The CatholicWitness The Newspaper of the Diocese of Harrisburg OctOber 2, 2015 VOl. 49 NO. 18 EMILY M. ALBERT, THE CATHOLIC WITNESS Pope Francis blesses a woman who was among those present for the Holy Father’s address to cardinals, bishops, priests and seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, on Sept. 27. Images of the pontiff pausing to bless people in the crowds left an indelible mark on the pope’s visit to the United States. Pope’s Parting Message: Serve, Care for Each Other By Dennis Sadowski in good faith. But the temptation to be Catholic News Service scandalized by the freedom of God, who sends rain on the righteous and ope Francis urged the hundreds the unrighteous alike, bypassing bu- of thousands of people gath- reaucracy, officialdom and inner cir- Pered for the closing Mass of cles, threatens the authenticity of faith. the World Meeting of Families to serve Hence it must be vigorously rejected,” and care for each other as freely as God he said. loves the human family. “Once we realize this, we can under- The pope called upon the faithful to stand why Jesus’ words about causing embrace signs that the Holy Spirit can ‘scandal’ are so harsh. For Jesus, the work through everyone. He referred to truly ‘intolerable’ scandal consists in the readings in the multilingual Mass everything that breaks down and de- – from the Book of Numbers and the stroys our trust in the working of the Gospel of Mark – in which members Spirit,” he continued. of the faith community questioned the Pope Francis held up the family as work of those not part of their group vital to building the Church for the fu- and for prophesying in the name of ture. He said love must be freely shared God. for faith to grow. “To raise doubts about the working “That is why our families, our homes, of the Spirit, to give the impression are true domestic churches. They are CNS/BRIAN SNYDER, REUTERS that it cannot take place in those who the right place for faith to become life, A woman prays during the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families with and life to become faith,” he said. are not ‘part of our group,’ who are not Pope Francis in Philadelphia Sept. 27. ‘like us,’ is a dangerous temptation,” “Little gestures” of love exist daily in the pope said. “Not only does it block the presence and working of the Spirit. from the sidewalk throngs by Secret the lives of family and serve to carry conversion to the faith; it is a perver- It shows us that, like happiness, holi- Service agents, who themselves man- on God’s love as well, Pope Francis ex- sion of faith. Faith opens a window to ness is always tied to little gestures.” aged to crack smiles after days of plained. Illustrating his maintaining a stern demeanor as they “These little gestures are those we point before the guarded the pontiff. learn at home, in the family. They Mass, Pope Francis Pope Francis recalled that Jesus en- get lost amid all the other things we engaged in “little countered “hostility from people who do, yet they do make each day differ- gestures” himself did not accept what he said and did,” ent. They are the quiet things done by along the papal pa- saying they thought it intolerable that mothers and grandmothers, by fathers rade route to the Christ was open to honest and sincere and grandfathers, by children. They are Mass, kissing and faith from men and women who were little signs of tenderness, affection and blessing many ba- not part of God’s chosen people. compassion,” he said. bies brought to him “The disciples, for their part, acted More CLOSING MASS, page 8 The 2 - Catholic Witness • October 2, 2015 PoPe Francis Visits the United states Pope, ‘Son of Immigrant Family,’ Tells Obama He’s Ready to Learn in U.S. By Cindy Wooden President Obama thanked Pope Francis for Catholic News Service his encyclical, but spent most of his speech praising the pope’s leadership style. Pope Francis introduced himself to Presi- “Your Holiness, in your words and deeds, dent Barack Obama and all people of the Unit- you set a profound moral example,” he said. ed States as a “son of an immigrant family” “In these gentle but firm reminders of our ob- arriving in the United States for the first time ligations to God and to one another, you are to learn from others and to share from his own shaking us out of complacency. experience. “All of us may, at times, experience dis- In a country the pope said he knows was comfort when we contemplate the distance “largely built” by immigrant families, he made between how we lead our daily lives and what his debut speech to Americans Sept. 23 on the we know to be true and right,” the president South Lawn of the White House with some said, but the call also gives people confidence 20,000 people in attendance. that they need to “come together, in humility While obviously honored by the welcome, Pope Francis was clear in issuing several chal- and service, and pursue a world that is more lenges, including by publicly voicing his sup- loving, more just, and more free.” port for the U.S. bishops’ defense of religious Dr. Mark Totaro and Peter Biasucci, respec- freedom. The bishops have objected to the tively the Executive Director/CEO and Assis- Obama Administration’s efforts to force al- tant Executive Director of Catholic Charities most all employers, including many Catholic in the Diocese of Harrisburg, were present for institutions, to fund contraception coverage in the Holy Father’s meeting with the president. health insurance policies. “Although the view was from a distance, “Mr. President,” the pope told him, Ameri- CNS/JOSHUA ROBERTS there was a feeling of pride of connection can Catholics want “a society which is truly U.S. President Barack Obama greets Pope Francis during an arrival ceremony on to country and faith,” Mr. Biasucci told The tolerant and inclusive,” one that safeguards the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Sept. 23. Catholic Witness. individual rights and rejects “every form of In outlining his agenda for his visit to the unjust discrimination,” but also respects the doors to cooperation within our human family no longer be left to a future generation,” the United States, the Holy Father “used the oc- deeply held religious beliefs of citizens and represent positive steps along the path of rec- pope told the president. Now is a “critical mo- casion to subtly deliver his own messages: onciliation, justice and freedom,” Pope Fran- ment” when it is still possible to make positive the moral and ethical obligations that flow encouragement to the legislature at his ad- cis told the president. changes, but they must be made quickly. from them. dress to the joint session of Congress, hope for President Obama, in his remarks, spoke The crowd on the lawn applauded almost “Such change demands on our part a seri- every line of the speeches of both Pope Francis ous and responsible recognition not only of the marriage and families at the World Meeting of about religious freedom as well, but referred Families in Philadelphia and appreciation to only to the defense of Christians being perse- and President Obama. kind of world we may be leaving to our chil- cuted and even killed for their beliefs around Before moving inside for a private conver- dren, but also to the millions of people living the president for his proposal to reduce air pol- the world. sation, both leaders also spoke about the envi- under a system which has overlooked them,” lution,” he said. The pope arrived in the United States from ronment and, particularly, Pope Francis’ recent he said. “Pope Francis has an understated charisma Cuba, and both he and the president spoke encyclical Laudato Si’, which urges nations The earth itself has been excluded from that is undeniable,” Mr. Biasucci said. “He be- about efforts to normalize relations between and the international community to take con- people’s concern just as the poor have, the gan to make his mark and impression before he the two countries after more than five decades crete, serious action to slow climate change pope said. “To use a telling phrase of the Rev. began to speak. It is a memory and impression of tension and estrangement. and help the poor, who are most impacted by Martin Luther King, we can say that we have that I pray will endure for a very long time.” “The efforts which were recently made to environmental destruction. defaulted on a promissory note, and now is the (Contributing to this story was Jen Reed of mend broken relationships and to open new “Climate change is a problem which can time to honor it.” The Catholic Witness.) Francis to Congress: Stop Bickering, World Needs Your Help By Cindy Wooden “I would like to take this opportunity to dialogue with the fulfill the call to serve the common good, promoting a culture Catholic News Service many thousands of men and women who strive each day to do of “hope and healing, of peace and justice.” an honest day’s work, to bring home their daily bread, to save For the speech, Pope Francis stood in the House chamber The past, the promise and the potential of the United States money and – one step at a time – to build a better life for their in front of Rep.