Vatican City, Sep 14, 2015 / 03:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a new, wide-ranging interview Pope Francis spoke at length of the European refugee crisis – saying that incoming migrants are now filling the void left by a sterile continent that refuses to have children. “The migrant phenomenon is a reality…when there is an empty space, people look to fill it. If a country doesn't have children, migrants come to occupy that place,” the Pope said in a recent interview with Portugal-based Radio Renascença (Renaissance). He referred to the staggeringly low number of births in countries such as Italy, Portugal and Spain, where the current number of births falls, he said, at “almost zero percent.” Francis said he is no stranger to the phenomenon of not wanting to have children, and that he encountered it in his own family when some years ago his Italian cousins said they preferred to travel or buy property rather than have children. “So, if there are no children, there are open spaces,” he said. For him personally, the societal refusal to have children is part of a “culture of ‘well-being,’” in which the assurance that one’s personal needs and wants will be taken care of is emphasized to an exaggerated degree. Published Sept. 14, the interview was conducted by Vatican journalist Aura Miguel Sept. 8, and touched on a wide variety of themes such as the current refugee crisis, youth unemployment and how often the Pope goes to confession. In the many questions surrounding the current refugee crisis hitting Europe by the thousands each day, the Pope said that what we’re seeing is just “the tip of the iceberg.” “We see these refugees, these poor people that are escaping from war, escaping from hunger, but that’s the tip of the iceberg,” he said. In his view, the crux of the problem is an unjust socioeconomic system that removes the human being from the center. Today’s dominant economic system “removes the person from the center, and at the center is the god of money, it’s the god in fashion today,” the Pope said, noting that this also affects both the political and ecological systems. No matter where the migrants come from, the criteria spurring them to move are the same, Francis continued, saying that one has to go to the causes of the problems to find solutions. “Where the causes are hunger, bringing jobs, investments. Where the cause is war, looking for peace, the work for peace.” One recent phenomenon that deeply pained him was the plight of the “Rohingya” people, an Indo-Aryan ethnic group largely from the Rakhine state of Burma, in west Myanmar. Since clashes began in 2012 between the state’s Buddhist community and the long-oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority, more than 100,000 Rohingya’s have fled Myanmar by sea, according to the U.N. In order to escape forced segregation from the rest of the population inside rural ghettos, many of the Rohingya – who are not recognized by the government as a legitimate ethnic group or as citizens or Myanmar – have made the perilous journey at sea in hopes of evading persecution. In May a number of Rohingya people – estimated to be in the thousands – were stranded at sea in boats with dwindling supplies while Southeastern nations such as Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia refused to take them in. On Aug. 7, Pope Francis told a group of youth that this “is called killing. It’s true. If I have a conflict with you and I kill you, it's war.” In the interview, Francis lamented how countries would allow the Rohingya to land, give them food and water, and then send them back out to sea. “They don’t welcome them,” he said, adding that today “humanity lacks the ability to welcome.” As a grandson of Italian immigrants who came to Argentina in 1929 along with a wave of other Italian, Spanish and Portuguese migrants starting in 1884, the Pope said that “I know what immigration is.” However, he also acknowledged that migrants bring various safety concerns with them, and noted that Rome is not “immune” to infiltration from threats such as guerilla groups active near Sicily. But despite our concerns, Francis said that refugees still have to be welcomed because it’s commanded in the Bible, and turned to Moses' commission to his people not to “mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” When asked about the response to his appeal during his Sept. 6 Sunday Angelus address for every parish, shrine, religious community and monastery in Europe to welcome a family of refugees has gotten, the Pope said that there have been many. He said he specifically asked them to take in a family rather than a person because “a family gives more safety,” and the risk of “infiltrations” is lower. Pope Francis clarified that when he asked for a family to be welcomed, he’s not necessarily asking that they be welcomed into the parish or community house, but that the parish or community finds “a place, a corner of a school to make a ‘small apartment.” “Or, in the worst case, rent a modest apartment for the family, but that they have a ceiling, to be welcomed, and that they are integrated into the community.” Many convents are “almost empty,” the Pope observed, and recalled that when he made a similar appeal soon after his election just over two years ago, there were only four responses, one of them being the Jesuits. This, he said, “is serious,” and noted that the temptation of “the god of money” is also present in this situation when he hears some congregations say “No, now that this convent is empty, we’re going to make a hotel, and we can receive people, and with this we’ll sustain ourselves or earn money.” If a community wants to do this it's fine, but “pay taxes,” he said, explaining that a religious school has the title “religious” since religious institutions are exempt from taxes, “but if it works like a hotel then pay taxes like everybody else. Otherwise the business isn't very healthy.” Francis was also asked about the two Vatican parishes who were also asked to welcome refugee families, which, he said, have already been found thanks to Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Vicar General for the Vatican, and the papal Almoner Bishop Konrad Krajewski. He said he didn’t know how long the families would stay, but that they would be there “until the Lord wants.” “No one knows this, how it’s going to end, right? Anyway, I want to say that Europe became conscious, eh? And I thank them, I thank the European countries who have become conscious of this.