SUMMARY:
-
GENERAL AUDIENCE: IN TEMPLE OF THE CHURCH THERE ARE NO USELESS BRICKS
-
COMMUNIQUE FROM SECRETARIAT OF STATE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF PONTIFICAL
COMMISSION FOR IOR
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POPE ESTABLISHES PONTIFICAL REFERRING COMMISSION FOR IOR
-
TELEGRAM FOR DEATH OF ITALIAN SENATOR EMILIO COLOMBO
-
CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS UNITED FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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GENERAL
AUDIENCE: IN TEMPLE OF THE CHURCH THERE ARE NO USELESS BRICKS
Vatican
City, 26 June 2013 (VIS) – The image of the temple, to illustrate
the mystery of the Church, was the theme chosen by Pope Francis for
his catechesis in today's general audience.
The
word “temple”, said the Holy Father, “makes us think of a
building, of a construction. Most people's thoughts go, particularly,
to the … great Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, the place to
encounter God in prayer. Within the Temple was the Ark of the
Covenant , the sign of God's presence among the people. Within the
Ark were the Tablets of the Law, manna, and Aaron's rod, a reminder
that God had always been in the history of his people, that He had
always accompanied their journey, that He had guided their steps. The
Temple recalls this story and when we go to the temple we must
remember this story—the story of each of us [individually]—as
Jesus has met me, as Jesus has walked with me, how Jesus loves and
blesses me.”
“What
was prefigured in the ancient Temple is carried out, by the power of
the Holy Spirit, in the Church. The Church is the 'house of God', the
place of his presence.” The pontiff emphasized that the Temple of
Solomon was built by the hands of men “to give God a 'home', to
have a visible sign of his presence among his people. With the
incarnation of the Son of God … it is God himself who 'builds his
house' to come dwell among us … Christ is the living Temple of the
Father and Christ himself builds his 'spiritual house' the Church,
not out of material stones but of the 'living stones' that are we
[ourselves]. … This is beautiful! We are the living stones of the
building of God, profoundly united to Christ who is the supporting
stone—and also our support between one another. … This means that
we are the living Church, the living Temple, and, when we are
together, the Holy Spirit is also there among us, helping us to grow
as Church. We are not isolated but are the people of God: this is the
Church!”
“It
is the Holy Spirit, with his gifts, who … designs the variety that
is the Church's wealth and that joins everything and everyone … The
Church isn't a mixture of things and interests but is the Temple of
the Holy Spirit, the Temple in which God works, the Temple in which
each of us, with the gift of Baptism, is a living stone. This tells
us that no one is useless in the Church … we are all necessary to
building this Temple! No one is secondary. No one is more important
in the Church. We are all equal in God's eyes. Some of you might say,
'Look, Mr. Pope. You aren't the same as us.' Yes, I am like each one
of you. We are all equal, we are brothers and sisters. No one is
anonymous. We all form and build up the Church. But this also invites
us to reflect on the fact that, if the brick of our Christian life is
missing, something is missing in the beauty of the Church.”
“How
do we live our being as Church? Are we living stones or are we, so to
speak, tired, bored, and indifferent stones? Have you seen how ugly
it is to see a tired, bored, and indifferent Christian? Such a
Christian isn't good. A Christian must be alive, joyful to be
Christian. [A Christian] must live this beauty of being part of the
people of God, which is the Church. Are we open to the Holy Spirit's
action, to being an active part in our communities, or are we wrapped
up in ourselves saying: 'I have so many things to do. That's not my
job.'?” Pope Francis asked. He concluded his catechesis by asking
the Lord to “give us all his grace and his strength so that we may
be profoundly united to Christ, the cornerstone, the pillar, the rock
of support in our lives and in the life of the Church. Let us pray
that, encouraged by his Spirit, we may always be the living stones of
his Church.”
COMMUNIQUE
FROM SECRETARIAT OF STATE ON ESTABLISHMENT OF PONTIFICAL COMMISSION
FOR IOR
Vatican
City, 26 June 2013 (VIS) – This morning the Secretariat of State
issued the following communique:
The
Holy Father has appointed a Pontifical Referring Commission to the
Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) with his Chirograph of 24
June, the day before yesterday.
As
can be seen from the text of the Chirograph published today, the
opportunity to establish a Referring Committee has arisen from the
Holy Father's desire to learn more about the Institute's juridical
standing and activities in order to allow its better harmonization
with the mission of the universal Church and the Apostolic See in the
more general context of the reforms that should be carried out by the
Institutions that give aid to the Apostolic See.
The
Commission's purpose is to gather information on the Institution's
operations and present the results to the Holy Father.
As
specified in the Chirograph, during the course of the Commission's
work, the Institute will continue to operate according to the
Chirograph of 1990 that established it, unless otherwise authorized
by the Holy Father.
The
Commission's purposes and powers are described in more detail in the
Chirograph itself.
The
members of the Commission are:
Cardinal
Raffaele Farina, S.D.B., president
Cardinal
Jean-Louis Tauran, member
Bishop
Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, coordinator
Msgr.
Peter Bryan Wells, secretary
Dr.
Mary Ann Glendon, member
The
Commission is beginning its work in these days.
The
Holy Father hopes for a happy and productive collaboration between
the Commission and the Institute.
