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L’O S S E RVATOR E ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

Unicuique suum

IN ENGLISHNon praevalebunt

Fifty-second year, number 20 (2597) Vatican City Friday, 17 May 2019

The Secretary of State granted aninterview to the ‘Global Times’,focusing on the latest progress ofthe Provisional Agreementbetween the Holy See and China.

PAGE 8/9

USA and Holy See: 35 years

A common effort

CARDINAL WUERL ON PA G E 6

To endow the economy with a soulThe Pontiff convokes March 2020 meeting in Assisi

Beatified in Mexico City

MaríaConcep ción

C a b re r aOn Saturday afternoon, 4 May,Cardinal Angelo Becciu celebratedMass in Mexico City for the Be-atification of María ConcepciónCabrera, a wife and mother whoinspired the founding of five reli-gious institutes.

CARDINAL BECCIU ON PA G E 14

There is a need for a “‘pact’ tochange the current economy andendow tomorrow’s economywith a soul”. Pope Francismakes this observation in a let-ter calling young economistsand entrepreneurs from aroundthe world to meet in Assisi from26 to 28 March 2020 for an ini-tiative entitled “The Economyof Francesco”, which aims togather “those who today aretraining and beginning to studyand practice a different eco-nomy, one that supports life anddoes not kill, that is inclusiveand not exclusive, that is hu-manizing and not dehumaniz-ing, that cares for creation anddoes not plunder it”. He thusexpresses his confidence in“young people, who are capableof dreaming and, with God’shelp, ready to build a more justand beautiful world”.

To address the current “needto ‘re - a n i m a t e ’ the economy”,the Pontiff specifically pointsout that there is no city “m o resuited to this than Assisi, whichfor centuries has been the sym-bol and message of a humanismof fraternity”. Indeed, it wasthere that Saint Francis“stripped himself of all worldli-ness” to become “poor amongthe poor, a universal brother”.The Holy Father notes that theSaint’s “choice of poverty in-spired a view of economy that isstill very timely”, one that giveshope for a future that favours“not only the poorest ones, butalso of the whole of humanity”,one that is “necessary for the fu-ture of the entire planet, ourcommon home, ‘Our SisterMother Earth’ as Francis calledher”.

PAGE 5

Pope with Roma and Sinti

Not second-class citizens

PAGE 13

To Pontifical Academy of Sciences

No to nationalism

PAGE 10

Cardinal Parolin on China

New phase ofco op eration

Pope Francis ordains nineteen priests

Called to serve the People of GodOn Sunday morning, 12 May,Pope Francis celebrated Mass inSaint Peter’s Basilica for the or-dination of 19 priests. He de-livered the ritual homily for ordin-ation, incorporating some of hispersonal thoughts. Afterwards, heinvited two of the newly ordainedto join him in blessing the faithfulwho had gathered in Saint Peter’sSquare for the recitation of theRegina Caeli.

PAGE 16

General Audience

A cry against evil

PAGE 3

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

VAT I C A NBULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 9 May

Bishop Carlos Humberto Malfa ofChascomús, ArgentinaFriday, 10 May

Members of the Episcopal Confer-ence of Argentina (Group II), on avisit ad limina Apostolorum:

— Bishop Pedro María Laxague ofZárate-Campana

— Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli,Archbishop of Buenos Aires, withthe Auxiliaries: Bishop EnriqueEguía Seguí, titular Bishop of Cissi;Bishop Gustavo Oscar Carrara, titu-lar Bishop of Thasbalta; Bishop Ale-jandro Daniel Giorgi, titular Bishopof Summa; Bishop Ernesto Gioban-do, S J, titular Bishop of Appiaria;Bishop Juan Carlos Ares, titularBishop of Cercina; Bishop JoséMaría Baliña, titular Bishop ofTheudalis

— Bishop Rubén Oscar Frassia ofAvellaneda-Lanús

— Bishop Gabriel Bernardo Barbaof Gregorio de Laferrere

— Bishop Jorge Rubén Lugones,S J, of Lomas de Zamora, with Auxil-iary Bishop Jorge Martín Torre sCarbonell, titular Bishop of Aquaein Byzacena

— Bishop Fernando Carlos Malet-ti of Merlo-Moreno, with AuxiliaryBishop Oscar Eduardo Miñarro, tit-ular Bishop of Anzio

— Bishop Jorge Vázquez of Mor-ón

— Bishop Carlos José Tissera ofQuilmes, with Auxiliary BishopMarcelo Julián Margni, titular Bish-op of Stephaniacum

— Bishop Óscar Vicente Ojea ofSan Isidro, with the Auxiliaries:Bishop Martín Fassi, titular Bishopof Dionysiana; Bishop GuillermoCaride, titular Bishop of Iomniumand with Bishop emeritus AlcidesJorge Pedro Casaretto

— Bishop Eduardo Horacio Gar-cía of San Justo

— Bishop Miguel Ángel D’Anni-bale of San Martín, with AuxiliaryBishop Han Lim Moon, titularBishop of Thucca in Mauretania,and with Bishop emeritus GuillermoRo dríguez-Melgarejo

— Bishop Damián Nannini of SanMiguel

— Bishop Daniel Kozelinski Nettoof Santa Maria del Patrocinio enBuenos Aires for Ukrainians

— Archbishop Mario AntonioC a rgnello of Salta

— Bishop Santiago Olivera, Milit-ary OrdinarySaturday, 11 May

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for BishopsArchbishop Joseph Augustine DiNoia, O P, titular Archbishop of Ore-gon City, Adjunct Secretary of theCongregation for the Doctrine ofthe FaithBishop Jorge Rubén Lugones, S J, ofLomas de Zamora, ArgentinaProf. Alexandre RoulinWednesday, 15 May

Archbishop Tymon Tytus Chmie-lecki, titular Archbishop of TresTabernae, Apostolic Nuncio in Gui-nea and Mali, with his relatives

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Amândio José To-más of Vila Real, Portugal (11 May).The Holy Father appointed BishopAntónio Augusto de Oliveira Azeve-do as Bishop of Vila Real. Untilnow he has served as titular Bishop

of Cemerinianus and Auxiliary ofPorto (11 May).

Bishop de Oliveira Azevedo, 56,was born in São Pedro de Avioso,Portugal. He was ordained a prieston 13 July 1986. He was ordained abishop on 19 March 2016, sub-sequent to his appointment as titularBishop of Cemerinianus and Auxili-ary of Porto.

The Holy Father appointed BishopJosé Armando Álvarez Cano asBishop of Tampico, Mexico. Untilnow he has served as Bishop of theTerritorial Prelature of Huautla (11May).

Bishop Álvarez Cano, 59, wasborn in Jiquilpan, Mexico. He wasordained a priest on 8 February1986. He was ordained a bishop on30 January 2012, subsequent to hisappointment as Bishop Prelate ofHuautla.

The Holy Father appointed BishopJorge Estrada Solórzano as Bishopof Gómez Palacio, Mexico. Untilnow he has served as titular Bishopof Pinhel and Auxiliary of the Arch-diocese of México (11 May).

Bishop Estrada Solórzano, 57, wasborn in Mexico City. He was or-dained a priest on 2 June 1995. Hewas ordained a bishop on 19 July2013, subsequent to his appointmentas titular Bishop of Pinhel and Aux-iliary of México.

The Holy Father appointed Fr Tous-saint Iluku Bolumbu, MSC, as Bish-op of Bokungu-Ikela, DemocraticRepublic of Congo. Until now hehas served as Superior of the Mis-sionaries of the Sacred Heart for theFrench-speaking African Region (13May).

Bishop-elect Iluku Bolumbu, 54,was born in Monieka, DemocraticRepublic of Congo. He holds de-grees in theology and philosophy,and a licence in spiritual theology.He made his perpetual vows for theMissionaries of the Sacred Heart inYaoundé in August 1994 and was or-dained a priest on 23 July 1995. Hehas served in parish ministry and as:assistant to the postulants and stu-dents of philosophy formation; vicerector; treasurer; teacher of philo-sophy; superior and director offormation at the MSC School inYaoundé; vice president of the Asso-ciation of the Major Superiors of theEcclesiastical Province ofMbandaka-Bikoro; assistant in thesecretariat of the General Chapter ofthe MSC in Rome; moderator of theGeneral Conference of the MSC inYa o u n d é .

The Holy Father appointed BishopDennis Cabanada Villarojo as Bish-op of Malolos, the Philippines. Un-til now he has served as titular Bish-op of Gisipa and Auxiliary of theArchdiocese of Cebu, the Philip-pines (14 May).

Bishop Villarojo, 52, was born inCebu City, the Philippines. He wasordained a priest on 10 June 1994.He was ordained a bishop on 10 Au-gust 2015, subsequent to his ap-pointment as titular Bishop ofGisipa and Auxiliary of Cebu.

RE L AT I O N S WITH STAT E S

The Holy Father appointed asApostolic Nuncio in Malawi Arch-bishop Gianfranco Gallone, titularArchbishop of Mottola, ApostolicNuncio in Zambia (9 May).

NECROLO GY

Bishop Antoine Koné of Odienné,Ivory Coast, at age 56 (8 May)

Bishop Paul-Werner Scheele, Bishopemeritus of Würzburg, Germany, atage 91 (10 May)

Bishop Domenico Padovano, Bishopemeritus of Conversano-Monopoli,Italy, at age 78 (10 May)

Bishop David Arias, OAR, titularBishop of Badiae and AuxiliaryBishop emeritus of Newark, USA, atage 89 (9 May)

Pope Francis launches campaignfor ‘Talitha Kum’ network

On Friday, 10 May, before meeting with members of the UISG, the Holy Father launched the“Nuns Healing Hearts” campaign in honour of Talitha Kum, an international network of

women religious working to combat human trafficking.

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

A cry against evilThe Pope speaks about the final invocation of the Our Father

At the General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, 15May, Pope Francis discussed the final invocation of the Lord’s Prayer:“Lead us not into temptation, and deliver us from evil”. This “last cry”of the prayer, he said, addresses “the most varied experiences” of evil:“mankind’s mourning, innocent suffering, slavery, the exploitation ofothers, the tears of innocent children”. The following is a translation ofthe Holy Father’s catechesis, which he delivered in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!We have finally reached the sev-enth request in the “Our Father:“And lead us not into tempta-tion” (Mt 6:13b).

With this expression, the onepraying is not only asking not tobe abandoned in times of tempta-tion, but is also imploring to bedelivered from evil. The originalGreek verb is very powerful: itevokes the presence of the evilone who tends to grab hold of usand bite us (cf. 1 Pt 5:8) and fromwhom we ask God for deliver-ance. The Apostle Peter also saysthat the evil one, the devil, prowlsaround us like a roaring lion, todevour us, and we ask God to de-liver us.

With this twofold plea: “do notabandon us” and “deliver us”, anessential characteristic of Christi-an prayer emerges. Jesus teacheshis friends to place the invocationof the Father above all else, alsoand especially in moments inwhich the evil one makes histhreatening presence felt. Indeed,Christian prayer does not close itseyes to life. It is a filial prayerand not a childish prayer. It isnot so infatuated with God’s pa-ternity as to forget that mankind’sjourney is filled with difficulties.If the last verses of the “O urFa t h e r ” were not there, howcould sinners, the persecuted, thedesperate, the dying, pray? Thelast petition is precisely the peti-tion we make when we are at thelimit, always.

There is an evil in our livesthat is an unassailable presence.History books are a dismal cata-logue of how much our existencein this world has been an oftenruinous adventure. There is amysterious evil which is certainlynot a work of God but which si-lently insinuates itself among thefolds of history: silent like theserpent that silently delivers pois-on. In some moments it seems toprevail: on some days his pres-ence seems even more evidentthan God’s mercy.

