* Original message posted in: VATICAN.   
   * Crossposted in: IN_CATHOLIC.   
   VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
      
   TWENTIETH YEAR - N. 180   
   ENGLISH   
   THURSDAY, 14 OCTOBER 2010   
      
   SUMMARY OF SYNOD OF BISHOPS: 13 - 14 OCTOBER   
      
   - Fifth General Congregation   
   - Sixth General Congregation   
      
   OTHER NEWS:   
      
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   FIFTH GENERAL CONGREGATION   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 13 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Fifth General Congregation of the   
   Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops was held this   
   afternoon in the Vatican's Synod Hall. The president delegate on duty was   
   Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental   
   Churches. The Synod Fathers' speeches were followed by a period of free   
   discussion during which the Holy Father was also present.   
      
     Extracts from some of today's contributions are given below:   
      
   HIS BEATITUDE NERSES BEDROS XIX TARMOUNI, PATRIARCH OF CILICIA OF THE   
   ARMENIANS, LEBANON. "Looking back to the first Christian community we see   
   that the first Christians did not have an easy life, nor were they exempt   
   from difficulties and adversities; quite the contrary, they endured outrage   
   and persecutions. But this did not prevent them from proclaiming the   
   teachings of Jesus integrally, or from practicing forgiveness. We find   
   similar situations in our own times. Christians not enlightened by the Holy   
   Spirit think they should be spared difficulties. It is important to point   
   this out, and in this sense to re-evangelise our faithful by presenting them   
   the faith as it was lived during the first centuries of Christianity. This   
   does not mean that we should not fight to re-establish justice and peace in   
   the Middle East. But it would be wrong to consider that, without justice and   
   peace, Christians cannot fully live their faith, or that they must emigrate.   
   Moreover, nobody emigrates to look for a better Christian life. The   
   principal concern of convinced Christians - who by virtue of their Baptism   
   are called to bear witness to their faith and lead a Christian life in the   
   community - is not searching for material wellbeing and peace, or fleeing   
   problems that threaten their own and their family's serenity. On the   
   contrary, following the example of ... their ancestors in the Middle East,   
   they must work together with their Christian brethren to bear witness   
   through life and through example, to make Jesus' message of love more   
   convincing".   
      
   BISHOP PAUL HINDER O.F.M. CAP., APOSTOLIC VICAR OF ARABIA, UNITED ARAB   
   EMIRATES. "The two vicariates of the Arabian peninsula, comprising Kuwait,   
   Bahrain, Qatar, U.A.E., Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia, have no native   
   Christians. The three million Catholics in a population of sixty-five   
   million inhabitants are all labour migrants from a hundred nations, the   
   majority from the Philippines and India. About eighty percent are of Latin   
   Rite, the others belong to the Eastern Catholic Churches. Both apostolic   
   vicars are of Latin Rite, and the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin has the   
   'ius commissionis' for the territory. Two thirds of the eighty priests are   
   Capuchin Friars from India, the Philippines, Europe and America, belonging   
   to different rites. ... There are strict immigration laws (restricting the   
   number of priests). ... There is no freedom of religion (no Muslim can   
   convert but Christians are welcome into Islam), and only limited freedom of   
   worship in designated places, granted by benevolent rulers (except in Saudi   
   Arabia)".   
      
   ARCHBISHOP ELIE BECHARA HADDAD B.S. OF SAIDA OF THE GREEK-MELKITES, LEBANON.   
   "The sale of Christian land in Lebanon is becoming a dangerous phenomenon.   
   It threatens the Christian presence to the point of reducing it to a minimum   
   in the future. To resolve this question we propose: (1) Creating a strategy   
   of solidarity between Churches, sponsored by the Holy See. (2) Modifying the   
   discourse of the Church towards Islam, to distinguish clearly between Islam   
   and fundamentalism. This will facilitate our dialogue with Muslims and help   
   us persevere in our own land. (3) Going from the concept of aid for Middle   
   Eastern Christians to the concept of development, thus rooting them more   
   firmly in their land. ... In this context, our own experience in the diocese   
   of Saida is has been emblematic".   
      
