foundations of society, especially the family. In fact, the human being, ....
transcendent by comparison to other beings or earthly goods, enjoys true
supremacy and responsibility for himself and for creation. ... For
Christianity, work is fundamental
for man, for his identity, socialisation, the creation of a family and his
contribution to peace and the common good. For precisely this reason, the aim
of access to work for all is always a priority,
even in periods of economic recession.
"From new evangelisation of the social sphere, we can derive a new humanism
and renewed cultural and prospective commitment", the Pope continued. The new
evangelisation "helps to dethrone modern idols, replacing individualism,
materialistic
consumerism and technocracy with a culture of fraternity and gratuity, and
with mutual love. Jesus Christ summarised these precepts and gave them the
form of a new commandment - 'Just as I have loved you, you also should love
one another' - and here
lies the secret of every fully human and pacific social life, as well as the
renewal of politics and of national
Subject: VISnews121203
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
and global institutions. Blessed John XXIII motivated efforts to build a world
community, with a corresponding authority precisely on love
for the common good of the human family".
"The Church certainly does not have the task of suggesting, from a judicial
or political point of view, the precise configuration of an international
system of this type, but rather offers a set of principles for reflection,
criteria for judgement
and practical guidelines able to guarantee an anthropological and ethical
structure for the common good. However, it is important to note that one
should not envisage a superpower, concentrated in the hands of the few,
dominating all peoples and
exploiting the weakest among them, but rather that such an authority should be
understood primarily as a moral force, a power to influence according to
reason, or rather as a participatory authority, limited in competence and by
law", concluded the Holy
Father.
___________________________________________________________
THE POPE ADDRESSES THE VENERABLE ENGLISH COLLEGE OF ROME
Vatican City, 3 December 2012 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI addressed
members of the Venerable English College of Rome, the Catholic seminary for
the formation of priests from England and Wales. The College, which celebrates
its 650th anniversary
this year, has its origins in an ancient English hospice which accommodated
British pilgrims to Rome.
The Holy Father, following his greeting to Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor,
a former rector of the College, emphasised the "long tradition of zeal for the
faith and loyalty to the Apostolic See" in the Catholic community in England
and Wales. He
remarked that it was his predecessor, Pope Gregory the Great, who sent St.
Augustine of Canterbury to "plant the seeds of Christian faith on Anglo-Saxon
soil. The fruits of that missionary endeavour are only too evident in the
six-hundred-and-fifty-year
history of faith and martyrdom that distinguishes the English Hospice of Saint
Thomas à Becket and the Venerable English College that grew out of
it".
Addressing the seminarians, he continued, "you too ... are the men God has
chosen to spread the message of the Gospel today, in England and Wales, in
Canada, in Scandinavia ... Your first task, then, is to come to know Christ
yourselves, and the time
you spend in seminary provides you with a privileged opportunity to do so.
Learn to pray daily, especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament,
listening attentively to the word of God and allowing heart to speak to heart,
as Blessed John Henry
Newman would say. ... Allow the fascination of His person to capture your
imagination and warm your heart. He has chosen you to be His friends, not His
servants, and He invites you to share in His priestly work of bringing about
the salvation of the
world".
"You have heard much talk about the new evangelization, the proclamation of
Christ in those parts of the world where the Gospel has already been preached,
but where to a greater or lesser degree the embers of faith have grown cold
and now need to be
fanned once more into a flame. ... Fire in sacred Scripture frequently serves
to indicate the divine presence. ... Just as a small fire can set a whole
forest ablaze, so the faithful testimony of a few can release the purifying
and transforming power of
God’s love so that it spreads like wildfire throughout a community or a
nation".
Benedict XVI concluded by mentioning his visit to the United Kingdom in
2010. He said, "I saw for myself that there is a great spiritual hunger among
the people. Bring them the true nourishment that comes from knowing, loving
and serving Christ.
Speak the truth of the Gospel to them with love. Offer them the living water
of the Christian faith and point them towards the bread of life, so that their
hunger and thirst may be satisfied. Above all, however, let the light of
Christ shine through you
by living lives of holiness, following in the footsteps of the many great
saints of England and Wales, the holy men and women who bore witness to
God’s love, even at the cost of their lives".
___________________________________________________________
THE POPE ON TWITTER: VOICE OF UNITY AND LEADERSHIP FOR THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 3 December 2012 (VIS) - A press conference was held this
morning in the Holy See Press Office to explain the presence of the Pope on
Twitter and to provide additional information on the use of the new media in
the Vatican.
