"Since the moment your country freed itself from dictatorship, the ecclesial   
   communities in Albania have begun again to journey onward and to reorganise   
   pastoral ministry, looking to the future with hope. I am particularly grateful   
   to those pastors who paid a great price for their fidelity to Christ and for   
   their decision to remain united to the Successor of Peter. They were   
   courageous in the face of difficulty and trial. There are still priests and   
   religious among us who have experienced prison and persecution, like the   
   sister and brother who have told us their story. I embrace you warmly, and I   
   praise God for your faithful witness that inspires the whole Church to   
   continue to proclaim the Gospel with joy.   
    "Treasuring this experience, the Church in Albania can grow in its missionary   
   and apostolic zeal. I know and appreciate the effort you make to oppose those   
   new forms of 'dictatorship' that threaten to enslave individuals and   
   communities. If the atheist regime sought to suffocate the faith, these new   
   forms of dictatorship, in a more insidious way, are able to suffocate charity.   
   I am referring to individualism, rivalry and heated conflicts: these are   
   worldly mentalities that can contaminate even the Christian community. We need   
   not be discouraged by these difficulties; do not be afraid to continue along   
   the path of the Lord. He is always at your side, he gives you his grace and he   
   helps you to sustain one another; to accept one another as you are, with   
   understanding and mercy; he helps you to deepen fraternal communion.   
    "Evangelisation is more effective when it is carried out with oneness of   
   spirit and with sincere teamwork among the various ecclesial communities as   
   well as among missionaries and local clergy: this requires courage to seek out   
   ways of working together and offering mutual help in the areas of catechesis   
   and catholic education, as well as full human development and charity. In   
   these settings, the contribution of the ecclesial movements that know how to   
   work in communion with pastors is highly valuable. That is precisely what I   
   see before me: bishops, priests, religious and laity: a Church that desires to   
   walk in fraternity and unity. When love for Christ is placed above all else,   
   even above our legitimate particular needs, then we are able to move outside   
   of ourselves, of our personal or communal pettiness, and move towards Jesus   
   who, in our brothers and sisters, comes to us. His wounds are still visible   
   today on the bodies of so many men and women who are hungry and thirsty; who   
   are humiliated; who are in hospital or prison. By touching and caring for   
   these wounds with tenderness, it is possible to fully live the Gospel and to   
   adore God who lives in our midst.   
    "When love for Christ is placed above all else, even above our legitimate   
   particular needs, then we are able to move outside of ourselves, of our   
   personal or communal pettiness, and move towards Jesus who, in our brothers   
   and sisters, comes to us. His wounds are still visible today on the bodies of   
   so many men and women who are hungry and thirsty; who are humiliated; who are   
   in hospital or prison. By touching and caring for these wounds with   
   tenderness, it is possible to fully live the Gospel and to adore God who lives   
   in our midst.   
    "There are many problems that you encounter every day. These problems compel   
   you to immerse yourselves with fervour and generosity in apostolic work. And   
   yet, we know that by ourselves we can do nothing: 'Unless the Lord builds the   
   house, those who build it labour in vain'. This awareness calls us to give due   
   space for the Lord every day, to dedicate our time to him, open our hearts to   
   him, so that he may work in our lives and in our mission. That which the Lord   
   promises for the prayer made with trust and perseverance goes beyond what we   
   can imagine: beyond that which we ask for, God sends us also the Holy Spirit.   
   The contemplative dimension of our lives becomes indispensable even in the   
   midst of the most urgent and difficult tasks we encounter. The more our   
   mission calls us to go out into the peripheries of life, the more our hearts   
   feel the intimate need to be united to the heart of Christ, which is full of   
   mercy and love.   
