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   VATICAN      News direct from the Vatican Information      2,032 messages   

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   Message 1,900 of 2,032   
   Vatican Information Service to All   
   [1 of 2] VIS-News   
   10 Nov 15 08:24:42   
   
   VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 198   
   DATE 10-11-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Francis to workers in Prato: fight the cancer of corruption and the   
   exploitation of labour   
   - Francis to the National Ecclesial Congress: the traits of Christian humanism   
   - Episcopal ordination in the Basilica of St. John Lateran: the Kingdom of God   
   is built with patience   
   - Clarifications from Fr. Federico Lombardi   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis to workers in Prato: fight the cancer of corruption and the   
   exploitation of labour   
    Vatican City, 10 November 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis arrived shortly before 8   
   a.m. at the Lungobisenzio Stadium in the Italian city of Prato, the first brief   
   stop in his visit to the Tuscany region. From there, he transferred the   
   cathedral square where he was awaited by thousands of faithful, some of whom   
   had   
   spent the night there to be able to greet the Pope. Many of them were workers,   
   to whom he addressed a discourse on the dignity of work, in which he condemned   
   exploitation. He also referred to the members of the Chinese community resident   
   in the city who died last year in a fire in a textile factory where they worked   
   and lived illegally.   
    Francis affirmed that he was passing through the city as part of a larger   
   pilgrimage: "It is little, but at least the intention is there", and remarked   
   that he would like to spend longer in this "city of Mary". He began by quoting   
   the biblical passage on the liberation of Israel, when the Lord asked the Jews   
   to celebrate the Passover with "girded loins".   
    "To 'gird the loins', to wear the cloak belted at the waist, meant being   
   ready,   
   preparing oneself to leave, to go out to be on one's way", he said, explaining   
   that today this means being ready "to share the joy of having met the Lord and   
   also the toil of walking His path. We are required to go out towards the men   
   and   
   women of our time. Going out, certainly, means taking risks, but there is no   
   faith without risk. A faith that thinks of itself and is closed in on itself is   
   not faithful to the invitation of the Lord, Who asks His people to take the   
   initiative and to commit themselves fearlessly. Confronted with the often   
   vertiginous transformations of recent years, there is the danger of succumbing   
   to the whirlwind of events, losing the courage to seek out the way. ... But the   
   Lord, Who wishes to reach those who do not yet love Him, spurs us on. ... He   
   asks   
   the Church, His bride, to walk today's rough paths, to accompany those who have   
   lost their way and to pitch tents of hope, to welcome those who are wounded and   
   expect nothing more from life".   
    "For a disciple of Jesus, no closeness can turn into distance. Rather, there   
   exist none who are too far away, only neighbours to be reached", affirmed   
   Francis, thanking the citizens of Prato for their continuing efforts to   
   integrate all people and to resist the throwaway culture of indifference. "In   
   times distinguished by uncertainty and fear, your initiatives in favour of the   
   weakest and families, that you are also committed to adopting, are   
   praiseworthy.   
   As you seek the best concrete solutions for inclusion, do not be discouraged by   
   difficulties. Do not resign yourselves when faced with what appear to be   
   difficult situations of coexistence; always be encouraged by the wish to   
   establish genuine "neighbourly pacts".   
    Finally, the Holy Father recalled that St. Paul invited Christians to wear a   
   particular armour, that of God. "We must gird ourselves with truth. Nothing   
   good   
   can be based on lies or the lack of transparency. Always seeking and choosing   
   the truth is not easy; however it is a vital decision, that must profoundly   
   mark   
   the existence of each person and of society, so that it may be more just and   
   more honest. The sacred nature of every human being requires respect, welcome   
   and dignified work for all. Dignified work! If I may, I would like to remember   
   the five men and two women, Chinese nationals, who died two years ago as a   
   result of a fire in the industrial zone of Prato. They lived and slept inside   
   the same industrial building where they worked: in one area, a small dormitory   
   had been fashioned in cardboard and plasterboard, with bunk beds to make use of   
   the height of the structure. It is a tragedy of exploitation and of inhumane   
   conditions of life. And this is not dignified work! The life of every community   
