Subject: VISnews 110502
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 81
ENGLISH
MONDAY, 2 MAY 2011
SUMMARY:
- Pope Receives President of Poland
- John Paul II: Defender of the Dignity of the Human Person
- Pope's Condolences on the Death of Cardinal Garcia-Gasco
- Holy See Press Office Director on Death of Osama Bin Laden
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
POPE RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF POLAND
VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI
received in audience the president of the Republic of Poland, Bronislaw
Komorowski, according to a communique from the Holy See Press Office.
"The president", reads the text, "wished to express the gratitude of the
Polish nation for the beatification of Servant of God John Paul II. It was
agreed that Blessed John Paul II's long pontificate marked a great turning
point, not only in Poland, but in the entire world. It was moreover
highlighted that his teachings and his actions in support of the dignity of
the person and the sanctity of human life remain current and of great
importance".
OP/ VIS 20110502
(110)
JOHN PAUL II: DEFENDER OF THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - At 10:30 this morning in St. Peter's
Square, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., secretary of state, presided over
the thanksgiving Mass for the beatification of Pope John Paul II. The
liturgical texts were those of the new Blessed.
The celebration included music performed by the Choir of the Diocese of
Rome, with the participation of Warsaw's Polish Union of Choirs and the
National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra of Katowice. Preparation for the
holy rite began at 9:30am with the reading of poems by Blessed John Paul II
in alternation with pieces performed by the orchestra and choir. Before Holy
Mass, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, addressed those
present.
"The dialogue of love between Christ and the human person characterized
the entire life of Karol Wojtyla ...", Cardinal Bertone said in his homily.
"We all recall how, on the day of his funeral, during the ceremony there was
a moment when the wind shut the book of the Gospels placed on the coffin. It
was as if the wind of the Spirit wanted to signal the end of the spiritual
and human existence of Karol Wojtyla, illumined by the Gospel of Christ.
With this Book he discovered God's plan for humanity and for himself, but he
also learned of Christ, His face and His love, which was always a call to
responsibility for Karol".
"He was a man of faith, a man of God," the cardinal emphasized. "His life
was a constant prayer that lovingly embraced all who inhabit our planet,
created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore worthy of the
greatest respect; redeemed by Christ's death and resurrection the human
person is therefore truly become the living glory of God. Thanks to the
faith that he expressed, above all, in prayer, John Paul II was a true
defender of the dignity of every human person and not a mere activist for
political or social ideologies".
"But his prayer was also a constant intercession for the entire human
family, for the Church, for each community of believers throughout the
earth. ... Weren't these - his prayers, prayers tied to so many sorrowful
events in his own and others' lives - what gave rise to his concern for
peace in the world and for the peaceful harmony among the peoples and
nations?" the cardinal secretary of state asked.
"Today we give thanks to the Lord for having given us a Pastor like him. A
Shepherd who know how to read the signs of God's presence in human history
and to announce Him through his great acts in the world, in every language.
A Pastor who had ingrained within him a sense of mission, of the commitment
of evangelization, and of announcing the Word of God everywhere".
"Today we give thanks to the Lord for having given us a Witness like him,
so credible, so transparent, who taught us how to live in Faith and how to
defend Christian values, beginning with life, without anxiety or fear; how
one should bear witness to the faith with courage and coherence, giving
expression to the Beatitudes in everyday experience".
The cardinal invited those present to give thanks to the Lord for "having
granted us a Pope who knew how to give the Church not only a universal reach
and unprecedented moral authority at an international level, but also,
especially with the celebration of the Great Jubilee in 2000, a more
spiritual, more biblical vision, more focused on the word of God. A Church
capable of renewing itself, initiating a 'new evangelization', intensifying
ecumenical and inter-religious links, and also rediscovering the way towards
a fruitful dialogue with the new generations".
"And finally", he concluded, "we give thanks to the Lord for having given
us a Saint like him... he was a man of truth as he was inseparably bound to
He who is the Truth... His was a holiness lived, especially in the last
months and weeks of his life, in total fidelity to the mission that had been
assigned to him, until death... He knew that his physical weakness
demonstrated ever more clearly Christ's work in history. And, offering his
suffering to Him and to the Church, he gave us all a final, great lesson in
humanity and in abandoning oneself to the arms of God".
Cardinal Bertone concluded by inviting those present to sing "a hymn of
glory to God for the gift of this great Pope: a man of faith and prayer,
Pastor and Witness, Guide in the transition between two millennia" and
thanked Benedict XVI "who wished to elevate his predecessor to the glory of
the altars".
At the moment of the offertory, six people presented to the celebrant a
saddle produced by the Polish Post Office and the Vatican Post Office, a
bas-relief from the Association of Mercy and a portrait of Blessed John Paul
II by the municipality of Zakopane.
More than 250,000 faithful entered the Vatican Basilica yesterday to pray
before the remains of the new Blessed. The basilica remained open until
3:00am and reopened at the end of today's Mass. At 5:30pm today the last
Rosary will be recited before the coffin of John Paul II. The basilica will
then be closed and, in a private ceremony, the coffin will be placed in the
Chapel of St. Sebastian, which is located to the left of Michelangelo's
statue of the Pieta.
SS/ VIS 20110502
(900)
POPE'S CONDOLENCES ON THE DEATH OF CARDINAL GARCIA-GASCO
VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Benedict sent the following telegram of
condolence to Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra, bishop of Valencia, Spain, on
the death of Cardinal Agustin Garcia-Gasco Vicente, archbishop emeritus of
that diocese, at 80 years of age. The cardinal was in Rome to attend the
beatification ceremonies of John Paul II.
"On receiving the sad news of the death of beloved Cardinal Austin
Garcia-Gasco Vicente, I offer my fervent prayers for the eternal rest of one
who exercised his episcopal ministry with diligent apostolic concern, first
as auxiliary bishop of Madrid and secretary of the Spanish Bishops'
Conference, and then at the head of that dear archdiocese of Valencia,
wisely and generously devoted to her evangelizing actions, tirelessly
supporting numerous pastoral initiatives, above all in the area of the
teaching and pastoral care of the family".
"On recalling the great service he gave to the Church and the
unforgettable memory of my stay in that renowned city for the Fifth World
Meeting of Families, I wish to express my most heartfelt sympathy to your
Excellency, Archbishop Osoro, to your auxiliary, to the priests,
seminarians, religious communities, and faithful of the church in Valencia,
asking your kindness in extending my sentiments to the family of the
deceased cardinal. I wholeheartedly impart to all the comfort of apostolic
blessing as a sign of our Christian hope in the resurrected Christ".
TGR/ VIS 20110502
(230)
HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE DIRECTOR ON DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN
VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This morning the Director of the Holy See
Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., released the following
declaration on the news regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden.
"Osama Bin Laden, as is known, claimed responsibility for grave acts that
spread division and hate among the peoples, manipulating religion to that
end. A Christian never takes pleasure from the fact of a man's death, but
sees it as an opportunity to reflect on each person's responsibility, before
God and humanity, and to hope and commit oneself to seeing that no event
become another occasion to disseminate hate but rather to foster peace".
OP/ VIS 20110502
(120)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate
audiences:
- Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Pontifical Commission for
Vatican City State and the Governorate of Vatican City State.
- Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, Poland.
- Fr. Saverio Cannistra, O.C.D., provost general of the Order of Discalced
Carmelites.
AP/ VIS 20110502
(50)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father removed Bishop William M.
Morris from the pastoral care of the diocese of Toowoomba, Australia.
RE/ VIS 20110502
(20)
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