After just beginning a look at the church as cited in the Volumes I came across this address made my Pope Francis to "REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA." He speaks about the church and also tells of why he chose the name Francis.
ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE
FRANCIS
Paul VI Audience Hall
Saturday, 16 March 2013
[Video]
Dear Friends,
At the beginning of my ministry in the See of Peter, I am pleased to meet all
of you who have worked here in Rome throughout this intense period which began
with the unexpected announcement made by my venerable Predecessor Benedict XVI
on 11 February last. To each of you I offer a cordial greeting.
The role of the mass media has expanded immensely in these years, so much so
that they are an essential means of informing the world about the events of
contemporary history. I would like, then, to thank you in a special way for the
professional coverage which you provided during these days – you really worked,
didn’t you? – when the eyes of the whole world, and not just those of Catholics,
were turned to the Eternal City and particularly to this place which has as its
heart the tomb of Saint Peter. Over the past few weeks, you have had to provide
information about the Holy See and about the Church, her rituals and traditions,
her faith and above all the role of the Pope and his ministry.
I am particularly grateful to those who viewed and presented these events of
the Church’s history in a way which was sensitive to the right context in which
they need to be read, namely that of faith. Historical events almost always
demand a nuanced interpretation which at times can also take into account the
dimension of faith. Ecclesial events are certainly no more intricate than
political or economic events! But they do have one particular underlying
feature: they follow a pattern which does not readily correspond to the
“worldly” categories which we are accustomed to use, and so it is not easy to
interpret and communicate them to a wider and more varied public. The Church is
certainly a human and historical institution with all that that entails, yet her
nature is not essentially political but spiritual: the Church is the People of
God, the Holy People of God making its way to encounter Jesus Christ. Only from
this perspective can a satisfactory account be given of the Church’s life and
activity.
Christ is the Church’s Pastor, but his presence in history passes through the
freedom of human beings; from their midst one is chosen to serve as his Vicar,
the Successor of the Apostle Peter. Yet Christ remains the centre, not the
Sucessor of Peter: Christ, Christ is the centre. Christ is the fundamental point
of reference, the heart of the Church. Without him, Peter and the Church would
not exist or have reason to exist. As Benedict XVI frequently reminded us,
Christ is present in Church and guides her. In everything that has occurred, the
principal agent has been, in the final analysis, the Holy Spirit. He prompted
the decision of Benedict XVI for the good of the Church; he guided the Cardinals
in prayer and in the election.
It is important, dear friends, to take into due account this way of looking
at things, this hermeneutic, in order to bring into proper focus what really
happened in these days.
All of this leads me to thank you once more for your work in these
particularly demanding days, but also to ask you to try to understand more fully
the true nature of the Church, as well as her journey in this world, with her
virtues and her sins, and to know the spiritual concerns which guide her and are
the most genuine way to understand her. Be assured that the Church, for her
part, highly esteems your important work. At your disposal you have the means to
hear and to give voice to people’s expectations and demands, and to provide for
an analysis and interpretation of current events. Your work calls for careful
preparation, sensitivity and experience, like so many other professions, but it
also demands a particular concern for what is true, good and beautiful. This is
something which we have in common, since the Church exists to communicate
precisely this: Truth, Goodness and Beauty “in person”. It should be apparent
that all of us are called not to communicate ourselves, but this existential
triad made up of truth, beauty and goodness.
Some people wanted to know why the Bishop of Rome wished to be called
Francis. Some thought of Francis Xavier, Francis De Sales, and also Francis of
Assisi. I will tell you the story. During the election, I was seated next to the
Archbishop Emeritus of São Paolo and Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for
the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes: a good friend, a good friend! When things
were looking dangerous, he encouraged me. And when the votes reached two thirds,
there was the usual applause, because the Pope had been elected. And he gave me
a hug and a kiss, and said: “Don't forget the poor!” And those words came to me:
the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis
of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being
counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name
came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man
of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a
very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this
spirit of peace, the poor man … How I would like a Church which is poor and for
the poor! Afterwards, people were joking with me. “But you should call yourself
Hadrian, because Hadrian VI was the reformer, we need a reform…” And someone
else said to me: “No, no: your name should be Clement”. “But why?” “Clement XV:
thus you pay back Clement XIV who suppressed the Society of Jesus!” These were
jokes. I love all of you very much, I thank you for everything you have done. I
pray that your work will always be serene and fruitful, and that you will come
to know ever better the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the rich reality of the
Church’s life. I commend you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Star of Evangelization, and with cordial good wishes for you and your families,
each of your families. I cordially impart to all of you my blessing. Thank
you.
I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since many of you are not
members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give
this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but
in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you!
© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice
Vaticana
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Sunday, March 17, 2013
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