Pope Benedict XVI

Friday, January 13, 2012

News Vatican Information Service 01/13/2012

SUMMARY:

- Pope Receives Inspectorate for Public Security in Vatican

- Feast of St. Anthony Abbot in the Vatican

- Audiences

- Other Pontifical Acts

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POPE RECEIVES INSPECTORATE FOR PUBLIC SECURITY IN VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, 13 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI today received members of the General Inspectorate for Public Security in the Vatican in a traditional meeting that takes place every year in January for the exchange of New Year greetings.

"Defending public order, especially in an area so heavily frequented by tourists and pilgrims from all over the world, is no simple task", the Pope remarked. "The See of Peter is the centre of Christianity, and many Catholics wish to come here at least once in their lives to pray at the tombs of the Apostles. The presence, both of the Holy See and of such large numbers of cosmopolitan visitors who come to be at the heart of the Catholic Church, is certainly not a problem for the city of Rome or for Italy as a whole; rather, it is a source of richness and a reason to be proud".

"Unfortunately, the year that has just passed was marked by episodes of violence and intolerance. In various parts of the world Christians have been the target of vendettas and attacks, paying their adherence to Christ and the Church with their lives. In my message for the World Day of Peace this year, I underlined the importance of educating young people in justice and peace, two terms much used in our world, though often inappropriately.

"Justice", the Holy Father added, "is not a mere human convention. When, in the name of supposed justice, the criteria of utility, profit and material possession come to dominate, the value and dignity of human beings can be trampled underfoot. Justice is a virtue which guides the human will, prompting us to give others what is due to them by reason of their existence and their actions. Likewise, peace is not the mere absence of war, or the result of man's actions to avoid conflict; it is, above all, a gift of God which must be implored with faith, and which has the way to its fulfilment in Jesus. True peace must be constructed day after day with compassion, solidarity, fraternity and collaboration on everyone's part".

"As police men and women", the Holy Father told his audience, "always be true promoters of justice and sincere builders of peace. Let us pray to the Mother of God, Queen of Peace, to support our intentions and activities with her maternal intercession. To her we entrust this year of 2012, that everyone may live in mutual respect and strive after the common good, in the hope that no act of violence will be committed in the name of God, supreme guarantor of justice and peace".

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FEAST OF ST. ANTHONY ABBOT IN THE VATICAN

VATICAN CITY, 13 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Tuesday 17 January is the Feast of St. Anthony Abbot, patron of livestock farmers and protector of animals. As in other years, the Italian Association of Livestock Farmers (AIA) will hold its traditional exhibition of farm animals in front of St. Peter's Square. Mass for the farmers and their families will be celebrated in the Vatican Basilica at 11 a.m., followed by a procession of horses in Via della Conciliazione. Finally, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican, vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City and president of the Fabric of St. Peter's, will impart a blessing upon those present. It is expected that, as in previous years, many Roman citizens will come with their pets to attend the event.

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 13 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Clergy.

- Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

- Archbishop-Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi - Nocera Umbra - Gualdo Tadino.Italy.

This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 13 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Pascal Wintzer, apostolic administrator of the archdiocese of Poitiers, France, as archbishop of the same archdiocese (area 12,990, population 778,171, Catholics 659,000, priests 273, permanent deacons 40, religious 493).

- Appointed Bishop Lawrence Pius Dorairaj, auxiliary of Madras and Myalpore, India, as bishop of Dharmapuri (area 8,327, population 2,999,731, Catholics 54,316, priests 83, religious 307). India. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Anthony Irudayaraj S.D.B., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

News Vatican Information Service 01/12/2012

SUMMARY:

- Individual Destiny Is Linked to Collective Destiny
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

INDIVIDUAL DESTINY IS LINKED TO COLLECTIVE DESTINY

VATICAN CITY, 12 JAN 2012 (VIS) - "The challenges we are currently facing are numerous and complex, and can be overcome only if we reinforce our awareness that the destiny of each of us is linked to that of everyone else. For this reason ... acceptance, solidarity and legality are fundamental values". With these words the Holy Father welcomed the authorities of the City of Rome, the Region of Lazio, and the Province of Rome, whom he received this morning in a traditional annual meeting for the exchange of New Year greetings.

The Pope went on: "The present crisis can, then, be an opportunity for the entire community to verify whether the values upon which social life is founded have generated a society that is just, fair and united, or whether it is necessary to undertake a profound rethink in order to rediscover values which ... not only favour economic recovery, but which are also attentive to promoting the integral good of human beings".

Benedict XVI expressed the view that the roots of the current crisis lie in "individualism which clouds the interpersonal dimension of man and leads him to close himself into his own little world, concerned first and foremost with satisfying his own needs and desires with scant concern for others". The consequences of such a mentality are "speculation in housing, increasing difficulty for young people to enter the world of work, the solitude suffered by so many elderly, the anonymity which often characterises urban life, and the sometimes superficial attention paid to situations of marginalisation and poverty".

The first step towards creating a more human society is "to rediscover relationships as the constituent element of our lives". Man is called to live in relation with other people and with God, Who alone "is capable of welcoming man unconditionally and of giving him infinite love".

Institutions must foment and increase the awareness that we all form part of the same structure, encouraging values of acceptance, solidarity and legality, said the Pope highlighting the work of Christian organisations which welcome people who have abandoned their own countries due to poverty or violence. He invited his audience to develop ways to integrate people into the social fabric, so that "individuals may learn to consider the place in which they reside as a 'common home', in which to live and for which to care".

Acceptance must be accompanied by solidarity, because "charity and justice require that, in times of need, those with the greatest resources should look after the disadvantaged". Benedict XVI insisted that institutions must give particular support to families, especially large families, in which context he invited the authorities "to defend the family founded on marriage as an essential cell of society". They must also show solidarity towards young people, "who are most penalised by the lack of work, ... implementing policies which ensure fairly priced accommodation and which help to guarantee employment", so as to avoid the risk that young people "fall victim to criminal organisations offering easy takings".

Finally, the Pope turned his attention to the need "to promote a culture of legality, helping citizens to understand that law exists to channel the many positive energies that exist in society, and thus to promote the common good. ... Institutions have the task ... of issuing just and fair provisions, also taking account of the law which God inscribed in man's heart, and which everyone can understand through reason".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 12 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- Renata Polverini, president of the Region of Lazio, Italy.

- Gianni Alemanno, mayor of the City of Rome.

- Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Province of Rome.

- Bishop John A. Eijiro Suwa of Takamatsu, Japan.

- Bishop Paul Sueo Hamaguchi of Oita, Japan.

- Bishop Thomas Aquino Manyo Maeda of Hiroshima, Japan.

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