VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 207   
   DATE 24-11-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - The Pope to the faithful of the Malabar rite: St. Kuriakose Elias and St.   
   Euphrasia, examples and encouragement to the people   
   - The Pope canonises six new blesseds: the Kingdom of God is built on   
   tenderness and proximity   
   - Angelus: the example of the new saints revives spirit of harmony and   
   reconciliation   
   - The poor are also evangelisers as they show us the peripheries the Gospel   
   has not reached, says Francis at the 4th Missionary Convention of the CEI   
   - Francis: overcome the isolation that burdens the autistic and their families   
   - Ecclesial movements and new communities: conserve freshness of charism,   
   respect freedom and seek communion   
   - Telegram for the death of Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini   
   - Private meeting between the Pope and the president of the Italian Republic   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
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    The Pope to the faithful of the Malabar rite: St. Kuriakose Elias and St.   
   Euphrasia, examples and encouragement to the people   
    Vatican City, 24 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Basilica   
   Pope Francis met with a group of faithful of Syro-Malabar rite, gathered in   
   Rome for the canonisation on Sunday of Kuriakose Elias Chavara of the Holy   
   Family, and Euphrasia Eluvathingal of the Sacred Heart. The Holy Father took   
   the opportunity to thank the Church in India, and specifically in Kerala, for   
   "all its apostolic strength and for the witness of faith you have", he said.   
   "Continue in this way! Kerala is a land that is very fertile in religious and   
   priestly vocations. Carry on working in this way, with your witness".   
    "May this time of celebration and intense spirituality help you to   
   contemplate the marvellous works accomplished by the Lord in the lives and   
   deeds of these new saints. ... who remind each of us that God's love is the   
   source, the support and the goal of all holiness, while love of neighbour is   
   the clearest manifestation of love for God."   
    Pope Francis described St. Kuriakose Elias as "a religious, both active and   
   contemplative, who generously gave his life for the Syro-Malabar Church,   
   putting into action the maxim 'sanctification of oneself and the salvation of   
   others'", while St. Euphrasia "lived in profound union with God, so that her   
   life of holiness was an example and an encouragement to the people, who called   
   her 'Praying Mother'. He encouraged those present to "treasure their lessons   
   of evangelical living ... follow in their footsteps and imitate them, in a   
   particular way, through love of Jesus in the Eucharist and love of the Church.   
   Thus you will advance along the path to holiness".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope canonises six new blesseds: the Kingdom of God is built on   
   tenderness and proximity   
    Vatican City, 24 November 2014 (VIS) - During the Mass celebrated this   
   morning on the Solemnity of Christ King of the Universe, the Holy Father   
   canonised blesseds Giovanni Antonio Fraina (1803-1888), Kuriakose Elias   
   Chavara of the Holy Family (1805-1871), Ludovico da Casoria (1814-1885),   
   Nicola da Longobardi (1650-1709), Euphrasia Eluvathingal of the Sacred Heart   
   (1877-1952) and Amato Ronconi (c. 1226-c.1292).   
    In his homily, the Pope remarked that the kingdom of Jesus is the "kingdom of   
   truth and life, the kingdom of sanctity and grace, the kingdom of justice,   
   love and peace", and he commented on today's readings show how the Lord   
   established his kingdom, how He brings it about as history unfolds, and what   
   He now asks of us.   
    Jesus brought about his kingdom "through his closeness and tenderness towards   
   us", as the prophet Ezekiel foresaw in the first reading that describes the   
   attitude of the Shepherd towards His flock, using the verbs such as to seek,   
   to keep watch, to round up, to lead to pasture, to bring to rest; to seek the   
   lost sheep, to tend to the wounded, to heal the sick, to care for and to   
   graze. "Those of us who are called to be pastors in the Church cannot stray   
   from this example, if we do not want to become hirelings. In this respect, the   
   People of God have an unerring sense for recognising good shepherds and   
   distinguishing them from hirelings".   
