SUMMARY:
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HUMAN PROMOTION, REGIONAL CO-OPERATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THEMES OF
MEETING BETWEEN POPE FRANCIS AND SAMOAN HEAD OF STATE
-
POPE FRANCIS' PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY
-
ANGELUS: CONSECRATED PERSONS, LEAVEN FOR THE GROWTH OF A MORE JUST
SOCIETY
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THE POPE CLOSE TO THOSE AFFECTED BY HEAVY RAIN IN ITALY
-
DAY OF CONSECRATED LIFE: OBSERVANCE AND PROPHECY ARE NOT IN
OPPOSITION
-
TO THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY: BUILD AND MAINTAIN COMMUNION WITHIN YOUR
LOCAL CHURCH
-
THE ALMONER OF HIS HOLINESS CELEBRATES MASS FOR THOSE WHO DIE
HOMELESS
-
AUDIENCES
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
HUMAN
PROMOTION, REGIONAL CO-OPERATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THEMES OF
MEETING BETWEEN POPE FRANCIS AND SAMOAN HEAD OF STATE
Vatican
City, 3 February 2014 (VIS) – Today, Pope Francis received the Head
of State of the Independent State of Samoa, His Highness Tui Atua
Tupua Tamasese Efi, who subsequently went on to meet with Archbishop
Pietro Parolin, secretary of State, accompanied by Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
During
the cordial discussions, the Parties focused on a number of aspects
of the social and economic life of the country, as well as the
valuable contribution of the Catholic Church in various sectors of
Samoan society and, in particular, in the field of human promotion.
This was followed by a fruitful exchange of opinions regarding the
international situation, with particular reference to regional
co-operation and environmental matters affecting several Pacific
countries.
POPE
FRANCIS' PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR FEBRUARY
Vatican
City, 3 February 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis' universal prayer
intention for February is: “That the Church and society may respect
the wisdom and experience of older people”.
His
intention for evangelization is: “That priests, religious, and lay
people may work together with generosity for evangelization”.
ANGELUS:
CONSECRATED PERSONS, LEAVEN FOR THE GROWTH OF A MORE JUST SOCIETY
Vatican
City, 2 February 2014 (VIS) – After celebrating Holy Mass in St.
Peter's Basilica, on the 18th Day of Consecrated Life, the Pope
appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with
thousands of people gathered below, despite heavy rain, in St.
Peter's Square.
The
Bishop of Rome, after thanking the many faithful and pilgrims for
their presence, commented on today's Gospel reading, in which St.
Luke narrates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple; an episode
which is also “an icon of the giving of their lives by those who,
through a gift of God, take on the typical traits of Jesus, chaste,
poor and obedient”.
“The
offering of oneself to God relates to every Christian, because we are
all consecrated to Him through baptism … making a generous gift of
our life, in the family, at work, in the service the Church, in works
of mercy. Nevertheless, this consecration is lived in a particular
way by the religious, monks, consecrated lay people, who with the
profession of vows, fully and exclusively belong to God. Totally
consecrated to God, they are totally consigned to their brethren, to
bring the light of Christ there where the darkness is densest and to
spread His hope in the hearts of the disheartened".
After
emphasising that consecrated persons are a sign of God in the various
contexts of life and “leaven for the growth of a more just and
fraternal society”. The Pope repeated the need for these presences,
“which fortify and renew commitment to the spread of the Gospel, of
Christian education, of charity towards the neediest, of
contemplative prayer; commitment to human formation, the spiritual
formation of the young, of families; commitment for justice and peace
in the human family. Let us imagine a moment what would happen if
there were no nuns in hospitals, no nuns in missions, no nuns in
schools. Imagine a church without nuns! It is unimaginable. They are
… the yeast that carries forward the people of God. These women,
who consecrate their lives to God, who bring forward the message of
Jesus, are great”.
The
Church and the world need “this witness of love and of God's mercy.
Consecrated and religious persons offer witness that God is good and
merciful. … We must pray that many young people answer 'yes!' to
the Lord who calls to them to consecrate themselves fully to Him, in
the disinterested service of their brothers, who consecrate their
lives to serving God and their brothers”.
THE
POPE CLOSE TO THOSE AFFECTED BY HEAVY RAIN IN ITALY
Vatican
City, 2 February 2014 (VIS) – Following the Angelus prayer, the
Pope greeted, amongst others, the participants in the Day for Life,
celebrated today in Italy with the theme “Generating the Future”.
