L`O S S E RVATOR E ROMANO

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L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
WEEKLY EDITION
IN ENGLISH
Unicuique suum
Fiftieth year, number 3 (2480)
Non praevalebunt
Vatican City
Friday, 20 January 2017
Pope Francis greets the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland on the Feast of Saint Henrik
With the simplicity of children
Celebrating the international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
“We need the simplicity of children.
They will teach us the way to Jesus
Christ”. Pope Francis shared this
observation in an address to the
Ecumenical Delegation from Finland
on Thursday morning, 19 January.
The Holy Father received the
Delegation on the occasion of the Feast
of Saint Henrik, noting that the group
has made this pilgrimage annually for
over 30 years during the Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity, being
celebrated from 18 to 25 January. This
year’s pilgrimage took on even greater
significance as 2017 marks the 500th
anniversary of the Lutheran
Reformation, as well as 50 years of
official ecumenical dialogue between
Lutherans and Catholics. The following
is the English text of the Pontiff’s
address, which he delivered in Italian.
rate through common prayer the beginning of the Reformation. This
joint commemoration of the Reformation was important on both
the human and theological-spiritual
levels. After fifty years of official
In a Message for the 54th World
Day of Prayer for Vocations, to
be celebrated on 7 May, Pope
Francis reflects “on the missionary
dimension of our Christian calling”. He observes that “those
who, drawn by God’s voice and
determined to follow Jesus, soon
discover within themselves an irrepressible desire to bring the
Good News to their brothers and
sisters through proclamation and
the service of charity”. Indeed the
Pontiff writes, “all Christians are
called to be missionaries of the
Gospel”, recalling that “God surpasses all our expectations and
constantly surprises us by his generosity”. The Pope described “the
evangelical basis and inspiration
of mission” by offering “three
scenes from the Gospels: the inauguration of Jesus’ mission in
the synagogue at Nazareth (cf. Lk
4:16-30); the journey that, after
his resurrection, he makes in the
company of the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and, finally,
the parable of the sower and the
seed (cf. Mt 4:26-27)”.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
PAGE 11
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I joyfully welcome all of you, members of the Ecumenical Delegation,
who have come as pilgrims from
Finland to Rome on the occasion of
the feast of Saint Henrik. I thank
the Lutheran Bishop of Turku for
his kind words ... in Spanish! For
more than 30 years, it has been a
fine custom for your pilgrimage to
take place during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which calls
us to draw closer to one another
anew through conversion. True ecumenism is based on a shared conversion to Jesus Christ as our Lord and
Redeemer. If we draw close to him,
we draw close also to one another.
During these days let us pray more
fervently to the Holy Spirit so that
we may experience this conversion
which makes reconciliation possible.
On this path, we Catholics and
Lutherans, from several countries,
together with various communities
sharing our ecumenical journey,
reached a significant step when, on
31 October last, we gathered together in Lund, Sweden, to commemo-
The Christian
mission is not
borne alone
Blessing of animals on the Day of Saint Anthony the Abbot
Noah’s Ark in Rome
Words of hope
become a prayer
Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni dies
Prefect emeritus of the
Apostolic Signatura
PAGE 4
To The Global Foundation
For the common good
PAGE 5
Letter to young people
Set out for a new land
PAGE 7
In our life “when things become
dark” extra prayer is needed. The
Holy Father emphasized this at
Wednesday’s General Audience
PAGE 3
Cardinal Wuerl to the Canon Law
Society of America
A refreshing openness
PAGE 8
Cardinal Angelo Comastri, Archpriest of
Saint Peter’s Basilica,
celebrated Mass on
Tuesday morning, 17
January, the Feast of
Saint Anthony the Abbot, Patron Saint of
breeders and farm animals. Concelebrating
the liturgy with him at
the main altar of the
Vatican Basilica, were
15 chaplains for the
Italian Association of
Breeders (AIA) and the
Italian agricultural association,
Coldiretti.
Later, in Rome’s Pius
XII Square, just outside
the Vatican, farmers
from
across
Italy
gathered together with
a veritable “Noah’s
Ark” for the traditional
annual
blessing
of
their animals.
page 2
AUDIENCES
Thursday, 12 January
Hon. Mr Nicola Zingaretti, President of the Lazio Region
Hon. Mrs Virginia Raggi, Mayor of
Rome
Bishop Han Lim Moon, titular
Bishop of Thucca in Mauretania,
Auxiliary of San Martin, Argentina
Mr Xavier Emmanuelli, co-Founder
of “Médecins Sans Frontières”, and
President of “Samusocial International”
H.E. Mr Denis Fontes de Souza
Pinto, Ambassador of Brazil, on a
farewell visit
Friday, 13 January
Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of
the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
Archbishop Luigi Pezzuto, titular
Archbishop of Turris in Proconsulari, Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, in Montenegro and
Monaco
Archbishop Bruno Musarò, titular
Archbishop of Abari, Apostolic
Nuncio in the Arab Republic of
Egypt; Holy See Delegate to the
League of Arab States
Saturday, 14 January
H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, with his
entourage
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefect
of the Congregation for Bishops
Monday, 16 January
H.E. Mr Alpha Condé, President of
the Republic of Guinea, with his entourage
VATICAN BULLETIN
Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the
Secretariat for the Economy
H.E. Mr Kenneth Francis Hackett,
Ambassador of the United States of
America, with his wife, on a farewell
visit
Archbishop Filippo
Taranto, Italy
Santoro
of
Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo, Italy
CHANGES
IN
EPISCOPATE
ROMAN CURIA
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Lucio Angelo
Renna, O. Carm., of San Severo,
Italy (13 Jan.).
The Holy Father appointed Fr Giovanni Checchinato from the clergy
of the Diocese of Latina-TerracinaSezze-Priverno, as Bishop of San
Severo. Until now he has been parish priest and head of the diocesan
office for the pastoral care of scholastic and university education and
for the teaching of the Catholic religion (13 Jan.).
Bishop-elect Checchinato, 59, was
born in Latina, Italy. He holds a degree in theology and a specialization
in moral theology. He was ordained
a priest on 4 July 1981. He has
served in parish ministry and as:
teacher of professional ethics at the
With the President of Guinea
On Monday morning, 16 January,
the Pope received in audience
H.E. Mr Alpha Condé, President
of the Republic of Guinea, who
subsequently met with Cardinal
Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State,
accompanied by Archbishop Paul
Richard Gallagher, Secretary for
Relations with States.
During the cordial discussions,
the existing good relations
between the Holy See and
Guinea were evoked, with emphasis on a number of issues of
mutual interest, such as the integral development of the person, the preservation of the environment, the fight against social injustice and
poverty, and the development of adequate policies for facing the problem
of migration. In this context, the parties did not fail to recognize the role
and the important contribution offered to the country by Catholic institutions, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare, as well as in
the promotion of interfaith dialogue with the Muslim community.
Attention then turned also to the political and social situation of the
Region, with special reference to the concrete efforts made by the Republic of Guinea to contribute to peacemaking.
WEEKLY EDITION
Unicuique suum
IN ENGLISH
Non praevalebunt
Vatican City
[email protected]
www.osservatoreromano.va
Regional School of Formation for
nurses and teachers of philosophical
ethics and moral theology at the
Paul VI Institute of Religious Sciences in Latina and at the Regional
Seminary in Anagni; assistant of
Catholic Action for Adults and Families; director of the office for family
pastoral care; co-founder and ethics
consultant for the diocesan advisory
centre; rector of the Pontifical Leonine College in Anagni.
GIOVANNI MARIA VIAN
Editor-in-Chief
The Holy Father appointed as member of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Sean
Patrick O’Malley, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Boston, USA, President of
the Pontifical Commission for the
Protection of Minors (14 Jan.).
The Holy Father confirmed the following Consultors of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacraments: Msgr
Giovanni Di Napoli, professor of
liturgy at the Faculty of Theology of
Southern Italy, San Luigi of Naples
section, and at the Seminary of
Salerno, secretary of the Centre for
Liturgical Action; Msgr Claudio
Magnoli, professor at the Faculty of
Theology of Northern Italy, head of
the service for the Liturgical Pastoral
Ministry of the Archdiocese of Milan and head of the Pontifical Ambrosian Institute for Sacred Music;
Msgr Vincenzo De Gregorio, head
of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred
Music; Msgr Massimo Palombella,
SDB, director of the Sistine Chapel
Choir; José Luis Gutierrez Martin,
of the Prelature of Opus Dei, director of the Institute of Liturgy of the
Pontifical University of the Holy
Cross in Rome; Fr Marko Rupnik,
SJ, professor of liturgical art at the
Pontifical Liturgical Institute, director of the Centro Aletti in Rome;
Msgr Bruce Edward Harbert, former
professor of liturgy and sacramental
theology, parish priest; Fr Jaume
Gonzáles Padrós, director of the
Higher Institute of Liturgy in Barcelona, Spain; Fr Olivier-Marie Sarr,
OSB, professor at the Pontifical Saint
Anselm Liturgical Institute in Rome;
Mr Elias Frank, professor of liturgical law at the Pontifical Urbanian
University, Rome; Msgr Patrick
Chauvet, professor of theology, archpriest of Notre-Dame Cathedral,
Paris, France; Fr Robert McCulloch,
SSC, procurator general of the Missionary Society of Saint Columban;
Fr Olivier Thomas Venard, OP,
TIPO GRAFIA VATICANA EDITRICE
don Sergio Pellini S.D.B.
Giuseppe Fiorentino
Director General
Assistant Editor
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Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3
deputy director of the Ecole biblique e
archéologique française de Jérusalem;
Mr Marc Aeilko Aris, professor at
the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in
Munich; Ms Donna Lynn Orsuto,
professor at the Institute of Spirituality of the Pontifical Gregorian
University, Rome, at the Pontifical
Saint Thomas Aquinas University
(Angelicum) and at the Saint John
Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, co-founder and
director of The Lay Centre, Foyer
Unitas, Rome; Ms Valeria Trapani,
professor of liturgy at the Saint John
the Evangelist Theological Faculty
of Sicily in Palermo, Italy, member
of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission of Palermo; and Mr Adelindo
Giuliani, official at the Liturgical
Office of the Vicariate of Rome (14
Jan.).
