VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - N° 189   
   DATE 29-10-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - General Audience: the relationship between the visible reality and spiritual   
   nature of the Church   
   - Pope Francis' appeal to the international community: stop the spread of   
   Ebola and assist the suffering   
   - Statistics on the Catholic Church in Turkey   
   - Private and informal meeting between the Pope and President Evo Morales:   
   affection and closeness to the people and Church of Bolivia   
   - The Holy See in the United Nations: peace must be negotiated in the Middle   
   East   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    General Audience: the relationship between the visible reality and spiritual   
   nature of the Church   
    Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The Church: spiritual nature and   
   visible reality. “Two different things or a single Church?â€�, said the Pope   
   in this Wednesday's general audience, returning in his catechesis to the theme   
   of the Church. “If the Church is always oneâ€�, he continued, “how can we   
   understand the relationship between the visible and spiritual reality?â€�.   
    Francis commented that when we speak about visible reality we must not think   
   only of the Pope, bishops, priests, nuns and consecrated persons. “The   
   visible reality of the Church is constituted by the many baptised brothers and   
   sisters throughout the world who believe, hope and love. … The Church is all   
   of usâ€�. Therefore, the visible reality of the Church cannot be measured or   
   known in its entirety. “How can we know all the wonders that Christ is   
   capable of achieving through us, in the hearts and lives of people?â€� he   
   said. “See: even the visible reality of the Church goes beyond our control,   
   beyond our strength, and it is a mysterious reality, as it comes from Godâ€�.   
    To understand the relationship between the visible and spiritual realities of   
   the Church we must look to Christ, “whose body is the Church and from whom   
   She is generated, in an act of infinite love. Indeed, also in Christ, through   
   the mystery of the Incarnation, we recognise a human nature and a divine   
   reality, united in the same person in a wonderful and indissoluble way. This   
   applies in a similar way to the Church … who is a mystery too, in which what   
   we are unable to see is more important than what we can see, and can be   
   recognised only with the eyes of faithâ€�.   
    The Holy Father went on to ask how visible reality could be placed at the   
   service of the spiritual nature of the Church, explaining that it is possible   
   by following the example of Christ, “who made use of His humanity, as He was   
   also a man, to announce and implement the divine plan for redemption and   
   salvation, as He was God. Through her visible reality, from all that we see,   
   the sacraments and the witness of all Christians, the Church is called each   
   day to be close to every person, beginning with the poor; to the suffering and   
   the marginalised, so as to make them aware of Jesus' compassionate and   
   merciful gazeâ€�.   
    Before concluding, he asked all the faithful present to pray for the gift of   
   faith, “so that we are able to comprehend how, despite our limits and our   
   poverty, the Lord has truly made us instruments of His grace and the visible   
   sign of His love for all humanity. We can become the source of scandal, it is   
   true. But we can also become the source of witness, saying through our lives   
   what Jesus wants from usâ€�.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis' appeal to the international community: stop the spread of Ebola   
   and assist the suffering   
    Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" After today's catechesis, Pope   
   Francis expressed his grave concern regarding the worsening of the Ebola   
   epidemic, “this implacable disease that is spreading especially in Africa,   
   and in particular among the most disadvantaged populationsâ€�.   
    The Holy Father expressed his affection and closeness in prayer to those   
   affected, along with the doctors, nurses, volunteers, religious institutes and   
   associations “who are making heroic efforts to help our stricken brothers   
   and sistersâ€�. He renewed his appeal to the international community “to   
   take all necessary measures to eradicate the virus and to alleviate the   
   suffering of those who are so sorely afflictedâ€�.   
    Addressing the faithful present in St. Peter's Square, he concluded, “I   
   invite you to pray for them and for those who have lost their livesâ€�.   
      
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    Statistics on the Catholic Church in Turkey   
    Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The Holy Father will make an   
   apostolic visit to Turkey from 28 to 30 November. The following statistical   
   data on the Catholic Church in the country is provided by the Central Office   
   of Church Statistics.   
    Turkey has an area of 774,815 square kilometres and a population of   
   76,140,000 inhabitants of whom 53,000 are Catholics â€" 0.07 % of the   
   population. There are 7 ecclesiastic circumscriptions, 54 parishes and 13   
   pastoral centres. The work of the apostolate is carried out by 6 bishops, 58   
   priests, 7 male religious and 54 female religious, and 2 permanent deacons.   
