Subject: VISnews 110530
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 101
ENGLISH
MONDAY, 30 MAY 2011
SUMMARY 28 - 30 MAY:
- Benedict XVI Recalls Hungarian Composer Liszt
- Catholicism Means Marian Character
- Dialogue between Catholic Church and Anglican Communion
- Other Pontifical Acts
- Knowledge of Gospel Produces True Joy
- Word of God, Consolation and Challenge for Christians in India
- Enthusiasm and Courage Give Start to Proclaiming Christ
- Cardinal Marx to take Possession of Titular Church
- Audiences
___________________________________________________________
BENEDICT XVI RECALLS HUNGARIAN COMPOSER LISZT
VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon, in the Paul VI
Hall
of the Vatican, Benedict XVI attended a concert offered in his honor by
the
President of the Republic of Hungary, Pal Schmitt on the occasion of
Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the
bicentenary of the birth of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt.
At the end of the concert the Holy Father thanked tenor Istvan
Horvath,
the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra and the State Choir, which
performed several compositions by Liszt: Festmarsch zur
GoethejubilE4umsfeier, Vallee d'Overmann, and the Ave Maria: Die
Glocken von
Rom, inspired by a Psalm.
Benedict XVI pointed out that the three pieces "have aroused a wide
range
of feelings: from the joy and festive tone of the march, to the
meditation
of the second piece with its insistent and aching melody, to the
attitude of
prayerfulness we are invited to by the Ave Mary ".
Referring to the 13th Psalm, the Pope explained that this piece "has
given
us the idea of the quality and profundity of Liszt's faith. It is a
Psalm in
which the one praying encounters difficulty, the enemy surrounds him,
besieges him, and God seems absent, seems to have forgotten him. His
supplication becomes anguished in light of this abandonment: 'How long,
O
Lord?', the psalmist repeats four times".
"It is the cry of a man and of humanity", the Pope continued, "feeling
the
weight of evil in the world. Liszt's music has conveyed this feeling of
weight and anguish but God does not abandon him. The Psalmist knows this
as
does Liszt; as a man of faith, he knows it. Out of anguish is born an
invocation full of trust that overflows into joy, 'My heart shall
rejoice in
your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully
with me'. And here Liszt's music is transformed: tenor, choir, and
orchestra
raise a hymn of total entrustment to God who never betrays, never
forgets,
never leaves us alone".
BXVI-CONCERT/ VIS 20110530 (330)
CATHOLICISM MEANS MARIAN CHARACTER
VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This afternoon in the Vatican,
Benedict
XVI received members of the "MariE4 VerkFCndigung" Marian Congregation
of Men
of Regensburg, Germany. They had come to the Vatican to celebrate with
the
Pope the 70th anniversary of his induction in that congregation in the
Archbishopric Seminary of St. Michael of Traunstein, Germany.
The Pope recalled that when he entered the seminary, Europe was going
through "a dark age. It was a time of war. One after the other, Hitler
had
subjugated Poland, Denmark, Benelux, and France. In April of 1941 ... he
had
occupied Yugoslavia and Greece. It seemed that the continent was in the
hands of this power that, at the same time, put the future of
Christianity
in doubt. We had been admitted to the Congregation but shortly
thereafter
the war against Russia began. The seminary was dissolved and, before it
was
able to reassemble, the congregation was scattered to the four winds".
That is why, the pontiff continued, his entry in the "MariE4
VerkFCndigung"
was not "an 'exterior fact', but it stayed with me as 'an interior fact'
because it had always been clear that Catholicism could not exist
without a
Marian character, that being Catholic meant belonging to Mary".
"Here, through the bishops' ad limina visits", the Holy Father
commented,
"I constantly sense how people - especially those in Latin America but
in
other continents as well - can entrust themselves to the Mother; how
they
can love the Mother and, through the Mother, can then learn to love
Christ.
I sense how the Mother continues to give birth to Christ; how Mary
continues
to say 'yes' and to bring Christ to the world".
