VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 121
DATE 30-06-2014

Summary:
- THE POPE RECEIVES IN AUDIENCE KING FELIPE VI ON HIS FIRST FOREIGN ENGAGEMENT
- POPE FRANCIS' PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JULY
- PASTORAL VISIT TO MOLISE
- TO THE NEW METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS: SEEK THE ESSENTIAL AND PROCLAIM THE
GOSPEL, ESPECIALLY TO THE LEAST AMONG US
- ANGELUS: GOD IS ALWAYS CAPABLE OF TRANSFORMING US
- POPE FRANCIS' NEW APPEAL FOR PEACE IN IRAQ
- A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT MARY IS AN ORPHAN
- MADAGASCAR: THE CATHOLIC CHURCH'S POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION ON THE PATH TO
RECONCILIATION AND STABILITY
- ECUMENISM: LET US SEE OURSELVES ACCORDING TO GOD'S PLAN, NOT THE
HISTORICAL CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS
- THE POPE CANCELS HIS VISIT TO THE GEMELLI HOSPITAL
- GOD IS NOT AFRAID OF HIS BONDS WITH US
- THE AIF SIGNS INFORMATION SHARING AGREEMENT WITH THE USA OFFICE OF THE
COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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 THE POPE RECEIVES IN AUDIENCE KING FELIPE VI ON HIS FIRST FOREIGN ENGAGEMENT
 Vatican City, 30 June 2014 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican Apostolic Palace
Pope Francis received in audience Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen
Letizia of Spain, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State
Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Mgsr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for
Relations with States.
 During the cordial discussions, satisfaction was expressed for today's
visit, their first trip abroad as reigning monarchs, which follows the
recent visit by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia on 28 April. It is hoped
that this may mark the strengthening of the existing good relations between
the Holy See and Spain.
 The conversation focused on themes of common interest and the importance
of promoting dialogue and collaboration between the Church and the State
for the good of all Spanish society. Finally, mention was made of various
problems of an international and regional nature, paying particular
attention to areas of conflict.

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 POPE FRANCIS' PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JULY
 Vatican City, 30 June 2014 (VIS) - The Pope's universal prayer intention
for July is "that sports may always be occasions of human fraternity
and growth".
 His prayer intention for evangelisation is "that the Holy Spirit may
support the work of the laity who proclaim the Gospel in the poorest
countries".

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 PASTORAL VISIT TO MOLISE
 Vatican City, 30 June 2014 (VIS) - This coming 5 July, the Pope will visit
the Italian region of Molise. He will depart from the Vatican heliport at
7.45 a.m. and, after an hour's journey, will land at the heliport of the
University of Molise in Campobasso. At 9 a.m. he will meet with a group of
representatives from the world of work and industry in the Great Hall of
the University. At 10.30 a.m. he will preside at a Eucharistic celebration
at the old Romagnoli Stadium and, to conclude, will greet a group of sick
people at the Cathedral of Campobasso and lunch with the poor at the
"House of Angels".
 At 2.30 p.m. he will transfer by helicopter to Castelpetroso, where he
will encounter a group of young people from the diocese of Abruzzo and
Molise in Piazza del Santuario di Castelpetroso. At 4 p.m. he will travel
by car to Isernia, where he will meet with the detainees in the local
prison. He will greet the sick in the Cathedral of Isernia and, in the
surrounding square, will meet with all the citizens and announce the
Celestine Jubilee Year. Finally, he will depart for Rome from the heliport
of the Isernia fire service. He is expected to arrive in the Vatican around
8.15 p.m.

