News From Vatican Information Services 02/14/2006

SUMMARY:

- Initiatives for Fifth Centenary of Vatican Museums
- World Council of Churches Meeting in Brazil
- Solid Partnership with the World Council of Churches
- Other Pontifical Acts

___________________________________________________________

INITIATIVES FOR FIFTH CENTENARY OF VATICAN MUSEUMS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2006 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Edmund Casimir Szoka, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and Francesco Buranelli, director of the Vatican Museums, held a press conference to present initiatives for the commemoration of the fifth centenary of the Vatican Museums.

"This is not a conventional or a merely symbolic anniversary," said Cardinal Szoka, "it marks the chance but fortunate discovery of the marble statue of Laocoon and his sons in 1506. The anniversary seeks to unify a centuries-long history of culture and art promoted with constancy and competency by the Roman Pontiffs, who collected the works of the past to save them from oblivion and destruction, and to hand them down to later generations."

The cardinal indicated that the Vatican Museums, visited annually by four million people, "house a centuries-old heritage, and not only a material heritage. The museums are responsive of their duty to conserve and transmit ... to future generation these expressions of genius, of life, of thought and of spirituality from the past; and they will continue to do so, without seeking to avoid the challenges of the present, with the perseverance and conviction that has always marked them."

For his part, Francesco Buranelli, director of the Vatican Museums, outlined the various initiatives planned to mark the fifth centenary throughout the year 2006.

The official commemoration will begin on Friday, February 17, with the celebration of a Mass of thanksgiving in the Sistine Chapel, presided by Cardinal Szoka and attended by the entire personnel of the Vatican Museums.

During the first half of 2006, two important museums, recently restored, will be reopened to the public. "They exemplify the commitment of the Roman Pontiffs to promoting evangelization through the language of art," said Francesco Buranelli. The first of these is the Pio Christian Museum founded by Benedict XIV between 1756 and 1757 to house the various objects acquired by the Vatican during the first half of the eighteenth century, and "to promote the splendor of Rome and affirm the truth of the Christian religion." This museum will open on March 16 with an exhibition dedicated to finds made in the Roman catacombs during the eighteenth century, exhibited in glass cases decorated with busts of 24 cardinal librarians.

The second gallery to open will be the Missionary Ethnological Museum. Founded by Pius XI in 1926, it was housed in the Lateran Palace until 1963 when Blessed John XXIII decided to move it to the Vatican. The museum, which opened to the public ten years later under the pontificate of Paul VI, presents the cultures and religious practices of non-European countries, and their contacts with Christianity. The sections dedicated to China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia are due to open on June 20.

Following their complete restoration, the wall paintings of the Room of Mysteries in the Borgia Apartment, the work of Pinturicchio and his assistants, will be presented on April 27. The lunettes, decorated with scenes from the lives of Jesus and Mary, have been cleaned, while restoration work also revealed a series of ornamental decorations hidden for more than thirty years behind heavy tapestries.

In the autumn, a new section of the Roman necropolis on the Via Triumphalis will be opened, discovered thee years ago during work on the new Santa Rosa parking lot in the Vatican. It will be possible to visit around 30 mausolea and 70 individual tombs dating from the first century BC to the third century AD.

The anniversary celebration will come to an end in November with the exhibition: "Laocoon. At the origins of the Vatican Museums." The event will be accompanied by an international congress on the theme of the identity, essence and role of museums in modern society.
.../VATICAN MUSEUMS/SZOKA:BURANELLI VIS 060214 (640)

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES MEETING IN BRAZIL

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2006 (VIS) - Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, is due to participate in the inaugural session of the ninth general assembly of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC). The meeting is being held at Porto Alegre, Brazil, from February 14 to 23 on the theme: "God in Your Grace, transform the world."

A communique made public today indicates that the general assembly is the WCC's most important governing body and is held every seven years. It is expected that the Brazil meeting will be attended by 3,000 participants, including more than 700 official delegates representing the 340 churches and ecclesial communities affiliated to the WCC, organizations otherwise associated with the WCC, and non-affiliated churches.

According to the program, each day will begin with a joint prayer and a small group of biblical reflection; this will be followed by three plenary sessions and a joint evening prayer. One of the assembly's main tasks will be to appoint the members of the new central committee which will oversee implementation of the WCC activities until the next assembly in 2013.

Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, will head the official Catholic delegation, made up of 18 members who will act as observers. These include representatives from the Roman Curia, episcopal conferences and lay movements, as well as religious superiors.