"Mary is the great believer. She has taken up Abraham's mission of
belief
and made Abraham's faith into concrete faith in Jesus Christ, thus
showing
us all the way of faith, the courage to entrust ourselves to the God who
puts Himself in our hands, the joy of being His witnesses. Then she
shows us
the determination to remain fast when all others have fled, the courage
to
remain at the Lord's side when he seems lost and thus to bear the
witness
that led to His Passion".
"I am thus very grateful", the Pope concluded, "to know that in
Bavaria
there are approximately 40,000 congregants; that still today there are
men
who, together with Mary, love the Lord. Men who, through Mary, are
learning
to know and to love the Lord and who, like her, bear witness to the Lord
in
difficult times as well as happy ones; who remain with Him under the
Cross
and who continue to live the Passion joyfully together with Him. Thank
you
all for continuing to hold this witness high, so that we might know that
there are Catholic Bavarian men and members of the congregation who
continue
along the path initiated by the Jesuits in the XVI century and who
continue
to demonstrate that faith doesn't belong to the past but always opens
itself
to 'today' and especially to 'tomorrow'".
AC/ VIS 20110530
(510)
DIALOGUE BETWEEN CATHOLIC CHURCH AND ANGLICAN COMMUNION
VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2011 (VIS) - The Anglican - Roman Catholic
International Commission has completed the first meeting of its new
phase
(ARCIC III) at the Monastery of Bose in northern Italy (17-27 May 2011).
According to a communique issued by the Pontifical Council for
Promoting
Christian Unity, "the commission is chaired by Archbishop David Moxon
(Anglican Archbishop of the New Zealand Dioceses) and Archbishop Bernard
Longley (Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham), and comprises
eighteen
theologians from a wide range of backgrounds across the world".
"In response to the programme set forth by Pope Benedict XVI and
Archbishop Rowan Williams in their 2006 Common Declaration, discussions
have
focussed on the interrelated issues: the Church as communion, local and
universal, and how in communion the local and universal Church come to
discern right ethical teaching. The programme also required the
Commission
to re-examine how the 'commitment to the common goal of the restoration
of
complete communion in faith and sacramental life' is to be understood
and
pursued today, and to present the work of ARCIC II in its entirety with
appropriate commentaries to assist its reception".
"The commission", continued the communique, "will seek to develop a
theological understanding of the human person, human society, and the
new
life of grace in Christ. This will provide a basis from which to explore
how
right ethical teaching is determined at universal and local levels.
ARCIC
will base this study firmly in scripture, tradition, and reason, and
draw on
the previous work of the commission. It will analyze some particular
questions to elucidate how our two Communions approach moral decision
making, and how areas of tension for Anglicans and Roman Catholics might
be
resolved by learning from the other".
"The commission will continue its work along the lines it has proposed
in
preparation for its next meeting in 2012".
CON-UC/ VIS 20110530 (300)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2011 (VIS) - On Saturday, 28 May, the Holy Father
appointed:
- Archbishop Diego Causero, currently apostolic nuncio to the Czech
Republic, as apostolic nuncio to Switzerland and the Principality of
Liechtenstein.
- Msgr. Antonio Neri, an official of the Congregation for the Clergy,
as
under secretary of the same congregation.
- as members of the Congregation for Bishops: Cardinal Mauro Piacenza,
prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, and Bishop Emeritus Lorenzo
Chiarinelli of Viterbo, Italy.
NN:NA/ VIS 20110530 (70)
KNOWLEDGE OF GOSPEL PRODUCES TRUE JOY
VATICAN CITY, 29 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This afternoon Benedict XVI appeared
at
the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the
Regina
Coeli with the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope commented on the passage from the Acts of the Apostles from
the
sixth Sunday of Easter when Phillip, "one of the deacons, arrived in a
city
of Samaria. There he preached the Risen Christ and his proclamation was
accompanied by numerous healings. The episode ends very significantly:
'There was great joy in that city'. This expression, which basically
communicates a sense of hope, strikes us every time. It is as if it
said:
'It is possible! It is possible for humanity to know true joy because,
wherever the Gospel reaches, there life flourishes".
