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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXIII - N° 30
DATE 12-02-2013
Summary:
- POPE TO PRESIDE OVER IMPOSITION OF ASHES IN VATICAN BASILICA
- GRATITUDE AND FIDELITY TO BENEDICT XVI
- CONSISTORY FOR SEVERAL CAUSES OF CANONIZATION
- GOD DOESN'T CONSIDER AS MUCH THE QUALITIES OF THE CHOSEN AS THEIR FAITH
- POPE VISITS MAJOR ROMAN SEMINARY
- POPE TO ORDER OF MALTA: ACT WITH FAITH AND CHARITY FOR RENEWAL OF HOPE
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
- NOTICE
___________________________________________________________
POPE TO PRESIDE OVER IMPOSITION OF ASHES IN VATICAN BASILICA
Vatican City, 12 February 2013 (VIS) – Wednesday, 13 February at 5:00pm,
the Holy Father will celebrate the rite of blessing and imposition of ashes in
the Vatican Basilica, instead of the Roman Basilica of Santa Sabina, where the
celebration is
traditionally held. The reason, as Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy
See Press Office, explained, is that, as this will be Benedict XVI's last
public concelebration, a large number of participants is expected.
For the same reason, the Pope's annual meeting with the pastors of Rome,
scheduled to take place on 14 February, will take place in the Paul VI Hall
and will focus on?according to Fr. Lombardi's information?Vatican Council II,
as the Roman clergy
requested. Also, in expectation of great numbers, Benedict XVI's last general
audience, scheduled for 27 February in the Paul VI Hall, will probably be
moved to St. Peter's Square.
"The Pope is well," Fr. Lombardi said, "and his soul is serene. He did not
resign the pontificate because he is ill but because of the fragility that
comes with old age," he affirmed, recalling that the pontiff, recently
underwent an entirely routine
procedure to replace the battery of the pacemaker he wears, but that this had
no impact on his decision. Likewise, Fr. Lombardi explained, the trip to Cuba
and Mexico, due to his fatigue, was another reason in the development of
Benedict XVI's decision,
but not its cause.
The director of the Press Office confirmed that the Pope's calendar will
continue as scheduled until 28 February, the last day of his pontificate, with
ad limina visits from the Italian bishops, visits with the presidents of
Romania and Guatemala, etc.
However, the expected encyclical on Faith will not be published because the
text still is not ready.
___________________________________________________________
GRATITUDE AND FIDELITY TO BENEDICT XVI
Vatican City, 12 February 2013 (VIS) - Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop
of Krakow, Poland, after begin informed of Benedict XVI's resignation
yesterday, made the following declaration in Krakow.
"With great respect and emotion I accept the Holy Father Benedict XVI's
decision to resign from the governance of the Church and to entrust the care
of Her future events to the College of Cardinals. I understand the reasons
that the Holy Father
presented to the members of the consistory. After John Paul II's death,
Benedict XVI has guided Christ's Church with great reflection and wisdom,
which come from his exceptional intellectual ability as well as his deep
faith. I thank the Holy Father for
all his efforts to renew the Church in the spirit of fidelity to the Teacher
of Nazareth. As one of the bishops of Poland, I assure him of our gratitude
for his friendship with John Paul II, for his beatification, and also for his
exceptional
benevolence toward the Polish nation. Personally, I will always be faithful
and grateful for everything that I have received from him. The Church in
Krakow will be eternally appreciative to the Peter of our time, Benedict XVI.
Gratitude and fidelit
y. We
will remain united in prayer and dedication, together with the Holy Father. I
entrust Benedict XVI to the Holy Spirit and to Our Lady of Lourdes, the
patroness of the day."
