Papal Election and after….
Welcome to our special program ‘Papal election and after’, a program on the newly
elected Pope Francis. It replaces today our regular program on the Year of Faith,
THE FAITHFUL WITNESS. Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergolio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has been elected Pope on Wednesday, and he has taken the name, Francis. The next day, the newly-elected Pope Francis celebrated Mass with the College of Cardinals in the Sistine Chapel. As the clock struck 5 in the evening, the choir in the Sistine Chapel began to intone the Tu es Petrus, and the new Bishop of Rome processed into the chapel, preceded by the College of Cardinals that elected him Peter’s Successor, the evening before.
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In his Homily, Pope Francis noted the common theme of movement that ties the three readings together: moving forward, building, professing.
…… «Casa di Giacobbe, venite, camminiamo nella luce del Signore» (Is 2,5). Questa è la prima cosa che Dio ha detto ad Abramo: Cammina nella mia presenza e sii irreprensibile. “O house of Jacob, Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord.” This is the first thing God said to Abraham: “Walk in my presence and be blameless.” Walking: our life is a journey and when we stop, there is something wrong. Walking always, in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, seeking to live with that blamelessness, which God asks of Abraham, in his promise.
Regarding the building of the church, the Pope said
……. Edificare la Chiesa. Si parla di pietre: le pietre hanno consistenza; ma pietre vive…. There is talk of stones: stones have consistency, but [the stones spoken of are] living stones, stones anointed by the Holy Spirit. Build up the Church, the Bride of Christ, the cornerstone of which is the same Lord. With [every] movement in our lives, let us build!
Regarding professing Christ in all we do, Pope Francis said:
….. Noi possiamo camminare quanto vogliamo, noi possiamo edificare tante cose, ma se non confessiamo Gesù Cristo, la cosa non va. …. we can walk as much we want, we can build many things, but if we do not confess Jesus Christ, nothing will avail. We will become a pitiful NGO, but not the Church, the Bride of Christ. When one does not walk, one stalls. When one does not built on solid rocks, what happens? What happens is what happens to children on the beach when they make sandcastles: everything collapses, it is without consistency. When one does not profess Jesus Christ - I recall the phrase of Leon Bloy – “Whoever does not pray to God, prays to the devil.” When one does not profess Jesus Christ, one professes the worldliness of the devil. Walking, building-constructing, professing: the thing, however, is not so easy, because in walking, in building, in professing, there are sometimes shake-ups - there are movements that are not part of the path: there are movements that pull us back.
This Gospel continues with a special situation, said the Pope
…… Questo Vangelo prosegue con una situazione speciale. Lo stesso Pietro che ha confessato Gesù Cristo…. The same Peter who confessed Jesus Christ, says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I will follow you, but let us not speak of the Cross. This has nothing to do with it.” He says, “I’ll follow you on other ways, that do not include the Cross.” When we walk without the Cross, when we build without the Cross, and when we profess Christ without the Cross, we are not disciples of the Lord. We are worldly, we are bishops, priests, cardinals, Popes, but not disciples of the Lord.
I would like that all of us, after these days of grace, might have the courage - the courage - to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Cross of the Lord: to build the Church on the Blood of the Lord, which is shed on the Cross, and to profess the one glory, Christ Crucified. In this way, the Church will go forward.……. Io auguro a tutti noi che lo Spirito Santo, per la preghiera della Madonna ….. My hope for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, that the prayer of Our Lady, our Mother, might grant us this grace: to walk, to build, to profess Jesus Christ Crucified.
xxxx Now let us look at the first day of newly elected Pope. As expected leaders from all over the world, started sending their congratulations to the new Pope. Our colleague Melwin Pinto reports:
U.S. President Barack Obama called Francis “a champion of the poor” and noted his Latin American roots. “As the first pope from the Americas, his selection also speaks to the strength and vitality of a region that is increasingly shaping our world, and alongside millions of Hispanic Americans, those of us in the United States share the joy of this historic day,” Obama said in a statement. French President Francois Hollande extended his congratulations and wished the pontiff well as he faced the challenges of the “contemporary world.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, head of the Church of England, said the two churches each hold "a special place for one another." "His election is also of great significance to Christians everywhere, not least among Anglicans." the Most Rev. Justin Welby said. "May the love of Christ unite us, and intensify our service in a genuine and fruitful ecumenism that can be a blessing for the body of Christ throughout the world.In a statement released today Adolfo Nicolas the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, thanked God for the election of the new Pope, which opens for the Church a path full of hope.UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has offered his heartfelt congratulations to Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has taken the name Pope Francis on his assumption of the papacy, and to all Catholics across the world on the occasion of the election of the new Pontiff. “I look forward to continuing cooperation between the United Nations and the Holy See, under the wise leadership of His Holiness Pope Francis,” Mr. Ban said in a statement issued immediately after the announcement was made at the Vatican.