The prayerful are not blindand can clearly see before theireyes this evil that is so cumber-some, and so contradictory toGo d’s mercy itself. They perceiveit in nature, in history, even in

their own heart. Because there arenone among us who can say theyare exempt from evil or at least,that they have not been temptedby it. We all know what evil is;we all know what temptation is;we have all experienced tempta-tion of some kind in the flesh.But it is the tempter who per-suades and pushes us towardsevil, telling us: “do this, thinkabout this, go down that road”.

The last cry of the “Our Fath-er” is cast against this ‘wide-brimmed’ evil which keeps themost varied experiences under itsumbrella: mankind’s mourning,innocent suffering, slavery, theexploitation of others, the tears ofinnocent children. All thesethings protest in man’s heart andbecome a voice in the final wordsof Jesus’ p r a y e r.

It is precisely in the narrativesof the Passion that some expres-sions of the “Our Father” findtheir most striking resonance:Jesus says: “Abba, Father, allthings are possible to thee: re-move this cup from me; yet notwhat I will, but what thou wilt”(Mk 14:36). Jesus experiences thepiercing of evil in its entirety. Notonly death, but death on thecross. Not only solitude, but also

contempt, humiliation. Not onlyill will but also cruelty, rageagainst him. This is what man is:a being consecrated to life, whodreams of love and goodness, butwho then continually exposeshimself and others to evil, to thepoint that we can be tempted todespair of mankind.

Dear brothers and sisters, inthis way, the “Our Father” is sim-ilar to a symphony which seeks tobe fulfilled in each of us. AChristian knows how enslavingthe power of evil is, and at thesame time, experiences how Jesus,who never gave in to its seduc-tion, is on our side and comes toour aid.

Thus Jesus’ prayer leaves usthe most precious legacy: thepresence of the Son of God whodelivered us from evil, fighting toconvert it. In the hour of the fi-nal struggle he commands Peterto put his sword back in itssheath; he ensures paradise to thethief; to all the people who werethere, unaware of the tragedy thatwas taking place, he offers a wordof peace: “Father, forgive them;for they know not what they do”(Lk 23:34).

From Jesus’ forgiveness on thecross springs peace; true peace

comes from the cross. It is thegift of the Risen One, a gift thatJesus gives us. Just think that thefirst greeting the Risen Jesusgives is “peace be with you”,peace in your souls, in yourhearts, in your lives. The Lordgives us peace; he gives us for-giveness, but we must ask: “deliv-er us from evil”, in order not tosuccumb to evil. This is ourhope, the strength given to us bythe Risen One who is in ourmidst: he is here. He is here withthat strength that he gives us togo forward, and he promises todeliver us from evil.

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I greet the English-speakingpilgrims and visitors taking partin today’s Audience, especiallythose from England, Scotland,Ireland, Denmark, Ghana, Nami-bia, Australia, India, Indonesia,Korea, China, Canada and theUnited States of America. I greetthe repre sentatives of universitycentres and institutes for studieson the family, gathered from dif-ferent countries for the first Fam-ily International Monitor meet-ing, sponsored by the John PaulII Pontifical Institute. This meet-ing takes place on the occasion ofthe International Day of Families,which this year recalls the role offamilies in the care of creation,our common home. In the joy ofthe Risen Christ, I invoke uponyou and your families the lovingmercy of God our Father. Maythe Lord bless you all!

I offer a special greeting toyoung people, the elderly, the sickand newlyweds. During this monthof May dedicated to Our Lady, Iask you to imitate her. Be cour-ageous and capable of openingyour heart to God and to yourbrothers and sisters in order to beinstruments of God’s mercy andtenderness.

GENERAL AU D I E N C E

page 4 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

Former Patriarch of Antioch for Maronites in Lebanon

Cardinal Sfeir diesHaving learned with sadness of the death, in his99th year, of His Beatitude Cardinal NasrallahPierre Sfeir, Patriarch emeritus of Antioch forMaronites, I would like to convey my deepestcondolences to you and to his family as well as toall the faithful of the Patriarchal Church of Anti-och for Maronites, which he led for many yearswith both kindness and determination. A free andcourageous man, Cardinal Sfeir exercised his mis-sion in a troubled context, and was a determinedarchitect of encounter, peace and reconciliation.An ardent defender of the sovereignty and inde-pendence of his country, he will remain a greatfigure in the history of Lebanon. I implore the allmerciful Father to welcome into His home ofpeace and light this wise and committed Pastorwho manifested God’s love to the people entrus-ted to him. As a pledge of consolation, I offer myApostolic Blessing to you, Your Beatitude, as wellas to the departed Cardinal’s family and lovedones, to all those who accompanied him in hislater years and to those who will take part in hisfuneral celebration.

FRANCISCUS P P.

To participants in a meeting on Jewish-Catholic dialogue

Fight against the recrudescence of anti-Semitism

Cardinal Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, Le-banese Patriarch emeritus of Antiochfor Maronites, died early Sundaymorning, 12 May, after being hospit-alized in Beirut for several days withrespiratory failure. His death camejust days before his 99th birthday.After learning of Cardinal Sfeir’spassing, Pope Francis expressed hiscondolences in a telegram addressedto the Patriarch emeritus’ s u c c e s s o r,H.B. Patriarch Béchara BoutrosRaï. The following is a brief bio-graphy of the late Cardinal, accom-panied by a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s telegram.

Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir was born inRayfoun, Lebanon on 15 May1920, and was ordained a priest on7 May 1950. On 19 June 1961 hewas elected titular Bishop ofTarsus for Maronites and at thesame time named Patriarchal Vicarof Antioch for Maronites; hisnomination was confirmed byPope John XXIII on 23 June thesame year, and he received epis-copal ordination on 16 July.

On 19 April 1986 he was electedPatriarch for Maronites, and on 7May Pope John Paul II concededecclesiastica communio. He was cre-ated Cardinal by the same Pontiffin the 26 November 1994 Consist-ory. He resigned from pastoralgovernance of the Patriarchate on26 February 2011.

As the entire Land of the Ce-dars grieved the death of CardinalSfeir, the Lebanese Cabinet de-creed two days of national mourn-ing, 15 and 16 May, respectivelythe dates of his birth and funeral,which was held at the Patriarchateof Bkerké’s Church of the Resur-rection. Government offices —which flew the flag at half-staff —and private businesses, as well asCatholic schools, remained closed.“The Maronite Church isorphaned, and Lebanon is inmourning”, said Cardinal BécharaBoutros Raï from the MaronitePatriarchate, where a succession ofhigh ranking political and reli-gious leaders paid tribute to theCardinal who remained at the pin-

nacle of the Catholic Church ofLebanon for 50 years: 25 of whichas Patriarchal Vicar and another 25years as Patriarch. Throughoutmany of those years, between 1975and 1990, Lebanon was embroiledin a bitter civil war that claimedmore than 150,000 lives.

From 1933 to 1935, as a child,Sfeir attended the Mar Abda Har-haraya School, and later, from1937 to 1939, the Seminary of SaintMaron in Ghazir. From 1940 to1943 he attended the Major Sem-inary of Saint Joseph University inBeirut. He completed studies inphilosophy and theology at thesame university from 1944 to 1950,the year of his ordination.

In his first six years of ministry,he served as curate in the parishof Rayfoun, and as secretary of

the Diocese of Damas. From 1956to 1961, he served as secretary ofthe Maronite Patriarchate. He be-came a professor at the MaristBrothers School in Jounieh, wherehe taught translation in literatureand philosophy from 1951 to 1961.

Following his appointment asPatriarchal Vicar and ordination asbishop, he participated in theSecond Vatican Council. In 1977 hewas appointed representative of thePresident of the Assembly of Cath-olic Patriarchs and Bishops of thecountry for Caritas Lebanon, andin 1980 he was appointed coun-selor of the Commission for the re-vision of Canon Law. He also be-came the spiritual advisor of theOrder of Malta the same year.

He served as President of theCouncil of Catholic Patriarchs of

the Orient, participated in threeGeneral Assemblies of the Synodof Bishops between 1986 and 1994,and also served as President Del-egate to the Special Assembly forLebanon from 26 November to 14December 1995, as well as honor-ary President Delegate to the Spe-cial Assembly for the Middle Eastin October 2010.

His publications included DesSources de l'Evangile, 1975; Des vis-ages qui ne sont plus vol. I, 1983;vol. II, 1984; Sunday homilies, infour volumes (translated into vari-ous languages).

Announcing his intention to fo-cus on prayer and meditation,Cardinal Sfeir resigned from pas-toral governance of the Patriarch-ate on 26 February 2011.

troubling recrudescence of anti-Semitism, and concern for the perse-cution of Christians in various partsof the world. To say nothing of the

state of Jewish-Catholic dialogue inItaly and in Israel, and its broaderprosp ects.

I offer you my encouragement, fordialogue is the way to better under-stand one another and to work to-gether in building a climate not onlyof tolerance but also of respectbetween religions. Our strength isthe gentle strength of encounter, notof the extremism emerging in certainquarters today, which leads only toconflict. One never errs in seekingdialogue. Scripture points out that“deceit is in the mind of those whoplan evil, but those who counselpeace have joy” (Prov 12:20). I praythat your gathering may be an en-counter in peace and for peace. Maythe blessing of the Most High bewith you, grant you the tenacity ofgentleness and the courage of pa-tience. Shalom!

and must be evermore esteemed andappreciated as wegrow in mutual under-standing, fraternityand shared commit-ment on behalf ofothers. In this regard,your Meeting aims tohelp develop points ofconvergence and topromote a greater de-gree of cooperation. Itis fitting, too, that youdeal with timely issuessuch as our approachto refugees and howbest to help them, thefight against the

At the end of the General Audience inSaint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, 15May, Pope Francis greeted participantsof a meeting on Jewish-Catholicdialogue, whom he challenged to “fightagainst the troubling recrudescence ofanti-Semitism”. The following is theEnglish text of his greeting.

Dear Friends,

I offer you a warm welcome and Ithank you for everything you do.Your gathering is something like ageneral assembly of all those profes-sionally engaged in Jewish-Catholicdialogue. I am grateful to the Inter-national Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC), tothe Commission for Religious Rela-tions with the Jews, and to the Itali-an Episcopal Conference, for havingmade possible this twenty-fourthMeeting of your Committee.

From the promulgation of N o s t raAe t a t e until now, Jewish-Catholic dia-logue has borne good fruit. We sharea rich spiritual patrimony that can

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 5

The Pontiff invites young economists and entrepreneurs to meet in Assisi

To endow the economy with a soul

To young economists,men and women entrepreneurs

throughout the world

Dear Friends,I am writing to invite you to take part inan initiative I have long wished for: anevent that will allow me to meet thosewho today are training and beginning tostudy and practice a different economy,one that supports life and does not kill,that is inclusive and not exclusive, that ishumanizing and not dehumanizing, thatcares for creation and does not plunder it.An event that may help us stay togetherand get to know each other and lead us tomake a “pact” to change the current economyand endow tomorrow’s economy with a soul.

Yes, there is a need to “re - a n i m a t e ” theeconomy! And what city is more suited tothis than Assisi, which for centuries hasbeen the symbol and message of a hu-manism of fraternity? If Saint John Paul IIchose it as the icon of a culture of peace,it also seems to me an inspiring place fora new economy. Indeed, here Francisstripped himself of all worldliness tochoose God as his life’s guiding star, mak-ing himself poor among the poor, a uni-versal brother. His choice of poverty in-spired a view of economy that is still verytimely. It can give hope to our tomorrowto the advantage of not only the poorestones, but also of the whole of humanity.Moreover, it is necessary for the future ofthe entire planet, our common home,“Our Sister Mother Earth” as Franciscalled her in the Canticle of Brother Sun[and Sister Moon].

In the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ Ihighlighted that today, more than ever,everything is intimately connected and theprotection of the environment cannot beseparated from justice for the poor andfrom the resolution of the structural prob-lems of the global economy. There is thusa need to correct growth models that arenot able to guarantee respect for the en-vironment, to welcome life, to care for thefamily, social equality, employee dignity,the rights of future generations. Unfortu-nately the appeal to raise awareness of thegravity of problems has as yet gone un-heard, above all, that of putting into prac-tice a new economic model, the fruit of aculture of communion based on fraternityand fairness.

