SUMMARY:
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Serve new wine in new wineskins says the Pope to representatives of
consecrated life
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Migrants and the poor, dual challenge of urban pastoral ministry
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To the Pauline family: take the breath of the Gospel to the most
diverse cultures and social contexts
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Holy Father's calendar for December 2014 and January 2015
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Christians and Muslims condemn extremism and violence committed in
the name of religion
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Audiences
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Serve
new wine in new wineskins says the Pope to representatives of
consecrated life
Vatican
City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) – The Congregration for the Institutes
of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life celebrated
their plenary assembly reflecting on the current state of consecrated
life in the Church, fifty years after the Conciliar documents “Lumen
gentium” and “Perfectae caritatis”. The theme chosen was “New
wine in new wineskins”, and Pope Francis, who received eighty
participants in audience this morning, based his discourse on the
multiple meanings of this phrase.
“In
the part of the Lord's vineyard selected by those who have chosen to
imitate Christ more closely through the profession of evangelical
counsels, new grapes are matured and new wine is obtained”, said
the Holy Father. “In these days you have been offered the chance to
discern the quality and ageing of the 'new wine' that has been
produced during the long season of renewal, and at the same time to
evaluate whether the wineskins that contain it, represented by the
institutional forms present today in consecrated life, are adequate
to contain this 'new wine' and to favour its full maturation. As I
have recalled many times, we must not be afraid of setting aside the
'old wineskins': of renewing those habits and those structures that,
in the life of the Church and therefore also in consecrated life, we
realise no longer respond to what God asks of us today to further His
Kingdom in the world: the structures that give us false protection
and that condition the dynamism of charity; the habits that distance
us from the flock to which we are sent and prevent us from hearing
the cry of those who await the Good News of Jesus Christ”.
“You
do not hide those areas of weakness that it is possible to find today
in consecrated life (such as the resistance to change of certain
sectors, the diminished power of attraction, the not insignificant
number of those who abandon the vocation, the fragility of certain
formative itineraries, concern for institutional and ministerial
tasks at the expense of spiritual life, the difficult integration of
cultural and generational diversity, and a problematic balance in the
exercise of authority and the use of goods), but you wish to continue
to listen for signals from the Spirit, that opens up new horizons and
leads to new paths, always starting out from the supreme rule of the
Gospel and inspired by the bold creativity of your founders”.
The
Pope went on to list the criteria to follow for guidance in the
“arduous task of evaluating the new wine and testing the quality of
the wineskins”: the evangelical originality of the choices,
charismatic fidelity, the primary of service, attention to the least
and most fragile, and respect for the dignity of every person.
He
encouraged those present to “continue to work with generosity and
resourcefulness in the Lord's vineyard”, to obtain “that generous
wine that will be able to reinvigorate the life of the Church and to
bring cheer to the heart of the many brothers and sisters in need of
your care”, and he underlined that “even the substitution of old
for new wineskins … does not take place automatically, but requires
commitment and ability, to offer the suitable space for welcoming and
bringing to fruition the new gifts with which the Spirit continues to
embellish the Church, His spouse”. He concluded, “do not forget …
to carry on the process of renewal that has been initiated and to a
great extent accomplished in these fifty years, examining every
novelty in the light of the Word of God and in listening to the needs
of the Church and of the contemporary world”.
Migrants
and the poor, dual challenge of urban pastoral ministry
Vatican
City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) – This morning, in the Consistory Hall
of the Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis received in audience the
participants in the second phase of the International Pastoral
Congress on the World's Big Cities, held in Barcelona, Spain from 24
to 26 November. The Holy Father took the opportunity to explore in
depth four challenges and possible prospects for urban pastoral
ministry. “The places where God is calling us to … and the
aspects to which we should pay special attention”.
