23 July 2009
Vatican News Update 23 July 2009
| 07.23.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 137 |
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SUMMARY:
- Pope to Preside at Vespers in the Cathedral of Aosta
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POPE TO PRESIDE AT VESPERS IN THE CATHEDRAL OF AOSTA
VATICAN CITY, 23 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Tomorrow evening, Friday 24 July, Benedict XVI will preside at the celebration of Vespers in the cathedral of Aosta, Italy.
The Holy Father will cross the city centre by popemobile before moving on to the cathedral. The ceremony there is due to be attended by some 400 people including priests, religious, two lay people from each of Aosta's ninety-three parishes, and representatives from diocesan offices and ecclesial organisations.
Following Vespers of the day in Italian and in French, the Holy Father will pronounce a homily. At the end of the ceremony he will emerge onto the cathedral's balcony to bless other faithful present. On his return journey to his holiday villa at Les Combes, he will stop to greet elderly people at the old people's home of Introd.
Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., who is at Les Combes, has announced that Benedict XVI "is well and in good spirits. He is using a tape recorder to dictate his ideas as he finds it difficult to wield a pen, his right hand being in plaster because of his broken wrist".
Fr. Lombardi also indicated that the Holy Father takes two daily walks near the chalet in which he is staying, one after lunch and the other in the evening.
Yesterday the Holy Father received Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. They attended to certain pressing matters then had lunch together.
The Holy See Press Office Director also explained that Benedict XVI "makes regular phone calls to his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger who, in a few day's time, will travel to Castelgandolfo to spend four weeks with the Pope". .../POPE HOLIDAY/LOMBARDI VIS 090723 (290)
VATICAN CITY, 23 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Fr. Theodorus van Ruijven C.M., apostolic prefect of Jimma-Bonga, Ethiopia, and apostolic administrator of Nekemte, Ethiopia, as apostolic vicar of Nekemte (area 98,972, population 6,501,000, Catholics 45,000, priests 32, religious 48). The bishop-elect was born in Rijswijk, Holland in 1938 and ordained a priest in 1964.
- Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, apostolic nuncio to Angola and to Sao Tome e Principe, as apostolic nuncio to Cuba. NER:NN/.../VAN RUIJVEN:BECCIU VIS 090723 (90) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 22 July 2009
| 07.22.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 136 |
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SUMMARY:
- Congresses and Meetings on "Caritas in Veritate"
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CONGRESSES AND MEETINGS ON "CARITAS IN VERITATE"
VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2009 (VIS) - "Beyond the ideology of crisis. Development, ethics and the market in 'Caritas in veritate'" was the theme of a congress organised by the Magna Charta Foundation to study the Pope's recent Encyclical. The congress, held yesterday, 21 July, in the Roman church of Santa Marta, was attended by, among others, Archbishop-bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi of Trieste, Italy, and Maurizio Sacconi, Italian minister for social affairs and employment.
Also as part of initiatives to promote Benedict XVI's third Encyclical, at 6 p.m. this evening at the St. Pius X auditorium in Rome a meeting will be held on the theme "'Caritas in veritate', an Encyclical for understanding the future". Among those participating in the event will be Archbishop Rino Fisichella, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University and president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, and Giulio Tremonti, Italian finance minister. The meeting has been organised by the Congregation of Sons of the Immaculate Conception and by the ELEA company. .../CARITAS IN VERITATE/CREPALDI:FISICHELLA VIS 090722 (180)
VATICAN CITY, 22 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado of Mindelo, Cape Verde, as bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde (area 1,803, population 345,000, Catholics 327,750, priests 40, religious 105), Cape Verde. He succeeds Bishop Paulino Do Livramento Evora C.S.Sp., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the prelature of Coari, Brazil, presented by Bishop Joercio Goncalves Pereira C.SS.R., in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. NER:RE/.../GOMES:EVORA:GONCALVES VIS 090722 (110) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 21 July 2009
| 07.21.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 135 |
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SUMMARY:
- Papal Greeting to Tour de France Cyclists
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PAPAL GREETING TO TOUR DE FRANCE CYCLISTS
VATICAN CITY, 21 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. has announced that the Pope sends his greetings to cyclists participating in the Tour de France, who today are scheduled to pass near the Italian alpine town of Introd where the Holy Father is spending a holiday.
"For the occasion of the passage of the Tour de France in the Valle d'Aosta, the Holy Father (who is spending some days at Les Combes near Introd) addresses his cordial greetings to all the athletes and to the organisers of the race, at the same time extending his thoughts to all sports men and women currently involved in various activities and competitions. His hope is that involvement in sport may contribute to the integral development of the person, and that it may never be separated from respect for moral and educational values". OP/POPE TOUR DE FRANCE/LOMBARDI VIS 090721 (160)
VATICAN CITY, 21 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Jose Romero Orquejo Lazo of Kalibo, Philippines, as bishop of San Jose de Antique (area 2,552, population 552,000, Catholics 390,000, priests 40, religious 85), Philippines. NER/.../ORQUEJO VIS 090721 (40) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 20 July 2009
| 07.20.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 134 |
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SUMMARY: 18 - 20 JULY
- Telegram for the Death of Cardinal Margeot - Pope Prays the Angelus in Hometown of Cardinal Bertone
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TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF CARDINAL MARGEOT
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Made public yesterday afternoon was a telegram from the Pope to Bishop Maurice Piat C.S.Sp. of Port Louis, Mauritius, for the demise of Cardinal Jean Margeot, bishop emeritus of that diocese who died on 17 July at the age of 93.
The Holy Father expresses his "profound union in prayer with the diocese of Port-Louis, with the family of the deceased and with everyone affected by this loss. Entrusting him to the mercy of the Lord, I give thanks to God for the ministry of this zealous pastor who dedicated his entire life to the inhabitants of the Isle of Mauritius, as diocesan priest then as bishop of Port-Louis, giving the best of himself that Christ might be announced, especially through his generous commitment to serving the defence and promotion of the family.
"By the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, mother of the Church, may the Lord welcome His faithful servant into His Kingdom of peace and light. Upon you, upon the faithful of the diocese, upon the relatives of the deceased and upon everyone who gathers for the funeral liturgy," the Pope concludes, "I impart a heartfelt apostolic blessing". TGR/DEATH CARDINAL MARGEOT/PIAT VIS 090720 (210)
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Bishop Jose Manuel Lorca Planes of Teruel y Albarracin, Spain, as bishop of Cartagena (area 11,319, population 1,392,117, Catholics 1,230,910, priests 508, religious 1,052), Spain.
- Msgr. Giovanni Carru, under secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, as a member of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, at the same time making him secretary of that pontifical commission.
- Fabrizio Bisconti, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, as archaeological superintendent for the catacombs. NER:NA/.../LORCA:CARRU:BISCONTI VIS 090720 (90)
POPE PRAYS THE ANGELUS IN HOMETOWN OF CARDINAL BERTONE
VATICAN CITY, 19 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI travelled by helicopter from Les Combes in the Italian region of Valle d'Aosta, where he is spending a holiday, to Romano Canavese in the region of Piedmont, birthplace of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. There the Pope prayed the Angelus in the main square of the town in the company of some three thousand faithful.
Before the Marian prayer the Pope greeted Cardinal Bertone whom he described as "my closest collaborator, as he was for a number of years in the past when I was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith". Benedict XVI also thanked the people who had expressed concern for his health over recent days, and mentioned the medical team of the hospital in Aosta where he underwent an operation on Friday for a fractured wrist. "As you see", he said, "because of my accident my agility is somewhat limited, yet I am fully here in heart and am filled with joy to be among you".
The Pontiff spoke of his Secretary of State's home region, its centuries-old ties with the Church of Rome and the industriousness of is inhabitants. "Yet", he went on, "I know that here too, in the area of Ivrea, many families are experiencing situations of economic hardship due to the lack of work. I have already spoken of this problem on a number of occasions and have dealt with it more profoundly in my recent Encyclical 'Caritas in veritate'".
"Do not be discouraged!" cried Pope Benedict. "Providence always helps people who work for good and are committed to justice, ... people who think not only of themselves but also of those less fortunate. You know this well because your forebears were compelled to emigrate because of a lack of work, but then economic development brought wellbeing and others have immigrated here from Italy and from abroad. The fundamental values of the family and respect for human life, sensitivity to social justice, an ability to face hardship and sacrifice, the powerful bond with Christian faith through parish life and especially through participation in Mass, have for many centuries been your true strength. These same values will allow today's generation to build their future with hope, giving life to a truly united and fraternal society in which ... institutions and the economy are permeated with evangelical spirit.
"I particularly address the young", he added. "It is important to ask what kind of culture is proposed to them, what examples and models they are presented with, and to decide if they are such as to encourage them to follow the ways of the Gospel and of true freedom. Young people are full of resources, but they must be helped to overcome the temptation to follow easy and illusory paths, and to find their way to the true and full Life".
Finally, the Pope recalled how the diocese of which Romano Canavese is part owes much "to the sons and daughters of Don Bosco, to their widespread and fruitful presence throughout the area. ... May this be a further cause of encouragement for your diocesan community to make ever greater efforts in the field of education and of stimulating vocations". ANG/WORK VOCATIONS/ROMAN CANAVESE VIS 090720 (560) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 17 July 2009
| 07.17.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 133 |
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SUMMARY:
- Pope Successfully Operated for Wrist Fracture - Meeting of "Populorum Progressio" Administrative Council
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POPE SUCCESSFULLY OPERATED FOR WRIST FRACTURE
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI underwent surgery at the Umberto Parini hospital in the Italian town of Aosta for a fracture to his right wrist. He had suffered a fall last night in his chalet at Les Combes in Valle d'Aosta where he is spending a brief holiday.
The Holy Father arrived at the hospital at 9:45 a.m. this morning. "Even so", declared Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi, "he celebrated Mass and had breakfast early this morning".
Later the Pope "underwent an operation to realign the fractured fragments and fasten them through osteosynthesis, using a local anaesthetic then applying a cast. The Holy Father's general condition is good" added the Pope's doctor Patrizio Polisca, specifying that "the Pope will return shortly to his residence". OP/FALL HOLY FATHER/LOMBARDI VIS 090717 (120)
MEETING OF "POPULORUM PROGRESSIO" ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The annual meeting of the administrative council of the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation is due to be held from 27 to 31 July at the Schwerte Catholic Academy in the archdiocese of Paderborn, Germany, to consider the financing of projects in support of poor indigenous mixed race and Afro-American rural communities of Latin America and the Caribbean.
According to a communique made public today, the administrative council is composed of the following members: Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico (president); Archbishop Edmundo Luis Flavio Abastoflor Montero of La Paz, Bolivia; Archbishop Alberto Taveira Correa of Palmas, Brazil; Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil, Ecuador; Bishop Jose Luis Astigarraga Lizarralde C.P., apostolic vicar of Yurimaguas, Peru, and Msgr. Segundo Tejado Munoz, representative of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum". Also present at the meeting will be Msgr. Giovanni Battista Gandolfo, the new president of the Italian Episcopal Conference's committee for charitable initiatives in favour of the Third World, which is the main supporter of the Foundation.
"These meetings traditionally take place by rotation in the Latin American countries of origin of the members of the administrative council", explains the communique. "Having completed the round, it was decided (also with the aim of giving the Foundation's activities visibility in Europe) to hold the meeting in Germany, country of origin of Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Foundation and of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".
After recalling how the Foundation, "with the help of contributions from benefactors all over the world, finances projects that focus on integral human formation", the communique specifies that "this year a total of 231 projects have been presented, covering 20 countries and various different sectors including: manufacturing (agricultural implements, production and marketing), healthcare, professional training, creation of community centres, school education and the construction of rural dwellings".
Among the countries that have presented the greatest number of projects are Colombia (52), Brazil (45), Peru (32) and Ecuador (17). They are followed by Bolivia (12), El Salvador (12), Haiti (11), Mexico (9), Guatemala (7), Argentina (6), Chile (6), Costa Rica (5), Nicaragua (3), Dominican Republic (3), Venezuela (3), Cuba (2), Honduras (2), Paraguay (2), Panama (1) and Uruguay (1). OP/MEETING/POPULORUM PROGRESSIO VIS 090717 (380)
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Adam Leszek Musialek S.C.I., pastor at Pietermaritzburg in the archdiocese of Durban, South Africa, as bishop De Aar (area 67,248, population 165,500, Catholics 5,824, priests 8, religious 27) South Africa. The bishop-elect was born in Wieruszow, Poland in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1983. He succeeds Bishop Joseph James Potocnak S.C.I., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. NER:RE/.../MUSIALEK:POTOCNAK VIS 090717 (90) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 16 July 2009
| 07.16.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 132 |
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SUMMARY:
- Telegram of Condolence for Plane Crash in Northern Iran - Special Opening of the Vatican Museums
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TELEGRAM OF CONDOLENCE FOR PLANE CRASH IN NORTHERN IRAN
VATICAN CITY, 16 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. sent the following English-language telegram of condolence, in the Holy Father's name, to Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel, apostolic nuncio to Iran, for the 168 victims of yesterday's plane crash in that country:
"Saddened by news of the great loss of life in the air tragedy over Jannatabad near Qazvin, the Holy Father offers heartfelt condolences to the civil authorities and the families of the victims. He prays for the eternal repose of the dead and implores the almighty and merciful God's gifts of comfort and strength on those who mourn the loss of their loved ones". TGR/AIR ACCIDENT/IRAN:GOBEL VIS 090716 (120)
SPECIAL OPENING OF THE VATICAN MUSEUMS
VATICAN CITY, 16 JUL 2009 (VIS) - On Friday 24 July, the Vatican Museums will remain open to the public in the evening and night.
On that day the Museum will remain open from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., with the last visitors being admitted at 9.30 p.m. Visitors will be able to enjoy the sight of the sunset over St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Gardens from the Courtyard of the Cuirasses and from the windows of the Gallery of Maps. They will also have access to the Rooms of Raphael and to the Sistine Chapel, and be able to wander through the galleries of the Vatican Apostolic Library in the twilight.
It is obligatory to book this special visit in advance at the following address: http://mv.vatican.va/2_IT/pages/MV_Home.html. Booking costs four euros, while the entrance fee will be the usual 14 euros full price, 8 euros reduced. .../NIGHT OPENING/VATICAN MUSEUMS VIS 090716 (160)
VATICAN CITY, 16 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Gualtiero Bassetti of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro, Italy, as archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve (area 1,900, population 232,832, Catholics 229,500, priests 208, permanent deacons 10, religious 510), Italy. The archbishop-elect was born in Popolano di Marradi, Italy in 1942, he was ordained a priest in 1966 and consecrated a bishop in 1994. He succeeds Archbishop Giuseppe Chiaretti, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Archbishop Riccardo Fontana of Spoleto-Norcia as archbishop-bishop of the diocese of Arezzo-Cortona-Sansepolcro (area 3,425, population 305,000, Catholics 290,000, priests 331, permanent deacons 22, religious 577), Italy.
- Appointed Bishop Renato Boccardo, secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State, as archbishop of Spoleto-Norcia (area 1,836, population 104,124, Catholics 101,707, priests 127, permanent deacons 7, religious 373), Italy. The archbishop-elect was born in S. Ambrogio di Torino, Italy in 1952, he was ordained a priest in 1977 and consecrated a bishop in 2004.
- Appointed Bishop Gonzalo Restrepo Restrepo of Girardota, Colombia, as coadjutor archbishop of Manizales (area 3,848, population 791,600, Catholics 771,600, priests 219, permanent deacons 43, religious 585), Colombia. The archbishop-elect was born in Urrao, Colombia in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1974 and consecrated a bishop in 2004.
- Appointed Archbishop Luigi Gatti, apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, as apostolic nuncio to Greece.
- Appointed Msgr. Gabriele Giordano Caccia, assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, as apostolic nuncio to Lebanon, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Milan, Italy in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1983.
- Appointed Msgr. Franco Coppola, nunciature counsellor at the section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, as apostolic nuncio to Burundi, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Maglie, Italy in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1981.
- Appointed Msgr. Peter Brian Wells, nunciature counsellor at the section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, as assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.
- Appointed Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio and delegate for pontifical deputations, as secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State. NER:RE:NEC:NN:NA/.../... VIS 090716 (390) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 15 July 2009
| 07.15.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 131 |
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SUMMARY:
- Greater International Co-operation in Healthcare Sector
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GREATER INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION IN HEALTHCARE SECTOR
VATICAN CITY, 15 JUL 2009 (VIS) - On 9 July Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations and Specialised Institutions in Geneva, addressed the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
In his English-language address, made public yesterday afternoon, Archbishop Tomasi expressed the view that "the financial and economic crisis that greed and lack of ethical responsibility have brought about" has been further exacerbated by the influenza virus A-H1N1 "already recognised at pandemic proportion with a future impact that cannot be projected with much certainty, and by the global food security crisis that endangers the lives of millions of people, particularly the world's poorest, many of whom already suffer from acute and chronic malnutrition".
"The Holy See delegation notes with deep concern predictions by the World Bank that during 2009 an additional 53 to 65 million people will be trapped in extreme poverty, and that the number of people chronically hungry will exceed one billion, 800 million of whom live in rural areas".
After then highlighting the importance of overcoming "the temptation to reduce public services for a short-term benefit against the long-term human cost", the archbishop indicated that "aid for development should be maintained and even increased as a critical factor in renewing the economy and leading us out of the crisis".
He went on: "Another key obstacle to achieving the internationally articulated goals in public health is to address the inequalities that exist both between countries and within countries, and between racial and ethnic groups. Tragically, women continue in many regions to receive poorer quality healthcare".
"The Catholic Church", noted the permanent observer, "sponsors 5,378 hospitals, 18,088 health clinics, 15,448 homes for the elderly and disabled, and other health care programmes throughout the world, but especially in the most isolated and marginalized areas". Yet "faith-based organisations do not receive an equitable share of the resources designated to support global, national and local health initiatives", he said.
"The mere quantitative tracking of aid flows and the multiplication of global health initiatives alone may not be sufficient to assure 'Health for All'. Access to primary health care and affordable life-saving drugs is vital to improving global health. ... In an increasingly interdependent world, even sickness and viruses have no boundaries, and therefore, greater global co-operation becomes not only a practical necessity, but more importantly, an ethical imperative of solidarity.
"However, we must be guided by the best healthcare tradition that respects and promotes the right to life from conception until natural death for all regardless of race, disability, nationality, religion, sex and socio-economic status".
