Showing posts with label Pope Benedict XVI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pope Benedict XVI. Show all posts

Friday, February 08, 2013

News Vatican Information Service 02/08/2013



SUMMARY:

- TELEGRAM ON THE DEATH OF CARDINAL GIOVANNI CHELI
- POPE'S GREETING TO CONFERENCE MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ELYSEE TREATY
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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TELEGRAM ON THE DEATH OF CARDINAL GIOVANNI CHELI

Vatican City, 8 February 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father sent a telegram of condolence to Bishop Francesco Ravinale of Asti, Italy for the death of Cardinal Giovanni Cheli, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. The cardinal died last night at the age of 94.

In the text the Pope recalls the cardinal's work "in the Secretary of State, as a representative of the Holy See to the United Nations, and as president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples". Benedict XVI affirmed that "he leaves behind the testimony of a life spent in consistent and generous adherence to his vocation as a priest concerned with the needs of the faithful and especially in the Christian formation of young persons."

Cardinal Cheli's funeral Mass, which will be celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, will be held tomorrow afternoon, 9 February, at 5:00pm in St. Peter's Basilica.

POPE'S GREETING TO CONFERENCE MARKING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ELYSEE TREATY

Vatican City, 8 February 2013 (VIS) – On behalf of the Pope, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., greeted the conference organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Elysee Treaty between France and Germany. The conference, organized by the Pontifical Gregorian University, had as its theme "Fifty Years of Friendship between France and Germany at the service of Europe: The European Union – A Model for Other Reconciliations?"

In the text, made public this morning by the Press Office of the Holy See, Cardinal Bertone said that "the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of an important milestone on the path to reconciliation and understanding between the French and German peoples also bring to mind the personal commitment of the authors of the Treaty, Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer. Even before the stipulation of the Treaty, the two main protagonists of postwar Europe, with their participation at the Reconciliation Mass in the cathedral of Rheims, emphasized that politics are based on principles that cannot be given to oneself."

"The natural moral law, inscribed by the Creator in the human heart, and the human values and rights that are shaped by the Gospel, constitute the basis of a politics that is truly at the service of justice and peace, as well as the progress of the human family. Political action will also have to be built upon this basis in the future so that what we have achieved together not be undermined by new challenges and myopic personal interests and not be abandoned. Peace is an enduring task that must always be accomplished anew."

At the end of the text Cardinal Bertone affirmed that the Holy Father invokes upon the entire French and German peoples, "God's protection and blessing for a future of peace and freedom in their own countries and throughout Europe."

Among the participants in yesterday's conference were Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister-President of the state of the Saarland, Germany and delegate for Franco-German cultural relations, Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, and Jacques Santer, former President of the European Commission.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 8 February 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

- Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht, Holland,

ten prelates from the Lazio region of the Italian Episcopal Conference on their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop Vincenzo Pelvi, military ordinary for Italy,

- Bishop Vincenzo Apicella of Velletri-Segni,

- Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano,

- Bishop Gino Reali of Porto-Santa Rufina,

- Bishop Ernesto Mandara of Sabina-Poggio Mirteto,

- Bishop Domenico Sigalini of Palestrina,

- Bishop Mauro Parmeggiani of Tivoli,

- Bishop Raffaello Martinelli of Frascati,

- Abbot Mauro Meacci, O.S.B., of Subiaco,

- Abbot Emiliano Fabbricatore, O.S.B.I., archimandrite of Santa Maria di Grottaferrata Abbey (Italo-Albanese), and

- Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 8 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed Bishop Michele Pennisi as archbishop of Monreale (area 1,509, population 233,010, Catholics 229,892, priests 134, permanent deacons 7, religious 190), Italy. Archbishop Pennisi, previously bishop of Piazza Armerina, Italy, succeeds Archbishop Salvatore Di Cristina, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.


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


Thursday, February 07, 2013

News Vatican Information Service 02/07/2013



SUMMARY:

- POPE: YOUTH CONDITIONS AND CULTURE, INESCAPABLE POINT OF REFERENCE FOR PASTORAL OUTREACH
- TO FRATERNITY OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO: HELP VOCATIONS GROW
- AUDIENCES
______________________________________

POPE: YOUTH CONDITIONS AND CULTURE, INESCAPABLE POINT OF REFERENCE FOR PASTORAL OUTREACH

Vatican City, 7 June 2013 (VIS) – This morning, Benedict XVI received participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture, which has the theme of "Emerging Youth Cultures". The Pope expressed his hopes that their work will be fruitful and contribute to "the Church's work in the lives of young people, which is a complex and articulated reality that can no longer be understood from within a homogeneous cultural basis but only in a horizon … that is made up of a plurality of viewpoints, perspectives, and strategies."