   BISHOP ANTOINE AUDO OF ALEPPO OF THE CHALDEANS, SYRIA. "Despite the decrease   
   in the number of vocations, candidates should be tested before being   
   admitted to the seminary. Seminarians should be taught the profound meaning   
   of each liturgy and so become able to open themselves to the universality of   
   the Church. Our theological foundation should be Vatican Council II, so as   
   to answer the question of modernity in the Arab-Muslim context, giving   
   special attention to the correct use of the Arabic language. Finally, in   
   keeping with the advice of Benedict XVI, we must give importance to solid   
   and vibrant doctrinal formation, translating it into daily life. In the   
   pastoral dimension we must learn to preach, catechise, accompany families,   
   listen to confessions. ... Another important element is pastoral and   
   spiritual accompaniment during the practice of priestly ministry. ... We   
   must look objectively at the needs of priests, and seek transparent   
   accountability in dioceses, helping develop trust between priests and   
   faithful. The Congregation for the Eastern Churches should help each   
   patriarchate and diocese to create a system of healthcare and retirement   
   insurance. The resources are there, competence and rigour are lacking".   
      
   ARCHBISHOP BERHANEYESUS DEMEREW SOURAPHIEL C.M. OF ADDIS ABEBA, ETHIOPIA,   
   PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ETHIOPIAN CHURCH, AND PRESIDENT OF THE   
   EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA. "Ethiopia has about eighty   
   million inhabitants, half of whom are below the age of twenty-five. The   
   great challenge which the country faces is poverty and its consequences,   
   such as unemployment. Many young people, aspiring to escape poverty, attempt   
   to emigrate, by any means. Those who emigrate to the Middle East are mostly   
   young women who go legally or illegally to seek employment as domestic   
   workers because most of them lack professional training. In order, to   
   facilitate their journey, the Christians change their Christian names to   
   Muslim names, and dress as Muslims so that their visas can be processed   
   easily. In this way, Christians are indirectly forced to deny their   
   Christian roots and heritage. ... Even if there are exceptions where workers   
   are treated well and with kindness, the great majority suffer exploitation   
   and abuse. ... It would seem that Christians who die in Saudi Arabia are not   
   allowed to be buried there; their bodies are flown to Ethiopia for burial.   
   Could the Saudi authorities be requested to allocate a cemetery for   
   Christians in Saudi Arabia? Many Ethiopians turn to the Catholic Churches of   
   the Middle East for assistance and counselling. I would like to thank the   
   Catholic hierarchies in the Middle East who are doing their best to assist   
   victims of abuse and exploitation. We are grateful, for example, for the   
   great work of Caritas Lebanon. Modern migration is looked upon as 'modern   
   slavery'. But let us remember that today's migrants are tomorrow's citizens   
   and leaders either in their host countries or in their home countries".   
      
     The general congregation of the Synod of Bishops was then addressed by a   
   guest specially invited by the Holy Father: Rabbi David Rosen, adviser to   
   the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and director for inter-religious affairs of   
   the American Jewish Committee and the Heilbrunn Institute for International   
   Inter-religious Understanding. Rabbi Rosen focused his remarks on the   
   subject of Jewish-Christian relations and the Middle East.   
      
     Extracts of his speech are given below:   
      
     "The relationship today between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people   
   is a blessed transformation in our times - arguably without historic   
   parallel. In his words in the great synagogue here in Rome last January,   
   Pope Benedict XVI referred to the teaching of the Vatican Council II as 'a   
   clear landmark to which constant reference is made in our attitude and our   
   relations with the Jewish people, marking a new and significant stage'.   
      
