15 June 2009
Vatican News Update 15 June 2009
| 06.15.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 110 |
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SUMMARY: 13 - 15 JUNE
- A Modern Economy Respectful of the Rights of the Weakest - Cardinal Glemp, Special Envoy to Millennium of St. Bruno - Corpus Christi: Evidence That God Is Love - Strategies to Reduce World Hunger
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A MODERN ECONOMY RESPECTFUL OF THE RIGHTS OF THE WEAKEST
VATICAN CITY, 13 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy Father received members of the "Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice" Foundation, at the end of their annual general meeting.
This year, said the Pope, "our meeting has particular significance and importance in the light of the situation that all humankind is currently experiencing. In fact, the financial and economic crisis which has hit industrialised, emerging and developing States clearly indicates the need to reconsider certain economic-financial paradigms that have dominated over the last few years".
The Holy Father praised the efforts made by the Foundation "to identify what values and rules the economic world should follow in order to implement a new development model, one more attentive to the needs of solidarity and more respectful of human dignity".
He made particular reference to the Foundation's examination of "the interdependence between institutions, society and the market on the basis of the idea (in keeping with John Paul II's Encyclical 'Centesimus Annus') that the market economy - understood as 'an economic system which recognises the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity in the economic sector' - may be recognised as a means to achieve social and economic progress only if oriented towards the common good".
Yet such a view, warned Benedict XVI, "must be accompanied by another reflection: that freedom in the economic sector must be 'circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality", a responsible freedom 'the core of which is ethical and religious'".
The Pope then expressed to his audience the hope that their work, "drawing inspiration from the eternal principles of the Gospel, may lead to a vision of the modern economy respectful of the needs and rights of the weakest.
"As you know", he added in conclusion, "my Encyclical dedicated to the vast area of the economy and work will soon be published. It will highlight what, for us as Christians, are the objectives that need to be pursued and what values to be tirelessly promoted and defended in order to create a truly free and united form of human coexistence". AC/.../CENTESIMUS ANNUS VIS 090615 (390)
CARDINAL GLEMP, SPECIAL ENVOY TO MILLENNIUM OF ST. BRUNO
VATICAN CITY, 13 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was the Letter in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Jozef Glemp, archbishop emeritus of Warsaw, Poland, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the thousandth anniversary of the death of St. Bruno, due to take place in Lomza and Gizyko, Poland, from 19 to 21 June. The Letter, written in Latin, bears the date of 4 February.
Likewise made public today were the names of the mission that will accompany the cardinal, they are: Msgr. Zygmunt Zukowski, canon of the cathedral chapter of Lomza, and Msgr. Edmund Szczepan Lagod, canon dean of the chapter of the co-cathedral of Goldapia and professor at the Higher Catholic Institute of the diocese of Elk. BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/GLEMP VIS 090615 (140)
CORPUS CHRISTI: EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS LOVE
VATICAN CITY, 14 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At midday today, before praying the Angelus with thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope dedicated some remarks to the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, which is being celebrated today in various countries and "in which the Sacrament of the Lord's Body is borne in solemn procession".
At the heart of this feast, the Pope explained, "is the sign of the bread, fruit of the earth and the heavens. Hence the Eucharistic bread is the visible sign of He in Whom heavens and earth, God and man, were joined and made one".
"The Solemnity of Corpus Christi is intimately associated with Easter and with Pentecost: its premise is the death and resurrection of Jesus and the effusion of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore it is directly linked to the Feast of the Blessed Trinity, which was celebrated last Sunday. Only because God Himself is a 'God of relation' is it possible to have a relationship with Him; and only because He is love can He love and be loved. Thus Corpus Christi is an expression of God, it is evidence that God is love. In a unique way this feast speaks to us of divine love, of what it is and what it does".
"Love transforms all things", said Benedict XVI, "and hence we can understand why, at the heart of today's Feast of Corpus Christi, lies the mystery of transubstantiation, the sign of Jesus-Charity that transforms the world. By looking at Him and adoring Him, we are saying: yes, love exists, and because it exists things can change for the better and we may hope.
"It is the hope that arises from the love of Christ that gives us the strength to live and to face up to difficulties", the Holy Father added. "That is why we sing as we carry the Blessed Sacrament in procession; we sing and we praise God Who revealed Himself by hiding Himself in the sign of the broken bread. We all need this Bread because the journey towards freedom, justice and peace is long and tiring".
He then called upon the faithful to imagine "with how much faith and love the Virgin must have received and adored the Blessed Eucharist in her heart. For her, each time was like reliving the entire mystery of her Son Jesus, from conception to resurrection". Then, after recalling how John Paul II had described Mary as "Eucharistic woman", Pope Benedict concluded by encouraging people to learn from her "to renew our communion with the Body of Christ, in order to love one another as He loved us". ANG/CORPUS CHRISTI/... VIS 090615 (450)
STRATEGIES TO REDUCE WORLD HUNGER
VATICAN CITY, 14 JUN 2009 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus at midday today, the Pope recalled how from 24 to 26 June a "United Nations conference will be held in New York on the economic and financial crisis and its impact on development".
He went on: "My hope is that participants in the conference, and those responsible for public affairs and the future of the planet, will be touched by the spirit of wisdom and human solidarity, that the current crisis may be transformed into an opportunity favouring increased attention to the dignity of all human beings and promoting a fair distribution of decision-making power and resources, with particular attention to the unfortunately ever growing numbers of poor people.
"Today", the Pope added, "when Italy and many other nations celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, the 'Bread of life', ... I wish to make special mention of the hundreds of millions of people who suffer hunger. This is an absolutely unacceptable situation which, despite the efforts of recent decades, fails to improve. My hope, then, is that, on the occasion of the forthcoming U.N. conference and within international institutions, provisions be adopted, shared by the entire international community, and strategic choices be made, though sometimes difficult to accept, in order to ensure that everyone, in the present and in the future, has the food necessary for a dignified life".
Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by recalling that next Friday, Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and "day of priestly sanctification", the Year for Priests will begin. "I called this Year", he said, "to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the saintly 'Cure of Ars'. To your prayers I entrust this new spiritual initiative which will follow the Pauline Year that is now drawing to a close. May this new Jubilee be an appropriate occasion to enhance the value and importance of the priestly mission and to ask the Lord to give His Church many holy priests". ANG/ECONOMIC CRISIS PRIESTS/... VIS 090615 (340)
VATICAN CITY, 15 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- A delegation of Austrian bishops led by Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna.
- Two prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Gustavo Garcia Naranjo of Guarenas.
- Bishop Jesus Alfonso Guerrero Contreras O.F.M. Cap., apostolic vicar of Caroni.
- Pekka Ojanen, ambassador of Finland, on his farewell visit.
On Saturday 13 June he received in separate audiences:
- Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops.
- Three prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Mario del Valle Moronta Rodriguez of San Cristobal de Venezuela.
- Bishop Freddy Jesus Fuenmayor Suarez of Los Teques, apostolic administrator of Maracay.
- Bishop Joaquin Jose Moron Hidalgo of Acarigua-Araure. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090615 (150)
VATICAN CITY, 15 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Limburg, Germany presented by Bishop Gerhard Pieschl, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Fr. Thomas Lohr of the clergy of the diocese of Limburg, Germany, director of the pastoral office and canon of the cathedral chapter, as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 6,182, population 2,360,000, Catholics 677,400, priests 493, permanent deacons 67, religious 1,011). The bishop-elect was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1976.
- Appointed Dr. Patrizio Polisca as vice director for healthcare and hygiene of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
- Appointed Dr. Renato Buzzonetti as pontifical physician emeritus.
On Saturday 13 June it was made public that the Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Heriberto Andres Bodeant Fernandez, auxiliary of Salto, Uruguay, as bishop of Melo (area 24,000, population 153,700, Catholics 122,400, priests 18, permanent deacons 2, religious 47), Uruguay. He succeeds Luis del Castillo Estrada S.J., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Msgr. Krzysztof Nitkiewicz of the clergy of Bialystok, Poland, under secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, as bishop of Sandomierz (area 7,850, population 724,237, Catholics 703,037, priests 619, religious 483), Poland. The bishop-elect was born in Bialystok in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1985.
- Erected the new diocese of Obera (area 8,717, population 270,000, Catholics 200,000, priests 27, permanent deacons 15) Argentina, with territory taken from the dioceses of Posadas and of Puerto-Iguazu, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan church of Corrientes. He appointed Msgr. Victor Selvino Arenhardt, vicar general of the diocese of Posadas, as first bishop of the new diocese. The bishop-elect was born in Campo Grande, Argentina in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1977.
- Appointed Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as his special envoy to the ninth plenary assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences. The event is due to be held in Manila, Philippines from 11 to 16 August.
- Appointed Msgr. Lluis Clavell of the Personal Prelature of Opus Dei, member of the Academic Council and consultor of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as president of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.
- Appointed Msgr. Marco Agostini, official of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, as a master of pontifical ceremonies.
- Appointed as consultors of the congregation for the Causes of Saints: Fr. Jesus Manuel Garcia Gutierrez S.D.B., professor at the Pontifical Salesian University; Fr. Francesco Motto S.D.B., member of the Salesian Historical Institute; Fr. Aimable Musoni S.D.B., professor at the Pontifical Salesian University; Fr. Zdzislaw Jozef Kijas O.F.M. Conv., president of the "St. Bonaventure" Pontifical Theological Faculty; Fr. Gabriele Ingegneri O.F.M. Cap., member of the Capuchin Historical Institute; Ulderico Parente, professor at Rome's San Pio V University, and Francesco Ricciardi Celsi, professor at the Maria Santissima Assunta University.
- Appointed as consultors of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications: Francesco Casetti, professor of film studies at the faculty of literature and philosophy of the Catholic University and director of the university's department for Communication and Entertainment Industry Studies, and Alvito Joseph Socorro de Souza, secretary general of Signis-World, Belgium. RE:NEA:NA:NER:ECE /.../... VIS 090615 (590) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 12 June 2009
| 06.12.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 109 |
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SUMMARY: 11 - 12 JUNE
- Renewing Faith in Real Presence of Christ in Eucharist - Congress of Religious against Human Trafficking
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RENEWING FAITH IN REAL PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN EUCHARIST
VATICAN CITY, 11 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At 7 p.m. today, Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on the square in front of the basilica of St. John Lateran, then led a Eucharistic procession to the basilica of St. Mary Major.
In his homily, the Pope commented on the words pronounced by priests at the moment of consecration: "this is My Body, ... this is My Blood".
Addressing his remarks to priests, the Holy Father said: "Becoming the Eucharist: let this be our constant desire and commitment! So that the offer of the Body and Blood of the Lord we make upon the altar may be accompanied by the sacrifice of our own lives. Every day we draw from the Body and Blood of the Lord the free and pure love that makes us worthy ministers of Christ and witnesses to His joy. What the faithful expect from a priest is the example of authentic devotion to the Eucharist. They like to see him spend long periods of silence and adoration before Jesus, as did the saintly 'Cure of Ars' whom we will especially recall during the imminent Year for Priests".
"Aware that, because of sin, we are inadequate, yet needing to nourish ourselves from the love the Lord offers us in the Eucharistic Sacrament, this evening we renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Such faith must not be taken for granted!
"Today there is a risk of insidious secularisation, even inside the Church", Benedict XVI added. "This could translate into a formal but empty Eucharistic worship, in celebrations lacking that involvement of the heart which finds expression in veneration and respect for the liturgy.
"There is always a strong temptation to reduce prayer to superficial and hurried moments, allowing ourselves to be overcome by earthly activities and concerns", he warned.
"With the Eucharist", the Pope explained, "heaven comes down to earth, God's tomorrow descends into the present moment and time is, as it were, embraced by divine eternity".
During the Eucharistic procession which traditionally follows today's Mass "we will ask the Lord in the name of the entire city: Stay with us, Jesus, make us a gift of Yourself and give us the bread that nourishes us for eternal life. Free this world from the poison of evil, from the violence and hatred that pollute people's consciences, purify it with the power of Your merciful love".
After Mass, the Pope presided at the Eucharistic procession along Rome's Via Merulana to the basilica of St. Mary Major. Along the route, thousands of faithful prayed and sang accompanying the Blessed Sacrament. A covered vehicle transported the Sacrament in a monstrance, before which the Holy Father knelt in prayer. HML/CORPUS CHRISTI/... VIS 090612 (470)
CONGRESS OF RELIGIOUS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING
VATICAN CITY, 12 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, a press conference was held to present a forthcoming congress on the theme: "Female Religious in Network against Trafficking in Persons". The event, due to be held in Rome from 15 to 18 June, has been organised by the International Union of Superiors General (UISG) and by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Participating in today's press conference were Fr. Eusebio Hernandez Sola O.A.R., bureau chief at the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; Sr. Victoria Gonzales de Castejon R.S.C.J., secretary general of the UISG; Carmela Godeau, vice head of mission of the IOM; Sr. Bernadette Sangma F.M.A., and Stefano Volpicelli of the IOM.
"The problem of human trafficking represents a new form of slavery of the twenty-first century, one that offends the dignity and freedom of many women and minors, but also of youths and adult men, most of them from poor countries" said Fr. Hernandez Sola. "These new forms of poverty remind us that religious life is, by vocation, called to play a prophetic role in society and the Church today. A new conception of charity must carry consecrated life to the new frontiers of evangelisation, and to the new forms of poverty, among the most serious of which is the loss of personal dignity".
For her part, Sr. Bernadette Sangma explained that awareness about the phenomenon of human trafficking has increased to such an extent over the last few years that "some congregations ... have adopted the struggle against trafficking as part of their capitular deliberations, making it an obligatory mandate for members of their congregation. This has also included a number of male orders".
"Given the complexity of the factors involved in human trafficking, networking in this field is not an option but a necessity if we hope to make any kind of strategic commitment. The criminal bands that prey on women and children are highly organised and linked to one another, from one part of the world to the other. Only through a networking strategy which includes the victims' countries of origin, of transit and of destination, will it be possible to implement measures to prevent the weakest and most vulnerable people from becoming human merchandise".
Sr. Victoria Gonzales de Castejon noted how, for the religious of the UISG, the last six years of collaboration with the IOM have provided "an opportunity to put the intentions of the Union into real effect, and to increase the scope of our actions aimed at contrasting human trafficking. ... What emerges clearly from the work that has been achieved is the richness and complementarity in exchanges and collaboration between two organisations that represent public and the private aspects - lay people and female religious - in the common cause of defending the lives of people who live in situations of poverty and marginalisation". OP/HUMAN TRAFFICKING/UISG VIS 090612 (500)
VATICAN CITY, 12 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Seven prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Ubaldo Ramon Santana Sequera F.M.I. of Maracaibo, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Castor Oswaldo Azuaje Perez O.C.D.
- Archbishop Antonio Jose Lopez Castillo of Barquismeto, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Tulio Manuel Chirivella Varela.
- Bishop Vicente Ramon Hernandez Pena of Trujillo.
- Bishop Enrique Perez Lavado, apostolic administrator of Carupano.
- Archbishop Reinaldo Del Prette Lissot of Valencia in Venezuela.
This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Archbishop Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090612 (130)
VATICAN CITY, 12 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Gregory Michael Aymond of Austin, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of New Orleans (area 10,898, population 1,069,428, Catholics 384,994, priests 369, permanent deacons 183, religious 721), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in New Orleans in 1949, he was ordained a priest in 1975 and consecrated a bishop in 1997. He succeeds Archbishop Alfred Clifton Hughes, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. NER:RE/.../AYMOND:HUGHES VIS 090612 (90) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 10 June 2009
| 06.10.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 108 |
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SUMMARY:
- John Scotus: Expressing the Ineffable God - Notice
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JOHN SCOTUS: EXPRESSING THE INEFFABLE GOD
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope turned his attention to John Scotus Erigena, "an outstanding philosopher of the Christian West", who was born in Ireland at the beginning of the ninth century and died around the year 870.
