SUMMARY:
-
DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
-
ANGELUS: GOD PREFERS TO REACH OUT FROM THE PERIPHERIES
-
LEPROSY SUFFERERS AND HOPE FOR PEACE IN THE POPE'S PRAYERS
-
AMONG CHRISTIANS, UNITY IS ALWAYS GREATER THAN CONFLICT
-
POPE FRANCIS RECEIVES THE ITALIAN WOMEN'S CENTRE: BROADEN THE SPACE
FOR WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
-
CARDINAL SARAH, POPE'S ENVOY TO THE AREAS AFFECTED BY TYPHOON
HAIYAN-YOLANDA
-
AUDIENCES
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
DECREES
OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS
Vatican
City, 27 January 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father today received in
audience Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation
for the Causes of Saints. During the audience he authorised the
promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:
MARTYRDOM
-
Servant of God Pietro Asua Mendia, Spanish diocesan priest, killed in
hatred of the faith in Liendo, Spain in 1936.
HEROIC
VIRTUES
-
Servant of God Giuseppe Girelli, Italian diocesan priest (1886-1978).
-
Servant of God Zacarias of St. Theresa (ne Zacarias Salterain
Viscarra), Spanish professed priest of the Order of Discalced
Carmelites (1887-1957).
-
Servant of God Marcelle Mallet, Canadian foundress of the Sisters of
Charity of Quebec (1805-1871).
-
Servant of God Maria Benita Arias, Argentine foundress of the
Servants of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (1822-1894).
-
Servant of God Margerita De Brincat, Maltese foundress of the
Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus (1862-1952).
-
Servant of God Seraphine (nee Noemy Cinque), Brazilian professed nun
of the Congregation of Adorers of the Blood of Christ (1913-1988).
-
Servant of God Elisabetta Sanna, Italian laywoman and professed
Tertiary of the Order of Minims of St. Francis (1788-1857).
ANGELUS:
GOD PREFERS TO REACH OUT FROM THE PERIPHERIES
Vatican
City, 26 January 2014 (VIS) – The beginning of Jesus' public life,
starting from “Galilee of the Gentiles”, as it was called by the
prophet Isaiah, was the topic of Pope Francis' reflection during this
Sunday's Angelus, attended by thousands of faithful gathered in St.
Peter's Square.
Jesus'
mission, he said, “did not set out from Jerusalem, the religious,
social and political centre, but rather began in a peripheral zone,
an area regarded with disdain by the most devout Jews, on account of
the presence in the region of various foreign populations. For this
reason, the prophet Isaiah referred to it as 'Galilee of the
Gentiles'”.
“It
was a border area, a transit zone where people of different races,
cultures and religions encountered one another. Galilee therefore
became a symbolic place for the opening of the Gospel to all peoples.
From this point of view, Galilee resembles today's world: the
co-presence of various cultures, the need for comparison and
encounter. We too are immersed every day in a 'Galilee of the
Gentiles', and in this type of context we can become fearful and give
in to the temptation to build barriers, to feel more secure, more
protected. But Jesus teaches us that the Good News He brings is not
reserved for a part of humanity, but rather is to be communicated to
all. It is a joyful proclamation, destined to all those who await it,
but also to those who perhaps no longer await anything, or who no
longer have even the strength to seek and to ask”.
Setting
out from Galilee, Jesus “teaches us that no-one is excluded from
God's salvation; on the contrary, God prefers to begin in the
periphery, with those who are last in line, to reach everyone. He
teaches us a method, His method, which however expresses the content,
the mercy, of the Father. … We are all invited to heed this call,
to come out of our own comfort zone and reach out to the peripheries
in need of the light of the Gospel”.
Jesus
began his mission “not only from a location far from the centre,
but also with men one might describe as having a 'low profile'. To
choose his first disciples and future apostles, he did not seek in
the schools of scribes or among doctors of the Law, but among simple
people committed to preparing themselves for the coming of the
Kingdom of God. Jesus goes to call them where they work, on the banks
of the lake: they are fishermen. He calls them and they follow Him,
immediately. They leave their nets and go with Him; their lives
become an extraordinary and fascinating adventure”.
“The
Lord calls today too! The Lord passes along the streets of our
everyday lives. Today, too, in this very moment, the Lord passes
through the squares. He calls us to go with Him, to work with Him for
the Kingdom of God, in the 'Galilees' of our times”.
