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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
ANNO XXII - N° 54
DATA 12-03-2012
Summary:
- VIOLENCE IS CONTRARY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
- POPE AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY TOGETHER CELEBRATE FEAST OF ST. GREGORY
THE GREAT
- PRESENTATION OF PONTIFICAL YEARBOOK 2012
- BOOK ON THE CHALLENGES OF NEW EVANGELISATION IN LATIN AMERICA
- HOLY SEE PARTICIPATES IN THE WORLD WATER FORUM
- AUDIENCES
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
VIOLENCE IS CONTRARY TO THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Vatican City, 11 March 2012 (VIS) - At midday today, the third Sunday of Lent,
Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with
faithful gathered below in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope commented on today's reading from the Gospel of St. John which
recounts how Jesus drove animal sellers and money changers from the Temple,
arousing great wonder among His disciples and the people. "How must we
interpret this gesture?" the Pope
asked. "First of all we must note that it did not cause any reaction from the
guardians of public order, because it was seen as a typically prophetical act.
Prophets, in fact, in the name of God often denounced abuses, sometimes with
symbolic gestures.
If anything, the problem was their authority. That is why the Jews asked Jesus
'what sign can you show us for doing this?'; in other words, show us that you
are truly acting in God's name.
"The cleansing of the Temple has also been interpreted as a poli
ical-revolutionary gesture", the Holy Father added, "with Jesus being seen as
part of the Zealots movement. The Zealots were, indeed, 'zealous' for the law
of God and ready to use violence
to ensure it was respected. In Jesus' time they were awaiting a Messiah who
would free Israel from Roman rule. But Jesus disappointed that hope, causing
some disciples to abandon Him, while Judas Iscariot even betrayed Him. The
truth is that it is
impossible to interpret Jesus as violent. Violence is contrary to the Kingdom
of God. It is an instrument of the Antichrist. Violence never serves man, but
dehumanises him".
"The words Jesus used while accomplishing His gesture - 'Take these things our
of here!Stop making my Father's house a market-place!' - reminded His
disciples of the words of the Psalm: 'It is zeal for your house that has
consumed me'. The Psalm is a
cry for help in a situation of extreme danger caused by the hatred of enemies,
which is what Jesus would experience in His passion. Zeal for the Father and
His house would take Him to the cross. His is the zeal of the love which pays
in person, not that
which seeks to serve God through violence. Indeed, the 'sign' Jesus would give
as proof of His authority would be His death and resurrection. 'Destroy this
temple and in three days I will raise it up', which St. John glosses with the
words: 'he was
speaking of the temple of his body'. At Easter Jesus inaugurated a new cult:
the cult of love, and a new temple: Himself, the risen Christ, through Whom
all believers can adore God the Father 'in spirit and truth'".
"The Holy Spirit began to build this temple in the Virgin's womb", Benedict
XVI concluded. "Through her intercession let us pray that each Christian may
become a living stone in this spiritual building".
Following the Marian prayer the Pope launched an appeal for the people of
Madagascar who have been suffering the devastating effects of tropical storms,
the most recent of which left at least seventy dead and many missing, as well
as causing material
damage affecting 70,000 people.
"My thoughts go", he said, "to the dear people of Madagascar who have recently
been struck by violent natural calamities that caused serious damage to
people, infrastructures and crops. While giving assurances of my prayers for
the victims and for their
sorely tried families, I encourage the international community to send aid".
___________________________________________________________
POPE AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY TOGETHER CELEBRATE FEAST OF ST. GREGORY THE
GREAT
Vatican City, 10 March 2012 (VIS) - This evening the Holy Father presided at
Vespers in the Roman monastery of San Gregorio al Celio, in a ceremony marking
the thousandth anniversary of the foundation of the mother house of the
Camaldolese Order of St.
Benedict, the Feast of the Transit of St, Gregory, and the visit to Rome of
His Grace Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican
Communion.
