Archbishop's tribute to Pope Francis

On the news of the death of Pope Francis, we will all have various reactions.

Personally, I knew him and worked with him, so it’ll take a while for me to sort out my own memories of him.

When he was elected, I remember his first day in the office, welcoming him into the library where the popes receive the great and the good in the Apostolic Palace.

He had never worked in the Vatican before that, so he had it all to learn.

Because there had been no time to brief him beforehand, I was asked to put before him a couple of draft speeches for his official meetings that morning, with the College of Cardinals, Christian leaders from all over the world, and so on.

He dutifully sat down in the big chair, picked up a draft speech, read a few lines and then put it down.

Another priest and I waited to see if he wanted something but, instead, he looked up and gazed silently towards the other end of the room, where there is a serene painting of Christ by Perugino.

And he took a minute to be still and to pray instead.

It felt like he was still absorbing what had just happened to him, and was calmly getting ready for what was next – the rest of his life as the Bishop of Rome.

He never looked afraid.

In fact, I always found Pope Francis warm, confident, personable, and always humorous.

He had to meet fellow heads of state and heads of government, he had to meet endless numbers of VIPs, but his real warmth and passion was always for people, not personages.

He was interested in real people, their welfare, their sufferings.

Pope Francis was a man of our times, and through his closeness to the poor and the weak, he made us ask again whether we want a world governed by mere self-interest or one built on care and respect for each other as fellow pilgrims.

May the Lord show mercy to this merciful man.

A Requiem Mass for Pope Francis will be celebrated by Archbishop Cushley at St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday 28 April at 12:45pm.

Pope appoints Archbishop to Vatican’s Department for Evangelisation

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Leo Cushley to a five-year term as a Member of the First Section of the Dicastery for Evangelisation.

He is joined by John Docherty, former head-teacher of St Ninian's High School in East Renfrewshire, to a five-year term as a Consultor of the same department, which deals with the 'fundamental questions of evangelisation in the world'.

Archbishop Cushley said: “I was surprised and honoured to be asked to become a member of the Dicastery for Evangelisation.

"As this dicastery is an important part of the recent curial reforms of the Holy Father, I look forward learning more and to contributing whatever I can to the fundamental questions of proposing the Good News in today’s world and its many contexts.”

Mr Docherty said: “I am both honoured and deeply humbled to be invited to serve the Church through the Dicastery of Evangelization.

"I hope that my experience of working within Catholic Education will be of value in assisting Pope Francis’ mission to put evangelisation at the centre of our lives. I look forward with great enthusiasm to the challenges that lie ahead.”

The Dicastery for Evangelization is a new department of the Roman Curia formed by the merger of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization in 2022.

The Dicastery is responsible for the fundamental questions of evangelization in the world and according to its Constitution, “is presided over directly by the Roman Pontiff."

Vatican astronomer to visit Edinburgh for free event

The Vatican’s chief astronomer will speak at a free event in Edinburgh next month.

Brother Guy Consolmagno will deliver a lecture entitled, “From Peru to Mars: New Worlds and Jesuit Science” on Monday 6 February, from 7pm-9pm at the James Watt Centre at Heriot-Watt University.

Brother Guy said: “We will explore what these Jesuit scientists did and why – up to modern research at the Vatican Observatory.

"Faith and science are often seen as polar opposites – but scientists in the church have played an important role in bringing the two together.”

Jesuits

Brother Guy has degrees in planetary science from the University of Arizona and Massachusetts Institute of Technology and leads a team of 12 astronomers from four continents.

He and many of his team are Jesuits, a religious order of priests and brothers in the Catholic church who work in areas including education and research.

In the Heriot-Watt Chaplaincy lecture, Brother Guy will explore the work of Jesuit scientists through history.

Reverend Jane Howitt, University Chaplain at Heriot-Watt, said: “We are thrilled that Brother Guy can join us for our annual Chaplaincy lecture to share some of the fascinating science and history behind the Vatican Observatory.”

The lecture is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be served from 6:15pm This lecture will be interpreted into British Sign Language (BSL).

From Peru to Mars: New Worlds and Jesuit Science, with Br Guy Consolmagno. Monday 6 February, 7pm at the Robin Smith Hall,  James Watt Centre, 3 Heriot Watt University, Currie EH14 4AS Please register here by Thursday 2 February 2023.

 

Pope to Bishops: Love alone satisfies the heart

In his homily at Mass with the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) on Thursday, Pope Francis reflected on "three words that challenge us as Christians and Bishops in Europe: reflect, rebuild and see.", writes Francesca Merlo in Vatican News.

