Pope at Regina Coeli prays for Nepal earthquake victims

On Sunday, Pope Francis remembered the victims of the recent earthquake in Nepal which has claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 people.

After the recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer with the crowds gathered in Saint Peter’s Square, the Holy Father expressed his “closeness to the populations struck by a powerful earthquake in Nepal and neighbouring countries.”

The Pope said: “I pray for the victims, for the wounded, and for all those who suffer because of this calamity.”

More than 1,900 people were killed and 5,000 wounded when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Himalayan nation of Nepal on Saturday, destroying the country’s infrastructure, homes, and historical buildings.

The earthquake was the worst to hit the South Asian nation in over 80 years.

Pope Francis said of those affected by the disaster: “May they be supported by fraternal solidarity.

The Holy Father then prayed that the Blessed Mother would be close those affected by the earthquake, and led the crowds in reciting the Hail Mary.

Earlier, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin sent a telegram on behalf of Pope Francis to Bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Nepal, Paul Simick, expressing his condolences for those affected by the earthquake.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Holy See expresses concern about Israel-Palestine negotiations

The Holy See on Tuesday expressed its deep concern at the “total lack of progress” of the negotiations between Palestine and Israel.

“As was recognized on that occasion, Israel has genuine and legitimate concerns for its security; however, such security will come not in isolation from its neighbors, but in being a part of them through a negotiated peace with the Palestinians through the implementation of the ‘Two-State Solution’, which has the support of the Holy See and of the international community in general,”  said Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.

“The Holy See joins its voice once more with all people of peace to call for serious and concrete negotiations that will reinvigorate the peace process,” he said.

Archbishop Auza was speaking during a United Nations Security Council Open Debate on the Middle East.

The Archbishop also condemned  - “in the strongest terms” - all attacks and abuses in the region based on ethnic, religious, racial or other grounds.

The full text of Archbishop Auza’s intervention is below

Intervention of H.E. Archbishop Bernardito Auza

Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN

United Nations Security Council Open Debate on

“Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”

New York, 21 April 2015

Madam President,

My delegation wishes to express its profound appreciation for the decision of Jordan’s Presidency this month to hold this Open Debate on the “Middle East, including the Palestinian Question.”

The Holy See is deeply concerned at the total lack of progress of the negotiations between Palestine and Israel. It is difficult not to share the frustration expressed by the then UN Special Coordinator of the Middle East Peace Process, Mr. Robert Serry, during his last Security Council briefing on March 27 last.

As was recognized on that occasion, Israel has genuine and legitimate concerns for its security; however, such security will come not in isolation from its neighbors, but in being a part of them through a negotiated peace with the Palestinians through the implementation of the “Two-State Solution”, which has the support of the Holy See and of the international community in general. The Holy See joins its voice once more with all people of peace to call for serious and concrete negotiations that will reinvigorate the peace process.

The Holy See does not cease to encourage the leaders of Lebanon to resolve the impasse that has prevented the election of the President since May 2014, by putting aside narrow political interests for the sake of the greater good of a unified Lebanon. This institutional void makes the nation more vulnerable and fragile in the face of the overall situation in the Middle East. The international community must support Lebanon in every way to reacquire institutional normalcy and stability. It must also help it care for the huge number of refugees in its territory, which has created a situation that carries the danger of extremist infiltrations among the hapless refugees.

The conflict in Syria, as Baroness Valerie Amos defined it in her Security Council briefing last March 26, has reached “breathtaking levels of savagery.” The indiscriminate destruction of basic infrastructure, such as water and electricity facilities, hospitals and schools worsens the plight of civilians each passing day. The fall of Idlib, just 37 miles southwest of Aleppo, has sown panic among Aleppo’s population of more than a million people. The ethnic and religious minority groups are particularly anguished. The Holy See calls on the international community to prevent the enormous humanitarian disaster that a siege on and battle over Aleppo will surely provoke. We must do all we can to prevent yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law and of fundamental human rights.

The Holy See reiterates its condemnation in the strongest terms of all attacks and abuses based on ethnic, religious, racial or other grounds. It wishes to remind once again that the disappearance of ethnic and religious minority groups from the Middle East would not only be a religious tragedy, but a loss of a rich patrimony that has contributed so much to the societies to which they belong. That these groups are threatened with extinction causes unfathomable anguish and pain.

