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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
ANNO XXII - N° 39
DATA 20-02-2012
Summary:
- UNITY IN THE CHURCH IS A DIVINE GIFT WHICH MUST BE DEFENDED
- POPE TELLS NEW CARDINALS TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE JOY OF CHRIST’S LOVE
- CATHEDRA OF PETER IS A SIGN OF CHRIST'S AUTHORITY, BASED ON FAITH AND LOVE
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
UNITY IN THE CHURCH IS A DIVINE GIFT WHICH MUST BE DEFENDED
Vatican City, 20 February 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy
Father received the twenty-two new cardinals created in the recent consistory,
accompanied by members of their families and other faithful who had come with
them to Rome. The
Pope spoke to each group in its own language, concluding with some words in
Italian addressed to them as a whole.
Speaking French he said that "our society, which experiences moments of
uncertainty and doubt, has need of Christ's clarity. May each Christian bear
witness with faith and courage, and may the imminent period of Lent favour a
return towards God".
Turning then to address the groups as a whole, the Holy Father highlighted how
the creation of new cardinals "is an opportunity to reflect upon the universal
mission of the Church in the history of man. In human affairs, which are often
agitated and
confused, the Church is always alive and present, bringing Christ: light and
hope for all humankind. Remaining united to the Church and to the message of
salvation she bears, means anchoring ourselves in truth, reinforcing a sense
of true values,
remaining serene whatever happens.
"I exhort you, then", the Pope added in conclusion, "always to remain united
to your pastors, and to the new cardinals, in order to be in communion with
the Church. Unity in the Church is a divine gift which must be defended and
developed. I entrust
you, dear brother cardinals, and the faithful accompanying you, to the
protection of the Mother of God and of the Apostles Peter and Paul".
___________________________________________________________
POPE TELLS NEW CARDINALS TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE JOY OF CHRIST’S LOVE
Vatican City, 19 February 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Basilica,
Benedict XVI presided at a Eucharistic concelebration with the twenty-two
cardinals created in yesterday's consistory. At the beginning of the ceremony,
Cardinal Fernando
Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples,
addressed a greeting to the Pope in the name of all the new cardinals.
Extracts from the Holy Father's homily are given below:
"In the second reading that we have just heard, St. Peter exhorts the
“elders” of the Church to be zealous pastors, attentive to the
flock of Christ. These words are addressed in the first instance to you. ...
The new dignity that has been
conferred upon you is intended to show appreciation for the faithful labour
you have carried out in the Lord’s vineyard, to honour the communities
and nations from which you come and which you represent so worthily in the
Church, to invest you
with new and more important ecclesial responsibilities and finally to ask of
you an additional readiness to be of service to Christ and to the entire
Christian community. This readiness to serve the Gospel is firmly founded upon
the certitude of faith".
"Today’s Gospel passage presents Peter, under divine inspiration,
expressing his own firm faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the promised
Messiah. In response to this transparent profession of faith, which Peter
makes in the name of the other
Apostles as well, Christ reveals to him the mission He intends to entrust to
him, namely that of being the “rock”, the visible foundation on
which the entire spiritual edifice of the Church is built. ... This Gospel
episode ... finds a
further and more eloquent explanation in one of the most famous artistic
treasures of this Vatican Basilica: the altar of the Chair. After passing
through the magnificent central nave, and continuing past the transepts, the
pilgrim arrives in the apse
and sees before him an enormous bronze throne that seems to hover in mid air,
but in reality is supported by the four statues of great Fathers of the Church
from East and West. And above the throne, surrounded by triumphant angels
suspende
d in
the air, the glory of the Holy Spirit shines through the oval window. ... It
represents a vision of the essence of the Church and the place within the
Church of the Petrine Magisterium.
"The window of the apse opens the Church towards the outside, towards the
whole of creation, while the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove
shows God as the source of light. But there is also another aspect to point
out: the Church herself is
like a window, the place where God draws near to us, where He comes towards
our world. The Church does not exist for her own sake, she is not the point of
arrival, but she has to point upwards, beyond herself, to the realms above.
The Church is truly
herself to the extent that she allows the Other, with a capital
ldquo;O”, to shine through her - the One from Whom she comes and to Whom
she leads. The Church is the place where God “reaches” us and
where we “set off”
towards Him: she has the task of opening up, beyond itself, a world which
tends to become enclosed within itself, the task of bringing to the world the
light that comes from above, without which it would be uninhabitable.
