The Pope made two proposals for facing these challenges: to reach out to   
   encounter God, "Who lives in the cities and in the poor", to facilitate the   
   encounter of others with God, making the Sacraments accessible, and to work   
   towards a Samaritan Church, "with concrete witness of mercy and tenderness   
   that endeavours to be present in the existential and poor peripheries, acting   
   directly on the social subconscious, producing guidance and meaning for city   
   life".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    To the Pauline family: take the breath of the Gospel to the most diverse   
   cultures and social contexts   
    Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received in   
   audience the members of the Pauline Family, the group of institutions that   
   encompasses the Society of St. Paul and the Daughters of St. Paul (Paulines),   
   dedicated to the apostolate through means of communication. Founded by Blessed   
   Giacomo Alberione (1884-1971), the Pauline Family is composed of ten members:   
   five religious congregations, four aggregated institutes and an association of   
   lay collaborators. This year it celebrates the centenary of its foundation   
   and, to commemorate this anniversary, Francis invited them to renew their   
   "commitment to living and communicating faith", especially through the   
   editorial and multimedia tools typical of their charism.   
    He also encouraged them to continue the path their founder opened up and   
   which the Family has followed so far, "always keeping your gaze on broader   
   horizons", adding that we must never forget that "evangelisation is   
   essentially connected with the proclamation of the Gospel to those who do not   
   know Jesus Christ, or have always denied Him. ... Everyone has the right to   
   receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty of announcing it without   
   excluding anyone. This impulse to move towards the people, but also to   
   existential peripheries, this 'Catholic' impulse, is something you have in the   
   blood, in your DNA, for the very fact that your founder was inspired by the   
   figure and the mission of the apostle Paul".   
    Francis explained that Blessed Giacomo Alberione saw, in the announcement of   
   Christ and of the Gospel to the masses, the most authentic and most necessary   
   form of charity that could be offered to men and women who thirst for truth   
   and justice". He added, "you too are called to serve the people of today, to   
   whom the Spirit sends you, with creativity and dynamic fidelity to your   
   charism, identifying the most appropriate ways of announcing Jesus. ... The   
   imagination of charity knows no bounds, and knows how to open up ever new   
   roads to bring the breath of the Gospel into the most diverse cultures and   
   social environments".   
    "Vatican Council II presented the Church to us as a population on the move   
   ... a vision that expresses Christian hope. ... Therefore, our being a Church   
   in progress, while it roots us in the task of announcing Christ and His love   
   for every creature, also prevents us from being imprisoned by earthly and   
   mundane structures; it keeps the spirit open and makes us capable of outlooks   
   and demands that find their fulfilment in the beatitude of the Lord.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Holy Father's calendar for December 2014 and January 2015   
    Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations   
   of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical   
   celebrations at which the Holy Father will preside in December 2014 and   
   January 2015:   
    DECEMBER   
    Monday 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   
   At 4 p.m. in Piazza di Spagna, veneration of the image of Mary Immaculate.   
    Friday 12: Feast of Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. At 6 p.m. in the   
   Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for Latin America.   
    Sunday 14: "Gaudete Sunday" Third of Advent. At 4 p.m., pastoral visit to the   
   Roman Parish of "San Giuseppe all'Aurelio".   
    Wednesday 24: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. At 9.30 p.m. in the   
   Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.   
    Thursday 25: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. Central loggia of the   
   Vatican Basilica, at 12 p.m., "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.   
    Wednesday 31: Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. At 5 p.m. First   
   Vespers and Te Deum, in Thanksgiving for the past year.   
    JANUARY   
    Thursday 1: Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. 48th World Peace Day.   
   At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.   
    Tuesday 6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. At 10 a.m. in the Vatican   
   Basilica, Holy Mass.   
    Sunday 11: Sunday after the Epiphany: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. At   
   9.30 a.m. in the Sistine Chapel. Holy Mass and baptism of babies.   
    Monday 12 to Monday 19: Apostolic trip in Sri Lanka and the Philippines.   
    Sunday 25: Solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul. At 5.30 in the Basilica   
   of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Vespers.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Christians and Muslims condemn extremism and violence committed in the name   
   of religion   
    Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - The Centre for Interreligious Dialogue   
   of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation and the Pontifical Council   
   for Interreligious Dialogue held their Ninth Colloquium of dialogue from 24 to   
   26 November in Teheran, Iran, under the joint chairmanship of Abuzar Ibrahimi   
   Turkaman, president of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation, and   
   Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for   
   Interreligious Dialogue. At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed on   
   the following:   
    1. Two decades of dialogue between the abovementioned institutions have   
   provided the occasion for better knowledge and mutual understanding;   
    2. The participants emphasised that Christian-Muslim constructive dialogue   
   plays a crucial role in making a better society;   
    3. Spirituality is a both a divine gift and the fruit of a human journey   
   leading to truth;   
    4. A genuine spirituality enables us to recognise God's presence and action   
   within ourselves and in the world;   
    5. The media are called to play their distinctive role in the promotion of   
   positive relations between Christians and Muslims;   
    6. The participants condemned all kinds of extremism and violence, especially   
   committed in the name of religion.   
    The participants decided to hold the next colloquium in Rome in 2016, which   
   will be preceded by a preparatory meeting 2015.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Archbishop Michael A. Blume, apostolic nuncio in Uganda;   
    - Archbishop Ramiro Moliner Ingles, apostolic nuncio in Albania.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)