VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXVI - # 14   
   DATE 22-01-2016   
      
   Summary:   
   - Audience with the president of the Commonwealth of Dominica: concern for the   
   environment and climate change   
   - To the Tribunal of the Roman Rota: adequate preparation for marriage, "a new   
   catechumenate   
   - Communication and mercy: the Holy Father's Message for the fiftieth World Day   
   of Social Communications   
   - Presentation of the Pope's Message for the World Day of Social Communications   
   - Decrees for the Causes of Saints   
   - Audiences   
   - Note   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Audience with the president of the Commonwealth of Dominica: concern for the   
   environment and climate change   
    Vatican City, 22 January 2016 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Apostolic   
   Palace, the Holy Father Francis received in audience the President of the   
   Commonwealth of Dominica, Charles Angelo Savarin, who subsequently met with   
   Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Paul   
   Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.   
    During the cordial discussions, reference was made to existing good bilateral   
   relations, expressing the opportunity for a fruitful joint collaboration   
   between   
   the State and the Catholic Church, who offers a significant contribution to the   
   promotion of the dignity of the person, as well as in the sectors of the   
   education of the young and assistance to those most in need.   
    Finally, attention turned to various themes of regional and global relevance,   
   with particular reference to the protection of the environment and the theme of   
   climate change and natural disasters, which cause grave damages and claim many   
   victims among the Island's population.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    To the Tribunal of the Roman Rota: adequate preparation for marriage, "a new   
   catechumenate   
    Vatican City, 22 January 2016 (VIS) - This morning in the Clementine Hall the   
   Holy Father received in audience the members of the Apostolic Tribunal of the   
   Roman Rota for the inauguration of the Judicial Year, and reiterated to them   
   that their ministry has always been of great help to the Successor of Peter,   
   "so   
   that the Church, inseparably linked to the family, continues to proclaim the   
   plan of God the Creator and the Redeemer on the sacredness and beauty of the   
   family institution. A mission that is always current, but of special relevance   
   in our time".   
    Along with the definition of the Roman Rota as the Tribunal of the Family, the   
   Holy Father emphasised another of its prerogatives as "the Tribunal of the   
   truth   
   of the sacred bond. And these two aspects are complementary. Indeed the Church   
   can show the merciful and indefectible love of God for families, espeically   
   those wounded by sin and by the trials of life, and at the same time, proclaim   
   the essential truth of marriage according to God's plan. This service is   
   entrusted principally to the Pope and the bishops".   
    He went on toe refer to the synodal path on the theme of the family that   
   during   
   the last two years has made possible a "profound and wise discernment, thanks   
   to   
   which the Church, among other things, has indicated to the world that there can   
   be no confusion between the family beloved by God and any other type of union",   
   and highlighted that the activity of the Rota, "both in judging and in   
   contributing to permanent formation, assists and promotes the opus veritatis.   
   When the Church, by means of your service, proposes to declare the truth on   
   marriage in a concrete case, for the good of the faithful, she keeps in mind at   
   the same time those who, by their free choice or through unhappy circumstances   
   live in a state of objective error, continue to receive Christ's merciful love,   
   and therefore that of the Church herself".   
    "The family and the Church, at different levels, contribute to accompanying   
   the   
   human being up to the end of his or her existence. And they do so certainly   
   with   
   the teachings that they transmit, but also with their very nature as   
   communities   
   of love and life. Indeed, if the family can be described as a 'domestic   
   church',   
   to the Church we might justly apply the title of the family of God. ...   
   Precisely   
   because she is a mother and a teacher, the Church knows that among Christians   
   some have a strong faith, formed by charity, strengthened by good catechesis   
   and   
   nurtured in prayer and sacramental life, whereas others have a weak and   
   neglected faith, unformed, uneducated or forgotten".   
    "It should be clearly affirmed that the quality of faith is not an essential   
   condition for matrimonial consent, which according to the longstanding   
   doctrine,   
   can be undermined only at a natural level. Indeed, the habitus fidei is infused   
   in the moment of Baptism and continues to flow mysteriously into the soul, even   
   when the faith is not developed or psychologically appears to be absent. It is   
   not unusual for newly-weds, drawn to marriage by the instinctus naturae, at the   
   moment of celebration have a limited awareness of the fullness of God's plan,   
   and only later, in family life, discover all that God the Creator and Redeemer   
   has established for them. The lack of formation in faith and also an error   
   regarding the unity, indissolubility and sacramental dignity of marriage may   
   vitiate matrimonial consent only if they determine will. It is precisely for   
   this reason that errors regarding the sacramental nature of marriage must be   
   evaluated very carefully".   
