VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 172   
   DATE 07-10-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Programme of the Pope's visit to the European Parliament and the Council of   
   Europe   
   - The Pope to visit France in 2015   
   - Second General Congregation   
   - Third General Congregation   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
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    Programme of the Pope's visit to the European Parliament and the Council of   
   Europe   
    Vatican City, 7 October 2014 (VIS) - The programme of the Holy Father   
   Francis' visit to the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, scheduled   
   to take place on Tuesday, 25 November, was published today.   
    The Pope will leave from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 7.55 a.m., arriving in   
   Strasbourg at 10 a.m., where he will be received privately. At 10.35 he will   
   address the European Parliament and at 12.05 p.m. will speak before the   
   Council of Europe. At 1.50 p.m. he will depart for Rome, where he will arrive   
   at Ciampino airport at 3.50 p.m.   
      
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    The Pope to visit France in 2015   
    Vatican City, 7 October 2014 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press   
   Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., today announced the Holy Father's   
   intention to make an apostolic trip to France during 2015.   
      
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    Second General Congregation   
    Vatican City, 7 October 2014 (VIS) - The second general Congregation, held   
   yesterday afternoon, opened the discussions of the Extraordinary General   
   Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The theme, according to the agenda set forth   
   in the Instrumentum Laboris, was: "God's Plan for Marriage and the Family"   
   (Part I, Chapter 1), and "The Knowledge and Acceptance of the Teachings on   
   Marriage and the Family from Sacred Scripture and Church Documents" (Part I,   
   Chapter 2).   
    Based on the premise that the family is the basic unit of human society, the   
   cradle of gratuitous love, and that taking about the family and marriage   
   implies education in fidelity, it was reiterated that the family constitutes   
   the future of humanity and must be protected.   
    From many quarters, however, there has emerged the need to adapt the language   
   of the Church, so that doctrine on the family, life and sexuality is   
   understood correctly: it is necessary to enter into dialogue with the world,   
   looking to the example offered by the Vatican Council, or rather with a   
   critical but sincere openness. If the Church does not listen to the world, the   
   world will not listen to the Church. And dialogue may be based on important   
   themes, such as the equal dignity of men and women and the rejection of   
   violence.   
    The Gospel must not be explained, but rather shown - it was said in the   
   Assembly - and above all, the lay faithful must be involved in the   
   proclamation of the Good News, demonstrating the missionary charism.   
   Evangelisation must not be a depersonalised theory, but must instead ensure   
   that families themselves give concrete witness to the beauty and truth of the   
   Gospel. The challenge, it was said, is that of passing from a defensive   
   situation to an active, proactive one, or rather, reviving the capacity for   
   proposing the heritage of faith with a new language, with hope, ardour and   
   enthusiasm, offering convincing testimonies and creating a bridge between the   
   language of the Church and that of society.   
    In this sense, the use of a "biblical" rather than a "theologic   
   l-speculative" catechesis was called for, since, in spite of appearances to   
   the contrary, people are no longer satisfied by selfishness and instead seek   
   ideals. Humanity desires happiness and the Christian knows that happiness is   
   Christ, but no longer succeeds in finding the suitable language to communicate   
   this to the world. The Church, instead, must be "magnetic"; it must work by   
   attraction, with an attitude of friendship towards the world.   
    With regard to couples in difficulty, it was emphasised that the Church needs   
   to be close to them with understanding, forgiveness and mercy: mercy, it was   
   said, is God's first prerogative, but it must be seen in the context of   
   justice, as only in this way will the whole of God's plan be respected.   
    Marriage is and remains an indissoluble sacrament; however, since the truth   
   is Christ, a Person, and not a series of rules, it is important to maintain   
   the principles while changing the concrete forms of their implementation. In   
   short, as Benedict XVI said, novelty in continuity: the Synod does not call   
   Doctrine into question, but reflects on the Pastoral, or rather spiritual   
   discernment for the application of such Doctrine in response to the challenges   
   faced by contemporary families. In this sense, mercy does not eliminate the   
   commandments, but it provides the hermeneutic key to them.   
    Furthermore, it was underlined that even imperfect situations must be   
   considered with respect: for instance, de facto unions in which couples live   
   together with fidelity and love present elements of sanctification and truth.   
   It is therefore essential to look first and foremost at the positive elements,   
   so that the Synod may infuse with courage and hope even imperfect forms of   
   family, so that their value may be recognised, according to the principle of   
   graduality. It is necessary to truly love families in difficulty.   
    In the context of a society in which there prevails a sort of "ego-latry",   
   leading to defamiliarisation, it is important to acknowledge the loss of a   
   sense of the covenant between a man ( and a woman) and God. The proclamation   
   of the beauty of the family, therefore, must not be simply aesthetic, the   
   presentation of a mere ideal to imitate, but must instead present the   
   importance of definitive commitment based on the covenant between married   
   couples and God.   
    Another essential point is the rejection of clericalism: at times the Church   
   seems more concerned with power than with service, and for this reason she   
   does not inspire the hearts of men and women. It is therefore necessary to   
   return to the imitation of Christ, and to rediscover humility: the reform of   
   the Church must begin with the reform of the clergy. If the faithful see   
   pastors who imitate Christ they will therefore draw close to the Church once   
   more, enabling her to proceed from the act of evangelising to being inherently   
   evangelical.   
    The theme of the essential value of sexuality within marriage was also   
   considered: sexuality outside marriage is discussed so critically that married   
   sexuality can appear almost as a concession to imperfection. The Synod   
   indicated, more briefly, the need for a greater formation of priests in   
   relation to policies in favour of the family and the re-launching of the   
   transmission of faith within the family.   
    During the hour of free discussion, from 6 to 7 p.m., two suggestions   
   emerged: that the Synod send a message of encouragement and appreciation to   
   families in Iraq, threatened by extermination perpetrated by Islamic   
   fundamentalists and forced to flee so as not to renounce their faith. The   
   suggestion was subject to vote and approved by a majority.   
    Another call was the need to reflect on the married clergy of the oriental   
   Churches, as they too often live through "family crises", which may extend to   
   the question of divorce.   
      
