Pope: Syrian "tragedy" "can only be resolved through dialogue and negotiation".
Vatican City ( AsiaNews ) - The Syrian " human tragedy " " can only be resolved through dialogue and negotiation , respect for justice and the dignity of every person , especially the weakest and most defenseless ." Another appeal of Pope Francis for "a diplomatic and political solution to outbreaks of war" in the world and particularly in Syria. An appeal launched at the end of the general audience ahead of next Saturday , 21 September, which the UN has dedicated to peace. An appointment for which the World Council of Churches has called people to prayer.
"I I invite Catholics from around the world to join with other Christians to continue to ask God for the gift of peace in the most troubled parts of our planet. May peace, the gift of Jesus, always live in our hearts and support the intentions and actions of the leaders of nations and all people of good will".
Before the appeal , in his general audience catechesis, the Pope spoke of the Church as "a good mother, who shows us the path to follow in life, a patient , compassionate , understanding mother who knows how to put ourselves in God's hands ." For Pope Francis this is the face of the Church "it is not just how she is , but also the face this Church, our Mother Church should increasingly show."
For
the second week in a row, then, the Pope dedicated his audience to the 60
thousand people present in St Peter's Square to the image of the " Mother
Church". Among those present, there was
also a delegation from the Ministry of Religious
Affairs of Vietnam and the bishops of the Latin Church of the Holy Land ,
Syria, Jordan , Iraq, Lebanon , Somalia and the Gulf countries.
Francis
compared our mothers , in everything they do , living , suffering for their
children " and the Church , " a good mother who shows us the path to
travel in life, who knows how
to always be patient , compassionate , understanding, and to put ourselves in
God's hands . "
The
Pope highlighted three points: "First of all - he said - they teach us to
walk through life , to get on well in life , they know how to guide their
children , always try to show them the right path in life to grow up and become
adults. A mother does so with tenderness , with love , with love, always, even
when she is trying to straighten our path because we have gone a little astray
in life or have taken roads that lead towards a cliff . "
"The
Church does the same thing : she guides our life, gives us lessons to choose
the right path. Think of the Ten Commandments: they show us a way to go to
mature, to have some fixed points in the way we behave. It is the result - and
listen well: - the Commandments are the result of tenderness, the love of God,
who has given them to us . You may say, but they are commands! They are a set
of " no", " no", " no" !
I would like to invite you to read them - maybe you have forgotten them a
little- and then think of them as positive . You will see that they relate to
the way we behave towards God, towards ourselves and towards others , just what
a mom teaches us to live in
the right way. They invite us not to worship material idols which then enslave
us , to remind us of God, to have respect for our parents, to be honest, to
respect each other ... Try to see them in this way and to consider them as if
they were the words ,
the teachings of a mother to get on well in life . A mother never teaches what
is bad, she always wants only what is good for her children , and so does the
Church. "
Second,
" when a child grows up , becomes an adult , gets his way , has assumed
his responsibilities, walks with his own legs , does what he wants, and , at
times, also happens to stray from the road , accidents happen .
A mother always , in every situation, has the patience to continue to accompany
her children. What drives her is the power of love , a mother knows how to
follow her children's journey, even when they are wrong, with discretion, with
tenderness and always finds a
way to understand , to be close, to help . We say that a mother - in my country
we say - that a mother knows ' dar la cara'. What does that mean? A mother knows
'give her all' for her children, to defend
them, always . "
"The
Church is like this too, She is a merciful mother , who understands , who
always tries to help, to encourage even when her children are wrong and they
are wrong , She never closes the doors of her home, She does not judge, but
offers the forgiveness
of God. She offers His love that invites
even in those children who have fallen into a deep abyss to get back on the right
path. A mother is not afraid to go out
into the night to give them hope. And the Church is not afraid to go into our
night, when we are in the dark place of the soul, the conscience, to give us
hope, eh, the Church is a Mother and does as much. "
Finally,
"a mother can also ask , knock on every door for their children, without
calculation, she does it out of love. And I think about how mothers also know
above all to knock at the door of God's heart! Moms pray for both their
children, especially the weaker ones, for those who need it most, for those who
in life have taken dangerous or wrong roads. "
" And so does
the Church". "
Because the Church places all of her children into the hands of the Lord, with
prayer. Trust that the Lord is not insensitive to the power of prayer of the
Mother Church. He always knows how to surprise
us when we least expect it. Mother Church knows
this."
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