Following readings from the Psalms and the Gospel, Benedict XVI and the
Archbishop of Canterbury each pronounced a homily.
"Today’s celebration is", the Pope said, "marked by a profoundly
ecumenical character which, as we know, is part and parcel of the modern
Camaldolese spirit. This Roman Camaldolese monastery has developed with
Canterbury and the Anglican
Communion, especially since the Vatican Council II, links that now qualify as
traditional. Today, for the third time, the Bishop of Rome is meeting the
Archbishop of Canterbury in the home of St. Gregory the Great. And it is right
that it should be so,
because it was from this monastery that Pope Gregory chose Augustine and his
forty monks and sent them to bring the Gospel to the Angles, a little over
1,400 years ago".
The Holy Father recalled how St. Gregory's "blameless ministry" was "full of
zeal for the Gospel. Truly, what St. Paul wrote of himself applies equally to
Gregory: the grace of God in him has not been fruitless. This, indeed, is the
secret for the lives
of every one of us: to welcome God’s grace and to consent with all our
heart and all our strength to its action. This is also the secret of true joy
and profound peace".
"At the root of everything, is the grace of God, the gift of the call, the
mystery of the encounter with the living Jesus. But this grace demands a
response from those who have been baptised: it requires the commitment to be
re-clothed in Christ’s
sentiments: tenderness, goodness, humility, meekness, magnanimity, mutual
forgiveness, and above all ... 'agape', the love that God has given us through
Jesus, the love that the Holy Spirit has poured into our hearts".
Pope Benedict went on to recall that the Camaldolese Order "has completed a
thousand years of history, feeding daily on the word of God and the Eucharist,
as their founder St. Romuald taught them, according to the 'triplex bonum' of
solitude, community
life and evangelisation". He also mentioned the order's many saints, blesseds
and martyrs, men of learning, historians and pastors of the Church "exemplary
men and women of God" who "have revealed the horizons and the great
fruitfulness of the
Camaldolese tradition".
The Holy Father completed his homily by expressing the hope that "all the
faithful, both Catholic and Anglican, ... as they visit the glorious tombs of
the holy apostles and martyrs in Rome, may renew their commitment to pray
constantly and to work for
unity, and to live fully in accordance with the “ut unum sint”
that Jesus addressed to the Father".
In his remarks, Archbishop Williams referred to the "certain yet imperfect"
communion between the Catholic and Anglican Churches. Both, he said, share "a
vision of the restoration of full sacramental communion, of a Eucharistic life
that is fully
visible, and thus a witness that is fully credible, so that a confused and
tormented world may enter into the welcome and transforming light of Christ".
At the same time, "our recognition of the one Body in each other’s
corporate life is unstable
and incomplete; yet without such ultimate recognition we are not yet fully
free to share the transforming power of the Gospel in Church and world".
At the end of Vespers the Holy Father and the Archbishop of Canterbury entered
the Chapel of St. Gregory where they lit two candles to honour the memory of
St. Gregory the Great and of St. Augustine of Canterbury.
___________________________________________________________
PRESENTATION OF PONTIFICAL YEARBOOK 2012
Vatican City, 10 March 2012 (VIS) - This morning, Cardinal Secretary of State
Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. and Archbishop Angelo Becciu, substitute for General
Affairs, presented the Holy Father with the 2012 edition of the "Annuario
Pontificio" or
pontifical yearbook, and the "Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae". Also present
were the officials responsible for compiling and printing the volumes.
A note concerning the presentation highlights some of the facts contained in
the new edition. In 2011, the Pope erected eight new episcopal sees, one
personal ordinariate and one military ordinariate. One archdiocese and eight
dioceses were elevated to
the rank of metropolitan see; one prelature, one apostolic vicariate and one
apostolic prefecture were elevated to the rank of diocese, and one "sui iuris"
mission was elevated to the rank of apostolic prefecture.
