VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 157   
   DATE 16-09-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - The universal scope of the family   
   - Francis asks for prayers for his trip to Cuba and the United States   
   - The Pope to EU environment ministers: it is time to honour our ecological   
   debt   
   - Briefing on the eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The universal scope of the family   
    Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - In the catechesis of today's general   
   audience, Pope Francis concluded his reflections on marriage and the family, on   
   the eve of events directly linked to this theme: the World Meeting of Families   
   in Philadelphia and the Synod of Bishops in Rome. "Both have a global reach,   
   which corresponds both to the universal dimension of Christianity and to the   
   universal scope of the fundamental and indispensable human community of the   
   family".   
    "Our civilisation currently appears marked by the long term effects of a   
   society managed by economic technocracy. The subordination of ethics to the   
   logic of profit is sustained by substantial means and enjoys enormous media   
   support. ... A new alliance of man and woman would seem not only necessary, but   
   also strategic for the emancipation of peoples from their colonisation by   
   money", he continued. "This alliance must once again guide politics, the   
   economy   
   and civil coexistence. It decides the habitability of the earth, the   
   transmission of the sentiment of life, and the bonds of memory and hope".   
    "Of this alliance, the matrimonial-familiar community of man and woman is its   
   generative grammar, its 'golden bond', so to speak. Faith draws upon knowledge   
   of God's creation: He entrusted to the family not only the care of intimacy for   
   its own sake, but also the project of making the entire world domestic. It is   
   precisely the family that is at the origin and the base of this worldwide   
   culture that saves us: it saves us from many attacks, many forms of   
   destruction,   
   and many forms of colonisation, for instance by money and ideologies, that so   
   threaten the world. The family is a base from which we defend ourselves".   
    "The Biblical Word of creation has provided us with the fundamental   
   inspiration   
   for our brief reflections on the family during the Wednesday audiences. ...   
   God's   
   creation is not simply a philosophical premise: it is the universal horizon of   
   life and faith. The divine plan consists only of creation and its salvation. It   
   is for the salvation of the creature - of every creature - that God became man.   
   ... The world He created is entrusted to man and to woman: what happens between   
   casts the die for all that follows. Their refusal of God's blessing leads them   
   fatally to the delirium of omnipotence that ruins all things. It is what we   
   call   
   'original sin'. And we all come into the world with the legacy of this   
   disease".   
    However, "we are not cursed or abandoned to our own devices. 'I will make you   
   and the woman enemies to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will   
   be enemies', God says to the deceitful and enchanting snake. With these words   
   God bestows upon the woman a protective barrier against evil, to which she may   
   resort, if she wishes, for every generation. This means that the women bears a   
   secret and special blessing, for the defence of her creature against the Evil   
   One. ... Many stereotypes exists, often offensive, regarding the woman as   
   temptress who inspires evil. Instead, there is space for a theology of the   
   woman   
   worthy of this blessing from God, for her and for her generation".   
    "God's merciful protection of man and woman never ends. ... The symbolic   
   language   
   of the Bible tells us that before casting them out of the Garden of Eden, God   
   gave them animal skin tunics and dressed them. This gesture of tenderness means   
   that, even in the painful consequences of our sin, God does not want us to   
   remain naked and abandoned to our destiny as sinners. This divine tenderness,   
   this care for us, we see incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God 'born of   
   woman'. ... It is God's caress to our wounds, our mistakes, our sins. But God   
   loves us as we are and wants to lead us ahead with this plan, and the woman is   
   the strongest at taking it forward".   
    "The promise God makes to man and woman, at the origin of history, includes   
   all   
   human beings, up to the end of history. If we have enough faith, the families   
   of   
   the peoples of the world will recognise themselves in this blessing. In any   
   case, may whoever allows him- or herself to be moved by this vision, regardless   
   of the people, nation, or religion to which he or she belongs, walk with us and   
   become our brother or sister, without proselytism. Let us walk together under   
   this blessing and with God's aim to make us all brothers and sisters in life in   
   a world that goes ahead and that is born precisely of the family, the union of   
   man and woman".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Francis asks for prayers for his trip to Cuba and the United States   
    Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - After today's catechesis the Holy   
   Father mentioned that this Saturday he will commence, with high expectations,   
   his apostolic trip to Cuba and the United States of America. The main reason   
   for   
   the trip is the Eighth World Meeting of Families, which will take place in   
   Philadelphia, but Francis will also visit the central headquarters of the   
   United   
   Nations to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the founding of this   
   institution.   
    "Until then, I greet with affection the Cuban and American faithful who,   
   guided   
   by their pastors, are preparing themselves spiritually. I ask all to accompany   
   me with prayer, invoking the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit and the   
   intercession of Mary Most Holy, patroness of Cuba as Our Lady of Charity del   
   Cobre, and patroness of the United States as the Immaculate Conception".   
