Francis sends his old friend, Leonardo Boff, a photo of the two in San Miguel, Argentina from 1972

(click images to enlarge)

Those are some nice looking cassocks the duo are wearing.

source: twitter @LeonardoBoff, 5 August 2019

Related:

• Where Francis gets his ideas

• Boff interviewed on the telephone by BBC Mundo

• Francis takes his ‘Jubilee Year of Mercy’ to its logical conclusion

• Where did Francis get his name?

• Francis sends birthday greetings to Leonardo Boff

Some things to ponder...

David Rene James de Rothschild (head of the Rothschild family) with Dr. Neil Rosenstein, author of ‘The Unbroken Chain’ 

source: twitter @MauricePinay, 2 Nov 2018

It’s logical to conclude that the entire conspiracy racket and alt-right are therefore controlled golems.

The World Jewish Congress checking up on their man, Francis the ‘humble’ hasidic pope, in the Vatican

source: twitter @HereIsJorge, 2 Nov 2018

The Catholic media is consequently controlled.

What more needs to be said?  Conspiracy writers and reporters in the medias whether they be mainstream, alternative, conservative, liberal, Catholic, protestant, Jewish, et al., all have access to the same information as we at Call Me Jorge... do. This isn’t rocket scientry or top secret nuclear tech, it’s so blatantly in the open — it’s as if they are rubbing your face in it! So why the silence? And why does the public continue to look towards these people for information?


For more about David Rene James de Rothschild’s background and trip to the Vatican with the World Jewish Congress, see: Humble Pope Francis of the 'poor Church' to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Nostra Aetate with Scion of Rothschild Usury Dynasty and Multibillionaire Ronald Lauder.  Those who want to read the ‘joke’ Francis relishes telling every Talmudic Jew he knows, see: Francis tells his favorite blasphemous joke again!.

— The Unbroken Chain —

source: The Unbroken Chain - Third Edition - Volume 1, 2 & 3, Avotaynu

(click image to enlarge)

source: Now Jewish Roots, book review in The New York Times Magazine, (20 March 1977)

The never ending industriousness of a revolutionary...

...while everyone else is on vacation,
Francis is hard at work.

source for video: twitter, CatholicSat, 18 July 2018

He’s hell-bent on completing the shtetl on the Tiber.

The Vatican will be using the youth to sell their revolutionary program in the upcoming Synod

What Francis meant when he said the church must “honestly recognize her weaknesses and shortcomings” and join the “cultural revolution”

“There is a real cultural revolution on the horizon of history at this time. The Church must, first and foremost, be part of it. In this perspective, it is essential to honestly recognize her weaknesses and shortcomings.”

— Francis’ address to Pontifical Academy for Life —

Francis said the above to members of the Pontifical Academy for Life this past week.  Recall this is the same group which already uses the ambiguous politically-correct “genders” in its new statutes instead of the easily understood “sex”.  Not only that, but Francis also appointed not one but two pro-abortion Talmudic rabbis as members.  Francis’ “real cultural revolution” is one which inculcates pewsitters into Noahides compliant with Halakhic law, further processing them into followers of the demented rabbis.  We encourage readers unfamiliar with this topic to read the linked post below.  It should set the reader straight as to what Francis meant when he said in his address that he wants a, “deepening of scientific, anthropological and ethical knowledge, and in service to life.”  Francis, in reality, desires a future for the Novus Ordo filled with man-made superstitions, pedophilia, and rabbinic racial supremacy.

• update on the new member of the Pontifical Academy Of Life — Rabbi Avraham Steinberg, M.D.

Every day under Francis, the Novus Ordo churches are coming closer to resembling synagogues and the Vatican a shtetl.

Francis’ trip to Egypt in one photo

(click images to enlarge)

Francis ‘the humble’ ‘first Moslem’ gives the thumbs up to children dressed as pharaohs.  This was a photo-op extraordinaire.  Under extremely tight security for a North African country with the majority of the audience separated from Francis by a 15 foot fence barrier and tons of security, the children were to go over and embrace Francis but they didn't at first.  It wasn’t until he waved over the children that they remembered what had been rehearsed.   Symbolically, Francis is giving thumbs up to Pharaonic magic and the occult right before beginning his man-made Novus Ordo mess.  This symbolic theme was also contained in his logo for the Egypt trip and written about here previously.  Francis is continuing to demonstrate his ‘revolution of tenderness’ by embracing the pharaohs and helping to further de-Christianize Egypt.

 L'Osservatore Romano published this photo of the moment from another perspective.

