News Vatican Information Service 10/24/2012

SUMMARY:

- FAITH MEANS BELIEVING IN THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH REDEEMS US FROM SLAVERY

- CONSISTORY FOR THE CREATION OF SIX NEW CARDINALS

- AGREEMENT BETWEEN HOLY SEE AND LITHUANIA COMES INTO FORCE

- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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FAITH MEANS BELIEVING IN THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH REDEEMS US FROM SLAVERY

Vatican City, 24 October 2012 (VIS) - The faith, its meaning and significance in the modern world, were the main themes of Benedict XVI's catechesis during his weekly general audience held this morning in St. Peter's Square. "In our time", the Pope said, "we need a renewed education in the faith. Certainly this must include a knowledge of its truths and of the events of salvation, but above all it must arise from an authentic encounter with God in Jesus Christ".

"Today, along with many signs of goodness, a spiritual desert is spreading around us. ... Even the ideas of progress and well-being are revealing their shadows and, despite the great discoveries of science and progress of technology, mankind today does not seem to have become freer. ... Many forms of exploitation, violence and injustice persist. ... Moreover, there are growing numbers of people who seem disorientated and who, in their search to go beyond a purely horizontal vision of reality, are ready to believe everything and the opposite of everything. In this context, certain fundamental questions arise: ... What meaning does life have? Do men and women, we and coming generations, have a future? What awaits us beyond the threshold of death?"

From these questions, the Pope explained, it is clear that "scientific knowledge, though important for the life of man, is not of itself enough. We need not only material bread, we need love, meaning and hope. We need a sure foundation ... which gives our lives true significance even in moments of crisis and darkness, even in daily difficulties. This is what the faith gives us. It means entrusting ourselves confidently to the 'You? that is God, the which gives me certainty: a certainty different but no less solid than that which comes from exact calculations and science. The faith is not a mere intellectual assent on man's part to the specific truths about God, it is an act by which I freely entrust myself to God Who is a Father and Who loves me, ... Who gives me hope and inspires my trust.

"Of course", the Pope added, "such adherence to God is not without content. Through it we are aware that God showed Himself to us in Christ. ... With the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ, God descended to the depths of our human condition in order to draw it to Himself, to raise it to His heights. Faith means believing in this love of God, which does not diminish in the face of the corruption of man, in the face of evil and death; on the contrary, it is capable of transforming all forms of slavery, giving them the possibility of salvation".

"This possibility of salvation through faith is a gift which God gives to all mankind. I believe we should meditate more often - during our daily lives often marked by problems and dramatic situations - on the fact that Christian belief means abandoning oneself trustingly to the profound meaning which upholds me and the world, the meaning which we cannot give to ourselves but only receive as a gift, and which is the foundation upon which we can live without fear. We must be capable of announcing this liberating and reassuring certainty of the faith with words, and showing it with our Christian lives".

"Underpinning our journey of faith is Baptism, the Sacrament which gives us the Holy Spirit, makes us children of God in Christ, and marks our entry into the community of faith, into the Church. A person does not believe alone, without God's grace, nor do we believe by ourselves, but together with our brothers and sisters. From Baptism on all believers are called to re-live this confession of the faith and to make it their own, together with their brethren".

The Holy Father concluded: "The faith is a gift of God but it is also a profoundly free and human act. ... It does not run counter to our freedom or our reason. ... Believing means entrusting oneself in all freedom and joy to God's providential plan for history, as did the Patriarch Abraham, as did Mary of Nazareth".

In his greetings at the end of his audience, the Pope recalled how "last Monday we celebrated the memory of Blessed John Paul II, who remains alive among us". In this context, he invited young people "to learn to face life with his ardour and enthusiasm", and the sick "to carry the cross of suffering joyfully, as he himself taught us".

CONSISTORY FOR THE CREATION OF SIX NEW CARDINALS

Vatican City, 24 October 2012 (VIS) - At the end of his general audience today, the Pope announced that he has called a consistory to take place on 24 November, during which he will appoint six new cardinals.

"It is with great joy", he said, "that I announce my intention to hold a consistory on 24 November, in which I will appoint six new members of the College of Cardinals. Cardinals have the task of helping Peter's Successor carry out his mission to confirm people in the faith and to be the source and foundation of the Church's unity and communion".

The Holy Father then read out the names of the new cardinals. They are:

- Archbishop James Michael Harvey, prefect of the Pontifical Household who, Benedict XVI said, "I intend to appoint as archpriest of the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls".

- His Beatitude Bechara Boutros Rai, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon.

- His Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, major archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, India.

- Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria.

- Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez of Bogota, Colombia.

- Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle of Manila, Philippines.

"As you have heard", the Pope concluded, "the new cardinals carry out their ministry at the service of the Holy See or as fathers and pastors of particular Churches in various parts of the world. I invite everyone to pray for them, asking for the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin May that they may always love Christ and His Church with courage and commitment".

AGREEMENT BETWEEN HOLY SEE AND LITHUANIA COMES INTO FORCE

Vatican City, 24 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See and the Republic of Lithuania have, by means of "notes verbale", given notification of the completion of the procedures required to bring into force the Agreement on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education, which was signed in Vilnius on 8 June.

In this way the Agreement, which establishes rules, procedures and instruments guaranteeing the recognition of higher education, came into effect on 23 October, pursuant to its own article 8 paragraph 2.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 24 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Cardinal Francesco Monterisi as a member of the Congregation for Bishops.