The Holy See delegation believes "an ethical approach to development is needed which implies a new model of global development centred on the human person rather than profit, and inclusive of the needs and aspirations of the entire human family". DELSS/ECOSOC/GENEVA:TOMASI VIS 090715 (480)
VATICAN CITY, 15 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Michele Castoro of Oria, Italy, as archbishop of Manfredonia - Vieste - San Giovanni Rotondo (area 1,665, population 155,019, Catholics 153,000, priests 130, permanent deacons 3, religious 245), Italy, and as director general of the International Association of Prayer Groups of Padre Pio. The archbishop-elect was born in Altamura, Italy in 1952, he was ordained a priest in 1977 and consecrated a bishop in 2005.
- Appointed Bishop Francisco Focardi O.F.M., auxiliary of the apostolic vicariate of El Beni, Bolivia, as apostolic vicar of Camiri (area 104,000, population 137,800, Catholics 115,000, priests 25, permanent deacons 1, religious 70), Bolivia. He succeeds Bishop Leonardo Mario Bernacchi O.F.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same apostolic vicariate the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. NER:RE/.../CASTORO:FOCARDI:BERNACCHI VIS 090715 (150) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 14 July 2009
| 07.14.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 130 |
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SUMMARY:
- Holy Father's Concern over Attacks on Churches in Iraq
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HOLY FATHER'S CONCERN OVER ATTACKS ON CHURCHES IN IRAQ
VATICAN CITY, 14 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has expressed his concern over last weekend's attacks on eight Christian churches in Baghdad and Mosul, Iraq, which left four people dead and many injured.
In a telegram sent to Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. says that the Pope "prays for a conversion of heart in the authors of this violence, and encourages the authorities to do everything possible to promote just and peaceful coexistence among all sectors of the Iraqi population".
The Holy Father, says the telegram, "also gives assurances of his prayers and his spiritual closeness to the Catholic and Orthodox communities of the Iraqi capital". TGR/ATTACKS/IRAQ VIS 090714 (130)
VATICAN CITY, 14 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Bruno Alessio Esposito O.P., dean of the faculty of Canon Law at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome, as a consultor of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. NA/.../ESPOSITO VIS 090714 (50) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 13 July 2009
| 07.13.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 129 |
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SUMMARY: 11 - 13 JULY
- Pope Receives President Obama of the United States - Canadian Prime Minister Meets the Holy Father - Church in Europe: Apostolic Work of University Students - Cardinal Cipriani Thorne, Special Envoy to Ayacucho - Solutions to Human Problems Cannot Be Merely Technical - Dialogue to Achieve True Democracy in Honduras - Holy Father Begins a Brief Holiday in Valle d'Aosta
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POPE RECEIVES PRESIDENT OBAMA OF THE UNITED STATES
VATICAN CITY, 11 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a communique released yesterday afternoon by the Holy See Press Office:
"This afternoon, Friday 10 July, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI received in audience Barack H. Obama, president of the United States of America. Prior to the audience, the president met Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"In the course of their cordial exchanges the conversation turned first of all to questions which are in the interests of all and which constitute a great challenge for the future of every nation and for the true progress of peoples, such as the defence and promotion of life and the right to abide by one's conscience.
"Reference was also made to immigration with particular attention to the matter of reuniting families.
"The meeting focused as well upon matters of international politics, especially in light of the outcome of the G8 Summit. The conversation also dealt with the peace process in the Middle East, on which there was general agreement, and with other regional situations. Certain current issues were then considered, such as dialogue between cultures and religions, the global economic crisis and its ethical implications, food security, development aid especially for Africa and Latin America, and the problem of drug trafficking. Finally, the importance of educating young people everywhere in the value of tolerance was highlighted". OP/AUDIENCE PRESIDENT/U.S.A.:OBAMA VIS 090713 (250)
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS THE HOLY FATHER
VATICAN CITY, 11 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"This morning His Holiness Benedict XVI received Stephen Harper, prime minister of Canada, who afterwards met with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary of the Section for Relations with States.
"The friendly conversation focused on several issues of international politics discussed at the G8 and on the results of the summit, also in the light of the new Encyclical 'Caritas in Veritate', and particularly the economic and financial crisis and its ethical implications, aid to developing countries, especially Africa, climate change, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.
"Attention was given also to the Middle East and to the future prospects for peace in the region, as well as to religious freedom in several countries.
"With regard to Canada, the conversation involved ethical values, the defence and promotion of life, marriage and family". OP/AUDIENCE PRIME MINISTER/CANADA:HARPER VIS 090713 (170)
CHURCH IN EUROPE: APOSTOLIC WORK OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
VATICAN CITY, 11 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Benedict XVI received 1,100 participants in the first European meeting of university students promoted by the Catechesis-School-University Commission of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE). The theme of the meeting was: "New disciples of Emmaus. In university as Christians".
Having observed that the students' visit to the Vatican is taking place on the Feast of St. Benedict, the Pope remarked that the aim of their meeting was "to show the episcopal conferences of Europe your willingness to continue along the path of cultural development, which St. Benedict knew to be vital for the human and Christian maturity of the people of Europe. This will come about if you, like the disciples of Emmaus, meet the risen Lord in an authentic ecclesial experience, and especially in the celebration of the Eucharist".
"Your missionary efforts in the university environment consist, then, in bearing witness to your own personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the Truth Who illuminates the path of all mankind. ... Only in this way can we become the ferment and leaven of a society enlivened by evangelical love".
"University pastoral activity must", the Pope went on, "be expressed in all its theological and spiritual implications, helping the young to ensure that communion with Christ leads them to perceive the more profound mystery of man and of history".
The Holy Father continued: "The Christian presence in universities is becoming ever more demanding, yet at the same time fascinating, because faith is called, as it was in centuries past, to offer its indispensable service to knowledge, which is the true motor of development in modern society. From knowledge, enriched with the contribution of faith, depends the capacity of a people to look to the future with hope, overcoming the temptation of a purely materialist vision of life and of history".
"You are the future of Europe", the Pope told the young people. "The new amalgamated culture which is currently being forged in Europe and in the globalised world needs the contribution of intellectuals capable of bringing discussion of God back into the classroom; or rather, of reviving mankind's desire to seek God, 'quaerere Deum'. ... The Church in Europe places great trust in the generous apostolic commitment of all of you, aware of the challenges and difficulties but also of the great potential of pastoral work in the university environment". AC/CCEE MEETING/UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VIS 090713 (420)
CARDINAL CIPRIANI THORNE, SPECIAL ENVOY TO AYACUCHO
VATICAN CITY, 11 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was the Letter in which the Holy Father appoints 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. The Letter, written in Latin, is dated 25 May.
The names of the members of the mission due to accompany the cardinal were also made public. They are Fr. Javier Obon Molinos, vicar general of the archdiocese of Ayacucho, and Fr. Jorge Villaran Mendoza S.J., president of the archdiocesan commission for consecrated life. BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/CIPRIANI VIS 090713 (120)
VATICAN CITY, 11 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Richard John Grecco, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, as bishop of Charlottetown (area 5,660, population 142,300, Catholics 65,253, priests 54, permanent deacons 1, religious 116), Canada. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Vernon Fougere, 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 Bishop Lewis Zeigler of Gbarnga, Liberia, as coadjutor archbishop of the archdiocese of Monrovia (area 15,971, population 1,822,000, Catholics 139,515, priests 37, religious 51), Liberia. The archbishop-elect was born in Harrisburg, Liberia in 1944, he was ordained a priest in 1974 and consecrated a bishop in 2002. NER:RE:NEC/.../GRECCO:FOUGERE:ZEIGLER VIS 090713 (130)
SOLUTIONS TO HUMAN PROBLEMS CANNOT BE MERELY TECHNICAL
VATICAN CITY, 12 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his remarks prior to the recital of the Angelus at midday today to the recent G8 summit meeting, held in the Italian city of L'Aquila "so harshly tried by the earthquake", and to the publication of his third Encyclical "Caritas in veritate".
The Pope recalled how some of the themes on the G8 agenda were "dramatically urgent" because "there are social inequalities and structural injustices in the world that can no longer be tolerated and which require, apart from immediate interventions, a co-ordinated strategy to seek lasting global solutions.
"During the summit meeting the G8 heads of State and government reiterated the necessary of reaching shared agreements in order to ensure a better future for humankind", he added. "The Church has no technical solutions to offer but, expert in humanity, she offers everyone Sacred Scripture's teaching of the truth about man, and announces the Gospel of love and of justice".
In this context the Holy Father referred to his own recent Encyclical, published shortly before the G8 meeting, in which he speaks of the need for "a new economic project to redesign development in global terms, based on the ethical foundation of responsibility before God and on the human being as creature of God".
"The great Pontiff Paul VI, in his 'Populorum progressio' had already recognised and identified the worldwide reach of the social question. Following the same path, I too felt the need to dedicate 'Caritas in veritate' to this topic, which in our time has become 'a radically anthropological question' in that it implicates the way life itself is conceived, something that biotechnology places increasingly under man's control".
Pope Benedict went on: "The solutions to the current problems of humanity cannot be merely technical, they must take account of all the needs of the person, who has a soul and a body; thus they must take account of the Creator, God. The absolute supremacy of technology, which finds its greatest expression in certain practices that run counter to life, could lead to a grim future for humankind. Acts that do not respect the true dignity of the person, even when they seem to be motivated by a 'choice of love', are in fact the fruit of 'a materialistic and mechanistic understanding of human life' which reduces love without truth to 'an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way'".
Yet, the Holy Father concluded, "however complex the current situation of the world may be, the Church looks to future with hope and reminds Christians that 'announcing Christ is the first and principal factor of development'". ANG/G8 CARITAS IN VERITATE/... VIS 090713 (450)
DIALOGUE TO ACHIEVE TRUE DEMOCRACY IN HONDURAS
VATICAN CITY, 12 JUL 2009 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus this morning the Pope told faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square of the "profound concern" with which he was following recent events in Honduras.
"I would like today to invite you to pray for that dear country so that, by the maternal intercession of Our Lady of Suyapa, the leaders of the nation and all its inhabitants may patiently follow the path of dialogue, mutual understanding and reconciliation.
"This will be possible if, overcoming particularist tendencies, everyone strives to seek the truth and to pursue the common good with tenacity", he added. "This is the condition that will ensure peaceful coexistence and authentic democratic life. To the beloved Honduran people I give assurances of my prayers, and upon them I impart a special apostolic blessing".
Benedict XVI then went on to remind people that tomorrow, Monday, he will be leaving "for a brief period of rest in the mountains. I will travel to Les Combes in Valle d'Aosta, a place made famous by the time my beloved predecessor John Paul II spent there, and one also very close to my heart. In saying 'arrivederci' to St. Peter's Square and to the city of Rome, I invite everyone to accompany me with their prayers.
"Prayer knows no distances or separation. Wherever we are it makes us a single heart and a single soul".
"And on the subject of departures", he concluded, "I take this occasion to reiterate once again eveyrone's obligation to drive carefully and to respect traffic regulations. It is from this that a happy holiday starts!" ANG/HONDURAS HOLIDAYS/... VIS 090713 (280)
HOLY FATHER BEGINS A BRIEF HOLIDAY IN VALLE D'AOSTA
VATICAN CITY, 13 JUL 2009 (VIS) - At 10.30 a.m. today, Benedict XVI left Rome by plane and, following an hour-long flight, arrived at Caselle airport in the northern Italian city of Turin. From there he travelled by helicopter to the residence of Les Combes in the region of Valle d'Aosta where he will spend a sixteen-day vacation.
As he did in 2005 and 2006, the Pope will stay in a chalet belonging to the Salesian Order, the same as that in which John Paul II often used to spend his holidays. The building, made of wood and stone, has two floors and is surrounded by a large garden. It stands at an altitude of 1200 meters and has views over Mont Blanc and other mountains on the French-Italian frontier as well as over the Italian-Swiss Alps.
The only two public ceremonies scheduled for the Pope's vacation are on Sunday 19 July and Sunday 26 July. On 19 July he 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 26 July he will pray the Angelus in the residence of Les Combes.
Benedict XVI will stay at Les Combes - located some 20 kilometres from the city of Aosta within the municipality of Introd - until 29 July.
Following his vacation in Valle d'Aosta, the Pope will move to his summer residence of Castelgandolfo, 30 kilometres south of Rome, where he will remain until the end of September.
The Pope's next apostolic trip, the thirteenth since the start of his pontificate, will take him to the Czech Republic from 26 to 28 September. BXVI-VACATION/VALLE D'AOSTA/... VIS 090713 (300) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 10 July 2009
| 07.10.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 127 |
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SUMMARY:
- Progress in Diplomatic Relations Mexico - Holy See - Tourism - Celebrating Diversity - Meeting of Holy See - Israel Bilateral Working Commission
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PROGRESS IN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS MEXICO - HOLY SEE
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Hector Federico Ling Altamirano, the new ambassador to the Holy See of Mexico, a nation, said the Pope in his remarks, "whose identity has been forged over the centuries in a fruitful relationship with the message of salvation proclaimed by the Catholic Church".
"Faith in Jesus Christ", he went on, "has engendered a culture in Mexico that provides a specific and complete meaning for life, and a hopeful vision of existence, at the same time setting out a series of fundamental principles for the harmonious development of all society".
The Holy Father made reference to the Fourth World Meeting of Families, held some months ago in Mexico City, indicating how it highlighted "the importance of this institution, which is held in such high esteem by the Mexican people. ... Hence it is of vital consequence that families be given adequate assistance, that homes continue to be schools of mutual respect and understanding, seedbeds of human virtues and a reason for hope in the rest of society".
Benedict XVI also noted "the important progress made over recent years in the good relations between the Holy See and Mexico, in a climate of reciprocal autonomy and healthy collaboration". In this context he mentioned the events organised to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the re-establishing of diplomatic relations between the two States, which focused, among other things, on "the correct understanding a true democratic State and its duty to protect and support religious freedom in all aspects of its public and social life".
"The truth is that religious freedom is not just one more right among many others, nor a privilege claimed by the Catholic Church. ... It belongs to the essence of each individual, of each people and each nation". It cannot "be restricted to the mere coexistence of citizens who practice their religion privately, or limited to the free exercise of worship, rather it must ensure that believers have full guarantees of being able to express their religious beliefs, at the same time making their contribution to forging the common good and a just social order in all aspects of life, with no restriction or coercion. In this context the Catholic Church, while she supports and encourages this positive vision of the role of religion in society, does not wish to interfere in the due autonomy of civil institutions".
The Pope praised steps being made in Mexico "to foment a more just and united ordering of society and to overcome the contrasts that continue to afflict the country", among them "such serious questions as violence, drug trafficking, and inequality and poverty which are fertile ground for delinquency".
"It cannot be overemphasised that the right to life must be recognised in all its fullness", Pope Benedict concluded. "In this context I joyfully greet the initiative by which Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2005, and the recent measures adopted by some Mexican states to protect human life from its beginnings. These resolute moves in such a fundamental question should be an emblem of your homeland, one of which it can be justly proud". CD/LETTERS CREDENCE/MEXICO:LING VIS 090710 (550)
TOURISM - CELEBRATING DIVERSITY
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was a pastoral message for World Tourism Day published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People. World Tourism Day falls this year on 27 September and the theme of the English-language message is: "Tourism - celebrating diversity".
In the message, dated 24 June, Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, respectively president and secretary of the council, write: "Diversity is a fact, a reality, but, as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, it is also a positive factor, something good, and not a threat or a danger, up to the point that the Holy Father wants 'people not only [to] accept the existence of other cultures but also desire to be enriched by them'.
"The experience of diversity belongs to human existence, also because each one's development advances by diversifying steps that promote the person's growth and maturity process. It is a progressive discovery, as we compare ourselves with people and everything around us, thus distinguishing ourselves from what is unlike us".
The president and secretary of the council highlight the importance of doing "everything we can to transform discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance into understanding and mutual acceptance, through the roads of respect, education and open, constructive and binding dialogue".
"Tourism is also an occasion for dialogue and listening, inasmuch as it puts people in contact with other ways of living, other religions, other ways of seeing the world and its history", they continue. "It is likewise an invitation not to withdraw into one's own culture, but to be open and face different ways of thinking and living. It should not be surprising, therefore, that extremist sectors and terrorist groups of a fundamentalist nature indicate tourism as a danger and an objective to destroy. Mutual knowledge - let us ardently hope - will help in building a more just, supportive and fraternal society".
"If tourism develops in the absence of an ethic of responsibility, there would at the same time be the danger of uniformity and of beauty as 'fascinatio nugacitatis'. What happens, for example, is that local residents make of their traditions a show for tourists, offering diversity as a commercial product".
"All this requires an effort, both on the part of the visitors and of the local residents who welcome, to assume an attitude of openness, respect, nearness, trust in such a way that, motivated by their desire to meet others, respecting their personal, cultural and religious diversity, they will be open to dialogue and understanding".
After emphasising how "in contemplating diversity, the human person discovers traces of the divine in the footprints of what is human", the two archbishops affirm that "for the believer, differences as a whole open ways by which one can draw near the infinite greatness of God".
"God entrusts the Church with the task of forging a new creation in Jesus Christ - thanks to the Spirit - recapitulating in Him all the treasures of human diversity that sin has transformed into division and conflict".
The message concludes by expressing the hope that "the divine breath of life may win over every xenophobia, discrimination, racism, and bring nearer those who are far away, through a contemplation of the unity/diversity of a human family blessed by God". CON-SM/TOURISM DIVERSITY/VEGLIO:MARCHETTO VIS 090710 (560)
MEETING OF HOLY SEE - ISRAEL BILATERAL WORKING COMMISSION
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2009 (VIS) - "The Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel met yesterday, 9 July, at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to continue the negotiations on the Economic Agreement", reads a communique released today by the Holy See Press Office.
"The talks took place in an atmosphere of great cordiality, and the delegations believe they have contributed to taking the talks forward towards the desired agreement.
"The next meetings of the commission will be on: 26 August; 15-16 September; 14-15 October; 11-12 November. As already announced, the next Plenary Commission will meet on 10 December in the Vatican." OP/MEETING/HOLY SEE:ISRAEL VIS 090710 (120)
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Cardinal Agostino Vallini, his vicar general for the diocese of Rome.
- Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
This afternoon he is scheduled to receive in audience Barack Obama, president of the United States of America. AP/.../... VIS 090710 (70)
VATICAN CITY, 10 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Alfonso Cortes Contreras, auxiliary of Monterrey, Mexico, as bishop of Cuernavaca (area 4,941, population 2,167,000, Catholics 1,874,000, priests 176, permanent deacons 3, religious 482), Mexico. He succeeds Bishop Florencio Olvera Ochoa, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Bishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong, auxiliary of Kwangju, Korea, as coadjutor archbishop of the same archdiocese (area 12,596, population 3,370,781, Catholics 319,494, priests 255, religious 1,204). The archbishop-elect was born in Chonnam, Korea in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1975 and consecrated a bishop in 2003. NER:RE:NEC/.../CORTES:OLVERA:KIM VIS 090710 (120) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 9 July 2009
| 07.09.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 127 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Pope Meets Australian Prime Minister and Korean President
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POPE MEETS AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER AND KOREAN PRESIDENT
VATICAN CITY, 9 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"Today, 9 July, the Holy Father received in audience Kevin Rudd, prime minister of Australia, who subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.
