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 maintain 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".
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio
del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che
ne hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/v
s/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