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 13, 2015 / 05:58 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The path Jesus takes as a humble servant isn’t easy, Pope Francis has said, explaining that to follow him doesn’t guarantee earthly success or honor, but rather true freedom and unity with God. “Following Jesus means taking up one's own cross to accompany him on his path, an uncomfortable path that is not one of success or earthly glory, but which leads to true freedom, the freedom from selfishness and sin,” the Pope said Sept. 13. It means clearly rejecting “that worldly mentality which puts the ‘I’ and one's own interests at the center of existence,” he said, adding that one must also be willing to lose one's own life “for Christ and the Gospel, in order to receive it, renewed and authentic.” Thanks to Jesus, he observed, we are certain that this road leads to the resurrection, and to a full and definitive life with God. Pope Francis spoke to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday Angelus address, reflecting on the day’s Gospel reading from Mark. In the passage, taken from Chapter 8, Jesus asks his disciples who people say that he is, which is a question the Pope noted is “addressed directly to those who follow him, to test their faith.” After hearing them respond with a variety of answers such as the Prophet Elijah or John the Baptist, Jesus is struck by Peter’s faith when the disciple bluntly declares that he is the Messiah, Francis recalled. However, immediately after, when Jesus begins to tell of his coming Passion, death and resurrection, Peter is scandalized and takes Jesus aside to rebuke him. “And how does Jesus react? He reproaches Peter to his face, with very severe words: ‘Get behind me Satan!’” Francis said, noting that Jesus says this because Peter is thinking “not as God does, but as men do.” Jesus sees that in Peter, the grace of the God that allowed him to recognize Jesus as the Messiah “is opposed by the temptation of the Evil One, who wants to turn us away from the will of God,” the Pope said. Peter wasn’t the only one who faced this temptation, he said, explaining that it was also present inside the other disciples and is “in each one of us!” By announcing that he must suffer and die, Jesus is making it clear to his followers that he is a Messiah who is a humble servant, and who obeys his Father even to the point of dying on a cross, Francis said. The Pope then recounted how Jesus gathered the crowd along with his disciples, and told them that whoever wants to follow him must also become a servant, and “deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” To imitate Jesus in his servantly role and to follow him isn’t easy, Pope Francis observed, and requires a strong union with the Lord, an “attentive and diligent listening to his Word, (and) the grace of the sacraments.” He closed his address by praying that Mary, who accompanied her son to Calvary, would intercede in purifying our faith from false images of God, and helping us to adhere fully to Christ and the Gospel. After leading pilgrims in the traditional Marian prayer, Francis drew attention to the Beatification of Blessed Samuel Benedict Daswa, which took place yesterday in South Africa. Daswa, a husband and father, was killed in 1990 for denying witchcraft as the reason for heavy storms in his area. He refused to pay the fee demanded for the investigation to find the “witch” responsible, arguing that his Catholic faith prevented him from participating in activities related to witchcraft. Many in the village viewed his refusal as a belittlement of traditional beliefs, and a result he was stopped on the side of the road and killed by a mob while on his way home Feb. 2, after taking his sister-in-law and her sick child to the doctor. “In his life he always showed great consistency, courageously taking on Christian attitudes and refusing worldly and mundane habits,” Pope Francis said, explaining that his witness especially helps families “to spread the truth and charity of Christ.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 12, 2015 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Find someone who has never spoken ill of another person, someone who has never judged another – and they would qualify for immediate canonization, Pope Francis said. The Pope celebrated Mass in the Santa Marta residence on Friday, stressing during his homily the importance of the Christian values of humility, forgiveness, and mercy. His words followed a meditation from St. Paul – “do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned.” “These days, the Liturgy has led us to consider this, to reflect on this path of mercy, of forgiveness, of the Christian way with these sentiments of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience,” Pope Francis said. With a “generous spirit,” the Holy Father said, Christians should let themselves be animated by this virtue, which will lead them to “give all we have, from our heart – to give love above all.” The Christian way, according to Pope Francis, requires forbearing one another with an attitude that “leads to love, to forgiveness, to patience.” However, Pope Francis warned against the evils of hypocrisy, saying that everyone is at risk of becoming too judgmental – even the Pope. “Men and women who can't learn how to acknowledge their own faults become hypocrites. All of them? All of them: starting from the Pope downwards,” he noted. “The first step is to acknowledge our own faults,” he said. He added that Christians everywhere must be aware of their own failings before they can “take the splinter out of our brother's eye” – a