VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 161
DATE 22-09-2014

Summary:
- Pope Francis gives thanks to the Virgin for his trip to Albania
- Interreligious meeting in Tirana: "God's name must not be used to
commit violence"
- In the Cathedral of Tirana: "Today we have touched martyrs"
- Visit to the Bethany Centre: "Here faith becomes concrete charity"
- Pope Francis recounts his emotional trip to Albania
- The Holy Father receives the president of Latvia
- The Church needs pastors able to kneel before others
- The Church must be a sign of closeness to God's mercy
- Special Commission to study marriage annulment reform
- Cardinal Scola special envoy to Cologne
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Pope Francis gives thanks to the Virgin for his trip to Albania
 Vatican City, 22 September 2014 (VIS) - At around midday today the Holy
Father visited the Basilica of St. Mary Major to give thanks to the Virgin
for her protection following the completion of his trip to Albania.
 As usual, he prayed in silence in the Salus Populi Romani Chapel, where he
left a large floral tribute he had received yesterday evening in Albania
during his final encounter at the Bethany Centre.
 The faithful present in the Basilica joined in singing the Salve Regina,
and the Pope returned to the Vatican at around 12.30.

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 Interreligious meeting in Tirana: "God's name must not be used to
commit violence"
 Vatican City, 21 September 2014 (VIS) - At 4 p.m. yesterday, after lunch
in the apostolic nunciature with the Albanian bishops, Pope Francis
proceeded to the Catholic University "Our Lady of Good Counsel" -
instituted in 2004 and administrated by a foundation linked to the
Religious Congregation of the Sons of the Immaculate Conception of Tirana -
to meet with the heads of other religions and Christian denominations.
 The event was attended by representatives of the six largest religious
communities in the country: Muslim, Bektashi (an Islamic Sufi order),
Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical and Jewish. The Pope expressed his joy at
meeting with them as their presence together was a sign of dialogue and
collaboration for the good of society as a whole.
 Pope Francis began his discourse by remarking that Albania had sadly
"witnessed the violence and tragedy that can be caused by a forced
exclusion of God from personal and communal life". He continued,
"When, in the name of an ideology, there is an attempt to remove God
from society, it ends up adoring idols, and very soon men and women lose
their way, their dignity is trampled and their rights violated. You know
well how much pain comes from the denial of freedom of conscience and of
religious freedom, and how from such a wound comes a humanity that is
impoverished because it lacks hope and ideals".
 However, the changes that have taken place since the 1990s have had, as a
positive effect, the creation of the conditions for authentic religious
freedom, making it possible for communities "to renew traditions that
were never really extinguished, despite fierce persecution". This
religious freedom has enabled everyone to offer, according to his or her
own religious convictions, "a positive contribution to the moral, and
subsequently the economic, reconstruction of the country".
 However, he added, quoting the words of St. John Paul II, "True
religious freedom shuns the temptation to intolerance and sectarianism, and
promotes attitudes of respect and constructive dialogue. We cannot deny
that intolerance towards those with different religious convictions is a
particularly insidious enemy, one which today is being witnessed in various
areas around the world. All believers must be particularly vigilant so
that, in living out with conviction our religious and ethical code, we may
always express the mystery we intend to honour. This means that all those
forms which present a distorted use of religion, must be firmly refuted as
false since they are unworthy of God or humanity. Authentic religion is a
source of peace and not of violence. No one must use the name of God to
commit violence. To kill in the name of God is a grave sacrilege. To
discriminate in the name of God is inhuman".
 "From this point of view, religious freedom is not a right which can
be guaranteed solely by existing legislation, although laws are
necessary", he remarked. "Rather, religious freedom is a shared
space, an atmosphere of respect and cooperation that must be built with the
participation of all, even those who have no religious convictions".
He went on to outline two attitudes that may be especially useful in
promoting this fundamental freedom.
 "The first is that of regarding every man and woman, even those of
different religious traditions, not as rivals, less still enemies, but
rather as brothers and sisters. When a person is secure in his or her own
beliefs, there is no need to impose or put pressure on others: there is a
conviction that truth has its own power of attraction. ... Each religious
tradition, from within, must be able to take account of the existence of
others".
 The second is "commitment to the common good. Whenever belonging to a
specific religious tradition gives rise to service with conviction,
generosity and concern for the whole of society without making
distinctions, then there too exists an authentic and mature development of
religious freedom, which appears not only as a space in which to
legitimately defend one's autonomy, but also as a potential that enriches
the human family as it advances".
 "Let us look around us: there are so many poor and needy people, so
many societies that try to find a more inclusive way of social justice and
path of economic development!" exclaimed the Holy Father. "How
great is the need for the human heart to be firmly fixed on the deepest
meaning of experiences in life and rooted in a rediscovery of hope! Men and
women, inspired in these areas by the values of their respective religious
traditions, can offer an important, and even unique, contribution. This is
truly a fertile land offering much fruit, also in the field of
interreligious dialogue".
 "But I would also like to mention an ever-present spectre, that of
relativism: "it is all relative". In this respect, we must keep a
basic principle clear in our minds: it is not possible to enter into
dialogue other than from the standpoint of one's own identity. Without
identity dialogue cannot exist. It would be the spectre of a dialogue, a
dialogue on air: without purpose. Each one of us has his or her own
religious identity and is faithful to it. But the Lord knows how to lead
history on. Each one of us starts from his or her own identity, without
pretending to have another, because it is not useful ... and this is
relativism. What we have in common is the path of life, and the good will
to start out from one's own identity for the good of our brothers and
sisters. Each one of us offers the witness of his or her own identity to
the other, and dialogues with the other. After this, dialogue may proceed
on theological questions, but the most important and most beautiful thing
is to walk together without betraying one's own identity, without masking
it, without hypocrisy".
 Pope Francis concluded his address by encouraging religious leaders to
maintain and develop "the tradition of good relations among the
various religious communities in Albania, and to be united in serving your
beloved homeland. With a touch of humour, it may be said that this is like
a football team: Catholics 'in competition' alongside all the others but
all united together for the good of the country and for humanity. Continue
to be a sign, for your country and beyond, that good relations and fruitful
cooperation are truly possible among men and women of different
religions".

