Vatican City, Jan 8, 2015 / 11:43 am (CNA/EWTN News).- French imams visiting the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue released Thursday a joint communique condemning the attack on Charlie Hebdo and calling for freedom of expression. “Without freedom of expression, the world is in danger,” the Jan 8. statement reads. It also asked that the media provide information which is “respectful of religions.” Signed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the release comes at the end of a two-day visit to the Vatican of a delegation of French imams, accompanied by representatives of the French bishops conference. Cardinal Tauran and the imams write they are “shocked” by the attack on Charlie Hebdo, and back Pope Francis’ words, underscoring their “closeness and human and spiritual solidarity to the victims and their families.” Considering the impact of media on public opinion, the Vatican and the  imams also invited “responsible media to provide information that is respectful of religions, of their followers and of their practices, thus fostering a culture of encounter.” The release also asked religious leaders to “always promote a culture of peace and hope, able to win over fear and to build bridges among men,” and stressed that interreligious dialogue “is the only path to walk together in order to dissipate prejudices.” Before the meeting at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the four imams launched the idea of a mobilization of all religions in France to testify that “no religion is violent.” Djellou Seddiki, director of the al Ghazzali Institute of the Mosque of Paris, told CNA Jan. 8 that his mosque has delivered an appeal to all the mosques,synagogues, and Catholic churches of France for this purpose. “I lived the Charlie Hebdo attack as a double violence: I am stricken as a French citizen and as a Muslim, since the Muslim community is always on the dock,” Seddiki said. Seddiki also asked for a renewed interreligious dialogue, as did Bishop Michel Dubost of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes. The bishop accompanied the imams during their Vatican visit, as he is president of the French bishops' interreligious relations council. Bishop Dubost explained to CNA that “the state of Christian-Muslim dialogue in France varies according to the area… but we have a lot of dialogue. Probably in France, like in many other countries, it is difficult to go and see the other. We should learn that dialogue is not ‘each each’, but ‘each other.” The attack in Paris was stigmatized by Cardinal André Vingt-Trois of Paris, who issued a statement to express “horror” at the attacks and “deep compassion for the families and friends of the victims. With the Catholics of Paris, he condemns this act of barbarism and calls for people to work ever more diligently to build relationships of peace and mutual respect in our society.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, also sent on Pope’s behalf a telegram to Cardinal Ving-Trois, saying the Pope “joins prayer for the families” whose beloved are dead, and “condemns once again the violence that generates so much pain.” Read more

Vatican City, Jan 8, 2015 / 09:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ first words at  Mass on Thursday were a prayer for the victims of yesterday’s attack on employees of a satirical newspaper in Paris, with a plea for the assailants’ conversion. “The attack yesterday in Paris makes us think of so much cruelty – human cruelty – so much terrorism, both isolated terrorism and terrorism of the state. Of how much cruelty is man capable!” the Roman Pontiff lamented in his Jan. 8 homily. He invited attendees to join him in praying during the Mass “for the victims of this cruelty. So many! And let us also pray for the cruel ones, that the Lord (may) change their hearts.” Pope Francis addressed those present for Mass in the Vatican’s St. Martha Guesthouse chapel, which took place one day after the attack in Paris that left 12 dead. Gunmen had attacked the office of the Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly that has published insulting cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed. Pope Francis' homily focused on the love of God. “God is love! It is only on the path of love that you can know God,” he said, explaining that loving our neighbors is a concrete way of loving God, who is understood more by the heart than by the intellect. The Roman Pontiff then drew attention to the two commandments Christ refers to in scripture as being the most important, the first of which is to love the Lord God with all of one’s heart, mind and soul. The second is to love one’s neighbor as oneself. In order to get to the first “we must ascend the steps of the second: that means that through our love for our neighbor we can get to know God, who is love. Only through loving can we reach love,” he said. Because love comes from God, the person loves knows him, while it is impossible to know him for those who do not love, the Bishop of Rome explained, noting that God’s love is not like that “of a soap opera,” but is rather strong and lasting. This love is manifested in Christ, the Son of God who came to save us, he observed, explaining that to truly know and love God “we must walk through life in love, love for our neighbor, love for those who hate us, love for all.” Pope Francis then noted how it is in the person of Christ that we can contemplate the love of God, and said that it is by following his example that we can ascend the steps of love and arrive at knowledge of God, who is love itself. He then turned to the day’s Gospel reading from Luke, which recounts the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. The people flocked to hear Christ, he said, “because they were like sheep without a shepherd, they had no orientation.” Although there are many today who also lack a clear direction in their lives, the Lord is always there to accompany show us the way, just like he did with the disciples, who didn’t always understand what was going on, the Roman Pontiff observed. “God’s love always awaits us; it always takes us by surprise. Our Father who loves us so much is always ready to forgive us. Always! Not once, always!” The Roman Pontiff concluded his homily by praying that God would give all the grace to know one another, and to get to know God by advancing on the path of love. Read more

