Pope: may the Paris Conference make choices for the greater good of the whole human family
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Pope Francis said during this Sunday’s Angelus that he was “closely following” the Climate Change Conference currently underway in Paris, calling for prayer so that stakeholders will have "the courage to hold the greater good of the whole human family as the best standard of choice". The Holy Father also called for a prayer for Orthodox Christians on the anniversary of the repeal of the mutual excommunications. He has also urged the faithful to devote a thought to persecuted Christians. Before the Angelus, he called for conversion. “We must never stop converting; this is what the Holy Year of Mercy is for."
Speaking about the Paris conference after the Marian prayer, the pontiff cited his Encyclical Laudato si’, asking, “What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up? (n. 160).” Hence, “For the sake of the common home we share and for future generations, every effort should be made in Paris to mitigate the impact of climate change and, at the same time, tackle poverty and let human dignity flourish. The two – stopping climate change and countering poverty – go together for the flourishing of human dignity. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may enlighten all those are called to take such important decisions and give them the courage to hold the greater good of the whole human family as the best standard of choice."
"Tomorrow,” the pope said, “marks the 50th anniversary of a memorable event between Catholics and Orthodox. On 7 December 1965, on the eve of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, in a joint statement by Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras, the sentences of excommunication exchanged between the Church of Rome and that of Constantinople in 1054 were erased from memory.
“It is really providential that the historic gesture of reconciliation, which created the conditions for a new dialogue between Orthodox and Catholics in love and truth, should be remembered at the very beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy. There is no genuine path towards unity without asking God and each other for forgiveness for the sin of division. Let us remember in our prayers the dear Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and the other leaders of the Orthodox Churches, and let us ask the Lord that relations between Catholics and Orthodox be always inspired by brotherly love."
The pope also urged the faithful to remember persecuted Christians noting that "yesterday in Chimbote in Peru, Michael Tomaszek and Zbigniew Strzałkowski, Conventual Franciscans, and Alessandro Dordi, a fidei donum priest, were beatified.” All three were “killed in hatred of the faith in 1991" by Maoist Shining Path guerrillas. "May the loyalty of these martyrs in following Jesus,” he said, “give strength to all of us, but especially to Christians persecuted in different parts of the world, that the may bear courageous witness to the Gospel."
Before the Angelus, Francis reminded the 30,000 people present in St Peter's Square that "on this second Sunday of Advent, the liturgy brings us the teaching of John the Baptist, who preached ‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Lk, 3:3).” However, “We might ask ourselves, 'Why should we convert? Conversion applies to atheists who want to become believers, sinners who want to become righteous, but are we not already Christian? So we are fine.’ “By thinking this way, we do not realise that it is from this assumption that we must convert, namely the assumption that, on balance, things are fine and we do not need any conversion.
“But let's ask ourselves; is it true that in various situations and circumstances of life we have in us the same sentiments as Jesus? For example, when we suffer some wrong or some affront, do we react without animosity of the heart and forgive those who apologise? When we are called to share joys and sorrows, are we sincerely able to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice? When we have to express our faith, do we do it with courage and simplicity, without being ashamed of the Gospel?
“We can ask ourselves so many questions. We are not fine. We must always have the same sentiments that Jesus had. The Baptist’s voice cries even in today's deserts of humanity that are closed minds and stony hearts, and makes us wonder whether we are actually going the right way, and living a life according to the Gospel."
"Today, as then, he warns us with the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’ (Lk, 3:4). This is a pressing invitation to open our hearts and accept the salvation that God offers us incessantly, almost stubbornly, because he wants everyone free from the slavery of sin. But the text of the prophet expands that voice, announcing that ‘all flesh shall see the salvation of God’ (Lk, 3:6).
“Salvation is offered to every human, to every people, without exception, to each of us. None of us can say, 'I am holy, I am perfect, I am already saved'. No. Again we must take this offer of salvation, and for this reason, [take] the Year of Mercy to go further on this path of salvation, the way that Jesus taught us, for God wants all humans to be saved through Jesus Christ, the only mediator (cf. 1 Tim 2,4-6) ".
"Hence, each of us is called to make Jesus known to those who still do not know him. ‘[W]oe to me if I do not preach it!’ (1 Cor, 9:16), said Saint Paul. If the Lord Jesus changed our life and changes it every time we go to him, how not to feel the passion for making him known to everyone we meet at work, at school, in our tower block, at the hospital, at meeting places?
“If we look around, we find people who would be available to begin or start anew a journey of faith, if they met Christians in love with Jesus. Couldn’t we and shouldn’t we be those Christians? I’ll leave you with the question. Am I in love with Jesus? Am I convinced that he gives me salvation? But we must be brave, lowering the mountains of pride and rivalry, filling the gullies dug by indifference and apathy, straightening the paths of our laziness and our compromises.”
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