The Holy Father appointed the following as members of the Pontifical
Commission for Latin America: Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo,
Archbishop
of
Mérida,
Venezuela; Cardinal Sérgio da
Rocha, Archbishop of Brasilía,
Brazil; Cardinal Carlos Aguiar
Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantla,
Mexico (14 Jan.).
EASTERN CHURCHES
The Holy Father gave his assent to
the canonical election by the Synod
of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church of Fr
Thomas (Tomy) Tharayil as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archieparchy of
Changanacherry, India, assigning
him the titular episcopal See of Agrippiass. Until now he has been director of the Danahalaya Institute of
Formation (14 Jan.).
Bishop-elect Tharayil, 44, was
born in Changanacherry, India. He
holds a doctorate in psychology. He
was ordained a priest on 1 January
2000. He has served in parish ministry and as: secretary to the thenArchbishop Joseph Powathil; professor at various seminaries and institutes.
START
OF
MISSION
On 13 December 2016, Archbishop
Gábor Pintér, titular Archbishop of
Velebusdus, began his mission as
Apostolic Nuncio in Belarus with
the presentation of his Letters of
Credence to H.E. Mr Alexander
Lukashenko, President of the Republic.
NECROLO GY
Archbishop
Patricio
Fernández
Flores, Archbishop emeritus of San
Antonio, USA, at age 87 (9 Jan.).
Bishop Robert Sarrabère, Bishop
emeritus of Aire et Dax, France, at
age 90 (11 Jan.)
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number 3, Friday, 20 January 2017
page 3
At the General Audience the Pontiff offers a lesson from the Prophet Jonah
Words of hope become a prayer
crew in the storm, facing death and
being saved from it led them to the
truth. Thus under divine mercy, and
even more in the light of the Paschal
Mystery, death can become, as it
was for Saint Francis of Assisi, “our
sister death” and represent, for every
person and for each one of us, the
surprising occasion to know hope
and encounter the Lord. May the
Lord help us to understand this link
between prayer and hope. Prayer
leads you forward in hope, and
when things become dark, more
prayer is needed! And there will be
more hope. Thank you.
“When things become dark, more
prayer is needed! And there will be
more hope”. This lesson from the Book
of Jonah was offered by Pope Francis
at the General Audience held in the
Paul VI Hall on Wednesday, 18
January. The following is a translation
of the Holy Father’s catechesis, which
he gave in Italian.
Good morning.
In Sacred Scripture, among the
prophets of Israel, a rather anomalous figure stands out, a prophet who
attempts to avoid the Lord’s call by
refusing to place himself at the service of the divine plan of salvation.
It is the Prophet Jonah, whose story
is narrated in a small book of only
four chapters, a type of parable that
bears a great lesson, that of the
mercy of God who forgives.
Jonah is a prophet “going out”
and also a prophet in flight! He is
an “out-going” prophet whom God
sends “to the periphery”, to Nineveh, in order to convert the people
of that great city. But Nineveh, to an
Israelite like Jonah, was a threatening reality, the enemy which placed
Jerusalem itself in peril, and therefore was to be destroyed, certainly
not to be saved. Therefore, when
God sent Jonah to preach in that
city, the prophet, who knows the
Lord’s goodness and his desire to
forgive, seeks to avoid his task and
flees.
During his flight, the prophet
enters into contact with pagans, the
mariners on the ship that he
boarded in order to distance himself
from God and from his mission.
And he flees far, because Nineveh
was in the area of Iraq and he fled
to Spain, he seriously fled. And it
was actually the behaviour of these
pagan men, as that of the people of
Nineveh later on, that today allows
us to reflect a bit on the hope which,
in the face of danger and death, is
expressed in prayer.
Indeed, during the sea voyage, a
mighty tempest breaks out, and Jonah goes down to the ship’s cargo
hold and falls asleep. The mariners,
however, seeing themselves lost,
“each cried to his god”: they were
pagans (Jon 1:5). The captain of the
ship wakes Jonah, saying to him:
“What do you mean, you sleeper?
Arise, call upon your god! Perhaps
the god will give a thought to us,
that we do not perish” (Jon 1:6).
The reaction of these ‘pagans’ is
the right reaction in the face of
death, in the face of danger; because
it is then that man fully experiences
his frailty and his need for salvation.
The instinctive dread of dying reveals the necessity of hope in the God
of life. “Perhaps God will give a
thought to us, that we do not perish” are the words of hope which
become prayer, that supplication
filled with anguish which rises to the
lips of mankind in the face of an imminent danger of death.
We too easily disdain the turning
to God in need as if it were only a
prayer of self-interest, and therefore
imperfect. But God knows our
SPECIAL
“Jonah and the whale”, Pieter Lastman
weakness. He knows that we remember him in order to ask for help, and
with the indulging smile of a father,
God responds benevolently.
When Jonah, recognizing his responsibility, throws himself into the
sea in order to save his travel companions, the storm quiets down. Incumbent death led those pagan men
to prayer, enabling the prophet, in
spite of it all, to live his vocation in
service to others, sacrificing himself
for them, and now he leads the survivors to recognize and praise the
true Lord. The mariners who, in the
grip of fear, had prayed to their
gods, now, with sincere fear of the
Lord, recognize the true God, offer
sacrifices and make vows. Hope,
which had induced them to pray to
be spared from death, is revealed as
even more powerful and ushers in a
reality that goes even beyond what
they were hoping: not only do they
not perish in the storm, but they become open to recognizing the one
true Lord of heaven and earth.
Afterwards, even the people of
Nineveh, in the face of the prospect
of being destroyed, pray, spurred by
hope in God’s forgiveness. They do
penance, invoke the Lord and convert to him, beginning with the king
who, like the ship’s captain, gives
voice to hope: “Who knows, God
may yet repent and turn from his
fierce anger, so that we perish not?”
(Jon 3:9). For them too, as for the
GREETINGS
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in
today’s Audience, particularly those
from New Zealand, the Philippines,
Canada and the United States of
America. Upon you and your families, I cordially invoke an abundance
of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus
Christ. God bless you!
I address a cordial welcome to the
Italian-speaking pilgrims. I express
to all the hope that your visit to the
Eternal City may inspire each one to
strengthen the Word of God so as
to be able to recognize the Saviour
in Jesus.
Lastly I greet the young people, the
sick and newlyweds. Today begins the
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,
which this year has us reflect on
Christ’s love which encourages us
toward reconciliation. Dear young
people, pray that all Christians may
return to be one family; dear sick
people, offer your suffering for the
cause of the unity of the Church;
and you, dear newlyweds, experience
gratuitous love as that of God for
humanity.
Pope Francis meets with the President
of the State of Palestine
On Saturday morning, 14 January,
the Holy Father received in audience H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas,
President of the State of Palestine,
who subsequently met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of
State, accompanied by Archbishop
Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary
for Relations with States.
During the cordial discussions,
the parties evoked the existing
good relations between the Holy
See and Palestine, sealed by the
Global Agreement of 2015, which
regards essential aspects of the life
and activity of the Church in
Palestinian society. In this context,
mention was made of the important
contribution of Catholics to favouring the promotion of human dignity and assistance to those most in
need, especially in the fields of
education, health and aid.
Attention then turned to the
peace process in the Middle East,
and hope was expressed that direct
negotiations between the Parties
may be resumed to bring an end to
the violence that causes unacceptable suffering to civilian populations, and to find a just and lasting
solution. To this end, it is hoped
that, with the support of the international community, measures can
be taken that favour mutual trust
and contribute to creating a climate
that permits courageous decisions
to be made in favour of peace. Emphasis was placed on the importance of safeguarding the sanctity of
the Holy Places for believers of all
three of the Abrahamic religions.
Finally, particular attention was
dedicated to the other conflicts affecting the region.
page 4
Prefect emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura
Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni dies at 94
To the Most Gracious Ms Luisa Santandra
Swiss Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni
passed away on Friday, 13 January, at
the age of 94. Throughout his life he
served in various roles in the Church
and in the Roman Curia. He held the
Title of Cardinal-Priest of the Titular
Church of Santi Urbano and Lorenzo
a Prima Porta. He chose as his episcopal motto ‘Christus spes gloriae’:
Christ, our hope of glory. His funeral
was presided by Cardinal-Dean Angelo
Sodano on Tuesday, 17 January, at the
Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The following is a brief biography
of Cardinal Agustoni along with a
translation of the telegram in which
Pope Francis expressed his condolences
to the late Cardinal’s niece.
Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni, Prefect
emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of
the Apostolic Signatura, was born in
Schaffhausen, Switzerland, on 26
July 1922. He had one sister and
four brothers, two of whom also became priests. After attending the
diocesan seminary of Lugano, the
young Agustoni was sent to Rome,
where he studied theology at the
Pontifical
University
of
Saint
Thomas Aquinas. Due to the war,
Bishop Angelo Jelmini of Lugano
called him back to Switzerland, and
he continued his studies at the University of Fribourg, from which he
earned a degree in sacred theology.
Upon hearing the sad news of the death of your dear uncle, Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni, I wish to express to you and your family
my participation in the mourning which strikes those who knew
and esteemed the dear departed Cardinal, for so many years an
honest and diligent collaborator of the Holy See, in particular as
Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, offering a witness of priestly zeal and faithfulness to the Gospel. As I
raise fervid prayers to the Lord Jesus that, through the intercession
of the Virgin Mary, He may offer the late Cardinal the eternal reward promised to his faithful disciples, I convey wholeheartedly the
Apostolic Blessing to you, to the religious Daughters of Saint Mary
of Leuca who assisted him, and to those who mourn his passing.