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News Vatican Information Service 10/23/2012

SUMMARY:

- CARDINAL BERTONE SPEAKS ABOUT HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA

- PUBLICATION OF FULL TEXT OF SENTENCE AGAINST PAOLO GABRIELE

- TRIAL OF CLAUDIO SCIARPELLETTI TO TAKE PLACE ON 5 NOVEMBER

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CARDINAL BERTONE SPEAKS ABOUT HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA

Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. today addressed the Synodal assembly on the subject of the recent decision to send a delegation of Synod Fathers to Damascus, Syria.

"Speaking before this assembly last Tuesday", he said, "I announced the Holy Father's decision to send a delegation to Damascus to express his solidarity and that of the Synod with the people of Syria who, unfortunately, have for some time been experiencing a tragic situation of suffering. The intention was also to express our spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters in that country, and to encourage those committed to seeking a solution respectful of the rights and duties of all.

"The initiative raised wide interest and received a positive welcome, not only in Rome and Syria, but also at the international level.

"First of all I wish to tell you that we have continued to study the issue and to prepare the visit, despite the tragic episodes that have taken place in the region over recent days.

"As is well known, there is a strong desire to express the closeness of the Holy See and the universal Church by means of a delegation, which will travel to Damascus at the time and in the manner which will be announced after they have been defined in the light of the contacts and preparations currently under way. Given the gravity of the situation, the visit will be postponed, probably until after the conclusion of the Synod, and the composition of the delegation will be modified, also due to other commitments on the part of its members.

"The contribution of the personal offerings of the Synod Fathers, and those of the Holy See, will be sent to Syria as a gesture of fraternal solidarity with the entire population.

"Above all we continue in our commitment to prayer, which is always heard by the Lord and which I invite you to join with renewed confidence".

PUBLICATION OF FULL TEXT OF SENTENCE AGAINST PAOLO GABRIELE

Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Made public today was the full text of the sentence issued by the Tribunal of Vatican City State on 6 October, in which Paolo Gabriele was declared guilty of aggravated theft.

On 6 October Paolo Gabriele had been sentenced to imprisonment for a period of three years although, in view of his "lack of a criminal record, his record of service in the period prior to the facts in question, the subjective (though mistaken) belief identified by the accused as the motive for his conduct, as well as his own statement of his awareness of having betrayed the trust of the Holy Father, the Tribunal reduced the sentence to imprisonment for one (1) year and six (6) months, and ordered the guilty party to defray the costs of the trial".

In a briefing held this morning Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. explained some aspects of the sentence. He began by noting that it focused on the offence of stealing documents, and in particular the originals of documents, and took no account of other objects such as a nugget of gold, a cheque in the Holy Father's name and a sixteenth-century copy of "The Aeneid", because there were doubts about the way in which the search during which they were found had been carried out, and Gabriele's guilt was not proven.

Fr. Lombardi also explained that a psychiatric examination had excluded the possibility that the accused might have had some mental condition which had made him unaware of his responsibility for his actions. The Tribunal had also, he said, been careful to define the juridical terms of the offence of theft; i.e., the removal and appropriation of an object without the consent of its owner with the intent of obtaining some benefit. Thus the offence involved was theft and not embezzlement, although the sentence notes that the benefit Gabriele sought to gain was not economic in nature, but intellectual and moral.

Another question that arose was whether Gabriele had acted at the "suggestion" of a third party; a term that had been interpreted to include complicity or influence. The accused himself affirmed that the word did not mean collaboration with other people, but the influence of the surrounding environment which had led him to the conviction that he was acting for the good of the Holy Father and the Church.

The Holy See Press Office Director noted that the aggravating circumstances lay in the fact that the theft had involved abuse of trust and the publication of reserved documents, while the attenuating circumstances were the absence of a criminal record and Gabriele's own moral conviction.

On the subject of the punishment, Fr. Lombardi pointed out that the Tribunal had based its sentence on the penalties established for such offences in the Criminal Code. The promoter of justice had requested that Gabriele be given a lifetime ban on holding public office but, as the final sentence was of eighteen months, the Penal Code contains no provision for such a measure and the ban on public office was thus of limited duration. Nonetheless, in view of the gravity of the offence, it had been decided not to suspend the sentence conditionally.

Finally the director of the Holy See Press Office announced that Paolo Gabriele currently remains under house arrest, because until the publication of the full text of the sentence the promoter of justice before the Tribunal of Vatican City State, Giovanni Giacobbe, was unable to file an appeal. If he did not now do so within the set deadline the sentence would be put into effect. In this case the accused would have to serve his term in prison inside the Vatican, because there was no relevant convention with the Italian State. The possibility remains, however, that the Holy Father will pardon Gabriele although, since it would be a personal decision, it is not clear if and when he will do so.

The full text of the sentence is available (in Italian) here.

TRIAL OF CLAUDIO SCIARPELLETTI TO TAKE PLACE ON 5 NOVEMBER

Vatican City, 23 October 2012 (VIS) - Giuseppe Dalla Torre, president of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, has issued a decree ruling that the first hearing in the trial of Claudio Sciarpelletti is to take place at 9 a.m. on 5 November. Sciarpelletti, who is accused of complicity, was sent for trial by the examining magistrate on 13 August, but his trial was separated from that of Paolo Gabriele by a ruling issued during the course of the court hearing of 29 September.