Francis of Assisi is the example par ex-cellence of caring for the weaker ones and

of an integral ecology. The words ad-dressed to him from the Crucifix in thesmall Church of Saint Damian come tomind: “Francis, go, repair my house,which, as you see, has completely falleninto ruin”. That house to be repaired con-cerns us all. It concerns the Church, soci-ety, the heart of each of us. It also increas-ingly concerns the environment which ur-gently needs a healthy economy and asustainable development that can heal itswounds and guarantee a worthy future.

Faced with this emergency, everyone,literally all of us, are called to review ourmental and moral methodologies so thatthey may be more in line with God’s com-mandments and the needs of the commongood. So I thought of inviting you youngpeople in particular because, with your de-sire for a beautiful and joyful future, youare already the prophecy of an economythat is attentive to the person and to thee n v i ro n m e n t .

Dearest young people, I know that youare capable of listening with your heart tothe ever more distressing cries of the earthand its poor, in search of help and a senseof re s p o n s i b i l i t y, that is, of someone who“resp onds” and does not turn the otherway. If you listen with your heart, you willfeel that you are harbingers of a cour-ageous culture and you will not fear tak-ing risks and committing yourselves tobuilding a new society. The Risen Christis our strength! As I told you in Panamaand wrote in the Post-Synodal ApostolicExhortation Christus vivit: “Please, do notleave it to others to be protagonists ofchange. You are the ones who hold thefuture! Through you, the future enters in-to the world. I ask you also to be protag-onists of this transformation [...]. I askyou to build the future, to work for a bet-ter world” (n. 174).

Your universities, your businesses, yourorganizations are the construction sites ofhope to build other ways of viewing theeconomy and progress, to fight thethrowaway culture, to give voice to thosewho have none, to propose new lifestyles.As long as our socio-economic systemgenerates even one more victim and there

is one single discarded person, there canbe no celebration of universal fraternity.

This is why I wish to meet you in As-sisi: to promote together, through a com-mon “pact”, a process of global changewhich will bring together in the commu-nion of intentions not only those whohave the gift of faith, but all people ofgood will, irrespective of differences ofcreed or nationality, united by an ideal offraternity that is above all attentive to thepoor and the excluded. I invite each ofyou to be protagonists of this pact, takingon an individual and collective commit-ment to cultivate together the dream of anew humanism that corresponds to man-kind’s expectations and to God’s design.

The name of this event —“The Economyof Francesco” — clearly refers to the Saintfrom Assisi and to the Gospel, which helived in complete coherence, even on theeconomic and social planes. He offers usan ideal and in some way, a programme.He is, for me who took his name, a con-tinuous source of inspiration.

Together with you and for you, I willappeal to some of the best minds in eco-nomic science as well as entrepreneurswho today are already globally involved inbuilding an economy consistent with thisideal framework. I am confident they willreply. And above all I have confidence inyou young people, who are capable ofdreaming and, with God’s help, ready tobuild a more just and beautiful world.

The appointment is from 26 to 28March 2020. Together with the Bishop ofAssisi, whose predecessor Guido, 800years ago, welcomed the young Francis in-to his home in the prophetic gesture ofhis renunciation, I too am counting onwelcoming you. I await you and as of nowI greet you and bless you. And, please donot forget to pray for me.

From the Vatican, 1 May 2019Memorial of Saint Joseph

The Worker

There is a need for a “‘pact’ to change the current economy andendow tomorrow’s economy with a soul”. Thus, Pope Francis hasissued a letter calling young economists and entrepreneurs to Assisifrom 26 to 28 March 2020 for an event entitled “The Economy ofFra n c e s c o ”, which aims to meet “those who today are training and

beginning to study and practice a different economy, one thatsupports life and does not kill, that is inclusive and not exclusive,that is humanizing and not dehumanizing, that cares for creationand does not plunder it”. The following is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s letter, which was written in Italian.

page 6 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

Sharing in a common effortCardinal Wuerl on the 35 years of diplomatic relations between the US and the Holy See

CONTINUED ON PA G E 7

Dear brothers and sisters inChrist,This Mass in celebration of 35years of diplomatic relationsbetween the United States andthe Holy See takes place as theChurch continues with exaltationto rejoice in the Resurrection ofJesus from the dead.

It is precisely the readings forthe Masses from Easter onthrough today that set the focusfor our recognition of the import-ance of this Church/State rela-tionship, these United States/Vat-ican diplomatic relations.

We have been reading from theActs of the Apostles and, overand over again, we hear the word“witness.”

Before Jesus returned to hisFather he reminded all of thosehearing him that “You will be mywitnesses” (Acts 1:8). To theApostles he conferred a specialchallenge and we hear about it inthe first reading from the Acts ofthe Apostles today, “We are wit-nesses of all that he did” (Acts10:39).

It falls to every disciple to bearwitness to Jesus. But that witnessis borne out in a variety of differ-ent ways.

Each of us according to ourrole in life must find a way tobear witness to all that Jesus pro-claimed, His kingdom, our hu-man solidarity, his gift of a newc re a t i o n .

While the manifestation of thekingdom is our common heritage,how we do so will be conditionedby our specific mission seen in allits circumstances.

Saint Paul puts it in this way:“There are different kinds of spir-itual gifts but the same Spirit; dif-ferent forms of service but thesame Lord; different workings butthe same God who produces all ofthem in everyone” (1 Cor 12:4-6).

In the second reading todayfrom the Letter of Saint Paul tothe Ephesians, he identifies him-self as an ambassador of the faitheven though he exercises the em-bassy in chains.

The missionary Apostle Paulcalls himself an ambassador be-cause it is the task of an ambas-sador to carry the voice and mes-sage of the one he or she repres-ents to others who need to hearthat message. Indeed, the veryword “ap ostle,” from the Greekapostoloi, means “emissary” and,having been sent by Jesus, they are“ambassadors of his kingdom ofgrace and new life” (CCC, 858-59).

Saint Paul spoke on behalf ofthe realities of that spiritual king-dom. He announced the signs ofthe kingdom: love, justice, peace,patience, reconciliation, goodness,and joy (Gal 5:22). Today, we cel-ebrate another expression of themission of witness to the need tobring people together aroundthose same realities: love, justice,peace, reconciliation and good-ness.

Now, however, both in theC h u rc h ’s social teaching and inthe United States declaration ofpolitical goods we can find com-mon ground, often expressed inwords like human development,social justice and care of creation.

Whole chapters of the VaticanCouncil’s Pastoral Constitutionon the Church in the ModernWorld Gaudium et Spes (1965), aswell as papal encyclicals such asSollicitudo Rei Socialis (1987), Fa -miliaris Consortium (1981), Centes-imus Annus (1991), Deus CaritasEst (2005) and Laudato Si’ (2015)provide a vision of human devel-opment and spiritual growth ex-pressed in language accessible toall parties in a diplomatic andpolitical engagement. As PopePaul VI once so memorably de-clared: “if you want peace, workfor justice.”

The diplomatic mission to rep-resent the United States to theHoly See carries with it the goalof sharing in a common effort toaccomplish a truly good and justsociety on the international level.This involves the steps and con-versations that build up the pos-sible ways to achieve this goal.

For some the vision is identi-fied in our own founding docu-

ments. We hold these truths: thatwe are endowed with the inalien-able rights to life, liberty and thepursuit of happiness. For othersthe same challenge is articulatedin the opening of the book ofGenesis where we are defined asmade in the image and likenessof God.

In forming this bi-lateral rela-tionship 35 years ago, the UnitedStates joined an entire com-munity of nations who have es-tablished diplomatic relationswith the Holy See — more than180 countries today, as well as theHoly See’s mission to the UnitedNations. Since medieval times,papal representatives have beensent to states and those govern-ments in turn have sent their rep-resentatives to the Holy See. Andduring this time, the Holy Seehas on many occasions offered itsgood offices in seeking the resol-ution of international disputes, asin the recent case of the restora-tion of relations between theUnited States and Cuba.

As we look at the 35 years ofdiplomatic relations between theUnited States and the Holy See,we can begin to recognize someof the different areas where sucha relationship between the ex-traordinary, political and civilpower that is the United Statesand that seat of spiritual author-ity that is the Vatican have fo-cused.

At the heart of this diplomaticrelationship is the recognition ofthe need to work to establish atruly good and just world com-munity. In his address to theMembers of the DiplomaticCorps accredited to the Holy Seein January 2019, our Holy Father,Pope Francis, affirmed that, “anessential aspect of good politics isthe pursuit of the common goodof all, insofar as it is the good ofall people and of the whole per-son and a condition of societythat enables all individuals andthe community as a whole toachieve their proper material andspiritual well-being.”

We are social beings. We donot live in isolation and neitherdo nations. Community with oth-ers not only helps us secure suchfundamental goods as human de-velopment and life itself, but it isitself a basic element in our well-being and fulfillment as personsand as nations.

Each of our lives is deeply af-fected by the society in which welive. Each nation, therefore, has aduty to share in the task of shap-ing and conserving a just and hu-mane social order.

Today, we recognize just howincreasingly small our world com-munity has become. Instantan-eous communications, rapidtransportation, and a host of eco-nomic and cultural ties todaybind ever more closely all the cit-izens and people of the world (cf.GS 84). The international com-munity needs all the more to bebound together by the pursuit ofa common good. Here, too, anambassador can be a constantand convincing witness that basichuman goods are common goodsand that they pervade all of hu-man life.

In an address to a previous USAmbassador to the Holy See onOctober 2, 2009, our Holy Fath-er, Pope Benedict XVI, stated that,“Genuine progress, as theC h u rc h ’s social teaching insists,must be integral and humane; itcannot prescind from the truthabout human beings and must al-ways be directed to their authent-ic good.”

Today, Ambassador CallistaGingrich represents the efforts ofthe United States to engage withthe Holy See in the perennial ef-fort to build on the internationalscene a truly good and just soci-ety. She personifies the continu-ation of that personal tie that hasbeen manifested in each Ambas-sador since President Ronald Re-agan established full diplomaticrelations with the Vatican in 1984.

Over the years, we havewatched the impact of that rela-

On Tuesday evening, 7 May, Cardinal JamesHarvey, Archpriest of the Basilica of Saint PaulOutside-the-Walls, celebrated Holy Mass tocommemorate the 35th anniversary of diplomaticrelations between the Holy See and the UnitedStates of America. He was joined by CardinalWilliam Joseph Levada, Prefect emeritus of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, Grand Master of theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre and Cardinal SeanO’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, along withpriests from Rome and from the United States.The homily was delivered by Cardinal DonaldWuerl, Apostolic Administrator of Washington,and the Mass was attended by numerousAmbassadors accredited to the Holy See.The following is the text of Cardinal Wuerl’sh o m i l y.

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 7

Francis expresses his gratitude

Fostering the spirit of fraternity

Sharing in a common effort

tionship in a wide range of activities usually associ-ated with the works of the common good, peace, hu-man prosperity and social justice.

A special quality among others that AmbassadorCallista Gingrich brings to this mission is the mani-festation of her deep and formative faith. An embassyis said to represent a piece of the land from whichcomes the ambassador. Thus, the embassy of theUnited States to the Holy See represents an exten-sion of America.

Ambassador Gingrich, through her presence andfaith, reminds all of us that no small part of Americaincludes its longstanding religious tradition, its faithvalues and its commitment not only to love God butto love one another.

In fact we take great pride in our motto, “In Godwe trust”, and declare ourselves one nation underGod with liberty and justice for all.

Our celebration today recognizes as we hear into day’s Gospel “the kingdom of God is at hand” (Lk10:9). We must do our part individually and profes-sionally to help realize it — as best we can.

