VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 218   
   DATE 09-12-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Telegram for the death of Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia   
   - The Pope at the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons:   
   "Now is the time to counter the logic of fear with the ethic of responsibility"   
   - Publication of the Lineamenta of the next Synod on the Family   
   - Presentation of the International Campaign "Stop Threats on the Internet"   
   - Pope Francis pays homage to the Immaculate Conception in Piazza di Spagna   
   - Angelus: like Mary, welcome grace and correspond with faith   
   - The Pope lights the tallest Christmas tree in the world   
   - Angelus: be messengers of God's consolation   
   - Decrees of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints   
   - Director of the Holy See Press Office on the inquiry on two ex-executives of   
   the IOR   
   - Telegram for the death of Queen Fabiola of Belgium   
   - Pope's video message for the Christians and people of Iraq   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Telegram for the death of Cardinal Jorge Maria Mejia   
    Vatican City, 9 December 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis has sent a telegram of   
   condolences to Alejandro Jaime Mejia for the death of his brother, Cardinal   
   Jorge Maria Mejia, archivist and librarian emeritus of the Holy Roman Church,   
   at the age of 91. The Pontiff comments that the cardinal dedicated "long years   
   of service with fidelity and competence to various organs of the Holy See",   
   and assures his prayers for the deceased, to whom he was joined in "a long   
   friendship", so that the Lord may grant peace to the Cardinal, who   
   demonstrated "such intense and generous commitment to the Church".   
    "With faith in the Paschal mystery of Christ, that illuminates and fills   
   Christian life with hope, and the memory of a Pastor devoted to the   
   evangelising mission, I beg for divine consolation in these moments of   
   suffering, for you and for those loved ones who mourn his passing, to whom I   
   impart the comfort of my heartfelt apostolic blessing", he concluded.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope at the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons:   
   "Now is the time to counter the logic of fear with the ethic of responsibility"   
    Vatican City, 9 December 2014 (VIS) - Pope Francis' message to Sebastian   
   Kurz, Austrian federal minister for Foreign Affairs and Integration was read   
   today during the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons held   
   in Vienna, Austria on 8 and 9 December.   
    "The humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons are predictable and   
   planetary. While the focus is often placed on nuclear weapons' potential for   
   mass-killing, more attention must be given to the 'unnecessary suffering'   
   brought on by their use. Military codes and international law, among others,   
   have long banned peoples from inflicting unnecessary suffering. If such   
   suffering is banned in the waging of conventional war, then it should all the   
   more be banned in nuclear conflict. There are those among us who are victims   
   of these weapons; they warn us not to commit the same irreparable mistakes   
   which have devastated populations and creation".   
    He continued, "Nuclear deterrence and the threat of mutually assured   
   destruction cannot be the basis for an ethics of fraternity and peaceful   
   coexistence among peoples and states. ... Now is the time to counter the logic   
   of fear with the ethic of responsibility, and so foster a climate of trust and   
   sincere dialogue. Spending on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth of nations.   
   To prioritise such spending is a mistake and a misallocation of resources   
   which would be far better invested in the areas of integral human development,   
   education, health and the fight against extreme poverty. When these resources   
   are squandered, the poor and the weak living on the margins of society pay the   
   price".   
    "The desire for peace, security and stability is one of the deepest longings   
   of the human heart. It is rooted in the Creator who makes all people members   
   of the one human family. This desire can never be satisfied by military means   
   alone, much less the possession of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass   
   destruction. ... Peace must be built on justice, socio-economic development,   
   freedom, respect for fundamental human rights, the participation of all in   
   public affairs and the building of trust between peoples. Pope Paul VI stated   
   this succinctly in his Encyclical Populorum Progressio: 'Development is the   
   new name for peace'. It is incumbent on us to adopt concrete actions which   
   promote peace and security, while remaining always aware of the limitation of   
   short-sighted approaches to problems of national and international security".   
    "In the context of this Conference, I wish to encourage sincere and open   
   dialogue between parties internal to each nuclear state, between various   
   nuclear states, and between nuclear states and non-nuclear states". He   
   emphasised, "This dialogue must be inclusive, involving international   
   organisations, religious communities and civil society, and oriented towards   
   the common good and not the protection of vested interests. 'A world without   
   nuclear weapons' is a goal shared by all nations and echoed by world leaders,   
   as well as the aspiration of millions of men and women. The future and the   
   survival of the human family hinges on moving beyond this ideal and ensuring   
   that it becomes a reality".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Publication of the Lineamenta of the next Synod on the Family   
    Vatican City, 9 December 2014 (VIS) - The General Secretariat of the Synod of   
   Bishops has today issued a press release regarding the publication of the   
   Lineamenta of the next Ordinary General Synod of Bishops, to take place from 4   
   to 25 October, on the theme "The vocation and the mission of the family in the   
   Church and in the contemporary world".   
    The Lineamenta, or rather the first document for this Assembly, as indicated   
   by Pope Francis in the concluding discourse of the Third Extraordinary   
   Assembly, are constituted essentially by the Relatio Synodi, drafted by the   
   same Assembly. However, to facilitate the reception of the synodal document   
   and to allow its themes to be considered in depth, the Relatio is accompanied   
   by a series of questions that help to further the Synod's progress on the path   
   it has undertaken, and to assist in the preparation of the subsequent   
   Instrumentum laboris for the next Ordinary Synod.   
    The document, thus composed - the Italian-language original of which is   
   published today - is sent to the Episcopal Conferences, the Synods of the sui   
   iuris Oriental Catholic Churches, the Union of Religious Superiors and the   
   dicasteries of the Roman Curia.   
    The aforementioned ecclesial organisms, who will receive the document   
   translated into the most commonly-used languages, will be able to select the   
   most appropriate methods for confirming the reception and further examination   
   of the Relatio Synodi, involving the different components of the particular   
   Churches and academic organisations, lay associations and other ecclesial   
   bodies with the aim of promoting wide consultation on the family in accordance   
   with the spirit of the synodal process.   
    The results of this consultation shall be sent to the General Secretariat of   
   the Synod of Bishops by 15 April 2015, to allow them to be examined and taken   
   into consideration in the preparation of the Instrumentum laboris, to be   
   published before the summer.   
    The Episcopal Conferences and the various ecclesial bodies are invited to   
   accompany the synodal process with timely moments of prayer and celebration   
   for the family and in preparation for the next Assembly. This should take   
   place in particular on the occasion of the upcoming liturgical feast of the   
   Holy Family on 28 December. In addition, the faithful are invited to recite   
   the Holy Father's prayer for the Synod on the Family. The full text in Italian   
   can be found at   
   http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/it The text of the Lineamenta in   
   Italian may be consulted on the Vatican website:   
   http://www.vatican.va   
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Presentation of the International Campaign "Stop Threats on the Internet"   
    Vatican City, 9 December 2014 (VIS) - This morning a press conference was   
   held in the Holy See Press Office during which Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah   
   Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace", presented   
   the international online bullying awareness campaign "Stop Threats on the   
   Internet", in the context of the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the   
   Rights of the Child. Other speakers at the conference were Don Fortunato Di   
   Noto, president of the Associazione Meter; Olivier Duval, president of the   
   BICE (Bureau International Catholique de l'Enfance), Laetitia Chanut, a former   
   victim of cyber-bullying and witness for the campaign, and Flaminia   
   Giovanelli, under secretary of the Pontifical Council "Justice and Peace".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)