According to Cardinal McCarrick, in 2013 six months after the conclave, ‘Francis is the Pied Piper of Hamelin’

 “Yeah, five years. If we had five years, the Lord working through Bergoglio in five years could make the Church over again.”

 “He will walk across the stage and people will follow him. They will find in him like they found in the ‘Pied Piper of Hamelin’ they will find in him a certain charism that this is what God’s love is all about and this is what Francis is all about.”

“The longer he is in the more I think it is likely we could see that he has changed the papacy.” 

 
More on the disturbing conclave which elected Francis:

• How Bergoglio received Mahoney's vote

• What role did Venezuela play in Francis' election?

• Bergoglio's pre-conclave remarks

• meditation before the conclave

• Seagull at the conclave

• FLASHBACK: A talmudic rabbi chimes in on the election of Jorge Mario Bergoglio

What was Francis doing on the USA’s election day?

...meeting with pro-abortion, pro-divorce, and George Soros lackey — Emma Bonino to further plot the Islamization of Europe!

source: ANSA-Vatican, Pope receives Emma Bonino

Emma with her patron György Schwartz (aka George Soros) in 2015

George Soros, “When I first met Emma Bonino, she wanted me to join the Transnational Radical Party. I refused to join thinking it was too utopian. But two years ago I joined the TRP. It goes to show she is a visionary thinker who is often ahead of her time.”

A picture is worth a thousand words.

(click image to enlarge)

Women Deacons? No Problem for John Salza and Robert Siscoe!

Francis, Stop the Commission!!!

According to the New York Times last Tuesday, Francis “created a commission to study the possibility of ordaining women as deacons.”  The commission is named, ‘Study Commission on the Women’s Diaconate’.  Appointed to this commission were six men and six women.  Joshua J. McElwee of National Catholic Reporter elaborates further in his article, Francis institutes commission to study female deacons, appointing gender-balanced membership:

“Included in the group are six faculty members of pontifical universities, four members of the Vatican’s International Theological Commission, and one member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Among the members are six priests, four laywomen, and two women religious.”   

[...]

“The full list of members of the new commission: 

• Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria, secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, serving as president;
• Holy Family Sr. Nuria Calduch-Benages, member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission;
• Francesca Cocchini, faculty member at Rome’s La Sapienza University and the Patristic Institute Augustinianum;
• Msgr. Piero Coda, president of Rome’s Sophia University Institute and member of the International Theological Commission;
• Augustinian Fr. Robert Dodaro, president of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum;
• Jesuit Fr. Santiago Madrigal, ecclesiologist at Madrid’s Pontifical University Comillas;
• Franciscan Sr. Mary Melone, the first female president of Rome’s Pontifical University Antonianum;
• Fr. Karl-Heinz Menke, emeritus professor of dogmatic theology at Germany’s University of Bonn and member of the International Theological Commission;
• Salesian Fr. Aimable Musoni, ecclesiologist at Rome’s Salesian Pontifical University;
• Jesuit Fr. Bernard Pottier, faculty member at Brussels’ Institute D'etudes Théologiques and member of the International Theological Commission;
• Marianne Schlosser, theologian at the University of Vienna and member of the International Theological Commission;
• Michelina Tenace, theologian at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University;
• Phyllis Zagano, senior research associate-in-residence at Hofstra University in New York.”

Please write to the Vatican bureaucrats or at the least contact your local diocesan official and let them know that this commission will only be wasting precious resources because John Salza and Robert Siscoe already have the answer!

The following scans are taken from the book True or False Pope? by Robert Siscoe and John Salza, chapter 15, subsection Women Deacons?, pages 485 to 492.  A reader who wishes to remain anonymous kindly shared these pages with Call Me Jorge...  The first excerpt starts off with Gerry Matatics’ position on female deacons and the remainder of the excerpts are Salza’s and Siscoe’s.

[...]

[...]

[...]

[...]

[...]

And there you have it, Salza and Siscoe may not like it but they believe it isn’t an impossibility!


Related:

• new Vatican commission to be set up to study the possibility of women deacons

• It’s never a dull day in the Novus Ordo

Francis’ latest message — build bridges not walls and let the non-Christians overrun the little that is left of Christianity in Europe

(underlines are Call Me Jorge...’s for emphasis)

—English transcript —

I know that you are gathered in Munich, Bavaria, from many Movements and Groups, for your meeting called “Encounter – Reconciliation – Future”.

