VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXVI - # 5   
   DATE 11-01-2016   
      
   Summary:   
   - To the Diplomatic Corps: the Holy See will never cease its efforts to take   
   the   
   voice of peace to the ends of the earth   
   - Baptisms in the Sistine Chapel: offer your children the legacy of faith   
   - Angelus: the importance of celebrating the day of our Baptism   
   - Holy Father's calendar for January and February   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    To the Diplomatic Corps: the Holy See will never cease its efforts to take the   
   voice of peace to the ends of the earth   
    Vatican City, 11 January 2016 (VIS) - Today in the Sala Regia of the Vatican   
   Apostolic Palace the Holy Father today received in audience in the the   
   Diplomatic Corps accredited at the Holy See for the traditional new year   
   exchange of greetings. The Pope was first greeted by the new dean of the   
   Diplomatic Corps, Armindo Fernandes do Espirito Santo Vieira, ambassador of   
   Angola, and began his discourse by mentioning the diplomats who died during   
   this   
   last month, the ambassadors of Cuba, Rodney Alejandro Lopez Clemente, and of   
   Liberia, Rudolf P. von Ballmoos. He also welcomed those attending for the first   
   time, noting that the number of ambassadors resident in Rome has increased   
   during the last year. "It is an important sign of the interest with which the   
   international community follows the diplomatic activity of the Holy See", he   
   remarked.   
    Further proof of this interest is offered by the international agreements   
   signed or ratified during the course of the year. In particular, Francis   
   mentioned the agreements of a fiscal nature with Italy and the United States of   
   America, "reflecting the increased commitment of the Holy See to greater   
   transparency in economic matters. No less important are the more general   
   agreements aimed at regulating essential aspects of the Church's life and   
   activity in different countries, such as the agreement sealed in Dili with the   
   Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste". He also cited the exchange of instruments   
   of ratification of the agreement with Chad on the legal status of the Catholic   
   Church in that country and the agreement signed and ratified with Palestine,   
   which together with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of   
   State and the Foreign Affairs Minister of Kuwait, demonstrate "how peaceful   
   co-existence between the followers of different religions is possible when   
   religious freedom is recognised and practical cooperation in the pursuit of the   
   common good, in a spirit of respect for the cultural identity of all parties,   
   is   
   effectively guaranteed".   
    The Pope emphasised that the authentic practice of religion cannot fail to   
   promote peace. "The mystery of the Incarnation shows us the real face of God,   
   for whom power does not mean force or destruction but love, and for whom   
   justice   
   is not vengeance but mercy". It is in the light of this that we must see the   
   Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, exceptionally inaugurated in Bangui during his   
   Apostolic Journey in Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic.   
    "In a country sorely tried by hunger, poverty and conflict, where fratricidal   
   violence in recent years has left deep wounds, rending the nation and creating   
   material and moral destitution, the opening of the Holy Door of Bangui   
   Cathedral   
   was meant as a sign of encouragement to look ahead, to set out anew and resume   
   dialogue. There, where God's name has been misused to perpetrate injustice, I   
   wanted to reaffirm, together with the Muslim community of the Central African   
   Republic, that 'those who claim to believe in God must also be men and women of   
   peace' and consequently of mercy, for one may never kill in the name of God.   
   Only a distorted ideological form of religion can think that justice is done in   
   the name of the Almighty by deliberately slaughtering defenceless persons, as   
   in   
   the brutal terrorist attacks which occurred in recent months in Africa, Europe   
   and the Middle East".   
    The Pope went on to reflect on his Apostolic trips throughout the course of   
   the   
   year, linked by the common thread of mercy, starting with Sarajevo, "a city   
   deeply scarred by the war in the Balkans and the capital of a country, Bosnia   
   and Herzegovina, which is uniquely significant for Europe and the entire world.   
   As a crossroads of cultures, nations and religions, it is working successfully   
   to build new bridges, to encourage those things which unite, and to see   
   differences as opportunities for growth in respect for all".   
    In Bolivia, Ecuador and Paraguay, he encountered "peoples who have not given   
   up   
   in the face of difficulties, and who are facing with courage, determination and   
   solidarity their many challenges, beginning with widespread poverty and social   
   inequality", he said. "During my journey to Cuba and the United States of   
   America, I was able to embrace two countries which were long divided and which   
   have decided to write a new page of history, embarking on the path of closer   
   ties and reconciliation".   