The Pope then spoke of the "widespread climate of instability" that is affecting the cultural, political, and economic areas?noting in the latter, the difficulty of young persons to find employment?and that has psychological and relational repercussions. "The uncertainty and fragility that characterize so many young people often pushes them to the margins, making them almost invisible and absent from society's cultural and historical processes. … The affective and emotional sphere, … strongly affected by this climate … gives birth to apparently contradictory phenomena like the spectacularization of private life and a narcissistic selfishness. Even the religious dimension, the experience of faith and membership in the Church are often lived from an individualistic and emotional perspective."

"Nevertheless, positive data are not lacking, such as volunteering, "profound and sincere faith experiences, … the efforts undertaken, in many parts of the world, to build societies capable of respecting the freedom and dignity of others, beginning with the smallest and weakest. All of this," he emphasized, "consoles us and helps us to draw a more accurate and objective picture of youth cultures. We cannot, therefore, be content with reading the cultural phenomena of the youth according to consolidated paradigms, paradigms that have become cliches. Nor can we analyse them in ways that are no longer useful, that are based on outdated and inadequate cultural categories. Ultimately, we are facing a very complex but fascinating reality that must be thoroughly understood and loved with great empathy, a reality wherein we must pay very close attention to the bottom lines and to what is to come."

The Pope referred to the youth of many Third World countries that, with their cultures and needs, represent "a challenge to the global consumer society and to the culture of established privileges, which benefit a small group of the population of the Western world. Consequently, youth cultures are also 'emerging', in the sense that they demonstrate a profound need, a cry for help, or even a 'provocation' that cannot be ignored or neglected either by civil society or by the ecclesial community."

Benedict XVI repeated his concerns for the so-called "educational emergency", which accompanies the other emergencies affecting the different dimensions of the human person and our fundamental relationships "as the growing difficulties in the labour market or in the effort over time to be faithful to responsibilities assumed. From this would follow, for the future of the world and of all of humanity, a not merely economic and social impoverishment, but a human and spiritual one as well. If the young no longer hope or progress, if they don't put their energy, their vitality, and their capacity for anticipating the future into the dynamic of history, then we will find ourselves a humanity that is locked in itself, lacking confidence and a positive attitude toward the future."

"Although we are aware of the many problematic situations, which also touch upon the spheres of faith and membership in the Church, we wish to renew our faith in the young and reaffirm that the Church looks to their condition and their cultures as an essential and inescapable reference point for pastoral outreach. … The Church has confidence in the young. She hopes in them and in their energy. She needs their vitality in order to continue living the mission entrusted to her by Christ with renewed enthusiasm. I very much hope, therefore, that the Year of Faith will be, also for the younger generations, a precious opportunity to rediscover and strengthen the friendship with Christ from which springs the joy and enthusiasm to profoundly change cultures and societies."

TO FRATERNITY OF ST. CHARLES BORROMEO: HELP VOCATIONS GROW

Vatican City, 7 June 2013 (VIS) – "Education is always fundamental for the truth to grow," the Pope said to members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo during an audience that took place yesterday in the Vatican. The Fraternity is a Society of Apostolic Life born from the Communion and Liberation movement founded, before he was ordained a priest, by Massimo Camisasca, now bishop of Reggio Emilia-Guastella, Italy. Present at the audience were the current Superior General, Fr Paolo Sottopietra, the president of the Communion and Liberation Fraternity, Julian Carron, and 18 priests from the missions to the different continents.

"I knew the faith, the joy, the strength and wealth of ideas, and the creativity of the faith" of the founder of Communion and Liberation, Don Luigi Giussani," the Holy Father said. From that "grew a great friendship between us and, through him, I have also known your community better. I am glad that his successor is with us and that this great work that inspires so many people?so many lay persons, men and women, and so many priests?continues, helping to spread the Gospel and to grow the Kingdom of God."

"I have also met Massimo Camisasca. We've talked of many things. I have seen his artistic creativity, his capacity to see and interpret the signs of the times and his great gift as an educator and priest. … It is nice to know that, here, a new priestly fraternity is growing in the spirit of St. Charles Borromeo, that great example of a Shepherd who is truly compelled by the love of Christ, seeking the littlest ones, loving them and thus truly building faith and making the Church grow."

"Your fraternity is now large, a sign that there are vocations," he concluded. "But our openness to meeting, accompanying, guiding, and helping vocations to grow is also necessary. This is what I am grateful for to Fr. Camisasca, who has done a great job as an educator. Today, education is always fundamental for the truth to grow, so that our being as children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ might grow."

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 7 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister-President of the state of the Saarland, Germany, with her entourage, and

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.


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


Wednesday, February 06, 2013

News Vatican Information Service 02/06/2013


SUMMARY:

- POPE: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CAN FIND KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD IN SACRED SCRIPTURE
- BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________

POPE: HUMAN INTELLIGENCE CAN FIND KEY TO UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD IN SACRED SCRIPTURE

Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – Continuing his catechesis on the symbol of Christian faith, the Holy Father's General Audience today focused on the phrase “Creator of heaven and earth”, explained in light of the first chapter of Genesis.

