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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - N° 183
DATE 11-10-2012
Summary:
- THE HOLY FATHER INAUGURATES THE YEAR OF FAITH
- BARTHOLOMEW I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
THE HOLY FATHER INAUGURATES THE YEAR OF FAITH
Vatican City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - "Today, fifty years from the opening of
the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, we begin with great joy the Year of
Faith", said Benedict XVI during the course of a Mass celebrated this morning
in St. Peter's Square.
Concelebrating with the Pope were cardinals, patriarchs and major archbishops
of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Synod Fathers who are currently
participating in a synodal assembly on the new evangelisation, presidents of
episcopal conferences from all
over the world, and a number of Council Fathers from Vatican II. Also present
at the celebration were Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and His Grace Rowan
Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican Communion.
"In order to evoke the Council", the Holy Father said, "this celebration has
been enriched by several special signs: the opening procession, intended to
recall the memorable one of the Council Fathers when they entered this
basilica; the enthronement of
a copy of the Book of the Gospels used at the Council; the consignment of the
seven final Messages of the Council, and of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, which I will do before the final blessing. These signs help us not
only to remember, they
also offer us the possibility of going beyond commemorating. They invite us to
enter more deeply into the spiritual movement which characterised Vatican II,
to make it ours and to develop it according to its true meaning. And its true
meaning was and
remains faith in Christ, the apostolic faith, animated by the inner desire to
communicate Christ to individuals and all people, in the Church’s
pilgrimage along the pathways of history".
Extracts from Benedict XVI's homily are given below.
"The Year of Faith which we launch today is linked harmoniously with the
Church’s whole path over the last fifty years: from the Council, through
the Magisterium of the Servant of God Paul VI, who proclaimed a Year of Faith
in 1967, up to the
Great Jubilee of the year 2000, with which Blessed John Paul II re-proposed to
all humanity Jesus Christ as the one Saviour, yesterday, today and forever.
Between these two Popes, Paul VI and John Paul II, there was a deep and
profound convergence,
precisely upon Christ as the centre of the cosmos and of history, and upon the
apostolic eagerness to announce Him to the world. Jesus is the centre of the
Christian faith. The Christian believes in God Whose face was revealed by
Jesus Christ. He is the
fulfilment of the Scriptures and their definitive interpreter".
"Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ, consecrated by the Father in
the Holy Spirit, is the true and perennial subject of evangelisation. ... This
mission of Christ, this movement of His continues in space and time, over
centuries and
continents. It is a movement which starts with the Father and, in the power of
the Spirit, goes forth to bring the good news to the poor, in both a material
and a spiritual sense. The Church is the first and necessary instrument of
this work of Christ
because it is united to Him as a body to its head".
"Vatican Council II did not wish to deal with the theme of faith in one
specific document. It was, however, animated by a desire, as it were, to
immerse itself anew in the Christian mystery so as to re-propose it fruitfully
to contemporary man. ... In
his opening speech Blessed John XXIII presented the principal purpose of the
Council in this way: “What above all concerns the Ecumenical Council is
this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be safeguarded and taught
more effectively.
… Therefore, the principal purpose of this Council is not the
discussion of this or that doctrinal theme, a Council is not required for
that, ... [but] this certain and immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully
respected, needs to be explored
and presented in a way which responds to the needs of our time”.
"In the light of these words, we can understand what I myself felt at the
time: during the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced the common
task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out in our time,
without sacrificing it to
the demands of the present or leaving it tied to the past: the eternal
presence of God resounds in the faith, transcending time, yet it can only be
welcomed by us in our own unrepeatable today. Therefore I believe that the
most important thing ... is to
revive in the whole Church that positive tension, that yearning to announce
Christ again to contemporary man. But, so that this interior thrust towards
the new evangelisation neither remain just an idea nor be lost in confusion,
... I have often
insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the “letter” of the
Council - that is to its texts - also to draw from them its authentic spirit,
and why I have repeated that the true legacy of Vatican II is to be found in
them"
.