The statistical information, which refers to the year 2010, reveals details
about the Catholic Church in the 2,966 ecclesiastical circumscriptions on the
planet. The number of Catholics in the world moved from 1,181 million in 2009
to 1,196 million in
2010, an increase of fifteen million faithful, corresponding to a growth of
1.3 percent. Over the last two years the presence of baptised Catholics in the
world has remained stable at around 17.5 per cent.
The number of Catholics with respect to the total population varies
considerably between the continents. Their numbers have dropped in South
America (from 28.54 per cent to 28.34 per cent) and in Europe (from 24.05 per
cent to 23.83 per cent), while
they have increased in Africa (from 15.15 per cent to 15.55 per cent) and in
South-East Asia (from 10.47 per cent to 10.87 per cent).
The number of bishops went from 5,065 to 5,104, a growth of 0.77 per cent.
This increase involved Africa (sixteen new bishops), America (fifteen) and
Asia (twelve), while numbers fell slightly in Europe (from 1,607 to 1,606) and
in Oceania (from 132 to
129).
The steady increase in the number of priests which began in the year 2000 has
continued. In 2010 their numbers stood at 412,236, composed of 227,009
diocesan priests and 135,227 regular priests; whereas in 2009 they numbered
410,593 (275,542 diocesan
and 135,051 regular). The number of clergy has increased in Asia (by 1695),
Africa (765), Oceania (52) and the Americas (42), while their numbers have
fallen by 905 in Europe.
Numbers of permanent deacons have increased by 3.7 per cent, from 38,155 in
2009 to 39,564 in 2010. They are present above all in North America and
Europe, which respectively represent 64.3 per cent and 33.2 per cent of the
world total.
The negative tendency in the number of non-ordained male religious reversed,
as their number passed from 54,229 in 2009 to 54,665 in 2010. Numbers fell by
3.5 per cent in South America and by 0.9 per cent in North America, in Europe
they remained
stationary while Asia and Africa saw an increase of 4.1 per cent and 3.1 per
cent respectively.
The number of female religious is undergoing a strong decline, moving from
729,371 in 2009 to 721,935 in 2010. Numbers fell by 2.9 per cent in Europe, by
2.6 per cent in Oceania and by 1.6 per cent the Americas. Nonetheless they
increased by around 2
per cent in both Africa and Asia
The number of students of philosophy and theology in diocesan and religious
seminaries has increased constantly over the last five years, from 114,439 in
2005 to 111,990 in 2010, a growth of 4 per cent.
Numbers of major seminarians have fallen by 10.4 per cent in Europe, and by
1.1 per cent in the Americas, but are increasing in Africa (14.2 per cent,)
Asia (13 per cent) and Oceania (12.3 per cent).
___________________________________________________________
BOOK ON THE CHALLENGES OF NEW EVANGELISATION IN LATIN AMERICA
Vatican City, 10 March 2012 (VIS) - The Pontifical Commission for Latin
America has recently published a work entitled "Reflections on New
Evangelisation in Latin America: Challenges and Priorities". The book, 130
pages long, is the outcome of a study
day organised by the commission which took place on 11 November 2011.
The book begins with an introduction by Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., prefect
of the Congregation for Bishops, and includes the text of three lectures
delivered during the course of the study day: "New Evangelisation in the Light
of the Pontifical
Magisterium" by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, president of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting New Evangelisation; "From the Evangelisation of Jesus
Christ to the Continental Mission as New Evangelisation" by Bishop Santiago
Jaime Silva Retamales,
secretary of the Latin American Episcopal Council, and "New Evangelisation in
Latin America Today: Challenges and Priorities" by Guzman Carriquiry Lecour,
secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. There then follows a
list of forty-one
recommendations for new evangelisation on the American continent.
The work will be sent to all members and counsellors of the commission, to the
bishops of Latin America and to the prefects and presidents of the various
dicasteries and offices of the Roman Curia.
