SUMMARY:
-
FRANCIS TO THE SALESIANS: BE CLOSE TO THE YOUNG WITH THE LANGUAGE OF
THE HEART
-
PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
-
PREPARING FOR THE CANONISATION OF JOHN XXIII AND JOHN PAUL II
-
ANGELUS: THE STORY OF THE BLIND MAN CURED BY JESUS IS ALSO OUR OWN
-
THE POPE MEETS PEOPLE WITH VISUAL AND AUDITORY DISABILITIES: JESUS
CHOOSES THE MARGINAL AS WITNESSES
-
LITURGY OF PENANCE AT ST. PETER'S: LIFE-LONG CONVERSION
-
AUDIENCES
-
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
______________________________________
FRANCIS
TO THE SALESIANS: BE CLOSE TO THE YOUNG WITH THE LANGUAGE OF THE
HEART
Vatican
City, 31 March 2014 (VIS) - This morning, in the the Sala Clementina
of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father met with the
participants in the General Chapter of the Salesian Society of St.
John Bosco, which will take as its theme "Witnesses of Gospel
Radicalism". "When one thinks of working for the good of
souls, one overcomes the temptation of spiritual worldliness, and one
does not seek other things, only God and His Kingdom. Temperance is a
sense of moderation, of acceptance, a simple life".
The
Pope highlighted their work with the young and remarked that the
experience of Don Bosco and his "preventative system"
helped them in their commitment to living with them. "It is
necessary to prepare the young to work in society in the spirit of
the Gospel as workers for justice and peace, and to live as agents of
the Church. ... The presence of the community among them is marked by
the tenderness that Don Bosco called 'amorevolezza', kindness,
experimenting with new languages, but being well aware that the
language of the heart is the fundamental language for being close to
them and becoming their friends".
Before
concluding Francis spoke about the vocational dimension and mentioned
that next year, which will be dedicated to consecrated life, will be
a good opportunity to present the beauty of vocations to the young.
Likewise, he gave thanks to God for the fact that they work "not
as isolated individuals, but as a community supports the entire
apostolate" and encouraged them to revive the charisma of
their Founder, the bicentenary of whose birth will be celebrated
soon.
PRAYER
INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
Vatican
City, 31 March 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis' universal prayer intention
for April is: "That governments may foster the protection of
creation and the just distribution of natural resources".
His
intention for evangelisation is: "That the Risen Lord may fill
with hope the hearts of those who are being tested by pain and
sickness".
PREPARING
FOR THE CANONISATION OF JOHN XXIII AND JOHN PAUL II
Vatican
City, 31 March 2014 (VIS) - This morning a press conference was held
in the Holy See Press Office to present the initiatives forming part
of the preparations for the canonisations of Blesseds John XXIII and
John Paul II, to be celebrated on 27 April. The speakers were
Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar of His Holiness for the diocese of
Rome, along with Msgr. Giulio Dellavite, secretary general for the
Curia of Bergamo, Msgr. Walter Insero, head of the Office for Social
Communications for the Vicariate of Rome, and Fr. Federico Lombardi
S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office.
The
initiatives will include a digital platform, the aim of which is to
enable the faithful and pilgrims to have access to news and
information regarding the ceremonies as well as a series of spiritual
reflections on the life and teachings of both popes. Indeed, the
official site www.2papisanti.org is an almost-completed portal which
offers contacts, sections for press offices, information, videos and
images as well as biographical documentation on John XXIII and John
Paul II. It will be available in five languages: Italian, English,
French, Spanish and Polish.
The
application entitled "Santo Subito", which may be
downloaded free in both Android and IOS formats (in Italian, English,
Spanish and Polish) and whose title draws on the famed saintliness of
both Popes even during their lifetimes, will offer logistical
information, as well as access to the main news on the canonisations,
and will allow material relating to the various liturgical events to
be downloaded.
Existing
media include:
Official
page of the Postulation with content in five languages:
Official
Twitter page with content in five languages:
YouTube
channel for the Postulation:
Portal:
www.karol-wojtyla.org
This
latter, developed in 2011 for the beatification of Karol Wojtyla,
gives a detailed illustration of the stages in the canonical process
leading to the recognition of the saintliness of John Paul II and is
available in several languages: Italian, English, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Polish and Romanian.
The
parallel project #2popesaints, realised in collaboration with the
students of communication sciences from the Roman university LUMSA
involves a series of networks enabling young people to get to know
the lives, teachings and testimony of faith of the two new saints.
