VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 108   
   DATE 10-06-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - General audience: the family, the closest hospital   
   - The tenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals comes to an end   
   - The Holy See and the United States sign agreement against tax evasion   
   - The Holy See at the 39th Conference of the FAO: sustainable human development   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    General audience: the family, the closest hospital   
    Vatican City, 10 June 2015 (VIS) - Illness, a common experience in the life of   
   families from childhood until advanced age, was the theme of the Pope's   
   catechesis during this week's Wednesday general audience. "The family has   
   always   
   been the 'closest hospital'. And still, today, in many parts of the world, the   
   hospital is a privilege enjoyed by few, and is often far away. Mothers,   
   fathers,   
   brothers, sisters and grandparents provide care and help heal the sick".   
    In the Gospel there are many encounters between Jesus and the sick, and his   
   commitment to caring for them. Christ "presents himself publicly as one who   
   fights against sickness and who has come to cure man of every ill: ills of the   
   spirit and of the body". The Pope remarked that the scene in the Gospel of Mark   
   - "that evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed   
   by   
   demons" - is "truly moving. ... If I think of today's great cities, I ask   
   myself,   
   where are the doors before which we can bring the sick, hoping they will be   
   healed. Jesus never withdrew from their care, He never passed them by, He never   
   turned away. And when a father or a mother, or even simply friends brought an   
   invalid before Him, for Him to touch and heal, He wasted no time; healing came   
   before the law, even sacred laws such as rest on the Sabbath".   
    Jesus sent His disciples to fulfil the same task and He gave them the power to   
   heal. "We must keep in mind what He said to the disciples in the episode of the   
   man born blind. The disciples - with the blind man before them - debated about   
   who had sinned, him or his parents, to provoke his blindness. The Lord said   
   clearly: neither him nor his parents; 'but that the works of God might be   
   displayed in him'. And He healed him. Here is the glory of God! Here is the   
   task   
   of the Church! To help the sick, not to get lost in talk. To help, console,   
   alleviate, always to be near: this is her task".   
    "The Church invites us to continual prayer for our dear ones who are sick, and   
   prayer for them must never be lacking. Rather, we must pray more, both   
   personally and as a community. ... Faced with sickness, difficulties can also   
   arise in the family as a result of human weakness. But in general illness   
   strengthens family bonds. And I think of how important it is to educate   
   children, starting from infancy, on the importance of solidarity in times of   
   sickness. An education that shelters them from sensitivity to human sickness   
   hardens the heart and anaesthetises the young to the suffering of others,   
   rendering them incapable of facing up to suffering and living the experience of   
   limits".   
    "The weakness and suffering of our most loved ones ... can be ... a school of   
   life   
   ... and especially when illness is accompanied by prayer and the fraternal,   
   affectionate closeness of families. The Christian community is well aware that   
   the family, during the trials of sickness, must not be left alone. ... This   
   Christian closeness of family to family, is a true treasure for a parish: a   
   treasure of wisdom, that helps families in difficult moments and enables them   
   to   
   understand the Kingdom of God more clearly than through words".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The tenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals comes to an end   
    Vatican City, 10 June 2015 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press Office,   
   Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave a briefing this morning on the work of the   
   tenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals, which began on Monday and concluded   
   this morning in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. The Holy Father attended all the   
   sessions, both morning and afternoon, on Monday and Tuesday; however as usual   
   he   
   did not participate in this morning's session due to the Wednesday general   
   audience.   
    Cardinal Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya was unable to attend the meeting.   
    The first day was dedicated largely to the examination of the draft Preamble   
   of   
   the new Constitution, which will be further elaborated.   
    With regard to financial and economic reform, Cardinal Pell, prefect of the   
   Secretariat for the Economy, presented a report with updated information on the   
   financial reforms. He mentioned the appointment of the new Auditor General, the   
   approval of the new Statute for Pension Funds and the completion of the list of   
   bodies subject to the control and supervision of the Council for the Economy,   
   in   
   accordance with its Statutes. He also referred to three new initiatives of the   
   Council for the Economy, constituting three working groups: one for the   
   analysis   
   of income and investments; one for human resources management, and a third for   
   the study of the existing IT systems, their compatibility and their efficiency.   
   He concluded by reporting on the progress of the various current activities of   
   the Secretariat for the Economy.   
    In the afternoon session of 8 June 2015, the Council of Cardinals received a   
   report from Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap. with a proposal for the   
   Holy Father regarding allegations of the abuse of office by a bishop connected   
   to the abuse of minors, originally prepared by the Pontifical Commission for   
   the   
   Protection of Minors. Cardinal O'Malley's report also included a proposal   
   regarding allegations of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by   
   clergy.   
    For each proposal, the report indicated the general terms which define it,   
   issues relating to procedure and to the competent Tribunal, as well as the   
   advantages of the proposal compared with other possible solutions. The text   
   concludes with a list of five specific proposals made to the Holy Father, which   
   are listed below. It is proposed that:   
    1. because the competence to receive and investigate complaints of the   
   episcopal abuse of office belongs to the Congregations for Bishops,   
   Evangelisation of Peoples, or Oriental Churches, there is the duty to report   
   all   
   complaints to the appropriate Congregation;   
    2. the Holy Father mandate the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to   
   judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to   
   the   
   abuse of minors;   
    3. the Holy Father authorise the establishment of a new Judicial Section in   
   the   
   Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and appointment of stable personnel   
   to undertake service in the Tribunal. The implementation of this decision would   
   follow consultation with the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of   
   the Faith;   
    4. the Holy Father appoint a secretary to assist the prefect with the   
   Tribunal.   
   The secretary will be responsible for the new Judicial Section and the   
   personnel   
   of the section will also be available to the prefect for penal processes   
   regarding the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by clergy. This appointment   
   will also follow the consultation with the prefect of the Congregation;   
    5. the Holy Father establish a five-year period for further development of   
   these proposals and for completing a formal evaluation of their effectiveness;   
    The Council of Cardinals agreed unanimously on these proposals and resolved   
   that they be submitted to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who approved the   
   proposals and authorised the provision of sufficient resources for this   
   purpose.   
    In the morning of 9 June the Council of Cardinals heard a report given by   
   Msgr.   
   Dario Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Centre and president of the   
   Commission for Vatican communications instituted by the Holy Father Francis on   
   23 April 2015 (made public on 30 April), and expressed its unanimous approval   
   of   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)