You are right. It is time to get together, to face the problems of our day with a true European spirit. Apart from some visible walls, other invisible walls are being strengthened which tend to divide our continent. These walls are being built in people’s hearts. They are walls made of fear and aggression, a failure to understand people of different backgrounds or faith. They are walls of political and economic selfishness, without respect for the life and dignity of every person.

Europe finds itself in a complex and highly mobile world, which is ever more globalised and therefore ever less Eurocentric.

If we are aware of these momentous issues, then we must have the courage to say: we need change! Europe is called to reflect and to ask itself whether its immense heritage, so permeated with Christianity, belongs in a museum or is still able to inspire culture and to offer its treasures to the whole of humankind.

You are meeting so as to look together at these challenges facing Europe and to highlight testimonies of life in society which enable networking, so as to welcome and show solidarity towards those who are weak and disadvantaged, to build bridges and overcome conflicts whether they are open or latent.

Europe’s history is an ongoing encounter between Heaven and earth. Heaven indicates openness to the Transcendent, to God, which has always been characteristic of European people. Earth represents their practical and concrete ability to address situations and problems.

You too, Christian communities and movements which began in Europe, are bearers of many charisms, which are gifts of God to be made available to others. “Together for Europe” is a unifying power with the clear aim of translating the basic values of Christianity into concrete responses to the challenges of a continent in crisis.

Your lifestyle is based on mutual love, lived out with Gospel radicalness. A culture of reciprocity means talking things over, esteeming one another, welcoming one another, helping one another. It means appreciating the diversity of charisms so as to move together towards unity and enrich it. The tangible and clear presence of Christ among you is the witness which leads to faith.

Every authentic unity draws on the wealth of diversity which forms it – like a family which grows in unity in so far as its members can fully and fearlessly be themselves. If Europe as a whole wants to be a family of peoples, it should put the human person back at the centre; it should be an open and welcoming continent, and continue to establish ways of working together that are not only economic but also social and cultural.

God always brings newness. You have experienced this so often in your lives! Are we open to surprises today too? You, who have answered the Lord’s call courageously, are called to show his newness in your lives and bring to life the fruits of the Gospel, fruits that have grown from Christian roots, which for the last 2,000 years have nourished Europe. And you will bear even greater fruit! Maintain the freshness of your charisms; continue to be “Together” and extend it further! Make your homes, communities and cities into workshops of communion, friendship and fraternity, which can bring people together and be open to the whole world.

Together for Europe? Today this is more than ever necessary. In a Europe made up of many nations, you bear witness to the fact that we are children of one Father and brothers and sisters to one another. You are a precious seed of hope, so that Europe can rediscover its vocation to contribute to the unity of all.

Barf! 

More New World Order junk.

Francis is supposed to be on vacation. 

Why can’t he just shut up?

The revolutionary takes no vacation even when he is on vacation...so does he ever sleep?

Francis the humble revolutionary will not rest until he has overturned every doctrine of the Church!

Message of Francis

Sixth World Congress Against the Death Penalty

Oslo, 21-23 June 2016

I greet the organizers of this World Congress against the death penalty, the group of countries supporting it, particularly Norway as its host country, and all those representatives of governments, international organizations and civil society taking part in it. I likewise express my personal appreciation, along with that of men and women of goodwill, for your commitment to a world free of the death penalty.

One sign of hope is that public opinion is manifesting a growing opposition to the death penalty, even as a means of legitimate social defence.  Indeed, nowadays the death penalty is unacceptable, however grave the crime of the convicted person. It is an offence to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person; it likewise contradicts God’s plan for individuals and society, and his merciful justice.  Nor is it consonant with any just purpose of punishment. It does not render justice to victims, but instead fosters vengeance. The commandment “Thou shalt not kill” has absolute value and applies both to the innocent and to the guilty.

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is an auspicious occasion for promoting worldwide ever more evolved forms of respect for the life and dignity of each person. It must not be forgotten that the inviolable and God-given right to life also belongs to the criminal.

Today I would encourage all to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, but also for the improvement of prison conditions, so that they fully respect the human dignity of those incarcerated.  “Rendering justice” does not mean seeking punishment for its own sake, but ensuring that the basic purpose of all punishment is the rehabilitation of the offender. The question must be dealt with within the larger framework of a system of penal justice open to the possibility of the guilty party’s reinsertion in society. There is no fitting punishment without hope! Punishment for its own sake, without room for hope, is a form of torture, not of punishment.

I trust that this Congress can give new impulse to the effort to abolish capital punishment. For this reason, I encourage all taking part to carry on this great initiative and I assure them of my prayers.

