VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 176   
   DATE 09-10-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Appeal for peace in the Middle East and Africa   
   - Faith, like love, grows day by day   
   - Circuli Minori - families are not alien to us   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
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    Appeal for peace in the Middle East and Africa   
    Vatican City, 9 October 2015 (VIS) . The Pope exhorted bishops to dedicate the   
   Terce prayer "to the intention of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East",   
   as he opened the fourth General Congregation of the 14th Ordinary General   
   Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Vatican City this morning. The Pope also   
   launched an appeal to the international community to find a way of resolving   
   current conflicts, and finally urged the bishops to include in their prayer all   
   those zones in Africa that are experiencing similar situations of conflict.   
    "We are sorely afflicted and follow with profound concern the events in Syria,   
   Iraq, Jerusalem and Jordan, where we are witnessing an escalation of violence   
   that affects innocent civilians and continues to provoke a humanitarian crisis   
   of enormous proportions. War leads to destruction and multiplies the suffering   
   of the population. Hope and progress come only from the choice to pursue peace.   
   Let us therefore join in intense and trustful prayer to the Lord, a prayer that   
   is intended at the same time to be an expression of closeness to our brother   
   Patriarchs and Bishops present here who come from those regions, to their   
   priests and faithful, and to all the inhabitants".   
    He urged the international community to "find a way of effectively helping the   
   interested parties, to broaden their horizons beyond immediate interests and to   
   use the instruments of international law and diplomacy to resolve current   
   conflicts".   
      
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    Faith, like love, grows day by day   
    Vatican City, 9 October 2015 (VIS) - His Beatitude Louis Raphael I Sako,   
   Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and head of the Synod of the Chaldean   
   Church offered a meditation during this morning's prayer before the resumption   
   of the work of the Synod. The Patriarch commented on the reading from St.   
   Paul's   
   epistle to the Romans, emphasising the apostle's wish to visit and bring the   
   Gospel to the Christian community in Rome. In this way he affirmed that "living   
   the faith in communion brings consolation".   
    "Paul is an apostle who feels that he is sent by God", he said. "For him, the   
   Gospel is an act of worship, and therefore it is praying, being in communion   
   with God, loving, obeying, and living and bearing witness to the joy of   
   proclaiming the Gospel in everyday life. So, one is not ashamed of the Gospel.   
   He does not subordinate his proclamation to human opportunity or hypocritical   
   respect, but rather considers the Gospel to be a gift of inestimable value that   
   reveals God's justice and grace".   
    "Faith is the basic condition for being justified and becoming children of   
   God,   
   as it is faith that gives meaning to life", he continued. It is not "a static   
   fact, or speculation, but rather an inner vision, a profound mystical   
   relationship, lived in the details of difficult everyday life. Faith, like   
   love,   
   is a commitment and must grow day by day in the long journey of life". On   
   reconciling love and justice, the Patriarch remarked that "if love does not   
   exceed justice, the Gospel becomes empty. It is enough to hear of the   
   experience   
   of Iraqi Christians who left everything they had in one night in order to stay   
   true to their faith".   
      
