SUMMARY:
-
BENEDICT XVI: THANK YOU ALL. THE LORD WILL GUIDE US.
- POPE:
DO NOT GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION TO INSTRUMENTALIZE GOD
- YOUTH,
PROTAGONISTS OF FRATERNITY CAMPAIGN IN BRAZIL
- THE
CHURCH DEFENDS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORKER ON THE LAND
- FR.
LOMBARDI: BRIEFING ON PAPAL ACTIVITIES
- OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
BENEDICT
XVI: THANK YOU ALL. THE LORD WILL GUIDE US.
Vatican
City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Before his catechesis in the General
Audience this morning, the Holy Father spoke of his decision to leave
the pontificate. Interrupted by the applause of the crowd filling the
Paul VI Hall he said:
"As
you know, I have decided―thank you for your kindness―to renounce
the ministry which the Lord entrusted to me on 19 April 2005. I have
done this in full freedom for the good of the Church, after much
prayer and having examined my conscience before God, knowing full
well the seriousness of this act, but also realizing that I am no
longer able to carry out the Petrine ministry with the strength which
it demands. I am strengthened and reassured by the certainty that the
Church is Christ’s, who will never leave her without his guidance
and care. I thank all of you for the love and for the prayers with
which you have accompanied me. Thank you; in these days which have
not been easy for me, I have felt almost physically the power of
prayer―your prayers―which the love of the Church has given me.
Continue to pray for me, for the Church, and for the future Pope. The
Lord will guide us."
POPE:
DO NOT GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION TO INSTRUMENTALIZE GOD
Vatican
City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Benedict XVI dedicated the
catechesis of today's General Audience to the season of Lent, which
begins today, Ash Wednesday. "Forty days," he said, "that
prepare us for the celebration of Easter. It is a time of particular
commitment in our spiritual journey. … Forty days was also the
period that Jesus spent in the desert before beginning his public
life, when he was tempted by the devil."
Reflecting
on Jesus' temptations in the desert, is "an invitation to each
of us to respond to a fundamental question: What is truly important
in our lives? … The core of the three temptations that Jesus faced
is the proposal to instrumentalize God, to use Him for personal
interests, for self-glory and success. In essence, it is putting
oneself in God's place, eliminating Him from our existence and making
Him seem superfluous. … Giving God the first place is a path that
each Christian has to undertake. 'Conversion' … means following
Jesus, so that His Gospel becomes the practical guide of our lives. …
It means recognizing that we are creatures who depend on God, on His
love ...This requires us to make our decisions in light of the Word
of God. Today it is no longer possible to be a Christian as a simple
consequence of living in a society that has Christian roots. Even
those who come from a Christian family … must renew daily their
decision to be Christian, to give God the first place in the face of
the temptations continuously suggested by a secularized culture, in
the face of the criticism of many of their contemporaries."
"The
tests that Christians are subjected to by society today are numerous
and affect our personal and social life. It is not easy to be
faithful to Christian marriage, to practice mercy in our everyday
lives, or to leave space for prayer and inner silence. It is not easy
to publicly oppose the decisions that many consider to be obvious,
such as abortion in the case of an unwanted pregnancy, euthanasia in
the case of serious illness, or the selection of embryos to avoid
hereditary diseases. The temptation to set one's faith aside is
always present and conversion becomes a response to God that must be
confirmed at various times throughout our lives."
The Holy
Father recalled that in history there have been "great
conversions such as St. Paul's on the road to Damascus or St.
Augustine's. But also in our age, when the sense of the sacred is
eclipsed, God's grace acts and works wonders in the lives of many
people … as was the case for the Orthodox Russian scientist Pavel
Florensky who, after a completely agnostic education … found
himself exclaiming, 'It's impossible without God.' He completely
changed his life, even becoming a monk." The Pope also cited the
case of the intellectual Etty Hillesum (1914-1943), "a young
Dutch woman of Jewish origin, who died in Auschwitz. Initially far
from God, she discovered Him by looking deep within herself, writing:
'There is a well deep within me. And God is that well.' … In her
scattered and restless life, she rediscovered God in the midst of the
great tragedy of the twentieth century, the Shoah."