FRANCISCUS
He was ordained a priest on 20
April 1946 in Lugano Cathedral and
was appointed assistant chaplain to
the diocesan Catholic Action. He
was entrusted in particular with the
young people and students at the
various Swiss universities. He was
responsible above all for formation
and developed programmes for
young people and the Association of
Catholic Explorers.
In 1950, after meeting the young
priest on several occasions, Cardinal
Ottaviani, then Assessor of the Congregation of the Holy Office, asked
the Bishop of Lugano that Fr Agustoni be assigned as his secretary.
After much persistence on the part
of the senior prelate, the Bishop
eventually acquiesced. Thus, Agustoni began his work at the Holy See
A final farewell
On Tuesday, 17 January, at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica,
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, together
with many brother Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, gathered for the
funeral Mass celebrated for Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni. At the conclusion of the service, Pope Francis presided at the Rites of the Ultima
Commenatio — Final Commendation — and the Valedictio — the Valediction, or Final Farewell.
PP.
on 1 July 1950, after Cardinal Ottaviani had obtained the Pope’s permission for the Dicastery — which had a
particularly serious and sensitive
role, especially before its reform
after the Second Vatican Council —
to employ a priest who was not yet
30 years old.
This was also the reason why the
Cardinal Assessor closely followed
the young official in his Congregation. To complete his training in the
theological sciences, Cardinal Ottaviani encouraged the young priest
to study law at the Pontifical Lateran University, from which he later
earned a licentiate. In the meantime,
Fr Agustoni continued his work at
the Dicastery, eventually heading
one of the departments. During
those years, he was also appointed
commissioner at the Congregation
for the Discipline of the Sacraments,
dealing with marriage cases. Immediately after the Council, he was
named consultor to the Consilium ad
exsequendam Constitutionem de Sacra
Liturgia, working in this capacity as
a liaison between these two Dicasteries which were the most deeply involved in the difficult and historical
undertaking of post-conciliar liturgical renewal. He was subsequently
named consultor to the Congregation for Divine Worship established
by Pope Paul VI.
In May 1970, Fr Agustoni joined
the ranks of the Ecclesiastical Magistrature as Prelate Auditor of the
Tribunal of the Roman Rota, where
he remained until December 1986,
when Pope John Paul II appointed
him Secretary of the Congregation
for the Clergy and titular Bishop of
Caprulae. The Holy Father himself
ordained him a bishop the following
6 January.
Bishop Agustoni worked at the
Congregation for the Clergy at a
particularly significant period due to
two events of ecclesiastical importance. In fact, the General Synod of
Bishops on “The Formation of
Priests in the Circumstances of the
Present Day” was being prepared
and was then celebrated in 1990,
producing the document Pastores
Dabo Vobis. At the same time, the
Holy Father had established a Commission to draft the new Catechism
of the Catholic Church. The Commission was presided over by Cardinal Ratzinger and included among
its members the Cardinal Prefect of
the Congregation for the Clergy, as
the Dicastery was more concerned
by this subject than any other, given
its institutional competence in the
area of catechesis. The Congregation
was thus specifically required to collaborate and it was incumbent upon
Agustoni, as the Secretary of the
Dicastery, to co-ordinate this collaboration.
The Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy was a member
by right of the International Council for Catechesis, an office established on par with the Dicastery and
which proved a valid instrument for
study and consultation in the specific area of catechesis because its
members come from all the different
parts of the world. This Council
was given a fresh impetus, particularly with a view to the publication
of the new Catechism of the
Church, which was being prepared
at that time. He also played an active part in drafting the Apostolic
Constitution Pastor Bonus and the
General Regulations of the Roman
Curia which John Paul II approved
in February 1992.
In May 1991, Bishop Agustoni was
named a member of the Supreme
Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura,
while he continued to be Secretary
of the Congregation for the Clergy.
However, scarcely a year later, in
April 1992 the Holy Father appointed him Pro-Prefect of the same Supreme Tribunal, to succeed Cardinal
Achille Silvestrini, who had been appointed Prefect of the Congregation
for the Eastern Churches. As ProPrefect of the Supreme Tribunal,
Bishop Agustoni was also named
Pro-President of Vatican City’s Supreme Court of Appeal. He was created cardinal by John Paul II on 26
November 1994, with the Title of
Santi Urbano e Lorenzo a Prima
Porta, at which time he was appointed Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal
of the Apostolic Signatura, a role in
which he continued to serve until
1998.
The late Cardinal took part in
four assemblies of the Synod of
Bishops, and in the Special Assembly for America in 1997. He also
served on several occasions as the
Pontiff’s Special Envoy. Cardinal
Agustoni’s funeral was held on Tuesday, 17 January, in the Vatican Basilica.
page 5
Holy Father addresses a Delegation of The Global Foundation
Striving for the common good
“Those who cause or allow others to be
discarded — that’s a boomerang!”, the
Holy Father said, and as such will
become themselves “like soulless
machines. For they implicitly accept the
principle that they too, sooner or later,
will be discarded”. Speaking to a
delegation of The Global Foundation,
whom he received on Saturday, 14
January, in the Clementine Hall, the
Pope warned against a “society that
has made mammon, the god of money,
the centre of its attention” and he
called for efforts “to reverse the ills
produced by an irresponsible
globalization”. The following is the
English text of the address which the
Holy Father delivered in Italian.
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to join you for this
new
edition
of
the
Roman
Roundtable of The Global Foundation. Inspired by the Foundation’s
motto — “Together We Strive for the
Global Common Good” — you have
gathered to discern just ways of attaining a globalization that is “cooperative”, and thus positive, as opposed to the globalization of indifference. You seek to ensure that the
global community, shaped by the institutions, agencies and representatives of civil society, can effectively
achieve international goals and obligations that have been solemnly
declared and assumed, such as those
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and the Sustainable
Development Goals.
Before all else, I would restate my
conviction that a world economic
system that discards men, women
and children because they are no
longer considered useful or produc-
tive according to criteria drawn from
the world of business or other organizations, is unacceptable, because
it is inhumane. This lack of concern
for persons is a sign of regression
and dehumanization in any political
or economic system. Those who
cause or allow others to be discarded — that’s a boomerang! The
truth is that, sooner or later, they
will be discarded — whether
refugees, children who are abused or
enslaved, or the poor who die on
our streets in cold weather — become themselves like soulless machines. For they implicitly
accept the principle that
they too, sooner or later,
will be discarded, when
they no longer prove useful
to a society that has made
mammon, the god of
money, the centre of its attention.
In 1991, Saint John Paul
II, responding to the fall of
oppressive political systems
and the progressive integration of markets that we
have come to call globalization, warned of the risk that
an ideology of capitalism
would become widespread.
This would entail little or
no interest for the realities
of marginalization, exploitation and human alienation,
a lack of concern for the
great numbers of people still living
in conditions of grave material and
moral poverty, and a blind faith in
the unbridled development of market forces alone. My Predecessor
asked if such an economic system
would be the model to propose to
those seeking the road to genuine
economic and social progress, and
offered a clearly negative response.
This is not the way (cf. Centesimus
Annus, 42).
Sadly, the dangers that troubled
Saint John Paul II have largely come
to pass. At the same time, we have
seen the spread of many concrete efforts on the part of individuals and
institutions to reverse the ills produced by an irresponsible globalization. Mother Teresa of Calcutta,
whom I had the joy of canonizing
She was accepting of every human
life, whether unborn or abandoned
and discarded, and she made her
voice heard by the powers of this
world, calling them to acknowledge
the crimes of poverty that they themselves were responsible for (cf.
Homily for the Canonization of Mother
Teresa of Calcutta, 4 September 2016).
This is the first attitude leading to
fraternal and cooperative globalization. It is necessary above all for
each of us, personally, to overcome
our indifference to the needs of the
several months ago, and who is a
symbol and icon of our time, in some
way represents and recapitulates
those efforts. She bent down to comfort the poorest of the poor, left to
die on the streets, recognizing in
each of them their God-given dignity.
poor. We need to learn “compassion” for those suffering from
persecution, loneliness, forced displacement or separation from their
families. We need to learn to “suffer
with” those who lack access to
health care, or who endure hunger,
cold or heat.
This compassion will enable those
with responsibilities in the worlds of
finance and politics to use their intelligence and their resources not
merely to control and monitor the
effects of globalization, but also to
help leaders at different political
levels — regional, national and international — to correct its orientation
whenever necessary. For politics and
the economy ought to include the
exercise of the virtue of prudence.
The Church remains ever hopeful,
for she is conscious of the immense
potential of the human mind
whenever it lets itself be helped and
guided by God, and of the good
will present in so many people,
small and great, poor and rich,
businessmen and labourers alike. For
this reason, I encourage you to draw
constant
inspiration
from
the
Church’s social teaching as you continue your efforts to promote a cooperative globalization, working
with civil society, governments, international bodies, academic and scientific communities, and all other
interested parties. I offer you my
cordial good wishes for every success in your endeavours.
I thank all of you for your attention and I assure you of my prayers.
I also ask you to bring my personal
greetings, together with my blessing,
to your families and all your associates. Thank you!
To Members of the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
ecumenical dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans, we have succeeded in clearly articulating points
of view which today we agree on.
For this we are grateful. At the
same time we keep alive in our
hearts sincere contrition for our
faults. In this spirit, we recalled in
Lund that the intention of Martin
Luther five hundred years ago was
to renew the Church, not divide
her. The gathering there gave us
the courage and strength, in our
Lord Jesus Christ, to look ahead to
the ecumenical journey that we are
called to walk together.
In preparing the common commemoration of the Reformation,
Catholics and Lutherans noted with
greater awareness that theological
dialogue remains essential for reconciliation and that it is advanced
through steadfast commitment.
Thus, in that communion of harmony which permits the Holy Spirit to act, we will be able to find further convergence on points of doctrine and the moral teaching of the
Church, and will be able to draw
ever closer to full and visible unity.