___________________________________________________________
CONSISTORY FOR SEVERAL CAUSES OF CANONIZATION
Vatican City, 11 February 2013 (VIS) – This morning at 11:00am in the
Consistory Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father presided over an
ordinary public consistory for the canonization of the blesseds:
- Antonio Primaldo and Companions, martyrs, (1480);
- Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upegui (1874 -1949), virgin,
foundress of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St
Catherine of Siena; and
- Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, co-foundress of the Congregation of the
Handmaids of St Margaret Mary (Alacoque) and the Poor.
During the course of the consistory, the Pope decreed that blesseds Antonio
Primaldo and his companions, Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upegui
and Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala be inscribed in the book of saints on
Sunday, 12 May 2013.
___________________________________________________________
GOD DOESN'T CONSIDER AS MUCH THE QUALITIES OF THE CHOSEN AS THEIR FAITH
Vatican City, 10 February 2013 (VIS) – As is customary on Sundays,
Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with the
faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope commented on the Gospel of St. Luke that narrates the call of the
first disciples, a call "preceded by Jesus' teaching to the multitude and by a
miraculous catch of fish." While the crowd gathered on the shore of Lake
Gennesaret to listen to
Him, Jesus?seeing Simon disheartened because he hadn't caught anything the
whole night?asks if He can board his boat to preach to the people a little way
from the shore. Once finished preaching, Christ orders Simon to go out to sea
with his companions
and to cast their nets. Simon obeys and the nets are filled with an incredible
amount of fish. "The Gospel writer shows that the first disciples followed
Jesus, trusting in Him, acting on His Word, while accompanied by prodigious
signs. … This is
the pedagogy of God's call, which doesn't look as much at the quality of the
chosen as at their faith, as in Simon's case.
"The image of the catch," the Pope emphasized, "recalls the Church's mission
… Peter's experience, certainly unique, is also representative of the
call of each Apostle in the Gospel, who should never lose heart in proclaiming
Christ to all
people, even to the ends of the earth. today's text also brings us to reflect
on the vocation to the priesthood and to consecrated life. This is God's work.
Human beings are not the authors of their own vocation, but respond to a
divine call. Human
weakness should not lead us to fear God's call. It is necessary to be
confident in His strength, which acts precisely in our weakness. We must trust
ever more in the power of His mercy, which transforms and renews us."
"May this Word of God also reignite in us and in our Christian communities the
courage, confidence, and enthusiasm to announce and witness to the Gospel.
Challenges and difficulties don't dishearten us: it falls to us to cast our
nets with faith. The
Lord will do the rest," concluded the Holy Father.
After praying the Angelus, Benedict XVI noted that many Asian countries are
celebrating the Lunar New Year. Peace, harmony, and thanksgiving to heaven,"
he observed, "are the universal values that are celebrated in this happy
circumstance, and they are
wished for by all so as to build their family, society, and their nation upon
them. I wish for those peoples the fulfilment of their aspirations for a happy
and prosperous life. I send a special greeting to the Catholics of those
countries that, in this
Year of Faith, they may be guided by Christ's wisdom.
Lastly, he spoke of the World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated
tomorrow, 11 February, on the liturgical feastday of Our Lady of Lourdes. "The
solemn ceremony," he said, "will take place in the Marian Shrine in Altotting,
Bavaria, Germany. I am
near to all the ill in prayer and affection and I spiritually join with those
gathered in that sanctuary that I love so much."
___________________________________________________________
POPE VISITS MAJOR ROMAN SEMINARY
Vatican City, 11 February 2013 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon at 6:15pm,
the Holy Father visited the Major Roman Seminary on the eve of its feast of
its patroness, Our Lady of Trust. On arriving he was greeted by Cardinal
Agostino Vallini and the
rector, Fr. Concetto Occhipinti. Benedict XVI delivered a lectio divina on the
First Letter of St. Peter to seminarians of the Major and Minor Roman
Seminary, the "Almo Collegio Capranica", the "Redemptoris Mater" diocesan
seminary, and the Virgin of
Divine Love Seminary. Following are ample excerpts of his address, which was
given without an official text.