"During the cordial discussions mention was made of the Holy Father's trip to Sydney in July 2008 for World Youth Day, recollecting the great spirit of collaboration between the ecclesiastical and civil authorities that characterised the organisation of that event. Attention also focused on the current international and regional situation, with reference to both respect for religious liberty and environmental problems".
The Holy See Press Office also released another communique today, concerning the Pope's subsequent meeting with Lee Myung-bak, president of the Republic of Korea:
"The cordial discussions", the text reads, "provided an opportunity for an exchange of ideas on certain themes of common interest, among them the effects of the world economic crisis, especially on the poorest countries, and the political and social situation on the Korean peninsula.
"At a bilateral level, mention was made of the good relations that exist between the Republic of Korea and the Holy See, as well as of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, and of co-operation between Church and State in the educational and social fields". OP/.../.PRIME MINISTER:PRESIDENT VIS 090709 (230)
VATICAN CITY, 9 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. AP/.../... VIS 090709 (30)
VATICAN CITY, 9 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Gerard Coliche of the clergy of the archdiocese of Lille, France, episcopal vicar for the apostolate of the laity and for communications, as auxiliary of the same archdiocese (area 2,288, population 1,600,000, Catholics 1,072,700, priests 572, permanent deacons 65, religious 893). The bishop-elect was born in Beziers, France in 1940 and ordained a priest in 1970. NEA/.../COLICHE VIS 090709 (80) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 8 July 2009
| 07.08.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 126 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Caritas in Veritate: Building a World of Justice and Peace - Motu Proprio Ecclesiae Unitatem
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CARITAS IN VERITATE: BUILDING A WORLD OF JUSTICE AND PEACE
VATICAN CITY, 8 JUL 2009 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke about his third Encyclical "Caritas in veritate", which was officially published yesterday.
The Encyclical, explained the Holy Father, highlights the fact that "charity in truth is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. ... Only with charity, illuminated by reason and by faith, is it possible to pursue development goals that possess a more humane and humanising value".
The document, he went on, "intensifies Church analysis and reflection on social themes of vital interest to humankind in our century. In a special way it harks back to what Paul VI wrote more than forty years ago in his 'Populorum progressio'".
"Caritas in veritate", said Benedict XVI, "does not seek to offer technical solutions to the enormous social problems of the modern world. ...What it does do is recall the fundamental principles that are indispensable for building human development over coming years". Among these principles it highlights "concern for the life of man, seen as the centre of all true progress; respect for the right to religious freedom; ... and the rejection of a Promethean vision of human beings which sees them as the sole architects of their own destiny".
"Upright men and women are needed, both in politics and in the economy, people sincerely concerned for the common good", he said. Referring then specifically to "world emergencies", the Pope spoke of the urgent need to call "public opinion to the drama of hunger and of food security", which "must be faced decisively, eliminating the structural causes which produce it and promoting agricultural development in the poorest countries".
"The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly. It needs to recover the important contribution of the principle of gratuitousness and the 'logic of giving' in the economy and in the market, where profit cannot be the only rule. But this is possible only through commitment on the part of everyone, economists and politicians, producers and consumers, and it presupposes a formation of consciences capable of strengthening moral criteria in the elaboration of political and economic projects".
Another necessity, the Holy Father proceeded, "is for all humankind to practice a different lifestyle, one in which each individual's duties towards the environment are linked to his or her duties towards human beings, considered both in themselves and in relation to others".
Finally, "faced with the vast and profound problems of today's world", he said, "I indicated the need for a world political authority regulated by law, one that observes the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity and is firmly directed towards attaining the common good, while respecting the great moral and religious traditions of humanity".
The Pope asked the faithful to pray that "this Encyclical may help humankind to feel itself to be a single family, committed to creating a world of justice and peace". He also called upon them to pray for "the heads of State and government of the G8 who are currently meeting in L'Aquila, Italy. May this important world summit generate decisions and directives that serve the true progress of all peoples, especially the poorest". AG/CARITAS IN VERITATE/... VIS 090708 (550)
MOTU PROPRIO ECCLESIAE UNITATEM
VATICAN CITY, 8 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Given below is an English-language translation from the Italian of the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" of Pope Benedict XVI, "Ecclesiae unitatem". The document concerns the structure of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" which deals with questions involving the Society of Saint Pius X and which as of now becomes dependent upon the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The original text of the Motu Proprio is written in Latin:
1. The duty to safeguard the unity of the Church, with the solicitude to offer everyone help in responding appropriately to this vocation and divine grace, is the particular responsibility of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, who is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the unity of both bishops and faithful. The supreme and fundamental priority of the Church in all times - to lead mankind to the meeting with God - must be supported by the commitment to achieve a shared witness of faith among all Christians.
2. Faithful to this mandate, following the act of 30 June 1988 by which Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre illicitly conferred episcopal ordination upon four priests, on 2 July 1988 Pope John Paul II of venerable memory established the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" whose task it is "to collaborate with the bishops, with the departments of the Roman Curia and with the circles concerned, for the purpose of facilitating full ecclesial communion of priests, seminarians, religious communities or individuals until now linked in various ways to the Society founded by Msgr. Lefebvre, who may wish to remain united to the Successor Peter in the Catholic Church, while preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions, in the light of the Protocol signed on 5 May last by Cardinal Ratzinger and Msgr. Lefebvre".
3. In keeping with this, faithfully adhering to that duty to serve the universal communion of the Church, also in her visible manifestation, and making every effort to ensure that those who truly desire unity have the possibility to remain in it or to rediscover it, I decided, with the Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum", to expand and update through more precise and detailed norms the general indications already contained in the Motu Proprio "Ecclesia Dei" concerning the possibility of using the 1962"Missale Romanum".
4. In the same spirit, and with the same commitment to favouring the repair of all fractures and divisions within the Church, and to healing a wound that is ever more painfully felt within the ecclesiastical structure, I decided to remit the excommunication of the four bishops illicitly ordained by Msgr. Lefebvre. In making that decision my intention was to remove an impediment that could hinder the opening of a door to dialogue and thus invite the four bishops and the Society of Saint Pius X to rediscover the path to full communion with the Church. As I explained in my Letter to Catholic bishops of 10 March this year, the remission of the excommunication was a measure taken in the field of ecclesiastical discipline, to free individuals from the burden of conscience constituted by the most serious of ecclesiastical penalties. However it is clear that the doctrinal questions remain, and until they are clarified the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers cannot legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.
5. Precisely because the problems that now have to be examined with the Society are essentially doctrinal in nature, I have decided - twenty-one years after the Motu Proprio "Ecclesia Dei" and in keeping with what I had intended to do - to reconsider the structure of the Commission "Ecclesia Dei", joining it closely to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
6. The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" will, then, have the following configuration:
(a) The president of the Commission is the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
(b) The Commission has its own staff, composed of the secretary and officials.
(c) It will be the task of the president, with the assistance of the secretary, to submit the principal cases and questions of a doctrinal nature for study and discernment according to the ordinary requirements of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and to submit the results thereof to the superior dispositions of the Supreme Pontiff.
7. With this decision I wish in particular to show paternal solicitude towards the Society of Saint Pius X, with the aim of rediscovering the full communion of the Church.
To everyone I address a pressing invitation to pray ceaselessly to the Lord, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, "ut unum sint".
From Rome, at St. Peter's, 2 July 2009, fifth year of Our Pontificate. MP/ECCLESIAE UNITATEM/... VIS 090708 (800)
VATICAN CITY, 8 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to the additional office of president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei". He succeeds Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, whom the Holy Father thanked at the end of his service as president of the same commission.
- Appointed Msgr. Guido Pozzo, adjunct secretary of the International Theological Commission and official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as secretary of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei".
- Appointed Fr. Celso Antonio Marchiori, pastor of the parish of the Blessed Sacrament in the archdiocese of Curitiba, Brazil, as bishop of Apucarana (area 8,655, population 489,000, Catholics 370,231, priests 77, permanent deacons 70, religious 61), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Campo Largo, Brazil in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1988. He succeeds Bishop Luiz Vicente Bernetti O.A.D., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Bishop Jean-Paul James of Beauvais, France, as bishop of Nantes (area 6,979, population 1,245,000, Catholics 1,141,000, priests 491, permanent deacons 41, religious 1,241), France. He succeeds Bishop Georges Soubrier P.S.S., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit. NA:NER:RE/.../... VIS 090708 (230) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News update 7 July 2009
| 07.07.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 125 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Benedict XVI Receives Japanese Prime Minister - Summary of Encyclical "Caritas in Veritate"
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BENEDICT XVI RECEIVES JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER
VATICAN CITY, 7 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at lunchtime today:
"This morning the Holy Father received in audience Taro Aso, prime minister of Japan. The prime minister subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"The cordial discussions provided an opportunity to examine certain current international questions, with particular reference to the economic crisis and to Japan's and the Holy See's commitment to Africa.
"At a bilateral level, attention turned to the good relations that exist between Japan and the Holy See, as well as to the understanding and co-operation between Church and State". OP/AUDIENCE PRIME MINISTER/JAPAN VIS 090707 (130)
VATICAN CITY, 7 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present Benedict XVI's new Encyclical "Caritas in veritate". Participating in the event were Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"; Archbishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, recently appointed as bishop of Trieste, Italy, and Stefano Zamagni, professor of political economy at the University of Bologna, Italy and consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
In his remarks Cardinal Martini spoke of the need for a new social Encyclical twenty years after John Paul II's "Centesimus Annus" of 1991, and dedicated some attention to changes that have taken place over the last two decades.
"The political ideologies that characterised the period prior to 1989 seem to have lost their virulence, but have been replaced by the new ideology of technology", he said. "Various aspects of globalisation have been accentuated, due on the one hand to the fact that there are no longer two opposing power blocs and, on the other, to the worldwide computer network. ... Religions have returned to the centre of the world stage. ... Certain large countries have emerged from a situation of backwardness, notably changing the world geopolitical balance. ... The problem of international governance remains vital".
These "great novelties ... would be enough by themselves to motivate the writing of a new social Encyclical", said the cardinal, "yet there is another reason: ... 'Caritas in veritate' was conceived by the Holy Father as a commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of Paul VI's 'Populorum Progressio'" although the theme of this new Encyclical "is not the 'development of peoples', but 'integral human development'. ... We could say, then, that the perspective of 'Populorum Progressio' has been broadened".
"'Caritas in veritate' clearly shows not only that the pontificate of Paul VI was no 'backward step' for Church social doctrine, as has unfortunately often been said, but that that Pope made a significant contribution to forming a view of the social doctrine of the Church in the wake of 'Gaudium et spes' and earlier tradition, and provided the foundation upon which John Paul II could then build".
For his part, Archbishop Crepaldi spoke of various new topics dealt with in this Encyclical. "For the first time the two fundamental rights: to life and to religious freedom", he said, "are given explicit and extensive space in a social Encyclical. ... They are", he went on, "organically linked to the question of development. ... In 'Caritas in veritate' the so-called 'anthropological question' becomes to all intents and purposes a 'social question'".
Another two themes contained in the Encyclical are: the environment - in which nature is seen not as a "deposit of natural resources" but as "created word" entrusted to the human beings "for the good of everyone" - and technology - "the first time an Encyclical deals with this theme so fully". And the archbishop went on: "The continuous reference to Truth and Love infuses 'Caritas in veritate' with great freedom of thought which cuts through all the ideologies that unfortunately still weigh upon the question of development".
Cardinal Cordes explained how, "if the Pope's first Encyclical 'Deus caritas est' on the theology of charity contained certain indications on social doctrine, we now find ourselves with a text entirely dedicate to this subject".
After highlighting how "the social doctrine of the Church is an element of evangelisation", the cardinal warned against reading it "outside the context of the Gospel and its announcement", because doctrine "is born and must be interpreted in the light of the revelation".
The president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" explained that "the heart of social doctrine is always mankind", and he went on: "The anthropological question requires us to respond to a central question: what kind of man do we wish to promote?. ... Can a civilisation survive without fundamental points of reference, without looking to eternity, denying mankind an answer to his most profound questions? Can there be true development without God?"
Referring finally to the concept of progress, the cardinal highlighted the fact that the Encyclical, "apart from unifying the two dimensions [of human promotion and announcement of the faith], introduces a further element into the concept of progress, that of hope", to which the Pope dedicated his second Encyclical "Spe salvi".
Professor Zamagni pointed out that the Encyclical is favourable "to the concept of the market typical of the civil economy, according to which it possible to experience human coexistence within a normal economic framework, and not outside or on the margins thereof".
"There are", he explained, "three structural factors to the current crisis. The first concerns the radical change in the relationship between finance and the production of goods and services that has become consolidated over the last thirty years. ... The second factor is the spread, at the level of popular culture, of the ethos of efficiency as the ultimate criterion with which to judge and justify economic matters. ... The third cause is connected to the specificity of the cultural environment that has become consolidated over recent decades on the crest, on the one hand, of globalisation and, on the other, of the advent of the third industrial revolution, that of information technology". OP/PRESENTATION CARITAS IN VERITATE/... VIS 090707 (910)
SUMMARY OF ENCYCLICAL "CARITAS IN VERITATE"
VATICAN CITY, 7 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Given below is a summary of Benedict XVI's new Encyclical "Caritas in veritate" (Charity in Truth) on integral human development in charity and truth.
The Encyclical published today - which comprehends an introduction, six chapters and a conclusion - is dated 29 June 2009, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles.
A summary of the Encyclical released by the Holy See Press Office explains that in his introduction the Pope recalls how "charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine". Yet, given the risk of its being "misinterpreted and detached from ethical living", he warns how "a Christianity of charity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance".
The Holy Father makes it clear that development has need of truth. In this context he dwells on two "criteria that govern moral action": justice and the common good. All Christians are called to charity, also by the "institutional path" which affects the life of the "polis", that is, of social coexistence.
The first chapter of the Encyclical focuses on the message of Paul VI's "Populorum Progressio" which "underlined the indispensable importance of the Gospel for building a society according to freedom and justice. ... The Christian faith does not rely on privilege or positions of power, ... but only on Christ". Paul VI "pointed out that the causes of underdevelopment are not primarily of the material order". They lie above all in the will, in the mind and, even more so, in "the lack of brotherhood among individuals and peoples".
"Human Development in Our Time" is the theme of the second chapter. If profit, the Pope writes, "becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty". In this context he enumerates certain "malfunctions" of development: financial dealings that are "largely speculative", migratory flows "often provoked by some particular circumstance and then given insufficient attention", and "the unregulated exploitation of the earth's resources". In the face of these interconnected problems, the Pope calls for "a new humanistic synthesis", noting how "development today has many overlapping layers: ... The world's wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase", and new forms of poverty are coming into being.
At a cultural level, the Encyclical proceeds, the possibilities for interaction open new prospects for dialogue, but a twofold danger exists: a "cultural eclecticism" in which cultures are viewed as "substantially equivalent", and the opposing danger of "cultural levelling and indiscriminate acceptance of types of conduct and lifestyles". In this context Pope Benedict also mentions the scandal of hunger and express his hope for "equitable agrarian reform in developing countries".
The Pontiff also dwells on the question of respect for life, "which cannot in any way be detached from questions concerning the development of peoples", affirming that "when a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good".
Another question associated with development is that of the right to religious freedom. "Violence", writes the Pope, "puts the brakes on authentic development", and "this applies especially to terrorism motivated by fundamentalism".
Chapter three of the Encyclical - "Fraternity, Economic Development and Civil Society" - opens with a passage praising the "experience of gift", often insufficiently recognised "because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life". Yet development, "if it is to be authentically human, needs to make room for the principle of gratuitousness". As for the logic of the market, it "needs to be directed towards the pursuit of the common good, for which the political community in particular must also take responsibility".
Referring to "Centesimus Annus", this Encyclical highlights the "need for a system with three subjects: the market, the State and civil society" and encourages a "civilising of the economy". It highlights the importance of "economic forms based on solidarity" and indicates how "both market and politics need individuals who are open to reciprocal gift".
The chapter closes with a fresh evaluation of the phenomenon of globalisation, which must not be seen just as a "socio-economic process". Globalisation needs "to promote a person-based and community-oriented cultural process of world-wide integration that is open to transcendence" and able to correct its own malfunctions.
The fourth chapter of the Encyclical focuses on the theme: "The Development of People. Rights and Duties. The Environment". Governments and international organisations, says the Pope, cannot "lose sight of the objectivity and 'inviolability' of rights". In this context he also dedicates attention to "the problems associated with population growth".
He reaffirms that sexuality "cannot be reduced merely to pleasure or entertainment". States, he says, "are called to enact policies promoting the centrality and the integrity of the family".
"The economy needs ethics in order to function correctly", the Holy Father goes on, and "not any ethics whatsoever, but an ethics which is people-centred". This centrality of the human person must also be the guiding principle in "development programmes" and in international co-operation. "International organisations", he suggests, "might question the actual effectiveness of their bureaucratic and administrative machinery, which is often excessively costly".
The Holy Father also turns his attention to the energy problem, noting how "the fact that some States, power groups and companies hoard non-renewable energy resources represents a grave obstacle to development in poor countries. ... Technologically advanced societies can and must lower their domestic energy consumption", he says, at the same time encouraging "research into alternative forms of energy".
"The Co-operation of the Human Family" is the title and focus of chapter five, in which Pope Benedict highlights how "the development of peoples depends, above all, on a recognition that the human race is a single family". Hence Christianity and other religions "can offer their contribution to development only if God has a place in the public realm".
The Pope also makes reference to the principle of subsidiarity, which assists the human person "via the autonomy of intermediate bodies". Subsidiarity, he explains, "is the most effective antidote against any form of all-encompassing welfare state" and is "particularly well-suited to managing globalisation and directing it towards authentic human development".
Benedict XVI calls upon rich States "to allocate larger portions of their gross domestic product to development aid", thus respecting their obligations. He also express a hope for wider access to education and, even more so, for "complete formation of the person", affirming that yielding to relativism makes everyone poorer. One example of this, he writes, is that of the perverse phenomenon of sexual tourism. "It is sad to note that this activity often takes place with the support of local governments", he says.
