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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - N° 186
DATE 16-10-2012
Summary:
- BELLS OF EUROPE: REASONS FOR THE HOLY FATHER'S HOPE
- THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES
- MESSAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
- NOTE OF CLARIFICATION FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE
___________________________________________________________
BELLS OF EUROPE: REASONS FOR THE HOLY FATHER'S HOPE
Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - At the end of yesterday afternoon's
session of the Synod of Bishops, a film entitled "Bells of Euorpe - Campane
d'Europa" was shown in a special screening for the Synod Fathers. The film,
which deals with the
relationship between Christianity, European culture and the future of the
continent, includes extracts from a series of interviews with important
religious leaders from the main Christian confessions: Pope Benedict XVI,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury and
Lutheran Bishop Huber; and with leading figures from the world of politics and
culture.
The thread binding their reflections together is the sound of bells ringing
out from various parts of the continent, the casting of a bell in the ancient
foundry of Agnone, and the music of the Estonian composer Arvo Part.
The film, based on an idea by Fr. Germano Marani, has been produced by the
Vatican Television Centre with the support of a number of different
institutions including the Gregorian Foundation. The distribution rights, both
as a television transmission
and as a home video, belong to RAI Cinema.
The full text of the interview with Benedict XVI is given below.
Question – Your Holiness, your Encyclicals present a compelling view of
man: a man inhabited by God's charity, a man whose reason is broadened by the
experience of faith, a man who possesses social responsibility thanks to the
dynamism of charity
received and given in truth. Holiness, it is from this anthropological
standpoint - in which the evangelical message exalts all the laudable aspects
of humankind, purifying the grime that covers the authentic countenance of man
created in the image and
likeness of God - that you have repeatedly stated that this rediscovery of the
human countenance, of evangelical values, of the deepest roots of Europe, is a
cause of great hope for the European continent and not only for the European
continent. Can you
explain to us the reasons for your hope?
Answer – The first reason for my hope consists in the fact that the
desire for God, the search for God, is profoundly inscribed into each human
soul and cannot disappear. Certainly we can forget God for a time, lay Him
aside and concern ourselves
with other things, but God never disappears. St. Augustine's words are true:
we men are restless until we have found God. This restlessness also exists
today, and is an expression of the hope that man may, ever and anew, even
today, start to journey
towards this God.
The second reason for my hope lies in the fact that the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, faith in Jesus Christ, is quite simply true; and the truth never ages.
It too may be forgotten for a time, it may be laid aside and attention may
turn to other things, but
the truth as such does not disappear. Ideologies have their days numbered.
They appear powerful and irresistible but, after a certain period, they wear
out and lose their energy because they lack profound truth. They are particles
of truth, but in the
end they are consumed. The Gospel, on the other hand, is true and can
therefore never wear out. In each period of history it reveals new dimensions,
it emerges in all its novelty as it responds to the needs of the heart and
mind of human beings, who can
walk in this truth and so discover themselves. It is for this reason,
therefore, that I am convinced there will also be a new springtime for
Christianity.
A third reason, an empirical reason, is evident in the fact that this sense of
restlessness today exists among the young. Young people have seen much - the
proposals of the various ideologies and of consumerism - and they have become
aware of the
emptiness and insufficiency of those things. Man was created for the infinite,
the finite is too little. Thus, among the new generations we are seeing the
reawakening of this restlessness, and they too begin their journey making new
discoveries of the
beauty of Christianity; not a cut-price or watered-down version, but
Christianity in all its radicalism and profundity. Thus I believe that
anthropology, as such, is showing us that there will always be a new
reawakening of Christianity. The facts
confirm this in a single phrase: Deep foundations. That is Christianity; it is
true and the truth always has a future.
Q. – Your Holiness, you have repeatedly said that Europe has had, and
continues to have, a cultural influence on the entire human race, and it
cannot but feel a particular sense of responsibility, not only for its own
future, but also for that of
humankind as a whole. Looking ahead, is it possible to discern the contours of
the visible witness Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants in Europe from the
Atlantic to the Urals must show as, living the Gospel values in which they
believe, they contribute
to the building of a Europe faithful to Christ, more welcoming and united, not
merely safeguarding their cultural and spiritual heritage but also committed
to finding new ways to face the great challenges that characterise the
post-modern and
multicultural age?