"Peter speaks. This is almost the first encyclical by which the first apostle,
vicar of Christ, speaks to the Church of all time. … He doesn't write
as an isolated individual, but with the help of the Church, of the persons who
help him to go
more deeply into his faith, to enter into the depth of his thought. …
This is very important: Peter doesn't speak as an individual, but 'ex persona
Ecclesiae'. He speaks as a man of the Church, certainly as a person, with
personal responsibility,
but also as a person who speaks on behalf of the Church … in communion
with the Church."
“I believe that it is also important that at the end of the letter he
names Silvanus and Mark, two people who belonged to the group of St.
Paul’s friends. Thus, the worlds of St. Peter and St. Paul come
together; it is not an exclusively
Petrine theology as opposed to a Pauline theology. Rather, it is a theology of
the Church, of the faith of the Church, in which there is of course a
diversity of temperament, of thought, of style. It is good that there are
differences—different
charisms, different temperaments—then as well as now. These differences
do not divide but are united in the same faith.”
“St. Peter writes from Rome. This is important: here we already have the
Bishop of Rome, the beginning of the succession, the basis of the concrete
primacy located in Rome, not only given by the Lord but also placed in this
city, capital of the
world. Ever since his flight from Herod’s prison, Peter entrusted the
Judeo-Christian church, the church of Jerusalem, to James and, in entrusting
it to James, remained without qualification primate of the universal Church,
primate of the Church
of the pagans as well as primate of the Judeo-Christian Church … In
Rome he met both parts of the Church: the Judeo-Christian and the
Pagan-Christian united, an expression of the universal Church. And Peter was
not alone in thinking of this
movement: Jerusalem/Rome, Judeo-Christian Church/Universal Church. St. Paul
knew that his end would be martyrdom, would be the cross. Therefore, to go to
Rome was without doubt to go to martyrdom. The primacy has this universal
component a
nd
also a martyriological component. The cross can take many different forms, but
one cannot be Christian without following the Crucified, without accepting
also the martyriological moment.”
“St. Peter called those to whom he wrote 'the chosen ones who are
dispersed aliens'. Once again we have the paradox of glory and the cross:
chosen but dispersed and strangers. We are chosen: God knows us always, since
before we were born. God
wanted me, as Christian, as Catholic, as priest … he chose me, he loved
me, and now I respond. But to rejoice because God has chosen us is not
triumphalism but gratitude, and I think that we have to learn this joy.
Without doubt, 'chosen ones'
needs to be accompanied by strangers and dispersed ones. As Christians, we are
dispersed and we are strangers. We see that today Christians in the world
today are the most persecuted group because they do not conform, because they
go against the
tendencies toward egoism and materialism.”
“Certainly Christians are not only strangers; we are also Christian
nations, we feel proud to have contributed to the formation of culture. There
is a healthy patriotism, a healthy joy in belonging to a nation that has a
great history of culture
and faith. However, without doubt, as Christians we are always strangers; this
is the destiny of Abraham, as it is described in the Letter to the Hebrews.
Today, as Christians we are each time more strangers than before. In the
workforce, Christians are
a minority and encounter a situation of alienation. It is remarkable that
today one can still believe and live in this way. It is part of our life: it
is the way of being with Christ Crucified, being strangers, who do not live
the way everyone else
lives. We live—or at least we try to live—according to his Word,
in a great diversity, respectful of what everyone says. This is characteristic
of Christians.”
"Finally we arrive at today’s three verses. I would only like to point
out three words: regenerated, inheritance, and safeguarded by faith.
Regenerated: this does not only refer to the area of the will; it refers to
the whole sphere of being. It
does not depend only on my will; it is an act of God … I am reborn. I
am transformed, renewed. Being reborn, being regenerated indicates that I
become part of a new family: God, My Father; the Church, my Mother; and other
Christians, my brothers
and sisters.”
