Subject: VISnews 110223
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 36
ENGLISH
WEDNESDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2011
SUMMARY:
- Robert Bellarmine, a Valid Authority for Ecclesiology
- Pope Recalls Victims of New Zealand Earthquake
- Holy Father to Visit Rome's "Fosse Ardeatine"
- Other Pontifical Acts
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ROBERT BELLARMINE, A VALID AUTHORITY FOR ECCLESIOLOGY
VATICAN CITY, 23 FEB 2011 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis
during this morning's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall in the
presence of 7,500 people, to St. Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), an
outstanding figure of a troubled age in which "a serious political and
religious crisis provoked a split between entire nations and the Holy See".
St. Robert Bellarmine, following an excellent cultural and humanistic
education, entered the Society of Jesus in 1560. He studied in Rome, Padua
and Leuven and was later made cardinal and archbishop of Capua, Italy. He
held high office in the service of the Pope as a member of several
congregations and head of Holy See diplomatic missions to Venice and
England. During his final years he wrote a number of books on spirituality
in which he condensed the fruits of his annual spiritual exercises. He was
beatified and canonised by Pope Pius XI, who also declared him a Doctor of
the Church.
"His 'Controversial Works' or 'Disputationes' are still a valid point of
reference for Catholic ecclesiology", said the Holy Father. "They emphasise
the institutional aspect of the Church, in response to the errors then
circulating on that topic. Yet Bellarmine also threw light on invisible
aspects of the Church as Mystical Body, which he explained using the analogy
of the body and soul, in order to describe the relationship between the
interior richness of the Church and her visible exterior features.
"In this monumental work, which seeks to categorise the various
theological controversies of the age, he avoids polemical and aggressive
tones towards the ideas of the Reformation but, using the arguments of
reason and of Church Tradition, clearly and effectively illustrates Catholic
doctrine.
"Nonetheless", the Pope added, "his true heritage lies in the way in which
he conceived his work. His burden of office did not, in fact, prevent him
from striving daily after sanctity through faithfulness to the requirements
of his condition as religious, priest and bishop. ... His preaching and
catechesis reveal that same stamp of essentiality which he learned from his
Jesuit education, being entirely focused on concentrating the power of the
soul on the Lord Jesus, intensely known, loved and imitated".
In another of his books, "De gemitu columbae" in which the Church is
represented as a dove, Robert Bellarmine "forcefully calls clergy and
faithful to a personal and concrete reform of their lives, in accordance
with the teachings of Scripture and the saints. ... With great clarity and
the example of his own life, he clearly teaches that there can be no true
reform of the Church unless this is first preceded by personal reform and
conversion of heart on our part".
"If you are wise, then understand that you were created for the glory of
God and for your eternal salvation", said the Pope quoting from one of the
saint's works. "Favourable or adverse circumstances, wealth and poverty,
health and sickness, honour and offence, life and death, the wise must
neither seek these things, nor seek to avoid them per se. They are good and
desirable only if they contribute to the glory of God and to your eternal
happiness, they are bad and to be avoided if they hinder this".
The Pope concluded: "These words have not gone out of fashion, but should
be meditated upon at length in order to guide our journey on this earth.
They remind us that the goal of our life is the Lord. ... They remind us of
the importance of trusting in God, of living a life faithful to the Gospel,
and of accepting all the circumstances and all actions of our lives,
illuminating them with faith and prayer".
Before today's audience, the Holy Father blessed a statue of St. Maron,
founder of the Maronite Church which is particularly widespread in Lebanon
and Syria. The 4.5-metre high Carrara-marble statue, which has been placed
in the last empty niche on the outside wall of the Vatican Basilica, is the
work of Spanish sculptor Marco Augusto Duenas.
Among those present at the ceremony were His Beatitude Cardinal Nasrallah
Pierre Sfeir, patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites; Michel Sleiman,
president of the Republic of Lebanon, and various religious and civil
authorities.
AG/ VIS
20110223 (710)
POPE RECALLS VICTIMS OF NEW ZEALAND EARTHQUAKE
VATICAN CITY, 23 FEB 2011 (VIS) - During today's general audience, the Pope
recalled how "a new and powerful earthquake, even more devastating than the
one last September, has struck the city of Christchurch, in New Zealand,
causing considerable loss of life and the disappearance of many people, to
say nothing of the damage to buildings.
"At this time", the Holy Father added, "my thoughts turn especially to the
people there who are being severely tested by this tragedy. Let us ask God
to relieve their suffering and to support all who are involved in the rescue
operations. I also ask you to join me in praying for all who have lost their
lives".
AG/ VIS
20110223 (130)
HOLY FATHER TO VISIT ROME'S "FOSSE ARDEATINE"
VATICAN CITY, 23 FEB 2011 (VIS) - The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household
today released a communique announcing that, at the invitation of National
Association of Italian Families of Martyrs who Fell for the Freedom of the
Homeland (ANFIM), the Holy Father will make a private visit to the monument
at Rome's "Fosse Ardeatine" on Sunday 27 March, the sixty-seventh
anniversary of the massacre there.
The Ardeatine massacre was carried out by German occupying forces in Rome
on 24 March 1944. Three hundred and thirty-five Italian civilians and
military personnel were summarily executed in reprisal for a bomb attack the
previous day against a group of German troops in Rome's Via Rasella.
OCL/ VIS
20110223 (120)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 23 FEB 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father accepted the resignation
from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Brasilia, Brazil,
presented by Bishop Francisco de Paula Victor, upon having reached the age
limit.
RE/ VIS
20110223 (40)
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