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L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
WEEKLY EDITION
IN ENGLISH
Unicuique suum
Forty-seventh year, number 46 (2371)
Non praevalebunt
Vatican City
Friday, 14 November 2014
At the General Audience the Pontiff identifies the characteristics of the ministers of the Church
Listening to the people
And he condemns the persecution of Christians
who are called to pastoral ministry, be they bishops, priests,
presbyters or deacons. The
Apostle says that the gift which
has been received must be continually rekindled (cf. 1 Tm 4:14;
2 Tm 1:6). This means
that there must always
be a profound awareness that one is not
pauses on a description of each state bishop, priest or deacon
of a Christian in the Church, delin- because he is more intellieating for bishops, priests and dea- gent, worthier or better
cons what they are called to and than other men; he is
what prerogatives must be acknow- such only pursuant to a
ledged in those chosen and invested gift, a gift of love bewith these ministries. Today it is em- stowed
by
God,
blematic that, along with the gifts through the power of
inherent in the faith and in spiritual his Spirit, for the good
life — which cannot be overlooked, of his people. This
for they are life itself — some exquis- awareness is very imitely human qualities are listed: ac- portant and constitutes
ceptance,
temperance,
patience, a grace to ask for every
Fra Angelico, detail of the frescoes in the Niccoline Chapel
meekness, trustworthiness, goodness day! Indeed, a Pastor
(1447-1449, Vatican City)
of heart. This is the alphabet, the who is cognizant that
basic grammar, of every ministry! It his ministry springs only
must be the basic grammar of every from the heart of God can never as- ance. There would be problems if a
bishop, priest and deacon. Yes, this sume an authoritarian attitude, as if bishop, a priest or a deacon thought
beautiful and genuine predisposition
everyone were at his feet and the he knew everything, that he always
is necessary to meet, understand,
community were his property, his had the right answer for everything
dialogue with, appreciate and relate
and did not need anyone. On the
to brothers in a respectful and sin- personal kingdom.
contrary, awareness that he, as the
3. The awareness that everything
cere way — without this predisposifirst recipient of the mercy and comtion it is not possible to offer truly is a gift, everything is grace, also passion of God, should lead a minjoyous and credible service and testi- helps a Pastor not to fall into the ister of the Church to always be
mony.
temptation of placing himself at the humble and sympathetic with re2. There is also a basic conduct centre of attention and trusting only spect to others. Also, in the awarewhich Paul recommends to his dis- in himself. They are the temptations ness of being called to bravely guard
ciples and, as a result, to all those of vanity, pride, sufficiency, arrog- the faith entrusted (cf. 1 Tm 6:20),
he shall listen to the people. He is
in fact cognizant of always having
something to learn, even from those
who may still be far from the faith
To the Prime Minister of Australia for the G20 Summit
and from the Church. With his confreres, then, all this must lead to taking on a new attitude marked by
sharing, joint responsibility and
communion.
The Holy Father sent a mesDear friends, we must always be
sage to the Prime Minister
grateful to the Lord, for in the perof Australia, Tony Abbott,
son and in the ministry of bishops,
chair of the G20 Summit in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Brisbane (15-16 November).
Also in this issue, the Prime
Minister presents the challenge facing leaders — “to
The Bishops of Malawi ‘ad limina’
boost jobs and strengthen financial resilience” around
The warm heart of Africa
the globe.
Acceptance, temperance, patience, meekness, trustworthiness, goodness of heart: this
is “the alphabet, the basic grammar, of every ministry” in the Church. But —
Pope Francis recalled at the General Audience on Wednesday, 12 November in St
Peter’s Square — there is “basic conduct” which must not be forgotten: the
“awareness that everything is a gift, everything is grace, also helps a Pastor not to
fall into the temptation of placing himself at the centre of attention and trusting
only in himself”. Ministers of the Church must humbly “listen to the people”. The
following is a translation of the Holy Father’s address, which he gave in Italian.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning,
In the preceding catechesis on the
Church, we pointed out how the
Lord continues to shepherd his flock
through the ministry of bishops, assisted by priests and deacons. It is
in them that Jesus makes himself
present, in the power of his Spirit,
and continues to serve the Church,
nourishing within her faith, hope
and the witness of love. These ministers are thus a great gift of the
Lord for every Christian community
and for the whole of the Church, as
they are a living sign of the presence
of his love.
