Subject: VISnews 111201
Organization: VIS
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 211
ENGLISH
THURSDAY, 1 DECEMBER 2011
SUMMARY:
- Champions of the Faith, Perennial Models for the Baptised
- New Evangelisation Depends Largely on Families
- Promoting Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Therapies
- The Church Is in Need of "Metanoia"
- Special Envoy for Centenary of Yangon Cathedral
- Presence of Bishop Lei Shiyin at Episcopal Ordination
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
CHAMPIONS OF THE FAITH, PERENNIAL MODELS FOR THE BAPTISED
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - "Witness and Witnesses. The 'Martyria' and
the Champions of the Faith" was the theme of the sixteenth public session of
the Pontifical Academies, which was held yesterday in the great hall of the
Palazzo of St. Pius X on Rome's Via della Conciliazione. The meeting also
involved the presentation of the Pontifical Academy Prize, awarded by the
Pope to institutions or to young researchers or artists who have
distinguished themselves in promoting Christian humanism.
This year's prize went to the "Studium Biblicum Franciscanum" of Jerusalem
which carries our archaeological excavations with the purpose of uncovering
and reclaiming the biblical past of the Holy Land, and to Daria Mastrorilli,
an archaeologist who specialises in the martyrs Zoticus, Ireneus and
Amantius, carrying out research in the cemetery of that name in Rome.
Another archaeologist, Cecilia Proverbio, was granted the pontifical medal
for her doctoral thesis on the iconography of paleo-Christian basilicas of
Rome, in particular St. Peter's and St. Paul's.
During the course of the ceremony, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio
Bertone S.D.B. read out a message sent for the occasion by the Holy Father
to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for
Culture and of the Co-ordinating Council of the Pontifical Academies.
The theme of the public session, the Pope explains in his message,
provides an opportunity to reflect on Christianity's historical roots, its
involvement in history "which it transforms profoundly thanks to the leaven
of the Gospel and to sanctity, lived and witnessed".
In this context, the archaeological remains of early Christian communities
are of particular interest, especially in the Holy Land, "the best place in
which to seek signs of the historical presence of Christ and of the first
community of His disciples", and in Rome, where the catacombs "attest that
from its beginnings the Christian community exalted the champions of the
faith as models and examples for all the baptised".
"The vast numbers of monuments and works of art dedicated to martyrs, as
documented by archaeological excavations and other research, arose from the
Christian community's conviction, yesterday as today, that the Gospel speaks
to man's heart and is communicated above all by the witness of believers'
lives ", the Pope writes. "If we look carefully at the example of the
martyrs, those courageous witnesses of ancient Christianity, as well as at
the many witnesses of our own time, we realise that they are all profoundly
free, free from compromise and selfish ties, aware of the importance and
beauty of their lives, and precisely for this reason capable of loving God
and their brothers and sisters, setting a high example of Christian
sanctity".
The Holy Father continues his message: "Today too the Church, if she
wishes to speak to the world effectively, if she wishes to continue
faithfully announcing the Gospel, ... must bear witness to the credibility
of the faith, even in those areas which seem most intransigent or
indifferent. In other words, she must offer concrete prophetic witness
through effective and transparent signs of coherence, faithfulness and
passionate and unconditional love for Christ, not without authentic charity
and love for others. Today as yesterday, the blood of the martyrs and their
eloquent witness touches the hearts of men and women, making them fruitful,
... open to accepting the life of Christ and to bringing resurrection and
hope to the surrounding world".
MESS/ VIS
20111201 (580)
NEW EVANGELISATION DEPENDS LARGELY ON FAMILIES
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received participants
in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for the Family led by
their president, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli. This year's plenary coincides
with the thirtieth anniversary of John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation
"Familiaris consortio" and his creation of the pontifical council itself.
In his remarks, the Pope noted that "in our time, as in the past, the
eclipse of God, the spread of an anti-family ideology and the abasement of
sexual morality appear interconnected". This is why "the new evangelisation
is inseparable from the Christian family. The family is the Church's 'path',
because it is a 'human place' in which we encounter Christ. ... The family
founded on the Sacrament of Marriage is an individual microcosm of the
Church, a community which is saved and saves, which is evangelised and
evangelises. Like the Church, the family is called to live, irradiate and
express to the world the love and presence of Christ".
