Subject: VISnews 110304
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 43
ENGLISH
FRIDAY, 4 MARCH 2011
SUMMARY:
- Benedict XVI receives Iceland President
- Synod Guidelines for the New Evangelization
- Ash Wednesday: Pope to Preside at Mass in Santa Sabina
- Audiences
___________________________________________________________
BENEDICT XVI RECEIVES ICELAND PRESIDENT
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAR 2011 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the
following communique at midday today:
"This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father Benedict XVI
received in audience Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, president of the Republic of
Iceland. The president subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary
of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique
Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"During the cordial discussions special mention was made of the good
relationship that has linked Iceland to the Holy See and which is
symbolically represented in the person of Gudridur Thorbjarnardottir,
pioneer of the Christian faith on the Island, and a sculpture of whom the
Icelandic Head of State has given to the Holy Father in memory of the
pilgrimage to Rome he made shortly after the year 1000, during which she met
with the successor of Saint Peter.
"During the audience, emphasis was given to the high esteem enjoyed by the
small Catholic community in Iceland, alongside the valid contribution it
offers to Icelandic society through its initiatives in educational and
social fields, particularly in the current economic circumstances. Themes of
common interest at national and international level were then considered,
with particular attention to the role of traditional values in the
construction of the Nation and the contribution of Iceland in the promotion
of peace, the peaceful co-existence of its various communities, and in
environmental protection".
OP/ VIS
20110304 (240)
SYNOD GUIDELINES FOR THE NEW EVANGELIZATION
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAR 2011 (VIS) - The Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, Secretary
General of the Synod of Bishops, this morning presented in the Holy See
Press Office the "Lineamenta" (Guidelines) for the XIII General Ordinary
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will be held at the Vatican from 7
to 28 October 2012, on the theme of "The new evangelization for the
transmission of the Christian faith".
The "Guidelines", or first draft on the theme of the Synod, is published
in eight languages: Latin, French, English, Italian, Polish, Portuguese,
Spanish and German, and consists of a prologue, an introduction, three
chapters and a conclusion. The text includes a general questionnaire
regarding the issues under examination. Responses -71- are to be submitted
to the Secretary General of the Synod by 1 November 2011, the Solemnity of
All Saints. The summary of the responses shall constitute the "Instrumentum
laboris" or working document of the Synod.
In the Preface, explains the Archbishop Eterovic, "a distinction is drawn
between evangelization as a regular activity of the Church; the first
approach "ad gentes", to those who do not yet know Jesus Christ, and the new
evangelization which is directed towards those who have moved away from the
Church, those who have been baptized but not sufficiently evangelized".
"In the Introduction it is emphasized that the XIII Synod Assembly takes
place within the context of the renewed ecumenical commitment to
evangelization undertaken by the Church following the Second Vatican
Ecumenical Council".
The first chapter, entitled "Time for a "New Evangelization", is described
as "the birth of the concept of new evangelization and its diffusion
throughout the Pontificates of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI".
This section lists the "six sectors" which the Church has to confront in
order to be "equal to the challenges posed to the Christian faith by today's
social and cultural context". These six sectors are: secularization,
immigration, communication, the economic sector, scientific and
technological research and the political sector.
"Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ" is the title of the second
chapter, which asserts that "the aim of evangelization and more specifically
of the new evangelization is the proclamation of the Gospel and the
transmission of faith. The Gospel is to be understood not as a book or a
doctrine, but rather as a person: Jesus Christ, the definitive Word of God,
who made himself a man".
The third chapter, "Initiation into the Christian experience",
"reinvites", says the Secretary General of the Synod, "reflection on the
tools of the Church for introducing the faith and, in particular, Christian
initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Communion".
Finally, the Conclusion reaffirms that "the new evangelization should aim
to revive in the original enthusiasm in Christians, a new mission that
should involve all members of God's Community".
Furthermore, Msgr. Fortunato Frezza, undersecretary of the General
Secretariat of Synod of Bishops, reiterated that "the very name 'synod'
(synodos) means journey in communion" and underlined the responsibility of
the Synod to proceed "with the sign of the times, with the discernment and
dynamism appropriate to the Church, the faith and the Works of faith and
pastoral care".
SE/ VIS
20110304 (570)
ASH WEDNESDAY: POPE TO PRESIDE AT MASS IN SANTA SABINA
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAR 2011 (VIS) - At 4.30 p.m. on March 9, Ash Wednesday and
the beginning of Lent, Benedict XVI will preside at a moment of prayer in
the church of St. Anselm on Rome's Aventine Hill. There will follow a
penitential procession to the basilica of Santa Sabina attended by
cardinals, archbishops, bishops, the Benedictine monks of St. Anselm, the
Dominican Fathers of Santa Sabina and lay faithful.
Following the procession, the Pope will preside at a Eucharistic
celebration in the basilica of Santa Sabina, with the traditional rite of
blessing and the imposition of the ashes.
OCL/ VIS
20110304 (100)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 4 MAR 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate
audiences:
- Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
- Emilio Marin, ambassador of Croatia, with his wife, on his farewell visit.
AP/ VIS
20110304 (50)
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