Tin Ngoại Ngữ
Tin Ngoại Ngữ
Pope Manila Mass drew record crowd of 6-7 million: Vatican
- Viết bởi Philip Pullella and Rosemarie Francisco1
MANILA (Reuters) - Pope Francis concluded his trip to Asia on Sunday with an open-air Mass for a rain-drenched crowd in Manila that the Vatican and the government said drew up to seven million people, the largest ever for a papal event.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the office of the president told the Vatican that between six and seven million attended the Mass in Manila's Rizal Park and surrounding areas.
"We are not able to count all these people, obviously, or to verify this, but in any case, we have seen so many people that we believe that it is possible," Lombardi told a briefing.
"If this is true, and we think it is, this is the largest event in the history of the popes," he said, noting that Pope John Paul drew some five million to the same area in 1995.
The 78-year-old pope, wearing a transparent yellow poncho over his white cassock, was driven through the ecstatic crowd in a "popemobile" modified from a jeepney, the most popular mode of transport in the Philippines which is based on a U.S. military vehicle used in World War II.
He stopped often along the route to kiss children and bless religious statues on the day the Philippines celebrates the feast of the infant Jesus. The faithful, also wearing ponchos, held up rosaries in a forest of uplifted arms as he passed by.
Some people in the capital of Asia's only predominantly Catholic country had waited all night for gates to open at dawn. The gates opened nine hours before the start of the Mass, which was due to last nearly three hours.
In his homily, the pope urged Filipinos to shun "social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption," a theme he stressed when he held talks with President Benigno Aquino on Friday. Aquino attended the Mass.
Francis also took another swipe at the government's population control efforts, saying the family was under threat from "insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred."
STREET CHILDREN
The pope's last full day in the Philippines began with an emotional youth gathering at a Catholic university in Manila, where he was moved by a question posed by a 12-year-old girl who had been abandoned.
"Many children are abandoned by their parents. Many of them became victims and bad things have happened to them, like drug addiction and prostitution. Why does God allow this to happen, even if the children are not at fault? Why is it that only a few people help us?" the girl, Glyzelle Iris Palomar, asked him.
The girl, who was rescued and found shelter in a Church-run community, broke down in tears and could not finish her prepared welcome. The pope hugged her and later put aside most of his own prepared speech to respond.
"Why do children suffer?" the Argentine Pope said, speaking in his native Spanish. An aide translated his words into English for the crowd of about 30,000 young people on the grounds of the Church-run university.
"I invite each one of you to ask yourselves, 'Have I learned how to weep ... when I see a hungry child, a child on the street who uses drugs, a homeless child, an abandoned child, an abused child, a child that society uses as a slave'?" he said.
Children can be seen living on the streets of the Philippine capital, as they often do in many poor Asian countries, surviving by begging and picking through garbage in vast dumps.
The United Nations says 1.2 million children live on the streets in the Philippines. According to the Child Protection Network Foundation, 35.1 percent of children were living in poverty in 2009, the last year such data was available. Nearly 33 percent of Filipinos live in slums.
(Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huge-crowds-converge-pope-mass-manila-park-012201739.html)
Pope at Mass in Manila : We are called to be God’s children
- Viết bởi Radio Vatican
(Vatican 2015-01-18) Pope Francis celebrated Mass Sunday in Manila’s Luneta Park for enthusiastic crowds who had braved inclement weather to turn out to see their beloved pope. The head of Vatican Radio’s English Service, Seàn-Patrick Lovett, is traveling with the Pope and sent this report:
So? How many people were there at Pope Francis’ final Mass in Manila’s Luneta Park? According to the Metro Manila Development Authority, or local traffic department, there were 2.5 million along the route from the Nunciature alone, even before you reach the park which can hold another 1.5 million, give or take a few hundred thousand. You do the math.
But, quite frankly – who cares?
It never was a question of quantity so much as quality. And quality there was, in abundance. Especially if you take into consideration the fact it rained the whole day and that many people spent 24 hours in the open air to ensure they found a place at an event that was as much historical as it was liturgical. And what to say about the piety, prayerfulness and devotion of all those millions? When last did you see that many heads bowed in meditation, or that many hands clasped in prayer, or hear that many voices raised in song?
Pope Francis saw. And he heard. And taking his cue from the day’s local Filipino feast of the Santo Niño, the Holy Child, he focussed his reflections during the Homily on the fact that we are all Children of God, all called to be part of God’s Family. The only time he went off-script was to insist: “This is sin: to forget we are God’s children”.
The Pope went on to provide a list of what he called the distractions of the Devil who tempts us with the promise of “ephemeral pleasures and superficial pastimes”, squandering our God-given gifts by “tinkering with gadgets” or spending our money on “gambling and drink”, forgetting to focus “on the things that really matter”. He also used the occasion to call for the protection of the Family against “insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred”. Referring to the Gospel reading from Mark Chapter 10, Pope Francis spoke of the way Jesus embraces children, saying that we too need “to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. We need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the street”.