The fullness of God’s kingdom will only come atthe end of time in glory. Yet, we can rejoice that the35 years of diplomatic relations between the UnitedStates and the Holy See have helped advance someof the elements of that kingdom here and now.

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 6

Congregation for the Causes of Saints

Promulgation of Decrees

“Fostering of a spirit of fraternity andpeace” is one of the key objectives of thework of the Papal Foundation. ThePontiff reminded its members of thisaim, receiving them in audience onFriday morning, 10 May, in theClementine Hall. The following is theEnglish text of the discourse headdressed to them in Italian.

Your Eminence,Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!I am pleased to greet you, the mem-bers of The Papal Foundation, dur-ing your pilgrimage to Rome. It is ajoy for me to be with you onceagain and to express my gratitudefor the generous support you offerto me and to the Church in so manyparts of the world. During this holyseason of Easter, we unite in celeb-rating the Lord’s victory over sinand death, the gift of a new life anda new creation, and the outpouringof the Holy Spirit. May the joy ofthe resurrection always fill ourhearts, and may your prayerful visitto the tombs of the apostles andmartyrs strengthen you in your fidel-ity to the Lord and his Church. Inthe years since your Foundation wasestablished, you have contributedmuch to the fostering of a spirit offraternity and peace. Through yoursupport of various educational, char-itable and apostolic projects, as wellas the scholarships made available tolay men and women, those living theconsecrated life and priests, you givewitness to the untiring efforts of the

Church to promote the integral de-velopment of the human family. In aworld that is sadly marked by viol-ence and conflict; poverty, both ma-terial and spiritual; and all too oftenthe indifference of many, your workhelps to bring the Gospel messageof hope and of mercy to all who be-nefit from your commitment andgenerosity. For this I thank you, and

I pray that you will be renewed inyour purpose to help build theChurch in unity and advance hercharitable outreach to the least ofour brothers and sisters.

The mission of The Papal Found-ation is linked in solidarity with theSuccessor of Peter. I ask you, then,to continue to pray for me, to pray

for my ministry, for the needs of theChurch, for the spread of the Gos-pel and the conversion of hearts. Ientrust all of you, together withyour families, to the loving interces-sion of Mary, Mother of theChurch, and I cordially impart myApostolic Blessing as a pledge ofjoy and peace in Christ our RisenS a v i o u r.

On Monday, 13 May, the Holy Father receivedin audience Cardinal Angelo Becciu, Prefect ofthe Congregation for the Causes of Saints.During the audience, the Supreme Pontiff au-thorized the Congregation to promulgate De-crees regarding:

— a miracle attributed to the intercessionof Blessed Giuseppina Vannini (in the world:Giuditta Adelaide Agata), Foundress of theDaughters of Saint Camillus, born on 7 July1859 in Rome, Italy and died there on 23February 1911;

— a miracle attributed to the intercessionof Blessed Dulce Lopes Pontes (in theworld: Maria Rita) of the Congregation ofthe Missionary Sisters of the ImmaculateConception of the Mother of God, born on26 May 1914 in São Salvador da Bahia,Brazil and died there on 22 May 1992;

— a miracle attributed to the intercessionof the Venerable Servant of God Lucia of theImmaculate (in the world: Maria Ripa-monti), professed sister of the Institute of theHandmaids of Charity, born in Acquate,Italy on 26 May 1909 and died in Brescia,Italy on 4 July 1954;

— the heroic virtues of the Servant of GodGiovanni Battista Pinardi, titular Bishop of

Eudossiade and Auxiliary of Turin, born inCastagnole Piemonte, Italy on 15 August1880 and died in Turin, Italy on 2 August1962;

— the heroic virtues of the Servant of GodCarlo Salerio, priest of the Foreign Missionsof Paris, Founder of the Institute of the Sis-ters of Reparation, born on 22 March 1827 inMilan, Italy and died there on 29 September1870;

— the heroic virtues of the Servant of GodDomenico Lázaro Castro, professed priest ofthe Society of Mary, born in San Adrian deJuarros, Spain on 10 May 1877 and died inMadrid, Spain on 22 February 1935;

— the heroic virtues of the Servant of GodSalvador de Casca (in the world: ErminioPinzetta), professed religious of the Order ofFriars Minor Capuchin, born in Casca,Brazil on 27 July 1911 and died in Flores daCunha, Brazil on 13 March 1972;

— the heroic virtues of the Servant of GodMaria Eufrasia Iaconis (in the world: MariaGiuseppina Amalia Sofia), Foundress of theCongregation of the Daughters of the Im-maculate Conception, born in Casino di Ca-labria, now Castelsilano, Italy on 18 Novem-ber 1867 and died in Buenos Aires, Argentinaon 2 August 1916.

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 8/9

INTERVIEW

The Agreement between the Holy Seeand the People’s Republic of Chinahas been signed. The dialogue isstill ongoing. How is it proceedingnow? How often do the two Sidesmeet? Can you give us some detailsabout it?

Yes, on 22 September 2018 wesigned a Provisional Agreementon the nomination of Bishops inChina. The two Sides are wellaware that such an Act consti-tutes the point of arrival of along journey, but it is above all astarting point. There is confid-ence that a new phase of greatercooperation can now be openedfor the good of the ChineseCatholic community and the har-mony of the whole society. Thechannels of communication areworking well. There are elementswhich demonstrate an increasedtrust between the two Sides. Weare inaugurating a method whichappears positive and which willstill have to be developed overtime, but which, for now, givesus hope that we can gradually ar-rive at concrete results. We haveto journey together, because onlyin this way will we be able toheal the wounds and misunder-standings of the past in order toshow the world that even startingfrom positions that are far apart,we can reach fruitful agreements.I would like to highlight an as-pect which is particularly close tothe heart of Pope Francis, that is,the true nature of dialogue. Indialogue, neither of the two sidesgives up its own identity or whatis essential for carrying out itsown task. China and the HolySee are not discussing theoriesabout their respective systems,nor do they want to reopen ques-tions which by now belong tohistory. Instead, we are lookingfor practical solutions which con-cern the lives of real people whodesire to practice their faithpeacefully and offer a positivecontribution to their own coun-t r y.

There is some opposition to the Vati-can’s dialogue with the ChineseGovernment. What is your take onthe opposition and what would yousay to the opponents within theC h u rc h ?

As generally happens in com-plex issues and when one facesproblems of great importance, alsoin Sino-Vatican relations, it is usu-al to compare different positionsand likewise propose differentsolutions, according to the initialpoints of view and the prevailingconcerns. Therefore, there shouldnot be surprise if there is criticism,which can arise either in theChurch or in China or from else-where, of an opening which canappear unprecedented after such along period of confrontation. In-deed, it seems to me human andChristian to show understanding,attention and respect for thosewho express such criticism. Ofcourse, not all problems have beenresolved! Many questions stillneed to be addressed and we arefacing them with willingness anddetermination. I am well awarethat no one has it completelyworked out (or, indeed, canprovide a magic formula!), but Ican also say that we are commit-ted to finding enduring solutions,which are acceptable to, and re-spectful of all concerned. Obvi-ously, criticisms which come fromprejudiced positions and whichseem to seek to preserve old geo-political balances are another mat-ter. For Pope Francis — who iswell aware of all that hashappened even in the recent past— the main interest in the ongoingdialogue is on the pastoral level:he is making a great act of trustand respect for the Chinese peopleand their culture of millennia,with the well-founded hope of re-ceiving an equally sincere andpositive response. The truly im-portant point is that the dialogueshould be able to progressivelybuild a wider consensus by bear-ing abundant fruits. A first andtwo-fold fruit, to observe carefully,

is what has already taken place: onthe one hand, we are beginning toovercome reciprocal condemna-tions, we know each other better,we listen to each other, we under-stand the needs of those involvedin the dialogue in a better way.On the other hand, the prospectopens up that two ancient, greatand sophisticated international en-tities — like China and theApostolic See — may become evermore aware of a common resp on-sibility for the grave problems ofour time. Global responses haveto correspond to global chal-lenges. Catholicism by its nature isa global reality, able to promote inan original way the search formeaning and happiness, to bolsterthe value of belonging to a specif-ic culture and at the same time ex-perience universal fraternity. As aChinese bishop recently pointedout, the Catholic communities inChina today are asking to be fully

integrated into universal commu-nion, bringing to the Church thegift of being Chinese.

Inculturation has always been im-portant for the Catholic Churchwhen it preaches the Gospel. NowChina is carrying out “sinicization”of religions. What is your take oninculturation and “sinicization”?

Inculturation is an essentialcondition for a sound proclama-tion of the Gospel which, in or-der to bear fruit, requires, on theone hand, safeguarding its au-thentic purity and integrity and,on the other, presenting it accord-ing to the particular experience ofeach people and culture. Thefruitful experience of MatteoRicci is an outstanding witness ofthis: he knew how to make him-self authentically Chinese in orderto promote the values of humanfriendship and Christian love. Forthe future, it will certainly be im-

portant to deepen this theme, es-pecially the relationship between“inculturation” and “sinicization,”keeping in mind how the ChineseLeadership has been able to reit-erate their willingness not to un-dermine the nature and the doc-trine of each religion. These twoterms, “inculturation” and “sini-cization,” refer to each otherwithout confusion and withoutopposition: in some ways, theycan be complementary and canopen avenues for dialogue on thereligious and cultural level. Fi-nally, I would say that the prin-cipal actors in this commitmentare Chinese Catholics, called tolive reconciliation in order to beauthentically Chinese and fullyCatholic.

The Vatican (Holy See) has playeda positive role in helping China getrecognition for its efforts to crackdown on organ trafficking. Are there

other areas in which the two Sidescan work together?

As I pointed out before, todaymany global challenges existwhich need to be faced with aspirit of positive cooperation. Iam thinking in particular of thegreat issues of peace, the fightagainst poverty, environmentaland climatic emergencies, migra-tion, the ethics of scientific devel-opment, and the economic andsocial progress of peoples. It is ofprimary importance for the HolySee that in all these areas the dig-nity of the human person beplaced at the centre, beginningwith the real recognition of his orher fundamental rights, amongwhich is the right to religiousfreedom, and the common good,which is the good of each andevery one. These are very broadhorizons which today more thanever need a shared commitmenton the part of everyone, believersand non-believers. The Holy Seewill continue to do its part withinthe International Community andis open to every initiative whichpromotes the common good.

It is a complicated time for thewhole world and in particular forsome countries. What could you sayto political leaders personally, as areligious man?

Today, more than in the past,political leaders are called toenormous responsibilities. Whathappens on the local level almostimmediately has repercussions onthe global level. We are all inter-connected, so the words and de-cisions of a few persons influencethe lives and way of thinking ofmany. As a man of faith and as apriest, I would like to invite thosewho have direct political respons-ibilities to keep in mind thispower of influence over people, apower which can be vertiginous. Iwould like to say that even in themost difficult situations and facedwith the most complex decisionsthey should not be afraid to lifttheir gaze, beyond immediatesuccess, to seek lasting and far-reaching solutions without pre-conditions which can contributeto building a more humane, morejust and more worthy future foreveryone. In this regard, I wouldlike to highlight the message ofPope Francis for the celebrationof the 52nd World Day of Peaceon 1 January 2019, entitled:“Good politics at the service ofp eace,” which offers valuable in-dications to all those who havepolitical resp onsibilities.

You have dealt with Chinese repre -sentatives for many years. What isthe most powerful memory of thattime? And the most beautiful one?

