SUMMARY:
- THE
CHURCH IS THE PLACE WHERE FAITH IS TRANSMITTED
- THE
POPE PRAYS FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
CHURCH IS THE PLACE WHERE FAITH IS TRANSMITTED
Vatican
City, 31 October 2012 (VIS) - During his general audience this
morning Benedict XVI, continuing his catecheses on the subject of
Catholic faith, began by posing certain important questions: "Is
the nature of faith merely personal and individual? ... Do I live my
faith alone?", he asked.
"Certainly,
the act of faith is an eminently personal act", he told the
faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. "It is something which
happens in the most intimate depths of my being and causes a change
of direction, a personal conversion. ... But the fact that I believe
is not the result of solitary reflection, ... it is the fruit of a
relationship, a dialogue ... with Jesus which causes me to emerge
from my 'I' ... and to open myself to the love of God the Father. It
is like a rebirth in which I discover that I am united not only to
Jesus but also to all those who have walked and continue to walk
along His path. And this new birth, which begins with Baptism,
continues throughout the course of a person's life.
"I
cannot construct my personal faith in a private dialogue with Jesus",
the Pope added, "because faith is given to me by God through a
believing community which is the Church. And faith makes me part of a
multitude of believers bound by a communion which is not merely
sociological, but rooted in the eternal love of God. ... The
Catechism of the Catholic Church states this very clearly: 'Believing
is an ecclesial act. The Church's faith precedes, engenders, supports
and nourishes our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers'".
At the
beginning of Christian history, when the Holy Spirit descended upon
the disciples on the Day of Pentecost, "the nascent Church
received the strength to accomplish the mission entrusted to her by
the risen Lord: that of spreading the Gospel, the good news of the
Kingdom of God, to the ends of the earth, and thus leading all men
and women to meet Him, to the faith which saves. ... Thus began the
journey of the Church, the community which carries this message
though time and space, the community which is the People of God",
whose members "do not belong to a particular social or ethnic
group but are men and women from all nations and cultures. They are a
'catholic' people who speak new languages, who are open to welcoming
everyone, beyond all confines, who break down all barriers".
"Ever
since the beginning, then, the Church has been the place of faith,
the place where faith is transmitted. ... The life of the Church, the
announcement of the Word of God and the celebration of the Sacraments
form an unbroken chain which has come down to us and which we call
Tradition. This gives us the guarantee that what we believe is
Christ's original message, as preached by the Apostles. ... It is in
the ecclesial community that personal faith grows and matures".
In this
context the Pope explained how, in the New Testament, the word
"saints" is used to refer to Christians as a whole.
"Certainly", he said, "not all of them had the
qualities necessary to be declared saints by the Church". The
name "saint" meant that "those who had faith ... in
the risen Christ were called to become a point of reference for all
the others, and to bring them into contact with the Person and
Message of Jesus Who revealed the face of the living God. ... This
also holds true for us. A Christian who allows himself to be guided
and moulded by the faith of the Church, despite his weaknesses,
limitations and difficulties, becomes a window open to the light of
the living God, receiving this light and transmitting it to the
world".
"The
tendency, so widespread today, to relegate the faith to the private
sphere contradicts its very nature. ... We need the Church in order
for our faith to be confirmed and to experience the gifts of God
together . ... In a world in which individualism seems to regulate
dealings between people, making them ever more fragile, the faith
calls us to be People of God, to be Church, bearers of the love and
communion of God for the entire human race", the Holy Father
concluded.
THE
POPE PRAYS FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY
Vatican
City, 31 October 2012 (VIS) - "Conscious of the devastation
caused by the hurricane which recently struck the East Coast of the
United States of America, I offer my prayers for the victims and
express my solidarity with all those engaged in the work of
rebuilding", said the Holy Father at the end of his catechesis
during today's general audience.
Turning
then to address Polish pilgrims, he noted that, "in the context
of the month of the Rosary which is now coming to an end, and of All
Saints' Day which we will celebrate tomorrow, let us thank God for
the Year of Faith, and for the Synod of Bishops with the guidance it
has given us vis-a-vis the new evangelisation".
Finally
the Holy Father greeted rectors of Catholic universities, who are
currently meeting in Rome, and expressed the hope that their
pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles would reinforce their "sense
of belonging to the Church".
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 31 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
-
Appointed Fr. Peter Parapullil, vicar general of the diocese of
Jhansi, India, as bishop of the same diocese (area 29,418, population
8,233,914, Catholics 3,936, priests 54, religious 236). The
bishop-elect was born in Perumanoor, India in 1949 and ordained a
priest in 1975. He studied in India and in Rome and has, among other
roles, been active in pastoral care in parishes and missions, as well
as working as procurator and rector of the Shrine of St. Jude in
Jhansi. He succeeds Bishop Frederick D'Souza, whose resignation from
the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon
having reached the age limit.
-
Appointed Msgr. Pedro Vazquez Villalobos, vicar general of the
diocese of San Juan de los Lagos, Mexico, as bishop of Puerto
Escondido (area 13,221, population 496,000, Catholics 450,000,
priests 45, religious 53), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born in
Huisquilco, Mexico in 1950 and ordained a priest in 1975. He has been
active in pastoral care and is a member of presbyteral council and
the college of consultors.
-
Appointed Fr. Robert Herman Flock Bever of the clergy of the diocese
of La Crosse, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of "La Santa Cruz"
and formator of young clergy in the Bolivian archdiocese of Santa
Cruz de la Sierra, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Cochabamba
(area 32,306, population 1,668,000, Catholics 1,534,000, priests 307,
permanent deacons 28, religious 1,295), Bolivia The bishop-elect was
born in Sparta, U.S.A., in 1954 and ordained a priest in 1982. He has
worked in pastoral care, first in his American diocese then in
Bolivia after moving there as a "fidei donum" priest in
1988.
-
Appointed Fr. Rene Leigue Cesari of the clergy of the archdiocese of
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, pastor of the parish of "Nuestra
Senora de Fatima" and director of studies at the major seminary
of "San Lorenzo", as auxiliary of Santa Cruz de la Sierra
(area 50,000, population 2,338,000, Catholics 1,842,000, priests 197,
permanent deacons 5, religious 773). The bishop-elect was born in the
"Comunidad Nuevo Horizonte", Bolivia in 1967 and ordained a
priest in 1999. He has served as pastor in a number of different
parishes.
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