The conference was presented by Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president
of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Msgr. Paul Tighe,
secretary of the same dicastery, Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy
See Press Office, Vatican
Radio and the Vatican Television Centre, Professor Gian Maria Vian, editor of
'L'Osservatore Romano' and Greg Burke, media advisor to the Secretariat of
State. Claire Diaz-Ortiz, Twitter's director of Social Innovation, was also
present.
Given below are extracts from the English-language Note explaining the
presence of the Holy Father on Twitter:
"The Pope's presence on Twitter is a concrete expression of his conviction
that the Church must be present in the digital arena. ... The Pope's presence
on Twitter can be seen as the 'tip of the iceberg' that is the Church's
presence in the world of
new media. The Church is already richly present in this environment –
there exist a whole range of initiatives from the official websites of various
institutions and communities to the personal sites, blogs and micro-blogs of
public church figures
and of individual believers. The Pope's presence on Twitter is ultimately an
endorsement of the efforts of these 'early adapters' to ensure that the Good
News of Jesus Christ and the teaching of his Church is permeating the forum of
exchange and
dialogue that is being created by social media. His presence is intended to be
an encouragement to all Church institutions and people of faith to be
attentive to develop an appropriate profile
for themselves and their convictions in the 'digital continent'. The Pope's
tweets will be available to believers and non-believers to share, discuss and
to encourage dialogue. It is hoped that the Pope's short messages, and the
fuller messages that
they seek to encapsulate, will give rise to questions for people from
different countries, languages and cultures".
"Part of the challenge for the Church in the area of new media is to
establish a networked or capillary presence that can effectively engage the
debates, discussions and dialogues that are facilitated by social media and
that invite direct, personal
and timely responses of a type that are not so easily achieved by centralized
institutions. Moreover, such a networked or capillary structure reflects the
truth of the Church as a community of communities which is alive both
universally and locally. The
Pope's presence on Twitter will represent his voice as a voice of unity and
leadership for the Church but it will also be a powerful invitation to all
believers to express their 'voices', to engage their 'followers' and 'friends'
and to share with them
the hope of the Gospel that speaks of God’s unconditional love for all
men and women".
"In addition to the direct engagement with the questions, debates and
discussions of people that is facilitated by new media, the Church recognizes
the importance of new media as an environment that allows to teach the truth
that the Lord has passed
to His Church, to listen to others, to learn about their cares and concerns,
to understand who they are and for what they are searching. ... It is for this
reason that it has been decided to launch the Pope's Twitter channel with a
formal question and
answer format. This launch is also an indication of the importance that the
Church gives to listening and is a warranty of its ongoing attentiveness to
the conversations, commentaries and trends that express so spontaneously and
insistently the
preoccupations and hopes of people".
The first tweets from the Pope's handle on Twitter will be given on 12
December, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Initially tweets will be published
with the Wednesday general audiences, although they may subsequently become
more frequent. The first
tweets, on 12 December, will respond to questions put to the Pope on matters
of faith. The public can send questions between now and 12 December in the
languages listed below. The official Papal handle is @pontifex.
In addition to English, tweets will also be published in the following
languages:
Spanish @pontifex_es
Italian @pontifex_it
Portuguese @pontifex_pt
German @pontifex_de
Polish @pontifex_pl
Arabic @pontifex_ar
French @pontifex_fr
Other languages may be added in the future. Further information can be
obtained at http://blog.twitter.com/
___________________________________________________________
ADVENT: THE COMING OF THE LORD CONTINUES
Vatican City, 3 December 2012 (VIS) - "The word 'advent' means 'coming' or
'presence', said the Pope to the faithful gathered yesterday in St. Peter's
Square to pray the Angelus, as the Church began a new liturgical year. "In the
ancient world it
indicated the visit of the king or emperor to a province; in the language of
Christianity it refers to the coming of God, to his presence in the world; a
mystery that involves the entire cosmos and all of history, and with two
culminating moments: the
first and the second coming of Jesus Christ".
Benedict XVI explained that these two culminating moments are first the
Incarnation, and then the glorious return of Christ at the end of time. "These
two moments, chronologically distant – and it is not given to us to know
how far apart they
are – touch us deeply, because by His death and resurrection Jesus has
already accomplished that transformation of humanity and of the cosmos that is
the final goal of creation. But before that end, it is necessary that the
Gospel be proclaimed to
all nations, as Jesus says in the Gospel of Saint Mark. The coming of Christ
is continuous; the world must be infused by His presence. This permanent
coming of the Lord in the proclamation of the Gospel requires our continual
collaboration; and the
Church ... in communion with her Lord, collaborates in this coming of the
Lord, in which His glorious return has already begun".
