SUMMARY:
-
HOLY FATHER: “DUE TO OUR COMMON ROOTS, A CHRISTIAN CANNOT BE
ANTI-SEMITIC!”
-
POPE RECEIVES PRIME MINISTER OF MALTA
-
POPE'S AUDIENCE WITH ADOLFO PEREZ ESQUIVEL AND FELIX DIAZ
-
STS. PETER AND PAUL ASSOCIATION: “FREELY SERVE ALL AS JESUS DID”
-
ANGELUS: BE PROUD TO GO AGAINST THE CURRENT
-
SMALL VIPS FOR THE DAY PULL IN TO VATICAN TRAIN STATION
-
FRANCIS: CHURCH IS TO SERVE, TO LOVE, AND TO BELIEVE IN HUMANITY
-
BEETHOVEN FOR YEAR OF FAITH
-
SPECIAL ENVOYS OF THE HOLY FATHER
-
AUDIENCES
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
HOLY
FATHER: “DUE TO OUR COMMON ROOTS, A CHRISTIAN CANNOT BE
ANTI-SEMITIC!”
Vatican
City, 24 June 2013 (VIS) – At noon today, the Holy Father received
30 members of the delegation of the International Jewish Committee on
Interreligious Consultations. The Pope recalled that 21 previous
meetings have helped to strengthen the mutual understanding and ties
of friendship between Jews and Catholics.
This
is Pope Francis' first official meeting with a group of
representatives of Jewish organizations and communities since his
election. The pontiff said that the “Nostra Aetate” Declaration
of the Second Vatican Council represents “a key point of reference
for relations with the Jewish people” for the Catholic Church.
“In
that Council text, the Church recognizes that 'the beginnings of its
faith and election are to be found in the patriarchs, Moses, and
prophets'. And, with regard to the Jews, the Council recalls the
teaching of Saint Paul, who wrote 'the gifts and the call of God are
irrevocable' and who also firmly condemned hatred, persecution, and
all forms of anti-Semitism. Due to our common roots, a Christian
cannot be anti-Semitic!”
The
Holy Father noted that “the fundamental principles expressed by the
Declaration have marked the path of greater awareness and mutual
understanding trodden these last decades by Jews and Catholics, a
path which my predecessors have strongly encouraged, both by very
significant gestures and by the publication of a series of documents
to deepen the thinking about the theological roots of the relations
between Jews and Christians.”
Nevertheless,
this represents “only the most visible element of a vast movement
that takes place on the local level a bit throughout the world, as I
know from personal experience. During my ministry as Archbishop of
Buenos Aires, I had the joy of maintaining relations of sincere
friendship with leaders of the Jewish world. We talked often of our
respective religious identities, the image of the human person found
in the Scriptures, and how to keep an awareness of God alive in a
world now secularized in many ways. I met with them on various
occasions to discuss the common challenges faced by both Jews and
Christians. But above all, as friends, we enjoyed each other’s
company, we were mutually enriched through encounter and dialogue,
with an attitude of reciprocal welcome, and this helped all of us
grow as persons and as believers.”
“These
friendly relations are, in a way, the basis for the development of a
more official dialogue,” the Pope said, encouraging those present
to follow their path, “trying, as you do so, to involve younger
generations. Humanity needs our joint witness in favour of respect
for the dignity of man and woman created in the image and likeness of
God and in favour of the peace that is, above all, God’s gift.”
Pope
Francis concluded his address by recalling the words of the prophet
Jeremiah: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—affirms
the Lord—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you
a future of hope.”
POPE
RECEIVES PRIME MINISTER OF MALTA
Vatican
City, 24 June 2013 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the
Holy Father Francis received His Excellency Dr. Joseph Muscat, Prime
Minister of the Republic of Malta, in audience. Prime Minister Muscat
then met with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,
S.D.B., accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for
Relations with States.
During
the cordial talks, the apostolic origins of the Maltese Church were
recalled, along with the decisive impression that Christianity has
made upon the history and culture of the people of the archipelago.
Also remembered were the pastoral visits to Malta made by Blessed
Pope John Paul II and His Holiness Benedict XVI, which left profound
memories in the life of the Church and on the people.
The
need of maintaining Christian values steadfast was reaffirmed and the
important role—protected thanks to the many agreements concluded
between the Holy See and Malta—carried out by the Catholic Church
with her educational and charitable institutions was mentioned,
including teaching the Catholic religion in state schools, Catholic
schools, and on Church properties. Particular note was made of the
Agreement on the civil effects of religious marriages, which will be
the object of further discussions between the Parties.
