VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 117   
   DATE 23-06-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Presentation of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Synod: "The vocation and the   
   mission of the family in the Church and contemporary world"   
   - Annual meeting of the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Presentation of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Synod: "The vocation and the   
   mission of the family in the Church and contemporary world"   
    Vatican City, 23 June 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office a   
   press conference was held to present the Instrumentum Laboris of the 14th   
   Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme, "The vocation   
   and mission of the family in the Church and contemporary world" (4-25 October   
   2015). The speakers were: Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the   
   Synod of Bishops; Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest,   
   Hungary, general rapporteur of the 14th General Assembly of the Synod of   
   Bishops; and Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, special secretary   
   of   
   the 14th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.   
    The Instrumentum Laboris, explained Cardinal Baldisseri, is divided into three   
   parts following the structure of the Relatio Synodi, demonstrating the close   
   link between the Third Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in   
   October   
   2014, dedicated to "The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of   
   evangelisation", and the upcoming Ordinary General Assembly. The first part,   
   entitled "Listening to the challenges of the family", relates most directly to   
   last year's Synod, while the second, "Discernment of the family vocation", and   
   third, "The mission of the family today", introduce the theme of the next one.   
    The cardinal highlighted certain novelties in the first part, which refer   
   principally to the anthropological-cultural, socio-economic and ecological   
   contexts, "now happily enlightened by the new Encyclical letter Laudato si'".   
   The challenges, he explained, are "poverty and social exclusion, old age,   
   widowhood, bereavement in the family, disability, migration, the role of women,   
   emotional life and education in sexuality, and bioethics".   
    In the second part, "Discernment of the family vocation", the Relatio Synodi   
   is   
   enriched with an extension of the themes regarding natural marriage and   
   sacramental fullness, indissolubility as a gift and a duty, family life, union   
   and fruitfulness, the missionary dimension, faith, prayer, catechesis, the   
   intimate bond between Church and family, the young and fear of marriage, and   
   mercy.   
    The third part, devoted to "The mission of the family today", begins with a   
   broad-ranging reflection on the family and evangelisation, and explores in   
   depth   
   a number of other issues such as the family as subject of pastoral ministry,   
   nuptial liturgy, renewed language and missionary openness.   
    The general secretary of the Synod of Bishops noted that it makes reference to   
   "the family and ecclesial accompaniment, the streamlining of procedures for   
   causes for annulment, the integration of faithful in irregular situations, the   
   eventual introduction of a penitential route, the pastoral problems regarding   
   mixed marriages and disparities of worship, as well as questions related to   
   responsible procreation, reduction of births, adoption and fostering, respect   
   for life from conception to natural end, and education of future generations.   
    "The reference to the economic hardship experienced by many families, who run   
   the risk of being subject to usury, is very relevant", he added, "as is the   
   socio-political commitment of Christians in favour of the family, also in the   
   international context. In this regard, it would be useful to re-propose the   
   Charter for the Rights of the Family, linked to the Universal Declaration of   
   the   
   Rights of Man".   
    Cardinal Baldisseri illustrated the work of the Secretariat of the Synod   
   Council between one assembly and another, which began in November 2014 with the   
   presentation of the "Lineamenta", composed of the Relatio Synodi and a series   
   of   
   46 questions relating to the reception and deepening of this Synod document.   
   The   
   "Lineamenta" was sent to the synods of the sui iuris Oriental Catholic   
   Churches,   
   to the Episcopal Conferences, to the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and others,   
   with an invitation to respond by 15 April 2015. The Secretariat General   
   received   
   99 answers from the competent bodies, along with 359 observations sent freely   
   from dioceses, parishes, ecclesial associations, grass-roots groups of   
   faithful,   
   civil movements and organisations, etc. The inter-synodal period has thus been   
   shown to be "a valuable opportunity for listening to what the Spirit says to   
   the   
   Church in the plurality of her components".   
    Finally, with regard to the methodology of the upcoming General Assembly, it   
   was mentioned that it is Ordinary and not Extraordinary like the previous one   
   and, in accordance with the suggestions of the members of the Synod, "it will   
   continue with the project of the development of the Synod taking a dynamic   
   approach more suited to our times".   
