GENERAL AUDIENCE: THE CHURCH, THE PEOPLE OF GOD, SHOULD KEEP DOOR OPEN

Vatican City, 12 June 2013 (VIS) – The Church, defined in Vatican Council II as the People of God, was the topic of Pope Francis' catechesis during the Wednesday general audience. The Holy Father explained the concept of the People of God through a series of questions: “What does it mean to be the People of God? How does one become a member of this people? What is its law, its mission, and its goal?”

To be the People of God, the Bishop of Rome said, “first of all means that God doesn't belong to any particular people because He is the one who calls us … and this invitation is addressed to all, without distinction, because God's mercy 'wills everyone to be saved'. Jesus doesn't tell the Apostles and us to form an exclusive group of elite members. Jesus says: 'Go and make disciples of all nations'. … I would also like to say to whoever feels far from God and from the Church, to whoever is timorous or indifferent, to whoever thinks they are no longer able to change: the Lord also calls you to be part of his people and He does so with great respect and love!” A person becomes part of this people “not through physical birth, but by a new birth … Baptism … through faith in Christ, God's gift that must be nourished and made to grow throughout our lives.”

What is the law of the people of God? “It is the law of love, love for God and love for neighbour … which isn't a sterile sentimentalism or something vague, but is the recognition of God as the one Lord of life and, at the same time, welcoming others as true brothers and sisters … the two go hand in hand. How much further must we still journey to live this new law concretely? … When we look in the newspapers or on TV there are so many wars between Christians; how can this happen? Within the people of God, so many wars! In neighbourhoods, at work, how many wars for envy and jealousy! Even in the same family, how many internal wars! We must ask the Lord to help us understand this law of love. How beautiful it is to love one another as true brothers and sisters. Let's do this today. Maybe we all have the people we like and [those we] dislike. Perhaps many of us are a little upset with someone. So let's say to the Lord: 'Lord, I am angry with this person or that one. I will pray to you for him and for her.' Praying for those we are angry with is a good step in this law of love. Shall we do it? Let's do it today!”

“This people's mission,” the Pope continued, “to to bring God's hope and salvation to the world: to be a sign of the love of God who calls all to friendship with him … It is enough to open a newspaper to see that the presence of evil is around us, that the Devil is at work. But I want to say out loud: God is stronger! … Let's all say it together … God is stronger! And I want to add that reality, which at times is dark and marked by evil, can change if we first bring to it the light of the Gospel, above all with our lives. If, in a stadium … on a dark night, one person lights a light, it can barely be seen. But, if over 70,000 spectators each light their own light, then the stadium lights up. Let us make our lives the light of Christ. Together we will bring the light of the Gospel to all of reality.”

The goal of this people is “God's kingdom, begun on earth by God himself, and which must be further extended until it is brought to perfection, when Christ, our life, shall appear. The objective [of the people of God], therefore, is full communion with the Lord, familiarity with him, entering into the divine life itself, into his family, where we will live the joy of his boundless love.”

“Being the Church, being the people of God,” Francis concluded, “... means being God's leaven in this our humanity. It means proclaiming and bearing God's salvation in this our world, which is often lost and needful of having encouraging answers, answers that give hope, that give new energy along the journey. May the Church be the place of God's mercy and love, where everyone can feel themselves welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged to live according to the good life of the Gospel. And in order to make others feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, and encouraged, the Church must have open doors so that all might enter. And we must go out of those doors and proclaim the Gospel”

Lawmaker calls for concrete action to fight modern slave trade

Washington D.C., Jun 12, 2013 / 05:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A U.S. congressman urged the international community to train transportation employees to identify and fight human trafficking situations, as well as to establish a hotline for trafficking victims.

“Combatting modern-day slavery is everybody’s business. We are all in this together,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) on June 10.

“Cooperation and coordination are key to mitigating – and someday ending – the cruelty of human trafficking,” he stated. “Best practices need to be shared and implemented to the widest extent possible.”

Smith delivered an address at an international conference on trafficking, held in Kiev, Ukraine, by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

In addition to being the organization’s special representative on human trafficking issues, Smith is a senior member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and chair of its subcommittee on global human rights. He also co-chairs the U.S. Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

The congressman focused his address on the need to implement “best practices” to help identify and combat human trafficking throughout Europe and the world.

He specifically recommended situation training and awareness for flight attendants on airplanes.

“Flight attendants are in the unique position – especially on long flights – to observe a potential trafficking in progress and then call a trafficking hotline or inform the pilot to radio ahead so that the proper authorities intervene as they deplane,” he explained.

“The current-day risk to a trafficker of getting caught transporting a victim or victims is pathetically small. And they know it,” he said. “You and I have the ability to change that.”

The congressman added that these methods for flight attendants could, “with minimal modifications,” be altered for use by “bus drivers and station operators, train conductors, trucking associations, and other transportation industry professionals.”

In addition, he suggested the use of a single trafficking hotline for use by victims of human trafficking and those who suspect the illegal transport and use of persons.

Smith reflected on the work that has been done since he first introduced the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1998. At the time, he explained, there were concerns in Congress and around the globe, largely due to misunderstandings in the nature of human trafficking.

“Today, much progress has been made,” he said. “Most countries in Europe – and many around the world – have enacted comprehensive laws to combat this preventable exploitation.”

But while faithful implementation of laws to decrease trafficking is important, legislation “is only a step,” he stressed.

“I hope you’ll agree that this ‘best practice’ training initiative must be included, be prominent, and thoroughly implemented. Indeed, this effort requires almost no cost, just the will to do it,” he emphasized.

Report finds Catholic population growing in South Korea

Seoul, South Korea, Jun 12, 2013 / 04:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Recent statistics indicate that the Catholic population in South Korea has increased over the past year.

Last month, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea released a publication entitled Statistics of the Catholic Church in Korea 2011.

The report, prepared by the Catholic Pastoral Institute of Korea, states that at the end of 2012, there were 5,361,369 Catholics in the country, an increase of 1.6 percent – or 84,959 individuals – over the last year.

This accounts for just over 10 percent of the total population. According to the report, these numbers have “slightly and consistently increased at a yearly average of 2 – 3 percent during the past 11 years.”

Just over half of South Korea’s Catholics live in the metropolitan areas of Seoul, Suwon, Incheon and Uijeongbu.

The number of parishes in 2012 was 1,664, an increase of 17 from the previous year, while the number of mission stations rose by three to a total of 796.

Despite these increases, however, the report found that the number of newly baptized persons in 2012 was 132,076, a decrease of 1.8 percent from the previous year. Of those baptized, 25,141 were infants, a decrease of 2.2 percent from the previous year.

The statistics document also found a decline in new ordinations to the priesthood in 2012. While 131 priests were ordained, this represented a 7.6 percent decrease from the previous year. The total number of clergy in South Korea was 4,788, including 34 bishops.

Furthermore, the report found that the number of seminarians decreased by three percent to reach 1,540.

Reception of the sacraments also declined in 2012. The number of Catholics receiving the Sacrament of Confession was just under 4.9 million, down by 4.6 percent from the year before.

The average rate for Sunday Mass attendance was 22.7 percent of the total Catholics in Korea, a decrease of 0.5 percent from the previous year.