Pope Benedict XVI

Thursday, March 08, 2012

News Vatican Information Service 03/08/2012

SUMMARY:

- THEOLOGY TODAY: PERSPECTIVES, PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA
- VATICAN MUSEUMS CONTRIBUTE TO THE EXHIBITION: "THE ETRUSCANS: HEROIC IDEAL AND LUSTROUS WINE"
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

_______________________________________

THEOLOGY TODAY: PERSPECTIVES, PRINCIPLES AND CRITERIA

Vatican City, 8 March 2012 (VIS) - The International Theological Commission is today publishing an English-language document entitled: "Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria".

A communique on the subject, released by the International Theological Commission this morning, states that "the document examines certain contemporary theological issues and proposes, in light of the basic principles of theology, methodological criteria which are vital for Catholic theology with respect to other similar disciplines, such as the religious sciences. The text is divided into three chapters: theology presupposes listening to the Word of God which is accepted in faith (chapter 1); it is practised in communion with the Church (chapter 2); its aim is to elucidate a scholarly approach to the truth of God, in a perspective of authentic wisdom (chapter 3)".

The text of the new document may be consulted on the International Theological Commission's page within the Vatican website (www.vatican.va). On the same day it will appear in the magazine "Origins. CNS Documentary Service" and on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. An Italian translation will shortly be available in "La Civiltà Cattolica" and translations are also being planned in other major languages.

The communique also explains how "work on the document began during the preceding quinquennium 2004-2008, in the sub commission presided by Fr. Santiago del Cura Elena, and it was drawn up while taking account of studies undertaken during the current quinquennium, in the sub commission presided by Msgr. Paul McPartlan".

The text was approved "in forma specifica" by the International Theological Commission on 29 November 2011. It was submitted to the president of the Commission, Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who authorised its publication.

VATICAN MUSEUMS CONTRIBUTE TO THE EXHIBITION: "THE ETRUSCANS: HEROIC IDEAL AND LUSTROUS WINE"

Vatican City, 8 March 2012 (VIS) - "The Etruscans: Heroic Ideal and Lustrous Wine" is the title of an exhibition, which was presented this morning in the Vatican Museums and which will open in Palazzo Mazzetti in the Italian city of Asti on 17 March.

The exhibition brings together more than 300 pieces, some of which are little known or are being put on display for the first time. One hundred and forty artefacts come from the Gregorian Etruscan Museum of the Vatican Museums, and the others from the principal Etruscan collections in Italy.

The exhibition, which documents the historical and cultural ties between the eastern Mediterranean and the Etruscan world, opens with the helmet of Villanova, symbol of the first contact between the Etruscans and the community of the Tanaro Valley. The helmet was discovered in the late nineteenth century in the river which runs through Asti. The first section of the exhibition is dedicated to the importation of heroic and Homeric ideals into Etruria through a number of features (such as myth, trade and athleticism) which characterised the early phases of Etruscan culture. With the spread of Homeric verse in Italy, the image of authority in the Etruscan community began to change, adopting the model of the prince-hero whose merits included not only military prowess but also the accumulation of wealth. One of the most important pieces in this section of the exhibition is the bronze mask, from the Vatican Museums, which also adorns the poster for the event.

Section two is dedicated to banqueting ceremonies in their various forms, as documented on precious objects, and on sculptures and paintings. Among the items on display will be the original layout of the frescoes of the "Tomb of the Black Sow", which were removed from the hypogeum in order to conserve them. Another exhibit is the sarcophagus of the Vipiniana of Tuscania, with the image of the deceased participating in the banquet on the lid (held in the National Archaeological Museum of Florence) and the myth of Niobe depicted on the base (part of the collection of the Gregorian Etruscan Museum). The section closes with a number of votive heads of various kinds including children and old people, and two masks held in the store rooms of the Vatican Museums and which come from Etruscan shrines.

The exhibition closes with the Etruscan room of Racconigi Castle, which belonged to Carlo Alberto of Savoia, an example of the Etruscan artistic style which was popular in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 8 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- David McAllister, minister president of Lower Saxony, Germany, accompanied by an entourage.

- Twelve prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop John Clayton Nienstedt of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Lee Anthony Piche.

- Bishop Michael J. Hoeppner of Crookston.

- Bishop Paul D. Sirba of Duluth.

- Bishop John Martin LeVoir of New Ulm.

- Bishop John Francis Kinnety of Saint Cloud.

- Bishop John M. Quinn of Winona, accompanied by Bishop emeritus Bernard Joseph Harrington.

- Bishop David A. Kagan of Bismarck.

- Bishop Samuel Joseph Aquila of Fargo.

- Bishop Robert D. Gruss of Rapid City.

- Bishop Paul Joseph Swain of Sioux Falls.