I have clear and fond memoriesof the time when, as Undersecret-ary for Relations with States, Ihad dealings with the Chineserepresentatives and I thank theLord for allowing me to have thatrich experience. There was, ofcourse, no shortage of concernsand fears. On not a few occa-sions, it seemed to me that wewould never make progress andthat everything would be broughtto a halt. The will to move for-ward prevailed on both Sides,

however, and with patience anddetermination we sought to over-come the obstacles along the way.This particular detail has re-mained clearly impressed on mymemory. The most poignanttimes were those when we spentmoments of familiarity andfriendship together, allowing usto get to know one other and toappreciate each other more and,in the end, to share the humanitythat unites us beyond the differ-ences that exist between us.These are situations that have aprofound value in themselves, butwhich were also useful in creatinga more favorable atmosphere dur-ing the negotiations. I remember,in particular, a whole day spentin Assisi with the Chinese Deleg-ation one Sunday in Spring: thefascination of the places of SaintFrancis and the climate that wascreated between us opened myheart to a great hope, which keptme going in all the followingyears and that still encouragesme. We have seen the first fruitsof it and, with God’s grace, wewill see yet more, for the benefitof the entire Chinese Catholiccommunity, which I embracefraternally — above all those whohave suffered most and continueto suffer — and of the entire pop-ulation of that Country, to whichI sincerely extend every goodwish.

Your Eminence, do you have a par-ticular message for the Chinesepeople and its Leaders?

I would like to send to theLeaders, but also to all thepeople of China, the greetings,best wishes and prayers of PopeFrancis. The Holy Father asksCatholics in particular to under-take with courage the path ofunity, reconciliation and a re-newed proclamation of the Gos-pel. He sees China not only as agreat country but also as a greatculture, rich in history and wis-dom. Today China has come toarouse great attention and interesteverywhere, especially amongyoung people. The Holy Seehopes that China will not beafraid to enter into dialogue withthe wider world and that theworld’s nations will give credit tothe profound aspirations of theChinese people. In this way, witheveryone working together, I amsure that we will be able to over-come mistrust and build a moresecure and prosperous world. Inthe words of Pope Francis, wewould say that only by beingunited can we overcome the glob-alization of indifference, workingas creative artisans of peace andresolute promoters of fraternity.

With confidencein a new phase of cooperation

Cardinal Parolin speaks to ‘Global Times’ about the first fruits of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and China

Statues of Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqiat the Xu Guangqi Memorial Hall in Shanghai

Progress in the bilateral relations between the Holy Seeand China following the Provisional Agreement was thefocus of an exclusive interview granted by Secretary ofState Cardinal Pietro Parolin to special correspondentFrancesco Sisci and staff reporter Zhang Yu and pub-lished in the Chinese daily ‘Global Times’. With our sin-cere appreciation to the ‘Global Times’, we publish theEnglish text of the interview.

page 10 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

Pope renews appeal to welcome of migrants and emphasizes multilateralism

No to wall-building nationalism and racismThe Church is concerned about the re-emergence of the “hostile, wall-building nationalism” that often degenerates into “racism or anti-Semitism”. Pope Francis affirmed this in a discourse to participants ofthe Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, whomhe received in audience in the Clementine Hall on Thursday morning, 2May. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’s discourse, whichhe delivered in Italian.

Dear Sisters and Brothers,I welcome you and I thank yourPresident, Prof. Stefano Zamagni,for his courteous words and for hav-ing agreed to preside over the Ponti-fical Academy of Social Sciences.This year too, you have chosen toaddress an ever current topic. Un-fortunately we have before our eyessituations in which certain nation-states conduct their relations in aspirit more of opposition than of co-operation. Moreover, it should berecognized that State borders do notalways coincide with the demarca-tions of homogeneous populationsand that much tension arises fromexcessive claims of sovereignty onthe part of States, often in the veryareas where they are no longer ableto act efficiently to protect the com-mon good.

Both in the Encyclical Laudato Si’and in this year’s Address to Mem-bers of the Diplomatic Corps, Idrew attention to the challenges, ofan international nature, that human-ity must address, such as integral de-velopment, peace, care for our com-mon home, climate change, poverty,wars, migration, human trafficking,organ trafficking, protection of thecommon good, the new forms ofs l a v e r y.

Saint Thomas had a beautifulidea of what a people is: “The riverSeine is not this river because of thiswater flowing down it, but becauseof this source and this river bed; soit’s always regarded as the same riverin spite of different water flowingdown it. And it’s like this for a pop-ulation: it’s the same population,not because of any sameness of soulor of persons, but because of thesame dwelling place; or, even more,because of the same laws and thethe same style of living, as Aristotleexplained in book 3 of his Politics”(On Spiritual Creatures, a. 9, ad 10).The Church has always encouragedlove of one’s people, of country; re-spect for the value of various cultur-al expressions, uses and customs andfor the just ways of living rooted inpeoples. At the same time, theChurch has admonished individuals,peoples and governments regardingdeviations from this attachmentwhen focused on exclusion andhatred of others, when it becomeshostile, wall-building nationalism, oreven racism or anti-Semitism. TheChurch observes with concern there-emergence, somewhat throughoutthe world, of aggressive tendenciestoward foreigners, types of migrants,as well as that growing nationalismthat disregards the common good.This risks compromising previouslyconsolidated forms of internationalcooperation, threatens the aims ofInternational Organizations asspaces for dialogue and encounterfor all countries on a level of mutualrespect, and prevents the achieve-ment of the Sustainable Develop-ment Goals unanimously approvedby the United Nations General As-sembly on 25 September 2015.

It is a common doctrine that theState is at the service of the person

and of natural groupings of peoplesuch as the family, the culturalgroup, the nation as an expressionof the will and customs inherent in apeople, the common good andpeace. Too often, however, States aresubjugated to the interests of a dom-inant group, largely for motives ofeconomic profit, which oppress,among others, ethnic, linguistic orreligious minorities who are in theirt e r r i t o r y.

In this perspective, for example,the way in which a nation welcomesmigrants reveals its vision of humandignity and of its relationship withhumanity. Every human being is amember of humanity and has the

The nation-state cannot be con-sidered as an absolute, as an islandwith respect to the surrounding cir-cumstances. In the current situationof globalization not just of the eco-nomy but also of technological andcultural exchanges, the nation-stateis no longer able to procure on itsown the common good of its popu-lations. The common good has be-come global and nations must affili-ate themselves for their own benefit.When a supra-natural common goodis clearly identified, it necessitates aspecific, legally and concordantlyconstituted authority capable of fa-cilitating its fulfilment. Let us con-sider the great contemporary chal-

states arose, and would likewise ex-clude the danger of economic andideological colonization by super-powers. Thus, it would avoid thesubjugation of the strongest over theweakest, being attentive to the glob-al dimension without losing sight ofthe local, national and regional di-mension. Before the design of aglobalization imagined as “spheric-al”, which levels differences and suf-focates localization, it is easy forboth nationalism and hegemonicpolicies to re-emerge. In order forglobalization to be beneficial for all,a “p olihedrical” form must be con-sidered, supporting a healthystruggle for mutual recognitionbetween the collective identity ofeach people and nation and global-ization itself, according to the prin-ciple that the whole first comes fromthe parts, so as to arrive at a generalstate of peace and harmony.

Multilateral petitions have beendrawn up in the hope of being ableto replace the logic of revenge, the

CONTINUED ON PA G E 11

the way of life of their new home-land, while they themselves remainas individuals, with their own bio-graphical history. In this way, mi-grants can present themselves andbe recognized as an opportunity toenrich the people that integratesthem. It is the task of public author-ities to protect migrants and to regu-late migratory flows with the virtueof prudence, as well as to promotewelcome so that the local popula-tions may be formed and encour-aged to consciously take part in theintegrative process of the migrantswho are to be received.

The migratory issue too, which isa permanent fact of human history,revives reflection on the nature ofthe nation state. All nations are theresult of integration of consecutivewaves of migrating individuals orgroups, and tend to be images ofthe diversity of humanity while be-ing united by values, common cul-tural resources and healthy customs.A State that arouses in its peoplenationalistic sentiments against othernations or groups of people wouldfail in its own mission. We knowfrom history where similar deviationshave led; I am thinking of Europein the last century.

lenges of climate change, of the newforms of slavery and of peace.

While, according to the principleof subsidiarity, the power of indi-vidual nations to work for whateverthey can achieve must be recog-nized, on the other hand, groups ofneighbouring nations — as is alreadythe case — can strengthen their owncooperation by conceding the exer-cise of certain functions and servicesto the intergovernmental institutionsthat manage their common interests.It is to be hoped, for example, thatawareness of the benefits producedby this approach and harmonyamong peoples undertaken in thispost-World War II period not belost in Europe. Meanwhile, in LatinAmerica, Simón Bolivar urged theleaders of his time to forge thedream of a Great Homeland, whichknows how and is able to welcome,respect, embrace and develop therichness of every people. This visionof cooperation among nations canadvance the narrative by upholdingmultilateralism, opposing both newnationalistic impulses and hegemon-ic policies.

Humanity would thus escape thethreat of resorting to armed conflictevery time a dispute between nation-

logic of dominion, of subjugationand of conflict with that of dialogue,of mediation, of compromise, of har-mony and awareness of belonging tothe same humanity in the commonhome. Of course, it is imperativethat such organizations assure thatthe states be effectively represented,with equal rights and obligations, soas to avoid the growing hegemonyof powers and interest groups thatimpose their own visions and ideas,as well as new forms of ideologicalcolonization, not rarely disrespectfulof the identity, of uses and customs,of the dignity and sensitivity of theconcerned peoples. The emergenceof these tendencies is weakening themultilateral system, resulting in in-sufficient credibility in internationalpolicies and in the progressive mar-ginalization of the weakest membersof the family of nations.

I encourage you to persevere inseeking appropriate processes toovercome what divides nations andto propose new paths of coopera-tion, especially in regard to the newchallenges of climate change andnew forms of slavery, as well as thatexalted social good which is peace.Unfortunately, today the season of

same dignity. When aperson or a family iscompelled to leavetheir homeland theymust be welcomedwith humanity. I havesaid many times thatour duty to migrantscan be articulatedaround four verbs:welcome, p ro t e c t , p ro -mote and i n t e g ra t e . Mi-grants are not a threatto the culture, cus-toms and values of areceiving nation. Theytoo have a duty, thatof being integrated in-to the nation that re-ceives them. Integrat-ing does not mean as-similating, but sharing

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 11

Solidarity is a moral imperativeThe Pontiff addresses a conference on our common seas

An international conference entitled “The Common Good on our CommonSeas”, organized by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral HumanDevelopment, Stella Maris, Justitia et Pax Europa, Justitia et PaxCopenhagen, and the Global Catholic Climate Movement, was held inCopenhagen from 3-5 May. The following is the English text of the messagePope Francis sent for the occasion to Dicastery Prefect Cardinal Peter KodwoAppiah Turkson, and to those who participated in the event.

No to wall-buliding nationalism and racismCONTINUED FROM PA G E 10

Pope to visit Romaniafrom 31 May to 2 June

To my Venerable Brother,Cardinal Peter Turkson,

Prefect of the Dicastery forPromoting Integral Human

D evelopmentOn the occasion of “The Com-mon Good on our Common Seas”Conference taking place inCopenhagen from 3 to 5 May2019, I would ask you to conveymy cordial best wishes to all theparticipants, and to assure them ofmy prayers for a fruitful meeting.Your gathering brings togetherrepresentatives of different reli-gious traditions and internationalorganizations, and from the fieldsof business, science and educationin order to explore the challengesand opportunities facing our seas,oceans and coastal areas, andthose whose livelihoods dependon them. As you focus on this vi-

tal issue, two elements seem par-ticularly important, namely in-tergenerational justice and dia-logue. First, I would encourageyou to consider “i n t e rg e n e r a t i o n a lsolidarity” (cf. Laudato Si’, 159-162) as a key moral imperative inresponding to the problems of ourtime. By placing the needs of ourcontemporaries, especially youngpeople, and also of generations yetto come, at the heart of efforts tocare for creation, then the com-mon good of all may be promotedand protected, “since the world wehave received also belongs tothose who will follow us” (cf. ibid.159).