A communique from the pontifical commission accompanying today's publication
states that the book contains "a number of useful contributions to that 'new
evangelisation' which has been repeatedly invoked by John Paul II and by
Benedict XVI, ... and
which found a significant response in the 'continental mission' launched
during the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the
Caribbean held in 2007 in Aparecida, Brazil. That mission is in the process of
being accomplished".
The book also "aims to contribute to the many discussions and reflections
which are taking place in view of the forthcoming General Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops in October, ... and the subsequent Year of Faith".
___________________________________________________________
HOLY SEE PARTICIPATES IN THE WORLD WATER FORUM
Vatican City, 12 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See has sent a delegation to
participate in the Sixth World Water Forum, being held in the French city of
Marseille from 12 to 17 March. For the occasion the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace has
prepared a document entitled: "Water, an Element Essential for Life".
The text highlights how, despite a certain amount of progress, a large part of
the world population still does not enjoy guaranteed access to potable water.
The document also underscores the need for improved management of water
resources by public
authorities, private sector operators and civil society, and invites those
bodies to act with responsibility, sobriety and solidarity, while taking
account of the principles of justice and subsidiarity.
The World Water Fora are organised every three years by the World Water
Council. They bring together private and State entities, as well as
representatives of various associations, to analyse and develop a long term
vision of the status and utilisation
of this indispensable resource.
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 10 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:
- Thirteen prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on
their "ad limina" visit:
- Archbishop Jerome George Hanus O.S.B. of Dubuque.
- Bishop Martin John Amos of Davenport.
- Bishop Richard Edmund Pates of Des Moines, accompanied by Bishop emeritus
Joseph Leo Charron C.PP.S.
- Bishop Ralph Walker Nickless of Sioux City.
- Archbishop Robert James Carlson of Saint Louis, accompanied by Auxiliary
Bishop Edward M. Rice, and by former Auxiliary Bishop Robert Joseph Hermann.
- Bishop John Raymond Gaydos of Jefferson City.
- Bishop Robert W. Finn of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, accompanied by Bishop
emeritus Raymond James Boland.
- Bishop James Vann Johnston of Springfield-Cape Giradeau, accompanied by
Bishop emeritus John Joseph Leibrecht.
- Frere Alois, prior of Taize.
- His Grace Rowan Williams, Anglican archbishop of Canterbury and primate of
the Anglican Communion.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 10 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Archbishop Francesco Alfano of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi - Conza -
Nusco - Bisaccia, Italy, as archbishop of Sorrento-Casellamare di Stabia (area
205, population 240,900, Catholics 240,000, priests 169, permanent deacons 6,
religious 501),
Italy. He succeeds Archbishop Felice Cece, whose resignation from the pastoral
care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the
age limit.
- Appointed Cardinal Christoph Schonborn O.P., archbishop of Vienna, Austria,
as his special envoy to celebrations marking the 450th anniversary of the
formal renewal of the archbishopric of Prague, due to take place on 12 May.
- Appointed Archbishop Mario Roberto Cassari, apostolic nuncio to Croatia, as
apostolic nuncio to South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland.
___________________________________________________________
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VISnews120312
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE ANNO XXII - N° 54DATA 12-03-2012
Summary: - VIOLENCE IS CONTRARY TO THE
KINGDOM OF GOD - POPE AND
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY TOGETHER CELEBRATE FEAST OF ST. GREGORY THE GREAT - PRESENTATION OF PONTIFICAL YEARBOOK 2012 - BOOK ON THE CHALLENGES
OF NEW EVANGELISATION IN LATIN AMERICA - HOLY SEE PARTICIPATES IN THE
WORLD WATER FORUM - AUDIENCES - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 11 March 2012 (VIS) - At midday today, the third Sunday of
Lent, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus
with faithful gathered below in St. Peter's Square.