POPE
ESTABLISHES PONTIFICAL REFERRING COMMISSION FOR IOR
Vatican
City, 26 June 2013 (VIS) – Following is the Holy Father Francis'
complete Chirograph by which he establishes a Pontifical Referring
Commission for the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR).
“With
his Chirograph of 1 March 1990, Blessed John Paul II established the
Institute for the Works of Religion as a public juridical entity,
giving the Institute a new configuration while maintaining its name
and purpose. With the same perspective, taking into account that he
wished to better adapt the Institute's structures and activities to
the needs of the times; following the invitation of Our Predecessor
Benedict XVI to allow the Gospel principles to permeate even the
activities of an economic and financial nature; having heard the
opinion of various Cardinals and other brothers in the Episcopate as
well as other collaborators; and in light of the need to introduce
reforms in the Institutions that give aid to the Apostolic See; We
have decided to establish a Referring Commission for the Institute
for the Works of Religion that will gather accurate information on
the Institute's legal position and various activities, in order to
allow, if necessary, a better harmonization of the same with the
universal mission of the Apostolic See. The Commission is to carry
out its proper duties in accordance with this Chirograph and Our
working arrangements.
1)
The Commission shall consist of a minimum of five Members, among
which is a President who is its legal representative, a Coordinator
who has the ordinary powers of delegation and acts on behalf of the
Commission in collecting documents, data, and the necessary
information, as well as a Secretary who assists the members and keeps
the acts.
2)
The Commission is endowed with the powers and faculties appropriate
to performing its official institutional duties within the limits
established by this Chirograph and the norms of the juridical system.
The Commission is to collect the documents, data, and information
necessary to the performance of its official institutional duties.
Workplace confidentiality and other restrictions established by the
juridical system shall not inhibit or limit the Commission's access
to documents, data, or information, except as subject to the norms
that protect the autonomy and independence of the Authorities that
are engaged in the supervision and regulation of the Institute, which
shall remain in force.
3)
The Commission shall have the human and material resources
appropriate to its institutional functions. If needed, it shall make
use of contractors and consultants.
4)
The governance of the Institute shall continue to operate in
accordance with the Chirograph that established it, unless We provide
for otherwise.
5)
The Commission shall rely upon the willing cooperation of the Bodies
of the Institute along with its entire staff. In addition, the
Superiors, Members, and Officials of the Dicasteries of the Roman
Curia and the other agencies related to it as well as the Vatican
City State shall likewise cooperate with the Commission.
6)
The Commission shall keep Us informed of its proper activities in the
course of its work.
7)
The Commission will deliver to Us the results of its work, as well as
its entire archive, in a timely manner upon the conclusion of its
tasks.
8)
The Commission's activities shall take effect from the date of this
present Chirograph.
9)
The dissolution of the Commission will be announced.
Given
at the Vatican on 24 June 2013, in the first year of my Pontificate.
TELEGRAM
FOR DEATH OF ITALIAN SENATOR EMILIO COLOMBO
Vatican
City, 26 June 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis, through Cardinal Secretary
of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., sent a telegram of condolence
yesterday to the family of Senator Emilio Colombo, who died this past
Monday in Rome. He was 93 years old.
The
text recalls that the politician was “a devout Catholic, an
important figure in the Italian Republic, an outstanding man who, in
his public roles, knew how to act with generous commitment to promote
the common good.” The Pope entrusted Senator Colombo's soul to the
maternal protection of the Virgin Mary and imparted the Apostolic
Blessing upon all his family members and all those who are taking
part in his funeral rites.
CHRISTIANS
AND MUSLIMS UNITED FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY
Vatican
City, 26 June 2013 (VIS) - The Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee
held its 19th meeting in Rome on 18 – 19 June 2013, corresponding
to 9 – 10 Shaban 9, 1434. The assembly was presided over—for the
Catholic side—by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and—for the Muslim
side—by Dr Hamid bin Ahmad Al-Rifaie, president of the
International Islamic Forum for Dialogue.
The
theme of the meeting was: “Believers Confronting Materialism and
Secularism in Society”. After listening to the papers presented by
Catholic and Muslim scholars and exchanging views about the above
mentioned theme, the participants agreed upon the following: that
Christianity and Islam affirm the inseparability and complementarity
between the material and the spiritual domains and that our
responsibility as believers is to reconcile these dimensions of life;
that many people today suffer from the loss of spiritual and
religious roots, a phenomenon that weakens both the inner and moral
dimensions of individuals and societies; and that the world today is
facing many kinds of crises. Our common responsibility as believers
in God is to do all that is possible to protect vulnerable people at
this time.
Pope
Francis received participants in the meeting in audience, encouraging
them to continue their efforts on the path of “respectful and
fruitful dialogue between believers for the peace and prosperity of
our world”.
The
violence in Syria was also strongly condemned in the meeting and an
appeal was made to the regional and international organizations to do
everything possible to stop the bloodshed, according to International
Law.
The
Committee will hold its next meeting in Tatwan, Morocco. It will be
preceded by a preparatory event to be organized by the Muslim side.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 26 June 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed Bishop
Joao Carlos Seneme, C.S.S., as bishop of Toledo (area 8,000,
population 3,940,000, Catholics 347,000, priests 57, permanent
deacons 1, religious 90), Brazil. Bishop Seneme was previously
auxiliary of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil and titular of Albulae from
2007.
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