The following are quotes taken from various speeches and homilies given by Pope Francis during his historic recent visit to Poland.
Welcome those fleeing
During his address to Polish authorities at Krakow’s Wawel Castle, the Pope said: “Also needed is a spirit of readiness to welcome those fleeing from wars and hunger, and solidarity with those deprived of their fundamental rights, including the right to profess one’s faith in freedom and safety. At the same time, new forms of exchange and cooperation need to be developed on the international level in order to resolve the conflicts and wars that force so many people to leave their homes and their native lands. This means doing everything possible to alleviate the suffering while tirelessly working with wisdom and constancy for justice and peace, bearing witness in practice to human and Christian values.”
Life must be protected
In the same address Pope Francis said: “Life must always be welcomed and protected. These two things go together – welcome and protection, from conception to natural death. All of us are called to respect life and care for it.
“On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the State, the Church and society to accompany and concretely help all those who find themselves in serious difficulty, so that a child will never be seen as a burden but as a gift, and those who are most vulnerable and poor will not be abandoned.”
Do not be young couch potatoes
During a prayer vigil as part of World Youth Day at the Field of Mercy in Krakow, the Pope said: “The time we are living in does not call for young couch potatoes but for young people with shoes – or better – laced boots.
“It only takes players on the first string, and it has no room for benchwarmers.
“Today’s world demands that you be a protagonist of history. The Lord wants to work one of the greatest miracles we can experience: He wants to turn your hands, my hands, our hands, into signs of reconciliation, of communion, of creation.
“Today, we adults need you to teach us how to live in diversity, in dialogue, to experience multiculturalism not as a threat but an opportunity.
“Have the courage to teach us that it is easier to build bridges than walls! You will be our accusers if we choose the life of walls, of enmity, of war.”
Sofa-happiness!
During the same address, the Pope said: “But in life there is another, even more dangerous, kind of paralysis. It is not easy to put our finger on it.
“I like to describe it as the paralysis that comes from confusing happiness with a sofa. A sofa like one of those we have nowadays with a built-in massage unit to put us to sleep. A sofa that promises us hours of comfort so we can escape to the world of video games and spend all kinds of time in front of a computer screen.
“A sofa that keeps us safe from any kind of pain and fear. ‘Sofa-happiness’! That is probably the most harmful and insidious form of paralysis.
“Dear young people, we didn’t come into this world to ‘vegetate’, to take it easy, to make our lives a comfortable sofa to fall asleep on. No, we came for another reason: to leave a mark.
“It is very sad to pass through life without leaving a mark. But when we opt for ease and convenience, for confusing happiness with consumption, then we end up paying a high price indeed: we lose our freedom.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)