   demands that we fight the cancer of corruption all the way; the cancer of the   
   exploitation of human beings and labour, and the poison of illegality. Among us   
   and along with others, we must never tire of fighting for truth and justice".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis to the National Ecclesial Congress: the traits of Christian humanism   
    Vatican City, 10 November 2015 (VIS) - Following his brief visit to Prato, the   
   Pope travelled by helicopter to Florence, where he was received by the cardinal   
   archbishop Giuseppe Betori, and by the other civil and religious authorities.   
   He   
   transferred by car to the Baptistery dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the   
   square before the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, and paused a moment   
   before   
   the painting "The White Crucifixion", currently on display in the "Divine   
   Beauty" exhibition in Palazzo Strozzi. From there, he proceeded to Santa Maria   
   del Fiore on foot to meet with the participants in the Fifth National Ecclesial   
   Congress, dedicated this year to the theme "In Jesus Christ, the new humanism".   
   In the cathedral, where the 2,500 participants were gathered, he was greeted by   
   Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI)   
   and archbishop of Genoa, along with Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Turin and   
   Bishop Nunzio Galantino, secretary of the CEI.   
    The Pope gave an address focusing on the theme of the Congress, extensive   
   extracts of which are published below, in which he spoke about the features of   
   Christian humanism and the temptations to which the Church is exposed.   
    "We can speak about humanism only by starting from the centrality of Jesus,   
   discovering in Him the features of the authentic face of man. And the   
   contemplation of the face of the dead and risen Jesus that recomposes our   
   humanity, fragmented as it may be by the hardships of life, or marked by sin.   
   We   
   must not domesticate the power of the face of Christ. The face is the image of   
   His transcendence. ... I do not wish here to draw an abstract image of the 'new   
   humanism', a certain idea of man, but to present with simplicity some features   
   of Christian humanism, which is that of the sentiments, the mind of Jesus   
   Christ. These are not abstract temporary sensations but rather represent the   
   warm interior force that makes us able to live and to make decisions":   
    "The first sentiment is humility. ... The obsession with preserving one's own   
   glory and 'dignity', one's own influence, must not form part of our sentiments.   
   We must seek God's glory, that does not coincide with ours. God's glory that   
   shines in the humility of the stable in Bethlehem or in the dishonour of   
   Christ's cross always surprises us".   
    "Another sentiment is selflessness. '... The humanity of the Christian is   
   always   
   outward-looking. ... Please, let us avoid 'remaining shut up within structures   
   which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh   
   judges, within habits that make us feel safe'. Our duty is to make this world a   
   better place, and to fight. Our faith is revolutionary because of the   
   inspiration that comes from the Holy Spirit".   
    "Another of Jesus Christ's sentiments is beatitude. The Christian is blessed.   
   ...   
   In the Beatitudes, the Lord shows us the path. By taking it, we human beings   
   can   
   arrive at the most authentically human and divine happiness. ... For the great   
   saints, beatitude is about humiliation and poverty. But also in the most humble   
   of our people there is much of this beatitude: it is that of he who knows the   
   richness of solidarity, of sharing also the little he possesses. ... The   
   beatitudes we read in the Gospel begin with a blessing and end with a promise   
   of   
   consolation. They introduce us to a path of possible greatness, that of the   
   spirit, and when the spirit is ready all the rest comes by itself".   
    "Humility, selflessness, beatitude ... they also say something to the Italian   
   Church that today meets to walk together, setting an example of synodality.   
   These features tell us that we must not be obsessed with power, even when this   
   assumes the appearance of a useful or functional power in the social image of   
   the Church. If the Church does not assume Jesus' mind, she is disorientated and   
   loses her way. A Church with these three features - humility, selflessness and   
   beatitude - is a Church that recognises the action of the Lord in the world, in   
   culture, in the daily life of the people. I have said this more than once, and   
   I   
   will repeat it again today to you: 'I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting   
   and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is   
   unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security'".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)   

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