While
mentioning the important challenges and critical situations affecting
the Mediterranean region and the country’s role in the European
Union, special emphasis was given to the deep commitment, on the part
of both the Church and the Government of Malta, to dealing with the
phenomenon of migration to Europe.
POPE'S
AUDIENCE WITH ADOLFO PEREZ ESQUIVEL AND FELIX DIAZ
Vatican
City, 24 June 2013 (VIS) – The Director of the Holy See Press
Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., released the following
communique.
“This
morning the Holy Father received in audience Mr. Adolfo Perez
Esquivel, recipient of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize, accompanying Mr.
Felix Diaz, leader of the Qom ethnic tribe's “La Primavera”
Community, with his wife Mrs. Amanda Asijak, and Fr. Francisco Nazar,
vicar for the indigenous populations of the Diocese of Formosa,
Argentina.”
“Mr.
Diaz expressed his gratitude to the Holy Father for the audience and
for what it means as an expression of interest and support. He
related to Pope Francis the difficulties faced by the indigenous
peoples of Argentina and Latin America, as well as his concerns for
the protection of their rights, especially in regard to their
territory and cultural identity.”
STS.
PETER AND PAUL ASSOCIATION: “FREELY SERVE ALL AS JESUS DID”
Vatican
City, 23 June 2013 (VIS) – At 11:15 this morning in the Hall of
Blessings of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father Francis
received members of the Association of Sts. Peter and Paul. He
thanked them for the charitable activities they undertake and for
their collaboration in the smooth operations of the celebrations that
take place in the Vatican.
The
association came into being at the wish of Paul VI, who in 1970
disbanded various groups of pontifical guards including the Palatine
Guard of Honour created by Pius IX in 1850. His intention was to
bring together a group of the faithful of Rome who wished to express
their unconditional fidelity to the Apostolic See. Former members of
the guard were thus invited to join a new group called the
Association of Sts. Peter and Paul, the statutes of which were
approved by Paul VI in 1971.
The
Association is divided into three sections: liturgy, culture, and
charity, and has a general secretariat. It undertakes various
initiatives with the aim of bearing witness to Christian life, the
apostolate, and faithfulness to the Apostolic See.
“I
know,” the Pope commented, “that there is a lot of 'behind the
scenes' work. I also know that your service of welcoming [pilgrims
and tourists] to St. Peter's Basilica, your service for the
liturgical celebrations, your apostolate, also extends to cultural
and charitable activities. Above all charity, your concrete attention
towards others, towards the poorest, weakest, and most needy is the
hallmark of the Christian.”
Serving
the Church and one's brothers and sisters without asking anything in
return, the pontiff said, “is beautiful. Serving without asking
anything in exchange, like Jesus. Jesus served us all and never asked
for anything in return. Jesus did things freely and you do things
freely. Your reward is precisely this: the joy of serving the Lord
and of doing it together!” This service is a great Christian virtue
of ”magnanimity, having a large heart, always expanding your hearts
with patience; expanding it, loving all and not those insignificant
things that do us such harm.”
Finally,
the Pope blessed those present and asked them to think of everyone
they love: “your family and your friends, so that the Blessing may
go out to them. But also think of some of those persons you don't
like so well, those who do you evil, those you are a little angry
with. Think of them too so that the Blessing might also go out to
them.”
ANGELUS:
BE PROUD TO GO AGAINST THE CURRENT
Vatican
City, 23 June 2013 (VIS) – At noon today, the Holy Father Francis
appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace
to pray the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Before the Marian prayer he recalled Jesus' most incisive words:
“whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses
his life for my sake will save it.” He then asked: “but what does
it mean 'to lose one's life for Jesus' cause'? This can happen in two
ways: by explicitly confessing the faith or implicitly defending
truth. The martyrs are the best example of losing one's life for
Christ. In two thousand years an immense host of men and women have
sacrificed their lives to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and his
Gospel. And today, in many parts of the world, there are … so many
martyrs who give their lives for Christ, who are brought to death for
not denying Jesus Christ. This is our Church.”
“Today
we have more martyrs than in the first centuries! But there is also
the daily martyrdom, which doesn't result in death but is also a
'losing of one's life' for Christ: doing one's duty with love,
according to the logic of Jesus, the logic of giving and sacrifice.
Think how many fathers and mothers put their faith into practice
every day, offering their lives for the good of the family! … How
many priests, brothers, and sisters generously carry out their
service for the Kingdom of God. How many young people give up their
own interests to dedicate themselves to children, the disabled, the
elderly... These too are martyrs! Everyday martyrs, martyrs of
everyday life! And there are many people, Christians and
non-Christians, who 'lose their own life' for the truth. Christ said
'I am the truth', so those who serve the truth serve Christ.”