Finally, no report on this last public event of Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines would be complete without a reference to the music, to the massed choirs and orchestras comprising over 1,000 elements and representing the very best of the nation’s musical talent. This is one case where I sincerely invite you not to take my word for it – but to listen for yourself…Radio Vatican
Cardinal Tagle thanks Pope for visit to Philippines
- Viết bởi Radio Vatican
(Vatican 2015-01-18) Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, thanked Pope Francis for his visit to the Philippines on Sunday. At the conclusion of Mass celebrated by Pope Francis for millions gathered in Manila’s Rizal Park, Cardinal Tagle said his fellow Filipinos would be praying for the Pope and would follow him “to the peripheries” as missionaries of Christ’s light. Pope Francis is due to leave the Philippines on Monday.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle's words of thanksgiving at the conclusion of Mass at Rizal Park in Manila:
Most Holy Father,
In the name of the Archdiocese of Manila, the people who worked tirelessly for your pastoral visit, and the Filipinos whom you have been strengthened in faith these past days, I once again say Thank You. I say “Maraming Salamat po” (Thank you very much) on behalf of the street children, the orphans, the widows, the homeless, the informal settlers, the laborers, the farmers, the fisher folk, the sick, the abandoned elderly, the families of missing persons, the victims of discrimination, violence, abuse, exploitation, human trafficking, the Filipino migrant workers and their families, the survivors of natural calamities and armed conflicts, the non-Christian Catholics, the followers of non-Christian religions, the promoters of peace especially in Mindanao and creation that groans. We say again, “Maraming salamat po, Santo Padre.”
You often end your encounters with people by saying, “I ask you to pray for me.” We promise to pray for you. But we want to assure you that Jesus prays for you. Jesus himself declared to Peter, “I have prayed for you that you own faith may not fail.” (Luke 22:32). Your Holiness, you are blessed. Jesus prays for you. We your beloved Filipinos unite ourselves with Jesus in praying for you to God the Father.
You arrived in the Philippines three days ago. Tomorrow you will go. Every Filipino wants to go with you – not to Rome - but to the peripheries, to the shanties, to prison cells, to hospitals, to the world of politics, finance, arts, sciences, culture, education, and social communications. We will go to these worlds to bring the light of Jesus, Jesus who is the center of your pastoral visit and the cornerstone of the Church. We will go where the Light of Jesus is needed. Here in Luneta, the Qurino Grandstand, where heroes are revered, newly elected presidents take office and popes meet the Filipino faithful, here in a place of new beginnings, send us forth as missionaries of the light. Before you go, Holy Father, send us to spread the light of Jesus. Wherever the light of Jesus shines, you and the Filipino people will always be united. Mabuhay, Santo Padre! Mabuhay si Kristo! Let the light of Christ shine!Radio Vatican
Pope to Filipinos at Manila Mass: Be missionaries of faith in Asia
- Viết bởi Radio Vatican
(Vatican 2015-01-18) Pope Francis on Sunday called on Filipinos to be “outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia” during a mass attended by millions in Manila’s Rizal Park. In his homily, Pope Francis described the Philippines as “the foremost Catholic country in Asia,” saying “this is itself a special gift of God, a blessing,” and a “vocation.”
Pope Francis' Homily:
The Pope recalled that each of us has been chosen by God to be "witnesses of his truth and his justice in this world" and to care for creation. But man, he said, has "disfigured that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption."
The Pope warned against the devil, “the father of lies” who hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being ‘modern’, ‘like everyone else.’ We are distracted, he said, by “ephemeral pleasures and superficial pastimes” and “squander our God-given gifts by tinkering with gadgets,” and “squander our money on gambling and drink.”
On the day the Filipino Church celebrates the "Santo Niño," Pope Francis urged Filippinos to look to the Christ Child, the protector of the Philippines, as their model, and reminded them of the importance of protecting the family. He added, “we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected” and recalled that young people need our care so they will not be “robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.”
He urged Filipinos to work together to build “a world of justice, integrity and peace.”
Below please find the text of Pope Francis’ Homily at Sunday’s mass in Manila’s Rizal park:
“A child is born to us, a son is given us” (Is 9:5). It is a special joy for me to celebrate Santo Niño Sunday with you. The image of the Holy Child Jesus accompanied the spread of the Gospel in this country from the beginning. Dressed in the robes of a king, crowned and holding the sceptre, the globe and the cross, he continues to remind us of the link between God’s Kingdom and the mystery of spiritual childhood. He tells us this in today’s Gospel: “Whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk 10:15). The Santo Niño continues to proclaim to us that the light of God’s grace has shone upon a world dwelling in darkness, bringing the Good News of our freedom from slavery, and guiding us in the paths of peace, right and justice. The Santo Niño also reminds us of our call to spread the reign of Christ throughout the world.
