In a homily at his early morning Mass, Pope Francis said: “When intelligence tries to explain a mystery, it always – always – becomes crazy. (The mystery of salvation) can only be understood on one’s knees, in contemplation.

“For me, what comes to mind is a nurse in a hospital: she treats the patient’s wounds one by one, but with her own hands. God gets involved, He enters our misery, He draws near to our wounds and He heals them with His hands.”

Greg Burke on the Pope

According to Greg Burke, the former American journalist who is currently the senior communications adviser to the Vatican Secretariat of State, “Pope Francis is not a politically correct Pope”. Rather, he added, the Pope is “a loyal son of the Church” who presents the hard truths with a heavy dose of mercy. Pope Francis clearly knows how to communicate, Burke said, and his effectiveness comes from his authenticity.

“It’s not charm. It’s Christian charity, which is a lot more attractive than charm.” Burke said the Pope won’t fit into the political categories of left or right, but he simply wants people to focus on the Gospels, on God and His truth and mercy.

Bishops to fight graft

“If you experience corruption, report it.” This was the advice given by the bishops of South Africa, Botswana and Swaziland in their pastoral letter titled A Call to Examine Ourselves in the Widespread Practice of Corruption.

The bishops said “bribery, collusion and all other forms of corruption thrive in conditions of secrecy and concealment, and they persist because we allow them to continue”. They described corruption as the destroyer of trust, adding that “when bribery becomes a way of life for civil servants, business people or church personnel, their real responsibilities are put aside in pursuit of making money for themselves”.

The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference letter noted reports stating that “almost half of the citizens in our countries of southern Africa admit to having paid a bribe, mostly to police officers and government officials”. The bishops called on all Catholics to make a pledge not to pay or offer bribes.

Call for a chemical, nuclear weapons ban

Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Vatican’s representative at the United Nations, recently said: “The willingness of the world to move forward in a constructive manner to eliminate nuclear weapons has never been more evident. Yet a very small number of states stand in the way, trying to block progress and to find a comprehensive solution to the problem that goes on year after year in paralysis and obfuscation.

“It is sadly ironic that states vociferous in their condemnation of chemical weapons are silent on the continued possession of nuclear weapons. …The international community must appeal and act with one voice to ban all weapons of mass destruction.”

Church persecution in Nicaragua denounced

Bishop Juan Abelardo Mata Guevara, a Salesian, said the Government of Daniel Ortega has undertaken a “devious persecution” of the Church. The bishop is also the president of the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights.

Mgr Guevara said that in Nicaragua “one cannot talk openly and honestly without being subject to persecution by the authorities”.

While noting the attacks on the Church in the state-run media to discredit the Church he said: “As pastors we cannot see people being killed without doing anything. One cannot be treated like this simply because the population does not agree with the government.”

(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)