There will be a Facebook page entitled 2popesaints; on Twitter, the
account @2popesaints; on Instagram, #2popesaints; and on YouTube,
2popesaints. Every day each one of the above will propose a theme
relating to both popes in the media, starting from 16 April until the
canonisation, and each event will be transmitted live on each
network.
On
Google+ there will be the possibility of following in a "hangout"
the daily briefings during the week leading up to the canonisation. A
QR code will also be created to allow rapid access to the site
2popesaints.org. The initiative "Rome connecting to the World",
a form of "twinning" between the faithful arriving in
Rome and the young people of the city, will make it possible to get
to know the most important locations in Rome along with the history
of John XXIII and John Paul II, providing information on the Facebook
page.
In
the diocese of Rome, on 22 April in the Basilica of St. John Lateran,
Cardinal Agostino Vallini will preside at a meeting addressing young
people, with the postulators for the causes of both saints: Msgr.
Slavomir Oder (John Paul II) and Fr. Giovangiuseppe Califano (John
XXIII). On 26 April, starting at 9 p.m., there will be a "White
night of prayer" and the churches throughout the centre of
Rome will remain open for prayer and confession in various languages.
Similarly,
the diocese of Bergamo will pay homage to XIII with the initiative
"Le Opere Segno", a series of activities dedicated to
charity, human development and solidarity which affect daily lives.
They include an aid project for Haiti to guarantee three years'
education in the John XXIII school; an invitation to priests to
contribute a month's salary and all the alms collected by the parish
communities on 27 April to a fund set up in aid of families afflicted
by the economic crisis; and the commemoration, on 12 April, of the
publication of the encyclical "Pacem in Terris", to be
attended by ambassadors representing the countries where Angelo
Roncalli carried out his diplomatic mission as an apostolic nuncio
(Bulgaria, Turkey, Greek and France), and which will be presented by
Jacques Delors, former president of the European Commission.
ANGELUS:
THE STORY OF THE BLIND MAN CURED BY JESUS IS ALSO OUR OWN
Vatican
City, 31 March 2014 (VIS) - At midday the Holy Father appeared at the
window of his study to pray the Angelus with the thousands of
faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. Before the
Marian prayer he commented on the Gospel reading from St. John, which
relates the story of the man blind from birth to whom Jesus gave
sight. The apostle narrates the event in just a few verses as his
intention is to attract attention not to the miracle in itself, but
rather to the questions it raises.
"Many
times a good act, a work of charity, provokes gossip and questions
from people who do not want to know the truth. ... The cured blind
man is first interrogated by the astonished crowd ... and then by the
doctors of the law. ... In the end, the healed man attains faith, and
this is the highest grace that he receives from Jesus: not only to
see, but to know Him, to see him as the light of the world",
said Francis.
"While
the blind man gradually approaches the light, on the contrary the
doctors of the law slip ever deeper into inner blindness. Locked away
in their arrogance, they believe they already have the light, and so
they do not open themselves up to the truth of Jesus and do
everything they can to deny the evidence. They call into question the
identity of the cured man, and then deny God's action in healing,
using the excuse that God does not act on the sabbath and even
casting doubt as to whether the man was indeed born blind. Their
shunning of the light becomes aggressive and leads to expulsion of
the healed man from the temple".
The
blind man's path is instead "a journey in stages, starting from
knowledge of the name of Jesus. ... Following insistent questioning
by the doctors of the law, he first considers him a prophet and then
a man close to God. After being removed from the temple, he
encounters Jesus again, Who 'opens his eyes' for the second time,
revealing his true identity. 'I am the Messiah', he says. At this
point, the previously blind man exclaims 'Lord, I believe!', and bows
down before Jesus".
"At
times our life is sometimes similar to that of the blind man who
opens up to the light of God and His grace. Sometimes, unfortunately,
it is rather like that of the doctors of law. From the heights of our
pride we judge others, even the Lord. Today, we are invited to open
ourselves to Christ's light, so that our lives might bear fruit; to
eliminate our behaviour that is not Christian; we are all Christians,
but we all at times behave in ways which are not Christian, which are
sins. We must repent of this, and eliminate these forms of behaviour
... to behave like 'children of light', with humility, patience and
mercy. ... Those doctors of the law had neither humility, nor
patience, nor mercy. ... We must not be afraid! Let us open ourselves
to the light of the Lord, He Who always awaits us, to let us see
better, to offer us more light, to forgive us... so we can be reborn
to a new life".