On the basis of intergeneration-al justice, and of the integrity oflife which embraces time as well asspace (cf. Lumen Fidei, 57), I hopethat the solidarity and fraternalconcern that extends the hand offriendship and compassion to thepoorest of our brothers and sisterswill find concrete expression insupport for coastal communitiesand for all those who work on ourseas, who so often are dispropor-tionately affected by climatechange and the injustices of un-sustainable models of develop-ment. Second, I am confident thatin considering the threats causedby unjust management of our seasand criminal manipulation ofmaritime industries — not least

among them the scourge of hu-man trafficking — an increasinglyinterdisciplinary and dialogical ap-proach will foster an ever more ef-fective set of responses to thecomplex challenges we face. Dia-logue is not a mere method orstrategy for achieving results,rather it reflects the very nature ofthe cosmos itself, for God createsthe world and all it contains notin an abstract or distant way butthrough speaking his word: “Go dsaid, ‘Let the waters bring forthswarms of living creatures’” (Gen1:20). Reflecting the essential qual-ity of the created order, dialogueis thus not only desirable but es-sential: dialogue between reli-gions, dialogue between nations,dialogue between believers andnon-believers, dialogue between

the sciences, dialogue betweenrich and poor, dialogue for all!Certainly this is no easy task, but“the gravity of the ecological crisisdemands that we all look to thecommon good, embarking on apath of dialogue which demandspatience, self-discipline and gener-osity” (cf. Laudato Si’, 201). Asyou consider these importantquestions, I willingly offer thesethoughts as a contribution to yourdeliberations, which I entrust tothe intercession of Our Lady Starof the Sea. Upon all those takingpart in this international confer-ence, I invoke the divine blessingsof wisdom and fortitude.

From the Vatican, 16 April 2019

The Holy Father will undertake anApostolic Journey to Romania from31 May to 2 June, at the invitationof the country’s President, its StateAuthorities and the local CatholicChurch. The Holy See Press Officereleased the trip’s itinerary, notingthat Pope Francis will leave Rome’sFiumicino airport at 8:10 AM on Fri-day morning, 31 May, and is expec-ted to land at Bucharest’s interna-tional airport at 11:30 AM. He willthen travel to the Presidential resid-ence, Cotroceni Palace, for a wel-come ceremony, followed by a cour-tesy visit with Romania’s President,

Mr Klaus Iohannis, after which hewill first meet the country’s PrimeMinister, Ms Vasilica Viorica Dăn-cilă and then authorities, membersof civil society and the diplomaticcorps.

Early in the afternoon, the Popewill travel to the Palace of the Patri-archate for a private audience withPatriarch Daniel before addressingthe Holy Synod of the RomanianOrthodox Church. An ecumenicalmoment will follow in which theL o rd ’s Prayer will be jointly recitedin the new Orthodox Cathedral ofBucharest, the People’s SalvationCathedral. Pope Francis will thenhead to the Catholic Cathedral ofSaint Joseph where he will celebrateHoly Mass.

On Saturday morning, 1 June,the Holy Father will travel by air-plane to Bacau and from there byhelicopter to the Marian Shrine ofŞumuleu Ciuc, where he will celeb-rate Mass. In the early afternoon,he will proceed further north to Iasiwhere he will visit Our Lady Queenof Iasi Cathedral, and then presidea Marian encounter with youngp eople and families in the square ofthe Palace of Culture, returning toBucharest in the evening.

On Sunday, 2 June, the last dayof his journey, the Holy Father willtravel by plane to Sibiu in the heartof Transylvania, where he willboard a helicopter that will takehim to Blaj, the spiritual capital ofthe Greek Catholic Church in Ro-mania. In Blaj’s Liberty Field, hewill celebrate the Liturgy and thebeatification of seven martyredGreek Catholic Bishops.

After an afternoon visit to theRoma community of Blaj, the Popewill return to Sibiu airport fromwhich he will depart for Rome’sCiampino airport, where he isscheduled to arrive at 5:30 PM.

multilateral nuclear disarmamentseems to have been supersededand no longer moves the politicalconscience of the nations that pos-sess atomic weapons. Instead, anew season of disturbing nuclearconfrontation seems to have ap-peared, as the progress of the re-cent past is cancelled out and therisk of war increased, also due tothe potential malfunctioning oftechnologies that are highly ad-

vanced but always subject to thenaturally and humanly imponder-able. Now, if offensive and defens-ive nuclear arms are placed notonly on earth but also in space,the so-called technological newfrontier will raise and not lowerthe danger of nuclear holocaust.

The state is called therefore, to agreater responsibility. While main-taining the characteristics of inde-pendence and sovereignty, andcontinuing to seek the good of itsown population, today it is its task

to participate in the edification ofthe common good of humanity, anecessary and essential element forglobal balance. This universalcommon good, in its turn, mustacquire a heightened legal signific-ance at the international level. Ofcourse, I am not thinking of a uni-versalism or a generic internation-alism that disregards the identityof individual peoples: this, indeed,must be appreciated as a uniqueand indispensable contribution inthe largest harmonious plan.

Dear friends, as inhabitants ofour time, Christians and scholarsof the Pontifical Academy of So-cial Sciences, I ask you to cooper-ate with me in spreading thisawareness of renewed internationalsolidarity with respect for humandignity, the common good, withrespect for the planet and the su-preme good of peace.

I bless all of you; I bless yourwork and your initiatives. I accom-pany you with my prayers, andyou too, please, do not forget topray for me. Thank you!

page 12 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

Message to Muslims for Ramadan

Called to promote human fraternity

Message to Buddhists for Vesakh

For the dignity and equal rights of women and girls

CONTINUED ON PA G E 13

Dear Buddhist Friends,1. On behalf of the Pontifical

Council for Interreligious Dia-logue, I extend warm greetingsand prayerful good wishes foryour celebration of Ve s a k h . May itbring joy and peace to all of you,and to your families and yourcommunities.

2. This year our message is in-spired by the Document on HumanFraternity for World Peace and Liv-ing Together, signed in Abu Dhabion 4 February 2019 by Pope Fran-cis and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Tayyeb,Grand Imam of Al-Azhar. Thatdocument includes an importantcall for people everywhere to pro-mote the dignity of women andc h i l d re n .

3. The teachings of Jesus andthe Buddha promote the dignityof women. Both Buddhism andChristianity have taught that wo-men and men are equal in dignity,

and both have played an import-ant role in the advancement ofwomen. Buddhist and Christianwomen have made significant con-tributions to our religious tradi-tions and to society as a whole.On the other hand, it cannot bedenied that all too often womenhave also experienced discrimina-tion and maltreatment. At times,religious narratives were used topresent women as somehow inferi-or to men.

4. In our day, violence againstwomen and young girls is a globalproblem, affecting as much as athird of the world’s female popu-lation. Situations of conflict, post-conflict and displacement favoursuch violence. Women and younggirls are especially vulnerable tohuman trafficking and modernslavery, and these forms of brutal-ity negatively and often irrevers-ibly affect their health. To counter

these injustices, it is vital toprovide young women and girlsaccess to education, to guaranteethem equal pay for equal work, toensure the recognition of their in-heritance and property rights, toovercome their under-representa-tion in politics, government anddecision-making, to address the is-sue of dowries, and so forth. Thepromotion of women’s equal dig-

nity and rights should also be re-flected in interreligious dialogue:more women need to have a placeat the table, where they are stilloutnumbered by men.

5. Dear friends, urgent action isneeded to protect women and todefend their fundamental rightsand freedom. As the Document on

The following is the English text of a Message sent to the Buddhist com-munity by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for the Feast ofVesakh 2019, during which the principle events of the life of Buddha arecommemorated. The Feast is celebrated on various dates, according to the dif-ferent traditions; this year it is being celebrated in most countries on 19 Ma y.The Message, entitled “Buddhists and Christians: Promoting the Dignity andEqual Rights of Women and Girls”, was signed by the Council Secretary,Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ.

Dear Muslim Brothers and Sisters,The month of Ramadan with its

dedication to fasting, prayer andalmsgiving, is also a month forstrengthening the spiritual bondswe share in Muslim-Christianfriendship. I am pleased, there-fore, to take this opportunity towish you a peaceful and fruitfulcelebration of Ramadan.

Our religions invite us to “re -main rooted in the values ofpeace; to defend the values of mu-tual understanding, human fratern-ity and harmonious coexistence; tore-establish wisdom, justice andlove” (cf. Human Fraternity forWorld Peace and Living Together,Abu Dhabi, 4 February 2019).

We Muslims and Christians arecalled to open ourselves to others,knowing and recognizing them asbrothers and sisters. In this way,we can tear down walls raised outof fear and ignorance and seek to-gether to build bridges of friend-ship that are fundamental for thegood of all humanity. We thuscultivate in our families and in ourpolitical, civil and religious institu-

tions, a new way of life where vi-olence is rejected, and the humanperson respected.

We are encouraged, therefore,to continue advancing the culture

of dialogue as a means of cooper-ation and as a method of growingin knowledge of one another. Inthis context, I recall that PopeFrancis, during his visit to Cairo,highlighted three fundamentalguidelines for pursuing dialogueand knowledge among people ofdifferent religions: “the duty ofidentity, the courage of othernessand the sincerity of intentions”(Address to the participants in the

International Conference for Peace,Al-Azhar Conference Center,Cairo, 28 April 2017).

In order to respect diversity,dialogue must seek to promoteevery person’s right to life, tophysical integrity, and to funda-mental freedoms, such as freedomof conscience, of thought, of ex-pression and of religion. This in-cludes the freedom to live accord-ing to one’s beliefs in both theprivate and public spheres. In thisway, Christians and Muslims — asbrothers and sisters — can worktogether for the common good.

It is my wish that the gestureand message of fraternity will findan echo in the hearts of all thoseholding positions of authority inthe areas of social and civil life ofthe whole human family, and maylead all of us to put into practicenot merely an attitude of tolerancebut true and peaceful living to-g e t h e r.

With heartfelt fraternal greet-ings, renewed esteem for ourfriendship, and in the name of thePontifical Council for Interreli-gious Dialogue, I convey sincerebest wishes for a fruitful month ofRamadan and a joyous ‘Id al-Fitr.

From the Vatican29 March 2019

The following is the English text of a Message sent to the Muslim communityby the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for the month of Ra-madan and for the feast of ‘Id al-Fitr 1440 H/2019. The Message, entitled“Christians and Muslims: Promoting Universal Fraternity”, was signed byBishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ, Secretary of the Council.

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 13

You are not second-class citizensPrayer meeting with Roma and Sinti

For the dignity and equal rights of women and girlsCONTINUED FROM PA G E 12

sickens everything: itsickens the heart, themind, everything. Itsickens the family, andit is not good, becauseresentment leads youto revenge: “You dothis...”. But I believethat you did not in-vent the vendetta. InItaly there are organ-izations that are mas-ters of vendetta. Youunderstand me well,do you not? A groupof people who arecapable of creatingvendetta, of living un-der a code of silence:this is a group ofcriminal people; notpeople who want towork.

“The real second-class citizens arethose who discard people”. PopeFrancis emphasized this during aprayer meeting with a group of theRoma and Sinti community, whomhe received in audience in the SalaRegia of the Apostolic Palace onThursday morning, 9 May. Thefollowing is a translation of theextemporaneous remarks that theHoly Father delivered in Italian.

Many of the things I have heardtouched my heart, but let us takeone of them to begin with, thenwe will come to the others.

This mother who spoke touchedmy heart when she said that she“re a d ”, “saw” the hope in her chil-d re n ’s eyes. She has four, she toldme, and this is good; here are twoof them. Hope can disappoint if itis not true hope, but when hope isconcrete, as in this case, in theeyes of children, it never disap-points. It never disappoints!

Whope is concrete, in the trueGod, it never disappoints. Moth-ers who see hope in their chil-d re n ’s eyes fight every day forconcreteness, not for abstractthings, no: raising children, feed-ing them, educating them, integ-rating them into society ... areconcrete things. And these moth-ers — I dare say — are hopeful too.A woman who brings a child intothe world is hope, sows hope, isable to lead the way, to create ho-rizons, to give hope.