The Pope then goes on to consider the "epoch-making" question of migration. "Every migrant", he says, "is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance".
The Pontiff dedicates the final paragraph of this chapter to the "strongly felt need" for a reform of the United Nations and of "economic institutions and international finance. ... There is", he says, "urgent need of a true world political authority" with "effective power".
The sixth and final chapter is entitled "The Development of Peoples and Technology". In it the Holy Father warns against the "Promethean presumption" of humanity thinking "it can re-create itself through the 'wonders' of technology". Technology, he says, cannot have "absolute freedom".
"A particularly crucial battleground in today's cultural struggle between the supremacy of technology and human moral responsibility is the field of bioethics", says Benedict XVI, and he adds: "Reason without faith is doomed to flounder in an illusion of its own omnipotence". The social question has, he says, become an anthropological question. Research on embryos and cloning is "being promoted in today's highly disillusioned culture which believes it has mastered every mystery". The Pope likewise expresses his concern over a possible "systematic eugenic programming of births".
In the conclusion to his Encyclical Benedict XVI highlights how "development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer", just as it needs "love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace". ENC/CARITAS IN VERITATE/... VIS 090707 (1390) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 6 July 2009
| 07.06.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 124 |
|
SUMMARY: 4 - 6 JULY
- Pastoral Care of Vocations: Sowing Trust and Hope - Telegram for the Death of Fr. Borgomeo - Uniting to Face the Challenges That Affect Human Destiny - Holy See Financial Statements for 2008 - Benedict XVI Presides at Reopening of Pauline Chapel - Haiti: Environmental Protection and Educating the Young
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PASTORAL CARE OF VOCATIONS: SOWING TRUST AND HOPE
VATICAN CITY, 4 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the 120 participants in a European congress on the pastoral care of vocations which was held in Rome and focused on the theme: "The Gospel of vocation for young people in European culture". The Pope reminded them how "concern for vocations is one of the pastoral priorities for all dioceses, and assumes even greater importance in the context of the recently-inaugurated Year for Priests".
The parable of the sower was the focus of the work of the congress, in which context the Pope noted how "the sower scatters the seed of the Word of God, well aware that it may find inadequate soil that will not allow it to grow. ... Nonetheless, the sower does not lose heart, because he knows that part of his seed is destined to find 'good soil', in other words ardent hearts capable of giving a ready welcome to the Word".
"The image of the earth can evoke the situation of families, good or bad as it may be; the working environment, sometimes arid and harsh; days of suffering and tears", he said. "The earth is, above all, the heart of man, in particular that of the young: ... a heart often confused and disoriented yet capable of containing unexpected energy and capacity to give, ready to open itself to a life spent in love for Jesus ... with the certainty that comes from having found life's greatest treasure.
"It is always God and God alone Who sows in man's heart" the Pope added. "Only after the abundant and generous sowing of the Word of God can we then venture along the paths of accompaniment and education, of formation and discernment", he said. "Like Christ, the priest and the animator must be a 'grain of wheat' who sacrifices himself to do the Father's will; who knows how to live hidden from clamour and strife; who abandons the search for visibility and image which so often today are the criterion and even the goal of life for such a large part of our culture, and which fascinate so many young people".
"Be sowers of trust and hope", the Holy Father told his audience. "Many young people today often experience a profound sense of confusion. Not infrequently human words lack future and perspective, they lack also a sense of wisdom. An attitude of frenetic impatience is spreading, an inability to wait. And yet this could be the moment for God: His call, mediated by the force and effectiveness of the Word, generates a path of hope towards fullness of life".
Finally, turning to consider the figure of St. John Mary Vianney who "dedicated his life to the spiritual guidance of others", the Pope said: "The Year for Priests offers us a fine opportunity to rediscover a profound sense of vocational pastoral care, and of its fundamental methodologies. These are: simple and credible witness; shared and harmonious communion within each particular Church; educating people to follow the Lord in everyday life; listening guided by the Holy Spirit in order to direct young people in the search for God and for true happiness; and finally, truth, which is the only thing that can generate inner freedom". AC/PASTORAL VOCATIONAL CARE/... VIS 090706 (550)
TELEGRAM FOR THE DEATH OF FR. BORGOMEO
VATICAN CITY, 4 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. sent a telegram of condolence, in the name of the Holy Father, to Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Pachon S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), for the death on 2 July of Fr. Pasquale Borgomeo S.J.
During this morning's funeral Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., current director general of Vatican Radio, read out the telegram in which Benedict XVI recalls how the late Fr. Borgomeo "was a faithful collaborator of the Holy See for many years, especially as a much-appreciated director general of Vatican Radio".
The telegram continues: "The Supreme Pontiff wishes to express his heartfelt condolences to the family and to the Society of Jesus, who have been affected by this loss, and while with a grateful heart he recalls Fr. Borgomeo's competent efforts in the service of social communications, he entrusts his soul to the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin". TGR/DEATH FR. BORGOMEO/LOMBARDI VIS 090706 (170)
UNITING TO FACE THE CHALLENGES THAT AFFECT HUMAN DESTINY
VATICAN CITY, 4 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Pope sent a letter to Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, for the forthcoming meeting of the heads of State and Government of the industrialised countries (G8), due to take place in the Italian city of L'Aquila from 8 to 10 July.
John Paul II, writes Benedict XVI, "was convinced that freeing the poorest countries from the burden of debt and, more generally, eradicating the causes of extreme poverty in the world, depended on the most economically-advanced governments and States fully assuming the responsibility they bear towards all humanity".
Nonetheless, the Pope goes on, despite the fact that one of the millennium goals was to eradicate extreme poverty in the world by 2015, "the financial and economic crisis that has struck the entire planet since the start of 2008 has altered the panorama, so that there is now a real risk not only that the hope of emerging from extreme poverty may be extinguished, but that people who until now benefited from some minimal material wellbeing risk falling into indigence".
"With the same force as that with which John Paul II called for relief from foreign debt, I too would like to make an appeal to the G8 member States, to the other States represented and to governments of the whole world, that their aid for development, especially the part directed at 'evaluating' the 'human resource', may be maintained and strengthened, and not just despite the crisis but precisely because this is one of the principle ways to solve it".
"The question of access to education is intimately linked to the effectiveness of international co-operation", writes the Holy Father. "Education is an indispensable condition for the working of democracy, for the fight against corruption, for the exercise of political, economic and social rights, and for the recovery of all States, both poor and rich". In this context he also mentions the efforts being made in the field of education by the Catholic Church and by other religions in the "poorest and most remote corners of the globe".
The Holy Father also makes it clear that "the level of technical efficiency of the provisions necessary to emerge from the crisis directly depends on the level of their ethical force". What is important, he goes on, is "the creation of jobs for everyone, thus enabling workers to meet the needs of their families in a dignified way, and to absolve the primary responsibility they have in educating their children and in playing an active role in the communities to which they belong".
He encourages the G8 nations "to reform international financial structures in order to ensure effective co-ordination of national policies, avoiding ... speculation and guaranteeing the broad international availability of public and private credit at the service of production and of work, especially in the most disadvantaged countries and regions.
"The ethical legitimisation of the political commitments of the G8 will naturally require that they be weighed against the ideas and needs of the entire international community", the Pope adds, highlighting the importance of "reinforcing multilateralism, not only in economic questions but over the entire spectrum of topics concerning peace, world security, disarmament, health, and protection of the environment and of natural resources for present and future generations".
The Pontiff encourages G8 leaders "to listen to the voice of Africa and of less economically-developed countries". He also calls upon them "to seek effective ways to link the decisions made by various State groupings, including the G8, to the United Nations Assembly, where each nation, whatever its political or economic importance, can legitimately express itself in a position of equality with others".
Finally, noting how the summit meeting is to be held in a city recently affected by an earthquake, the Pope indicates that the aid L'Aquila has received "could be seen as an invitation to the members of the G8 and to governments and peoples of the world to unite to face current challenges, which require humankind to make decisive choices concerning the very destiny of man, intimately connected with that of creation". BXVI-LETTER/G8 MEETING/BERLUSCONI VIS 090706 (690)
HOLY SEE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR 2008
VATICAN CITY, 4 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The 63rd meeting of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organisational and Economic Problems of the Holy See was held in the Vatican from 1 to 3 July, under the presidency of Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B.
A communique published this afternoon explains that the Holy See consolidated financial statements for 2008, presented to the cardinals during the meeting by Archbishop Velasio De Paolis C.S., president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, show a deficit of 911,514 euro, the difference between an income of 253,953,869 euro and outgoings of 254,865,383 euro.
The outgoings are due above all to the ordinary and extraordinary expenses of the dicasteries and offices of the Holy See, which employ 2,732 people of whom 761 are ecclesiastics, 334 religious and 1,637 lay people.
The meeting also examined the consolidated financial statements of the Governorate of Vatican City State for 2008, which show a deficit of slightly more than 15 million euro. A total of 1,894 people work under the jurisdiction of the Governorate.
The communique explains how, during the period in question, the Governorate began to study an integrated communications infrastructure including telephone and internet services, and installed photoelectric panels on the roof of the Paul VI Hall. It also mentions the "notable economic and financial burden of protecting, evaluating and restoring the artistic heritage of the Holy See (restoration of the Pauline Chapel and work on the papal basilicas of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls and St. Mary Major)".
Finally the consolidated financial statements of Peter's Pence were also presented. This fund consists of offers made to the Holy Father by the particular Churches, especially for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and contributions by institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, foundations and various members of the faithful. In 2008 a total of 54,387,714 euro was raised and, although the number of donations went up, the total fell slightly due to the general economic situation. OP/FINANCES HOLY SEE/DE PAOLIS VIS 090706 (350)
BENEDICT XVI PRESIDES AT REOPENING OF PAULINE CHAPEL
VATICAN CITY, 4 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This evening the Holy Father presided at Vespers in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Place to mark its reopening following seven years of restoration work. The chapel is the work of the architect Antonio da Sangallo, while its frescoes depicting the conversion of St. Paul and the crucifixion of St. Peter are some of the last done by Michelangelo. With the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, the Pauline Chapel was restored to its function as a place of worship for the Pope and the Pontifical Family.
In his homily Benedict XVI explained how the faces of Paul and Peter play a central role in the chapel's iconography, noting that, although it is known that Paul was around thirty at the time of his conversion, Michelangelo depicts him as an old man. "The artist's decision takes us outside pure realism, it takes us beyond the mere narration of events and introduces us to a deeper level", he said. Thus Paul's face "reveals the maturity of a man illuminated from within by Christ the Lord. ... The grace and peace of God enveloped Saul, conquering him and transforming him from within".
Peter, who turns his head to contemplate the viewer, seems to express "the state of mind of a man facing death and evil; he looks lost ... as if he were searching for something or someone in this his last hour". The Apostles "are facing one another. ... It is as if Peter, at the moment of supreme trial, sought that light which gave the true faith to Paul. In this context the two images become two acts of the same drama, the drama of the Paschal Mystery: Cross and Resurrection, death and life, sin and grace".
"For those who come to pray in this chapel, and above all for the Pope, Peter and Paul become masters of the faith. By their witness they invite us to ... meditate in silence upon the mystery of the Cross which accompanies the Church until the end of time, and to welcome the light of the faith thanks to which the apostolic community can extend the missionary and evangelising activity entrusted to her by the Risen Christ to the confines of the earth.
"No solemn celebrations with the people are held here", the Pope added. "Here Peter's Successor and his collaborators meditate in silence and adore the living Christ, Who is especially present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Sacrament in which all the work of Redemption is concentrated. In the Eucharistic Jesus we contemplate the transformation of death into life, of violence into love".
At the end of his homily, Benedict XVI expressed his thanks to everyone who had contributed to the restoration of the Pauline Chapel, from the Vatican Museums, to the Governorate of Vatican City State, to the Association of Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. HML/PETER PAUL/PAULINE CHAPEL VIS 090706 (500)
VATICAN CITY, 4 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, as bishop of Trieste (area 134, population 243,900, Catholics 220,000, priests 144, permanent deacons 10, religious 189), Italy, giving him the "ad personam" title of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Pettorazza Grimani, Italy in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1971 and consecrated a bishop in 2001. He succeeds Bishop Eugenio Ravignani, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed as consultors of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples: Archbishop-bishop Henryk Hoser S.A.C. of Warszawa-Praga, Poland; Bishop Paul Hinder O.F.M. Cap., apostolic vicar of Arabia, United Arab Emirates; Fr. Cataldo Zuccaro, rector of the Pontifical Urban University in Rome, and Fr. Heinz Wilhelm Steckling O.M.I., superior general of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.
- Appointed Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the twelfth centenary of the death of St. Ludger, first bishop of Munster and "Apostle of the Saxons and Frisians", due to take place at Werden an der Ruhr, Germany on 6 September.
- Appointed Msgr. Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche, vicar general of the archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, as second under secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. NER:RE:NA/.../... VIS 090706 (240)
VATICAN CITY, 5 JUL 2009 (VIS) - At midday today, before praying the Angelus, Benedict XVI recalled how the first Sunday of July was once dedicated to devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Christ, a tradition confirmed "by Blessed John XXIII who, in his Apostolic Letter 'Inde a primis' of 30 June 1960, explained its significance and approved its litanies".
Addressing the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope pointed out that "the theme of blood, associated with that of the Pascal Lamb, is of primary importance in Sacred Scripture", and he recalled Christ's words at the Last Supper: "this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins".
"It is written in Genesis that the blood of Abel killed by his brother Cain calls to God from the earth. Unfortunately, today as yesterday, this cry has not ceased as human blood continues to flow because of violence, injustice and hatred. When will men learn that life is sacred and belongs only to God? When will they understand that we are all brothers? To the cry for spilt blood which rises from so many parts of the earth, God responds with the blood of His Son Who gave His life for us. Christ did not respond to evil with evil, but with good, with His infinite love.
"The Blood of Christ is the pledge of God's faithful love for humankind. By gazing at the wounds of the crucified Christ each man, even in conditions of abject moral poverty, can say: 'God has not abandoned me, He loves me, He gave his life for me', and thus rediscover hope".
After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father spoke of the recent train accident in the Italian city of Viareggio which killed twenty-two people and injured many others. "I join the suffering of those who have lost loved ones, of the injured and of poeple who have suffered material loss", he said. "While raising heartfelt prayers to God for everyone involved in this tragedy, I express the hope that such incidents may not be repeated and that safety in the workplace and in daily life may be guaranteed".
The Pope concluded by deploring "this morning's attack in Cotabato, Philippines, where the explosion of a bomb in front of the cathedral during the celebration of Sunday Mass left a number of dead and many injured, including women and children. As I pray to God for the victims of this ignoble act, I once again raise my voice to condemn the use of violence, which is never a just solution to problems". ANG/BLOOD CHRIST VIAREGGIO COTABATO/... VIS 090706 (450)
HAITI: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND EDUCATING THE YOUNG
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUL 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Carl-Henri Guiteau, the new envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Haiti to the Holy See.
In his address, the Pope recalled the natural disasters that have caused serious damage to the country over recent months. In this context he also underlined how "the country's vulnerability to extreme weather ... has also led to a greater awareness of the need to protect creation".
"Environmental protection", he went on, "is a challenge for everyone because it involves defending a collective asset. ... This responsibility must bring present generations to concern themselves about future generations. The reckless exploitation of the resources of nature and its consequences, which have a particularly serious impact on the poorest, cannot be effectively dealt with except through political and economic decisions that accord with human dignity, and through effective international co-operation".
After highlighting how "signs of hope are not lacking" in Haiti, Benedict XVI encouraged "efforts that contribute to promoting the protection of life and to restoring importance to the institution of the family, especially by reclaiming the value of marriage in society".
"It is vital to give real support to families in most need", he said, "and to ensure effective protection for women and children who at times are victims of violence, abandonment and injustice".
"The education of the young is also a priority for the future of the nation", the Holy Father went on. "This is an important task, vital for the quality of human life both at individual and community level. In fact, various forms of cultural privation often lie at the roots of poverty". In this context he also expressed his satisfaction for the high esteem in which the educational institutions of the Catholic Church are held in the country.
Finally the Pope addressed some words to the Catholic community of Haiti, encouraging them to "serve society, ever attentive to the needs of the poorest and seeking the unity of the nation, in fraternity and solidarity. This", he concluded, "is an authentic sign of hope for all Haitians". CD/CREDENTIALS/HAITI:GUITEAU VIS 090706 (370)
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
- Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, archbishop of Naples, Italy.
- Luis Miguel Leitao Ritto, head of the European Commission delegation to the Holy See, on his farewell visit.
- Acisclo Valladares Molina, ambassador of Guatemala, on his farewell visit.
On Saturday 4 July he received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Cardinal Franc Rode C.M., prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
- Monique Patricia Antoinette Frank, ambassador of the Netherlands, on her farewell visit.
- Lawrence Edward Chewning Fabrega, ambassador of Panama, on his farewell visit. AP/.../... VIS 090706 (140) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
03 July 2009
Vatican News Update 3 July 2009
| 07.03.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 123 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints - Programme of Pope's Trip to the Czech Republic - Analysis of the Tomb of St. Paul
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DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Today, during a private audience with Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorised the congregation to promulgate the following decrees:
MIRACLES
- Blessed Candida Maria de Jesus Cipitria y Barriola (nee Juana Josefa), Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Jesus (1845-1912).
- Servant of God John Henry Newman, English cardinal and founder of the Oratories of St. Philip Neri in England (1801-1890).
- Servant of God Angelo Paoli (ne Francesco), Italian professed priest of the Order of
- Servant of God Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas (nee Soultaneh Maria), co-foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Most Holy Rosary of Jerusalem (1843-1927).
MARTYRDOM
- Servant of God Jose Samso i Elias, Spanish diocesan priest, pastor and archpriest of Santa Maria de Mataro, killed in hatred of the faith during religious persecution in Spain (1887-1936).
- Servant of God Teofilo Fernandez de Legaria Goni (ne Beniamino) and four companions, professed priests of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (PICPUS), killed in hatred of the faith during religious persecution in Spain in 1936.
- Servant of God Georg Hafner, German diocesan priest, killed in hatred of the faith in the concentration camp of Dachau, Germany (1900-1942).
- Servant of God Zoltan Ludovico Meszlenyi, Hungarian titular bishop of Sinope and auxiliary of Esztergom, killed in hatred of the faith at Kistarcsa, Hungary (1892-1951).
HEROIC VIRTUES
- Servant of God Engelmar Unzeitig (ne Uberto), German professed priest of the Congregation of Missionaries of Mariannhill (1911-1945).
