Francis message for the 52nd World Day of Peace. In “a climate of mistrust rooted in the fear of others or of strangers, or anxiety about one’s personal security ", "our societies need “artisans of peace” who can be messengers and authentic witnesses of God the Father, who wills the good and the happiness of the human family ".
Epifanyj is the primate of the new Ukrainian autocephalous Church (Video)
by Vladimir Rozanskij | UKRAINE-RUSSIADuring the Angelus Pope Francis commented on the liturgical readings of Gaudete Sunday. “In a remote village in the Galilee, in the heart of a young woman unknown to the world, God ignited the spark of happiness for the whole world. And today the same proclamation is addressed to the Church,” he said. “No concern, no fear shall ever take away the serenity that comes from knowing that God lovingly guides our lives, always.” The pontiff urged the international community to implement the directives of the Marrakech conference on migration. He also mentioned the blessing of the Little Children (Bambinelli) brought by the children of Rome.
Today a Council of Unification is being held in Kyiv to establish a Ukrainian Church independent of the Patriarchate of Moscow. Ukrainian security forces have subjected pro-Moscow priests to searches, arrests and “talks”. At least 56 pro-Moscow bishops are refusing to take part in the Council sponsored by Bartholomew I.
Receiving the artists who will perform at the Christmas concert at the Vatican, Francis said that "networking with education means allowing people to get up on their feet, to get back on their feet with full dignity" and it is also "a valid solution to open the gates of the refugee camps, allowing young migrants to enter new societies".
Russian Orthodox believers have doubts about participating in the Masses of the Patriarch of Constantinople, after the excommunication launched by Moscow. For Bartholomew "it is inadmissible to use the interruption of Eucharistic communion as an instrument to impose one's own opinions". Orthodox bishops must take care of all ethnic groups: "Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian and so on".
The Council will be held tomorrow. The bishops of the three Churches (Kiev, Moscow, "autocephalous") should be present to elect the primate who will receive the tomos of independence from Bartholomew I. Moscow has already threatened excommunications. Poroshenko offers the Church of Saint Sophie as the cathedral of the new primate. In Ternopol, a violent brawl between bishop Tikhon ("autocephalous") and the faithful who want to move to the patriarchate of Kiev. The parish priest hospitalized with concussion and broken ribs.
In a message to a conference promoted by FAO, Francis notes that in many places "water is contaminated, garbage accumulates, deforestation progresses, the air is stale and the soil acidified. All this generates a harmful accumulation of evils and miseries."
Francis will travel to Bulgaria and visit the Macedonian capital of Skopje.
"The lessons" learned from the two great world can "continue to convince the world’s people and their leaders of the futility of armed conflict and the need to resolve conflicts through patient dialogue and negotiation. ". No effective humanitarian solution to the mass migration crisis "can ignore our moral responsibility" to "welcome, protect, promote and integrate".
On the day dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Francis spoke about authentic prominence; not the kind that is full of the arrogance or humiliation for others, but the one that doesn’t fear tenderness and hugs, to restore dignity of those who have has fallen.