Scotus, who moved to France where he established himself at the court of the French King Charles the Bald, "possessed a profound patristic culture, both Greek and Latin", explained the Holy Father. "He was particularly interested in St. Maximus Confessor, and especially in Dionysius the Areopagite ... whom he described as the 'divine author' par excellence and hence used his works as the main source for his own thought. He translated Dionysius into Latin, and the great theologians of the Middle Ages such as St. Bonaventure knew the Areopagite's works through this translation. He dedicated his entire life to studying and developing Dionysius' ideas".
"Truth to tell", the Pope went on, "John Scotus' theological labours did not meet with much success. Not only did the end of the Carolingian period lead to his works being forgotten, but censorship by the ecclesiastical authorities cast a shadow over his figure. Scotus represented a radical Platonism which at times seemed to approach a pantheistic view of life, although his personal and subjective intentions were always orthodox".
Among the works of this Irish theologian, "his treatise 'De Divisione Naturae' and his 'Commentary on the Celestial Hierarchy of St. Dionysius' are particularly worthy of mention", said the Pope.
Scotus "develops certain stimulating theological and spiritual ideas which could indicate interesting avenues for further study, even for modern theologians", said Benedict XVI referring in this context to Scotus's views "about the need to use appropriate discernment on what is presented as 'auctoritas vera', and about the commitment to continue searching for truth until attaining some experience of it in silent adoration of God".
For Scotus, Scripture "was given by God ... so that man could remember everything that was engraved on his heart from the moment of his creation 'in the image and likeness of God', and that original sin had caused him to forget. ... Indeed, thanks to Scripture our rational nature can be introduced to the secrets of true and pure contemplation of God. ... The word of Holy Scripture purifies our somewhat-blind reason and helps us to return to the memory of what we, as the image of God, carry in our souls, marred, unfortunately, by sin".
This, the Pope went on, leads to "certain hermeneutic consequences which even today can show us the road to follow in order to interpret the Scriptures correctly. What is important is discovering the meaning hidden in the sacred text, and this requires a particular form of inner discipline thanks to which reason can open the sure way towards truth. This exercise consists in cultivating a constant readiness to conversion".
"Silent and adoring recognition of the mystery, which culminates in unifying communion, is therefore the only way to achieve a relationship with the truth that is both the most intimate and the most scrupulously respectful of alterity", said the Holy Father
He completed his catechesis by noting how, in the final analysis, "all John Scotus' theology clearly shows his attempt to express the ineffable God, on the exclusive basis of the mystery of the Word made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth". AG/JOHN SCOTUS/... VIS 090610 (580)
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Tehuantepec, Mexico, presented by Bishop Jose Refugio Mercado Diaz, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. RE/.../MERCADO VIS 090610 (50)
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUN 2009 (VIS) - As previously advised, tomorrow, Solemnity of Corpus Christi and a holiday in the Vatican, no VIS bulletin will be transmitted. Service will resume on Friday 12 June. .../.../... VIS 090610 (40) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 9 June 2009
| 06.09.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 107 |
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SUMMARY:
- Pope to Inaugurate Year for Priests on 19 June
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POPE TO INAUGURATE YEAR FOR PRIESTS ON 19 JUNE
VATICAN CITY, 9 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 6 p.m. on Friday 19 June, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Benedict XVI will preside at Second Vespers to mark the opening of the Year for Priests, which coincides with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney "Cure of Ars". OP/OPENING YEAR FOR PRIESTS/... VIS 090609 (70)
VATICAN CITY, 9 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes, Australia, presented by Bishop Christopher Henry Toohey, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Bishop Otto Separy, auxiliary of Aitape, Papua New Guinea, as bishop of the same diocese (area 18,200, population 105,800, Catholics 78,400, priests 25, religious 98). RE:NER/.../TOOHEY:SEPARY VIS 090609 (80) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 7 June 2009
| 06.08.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 106 |
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SUMMARY: 6 - 8 JUNE
- Formation of Priests Is a Delicate Mission - Holy Father to Spend a Period of Rest in Valle d'Aosta - Saudi Minister Visits Council for Inter-religious Dialogue - The Name of the Holy Trinity Is Engraved in the Universe - Venezuelan Bishops: Exhilarating Task of Evangelisation
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FORMATION OF PRIESTS IS A DELICATE MISSION
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUN 2009 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received the rector, priests and seminarians of Rome's Pontifical French Seminary. The institution, having been run for 150 years by the Holy Ghost Fathers, is now to pass under the aegis of the Conference of Bishops of France.
Having given thanks to God "for the work accomplished by this institution, founded in 1853, where some 5,000 seminarians have been prepared for their future vocations", the Holy Father highlighted how "the task of forming priests is a delicate mission. ... Future priests require many aptitudes: human maturity, spiritual qualities, apostolic zeal and intellectual rigour", he said.
"Those whose duty it is to discern and form [seminarians] must remember that the hope they place in others is, first and foremost, a duty they themselves must shoulder".
Benedict XVI then went on to recall that the change of administration "coincides with the beginning of the Year for Priests", due to be inaugurated on 19 June. "This", he said, "is a grace for the new team of priest formators from the Conference of Bishops of France".
In closing his remarks, the Pope expressed the hope that "during the period they spend in Rome, the seminarians may familiarise themselves with the history of the Church, discovering the true dimensions of her catholicity and her living unity around Peter's Successor, and always maintaining love for the Church alive in their hearts". AC/.../PONTIFICAL FRENCH SEMINARY VIS 090608 (250)
HOLY FATHER TO SPEND A PERIOD OF REST IN VALLE D'AOSTA
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI will spend a period of rest from 13 to 29 July at the residence of Les Combes at Introd, in the Italian region of Valle d'Aosta.
This is the third time the Pope has chosen to spend the first weeks of his summer break in Valle d'Aosta, having also been there in 2005 and 2006. Last year he went to Bressanone in the Italian alpine region of Alto Adige, and in 2007 to Lorenzago di Cadore in the Italian Dolomites.
A communique released by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household announces that at midday on Sunday 19 July the Holy Father will pray the Angelus at Piazza Ruggia in front of the parish church of Sts. Peter and Solutor at Romano Canavese in the diocese of Ivrea.
On Sunday 26 July he will pray the Angelus at his residence in Les Combes.
The Wednesday general audiences of 15, 22 and 29 July are suspended.
Following his return from Valle d'Aosta, the Pope will go to the Pontifical Palace at Castelgandolfo.
Over the summer all private and special audiences will be suspended. General audiences will resume regularly from Wednesday 5 August.
On Sundays and feast days over the summer, the Holy Father will pray the Angelus from the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo. PD/POPE HOLIDAY/VALLE D'AOSTA VIS 090608 (240)
SAUDI MINISTER VISITS COUNCIL FOR INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"Yesterday, Friday 5 June, His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian minister for foreign affairs, accompanied by a delegation, visited the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue where he was welcomed by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of that dicastery, Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, secretary, Msgr. Andrew Vissanu Thanya-anan, and Msgr. Khaled Akasheh, head officer for Islam.
"During the meeting ideas were exchanged concerning the best way to follow up on the Madrid Conference of 16-18 July 2008 which, at the initiative of King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, brought together leaders of the main religions of the world". OP/INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE/AL FAISAL VIS 090608 (140)
THE NAME OF THE HOLY TRINITY IS ENGRAVED IN THE UNIVERSE
VATICAN CITY, 7 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In his remarks preceding today's Angelus, the Holy Father spoke of the three Solemnities celebrated after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday which falls today, Corpus Christi on Thursday and the Feast of the Sacred Heart on Friday of next week.
"Each of these liturgical feasts", the Holy Father told the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, "focuses on an aspect that embraces the entire mystery of the Christian faith, respectively: the reality of the One Triune God, the Sacrament of the Eucharist and the divine-human centre of the Person of Christ. In truth, these are all aspects of the one mystery of salvation" and "comprehend the entire span of Jesus' revelation from incarnation to death and resurrection, unto His ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit".
Today, Benedict XVI went on, we contemplate the Holy Trinity "just as Jesus revealed it to us. He showed us that God is love 'not in the unity of a single person, but in the Trinity of a single substance'". Thus He is "Creator and merciful Father; only-begotten Son, eternal Wisdom incarnate Who died and rose again for us; and finally, Holy Spirit Who moves everything, universe and history, towards the final recapitulation.
"Three Persons Who are one God", the Pope added, "because the Father is love, the Son is love and the Spirit is love. God is entirely and only love, pure love, infinite and eternal. He does not live in splendid solitude, rather He is the never-ending source of life Who incessantly gives and communicates Himself. We may get some idea of this by observing both the macro universe (our earth, the planets, the stars and galaxies) and the micro universe (cells, atoms, elementary particles). In a certain way the 'name' of the Holy Trinity is engraved on everything that exists, because all being, down to the smallest particle, exists in relation to others". Thus we see the "God of relation", thus in the final instance we see "creative Love. Everything comes from love, tends towards love and moves impelled by love, though naturally with differing degrees of awareness and freedom".
"The strongest proof that we are made in the image and likeness of the Trinity is this: only love can make us happy, because we live in relation to others, we live to love and to be loved. Using an analogy taken from biology we could say that the human beings carry in their 'genomes' the profound traces of the Trinity, of God-Love", the Holy Father concluded. ANG/HOLY TRINITY/... VIS 090608 (440)
VENEZUELAN BISHOPS: EXHILARATING TASK OF EVANGELISATION
VATICAN CITY, 8 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela who have just completed their "ad limina" visit:
"The challenges you have to face in your pastoral work", the Pope told the prelates, "are increasingly numerous and difficult, and have recently been further augmented by a serious worldwide economic crisis. Nonetheless, the present moment also offers many authentic reasons for hope" because, "just as He did with the disciples of Emmaus, the risen Lord also walks at our side infusing us with His Spirit of love and strength, that we may open our hearts to a future of hope and eternal life".
The Holy Father reminded the bishops that they are facing an "exhilarating task of evangelisation", recalling in this context how they have begun the Mission for Venezuela in keeping with the Continental Mission promoted by the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in the Brazilian city of Aparecida. "I therefore encourage you", he said, "to increase initiatives that aim to make the figure and message of Jesus Christ known in all their fullness and beauty. To this end, apart from sound doctrinal formation of the People of God, it is important to encourage lives of profound faith and prayer".
The Pope went on to highlight "the importance of bishops' own spiritual lives" so that, "fully moulded by the Sacrament of Holy Orders to Christ the Head, they in some way become the visible sign of the Lord Jesus for the Church entrusted to their care". For this reason they must show everyone "the vital importance of faith, as well as the need to give priority of place to the vocation of sanctity".
"In order to carry out fruitful pastoral activity it is indispensable that there be close affective and effective communion among the pastors of the People of God", the Holy Father observed. "Such unity, which today as always must be visibly promoted and expressed, will be a source of consolation and of apostolic effectiveness in the ministry with which you have been entrusted", he said. In this context, Benedict XVI invited his audience to pay particular attention to their clergy and "to redouble efforts to encourage pastoral zeal among priests, and especially during this forthcoming Year for Priests".
Finally the Holy Father spoke of the need for a "mature laity that bears staunch witness to its faith and feels the joy of belonging to the Body of Christ, to which they must offer, among other things, adequate knowledge of the Social Doctrine of the Church. In this context, I appreciate your commitment to bring the light of the Gospel to shine on the most important events affecting your country, having no other interest than that of spreading the most genuine Christian values, also with a view to favouring the search for the common good, harmonious coexistence and social stability".
"In a special way, I entrust those in need to your care", Pope Benedict concluded. "Continue to support the many charitable initiatives of the Church in Venezuela so that our poorest brothers and sisters may experience the presence of He Who gave His life on the cross for all mankind". AL/.../VENEZUELA VIS 090608 (550)
VATICAN CITY, 8 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences ten prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino, archbishop of Caracas, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Saul Figueroa Albornoz, Luis Armando Tineo Rivera, and Jesus Gonzalez de Zarate Salas, and by former Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Nicolas Bermudez Villamizar C.I.M.
- Bishop Ramiro Diaz Sanchez O.M.I., apostolic vicar of Machiques.
- Jose Luis Azuaje Ayala of El Vigia - San Carlos del Zulia.
- Bishop Tomas Jesus Zarraga Colmenares of San Carlos de Venezuela.
- Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Merida, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Luis Alfonso Marquez Molina C.I.M.
On Saturday 6 June he received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Three prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Georges Kahhale Zouhairaty B.A., apostolic exarch for Greek Melkite faithful resident in Venezuela.
- Bishop Rafael Ramon Conde Alfonzo of Maracay.
- Bishop Jose Angel Divasson Cilvetti S.D.B., apostolic vicar of Puerto Ayacucho. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090608 (190)
VATICAN CITY, 8 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Msgr. Timothy C. Senior of the clergy of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., archdiocesan vicar for the clergy, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 5,652, population 3,885,395, Catholics 1,460,758, priests 1,008, permanent deacons 220, religious 3,433). The bishop-elect was born in Philadelphia in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1985.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the territorial prelature of Trondheim, Norway, presented by Bishop Georg Muller SS.CC., in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
On Saturday 6 June it was made public that he appointed:
- Fr. Oliver Dashe Doeme of the clergy of Shendam, Nigeria, pastor of St. Michael's Church at Anguldi, as bishop of Maiduguri (area 132,000, population 5,890,000, Catholics 201,622, priests 43, religious 37), Nigeria. The bishop-elect was born in Kwanoeng, Nigeria in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1997.
- Archbishop Paolo Sardi, vice chamberlain of Holy Roman Church, and apostolic nuncio with special duties, as pro-patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. NEA:RE:NER:NA/.../ VIS 090608 (190) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 6 June 2009
| 06.05.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 105 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Pope Calls for Application of U.N. Convention on Children
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POPE CALLS FOR APPLICATION OF U.N. CONVENTION ON CHILDREN
VATICAN CITY, 5 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a telegram, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., to the International Catholic Child Bureau (BICE) to mark a "worldwide call for a new mobilisation on behalf of children" launched from the United Nations in Geneva.
"Twenty year after its ratification", reads the telegram referring to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, "there is an urgent need for it to be implemented to the full". This is even more necessary "given the new challenges" facing the modern world, says the text which was read out in Geneva by Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations there.
In his telegram the Holy Father also emphasises the importance of "respecting the inviolable dignity and rights of children, ... of recognising the fundamental educational mission of the family" and of "a stable social environment capable of favouring the physical, cultural and moral development of all children".
In closing his Message, the Pope encourages Catholic organisations to continue, like many other NGOs, "to work generously for a correct application of the Convention, and for the construction of a future of hope, security and happiness for the children of our world". MESS/CONVENTION RIGHTS CHILD/BERTONE VIS 090605 (220)
VATICAN CITY, 5 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Peter Harry Carstensen, minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, accompanied by an entourage.
- Four prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Cesar Ramon Ortega Herrera of Barcelona.
- Bishop Felipe Gonzalez Gonzalez O.F.M. Cap., apostolic vicar of Tucupita.
- Bishop Ramon Antonio Linares Sandoval of Barinas.
- Bishop Mariano Jose Parra Sandoval of Ciudad Guayana.
- Archbishop Joseph Spiteri, apostolic nuncio to Sri Lanka, accompanied by members of his family.