The Word of God traces "a line of conduct to pursue in order to be ready
for the coming of the Lord. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says to the
disciples, 'Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and
drunkenness and the anxieties of
daily life ... Be vigilant at all times and pray', inviting them to simplicity
and prayer. The apostle Paul encourages them to 'increase and abound in love'
among themselves and towards others. ... In the midst of the turmoil of the
world, or the desert
of indifference and materialism, Christians accept the salvation of God and
bear witness to it by following a different way of life. ... The community of
believers is a sign of the love of God, of His justice that is already present
and working in
history, but not yet fully realised, and that therefore should always be
awaited, invoked, and sought after with patience and courage".
Following the Angelus, the Pope mentioned that today in Kottar, India, the
layperson and martyr Devasahayam Pillai, who lived in the eighteenth century,
was beatified. "We unite ourselves to the joy of the Church in India and pray
that the new
Blessed may sustain the faith of Christians in that great and noble
country".
"Tomorrow", he added, "we celebrate the International Day for Persons with
Disabilities. Each individual, with his or her physical or psychological
limits, including those of a serious nature, is always of inestimable value
and must be considered as
such. I encourage ecclesial communities to take care to welcome these brothers
and sisters of ours, and urge legislators and governors to protect those with
disabilities and to promote their full participation in the life of our
society as a whole".
___________________________________________________________
FIRST VESPERS OF ADVENT WITH ROME UNIVERSITIES
Vatican City, 1 December 2012 (VIS) - In the Vatican Basilica at 5.30 p.m.
today, Benedict XVI presided at first Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent
with academics from the Roman and pontifical universities on the occasion of
the beginning of the
academic year.
In his homily, the Holy Father remarked that "the entire journey of the
year of the Church is directed to discovering and reliving God's trust in
Jesus Christ who came to us in Bethlehem, as a child. The full history of
salvation is a journey of
love, mercy and benevolence, from creation to the liberation of the people of
Israel from the slavery of Egypt, from the giving of the Law at Sinai to the
return to the homeland from Babylonian slavery. ... God is not closed away in
heaven, but rather
inclines towards the affairs of mankind, a great mystery that exceeds any
possible expectation. ... He does all this out of his unwavering love for
humanity. ... 'God is love'. ... God, in Jesus of Nazareth, takes upon himself
the whole of humanity, the
entire history of humanity, setting it on a decisive new course to
transformation into a new human being, engendered by and tending towards
God".
"The liturgical year that we begin with these Vespers will also form part
of the path in which you once more relive the mystery of this trust in God,
upon whom you are called to base your life, as on a solid rock", said the
Pope, addressing the
students present. "By celebrating and undertaking this itinerary of faith with
the Church, you will experience that Jesus Christ is the sole Lord of the
cosmos and of history, without Whom any human construction would amount to
nothing. The liturgy,
lived in its true spirit, is always the fundamental school for life in
Christian faith, a 'theological' faith involving your whole being - body,
heart and soul - to enable you to become living stones in the construction of
the Church and collaborators
in new evangelisation".
He continued, "We live in a context in which we often encounter
indifference towards God. But I believe that, in the inner depths of those
people ... whose lives are distant from God, there resides a nostalgia for the
infinite, for transcendence. It
is your task, within the university halls, to bear witness to God Who is close
to us, and Who is made manifest also in the search for the truth, which is the
soul of any intellectual pursuit. ... Faith is the door that God opens in our
lives in order to
lead us to the encounter with Christ, in which the present day of humanity
meets that of God. Christian faith is not the adhesion to a generic or
undefined god, but rather to the living God Who in Jesus Christ, the Word made
flesh, entered into human
history and revealed Himself as man's Redeemer. To believe means to entrust
one's own life to Him, as only He can give it fullness in time and open it to
hope beyond time".
"In this Year of Faith I wish to invite the academic community of Rome to
reflect upon faith. The continuing dialogue between the state or private and
pontifical universities allows us to hope for an increasingly significant
presence of the Church in
the cultural life not only of Rome but also in Italian and international
contexts".
The Pope concluded by remarking that that the next World Youth Day in Rio
de Janeiro will provide "an important opportunity for offering your testimony
and commitment to the moral and social renewal of the world".
At the end of the ceremony a delegation from the University of Rome "Roma
3" presented an icon of Mary "Sedes Sapientiae" ("Seat of Wisdom") to a
university delegation from Brazil, the country which will host the next World
Youth Day.
___________________________________________________________
THE POPE PRAISES THE VALUES OF ITINERANT PERFORMERS
Vatican City, 1 December 2012 (VIS) - At midday today in the Vatican's Paul
VI Hall, Benedict XVI received the participants in the pilgrimage of the
"World of Itinerant Performers", promoted on the occasion of the Year of Faith
by the Pontifical
Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, in
collaboration with the diocese of Rome and the "Migrantes" foundation of the
Italian Episcopal Conference. Thousands of circus performers, fairground
workers, puppeteers, acrobats,
street performers, musical band members, mechanical musicians, folk groups and
pavement artists were present.