God,” the Pope said, “is the source of all things and the beauty of creation reveals the omnipotence of the loving Father. As the origin of life … He cares for what has He has created with unceasing love and faithfulness. Creation, therefore, becomes the place in which to know God's omnipotence and goodness and becomes a call to faith for believers so that we might proclaim God as Creator. … In the light of faith, human intelligence can find the key to understanding the world In Sacred Scripture. Particularly … in the first chapter of Genesis, with the solemn presentation of divine creative action … The phrase 'and God saw it was good' is repeated six times. … Everything God creates is good, and beautiful, full of wisdom and love. God's creative action brings order and infuses harmony and beauty into it. In the story of Genesis, it later says that the Lord created with His word and ten times in the text the phrase 'God said' is repeated... Life springs forth, the world exists, so that everything might obey the Word of God.”

But does it still make sense to talk about creation,” the Pope wondered, “in this age of science and technology? The Bible isn't intended to be a natural science manual. Its intention is to reveal the authentic and profound truth of things. The fundamental truth revealed in the stories of Genesis is that the world isn't a collection of opposing forces, but has its origin and stability in the Logos, in God's eternal reason, which continues to sustain the universe. There is a plan for the world that springs from this reason, from the Creator Spirit.”

Men and women, human beings, the only ones capable of knowing and loving the Creator,” are the apex of all creation. “The creation stories in Genesis … help us to know God's plan for humanity. First, they say that God formed man out of the clay of the ground. … This means that we are not God; we have not made ourselves; we are clay. But it also means that we come from the good earth by an act of the Creator. … Beyond any cultural and historical distinctions, beyond any social difference, we are one humanity, formed from the one earth of God who … blew the breath of life into the body He formed from the earth. … The human being is made in the image and likeness of God. … We carry within us His life-giving breath and all human life is under God's special protection. This is the deepest reason for the inviolability of human dignity against any temptation to judge the person according to criteria of utility or power.”

In the first chapters of Genesis, “there are two significant images: the garden with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the serpent. The garden tells us that the reality that God has placed the human being within is not a savage forest, but a place that protects, nourishes, and sustains. Humanity must recognize the world, not as property to plunder and exploit, but as a gift from the Creator … to cultivate and care for respectfully, following its rhythms and logic, in accordance with God's plan. The serpent is a figure derived from oriental fertility cults that fascinated Israel and that were a constant temptation to forsake the mysterious covenant with God.” That is why, “the serpent raised the suspicion that the covenant with God was a chain that … took away freedom and the most beautiful and precious things in life. The temptation becomes the building of a world of one's own without accepting the limits of being a creature, the limits of good and evil, of morality. Dependence on the love of God the Creator is seen as a burden to be overthrown. … But when our relationship with God is distorted, when we put ourselves in His place, all our other relationships are altered. Then the other becomes a rival, a threat. Adam, after have succumbed to temptation, immediately accuses Eve. … The world is no longer the garden in which to live in harmony, but a place to exploit, one in which … envy and hatred of the other enter into our hearts.”

The Pope emphasized one last element of the creation stories. “Sin begets sin and all the sins of history are related. This aspect leads us to speak of what is called 'original sin'. What is the meaning of this reality, which is so difficult to understand? … First, we must keep in mind that no person is closed in upon themselves. … We receive life from others, not only at birth, but every day. The human being is relational: I am only myself in you and through you, in the loving relationship with the You of God and the you of the other. Sin alters or destroys our relationship with God … taking the place of God … Once that fundamental relationship is altered, our other relationships are also compromised or destroyed. Sin ruins everything. Now, if the relational structure of humanity is altered from the beginning, all humans enter the world characterized by the alteration of that relationship; we enter into the world changed by sin, which marks us personally. The initial sin disrupts and damages human nature. … And humanity cannot get out of this situation alone, cannot redeem itself. Only the creator can restore the correct relationships. … This takes place in Jesus Christ follows the exact opposite path of Adam. … While Adam does not recognize his being as a creature and wants to supplant the place of God, Jesus, the Son of God is in perfect filial relation to the Father. He lowers himself, becomes a servant, walks the path of love, humbling himself even to death on the cross in order to restore the relationship with God. Christ's Cross becomes the new Tree of Life.”

Living by faith,” Benedict XVI concluded, “means acknowledging God's greatness and accepting our smallness, our creatureliness, letting God fill us with His love. Evil, with its burden of pain and suffering, is a mystery that is illuminated by the light of faith, giving us the certainty of being able to be freed from it.”

BENEDICT XVI'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY

Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for February is: "That migrant families, especially the mothers, may be supported and accompanied in their difficulties".

His mission intention is: "That the peoples at war and in conflict may lead the way in building a peaceful future"..

