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.

--- MPost/386 v1.21