VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 071   
   DATE 15-04-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - General audience: the complementarity between man and woman   
   - Pope's telegram for the death of Cardinal Roberto Tucci, S.J.   
   - Ninth meeting of the Council of Cardinals   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
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    General audience: the complementarity between man and woman   
    Vatican City, 15 April 2015 (VIS) - Pope Francis continued his catechesis on   
   the family by dedicating this morning's general audience to the difference and   
   complementarity between man and woman, recalling first of all that the Book of   
   Genesis insists that both are the image and semblance of God. "Not only man as   
   such, not only woman as such, but rather man and woman, as a couple, are the   
   image of God. The difference between them is not a question of contrast or   
   subordination, but instead of communion and generation, always in the image and   
   semblance of God".   
    "Experience teaches us that for the human being to know him- or herself well   
   and to grow harmoniously, there is a need for reciprocity between man and   
   woman", said the Pope to the thirty thousand faithful present in St. Peter's   
   Square. "When this does not happen, we see the consequences. We are made to   
   listen to each other and to help each other. We can say that, without mutual   
   enrichment in this relationship - in terms of thought and action, in personal   
   relationships and in work, and also in faith - the two cannot even fully   
   understand what it means to be a man and a woman".   
    "Modern and contemporary culture has opened up new spaces, new freedoms and   
   new   
   depths for the enrichment and understanding of this difference. But it has also   
   introduced many doubts and much scepticism. I wonder, for example, if so-called   
   gender theory is not an expression of frustration and resignation, that aims to   
   cancel out sexual difference as it is no longer able to face it. Yes, we run   
   the   
   risk of taking step backwards. Indeed, the removal of difference is the   
   problem,   
   not the solution. To solve their problems in relating to each other, men and   
   women must instead speak more, listen more, know each other better, value each   
   other more. They must treat each other with respect and cooperate in   
   friendship.   
   With these human bases, supported by God's grace, it is possible to plan a   
   lifelong matrimonial and family union. The marriage and family bond is a   
   serious   
   matter for all, not only for believers. I would like to encourage intellectuals   
   not to ignore this theme, as if it were secondary to our efforts to promote a   
   freer and more just society".   
    "God has entrusted the earth to the alliance between man and woman; its   
   failure   
   makes our emotional life arid and obscures the heaven of hope. The signs are   
   already worrying, and we can see them. I would like to indicate due points,   
   among many, that I believe must concern us with greater urgency".   
    "Undoubtedly we must do far more in favour of women, if we want to strengthen   
   to the reciprocity between men and women. Indeed, it is necessary for a woman   
   not only to be listened to, but also for her voice to carry real weight,   
   recognised authority, in society and in the Church. The way in which Jesus   
   Himself regarded women, in a context that was far less favourable than our own,   
   casts a powerful light illuminating a road that takes us far, on which we have   
   travelled only a short distance. It is a road we must travel with more   
   creativity and boldness".   
    He added, "a second point relates to the theme of man and woman created in   
   God's image. I wonder if the crisis of collective trust in God, that is so   
   harmful to us, that causes us to ail with resignation to incredulity and   
   cynicism, is not also connected to the crisis in the alliance between man and   
   woman. In effect, the biblical account, with the great symbolic fresco of   
   earthly paradise and original sin, tells us precisely that communion with God   
   is   
   reflected in the communion of the human couple, and the loss of trust in the   
   heavenly Father generates division and conflict between man and woman".   
    "This leads to the great responsibility of the Church, of all believers, and   
   above all of Christian families, to rediscover the beauty of the Creator's plan   
   that inscribes the image of God also in the alliance between man and woman. The   
   earth is filled with harmony and trust when the alliance between man and woman   
   is lived well. And if men and women seek this together between them and with   
   God, without doubt they will find it. Jesus explicitly encourages us to bear   
   witness to this beauty, which is the image of God", concluded the Pontiff.   
      