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 TO THE NEW METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS: SEEK THE ESSENTIAL AND PROCLAIM THE
GOSPEL, ESPECIALLY TO THE LEAST AMONG US
 Vatican City, 29 June 2014 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican basilica,
on the occasion of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis
imposed the pallium - symbol of the bond of unity with the see of Peter -
on twenty-four new metropolitan archbishops. It will be imposed on a
further three - the archbishops of Lilongwe, Malawi; Mandalay, Myanmar; and
Freiburg im Bresgau, Germany - in their metropolitan sees.
 Pope Francis concelebrated the Eucharist with the new archbishops. As is
customary on the feast day of the patron saints of Rome, the event was
attended by a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, sent by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomaios I and led by
Metropolitan of Pergamo Ioannis (Zizioulas), co-president of the Mixed
Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the
Orthodox Church.
 In his homily, the Holy Father spoke about various problems and the two
issues the clergy can be led to face as a result: fear, and the pastoral
responsibility for combating it. He began by considering the beginning of
Peter's service in the Christian community of Jerusalem, where fear still
reigned because of Herod's persecution of members of the Church.
 "There had been the killing of James, and then the imprisonment of
Peter himself, in order to placate the people. While Peter was imprisoned
and in chains, he heard the voice of the angel telling him, 'Get up
quickly... dress yourself and put on your sandals... Put on your mantle and
follow me!'. The chains fell from him and the door of the prison opened
before him. Peter realised that the Lord had 'rescued him from the hand of
Herod'; he realized that the Lord had freed him from fear and from chains.
Yes, the Lord liberates us from every fear and from all that enslaves us,
so that we can be truly free. Today's liturgical celebration expresses this
truth well in the refrain of the Responsorial Psalm: 'The Lord has freed me
from all my fears'".
 "The problem for us, then, is fear and looking for refuge in our
pastoral responsibilities. I wonder, dear brother bishops, are we afraid?
What are we afraid of? And if we are afraid, what forms of refuge do we
seek, in our pastoral life, to find security? Do we look for support from
those who wield worldly power? Or do we let ourselves be deceived by the
pride which seeks gratification and recognition, thinking that these will
offer us security? Dear brother bishops, where do we find our
security?"
 "The witness of the Apostle Peter reminds us that our true refuge is
trust in God. Trust in God banishes all fear and sets us free from every
form of slavery and all worldly temptation. Today the Bishop of Rome and
other bishops, particularly the metropolitans who have received the
pallium, feel challenged by the example of Saint Peter to assess to what
extent each of us puts his trust in the Lord. Peter recovered this trust
when Jesus said to him three times: 'Feed my sheep'. Peter thrice confessed
his love for Jesus, thus making up for his threefold denial of Christ
during the passion. Peter still regrets the disappointment which he caused
the Lord on the night of his betrayal. Now that the Lord asks him: 'Do you
love me?', Peter does not trust himself and his own strength, but instead
entrusts himself to Jesus and his mercy: 'Lord, you know everything; you
know that I love you'. Precisely at this moment fear, insecurity and
cowardice dissipate".
 "Peter experienced how God's fidelity is always greater than our acts
of infidelity, stronger than our denials. He realises that the God's
fidelity dispels our fears and exceeds every human reckoning. Today Jesus
also asks us: 'Do you love me?'. He does so because he knows our fears and
our struggles. Peter shows us the way: we need to trust in the Lord, who
'knows everything' that is in us, not counting on our capacity to be
faithful, but on his unshakable fidelity. Jesus never abandons us, for he
cannot deny himself. He is faithful. The fidelity which God constantly
shows to us pastors, far in excess of our merits, is the source of our
confidence and our peace. The Lord's fidelity to us keeps kindled within us
the desire to serve him and to serve our sisters and brothers in
charity".
 "The love of Jesus must suffice for Peter. He must no longer yield to
the temptation to curiosity, jealousy, as when, seeing John nearby, he asks
Jesus: 'Lord, what about this man?'. But Jesus, before such temptations,
says to him in reply: 'What is it to you? Follow me'. This experience of
Peter is a message for us too, dear brother archbishops. Today the Lord
repeats to me, to you, and to all pastors: Follow me! Waste no time in
questioning or in useless chattering; do not dwell on secondary things, but
look to what is essential and follow me. Follow me without regard for the
difficulties. Follow me in preaching the Gospel. Follow me by the witness
of a life shaped by the grace you received in baptism and holy orders.
Follow me by speaking of me to those with whom you live, day after day, in
your work, your conversations and among your friends. Follow me by
proclaiming the Gospel to all, especially to the least among us, so that no
one will fail to hear the word of life which sets us free from every fear
and enables us to trust in the faithfulness of God. Follow me!".

