SUMMARY:
-
THE POPE INSTITUTES A COUNCIL OF CARDINALS TO ASSIST IN THE
GOVERNANCE OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
-
TO THE ST. EGIDIO COMMUNITY: DIALOGUE CONQUERS WAR
-
CONSISTORY FOR SEVERAL CAUSES FOR CANONISATION
-
MEETING OF COUNCIL OF CARDINALS TO BEGIN TOMORROW
-
COMMUNICATION AT THE SERVICE OF A CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER
-
THE CATECHIST HOLDS THE MEMORY OF GOD AND REVIVES IT IN OTHERS
-
FRANCIS INVITES US TO PRAY AGAIN FOR PEACE IN SYRIA
-
THE POPE TO CATECHISTS: DO NOT BE AFRAID OF GOING BEYOND YOUR
BOUNDARIES – GOD IS ALREADY THERE
-
AUDIENCES
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
POPE INSTITUTES A COUNCIL OF CARDINALS TO ASSIST IN THE GOVERNANCE OF
THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH
Vatican
City, 30 September 2013 (VIS) – We publish below the full text of
the Chirograph by by which the Holy Father institutes a Council of
Cardinals to assist him in the governance of the universal Church and
to draw up a project for the revision of the Apostolic Constitution
Pastor bonus on the Roman Curia.
“Among
the suggestions that emerged from the General Congregations of
Cardinals prior to the Conclave, mention was made of the expediency
of instituting a limited group of Members of the Episcopate, from
various parts of the world, with whom the Holy Father could consult,
individually or collectively, on specific matters. Once elected to
the See of Rome, I have had the opportunity to reflect on this issue
on a number of occasions, and consider that such an initiative would
be of significant use in fulfilling the pastoral ministry of Peter’s
Successor entrusted to me by my brother cardinals.
“For
this reason, on 13 April I announced the constitution of the
aforementioned group, at the same time indicating the names of those
who had been called to participate. Now, following reflection, I
consider it opportune that such a group, by means of the present
Chirograph, be instituted as a 'Council of Cardinals', with the task
of assisting me in the governance of the universal Church and drawing
up a project for the revision of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor
bonus on the Roman Curia. It will be composed of the same persons
previously nominated, who may be called upon, both in Council and
singly, on matters that I will from time to time consider worthy of
attention. The aforementioned Council which, with regard to the
number of members, I will compose in the most appropriate way, will
constitute a further expression of Episcopal communion and of the aid
to the munus petrinum that the Episcopate, disseminated throughout
the world, may offer”.
The
chirograph is dated 28 September 2013, the first year of Francis'
Pontificate.
TO
THE ST. EGIDIO COMMUNITY: DIALOGUE CONQUERS WAR
Vatican
City, 30 September 2013 (VIS) – Today in the apostolic palace the
Holy Father received in audience participants in the international
meeting for peace organised by the St. Egidio Community. The meeting,
held in Rome from 29 September to 1 October, is entitled “Courage
and Hope: religions and cultures in dialogue”. Francis mentioned
John Paul II's invitation in Assisi to religious leaders to pray for
peace not one against the other, but rather alongside each other, and
praised the St. Egidio Community for continuing along this path and
ensuring that this did not remain an isolated event. “You have
gained pace”, he said, “with the participation of important
figures from all religions and from lay representatives and
humanists”.
The
Pope underlined that “there is no religious justification for
violence”, and, as emphasised by Benedict XVI two years ago, “it
is necessary to eliminate every form of violence motivated by
religion, and to keep vigil together to ensure that the world no
longer falls prey to the violence inherent in every plan for
civilisation that is based on a 'no' to God”.
The
Pope emphasised that peace is the responsibility of all, and that a
religious leader is a man of peace, because “the commandment of
peace is inscribed in the depths of religious traditions”. He also
remarked that “Peace requires tenacious, patient, strong,
intelligent dialogue, for which nothing is lost. Dialogue can win
over war. Dialogue enables people of different generations, who often
ignore each other, to live together; it enables the co-existence of
citizens of different ethnic origins, of different convictions.
Dialogue is the way of peace”.
