September 25, 2013 - Pope Francis held his weekly general audience on Wednesday.
The public meeting is an occasion for pilgrims and tourists visiting Rome to be able
see and hear the Pope, and also receive his blessing. The general audience of Sept.
25 was held in the open, in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square. It began with aides reading
a passage from the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians in several languages. Listen:
Basing
himself on the scripture passage, Pope Francis delivered his main discourse in Italian
- summaries of which were read out by aides in various languages, including in English.
But first, the aide greeted the Pope on behalf of the English-speaking pilgrims.
Listen: ….
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In the Creed, we confess that the Church is “one”. When
we consider the rich diversity of languages, cultures and peoples present in the Church
throughout the world, we realize that this unity is a God-given gift, grounded in
our common Baptism and our sharing in the Church’s one faith and sacramental life.
Like a great family, we are united to all our brothers and sisters in Christ, wherever
they may be. We might ask ourselves how much we appreciate and express in our daily
lives, and particularly in our prayer, this reality of our unity and solidarity in
the communion of the Church. The world needs our witness to God’s plan for the unity,
reconciliation and peace of the whole human family. Let us ask the Lord to enable
us, and Christians everywhere, to work to overcome our tensions and divisions, to
strive, as Saint Paul bids us, to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace (cf. Eph 4:3), and to cherish the harmony which the same Spirit creates from
the richness of our diversity.
Pope Francis the greeted the various language
groups, speaking mainly in Italian. Listen: …
I offer an affectionate greeting to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors
present at today’s Audience, including those from England, Scotland, Ireland, Denmark,
Norway, South Africa, Uganda, Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Japan, Sri Lanka,
South Korea, Vietnam, Canada and the United States. My particular greeting goes to
the delegation from Sophia University in Tokyo, the new seminarians of the Venerable
English College, the participants in the Institute for Continuing Theological Education
at the Pontifical North American College, and the priests’ pilgrimage from the Archdiocese
of Colombo. May your stay in the Eternal City confirm you in love for Christ and
his Church. God bless you all! (BLESSING)