reflection from the gospel words of St. Luke. Although a beautiful sentiment, the Pope questioned the feasibility of the path one must take towards a life of love, mercy and generosity. “It's beautiful, but how does one do it?” Begin by blaming yourself and having the courage to blame yourself before faulting others, he answered – this is the way to mercy. “If you cannot take this first step, ask the Lord for the grace of conversion,” Pope Francis said, noting that when one stops thinking about the faults of others they will have the time to consider their own downfalls. For anyone who struggles with gossiping, they should resist the urge to speak about others and look inward – even performing an examination of conscience if necessary, he said.. “Let's refrain from comments about others and let's comment about ourselves. And this is the first step along this path of magnanimity.” “Because a person who can only see the splinters in the eyes of others falls into pettiness: a petty mind, full of pettiness, full of chatter.” Anyone who continues down the path of hypocrisy will be unable to partake in the Christian vocation of peacemaking, compassion, patience, and mercy, the Pope said. He then said that a person with a judgmental attitude cannot be a Christian. However, the Christian who forgives with love and mercy will double their return.. “What will you receive? A good, brimming, abundant overflowing amount will be deposited within your bosom, because your journey shall be measured according to the standard with which you judge,” he said.. Pope Francis ended his homily with a prayer, asking the Lord for the strength to follow the example of St. Paul in generosity, forgiveness and mercy. Read more

Vatican City, Sep 12, 2015 / 09:30 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Saturday met with members of Italy's largest credit union, encouraging them to promote an economy that is rooted in honesty, and to promote a “globalization of solidarity.” “Concern yourself with the relationship between economy and social justice, keeping the dignity and value of the person at the center,” the pontiff said to representatives of the Banca di Credito Cooperativo (BCC) of Rome. “Increase the economy of honesty. You are asked not only to be honest – this is normal – but to diffuse honesty,” and help it take root in all areas. Pope Francis met with BCC managers, employees, and their families in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall on Sept. 12. Having met with the members of the credit union earlier in the year, the Pope reiterated his call for the group to promote of social justice, be attentive to youth unemployment, to support families, and to encourage an economy of honesty. The pontiff also encouraged them to promote new enterprises, find new solutions to welfare in the area of healthcare, and to take part in globalization, in order that it may become a “globalization of solidarity.” In addition to promoting growth and prudent management of the banking cooperative prudently, what is more important is that managers “seek to humanize the economy, (and) unite efficiency with solidarity,” he said. Pope Francis went on to address the concept of “subsidiarity” within the Church's social doctrine, saying that credit unions practice this concept in the way they confront crises, relying on their own resources rather than on social institutions. “This is subsidiarity: to not put weight on institutions, and therefore on the country, when one can confront problems with ones own strength, with responsibility,” the Pope said. “This is not only because, as one says, union makes strength, but because there is the need to think bigger, to broaden the horizons.” The BCC, he said, offers the possibility of a network whereby the companies can be started, thus creating jobs needed “to support families, to undergo microcredit, and other means of humanizing the economy. The Pope concluded his address by encouraging those present to continue with “coherence and joy” as they work toward the common good. Read more

Vatican City, Sep 11, 2015 / 04:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The environment is facing serious threats such as climate change and global warming, Pope Francis has said – adding that finding solutions is a matter of justice since it's often the poor who are most affected. “We must not forget the grave social consequences of climate change. It is the poorest who suffer the worst consequences,” the Pope said Sept. 11. Therefore the issue of climate change “is a matter of justice; it is also a question of solidarity, which must never be separated from justice,” he said, adding that the dignity of each person, “as peoples, communities, men and women, is at risk.” Pope Francis directed his address to the 300 participants in a meeting organized by the Foundation for Sustainable Development titled: “Environmental justice and climate change.” The event was attended by key figures in religion, politics, economic activity and various sectors of scientific research, as well as several international organizations and individuals involved in the fight against poverty. Many of the themes covered in the Pope’s speech are reminiscent of his recent encyclical on the environment “Laudato Si,” meaning “Praise be to You.” Published June 18, its name is taken from St. Francis of Assisi's medieval Italian prayer “Canticle of the Sun,” which praises God through elements of creation like Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and “our sister Mother Earth.” Francis is also expected to address the topic of climate change and the environment during his Sept. 25 speech to a U.N. Special Summit on Sustainable Development in New York, which will gather hundreds of politicians and heads of state from around the world. In his speech today, the Pope said that climate change, global warming and the increase in extreme weather events are all indicators that the environment is seriously at risk. These things have become the subject “of great media attention and public opinion, surrounded by heated scientific