VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 107
DATE 09-06-2014

Summary:
- POPE FRANCIS AND THE PRESIDENTS OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE INVOKE PEACE
- THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE LIVING MEMORY OF THE CHURCH
- REGINA COELI: A CHURCH CAPABLE OF SURPRISING
- THE POPE TELEPHONES PILGRIMS FROM MACERATA TO LORETO
- SPORT IS A FORM OF EDUCATION
- THE POPE RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF MEXICO
- THE CHURCH PROPOSES A SYSTEM OF JUSTICE THAT AIMS TO FULL REHABILITATE WRONGDOERS
- STUDY DAY DEDICATED TO ST. PIUS X
- THE AIF FURTHER STRENGTHENS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
- CARDINAL FILONI SPECIAL ENVOY TO FUNCHAL
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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 POPE FRANCIS AND THE PRESIDENTS OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE INVOKE PEACE
 Vatican City, 9 June 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Vatican Gardens
hosted the Invocation for Peace, the initiative Pope Francis proposed to
presidents Shimon Peres and Mahmoud Abbas during his recent pilgrimage to
the Holy Land, to pray for the gift of peace for the Israeli and
Palestinian peoples. Peres and Abbas arrived in the Vatican at 6.15 and
6.30 p.m. respectively, and were received by the Holy Father at the
entrance of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, where he spoke briefly first with
the Israel president, and then with the Palestinian.
 Shortly after, they entered the Santa Marta Hall where they were joined by
the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I, and then transferred by car to
the Vatican Gardens where they were awaited by their respective
delegations. The meeting began with the following words: "May the Lord
grant us peace! We are gathered here, Israelis and Palestinians, Jews,
Christians and Muslims, to offer our prayer for peace for the Holy Land and
for all its inhabitants".
 As previously explained, the meeting took place in three phases, followed
by a conclusion. Following the chronological order of the three religions,
it began with the Jewish community, followed by Christians, and finally
Muslims. The first phase, for the three communities, consisted of praise to
God for the gift of creation and for having made us members of one human
family. The second was a plea to God for forgiveness for not having acted
like brothers and sisters, and for our sins against God and neighbour. The
third invokes from God the gift of peace in the Holy Land and the capacity
to be converted into builders of peace. Each of these phases was
accompanied by a brief musical interlude. A longer musical meditation
concluded each of the three principal parts. At the end, before exchanging
handshakes and planting an olive tree as a symbol of the common desire for
peace between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, the Holy Father,
President Shimon Peres and President Mahmoud Abbas all gave brief
discourses.
 "Distinguished Presidents", began Pope Francis, "I greet
you with immense joy and I wish to offer you, and the eminent delegations
accompanying you, the same warm welcome which you gave to me during my
recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I am profoundly grateful to you for
accepting my invitation to come here and to join in imploring from God the
gift of peace. It is my hope that this meeting will be a path to seeking
the things that unite, so as to overcome the things that divide. I also
thank Your Holiness, my venerable Brother Bartholomaios, for joining me in
welcoming these illustrious guests. Your presence here is a great gift, a
much-appreciated sign of support, and a testimony to the pilgrimage which
we Christians are making towards full unity".
 "Your presence, dear Presidents, is a great sign of brotherhood which
you offer as children of Abraham. It is also a concrete expression of trust
in God, the Lord of history, Who today looks upon all of us as brothers and
Who desires to guide us in His ways. This meeting of prayer for peace in
the Holy Land, in the Middle East and in the entire world is accompanied by
the prayers of countless people of different cultures, nations, languages
and religions: they have prayed for this meeting and even now they are
united with us in the same supplication. It is a meeting which responds to
the fervent desire of all who long for peace and dream of a world in which
men and women can live as brothers and sisters and no longer as adversaries
and enemies".
 "Dear Presidents, our world is a legacy bequeathed to us from past
generations, but it is also on loan to us from our children: our children
who are weary, worn out by conflicts and yearning for the dawn of peace,
our children who plead with us to tear down the walls of enmity and to set
out on the path of dialogue and peace, so that love and friendship will
prevail. Many, all too many, of those children have been innocent victims
of war and violence, saplings cut down at the height of their promise. It
is our duty to ensure that their sacrifice is not in vain. The memory of
these children instils in us the courage of peace, the strength to
persevere undaunted in dialogue, the patience to weave, day by day, an ever
more robust fabric of respectful and peaceful coexistence, for the glory of
God and the good of all. Peacemaking calls for courage, much more so than
warfare. It calls for the courage to say yes to encounter and no to
conflict: yes to dialogue and no to violence; yes to negotiations and no to
hostilities; yes to respect for agreements and no to acts of provocation;
yes to sincerity and no to duplicity. All of this takes courage, it takes
strength and tenacity".
 "History teaches that our own powers do not suffice. More than once
we have been on the verge of peace, but the evil one, employing a variety
of means, has succeeded in blocking it. That is why we are here, because we
know and we believe that we need the help of God. We do not renounce our
responsibilities, but we do call upon God in an act of supreme
responsibility before our consciences and before our peoples. We have heard
a summons, and we must respond. It is the summons to break the spiral of
hatred and violence, and to break it by one word alone: the word 'brother'.
But to be able to utter this word we have to lift our eyes to heaven and
acknowledge one another as children of one Father".