The
Pope described religious leaders as “dialoguers”, working to
build peace; not as intermediaries seeking benefit, but rather as
authentic mediators with peace as their ultimate goal. In conclusion,
he encouraged them to continue their work, as “this courage of
peace gives the courage of hope to the world”.
CONSISTORY
FOR SEVERAL CAUSES FOR CANONISATION
Vatican
City, 30 September 2013 (VIS) - This morning at 10 a.m. in the
Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father presided
over an ordinary public consistory for the canonization of the
blessed Popes John XXIII and John Paul II.
During
the course of the consistory, the Pope decreed that blesseds John
XXIII and John Paul II be inscribed in the book of saints on Sunday,
27 April 2014, Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday.
MEETING
OF COUNCIL OF CARDINALS TO BEGIN TOMORROW
Vatican
City, 30 September 2013 (VIS) – The first of three meetings between
Pope Francis and the Council of Cardinals, instituted by the Holy
Father's Chirograph of 28 September, will take place tomorrow, 1
October.
The
council is composed of Cardinals Giuseppe Bertello, president of the
Governorate of Vatican City State; Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa,
archbishop emeritus of Santiago de Chile, Chile; Oswald Gracias,
archbishop of Bombay, India; Reinhard Marx, archbishop of Munich and
Freising, Germany; Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, archbishop of Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo; Sean Patrick O'Malley O.F.M. Cap.,
archbishop of Boston, USA; George Pell, archbishop of Sydney,
Australia; Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, S.D.B., archbishop of
Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in the role of coordinator; and Bishop
Marcello Semeraro of Albano, Italy, in the role of secretary.
During
the three days the Council will meet in the private library of the
third loggia in the papal apartment, and the working sessions will
take place in the morning and in the evening. The Holy Father will
participate, except on Wednesday morning during the general audience,
explained the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico
Lombardi, S.J., who went on to clarify that the conversations will be
private, so no communication is to be given at the end. He also
emphasised that, as stated in the Chirograph published today, the
Pope reserves the faculty of configuring the Council in the most
suitable form, and may therefore increase the number of members.
He
also observed that all the members of the Council, with the exception
of the Secretary and Cardinal Bertello (who represents the Curia) are
archbishops with large dioceses and in most cases with broad pastoral
experience. “The institution of the Council of Cardinals”, he
said, “is a further enrichment provided by the Pope to the
governance of the Church”, and recalled that during his pontificate
Francis has frequently made use of consultation, as is demonstrated
by the case of the meeting with the heads of the dicasteries and his
interest in reviving the working method of the Synod.
The
Council has no relation with other Church institutions and is not an
element of the architecture of the latter, but rather an organ of
consultation for the Pope, Fr.Lombardi continued, explaining that
since the announcement in April of the institution of a group of
eight cardinals to assist the Pope in the governance of the Church,
the members have received suggestions and proposals in their
respective areas of competence. Furthermore, in preparation for the
October meeting, contributions of various types have been sent to the
Pope, the opinions of the heads of dicasteries have been sought, and
the Secretary of State and College of Cardinals have been consulted.
“The Council has eighty documents that have been circulated amongst
its members, and the secretary, Bishop Semeraro, has prepared a
comprehensive synthesis. Similarly, over these months the members
have have also spoken with each other and on occasion with the Holy
Father".
COMMUNICATION
AT THE SERVICE OF A CULTURE OF ENCOUNTER
Vatican
City, 30 September 2013 (VIS) – In a note published today, the
Pontifical Council for Social Communications explained the meaning
and context of the central theme of the next Social Communications
Day, which is celebrated every year on 1 June. This year, the theme
chosen by the Holy Father is “Communication at the service of an
authentic culture of encounter”.
“The
capacity to communicate is at the heart of what it means to be human.
It is in and through our communication that we are able to meet and
encounter at a meaningful level other people, express who we are,
what we think and believe, how we wish to live and, perhaps more
importantly, to come to know those with whom we are called to live.
Such communication calls for honesty, mutual respect and a commitment
to learn from each other.
“It
requires a capacity to know how to dialogue respectfully with the
truth of others. It is often what might be perceived initially as
‘difference’ in the other that reveals the richness of our
humanity. It is the discovery of the other that enables us to learn
the truth of who we are ourselves.