and political debates, from which emerged a widespread consensus, although not unanimous,” he observed. Pope Francis cautioned that science and technology have placed an “unprecedented power” in in our hands, and stressed that it is our duty, for the good of all humanity, particularly the poorest and future generations, to use this power for the common good. “Will our generation be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities?” he asked. “Amid the many contradictions of our time, we have good enough reason to nurture the hope of being able to do so. And we should let ourselves be guided by this hope.” Each person is called to personally respond to the extent in which they are able, he said, explaining that this is done by producing “improbable recipes,” because no one has them. Instead, each person is required to contribute with the goal of attaining results that are borne of a joint effort in the various realms of society, such as religion, politics, economic activity and scientific research. Such dialogue must be founded on “a vision as transparent as it is broad-ranging,” and should move forward with an “integral and above all participatory approach, including all interested parties, including those who more easily remain at the margins of institutional processes,” the Pope continued. He urged those present to ensure that the poor are heard in the search for solutions to “the unique and complex socio-environmental crisis,” since listening to their voice is also “a duty of environmental justice.” Pope Francis then noted several key gatherings set to happen in the coming months to address the topic of environment, including the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations at the end of the month, as well as the COP 21 in Paris Nov. 30-Dec. 11. Faced with “the emergency of climate change…I wish to propose that this dialogue become an authentic alliance leading to truly significant and effective global environmental agreements,” he said. The Pope closed his speech by assuring attendees of his personal prayer and support, as well as that of the Church. He prayed that the Lord would listen to the cry of the land, noting that “today our mother earth is among the many excluded who ask for help from heaven – our mother and our sister, and of the poorest among us who inhabit the earth and care for her.” With God’s assistance “creation will increasingly resemble the common home that the sole Father imagined for us as a gift to the universal family of His creatures.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 11, 2015 / 01:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican is studying the case of a Brazilian man inexplicably cured of brain abscesses – which could be the miracle that leads to the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Pope Francis voiced his desire to canonize Mother Teresa during the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will begin on Dec. 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, as a ¨sign of mercy for the world¨ in service to the poor. Father Caetano Rizzi, who works in the Vatican's congregation for saints, told CNA that the Pope “wants to beatify and canonize men and women that were a sign of mercy for the world in this Jubilee (Year), and Mother Teresa is a model, because of that there's a certain urgency in her process.” The possible miracle that would bring about Mother Teresa's canonization occurred in 2008. A man from Santos, Brazil, whose identity has not been divulged in order to maintain the discretion needed to conclude the investigation, was unexpectedly cured from eight abscesses in his brain that required an operation. In Presença Diocesana, a Brazilian newspaper, Father Elmiram Ferreira explained that he ministered to the family during this time: “I saw the pain and the suffering of all of them because he was starting a new life (he was recently married) and the illness delayed many of their dreams. I had a lot of faith in the Great Mother Teresa and I always celebrate the Holy Mass in the community of the Sisters of Charity. The way in which she confronted pain and suffering of Christ himself inspired me to also comprehend the suffering of that family.” The priest gave the family a prayer to ask for the intercession of Blessed Teresa and told them to pray without ceasing. “Mother Teresa turned into their comfort and strength during that long time. So when his complete recovery was verified and the doctors could not explain it, I understood that there was the hand of the Blessed.” “The doctor that treated the man in Santos is the same one that cared for Pope Francis at World Youth Day in 2013, he told the pontiff about the case. His Holiness expressed his desire to better study the case and because of that those in charge of the cause came from Rome to Santos.” Vatican experts on the cause were present in Santos in July to advance the next phase of the investigation. Among them were: Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, postulator for the Cause of Canonization of Mother Teresa; Monsignor Robert Sarno, member of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; and Father Caetano Rizzi. Father Rizzi told CNA: “I met her in 1980 or 1981 when I came to a talk in Anhembi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) about the value of life. Mother Teresa defended life from conception until natural death. For me, she was a ‘living saint.’”   In May of this year, Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Holy See Press Office, said that “there is not an official date for the canonization, but I can say that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints is studying this cause.” The possible miracle must be examined by a number of doctors in this dicastery and then on to a theological council. Upon being approved, it awaits the final approval by the Pope. According to the calendar for the Jubilee Year of Mercy,  Sept, 4, 2016 is the “Jubilee for workers and volunteers of Mercy,” which would fall one day before the feast day of Blessed Mother Teresa. Read more