Bishops from across Europe, including Archbishop Leo Cushley, are in Rome to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the CCEE with a plenary conference on 23-26 September.

Reflect

God, speaking through the Old Testament prophet Haggai, invites us to reflect on how we live our lives, said the Pope: Twice the prophet says to the people: “Reflect on your ways!” ( Hag 1:5.7).

The Pope noted that those words, 'Reflect on your ways!', are challenging because in Europe today, "we Christians can be tempted to remain comfortably ensconced in our structures, our homes and our churches, in the security provided by our traditions, content with a certain degree of consensus, while all around us churches are emptying and Jesus is increasingly forgotten".

He asked the bishops and all those present to consider "how many people no longer hunger and thirst for God."

This is not because they are evil, he continued, but because there is "no one to awaken in them a hunger for faith and to satisfy that thirst in the human heart". Certainly, we are “preoccupied” by this, but are we really “occupied” with responding to it? asked the Pope.

There is no sense in judging those who do not believe, said the Pope. "Do we feel concern and compassion for those who have not had the joy of encountering Jesus or who have lost that joy?"

Through the prophet Haggai, the Lord asks his people to reflect on another thing, said the Pope, and this is charity. "Lack of charity causes unhappiness, because love alone satisfies the human heart," said the Pope. "The solution to problems and self-absorption is always that of gratuitous gift. There is no other. This is something to reflect on."

Rebuilding

“Build my house”, God says through the prophet (Hag 1:8), and the people rebuild the Temple, said the Pope, introducing the second word: rebuilding.

In order to build the European common house, we must "leave behind short-term expedience and return to the farsighted vision of the founding fathers, a prophetic vision of the whole", he said.

We must begin from the foundations, because that is where rebuilding starts: from the Church’s living tradition, which is based on "what is essential, the Good News, closeness and witness. We need to rebuild from her foundations the Church of every time and place, from worship of God and love of neighbour, and not from our own tastes."

"All rebuilding takes place together, in unity, with others," said the Pope. Rebuilding means becoming artisans of communion, weavers of unity at every level.

See

"If we rebuild in this way, we will enable our brothers and sisters to see," said the Pope. This is the third word: See.

"So many people in Europe see the faith as déja vu, a relic of the past," said the Pope. This is because they have not seen Jesus at work in their own lives, he explained. Often this is because we, by our lives, have not sufficiently shown Him to them.

"They will not recognize the One who loves each of His sheep, calls them by name, and bears them on His shoulders. They will not see the One whose incredible passion we preach: for it is a consuming passion, a passion for mankind," said the Pope.

This divine, merciful and overpowering love, concluded the Pope "is itself the perennial newness of the Gospel and it demands of us, dear brothers, wise and bold decisions, made in the name of the mad love with which Christ has saved us."

WATCH: Pope's prayer intention for May

Pope Francis has released his prayer intention for the month of May 2021, calling for regulators to limit speculation in financial markets and protect ordinary people. Read the full story at Vatican News.

The Prayer intention

"The true economy, the one that creates work, is in crisis. How many people are now unemployed! — But the financial markets have never been as inflated as they are now. How far away is the world of high finance from the lives of ordinary people!

If finance is unregulated, it becomes pure speculation driven by various monetary policies. This situation is unsustainable. And it is dangerous.

So that the poor do not suffer painful consequences from this system, financial speculation must be carefully regulated.
Speculation. I want to underline that term.

May finance be a form of service, and an instrument to serve the people, and to care for our common home!
We still have time to begin a process of global change to practice a different kind of economy, one that is more just, more inclusive and sustainable —and leaves no one behind.

We can do this! And let us pray that those in charge of finance will work with governments to regulate financial markets and protect citizens from its dangers."

Parishes at the service of evangelization

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy has released a new document to help guide the reform of parish communities.
It is entitled 'The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church' (read it here).

Isabella Piro, on vaticannews.va, writes: "The document does not promulgate any new legislation, but proposes methods to better apply existing rules and canonical norms.

"The aim is to encourage the co-responsibility of the baptized and to promote pastoral care based on closeness and cooperation between parishes."

She adds: "What emerges most forcefully from the Instruction is the urgency of missionary renewal, a pastoral conversion of the parish, so that the faithful may rediscover the dynamism and creativity which allows the parish to be always "going forth", aided by the contribution of all the baptized faithful."