VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXV - # 211
DATE 27-11-2015

Summary:
- Meeting with clergy in Kenya: following Jesus leaves no place for ambition
- The Pope at the UNON: African heritage at constant risk of destruction
- In a Kangemi slum: thank you for reminding us that there are other types of
culture
- The Pope leaves Kenya for Uganda
- Other Pontifical Acts
- Notice

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 Meeting with clergy in Kenya: following Jesus leaves no place for ambition
 Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) - In the sports field of the St. Mary
School, belonging to the archdiocese of Nairobi and founded in 1939 by the
Felician Sisters, the Holy Father met with clergy, men and women religious, and
seminarians of Kenya, to whom he addressed an extemporaneous discourse in his
native Spanish, including many expressions and idioms typical of his homeland
Argentina. An interpreter translated into English, one of Kenya's official
languages.
 Francis said that he was struck by the passage in St. Paul's letter in which
he
says, "And I am sure of this, that He Who began a good work in you will bring
it
to completion at the day of Jesus Christ", and added, "All of you were chosen
by
the Lord; He chose each one of us. He began His work on the day He looked at us
in Baptism, and then later when He looked at us and said: 'If you wish, come
with me'. So we lined up and began our journey. But it was He Who began the
journey, not us. In the Gospel we read about one of the people Jesus healed,
who
then wanted to follow Him. But Jesus told him, 'No'. If we want to follow Jesus
Christ - in the priesthood and or consecrated life - we have to enter by the
door! And the door is Christ! He is the one Who calls, Who begins, Who does the
work. Some people want to enter by the window. It doesn't work that way. So
please, if any of you has friends who came in by the window, embrace them and
tell them it would be better to leave and go serve God in another way, because
a
work which Jesus Himself did not begin, by the door, will never be brought to
completion".
 "There are people who do not know why God calls them, but they know that He
has. Go ahead in peace, God will let you know why He has called you. Others
want
to follow the Lord for some benefit. We remember the mother of James and John,
who said, 'Lord, I beg you, when you cut the cake, give the biggest slice to my
sons. ... Let one of them sit at your right and the other at your left'. We can
 be
tempted to follow Jesus for ambition: ambition for money or power. All of us
can
say, 'When I first followed Jesus, I was not like that'. But it has happened to
other people, and little by little it was sowed in our heart like weeds. In our
life as disciples of Jesus there must be no room for personal ambition, for
money, for worldly importance. We will follow Jesus to the very last final step
of His earthly life, the Cross. He will make sure you rise again, but you have
to keep following Him to the end. And I tell you this in all seriousness,
because the Church is not a business or an a NGO. The Church is a mystery: the
mystery of Jesus Who looks at each of us and says 'Follow me'".
 "So let this be clear: Jesus is the one Who calls. ... He does not 'canonise'
us.
We continue to be the same old sinners. ... We are all sinners; starting with
me.
But Jesus' tenderness and love keep us going. May He who began a good work in
you bring it to completion. ... Do you remember any time in the Gospel, when
the
Apostle James wept? Or when one of the other Apostles wept? Only one wept, the
Gospel tells us; he who knew he was a sinner, so great a sinner that he
betrayed
his Lord. And when he realised this, he wept. Then Jesus made him Pope. Who can
understand Jesus? It is a mystery! So never stop weeping. When priests and
religious no longer weep, something is wrong. We need to weep for our
infidelity, for all the pain in our world, for all those people who are cast
aside, the elderly who are abandoned, for children who are killed, for the
things we do not understand. We need to weep when people ask us, 'Why?'. None
of
us has all the answers to those questions. ... There are situations in life for
which we can only weep, and look to Jesus on the cross. This is the only answer
we have for certain injustices, certain kinds of pain, certain situations in
life. ... Whenever a consecrated man or woman or a priest forgets Christ
crucified, he or she falls into an ugly sin, a sin which disgusts God; it is
the
sin of being tepid, lukewarm. ... What else can I say to you? Never stray from
Jesus. In other words, never stop praying. 'But Father, sometimes it is so
tiresome to pray, it wearies us. It makes us fall asleep...'. So sleep before
the Lord: that is also a way of praying. But stay there, before Him and pray!
Do
not stop praying".
 The Holy Father reiterated that "when we let ourselves be chosen by Jesus, it
is to serve: to serve the People of God, to serve the poorest, the outcast,
living on the fringes of society, to serve children and the elderly. But also
to
serve people who are unaware of their own pride and sin; to serve Jesus in
them.
Letting ourselves be chosen by Jesus means letting ourselves be chosen to
serve,
and not to be served".
 "This is what I wanted to say to you, what I felt when I heard those words of
St. Paul, who trusted that the One Who began a good work in you will bring it
to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ'. A cardinal said to me ... that when he
goes to the cemetery and sees the graves of dedicated missionaries, men and
women religious who gave their lives, he wonders, 'Why don't we canonise this
or
that one tomorrow?', because they spent their lives serving others. ... Thank
you
for your courage in following Jesus, thank you for all the times you realise
that you yourselves are sinners, and thank you for all the tender caresses you
give to those who need them. Thank you for all those times when you helped so
many people die in peace. Thank you for 'burning' your lives in hope. Thank you
for letting yourselves be helped, corrected and forgiven every day. And as I
thank you, I also ask you not to forget to pray for me, as I need your prayers.
Many thanks".
 "I must leave now, as there are children suffering from cancer whom I wish to
greet and comfort. I thank you, seminarians, whom I have not named but are
included in all that I have said. And if any of you do not have the courage to
take this path, seek another job, consider marrying and having a family. Thank
you".