"The second word: Inheritance. We are heirs, but not heirs of specific country
but of the land of God, of the future of God. This word says that as
Christians we have the future. Thus, as Christians, we know that ours is the
future, and the tree of the
Church is not a dying tree but a tree that grows ever new. Therefore, we have
reason to not let ourselves be moved by the prophets of doom, as John XXIII
said, who say that the Church is a tree grown from a mustard seed, which has
lived two thousand
years but now her time is past and the time to die has arrived. No. The church
always renews itself; it is continually reborn. The future is ours. Of course,
there is a false optimism and a false pessimism. A false pessimism says that
the time of
Christianity has come to an end. No: it begins again! A false optimism was
that witnessed immediately after the Council when convents and seminaries were
closed and people said: it doesn’t matter, everything is good. No: this
is not g
ood!
There are also serious and grave dangers. We have to recognize with a healthy
realism that all is not well. It is not good when they do wrong things. At the
same time, we have to be sure that even though here and there the Church dies
for the sins of
humans, because of their lack of belief, at the same time, it is reborn."
"Finally, 'safeguarded by faith'. Faith is like the 'sentinel' that preserves
the integrity of my being. We have to be grateful for this vigilance of faith
that protects us, that helps us, that guides us, and that gives us safety. God
will not let us
fall from his hands."
___________________________________________________________
POPE TO ORDER OF MALTA: ACT WITH FAITH AND CHARITY FOR RENEWAL OF HOPE
Vatican City, 9 February 2013 (VIS) – Members of the Sovereign Military
Order of Malta, whose Grand Master is Fra' Matthew Festing, have come to Rome
on pilgrimage to celebrate the ninth centenary of the "Pie postulatio
volutatis" privilege of
February 15, 1113, by which Pope Paschal II placed the newly created
"hospitaller fraternity” of Jerusalem, dedicated to Saint John the
Baptist, under Church protection, giving it sovereign status and constituting
it as an Order in church law,
with the faculty freely to elect its superiors without interference from other
lay or religious authorities. This morning, Benedict XVI welcomed them to St.
Peter's Basilica, thanking the Order for their offering, which will be
destined to a work of
charity. He also thanked Cardinal Paolo Sardi, patron of the Order, "for the
care with which he strives to strengthen the special bond that joins you to
the Catholic Church and most particularly to the Holy See".
"This important event," the Pope explained, "takes on a special meaning in the
context of the Year of Faith, during which the Church is called to renew the
joy and the commitment of believing in Jesus Christ, the one Saviour of the
world. In this
regard, you too are called to welcome this time of grace, so as to deepen your
knowledge of the Lord and to cause the truth and beauty of the faith to shine
forth, through the witness of your lives and your service, in this present
time. Your Order,
from its earliest days, has been marked by fidelity to the Church and to the
Successor of Peter, and also for its unrenounceable spiritual identity,
characterized by high religious ideals. Continue to walk along this path,
bearing concrete witness to
the transforming power of faith. …"
"By faith, down the centuries, the members of your Order have given themselves
completely, firstly in the care of the sick in Jerusalem and then in aid to
pilgrims in the Holy Land who were exposed to grave dangers: their lives have
added radiant pages
to the annals of Christian charity and protection of Christianity. In the
nineteenth century, the Order opened up to new and more ample forms of
apostolate in the area of charitable assistance and service of the sick and
the poor, but without ever
abandoning the original ideals, especially that of the intense spiritual life
of individual members. In this sense, your commitment must continue with a
very particular attention to the religious consecration? of the professed
members?which constitutes
the heart of the Order."
