SUMMARY:
-
THE PURSUIT OF UNIFORMITY ERODES THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
-
FRANCIS URGES PRAYER FOR PEACE IN SYRIA, IRAQ, EGYPT, LEBANON AND THE
HOLY LAND, AND SHARES THE GRIEF OF BISHOPS OF ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA
FOR LAMPEDUSA TRAGEDY
-
THE POPE PRAYS FOR THE PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA
-
NEW LAW ON FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY, SUPERVISION AND INFORMATION
-
ARCHBISHOP MAMBERTI: LAW XVIII STRENGTHENS MEASURES AGAINST MONEY
LAUNDERING AND THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
PURSUIT OF UNIFORMITY ERODES THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Vatican
City, 9 October 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father dedicated the
catechesis of today's general audience to catholicism and the concept
of being Catholic. He explained three fundamental meanings of the
idea, based on the Greek “kath'olon”, “totality”, and how
these can be applied to the Church.
Firstly,
“the Church is Catholic”, he said, “because she is the space,
the house in which the faith in its entirety is announced, in which
the salvation brought by Christ is offered to all”. … In the
Church, every one of us finds what is necessary to believe, to live
as Christians, to became holy, to walk this path in every place and
in every age”.
“The
Church is Catholic”, he continued, explaining the second meaning,
“because she is universal, she spreads through every part of the
world and proclaims the Gospel to every man and every woman. The
Church is not an elite group, she does not concern only the few. …
The Church is not closed, she is sent to all of humanity. She is the
only Church present even in the seemingly least significant parts of
humanity”.
With
regard to the third meaning of Catholicism, the Pope reiterated how
“the Church is Catholic because she is the 'House of harmony' where
unity and diversity know how to come together to create richness”.
The Holy Father compared this to the image of the symphony, which
means harmony and accord, in which different instruments play
together. Each one retains its own inimitable timbre and the
characteristics of its sound, guided by a director who ensures that
the instruments all play together in harmony, but that the timbre of
each instrument is not cancelled; on the contrary, the special
quality of each one finds its highest expression. The Church, he
said, “is like a great orchestra. We are not all the same, and we
should not all be the same”, he emphasised. “Each person offers
what God has given him”.
The
Pope concluded by asking the 60,000 pilgrims present in St. Peter's
Square to live this harmony and to accept diversity, without seeking
uniformity. “The life of the Church is variety”, he said, “and
when we seek to make it uniform, we erode the gifts of the Holy
Spirit. … Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may render us ever more
'Catholic'!”
FRANCIS
URGES PRAYER FOR PEACE IN SYRIA, IRAQ, EGYPT, LEBANON AND THE HOLY
LAND, AND SHARES THE GRIEF OF BISHOPS OF ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA FOR
LAMPEDUSA TRAGEDY
Vatican
City, 9 October 2013 (VIS) – In his greetings in various languages
following today's catechesis, the Pope addressed with special
affection the bishops of the Church of the Alexandrian rite of
Ethiopia and Eritrea, reiterating his closeness to them “in prayer
and in suffering for the many sons of their land who lost their lives
in the tragedy of Lampedusa”.
Among
the French-speaking pilgrims, he made special mention of the bishops
of the Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa, urging them “to
consolidate relations with our brothers of the Islamic faith”.
A
large group of Croatian faithful from the diocese of Mostar-Duvno and
Trebinje-Mrkan in Bosnia-Herzegovina was present in the square.
“Being Catholic and being a missionary in your multi-ethnic and
multi-confessional environment means loving all as Jesus loves us.
Take this love to your homeland”, the Pope said.
Francis
also recalled, during his greetings to Arabic-speaking faithful, that
a year ago, on 10 October 2012, following his trip to Lebanon and his
apostolic exhortation “Ecclesia in Medio Oriente: Communion and
witness”, his predecessor Benedict XVI included Arabic among the
languages of the general audience. The Synod Fathers had asked for
this “to show to all Christians in the Middle East the closeness of
the Catholic Church to its eastern sons”. “And today, talking
about this expression, 'I believe in the Catholic Church'”, he
added, “I ask you to pray for peace in the Middle East: in Syria,
in Iraq, in Egypt, in Lebanon and in the Holy Land, where the Prince
of Peace, Jesus Christ, was born. Pray that the light of Christ
reaches all hearts and all places, unto the ends of the earth”.
THE
POPE PRAYS FOR THE PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA
Vatican
City, 9 October 2013 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a telegram to
the president of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who
underwent an operation in Buenos Aires yesterday for the drainage of
a right-side subdural haematoma, a blood clot on the surface of the
brain. We publish the full text of the telegram below:
“Cristina,
In
this very particular moment, I wish to ensure my presence through
prayer for you, and for the full restoration of your health. Through
these words, I ask that you be aware of my presence. I assure my
prayers and closeness. I ask the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Lujan, to
bestow strength upon you, to keep your hopes high and to ensure that
you can once again return to your daily responsibilities. I also
remember your relatives, in these harsh circumstances, as well as the
attending medical staff, and ask the Lord to cast His light upon
their decisions.
May
Jesus bless you and may the Virgin watch over you.
Cordially,
Francis PP”.