"The great bronze throne encloses a wooden chair from the ninth century, which
was long thought to be St. Peter’s own chair and was placed above this
monumental altar because of its great symbolic value. It expresses the
permanent presence of the
Apostle in the Magisterium of his successors. St. Peter’s chair, we
could say, is the throne of truth which takes its origin from Christ’s
commission".
"The chair of Peter evokes another memory: the famous expression from St.
Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Romans, where he says of the Church
of Rome that she “presides in charity”. In truth, presiding in
faith is inseparably
linked to presiding in love. Faith without love would no longer be an
authentic Christian faith. ... The word “charity”, in fact, was
also used by the early Church to indicate the Eucharist. ... Therefore, to
“preside in charity”
is to draw men and women into a Eucharistic embrace - the embrace of Christ -
which surpasses every barrier and every division, creating communion from all
manner of differences. The Petrine ministry is therefore a primacy of love in
the Eucharistic
sense, that is to say solicitude for the universal communion of the Church in
Christ. And the Eucharist is the shape and the measure of this communion, a
guarantee that it will remain faithful to the criterion of the tradition of
the fait
h.
"The great Chair is supported by the Fathers of the Church". They "represent
the whole of the tradition, and hence the richness of expression of the true
faith of the holy and one Church. This aspect of the altar teaches us that
love rests upon faith.
Love collapses if man no longer trusts in God and disobeys Him. Everything in
the Church rests upon faith: the Sacraments, the liturgy, evangelisation,
charity. Likewise the law and the Church’s authority rest upon faith.
The Church is not
self-regulating, she does not determine her own structure but receives it from
the word of God, to which she listens in faith as she seeks to understand it
and to live it. ... The Sacred Scriptures, authoritatively interpreted by the
Magisterium in the
light of the Fathers, shed light upon the Church’s journey through time,
providing her with a stable foundation amid the vicissitudes of history.
"After considering the various elements of the altar of the Chair, let us take
a look at it in its entirety. We see that it is characterised by a twofold
movement: ascending and descending. This is the reciprocity between faith and
love. ... A selfish
faith would be an unreal faith. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ and enters
into the dynamic of love that finds its source in the Eucharist, discovers
true joy and becomes capable in turn of living according to the logic of this
gift. True faith is
illumined by love and leads towards love, leads on high, just as the altar of
the Chair points upwards towards the luminous window, the glory of the Holy
Spirit, which constitutes the true focus for the pilgrim’s gaze as he
crosses the threshold
of the Vatican Basilica. ... God is not isolation, but glorious and joyful
love, spreading outwards and radiant with light".
"The gift of this love has been entrusted to us, to every Christian. It is a
gift to be passed on to others, through the witness of our lives. This is your
task in particular, dear brother cardinals: to bear witness to the joy of
Christ’s love".
___________________________________________________________
CATHEDRA OF PETER IS A SIGN OF CHRIST'S AUTHORITY, BASED ON FAITH AND LOVE
Vatican City, 19 February 2012 (VIS) - Following this morning's concelebration
of the Eucharist with the twenty-two cardinals created in Saturday's
consistory, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study to pray the
Angelus with faithful and
pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Before the Marian prayer, the Holy Father reminded people that "this Sunday is
a particularly joyful one here in the Vatican, because of yesterday's
consistory in which I created twenty-two new cardinals. This morning I had the
joy of concelebrating the
Eucharist with them in St. Peter's Basilica, over the tomb of the Apostle whom
Jesus called to be the 'rock' upon which to build His Church. I therefore
invite you all to pray for these our venerable brothers, who are now more
deeply committed to
collaborating with me in guiding the universal Church, and to bearing witness
to the Gospel even unto the sacrifice of their lives. This is the significance
of their red garments: the colour of blood and of love".
Benedict XVI also recalled the fact that yesterday's consistory took place
against the backdrop of the Feast of the Cathedra of St. Peter, which had been
brought forward to this Sunday to ensure it did not coincide with Ash
Wednesday and the beginning
of Lent. The cathedra, the Pope explained, "is the seat reserved for the
bishop. ... The Cathedra of St. Peter ... is the symbol of the special mission
that Peter and his successors have to feed the flock of Christ and to keep it
united in faith and
charity. ... This particular duty devolves upon the community of Rome and its
Bishop because it was in this city that the Apostles Peter and Paul spilt
their blood, along with many other martyrs. Thus we return to the witness of
blood and charity. The
Cathedra of Peter is a sign of authority: the authority of Christ which is
founded upon faith and love".