In these days, throughout my visit, I have listened to you sing the song: “We are all God’s children”. That is what the Santo Niño tells us. He reminds us of our deepest identity. All of us are God’s children, members of God’s family. Today Saint Paul has told us that in Christ we have become God’s adopted children, brothers and sisters in Christ. This is who we are. This is our identity. We saw a beautiful expression of this when Filipinos rallied around our brothers and sisters affected by the typhoon.
The Apostle tells us that because God chose us, we have been richly blessed! God “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens” (Eph 1:3). These words have a special resonance in the Philippines, for it is the foremost Catholic country in Asia; this is itself a special gift of God, a special blessing. But it is also a vocation. Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia.
God chose and blessed us for a purpose: to be holy and blameless in his sight (Eph 1:4). He chose us, each of us to be witnesses of his truth and his justice in this world. He created the world as a beautiful garden and asked us to care for it. But through sin, man has disfigured that natural beauty; through sin, man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption.
Sometimes, when we see the troubles, difficulties and wrongs all around us, we are tempted to give up. It seems that the promises of the Gospel do not apply; they are unreal. But the Bible tells us that the great threat to God’s plan for us is, and always has been, the lie. The devil is the father of lies. Often he hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being “modern”, “like everyone else”. He distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes. And so we squander our God-given gifts by tinkering with gadgets; we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves. We forget to remain focused on the things that really matter. We forget to remain, at heart, children of God. That is sin: [to] forget at heart that we are children of God. For children, as the Lord tells us, have their own wisdom, which is not the wisdom of the world. That is why the message of the Santo Niño is so important. He speaks powerfully to all of us. He reminds us of our deepest identity, of what we are called to be as God’s family.
The Santo Niño also reminds us that this identity must be protected. The Christ Child is the protector of this great country. When he came into the world, his very life was threatened by a corrupt king. Jesus himself needed to be protected. He had an earthly protector: Saint Joseph. He had an earthly family, the Holy Family of Nazareth. So he reminds us of the importance of protecting our families, and those larger families which are the Church, God’s family, and the world, our human family. Sadly, in our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.
In the Gospel, Jesus welcomes children, he embraces them and blesses them (Mk 10:16). We too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage. Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected. And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.
It was a frail child, in need of protection, who brought God’s goodness, mercy and justice into the world. He resisted the dishonesty and corruption which are the legacy of sin, and he triumphed over them by the power of his cross. Now, at the end of my visit to the Philippines, I commend you to him, to Jesus who came among us as a child. May he enable all the beloved people of this country to work together, protecting one another, beginning with your families and communities, in building a world of justice, integrity and peace. May the Santo Niño continue to bless the Philippines and may he sustain the Christians of this great nation in their vocation to be witnesses and missionaries of the joy of the Gospel, in Asia and in the whole world.
Please don’t forget to pray for me! God bless you !Radio Vatican
Lombardi: Pope’s meeting with street children emblematic of whole visit
- Viết bởi Radio Vatican
(Vatican 2015-01-16) Asked to pick out one of the events of Pope Francis’ first full day in the Filipino capital Manila, Father Federico Lombardi SJ immediately focused on the meeting between the Pope and poorest of the poor: Manila’s street-children.
Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Sean Patrick Lovett at the close of an eventful day, the Director of the Vatican Press Office had no hesitation in choosing the event that had not been scheduled according to the official programme…
Pope Francis arrived in Manila on the second leg of his Asian journey on Thursday evening, but Friday was his first full day in the Philippines and saw him engaged in a series of events including the meeting with the President, the Mass in the Cathedral and the Meeting with Families.
But Father Lombardi chooses to describe the deep emotion arising from Pope Francis’s unscheduled meeting with street children which he explains, took place in a home for street children run by the ANAK-Tnk charitable foundation.
The home, he says, normally hosts some 20 little girls but present to meet with the Pope there were
“Also many other children of different ages” looked after by the same foundation that hosts them in different homes in Manila – of which there are over 300.
Lombardi described the meeting as “very spontaneous,” a meeting in which the Pope “felt these children’s need for affection and love” but also “the hope that is in their heart if they feel that someone loves them”.
Lombardi also comments on the short speech with which a French priest addressed the Pope explaining the suffering of these children which is impossible to express but “you can see in their eyes the joy of meeting the Pope and their hope for the future”.
“I think the Pope desired very much this meeting because (these children) are the concrete sign of what he would do in his life – he would meet all the street children in Manila! This of course is not possible, but being with this representative group is, a way to manifest what is at the center of his attention, of his heart” he says.
Lombardi also points out that the Pope added a sentence in his homily during the Mass for members of the Church in which he says: “The poor are at the center of the Gospel. If you take away the poor from the Gospel you lose its entire sense and the message of Jesus Christ is void”.
In this sense – Lombardi says - the little children abandoned on the street are the poorest of all because they are so poor and weak, that if they are not taken into a home they die.
