VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXV - # 212   
   DATE 28-11-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Francis in Uganda: despite our different beliefs, we must all seek truth and   
   work for justice and reconciliation   
   - At the Munyonyo Shrine: may the martyrs obtain for you the grace to be wise   
   teachers   
   - Homily at the Namugongo shrines: we honour the Ugandan martyrs when we carry   
   on their witness to Christ   
   - Francis to the young people of Kenya: tribalism is defeated by listening,   
   opening one's heart, and dialogue   
   - Video message: true change begins in ourselves   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis in Uganda: despite our different beliefs, we must all seek truth and   
   work for justice and reconciliation   
    Vatican City, 28 November 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon Pope Francis   
   arrived   
   in Uganda, the second leg of his apostolic trip in Africa. He was awaited at at   
   the airport by President Yoweri Kaguta Museweni, representatives of the   
   religious and civil authorities, and a group of dancers who performed a   
   traditional dance in his honour. From the airport the Pope transferred to the   
   State House in Entebbe, where he privately greeted the family of the president,   
   who was also Head of State during St. John Paul II's visit to the country. He   
   then met with the authorities and the diplomatic corps of Uganda.   
    In his address in the Conference Hall, Francis emphasised that his visit was   
   intended to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the canonisation of the   
   martyrs of Uganda by his predecessor Pope Paul VI, but at the same time he   
   hoped   
   it would also be "a sign of friendship, esteem and encouragement for all the   
   people of this great nation".   
    "The Martyrs, both Catholic and Anglican, are true national heroes. They bear   
   witness to the guiding principles expressed in Uganda's motto - For God and My   
   Country. They remind us of the importance that faith, moral rectitude and   
   commitment to the common good have played, and continue to play, in the   
   cultural, economic and political life of this country. They also remind us   
   that,   
   despite our different beliefs and convictions, all of us are called to seek the   
   truth, to work for justice and reconciliation, and to respect, protect and help   
   one another as members of our one human family. These high ideals are   
   particularly demanded of men and women like yourselves, who are charged with   
   ensuring good and transparent governance, integral human development, a broad   
   participation in national life, as well as a wise and just distribution of the   
   goods which the Creator has so richly bestowed upon these lands".   
    "My visit is also meant to draw attention to Africa as a whole, its promise,   
   its hopes, its struggles and its achievements", he continued. "The world looks   
   to Africa as the continent of hope. Uganda has indeed been blessed by God with   
   abundant natural resources, which you are challenged to administer as   
   responsible stewards. But above all, the nation has been blessed in its people:   
   its strong families, its young and its elderly... the living memory of every   
   people".   
    Francis praised Uganda's "outstanding concern" for refugees, which has enabled   
   them "to rebuild their lives in security and to sense the dignity which comes   
   from earning one's livelihood through honest labour. Our world, caught up in   
   wars, violence, and various forms of injustice, is witnessing an unprecedented   
   movement of peoples. How we deal with them is a test of our humanity, our   
   respect for human dignity, and above all our solidarity with our brothers and   
   sisters in need".   
    "I hope to encourage the many quiet efforts being made to care for the poor,   
   the sick and those in any kind of trouble. It is in these small signs that we   
   see the true soul of a people. In so many ways, our world is growing closer;   
   yet   
   at the same time we see with concern the globalisation of a 'throwaway culture'   
   which blinds us to spiritual values, hardens our hearts before the needs of the   
   poor, and robs our young of hope".   
    He concluded, "As I look forward to meeting you and spending this time with   
   you, I pray that you, Mr. President, and all the beloved Ugandan people, will   
   always prove worthy of the values which have shaped the soul of your nation.   
   Upon all of you I invoke the Lord's richest blessings. Mungu awabariki!".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    At the Munyonyo Shrine: may the martyrs obtain for you the grace to be wise   
   teachers   
    Vatican City, 28 November 2015 (VIS) - Following his encounter with the   
   leaders   
   of Uganda, the Pope travelled 38 kilometres by car from Entebbe to Munyonyo,   
   the   
   place where King Mwanga II (1884-1903) chose to exterminate the Christians of   
   Uganda and where in May 1886 the first four martyrs were killed, including St.   
   Andrew Kaggwa, patron of Ugandan catechists. Every year catechists gather in   
   the   
   area of the shrine of Munyonyo, now entrusted to the Conventual Franciscans,   
   where a new Church able to hold a thousand people is being built. Among the   
   catechists attending the meeting with the Holy Father there was also a   
   representation of teachers from the Uganda National Council of Laity, as   
   laypeople have played, and continue to play, a very important role in the   
   evangelisation of the country.   
    Upon arrival, the Pope was received by the superior of the Franciscans and by   
   Archbishiop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala, who accompanied him to the   
   churchyard where he planted and watered a tree, along with the archbishop and   
   leaders of the Orthodox and Protestant confessions to underline the ecumenical   
   aspect of the Ugandan martyrs. Indeed, dozens of Anglicans were killed during   
   the reign of King Mwanga II, alongside twenty-two of his servants, pages and   
   functionaries who were converted to Catholicism by the missionaries of Africa.   
    After blessing the new statue of St. Andrew Kaggwa, located in the place of   
   his   
   martyrdom, the Pope addressed the catechists, first thanking them for their   
   sacrifices in fulfilling their mission. "You teach what Jesus taught, you   
   instruct adults and help parents to raise their children in the faith, and you   
   bring the joy and hope of eternal life to all", he said. "Thank you for your   
   dedication, your example, your closeness to God's people in their daily lives,   
   and all the many ways you plant and nurture the seeds of faith throughout this   
   vast land. Thank you especially for teaching our children and young people how   
   to pray".   