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – After today’s General Audience, the Holy Father met with participants in the general assembly of the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St. Charles Borromeo.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 6 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:

- elevated the territorial prelature of Cameta, Brazil, to the rank of diocese. He appointed Bishop Jesus Maria Cizaurre Berdonces, O.A.R., prelate of Cameta, as first bishop of the new diocese.

- appointed Fr. Valdir Mamede as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Brasilia (area 5,814, population 2,246,000, Catholics 1,541,000, priests 320, permanent deacons 69, religious 674), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Silvianopolis, Brazil and was ordained to the priesthood in 1988. He has served as pastor in several Brazilian parishes, most recently Imaculado Coracao de Maria, and was also judicial vicar of the archdiocese.


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

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

News Vatican Information Service 02/05/2013



SUMMARY:

- ARCHBISHOP FISICHELLA PRESENTS NEW EXHIBIT: THE PATH OF PETER
- MUTUAL ESTEEM BETWEEN POPE AND ITALIAN PRESIDENT
- CONCERT FOR POPE COMMEMORATING LATERAN ACCORDS
______________________________________

ARCHBISHOP FISICHELLA PRESENTS NEW EXHIBIT: THE PATH OF PETER

Vatican City, 5 February 2013 (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 exhibit "The Path of Peter" (Castel Sant'Angelo, 6 February–1 May 2013) that will be opened at 6:00pm tomorrow by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. Also participating in the press conference were Don Alessio Geretti, curator of the exhibit, and Daniela Porro, superintendent of the Consortium of Roman Museums. The exhibit, one of the initiatives of the Year of Faith, is a collaborative effort between nine countries and will include pieces ranging from the 4th and 5th centuries all the way to the beginning of the 20th century.

"First of all, it's good to explain the 'why' of this exhibit," said the archbishop. "Faith isn't just the commitment of believers. It expresses humanity's need to look within in order to understand the desire for God that is inscribed on the heart of each person. This cultural moment we are living in is strongly characterized by contradictory movements ... On the one hand it seems that there is a general feeling of fatigue and indifference that even affects our faith. It makes it seem limited to a small group of persons and as if it no longer held any appeal to the new generations. On the other hand, there is the excessive enthusiasm for scientific progress and new lifestyles as if these were the solutions to today's serious problems. Not infrequently in this case, we come to the claim that it is good to limit faith's sphere to the private, denying its social or cultural effect. At the same time, however, it is easy to see that the desire to enjoy the beauty of nature and works of art is constantly increasing. … Today, fortunately, we are still looking for something that is more important and more profound, because the spirit is moved by the desire to know and to admire … seeking to contemplate a beauty that is not transient because it has created culture and extends through the centuries, always arousing wonder and marvel for the genius of the artist and for what they have known how to create, motivated by their faith and their interpretive abilities."

"It is precisely to reinforce this desire and to give voice to the nostalgia for God, often latent in many persons," the prelate continued, "that we have decided to organize this exhibit as a journey through the centuries to come to know one of the persons who has always stimulated the minds of artists to try to understand his mystery and give it voice. We wanted to narrate 'The Path of Peter' in art … Peter is the image of humanity that seeks and that finds and that, after having found, follows. Unfortunately he is also weak and commits betrayal but he still knows how to ask forgiveness. Moved by love, by a unique and sweeping experience, he leaves everything behind in order to proclaim the mystery of Christ's Resurrection to the world. It is a true journey of faith, without rest, that artists have captured … in many works that witness to its beauty."

"This exhibit is a path for growing in faith but it is also a challenge to recognize the necessity of believing as a response to the question of meaning that life poses. Looking upon the work of art, believers and non-believers have different reactions, but beauty expresses a call to one and all to listen to the message that can be perceived in the silence of contemplation. … This is one of the reasons why we thought that the exhibit shouldn't take place in a religious space but in an open space where all might have access without prejudices, moved only by the interest in art. True art, on the other hand, knows how to challenge us and it's good not to force one's hand with too many words so as not to run the risk of trivializing its message."

MUTUAL ESTEEM BETWEEN POPE AND ITALIAN PRESIDENT

Vatican City, 5 February 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon the Pope and the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano met in one of the rooms adjoining the Paul VI Audience Hall before attending a concert offered to the Pope by the Italian Embassy to the Holy See in celebration of the 84th anniversary of the Lateran Accords.

The discussion, which lasted around 20 minutes, was particularly intense, given that it touched upon the approaching end of the president's seven-year term, which has been characterized by a great mutual esteem and by always cordial meetings on the part of both sides, as a statement from the Holy See Press Office reports.

In the conversation, the Pope expressed his attention on and participation in the important events that are awaiting the Italian people. They also spoke about major themes of the international situation, particularly the concern for peace in the most troubled areas of the world such as the Middle East and Africa..

CONCERT FOR POPE COMMEMORATING LATERAN ACCORDS

Vatican City, 5 February 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon, in the Paul VI Hall, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra, lead by Conductor Zubin Mehta, offered a concert to the Pope from the Italian Embassy to the Holy See on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the Lateran Accords. The repertoire included "The Force of Destiny", by Giuseppe Verdi, and the "Symphony No. 3 in E flat major", also known as the "Eroica", by Ludwig van Beethoven.