He extended his greetings and his encouragement to “the
associations, movements and cultural centres who participate in the
defence and promotion of life. I join with the Italian bishops today
in repeating that 'every child is the face of the Lord Who loves
life, a gift for the family and for society”. Everyone, in his own
role and environment, is called to love and serve life, to welcome
it, to respect and promote it, especially when it is fragile and in
need of attention and care, from the womb until its natural end on
this earth”.
The
Bishop of Rome also mentioned the inhabitants of Rome and the region
of Tuscany, who are suffering the consequences of the intense
rainfall of recent days which has caused flooding and inundations.
“Our solidarity and our prayers are with these brothers of ours.
Dear brothers and sisters, I am very close to you”.
DAY
OF CONSECRATED LIFE: OBSERVANCE AND PROPHECY ARE NOT IN OPPOSITION
Vatican
City, 2 February 2014 (VIS) – On the 18th World Day for Consecrated
Life, on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, Pope
Francis celebrated Holy Mass at 10 a.m. in St. Peter's Basilica with
members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of
Apostolic Life. For the first time in his pontificate, the Bishop of
Rome began the rite with the blessing of the candles used in the
procession before the Eucharistic celebration and in his homily he
emphasised the importance of the encounter between observance and
prophecy, the young and the elderly, within consecrated life.
“The
Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is … the encounter
between Jesus and His people … represented by the elderly Simeon
and Anna. … It was also an encounter within the history of a
population, an encounter between the young and the elderly: the young
were Mary and Joseph, with their newborn son; and the elderly were
Simeon and Anna”.
The
Pope remarked that in the Gospel of St. Luke, “one intuits, almost
perceives that Jesus' parents have the joy of observing the precepts
of God, the joy of walking according to the law of the Lord! They are
two newly-weds, they have just had their baby, and they are motivated
by the desire to do what is prescribed. This is not an external fact
... It is a strong, profound desire, full of joy”.
St.
Luke affirms that Simeon was “a just and pious man, who awaited the
consolation of Israel, and that Anna was 'a prophetess'”. He
comments that they are both “full of life, because they are
inspired by the Holy Spirit”. And “at the centre of this
encounter there is Jesus. It is He Who sets everything in motion, who
attracts them to the Temple, which is the house of the Father.
It
is an “encounter between the young who are full of joy in observing
the Law of the Lord, and the old, full of joy by the action of the
Holy Spirit. It is a singular encounter between observation and
prophecy. … In the light of this scene in the Gospel, let us regard
the consecrated life as an encounter with Christ: it is He Who comes
to us; brought to us by Mary and Joseph, and we are led towards Him
by the Holy Spirit. But He is in the centre. … He moves everything
along, He attracts us to the Temple, to the Church, where we are able
to encounter Him, recognise Him”.
Jesus
comes towards us in the Church through the foundational charism of an
Institute: it is good to think of our vocation in this way. Our
encounter with Christ has taken shape within the Church through the
charism of one of its witnesses. … And also in consecrated life, we
live the encounter between the young and the elderly, between
observance and prophecy. Let us not see these as two opposing
realities! Let us rather allow the Holy Spirit to animate both of
them, and a sign of this is joy: the joy of journeying within a rule
of life; the joy of being led by the Spirit, never unyielding, never
closed, always open to voice of God that speaks, that opens, that
leads us and invites us to go towards the horizon”.
“It
is good for the elderly to communicate their wisdom to the young; and
is good for the young to gather this wealth of experience and wisdom,
and to carry it forward, not so as to preserve it in a museum, but to
bring it forward in addressing the challenges of life, to carry it
forward for the good of the various religious orders and of the
entire Church”, concluded the Holy Father.
TO
THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY: BUILD AND MAINTAIN COMMUNION WITHIN YOUR
LOCAL CHURCH
Vatican
City, 1 February 2014 (VIS) – Today Pope Francis received in
audience eight thousand members of the Neocatechumenal Way, the
Catholic formation itinerary initiated by the Spanish laypeople
Francisco Jose Gomez Arguello (better known as Kiko Arguello) and
Carmen Hernandez who, along with the Italian priest Mario Pezzi, form
the “International Responsible Team of the Way”.
“The
Church is grateful for your generosity!” said the Pope. “I thank
you for everything you do in the Church and in the world. And in the
name of the Church, our Mother, I would like to make some simple
recommendations to you. The first is to take the greatest care to
construct and conserve communion within the particular Churches in
which you carry out your work. The Way has its own charisma, its own
dynamics, a gift which, like all the gifts of the Spirit, has a
profound ecclesial dimension; this means listening to life of the
Churches to which your leaders send you, to recognising the value of
their richness, suffering for their weaknesses when necessary, and
walking together as a single flock, under the guidance of the pastors
of the local Churches. Communion is essential: at times it can be
better to set aside some of the details that your itinerary requires
in order to guarantee unity between the brothers that form the single
ecclesial community, of which you must always consider yourselves to
be a part”.
