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 THE PRIMACY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND THE COURAGE TO SAY NO TO EVIL
 Vatican City, 26 July 2014 (VIS) - More than two hundred thousand people
attended the Mass celebrated by the Holy Father in the square in front of
the Royal Palace of Caserta at 6 p.m. yesterday.
 The Pope spoke in his homily about the "kingdom of Heaven",
based on the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl. In the first,
the "kingdom" is similar the treasure hidden in a field, that the
farmer finds and hides again, full of joy, then sells everything he has to
buy the field. In the second, a merchant who seeks fine pearls encounters
one of great value and sells everything he owns in order to buy it.
 The farmer and the merchant, explains the Pope, have the same sentiment in
common: the surprise and joy of the fulfilment of their desires and,
through these two parables, "with simple words that everyone can
understand", Jesus explains what the kingdom of heaven is, how it is
found and what one can do to obtain it.
 Jesus does not concern Himself with describing the "kingdom",
although He has announced it since the beginning of His Gospel; however, He
shows it indirectly, through reflection. "He prefers to let it be
understood through parables and similarities, especially by revealing its
effects: the kingdom of Heaven is able to change the world, like the leaven
concealed in the dough". Both parables help us understand that the
kingdom of God is present in the person of Jesus Himself. He is the hidden
treasure and the valuable pearl. The joy of the farmer and the merchant are
comprehensible - they have found what they sought! It is the joy of each
one of us when we discover the closeness and the presence of Jesus in our
life. His is a presence that transforms our existence and opens us to the
needs of our brethren; a presence that invites us to welcome every other
presence, even that of the foreigner or the immigrant".
 To encounter the kingdom of God, each one of us takes his or her own path.
For some, the encounter with Jesus is awaited, hoped for and long sought,
as we see in the parable of the merchant who travels the world seeking
something of value. For others it happens unexpectedly, almost by chance,
as in the parable of the farmer. This reminds us that God lets us meet Him
anyway, as it is He Who is the first to wish to meet us. ... He came in
order to be 'God with us'. ... It is He Who seeks us out, it is He Who lets
Himself be found even by those who are not looking for Him, at times in
unusual places and at unexpected moments. When we find Jesus we are
fascinated, we are won over, and it is a joy to leave behind our usual way
of life, often arid and apathetic, to embrace the Gospel, and to allow
ourselves to be guided by the new logic of love".
 Jesus is very clear that when He refers to the possession of the
"kingdom", enthusiasm and the joy of discovery are not enough.
"It is necessary to place the precious pearl of the kingdom before all
other earthly goods; it is necessary to put God in first place in our life.
According primacy to God means having the courage to say no to evil, to
violence, to oppression; to live a life of service to others and in favour
of legality and the common good. ... One must be a friend of God, love
one's brothers, and be committed to the protection of their lives and
health, also respecting the environment and nature". Francis
emphasised, "This is particularly important in this beautiful land,
which needs to be protected and preserved; it takes courage to say no to
every form of corruption and illegality - and we all know the name of these
forms of corruption and illegality. It requires that everyone is a servant
to the truth and assumes in every situation an evangelical lifestyle, which
is manifested in the gift of the self and care for the poor and
excluded".
 The Pope went on to speak about the festivity of St. Ann, the patron saint
of Caserta, which brought together in the square several components of the
diocesan community, the bishop, the civil authorities and the
representatives of various social sectors. "I would like to encourage
al of you to experience the festivity of your patron saint free of
preconceived ideas, as a pure expression of the faith of a people who
recognise themselves as the family of God and strengthen the bonds of
fraternity and solidarity. St. Ann perhaps heard her daughter pronounce the
words of the Magnificat: 'He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has lifted up the humble; He has filled the hungry with good things'.
May she help you to find the only treasure, Jesus, and teach you to
discover the criteria of God's action: He turns worldly judgements on their
head, coming to the aid of the poor and the least among us, and brings
abundance to the humble, who entrust their existence to Him. Have hope,
hope does not disappoint. And I like to repeat to you: do not let
yourselves be robbed of hope!"
 Following the Mass and before the final blessing, Francis gave thanks to
all those present for their warm welcome, and to Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe,
archbishop of Naples, adding, "I have heard that the Neapolitans are a
little jealous of this visit, but I wish to assure them them that this year
I will certainly visit them too".
 After the Eucharistic celebration, the Pope transferred to the military
airport and left for Rome by helicopter.

