___________________________________________________________   
      
    Joint commitment to caring for the climate   
    Vatican City, 13 December 2015 (VIS) - After today's Angelus prayer, Pope   
   Francis spoke about the agreement adopted during the Climate Conference which   
   recently ended in Paris. "Its implementation will require concerted commitment   
   and generous dedication by all. In the hope that it will ensure special   
   attention to the most vulnerable populations, we urge the international   
   community to continue with care on the path it has taken, in an spirit of   
   increasingly active solidarity".   
    He remarked that next Tuesday, December 15, the Ministerial Conference of the   
   World Trade Organisation will commence in Nairobi. Addressing the participating   
   countries, he urged them to I take into account the needs of the poor and the   
   most vulnerable in their decisions, as well as the "legitimate aspirations of   
   the least developed countries and the common good of the entire human family".   
    The Holy Father also commented that in all the cathedrals of the world, the   
   Holy Doors are being opened so that the Jubilee of mercy may be fully   
   experienced in the particular churches. "I hope that this moment encourages   
   many   
   to become instruments of God's tenderness. As an expression of the works of   
   mercy, 'Doors of Mercy' are being opened in places of discomfort and   
   alienation.   
   I thus greet the inmates of prisons around the world". Finally, he greeted all   
   the pilgrims and faithful present.   
      
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    The Pope to visit Guadalupe on 13 February   
    Vatican City, 13 December 2015 (VIS) - Yesterday, on the liturgical solemnity   
   of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, patroness of Latin America, the Holy   
   Father celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The celebration was preceded by   
   the Holy Rosary and hundreds of people, mostly from the American continent,   
   where the devotion to Our Lady extends from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego. In the   
   homily he pronounced, the Pope emphasised Mary's mercy, asking that we might   
   understand how much God loves us through her.   
    Francis began by citing the phrases of the prophet Zephaniah in the first   
   reading: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one Who will save; He   
   will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will   
   exult over you with loud singing. "These words, addressed to Israel, can also   
   be   
   referred to the Virgin Mary, the Church, and every person, all of whom are   
   loved   
   by God's merciful love. Yes, God loves us so much that he even rejoices and   
   takes pleasure in us. He loves us with gratuitous love, love without limits,   
   and   
   without expecting anything in return. This merciful love is the most striking   
   attribute of God, the synthesis of which is condensed the Gospel message, the   
   faith of the Church".   
    He went on to explain that the word "mercy" - "misericordia" - is composed of   
   two words: misery and heart. The heart indicates the capacity to love; mercy is   
   that love, which embraces the misery of the person. It is a love that "feels"   
   our poverty as if it were its own, so as to free us of it. ... . "The Word   
   became   
   flesh," with the intention of sharing all our frailties - with the intention of   
   experiencing our human condition, even unto taking upon himself the Cross, with   
   all the pain of human existence. Such is the abyss of compassion and mercy.   
   ... No   
   sin can cancel his merciful closeness or prevent him from unleashing the grace   
   of conversion, provided we invoke it. Indeed, sin itself makes more radiant the   
   love of God who, to ransom a slave, sacrificed his Son. That mercy of God comes   
   to us with the gift of the Holy Spirit in Baptism. ... For, however great and   
   grave the sins of the world, the Spirit, who renews the face of the earth,   
   makes   
   possible the miracle of a life that is more human, more full of joy and hope".   
    "'The Lord is near', says the apostle Paul, and nothing should make us   
   anguished. He and His Mother are near. The greatest mercy lies in his being in   
   our midst, in our being in his presence and company. He walks with us, he shows   
   us the path of love, lifts us up when we fall, sustains us in our labours,   
   accompanies us in all circumstances of our existence. He opens our eyes to our   
   own misery and that of the world, but also fills us with hope. ... This is the   
   source of a peaceful and happy life; nothing can rob us of this peace and joy,   
   despite the sufferings and trials of life. The Lord with His tenderness opens   
   up   
   His heart to us, He opens up His love. The Lord is allergic to rigidities. ...   
   Announcing the Good News to the poor, like John the Baptist, performing works   
   of   
   mercy, is a good way to look for the coming of Jesus at Christmas".   
    "In one of the prayers most cherished by Christians, the Salve Regina, we call   
   Mary 'mother of mercy'", continued the Holy Father. "She who always lived   
   intimately united with her Son, knows better than anyone what He wants: that   
   all   
   men be saved, and that God's tenderness and consolation exclude no-one. ... To   
   Blessed Mary we entrust the sufferings and joys of people throughout the   
   Americas, who love her as a mother and recognise her as Patroness under the   
   beloved title of Our Lady of Guadalupe".   
    "May the sweetness of her gaze be with us in this Holy Year, so that we might   
   rediscover the joy of God's tenderness", concluded the Pope. "We ask that this   
   jubilee year sow merciful love in the hearts of individuals, families and   
   nations. Let us convert and become merciful people, and let all Christian   
   communities be oases and sources of mercy, witnesses to a charity without   
   exclusion. To ask this in a special way, I will travel to venerate her in her   
   Shrine on 13 February. I will ask for this for all America, for whom she is a   
   special Mother. Let us implore her to guide the footsteps of the American   
   people, a pilgrim people looking for the Mother of mercy, and let us ask her   
   just one thing: to show them her Son Jesus".   
    After his homily and during the prayer of the faithful, the Pope prayed for   
   his   
   parents Mario and Regina, "who gave me life and transmitted faith to me", he   
   said, and who were married eighty years ago.   
    Like last year, all those present concluded by singing "La Guadalupana", the   
   hymn to Our Lady of Guadalupe, known throughout the world.   
      