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    Circuli Minori - families are not alien to us   
    Vatican City, 9 October 2015 (VIS) - This morning, during the fourth General   
   Congregation, the various Circuli Minori - thirteen in total - presented the   
   results of their reflections on the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris   
   examining the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world.   
    In general the rapporteurs from the various groups, which were divided   
   according to language (English, French,Spanish, German and Italian) considered   
   that it was necessary to offer, as Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane,   
   Australia, writes, "a less negative reading of history, culture and the   
   situation of the family at this time. True, there are negative forces at work   
   at   
   this time in history and in the various cultures of the world; but that is far   
   from the full story. If it were the full story, all the Church could do would   
   be   
   to condemn. There are also forces which are positive, even luminous, and these   
   need to be identified since they may well be the signs of God in history".   
    "The Church does not inhabit a world out of time, as Vatican Council II, 'the   
   Council of history', recognised", notes the prelate. "Nor does the Church   
   inhabit a world outside human cultures; the Church shapes cultures and cultures   
   shape the Church. In considering marriage and the family here and now, we were   
   conscious of the need to address the facts of history and the realities of   
   cultures - with both the eyes of faith and the heart of God. That is what it   
   has   
   meant for us to read the signs of the times".   
    Another view expressed in various working groups is the need to make greater   
   use of Scriptural language, which "can be closer to the realities of the daily   
   experience of families and can become a bridge between faith and life",   
   avoiding   
   expressions deemed too "ecclesiastical". This "would help to understand the   
   nature of God's dream that families are called to make their own and to realise   
   that in the difficulties of life they can place their trust in a God who   
   neither   
   disappoints nor abandons anyone", explains Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. The   
   prelate also observes that "an analysis of the situation of the family should   
   recognise how, with the help of grace, families who are far from perfect,   
   living   
   in an imperfect world, do actually realise their vocation, even though they may   
   fail along their journey. As members of the group we shared a reflection, each   
   of us on the experience on our own family. What emerged was far from a   
   stereotype of an 'ideal family', but rather a collage of families different in   
   their social, ethnic, and religious background. Amid many difficulties our   
   families gave us the gift of love and the gift of faith".   
    Family men, men of faith and pastors: according to this view, expressed by   
   Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Canada, priests and bishops must   
   guide their pastoral ministry. "We are all, first and foremost, family men", he   
   said. "We have parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, cousins. Therefore, the   
   families of which we speak are not alien to us, they form part of our lives.   
   This must be transparent in our language, in our texts, in our care and   
   compassion for the families of the world. There is a danger of talking about   
   the   
   'family' as if it were something external to us. We are men of faith. We do not   
   claim to be psychologists, sociologists or economists, although some of us are   
   educated in these fields. We speak primarily as men of faith and this must be   
   seen in the first analytical part of the document. We are pastors. Our concern   
   is that the mission that Christ entrusted to His Church, the mission that is   
   the   
   Church, is always fulfilled in our world today. All the efforts of the Synod   
   must be directed towards this objective. All the documents that we draw up must   
   conform to this fundamental concern. In particular, we would like to help our   
   families to answer two questions: regarding vocation, who are you? And   
   regarding   
   the mission: what are you doing?".   
    "Our final document must give hope to our families, showing the confidence we   
   have in them, and must inspire trust in us. We must avoid causing some people   
   to   
   feel excluded from our care, because all families participate in the mission of   
   the Church. We must remember that the families in the Bible are at times   
   dysfunctional, and recall what the Word of God realised in and for them. God   
   can   
   carry out the same miracles today".   
    Some groups observe that the analysis of the situation of the family in the   
   Instrumentum Laboris does not reflect a universal condition, but rather a   
   principally Western and in particular European perspective. "The historical   
   contexts and cultures are not the same", writes Bishop Laurent Ulrich. "It   
   cannot be said that the number of marriages and baptisms is declining   
   throughout   
   the world. And we cannot speak about the same form of the Church's presence in   
   our respective societies. The possibilities of sharing faith in our countries   
   are not all identical, and neither is the public witness that can be given.   
   Similarly, the very reasons that make this difficult are not all the same: the   
   freedom of action in 'free' countries does not mean that it is truly recognised   
   and may lead to contradictory attitudes. Some choose a position of affirming a   
   strong identity, whereas others select a patient but not always well-understood   
   dialogue. In other countries religious or cultural pressure on Christians does   
   not mean that they are silenced, but rather that after many centuries they must   
   face a painful path".   
    The theme of Christian families in the Middle East is present in a significant   
   number of the reports from the Circuli Minores, who aside from offering their   
   solidarity, also warn that the flight of these families from the region would   
   put an end to a millennia-long Christian presence.   
    The diversity of socio-cultural contexts and pastoral situations is also noted   
   by the group whose rapporteur is Msgr. Francois-Xavier Dumortier, S.J. He   
   underlines that this diversity requires an articulation of what is of a   
   universal order and of a particular order, a strong common word able to respond   
   to particular situations. In this respect the group proposes that the episcopal   
   conferences hold a determined power to allow their pastors to be good   
   Samaritans   
   in their ecclesial service. The Cardinal also asks the Synod to facilitate   
   pathways "for the family to live its vocation and its mission according to   
   God's   
   plan and the teaching of the Church", and to seek to provide "more coherence to   
   the grouping of theological and canonical texts, that seem to be juxtaposed   
   rather than linked together, so as to simplify their expression".   
    In the reports from all groups, mention is made of the need for States to pay   
   greater attention to the needs of families and above all to their weakest   
   members, such as the elderly or disabled. Some express concern regarding   
   so-called gender theory which, as Archbishop Durocher writes, "has developed   
   within sociology and philosophy, in an attempt to analyse various human and   
   social phenomena, and may enrich our understanding of the world. However, when   
   these theories become an absolute ... they lead to the imposition of a point of   
   view that denies the relationship between sexual identity and the sexual beings   
   we are in our bodies".   
    In the Hispanic group, whose rapporteur is the Panamanian Cardinal Jose Luis   
   Lacunza Maestrojuan, notes among other issues "the challenge of the renewal of   
   our Church". "We have failed in 'Christian formation' and in 'education in   
   faith', and this leads to marriage with many gaps and omissions. This cannot be   
   said to be the family. And it is not simply a question of preparation as there   
   are many couples who, without preparation, have been faithful and happy, and   
   others who are well-prepared and have ended up separating". The cardinal also   
   speaks about the rupture in the unity between "love, sexuality and   
   procreation",   
   and notes also a separation from its educational dimension. "The relationship   
   between love, sexuality, marriage, family and the education of children has   
   broken down".   
    The Italian Synod Fathers, like many others, note their concern regarding the   
   migratory phenomenon, which affects many families fleeing from war and poverty,   
   and increasingly involves other families and the Church. The issue of bioethics   
   is also prominent, especially among couples who are unable to have children.   
   After reaffirming that the equal dignity of men and women has its roots in the   
   Gospel, the Italian group, whose rapporteur is Cardinal Mauro Piacenza,   
   highlights the need to condemn "the exploitation of child labour, child   
   soldiers   
   and the female body (by, for instance, prostitution, surrogacy, violence and   
   murder, and rape as an act of war)".   
    Finally, he warns of the need to affirm that the Church has a positive view of   
   sexuality, as it is an expression of the "symphonic tension between eros and   
   agape".   
      
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    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 9 October 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Piero   
   Delbosco as bishop of Cuneo and Fossano (area 1,566, population 120,500,   
   Catholics 108,900, priests 118, permanent deacons 5, religious 291), Italy. The   
   bishop-elect was born in Poirino, Italy in 1955 and was ordained a priest in   
   1980. He has served in a number of roles in the archdiocese of Turin, Italy,   
   including parish vicar, parish priest, episcopal vicar, pro-vicar general and   
   moderator of the curia, delegate for the permanent diaconate and preparation   
   for   
   the diaconate, and member of the presbyteral council.   
      
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