VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 170   
   DATE 03-10-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Pope Francis receives the president of Sri Lanka   
   - The Pope receives the Council of European Episcopal Conferences: "Be a   
   prophetic voice for society"   
   - To the clergy: do not limit yourselves to merely acting as priests - "be"   
   priests   
   - Second day of the meeting on the presence of Christians in the Middle East   
   - Cardinal Baldisseri on the Synod on the Family   
   - Audiences   
      
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    Pope Francis receives the president of Sri Lanka   
    Vatican City, 3 October 2014 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Francis received   
   in audience the president of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,   
   Mahinda Rajapaksa, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State   
   Pietro Parolin.   
    During the cordial discussions, the Parties focused on the country's current   
   situation, with particular reference to signs of social and economic   
   improvement, and conveyed their hope that solutions corresponding to the   
   legitimate expectations of all citizens may be found.   
    In this context, the Parties expressed their hope that the Holy Father's   
   upcoming visit to Sri Lanka may be welcomed as a sign of closeness to the Sri   
   Lankan population and may encourage those who work for the common good,   
   reconciliation, justice and peace.   
      
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    The Pope receives the Council of European Episcopal Conferences: "Be a   
   prophetic voice for society"   
    Vatican City, 3 October 2014 (VIS) - "Family and future of Europa" is the   
   theme of the plenary assembly taking place in these days at the Council of   
   European Episcopal Conferences. This morning Pope Francis received seventy of   
   its members, to whom he delivered an off-the-cuff address. He subsequently   
   handed them a written discourse underlining how, as pastors close to their   
   flock, they well know the complexity of the panorama and the challenges the   
   mission of the Church faces, even in Europe.   
    "We are called to be an 'outbound' Church, in movement from the centre   
   towards the peripheries to reach out to all, without fear, without distrust,   
   and with apostolic courage", says the document.   
    Addressing the theme of the plenary session, the Holy Father writes that it   
   constitutes an important occasion for joint reflection on how to exalt the   
   family as a valuable resource for pastoral renewal, emphasising the need for   
   Pastors and families to work together, with a spirit of humility and sincere   
   dialogue, so that parish communities become "families of families". In this   
   respect, he observes that "there is no lack of diverse experiences of family   
   pastoral care and political and social commitment to support families, both   
   those that experience an ordinary married life and those afflicted by problems   
   or breakdowns. It is important to gather together these significant   
   experiences present in the different areas of the life of the men and women of   
   our time, in relation to whom we must exercise an appropriate discernment, in   
   order to then 'put them in the network', thus involving other diocesan   
   communities".   
    Collaboration between Pastors and families also extends to the field of   
   education, "favouring the maturation of a spirit of justice, solidarity,   
   peace, and the courage of one's own convictions. It involves supporting   
   parents in their responsibility to education their children, protecting their   
   fundamental right to give their children the education they consider most   
   appropriate. Parents, indeed, remain the first and most important educators of   
   their children, and therefore they have the right to educate them in   
   conformity with their moral and religious convictions. In this regard, it is   
   possible to outline common and coordinated pastoral directives, with the aim   
   of offering valid promotion and support to Catholic schools".   
    At the end of the text, Pope Francis encourages those present to continue in   
   their efforts to favour communion between the various Churches in Europe,   
   enabling appropriate collaboration for fruitful evangelisation. "I also invite   
   you to be a 'prophetic voice' within society, especially where the process of   
   secularisation in process throughout the European continent tends to make it   
   increasingly marginal to speak about God", he concludes.   
      
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    To the clergy: do not limit yourselves to merely acting as priests - "be"   
   priests   
    Vatican City, 3 October 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall the   
   Holy Father received in audience the participants in the Plenary Assembly of   
   the Congregation for the Clergy. "The vocation is truly a treasure that God   
   places in the hearts of some men, chosen by Him and called to follow Him in   
   this special state of life. This treasure, that must be discovered and brought   
   to light, is not made to 'enrich' someone alone. He who is called to the   
   ministry is not the 'master' of his vocation, but rather the administrator of   
   a gift that God has entrusted to him for the good of all the people, or rather   
   for all humanity, even those who have drifted away from religious practice or   
   do not profess faith in Christ". Pope Francis added that "at the same time,   
   all the Christian community is the custodian of the treasure of these   
   vocations, destined to its service, and must always be aware of its task of   
   promoting, welcoming and accompanying them with affection".   
    Similarly, the Pope reminded the clergy that they too must play their role in   
   formation. "This involves protecting and nurturing vocations, so that they   
   bear mature fruit". He remarked that Jesus did not call his disciples by   
   saying to them "come, I will explain to you", or "follow me, I will teach   
   you". "The formation Christ offered his disciples instead took the form of   
   'come and follow me', 'do as I do', and this is the method that today, too,   
   the Church must offer her ministers. ... For this reason, it is a task that is   
   never completed, because priests never stop being Jesus' disciples; they never   
   stop following him".   
    Pope Francis spoke about evangelisation as the aim of vocation. "Every   
   vocation is for the mission, and the mission of ordained ministers is   
   evangelisation", he continued, adding that "the first form of evangelisation   
   is the witness of fraternity and of communion between priests and bishop". He   
   concluded by emphasising that it is necessary for the clergy to "be priests   
   ... free of every spiritual worldliness, aware that it is their lives that   
   evangelise rather than their works", rather than to take a limited view of   
   priesthood as a profession", also asking the bishops to think of the good of   
   the people of God, to study the itinerary of vocations carefully, and not to   
   accept priests simply because there is a lack of them in the diocese.   
      
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    Second day of the meeting on the presence of Christians in the Middle East   
    Vatican City, 3 October 2014 (VIS) - The meeting of various Papal   
   Representatives and Superiors of the competent dicasteries, convoked in the   
   Vatican at the behest of the Holy Father to analyse "The presence of   
   Christians in the Middle East", continued today. During this morning's   
   meeting, the Secretary for Relations with States gave a general presentation   
   on the political situation in the Middle East and on the principles guiding   
   the action of the Holy See, demonstrating the global repercussions of what   
   happens in the Region. Peace is to be sought by means of a "regional" and   
   comprehensive solution that does not overlook the interests of any of the   
   parties, through dialogue and not through unilateral decisions imposed by   
   force. With reference to the phenomenon of terrorism, the Secretary for   
   Relations with States emphasised the importance of combating the   
   fundamentalism at its base. An important role should be played by religious   
   leaders, favouring interreligious dialogue and in particular the collaboration   
   of all for the good of society. The Holy See, in following the political   
   situation in the Middle East, and more generally in its relations with   
   countries with a Muslim majority, considers to be fundamental issues the   
   protection and respect for Christians and other religious minorities as   
   fully-entitled citizens, and human rights, especially that of religious   
   freedom.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)