LEPROSY
SUFFERERS AND HOPE FOR PEACE IN THE POPE'S PRAYERS
Vatican
City, 27 January 2014 (VIS) – Following the Angelus prayer, the
Holy Father recalled that “today is World Leprosy Day; this
disease, although in regression, unfortunately still affects many
people causing grave suffering. It is important to maintain
solidarity with these brothers and sisters”, and asked those
present to assure their prayers for all those who are afflicted.
Francis
prayed for those affected by the violence in Ukraine, and for little
Coco Campolongo, the three-year-old boy killed last week, burned
inside a car in Cassano all'Jonio.
The
Pope also mentioned that, over the next few days, millions of people
from the far East, including Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese, will
celebrate the new lunar year. He expressed his wish to all of them
for a celebration full of joy and hope.
Before
greeting all the pilgrims present in the square, the Pontiff
dedicated some words to Maria Cristina of Savoy, proclaimed a Blessed
last Saturday in Naples. “A woman of profound spirituality and
humility, she took upon herself the suffering of her people, becoming
a true mother to the poor”, he said. “Her extraordinary example
of charity demonstrates that the good life of the Gospel is possible
in all environments and irrespective of social status”.
Finally,
two young people from Catholic Action read a message of peace to the
Pope, for the conclusion of the “Caravan of Peace”. Pope Francis
then released two doves from the window of his study as a symbol of
peace.
AMONG
CHRISTIANS, UNITY IS ALWAYS GREATER THAN CONFLICT
Vatican
City, 26 January 2014 (VIS) – The 47th Prayer Week for Christian
Unity – for which this year's theme is “Has Christ been divided?”
– concluded yesterday afternoon, the solemnity of the Conversion of
St. Paul, with the celebration of the second Vespers in the Roman
basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls. The event was attended by
representatives of other Churches and ecclesiastical communities
present in Rome.
In
his homily, Pope Francis, referring to the theme of the Prayer Week,
drawn from St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians, observed that the
Apostle was grieved to learn that the Christians of Corinth had split
into various factions, and “could not even praise those who claimed
to belong to Christ, since they were using the name of the one
Saviour to set themselves apart from their other brothers and sisters
within the community. In other words, the particular experience of
each individual, or an attachment to certain significant persons in
the community, had become a yardstick for judging the faith of
others”.
“Amid
this divisiveness, Paul appeals to the Christians of Corinth 'by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ' to be in agreement, so that divisions
will not reign among them, but rather a perfect union of mind and
purpose. The communion for which the Apostle pleads, however, cannot
be the fruit of human strategies”, continued the Pope. “Perfect
union among brothers and sisters can only come from looking to the
mind and heart of Christ. This evening, as we gather here in prayer,
may we realise that Christ, who cannot be divided, wants to draw us
to himself, to the sentiments of his heart, to his complete and
confident surrender into the hands of the Father, to his radical
self-emptying for love of humanity. Christ alone can be the
principle, the cause and the driving force behind our unity.
“As
we find ourselves in his presence, we realise all the more that we
may not regard divisions in the Church as something natural,
inevitable in any form of human association. Our divisions wound
Christ’s body, they impair the witness which we are called to give
to him before the world”. The Bishop of Rome cited the Second
Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism, “Unitatis Redintegratio”,
which affirms that “Christ the Lord founded one Church and one
Church only. However, many Christian communities present themselves
to people as the true inheritance of Jesus Christ; all indeed profess
to be followers of the Lord but they differ in outlook and go their
different ways, as if Christ were divided”, and adds, "such
division openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalises the
world, and damages the sacred cause of preaching the Gospel to every
creature".
“We
have all been damaged by these divisions. None of us wishes to become
a cause of scandal. And so we are all journeying together,
fraternally, on the road towards unity, bringing about unity even as
we walk; that unity comes from the Holy Spirit and brings us
something unique which only the Holy Spirit can do, that is,
reconciling our differences. The Lord waits for us all, accompanies
us all, and is with us all on this path of unity”.
“Christ,
dear friends, cannot be divided! This conviction must sustain and
encourage us to persevere with humility and trust on the way to the
restoration of full visible unity among all believers in Christ.
Tonight I think of the work of two great Popes: Blessed John XXIII
and Blessed John Paul II. ... Pope John blazed new trails which
earlier would have been almost unthinkable. Pope John Paul held up
ecumenical dialogue as an ordinary and indispensable aspect of the
life of each Particular Church. With them, I think too of Pope Paul
VI, another great promoter of dialogue; in these very days we are
commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of his historic embrace with
the Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople”.