    "Considering the fact that the number of priests and religious is not yet   
   sufficient, the Lord Jesus repeats to you today 'The harvest is plentiful, but   
   the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out   
   labourers into his harvest'. We must not forget that this prayer begins with a   
   gaze: the gaze of Jesus, who sees the great harvest. Do we also have this   
   gaze? Do we know how to recognise the abundant fruits that the grace of God   
   has caused to grow and the work that there is to be done in the field of the   
   Lord? It is by gazing with faith on the field of God that prayer springs   
   forth, namely, the daily and pressing invocation to the Lord for priestly and   
   religious vocations. Dear seminarians, postulants and novices, you are the   
   fruit of this prayer of the people of God, which always precedes and   
   accompanies your personal response. The Church in Albania needs your   
   enthusiasm and your generosity. The time that you dedicate today to a solid   
   spiritual, theological, communitarian and pastoral formation, is directed to   
   serving adequately the people of God tomorrow. The people, rather than seeking   
   experts, are looking for witnesses: humble witnesses of the mercy and   
   tenderness of God; priests and religious conformed to Jesus, the Good   
   Shepherd, who are capable of communicating the love of Christ to all people.   
    "Together with you and the entire Albanian people, I want to give thanks to   
   God for the many missionaries whose activity was decisive for the renewal of   
   the Church in Albania and which continues to be of great importance to this   
   day. These missionaries have offered a significant contribution to the   
   consolidation of the spiritual patrimony that the Albanian bishops, priests,   
   consecrated religious and lay persons have preserved in the midst of difficult   
   trials and tribulations. Let us acknowledge the great work done by the   
   religious institutes for the revival of Catholic education: these efforts are   
   worth recognising and sustaining.   
    "Dear brothers and sisters, do not be discouraged in the face of   
   difficulties. Following the footsteps of your fathers, be tenacious in giving   
   testimony to Christ, walking 'together with God, toward the hope that never   
   disappoints'. In your journey, rest assured that you are accompanied and   
   supported by the love of the whole Church. I thank you from the heart for this   
   meeting, and I entrust each one of you and your communities - your plans and   
   your hopes - to the holy Mother of God. I bless you from my heart and I ask   
   you, please, to pray for me".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Visit to the Bethany Centre: "Here faith becomes concrete charity"   
    Vatican City, 21 September 2014 (VIS) - The final stage of Pope Francis'   
   apostolic trip to Albania was the visit to the Bethany Charitable Centre,   
   approximately thirty kilometres from Tirana. The centre, founded by the   
   Italian Antonietta Vitale in 1999, assists numerous disabled people and poor   
   or marginalised children, with the collaboration of a group of lay volunteers.   
    "In places such as this we are all confirmed in the faith; each one is helped   
   in his or her belief, because we see the faith visibly expressed in practical   
   acts of charity. We see how faith brings light and hope in situations of grave   
   hardship", remarked Pope Francis in the address he gave in the church in the   
   Centre, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. "This faith, working through   
   charity, dislodges the mountains of indifference, of disbelief and of apathy.   
   ... Through humble gestures and simple acts of service to the least among us,   
   the Good News that Jesus is risen and lives among us is proclaimed".   
    "This Centre, furthermore, shows that it is possible to live together   
   peacefully and fraternally as people of different ethnicities and followers of   
   various religious confessions. Here differences do not prevent harmony, joy   
   and peace, but rather become opportunities for a greater mutual awareness and   
   understanding. ... Each religious community expresses itself through love and   
   not violence, and is never ashamed of showing goodness! The persons who   
   nourish goodness in their heart, find that such goodness leads to a peaceful   
   conscience and to profound joy even in the midst of difficulties and   
   misunderstandings. Even when affronted, goodness is never weak but rather,   
   shows its strength by refusing to take revenge. Goodness is its own reward and   
   draws us closer to God, who is the Supreme Good. ... Goodness offers   
   infinitely more than money, which only deludes, because we have been created   
   to receive the love of God and to offer it, not to measure everything in terms   
   of money or power".   
