* Original message posted in: VATICAN.   
   * Crossposted in: IN_CATHOLIC.   
      
   VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
      
   TWENTIETH YEAR - N. 214   
   ENGLISH   
   WEDNESDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2010   
      
   SUMMARY:   
      
   - Julian of Norwich: Primacy of Divine Love   
   - Pope Makes an Appeal for the Church in China   
   - Cardinal Bertone Addresses OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan   
   - Holy See Statement on Pontifical Academy of Sciences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
   - Audiences   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
   JULIAN OF NORWICH: PRIMACY OF DIVINE LOVE   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2010 (VIS) - During today's general audience Benedict   
   XVI spoke about Julian of Norwich, a great English mystic who lived   
   approximately between 1342 and 1430, "difficult years", the Holy Father   
   remarked, "both for the Church, lacerated by the schism that followed the   
   Pope's return from Avignon to Rome, and for people's everyday lives which   
   were suffering the consequences of a long war between the kingdoms of   
   England and France".   
      
     In 1373, during a period of serious illness, Julian received sixteen   
   revelations on the love of God. "Inspired by divine love, Julian made a   
   radical choice. Like an ancient anchoress, she chose to live in a cell   
   located near the church of St. Julian in the city of Norwich".   
      
     "Anchoresses, or 'recluses', dedicated themselves to prayer, meditation   
   and study within their cells. In this way they came to acquire a very   
   delicate human and religious sensibility which led to their being venerated   
   by the people; and men and women of all ages and conditions, in need of   
   counsel and comfort, devotedly sought them out".   
      
     Benedict XVI went on: "Women and men who chose to withdraw and live in the   
   company of God acquire, precisely because of this choice, a great sense of   
   compassion for the suffering and weakness of others. Friends of God, they   
   enjoy a wisdom which the world they have left does not possess, and they   
   willingly share this with those who knock at their door. Thus I think with   
   admiration and gratitude of the monasteries of cloistered women and men   
   which, today more than ever, are oases of peace and hope, a precious   
   treasure for the entire Church, especially inasmuch as they recall the   
   primacy of God and the importance that intense and constant prayer has for   
   the journey of faith".   
      
     Julian's book "Revelations of Divine Love", contains "an optimistic   
   message based on the certainty that we are loved by God and protected by His   
   Providence". She "compares divine love with maternal love. This is one of   
   the most characteristic messages of her mystical theology. The tenderness,   
   solicitude and sweetness of God's goodness towards us are so great that to   
   us, pilgrims on the earth, they seem as the love of a mother for her   
   children".   
      
     "Julian of Norwich understood the central message of spiritual life: that   
   God is love. Only when we open ourselves totally to this love, only when we   
   allow it to become the one guide to our existence, does everything become   
   transfigured and do we find true peace and joy which we can pass on to   
   others".   
      
     "The Catechism of the Catholic Church", the Holy Father explained,   
   "contains words of Julian of Norwich, expounding the point of view of the   
   Catholic faith on a subject that never ceases to arouse the concern of   
   believers. If God is supremely good and wise, why does evil exist, why do   
   the innocent suffer? ... Yet in the mysterious designs of Providence, even   
   from evil God can draw a greater good. As Julian of Norwich wrote: 'I was   
   taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly keep me in the faith,   
   and that at the same time I should ... earnestly believe that all manner of   
   thing shall be well'".   
      
     "God's promises are always greater that our expectations. If we commend   
   the purest and deepest desires of our heart to God and to His immense love,   
   we will never be disappointed, and 'all manner of thing shall be well'. This   
   is the final message", the Pope concluded, "which Julian of Norwich   
   transmits to us and which I too propose to you today".   
   AG/                                                                     VIS   
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   POPE MAKES AN APPEAL FOR THE CHURCH IN CHINA   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2   
   010 (VIS) - Following his catechesis in today's general   
   audience, Benedict XVI made some remarks concerning the situation of the   
   Church in China.   
      
     "To your prayers", he told the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall, "and   
   to those of Catholics all over the world, I entrust the Church in China   
   which, as you know, is experiencing particularly difficult moments. Let us   
   ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, to support all Chinese   
   bishops, who are so dear to me, that they may bear courageous witness to   
   their faith, placing all their hope in the Saviour Whom we await. Let us   
   also entrust to the Virgin all the Catholics of that beloved country so   
   that, through her intercession, they may live a truly Christian existence in   
   communion with the universal Church, thus also contributing to the harmony   
   and common good of their noble people".   
   AG/                                                                     VIS   
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   CARDINAL BERTONE ADDRESSES OSCE SUMMIT IN KAZAKHSTAN   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Made public today was the address delivered   
   by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. before the summit   
   meeting of heads of State and government of the fifty-six members of the   
   Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), being held in   
   Astana, Kazakhstan, on 1 and 2 December.   
      
