At the General Audience, Francis spoke of a "particularly dark" vice, which must be shaken off immediately without brooding when it leads to the hatred of others. But a "holy indignation" also exists when faced with injustice. The pontiff issued another appeal for the "helpless victims of wars" in the Middle East and Ukraine.
At the general audience Francis dwelt on the vice that prevents man from generosity. The warning on the eve of the Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Shoah: "The logic of hatred and violence can never be justified, because they deny our very humanity. Let us remember this also in today's wars'.
At his general audience, Pope Francis called to look at the root of "toxic relationships" that tragic news events also bring to the fore. On the eve of the Week for Christian Unity the invitation to pray that "Christians may reach full communion and bear unanimous witness of love toward all." And at the World Economic Forum he writes, "Peace can be nothing other than the fruit of justice."
The pontiff spoke about spiritual striving in his first general audience of 2024 in the Paul VI Hall, in the new cycle of the catechesis centred on vices and virtues, which began last week. Noting that “Jesus forgives everything,” he stressed that we must “regain this capacity to ask for forgiveness.”
In the first general audience after Christmas, the pontiff introduced a new series of catechesis centred on "vices and virtues." Starting with the story of Adam and Eve, the pontiff said that the "dynamics of evil and temptation" is represented by the "serpent". In his greetings, he called to pray “for martyred Ukraine and the people of Palestine and Israel".
New appeal by Francis at the general audience for Israelis and Palestinians to choose peace instead of arms. In the Paul VI Hall the concluding reflection of the cycle of catechesis on apostolic zeal in evangelisation: "Jesus says to every believer and to his Church: open up because the message of the Gospel needs you in order to be witnessed and proclaimed".
Also today at the general audience Francis entrusted a collaborator with the reading of the text of the catechesis. The proclamation of the Gospel "is not a manual to be applied but the work of the Spirit". A new call to prayer for peace "especially in Ukraine, Israel and Palestine. War is always a defeat, only the arms manufacturers gain".
Francis's issued a new appeal to Israelis and Palestinians. “Those who make weapons. They earn a lot from the deaths of others.” An official with the Secretariat of State read today’s catechesis because the pontiff’s lung inflammation made it hard for him to speak. The Christian proclamation “is alive today here for us. Aware of this, let us therefore look at our age and our culture as a gift” without “judging them from afar”.
At the general audience, Francis relaunches the message of his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, published ten years ago. He makes a fesh appeal to the faithful to "take time to pray for peace for the tormented Ukraine, in the Holy Land, Palestine, Israel. And let us not forget Sudan, which suffers so much and everywhere there is war'.
At the general audience a reflection on Saints Cyril and Methodius, the apostles of the Slavs, as a great example of the inculturation of the faith as a path to mission. New appeal for the release of hostages and the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza: "I continue to pray for those who suffer and to hope for paths of peace". The Holy See's representative at the UN Mgr. Caccia: "Although the path of dialogue today seems narrow, it is the only possible option to end the violence".
Yet another appeal at the end of the general audience in St Peter's Square. The pontiff has called for another day of fasting and prayer for peace for 27 October, during which he will preside over a celebration. In the catechesis on the great witnesses of evangelisation the "apostolate of meekness of St Charles de Foudauld, prophecy for today's world".
New appeal by Francis to Israelis and Palestinians at the general audience: "I pray for the families who have seen a day of celebration turned into a day of mourning. It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but also in Gaza there are many innocent victims. The Middle East does not need war but peace built on justice, dialogue and fraternity". "Let the earthquake-stricken Afghanistan be helped". In the catechesis the example of St Josephine Bakhita the former slave whom forgiveness made "a woman of peace and peacemaker".
At the general audience Pope Francis reviewed his apostolic journey to Marseille. "The sea is a cradle of civilisation for life, it is not tolerable that it becomes a graveyard. Young people who are poor in hope, closed in their private lives, preoccupied with managing their precariousness, how can they open themselves up to encounter and sharing?"
Francis' appeal at the general audience for the Caucasus once again plunged into violence. On the table is a ceasefire between Azeris and Armenians brokered by Moscow that would include the surrender of the Armenian government in the enclave. The catechesis in St. Peter's Square dedicated to the figure of St. Daniel Comboni, apostle of Africa. From the pontiff a new denunciation against slavery and colonialism "which are not just a memory of the past".
