VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXV - # 218   
   DATE 04-12-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Audience with the president of the Philippines: dialogue in Filipino society   
   and peace in Mindanao   
   - The Pope thanks the Council for the Economy   
   - First sermon of Advent: Christ, light of the people   
   - The Jubilee of Mercy is at hand   
   - Audiences   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audience with the president of the Philippines: dialogue in Filipino society   
   and peace in Mindanao   
    Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Francis received   
   in   
   audience the president of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino   
   III, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin,   
   accompanied by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with   
   States.   
    During the cordial discussions, the dialogue between the various members of   
   Filipino society was evoked, as well as the contribution of the Catholic Church   
   to the life of the country. Special reference was made to the peace process in   
   Mindanao, with the hope that commitment from the Parties may guarantee stable   
   and lasting peace to the region.   
    This was followed by an exchange of opinions on the international and regional   
   situation, with special reference to the question of climate change and the   
   COP21 Conference in Paris.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope thanks the Council for the Economy   
    Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today   
   announced   
   that a according to a communique issued yesterday, 3 December, the Holy Father   
   participated in a meeting of the Council for the Economy. The Holy Father   
   explained that the reason for his visit was to personally thank and encourage   
   Council members for the important role they fulfil in the supervision of the   
   financial and administrative structures of the Holy See. He further confirmed   
   the central role of the Council in this work of reform to which the Holy Father   
   is committed.   
    On behalf of the Council, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Coordinator of the   
   Council, warmly thanked the Holy Father for his presence at the meeting and   
   reconfirmed its full commitment to the financial and administrative reforms   
   initiated by Pope Francis. Since its institution the Council has dedicated   
   significant time and energy to the consideration and eventual implementation of   
   measures aimed at transparency and a more effective management of the resources   
   of the Holy See.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    First sermon of Advent: Christ, light of the people   
    Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Redemptoris Mater   
   chapel, in the presence of the Holy Father, the preacher of the Papal   
   Household,   
   Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., pronounced the first sermon of Advent,   
   on   
   the theme "Christ, light of the people: three meditations on Lumen Gentium on   
   the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of Vatican Council II".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Jubilee of Mercy is at hand   
    Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press   
   Office, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for New   
   Evangelisation, along with Bishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas and Msgr. Graham   
   Bell, respectively secretary and under-secretary of the same dicastery,   
   presented the organisation of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (8 December   
   2015 to 20 November 2016) and the ways in which the faithful and pilgrims will   
   be able to participate, also explaining some of the initiatives linked to this   
   event which is intended to show how "mercy is the very foundation of the   
   Church's life".   
    With regard to the most immediate organisational aspects of the Jubilee,   
   Archbishop Fisichella said that a Reception Centre for Pilgrims has been open   
   in   
   Via della Conciliazione 7 from 1 December. "It is a place where information can   
   be obtained on the Jubilee programme, for registering for the pilgrimage to the   
   Holy Door, for collecting tickets for the various events for which a free   
   access   
   ticket is required, and for collecting the 'testimonium' of participation in   
   the   
   Jubilee". He emphasised that only the Pontifical Council for New Evangelisation   
   is authorised to certify presence at the Jubilee and in the pilgrimage on foot,   
   via the information point. Any other certificate issued by other entities is   
   not   
   to be considered authentic. The Centre will be open from 7.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.   
   every day, including Saturday and Sunday.   
    An important contribution will be given by volunteers, who will provide a   
   reception and help service to all pilgrims, especially in Via della   
   Conciliazione, St. Peter's Square, in the other Basilicas and in the Jubilee   
   Churches. The number of volunteers will rise to 800 to 1000 at major events.   
   The   
   archbishop also commented that a collection of Pastoral Resources prepared by   
   the Pontifical Council is now complete in ten languages, including Ukrainian   
   and   
   Korean.   
    With regard to the Mass and opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica,   
   "the celebration will take place in St. Peter's Square beginning at 9:30 a.m.   
   It   
   will be introduced by readings taken from the four Conciliar Constitutions (Dei   
   Verbum, Lumen gentium, Sacrosanctum concilium e Gaudium et spes), along with   
   two   
   passages taken from Unitatis redintegratio on ecumenism and Dignitatis humanae   
   on religious liberty". He continued, "As is well known, this day will mark the   
   fiftieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. The   
   reading of these passages is intended to recall the profound teaching which   
   came   
   forth from that event, and its continued significant importance for the life of   
   the Church. It was an event that we cannot forget and was reflected upon and   
   achieved over the course of three intense years, in the light of mercy, as Pope   
   Francis himself reminded us in the Bull, citing Saint John XXIII and Blessed   
   Paul VI. In the procession for the Eucharistic celebration will be carried the   
   Book of the Gospels prepared specifically for the Jubilee by P. Rupnik and   
   published by San Paolo editions. It is a work of art on whose cover is a mosaic   
   reproduction of the Jubilee logo. This Book of the Gospels will be set on the   
   same podium which stood by the altar of Saint Peter's Basilica during all the   
   sessions of the Council to make evident to everyone the primacy of the Word of   
   God".   