Today we want to ask ourselves:
what is asked of these ministers of
the Church, in order that they may
live out their service in a genuine
and fruitful way.
1. In the “Pastoral Letters” sent to
his disciples, Timothy and Titus, the
Apostle Paul carefully pauses on the
figures of bishop, priest and deacon,
also on the figures of the faithful,
the elderly and young people. He
At the Angelus
Build bridges
not walls
The scars of conflict
PAGE 7
PAGE 6
Celebrating the 25th anniversary
of the fall of the Berlin wall.
PAGE 5
Pope Francis establishes a board
Provisions from Paul
For appeals regarding the
most serious crimes
On the resignation of
Bishops and officials
PAGE 3
VI
affirmed
PAGE 4
Remembering Kristallnacht
Evil that did not
make the news
ABRAHAM SKORKA
ON PAGE
8/9
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 2
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
VATICAN BULLETIN
AUDIENCES
— Archbishop
Thomas
Luke
Msusa, SMM, Archbishop of Blantyre
— Archbishop Tarcisius Gervazio
Ziyaye of Lilongwe
— Bishop Peter Martin Musikuwa
of Chikwawa
— Bishop Montfort Stima of Mangochi
— Bishop Emmanuel Kanyama of
D edza
— Bishop Joseph Mukasa Zuza of
Mzuzu
— Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka of Karonga
Thursday, 6 November
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa, Italy, President of
the Italian Episcopal Conference
Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect
of the Congregation for Institutes of
Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, with Archbishop José
Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, titular
Archbishop of Belcastro, Secretary
Archbishop
Léon
Kalenga
Badikebele, titular Archbishop of
Magneto, Apostolic Nuncio in El
Salvador and in Belize
Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller,
Prefect of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith
The Ambassador of Ireland presents
her Credentials
On Tuesday morning, 11 November, Pope Francis
received H.E. Ms Emma Madigan, Ambassador of
Ireland, for the presentation of the Letters
accrediting her to the Holy See
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, OFM,
Prefect emeritus of the Congregation
for the Clergy; Delegate for Amazonia of the Brazilian Bishops’ Conference
H.E. Ms Emma Madigan, 41,
is married and has one child.
She holds a degree in Italian
and history and a Masters in
European Studies from the
University College in Dublin.
She has served as third secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs (2000-02); vice
consul for the General Consulate in New York (2002-05);
third and then first secretary
for the Department of Foreign
Affairs (2006-08); as first secretary for the General Consulates in New York, Boston
and Chicago (2009-12). Since
September 2012 she has been
deputy chief of protocol.