He
continued, “The work of these, my predecessors, enabled ecumenical
dialogue to become an essential dimension of the ministry of the
Bishop of Rome, so that today the Petrine ministry cannot be fully
understood without this openness to dialogue with all believers in
Christ. We can say also that the journey of ecumenism has allowed us
to come to a deeper understanding of the ministry of the Successor of
Peter, and we must be confident that it will continue to do so in the
future. As we look with gratitude to the progress which the Lord has
enabled us to make, and without ignoring the difficulties which
ecumenical dialogue is presently experiencing, let us all pray that
we may put on the mind of Christ and thus progress towards the unity
which he wills. And to journey together is already to be making
unity!”
Finally,
the Pope greeted the Metropolitan Gennadios, the representative of
the Ecumenical Patriarch, David Moxon, the representative in Rome of
the Archbishop of Canterbury, and all the representatives of the
various Churches and Ecclesial Communities gathered in the basilica
of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls. “With these two brothers
representing everyone, we have prayed at the Tomb of Paul and have
said to one another: 'Let us pray that he will help us on this path,
on this path of unity and of love, as we advance towards unity'.
Unity will not come about as a miracle at the very end. Rather, unity
comes about in journeying; the Holy Spirit does this on the journey.
If we do not walk together, if we do not pray for one another, if we
do not collaborate in the many ways that we can in this world for the
People of God, then unity will not come about! But it will happen on
this journey, in each step we take. And it is not we who are doing
this, but rather the Holy Spirit, who sees our goodwill”.
“Let
us ask the Lord Jesus, who has made us living members of his body, to
keep us deeply united to him, to help us overcome our conflicts, our
divisions and our self-seeking; and let us remember that unity is
always better than conflict! And so may he help us to be united to
one another by one force, by the power of love which the Holy Spirit
pours into our hearts”, the Holy Father concluded.
POPE
FRANCIS RECEIVES THE ITALIAN WOMEN'S CENTRE: BROADEN THE SPACE FOR
WOMEN IN THE CHURCH
Vatican
City, 25 January 2014 (VIS) – This morning the Pope received in
audience representatives of the CIF (Centro Italiano Femminile –
Italian Women's Centre), on the occasion of their congress. This
organisation was established in 1944 for the purpose of co-ordinating
women and associations of a Christian nature to contribute to the
reconstruction of the country through democratic participation, human
advancement and solidarity. Currently the CIF proposes to act with
institutions for the full exercise of the rights of citizenship and
collaboration with women from diverse cultural backgrounds. It works
in the civil, social and cultural fields in order to contribute to
the construction of a democracy of solidarity and co-existence based
on respect for human rights and the dignity of the person, in
accordance with Christian spirit and principles, the Italian
Constitution and laws, and European and international legislation.
In
his address, Pope Francis thanked the CIF for its work over the last
sixty years and for the example its members have given regarding the
role of women in society and in the ecclesial community, observing
that during recent decades, “alongside other cultural and social
transformations, also the identity and role of women in the family,
in society and in the Church has seen significant changes, and in
general the participation and responsibility of women has increased”.
In
this process, he recalled, “discernment on the part of the
Magisterium of the Popes” has been, and still is, important,
especially the publication in 1988 of Blessed John Paul II's
Apostolic Letter “Mulieris dignitatem” on the dignity and
vocation of women, and his Message for the 1995 World Day for Peace
on the theme “Women: teachers of peace”. He continued, “I too
have considered the indispensable contribution of women in society …
I have rejoiced in seeing many women sharing some pastoral
responsibility with priests in accompanying people, families and
groups, as in theological reflection, and I have expressed my hope
that greater room can be made for a more capillary and incisive
female presence in the Church”.
“If
in the world of work and in the public sphere a more incisive
contribution by the female gender is important, then this
contribution also remains indispensable within the domain of the
family, which for Christians is not simply a private space, but
rather that 'domestic Church' whose health and prosperity is a
condition for the health and prosperity of the Church of society
itself”, he added. “At this point it is natural to ask: how is it
possible for women to increase their effective presence in many
contexts within the public sphere, in the world of work and in places
where the most important decisions are made, and at the same time
maintaining their presence and preferential and entirely special
attention in and for the family? Here it is the field of discernment
that, aside from reflection on the reality of women in society,
presupposes assiduous and persistent prayer”.
