the Vatican Basilica, and by the side of the Holy Door, he presented the Bull   
   of   
   Indiction to the four cardinal archpriests of the papal basilicas of Rome: St.   
   Peter in the Vatican, St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside-the-Walls and St. Mary   
   Major. As an expression of his desire that the Jubilee be celebrated both in   
   Rome and throughout the world, the Pope also handed a copy of the Bull to the   
   prefects of the Congregations for Bishops, for Evangelisation of Peoples, and   
   for the Oriental Churches, and thus symbolically to bishops worldwide. A copy   
   of   
   the document was received by Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai on behalf of all the   
   East , and by Archbishop Bartolome Adoukounou for the African continent. Msgr.   
   Khaled Ayad Bishay of the Patriarchal Church of Alexandria of the Copts   
   received   
   the copy destined for the Oriental Churches.   
    The Regent of the Papal Household, Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, apostolic   
   protonotary, read a number of extracts from the official document convoking the   
   extraordinary Holy Year, in the presence of the Pope. The Holy Father then went   
   on to preside at first vespers in the Vatican Basilica, and pronounced the   
   following homily.   
    "The greeting of the Risen Christ to His disciples on the evening of Easter,   
   'Peace be with you!', continues to resound in us all. Peace, especially during   
   this Easter season, remains the desire of so many people who suffer   
   unprecedented violence of discrimination and death simply because they bear the   
   name 'Christian'. Our prayer is all the more intense and becomes a cry for help   
   to the Father, Who is rich in mercy, that He may sustain the faith of our many   
   brothers and sisters who are in pain. At the same time, we ask for the grace of   
   the conversion of our own hearts so as to move from indifference to compassion.   
    "St. Paul reminds us that we have been saved through the mystery of the death   
   and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He is the Reconciler, Who is alive in our   
   midst offering the way to reconciliation with God and with each other. The   
   Apostle recalls that, notwithstanding the difficulties and the sufferings of   
   life, the hope of salvation which Christ has sown in our hearts nonetheless   
   continues to grow. The mercy of God is poured out upon us, making us just and   
   giving us peace.   
    "Many question in their hearts: why a Jubilee of Mercy today? Simply because   
   the Church, in this time of great historical change, is called to offer more   
   evident signs of God's presence and closeness. This is not the time to be   
   distracted; on the contrary, we need to be vigilant and to reawaken in   
   ourselves   
   the capacity to see what is essential. This is a time for the Church to   
   rediscover the meaning of the mission entrusted to her by the Lord on the day   
   of   
   Easter: to be a sign and an instrument of the Father's mercy.   
    "For this reason, the Holy Year must keep alive the desire to know how to   
   welcome the numerous signs of the tenderness which God offers to the whole   
   world   
   and, above all, to those who suffer, who are alone and abandoned, without hope   
   of being pardoned or feeling the Father's love. A Holy Year to experience   
   strongly within ourselves the joy of having been found by Jesus, the Good   
   Shepherd Who has come in search of us because we were lost. A Jubilee to   
   receive   
   the warmth of His love when He bears us upon his shoulders and brings us back   
   to   
   the Father's house. A year in which to be touched by the Lord Jesus and to be   
   transformed by His mercy, so that we may become witnesses to mercy. Here, then,   
   is the reason for the Jubilee: because this is the time for mercy. It is the   
   favourable time to heal wounds, a time not to be weary of meeting all those who   
   are waiting to see and to touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of   
   God, a time to offer everyone the way of forgiveness and reconciliation.   
    "May the Mother of God open our eyes, so that we may comprehend the task to   
   which we have been called; and may she obtain for us the grace to experience   
   this Jubilee of Mercy as faithful and fruitful witnesses of Christ".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Summary of the "Misericordiae Vultus", Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary   
   Jubilee of Mercy   
    Vatican City, 12 April 2015 (VIS) - The following is a summary of the Papal   
   Bull "Misericordiae Vultus", by which Pope Francis convoked the Extraordinary   
   Jubilee of Mercy.   
    The Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is composed of 25   
   numbered sections. Pope Francis has described the most salient features of   
   mercy, focusing primarily on the theme of the light of Christ's face. Mercy is   
   not an abstract word, but rather a face to recognise, contemplate and serve.   
   The   
   Bull is developed in a Trinitary fashion (Nos. 6-9) and extends to a   
   description   
   of the Church as a credible sign of mercy: "Mercy is the very foundation of the   
   Church's life" (No.10).   
    Pope Francis indicates the salient phases of the Jubilee. The opening   
   coincides   
   with the 50th anniversary of the closing of the Vatican II Ecumenical Council:   
   "The Church feels a great need to keep this event alive. With the Council, the   
   Church entered a new phase of her history. The Council Fathers strongly   
   perceived, as a true breath of the Holy Spirit, a need to talk about God to men   
   and women of their time in a more accessible way. The walls which too long had   
   made the Church a kind of fortress were torn down and the time had come to   
   proclaim the Gospel in a new way" (No. 4). The conclusion will take place "with   
   the liturgical Solemnity of Christ the King on 20 November 2016. On that day,   
   as   
   we seal the Holy Door, we shall be filled, above all, with a sense of gratitude   
   and thanksgiving to the Most Holy Trinity for having granted us an   
   extraordinary   
   time of grace. We will entrust the life of the Church, all humanity, and the   
   entire cosmos to the Lordship of Christ, asking him to pour out his mercy upon   
   us like the morning dew, so that everyone may work together to build a brighter   
   future." (no.5).   
