VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXV - # 219   
   DATE 07-12-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - The Church, mother of vocations: theme of the Pope's message for the 53rd   
   World Day of Prayer for Vocations   
   - Angelus: break down the barriers and obstacles to our conversion   
   - There is no unity without forgiveness   
   - Francis lights up the Assisi Christmas tree   
   - Catholic schools, educating in the fullness of humanity   
   - Judges and lawyers in Vatican City State Tribunal: guaranteeing a fair trial   
   - New hearing in the trial for dissemination of reserved news and documents   
   - New external auditor for Consolidated Financial Statements   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
   - Notice   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Church, mother of vocations: theme of the Pope's message for the 53rd   
   World   
   Day of Prayer for Vocations   
    Vatican City, 7 December 2015 (VIS) - "The Church, mother of vocations" is the   
   theme of the 53rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be held on 17 April   
   2016, the fourth Sunday of Easter. In the text, signed in Vatican City on 29   
   November, first Sunday of Advent, the Holy Father comments that every vocation   
   in the Church originates with Jesus' compassionate gaze, and he emphasised that   
   the call of God is heard through community mediation. The vocational path   
    "Dear Brothers and Sisters,   
    It is my great hope that, during the course of this Extraordinary Jubilee of   
   Mercy, all the baptised may experience the joy of belonging to the Church and   
   rediscover that the Christian vocation, just like every particular vocation, is   
   born from within the People of God, and is a gift of divine mercy. The Church   
   is   
   the house of mercy, and it is the 'soil' where vocations take root, mature and   
   bear fruit.   
    "For this reason, on the occasion of the 53rd World Day of Prayer for   
   Vocations, I invite all of you to reflect upon the apostolic community, and to   
   give thanks for the role of the community in each person's vocational journey.   
   In the Bull of Indiction for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, I recalled the   
   words of the venerable Bede, describing the call of Saint Matthew: 'Miserando   
   atque eligendo'. The Lord's merciful action forgives our sins and opens us to   
   the new life which takes shape in the call to discipleship and mission. Each   
   vocation in the Church has its origin in the compassionate gaze of Jesus.   
   Conversion and vocation are two sides of the same coin, and continually remain   
   interconnected throughout the whole of the missionary disciple's life.   
    Blessed Paul VI, in his exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, described various   
   steps in the process of evangelisation. One of these steps is belonging to the   
   Christian community, that community from which we first received the witness of   
   faith and the clear proclamation of the Lord's mercy. This incorporation into   
   the Christian community brings with it all the richness of ecclesial life,   
   particularly the sacraments. Indeed, the Church is not only a place in which we   
   believe, but it is also an object of our faith; it is for this reason that we   
   profess in the Creed: 'I believe in the Church'.   
    The call of God comes to us by means of a mediation which is communal. God   
   calls us to become a part of the Church and, after we have reached a certain   
   maturity within it, He bestows on us a specific vocation. The vocational   
   journey   
   is undertaken together with the brothers and sisters whom the Lord has given to   
   us: it is a con-vocation. The ecclesial dynamism of the call is an antidote to   
   indifference and to individualism. It establishes the communion in which   
   indifference is vanquished by love, because it demands that we go beyond   
   ourselves and place our lives at the service of God's plan, embracing the   
   historical circumstances of His holy people.   
    On this day dedicated to prayer for vocations, I urge all the faithful to   
   assume their responsibility for the care and discernment of vocations. When the   
   Apostles sought someone to take the place of Judas Iscariot, St. Peter brought   
   together one hundred and twenty of the brethren; and in order to chose seven   
   deacons, a group of disciples was gathered. St. Paul gave Titus specific   
   criteria for the selection of presbyters. Still today, the Christian community   
   is always present in the discernment of vocations, in their formation and in   
   their perseverance.   
    Vocations are born within the Church. From the moment a vocation begins to   
   become evident, it is necessary to have an adequate 'sense' of the Church. No   
   one is called exclusively for a particular region, or for a group or for an   
   ecclesial movement, but rather for the Church and for the world. 'A sure sign   
   of   
   the authenticity of a charism is its ecclesial character, its ability to be   
   integrated harmoniously into the life of God's holy and faithful people for the   
   good of all'. In responding to God's call, young people see their own ecclesial   
   horizon expand; they are able to consider various charisms and to undertake a   
   more objective discernment. In this way, the community becomes the home and the   
   family where vocations are born. Candidates gratefully contemplate this   
   mediation of the community as an essential element for their future. They learn   
   to know and to love their brothers and sisters who pursue paths different from   
   their own; and these bonds strengthen in everyone the communion which they   
   share.   
