my strength is all too little. It is better to be content with small things,   
   less grand but more realistic, more within my reach'. I can understand that   
   reaction; it is normal to feel weighed down by difficult and demanding things.   
   But take care not to yield to the temptation of a disenchantment which   
   paralyses   
   the intellect and the will, or that apathy which is a radical form of pessimism   
   about the future. These attitudes end either in a flight from reality towards   
   vain utopias, or else in selfish isolation and a cynicism deaf to the cry for   
   justice, truth and humanity which rises up around us and within us.   
    "But what are we to do? How do we find paths of hope in the situations in   
   which   
   we live? How do we make those hopes for fulfilment, authenticity, justice and   
   truth, become a reality in our personal lives, in our country and our world? I   
   think that there are three ideas which can help to keep our hope alive.   
    "Hope is a path made of memory and discernment. Hope is the virtue which goes   
   places. It is not simply a path we take for the pleasure of it, but it has an   
   end, a goal which is practical and lights up our way. Hope is also nourished by   
   memory; it looks not only to the future but also to the past and present. To   
   keep moving forward in life, in addition to knowing where we want to go, we   
   also   
   need to know who we are and where we come from. Individuals or peoples who have   
   no memory and erase their past risk losing their identity and destroying their   
   future. So we need to remember who we are, and in what our spiritual and moral   
   heritage consists. This, I believe, was the experience and the insight of that   
   great Cuban, Father Felix Varela. Discernment is also needed, because it is   
   essential to be open to reality and to be able to interpret it without fear or   
   prejudice. Partial and ideological interpretations are useless; they only   
   disfigure reality by trying to fit it into our preconceived schemas, and they   
   always cause disappointment and despair. We need discernment and memory,   
   because   
   discernment is not blind; it is built on solid ethical and moral criteria which   
   help us to see what is good and just.   
    "Hope is a path taken with others. An African proverb says: 'If you want to go   
   fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with others'. Isolation and aloofness   
   never generate hope; but closeness to others and encounter do. Left to   
   ourselves, we will go nowhere. Nor by exclusion will we be able to build a   
   future for anyone, even ourselves. A path of hope calls for a culture of   
   encounter, dialogue, which can overcome conflict and sterile confrontation. To   
   create that culture, it is vital to see different ways of thinking not in terms   
   of risk, but of richness and growth. The world needs this culture of encounter.   
   It needs young people who seek to know and love one another, to journey   
   together   
   in building a country like that which José Martí dreamed of: 'With all, and for   
   the good of all'.   
    "Hope is a path of solidarity. The culture of encounter should naturally lead   
   to a culture of solidarity. I was struck by what Leonardo said at the   
   beginning,   
   when he spoke of solidarity as a source of strength for overcoming all   
   obstacles. Without solidarity, no country has a future. Beyond all other   
   considerations or interests, there has to be concern for that person who may be   
   my friend, my companion, but also someone who may think differently than I do,   
   someone with his own ideas yet just as human and just as Cuban as I am. Simple   
   tolerance is not enough; we have to go well beyond that, passing from a   
   suspicious and defensive attitude to one of acceptance, cooperation, concrete   
   service and effective assistance. Do not be afraid of solidarity, service and   
   offering a helping hand, so that no one is excluded from the path.   
    "This path of life is lit up by a higher hope: the hope born of our faith in   
   Christ. He made himself our companion along the way. Not only does He encourage   
   us, He also accompanies us; He is at our side and He extends a friendly hand to   
   us. The Son of God, He wanted to become someone like us, to accompany us on our   
   way. Faith in His presence, in His friendship and love, lights up all our hopes   
   and dreams. With Him at our side, we learn to discern what is real, to   
   encounter   
   and serve others, and to walk the path of solidarity.   
    "Dear young people of Cuba, if God Himself entered our history and became   
   flesh   
   in Jesus, if He shouldered our weakness and sin, then you need not be afraid of   
   hope, or of the future, because God is on your side. He believes in you, and He   
   hopes in you.   
    "Dear friends, thank you for this meeting. May hope in Christ, your friend,   
   always guide you along your path in life. And, please, remember to pray for me.   
   May the Lord bless all of you".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other News   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Message to the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East   
    Vatican City, 21 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to   
   His Holiness Mar Gewargis, on the occasion of his election as Catholicos   
   Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, in which he extends his "good   
   wishes and prayerful solidarity" to the Patriarch and his faithful. He adds   
   that   
   it is his prayer that His Holiness may be an inspirational pastor for the flock   
   entrusted to his care and "an untiring builder of peace and harmony, serving   
   the   
   common good and the good of the entire Middle East".   
    He continues, "I join your Holiness in prayer and solidarity with all who   
   suffer because of the tragic situation in the Middle East, especially our   
   Christian brothers and sisters and other religious minorities in Iraq and   
   Syria.   
   With you, I ask the Lord to grant them strength so that they may persevere in   
   their Christian witness. In expressing gratitude to Almighty God for the bonds   
   of fraternity between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East,   
   I   
   hope and pray that our continuing friendship and dialogue may be further   
   developed and deepened".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Message to Hungarian religious: seek the concerns and expectations of the   
   people   
    Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis sent   
   a   
   video message to the participants in the Meeting of Consecrated Persons in   
   Hungary, an initiative linked to the Year of Consecrated Life.   
    "In the various forms of consecrated life, I think of you as close to the   
   troubles and expectations of the people; I think of you as committed in the   
   contexts in which you are inserted, with their difficulties and signs of hope.   
