VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 121   
   DATE 30-06-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Jews and Christians believe that God is revealed to man through His Word   
   - Pope Francis greets Benedict XVI before the Pope emeritus' two-week stay in   
   Castel Gandolfo   
   - Pope Francis' prayer intentions for July   
   - Programme of the Pope's trip to Cuba and the U.S.A. and his visit to the   
   United Nations   
   - The Pope to the new metropolitan archbishops   
   - Angelus: the legacy of Sts Peter and Paul is a source of pride for Rome   
   - Angelus: faith is touching Jesus and receiving the grace that saves us   
   - The Pope's telegrams for the terrorist attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait   
   - The Pope institutes the Secretariat for Communication   
   - Francis receives a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of   
   Constantinople   
   - Pope's video message on the eve of his trip to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay   
   - Cardinal Vlk, Pope's special envoy to the commemoration of Jan Hus   
   - The Catholic Church in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Jews and Christians believe that God is revealed to man through His Word   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis received in   
   audience the participants in the international congress promoted by the   
   International Council of Christians and Jews, held in Rome from 28 June to 1   
   July on the theme "The fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate: the past, present   
   and future of relations between Jews and Christians".   
    The Pope expressed his pleasure that this year's meeting is taking place in   
   Rome, the city where the Apostles Peter and Paul are buried - "for all   
   Christians, both Apostles are an important point of reference: they are like   
   'pillars' of the Church" - and the home of the most ancient Jewish community in   
   Western Europe, whose origins can be traced to the time of the Maccabees.   
   "Christians and Jews therefore have lived together in Rome for almost two   
   thousand years, even though their relations in the course of history have not   
   been without difficulty".   
    The development of authentic fraternal dialogue has been made possible since   
   Vatican Council II, following the promulgation of the Declaration Nostra   
   Aetate,   
   "a document which represents a definitive 'yes' to the Jewish roots of   
   Christianity and an irrevocable 'no' to anti-Semitism". He continued, "In   
   celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Nostra Aetate, we are able to see the   
   rich fruits which it has brought about and to gratefully appraise   
   Jewish-Catholic dialogue. In this way, we can express our thanks to God for all   
   the good which has been realised in terms of friendship and mutual   
   understanding   
   these past fifty years, as his Holy Spirit has accompanied our efforts in   
   dialogue. Our fragmented humanity, mistrust and pride have been overcome thanks   
   to the Spirit of Almighty God, in such a way that trust and fraternity between   
   us have continued to grow. We are strangers no more, but friends, and brothers   
   and sisters. Even with our different perspectives, we confess one God, Creator   
   of the Universe and Lord of history. And he, in his infinite goodness and   
   wisdom, always blesses our commitment to dialogue".   
    "Christians, all Christians, have Jewish roots", emphasised the Pope. "Because   
   of this, since its inception, the International Council of Christians and Jews   
   has welcomed the various Christian confessions. Each of them, in its own way,   
   has drawn near to Judaism, which in its time, has been distinguished by diverse   
   trends and sensibilities. The Christian confessions find their unity in Christ;   
   Judaism finds its unity in the Torah. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is   
   the Word of God made flesh in the world; for Jews the Word of God is present   
   above all in the Torah. Both faith traditions find their foundation in the One   
   God, the God of the Covenant, who reveals himself through his Word. In seeking   
   a   
   right attitude towards God, Christians turn to Christ as the fount of new life,   
   and Jews to the teaching of the Torah. This pattern of theological reflection   
   on   
   the relationship between Judaism and Christianity arises precisely from Nostra   
   Aetate, and upon this solid basis can be developed yet further".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis greets Benedict XVI before the Pope emeritus' two-week stay in   
   Castel Gandolfo   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - At around 10 a.m. this morning, Pope   
   Francis   
   visited Benedict XVI in his residence at the Mater Ecclesiae ex-convent to   
   greet   
   him and to wish him a good stay in Castel Gandolfo, where the Pope emeritus   
   transferred this morning and will remain for two-weeks (he is expected to   
   return   
   on 14 July). The meeting lasted for around half an hour.   
    The Holy See Press Office announced that the Wednesday General Audiences will   
   be suspended for the month of July and will resume in August in the Paul VI   
   Hall. All other audiences will be suspended, with the exception of the Catholic   
   Charismatic Renewal meeting in St. Peter's Square on 3 July. The morning Mass   
   with groups of faithful in the Sanctae Marthae chapel will be suspended during   
   the months of July and August, to resume at the beginning of September.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Pope Francis' prayer intentions for July   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father's universal prayer   
   intention   
   for July is: "That political responsibility may be lived at all levels as a   
   high   
   form of charity".   
    His intention for evangelisation is: "That, amid social inequalities, Latin   
   American Christians may bear witness to love for the poor and contribute to a   
   more fraternal society".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Programme of the Pope's trip to Cuba and the U.S.A. and his visit to the   
   United   
   Nations   
    Vatican City, 30 June 2015 (VIS) - Today the programme was published for Pope   
   Francis' apostolic trip to Cuba and the U.S.A. and his visit to the United   
   Nations on the occasion of his participation in the Eighth World Meeting of   
   Families in Philadelphia, from 19 to 28 September.   
    The Pope will depart from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 10 a.m. on Saturday 19   
   September and is expected to arrive at 4.05 p.m. in Havana, Cuba, where the   
   welcome ceremony will take place. On Sunday 20 September he will celebrate Holy   
   Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana and will pay a courtesy visit to the   
   president of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers of the   
   Republic in the Palace of the Revolution. Later he will celebrate Vespers in   
   the   
   Cathedral with priests, men and women religious, and seminarians, and will   
   subsequently greet the young in the Fr. Felix Varela Cultural Centre.   