I pray to the Lord that he may bestow his blessing on the LutheranCatholic Dialogue Commission in
Finland, which is working diligently towards a common sacramental
understanding
of
the
Church, the Eucharist and ecclesial
ministry.
Therefore 2017, the commemorative year of the Reformation, represents for Catholics and Lutherans
a privileged occasion to live the
faith more authentically, in order to
rediscover the Gospel together, and
to seek and witness to Christ with
renewed vigour. At the conclusion
of the day of commemoration in
Lund, and looking to the future,
we drew inspiration from our common witness to faith before the
world,
when
we
committed
ourselves to jointly assisting those
who suffer, who are in need, and
who face persecution and violence.
In doing so, as Christians we are
no longer divided, but rather
united on the journey towards full
communion.
I am pleased to recall also that
this year the Christians of Finland
celebrate the centenary of the
Finnish Ecumenical Council, which
is an important instrument in promoting communion of faith and life
among you.
Finally, in 2017 your homeland,
Finland, will celebrate one hundred
years as an independent State. May
this anniversary encourage all the
Christians of your country to profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ —
as did Saint Henrik so zealously —
offering a witness of faith to the
world today and putting that faith
into practice through concrete acts
of service, fraternity and sharing.
In the hope that your pilgrimage
may contribute to further strengthening
the
good
cooperation
between Orthodox, Lutherans and
Catholics in Finland and in the
world, and that the common witness of faith, hope and love may
bear abundant fruit through Saint
Henrik’s intercession, I willingly invoke God’s grace and blessing
upon you all. And, dear brother
Bishop, I wish to thank you for the
lovely idea of bringing your grandchildren with you: we need the simplicity of children. They will teach
us the way to Jesus Christ. Thank
you, thank you so much!
page 6
Holy Father visits Santa Maria a Setteville parish on the outskirts of Rome
Inspired by the Spirit within
“A parish where there is no gossip is a
perfect parish; it is a parish of sinners,
yes, but of witnesses”. Inspired by the
Gospel reading for the Second Sunday
of Ordinary Time, Pope Francis
indicated this ideal of the Christian
community to the faithful of the Santa
Maria a Setteville parish in Guidonia.
On Sunday afternoon, 15 January, the
Bishop of Rome resumed the pastoral
visits that had been interrupted during
the Extraordinary Holy Year, with a
visit to this parish on the outskirts of
the city. The following is a translation
of the homily that he gave during
Mass in the parish church.
The Gospel presents us John at the
moment in which he bears witness
to Jesus. Seeing Jesus come toward
him, he says: “Behold, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the
world! This is he of whom I said,
‘After me comes a man who ranks
before me’” (Jn 1:29-30). This is the
Messiah. He bears witness. And several disciples, upon hearing this
testimony — John’s disciples — follow Jesus: they go after Him and are
happy: “We have found the Messiah” (Jn 1:41). They felt Jesus’ presence. But why did they encounter
Jesus? Because there was a witness;
because there was a man who bore
witness to Jesus.
This is how it happens in our life.
There are many Christians who profess that Jesus is God; there are
many priests who profess that Jesus
is God, many bishops.... But does
everyone bear witness to Jesus? Or
is being Christian ... a way of life
like another, like being the fan of a
team? ‘Yes, I’m a Christian...’. Or
having a philosophy: ‘I follow these
commandments, I’m a Christian, I
must do this...’. Being Christian,
first of all, is bearing witness to Jesus. The first thing. This is what the
Apostles did: the Apostles bore witness to Jesus, and because of this,
Christianity spread throughout the
world. Witness and martyrdom: the
same thing. One bears witness in
small ways, and some reach greatness, giving their life in martyrdom,
like the Apostles. But the Apostles
did not take a course to become witnesses to Jesus; they did not study,
they did not go to university. They
felt the Spirit within and followed
the inspiration of the Spirit; they
were faithful to this. But they were
sinners, all! The Twelve were sinners. ‘No, Father, only Judas!’. No,
poor man.... We do not know what
happened after his death, because
there is also God’s mercy at that
moment. But all were sinners, every
one. Envious, they had jealousy
among them: ‘No, I must have the
first place, and you the second’; and
two of them spoke to their mother
so she went to ask Jesus to give the
first place to her sons.... They were
like this, with all their sins. They
were also traitors, because when Jesus was captured, they all fled, full
of fear; they hid: they were
frightened. And Peter, who knew he
was in charge, felt the need to come
a little closer to see what was happening; and when the priest’s housekeeper said: ‘You too were...’, he
said: ‘No, no, no!’. He denied Jesus;
he betrayed Jesus. Peter! The first
Pope. He betrayed Jesus. These are
witnesses! Yes, because they were
witnesses of the salvation that Jesus
brings, and everyone converted for
this salvation, they let themselves be
saved. It is beautiful when, on the
riverbank, Jesus performed that miracle [the miraculous catch of fish]
and Peter says: “Depart from me, for
I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk
5:8). Being a witness does not mean
being a saint, but being a poor man,
a poor woman who says: ‘Yes, I am
a sinner, but Jesus is the Lord and I
bear witness to him, and I seek to
do good every day, to correct my
life, to take the right path’.
I would only like to leave you a
message. We all understand this,
what I have said: sinful witnesses.
But, reading the Gospel, I do not
find one [certain type of] sin in the
Apostles. There were some brutes,
who wanted to burn down a village
that had not welcomed them....
They had many sins: traitors, cowards.... But I do not find one [in
particular]: they were not gossipmongers; they did not speak ill of
others, they did not speak badly of
one another. In this
they were good. They
did not ‘rip off others’.
I think of our communities: how many
times this sin of ‘flaying
one another’, of disparaging, of believing oneself superior to another
and secretly speaking
ill! In the Gospel, they
did not do this. They
did terrible things; they
betrayed the Lord, but
did not do this. Even in
one parish, in one community
who
knows
where ... this one
cheated, this one did
that..., but then they
confess, they convert....
We are all sinners. But
a community where
there are gossipmongers
is a community that is
incapable of bearing
witness.
I will say only this:
do you want a perfect
parish? No gossiping. None. If you
have something against another, go
and say it to his face, or tell the parish priest; but not among yourselves.
This is a sign that the Holy Spirit is
in a parish. Other sins, we all have
them. There is a collection of sins:
one takes this, one takes that, but
we are all sinners. But like a woodworm, what destroys a community is
gossip, behind others’ backs.
I would like this community, on
this day of my visit, to make the resolution not to gossip. When you
have the desire to gossip, bite your
tongue: it will swell, but it will do
you so much good, because in the
Gospel these witnesses to Jesus —
sinners: they even betrayed the
Lord! — they never gossiped about
one another. This is beautiful. A
parish where there is no gossip is a
perfect parish; it is a parish of sinners, yes, but of witnesses. This is
the witness that the first Christians
bore: ‘As they love each other, as
they love each other!’. Love each
other at least in this. May the Lord
give you this gift, this grace: never,
never speak ill of one another.
Thank you.
Pope Francis celebrated Mass
at the parish of Santa Maria a
Setteville in the Roman suburb
of Guidonia on Sunday, 15
January, where he spent much
of the afternoon with
parishioners, clergy and staff.
The Pontiff reminded the sick
members of the parish that
Jesus is close to them.
Answering some of the young
people’s questions, Pope Francis
said he too has struggled with
his faith, sometimes feeling
“days of total darkness — I too
have walked for days like that
in my life”. He advised them:
“Do not be afraid. Pray and be
patient, and then the Lord
shows up, makes you grow in
faith and enables you to go
forward”.
Francis cautioned parents not
to fight in front of their
children and to never go to bed
without first making peace.
“Never end the day without
making peace”, he said. “The
‘cold war’ of the day after is
very dangerous: do not end the
day without making peace”.
In his homily during Mass,
Pope Francis urged the faithful
to avoid gossip as the Apostles
did. The Apostles “did terrible
things; they betrayed the Lord”,
he said, but they did not gossip.
“We are all sinners. But a
community where there are
gossipmongers is a community
that is incapable of bearing
witness”.
page 7
Pope Francis’ Letter to Young People looking toward the 2018 Synod
Set out for a new land
On Friday morning, 13 January, a conference was held in the Holy See Press
Office to present the Preparatory Document for the 15th Ordinary General
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2018 on the topic
“Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”. For the occasion,
the Pope sent a Letter to Young People. In speaking of a challenge “to leave
everything and set out for a new land”, Francis invited young people to build
“a more just and friendly society”. The following is a translation of the
Holy Father’s Letter which was written in Italian.
Dear Young People,
I am pleased to announce that in
October 2018 a Synod of Bishops
will take place to treat the topic:
“Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”. I want you to
be at the centre of attention, because
I carry you in my heart. Today the
Preparatory Document is being
presented, a document which I also
entrust to you as your “compass” on
this journey.
I am reminded of the words that
God spoke to Abraham: “Go from
your country and your kindred and
your father’s house to the land that
I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Today
these words are also addressed to
you. They are the words of a Father
who invites you to “go forth”, to set
out towards a future which is unknown but which will lead to certain
fulfillment, an encounter to which
he himself accompanies you. I invite
you to hear God’s voice resounding
in your heart through the breath of
the Holy Spirit.
When God said to Abram, “Go!”,
what did He want to say to him?
Certainly not to withdraw from
his family or the world. Abram received a compelling invitation, a
challenge, to leave everything and
set out for a new land. What is this
“new land” for us today, if not a
more just and fraternal society which
you deeply desire and wish to build,
even in the peripheries of the world?
But unfortunately, today, “Go!”
also takes on a different meaning,
that of the abuse of power, of injustice and of war. Many young
people among you are subjected to
the real threat of violence and are
forced to flee their native land.
Their cry rises to God, like that of
Israel, enslaved and oppressed by
the Pharaoh (cf. Ex 2:23).