 "To him, the Father, in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, I now turn,
begging the intercession of the Virgin Mary, a daughter of the Holy Land
and our Mother. Lord God of peace, hear our prayer! We have tried so many
times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and
by the force of our arms. How many moments of hostility and darkness have
we experienced; how much blood has been shed; how many lives have been
shattered; how many hopes have been buried... But our efforts have been in
vain. Now, Lord, come to our aid! Grant us peace, teach us peace; guide our
steps in the way of peace. Open our eyes and our hearts, and give us the
courage to say: 'Never again war!'; 'With war everything is lost'. Instil
in our hearts the courage to take concrete steps to achieve peace. Lord,
God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, You created us and You
call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be
instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our
brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who
entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our
trepidation into confident trust, and our quarrelling into forgiveness.
Keep alive within us the flame of hope, so that with patience and
perseverance we may opt for dialogue and reconciliation. In this way may
peace triumph at last, and may the words 'division', 'hatred' and 'war' be
banished from the heart of every man and woman. Lord, defuse the violence
of our tongues and our hands. Renew our hearts and minds, so that the word
which always brings us together will be 'brother', and our way of life will
always be that of: Shalom, Peace, Salaam! Amen".
 President Shimon Peres then addressed those present: "I have come
from the Holy City of Jerusalem to thank you for your exceptional
invitation", he said. "The Holy City of Jerusalem is the beating
heart of the Jewish people. In Hebrew, our ancient language, the word
Jerusalem and the word for peace share the same root. And indeed peace is
the vision of Jerusalem. As it is said in the Book of Psalms: Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure. May there be peace
within your walls and security within your citadels. For the sake of my
family and friends, I will say, 'Peace be within you'. For the sake of the
house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity".
 "During your historic visit to the Holy Land, you moved us with the
warmth of your heart, the sincerity of your intentions, your modesty, and
your kind ways. You touched the people's hearts - regardless of their faith
or nation. You emerged as a bridge-builder of brotherhood and peace. We are
all in need of the inspiration which accompanies your character and your
way. Thank you".
 "Two peoples - Israelis and Palestinians - still are aching for
peace. The tears of mothers over their children are still etched in our
hearts. We must put an end to the cries, to the violence, to the conflict.
We all need peace. Peace between equals. Your invitation to us to join you
in this momentous ceremony to call for peace, here in the Vatican garden,
in the presence of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Druze leaders,graciously
reflects your vision of the aspiration we all share: Peace. On this moving
occasion, brimming with hope and full of faith, let us all raise with you,
Your Holiness, a call for peace between religions, between nations, between
communities, and between fellow men and women. Let true peace become our
legacy soon and swiftly".
 "Our Book of Books commands upon us the way of peace, demands of us
to toil for its realization. It is said in the book of Proverbs: 'Her ways
are ways of grace, and all her paths are peace'. So too must our ways be.
Ways of grace and peace. It is not by chance that Rabbi Akiva captured the
essence of our Torah in one sentence: 'Love your neighbour like thyself'.
We are all equal before the Lord. We are all part of the human family. For
without peace, we are not complete, and we have yet to achieve the mission
of humanity. Peace does not come easy. We must toil with all our strengths
to reach it. To reach it soon. Even if it requires sacrifice or compromise.
The Book of Psalms tells us: 'Whoever loves life and desires to see many
good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn
from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it'".
 "This is to say, we are commanded to pursue after peace. All year.
Every day. We greet each other with this blessing. Shalom. Salam. We must
be worthy of the deep and demanding meaning of this blessing. Even when
peace seems distant, we must pursue it to bring it closer. And if we pursue
peace with perseverance, with faith, we will reach it. And it will endure
through us, through all of us, of all faiths, of all nations, as it is
written: 'They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into
pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they
train for war any more'. The soul is elated upon the reading of these
verses of eternal vision. And we can - together and now, Israelis and
Palestinians - convert our noble vision to a reality of welfare and
prosperity. It is within our power to bring peace to our children. This is
our duty, the holy mission of parents. Let me end with a prayer: He who
makes peace in the heavens shall make peace upon us and upon all of Israel,
and upon the entire world, and let us say Amen".
 Finally, the president of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, said: "It is
indeed a great honour for us to meet again with His Holiness Pope Francis
in fulfilment of his kind invitation to relish his spiritual and noble
presence, and listen to his opinion and crystal wisdom, which emanate from
a sound heart, vibrant conscience, as well as an elevated ethical and
religious sense. I thank your Holiness from the bottom of my heart for
initiating this important gathering here in the Vatican. Simultaneously, we
highly appreciate your visit to the Holy Land Palestine, and in particular
to our Holy city Jerusalem and to Bethlehem, the city of love and peace,
and the cradle of Jesus Christ. The visit is a sincere expression of your
belief in peace and a truthful attempt to achieve peace between
Palestinians and Israelis".
 "Oh God, we ever praise You for making Jerusalem our gate to heaven.
As said in the Holy Quran, '?Glory to Him who made His servant travel by
night from the sacred place of worship to the furthest place of worship,
whose surroundings we have blessed'.? You made pilgrimage and prayer in it
as the best acts the faithful can make in your praise, and made your
truthful promise in your say:? '?Let them enter the Masjid as they did for
the first time'. ? God Almighty has spoken the truth".

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