— Bishop José Câmnate na Bissign
of Bissau, Guinea Bissau, with the
Auxiliary Bishop José Lampra Cá,
titular Bishop of Leptiminus
H.E. Mr John Dramani Mahama,
President of the Republic of Ghana,
with his wife and entourage
Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect
of the Congregation for the Causes
of Saints
H.E. Ms Malu Dreyer, MinisterPresident of the State of RhinelandPalatinate, with her husband and entourage
Archbishop Celso Morga Iruzubieta,
Coadjutor of Mérida-Badajoz, Spain
Saturday, 11 November
Saturday, 8 November
Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefect
of the Congregation for Bishops
Friday, 7 November
Members of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi on a visit ad Limina
Apostolorum:
Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar
General of His Holiness for the
Diocese of Rome
Monday, 10 November
Members of the Conference of Bishops of Senegal, Mauritania, Cape
Verde, and Guinea Bissau on a visit
ad Limina Apostolorum:
— Cardinal Théodore-Adrien Sarr,
Archbishop of Dakar, Senegal
— Bishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Kaolack, Senegal
— Bishop Jean-Pierre Bassène of
Kolda, Senegal
— Bishop Ernest Sambou of SaintLouis du Sénégal, Senegal
— Bishop Jean-Noël Diouf of
Tambacounda, Senegal
— Bishop André Gueye of Thiès,
Senegal
— Bishop Paul Abel Mamba of
Ziguinchor, Senegal
— Bishop Ildo Augusto dos Santos Lopes Fortes of Mindelo, Cape
Verde
— Bishop Arlindo Gomes Furtado
of Santiago de Cabo Verde, Cape
Verde
— Bishop Martin Albert Happe,
M. Afr., of Nouakchott, Mauritania
— Bishop Carlos Pedro Zilli, PIME,
of Bafatá, Guinea Bissau
H.E. Ms Emma Madigan, Ambassador of Ireland for the presentation
of her Letters of Credence
NEW DIO CESE
The Holy Father established the
new
ecclesiastical
province
of
Dodoma, Tanzania, elevating the
episcopal see of the same name to a
metropolitan Church, assigning the
Dioceses of Singida and of Kondoa
as its suffragans. He also appointed
Bishop Beatus Kinyaiya, OFM. Cap.,
as the first Archbishop of Dodoma.
Until now he has been Bishop of
Mbulu (6 Nov.).
Archbishop Kinyaiya, 57, was
born in Shimbwe, Tanzania. He was
ordained a priest on 25 June 1989.
He was ordained a bishop on 2 July
2006, subsequent to his appointment
as Bishop of Mbulu.
CHANGES
IN
EPISCOPATE
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Archbishop Eustaquio Pastor Cuquejo Verga, CSSR, of Asunción, Paraguay. It was presented in
accord with can. 401 § 1 of the Code
of Canon Law. He is succeeded by
CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Manual distributed to Vatican offices
Paul Richard Gallagher
Secretary for Relations with States
The Secretariat for the Economy has distributed a manual to all Vatican
offices illustrating the financial management policies which will go into
effect on 1 January 2015. The manual has been approved by Pope Francis
as well as the Council for the Economy.
“The purpose of the manual is very simple,” said Cardinal Prefect
George Pell, “it brings Financial Management practices in line with international standards and will help all Entities and Administrations of the
Holy See and Vatican City State prepare financial reports in a consistent
and transparent manner.” The Cardinal also added that “having sound
and consistent Financial Management practices and reporting helps
provide a clear framework of accountability for all those entrusted with
the resources of the Church”.
The new policies will strengthen the planning process for the offices of
the Vatican and Holy See, so that the resources can be used more effectively and efficiently in serving the mission of the Church.
The Secretariat for the Economy will provide training and support to
the offices to help them implement new policies. The consolidated Financial Statements will be reviewed by a major auditing firm.
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher has been appointed Secretary for Relations with States. Pope Francis called him to succeed Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.
The new Secretary for Relations with States was born in Liverpool, Great
Britain on 23 January 1954. He was ordained a priest on 31 July 1977. He
holds a degree in canon law. He began his diplomatic service to the Holy
See on 1 May 1984, serving as a representative at the Apostolic Nunciature
in Tanzania. He has also served in the Apostolic Nunciatures of Uruguay
and the Philippines, as well as in the Section of Relations with States of the
Secretariat of State. Beginning on 15 July 2000, he was Special Envoy and
Permanent Observer to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Then on 22
January 2004 he was appointed to the titular See of Hodelm with the dignity of Archbishop and was appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Burundi, succeeding Archbishop Michael Aidan Courtney, who was assassinated on 29
December 2003. That same year on 13 March, Secretary of State Cardinal
Angelo Sodano ordained him as archbishop in the Vatican Basilica.
On 19 February 2009 he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio in Guatemala
and then on 11 December 2012 as Apostolic Nuncio in Australia.
