The Pontiff remarked that fifty years ago on 21 November, the dogmatic   
   Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, and the Decree on the Oriental   
   Catholic Churches, Orientalium Ecclesiarum, were also published alongside   
   Unitatis Redintegratio. These three profoundly connected texts offer the   
   ecclesiological vision of Vatican Council II.   
    "Firstly, we can rejoice in the fact that the teaching of the Council has   
   been widely received", affirmed Francis. "In these years, on the basis of   
   theological reasons rooted in the Scripture and in the tradition of the   
   Church, the attitude of us as Catholics has changed in relation to Christians   
   of other Churches and ecclesial communities. Hostility and indifference, which   
   had dug trenches that it seemed impossible to fill and had inflicted deep   
   wounds, now belong to the past, and a healing process has begun that enables   
   us to accept others as brothers or sisters, in the profound unity born of   
   Baptism".   
    This change in mentality has made it possible to "deepen our contact with   
   many Churches and ecclesial Communities, and to develop new forms of   
   collaboration. In this respect, the ecumenical traditions of the Sacred   
   Scripture have been very important. Christians of different Churches and   
   ecclesial Communities work together in the service of suffering and needy   
   humanity, for the defence of human life and its inalienable dignity, for the   
   protection of creation and against the injustice that afflict many people and   
   populations".   
    He continued, "while we give thanks, we must acknowledge that Christians   
   remain divided, and that divergence in relation to new anthropological and   
   ethical themes complicates our path towards unity. However, we cannot give in   
   to discouragement and resignation, but must continue to trust in God who   
   plants seeds of love and unity in the hearts of Christians, so they can face   
   today's ecumenical challenges with renewed zeal; to cultivate spiritual   
   ecumenism, to recognise the value of ecumenism of blood, and to walk the path   
   of the Gospel together".   
    Spiritual ecumenism culminates in the Week of Prayer for Christian unity, "a   
   worldwide network of moments of prayer that, from parochial to international   
   level, infuse the body of the Church with the oxygen of genuine ecumenical   
   spirit; a network of gestures, that unite us in working together charitably;   
   and it is also the sharing of prayer, thoughts and other texts that circulate   
   on the web and may contribute to increasing mutual knowledge, respect and   
   esteem".   
    With regard to ecumenism of blood, Unitatis Redintegratio invites us to   
   recognise, "in the brothers and sisters of other Churches and Christian   
   Communities, the capacity, given by God, to bear witness to Christ unto the   
   sacrifice of their lives. These testimonies have not been lacking in these   
   fifty years, and continue to this day. ... Those who persecute Christ in his   
   faithful do not differentiate in terms of confession: they persecute them   
   simply because they are Christians".   
    The Pope went on to remark that, in recent months, encountering many   
   non-Catholic Christians, and reading their letters, he has noted the existence   
   of a "widespread and strong desire to walk together, to pray, to know and love   
   the Lord, to collaborate in service and in solidarity with the weak and   
   suffering. I am convinced of this: on a common path, with the guidance of the   
   Holy Spirit and learning from each other, we can grow in the communion that   
   already unites us".   
    "Fifty years on from Unitatis Redintegratio, the quest for full Christian   
   unity remains a priority for the Catholic Church, and it is therefore one of   
   my main daily concerns. Unity is, first and foremost, a gift from God and it   
   is the work of the Holy Spirit, but we are all called to collaborate, always   
   and in every circumstance".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Virgin Mary, protagonist of the 19th Public Session of the Pontifical   
   Academies   
    Vatican City, 21 November 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a message to   
   Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture   
   and the Council for Coordination between the Pontifical Academies, on the   
   occasion of the 19th Public Session of the Pontifical Academies, devoted to   
   the theme "Mary, icon of the infinite beauty of Dios Marialis cultus and the   
   Marian teaching of Blessed Paul VI", organised by the Pontifical International   
   Marian Academy.   
    In his message, the Pope spoke about Blessed Paul VI's great love for the   
   Virgin Mary, which he expressed on many occasions during his papacy, as well   
   as in several documents, including his two encyclicals, Mense Maio and Christi   
   Matri, dedicated to the Mother of God and the worship of her as Mater   
   Ecclesiae. He also devoted three apostolic exhortations to Mary: Signum   
   Magnum, Recurrens Mensis October and, finally, Marialis Cultus, published   
   forty years ago this year.   