In both testimonies there wasalso the bitter pain of separation:something that one senses in theflesh, not with the ears. They setyou aside; they tell you: “Yes, yes,you may pass, but stay there, donot touch me”. [Addressing theyoung priest who gave testimony:] Inthe seminary they used to ask youif you asked for alms, if you wentto Termini [train station].... Soci-ety lives on fairy tales, onthings.... “No, Father, those aresinful people!”. And you, are younot a sinner? We all are, everyone.

We all make mistakes in life,but I cannot wash my hands ofthem, while looking at the true orimagined sins of others. I mustlook at my sins, and if the otherperson is in sin, on the wrongpath, I must approach and givehim a hand to help him find away out.

Something that angers me isthat we are all used to speakingabout people with adjectives. Wedo not say: “This is a person; thisis a mother; this is a youngpriest”, but rather: “This one islike this, that one is like that...”.We apply adjectives. And this des-troys, because it does not allowthe person to emerge. This is aperson; this is another person; thisis another person. Children arepeople. Everyone. We cannot say:They are this way; they are ugly;they are good; they are bad. Ad-jectives are things that create dis-tance between mind and heart, asthe Cardinal [Bassetti] said. This

is the problem today. If you tellme that it is a political problem, asocial problem, that it is a culturalproblem, a language problem:these are secondary matters. Theissue is a problem of distancebetween mind and heart. This is aproblem of distance. “Yes, yes,you are a person, but far from me,far from my heart”. Social rights,health services: “Yes, yes, butstand in line.... No, first this onethen that one”. It is true. Thereare second-class citizens, it is true.But the real second-class citizensare those who discard people:these people are second-class, be-cause they do not know how toembrace. They always toss out anadjective; they discard; and theylive by discarding; they live withthe broom in hand, pushing othersout, either with gossip or otherthings. Instead, the true path isthat of brotherhood: “Come, thenwe will talk, but come. The door isop en”. And we all must cooperate.

You can have a shortcoming —all of us are always at risk — havea weakness, as we say, the weak-ness perhaps of allowing re s e n t -ment to grow. It is understandable,it is human. But I ask you, please,

have more heart, more spacious:no resentment. And go forwardwith dignity: dignity of the family,dignity of work, the dignity ofearning daily bread — this is whathelps you go forward — and thedignity of prayer. Always lookingforward. And when resentmentcomes, let it go, then history willdo us justice. Because resentment

Go forth with dignity, withwork.... And when difficultiesarise, look on high and you willfind that there they are watchingus. He watches you. There is Onewho looks at you first, who reallyloves you, One who had to live onthe margins, as a child, to protectlife, hidden, a refugee: One whosuffered for you, who gave his lifeon the Cross. He is One, as weheard in the first Reading thatyou recited, who goes searchingfor you in order to comfort youand encourage you to go on. Thisis why I tell you: no distance; toyou and to everyone: the mindwith the heart. No adjectives, no:all persons, each one will deservea proper adjective, but not generaladjectives, according to the lifeyou live. We have heard a lovelyname, which includes mothers;this is a beautiful name:“Mamma”. It is a beautiful thing.

I thank you very much. I prayfor you; I am close to you. Andwhen I read something awful inthe newspaper, to tell the truth: Isuffer. Today I read somethingawful and I am suffering, becausethis is not civility. It is not civility.Love is civility, thus, go forth withlove.

May the Lord bless you. Andpray for me!

Human Fraternity states: “It is anessential requirement to recognizethe right of women to educationand employment, and to recognizetheir freedom to exercise their ownpolitical rights. Moreover, effortsmust be made to free women fromhistorical and social conditioningthat runs contrary to the principlesof their faith and dignity. It is alsonecessary to protect women fromsexual exploitation and from beingtreated as merchandise or objects ofpleasure or financial gain. Accord-ingly, an end must be brought to all

those inhuman and vulgar practicesthat denigrate the dignity of wo-men. Efforts must be made tomodify those laws that prevent wo-men from fully enjoying theirrights”.

6. Those in authority and posi-tions of leadership have a specialresponsibility to encourage their fol-lowers to uphold the dignity of wo-men and young girls, and to defendtheir fundamental human rights.We are likewise called to alert ourbrothers and sisters to the dangersinherent within gender ideology,which denies the differences andthe reciprocity of men and women.

In promoting the dignity andequality of women and young girls,may we also promote and protectthe institution of marriage, mother-hood and family life.

7. Dear Buddhist friends, let usmake every effort to foster withinour families, communities and insti-tutions a renewed appreciation ofthe central place of women in ourworld and work for the definitiverejection of every form of unjustdiscrimination against the humanperson. In this spirit, I wish youonce again a peaceful and joyfulfeast of Ve s a k h !

page 14 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

María Concepción Cabrera beatified in Mexico City

Dedicated to self-sacrifice for theholiness of priests

On Saturday afternoon, 4 May, on be-half of Pope Francis, the Cardinal Pre-fect of the Congregation for the Causesof Saints celebrated Mass in MexicoCity for the Beatification of MaríaConcepción Cabrera. The following is atranslation of the homily, which theCardinal delivered in Spanish.

ANGELO BECCIU

“That you, being rootedand grounded in love,may have the powerto ... know the love of

Christ which surpasses knowledge”(Eph 3:17-19).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,With these words, which we heard

in the second reading, Saint Paul ex-horted the Christians of Ephesus togenerously open their hearts to thelove of Christ, the only One capableof bringing a sense of fulfillment toour entire life. The Apostle’s invita-

citude for each of them; a true mod-el mother, ready to encourage posit-ive aspects and correct faults.

Her life’s constant aspiration wasto live “in” this world, but not tolive “of” this world. Rooted “in thelove of Christ which surpasses allknowledge”, she rekindled her missionas mother and wife. Animated byprofound faith and by boundlessc h a r i t y, on the one hand she set outon a long ascetic and mystical jour-ney, and on the other she allowedherself to be consumed by a tirelesszeal that along with her fervid, cre-ative imagination led her to give riseto new families of consecrated life inthe Church.

Love for God. She would speakabout God in a convincing and nat-ural way, revealing her impassionedlove for him. From her youth sheworked hard to pass on the faith toothers, also through her writings.She had a profound desire to con-form herself totally to God’s will.

Thus, she fueled herfaith with intense andconstant prayer, hertrue spiritual strength,to which she evendedicated part of thenight, with intermin-able hours of adora-tion before the MostHoly Sacrament. Sheconsistently had theawareness of being inthe Lord’s presence;for this reason shelived a constant interi-or attitude of prayer.Her union with Godwas also distinguishedby a profound experi-ence of mystical unionwith Christ, fromwhich arose a gener-ous spiritual mother-hood toward souls.

From her love forGod arose the con-stant excruciating de-sire of love for neigh-

tion was wholly accepted by MaríaConcepción Cabrera, affectionatelyknown as Conchita; a wonderful fig-ure in her various roles as wife,mother, widow, inspiration for reli-gious institutes and apostolic initiat-ives. The beauty and strength of herwitness consists in her choice, in ad-olescence, to consecrate herself toabsolute Love: God. Choosing Godas absolute Love meant embracinghis will, which was immediately andclearly made manifest to Conchita:you will be a wife and mother! LikeMary, Jesus’ mother, for Conchitatoo, happiness consisted not in fol-lowing her own inspirations, howev-er holy, but in conforming herself toGo d’s plan for her. Thus she accep-ted living her experience as wife andmother with total dedication. Sheaccepted the responsibility of con-stant fidelity, of a motherhood thatwas renewed nine times, of the taskof child rearing which was exhaust-ing, but beautiful. She showed con-cern for their human and especiallyspiritual growth: a maternal soli-

b o u r, spreading everywhere the mes-sage of Christ’s love. Her heartburned with an extraordinary mater-nal solicitude for those who foundthemselves in conditions of needand frailty. There was no problemthat she did not try to resolve; therewas no indigence that she did nottry to relieve. Her concern for thepoor was unceasing: she wanted tobe poor among the poor, adaptingherself to them even in her appear-ance in order to share life’s discom-fort with them so as to better assistthem. She also devoted herself gen-erously to spiritual works of mercy:she visited the sick and dying, giv-ing them spiritual counsel.

Blessed María Concepción Cab-rera, a unique case in the history ofreligious foundations, inspired andpromoted five Institutes, describedas “Works of the Cross”: two reli-gious congregations and threeapostolic works, without assumingthe role of Foundress, let alone therole and powers of superior general.They are: The Apostleship of the

Cross, The Congregation of Sistersof the Cross of the Sacred Heart ofJesus, The Covenant of Love withthe Heart of Jesus, The Fraternity ofChrist the Priest, The ApostolicLeague, The Congregation of Mis-sionaries of the Holy Spirit. TheCrusade of Victim Souls must be ad-ded to these works.

“For whoever would save his life willlose it, and whoever loses his life formy sake will find it” (Mt 16:25). ThisGospel passage remained imprintedon the Blessed’s mind and found itsfull application in her life. Thethriving of the projects cannot beexplained if not in the logic of theGospel which transforms all appar-ent self-mortification into life. Sheinspired the “Works of the Cross”with her spiritual writings, butabove all with her life’s witness: shetook her cross upon herself each dayto follow Jesus. And what crosses!

After just 16 years of marriage, shelost her husband, over which she feltsuch tremendous suffering as to ex-claim “I felt the divine scalpel in mysoul... During these days, I visitedthe tabernacle for sustenance ands t re n g t h ”. But the suffering becameeven greater at the death of no fewerthan four children. Yet each time,she did not lose serenity in the faceof the pain; her trust in God did notdissipate; she looked to the Crucifixand as “faithful echo of the Motherof Sorrows”, she learned to offer hersuffering by presenting it to theFather for the good of the worldand for the Church. She was awarethat all suffering, small or great, hadalready been experienced by Jesuson the Cross, and she was able to

witness to faith and love. This doesnot exempt one from the duty tofight abuses and scandals of everykind, by convincing those who makemistakes to awaken from a hypocrit-ical and perverse life. As the HolyFather Francis has reminded us: “thestrength of any institution does not de-pend on its being composed of men andwomen who are perfect ..., but on itswillingness to be constantly purified, onits capacity to acknowledge humbly itserrors and correct them; and on itsability to get up after falling down”(Address to the Roman Curia, 21December 2018).

The difficult and painful momentsthat led her to conform herself evermore to Christ on the Cross did notcause her to lose her natural amiab-ility. This is a sign of her total com-munion with God, whose father-hood she felt concretely. Her homewas full of joy and liveliness: simpli-city, kindness, affability were hermain character traits. “Mother wasalways smiling”, her children affirm.Marked by love of God’s will, shewas open with a calm spirit to whatthe Lord commanded, in joy and inheartache.

We have before us a woman ofstrong character, endowed with ex-ceptional talents, both human andChristian. A woman of prayer andapostolic zeal who, being ahead ofher time, found the inner moralstrength to stand out as a leader inthe social field and in the ecclesialenvironment. She was able to com-bine a magnificent amalgam of con-templation and action: the Gospelfigures of Martha and Mary arefused and synchronized in the life of

Her strong apostolic desire was to savesouls, to convert sinners for whosesalvation she willingly offered her suffering.But her greatest concern ... was for theholiness of priests for whom she prayed.

find strength andmeaning in him. OurBlessed understoodperfectly the scienceof the Cross. It re-quires that on the Cal-vary of suffering,present in the human-ity of every age, therebe the crosses of thosewho willingly join inChrist’s sacrifice.