"Phillip and the other disciples, with the strength of the Holy
Spirit,
carried out in the villages of Palestine what Jesus had done: they
preached
the Good News and worked miraculous signs. It was the Lord who acted
through
them. As Jesus announced the coming of the Kingdom of God, the disciples
announced the Risen Jesus, proclaiming that He is Christ, the Son of
God,
baptizing in his name and driving out every illness of body and spirit".
The Holy Father affirmed that "reading this passage, one thinks
spontaneously of the Gospel's healing power, which throughout the
centuries
has 'watered' so many peoples like a beneficial river. Some great saints
brought hope and peace to entire cities - think of Charles Borromeo in
Milan
during the time of plague; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; and those many
missionaries, whose names are known to God, who have given their lives
to
bring the news of Christ and to make profound joy flourish among
persons".
"While the powerful of this world sought to conquer new territories
for
political and economic interests", he continued, "Christ's messengers
went
everywhere with the purpose of bringing Christ to human beings and human
beings to Christ, knowing that He alone can give true freedom and
eternal
life. The Church's vocation today is still evangelization: to the many
the
peoples who have not yet been 'watered' by the living waters of the
Gospel
as well as to those who, although having ancient Christian roots, are in
need of new nourishment to bear new fruit and to rediscover the beauty
and
joy of the faith".
The Pope pointed out that "Blessed John Paul II was a great
missionary, as
an exhibit organized in Rome in these days documents. He re-launched the
mission 'ad gentes' and, at the same time, promoted the new
evangelization".
After praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope noted that "last Saturday in
Cerreto Sannita, Italy, Sr. Maria Serafina of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
(born Clotilde Micheli), was proclaimed Blessed. Born in Trentino, she
founded in Campania the Institute of the Sisters of the Angels. On
recalling
the 100th anniversary of her birth in heaven, we rejoice with her
spiritual
daughters and all those devoted to her".
Addressing the Polish pilgrims, Benedict XVI noted that "yesterday was
the
celebration of the 30th anniversary of the death of Cardinal Stefan
Wyszynski, the 'Primate of the Millennium'. Invoking the gift of his
beatification, let us learn from him a total abandonment to the Mother
of
God. Let his trust, expressed with the words: 'I have entrusted all to
Mary', be a special model for us. Let us recall this at the end of the
month of May, which is especially dedicated to the Virgin".
ANG/ VIS 20110530
(580)
WORD OF GOD, CONSOLATION AND CHALLENGE FOR CHRISTIANS IN INDIA
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2011 (VIS) - "The Second Vatican Council reminds us
that, among the more important responsibilities of bishops, the
proclamation
of the Gospel is pre-eminent", said Benedict XVI today to the prelates
from
the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India at the end of their ad limina
visit, emphasizing that it is "a source of satisfaction that the
proclamation of God's word is bearing rich spiritual fruit in your local
Churches, especially through the spread of small Christian communities
in
which the faithful come together for prayer, reflection on the
Scriptures
and fraternal support".
"Every effort should be made", he continued, "to stress that
individual
and group prayer is, by its very nature, born of and leads back to, the
wellspring of grace found in the Church's sacraments and her entire
liturgical life. Nor can it be forgotten that the word of God not only
consoles but also challenges believers, as individuals and in community,
to
advance in justice, reconciliation and peace among themselves and in
society
as a whole. ... In fidelity to the new commandment to love one another
as
the Lord has loved us, Christians of all times and places have striven
to
serve their fellow human beings selflessly and to love them with all
their
heart. After all, love is God's gift to humanity; it is his promise and
it
is our hope".
"In this light, I am pleased to note the impressive signs of the
Church's
charity in many fields of social activity, a service borne in a
particular
way by her priests and religious. ... The Church's schools prepare young
people of all faiths and none to build a more just and peaceful society.
Church agencies have been instrumental in the promotion of microcredit,
helping the poor to help themselves. In addition, they promote the
Church's
healing and charitable mission through clinics, orphanages, hospitals
and
innumerable other projects aimed at promoting human dignity and
well-being
... May Christ's faithful in India", the Pope prayed, "continue to
assist
all those in need in the communities around them, regardless of race,
ethnicity, religion or social status, out of the conviction that all
have
been created in God's image and all are due equal respect".
