Following the Angelus, in his greetings in several languages the Pope
mentioned the fact that Maria Crescencia Perez (1897-1932) had been beatified
yesterday in Pergamino, Argentina. She was a religious of the Congregation of
the Daughters of Our
Lady of the Orchard and was known as "an example of gentleness inspired by
faith. We give thanks to God for her witness", Benedict XVI said.
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BENEDICT XVI CONGRATULATES THE NEW COPTIC ORTHODOX PATRIARCH
Vatican City, 18 November 2012 (VIS) - His Holiness Pope Tawadros II,
recently elected as the one hundred and
Subject: VISnews121119
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
eighteenth patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, was enthroned today at St.
Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, Egypt. The ceremony was attended
by Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, who brought a letter from the Holy Father.
In the text, Benedict XVI expresses his hope that the Almighty may grant
"abundant spiritual gifts to strengthen you in your new ministry, as you guide
the clergy and laity along the paths of holiness, for the good of your people
and the peace and
harmony of the whole of society".
The Holy Father mentions Tawadros II's predecessor, Pope Shenouda III, his
interest in improving relations with other Christian Churches, and his concern
that this might "reinforce our hope that one day all the followers of Christ
will find
themselves united in that love and reconciliation which the Lord so earnestly
desires".
He adds, "I pray that the Holy Spirit will sustain you in your ministry, so
that the flock entrusted to your care may experience the teaching of the Good
Shepherd. May they be blessed with the serenity to offer their valuable
contribution to the good
of society and the well-being of all their fellow-citizens".
The Pope concludes, "I pray too that the relations between the Catholic
Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church will continue to grow closer, not only
in a fraternal spirit of collaboration, but also through a deepening of the
theological dialogue that
will enable us to grow in communion and to bear witness before the world to
the saving truth of the Gospel".
___________________________________________________________
THE POPE TO FRENCH BISHOPS: EXERCISE THE PROPHETIC DIMENSION OF YOUR
MINISTRY
Vatican City, 17 November 2012 (VIS) - "Your nation has a long and rich
Christian history that cannot be ignored or diminished, which bears eloquent
witness to truth", said the Pope in his address to prelates from the Episcopal
Conference of France
on their five-yearly ad limina visit.
"The Year of Faith helps us to grow in confidence in the intrinsic strength
and richness of the evangelical message", observed the Pope. "How many times
have we seen that it is precisely the words of faith, those simple and direct
words filled with
the wisdom of the Divine Word, that best touch our hearts and minds, and best
illuminate our decisions? … The Divine Word contains those words, basic
convictions and ways of thinking which alone are able to bring hope to the
world.
"In society's key debates, the voice of the Church must make itself heard
ceaselessly and with determination. This must be achieved with full respect
for the French tradition regarding the distinction between the respective
spheres of competence of
Church and State. It is precisely in this context that the harmony between
faith and reason gives you special reassurance: the message of Christ and His
Church is not merely a religious identity that demands to be respected as
such; it carries also the
wisdom that permits us to provide concrete answers to the pressing and
sometimes troubling questions of our times. In continuing to exercise the
prophetic dimension of your ministry, as you do at present, you bring to these
debates the indispensable
word of truth, which frees our hearts and opens them to hope".
The Pope went on to praise the many French intellectuals, believers and
non-believers, who "are aware of the enormous challenges of our age, where the
Christian message is an irreplaceable point of reference", and recalled the
vitality of religious
and especially monastic communities which "enrich the whole of society, not
only the Church" in France. He also mentioned the liturgy and its
"contribution to the civilising work" of the Church, emphasising how "respect
for its established norms
expresses love and fidelity to the faith of the Church. The beauty of her
celebrations, far more than innovations and subjective adjustments,
constitutes a durable and effective form of evangelisation".
