SUMMARY:
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UN'S ROLE IN RESOLVING INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS BY PEACEFUL MEANS, KEY
THEME OF POPE'S AUDIENCE WITH PRESIDENT FOR 67TH SESSION OF UN'S
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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CORPUS CHRISTI: GOD'S SOLIDARITY NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE US
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FR. LOMBARDI'S NOTE ON POPE'S MORNING MASSES AT DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE
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AUDIENCES
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
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UNITED
NATION'S ROLE IN RESOLVING INTERNATIONAL CONFLICTS BY PEACEFUL MEANS,
KEY THEME OF POPE'S AUDIENCE WITH PRESIDENT FOR 67TH SESSION OF UN'S
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Vatican
City, 31 May 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Vatican Apostolic
Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the president
for the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly, His
Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremic, who then went on to meet with the
Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., accompanied by
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
During
the course of the cordial conversations, some issues of mutual
interest were discussed, in particular, the resolution of
international conflicts through peaceful means, with specific
reference to the Middle East and the serious humanitarian emergencies
those conflicts have caused. In this context, the importance of
reconciliation between the communities that make up the various
societies and respect for the rights of ethnic and religious
minorities were emphasized. Attention was also given to the problem
of human trafficking and the plight of refugees and migrants.
Regarding the present global economic crisis, mention was made of the
role that the General Assembly of the United Nations could undertake
in its programs—that would be environmentally friendly and, at the
same time, capable of reducing the distance between the rich and the
poor—for an agenda of sustainable development after 2015.
Today’s
meeting confirmed the Holy See’s appreciation for the United
Nation’s central role in seeking the common good of humanity. Also,
the Catholic Church’s contribution, with the means proper to her
and respectful of her identity, in promoting the complete dignity of
the human person as well as peace and a culture of encounter was not
overlooked, with the hopes that such values might always inspire the
General Assembly’s debates and deliberations.
CORPUS
CHRISTI: GOD'S SOLIDARITY NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE US
Vatican
City, 31 May 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday in the Basilica of St. John
Lateran, Pope Francis celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus
Christi. He then led, on foot, the Eucharistic procession that wound
along Rome's Via Merulana, until reaching the Basilica of Saint Mary
Major. Following are ample extracts from the Holy Father's homily,
which focused on the Gospel story of the multiplication of the loaves
and fishes.
“In
the Gospel we have just heard, there is an expression of Jesus that
always strikes me: 'Give them some food yourselves'. ... who are the
ones whom we should feed? ... the crowd, the multitude. Jesus is in
the midst of the people. He welcomes them; talks to them; heals them.
He shows them God's mercy. In their midst, He chooses the twelve
Apostles to be with him and, like him, to immerse themselves in the
concrete situations of the world. The people follow him and listen to
him because Jesus speaks and acts in a new way, with the authority of
someone who is authentic and consistent; someone who speaks and acts
truthfully; someone who gives the hope that comes from God; one who
is revelation of the face of the God who is love. And the people
joyfully bless God.”
“This
evening we are that crowd in the Gospel. We also strive to follow
Jesus to listen to him, to enter into communion with him in the
Eucharist, to accompany him, so that He might accompany us. Let us
ask ourselves: how do I follow Jesus? Jesus speaks in silence, in the
Mystery of the Eucharist, and every time He reminds us that following
him means going out of ourselves and making our lives not our
possession, but a gift to him and to others.”
“The
invitation that Jesus extends to his disciples to feed the multitude
themselves is born of two elements: most of all from the crowd that,
having followed Jesus, now finds itself outside, far from inhabited
areas, as evening falls, and then, from the disciples' concern, who
asked Jesus to dismiss the crowd so that they might seek food and
lodging in the nearby towns. Faced with the crowd's needs, the
disciples' solution is for everyone to take care of themselves. ...
How many times do we Christians have this temptation! We do not care
for the needs of others, dismissing them with a pitiful, 'May God
help you'. … But Jesus’ solution goes in another direction … He
asks the disciples to seat the people in communities of fifty
persons. He raises his eyes to heaven, recites the blessing, breaks
the loaves, and gives them to the disciples to distribute.”
“It
is a moment of profound communion. The crowd, whose thirst has been
quenched by the word of the Lord, is now nourished by his bread of
life. … This evening, we too are gathered around the Lord’s table
... It is in listening to his Word, in nourishing ourselves with his
Body and his Blood, that He makes us transforms us from a multitude
into a community, from anonymity to communion. The Eucharist is the
sacrament of communion, which brings us out from our selfishness to
live together our journey in his footsteps, our faith in him. We all
ought, therefore, to ask ourselves before the Lord: How do I live the
Eucharist? Do I live it anonymously or as a moment of true communion
with the Lord and also with the many brothers and sisters who share
this same table?”
The
multiplication of the loaves [is born of] Jesus' invitation to his
disciples: 'Feed them yourselves', 'give', share. What do the
disciples share? What little they have: five loaves and two fishes.
