VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 097   
   DATE 26-05-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - The whole world continues to be your cloister, says the Pope to the Order of   
   Friars Minor   
   - Francis commemorates St. Philip Neri on the fifth centenary of his birth   
   - Meeting of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops closes   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The whole world continues to be your cloister, says the Pope to the Order of   
   Friars Minor   
    Vatican City, 26 May 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Sala Clementina of the   
   Vatican Apostolic Palace Pope Francis received in audience the participants in   
   the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor, dedicated this time to two   
   key   
   aspects of their identity: minority and fraternity.   
    In his address, the Holy Father remarked that minority "calls us to be and to   
   feel small before God, entrusting ourselves entirely to his infinite mercy. The   
   perspective of mercy is incomprehensible to those who do not recognise   
   themselves as 'minor': that is, as small, needy and sinners before God. The   
   more   
   aware we are of this, the closer we are to salvation; the more convinced we are   
   of being sinners, the more disposed we are to be saved. ... Minority also means   
   coming out of ourselves, of leaving behind our preconceptions and personal   
   views; it also means going beyond structures - that are of course useful if   
   used   
   wisely - and beyond our habits and certainties, to bear witness to real   
   closeness to the poor, needy and marginalised, with an authentic attitude of   
   sharing and service".   
    Similarly, the dimension of fraternity is essential for bearing witness to the   
   Gospel. "In the primitive Church, Christians lived in fraternal community to   
   the   
   extent that ... the people were surprised to see them so united in love, so   
   willing to give and to forgive each other", commented the Pope. "Your religious   
   family is called upon to express this concrete fraternity, by recovering this   
   mutual trust in interpersonal relations, so that the world may see and believe,   
   acknowledging that Christ's love heals wounds and renders us as one".   
    In this respect, Francis invited the Franciscans to be "bringers of mercy,   
   reconciliation and peace", in obedience to their charism which has made them an   
   "outbound congregation" since their origins. "It is said that when the first   
   friars were asked to show their cloisters, they climbed a hill and, showing the   
   land around, as far as the eye could see, they answered, 'This is our   
   cloister'.   
   Dear brothers, continue to go into this cloister, which is the whole world,   
   driven by Christ's love, as St. Francis invites you to do ... when he says ...   
   'I   
   counsel, warn and exhort my friars in the Lord Jesus Christ, that when they go   
   about through the world, they are not to quarrel nor contend in words, nor are   
   they to judge others, but they are to be meek, peaceable and modest, meek and   
   humble, speaking uprightly to all, as is fitting. ... Into whatever house they   
   may   
   enter, first let them say: 'Peace to this house', and ... it is lawful to eat   
   any   
   of the foods which are placed befor them".   
    The Pope stressed that St. Francis' exhortation remains valid. "It is a   
   prophecy of fraternity and minority for today's world too. How important it is   
   to live a Christian and religious existence without losing oneself in disputes   
   and gossip, cultivating a serene dialogue with all, ... with modest means,   
   announcing peace and living in a sober fashion, content with what is offered to   
   you. This also requires decisive commitment to transparency, to the ethical and   
   fraternal use of goods, in a style of sobriety. If, instead, you are attached   
   to   
   worldly goods and wealth, and place your security there, it will be the Lord   
   Himself Who will despoil you of this spirit of worldliness in order to preserve   
   this valuable heritage of minority and poverty to which He has called you   
   through St. Francis. You will either be freely poor and minor, or find   
   yourselves denuded".   
    "The Holy Spirit is the inspiration for religious life", continued Pope   
   Francis. "When consecrated persons let themselves be enlightened and guided by   
   the Spirit, they discover in this supernatural vision the secret of their   
   fraternity, the inspiration for their service to their brothers, the strength   
   of   
   their prophetic presence in the Church and in the world. The light and the   
   strength of the Spirit will also help you face the challenges that lie before   
   you, especially the numerical decrease, ageing and diminution of new   
   vocations".   
    "The people of God love you. Cardinal Quarracino once said: 'In our cities   
   there are groups or people who are against the clergy, and when a priest passes   
   by they say certain things to him - in Argentina they call them "crows". But I   
   have never, ever heard these remarks in the presence of a Franciscan habit.   
   Why?   
