SUMMARY:
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General Audience: Jesus chose to come to the world as part of a
family
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Pope Francis asks for prayers for the victims of terrorist attacks
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Completion of the Commission for the Protection of Minors
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Other Pontifical Acts
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General
Audience: Jesus chose to come to the world as part of a family
Vatican
City, 17 December 2014 (VIS) – The family is the “great gift that
the Lord has given to the world ever since the beginning, when he
entrusted to Adam and Eve the mission of multiplying and filling the
earth; the gift that Jesus confirmed and sealed in His Gospel”,
said the Holy Father during this Wednesday's general audience, in the
first of the new cycle of catechesis dedicated to the family, which
will continue throughout the coming year.
The
proximity to Christmas illuminates the mystery of the incarnation of
the Son of God, which opens a new chapter in the universal history of
man and woman. “And this new beginning occurs within a family, in
Nazareth. He could have come spectacularly, or as a warrior, an
emperor… No – he came as the son of a family, in a family”, he
emphasised.
God
chose to be born “in a human family, that He Himself had formed. He
created this family in a remote village in the outer reaches of the
Roman Empire. Not in Rome, the capital of the Empire, not in a great
city, but in an almost invisible and somewhat notorious periphery.
This is even noted in the Gospel, almost as if it were a turn of
phrase: 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'. Perhaps, in many
parts of the world, we too still speak in this way when we hear the
name of certain peripheral areas of large cities. And yet, it was
precisely there, in the outskirts of the great Empire, that there
began the most holy and good story of Jesus among mankind”.
“Jesus
chose to remain in the periphery for thirty years, during which there
is no mention of miracles or healing, of preaching, of crowds who run
after him. In Nazareth, everything seems to happen 'normally',
according to the habits of a pious and hard-working family of
Israelites. … The Gospels, in their sobriety, say nothing of Jesus'
adolescence and leave this task to our affectionate imaginings. Art,
literature and music have followed the path of the imagination.
Certainly, it is not difficult to imagine how much mothers could
learn from Mary's tender care for her Son! And how much fathers could
benefit from the example of Joseph, a righteous man, who dedicated
his life to supporting and defending his wife and child – is family
– through difficult times. To say nothing of how much the young
could be encouraged by the adolescent Jesus in understanding the
necessity and beauty of cultivating their deepest vocation, and of
having great dreams”, he added.
“Every
Christian family – as Mary and Joseph did – must first welcome
Jesus, listen to Him, speak with Him, shelter Him, protect Him, grow
with Him; and in this way, make the world better. Let us make space
in our heart and in our days for the Lord. This is what Mary and
Joseph did, and it was not easy: how many difficulties they had to
overcome! It was not a false or unreal family. The family of Nazareth
calls to us to rediscover the vocation and the mission of the family,
of every family. And so what happened in those thirty years in
Nazareth can also happen to us: making love, not hate, normal; mutual
help common, instead of indifference and hostility. It is not by
chance that Nazareth means 'she who preserves', like Mary who, as the
Gospel tells us, 'treasured all these things in her heart'. From then
on, whenever there is a family that preserves this mystery, even if
it should be at the outer reaches of the world, the mystery of the
Son of God is at work. And He comes to save the world”.
Pope
Francis asks for prayers for the victims of terrorist attacks
Vatican
City, 17 December 2014 (VIS) – The Pope, at the end of today's
general audience, asked for prayers for the victims of the inhuman
terrorist acts that have occurred in recent days in Yemen, Australia
and Pakistan. “May the Lord receive the souls of the departed in
His peace, console their families and convert the hearts of the
perpetrators, whose violence does not cease even before children”.
At
the end of the audience, 2,500 people danced the milonga to the sound
of the bandoneon in St. Peter's Square to celebrate Pope Francis'
78th birthday. The initiative, “A tango for Francis”, emerged on
the social networks and, as was shown today, thousands of people
joined in.
Completion
of the Commission for the Protection of Minors
Vatican
City, 17 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has nominated new
members of the Commission for the Protection of Minors, chosen from
various parts of the world, so as to allow a broad representation of
different situations and cultures. The Commission therefore composed
as follows:
Cardinal
Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., president
Mons.
Robert Oliver (United States), secretary
Rev.
Luis Manuel Ali Herrera (Colombia)
Dr.
Catherine Bonnet (France)
Marie
Collins (Ireland)
Dr.
Gabriel Dy-Liacco (Philippines)
Prof.
Sheila the Baroness Hollins (England)
Bill
Kilgallon (New Zealand)
Sr.
Kayula Gertrude Lesa, RSC (Zambia)
Sr.
Hermenegild Makoro, CPS (South Africa)
Kathleen
McCormack (Australia)
Dr.
Claudio Papale (Italy)
Peter
Saunders (England)
Hon.
Hanna Suchocka (Poland)
Dr.
Krysten Winter-Green (United States)
Rev.
Dr. Humberto Miguel Yanez, SJ (Argentina)
Rev.
Dr. Hans Zollner, SJ (Germany)
The
next plenary session of the Commission will take place, as previously
stated, in the Vatican on from 6-8 February 2015.
Brief
information on members of the Commission is given below.
Cardinal
Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap. (United States), archbishop of Boston, serves
as the president of the Commission and is a member of the Council of
Cardinals which advises Pope Francis.
Msgr.
Robert Oliver (United States) serves as the Secretary of the
Commission, following many years in child protection work for the
Archdiocese of Boston, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith as the Promoter of
Justice.
Rev.
Luis Manuel Ali Herrera (Colombia) is the Director of the Department
of Psychology, professor of pastoral psychology in the Conciliar
Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogota, and as a parish priest.
Dr.
