VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 035   
   DATE 18-02-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - General audience: Brother, sister: words beloved to Christianity   
   - Appeal for Libya   
   - Francis joins in prayer for peace in Ukraine   
   - 52nd Campaign for Fraternity in Brazil: dialogue and collaboration between   
   the Church and society   
   - Francis thanks the Italian Coast Guard for their work with refugees and   
   immigrants   
   - Audiences   
      
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    General audience: Brother, sister: words beloved to Christianity   
    Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) - Continuing his cycle of catechesis   
   dedicated to the family, after reflecting on the figure of the mother and   
   father, the Pope today spoke about fraternity. "'Brother' and 'sister' are   
   words that Christianity loves. And, thanks to the family, they are words that   
   all cultures and all ages understand".   
    Fraternal bonds are very important in the history of the people of God, and   
   are highly praised in the Old Testament. However their rupture opened up a   
   deep abyss in mankind, and God's question to Cain - "Where is your brother?" -   
   never ceases to resonate throughout history. "And", exclaimed the Pontiff,   
   "unfortunately, in this generation too, Cain's dramatic answer is also   
   repeated endlessly: "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?". The rupture of   
   the bond between brothers disfigures humanity. And even within families, how   
   many brothers argue over small things, an inheritance, and then no longer even   
   speak to or greet each other? If we think that they inhabited the womb of the   
   same mother .... We all know families in which there are divisions between   
   brothers. Let us pray to the Lord for them, to help brothers be reunited and   
   families rebuilt. And let us always keep these divided brothers in our   
   prayers".   
    The bond of fraternity that is formed in the family, among children, if it   
   occurs a climate of education in openness to others, "is the great school of   
   freedom and peace. Perhaps we are not always aware of this, but it is   
   precisely the family that introduces fraternity into the world", remarked the   
   Pope, emphasising that from this first experience, fraternity "radiates like a   
   promise to the whole of society and the relations between peoples. And the   
   blessing that God - in Jesus Christ - lavishes upon this bond of fraternity,   
   extends it unimaginably, making it capable of surpassing any difference of   
   nation, culture or even religion".   
    He added, "Think about what becomes of the bond between men, even the most   
   diverse, when they are able to say of another, 'he is just like a brother, she   
   is just like a sister to me'. History has demonstrated sufficiently that even   
   liberty and equality, without fraternity, can be filled with individualism,   
   conformism and personal interest".   
    Fraternity in the family shines in a special way "when we see the care,   
   patience, and affection that surround those brothers and sisters who are weak,   
   sick, or disabled. Having a brother or a sister who cares for you is a   
   powerful experience, priceless and irreplaceable. The same applies to the   
   Christian family. We must be moved to tenderness by the smallest, the weakest,   
   the poorest: they have a 'right' to capture our heart and soul. Yes, they are   
   our brothers and we must love them and treat them as such. When this happens,   
   when it is as if the poor are part of the family, our Christian fraternity   
   comes to life. Indeed, Christians go towards the poor and the weak not in   
   obedience to an ideological programme, but because the word and example of the   
   Lord tell us that they are our brothers. This is the principle of God's love   
   and of all justice between men".   
    "And now I suggest one thing", he added, off the cuff: "in silence, each of   
   us, let us think of our brothers and sisters, and pray for them". St. Peter's   
   Square remained in silence for a moment, after which Francis added, "With this   
   prayer we brought all of them, our brothers and sisters, here in the square to   
   be blessed".   
    "Today, more than ever, it is necessary to bring fraternity back to the   
   centre of our technocratic and bureaucratic society: then liberty and equality   
   will also acquire the correct tone. Therefore, let us not light-heartedly   
   deprive our families, through apprehension or fear, of the beauty of a full   
   fraternal experience. And lot us not lose our trust in the broad horizon that   
   faith is able to draw from this experience, enlightened by God's blessing".   
      