I would also like to remind you
of the words that Jesus once said to
the disciples who asked him:
“Teacher [...] where are you staying?”. He replied, “Come and see”
(Jn 1:38-39). Jesus also turns his
gaze upon you and invites you to
go with him. Dear young people,
have you met this gaze? Have you
heard this voice? Have you felt this
urge to set out on this journey? I
am sure that, although din and confusion seem to rule the world, this
call continues to resonate in your
soul so as to open it to the fullness
of joy. This will be possible to the
extent that, accompanied also by
professional guides, you will be able
to undertake a journey of discernment so as to discover God’s plan
for your life. Even when the path is
marked by uncertainties and pratfalls, God, rich in mercy, will extend
his hand to help you up.
In Krakow, at the opening of the
last World Youth Day, I asked you
several times: “Can things change?”.
And you shouted in unison a resounding “yes!”. That shout came
from your young hearts which do
not tolerate injustice and cannot
bow down to the “throw-away culture” nor give in to the globalization
of indifference. Listen to the cry that
rises from your innermost self! Even
when, like the prophet Jeremiah,
you sense your youthful inexperience, God encourages you to go
where he sends you: “Do not be
afraid, [...], for I am with you to deliver you” (Jer 1:8).
A better world can be built thanks
also to your efforts, to your desire
for change and to your generosity.
Do not be afraid to listen to the
Spirit who proposes bold choices.
Do not hesitate when your conscience asks you to take a risk in order to follow the Master. The
Church also wishes to pay attention
to your voice, your sensitivity and
your faith; even your doubts and
your criticisms. Make your voice
heard, let it resonate in your communities and let it be heard by your
pastors. Saint Benedict urged the
abbots to consult the young people
too, before any important decision,
because “the Lord often reveals to
the youngest what is best” (Rule of
Saint Benedict, III, 3).
In this way, on the journey of this
Synod too, my brother bishops and
I wish even more to “work with you
for your joy” (2 Cor 1:24). I entrust
you to Mary of Nazareth, a young
person like yourselves, to whom
God turned his loving gaze, that she
might take you by the hand and
guide you to the joy of a full and
generous “Here I am” (cf. Lk 1:38).
With fatherly affection,
From the Vatican, 13 January 2017
Presentation of the Preparatory Document
On Friday morning, 13 January, a
conference was held in the Holy
See Press Office to present the Preparatory Document for the 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops. The Synod, to
be held in October 2018, will focus
on the theme “young people, faith
and vocational discernment”. Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri and Bishop
Fabio Fabene, respectively Secretary
General and Undersecretary of the
Synod of Bishops, spoke at the
press conference along with university students Elvis Do Ceu Nicolaia Do Rosario and Federica Ceci.
Cardinal Baldisseri explained
that the document, which was sent
to episcopal conferences, councils
of the Eastern Churches, dicasteries
of the Roman Curia and the Union
of Superior Generals, marked the
beginning of the Synod’s consulting phase with “‘the entire People
of God’, to gather information on
the current condition of young
people in the variegated contexts in
which they live, so as to be able to
carry out an adequate discernment
with a view to the drafting of the
Instrumentum Laboris, and is in continuity with the journey the Church
is already undertaking under the
guidance of the Magisterium of
Pope Francis”, the Cardinal said.
“The centrality of joy and love, underlined several times in the text”,
he continued, “clearly links to
Evangelii Gaudium and Amoris
Laetitia. There are also references to
Laudato Si’, Lumen Fidei and the
teaching of Pope Benedict XVI”.
The Cardinal described the three
parts of the Preparatory Document.
“The first urges listening to reality.
The second highlights the importance of discernment in the light of
faith in order to make life choices
that truly correspond to the will of
God and to the good of the person. The third focuses on the pastoral action of the ecclesial community. The evangelical image of
the ‘beloved disciple’ introduces the
three parts as a brief presentation
of the journey”.
Following the Document is a
Questionnaire, which Cardinal Baldisseri indicated “is an integral part
of the document, rather than a
simple appendix. This too is divided into three parts. The first
relates to the gathering of statistical
data. The second is composed of
questions. The novelty is constituted by the fact that, along with
the general questions proposed to
everyone indiscriminately (15 in
number), there are three specific
questions for each geographical
area, to which a response is requested only for those who belong to
the specified continent. The third
part relates to the sharing of prac-
tices, according to methods that are
clearly expressed. The aim of this
third part, also a novelty, is to enrich all the Church by bringing
awareness of experiences, often of
great interest, that take place in the
different regions of the world, so
that they may be of help to all”.
The information gleaned “from the
answers will serve for the drafting
of the Instrumentum Laboris, the
document handed to the Synod
Fathers prior to the Assembly”,
Cardinal Baldisseri concluded.
Bishop Fabene illustrated the initiatives planned by the General
Secretariat of the Synod to accompany and support the examination
of the Preparatory Document in the
particular Churches in all the continents. “Firstly”, he observed, “it is
important to involve young people
in the preparatory stage of the Synod Assembly because the next Synod wishes not only to ask how to
accompany the young in discerning
their life choice in the light of the
Gospel, but also to listen to the desires, plans and dreams that the
young have for their life, as well as
the difficulties they encounter in
realizing their plan in the service of
society, in which they ask to be active agents”.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
page 8
Cardinal Wuerl speaks at the annual convention of the Canon Law Society of America
A refreshing openness
REENGAGING
VATICAN COUNCIL
It seems to me that in God’s
Providential Plan and in light of all
that has transpired over the past 50
The starting point for an overview years, we now are able to reconnect,
of where we are today and the tasks again, in an authentic manner, with
of synodality in the Church are the
the renewing energy of the Council.
Second Vatican Council and its exEcclesiologically what Pope Frantraordinary impact on the life of the
cis has done is to refocus, once
Church. Over 50 years ago in 1962
when Pope, now Saint, John XXIII again, on the ministry of the College
opened the Second Vatican Council of Bishops as was the case in the
he highlighted that it had, as its Second Vatican Council in the docugoal and purpose, to support “the ment, Lumen Gentium.
Pope Francis sees the bishops of
Church’s apostolic and pastoral mission by making the truth of the the Church having one specific role,
Gospel shine forth to lead all people the Curia another, and all at the serto seek and receive Christ’s love vice of the Gospel. He also recogwhich surpasses all knowledge (cf. nizes the work of the laity who have
the responsibility for the sanctificaEph. 3:19).”1
However, much happened between tion and transformation of the temthe close of the Council in 1965 and poral order and the witnessing of Jethe election of Pope Francis in 2013. sus and his Gospel to a world so in
need of the hope
of the Gospel.
The accompanying excerpt from the keynote
We can see the
Pope’s perspective
address, “Pope Francis: Fresh Perspectives on
on synodality with
Synodality”, delivered on 10 October 2016 by
the post-synodal
apostolic exhortaCardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of
tion, Amoris LaetiWashington, D.C., to the Canon Law Society
tia. It follows on
the Synods of
of America, is the second of a series to be
Bishops that met,
published in L’Osservatore Romano’s weekly
one in October of
2014 and the other
edition in English.
in 2015, to discuss
the challenges to
It is only in understanding those in- marriage and family today, and retervening five decades that we can, I flects the consensus of those meetbelieve, appreciate the guidance the ings and many voices. In the work
Holy Spirit continues to give the of the synod, in the preparation of
Church and the place of Pope Fran- its documents, and the final exhortation we can see Pope Francis’ apprecis in God’s Providential plan.
Immediately following the Coun- ciation and engagement of synodalcil in the late 60s and a greater part ity.
The Holy Father has highlighted,
of the 70s, there emerged both pathways of renewal and development once again, the role of bishops in
totally consistent with the direction collaboration with him in the overall
of the Council and, on the other responsibilities for leadership, teachhand, ways that diverged dramatically from what the Council said and
the received tradition of the Church.
This was particularly evident in the
areas of liturgy and catechesis where
the “spirit” of the Council was invoked to override the actual words
in the texts of the Council and the
tradition of the Church which
In this context, the General Secprovided both the context and the
retariat of the Synod will provide
continuity for understanding the
a website to consult the young via
Council and its future impetus.
a questionnaire on their expectaWhat emerged was a new hermentions and their life. “The questions
will relate to all young people beeutic often invoked to support liturcause, as affirmed in the Preparatgical aberration and catechetical
ory Document, God’s plan regards
misrepresentation. The “hermeneutic
all the youth of our time, and they
of discontinuity” was also used to
all have the right to be accompanjustify new theological directions
ied without exclusion”, the Bishop
that disengaged from the received
continued. “The answers to the
tradition and were barely recognizquestionnaire will provide the
able as part of the Catholic heritage.
basis for the drafting of the InstruIt was Pope Benedict XVI who
mentum Laboris, along with the
began explicitly to point out the
contributions that will be received
failings and unacceptability of the
from interested bodies”.
hermeneutic of discontinuity which
A statement by university stuhe contrasted with the true hermendents Do Rosario and Ceci foleutic of renewal or reform.
lowed. “At the moment at which
the Preparatory Document of the
upcoming Synod is presented to
POPE FRANCIS:
all the Churches of the world, we
FRESH PERSPECTIVES
are convinced that the bishops will
In March 2013, guided by the Holy
listen to the young people in their
Spirit, the Cardinals of the Church
dioceses, even those who live
chose Jorge Mario Bergoglio to fill
farthest from the ecclesial world
the Chair of Peter. He took the
but who strongly desire attention
and meaningful answers. We are
name Francis.
II
ing and pastoral ministry of the
Church. In February of 2014, the
Holy Father, at a consistory of the
cardinals, asked us to begin to reflect on the challenges to marriage
today. He then called for a Synod in
2014 that addressed the difficulties
that marriage faces. It reminded us
of the heavily secular culture we live
in, of the materialism that is a part
of the mentality of many people, the
individualism that dominates our
culture, particularly in the Western
world and in the United States.