The Catholic Church, the communique concludes, is not a member of the WCC, though it collaborates with the organization in various ways, particularly with its Faith and Constitution Commission which has the task of continuing the search for the unity of Christians by promoting common study and reflection on subjects over which division still exists, such as ecclesiology. The Joint Working Group, instituted in 1965, is the principal structure coordinating relations between the Catholic Church and the WCC.
CON-UC/WCC ASSEMBLY/BRAZIL VIS 060214 (320)

SOLID PARTNERSHIP WITH THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2006 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has written a message to Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, for the occasion of the ninth general assembly of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC), which is being held at Porto Alegre, Brazil, from February 14 to 23.

In the English-language text, Benedict XVI writes: "Mindful of our shared baptismal faith in the Triune God, the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches seek ways to cooperate ever more effectively in the task of witnessing to God's divine love. After 40 years of fruitful collaboration, we look forward to continuing this journey of hope and promise, as we intensify our endeavors towards reaching that day when Christians are united in proclaiming the Gospel message of salvation to all."

The Pope concludes with assurances of his spiritual closeness to those participating in the Porto Alegre meeting, and reaffirms "the Catholic Church's intention to continue a solid partnership with the World Council of Churches."
MESS/WORLD COUNCIL CHURCHES/KASPER VIS 060214 (180)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 14, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Confirmed Cardinal Camillo Ruini, his vicar general for the diocese of Rome, as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, "donec aliter provideatur."

- Appointed Fr. Alessandro Perego of the clergy of the diocese of Rome, as defender of the bond at the Tribunal of the Roman Rota.
NA/.../RUINI:PEREGO VIS 060214 (70)

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City

News From Vatican Information Services 02/11-13/2006

SUMMARY: FEBRUARY 11 - 13

- Experience Illness in Keeping with Human Dignity
- Christ Is the Hand of God Reaching out to Humanity
- Pope Meets with Cardinals and Heads of Dicasteries
- Other Pontifical Acts

___________________________________________________________

EXPERIENCE ILLNESS IN KEEPING WITH HUMAN DIGNITY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 11, 2006 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 4.30 p.m. today, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the 14th World Day of the Sick, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, celebrated Mass for the sick and for pilgrims of UNITALSI (Italian National Union for Transport of the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines), and of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.

Following Mass, Benedict XVI arrived in the basilica to bless the sick and address some words to those present.

The Pope recalled how "in the grotto of Massabielle, the Virgin showed the tenderness of God towards those who suffer. ... Appearing to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, Mary Most Holy came to remind the modern world, which risked forgetting, of the primacy of divine Grace which is stronger than sin and death."

The Holy Father went on to refer to a congress held in the Australian city of Adelaide on February 9 and 10, promoted by the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry on the theme: "Mental health and human dignity."

"The human person," he said, "is a single entity the various dimensions of which may be distinguished but not separated. The Church always aims to consider persons in this light, and this concept characterizes both Catholic health care institutions, and the approach of those who work in them."

Benedict XVI made a special appeal for those suffering mental illness and for their families: "We feel close to [people in] such situations, with our prayers and with the numerous initiatives implemented by the ecclesial community all over the world, especially in places where legislation is lacking, where public structures are insufficient and where natural disasters or, alas, war and armed conflict, create grave psychological trauma in individuals."

"To all doctors, nurses and other health care workers, and all volunteers who work in this field, I would like today symbolically to consign the Encyclical 'Deus caristas est,' with the hope that God may ever remain alive in their hearts, so as to animate their daily work, their projects, their initiatives and above all their relationship with the sick. Acting in the name of charity and in the way of charity, you also offer your precious contribution to evangelization, because the announcement of the Gospel has need of coherent signs to confirm it. And these signs speak the language of universal love, a language that everyone can understand."

The Pope concluded his address by calling on the Virgin Mary "to keep our hope alive so that, faithful to Christ's teaching, we may renew our commitment to raise up our brothers and sisters in their sickness. May the Lord ensure that people do not remain alone and abandoned at the moment of need but, rather, that they may experience even illness in accordance with human dignity."
AC/WORLD DAY SICK/... VIS 060213 (480)

CHRIST IS THE HAND OF GOD REACHING OUT TO HUMANITY

VATICAN CITY, FEB 12, 2006 (VIS) - The World Day of the Sick, celebrated on February 11, Feast of Our lady of Lourdes, provided the main theme for Benedict XVI's remarks before praying the Angelus this morning with thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.

"Sickness," said the Pope, "is such a typical characteristic of the human condition that it can even become a realistic metaphor thereof. St. Augustine expresses this well in one of his prayers: 'Have mercy on me, Lord! See, I do not hide my wounds from You. You are my doctor, I am the sick man.' ... Christ is the true 'doctor' of humanity, Whom the heavenly Father sent into the world to cure mankind, marked in body and spirit by sin and the consequences of sin."

