SUMMARY:
-
CHRIST’S DISCIPLES MUST GIVE AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THEIR UNITY
-
COURAGEOUSLY RESIST ANYTHING THAT COULD DESTROY OR UNDERMINE PEACE
- FIRST
HEARING OF THE ACCUSED IN THE "VATILEAKS" CASE
______________________________________
CHRIST’S
DISCIPLES MUST GIVE AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF THEIR UNITY
Vatican
City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - Yesterday evening the Holy Father met
with Orthodox Patriarchs, representatives of Protestant communities
and Catholic Patriarchs of Lebanon. The encounter took place at the
Syrian Catholic Patriarchate in Charfet, Beirut, famous for its
library which contains more than 3,000 manuscripts in Syriac and
Arabic.
Having
listened to some welcome remarks addressed to him by His Beatitude
Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, the
Holy Father expressed his thanks to those present who, he said,
"represent the diversity of the Church in the East. ... My
thoughts also go to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt and to the
Ethiopian Orthodox who have had the recent sadness of losing their
respective Patriarchs. I wish to assure them of my fraternal
closeness and of my prayers".
Benedict
XVI continued: "Allow me to acknowledge here the testimony of
faith shown by the Syrian Antiochene Church in the course of its
glorious history, a testimony to an ardent love for Christ, which has
caused it to write some heroic pages of this history, right up to the
present, by remaining committed to the faith even to the point of
martyrdom. I encourage this Church to be for the peoples of the
region a sign of the peace that comes from God as well as a light
that keeps their hope alive. I extend this encouragement to all the
Churches and ecclesial communities present in the region".
"Our
encounter this evening", he went on, "is an eloquent sign
of our profound desire to respond to the call of Christ, 'that all
may be one'. In these unstable times, so inclined to the violence
which your region knows so well, it is even more necessary that
Christ’s disciples give an authentic witness to their unity, so
that the world may believe in their message of love, peace and
reconciliation. This is a message that all Christians, and we in
particular, have been commissioned to hand on to the world, a message
of inestimable value in the present context of the Middle East.
"Let
us work without ceasing so that the love of Christ may lead us little
by little into full communion with each other", the Pope added.
"In this regard, by means of common prayer and mutual
commitment, we must constantly return to our one Lord and Saviour.
For, as I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation 'Ecclesia in Medio
Oriente' which I have the pleasure of consigning to you, 'Jesus draws
into unity those who believe in and love Him; He gives them the
Spirit of His Father as well as Mary, His mother'".
The Holy
Father concluded his remarks by entrusting the members of the various
Churches and communities to the Blessed Virgin. "May she
intercede with her Son for us, so that we may be delivered from every
evil and from all forms of violence, and so that the Middle East may
at last know a time of reconciliation and peace. May the words of
Jesus that I have so often cited during this journey - My peace I
give to you - be for all of us the common sign that we will give in
the name of Christ to the peoples of this beloved region, which longs
to see those words fulfilled!"
COURAGEOUSLY
RESIST ANYTHING THAT COULD DESTROY OR UNDERMINE PEACE
Vatican
City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father's apostolic trip to
Lebanon came to an end yesterday afternoon with the departure
ceremony at the international airport of Beirut. Among those present
to bid him farewell were Michel Sleiman, president of Lebanon, the
country's four Catholic Patriarchs, various Lebanese bishops and
representatives of the civil and religious authorities.
In his
address, the Pope expressed his thanks "to the entire Lebanese
people who form a beautiful and rich mosaic and who have shown the
Successor of Peter their enthusiasm by the efforts, both general and
specific, of each community. I cordially thank our venerable sister
Churches and the Protestant communities. I thank in particular
representatives of the Muslim communities. Through my stay here, I
have noticed how much your presence has contributed to the success of
my journey. In these troubled times, the Arab world and indeed the
entire world will have seen Christians and Muslims united in
celebrating peace.
"It
is a tradition in the Middle East to receive a guest with
consideration and respect as you have done", he added. "I
thank you all. But, to that consideration and respect, you added
something else, which can be compared to one of those renowned
oriental spices which enriches the taste of food: your warmth and
your affection, which make me wish to return. I thank you for that
especially".
"In
his wisdom, Solomon asked Hiram of Tyre to build a house for the name
of God, a sanctuary for all eternity. And Hiram ... sent wood taken
from the cedars of Lebanon. ... Lebanon was present in the sanctuary
of God. May the Lebanon of today, and her inhabitants, also dwell in
the sanctuary of God! May Lebanon continue to be a place where men
and women can live in harmony and peace with each other, in order to
give the world not only a witness to the presence of God, ... but
also a witness to the communion between people, ... whatever their
political, social, or religious standpoint".
The Pope
continued: "I pray to God for Lebanon, that she may live in
peace and courageously resist all that could destroy or undermine
that peace. I hope that Lebanon will continue to permit the plurality
of religious traditions and not listen to the voices of those who
wish to prevent it. I hope that Lebanon will fortify the communion
among all her inhabitants, whatever their community or religion, that
she will resolutely reject all that could lead to disunity, and with
determination choose brotherhood".
"The
Virgin Mary, venerated with devotion and tenderness by the faithful
of the religious confessions here present, is a sure model for going
forward in hope along the path of a lived and authentic brotherhood.
Lebanon understood this well when, some time ago, she proclaimed 25
March as a holiday, thus allowing everyone to live more deeply their
unity in serenity. May the Virgin Mary, whose ancient shrines are so
numerous in your country, continue to accompany and inspire you!
"May
God bless Lebanon and all the Lebanese! May He never cease to draw
them to Himself so as to offer them a share in His eternal life! May
he fill them with His joy, His peace and His light! May God bless all
the Middle East!"
Having
completed his farewell address, the Pope boarded his flight for Rome,
landing at 9.40 p.m. at Ciampino airport whence he travelled to the
Apostolic Palace at Castelgandolfo.
FIRST
HEARING OF THE ACCUSED IN THE "VATILEAKS" CASE
Vatican
City, 17 September 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today
released the following communique.
"Giuseppe
della Torre, president of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, today
issued a decree ruling that the first hearing of the trial of Paolo
Gabriele and Claudio Sciarpelletti, will take place at 9.30 a.m. on
29 September. The two accused were sent for trial by the examining
magistrate on 13 August. The hearing will take place in the audience
hall of the Tribunal of Vatican City State. The parties concerned
have been notified of the decree".
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