SUMMARY:
- THE
HOLY FATHER INAUGURATES THE YEAR OF FAITH
-
BARTHOLOMEW I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
HOLY FATHER INAUGURATES THE YEAR OF FAITH
Vatican
City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - "Today, fifty years from the
opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, we begin with great
joy the Year of Faith", said Benedict XVI during the course of a
Mass celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square. Concelebrating
with the Pope were cardinals, patriarchs and major archbishops of the
Eastern Catholic Churches, Synod Fathers who are currently
participating in a synodal assembly on the new evangelisation,
presidents of episcopal conferences from all over the world, and a
number of Council Fathers from Vatican II. Also present at the
celebration were Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and His Grace
Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican
Communion.
"In
order to evoke the Council", the Holy Father said, "this
celebration has been enriched by several special signs: the opening
procession, intended to recall the memorable one of the Council
Fathers when they entered this basilica; the enthronement of a copy
of the Book of the Gospels used at the Council; the consignment of
the seven final Messages of the Council, and of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, which I will do before the final blessing. These
signs help us not only to remember, they also offer us the
possibility of going beyond commemorating. They invite us to enter
more deeply into the spiritual movement which characterised Vatican
II, to make it ours and to develop it according to its true meaning.
And its true meaning was and remains faith in Christ, the apostolic
faith, animated by the inner desire to communicate Christ to
individuals and all people, in the Church’s pilgrimage along the
pathways of history".
Extracts
from Benedict XVI's homily are given below.
"The
Year of Faith which we launch today is linked harmoniously with the
Church’s whole path over the last fifty years: from the Council,
through the Magisterium of the Servant of God Paul VI, who proclaimed
a Year of Faith in 1967, up to the Great Jubilee of the year 2000,
with which Blessed John Paul II re-proposed to all humanity Jesus
Christ as the one Saviour, yesterday, today and forever. Between
these two Popes, Paul VI and John Paul II, there was a deep and
profound convergence, precisely upon Christ as the centre of the
cosmos and of history, and upon the apostolic eagerness to announce
Him to the world. Jesus is the centre of the Christian faith. The
Christian believes in God Whose face was revealed by Jesus Christ. He
is the fulfilment of the Scriptures and their definitive
interpreter".
"Today’s
Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ, consecrated by the Father in the
Holy Spirit, is the true and perennial subject of evangelisation. ...
This mission of Christ, this movement of His continues in space and
time, over centuries and continents. It is a movement which starts
with the Father and, in the power of the Spirit, goes forth to bring
the good news to the poor, in both a material and a spiritual sense.
The Church is the first and necessary instrument of this work of
Christ because it is united to Him as a body to its head".
"Vatican
Council II did not wish to deal with the theme of faith in one
specific document. It was, however, animated by a desire, as it were,
to immerse itself anew in the Christian mystery so as to re-propose
it fruitfully to contemporary man. ... In his opening speech Blessed
John XXIII presented the principal purpose of the Council in this
way: “What above all concerns the Ecumenical Council is this: that
the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be safeguarded and taught
more effectively. … Therefore, the principal purpose of this
Council is not the discussion of this or that doctrinal theme, a
Council is not required for that, ... [but] this certain and
immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully respected, needs to be
explored and presented in a way which responds to the needs of our
time”.
"In
the light of these words, we can understand what I myself felt at the
time: during the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced
the common task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out
in our time, without sacrificing it to the demands of the present or
leaving it tied to the past: the eternal presence of God resounds in
the faith, transcending time, yet it can only be welcomed by us in
our own unrepeatable today. Therefore I believe that the most
important thing ... is to revive in the whole Church that positive
tension, that yearning to announce Christ again to contemporary man.
But, so that this interior thrust towards the new evangelisation
neither remain just an idea nor be lost in confusion, ... I have
often insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the “letter”
of the Council - that is to its texts - also to draw from them its
authentic spirit, and why I have repeated that the true legacy of
Vatican II is to be found in them".
"The
Council did not formulate anything new in matters of faith, nor did
it wish to replace what was ancient. Rather, it concerned itself with
seeing that the same faith might continue to be lived in the present
day, that it might remain a living faith in a world of change. ...
The Council Fathers wished to present the faith in a meaningful way;
and if they opened themselves trustingly to dialogue with the modern
world it is because they were certain of their faith, of the solid
rock on which they stood. In the years following, however, many
embraced uncritically the dominant mentality, placing in doubt the
very foundations of the deposit of faith, which they sadly no longer
felt able to accept as truths.