- Servant of God Anna Maria Janer Anglarill, Spanish foundress of the Institute of Sisters of the Holy Family of Urgell (1800-1885).
- Servant of God Maria Serafina del Sacro Cuore di Gesu Micheli (ne Clotilde), Italian foundress of the Institute of Sisters of the Angels (1849-1911).
- Servant of God Teresa Manganiello, Italian laywoman of the Third Order of St. Francis (1849-1876). CSS/DECREES/AMATO VIS 090703 (350)
PROGRAMME OF POPE'S TRIP TO THE CZECH REPUBLIC
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The programme of the Holy Father's forthcoming trip to the Czech Republic, due to take place from 26 to 28 September, was made public today.
The Pope will depart from Rome's Ciampino airport at 9.20 a.m. on Saturday 26 September, and is due to land in Prague two hours later. At 12.30 p.m. he will visit the city's Church of Our Lady Victorious where he will venerate the image of the "Infant Jesus of Prague". That afternoon he will pay a courtesy visit to the president of the Czech Republic in the presidential palace and, at 5 p.m., meet with the political and civil authorities and members of the diplomatic corps. The Holy Father's day will end at 6 p.m. with the celebration of first Vespers at the cathedral of St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert, where he will address priests, religious, seminarians and members of lay movements.
On the morning of Sunday 27 September, the Pope will travel to Brno where he will celebrate Mass and pray the Angelus at the local Tufany airport. Returning to the archbishopric of Prague, at 5.15 p.m. he will meet with ecumenical representatives while at 6 p.m. he is due to address members of the academic community at Prague Castle.
On Monday 28 September, the Holy Father will travel to Stara Boleslav to visit the church of St. Wenceslas. At 9.45 a.m. he will celebrate Mass for the feast day of that saint, who is also the country's patron, and address a message to young people. Returning to Prague, the Holy Father will lunch with bishops of the Czech Republic at the archbishopric of Prague, then travel to Stara Ruzyne airport. His return flight is due to depart at 5.45 p.m. and to land at Ciampino airport in Rome at 7.50 p.m. OP/PROGRAMME PAPAL TRIP/CZECH REPUBLIC VIS 090703 (320)
ANALYSIS OF THE TOMB OF ST. PAUL
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2009 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, and Professor Ulderico Santamaria, director of the scientific laboratory of the Vatican Museums, hosted a presentation on the sarcophagus of St. Paul.
Cardinal Cordero explained how two years ago he had suggested to the Pope that the tomb of St. Paul be subject to a scientific examination. Benedict XVI accepted the proposal but ordered that the outcome only be announced at the end of the Pauline Year. Hence it was necessary to keep the results secret until then.
Professor Santamaria dwelt on the technical aspects of the survey, explaining how a small hole was made in the sarcophagus through which a probe was then introduced. Fragments of blue linen, purple linen interwoven with gold thread, grains of red incense and bone fragments were discovered. Carbon dating on organic elements from these finds suggest that they belong to a person who lived in the first or second centuries. "This", the Pope said on 28 June during the closing ceremony for the Pauline Year, "seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle Paul, and it fills our heart with profound emotion".
The cardinal also explained how the Pope does not exclude the possibility of undertaking a more detailed examination of the sarcophagus of St. Paul. However, he went on, the Holy Father did not wish this to take place during the Pauline Year because, in order to open the sarcophagus, it would be necessary to dismantle the papal altar and the thirteenth-century baldachin by Arnolfo di Cambio which, he concluded, would be a difficult and delicate task. .../SARCOPHAGUS ST. PAUL/CORDERO VIS 090703 (310)
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., archbishop of Quebec, Canada.
- Fifteen prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, archbishop of Thanh-Pho Ho Chi Minh, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Joseph Vu Duy Thong and Pierre Nguyen Van Kham.
- Bishop Michel Hoang Duc Oanh of Kontum.
- Bishop Paul Nguyen Van Hoa of Nha Trang, accompanied by Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Vo Duc Minh.
- Bishop Thomas Nguyen Van Tram of Ba Ria.
- Bishop Pierre Nuguen Van Nhon of Da Lat.
- Bishop Joseph Tran Xuan Tieu of Long Xuyen.
- Bishop Paul Bui Van Doc of My Tho.
- Bishop Paul Nguyen Thanh Hoan of Phan Thiet.
- Bishop Pierre Tran Dinh Tu of Phu Cuong.
- Bishop Thomas Nguyen Van Tan of Vinh Long.
- Bishop Dominique Nguyen Chu Trinh of Xuan Loc.
- Bishop Stephanus Tri Buu Thioen, coadjutor of Can Tho. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090703 (180)
VATICAN CITY, 3 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Albert LeGatt of Saskatoon, Canada, as metropolitan archbishop of Saint-Boniface (area 38,000, population 436,000, Catholics 119,000, priests 115, permanent deacons 18, religious 356), Canada. The archbishop-elect was born in Melfort, Canada in 1953 he was ordained a priest in 1983 and consecrated a bishop in 2001. He succeeds Archbishop Emilius Goulet P.S.S., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Archbishop Francesco Monterisi, secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, as archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls in Rome. He succeeds Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Archbishop Manuel Monteiro de Castro, apostolic nuncio to Spain, as secretary of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Accepted the resignation from the offices of president of the Permanent Commission for the Custody of Historical and Artistic Monuments of the Holy See and president of the Labour Office of the Apostolic See (ULSA), presented by Archbishop Francesco Marchisano, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Msgr. Giorgio Corbellini, vice secretary general of the Governorate of Vatican City State, as president the Labour Office of the Apostolic See (ULSA), at the same time elevating him to the dignity of bishop. NER:RE:NA/.../... VIS 090703 (240) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 2 July 2009
| 07.02.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 122 |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 1 July 2009
| 07.01.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 121 |
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SUMMARY:
- Audience: the Essential Elements of Priestly Ministry - The State Must Support Victims of Usury - Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for July - Encyclical "Caritas In Veritate" to Be Presented on 7 July
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AUDIENCE: THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF PRIESTLY MINISTRY
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Year for Priests was again the theme of the Holy Father's catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope began his remarks by expressing the hope that the Year "may be an opportunity for the inner renewal of all priests and, consequently, for the revitalisation of their commitment to the mission". He then announced that his catecheses over the next few months will focus on the figure of St. John Mary Vianney, the holy "Cure of Ars", on the 150th anniversary of his death.
What most stands out in the life of this saint, said Benedict XVI, "is his complete identification with his ministry. He used to say that a good pastor, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure the good Lord can give a parish".
"In fact, it is by considering the dual term 'identity-mission' that each priest will become better aware of the need for that progressive self identification with Christ which guarantees the faithfulness and fruitfulness of his evangelical witness. Thus, in the life of a priest, missionary announcement and worship are inseparable, just as sacramental identity and evangelising mission are likewise inseparable".
"The goal of priests' mission is, we could say, 'of worship': that all men and women may offer themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, receiving the charity which they are then called to dispense abundantly to one another. ... Love for others, concern for justice and the poor are not so much a question of social morals as the expression of a sacramental conception of Christian morality because, through priestly ministry, the spiritual sacrifice of all the faithful is accomplished, in union with the sacrifice of Christ, the only mediator. This is the sacrifice that priests offer bloodlessly and sacramentally while awaiting the second coming of the Lord".
"In the face of so many uncertainties and so much weariness, even in the exercise of priestly ministry, it is vitally important to regain a clear and unequivocal view of the absolute primacy of divine grace", said the Holy Father. "The mission of each individual priest depends, then, also and above all on an awareness of the sacramental reality of his 'new existence'. Upon the certainty of his own identity - not artificially and humanly constructed but freely and divinely given and received - depends his perennial enthusiasm for the mission".
"Having received such an extraordinary gift of grace with their consecration, priests become permanent witnesses of their own encounter with Christ", and "are able to carry out their mission to the full, announcing the Word and administering the Sacraments.
"Following Vatican Council II", Pope Benedict added, "in some places the impression arose that there were more important things in the mission of priests in our time: some people believed that the priority was to build a new society".
Yet "the two essential elements of priestly ministry" always remain "announcement and power", said the Holy Father recalling how Christ sent His disciples out to announce the Gospel giving them the power to drive out demons. "Announcement and power", in other words "Word and Sacrament, are the pillars of priestly service, over and above the many forms it can take".
The Pope continued: "When the 'diptych' of consecration-mission is not taken into due account, it becomes truly difficulty to understand the identity of priests and of their ministry in the Church. ... During this Year for Priests", he said, "let us pray for all the clergy. ... Prayer is the primary duty, the true path of sanctification for priests and the heart of authentic pastoral care of vocations".
And he concluded: "The low numbers of priestly ordinations in some countries not only must not discourage us, it should stimulate us to dedicate greater space to silence and to listening to the Word, to improving spiritual guidance and the Sacrament of Confession, so that the voice of God, which always continues to call and to confirm, may be heard and followed by many young people". AG/YEAR FOR PRIESTS/... VIS 090701 (690)
THE STATE MUST SUPPORT VICTIMS OF USURY
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Among his greetings at the end of the general audience, celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope addressed representatives of the Italian National Anti-Usury Council, whom he thanked for the "important and much appreciated work you carry our with victims of this social blight.
"My hope", he added, "is that there be a renewed commitment on everyone's part effectively to combat the devastating phenomenon of usury and extortion, which constitutes a humiliating form of slavery. On the part of the State may there be no lack of appropriate aid and support for families in difficulties who find the courage to denounce those who take advantage of their often tragic situation".
He then turned to address people currently on holiday, expressing his hope that this period will prove "serene and profitable for everyone" To the people who, for various reasons, "are unable to enjoy a vacation", he said, "goes my hope that you may not lack the solidarity and closeness of your loved ones".
Finally, "my special thoughts go to young people who are currently sitting examinations, I assure them all of a mention in my prayers". AG/USURY HOLIDAYS/... VIS 090701 (210)
BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JULY
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for July is: "That the Christians of the Middle East may live their faith in full freedom and be an instrument of peace and reconciliation".
His mission intention is: "That the Church may be the seed and nucleus of a humanity reconciled and reunited in God's one and only family, thanks to the testimony of all the faithful in every country of the world". BXVI-PRAYER INTENTIONS/JULY/... VIS 090701 (90)
ENCYCLICAL "CARITAS IN VERITATE" TO BE PRESENTED ON 7 JULY
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 7 July a press conference will be held to present Benedict XVI's new Encyclical "Caritas in veritate".
Participating in the conference will be: Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino and Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", and Stefano Zamagni, professor of political economy at the University of Bologna, Italy and consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. OP/ENCYCLICAL/... VIS 090701 (110)
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father yesterday received in audience Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins, Ukraine. AP/.../... VIS 090701 (30)
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Fernando Antonio Saburido O.S.B. of Sobral, Brazil, as metropolitan archbishop of Olinda e Recife (area 2,226, population 3,758,000, Catholics 3,552,000, priests 228, permanent deacons 7, religious 462), Brazil. The archbishop-elect was born in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Brazil in 1947, he was ordained a priest in 1983 and consecrated a bishop in 2000. He succeeds Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho O. Carm., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Gbaya Boniface Ziri, vicar general of the archdiocese of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as bishop of Abengourou (area 18,214, population 1,000,000, Catholics 312,000, priests 67, religious 40), Ivory Coast. The bishop-elect was born in Gagnoa, Ivory Coast in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1976.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of Minas, Uruguay presented by Bishop Francisco Domingo Barbosa Da Silveira, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Fr. Antoine Kone of the clergy of Katiola, Ivory Coast, professor of dogmatic theology and Latin in the major inter-diocesan seminary of Anyama and in the formation centre of the Society of African Missions, as bishop of Odienne (area 51,200, population 800,000, Catholics 5,000, priests 12, religious 13), Ivory Coast. The bishop-elect was born in Ferkessedougou, Ivory Coast in 1963 and ordained a priest in 1991.
- Appointed Bishop Jacinto Bergmann of Tubarao, Brazil, as bishop of Pelotas (area 20,594, population 574,000, Catholics 333,000, priests 57, permanent deacons 15, religious 173), Brazil. He succeeds Bishop Jayme Henrique Chemello, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Marcellin Yao Kouadio of the clergy of Daloa, Ivory Coast, national director of Catholic education, as bishop of Yamoussoukro (area 19,890, population 1,102,825, Catholics 131,200, priests 51, religious 79), Ivory Coast. The bishop-elect was born in Vavoua, Ivory Coast in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1990.
- Appointed Fr. Joaquin Hermes Robledo Romero, vicar general of the diocese of San Lorenzo, Paraguay, as coadjutor of the diocese of Carapegua (area 8,705, population 248,000, Catholics 225,000, priests 17, religious 48), Paraguay. The bishop-elect was born in Asuncion, Paraguay in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1975. NER:RE:NEC/.../... VIS 090701 (400) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 30 June 2009
| 06.30.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 120 |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 26 June 2009
| 06.26.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 119 |
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SUMMARY:
- Metropolitan Archbishops Who Will Receive the Pallium - Cardinal Montezemolo Assesses the Pauline Year - Notice
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METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS WHO WILL RECEIVE THE PALLIUM
VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At 9.30 a.m. Monday 29 June, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Benedict XVI will preside at a Eucharistic concelebration with the following 34 metropolitan archbishops upon whom he will impose the pallium:
- Archbishop Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers, Algeria.
- Archbishop Domingo Diaz Martinez of Tulancingo, Mexico.
- Archbishop Pierre-Andre Fournier of Rimouski, Canada.
- Archbishop Sergio da Rocha, Brazil.
- Archbishop Giuseppe Bertori of Florence, Italy.
- Archbishop Salvatore Pappalardo of Siracusa, Italy.
- Archbishop Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of Lviv of the Latins, Ukraine.
- Archbishop Mauricio Grotto de Camargo of Botucatu, Brazil.
- Archbishop Joseph Ake Yapo of Gagnoa, Ivory Coast.
- Archbishop Paul Mandla Khumalo C.M.M. of Pretoria, South Africa.
- Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Archbishop Manuel Felipe Diaz Sanchez of Calabozo, Venezuela.
- Archbishop Jose Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, El Salvador.
- Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B. of Vancouver, Canada.
- Archbishop Allen Henry Vigneron of Detroit, U.S.A.
- Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Valencia, Spain.
- Archbishop Gil Antonio Moreira of Juiz de Fora, Brazil.
- Archbishop Victor Sanchez Espinosa of Puebla de los Angeles, Mexico.
- Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, Mexico.
- Archbishop Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga O.F.M. Cap. of Bedan, Indonesia.
- Archbishop Philip Naameh of Tamale, Ghana.
- Archbishop Ismael Rueda Sierra of Bucaramanga, Colombia.
- Archbishop Andrzej Dziega of Szczecin-Kamien, Poland.
- Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan of New York, U.S.A.
- Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta O. Cist. of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Archbishop Vincent Gerard Nichols of Westminster, England.
- Archbishop Domenico Umberto D'Ambrosio of Lecce, Italy.
- Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez Plata of Toledo, Spain.
- Archbishop Robert James Carlson of Saint Louis, U.S.A.
- Archbishop Philippe Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
- Archbishop Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand.
- Archbishop George Joseph Lucas of Omaha, U.S.A.
- Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond of New Orleans, U.S.A.
- Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don of Colombo, Sri Lanka. OCL/PALLIUM/METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS VIS 090626 (360)
CARDINAL MONTEZEMOLO ASSESSES THE PAULINE YEAR
VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls in Rome, and Pier Carlo Visconti, delegate for the administration of the same basilica, held a briefing on the closure of the Pauline Year.
The cardinal recalled how the Year came into being as a "thematic year" with two fundamental objectives: "To increase people's knowledge of, and invite them to meditate upon, the valuable message left to us by the Apostle of the Gentiles in his writings, which are often difficult and little known or poorly interpreted", and "to create various programmes in the ecumenical dimension, which means working to an ever greater degree with non-Catholic Christian communities on various initiatives of prayer, study and culture".
During the course of the Pauline Year, inaugurated by the Pope on 28 June 2008, the basilica welcomed tens of thousands of pilgrims. "On 1 May 2009 alone more than eighteen thousand pilgrims came to the basilica", explained the cardinal, "and over recent weeks we have certainly seen more than ten thousand a day".
Among the ecclesial events of the Pauline Year, the cardinal mentioned "the opening of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God, which the Pope wished should be inaugurated in the basilica of St. Paul in October 2008, ... the 'Sinaxis' celebrated by all the patriarchs of the Orthodox Churches in Constantinople, followed by a congress focusing on specifically Pauline issues", and "visits to Rome by patriarchs accompanied by large delegations from the Oriental Churches, both Catholic and non-Catholic".
"In the Church of Rome, but also and above all in the various local Churches, ... the celebration of the second millennium of the birth of the Apostle of the Gentiles was perceived and experienced as a fresh stimulus, a further reason to work towards evangelisation. This was also felt in the Orthodox Churches and in many other Christian communities, and has become a shared commitment on the path to recreating unity among Christians".
As for the papal basilica itself, during the Pauline Year "an opening was made in the ancient fifth century brickwork surrounding Paul's tomb under the main altar, so that pilgrims could see one side of the great marble sarcophagus, which has never been opened and which has held the mortal remains of the Apostle for the last twenty centuries". The basilica was also used for concerts of religious music and for other cultural initiatives.
"The Pauline Year is coming to an end", said Cardinal Montezemolo, "but the great ferment of pastoral initiatives, catechesis, and cultural events is destined to continue and to find a large following at both the local and the continental level. The Pauline Door ... will remain open, and the Pauline flame lit by the Holy Father at the beginning of this year will continue to burn in the quadriporticus, ... reminding all the pilgrims who continue to arrive from every corner of the globe of the richness and profundity of the Word of God transmitted to us by the Apostle of the Gentiles".
Finally the archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls announced that "over this very period, to mark the closure of the Pauline Year, the Holy Father is sending seven pontifical delegations, each led by a cardinal, to seven places associated with the Apostle Paul: the Holy Land, Damascus, Tarsus, Cyprus, Athens, Malta and Lebanon". OP/PAULINE YEAR/MONTEZEMOLO VIS 090626 (590)
VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences six prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Joseph Vu Van Thien of Hai Phong.
- Bishop Antoine Vu Huy Chuong of Hung Hoa.
- Bishop Joseph Dang Duc Ngan of Lang Son et Cao Bang.
- Bishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Sang of Thai Binh.
- Bishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh of Thanh Hoa.
- Bishop Paul-Marie Cao Dinh Thuyen of Vinh.