The Holy Father then made reference to the Gospel of St. Mark, which is being read over these Sundays "and presents us with Jesus Who, at the beginning of His public ministry, dedicates Himself entirely to preaching and to curing the sick in the villages of Galilee. The innumerable prodigies He performs on the sick confirm the 'Good News' of the Kingdom of God."

Today's specific Gospel text recounts the healing of a leper "and very effectively expresses the intensity of the relationship between God and man," the Pope said. "Here we see the entire history of salvation in concentrated form," he added.

"That gesture of Jesus, Who stretches out His hand and touches the scarred body of the person who calls on Him, perfectly expresses God's will to restore His fallen creature to health, giving him back 'abundant life' - eternal, full and joyful life. Christ is 'the hand' of God reaching out to humanity, that it may escape from the quicksands of sickness and death, and stand on its own feet on the solid rock of divine love."

The Pope concluded his remarks by entrusting "to Mary, 'Salus infirmorum,' all sick people, especially those who, all over the world, in addition to poor health, also suffer from solitude, poverty and marginalization."

Following the Angelus, Benedict XVI recalled that the 20th Winter Olympic Games are currently being held in the Italian city of Turin. "I hope this magnificent sporting competition may take place in accordance with the Olympic values of loyalty, joy and fraternity," he said, "thus contributing to peace among peoples."

Finally, the Pope referred to the 75th anniversary of the inauguration of Vatican Radio, which falls today February 12, and to "the first radio message to the world, delivered by Pope Pius XI who commissioned the scientist Guglielmo Marconi to build the Vatican radio station. By means of radio, and later of television, it has been possible to bring the Gospel message and the words of the Popes to all peoples more quickly and easily."
ANG/SICK:OLYMPIC GAMES:VATICAN RADIO/... VIS 060213 (490)

POPE MEETS WITH CARDINALS AND HEADS OF DICASTERIES

VATICAN CITY, FEB 13, 2006 (VIS) - In the Bologna Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace at 10.30 a.m. today, Benedict XVI presided at a meeting of cardinals and heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
.../MEETING CARDINALS:HEADS DICASTERY/... VIS 060213 (50)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, FEB 13, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Edmundo Ponziano Valenzuela Mellid S.D.B., missionary in Angola, as apostolic vicar of Chaco Paraguayo (area 96,030, population 18,200, priests 5, religious 9), Paraguay. The bishop-elect was born in Villarrica del Espiritu Santo, Paraguay in 1944 and ordained a priest in 1971.

On Saturday, February 13, it was made public that he:

- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the diocese of Lomza, Poland, presented by Bishop Tadeusz Jozef Zawistowski, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Msgr. Tadeusz Bronakowski of the clergy of the diocese of Lomza, Poland, teacher of canon law at the major seminary and vice-chancellor of the diocesan curia, as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 11,500, population 573,647, Catholics 567,035, priests 476, religious 213). The bishop-elect was born in Augustow, Poland in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1984.

- Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Montreal, Canada, presented by Bishop Jude Saint-Antoine, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Lionel Gendrom P.S.S., provincial superior for Canada of the Suplician Fathers, and Fr. Andre Gazaille of the clergy of the archdiocese of Montreal, Canada pastor of the parishes of 'Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens,' 'Visitation de la Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie,' and 'Saint-Antoine-Marie-Claret,' as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Montreal (area 1,399, population 2,340,928, Catholics 1,590,150, priests 1,283, permanent deacons 103, religious 5,881). Bishop-elect Gendrom was born in Saint-Quintin, Canada in 1944 and ordained a priest in 1969. Bishop-elect Gazaille was born in Montreal in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1971.

- Appointed Fr. Peter Joseph Hundt of the clergy of the diocese of Hamilton, Canada, pastor of the parish of the Holy Cross in Georgetown, Ontario, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Toronto (area 13,000, population 5,043,085, Catholics 1,363,657, priests 811, permanent deacons 96, religious 1,178), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Hanover, Canada in 1956 and ordained a priest in 1982.

- Appointed Fr. Aloisio Jorge Pena Vitral of the clergy of the archdiocese of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, pastor of the parish of 'Nossa Senhora das Dores,' and Fr. Joaquim Giovanni Mol Guimaraes of the clergy of the archdiocese of Belo Horizonte, pastor of the parish of 'Santa Maria Mae de Deus' and vice-rector of the Pontifical Catholic University in Minas Gerais, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Belo Horizonte (area 7,240, population 4,216,719, Catholics 3,162,539, priests 572, religious 2,252). Bishop-elect Pena Vidral was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1955 and ordained a priest in 1986. Bishop-elect Mol Guimaraes was born in Ponte Nova, Brazil in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1988.
NER:RE:NEA/.../... VIS 060213 (450)

V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Copyright © Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City