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    Appeal for Libya   
    Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) - Following this morning's catechesis,   
   Pope Francis launched a fresh appeal for prayers for "our Egyptian brothers,   
   killed in Libya three days ago for the mere fact of being Christians. May the   
   Lord welcome them into his house and console their families and their   
   communities".   
    He also encouraged prayer for peace in the Middle East and in North Africa,   
   remembering all the deceased, the wounded and refugees. "May the international   
   Community find peaceful solutions to the difficult situation in Libya".   
      
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    Francis joins in prayer for peace in Ukraine   
    Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) - At the end of today's general   
   audience, the Pope greeted the faithful gathered in the square in various   
   languages. He dedicated some special words to the Ukrainian bishops, currently   
   in Rome on their "ad Limina" visit, and all the faithful accompanying them.   
   "????? ????? ??????! Praise be to Jesus Christ!", said the Holy Father in   
   Ukrainian. "I know that among the many intentions you bring to the Tombs of   
   the Apostles there is the plea for peace in Ukraine. I carry the same wish in   
   my heart and join in your prayer that lasting peace may come soon to your   
   homeland".   
      
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    52nd Campaign for Fraternity in Brazil: dialogue and collaboration between   
   the Church and society   
    Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to   
   the faithful of Brazil on the occasion of the 52nd Campaign for Fraternity in   
   Brazil, organised annually by the Episcopal Conference during Lent. The theme   
   of this year's Campaign is "Fraternity: Church and Society".   
    "We are nearing Lent, the time of preparation for Easter: a time of penance,   
   prayer and charity, a time to renew our lives, to identify with Jesus through   
   generous donation to our brothers, especially those most in need", writes the   
   Pope. "Indeed, the Church, the community in which 'God gathered together as   
   one all those who in faith look upon Jesus as the author of salvation and the   
   source of unity and peace', cannot be indifferent to the needs of those she   
   encounters, as 'the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the   
   men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted ... are   
   the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ'".   
    Francis mentions in his message that during these forty days, the Campaign   
   for Fraternity wishes to help deepen, in the light of the Gospel, dialogue and   
   collaboration between Church and society, to serve the construction of the   
   Kingdom of God in the heart and life of the Brazilian people. He underlines,   
   however, that this is not the exclusive task of institutions: all people must   
   contribute, starting in their own home, their own workplace, and in relations   
   with others. "Let us recall that each individual Christian and every community   
   is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the   
   poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society. This demands that   
   we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and come to their aid".   
    The Holy Father encourages an "examination of conscience" on the "concrete   
   and effective commitment of each one of us in the construction of a more just,   
   fraternal and peaceful society". He concludes, "I hope that this year's Lenten   
   journey, in the light of the proposals of the Campaign for Fraternity, may   
   predispose hearts to the new life offered to us by Christ, and that the   
   transformative power that flows from the Resurrection reaches everyone in its   
   pastoral, family, social and cultural dimension, and strengthens sentiments of   
   fraternity and lively collaboration in every heart".   
      
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    Francis thanks the Italian Coast Guard for their work with refugees and   
   immigrants   
    Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday evening in the Domus Sanctae   
   Marthae the Pope received a delegation from the Italian Coast Guard, and heard   
   their account of the difficult rescue operations they carry out at sea to save   
   refugees and migrants. The delegation was composed of nine people, led by   
   Admiral Commander Felicio Angrisano and Admiral Giovanni Pettorino, head of   
   the operative unit, and accompanied by the Minister for Infrastructure and   
   Transport, Maurizio Lupi.   
    The members of the delegation recounted their moving and inspiring   
   experiences, and the Pope expressed his participation and appreciation for the   
   service they carry out with bravery and dedication to the poorest. He recalled   
   his trip to Lampedusa and praised the solidarity of the islanders with the   
   refugees that arrive there, even at the expense of tourism in the area. He   
   also mentioned that he had sent his Almoner, Archbishop Krajewski, to   
   participate in the operation to recover bodies following the tragic shipwreck   
   last year, and concluded, "I truly admire you, and I feel small before the   
   work that you do, risking your lives, and I offer my heartfelt thanks to you   
   for this. But I support you in the best way I can: with prayer, praise and   
   affection".   
      
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    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 18 February 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience Ricardo Lewandowski, president of the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil.   
      
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