SUMMARY:
-
The Pope to the Catholic Fraternity of the Charismatic Renewal: seek
unity without fearing diversity
-
Pope Francis' prayer intentions for November
-
Mission of the secretary of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” in
Damascus
-
The Holy See at the United Nations: climate change is not only an
environmental problem, but also a matter of justice
-
Audiences
-
Other Pontifical Acts
-
In memoriam
______________________________________
The
Pope to the Catholic Fraternity of the Charismatic Renewal: seek
unity without fearing diversity
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – “Seek the unity which is the work
of the Holy Spirit and do not be afraid of diversity”, said Pope
Francis in his address to a thousand members of the Catholic
Fraternity of the Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowship,
who are about to begin their Sixteenth International Conference on
the theme “Praise and Worship for a New Evangelisation”.
“Unity
does not imply uniformity; it does not necessarily mean doing
everything together or thinking in the same way”, he underlined.
“Nor does it signify a loss of identity. Unity in diversity is
actually the opposite: it involves the joyful recognition and
acceptance of the various gifts which the Holy Spirit gives to each
one and the placing of these gifts at the service of all members of
the Church. It means knowing how to listen, to accept differences,
and having the freedom to think differently and express oneself with
complete respect towards the other who is my brother or sister. Do
not be afraid of differences!”.
Referring
to the programme, where the names of the Communities are mentioned,
he noted that in the introduction there is the phrase, “to share
the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the whole Church”, and
reiterated that the Church and all Christians need to open their
hearts to the sanctifying action of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit
... reveals Jesus Christ to us, and leads us to a personal encounter
with him. … Is this your experience? Share it with others! In order
to share this experience, you must live it and bear witness to it!”
“Praise
is the 'breath' which gives us life, because it is intimacy with God,
an intimacy that grows through daily praise”, continued the Holy
Father, explaining how spiritual life “works” by analogy with
human respiration. “Breathing is made up of two stages: inhaling,
the intake of air, and exhaling, the letting out of this air. The
spiritual life is fed, nourished, by prayer and is expressed
outwardly through mission: inhaling and exhaling. When we inhale, by
prayer, we receive the fresh air of the Holy Spirit. When exhaling
this air, we announce Jesus Christ risen by the same Spirit. No one
can live without breathing. It is the same for the Christian: without
praise and mission there is no Christian life. And with praise,
worship. We rarely speak about worship. What do we do when we pray?
We ask things of God, we give thanks … But worshipping and adoring
God is part of breathing – praise and worship”.
The
Pope emphasised that “Charismatic Renewal has reminded the Church
of the necessity and importance of the prayer of praise”, which is
“the recognition of the Lordship of God over us and over all
creation expressed through dance, music and song. … The prayer of
praise bears fruit in us. Sarah danced as she celebrated her
fertility – at the age of ninety! This fruitfulness gives praise to
God. … Together with the prayer of praise, the prayer of
intercession is, in these days, a cry to the Father for our Christian
brothers and sisters who are persecuted and murdered, and for the
cause of peace in our turbulent world”.
“Charismatic
Renewal is, by its very nature, ecumenical”, he remarked, citing
the words of Blessed Paul VI : “The power of evangelisation will
find itself considerably diminished if those who proclaim the Gospel
are divided among themselves in all sorts of ways. Is this not
perhaps one of the great sicknesses of evangelisation today? The
Lord’s spiritual testament tells us that unity among his followers
is not only the proof that we are his but also the proof that he is
sent by the Father. It is the test of the credibility of Christians
and of Christ himself. Yes, the destiny of evangelisation is
certainly bound up with the witness of unity given by the Church'”.
Spiritual
ecumenism, he concluded, is “praying and proclaiming together that
Jesus is Lord, and coming together to help the poor in all their
poverty. We must not forget that today the blood of Jesus, poured out
by many Christian martyrs in various parts of the world, calls us and
compels us towards the goal of unity. For persecutors, we are not
divided: we are not Lutherans, Orthodox, Evangelicals, Catholics. No!
We are one. For persecutors, we are Christians. It is an ecumenism of
blood that we live today!”.
Pope
Francis' prayer intentions for November
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis' universal prayer
intention for November is: “That all who suffer loneliness may
experience the closeness of God and the support of others”.
His
intention for evangelisation is: “That young seminarians and
religious may have wise and well-formed mentors”.
Mission
of the secretary of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” in Damascus
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – From 28 to 31 October the secretary
of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum”, Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso,
visited Damascus in order to attend the meeting of the assembly of
Catholic bishops in Syria.
Msgr.
Dal Toso also met with various institutions, especially Catholic,
that are currently involved in humanitarian aid activities in the
country.
In
these meetings, special appreciation was expressed for the commitment
of the Holy Father and the Holy See to supporting the Christian
communities and the population as a whole, who suffer as a result of
the conflict, and for encouraging dialogue and reconciliation among
the various parties.
Emphasis
was also placed on the important role of Catholic aid organisms, who
benefit all of the Syrian population. Through the generous
contribution of the international community, in the face of growing
need, this assistance will have to be intensified in the future.
The
Holy See at the United Nations: climate change is not only an
environmental problem, but also a matter of justice
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – On 16 October Archbishop Bernardito
Auza, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations, addressed
the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly,
dedicated to “Sustainable development: protection of global climate
for present and future generations”.