This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal Sean Baptist Brady, archbishop of Armagh, Ireland, accompanied by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090605 (120) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican news Update 5 June 2009
| 06.04.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 104 |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
04 June 2009
Vatican News Update 3 June 2009
| 06.03.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 103 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Rabanus Maurus: Exegete, Philosopher, Poet and Pastor
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RABANUS MAURUS: EXEGETE, PHILOSOPHER, POET AND PASTOR
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis to Rabanus Maurus, abbot of the monastery of Fulda, archbishop of Mainz and "praeceptor Germaniae". The audience, held in St. Peter's Square, was attended by more than 17,000 people.
Rabanus, born in the city of Mainz about the year 780, entered a Benedictine monastery at an early age where, "with his exceptional capacity for work, he contributed perhaps more than others to keeping alive, and in part also to developing with his own gifts, that theological, exegetical and spiritual culture from which succeeding centuries would draw".
Thanks to his "extraordinary culture", he was an "advisor to princes". And despite being elected as abbot of Fulda and later as archbishop of Mainz, he was able "to continue his studies, demonstrating with the example of his own life that it is possible to be ... at the service of others without depriving oneself of time for reflection, study and meditation. Thus was Rabanus Maurus an exegete, philosopher, poet, pastor and man of God".
"His works", the Pope explained, "fill fully six volumes of Migne's Latin Patrology. In all probability one of the most beautiful and well-known hymns of the Latin Church is due to him: 'Veni Creator Spiritus', an extraordinary summary of Christian pneumatology".
One of Rabanus' most important texts is the "De laudibus Sanctae Crucis" in which he uses poetry "as well as pictorial forms within the manuscript itself. ... This method, ... which comes from the East, touched unequalled heights in the illuminated manuscripts of the Bible and in other works of faith and art that flowered in Europe until the invention of printing, and even afterwards".
In Rabanus Maurus we see "an extraordinary awareness of the need to involve not only the mind and heart in the experience of faith, but also the senses". This he accomplished by using "other aspects" such as "aesthetic taste and human sensitivity which bring man to benefit from the truth with all of himself: 'spirit, soul and body. This is very important because faith is not just thought, faith comprehends our entire being", said the Holy Father.
Author also of the "Carmina" which he intended should be used in the liturgy, Rabanus "did not dedicate himself to poetry as an end in itself, ... rather he employed art, and all other forms of knowledge, for a deeper understanding of the Word of God". Thus he was concerned "with introducing his contemporaries, above all ministers (bishops, priests and deacons), to an understanding of the profoundly theological and spiritual significance of all elements of liturgical celebration". And, given that the Word of God is an integral part of the liturgy, throughout his life Rabanus Maurus "produced appropriate exegesis for nearly all the books of the Old and New Testaments, with clearly pastoral aims".
This pastoral side of his character is also highlighted by his "Penitentiaries" in which, "in keeping with the sensibility his time, he listed sins and their corresponding punishments using, as far as possible, motivations drawn from the Bible, from the decisions of the Councils and from papal decrees". Other of his pastoral works include "De disciplina ecclesiastica" and "De institutione clericorum", in which "he explained the fundamental elements of Christian faith to the common people and clergy of his diocese".
"I believe that Rabanus Maurus also speaks to us today", Pope Benedict concluded. "Whether immersed in the frenetic rhythms of work or on holiday, we must reserve time for God. ... We must not forget Sunday as the day of the Lord and the day of the liturgy, in order to see - in the beauty of our churches, of sacred music, and of the Word of God - the beauty of God Himself, and allow it to enter our own being. Thus our lives become great, they become true life".
Having completed his catechesis the Pope greeted Polish faithful, recalling how "the Church in Poland is currently celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of John Paul II's pilgrimage to his homeland. I join the thanksgiving for everything that, thanks to that visit, was achieved in Poland and in Europe". AG/RABANUS MAURUS/... VIS 090603 (710)
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop George Joseph Lucas of Springfield in Illinois, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of Omaha (area 36,392, population 897,254, Catholics 230,430, priests 283, permanent deacons 193, religious 416), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in Saint Louis, U.S.A. in 1949, he was ordained a priest in 1975 and consecrated a bishop in 1999. He succeeds Archbishop Elden Francis Curtiss, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Elevated the apostolic prefecture of Mongo (area 540,000, population 1,700,000, Catholics 6,000, priests 9, religious 18), Chad, to the rank of apostolic vicariate, with the same territorial configuration as before. He appointed Fr. Henry Coudray S.J., currently apostolic prefect of Mongo, as apostolic vicar of the new apostolic vicariate. The bishop-elect was born in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, France in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1973. NER:RE:ECE/.../LUCAS:CURTISS:COUDRAY VIS 090603 (160)
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:
- Bishop George M. Anathil S.V.D., emeritus of Indore, India, on 3 May at the age of 76.
- Bishop Carlos Jose Boaventura Kloppenburg O.F.M., emeritus of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, on 8 May at the age of 89.
- Bishop David Picao, emeritus of Santos, Brazil, on 30 April at the age of 85.
- Bishop Luis Maria de Larrea y Legarreta, emeritus of Bilbao, Spain, on 27 May at the age of 91.
- Archbishop Joseph Duval, emeritus of Rouen, France, on 23 May at the age of 80.
- Bishop Roger Louis Kaffer, former auxiliary of Juliet in Illinois, U.S.A., on 28 May at the age of 81. .../DEATHS/... VIS 090603 (130) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
02 June 2009
Vatican News Update 1 June 2009
| 01.06.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 101 |
|
SUMMARY: 30 MAY - 1 JUNE
- Pope Due to Visit Czech Republic at the End of September - Holy Father Meets Children of the Missionary Childhood - Cardinal O'Brien, Special Papal Envoy to Derry - Learn from Mary to Recognise the Presence of the Spirit - The Infinite Love of the Holy Spirit Does Not Abandon Us - Visitation of Mary, an Image of the Merciful Church - Holy Father Receives the President of Ukraine - Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for June - Celebrations and Trips of the Pope: June - September
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POPE DUE TO VISIT CZECH REPUBLIC AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"This morning, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic. The president subsequently went on to meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"The cordial discussions focused on the situation in the country, with particular attention being given to questions concerning relations with the Catholic Church, and on the future of Europe, bearing in mind the importance of the continent's cultural, spiritual and Christian heritage. President Klaus also expressed his great pleasure at the visit His Holiness will make to the Czech Republic in September this year, where he will visit Prague, Brno and Stara Boleslav". OP/PAPAL TRIP/CZECH REPUBLIC VIS 090601 (150)
HOLY FATHER MEETS CHILDREN OF THE MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2009 (VIS) - In the Paul VI Hall at midday today Benedict XVI met with more than 7,000 children of the Pontifical Work of Missionary Childhood. In the course of the meeting he replied to questions put to him by three of the infants.
A young girl asked the Holy Father if he felt that different cultures could live together without arguing in the name of Jesus.
The Pope replied by recalling how when he was a child his family had moved to another village where he attended primary school. That village had four hundred inhabitants including rich farmers, members of the middle class and people with limited resources. Hence, he said, his school "reflected highly varied social situations. Yet there was communion among us. ... We collaborated together well and, I must say, naturally we sometimes argued. But afterwards we made up and forgot what had happened. I think this is important. Sometimes in human life it seems inevitable that we should argue but what remains important is the art of reconciliation, of forgiveness, of starting afresh and not letting bitterness remain in our hearts".
He went on: "Together we also leant to know the Bible, from the creation to Jesus' sacrifice upon the cross, and then the beginnings of the Church. Together we learnt the catechism, together we learnt to pray, together we prepared for first confession and First Communion: that was a splendid day. We understood that Jesus Himself comes to us, that He is not a distant God. He enters into my own life, into my own heart". The Pope also recalled how First Communion, "a tangible encounter with Jesus Who comes to me, Who comes to all of us, ... contributed to forming our community".
"We discovered the ability to live together and be friends", the Holy Father continued his reminiscences, "and although since 1937 ... I have not been back to that village, we still remained friends. Thus we learnt to accept one another and to shoulder one another's burdens. ... Despite our weakness we must accept each another and, with Jesus Christ, with the Church, together we discover the road to peace and learn to live well".
Benedict XVI was then asked whether he ever thought he would become Pope.
"Truth to tell", he replied, "I never imagined I would have become Pope because, as I said, I was a rather ingenuous boy in a small village far from large centres of population. ... Of course we knew, venerated and loved the Pope - Pope Pius XI - but for us he seemed to stand at an unattainable height, almost another world; a father to us but nonetheless far above us. And I have to say that even now I find it difficult to understand how the Lord could have thought of me, elevated me to this ministry. But I accept it from His hands, even though it is surprising and I feel it far beyond my powers. Yet, the Lord helps me".
"How can we help you to announce the Gospel?" was the third question put to the Holy Father.
He replied by telling the members of the Pontifical Work of Missionary Childhood that they already form "part of a great family that carries the Gospel into the world", and he reminded them of their programme of "listening, praying, knowing, sharing and showing solidarity".
"Praying is very important", the Pope explained, "because it makes the power of God present. ... To listen is truly to learn what Jesus says, to know Sacred Scripture, the Bible. In the story of Jesus, we learn to know the face of God. ... To share is to want things not only for ourselves, but for everyone, sharing them with others ... in our own little world which is part of the great world. And thus we together become a family where one has respect for the other, and accepts others in their difference".
"All this", Pope Benedict concluded, "simply means living in this great family that is the Church, in this great missionary family. Living the essentials - such as sharing, knowing Jesus, prayer, listening to one another and solidarity - is part of missionary work, because it helps to ensure the Gospel becomes a reality in our world". AC/.../MISSIONARY CHILDHOOD VIS 090601 (730)
CARDINAL O'BRIEN, SPECIAL PAPAL ENVOY TO DERRY
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from the Holy Father appointing Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien, archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh, Scotland, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the centenary of the foundation of Long Tower church in the Irish city of Derry, due to be held on 9 June. The Letter, written in Latin, is dated 2 May.
The cardinal will be accompanied on his mission by Fr. Thomas P. Donnelly, pastor emeritus of Nazareth House, Fahan, Co. Donegal, and expert on the life of St. Columba, and by Fr. Michael Canny, administrator of St. Eugene's Cathedral in Derry. BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/O'BRIEN VIS 090601 (120)
LEARN FROM MARY TO RECOGNISE THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 8 p.m. today, the traditional procession marking the end of the month of May wound its way through the Vatican Gardens, from the Church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians to the Grotto of Lourdes.
Benedict XVI arrived at the Grotto at 9 p.m. where, before imparting his apostolic blessing, he made some brief remarks to the faithful present.
"The great Feast of Pentecost", he said, "is an invitation for us to meditate upon the bond between the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, a close, privileged and indissoluble relationship. The Virgin of Nazareth was chosen to become the Mother of the Redeemer by the action of the Holy Spirit: in her humility she found favour in the eyes of God".
The Annunciation, the Virgin's visit to her cousin Elisabeth, the birth of Jesus and His early infancy were all "guided, almost palpably, by the Holy Spirit, although He is not always mentioned. Mary's heart, in perfect harmony with her divine Son, is a temple of the Spirit of truth, where each word and each event is treasured in faith, hope and charity".
"Mary's faith", the Holy Father went on, "supported that of the disciples until their meeting with the risen Lord, and it continued to accompany them even after His ascension to heaven, as they awaited 'Baptism in the Holy Spirit'. At Pentecost, the Virgin Mother once again appears as the Bride of the Spirit", an expression of "universal maternity towards all people who have been generated by God through faith in Christ. This is why, for all generations, Mary is the image and model of the Church which, accompanied by the Spirit, advances through time invoking the glorious return of Christ: 'Come, Lord Jesus'".
The Holy Father concluded his comments by telling the faithful "let us, in Mary's school, learn to recognise the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, to listen to His inspiration and humbly to follow it". AC/ROSARY MAY/VATICAN GARDENS VIS 090601 (350)
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. AP/.../... VIS 090601 (30)
THE INFINITE LOVE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES NOT ABANDON US
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 9.30 a.m. today, the Holy Father celebrated Mass in the Vatican Basilica for the Solemnity of Pentecost. During the ceremony, the Cologne chamber orchestra and cathedral choir played the last Mass composed by Haydn the bi-centenary of whose death falls this year.
In his homily the Pope spoke of the signs of Pentecost, the commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles in the Cenacle in Jerusalem in the form of "tongues of fire" and a "violent wind".
"What air is for biological life, so is the Holy Spirit for spiritual life", said Benedict XVI, "and just as there is atmospheric pollution which poisons the environment and the people who live in it, so there is a pollution of the heart which mortifies and poisons spiritual existence".
Among the "many products that pollute the mind and the heart", the Pope mentioned "images that make a spectacle of pleasure, violence or contempt for man and woman", and he highlighted the importance "of breathing clean air, both physical air with the lungs and, spiritual air with the heart, the healthy air of the spirit Who is love".
Referring then to the image of the fire, the Pope pointed out that "having possessed himself of the energy of the cosmos - the 'fire' - man today seem to present himself as God, and wishes to transform the world while excluding, marginalising, or even rejecting the Creator of the universe. Man no longer wants to be the image of God but of himself, and declares his own autonomy, freedom and maturity".
"In the hands of such a person, the 'fire' and its enormous potential become dangerous", the Holy Father warned. "They can turn against life and against humanity itself, as history unfortunately shows. The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain as a perennial admonition where atomic energy, used for bellicose ends, ended up causing death on an unprecedented scale".
Later in his homily, the Holy Father explained how, with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the Apostles lost their fear. "They were not longer afraid because they felt themselves to be in the hands of the strongest. ... When the Spirit of God enters", he explained, "it drives out fear and makes us know and feel that we are in the hands of an Omnipotence of love. Whatever happens, His infinite love will not abandon us.
"This is clear from the witness of the martyrs", he added in conclusion, "from the courage of the confessors of the faith, the intrepid energy of missionaries, the forthrightness of preachers, and the example of all the saints, some of whom were just adolescents and children. It is clear from the very existence of the Church which, despite the limitations and sins of man, continues to the traverse the ocean of history, impelled by the breath of God and animated by His purifying fire". HML/PENTECOST/... VIS 090601 (510)
VISITATION OF MARY, AN IMAGE OF THE MERCIFUL CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Following the celebration of the Eucharist in the Vatican Basilica for the Solemnity of Pentecost, at midday today the Holy Father appeared at the widow of his study to pray the Regina Coeli with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
"Today, Solemnity of Pentecost, the Church throughout the world is reliving the mystery of her birth, of her 'Baptism' in the Holy Spirit", said the Holy Father. "The Holy Spirit is the soul of the Church, without Him what would she be reduced to? She would certainly be a great historical movement, a complex and stable social institution, perhaps a kind of humanitarian agency. And, to say truth, that is how she is seen by those who consider her without the eye of faith. In reality though, in her true nature and in her most authentic historical presence, the Church is constantly moulded and guided by the Spirit of her Lord. She is a living body, the vitality of which is the fruit of the invisible divine Spirit".
The Pope also remarked how this year Pentecost falls on the last day of May, which traditionally marks the Feast of the Visitation when Mary, pregnant with Jesus, went to visit her elderly cousin Elisabeth, also pregnant. "The young Mary who, carrying Jesus in her womb, forgets her own needs and runs to help another is a beautiful image of the Church in the perennial youthfulness of her Spirit, of the missionary Church of the incarnate Word, called to carry that Word into the world and to bear witness to it, especially through the service of charity", said the Holy Father.
