VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 169   
   DATE 30-09-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Pope Francis on his apostolic trip to Cuba and the United States   
   - The Pope recalls Blessed Klara Ludwika Szczesna, St. Rita of Cascia and St.   
   Jerome   
   - Pope Francis' prayer intentions for October   
   - Papal Magisterium on communication available online   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis on his apostolic trip to Cuba and the United States   
    Vatican City, 30 September 2015 (VIS) - The catechesis of this Wednesday's   
   general audience in St. Peter's Square was dedicated to the Holy Father's   
   recent   
   apostolic trip in Cuba and the United States, which originated with his wish to   
   participate in the Eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia on 28   
   September. The visit was extended to include a visit to the United States, to   
   the headquarters of the United Nations, and to Cuba, which was the first stage   
   of his itinerary. The Pope took the opportunity to once again express his   
   gratitude to the president of Cuba Raul Castro, the president of the United   
   States Barack Obama, and the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban   
   Ki-Moon, for the welcome they reserved to him, and to the bishops and   
   collaborators in the organisation of the trip for their work.   
    The Pope recounted that he presented himself in Cuba, "a land rich in natural   
   beauty, culture and faith", as a "Missionary of Mercy". "God's mercy is greater   
   than any affliction, any conflict, any ideology; and with this gaze of mercy I   
   was able to embrace the entire Cuban population, at home and abroad, looking   
   beyond any division. The symbol of this deep unity is Our Lady of Charity of El   
   Cobre, ... Patroness of Cuba, ... Mother of Hope ... who guides us on the path   
   of   
   justice, peace, freedom and reconciliation. ... I was able to share with the   
   Cuban   
   people the hope of fulfilling the prophecy of St. John Paul II: that Cuba will   
   open up to the world, and the world will open up to Cuba. No more closure, no   
   more exploitation of the poor, but instead freedom and dignity. It is the path   
   that draws strength from the Christian roots of the people, who have suffered   
   greatly".   
    After Cuba, the Pope proceeded the United States. "A symbolic step, a bridge   
   that, thanks be to God, is being rebuilt", he commented, adding that "God   
   always   
   wants to build bridges; we are the ones who build walls. But walls always fall   
   down".   
    He then spoke about the three phases of his trip to the United States:   
   Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia. In Washington D.C. he met not only   
   with the political authorities, but also the clergy, the poor and the   
   marginalised. He remarked that the greatest wealth of the country and her   
   people   
   is her "spiritual and ethical heritage. And so, I wanted to encourage to   
   continuation of social construction faithful to the United States' fundamental   
   principle, that all men are created by God, equal and endowed with inalienable   
   rights, such as life, liberty an the pursuit of happiness. These values, that   
   may be shared by all, find their fulfilment in the Gospel, as was clearly shown   
   by the canonisation of the Franciscan Fr. Junipero Serra, the great evangeliser   
   of California. St. Junipero shows us the way to joy: going forth and sharing   
   Christ's love with others. This is the way of Christians, but also of any   
   person   
   who has known love: not to keep it to oneself but to share it with others. The   
   United States of America have grown on this religious and moral base, and on   
   this base they can continue to be a land of freedom, welcome and cooperation   
   for   
   a more just and fraternal world".   
    Turning to the second phase of the trip, in New York, the Pope recalled his   
   address to the representatives of nations at the General Assembly of the United   
   Nations, in which he renewed the Catholic Church's commitment to support the   
   institution and "its role in the promotion of development and peace, especially   
   with regard to the need for joint and active commitment to care for creation",   
   and highlighted his appeal "to stop and prevent violence against ethnic and   
   religious minorities and against civil populations". The Holy Father recounted   
   that he had prayed at Ground Zero for peace and fraternity, accompanied by   
   representatives of various religions and families of victims of the 11   
   September   
   attacks, and celebrated Mass for peace and justice in Madison Square Garden.   
    "In both Washington D.C. and New York I was able to meet various charitable   
   and   
   educational bodies, emblematic of the enormous service that the Catholic   
   community - priests, man and women religious, and laypeople - offer in these   
   fields".   
    However, the climax of the trip was the World Meeting of Families in   
   Philadelphia, "where the horizon extends to all the world through the 'prism'   
   of   
   the family". He continued, "the family is the answer to the great challenge of   
   our world, which is a dual challenge: fragmentation and solidification, two   
   extremes which co-exist, support each other and together support the   
   consumerist   
   economic model. The family is the answer as it is the cell of a society that   
   balances the personal and community dimensions, and at the same time the model   
   for a sustainable management of the goods and resources of creation. The family   
   is the protagonist of an integral ecology, as it is the primary social subject   
   which contains within itself the two basic principals of human civilisation on   
   earth: the principles of communion and fruitfulness. Biblical humanism presents   
   us with this icon: the human couple, united and fruitful, placed by God in the   
   garden of the world to cultivate it and protect it".   
    The Holy Father concluded by greeting the archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles   
   Chaput, noting his great love for the family made manifest in the organisation   
   of the event. "It is not by chance, but rather providential that ... the   
   witness   
   of the World Meeting of Families came at this moment from the United States of   
   America - that is, the country that during the last century reached the highest   
   level of economic and technological development without renouncing its   
   religious   
   roots. Now these same roots are asking to be replanted in the family, to   
   rethink   
   and change the model of development, for the good of the entire human family".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope recalls Blessed Klara Ludwika Szczesna, St. Rita of Cascia and St.   