In this sense – Lombardi concludes - this meeting was “very expressive of the entire sense of the mission of the Pope here, a mission that speaks of poverty, inequality in this society but also in many other societies as well, and of our responsibility to build a different kind of society where love is the criteria for our choices”.Radio Vatican
Pope Francis at Tacloban: in all our trials, the Lord goes before us
- Viết bởi Eglises d'Asie
(Vatican 2015-01-17 ) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on the grounds of the airport in Tacloban City, Philippines, on Saturday morning. An estimated 500 thousand people braved wind and often driving rain to take part in the liturgy. Putting aside his prepared text for the homily, the Holy Father spoke to the gathered faithful in his native Spanish. Below, please find integral audio and a transcription of the English translation of the Holy Father's remarks, which were translated on-site by one of the ministers in the sanctuary.
The Holy Father's homily at Mass in Tacloban City
We have a high priest who is capable of sympathising with our weaknesses. Jesus is like us. Jesus lived like us and is the same us in every respect, except sin because he was not a sinner. But to be more like us he assumed our condition and our sin. He made himself into sin. This is what St Paul tells us. And Jesus always goes before us and when we pass an experience, a cross, he passed there before us. And if today we find ourselves here 14 months afterwards, 14 months precisely after the Typhoon Yolanda hit, it is because we have the security of knowing we will not weaken in our faith because Jesus has been here before us. In his Passion he assumed all our pain. Therefore he is capable of understanding us, as we heard in the first reading.
I’d like to tell you something close to my heart. When I saw from Rome that catastrophe I had to be here. And on those very days I decided to come here. I am here to be with you – a little bit late, but I’m here. I have come to tell you that Jesus is Lord. And he never lets us down. Father, you might say to me, I was let down because I have lost so many things, my house, my livelihood. It’s true if you say that and I respect those sentiments. But Jesus is there, nailed to the cross, and from there he does not let us down. He was consecrated as Lord on that throne and there he experienced all the calamities that we experience. Jesus is Lord. And the Lord from the cross is there for you. In everything the same as us. That is why we have a Lord who cries with us and walks with us in the most difficult moments of life.
So many of you have lost everything. I don’t know what to say to you. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silence and walk with you all with my silent heart. Many of you have asked the Lord – why lord? And to each of you, to your heart, Christ responds with his heart from the cross. I have no more words for you. Let us look to Christ. He is the lord. He understands us because he underwent all the trials that we, that you, have experienced. And beside the cross was his Mother. We are like a little child in the moments when we have so much pain and no longer understand anything. All we can do is grab hold of her hand firmly and say “Mommy” - like a child does when it is afraid. It is perhaps the only words we can say in difficult times – “Mommy”.
Let us respect a moment of silence together and look to Christ on the cross. He understands us because he endured everything. Let us look to our Mother and, like a little child, let us hold onto her mantle and with a true heart say – “Mother”. In silence, tell your Mother what you feel in your heart. Let us know that we have a Mother, Mary, and a great Brother, Jesus. We are not alone. We also have many brothers who in this moment of catastrophe came to help. And we too, because of this, we feel more like brothers and sisters because we helped each other.
This is what comes from my heart. Forgive me if I have no other words to express myself. Please know that Jesus never lets you down. Know that the tenderness of Mary never lets you down. And holding onto her mantle and with the power that cones from Jesus’ love on the cross, let us move forward and walk together as brothers and sisters in the Lord.Eglises d'Asie
Philippines: A Tacloban, sous la pluie et le vent, le pape assure aux survivants du typhon Yolanda que Jésus est à leurs côtés
- Viết bởi Eglises d'Asie
C’est sous les rafales de vent et une pluie battante que le pape François a célébré la messe ce samedi 17 janvier à Tacloban, désireux de conforter dans la foi les survivants du typhon Yolanda (Haiyan selon sa dénomination internationale) qui a ravagé les Visayas il y a quatorze mois. Au cours d’une homélie entièrement improvisée et centrée autour de Jésus consolateur, il a tenu à conforter les dizaines de milliers de Philippins réunis sur une vaste esplanade jouxtant l’aéroport de Tacloban, sur l’île de Leyte, en leur disant : « Soyez sûrs que Jésus ne vous abandonne jamais. »
Le temps était exécrable ce samedi matin sur Tacloban. L’agence météorologique nationale publiait en continu des bulletins afin de suivre l’évolution d’Amang, la tempête tropicale (le stade juste en-dessous du typhon) qui approchait des côtes orientales de l’archipel philippin. Les autorités philippines avaient fait avancer l’horaire d’arrivée de l’avion papal, en provenance de Manille, de manière à ce que le pape puisse malgré tout célébrer la messe comme prévu à Tacloban. En revanche, la suite du programme, qui prévoyait un déjeuner sur place avec 30 survivants du typhon Yolanda et l’inauguration du Pope Francis Center, centre dédié au service des pauvres, à l’archidiocèse de Palo, a dû être écourté.
