Pope: prayer, study and communion fundamental aspects in the formation of priests

Friar John Peter Savarinayagam was a "model of holiness", with a continuous tension for the contemplative life.  He dedicated his life to the poor and to the spiritual formation of seminarians.  He is remembered for his serene smile, even at the point of death.

In the speech prepared for "Aggiornamenti Sociali" a Italian Jesuits magazine, Francis states that the preferential option "before rushing to their aid, this option requires that we be on their side, even when we look at the dynamics of society."

The proposal is in a message signed by Francis and Al-Tayeb delivered yesterday to the UN General Secretary who expressed his appreciation and support for the initiative.

"We cannot build our lives on passing things, on appearances, on pretending that all is well. Let's go to the rock, where there is our salvation. And we will all be happy there. All".

Francis writes to the UN Climate Conference in Madrid. 4 years on from the signing of the Paris agreement the awareness of climate change " is still rather weak, unable to respond adequately to that strong sense of urgency for rapid action called for by the scientific data at our disposal." And current studies "show how far words are from concrete actions".

"Faith is trusting abandonment into the hands of a trustworthy God Who makes Himself known not through occult practices but through revelation and with freely-give love". The memory of Father Popieluszko, killed by the communist police. In the meeting with the Governing Council of Solidarnosc the relations between Church and State.

"The Spirit chooses the small, always", Francis said. “It cannot enter the big, the proud, the self-sufficient". Theologians "know everything, but are incapable of doing theology because theology is done on the knees, becoming small.”

Francis’ Message for World Day of Persons with Disabilities, which this year has as its theme "The future is accessible". "I think of people of every age, especially the elderly who, also due to disabilities, are at times considered a burden, a “cumbersome presence”, and risk being discarded, of being denied concrete job prospects for the construction of their future".

Receiving a group of young French business people, Francis pointed out the need for a "conversion" and "concrete changes of habits and style" that will “concretely effect change and, little by little, educate the world of work to a new style ”.

The bishop of Linyi (Shandong) is a member of the CPCPC Standing Committee (Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference), president of the Patriotic Association; Vice-President of the Council of Chinese Bishops. The sorrow of many Catholics. For the Holy See, love for the homeland and love for the Church are on the same level. But Chinese faithful also ask for religious freedom and to be able to "work for justice".

A crowd of faithful greeted the arrival of the precious relic for the beginning of the Christmas celebrations. It will be exhibited in St. Catherine’s Church, adjacent to the Basilica of the Nativity. Monsignor Pizzaballa: a sign of the Pope's "profound attention". Custodian of the Holy Land: "Beautiful gift".

Francis celebrated Mass for Rome’s Congolese Catholic Community on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the city’s Congolese Catholic Chaplaincy. He lamented that fighting is taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, “fuelled also by the outside, amid the silence of many, fighting fuelled by those who enrich themselves by selling weapons.”

Francis expressed his "concern" for the situation in Iraq. "I learnt with sorrow,” he explained, “that the protests in recent days were met with a harsh reaction, which has caused dozens of victims.” Today, he noted, “the first Sunday of Advent, a new liturgical year begins. In the four weeks of Advent, the liturgy prepares us to celebrate the Christmas of Jesus, as it reminds us that He comes every day into our lives, and will return gloriously at the end of time. Such certainty leads us to look to the future with confidence.”

Francis releases letter on the nativity scene, a tradition which he would like to see revived where it might have fallen into disuse. The crèche “helps us to imagine the scene. It touches our hearts and makes us enter into salvation history as contemporaries of an event that is living and real in a broad gamut of historical and cultural contexts.” Plus, “With the simplicity of that sign, Saint Francis carried out a great work of evangelization. His teaching touched the hearts of Christians and continues today to offer a simple yet authentic means of portraying the beauty of our faith.”