Benedict XVI also turned his attention to the question of transmitting the
faith to the young generations. "You are well aware of the challenges in that
field", he told the bishops. These challenges include "family and social
difficulties associated
with the transmission of received faith, those associated with a faith adopted
by people as they enter adulthood, or with a break in transmission as when
several generations drift away from living faith. There is also the enormous
challenge of living in
a society which does not always share the teachings of Christ and at times
ridicules and marginalises the Church in the attempt to confine her to an
exclusively private sphere. To face these immense challenges, the Church needs
credible witnesses".
"While remaining aware of the importance of example, you must also find the
necessary words and gestures to encourage the faithful to incarnate the 'unity
of life'", continued the Pope. "They must feel involved in their faith, that
it represents
liberation and not a burden, that its coherence is a source of joy and
fruitfulness. This also applies to their observance of the moral teaching of
the Church, for example in demonstrating the courage to adhere to their
Christian convictions - devoid of
arrogance but with respect - in the various environments in which they live.
In this context, those who are engaged in public life bear special
responsibility. Along with bishops, they must be wary of planned legislation
which threatens marriage between
a man and a woman, the protection of life from conception to death, and the
correct guidance of bioethics in harmony with magisterial documents. It is
necessary, more than ever, for Christians to follow the
path of the common good and to deepen their awareness of the social doctrine
of the Church".
___________________________________________________________
THE "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE OF SUFFERING" IN HOSPITALS
Vatican City, 17 November 2012 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI addressed
the participants in a conference being held by the Pontifical Council for
Health Care Workers (for Health Pastoral Care) on the theme of "The Hospital,
setting for
evangelisation: a human and spiritual mission". The Church, he told them,
"turns to those who experience pain with a spirit of brotherly participation,
inspired by the Spirit of the One Who, through the power of love, restored
meaning and dignity to the
mystery of suffering.
"With the same sense of hope, the Church also reaches out to healthcare
workers and volunteers", the Pope continued. "Yours is a unique mission which
requires study, sensitivity and experience. However, for those who choose to
work in the world of
suffering, experiencing their activity as a 'human and spiritual mission', an
additional competence is required, beyond academic qualifications. This is the
'Christian science of suffering', described by the Council as 'the only truth
capable of
answering the mystery of suffering. … Christ did not do away with
suffering. He did not even wish to unveil to us entirely the mystery of
suffering. He took suffering upon Himself and this is enough to make you
understand all its value'.
"Be experts in this 'Christian science of suffering!' The fact that you are
Catholic ... gives you greater responsibility in society and in the Church.
… This is a commitment of new evangelisation also in times of economic
crisis in which
resources are withdrawn from healthcare. Precisely in this context, hospitals
and health centres must rethink their role in order to ensure that healthcare
remains a universal right to be guaranteed and defended, rather than becoming
a mere commodity
subject to market laws, and thus a privilege reserved to the few. We must
never forget the special attention due to the dignity of the suffering,
applying the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity also in the field of
healthcare policy".
"It is to be hoped that the language of the 'Christian science of
suffering' - of which compassion, solidarity, sharing, abnegation,
selflessness and self-giving are a part - becomes the universal lexicon of
those who work in the field of
healthcare", the Pope emphasised. "From this point of view, hospitals are to
be considered as an important location for evangelisation, because where the
Church 'is the bearer of the presence of God' she also becomes an 'instrument
for the true
humanisation of man and the world'. Only by clearly focusing medical and
healthcare activities on the well-being of man at his most fragile and
defenceless, of man who searches for meaning in the unfathomable mystery of
pain, can we conceive of
hospitals as a place in which care is a mission and not merely an
occupation".
The Holy Father concluded by addressing the sick: "Your silent testimony is
an effective sign and instrument of evangelisation for those who assist you
and for your families, in the certainty that 'no tear, neither of those who
are suffering nor of
those who are close to them, is lost before God'".
___________________________________________________________
OPENING UP TO GOD DOES NOT DETACH US FROM THE WORLD
Vatican City, (VIS) - Benedict XVI addressed a message to the participants
in the Portuguese session of the Courtyard of Gentiles, which is being held in
Guimaraes and Braga, Portugal, on 16 and 17 November, on the theme of "The
value of life".