In conclusion, the Holy Father entrusted the new cardinals to the protection
of the Blessed Virgin, Mother of the Church, that she might "help me and my
collaborators to work tirelessly for the unity of the People of God, and to
announce the message of
salvation to all people, humbly and courageously performing the service of
truth in charity".
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 20 February 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Timothy Costelloe S.D.B., auxiliary of Melbourne,
Australia, as archbishop of Perth (area 427,377, population 1,681,142,
Catholics 415,633, priests 266, permanent deacons 15, religious 615),
Australia. He succeeds Archbishop Barry
James Hickey, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese
the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Dresden -
Meissen, Germany, presented by Bishop Joachim Friedrich Reinelt, upon having
reached the age limit.
___________________________________________________________
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VISnews120220
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE ANNO XXII - N° 39DATA 20-02-2012
Summary: - UNITY IN THE CHURCH IS A DIVINE
GIFT WHICH MUST BE DEFENDED - POPE TELLS NEW CARDINALS TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE JOY OF CHRIST’S
LOVE - CATHEDRA OF PETER IS A SIGN OF CHRIST'S AUTHORITY, BASED ON FAITH
AND LOVE - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS ___________________________________________________________
UNITY IN THE CHURCH IS A DIVINE GIFT WHICH MUST BE DEFENDED
Vatican City, 20 February 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the
Holy Father received the twenty-two new cardinals created in the recent
consistory, accompanied by members of their families and other faithful who
had come with them to Rome.
The Pope spoke to each group in its own language, concluding with some words
in Italian addressed to them as a whole.
Speaking French he said that "our society, which experiences moments of
uncertainty and doubt, has need of Christ's clarity. May each Christian bear
witness with faith and courage, and may the imminent period of Lent favour a
return towards God".
Turning then to address the groups as a whole, the Holy Father highlighted
how the creation of new cardinals "is an opportunity to reflect upon the
universal mission of the Church in the history of man. In human affairs, which
are often agitated and
confused, the Church is always alive and present, bringing Christ: light and
hope for all humankind. Remaining united to the Church and to the message of
salvation she bears, means anchoring ourselves in truth, reinforcing a sense
of true values,
remaining serene whatever happens.
"I exhort you, then", the Pope added in conclusion, "always to remain
united to your pastors, and to the new cardinals, in order to be in communion
with the Church. Unity in the Church is a divine gift which must be defended
and developed. I entrust
you, dear brother cardinals, and the faithful accompanying you, to the
protection of the Mother of God and of the Apostles Peter and Paul".
POPE TELLS NEW CARDINALS TO BEAR WITNESS TO THE JOY OF CHRIST’S
LOVE
Vatican City, 19 February 2012 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican
Basilica, Benedict XVI presided at a Eucharistic concelebration with the
twenty-two cardinals created in yesterday's consistory. At the beginning of
the ceremony, Cardinal Fernando
Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples,
addressed a greeting to the Pope in the name of all the new cardinals.
Extracts from the Holy Father's homily are given below:
"In the second reading that we have just heard, St. Peter exhorts the
“elders” of the Church to be zealous pastors, attentive to the
flock of Christ. These words are addressed in the first instance to you. ...
The new dignity that has
been conferred upon you is intended to show appreciation for the faithful
labour you have carried out in the Lord’s vineyard, to honour the
communities and nations from which you come and which you represent so
worthily in the Church, to invest
you with new and more important ecclesial responsibilities and finally to ask
of you an additional readiness to be of service to Christ and to the entire
Christian community. This readiness to serve the Gospel is firmly founded upon
the certitude of
faith".
"Today’s Gospel passage presents Peter, under divine inspiration,
expressing his own firm faith in Jesus as the Son of God and the promised
Messiah. In response to this transparent profession of faith, which Peter
makes in the name of the other
Apostles as well, Christ reveals to him the mission He intends to entrust to
him, namely that of being the “rock”, the visible foundation on
which the entire spiritual edifice of the Church is built. ... This Gospel
episode ... finds a
further and more eloquent explanation in one of the most famous artistic
treasures of this Vatican Basilica: the altar of the Chair. After passing
through the magnificent central nave, and continuing past the transepts, the
pilgrim arrives in the apse
and sees before him an enormous bronze throne that seems to hover in mid air,
but in reality is supported by the four statues of great Fathers of the Church
from East and West. And above the throne, surrounded by triumphant angels
suspended in the air, the glory of the Holy Spirit shines through the oval
window. ... It represents a vision of the essence of the Church and the place
within the Church of the Petrine Magisterium.