Her strong apostol-ic desire was to savesouls, to convert sinners for whosesalvation she willingly offered hersuffering. But her greatest concern,which was somewhat an “obsession”,was for the holiness of priests forwhom she prayed and sacrificed her-self. How necessary and how timelyis this mission! In these recent times,the Church has experienced turbu-lent and lacerating moments due tothe scandals of bishops, priests andreligious which have deformed herface and threatened her credibility.In the face of this painful situationsome faithful have begun to losefaith in the Church; others havebashed her, enhancing the wounds.But the right attitude is what thenew Blessed taught us: to support,with spiritual closeness and prayer,those who live their vocation eachday in faith and self-sacrifice. It isthe overwhelming majority of con-secrated people who offer a clear

the new Blessed. She presents her-self to us today, especially to wo-men, as a model of apostolic life:she prays and acts, has her mind fo-cused on heaven, her eyes directedto earth: she adores and glorifies thegreatness of God, and is concernedwith people’s miseries and needs.

May the Church in Mexico beable to imitate her prophetic gazeand heart open to brothers and sis-ters, with a generous apostolic workthat is rooted in Christian faith, thesublime moral and cultural patri-mony of this Nation. With her inter-cession, may she help us to hear thepleading voices of those today whoexperience spiritual or materialpoverty and respond to it with thatcreativeness of charity that distin-guishes faithful disciples of the Gos-pel. For this let us implore her:Blessed María Concepción Cabrera,pray for us!

number 20, Friday, 17 May 2019 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 15

REGINA CAELI

We must emerge “from the labyrinth of errant ways”. PopeFrancis shared this advice at the midday recitation of the ReginaCaeli in Saint Peter’s Square on Sunday, 12 May. In addressingthe faithful, he reflected on the day’s reading from the Gospel ofJohn. The following is a translation of the Holy Father’sreflection, which he shared in Italian.

A round of applause for mothersThe Holy Father pays tribute

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Jn10:27-30) Jesus is presented to usas the true Shepherd of the Peopleof God. He speaks about the re-lationship that binds him to thesheep of the flock, namely, to hisdisciples, and he emphasizes thefact that it is a relationship ofmutual recognition. “My sheep”— he says — “hear my voice, and Iknow them, and they follow me;and I give them eternal life, andthey shall never perish” (vv. 27-28). In carefully reading thisphrase, we see that Jesus’ work isexplained in several actions: Jesusspeaks; Jesus knows; Jesus giveseternal life; Jesus s a f e g u a rd s .

The Good Shepherd — Jesus —is attentive to each one of us; heseeks us and loves us, addresseshis Word to us, knowing thedepths of our heart, our desiresand our hopes, as well as our fail-ures and disappointments. He ac-cepts us and loves us as we are,with our merits and our faults.He “gives eternal life” to eachone of us: that is, he offers us theopportunity to live a full life,without end. Moreover, he safe-

guards us and leads us lovingly,helping us to cross imperviouspaths and the sometimes danger-ous roads that appear in life.

The verbs and actions that de-scribe the way in which Jesus, theGood Shepherd, interacts with uscorrespond to the verbs that re-late to the sheep, namely us:“hear my voice”, “follow me”. Theyare actions that show how wemust correspond to the tenderand caring attitudes of the Lord.Indeed, hearing and recognizinghis voice, implies intimacy withhim, which is strengthened inprayer, in the heart-to-heart en-counter with the divine Masterand Shepherd of our souls. Thisintimacy with Jesus, this open-ness, speaking with Jesus, rein-forces in us the desire to followhim, by emerging from thelabyrinth of errant ways, aban-doning selfish behaviour in orderto set out on new paths of fra-ternity and of self-giving, in imit-ation of him.

Let us not forget that Jesus isthe only Shepherd who speaks tous, knows us, gives us eternal lifeand safeguards us. We are theonly flock and we only have to

strive to hear his voice, while helovingly examines the sincerity ofour hearts. And from this con-stant intimacy with our Shepherd,from this colloquy with him,springs the joy of following him,allowing ourselves to be led tothe fullness of eternal life.

Let us now turn to Mary,Mother of Christ the Good Shep-herd. May she, who readily re-sponded to God’s call, help inparticular those who are called tothe priesthood and to consecratedlife to joyfully and willingly ac-cept Christ’s call to be his moredirect coworkers in proclaimingthe Gospel and at the service ofthe Kingdom of God in this ageof ours.

After the Regina Caeli, the HolyFather continued:

Dear brothers and sisters!Today “Mother’s Day” is beingcelebrated in many countries. Iwould like to convey a specialgreeting to all mothers, thankingthem — a round of applause forall the mothers! — for their pre-cious work in raising children andin protecting the value of the

family. Let us also remember themothers who are watching usfrom heaven and continue towatch over us with prayer. Ourthoughts also go to our heavenlyMother, whom we will celebratetomorrow, 13 May, with the nameOur Lady of Fatima. Let us en-trust ourselves to her in order tocontinue our journey with joyand generosity.

Today, the Fourth Sunday ofEaster, Sunday of the “Go o dS h e p h e rd ”, is the World Day ofPrayer for Vocations, which thisyear has the theme “The courageto risk for the promise of God”.The courage to take a risk forGo d’s promise: following Jesus isalways a risk, but it takes cour-age. In all communities we prayin a particular way for vocationsto the priesthood and to consec-rated life. This morning, in SaintPe t e r ’s Basilica, I had the joy ofordaining 19 new priests. While Iwarmly greet these neo-presbytersalong with their families andfriends, I invite you to rememberthose whom the Lord continuesto call by name, as he did oneday with the Apostles on theshore of the Sea of Galilee, sothey might become “fishers ofmen”. I have invited two of these19 new priests here to greet youand bless you with me.

I greet you all, families, parishgroups and individual faithfulfrom Italy and from differentcountries. In particular I greetthe pilgrims from Texas and thosefrom Valencia; the faithful fromGela and Pistoia; the Confirma-tion youth from Parma, theScouts from Cossato and thosefrom Frosinone. And now I willask these new priests to join mein blessing all of you.

[Blessing]I wish everyone a happy

Sunday. Please, do not forget topray for me. Enjoy your lunch!Ar r i v e d e rc i !

Pope authorizes pilgrimages to MedjugorjeOn Sunday, 12 May, Archbishop Henryk Hoser,Apostolic Visitator of a special nature for thePa r i s h of Medjugorje, and Archbishop LuigiPezzuto, Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia-Herzegov-ina, announced that the Holy Father has author-ized the organization of pilgrimages to Med-jugorje.

Responding to questions from several journal-ists, Alessandro Gisotti, ad interim Director of theHoly See Press Office, stated that care must betaken “to prevent these pilgrimages from being in-terpreted as an authentication of known events,which still require examination by the Church.Therefore, care must be taken to avoid creatingconfusion or ambiguity from the doctrinal pointof view regarding such pilgrimages. This also con-cerns pastors of every order and level who intendto go to Medjugorje and celebrate or concelebratethere even in a solemn way.

“Considering the considerable flow of peoplewho go to Medjugorje and the abundant fruits ofgrace that have sprung from it”, Gisotti contin-ued, “this authorization is part of the particularpastoral attention that the Holy Father intendedto give to that reality, aimed at encouraging andpromoting the fruits of good.

“The Apostolic Visitator”, concluded the ad in-terim Director, “will have, in this way, greaterease in establishing — in agreement with the or-dinary people of the place — relations with thepriests in charge of organizing pilgrimages toMedjugorje, as well as safe and well-preparedpersons, offering them information and indica-tions to be able to fruitfully conduct such pil-grimages”.

The announcement to authorize pilgrimages toMedjugorje comes one year after the appoint-ment of Archbishop Hoser as Apostolic Visitator.

page 16 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 17 May 2019, number 20

Called to serve the People of GodPope Francis ordains nineteen priests in Saint Peter’s Basilica

Remember that you are chosenfrom among mankind andappointed to act in their favour

Dearest Brothers and Sisters,Our sons have been called to theorder of priests. It will do us allgood to consider carefully the pos-ition to which they are to be pro-moted in the Church. It is truethat the Lord Jesus is the HighPriest of the New Testament andGod has also made his entirepeople a royal priesthood inChrist. But Jesus Christ also chosesome of his followers to carry outpublicly in the Church a priestlyministry in his name on behalf ofmankind, continuing his personalmission as Teacher, as Priest, asS h e p h e rd .

Indeed, for this reason he wassent by the Father, and he in turnsent into the world the Apostles,and then the Bishops and theirsuccessors. Priests are co-workersof the order of Bishops, to whomthey are joined in the priestly of-fice and are called to serve thePeople of God.

After many years of reflection —their own reflection, the reflectionof their superiors, of those whohave accompanied them on thispath —, they have presented them-selves today so that I may conferon them the priestly Order.

They are called to be moldedinto the likeness of Christ, the Su-

preme and Eternal Priest. By con-secration, they will be made truepriests of the New Testament, andin this role, sharing in the priest-hood of their Bishop, to preachthe Gospel, sustain God’s people,and preside at rites of worship,above all the celebration of theL o rd ’s sacrifice, that is, theEucharist.

My beloved brothers and sons,you are now to be advanced to theorder of the presbyterate. Youmust apply your energies to theduty of teaching in the name ofChrist, the chief Teacher. This isnot a cultural association; it is not

the culmination of the Lord’s gra-tuitousness. Please do not soil itwith petty interests.

When you baptize you willbring new men and women intothe People of God. In the Sacra-ment of Penance, you will forgivesins in the name of God, of Christand of the Church. And here, Iask you, please, never tire of beingmerciful. Merciful like the Father,as Jesus was merciful with us, withall of us. With holy oil you will re-lieve and console the sick. Idleaway time visiting the sick and theinvalid. You will celebrate theliturgy and offer thanks and praise

On Sunday morning, 12 May, the Fourth Sunday of Easter and the 56thWorld Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis celebrated Mass in theVatican Basilica for the ordination of 19 priests, pronouncing the ritualhomily as provided in the Italian edition of the ‘Pontificale Romanum’, towhich he added his personal thoughts. The following is the English text of thehomily, incorporating a translation of the Holy Father’s additional comments.

a union. You will particip-ate in Christ’s ministry.Share with all mankind theWord of God you receivedwith joy. And for this reas-on, read and meditate onthe Word of the Lord, be-lieve what you read, teachwhat you believe, and putinto practice what youteach. You should never deliver ahomily without much prayer, withthe Bible in hand. Do not forgetthis.

Let the doctrine you teach betrue nourishment for the People ofGod: when it comes from theheart and arises from prayer, it willbe very fruitful. Let the exampleof your life attract the followers ofChrist: men of prayer, men of sac-rifice so that by word and actionyou may build up the House ofGod which is the Church. In thesame way you must continue thesanctifying work of Christ. Thespiritual sacrifice of the faithfulwill be perfected through yourministry, united to Christ’s sacri-fice, and through your hands beoffered sacramentally on the altarin celebration of the Holy myster-ies. Be attentive in the celebrationof the Eucharist.

Know what you are doing andimitate the mystery you celebrate.In memory of the Lord’s deathand Resurrection, carry Christ’sdeath within you and walk withhim in the newness of life.

The Lord wished to save us gra-tuitously. He himself said: “Fre e l ygive what you freely received”.The celebration of the Eucharist is

to God throughout the day, pray-ing not only for the People ofGod, but for the whole of human-i t y.

Remember that you are chosenfrom among mankind and appoin-ted to act in their favour by at-tending to the things of God.Carry out the work of Christ’sministry with genuine joy andlove, with sincerity, seeking only toplease God and not yourselves.Priestly joy is found only on thispath, in trying to please God whoelected us.

Finally conscious of sharing inthe work of Christ, the head andShepherd of the Church, andunited with the Bishop and sub-ject to him, seek to bring thefaithful together into a unifiedfamily. These are the affinitiesproper to priests: close to God inprayer, close to the bishop who isyour father, close to the presbytery,to other priests, as brothers,without excoriating each other[speaking ill of each other], andclose to the People of God. Al-ways keep in mind the example ofthe Good Shepherd who came notto be served but to serve and toseek out and rescue those whowere lost.