SUMMARY:
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PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC GUEST OF THE POPE
-
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE OF MUSIC, HOPE FOR PEACE
-
SPOKESPERSONS OF EUROPEAN EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES MEET IN COLOGNE
______________________________________
PRESIDENT
OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC GUEST OF THE POPE
Vatican
City, 12 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Holy Father welcomed
Giorgio Napolitano, president of the Republic of Italy, and his wife,
Clio Maria Bittoni to the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo.
They met briefly in the Apostolic Palace's Garden of the Moor, later
conversing along the parapets of the gardens.
At 6:00pm
the president and the Holy Father attended a concert of the
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, directed by Maestro Daniel Barenboim,
whom they greeted after the performance. Afterwards the president of
the Republic and his wife dined with the Pope in his private
apartments.
UNIVERSAL
LANGUAGE OF MUSIC, HOPE FOR PEACE
Vatican
City, 12 July 2012 (VIS) - "It pleases me to welcome an
orchestra such as this one, which was born of the conviction, or
better yet, of the experience that music unites persons, over and
above any division". With these words the Pope thanked Director
Daniel Barenboim and the musicians of the West-Eastern Divan
Orchestra for the concert given in the Apostolic Palace of
Castelgandolfo to celebrate the feast of St. Benedict, patron of
Europe.
"Music",
the pontiff continued, "is the harmony of differences ... from
the multiplicity of tones of the various instruments a symphony can
arise. However, this doesn't happen magically or automatically. It
comes only from ... a patient and laborious commitment, which
requires time and sacrifices in the effort to listen to one another,
avoiding excessive egoism and privileging the best success of the
whole".
"In
these moments I am thinking of the great symphony of peace between
the peoples that is never complete. My generation, like that of
Director Barenboim's parents', lived the tragedy of the Second World
war and the Shoah. It is highly meaningful that the maestro desired
to bring a to life a project like the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra: a
group in which musicians from Israel, Palestine, and other Arabic
nations play; Jewish, Muslim, and Christian persons. The numerous
acknowledgements that have been conferred on you and this orchestra
demonstrate your professional excellence as well as your ethical and
spiritual commitment".
Continuing,
the Pope emphasized that the symphonies that were performed,
Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth, express two aspects of life: "drama
and peace; humanity's struggle against adversity and its enlightening
immersion in a bucolic environment... The message I would like to
draw from it for today is this: to achieve peace we must dedicate
ourselves to dialogue with a personal and communal conversion,
patiently seeking possible areas of understanding".
"I
wish and pray that each of you", he concluded, "continue
sowing the hope for peace in the world through the universal language
of music".
SPOKESPERSONS
OF EUROPEAN EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES MEET IN COLOGNE
Vatican
City, 12 July 2012 (VIS) - Members of the press and spokespersons of
the European Episcopal conferences met in Cologne, Germany to discuss
the relationship between the media and the Catholic Church.
Bishops,
priests, and laypersons from across the continent are participating
in the various sessions of the meeting, which will take place from 11
to 14 July. It will deal with, among other themes, communication
regarding financial issues related to the life of the churches. A
special session will be held dedicated to the Year of Faith and the
media projects of the various episcopal conferences related to this
event.
You
can find more information at: www.visnews.org
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