Firstly,
he mentioned the need to “implement a change in our pastoral
mentality”. We are no longer in the era “in which the Church was
the sole point of reference for culture”. Previously, “as an
authentic teacher, she was aware of her responsibility to outline and
to impose not only cultural forms but also values”. He continued,
“Today we are no longer the only ones who produce culture, nor are
we the first or the most listened to. We are therefore in need of a
change in pastoral mentality, but not a 'relativist pastoral'”,
that in its wish to be part of the cultural mix, “loses its
evangelical perspective, leaving humanity to its own devices and
freed from God's hand. No, this is the path of relativism, the easy
route. This cannot be considered as pastoral ministry! He who acts in
this way is not truly interested in man, but instead leaves him to
the mercy of two equally grave dangers: concealing both Jesus, and
the truth of man himself, from him – a way that leads humanity to
solitude and death”. Therefore, the Pope added, “we need to have
the courage to carry out an evangelising pastoral ministry, bold and
without fear, as men, women, families and the various groups that
inhabit the city expect from us, and need for their lives, the Good
News that is Jesus and His Gospel”.
As
a second challenge, he emphasised “dialogue with multiculturality”
and the need for pastoral dialogue without relativism, that does not
negotiate its own Christian identity, but that instead seeks to reach
the heart of others, of those different to ourselves, and to sow the
Gospel there. We need a contemplative attitude, that without denying
the contribution of the different sciences in understanding the urban
phenomenon – these contributions are important – seeks to
discover the foundation of cultures, that in their deepest core are
always open to and thirst for God”. To face this challenge, Francis
underlined that it would help us greatly to know the “invisible
cities, the groups or human territories that are identified by their
symbols, languages, rites and ways of narrating life”.
“The
religiosity of the people” was the third point he focused on. “We
must discover, in the religiosity of our populations, the authentic
religious substratum, that in many cases is Christian and Catholic.
We must not fail to recognise, or regard with disdain, this
experience of God that, although at times dispersed or mixed with
other things, needs to be discovered and not constructed. He we find
the semina Verbi sown by the Spirit of the Lord”. The Pope also
commented on the many migrants and poor people who fill our cities,
“pilgrims of life, in search of salvation”, who pose a “dual
challenge”: that of “being hospitable to the poor and migrants,
not generally the case in the city, which pushes them away, and of
recognising the value of their faith”. “The urban poor”, who
constitute the fourth point with which the Holy Father concluded his
discourse, are “excluded and discarded. The Church cannot ignore
their cry, nor can she enter into the game of unjust, mean and
self-serving systems that seek to render them invisible”.
The
Pope made two proposals for facing these challenges: to reach out to
encounter God, “Who lives in the cities and in the poor”, to
facilitate the encounter of others with God, making the Sacraments
accessible, and to work towards a Samaritan Church, “with concrete
witness of mercy and tenderness that endeavours to be present in the
existential and poor peripheries, acting directly on the social
subconscious, producing guidance and meaning for city life”.
To
the Pauline family: take the breath of the Gospel to the most diverse
cultures and social contexts
Vatican
City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) – This morning the Pope received in
audience the members of the Pauline Family, the group of institutions
that encompasses the Society of St. Paul and the Daughters of St.
Paul (Paulines), dedicated to the apostolate through means of
communication. Founded by Blessed Giacomo Alberione (1884-1971), the
Pauline Family is composed of ten members: five religious
congregations, four aggregated institutes and an association of lay
collaborators. This year it celebrates the centenary of its
foundation and, to commemorate this anniversary, Francis invited them
to renew their “commitment to living and communicating faith”,
especially through the editorial and multimedia tools typical of
their charism.
He
also encouraged them to continue the path their founder opened up and
which the Family has followed so far, “always keeping your gaze on
broader horizons”, adding that we must never forget that
“evangelisation is essentially connected with the proclamation of
the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus Christ, or have always
denied Him. … Everyone has the right to receive the Gospel.
Christians have the duty of announcing it without excluding anyone.