"Awareness of the sacredness of life … is part of the moral heritage
of humankind", writes the Pope. "We are not the chance product of evolution;
rather, each of us is the fruit of God's will: He loves us. … God loves
every person who,
therefore, is unconditionally deserving of life. 'The blood of Christ, while
it reveals the grandeur of the Father's love, shows how precious man is in
God's eyes, and how priceless the value of his life is'".
"However, in the modern age, man has sought to subtract himself from the
creating and redeeming gaze of the Father, looking only to himself and not to
divine Power. … In a building without windows, it is man who has to
provide air and light;
yet even in such a self-constructed world, man seeks God's 'resources', which
are thereby transformed into our own products. … We must reopen the
windows, look anew upon the vastness of the world, the sky and the earth, and
learn to use them in
the correct way. The value of life becomes evident only if God exists;
therefore it would be good if non-believers could live 'as if God existed'.
While they may not have 'the strength to believe', they should live on the
basis of this hypothesis.
… So many problems exist, but they will not be resolved unless God is
placed at the centre … once more visible in the world and crucial to
our lives".
"He who opens himself to God does not distance himself from the world and
man, but instead finds brothers: in God, the walls that separate us are broken
down, we all become brothers, each a part of the other", the Pope
concludes.
___________________________________________________________
CARDINAL DUKA TO TAKE POSSESSION OF HIS TITLE
Vatican City, 19 November 2012 (VIS) - A note released today by the Office
of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announces that Cardinal
Dominik Duka, archbishop of Prague, Czech Republic, will take possession of
the title of Santi
Marcellino e Pietro in Via Labicana 1, Rome, at 7 p.m. on Sunday 25
November.
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 19 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in
audience:
- Ten prelates of the Episcopal Conference of France on their "ad limina"
visit:
- Archbishop Andre Lacrampe of Besancon.
- Bishop Claude Schockert of Belfort-Montbeliard.
- Bishop Jean-Louis Papin of Nancy.
- Bishop Vincent Jordy of Saint-Claude.
- Bishop Jean-Paul Mathieu of Saint-Die.
- Bishop Francois Maupu of Verdun.
- Archbishop Jean-Pierre Grallet O.F.M. of Strasbourg, accompanied by
Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Dollman.
- Bishop Pierre Raffin O.P. of Metz.
- Fr. Daniel Ducasse, diocesan administrator of Pontoise.
- Archbishop Guido Pozzo, almoner of His Holiness.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 19 November 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed Fr. Nil
Yuriy Lushchak O.F.M., professor of philosophy in the major seminary of
Uzhorod, Ukraine, as auxiliary of the eparchy of Mukachevo of the Byzantine
rite (Catholics 58,000,
priests 39, permanent deacons 1, religious 72), Ukraine. The bishop-elect was
born in Uzhorod in 1973 and ordained a priest in 1996. He has worked in
pastoral service in various parishes within the eparchy of Mukachevo.
On Saturday 17 November it was made public that the Holy Father:
- Msgr. Henryk Ciereszko of the clergy of Bialystok, Poland, as auxiliary
bishop of the same archdiocese (area 5,550, population 515,400, Catholics
455,400, priests 393, religious 202). The bishop-elect was born in Hermanowka,
Poland in 1955 and
ordained a priest in 1981. He obtained his doctorate from the Catholic
University of Lublin and is currently a teacher in the Seminary of Bialystok,
a promoter of justice at the metropolitan tribunal and a member of the
presbyteral council.
- Bishop Lorenzo Ghizzoni, auxiliary of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla, Italy, as
archbishop of Ravenna-Cervia (area 1,185, population 223,130, Catholics
200,000, priests 118, permanent deacons 6, religious 255), Italy. He succeeds
Archbishop Giuseppe
Verucchi, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the
Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, apostolic nuncio to El Salvador and Belize, as
apostolic nuncio to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Montenegro.
___________________________________________________________
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