Recalling the example of the Venezuelan Blessed Hernández Cisneros, the "doctor of the poor", Francis invites us "not to stop at words, but to get our hands dirty on the great social, economic and political issues" of our time. The appeal for prayer and solidarity for the flood victims in Libya.
At the general audience, Francis reviewed the meetings of his apostolic journey to Mongolia. "Why did the Pope go so far from a small flock? Because the Lord does not seek the centre of the stage, but the simple heart of those who desire and love him. Let us widen the boundaries of our gaze to widen also those of the heart".
The pontiff's announcement today at the end of the general audience: a new exhortation on the feast of Saint Francis. “Let us stand alongside the victims of environmental and climate injustices”. In catechesis, the missionary example of Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native North American saint.
At the general audience, resuming his catechesis on evangelical zeal, Pope Francis reflects on the figure of Juan Diego, the Indian of the Guadalupe apparitions. "To inculturate the Gospel requires perseverance and patience, I think of a country where Christians are persecuted and cannot practice their faith in peace"
Francis speaks about his “dear Ukraine", warning against "certain halls" where war “is planned". The pontiff offered his prayers to the victims of natural disasters in Slovenia and Georgia and their families. He expressed a final thought for the presidents of the countries of the Amazon region, reiterating his “commitment to the care of creation and sustainable development”.
In his last general audience before the summer break, Francis recalled the missionary zeal of St. Mary MacKillop, who spent her life educating the poor in rural Australia. "May Saints Peter and Paul sustain us in following Christ and intercede for peace in Ukraine."
Before he was admitted to the Gemelli Polyclinic for surgery, Francis welcomed the relics of the Carmelite patroness of missions, in St. Peter's Square. On the 150th anniversary of her birth, which falls this year, he announced his intention to write an Apostolic Letter dedicated to her. For the feast of Corpus Christi, he urged the faithful to reach out, “frequently and with devotion, to Jesus, the Bread of Life”.
Francis dedicated today's general audience in St Peter's Square entirely to the Jesuit apostle of China. May the example of the young people from Ukraine and Russia living together as brothers and sisters in the Italian citadel of Rondine "arouse intentions of peace also in those who have political responsibilities".
Speaking to the faithful in St Peter's Square, the pontiff cites the first Korean martyr and the many lay Koreans as examples of zeal in evangelisation. “No matter how difficult the situation may be [. . .] we must not give up and we must not forsake” proclaiming the Gospel.
At the general audience, the pontiff retraced "the restlessness to always go further" that marked the life of the Jesuit patron of the missions and great apostle of Asia. "Even today there are many courageous missionaries, I am thinking for example of those in Papua New Guinea". Francis Xavier's gaze on China and his death on Sancian Island, at the gates of this great country, "a symbol also for today's time".
During the general audience, Francis talked about his trip to Hungary. He urged the faithful in the Marian month of May to follow Our Lady’s call to the shepherds of Fatima to pray the rosary every day for peace in the world and for an end to war. Participants in the first meeting between Christians and Hindus living in Europe promoted by the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue were also present in St Peter's Square.
At the general audience, Francis spoke of the profound bond between cloistered life and the proclamation of the Gospel. "The heart of the nuns and monks is like an antenna that picks up what is happening in the world and thus prays interceding". He recalls the Armenian people "who, clinging to the cross of Christ, have suffered so much throughout history".
At the general audience, Francis recalled the "luminous witness" of the Missionaries of Charity who died in Yemen while serving the last in the context of a war. "There are many martyrs today and they are not heroes, but the ripe fruits of the vineyard of the Lord". In a message to the French Church in view of the 2024 Olympics, the invitation to the world of sport not to forget those on the margins.
At the general audience Francis warns against the dangers of a false zeal, the child of one's own vainglory. Recalling the 60th anniversary of John XXIII's encyclical "Pacem in Terris", the pontiff emphasises its relevance, also inviting government leaders to draw inspiration from it.
At the audience in St Peter's Square a reflection on the "Cross, source of hope". Thoughts for the mothers of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed in the war who are "like Mary at the foot of the cross".
St Paul's conversion at the centre of today's general audience in St Peter's Square. "Becoming a Christian is not a make-up job, which only changes your face". Francis' prayer for the migrants who died in a fire in a detention centre in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