After
the Angelus prayer the Bishop of Rome greeted a group of Italian
soldiers who had made a pilgrimage on foot from Loreto to Rome
"praying for a peaceful and just resolution of conflicts. And
this is very good. In the Beatitudes, Jesus says that blessed are
those who work for peace".
"And
let us not forget", he continued, addressing all present,
"when we return home, to take the Gospel according to John,
chapter 9, and read this story of the blind man whose sight was
restored, and of those who supposedly could see yet slipped ever
further into blindness".
THE
POPE MEETS PEOPLE WITH VISUAL AND AUDITORY DISABILITIES: JESUS
CHOOSES THE MARGINAL AS WITNESSES
Vatican
City, 29 March 2014 (VIS) - "Witnesses to the Gospel for a
culture of encounter" is the theme of the Day of Sharing
organised by the Apostolic Movement of the Blind, with the
participation of the Gualandi Mission for the Deaf (the Little
Mission for the Deaf-Mute), as well as the Italian Union of the Blind
and Partially-Sighted. These organisations were received in audience
this morning by Pope Francis, who commented on the theme of the Day.
"The
first thing I observe is that this expression ends with the word
'encounter', but first this presupposes another encounter, the one
with Christ. Indeed, to be witnesses of the Gospel, it is necessary
to have encountered Him, Jesus. ... Like the Samaritan woman. ... A
witness to the Gospel is someone who has encountered Jesus Christ,
who knows him, or rather, who feels known by him: recognised,
respected, loved, forgiven, and this encounter ... fills him with a
new joy, a new meaning for life. And this shines through, is
communicated, is transmitted to others".
"I
have mentioned the Samaritan woman because she offers a clear example
of the type of person Jesus liked to meet, to make them his
witnesses: marginalised, excluded, disdained people. The Samaritan
woman was this type, inasmuch as she was a woman, and a Samaritan -
the Samaritans were despised by the Jews. But let us think also of
the many that Jesus wished to encounter, especially people affected
by illness and disability, to cure them and to restore their full
dignity to them. It is very important that precisely these people
become witnesses to a new attitude, that we can call a culture of
encounter. A typical example is the man blind from birth ...
marginalised in the name of a false idea that he had received a
divine punishment. Jesus radically refuses this way of thinking ...
truly blasphemous! - and performs an act of God, giving him the gift
of sight. But the important thing is that this man, as soon as this
happens to him, becomes a witness to Jesus and His work, that is the
work of God, of life, love and mercy. While the Pharisees, from their
safe distance, judges both him and Jesus as 'sinners'; the cured
blind man, with disarming simplicity, defends Jesus and in the at the
end professes his faith in Him, and also shares his fate: Jesus is
excluded, and he is excluded too. But in reality the man enters into
a new community, based on faith in Jesus and on brotherly love".
"Here
we have the two opposing cultures. The culture of encounter and the
culture of exclusion, of prejudice. The sick or disabled person,
precisely because of his or her frailty and limits, may become a
witness to this encounter: the encounter with Jesus, that opens us to
life and faith, and to the encounter with others, with the community.
Indeed, only those who recognise their own fragility and their own
limits can build bonds of fraternity and unity, in the Church and in
society", concluded the Holy Father.
LITURGY
OF PENANCE AT ST. PETER'S: LIFE-LONG CONVERSION
Vatican
City, 29 March 2014 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon in St. Peter's
Basilica the Holy Father presided over the rite of Reconciliation,
confessing and imparting individual absolution to several penitents.
This ceremony inaugurated an initiative of the Pontifical Council for
New Evangelisation, "24 Hours for the Lord", which has
involved the participation of dioceses from all over the world, and
during which many churches remained open throughout Friday night and
Saturday morning to enable the faithful to confess.
In
his homily, the Pope mentioned that during Lent the Church renews her
call for conversion and her call for us to change our lives.
"Converting is not a question of a moment or a period during the
year: it is a life-long commitment. Who amongst us presumes not to be
a sinner? No-one. We all are. The Apostle John writes, 'If we claim
to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness'". And that is
what happens in this celebration and in all this day of penance. The
Word of God that we have listened to introduces us to two essential
elements of Christian life".