At the end of the performance Benedict XVI addressed the audience briefly saying that the choice of "The Force of Destiny" was "a fitting tribute to the great Italian composer on the two hundredth anniversary of his birth" and that his works "know how to capture and treat the situations of life in music, above all the drama of the human soul, in such an immediate, incisive, and essential way that is rare to find in the musical panorama. The destiny he gives his characters is always tragic and the protagonists of the Symphony that we have just heard do not escape it. However, dealing with the theme of destiny, Verdi finds himself taking on the theme of religion directly; he confronts God, faith, the Church. And once again this composer’s spirit re-emerges: his restlessness, his religious quest. "The Force of Destiny" … gives shape to the drama of human existence, marked by a tragic destiny and by nostalgia for God, His mercy, and His love that gives light, meaning, and hope even in the midst of darkness. Faith gives us this perspective that is not illusory but real … This is the strength of the Christian, who is born of Christ's death and resurrection, from the supreme act of a God who has entered into human history not only in words but by becoming incarnate."

He added, "a few words on Beethoven's Third Symphony … which, as you know was dedicated to Napoleon, but the great German composer changed his mind after Bonaparte proclaimed himself emperor, changing the title to 'Composition Celebrating the Memory of a Great Man'. Beethoven's music expresses the idea of a heroic bearer of freedom and equality who has to choose between resignation or battle, between death or life, between surrender or victory. … I am not going to analyse the Symphony's four movements, but just mention the second, the celebrated 'Funeral March' … a stunning meditation on death … that invites us to reflect on what is beyond, on the infinite. In those years, Beethoven, in the Heiligenstadt testament of 1802 wrote, 'O Divine One, thou lookest into my inmost soul, thou knowest it, thou knowest that love of man and desire to do good live therein.' The search for meaning that opens the door to a solid hope for the future forms part of humanity's path."


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


Monday, February 04, 2013

News Vatican Information Service 02/02-04/2013



SUMMARY:

- THE FAMILY IS "GOOD NEWS"
- CONSISTORY OF 11 FEBRUARY: NEW SAINTS
- ANGELUS: INVESTING IN LIFE AND THE FAMILY
- POPE TO NEW PATRIARCH OF BABYLON OF THE CHALDEANS: MINISTRY AT THE SERVICE OF RECONCILIATION, MUTUAL ACCEPTANCE, AND PEACE FOR THE IRAQI PEOPLES
- CONSECRATED MEN AND WOMEN: DO NOT JOIN PROPHETS OF DOOM
- HOLY FATHER'S SPECIAL ENVOYS
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________

THE FAMILY IS "GOOD NEWS"

Vatican City, 4 February 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Press Office of the Holy See, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family presented the details of the conference "From Milan to Philadelphia: Perspectives of the Pontifical Council for the Family", which analysed the results of the 7th World Meeting of Families that took place in Milan in May of last year. Also participating in the press conference were married couple Francesca Dossi and Alfonso Colzani, directors of the Archdiocese of Milan's Service for Families.

The archbishop noted that that event "showed the vital force that families represent in the Church and in society itself. … Of course, there are many problems related to marriage and the family, but we must not forget … that the family continues to be the fundamental 'resource' of our society. … The statistics are unanimous in pointing out that the family is the first place of safety, refuge, and support for life and remains at the top of the vast majority of young person's wishes. In Italy, for example, around 80% of young people say that they prefer marriage (whether it be civil or religious) and only 20% would choose co-habitation. … In France, surveys indicate that 77% want to build their family life, staying with the same person throughout their lives. … On the other hand, the need for family is inscribed on the human heart, since God tells us 'It is not good for the man to be alone'."

"This profound truth, which marks human life so radically, seems to take a beating from counter culture. … There is an escalation in the race to individualism that is breaking up the family as well as other forms of society. That is why the breakdown of the family is the first problem of contemporary society … It is true that much of contemporary Western History has been conceived as a liberation from every bond: from ties to others and thus the family, from any responsibility toward the other. It is also true that bonds have, sometimes, oppressed individuality. But today, the vertigo of solitude with its cult of 'me', free from any attachment … and the disorientation caused by globalization further accentuate our becoming locked within ourselves and the temptation of self-absorption."

"The Church," he continued, "is concerned … with the current crisis in marriage and the family, because she is aware that both are a Gospel, a good news for men and women today who are often alone, lacking love, parenting, and support. … The Church, an 'expert in humanity' knows well … the high price of the fragility of the family, which is paid mainly by the children (born and unborn), by the elderly, and by the ill. … At times in various historical periods there have been transformations, even profound ones, in the institution of the family. But it has never abandoned its 'genome', its deep dimension, that is, its being as an institution formed by a man, a woman, and children. That is why a careful cultural reflection and an even more vigorous defence of the family is urgent, so that it might be placed?and quickly?at the centre of politics, the economy, and culture, in the different countries as well as in the different international organizations, even involving believers of other religious traditions and all persons of good will."