    After his victory, that is, after the Resurrection - Jesus' kingdom grew, but   
   it was not a kingdom according to earthly models. "For Him, to reign was not   
   to command, but to obey the Father, to give Himself over to the Father, so   
   that His plan of love and salvation may be brought to fulfilment. ... The   
   Gospel teaches what Jesus' kingdom requires of us: it reminds us that   
   closeness and tenderness are the rule of life for us also, and that on this   
   basis we will be judged. ... The starting point of salvation is not the   
   confession of the sovereignty of Christ, but rather the imitation of Jesus'   
   works of mercy through which He brought about his kingdom". He explained that   
   those who accomplish these works show that they have understood and welcomed   
   Jesus' sovereignty, because they have opened their hearts to God's charity.   
   "In the twilight of life we will be judged on our love for, closeness to and   
   and tenderness towards our brothers and sisters. ... Jesus has opened to us   
   His kingdom to us, but it is for us to enter into it, beginning with our life   
   now - his kingdom begins now - by being close in concrete ways to our brothers   
   and sisters who as for bread, clothing, acceptance, solidarity, catechesis".   
    "Today the Church places before us the examples of these new saints. Each in   
   her or her own way served the kingdom of God, of which they became heirs,   
   precisely through works of generous devotion to God and their brothers and   
   sisters. They responded with extraordinary creativity to the commandment of   
   love of God and neighbour. They dedicated themselves without reserve to   
   serving the least and assisting the destitute, sick, elderly and pilgrims.   
   Their preference for the smallest and poorest was the reflection and the   
   measure of their unconditional love of God. In fact, they sought and   
   discovered love in a strong and personal relationship with God, from whence   
   springs forth love for one's neighbour". Pope Francis concluded, "Through the   
   rite of canonisation, we have confessed once again the mystery of God's   
   kingdom and we have honoured Christ the King, the Shepherd full of love for   
   His sheep. May our new saints, through their witness and intercession,   
   increase within us the joy of walking in the way of the Gospel and our resolve   
   to embrace it as the compass of our lives".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Angelus: the example of the new saints revives spirit of harmony and   
   reconciliation   
    Vatican City, 23 November 2014 (VIS) - After celebrating Holy Mass for the   
   canonisation of six blesseds, the Pope prayed the Angelus with the faithful   
   gathered in St. Peter's Square and greeted in particular the official   
   delegations from Italy and India, the homelands of the new Saints.   
    "The example of the four Italian saints born in the provinces of Vicenza,   
   Naples, Cosenza and Rimini helps the Italian people to revive the spirit of   
   collaboration and harmony for the common good, and to look to the future with   
   hope, united and trusting in the closeness of God Who never abandons us, even   
   in the most difficult moments".   
    "Through the intercession of the two new Indian saints from Kerala, a great   
   land of faith and priestly and religious vocations, may the Lord grant a new   
   missionary impulse to the Church in India, which is very great, so that   
   inspired by their example of harmony and reconciliation, Christians from India   
   may continue on the path of solidarity and fraternal coexistence".   
      
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    The poor are also evangelisers as they show us the peripheries the Gospel has   
   not reached, says Francis at the 4th Missionary Convention of the CEI   
    Vatican City, 22 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Paul VI Hall the   
   Pope received in audience the participants in the 4th Missionary Convention of   
   the Italian Episcopal Conference, around eight hundred people. "Every   
   generation is called to be missionary ... from the very beginning", affirmed   
   the Holy Father. "Remember how the apostles Andrew and John encountered the   
   Lord and then ... set out, enthusiastic. The first thing they did was become   
   missionaries. They went to their brothers and said, 'We have found the Lord,   
   we have found the Messiah'".   