    On Monday 21 September, in the morning, he will transfer to Holguin where he   
   will celebrate Holy Mass in Plaza de la Revolucion and will bless the city from   
   the Loma de la Cruz. He will then depart by air for Santiago, where he will   
   meet   
   with the bishops in St. Basil's Major Seminary. The day will conclude with the   
   prayer to Our Lady of Charity with the bishops and the papal entourage in the   
   minor Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, Santiago.   
    Tuesday 22 September will begin with the celebration of Holy Mass in the minor   
   Basilica of the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre, Santiago. The Pope will   
   then meet families in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Asuncion in Santiago and,   
   after blessing the city, will depart by air for Washington D.C., U.S.A., where   
   he will be received at the Andrews Air Force Base.   
    On Wednesday 23 September, there will be a welcome ceremony on the South Lawn   
   of the White House, where the Pope will pronounce a discourse and pay a   
   courtesy   
   visit to the president of the United States. At 11 a.m., the Pope will meet   
   with   
   the bishops of the United States in St. Matthew's Cathedral. In the afternoon   
   he   
   will celebrate Mass for the canonisation of Blessed Fr. Junipero Serra.   
    On Thursday 24 September Pope Francis will visit and address the United States   
   Congress. He will subsequently visit the charity centre of the St. Patrick's   
   parish where he will meet a group of homeless people. In the afternoon he will   
   transfer by air to New York, where at 6.45 p.m. he will celebrate Vespers with   
   priests and men and women religious in St. Patrick's Cathedral.   
    Friday 25 September will begin with an address by the Holy Father at the seat   
   of the United Nations in New York and, at 11.30 a.m., he will participate in an   
   interreligious meeting at the Ground Zero Memorial site. He will then visit the   
   "Our Lady, Queen of Angels" school and meet with families of immigrants in   
   Harlem. The day will conclude with Holy Mass in Madison Square Garden.   
    On Saturday 26 September, the Pope will travel by air to Philadelphia, where   
   at   
   10.30 a.m. he will celebrate Holy Mass with the bishops, clergy and men and   
   women religious in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. In the   
   afternoon he will participate in a meeting for religious freedom with the   
   Hispanic community and other immigrants in the Independence Mall, Philadelphia.   
    Sunday 27 September will begin with a meeting with the bishops invited to the   
   World Meeting of Families in the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, after which the   
   Pope will visit the detainees in the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility,   
   Philadelphia. He will go on to celebrate the concluding Holy Mass of the Eighth   
   World Meeting of Families at the B. Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. In the   
   late afternoon, before the farewell ceremony, he will greet the organising   
   committee, the volunteers and benefactors at the international airport of   
   Philadelphia, from where he will depart on his return flight to Rome. The   
   aircraft carrying the Holy Father is scheduled to land on Monday 28 September   
   at   
   10 a.m.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope to the new metropolitan archbishops   
    Vatican City, 29 June 2015 (VIS) - On the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul   
   Apostles, in the Vatican Basilica, the Holy Father blessed the pallia destined   
   for the archbishops appointed during the year. At Francis' behest, the pallium   
   -   
   the band of white wool adorned with black crosses symbolising the sheep placed   
   on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd and worn by the Pope and the archbishops   
   as a sign of communion - was not imposed by the bishop of Rome, but instead   
   sent   
   privately in order to be imposed at a later date by the apostolic nuncio in the   
   country of origin, as a sign of synodality.   
    Following the blessing of the pallia, placed prior to the service below the   
   altar of the Confession of the apostle Peter, the Pope presided at the   
   Eucharistic celebration with the new metropolitan archbishops. As is customary   
   on the solemnity of the patron saints of Rome, the Holy Mass was attended by a   
   delegation representing the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew   
   I, led by the metropolitan of Pergamo, Ioannis (Zizioulas), accompanied by the   
   metropolitan of Silyvria, Maximo and Fr. Heikki Huttunen of the Orthodox Church   
   of Finland.   
    In his homily, the full text of which is reproduced below, the Holy Father   
   spoke about the courage of the apostles when the first Christian community was   
   beset by persecution, and recalled that in our days too we are witnessing   
   "atrocious, inhuman and incomprehensible" persecutions, often "under the silent   
   gaze of all", and exhorted the metropolitan archbishops to "teach prayer by   
   praying, announce the faith by believing, and offer witness by living".   
    "The reading, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, speaks to us of the first   
   Christian community besieged by persecution. A community harshly persecuted by   
   Herod who 'laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the Church...   
   proceeded to   
   arrest Peter also... and when he had seized him he put him in prison'.   
    "However, I do not wish to dwell on these atrocious, inhuman and   
   incomprehensible persecutions, sadly still present in many parts of the world   
   today, often under the silent gaze of all. I would like instead to pay homage   
   today to the courage of the Apostles and that of the first Christian community.   
   This courage carried forward the work of evangelisation, free of fear of death   
   and martyrdom, within the social context of a pagan empire; their Christian   
   life   
   is for us, the Christians of today, a powerful call to prayer, to faith and to   
   witness.   
    A call to prayer: the first community was a Church at prayer: 'Peter was kept   
   in prison; but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the Church'. And if we   
   think of Rome, the catacombs were not places to escape to from persecution but   
   rather, they were places of prayer, for sanctifying the Lord's day and for   
   raising up, from the heart of the earth, adoration to God who never forgets his   
   sons and daughters.   
    The community of Peter and Paul teaches us that the Church at prayer is a   
   Church on her feet, strong, moving forward! Indeed, a Christian who prays is a   
   Christian who is protected, guarded and sustained, and above all, who is never   
   alone.   
    "The first reading continues: 'Sentries before the door were guarding the   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)