A. – This is an important question. It is clear that Europe has great
weight in today’s world, in terms of economic, cultural and intellectual
importance; as a consequence of this it also has great responsibility. But
Europe, as you said,
still has to find its true identity in order to be able to speak and act in
keeping with her responsibility. In my opinion, the problem today does not
consist in national differences which, thank God, are differences not
divisions. In their cultural,
human and temperamental differences, nations are a rich asset which together
give rise to a great symphony of cultures. Basically, they are a shared
culture. The problem Europe has in finding its own identity consists, I
believe, in the fact that in
Europe today we see two souls: one is abstract anti-historical reason, which
seeks to dominate all else because it considers itself above all cultures; it
is like a reason which has finally discovered itself and intends to liberate
itself
from
all traditions and cultural values in favour of an abstract rationality.
Strasburg’s first verdict on the crucifix was an example of such
abstract reason which seeks emancipation from all traditions, even from
history itself. Yet we cannot live
like that and, moreover, even "pure reason" is conditioned by a certain
historical context, and only in that context can it exist. We could call
Europe's other soul the Christian one. It is a soul open to all that is
reasonable, a soul which itself
created the audaciousness of reason and the freedom of critical reasoning, but
which remains anchored to the roots from which this Europe was born, the roots
which created the continent's fundamental values and great institutions, in
the vision of the
Christian faith. As you said, this soul has to find a shared expression in
ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Churches. It
must then encounter this abstract reason; in other words, it must accept and
maintai
n the
freedom of reason to criticise everything it can do and has done, but to
practise this and give it concrete form on the foundations and in the context
of the great values that Christianity has given us. Only by blending these
elements can Europe have
weight in the intercultural dialogue of mankind today and tomorrow. Only when
reason has a historical and moral identity can it speak to others, search for
an "interculturality" in which everyone can enter and find a fundamental unity
in the values that
open the way to the future, to a new humanism. This must be our aim. For us
this humanism arises directly from the view of man created in the image and
likeness of God.
___________________________________________________________
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES
Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a Message to
Jose Graziano da Silva, director general of the United Nation's Rome-based
Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), for the occasion of World Food Day
2012.
"This year World Food Day is being celebrated while the effects of the
economic crisis are increasingly affecting primary needs, including the
fundamental right of every person to sufficient and healthy nutrition. In
particular, the position of people
who live in situations of poverty and underdevelopment is worsening. The
current state of affairs is similar to that which led to the establishment of
FAO, and it calls on national and international institutions to work to free
humankind from hunger
through agricultural development and the growth of rural communities.
Malnutrition is, in fact, being worsened by gradual disengagement and
excessive competitiveness, factors which could make us forget that only shared
solutions can adequately respond
to the expectations of individuals and peoples".
In this context, the Holy Father expresses his satisfaction at the decision to
dedicate this year's World Food Day to the theme "Agricultural cooperatives -
key to feeding the world". This, he writes, "does not only mean supporting
cooperatives as a
different form of economic and social organisation, but also seeing them as a
real tool for international action. The experience of many countries shows, in
fact, that cooperatives, apart from stimulating agricultural activities, are a
way to enable
farmers and rural populations to participate in decision making, and an
efficient means to achieve an integral development which has human beings as
its foundation and goal".
"As is well known, the Catholic Church considers work and cooperative
enterprises as ways to enjoy an experience of unity and solidarity capable of
overcoming differences and even social conflicts between people from different
groups. For this reason,
with her teaching and actions the Church has always supported cooperatives, in
the conviction that their activity is not limited only to the economic sphere,
but contributes to the human, social, cultural and moral development of those
who belong to
them, and of the community of which they are part".
Benedict XVI goes on to recall that, when conflicts or natural disasters
impede agricultural work, consideration must always be given "to the vital
role played by women, who are often called to administer the activity of
cooperatives, to maintain family
ties and to safeguard the precious heritage of rural knowledge and techniques".
"It is indispensable", the Pope concludes his message, "that national and
international authorities provide the necessary legislation and financing to
ensure that, in rural areas, cooperatives may become effective instruments of
agricultural production,
food security, social change and a wider improvement in living conditions. In
this new context it is to be hoped that the young may look to their future
with renewed confidence, while maintaining their link with agricultural work,
the rural world and
its traditional values".
