Pope Francis: "On 25 November, Strasbourg, to speak at the Council of Europe   
   and the European Parliament. And then, perhaps, on 28 November, Turkey, to be   
   there to celebrate the feast of St. Andrew, with the Patriarch Bartholomaios".   
    Q: "We have understood that you have a vision of Albania that is a little   
   different to that of the Europeans; that is, we look at Europe almost as if it   
   were the European Union, whereas you have chosen, as the first European   
   country to visit, a peripheral country that does not belong to the European   
   Union. What would you say to those who look only at the Europe of the   
   'powerful'?"   
    Pope Francis: "That my trip is a message, it is a sign: it is a sign I wish   
   to give".   
    Q: "We all saw you weep, I think, for the first time, we saw you very moved   
   during that encounter: it was, I think, the most moving moment of the trip..."   
    Pope Francis: "To hear a martyr speak of his own martyrdom was very powerful.   
   I think that all of us who were there were moved, all of us. And they spoke as   
   if they were talking about other people, simply and with humility. It did me a   
   great deal of good".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Holy Father receives the president of Latvia   
    Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father Francis   
   received in audience Andris Berzins, president of the Republic of Latvia, who   
   subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied   
   by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.   
    During the discussions, which took place in a cordial atmosphere, the   
   existing good relations between Latvia and the Holy See were evoked, as well   
   as the positive contribution made by the Catholic Church to society,   
   especially in the fields of education and social welfare.   
    Mention was then made of various aspects of life in the country, as well as   
   international matters of common interest, particularly in view of Latvia's   
   upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union, from 1 January 2015.   
   Special attention was paid to the situation in Ukraine, in the hope that a   
   political solution, based on law, may be sought through dialogue.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Church needs pastors able to kneel before others   
    Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican's   
   Clementine Hall, the Holy Father received the bishops participating in the   
   seminar organised by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Pope   
   Francis praised the courage of the bishops, who have not allowed themselves   
   "to be intimidated by the difficulties and challenges of the current world,   
   that make the mission of bishops even more arduous nowadays", but have instead   
   placed their trust in the Lord, "in imitation of the first disciples".   
    He reminded them of the urgent need for missionary conversion "that involves   
   every baptised person and every parish", emphasising that pastors are required   
   to be the first to live and witness this conversion as the leaders of the   
   particular Churches. Therefore, he added, "I encourage you to direct your life   
   and your episcopal ministry towards this missionary transformation that   
   currently challenges the People of God".   
    "Service to humanity is at the centre of this missionary conversion of the   
   Church. ... A shining example of this pastoral service is offered by the   
   Korean martyr saints ... whose liturgical memory we celebrate today. Anchored   
   in Christ, the Good Shepherd, they did not hesitate to shed their own blood   
   for the Gospel, of which they were faithful dispensers and heroic witnesses.   
   The Church needs pastors, that is, servants, bishops, who are able to kneel   
   before others to wash their feet. Pastors who are close to the people, meek   
   fathers and brothers, patient and merciful; who embrace poverty both as   
   freedom for the Lord and as simplicity and austerity in life".   
    "Make efforts to give a new missionary impetus to your diocesan communities,   
   so that they continue to grow with new members, thanks to your witness of life   
   and your episcopal ministry, exercised as a service to the People of God. Be   
   close to your priests, pay attention to religious life, and love the poor". He   
   concluded by urging them to promote pastoral care for the family, "so that   
   families, accompanied and educated, may be increasingly better able to offer   
   their contribution to the life of the Church and society", and so that they   
   may provide the foundation for the work of evangelisation, "through their   
   educational mission and with their active participation in the life of parish   
   communities".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Church must be a sign of closeness to God's mercy   
    Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - The participants in the international   
   meeting, "The pastoral project of Evangelii gaudium", organised by the   
   Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelisation" and chaired by   
   Archbishop Rino Fisichella, were received in audience by Pope Francis in the   
   Vatican's Paul VI Hall yesterday.   
    In his address, the Holy Father spoke of the urgency of the evangelising   
   mission in our times, presenting as an example, first and foremost, the   
   passage from the Gospel according to Matthew in which Jesus feels compassion   
   towards the crowd that follows Him, tired and exhausted like a flock without a   
   shepherd.   
    "How many people, in so many of the existential peripheries of our time, are   
   tired and exhausted, and await the Church? They await us!" he exclaimed. "How   
   can we reach them? ... It is not the task of the Pope to offer a detailed and   
   complete analysis of contemporary reality, but to invite all the Church to   
   grasp the signs of the times that the Lord continually offers us. ... These   
   signs ... must be reread in the light of the Gospel: this is the moment of   
   solid commitment, the context in which we are called upon to work in order to   
   enable the growth of God's Kingdom. How much poverty and solitude we see in   
   today's world, unfortunately! How many people live in conditions of great   
   suffering and ask the Church to be a sign of the Lord's goodness, solidarity   
   and mercy. This is a task, in particular, for those who have the   
   responsibility of pastoral ministry. ... They are required to recognise and   
   interpret these signs of the times in order to offer a wise and generous   
   response".   