Francis is a cafeteria ‘catholic’

“In fact, to be a Christian does not primarily mean to belong to a certain culture or adhere to a certain doctrine, but rather to join one’s own life, in all its aspects, to the person of Jesus and, through Him, to the Father.”

—Francis, 15 May 2016—

source: Zenit, Pope on Pentecost: ‘Being God’s Children Is in Our DNA’

Francis gives Apostolic Blessing to rabbi & wife on their 70th Anniversary of their Wedding

Francis imparts the Apostolic Blessing to Laura Saxe and Erwin Schild 

[...]Collins noted that Rabbi Schild, who turns 96 on Wednesday, was a leader who has long promoted positive relations through the Christian Jewish Dialogue of Toronto, which facilitates a better understanding between the two communities.

Schild, who was born in Germany and survived the Dachau concentration camp, was Adath Israel’s spiritual leader from 1947 until 1989. The rabbi, a member of the Order of Canada, was instrumental in building up the conservative congregation, which has more than 1,800 member families.

Rev. Damian MacPherson, director of the office of ecumenical and interfaith affairs for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, who helped push for the papal blessing, said it was an opportunity to honour the rabbi’s work as well as celebrate 70 years of marriage.

“It symbolizes the very success that dialogue has achieved,” he said in an interview. “He is probably the only rabbi in Canada who has received a papal blessing.”

In his address, Schild called the papal blessing “an astounding gift,” which requires “an exception degree of appreciation” on their part.

He added that equality and diversity are the foundations of the ideal society — noting that all human beings are equal, but are not identical. Each is irreplaceable.

“Let there be dialogue and monologue,” he said. “Let me love others for not being my copies.

“And let the diversity of our faiths not divide us, but bring us closer together.”

source:Pope gives rare 'blessing' to Toronto rabbi, wife

Why was Francis imparting his Apostolic Blessing upon the 70th Wedding Anniversary of a rabbi emeritus and his wife?

Our thesis at Call Me Jorge... is very simple.

Francis was paying the rabbi back publicly for writing the rough draft of his pontificate!

“Erwin Schild didn’t become a rabbi for nothing, a teacher who has been committed to Jewish-Christian and also Jewish-German dialogue for years. His openness reaches far beyond the Christian and Jewish religious communities. “No group, no religion has an exclusive link to the Lord of the world [sic].” (From Erwin Schild’s talk before Lutheran Christians on Reformation Day 1988 in his home town of Cologne: The World through my Window: Insights and directions of a Canadian rabbi of German descent for life in our time, Cologne 1996.) In the encounter at Dachau, too, one feels his plea to encounter people in love, kindness [charity], to show [them] compassion, humility, and a spirit of sacrifice, to seek to dialogue — in other words, to build bridges. We can find a way to a peaceful world if we “accept responsibility for the world around us, share our bread with the hungry, [and] feel that a languishing child is an intolerable blasphemy against our divine image and likeness.” (The world through my Window, Cologne 1996)”

source: Namen statt Nummern - Gedächtnisbuch, Erwin Schild in Dachau: eine Stimme des Friedens [translated into English from the original German]

No religion has an exclusive link to the Lord, love, compassion, kindness, humility, dialogue, build bridges, sharing, hunger, peace, blah, blah, blah...


Doesn't this sound like Francis talking? 

Rabbi Erwin Schild and his wife Laura Saxe Schild being congratulated by
Cardinal Thomas Collins (Archbishop of Toronto) on 6 March 2016
at Adath Israel Congregation where they received their blessing.

At today's general audience...

Francis gave the thumbs up to the Chinese flag

The flag of the People's Republic of China (also referred to as the “Five-star Red Flag”) is red in color to represent the communist revolution.  The five yellow stars represent the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. 

Francis — Kirill — Castro

Freemasonry — Liberation Theology — Communism

Francis and Kirill sign a Joint Declaration as Raul Castro looks on.

Francis made an unprecedented stop in Cuba earlier today to meet with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all of Rus’, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to Vatican spokesman, Rev. Federico Lombardi, it was the first meeting between a pope and the Russian patriarch which therefore makes it historic. Patriarch Kirill (real name, Vladimir Mikhailovich Gundyayev) was elected and installed as patriach in 2009 because, “He (Kirill) is seen as a moderniser willing to foster better relations with the Vatican.” Furthermore, Kirill is an agent of the KGB:

“Material from the KGB archives examined by a parliamentary committee led by a dissident priest, Father Gleb Yakunin, in 1992 also revealed that most of the Church heirarchy was infiltrated by the secret police.