Last month in Geneva, before the UN Human Rights Council, 65 countries signed a Statement supporting the human rights of Christians and other communities, particularly in the Middle East. That Statement calls attention to the fact that the instability and conflict in the Middle East seriously threatens the very existence of many religious communities, especially the Christians. It calls on all States to join together and address this alarming situation.

Madam President,

When we call to mind those who have already lost their lives or those who have already been driven out of their homes and even out of their own countries, any action would already be coming too late. But from now on every action to spare even just one person from persecution and from all forms of atrocities is not only timely but urgent.

Pope Francis calls on the international community “not [to] remain mute and inert before such an unacceptable crime” and “not turn a blind eye to this.”1 To watch in complicit silence the horrors of our fellow human beings persecuted, exiled, killed, burned, and beheaded, solely because they hold a different religious creed or they happen to belong to a minority group, can never be an option.

Thank you, Madam President

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope: our vocation is to care for the covenant of marriage

At his general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis continued his catechesis on the family, focussing again on the complementarity of men and women.

Pope Francis commented on the second account of the creation of man in Genesis (following his commentary at the previous audience on the first account of man’s creation. The first man, Adam, is created “alone” – and God determines to make for him “a helper suited to him.” When the first woman is presented to the man, he recognizes in her “bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh.” Finally there is a mirroring, a reciprocity,” the Pope said. “The woman is not a ‘replica’ of the man; she comes directly from the creative act of God. The image of the ‘rib’ does not in any way express inferiority or subordination, but on the contrary, that man and woman are of the same substance and are complementary.”

God is generous to the man and the woman, confiding the care of the earth to them. But, the Pope said, the “evil one” introduced “suspicion, disbelief, and mistrust” in their minds – and ultimately led them into the first sin.

“The sin generates distrust and division between the man and the woman,” Pope Francis said. “Their relationship will be undermined by a thousand kinds of abuse and subjugation, of deceitful seduction and demeaning humiliations, up to the most dramatic and violent.” He spoke about “the negative excesses of patriarchal cultures… the multiple forms of ‘machismo’… the instrumentalization and commodification of the female body in the current media culture.” But he also warned about “the recent epidemic of distrust, of scepticism, and even of hostility that is spreading throughout our culture – in particular stemming from an understandable diffidence on the part of women – regarding a covenant between man and woman at once of achieving the intimacy of communion and of safeguarding the dignity of difference.”

If we cannot generate sympathy for the covenant between men and women, Pope Francis said, children will be increasingly uprooted. “The social devaluation of the stable and generative covenant of the man and of the woman is certainly a loss for everyone,” he said. “We must recover the honour of marriage and the family.” Pope Francis continued, “the safekeeping of this covenant between man and woman, is therefore for us believers a challenging and exciting vocation” in today’s world.

The Pope concluded his catechesis with the image, from Genesis, of God clothing Adam and Eve after their sin. “It is an image of tenderness towards the sinful couple that leaves us open-mouthed with wonder. It is an image of paternal safeguarding of the human couple. God Himself cures and protects His masterpiece.”

Below please find the English language  summary of the Pope’s catechesis during Wednesday’s General Audience:

Dear Brothers and Sisters: Continuing our catechesis on the family, we recall God’s creation of man from the ground. He is placed in the garden, where he is to care for creation. Yet God sees that man is alone, and so he creates woman, someone complementary with whom man can share his life. Man and woman are created to live a life of reciprocity, to enter into a covenant together. Yet sin introduces discord into their relationship, lack of trust and suspicion. We see throughout history the fruit of this sin, especially towards women – oppression, violence and exploitation. Most recently, this mistrust and scepticism has led our culture to disregard the marriage covenant between a man and a woman, that covenant which deepens communion and safeguards the dignity of their uniqueness. When the stable and fruitful covenant between a man and a woman is devalued by society, it is a loss for everyone, especially the young. For all our sins and weaknesses, our vocation is to care for the covenant of marriage. It is a vital and energizing vocation, through which we cooperate with our heavenly Father, who himself always cares for and protects this great gift.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Angelus: Pope prays for Germanwings crash victims

 Following Mass for Palm Sunday in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis during the Angelus prayed for the victims of the Germanwings air crash on Tuesday which killed 150 people. The Holy Father entrusted them to Mary’s intercession including the group of German students who lost their lives.