“While
the impact of climate change is felt globally, developed and
technologically advanced countries have greater capacity to adapt and
mitigate the adverse effects, whereas developing and poor nations
remain particularly vulnerable”, he said. “During the Climate
Summit on September 23 and on many other occasions, we have heard the
urgent pleas of Small Island States that climate change is an
existential threat to them. This is paradoxical and unjust, given
that the primary factors of climate change, like high consumption and
high-quantity greenhouse gas emissions, characterize highly
industrialised societies. That is why the Holy See believes that
climate change is not only an environmental question; it is also a
question of justice and a moral imperative”.
“It
is a matter of justice to help poor and vulnerable people suffering
the most from causes largely not of their making and beyond their
control”, emphasised the archbishop. “One concrete step would be
to make available to them the best in adaptation and mitigation
technology. And now all eyes are already turned to the Twenty-first
Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change and the Eleventh Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol, which will take place in Paris in December 2015. There, the
poor and the rich – indeed, all of us – will be winners if we can
reach agreement on a post-2020 international regime, in which all the
nations of the world, including the biggest emitters of greenhouse
gases, bind themselves to a universal agreement on climate”.
“It
is along this line that my delegation sees a relevance of the term
'responsibility to protect', not only in the humanitarian and human
rights areas, but in the question of climate change as well. Everyone
shares the responsibility to protect our planet and the human family.
… Let us make the conscientious choice of refraining from
lifestyles and behaviour that could worsen the state of our planet,
and let us promote initiatives that protect and heal it. The world
has become a village; thus, we must become more and more aware of
this mutual and common responsibility. In particular, States have the
grave duty to make policy decisions and devise monitoring structures
to ensure that present and future generations live in a safe and
worthy environment”, he concluded.
Audiences
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father received in
audience:
-
Bruno Neve de Mevergnies, new ambassador of Belgium to the Holy See,
presenting his credential letters;
-
Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith;
-
Archbishop Martin Krebs, apostolic nuncio in New Zealand, Fiji, Cook
Islands, Kiribati, Palau, Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia,
Vanuatu, Tonga, and apostolic delegate in the Pacific Ocean;
-
Archbishop Sergio da Rocha of Brasilia, Brazil.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:
-
Bishop Jean Mbarga of Ebolowa, Cameroon, as archbishop of Yaounde
(area 23,807, population 1,594,000, Catholics 1,538,000, priests 138,
religious 318), Cameroon. Bishop Mbarga was formerly apostolic
administrator of the same archdiocese.
-
The following consultors of the Congregation for the Causes of
Saints: Fr. Bernard Ardura, O. Praem., France, president of the
Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences; Msgr. Alejandro Cifres
Gimenez, Spain, archivist of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith; Fr. Paolo Carlotti, S.D.B., Italy, advisor to the Apostolic
Penitentiary; Fr. Tomislav Mrkonjic, O.F.M. Conv., Croatia, scriptor
of the Vatican Secret Archive; Fr. Paul Murray, O.P., Ireland,
Institute of Spirituality of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas
Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome; Fr. Martin McKeever, C.S.S.R., Ireland, of
the Alphonsianum Academy, Rome; Fr. Jordi-Agusti Pique i Collado,
O.S.B., Spain, of the Liturgical Institute of the St. Anselm
Pontifical Athenaeum, Rome; Fr. Rocco Ronzani, O.S.A., Italy, of the
Augustinianum Patristic Institute, Rome; Fr. Pablo Santiago Zambruno,
O.P., of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum),
Rome; Fr. Raffaele Di Muro, O.F.M. Conv., Italy, of the “San
Bonaventura” Theological Faculty; Professor Gabriele Zaccagnini,
Italy, of the University of Pisa; Professor Angela Ales Bello, of the
Pontifical Academy of Theology.
In
memoriam
Vatican
City, 31 October 2014 (VIS) – The following prelates died in recent
weeks:
-
Bishop Cirilo B. Flores of San Diego, California, U.S.A., on 6
September at the age of 66.
-
Bishop Joseph Abangite Gasi, emeritus of Tombura-Yambio, South Sudan,
on 12 September at the age of 86.
-
Bishop Servilio Conti, I.M.C., prelate emeritus of Roraima, Brazil,
on 14 September at the age of 97.
-
Bishop Jose Luis Serna Alzate, emeritus of Libano-Honda, Colombia, on
28 September at the age of 78.
-
Archbishop Carlo Curis, apostolic nuncio in Canada, on 29 September
at the age of 90.
-
Archbishop Angelo Mottola, apostolic nuncio in Montenegro, on 8
October at the age of 79.
-
Bishop John Patrick Boles, ex-auxiliary of Boston, Massachusetts,
U.S.A., on 9 October at the age of 84.
-
Bishop Jose Hernan Sanchez Porras of the Military Ordinariate of
Venezuela, on 13 October at the age of 70.
-
Bishop Joao Corso, S.D.B., emeritus of Campos, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, on 15 October at the age of 86.
-
Bishop Jose Refugio Mercado Diaz, auxiliary emeritus of Tehuantepec,
Mexico, on 15 October at the age of 72.
-
Bishop Patrick Paul D'Souza, emeritus of Varanasi, India, on 16
October at the age of 86.
-
Bishop Paul Henry Walsh, auxiliary emeritus of Rockville Centre, New
York, U.S.A., on 18 October at the age of 77.
-
Bishop Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, O.F.M. Cap., emeritus of
Naha, Japan, on 25 October at the age of 93.
-
Bishop Manuel Revollo Crespo, C.M.F., coadjutor emeritus of the
Bolivia Military Ordinariate, on 26 October at the age of 89.
-
Bishop Mansour Hobeika of Zahleh, Lebanon, on 28 October at the age
of 72.
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.
Copyright
© Vatican Information Service 00120 Vatican City
No comments:
Post a Comment