"In
our age, there are more than a few conversions that are seen as the
return of those who, after a Christian education, perhaps a
superficial one, have turned away from the faith for years, then
later rediscover Christ and His Gospel. … In this time of Lent, in
the Year of Faith, we renew our commitment to the path of conversion,
overcoming the tendency to be wrapped up in ourselves and to make
room for God, seeing our everyday reality with His eyes. Conversion
means not being wrapped up in ourselves in the search for success,
prestige, or social position, but rather of making each day, in the
small things, truth, faith in God, and love, become what is most
important," the Pope concluded.
YOUTH,
PROTAGONISTS OF FRATERNITY CAMPAIGN IN BRAZIL
Vatican
City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father sent a message to
the faithful in Brazil for the Fraternity Campaign that takes place
in that country every year during Lent, and that has the theme of
"Fraternity and Youth" this year.
"The
path of Lent opens before us permeated with prayer, penitence, and
charity, to prepare us to experience and to participate more deeply
in Jesus Christ's passion, death, and resurrection," the Pope
writes. "In Brazil, this preparation has found valuable support
and encouragement in the Fraternity Campaign, which this year
celebrates its 50th anniversary and which is coloured by the
spiritual overtones of the 27th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro
this July."
"I
gladly join in this Lenten initiative of the Church in Brazil and I
send each and every one of you my cordial greetings in the Lord, to
whom I entrust the efforts of those who are committed to helping the
youth become … 'protagonists of a more just and more fraternal
society inspired by the Gospel'. The 'signs of the times' in society
and in the Church also arise through the youth. Disregarding these
signs, or not discerning them, means losing opportunities for
renewal. If they are part of the present then they will also be part
of the future. We want the youth to be protagonists and to be
integrated into the community that welcomes them, which demonstrates
the confidence that the Church has in each of them. This requires
guides―priests, consecrated persons, or lay persons―who remain
young at heart even if they are not young in age, who are capable of
walking without imposing a march, capable of solidarity and empathy,
capable of giving the witness of salvation, which is nourished by
faith and the following of Christ every day."
THE
CHURCH DEFENDS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORKER ON THE LAND
Vatican
City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Pope sent a message to
participants in the meeting of the Board of Governors of the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which
celebrates its 36th anniversary this year.
The Holy
Father praised "the methodology followed by IFAD, which gives
ongoing development priority over mere assistance, and places the
group dimension alongside the purely individual dimension, to the
point of setting up forms of interest-free grants and loans, often
choosing, as the primary beneficiaries, the 'poorest of the poor'.
This activity shows that approaches inspired by the principle of
gratuitousness and by the culture of gift can 'find their place
within normal economic activity' (Caritas in Veritate)."
"Indeed,
the approach taken by the Fund is to link the elimination of poverty
not only to the fight against hunger and the guarantee of food
security, but also to the creation of work opportunities and
institutional decision-making structures. It is well known that when
these elements are missing, the involvement of rural labourers in
choices that affect them is restricted, hence reinforcing their sense
of being limited in their capacity and their dignity."
"In
this area there are two specific lines taken by the Organization that
are to be commended. The first is the constant attention given to
Africa, where, by supporting projects of 'rural credit', IFAD aims to
endow small farmers with modest but essential financial resources,
and to empower them in the decision-making and administrative phase
as well. The second line is the support given to indigenous
communities, which have a particular care for preserving
biodiversity, recognized as a precious good that the Creator has
placed at the disposal of the entire human family. The safeguarding
of these peoples’ identity needs to be given priority, and their
indispensable role in handing down traditional know-how needs to be
acknowledged."
