VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXVI - # 41   
   DATE 29-02-2016   
      
   Summary:   
   - Meeting with Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: A New Time of   
   Fraternal Friendship   
   - Pope appreciates work of Rome-St. Peter's Carabinieri squad   
   - Pope Francis' Prayer Intentions for March   
   - Holy Father's calendar for March and April   
   - Angelus: never too late to repent, let us begin today!   
   - Tragedy of refugees in Pope's prayers   
   - Pope Francis receives president of the Argentine Republic   
   - Pope to businesspeople: seek a new humanism of work   
   - Friday of Mercy: Pope pays surprise visit to San Carlo drug rehabilitation   
   community   
   - IX World Day of Rare Diseases: Message of Pontifical Council for Health   
   Pastoral Care   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
   - Notice to VIS subscribers   
      
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    Meeting with Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church: A New Time of   
   Fraternal Friendship   
    Vatican City, 29 February 2016 (VIS) - This morning, Pope Francis welcomed His   
   Holiness Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.   
   During the meeting the Bishop of Rome emphasized that the patriarch's visit   
   strengthens the fraternal bonds that already unite both churches. He mentioned   
   as milestones of the common path towards unity His Holiness Abune Paulos'   
   encounters with St. John Paul II in 1993 and with Benedict XVI in 2009, who   
   invited him to participate in the Synod of Bishops for Africa as was common   
   practice in the early Church for representatives to be sent to the synods of   
   other Churches. Likewise, a delegation from the Holy See was present at the   
   2012   
   funeral of Patriarch Abune Paulos.   
    Moreover, as Francis explained, since 2004 the Catholic Church and the Eastern   
   Orthodox Churches have deepened their communion through theological dialogue in   
   the International Joint Commission, which over the years has analysed the   
   fundamental concept of the Churches' communion understood as participation in   
   the communion between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many things have been found   
   in common: one faith, one baptism, one Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and many   
   elements of the monastic traditions and the liturgy. "What unites us," the Pope   
   said, "is greater than what divides us."   
    He continued, "We truly feel that the words of the Apostle Paul apply to us:   
   'If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all   
   rejoice together.' Shared sufferings have enabled Christians, otherwise divided   
   in so many ways, to grow closer to one another. Just as in the early Church the   
   shedding of the blood of martyrs became the seed of new Christians, so today   
   the   
   blood of the many martyrs of all the Churches has become the seed of Christian   
   unity. The martyrs and saints of all the ecclesial traditions are already one   
   in   
   Christ. Their names are inscribed in the one martyrologium of the Church of   
   God.   
   The ecumenism of the martyrs is a summons to us, here and now, to advance on   
   the   
   path to ever greater unity."   
    The Pope recalled that the Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been, from the   
   beginning, a Church of martyrs and that still today "you are witnessing a   
   devastating outbreak of violence against Christians and other minorities in the   
   Middle East and in some parts of Africa. We cannot fail, yet again, to implore   
   those who govern the world's political and economic life to promote a peaceful   
   coexistence based on reciprocal respect and reconciliation, mutual forgiveness   
   and solidarity." He also acknowledged the great strides being made in Ethiopia   
   "to improve the living conditions of its people and to build an ever more just   
   society, based on the rule of law and respect for the role of women". In   
   particular, he noted the problem of access to water, with its grave social and   
   economic repercussions. "There is great room for cooperation between the   
   Churches in the service of the common good and the protection of creation," he   
   stated, certain of "the readiness of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia to work   
   together with the Orthodox Tewahedo Church". "it is my fervent hope that this   
   meeting will mark a new chapter of fraternal friendship between our Churches.   
   We   
   are conscious that history has left us with a burden of painful   
   misunderstandings and mistrust, and for this we seek God's pardon and healing.   
   Let us pray for one another," the pontiff concluded, "invoking the protection   
   of   
   the martyrs and saints upon all the faithful entrusted to our pastoral care.   