    A special feature of this Holy Year is the fact that it will be celebrated not   
   only in Rome, but also in all the other dioceses of the world. The Holy Door   
   will be opened by the Pope at St. Peter's on 8 December, and on the following   
   Sunday in all the Churches of the world. Another novelty is that the Pope will   
   grant the possibility of opening the Holy Door also in Sanctuaries, where many   
   pilgrims will go in order to pray.   
    Pope Francis resumes the teaching of St. John XXIII, who spoke of the   
   "medicine   
   of Mercy", and of Paul VI who identified the spirituality of Vatican II with   
   that of the Samaritan. The Bull explains, furthermore, various salient aspects   
   of the Jubilee: firstly, the motto, "Merciful like the Father", then the   
   meaning   
   of pilgrimage and above all the need for forgiveness. The theme that is   
   particularly close to the Pope's heart is found in section No. 15: the works of   
   corporal and spiritual mercy are to be resumed in order to "reawaken our   
   conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty. And let us enter more   
   deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of   
   God's mercy". A further indication is offered by Lent, with the sending out of   
   the "Missionaries of Mercy" (No. 18), a new and original initiative by which   
   the   
   Pope intends to emphasise his pastoral care in a more concrete way. In   
   paragraphs 20 and 21 the Pope considers the theme of the relationship between   
   justice and mercy, showing that he does not stop at a legalistic view, but   
   rather aims at a path that leads to merciful love.   
    Paragraph 19 is a powerful appeal against organised violence and against those   
   who are "advocates and accomplices" of corruption. The Pope uses strong words   
   to   
   denounce this "festering wound", and insists that during this Holy Year there   
   must be true conversion: "This is the opportune moment to change our lives!   
   This   
   is the time to allow our hearts to be touched! When confronted with evil deeds,   
   even in the face of serious crimes, it is the time to listen to the cry of   
   innocent people who are deprived of their property, their dignity, their   
   feelings, and even their very lives. To stick to the way of evil will only   
   leave   
   one deluded and sad. True life is something entirely different. God never tires   
   of reaching out to us. He is always ready to listen, as I am too, along with my   
   brother bishops and priests. All one needs to do is to accept the invitation to   
   conversion and submit oneself to justice during this special time of mercy   
   offered by the Church" (No. 19).   
    The granting of indulgences as a traditional theme of the Jubilee year is   
   expressed in section No. 22. A final original aspect is offered by Pope Francis   
   with regard to mercy as a theme shared also by Jews and Muslims: "I trust that   
   this Jubilee year celebrating the mercy of God will foster an encounter with   
   these religions and with other noble religious traditions; may it open us to   
   even more fervent dialogue so that we might know and understand one another   
   better; may it eliminate every form of closed-mindedness and disrespect, and   
   drive out every form of violence and discrimination" (No. 23).   
    The Pope's wish is that this Year, experienced also in the sharing of divine   
   mercy, may be "dedicated to living out in our daily lives the mercy which the   
   Father constantly extends to all of us. In this Jubilee Year, let us allow God   
   to surprise us. He never tires of throwing open the doors of his heart and   
   repeats that he loves us and wants to share his love with us. ... In this   
   Jubilee   
   Year, may the Church echo the word of God that resounds strong and clear as a   
   message and a sign of pardon, strength, aid, and love. May she never tire of   
   extending mercy, and be ever patient in offering compassion and comfort. May   
   the   
   Church become the voice of every man and woman, and repeat confidently without   
   end: ‘Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have   
   been from of old'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope "in harmony" with the theme of the Seventh Summit of the Americas:   
   "Prosperity with equity"   
    Vatican City, 11 April 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis has sent a message to Juan   
   Carlos Varela Rodriguez, president of Panama, host country of the Seventh   
   Summit   
   of the Americas, which on this occasion takes as its theme "Prosperity with   
   equity: the challenge of cooperation in the Americas". The Holy Father   
   commented   
   that he is "in harmony" with the theme chosen for the Summit, affirms that he   
   is   
   "convinced ... that inequality, the unjust distribution of wealth and   
   resources,   
   is a source of conflicts and violence among peoples, as it presupposes that the   
   progress of some is built on the necessary sacrifice of others and that, to be   
   able to live in a dignified fashion, one must fight with others".   
    "Well-being reached in this way is unjust at its root and attacks the dignity   
   of the person", he writes. "There are 'basic goods', such as the earth, work   
   and   
   a home, and 'public services', such as health, education, security and the   
   environment, from which no human being should be denied access. This desire -   
   which we all share - is unfortunately still far from reality. ... The great   
   challenge of our world is the globalisation of solidarity and fraternity in the   
   place of the globalisation of discrimination and indifference, and until a more   
   equitable distribution of wealth is achieved, the ills of our society will not   
   be resolved".   
    Francis remarks that many countries have certainly experienced significant   
   economic development in recent years, but "it is equally true that others   
   remain   
   prostrated in poverty. Moreover, in the emerging economies, a large part of the   
   population does not benefit from general economic progress, to the point that   
   frequently a greater rift opens up between rich and poor. 'Trickle down'   
   theories have been shown to be erroneous: it is not enough to hope that the   
   poor   
   may gather the crumbs that fall from the table of the rich. It is necessary to   
   take direct action in favour of the most disadvantaged, attention to should be   
   a   
   priority for governors, as it is for the smallest within a family".   
    He then turns his attention to the problem of immigration. "The immense   
   disparity of opportunities between some countries and others ensures that many   
   people feel compelled to abandon their homeland and their family, thus becoming   
   easy prey for human trafficking and slave labour, without rights or access to   
   justice. In some cases, the lack of cooperation between States leaves many   
   people unprotected by the law and unable to guarantee their own rights, and   
   thus   
   obliged to ally themselves with those who take advantage of others, or to   
   resign   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)