VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXVI - # 37   
   DATE 23-02-2016   
      
   Summary:   
   - Heydar Aliyev Foundation funds restoration of catacombs of Sts. Marcellinus   
   and Peter   
   - Theological and pastoral perspectives, a decade after "Deus caritas est"   
   - In memoriam   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Heydar Aliyev Foundation funds restoration of catacombs of Sts. Marcellinus   
   and   
   Peter   
    Vatican City, 23 February 2016 (VIS) - This morning Cardinal Gianfranco   
   Ravasi,   
   president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Commission   
   for Sacred Archaeology, along with Mehriban Aliyeva, president of the Heydar   
   Aliyev Foundation (HAF), Azerbaijan, presented the results of the restoration   
   of   
   the Roman catacombs of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter "ad duas lauros", entirely   
   funded by the HAF.   
    On the basis of an agreement signed in 2012, the Foundation presided over by   
   Aliyev has funded the restoration of the paintings of the cubicle of Susanna   
   and   
   the fossor, the niche of Daniel, the arcosolium of Orpheus, the cubicle of Our   
   Lady with two Magi, and the cubicle of the praying matron. The most advanced   
   conservation techniques, especially laser-based cleaning, have enabled the   
   removal of a tenacious black patina that had provided resistant to all   
   traditional cleaning methods. The last procedure, recently completed, involved   
   the cubicle of the "praying matron", in an advanced state of deterioration. The   
   newly-revealed frescoes consist of a central medallion with the Good Shepherd   
   surrounded by the Biblical episodes of Jonah, Daniel among the lions and Noah   
   in   
   the Ark. In the corners there are praying male figures and birds. On the walls   
   there is a rich decorative pattern with floral, plant-based and fantasy   
   elements. On the wall of the entrance there is the notable figure of a praying   
   woman, which although only just recognisable before restoration, now makes a   
   strong visual impact. The figure, framed by two slender trees, may represent   
   the   
   deceased entombed in the cubicle.   
    During the presentation, which took place at the Pontifical Council for   
   Culture, Cardinal Ravasi and the president of the HAF announced that their   
   collaboration will continue and its next objective will be the restoration of   
   the monumental complex of St. Sebastian Outside-the-Walls on the Via Appia   
   Antica, currently only partially open to the public. The agreement relates to   
   an   
   extraordinary collection of sarcophagi, some situation in the perimeter of the   
   Basilica of St. Sebastian (Museum of Sculptures and Epigraphic Museum), others   
   "in situ" in their mausoleums. The Pontifical Commission for Religious Art has   
   proposed to the HAF a conservation programme for the restoration of around   
   fifteen sarcophagi. Aliyeva expressed her appreciation of the proposal on   
   behalf   
   of the Foundation, and a new agreement will be signed for the financing of the   
   restoration works to render the complex accessible to the public.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Theological and pastoral perspectives, a decade after "Deus caritas est"   
    Vatican City, 23 February 2016 (VIS) - An international conference entitled   
   "Love will never end. Prospects ten years on from the Encyclical Deus caritas   
   est" will be held on Thursday 25 February in the Vatican's New Synod Hall.   
   Organised by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", the conference forms part of   
   the   
   programme of events for the Jubilee of Mercy and has the aim of examining in   
   depth the theological and pastoral implications of Pope Benedict XVI's first   
   Encyclical for today's world, especially in relation to the activity of those   
   who work in the Church's charitable service. The event will be attended by,   
   among others, representatives of the episcopal conferences and Catholic   
   charitable organisations from all over the world.   
    The conference will begin with greetings from Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso,   
   secretary of the "Cor Unum", followed by an intervention from Cardinal Gerhard   
   Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,   
   entitled "The Encyclical Deus caritas est: a theological reading". The   
   subsequent speakers will be Michel Thio, president of the International   
   Confederation of St. Vincent de Paul, Marina Almeida Costa, director of Caritas   
   Cabo Verde, and Roy Moussali, executive director of the Syrian Society for   
   Social Development. In the afternoon the theme of the meaning of love for the   
   three monotheistic religions will be considered by Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen,   
   director of the Department of Religious Affairs of the American Jewish   
   Committee   
   of Jerusalem, Professor Saeed Ahmed Khan, lecturer at the Wayne State   
   University   
   of Detroit, U.S.A., and the philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj, director of the   
   Institut Philanthropos of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.   
    The second day will begin with a presentation from Cardinal Luis Antonio G.   
   Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines and president of Caritas   
   Internationalis, entitled "The importance of Deus caritas est for the   
   charitable   
   service of the Church today", followed by interventions from Alejandro Marius,   
   president of the Asociacion Civil Trabajo y Persona, Venezuela, and Eduardo M.   
   Almeida, representative in Paraguay of the Inter-American Bank. At midday the   
   participants will be received in audience by Pope Francis in the Apostolic   
   Palace. The afternoon session will open with contributions from Rev. Professor   
   Paolo Asolan, lecturer at the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, and   
   Professor   
   Rainer Gehrig, lecturer at the Catholic University of Murcia, Spain.   
    The morning sessions will be moderated by Martina Pastorelli, president of   
   Catholic Voices Italia, and the afternoon sessions by Professor Luca Tuninetti,   
   lecturer at the Pontifical Urbanian University, Rome.   
    Holy Mass will be celebrated on 25 and 26 February at 6 p.m. in the Church of   
   Santa Maria della Piet  in Camposanto dei Teutonici (Our Lady of Mercy in the   
   German Cemetery). On the first day Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president   
   emeritus of "Cor Unum"; will preside, and on the second, Cardinal Robert Sarah,   
   prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the   
   Sacraments.   
    The conference will be fully broadcast by web streaming on the Pontifical   
   Council "Cor Unum" website, at   
   www.corunumjubilaeum.va .   
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    In memoriam   
    Vatican City, 23 February 2016 (VIS) - The following prelates have died in   
   recent weeks:   
    - Bishop Ian Murray, emeritus of Argyll and The Isles, Scotland, United   
   Kingdom, on 22 January at the age of 83.   
    - Bishop Emile Jean Marie Henri Joseph Destombes, M.E.P., apostolic vicar   
   emeritus of Phnom-Penh, Cambodia, on 28 January at the age of 80.   
    - Bishop John Baptist Kakubi, emeritus of Mbarara, Uganda, on 11 February at   
   the age of 86.   
    - Bishop Barry Philip Jones of Christchurch, New Zealand, on 13 February at   
   the   
   age of 74.   
    - Archbishop Carlos Quintero Arce, emeritus of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, on   
   15 February at the age of 96.   
    - Bishop Gregorio Garavito Jimenez, S.M.M., emeritus of Villavicencio,   
   Colombia, on 16 February at the age of 96.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
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    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)