   May   
   the Holy Spirit continue to enlighten us and guide our steps towards harmony   
   and   
   peace. May he nourish in us the hope that one day, with God's help, we will be   
   united around the altar of Christ's sacrifice in the fullness of Eucharistic   
   communion."   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope appreciates work of Rome-St. Peter's Carabinieri squad   
    Vatican City, 29 February 2016 (VIS) - One hundred and fifty members of the   
   Rome-St. Peter's Carabinieri Squad who work with the competent bodies of the   
   Holy See to regulate events in and around St. Peter's Square throughout the   
   year   
   were received by Pope Francis in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican this   
   morning. The pontiff thanked them for their work in service of pilgrims and   
   tourists, noting that it is work that "requires professionalism and a sense of   
   responsibility as well as attention to people---many of whom are   
   elderly---continuous patience and availability to all. These are not easy   
   qualities, which is why it is important to rely on God's help."   
    "The Holy Year of Mercy," he continued, "opens the possibility of renewal to   
   all of us, beginning with inner purification, which is reflected in how we act   
   and in how we carry out our daily activities. This spiritual dimension of the   
   Jubilee compels each of us to question our actual commitment in responding to   
   the demands of faithfulness to the Gospel to which the Lord calls us from our   
   state in life. The Jubilee thus becomes a propitious occasion for personal and   
   community verification. The 'paradigm' to test ourselves against are works of   
   mercy, both corporal and spiritual. The Lord reminds us: 'Whatever you did for   
   one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.'"   
    "May this teaching of Jesus also guide you, who are responsible for the   
   protection of public order, and help you to foster solidarity in every   
   circumstance, especially towards the weak and defenceless. To be guardians of   
   the right to life through the commitment to safety and the safety of persons.   
   In   
   carrying out this mission, may we always be aware that every person is loved by   
   God and is his creature deserving of welcome and respect. May the grace of the   
   extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy," the Pope concluded his brief address, "renew   
   the spirit which you dedicate to your profession, bringing you to live it with   
   extra attention, devotion, and generosity.   
      
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    Pope Francis' Prayer Intentions for March   
    Vatican City, 29 February 2016 (VIS) - The Holy Father's universal prayer   
   intention for February is: "That families in need may receive the necessary   
   support and that children may grow up in healthy and peaceful environments."   
    His intention for evangelisation is: "That those Christians who, on account of   
   their faith, are discriminated against or are being persecuted, may remain   
   strong and faithful to the Gospel, thanks to the incessant prayer of the   
   Church."   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Holy Father's calendar for March and April   
    Vatican City, 29 February 2016 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations   
   of   
   the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical   
   celebrations at which the Holy Father will preside in the months of March and   
   April 2016:   
    MARCH   
    Friday 4: At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, penitential celebration.   
    Sunday 6: Fourth Sunday of Lent. In Ariccia, beginning of the spiritual   
   exercises for the Roman Curia.   
    Friday 11: Conclusion of the spiritual exercises for the Roman Curia.   
    Tuesday 15: At 10 a.m. in the Consistory Hall, consistory for causes of   
   canonisation.   
    Sunday 20: Palm Sunday and the Passion of the Lord. At 9.30 a.m. in St.   
   Peter's   
   Square, blessing of the palms, procession and Holy Mass.   
    Thursday 24: Holy Thursday. At 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Chrism Mass.   
    Friday 25: Good Friday. At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of the   
   Passion of the Lord.   
    At 9.15 p.m. at the Colosseum, Rome: Via Crucis (Way of the Cross).   
    Saturday 26: Holy Saturday. At 8.30 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Easter vigil   
    APRIL   
    Saturday 2: At 6 p.m. in St. Peter's Square, prayer vigil and Jubilee for   
   adherents to the spirituality of Divine Mercy.   
    Sunday 3: Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday). At 10.30 a.m. in St.   
   Peter's Square, Holy Mass and Jubilee for adherents to the spirituality of   
   Divine Mercy Sunday.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Angelus: never too late to repent, let us begin today!   
