SUMMARY:
- MAN IS A
SEEKER OF THE ABSOLUTE
- THE
POPE MAKES A FRESH APPEAL FOR PEACE IN SYRIA
- MESSAGE
OF BENEDICT XVI TO U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA
- DEATH
OF PATRIARCH MAXIM OF BULGARIA
-
BENEDICT XVI TO VISIT HOME FOR THE ELDERLY
-
FINANCIAL INFORMATION AUTHORITY APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE
-
AUDIENCES
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
MAN IS
A SEEKER OF THE ABSOLUTE
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - In his general audience today Benedict
XVI, continuing a series of catecheses on the subject of Catholic
faith, focused on what, he said, "is a fascinating aspect of
human and Christian experience: the fact that man carries within him
a mysterious desire for God".
Such an
affirmation, the Pope went on, "may seem provocative in the
context of secularised Western culture. Many of our contemporaries
could, in fact, object that they feel not the slightest desire for
God. For large sectors of society He is no longer awaited or desired;
rather He leaves people indifferent, something about which they do
not even have to make an effort to express themselves.
"Yet
the fact is that what we have defined as 'desire for God' has not
completely disappeared and still today it emerges in man's heart in
many different ways. Human desire always tends towards certain
concrete things which are often anything but spiritual, yet it
nonetheless has to consider the question of what good truly is, and
this means facing something other than itself, something man cannot
construct but is called to recognise. What is it that can truly
satisfy man's desire?
"In
my first Encyclical 'Deus caritas est' I sought to examine how this
phenomenon is realised in the experience of human love, which in our
time is most easily recognised as a moment of ecstasy and
abandonment, a place in which man has the experience of being
overcome by a desire greater than himself. Through love a man and a
woman, the one thanks to the other, enjoy a new experience of the
greatness and beauty of life and reality. If what I experience is not
a mere illusion, if I truly wish the other's good, also as a way to
my own good, then I must be ready not to focus on my own self, to
place myself at the service of the other, even to the point of
self-renouncement. Thus the answer to the question about the meaning
of the experience of love involves the purification and healing of
desire, which is a requirement of the love we bear the other.
"We
must exercise, train and correct ourselves so that we can truly love
others", Pope Benedict added. Yet "not even the beloved is
capable of satisfying the desire that dwells in the human heart.
Quite the contrary, the more authentic our love for another person
is, the more it raises the question about the origin and destiny of
that love, the possibility that it may last forever".
"Similar
considerations could also be made about other human experiences such
as friendship, the experience of beauty or love of knowledge.
Everything good that man experiences tends towards the mystery which
surrounds man himself. Each desire that arises in the human heart is
an echo of a fundamental desire which is never fully sated".
The Holy
Father went on: "Man is well aware of what does not satisfy him,
but is unable to imagine or define that which would make him
experience that happiness for which his heart longs. We cannot know
God on the basis only of human desire. Here there is an abiding
mystery: man is searching for the absolute, but his search advances
with slow and hesitant steps".
"Even
in our own time, which seems so averse to the transcendent dimension"
it is possible "to open the way towards an authentic religious
sense of life which shows how the gift of faith is neither absurd nor
irrational", said Benedict XVI. In this context he proposed "a
pedagogy of desire, ... including at least two aspects: Firstly, the
acquisition or reacquisition of a taste for the authentic joys of
life. Not all satisfactions produce the same effect upon us; some
leave positive traces and are capable of pacifying our hearts making
us more active and generous. Others, on the other hand, following the
initial light they bring, seem to delude the expectations that
aroused them and sometimes leave bitterness, dissatisfaction or a
sense of emptiness in their wake".
A second
aspect of the pedagogy of desire consists of "never being
satisfied with the goals we have reached", said the Holy Father.
"It is the most authentic joys which are able to liberate within
us that sense of healthy disquiet which leads us to be more
demanding, to desire a more exalted or more profound good, and at the
same time to becoming increasingly aware that nothing finite can fill
our hearts. Thus will we learn to tend, unarmed, towards that good
which we cannot construct or procure by our own efforts, without
allowing ourselves to be discouraged by the fatigue or obstacles that
come from our sin".
Finally
the Holy Father noted that "desire always remains open to
redemption, even when it takes the wrong paths, when it seeks
artificial paradises and seems to lose its capacity to desire the
true good. Even in the abyss of sin man never loses that spark which
enables him to recognise and savour what is truly good, and to start
along the path of ascension on which God, with the gift of His grace,
will not fail to give His aid".
"This
does not mean, then, smothering the desire that is in man's heart,
but liberating it so that it can reach its true height. When desire
opens a window to God this is a sign of the presence of faith in a
person's heart, faith which is a grace of God", Benedict XVI
concluded.
THE
POPE MAKES A FRESH APPEAL FOR PEACE IN SYRIA
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - At the end of his general audience, the
Pope launched the following appeal for peace in Syria.
"I
continue to follow with great concern the tragic situation of violent
conflict in Syria, where the fighting has not ceased and each day the
toll of victims rises, accompanied by the untold suffering of many
civilians, especially those who have been forced to abandon their
homes.
