VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 119   
   DATE 26-06-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - YOUNG ASTRONOMERS, PROMOTERS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE   
   - MAY THE ORIENTAL CHURCH MAINTAIN THE CERTAINTY THAT THE FIRE OF THE   
   PENTECOST PREVAILS OVER HATRED   
   - PRESENTATION OF THE INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS FOR THE NEXT SYNOD ASSEMBLY IN   
   OCTOBER   
   - DELEGATION FROM ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE TO VISIT ROME   
   - AUDIENCES   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    YOUNG ASTRONOMERS, PROMOTERS OF PEACE AND JUSTICE   
    Vatican City, 26 June 2014 (VIS) - "Seeing all of you here today is like   
   looking at a marvellous mosaic made up of people from throughout the world. It   
   is only right that men and women everywhere should have access to research and   
   scientific training", said the Pope to young astronomers from 23 different   
   countries who are currently participating in a course organised by the Vatican   
   Observatory School in Astrophysics on the theme "Galaxies: Near and Far, Young   
   and Old", whom he received in audience this morning. "The hope that one day   
   all peoples will be able to enjoy the benefits of science is one which spurs   
   all of us on, scientists in particular".   
    He commented that the Vatican Observatory School in Astrophysics is "a place   
   where young people the world over can engage in dialogue and collaboration,   
   helping one another in the search for truth, which in this case is concretised   
   in the study of galaxies. This simple and practical initiative shows how the   
   sciences can be a fitting and effective means for promoting peace and justice.   
   Here too we see a further reason for the Church's commitment to dialogue with   
   the sciences on the basis of the light provided by faith: it is her conviction   
   that faith is capable of both expanding and enriching the horizons of reason.   
   In this dialogue, the Church rejoices in the marvellous progress of science,   
   seeing it as a sign of the enormous God-given potential of the human mind,   
   even as a mother rejoices and is rightly proud as her children grow in wisdom,   
   and age and grace".   
    The Holy Father encouraged those present to share the knowledge they have   
   acquired about the universe with people in their own countries. "Only a   
   fraction of the global population has access to such knowledge, which opens   
   the heart and the mind to the great questions which human beings have always   
   asked: Where do we come from? Where are we going?" he concluded. "The search   
   for an answer to these questions can lead us to an encounter with the Creator,   
   the loving Father, for 'in him we live and move and have our being'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    MAY THE ORIENTAL CHURCH MAINTAIN THE CERTAINTY THAT THE FIRE OF THE PENTECOST   
   PREVAILS OVER HATRED   
    Vatican City, 26 June 2014 (VIS) - The Pope embraces all the Churches of the   
   East and is close to their faithful, whose tears, fears and hopes are also   
   ours, a sentiment he manifested this morning, receiving in audience the   
   participants in the assembly of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental   
   Churches, also recalling the comfort, encouragement, and at the same time, the   
   responsibility he encountered during his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land.   
    "The olive tree which I planted in the Vatican Gardens together with the   
   Patriarch of Constantinople and the Presidents of Israel and Palestine, is a   
   symbol of that peace which is secure and enduring only because it is   
   cultivated by many hands. Those who would cultivate the plant of peace must   
   never forget that God alone gives the growth. True peace, the peace which the   
   world cannot give, is a gift to us from Jesus Christ. For all the grievous   
   attacks it endures today, peace can always flourish again. I am grateful that   
   you continue to 'make peace grow' through charity, which is the ultimate aim   
   of all your organizations. With unity and charity Christ's disciples strive to   
   be peacemakers everywhere, in all peoples and communities, and to overcome   
   persistent forms of discrimination, starting with those based on religion".   
    "First among those called to be peacemakers are our brothers and sisters of   
   the Oriental Churches, together with their pastors. Hoping at times against   
   all hope, remaining in the place of their birth where the Gospel of the   
   incarnate Son of God was first proclaimed, may they experience the blessedness   
   reserved to those who are peacemakers: 'they will be called children of God'.   
   And may they always feel the support of the universal Church and never falter   
   in their conviction that the fire of Pentecost, the power of Love, can halt   
   the fire of arms, hatred and vengeance", he exclaimed. "Their tears and their   
   anguish are ours, as well as their hope! We can express this through our   
   solidarity, if it is one which is concrete and effective, capable of ensuring   
   that the international community upholds the rights of individuals and   
   peoples".   
    Francis expressed the closeness of the Catholic Church to the brothers and   
   sisters in Syria and Iraq, along with their bishops and priests. "The Church   
   is likewise close to our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and the Middle   
   East, but also to the beloved people of Ukraine in the critical situation in   
   which they find themselves, and to the people of Romania. This closeness and   
   concern is expressed in the works which your agencies carry out. I urge you to   
   continue your generous efforts to help them. Your works of relief and   
   assistance in nations most affected by these crises respond to basic needs,   
   particularly of those who are powerless and most vulnerable, as well as the   
   many young people tempted to leave their homeland. And since communities of   
   Eastern Christians are present worldwide, you are working everywhere to bring   
   relief to the displaced and to refugees, restoring their dignity and their   
   security in full respect for their identity and religious freedom".   
    Finally, Pope Francis encouraged the participants in the assembly to pursue   
   the goals set in their last Plenary Session, especially those regarding the   
   training of young people and teachers, and uniting them with their interest   
   for the family, especially in view of the upcoming Synod on this theme. He   
   concluded, "the Holy Family of Nazareth, 'which knew anxiety ... as well as   
   the pain of persecution, emigration and hard daily labour' teaches us 'to   
   trust the Father, to imitate Christ and to let ourselves be guided by the Holy   
   Spirit'".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    PRESENTATION OF THE INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS FOR THE NEXT SYNOD ASSEMBLY IN   
   OCTOBER   
    Vatican City, 26 June 2014 (VIS) - A press conference was held in the Holy   
   See Press Office this morning to present the Instrumentum Laboris of the 3rd   
   Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (5-19 October 2014)   
   which will focus on "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of   
   evangelisation". The speakers were Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary   
   general of the Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of   
   Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, and relator general of the 3rd Extraordinary   
   General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois,   
   archbishop of Paris, France and delegate president; Archbishop Bruno Forte of   
   Chieti-Vasto, Italy, and special secretary, and Professors Francesco Miano and   
   Pina De Simone.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)