    Vatican City, 28 February 2016 (VIS) - "Every day, unfortunately, bad news is   
   reported: murders, accidents, disasters, ... In today's Gospel passage Jesus   
   refers to two tragic events, which at the time caused quite a stir: the bloody   
   crackdown by Roman soldiers inside the temple and the collapse of the tower of   
   Siloam in Jerusalem, which claimed eighteen victims." These are the words that   
   Pope Francis started with this afternoon before the Angelus, relating our   
   current lived experience to the Gospel of the day. "Jesus knows the   
   superstitious mentality of his listeners," he continued, "and knows that they   
   interpret those kinds of events wrongly. In fact, they think that, if those   
   persons died so cruelly, it's a sign that God has punished them for some grave   
   offence they had committed, as if to say 'They deserved it.' And the fact that   
   they had been spared from the disaster was equivalent to being 'okay'. They   
   'deserved it' but I 'am good'.   
    The Pope explained that "Jesus clearly rejects this view because God does not   
   allow tragedies in order to punish sins. He affirms that those poor victims   
   were   
   not worse than others. Rather, he invites us to draw a warning from such   
   painful   
   events, a warning for all because we are all sinners. He said to those who are   
   asking him: 'If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!' Even   
   today,   
   in the face of certain misfortunes and tragic events, we might feel the   
   temptation to 'dump' the responsibility onto the victims or even onto God   
   himself. But the Gospel invites us to reflect: what is our idea of God? Are we   
   convinced that God is this way or is it not just our own projection, a god made   
   'in our image and likeness'? In contrast, Jesus calls us to a change of heart,   
   to make a radical change in our life's path, abandoning the pacts with evil -   
   and we all do this, make pacts with evil, hypocrisy, I believe that we all have   
   at least one piece of hypocrisy - to decisively take the Gospel path".   
    "But here again is the temptation to justify ourselves: 'What should we   
   convert   
   from? Aren't we all basically good people?' How many times have we thought   
   that:   
   'All in all, I'm a pretty good person?' - haven't we? - 'Aren't we believers,   
   who even practice enough?' And we think, therefore, that we are justified". The   
   Pope stressed that we justify ourselves as believers and even practising ones.   
   Unfortunately, each of us looks a lot like a tree that, for years, has given   
   much evidence of sterility. But luckily for us, Jesus is like the peasant   
   farmer   
   who, with limitless patience, still gives another deferment to the barren fig   
   tree. 'Leave it for this year,' he says to the master. 'It may bear fruit in   
   the   
   future'".   
    "A 'year' of grace", he continued, "the time of Christ's ministry, the time of   
   the Church before his glorious return, the time of our life punctuated by a   
   number of Lents, which are offered to us as opportunities for repentance and   
   salvation, the time of a Jubilee Year of Mercy. Jesus' invincible patience.   
   Have   
   you thought on God's patience? Have you thought about his unyielding concern   
   for   
   sinners as they should provoke impatience in how we see ourselves! It is never   
   to late for us to convert, never! God's patience waits for us up till the last   
   minute. Remember the the story of St. Therese of the Child Jesus when she   
   prayed   
   for the man condemned to death, a criminal, who did not want to receive the   
   comfort of the Church. He declined a priest's visit, didn't want it. He wanted   
   to die that way. And she prayed, in the convent. And exactly at the moment of   
   his execution he turned to the priest, took the crucifix and kissed it. God's   
   patience! He does the same with us, with all of us! How many times - we don't   
   know. We will know in Heaven - how many times we are there [about to fall] and   
   the Lord saves us. He saves us because he has great patience with us. And this   
   is his mercy. It is never too late to repent but it is urgent, the time is now.   
   Let us begin today".   
    Before finishing, Pope Francis called upon the Virgin Mary "to sustain us so   
   that we may open our hearts to God's grace, to his mercy. And help us to never   
   judge others but to let daily misfortunes be the opportunity to make a serious   
   examination of conscience and repent".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Tragedy of refugees in Pope's prayers   
    Vatican City, 28 February 2016 (VIS) - Greeting the faithful after the Marian   
   prayer, the Holy Father again noted the tragedy of those fleeing wars,   
   emphasising that countries like Greece "on the front lines are giving generous   
   aid, which requires the cooperation of all nations. A unified response can be   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)