"If
today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new
evangelisation, it is not to honour an anniversary, but because there
is more need of it, even more than there was fifty years ago! ...
Even the initiative to create a pontifical council for the promotion
of the new evangelisation ... is to be understood in this context.
Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual
“desertification”. In the Council’s time it was already
possible from a few tragic pages of history to know what a life or a
world without God looked like, but now we see it every day around us.
... But it is in starting from the experience of this desert ... that
we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for
us".
"In
the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living;
thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed
implicitly or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate
meaning of life. And in the desert people of faith are needed who,
with their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep
hope alive. Living faith opens the heart to the grace of God which
frees us from pessimism. Today, more than ever, evangelising means
witnessing to the new life, transformed by God, and thus showing the
path".
"The
journey is a metaphor for life, and the wise wayfarer is one who has
learned the art of living, and can share it with his brethren - as
happens to pilgrims along the Way of St. James or similar routes
which, not by chance, have again become popular in recent years. How
come so many people today feel the need to make these journeys? Is it
not because they find there, or at least intuit, the meaning of our
existence in the world? This, then, is how we can picture the Year of
Faith: a pilgrimage in the deserts of today’s world, taking with us
only what is necessary: ... the Gospel and the faith of the Church,
of which the Council documents are a luminous expression, as is the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, published twenty years ago.
"Venerable
and dear brothers, 11 October 1962 was the Feast of Mary Most Holy,
Mother of God. Let us entrust to her the Year of Faith, as I did last
week when I went on pilgrimage to Loreto. May the Virgin Mary always
shine out as a star along the way of the new evangelisation".
BARTHOLOMEW
I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION
Vatican
City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - During the course of this morning's
ceremony in St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Year of Faith,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I pronounced an address, extracts of
which are given below.
"Fifty
years ago in this very square, a powerful and pivotal celebration
captured the heart and mind of the Roman Catholic Church,
transporting it across the centuries into the contemporary world.
This transforming milestone, the opening of Vatican Council II, was
inspired by the fundamental reality that the Son and incarnate Logos
of God is 'where two or three are gathered in his name' and that the
Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father, 'will guide us into the whole
truth'.
"Over
the last five decades, the achievements of this assembly have been
diverse as evidenced through the series of important and influential
constitutions, declarations, and decrees. We have contemplated the
renewal of the spirit and the 'return to the sources' through
liturgical study, biblical research, and patristic scholarship. We
have appreciated the struggle toward gradual liberation from the
limitation of rigid scholasticism to the openness of ecumenical
encounter, which has led to the mutual rescinding of the
excommunications of the year 1054, the exchange of greetings,
returning of relics, entering into important dialogues, and visiting
each other in our respective Sees.
"Our
journey has not always been easy or without pain and challenge. ...
The essential theology and principal themes of Vatican Council II -
the mystery of the Church, the sacredness of the liturgy, and the
authority of the bishop - are difficult to apply in earnest practice,
and constitute a life-long and Church-wide labour to assimilate".
"As
we move forward together, we offer thanks and glory to the living God
- Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that the same assembly of bishops has
recognised the importance of reflection and sincere dialogue between
our 'sister Churches'. We join in the 'hope that the barrier dividing
the Eastern Church and the Western Church will be removed, and that -
at last - there may be but the one dwelling, firmly established on
Christ Jesus, the Cornerstone, Who will make both one'".
"Our
presence here signifies and seals our commitment to witness together
to the Gospel message of salvation and healing for the least of our
brethren: the poor, the oppressed, the forgotten in God’s world.
Let us begin with prayers for peace and healing for our Christian
brothers and sisters living in the Middle East. In the current
turmoil of violence, separation, and brokenness that is escalating
between peoples and nations, may the love and desire for harmony we
profess here, and the understanding we seek through dialogue and
mutual respect, serve as a model for our world. Indeed, may all
humanity reach out to ‘the other’ and work together to overcome
the suffering of people everywhere, particularly in the face of
famine, natural disasters, disease, and war that ultimately touches
all of our lives.
"In
light of all that has yet to be accomplished by the Church on earth,
and with great appreciation for all the progress we have shared, we
are, therefore, honoured to be invited to attend - and humbled to be
called to address - this solemn and festive commemoration of Vatican
Council II. It is fitting that this occasion also marks for your
Church the formal inauguration of the 'Year of Faith', as it is faith
that provides a visible sign of the journey we have travelled
together along the path of reconciliation and visible unity".
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Vincenzo
Peroni as a master of pontifical ceremonies.
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