VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 118   
   DATE 24-06-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - General audience: the wounds of the family   
   - The Pope receives the participants in the meeting for dialogue between   
   Buddhists and Catholics   
   - Pope's Message for the 50th anniversary of the Joint Working Group between   
   the   
   Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    General audience: the wounds of the family   
    Vatican City, 24 June 2015 (VIS) - Following his recent catechesis on external   
   threats to the family, such as poverty and illness, during today's general   
   audience the Pope spoke about those wounds that are produced as a result of   
   family cohabitation.   
    In all families there are moments of discord, but when harmful words, acts and   
   indifference are ignored, they can be aggravated and transformed into   
   arrogance,   
   hostility and contempt, which can become deep lacerations, dividing husband and   
   wife and inducing them to seek understanding, support and consolation   
   elsewhere.   
   "But often, these forms of support do not think of the good of the family. ...   
   And   
   frequently the effects of separation have an impact on the children".   
    "But do we still know what a wound to the soul is? Do we feel the weight of   
   the   
   mountain that crushes the soul of a child, in families in which the members   
   treat each other badly and harm each other, to the point of breaking the bonds   
   of conjugal trust?" asked the Pope. ... When adults lose their head ... when   
   the   
   father and mother harm each other, the soul of the child suffers greatly,   
   feeling a sense of desperation. And they are wounds that leave a lifelong   
   mark".   
    "In the family, everything is interconnected: when its soul is wounded at some   
   point, the infection spreads throughout. ... Husband and wife are one flesh",   
   emphasised the Pope, "But their creatures are flesh of their flesh. If we think   
   of the severity with which Jesus warns adults not to offend the little ones, we   
   can also better understand his word on the grave responsibility of safeguarding   
   the conjugal bond that is at the origin of the human family. When a man and a   
   woman become one flesh, all the wounds and neglect of the father and mother are   
   brought to bear on the living flesh of the children".   
    The Holy Father also spoke about those cases in which separation is inevitable   
   or indeed morally necessary "to remove the weaker spouse, or young children,   
   from the wounds caused by arrogance and violence, debasement and exploitation,   
   estrangement and indifference".   
    However, he said, there is no lack of those who, thanks to God, "supported by   
   faith and love for their children, bear witness to their faithfulness in a bond   
   in which they have believed, however impossible it may seem to revive it. Not   
   all separated people have this vocation, though. Not all recognise, in their   
   solitude, the Lord's call to them. We find many families in irregular   
   situations   
   around us. And this poses many questions: how can we help them? How can we   
   accompany them? How can we accompany them so the children do not become   
   hostages   
   to their father or mother?".   
    The Pope concluded his catechesis by asking the Lord for "great faith, to look   
   upon reality through the eyes of God; and great charity, to be near to people   
   with a merciful heart".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope receives the participants in the meeting for dialogue between   
   Buddhists and Catholics   
    Vatican City, 24 June 2015 (VIS) - Before today's general audience in St.   
   Peter's Square, the Pope received in the room adjacent to the Paul VI Hall the   
   participants in the Meeting for Dialogue between Buddhists and Catholics of the   
   United States on the theme "Suffering, liberation and fraternity", organised by   
   the Focolare Movement and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue   
   and   
   inaugurated yesterday at Castel Gandolfo by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran,   
   president of the dicastery.   
    The meeting, which ends on 27 June, has involved the participation of around   
   fifty delegates from New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and   
   Washington, representing Catholics and Buddhist communities of different   
   traditions. The Holy Father thanked them for their visit to the Vatican, "a   
   visit that is close to my heart as it is a visit of fraternity, dialogue and   
   friendship. These are things that do great good, that are healthy. In this   
   historical moment, so scarred by wars and hatred, these small gestures are   
   seeds   
   of peace and fraternity. I thank you, and may the Lord bless you".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope's Message for the 50th anniversary of the Joint Working Group between the   
   Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches   
    Vatican City, 24 June 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis sent a   
   message to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Reverend   
   Olav Fykse Tveit, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Joint   
   Working Group between the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches.   
   The   
   text was read by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for   
   Christian Unity, during a commemorative congress held at the Centro Pro Unione   
   in Rome.   
    Francis writes that this occasion offers "a moment to thank the Lord for all   
   that the ecumenical movement has achieved since its beginning over one hundred   
   years ago, inspired by a longing for the unity which Christ intended for his   
   body, the Church, and by an emerging sense of sorrow for the scandal of   
   division   
   between Christians".   
    Since its inauguration in 1965, the Joint Working Group has been active "not   
   only in ecumenical issues, but also in the areas of interreligious dialogue,   
   peace and social justice, and works of charity and humanitarian aid". He added   
   that the Joint Working Group "should not be an inward-looking forum", but   
   instead should increasingly become "a 'think tank', open to all the   
   opportunities and challenges facing the Churches today in their mission of   
   accompanying suffering humanity on the path to the Kingdom, by imbuing society   
   and culture with Gospel truths and values".   
    In the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, continued the Pope, "I noted   
   that realities are more important than ideas. The Joint Working Group must be   
   oriented to addressing the real concerns of the Churches throughout the world.   
   In this way, it will be better suited to proposing collaborative steps that not   
   only draw the Churches closer together, but also ensure that they offer an   
   effective diakonia suited to the people's needs".   
    In fulfilling this task, "the Joint Working Group distinguishes itself by its   
   own character and aims. The nine reports produced thus far bear witness to the   
   growing understanding and appreciation of the bonds of brotherhood and   
   reconciliation which, in the context of the changing landscape of Christianity   
   in the modern world, sustain Christians in their common witness and   
   evangelising   
   mission. We must recognise, though, that in spite of the many ecumenical   
   achievements of the past half century, Christian mission and witness still   
   suffer due to our divisions. Disagreements on various subjects - in particular   
   anthropological, ethical and social issues, as well as issues related to the   
   understanding of the nature and conditions of the unity we seek - demand   
   further   
   sustained efforts. Our dialogue must continue".   
    The Pope concluded his message by encouraging the Group to further its   
   discussion on crucial ecumenical issues and to promote ways for Christians to   
   testify together to the real, though imperfect, communion shared by all the   
   baptised. "May we always trust that the Holy Spirit will continue to assist and   
   guide our journey, often in new and sometimes unexpected ways", exclaimed   
   Francis.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 24 June 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:   
    - Bishop Rafael Biernaski, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Curitiba, Brazil,   
   as   
   bishop of Blumenau (area 3,835, population 671,282, Catholics 460,056, priests   
   67, permanent deacons 53, religious 79), Brazil.   
    - Bishop Joao Santos Cardoso of Sao Raimundo Nonato, Brazil, as bishop of Bom   
   Jesus da Lapa (area 56,300, population 403,000, Catholics 321,000, priests 33,   
   religious 52), Brazil.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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