- APPEAL FOR SOLIDARITY TOWARDS AUTISTIC PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES
- NEW FUNERAL RITES: NO TO THE SCATTERING OF THE ASHES OF THE DECEASED
- BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
_______________________________________
JEWS
AND CATHOLICS: THE ECONOMIC CRISIS IS A CRISIS OF MORAL VALUES
Vatican
City, 30 March 2012 (VIS) - "Religious perspectives on the
current financial crisis: vision for a just economic order" was
the theme of the eleventh meeting of the Bilateral Commission of the
Delegations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See’s
Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, which was held in Rome
from 27 to 29 March. The event was presided by Rabbi Shear Yashuv
Cohen, and by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson, president of the
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
In
an English-language joint statement issued at the end of the meeting,
the two sides highlight that, "while many factors contributed to
the financial crisis, at its roots lies a crisis of moral values in
which the importance of having, reflected in a culture of greed,
eclipsed the importance of being; and where the value of truth
reflected in honesty and transparency was sorely lacking in economic
activity".
"At
the heart of Jewish and Catholic visions for a just economic order is
the affirmation of the sovereignty and providence of the Creator of
the world with Whom all wealth originates and which is given to
humankind as a gift for the common good", the text adds.
Therefore "the purpose of an economic order is to serve the well
being of society, affirming the human dignity of all people, each
created in the divine image". This concept "is antithetical
to egocentricity. Rather, it requires the promotion of the well being
of the individual in relation to community and society". It also
"posits the obligation to guarantee certain basic human needs,
such as the protection of life, sustenance, clothing, housing,
health, education and employment". The commission also
identifies certain particularly vulnerable categories of people,
among them migrant and foreign workers "whose condition serves
as a measure of the moral health of society".
The
statement recalls the obligation on countries with developed
economies "to recognise their responsibilities and duties
towards countries and societies in need, especially in this era of
globalisation". In this context the participants in the meeting
recall "the universal destination of the goods of the earth; a
culture of “enough” that implies a degree of self-limitation and
modesty; responsible stewardship; an ethical system of allocation of
resources and priorities". They likewise mention the "partial
remission of debts on national and international levels",
highlighting the need "to extend this to families and
individuals".
The
members of the bilateral commission underscore the role that faith
communities must play in contributing to a responsible economic
order, and the importance of their engagement by government,
educational institutions, and the media. Finally they note how "the
crisis has revealed the profound lack of an ethical component in
economic thinking. Hence, it is imperative that institutes and
academies of economic studies and policy formation include ethical
training in their curricula, similar to that which has developed in
recent years in the field of medical ethics".
APPEAL
FOR SOLIDARITY TOWARDS AUTISTIC PEOPLE AND THEIR FAMILIES
Vatican
City, 30 March 2012 (VIS) - Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of
the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, has written a
message for the Fifth World Autism Day, which falls on 2 April, in
which he makes an appeal for sensitivity and supportive solidarity
towards autistic people and their families. In the message, made
public yesterday, he recalls how "autistic spectrum disorders
constitute ... a grave alteration of behaviour, of verbal and
non-verbal communication, and of social integration, with a
wide-ranging effect on the normal development and evolution of the
personality".
"The
Church", writes the archbishop in his English-language message,
"sees as impelling the task of placing herself at the side of
these people - children and young people in particular - and their
families, if not to breakdown these barriers of silence then at least
to share in solidarity and prayer in their journey of suffering".
This is particularly important because families with autistic
children, "although they look after these children with loving
care, experience repercussions as regards the quality of their own
lives, and are often, in their turn, led to be closed up in an
isolation that marginalises and wounds". For this reason the
Church and all men and women of good will "feel committed to
being ‘travelling companions’ with those who live this eloquent
silence, which calls upon our sensitivity towards the suffering of
others".
The
president of the pontifical council highlights the efforts of health
care workers, educators, professionals and volunteers, adding that
"the scientific world and health care policies must also be
encouraged to engage in and ... increase diagnostic, therapeutic and
rehabilitative pathways that can address a pathology which affects
more people in numerical terms than could have been imagined only a
few years ago. To encourage and sustain, in the supportive action of
the world of schools, voluntary work and associations, these efforts
is a duty, not least to discover and bring out that dignity which
even the gravest and most devastating disability does not eliminate,
and which always fills us with hope".
Finally
Archbishop Zimowski commends autistic people and their families to
God. "Although enveloped in the mystery of silence because of a
grave psychological disturbance, they are never alone, inasmuch as
they are passionately loved by God and, in Him, by the community of
those whose faith commits them to becoming a living and transparent
sign of the presence of the Resurrected Christ in the world".
NEW
FUNERAL RITES: NO TO THE SCATTERING OF THE ASHES OF THE DECEASED
Vatican
City, 30 March 2012 (VIS) - The second Italian-language edition of
the "Funeral Rites", produced by the Vatican Publishing
House, was presented recently at the headquarters of Vatican Radio.
Among other things, the new edition contains fully revised biblical
texts and prayers.
The
first novelty refers to the visit to the family, which was not part
of the earlier edition. Msgr. Angelo Lameri of the National
Liturgical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference, explained how
"for a priest this a moment to share in the suffering, to listen
to the mourning relatives, to learn about certain aspects of the
deceased's life with a view to a correct and personalised
presentation during the funeral".
Another
change involves the revised and enriched ritual for the closing of
the coffin; with a number of different texts for various situations:
an elderly person, a young person, or someone who has died
unexpectedly. Other changes involve the pronouncement of words
recalling of the deceased at the moment of the committal, and the
introduction of a broad range of possibilities for the prayer of the
faithful.
However
the most significant new departure, contained in the appendix of the
book, concerns cremation. Msgr. Lameri explained that the issue of
cremation had been placed in an appendix to highlight the fact that
the Church, "although she does not oppose the cremation of
bodies, when not done 'in odium fidei', continues to maintain that
the burial of the dead is more appropriate, that it expresses faith
in the resurrection of the flesh, nourishes the piety of the faithful
and favours the recollection and prayer of relatives and friends".
In
exceptional cases the rites normally celebrated at the cemetery
chapel or the tomb may be celebrated at the cremation site, and it is
recommended that the coffin be accompanied to that site. One
particularity important aspect is that "cremation is considered
as concluded when the urn is deposited in the cemetery". This is
because, although the law does allow ashes to be scattered in the
open or conserved in places other than a cemetery, "such
practices ... raise considerable doubts as to their coherence to
Christian faith, especially when they conceal pantheist or
naturalistic beliefs".
The
new "Funeral Rites" also focuses on the search for the
meaning of death. Concluding the presentation, Bishop Alceste
Catella, president of the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy, explained
that "the book is testament to the faith of believers and to the
importance of respect and 'pietas' towards the deceased, respect for
the human body even when dead. It is testament to the pressing need
to cultivate memory and to have a specific place in which to place
the body or the ashes, in the profound certainty that this is
authentic faith and authentic humanism".
BENEDICT
XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
Vatican
City, 30 March 2012 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention
for April is: "That many young people may hear the call of
Christ and follow Him in the priesthood and religious life".
His
mission intention is: "That the risen Christ may be a sign of
certain hope for the men and women of the African continent".
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 30 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Luis
Artemio Flores Calzada of Valle de Chalco, Mexico as bishop of Tepic
(area 22,777, population 1,139,584, Catholics 1,107,800, priests 215,
religious 2215), Mexico.
You
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