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 ANGELUS: GOD IS ALWAYS CAPABLE OF TRANSFORMING US
 Vatican City, 29 June 2014 (VIS) - After celebrating Mass in the Vatican
basilica with the new metropolitan archbishops, the Pope appeared at the
window of his study to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St.
Peter's Square, as on every Sunday. He remarked that ever since ancient
times, the Church of Rome has celebrated the apostles Peter and Paul in a
single festivity on the same day, 29 June, so that "the faith in Jesus
Christ which made them brothers and martyrs made them into a single
entity".
 "St. Peter and St. Paul, so different from each other from a human
point of view, were chosen personally by the Lord Jesus and responded to
His call, offering all their lives. In both, Christ's grace achieved great
things, transforming them. Simon had denied Jesus in the dramatic moment of
the passion; Saul had harshly persecuted Christians. But both welcomed
God's love and allowed themselves to be transformed by His mercy; they thus
became friends and apostles of Christ. They therefore continue to speak to
the Church and even nowadays they show us the path of salvation. If we too
fall prey to the gravest sins and the darkest night, then God is always
able to transform our heart and forgive us everything, thus transforming
the darkness of our sin into a dawn of light".
 He went on to cite the Acts of the Apostles, which demonstrate many
aspects of their witness. "Peter, for example, teaches us to look to
the poor through the eyes of faith and to give them that which is most
precious: the power of the name of Jesus. This is what he did with the
paralytic; he gave him what he had, which was Jesus". And the episode
of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus, the fulcrum of his life,
"clearly marks a before and after. Before, Paul was an arch-enemy of
the Church. After, he placed all his existence at the service of the
Gospel. Also for us, the encounter with the Word of Christ is able to
completely transform our lives. It is not possible to listen to this Word
and stand firm, unswayed in our habits. It gives us the impetus to defeat
the selfishness we have in our hearts, to follow decisively that Master who
gave His life for His friends. But it is He Who, with His word, changes us;
it is He Who transforms us; it is He Who forgives everything, if we open
our hearts and ask for forgiveness".
 This feast day inspires great joy in us, because it places us before the
work of God's mercy in the hearts of two men. It is the work of God's mercy
in these two men who were great sinners. And God wishes to fill us too with
His grace, as He did with Peter and Paul. May the Virgin Mary help us to
welcome it as they did, with an open heart, and not to receive this grace
in vain! And may she support us in the hour of need, to give witness to
Jesus Christ and His Gospel".

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 POPE FRANCIS' NEW APPEAL FOR PEACE IN IRAQ
 Vatican City, 29 June 2014 (VIS) - "The news from Iraq is,
unfortunately, very painful", said the Holy Father after today's
Angelus prayer. "I join with the bishops of the country in their
appeal to the authorities so that, through dialogue, national unity may be
maintained and war avoided. I am close to the thousands of families,
especially Christians, who have had to leave their homes and who are in
grave danger. Violence begets violence; dialogue is the only path to peace.
Let us pray to the Virgin Mary that she might safeguard the people of
Iraq".

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 A CHRISTIAN WITHOUT MARY IS AN ORPHAN
 Vatican City, 30 June 2014 (VIS) - On Saturday afternoon, in the Lourdes
Grotto in the Vatican Gardens, the Pope met with a group of young people
from the diocese of Rome embarking on a vocational journey. "This
visit to the Virgin is very important in our lives", he said.
"She accompanies us also in our definitive choice, the vocational
choice, as she accompanied her Son on his vocational path which was so hard
and so painful".
 "When a Christian says to me, not that he does not love the Virgin,
but rather that it does not come to mind to look to the Virgin or to pray
to the Virgin, I feel sad", he said, adding that "a Christian
without the Virgin is an orphan. A Christian needs these two women, these
two mothers, two virgin women: the Church and Our Lady. And to 'test' a
true Christian vocation, it is necessary to ask oneself, 'how is my
relationship with these two Mothers?".

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