    The ceremony for the opening of the Holy Door, "which is very simple, will be   
   broadcast on television worldwide. The Holy Father will request the opening of   
   the Door, and he will then pass through it. After him, the Cardinals, Bishops,   
   and representatives of priests, religious men and women, and laity will cross   
   its threshold, and will continue in procession to the tomb of the Apostle   
   Peter,   
   where the concluding rite of the Holy Mass will take place. The Pope will then   
   lead the Angelus as usual from the window of the Apostolic Palace".   
    "The evening of December 8th will conclude in St. Peter's Square with a   
   meaningful and unique presentation entitled "Fiat lux: Illuminating Our Common   
   Home". It will be a projection of photographs onto the façade and cupola of St.   
   Peter's Basilica, taken from a repertoire of some of the world's great   
   photographers. These illuminations will present images inspired of Mercy, of   
   humanity, of the natural world, and of climate changes. The show is sponsored   
   by   
   the World Bank Group (Connect4Climate), by Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Productions,   
   by the Li Ka-shing Foundation and by Okeanos".   
    "On Sunday, December 13, for the first time in the history of the Jubilee   
   Years, Holy Doors will be opened cathedrals all over the world. ... Pope   
   Francis   
   will open the Holy Door of his Cathedral of Rome, St. John Lateran, with the   
   liturgy beginning at 9:30 a.m".   
    "The following Friday, December 18, the Holy Father will perform a symbolic   
   gesture as he opens the Door of Mercy at the Hostel 'Don Luigi Di Liegro',   
   managed by Caritas of Rome, located on Via Marsala. For 25 years, persons in   
   grave need, who require our help, have been received at this hostel. With this   
   first gesture the Holy Father will begin a series of symbolic actions that will   
   take place on one Friday of the month, and which he intends as concrete   
   expressions of the works of mercy.   
    "Beginning on the day of the opening of the Holy Door and throughout the   
   entire   
   Jubilee, the Rosary will be recited daily in St. Peter's Square in front of the   
   statue of St. Peter. Various parishes in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and   
   Religious Institutes present in Rome with a particular consecration to the   
   Mother of God, along with various Institutes of formation, will take turns   
   leading this Rosary".   
    Archbishop Fisichella also mentioned the healthcare services available for   
   pilgrims. In each of the four Papal Basilicas there will be a First Aid   
   Station.   
   "In addition, in St. Peter's Basilica and in other Churches, confessionals have   
   been set up without structural barriers, and with other considerations to   
   facilitate confessions for the deaf and hard of hearing. Furthermore, there is   
   also a touch book planned in A3 format that will permit the blind and   
   partially-sighted to be guided through the Pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St.   
   Peter's Basilica. Finally, the internet site has also been equipped with   
   facilitated navigation".   
    This official website of the Jubilee (http://www.im.va), translated into seven   
   languages, "will permit those who cannot be physically present to follow the   
   Major Jubilee events that will take place in Rome. To register for the passage   
   through the Holy Door, and likewise to become a volunteer, it is necessary to   
   enrol on the indicated sections of the site. In addition, I believe it   
   opportune   
   here to say a few words about the Portal "vatimecum", endorsed by the   
   Pontifical   
   Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, by means of which pilgrims   
   may obtain services relating to room and board in Rome at controlled prices,   
   along with a great deal of other information about living the Jubilee".   
    "The initiative of the 'Missionaries of Mercy' merits a final consideration",   
   added the prelate. "The Missionaries are priests who come from various parts of   
   the world, and who were proposed by their own bishops to carry out this special   
   service. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, they will receive the mandate from the   
   Holy   
   Father to be preachers of mercy and confessors full of mercy. They will receive   
   from the Holy Father the faculty to forgive sins reserved to the Holy See, and   
   will be the sign of the closeness and pardon of God for all. It is important   
   for   
   me to underscore that the Missionaries of Mercy are appointed exclusively by   
   the   
   Holy Father, and that the faculty of forgiving reserved sins will be given to   
   each one of them personally. No bishop in his own diocese may appoint these   
   Missionaries, nor may he confer faculties that he does not possess".   
    "The Jubilee is already at hand", concluded Archbishop Fisichella. "We are   
   certain that it will be lived intensely by pilgrims who, whether it be in their   
   own Particular Churches or in Rome, will cross through the Holy Door. For this   
   occasion the Holy Father has granted all the Bishops of the world the power to   
   give the Papal Blessing at the Holy Mass for the opening of the Holy Door, and   
   for the closure of the door at the end of the Holy Year. This Jubilee will be   
   an   
   experience of mercy for each person to feel more intimately the love of God,   
   who   
   like a Father welcomes everyone and excludes no one".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy;   
    - Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, apostolic nuncio in Mozambique;   
    Yesterday, Thursday 3 December, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal   
   Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of   
   Consecrated   
   Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, accompanied by Archbishop Jose Rodriguez   
   Carballo, secretary of the same dicastery.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:   
   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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