Subject: VISnews 111020
Organization: VIS - Ufficio Stampa della Santa Sede
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 181
ENGLISH
THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER 2011
SUMMARY:
- Benedict XVI Inaugurates the New "Domus Australia"
- To Australian Prelates: Care for Celebration of Liturgy
- Christians and Hindus: Promoting Religious Freedom
- Audiences
___________________________________________________________
BENEDICT XVI INAUGURATES THE NEW "DOMUS AUSTRALIA"
VATICAN CITY, 20 OCT 2011 (VIS) - Yesterday afternoon the Pope travelled
across Rome to inaugurate the "Domus Australia", a welcome centre for
Australian pilgrims in the city. In his remarks he recalled the warm welcome
he had received when he visited Australia for World Youth Day in 2008, and
made mention of last year's canonisation of the first Australian saint, Mary
MacKillop.
"Our earthly lives", the Holy Father said, "are spent journeying towards
that ultimate goal, where 'no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of
man conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him'. Here on earth,
the Church's long tradition of pilgrimage to holy places serves to remind us
that we are heavenward bound, it refocuses our minds on the call to
holiness, it draws us ever closer to the Lord and strengthens us with
spiritual food for the journey.
"Many generations of pilgrims", he added, "have made their way to Rome
from all over the Christian world, in order to venerate the tombs of the
holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and thereby to deepen their communion in the
one Church of Christ, founded on the Apostles. In so doing, they strengthen
the roots of their faith; and roots, as we know, are the source of
life-giving sustenance. In that sense, pilgrims to Rome should always feel
at home here, and the 'Domus Australia' will play an important part in
creating a home for Australian pilgrims in the city of the Apostles. Yet
roots are only a part of the story. According to a saying attributed to a
great poet from my own country, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, there are two
things that children should receive from their parents: roots and wings.
From our holy Mother, the Church, we too receive both roots and wings: the
faith of the Apostles, handed down from generation to generation, and the
grace of the Holy Spirit, conveyed above all through the Sacraments of the
Church".
Thus, the Holy Father concluded, "Pilgrims to this city return to their
homelands renewed and strengthened in their faith, and borne aloft by the
Holy Spirit in the journey onward and upward to their heavenly home".
.../ VIS
20111020 (380)
TO AUSTRALIAN PRELATES: CARE FOR CELEBRATION OF LITURGY
VATICAN CITY, 20 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The positive results of World Youth Day
(WYD) 2008, celebrated in Sydney, Australia, and the recollection of the
first country's saint, Mary MacKillop, were the central themes of remarks
made this morning by Benedict XVI to prelates of the Australian Catholic
Bishops' Conference, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.
The Pope mentioned the increased number of vocations to the priesthood and
religious life in Australia in the wake of WYD 2008. This is proof, he said,
of "the youthful vitality of the Church to which we all belong and the
perennial relevance of the Good News which must be proclaimed afresh to
every generation".
"St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop's "courageous response to the
difficulties she faced throughout her life can also inspire today's
Catholics as they confront the new evangelisation and serious challenges to
the spread of the Gospel in society as a whole".
"It is true that yours is a pastoral burden which has been made heavier by
the past sins and mistakes of others, most regrettably including some clergy
and religious; but the task now falls to you to continue to repair the
errors of the past with honesty and openness, in order to build, with
humility and resolve, a better future for all concerned. I therefore
encourage you to continue to be pastors of souls who, along with your
clergy, are always prepared to go one step further in love and truth for the
sake of the consciences of the flock entrusted to you, seeking to preserve
them in holiness, to teach them humbly and to lead them irreproachably in
the ways of the Catholic faith".
"You are conscious of your special duty to care for the celebration of the
liturgy", Pope Benedict told the prelates in conclusion. "The new
translation of the Roman Missal, which is the fruit of a remarkable
cooperation of the Holy See, the bishops and experts from all over the
world, is intended to enrich and deepen the sacrifice of praise offered to
God by His people. Help your clergy to welcome and to appreciate what has
been achieved, so that they in turn may assist the faithful as everyone
adjusts to the new translation. As we know, the sacred liturgy and its forms
are written deeply in the heart of every Catholic. Make every effort to help
catechists and musicians in their respective preparations to render the
celebration of the Roman Rite in your dioceses a moment of greater grace and
beauty, worthy of the Lord and spiritually enriching for everyone".
AL/ VIS
20111020 (440)
CHRISTIANS AND HINDUS: PROMOTING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
VATICAN CITY, 20 OCT 2011 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of
the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, has written a message
to Hindus for the feast of Deepavali. The message, which also bears the
signature of Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, secretary of the pontifical
council, is entitled: "Christians and Hindus: together in Promoting
Religious Freedom". Deepvali celebrates the victory of truth over falsehood,
of light over darkness, of life over death, of good over evil. The
celebrations, which being this year on 26 October, last three days and mark
the beginning of a new year, a time for family reconciliation, especially
among brothers and sisters, and adoration of the divine.
Religious freedom, the text reads, currently takes "centre stage in many
places, calling our attention to those members of our human family exposed
to bias, prejudice, hate propaganda, discrimination and persecution on the
basis of religious affiliation. Religious freedom is the answer to
religiously motivated conflicts in many parts of the world. Amid the
violence triggered by these conflicts, many desperately yearn for peaceful
coexistence and integral human development".
The Message continues: "Religious freedom is numbered among the
fundamental human rights rooted in the dignity of the human person. When it
is jeopardised or denied, all other human rights are endangered. Religious
freedom necessarily includes immunity from coercion by any individual,
group, community or institution. Though the exercise of this right entails
the freedom of every person to profess, practise and propagate his or her
religion or belief, in public or in private, alone or in a community, it
also involves a serious obligation on the part of civil authorities,
individuals and groups to respect the freedom of others. Moreover, it
includes the freedom to change one's own religion".
CON-DIR/ VIS
20111020 (300)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 20 OCT 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate
audiences eight prelates from the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference,
on their 'ad limina' visit:
- Archbishop Barry James Hickey of Perth, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop
Donald George Sproxton.
- Bishop Gerard Joseph Holohan of Bunbury.
- Bishop Justin Joseph Bianchini of Geraldton.
- Bishop Luc Julian Matthys of Armidale.
- Bishop Michael Joseph McKenna of Bathurst.
- Bishop David Louis Walker of Broken Bay.
- Bishop Geoffrey Hilton Jarrett of Lismore.
AL/ VIS
20111020 (90)
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