This love, this faithfulness to the Lord demonstrates the humility of His   
   heart. ... We are able to experience and savour the tenderness of this love in   
   every phase of life: in times of joy and of sadness, in times of health and of   
   infirmity and sickness. God's faithfulness teaches us to welcome life as a   
   manifestation of His love and enables us to bear witness to this love to our   
   brethren in humble and meek service. This is what the doctors and paramedical   
   staff in this hospital, which belongs to the Catholic University of the Sacred   
   Heart, are especially called upon to do. Here, each one of you brings to the   
   sick a little of the love from Christ's Heart, and you do so with competence   
   and professionalism. This means staying faithful to the fundamental values   
   that Fr. Gemelli placed at the base of this university for Italian Catholics,   
   to unite scientific research enlightened by faith to the preparation of   
   qualified Christian professionals".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    THE AIF SIGNS INFORMATION SHARING AGREEMENT WITH THE USA OFFICE OF THE   
   COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2014 (VIS) - The Autorit  Informazione Finanziaria   
   (AIF), the Financial Intelligence Authority of the Holy See and Vatican City   
   State, has signed an agreement to exchange information with the US Office of   
   the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).   
    This Information Sharing Exchange of Letters is the first bilateral agreement   
   of AIF in its role as Financial Supervisor and Regulator within the Holy See   
   and Vatican City State. It represents a significant strengthening of   
   international cooperation between the Holy See and the United States of   
   America.   
    "This is a further step in Holy See's efforts towards perfecting a system of   
   financial regulation and part of our commitment to transparency and   
   international cooperation," said Rene Bruelhart, the Director of AIF. "The   
   Holy See is part of the global family of well-regulated jurisdictions and the   
   signing of this agreement reflects that very clearly."   
    The agreement with the OCC follows the passing of the new law regarding   
   financial activities in the Holy See, Law XVIII, in October 2013 and the   
   enactment of AIF's new statute in November 2013, which introduced a new   
   supervisory function as part of AIF's mandate.   
    AIF expects further bilateral agreements with financial supervisors and   
   regulators of other countries to follow in due course, and continues in its   
   efforts to strengthen its own regulatory infrastructure in fostering   
   international cooperation.   
    The OCC is an independent authority within the Treasury Department of the   
   United States and serves to charter, regulate and supervise all national banks   
   and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States.   
    AIF is the competent authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State to   
   fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism. According to its   
   mandate, AIF has a double role and acts both as Financial Supervisor and   
   Regulator as well as Financial Intelligence Unit. In its function as Financial   
   Intelligence Unit, AIF became a member of the Egmont Group in July 2013, and   
   has already signed MOUs with the Financial Intelligence Units of more than a   
   dozen countries, including the U.K., the United States, France, Spain, Italy   
   and Germany. It was established in 2010 and became operational in 2011.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    AUDIENCES   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the   
   Doctrine of the Faith.   
    - Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel, apostolic nuncio in the Arab Republic of Egypt,   
   delegate of the Holy See to the League of Arab States.   
    - Archbishop Marek Zalewski, apostolic nuncio in Zimbabwe, with members of   
   his family.   
    - Archbishop Hubertus Matheus Maria van Megen, apostolic nuncio in Sudan and   
   Eritrea.   
    - Archbishop Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet of Montevideo, Uruguay.   
    - Charles Ghislain, ambassador of Belgium, on his farewell visit.   
    - Fernando Felipe Sanchez Campos, ambassador of Costa Rica, on his farewell   
   visit.   
    - Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the   
   Apostolic Signatura.   
    On Saturday, 28 June, the Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.   
    - Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health   
   Care Workers (Health Care Pastoral).   
    - Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
    Vatican City, 28 June 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Msgr.   
   Gennaro Acampa as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Naples (area 274, population   
   1,744,000, Catholics 1,715,000, priests 287, permanent deacons 292, religious   
   3,413), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Naples, Italy in 1945 and was   
   ordained a priest in 1968. He holds a licentiate in sacred theology from the   
   Pontifical Theological Faculty of Southern Italy. He has served in a number of   
   pastoral roles, including priest in the parish of Sacro Cuore di Gesu in Santa   
   Maria Ognibene, spiritual father of the "Paul VI" minor seminary; spiritual   
   father for aspiring permanent deacons, dean of the 1st deanery of the   
   archdiocese of Naples and member of the diocesan presbyteral council. He is   
   currently curate prepositor of the Collegiate Parish of San Giovanni Maggiore   
   in Naples and episcopal vicar for the clergy and for formation.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   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.   
   http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html   
      
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