"The Council did not formulate anything new in matters of faith, nor did it
wish to replace what was ancient. Rather, it concerned itself with seeing that
the same faith might continue to be lived in the present day, that it might
remain a living faith
in a world of change. ... The Council Fathers wished to present the faith in a
meaningful way; and if they opened themselves trustingly to dialogue with the
modern world it is because they were certain of their faith, of the solid rock
on which they
stood. In the years following, however, many embraced uncritically the
dominant mentality, placing in doubt the very foundations of the deposit of
faith, which they sadly no longer felt able to accept as truths.
"If today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new evangelisation, it
is not to honour an anniversary, but because there is more need of it, even
more than there was fifty years ago! ... Even the initiative to create a
pontifical council for
the promotion of the new evangelisation ... is to be understood in this
context. Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual &ld
uo;desertification”. In the Council’s time it was already possible
from a few tragic pages of history to
know what a life or a world without God looked like, but now we see it every
day around us. ... But it is in starting from the experience of this desert
... that we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for
us".
"In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living; thus
in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed implicitly
or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of life. And in
the desert people
of faith are needed who, with their own lives, point out the way to the
Promised Land and keep hope alive. Living faith opens the heart to the grace
of God which frees us from pessimism. Today, more than ever, evangelising
means witnessing to the new
life, transformed by God, and thus showing the path".
"The journey is a metaphor for life, and the wise wayfarer is one who has
learned the art of living, and can share it with his brethren - as happens to
pilgrims along the Way of St. James or similar routes which, not by chance,
have again become popular
in recent years. How come so many people today feel the need to make these
journeys? Is it not because they find there, or at least intuit, the meaning
of our existence in the world? This, then, is how we can picture the Year of
Faith: a pilgrimage in
the deserts of today’s world, taking with us only what is necessary: ...
the Gospel and the faith of the Church, of which the Council documents are a
luminous expression, as is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published
twenty years ago.
"Venerable and dear brothers, 11 October 1962 was the Feast of Mary Most Holy,
Mother of God. Let us entrust to her the Year of Faith, as I did last week
when I went on pilgrimage to Loreto. May the Virgin Mary always shine out as a
star along the way
of the new evangelisation".
___________________________________________________________
BARTHOLOMEW I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION
Vatican City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - During the course of this morning's
ceremony in St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Year of Faith,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I pronounced an address, extracts of which
are given below.
"Fifty years ago in this very square, a powerful and pivotal celebration
captured the heart and mind of the Roman Catholic Church, transporting it
across the centuries into the contemporary world. This transforming milestone,
the opening of Vatican
Council II, was inspired by the fundamental reality that the Son and incarnate
Logos of God is 'where two or three are gathered in his name' and that the
Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father, 'will guide us into the whole truth'.
"Over the last five decades, the achievements of this assembly have been
diverse as evidenced through the series of important and influential
constitutions, declarations, and decrees. We have contemplated the renewal of
the spirit and the 'return to the
sources' through liturgical study, biblical research, and patristic
scholarship. We have appreciated the struggle toward gradual liberation from
the limitation of rigid scholasticism to the openness of ecumenical encounter,
which has led to the mutual
rescinding of the excommunications of the year 1054, the exchange of
greetings, returning of relics, entering into important dialogues, and
visiting each other in our respective Sees.
"Our journey has not always been easy or without pain and challenge. ... The
essential theology and principal themes of Vatican Council II - the mystery of
the Church, the sacredness of the liturgy, and the authority of the bishop -
are difficult to
apply in earnest practice, and constitute a life-long and Church-wide labour
to assimilate".
"As we move forward together, we offer thanks and glory to the living God -
Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that the same assembly of bishops has recognised
the importance of reflection and sincere dialogue between our 'sister
Churches'. We join in the
'hope that the barrier dividing the Eastern Church and the Western Church will
be removed, and that - at last - there may be but the one dwelling, firmly
established on Christ Jesus, the Cornerstone, Who will make both one'".
"Our presence here signifies and seals our commitment to witness together to
the Gospel message of salvation and healing for the least of our brethren: the
poor, the oppressed, the forgotten in God’s world. Let us begin with
prayers for peace and
healing for our Christian brothers and sisters living in the Middle East. In
the current turmoil of violence, separation, and brokenness that is escalating
between peoples and nations, may the love and desire for harmony we profess
here, and the
understanding we seek through dialogue and mutual respect, serve as a model
for our world. Indeed, may all humanity reach out to ‘the other’
and work together to overcome the suffering of people everywhere, particularly
in the face of
famine, natural disasters, disease, and war that ultimately touches all of our
lives.