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 090626 (110)
VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2009 (VIS) - As previously announced, on Monday 29 June, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, and a holiday in Rome and in the Vatican, no VIS bulletin will be transmitted. Service will resume on Tuesday 30 June. .../.../... VIS 090626 (50) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican news Update 22 June 2009
| 06.22.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 115 |
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PASTORAL VISIT TO SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO: 21 JUNE
- St. Pio of Pietrelcina Guided Souls and Alleviated Suffering - Benedict XVI Recalls the Plight of Refugees - Relationship between the Cross of Christ and Suffering - New Channels to Communicate Perennial Truth of Gospel
OTHER NEWS: 20 - 22 JUNE
- Priests Must Tend Constantly towards Sanctity - Declaration by the Holy See Press Office Director - De Gasperi: May His Christian Witness Inspire Politicians - Audience
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ST. PIO OF PIETRELCINA GUIDED SOULS AND ALLEVIATED SUFFERING
VATICAN CITY, 21 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At 8.30 a.m. today the Holy Father departed by plane from Rome's Ciampino airport for the military base of Amendola near Foggia in southern Italy. Due to poor weather he was unable to make the trip by helicopter as had been planned. On arrival he was taken by car to San Giovanni Rotondo where he was welcome by the political, civil and ecclesiastical authorities.
He then travelled to the shrine of Our Lady of Grace where he was greeted by Fr. Mauro Johri, minister general of the Friars Minor Capuchins, and by other members of that order. After pausing in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament the Pope visited the cell of the convent where Padre Pio of Pietrelcina died, then descended to the crypt where he venerated the mortal remains of the saint.
At 10.30 a.m. Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in front of the church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
Speaking of St. Pio in his homily, the Pope explained how he "'prolonged' the work of Christ: announcing the Gospel, remitting sins and healing the sick in body and spirit".
"The greatest 'storms' that threatened him were the attacks of the devil, from which he defended himself with 'the 'armour of God', with 'the shield of faith' and with 'the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God'. Remaining united to Jesus, his gaze was always fixed on the profundity of the drama of human life and for this he offered himself and his many sufferings, expending his efforts for the cure and relief of the sick, a privileged sign of God's mercy. ... Guiding souls and alleviating suffering: this is how we can summarise the mission of St. Pio of Pietrelcina".
After then highlighting how St. Pio's legacy to his spiritual children was sanctity, the Holy Father explained how the saint's "main concern, his priestly and paternal solicitude" was "that people should return to God, that they should experience His mercy and, renewed within, rediscover the beauty and joy of being Christian, of living in communion with Jesus, of belonging to His Church and practising the Gospel".
"In the first place came prayer. ... His days were a living Rosary, a continuous meditation upon, and assimilation of, the mysteries of Christ, in spiritual union with the Virgin Mary. This explains the unique simultaneous presence in him of supernatural gifts and of concrete human qualities. And the culmination of everything came in the celebration of Mass. ... From prayer, as from an endless font, arose charity. The love he carried in his heart and transmitted to others was full of tenderness, ever attentive to the real situations in which individuals and families lived. Towards the sick and suffering he nourished the predilection of the Heart of Christ, and it was from here that the idea for a great social project dedicated to the 'relief of suffering' was born and took shape. We cannot adequately interpret or understand this institution if we separate it from the source that inspired it: evangelical charity animated ... by prayer".
Yet "the risks of activism and secularisation are ever present", warned Benedict XVI. "Many of you, religious and lay people, are so absorbed by your many obligations in serving pilgrims or the sick in hospital, that you run the risk of neglecting what is truly important: listening to Christ and accomplishing the will of God. When you realise that you are close to running this risk look to Padre Pio, to his example, to his sufferings, and invoke his intercession that he may obtain from the Lord the light and strength you need to continue his mission, imbued with love for God and fraternal charity". PV-ITALY/MASS/SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO VIS 090622 (630)
BENEDICT XVI RECALLS THE PLIGHT OF REFUGEES
VATICAN CITY, 21 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At the end of today's Mass, celebrated in front of the church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus, and recalled St. Pio's own love for the Virgin Mary.
"Love the Virgin and make her loved", said Pope Benedict. "This is what St. Pio would tell people, and more than the words themselves what counted was the exemplary witness of his own profound devotion to the heavenly Mother". The entire life and apostolate of St. Pio of Pietrelcina "took place under the maternal gaze of Mary and with the power of her intercession".
In a special way the Holy Father then entrusted the Year for Priests - which was inaugurated last Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - to the intercession of the Virgin and of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, expressing the hope that it be "a privileged occasion to turn the spotlight on the importance of the mission and saintliness of priests in the service of the Church and of humanity in the third millennium".
Finally the Holy Father spoke of World Refugee Day, which was celebrated yesterday under the patronage of the United Nations. "Let us also pray today", he said, "for the difficult and sometime dramatic situation of refugees. ... Many are the people who seek refuge in other countries, fleeing from wars, persecution and natural disasters. Receiving them creates no small number of difficulties yet it is nonetheless incumbent upon us. May it be God's will that, with everyone's commitment, the causes of such a sad phenomenon may as far as possible be removed". PV-ITALY/ANGELUS/SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO VIS 090622 (280)
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CROSS OF CHRIST AND SUFFERING
VATICAN CITY, 21 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At 4.45 p.m. today Benedict XVI met with patients and medical and administrative staff of the "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", a hospital founded by Padre Pio in 1956 that currently has beds for one thousand patients.
On the subject of sickness the Pope explained how, "by taking many forms and striking in different ways", it "raises disquieting issues: Why do we suffer? Can the experience of pain be considered as positive? Who can free us from suffering and death? These are existential questions which usually remain unanswered in human terms because suffering is an enigma which reason cannot fathom.
"Suffering is part of the very mystery of the human person", the Holy Father added. "Certainly we must do whatever we can to reduce suffering, ... but to banish it from the world altogether is not in our power. This is simply ... because none of us is capable of eliminating the power of evil, which ... is a constant source of suffering.
"The only person who can eliminate the power of evil is God. Precisely because Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal to us the divine plan of our salvation, faith helps us penetrate the meaning of all that is human, hence also of suffering. There exists, then, an intimate bond between the Cross of Jesus - symbol of supreme pain and price of our true freedom - and our own suffering, which is transformed and made sublime when lived with an awareness of God's closeness and solidarity".
The Holy Father went on: "Padre Pio was aware of this profound truth. On the first anniversary of the inauguration of this hospital, he said that 'those who suffer must experience God's love through a judicious acceptance of their own pain, through serene meditation upon their destiny in Him".
"May the Lord help you to fulfil the project that Padre Pio began", the Pope concluded, "with everyone making a contribution: doctors and scientific researchers, healthcare workers and those who collaborate in the various offices, volunteers and benefactors, Capuchin Friars and other priests. Without forgetting the prayer groups which, alongside the 'Casa del Sollievo', are the outposts of this citadel of charity, greenhouses of faith, hotbeds of love". PV-ITALY/HOSPITAL/SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO VIS 090622 (390)
NEW CHANNELS TO COMMUNICATE PERENNIAL TRUTH OF GOSPEL
VATICAN CITY, 21 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At 5.30 p.m. today, in the church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, the Holy Father met with priests, religious and young people who had come to San Giovanni Rotondo for his visit.
Following a brief moment of prayer and adoration in the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, Benedict XVI pronounced some words to those present. Addressing himself in particular to clergy, he recalled the recently-inaugurated Year for Priests dedicated to St. John Mary Vianney. If the holy Cure of Ars, "in tormented and difficult times, sought in every way to make his parishioners rediscover the meaning and beauty of sacramental penance", the Pope said, "then for the holy Friar of Gargano [St. Pio] the care of souls and the conversion of sinners was a yearning that consumed him until his death.
"How many people changed their lives thanks to his patient priestly ministry!" he added. "How many long hours did he spend in the confessional! ... The Sacrament of Penance must be further enhanced. Priests must never resign themselves to seeing their confessionals deserted, nor limit themselves to noting the disaffection of the faithful for this extraordinary source of serenity and peace".
Among the teachings that marked Padre Pio's life, the Pope highlighted "the value and necessity of prayer", which he described as "a fundamental point not only for the spirituality of priests but also for that of all Christians, and even more so for yours, dear religious, who have been chosen to follow Christ more closely by practising the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience".
He went on: "At times we may feel a certain discouragement in the face of the weakening and even abandonment of the faith which we see in our secularised societies. It is certainly important to find new channels to communicate the evangelical truth to the men and women of our time, but since the essential content of Christian announcement always remains the same, it is necessary to return to its original source, to Jesus Christ, Who 'is the same yesterday and today and forever'".
Finally Benedict XVI turned to address the many young people present. "I am aware of the problems that surround you ... and risk suffocating the enthusiasm that is typical of your youth", he said. "Among these I would like to make particular mention of the phenomenon of unemployment which dramatically affects many young people in southern Italy. Do not lose spirit!! Be young people of 'great heart'. ... The Church does not abandon you; do not abandon the Church! Your contribution is necessary in order to build living Christian communities and societies that are more just and open to hope".
After the meeting, the Pope descended to the lower church where he made a private visit and inaugurated an exhibition of mosaics. He then travelled by car to the military base of Amendola where he boarded a plane for Rome. From Ciampino airport he then returned to the Vatican by helicopter where he arrived at 8.15 p.m. PV-ITALY/PRIESTS/SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO VIS 090622 (520)
PRIESTS MUST TEND CONSTANTLY TOWARDS SANCTITY
VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. yesterday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Pope inaugurated the year for Priests, which has been called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney. Among those attending Vespers in the Vatican Basilica were large numbers of priests and seminarians from Rome.
Before the celebration began, the Pope prayed in front of the relics of the holy "Cure of Ars", brought to Rome by Bishop Guy Bagnard of Belley-Ars.
In his homily the Holy Father explained how "the Heart of Jesus expresses the essential core of Christianity: the fact that all the revolutionary novelty of the Gospel was revealed and given to us in Christ: that is, the Love that saves us and causes us, even now, to live in God's eternity".
"His Divine Heart appeals to our hearts and invites us to emerge from our own selves, to abandon our human security and entrust ourselves to Him and, following His example, to make of ourselves an unreserved gift of love.
"If it is true that Jesus' call to 'abide in His love' applies to all the baptised", Benedict XVI added, "then on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, day of the sanctification of the clergy, that call sounds out with even greater force for us as priests, and particularly this evening at the beginning of the Year for Priests".
The mission of priests is "indispensable for the Church and for the world", said the Pope. It "requires complete faithfulness to Christ and constant union with Him. In other words, it requires us to tend constantly towards sanctity, like St. John Mary Vianney".
"Allowing oneself to be completely conquered by Christ: this was the aim of St. Paul's entire life, to which we have been dedicating our attention during the Pauline Year that is now drawing to a close; this was also the goal of the entire ministry of the holy 'Cure of Ars', to whom we will particularly address ourselves during the Year for Priests. May this also be the main objective of each one of us".
In order to be ministers of the Gospel "study is certainly useful, as is careful and permanent pastoral formation, but what is even more necessary is the 'science of love' which can be learned only 'heart to heart' with Christ. It is He, in fact, Who calls us to break the bread of His love in order to remit sins and guide the flock in His name. ... Only in this way will we be able to co-operate effectively in the mysterious 'plan of the Father' which consists in 'making Christ the heart of the world'. This plan is achieved in history as, little by little, Jesus becomes the Heart of human hearts, beginning with those called to be closest to him: that is, priests".
"Even our shortcomings, our limitations and weaknesses must lead us back to the heart of Jesus", said Pope Benedict. "If it is true that sinners, by contemplating His Heart, must learn the necessary 'suffering of sins' that leads them back to the Father, this holds even truer for ministers in holy orders. In this context, how can we forget that nothing makes the Church, Body of Christ, suffer so much as this sins of her pastors, above all of those who become 'stealers of sheep', either by misleading them into a private doctrine or binding them with bonds of sin and death? Dear priests, the call to conversion and the recourse to Divine Mercy apply to us too. We too, with heartfelt humility, must ask the Heart of Jesus to preserve us from the terrible risk of harming the very people whom we are required to save".
The Holy Father invited his audience to cultivate the same feelings for "the dignity of priests" as those felt by the "Cure of Ars", in order to "accomplish our mission with generosity and dedication, and to maintain an authentic 'fear of God' in our hearts: the fear that, by our negligence or sin, we deprive the souls entrusted to us from such goodness, or that we may - God forbid! - do damage to them.
"The Church", the Pope added, concluding his homily, "needs holy priests, ministers who help the faithful experience the merciful love of the Lord and who are themselves convinced witnesses of that love".
The ceremony concluded with adoration and Eucharistic blessing. HML/VESPERS YEAR FOR PRIESTS/... VIS 090622 (760)
DECLARATION BY THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE DIRECTOR
VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. released the following declaration late yesterday evening:
"On the subject of certain news items carried by press agencies concerning the cause of beatification of Pius XII, the director of the Holy See Press Office would like to reiterate that the signing of decrees concerning causes of beatification is the exclusive prerogative of the Pope, who must be left completely free in his evaluations and decisions.
"If the Pope believes that study and reflection upon the cause of Pius XII are to be further prolonged, his position must be respected without unjustified and inappropriate interventions". OP/CAUSE BEATIFICATION PIUS XII/LOMBARDI VIS 090622 (130)
DE GASPERI: MAY HIS CHRISTIAN WITNESS INSPIRE POLITICIANS
VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2009 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received members of the council of the Alcide De Gasperi Foundation, led by De Gasperi's daughter Maria Romana, and by Senator Giulio Andreotti who was a close collaborator of the Italian statesman for many years.
In his remarks the Pope described Alcide De Gasperi (1881-1954) as having been "formed in the school of the Gospel, ... capable of translating the faith he professed into concrete and coherent acts. ... Spirituality and politics were so well integrated in him that, if we wish to understand fully this respected man of government, we must not limit ourselves to considering the political results he achieved but also bear in mind his delicate religious sensibility and the solid faith which constantly animated his thoughts and actions".
Benedict XVI highlighted how De Gasperi dedicated "much time to prayer and to his relationship with God, when possible beginning each day by attending Mass. Indeed, the most chaotic and dramatic moments marked the pinnacles of his spirituality".
The Pope also highlighted De Gasperi's "unquestionable faithfulness to human and Christian vales, and the serene moral conscience that guided him in his political decisions. ... Of course, at times there were difficulties, perhaps even misunderstandings, with the ecclesiastical world, but De Gasperi never wavered in his adherence to the Church, ... which was complete and sincere".
"Docile and obedient to the Church, he remained independent and responsible in his political choices, without using the Church for political aims and without making compromises with his own upright conscience".
The Holy Father concluded by asking God "that the memory of De Gasperi's experience of government and his Christian witness be an encouragement and stimulus for the people who govern Italy and other countries today, especially for those who draw inspiration from the Gospel". AC/DE GASPERI/... VIS 090622 (320)
VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
- Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. AP/.../... VIS 090622 (40)
VATICAN CITY, 20 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Gilberto Gomez Gonzalez, auxiliary of Abancay, Peru, as bishop of the same diocese (area 12,950, population 344,510, Catholics 329,110, priests 52, religious 133). He succeeds Bishop Isidro Sala Ribera, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Alex Thomas Kaliyanil S.V.D. regional superior of the Society of the Divine Word in Zimbabwe, as archbishop of Bulawayo (area 66,956, population 1,858,000, Catholics 115,793, priests 87, permanent deacons 21, religious 203), Zimbabwe. The archbishop-elect was born in Vallamchira, India in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1988.
- Appointed as members of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue: Bishop Augustine Shao C.S.Sp. of Zanzibar, Tanzania; Archbishop Patrick Altham Kelly of Liverpool, England, and Bishop Johannes Maria Trilaksyanta Pujasumarta of Bandung, Indonesia.
- Appointed Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna, Austria, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the millennium of the diocese of Pecs, Hungary, due to take place on 23 August.
- Appointed Msgr. Damiano Marzotto Caotorta, bureau chief of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as under secretary of the same congregation. NER:RE:NA/.../... VIS 090622 (210) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican news Update 25 June 2009
| 06.25.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 118 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Continue Supporting Christians in the Holy Land
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CONTINUE SUPPORTING CHRISTIANS IN THE HOLY LAND
VATICAN CITY, 25 JUN 2009 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received participants in the annual general meeting of the Reunion of Organisations for Aid to the Oriental Churches (ROACO). The meeting had focused on the situation in the Holy Land and on the Catholic Church in Bulgaria.
"Charity", said the Pope, "is the fertile source of all forms of service to the Church, it is their measure, their method and the means by which they are verified. Through your membership of ROACO you wish to live in charity, making yourselves available to the Bishop of Rome through the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. In this way you will be able to continue, even to augment, that 'movement of charity which, by papal mandate, the Congregation supervises so that, in a disciplined and equitable way, the Holy Land and other eastern regions may receive the spiritual and material support necessary for ordinary ecclesial life and for special needs".
After then recalling his own recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Benedict XVI went on: "I renew my prayer and my appeal for no more war, no more violence, no more injustice. I wish to assure you that the Universal Church remains at the side of all our brothers and sisters who reside in the Holy Land. This concern is reflected in a special way in the annual Holy Land collection. I therefore exhort your ROACO agencies to continue their charitable activities with zeal and with fidelity to the Successor of Peter".
The Pope also turned his attention to the recently inaugurated Year for Priests, calling upon his audience "to give maximum attention to caring for clergy and supporting seminaries". He also recalled how, in inaugurating this Jubilee Year on 19 June, "I entrusted all the priests of the world to the Heart of Christ and of Mary Immaculate, with a special thought for those who, in both East and West are experiencing moments of difficulty and trial. I take this occasion", he concluded, "to ask you too to pray for priests". AC/HOLY LAND/ROACO VIS 090625 (350)
VATICAN CITY, 25 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Fra' Matthew Festing, prince and grand master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, accompanied by an entourage.
- Five prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, on their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Laurent Chu Van Minh.
- Bishop Cosme Hoang Van Dat S.J. of Bac Ninh.
- Bishop Joseph Hoang Van Tiem S.D.B. of Bui Chu, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van De S.D.B. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090625 (100) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 24 June 2009
| 06.24.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 117 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Year for Priests: Complete Identification with Christ - Pope Recalls Children in War Zones, Red Cross, Hostages
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YEAR FOR PRIESTS: COMPLETE IDENTIFICATION WITH CHRIST
VATICAN CITY, 24 JUN 2009 (VIS) - During today's general audience, held in St. Peter's Square, the Pope focused his remarks on the Year for Priests which he inaugurated last Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, and which is intended to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.
"Why a Year for Priests?" the Pope asked. "And why should it recall the holy 'Cure of Ars' who apparently did nothing out of the ordinary?"