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    Programme of the Pope's apostolic trip to Mexico   
    Vatican City, 12 December 2015 (VIS) - The programme of the Holy Father's   
   apostolic trip to Mexico, to take place from 12 to 18 February, was published   
   today.   
    On Friday 12 February at 12.30 p.m. the Holy Father will depart by air from   
   Rome's Fiumicino airport, to arrive at the "Benito Juarez" International   
   airport   
   in Mexico City at 19.30 p.m. local time, where he will be welcome by the   
   authorities. At 9.30 a.m. on the morning of Saturday 13 February the welcome   
   ceremony will take place in the National Palace, and the Pope will pay a   
   courtesy visit to the president of the Republic of Mexico, followed by a   
   meeting   
   with the authorities, civil leaders and the diplomatic corps. At 11.30 a.m. he   
   will meet with the bishops in the Cathedral. In the afternoon, at 5. p.m., he   
   will celebrate Holy Mass in the Basilica of Guadalupe.   
    The following day, Sunday 14 February, he will transfer by helicopter to   
   Ecatepec where, at 10.30 a.m. he will celebrate Holy Mass in the area of the   
   Ecatepec Study Center. He will return by helicopter to Mexico City where he is   
   expected to arrive at 1.10 p.m. In the afternoon he will visit the "Federico   
   Gomez" paediatric hospital and will meet with cultural figures in the National   
   Auditorium.   
    On Monday 15 February at 7.30 a.m., the Pope will depart by air for Tuxtla   
   Gutierrez, and will then transfer by helicopter to San Cristobal de Las Casas   
   where he is expected to arrive at 9.15 a.m. He will celebrate Mass with the   
   indigenous Chiapas communities in the municipal sports centre at 10.15 a.m.,   
   followed by lunch with indigenous peoples and the papal entourage. At 3 p.m. he   
   will visit the Cathedral of San Cristobal de las Casas and will then return by   
   helicopter to Tuxtla Gutierrez, where he will meet with families in the "Victor   
   Manuel Reyna" stadium. At 6.10 p.m. he will depart by air for Mexico City where   
   he is expected to arrive at 8 p.m.   
    On Tuesday 16 February at 7.50 a.m. he will travel by air to Morelia where, at   
   10 a.m., he will celebrate Mass with priests, consecrated persons and   
   seminarians. Following a visit to the Cathedral at 3.15 p.m., he met with young   
   people in the "Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon" stadium. At 6.55 p.m. he will return   
   by air to Mexico City, arriving at 8 p.m.   
    On the sixth and final day of the trip, Wednesday 17 February, at 8.35 a.m.   
   the   
   Holy Father will depart by air for Ciudad Juarez, where he is scheduled to   
   arrive at the city's "Abraham Gonzalez" international airport at 10 a.m. He   
   will   
   first visit the CeReSo No. 3 detention centre, and will then meet with   
   representatives of the world of work at the Colegio de Bachilleres of the State   
   of Chihuahua at midday. At 4 p.m. he will celebrate Mass at the Ciudad Juarez   
   trade centre. Following a farewell ceremony at 7 p.m. at the international   
   airport, he will leave Mexico at 7.15 p.m., destined for Rome's Ciampino   
   airport, where he is expected to arrive at 2.45 p.m. on Thursday 18 February.   
      
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    Rescriptum ex audientia for the institution of the Pontifical Commission for   
   activities of public legal persons of the Church in the healthcare sector   
    Vatican City, 12 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father, after receiving in   
   audience Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin on 7 December, provided for   
   the institution of the Pontifical Commission for the activities in the   
   healthcare sector of public legal persons of the Church. The following is the   
   full text of the document:   
    "The Holy Father Francis, in the audience granted to the undersigned Secretary   
   of State on 7 December 2015, having obtained the necessary information relating   
   to the particular difficulties of public legal persons of the Church working in   
   the healthcare sector, for the purpose of contributing to the more efficient   
   management of these activities and the conservation of assets maintaining and   
   promoting the charism of the Founders, and until other provisions are made, has   
   mandated the Secretary of State to appoint a Special Commission for the   
   purpose,   
   entitled 'Pontifical Commission for the Activities of Public Juridical Persons   
   of the Church in the Healthcare Sector'.   
    Therefore, the Cardinal Secretary of State shall provide for the erection of   
   the 'Pontifical Commission for the Activities of Public Juridical Persons of   
   the   
   Church in the Healthcare Sector', which will be governed by the following   
   rules.   
    1. The principles and rules established in the Apostolic Constitution 'Pastor   
   bonus' and in the General Regulations of the Roman Curia shall be applied to   
   the   
   Commission, insofar as they are applicable and not incompatible. The Commission   
   shall adopt its own regulations.   
    2. The Commission shall be composed of a President and six experts in the   
   fields of healthcare, real estate, management, economic and administrative   
   issues, and finance. The Commission shall be able to delegate part of its   
   functions to one or more Members and shall be assisted by a Secretariat.   
    3. With regard to the appointment and term of office of the members and   
   experts   
   of the Commission, the regulations governing the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia   
   shall be applied.   
    4. The Commission, which shall report directly to the Secretary of State, may   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)