Subject: VISnews 110928
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 165
ENGLISH
WEDNESDAY, 28 SEPTEMBER 2011
SUMMARY:
- Benedict XVI Reflects on His Apostolic Trip to Germany
- Italy: a Model of Collaboration between Church and State
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
BENEDICT XVI REFLECTS ON HIS APOSTOLIC TRIP TO GERMANY
VATICAN CITY, 28 SEP 2011 (VIS) - During today's general audience,
celebrated this morning in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI reflected on his
recent apostolic trip to Germany, defining it as "a great feast of the
faith" during which he had seen "how it is God Who gives our lives their
deepest meaning, their true fullness".
The Pope recalled the various stages of his journey, beginning with his
visit to Berlin where, before the Federal Parliament, he had "expounded on
the foundations of law and the rule of law; that is, the measure for all
laws inscribed by the Creator into the very heart of His creation". After
addressing the Bundestag, he had gone on to meet members of the German
Jewish community with whom, "having recalled our shared roots of faith in
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we highlighted the fruits that have
thus far emerged from dialogue between the Catholic Church and Judaism in
Germany". In his subsequent meeting with members of the Muslim community,
the Pope had reflected on "the importance of religious freedom for the
peaceful development of humankind".
Benedict XVI then went on to speak of his satisfaction at seeing such
large numbers of people in attendance at the Mass he had celebrated at the
Olympic stadium in Berlin. On that occasion he had dedicated his homily "to
the importance union with Christ has for our personal lives as believers and
for our being Church, His mystical body".
The Holy Father had then gone on to visit the region of Thuringia, cradle
of the Protestant Reformation. Hence, said Pope Benedict, "the particular
ecumenical emphasis of that second stage of my journey". In Thuringia he had
met with members of the German Evangelical Church Council in the city of
Erfurt, where Martin Luther had joined the Augustinian order and been
ordained a priest. In the former Augustinian convent of Erfurt "we again saw
how important our combined witness of faith in Jesus Christ is in today's
world. ... We need to make joint efforts on the journey towards full unity",
however "only Christ can give us that unity, and we will become increasingly
united to Him in the extent to which we return to Him and allow ourselves to
be transformed by Him".
The Pope also mentioned the Vespers he had celebrated at the Marian shrine
of Etzelsbach, located on "a strip of land that has always remained Catholic
through the vicissitudes of history, and the inhabitants of which
courageously opposed the dictatorships of Nazism and Communism". During Mass
the following day in the Cathedral Square of Erfurt, the Pope had spoken
about the patron saints of Thuringia - Elizabeth, Boniface and Kilian -
highlighting "the shining example of the faithful who bore witness to the
Gospel under totalitarian regimes. I invited the faithful to be saints
today, worthy witnesses of Christ, and to contribute to building our
society", he said.
The Pope went on: "I had a moving encounter with Msgr. Hermann Scheipers,
the last living priest to have survived to concentration camp of Dachau. At
Erfurt I also had the opportunity to meet some victims of sexual abuse by
clergy, to whom I spoke of my regret and my participation in their
suffering".
The last stage of the Pope's apostolic trip took him to the archdiocese of
Freiburg im Breisgau. There he had presided at a prayer vigil with young
people, where "I was happy to see that the faith in my German homeland has a
young face, that it is alive and has a future", he said. "I told them that
the Pope trusts in the active collaboration of the young. With the grace of
Christ they can bring the fire of God's love into the world".
Another outstanding moment of his visit was his meeting with seminarians.
"I wanted to show those young men the beauty and greatness of their divine
call, and to offer them some help to continue their journey joyfully and in
profound communion with Christ", the Pope said. Referring then to his
encounter with representatives from the Orthodox Churches, the Pope laid
emphasis on "the shared duty to be a leavening for the renewal of our
society".
Mass celebrated at the airport of Freiburg im Breisgau gave Benedict XVI
"the opportunity to thank everyone involved in various areas of ecclesial
life, especially the many volunteers who collaborate in charitable
initiatives. It is thanks to them that the German Church is able to offer
such great assistance to the universal Church, particularly in the mission
lands. I reminded them that their precious service will be fruitful as long
as it derives from an authentic and living faith, in union with the bishops
and the Pope, in union with the Church. Finally, before my return, I
addressed a thousand Catholics active in the Church and society, to whom I
proposed certain points for reflection on Church activity in a secularised
society, on the call to be free from material and political burdens in order
to be more transparent to God".
"This apostolic trip to Germany", Pope Benedict concluded, "provided me
with an opportunity to meet the faithful of my own homeland, to confirm them
in faith, hope and love, to share with them the joy of being Catholic. But
my message was also addressed to the German people as a whole, inviting them
to look to the future with trust. It is certain that 'where God is, there is
a future'".
AG/ VIS
20110928 (930)
ITALY: A MODEL OF COLLABORATION BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE
VATICAN CITY, 28 SEP 2011 (VIS) - Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu,
substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, yesterday
delivered an address at the Italian embassy to the Holy See in the course of
a ceremony called to mark the 150th anniversary of Italian unification. The
event was attended by the president of the Italian Senate, the president of
the Constitutional Court, a number of ministers and other public
authorities.
Archbishop Becciu recalled how Benedict XVI had sent a message for the
anniversary of unification to Giorgio Napolitano, president of the Italian
Republic, and had presided at a prayer for Italy at the papal basilica of
St. Mary Major. "The Church in Italy", said the archbishop, "has dedicated
her energies with great conviction to affirming ... the vitality of that
spirit of loyal collaboration for the promotion of man and the good of the
country which characterises relations between the Church and the political
community in Italy".
In this context Archbishop Becciu referred to the Lateran Pacts of 1929
and to their 1984 revision which, as the Pope wrote in his message to
President Napolitano, "are clear indications of dialogue between the Holy
See and Italy, ... and of the harmonious and supportive collaboration
between the Church and the political community, in support of the individual
and the common good".
"The Italian experience of relations between Church and State, each in its
distinct field and with fruitful mutual collaboration, could profitably be
shared with other countries", the archbishop concluded.
SS/ VIS
20110928 (260)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 28 SEP 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:
- Bishop Wilson Tadeu Jonck S.C.I. of Tubarao, Brazil as metropolitan
archbishop of Florianopolis (area 7,862, population 1,478,000, Catholics
1,153,000, priests 191, permanent deacons 112, religious 575), Brazil. The
archbishop-elect was born in Vidal Ramos, Brazil in 1951 and ordained a
priest in 1977. He has worked as seminary director, formator, parochial
vicar and later pastor, and professor of philosophy. He has also served as a
member of the regional council of his religious order. He was ordained a
bishop in 2003.
- Bishop Sergio Alfredo Gualberti Calandrina, auxiliary of the archdiocese
of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, as coadjutor archbishop of the same
archdiocese (area 50,000, population 2,291,000, Catholics 1,805,000, priests
194, permanent deacons 6, religious 789). The archbishop-elect was born in
Clusone, Italy in 1945 and ordained a priest in 1971. He served as a
chaplain to Italian migrants in Switzerland before moving to Bolivia where
he worked as parochial vicar and later pastor. He has held a number of
offices in the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, and was ordained a bishop in
1999.
NER/ VIS
20110928 (190)
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