It was clear that the overwhelming majority of bishops shared the
Holy Father’s vision that there has
to be a way to present the Church’s
teaching new in ardor, method and
expression rather than simply come
together to repeat and restate what
is already known. As was quoted
later, one bishop indicated that if
the purpose of the 2014 Synod was
simply to repeat, doctrinally and
pastorally, the Church’s teaching it
could have ended by the second day
and there would have been no need
at all for the 2015 Synod.
The open discussion within the
synod is clearly a hallmark of Pope
Francis’ view of synodality. At no
time was there disagreement on the
Church’s doctrine. But there was
lively engagement on how that
teaching is received, understood, appropriated and lived in our modern
Preparatory Document
sure that [the bishops] will be able
to ‘waste time’ with us, the young,
not only to speak but also to listen
to what we have to say, with the
aim of building together a younger, fresher Church open to comparison and encounter”, they said.
“In addition, as young people who
experience every day in our situation the beauty and the freedom
of being Christians, we want to
speak to the hearts of our peers all
over the world, urging them not to
close themselves off but instead to
welcome the opportunities that the
Church offers us with the upcoming Synod assembly”.
The students concluded with an
“appeal to the media: we ask you
to dedicate greater space to the
world of young people, casting
light on many of the positive aspects and not just the elements of
weakness and turbulence. Help us,
with the instruments you have at
your disposal, to become agents
not only of a future yet to come,
but also and above all a present
that already calls to us today to
build the civilization of love”.
culture, and how in the circumstances of our time do we effectively
and pastorally respond.
In the 2015 Synod, the focus continued with emphasis on the substance of the Church’s teaching on
marriage and family and its relevance today. The Synod reaffirmed
that there is a difference among the
teaching on the indissolubility of
marriage, the pastoral response to
those in broken marriages, and the
faithful’s own conscientious judgment concerning their relationship
to the Sacraments. These realities
are greatly related but they are not
the same thing.
Pope Francis’ decision to allow
free discussion, respect for divergence of opinion, transparency in
the process and the publication of
the results of the voting by the bishops at each stage of both synods
created a refreshing openness that
resulted in a new appreciation of a
synod.
I have been present in some capacity for eleven synods and as a bishop member for seven. The last two,
the 2014 and the 2015 gatherings
were, in my opinion, the most open,
engaging and reflective of episcopal
collaboration and consultation.
As the 2014 Synod was completing
its work, the Holy Father enlarged
the writing committee responsible for
the preparation of its report, the Relatio Synodi. His charge to it was to
present what was the consensus of
the Synod Fathers. The Relatio Synodi was then made public and became
the working paper for the next synod
(2015) with the invitation for worldwide consultation engaging all of the
conferences of bishops. Next followed
the 2015 synod on “The Vocation and
Mission of the Family in the Church
and in the Contemporary World”,
which had as its initial working paper
the Relatio of the 2014 synod.
Examples of Pope Francis’ new
perspective include his innovative
use of the synod structure by calling
for two back-to-back assemblies. In
this way, he engaged a very large
number of bishops in the one process since the membership of both
synods was elected by conferences of
bishops and during the interval each
conference of bishops was asked to
be actively engaged in responding to
the first synod, 2014, and preparing
the material for the second synod,
2015.
I would add that his invitation to
openness among the bishops in
these discussions is a part of his innovation or perspective. We can recall his advice at the beginning of
the synod 2014-2015 process to the
bishops to speak with openness and
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
page 9
Reflection on the Church in the Exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’
BROTHER ALOIS
“When the Church tirelessly listens,
heals, reconciles, she is at her most
luminous: a communion of love,
compassion, consolation, a clear reflection of the Risen Christ. Never
distant, never on the defensive, free
of severity, she is able to radiate in
our human hearts the humble certitude of faith”. Whenever I read
Amoris Laetitia, these few lines of
Brother Roger immediately return to
mind and, once again, I am struck
by the spiritual proximity between
Pope Francis and the founder of our
Taizé community: the same pastoral
heart, the same attention to the
poor, to the young, to those who
feel distanced from the faith, the
same appeal to the joy of the Gospel. And above all, the same basic,
primordial insistence on God’s unconditional love for every human being. God cannot help but love. No
one is excluded, neither from his
love nor from his forgiveness. The
Church is called to bear witness to
it. All this was present in Evangelii
Gaudium and now has a dominant
place in Amoris Laetitia, which was
written to give strength to women
and men committed in Christian
marriage.
The Pope’s Exhortation begins
not by expounding the problems
known by many families nor by enumerating the rules that they must respect. The Pope seeks first of all the
light that the Word of God brings
to family life. This modality touches
us, Taizé brothers, because it is impossible not to have a positive ecumenical resonance. Throughout the
Bible, the Pope says, we find families with their “love stories” and
“family crises”, families torn apart, at
times, by sorrow and pain, but that
seek to pass on the faith to their
children. Jesus himself “knows the
anxieties and tensions experienced
by families”.
At her most luminous
In the first chapter, the Pope
places the Word of God at the
centre of his reflection, proposing it
to families not as a sequence of “abstract ideas” but as a “source of
comfort and companionship”. The
Word of God, a companion. ‘Accompany’ is one of the key words
used by the Pope. To accompany: a
Gospel value that one can never
meditate upon enough. Christ came
to earth to express God’s ‘yes’ to
humanity. Jesus comes to meet
everyone, and in particular he goes
to sinners and walks with them. He
testifies that God loves unconditionally. Some of his parables show that
this love goes even beyond what is
just and ordinary: it seems exaggerated that, when the prodigal son returns, the father would organize
such a celebration; the owner of the
vineyard gives the impression of sur-
passing the measure when he offers
the same wage to those working
only the last hour as to those who
had been working since early morning. The fact is that God’s mercy
goes beyond justice: he does not
negate it but brings it to perfect fulfillment.
The Pope points out that if many
of our contemporaries need accompaniment, it is because they feel that
they are orphans, and this is particularly true for many young people. I
hear in these words a confirmation
of what we observe in
Taizé. In fact, for many
years, we have valued
the 7th-century Egyptian Coptic icon that
portrays Christ putting
his arm around the
shoulder of a friend.
With this gesture, Jesus
takes upon himself the
burdens, the mistakes,
all the weight that falls
upon the other. He is
not in front of his
friend, but moving forward beside him, accompanying him. This
friend is Saint Mena,
but is also each and
every one of us to
whom Christ comes to
support with his mysterious presence.
Walking in the footsteps of Christ, the
Church is invited to accompany people with that same
mercy, especially those who are most
wounded. We are surprised to see
the extent to which this icon touches
hearts, especially those of young
people. When they realize that they
are being accompanied and not
judged, they are ready to pay attention to the Gospel message.
Cardinal Wuerl to the Canon Law Society of America
clarity, to listen with humility and
to be open to the Holy Spirit.
At the end of all of the discussions and all of the reflections carried out over two full years, there
has emerged this 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia that I
would call a “consensus exhortation.”
This apostolic exhortation is confirming for us the validity of the
Second Vatican Council’s call for
collegial reflection, that is, the bishops coming together and working
together, always with and never
without Peter.2
In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis
draws deeply and richly on the
teaching of his predecessors and
from the heart of the Catholic theological tradition. This engagement
is evident in the reaffirmation of
the doctrine of the Church in regard to marriage and the moral life
— a point which the Holy Father
makes repeatedly.3 The teaching on
marriage and human love of
Blessed Paul VI, Saint John Paul II,
and Benedict XVI is featured prominently in the document. Particularly notable is the rich use of John
Paul II’s catechesis on the body and
on human love.
In urging concrete steps to support married couples and families,
and bring hope and healing to
those in difficult situations, Pope
Francis follows in the longstanding
tradition of the Church Magisterium. The continuity is made clear
by the astounding amount of citations from previous pontificates and
the tradition of the Church in general.
For example, there are 41 citations from the teachings of Saint
John Paul II, 25 citations to the
Second Vatican Council, 14 citations to Saint Thomas Aquinas, 13
citations to the Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 8 citations to the
magisterium of Benedict XVI, 6 citations to Blessed Paul VI, and more.
While we can refer to Amoris Laetitia as a “consensus document”, we
might also name it the “continuity
exhortation”.
Pope Francis picks up the
threads of the energizing focus of
the Council while standing on the
foundational work of his predecessors. But this is more than mere
repetition of certain points of doctrine.
There is a sense in which one can
see in this exhortation a renewed
call to recognize our Catholic identity, our connectedness to the
Church and how our ministry is
validated precisely in our participation in and adherence to the articulated Magisterium of the Church.
This articulation includes that of all
of the popes, not just the ones
some might deem more Catholic
than others.
1 Pope John Paul II, Apostolic
Constitution Fidei Depositum (1992).
2 Cfr. Dogmatic Constitution on
the Church Lumen Gentium (1964),
22.
3 Pope
Francis, Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (2016) 307.
Reading the Word of God, we see
that fidelity in marriage is one of
Christ’s great demands: the demand
to love one’s enemies, or to sell all
that one has in order to follow him,
can surprise and confound us. But
his request is not a heavy burden
that he lays upon the shoulders of
others. It expresses all the beauty
and all the fruitfulness of a life lived
by following him. And, while expressing this request, Christ manifests at the same time a deep love
for those who are unable to fully
satisfy it, for we are all sinners. This
is the specific character of the Gospel message.
The Pope bears witness to this
specific character and with it contributes to changing the image of
the Church as seen by some of our
contemporaries. Over the centuries,
the vision of God as a harsh judge
has devastated the conscience of
many and has become an obstacle to
faith. Likewise today, wrongly or
rightly, the Church is too often regarded as the guardian of a rule of
perfection, offering an unattainable
moral code, an inaccessible ideal
that causes fear and from which
people turn away. It happens that
the fear of a condemnatory God and
Church paralyzes Christians and
even drives them to hide their mistakes, to trivialize or justify them.
Understanding that God is mercy
and forgiveness enables us to admit
that we can make mistakes, to accept
them and to find in forgiveness the
strength to change.