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 COMMUNIQUE FROM THE FAMILY OF FR. PAOLO DELL'OGLIO, A YEAR AFTER HIS
DISAPPEARANCE IN SYRIA
 Vatican City, 28 July 2014 (VIS) - The family of Fr. Paolo Dell'Oglio, the
Italian Jesuit priest of whom there has been no news for a year following
his disappearance in the Syrian city of Raqqa, today issued the following
communique:
 "One year has already passed since we last knew of our son and
brother Paolo, priest, Jesuit, Italian, who disappeared in Syria on July
29th 2013.
 This has also been a long time, too long, for a land ravaged by war and
infinite suffering like Syria.
 We ask those responsible for the disappearance of a good man, a man of
faith, a man of peace, to have the dignity to let us know of his fate.
 We would like to once again hold him in our arms, however we are also
prepared to mourn him.
 Tomorrow, 29th of July, one year after his disappearance, many of us will
be praying for him and standing by him, as we will be doing for those who
have been kidnapped, unjustly detained and for the many who are suffering
because of this war."
 The video message of their plea can be seen at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3MMoCGrggE&feature=youtu.be
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 CHALDEANS IN IRAQ: PREPARE, LIKE ABRAHAM, TO LEAVE FOR THE LAND GOD WILL SHOW TO YOU
 Vatican City, 28 July 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday, Sunday, Cardinal Leonardo
Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, presided at
the Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle of the
Chaldeans in San Diego, U.S.A. He prayed for the Christians persecuted in
Iraq, the motherland of the Chaldean Church, and also included in his
prayer those in Syria, Palestine and Egypt, as well as those who belong to
the Greek-Catholic community in Ukraine, who are currently experiencing
difficult situations.
 The bishop of the eparchy, Sarhad Yawsip Hermiz Jammo, thanked the
cardinal for the consolation that his visit and his prayers, as the
representative of Pope Francis, offered to al the Christians of the East,
and added that, in communion with Peter's Successor, they would persist in
the faith of Abraham and, like the patriarch, they would prepare to leave
for the land God will show to them, learning to read history in a higher
dimension.
 In his homily, Cardinal Sandri thanked those present and those Christians
who suffer for their faith in the Gospel in situations of conflict, and
assured them of Pope Francis' prayers and blessing and the closeness of all
the Church. He expressed his hope for peace and justice for all those who
have been afflicted by incredible and senseless violence.
 The prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, in his visit to
California, met with the Maronite and Syro-Malabar communities of Los
Angeles and San Diego. During the coming days he will visit the Armenians
and greet the priests of the Syrian, Coptic, Greek-Melkite and Romanian
Greek-Catholic Churches who exercise their pastoral ministry in this region
of the United States. The already populous Eastern is expected to increase
significantly, especially from Iraq, due to the current conflict. He
underlined that immigration is a pastoral challenge of historical
proportions, and requires great efforts on the part of the Latin Church in
support of the Oriental Churches.

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 ON THE POPE'S POSSIBLE PARTICIPATION IN THE PHILADELPHIA MEETING OF FAMILIES
 Vatican City, 26 July 2014 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press
Office has stated, with regard to Pope Francis' possible attendance at the
World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, U.S.A. in September 2015, that
the Holy Father has received several invitations to travel to America and,
as usual, considers them carefully. "The Pope has made it known that
he is willing to participate in the meeting of families, but at the present
moment he has not initiated any concrete plan or programme for travel to
the United States or Mexico". He added, "It should be taken into
account, however, that the Philadelphia meeting will be held in over a
year's time".

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 OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
 Vatican City, 26 July 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father:
 - appointed Bishop Anthony Pappusamy of Dindigul, India as archbishop of
Madurai (area 6,266, population 2,068,000, Catholics 145,213, priests 59,
religious 275), India. He succeeds Archbishop Peter Fernando, whose
resignation upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - appointed Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Kham, auxiliary of the archdiocese of
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as bishop of My Tho (area 9,262, population
5,280,320, Catholics 126,560, priests 125, religious 282), Vietnam.
 - appointed Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, archbishop emeritus of
Philadelphia, U.S.A., as his special envoy to the solemn Eucharistic
celebration in the new Cathedral of St. Louis, U.S.A., to be held on 24
August, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the founding of the city.
 - appointed Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, Italy, as his
special envoy to the celebration of the 850th anniversary of the
translation of the relics of the Magi to Cologne, Germany, to be held on 28
September.

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