"Your great family is distinguished above all by your ability to use the
particular and specific language of your art", which, the Pope said,
"constitutes an immediate form of communication for entering into dialogue
with children and adults,
kindling feelings of serenity, joy and harmony".
"With these characteristics and style, you show the values that form a part
of your tradition: love for the family, care for the young, attention to the
disabled, care for the sick, and respect for the elderly and their experience.
In your
environment, dialogue between generations, a sense of friendship, and the
pleasure of working as a team all flourish. You excel in hospitality and the
welcome you extend to others, along with your attention to responding to the
most authentic wishes,
especially those of the young generations. Your crafts require sacrifices,
responsibility and perseverance, courage and generosity; virtues today's
society does not always appreciate, but which have contributed to shaping
entire generations within your
great family".
The Pope continued, "I am also aware of the many problems you face due to
your itinerant condition, such as the education of your children, the search
for appropriate locations for performances, obtaining authorisation for shows
and stay permits for
foreigners. I hope that the local authorities will make efforts to protect you
as a group, recognising the social and cultural value of travelling shows, and
encourage both you and the rest of civil society to overcome prejudice,
aspiring to a good
level of integration in local contexts".
"The Church takes pleasure in the commitment you show and appreciates your
loyalty to the traditions you are justly proud of. Like you, the Church is a
pilgrim in the world, and invites you to participate in her divine mission
through your daily
work. ... Although the itinerant life can prevent you from stable
participation in a parish community and does not facilitate regular
participation in catechesis and divine worship, new evangelisation is
necessary even in your world. I hope that you are
able to find welcoming and accommodating people, able to help meet your
spiritual needs, in the communities within which you temporarily stay.
However, do not forget that the family is the first route by which faith is
transmitted; it is the little
domestic Church entrusted with the role of introducing Jesus and His Gospel,
and educating in accordance with God's law, so that everyone might reach full
human and Christian maturity".
"Assuring you of the closeness of the Church, who shares your path, I
entrust you all to the Virgin Mary, the star of your journey, whose maternal
presence will accompany you in every moment of your life", concluded Benedict
XVI.
___________________________________________________________
MOTU PROPRIO ON THE SERVICE OF CHARITY
Vatican City, 1 December 2012 (VIS) - Given below is Benedict XVI's
Apostolic Letter issued "motu proprio" on "The Service of Charity", dated 11
November 2012.
"'The Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold
esponsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating
the sacraments (leitourgia) and exercising the ministry of charity (diakonia).
These duties presuppose each
other and are inseparable'.
"The service of charity is also a constitutive element of the Church's
mission and an indispensable expression of her very being; all the faithful
have the right and duty to devote themselves personally to living the new
commandment that Christ left
us, and to offering our contemporaries not only material assistance, but also
refreshment and care for their souls. The Church is also called as a whole to
the exercise of the diakonia of charity, whether in the small communities of
particular Churches
or on the level of the universal Church. This requires organization 'if it is
to be an ordered service to the community', an organization which entails a
variety of institutional expressions.
"With regard to this diakonia of charity, in my Encyclical Deus Caritas Est
I pointed out that 'in conformity with the episcopal structure of the Church,
the Bishops, as successors of the Apostles, are charged with primary
responsibility for carrying
out in the particular Churches' the service of charity; at the same time,
however, I noted that 'the Code of Canon Law, in the canons on the ministry of
the Bishop, does not expressly mention charity as a specific sector of
episcopal activity'. Although
'the Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops explored more specifically
the duty of charity as a responsibility incumbent upon the whole Church and
upon each Bishop in his Diocese', there was still a need to fill the
aforementioned lacuna and to
give adequate expression in canonical legislation to both the essential nature
of the service of charity in the Church and its constitutive relationship with
the episcopal ministry, while
outlining the legal aspects of this ecclesial service, especially when carried
out in an organised way and with the explicit support of the Bishops.
"In view of this, with the present Motu Proprio I intend to provide an
organic legislative framework for the better overall ordering of the various
organized ecclesial forms of the service of charity, which are closely related
to the diaconal nature
of the Church and the episcopal ministry.
"It is important, however, to keep in mind that 'practical activity will
always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a love
nourished by an encounter with Christ'. In carrying out their charitable
activity, therefore, the
various Catholic organisations should not limit themselves merely to
collecting and distributing funds, but should show special concern for
individuals in need and exercise a valuable educational function within the
Christian community, helping people
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