SUMMARY:
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POPE RECEIVES GENERAL SECRETARY OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF VIETNAM
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CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VATICAN COUNCIL II AND CODE OF CANON LAW
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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POPE
RECEIVES GENERAL SECRETARY OF COMMUNIST PARTY OF VIETNAM
Vatican
City, 22 January, 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father
received in audience the General Secretary of the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of Vietnam, His Excellency Nguyen Phu Trong.
Following the audience with the Pope, First Secretary Trong and his
entourage then went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., accompanied by Archbishop Dominique
Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
This
is the first time that a general secretary of the Communist Party of
Vietnam has met with the Supreme Pontiff and other administrators of
the Secretariat of State. During the course of cordial discussions,
topics of interest to Vietnam and the Holy See were covered,
expressing the hope that some pending situations may be resolved and
that the existing fruitful cooperation may be strengthened.
CLOSE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VATICAN COUNCIL II AND CODE OF CANON LAW
Vatican
City, 22 January, 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Press Office of
the Holy See, the schedule for the Study Day “The Code: A Reform
Desired and Requested by the Council” (25 January, Pius X Hall,
Rome) marking the 30th anniversary of the promulgation of the Code of
Canon Law was presented. The study day has been organized by the
Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the International
Institute of Canon Law and Comparative Studies of Religion in Lugano,
Switzerland and is sponsored by the Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI)
Vatican Foundation and the John Paul II Foundation. Participating in
the conference were Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of
the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Bishop Juan Ignacio
Arrieta, secretary of that dicastery, and Msgr. Giuseppe Antonio
Scotti, president of the Joseph Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) Vatican
Foundation.
Cardinal
Coccopalmerio began his address with the recollection that Blessed
John XXIII, in his speech convening Vatican Council II in 1959,
explained that the Council’s legal scope was to bring about the
awaited revision of the 1917 Code. “In his broad perspective, the
Pope saw clearly that the revision of the Code had to be guided by
the new ecclesiology that emerged from an ecumenical and a global
summit such as the Council.” Blessed John Paul II, under whose
pontificate the Code was promulgated, also repeated that “the
council’s ecclesiological structure clearly required a renewed
formulation of its laws”.
“As
John Paul II emphasized at the beginning of the Apostolic
Constitution ‘Sacrae disciplinae leges’, the reason for the close
relationship between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law was
that the 1983 Code was the culmination of Vatican II … in two ways:
on the one hand, it embraces the Council, solemnly reproposing
fundamental institutions and major innovations and, on the other,
establishing positive norms for implementing the Council.”
The
president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts then cited
various examples of the strong bond between Vatican Council II and
the Code of Canon Law.
The
first is the “doctrine regarding the episcopate and the
relationship between the episcopate and the primate, that is,
episcopal collegiality. This is not entirely new doctrine in the deep
consciousness of the Church but rather a happy discovery. The Code
firstly, in canons 330–341, represents this clearly, and secondly,
in canons 342–348, accompanies it with the positive view that
constitutes the structure of the Synod of Bishops, allowing effective
implementation of the structure of episcopal collegiality.”
A
second example is the “Council’s teaching on the laity and
therefore on the appropriate and active mission of the lay faithful
in the life of the Church. Once again, this is not absolutely new but
more a rediscovery … through a series of regulations … regarding
the diocesan pastoral council or … the parochial pastoral council.
They are structures that allow the faithful laity to effectively
participate in the pastoral decisions of the bishop or the pastor.
This innovation is also the eloquent voice of the faithful
relationship between Council and Code.”
“A
third example may come from the conception of the parish as presented
by the Council and implemented by the Code. Ultimately, the Council
conceives of the parish as a community of believers, not as a
structure or a territory. This represents an important innovation
with respect to the previous point of view. The Code receives this
concept, particularly in canon 515, and sanctions it with the
positive regulations of the following canons.”
A
final example of doctrine and innovation provided by the Council in
the area of ecumenism “resides in the conciliar documents ‘Lumen
gentium’, ‘Orientalium Ecclesiarum’, and ‘Unitatis
redintegratio’, which show the doctrine of ecclesial communion as
still imperfect yet real and existent between the Catholic Church and
other Churches or non-Catholic communities. This is also a fact of
incalculable value and scope already found in the Council and then
later in the Code (cf. canon 844), with the possibility of welcoming
non-Catholic Christians, even if under specific conditions, into the
sacraments of the Catholic Church.
“In
conclusion,” finished the cardinal, “we can affirm that the happy
union between Vatican Council II and the Code of Canon Law has
produced fruits of renewal in the life of the Church in many areas
and on many levels.”
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 22 January 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed:
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Fr. Daniel Jodoin as bishop of Bathurst (area 18,770, population
113,900, Catholics 103,700, priests 47, religious 166), Canada. The
bishop-elect was born in 1957 in Granby, Quebec, Canada, was a novice
of the Verbites, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1992, having
completed his formation at the seminary of Sherbrooke, Canada. He
holds a licentiate in Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian
University in Rome. Since his ordination he has served in several
pastoral and administrative roles, most recently as pastor of
Bon-Pasteur parish in Sherbrooke, director of the Office for the
Clergy, and coordinator of the Sherbrooke Seminary.
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Msgr. Gerardo Antonazzo as bishop of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo (area
1,426, population 155,900, Catholics 152,900, priests 103, religious
187, permanent deacons 16), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in
Supersano, Puglia, Italy in 1956 and was ordained to the priesthood
in 1981, having completed his formation at the Major Seminary of
Rome, Italy. He holds a licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the
Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He has served in several
pastoral, administrative, and academic roles, most recently as rector
of the Basilica-Sanctuary Santa Maria de finibus terrae in Leuca,
Italy and diocesan administrator of Ugento-Santa Maria di Leuca. He
was named a chaplain of His Holiness in 2007.
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Msgr. Dario Edoardo Vigano as director of Vatican Television and
secretary of the Administrative Council of that same agency. Msgr.
Vigano teaches in the “Redemptor hominis” Pastoral Institute of
the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, Italy.
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Mr. Angelo Scelzo as vice director of the Holy See Press Office for
the accreditation of journalists. Mr. Scelzo was previously
undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication.
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