CARDINAL JOSEPH ZEN ZE-KIUN, SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CENTENARY OF BIRTH OF
BLESSED PETER TO ROT
Vatican City, 30 June 2012 (VIS) - Made public today was the letter in
which the Holy Father appoints Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun S.D.B., bishop
emeritus of Hong Kong, China, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the
centenary of the birth of
Blessed Peter To Rot, catechist and martyr of Papua New Guinea, due to take
place in Rabaul on 7 July.
Subject: VISnews120702
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
The mission accompanying the cardinal will be made up of Bishop Rochus
Josef Tatamai M.S.C. of Bereina, whose recently deceased father was a nephew
of the blessed, and Fr, Francis Mell, a priest of the archdiocese of Rabaul
and judicial vicar at the
archdiocesan tribunal of first instance.
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ONLY FOLLOWING JESUS LEADS TO THE NEW BROTHERHOOD
Vatican City, 29 June 2012 (VIS) - At 9 a.m. today, Solemnity of Sts. Peter
and Paul, Apostles, Benedict XVI concelebrated the Eucharist in the Vatican
Basilica with new metropolitan archbishops, upon whom he imposed the pallium.
As is customary, a
delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople also attended
the ceremony. The music for the liturgy was provided by the Choir of the
Sistine Chapel, as well as by members of the Choir of Westminster Abbey whom
the Pope thanked for their
participation.
Following the Gospel reading the Pope pronounced his homily, extracts of
which are given below:
"Christian tradition has always considered St. Peter and St. Paul to be
inseparable: indeed, together, they represent the whole Gospel of Christ. ...
Peter and Paul, much as they differ from one another in human terms and
notwithstanding the
conflicts that arose in their relationship, illustrate a new way of being
brothers, lived according to the Gospel, an authentic way made possible by the
grace of Christ’s Gospel working within them. Only by following Jesus
does one arrive at this
new brotherhood: this is the first and fundamental message that today’s
solemnity presents to each one of us, the importance of which is mirrored in
the pursuit of full communion, so earnestly desired by the Ecumenical
Patriarch and the Bishop of
Rome, as indeed by all Christians.
"In the passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel that we have just heard,
Peter makes his own confession of faith in Jesus, acknowledging Him as Messiah
and Son of God. He does so in the name of the other Apostles too. In reply,
the Lord reveals to
him the mission that He intends to assign to him, that of being the
“rock”, the visible foundation on which the entire spiritual
edifice of the Church is built. But in what sense is Peter the rock? How is he
to exercise this prerogative,
which naturally he did not receive for his own sake? The account given by the
Evangelist Matthew tells us first of all that the acknowledgement of
Jesus’ identity made by Simon in the name of the Twelve did not come
“through flesh and
blood”, that is, through his human capacities, but through a particular
revelation from God the Father. By contrast, immediately afterwards, as Jesus
foretells His passion, death and resurrection, Simon Peter reacts on the basis
of
“flesh and blood”: he “began to rebuke him, saying, this
shall never happen to you”. And Jesus in turn replied: “Get behind
me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me”. The disciple who, through
God’s gift, was able
to become a solid rock, here shows himself for what he is in his human
weakness: a stone along the path, a stone on which men can stumble".
"Here we see the tension that exists between the gift that comes from the
Lord and human capacities; and in this scene between Jesus and Simon Peter we
see anticipated in some sense the drama of the history of the papacy itself,
characterised by the
joint presence of these two elements: on the one hand, because of the light
and the strength that come from on high, the papacy constitutes the foundation
of the Church during its pilgrimage through history; on the other hand, across
the centuries,
human weakness is also evident, which can only be transformed through openness
to God’s action.
"And in today’s Gospel there emerges powerfully the clear promise
made by Jesus: “the gates of the underworld”, that is, the forces
of evil, will not prevail. ... Peter will have to be defended from the
“gates of the
underworld”, from the destructive power of evil. Jeremiah receives a
promise that affects him as a person and his prophetic ministry; Peter
receives assurances concerning the future of the Church, the new community
founded by Jesus Christ, which
extends to all of history, far beyond the personal existence of Peter
himself.
"Let us move on now to the symbol of the keys, which we heard about in the
Gospel. ... The key represents authority over the house of David. And in the
Gospel there is another saying of Jesus addressed to the scribes and the
Pharisees, whom the Lord
reproaches for shutting off the kingdom of heaven from people. This saying
also helps us to understand the promise made to Peter: to him, inasmuch as he
is the faithful steward of Christ’s message, it belongs to open the gate
of the Kingdom of
Heaven, and to judge whether to admit or to refuse. Hence the two images -
that of the keys and that of binding and loosing - express similar meanings
which reinforce one another. ... The parallelism “on earth ... in the
heavens” guarantees
that Peter’s decisions in the exercise of this ecclesial function are
valid in the eyes of God".
"The authority of loosing and binding consists in the power to remit sins.
And this grace, which defuses the powers of chaos and evil, is at the heart of
the Church’s mystery and ministry. The Church is not a community of the
perfect, but a
community of sinners, obliged to recognise their need for God’s love,
their need to be purified through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Jesus’
sayings concerning the authority of Peter and the Apostles make it clear that
God’s power is
love, the love that shines forth from Calvary".