   Jerome   
    Vatican City, 30 September 2015 (VIS) - After today's catechesis, the Holy   
   Father greeted among others the Sister Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus   
   from Poland, who are currently in Rome, the "heart of the Church", to give   
   thanks for the beatification of Klara Ludwika Szczesna, co-founder of this   
   congregation, in Krakow last Sunday. "By her life, the new Blessed taught us   
   about giving oneself to God, humble service to neighbours, life according to   
   the   
   spirit of the Gospel, and sensitivity to the poor, to those in need and those   
   who have lost their way in life. May her motto, "All for the Heart of Jesus",   
   be   
   a challenge for all of us, so that we may live according to God's will".   
    He also blessed a statue of St. Rita of Cascia, offered by a group of Lebanese   
   faithful to the Italian archdiocese of Spoleto-Norcia, which will be placed at   
   the crossroads between the saint's birthplace, Roccaporena, and Cascia, where   
   her relics are held. He invited all during the upcoming Jubillee of Mercy to   
   "reread her extraordinary human and spiritual experience as a sign of the power   
   of God's mercy".   
    Finally, he recalled that today we celebrate the memory of St. Jerome, and   
   said, "Dear young people, may his passion for the Sacred Scripture lead you to   
   fall in love with the Book of Life; dear sick people, may his austerity bring   
   meaning to your suffering; dear newlyweds, may his spiritual vigour strengthen   
   the faith of your new home".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis' prayer intentions for October   
    Vatican City, 30 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father's universal prayer   
   intention for October is: "That human trafficking, the modern form of slavery,   
   may be eradicated".   
    His intention for evangelisation is: "That with a missionary spirit the   
   Christian communities of Asia may announce the Gospel to those who are still   
   awaiting it".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Papal Magisterium on communication available online   
    Vatican City, 30 September 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press   
   Office a press conference was held to present the Baragli Project, entitled   
   "The   
   Church and Communication". The speakers were Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli,   
   president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Fr. Franco   
   Lever,   
   professor emeritus of the Faculty of Social Communication Science at the   
   Pontifical Salesian University and consultor of the same Pontifical Council,   
   and   
   Paolo Sparaci, professor at the same university.   
    "The PCCS is very pleased to support the Baragli Project", affirmed Archbishop   
   Celli. "The primary function of the PCCS, in accordance with the mandate given   
   to it by Vatican II, is to promote the importance of communications in the life   
   of the Church. Communication is not just another activity of the Church but is   
   at the very essence of its life. ... This project is particularly valuable   
   because   
   it brings together, and makes available to a wider public, a long tradition of   
   teaching and reflection by the Church precisely on the centrality of   
   communications".   
    "The material themselves are hugely significant as they show how the Church   
   has, throughout its history, sought to engage with the changing means and forms   
   of communication which have shaped culture and human society. This collection   
   enables us to appreciate how the Church's manner and means of expressing its   
   message have been transformed over the years in order to take account of   
   changes   
   and developments in the dominant forms and technologies of mass communication.   
   ...   
   What one sees is a constant effort on the part of the Church to ensure that the   
   Good News of the Gospel is made known to its contemporaries in ways that are   
   culturally appropriate and that fully realise the potentials of new models of   
   communications and developing technologies. The publication of these materials   
   on-line will provide the raw resources which will enable theologians and   
   communications scholars to deepen their reflections on how the Church today   
   should fulfil its responsibility to share its message with all people".   
    Fr. Level explained that "'The Church and Communication' is an 'online digital   
   library' [that] gives access to excerpts chosen from over 1,100 documents,   
   translated into various languages, from the first to the twenty-first century;   
   features a 'navigator' which helps to explore available online sources; offers   
   a   
   platform for reading and personal study; and provides an open environment for   
   collaboration. The site is geared towards those interested in the subject, and   
   especially those working in Church educational and formation centres which do   
   not have large libraries".   
    "After some years of preparation, the beta version in Italian is going live   
   today and can be found at www.chiesaecomunicazione.com. The purpose is to share   
   what has been put together so far, to gather feedback and to finalize   
   development of the definitive version in the coming months".   
    At the same time, he added that 'The Church and Communication' will always be   
   a   
   work in progress with respect to three areas of ongoing development:   
    "Expanding the archive: not only adding future documents of the Magisterium,   
   but widening the range of documents presented, including those from episcopal   
   conferences (Latin America, Asia, USA, Africa, Europe), together with   
   particularly significant contributions from individual bishops (example, the   
   works of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini in the field); consideration will also be   
   given to documents from the Orthodox Church and the evangelical churches,   
   especially the World Council of Churches and the Anglican Communion";   
    "Creating a network of collaborators: an indispensable effort in order to   
   offer   
   translations of documents and background notes, also to discover new sources   
   and   
   evaluate their acquisition and inclusion"; and   
    "Offering new instruments and methodologies through the IPERNOTE publication   
   platform, which features and tests new technologies which favour the shared   
   reading and study of documents among a community of readers".   
    He explained that the idea for this project was inspired by the figure and   
   works of Father Enrico Baragli, SJ, (1908-2001), "a pioneer of the church in   
   Italy with his study of the 'means of social communication'. ... The origins   
   for   
   this project go back to 1998 when Father Baragli gave permission to Fr. Franco   
   Lever to use his writings", he concluded.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 30 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Bishop   
   Francisco Carlos da Silva of Ituiutaba, Brazil as bishop of Lins (area 8,261,   
   population 305,000, Catholics 223,000, priests 58, permanent deacons 11,   
   religious 49), Brazil. He succeeds Bishop Irineu Danelon, S.D.B., whose   
   resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age   
   limit was accepted by the Holy Father.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)