Vatican City, Jan 8, 2015 / 12:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- With a style that meets the need for a new missionary zeal, Pope Francis is representative of the new evangelization, says one theologian and guest speaker for the upcoming annual gathering of Ratzinger's former students. “The new style represented by Pope Francis is the first to merit the title of new evangelization,” said Msgr. Tomas Halik in an interview with CNA. “If this progress, which has aroused so much hope in the Church – and outside [it] -- were to stop, it would have tragic consequences, both for the Church and for the world,” he said. A Czech priest who was persecuted during the Communist era, Msgr. Halik has dedicated most of his theological research to the dialogue with non believers and faith seekers. He was chosen as the ‘special guest’ lecturer for the next meeting of the Ratzinger Schuelerkreis, a circle of former Joseph Ratzinger’s students which gathers annually in August. His speech for the meeting will be on the theme: “How to speak about God in the contemporary world.” “Today, it is important to speak about God because there are many pretenders to God’s throne. To proclaim belief in God, and particularly an emphasis on the uniqueness of God, means refusing idolatry and attempts to proclaim relative values, such as the nation, prosperity, power, health, success and many others, as being absolute,” Msgr. Halik stressed. The monsignor identified the roots of today’s spiritual crisis in “the failure of religious institutions: in fact, they are unable to inspire the lifestyle and thinking of people of today in a credible and intelligible fashion.” Msgr. Halik explained that “there is a greater demand for spiritual life than in the past, but the offer on the part of the Church is often not enough to meet that demand.” The “parochial” type of Christianity, he said, “is losing its social and cultural biosphere, and it will probably become weaker”. However, he added that “there are increasing numbers of ‘seekers’, and the future of Christianity (and in a sense, the future of our civilization) depends on the extent to which the Church will be capable of devoting itself to those ‘seekers’. “It will not be a matter of missionary activity in the traditional sense of bringing ‘seekers’ into existing Church structures. It will be a ministry of ‘accompanying seekers’. More than pastors, the Church nowadays needs spiritual teachers (a role described in the Eastern Churches as starets or elder). More than preachers, it needs those who are capable of offering ‘spiritual exercises and fraternal conversation,” Msgr. Halik said. A lecturer in many universities world-wide and well-known author, Msgr. Halik was awarded in 2014 with the Templeton Prize, an award given to those “who have contributed to elevate the world’s spiritual profile.” Hailing from a country where 70 per cent of people are self-proclaimed atheists, the Czech priest said he would not “like to be a priest in a country where faith is taken for granted.” He underscored that “the most difficult sort of evangelization is in an environment where people think they already know everything, or almost everything, about God.” Msgr. Halik explained that often “most of the people who consider themselves atheists are merely rejecting their own (or uncritically adopted) primitive conceptions of God, faith and the Church.” He added that such persons “are surprised when I tell them that, in a certain respect, I profoundly agree with them: namely, that the god they reject truly does not exist.” “What worries me more is that many of those who regard themselves as believers truly do hold to such primitive concept,” Msgr. Halik stressed. “Evangelization is the adventure of uncovering the unknown Jesus,” he continued, “and in that ‘atheists’ are much more interesting partners than traditional Christians.” According to Msgr. Halik, the basis of evangelization is “inculturation, creatively embodying the message of the Gospel in a lived culture, in people’s way of life of thinking. Evangelization without a dialogue with culture is nothing but religious propaganda and indoctrination.” “When I see people being manipulated in emotional religious mega-shows at stadiums, I repeat to myself the Word of the Bible: God was not in the whirlwind. The Gospel is a seed that must be sown deeply in good soil,” he said. Msgr. Halik stressed that Church needs a new ecclesiology, a new self-perception” to rise again,  commenting Pope Francis' commitment to calling back those who have moved away from the Church. “Many prodigal sons have the feeling that, if they return, they will not find the open arms of a generous and merciful father, but the wagging finger of the embittered elder brother. Thank God, Pope Francis is changing much of that image of the Church,” Msgr. Halik said. Pope Francis' moves toward reform “are reminiscent of the ‘cultural revolution’ of Francis of Assisi,” Msgr. Halik said. “The important thing is, however, not simply to adore the Pope, but like him to take seriously God’s challenge to ‘Go and repair my house, which is failing into ruin.'” Read more