"The iconographic tradition represents St. Paul with a sword, and we know
that this was the instrument with which he was killed. Yet as we read the
writings of the Apostle of the Gentiles, we discover that the image of the
sword refers to his entire
mission of evangelisation. ... This was certainly not the battle of a military
commander but that of a herald of the Word of God, faithful to Christ and to
His Church, to which he gave himself completely. And that is why the Lord gave
him the crown of
glory and placed him, together with Peter, as a pillar in the spiritual
edifice of the Church.
"Dear Metropolitan Archbishops, the pallium that I have conferred on you
will always remind you that you have been constituted in and for the great
mystery of communion that is the Church, the spiritual edifice built upon
Christ as the cornerstone,
while in its earthly and historical dimension, it is built on the rock of
Peter. Inspired by this conviction, we know that together we are all
cooperators of the truth, which as we know is one and “symphonic”,
and requires from each of us
and from our communities a constant commitment to conversion to the one Lord
in the grace of the one Spirit".
___________________________________________________________
STS. PETER AND PAUL ACCOMPANY BELIEVERS ALONG THE PATH OF FAITHFULNESS TO
CHRIST
Vatican City, 30 June 2012 (VIS) - At the end of this morning's Mass
concelebrated with forty-three metropolitan archbishops upon whom he imposed
the pallium, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study to pray the
Angelus with faithful
gathered below in St. Peter's Square.
"The signs of the lives and glorious deaths of the humble fisherman of
Galilee and the Apostle of the Gentiles are inscribed into the very history of
Rome, which has rightly chosen them as her protectors", the Pope said.
"Treasuring the memory of
their shining witness, we recall the venerable beginnings of the Church which
in Rome believes, prays and announces Christ the Redeemer. Yet Sts. Peter and
Paul blaze not only in the skies of Rome, but also in the hearts of believers
all over the world
who, illuminated by their teaching and example, walk the paths of faith hope
and charity".
Benedict XVI continued: "On this journey of salvation the Christian
community, strong and serene in the presence of the living spirit of God,
feels impelled to continue along the path of faithfulness to Christ and
announcement of His Gospel to men
and women of all times. Part of this fruitful spiritual and missionary journey
is the consigning of the palliums to metropolitan archbishops, which I
performed this morning in the basilica; an eloquent rite which highlights the
intimate communion of
pastors with Peter's Successor and the profound ties which bind us to
apostolic tradition. It is, in fact, a dual treasure of sanctity in which the
unity and catholicity of the Church come together: a precious treasure to be
rediscovered and experienced
with renewed enthusiasm and constant commitment".
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 2 July 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience:
- Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, president of the Prefecture for the Economic
Affairs of the Holy See.
- Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, secretary emeritus of the Pontifical
Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
On Saturday 30 June he received in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada,
prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 2 July 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller of Regensburg, Germany, as prefect
of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and as president of the
Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", of the Pontifical Biblical Commission
and of the
International Theological Commission, at the same time elevating him to the
dignity of archbishop. He succeeds Cardinal William Joseph Levada, whose
resignation from the same offices the Holy Father accepted, upon having
reached the age limit.
- Removed Archbishop Robert Bezak C.SS.R., from the pastoral care of the
archdiocese of Trnava, Slovakia.
On Saturday 30 June it was made public that the Holy Father:
- Appointed Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot M.C.C.J., president of the
Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, as secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue.
- Appointed as presidents delegate of the Thirteenth Ordinary General
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, due to be held in the Vatican from 7 to 28
October on the theme: "The new evangelisation for the transmission of the
Christian faith": Cardinal
John Tong Hon, bishop of Hong Kong, China; Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega,
archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, and Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya,
archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of
Dunkeld, Scotland, presented by Bishop Vincent Paul Logan, in accordance with
canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Phu
Cuong, Vietnam, presented by Bishop Pierre Tran Dinh Tu, upon having reached
the age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Nguyen Tan Tuoc.
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Quy
Nhon, Vietnam, presented by Bishop Pierre Nguyen Soan, upon having reached the
age limit. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Bishop Matthieu Nguyen Van Khoi.
- Appointed Bishop Marian Rojek, auxiliary of Przemysl of the Latins,
Poland, as bishop of Zamosc-Lubaczow (area 8,144, population 486,624,
Catholics 472,742, priests 469, religious 168), Poland.
On Friday 29 June it was made public that the Holy Father:
- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the territorial
prelature of Corocoro, Brazil, presented by Bishop Toribio Ticona Porco, upon
having reached the age limit.
- Appointed Fr. Claudio Dalla Zuanna S.C.I., vicar general of the Dehonian
Fathers, as archbishop of Beira (area 78,018 population 1,490,000, Catholics
828,000, priests 77, religious 134), Mozambique. The archbishop-elect was born
in Buenos Aires,
Argentina in 1958 and ordained a priest in 1984. He has served in missionary
and pastoral work in Mozambique and as counsellor general of his order.
- Appointed Fr. Joseph Alessandro O.F.M. Cap., vicar general of the diocese
of Garissa, Kenya, as coadjutor of the same diocese (area 142,704, population
847,500, Catholics 8,500, priests 17, religious 29). The bishop-elect was born
in Paola, Malta
in 1949 and ordained a priest in 1970. He has worked in education, including
as rector of INSERM (Institutum Nationale Studiorum Ecclesiasticorum
Religiosorum Melitensium), and has also held various positions of
responsibility in his religious
congregation.
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