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    Third General Congregation   
    Vatican City, 7 October 2014 (VIS) - The general debate continued throughout   
   today's third general Congregation. The theme according to the order of the   
   Instrumentum Laboris was: "The Gospel of the Family and the Natural Law" (Part   
   I, Chapter 3) and "The Family and Vocation of the Person in Christ" (Part I,   
   Chapter 4).   
    At the opening of the Congregation, it was announced that the Ordinary   
   Consistory, convoked by the Holy Father for Monday 20 October, will be devoted   
   to the situation in the Middle East, on the basis of the results of the   
   meeting of various Papal Representatives and Superiors of the competent   
   Dicasteries, held in the Vatican from 2 to 4 October. The theme of the   
   Consistory will be presented by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.   
   The meeting will also be attended by six Oriental Patriarchs and the Latin   
   Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Fouad Twal.   
    The general debate then continued in relation to the issues stated above. It   
   was agreed that greater preparation for marriage is necessary, so that it is   
   not only valid but also fruitful. The suggestion was to look not only towards   
   remedies for failure of the conjugal union, but also to focus on the   
   conditions that render it valid and fruitful. It is necessary to transmit a   
   vision of marriage that does not regard it as a destination, but rather as a   
   path to a higher end, a road towards the growth of the person and of the   
   couple, a source of strength and energy. The decision to marry is a true   
   vocation and as such requires fidelity and coherence in order to become a true   
   locus for the growth and the protection of the human being.   
    For this reason, married couples must be accompanied throughout their path in   
   life, by means of intense and vigorous family pastoral care. The path of   
   preparation for the marriage sacrament, must therefore be long, personalised   
   and also severe, without the fear of eventually leading to a reduction in the   
   number of weddings celebrated in Church. Otherwise, there is the risk of   
   filling the Tribunals with marriage cases.   
    A further point that emerged during the discussion was the influence of the   
   mass media, at times intrusive, in presenting ideologies contrary to the   
   doctrine of the Church in relation to family and marriage. In this respect, it   
   was said, Catholics must be protected but must also be better prepared: the   
   Church must offer her teaching in a more incisive manner, presenting doctrine   
   not merely as a list of prohibitions, but also by drawing closer to the   
   faithful, as Jesus did. In this way, acting with empathy and tenderness, it   
   will be possible to reduce the gap between doctrine and practice, between the   
   teachings of the Church and the daily life of families. What is needed is not   
   a choice between doctrine and mercy, but rather the beginning of an   
   enlightened pastoral care to encourage above all those families in difficulty,   
   who are often aware of a sense of not belonging to the Church.   
    Today's debate then turned again to couples in difficulty and divorced and   
   civilly remarried persons, for whom, it was said, that the Church should offer   
   not judgement but truth, with a gaze of understanding, because people follow   
   the truth, and will follow the Church if she speaks the truth. The "medicine"   
   of mercy offers acceptance, care and support. Also because - it was shown -   
   suffering families do not seek rapid pastoral solutions, and they do not wish   
   to be a mere statistical figure, but rather feel the need to be inspired, to   
   feel that they are welcomed and loved. More space must be allowed for a   
   sacramental rather than a juridical form of logic.   
    With regard to the approach to the Eucharist by the divorced and remarried,   
   it was emphasised that it is not the sacrament of the perfect, but rather of   
   those who are on the way.   
    Like yesterday afternoon, the debate focused on the need to renew the   
   language of the proclamation of the Gospel and the transmission of doctrine:   
   the Church must be more open to dialogue, and must listen more frequently (and   
   not only in exceptional cases) to the experiences of married couples, because   
   their struggles and their failures cannot be ignored; on the other hand, they   
   can be the basis of a real and true theology. Again, in relation to language,   
   some perplexity was expressed at the suggestion - included in the Instrumentum   
   Laboris - to deepen the concept, of biblical inspiration, of the "order of   
   creation" as a possibility of rereading "natural law" more meaningfully: it   
   was added that it is not enough to change the vocabulary if a bridge to   
   effective dialogue with the faithful is not then created. In this sense, the   
   much foretold and widespread need for change may be understood, it was said,   
   as pastoral conversion, to make the proclamation of the Gospel more effective.   
    In the Assembly, three specific dimensions of the family were presented: the   
   vocation to life, the missionary aspect understood as witnessing Christ   
   through the family unity, and acceptance of the other, as the family is the   
   first school of otherness, the place in which it is possible to learn patience   
   and slowness, in contrast to the frenzy of the contemporary world. A further   
   dimension of the family unit is shown also in holiness, as the family educated   
   in holiness is the icon of the Trinity, the domestic Church in the service of   
   evangelisation, the future of humanity.   
    Other points indicated during the third general Congregation related to the   
   importance of catechesis for families, especially for children, and prayer   
   between domestic walls, so that it may give rise to a true generation of   
   faith, enabling its transmission from parents to children. Finally, the need   
   for a more thorough formation for priests and catechists was underlined.   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 7 October 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the   
   resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Krakow, Poland,   
   presented by Archbishop Jan Zajac upon reaching the age limit.   
      
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