VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 116
DATE 23-06-2014

Summary:
- ANGELUS: THE LOVE OF GOD IS WITHOUT MEASURE
- CHRISTIANS AGAINST TORTURE
- THE POPE BEGINS HIS PASTORAL TRIP IN CALABRIA WITH DETAINEES IN
CASTROVILLARI PRISON
- TO THE PRIESTS: CHOOSE BROTHERHOOD
- MASS IN SIBARI: THOSE WHO TAKE THE PATH OF EVIL ARE EXCOMMUNICATED
- THE ROACO HOLDS ITS 87TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY
- CARDINAL TOMKO, POPE'S SPECIAL ENVOY IN UKRAINE
- THE ORIENTAL CHURCHES
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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 ANGELUS: THE LOVE OF GOD IS WITHOUT MEASURE
 Vatican City, 23 June 2014 (VIS) - At midday Pope Francis appeared at the
window of his study to pray the traditional Sunday Angelus with the
faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. The Holy Father commented that
today Italy and many other countries celebrate the feast day of the Body
and Blood of Christ, "Corpus Domini" or "Corpus
Christi", in which the ecclesial community gathers around the
Eucharist to adore the most precious gift that Jesus left to her.
 In the Gospel of St. John we find the narrative on the "bread of
life", spoken by Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum, in which He
states: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone
eats of this bread, he will live forever and the bread that I will give is
my flesh for the life of the world". Pope Francis explained,
"Jesus says that he has not come into this world to give something,
but to give himself, his life, as nourishment for those who have faith in
him. Our communion with the Lord commits us, his disciples, to imitate him,
making of our lives, with our attitudes, a bread broken for others, just as
the Master broke the bread that is truly His flesh".
 "Whenever we participate in Holy Mass and are nourished by the body
of Christ, the presence of Jesus and the Holy Spirit works within us; it
shapes our hearts, it communicates inner attitudes that transform within us
into modes of behaviour in accordance with the Gospel. Firstly, docility to
the Word of God, then fraternity among Christians, the courage of Christian
witness, the creativity of charity, the ability to give hope to the
disheartened, and to welcome the excluded. In this way the Eucharist helps
the Christian lifestyle to mature in us. Christ's charity, received with an
open heart ... changes us, transforms us, makes us capable of loving not
according to a human measure, which is always limited, but according to
God's measure, and God's measure is without measure".
 "And then we become able to love even those who do not love us",
continued the Pontiff, "and it is not easy. If we know that a person
does not love us we tend not to like that person. But no! We must love
those who do not love us! We must oppose evil with good, we must forgive,
share, welcome others. Thanks to Jesus and his Spirit, even our life
becomes 'bread broken' for our brothers. And, living in this way, we
discover true joy! The joy of making oneself a gift, to reciprocate the
great gift that we have first received, without any merit on our part.
 Francis concluded his brief reflection by urging the faithful to recall
two things: first, that "the measure of God's love is to love without
measure", and that our life, "with Jesus' love, receiving the
Eucharist, transforms our life into a gift".

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 CHRISTIANS AGAINST TORTURE
 Vatican City, 23 June 2014 (VIS) - This coming June 26 will be the United
Nations' Day for Victims of Torture. Pope Francis took the opportunity to
reiterate his "strong condemnation of all forms of torture" and
encouraged Christians to make every effort to collaborate in its abolition
and to support the victims and their families. "Torturing people is a
mortal sin, a very grave sin".