    "The Church, therefore, with a renewed sense of responsibility, continues to   
   propose marriage in its essential elements - offspring, the good of spouses,   
   unity, indissolubility, sacramentality - not as an ideal for the few, despite   
   modern models centred on the ephemeral and transitory, but as a reality that,   
   in   
   Christ's grace, can be lived by all baptised faithful. And therefore this gives   
   greater importance to the pastoral urgency that involves all structures of the   
   Church in convergence towards a common intention, an adequate preparation for   
   marriage, as a sort of new catechumenate, greatly hoped for by some Synod   
   Fathers".   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Communication and mercy: the Holy Father's Message for the fiftieth World Day   
   of Social Communications   
    Vatican City, 22 January 2016 (VIS) - "Communication and mercy" is the title   
   of   
   Pope Francis' Message for the fiftieth World Day of Social Communications, to   
   be   
   held on 8 May. The Message is symbolically signed by the Holy Father on Sunday   
   24 January 2016, feast of St. Francis of Sales, patron of journalists. The   
   following is the full text of the Message:   
    "Dear Brothers and Sisters,   
    The Holy Year of Mercy invites all of us to reflect on the relationship   
   between   
   communication and mercy. The Church, in union with Christ, the living   
   incarnation of the Father of Mercies, is called to practise mercy as the   
   distinctive trait of all that she is and does. What we say and how we say it,   
   our every word and gesture, ought to express God's compassion, tenderness and   
   forgiveness for all. Love, by its nature, is communication; it leads to   
   openness   
   and sharing. If our hearts and actions are inspired by charity, by divine love,   
   then our communication will be touched by God's own power.   
    As sons and daughters of God, we are called to communicate with everyone,   
   without exception. In a particular way, the Church's words and actions are all   
   meant to convey mercy, to touch people's hearts and to sustain them on their   
   journey to that fullness of life which Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to   
   bring to all. This means that we ourselves must be willing to accept the warmth   
   of Mother Church and to share that warmth with others, so that Jesus may be   
   known and loved. That warmth is what gives substance to the word of faith; by   
   our preaching and witness, it ignites the 'spark' which gives them life.   
    Communication has the power to build bridges, to enable encounter and   
   inclusion, and thus to enrich society. How beautiful it is when people select   
   their words and actions with care, in the effort to avoid misunderstandings, to   
   heal wounded memories and to build peace and harmony. Words can build bridges   
   between individuals and within families, social groups and peoples. This is   
   possible both in the material world and the digital world. Our words and   
   actions   
   should be such as to help us all escape the vicious circles of condemnation and   
   vengeance which continue to ensnare individuals and nations, encouraging   
   expressions of hatred. The words of Christians ought to be a constant   
   encouragement to communion and, even in those cases where they must firmly   
   condemn evil, they should never try to rupture relationships and communication.   
    For this reason, I would like to invite all people of good will to rediscover   
   the power of mercy to heal wounded relationships and to restore peace and   
   harmony to families and communities. All of us know how many ways ancient   
   wounds   
   and lingering resentments can entrap individuals and stand in the way of   
   communication and reconciliation. The same holds true for relationships between   
   peoples. In every case, mercy is able to create a new kind of speech and   
   dialogue. Shakespeare put it eloquently when he said: 'The quality of mercy is   
   not strained. It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place   
   beneath.   
   It is twice blessed: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes' (The   
   Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene I).   
    Our political and diplomatic language would do well to be inspired by mercy,   
   which never loses hope. I ask those with institutional and political   
   responsibility, and those charged with forming public opinion, to remain   
   especially attentive to the way they speak of those who think or act   
   differently   
   or those who may have made mistakes. It is easy to yield to the temptation to   
   exploit such situations to stoke the flames of mistrust, fear and hatred.   
   Instead, courage is needed to guide people towards processes of reconciliation.   
   It is precisely such positive and creative boldness which offers real solutions   
   to ancient conflicts and the opportunity to build lasting peace. 'Blessed are   
   the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God'.   
    How I wish that our own way of communicating, as well as our service as   
   pastors   
   of the Church, may never suggest a prideful and triumphant superiority over an   
   enemy, or demean those whom the world considers lost and easily discarded.   
   Mercy   
   can help mitigate life's troubles and offer warmth to those who have known only   
   the coldness of judgement. May our way of communicating help to overcome the   
   mindset that neatly separates sinners from the righteous. We can and we must   
   judge situations of sin - such as violence, corruption and exploitation - but   
   we   
   may not judge individuals, since only God can see into the depths of their   
   hearts. It is our task to admonish those who err and to denounce the evil and   
   injustice of certain ways of acting, for the sake of setting victims free and   
   raising up those who have fallen. The Gospel of John tells us that 'the truth   
   will make you free'. The truth is ultimately Christ himself, whose gentle mercy   
   is the yardstick for measuring the way we proclaim the truth and condemn   
   injustice. Our primary task is to uphold the truth with love. Only words spoken   
   with love and accompanied by meekness and mercy can touch our sinful hearts.   
   Harsh and moralistic words and actions risk further alienating those whom we   
   wish to lead to conversion and freedom, reinforcing their sense of rejection   
   and   
   defensiveness.   
    Some feel that a vision of society rooted in mercy is hopelessly idealistic or   
   excessively indulgent. But let us try and recall our first experience of   
   relationships, within our families. Our parents loved us and valued us for who   
   we are more than for our abilities and achievements. Parents naturally want the   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)