Catherine Bonnet (France) is a child psychiatrist, psychotherapist,
researcher, and author on child sexual abuse and perinatal violence
and neglect.
Marie
Collins (Ireland) is a survivor of child sexual abuse. A founder
Trustee of the Marie Collins Foundation she served on the committee
which drafted the Catholic Church’s all-Ireland child protection
policy, “Our Children Our Church.”
Dr.
Gabriel Dy-Liacco (Philippines) is an adult and adolescent
psychotherapist and pastoral counsellor for various mental health
concerns including of individuals, couples, families and groups,
including victims and perpetrators of abuse.
Prof.
Sheila the Baroness Hollins (England) has worked as a psychiatrist
and psychotherapist with children and adults with intellectual
disabilities including those who have been sexually abused, and is a
life peer in the House of Lords.
Bill
Kilgallon (New Zealand) is Director of the National Office for
Professional Standards of the Catholic Church in New Zealand where he
has lived for the last four years. Prior to that he had a long career
in social work and health services in the UK.
Sr.
Kayula Gertrude Lesa, RSC (Zambia) is a development professional,
trainer and author on child protection, human trafficking, refugee
rights and the right to information. She served as a member of the
African Forum for Church Social Teaching (AFCAST).
Sr.
Hermenegild Makoro, CPS (South Africa) is a member of the Missionary
Sisters of the Precious Blood in the Diocese of Mathatha in South
Africa. She works as a high school teacher and for several years in
the diocese as a trainer in pastoral work. After serving as an
Associate Secretary General of the Southern African Catholic Bishops
Conference for six years, Sr. Hermenegild was appointed as the
Secretary General of the SACBC in 2012.
Kathleen
McCormack (Australia) is a social welfare worker who served as
Director of Welfare of Catholic Care in the Diocese of Wollongong for
29 years and held leadership roles in Family Services, Child
Protection, Out Of Home Care and Ageing and Disability Services.
Dr.
Claudio Papale (Italy) is a canon lawyer and a civil lawyer,
professor of canon law at the Pontifical Urban University, and an
official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Peter
Saunders (England) was abused throughout his childhood in Wimbledon,
South West London. Later in life, after earning a Business Studies
degree, Peter discovered that he was one of millions who had suffered
such abuse and who could not find any appropriate support. So he set
up NAPAC, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood,
for supporting all survivors and for developing greater resources for
responding to child abuse.
Hon.
Hanna Suchocka (Poland) is a professor of constitutional law and
specialist in human rights at the University of Poznan, and was
formerly Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland and Ambassador of
Poland to the Holy See.
Dr.
Krysten Winter-Green (United States) is a New Zealander with
post-graduate degrees in Theology, Human Development, Social Work,
Religion and Pastoral Psychology. She has served in dioceses around
the world with homeless persons and those living with AIDS. Krysten’s
concentration in the areas of child abuse include forensics,
assessment and treatment of priest/clergy offenders.
Rev.
Dr. Humberto Miguel Yanez, SJ (Argentina) is Director of the
Department of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University,
professor of moral theology at the Gregorian and the Pontifical Urban
University, and former Director of the Centre of Research and Social
Action in Argentina.
Rev.
Dr. Hans Zollner, SJ (Germany) is President of the Centre for Child
Protection of the Pontifical Gregorian University and Director and
Professor of the Institute of Psychology. He was Chair of the
organising committee for the Symposium “Towards Healing and
Renewal” on sexual abuse of minors (February 2012).
Other
Pontifical Acts
Vatican
City, 17 December 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:
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Msgr. Adelar Baruffi as bishop of Cruz Alta (area 16,790, population
401,000, Catholics 321,000, priests 32, religious 50), Brazil. The
bishop-elect was born in Garibaldi, Brazil in 1969 and was ordained a
priest in 1995. He studied philosophy at the University of Caxias do
Sul and theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande
do Sul, and holds a licentiate in theological anthropology and
spiritual theology from the “Teresianum” Pontifical Theological
Faculty, Rome. He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including
spiritual assistant, coordinator of formators and rector of the minor
seminary and the preparatory course, rector of the major seminary,
coordinator of diocesan presbyteral pastoral ministry, parish vicar
and member of the council of presbyters and the College of
Consultors. He is currently parish vicar of the “Santo Antonio”
parish in Bento Goncalves.
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Fr. Onecimo Alberton as bishop of Rio do Sul (area 8,909, population
321,000, Catholics 263,000, priests 64, religious 212), Brazil. The
bishop-elect was born in Orleans, Brazil in 1965 and was ordained a
priest in 1992. He studied philosophy at the Universidade do Sul,
Tubarao, and theology at the Theological Institute of Santa Catarina,
Florianopolis, and has served in a number of roles, including: parish
priest of the “Nossa Senhora da Natividade” parish, Cocal do Sul
Criciuma; formator in the minor and major seminaries of Criciuma;
rector of the “Bom Pastor” seminary, Florianopolis. He is
currently parish priest of the “Sao Paulo Apostolo” parish in
Criciuma. He succeeds Bishop Augustinho Petry, 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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Msgr. Jean-Marc Eychenne as bishop of Pamiers (area 4,903, population
154,546, Catholics 107,400, priests 46, permanent deacons 13,
religious 80), France. The bishop-elect was born in Pamiers, France
in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1982. He holds a baccalaureate
from the Faculty of Theology of Milan, and has served in a number of
roles, including: master of novices of the Communaute Saint-Martin,
teacher at the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences and formator of
seminarians at the Communaute Saint-Martin in Genoa; parish vicar of
Madeleine in Orleans-Checy, parish priest in the “Saint-Yves de la
Source” parish and episcopal vicar for the pastoral area of
Val-de-Loire et Sologne. He is currently vicar general of Orleans,
France.
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