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

___________________________________________________________

 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.

___________________________________________________________

 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".

___________________________________________________________

 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:

--- MPost/386 v1.21