    "Before so many pastoral needs, before the many demands of men and women, we   
   run the risk of being afraid and of turning inwards in an attitude of fear and   
   defence. Herein there lie the temptations of sufficiency and clericalism, of   
   the codification of faith in rules and instructions, just as the scribes,   
   pharisees and doctors of the law did in Jesus' time. Everything is clear and   
   orderly, but the population of believers and seekers will continue to hunger   
   and thirst for God. I have said many times that the Church seems like a   
   military hospital to me: many injured people who need our closeness, who ask   
   of us what they asked of Jesus: closeness, proximity. And if we assume the   
   attitude of the scribes, the doctors of the law and the pharisees, we will   
   never offer a testimony of closeness".   
    In this regard, the Pope cited the parable in which Jesus speaks of the owner   
   of a vineyard who, in need of workers, left his home at different times of the   
   day to look for them. "He did not go out just once", he emphasised. "All those   
   who are responsible for pastoral care can find a good example in this parable.   
   Go forth at all times of the day to find those who are in search of the Lord.   
   Reach the weakest and the least fortunate to offer them support so they can be   
   useful in the Lord's vineyard, even if it is only for an hour".   
    "Another aspect: please, let us not follow the song of the sirens who call us   
   to transform pastoral care into a convulsive series of initiatives, without   
   grasping the essence of commitment to evangelisation. At times it appears as   
   if they are more concerned with multiplying their activities rather than   
   taking care of people and their encounter with God. A pastoral care that lacks   
   this attention will gradually become sterile".   
    Finally, the Pope advised those present to consider two important qualities:   
   patience and perseverance. "The Word of God entered with 'patience' in the   
   moment of the Incarnation and thus unto death on the Cross. Patience and   
   perseverance. We do not have a 'magic wand' for everything, but we do have our   
   trust in the Lord Who accompanies us and never abandons us. ... Let us do   
   good, but without expected to be recompensed. Let us sow and offer witness.   
   Our witness is the beginning of an evangelisation that touches the heart and   
   transforms is. Words without example are of no use! Our witness is that which   
   brings and gives validity to our words".   
    "Thank you for your commitment", he concluded. "I bless you and, please, do   
   not forget to pray for me, because I have to talk a lot and also give a little   
   Christian witness!".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Special Commission to study marriage annulment reform   
    Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today   
   issued the following communique:   
    "On 27 August 2014, the Holy Father decided to institute a special Commission   
   to study the reform of the canonical marriage annulment process.   
    The Commission will be chaired by Msgr. Pio Vito Pinto, dean of the tribunal   
   of the Roman Rota, and will be composed of the following members: Cardinal   
   Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative   
   Texts; Msgr. Luis Francisco Ladario, secretary of the Congregation for the   
   Doctrine of the Faith; Bishop Dimitri Salachas, Apostolic Exarch of the Greek   
   Byzantine Catholic Church; Msgrs. Maurice Monier, Leo Xavier Michael Arokiaraj   
   and Alejandro W. Bunge, prelate auditors of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota;   
   the Rev. Fr. Nikolaus Schoch, O.F.M., substitute promotor of Justice of the   
   Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura; Fr. Konstanc Miroslav Adam, O.P.,   
   rector of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum); Fr.   
   Jorge Horta Espinoza, O.F.M., Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law of the   
   Pontifical University Antonianum; and Prof. Paolo Moneta, formerly professor   
   of Canon Law at the University of Pisa.   
    The work of the Special Commission will begin as soon as possible and will   
   focus on the preparation of a proposal for the reform of the marriage   
   annulment process, seeking to simplify and streamline the procedure, while   
   safeguarding the principle of the indissoluble nature of marriage".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Cardinal Scola special envoy to Cologne   
    Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - Today a letter was published, written   
   in Latin and dated 6 August, by which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Angelo   
   Scola, archbishop of Milan, as his special envoy to the celebrations for the   
   850th anniversary of the translation of relics of the Magi from Milan to   
   Cologne, Germany, scheduled to take place on 28 September. The pontifical   
   mission accompanying the cardinal will be composed of Msgr. Klaus Kramer of   
   the clergy of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, president of Missio-Aachen, and Rev.   
   Provost Hubertus Bottcher of the clergy of Paderborn, dean of Arnsberg.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;   
    - Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the Council of Europe, and   
   entourage;   
    - Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference;   
    - Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain;   
    - Bishop Alcides Jorge Pedro Casaretto, emeritus of San Isidro, Argentina;   
    - Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, president of the Argentine Republic.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 20 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:   
    - Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Spokane, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of   
   Chicago (area 3,654, population 6,251,000, Catholics 2,438,000, priests 1,559,   
   permanent deacons 660, religious 2,787), U.S.A. He succeeds Cardinal Francis   
   E. George, O.M.I., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same   
   metropolitan archdiocese, upon reaching the age limit, was accepted by the   
   Holy Father.   
    - Rev. Fr. Riccardo Luca Guariglia, O.S.B., as ordinary abbot of the   
   territorial abbey of Montevergine (area 3, population 232, Catholics 232,   
   priests 12, religious 27), Italy. Fr. Guariglia is currently lecturer in   
   fundamental theology at the "Madonna delle Grazie" Theological Institute in   
   Benevento, Italy, and claustral prior and master of novices of the monastic   
   community of Montevergine.   
    - Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India, as his special envoy   
   to the celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the evangelisation of   
   Myanmar, to be held in Yangon from 21 to 23 November 2014.   
    - Msgr. Paolo Rudelli, nunciature advisor, as special advisor and Holy See   
   permanent observer at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   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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