Kirill, 62, was alleged to be an agent codenamed ‘Mikhailov’ and Filaret was identified as agent ‘Ostrovskii’.”

Not only is Kirill an intelligence agent, he is also a billionaire.

“This brings us back to Kirill/Mikhailov. In 2006 Archbishop Kirill’s personal wealth was estimated at $4 billion by the Moscow News. No wonder. In the mid-1990s, the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations, managed by Kirill, was granted the privilege of duty-free importation of cigarettes as reward for his loyalty to the KGB. It did not take long for him to become the largest supplier of foreign cigarettes in Russia.”

Perhaps this is what Francis means by going to the peripheries and a poor church?

Kirill the bald-faced liar

The patriarch originally denied that he wears a Breguet watch, which costs about 30,000 euros, and called any photo evidence a collage. Whoops...notice in the doctored photo one can still see the reflection of the watch in the table which has been photoshopped off of Kirill's wrist.
(see: The Telegraph's Russian Orthodox Church admits doctoring Patriarch photograph)

According to Ion Mihai Pacepa in the book he wrote, Disinformation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies for Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism, Kirill's employers the KGB created Christianized Marxism or as it is known in the Western hemisphere, Liberation Theology. 

Castro greets Francis at the José Martí airport in Havana, Cuba.

Now that we have given the reader a feel for whom Patriarch Kirill is, let's move onto Raul Castro. For those who don't know, Raul and his brother Fidel come from a Marrano family. This is of their own admission and has been published at Jewish Virtual Library as well as Jewish Cuba. A marrano is one who converts from Talmudic Judaism to Catholicism and then professes Catholicism publicly while privately practicing the Talmudic Jewish faith.

When Fidel Castro arrived in Cuba in 1956 to start his communist revolution against Fulgencio Batista, the dictator of Cuba, he was hidden by freemasons in a masonic lodge and given protection by them. Castro was inspired by the teachings of José Martí. We will return to José in a moment. Today there are over 318 masonic lodges in Cuba and under the Castro brothers, freemasonry unlike Catholicism has never been persecuted.  

In May 1985, Fidel Castro met with Brazilian liberation theologian, Frei Betto, several times and had a 23 hour dialogue about life, religion, revolution, etc... This was published as the book,  Fidel and Religion: Talks with Frei Betto.

Raul Castro “was involved in organizing the meeting,” between Francis and Kirill, according to Rev. Federico Lombardi, and that discussions about this historic meeting had been going on “for at least two years.”

Logia José Martí in Palma Soriano, Santiago de Cuba.

When Francis came to Cuba for his first visit, he offered the Novus Ordo Missae at Revolution Square in Havana.  Revolution Square is known for its having the iron images of Ernesto Che Guevara & Camilo Cienfuegos Gorriarán bolted to the sides of the buildings surrounding the square and for its José Martí Memorial which dominates the square.  Recall above we mentioned that Fidel Castro took inspiration from José Martí and that when he came to Cuba to overthrow the government he was protected by the freemasons.  José Martí if you haven't figured it out was a freemason.  Cuba's patriotic song, “Guantanamera” is one of his poems set to music.  So what airport did Kirill and Francis have this historic meeting at where they signed a Joint Declaration?

Why none other than the former Rancho-Boyeros Airport now known since Castro's revolution as José Martí International Airport.

Francis' true color is revolutionary red.

Francis has embraced liberation theology and said, 

“I can only say that the communists have stolen our flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the center of the Gospel.”

Francis interview with Il Messaggero

“Communists say that all this is communism. Sure, twenty centuries later. So when they speak, one can say to them: 'but then you are Christian'.”

Francis interview with Il Messaggero

“Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don’t feel offended.” 

Francis in interview with La Stampa

“There are some declarations that you will like!”

When gifting Evangelii Guadium to Raul Castro.

and Raul Castro said of Francis,

“As I've already told my council of advisers, I read all of the pope's speeches. If the Pope continues to speak like this, sooner or later I will start praying again and I will return to the Catholic Church -- and I'm not saying this jokingly.”

These same characters keep on turning up — freemasons, revolutionaries, communists, liberation theologians, intelligence operatives, and non-Catholics!

What follows is the Joint Declaration between Francis & Kirill which was found on the Vatican's website.  Remember this meeting, the resultant dialogue, and the Joint Declaration have been rabbinically blessed! 

Joint Declaration
of Francis and Kirill

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).

1. By God the Father’s will, from which all gifts come, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the help of the Holy Spirit Consolator, we, Pope Francis and Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, have met today in Havana. We give thanks to God, glorified in the Trinity, for this meeting, the first in history.

