The Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking present guidelines to fight this “atrocious scourge" and get to the roots of the problem, i.e. economic exploitation. This means stressing the legal and moral responsibility of “buyers” as well as convincing states and institutions to help and defend the victims.
Pope reiterates unity of the Catholic faith in Asia
| VATICAN - ASIADuring the Angelus, for the feast of the baptism of Jesus, Pope Francis noted that it is in baptism that we find "the roots of our life in God”. For the pontiff, it is important to know “the date of our baptism". During his baptism, Jesus "Jesus immersed himself in the crowd, joined it and fully assumed his human condition." He also “immersed himself in prayer, that is, in communion with the Father.”
During Mass in the Sistine Chapel, the pontiff said that faith "must always be transmitted in the family’s, the home’s dialect." He urged parents to “never quarrel in front of the children. [. . .] You do not know the anguish that comes to a child when he or she sees parents fighting." He warns against the “polyphony" of crying.
The meeting in Thailand "manifests the desire of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to support local Episcopates in their responsibility for promoting and safeguarding the doctrine of the faith, considering the specific challenges that face the continent of Asia today.”
A "Great Wall" was discovered in Uzbekistan; the ancient tomb of the so-called "golden man" was found in Kazakhstan; a city from the 1st or 2nd century BC was unearthed in Tajikistan. And that is not all.
In the preface to the book "Evangelii gaudium con don Bosco", Francis writes that the Salesian is "an optimist by nature, he knows how to look at children with positive realism". "The Salesians - he writes - have trained me in beauty, at work and in being very happy". "They helped me grow without fear, without obsessions". "They helped me to move forward in joy and prayer".
"If we do not love our brothers and sisters whom we see, how can we love God whom we cannot see?". "Only faith will give us the strength not to gossip, to pray for everyone, even for our enemies and not to let feelings of jealousy and envy grow".
"The only uncertainty is when, but we do not doubt that He will answer. Maybe we will have to insist for a lifetime, but He will answer ". "How often have we asked and not received, knocked and found a closed door? Jesus urges us, in those moments, to insist and not to give up. Prayer always transforms reality: it transforms reality always: if things do not change around us, at least we will change".
"God takes the first step, who has compassion, who has mercy and so often we, our attitude is indifference. Let us pray to the Lord to heal humanity, beginning with us: let my heart recover from this sickness which is the culture of indifference ".
Message from Francis for the next day of the sick that this year is celebrated in solemn form in Calcutta. " Mother Teresa, in all aspects of her life, was a generous dispenser of divine mercy, making herself available for everyone through her welcome and defence of human life, of those unborn and those abandoned and discarded."