In speaking about the family, the
Pope is well aware that some would
prefer that he give precise general
guidelines in order to avoid confusion, but he sincerely believes that
there is another path. He calls for
discernment in each situation. As in
the Gospel, Christ links need and
mercy, likewise the Pope does not
separate doctrine and pastoral care,
as there is an intimate bond between
them. The Pope seeks to make such
a link. Mercy is not a concession of
human weakness, but encourages the
journey toward a greater love, toward the Gospel ideal.
To discern certainly means to recognize the gap that exists between
actual situations and the absolute of
the Gospel, but without fixating on
it. To discern means to discover how
the Holy Spirit is present and active
in every situation, even the most imperfect. His presence is not a reward
for those who would be perfect; he
dwells even in those who are most
wounded and supports them. It is
very important to emphasize this so
as to appreciate what all of us
already experience. Then it will
gradually become possible for everyone to move forward with Christ
and to go even further. The pastoral
gaze of love and understanding, far
from relativizing Christ’s call, transmits the momentum necessary for
meeting the evangelical need.
If I may, I would like to conclude
with a question that we Taizé take
particularly to heart. “Accompanying, discerning and integrating
weakness” is the title of the eighth
chapter of Amoris Laetitia. Could
this spiritual dynamic, which the
Pope applies to family life, also be
extended to other spheres and adapted in particular to the relations with
Christian denominations?
page 10
Prayer for the safe release
of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything
according to his will, he hears us” (1
Jn 5:14)
Church of San Callisto
Help for the homeless
The Community of Sant’Egidio, in
response to the emergency caused
by the cold front sweeping across
Europe, as of Saturday, 7 January
has kept open the doors of the
Church of San Callisto in Rome’s
Trastevere neighbourhood, offering
the homeless a place to sleep at
night.
The church and its buildings are
within the extraterritorial property
of the Holy See. The church is an
ancient place of worship, built
around the well where Pope Callixtus I was martyred in 222. The current building dates back to the 17th
century. It is a rectory linked to the
parish of Santa Maria in Trastevere
and is under the care of the Community of Sant’Egidio, which carries out activities of worship and
catechesis, especially for the elderly
and people with disabilities.
There are approximately 30
homeless people — Italians and
foreigners — who are currently
spending the night in the church
and adjacent buildings, all of
which are equipped with heating,
beds, blankets and bathrooms.
Dinner is offered to the guests
around 7 PM in the nearby refectory, after which they can access
the church between 8 and 10 PM.
In the morning the guests leave
the building at about 8. Volunteers
from the Community of Sant’Egidio welcome the homeless and remain there during opening hours,
including the night shift. The
guests are assisted by volunteers
who help them find solutions to
their material and health-related
needs. Where possible, in the days
following their first arrival, attempts are made to find more
stable forms of accommodation.
H.B. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis,
Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the
Syro-Malankara Church and President of India’s Conference of
Catholic Bishops (CBCI) has appealed to India’s government leaders
to do everything possible to obtain
the release of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil
who was kidnapped last March in
Yemen.
Fr Tom was seized on 4 March
2016 after a militant group stormed
into a home for the sick and elderly,
run by Bl. Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Aden, in the
country’s south-west. Four sisters of
the religious congregation and 12 lay
people were killed in the attack.
In a 13 January statement, the
CBCI President said, “With much anguish, supplication and prayer we
have been awaiting the release of Fr
Tom Uzhunnalil for the past 10
months” and that, for this reason,
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Holy See Press Office issued the following statement on 17 January:
In relation to the events of recent weeks concerning the Sovereign
Military Order of Malta, the Holy See wishes to reiterate its support
and encouragement for the commendable work that members and volunteers carry out in various parts of the world, in fulfillment of the aims
of the Order: tuitio fidei (the defence of the Faith) and obsequium pauperum (service to the poor, the sick and those in greatest need).
For the support and advancement of this generous mission, the Holy
See reaffirms its confidence in the five Members of the Group appointed by Pope Francis on 21 December 2016 to inform him about the
present crisis of the Central Direction of the Order, and rejects, based
on the documentation in its possession, any attempt to discredit these
Members of the Group and their work.
The Holy See counts on the complete cooperation of all in this sensitive stage, and awaits the Report of the above-mentioned Group in order to adopt, within its area of competence, the most fitting decisions
for the good of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and of the
Church.
the CBCI “has been in constant contact with the Minister for External
Affairs, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, and the
Foreign Ministry”, and “has also
been in touch with Bishop Paul
Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of Southern
Arabia, Yemen”. The Bishops, the
Cardinal said, have been assured
that Fr Tom “is alive and safe”.
The Cardinal stated that “the
Bishops have intensified their efforts
and have been in close contact with
the Indian Foreign Ministry” since
the appearance of a video on 24
December, in which Fr Tom purportedly made an appeal. “The
whole Catholic Church and especially the Church in India is very
worried and concerned about Fr
Tom”, whom the CBCI President described as a “generous and selfless
Catholic priest”.
The Cardinal has asked “the
whole Church in India and all
people of good will to pray for the
safety and liberation of Fr Tom ...,
for the conversion of those who are
holding him captive, and ... that
God may give them the grace to
realize the injustice of their acts”.
The Cardinal and the CBCI call on
all parish priests, religious and lay
leaders together with the faithful, to
hold a day of Prayer for Fr Tom
Uzhunnalil on Saturday, 21 January
or Sunday, 22 January.
Fr Joaquín Hernández Sifuentes fought against drug trafficking
Another missing priest found dead in Mexico
Another unfortunate victim has been added to the
list of Catholic priests killed in Mexico in relation to
their role in the fight against drug trafficking. The
Diocese of Saltillo in the state of Coahuila de Zaragoza has confirmed that Fr Joaquín Hernández Sifuentes, a diocesan priest at the Sacred Heart parish,
was found dead on 12 January in Parras, some 120
kilometers to the west. He had been missing since 3
January, when he had been due to take a short holiday. According to Church sources, a friend became
suspicious after finding the priest’s home in disarray,
along with his fully packed suitcase and the glasses
he would have needed to drive. Neighbours reported
having seen two men drive off in the priest’s car,
though they did not see Fr Hernández accompany
them. According to police, the priest had been
beaten before he died. Two men are being held in
connection with his murder.
Fr Hernández was ordained in 2004 at the age of
30 and served in several parishes before being transferred to Saltillo in 2013. In a written statement, the
diocese expressed that Fr Joaquín “sought perfection
in all he did”, and that his close relationship to the
people has been reflected in an outpouring of love
from the faithful since his disappearance.
In a press conference, Bishop José Raul Vera
Lopez of Saltillo offered words of comfort to Fr
Hernández’ family and said it was the first time such
a tragedy has hit the diocese since he became its
bishop. He called for prayers and invited local citizens to realize that, just as all members of society,
even members of the clergy can be victimized by
crime. “We are living in a deteriorated environment”,
the bishop of Saltillo said, “in a fragmented society
where priests do not live under a glass bell tower”.
Sixteen priests have died violent deaths in Mexico
over the last four years. More than 30 have been
killed since 2006.
Funeral services were held for Fr Hernández Sifuentes on 15 January at the Cathedral of Saltillo,
where the local community gathered to bid him their
final farewell.
page 11
Message for the 2017 World Day of Prayer for Vocations
The Christian mission
is not borne alone
The Church needs priests who are hopeful and serene, so as to express “the true
treasure they have discovered” and to go out joyfully and make it known to all.
Pope Francis writes this in his Message for the 2017 World Day of Prayer for
Vocations, which will be celebrated on 7 May. In the Message, the Pope explains
that “as disciples, we do not receive the gift of God’s love for our personal
consolation”, but as “men and women touched and transformed by the joy of
God’s love, who cannot keep this experience” just to themselves. The following is
the English text of the Holy Father’s message.
Led by the Spirit for Mission
In the last few years, we have considered two aspects of the Christian
vocation: the summons to “go out
from ourselves” to hear the Lord’s
voice, and the importance of the ecclesial community as the privileged
place where God’s call is born,
nourished and expressed.
Now, on this 54th World Day of
Prayer for Vocations, I would like to
reflect on the missionary dimension of
our Christian calling. Those who,
drawn by God’s voice and determined to follow Jesus, soon discover
within themselves an irrepressible
desire to bring the Good News to
their brothers and sisters through
proclamation and the service of
charity. All Christians are called to
be missionaries of the Gospel! As
disciples, we do not receive the gift
of God’s love for our personal consolation, nor are we called to promote ourselves, or a business concern. We are simply men and women touched and transformed by
the joy of God’s love, who cannot
keep this experience just to
ourselves. For “the Gospel joy which
enlivens the community of disciples
is a missionary joy (Evangelii Gaudium, 21).
Commitment to mission is not
something added on to the Christian
life as a kind of decoration, but is
instead an essential element of faith
itself. A relationship with the Lord
entails being sent out into the world
as prophets of his word and witnesses of his love.
Even if at times we are conscious
of our weaknesses and tempted to
discouragement, we need to turn to
God with confidence. We must overcome a sense of our own inadequacy
and not yield to pessimism, which
merely turns us into passive spectators of a dreary and monotonous life.
There is no room for fear! God himself comes to cleanse our “unclean
lips” and equip us for the mission:
“Your guilt has departed and your
sin is blotted out. Then I heard the
voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom
shall I send and who will go for us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I, send me’”
(Is 6:6-8).
In the depths of their heart, all
missionary disciples hear this divine
voice bidding them to “go about”,
as Jesus did, “doing good and healing all” (cf. Acts 10:38). I have mentioned that, by virtue of baptism,
every Christian is a “Christopher”, a
bearer of Christ, to his brothers and
sisters (cf. Catechesis, 30 January
2016). This is particularly the case
with those called to a life of special
consecration and with priests, who
have generously responded, “Here I
am, Lord, send me!”. With renewed
missionary enthusiasm, priests are
called to go forth from the sacred
precincts of the temple and to let
God’s tender love overflow for the
sake of humanity (cf. Homily at the
Chrism Mass, 24 March 2016). The
Church needs such priests: serenely
confident because they have discovered the true treasure, anxious to
go out and joyfully to make it
known to all (cf. Mt 13:44).