“In
our modern era, a new culture is developing advanced by technology,
and communication is in a sense “amplified” and “continuous”.
We are called to “rediscover, through the means of social
communication as well as by personal contact, the beauty that is at
the heart of our existence and journey, the beauty of faith and of
the beauty of the encounter with Christ.” (Address of Pope Francis
to participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for
Social Communications, 21 September 2013). In this context, each one
of us should accept the challenge to be authentic by witnessing to
values, Christian identity, cultural experiences, expressed with a
new language and shared with others.
“Our
ability to communicate, reflected in our participation in the
creative, communicative and unifying Trinitarian Love, is a gift
which allows us to grow in personal relationships, which are a
blessing in our lives, and to find in dialogue a response to those
divisions that create tensions within communities and between
nations.
“The
age of globalization is making communication possible even in the
most remote parts of the world, but it is also important “to use
modern technologies and social networks in such a way as to reveal a
presence that listens, converses and encourages.” (Address of Pope
Francis to participants at the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical
Council for Social Communications, 21 September 2013), so that nobody
is excluded.
“The
Message for World Communications Day 2014 will explore the potential
of communication, especially in a networked and connected world, to
bring people closer to each other and to co-operate in the task of
building a more just world.
“World
Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called for by the
Second Vatican Council (“Inter Mirifica”, 1963), is celebrated in
most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on
the Sunday before Pentecost (June 1st in 2014).
“The
Holy Father’s message for World Communications Day is traditionally
published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales,
patron of writers (January 24)”.
THE
CATECHIST HOLDS THE MEMORY OF GOD AND REVIVES IT IN OTHERS
Vatican
City, 29 September 2013 (VIS) – The catechist is one who guards the
memory of God and who knows how to awaken it in others, said Pope
Francis in the homily he pronounced during Mass in St. Peter's
Square, in which more than 100,000 people participated, also filling
the adjacent Via della Conciliazione.
On
the concluding day of the pilgrimage to Rome of catechists from all
over the world, marking the Year of Faith, the Holy Father quoted the
words of the prophet Amos: “Woe to the complacent in Zion … lying
upon beds of ivory! They eat, they drink, they sing, they play and
they care nothing about other people’s troubles”. He explained
that, although these are harsh words, “they warn us about a danger
that all of us face. … The danger of complacency, comfort,
worldliness in our lifestyles and in our hearts, of making our
well-being the most important thing in our lives”.
This
was also the case of the rich man in the Gospel, who dressed
luxuriously and banqueted sumptuously without concern for the poor
man on his doorstep who had nothing to relieve his hunger. “Whenever
material things, money, worldliness, become the centre of our lives,
they take hold of us, they possess us; we lose our very identity as
human beings. … The rich man in the Gospel has no name, he is
simply 'a rich man'. Material things, his possessions, are his face;
he has nothing else”.
This
happens to us when we find “security in material things which
ultimately rob us of our face, our human face. This is what happens
when we become complacent, when we no longer remember God. … Life,
the world, other people, all of these become unreal, they no longer
matter, everything boils down to one thing: having. When we no longer
remember God, we too become unreal, we too become empty; like the
rich man in the Gospel, we no longer have a face. Those who run after
nothing become nothing”.
The
catechist must be those “who keep the memory of God alive; they
keep it alive in themselves and they are able to revive it in
others”, like Mary, “who … sees God’s wondrous works in her
life … but instead, after receiving the message of the angel and
conceiving the Son of God … goes to assist her elderly kinswoman
Elizabeth, also pregnant”, and upon encountering her, “the first
thing she does … is to recall God’s work, God’s fidelity, in
her own life, in the history of her people, in our history … Mary
remembers God”.
“This
canticle of Mary also contains the remembrance of her personal
history, God’s history with her, her own experience of faith. And
this is true too for each one of us and for every Christian: faith
contains our own memory of God’s history with us, the memory of our
encountering God who always takes the first step, who creates, saves
and transforms us. … A catechist is a Christian who puts this
remembrance at the service of proclamation, not to seem important,
not to talk about himself or herself, but to talk about God, about
his love and his fidelity. To talk about and to pass down all that
God has revealed, his teaching in its totality, neither trimming it
down nor adding on to it. … What is the Catechism itself, if not
the memory of God, the memory of his works in history and his drawing
near to us in Christ present in his word, in the sacraments, in his
Church, in his love?”.