The hearing will take place in the audience hall of the Tribunal of Vatican City State, and the judicial bench will be composed of Giuseppe Dalla Torre, president, and Paolo Papanti-Pelletier and Venerando Marano, judges.

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Commemorative Pope Benedict Rosary

News Vatican Information Service 10/20-22/2012

SUMMARY:

- CONCERNING THE VISIT OF A HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA

- SANCTITY ARISES FROM THE WELL-SPRING OF REDEMPTION

- RATZINGER PRIZE: ECUMENISM AND RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS

- AUDIENCES

- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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CONCERNING THE VISIT OF A HOLY SEE MISSION TO SYRIA

Vatican City, 22 October 2012 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi today made the following statement.

"The announced mission to Syria by representatives of the Holy See and the Synod of Bishops is still in the course of being studied and prepared, in order to be put into effect as soon as possible, and to respond effectively to its intended aims of solidarity, peace and reconciliation despite the very serious incidents that have taken place in the region recently".

SANCTITY ARISES FROM THE WELL-SPRING OF REDEMPTION

Vatican City, 21 October 2012 (VIS) - This morning in St. Peter's Square, some eighty thousand people participated in a papal Mass for the canonisation of seven new saints: Jacques Berthieu, French martyr and priest of the Society of Jesus (1838-1896); Pedro Calungsod, Filipino lay catechist and martyr (1654-1672); Giovanni Battista Piamarta, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth and of the Congregation of the Humble Sister Servants of the Lord (1841-1913); Maria del Carmen (born Maria Salles y Barangueras), Spanish foundress of the Conceptionist Missionary Sisters of Teaching (1848-1911); Marianne Cope, nee Barbara, German-American religious of the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Syracuse U.S.A. (1838-1918); Kateri Tekakwitha, American laywoman (1656-1680), and Anna Schaeffer, German laywoman (1882-1925).

In his homily, the Holy Father drew attention to the "happy coincidence" between the current assembly of the Synod of Bishops on new evangelisation World Mission Sunday which falls today, and the readings during today's Mass which, he said, show us "how to be evangelisers, called to bear witness and to proclaim the Christian message, configuring ourselves to Christ and following His same way of life. This is true both for the mission 'ad Gentes' and for the new evangelisation in places with ancient Christian roots.

"The Son of Man came to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many", the Pope added. "These words were the existential blueprint of the seven blessed men and women that the Church solemnly enrols this morning in the glorious ranks of the saints. ... They are sons and daughters of the Church who chose a life of service following the Lord. Holiness always rises up in the Church from the well-spring of the mystery of redemption. ... Today’s canonisation is an eloquent confirmation of this mysterious salvific truth".

The Holy Father then turned his attention to the life and example of each of the new saints, beginning with Jacques Berthieu. Born in France in 1838, he was "a tireless pastor on the island of Sainte Marie, then in Madagascar, he struggled against injustice while bringing succour to the poor and sick. ... He made himself all things to all men, drawing from prayer and his love of the sacred heart of Jesus the human and priestly force to face martyrdom in 1896. ... May the life of this evangeliser be an encouragement and a model for priests that, like him, they will be men of God! May his example aid the many Christians of today persecuted for their faith! In this Year of Faith, may his intercession bring forth many fruits for Madagascar and Africa".

Pedro Calungsod was born around 1654 in the Visayas region of the Philippines. In 1668, he and other young catechists accompanied Father Diego Luis de San Vitores to the Marianas Islands to evangelise the Chamorro people. "Life there was hard and the missionaries also faced persecution arising from envy and slander", the Pope explained. "Pedro, however, displayed deep faith and charity and continued to catechise his many converts, giving witness to Christ by a life of purity and dedication to the Gospel. Uppermost was his desire to win souls for Christ, and this made him resolute in accepting martyrdom. ... May the example and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the Kingdom bravely and to win souls for God".

The Italian priest Giovanni Battista Piamarta "was a great apostle of charity and of young people. He raised awareness of the need for a cultural and social presence of Catholicism in the modern world. ... Animated by unshakable faith in divine providence and by a profound spirit of sacrifice, ... when he was overburdened with work, he increased the length of his encounter, heart to heart, with the Lord, ... to gain spiritual fortitude and so return to gaining people’s hearts".

The educational work of the Spanish religious Maria del Carmen Salles y Barangueras, which she "entrusted to the Immaculate Virgin Mary, continues to bear abundant fruit among young people through the generous dedication of her daughters who, like her, entrust themselves to God for Whom all is possible", the Holy Father said.

Marianne Cope "willingly embraced a call to care for the lepers of Hawaii after many others had refused". Later, on the island of Molokai, she nursed Father Damien and, following his death, continued his work among those stricken with leprosy. "At a time when little could be done for those suffering from this terrible disease, Marianne Cope showed the highest love, courage and enthusiasm".

"Kateri Tekakwitha was born in today’s New York state in 1656 to a Mohawk father and a Christian Algonquin mother. ... She was baptised at twenty years of age and, to escape persecution, took refuge in the St. Francis Xavier Mission near Montreal. There she worked, faithful to the traditions of her people although renouncing their religious convictions, until her death at the age of twenty-four. ... Kateri impresses us by the action of grace in her life in spite of the absence of external help and by the courage of her vocation, so unusual in her culture. In her, faith and culture enrich each other. May her example help us to live where we are, loving Jesus without denying who we are. St. Kateri, Protectress of Canada and the first native American saint, we entrust to you the renewal of the faith in the first nations and in all of North America. May God bless the first nations".