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 THE POPE BEGINS HIS PASTORAL TRIP IN CALABRIA WITH DETAINEES IN CASTROVILLARI PRISON
 Vatican City, 21 June 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis began his pastoral visit
to Cassano all'Jonio by meeting the detainees at the Castrovillari
penitentiary. He expressed the closeness of the Church to every man and
woman in jail all over the world, and reminded them of Jesus' words:
"I was in prison and you came to me".
 The Pope arrived by Vatican helicopter at Castrovillari at 9 a.m., and
walked the short distance to the prison where he was received by the
director, Fedele Rizzo, and after listening to a short address one of the
detainees on the forecourt outside the prison, he gave the following
discourse:
 "When we talk about prisoners, we often underline the theme of
respect for the fundamental rights of man and the need for the conditions
in which the sentence is served to correspond. This aspect of prison policy
is certainly essential and a high level of attention must be maintained in
this respect. But this approach is not sufficient, if it is not accompanied
and completed by concrete commitment by institutions with a view to the
effective reinsertion within society. When this objective is neglected, the
fulfilment of the sentence is reduced to a mere instrument of punishment
and social retaliation, damaging to both the individual and to society. And
God does not do this, with us. God, when He forgives, accompanies us and
helps us along the road. Always, and even in small things. When we go to
confess, the Lord says to us, 'I forgive you. But now, come with me'. And
He helps us to return to the path. He never condemns. He never forgives
alone; He forgives and accompanies. And then, we are fragile and have to
return to confession again, all of us. But He never tires. He always takes
us by the hand again. This is God's love, and we must imitate Him! Society
must imitate Him, and take this path".
 "On the other hand, the true and full rehabilitation of the person
does not occur as the end point of a merely human progression. In this path
there is also the encounter with God, the capacity to allow ourselves to be
looked upon by God, Who loves us. It is more difficult to place ourselves
before God's gaze than to look at God. It is more difficult to let
ourselves be met by God than it is to meet God, because there is always
resistance within us. And He waits for us, He watches us, He always seeks
us. This God, Who loves us, Who is able to understand us, able to forgive
our mistakes. The Lord is a master of rehabilitation: He takes us by the
hand and restores us to the social community. The Lord always forgives, He
always accompanies, He always understands; we must let ourselves be
understood, forgiven, and accompanied".
 "I hope that for every one of you here, this time will not be wasted,
but that it can instead become valuable time during which you may ask for
and obtain this grace from God. In this way, first of all you will
contribute to improving yourselves, but at the same time also the
community, as, for better and worse, our actions influence others and the
whole of the human family".
 "I convey my affectionate greetings to your families; may the Lord
grant you the possibility to embrace them again in serenity and peace.
Finally, I wish to offer encouragement to all those who work in this house:
the directors, the police guards, and all other staff. I impart a heartfelt
blessing to you all, and entrust you to the protection of Our Lady, our
Mother. And please, I ask you to pray for me, because I to make my errors
and must do penance. Thank you".

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 TO THE PRIESTS: CHOOSE BROTHERHOOD
 Vatican City, 21 June 2014 (VIS) - After his encounter with the detainees
at Castrovillari, the Holy Father transferred by helicopter to Cassano
all'Jonio where he landed at around 11 a.m., and was welcomed by the local
authorities in the "Pietro Toscano" sports field. From there, he
went on to the nearby "San Giuseppe Moscati" centre for the
elderly, where he spoke with residents. Finally, in the cathedral, he met
with the priests of the diocese and delivered the text of his address based
on two themes: the joy of the priesthood and the beauty of brotherhood.
 "I wish to share with you the ever-new surprise of having been called
... by the Lord Jesus", he writes. "Called to follow Him, to stay
with Him, to bring Him to others. ... When we are before the Tabernacle ...
Jesus' gaze renews us. Effectively, it is not easy to stay there, before
the Lord, as we are always busy with so many things, with so many people
... but at times it is not easy also because Jesus' gaze unsettles us ...
and challenges us. But this is good for us! In the silence of prayer, Jesus
enables us to see whether we are like good workers, or if we have become
rather like 'functionaries'; if we are open and generous channels through
which His love and His grace flow, or if instead we place ourselves at the
centre, and in the place of channels we become 'screens' which do not help
in the encounter with the Lord, with the light and strength of the
Gospel".
 The beauty of fraternity is that of "following the Lord ... not one
by one, but together, with our great variety of gifts and personalities;
indeed, it is precisely this that enriches the priesthood: this variety in
terms of provenance, age, and talents. ... It is all lived in communion, in
fraternity". He adds, "and this too is not easy, it is not
immediate or to be taken for granted. Firstly because we priests, too, are
immersed in today's subjectivist culture, this culture that exalts the 'I'
to the point of idolatry. And then also due to a certain pastoral
individualism that is unfortunately widespread in our dioceses. We must
therefore react to this with the choice of fraternity. I refer
intentionally to 'choice'. It cannot simply be something that is left to
chance; ... no, it is a choice, that corresponds ... to the gift that we
have received but which must always be welcomed and cultivated: communion
in Christ I in the priesthood, around the bishop. This communion needs to
be experienced by seeking concrete forms suitable to the times and the
specific situation of the territory, but always with an apostolic view,
with a missionary style, with fraternity and simplicity of life".
 Pope Francis adds a third theme: that of staying with families and working
for them. "It is a task that the Lord asks of us especially in this
time that is difficult both for the family as an institution and for
families affected by the crisis. But it is precisely in difficult times
that God makes us aware of His vicinity, His grace and the prophetic
strength of His Word. And we are called upon to be witnesses and mediators
of this vicinity to families and this prophetic strength for the
family", he concludes.

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