The Pope also greeted the young people present for Diocesan World Youth Day urging them to continue on their path of pilgrimage which will, he said, eventually lead you to Krakow in 2016.

The theme for next year’s World Youth Day event is "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy", which Pope Francis noted “fits in well” with the upcoming  Holy Year of Mercy which begins on December 8.

The Holy Father also prayed that Mary our Mother would help us to live with faith Holy Week.

 (from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis: Palm Sunday homily

Pope Francis delivered the homily at Mass in St. Peter's Square on Sunday - Palm Sunday - the beginning of Holy Week, 2015. Please find, below, the official English translation of the Holy Father's prepared remarks.

*****************************

At the heart of this celebration, which seems so festive, are the words we heard in the hymn of the Letter to the Philippians: “He humbled himself” (2:8). Jesus’ humiliation.

These words show us God’s way and the way of Christians: it is humility.  A way which constantly amazes and disturbs us: we will never get used to a humble God!

Humility is above all God’s way: God humbles himself to walk with his people, to put up with their infidelity.  This is clear when we read the Book of Exodus.  How humiliating for the Lord to hear all that grumbling, all those complaints against Moses, but ultimately against him, their Father, who brought them out of slavery and was leading them on the journey through the desert to the land of freedom.

This week, Holy Week, which leads us to Easter, we will take this path of Jesus’ own humiliation.  Only in this way will this week be “holy” for us too!

We will feel the contempt of the leaders of his people and their attempts to trip him up.  We will be there at the betrayal of Judas, one of the Twelve, who will sell him for thirty pieces of silver.  We will see the Lord arrested and carried off like a criminal; abandoned by his disciples, dragged before the Sanhedrin, condemned to death, beaten and insulted.  We will hear Peter, the “rock” among the disciples, deny him three times.  We will hear the shouts of the crowd, egged on by their leaders, who demand that Barabas be freed and Jesus crucified.  We will see him mocked by the soldiers, robed in purple and crowned with thorns.  And then, as he makes his sorrowful way beneath the cross, we will hear the jeering of the people and their leaders, who scoff at his being King and Son of God.

This is God’s way, the way of humility.  It is the way of Jesus; there is no other.  And there can be no humility without humiliation.

Following this path to the full, the Son of God took on the “form of a slave” (cf. Phil 2:7).  In the end, humility means service.  It means making room for God by stripping oneself, “emptyingoneself”, as Scripture says (v. 7).  This is the greatest humiliation of all.

There is another way, however, opposed to the way of Christ.  It is worldliness, the way of the world.  The world proposes the way of vanity, pride, success…  the other way.  The Evil One proposed this way to Jesus too, during his forty days in the desert.  But Jesus immediately rejected it.  With him, we too can overcome this temptation, not only at significant moments, but in daily life as well.

In this, we are helped and comforted by the example of so many men and women who, in silence and hiddenness, sacrifice themselves daily to serve others: a sick relative, an elderly person living alone, a disabled person…

We think too of the humiliation endured by all those who, for their lives of fidelity to the Gospel, encounter discrimination and pay a personal price.  We think too of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because they are Christians, the martyrs of our own time.  They refuse to deny Jesus and they endure insult and injury with dignity.  They follow him on his way.  We can speak of a “cloud of witnesses” (cf. Heb  12:1). 

Let us set about with determination along this same path, with immense love for him, our Lord and Saviour.  Love will guide us and give us strength.  For where he is, we too shall be (cf. Jn 12:26).  Amen.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis on Palm Sunday: remember persecuted Christians

Pope Francis remembered the persecuted Christians in the world on Sunday – Palm Sunday – during Mass in St. Peter’s Square. Following the proclamation of the Passion according to St. Mark, Pope Francis delivered a homily, in which he reflected on the plight of all those who endure humiliation because of their faithfulness to the Gospel, all those who face discrimination and pay a personal price for their fidelity to Christ.

“We think too of our brothers and sisters who are persecuted because they are Christians,” he said, “the martyrs of our own time.” The Holy Father went on to say, “They refuse to deny Jesus and they endure insult and injury with dignity. They follow Him on His way.”