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Wednesday, 13 March 2013, an historic day for the Catholic Church in the world. Let us have a look at that historic moment on, , when the new Pope was elected. Our colleague Robin Gomes reports:
A new pope of the Catholic Church has been elected, and he is Jesuit Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergolio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 76-year cardinal was chosen by the 115 cardinal electors only on the second day of voting, at the end of the 5th round of balloting, Wednesday night, after they began the conclave Tuesday evening in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. The world first came to know about the positive result of the 5th vote when at around 7.08 pm white smoke began to billow from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel into the Roman sky, sending a packed St. Peter’s Square into a rapture. The famous holy smoke, as many call it, was confirmed simultaneous by the ringing of the bells of St. Peter’s Basilica.
It was difficult for the huge mass of people in the square and around to contain its excitement to know and see the new Pope. It was at around 08.12 pm, a little over an hour after the white smoke first belched out the chimney, that Cardinal Deacon Jean-Louis Tauran of France appeared at the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to announce for the first time the name of the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church, as well as the 265th Successor of St. Peter the Apostle, the first Pope and Bishop of Rome.
Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum. Habemus Papam. Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum,
Dominum N. Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem N., qui sibi nomen imposuit N.’, I announce a great joy to you; we have a Pope! The most Eminent and most Reverend Lord, the Lord Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergolio of the Holy Roman Church, who has taken the name of Francis.
Some ten minutes later, at around 8.12 pm, the new pope himself appeared at the central balcony of Christendom’s largest Church, to manifest himself for the first time as the spiritual head of the world’s some 1.2 billion Catholics. Clearly the 76-year Pope was overwhelmed with the way the Holy Spirit had moved during the conclave and it was evident when the vast crowd greeted him with the with a deafening roar on seeing their new pontiff – Pope Francis. Here are his first words.
Fratelli e sorelle buona sera. Brothers and Sisters, good evening.
Voi sapete che il dovere del Conclave era di dare un vescovo a Roma. Sembra che i miei fratelli cardinali sono andati a prenderlo quasi alla fine del mondo, ma siamo qui. Vi ringrazio dell’accoglienza. La comunità diocesana di Roma al suo vescovo. Grazie. You know that the duty of the Conclave is to give a Bishop to Rome. It appears that my brother cardinals have gone to pick him almost from the end of the world, obviously referring to his native Argentina. But we are here, he said. I thank you for welcoming me – the diocesan community of Rome to its bishop. Thank you.
E adesso incominciamo questo cammino, vescovo e popolo, questo cammino della Chiesa di Roma che è quella che presiede nella carità tutte le Chiese…. Pope Francis then said that it was time to begin their journey together, the bishop and his people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides over all the Churches in love, a journey of brotherhood, of love, of mutual trust, he said, urging prayers for one another. Let’s prayer for the entire world, so that there is great brotherhood. I wish that this journey of the church that begins today and one who will help me, my vicar cardinal present here, is fruitful for the evangelization of this very beautiful city.
But before imparting his first apostolic blessing, he requested a favour from the vast crowd before him. He urge d them to pray so that the Lord blesses him – the prayer of the people, invoking blessing for its bishop. He called for a moment of silent prayer and the enthusiastic crowd obliged with amazing silence. Pope Francis then imparted his blessing to the people and the entire world, to all men and women of good will. xxxx
Our special program ‘Papal election and after’ on the new pontiff, Pope Francis, was brought to you by Vatican Radio’s English Service for South Asia. Praised Be Jesus Christ – Laudetur Jesus Christus. By P.J. Joseph SJ
FRIDAY, 15 MARCH 2013
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