    "I know that your work, although rewarding, is not easy. So I encourage you to   
   persevere, and I ask your bishops and priests to support you with a doctrinal,   
   spiritual and pastoral formation capable of making you ever more effective in   
   your outreach. Even when the task seems too much, the resources too few, the   
   obstacles too great, it should never be forgotten that yours is a holy work.   
   The   
   Holy Spirit is present wherever the name of Christ is proclaimed. He is in our   
   midst whenever we lift up our hearts and minds to God in prayer. He will give   
   you the light and strength you need! The message you bring will take root all   
   the more firmly in people's hearts if you are not only a teacher but also a   
   witness. Your example should speak to everyone of the beauty of prayer, the   
   power of mercy and forgiveness, the joy of sharing in the Eucharist with all   
   our   
   brothers and sisters".   
    "The Christian community in Uganda grew strong through the witness of the   
   martyrs", he continued. "They testified to the truth which sets men free; they   
   were willing to shed their blood to be faithful to what they knew was good and   
   beautiful and true. We stand here today in Munyonyo at the place where King   
   Mwanga determined to wipe out the followers of Christ. He failed in this, just   
   as King Herod failed to kill Jesus. The light shone in the darkness, and the   
   darkness could not overcome it. After seeing the fearless testimony of Saint   
   Andrew Kaggwa and his companions, Christians in Uganda became even more   
   convinced of Christ's promises".   
    "May Saint Andrew, your patron, and all the Ugandan catechist martyrs, obtain   
   for you the grace to be wise teachers, men and women whose every word is filled   
   with grace, convincing witnesses to the splendour of God's truth and the joy of   
   the Gospel", the Pontiff concluded. "Go forth without fear to every town and   
   village in this country, to spread the good seed of God's word, and trust in   
   his   
   promise that you will come back rejoicing, with sheaves full from the harvest.   
   Omukama Abawe Omukisa! God bless you!".   
    Yesterday evening in the nunciature of Kampala Pope Francis received the   
   president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir. The director of the Holy See Press   
   Office,   
   Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., underlined that the audience represented a   
   "special   
   gesture" demonstrating the attention with which the Pope follows the troubled   
   events in this country, the youngest in Africa (independent since July 2011),   
   and whose founders included the Catholic bishop Cesare Mazzolari, who died   
   shortly after its birth. South Sudan has not yet known peace, although the   
   ideals that inspired its independence included peacemaking between ethnic   
   groups   
   and with Sudan.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Homily at the Namugongo shrines: we honour the Ugandan martyrs when we carry   
   on   
   their witness to Christ   
    Vatican City, 28 November 2015 (VIS) - Early this morning, the Pope visited   
   the   
   Anglican shrine at Namugongo (under the jurisdiction of the Church of Uganda),   
   erected in the place where 25 Ugandans, Catholics and Anglicans, were martyred   
   between 1884 and 1887. Their relics are conserved in a chapel adjacent to the   
   holy building, situated just a few kilometres from the Catholic shrine. Francis   
   was welcomed by the Anglican archbishop Stanley Ntagali, and he unveiled a   
   commemorative plaque near the recently restored chapel. He then went to the   
   place where the martyrs were condemned, tortured and killed. Forty bishops of   
   the Ugandan Anglican episcopate were present in the chapel. After praying a few   
   minutes in silence, the Holy Father took leave of Archbishop Ntagali and   
   travelled the three kilometres between the Anglican and Catholic shrines by   
   popemobile.   
    The national Catholic shrine of Namugongo stands in a large natural park where   
   religious ceremonies are often held in the open air, due to the large numbers   
   of   
   faithful. The shape of the Church recalls that of the traditional huts of the   
   Baganda or "Akasiisiira" ethnic group, and is supported by 22 pillars   
   commemorating the 22 Catholic martyrs. In front of the main entrance to the   
   Basilica, below the great altar, there is the place where Charles Lwanga was   
   burned alive in 1886. The church was consecrated by Blessed Paul VI during his   
   apostolic trip to Uganda in 1969, and is a destination for pilgrims throughout   
   the year, but especially on 3 June, the day of Charles Lwanga's martyrdom.   
    Before celebrating the Eucharist, Francis entered the Basilica and prayed   
   before the altar which holds the relics of Charles Lwanga. He then toured the   
   area by popemobile to greet the thousands of faithful who attended the votive   
   Mass for the fiftieth anniversary of the canonisation of the martyrs of Uganda,   
   and pronounced the following homily:   
    "From the age of the Apostles to our own day, a great cloud of witnesses has   
   been raised up to proclaim Jesus and show forth the power of the Holy Spirit.   
   Today, we recall with gratitude the sacrifice of the Uganda martyrs, whose   
   witness of love for Christ and his Church has truly gone 'to the end of the   
   earth'. We remember also the Anglican martyrs whose deaths for Christ testify   
   to   
   the ecumenism of blood. All these witnesses nurtured the gift of the Holy   
   Spirit   
   in their lives and freely gave testimony of their faith in Jesus Christ, even   
   at   
   the cost of their lives, many at such a young age".   
    "We too have received the gift of the Spirit, to make us sons and daughters of   
   God, but also so that we may bear witness to Jesus and make him everywhere   
   known   
   and loved. We received the Spirit when we were reborn in Baptism, and we were   
   strengthened by his gifts at our Confirmation. Every day we are called to   
   deepen   
   the Holy Spirit's presence in our life, to 'fan into flame' the gift of his   
   divine love so that we may be a source of wisdom and strength to others".   
    "The gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift which is meant to be shared. It unites   
   us to one another as believers and living members of Christ's mystical Body. We   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)