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 In the Cathedral of Tirana: "Today we have touched martyrs"
 Vatican City, 21 September 2014 (VIS) - Following the interreligious
meeting at the Catholic University, Pope Francis transferred to the
Cathedral of St. Paul in the centre of Tirana to celebrate vespers with
priests, religious, seminarians and lay movements. The church, consecrated
in 2002, is able to hold up to 700 persons and a large stained glass window
depicting the encounter between St. John Paul II and Blessed Mother Teresa
of Calcutta.
 The Holy Father had prepared a discourse to deliver there, but after
hearing the testimony of an 83 year-old priest and an 85 year-old nun who
had both survived persecution under the communist regime, he was moved to
tears, embraced them, and setting aside the official text which he handed
to the Archbishop of Tirana, Rrok Mirdita, he addressed those present with
some off-the-cuff comments, published in full below:
 "I had prepared a few words to say to you, and I will give them to
the Archbishop, who will make them available for you later. The translation
is already done. He will see that you get them.
 But right now I would like to tell you something else. In the reading we
heard these words: 'Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in
all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any
affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by
God'. This is the text which the Church invites us to reflect upon at this
evening's Vespers. Over the past two months I have been preparing for this
Visit by reading the history of the persecution in Albania. For me it was
surprising: I did not know that your people had suffered so greatly! Then
today, on the road from the airport to the square, there were all those
pictures of the martyrs. It is clear that this people today continues to
remember their martyrs, those who suffered so dearly! A people of martyrs.
And today at the beginning of the celebration, I touched two of them.
 "What I can say to you is what they themselves have said, by their
lives, by their plain words. They told their stories simply, yet they spoke
of so much pain. We can ask them: 'How did you manage to survive such
trials?'. And they will tell us what we heard in this passage from the
Second Letter to the Corinthians: 'God is the Father of mercies and the God
of all consolation. He is the one who consoled us'. They have told us so,
and in a straightforward way. They suffered greatly. They suffered
physically, mentally, with the anguish of uncertainty: they did not know
whether they would be shot or not, and so they lived with this anguish. And
the Lord consoled them.
 "I think of Peter, imprisoned and in chains, while the whole Church
prayed for him. And the Lord consoled Peter. And the martyrs, including
those whom we heard today: the Lord consoled them because there were people
in the Church, the People of God - devout and good old women, so many
cloistered nuns - who were praying for them.
 "This is the mystery of the Church: when the Church asks the Lord to
console his people, the Lord consoles them, quietly, even secretly. He
consoles them in the depths of the heart and he comforts them with
strength. I am certain that they [the martyrs] do not boast of what they
have experienced, because they know that it was the Lord who sustained
them.
 "But they have something to tell us! They tell us that we, who have
been called by the Lord to follow him closely, must find our consolation in
him alone. Woe to us if we seek consolation elsewhere! Woe to priests and
religious, sisters and novices, consecrated men and women, when they seek
consolation far from the Lord! Today I don't want to be harsh and severe
with you, but I want you to realise very clearly that if you look for
consolation anywhere else, you will not be happy! Even more, you will be
unable to comfort others, for your own heart is closed to the Lord's
consolation. You will end up, as the great Elijah said to the people of
Israel, 'limping with both legs'.
 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our
affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any
affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by
God.
 "That is what these two [the martyrs] have done, today. Humbly,
without pretence or boasting, they have done a service for us: they have
consoled us. They also tell us this: 'We are sinners, but the Lord was with
us. This is the path. Do not be discouraged!' Excuse me, if I use you as an
example, but all of us have to be examples for one another. Let us go home
reflecting on this: today we have touched martyrs".
 The following is the full text of the discourse prepared for the Albanian clergy:

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