It is with joy that we have met like brothers in the Christian faith who encounter one another “to speak face to face” (2Jn12), from heart to heart, to discuss the mutual relations between the Churches, the crucial problems of our faithful, and the outlook for the progress of human civilization.

2. Our fraternal meeting has taken place in Cuba, at the crossroads of North and South, East and West. It is from this island, the symbol of the hopes of the “New World” and the dramatic events of the history of the twentieth century, that we address our words to all the peoples of Latin America and of the other continents.

It is a source of joy that the Christian faith is growing here in a dynamic way. The powerful religious potential of Latin America, its centuries–old Christian tradition, grounded in the personal experience of millions of people, are the pledge of a great future for this region.

3. By meeting far from the longstanding disputes of the “Old World”, we experience with a particular sense of urgency the need for the shared labour of Catholics and Orthodox, who are called, with gentleness and respect, to give an explanation to the world of the hope in us (cf.1Pet3:15).

4. We thank God for the gifts received from the coming into the world of His only Son. We share the same spiritual Tradition of the first millennium of Christianity. The witnesses of this Tradition are the Most Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, and the saints we venerate. Among them are innumerable martyrs who have given witness to their faithfulness to Christ and have become the “seed of Christians”.

5. Notwithstanding this shared Tradition of the first ten centuries, for nearly one thousand years Catholics and Orthodox have been deprived of communion in the Eucharist. We have been divided by wounds caused by old and recent conflicts, by differences inherited from our ancestors, in the understanding and expression of our faith in God, one in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are pained by the loss of unity, the outcome of human weakness and of sin, which has occurred despite the priestly prayer of Christ the Saviour: “So that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you … so that they may be one, as we are one” (Jn17:21).

6. Mindful of the permanence of many obstacles, it is our hope that our meeting may contribute to the re–establishment of this unity willed by God, for which Christ prayed. May our meeting inspire Christians throughout the world to pray to the Lord with renewed fervour for the full unity of all His disciples. In a world which yearns not only for our words but also for tangible gestures, may this meeting be a sign of hope for all people of goodwill!

7. In our determination to undertake all that is necessary to overcome the historical divergences we have inherited, we wish to combine our efforts to give witness to the Gospel of Christ and to the shared heritage of the Church of the first millennium, responding together to the challenges of the contemporary world. Orthodox and Catholics must learn to give unanimously witness in those spheres in which this is possible and necessary. Human civilization has entered into a period of epochal change. Our Christian conscience and our pastoral responsibility compel us not to remain passive in the face of challenges requiring a shared response.

8. Our gaze must firstly turn to those regions of the world where Christians are victims of persecution. In many countries of the Middle East and North Africa whole families, villages and cities of our brothers and sisters in Christ are being completely exterminated. Their churches are being barbarously ravaged and looted, their sacred objects profaned, their monuments destroyed. It is with pain that we call to mind the situation in Syria, Iraq and other countries of the Middle East, and the massive exodus of Christians from the land in which our faith was first disseminated and in which they have lived since the time of the Apostles, together with other religious communities.

9. We call upon the international community to act urgently in order to prevent the further expulsion of Christians from the Middle East. In raising our voice in defence of persecuted Christians, we wish to express our compassion for the suffering experienced by the faithful of other religious traditions who have also become victims of civil war, chaos and terrorist violence.

10. Thousands of victims have already been claimed in the violence in Syria and Iraq, which has left many other millions without a home or means of sustenance. We urge the international community to seek an end to the violence and terrorism and, at the same time, to contribute through dialogue to a swift return to civil peace. Large–scale humanitarian aid must be assured to the afflicted populations and to the many refugees seeking safety in neighbouring lands.

We call upon all those whose influence can be brought to bear upon the destiny of those kidnapped, including the Metropolitans of Aleppo, Paul and John Ibrahim, who were taken in April 2013, to make every effort to ensure their prompt liberation.

11. We lift our prayers to Christ, the Saviour of the world, asking for the return of peace in the Middle East, “the fruit of justice” (Is32:17), so that fraternal co–existence among the various populations, Churches and religions may be strengthened, enabling refugees to return to their homes, wounds to be healed, and the souls of the slain innocent to rest in peace.

