The Pope And Church News: News Vatican Information Service 10/10/2013

Thursday, October 10, 2013

News Vatican Information Service 10/10/2013

SUMMARY:

- POPE FRANCIS RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF CROATIA

- THE POPE PRAISES THE INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLOMBUS

- PRESENTATION OF FAMILY DAYS AND COLLECTION OF THE POPE'S TEXTS ON FAMILY THEMES

- AUDIENCES

- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

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POPE FRANCIS RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF CROATIA

Vatican City, 10 October 2013 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father Francis received in audience Ivo Josipovi?, president of the Republic of Croatia, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions, and after making reference to Croatia’s long Catholic tradition, satisfaction was expressed with regard to the good bilateral relations, consolidated by four current Agreements promoting collaboration between the Church and the State for the common good of Croatian society.

The Parties went on to express their satisfaction at the entry of Croatia into the European Union and several themes of common interest emerged. Mention was made of the challenges that the country must face during the current economic crisis, as well as the regional context, with special reference to the situation of Croatians in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Finally, reference was made to the international situation, with particular attention to the condition of Christian Communities throughout the world.

THE POPE PRAISES THE INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLOMBUS

Vatican City, 10 October 2013 (VIS) – “I wish to express my gratitude for the unfailing support which your Order has always given to the works of the Holy See”, began the Holy Father's address to the Knights of Columbus, whom he received in audience this morning in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, on the occasion of a meeting held by the Order in Rome. He thanked them for their prayers and witness of faith, and concern for brothers and sisters in need.

The Pope described the “Vicarius Christi Fund” as “an eloquent sign” of the Order's “solidarity with the Successor of Peter in his concern for the universal Church”, made manifest in its daily works. Finally, Pope Francis commended the order to the intercession of St. Joseph, “protector of the Holy Family of Nazareth … an admirable model of those manly virtues of quiet strength, integrity and fidelity which the Knights of Columbus are committed to preserving, cultivating and passing on to future generations of Catholic men”.

PRESENTATION OF FAMILY DAYS AND COLLECTION OF THE POPE'S TEXTS ON FAMILY THEMES

Vatican City, 10 October 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, presented the twelfth plenary assembly of the dicastery, which will take place in Rome from 23 to 25 October, and the pilgrimage of families to the tomb of St. Peter to mark the Year of Faith, the theme of which is “Family, live the joy of faith” (26 and 27 October). Today's press conference also included the presentation of a volume, published in Spanish and Italian, gathering together thirty-five texts by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio-Pope Francis on the theme of the family and life, written between 1999 and 2013. The other participants in the conference were Bishop Jean Lafitte, Msgr. Simon Vasquez and Fr. Gianfranco Grieco, O.F.M., respectively secretary, under-secretary and head of department of the aforementioned Pontifical Council.

Archbishop Paglia emphasised that the recent convocation of the third general assembly of the Synod of Bishops (5-19 October 2014) will project new light on the upcoming events to be held by the Pontifical Council for the Family. “We wish to promote a great Family celebration around Pope Francis. Rome wants to, and must, become the 'Capital' of the family, both in Italy and worldwide. To be part of a family is good. To make a family is beautiful: we want to shout this out to the world, especially to families in difficulty. … If it is not good for man to be alone, it is likewise not good for families to be alone. The family must return to the centre of culture, politics, the economy, finance, and the life of peoples and nations. The Family must increasingly be the focus of the attention and concerns of the post-conciliar Church. Pope Francis, with the celebration of the next Synod, wishes to remind us of this urgency before it is too late. All the dioceses of the world are invited to put themselves on the same wavelength in order to reflect and to give new impetus to family pastoral care”.

Bishop Lafitte communicated the details of the calendar of the Plenary Assembly, specifying that two of the days, 23 and 25 October, will be dedicated to the work of the committee of the presidency, members and consultors. On 23 October, discussions will focus on the activities of the dicastery and its action programs, and on 25 October attention will turn to the question of the rights of the family, taking an interreligious approach and exploring Jewish and Islamic perspectives. On 24 October there will be a Congress, open to the public, on the Charter of the Rights of the Family, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary. The themes selected offer an interdisciplinary approach to the question of family rights: the theological basis for the Charter, the concept of natural marriage, the role of the State in recognising the institution of marriage, and the current relevance of the Charter of the Rights of the Family, demonstrating its links to contemporary culture and society. This document will be considered in the light of international legislation, and there will also be a discussion on women's rights. The final presentation will be dedicated to the difference between aggregative and generative couples. The Pope will receive the participants in audience on 25 October and in the afternoon of the same day the eighth World Meeting of Families, to be held in Philadelphia from 22 to 27 September 2015, will be presented.

Msgr. Vasquez provided some practical information on the events to be held on 26 and 27 October, in which 150,000 families are expected to participate. On Saturday afternoon the Pope will meet for the first time with families from 70 countries of all five continents in St. Peter's Square, and on Sunday, after the eucharistic celebration, he will bless all families throughout the world. “On Saturday afternoon the Pope will be surrounded by hundreds of elderly people and children, a novelty compared to other family meetings. By this decision it was intended to give visibility to the generational structure that characterises and enriches the life of every family and together bring to the fore two subjects who are particularly vulnerable and who merit greater attention”.

Finally, Fr. Grieco presented the collection of thirty-five texts by Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio-Pope Francis on the family, commenting that the Pope always emphasises the relationship between family, children and the elderly. With the help of the Institute for Marriage and Family of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina "Santa Maria de los Buenos Aires", the Pontifical Council has published a volume “with themes that refer to the daily evangelical and Franciscan preaching of Pope Francis: the culture of dialogue and encounter, care for others, the school as a place of welcome, and so on”. The volume includes texts on family and social solidarity, dignity and work, and also considers more controversial matters such as “euthanasia and abortion, divorce and same-sex marriages”.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 10 October 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the U.S.A.

- Archbishop Martin Krebs, apostolic nuncio to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, and Vanuatu, and apostolic delegate to the Pacific Ocean.

- Archbishop Tito Solari Capellari of Cochabamba, Bolivia.

- Professor Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.

Yesterday, the Holy Father received in audience Msgr. Giovanni Battista Gandolfo.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 10 October 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father:

- appointed Archbishop Santo Marciano of Rossano-Cariati, Italy, as military ordinary for Italy (priests, 183; religious, 48), Italy.

- appointed Bishop Jean-Luc Bouilleret as archbishop of Besançon (area 9,732, population 583,729, Catholics 533,000, priests 215, permanent deacons 29, religious 461), France. Archbishop-elect Bouilleret, previously bishop of Amiens, France, was born in Arbois, France in 1953, was ordained a priest in 1981, and received episcopal ordination in 2003.

- appointed Bishop Manuel da Silva Rodrigues Linda, auxiliary of Braga, Portugal, as military ordinary for Portugal. Bishop da Silva Rodrigues Linda was born in Paus, Portugal in 1956, was ordained to the priesthood in 1981, and received episcopal ordination in 2009. He succeeds Bishop Januario Torgal Mendes Ferreira, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same military ordinariate the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.