Subject: VISnews 111222
Organization: VIS
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
TWENTY FIRST YEAR - N. 225
ENGLISH
THURSDAY, 22 DECEMBER 2011
SUMMARY:
- Pope: We Must Renew Our Way of Being Christians
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
POPE: WE MUST RENEW OUR WAY OF BEING CHRISTIANS
VATICAN CITY, 22 DEC 2011 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received
cardinals along with members of the Roman Curia and of the Governance of the
Vatican City State for the traditional exchange of Christmas and New Year's
greetings. Speaking for those present, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the
College of Cardinals, greeted the Pontiff.
In his following address, Benedict XVI reviewed the major events of this
year, which has been marked by "an economic and financial crisis that is
ultimately based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent. Even
if such values as solidarity, commitment to one's neighbour and
responsibility towards the poor and suffering are largely uncontroversial,
still the motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of
society to practise renunciation and make sacrifices". That is why "the key
theme of this year, and of the years ahead, is this: how do we proclaim the
Gospel today?" in a way that the faith may be the living force that is
absent today.
In this respect, the Pope noted that "the ecclesial events of the outgoing
year were all ultimately related to this theme. There were the journeys to
Croatia, to the World Youth Day in Spain, to my home country of Germany, and
finally to Africa - Benin - for the consignment of the Post-Synodal document
on justice, peace, and reconciliation ... Equally memorable were the
journeys to Venice, to San Marino, to the Eucharistic Congress in Ancona,
and to Calabria. And finally there was the important day of encounter in
Assisi for religions and for people who in whatever way are searching for
truth and peace".
Other important steps in the same direction were the establishment of the
Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, which points "towards next
year's Synod on the same theme", and the proclamation of the Year of Faith.
Without Revitalizing the Faith, Church Reform Will Remain Ineffective
To all of this is joined the reflection on the need for reform within the
Church. "Faithful believers ... are noticing with concern that regular
churchgoers are growing older all the time and that their number is
constantly diminishing; that recruitment of priests is stagnating; that
scepticism and unbelief are growing. ... There are endless debates over what
must be done in order to reverse the trend. There is no doubt that a variety
of things need to be done. ... The essence of the crisis of the Church in
Europe ... is the crisis of faith. If we find no answer to this, if faith
does not take on new life, deep conviction and real strength from the
encounter with Jesus Christ, then all other reforms will remain
ineffective".
In contrast to the European situation, Benedict XVI asserted that during
his trip to Benin "none of the faith fatigue that is so prevalent here ...
was detectable there. Amid all the problems, sufferings and trials that
Africa clearly experiences, one could still sense the people's joy in being
Christian, buoyed up by inner happiness at knowing Christ and belonging to
His Church. From this joy comes also the strength to serve Christ in
hard-pressed situations of human suffering, the strength to put oneself at
his disposal, without looking round for one's own advantage. Encountering
this faith that is so ready to sacrifice and so full of happiness is a
powerful remedy against the fatigue with Christianity such as we are
experiencing in Europe today".
Another sign of hope is seen in the World Youth Days where "again and
again ... a new, more youthful form of Christianity can be seen", one
possessing five main characteristics. "Firstly, there is a new experience of
catholicity, of the Church's universality. This is what struck the young
people and all the participants quite directly: we come from every
continent, but although we have never met one another, we know one another"
because "the same inner encounter with Jesus Christ has stamped us deep
within with the same structure of intellect, will, and heart. ... In this
setting, to say that all humanity are brothers and sisters is not merely an
idea: it becomes a real shared experience, generating joy".
Secondly, "from this derives a new way of living our humanity, our
Christianity. For me, one of the most important experiences of those days
was the meeting with the World Youth Day volunteers: about 20,000 young
people, all of whom devoted weeks or months of their lives" to the
preparations. "At the end of the day, these young people were visibly and
tangibly filled with a great sense of happiness: the time that they had
given up had meaning; in giving of their time and labour, they had found
time, they had found life. ... These young people did good, even at a cost,
even if it demanded sacrifice, simply because it is a wonderful thing to do
good, to be there for others. All it needs is the courage to make the leap.
Prior to all of this is the encounter with Jesus Christ, inflaming us with
love for God and for others, and freeing us from seeking our own ego". The
Pope recalled having found the same attitude in Africa from the Sisters of
Mother Teresa "who devote themselves to abandoned, sick, poor, and suffering
children, without asking anything for themselves, thus becoming inwardly
rich and free. This is the genuinely Christian attitude".
The Joy of Knowing We Are Loved by God
The third element characterizing the World Youth Days is adoration.
Benedict XVI remarked on the crowds' silence before the Blessed Sacrament in
Hyde Park, Zagreb, and Madrid. "God is indeed ever-present", he said. "But
again, the physical presence of the risen Christ is something different,
something new. ... Adoration is primarily an act of faith - the act of faith
as such. God is not just some possible or impossible hypothesis concerning
the origin of all things. He is present. And if He is present, then I bow
down before him. ... We enter this certainty of God's tangible love for us
with love in our own hearts. This is adoration, and this then determines my
life. Only thus can I celebrate the Eucharist correctly and receive the body
of the Lord rightly".
Confession is another essential characteristic of the World Youth Days
because, with this sacrament "we recognize that we need forgiveness over and
over again, and that forgiveness brings responsibility. Openness to love is
present in man, implanted in him by the Creator, together with the capacity
to respond to God in faith. But also present, in consequence of man's sinful
history ... is the tendency ... towards selfishness, towards becoming closed
in on oneself, in fact towards evil. ... Therefore we need the humility that
constantly asks God for forgiveness, that seeks purification and awakens in
us the counterforce, the positive force of the Creator, to draw us upwards".
Fifthly, and finally, the Pope mentioned the joy that above all depends on
the certainty, based on faith that "I am wanted; I have a task; I am
accepted, I am loved. ... Man can only accept himself if he is accepted by
another. ... This sense of being accepted comes in the first instance from
other human beings. But all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately we need
a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if God accepts me, and I
become convinced of this, do I know definitively: it is good that I exist.
... If ever man's sense of being accepted and loved by God is lost, then
there is no longer any answer to the question whether to be a human being is
good at all. ... Only faith gives me the conviction: it is good that I
exist. It is good to be a human being, even in hard times. Faith makes one
happy from deep within".
In conclusion, the Pontiff thanked the Curia for "for shouldering the
common mission that the Lord has given us as witnesses to His truth" and
them wished all a blessed Christmas.
AC/ VIS 20111222
(1330)
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 22 DEC 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father named as consultors
of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See: Dr. Fabio
Marenda, Dr. Pasquale D'Agostino, Dr. Gianluca Piredda, and Dr. Maria Rita
Sanguigni.
NA/ VIS 20111222
(30)
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