In conclusion, the Holy Father spoke of "the grave challenges which
threaten to undermine the unity, harmony and sanctity of the family",
which
the bishops had referred to him, and about "the work which must be done
to
build a culture of respect for marriage and family life. A sound
catechesis
which appeals especially to those preparing for marriage", he said,
"will do
much to nourish the faith of Christian families and will assist them in
giving a vibrant, living witness to the Church's age-old wisdom
regarding
marriage, the family, and the responsible use of God's gift of
sexuality.
AL/ VIS 20110530
(460)
ENTHUSIASM AND COURAGE GIVE START TO PROCLAIMING CHRIST
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This afternoon the Holy Father
received
participants in the plenary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New
Evangelization, instituted in October of 2010, along with its president,
Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella.
Referring to the theme of the next synod of bishops in October of
2012,
the theme of which will be "The New Evangelization and the Transmission
of
the Christian Faith", the Pope said that "the term 'new evangelization'
recalls the need of a new way of evangelizing, especially for those who
live
in a situation like today's where the development of secularization has
left
deep marks on even traditionally Christian countries".
"The crisis we are living through", he stated, "carries with it signs
of
the exclusion of God from people's lives, a general indifference to the
Christian faith, and even the intention of marginalizing it from public
life. ... Moreover, the phenomenon of people who wish to belong to the
Church but who are strongly determined by a vision of life that is
opposed
to the faith is often seen".
Benedict XVI emphasized that "proclaiming Jesus Christ, the sole
Savior of
the world, is more complex today than in the past, but our task
continues to
be the same as at the beginning of our history. The mission hasn't
changed,
just as the enthusiasm and courage that motivated the apostles and first
disciples should not change".
The Church's message, he continued, "needs to be renewed today in
order to
convince modern persons, who are often distracted and insensitive. That
is
why the new evangelization must find the ways to make the proclamation
of
salvation more effective, the salvation without with life is
contradictory
and lacking in what is essential. This includes those who remain tied to
Christian roots but who have a difficult relationship with modernity. It
is
important to make them understand that being Christian is not a type of
outfit that one wears in private or on special occasions, but something
living and totalizing, capable of taking all that is good in modernity".
The Pope expressed the desire that in the plenary's work these days,
the
members and consultors outline "a plan to help the entire Church and the
particular different Churches in the commitment of the new
evangelization; a
plan whereby the urgency of a renewed evangelization takes charge of
formation, particularly that of the new generations, and is united to
the
proposal of concrete signs capable of making the Church's response in
this
particular moment clear".
"If, on the one hand, the entire community is called to revive the
missionary spirit in order to offer the new message that persons of our
times are hoping for, it cannot be forgotten", he finished, "that the
lifestyle of believers needs real credibility, as much more convincing
as
the more dramatic is the condition of the persons to whom it is
addressed".
AC/ VIS 20110530 (480)
CARDINAL MARX TO TAKE POSSESSION OF TITULAR CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Office of Liturgical
Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announced that on Sunday, 5 June, at
10:30am, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of MFCnchen und Freising
(Munich), Germany will take possession of the title of San Corbiniano at
Via
Carlo Orff, 12.
OCL/ VIS 20110530 (40)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father received Norbert
Lammert, President of the "Bundestag", the German parliament,
accompanied by
an entourage.
On Saturday morning, 28 May, the Holy Father today received in
separate
audiences:
- Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the
Oriental
Churches,
- Six prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India on their
ad
limina visit:
- Bishop Sebastian Thekethecheril of Vijayapuram,
- Bishop Stephen Athipozhiyil of Alleppey,
- Bishop Vincent Samuel of Neyyattinkara,
- Bishop Selvister Ponnumuthan of Punalur, and
- Bishop Stanley Roman with Bishop Emeritus Joseph Gabriel Fernandez
of
Quilon.
On Saturday afternoon the Holy Father met with:
- Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli O.F.M., apostolic vicar of
Tripoli,
and
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for
Bishops.
AP:AL/ VIS 20110530 (130)
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