Pope
Francis' second recommendation was, “wherever you go, it will do
you good to think that the Spirit of God always arrives before us.
The Lord always precedes us! Even in the most distant places, even in
the most diverse cultures, God sows everywhere the seeds of his Word.
From this, there arises the need for special attention to the
cultural context in which you, as families, go to carry out your
work; it is an environment often very different to that from which
you come. Many of you take great pains to learn the local language,
at times difficult, and these efforts are commendable. Even more
important will be your effort to 'learn' the cultures you encounter,
to recognise the need for the Gospel that is present everywhere, but
also that action that the Holy Spirit has accomplished in the life
and history of every people”.
Finally,
the Holy Father urged them all to “care, with love, for each other,
especially the weakest. The Neocatechumenal Way, as an intinerary for
the discovery of one's own Baptism, is a demanding path, along which
a brother or sister may encounter unexpected difficulties. In these
cases, the exercise of patience and mercy by the community is a sign
of mature faith. The freedom of each person must not be forced, and
it is necessary to respect the eventual decision of those who decide
to seek, outside the Way, other forms of Christian life that may help
them to grow in their response to the call of the Lord”.
The
Holy Father concluded, “I encourage you to take the Gospel of Jesus
Christ everywhere, even in the least Christianised environments,
especially in the existential peripheries. Evangelise with love, take
God's love to all. Tell those you encounter on the streets of your
mission that God loves man just as he is, even with his limits, with
his errors, with his sins. Be messengers and witnesses to the
infinite goodness and inexhaustible mercy of the Father”.
THE
ALMONER OF HIS HOLINESS CELEBRATES MASS FOR THOSE WHO DIE HOMELESS
Vatican
City, 1 February 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday, in the Roman basilica of
Santa Maria in Trastevere, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of
His Holiness, celebrated mass in memory of Modesta Valenti, an
elderly woman without a fixed abode, who died in 1983 when, after
taking ill in Rome's Termini Station, she was refused transit by
ambulance because she was “dirty”.
Every
year, on this date, the Sant'Egidio Community, along with volunteers
and associations who assist the homeless, celebrate Mass in the name
of all the poor and homeless who have lost their lives due to
inadequate living conditions and as a result of their abandonment.
The memory of their names represents a form of consolation for each
one and the promise that they will never be forgotten.
The
liturgical celebration was attended by the poor and their friends;
there were five hundred guests at the lunch held after the
celebration. This memorial has been extended to many parishes in Rome
and other cities in Italy and throughout the world, wherever the
Sant'Egidio Community is close to those who live on the streets.
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 3 February 2014 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father received in
audience:
-
Twenty prelates of the Polish Episcopal Conference on their “ad
limina” visit:
-
Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, archbishop of Warszawa, with his auxiliary
Bishop Tadeusz Pikus;
-
Bishop Piotr Libera of Plock;
-
Archbishop-bishop Henryk Hoser S.A.C. of Warszawa-Praga, with his
auxiliary Bishop Marek Solarczyk;
-
Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, with his
auxiliaries Bishop Jan Szkodon, Bishop Jan Zajac, Bishop Grzegorz
Rys, Bishop Damian Andrzej Muskus, O.F.M., Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek;
-
Bishop Roman Pindel of Bielsko-Zywiec, and his auxiliary Bishop Piotr
Greger;
-
Bishop Kazimierz Ryczan of Kielce, with his auxiliaries Bishop Marian
Florczyk and Bishop Kazimierz Gurda;
-
Bishop Andrzej Jez of Tarnow, with his auxiliary Bishop Wieslaw
Lechowicz and former auxiliary Bishop Wladislaw Bobowski;
-
Bishop Jozef Guzdek, military ordinary of Poland.