Accepting and transmitting divine love, Benedict XVI explained, "comes
about in the spouses' dedication to one another, in generous and responsible
procreation, in raising and educating children, in work and social
relations, in care for the needy, participation in Church activity and
commitment to civil society". The Christian family "reflects the splendour
of Christ and the beauty of the divine Trinity in the world" in the extent
to which it manages to experience love "as communion and service, as
reciprocal gift and openness to everyone".
The Pope then recalled his recent visit to Ancona to close the Italian
National Eucharistic Congress where he had met priests and married coupes
together. "Both these states of life", he said, "have the same roots in
Christ's love whereby He gave Himself for the salvation of humanity; they
are called to a shared mission of bearing witness to this love, and causing
it to be present through service to the community for the edification of the
people of God. Such a perspective enables us to overcome a reductive vision
in which the family is seen as the mere recipient of pastoral activity. ...
The family is the best place to impart human and Christian education, and
thus remains the greatest ally of priestly ministry".
The Pope then identified a number of areas in which the cooperation of
priests and Christian families is vital: educating children, adolescents and
young people in love, seen as communion and the gift of self; preparing
engaged couples for marriage; forming spouses; participating in charitable,
educational and civil activities, and in pastoral care by families for
families.
Finally, referring to the forthcoming seventh World Meeting of Families,
due to be held in Milan, Italy, in June 2012, the Pope said: "It will be a
great joy for me and for us all to come together, pray and rejoice with
families from all over the world".
AC/ VIS
20111201 (490)
PROMOTING UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO HIV/AIDS THERAPIES
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - Made public today was an English-language
statement from the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers for World AIDS
Day 2011.
The text, signed by Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the
pontifical council, says that the Day "must constitute a new opportunity to
promote universal access to therapies for those who are infected, the
prevention of transmission from mother to child, and education in lifestyles
that involve, as well, an approach that is truly correct and responsible as
regards sexuality. In addition, this is a privileged moment to relaunch the
fight against social prejudice".
An estimated 1,800,000 people still die every year because of HIV/AIDS,
mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. "These are people who could lead normal lives
if they only had access to suitable pharmacological therapies, those known
as antiretroviral therapies.
"Deaths are thus witnessed that are no longer justifiable, just as the
pain of the relatives of the people involved. ... By now the transmission of
the infection from mothers to their children, who often become victims even
before they begin to see the outlines of the world that surrounds them,
equally, cannot be justified.
"Although the extension of these therapies to all peoples and to all the
parts of a population is something that cannot but be engaged in, of
fundamental importance, on the other hand, remains the formation, the
education, of everyone, and in particular the new generations, in a
sexuality based upon 'an anthropology anchored in natural law and
illuminated by the Word of God'. The Church and her Magisterium ask for a
lifestyle that privileges abstinence, conjugal faithfulness and the
rejection of sexual promiscuity, because, as the Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation 'Africae munus' emphasised, all of this forms a part of the
question of the 'integral development' to which people and communities have
a right.
"In launching this new appeal for commitment and solidarity in favour of
all the (both direct and indirect) victims of HIV/AIDS, we would like to
thank, in union of spirit with the Holy Father, all those who have striven,
often for very many years, to help them. We are referring here to
institutions, agencies and volunteers who 'work in the sector of health care
and especially of AIDS'. ... who, without doubt, deserve the operational
support, and support without ideological ties, of international
organisations and benefactors.
"Lastly, we wish to express our proximity to people afflicted by HIV/AIDS,
to those who are near to them, and to all those healthcare workers who,
being exposed to the risk of infection as well, provide all possible care to
them, respecting their personalities and their dignity".
CON-AVA/ VIS
20111201 (450)
THE CHURCH IS IN NEED OF "METANOIA"
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The sixth meeting of the twelfth Ordinary
Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops was held in the
Vatican on 23 and 24 November, according to a communique made public today.
Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod, began by
recalling that the thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops is due to be held in the Vatican from 7 to 28 October 2012 on the
theme: "The new evangelisation for the transmission of the Christian faith".
Participants in the meeting were then presented with a summary of the
responses to the "Lineamenta" sent in by episcopal conferences, synods of
"sui iuris" Eastern Catholic Churches, offices of the Roman Curia and the
Union of Superiors General. Taking account of these responses, attention
turned to the draft outline of the "Instrumentum laboris" for next year's
Synod.
