SUMMARY:
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THE POPE WRITES A LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR THE NEXT
SYNOD
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ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
THE
POPE WRITES A LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR THE NEXT
SYNOD
Vatican
City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis has written a letter to
families asking them to pray for the next Synod of Bishops, which
will be celebrated in the Vatican in October, and the theme of which
will be “The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of
evangelisation”. The letter, dated 2 February, Feast of the
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, is published in full below:
“Dear
families,
With
this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak
about an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming
October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops, which is being convened to discuss the theme of “pastoral
challenges to the family in the context of evangelization”. Indeed,
in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting
the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.
This
important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops,
priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the
particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively
participating in preparations for the meeting through practical
suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your
part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary
than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to
you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to
the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of
children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask
you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the
Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their
important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will
be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also
have the family as its theme. In that context, there will also be the
World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in
September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these
events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and
adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their
present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the
Gospel.
I
am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the
Lord in the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed
Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the
Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the Lord, and that an
elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit,
went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. Simeon took
him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally 'seen' salvation.
Anna, despite her advanced age, found new vigour and began to speak
to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young
parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the
one who brings together and unites generations! He is the
inexhaustible font of that love which overcomes every occasion of
self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family,
you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure,
prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support…
Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic
love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates
our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our
journey.
Dear
families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious
treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to
pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and
in love. May the protection of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph
always accompany all of you and help you to walk united in love and
in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the
blessing of the Lord.”
ARCHBISHOP
PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH
Vatican
City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) – Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia,
president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, commented in his
presentation of the Pope's letter to families that during these
months the family has been, more than ever before, in the mind and
the heart of the Church. He gave examples including the pilgrimage of
families for the Year of Faith, the Holy Father's encounter with
engaged couples on 14 February, last week's extraordinary Consistory
in the Vatican, the next Synod which will take place in October, and
the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, U.S.A., scheduled for
September 2015.
“Pope
Francis, with this letter to the 'dear families' of the world, wishes
to involve them in the Synod path”, explained the Archbishop. …
Prayer is the first form of participation in this joint path.
Families – and this is the Pope's intention – are not simply the
object of attention, but are also the subjects of this pilgrimage,
given that they form a majority within the Church, and are marked by
the Sacrament of Marriage”.
“One
must not forget that that spread of early Christianity occurred
through a network of families”, he added. “It is an important
lesson for our times, in which we invoke a new missionary season for
evangelical preaching. … The Pope asks Christian families to be
aware of the responsibility of their mission in times of confusion
and restlessness. He asks for their help. In addition, if there is a
theme of Christian life, for which the support of the family is
indispensable both to the Pope and to the Church, then this is it. If
there were no families, then Jesus' Word – the word of the Church,
the word of the Pope – on the married love which is able to open us
up to God's unconditional love for all, would appear abstract,
unrealistic and ineffectual”.
“But
families, thanks to God, exist and have a living presence”,
concluded the prelate. “Therefore, it is important for Pastors and
families to live 'in harmony in prayer' in this time, as if in a
spiritual Cenacle that gathers the whole world together, waiting for
the Spirit to evoke a renewed Pentecost”.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
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appointed Bishop Donal McKeown, auxiliary of the diocese of Down and
Connor, as bishop of Derry (area 2,500, population 327,000, Catholics
245,700, priests 116, religious 107), Ireland.
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accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the
archdiocese of Poznan, Poland, presented by Bishop Zdzislaw
Fortuniak, upon having reached the age limit.
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