SUMMARY:
-
WITHIN US, A SEED OF RESURRECTION, A GLIMPSE OF ETERNITY
-
APPEAL FOR NUNS KIDNAPPED FROM THE SANTA TECLA MONASTERY, SYRIA
-
THE COUNCIL OF CARDINALS CONTINUES ITS WORK WITH SERENITY AND
OPENNESS
-
THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION AUTHORITY SIGNS A MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING WITH ITS GERMAN COUNTERPART
-
A NEAPOLITAN NATIVITY SCENE AND A BAVARIAN FIR TREE IN ST. PETER'S
SQUARE
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
WITHIN
US, A SEED OF RESURRECTION, A GLIMPSE OF ETERNITY
Vatican
City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) - “I believe in the resurrection of the
flesh” was the theme of the Holy Father's catechesis during this
Wednesday's general audience. “It is a truth that is neither simple
nor self-evident”, he said, “as, living immersed in this world,
it is not easy to understand what will happen in the future. But the
Gospel enlightens us”. This vigil, for the “glorious kingdom,
which we anxiously await” is “the source and the reason for our
hope; a hope which, if cultivated and preserved, becomes a “light
to illuminate our personal and communal story”.
The
Pope emphasised that “we must always remember we are disciples of
He who came, who comes to us every day and who will come to us again
at the end”, and reiterated that if we were able to keep this fact
present in our minds, we would be less overwhelmed by daily life,
less imprisoned by the ephemeral and more willing to walk the path of
salvation with a merciful heart”.
Pope
Francis recalled that the resurrection that will follow the last day
of the end of the world will be an encounter with the Risen Christ
for whom we prepare in this life with the Eucharist. “We who in
this life our nourished by His Body and His Blood will be resurrected
like Him, with Him and by Him. Just as Jesus rose again with His own
body, but did not return to an earthly life, we too will rise again
with our bodies that will be transformed into glorious bodies”.
“In
a certain sense, through our Baptism we already participate in a new
life … and, awaiting the final day, we we hold within ourselves the
seed of our resurrection, a glimpse of the full resurrection that we
will inherit. For this reason, even each of our bodies has the
resonance of eternity, and must therefore be respected; and above all
the life of those who suffer must be respected and loved, so that
they feel the closeness of the Kingdom of God, of that condition of
eternal life towards which we are headed”.
At
the end of the audience, the Vatican Mosaics Studio, which since the
seventeenth century has been responsible for the conservation and
restoration of the ten thousand square metres of mosaics present in
St. Peter's Basilica, as well as producing mosaics portraying the
Popes and those presented as gifts during pontifical trips and
official visits, presented the Holy Father with his portrait in the
form of a circular mosaic, destined to join the mosaic portraits of
all the other Popes, from St. Peter to the present, in the Basilica
of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls.
APPEAL
FOR NUNS KIDNAPPED FROM THE SANTA TECLA MONASTERY, SYRIA
Vatican
City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) – After today's catechesis, the Pope
appealed to all present to pray for the nuns of the Greek Orthodox
monastery of Santa Tecla and the Christian people of Maaloula, Syria,
forcibly abducted by armed men two days ago and whose whereabouts are
now unknown.
“Let
us pray for these nuns, for these sisters”, he asked, “and for
all those who have been kidnapped as a result of the current
conflict. Let us continue to pray and act for peace together. Let us
pray to the Virgin”.
THE
COUNCIL OF CARDINALS CONTINUES ITS WORK WITH SERENITY AND OPENNESS
Vatican
City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) – The meetings of the Council of
Cardinals continued, as planned, yesterday afternoon with the
participation of the Holy Father.
“The
work of the Council took place in an environment of great serenity,
with an open and cordial exchange between all participants”,
communicated the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico
Lombardi S.J.
“As
mentioned yesterday morning, the new secretary of State Archbishop
Pietro Parolin was invited to the afternoon session to greet the
members who wished him well in his new role, and in to establish
contract in the hope of fruitful collaboration in the service of the
Holy Father for the governance of the Church.