    Vocations grow within the Church. In the course of formation, candidates for   
   various vocations need to grow in their knowledge of the ecclesial community,   
   overcoming the limited perspectives that we all have at the beginning. To that   
   end, it is helpful to undertake some apostolic experience together with other   
   members of the community, for example: in the company of a good catechist, to   
   communicate the Christian message; together with a religious community, to   
   experience the evangelisation of the peripheries sharing in the life of the   
   cloister, to discover the treasure of contemplation; in contact with   
   missionaries, to know more closely the mission ad gentes; and in the company of   
   diocesan priests, to deepen one's experience of pastoral life in the parish and   
   in the diocese. For those who are already in formation, the ecclesial community   
   always remains the fundamental formational environment, towards which one   
   should   
   feel a sense of gratitude.   
    Vocations are sustained by the Church. After definitive commitment, our   
   vocational journey within the Church does not come to an end, but it continues   
   in our willingness to serve, our perseverance and our ongoing formation. The   
   one   
   who has consecrated his life to the Lord is willing to serve the Church   
   wherever   
   it has need. The mission of Paul and Barnabas is a good example of this   
   readiness to serve the Church. Sent on mission by the Holy Spirit and by the   
   community of Antioch, they returned to that same community and described what   
   the Lord had worked through them. Missionaries are accompanied and sustained by   
   the Christian community, which always remains a vital point of reference, just   
   as a visible homeland offers security to all who are on pilgrimage towards   
   eternal life.   
    Among those involved in pastoral activity, priests are especially important.In   
   their ministry, they fulfil the words of Jesus, Who said: 'I am the gate of the   
   sheepfold ... I am the good shepherd'. The pastoral care of vocations is a   
   fundamental part of their ministry. Priests accompany those who are discerning   
   a   
   vocation, as well as those who have already dedicated their lives to the   
   service   
   of God and of the community.   
    All the faithful are called to appreciate the ecclesial dynamism of vocations,   
   so that communities of faith can become, after the example of the Blessed   
   Virgin   
   Mary, like a mother's womb which welcomes the gift of the Holy Spirit. The   
   motherhood of the Church finds expression in constant prayer for vocations and   
   in the work of educating and accompanying all those who perceive God's call.   
   This motherhood is also expressed through a careful selection of candidates for   
   the ordained ministry and for the consecrated life. Finally, the Church is the   
   mother of vocations in her continual support of those who have dedicated their   
   lives to the service of others.   
    We ask the Lord to grant to all those who are on a vocational journey a deep   
   sense of belonging to the Church; and that the Holy Spirit may strengthen among   
   Pastors, and all of the faithful, a deeper sense of communion, discernment and   
   spiritual fatherhood and motherhood.   
    Father of mercy, Who gave Your Son for our salvation and Who strengthens us   
   always with the gifts of Your Spirit, grant us Christian communities which are   
   alive, fervent and joyous, which are fonts of fraternal life, and which nurture   
   in the young the desire to consecrate themselves to You and to the work of   
   evangelisation. Sustain these communities in their commitment to offer   
   appropriate vocational catechesis and ways of proceeding towards each one's   
   particular consecration. Grant the wisdom needed for vocational discernment, so   
   that in all things the greatness of Your merciful love may shine forth. May   
   Mary, Mother and guide of Jesus, intercede for each Christian community, so   
   that, made fruitful by the Holy Spirit, it may be a source of true vocations   
   for   
   the service of the holy People of God".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Angelus: break down the barriers and obstacles to our conversion   
    Vatican City, 7 December 2015 (VIS) - "'Why do we need to convert? Conversion   
   is for an atheist who becomes a believer, or a sinner who becomes righteous. We   
   do not need it, we are already Christian' we think," said Pope Francis to the   
   faithful and pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, before today's Sunday   
   Angelus prayer. "And this is not true", he added. "If we think in this way, we   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)