    He also spoke about the forthcoming beatification of Pio Alberto del Corona   
   (1837-1912), bishop of San Miniato, Italy, and founder of the Dominican   
   Brothers   
   of the Holy Spirit, to take place this Saturday in the same diocese. "He was a   
   committed guide and a wise teacher of the people entrusted to him. May his   
   example and his intercession help the Church to walk in the spirit of the   
   Gospel, bringing fruit to good works".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope to EU environment ministers: it is time to honour our ecological debt   
    Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - This morning, before the Wednesday   
   general audience, the Pope received the environment ministers of the European   
   Union who will soon face two important events: the adoption of the Sustainable   
   Development Goals and the COP 21 in Paris. Francis remarked that their mission   
   is increasingly important since the environment is a "collective good, a   
   patrimony for all humanity, and the responsibility of each one of us - a   
   responsibility that can only be transversal and which requires effective   
   collaboration within the entire international community".   
    He went on to suggest to the ministers three principles which should inspire   
   their work, starting with the principle of solidarity. "A word that is   
   sometimes   
   forgotten, and at other times abused in a sterile fashion. We know that the   
   people most vulnerable to environmental degradation are the poor, who suffer   
   the   
   most serious consequences. Solidarity therefore means creating effective tools   
   able to unite the fight against environmental degradation with the struggle   
   against poverty. Many positive experiences exist in this area, such as the   
   development and transfer of appropriate technologies able to make the best use   
   of human, natural and socio-economic resources, rendering them more accessible   
   at local level, so as to guarantee sustainability also in the long term".   
    Secondly, there is the principle of justice. "In the encyclical 'Laudato si''   
   I   
   spoke about our ecological debt, especially between the North and the South,   
   linked to commercial imbalances with consequences in the environmental sphere,   
   such as the disproportionate use of natural resources historically made by some   
   countries. We must honour that debt. These latter are required to contribute to   
   settling the debt by offering a good example, substantially limiting their   
   consumption of non-renewable energy, contributing resources to countries in   
   need   
   to promote policies and programmes of sustainable development, adopting   
   suitable   
   systems for managing forests, transport and refuse, and facing the serious   
   problem of food waste, promoting a circular model for the economy and   
   encouraging new attitudes and lifestyles".   
    Thirdly, there is the principle of participation, which "requires the   
   involvement of all the parties involved, including those who often remain   
   marginal to decision-making processes. Indeed, we live in a very interesting   
   historical moment: on the one hand, science and technology place unprecedented   
   power in our hands, whereas on the other, the correct use of such power   
   presupposes the adoption of a more integral and integrating vision. This   
   requires us to open the doors to dialogue, a dialogue inspired by a vision   
   rooted in that integral ecology that is the subject of 'Laudato si''. This is   
   obviously a great cultural, spirital and educational challenge: solidarity,   
   justice and participation respecting our dignity and respecting creation".   
    The Pope concluded by encouraging the ministers in their work, emphasising   
   that   
   both he and the Holy See would guarantee their support "to adequately respond   
   to   
   the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Briefing on the eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals   
    Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press   
   Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., held a briefing this morning on the   
   results   
   of the eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals with the Holy Father, which   
   began on Monday 14 November.   
    "The proposal for a new Congregation, provisionally entitled "Laity, Family   
   and   
   Life", was again taken into consideration", said Fr. Lombardi. "In this regard   
   Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, designated by the Holy Father in recent months to   
   prepare a study on the feasibility of the project, was heard. At the end of   
   their reflections the Council presented to the Pope a proposal orientated   
   towards the implementation of the project.   
    Consideration of the proposal for a new Congregation dedicated to "Charity,   
   Justice and Peace" was resumed and further reflections were made without yet   
   reaching, however, a conclusive proposal by the Council.   
    The Cardinals went on to reflect on the procedures for the appointment of new   
   bishops, or more specifically on the qualities and requisites for candidates in   
   view of the needs of today's world, and on the related issue of information   
   gathering. Naturally the theme will need to be explored further and developed   
   in   
   collaboration with the competent Dicasteries concerned.   
    The Prefect of the new Secretariat for Communication reported to the Council   
   on   
   the first steps taken so far and in particular on the appointment of a group to   
   draw up the Statutes for the new Dicastery. The working group has been   
   constituted and has already commenced activity. It is made up of   
   representatives   
   of the institutes variously involved. The Statutes, while taking into account   
   the progressive phase of consolidating the different entities that will form   
   the   
   Secretariat, defines the structure of the Dicastery as "definitive". Particular   
   attention will be given to evaluating legal and administrative aspects of the   
   communication activities of the Holy See. The regulations will subsequently be   
   drafted and issued.   
    The Cardinals expressed their unanimous appreciation and stressed that,   
   despite   
   the progressive nature of the work, precise guidance must be given to the   
   institutions involved so that, as the Motu Proprio requires, the reform can   
   make   
   decisive progress towards integration and unitary management.   
    The theme proposed during the last session of the Council regarding issues   
   linked to the abuse of minors was again taken into consideration. The matter of   
   how to implement proposals was explored in further depth, especially with   
   regard   
   to the possibility of accelerating the resolution of the many cases still   
   pending.   
    A draft Preamble of the new Constitution was also re-evaluated.   
    Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodríguez Maradiaga was absent for health reasons.   
    The next session of the Council is scheduled to be held from 10 to 12   
   December".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the   
   resignation from the pastoral ministry of the diocese of Cajazeiras, Brazil,   
   presented by Bishop Jose Gonzalez Alonso upon reaching the age limit.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
   Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican   
   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
   the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.   
   http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)