"In light of all that has yet to be accomplished by the Church on earth, and
with great appreciation for all the progress we have shared, we are,
therefore, honoured to be invited to attend - and humbled to be called to
address - this solemn and festive
commemoration of Vatican Council II. It is fitting that this occasion also
marks for your Church the formal inauguration of the 'Year of Faith', as it is
faith that provides a visible sign of the journey we have travelled together
along the path of
reconciliation and visible unity".
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Vincenzo
Peroni as a master of pontifical ceremonies.
___________________________________________________________
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VISnews121011
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - N° 183DATE 11-10-2012
Summary: - THE HOLY FATHER INAUGURATES THE
YEAR OF FAITH -
BARTHOLOMEW I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION - OTHER
PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - "Today, fifty years from the opening
of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, we begin with great joy the Year of
Faith", said Benedict XVI during the course of a Mass celebrated this morning
in St. Peter's
Square. Concelebrating with the Pope were cardinals, patriarchs and major
archbishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Synod Fathers who are currently
participating in a synodal assembly on the new evangelisation, presidents of
episcopal conferences
from all over the world, and a number of Council Fathers from Vatican II. Also
present at the celebration were Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and His
Grace Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury and primate of the Anglican
Communion.
"In order to evoke the Council", the Holy Father said, "this celebration
has been enriched by several special signs: the opening procession, intended
to recall the memorable one of the Council Fathers when they entered this
basilica; the enthronement
of a copy of the Book of the Gospels used at the Council; the consignment of
the seven final Messages of the Council, and of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, which I will do before the final blessing. These signs help us not
only to remember, they
also offer us the possibility of going beyond commemorating. They invite us to
enter more deeply into the spiritual movement which characterised Vatican II,
to make it ours and to develop it according to its true meaning. And its true
meaning was and
remains faith in Christ, the apostolic faith, animated by the inner desire to
communicate Christ to individuals and all people, in the Church’s
pilgrimage along the pathways of history".
Extracts from Benedict XVI's homily are given below.
"The Year of Faith which we launch today is linked harmoniously with the
Church’s whole path over the last fifty years: from the Council, through
the Magisterium of the Servant of God Paul VI, who proclaimed a Year of Faith
in 1967, up to the
Great Jubilee of the year 2000, with which Blessed John Paul II re-proposed to
all humanity Jesus Christ as the one Saviour, yesterday, today and forever.
Between these two Popes, Paul VI and John Paul II, there was a deep and
profound convergence,
precisely upon Christ as the centre of the cosmos and of history, and upon the
apostolic eagerness to announce Him to the world. Jesus is the centre of the
Christian faith. The Christian believes in God Whose face was revealed by
Jesus Christ. He is the
fulfilment of the Scriptures and their definitive interpreter".
"Today’s Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ, consecrated by the Father
in the Holy Spirit, is the true and perennial subject of evangelisation. ...
This mission of Christ, this movement of His continues in space and time, over
centuries and
continents. It is a movement which starts with the Father and, in the power of
the Spirit, goes forth to bring the good news to the poor, in both a material
and a spiritual sense. The Church is the first and necessary instrument of
this work of Christ
because it is united to Him as a body to its head".
"Vatican Council II did not wish to deal with the theme of faith in one
specific document. It was, however, animated by a desire, as it were, to
immerse itself anew in the Christian mystery so as to re-propose it fruitfully
to contemporary man. ...
In his opening speech Blessed John XXIII presented the principal purpose of
the Council in this way: “What above all concerns the Ecumenical Council
is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine be safeguarded and
taught more effectively.
… Therefore, the principal purpose of this Council is not the
discussion of this or that doctrinal theme, a Council is not required for
that, ... [but] this certain and immutable doctrine, which is to be faithfully
respected, needs to be explored
and presented in a way which responds to the needs of our time”.
"In the light of these words, we can understand what I myself felt at the
time: during the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced the common
task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out in our time,
without sacrificing it to
the demands of the present or leaving it tied to the past: the eternal
presence of God resounds in the faith, transcending time, yet it can only be
welcomed by us in our own unrepeatable today. Therefore I believe that the
most important thing ... is to
revive in the whole Church that positive tension, that yearning to announce
Christ again to contemporary man. But, so that this interior thrust towards
the new evangelisation neither remain just an idea nor be lost in confusion,
... I have often
insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the “letter” of the
Council - that is to its texts - also to draw from them its authentic spirit,
and why I have repeated that the true legacy of Vatican II is to be found
in them".
