Vatican Radio REPORT: We are sons of God thanks to Jesus: no one can take away this “identity card.” That was Pope Francis’ message during Mass on Thursday at the Casa Santa Marta.The Pope’s homily centred on the Gospel of the healing of a paralytic. In the beginning of the day’s Gospel, Jesus says to him: “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.” Perhaps, the Pope Francis said, this person remained “unsettled” because he wanted to be physically healed. Then, faced with the criticism of the scribes – who among themselves had accused him of blasphemy, “because only God can forgive sins” – Jesus healed his physical condition. In reality, the Pope explained, the healings, the teaching, the strong words against hypocrisy were “only a sign, a sign of something more that Jesus was doing,” namely, the forgiveness of sins: In Jesus the world is reconciled with God. This is “the most profound miracle”:
“This reconciliation is the re-creation of the world: this is the most profound mission of Jesus. The redemption of all of us sinners; and Jesus does this not with words, not with gestures, not walking along the street. No! He does it with His flesh! It is He Himself, God who became one of us, a human, to heal us from within, [He came] to us sinners.”
Jesus frees us from sin by making Himself “sin,” taking upon Himself “all the sin” and this, the Pope said, “is the new creation.” Jesus “comes down from glory, humbles Himself, even unto death, death on the Cross,” even to the point of crying out: “Father, why have you abandoned me?” This “is His glory, and this is our salvation”:
“This is the greatest miracle. And what does Jesus accomplish with this? He make us children, with the liberty of children. Because of what Jesus has done, we can say ‘Father.’ [If He had not done so] we would never have been able to say this: ‘Father!’ And to say ‘Father’ with so good and so beautiful an attitude, with liberty! This is the great miracle of Jesus. We, who were slaves of sin – He has made us all free, He has healed us at the very core of our existence. We would do well to think about this, and to think how beautiful it is to be children, and how beautiful this ‘liberty of children’ is, because the child is in the house, and Jesus has opened the doors of the house to us . . . Now we are in the house!”
Now, the Pope concluded, we can understand when Jesus said “Courage, child, your sins are forgiven”:
That is the root of our courage: I am free, I am a child . . . The Father loves me, and I love the Father! Let us ask the Lord for the grace to truly understand this work of His, what God has done in Him: God has reconciled the world to Himself in Christ, entrusting to us the word of reconciliation and the grace of bearing this word of reconciliation onward, forcefully, with the liberty of children. We are saved in Jesus Christ! And no one can take from us this ‘identity card.’ This is how I identify myself: as a child of God! What a beautiful identity! Civil status: we are free! Amen.
Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo, the Archbishop of Ranchi in India, concelebrated Mass with the Holy Father.
Shared from Radio Vaticana
| THE HOLY FATHER RECEIVES IN AUDIENCE THE ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER Vatican City, 4 July 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father received in audience Enrico Letta, president of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Italy. They subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States. A communique from the Holy See Press Office states that during the cordial discussions, attention was given to social issues and the particular difficulties faced by citizens and institutions in Italy and in the European Union, especially in relation to the adoption of measures creating and protecting employment, in particular for the young. Mention was made of the important contribution that Italian families and Church institutions continue to make towards the stability of the State. The focus then shifted to matters relating to international politics, with concern expressed at the evolution of the civil and institutional context in countries in the Mediterranean area and the Middle East. Finally, both parties also expressed their desire to continue constructive dialogue on themes of mutual interest for the progress of the Italian State and the benefit of the international community. |
| HOLY SEE AND VATICAN CITY STATE GOVERNORATE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: PROFITS FOR 2012 Vatican City, 4 July 2013 (VIS) - On Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 July, a meeting was held of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See, presided over by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. Particularly noteworthy was the visit on Wednesday 3 by the Holy Father Francesco, who addressed the speakers and engaged in a brief dialogue, reiterating the aims and purpose of the Council and inviting the continuation of periodical meetings. Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, presented before the Council first the report on the consolidated financial statement of the Holy See for the year 2012 and subsequently that of the Governorate of Vatican City State. The consolidated financial statement for the Holy See for the year 2012 closes with a profit of € 2,185,622, due mainly to good performance in financial management. The most significant categories of expenditure are those regarding the cost of personnel,(2,823 persons), means of social communication considered in their entirety, and the new property taxes (IMU) which resulted in an increase in expenditure of € 5,000,000 compared to the previous year's figures. The administration of the Governorate is autonomous, and independent of contributions from the Holy See. Through its various offices, it supervises requirements related to the administration of the State. The 2012 financial statement closes with a profit of € 23,079,800. The Governorate employs a total of 1,936 persons. Peter’s Pence, the contributions offered by the faithful in support of the Holy Father’s charity, passed from USD 69,711,722.76 in 2011, to USD 65,922,637.08. Contributions made pursuant to canon 1271 of the Code of Canon Law - i.e., the economic support offered by ecclesiastical circumscriptions throughout the world to maintain the service the Roman Curia offers the universal Church - passed from USD 32,128,675.08 in 2011 to USD 28,303,239.28 in 2012, a reduction of 11.91%. Further contributions to the Holy See on the part of the Institutes of Consecrated Life, Societies of Apostolic Life and Foundations passed from USD 1,194,217.78, in 2011, to USD 1,133,466.91, with a reduction of 5.09%. In total, therefore, there has been a decrement of 7.45% compared to the total in US dollars recorded in 2011. The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), as it does each year, offered the Holy Father a significant sum in support of his apostolic and charitable ministry. For 2012 this was a sum of € 50,000,000. The Cardinal Fathers reflected on the data presented in the financial statements, acknowledged the positive results attained, and encouraged the reform necessary to reduce costs through the simplification and rationalisation of existent bodies, as well as more careful planning of the activities of all administrations. The Members of the Council expressed their deep gratitude for the support given, often anonymously, to the Holy Father’s universal ministry in spite of moments of economic crisis, and encouraged the continuation of this good work. |
| FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE AUTHORITY MEMBER OF EGMONT GROUP Vatican City, 4 July 2013 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office has today issued a communique stating that the Egmont Group, a global network of Financial Intelligence Units, has admitted the Financial Intelligence Authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State (AIF) as a full member at its 21st Group Plenary in Sun City, South Africa. “Membership of the Egmont Group grants access to a global network of FIUs and facilitates the exchange of information in the fight against financial crime. For the Holy See and Vatican City State, this marks a further step in its contribution to this global effort. “'The admission of AIF to the Egmont Group represents a recognition of the Holy See and Vatican City State's systematic efforts in tracking and fighting money laundering and financing of terrorism', said Rene Brulhart, director of AIF. 'Our admission to this global network will further improve our ability to contribute to the fight against financial crime'. “The Egmont Group was founded in 1995 and currently consists of more than 130 national FIUs. It provides a forum for FIUs around the world to exchange information and coordinate the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism”. |
| AUDIENCES Vatican City, 4 July 2013 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received in separate audiences: - Ignazio Roberto Maria Marino, mayor of Rome. - Giovanni Alemanno, former mayor of Rome. - Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This afternoon, he is scheduled to receive: - Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 4 July 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father: - appointed Bishop Jose Rafael Quiros Quiros as metropolitan archbishop of San Jose di Costa Rica (area 2.208, population 1,971,384, Catholics 1,383,912, priests 343, permanent deacons 3, religious 703), Costa Rica. Archbishop Quiros Quiros, previously bishop of Limon, Costa Rica, was born in Llano Grande, Costa Rica in 1955, was ordained to the priesthood in 1981, and received episcopal ordination in 2006. He succeeds Archbishop Hugo Barrantes Urena, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. |
Comments