Subject: VISnews 110318
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 53
ENGLISH
FRIDAY, 18 MARCH 2011
SUMMARY:
- Dialogue between Believers and Non-Believers
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
DIALOGUE BETWEEN BELIEVERS AND NON-BELIEVERS
VATICAN CITY, 18 MAR 2011 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at midday
today, the presentation took place of the "Courtyard of the Gentiles", an
initiative by the Pontifical Council for Culture which will involve two days
of meeting and dialogue between believers and non-believers in Paris,
France, on 24 and 25 March.
Participating in today's press conference were Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Fr. Jean-Marie Laurent
Mazas F.S.J., executive director of the "Courtyard of the Gentiles", and
Stanislas de Laboulaye, French ambassador to the Holy See.
Cardinal Ravasi explained that "at the request of Benedict XVI the Church
has decided to embark on a new stage of dialogue, exchange and joint
activity among believers and non-believers. This has been entrusted to the
Pontifical Council for Culture".
The name "Courtyard of the Gentiles" evokes "the image of the vast area
near the Temple of Jerusalem reserved for debates between Jews and
non-Jews", the cardinal said. "It complements inter-religious dialogue which
has been going on for some decades and represents a long-term commitment of
the Church which will interest many people in the world, believers and
non-believers alike".
"The aim", Cardinal Ravasi continued, "is to help to ensure that the great
questions about human existence, especially the spiritual questions, are
borne in mind and discussed in our societies, using our common reason".
The president of the pontifical council went on: "That symbol of apartheid
and sacral separation which was the wall of the 'Courtyard of the Gentiles'
was cancelled by Christ. He wished to eliminate barriers so as to ensure a
harmonious meeting between the two peoples. ... Believers and non-believers
stand on different ground, but they must not close themselves in a sacral or
secular isolationism, ignoring one another or, worse still, launching taunts
or accusations as do fundamentalists on one side and the other. Of course,
differences must not be skimmed over, contradictory ideas must not be
dismissed, or discordances ignored, ... but thoughts and words, deeds and
decisions can be confronted, and even come together", he said.
Relations between Christians and Gentiles "can follow the paradigm of a
duel", the cardinal concluded, "but what the 'Courtyard of the Gentiles'
wishes to propose is, by contrast, a duet. A duet in which the sound of the
voices may be at antipodes - such as a bass and a soprano - yet manage to
create a harmony without renouncing their own identity; in other words, ...
without fading away into a vague ideological syncretism".
The inaugural session of the "Courtyard of the Gentiles" will take place
on the afternoon of 24 March at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, presided
by Irina Bokova, director general of UNESCO, and attended by diplomats and
representatives of the world of culture.
A number of initiatives are scheduled to be held on Friday 25 March: in
the morning at the Sorbonne University and in the afternoon at the "Institut
de France" and the "College des Bernardins". The day will conclude with a
celebration on the forecourt of the cathedral of Notre Dame with the theme:
"Into the Courtyard of the Unknown". The event is open to everyone,
especially young people. The Pope will address those present from giant
screens set up for the occasion, explaining the significance and objectives
of the Pontifical Council for Culture's initiative.
OP/ VIS
20110318 (570)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 18 MAR 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Jonas Guerrero Corona, auxiliary of Mexico, Mexico, as
bishop of Culiacan (area 37,800, population 2,474,898, Catholics 2,399,672,
priests 185, permanent deacons 4, religious 273), Mexico. He succeeds Bishop
Benjamin Jimenez Hernandez, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the
same diocese the Holy Father accepted, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2
of the Code of Canon Law.
- Appointed Bishop Augustine Obiora Akubeze of Uromi, Nigeria, as
metropolitan archbishop of Benin City (area 13,678, population 1,761,701,
Catholics 123,350, priests 69, religious 146), Nigeria. The archbishop-elect
was born in Kaduna, Nigeria in 1956, he was ordained a priest in 1987 and
consecrated a bishop in 2006.
- Appointed Fr. Malachy John Goltok, pastor and bursar of the archdiocese
of Jos, Nigeria, as bishop of Bauchi (area 64,605, population 6,105,000,
Catholics 78,000, priests 33, religious 8), Nigeria. The bishop-elect was
born in Bauchi in 1965 and ordained a priest in 1990.
NER:RE/ VIS 20110318
(170)
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