employ any legal action and financial means necessary for the valid and correct   
   fulfillment of the task entrusted to it.   
    5. For this purpose the Commission shall grant to the Congregations of the   
   Roman Curia to which the public legal persons concerned belong, the necessary   
   permission, binding for the concession of canonical authorisations for the   
   renouncement or reorganisation of assets and/or real estate related to the   
   healthcare sector. The Commission shall have powers of access to documents and   
   resources to permit it to carry out its activities. The Commission may assign   
   tasks to companies, professionals and consultants.   
    6. The Commission is entrusted with:   
    a. the general study of the sustainability of the healthcare system by public   
   legal persons of the Church (prerequisites, characteristics, constraints,   
   working/management methods, current objectives of the healthcare system of   
   individual legal persons in keeping with their nature, mission and charism) so   
   as to define a possible long-term operative strategy also in relation to the   
   principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church;   
    b. the proposal for the resolution of crisis situations in accordance with the   
   results of the more general study, activating all the resources possible in   
   collaboration with the Heads of the public legal entities concerned;   
    c. the study and proposal of new operative models for public legal persons   
   working in the healthcare sector, capable of implementing the founding charism   
   in the current context.   
    The provisions herein are to be considered stable and valid from the moment of   
   their publication in 'L'Osservatore Romano'. Vatican City, 12 December 2015".   
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Identity and mission of the religious brother in the Church   
    Vatican City, 14 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press   
   Office the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the   
   Societies   
   of Apostolic Life presented the document "Identity and mission of the religious   
   brother in the Church" and the concluding activities of the Year of Consecrated   
   Life. The speakers were Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the dicastery,   
   and Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, O.F.M., secretary of the same   
   congregation.   
    "The document emphasises the great wealth and relevance of the vocation of   
   brothers and its content is very valid and innovative in the light of Vatican   
   Council II", explained Cardinal Braz de Aviz. "The vocation of the religious   
   brother is, first of all, a Christian vocation ... and the feature of the   
   person   
   of Christ that the religious brother specially underlines in his way of life is   
   that of fraternity. The religious brother reflects the face of Christ the   
   Brother: simple, good, near to the people, welcoming, generous, and serving".   
    The identity and mission of the religious brother, as the text indicates, is   
   summarised in the concept of fraternity understood as the gift that the   
   religious brother receives from the Triune God, a communion of persons; a gift   
   that he shares with his brethren in fraternal life in the community and a gift   
   he offers the world for the construction of a world of children of God and   
   brothers.   
    The cardinal went on to illustrate the theme of fraternity as a gift that the   
   religious brother receives from the Triune God. "The religious brother becomes   
   thus because the Spirit lets him know God, Who in Jesus shows Himself to be a   
   Father full of love, tenderness and mercy. Together with Jesus, he feels like a   
   beloved son and with Him he offers himself so as to be in his life entirely for   
   the Father and entirely for all His sons and daughters in this world. A   
   characteristic of the identity of the religious brother is the need for   
   fraternity as a confession of the Trinity: a fraternity open to all, especially   
   the least, the humble, the oppressed, the unloved" - those who "are less likely   
   to experience the good news of God's love in their lives".   
    This fraternity is the gift that the religious brother shares with his   
   brethren   
   in community life. "Fraternal life in the community means harmonious relations   
   between brethren, mutual knowledge, acceptance and love, dialogue, mutual   
   respect, mutual support, the sharing of talents, the abnegation of the self,   
   ecclesial mission, and openness to the needs of the Church and the world,   
   especially those most in need. All this is beautiful, but it is not obtained   
   spontaneously.. ... The community is sustained by the gift of fraternity that   
   religious brothers receive. The brother needs to support for these fraternal   
   relations by developing the spiritual, mystical and theological dimension".   
    Fraternity is, finally, a gift that the religious brother offers to the world   
   and which is transformed into mission. Therefore, "brothers carry out their   
   mission of contributing to the construction of the Kingdom of fraternity   
   through   
   ceaseless prayer, the witness of fraternal life and community dedication to the   
   service of the Church and the world. ... The fraternity of religious brothers   
   is   
   not self-referential or closed up in itself; it is ... a fraternity in perfect   
   harmony ... with an outbound Church, that reaches out to the peripheries of   
   this   
   world; with a Church called upon to build bridges, open to contemporary man of   
   every race, culture or creed".   
    Fraternal love is made manifest in the Church and in the life of religious   
   brothers in numerous services: "educating, healing the sick, helping the   
   imprisoned, welcoming refugees, catechesis, manual work, and so on. Many of   
   these services represent true ministries. In this way", the prefect concluded,   
   "the religious brother seeks and points to God in the secular realities of   
   culture, science, human health, the workplace, and the care of the weak and   
   disadvantaged. Similarly, he seeks and points to the human being, man and   
   woman,   
   whole and entire, body, mind and spirit, inasmuch as whatever affects the human   
   person is part of God's saving plan".   