An attempt was made to find an adequate definition of "new
evangelisation", as addressed to Christians who no longer practise their
faith, non-believers, agnostics and faithful from other religions. This
concerns the entire Church, though in different ways in different regions.
"Through the new evangelisation", the communique reads, "the Church is
seeking to respond to the constant changes in the global human community as
it undergoes the process of globalisation in a cultural and moral climate of
secularisation and agnosticism. These challenges require new languages, new
methods and, above all, credible witnesses to transmit the faith to new
generations and in new social contexts".
Finally, the communique explains that the Church, "while ever more acutely
aware of her duty to preach the Gospel, is in need of a 'metanoia'
(conversion) to enable her, among other things, to present herself as
teacher and witness to people who seek the Lord because, by announcing the
Gospel, she proclaims conversion and the forgiveness of sins". The next
meeting of the council is due to take place on 16 and 17 February 2012.
OP/ VIS
20111201 (340)
SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CENTENARY OF YANGON CATHEDRAL
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - Made public today was a letter of the Holy
Father, written in Latin and dated 4 November, in which he appoints Cardinal
Renato Raffaele Martino, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the
centenary of the cathedral of Yangon, Myanmar, due to take place on 8
December.
Cardinal Martino will be accompanied on his mission by Fr. Joseph Maung
Win, pastor of St. Anthony's parish, and Fr. George Shwe Htun, vice pastor
of St. Mary's Cathedral.
BXVI-LETTER/ VIS 20111201
(100)
PRESENCE OF BISHOP LEI SHIYIN AT EPISCOPAL ORDINATION
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - Following the consecration yesterday of the
coadjutor bishop of Yibin, in the Chinese province of Sichuan, a number of
journalists raised the question of the presence of Bishop Lei Shiyin at the
ceremony, in reply to whom Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico
Lombardi gave the following response:
"I learned from the media this morning that Fr. Peter Luo Xuegang has been
ordained as coadjutor bishop of the diocese of Yibin in Sichuan province.
The main consecrator was the elderly diocesan bishop, Msgr. John Chen
Shizhong, and all the consecrating bishops are in communion with the Holy
Father with the exception of Lei Shiyin of Leshan.
"In the wake of three recent episcopal ordinations without pontifical
mandate, the fact that there is a new bishop in communion with the Pope and
all the Catholic bishops of the world is certainly positive, and will be
appreciated not only by Chinese bishops and faithful, but also by the
universal Church. Nonetheless, the participation of an illegitimate bishop
whose canonical status, as is well known, is one of excommunication, is not
a step in the same direction and arouses the disapproval and dismay of the
faithful, even more so because he participated as a consecrating bishop and
concelebrated the Eucharist. His repeated disobedience to the norms of the
Church unfortunately aggravates his canonical position.
"In normal conditions the presence of Bishop Lei Shiyin should have been
completely excluded, and would have led to canonical consequences for the
other participating bishops. In the present circumstances it its probable
that they were unable to avoid his presence without serious consequences. In
any case the Holy See will be able to evaluate the matter in greater detail
when it has received more information".
OP/ VIS
20111201 (310)
AUDIENCES
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience
sixteen prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on
their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput O.F.M. Cap. of Philadelphia,
accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Daniel Edward Thomas, Timothy C. Senior,
John J. McIntyre and Michael J. Fitzgerald.
- Bishop John Oliver Barres of Allentown.
- Bishop Mark L. Bartchak of Altoona-Johnstown.
- Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt of Greensburg.
- Bishop Joseph Patrick McFadden of Harrisburg.
- Bishop David Allen Zubik of Pittsburgh, accompanied by Auxiliary
Bishop William J. Waltersheid, and by former Auxiliary Bishop William Joseph
Winter.
- Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of Scranton, accompanied by Bishop emeritus
James Clifford Timlin and Bishop emeritus Joseph Francis Martino, and by
former Auxiliary Bishop John Martin Dougherty.
AL/ VIS
20111201 (140)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 1 DEC 2011 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Bishop Armando
Xavier Ochoa of El Paso, U.S.A., as bishop of Fresno (area 91,268,
population 2,778,000, Catholics 1,084,000, priests 166, permanent deacons
46, religious 152), U.S.A.
NER/ VIS
20111201 (40)
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