He concluded: "Let us, then, invoke the intercession the Most Holy Virgin that she may obtain for the Church in our time powerful reinforcement from the Holy Spirit. May the comforting presence of the Paraclete be particularly felt by ecclesial communities suffering persecution for the name of Christ so that, by participating in His suffering, they may receive the Spirit of glory in abundance".
After praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope mentioned young people from the Italian region of Abruzzi, who are currently hosting the World Youth Day Cross. "In communion with the youth of that land, so deeply affected by the recent earthquake", he said, "let us ask Christ, Who died and rose again, to effuse His Spirit of consolation and hope upon them". ANG/PENTECOST/... VIS 090601 (410)
HOLY FATHER RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"This morning, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Viktor Yushchenko, president of Ukraine. Subsequently the president, accompanied by Volodymyr Khandogiy, his ad interim foreign minister, went on to meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"During the cordial discussions attention focused on the international situation. At the bilateral level, the good relations between Ukraine and the Holy See were noted with pleasure, as were the prospects for increased collaboration in the cultural and social fields. While expressing the desire to find equitable solutions to outstanding questions between State and Church, mention was also made of the Catholic Church's contribution to Ukrainian society for education in Christian values and their diffusion, and of the importance of dialogue among Christians in order to promote unity, while respecting everyone and with the aim of peaceful coexistence". OP/AUDIENCE/UKRAINE VIS 090601 (180)
BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is: "That international attention towards the poorer countries may give rise to more concrete help, in particular to relieve them of the crushing burden of foreign debt"
His mission intention is: "That the particular Churches operating in regions marked by violence may be sustained by the love and concrete closeness of all the Catholics in the world". BXVI-PRAYER INTENTIONS/JUNE/... VIS 090601 (80)
CELEBRATIONS AND TRIPS OF THE POPE: JUNE - SEPTEMBER
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Given below is the calendar of liturgical celebrations due to be presided over by the Holy Father, and his trips, between the months of June and September.
JUNE
- Thursday 11: Solemnity of Corpus Christi. Mass at 7 p.m. in the basilica of St. John Lateran, followed by a procession to the basilica of St. Mary Major for Eucharistic blessing.
- Friday 19: Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Vespers at 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica for the opening of the Year for Priests.
- Sunday 21: Pastoral visit to San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
- Sunday 28: At 6 p.m. in the basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, First Vespers for the closing of the Pauline Year.
- Monday 29: Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. Mass at 9.30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica. Blessing and imposition of the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops.
AUGUST
- Saturday 15: Solemnity of the Assumption. Mass at 8 a.m. in the parish church of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castelgandolfo.
SEPTEMBER
- Sunday 6: Pastoral visit to Viterbo-Bagnoregio, Italy.
- Saturday 26 - Monday 28: Apostolic trip to the Czech Republic. OCL/CELEBRATIONS JUNE SEPTEMBER/... VIS 090601 (210)
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Anthony Ademu Adaji M.S.P., auxiliary of Idah, Nigeria, as bishop of the same diocese (area 12,898, population 1,465,000, Catholics 202,069, priests 55, religious 207).
- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Rome, presented by Bishop Enzo Dieci, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Msgr. Guerino Di Tora of the clergy of the diocese of Rome, director of diocesan Caritas, and Msgr. Giuseppe Marciante of the clergy of the diocese of Rome, pastor of the parish of San Romano Martire, as auxiliaries of the diocese or Rome (area 881, population 2,809,000, Catholics 2,473,000, priests 5,936, permanent deacons 110, religious 28,347), respectively for the northern and eastern pastoral sectors. Bishop-elect Di Tora was born in Rome in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1971. Bishop-elect Marciante was born in Catania, Italy in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1980. NER:RE:NEA/.../... VIS 090601 (170) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 29 May 2009
| 05.29.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 100 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Injustices among Nations Are Threats to Peace
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INJUSTICES AMONG NATIONS ARE THREATS TO PEACE
VATICAN CITY, 29 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of eight new ambassadors to the Holy See: Danzannorov Boldbaatar of Mongolia; Chitra Narayanan of India; Charles Borromee Todjinou of Benin, Robert Carey Moore-Jones of New Zealand; George Johannes of South Africa; Beyon Luc Adolphe Tiao of Burkina Faso; Neville Melvin Gertze of Namibia, and Rolf Trolle Andersen of Norway. The Holy Father first addressed the diplomats as a group, then gave each of them a speech in written form concerning issues specific to his or her own country.
The Pope began his remarks by assuring the ambassadors that the Catholic communities in their respective nations "wish to collaborate fraternally in national development by making the best contribution they can, a contribution rooted in the Gospel".
"A commitment to serving peace and the consolidation of fraternal relations among nations constitutes the core of your diplomatic mission", said the Pope. "Today, in the midst of a worldwide social and economic crisis, people must regain an awareness of the need to struggle ... in order to establish true peace, with the aim of constructing a more just and prosperous world. Injustices, often so manifest, among or within nations, like all processes that contribute to dividing or marginalising peoples, represent attacks against peace and create a grave risk of conflict".
Peace, the Holy Father went on, "cannot be built but by intervening firmly to eliminate the inequality engendered by unjust systems, and so allowing everyone a standard of living that enables them to live a dignified and prosperous existence. Such inequalities have become even more evident because of the current financial and economic crisis which has also had various repercussions on low-income countries". Among these, the Pope mentioned "the tailing off of foreign investment, the fall in demand for raw materials and the tendency for international aid to diminish", as well as "the drop in remittances of emigrants, likewise victims of the recession which also affects their host countries".
"The crisis could become a catastrophe for the inhabitants of weaker countries", warned Benedict XVI, highlighting how economic woes also have another effect, because "the desperation they bring forces some people to anguished efforts to seek solutions that enable them to survive from day to day. Unfortunately, such efforts are often accompanied by individual or collective acts of violence that can further destabilise already-weakened societies", he said.
The Holy Father then explained how some States, in the face of the crisis, "rather than diminishing aid to the most defenceless nations, have suggested increasing it. Other developed countries should follow this example so that the neediest countries are able to sustain their economies and consolidate social measures designed to protect the most needy sectors of the population". He also launched an appeal for "greater fraternity and solidarity, and real global generosity", and for "developed countries to rediscover a sense of proportion and sobriety in their economies and lifestyles".
"You must not ignore", the Pope told the ambassadors, "new forms of violence that have arisen over recent years and that, alas, seek support from the Name of God to justify dangerous acts. ... This had sometimes led to the view that religions are a threat to societies, and they have been attacked and discredited by claiming that they are not agents for peace. Religious leaders have the duty to accompany and enlighten believers so as to ensure they become increasingly saintly and interpret divine words in the light of truth".
"It is necessary favour the resurgence of world in which religions and societies can open to one another, thanks to the openness that religions practice within and among themselves. This will be an authentic testimony to life. This will create a space for positive and necessary dialogue. By making her contribution to the world, the Catholic Church wishes to bear witness to her positive vision of man's future", the Holy Father concluded.
In the written address delivered to the ambassador from India, the Holy Father speaks of his deep concern for Christians who have suffered from outbreaks of violence in some areas within your borders" and appeals "to all to show respect for human dignity by rejecting hatred and renouncing violence in all its forms".
To the South African representative, Benedict XVI expresses the hope "that in the current struggle against poverty and corruption, courage and wisdom will again prevail", the courage and wisdom shown by the people of South Africa in facing past injustices. Referring then to HIV/AIDS, he gives assurances that "the Church takes seriously her part in the campaign against the spread of [the disease] by emphasising fidelity within marriage and abstinence outside of it. At the same time she already offers much assistance on a practical level to people suffering from this affliction on your continent and throughout the world". CD/LETTERS OF CREDENCE/... VIS 090529 (820)
VATICAN CITY, 29 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
- Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. AP/.../... VIS 090529 (70) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 28 May 2009
| 05.28.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 99 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Italian Episcopal Conference: Urgent Task of Education - Cardinal Bozanic, Special Envoy to Krk, Croatia
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ITALIAN EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE: URGENT TASK OF EDUCATION
VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At midday today in the Vatican, the Holy Father met participants in the general assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), which is meeting from 25 to 29 May to examine the theme: "The educational question: the urgent task of education".
The Pope noted how over these days the bishops are reflecting and discussing how to establish "an educational project that stems from a coherent and complete vision of man, which can arise only from the perfect image and realisation of him we have in Jesus Christ".
"At a time in which relativistic and nihilistic concepts of life exercise a powerful enticement, a time in which the very legitimacy of education is placed in doubt, the principal contribution we can make is that of bearing witness to our trust in life and in man, in his reason and in his capacity to love", said the Holy Father.
"The difficulty in forming authentic Christians interweaves and melds with the difficulty of creating responsible and mature men and women", the Pope explained. He also emphasised the importance that "an awareness of truth and goodness, and free adherence to these values, should be at the core of the educational project, so as to give form to a process of overall development. For this reason", he went on, "alongside an appropriate curriculum that identifies the aim of education in the light of the model to be followed, there is a need for authoritative educators to whom new generations can look with trust".
"A true educator places himself in the front line and knows how to unite authority and exemplarity in the task of educating those entrusted to his care. We ourselves are aware of this, having been given the role of guides among the People of God, guides whom the Apostle Peter invites to tend God's sheep and to 'be examples to the flock'".
The Pope then referred to the forthcoming Year for Priests, recalling how priestly ministry "is a service to the Church and to Christian people, requiring a profound spirituality ... nourished by prayer and by intense personal union with the Lord, in order to be able to serve our brothers and sisters through preaching, the Sacraments, orderly community life and help for the poor. All priestly ministry reveals ... the importance of commitment to education, so that people may grow freely and responsibly as mature and conscientious Christians.
"There can be no doubt that the Christian spirit gives renewed vitality to that sense of solidarity so profoundly rooted in the hearts of the Italian people", Benedict XVI added, going on to mention the recent earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy and his own visit to the areas affected. There, he said "I personally witnessed the mourning, the pain and the disasters produced by that terrible event, but also the strength of spirit of those people and the movement of solidarity that immediately arose throughout Italy". In this context, the Pope also praised the initiatives promoted by the CEI through Caritas.
He then turned to consider the economic crisis which "has hit the global community so hard. ... Despite the measures taken at various levels, the social effects of the crisis are still being felt, and seriously felt, especially by the weakest strata of society and by families". Benedict XVI also mentioned the fact that the collections raised at Mass next Sunday will be used for the "Loan of Hope" initiative, a CEI aid programme for families affected by the crisis which he described as "an eloquent testimony of the mutual sharing of burdens, .... a moving announcement of the interior conversion generated by the Gospel and a touching expression of ecclesial communion".
Finally, the Holy Father considered a particular form of ecclesiastical charity in Italy, "intellectual" charity, of which "one significant example is the commitment to promote a widespread mentality in support of life in its every aspect and moment, with particular concern for lives marked by conditions of fragility and precariousness. Such commitment is well expressed in the manifesto 'Free to live, loving life unto the end', which sees the Italian Catholic lay people working together to ensure the country does not lack an awareness of the complete truth about man and promotion of the authentic good of people and society".
"Thus", the Pope concluded, "our minds return to the central theme of your assembly - the urgent task of education - which must be rooted in the Word of God and requires spiritual discernment, cultural and social programmes, and gratuitous and united witness". AC/EDUCATION/CEI:BAGNASCO VIS 090528 (770)
CARDINAL BOZANIC, SPECIAL ENVOY TO KRK, CROATIA
VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was the Letter in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the 1700th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Quirinus, due to take place in Krk, Croatia, on 4 June. The Letter, written in Latin, is dated 4 April.
The cardinal will be accompanied on his mission by Msgr. Ivan Kordic, vicar general in charge of the promotion and co-ordination of the pastoral care of families in the diocese of Krk, and Msgr. Franjo Velcic, provost of the cathedral chapter of Krk, professor of Church history and patrology at the theological faculty of Zagreb and archivist of the diocesan Curia. BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/BOZANIC VIS 090528 (130) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 27 May 2009
| 05.27.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 98 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Benedict XVI Inaugurates Diocesan Congress of Rome - St. Theodore the Studite: Order, Obedience, Renunciation
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BENEDICT XVI INAUGURATES DIOCESAN CONGRESS OF ROME
VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Yesterday evening in the basilica of St. John Lateran, cathedral of Rome, Benedict XVI inaugurated the ecclesial congress of the diocese of Rome. The congress, which is due to last until 29 May, has as its theme: "Church membership and pastoral co-responsibility".
On his arrival the Holy Father was welcomed by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, papal vicar general for the diocese of Rome. In his address, the Pope called on ecclesial moments to work in harmony with the diocese, with "a true sense of belonging to the Church", and highlighted the need for a redoubling of commitment on the part of lay people, who are called "not merely to be collaborators of the clergy" but to shoulder their own specific responsibilities in the life of the Church.
He then dwelt on various erroneous tendencies such as that of tending to identify the Church with her hierarchy while forgetting that, in fact, everyone is part of her "from the Pope to the most recently baptised", or that of conceiving of the People of God in sociological and political terms, while overlooking the novelty of the Church.
In this context, Benedict XVI spoke of the good fruits of Vatican Council II, and rejected those forms of interpretation that consider the Council as a break in the continuity of Church tradition.
The Pope invited young people "to experience the beauty of being Church" in a world where individualism reigns and a sense of belonging is being lost. He also suggested the creation of missionary groups in the workplace, where many people spend most of their time, and highlighted the need for "adequate pastoral care on environment issues".
Recalling then how many baptised people do not feel they form part of the ecclesial community and that few lay people, though they call themselves Catholic, are ready to work in the various fields of pastoral activity, the Holy Father encouraged pastors to favour a climate of spiritual and apostolic growth in their flock and to reach out to the population of Rome. AC/ROME DIOCESAN CONGRESS/VALLINI VIS 090527 (360)
ST. THEODORE THE STUDITE: ORDER, OBEDIENCE, RENUNCIATION
VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2009 (VIS) - In this morning's general audience, the Pope continued with his series of catechesis on the great writers of the Eastern and Western Church in the Middle Ages, turning his attention today to St. Theodore the Studite.
Addressing more than 15,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope explained how St. Theodore was born in the year 759 "to a noble and religious family". At the age of twenty-two he embraced the monastic life in the monastery of Sakkudion but, because of his opposition to the adulterous marriage of the emperor Constantine VI, was exiled to Thessalonika in 796. He was able to return to Sakkudion the following year thanks to the intervention of the empress Irene, who also encouraged the saint to move to the monastery of Studios in order to evade the incursions of the Saracens.
St. Theodore "became the head of the resistance against the iconoclast emperor Leo V the Armenian". This again led "to his being exiled in various places in Asia Minor. Finally he was allowed to return to Constantinople, but not to his monastery". He died in the year 826.
"Theodore stands out in Church history as one of the great reformers of monastic life", said Pope Benedict, "and, alongside Patriarch St. Nicephorus of Constantinople, as a defender of sacred images during the second stage of iconoclasm".
The saint also emphasised "the necessity for order and submission on the part of his monks ... so that the monastery could go back to being a truly organic community, a real family or, as he said, a true 'Body of Christ'". This was because persecutions had forced the monks to disband.
The Holy Father went on: "One of Theodore's basic convictions was that monks, more than others, have a commitment to observe Christian duties with greater rigour and intensity in order to offer a sign, an indication, to all Christians. This is why they make a special profession, ... almost a 'new Baptism'".
