Vatican City, Sep 18, 2016 / 03:23 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Vatican Gendarme by thanking the security force for their tireless service, and warned against modern crimes linked to exploitation and corruption. “Crooks love the scam and hate honesty. Crooks love bribes, agreements done in the dark. This is worse than anything, because he believes he's being honest,” the Pope told members of the Vatican Gendarme Sept. 18. The crook “loves money, loves wealth,” he said, and, calling wealth an “idol,” noted that crooks “trample on the poor” with no concern or second thought. He noted how there are many people throughout the world today who have large, large industries of slave labor. In the world today slave labor is a management style.” The responsibility of the Vatican Gendarme, then, is to serve by fighting against “scams, against crooks, against exploiters…Your responsibility is to deal with those who do bad things, like the exploiter and the crook. Your responsibility is to defend honesty,” he said, and thanked them for their tireless service. Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Corps of the Vatican Gendarmes, a civilian police and security force overseen by Vatican City, on the occasion of their 200th anniversary. In his homily, the Pope pointed to the day’s readings, noting how they present three different types of people, which he named “the exploiter, the crook and the faithful man.” The exploiter, described by the Prophet Amos in the First Reading, is someone “taken in by a manic form of gain” to the point they become annoyed and impatient by liturgical days of rest, because “they break the fast pace of business,” he said. For the person who exploits, “his only God is money, and his way of acting is dominated by fraud and exploitation at the expense are above all the poor and destitute,” Francis said, noting that this type of person still exists today. On the other hand, the crook, as seen in the parable of the dishonest steward from the day’s Gospel from Luke, is someone who lacks fidelity and uses scams and deception as his business method, the Pope continued. Asking how the steward got to the point of cheating and stealing from his master, Pope Francis said it wasn’t from one day to the next, but “little by little. Maybe one day a tip here, another day a bribe there, and so little by little he arrives to corruption.” While the master praises the steward for his “cleverness” in making up the funds after realizing his steward had been stealing from him, “it’s a completely worldly and strongly sinful cleverness, which does a lot of bad,” Francis observed. However, he noted that there is a type of Christian cleverness that knows how to do things in a wise and honest way, rather than a worldly one. To be as wise as serpents but as pure as doves, he said, is a grace from the Holy Spirit that we must ask for. Turning to the figure of the faithful man, the Pope said this is the one who follows Jesus and is “a man of prayer, in the double sense that he prays for others and trusts in the prayer of others for him.” This type of person knows how to be faithful in the small things and in the big, he said, noting that unfortunately the world today is still full of crooks and corrupt people. “It strikes me how corruption pervades everywhere,” he said, and noted how the day’s Gospel passage leads to the final choice that no one can serve two masters, “because either he will hate one and love the other, or will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Francis thanked the Vatican Gendarme Corps for their “vocation,” often times being poorly paid. He recognize that “many times you must fight against temptations of those who want to buy you,” and said he is proud that the Gendarme style is one of saying “'no, I have nothing to do with this.” “I thank you for these two centuries of service, and I wish for all of you that the society of Vatican City, that the Holy See, from the lowest to the highest, recognize your service.” This is a service “which guards, a service which seeks not only to do things justly, but also with charity, with tenderness and even risking your own lives,” he said, and asked for God to bless them. Read more

Vatican City, Sep 18, 2016 / 03:23 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday Pope Francis celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Vatican Gendarme by thanking the security force for their tireless service, and warned against modern crimes linked to exploitation and corruption. “Crooks love the scam and hate honesty. Crooks love bribes, agreements done in the dark. This is worse than anything, because he believes he's being honest,” the Pope told members of the Vatican Gendarme Sept. 18. The crook “loves money, loves wealth,” he said, and, calling wealth an “idol,” noted that crooks “trample on the poor” with no concern or second thought. He noted how there are many people throughout the world today who have large, large industries of slave labor. In the world today slave labor is a management style.” The responsibility of the Vatican Gendarme, then, is to serve by fighting against “scams, against crooks, against exploiters…Your responsibility is to deal with those who do bad things, like the exploiter and the crook. Your responsibility is to defend honesty,” he said, and thanked them for their tireless service. Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for the Corps of the Vatican Gendarmes, a civilian police and security force overseen by Vatican City, on the occasion of their 200th anniversary. In his homily, the Pope pointed to the day’s readings, noting how they present three different types of people, which he named “the exploiter, the crook and the faithful man.” The exploiter, described by the Prophet Amos in the First Reading, is someone “taken in by a manic form of gain” to the point they become annoyed and impatient by liturgical days of rest, because “they break the fast pace of business,” he said. For the person who exploits, “his only God is money, and his way of acting is dominated by fraud and exploitation at the expense are above all the poor and destitute,” Francis said, noting that this type of person still exists today. On the other hand, the crook, as seen in the parable of the dishonest steward from the day’s Gospel from Luke, is someone who lacks fidelity and uses scams and deception as his business method, the Pope continued. Asking how the steward got to the point of cheating and stealing from his master, Pope Francis said it wasn’t from one day to the next, but “little by little. Maybe one day a tip here, another day a bribe there, and so little by little he arrives to corruption.” While the master praises the steward for his “cleverness” in making up the funds after realizing his steward had been stealing from him, “it’s a completely worldly and strongly sinful cleverness, which does a lot of bad,” Francis observed. However, he noted that there is a type of Christian cleverness that knows how to do things in a wise and honest way, rather than a worldly one. To be as wise as serpents but as pure as doves, he said, is a grace from the Holy Spirit that we must ask for. Turning to the figure of the faithful man, the Pope said this is the one who follows Jesus and is “a man of prayer, in the double sense that he prays for others and trusts in the prayer of others for him.” This type of person knows how to be faithful in the small things and in the big, he said, noting that unfortunately the world today is still full of crooks and corrupt people. “It strikes me how corruption pervades everywhere,” he said, and noted how the day’s Gospel passage leads to the final choice that no one can serve two masters, “because either he will hate one and love the other, or will be devoted to one and despise the other.” Francis thanked the Vatican Gendarme Corps for their “vocation,” often times being poorly paid. He recognize that “many times you must fight against temptations of those who want to buy you,” and said he is proud that the Gendarme style is one of saying “'no, I have nothing to do with this.” “I thank you for these two centuries of service, and I wish for all of you that the society of Vatican City, that the Holy See, from the lowest to the highest, recognize your service.” This is a service “which guards, a service which seeks not only to do things justly, but also with charity, with tenderness and even risking your own lives,” he said, and asked for God to bless them. Read more

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2016 / 09:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a special Jubilee audience with nearly all of his 108 ambassadors around the world, Pope Francis thanked them for their dedication, and encouraged them to continue their work in humble service, without getting caught up in useless politics. “(You are) the link between the Successor of Peter and the different local Churches to whom you are bearers and artisans of that communion which is sap for the life of the Church and for the announcement of her message,” the Pope said Sept. 17. As papal ambassadors – also called nuncios – “you touch with your hand the flesh of the Church, the splendor of the love which renders her glorious, but also the wounds and sores that are begging for forgiveness,” he said.  He thanked the nuncios for their service and fidelity, as well as their generous dedication and availability to their missions, often times demanding. As the Pope’s representatives, nuncios must be bearers of Christ’s love and one who “sustains and protects, who is ready to support and not only to correct, who is willing to listen before deciding, to make the first step in eliminating tensions and fostering understanding and reconciliation.” Francis stressed the importance of humility in their role, explaining that “without humility no service is possible or fruitful.”  “The humility of a nuncio passes through love for the country and for the Church in which he is called to serve,” the Pope said, and cautioned his ambassadors not to get distracted by politics or thinking of the next assignment, but to be fully present “with an undivided mind and heart.” Pope Francis met with 106 out of his 108 ambassadors serving in various countries throughout the world. They gathered in the Vatican Sept. 15-17 for a special meeting convened specifically for the Jubilee of Mercy. Among the 108 nuncios currently in service, 103 are bishops, and 5 are prelates who have the mission of Permanent Observer at various international bodies. In his broad and lengthy speech, Pope Francis said as his representatives, nuncios must be pastors who “meet, listen, talk, share, propose and work together” both with Catholics and civil society, always showing “sincere love, sympathy and empathy with the people and with the local Church.” Francis cautioned them not to “point fingers at or attack” those whose opinions differ from their own, explaining that this is “a miserable tactic of today's political and cultural wars, but it cannot be the method of the Church.” “Our gaze must be far-reaching and deep,” he said, adding that “the formation of the conscience is our primary duty of charity and requires delicacy and perseverance in being carried out.” He acknowledged that there are many threats in the world that attack the flock, confuse it, disrupt it, “disperse and even destroy it.” Nuncios must be aware of the different faces of danger that threaten their flocks, Francis said, and pointed to the situation of Christians in the Middle East, noting that “the violent siege seems to aim, with the complicit silence of many, toward their eradication.” He highlighted the importance of going to the root of the problem, saying “it’s good to have the eyes opened to recognize where hostilities come from and to discern the possible paths to counter their causes and tackle their pitfalls.” Closeness and fraternity with local bishops is something the Pope also pointed to as essential to a nuncio’s mission. “To be ready and happy to spend (sometimes even lose) time with bishops, priests, religious, parishes, cultural and social institutions,” he said, is ultimately “the job of a nuncio.” To be close and available to the local Churches doesn’t consist of “a supine strategy to collect information and manipulate reality or people,” but rather of an attitude “that befits one who is not only a career diplomat, nor merely an instrument of Peter’s concern, but a pastor gifted the interior ability to bear witness to Jesus Christ.” While it can be natural and understandable in their work, Francis told the nuncios to “overcome the logic of bureaucracy which can often impede your work, rendering one closed, indifferent and impenetrable.” He encouraged his ambassadors to make sure the apostolic nunciature is truly the “Pope’s home” and a constant reference point where both faithful and public authorities can come for support and advice, not just diplomatic functions.  “Make sure that your nunciature never becomes a refuge for ‘friends and friends of friends,’” he said, telling them to “flee from gossip and careerists.” The Pope also warned his nuncios against endorsing political or ideological battles, because “the Church's permanence is not based on the consent of living rooms or squares, but on fidelity to the Lord.” The Church's true source of power flows from God's mercy, he said, adding that “we have no right to deprive the world, the diplomatic forum and large areas of international discussion of this wealth that no one else can give.” Awareness of this fact allows the Church to become the prophetic voice of the marginalized, he said, asking “may their cry become our cry and together we can break the barrier of indifference that often reigns to hide hypocrisy and selfishness.” Francis told the nuncios that in order to accompany their people, they have “to move,” and encouraged them to visit dioceses, religious institutes, parishes and seminaries in order to understand how the people live and think, and which questions they ask.  He told the nuncios to be “a true expression of an outgoing Church, or a ‘field hospital’” capable of being part of the local Church, country or institution to which they have been sent. Pope Francis urged the nuncios to be close to local bishops and encourage their ideas, adding that “vague priorities and theoretical pastoral programs are not enough. You need to focus on the concrete reality of the present, of the company, of proximity, of accompanying.”  He said that one of his great concerns is the selection of good bishops, and voiced his hope that bishops would be pastors, “and not principals or officials. Please!” Acknowledging that the speed of our times demands constant training and updating, Francis said the current challenges we face are big ones, and papal diplomacy must be involved and make “mercy palpable in this crushed and wounded world.” While the Church shouldn’t underestimate the extent of current problems, she is also called to look ahead, and not focus on the need for immediate results, he said. “There will always be that tension between fullness and limits, but it’s not useful to the Church to worry about spaces of power and of self-affirmation, but rather to make born and grow the seed of good, patiently accompanying its development,” he said. Francis told nuncios they ought to rejoice “with the temporary collection that you can obtain, without becoming discouraged when a sudden and icy story ruins what seemed golden and ready to harvest.”  