Le pape n’a eu le temps que de se rendre à la cathédrale de Palo pour une brève rencontre avec les prêtres, religieux et religieuses, avant de reprendre la route de l’aéroport de Tacloban, d’où son avion a décollé pour Manille à 13h., heure locale, avec quatre heures d’avance sur le programme initial. « A tous, je présente mes excuses. Je suis vraiment très triste de partir ainsi car j’avais préparé quelque chose spécialement pour vous », a lancé le pape dans la cathédrale de Palo, expliquant que le pilote de l’avion ne lui laissait pas plus de temps sur place (1). Tandis que le clergé réuni à la cathédrale le pressait de rester, le pape leur a dit, avant de partir sous les applaudissements : « Je suis triste mais remettons tout entre les mains de Notre Dame ! » Sur le trajet du retour, de Palo à Tacloban, parcouru en papamobile ouverte, le pape a néanmoins trouvé le temps de faire une halte chez une famille de pêcheurs.
De cette journée de samedi qui devait tout entière être consacrée à Tacloban, à la ville voisine de Palo et aux survivants de Yolanda ainsi qu'à la mémoire des près de 8 000 morts laissés par ce « super-typhon », c’est donc la messe qui restera dans les mémoires. Elle fut particulièrement émouvante. Sur cette vaste esplanade, qui quatorze mois plus tôt était entièrement noyée sous les flots, la foule avait pris place en nombre, entre 120 000 personnes et plusieurs centaines de milliers selon les estimations. Beaucoup avaient passé la nuit sur place.
L’autel avait été dressé sur un échafaudage, sous une construction semblable aux abris légers en bois et feuilles de palme tressées utilisée par les survivants comme logement temporaire. La foule comme le pape avaient revêtu des ponchos en plastique jaune pour se protéger de la pluie. Durant la célébration eucharistique, les acolytes du pape tenaient le ciboire et le calice pour éviter que le vent ne les emporte.
Délaissant le texte prévu pour son homélie, le pape s’est exprimé en espagnol, un membre de la Secrétairerie d’Etat assurant la traduction en anglais. « Je vais vous faire une confidence, a confié le pape François. Quand j’ai vu, depuis Rome, la catastrophe [du 8 novembre 2013], j’ai senti que je devais être ici. Ce jour-là, j’ai décidé de venir ici pour être avec vous. Vous me direz que je viens un peu tard, mais je suis là ! »
« Je suis venu vous dire que Jésus est le Seigneur, qu’Il ne déçoit pas et ne vous laisse pas seul, a poursuivi le pape. Vous pourrez me dire : 'très bien, mais j’ai tout perdu, ma maison, ma santé, mes proches'. C’est vrai, je respecte vos sentiments, mais je Le regarde, Lui, cloué sur la Croix. Il est le Seigneur, mais Il est passé par toutes les calamités dont nous faisons l’expérience, Il est passé par toutes les épreuves (…) et c’est pour cela qu’Il est capable de nous comprendre, Il est capable de pleurer avec nous, de nous accompagner dans les moments les plus difficiles. » Et d’ajouter : « Vous qui avez tout perdu, je ne sais pas quoi vous dire, mais Lui sait quoi vous dire. »
S’interrogeant sur le « pourquoi » de tant de souffrance, le pape a continué par une réflexion sur le mystère de la Croix, évoquant la présence de la Mère de Jésus au pied de la Croix et invitant les fidèles à « tenir la main » à la Vierge et à « l’appeler ‘maman’, comme un enfant lorsqu’il a peur et tient la main de sa mère ».
« Nombre d’entre vous ont tout perdu (…), nombre d’entre vous ont perdu une partie de leur famille, et je peux seulement rester en silence », a encore dit le pape, prenant un long temps de silence en demandant à chacun, dans le secret de son cœur, de « dire ce qu’il ressent au Christ et à sa Mère au pied de la Croix ».
Evoquant enfin « les nombreux frères » venus au secours des survivants du typhon, le pape a assuré aux personnes présentes à la messe qu’elles n’étaient pas « seules », avant de lancer : « Soyez sûrs que Jésus ne vous abandonne jamais ! Et avançons ensemble car nous sommes frères ! »
Durant la suite de la liturgie, le pape a pris le temps de consoler chacun des survivants du typhon venus lui apporter les offrandes. A la fin de la messe, il a rendu grâce à Dieu, lui demandant notamment de « donner l’espérance » aux croyants.
Au quotidien philippin The Philippine Daily Inquirer qui l'interrogeait, Fortunato Yubal, présent dans l’assistance, a déclaré dans un sourire : « C’est presque comme si nous avions rencontré Jésus-Christ en personne. »
Si l’avion transportant le pape a atterri sans incident à Manille une heure quinze après avoir quitté Tacloban, il n’en a pas été de même pour le jet transportant les membres du gouvernement venus assister à la messe papale. Lors du décollage de l’appareil, sur la piste détrempée de l’aéroport de Tacloban, par fort vent de travers, un pneu du train d’atterrissage a, semble-t-il, éclaté et l’avion est sorti de la piste, finissant sa course sur le ventre. Les quinze passagers et membres d’équipage sont sain et sauf.