"As
a sign of my own solidarity and that of the whole Church for the
Syrian people, as well as our spiritual closeness to the Christian
communities in that country, I had hoped to send a Delegation of
Synod Fathers to Damascus.
"Unfortunately,
due to a variety of circumstances and developments, it was not
possible to carry out this initiative as planned, and so I have
decided to entrust a special mission to Cardinal Robert Sarah,
President of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'.
"From
today until 10 November, he will be in Lebanon, where he will meet
the pastors and faithful of the Churches present in Syria. He will
visit a number of refugees from that country and will chair a meeting
of Catholic charitable agencies to coordinate efforts, as the Holy
See has urgently requested, to provide assistance to the Syrian
people, within and outside the country.
"As
I make my prayer to God, I renew my invitation to the parties in
conflict, and to all those who have the good of Syria at heart, to
spare no effort in the search for peace and to pursue through
dialogue the path to a just coexistence, in view of a suitable
political solution of the conflict.
"We
must do everything that is possible, because one day it may be too
late!"
MESSAGE
OF BENEDICT XVI TO U.S. PRESIDENT OBAMA
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI, through the apostolic
nunciature in Washington, U.S.A., has sent a message to Barack Obama,
congratulating him on his re-election as president of the United
States of America.
In his
message the Holy Father expresses his best wishes to the president on
his new mandate, and gives assurances of his prayers to God to help
him carry out his serious responsibilities, both in his own country
and within the international community. The Pope also speaks of his
hope that the ideals of freedom and justice, which guided the
founding fathers of the Unites States of America, may continue to
shine out as the nation progresses.
Holy See
Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. also made a brief
comment on the re-election of President Obama. "As we all know",
he said, "the U.S. president has an immense responsibility, not
only in his own country but also towards the rest of the world, given
the role the U.S.A. plays at an international level".
"For
this reason we hope that President Obama will respond to his fellow
citizens' expectations, serving law and justice for the good and
development of all people, and respecting essential human and
spiritual values while promoting a culture of life and religious
freedom".
DEATH
OF PATRIARCH MAXIM OF BULGARIA
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father sent a message of
condolence to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
following the death of His Beatitude Maxim, Metropolitan of Sofia and
Patriarch of Bulgaria. "For many years", writes Benedict
XVI, the deceased "dutifully served the Lord and His people. In
the name of the Catholic Church, I accompany your mourning with my
prayers ... and, participating in the mourning of the Orthodox Church
in Bulgaria, I give thanks to God for the good brought by the late
Patriarch to his Church and to the people of his country. In
particular, I recall the cordial welcome given to Blessed John Paul
II ... in May 2002. I thank the Lord for the good relations the
Patriarch developed with the Catholic Church, ... and I hope that
this good rapport may continue to promote the proclamation of the
Gospel".
BENEDICT
XVI TO VISIT HOME FOR THE ELDERLY
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - On the occasion of the European Year
for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, at 11 a.m. on
Monday 12 November Benedict XVI will visit the Sant'Egidio
Community's "Viva gli Anziani" home for the elderly in
Rome.
FINANCIAL
INFORMATION AUTHORITY APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR AND EXECUTIVE
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - Francesco De Pasquale, director of the
Financial Information Authority (AIF) since June 2011, has been
appointed to the board of the AIF. He is succeeded by Rene Bruelhart,
former director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of
Liechtenstein.
Francesco
De Pasquale, who has extensive experience at the "Ufficio
Italiano Cambi" and the Bank of Italy and has been Director of
the AIF since June 2011, has been named a member of the board of AIF,
which in addition to the president, Cardinal Attilio Nicora, includes
Prof. Condemi, Prof. Dalla Torre, Prof. Bianchi and Dr. Testa.
Cardinal
Nicora has named Rene Bruelhart to succeed De Pasquale. Bruelhart,
former director of the FIU of Liechtenstein and Vice-President of the
Egmont Group, the international network of FIUs, has been an adviser
to the Holy See and Vatican City since September in matters relating
to action against money laundering and financing of terrorism.
With the
promotion of De Pasquale to the Board of Directors and the nomination
of Bruelhart to Director, AIF has strengthened its internal
organisation. This represents one more step in the effort to combat
money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience Archbishop Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Bishop
Jorge Alves Bezerra S.S.S. of Jardim, Brazil, as bishop of Paracatu
(area 54,387, population 332,000, Catholics 259,000, priests 44,
permanent deacons 13, religious 13), Brazil. He succeeds Bishop
Leonardo de Miranda Pereira, whose resignation from the pastoral care
of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the
age limit.
- Msgr.
Eraldo Bispo da Silva, vicar general of Barreiras, as bishop of Patos
(area 10,874, population 402,000, Catholics 368,000, priests 49,
permanent deacons 8, religious 42), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born
in Monteiro, Brazil in 1966 and ordained a priest in 1993. He studied
in Brazil and Colombia and has been active in pastoral care in
several different parishes.
- As
ordinary members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences: Vanderlei
Salvador Bagnato, professor of physics at the University of Sao
Paulo, Brazil, and Joachim von Braun, professor of economics and
technological innovation, and director of the Research Development
Centre at the University of Bonn, Germany.
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