VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 169   
   DATE 02-10-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - The Pope to the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East:   
   there is no religious, political or economic justification for the condition   
   of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria   
   - To the prelates of Chad: the behaviour of the Church is a model for all   
   society   
   - To Justice and Peace: rising inequality and poverty endanger democracy   
   - Pope Francis receives in audience the survivors of the Lampedusa shipwreck   
   that claimed 368 lives   
   - Papal representatives in the Middle East gather in the Vatican to discuss   
   the situation of Christians in the region   
   - Audiences   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope to the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East:   
   there is no religious, political or economic justification for the condition   
   of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria   
    Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - "Our meeting is marked by the suffering we share   
   on account of the wars that beset various regions of the Middle East and in   
   particular for the violence suffered by Christians and members of other   
   religious minorities, especially in Iraq and Syria", said Pope Francis this   
   morning, as he received in audience His Holiness Mar Dinka IV, Catholicos   
   Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East. "When we think of their   
   suffering, it is natural to overcome the distinctions of rite or confession;   
   in them there is the body of Christ that, still today, is injured, beaten and   
   humiliated. There are no religious, political or economic factors that can   
   justify what is happening to hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women, and   
   children. We are deeply united in our prayers for intercession and in charity   
   towards these suffering members of the body of Christ".   
    "Your visit is another step along the path of an increasing closeness and   
   spiritual communion between us, after the bitter misunderstandings of previous   
   centuries", continued the bishop of Rome. Twenty years ago, the joint   
   Christological declaration you signed along with my predecessor, the Pope St.   
   John Paul II, was a milestone in our path to full communion. In this   
   declaration we acknowledged that we confess the sole faith of the apostles,   
   faith in the divinity and humanity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, united in a   
   single person, without confusion or alteration, without division or separation.   
    Finally, the Pope referred to the work of the Joint Commission for   
   Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of   
   the East, which he accompanies with prayer "so that the blessed day may come   
   in which we are able to celebrate at the same altar the sacrifice of praise,   
   that will make us one in Christ. ... What unites us is far greater than what   
   divides, and for this reason we feel urged by the Spirit to share from now the   
   spiritual treasures of our ecclesial traditions, to live, like true brothers,   
   sharing the gifts that the Lord does not cease to give to our Churches, as a   
   sign of His goodness and mercy".   
      
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    To the prelates of Chad: the behaviour of the Church is a model for all   
   society   
    Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - The implementation of catechetical methods for   
   inculturation, the defence of the family and the role of women, and the need   
   for dialogue with other religions in a country where Catholics are a minority   
   are the main themes of the discourse Pope Francis handed to the bishops of   
   Chad this morning, at the end of their "ad Limina" visit. The Holy Father   
   writes that the Catholic communities in this country "are growing, not only   
   numerically, but also in terms of quality and the strength of their efforts",   
   and expressed his satisfaction for the work carried out in the spheres of   
   education, health and development. "The civil authorities are very grateful to   
   the Catholic Church for her contribution to society as a whole in Chad. I   
   encourage you to persevere along this path, as there is a strong bond between   
   evangelisation and human development, a bond that must be expressed and   
   developed in all the work of evangelisation. Service to the poor and the most   
   disadvantaged constitutes a true testimony of Christ, Who made Himself poor in   
   order to be close to us and to save us. Both the religious congregations and   
   lay associations who work with them play an important role in this respect,   
   and they are to be thanked for this".   
    "However", he observes, "it is certain that this commitment to social service   
   does not constitute the entirety of evangelizing activity; the deepening and   
   strengthening of faith in the hearts of the faithful, that translates into an   
   authentic spiritual and sacramental life, are essential to enable them to   
   withstand the many trials of contemporary life, and to ensure that the   
   behaviour of the faithful is more coherent with the requirements of the   
   Gospel. ... This is especially necessary in a country where certain cultural   
   traditions bear considerable weight, where less morally demanding religious   
   possibilities are present everywhere, and where secularism begins to make   
   headway".   
    Therefore, "it is necessary for the faithful to receive a solid doctrinal and   
   spiritual formation. And the first locus of formation is certainly catechesis.   
   I invite you, with a renewed missionary spirit, to implement the catechetical   
   methods used in your dioceses. First, the good aspects of their traditions   
   must be considered and accorded their due value - because Christ did not come   
   to destroy cultures, but rather to lead them to fulfilment - while that which   
   is not Christian must be clearly denounced. At the same time, it is essential   
   to ensure the accuracy and integrity of doctrinal content".   
    The Pope goes on to refer to families, who are "the vital cell of society and   
   the Church, and who are currently very vulnerable. ... And within the family,   
   it is important that the role and the dignity of the woman are recognised, to   
   bear eloquent witness to the Gospel. Therefore, in this respect, "behaviour   
   within the Church must be a model for the whole of society".   
    After reiterating the need for the permanent formation of the clergy and the   
   closeness of bishops and priests, Pope Francis observes that the Church in   
   Chad, "despite her vitality and development, is a minority in a population in   
   which there is a Muslim majority and which is still partly bound to its   
   traditional religions", and encouraged the prelates to ensure "that the   
   Church, which is respected and listened to, occupies the space justly accorded   
   to her in society in Chad, in which a significant element has converted, even   
   though this remains a minority". He continues, "in this context, I must urge   
   you to foster interreligious dialogue, which was fortunately initiated by the   
   late Archbishop of N'Djamena, Mathias M'Garteri Mayadi, who did much to   
   promote the co-existence of different religious communities. I believe that it   
   is necessary to continue with this type of initiative to prevent the violence   
   to which Christians have fallen victim in neighbouring countries".   
    The Holy Father concluded by reiterating the importance of maintaining the   
   good relations established with the civil authorities, and highlighted the   
   recent signing of a Framework Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic   
   of Chad that, once ratified, will greatly help the mission of the Church.   
      
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    To Justice and Peace: rising inequality and poverty endanger democracy   
    Vatican City, 2014 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received in audience   
   the participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council "Justice   
   and Peace": a meeting that coincides with the fifth anniversary of the   
   publication of Benedict VI's encyclical "Caritas in veritate". Pope Francis   
   described it as "a fundamental document for the evangelisation of the social   
   sphere, which offers valuable guidance for the presence of Catholics in   
   society, in the institutions, in the economy, in finance and in politics",   
   which "has drawn attention to both the benefits and the dangers of   
   globalisation, when the latter is not guided towards the good of the people.   
   While globalisation has increased aggregate wealth and that of a number of   
   individual States, it has also caused division between various social groups,   
   creating inequality and new forms of poverty in within those same countries   
   that are considered to be among the richest".   
    The Pope remarked that one of the aspects of the current economic system is   
   the exploitation of international imbalances in the costs of labour, which   
   affects millions of people who live on less than two dollars a day. This   
   imbalance not only fails to respect the dignity of those who provide low cost   
   labour, but also removes sources of work from those areas where it is most   
   protected. "This poses the problem of creating mechanisms for protecting   
   working rights, as well as the environment, in the presence of an increasingly   
   consumerist ideology, that does not demonstrate responsibility with regard to   
   cities and to creation. Rising inequality and poverty put participatory and   
   inclusive democracy at risk; the latter always presupposes an economy and a   
   market that are fair and do not exclude. This therefore means that the   
   structural causes of inequality and poverty must be dealt with". Frances   
   remarked that in his apostolic exhortation "Evangelii gaudium" he indicated   
   three basic instruments for the social inclusion of the those most in need:   
   education, access to healthcare, and work for all.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)