Enfin, lors de la messe, un échafaudage a été emporté par le vent et, dans sa chute, a tué une personne. Selon le Philippine Daily Inquirer, il s’agit de Kristel Padasas, 21 ans, volontaire de Catholic Relief Service.(eda/ra)
(1) Dans le message qu'il devait initialement lire à la cathédrale de Palo, le pape François évoquait la générosité des prêtres et des religieux au moment du typhon Yolanda. Le discours prévu comporte notamment ce passage : « Aujourd’hui, de ce lieu qui a fait l’expérience d’une si profonde souffrance et d’un besoin humain si grand, je demande que l’on fasse davantage pour les pauvres. Surtout, je demande que les pauvres du pays tout entier soient traités équitablement, que leur dignité soit respectée, que les orientations politiques et économiques soient justes et les prennent en compte, que les opportunités d’emploi et d’éducation soient développées et que soient ôtés les obstacles à la prise en charge des services sociaux. La manière dont nous traitons les pauvres est le critère sur lequel chacun de nous sera jugé. »
(Source: Eglises d'Asie, le 17 janvier 2015)
Pope calls on Filipino Church to combat inequality and injustice
- Viết bởi Radio Vatican
(Vatican 2015-01-16) Celebrating Mass in Manila's Cathedral on Friday, Pope Francis urged Catholics in the Philippines to be ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation, proclaiming the Good News of God's infinite love, mercy and compassion. Speaking to bishops, priests, religious and seminarians gathered in the Cathedral, the Pope said the Church in the Philippines is called to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly contradicting the teaching of Christ.
As Filipinos prepare to mark the fifth century of the arrival of the Church in the Asian nation, the Pope said Catholics must build on that legacy of the past by building a society inspired by the Gospel message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common good.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis' homily for the Mass in Manila's Cathedral (Mass with Bishops, Priests and Religious in Manila's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 16 January 2015)
“Do you love me?… Tend my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17). Jesus’ words to Peter in today’s Gospel are the first words I speak to you, dear brother bishops and priests, men and women religious, and young seminarians. These words remind us of something essential. All pastoral ministry is born of love. All consecrated life is a sign of Christ’s reconciling love. Like Saint Therese, in the variety of our vocations, each of us is called, in some way, to be love in the heart of the Church.
I greet all of you with great affection. And I ask you to bring my affection to all your elderly and infirm brothers and sisters, and to all those who cannot join us today. As the Church in the Philippines looks to the fifth centenary of its evangelization, we feel gratitude for the legacy left by so many bishops, priests and religious of past generations. They labored not only to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in this country, but also to forge a society inspired by the Gospel message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common good. Today you carry on that work of love. Like them, you are called to build bridges, to pasture Christ’s flock, and to prepare fresh paths for the Gospel in Asia at the dawn of a new age.
“The love of Christ impels us” (2 Cor 5:14). In today’s first reading Saint Paul tells us that the love we are called to proclaim is a reconciling love, flowing from the heart of the crucified Savior. We are called to be “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20). Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. We proclaim the Good News of God’s infinite love, mercy and compassion. We proclaim the joy of the Gospel. For the Gospel is the promise of God’s grace, which alone can bring wholeness and healing to our broken world. It can inspire the building of a truly just and redeemed social order.
To be an ambassador for Christ means above all to invite everyone to a renewed personal encounter with the Lord Jesus (Evangelii Gaudium, 3). This invitation must be at the core of your commemoration of the evangelization of the Philippines. But the Gospel is also a summons to conversion, to an examination of our consciences, as individuals and as a people. As the Bishops of the Philippines have rightly taught, the Church in the Philippines is called to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly contradicting the teaching of Christ. The Gospel calls individual Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity and concern for the common good. But it also calls Christian communities to create “circles of integrity”, networks of solidarity which can expand to embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness. The poor... The poor are at the centre of the Gospel, are at the heart of the Gospel. If we take away the poor from the Gospel, we cannot understand the whole message of Jesus Christ.
As ambassadors for Christ, we, bishops, priests and religious, ought to be the first to welcome his reconciling grace into our hearts. Saint Paul makes clear what this means. It means rejecting worldly perspectives and seeing all things anew in the light of Christ. It means being the first to examine our consciences, to acknowledge our failings and sins, and to embrace the path of constant conversion. Constant conversion, everyday conversion. How can we proclaim the newness and liberating power of the Cross to others, if we ourselves refuse to allow the word of God to shake our complacency, our fear of change, our petty compromises with the ways of this world, our “spiritual worldliness” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 93)?