"The commitment to poverty, chastity and obedience", said the Pope, "distinguishes monks from those who live in the world". Yet personal poverty, "an essential element of monasticism, also shows the rest of us a way to follow. The renunciation of private property, freedom from material things, sobriety and simplicity have radical validity only for monks, but the spirit of such renunciation is the same for everyone. We must not depend upon material things, we must learn renunciation, simplicity, austerity and sobriety. Only in this way can a united society develop and the great problem of poverty in this world be overcome".
"The main forms of renunciation are those imposed by obedience", which St. Theodore "describes as the 'martyrdom of submission'". In this context the Holy Father noted how "the social fabric cannot function if each exclusively follows his or her own path. ... Legality - in other words, submission and obedience to the rules of the common life and the common good - is the only thing that can heal a society, and ego itself, from the pride of being at the centre of the world".
"For Theodore the Studite, one important virtue - equal to the virtues of obedience and humility - was 'philergia', that is, love for work. ... He did not, then, allow monks, under the pretext of prayer or contemplation, to dispense themselves from work, which is in fact the means to discover God".
Benedict XVI also highlighted how St. Theodore was "the spiritual father of his monks", always ready "to listen to the confidences of everyone. He also gave spiritual advice to many people outside the monastery".
Theodore's Rule, "known by the name of 'Hypotyposis'", was codified shortly after his death and "adopted with a few modifications on Mount Athos, ... It remains", noted the Pope, "highly relevant".
The Holy Father concluded by warning of the "numerous perils that today threaten the unity of the shared faith and push us towards a dangerous kind of spiritual individualism. It is necessary to work to defend and develop the perfect unity of the Body of Christ, a unity in which the peace of order and sincere personal relationships in the Spirit can come together harmoniously". AG/ST. THEODORE STUDITE/... VIS 090527 (720)
VATICAN CITY, 27 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Msgr. John Oliver Barres of the clergy of the diocese of Wilmington, U.S.A., diocesan chancellor, as bishop of Allentown (area 7,183, population 1,184,000, Catholics 276,662, priests 279, permanent deacons 105, religious 450) U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Port Chester, U.S.A. in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1989. He succeeds Edward P. Cullen, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Msgr. Lee Anthony Piche of the clergy of the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, U.S.A., pastor of St. Andrew's church, vicar general and moderator of the Curia, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 17,225, population 3,082,000, Catholics 852,000, priests 484, permanent deacons 217, religious 1,142). The bishop-elect was born in Minneapolis in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1984. NER:RE:NEA/.../BARRES:CULLEN:PICHE VIS 090527 (160) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 22 May 2009
| 05.22.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 95 |
|
SUMMARY: 21 - 22 MAY
- Building a Europe Faithful to Its Christian Roots - Programme of Pope's Visit to Cassino and Montecassino
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VATICAN CITY, 21 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Salvador Gimenez Valls, auxiliary of Valencia, Spain, as bishop of Menorca (area 701, population 86,976, Catholics 78,695, priests 40, religious 61), Spain. NER/.../GIMENEZ VIS 090522 (40)
BUILDING A EUROPE FAITHFUL TO ITS CHRISTIAN ROOTS
VATICAN CITY, 22 MAY 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received in separate audiences first Georgi Parvanov, president of the Republic of Bulgaria, then Gjeorge Ivanov, president of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Both men, each accompanied by his wife and leading a delegation, have come to Rome for the commemoration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
In his address to the Bulgarian delegation, the Pope highlighted how the spiritual heritage of these two saints, co-patrons of Europe, "has marked the lives of the Slavic peoples; their example has supported the witness and faithfulness of countless Christians who, over the centuries, consecrated their lives to spreading the message of salvation, while at the same time working for the construction of a more just and united society".
"May their spiritual witness abide in you nation", he added, "so that Bulgaria, thanks also to this source of light and hope, may make an effective contribution to building a Europe faithful to its Christian roots. And may the values of solidarity and justice, of freedom and peace ... find even greater force and solidity in Christ's eternal teaching, as translated into the lives of His disciples in all times".
Then, speaking English in his audience with the delegation from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Holy Father indicated that the memory of Sts. Cyril and Methodius "invites all of us who are united by the one faith in Jesus Christ, to contemplate their heroic evangelical witness. At the same time we are challenged to conserve the patrimony of ideals and values that they have transmitted by word and deed".
"Your beloved homeland, marked by the influence of these two great saints, seeks to become more and more a place of peaceful encounter and dialogue between the country's many social and religious spheres. My hope, which I renew today with all my heart, is that you may continue to progress on this path". AC/CYRIL METHODIUS/BULGARIA:MACEDONIA VIS 090522 (340)
PROGRAMME OF POPE'S VISIT TO CASSINO AND MONTECASSINO
VATICAN CITY, 22 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The programme of Benedict XVI's forthcoming pastoral visit to Cassino and Montecassino, Italy, was made public today. The visit is due to take place this Sunday, 24 May.
The Holy Father will depart from the Vatican heliport at 9 a.m. and is expected to land at Cassino's Salveti sports ground half an hour later. At 10.15 a.m. he will preside at a Eucharistic concelebration and pronounce a homily in the city's Piazza Miranda. Then, having prayed the Regina Coeli, he will travel by car to the abbey of Montecassino, making a brief stop on the way at the "Casa della Carita" (House of Charity) in Cassino.
At 1.30 p.m. the Holy Father will have lunch at the abbey of Montecassino. Then, having addressed a brief greeting to the monastic community, at 5 p.m. he will celebrate Vespers with Benedictine abbots and communities of Benedictine monks and nuns in the basilica of the abbey, where he will also pronounce a homily. Subsequently he will make a private visit to the Polish military cemetery at Montecassino.
The Pope will depart by helicopter at 6.30. p.m. and is expected to reach the Vatican at 7 p.m. PV-CASSINO:MONTECASSINO/PROGRAMME/... VIS 090522 (210)
VATICAN CITY, 22 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences sixteen prelates from the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, Peru, on his "ad limina" visit, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Adriano Tomasi Travaglia O.F.M., Guillermo Martin Abanto Guzman, Raul Antonio Chau Quispe.
- Bishop Kay Martin Schmalhausen Panizo S.C.V, prelate of Ayaviri.
- Bishop Mario Busquets Jorda, prelate of Chuquibamba.
- Bishop Jose Maria Ortega Trinidad, prelate of Juli.
- Bishop Juan Carlos Vera Plasencia M.S.C., prelate of Caraveli.
- Bishop Domenico Berni Leonardi O.S.A., prelate of Chuquibambilla.
- Bishop Miguel La Fay Bardi O. Carm., prelate of Sicuani.
- Bishop Ricardo Garcia Garcai, prelate of Yauyos.
- Bishop Fortunato Pablo Urcey O.A.R., prelate of Chota.
- Bishop Sebastian Ramis Torrens T.O.R., prelate of Huamachuco.
- Bishop Rafael Alfonso Escudero Lopez-Brea, prelate of Moyobamba.
- Bishop Miguel Irizar Campos C.P. of Callao.
- Bishop Raimundo Revoredo Ruiz C.M., prelate emeritus of Juli
This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. AL:AP/.../... VIS 090522 (200) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 26 May 2009
| 05.26.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 97 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Pope to Inaugurate Ecclesial Congress of His Diocese
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POPE TO INAUGURATE ECCLESIAL CONGRESS OF HIS DIOCESE
VATICAN CITY, 26 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 7.30 p.m. today in the basilica of St. John Lateran, cathedral of Rome, Benedict XVI will inaugurate the ecclesial congress of the diocese of Rome, which is due to last until 29 May and has as its theme: "Church membership and pastoral co-responsibility".
According to a communique released by the vicariate of Rome, pastors, priests, religious and lay faithful of the parishes, associations and movements of the diocese are all invited to participate in the event. The congress will come to an end at 7.30 p.m. on Friday 29 May with an address by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, His Holiness' vicar general for the diocese of Rome. .../ROME DIOCESAN CONGRESS/... VIS 090526 (130)
VATICAN CITY, 26 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Bangui, Central African Republic, presented by Archbishop Paulin Pomodimo, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Fr. Jose Moko Ekanga P.S.S., rector of the "Jean XXIII" Seminary in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as bishop of Idiofa (area 40,000, population 2,264,000, Catholics 1,131,000, priests 101, religious 133), Democratic Republic of the Congo. The bishop-elect was born in Kinshasa in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1986.
- Appointed Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, as president of the management board of the Vatican Television Centre.
- Appointed Fr. Joaquin Alliende, president of the Aid to the Church in Need Association, as a member of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum". RE:NER:NA/.../... VIS 090526 (150) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 25 May 2009
| 05.25.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 96 |
|
SUMMARY OF POPE'S VISIT TO CASSINO AND MONTECASSINO: 24 MAY
- Find Convincing Solutions to the Employment Crisis - Peace Is Constructed by Overcoming Inner Evil - Christian Heritage: Europe's Cultural, Spiritual Resource - Pope Prays for the Fallen of All Wars and All Nations
OTHER NEWS: 23 - 25 MAY
- Priests: Inner Strength, Dedication to Souls - Cardinal De Giorgi, Special Envoy to Sarsina - Compendium of Holy Father's Letter to the Church in China
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FIND CONVINCING SOLUTIONS TO THE EMPLOYMENT CRISIS
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 10.15 a.m. today, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in Piazza Miranda in the Italian town of Cassino, where he arrived by helicopter from the Vatican.
Focusing his homily on the Ascension of the Lord, which in Italy and many other countries of the world is celebrated today, the Pope told the 20,000 people present that "heaven does not mean a place above the stars, but something much more daring and sublime. It means Christ Himself, the divine Person Who fully and forever welcomes humankind, the One in whom God and man are always inseparably united. And we approach heaven, or rather we enter heaven, in the extent to which we approach Jesus and enter into communion with Him. Hence, today's Solemnity of the Ascension invites us to profound communion with Christ, Who died and rose again, and is invisibly present in the lives of each one of us".
The Holy Father also mentioned the Rule of St. Benedict which indicates that nothing should be placed before Christ. "This", he said, "does not distract us, on the contrary it encourages us to commit ourselves to building a society in which solidarity is expressed through tangible signs". In this context he recalled how Benedictine spirituality "suggests an evangelical programme summarised in the motto: 'ora et labora et lege' (prayer, work and culture)".
He explained: "In the first place, prayer, which is the greatest heritage St. Benedict left to his monks, ... is the silent path that leads directly to Gods' heart; it is the breath of the soul that restores peace to us amid the storms of life". The Pope likewise expressed to his listeners the hope that "attentive listening to the divine Word may nourish your prayers and make you prophets of truth and love in a shared commitment to evangelisation and human promotion".
On the subject of work, Benedict XVI indicated that "humanising the world of work is typical of the soul of monasticism". In this context he spoke of his solidarity "with people living in situations of worrying insecurity, workers made redundant or who have even lost their jobs. May the blight of unemployment which affects this land induce leaders of public life, employers and others in a position to do so, to seek, with everyone's help, convincing solutions to the employment crisis, creating new jobs and safeguarding families".
"How can we fail to recall that the family today has an urgent need for better protection, because it is threatened at its very roots?" the Pope asked. "I am thinking too of young people who struggle to find dignified employment that enables them to build a family of their own. I would like to say to them today: do not lose heart, dear friends, the Church will not abandon you!"
The Holy Father also mentioned the care Benedictines dedicate to culture and education. "I know", he said, "that in preparation for my visit you recently held a conference on the theme of education so as to arouse in everyone a strong determination to transmit to young people the irreplaceable values of our human and Christian heritage. In the cultural efforts being made today with the aim of creating a new humanism you, faithful to the Benedictine tradition, rightly intend to emphasise attention to weak and fragile man, to the disabled and to immigrants".
The Pope concluded: "It is not difficult to see that your community, this portion of the Church that lives around Montecassino, is heir to and repository of the mission - impregnated with the spirit of St. Benedict - to proclaim that no-one and nothing in our lives must dislodge Jesus from first place; the mission to build, in Christ's name, a new humanity that welcomes and helps the weakest". PV-ITALY/MASS/CASSINO VIS 090525 (640)
PEACE IS CONSTRUCTED BY OVERCOMING INNER EVIL
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Following this morning's Mass and before praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope pronounced some remarks to the thousands of people gathered in Cassino's Piazza Miranda, which from today will be known as Piazza Benedetto XVI.
Referring to what he described as "the need of all humankind fully to savour the richness and power of Christ's peace", the Holy Father recalled how the word "Pax" is written over the entrance to the abbey of Montecassino and to all Benedictine abbeys.
"As you know", he continued, "on my recent visit to the Holy Land I myself became a pilgrim of peace, and today - in this land marked by the Benedictine charism - I have the opportunity to emphasise once again that peace is primarily a gift of God, and therefore its power lies in prayer".
The gift of peace however, Benedict XVI explained, "is entrusted to human endeavour. ... It is therefore vital to cultivate an authentic life of prayer in order to ensure that social progress comes about peacefully. ... Only by learning, with the grace of Christ, to struggle against and defeat the evil in ourselves and in our relations with others can we become authentic builders of peace and of civil progress.
"May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace", he added, "help all Christians, in their various vocations and life situations, to be witnesses to the peace that Christ gave us", the peace He "left us as a mission to be carried out always and everywhere".
The Pope then recalled how today, 24 May, "liturgical memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians - who is venerated with great devotion in the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai, China - marks the Day of Prayer for the Church in China. My thoughts go to all the Chinese people", he said. "In particular, I send a most affectionate greeting to Catholics in China and I exhort them, on this day, to renew their communion of faith in Christ and of faithfulness to Peter's Successor. May our joint prayer obtain an effusion of gifts from the Holy Spirit so that unity among Christians, and the catholicity and universality of the Church, may always become more profound and visible".
Benedict XVI then greeted those present in various languages, expressing the hope that the spiritual witness of St. Benedict "may help the people who live on the European continent to be faithful to their Christian roots and to build a united and cohesive Europe, founded on the search for justice and peace".
Having completed the Marian prayer, the Holy Father travelled by car to the abbey of Montecassino where he had lunch with the Benedictine monks. On his way there he made a brief stop at the "Casa della Carita" (House of Charity), a structure that helps people in need such as the poor and immigrants. There he unveiled a plaque in honour of his visit and blessed and inaugurated the building. PV-ITALY/REGINA COELI/CASSINO VIS 090525 (510)
CHRISTIAN HERITAGE: EUROPE'S CULTURAL, SPIRITUAL RESOURCE
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 4.30 p.m. today, having had lunch at the Italian abbey of Montecassino, the Holy Father met with the monastic community there and greeted those responsible for organising his visit. He and the monks then walked in procession singing the "Laudes regiae" to the basilica of the abbey for the celebration of Vespers.
The ceremony began at 5 p.m. and was attended by Benedictine abbots, monks and nuns from various communities. Having been greeted by Dom Pietro Vittorelli, ordinary abbot of Montecassino, the Holy Father pronounced his homily.
He began by recalling how over its history the abbey has been "destroyed and rebuilt four times, the last following the bombardments of World War II sixty-five years ago. ... Montecassino, like the ancient oak planted by St. Benedict, has been 'pruned' by the violence of war, but has grown back stronger than before".
St. Benedict abandoned everything to follow Jesus and, "incarnating the Gospel in his own life, became the initiator of a vast movement of spiritual and cultural renewal in the West", said the Pope. Referring then to the account of St. Gregory the Great, who explains how St. Benedict "was 'raised aloft' by an indescribable mystical experience", the Holy Father highlighted the fact that the saint "received this divine gift not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity but so that the charism God had granted him could reproduce in the monastery the life of heaven itself, recreating the harmony of the creation through contemplation and work.