On
the morning of Saturday, 1 February the Holy Father received in
audience:
-
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
-
eighteen prelates of the Polish Episcopal Conference on their “ad
limina” visit:
-
Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk of Gniezno accompanied by his auxiliaries,
Bishop Wojciech Polak, Bishop Krzysztof Jakub Wetkowski, and
Archbishop emeritus Henryk Jozef Muszynski;
-
Bishop Wieslaw Alojzy Mering of Wloclawek, with his auxiliary
Stanislaw Gebicki;
-
Bishop Jan Tyrawa of Bydgoszcz;
-
Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan with his auxiliaries Bishop
Zdislaw Fortuniak, Bishop Grzegorz Balcerek, and Bishop Damian Bryl;
-
Bishop Edward Janiak of Kalisz;
-
Archbishop Marek Jedraszewski of Lodz, accompanied by his
auxiliaries, Bishop Adam Lepa and Bishop Ireneusz Josef Pekalski;
-
Bishop Andrzej Franciszek Dziuba of Lowicz;
-
Archbishop Jan Martyniak of Przemysl-Warszawa of Byzantine-Ukrainian
rite; and
-
Bishop Wlodzimierz Roman Juszczak of Wroclaw-Gdansk.
In
the afternoon of Saturday, 1 February the Holy Father received in
audience Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for
the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life,
and Bishop Jose Rodriguez Carbahlo O.F.M., secretary of the same
Congregation.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 3 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
-
appointed Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil S.D.B., emeritus of
Guwahati, as apostolic administrator “sede vacante et ad nutum
Sanctae Sedis” of the diocese of Jowai (area 17,551, population
7,236,000, Catholics 78,526, priests 145, religious 678), India.
Yesterday,
2 February, the Holy Father appointed Fr. Vincent Mduduzi Zungo,
O.F.M., as bishop of Port Elizabeth (area 71,828, population
2,952,000, Catholics 1110,000, priests 56, religious 138), South
Africa. The bishop-elect was born in Mbongolwane, South Africa in
1966. He took his perpetual vows in 1994. He studied philosophy and
theology at the “St. John Vianney” major seminary in Pretoria,
and holds a doctorate in moral theology from the Catholic University
of Strasbourg, France. He has served in a number of pastoral roles,
including parish vicar in the mission of Hardenberg, master of
novices and guardian of the convent of Besters, professor in the “St.
John Vianney” major seminary, provincial vicar and assistant to the
master of postulants, and provincial of the Franciscans in South
Africa. Since 2009 he has served as definitor general for Africa and
for the Middle East in Rome.
On
Saturday, 1 February the Holy Father:
-
accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the
archdiocese of New York, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Josu Iriondo,
upon having reached the age limit.
-
appointed Rev. Alex Joseph Vadakumthala as bishop of Kannur (area
4,988, population 2,772,000, Catholics 50,768, priests 122, religious
692), India. The bishop-elect was born in Maradu-Panangad, India in
1959 and was ordained a priest in 1984. He holds a doctorate in canon
law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome. He has served in
a number of pastoral and administrative roles, including parish
assistant in the cathedral of Verapoly, priest of St. Philomenas'
Church, Koonammavu; official at the Pontifical Council for Healthcare
Workers (for Health Pastoral Care); secretary general of the Health
Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI);
lecturer at St. Joseph's Pontifical seminary, Alwaye, India, director
of the Cochin Arts Communications of Verapoly, director of the
Society of Medical Education in North India project, Ranchi; and
president of the Canon Law Society of India. He is currently vicar
general of the archdiocese of Verapoly.
-
appointed Msgr. Luis Fernando Ramos Perez as auxiliary bishop of the
archdiocese of Santiago de Chile (area 9,132, population 5,958,000,
Catholics 4,135,000, priests 969, permanent deacons 318, religious
3037), Chile. The bishop-elect was born in Santiago, Chile in 1959
and was ordained a priest in 1990. He studied engineering at the
University of Chile. He studied philosophy and theology at the major
seminary of Santiago and holds a doctorate in theology, specialising
in sacred Scriptures, from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome.
He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including prefect of
philosophy in the major seminary of Santiago, vicar of the parishes
of “Cristo Emaus” and “Santo Toribo de Mogrovejo”, official
of the Congregation for Bishops, and archdiocesan episcopal vicar for
education. He is currently rector of the major seminary of Santiago
and episcopal vicar for the clergy.
-
appointed Rev. Galo Fernandez Villasecca as auxiliary bishop of the
archdiocese of Santiago de Chile, Chile. He was born in Santiago,
Chile in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1987. He has served in the
following pastoral roles: vicar of the parish of “Nuestra Senora de
las Mercedes” in Santiago; priest of the parish of “Cristo
Redentor” in Penalolen, priest of the parish of “Santa Clara”,
and episcopal vicar of “Vicaria de la Esperanza Joven”, He is
currently episcopal vicar of the western zone of the archdiocese.
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