    "In Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families, during my Journey to Sri   
   Lanka and to the Philippines, and more recently with the Synod of Bishops, I   
   reaffirmed the centrality of the family, which is the first and most important   
   school of mercy, in which we learn to see God's loving face and to mature and   
   develop as human beings. Sadly, we recognise the numerous challenges presently   
   facing families, 'threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine   
   the very institution of marriage by relativism, by the culture of the   
   ephemeral,   
   by a lack of openness to life'. Today there is a widespread fear of the   
   definitive commitment demanded by the family; those who pay the price are the   
   young, who are often vulnerable and uncertain, and the elderly, who end up   
   being   
   neglected and abandoned".   
    The Pope went on to ask the ambassadors to reflect on "the poor, the   
   marginalised and the 'least' of society", and in particular on the "grave   
   crisis   
   of migration we are facing, in order to discern its causes, to consider   
   possible   
   solutions, and to overcome the inevitable fears associated with this massive   
   and   
   formidable phenomenon, which in 2015 has mainly concerned Europe, but also   
   various regions of Asia and North and Central America".   
    "The Bible as a whole recounts the history of a humanity on the move, for   
   mobility is part of our human nature", he added. "Human history is made up of   
   countless migrations, sometimes out of an awareness of the right to choose   
   freely, and often dictated by external circumstances. From the banishment from   
   Eden to Abraham's journey to the promised land, from the Exodus story to the   
   deportation to Babylon, sacred Scripture describes the struggles and   
   sufferings,   
   the desires and hopes, which are shared by the hundreds of thousands of persons   
   on the move today, possessed of the same determination which Moses had to reach   
   a land flowing with 'milk and honey', a land of freedom and peace. Now as then,   
   we hear Rachel weeping for her children who are no more. Hers is the plea of   
   thousands of people who weep as they flee horrific wars, persecutions and human   
   rights violations, or political or social instability, which often make it   
   impossible for them to live in their native lands. It is the outcry of those   
   forced to flee in order to escape unspeakable acts of cruelty towards   
   vulnerable   
   persons, such as children and the disabled, or martyrdom solely on account of   
   their religion".   
    "Now as then, we hear Jacob saying to his sons: 'Go down and buy grain for us   
   there, that we may live and not die'. His is the voice of all those who flee   
   extreme poverty, inability to feed their families or to receive medical care   
   and   
   education, hopeless squalor or the effects of climate change and extreme   
   weather   
   conditions. Sadly, we know that hunger continues to be one of the gravest banes   
   of our world, leading to the death of millions of children every year. It is   
   painful to realise, however, that often these migrants are not included in   
   international systems of protection based on international agreements".   
    "How can we not see in all this the effects of that 'culture of waste' which   
   endangers the human person, sacrificing men and women before the idols of   
   profit   
   and consumption? It is a grievous fact that we grow so inured to such   
   situations   
   of poverty and need, to these tragedies affecting so many lives, that they   
   appear 'normal'. ... We have grown indifferent to all sorts of waste, starting   
   with the waste of food, which is all the more deplorable when so many   
   individuals and families suffer hunger and malnutrition".   
    "The Holy See trusts that, amid today's sad context of conflicts and   
   disasters,   
   the First World Humanitarian Summit, convened by the United Nations for May   
   2016, will succeed in its goal of placing the person and human dignity at the   
   heart of every humanitarian response. What is needed is a common commitment   
   which can decisively turn around the culture of waste and lack of respect for   
   human life, so that no one will feel neglected or forgotten, and that no   
   further   
   lives will be sacrificed due to the lack of resources and, above all, of   
   political will".   
    We also hear today "the voice of Judah who counsels selling his own brother.   
   His is the arrogance of the powerful who exploit the weak, reducing them to   
   means for their own ends or for strategic and political schemes. Where regular   
   migration is impossible, migrants are often forced to turn to human traffickers   
   or smugglers, even though they are aware that in the course of their journey   
   they may well lose their possessions, their dignity and even their lives. In   
   this context I once more appeal for an end to trafficking in persons, which   
   turns human beings, especially the weakest and most defenceless, into   
   commodities. The image of all those children who died at sea, victims of human   
   callousness and harsh weather, will remain forever imprinted on our minds and   
   hearts. Those who survive and reach a country which accepts them bear the deep   
   and indelible scars of these experiences, in addition to those left by the   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)