Finally,
the Pope cited St. Paul's recommendations to Timothy, which also
indicate the path of the catechist: “Pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. … Catechists are men
and women of the memory of God if they have a constant, living
relationship with him and with their neighbour; if they are men and
women of faith who truly trust in God and put their security in him;
if they are men and women of charity, love, who see others as
brothers and sisters; if they are men and women of 'hypomoné',
endurance and perseverance, able to face difficulties, trials and
failures with serenity and hope in the Lord; if they are gentle,
capable of understanding and mercy”.
Francis
concluded, “Let us ask the Lord that we may all be men and women
who keep the memory of God alive in ourselves, and are able to awaken
it in the hearts of others”.
FRANCIS
INVITES US TO PRAY AGAIN FOR PEACE IN SYRIA
Vatican
City, 29 September 2013 (VIS) – Following the celebration of Holy
Mass for the Day of Catechists on the occasion of the Year of Faith
on the solemnity of the archangels St. Michael, St. Raphael and St.
Gabriel, Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with the faithful and
pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. Before the Marian prayer,
the Pope greeted His Beatitude Archbishop Youhanna X, Greek Orthodox
patriarch of Antioch and all the East. “Your presence”, he said,
“invites us once again to pray for peace in Syria and in the Middle
East”. Francis greeted the pilgrims from Assisi who had come to
Rome on horseback, and mentioned that in Croatia on Saturday 28
September, the diocesan priest Miroslav Bulesic, martyred in 1947,
was beatified.
THE
POPE TO CATECHISTS: DO NOT BE AFRAID OF GOING BEYOND YOUR BOUNDARIES
– GOD IS ALREADY THERE
Vatican
City, 28 September 2013 (VIS) - “Catechesis is a pillar for
education in faith. … Even though at times it may be difficult, it
is necessary to work hard and make efforts for which you don't always
see the results you hoped for, educating in faith is good! It is
perhaps the best legacy we can give: faith! … Catechesis is a
vocation: 'being' a catechist, this is the vocation, not 'working' as
a catechist. Be careful: I have not said to do the work of a
catechist, but rather to be one, because it involves all your life.
It means guiding towards the encounter with Jesus with words and with
life, with your witness … I like to recall the words of St. Francis
of Assisi to his friars: 'Always preach the Gospel, and if necessary,
use words', so that people may see the Gospel in your lives … we
must begin with Christ and this love He gives us”.
With
these words Pope Francis greeted the participants in the
International Congress on Catechesis promoted on the occasion of the
Year of Faith by the Pontifical Council for Promoting New
Evangelisation, whom he received in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.
To
start again from Christ, the Pope indicated three stages, “like the
old Jesuits … one, two, three!”, he said. “First of all, … it
means being familiar with Him: Jesus insisted on this to disciples at
the Last Supper, when he prepared himself to live the greatest gift
of love, his sacrifice on the Cross. Jesus used the image of the vine
and its branches, and said: stay in my love, stay attached to me,
just as the branch is attached to the vine. If we remain united to
Him, we can bear fruit, and this is familiarity with Him. … The
first thing, for a disciple, is to stay with the Master, to listen to
Him, to learn from Him. … I ask you: how are you in the presence of
the Lord? When you go to the Lord, you look at the Tabernacle, what
do you do? Without words … But I say, I say, I think, I reflect, I
feel … Very good! But do you let the Lord look at you? To let
ourselves be watched by the Lord. He watches us and this is a form of
prayer. … If in our hearts there is not the warmth of God, of His
love, of His tenderness, how can we, poor sinners, warm the hearts of
others?”
To
explain the second stage, Francis said that starting again from
Christ means “imitating Him in coming out of oneself and going
towards others. This is a beautiful experience, if somewhat
paradoxical. Because the person who puts Christ at the centre of his
life is off-centre. The more you unite with Jesus and make Him the
centre of your life, the more He makes you abandon yourself,
decentralise yourself, and open yourself to others. This is the true
dynamism of love, this is the movement of God Himself! God is the
centre, but is always the gift of oneself, relations, life that is
communicated. … In the heart of the catechist, there always exists
this ‘systolic-diastolic’ movement: union with Jesus; encounter
with the other. If at one of these two movements is no longer
beating, then you do not live. It receives the gift of kerygma, and
offers it as a gift in turn”.