The
first is to "clothe ourselves as new men". Pope Francis
explained, "The new man, 'created to be like God', is born in
Baptism, where he receives the same life of God, which makes us His
children and incorporates us in Christ and in his Church. This new
life allows us to look at reality through different eyes, without
being distracted by things that do not count ... from things which
come to an end over time. For this reason we are required to abandon
sinful behaviour and to focus on the essential. 'A man is more
precious for what he is than for what he has'. This is the difference
between life deformed by sin and life illuminated by grace".
Remaining
in love is the second element. "Jesus Christ's love lasts for
ever, and will never end because it is the very life of God. This
love conquers sin and gives the strength to rise and begin again,
because through forgiveness the heart is renewed and rejuvenated. We
all know this: our Father never tires of loving. ...We can speak
about the hope of God: our Father always awaits us; not only does he
leave the door open, he awaits us. ... God is not only at the origin
of love, but in Jesus Christ he calls to us to imitate his own way of
loving: 'As I have loved you, so you must love one another'. To the
extent that Christians live this love, they become credible disciples
of Jesus Christ in the world. Love cannot stand to remain closed up
in itself. It is by its nature open, it spreads and it is fruitful,
it always generates new love".
The
Pope concluded by mentioning the initiative, "24 Hours for the
Lord", and inviting young people to participate in this as
missionaries of reconciliation, communicating to those they meet "the
joy of receiving the Father's forgiveness and of rediscovering full
friendship with Him. And tell them", he concluded, "that
our Father awaits us, our Father forgives us, our Father celebrates
us. If you go to Him with all your life, even with many sins, instead
of reproaching you, he will rejoice: this is our Father. You must say
this, you must tell many people, today. He who experiences divine
mercy is compelled to become a bringer of mercy to the least and the
poorest among us. In 'the least of these brothers and sisters', Jesus
awaits us".
AUDIENCES
Vatican
City, 31 March 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
-
Archbishop Mario Zenari, apostolic nuncio in Syria.
-
Steven Todd Green, president of the “American Bible Societyâ€,
with his wife and entourage.
-
Bishop Lucas Van Looy of Gent, Belgium.
On
Saturday, 29 March, the Holy Father received in audience:
-
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops.
-
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith.
OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican
City, 31 March 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Rev.
Nicholas Gilbert Hudson as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Southwark
(area 3,000, population 4,478,000, Catholics 394,708, priests 419,
permanent deacons 78, religious 742), England. The bishop-elect was
born in Wimbledon, England in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1986.
He holds a master's degree in history from Jesus College, University
of Cambridge, England, and a licentiate in dogmatic theology from the
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He has served in a number of
pastoral roles, including deputy priest in the parish of Canterbury,
director of the Christian Education Centre in Southwark, and member
of the council of consultors in the same archdiocese, and vice rector
and subsequently rector of the Venerable English College in Rome. He
is currently priest in the "Sacred Heart" parish of
Wimbledon.
On
Saturday, 29 March, the Holy Father:
-
accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of
Drohiczyn (area 8,000, population 290,300, Catholics 210,150, priests
233, religious 140) Poland, presented by Bishop Antoni Pacyfik Dydycz
O.F.M. Cap., upon reaching the age limit. He is succeeded by Bishop
Tadeusz Pikus, formerly auxiliary of the archdiocese of Warsaw,
Poland.
-
confirmed Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz as prefect of the Congregation
for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic
Life;
-
appointed the following members of the Congregation for the
Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life:
Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, archbishop of Mexico, Mexico;
Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodrigues Maradiaga S.D.B., archbishop of
Tegucigalpa, Honduras; Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the
Secretariat for the Economy; Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect of
the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle,
archbishop of Manila, Philippines; Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Pontifical
Commission for Sacred Archaeology; Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect
of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples; Cardinal
Domenico Calcagno, president of the Administration of the Patrimony
of the Apostolic See; Archbishop Francesco Cacucci of Bari-Bitonto,
Italy; Archbishop Leo Jun Ikenaga S.J. of Osaka, Japan; Archbishop
Francisco Chimoio O.F.M. Cap. of Maputo, Mozambique; Archbishop
Gianfranco Agostino Gardin, O.F.M. Conv., bishop of Treviso;
Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera, O.F.M. of Cuenca en Ecuador,
Ecuador; Archbishop Ricardo Blasquez Perez of Valladolid, Spain;
Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis, U.S.A.; Archbishop Jaime
Spengler O.F.M. of Porto Alegre, Brazil; Bishop Jose Francisco Ulloa
Rojas of Cartago, Costa Rica; Bishop Lucas Van Looy S.D.B. of Gent,
Belgium; Bishop Vicente Jimenez Zamora of Santander, Spain; Bishop
Gregor Maria Hanke O.S.B. of Eichstatt, Germany; Bishop John
Corriveau O.F.M. Cap. of Nelson, Canada; Bishop Kieran O'Reilley
S.M.A. of Killaloe, Ireland; Bishop Eusebio Hernandez Sola O.A.R. of
Tarazona, Spain; Fr. Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez, S.J., apostolic
prefect of Battambang, Cambodia; and the superior generals Fr. Bruno
Marin O.S.B., abbot president of the Subiaco Benedictine
Congregation; Fr. Bruno Cadore O.P., minister general of the Order of
Preachers; Fr. Mauro Johri O.F.M. Cap., minister general of the
Franciscan Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; Fr. Enrique Sanchez
Gonzalez M.C.C.I., superior general of the Comboni Missionaries of
the Heart of Jesus; Fr. Emili Turu Rofes F.M.S., superior general of
the Marist Brothers (Little Brothers of Mary); Fr. Jacob Nampudakam,
rector general of the Societas Apostolatus Catholici; Giorgio Mario
Mazzola, president general of the Institute “Cristo Reâ€.