The young German Anna Schaeffer from Mindelstetten suffered a serious accident which left her with incurable burns on her legs and forced her to be bed-ridden for the rest of her life. "Her sickbed became her cloister cell and her suffering a missionary service", said Benedict XVI. "May her intercession strengthen the Christian hospice movement in its beneficial activity".

"These new saints, different in origin, language, nationality and social condition, are united among themselves and with the whole People of God in the mystery of salvation of Christ the Redeemer. ... May the witness of ... their lives generously spent for love of Christ, speak today to the whole Church, and may their intercession strengthen and sustain her in her mission to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world", the Holy Father concluded.

Before praying the Angelus, the Pope invoked Mary Queen of all saints, recalling how the French Marian shrine of Lourdes is currently suffering the consequences of the flooding of the Gave River. He went on: "Today too we entrust to the protection of the Virgin Mary missionary men and women - priests, religious and lay people - who spread the good seed of the Gospel all over the world. We pray also for the Synod of Bishops which is meeting during these weeks to examine the challenge of the new evangelisation for the transmission of the Christian faith".

RATZINGER PRIZE: ECUMENISM AND RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONS

Vatican City, 20 October 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Benedict XVI conferred the "Ratzinger Prize" upon two scholars of theology. The award was established by the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI".

The prize winners this year are the French historian Remi Brague, and the American scholar of patrology and theology Fr. Brian Edward Daley S.J.

Following some introductory remarks from Msgr. Giuseppe Antonio Scotti, president of the foundation, and the presentation of the two winners by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the foundation's academic committee, the Holy Father addressed some words to those present.

The winners, he said, "are experts deeply involved in two questions which are vital for the Church in our time: ecumenism and relations with other religions. Fr. Daley, by studying the Fathers of the Church, has entered into the best school for understating and loving the Church, one and undivided though in the richness of her different traditions". Remi Brague "is a great scholar of the philosophy of religions, in particular that of Judaism and Islam in the Middle Ages. Now, fifty years after the opening of Vatican Council II, I would like to join them in re-examining two conciliar documents: the Declaration 'Nostra aetate' on non-Christian religions, and the Decree 'Unitatis redintegratio' on ecumenism. To these, however, I would add another document which has proved to be immensely important: the Declaration 'Dignitatis humanae' on religious freedom".

Benedict XVI went on to recall that both prize winners "are university professors, deeply committed to teaching". This, he said, "highlights an important aspect of coherence" in the activity of the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI" which, apart from the prize, also grants bursaries to doctorate students of theology and organises academic conferences.

"People such as Fr. Daley and Professor Brague are exemplary figures for the transmission of a knowledge with brings together science and wisdom, academic rigour and a passion for man, that he may discover the 'art of living'. We need people who, through an illuminated and coherent faith, make God close and credible to mankind today. ... We need people whose intellect has been illuminated by the light of God, so that they can speak to the minds and hearts of others".

The Holy Father concluded: "Working in the Lord's vineyard, where He calls us, so that the men and women of our time may discover or rediscover the true 'art of living': this was also one of the great passions of Vatican Council II, and is more urgent than ever in the context of current efforts towards new evangelisation".

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 22 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

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

- Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 22 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Machala, Ecuador, presented by Bishop Luis Antonio Sanchez Armijos S.D.B., in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

On Saturday 20 October it was made public that the Holy Father:

- Appointed Bishop Domenico Caliandro of Nardo-Gallipoli, Italy, as archbishop of Brindisi-Ostuni (area 1,253, population 285,396, Catholics 282,396, priests 165, permanent deacons 12, religious 233), Italy.

- Appointed Msgr. Guido Gallese of the clergy of the archdiocese of Genoa, Italy, director of the diocesan office for universities and head of youth pastoral care, as bishop of Alessandria (area 740, population 163,100, Catholics 151,200, priests 96, permanent deacons 9, religious 207), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Genoa in 1962 and ordained a priest in 1990. Among other things he has worked as vice rector of the local archdiocesan seminary, and has been involved in pastoral care in a number of parishes.

- Appointed Bishop Luigi Ernesto Palletti, auxiliary of Genoa, Italy, as bishop of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato (area 881, population 223,535, Catholics 220,921, priests 141, permanent deacons 22, religious 152), Italy.

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Pope Benedict XVI
The Conscience of Our Age

News Vatican Information Service 10/19/2012

SUMMARY:

- A RELIC OF JOHN PAUL II WILL BE TAKEN TO LOURDES
- INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC AND ART TO BE DEDICATED TO THE YEAR OF FAITH
- AUDIENCES

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A RELIC OF JOHN PAUL II WILL BE TAKEN TO LOURDES

Vatican City, 19 October 2012 (VIS) - A relic of Blessed John Paul II will be transported to the French shrine of Lourdes during a pilgrimage organised by UNITALSI (Italian National Union for Transport of the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines). The pilgrimage is to take place from 21 to 27 October.

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, has granted UNITALSI permission to take a reliquary containing blood of John Paul II, so that it can be seen and venerated by pilgrims from all over the world.