     Until recently most of Israeli society has been quite unaware of the   
   profound changes in Catholic-Jewish relations. However this situation has   
   begun to alter significantly in the last decade for different reasons, but   
   two in particular are especially noteworthy. The first is the impact of the   
   visit of the late Pope John Paul II in the year 2000, following the   
   establishment of full bilateral relations between Israel, and the Holy See   
   six years earlier. ... It was the power of the visual images, the   
   significance of which Pope John Paul II understood so well, that revealed   
   clearly to the majority of Israeli society the transformation that had taken   
   place in Christian attitudes and teaching towards the Jewish People with   
   whom the Pope himself had maintained and further sought mutual friendship   
   and respect. For Israelis to see the Pope at the Western Wall, the remnant   
   of the Second Temple, standing there in respect for Jewish tradition and   
   placing there the text that he had composed for a liturgy of forgiveness   
   that had taken place two weeks earlier here at St. Peter's, asking Divine   
   forgiveness for sins committed against the Jews down the ages, was stunning   
   and overwhelming in its effect. Israeli Jewry still has a long way to go in   
   overcoming the negative past, but there is no question that attitudes have   
   changed since that historic visit".   
      
     "The other major factor is the influx of other Christians who have doubled   
   the demographic make-up of Christianity in Israel. I refer first of all to   
   the estimated approximately fifty thousand practicing Christians who were   
   part and parcel of the immigration to Israel in the last two decades from   
   the former Soviet Union. ... However there is a third significant Christian   
   population in Israel whose legal standing is sometimes problematic. These   
   are the scores of thousands of practicing Christians among almost a quarter   
   of a million of migrant workers - from the Philippines, Eastern Europe,   
   Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Most of them are in the country   
   legally and temporarily. However close to half of them have entered or   
   remained illegally and their position is legally precarious. Nevertheless   
   the substantial Christian presence among this population maintains a vibrant   
   religious life and constitutes a significant third dimension to the   
   Christian reality in Israel today. These factors have contributed, among   
   others, to an increasing familiarity in Israel with contemporary   
   Christianity".   
      
     "Christians in Israel are obviously in a very different situation from   
   their sister communities in the Holy Land who are part and parcel of a   
   Palestinian society struggling for its independence and who are inevitably   
   caught up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on a daily basis. ... It is   
   only right and proper that such Palestinian Christians should express their   
   distress and their hopes regarding the situation. ... The plight of   
   Palestinians generally and Palestinian Christians in particular should be of   
   profound concern to Jews both in Israel and the diaspora. To begin with,   
   especially as Judaism brought the recognition to the world that every human   
   person is created in the divine image. ... We have a special responsibility   
   in particular for neighbours who suffer. This responsibility is even greater   
   when suffering is born out of a conflict of which we are a part and   
   paradoxically precisely where we have the moral and religious duty to   
   protect and defend ourselves. ... Indeed Jewish responsibility to ensure   
   that Christian communities flourish in our midst, respecting the very fact   
   that the Holy Land is the land of Christianity's birth and holy places, is   
   strengthened by our increasingly rediscovered fraternity.   
      
     "Yet even beyond our particular relationship, Christians as a minority in   
   both Jewish and Muslim contexts, play a very special role for our societies   
   at large. The situation of minorities is always a profound reflection of the   
   social and moral condition of a society as a whole. The wellbeing of   
   Christian communities in the Middle East is nothing less than a kind of   
   barometer of the moral condition of our countries. The degree to which   
   Christians enjoy civil and religious rights and liberties, testifies to the   
   health or infirmity of the respective societies in the Middle East. Moreover   
   as I have already indicated, Christians play a disproportionate role in   
   promoting inter-religious understanding and co-operation in the country.   
   Indeed I would presume to suggest that this is precisely the Christian   
   metier, to contribute to overcoming the prejudice and misunderstanding that   
   bedevil the Holy Land".   
      
     "The 'Instrumentum laboris' of this Special Assembly for the Middle East   
   quotes Pope Benedict XVI: ... 'It is important on the one hand to have   
   bilateral dialogues - with the Jews and with Islam - and then also   
   trilateral dialogue'. Indeed this last year, for the first time, the   
   Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and the Pontifical   
   Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews co-hosted together with the   
   International Jewish Committee for Inter-religious Consultations (IJCIC) and   
   the foundation for the Three Cultures in Seville Spain, our first trilateral   
   dialogue. This was a particular joy for me, ... and I earnestly hope that   
   this is just the beginning of more extensive trilateral dialogue, to   
   overcome suspicion, prejudice and misunderstanding, so that we may be able   
   to highlight the shared values in the family of Abraham for the wellbeing of   
   all humanity".   
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   SIXTH GENERAL CONGREGATION   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 14 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Sixth General Congregation of the   
   Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops took place   
   today in the Synod Hall in the presence of the Holy Father and 167 Synod   
   Fathers. The president delegate on duty was His Beatitude Ignace Youssif III   
   Younan, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians, Lebanon.   
      