The
Holy Father recalled how St. John the Baptist devoted himself
entirely to God and, in the end, died for the truth. “How many
people pay dearly for their commitment to the truth! How many
righteous men and women prefer to go against the current so as to not
deny the voice of their conscience, the voice of truth! Righteous
people, who are unafraid of going against the current! And we must
not be afraid!”
Before
concluding, the Pope addressed the young persons present, telling
them: “Don't be afraid to go against the current, when they want to
steal our hope, when they propose rotten values to us, values like
food that has gone bad—and when food has gone bad it makes us sick,
these values make us sick. We have to go against the current! And
you, young people, be the first: Go against the grain and be proud of
going against the grain. Go on, be brave and go against the current!
And be proud of doing it!”
SMALL
VIPS FOR THE DAY PULL IN TO VATICAN TRAIN STATION
Vatican
City, 23 June 2013 (VIS) – Shortly after praying the Sunday Angelus
today, the Holy Father was at the Vatican train station to welcome
the 250 children between the ages of 6 and 10 who were participating
in the “Children's Train: A Journey through Beauty” initiative.
Co-sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Italian
Railway System, the project was dedicated to children who have had
problems with social inclusion and psycho-social difficulties. The
children, accompanied by their families and teachers, were introduced
to visual communication and the language of images through works of
art—particularly in the cathedrals of the various cities—and
educational workshops.
The
seven car train, which started from Milan, made stops in Bologna and
Florence before pulling into the Vatican stop shortly before 12:00pm.
The children's first strong impression was of the immense cupola of
St. Peter's Basilica and emotions were running high in the short time
it took for the gates of Vatican territory to be opened and their
train to be towed to its destination by a diesel engine. Pope Francis
arrived at 12:20pm and greeted them, chatting with them and asking
how the trip went amid hugs and kisses. The Vatican train station was
filled with the joy of the little ones, seeking the Pope's attention,
who treated them like royalty.
FRANCIS:
CHURCH IS TO SERVE, TO LOVE, AND TO BELIEVE IN HUMANITY
Vatican
City, 22 June 2013 (VIS) – Shortly after noon today in the Vatican
Basilica, the Holy Father received 5,000 pilgrims from the Diocese of
Bresica, Italy, accompanied by their bishop, Luciano Monari. They had
travelled to Rome as part of the Year of Faith to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of the election of their fellow Brescian, Paul VI, to the
pontificate. The Pope focused on three fundamental aspects in Paul
VI's witness and teachings: love for Christ, love for Church, and
love for humanity.
“Paul
VI,” said the Pope, “knew how to witness, in difficult years, to
the faith in Jesus Christ. … The total love for Christ emerges
throughout Montini's life, even in his choice of name as Pope, which
he explained with these words: He is the Apostle 'who loved Christ so
supremely, that he wished and tried in the highest degree to bring
Christ's Gospel to all nations and offered his life out of love of
Christ.' [His was] a profound love for Christ, not to possess, but to
proclaim him,” the pontiff continued. “These passionate words are
great words. Let me tell you something: this address in Manila, and
also the one in Nazareth, have been a spiritual strength for me. They
have done me good in my life. I go back to this address, again and
again, because it it does me good to hear these words of Paul VI
today. And do we have the same love for Christ? Is He the centre of
our lives? Do our everyday actions witness to him?”
Francis
then spoke of his second point, Paul VI's love for the Church. It was
“a passionate love, the love of a lifetime, joyful and painful,
expressed from his first encyclical, 'Ecclesiam suam'. … He loved
the Church and offered himself for her without reservation. … This
is the heart of a true Shepherd, a true Christian, a man capable of
loving!” Pope Francis then stressed that, for him, “Evangelii
Nuntiandi” is the “greatest pastoral document written to date.”
“Paul VI had a very clear vision that the Church is a Mother who
bears Christ and who leads to Christ.” The Holy Father then
addressed the faithful again, asking them: “Are we truly a Church
united to Christ, going out and proclaiming to all, even and
especially those whom I call the 'existential periphery', or are we
wrapped up in ourselves, in our groups, in our little cliques? Do we
love the great Church, the Mother Church, the Church that sends us on
mission and makes us go out of ourselves?”
The
pontiff then turned to his third point, love for humanity. This is
also tied to Christ. It is the passion for God that compels us to
meet persons, to respect them, recognize them, and serve them.”
Francis recalled Paul VI's words at the last session of Vatican
Council II: “The religion of the God who became Man has met the
religion of man who made himself God. What happened? A combat, a
fight, an anathema? This could have happened, but it didn't. The old
story of the Samaritan was the paradigm for the Council's
spirituality. … All this doctrinal wealth was focused in a single
direction: to serve humanity … in its every condition, in its every
sickness, in its every need. The Church has almost declared herself
humanity's handmaid.”