The reflection came at the end of his brief Palm Sunday homily, which was intensely focused on the way of humility that Christ chose to undertake for our salvation. “This is God’s way, the way of humility,” he said. “It is the way of Jesus; there is no other.”

The Holy Father concluded with a call to all the faithful to undertake the Way of the Cross, which leads to salvation and eternal life, with new dedication and devotion during Holy Week. “Let us set about with determination along this same path,” said Pope Francis, “with immense love for Him, our Lord and Saviour.  Love will guide us and give us strength.  For where He is, we too shall be. (cf. Jn  12:26)”

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis in Naples: Meeting with youth

Pope Francis denounced a hidden euthanasia of elderly telling thousands of young people gathered on Naples waterfront that family affection is the best medicine for the elderly, solitude their worst poison.

Some 100 thousand young people gathered on Naples waterfront in what was Pope Francis’ last appointment on his busy one day pastoral visit to the southern Italian Campania region.

Greeted to cheers shouted in the local dialect on arriving on the stage the Pope took the microphone to encourage the crowd to shout the name of Jesus and proclaim their faith in Him and not that of the Pope.

Then in what has become the Pope’s preferred form of encounter, people were invited to pose questions for him to answer.  As he responded to the first question on how to recognize God in today’s world, he apologized for reaming seated, confessing his tiredness after a hectic day.

“Our God is a God of words,  gestures and silences”, he replied pointing to the parable of the Good Shepherd.  He is a God who knows us better then we know ourselves,  who speaks to us in the silence of our hearts. But God can’t speak to us if we are not silent, if we do not silently gaze at the Crucifix. We can draw near to the silence of God by contemplating Christ crucified abandoned.

God did create us to be happy, but that does not mean that everything in life will be perfect if we believe in Him. The Pope said one of the great silences of God regards why do children suffer. We can't always understand the silence of God, so "we have to get closer to Christ on the cross”.

The second question, posed by an elderly women, was about the integration of the elderly into society today so they are not left alone or abandoned.

In his response Pope Francis roundly condemned the throw away culture of today with discards not only the elderly but also children and the unborn, which considers children useless and the affection of a cat or dog preferable.

He also clearly condemned a society which sees euthanasia as a solution to the ills of old age. However, not just ‘technical euthanasia’ administered with an injection, the Pope also spoke of a ‘hidden euthanasia’, when old people are denied medicine, food, the affection of their family. Solitude, said Pope Francis is the great poison of the old. And he urged all present with elderly parents to examine their conscience, and think of when was the last time they phoned or visited them.

The Third question regarded ideological attacks on family, to which Pope Francis replied "The family is in crisis. It's true. But it's not new. He said marriage and family life isn't like learning a language – eight lessons and you're fluent. It takes time. And must be well prepared. Above all he concluded it requires the witness of married couples, who can teach young people how to face and resolve problems together.

Taking his leave of the crowds as the sun set over the Bay of Naples, the Pope said that youth and elderly must remain united. The youth have the strength. The elderly have the memory and the wisdom.

“Today is the first day of Spring. Pray for young people. For their future. For hope”.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis in Naples: Meeting with clergy and religious

Pope Francis spoke of the ‘terrorism of gossip’ as the biggest sign of the devils work in a meeting with priests, religious and seminarians at Naples Cathedral Saturday.

The Gothic ‘Duomo’ – home to the much revered relic of St. Januarius patron Saint of Naples - was the setting for Pope Francis’ first appointment of the afternoon.

He was welcomed by Cardinal Crescenzio Seppe, the Archbishop of Naples and then surrounded by an enthusiastic group of cloistered nuns who had been given special permission to attend the encounter.

The spontaneity of the cloistered set the tone for a convivial meeting, so much so, that in what has become a classic move, Pope Francis began saying "I prepared a speech, but speeches are boring” before launching into a forty minute off-the-cuff reflection on priestly and religious life.  

Pope Francis reminded the priests, religious, seminarians and deacons present to put Jesus at the center of their life and not personal problems with their bishop, other priests or members of their community.  He said “If the center of your life is someone you have a problem with, you'll have no joy” and when there's no joy in life of priest or nun, ‘people can smell it’.