"The window of the apse opens the Church towards the outside, towards the
whole of creation, while the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove
shows God as the source of light. But there is also another aspect to point
out: the Church herself
is like a window, the place where God draws near to us, where He comes towards
our world. The Church does not exist for her own sake, she is not the point of
arrival, but she has to point upwards, beyond herself, to the realms above.
The Church is truly
herself to the extent that she allows the Other, with a capital
ldquo;O”, to shine through her - the One from Whom she comes and to Whom
she leads. The Church is the place where God “reaches” us and
where we “set off”
towards Him: she has the task of opening up, beyond itself, a world which
tends to become enclosed within itself, the task of bringing to the world the
light that comes from above, without which it would be
uninhabitable.
"The great bronze throne encloses a wooden chair from the ninth century,
which was long thought to be St. Peter’s own chair and was placed above
this monumental altar because of its great symbolic value. It expresses the
permanent presence of
the Apostle in the Magisterium of his successors. St. Peter’s chair, we
could say, is the throne of truth which takes its origin from Christ’s
commission".
"The chair of Peter evokes another memory: the famous expression from St.
Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Romans, where he says of the Church
of Rome that she “presides in charity”. In truth, presiding in
faith is inseparably
linked to presiding in love. Faith without love would no longer be an
authentic Christian faith. ... The word “charity”, in fact, was
also used by the early Church to indicate the Eucharist. ... Therefore, to
“preside in charity”
is to draw men and women into a Eucharistic embrace - the embrace of Christ -
which surpasses every barrier and every division, creating communion from all
manner of differences. The Petrine ministry is therefore a primacy of love in
the Eucharistic
sense, that is to say solicitude for the universal communion of the Church in
Christ. And the Eucharist is the shape and the measure of this communion, a
guarantee that it will remain faithful to the criterion of the tradition of
the faith.
"The great Chair is supported by the Fathers of the Church". They
"represent the whole of the tradition, and hence the richness of expression of
the true faith of the holy and one Church. This aspect of the altar teaches us
that love rests upon
faith. Love collapses if man no longer trusts in God and disobeys Him.
Everything in the Church rests upon faith: the Sacraments, the liturgy,
evangelisation, charity. Likewise the law and the Church’s authority
rest upon faith. The Church is not
self-regulating, she does not determine her own structure but receives it from
the word of God, to which she listens in faith as she seeks to understand it
and to live it. ... The Sacred Scriptures, authoritatively interpreted by the
Magisterium in the
light of the Fathers, shed light upon the Church’s journey through time,
providing her with a stable foundation amid the vicissitudes of history.
"After considering the various elements of the altar of the Chair, let us
take a look at it in its entirety. We see that it is characterised by a
twofold movement: ascending and descending. This is the reciprocity between
faith and love. ... A
selfish faith would be an unreal faith. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ and
enters into the dynamic of love that finds its source in the Eucharist,
discovers true joy and becomes capable in turn of living according to the
logic of this gift. True faith
is illumined by love and leads towards love, leads on high, just as the altar
of the Chair points upwards towards the luminous window, the glory of the Holy
Spirit, which constitutes the true focus for the pilgrim’s gaze as he
crosses the
threshold of the Vatican Basilica. ... God is not isolation, but glorious and
joyful love, spreading outwards and radiant with light".
"The gift of this love has been entrusted to us, to every Christian. It is
a gift to be passed on to others, through the witness of our lives. This is
your task in particular, dear brother cardinals: to bear witness to the joy of
Christ’s
love".
CATHEDRA OF PETER IS A SIGN OF CHRIST'S AUTHORITY, BASED ON FAITH AND
LOVE
Vatican City, 19 February 2012 (VIS) - Following this morning's
concelebration of the Eucharist with the twenty-two cardinals created in
Saturday's consistory, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study to
pray the Angelus with faithful and
pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square.
Before the Marian prayer, the Holy Father reminded people that "this Sunday
is a particularly joyful one here in the Vatican, because of yesterday's
consistory in which I created twenty-two new cardinals. This morning I had the
joy of concelebrating
the Eucharist with them in St. Peter's Basilica, over the tomb of the Apostle
whom Jesus called to be the 'rock' upon which to build His Church. I therefore
invite you all to pray for these our venerable brothers, who are now more
deeply committed to
collaborating with me in guiding the universal Church, and to bearing witness
to the Gospel even unto the sacrifice of their lives. This is the significance
of their red garments: the colour of blood and of love".
Benedict XVI also recalled the fact that yesterday's consistory took place
against the backdrop of the Feast of the Cathedra of St. Peter, which had been
brought forward to this Sunday to ensure it did not coincide with Ash
Wednesday and the
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