"The Pontifical Council for the Family feels the urgency to help from within as well as from outside the confines of the Church in order to rediscovery the value of the Family. ...There is great work to be done on the cultural level: working to restore value to a culture of the family so that it might x once more become attractive to and relevant for life itself and for society. … Taking care of a family does not mean restricting oneself to a segment of life or of society. Today it means widening horizons beyond oneself and deciding to participate in the building of a society that is familial, even of embracing the 'family' of peoples and nations."

The prelate concluded by pointing out the initiatives that the pontifical council will launch throughout this year up to the next World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, including the presentation of the Charter of Rights of the Family?which that dicastery has developed over thirty years?at the sites of the United Nations in New York and Geneva, and the European Parliament. In April, a series of seminars entitled "Dialogues for the Family" will begin, in which experts in different fields will address issues concerning the main challenges related to marriage and the family. In Rome, at the end of June, an international congress of Catholic lawyers will take place, focusing on the rights of the family. Finally, in October, the plenary assembly of the pontifical council will look at the Charter of the Rights of the Family. On the 26th and 27th of that month, for the Year of Faith, there will be a pilgrimage of families to the tomb of St. Peter.

CONSISTORY OF 11 FEBRUARY: NEW SAINTS

Vatican City, 4 February 2013 (VIS) – On Monday, 11 February, an Ordinary Public Consistory will be held in the Consistory Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace for a vote on canonization of the following Blesseds:

- Antonio Primaldo and Companions, martyrs,

- Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya Y Upegui, virgin, foundress of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St Catherine of Siena, and

- Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, co-foundress of the Congregation of the Handmaids of St Margaret Mary (Alacoque) and the Poor.

ANGELUS: INVESTING IN LIFE AND THE FAMILY

Vatican City, 3 February 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father's Sunday meditation before praying the Angelus today, was dedicated to the Gospel of St. Luke, which narrates Jesus' return to the synagogue in Nazareth after a period of absence. Jesus reads a prophecy from Isaiah regarding the Messiah and makes it known that it is referring to Him, which provokes confusion among his countrymen who, on the one hand admire Him but on the other hand ask: "Isn’t this the son of Joseph?" or rather, "what aspirations could a carpenter from Nazareth have?"

"Recognizing this rejection, which confirms the proverb 'no prophet is accepted in his own land', Jesus addresses the people in the synagogue with words that sound like a provocation. He cites two miracles performed in favour of the non-Isrealites by the great prophets Elijah and Elisha in order to demonstrate that, at times, there is more faith outside of Israel. At that point, the reaction is unanimous, everyone gets up and they throw Him out, even trying to throw Him off a precipice. With tremendous calm, however, He walks through the midst of the enraged crowd and takes his leave. At this point it is natural to ask: Why did Jesus want to provoke this rupture? At the beginning, the people admired Him and perhaps He could have gotten certain agreement … but this is precisely the point. Jesus did not come to seek the agreement of humanity?as He will tell Pilate in the end?but to 'to testify to the truth'. The true prophet does not obey anyone but God, and places himself at the service of truth, ready to pay in person. It is true that Jesus is the prophet of love, but love has its own truth. Better yet, love and truth are two names for the same reality, the two names of God. These words of St. Paul echo in today's liturgy: 'love... is not pompous, ... it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,e 6it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.' Believing in God means renouncing our own prejudices and welcoming the concrete face in which He reveals himself: the man Jesus of Nazareth. This path also leads to recognizing and serving him in others."

"Mary's attitude in all this is enlightening. Who more than she was familiar with Jesus' humanity? But she was never scandalized like her fellow Nazarenes. She safeguarded the mystery in her heart and always know how to welcome him again and anew in her faith journey, up to the night of the Cross and the full light of the Resurrection."

After praying the Angelus, the Holy Father noted that this first Sunday in February marks the Day for Life in Italy. "I join with all the Italian bishops," he said, "whose messages invite us to invest in life and in the family as an effective answer to the current crisis. I greet the Movement for Life and wish them success in their initiative called 'One of Us', to make Europe more and more a place in which the dignity of each human being is protected. I also greet the representatives of the Faculty of Medicine from the University of Rome, particularly the professors of obstetrics and gynaecology, … and encourage them to train health care workers in the culture of life."

POPE TO NEW PATRIARCH OF BABYLON OF THE CHALDEANS: MINISTRY AT THE SERVICE OF RECONCILIATION, MUTUAL ACCEPTANCE, AND PEACE FOR THE IRAQI PEOPLES

Vatican City, 3 February 2013 (VIS) – Benedict XVI has written a letter to His Beatitude Louis Raphael Sako, the new Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, granting the "Ecclesiastica Communio" requested of him by the Patriarch.