"The Council did not formulate anything new in matters of faith, nor did it
wish to replace what was ancient. Rather, it concerned itself with seeing that
the same faith might continue to be lived in the present day, that it might
remain a living
faith in a world of change. ... The Council Fathers wished to present the
faith in a meaningful way; and if they opened themselves trustingly to
dialogue with the modern world it is because they were certain of their faith,
of the solid rock on which
they stood. In the years following, however, many embraced uncritically the
dominant mentality, placing in doubt the very foundations of the deposit of
faith, which they sadly no longer felt able to accept as truths.
"If today the Church proposes a new Year of Faith and a new evangelisation,
it is not to honour an anniversary, but because there is more need of it, even
more than there was fifty years ago! ... Even the initiative to create a
pontifical council for
the promotion of the new evangelisation ... is to be understood in this
context. Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual &ld
uo;desertification”. In the Council’s time it was already possible
from a few tragic pages of history to
know what a life or a world without God looked like, but now we see it every
day around us. ... But it is in starting from the experience of this desert
... that we can again discover the joy of believing, its vital importance for
us".
"In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living;
thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed
implicitly or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of
life. And in the desert
people of faith are needed who, with their own lives, point out the way to the
Promised Land and keep hope alive. Living faith opens the heart to the grace
of God which frees us from pessimism. Today, more than ever, evangelising
means witnessing to the
new life, transformed by God, and thus showing the path".
"The journey is a metaphor for life, and the wise wayfarer is one who has
learned the art of living, and can share it with his brethren - as happens to
pilgrims along the Way of St. James or similar routes which, not by chance,
have again become
popular in recent years. How come so many people today feel the need to make
these journeys? Is it not because they find there, or at least intuit, the
meaning of our existence in the world? This, then, is how we can picture the
Year of Faith: a
pilgrimage in the deserts of today’s world, taking with us only what is
necessary: ... the Gospel and the faith of the Church, of which the Council
documents are a luminous expression, as is the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, published twenty
years ago.
"Venerable and dear brothers, 11 October 1962 was the Feast of Mary Most
Holy, Mother of God. Let us entrust to her the Year of Faith, as I did last
week when I went on pilgrimage to Loreto. May the Virgin Mary always shine out
as a star along the
way of the new evangelisation".
BARTHOLOMEW I: WITNESSING TOGETHER TO THE MESSAGE OF SALVATION
Vatican City, 11 October 2012 (VIS) - During the course of this morning's
ceremony in St. Peter's Square for the opening of the Year of Faith,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I pronounced an address, extracts of which
are given below.
"Fifty years ago in this very square, a powerful and pivotal celebration
captured the heart and mind of the Roman Catholic Church, transporting it
across the centuries into the contemporary world. This transforming milestone,
the opening of Vatican
Council II, was inspired by the fundamental reality that the Son and incarnate
Logos of God is 'where two or three are gathered in his name' and that the
Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father, 'will guide us into the whole truth'.
"Over the last five decades, the achievements of this assembly have been
diverse as evidenced through the series of important and influential
constitutions, declarations, and decrees. We have contemplated the renewal of
the spirit and the 'return to
the sources' through liturgical study, biblical research, and patristic
scholarship. We have appreciated the struggle toward gradual liberation from
the limitation of rigid scholasticism to the openness of ecumenical encounter,
which has led to the
mutual rescinding of the excommunications of the year 1054, the exchange of
greetings, returning of relics, entering into important dialogues, and
visiting each other in our respective Sees.
"Our journey has not always been easy or without pain and challenge. ...
The essential theology and principal themes of Vatican Council II - the
mystery of the Church, the sacredness of the liturgy, and the authority of the
bishop - are difficult to
apply in earnest practice, and constitute a life-long and Church-wide labour
to assimilate".
--- NetMgr/2 1.0y+
* Origin: NetMgr+ @ Sursum Corda! BBS Meridian MS USA (1:396/45)
