VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 221   
   DATE 10-12-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Twelfth meeting of the Pope with the Council of Cardinals   
   - The Pope expresses his condolences for the death of Cardinals Furno and   
   Terrazas Sandoval   
   - Postponement of pastoral visits in Italy during the Jubilee year   
   - Presentation of the document "The Gifts and the Calling of God are   
   Irrevocable"   
   - Summary of "The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable"   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Twelfth meeting of the Pope with the Council of Cardinals   
    Vatican City, 10 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning the twelfth meeting of the   
   Holy Father with the Council of Cardinals ("C9") began in Vatican City. The   
   meeting will continue until Saturday 12 December.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Pope expresses his condolences for the death of Cardinals Furno and   
   Terrazas Sandoval   
    Vatican City, 10 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent telegrams of   
   condolences to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, and   
   Archbishop Sergio Alfredo Gualberti Calandrina of Santa Cruz de la Sierra,   
   Bolivia, following the death on 9 December of cardinals Carlo Furno, Grand   
   Master emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem,   
   aged   
   91, and Julio Terrazas Sandoval, archbishop emeritus of Santa Cruz de la   
   Sierra,   
   aged 79.   
    In his telegram to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Pope expresses his deepest   
   condolences to the College of Cardinals and recalls Cardinal Furno's long and   
   valuable collaboration in the Holy See, especially as apostolic nuncio,   
   archpriest of the papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, and Grand Master of the   
   Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Francis asks that the   
   Lord,   
   through the intercession of Mary Salus Populi Romani, welcome the cardinal in   
   His eternal peace.   
    In his telegram to Archbishop Sergio Alfredo Gualberti Calandrina, the Holy   
   Father unites his prayers with those of the pastors, clergy and faithful of   
   Santa Cruz de la Sierra that the Lord grant His light and peace to the cardinal   
   who, "with the light of faith and the strength of hope, stayed faithful to the   
   ministry he received, and with generosity and courage devoted his life to the   
   service of the Gospel, justice and peace". In this moment of inevitable human   
   suffering, when the mystery of the Lord's coming brings hope, he invokes the   
   maternal intercession of Our Lady.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Postponement of pastoral visits in Italy during the Jubilee year   
    Vatican City, 10 December 2015 (VIS) - As confirmed by the cardinal archbishop   
   of Milan, Angelo Scola, this morning during a press conference, the Secretary   
   of   
   State has communicated that it is the Holy Father's intention to postpone   
   pastoral visits in Italy due to the intensification of activities due to the   
   Jubilee. As a consequence, the visit to Milan already officially planned and   
   announced for 7 May 2016 will be postponed until 2017. Cardinal Scola observed   
   that it will provided the opportunity for the Holy Father to conclude the   
   pastoral visit in process in the archdiocese of Milan.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Presentation of the document "The Gifts and the Calling of God are   
   Irrevocable"   
    Vatican City, 10 December 2015 (VIS) - "The Gifts and the Calling of God are   
   Irrevocable: a Reflection on Theological Questions Pertaining to   
   Catholic-Jewish   
   Relations on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of 'Nostra Aetate' (No. 4)"   
   is   
   the title of the document published by the Commission for Religious Relations   
   with the Jews, presented this morning in the Holy See Press Office. The panel   
   was composed of Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the dicastery; Rabbi David   
   Rosen of the American Jewish Committee, the theologian Professor Edward Kessler   
   of Cambridge, and Fr. Norbert Hoffmann, S.D.B.   
    Cardinal Koch recalled that on 28 October this year, in accordance with Pope   
   Francis' wishes, a special general audience was organised to commemorate the   
   promulgation of the Conciliar declaration "Nostra Aetate" exactly fifty years   
   earlier. The audience was attended by numerous representatives of other   
   religions, whose presence demonstrated that the declaration represented a   
   cornerstone in the change in Church's attitude towards other religions. The   
   Commission chaired by the cardinal decided this year to present a new document   
   returning to the theological principles of the fourth part of "Nostra Aetate",   
   extending and exploring them in further depth where they regard the relations   
   between the Catholic Church and Jews.   
    He said, "It is an explicitly theological document that intends to retrace and   
   clarify the issues that have emerged during the recent decades of the   
   Jewish-Catholic dialogue. Prior to this text, no other document of a strictly   
   theological nature has been published by our Commission: the three preceding   
   documents, 'Guidelines and suggestions for implementing the Conciliar   
   Declaration "Nostra Aetate" (No. 4)' (1974), 'Notes on the correct way to   
   present Jews and Judaism in preaching and catechesis in the Catholic Church'   
   (1985) and 'We remember: a reflection on the Shoah' (1998), referred mainly to   
   concrete themes, useful for dialogue with Judaism from a practical point of   
   view".   
    The new document - summarised below, along with a link to the full text -   
   seeks   
   to emphasise that dialogue with Judaism after fifty years now stands on solid   
   ground, as during this period significant results have been achieved. "We are   
   very grateful for the efforts that have been made by both Jews and Catholics   
   for   
   the promotion of our dialogue", concluded Cardinal Koch. "But it is very   
   important to remember that, as emphasised in the document and especially from a   
   theological point of view, we are only at a new beginning: many questions   
   remain   
   open and require further study".   
    Rabbi Rosen highlighted that the new document shows "not only the advancement   
   of the recommendations of the 1974 Guidelines on 'Nostra Aetate', to appreciate   
   and respect Jewish self-understanding, but also a deepening recognition of the   
   place of the Torah in the life of the Jewish people and, in accordance with the   
   Pontifical Biblical Commission's work, an acknowledgement of the integrity of   
   Jewish reading of the Bible that is different from the Christian one. Indeed,   
   the very fact that the document also quotes extensively from Jewish rabbinical   
   sources is further testimony of this respect".   
    The rabbi also mentioned that, as Cardinal Koch and Fr. Hoffman had already   
   mentioned, "this is a Catholic document reflecting Catholic theology.   
   Inevitably, then, there are passages in it that do not resonate with a Jewish   
   theology". He notes the importance of appreciating "the centrality that the   
   Land   
   of Israel plays in the historic and contemporary religious life of the Jewish   
   people".   
    "Indeed even in terms of the historical survey of the milestones along this   
   remarkable journey since 'Nostra Aetate', the establishment of full bilateral   
   relations between the State of Israel and the Holy See (very much guided and   
   promoted by St. John Paul II) was one of the historic highlights. Moreover, the   
   preamble and the first article of the Fundamental Agreement between the two   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)