Pope
Francis then added, “this also gives us light today, in this world
where humanity is denied, where it's preferred to travel the path of
gnosticism—either the 'no flesh' of a God who didn't take flesh, or
the 'no God' of Promethean man who can go forward [alone]. At this
time we can say the same things as Paul VI: the Church is the
handmaid of humanity, the Church believes in Christ who came in the
flesh and therefore serves humanity, loves humanity, believes in
humanity. This is the inspiration of the great Paul VI.”
“Dear
friends,” the Pope concluded, “gathering in the name of the
Venerable Servant of God Paul VI does us good! His witness nourishes
the flame of love for Christ in us.”
BEETHOVEN
FOR YEAR OF FAITH
Vatican
City, 24 June 2013 (VIS) – At 5:30pm Saturday afternoon in the Paul
VI Audience Hall, a concert sponsored by the Pontifical Council for
Promoting the New Evangelization as part of the Year of Faith was
given. After Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of that dicastery,
greeted those present on behalf of the Holy Father, who couldn't
attend because of an “urgent task that cannot be put off but must
be dealt with at the present moment”, he read the Pope's words of
thanks to the organizers, singers, choir, and orchestra. Then the
Italian Symphonic Orchestra of the RAI, conducted by Juraj Valcuha,
performed Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 in D minor op.125, accompanied
by the Choir of the National Academy of St Cecilia.
SPECIAL
ENVOYS OF THE HOLY FATHER
Vatican
City, 22 June 2013 (VIS) – Made public today was the letter from
the Pope, written in Latin and dated 10 May, in which he appoints
Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia, as his special
envoy to the 1150th anniversary of the arrival of Sts. Cyril and
Methodius in Czech territory, which will take place in Velehrad,
Czech Republic, on 5 July 2013.
The
mission that will accompany the cardinal is composed of Msgr. Tomas
Holub of the Diocese of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, secretary
general of the Czech Bishops' Conference, and Fr. Ladislao Nosek,
S.J., vicar of the Parish of St. Stephen in Prague, Czech Republic,
and chaplain of several Czech Catholic schools.
Also
issued today was a letter, likewise written in Latin and dated 10
May, appointing Cardinal Franc Rode, C.M., prefect emeritus of the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, as his special envoy to the 1150th anniversary of the
arrival of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Slovakian territory, which
will take place in Nitra, Slovak Republic, on 5 July 2013.
The
mission that will accompany the cardinal is composed of Msgr.
Vladimir Stahovec of the Diocese of Roznava, Slovakia, currently
rector of the Pontifical College of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Rome,
Italy, and Don Martin Kramara, of the Diocese of Zilina, Slovakia,
chaplain of the Diocese of Rome for the Pastoral Care of Resident
Slovakians.
Finally,
the letter of the Holy Father, dated 25 May, was also made public, in
which he appointed Cardinal Francesco Monterisi, archpriest emeritus
of the Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls Basilica, as special envoy to the
closing celebration of the sixth centenary of the discovery of the
statue of Santa Maria della Libera to be held in the shrine of
Cercemaggiore, Campobasso, Italy on 2 July of this year.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 24 June 2013 (VIS) – This morning, the Holy Father received
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops.
This
afternoon he is scheduled to receive Cardinal Albert Malcolm Ranjith
Patabendige Don, archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
On
Saturday, 22 June, the Holy Father received:
-
His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Matthew Festing, prince and grand
master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, accompanied by an
entourage,
-
Her excellency Mrs. Neda Rosandic Saric, former Croatian ambassador
to Argentina, and
-
Fr. Francois-Xavier Dumortier, S.J., rector of the Pontifical
Gregorian University, Rome, Italy.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 24 June 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed Fr.
Mario Leon Dorado, O.M.I., as apostolic prefect of Western Sahara.
Fr. Leon Dorado is currently administrator of the same Apostolic
Prefecture.
On
Saturday, 22 June, the Holy Father:
-
appointed Fr. Bernard Taiji Katsuya as bishop of Sapporo (area
83,452, population 5,518,088, Catholics 17,619 , priests 56,
religious 308), Japan. The bishop-elect was born in Muroran-Hokkaido,
Japan in 1955 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Sapporo in
1986. Since ordination he has served in several pastoral and academic
roles, most recently, since 2008, as director of the District of
Sapporo and, since 2012, as substitute pastor of Tsukisamu.
-
accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the Diocese
of Rockville Centre, New York, USA, presented by Bishop John Charles
Dunne, upon having reached the age limit.
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