NEW
LAW ON FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY, SUPERVISION AND INFORMATION
Vatican
City, 9 October 2013 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office has today
issued a communique on the new Law XVIII of Vatican City State (8
October 2013), regarding transparency, supervision and information in
the field of finance. The full text is published here below:
1.
On today’s date the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State
adopted Law XVIII, consisting of norms regarding transparency,
supervision and information in financial matters, by which the
regulations of Decree No. XI of the President of the Governorate, of
8 August 2013, are confirmed as law.
2.
In the implementation of Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio of 8 August
2013, and maintaining continuity with the existing norms and those
introduced progressively following Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio
of 30 December 2010, for the prevention and countering of illegal
activities in the area of monetary and financial dealings, Law No.
XVIII strengthens the current internal system for the prevention and
countering of money laundering and the financing of terrorism in
conformity with international guidelines and, in particular, the
Recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and
relevant European Union sources.
3.
In particular, Law No. XVIII consolidates the existing discipline in
matters of:
-
Measures to prevent and counter money laundering and the financing of
terrorism;
-
Vigilance and regulation of the bodies carrying out professional
activities of a financial nature;
-
Collaboration and exchange of information by the Financial
Information Authority internally and at an international level;
-
Measures against individuals who threaten peace and international
security;
-
Declarations of cross-border transportation of cash.
4.
Law No. XVIII clarifies and consolidates the functions, powers and
responsibilities of the Financial Information Authority in the
exercise of its functions of supervision and regulation in the
prevention and countering of money laundering and the financing of
terrorism, in its function of informing in financial matters, and, as
established by Pope Francis in his Motu Proprio of 8 August 2013, the
function of prudential supervision.
5.
The new law – in conjunction with recent legislation in matters of
substantive and procedural penal law and in matters of administrative
sanctions, as well as Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio of 11 July 2013 on
penal jurisdiction – constitutes a further important step in the
direction of transparency and supervision of activities of a
financial nature and a contribution to the stability and integrity of
the sector at a global level.
ARCHBISHOP
MAMBERTI: LAW XVIII STRENGTHENS MEASURES AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING AND
THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM
Vatican
City, 9 October 2013 (VIS) – Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,
secretary for Relations with States, in a text focusing in detail on
the content of the new law on transparency, supervision and financial
information, mentions first that a significant part of the law is
dedicated to measures against money laundering and the financing of
terrorism, and gives details on the “individuals, the activity of
risk assessment, prescriptions concerning suitable checks on
counterparties … and the discipline of the international transfer
of funds”, strengthened when these two criminal activities are
suspected.
“Special
attention is dedicated to giving information on suspicious
activities, which obligated subjects are required to carry out before
the Financial Information Authority”, continues Archbishop
Mamberti. “In the case of a valid reason to suspect activities of
money laundering or financing of terrorism, the Financial Information
Authority transmits a detailed report to the Promoter of Justice and
may also suspend transactions and operations under suspicion for up
to five working days.”
“The
system of prescriptions regarding measures against money laundering
and the financing of terrorism is completed by the attribution, again
to the Financial Information Authority, of a power of general
supervision in relation to the implementation of the measures
established by law on the part of obligated subjects, as well as a
structured system of administrative sanctions that can be applied by
the Authority or, in the most serious cases, by the president of the
Governorate, upon suggestion by the Financial Information Authority”.
“A
relevant area of the discipline introduced by Law XVIII is included
in the section regarding 'Prudential supervision of bodies engaged in
professional activities of a financial nature', or rather, those who
regularly carry out a financial activity in an organised economic
form, in the name of or on behalf of third parties, for the purposes
of the production or exchange of goods or services. The introduction
of this function … responds to a specific recommendation from the
MONEYVAL Division of the Council of Europe, and Law No XVIII
establishes the discipline of this activity by conceding
broad-ranging powers of regulation to the Financial Information
Authority”.
With
reference to measures against individuals who threaten peace and
international security, the archbishop explained that the provision
of goods, economic resources and financial services is automatically
denied to listed individuals, and the Financial Information Authority
may immediately place a preventative block on their goods and
resources, informing those subjects who carry out financial
activities. In addition, cautionary measures may be adopted in
relation to an individual not yet included on the list in the case of
valid reasons to suspect that he or she poses a threat to peace and
international security and provided that the subject is added to the
list within fifteen-day period”.
With
regard to the provisions of the Law in relation to the cross-border
transportation of cash of a value of more than 10,000 euros, entering
or leaving a State, and the legislation regarding information and
co-operation, the prelate underlined “the central role attributed
to the Financial Information Authority which collaborates and
exchanges information both with other authorities of the Holy See and
Vatican City State, and with analogous authorities in other States,
in conditions of reciprocity and on the basis of agreement
protocols”.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 9 October 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father elevated the
territorial prelature of Coari (area 135,442, population 216,000,
Catholics 182,700, priests 15, religious 20), Brazil, to the rank of
diocese, with the same territorial configuration and name as before.
He appointed Bishop Marek Marian Piatek, C.SS.R., as first bishop of
the new diocese. Bishop Piatek, previously bishop prelate, was born
in Tuchow, Poland in 1954, was ordained to the priesthood in 1980,
and received episcopal ordination in 2011.
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