SUMMARY:
- THE
YEAR OF FAITH: COMMEMORATION AND CELEBRATION OF VATICAN COUNCIL II
- ARABIC
TO BECOME A PART OF THE POPE'S GENERAL AUDIENCE
-
INTENSIFYING EFFORTS TO HELP REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED
PERSONS
- THREE
CARDINALS TO TAKE POSSESSION OF TITLES, DIACONATES
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
YEAR OF FAITH: COMMEMORATION AND CELEBRATION OF VATICAN COUNCIL II
Vatican
City, 9 October 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press
Office Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, announced details of the
opening ceremony for the Year of Faith, which will be presided by the
Holy Father in St. Peter's Square at 10 a.m. on Thursday 11 October.
"It
is particularly significant", the archbishop explained, "that
the beginning of the Year of Faith falls on the day of the fiftieth
anniversary of the opening of Vatican Council II. This is no
coincidence. ... Rather, it is an opportunity to revisit that event
which left such a deep mark on the life of the Church in the
twentieth century, and to examine the influence its teachings have
had during the intervening decades and will have over the coming
years of Church commitment to new evangelisation. In fact, Vatican
Council II was itself intended as a special moment of new
evangelisation".
Thus the
anniversary of the Council "deserves to be not only commemorated
but also celebrated by the Church". Part of that celebration is
the Year of Faith, which "is a good opportunity to revive the
faith of believers, animating them with a new and more convincing
spirit of evangelisation". The Year will also be "dedicated
to the study and examination of the conciliar teachings, that they
may help in the formation of believers - particularly through
catechesis - in the sacramental life of the Christian community and
in its life witness".
In the
light of these premises, Archbishop Fisichella went on to describe
the inaugural ceremony of the Year of Faith which, he said, "will
be deeply impregnated" with symbols evoking Vatican Council II.
"Extracts from the four conciliar Constitutions will be read out
as expressions of the Council's work and of renewal in the life of
the Church. This will be followed by a long procession which which
will lead the collective imagination back to 12 October 1962. The
procession will be formed of all the bishops participating in the
solemn concelebration with the Holy Father. Those taking part will
include the Synod Fathers who are currently participating in the
meeting on the new evangelisation, presidents of all the world's
episcopal conferences, and fourteen Council Fathers who, despite
their age, have managed to come to Rome. All seventy of the Council
Fathers who are still alive had been invited to participate, but
advanced years or health problems have prevented them from being
among us".
The
procession will be followed by the enthronement of the Word of God, a
gesture "which evokes a significant moment in the work of the
Council when, during the solemn sessions in St. Peter's Basilica, the
Sacred Scripture was brought in in procession and placed at the
centre of the gathering in order to remind everyone that they were at
the service of the Word of God, which lies at the heart of the
Church’s activities". The same lectern and the same copy of
the Holy Scriptures as those of the Council will be used. At the end
of the Eucharistic celebration, there will be another sign "to
indicate that the teachings of the Council retain all their validity
and deserve to be be better known and studied".
This
sign, the archbishop explained, will mirror "Paul VI's
consignment of Messages to the People of God at the end of the
Council. Those same Messages will be consigned by Pope Benedict XVI
to various categories of people": political leaders,
representatives of the world of science and thought, artists, women,
workers, the poor, sick and suffering, and to young people. "Finally,
since this year also marks the twentieth anniversary of the Catechism
of the Catholic Church, the Holy Father will consign a special
edition of the Catechism, published for the Year of Faith, to two
representatives of catechists".
"The
years pass", said Archbishop Fisichella concluding his
presentation, "but the power of Vatican II remains, with all its
cargo of hope that the entire world may come to know the Gospel of
Christ. Our intention is to offer Christians a further reason to feel
that they are part of one Church, which knows no frontiers and which
daily renews her faith in the Lord through the commitment of her
life".
ARABIC
TO BECOME A PART OF THE POPE'S GENERAL AUDIENCE
Vatican
City, 9 October 2012 (VIS) - Beginning on Wednesday 10 October,
during the Holy Father's weekly general audience, an Arabic speaker
will join the other speakers who provide a summary of the papal
catechises in various different languages.
In this
way, in the wake of his recent trip to Lebanon and the publication of
the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Medio
Oriente", the Holy Father intends to express his perpetual
concern and support for Christians in the Middle East, and to remind
everyone of their duty to pray and work for peace in the region.
INTENSIFYING
EFFORTS TO HELP REFUGEES AND INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS
Vatican
City, 9 October 2012 (VIS) - On 2 October Archbishop Silvano M.
Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations and
other international organisations in Geneva, addressed the
sixty-third session of the Executive Committee of the United Nations
High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), focusing his remarks on "more
creative and concrete forms of solidarity and protection".
"The
surge in the number of recent conflicts has produced new waves of
refugees and displaced persons", said the archbishop speaking
English. "The media spotlight focuses on the more politically
interesting cases for them and leave in the shadows of public
awareness other masses of displaced people forgotten and left to
their tragic destiny. The Holy See delegation takes note and is
grateful for those countries which have kept their borders and their
hearts open to receive refugees fleeing conflict in neighbouring
States, and calls on all member States to assist in sharing the
burden these new refugee populations place on many of their hosts".
"It
is once again a fact this year that there are more persons internally
displaced by conflict in the world than there are refugees. My
delegation is also aware that the topic of the extent of the UNHCR’s
involvement in providing assistance to internally displaced persons
is one on which States differ. In some instances there is a genuine
fear of “mission creep” and a concern that the core mission of
the UNHCR, protection of refugees, will suffer. In other instances
there is reason to suspect that the presence of neutral,
international eyes during internal armed conflict or the provision of
life saving assistance to locally disfavoured groups might not be
welcome. The Holy See encourages the High Commissioner to continue to
go the extra mile with regards to those displaced by armed conflict.
This should be done in the first instance by seeking humanitarian
access to affected populations to assess their protection needs, and
in the second instance in coordination with other United Nations
bodies by providing crucial assistance to these people".
THREE
CARDINALS TO TAKE POSSESSION OF TITLES, DIACONATES
Vatican
City, 9 October 2012 (VIS) - A note released today by the Office of
Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff provides details
concerning the taking of possession of the following titles and
diaconates:
- At
11.30 a.m. on Sunday 14 October Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan,
archbishop of New York, U.S.A., will take possession of the title of
Nostra Signora di Guadalupe a Monte Mario, Piazza Nostra Signora di
Guadalupe 12, Rome.
- At 6
p.m. on Tuesday 23 October Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins,
archbishop of Toronto, Canada, will take possession of the title of
San Patrizio, Via Boncompagni 31, Rome.
- At 5
p.m. on Thursday 25 October Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien, grand
master of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre
of Jerusalem, will take possession of the diaconate of San Sebastiano
al Palatino, Via di San Bonaventura 1, Rome.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 9 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation
from the pastoral care of the diocese of Iquique, Chile, presented by
Bishop Marco Antonio Ordenes Fernandez, in accordance with canon 401
para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
You
can find more information at: www.visnews.org
The
news items contained in the Vatican Information Service may be used,
in part or in their entirety, by quoting the source:
V.I.S.
-Vatican Information Service.
Copyright
© Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City
No comments:
Post a Comment