He also urged them not to be afraid to speak confidently both to the faithful and to public institutions.  “We face a world in which it’s not always easy to identify the centers of power and many get discouraged, thinking that they are anonymous and unreachable,” he said, but voiced his certainty that these people are still able to be reached.  He told them to dialogue clearly and never fear that mercy will “confuse or diminish” the beauty of the truth, because “the truth is fulfilled in its fullness only in mercy.” The world, Pope Francis said, “is afraid and is spreading fear. Often this is the key it adopts in its reading of reality and chooses – as its strategy – to build a world founded on walls and trenches.” However, while the reasons for this fear are understandable, “we must not embrace it, ‘for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control,” he said, and urged the nuncios to “open doors, build bridges, create ties, make friendships, promote unity.” “Be men of prayer: never neglect this, especially silent adoration, the true source of your work.” Fear, Francis said, “always lives in the darkness of the past, but has a weakness: it’s provisional. The future belongs to the light! The future is ours because it belongs to Christ!”   Read more

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2016 / 09:39 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a special Jubilee audience with nearly all of his 108 ambassadors around the world, Pope Francis thanked them for their dedication, and encouraged them to continue their work in humble service, without getting caught up in useless politics. “(You are) the link between the Successor of Peter and the different local Churches to whom you are bearers and artisans of that communion which is sap for the life of the Church and for the announcement of her message,” the Pope said Sept. 17. As papal ambassadors – also called nuncios – “you touch with your hand the flesh of the Church, the splendor of the love which renders her glorious, but also the wounds and sores that are begging for forgiveness,” he said.  He thanked the nuncios for their service and fidelity, as well as their generous dedication and availability to their missions, often times demanding. As the Pope’s representatives, nuncios must be bearers of Christ’s love and one who “sustains and protects, who is ready to support and not only to correct, who is willing to listen before deciding, to make the first step in eliminating tensions and fostering understanding and reconciliation.” Francis stressed the importance of humility in their role, explaining that “without humility no service is possible or fruitful.”  “The humility of a nuncio passes through love for the country and for the Church in which he is called to serve,” the Pope said, and cautioned his ambassadors not to get distracted by politics or thinking of the next assignment, but to be fully present “with an undivided mind and heart.” Pope Francis met with 106 out of his 108 ambassadors serving in various countries throughout the world. They gathered in the Vatican Sept. 15-17 for a special meeting convened specifically for the Jubilee of Mercy. Among the 108 nuncios currently in service, 103 are bishops, and 5 are prelates who have the mission of Permanent Observer at various international bodies. In his broad and lengthy speech, Pope Francis said as his representatives, nuncios must be pastors who “meet, listen, talk, share, propose and work together” both with Catholics and civil society, always showing “sincere love, sympathy and empathy with the people and with the local Church.” Francis cautioned them not to “point fingers at or attack” those whose opinions differ from their own, explaining that this is “a miserable tactic of today's political and cultural wars, but it cannot be the method of the Church.” “Our gaze must be far-reaching and deep,” he said, adding that “the formation of the conscience is our primary duty of charity and requires delicacy and perseverance in being carried out.” He acknowledged that there are many threats in the world that attack the flock, confuse it, disrupt it, “disperse and even destroy it.” Nuncios must be aware of the different faces of danger that threaten their flocks, Francis said, and pointed to the situation of Christians in the Middle East, noting that “the violent siege seems to aim, with the complicit silence of many, toward their eradication.” He highlighted the importance of going to the root of the problem, saying “it’s good to have the eyes opened to recognize where hostilities come from and to discern the possible paths to counter their causes and tackle their pitfalls.” Closeness and fraternity with local bishops is something the Pope also pointed to as essential to a nuncio’s mission. “To be ready and happy to spend (sometimes even lose) time with bishops, priests, religious, parishes, cultural and social institutions,” he said, is ultimately “the job of a nuncio.” To be close and available to the local Churches doesn’t consist of “a supine strategy to collect information and manipulate reality or people,” but rather of an attitude “that befits one who is not only a career diplomat, nor merely an instrument of Peter’s concern, but a pastor gifted the interior ability to bear witness to Jesus Christ.” While it can be natural and understandable in their work, Francis told the nuncios to “overcome the logic of bureaucracy which can often impede your work, rendering one closed, indifferent and impenetrable.” He encouraged his ambassadors to make sure the apostolic nunciature is truly the “Pope’s home” and a constant reference point where both faithful and public authorities can come for support and advice, not just diplomatic functions.  “Make sure that your nunciature never becomes a refuge for ‘friends and friends of friends,’” he said, telling them to “flee from gossip and careerists.” The Pope also warned his nuncios against endorsing political or ideological battles, because “the Church's permanence is not based on the consent of living rooms or squares, but on fidelity to the Lord.” The Church's true source of power flows from God's mercy, he said, adding that “we have no right to deprive the world, the diplomatic forum and large areas of international discussion of this wealth that no one else can give.” Awareness of this fact allows the Church to become the prophetic voice of the marginalized, he said, asking “may their cry become our cry and together we can break the barrier of indifference that often reigns to hide hypocrisy and selfishness.” Francis told the nuncios that in order to accompany their people, they have “to move,” and encouraged them to visit dioceses, religious institutes, parishes and seminaries in order to understand how the people live and think, and which questions they ask.  He told the nuncios to be “a true expression of an outgoing Church, or a ‘field hospital’” capable of being part of the local Church, country or institution to which they have been sent. Pope Francis urged the nuncios to be close to local bishops and encourage their ideas, adding that “vague priorities and theoretical pastoral programs are not enough. You need to focus on the concrete reality of the present, of the company, of proximity, of accompanying.”  He said that one of his great concerns is the selection of good bishops, and voiced his hope that bishops would be pastors, “and not principals or officials. Please!” Acknowledging that the speed of our times demands constant training and updating, Francis said the current challenges we face are big ones, and papal diplomacy must be involved and make “mercy palpable in this crushed and wounded world.” While the Church shouldn’t underestimate the extent of current problems, she is also called to look ahead, and not focus on the need for immediate results, he said. “There will always be that tension between fullness and limits, but it’s not useful to the Church to worry about spaces of power and of self-affirmation, but rather to make born and grow the seed of good, patiently accompanying its development,” he said. Francis told nuncios they ought to rejoice “with the temporary collection that you can obtain, without becoming discouraged when a sudden and icy story ruins what seemed golden and ready to harvest.”  He also urged them not to be afraid to speak confidently both to the faithful and to public institutions.  “We face a world in which it’s not always easy to identify the centers of power and many get discouraged, thinking that they are anonymous and unreachable,” he said, but voiced his certainty that these people are still able to be reached.  He told them to dialogue clearly and never fear that mercy will “confuse or diminish” the beauty of the truth, because “the truth is fulfilled in its fullness only in mercy.” The world, Pope Francis said, “is afraid and is spreading fear. Often this is the key it adopts in its reading of reality and chooses – as its strategy – to build a world founded on walls and trenches.” However, while the reasons for this fear are understandable, “we must not embrace it, ‘for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control,” he said, and urged the nuncios to “open doors, build bridges, create ties, make friendships, promote unity.” “Be men of prayer: never neglect this, especially silent adoration, the true source of your work.” Fear, Francis said, “always lives in the darkness of the past, but has a weakness: it’s provisional. The future belongs to the light! The future is ours because it belongs to Christ!”   Read more

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2016 / 08:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A mentally ill man rammed his car through a police checkpoint at St. Peter’s Square on Friday evening, demanding to meet with Pope Francis. The 64-year-old Italian man was immediately stopp... Read more

Vatican City, Sep 17, 2016 / 05:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a world marked by increasing war and conflict, Pope Francis said a generous and merciful response to those fleeing violence is needed in order to combat hatred and foster a greater sense of fra... Read more