    Archbishop Rodriguez Carballo expressed his gratitude to Pope emeritus   
   Benedict   
   XVI, who in 2008 was the first to encourage the preparation of the document   
   presented today, and to Pope Francis who read the draft while he was the   
   cardinal archbishop of Buenos Aires and who as Pope has supported its revision,   
   completion and publication.   
    The conference concluded with an announcement of the activities marking the   
   closure of the Year of Consecrated Life. From 28 January to 2 February 2016 an   
   international meeting of all types of consecrated life will take place in Rome,   
   entitled "Consecrated life and communion", which is expected to be attended by   
   6,000 consecrated men and women from all over the world, and will conclude with   
   Holy Mass celebrated by the Holy Father in St. Peter's Basilica.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The Holy Father attends the twelfth meeting of the Council of Cardinals   
    Vatican City, 12 December 2015 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press   
   Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave a briefing this morning on the   
   twelfth   
   meeting of the Council of Cardinals, held from 10 to 12 December.   
    "The Council of Cardinals held its twelfth meeting during the days 10-12   
   December. It began its work on the morning of Thursday 10, after the Mass   
   concelebrated with the Holy Father at Santa Marta, and finished during the   
   morning of Saturday 12 December. All the members of the Council and the Holy   
   Father attended all the meetings.   
    During the first meeting, the Council heard Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect   
   of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, and furthered its reflection on   
   this important Congregation, its activities, its competences and its role also   
   in the field of ecumenical relations.   
    In its reflections, the Council emphasised the importance of the Holy Father's   
   discourse of 17 October, on the occasion of the Commemoration of the 50th   
   anniversary of the Institution of the Synod of Bishops. In this discourse the   
   Pope extensively developed the theme of 'synodality' but also recalled the   
   importance of proceeding with a healthy decentralisation. The Council remarked   
   on the need to further explore the meaning of this discourse and its importance   
   in the work of reforming the Curia, and agreed to dedicate a specific session   
   to   
   this during the next Meeting in February 2016".   
    "The Council then resumed its work on the two new dicasteries, mentioned   
   several times previously", continued Fr. Lombardi. "The dicastery dedicated to   
   the 'Laity, Family and Life', whose institution was announced by the Pope   
   during   
   the Synod (22 October), was the subject of a proposal formulated by the Council   
   and presented to the Pope, which will now provide the apposite path for   
   reaching   
   the final decisions of the Holy Father. Even the dicastery concerned with   
   "Justice, peace and migrations" was the subject of further consideration, with   
   a   
   view to arriving at conclusive proposals to be presented to the Holy Father".   
    On Friday, the Council heard two reports regarding reform of the Economy from   
   Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the Council for the Economy, and from   
   Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy, who referred   
   to   
   the activity of and results achieved by the two institutions. "Cardinal Marx   
   also reported on the choice of the external auditor for the consolidated   
   financial statements - the company PricewaterhouseCooper "PwC", recently made   
   public. Cardinal Pell spoke about the constitution of a working group to   
   consider the future of the economy of the Holy City and Vatican City State, on   
   the progress and overall control of income and spending. The group, composed of   
   representative from the Secretariat for the Economy, the Secretariat of State,   
   the Governorate, APSA, Propaganda Fide, the Secretariat for Communication and   
   the IOR, has already commenced work with a first meeting".   
    The Council of Cardinals acknowledged the positive nature and importance of   
   the   
   work carried out by the Council for the Economy and the Secretariat, and   
   encouraged its further progress. "Cardinal Sean O'Malley reported on the work   
   of   
   the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and its specific working   
   groups, for instance on the development of education and formation programmes,   
   assistance to Episcopal Conferences for the drafting of guidelines at local   
   level, and so on", concluded Fr. Lombardi.   
    On Saturday morning the Council established the calendar for forthcoming   
   meetings and a provisional agenda for the meeting to take place in February   
   next   
   year. The meetings in 2016 will take place on the following dates: 8-9   
   February,   
   11-12-13 April, 6-7-8 June, 12-13-14 September and 12-13-14 December.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audiences   
    Vatican City, 14 December 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in   
   audience:   
    - Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio in Mexico;   
    - Managing Board of the "Asociacion de Magistrados y Funcionarios del   
   Ministerio publico de la Defensa de la Republica Argentina".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Other Pontifical Acts   
    Vatican City, 14 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed   
   Archbishop   
   Vito Rallo as apostolic nuncio in Morocco.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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   www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va   
      
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   Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting   
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   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)