    With regard to the volunteers who collaborate in the Centre, the Pope quoted   
   one of the children in the Bethany Centre, who said, "'For fifteen years now   
   they have sacrificed themselves joyfully out of love for Jesus and for us'.   
   This phrase reveals how making a gift of oneself for the love of Jesus gives   
   birth to joy and hope, and it also shows how serving one's brothers and   
   sisters is transformed into an experience of sharing God's kingdom. These   
   words ... might seem paradoxical to many in our world who are slow to grasp   
   their meaning and who frantically seek the key to existence in earthly riches,   
   possessions and amusements. What these people discover, instead, is   
   estrangement and bewilderment".   
    The bishop of Rome emphasised that instead, "the secret to a good life is   
   found in loving and giving oneself for love's sake. From here comes the   
   strength to 'sacrifice oneself joyfully', and thus the most demanding work is   
   transformed into a source of a greater joy. In this way, there is no longer   
   any fear of making important choices in life, but they are seen for what they   
   are, namely, as the way to personal fulfilment in freedom".   
    He concluded, "May your patron, St. Anthony, accompany you along the way. I   
   encourage you to continue faithfully serving the Lord Jesus in the poor and   
   abandoned, and to pray to Him so that the hearts and minds of all may be   
   opened to goodness, to charity shown in works, which is the source of real and   
   authentic joy".   
    The Pope greeted the children and disabled persons present upon leaving the   
   church, and then transferred to Mother Teresa airport to depart for Rome. The   
   aircraft carrying the Holy Father landed shortly after 9.30 p.m.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis recounts his emotional trip to Albania   
    Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - During his return flight to Rome, the   
   Holy Father responded to several questions posed by three Albanian journalists   
   who had covered his apostolic trip to Albania. The three questions, and Pope   
   Francis' answers, are published in full below.   
    Q: "Did His Holiness set out with an idea in mind about Albanians and   
   Albania? Such as the Albanian who has suffered but is also tolerant. Has he   
   encountered any other quality in the Albanians, or are these the right   
   qualities to enable the eagle to return to the nest?"   
    Pope Francis: "The Albanian is not only tolerant, he is a brother. He has the   
   capacity for fraternity, which is more. This can be seen in the co-existence   
   and collaboration between Muslims, Orthodox and Catholics. They collaborate,   
   but like brothers. And then, another aspect that struck me at the beginning is   
   the youth of the country - it is the youngest country in Europe. But you can   
   see that Albania has achieved a superior development in culture and   
   governance, thanks to this fraternal quality".   
    Q: "Travelling along the central boulevard of Tirana, beneath the portraits   
   of the clerics martyred during the communist regime, in a country in which the   
   State imposed atheism until twenty-five years ago, what was your personal   
   feeling?"   
    Pope Francis: "For two months I have been studying that difficult period in   
   the history of Albania, in order to understand it, and I have also studied   
   something of its origins. But you have had beautiful and strong cultural roots   
   since the beginning. It was a cruel period; the level of cruelty was terrible.   
   When I saw those photos - but not just the Catholics, also the Orthodox, and   
   Muslims .... and when I thought of the words said to them: 'But you must not   
   believe in God', to which they responded, 'I believe'... Boom! They killed   
   them. This is why I say that all three religious components have given witness   
   to God and now give witness to fraternity".   
    Q: "Albania is a country with a Muslim majority. But your visit took place at   
   a moment in which the global situation is precarious. You yourself have   
   declared that the third world war has already begun. The message of your visit   
   is intended solely for Albania, or beyond?"   
    Pope Francis: "No, it goes far beyond. Albania has constructed a path of   
   peace, co-existence and cooperation that goes far beyond, that touches other   
   countries that also have diverse ethnic roots. It is a country with a Muslim   
   majority, but it is not a Muslim country. It is a European country. Albania is   
   a European country in terms of her culture, the culture of coexistence, and   
   also for her cultural history".   
    Q: "After Albania, where will your next trips be?"   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)