The Pope commented on today's reading from the Gospel of St. John which
recounts how Jesus drove animal sellers and money changers from the Temple,
arousing great wonder among His disciples and the people. "How must we
interpret this gesture?" the
Pope asked. "First of all we must note that it did not cause any reaction from
the guardians of public order, because it was seen as a typically prophetical
act. Prophets, in fact, in the name of God often denounced abuses, sometimes
with symbolic
gestures. If anything, the problem was their authority. That is why the Jews
asked Jesus 'what sign can you show us for doing this?'; in other words, show
us that you are truly acting in God's name.
"The cleansing of the Temple has also been interpreted as a p
litical-revolutionary gesture", the Holy Father added, "with Jesus being seen
as part of the Zealots movement. The Zealots were, indeed, 'zealous' for the
law of God and ready to use
violence to ensure it was respected. In Jesus' time they were awaiting a
Messiah who would free Israel from Roman rule. But Jesus disappointed that
hope, causing some disciples to abandon Him, while Judas Iscariot even
betrayed Him. The truth is that it
is impossible to interpret Jesus as violent. Violence is contrary to the
Kingdom of God. It is an instrument of the Antichrist. Violence never serves
man, but dehumanises him".
"The words Jesus used while accomplishing His gesture - 'Take these things
our of here!Stop making my Father's house a market-place!' - reminded His
disciples of the words of the Psalm: 'It is zeal for your house that has
consumed me'. The Psalm is a
cry for help in a situation of extreme danger caused by the hatred of enemies,
which is what Jesus would experience in His passion. Zeal for the Father and
His house would take Him to the cross. His is the zeal of the love which pays
in person, not that
which seeks to serve God through violence. Indeed, the 'sign' Jesus would give
as proof of His authority would be His death and resurrection. 'Destroy this
temple and in three days I will raise it up', which St. John glosses with the
words: 'he was
speaking of the temple of his body'. At Easter Jesus inaugurated a new cult:
the cult of love, and a new temple: Himself, the risen Christ, through Whom
all believers can
adore God the Father 'in spirit and truth'".
"The Holy Spirit began to build this temple in the Virgin's womb", Benedict
XVI concluded. "Through her intercession let us pray that each Christian may
become a living stone in this spiritual building".
Following the Marian prayer the Pope launched an appeal for the people of
Madagascar who have been suffering the devastating effects of tropical storms,
the most recent of which left at least seventy dead and many missing, as well
as causing material
damage affecting 70,000 people.
"My thoughts go", he said, "to the dear people of Madagascar who have
recently been struck by violent natural calamities that caused serious damage
to people, infrastructures and crops. While giving assurances of my prayers
for the victims and for
their sorely tried families, I encourage the international community to send
aid".
POPE AND ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY TOGETHER CELEBRATE FEAST OF ST. GREGORY
THE GREAT
Vatican City, 10 March 2012 (VIS) - This evening the Holy Father presided
at Vespers in the Roman monastery of San Gregorio al Celio, in a ceremony
marking the thousandth anniversary of the foundation of the mother house of
the Camaldolese Order of
St. Benedict, the Feast of the Transit of St, Gregory, and the visit to Rome
of His Grace Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the
Anglican Communion.
Following readings from the Psalms and the Gospel, Benedict XVI and the
Archbishop of Canterbury each pronounced a homily.
"Today’s celebration is", the Pope said, "marked by a profoundly
ecumenical character which, as we know, is part and parcel of the modern
Camaldolese spirit. This Roman Camaldolese monastery has developed with
Canterbury and the Anglican
Communion, especially since the Vatican Council II, links that now qualify as
traditional. Today, for the third time, the Bishop of Rome is meeting the
Archbishop of Canterbury in the home of St. Gregory the Great. And it is right
that it should be so,
because it was from this monastery that Pope Gregory chose Augustine and his
forty monks and sent them to bring the Gospel to the Angles, a little over
1,400 years ago".
The Holy Father recalled how St. Gregory's "blameless ministry" was "full
of zeal for the Gospel. Truly, what St. Paul wrote of himself applies equally
to Gregory: the grace of God in him has not been fruitless. This, indeed, is
the secret for the
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