"Rightly so, then", the Pope added, "the Church venerates him as an 'eminent master of monastic life and as a 'doctor of spiritual wisdom in his love for prayer and work'. ... St. Benedict was a shining example of sanctity and indicated Christ to his monks as the one great ideal to follow. He was a master of civilisation who, while presenting a harmonious and balanced view of divine needs and of man's ultimate goal, remained well aware of the requirements and reasons of the heart, teaching and fomenting true and constant fraternity so that, in the interplay of social relationships, a unity of spirit capable of building and nourishing peace should not be lost".
The Holy Father went on: "It is no coincidence that the word 'Pax' welcomes and visitors at the door of this abbey", which "stands as a silent admonition to reject all forms of violence and build peace: in families, in communities, among peoples and in all humankind".
Following St. Benedict's example, "monasteries have, over the course of the centuries, become lively centres of dialogue, of meeting and of beneficial fusion among different peoples, brought together by the evangelical culture of peace. Through work and example, the monks were able to teach the art of peace, giving tangible form to the three elements identified by Benedict as being necessary to conserve the unity of the Spirit among mankind: the cross, which is the very law of Christ; the book, in other words culture; and the plough, which stands for work, mastery over matter and time".
He continued: "Thanks to the work of monasteries, divided into the threefold daily commitment to prayer, study and work, entire peoples on the European continent have known real liberation and beneficial moral, spiritual and cultural development, being educated in a sense of continuity with the past, real activity for the common good, and openness to God and the transcendental. Let us pray that Europe may always appreciate this heritage of Christian principles and ideals which represent such an immense cultural and spiritual resource.
"This is possible", the Pope added in conclusion, "but only if we accept the constant teaching of St. Benedict: ... that seeking God is man's fundamental task. Human beings do not realise themselves fully, they cannot be truly happy, without God. ... From this place where his mortal remains lie, the patron saint of Europe still invites everyone to continue his work of evangelisation and human promotion".
Following Vespers the Holy Father venerated the relics of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, buried behind the major altar of the basilica. PV-ITALY/VESPERS/MONTECASSINO VIS 090525 (690)
POPE PRAYS FOR THE FALLEN OF ALL WARS AND ALL NATIONS
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. today, after celebrating Vespers, the Pope travelled by car to the Polish military cemetery at Montecassino which contains the bodies of 1,052 soldiers who died in the battle of May 1944 against German forces occupying the hill on which the abbey stands.
The Holy Father lit a votive candle and recited the following prayer for the fallen of all countries in all wars:
"O God, our Father, endless source of life and peace, welcome into Your merciful embrace the fallen of the war that raged here, the fallen on all wars that have bloodied the earth. Grant that they may enjoy the light that does not fail, which in the reflection of Your splendour illumines the consciences of all men and women of good will. You, Who in Your Son Jesus Christ gave suffering humanity a glorious witness of Your love for us, You, Who in our Lord Christ gave us the sign of a suffering that is never in vain, but fruitful in Your redeeming power, grant those who yet suffer for the blind violence of fratricidal wars the strength of the hope that does not fade, the dream of a definitive civilisation of live, the courage of a real and daily activity of peace. Give us your Paraclete Spirit so that the men of our time may understand that the gift of peace is much more precious than any corruptible treasure, and that while awaiting the day that does not end we are all called to be builders of peace for the future of Your children. Make all Christians more convinced witnesses of life, the inestimable gift of Your love, You Who live and reign for ever and ever Amen".
Having completed his visit to the cemetery, the Holy Father travelled back to the abbey. There he greeted the civic authorities who had welcomed him on his arrival in the morning, then boarded his helicopter, arriving back in the Vatican at 7.30 p.m. PV-ITALY/CEMETERY/MONTECASSINO VIS 090525 (350)
PRIESTS: INNER STRENGTH, DEDICATION TO SOULS
VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received students of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, led by Archbishop Beniamino Stella, president of that institution.
The Pope told the priests that service in apostolic nunciatures, for which they are training, "may to some extent be considered as a specific priestly vocation, a pastoral ministry that involves a particular approach to the world and to its often highly complex social and political problems".
"The dialogue with the modern world that is asked of you, as well as your contact with people and the institutions they represent, require an inner strength and a spiritual firmness capable of safeguarding - indeed of giving ever more prominence to - your Christian and priestly identity". This, he explained, is necessary in order to avoid "the negative effects of the worldly mentality and not allow yourselves to be attracted or contaminated by an overly earthly logic".
"In moments of darkness and inner difficulty", Benedict XVI told the priests, "turn your gaze to Christ. ... Always remember that it is vital and fundamental for the priestly ministry, however practised, to maintain a personal bond with Christ, He wants us as His 'friends', friends who seek intimacy with Him, who follow His teaching and who undertake to make Him known and loved by everyone.
"The Lord", the Pope added, "wants us to be saints, in other words entirely 'His', not concerned with building a career that is interesting and comfortable in human terms, not seeking success and the praise of others, but entirely dedicated to the good of souls, ready to do our duty unto the end, aware of being 'useful servants' and happy to offer our poor contribution to the spreading of the Gospel".
The Holy Father called upon his audience to be "men of intense prayer who cultivate a communion of love and life with the Lord. Without this solid spiritual base, how would it be possible to continue our ministry? Those who work in the Lord's vineyard in this way know that what is achieved with dedication, with sacrifice and for love, is never lost".
The Year of Priests, which is due to begin on 19 June, "represents a valuable occasion to renew and strengthen your generous response to the Lord's call, in order to intensify your relationship with Him", the Pope concluded. "Use this opportunity to the utmost so as to be priests in accordance with the dictates of Christ's heart, like St. Jean Marie Vianney, 'Cure of Ars', the 150th anniversary of whose death we are preparing to celebrate". AC/PRIESTLY MINISTRY/STELLA VIS 090525 (440)
CARDINAL DE GIORGI, SPECIAL ENVOY TO SARSINA
VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from the Holy Father in which he appoints Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, archbishop emeritus of Palermo, Italy, as his special envoy to closing celebrations marking the millennium of the dedication of the co-cathedral of Sarsina, Italy, due to take place on 31 May. The Letter, written in Latin, is dated 2 April.
The names of the members of the mission accompanying Cardinal De Giorgi have also been made public. They are: Fr. Fabrizio Messina Checchetti, prior of the Benedictine abbey of Santa Maria del Monte in Cesena, Italy, and Msgr, Pierluigi Tonelli, pastor of the parish of the Madonna delle Rose, also in Cesena. BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/DE GIORGI VIS 090525 (130)
COMPENDIUM OF HOLY FATHER'S LETTER TO THE CHURCH IN CHINA
VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released a note concerning the publication on the Holy See website, as of 24 May, of the Compendium of the Letter of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to the Church in China.
The note recalls how on 27 May 2007 the Pope sent a Letter to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the People's Republic of China.
Through that Letter, the Holy Father intended "to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelisation in China, in order to help Chinese Catholics discover what the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, 'the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of human history', wants from them", the English-language note says.
"The usefulness of the Letter has been confirmed by the highly favourable reception given to it by the Chinese Catholics who had access to it. From the information that is arriving from China, it is clear that the papal document has given rise not only to study sessions exploring its content but also to many pastoral initiatives: it is becoming a reliable point of reference for the resolution of the various problems that the Catholic community is having to address on both the doctrinal level and the practical, disciplinary level.
"On the second anniversary of the publication of the papal Letter, the Holy See is offering the Church in China a 'Compendium' which, following the catechetical literary genre of questions and answers, presents once again the basic elements expressed by Benedict XVI.
"The Compendium faithfully reproduces, both in structure and language, the content of the original Letter, quoting extended passages from it. With the addition of some footnotes and two short appendices, the Compendium is presented as an authoritative tool facilitating a deeper understanding of His Holiness' thought on some particularly delicate points.
"The Holy Father has approved the Compendium and has authorised its publication as a document of the Apostolic See. The document will be available on the official website of the Holy See in Chinese (using simplified and traditional characters) and English, from 24 May". OP/COMPENDIUM LETTER CHURCH CHINA/... VIS 090525 (380)
VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, Italy, and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference.
- Rita Levi Montalcini, professor emeritus of neurobiology at the C.N.R. Institute of Neurobiology, winner of the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1986, and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
- Bartolomej Kajtazi, ambassador of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on his farewell visit.
On Saturday 23 May he received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
- Thirteen prelates from the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno S.J. of Huancayo.
- Bishop Jaime Rodriguez Salazar M.C.C.J. of Huanuco.
- Bishop Richard Daniel Alarcon Urrutia of Tarma.
- Bishop Antonio Santarsiero Rosa O.S.I. of Huacho
- Bishop Julian Garcia Centeno O.S.A., apostolic vicar of Iquitos.
- Bishop Santiago Maria Garcia de la Rasilla Dominguez S.J., apostolic vicar of Jaen en Peru.
- Bishop Gaetano Galbusera Fumagalli S.D.B., apostolic vicar of Pucallpa.
- Bishop Francisco Gonzalez Hernandez O.P., apostolic vicar of Puerto Maldonado.
- Bishop Juan Tomas Oliver Climent O.F.M., apostolic vicar of Requena.
- Bishop Alberto Campos Hernandez O.F.M., apostolic vicar of San Jose del Amazonas.
- Bishop Anton Zerdin O.F.M., apostolic vicar of San Ramon.
- Bishop Jose Luis Astigarraga Lizarralde C.P., apostolic vicar of Yurimaguas.
- Bishop Jose Ignacio Alemany Grau C.SS.R., emeritus of Chachapoyas.
- Archbishop Beniamino Stella, president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090525 (270)
VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Nikola Kekic, rector of the Greek-Catholic seminary of Zagreb, Croatia and pastor of the co-cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, as bishop of the eparchy of Krizevci for the faithful of Byzantine rite (Catholics 21,354, priests 28, religious 58), Croatia. The bishop-elect was born in Stari Grad, Croatia in 1943 and ordained a priest in 1970. He succeeds Bishop Slavomir Miklovs, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 201 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
On Saturday 23 May it was made public that he appointed Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, Peru, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the fourth centenary of the archdiocese of Ayacucho, Peru, due to take place on 20 July. NER:RE:NA/.../KEKIC:MIKLOVS:CIPRIANI VIS 090525 (150) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 20 May 2009
| 05.20.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 94 |
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SUMMARY:
- Benedict XVI Recalls His Trip to the Holy Land - Bearing Witness to the Faith through the Digital World - Religions Can Help to Strengthen Social Cohesion - Notice
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BENEDICT XVI RECALLS HIS TRIP TO THE HOLY LAND
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his remarks during his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, to a review of his recent apostolic trip to the Holy Land from 8 to 15 May, describing it as a "pilgrimage par excellence to the sources of the faith, and at the same time a pastoral visit to the Church that lives" there.
Addressing the 20,000 faithful gathered in the square, the Holy Father recalled the first stage of his trip, which took him to Jordan where he visited Mount Nebo whence Moses saw the Promised Land but died without reaching it, and Bethany Beyond the Jordan where Jesus was baptised by John. The Memorial of Moses on Mount Nebo "speaks to us of our status as pilgrims", he said, "suspended between an 'already' and a 'not yet', between a promise so great and beautiful as to support us on our journey, and a realisation that surpasses us, and even surpasses this world. The Church experiences this eschatological and pilgrim 'disposition' in her own being".
The Pontiff also referred to his blessing of the cornerstones of two new churches being built at Bethany, affirming that this was "a sign of the Hashemite Kingdom's openness and respect for religious freedom and for Christian tradition. This fact merits great admiration. ... How important it is for Christians and Muslims to co-exist peacefully and in mutual respect!" he exclaimed. "I therefore prayed that this should also become a reality elsewhere, thinking particularly of Christians who live in the difficult situation of neighbouring Iraq.
"Jordan", he added, "has a large Christian community, which has grown with the influx of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. Their presence in society is significant and appreciated, also because of their educational and charity work focused on human beings independent of their beliefs or their ethnic or religious background".
"As a sign of the Church's commitment to the field of culture, I also blessed the cornerstone of the University of Madaba, of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. I felt great joy in launching this new academic and cultural institution, because it is a tangible expression of the fact that the Church promotes the search for truth and the common good, offering a suitable open space for all those who wish to dedicate themselves to such research, a vital premise for genuine and fruitful dialogue between civilisations".
The Holy Father then went on to speak of his visit to Israel where, "from my arrival, I presented myself as a pilgrim of faith in the Land where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again, and, at the same time, as a pilgrim of peace, imploring God that there, where He became man, all people may live as His children, that is, as brothers and sisters".
"In that Land blessed by God at times its seems impossible to escape the spiral of violence. But nothing is impossible for God and for those who trust in Him! For this reason, faith in the one God, just and merciful, which is the most precious resource those people have, must have the power to release all its potential of respect, reconciliation and collaboration". The Pope went on to explain how he had expressed this hope to the Grand Mufti and the heads of the Muslim community of Jerusalem, to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and to organisations dedicated to inter-religious dialogue.
Pope Benedict went on: "Jerusalem is the crossroads of the three great monotheistic religions, and its very name - 'city of peace' - is an expression of God's plan for humankind: to make it one large family. ... This is what Jews, Christians and Muslims are called to bear witness to, so as to honour with their acts the God to Whom they pray with their mouths. This is what I had in my heart, in prayer, as I visited Jerusalem's ... Wailing Wall and Dome of the Rock, symbolic places of Judaism and Islam respectively".
The Pope also recalled his visit to the Yad Vashem Memorial, dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust. "Each human being is scared" he said, "and his name is written in the heart of the eternal God. The great tragedy of the Shoah must never be forgotten! May it, indeed, always be in our memories as a universal reminder of the sacred respect due to human life, which always possesses infinite value".
The primary goal of the apostolic trip "was to visit the Catholic communities in the Holy Land, and this happened on various occasions in Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth", said Benedict XVI, recalling how in the Cenacle he had met the Custos of the Holy Land "to meditate together upon our vocation of being one, of forming one body and one spirit, and transforming the world with the mild power of love".
Yet "the culminating moments of communion with the Catholic faithful were, above all, the Eucharistic celebrations", such as the one in the Valley of Josaphat where the Pope spoke of Christ's resurrection "as a power of hope and peace for that city and for the whole world", and the one in Bethlehem, in the Palestinian Territories, "also attended by faithful from Gaza whom I had the joy of comforting in person, assuring them of my special closeness".
"Bethlehem, the place where the heavenly song of peace sounded out for all mankind", the Holy Father added, "is a symbol of the distance that still separates us from achieving that promise: insecurity, isolation, uncertainty, poverty. All this has caused many Christians to move away, but the Church continues her journey, supported by the faith and bearing witness to love with tangible works of service to our brothers and sisters, such as, for example, the Caritas Baby Hospital in Bethlehem ... and humanitarian work in the refugee camps".
The Pontiff's Holy Land trip also took him to the Aida refugee camp where, he said, "I assured the families there of the closeness and support of the universal Church, inviting everyone to seek peace through non-violent methods, following the example of St. Francis of Assisi". Benedict XVI also spoke of the closing Mass of the Year of the Family he had presided in Nazareth, where he "prayed for all families and for a rediscovery of the beauty of marriage and family life", and mentioned his meeting in the Basilica of the Annunciation with pastors, priests, religious and laity of Galilee, where "we sang our faith in the creative and transforming power of God".
The Holy Father's trip concluded on 15 May with a visit to the Holy Sepulchre and with "two important ecumenical meetings in Jerusalem: at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and ... at the Armenian Patriarchal Apostolic Church".