    Following these unscripted remarks, Pope Francis went on to cite his   
   Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, in which he speaks of an outbound   
   Church, and reiterated that a missionary can only be outbound, without fear of   
   encounters, of discovering new things, and of speaking about the joy of the   
   Gospel. "Not to proselytise, but to say what we have and want to share without   
   imposition, with all and without distinction. ... The particular Churches in   
   Italy have done much. ... I would like to repeat something that a Brazilian   
   cardinal said to me: 'When I go to Amazonia - because he has the task of   
   visiting dioceses in Amazonia - I go to the cemetery and see the tombs of   
   missionaries. And there are many of them. And I think, these people could be   
   canonised now!' It is the Church; they are the Churches of Italy".   
    "Today I thank you for what you do in many areas ... and I ask you to work   
   with passion to keep this spirit alive. I see many laypeople alongside bishops   
   and priests. The mission is the task of all Christians, not just the few. ...   
   The Italian Church, I repeat, has given many priests and laypeople fidei   
   donum, who decide to spend their lives building up the Church in the   
   peripheral areas of the world, among the poor and those who are far away. ...   
   I urge you, do not let yourselves be robbed of hope and the dream of changing   
   the world with ... the leaven of the Gospel, starting out from the human and   
   existential peripheries. Reaching out means overcoming the temptation to talk   
   among ourselves, forgetting the many who await from us a word of mercy, of   
   consolation, of hope. Jesus' Gospel is fulfilled in history. Jesus Himself was   
   a man from the outskirts, from Galilee, far from the centres of power of the   
   Roman Empire and of Jerusalem. ... However, His Word was the beginning of a   
   transformation in history, the start of a spiritual and human revolution, the   
   good news of a Lord Who died and rose again for us".   
    The Pope encouraged those present to intensify their missionary spirit and   
   their enthusiasm for the mission, without allowing themselves to be   
   discouraged by difficulties and, above all, "beginning with children, who must   
   receive a missionary catechesis. At times, even in the Church we are overcome   
   by pessimism, which risks depriving many men and women of the announcement of   
   the Gospel. Let us go ahead with hope! The many missionary martyrs to faith   
   and charity are show us that victory is only in love and in a life spent for   
   the Lord and for our neighbour, starting with the poor. The poor are the   
   travelling companions of an outbound Church, as they are the first She   
   encounters. The poor are also your evangelisers, as they show you those   
   peripheries where the Gospel has yet to be proclaimed and lived".   
    "Reaching out means not remaining indifferent to destitution, war, the   
   violence in our cities, the neglect of the elderly, the anonymity of many   
   people in need and marginalisation from little ones. Reaching out means not   
   accepting that in our Christian cities the are many children who do not know   
   how to make the sign of the Cross. This is reaching out. It means being   
   builders of peace, of the 'peace' that the Lord gives us every day and of   
   which the world is so in need. Missionaries never give up their dream of   
   peace, even when they experience difficulties and persecution, which make   
   their presence strongly felt today".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis: overcome the isolation that burdens the autistic and their families   
    Vatican City, 22 November 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in   
   audience the participants in the 29th International Conference organised by   
   the Pontifical Council for Health Workers (for Health Pastoral Care),   
   dedicated to autism, including persons affected by this disorder and their   
   families.   
    The Pope thanked the organisers of the Conference for having chosen such a   
   complex theme, "which appeals directly to the responsibility of governments   
   and institutions, without forgetting, of course, Christian communities", and   
   he emphasised the need for common efforts to promote "acceptance, encounter   
   and solidarity ... to break through the isolation and, in many cases, the   
   stigma that burdens people affected by autism spectrum disorders, and   
   frequently also their families".   
    "This does not mean an anonymous and impersonal accompaniment, but instead   
   and above all listening to the profound needs that emerge from within a   
   disorder that is not only often difficult to diagnose, but which does not   
   easily find acceptance without shame and solitude. In the assistance of those   
   affected ... it would be helpful to create, throughout the country, a network   
   of support and services, complete and accessible, involving not only parents   
   but also grandparents, friends, therapists, teachers and pastoral workers.   
   These figures may help families to overcome the sensations of inadequacy,   
   inefficacy and frustration that may emerge".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)