The Holy Father went on to explain how "Divine Providence ordained that the figure [of St. John May Vianney] should be associated with that of St. Paul" because, "although the two saints followed very different life paths, ... these exists nonetheless a fundamental factor that unites them: their total identification with their ministry, their communion with Christ".
"The aim of this Year for Priests", he went on, "is to support each priest's struggle towards spiritual perfection, 'upon which the effectiveness of his ministry particularly depends', and to help priests, and with them the entire People of God, to rediscover and revive an awareness of the extraordinary and indispensable gift of Grace which the ordained ministry represents, for the person who receives it, for the entire Church, and for the world which would be lost without the real presence of Christ".
"Although the historical and social conditions in which the 'Cure of Ars' worked have changed, it is right to ask how priests can imitate him by identifying themselves with their ministry in modern globalised societies", said the Pope.
"In a world in which the common view of life leaves ever less space for the sacred, in place of which 'functionality' becomes the only decisive category, the Catholic concept of priesthood could risk losing its due regard, sometimes even in the ecclesial conscience".
The Holy Father identified two conceptions of the priesthood, "which do not in fact contradict one another". On the one hand "a social-functional conception which identifies the essence of priesthood with the concept of 'service'. ... On the other hand there is a sacramental-ontological conception" which sees priestly ministry "as determined by a gift called Sacrament, granted by the Lord through the mediation of the Church".
"What", the Pope asked, "does it mean for priests to evangelise? In what does the primacy of announcement exist? ... Announcement coincides with the person of Christ", he said, "a priest cannot consider himself as 'master' of the Word, but as its servant".
"Only participation in Christ's sacrifice, in His 'chenosi', ... and docile obedience to the Church ... makes announcement authentic. ... Priests are Christ's servants, in the sense that their existence, ontologically configured to Him, have an essentially relational character. The priest is in Christ, for Christ and with Christ at the service of humankind. Precisely because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of man".
Benedict XVI concluded by expressing the hope that "the Year for Priests may lead all the clergy to identify themselves completely with Christ Who died and rose again, so that, imitating St. John the Baptist, they may be ready 'to diminish' that He may grow; and that, following the example of the 'Cure of Ars', they may be constantly and profoundly aware of their mission, which is both sign and presence of the infinite mercy of God". AG/YEAR FOR PRIESTS/... VIS 090624 (580)
POPE RECALLS CHILDREN IN WAR ZONES, RED CROSS, HOSTAGES
VATICAN CITY, 24 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, the Holy Father greeted a delegation headed by Radhika Coomaraswamy, under secretary general of the United Nations and special representative for children and armed conflict.
The Pope expressed his appreciation for the efforts made by Ms. Coomaraswamy and her collaborators "to defend the child victims of violence and arms, I am thinking of all the children of the world, especially those who suffer fear, abandonment, hunger, abuses, sickness and death. The Pope remains close to all these young victims and always remembers them in his prayers".
He then went on to recall that on 24 June 1859, 150 years ago today, "was born the idea for a great movement to assist the victims of war, a movement which later took the name of Red Cross.
"With the passage of the years", the Holy Father added, "the values of universality, neutrality and independence of service have aroused the support of millions of volunteers all over the world, creating an important bulwark of humanity and solidarity in numerous contexts of war and conflict, and in many emergency situations. While expressing the hope that human beings in all their dignity and integrity will remain at the centre of the Red Cross's humanitarian efforts, I particularly encourage young people to make a concrete commitment to this most worthy organisation.
"I also take advantage of this moment", Benedict XVI concluded, "to ask for the release of all people held hostage in areas of conflict and, once again, for the release of Eugenio Vagni, Red Cross worker in the Philippines". AG/CHILDREN WAR RED CROSS HOSTAGES/... VIS 090624 (290)
VATICAN CITY, 24 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Jose Benedito Simao, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as bishop of Assis (area 9,077, population 304,000, Catholics 258,600, priests 53, religious 67), Brazil. NER/.../SIMAO VIS 090624 (50) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican news Update 23 June 2009
| 06.23.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 116 |
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SUMMARY:
- Closure of Pauline Year, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul - Conclusion of Restoration Work on Pauline Chapel
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CLOSURE OF PAULINE YEAR, SOLEMNITY OF STS. PETER AND PAUL
VATICAN CITY, 23 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has announced that at 6 p.m. on Sunday 28 June, in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Holy Father will preside at First Vespers of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, to mark the end of the Pauline Year.
In the Vatican Basilica at 9.30 a.m. on the day of the Solemnity, Monday 29 June, Benedict XVI will preside at the concelebration of the Eucharist with new metropolitan archbishops upon whom he will impose the pallium during the course of the ceremony. OCL/VESPERS MASS/... VIS 090623 (120)
CONCLUSION OF RESTORATION WORK ON PAULINE CHAPEL
VATICAN CITY, 23 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 30 June, a press conference will be held to illustrate recent restoration work on the palace's Pauline Chapel. The Holy Father is due to preside at the inauguration of the chapel on 4 July.
Participating in the press conference will be Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Antonio Paolucci, director of the Vatican Museums; Pier Carlo Cuscianna, director of Technical Services of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and Arnold Nesselrath, delegate of the director of the Vatican Museums for scientific departments and laboratories. OP/PAULINE CHAPEL/LAJOLO VIS 090623 (120) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 18 June 2009
| 06.18.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 113 |
|
SUMMARY:
- Pope Receives Maltese President - Letter To Clergy for the Year for Priests
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POPE RECEIVES MALTESE PRESIDENT
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience George Abela, president of Malta. The president 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, while reaffirming the firm ties of friendship between the Holy See and the Republic of Malta, attention turned to certain questions concerning Maltese society, in which the Catholic Church continues to play an important role. Consideration was also given to the international situation, with particular reference to the Middle East and Africa, and to the positive contribution Malta can make to resolving the problems there". OP/PRESIDENT MALTA/BERTONE VIS 090618 (140)
LETTER TO CLERGY FOR THE YEAR FOR PRIESTS
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Pope has sent a Letter to the priests of the world for the occasion of the Year for Priests, which has been called to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney.
Tomorrow, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and day of prayer for the sanctification of the clergy, Benedict XVI will inaugurate this Jubilee Year for Priests during Vespers in the Vatican Basilica.
The Letter has been published in Italian, French, Spanish, English, German, Polish and Portuguese. The complete text of the English language version is given below:
Dear Brother Priests,
On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 - a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy - I have decided to inaugurate a "Year for Priests" in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the "dies natalis" of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide. This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus", the saintly Cure of Ars would often say. This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ's words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as "friends of Christ", whom He has called by name, chosen and sent?
I still treasure the memory of the first parish priest at whose side I exercised my ministry as a young priest: he left me an example of unreserved devotion to his pastoral duties, even to meeting death in the act of bringing viaticum to a gravely ill person. I also recall the countless confreres whom I have met and continue to meet, not least in my pastoral visits to different countries: men generously dedicated to the daily exercise of their priestly ministry. Yet the expression of St. John Mary also makes us think of Christ's pierced Heart and the crown of thorns which surrounds it. I am also led to think, therefore, of the countless situations of suffering endured by many priests, either because they themselves share in the manifold human experience of pain or because they encounter misunderstanding from the very persons to whom they minister. How can we not also think of all those priests who are offended in their dignity, obstructed in their mission and persecuted, even at times to offering the supreme testimony of their own blood?
There are also, sad to say, situations which can never be sufficiently deplored where the Church herself suffers as a consequence of infidelity on the part of some of her ministers. Then it is the world which finds grounds for scandal and rejection. What is most helpful to the Church in such cases is not only a frank and complete acknowledgement of the weaknesses of her ministers, but also a joyful and renewed realisation of the greatness of God's gift, embodied in the splendid example of generous pastors, religious afire with love for God and for souls, and insightful, patient spiritual guides. Here the teaching and example of St. John Mary Vianney can serve as a significant point of reference for us all. The Cure of Ars was quite humble, yet as a priest he was conscious of being an immense gift to his people: "A good shepherd, a pastor after God's heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy". He spoke of the priesthood as if incapable of fathoming the grandeur of the gift and task entrusted to a human creature: "O, how great is the priest! ... If he realised what he is, he would die. ... God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host". Explaining to his parishioners the importance of the Sacraments, he would say: "Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put Him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest. ... After God, the priest is everything! ... Only in heaven will he fully realise what he is". These words, welling up from the priestly heart of the holy pastor, might sound excessive. Yet they reveal the high esteem in which he held the Sacrament of the Priesthood. He seemed overwhelmed by a boundless sense of responsibility: "Were we to fully realise what a priest is on earth, we would die: not of fright, but of love. ... Without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail. It is the priest who continues the work of redemption on earth. ... What use would be a house filled with gold, were there no one to open its door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of His goods. ... Leave a parish for twenty years without a priest, and they will end by worshipping the beasts there. ... The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you".
He arrived in Ars, a village of 230 souls, warned by his bishop beforehand that there he would find religious practice in a sorry state: "There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there". As a result, he was deeply aware that he needed to go there to embody Christ's presence and to bear witness to His saving mercy: "[Lord,] grant me the conversion of my parish; I am willing to suffer whatever you wish, for my entire life!". With this prayer he entered upon his mission. The Cure devoted himself completely to his parish's conversion, setting before all else the Christian education of the people in his care. Dear brother priests, let us ask the Lord Jesus for the grace to learn for ourselves something of the pastoral plan of St. John Mary Vianney! The first thing we need to learn is the complete identification of the man with his ministry. In Jesus, person and mission tend to coincide: all Christ's saving activity was, and is, an expression of His "filial consciousness" which from all eternity stands before the Father in an attitude of loving submission to His will. In a humble yet genuine way, every priest must aim for a similar identification. Certainly this is not to forget that the efficacy of the ministry is independent of the holiness of the minister; but neither can we overlook the extraordinary fruitfulness of the encounter between the ministry's objective holiness and the subjective holiness of the minister. The Cure of Ars immediately set about this patient and humble task of harmonising his life as a minister with the holiness of the ministry he had received, by deciding to "live", physically, in his parish church: As his first biographer tells us: "Upon his arrival, he chose the church as his home. He entered the church before dawn and did not leave it until after the evening Angelus. There he was to be sought whenever needed".
The pious excess of his devout biographer should not blind us to the fact that the Cure also knew how to "live" actively within the entire territory of his parish: he regularly visited the sick and families, organised popular missions and patronal feasts, collected and managed funds for his charitable and missionary works, embellished and furnished his parish church, cared for the orphans and teachers of the "Providence" (an institute he founded); provided for the education of children; founded confraternities and enlisted lay persons to work at his side.
His example naturally leads me to point out that there are sectors of co-operation which need to be opened ever more fully to the lay faithful. Priests and laity together make up the one priestly people and in virtue of their ministry priests live in the midst of the lay faithful, "that they may lead everyone to the unity of charity, 'loving one another with mutual affection; and outdoing one another in sharing honour'". Here we ought to recall the Vatican Council II's hearty encouragement to priests "to be sincere in their appreciation and promotion of the dignity of the laity and of the special role they have to play in the Church's mission. ... They should be willing to listen to lay people, give brotherly consideration to their wishes, and acknowledge their experience and competence in the different fields of human activity. In this way they will be able together with them to discern the signs of the times".
St. John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life. It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. "One need not say much to pray well" - the Cure explained to them - "We know that Jesus is there in the tabernacle: let us open our hearts to Him, let us rejoice in His sacred presence. That is the best prayer". And he would urge them: "Come to communion, my brothers and sisters, come to Jesus. Come to live from Him in order to live with Him. ... "Of course you are not worthy of him, but you need him!". This way of educating the faithful to the Eucharistic presence and to communion proved most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Those present said that "it was not possible to find a finer example of worship. ... He gazed upon the Host with immense love". "All good works, taken together, do not equal the sacrifice of the Mass" - he would say - "since they are human works, while the Holy Mass is the work of God". He was convinced that the fervour of a priest's life depended entirely upon the Mass: "The reason why a priest is lax is that he does not pay attention to the Mass! My God, how we ought to pity a priest who celebrates as if he were engaged in something routine!". He was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice: "What a good thing it is for a priest each morning to offer himself to God in sacrifice!"
This deep personal identification with the Sacrifice of the Cross led him - by a sole inward movement - from the altar to the confessional. Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this Sacrament. In France, at the time of the Cure of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion. Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the Sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence. He thus created a "virtuous" circle. By spending long hours in church before the tabernacle, he inspired the faithful to imitate him by coming to visit Jesus with the knowledge that their parish priest would be there, ready to listen and offer forgiveness. Later, the growing numbers of penitents from all over France would keep him in the confessional for up to sixteen hours a day. It was said that Ars had become "a great hospital of souls". His first biographer relates that "the grace he obtained [for the conversion of sinners] was so powerful that it would pursue them, not leaving them a moment of peace!". The saintly Cure reflected something of the same idea when he said: "It is not the sinner who returns to God to beg his forgiveness, but God Himself who runs after the sinner and makes him return to Him". "This good Saviour is so filled with love that He seeks us everywhere".
We priests should feel that the following words, which he put on the lips of Christ, are meant for each of us personally: "I will charge my ministers to proclaim to sinners that I am ever ready to welcome them, that my mercy is infinite". From St. John Mary Vianney we can learn to put our unfailing trust in the Sacrament of Penance, to set it once more at the centre of our pastoral concerns, and to take up the "dialogue of salvation" which it entails. The Cure of Ars dealt with different penitents in different ways. Those who came to his confessional drawn by a deep and humble longing for God's forgiveness found in him the encouragement to plunge into the "flood of divine mercy" which sweeps everything away by its vehemence. If someone was troubled by the thought of his own frailty and inconstancy, and fearful of sinning again, the Cure would unveil the mystery of God's love in these beautiful and touching words: "The good Lord knows everything. Even before you confess, He already knows that you will sin again, yet He still forgives you. How great is the love of our God: He even forces Himself to forget the future, so that He can grant us His forgiveness!". But to those who made a lukewarm and rather indifferent confession of sin, he clearly demonstrated by his own tears of pain how "abominable" this attitude was: "I weep because you don't weep", he would say. "If only the Lord were not so good! But He is so good! One would have to be a brute to treat so good a Father this way!". He awakened repentance in the hearts of the lukewarm by forcing them to see God's own pain at their sins reflected in the face of the priest who was their confessor. To those who, on the other hand, came to him already desirous of and suited to a deeper spiritual life, he flung open the abyss of God's love, explaining the untold beauty of living in union with Him and dwelling in His presence: "Everything in God's sight, everything with God, everything to please God. ... How beautiful it is!". And he taught them to pray: "My God, grant me the grace to love You as much as I possibly can".
In his time the Cure of Ars was able to transform the hearts and the lives of so many people because he enabled them to experience the Lord's merciful love. Our own time urgently needs a similar proclamation and witness to the truth of Love. Thanks to the Word and the Sacraments of Jesus, John Mary Vianney built up his flock, although he often trembled from a conviction of his personal inadequacy, and desired more than once to withdraw from the responsibilities of the parish ministry out of a sense of his unworthiness. Nonetheless, with exemplary obedience he never abandoned his post, consumed as he was by apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls. He sought to remain completely faithful to his own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism: "The great misfortune for us parish priests - he lamented - is that our souls grow tepid"; meaning by this that a pastor can grow dangerously inured to the state of sin or of indifference in which so many of his flock are living. He himself kept a tight rein on his body, with vigils and fasts, lest it rebel against his priestly soul. Nor did he avoid self-mortification for the good of the souls in his care and as a help to expiating the many sins he heard in confession. To a priestly confrere he explained: "I will tell you my recipe: I give sinners a small penance and the rest I do in their place". Aside from the actual penances which the Cure of Ars practised, the core of his teaching remains valid for each of us: souls have been won at the price of Jesus' own blood, and a priest cannot devote himself to their salvation if he refuses to share personally in the "precious cost" of redemption.
In today's world, as in the troubled times of the Cure of Ars, the lives and activity of priests need to be distinguished by a forceful witness to the Gospel. As Pope Paul VI rightly noted, "modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses". Lest we experience existential emptiness and the effectiveness of our ministry be compromised, we need to ask ourselves ever anew: "Are we truly pervaded by the Word of God? Is that Word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world? Do we really know that Word? Do we love it? Are we deeply engaged with this Word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking?". Just as Jesus called the Twelve to be with Him, and only later sent them forth to preach, so too in our days priests are called to assimilate that "new style of life" which was inaugurated by the Lord Jesus and taken up by the Apostles.
It was complete commitment to this "new style of life" which marked the priestly ministry of the Cure of Ars. Pope John XXIII, in his Encyclical Letter "Sacerdotii nostri primordia", published in 1959 on the first centenary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, presented his asceticism with special reference to the "three evangelical counsels" which the Pope considered necessary also for priests: "even though priests are not bound to embrace these evangelical counsels by virtue of the clerical state, these counsels nonetheless offer them, as they do all the faithful, the surest road to the desired goal of Christian perfection". The Cure of Ars lived the "evangelical counsels" in a way suited to his priestly state. His poverty was not the poverty of a religious or a monk, but that proper to a priest: while managing much money (since well-to-do pilgrims naturally took an interest in his charitable works), he realised that everything had been donated to his church, his poor, his orphans, the girls of his "Providence", his families of modest means. Consequently, he "was rich in giving to others and very poor for himself". As he would explain: "My secret is simple: give everything away; hold nothing back". When he lacked money, he would say amiably to the poor who knocked at his door: "Today I'm poor just like you, I'm one of you". At the end of his life, he could say with absolute tranquillity: "I no longer have anything. The good Lord can call me whenever he wants!". His chastity, too, was that demanded of a priest for his ministry. It could be said that it was a chastity suited to one who must daily touch the Eucharist, who contemplates it blissfully and with that same bliss offers it to his flock. It was said of him that "he radiated chastity"; the faithful would see this when he turned and gazed at the tabernacle with loving eyes". Finally, Saint John Mary Vianney's obedience found full embodiment in his conscientious fidelity to the daily demands of his ministry. We know how he was tormented by the thought of his inadequacy for parish ministry and by a desire to flee "in order to bewail his poor life, in solitude". Only obedience and a thirst for souls convinced him to remain at his post. As he explained to himself and his flock: "There are no two good ways of serving God. There is only one: serve him as he desires to be served". He considered this the golden rule for a life of obedience: "Do only what can be offered to the good Lord".