     Cardinal Bertone affirmed that the Holy See "does not cease to reiterate   
   that the aim of States should be to protect and respect that human dignity   
   which unites the entire human family. This unity is rooted in four   
   fundamental principles: the centrality of the human person, of solidarity,   
   of subsidiarity and of the common good. These principles harmonise well with   
   the overall concept of security, which is the foundation of our   
   organisation, and are a constant reminder which the political community must   
   bear in mind".   
      
     "The CSCE and the OSCE have always had the promotion and protection of   
   human rights in their respective agendas", said Cardinal Bertone. "These   
   fundamental freedoms include the right to religious freedom. ...   
   Developments of recent years and the progress made in drafting the various   
   texts adopted by the OSCE show, with increasingly clarity, that religious   
   freedom can exist in different social systems".   
      
     "Closely related to the denial of religious freedom is   
   religiously-motivated intolerance and discrimination, especially against   
   Christians. It is well documented that Christians are the most discriminated   
   and persecuted religious group. Over 200 million of them, belonging to   
   different denominations, live in difficult conditions because of legal and   
   cultural structures".   
      
     Referring then to the subject of human trafficking, the cardinal secretary   
   of State pointed out that "the Holy See has always been aware of the   
   seriousness of this crime, a modern form of slavery. ... To prevent   
   trafficking in human beings today, use is often made of stricter immigration   
   policies, increased border controls and combating organised crime. However   
   as long as its victims, once repatriated, find themselves in the same   
   conditions from which they sought to escape, the traffic will not be easy to   
   stop. Thus, anti-trafficking initiatives must also aim to develop and offer   
   effective opportunities to break the cycle of poverty-abuse-exploitation".   
      
     Finally the cardinal underlined the ongoing validity of the "ten   
   principles" of the Helsinki Conference, stressing that "the commitments   
   agreed by the OSCE are strong and noble. They are supported by a robust   
   mandate and by the principle of consent. The Holy See reaffirms these   
   commitments and encourages the organisation to stand firm on them".   
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   HOLY SEE STATEMENT ON PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Given below is the English-language text of   
   a declaration made by Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi   
   S.J. in response to questions about the final declaration of a study week   
   sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on the subje   
   ct: "Transgenic   
   Plants for Food Security in the Context of Development":   
      
     "The study week took place at the headquarters of the Pontifical Academy   
   of Sciences from 15 to 19 May 2009, with the participation of forty   
   scholars, seven of whom are Pontifical Academicians (out of a total of   
   eighty), including the late president, Professor Nicola Cabibbo. The other   
   participants were outside experts.   
      
     "The final statement, now published by Elsevier in the Acts of the Study   
   Week, was signed by the participants and thus has the value of their   
   academic authority.   
      
     "However, the statement must not be considered as a statement of the   
   Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which has eighty members, because the   
   academy, as such, has never been consulted about it nor is such a   
   consultation planned.   
      
     "Furthermore, the statement cannot be considered as an official position   
   of the Holy See or of the Magisterium of the Church on the topic".   
   OP/                                                                     VIS   
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   OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father:   
      
    - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral carte of the archdiocese of   
   Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, presented by Archbishop Floribert   
   Songasonga Mwitwa, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon   
   Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop Jean-Pierre Tafunga Mbayo   
   S.D.B.   
      
    - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of   
   Trenton, U.S.A., presented by Bishop John Mortimer Smith, upon having   
   reached the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop David M.   
   O'Connell C.M.   
      
    - Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese   
   of Saint Louis, U.S.A., presented by Bishop Robert J. Hermann, upon having   
   reached the age limit.   
      
    - Appointed Msgr. Edward M. Rice of the clergy of the archdiocese of Saint   
   Louis, U.S.A., director of vocations to the priesthood, as auxiliary of the   
   same archdiocese (area 15,451, population 2,211,707, Catholics 572,000,   
   priests 716, permanent deacons 262, religious 1,983). The bishop-elect was   
   born in Saint Louis in 1960 and ordained a priest in 1987.   
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   AUDIENCES   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience   
   Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, president of Equatorial Guinea.   
   AP/                                                                     VIS   
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    - Origin: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede (1:396/3)    
   --- timEd/2 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS-Meridian, MS-bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)