We address, in a fervent appeal, all the parts that may be involved in the conflicts to demonstrate good will and to take part in the negotiating table. At the same time, the international community must undertake every possible effort to end terrorism through common, joint and coordinated action. We call on all the countries involved in the struggle against terrorism to responsible and prudent action. We exhort all Christians and all believers of God to pray fervently to the providential Creator of the world to protect His creation from destruction and not permit a new world war. In order to ensure a solid and enduring peace, specific efforts must be undertaken to rediscover the common values uniting us, based on the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

12. We bow before the martyrdom of those who, at the cost of their own lives, have given witness to the truth of the Gospel, preferring death to the denial of Christ. We believe that these martyrs of our times, who belong to various Churches but who are united by their shared suffering, are a pledge of the unity of Christians. It is to you who suffer for Christ’s sake that the word of the Apostle is directed: “Beloved … rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice exultantly” (1Pet4:12–13).

13. Interreligious dialogue is indispensable in our disturbing times. Differences in the understanding of religious truths must not impede people of different faiths to live in peace and harmony. In our current context, religious leaders have the particular responsibility to educate their faithful in a spirit which is respectful of the convictions of those belonging to other religious traditions. Attempts to justify criminal acts with religious slogans are altogether unacceptable. No crime may be committed in God’s name, “since God is not the God of disorder but of peace” (1Cor14:33).

14. In affirming the foremost value of religious freedom, we give thanks to God for the current unprecedented renewal of the Christian faith in Russia, as well as in many other countries of Eastern Europe, formerly dominated for decades by atheist regimes. Today, the chains of militant atheism have been broken and in many places Christians can now freely confess their faith. Thousands of new churches have been built over the last quarter of a century, as well as hundreds of monasteries and theological institutions. Christian communities undertake notable works in the fields of charitable aid and social development, providing diversified forms of assistance to the needy. Orthodox and Catholics often work side by side. Giving witness to the values of the Gospel they attest to the existence of the shared spiritual foundations of human co–existence.

15. At the same time, we are concerned about the situation in many countries in which Christians are increasingly confronted by restrictions to religious freedom, to the right to witness to one’s convictions and to live in conformity with them. In particular, we observe that the transformation of some countries into secularized societies, estranged from all reference to God and to His truth, constitutes a grave threat to religious freedom. It is a source of concern for us that there is a current curtailment of the rights of Christians, if not their outright discrimination, when certain political forces, guided by an often very aggressive secularist ideology, seek to relegate them to the margins of public life.

16. The process of European integration, which began after centuries of blood–soaked conflicts, was welcomed by many with hope, as a guarantee of peace and security. Nonetheless, we invite vigilance against an integration that is devoid of respect for religious identities. While remaining open to the contribution of other religions to our civilization, it is our conviction that Europe must remain faithful to its Christian roots. We call upon Christians of Eastern and Western Europe to unite in their shared witness to Christ and the Gospel, so that Europe may preserve its soul, shaped by two thousand years of Christian tradition.

17. Our gaze is also directed to those facing serious difficulties, who live in extreme need and poverty while the material wealth of humanity increases. We cannot remain indifferent to the destinies of millions of migrants and refugees knocking on the doors of wealthy nations. The unrelenting consumerism of some more developed countries is gradually depleting the resources of our planet. The growing inequality in the distribution of material goods increases the feeling of the injustice of the international order that has emerged.

18. The Christian churches are called to defend the demands of justice, the respect for peoples’ traditions, and an authentic solidarity towards all those who suffer. We Christians cannot forget that “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, that no human being might boast before God” (1Cor1:27–29).

19. The family is the natural centre of human life and society. We are concerned about the crisis in the family in many countries. Orthodox and Catholics share the same conception of the family, and are called to witness that it is a path of holiness, testifying to the faithfulness of the spouses in their mutual interaction, to their openness to the procreation and rearing of their children, to solidarity between the generations and to respect for the weakest.

20. The family is based on marriage, an act of freely given and faithful love between a man and a woman. It is love that seals their union and teaches them to accept one another as a gift. Marriage is a school of love and faithfulness. We regret that other forms of cohabitation have been placed on the same level as this union, while the concept, consecrated in the biblical tradition, of paternity and maternity as the distinct vocation of man and woman in marriage is being banished from the public conscience.

21. We call on all to respect the inalienable right to life. Millions are denied the very right to be born into the world. The blood of the unborn cries out to God (cf.Gen4:10).

The emergence of so-called euthanasia leads elderly people and the disabled begin to feel that they are a burden on their families and on society in general.

We are also concerned about the development of biomedical reproduction technology, as the manipulation of human life represents an attack on the foundations of human existence, created in the image of God. We believe that it is our duty to recall the immutability of Christian moral principles, based on respect for the dignity of the individual called into being according to the Creator’s plan.