For us priests and consecrated persons, conversion to the newness of the Gospel entails a daily encounter with the Lord in prayer. The saints teach us that this is the source of all apostolic zeal! For religious, living the newness of the Gospel also means finding ever anew in community life and community apostolates the incentive for an ever closer union with the Lord in perfect charity. For all of us, it means living lives that reflect the poverty of Christ, whose entire life was focused on doing the will of the Father and serving others. The great danger to this, of course, is a certain materialism which can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer. Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters. We will see things in a new light and thus respond with honesty and integrity to the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism of the Gospel in a society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion, polarization and scandalous inequality.
Here I would like to address a special word to the young priests, religious and seminarians among us. I ask you to share the joy and enthusiasm of your love for Christ and the Church with everyone, but especially with your peers. Be present to young people who may be confused and despondent, yet continue to see the Church as their friend on the journey and a source of hope. Be present to those who, living in the midst of a society burdened by poverty and corruption, are broken in spirit, tempted to give up, to leave school and to live on the streets. Proclaim the beauty and truth of the Christian message to a society which is tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family. As you know, these realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture.
Filipino culture has, in fact, been shaped by the imagination of faith. Filipinos everywhere are known for their love of God, their fervent piety and their warm devotion to Our Lady and her rosary. This great heritage contains a powerful missionary potential. It is the way in which your people has inculturated the Gospel and continues to embrace its message (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 122). In your efforts to prepare for the fifth centenary, build on this solid foundation.
Christ died for all so that, having died in him, we might live no longer for ourselves but for him (cf. 2 Cor 5:15). Dear brother bishops, priests and religious: I ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to obtain for all of you an outpouring of zeal, so that you may spend yourselves in selfless service to our brothers and sisters. In this way, may the reconciling love of Christ penetrate ever more fully into the fabric of Filipino society and, through you, to the farthest reaches of the world.Radio Vatican
Philippines: A la cathédrale de Manille, le pape François appelle le clergé philippin « à préparer de nouvelles voies à l’Evangile en Asie »
- Viết bởi Eglises d'Asie
Ce 16 janvier, devant deux mille prêtres, religieux et religieuses, séminaristes et évêques réunis à la cathédrale de Manille, le pape François, dans une homélie au ton à la fois ferme et tendrement paternel, a invité le clergé philippin « à préparer de nouvelles voies à l’Evangile en Asie à l’aube d’une ère nouvelle ».
Sur les bases d’« une culture philippine (…) pétrie par la créativité de la foi », riche d’un héritage « au fort potentiel missionnaire », l’Eglise qui est aux Philippines doit pénétrer « encore plus pleinement dans le tissu de la société philippine et, à travers vous (le clergé), jusqu’aux recoins les plus lointains du monde », a affirmé le pape, rappelant que le pays fêterait en 2021 le 500ème anniversaire de son évangélisation et que le clergé d’aujourd’hui était, comme celui des générations passées, appelé « à construire des ponts » pour faire connaître l’Evangile en Asie.
S’exprimant en anglais, improvisant à quelques reprises pour souligner tel ou tel aspect de son propos, le pape a évoqué la force transformatrice de l’Evangile, qui « peut inspirer la construction d’un ordre social vraiment juste et racheté ». Toutefois, afin de proclamer « la joie de l’Evangile », « être ambassadeur du Christ signifie avant tout inviter chacun à une rencontre renouvelée avec le Seigneur Jésus », a dit le pape, insistant sur l’importance de « la rencontre personnelle » avec le Christ. Se convertir passe par « un examen de conscience, comme individu et comme peuple », a continué le pape François, déclarant que « nous (le clergé) devions être les premiers à reconnaître nos échecs et nos chutes ».
Le pape a alors exhorté les prêtres et religieux philippins à une intense vie de prière, sans quoi la menace est grande « de tomber dans un certain matérialisme qui peut s’insinuer dans nos vies et compromettre le témoignage que nous donnons ». Invitant fermement chacun « à devenir pauvres », il s’est particulièrement adressé aux jeunes prêtres, religieux et séminaristes, leur demandant d’« être proches de ceux qui, en vivant au milieu d’une société alourdie par la pauvreté et par la corruption, sont découragés en esprit, tentés de tout laisser tomber, d’arrêter l’école et de vivre dans les rues ».
A l’issue de la messe, le pape a joint le geste à la parole, se rendant à pied dans l’un des centres de la fondation ANAK-Tnk, qui vient en aide aux enfants des rues. Le centre visité par le pape jouxte la cathédrale et abrite en temps normal des jeunes filles, dont bon nombre ont été victimes d’abus et de violences dans le cercle familial ou à l’extérieur de celui-ci. La visite du pape n’était pas inscrite au programme officiel ; il a été accueilli par quelque 300 enfants des différents centres de la fondation.