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    Pope's telegram for the death of Cardinal Roberto Tucci, S.J.   
    Vatican City, 15 April 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a telegram of   
   condolences to Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, superior general of the Society of   
   Jesus, for the death of Cardinal Roberto Tucci, S.J., yesterday afternoon in   
   Rome at the age of 93.   
    In the text, the Pope expresses his heartfelt condolences and recalls with   
   gratitude the prelate's valuable service over several decades as director of   
   "Civilta Cattolica", expert at Vatican Council II, director general of Vatican   
   Radio and in particular as coordinator of papal trips outside Italy. "He leaves   
   us with the memory of an industrious and dynamic life, spent in the coherent   
   and   
   generous fulfilment of his vocation as a religious man mindful of the needs of   
   others, and a pastor faithful to the Gospel and to the Church, following the   
   example of St. Ignatius. I raise fervent prayers that the Lord might receive   
   him   
   in joy and eternal peace, and I offer you and to your Jesuit brethren the   
   consolation of my apostolic blessing, the sign of my intense participation in   
   our sorrow".   
      
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    Ninth meeting of the Council of Cardinals   
    Vatican City, 15 April 2015 (VIS) - The ninth meeting of the Council of   
   Cardinals (C9), which began on 13 April, was brought to a close this afternoon,   
   according to a briefing by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr.   
   Federico Lombardi, S.J.   
    The Council of Cardinals dedicated the majority its work regarding reform of   
   the Roman Curia to two aspects: reflections on the methodologies to be followed   
   for work during 2015 and 2016 in order to be able to effectively accomplish the   
   task of preparing the new Constitution, and a rereading of the interventions by   
   the Cardinals in relation to reform of the Curia made during the recent   
   Consistory (there were over sixty interventions on this theme with useful   
   indications and cues, both for the prologue of the constitution and for   
   specific   
   aspects of reform).   
    The orientation towards the constitution of two dicasteries - one competent in   
   fields of charity, justice and peace, the other regarding the laity, families   
   and life - would appear to be confirmed.   
    The Council also focused on the issue of the reorganisation of Vatican media,   
   following the submission of the final report of the Commission presided over by   
   Lord Chris Patten.   
    It is expected that the Pope will constitute a Commission to consider how the   
   recommendations of the report can be put into practice. This body will also   
   include members of the Patten Commission, to ensure continuity.   
    Finally, Cardinal O'Malley, president of the new Commission for the Protection   
   of Minors, under the auspices of the same Commission, has proposed that the   
   Pope   
   and the Council consider the theme of "Accountability" with regard to the   
   protection of minors, in order to establish appropriate procedures and methods   
   for evaluating and judging cases of "abuse of office" in this area, especially   
   on the part of persons holding responsibility within the Church.   
    Further meetings of the Council of Cardinals are scheduled to take place from   
   8   
   to 10 June, 14 to 16 September and 10 to 12 December 2015.   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 15 April 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:   
    - Bishop Wilson Luis Angotti Filho, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Belo   
   Horizonte, Brazil, as bishop of Taubate (area 4,534, population 692,000,   
   Catholics 592,000, priests 123, permanent deacons 55, religious 433), Brazil.   
   He   
   succeeds Bishop Carmo Joao Rhoden, S.C.I., whose resignation from the pastoral   
   care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy   
   Father.   
    - Msgr. Oriolo dos Santos as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Belo Horizonte   
   (area 7,222, population 4,785,000, Catholics 3,350,000, priests 771, permanent   
   deacons 16, religious 2,465), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Itajuba,   
   Brazil in 1964 and was ordained a priest in 1990. He holds degrees in   
   philosophy   
   from the University of Campinas and in marking and strategic personnel   
   management from the "Gama Filho" University in Rio de Janeiro. He has served in   
   a number of pastoral roles in the archdiocese of Pouso Alegre, including parish   
   vicar, parish priest, canon of the metropolitan chapter, episcopal vicar for   
   the   
   administration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, promotor of justice of the   
   ecclesiastical tribunal, and professor of philosophy at the archdiocesan   
   seminary. He is currently parish priest of the Cathedral of Pouso Alegre.   
      
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