   There are 2 lay members of secular institutes, 7 lay missionaries and 68   
   catechists. There are 4 major seminarians.   
    In addition, the Catholic Church in Turkey has 23 educational centres   
   consisting of pre-schools, primary schools, middle schools and secondary   
   schools, as well as 6 centres of special education. There are also 3   
   hospitals, 2 clinics and 5 homes for the elderly and disabled.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Private and informal meeting between the Pope and President Evo Morales:   
   affection and closeness to the people and Church of Bolivia   
    Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The director of the Holy See Press   
   Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., explained yesterday afternoon that   
   President Evo Morales’ visit to the Vatican was due to his attendance at the   
   International Meeting of Popular Movements, organised by the Pontifical   
   Council “Justice and Peaceâ€�. Participants in the event received in   
   audience by the Pope on the morning of 28 October.   
    The visit was not, therefore, organised through the usual diplomatic   
   channels. The private and informal meeting between the Holy Father and the   
   President which took place yesterday evening was an expression of affection   
   and closeness to the Bolivian people and Church, and of support for the   
   improvement of relations between the authorities and the Church within the   
   country.   
      
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    The Holy See in the United Nations: peace must be negotiated in the Middle   
   East   
    Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See   
   Permanent Observer at the United Nations in New York participated in the   
   Security Council Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East, including   
   the Palestine question. The nuncio's address, structured in six points,   
   focuses on the Holy See's conviction that peace in the Middle East may be   
   achieved only through negotiation and not by unilateral decisions imposed by   
   force.   
    “As regards the Israeli-Palestinian question, the Holy See reiterates its   
   support for a two State solutionâ€�, he affirmed. “Israel and Palestine,   
   with the vigorous support of the competent organs of the United Nations and of   
   the whole international community, must work toward the final objective, which   
   is the realisation of the right of the Palestinians to have their own State,   
   sovereign and independent, and of the right of the Israelis to peace and   
   securityâ€�.   
    “As regards the horrific situation in Syriaâ€�, he continued, “the Holy   
   See urgently calls on all parties to stop the massive violations of   
   international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights, and on the   
   international community to help the parties find a solution. There is no other   
   way to alleviate and put an end to the untold sufferings of the entire nation,   
   where half of its population needs humanitarian assistance and around a third   
   has been displacedâ€�.   
    With regard to Lebanon, “the Holy See calls for international solidarity,   
   at this time that the country is gravely affected by the Syrian crisis and by   
   the massive presence of refugees, and exhorts Lebanon to find a solution as   
   soon as possible to the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic. The Holy   
   See reaffirms its support for a sovereign and free Lebanon. Lebanon is a   
   'message', a 'sign' full of hope for the coexistence of the various groups   
   that form itâ€�.   
    Turning to the “grave violations and abuses committed by the so-called   
   'Islamic State' in Iraq and Syria, the competent organs of the United Nations   
   must act to prevent possible new genocides and to assist the increasing number   
   of refugees. The Holy See appeals in particular for the protection of the   
   ethnic and religious groups, including the Christian communities, who are   
   specifically targeted and victimised because of their ethnic origins and   
   religious beliefs. The Holy See insists on the respect of the right of these   
   communities and all the displaced persons to return to their homes and to live   
   in dignity and safetyâ€�.   
    “The Holy See hopes that the United Nations take the escalating, ruthless   
   phenomenon of international terrorism as an occasion to urgently re-enforce   
   the international juridical framework of a multilateral application of the   
   responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing,   
   crimes against humanity and all forms of unjust aggression. With lessons   
   learned from our failure to stop recent horrors of genocide and presently   
   confronted with blatant, massive violations of fundamental human rights and of   
   international humanitarian law, the time is for courageous decisionsâ€�, urged   
   the Permanent Observer.   
    “The Holy See reiterates its call to all the religious leaders in the   
   region and everywhere in the world to play a leading role in promoting   
   interreligious and intercultural dialogue, in promptly denouncing every use of   
   religion to justify violence, and in educating all to reciprocal understanding   
   and mutual respectâ€�, the nuncio concluded.   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The Holy Father has appointed Bishop   
   Giuseppe Negri, P.I.M.E., of Blumenau, Brazil, as coadjutor of the diocese of   
   Santo Amaro, (area 563, population 3,281,000, Catholics 2,624,000, priests   
   192, religious 448), Brazil.   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)