    The Synod fathers reiterated the need to avoid a "long series of individual   
   interventions, as has happened in previous Synod assemblies, to ensure that   
   they   
   are better distributed in the time available and not presented one after   
   another. The importance of the Circuli Minores was noted, as was the need to   
   maintain the principle of thematic order. Thus, the three weeks of the Synod   
   will be divided in correspondence with the three parts of the Instrumentum   
   Laboris. The first week will be devoted to the first part of the document, the   
   second to the discernment of the family vocation, and the third to the mission   
   of the family today. "At the end of the third week, time will be set aside for   
   the preparation of the final text of the document, which will be presented to   
   the Assembly for the final modifications, to be inserted into the text before   
   its final approval. The method will ensure the opportunity to intervene on the   
   part of all those entitled to do so, including at the end of the day, and will   
   enable more time to be assigned to the Circuli Minores. It is expected that a   
   final document will be produced and consigned to the Holy Father".   
    With regard to information during the Synod Assembly, the cardinal mentioned   
   the Holy Father's affirmation that "the Synod is a space in which the Holy   
   Spirit can act, not parliament. The Synod Fathers are invited to express   
   themselves with parrhesia. They will be free to communicate with the media at   
   their discretion and with responsibility".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Annual meeting of the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation   
    Vatican City, 23 June 2015 (VIS) The management board of the "Populorum   
   Progressio" Foundation for Latin America will hold its annual council meeting   
   from 22 to 25 June in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to discuss the funding of projects in   
   favour of indigenous mestizo, Afro-American and rural communities in Latin   
   America and the Caribbean during the year 2015. Over one hundred projects were   
   presented this year.   
    Since its institution by St. John Paul II in 1992, the Foundation was   
   entrusted   
   to the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" and the members of its management board   
   are   
   the archbishops Edmundo Luis Flavio Abastoflor Montero of La Paz, Bolivia,   
   president; Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil, Ecuador, deputy president;   
   Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, cardinal archbishop of Santo Domingo; Oscar   
   Urbina Ortega of Villavicencio, Colombia; Murilo Sebastiao Ramos Krieger of Sao   
   Salvador de Bahia, Brazil; Javier Augusto Del Rio Alba of Arequipa, Peru; and   
   Msgr. Segundo Tajado Munoz, under secretary of "Cor Unum".   
    The meeting provided an opportunity to study the most effective methods of   
   implementing the Foundation's mandate, especially in favour of Indios, peasant   
   farmers and Afro-American communities. Indeed, the Encyclical "Laudato si'",   
   while aimed at encouraging a more responsible attitude to the defence of   
   creation, also proposes a model for the full development of the person, within   
   the framework of human ecology, or rather in rapport with the surrounding   
   environment. The Foundation works in this way and evaluates projects that are,   
   in particular, able to link human development with the natural environment of   
   the territories in which they are to be realised.   
    So far more than four thousand projects have been implemented by the   
   Foundation, with a total of more than 35 million dollars assigned to them. They   
   typically promote the participation of local communities and involve different   
   sectors: agriculture and livestock farming, craft and micro-businesses,   
   infrastructure for drinking water, education and school equipment, health, and   
   construction, among others.   
    The Italian Episcopal Conference is among the major contributors to the   
   "Populorum Progressio" Foundation.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 23 June 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health   
   Pastoral Care;   
    - Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy;   
    - Professor Alberto Melloni and entourage;   
    - Bishop Lorenzo Chiarinelli, emeritus of Viterbo, Italy;   
    - Bishop Vitus Huonder of Chur, Switzerland.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 23 June 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the   
   resignation   
   from the pastoral care of the apostolic vicariate of Puerto Maldonado, Peru,   
   presented by Bishop Francisco Gonzalez Hernandez, O.P., in accordance with   
   canon   
   401 para.2 of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Bishop David Martinez   
   De   
   Aguirre Guinea, O.P., coadjutor of the same apostolic vicariate.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)