Certainly many questions arise
when we speak of the Christian mission. What does it mean to be a
missionary of the Gospel? Who
gives us the strength and courage to
preach? What is the evangelical
basis and inspiration of mission? We
can respond to these questions by
meditating on three scenes from the
Gospels: the inauguration of Jesus’
mission in the synagogue at Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:16-30); the journey
that, after his resurrection, he makes
in the company of the disciples of
Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and, finally, the parable of the sower and
the seed (cf. Mt 4:26-27).
Jesus is anointed by the Spirit
and sent. To be a missionary disciple means to share actively in the
mission of Christ. Jesus himself described that mission in the synagogue of Nazareth in these words:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring
good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favour” (Lk 4:18-19). This is
also our mission: to be anointed by
the Spirit, and to go out to our brothers and sisters in order to proclaim
the word and to be for them a
means of salvation.
Jesus is at our side every step of
the way. The questions lurking in
human hearts and the real challenges of life can make us feel bewildered, inadequate and hopeless.
The Christian mission might appear
to be mere utopian illusion or at
least something beyond our reach.
“Emmaus”, Janet Brooks-Gerloff (1992)
Yet if we contemplate the risen Jesus
walking alongside the disciples of
Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-15), we can be
filled with new confidence. In that
Gospel scene, we have a true
“liturgy of the street”, preceding that
of the word and the breaking of the
bread. We see that, at every step of
the way, Jesus is at our side! The
two disciples, overwhelmed by the
scandal of the cross, return home on
the path of defeat. Their hearts are
broken, their hopes dashed and their
dreams shattered. The joy of the
Gospel has yielded to sadness. What
does Jesus do? He does not judge
them, but walks with them. Instead
of raising a wall, he opens a breach.
Gradually he transforms their discouragement. He makes their hearts
burn within them, and he opens
their eyes by proclaiming the word
and breaking the bread. In the same
way, a Christian does not bear the
burden of mission alone, but realizes, even amid weariness and misunderstanding, that “Jesus walks
with him, speaks to him, breathes
with him, works with him. He senses
Jesus alive with him in the midst of
the missionary enterprise” (Evangelii
Gaudium, 266).
Jesus makes the seed grow. Finally, it is important to let the Gospel teach us the way of proclamation. At times, even with the best intentions, we can indulge in a certain
hunger for power, proselytism or intolerant fanaticism. Yet the Gospel
tells us to reject the idolatry of
power and success, undue concern
for structures, and a kind of anxiety
that has more to do with the spirit
of conquest than that of service. The
seed of the Kingdom, however tiny,
unseen and at times insignificant, silently continues to grow, thanks to
God’s tireless activity. “The kingdom
of God is as if a man should scatter
seed on the ground, and should
sleep or rise night and day, and the
seed should sprout and grow, he
knows not how” (Mk 4:26-27). This
is our first reason for confidence:
God surpasses all our expectations
and constantly surprises us by his
generosity. He makes our efforts
bear fruit beyond all human calculation.
With this confidence born of the
Gospel, we become open to the si-
lent working of the Spirit, which is
the basis of mission. There can be
no promotion of vocations or Christian mission apart from constant
contemplative prayer. The Christian
life needs to be nourished by attentive listening to God’s word and,
above all, by the cultivation of a
personal relationship with the Lord
in Eucharistic adoration, the privileged “place” for our encounter
with God.
I wish heartily to encourage this
kind of profound friendship with the
Lord, above all for the sake of imploring from on high new vocations
to the priesthood and the consecrated life. The People of God need
to be guided by pastors whose lives
are spent in service to the Gospel. I
ask parish communities, associations
and the many prayer groups present
in the Church, not to yield to discouragement but to continue praying that the Lord will send workers
to his harvest. May he give us
priests enamoured of the Gospel,
close to all their brothers and sisters,
living signs of God’s merciful love.
Dear brothers and sisters, today
too, we can regain fervour in preaching the Gospel and we can encourage young people in particular to
take up the path of Christian discipleship. Despite a widespread
sense that the faith is listless or reduced to mere “duties to discharge”,
our young people desire to discover
the perennial attraction of Jesus, to
be challenged by his words and actions, and to cherish the ideal that
he holds out of a life that is fully
human, happy to spend itself in
love.
Mary Most Holy, the Mother of
our Saviour, had the courage to embrace this ideal, placing her youth
and her enthusiasm in God’s hands.
Through her intercession, may we be
granted that same openness of heart,
that same readiness to respond,
“Here I am”, to the Lord’s call, and
that same joy in setting out (cf. Lk
1:39), like her, to proclaim him to
the whole world.
From the Vatican, 27 November 2016
First Sunday of Advent
page 12
Exhausted migrants sleep
on the deck of a vessel after
being rescued from the
Mediterranean sea (AP)
“It is necessary to adopt every possible measure to guarantee protection
and security to migrant minors, as well as their integration”. Pope
Francis shared this hope at the Angelus on Sunday, 15 January. Before
reciting the prayer with the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square, he
commented on the day’s Gospel reading. The following is a translation of
the reflection given by the Holy Father in Italian.
Good morning!
At the centre of today’s Gospel reading (Jn 1:29-34) there is this
message of John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes
away the sin of the world!” (v. 29). It is a message accompanied by
the gaze and the hand gesture that indicate Him, Jesus.
Let us imagine the scene. We are on the bank of the River
Jordan. John is baptizing; there are many people, men and women
Holy Father’s appeal for child migrants
Our little brothers
and sisters
of various ages, who have come there, to the river, to receive baptism from the hands of the man who reminded many of Elijah, the
great Prophet who nine centuries before had purified the Israelites
of idolatry and led them back to the true faith in the God of the
Covenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
John preaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, that the
Messiah is about to reveal himself, and one must prepare, convert
and act with righteousness; and he begins to baptize in the River
Jordan in order to give the people a tangible means of repentance
(cf. Mt 3:1-6). These people came to repent their sins, to make penance, to begin their life anew. He knows; John knows that the Messiah, the Lord’s Consecrated One, is now nearby, and the sign to
recognize Him will be that the Holy Spirit will descend upon Him.
Indeed, He will bring the true baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit
(cf. Jn 1:33).
And thus, the moment arrives: Jesus appears on the river bank,
in the midst of the people, the sinners — like all of us. It is his first
public act, the first thing he does when he leaves his home in Nazareth, at the age of 30: he goes down into Judea, goes to the
Jordan, and is baptized by John. We know what happens. We celebrated it last Sunday: the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in the
form of a dove and the voice of the Father proclaims him the beloved Son (cf. Mt 3:16-17). It is the sign that John has been waiting
for. It is He! Jesus is the Messiah. John is disconcerted, because He
manifests himself in an unimaginable way: in the midst of sinners,
baptized with them, or rather, for them. But the Spirit enlightens
John and helps him understand that in this way God’s justice is fulfilled, his plan of salvation is fulfilled: Jesus is the Messiah, the
King of Israel, however, not with the power of this world but as the
Lamb of God, who takes upon himself and takes away the sins of the
world.
Thus, John points Him out to the people and to his disciples.
Because John had a large circle of disciples, who had chosen him as
a spiritual guide, and some of them actually become the first disciples of Jesus. We know their names well: Simon, later called Peter,
his brother Andrew, James and his brother John. All were fishermen, all Galileans, like Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, why have we focused so long on this
scene? Because it is decisive! It is not an anecdote. It is a decisive
historical fact! This scene is decisive for our faith; and it is also decisive for the Church’s mission. The Church, in every time, is called
to do what John the Baptist did: point Jesus out to the people, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!”. He is the One Saviour! He is the Lord, humble, in the
midst of sinners, but it is He, He: there is no other powerful one
who comes; no, no it is He!
These are the words that we priests repeat each day, during the
Mass, when we present to the people the bread and wine become
the Body and Blood of Christ. This liturgical gesture represents the
whole mission of the Church, which she does not proclaim herself.
Woe, woe when the Church proclaims herself; she loses her bearings, she doesn’t know where she is going! The Church proclaims
Christ; she does not bring herself, she brings Christ. Because it is
He and only He who saves his people from sin, frees them and
guides them to land and to true freedom.
May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lamb of God, help us to
believe in Him and follow Him.
After the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the World Day of
Migrants and Refugees, dedicated to the theme “Child Migrants,
the Vulnerable and the Voiceless”. These little brothers and sisters
of ours, especially if unaccompanied, are exposed to so many
dangers. I tell you there are many! It is necessary to adopt every
possible measure to guarantee protection and security to migrant
minors, as well as their integration.
I address a special greeting to the representatives of various ethnic communities. Dear friends, I hope you may live peacefully in
the places that receive you, respecting their laws and traditions, and
at the same time, safeguarding the values of your culture of origin.
Encountering different cultures is always an enrichment for all! I
thank the Migrants Office of the Diocese of Rome and those who
work with migrants to welcome and support them in their difficulties, and I encourage you to carry on in this work, always recalling the example of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Patron Saint of
migrants, the centenary of whose death is this year. This courageous
Sister dedicated her life to
bringing the love of Christ
to those who were far from
their homelands and families. May her witness help
us to take care of our foreign brothers and sisters, in
whom Jesus is present, often suffering, rejected and
humiliated. How often in
the Bible the Lord asks us
to welcome migrants and
foreigners, reminding us
that we too are foreigners!
I warmly greet all of you,
dear faithful from various
parishes of Italy and of other countries, as well as the
associations and various
groups; in particular the
students of the Meléndez
Valdés Institute of Villafranca de los Barros, Spain.
I wish everyone a happy
Sunday and a good lunch.
Please, do not forget to
pray for me. Thank you!
“Baptism of Jesus”, Kiko Argüello
Arrivederci!

L`O S S E RVATOR E ROMANO

Transcript

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