This impulse to move towards the people, but also to existential
peripheries, this 'Catholic' impulse, is something you have in the
blood, in your DNA, for the very fact that your founder was inspired
by the figure and the mission of the apostle Paul”.
Francis
explained that Blessed Giacomo Alberione saw, in the announcement of
Christ and of the Gospel to the masses, the most authentic and most
necessary form of charity that could be offered to men and women who
thirst for truth and justice”. He added, “you too are called to
serve the people of today, to whom the Spirit sends you, with
creativity and dynamic fidelity to your charism, identifying the most
appropriate ways of announcing Jesus. … The imagination of charity
knows no bounds, and knows how to open up ever new roads to bring the
breath of the Gospel into the most diverse cultures and social
environments”.
“Vatican
Council II presented the Church to us as a population on the move …
a vision that expresses Christian hope. … Therefore, our being a
Church in progress, while it roots us in the task of announcing
Christ and His love for every creature, also prevents us from being
imprisoned by earthly and mundane structures; it keeps the spirit
open and makes us capable of outlooks and demands that find their
fulfilment in the beatitude of the Lord.
Holy
Father's calendar for December 2014 and January 2015
Vatican
City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) – The Office of Liturgical
Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following
calendar of liturgical celebrations at which the Holy Father will
preside in December 2014 and January 2015:
DECEMBER
Monday
8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At 4 p.m. in Piazza di Spagna, veneration of the image of Mary
Immaculate.
Friday
12: Feast of Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe. At 6 p.m. in the
Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for Latin America.
Sunday
14: “Gaudete Sunday” Third of Advent. At 4 p.m., pastoral visit
to the Roman Parish of “San Giuseppe all'Aurelio”.
Wednesday
24: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. At 9.30 p.m. in the
Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.
Thursday
25: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord. Central loggia of the
Vatican Basilica, at 12 p.m., “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
Wednesday
31: Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. At 5 p.m. First
Vespers and Te Deum, in Thanksgiving for the past year.
JANUARY
Thursday
1: Solemnity of Mary Most Holy, Mother of God. 48th World Peace Day.
At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass.
Tuesday
6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. At 10 a.m. in the Vatican
Basilica, Holy Mass.
Sunday
11: Sunday after the Epiphany: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. At
9.30 a.m. in the Sistine Chapel. Holy Mass and baptism of babies.
Monday
12 to Monday 19: Apostolic trip in Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
Sunday
25: Solemnity of the Conversion of St. Paul. At 5.30 in the Basilica
of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, Vespers.
Christians
and Muslims condemn extremism and violence committed in the name of
religion
Vatican
City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) – The Centre for Interreligious
Dialogue of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation and the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue held their Ninth
Colloquium of dialogue from 24 to 26 November in Teheran, Iran, under
the joint chairmanship of Abuzar Ibrahimi Turkaman, president of the
Islamic Culture and Relations Organisation, and Cardinal Jean-Louis
Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue. At the end of the meeting, the participants agreed on the
following:
1.
Two decades of dialogue between the abovementioned institutions have
provided the occasion for better knowledge and mutual understanding;
2.
The participants emphasised that Christian-Muslim constructive
dialogue plays a crucial role in making a better society;
3.
Spirituality is a both a divine gift and the fruit of a human journey
leading to truth;
4.
A genuine spirituality enables us to recognise God’s presence and
action within ourselves and in the world;
5.
The media are called to play their distinctive role in the promotion
of positive relations between Christians and Muslims;
6.
The participants condemned all kinds of extremism and violence,
especially committed in the name of religion.
The
participants decided to hold the next colloquium in Rome in 2016,
which will be preceded by a preparatory meeting 2015.
Audiences
Vatican
City, 27 November 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
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Archbishop Michael A. Blume, apostolic nuncio in Uganda;
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Archbishop Ramiro Moliner Ingles, apostolic nuncio in Albania.
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