     Extracts from some of the Synod Father's speeches are given below:   
      
   HIS BEATITUDE IGNACE YOUSSIF III YOUNAN, PATRIARCH OF ANTIOCH OF THE   
   SYRIANS, LEBANON. "For the past 2000 years, and especially during the last   
   fourteen centuries, Christians have become a minority in their own lands and   
   have been harshly tested in their witness of faith, even to the point of   
   martyrdom. Our beloved Saviour, before His last sacrifice, defended the   
   Truth, synonym of the unalienable right of a person to freedom, while   
   proclaiming His salvation to all, even to those who opposed His message of   
   ineffable and universal love. Our salvation lies in courageous adherence to   
   His message, and in fearless proclamation of Truth in authentic charity. Our   
   faithful, who have the right to hope as they live their lives in this   
   tormented region of the Middle East, expect a great deal from this Synod. It   
   is up to us to give them reasons for their faith, a faith inseparable from   
   hope in our beloved Lord Who assures us: 'Do not fear, little flock'. In   
   living faith like this, with one heart and soul, we will learn how to bear   
   courageous witness together to the One who said 'I am the Truth and Life'.   
   Only Truth can set us free".   
      
   ARCHBISHOP CLAUDIO MARIA CELLI, PRESIDENT OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR   
   SOCIAL COMMUNICATIONS. "Digital culture is present in the various nations of   
   the Middle East and in local Churches through television, radio, cinema,   
   websites and social networks. All this media space has an impact on daily   
   life. ... As indicated in the 'Relatio', it is necessary to train pastoral   
   workers as well as lay people and journalists, but not only them. The   
   formation of seminarians is also a vital issue, not so much as regards   
   technology which they handle better than we do, but as regards   
   communication, which is communion in this rapidly developing culture.   
   Without priests - and without bishops - who understand modern culture, the   
   communication gap will persist, something which will not favour the   
   transmission of the faith to the young in the Church. It is not sufficient   
   to build websites: what is needed is a presence that is able to create   
   authentic means of communication, that opens 'places' where people can   
   gather to bear witness to their faith and to their respect for others.   
   Obviously this does not mean ignoring personal encounter and physical   
   community life. These are not alternative actions: they are both   
   indispensable for extending God's kingdom".   
      
   BISHOP JEAN TEYROUZ, AUXILIARY OF CILICIA OF THE ARMENIANS, LEBANON. "Pope   
   John Paul II called for relations between the Catholic communities of the   
   diaspora and the various patriarchates to be maintained and intensified. ...   
   The Orthodox Churches enjoy various powers in all affairs concerning their   
   patriarchates. From an ecumenical perspective, failing to give the Eastern   
   Catholic Churches more legal powers constitutes an obstacle and creates the   
   risk of seeing them disappear one day. Not to plan the future is to condemn   
   oneself to failure. Life has its own way of punishing those who lag behind.   
   On the other hand, should these same Churches have greater jurisdiction,   
   would this not be a stimulant to promoting the unity of Churches? Finally,   
   should the Catholic Church not give more jurisdictional powers to the   
   patriarchs of the 'sui iuris' Churches for the good of all the Catholic and   
   Orthodox Churches?"   
      