The
third element “follows the same line: starting again from Christ
means not being afraid to go with Him to the peripheries. Here I
think of the story of Jonah, a truly interesting figure, especially
in our times of change and incertitude. Jonas was a pius man, with a
calm and orderly life; this led him to have very clear mental
framework and to judge everything and everyone accordingly, in a
rigid fashion. … Therefore, when the Lord called on him to go and
preach in the great pagan city of Nineveh, Jonas did not feel like
doing this. 'Go there? But I have all the truth here!' … Nineveh
was outside his way of thinking and at the periphery of his world.
And so he ran away and boarded a boat”.
The
story of Jonah “teaches us not to be afraid of going outside our
ways of thinking in order to follow God, because God always goes
beyond. … God is not afraid! ...God is not afraid of the
peripheries. If you go to the peripheries, you will find Him there.
God is always faithful and creative, … and creativity is the pillar
of being a catechist. God is creative, He is not closed, and for this
reason He is never rigid. God is not rigid! He welcomes us, He comes
towards us, He understands us. To be faithful, to be creative, it is
necessary to know how to change. … If a catechist allows himself to
be conquered by fear, he is a coward; if he is not calm, he ends up
as a statue in a museum. … What I want to say now, I have already
said many times before, but it comes from my heart to say it again.
When we Christians are closed in our group, in our movement, in our
parish, in our own environment, we remain closed and what happens to
us is what happens to whatever remains closed: when a room is closed
the odour of humidity gathers. And if a person is closed in that
room, they become ill! When a Christian is closed in his group, or
parish, or movement, he remains closed and becomes ill. If a
Christian goes out into the streets, in the peripheries, what may
befall him is what happens to many people on the street: an accident.
We have seen many road accidents. But I say to you: I prefer a
thousand times over a Church afflicted by accidents rather than a
sick Church!”
“Jesus
did not say: go out and get by. No, he didn't say that! Jesus said,
go, I am with you! This is our beauty and our strength: if we go, if
we go to bring the Gospel with love, with true apostolic spirit, with
boldness and candidness, He walks with us, He goes before us. …
When we think of going far away, to an extreme periphery, and perhaps
when we are a little afraid, in reality He is already there: Jesus
awaits us in the heart of that brother, in his wounded flesh, in his
oppressed life, in his soul without faith”.
AUDIENCES
On
Saturday, 28 September the Holy Father received in audience:
-
Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops.
-
Members of the presidency of the National Conference of Bishops of
Brazil (CNBB): Cardinal Cardinal Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop
of Aparecida, Brazil, president; Archbishop Jose Belisario da Silva,
O.F.M., of Sao Luis do Maranhao, vice president; Bishop Leonardo
Ulrich Steiner, auxiliary of Brasilia, secretary general.
-
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting New Evangelisation.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
On
Saturday, 28 September, the Holy Father:
-
appointed Bishop Julito B. Cortes as bishop of Dumaguete (area 4,955,
population 1,172,000, Catholics 1,034,000, priests 104, religious
125), Philippines. Bishop Cortes, previously auxiliary of Cebu, was
born in Paranaque, Philippines in 1956, was ordained to the
priesthood in 1980, and received episcopal ordination in 2002.
-
appointed Bishop Paul Bui Van Doc as coadjutor archbishop of Ho Chi
Minh Ville (area 2,093, population 7,365,520, Catholics 685,707,
priests 658, religious 5,900), Vietnam. Archbishop-elect Bui Van Doc,
previously bishop of My Tho, Vietnam, was appointed as apostolic
administrator “sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis” of the
diocese of My Tho, Vietnam.
-
Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the
Evangelisation of Peoples, as special envoy to the celebration of the
Fourth American Missionary Congress (CAM4) and the Ninth Missionary
Congress of Latin America (COMLA9), scheduled to take place in
Maracaibo, Venezuela on 1 December 2013.
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