    "On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the closure of Vatican Council II,   
   established by Paul VI - not by chance - on the Solemnity of the Immaculate   
   Conception, 8 December 1965, it is beautiful that you wish to make his voice   
   through the recording of the homily in which he entrusts the fate of the   
   Church, radically renewed through the Council assize, to Mary. On that solemn   
   and historical occasion, Paul VI wished to commend the entire Church to Mary   
   as the Mother of God and our spiritual Mother".   
    Similarly, Francis recalled that in crucial and difficult moments for the   
   Church and for humanity, Paul VI always turned to Mary, exhorting the people   
   of God to pray for her intercession and protection, and invoking the gift of   
   peace. "In the wake of the Synod of Bishops on new evangelisation, in the   
   apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, I too entrusted the way of the Church   
   to Mary's maternal and caring intercession, reminding all believers that there   
   is a Marian style to the evangelising activity of the Church, as every time we   
   look to Mary we believe again in the revolutionary power of tenderness and   
   affection. In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the   
   weak but rather of the strong, who do not need to mistreat others to feel   
   important".   
    The Holy Father continued, "Let us not tire of learning from Mary, of   
   admiring and contemplating her beauty, of letting ourselves be guided by her,   
   she who leads us always to the original source and fullness of authenticity:   
   infinite beauty, that of God, revealed to us in Christ, Son of the Father and   
   Son of Mary". The Pontiff concluded by awarding the Pontifical Academies Prize   
   to the Italian Interdisciplinary Mariological Association, above all for more   
   than twenty years of publishing the journal Theotokos, and the Pontifical   
   Medal to the "Centro mariano de difusion cultural" of the Order of the   
   Servants of Mary, in Mexico.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 21 November 2014 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Muller, president of the Congregation for the   
   Doctrine of the Faith;   
    - Bishop Enrico Dal Covolo, Magnificent Rector of the Pontifical Lateran   
   University;   
    - Bishop Anthony Sablan Apuron of Agana, Guam.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 21 November 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:   
    - appointed Rev. Fr. Ariel Lascarro Tapia as bishop of Magangue (area 20,165,   
   population 838,000, Catholics 677,000, priests 70, religious 30), Colombia.   
   The bishop-elect was born in Carmen de Bolivar, Colombia in 1967 and was   
   ordained a priest in 1994. He holds a licentiate in theology from the   
   University of Navarra, Spain, and has served in a number of pastoral roles in   
   the archdiocese of Cartagena, including parish priest of "San Estanislao   
   Kostka", "Inmaculada Concepcion", "Maria, Madre de los pobres", "Cristo   
   Salvador", "Maria, Madre de la Iglesia" and "Santa Catalina de Alejandria";   
   diocesan head of vocational pastoral ministry, delegate for missionary   
   childhood and archdiocesan delegate for the biblical inspiration of pastoral   
   care. He is currently archdiocesan vicar for pastoral care and parish priest   
   of "Nuestra Senora del Perpetuo Socorro", Bocagrande.   
    - appointed Rev. Fr. Moises Carlos Atisha Contreras, Sch.P., as bishop of San   
   Marcos de Arica (area 16,512, population 198,400, Catholics 140,000, priests   
   37, deacons 29, religious 30), Chile. The bishop-elect was born in Santiago de   
   Cile, Chile in 1969 and gave his religious vows and was ordained a priest in   
   1994. He has served as spiritual director of the "Colegio Hispano-americano y   
   Calasanz" and as secretary of the National Commission for Youth Pastoral Care   
   in the Chilean Episcopal Conference, and is currently parish priest of "La   
   Ascension del Senor" in the archdiocese of Santiago.   
    - appointed Rev. Fr. Jorge Martin Torres Carbonell as auxiliary of Lomas de   
   Zamora, Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in   
   1954 and was ordained a priest in 1983. He has served as parish priest of   
   "Santa Clara", "Nino Jesus" and "Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza" in the   
   archdiocese of Buenos Aires, as well as head of youth pastoral care in the   
   archdiocese, episcopal vicar for the "Villas de Emergencia", and dean and   
   member of the presbyteral council. He is currently priest of the the Shrine of   
   San Cayetano of Buenos Aires.   
    - accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of   
   La Serena, Chile, presented by Bishop Luis Carlos Gleisner Wobbe upon reaching   
   the age limit.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Appointment of the deputy editor of "L'Osservatore Romano"   
    Vatican City, 21 November 2014 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro   
   Parolin has appointed Giuseppe Fiorentino as deputy editor of "L'Osservatore   
   Romano". The new deputy director was previously a reporter for the same   
   newspaper.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
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   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)