Welcome to Papal Insights for the month of April!

As you may have heard and seen, in April the Pope took a historic trip to Africa where he visited 4 different countries – Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea – over the span of 10 days. Whilst there, some of the places that he visited have faced violence, turmoil and upheavals all within recent memory; he took opportunities during those visits to call for peace, dialogue and understanding – a staple of his papacy since his election.

We recommend that you read his statements and homilies from his trip to Africa, but one moment in particular stands out to us: his visit to the archaeological site of Hippo, where St Augustine (the founder of Augustinian order that the Pope belongs to) was bishop in the 4th – 5th c.

To watch a short video of his visit to Hippo in Algeria, click here<<

Homily

26th April – Mass with Ordinations

On Good Shepherd Sunday, the Pope celebrated Mass with ordinations  and, reflecting on the Gospel reading during his homily, he explained:

Today the need for security makes people aggressive, causes communities to close in on themselves and leads people to seek out enemies and scapegoats. Fear is often present around us and perhaps within us. May your security not lie in the role you hold, but in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as well as in your participation, along with your people, in the story of salvation.

Although the Pope is speaking to ordinands, we can still glean some pearls to reflect on…

Many of us have seen exactly what the Pope is talking about in our local communities and beyond. A perceived lack of security leading people to make those decisions that creates closed-off communities. Perhaps we ourselves are those people in fear, perhaps we have closed off ourselves. The Pope instead, invites us to recognise that our security is not created by putting up walls, but rather it is found in the saving work of Jesus and our participation in His life.

Many of our parishes in this diocese are well-placed to minister to those on the margins of society where people are most in need. These places of encounter are opportunities for us to minister to the poor who bear the face of Christ – an invitation from the Lord to care for those around us. May we hear and recognise that invitation every day of our lives as part of our Christian vocation.

To read the Holy Father’s full homily, click here<<

Address

27th April – Address to the Archbishop of Canterbury

Last month, the newly-installed Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, visited the Pope in Rome. He shared a message of hope for ecclesial reunion, as well as acknowledged the commitments that both he and the Archbishop have to calling for peace in the world. The two also shared a moment of prayer together in the Urban VIII Chapel.

The Pope reflected on the need for Our Lord and His message of peace to be offered in the world:

While our suffering world greatly needs the peace of Christ, the divisions among Christians weakens our capacity to be effective bearers of that peace. If the world is to take our preaching to heart, we must, therefore, be constant in our prayers and efforts to remove any stumbling blocks that hinder the proclamation of the Gospel.

We invite you to reflect on these words, and think about the following:

  • Are the there any stumbling blocks in our personal lives or parishes that are hindering Jesus’ message of peace?
  • Are there action that we can take up with other churches or faith groups in your local area?
  • If so, what would these actions look like?

Many parishes in our diocese are spreading the Gospel through their charitable works. Not only as individual parishes, but many often do this ecumenically – recognising a shared bond of love in action that can exist, even without communion.

To read the Pope’s full address to the Archbishop, click here<<

Other

Bishops of England & Wales add their voice to the Pope’s call for peace

The Catholic Bishops of England & Wales have released a statement in solidarity with the Holy Father, where they have asked everyone to pray alongside them for an “enduring peace with justice in the world’s conflict zones.”

Quoting Pope Leo, the bishops remarked:

“There is hunger for a future imbued with hope that is capable of engendering a new sense of justice and producing fruits of peace and fraternity. This is not an unknown future that we must passively await, but rather one that we ourselves are called to build with God’s grace.”

Many of us want to see a more just society, one that sees the rights and dignities of all people in all ways respected; however, as the Pope says, this is not a future that we must “passively await,” but rather it is something that we are called to build. When we pray “Thy Kingdom come” in the prayer of the Our Father, we are not simply asking God to do all the work. Rather, we are asking God to give us what is necessary to co-operate with Him and help build that Kingdom alongside Him.

You can read the bishops’ full statement here, along with a prayer for Peace by Pope Saint John XXIII.