Dirigée par le P. Matthieu Dauchez, 39 ans, prêtre français incardiné dans l’archidiocèse de Manille, la fondation avait envoyé un millier de lettres et de dessins d'enfants au pape pour l’inviter à les rencontrer. Accompagné par le cardinal Tagle, archevêque de Manille, le pape a salué les enfants, avant d’écouter une brève présentation de la fondation par son directeur. Selon l’agence I.Media, le pape a affirmé : « Ces enfants, pauvres parmi les pauvres, sont le trésor de notre Eglise, ils sont nos maîtres. »
Créée par un jésuite français pour accueillir les enfants des rues, la fondation ANAK-Tnk travaille auprès de près de 3 000 enfants, dont certains ont connu la prostitution ou la drogue, les autres étant issus des bidonvilles et victimes de la pauvreté. Le P. Dauchez a confié à I.Media que « la visite du pape a mis en acte ce dont le pape François parle sans cesse : son invitation à se mettre à l’école des pauvres » ; les quelque 15 minutes passées sur place par le Souverain Pontife auront permis aux 300 enfants présents « de voir le chef de l’Eglise venir jusqu’à eux, ce qui leur donnera une force incroyable ».
Pour cette première vraie journée de son voyage aux Philippines (le pape a atterri à Manille hier, 15 janvier, en fin d’après-midi), le Saint-Père avait commencé la matinée par une visite de courtoisie au président de la République, Benigno Aquino, et aux autorités constituées. La rencontre a pris place au palais présidentiel de Malacanang. Le pape y a déclaré qu’il était « maintenant plus que jamais nécessaire que les dirigeants politiques se distinguent par leur honnêteté, leur intégrité et leur responsabilité envers le bien commun ».
Devant un président élu en 2010 sur un programme ‘Pas de corruption, pas de pauvres’, mais dans un pays pourtant marqué par une profonde corruption (trois sénateurs, sur les 24 membres du Sénat, ont été récemment mis en prison pour des faits de corruption et un retentissant scandale au sujet du détournement à des fins personnelles de subventions pourtant destinées à l’aide aux plus pauvres agite le pays depuis des mois), le pape a relevé que les évêques philippins avaient demandé que l’année 2015 soit proclamée ‘Année des pauvres’ ; il a ajouté espérer « que cette requête prophétique provoquera en chacun, à tous les niveaux de la société, le refus ferme de toute forme de corruption qui détourne les ressources destinées aux pauvres, et décidera la volonté d’un effort concerté pour inclure tout homme, toute femme et tout enfant dans la vie de la communauté ».
Enfin, insistant sur l’importance qu’il accorde aux jeunes et aux familles, le pape a affirmé que la famille, qui peut souffrir d’« être défigurée et détruite », a besoin d’être soutenue. « Nous savons combien il est difficile aujourd’hui pour nos démocraties de préserver et de défendre ces valeurs humaines de base que sont le respect de la dignité inviolable de toute personne humaine, le respect des droits à la liberté de conscience et de religion, le respect du droit inaliénable à la vie, depuis celle des enfants qui ne sont pas encore nés jusqu’à celle des personnes âgées et des malades », a-t-il exposé, avant de « lancer un défi et un encouragement » aux autorités philippines : « Puissent les profondes valeurs spirituelles du peuple philippin continuer de trouver leur expression dans l’effort pour procurer à vos concitoyens un développement humain intégral. » (eda/ra)
(Source: Eglises d'Asie, le 16 janvier 2015)
Vietnamese Bishop protests church demolition
- Viết bởi Đặng Tự Do
A mass number of Catholics has been gathering at a make-ship church at Dak Jak, Kontum for days to protect it from the risk of being taken down by local authorities.
The Dak Jak parish of Kontum diocese, in Vietnam's Central Highlands, was established in 1965 but so far parishioners have never been approved of constructing a "real church" despite the fact that the number of Catholics in the region has swollen to around 6000 with a variety of ethnic minorities - Ba Na, Gia Rai, Giẻ Triêng, Xơ Đăng - thanks to the dedication and endless work of religious men and women, priests and the bishop of Kontum, Mgsr Michael Hoang Duc Oanh. Together they have been navigating their religious ship in rough waters under strict and harsh control of the local government.
Bishop Michael Hoang Duc Oanh states that his diocese has been repeatedly petitioning for a governmental approval to build a church in the area with the capacity to hold thousands at mass and church related activities, but all to no avail.
On Jan 7, 2015 the head of Kontum’s Interior Department had announced an order to "expel" Fr. Dominic Tran Van Vu the pastor, and to dismantle the make-ship church built by many poor Catholics to gather for mass celebration, religious studies and social activities.
The announcement came as a shock to the determined, devout Catholics of ethnic minorities of central Vietnam who are well- known and admired for their fierce loyalty to their faith.
On Jan 13, realizing the abnormal presence of uniformed police as well as local officials at the site of the church, people rushed to the scene in thousands, uniformly voiced their concern to the authorities on their plan to take down the church. For 2 straight days, the protest went on without any sign of dispersion that Fr. Dominic Vu had to be summoned to be mediator for the government - parishioners talk scheduled to take place at noon on the same date. However, as people gathering at the meeting on Jan 15, local officials never showed up to engage in the dialogue they themselves had set up.
Parishioners now fear that local authorities would soon demolish their church by force.Đặng Tự Do
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