In the text the Pope asks the Lord to fill His Beatitude with "every grace and blessing" and that he be enlightened "in order to tirelessly proclaim the Gospel, following the living tradition that dates back to St. Thomas the Apostle. May the good and eternal Shepherd sustain you in the faith of our fathers and give you the zeal of yesterday's and today's martyrs to safeguard the spiritual and liturgical heritage of the venerated Chaldean Church as its 'Pater et Caput'. May your ministry be a comfort to the faithful Chaldeans in the motherland and in diaspora, but also to the entire Catholic community and for Christians living in the land of Abraham, as a stimulus for reconciliation, for mutual acceptance, and for peace for the entire Iraqi population."

At the same time, the Holy Father wrote a letter, in Latin, to Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, naming him as the pontifical delegate to preside, Monday, 4 February in the Vatican Basilica, over the Eucharistic celebration in confirmation of the ecclesial communion with the new Patriarch.

CONSECRATED MEN AND WOMEN: DO NOT JOIN PROPHETS OF DOOM

Vatican City, 2 February 2013 (VIS) – At 5:30pm this afternoon in the Vatican Basilica, Benedict XVI presided at Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and the Day of Consecrated Life for members of institutes for consecrated life and societies of apostolic life. Following are ample excerpts of the Holy Father's homily.

"'A light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel', thus Simeon defines the Messiah of the Lord at the end of his song of blessing. The theme of light, … is strongly present in this liturgy. In fact, the liturgy opens with a … procession in which the general superiors of the institutes for consecrated life represented here carried lit candles. This sign, specific to the liturgical tradition of this Feast, is very expressive. It shows the beauty and the value of consecrated life as the reflection of Christ's light and recalls Mary's entrance into the Temple: the Virgin Mary, consecrated woman par excellence, carried Light itself in her arms, the incarnate Word who had come to dispel the darkness of the world with God's love."

"You are all represented in that symbolic pilgrimage, which in the Year of Faith expresses even more strongly your own assembly in the Church, to be confirmed in the faith and to renew the offering of yourselves to God. … In the light of Christ, with the many charisms of contemplative and apostolic life, you cooperated in the Church's life and mission in the world. In this spirit of gratitude and communion, I would like to offer you three invitations so that you might fully enter through that 'door of faith' that is always open to us."

"Firstly, I invite you to nourish a faith that is capable of illuminating your vocation. In this regard I urge you to remember, in an interior pilgrimage, of the 'first love' with which the Lord Jesus Christ warmed your heart, not out of nostalgia, but to nourish its flame. This is why it is necessary to be with Him, in the silence of adoration, and thus to reawaken the desire and the joy of sharing one's life and choices, of the obedience of the faith, the blessedness of the poor, and the fundamental nature of love."

Secondly, I invite you to a faith that knows how to recognize the wisdom of weakness. In today's joys and afflictions, when the harshness and weight of the cross make themselves felt, do not doubt that Christ's 'kenosis' is already a paschal victory. In societies of efficiency and success, your life, marked by its 'minority' and by the weakness of the small, by its empathy with those who have no voice, becomes an evangelic sign of contradiction."

"Finally, I invite you to renew the faith that makes you pilgrims toward the future. By its nature consecrated life is a pilgrimage of the spirit, in search of a Face that sometimes shows itself and sometimes hides itself: 'Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram'. May this be your heart's constant desire, the fundamental criterion that guides your path, both in its small daily steps as well as in its more important decisions. Do not fall in with the prophets of doom who proclaim the end or the non-sense of consecrated life in the Church in our days. Rather, 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ', 'put on the armour of light' … and remain wakeful and vigilant."

"The joy of consecrated life necessarily goes through participation in Christ's cross. That is how it was for Mary, Most Holy. Hers is the suffering of a heart that is wholly one with the Heart of the Son of God, pierced by love. God's light springs forth from that wound, and from the suffering, sacrifice, and gift of self that consecrated persons live out of love for God and others shines forth that same light, which evangelises the nations. On this Feast, I wish particularly for you consecrated persons, that your lives might always have the flavour of evangelic 'parrhesia', so that, in you, the Good News might be lived, witnessed to, announced, and shine forth as the Word of truth."

HOLY FATHER'S SPECIAL ENVOYS

Vatican City, 4 February 2013 (VIS) – Published today was the papal letter naming Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, as the Holy Father's special envoy to the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Heath that will take place in Vailankanni, India and the 25th anniversary of the institution of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) scheduled for 9–11 February. The letter, written in Latin, is dated 10 January.

Also named were the members of the mission who will accompany the cardinal: Fr. Michael Arockisamy, rector of the sanctuary Basilica of Vailankanni and Fr. Alex Joseph Vadakumthala, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Verapoly, Kerala, India.

