SUMMARY:
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General Audience: We are all called to be holy
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New appeal for the Holy Land: building peace is difficult, but life
without peace is a torment
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Cooperation and development in the pastoral care of migration must
focus on positive aspects
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Other Pontifical Acts
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General
Audience: We are all called to be holy
Vatican
City, 19 November 2014 (VIS) – As is usual on Wednesday morning,
the Pope toured St. Peter's Square to greet the faithful and pilgrims
awaiting him before the beginning of the General Audience. He
dedicated today's catechesis to the universal vocation to sanctity,
to provide an answer to the question, “In what does this universal
vocation consist? And how can we fulfil it?”
“Firstly,
we must take into account that sanctity is not something that we
procure, that we obtain ourselves through our qualities and
capacities. Sanctity is a gift, it is the gift that the Lord Jesus
gives to us, when He takes us with Him and clothes us in Himself,
making us like Him”, he said. “Sanctity is the most beautiful
face of the Church: it is rediscovering oneself in communion with
God, in the fullness of His life and His love. … It is not the
prerogative of the few: sanctity is a gift that is offered to all,
without exclusion, and which therefore constitutes the distinctive
characteristic of every Christian”.
“To
be holy”, he continued, “it is not necessary to be bishops,
priests or religious. … We are all called to be holy! … It is by
living with live and offering one's own Christian witness in our
everyday occupations that we are called to become holy; and each
person in the condition and in the state of life in which he finds
himself”: consecrated persons, married couples, unmarried baptised
persons, parents, grandparents, catechists, educators and volunteers.
“Every state of life leads to sanctity, if lived in communion with
the Lord and in the service of one's brethren”.
Pope
Francis urged those present to examine their consciences, asking how
they could respond to the Lord's call to sanctity. He emphasised that
when the Lord calls us to be holy, he does not ask us to do something
weighty or sad, but rather offers us an invitation to share in his
joy. “If we understand it in this way, everything changes and
acquires a new meaning, beautiful, starting from the little things of
everyday life. … And each step towards sanctity will make us better
people, free of selfishness and self-centredness, and open to our
brothers and their needs”. He added, “we do not walk the path of
sanctity alone, each for himself, but rather together, in that single
body that is the Church, loved and sanctified by the Lord Jesus
Christ”, and concluded by encouraging those present to continue on
this path.
New
appeal for the Holy Land: building peace is difficult, but life
without peace is a torment
Vatican
City, 19 November 2014 (VIS) – “I follow with great concern the
alarming increase in tension in Jerusalem and other areas of the Holy
Land, with unacceptable episodes of violence that do not even spare
places of worship”, said the Pope following today's catechesis. “I
assure a special prayer for all the victims of this dramatic
situation and for those who suffer its consequences. From the depths
of my heart, I appeal to those parties involved to put an end to this
spiral of hate and violence and to take courageous decisions for
reconciliation and peace. Building peace is difficult, but living
without peace is a torment!”
He
went on to remark that on Friday 21 November, the liturgical memory
of the Presentation of Mary Most Holy at the Temple, Pro Orantibus
Day will be celebrated, dedicated to cloistered religious
communities. “It offers a good opportunity to thank the Lord for
the gift of so many people who, in monasteries and hermitages, devote
themselves to God in prayer and constructive silence, acknowledging
the primacy due solely to Him. Let us thank the Lord for the witness
of cloistered life and ensure that they do not lack our spiritual and
material support in order to fulfil their important mission".
In
his greetings in various languages, the Pope addressed the Polish
pilgrims who yesterday celebrate the memory of Blessed Karolina
Koszka, virgin and martyr, on the centenary of her death. “This
young girl fulfilled her vocation to sanctity, dedicating herself to
the service of those close to her through her purity of heart and
fidelity to Christ unto death. May her example encourage all,
especially the young, to seek ways to sanctity, even if this involves
going against contemporary tendencies to seek an easy life,
concentrating on selfish pleasure. I entrust the members of the “Pure
Hearts Movement” to the protection of their Blessed patroness”.
Finally,
the Holy Father greeted in Italian the young professionals,
businesspeople and social entrepreneurs who are participating in the
congress organised by the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with
the Pontifical Universities of Rome, to promote approaches and
attitudes to overcome social and economic exclusion. “I hope that
this initiative may contribute to favouring a new mentality in which
money is not considered an idol to be served, but rather a means for
pursuing the common good”, he concluded.