Speaking on Vatican Radio Salvatore Pagliuccia, president of UNITALSI, noted that we currently are in the Year of Faith, and the Synod of Bishops is meeting to examine the question of new evangelisation, "a theme very close to John Paul II's heart". That Pope's "influence is still felt in the Church and among the faithful", he said. Thus, "the presence of the reliquary of the blessed on the pilgrimage is a very significant sign, because it represents the presence of his ideas and his sentiments, above all the presence of the love which, as man and as pastor, he gave to people, to the faithful, and in particular to the sick and those with disabilities".

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF SACRED MUSIC AND ART TO BE DEDICATED TO THE YEAR OF FAITH

Vatican City, 19 October 2012 (VIS) - The eleventh edition of the International Festival of Sacred Music and Art - which takes place during the autumn in Rome's patriarchal basilicas and in the Vatican - is to be dedicated to the Year of Faith.

The festival serves to promote the activities of the "Fondazione pro Musica e Arte Sacra", an organisation presided by Hans-Albert Courtial which has the mission of restoring the artistic treasures contained in the patriarchal basilicas, and ensuring that sacred music continues to be played there.

This year's programme includes seven concerts due to take place between 2 and 13 November. The first will be the Requiem Mass of Giovanni Sgambati to be performed by the Roman "Sinfonietta" Orchestra in the basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In the same basilica on Wednesday 7 November the Orchestra of Rome's "Teatro dell'Opera" will play Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7. On 11 November a private concert will take place in the Vatican at which the Sistine Chapel Choir will sing the "Missa Anno Santo", composed by the Pope's brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger. On the same day in the basilica of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, the Johann-Rosenmuller-Ensemble will perform Claudio Monteverdi's "Vespers of the Blessed Virgin Mary". On 12 November a concert will take place in the papal basilica of St. Mary Major with a performance of "Polyphony of the Roman School" by the Sistine Chapel Choir, and "Six Centuries of Catholic Choral Music from the British Isles" by the Westminster Cathedral Choir. On 13 November, the Westminster Cathedral Choir conducted by Martin Baker will sing during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Comastri. Also on 13 November, the festival will come to an end with a concert at the papal basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls at which the Wiener Philharmoniker Chamber Orchestra will play a programme of music by Mozart.

Commenting on the coming festival Cardinal Comastri, who is honorary president of the "Fondazione pro Musica e Arte Sacra", said: "This a music born of the faith, and thus a music which also attracts to the faith. All art in the Church is, in fact, nothing other than an expression of inner beauty translated into exterior forms".

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 19 October 2012 (VIS) - This evening the Holy Father is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

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News Vatican Information Service 10/18/2012

SUMMARY:

- SPECIAL ENVOY FOR 475TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST DIOCESE IN SOUTH AMERICA

- LETTERS OF CREDENCE OF HAITIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE HOLY SEE

- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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SPECIAL ENVOY FOR 475TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST DIOCESE IN SOUTH AMERICA

Vatican City, 18 October 2012 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter, written in Latin and dated 3 October, in which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, archbishop emeritus of Quito, Ecuador, as his special papal envoy to celebrations marking the 475th anniversary of the first diocese of South America, now the archdiocese of Cuzco, Peru, due to take place from 24 to 28 October.

In his letter the Pope recalls that the celebrations will coincide with the International Marian Eucharistic Congress and, quoting from Blessed John Paul II's Encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia", he notes that "Mary can guide us towards this most holy Sacrament, because she herself has a profound relationship with it".

LETTERS OF CREDENCE OF HAITIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE HOLY SEE

Vatican City, 18 October 2012 (VIS) - Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States, today received the Letters of Credence of Carl-Henri Guiteau, as ambassador of Haiti to the Holy See.

On 6 July 2009, Mr Guiteau presented his Letters of Credence to the Holy Father, as envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Haiti to the Holy See.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 18 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin C.SS.R., secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as archbishop of Indianapolis (area 35,768, population 2,595,000, Catholics 246,000, priests 236, religious 715), U.S.A.

- Fr. Paul Terrio of the clergy of the archdiocese of Edmonton, Canada, pastor of Holy Trinity parish in Villeneuve and archdiocesan director for vocations, as bishop of Saint Paul in Alberta (area 155,916, population 131,500, Catholics 57,635, priests 30, permanent deacons 10, religious 29), Canada. The bishop-elect was born in Montreal, Canada in 1943 and ordained a priest in 1970. He has worked in pastoral care in a number of parishes, as professor at Montreal College and as formator at the Saint Joseph Seminary of Edmonton.

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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

News Vatican Information Service 10/17/2012

SUMMARY:

- A NEW SERIES OF CATECHESES ON THE SUBJECT OF FAITH
- HOLY FATHER TO SEND A DELEGATION TO DAMASCUS
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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A NEW SERIES OF CATECHESES ON THE SUBJECT OF FAITH


Vatican City, 17 October 2012 (VIS) - During his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI began a new series of catecheses which will cover the period of the Year of Faith. The Year, he said, is intended "to renew our enthusiasm at believing in Jesus Christ, ... to revive the joy of walking along the path He showed us, and to bear concrete witness to the transforming power of the faith".