To seminarians, he said “If Jesus isn't center of your life, postpone ordination”, while he urged religious men and women to nurture a deep relationship with Mary saying “if you don't know the Mother, you won't know Son”.

Pope Francis also spoke of the danger of attachment to worldly goods. He said when priests or nuns are attached to money, they unconsciously prefer people with money.  Here, in a humorous aside, the Pope told the story of one nun so attached to money that when she fainted someone suggested putting 100 pesos under her nose to wake her up. Instead, ordained and consecrated must always have a preferential option for the poor.

Pope Francis also tested those present asking how many could remember the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Too many of us can't, he said. He spoke of a convent that remodeled and put TVs in every room, which hindered community life.

“Community life isn't easy” Pope Francis admitted. Often because “the devil sows jealously” which is revealed in the ‘terrorism of gossip’, that can destroy others.  This, he stated “is the greatest sign of the devil's work”.

But all of these dangers can be avoided by three simple things, Pope Francis concluded: Adoration, love of the Church and apostolic zeal. Warning that the Church isn't an NGO, Pope Francis said "I leave you with three things: adore Jesus, love the Church, be a missionary”.

The encounter concluded with the veneration of the relics of St. Januarius, a vile of dried blood which each March 19th on the Feast of the great patron is moved, liquefies and visibly flows again.  It has become inseparable in popular imagination with good fortune.

As the Pope kissed the reliquary, cardinal Sepe announced the blood of St Januarius "is already halfway liquefied". To which Pope Francis calmly responded if the blood only half liquefied it means the Saint thinks we're only half converted. "We must keep going."

Following his encounter with the clergy and religious of Naples, Pope Francis held a closed door encounter with the sick and disabled in the Jesuit Church in Naples. 

(from Vatican Radio)

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The Pope receives the Captains Regent of San Marino

Pope Francis on Monday received in audience their Excellencies Giancarlo Terenzi and Guerrino Zanotti, the Captains Regent of the Most Serene Republic of San Marino.

A Vatican press released revealed that during the cordial discussions, deep satisfaction was expressed regarding the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino, and the active collaboration in the social field between public institutions and the Church was underlined. 

Finally, mention was made of the fruitful collaboration between the Holy See and the Republic of San Marino at a bilateral level and in the context of the international community. 

After being received by the Pope, their Excellencies Giancarlo Terenzi and Guerrino Zanotti  met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States. 

The Captains Regent of San Marino are elected every six months by the Grand and General Council - the country's parliament. They serve as heads of state and government. Normally the Regents are chosen from opposing parties and their mandate lasts six months. The investiture of the Captains Regent takes place on 1 April and 1 October every year, beginning in 1243.

The practice of dual heads of government (Diarchy) is derived directly from the customs of the Roman Republic, equivalent to the consuls of ancient Rome.

(from Vatican Radio)

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Pope Francis says society today needs good, well paid teachers

Pope Francis has denounced poor wages for teachers, saying computers can teach content but  it takes a good teacher to instill values and hope in young people today and create harmony in society.

Receiving the Unione Cattolica Italiana Insegnati, Dirigenti, Educatori, Formatori (UCIIM) on their 70th anniversary, the Pope addressed them as colleagues, saying he had fond memories of his own days in the classroom, when he too was a teacher.

He then said: “teaching is a beautiful profession, … it’s a pity teachers are badly paid…because it is not just about the time they spend in school, but the time they spend in preparation, the time they spend on each individual student”. 

The Pope referred to his own country, where many teachers have to work double shifts “just to be able to  earn a decent wage”.

Instead the teaching profession is a great responsibility, he said, likening it to being spiritual parents for students, particularly the most difficult students who can often try a teachers patience.

In a society that struggles to find points of reference, the Pope continued young people need a positive reference point in their school.

But, the school can become this only “if it has teachers capable of giving meaning to the school, to study and culture, without reducing everything to the mere transmission of technical knowledge”. 

“You must not teach just content, but the values and customs of life. A computer can teach content.  Instead there are three things that you must transmit: how to love, how to understand which values and customs create harmony in society.  For that we need good teachers!!”

Teachers, he concluded “must aim to build an educational relationship with each student, who must feel welcomed and loved for what he or she is, with all of their limitations and potential. In this direction, your task is now more necessary than ever”.