He concluded: "I am happy to be able to recapitulate the entire itinerary I was able to make in the sign of Christ's resurrection. Despite the vicissitudes that over the centuries have affected the Holy Places, despite the wars, the destruction and, alas, the conflicts among Christians, the Church has continued her mission, moved by the Spirit of the Risen Lord, She is on a journey to full unity, that the world may believe in the love of God and experience the joy of His peace". AG/HOLY LAND TRIP/... VIS 090520 (1230)
BEARING WITNESS TO THE FAITH THROUGH THE DIGITAL WORLD
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At the end of his general audience, celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope made a brief appeal for World Communications Day, due to be held on Sunday 24 May.
Speaking English, the Holy Father recalled how in his Message for the Day this year "I am inviting all those who make use of the new technologies of communication, especially the young, to utilise them in a positive way and to realise the great potential of these means to build up bonds of friendship and solidarity that can contribute to a better world.
"The new technologies", he added, "have brought about fundamental shifts in the ways in which news and information are disseminated and in how people communicate and relate to each other. I wish to encourage all those who access cyberspace to be careful to maintain and promote a culture of respect, dialogue and authentic friendship where the values of truth, harmony and understanding can flourish.
"Young people in particular, I appeal to you: bear witness to your faith through the digital world! Employ these new technologies to make the Gospel known, so that the Good News of God's infinite love for all people, will resound in new ways across our increasingly technological world!" AG/NEW TECHNOLOGIES/... VIS 090520 (230)
RELIGIONS CAN HELP TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL COHESION
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Jordanian Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (R.I.I.F.S.) and the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, held their first meeting in Amman, Jordan, from 18 to 20 May. The theme of the event was "Religion and Civil Society".
According to an English-language communique published at midday today, the R.I.I.F.S. delegation was led by Ambassador Hasan Abu Numah, director of the institute, and the Vatican delegation by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
At the end of this their first meeting the participants agreed upon "the importance of civil society for a sound and integral development of individuals and communities, recognising the particular and indispensable contribution that civil society can provide as a valuable forum for dialogue in the context of the responsible exercise of freedom.
"The participants", the communique adds, "stressed the importance of educating youth in the values of mutual respect and in the culture of dialogue, rejecting violence, so as to promote peaceful coexistence on the basis of full citizenship.
"They highlighted the relevance of democracy and the rule of law in a State that respects ethnic, cultural and religious diversities and implements equality among citizens, on the basis of the respect of human dignity and the ensuing fundamental human rights, particularly freedom and justice.
"Religions", the participants note, "have a specific role to play in civil society, offering motivations for the citizen's contributions to the common good that are based on faith in God and which transcend political expediency and search of power".
The communique concludes by indicating how "the participants stressed the role that religions can play in strengthening social participation and cohesion, thereby giving their specific support to the building of a stable and prosperous State, based on the principle of subsidiarity".
The next meeting is due to take place in Rome within two years and will be "preceded by a preparatory meeting where the theme and modalities will be defined". CON-DIR/RELIGION SOCIETY/AMMAN:TAURAN VIS 090520 (340)
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Bishop Joseph R. Cistone, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Philadelphia, U.S.A., as bishop of Saginaw (area 18,006, population 751,000, Catholics 144,000, priests 100, permanent deacons 15, religious 111), U.S.A.
- Piero Antonio Bonnet as sole judge of Vatican City State while also maintaining him in his position as judge of the Tribunal.
- Paolo Papanti-Pelletier, adjunct judge of the Tribunal, as judge of the Tribunal. NER:NA/.../CISTONE:BONNET:PAPANTI-PELLETIER VIS 090520 (80)
VATICAN CITY, 20 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Tomorrow May 21, Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord and a holiday in the Vatican, no VIS bulletin will be transmitted. Service will resume on Friday, May 22. .../.../... VIS 090520 (40) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 19 May 2009
| 05.19.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 93 |
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SUMMARY:
- Holy Father Receives President of Poland - Postage Stamp to Mark World Book and Copyright Day
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HOLY FATHER RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF POLAND
VATICAN CITY, 19 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique yesterday evening:
"This afternoon the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Lech Kaczynski, president of the Republic of Poland, who subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"During the cordial discussions, the president was pleased to express his thanks to the Holy Father for the attention he has always dedicated to Poland. Certain bilateral and regional questions were also considered, noting the affinity of the positions of the Holy See and Poland in various international fields". OP/AUDIENCE POLISH PRESIDENT/... VIS 090519 (120)
POSTAGE STAMP TO MARK WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY
VATICAN CITY, 19 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Tomorrow, 20 May, the Vatican Publishing House will issue a postage stamp (of the value of 60 euro cents), and the corresponding postmark, to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day. The postage stamp shows a sketch by Maria Carmela Perrini depicting the "Codex Vaticanus".
As part of the same initiative, the first edition of a bimonthly magazine entitled "Editoria Vaticana", also published by the Vatican Publishing House, will likewise be presented tomorrow, as will the results of a survey into the books most read by priests, in collaboration with the "Rogate" magazine for priestly vocations. LEV/POSTAGE STAMP/PERRINI VIS 090519 (120)
VATICAN CITY, 19 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:
- Bishop George M. Anathil S.V.D., emeritus of Indore, India, on 3 May at the age of 76.
- Bishop Carlos Jose Boaventura Kloppenburg O.F.M., emeritus of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, on 8 May at the age of 89.
- Bishop David Picao, emeritus of Santos, Brazil, on 30 April at the age of 85. .../DEATHS/... VIS 090519 (70) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 18 May 2009
| 05.18.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 92 |
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SUMMARY: 16 - 18 MAY
- Pope Recounts Impressions of His Visit to the Holy Land - Special Envoy to Election of Franciscan Minister General - Recollection of Holy Land, Appeal for Sri Lanka - Bishops of Peru: Relaunch the Missionary Spirit - Matteo Ricci: a Model of Dialogue and Respect for Others
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POPE RECOUNTS IMPRESSIONS OF HIS VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND
VATICAN CITY, 16 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Given below are the words used by the Holy Father at his meeting with journalists during his return flight to Rome yesterday, following his pilgrimage to the Holy Land which lasted from 8 to 15 May.
"Dear friends, thank you for your work", the Pope told the journalists. "I can imagine how difficult it must have been, with so many problems and transfers, etc. Yet I would like to thank you for accepting all these difficulties in order to inform the world about this pilgrimage and thus encourage others to visit those holy sites.
"I already gave a brief summary of this trip in my address at the airport, and I do not want to add much. I could cite many details: the moving descent to the lowest point on earth, on the River Jordan, which for us was also a symbol of the descent of God, the descent of Christ into the deepest areas of human existence.
"The Cenacle, where the Lord gave us the Eucharist, where the Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, took place; also the Holy Sepulchre and many other impressions, but I do not think this is the moment to dwell upon them.
"Yet nonetheless I could make a brief mention. I had three fundamental impressions. The first was that everywhere I went - in all areas, Muslim, Christian, Jewish - I found a decided openness to inter-religious dialogue, to encounter, to collaboration among religions. It is important that everyone should see this not just as an action, let us say, inspired by political motives in the particular situation, but as the fruit of a shared nucleus of faith; because to believe in the one God Who created us all and is Father of us all, to believe in this God Who created humankind as a family, to believe that God is love and wants love to be the dominant force in the world, implicates this coming together, this need for encounter, for dialogue, for collaboration as a requirement of faith itself.
"The second point is that I found a truly encouraging ecumenical atmosphere. We held many very cordial meetings with the Orthodox world; I was also able to speak to a representative of the Anglican Church and two Lutheran representatives. It is evident that this atmosphere of the Holy Land also encourages ecumenism.
"Thirdly, great difficulties exist - we know it, we saw it and we felt it. Yet I also saw that there is a profound desire for peace on all sides. The difficulties are more visible, and we must not hide them, they exist and they must be clarified. Yet what is not so visible is the shared desire for peace and brotherhood, and I feel we must also speak of this, encourage everyone in this desire to find the solutions, the by-no-means-easy solutions, to these difficulties.
"I came as a pilgrim of peace. Pilgrimage is an essential element in many religions: in Islam, in Judaism, in Christianity. It is also the image of our own lives, which are a march forwards towards God and thus towards the communion of humankind.
"I came as a pilgrim and I hope that many will follow this example, thus encouraging the unity of the people of this Holy Land and becoming in their turn messengers of peace. Thank you!" OP/MEETING POPE JOURNALISTS/... VIS 090518 (580)
SPECIAL ENVOY TO ELECTION OF FRANCISCAN MINISTER GENERAL
VATICAN CITY, 16 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from the Pope, written in Latin and dated 16 March, in which he appoints Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, as his special envoy to preside at the election of the new minister general of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor. The ceremony is due to take place during the Order's general chapter in Assisi, Italy, on 4 June.
Cardinal Saraiva will be accompanied on his mission by Fr. Francesco Patton O.F.M., secretary of the general chapter, and by Fr. Bruno Ottavi O.F.M., minister provincial of the Seraphic Province of Assisi. BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/ASSISI:SARAIVA VIS 090518 (130)
VATICAN CITY, 16 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted:
- The resignation from the diocese of Bossangoa, Central African Republic, presented by Bishop Francois-Xavier Yombandje, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- The resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Malakal, Sudan, presented by Bishop Vincent Mojwok Nyiker, upon having reached the age limit.
- The resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of San Francisco, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Ignatius C. Wang, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law. RE/.../ YOMBANDJE:MOJWOK:WANG VIS 090518 (110)
RECOLLECTION OF HOLY LAND, APPEAL FOR SRI LANKA
VATICAN CITY, 17 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Before praying the Regina Coeli this morning, the Holy Father dedicated some remarks to his recent visit to the Holy Land, thanking everyone who had helped to make "such an important apostolic trip" a success: The Latin patriarch; the pastors of the Church in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories; the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land; the civil authorities in Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, and the forces of law and order. He also expressed his gratitude to all the priests, religious and lay people who had accompanied him on his pilgrimage or prayed for him.
"This pilgrimage to the Holy Places was also a pastoral visit to the faithful who live there, a service to the unity of Christians, to dialogue with Jews and Muslims, and to the construction of peace", said the Holy Father. "The Holy Land, a symbol of God's love for His people and for all humankind, is also a symbol of the freedom and peace that God wills for all His children".
Nonetheless, he went on, "the history of yesterday and today shows that this very land has also become a symbol of quite the opposite, that is, of interminable divisions and conflict between brothers. How is this possible? It is right that such a question should enter our hearts, even though we know that a mysterious plan of God touches that Land ... where He 'sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins'.
"The Holy Land" Benedict XVI added, "has been called a 'fifth Gospel', because here we can see, even touch, the truth of the history that God achieved with man: from the sites of Abraham's life to the sites of Jesus' life. ... Yet we can say more: the Holy Land by its very history may be considered a microcosm encapsulating God's demanding journey with humanity".
Pope Benedict then turned to consider the dramatic situation in Sri Lanka, giving assurances of his "spiritual closeness to civilians in the combat area in the north of the country: thousands of children, women and elderly people from whom the war has taken years of life and hope".
"On this subject", he added, "I would like once again to launch a pressing appeal to the belligerents to facilitate the evacuation" of civilians, "and to this end I add my voice to that of the United Nations Security Council which just a few days ago asked for guarantees for their safety and security".
He concluded: "I also ask humanitarian institutions, including Catholic ones, to use all possible means to meet the urgent food and medical requirements of the refugees". ANG/HOLY LAND SRI LANKA/... VIS 090518 (460)
BISHOPS OF PERU: RELAUNCH THE MISSIONARY SPIRIT
VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received prelates from the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, who have recently completed their "ad limina" visit.
The Holy Father began his remarks to them by speaking of the unity of the Church which, he said, "is never definitively achieved and must be constantly constructed and perfected, without surrendering to difficulties, be they objective or subjective, and with the aim of showing the true face of the Catholic Church, one and unique".
After highlighting how "the authentic unity of the Church is always an inexhaustible source of the spirit of evangelisation", the Pope expressed his joy at the fact that the prelates had adapted their pastoral programmes to accommodate "the missionary impulse promoted by the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, celebrated in Aparecida, and especially the 'Continental mission', with a view to ensuring that each member of the faithful aspires to sanctity through a personal rapport with the Lord Jesus, loving Him with perseverance and conforming their own lives to evangelical criteria so as to create ecclesial communities of intense Christian life".
"This means relaunching the missionary spirit, not out of fear of the future, but because the Church is a dynamic presence, and the true disciple of Jesus Christ takes pleasure in freely transmitting His divine Word to others and sharing with them the love that flowed from His open side on the cross".
Benedict XVI encouraged the prelates "to unite all the living energies of your dioceses that they may start out again from Christ irradiating the light of His face, especially to brothers and sisters who, perhaps because they feel unappreciated or not sufficiently recognised in their spiritual and material needs, seek answers to their anxieties in other religious experiences".
"Assiduous pastoral visits to ecclesial communities (including the most remote and humble), prolonged prayer, careful preparation of preaching, paternal concern for priests, families, young people, catechists and other pastoral care workers, are the best ways to instil in everyone an ardent desire to be messengers of the Good News of salvation, and will at the same time open the hearts of those around you, especially the sick and those most in need".
The Holy Father highlighted "the beneficial presence of selfless men and women of consecrated life" in Peru. In this context he called on the bishops to continue their "fraternal accompaniment and encouragement" of such people so that, "living the evangelical counsels according to their own charism, they may continue their robust witness of love for God, unshakeable adherence to Church Magisterium and willing collaboration with diocesan pastoral programmes".
The Pope concluded by mentioning those Peruvians "without work or adequate educational and healthcare provisions, and those who live in the suburbs of the great cities or in isolated areas. My thoughts also go to those who have fallen pray to drug addiction and violence. We cannot ignore these our weakest brothers and sisters, beloved unto God, ... Christ's charity urges us on". AL/.../PERU VIS 090518 (520)
MATTEO RICCI: A MODEL OF DIALOGUE AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS
VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a Message to Bishop Claudio Giuliodori of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia, Italy, for the initiatives planned by the diocese - among them a Jubilee Year - to commemorate the fourth centenary of the death of the Jesuit Fr. Matteo Ricci, who died in Beijing, China on 11 May 1610.
Matteo Ricci, who was born in Macerata on 6 October 1552, was, the Pope writes, "gifted with profound faith and extraordinary cultural and academic genius". He "dedicated long years of his life to weaving a profound dialogue between West and East, at the same time working incisively to root the Gospel in the culture of the great people of China. Even today, his example remains as a model of fruitful encounter between European and Chinese civilisation".
"In considering his intense academic and spiritual activity, we cannot but remain favourably impressed by the innovative and unusual skill with which he, with full respect, approached Chinese cultural and spiritual traditions. It was, in fact, this approach that characterised his mission, which aimed to seek possible harmony between the noble and millennial Chinese civilisation and the novelty of Christianity, which is for all societies a ferment of liberation and of true renewal from within, because the Gospel, universal message of salvation, is destined for all men and women whatever the cultural and religious context to which they belong.
"What made his apostolate original and, we could say, prophetic, was the profound sympathy he nourished for the Chinese, for their cultures and religious traditions", the Holy Father adds. Ricci was likewise "a model of dialogue and respect for the beliefs of others" and "made friendship the style of his apostolate during his twenty-eight years in China".
The Jesuit remained faithful to this style of evangelisation to the end of his life, "using a scientific methodology and a pastoral strategy based, on the one hand, on respect for the wholesome customs of the place, which Chinese neophytes did not have to abandon when they embraced the Christian faith and, on the other, on his awareness that the Revelation could enhance and complete" those customs. As the Fathers of the Church did in the time of the encounter between the Gospel and Greco-Roman culture, the author of the "Treatise on Friendship" undertook his "farsighted work of inculturation of Christianity in China by seeking constant understanding with the wise men of that country".