With his catecheses over coming months the Holy Father hopes to help people understand that the faith "is not something extraneous and distant from real life, but the very heart thereof. Faith in a God Who is love and Who came close to mankind by taking human flesh and giving Himself on the cross to save us and open the doors of heaven for us, is a luminous sign that only in love does man's true fullness lie", he said. "Where there is domination, possession and exploitation, ... man is impoverished, degraded and disfigured. Christian faith, industrious in charity and strong in hope, does not limit life but makes it human".

"God has revealed Himself with words and actions throughout the long history of His friendship with man. ... He came forth of heaven to enter the world of men as a man, that we might meet and hear Him; and from Jerusalem the announcement of the Gospel of salvation has spread to the ends of the earth. The Church, born of Christ’s side, has become the herald of a new hope. ... Yet, from the very beginning, the problem of the 'rule of faith' arose; in other words, the faithfulness of believers to the truth of the Gospel ... to the salvific truth about God and man to be safeguarded and handed down".

The essential formula of the faith, the Pope explained, is to be found in the Creed, in the Profession of the Faith, whence develops "the moral life of Christians, which there has its foundation and its justification. ... It is the Church’s duty to transmit the faith, to communicate the Gospel, so that Christian truths may become a light guiding the new cultural transformations, and Christians may be able to give reasons for the hope that is in them.

"We are living today in a society that has changed profoundly, even with respect to the recent past, a society in continuous flux", the Holy Father added. "The process of secularisation and a widespread nihilist mentality, in which everything is relative, have left a strong imprint on the collective mentality. ... And while individualism and relativism seem to dominate the hearts of so many of our contemporaneous, it cannot be said that believers remain completely immune from these dangers. ... Surveys carried out on all the continents in preparation for the current Synod of Bishops on new evangelisation have revealed some of these dangers: the faith lived passively or privately, the rejection of education in the faith, the rupture between faith and life".

Benedict XVI went on: "Christians today often do not even know the central core of their Catholic faith, the Creed, thus leaving the way open to certain forms of syncretism and religious relativism, with no clarity about which truths must be believed and the salvific uniqueness of Christianity. ... We must go back to God, to the God of Jesus Christ, we must rediscover the message of the Gospel and cause it to enter more deeply into our minds and our daily lives.

"In these catecheses during the Year of Faith I would like to help people make this journey, in order to regain and understand the central truths of faith about God, man, the Church, and all social and cosmic reality, by reflecting upon the affirmations contained in the Creed. And I hope to make it clear that these contents or truths of the faith are directly related to our life experience. They require a conversion of existence capable of giving rise to a new way of believing in God".

Among his greetings at the end of his catechesis the Pope addressed Polish pilgrims. "Yesterday", he told them, "on the anniversary of the election of John Paul II to the See of Peter, we remembered him as a great guide in the faith, who introduced the Church into the third millennium".

Finally, in Italian, he had words of greeting for representatives of the "Acting all together for the Dignity of the Fourth World" Movement, who were in St. Peter's Square to mark the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. "I encourage you in your commitment to protect the dignity and rights of people forced to suffer the scourge of poverty, against which humankind must struggle without cease", said Benedict XVI.

HOLY FATHER TO SEND A DELEGATION TO DAMASCUS

Vatican City, 17 October 2012 (VIS) - During yesterday afternoon's session of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. announced that the Holy Father will shortly be sending a delegation to Damascus, Syria, to express, in the name of the Pope and the entire Church, "fraternal solidarity with the entire population, with a personal offering from the Synod Fathers as well as from the Holy See". The delegation will also express "spiritual closeness to our Christian brothers and sisters" and encourage "all those involved in seeking an agreement respectful of the rights and duties of all, with particular attention to the demands of humanitarian law".

We cannot, Cardinal Bertone said, "be mere spectators of a tragedy such as the one that is unfolding in Syria. In the certainty that the only possible solution to the crisis is a political solution, and bearing in mind the immense suffering of the population, the fate of displaced persons, and the future of that nation, it has been suggested that our synodal assembly express its solidarity. ... It is expected that once the necessary formalities have been carried out with the apostolic nuncio and the local authorities, the delegation will make its way to Damascus next week. In the meantime time we pray that reason and compassion might prevail".

"The delegation will be made up of the following Synod Fathers: Cardinal Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, U.S.A.; Bishop Fabio Suescun Mutis, military ordinary of Colombia, and Bishop Joseph Nguyen Nang of Phat Diem, Vietnam. Also on the delegation will be Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States, and Msgr. Alberto Ortega, official of the Secretariat of State.


OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 17 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Elio Rama I.M.C., regional superior of the Consalata Missionary Institute in Brazil, as bishop of Pinheiro (area 21,360, population 467,000, Catholics 269,000, priests 54, religious 38), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Tucunduva, Brazil in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1984. He studied in Brazil and Rome, and has worked in education and pastoral care. He succeeds Bishop Ricardo Pedro Paglia M.S.C., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

You can find more information at: www.visnews.org

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News Vatican Information Service 10/16/2012

SUMMARY:

- BELLS OF EUROPE: REASONS FOR THE HOLY FATHER'S HOPE
- THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES
- MESSAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
- NOTE OF CLARIFICATION FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE

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BELLS OF EUROPE: REASONS FOR THE HOLY FATHER'S HOPE

Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - At the end of yesterday afternoon's session of the Synod of Bishops, a film entitled "Bells of Euorpe - Campane d'Europa" was shown in a special screening for the Synod Fathers. The film, which deals with the relationship between Christianity, European culture and the future of the continent, includes extracts from a series of interviews with important religious leaders from the main Christian confessions: Pope Benedict XVI, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury and Lutheran Bishop Huber; and with leading figures from the world of politics and culture.

