is achieved "when man is permitted to express with freedom and creativity in   
   certain forms of activity, in collaborative work conducted in the community   
   that   
   enable full economic and social development to him and to others. We cannot   
   clip   
   the wings of those, especially the young, who have much to give with their   
   intelligence and capacities; they must be freed of the burdens that oppress   
   them   
   and prevent them from fully entering the world of work as soon as possible".   
    Participatory work corresponds to the relational dimension of the person, and   
   involves the establishment of responsible bonds of collaboration. However,   
   "when, due to an 'economistic' vision ... others are regarded as a means and   
   not   
   an end, work loses its primary meaning as the continuation of God's work, a   
   work   
   destined for all humanity, so that all may benefit".   
    Finally, mutually supportive work means responding to the many men and women   
   who have lost their jobs or are seeking employment, above all with closeness   
   and   
   solidarity. Associations such as the ACLI, as places of welcome and encounter,   
   must also identify opportunities for formation and professional training.   
    Francis went on to refer to some key aspects of the ACLI. The first is its   
   presence outside Italy, which began with the phase of Italian emigration and   
   continues to be valuable since many young people leave Italy to seek work   
   pertinent to their studies or to enrich their professional experience. "Support   
   them on their path", he said. "In their eyes you may see the reflection of your   
   parents or grandparents who travelled far to work".   
    The Association is also engaged in the battle against poverty and that of the   
   impoverishment of the middle classes. "Offering support, not only of an   
   economic   
   nature, to those below the poverty line, who have increased in number in Italy   
   in recent years, can bring benefits to all of society. At the same time, those   
   who yesterday lived a dignified life must be prevented from slipping into   
   poverty. It takes very little these days to become poor: the loss of a job, an   
   elderly relative who is no longer self-sufficient, sickness in the family, or   
   even - think of this terrible paradox - the birth of a child. It is an   
   important   
   cultural battle, that of ensuring that welfare is considered to be the   
   infrastructure of development rather than a cost. You can act as a coordinator   
   and motor for the 'alliance against poverty', which proposes the development of   
   a national plan for decent and dignified work".   
    "Christian inspiration and the popular dimension determine that way of   
   understanding and implementing the ACLI's historic triple fidelity to workers,   
   democracy and the Church. In the current context, it may be said that these   
   three attitudes may be summarised in one, new and simple: fidelity to the   
   poor".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero: a martyr who knew how to guide, defend and   
   protect his flock   
    Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a letter to   
   Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, president of the Episcopal   
   Conference of El Salvador, for the beatification of Oscar Arnulfo Romero   
   Galdamez, former archbishop of the same archdiocese and martyr, killed in   
   hatred   
   of the faith on 24 March 1980. The the beatification Mass, celebrated in Plaza   
   del Divino Salvador del Mundo in the Salvadoran capital, was attended by the   
   Pope's special envoy Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation   
   for the Causes of Saints.   
    The following is the full text of the letter:   
    "The beatification of Msgr. Oscar Arnulfo Romero Galdamex, who was the pastor   
   of this beloved archdiocese, is a cause for great joy for Salvadorans and for   
   those who rejoice in the example of the best sons of the Church. Msgr. Romero,   
   who built peace with the strength of love, bore witness to faith, giving his   
   life to the extreme.   
    The Lord never abandons His people in difficulties, and always shows   
   solicitude   
   to its needs. He sees oppression, He hears the cries of pain of His children,   
   and he comes to their aid to free them from oppression and to lead them to a   
   new   
   land, of 'milk and honey', fertile and spacious. Just as He chose Moses to   
   guide   
   His people in His name, He continues to raise pastors after His own heart, who   
   graze His flock with wisdom and prudence.   
    In this beautiful central American country, bathed by the Pacific Ocean, the   
   Lord granted His Church a zealous bishop who, loving God and serving his   
   brothers, converted himself in the image of Christ the Good Shepherd. In times   
   of difficult co-existence, Msgr. Romero knew how to guide, defend and protect   
   his flock, remaining faithful to the Gospel and in communion with all the   
   Church. His ministry was distinguished by his particular care for the poorest   
   and most marginalised. And at the moment of his death, as he celebrated the   
   Holy   
   Sacrifice of love and reconciliation, he received the grace of fully   
   identifying   
   himself with He Who gave His life for his flock.   
    On this day of celebration for the Salvadoran nation, and also for our brother   
   countries in Latin America, let us give thanks to God for granting to the   
   bishop   
   martyr the capacity to see and hear the suffering of his people, and for   
   forming   
   his heart so that, in His name, he was guided and enlightened, and his work was   
   filled with Christian charity.   