- Nikola Kaloudov, ambassador of Bulgaria, accompanied by his wife, on a farewell visit.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 8 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Liam Stephen Cary of the clergy of the archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, U.S.A., pastor of the parish of St. Mary in Eugene, as bishop of Baker (area 173013, population 502,610, Catholics 37,029, priests 60, permanent deacons 12, religious 25), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in Prineville, U.S.A. in 1947 and ordained a priest in 1992. Before ordination he spent many years working with poor people and migrants. Since becoming a priest he has worked in pastoral care in a number of parishes and as vicar forane.

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.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

News Vatican Information Service 03/07/2012

SUMMARY:

- SILENCE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR PRAYER
- ARMENIAN SYNOD: BEAR GENEROUS AND JOYFUL WITNESS TO CHRIST
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

_______________________________________

SILENCE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR PRAYER

Vatican City, 7 March 2012 (VIS) - During his general audience this morning Benedict XVI concluded a series of catecheses dedicated to the prayer of Jesus. Today he turned his attention to the theme of alternating words and silence which characterised Christ's earthly life, above all on the Cross, and which is also significant in two aspects of our own lives.

Addressing the 10,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope explained that the first of these aspects "concerns accepting the Word of God. Interior and exterior silence are necessary in order to hear that Word", he said. Yet, "our age does not, in fact, favour reflection and contemplation; quite the contrary it seems that people are afraid to detach themselves, even for an instant, from the spate of words and images which mark and fill our days".

However, "the Gospels often show us ... Jesus withdrawing alone to a place far from the crowds, even from His own disciples, where He can pray in silence". Moreover, "the great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ are linked to silence, and only in silence can the Word find a place to dwell within us".

"This principle", the Holy Father went on, "holds true for individual prayer, but also for our liturgies which, to facilitate authentic listening, must also be rich in moments of silence and of non verbal acceptance. ... Silence has the capacity to open a space in our inner being, a space in which God can dwell, which can ensure that His Word remains within us, and that love for Him is rooted in our minds and hearts, and animates our lives".

The Pope then turned to focus on the second important aspect of the relationship between silence and prayer. "In our prayers", he said, "we often find ourselves facing the silence of God. We almost experience a sense of abandonment; it seems that God does not listen and does not respond. But this silence, as happened to Jesus, does not signify absence. Christians know that the Lord is present and listens, even in moments of darkness and pain, of rejection and solitude. Jesus assures His disciples and each one of us that God is well aware of our needs at every moment of our lives".

"For us, who are so frequently concerned with operational effectiveness and with the results ... we achieve, the prayer of Jesus is a reminder that we need to stop, to experience moments of intimacy with God, 'detaching ourselves' from the turmoil of daily life in order to listen, to return to the 'root' which nourishes and sustains our existence. One of the most beautiful moments of Jesus' prayer is when, faced with the sickness, discomfort and limitations of his interlocutors, He addresses His Father in prayer, thus showing those around him where they must go to seek the source of hope and salvation".

Christ touches the most profound point of His prayer to the Father at the moment of His passion and death, Pope Benedict said. And citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church he concluded by noting that "His cry to the Father from the cross encapsulated 'all the troubles, for all time, of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history are summed up in this cry of the incarnate Word. Here the Father accepts them and, beyond all hope, answers them by raising His Son. Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama of prayer in the economy of creation and salvation'".

ARMENIAN SYNOD: BEAR GENEROUS AND JOYFUL WITNESS TO CHRIST

Vatican City, 7 March 2012 (VIS) - At the end of his catechesis during this morning's general audience, the Holy Father addressed some words of greeting to His Beatitude Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, and to bishops of the Armenian Catholic Church who have come to Rome for a Synod. Benedict XVI spoke of his "sincere gratitude" for the patriarch’s faithfulness to his Christian traditions and to the Successor of the Apostle Peter.

"I accompany your Synod with my fervent prayers and with an apostolic blessing, in the hope that it may favour communion and understating among pastors, helping them to guide, with renewed evangelical fervour, Armenian Catholics along the path of generous and joyful witness to Christ and His Church. ... My prayerful thoughts also go to the regions of the Middle East, and I encourage pastors and faithful to persevere with hope amidst the great suffering which afflicts those dear peoples".

Finally the Pope addressed greetings in various languages to the pilgrims gathered before him in St. Peter's Square. Speaking Polish he mentioned the victims of a recent rail accident in the country. "I pray for the eternal repose of the deceased", he said, "and for the speedy return to health of the injured".

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 7 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Wolfgang Schauble, federal minister of finance of the Federal Republic of Germany, accompanied by an entourage.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 7 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Included as members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches: Cardinal Angelo Scola, archbishop of Milan, Italy; Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France; Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany, and His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites.

- Confirmed Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa, Italy, as president of the Italian Episcopal Conference for the next five years.

- Appointed Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, also as secretary of the College of Cardinals.

- Appointed as members of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses: Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation, and Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-Fai S.D.B., secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.

- Appointed Bishop Paulo Mendes Peixoto of Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Brazil, as metropolitan archbishop of Uberaba (area 27,228, population 746,000, Catholics 539,000, priests 78, permanent deacons 21, religious 181), Brazil. He succeeds Archbishop Aloisio Roque Oppermann S.C.I., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.