The thread binding their reflections together is the sound of bells ringing out from various parts of the continent, the casting of a bell in the ancient foundry of Agnone, and the music of the Estonian composer Arvo Part.

The film, based on an idea by Fr. Germano Marani, has been produced by the Vatican Television Centre with the support of a number of different institutions including the Gregorian Foundation. The distribution rights, both as a television transmission and as a home video, belong to RAI Cinema.

The full text of the interview with Benedict XVI is given below.

Question – Your Holiness, your Encyclicals present a compelling view of man: a man inhabited by God's charity, a man whose reason is broadened by the experience of faith, a man who possesses social responsibility thanks to the dynamism of charity received and given in truth. Holiness, it is from this anthropological standpoint - in which the evangelical message exalts all the laudable aspects of humankind, purifying the grime that covers the authentic countenance of man created in the image and likeness of God - that you have repeatedly stated that this rediscovery of the human countenance, of evangelical values, of the deepest roots of Europe, is a cause of great hope for the European continent and not only for the European continent. Can you explain to us the reasons for your hope?

Answer – The first reason for my hope consists in the fact that the desire for God, the search for God, is profoundly inscribed into each human soul and cannot disappear. Certainly we can forget God for a time, lay Him aside and concern ourselves with other things, but God never disappears. St. Augustine's words are true: we men are restless until we have found God. This restlessness also exists today, and is an expression of the hope that man may, ever and anew, even today, start to journey towards this God.

The second reason for my hope lies in the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, faith in Jesus Christ, is quite simply true; and the truth never ages. It too may be forgotten for a time, it may be laid aside and attention may turn to other things, but the truth as such does not disappear. Ideologies have their days numbered. They appear powerful and irresistible but, after a certain period, they wear out and lose their energy because they lack profound truth. They are particles of truth, but in the end they are consumed. The Gospel, on the other hand, is true and can therefore never wear out. In each period of history it reveals new dimensions, it emerges in all its novelty as it responds to the needs of the heart and mind of human beings, who can walk in this truth and so discover themselves. It is for this reason, therefore, that I am convinced there will also be a new springtime for Christianity.

A third reason, an empirical reason, is evident in the fact that this sense of restlessness today exists among the young. Young people have seen much - the proposals of the various ideologies and of consumerism - and they have become aware of the emptiness and insufficiency of those things. Man was created for the infinite, the finite is too little. Thus, among the new generations we are seeing the reawakening of this restlessness, and they too begin their journey making new discoveries of the beauty of Christianity; not a cut-price or watered-down version, but Christianity in all its radicalism and profundity. Thus I believe that anthropology, as such, is showing us that there will always be a new reawakening of Christianity. The facts confirm this in a single phrase: Deep foundations. That is Christianity; it is true and the truth always has a future.

Q. – Your Holiness, you have repeatedly said that Europe has had, and continues to have, a cultural influence on the entire human race, and it cannot but feel a particular sense of responsibility, not only for its own future, but also for that of humankind as a whole. Looking ahead, is it possible to discern the contours of the visible witness Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants in Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals must show as, living the Gospel values in which they believe, they contribute to the building of a Europe faithful to Christ, more welcoming and united, not merely safeguarding their cultural and spiritual heritage but also committed to finding new ways to face the great challenges that characterise the post-modern and multicultural age?

A. – This is an important question. It is clear that Europe has great weight in today’s world, in terms of economic, cultural and intellectual importance; as a consequence of this it also has great responsibility. But Europe, as you said, still has to find its true identity in order to be able to speak and act in keeping with her responsibility. In my opinion, the problem today does not consist in national differences which, thank God, are differences not divisions. In their cultural, human and temperamental differences, nations are a rich asset which together give rise to a great symphony of cultures. Basically, they are a shared culture. The problem Europe has in finding its own identity consists, I believe, in the fact that in Europe today we see two souls: one is abstract anti-historical reason, which seeks to dominate all else because it considers itself above all cultures; it is like a reason which has finally discovered itself and intends to liberate itself from all traditions and cultural values in favour of an abstract rationality. Strasburg’s first verdict on the crucifix was an example of such abstract reason which seeks emancipation from all traditions, even from history itself. Yet we cannot live like that and, moreover, even "pure reason" is conditioned by a certain historical context, and only in that context can it exist. We could call Europe's other soul the Christian one. It is a soul open to all that is reasonable, a soul which itself created the audaciousness of reason and the freedom of critical reasoning, but which remains anchored to the roots from which this Europe was born, the roots which created the continent's fundamental values and great institutions, in the vision of the Christian faith. As you said, this soul has to find a shared expression in ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches. It must then encounter this abstract reason; in other words, it must accept and maintain the freedom of reason to criticise everything it can do and has done, but to practise this and give it concrete form on the foundations and in the context of the great values that Christianity has given us. Only by blending these elements can Europe have weight in the intercultural dialogue of mankind today and tomorrow. Only when reason has a historical and moral identity can it speak to others, search for an "interculturality" in which everyone can enter and find a fundamental unity in the values that open the way to the future, to a new humanism. This must be our aim. For us this humanism arises directly from the view of man created in the image and likeness of God.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES

Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a Message to Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the United Nation's Rome-based Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), for the occasion of World Food Day 2012.