    The voice of the newly Blessed continues to resonate today, reminding us that   
   the Church, a convocation of brothers around the Lord, is the family of God, in   
   which there should be no division. Faith in Jesus Christ, when it is well   
   understood and its full consequences are realised, generates communities that   
   are builders of peace and solidarity. This is what the Church is called to do   
   today in El Salvador, America and the world at large: to be rich in mercy, to   
   convert into leaven for reconciliation for society. Msgr. Romero invites us to   
   good sense and reflection, respect for life and harmony. It is necessary to   
   reject 'the violence of the sword, of hatred' and to live 'the violence of   
   love,   
   which caused Christ to be nailed to a cross, which enables us all to overcome   
   our selfishness and ensures there may no longer be such cruel inequalities   
   between us'. He was able to see and to experience in his own flesh 'the   
   selfishness that lurks in those who do not wish to give what is theirs for the   
   benefit of others'. And, with a father's heart, he cared for the 'poor   
   majority', urging the powerful to transform their weapons into ploughshares.   
    May those who regard Msgr. Romero as a friend in faith, those who invoke him   
   as   
   a protector and intercessor, those who admire him, find in him the strength and   
   encouragement to build the Kingdom of God, and to commit themselves to creating   
   a more equitable and dignified social order.   
    It is the right time for true national reconciliation when faced with today's   
   challenges. The Pope participates in your hopes, and unites himself to your   
   prayers so that the seed of martyrdom may flourish and become entrenched in the   
   true paths of the sons and daughters of that nation, which proudly bears the   
   name of the divine Saviour of the World.   
    Dear brother, I ask you to pray and to ask for prayers for me, and I impart my   
   apostolic blessing to all those who join in any way in the celebration of the   
   new Blessed".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope's message for the Second International Conference on Women   
    Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) - The Pope has sent a message of greetings and   
   encouragement to the participants in the Second International Conference on   
   Women held in Rome, and which today comes to an end. The event was organised by   
   the Pontifical Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace", in cooperation with the   
   World Union of Women's Catholic Organisations and the World Women's Alliance   
   for   
   Life and Family, on the theme "Women and the post-2015 development agenda: the   
   challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)".   
    "Women face a variety of challenges and difficulties in various parts of the   
   world", he writes. "In the West, at times they still experience discrimination   
   in the workplace; they are often forced to choose between work and family; they   
   not infrequently suffer violence in their lives as fiancees, wives, mothers,   
   sisters and grandmothers. In poor and developing countries, women bear the   
   heaviest burdens: it is they who travel many miles in search of water, who too   
   often die in childbirth, who are kidnapped for sexual exploitation or forced   
   into marriages at a young age or against their will. At times they are even   
   denied the right to life simply for being female. All of these problems are   
   reflected in the proposals for the post-2015 Development Agenda currently being   
   discussed in the United Nations.   
    "Issues relating to life are intrinsically connected to social questions. When   
   we defend the right to life, we do so in order that each life - from conception   
   to its natural end - may be a dignified life, one free from the scourge of   
   hunger and poverty, of violence and persecution. Pope Benedict XVI, in his   
   encyclical Caritas in Veritate, highlighted how the Church 'forcefully   
   maintains   
   this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that a society   
   lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the   
   dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand,   
   radically   
   acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human   
   life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalised'.   
    "I encourage you, who are engaged in defending the dignity of women and   
   promoting their rights, to allow yourselves to be constantly guided by the   
   spirit of humanity and compassion in the service of your neighbour. May your   
   work be marked first and foremost by professional competence, without   
   self-interest or superficial activism, but with generous dedication. In this   
   way   
   you will manifest the countless God-given gifts which women have to offer,   
   encouraging others to promote sensitivity, understanding and dialogue in   
   settling conflicts big and small, in healing wounds, in nurturing all life at   
   every level of society, and in embodying the mercy and tenderness which bring   
   reconciliation and unity to our world. All this is part of that 'feminine   
   genius' of which our society stands in such great need".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father received in audience:   
    - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops;   
    - Boyko Borissov, prime minister of Bulgaria, and entourage;   
    - Nikola Gruevski, president of the government of the ex-Yugoslav Republic of   
   Macedonia, with his wife and entourage.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 23 May 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:   
    - Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers, Algeria, as apostolic   
   nuncio to Pakistan.   
    - Sergio Melillo as bishop of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia (area 781, population   
   74,970, Catholics 74,270, priests 44, permanent deacons 8, religious 80),   
   Italy.   
   The bishop-elect was born in 1955 in Avellino, Italy and was ordained a priest   
   in 1989. A licentiate in dogmatic theology, he has exercised his pastoral   
   ministry in the diocese of Avellino in the roles of parish priest, vice   
   director   
   of diocesan Caritas and parish vicar of the Cathedral. He has also served as   
   lecturer in dogmatic theology at the "San Giuseppe Moscati" Higher Institute of   
   Religious Sciences, lecturer in religious culture the Avellino "Universit    
   della   
   Terza Et ". He is currently vicar general and a member of the presbyteral   
   council and college of consultors.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
   http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)