But it is precisely those loaves and fishes that, in God’s hands,
feed the whole crowd. And it is precisely the disciples, bewildered
by the inability of their means, by the poverty of what they have at
their disposal, who invite the people to sit down and— trusting
Jesus' word of—distribute the loaves and fishes that feed the
crowd. This tells us that in the Church, but also in society, a
keyword that we need not fear is 'solidarity', that is, knowing how
to place what we have at God’s disposal, our humble abilities,
because only in sharing them, in giving them, that our lives will be
fruitful, will bear fruit. Solidarity: a word upon which the spirit
of the world looks unkindly!”
“Tonight,
once again, the Lord gives us the bread which is his body. He makes a
gift of himself. We also experiencing “God's solidarity” with
humanity, ... a solidarity that never ceases to amaze us. God draws
near to us. In the sacrifice of the Cross He lowers himself, entering
into the darkness of death in order to give us his life, which
conquers evil, selfishness, and death. This evening too, Jesus gives
himself to us in the Eucharist. He shares our journey, or rather, He
becomes food, real food that sustains our lives even at the times
when the going is rough, when obstacles slow our steps. In the
Eucharist, the Lord makes us follow his path, the path of service,
sharing, and giving—and what little we have, what little we are, if
shared, becomes wealth, because the power of God, which is love,
descends into our poverty to transform it.”
“Discipleship,
communion, and sharing. Let us pray that our participation in the
Eucharist may always inspire us: to follow the Lord every day, to be
instruments of communion, to share what we are with Him and with our
neighbour. Then our lives will be truly fruitful.”
FR.
LOMBARDI'S NOTE ON POPE'S MORNING MASSES AT DOMUS SANCTAE MARTHAE
Vatican
City, 31 May 2013 (VIS) – The Director of the Holy See Press
Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., clarified a few points relative
to the broadcast and publication of the daily Mass that Pope Francis
celebrates in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae as well as the
homilies that he gives.
“First
of all,” said Fr. Lombardi, “it is necessary to keep in mind the
character that the Holy Father himself attributes to the morning
celebration of Mass at St. Martha's. It is a Mass attended by a, not
small, group of faithful (usually over 50 persons), but the Pope
wants to maintain its familiar atmosphere. That is why,
notwithstanding the requests that have been received, he has
specifically requested that the live video and audio not be
broadcast.”
“Regarding
his homilies, they are not given from a written text but
spontaneously and in Italian, a language that the Pope knows well but
which isn't his mother tongue. A 'complete' publication, therefore,
would necessarily entail a transcription and a reworking of the text
at various points, given that the written form is different from the
spoken one, which in this case is the original form chosen
intentionally by the Holy Father. In short, it would entail editing
by the Holy Father himself, but the result would clearly be
'something else', which isn't what the Holy Father intends to do
[with his daily homily] each morning.”
The
Director of the Holy See Press Office stated that careful
consideration was given to how to make the wealth of the Pope's
homilies available without changing their nature. The Vatican's
newspaper, “L'Osservatore Romano” as well as Vatican Radio offer
a summary of the Pope's words and Vatican Television broadcasts a
brief video that corresponds to the paragraphs chosen by Vatican
Radio. He also noted that the difference between the Pope's public
and private activities must be recognized. In the former, Pope
Francis' complete texts are released, while in the latter it is
necessary to “respect the particular character of the situation,
the spontaneity and familiarity of the Holy Father's expressions. The
solution that was chosen respects, above all, the Pope's wishes and
the nature of the morning celebrations while, at the same time,
allowing a wide public to have access to the main messages that the
Holy Father offers the faithful in those circumstances.”
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 31 May 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father received:
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Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples, and
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Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, S.J., secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and titular of Tibica.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 31 May 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father:
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appointed Bishop Sergio Osvaldo Buenanueva as bishop of the Diocese
of San Francisco (area 19,611, population 222,000, Catholics 217,000,
priests 40, religious 34), Argentina. Bishop Buenanueva was
previously auxiliary of Mendoza, Argentina, and titular of
Rusubbicari. On the Argentine Episcopal Conference he currently
serves as president of the Commission for Ministers.
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appointed Fr. Jean-Pierre Delville as bishop of Liege (area 3,862,
population 1,044,000, Catholics 213,987, priests 33, religious 94),
Belgium. The bishop-elect, of the clergy of the same diocese, was
born in Liege in 1951 and was ordained a priest in 1980. Since
ordination he has served in several pastoral and academic roles, most
recently as vicar of the parish of Saint-Lambert in Liege and tenured
professor in the Theology Faculty of the Universite catholique of
Louvain in Louvain-le-Neuve, Belgium. He succeeds Bishop Aloysius
Jousten, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese
the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
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appointed Fr. Peter Brown, C.Ss.R., as bishop of Samoa-Pago Pago
(area 197, population 68,000, Catholics 14,000, priests 18, permanent
deacons 27, religious 9), American Samoa. Bishop-elect Brown was born
in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1947 and was ordained a priest in
1981. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral, missionary,
and institutional roles, most recently as regional superior of the
Redemptorist Fathers in New Zealand. He succeeds Bishop John Quinn
Weitzel, M.M., whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same
diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
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accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the
Archdiocese of Cochabamba, Bolivia, presented by Bishop Angel Gelmi
Bertocchi, titular of Forum Clodii, upon having reached the age
limit.
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accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Diocese of
Motherwell, Scotland, presented by Bishop Joseph Devine, upon having
reached the age limit.
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