   You have inherited authority with the people of God with your minority,   
   fraternity, meekness, humility, and poverty. Please preserve this! Do not lose   
   it. The people love you".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis commemorates St. Philip Neri on the fifth centenary of his birth   
    Vatican City, 26 May 2015 (VIS) - This year marks the fifth centenary of the   
   birth of St. Philip Neri (Florence, 25 July 1515 - Rome 26 May 1595), known as   
   the "apostle of Rome" and founder of the Congregation of the Oratory that, as   
   Pope Francis writes in a letter addressed to the procurator general Fr. Mario   
   Alberto Aviles, is characterised by "an intense and joyful spiritual life:   
   prayer, listening and conversation on the Word of God, preparation to receive   
   the sacraments in a dignified way, formation for Christian life through the   
   history of the saints and the Church, and works of charity for the benefit of   
   the poorest".   
    The Holy Father, joining with those who commemorate the figure and the work of   
   this saint, who spent sixty years of his life in Rome, remarks that thanks to   
   the apostolate of St. Philip, commitment to saving souls "was restored as a   
   priority in the Church's activity, and it was newly understood that pastors   
   must   
   stay with their people to guide them and sustain them in their faith. Philip   
   was   
   a guide for many people, announcing the Gospel and dispensing the Sacraments.   
   In   
   particular, he dedicated himself with great passion to the ministry of   
   Confession, up to the evening of his last day on earth. His concern was that of   
   constantly following the spiritual growth of his disciples, accompanying them   
   in   
   the bitterness of life and opening up to Christian hope. ... His spiritual   
   paternity shines through all his work, characterised by trust in people, by his   
   rejection of gloomy and sombre tones, by his spirit of festivity and joy, by   
   his   
   conviction that grace does not restrain nature but instead heals, strengthens   
   and perfects it".   
    The Apostle of Rome also remains as "a shining model of the permanent mission   
   of the Church in the world. The perspective of his approach to others, bearing   
   witness to all the love and mercy of the Lord, can constitute a valid example   
   for bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful. From the very first   
   years of his presence in Rome, he undertook an apostolate of personal relations   
   and friendship, as the ideal route to opening up to the encounter with Jesus   
   and   
   the Gospel. ... He loved spontaneity, shunned artifice, chose the most   
   enjoyable   
   methods to educate in Christian virtues, and at the same time offered a healthy   
   discipline that implied the exercise of will to welcome Christ in the fabric of   
   one's life. His profound conviction was that the path to sanctity was based on   
   the grace of an encounter with the Lord, accessible to any person ... who   
   welcomes   
   him with the wonder of children".   
    "The permanent state of mission of the Church requires that you, the spiritual   
   children of St. Philip Neri, do not settle for a mediocre life; on the   
   contrary,   
   in the school of your Founder you are called upon to be men of prayer and   
   witness to draw people to Christ", concludes the Pope. "In our times,   
   especially   
   in the world of the young who were so dear to Fr. Philip, there is a great need   
   for people who pray and who know how to teach others to pray".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Meeting of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops closes   
    Vatican City, 26 May 2015 (VIS) - The Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops   
   today completed its two-day meeting to prepare for the 14th Ordinary General   
   Assembly on the theme "The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church   
   and in the contemporary world", to be held from 4 to 25 October in the Vatican.   
   The Council was chaired by the Holy Father, who met with Cardinal Lorenzo   
   Baldisseri and Bishop Fabio Fabene (respectively secretary general and   
   under-secretary of the Synod of Bishops) last week, and whose presence   
   underlined the importance he attributes to the current Synod path.   
    Yesterday, 25 May, and this morning, the Council closely examined the plan for   
   the Instrumentum laboris resulting from the Relatio Synodi of the Extraordinary   
   Assembly, integrated with numerous contributions provided by the answers to the   
   questions included in the Lineamenta sent by the Episcopal Conferences and   
   other   
   competent entities, as well as the many contributions received by the   
   Secretariat General from various ecclesial bodies and individual faithful. An   
   extensive and detailed study of the text has generated proposals and   
   contributions for its integration and improvement. The text, thus revised and   
   shared by the members of the Council, has been entrusted to the Secretariat   
   General for its final redaction, translation in various languages and   
   publication, which will take place in a few weeks' time.   
    Following the examination of the Instrumentum laboris, proposals from the   
   Secretariat General for updating the working method for the upcoming Ordinary   
   General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops were presented.   
      
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