   ARCHBISHOP GEORGES BOU-JAOUDE C.M. OF TRIPOLI OF THE MARONITES, LEBANON.   
   "The 'Instrumentum laboris' barely mentioned the role of the laity in the   
   Church and their relationship with clergy and bishops. In the Maronite   
   Church, lay persons have always participated in Church life, by means of the   
   Marian brotherhoods. At the same time, lay people have always been   
   responsible for administering the material goods and property of the Church,   
   while sub-deacons assist in dealings with the civil authorities. New   
   movements have come into being, inspired by similar movements in the West;   
   some have become inculturated in the Eastern Churches, others have yet to do   
   so. World Youth Days have given rise to various youth groups and commissions   
   in dioceses. A congress of lay persons was held in Lebanon in 1997, called   
   by the prefect of the Apostolate for the Laity in Rome. Another is currently   
   being prepared by decision of the Eastern Catholic patriarchs".   
      
   BISHOP CAMILLO BALLIN M.C.C.J., APOSTOLIC VICAR OF KUWAIT. "In Muslim   
   tradition, the Gulf is the land sacred to the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed,   
   and no other religion should exist there. How can we reconcile this   
   affirmation with the reality of our Churches in the Gulf where there are   
   approximately three million Catholics? They come from Asia and other   
   regions. The reality of their presence, which cannot be overlooked,   
   questions the Muslim assertion. We cannot limit our assistance to these   
   faithful only to celebration of Sunday or even daily Mass, and to our   
   homilies. We must recover the missionary aspect of the Church. Indeed, a   
   Church which does not have a missionary spirit and which turns in on itself,   
   on its own devotions and traditions, is destined to live a life that is not   
   the life 'in abundance' the Lord wished. In this, the Latin missionary   
   congregations have a very important role to play. It is vitally important to   
   welcome the charisms, the new ecclesial realities recognised by the Holy   
   See, although often judged as suitable only for the Latin Church and little   
   or not at all for the Eastern Churches. It is important to form the   
   Christians of our Churches in a truly Catholic and universal spirit,   
   breaking the shackles of provincialism (even religious provincialism), of   
   (ethnocentric) nationalism and (latent) racism. I would like to assure Your   
   Beatitudes the Patriarchs, and all our brother bishops, that in the Gulf   
   region we are doing everything in our power and that, if you themselves were   
   there, you could do no more. We ask our Muslim brothers to give us the space   
   to be able to pray properly".   
      
   ARCHBISHOP PAUL NABIL EL-SAYAH, PATRIARCHAL EXARCH OF ANTIOCH OF THE   
   MARONITES, ARCHBISHOP OF HAIFA, PATRIARCHAL EXARCH IN JERUSALEM, PALESTINE   
   AND JORDAN. "The ecumenical question, in the Middle East in general and in   
   the Holy Land in particular, has become one of the most important challenges   
   facing the Church at all levels. We have thirteen major Churches in   
   Jerusalem, with well-defined traditions and heritage, ... and clearly marked   
   physical and psychological frontiers. The scandal of our division is   
   sometimes transmitted live, especially when it occurs in the Holy Sepulchre   
   on Good Friday or in the Church of the Nativity on Christmas morning, while   
   the communications media looks on. ... Our identity as Christians will   
   always be lacking unless we truly strive to advance in the ecumenical   
   project. ... There can be no true witness unless our Churches are united and   
   work together. Meeting the ecumenical challenge is not an option, but an   
   urgent necessity. ... I wish to exhort our Churches to take all necessary   
   steps to save the Council of Churches of the Middle East, which appears to   
   be on the point of collapse. It is the only haven in which our Churches can   
   come together and would be a great loss to the ecumenical cause".   
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   AUDIENCES   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 14 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father yesterday received in   
   separate audiences:   
      
    - Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany.   
      
    - Rabbi David Rosen, director for inter-religious affairs of the American   
   Jewish Committee and adviser to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.   
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   OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 14 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Gustavo   
   Garcia-Siller M.Sp.S., auxiliary of Chicago, U.S.A., as metropolitan   
   archbishop of San Antonio (area 60,036, population 2,196,159, Catholics   
   695,079, priests 381, permanent deacons 348, religious 1,025), U.S.A. The   
   archbishop-elect was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico in 1956, he was   
   ordained a priest in 1984 and consecrated a bishop in 2003.   
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    - Origin: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede (1:396/3)    
   --- timEd/2 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Meridian, MS-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)