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 The Pope at the UNON: African heritage at constant risk of destruction
 Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) - The Pope's final appointment yesterday
afternoon was at the United Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), the general
headquarters of the United Nations in Africa, instituted by the General
Assembly
in 1996. The structure also houses the offices of two United Nations
programmes,
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN-Habitat (United
Nations Human Settlement Programme). Around twenty international and United
Nations organisations have their regional offices for Africa in Nairobi.
 Upon arrival, the Pope was welcomed by the director general of the UNON, Sahle
Work Zewde, the executive director of UNEP Achim Steiner, and the executive
director of UN-Habitat, Joan Clos. Then, accompanied by the director general,
he
was invited to plant a tree in the UNON park; as Francis later emphasised, this
is an act charged with symbolic meaning in many cultures. He then entered the
new UNEP building where he pronounced a discourse before 3,000 people, in which
he expressed his hope that COP 21 may conclude with a "transformational" global
agreement based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equality and
participation, and with three complex and interdependent aims: the alleviation
of the impact of climate change, the fight against poverty, and the promotion
of
respect for human dignity. In view of the imminent 10th Ministerial Conference
of the World Trade Organisation, to be held in Nairobi, the Holy Father also
spoke about the agreements on intellectual property and access to medicine and
essential healthcare, and also mentioned illegal trafficking in animals and
precious stones, trades which perpetuate poverty and exclusion.
 The following are extensive extracts from his discourse:
 "Planting a tree is first and foremost an invitation to continue the battle
against phenomena like deforestation and desertification. ... Planting a tree
is
also an incentive to keep trusting, hoping, and above all working in practice
to
reverse all those situations of injustice and deterioration which we currently
experience. ... In a few days an important meeting on climate change will be
held
in Paris, where the international community as such will once again confront
these issues. It would be sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were
particular
interests to prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information
in order to protect their own plans and projects".
 "COP21 represents an important stage in the process of developing a new energy
system which depends on a minimal use of fossil fuels, aims at energy
efficiency
and makes use of energy sources with little or no carbon content. We are faced
with a great political and economic obligation to rethink and correct the
dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of development. ... For this
reason, I express my hope that COP21 will achieve a global and
'transformational' agreement based on the principles of solidarity, justice,
equality and participation; an agreement which targets three complex and
interdependent goals: lessening the impact of climate change, fighting poverty
and ensuring respect for human dignity".
 "For all the difficulties involved, there is a growing 'conviction that our
planet is a homeland and that humanity is one people living in a common home'.
No country 'can act independently of a common responsibility. If we truly
desire
positive change, we have to humbly accept our interdependence'. The problem
arises whenever we think of interdependence as a synonym for domination, or the
subjection of some to the interests of others, of the powerless to the
powerful.
What is needed is sincere and open dialogue, with responsible cooperation on
the
part of all: political authorities, the scientific community, the business
world
and civil society".
 "At the same time we believe that 'human beings, while capable of the worst,
are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good and
making a new start'. This conviction leads us to hope that, whereas the
post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most irresponsible
in history, 'humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century will be
remembered
for having generously shouldered its grave responsibilities'".
 "This much-needed change of course cannot take place without a substantial
commitment to education and training. Nothing will happen unless political and
technical solutions are accompanied by a process of education which proposes
new
ways of living. ... This calls for an educational process which fosters in boys
and girls, women and men, young people and adults, the adoption of a culture of
care ... in place of a culture of waste, a 'throw-away culture' where people
use
and discard themselves, others and the environment. By promoting an 'awareness
of our common origin, of our mutual belonging, and of the future to be shared
with everyone', we will favour the development of new convictions, attitudes
and
lifestyles. ... We need to be alert to one sad sign of the 'globalisation of
indifference': the fact that we are gradually growing accustomed to the
suffering of others, as if it were something normal, or even worse, becoming
resigned to such extreme and scandalous kinds of 'using and discarding' and
social exclusion as new forms of slavery, human trafficking, forced labour,
prostitution and trafficking in organs. 'There has been a tragic rise in the
number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty aggravated by
environmental degradation. They are not recognised by international conventions
as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind without
enjoying any legal protection whatsoever'".
 "Together with neglect of the environment, we have witnessed for some time now
a rapid process of urbanisation, which in many cases has unfortunately led to a
'disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities ... [where] we increasingly
see
the troubling symptoms of a social breakdown which spawns 'increased violence
and a rise in new forms of social aggression, ... a loss of identity', a lack
of
rootedness and social anonymity".
 "Here I would offer a word of encouragement to all those working at local and
international levels to ensure that the process of urbanisation becomes an
effective means for development and integration. This means working to
guarantee
for everyone, especially those living in outlying neighbourhoods, the basic
rights to dignified living conditions and to land, lodging and labour. ... The
forthcoming Habitat-III Conference, planned for Quito in October 2016, could be
a significant occasion for identifying ways of responding to these issues".
 "In a few days, Nairobi will host the 10th Ministerial Conference of the World
Trade Organisation. ... While recognising that much has been done in this area,
 it
seems that we have yet to attain an international system of commerce which is

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