22. Today, in a particular way, we address young Christians. You, young people, have the task of not hiding your talent in the ground (cf. Mt25:25), but of using all the abilities God has given you to confirm Christ’s truth in the world, incarnating in your own lives the evangelical commandments of the love of God and of one’s neighbour. Do not be afraid of going against the current, defending God’s truth, to which contemporary secular norms are often far from conforming.

23. God loves each of you and expects you to be His disciples and apostles. Be the light of the world so that those around you may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father (cf. Mt5:14,16). Raise your children in the Christian faith, transmitting to them the pearl of great price that is the faith (cf. Mt13:46) you have received from your parents and forbears. Remember that “you have been purchased at a great price” (1Cor6:20), at the cost of the death on the cross of the Man–God Jesus Christ.

24. Orthodox and Catholics are united not only by the shared Tradition of the Church of the first millennium, but also by the mission to preach the Gospel of Christ in the world today. This mission entails mutual respect for members of the Christian communities and excludes any form of proselytism.

We are not competitors but brothers, and this concept must guide all our mutual actions as well as those directed to the outside world. We urge Catholics and Orthodox in all countries to learn to live together in peace and love, and to be “in harmony with one another” (Rm15:5). Consequently, it cannot be accepted that disloyal means be used to incite believers to pass from one Church to another, denying them their religious freedom and their traditions. We are called upon to put into practice the precept of the apostle Paul: “Thus I aspire to proclaim the gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another's foundation” (Rm15:20).

25. It is our hope that our meeting may also contribute to reconciliation wherever tensions exist between Greek Catholics and Orthodox. It is today clear that the past method of “uniatism”, understood as the union of one community to the other, separating it from its Church, is not the way to re–establish unity. Nonetheless, the ecclesial communities which emerged in these historical circumstances have the right to exist and to undertake all that is necessary to meet the spiritual needs of their faithful, while seeking to live in peace with their neighbours. Orthodox and Greek Catholics are in need of reconciliation and of mutually acceptable forms of co–existence.

26. We deplore the hostility in Ukraine that has already caused many victims, inflicted innumerable wounds on peaceful inhabitants and thrown society into a deep economic and humanitarian crisis. We invite all the parts involved in the conflict to prudence, to social solidarity and to action aimed at constructing peace. We invite our Churches in Ukraine to work towards social harmony, to refrain from taking part in the confrontation, and to not support any further development of the conflict.

27. It is our hope that the schism between the Orthodox faithful in Ukraine may be overcome through existing canonical norms, that all the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine may live in peace and harmony, and that the Catholic communities in the country may contribute to this, in such a way that our Christian brotherhood may become increasingly evident.

28. In the contemporary world, which is both multiform yet united by a shared destiny, Catholics and Orthodox are called to work together fraternally in proclaiming the Good News of salvation, to testify together to the moral dignity and authentic freedom of the person, “so that the world may believe” (Jn17:21). This world, in which the spiritual pillars of human existence are progressively disappearing, awaits from us a compelling Christian witness in all spheres of personal and social life. Much of the future of humanity will depend on our capacity to give shared witness to the Spirit of truth in these difficult times.

29. May our bold witness to God’s truth and to the Good News of salvation be sustained by the Man–God Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who strengthens us with the unfailing promise: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom” (Lk12:32)!
Christ is the well–spring of joy and hope. Faith in Him transfigures human life, fills it with meaning. This is the conviction borne of the experience of all those to whom Peter refers in his words: “Once you were ‘no people’ but now you are God’s people; you ‘had not received mercy’ but now you have received mercy” (1Pet2:10).

30. With grace–filled gratitude for the gift of mutual understanding manifested during our meeting, let us with hope turn to the Most Holy Mother of God, invoking her with the words of this ancient prayer: “We seek refuge under the protection of your mercy, Holy Mother of God”. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, through her intercession, inspire fraternity in all those who venerate her, so that they may be reunited, in God’s own time, in the peace and harmony of the one people of God, for the glory of the Most Holy and indivisible Trinity!

Francis Bishop of Rome Pope of the Catholic Church

Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia

12 February 2016, Havana (Cuba)

Francis to Kirill, “We are brothers”

Francis to Raul Castro, “I appreciate your active availability, if it continues, Cuba will be the capital of unity.”

Brothers in what?

 

Francis arrives at José Martí International Airport

Francis & Kirill sign the Joint Declaration

Raul Castro greeting Francis

Francis embracing Kirill

Francis’ masonic handshakes