Below a Vatican Radio translation of the Holy Father’s prepared text:

Dear colleagues,

allow me to address you as such, given that I too have been a teacher like you and I have fond memories of my days spent in the classroom with students.  I cordially greet you all and thank the President for his kind words.

Teaching is a beautiful profession, … it’s a pity teachers are badly paid…because it is not just about the time they spend in school, but the time they spend in preparation, the time they spend on each individual student.  I think of my own country, where many teachers have to work double shiofts just to be able to get a decent wage. But what state will a teacher be in after a double shift?

It is a beautiful and badly paid job, because it allows us to see the people who are entrusted to our care grow day after day. It is a little like being parents, at least spiritually. It is a great responsibility!

Teaching is a serious commitment that only a mature and balanced personality can take on.Such a commitment can be intimidating, but remember that no teacher is ever alone: ​​They always share their work with other colleagues and the entire educational community to which they belong.

Your association is celebrating 70 years of life: This is a beautiful age! It is only right to celebrate, but also begin to weigh up this lifetime.
When you were born, in 1944, Italy was still at war. You have come a long way since then! Schools have come a long way. And Italian schools have moved forward with the help of your Association, which was founded by Professor Nosengo Gesualdo, a religion teacher who felt the need to gather together the secondary teachers of that time, who identified with the Catholic faith, and who with this inspiration worked in the schools.

In all these years you have helped the country to grow, you have helped to reform the school, you have especially contributed to educate generations of young people.

Over the past 70 years Italy has changed, schools have changed, but there are always teachers willing to engage in their profession with that enthusiasm and willingness that faith in the Lord gives us.

As Jesus taught us, the Law and the Prophets are summed up in two commandments: love the Lord your God and love your neighbor (cf. Mt 22,34-40). We can ask ourselves: who is a teacher’s neighbor? The students! It is with them that he or she spends their days. It is they who await guidance, direction, a response - and, before that, good questions!

UCIIM’s tasks include the call to enlighten and motivate a just idea of ​​the school, sometimes overshadowed by discussions and reductive positions. The school is certainly composed of a valid and qualified education, but also of human relations, which for us are welcoming and benevolent relations, to be offered indiscriminately to all. Indeed, the duty of a good teacher - all the more for a Christian teacher - is to love his or her more difficult, weaker, more disadvantaged students with greater intensity. Jesus would say, if you love only those who study, who are well educated, what merit have you? Any teacher can do well with such students. I ask you to love "difficult" students more … and there are some who really try our patienece, but we have to love them more..those who do not want to study, those who find themselves in difficult conditions, the disabled and foreigners, who today pose a great challenge for schools.

If a professional association of Christian teachers wants to bear witness to their inspiration today, then it is called to engage in the peripheries of the school, which cannot be abandoned to marginalization, exclusion, ignorance, crime. In a society that struggles to find points of reference, young people need a positive reference point in their school. The school can be this or become this only if it has teachers capable of giving meaning to the school, to study and culture, without reducing everything to the mere transmission of technical knowledge.  Instead they must aim to build an educational relationship with each student, who must feel welcomedand loved for what he or she is, with all of their limitations and potential. In this direction, your task is now more necessary than ever.

You must not teach just content, but the values and customs of life. A computer can teach content.  Instead there are three things that you must transmit: how to love, how to understand which values and customs create harmony in society.  For that we need good teachers!!

The Christian community has many examples of great educators who dedicated themselves to addressing the shortcomings of education systems or to establish schools in their own right.We think, among others, of  St. John Bosco, the bicentenary of whose birth we  this year.Christian teachers should look to these figures to animate a school from within, regardless of whether it is state-run or not it needs credible educators and witnesses of a mature and complete humanity.

As an Association, you are by nature open to the future, because there are always new generations of young people to whom you may transmit your wealth of knowledge and values.On a professional level it is important to update teaching skills, especially in light of new technologies, but teaching is not just a job: it is a relationship in which each teacher must feel fully involved as a person, to give meaning to the educational task towards their students. Your presence here today is proof that you have the motivation that the school needs.
I encourage you to renew your passion for humanity in the process of formation, and to be witnesses of life and hope. I also ask you, please, to pray for me, and I cordially bless you all.

 (from Vatican Radio)

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