Also published today was the papal letter, dated 10 January and written in Latin, written to Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers, naming him special envoy to the celebration of the 21st World Day of the Sick on 11 February, which will take place at the Marian Shrine of Altotting, Bavaria, Germany. The mission to accompany the archbishop is composed of Msgr. Ludwig Limbrunner, rector of the shrine of Altotting, and Msgr. Gunther Mandl, director of the Business Office of the Diocese of Passau.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 4 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

His Beatitude Louis Raphael I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, along with members of the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church,

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, apostolic nuncio to Australia and titular of Hodelm, and

eight prelates from the Emilia-Romagna region of the Italian Episcopal Conference on their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop Antonio Lanfranchi of Modena-Nonantola,

- Archbishop Luigi Negri of Ferrara-Comacchio,

- Archbishop Lorenzo Ghizzoni of Ravenna-Cervia,

- Bishop Francesco Lambiasi of Rimini,

- Bishop Tommaso Ghirelli of Imola,

- Bishop Enrico Solmi of Parma,

- Bishop Douglas Regattieri of Cesena-Sarsina, and

- Bishop Massimo Camisasca, F.S.C.B., of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla.

On Saturday, 2, February, the Holy Father received in separate audiences:

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, and

seven prelates from the Emilia-Romagna region of the Italian Episcopal Conference on their "ad limina" visit:

- Cardinal Carlo Caffarra, archbishop of Bologna,

- Archbishop Paolo Rabitti, emeritus of Ferrara-Comacchio,

- Bishop Claudio Stagni of Faenza-Modigliana,

- Bishop Lino Pizzi of Forli-Bertinoro,

- Bishop Carlo Mazza of Fidenza,

- Bishop Gianni Ambrosio of Piacenza-Bobbio, and

- Bishop Francesco Cavina of Carpi.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 2 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed:

Bishop Joseph Effiong Ekuwem as archbishop of Calabar (area 7,754, population 1,192,031, Catholics 381,230, priests 74, religious 71), Nigeria. Archbishop Ekuwem, previously bishop of Uyo, Nigeria, succeeds Archbishop Joseph Edra Ukpo, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Bishop Jesús Juárez Párraga, S.D.B., as archbishop of Sucre (area 49,975, population 630,000, Catholics 552,00, priests 92, permanent deacons 1, religious 236), Bolivia. Archbishop Párraga, previously bishop of El Alto, Bolivia, succeeds Archbishop Jesús Gervasio Pérez Rodríguez, O.F.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Bishop Jean Teyrouz, I.C.P.B., as bishop of the Eparchy of Sainte-Croix-de-Paris of the Armenians (Catholics 30,200, priests 4, religious 6), France. Bishop Teyrouz, previously curial bishop of the Patriarchate of Cilicia of the Armenians, Lebanon, succeeds Bishop Gregoire Ghabroyan, I.C.P.B., whose whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same eparchy the Holy Father accepted in accordance with canon 210 para. 1–2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

Archbishop Michael August Blume, S.V.D., as apostolic nuncio to Uganda. Archbishop Blume, titular of Alexanum, was previously apostolic nuncio to Benin and Togo.

Fr. Percy Lorenzo Galvan Flores as prelate bishop of Corocoro (area 28,823, population 244,000, Catholics 214,000, priests 19, permanent deacons 2, religious 5), Bolivia. The bishop-elect was born in Tomas Frias, Potosi, Bolivia and was ordained a priest in 1991. He has served in several pastoral roles as well as having been rector of the San Cristobal Seminary of the Archdiocese of Sucre, Bolivia between 2001 and 2005 and vicar general of that same archdiocese between 2005 and 2007. Most recently he has been pastor of San Jose Parish, Sucre, director of the Ecclesiatical Museum, and a member of the Economic, Presbyteral, and Pastoral Councils of that archdiocese.

Msgr. Michel Aupetit as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Paris (area 105, population 2,233,818, Catholics 1,340,291, priests 1,353, permanent deacons 109, religious 2,831), France. The bishop-elect was born in Versailles, France in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1995. Licensed in medicine by the faculty of Bichat-Claude Bernard Hospital?with a specialization in bioethics, which he taught for nine years at the Henri Mondor Hospital of Creteil?he practised medicine for 12 years in Paris. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral roles and, since 2006, has been the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Paris. The Holy Father has assigned him the titular see of Maxita.

Fr. Eugenio Coter as vicar apostolic of Pando (area 86,261, population 208,867, Catholics 187,981, priests 24, religious 33), Bolivia. The bishop-elect was born in Gazzaniga, Italy in 1957 and was ordained a priest in 1981. Since ordination the bishop-elect has served as pastor to several Italian and Bolivian parishes as well as having been a member of a diocesan pastoral council, an episcopal delegate for social outreach and, most recently, the spiritual director of the San Luis Seminary of the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The Holy Father has assigned him the titular see of Thibiuca. He succeeds Bishop Luis Morgan Casey, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same vicariate apostolic the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.


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