“This
morning the Holy Father was not present due to the regular Wednesday
general audience, but work continued as usual. The council considered
the various dicasteries of the Roman Curia in turn (for example, the
Causes of Saints, Catholic Education, Evangelisation of Peoples and
so on).
“It
is possible that during the meetings scheduled for these days, a
first round of considerations on the Congregations may be completed,
to be followed by an examination of the Pontifical Councils and the
other dicasteries.
“It
is important to note that these are first considerations which will
naturally be reviewed in the framework of a subsequent overall
examination”, concluded Fr. Lombardi.
THE
FINANCIAL INFORMATION AUTHORITY SIGNS A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
WITH ITS GERMAN COUNTERPART
Vatican
City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) – The Autorita di Informazione
Finanziaria (AIF), the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Holy See
and Vatican City State, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding
with its German Counterpart, the Zentralstelle fur Verdachtsmeldungen
at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA).
The
Memorandum was signed in the Vatican by Cardinal Attilio Nicora,
president of the AIF, and Michael Dewald, director of the
Zentralstelle fur Verdachtsmeldungen at the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA).
A
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is standard practice and formalises
the co-operation and exchange of financial information to fight money
laundering and terrorist financing across borders between the
competent authorities of both countries. It is based on the model
Memorandum of Understanding prepared by the Egmont Group, the global
organisation of national Financial Intelligence Units, and contains
clauses on reciprocity, permitted uses of information and
confidentiality.
“This
Memorandum is strengthening AIF's international reach and further
integrates the Holy See and Vatican City State with a co-ordinated
global effort to fight money laundering and the financing of
terrorism”, said AIF director Rene Bruelhart. “Today's signing
underlines our fruitful relationship and will further facilitate our
joint efforts”.
The
AIF became a member of the Egmont Group earlier in July this year and
signed in the last months MOUs with the Financial Intelligence Units
of the U.S.A., Belgium, Italy, Spain, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
More are expected to be signed in the course of the coming months.
The
AIF, established in 2010, is the competent authority of the Holy See
/ Vatican City State to fight money laundering and the financing of
terrorism.
A
NEAPOLITAN NATIVITY SCENE AND A BAVARIAN FIR TREE IN ST. PETER'S
SQUARE
Vatican
City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) – A Neapolitan nativity scene, produced
in the workshop of “Cantone & Costabile”, heirs and
perpetuators of a tradition of nativity scenes that became famous
throughout Europe from the eighteenth century, will decorate St.
Peter's Square this year.
The
workshop has donated its artistic and architectural work entitled
“Francis 1223 – Francis 2013” to Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe,
archbishop of Naples, who in turn has offered it in homage to Pope
Francis. The backdrop will depict a landscape typical of Campania,
the region where the city of Naples is located, and the scene will
include sixteen figures dressed according to eighteenth century
Neapolitan style.
The
masters Cantone and Costabile have maintained the expressiveness of
the faces of the figures, while raising them from a height of thirty
centimetres to two metres. While representing all the various social
classes, the figures also reflect all the different stages of life,
from infancy to old age. Indeed, alongside a young nobleman there is
a gypsy woman dressed in rags, an elderly woman accompanied by two
children and the Three Kings who walk alongside peasants. Their
heads, hands and feet are made of multicoloured terracotta and their
eyes are created using crystal glass. The nativity has been produced
with the generous assistance of several benefactors, to limit as far
as possible the cost to the Governorate of Vatican City State.
On
6 December, the large Christmas tree will arrive in the Square, this
year originating from Bavaria, Germany. A gift from the community of
Waldmunchen, the tree is 25 metres tall, with a diameter of 98
centimetres. As in previous years, the installation, decoration and
lighting of the tree is entrusted to the Technical Services of the
Governorate of Vatican City State. Following the holiday period, the
wood of the trunk will be used to produce toys and small objects for
everyday use.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 4 December 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father:
-
appointed Msgr. Alejandro Cifres Gimenez as office head in the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Msgr. Alejandro Cifres
Gimenez was previously a study assistant in the same dicastery.
-
appointed Maria de Lurdes Correia Fernandes, professor in the faculty
of letters and vice rector of the University of Porto, Portugal, as a
member of the Pontifical Committee of Historical Sciences.
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