“It
is in dialogue with God, enlightened by prayer, that the Christian
woman continually searches to answer the Lord's call, in the reality
of her situation. This is a prayer that is always supported by the
maternal presence of Mary. She, who cared for her divine Son, who
propitiated his first miracle at the wedding at Cana, who was present
on Calvary and at the Pentecost, shows you the road to take to deepen
the meaning and role of women in society and to be fully faithful to
the Lord Jesus Christ and to your mission in the world”.
CARDINAL
SARAH, POPE'S ENVOY TO THE AREAS AFFECTED BY TYPHOON HAIYAN-YOLANDA
Vatican
City, 25 January 2014 (VIS) – Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of
the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” will visit the areas struck by
the typhoon Haiyan-Yolanda on 8 November last year, on behalf of Pope
Francis, as a gesture of consolation and spiritual closeness to the
population, which now faces the task of reconstruction following the
damage wrought by this natural disaster, and also to promote the
network of assistance which is already active in these areas.
The
mission, according to a press release by “Cor Unum”, will take
place from 26 to 31 January, and it will be marked by three moments
of special significance: a meeting with Filipino bishops, gathered in
their Episcopal Conference in those days; an encounter with the
president of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, and
a visit to the area of Tacloban, which was most severely affected by
the typhoon.
In
the context of the visit, Cardinal Sarah will present, in the name of
the Holy Father and through “Cor Unum”, a plan for the new
building of an orphanage and a rest home for the elderly. The
building will include, among other things, a small convent for the
nuns, a chapel and a dispensary.
According
to recent reports by Caritas Philippines / Nassa, typhoon
Haiyan-Yolanda caused over 5,500 deaths, more than 26,000 injuries,
and almost 2,000 missing persons. Around 3,8 million people,
belonging to more than 851,000 families, were left homeless. In
total, 12 million people suffered damage or losses of various types,
in 574 towns and cities, and now there are fears of epidemics.
As
soon as the Holy Father received the news, he decided to make a first
contribution, through “Cor Unum”, of 150,000 dollars in emergency
aid for the population, in support of the work carried out to assist
those left homeless or otherwise affected by the floods, to be added
to the funds contributed by the Church as a whole, the local
Churches, parishes throughout the world, the Caritas network, and
other national and diocesan agencies engaged in charitable works.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 25 January 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
-
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
-
Fr. Jose Gabriel Funes, S.J., director of the Vatican Observatory,
accompanied by Fr. Jozef Marian Maj, S.J., deputy managing director.
-
Bray Barnes, president of the International Catholic Conference of
Scouting, accompanied by Roberto Cociancich and Rev. Jacques Gagey.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 25 January 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father:
-
accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of
Mamfe, Cameroon, presented by Bishop Francis Teke Lysinge, upon
having reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop Andrew Nkea
Fuanya, co-adjutor of the same diocese.
-
appointed Rev. Antonio Suetta as bishop of Ventimiglia-San Remo (area
715, population 157,150, Catholics 151,500, priests 101, permanent
deacons 8, religious 268), Italy. The bishop-elect was born in Loano,
Italy in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1986. He holds a
licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University and a
doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum "Regina
Apostolorum", Rome. He has served in a number of pastoral roles,
including vicar and administrator of the parish of Ceslo-Arzeno
d'Oneglia, administrator and priest of the parish of Caravonica,
priest and provost of Borgo Verezzi, and director of the diocesan
Caritas. He was chaplain of the Prison of Imperia, co-founder and
president of the social co-operative “Il Cammino”. He taught
fundamental theology, ecclesiology and and Mariology in the Higher
Institute of Religious Sciences and major seminary. Since 2005 he has
held the role of diocesan bursar; and has served as rector of the
diocesan seminary of Albenga-Imperia since 2011 and canon of the
Cathedral Chapter since 2009. He succeeds Bishop Alberto Maria
Careggio, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same
diocese upon having reached the age limit was accepted by the Holy
Father.
-
appointed Professor Vincenzo Buonomo as advisor to Vatican City
States. Professor Buomono is office chief of the Pontifical
Representation at the United Nations Organisations and Entities for
Food and Agriculture – F.A.O., I.F.A.D., and P.A.M., and director
of the degree program in law at the Pontifical Lateran University,
Rome.
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