___________________________________________________________
MESSAGE OF THE INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH
Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - The International Theological Commission
has issued a message for the Year of Faith. Extracts from the English-language
version are given below.
"As a community of faith, the International Theological Commission wishes to
heed the message of conversion which is central to the Year of Faith and to
renew its commitment to the service of the Church. In order to do so, on 6
December the
International Theological Commission, led by its president Archbishop Gerhard
Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will make a
pilgrimage to the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major during its annual plenary
meeting, and will
entrust there its activities and those of all Catholic theologians to the
intercession of the faithful Virgin Mary, model for believers, bulwark of the
true faith, who is proclaimed 'blessed' because she believed.
"In connection with the Year of Faith, the International Theological
Commission is committed to providing - 'in medio Ecclesiae' - its own specific
contribution to the new evangelisation promoted by the Apostolic See, by
plumbing the revealed mystery
for the benefit of believers, using all the resources of reason enlightened by
faith, so as to promote the reception of that faith in the world of today".
"The recent document of the International Theological Commission, entitled
'Theology Today: Perspectives, Principles and Criteria', develops the
understanding that theology is entirely derived from faith, and that it is
practised in constant dependence
on the faith that is lived by the people of God under the guidance of its
pastors. In fact, only faith allows the theologian to reach really the object
of theological enquiry: the truth of God that bathes the whole of reality in
the light of a new day -
'sub ratione Dei'".
"The theologian works to 'inculturate' in human intelligence, in the form of
an authentic science, the intelligible content of 'the faith that was once and
for all entrusted to the saints'. But the theologian also pays particular
attention to the act of
faith itself. ... 'In fact, there exists a profound unity between the act by
which we believe and the content to which we give our assent'. The theologian
highlights the great human significance of that act, investigating how
God’s prevenient
grace draws out from the very heart of human freedom the 'yes' of faith, and
showing how faith is the 'foundation of the entire spiritual edifice', in that
it informs all the various dimensions of Christian life, personal, familial
and communitarian.
"Not only is the work of the theologian dependant on the living faith of the
Christian people, attentive to 'what the Spirit is saying to the churches',
but its whole purpose is to foster the growth in faith of the people of God
and the evangelising
mission of the Church. ... Indeed, the vocation of the theologian, in
responsible collaboration with the Magisterium, is to serve the faith of
God’s people.
"In the same way, the theologian is the servant of Christian joy which is 'the
joy of truth'. ... In this sense, faith - and theology as the science of faith
and wisdom - offers to all 'lovers of spiritual beauty' a full-flavoured
foretaste of eternal
joy.
___________________________________________________________
NOTE OF CLARIFICATION FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE
Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - In response to frequent requests for
information concerning the recognition by the Holy See of Equestrian Orders
dedicated to the saints or to holy places, the Secretariat of State considers
it opportune to
reiterate what has already been published, namely that, other than its own
Equestrian Orders (the Supreme Order of Christ, the Order of the Golden Spur,
the Pian Order, the Order of Saint Gregory the Great, and the Order of Pope
Saint Sylvester), the
Holy See recognises and supports only the Sovereign Military Order of Malta -
also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of
Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta - and the Equestrian Order of the Holy
Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The
Holy See foresees no additions or innovations in this regard.
All other orders, whether of recent origin or mediaeval foundation, are not
recognised by the Holy See. Furthermore, the Holy See does not guarantee their
historical or juridical legitimacy, their ends or organisational structures.
To avoid any possible doubts, even owing to illicit issuing of documents or
the inappropriate use of sacred places, and to prevent the continuation of
abuses which may result in harm to people of good faith, the Holy See confirms
that it attributes
absolutely no value whatsoever to certificates of membership or insignia
issued by these groups, and it considers inappropriate the use of churches or
chapels for their so-called "ceremonies of investiture".
___________________________________________________________
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VISnews121016
VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - N° 186DATE 16-10-2012
Summary: - BELLS OF EUROPE: REASONS FOR THE
HOLY FATHER'S HOPE -
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH SUPPORTS AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES - MESSAGE OF THE
INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH - NOTE OF
CLARIFICATION FROM THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE ___________________________________________________________
BELLS OF EUROPE: REASONS FOR THE HOLY FATHER'S HOPE
Vatican City, 16 October 2012 (VIS) - At the end of yesterday afternoon's
session of the Synod of Bishops, a film entitled "Bells of Euorpe - Campane
d'Europa" was shown in a special screening for the Synod Fathers. The film,
which deals with the
relationship between Christianity, European culture and the future of the
continent, includes extracts from a series of interviews with important
religious leaders from the main Christian confessions: Pope Benedict XVI,
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I, Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury and
Lutheran Bishop Huber; and with leading figures from the world of politics and
culture.