In this context of a spirituality nourished by the practice of the evangelical counsels, I would like to invite all priests, during this Year dedicated to them, to welcome the new springtime which the Spirit is now bringing about in the Church, not least through the ecclesial movements and the new communities. "In his gifts the Spirit is multifaceted. ... He breathes where He wills. He does so unexpectedly, in unexpected places, and in ways previously unheard of, ... but he also shows us that He works with a view to the one body and in the unity of the one body". In this regard, the statement of the Decree "Presbyterorum Ordinis" continues to be timely: "While testing the spirits to discover if they be of God, priests must discover with faith, recognise with joy and foster diligently the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, whether these be of a humble or more exalted kind". These gifts, which awaken in many people the desire for a deeper spiritual life, can benefit not only the lay faithful but the clergy as well. The communion between ordained and charismatic ministries can provide "a helpful impulse to a renewed commitment by the Church in proclaiming and bearing witness to the Gospel of hope and charity in every corner of the world". I would also like to add, echoing the Apostolic Exhortation "Pastores Dabo Vobis" of Pope John Paul II, that the ordained ministry has a radical "communitarian form" and can be exercised only in the communion of priests with their bishop. This communion between priests and their bishop, grounded in the Sacrament of Holy Orders and made manifest in Eucharistic concelebration, needs to be translated into various concrete expressions of an effective and affective priestly fraternity. Only thus will priests be able to live fully the gift of celibacy and build thriving Christian communities in which the miracles which accompanied the first preaching of the Gospel can be repeated.
The Pauline Year now coming to its close invites us also to look to the Apostle of the Gentiles, who represents a splendid example of a priest entirely devoted to his ministry. "The love of Christ urges us on" - he wrote - "because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died". And he adds: "He died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for Him Who died and was raised for them". Could a finer programme be proposed to any priest resolved to advance along the path of Christian perfection?
Dear brother priests, the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney (1859) follows upon the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Lourdes (1858). In 1959 Blessed Pope John XXIII noted that "shortly before the Cure of Ars completed his long and admirable life, the Immaculate Virgin appeared in another part of France to an innocent and humble girl, and entrusted to her a message of prayer and penance which continues, even a century later, to yield immense spiritual fruits. The life of this holy priest whose centenary we are commemorating in a real way anticipated the great supernatural truths taught to the seer of Massabielle. He was greatly devoted to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin; in 1836 he had dedicated his parish church to Our Lady Conceived without Sin and he greeted the dogmatic definition of this truth in 1854 with deep faith and great joy". The Cure would always remind his faithful that "after giving us all he could, Jesus Christ wishes in addition to bequeath us His most precious possession, His Blessed Mother".
To the Most Holy Virgin I entrust this Year for Priests. I ask her to awaken in the heart of every priest a generous and renewed commitment to the ideal of complete self-oblation to Christ and the Church which inspired the thoughts and actions of the saintly Cure of Ars. It was his fervent prayer life and his impassioned love of Christ Crucified that enabled John Mary Vianney to grow daily in his total self-oblation to God and the Church. May his example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary. Despite all the evil present in our world, the words which Christ spoke to His Apostles in the Upper Room continue to inspire us: "In the world you have tribulation; but take courage, I have overcome the world". Our faith in the Divine Master gives us the strength to look to the future with confidence. Dear priests, Christ is counting on you. In the footsteps of the Cure of Ars, let yourselves be enthralled by Him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace! BXVI-LETTER/YEAR FOR PRIESTS/... VIS 090618 (4360)
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences four prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Jose Sotero Valero Ruz of Guanare.
- Bishop Ramon Jose Aponte Fernandez of Valle de la Pascua.
- Bishop Jorge Anibal Quintero Chacon of Margarita.
- Bishop Ramon Jose Viloria Pinzon of Puerto Cabello.
- His Holiness Abuna Paulos, patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090618 (80)
VATICAN CITY, 18 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Maribor, Slovenia, presented by Bishop Jozef Smej, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Bishop Juan Manuel Mancilla Sanchez of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, as bishop of Texcoco (area 1,139, population 1,578,718, Catholics 1,355,000, priests 144, permanent deacons 17, religious 317), Mexico.
- Appointed Bishop Christopher Prowse, auxiliary of Melbourne, Australia, as bishop of Sale (area 44,441, population 373,000, Catholics 92,700, priests 42, permanent deacons 5, religious 44), Australia.
- Appointed Archbishop Giacinto Berloco, apostolic nuncio to Venezuela, as apostolic nuncio to Belgium. RE:NER:NN/.../... VIS 090618 (120) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 19 June 2009
| 06.19.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 114 |
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SUMMARY:
- Pope Receives Catholic Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians
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POPE RECEIVES CATHOLIC PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH OF THE SYRIANS
VATICAN CITY, 19 JUN 2009 (VIS) - In the Vatican this morning, Benedict XVI received His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan, the new Catholic patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, accompanied by various members of the Synod of that Church.
"Divine Providence", said the Pope in his address, "has made us ministers of Christ and shepherds of His one flock. ... Christ Himself, our Lord, appointed the Apostle Peter as the 'rock' upon which He founded the spiritual edifice of the Church, calling upon His disciples to remain in full unity with Peter, under his sure guidance and that of his Successors".
"Over the course of your millenarian history", he continued, "your communion with the Bishop of Rome has always been accompanied by faithfulness to the spiritual tradition of the Christian East. These are complementary aspects of a single heritage of the faith which your venerable Church professes".
The Pontiff then recalled how, in order to emphasise "the Eucharistic roots" of this communion, he had granted "ecclesiastica communio" to the patriarch when he was elected head of the Synod. Addressing the patriarch directly, he added: "With a public sign - yesterday's Eucharistic celebration in the basilica of St. Mary Major - you most appropriately demonstrated the close ties binding you to the bishop of Rome and the Universal Church".
Pope Benedict went on: "In effect, the Eucharist fuses our different traditions in the unity of the one Spirit, making them a source of wealth for all God's people. May the celebration of the Eucharist, source and summit of ecclesiastical life, keep you anchored in the ancient Syriac tradition which can claim to possess the language the Lord Jesus spoke, and at the same time open your horizons to ecclesial universality. ... The Eucharist is the Bread of Life that nourishes our communities and makes them grow in unity and charity. In the Eucharist, Sacrament of unity and community, may you find the strength to overcome the difficulties your Church has faced over recent years, in order to rediscover the paths of forgiveness, reconciliation and communion".
Finally the Holy Father expressed his satisfaction at the return to full activity of the Synod of this Church and encouraged "efforts being made to favour unity, understanding and forgiveness, which must always be considered as priorities for the edification of the Church of God".
"I pray continuously, among other things, for peace in the Middle East, especially for Christians living in the blessed land of Iraq, whose sufferings I offer every day to God during the Eucharistic sacrifice". AC/SYNOD ANTIOCH/IGNACE YOUSSIF III VIS 090619 (440)
VATICAN CITY, 19 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:
- Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
- Three prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela on their "ad limina" visit:
- Bishop Jose de la Trinidad Valera Angulo of La Guaira.
- Bishop William Enrique Delgado Silva of Cabimas.
- Bishop Jose Hernan Sanchez Porras, military ordinary.
- Geronimo Narvaez Torres, ambassador of Paraguay, on his farewell visit. AP:AL/.../... VIS 090619 (80)
VATICAN CITY, 19 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Filippo Iannone O. Carm., auxiliary of the archdiocese of Naples, Italy, as bishop of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo (area 1,426, population 152,700, Catholics 150,230, priests 96, permanent deacons 18, religious 176), Italy. He succeeds Bishop Luca Brandolini C.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Pierre-Marie Gaschy C.S.Sp., superior of the community of Fameck in the diocese of Metz, France, as apostolic vicar of Iles Saint-Pierre et Miquelon (area 245,000, population 6,125, Catholics 6,076, priests 2, religious 7), France. The bishop-elect was born in Colmar, France in 1941 and ordained a priest in 1969. He succeeds Bishop Lucien Fischer C.S.Sp., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same apostolic vicariate the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Joseph Pibul Visitnondachai of the clergy of Bangkok, Thailand, secretary general for social pastoral ministries of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand, as bishop of Nakhon Sawan (area 93,547, population 8,327,053, Catholics 16,000, priests 34, religious 53), Thailand. The bishop-elect was born in Bang Buathong, Thailand in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1974.
- Appointed Fr. Stephen Tjephe of the clergy of Loikaw, Myanmar, pastor of the church of St. Matthew at Daugneku, as auxiliary of Loikaw (area 11,670, population 309,820, Catholics 75,485, priests 79, religious 195). The bishop-elect was born in Danoku, Myanmar in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1984.
- Appointed Msgr. Maurizio Malvestiti, bureau chief of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, as under secretary of the same congregation.
- Appointed as substitute promoters of justice of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura: Fr. Nikolaus Schoch O.F.M., substitute defender of the bond at the same tribunal, and Fr. Markus Graulich S.D.B., vice dean and professor of the faculty of canon law of Rome's Pontifical Salesian University. NER:RE:NEA:NA/.../... VIS 090619 (330) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican news Update 17 June 2009
| 06.17.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 112 |
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SUMMARY:
- Communique on Pope's Meeting with Austrian Bishops - Cyril and Methodius: Perennial Example of Inculturation - Inter-religious Dialogue and Syrian Catholic Delegation - Ordinations by Fraternity of St. Pius X Remain Illegitimate
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COMMUNIQUE ON POPE'S MEETING WITH AUSTRIAN BISHOPS
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office yesterday published the following communique concerning the meeting of the Pope and a number of heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia with a group of Austrian bishops. The gathering was held in the Vatican on 15 and 16 June.
"The meeting, characterised by lively 'collegial affection', served to examine, in a fraternal exchange of ideas and with a constructive spirit, certain questions concerning the situation of the diocese of Linz and of the Church in Austria, proposing solutions to current problems.
"The Holy Father highlighted the urgent importance of strengthening faith and of maintaining integral faithfulness to Vatican Council II and to the Church's post-conciliar Magisterium, as well as the need to renew catechesis in the light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
"Attention also turned to doctrinal and pastoral questions and to the situation of the clergy, the laity, the major seminaries and the theological faculties in Linz and in other dioceses of Austria.
"The Austrian bishops thanked the Holy Father for his paternal solicitude and for this meeting, a sign of his closeness to the Church in Austria, giving assurances of their full communion and their affection. The Austrian bishops also thanked the Roman Curia for its fruitful collaboration and openness".
The meeting was attended by the following Austrian prelates: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna and president of the Austrian Episcopal Conference; Archbishop Alois Kothgasser S.D.B. of Salzburg; Bishop Egon Kapellari of Graz-Seckau and vice president of the Austrian Episcopal Conference, and Bishop Ludwig Schwarz S.D.B. of Linz.
Also present were Archbishop Peter Stephan Zurbriggen, apostolic nuncio to Austria, and the following heads of dicasteries: Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, and Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. OP/MEETING AUSTRIAN BISHOPS/... VIS 090617 (350)
CYRIL AND METHODIUS: PERENNIAL EXAMPLE OF INCULTURATION
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUN 2009 (VIS) - Sts. Cyril and Methodius, apostles of the Slavs and co-patrons of Europe, were the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis during his general audience, which was held this morning in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope sketched a brief biography of the saints explaining how Cyril, born in Salonika around the year 826, received a careful education and was ordained a priest at an early age. Soon afterwards his older brother Methodius, born about the year 815, abandoned his own administrative career and retired to a monastery on Mount Olympus in Bithynia where he was subsequently joined by Cyril.
Some years later the imperial government entrusted Cyril with a mission to the peoples living around the Sea of Azov who had asked to be sent "a man of letters capable of discussing with Jews and Saracens". On his return to Constantinople, the emperor Michael III, who had been a school friend of Cyril, sent the two brothers to Moravia where Prince Ratislav had requested "a teacher capable of explaining the true faith to us in our own language.
"Their mission", the Pope added, "soon met with unexpected success. By translating the liturgy into Slavic the two brothers earned great affection among the people. This, however, also aroused the hostility of the Frankish clergy who had arrived in Moravia earlier and considered the territory as part of their own ecclesial jurisdiction". Travelling to Rome to justify their actions, the brothers stopped in Venice where they opposed the "so-called trilingual heresy, ... which sustained that there were only three languages in which God could legitimately be praised: Hebrew, Greek and Latin".
The brothers eventually reached Rome to request the support of Pope Hadrian II. That Pontiff "understood the great importance of their exceptional mission" because he thought "the Slavic peoples could act as a bridge between East and West, helping to maintain the unity of Christians on both sides of the empire. Thus he did not hesitate to approve the brothers' mission in Great Moravia, accepting the use of the Slavic Language in the liturgy".
While in Rome Cyril fell seriously ill and died on 14 February 869. Methodius returned to Moravia and Pannonia in 870 "where he worked actively in organising the Church and in forming a group of disciples". He died on 6 April 885.
"To give a brief spiritual profile of the two brothers", the Holy Father continued, "we must first note the passion with which Cyril studied the writings of St. Gregory of Nazianzus from whom he learnt the importance of language in transmitting the Revelation". In this context, Benedict XVI recalled how, even before their mission to Moravia, Cyril and Methodius "were working on a plan to gather Christian dogmas into books written in Slavic. This entailed the need for new graphic symbols, closer to the spoken language, and from here arose the Glagolitic alphabet which, subsequently modified, became known as 'Cyrillic' in honour of the person who inspired it".
"Cyril and Methodius were convinced that individual peoples could not claim to have fully received the Revelation until they had heard it in their own language and read it in the letters of their own alphabet". Thus they are, he went on, "a classic example of what today we call 'inculturation': each people must integrate the revealed message into their own culture and express the truths of salvation with their own language".
In this context, the Pope concluded, "the brother saints have left a testimony ... from which the Church today continues to draw inspiration and guidance". AG/CYRIL AND METHODIUS/... VIS 090617 (610)
INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AND SYRIAN CATHOLIC DELEGATION
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUN 2009 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, the Pope greeted a group of religious leaders who are participating in an international conference on inter-religious dialogue being held in Rome.
"I commend this initiative organised by the Italian Episcopal Conference in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs", said the Pope speaking English. "I am confident that it will do much to draw the attention of world political leaders to the importance of religions within the social fabric of every society and to the grave duty to ensure that their deliberations and policies support and uphold the common good. Upon all those taking part I invoke an abundance of the Almighty's blessings".
The Holy Father then went on to present a Syriac Catholic delegation led by His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III Younan who, "on this his first official visit, is accompanied by patriarchs emeritus, bishops and faithful from the Middle East and other parts of the world where Syriac Catholics live, thus maintaining a living bond between the Eastern Christian tradition and the Bishop of Rome".
Benedict XVI went on: "My affectionate greetings go to the venerable Patriarch Youssif, to whom I have already granted the 'communio ecclesiastica' which, in accordance with the holy canons, he requested from me as soon as he was elected. That communion will find public expression in the divine liturgy in the Syriac-Antiochean rite to be held tomorrow in the basilica of St. Mary Major, at which Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, will participate as my representative.
"While giving assurances of my prayers for you, dear brother", the Pope added addressing the patriarch, "and for all those accompanying you, I would like to express my solicitude and concern for all the Eastern Catholic Churches, encouraging them to continue the ecclesial mission, though beset by many difficulties, in order to build universal unity and peace". AG/INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE SYRO CATHOLICS/... VIS 090617 (340)
ORDINATIONS BY FRATERNITY OF ST. PIUS X REMAIN ILLEGITIMATE
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office published the following communique at midday today:
"In response to the frequent questions that have been raised over recent days concerning the priestly ordinations by the Fraternity of St. Pius X, scheduled to take place at the end of June, suffice it to refer to what the Holy Father wrote in his Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on 10 March this year: "As long as the Society (of St. Pius X) does not have a canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church. ... Until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers ... do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church".
In the same Letter, the Pope also announced his intention to change the status of the Commission 'Ecclesia Dei', making it part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. There is reason to believe that the definition of this new status is imminent. This constitutes a premise for launching dialogue with the leaders of the Fraternity of St. Pius X, with a view to clarifying the doctrinal questions, and consequently the disciplinary questions, which remain unresolved". OP/ORDINATIONS/FRATERNITY ST. PIUS X VIS 090617 (230)
VATICAN CITY, 17 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The following prelates died in recent weeks:
- Archbishop Khalil Abi-Nader, emeritus of Beirut of the Maronites, Lebanon, on 14 June at the age of 87.
- Bishop Luc Alfons De Hovre S.J., former auxiliary of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, on 4 June at the age of 83.
- Bishop Livio Reginaldo Fischione O.F.M. Cap., former apostolic vicar of Riohacha, Colombia, on 10 June at the age of 84.
- Bishop Kidane-Mariam Teklehaimanot, emeritus of Adigrat, Ethiopia, on 2 June at the age of 75. .../DEATHS/... VIS 090617 (100) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
Vatican News Update 16 June 2009
| 06.16.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 111 |
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SUMMARY:
- Pastoral Visit to San Giovanni Rotondo
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PASTORAL VISIT TO SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO
VATICAN CITY, 16 JUN 2009 (VIS) - On Sunday 21 June Benedict XVI will make a pastoral visit to San Giovanni Rotondo in the Italian Region of Puglia.
He is scheduled to depart from the Vatican by helicopter at 8 a.m. on 21 June, and to land on the "Antonio Massa" sports ground at 9.15 a.m.
After arrival, his first stop will be at the shrine of Our Lady of Grace where he will make a private visit to venerate the earthly remains of St. Pio of Pietrelcina in the crypt.
At 10.30. a.m. the Holy Father is scheduled to preside at a Eucharistic concelebration in front of the church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, and to lead the praying of the Angelus.
At 4.45 p.m. he will visit the "Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza", the hospital founded by Padre Pio in 1956, where he will meet patients and medical and administrative staff.
At 5.30. p.m. he will meet with priests, religious and young people in the church of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
At 6.30 p.m. the Holy Father will depart by helicopter for the Vatican, where he is due to arrive an hour later. BXVI-PROGRAMME/.../SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO VIS 090616 (210)
VATICAN CITY, 16 JUN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as archbishop of Colombo (area 3,838, population 5,760,248, Catholics 652,200, priests 497, religious 1,242), Sri Lanka. He succeeds Archbishop Oswald Thomas Colman Gomis, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Teemu Sippo S.C.I., diocesan administrator of Helsinki, Finland, as bishop of the same diocese (area 338,145, population 5,296,897, Catholics 9,859, priests 21, permanent deacons 1, religious 48). The bishop-elect was born in Lathi, Finland in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1977.
- Appointed Fr. Joseph Augustine Di Noia O.P., under secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in New York, U.S.A. in 1943 and ordained a priest in 1970. NER:RE:NA/.../... VIS 090616 (190) |
| You can find more information at: www.vatican.va - www.vis.pcn.net |
