Pope
Francis leads meditation for international gathering of priests
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis might add a visit to Kenya to his
African trip in November, and protecting the environment is an issue which
should bring together believers of all traditions and non-believers
alike.
These were some of the
things learned during a two-hour meeting Pope Francis held with priests in
Rome’s Papal Basilica of St. John Lateran. The Cathedral church is this
week hosting an International retreat for priests, organized by International
Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services and the Catholic Fraternity.
Pope Francis confirmed
he will visit the Central African Republic and Uganda during his November trip,
but said adding Kenya to the journey was “possible but not sure” because of
organizational problems.
The spiritual retreat
beings together bishops, priests, and celibate deacons from around the world
under the theme "Called to Holiness for a New Evangelization".
Pope Francis gave
off-the-cuff remarks in Spanish, and began by speaking about the importance of
unity in the Church, even saying if a priest has a problem with his bishop, he
should tell him to his face, “like men”, adding the same goes for a bishop with
a problem with one of his priests.
“There are quarrels
and arguments in the Church? Well, it makes good news! This is so since the
beginning,” the Pope said. “A church without quarrels is a dead church. Do you
know where there aren’t any quarrels? In cemeteries!”
Pope Francis then made
a special mention of the women working in the Church, remembering that on the
day of the descent of the Holy Spirit, women were there.
He called the genius
of women in the Church “a grace”, and pointed out the Church is feminine.
“The Church is the
bride of Christ, and the Mother of the Holy People, the faithful of God” said
the Pope. “I would like to thank the women for their cooperation, and do not
forget that when you are confronted with certain feminist grievances, there is
just one thing to say: Mary is more important than the Apostles.”
Pope Francis reminded
the priests not to be too tired to visit the Tabernacle, where they will “find
Love,” even when they do not know what to say to Him. He also asked them to
begin writing their homilies on Tuesday, and to be wary of moralizing, was
opposed to preaching the Gospel.
He said that when
faced with a difficult question, especially when related to mercy, priests
should ask themselves "what would Jesus do here?" He jokingly added
that if they forgive too much, then they can blame Jesus, who “gave the bad
example.”
He reminded them a
priest does not have the right to not baptize a baby born of a single mother,
or whose parents have been divorced and re-married.
The Pope also spoke
about his experience of the Charismatic movement, saying that when he first
encountered it, he thought they were “not right in the head”, but as he grew
older he saw how wrong he was.
“I ask all of you,
each of you, that as part of the stream of grace of the Charismatic Renewal
planning seminars of life in the Spirit, in your parishes, in your seminaries
and schools … share the Baptism of the Spirit and your catechesis, because it
is produced by the work Holy Spirit through a personal encounter with Jesus,
which changes lives.”
Pope Francis also
warned against clericalism, saying that laypeople need to work in the Church
but they should not be clericalized. He added clericalism is like “a
tango”: It is danced by two people, with complicity.
“The priest and the
layman alike clericalize,” he said. “Because it is more comfortable. Be
attentive to the comfortable sin of clericalism.”
The Holy Father also
remembered Christians being persecuted for their faith, and spoke about the
Ecumenism of blood, saying Christians are united through martyrs who died for
faith in the same Christ.
“Look at the martyrs
of today,” said the Pope. “Look at the blood of men and women who die for
Jesus Christ and those who kill them know they are the same, having one thing
in common: they believe in Jesus!”
After his reflection,
the Pope answered questions by some of the priests present.
When asked about
Africa, Pope Francis not only confirmed his trip in November, but added the
rest of the world must stop going to Africa to “strip and steal” resources, but
to invest in the continent, and this would end the need of people to emigrate.
When asked about Asia,
the Pope said it had “the biggest promise of the Church”, but mentioning
it also suffers from problems like consumerism and materialism.
The Pope also
confirmed a Catholic, an Orthodox Chrisitan, and an atheist will present his
encyclical on the environment because “we need unity to protect creation.”
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