"Following his example, may our own communities, which accommodate people from different cultures and religions, grow in a spirit of acceptance and of reciprocal respect", the Holy Father concludes. MESS/CENTENARY MATTEO RICCI/GIULIODORI VIS 090518 (450)
VATICAN CITY, 18 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
- Ten prelates from the Peruvian Episcopal Conference, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Isidro Barrio Barrio of Huancavelica.
- Bishop Norbert Klemens Strotmann Hoppe M.S.C. of Chosica.
- Bishop Emiliano Antonio Cisneros Martinez O.A.R. of Chachapoyas.
- Bishop Daniel Thomas Turley Murphy O.S.A. of Chulucanas.
- Archbishop Hector Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte O.F.M. of Trujillo, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Jose Javier Travieso Martin C.M.F.
- Bishop Jose Carmel Martinez Lazaro O.A.R. of Cajamarca.
- Bishop Angel Francisco Simon Piorno of Chimbote.
- Bishop Jose Eduardo Velasquez Tarazona of Huaraz.
- Bishop Ivo Baldi Gaburri of Huari.
- Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawlowski, apostolic nuncio to the Republic of Congo and Gabon, accompanied by members of his family.
This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Lech Kaczynski, president of the Republic of Poland, accompanied by his wife and an entourage. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090518 (170) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 14 May 2009
| 05.14.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 90 |
|
SUMMARY OF APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND: 13 - 14 MAY
- Pope Visits Basilica of the Nativity and Children's Hospital - Hostilities That Have Led to Building of Wall Must End - Holy Father Departs from the Palestinian Territories - The Family Is Essential for Building a Civilisation of Love
OTHER NEWS:
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POPE VISITS BASILICA OF THE NATIVITY AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 3.15 p.m. today, the Pope visited the Basilica and the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
The present situation of co-ownership and administration of the Basilica of the Nativity by Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Latin Catholics dates back to the Status Quo, an 1862 Ottoman decree which regulates religious life at the Holy Sepulchre and at Bethlehem.
The Greeks own the basilica, except for the north part of the transept which belongs to the Armenians. The Grotto of the Nativity belongs to the Franciscans and is divided into two parts: the Altar of the Nativity, of the Greeks, and the Altar of the Manger in the Grotto of the Magi, of the Latins. Next to the basilica the Franciscans built the church of St. Catherine where the Roman rite is celebrated.
On both sides of the Greek choir in the basilica are the two entrances to the Grotto of the Nativity which is rectangular and measures 12 meters in length and 3 meters in both width and height. The bronze doors and marble portals date from the era of the crusades. The apse covers the Altar of the Nativity, under which there is a marble slab with a silver star and the Latin inscription: "Hic de Virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est" (Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary). To the right of the Altar of the Nativity is the Grotto of the Magi where Catholic Masses are celebrated.
Having completed his visit, Benedict XVI moved on to the Caritas Baby Hospital, a children's hospital founded in 1952 and supported by the "Kinderhilfe Bethlehem" Association, established by Fr. Ernst Schnydrig who died in 1978. The hospital enjoys the support of the German and Swiss episcopal conferences.
Before greeting the medical and administrative staff, and the Franciscan Elizabethan Sisters of Padua who help care for the patients, the Pope visited the chapel and the maternity ward.
Addressing some words to the young patients and their families, he said: "The Pope is with you! Today he is with you in person, but he spiritually accompanies you each and every day in his thoughts and prayers, asking the Almighty to watch over you with His tender care.
"Fr. Schnydrig described this place as 'one of the smaller bridges built for peace'. Now, having grown from fourteen cots to eighty beds, and caring for the needs of thousands of children each year, this bridge is no longer small! It brings together people of different origins, languages and religions, in the name of the Reign of God, the Kingdom of Peace. I heartily encourage you to persevere in your mission of showing charity to all the sick, the poor and the weak".
Today being the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, the Holy Father concluded by invoking the Virgin Mary in these terms: "May love triumph over hatred, solidarity over division, and peace over every form of violence!" And he concluded: "We ask your Son Jesus to bless these children and all children who suffer throughout the world". PV-PALESTINE/HOSPITAL/BETHLEHEM VIS 090514 (530)
HOSTILITIES THAT HAVE LED TO BUILDING OF WALL MUST END
VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Having completed his visit to the Caritas Baby Hospital, the Holy Father boarded his popemobile and travelled the two kilometres separating it from the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem.
The Aida camp is one of the refugee camps in the Palestinian Territories, which house a total of 1,300,000 refugees who arrived in two waves: in 1948 with the birth of the State of Israel, and in 1967 following the Six-Day War. The Aida camp, an example of co-existence between Christians and Muslims, houses some 5,000 people, including a number of Christian families. Various estimates give the number of people living in the Palestinian Territories as between three and four million. According to 2008 estimates from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Palestinian refugees number 4,600,000 scattered between Jordan (1,700,000 of whom 329,000 live in ten camps); the West Bank (500,000 in nineteen camps); the Gaza Strip (1,000,000 in eight camps, in a total population of 1,500,000); Lebanon (409,000 in twelve camps) and Syria (120,000 in nine camps).
In his remarks, the Pope welcomed the opportunity to express his "solidarity with all the homeless Palestinians who long to be able to return to their birthplace, or to live permanently in a homeland of their own". He also praised the work of UNRWA officials in this camp and others throughout the region.
Benedict XVI reiterated the importance of education and called on young people present to "renew your efforts to prepare for the time when you will be responsible for the affairs of the Palestinian people in years to come". In this context, he also called on parents "to support your children in their studies and to nurture their gifts, so that there will be no shortage of well-qualified personnel to occupy leadership positions in the Palestinian community in the future.
"I know", he added, "that many of your families are divided - through imprisonment of family members, or restrictions on freedom of movement - and many of you have experienced bereavement in the course of the hostilities. ... Please be assured that all Palestinian refugees across the world, especially those who lost homes and loved ones during the recent conflict in Gaza, are constantly remembered in my prayers".
The Holy Father also praised the work of certain Church agencies in the Palestinian Territories, such as the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary who "call to mind the charismatic figure of St. Francis, that great apostle of peace and reconciliation", and the Franciscan family in general which cares "for the people of these lands, by making themselves 'instruments of peace'".
"Instruments of peace", the Pope reiterated. "How much the people of this camp, these Territories, and this entire region long for peace! In these days, that longing takes on a particular poignancy as you recall the events of May 1948 and the years of conflict, as yet unresolved, that followed from those events. You are now living in precarious and difficult conditions, with limited opportunities for employment.
"It is understandable that you often feel frustrated. Your legitimate aspirations for permanent homes, for an independent Palestinian State, remain unfulfilled. Instead you find yourselves trapped, as so many in this region and throughout the world are trapped, in a spiral of violence, of attack and counter-attack, retaliation, and continual destruction. The whole world is longing for this spiral to be broken, for peace to put an end to the constant fighting. Towering over us, as we gather here this afternoon, is a stark reminder of the stalemate that relations between Israelis and Palestinians seem to have reached - the wall.
"In a world where more and more borders are being opened up - to trade, to travel, to movement of peoples, to cultural exchanges - it is tragic to see walls still being erected. How we long to see the fruits of the much more difficult task of building peace! How earnestly we pray for an end to the hostilities that have caused this wall to be built!
"On both sides of the wall, great courage is needed if fear and mistrust is to be overcome, if the urge to retaliate for loss or injury is to be resisted. It takes magnanimity to seek reconciliation after years of fighting. Yet history has shown that peace can only come when the parties to a conflict are willing to move beyond their grievances and work together towards common goals, each taking seriously the concerns and fears of the other, striving to build an atmosphere of trust. There has to be a willingness to take bold and imaginative initiatives towards reconciliation: if each insists on prior concessions from the other, the result can only be stalemate".
Benedict XVI emphasised the fact that humanitarian aid, such as the kind provided in the Aida camp, is essential "but the long-term solution to a conflict such as this can only be political. No one expects the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to arrive at it on their own. The support of the international community is vital, and hence I make a renewed appeal to all concerned to bring their influence to bear in favour of a just and lasting solution, respecting the legitimate demands of all parties and recognising their right to live in peace and dignity, in accordance with international law. Yet at the same time, diplomatic efforts can only succeed if Palestinians and Israelis themselves are willing to break free from the cycle of aggression".
The Holy Father concluded his comments with a plea "for a profound commitment to cultivate peace and non-violence, following the example of St. Francis and other great peacemakers. Peace has to begin in the home, in the family, in the heart. I continue to pray that all parties to the conflict in these lands will have the courage and imagination to pursue the challenging but indispensable path of reconciliation. May peace flourish once more in these lands! May God bless His people with peace!"
Having concluded his address Benedict XVI travelled to the presidential palace in Bethlehem to pay a courtesy visit to the president of the Palestinian National Authority. PV-PALESTINE/REFUGEES/BETHLEHEM VIS 090514 (1050)
HOLY FATHER DEPARTS FROM THE PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
VATICAN CITY, 13 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. today at the presidential palace in Bethlehem, the Holy Father made a courtesy visit to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority. He also met with a group of residents from Gaza and the West Bank.
Having described his time in the Palestinian Territories as "a most memorable day", the Pope thanked President Abbas for his hospitality and "for the great kindness you have shown me".
Referring then to the separation wall, the Pope said that "although walls can easily be built, we all know that they do not last forever. They can be taken down. First, though, it is necessary to remove the walls that we build around our hearts, the barriers that we set up against our neighbours.
"That is why", he added, "in my parting words, I want to make a renewed plea for openness and generosity of spirit, for an end to intolerance and exclusion. ... There are always grounds to hope that [conflict] can be resolved, that the patient and persevering efforts of those who work for peace and reconciliation will bear fruit in the end. My earnest wish for you, the people of Palestine, is that this will happen soon, and that you will at last be able to enjoy the peace, freedom and stability that have eluded you for so long".
Benedict XVI gave assurances that he will continue "to take every opportunity to urge those involved in peace negotiations to work towards a just solution that respects the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike. As an important step in this direction, the Holy See looks forward to establishing shortly, in conjunction with the Palestinian Authority, the Bilateral Permanent Working Commission that was envisioned in the Basic Agreement, signed in the Vatican on 15 February 2000". PV-PALESTINE/FAREWELL/BETHLEHEM VIS 090514 (320)
THE FAMILY IS ESSENTIAL FOR BUILDING A CIVILISATION OF LOVE
VATICAN CITY, 14 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 8.30 a.m. today the Pope travelled by helicopter to Nazareth, town of the Annunciation and of the Holy Family, which is located some 110 kilometres from Jerusalem. Having landed, the Holy Father continued his journey by car to the Mount of the Precipice where he celebrated Mass to mark the closure of Year of the Family, an initiative organised by the Catholic Church in the Holy Land.
Benedict XVI was welcomed by the mayors of Nazareth and of Nazareth Illit, by Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo, Latin patriarchal vicar for Israel, and by Archbishop Paul Nabil El-Sayah of Haifa and the Holy Land of the Maronites. The Holy Father saluted the faithful from his popemobile as he toured the site, a natural amphitheatre located near a wood dedicated to Pope John XXIII. Having then received greetings from Archbishop Elias Chacour, Greek Melkite ordinary for Galilee, he presided at Mass. Among those attending the ceremony was Shimon Peres, president of the State of Israel.
In his homily, the Holy Father affirmed that, following the example of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, "we come to appreciate even more fully the sacredness of the family, which in God's plan is based on the lifelong fidelity of a man and a woman consecrated by the marriage covenant and accepting of God's gift of new life.
"How much the men and women of our time need to re-appropriate this fundamental truth, which stands at the foundation of society, and how important is the witness of married couples for the formation of sound consciences and the building of a civilisation of love", he added.
"In the family each person, whether the smallest child or the oldest relative, is valued for himself or herself, and not seen simply as a means to some other end. Here we begin to glimpse something of the essential role of the family as the first building block of a well-ordered and welcoming society. We also come to appreciate, within the wider community, the duty of the State to support families in their mission of education, to protect the institution of the family and its inherent rights, and to ensure that all families can live and flourish in conditions of dignity".
"In the town of the Annunciation", the Holy Father proceeded, "our thoughts naturally turn to Mary, 'full of grace'. ... Nazareth reminds us of our need to acknowledge and respect the God-given dignity and proper role of women, as well as their particular charisms and talents. Whether as mothers in families, as a vital presence in the workforce and the institutions of society, or in the particular vocation of following our Lord by the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, women have an indispensable role in creating that 'human ecology' which our world, and this land, so urgently needs: a milieu in which children learn to love and to cherish others, to be honest and respectful to all, to practice the virtues of mercy and forgiveness".
He also noted how from St. Joseph's "strong and fatherly example" Jesus "learned the virtues of a manly piety, fidelity to one's word, integrity and hard work. In the carpenter of Nazareth he saw how authority placed at the service of love is infinitely more fruitful than the power which seeks to dominate. How much our world needs the example, guidance and quiet strength of men like Joseph!"
Benedict XVI told the children present "to let the example of Jesus guide you, not only in showing respect for your parents, but also helping them to discover more fully the love which gives our lives their deepest meaning. In the Holy Family of Nazareth, it was Jesus who taught Mary and Joseph something of the greatness of the love of God".
He then called on everyone to reaffirm their commitment "to be a leaven of respect and love in the world around us. This Mount of the Precipice reminds us ... that our Lord's message was at times a source of contradiction and conflict with His hearers. Sadly, as the world knows, Nazareth has experienced tensions in recent years which have harmed relations between its Christian and Muslim communities. I urge people of goodwill in both communities to repair the damage that has been done, and in fidelity to our common belief in one God, the Father of the human family, to work to build bridges and find the way to a peaceful coexistence. Let everyone reject the destructive power of hatred and prejudice, which kills men's souls before it kills their bodies!"
Benedict XVI concluded his homily by expressing his "gratitude and praise for all those who strive to bring God's love to the children of this town, and to educate new generations in the ways of peace. I think in a special way of the local Churches, particularly in their schools and charitable institutions, to break down walls and to be a seedbed of encounter, dialogue, reconciliation and solidarity".
Finally, he encouraged educators "to persevere in bearing witness to the Gospel, to be confident in the triumph of goodness and truth, and to trust that God will give growth to every initiative which aims at the extension of His Kingdom of holiness, solidarity, justice and peace".
At the conclusion of Mass, Benedict XVI blessed the cornerstones of various new buildings, including an international centre for the family, a memorial park dedicated to John Paul II and the Pope Benedict XVI University.
At the end of the ceremony, the Pope travelled to the Franciscan convent in Nazareth where he had lunch with local ordinaries and the Franciscan community. After lunch, he held a private meeting in the convent with Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of the State of Israel, before travelling to the Shrine of the Annunciation, also in Nazareth. PV-ISRAEL/MASS/NAZARETH VIS 090514 (980)
VATICAN CITY, 14 MAY 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Harold Anthony Perera of Galle, Sri Lanka, as bishop of Kurunegala (area 4,763, population 1,508,851, Catholics 51,952, priests 46, religious 63), Sri Lanka. He succeeds Bishop Anthony Leopold Raymond Peiris, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Bishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, as archbishop of Bangkok (area 18,831, population 12,860,320, Catholics 110,694, priests 219, religious 722), Thailand. The archbishop-elect was born in Ban Rak, Thailand in 1949, he was ordained a priest in 1976 and consecrated a bishop in 2007. He succeeds Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. NER:RE/.../... VIS 090514 (150) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