"This year World Food Day is being celebrated while the effects of the economic crisis are increasingly affecting primary needs, including the fundamental right of every person to sufficient and healthy nutrition. In particular, the position of people who live in situations of poverty and underdevelopment is worsening. The current state of affairs is similar to that which led to the establishment of FAO, and it calls on national and international institutions to work to free humankind from hunger through agricultural development and the growth of rural communities. Malnutrition is, in fact, being worsened by gradual disengagement and excessive competitiveness, factors which could make us forget that only shared solutions can adequately respond to the expectations of individuals and peoples".

In this context, the Holy Father expresses his satisfaction at the decision to dedicate this year's World Food Day to the theme "Agricultural cooperatives - key to feeding the world". This, he writes, "does not only mean supporting cooperatives as a different form of economic and social organisation, but also seeing them as a real tool for international action. The experience of many countries shows, in fact, that cooperatives, apart from stimulating agricultural activities, are a way to enable farmers and rural populations to participate in decision making, and an efficient means to achieve an integral development which has human beings as its foundation and goal".

"As is well known, the Catholic Church considers work and cooperative enterprises as ways to enjoy an experience of unity and solidarity capable of overcoming differences and even social conflicts between people from different groups. For this reason, with her teaching and actions the Church has always supported cooperatives, in the conviction that their activity is not limited only to the economic sphere, but contributes to the human, social, cultural and moral development of those who belong to them, and of the community of which they are part".

Benedict XVI goes on to recall that, when conflicts or natural disasters impede agricultural work, consideration must always be given "to the vital role played by women, who are often called to administer the activity of cooperatives, to maintain family ties and to safeguard the precious heritage of rural knowledge and techniques".

"It is indispensable", the Pope concludes his message, "that national and international authorities provide the necessary legislation and financing to ensure that, in rural areas, cooperatives may become effective instruments of agricultural production, food security, social change and a wider improvement in living conditions. In this new context it is to be hoped that the young may look to their future with renewed confidence, while maintaining their link with agricultural work, the rural world and its traditional values".

MESSAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH

Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - The International Theological Commission has issued a message for the Year of Faith. Extracts from the English-language version are given below.

"As a community of faith, the International Theological Commission wishes to heed the message of conversion which is central to the Year of Faith and to renew its commitment to the service of the Church. In order to do so, on 6 December the International Theological Commission, led by its president Archbishop Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will make a pilgrimage to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major during its annual plenary meeting, and will entrust there its activities and those of all Catholic theologians to the intercession of the faithful Virgin Mary, model for believers, bulwark of the true faith, who is proclaimed 'blessed' because she believed.

"In connection with the Year of Faith, the International Theological Commission is committed to providing - 'in medio Ecclesiae' - its own specific contribution to the new evangelisation promoted by the Apostolic See, by plumbing the revealed mystery for the benefit of believers, using all the resources of reason enlightened by faith, so as to promote the reception of that faith in the world of today".

"The recent document of the International Theological Commission, entitled 'Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria', develops the understanding that theology is entirely derived from faith, and that it is practised in constant dependence on the faith that is lived by the people of God under the guidance of its pastors. In fact, only faith allows the theologian to reach really the object of theological enquiry: the truth of God that bathes the whole of reality in the light of a new day - 'sub ratione Dei'".

"The theologian works to 'inculturate' in human intelligence, in the form of an authentic science, the intelligible content of 'the faith that was once and for all entrusted to the saints'. But the theologian also pays particular attention to the act of faith itself. ... 'In fact, there exists a profound unity between the act by which we believe and the content to which we give our assent'. The theologian highlights the great human significance of that act, investigating how God’s prevenient grace draws out from the very heart of human freedom the 'yes' of faith, and showing how faith is the 'foundation of the entire spiritual edifice', in that it informs all the various dimensions of Christian life, personal, familial and communitarian.

"Not only is the work of the theologian dependant on the living faith of the Christian people, attentive to 'what the Spirit is saying to the churches', but its whole purpose is to foster the growth in faith of the people of God and the evangelising mission of the Church. ... Indeed, the vocation of the theologian, in responsible collaboration with the Magisterium, is to serve the faith of God’s people.

"In the same way, the theologian is the servant of Christian joy which is 'the joy of truth'. ... In this sense, faith - and theology as the science of faith and wisdom - offers to all 'lovers of spiritual beauty' a full-flavoured foretaste of eternal joy.

NOTE OF CLARIFICATION FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE

Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - In response to frequent requests for information concerning the recognition by the Holy See of Equestrian Orders dedicated to the saints or to holy places, the Secretariat of State considers it opportune to reiterate what has already been published, namely that, other than its own Equestrian Orders (the Supreme Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur, the Pian Order, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and the Order of Pope Saint Sylvester), the Holy See recognises and supports only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta - and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The Holy See foresees no additions or innovations in this regard.

All other orders, whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not recognised by the Holy See. Furthermore, the Holy See does not guarantee their historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures.

To avoid any possible doubts, even owing to illicit issuing of documents or the inappropriate use of sacred places, and to prevent the continuation of abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the Holy See confirms that it attributes absolutely no value whatsoever to certificates of membership or insignia issued by these groups, and it considers inappropriate the use of churches or chapels for their so-called "ceremonies of investiture".

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.