-
confirmed the following members of the Congregation for the
Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life:
Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, Cardinal Francis Eugene
George O.M.I., Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier O.F.M., Cardinal Philippe
Barbarin, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley
O.F.M. Cap., Cardinal Dominik Duka O.P., Cardinal Paolo Sardi S.T.L.,
Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil S.D.B.,
Bishop Pierre Raffin O.P., Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Pachon S.J., prepositor
general of the Society of Jesus.
-
confirmed the Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran as president of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Fr. Miguel Angel
Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., as secretary of the same dicastery.
-
confirmed, until the completion of their respective mandates, the
members and consultors of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, and appointed His Beatitude Louis Raphael I Sako, Patriarch
of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Iraq, as a member.
-
appointed the following consultors of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue: Archbishop Tomash Bernard Peta of Mary Most
Holy in Astana, Kazakhstan; Bishop William Hanna Shomali, auxiliary
and vicar general of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Jerusalem;
Msgr. Francois Bousquet, France, rector of the convent of San Luigi
dei Francesi in Rome, Italy; Don Valentino Cottini, rector of the
Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Italy; Fr.
Clarence Devadass, secretary for the Commission for Ecumenism and
Interreligious Dialogue, Malaysia; Fr. Claudio Monge O.P., president
of the Union des Religieux et des Religieuses de Turquie, Turkey; Fr.
Jose Manuel H. Arenas, S.J., secretary of the Commission for
Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue, Chile; Fr. William Skudlarek
O.S.B., of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, U.S.A., secretary
general of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue in Rome; Sister Carmen
Sammut S.M.N.D.A., Malta, superior general of the Missionary Sisters
of Our Lady of Africa; Dr. Ilaria Morali, director of the department
of Missiology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, Italy.
-
confirmed Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi as president of the Pontifical
Council for Culture, and Bishop Carlos Alberto de Pinho Moreira
Azevedo and Bishop Barthelemy Adoukonou respectively as delegate and
secretary of the same dicastery.
-
confirmed, until the completion of their respective mandates, the
members and consultors of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and
appointed the following members of the same dicastery: Cardinal
Bechara Boutros Rai, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon;
Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, archbishop of Warsaw, ordinary of the Polish
Ordinariate of the faithful of eastern rites without their own
ordinary, Poland; Archbishop Denis James Hart of Melbourne,
Australia; Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Archbishop
Alfonso Cortes Contreras of Leon, Mexico; Archbishop Victor Manuel
Fernandez, rector of the Pontifical Catholic University S. Maria de
los Buenos Aires, Argentina; Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of
Gatineau, Canada; Bishop Filomeno Do Nascimento Vieira Dias of
Cabinda, Angola; Bishop Cecilio Raul Berzosa Martinez of Cuidad
Rodrigo, Spain; Bishop Joaquim Giovanni Mol Guimaraes, auxiliary of
Belo Horizonte, Brazil; Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen,
Military Ordinary for the Federal Republic of Germany; Bishop Linus
Lee Seong-Hyo, auxiliary of Suwon, Korea; Bishop Charles Morerod O.P.
of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, Switzerland; Rafael Vicuna,
professor of molecular biology at the Pontifical Catholic University
of Santiago, Chile.
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