Cooperation
and development in the pastoral care of migration must focus on
positive aspects
Vatican
City, 19 November 2014 (VIS) – ““Cooperation and Development in
the Pastoral Care of Migrations” is the theme of the 7th World
Congress on the Pastoral Care of Migrants, organised by the
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
People, and taking place from 17 to 21 November. The meeting will be
attended by more than three hundred people from 93 countries of all
five continents, and will be structured in relation to three themes:
the diaspora, migrants as partners, and the dignity of the migrant.
In addition, during the conference eleven episcopal conferences will
present their pastoral work with migrants and at the end of the
meeting a final document will be drawn up, to serve as a guide for
the next five years.
The
Congress is so designed that each day is dedicated to a different
topic within the wider context of the theme of this Event:
“Cooperation and Development in the Pastoral Care of Migrations”.
Our plan of action is structured in such a way so as to culminate,
through the different conferences and further debates that elaborate
on the key note addresses, in the personal exchange and the
expression of concrete ideas and thoughts in the Working Groups of
the afternoon. My dear friends, we are here not only to share our
experiences and ideas, but to work together to elaborate
recommendations and ideas that will be of assistance to each one of
us in our pastoral care for the next few years.
The
speakers in the inaugural session will be Cardinal Antonio Maria
Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council, the Italian minister of
the Interior, Angelino Alfano, and the director general of the
International Organisation for Migration (OMI), William Lacy Swing. A
text sent by Msgr. Antonio Camilleri, under secretary for Relations
with States, will also be read.
Cardinal
Veglio spoke on the challenges of the migratory phenomenon and the
situations of emergency that require the attention of the
international community, emphasising the risk that the destination
countries receive migrants with hostility, distrust and prejudice. As
a response to this problem he proposed two major lines of action:
cooperation and development which, in the specific context of
pastoral care, must accentuate the positive aspect of migratory
phenomena.
The
minister of the Interior, Angelino Alfano, acknowledged that
migration constitutes a political and institutional priority, and
affirmed that receiving and helping immigrants is a responsible
decision that Europe must take “to demonstrate in practice that the
protection of every human life is the first duty of a State that
wishes to define itself as civilised and democratic”. The director
of the International Organisation for Migration underlined the
absolute priority of welcoming all immigrants and saving every human
life, citing the example of the Italian “Mare Nostrum” project,
and reiterated the need for more functional cooperation between the
states of the European Union to better face salvage operations.
Finally,
Msgr. Camilleri, in his discourse, referred to the Church's ongoing
commitment to accompanying countries and peoples on their path, often
troubled and full of the unpredictable aspects linked to dislocation,
and underlined the urgency of combating phenomena such as criminality
and violence linked to migration.
In
his presentation of the Conference Archbishop Joseph Kalathiparambil,
secretary of the Pontifical Council, recalled that in the diaspora –
“when migrants often leave behind their families and relatives in
the hope of sending back remittances to better their economic and
social status, and one day finding a way to help them migrate abroad
as well” - there clearly emerges the theme of the family, whose
care “requires not only cooperation between the country of origin
and the country of destination, but also a strong cooperation between
the Church of origin, and the Church which welcomes the migrant
family”.
With
reference to migrants as partners, he remarked that they contribute
and cooperate substantially to the well-being and to the development
not only of their country of origin, but of their country of
adoption, and emphasised the need of improving public perception of
migrants and immigration. He also spoke on the role of women
migrants, whose movement in the past was closely linked to family
reunification, whereas now they are “protagonists and leading
players along with their male counterparts in the role that they
undertake in today’s society”.
With
regard to the final theme, the dignity of the migrant, the archbishop
commented that it is a concept that derives from the acknowledgement
that all persons are created in God’s own image and likeness and
that religious, ethnic, social and cultural variables, citizenship or
lack thereof, do not change this fact that gives any individual an
inherent and immeasurable worth and dignity. The prelate concluded
his presentation by noting the potential of young migrants in
building social, economic, cultural and religious bridges of
cooperation and understanding across societies and Church
communities.
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 19 November 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
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appointed Rev. Fr. Hilario Gonzalez Garcia as bishop of Linares (area
33,453, population 407,000, Catholics 360,000, priests 42, religious
58), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1965
and was ordained a priest in 1995. He holds a licentiate from the
Pontifical University of Mexico and has served in a number of
pastoral roles in the archdiocese of Monterrey, including spiritual
director, prefect of studies in philosophy and vice rector of the
major seminary; chaplain in various female religious communities; and
executive secretary of the Commission for Ecumenism and Dialogue of
the Mexican Episcopal Conference. He is currently rector of the major
seminary of Monterrey. He succeeds Bishop Ramon Calderon Batres,
whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon
reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
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appointed Rene Bruelhart, director of the Financial Information
Authority (AIF), as president of the same Authority.
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