"The
Catholic Church, in her teaching and her activity, has always upheld
the centrality of the worker on the land, urging concrete political
and economic action in areas that affect him. This stance, I am happy
to observe, harmonizes with the Fund’s approach in underlining the
role of farmers, as individuals and as small groups, thus actively
involving them in the development of their communities and countries.
This attention to the person, both individually and collectively,
will be more effective if it is achieved through forms of
association, both cooperatives and small family businesses with the
wherewithal to produce an income that is sufficient to support a
decent standard of living."
Referring
to "the next International Year that the United Nations has
chosen to dedicate to the rural family," the Pope added that it
will promote "a deep-rooted and sound notion of agricultural
development and of the fight against poverty, based on this
fundamental cell of society. IFAD knows from experience that the
family is at the heart of the social order, and what serves to
regulate family life, prior to the laws of a State or international
norms, are the moral principles inscribed in the natural patrimony of
values which are immediately identifiable in the rural world as well.
These principles inspire the conduct of individuals, the relationship
between spouses and between generations, and the sense of shared
ownership. To ignore this reality, or to fail to recognize it, would
be to undermine the foundations not only of the family, but of the
entire rural community, with consequences whose gravity is easily
foreseeable."
FR.
LOMBARDI: BRIEFING ON PAPAL ACTIVITIES
Vatican
City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J.,
director of the Holy See Press Office, presented the Holy Father's
activities up to 28 February.
Tomorrow,
as announced in Tuesday's briefing, Benedict XVI will meet with the
Roman pastors in the Paul VI Hall. On the 15th he will receive,
respectively, the "Pro Petri Sede" association and the
president of Romania. On the 16th he will meet with the president of
Guatemala. On those same days he will meet with the Italian bishops
from Liguria and Lombardy on their 'ad limina' visits. However, the
audience with the president of Cameroon, which was scheduled for 28
February, has been cancelled as well as the 'ad limina' visits
scheduled with the Italian prelates from the Le Marche region between
25 and 28 February. On Saturday the 16th at 6:00pm, the Pope will
meet with the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, and the following
Saturday, the 23rd in the late morning, with the Italian President,
Giorgio Napolitano. "Both," Fr. Lombardi clarified, "have
expressed the desire to meet briefly with the Pope."
From the
17th, after the Angelus, until the morning of the 23th, the Holy
Father and the Roman Curia have the Lenten Spiritual Exercises, which
will be led this year by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi. As is
traditional, for the Wednesday of that week there will be no general
audience and no activity with the Pope is planned. On the 24th, he
will pray the Angelus with the faithful who are gathered in St.
Peter's Square.
On the
25th, the Holy Father will receive some of the cardinals in a private
audience. On the 27th, the general audience will take place in St.
Peter's Square. On the 28th, the last day of his pontificate,
Benedict XVI will meet with members of the College of Cardinals in
the Clementine Hall and at 5:00pm he will travel by helicopter to
Castel Gandolfo.
The
period of Sede vacante begins on 1 March. All the visits and
activities that call for the Pope's presence during that time are
therefore cancelled.
Finally,
the director of the Holy See Press Office recalled that when the
period of Sede vacante begins, the congregations of cardinals to
prepare for the conclave also begin. The congregations have a number
of juridical requirements to meet along with serving to exchange
viewpoints regarding the problems to be addressed, the situation of
the Church, etc., so that each of the members of the College of
Cardinals might develop his criteria regarding the election of the
new Pope. For this reason, the regulations provide that the beginning
of the conclave be established between 15 and 20 days from the
beginning of the Sede vacante. "If everything goes normally, it
could be envisioned," Fr. Lombardi said, "that the conclave
begins between 15 and 19 March. At the moment, we cannot give an
exact date because it falls to the cardinals to determine it."
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 13 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed
Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca as auditor general of the Apostolic Camera.
Bishop Sciacca, titular of Fundi, is the secretary general of the
Governorate of Vatican City State.
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