"In this sense," the Pope emphasized, "your Order, compared with other
organizations that are committed in the international arena to the care of the
sick, to solidarity and to human promotion, is distinguished by the Christian
inspiration that must
constantly direct the social engagement of its members. Be sure to preserve
and cultivate this your qualifying characteristic and work with renewed
apostolic ardour, maintaining an attitude of profound harmony with the
Magisterium of the Church. Your
esteemed and beneficent activity, carried out in a variety of fields and in
different parts of the world, and particularly focused on care of the sick
through hospitals and health-care institutes, is not mere philanthropy, but an
effective expression
and a living testimony of evangelical love. …"
"In Sacred Scripture, the summons to love of neighbour is tied to the
commandment to love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength.
Thus, love of neighbour?if based on a true love for God?corresponds to the
commandment and the example
of Christ. ... In order to offer love to our brothers and sisters, we must be
afire with it from the furnace of divine charity: through prayer, constant
listening to the word of God, and a life centred on the Eucharist."
The Pope concluded his address by inviting the members of the Order of Malta
to "continue working in society and in the world along the elevated paths
indicated by the Gospel?faith and charity, for the renewal of hope. Faith, as
testimony of adherence
to Christ and of commitment to the Gospel mission, which inspires you to an
ever more vital presence in the ecclesial community and to an ever more
conscious membership of the people of God; charity, as an expression of
fraternity in Christ, through
works of mercy for the sick, the poor, those in need of love, comfort and
assistance, those who are afflicted by loneliness, by a sense of bewilderment
and by new material and spiritual forms of poverty. These ideals are aptly
expressed in your motto:
“Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum”. These words summarize well
the charism of your Order which, as a subject of international law, aims not
to exercise power and influence of a worldly character, but in complete
freedom to
accomplish its own mission for the integral good of man, spirit and body, both
individually and collectively, with special regard to those whose need of hope
and love is greater.
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 9 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in
separate audiences:
ten prelates from the Lazio region of the Italian Episcopal Conference on
their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Fabio Bernardo D’Onorio, O.S.B., of Gaeta,
- Bishop Delio Lucarelli of Rieti,
- Bishop Giuseppe Petrocchi of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno,
- Bishop Lino Fumagalli of Viterbo,
- Bishop Lorenzo Loppa of Anagni-Alatri,
- Bishop Romano Rossi of Civita Castellana,
- Bishop Ambrogio Spreafico of Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino,
- Bishop Luigi Marrucci of Civitavecchia-Tarquinia,
- Bishop-elect Gerardo Antonazzo of Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo,
- Abbot Pietro Vittorelli, O.S.B., of the territorial Abbey of Montecassino,
and
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 11 February 2013 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father appointed
Msgr. Robert J. Coyle as as military ordinary for the United States of
America, assigning him the titular see of Zabi. The bishop-elect was born in
Brooklyn, New York in 1964
and was ordained a priest in 1991. He has served in several pastoral roles,
currently as pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Mineola, New York. He was a
military chaplain from 1991 to 1999, when he was named to Corpus Christi
Parish, but has remained a
reservist chaplain and has achieved the level of commander.
On Saturday, 9 February, the Holy Father appointed:
- Fr. Domingo Buezo Leiva as bishop of the apostolic vicariate of Izabal (area
9,038, population 413,339, Catholics 175,000, priests 30, permanent deacons 3,
religious 45), Guatemala, assigning him the titular see of Dardano. The
bishop-elect was born
in Zulia, Guatemala in 1962 and was ordained a priest in 1988. Bishop-elect
Buezo Leiva has served as pastor of several parishes in Guatemala, currently
San Juan Bautista in Camotan in the diocese of Zacapa, and, since 1998 has
served as episcopal vicar
for Pastoral Care of that same diocese.
- Msgr. Leonardo Sapienza, S.C.I., regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical
Household, to the College of Apostolic Protonotaries "de numero
articipantium".
___________________________________________________________
NOTICE
Vatican City, 12 February 2013 (VIS) – The Vatican Information Service
begs the pardon of its readers for the errors that may have appeared in
yesterday's transmission, due to technical problems caused by the overload of
the Vatican servers.
___________________________________________________________
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