The thread binding their reflections together is the sound of bells ringing
out from various parts of the continent, the casting of a bell in the ancient
foundry of Agnone, and the music of the Estonian composer Arvo Part.
The film, based on an idea by Fr. Germano Marani, has been produced by the
Vatican Television Centre with the support of a number of different
institutions including the Gregorian Foundation. The distribution rights, both
as a television transmission
and as a home video, belong to RAI Cinema.
The full text of the interview with Benedict XVI is given below.
Question – Your Holiness, your Encyclicals present a compelling view
of man: a man inhabited by God's charity, a man whose reason is broadened by
the experience of faith, a man who possesses social responsibility thanks to
the dynamism of
charity received and given in truth. Holiness, it is from this anthropological
standpoint - in which the evangelical message exalts all the laudable aspects
of humankind, purifying the grime that covers the authentic countenance of man
created in the
image and likeness of God - that you have repeatedly stated that this
rediscovery of the human countenance, of evangelical values, of the deepest
roots of Europe, is a cause of great hope for the European continent and not
only for the European
continent. Can you explain to us the reasons for your hope?
Answer – The first reason for my hope consists in the fact that the
desire for God, the search for God, is profoundly inscribed into each human
soul and cannot disappear. Certainly we can forget God for a time, lay Him
aside and concern
ourselves with other things, but God never disappears. St. Augustine's words
are true: we men are restless until we have found God. This restlessness also
exists today, and is an expression of the hope that man may, ever and anew,
even today, start to
journey towards this God.
The second reason for my hope lies in the fact that the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, faith in Jesus Christ, is quite simply true; and the truth never ages.
It too may be forgotten for a time, it may be laid aside and attention may
turn to other things,
but the truth as such does not disappear. Ideologies have their days numbered.
They appear powerful and irresistible but, after a certain period, they wear
out and lose their energy because they lack profound truth. They are particles
of truth, but in
the end they are consumed. The Gospel, on the other hand, is true and can
therefore never wear out. In each period of history it reveals new dimensions,
it emerges in all its novelty as it responds to the needs of the heart and
mind of human beings, who
can walk in this truth and so discover themselves. It is for this reason,
therefore, that I am convinced there will also be a new springtime for
Christianity.
A third reason, an empirical reason, is evident in the fact that this sense
of restlessness today exists among the young. Young people have seen much -
the proposals of the various ideologies and of consumerism - and they have
become aware of the
emptiness and insufficiency of those things. Man was created for the infinite,
the finite is too little. Thus, among the new generations we are seeing the
reawakening of this restlessness, and they too begin their journey making new
discoveries of the
beauty of Christianity; not a cut-price or watered-down version, but
Christianity in all its radicalism and profundity. Thus I believe that
anthropology, as such, is showing us that there will always be a new
reawakening of Christianity. The facts
confirm this in a single phrase: Deep foundations. That is Christianity; it is
true and the truth always has a future.
Q. – Your Holiness, you have repeatedly said that Europe has had, and
continues to have, a cultural influence on the entire human race, and it
cannot but feel a particular sense of responsibility, not only for its own
future, but also for that
of humankind as a whole. Looking ahead, is it possible to discern the contours
of the visible witness Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants in Europe from the
Atlantic to the Urals must show as, living the Gospel values in which they
believe, they
contribute to the building of a Europe faithful to Christ, more welcoming and
united, not merely safeguarding their cultural and spiritual heritage but also
committed to finding new ways to face the great challenges that characterise
the post-modern and
multicultural age?
A. – This is an important question. It is clear that Europe has great
weight in today’s world, in terms of economic, cultural and intellectual
importance; as a consequence of this it also has great responsibility. But
Europe, as you said,
still has to find its true identity in order to be able to speak and act in
keeping with her responsibility. In my opinion, the problem today does not
consist in national differences which, thank God, are differences not
divisions. In their cultural,
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