   I   
   encourage you to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who   
   weep; to ask of God a heart capable of compassion, to tend to the wounds of the   
   body and the spirit and to bring God's consolation to many people. I believe   
   that the most beautiful side of a country and a city is that of the Lord's   
   disciples - the bishops, religious and lay faithful - who live with simplicity,   
   in their daily lives, in the style of the Good Samaritan and who are close to   
   the flesh and the wounds of their brethren, in whom they recognise the flesh   
   and   
   wounds of Jesus".   
    "This charity full of mercy - we know well - comes from the heart of Christ,   
   and we find this in prayer, especially in adoration, and in partaking with   
   faith   
   in the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance. May Mary, our Mother, help us   
   always to be men and women of prayer".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope speaks with young people from Cuba and the United States before his   
   apostolic trip   
    Vatican City, 19 September 2015 (VIS) - On 17 September Pope Francis   
   participated in a programme organised by "Scholas Occurrentes" - an initiative   
   organised between the students of various countries, cultures and religions -   
   broadcast by CNN on Friday 18, in which two groups of students from Havana and   
   New York also took part. The Holy Father answered questions posed by the   
   students, starting with one from a girl from New York on the responsibility of   
   the young in the care of the environment.   
    "It is one of the things that we have to learn from when we are young", he   
   said. "The environment, at this time, is one of the excluded. It cries to us to   
   pay attention and to take care of it. So, how can a young person take care of   
   the environment? First of all, by seeing the problems that exist in his or her   
   neighbourhood, city and nation. ... By looking for concrete measures you can   
   take.   
   The waste of paper is impressive. Avoid wasting electricity ... What little you   
   can do, but it is still a little more, a little more, a little more. Add to the   
   will to save our common home".   
    A girl from Havana asked the second question, regarding the capacity for   
   leadership attributed to the Pope. "A leader is a good leader if he is capable   
   of making other leaders emerge among the young", he said. "If a leader wishes   
   to   
   lead alone, then he is a tyrant. Or rather, true leadership is fruitful. ...   
   Sole leaders are here today and gone tomorrow. There are those who are born   
   leaders: leaders in thought, leaders of action, leaders of joy, leaders of   
   hope,   
   leaders in building a better world. This is the path for you to follow; but you   
   already have the seed of leadership within you. If they do not sow leadership   
   in   
   others, if they do not serve, they are dictators. I have no desire to be a   
   dictator. I like to plant the seed of leadership in others".   
    The third question was asked by a girl from New York, who showed the Pope a   
   photograph of a dead tree with a bird perched on a branch.   
    "Yes, in the photo the tree is dead and the bird is alive", observed Francis.   
   "In a few months' time the bird will need to build a nest to lay its eggs and   
   care for its young, but if the tree is dead, how will it be able to make a   
   nest?   
   This is what happens when we do not take care of the environment. One death   
   leads to another, and then, instead of sowing growth, instead of sowing hope,   
   we   
   sow death. The way is the opposite: caring for life".   
    A boy from Havana then spoke about the need to lift the embargo against Cuba.   
   "I too will do everything possible not to forget", replied the Holy Father.   
   "Building bridges and removing obstacles to communication, so that   
   communication   
   can lead to friendship. One of the most beautiful things is social friendship.   
   That's what I would like you to seek: friendship".   
    The final two questions regarded education of boys and girls. "Education is   
   one   
   of the human rights", affirmed Pope Francis. "A child has the right to be loved   
   ... to play ... and to receive an education. Do you think about the number of   
   children who, in countries at war at the moment, do not receive an education?   
   ...   
   It is a challenge that must be faced. And it is up to us to start. ... Do not   
   wait   
   for States to make agreements or governments to agree. Many years will pass in   
   the meantime, as it is difficult. ... So many children of your age, so many   
   boys   
   and girls devote their weekends and holidays to teach them. ... A people that   
   is   
   not educated, who either because of war or for other reasons cannot receive an   
   education, decays; it decays and declines even to the level of mere instinct.   
   ...   
   We must be committed to the education of the young".   
    "This morning I received a group of young people", the Pope revealed. "One boy   
   was from a country at war and he gave me a bullet, one of the many that rain   
   down continually on his city. The young, in order to survive, have to stay   
   closed up inside their homes, and no longer have the right to play. ... We have   
   lost the idea of how many children do not experience the joy of play, either   
   because of war, or poverty, or because they live on the streets. And these   
   children do not know how to communicate with the joy of play. They become easy   
   prey to traffickers, who use them and lead them into delinquency, theft, drug   
   abuse, prostitution, and many other things. So, the best way to begin to   
   educate   
   children is to give them the opportunity to play".   
    At the end of the broadcast, the presenter invited the Pope to plant an olive   
   tree in a pot placed nearby, and asked the Pope to give him the bullet so as to   
   bury it in the ground on which the olive tree will grow.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 21 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Bishop   
   Ferenc Palanki, auxiliary of Eger, Hungary, as bishop of Debrecen-Nyiregyhaza,   
   (area 11,300, population 1,137,000, Catholics 250,000, priests 93, religious   
   33), Hungary. He succeeds Bishop Nandor Bosak, whose resignation from the   
   pastoral ministry of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted   
   by the Holy Father.   
    On Saturday 19 September the Holy Father:   
    - accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of   
   Koszalin-Kolobrzeg, Poland, presented by Bishop Pawel Cieslik, upon reaching   
   the   
   age limit.   
    - appointed Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, archbishop emeritus of Palermo, as   
   his special envoy to the concluding celebration of the fifth centenary of the   
   creation of the diocese of Lanciano (present-day archdiocese of   
   Lanciano-Ortona), Italy, to be held on 22 November 2015.   
    On Friday 18 September the Holy Father appointed Fr. Guy Joseph Consolmagno,   
   S.J., as director of the Vatican Observatory. Fr. Consolmagno is currently a   
   member of the same scientific institution and president of the Vatican   
   Observatory Foundation.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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