Franco Pisano

Francis writes to the United States bishops ahead of their retreat. The Church wounded by abuses must not believe that necessary forms of reorganization are sufficient. Abandon the temptation of "a modus operandi of disparaging, discrediting, playing the victim or the scold in our relationships ".

"All the people capable of love, the peacemakers who until then had ended up on the edge of history, are instead builders of the Kingdom of God. It is as if Jesus were saying: forward you who carry in your heart the mystery of a God who revealed His omnipotence in love and forgiveness! From this entrance portal, which overturns the values of history, comes the newness of the Gospel".

In the Mass of the Solemnity of Mary Most Holy Mother of God, Francis exhorts us to "be taken by the hand" by Mary. " A world in which maternal tenderness is dismissed as mere sentiment may be rich materially, but poor where the future is concerned. There will be gains, but they will not be for everyone. We will live in the same house, but not as brothers. The human family is founded on mothers ".

“God is ‘born of a woman’ so that we could receive the fullness of our humanity, ‘adoption as children’,” said the pontiff. “We have been uplifted by His abasement. Our greatness has come from His littleness. Our strength has come from His fragility. Our freedom has come from His making Himself a servant.”

Message from Francis to the young people gathered in Madrid for the 41st European Meeting organized by the Ecumenical Community of Taizé. "Promoting a culture of encounter", welcoming "one another while respecting differences".

In Francis' Christmas message, Israelis and Palestinians, Koreans of the North and South, Syrians and Yemenis, Venezuelans, Ukrainians and Nicaraguans and those who are deprived of religious freedom. "The universal message of Christmas" brought by the Child is that "God is a good Father and we are all brothers".

At Christmas Eve Mass, Francis cautions that "Mankind became greedy and voracious. In our day, for many people, life’s meaning is found in possessing, in having an excess of material objects. An insatiable greed marks all human history, even today, when, paradoxically, a few dine luxuriantly while all too many go without the daily bread needed to survive".

In his meeting with the Curia for Christmas greetings, Francis retraced the past year, " external and internal amid successes and difficulties". In the face of abuse "the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes". The joys for the new blessed and also for the many consecrated who "live their vocation daily in fidelity, silence, holiness and self-denial".

The statement following the seventh meeting of the Joint Working Group mentions "positive developments" in relations. With respect to the local Catholic Church, the statement cites Pope Francis’s view that “A good Catholic is also a good citizen”.

It is, emphasized Francis, a passage from the Gospel "difficult to preach", in which the "God of surprises" changes the destiny of man. "It's a convulsive situation, everything changes, history turns upside down".

The Holy See delegation issues final statement following the 24th Session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, noting that the agreement falls short of what is needed and “seems to downplay human rights.”

"Stand in silence in front of the crib: this is the invitation for Christmas: go in front of the crib and stand in silence and you'll see the surprises. Unfortunately, however, we get the celebration wrong, and prefer the usual worldly things to the newness of Heaven ". It is not a party, where we are at the center and not Him. "Please do not make Christmas materialistic! Do not leave Christ out!".