Pope Francis "I express my closeness to the city of Pittsburgh...and in particular to the Jewish community" at Angelus - FULL TEXT + Video

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning! But it does not seem so good! [It's raining and windy]

This morning, in St. Peter's Basilica, we celebrated the closing Mass of the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops dedicated to young people. The first reading of the prophet Jeremiah (31: 7-9), was particularly intoned at this moment, because it is a word of hope that God gives to his people. A word of consolation, founded on the fact that God is a father to his people, loves him and treats him like a son (see verse 9); He opens up before him a horizon of the future, an accessible, practicable road on which "the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and the woman in labor" (v. 8), ie people in difficulty, can walk. Because God's hope is not a mirage, like certain publicities where everyone is healthy and beautiful, but it is a promise for real people, with strengths and weaknesses, potentiality and fragility, like all of us: God's hope is a promise for people like us.

This Word of God expresses well the experience we experienced during the weeks of the Synod: it was a time of consolation and hope. First of all it was a moment of listening: in fact, listening requires time, attention, openness of mind and heart. But this commitment was transformed every day into consolation, above all because we had among us the lively and stimulating presence of the young, with their stories and their contributions. Through the testimonies of the Synodal Fathers, the multifaceted reality of the new generations has entered the Synod, as it were, on all sides: from every continent and from many different human and social situations.

With this fundamental attitude of listening, we tried to read reality, to grasp the signs of our times. Community discernment, done in the light of the Word of God and of the Holy Spirit. This is one of the most beautiful gifts that the Lord makes to the Catholic Church, that is, to gather voices and faces from the most varied realities and thus be able to attempt an interpretation that takes into account the richness and complexity of the phenomena, always in the light of the Gospel. So, in these days, we discussed how to walk together through many challenges, such as the digital world, the phenomenon of migration, the sense of body and sexuality, the drama of wars and violence.

The fruits of this work are already "fermenting", as does the grape juice in the barrels after the harvest. The Youth Synod was a good harvest, and promises good wine. But I would like to say that the first fruit of this Synodal Assembly should be precisely in the example of a method that we have tried to follow, since the preparatory phase. A synodal style that does not have as its main objective the drafting of a document, which is also valuable and useful. More than the document, however, it is important that a way of being and working together, young and old, in listening and discernment, to reach pastoral choices that respond to reality, is spreading.

For this we invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary. To her, who is the Mother of the Church, we entrust the thanksgiving to God for the gift of this Synodal Assembly. And you help us now to carry forward what has been experienced, without fear, in the ordinary life of the communities. May the Holy Spirit make the fruits of our work grow with his wise imagination, to continue to walk together with the young people of the whole world.

After the Angelus

Dear brothers and sisters,

I express my closeness to the city of Pittsburgh, in the United States of America, and in particular to the Jewish community, hit yesterday by a terrible attack in the synagogue. The Most High welcome the dead in his peace, comfort their families and support the wounded. In reality, we are all wounded by this inhumane act of violence. May the Lord help us to extinguish the outbreaks of hatred that develop in our societies, strengthening the sense of humanity, respect for life, moral and civil values, and the holy fear of God, who is Love and Father of all.

Yesterday, in Morales, Guatemala, Blessed José Tullio Maruzzo, a religious of the Friars Minor, and Luis Obdulio Arroyo Navarro, who were killed in hatred of the faith in the last century, were proclaimed during the persecution against the Church, committed to promoting justice and peace. We praise the Lord and entrust to his intercession the Guatemalan Church, and all the brothers and sisters who unfortunately still today, in various parts of the world, are persecuted because they are witnesses of the Gospel. The two blessed applause, everyone!

I greet you with affection, dear pilgrims from Italy and various countries, especially young people from Maribor (Slovenia), the Spanish Foundation "Centro Académico Romano" and the parishioners of San Siro Vescovo in Canobbio (Switzerland). I greet the volunteers of the Sanctuary of San Giovanni XXIII in Sotto il Monte, 60 years after the election of the beloved Pope from Bergamo; as well as the faithful of Cesena and Thiene, the ministrants and the boys of the Catholic Action of the diocese of Padua. Today is celebrated the party of the Señor de los Milagros, very much felt in Lima and throughout Peru; I extend a grateful thought to the Peruvian people and to the Peruvian community of Rome. Last Sunday you were here with the icon of the Señor de los Milagros, and I did not notice. Happy birthday on the day of the party! And I greet with affection the Venezuelan community in Italy, gathered here with the image of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá, La Chinita. I wish you all a happy Sunday and, please, do not forget to pray for me. Good lunch and goodbye!

Full TEXT and IMAGE Source Share: Vatican.va - Unofficial Translation from Italian