From the Secretariat for the Economy
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
WEEKLY EDITION
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L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
page 3
On the path of dialogue
A board established for appeals regarding the most serious crimes
Catholic-Muslim forum
For greater
speed and efficiency
RESCRIPTUM
With the invitation to continue on the path of dialogue, Pope Francis, on
Wednesday, 12 November, greeted a delegation of a Catholic-Muslim forum. Before the General Audience, in the small hall outside of the Paul VI
Hall, the Pope met with the participants in the meeting on the theme:
“Working together to serve others”. Among those present were Cardinal
Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue — with Secretary Fr Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, and Undersecretary Fr Indunil Kodithuwakku Kankanamalage, and the Head of the Office for Islam, Msgr Khaled Akasheh — and Archbishop Ilario Antoniazzi
of Tunis.
Listening to the people
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
priests and deacons, he continues to
guide and shape his Church, making her grow along the path of holiness. At the same time, we must
continue to pray, that the Pastors of
our communities can be living images of the communion and of the
love of God.
SPECIAL GREETINGS
With great trepidation I am following the tragic events of Christians who, in various parts of the
world, are being persecuted and
killed because of their religious beliefs. I feel the need to express my
deep spiritual closeness to the
Christian communities severely affected by this absurd violence
which shows no sign of stopping,
while I encourage the Pastors and
all the faithful to remain strong and
steadfast in hope. Once again, I
would like to make a heartfelt appeal to local and international
political leaders, as well as to all
people of good will, that a widespread mobilization of conscience
be taken up in support of persecuted Christians. They have the
right to recover safety and peace of
mind in their countries, freely professing our faith. And now for all
Christians, persecuted for being
Christians, I ask you to pray the
Our Father.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in
today’s Audience, including the
various groups from England, Denmark, South Africa, Indonesia, Japan and the United States of America. I thank the choirs for their
praise of God in song. Upon all of
you, and your families, I invoke joy
and peace in the Lord Jesus. God
bless you all!
I turn a thought to young people,
the sick and newlyweds. Yesterday we
celebrated the memory of St Martin, Bishop of Tours. May his great
love be an example to you, dear
young people, to live life as a donation; may his abandonment to
Christ Saviour sustain you, dear sick
people, in those dark moments of
suffering; and may his spiritual
vigour remind you, dear newlyweds,
of the centrality of the faith in married life.
EX AUDIENTIA SANCTISSIMI
The Motu Proprio Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela (SST) of 30 April
2001, amended on 21 May 2010, details which crimes are reserved to the
competence of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (cf. Art. 16), in accordance with Art. 52 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus.
In judging said crimes, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
proceeds through the penal, judicial or administrative process (cf. Art. 21 §
1 e § 2, n. 1 SST), subject to the possibility of direct submission to the decision of the Supreme Pontiff in the most serious cases (cf. Art. 21 § 2, n. 2
SST). This is on the understanding that, in relation to crimes against the
faith, jurisdiction in the first instance pertains to the Ordinary or Hierarch
(cf. Art. 2 § 2 SST).
Due to the number of appeals and the need to ensure a more rapid examination of the same, after deep reflection, in the Audience granted to
the undersigned Cardinal Secretary of State on 3 November 2014,
the Supreme Pontiff Francis
has decreed the following:
1. within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith a special Board
shall be established, made up of seven cardinals or bishops, who may be
either members of the Dicastery or external to it;
2. The President and members of the said Board shall be named by the
Pope;
3. The Board shall be an instance the Ordinary Session (Feria IV) of the
Congregation shall equip itself with to ensure greater efficiency in the examination of appeals under Art. 27 SST, without modifying its competence
in the field as established in the same Art. 27 SST;
4. if the offender is one invested with the dignity of bishop, his appeal
shall be examined by the Ordinary Session, which may also decide in cases
specifically reserved to the judgment of the Pope. Furthermore it can decide on other cases deferred by the Board;
5. it shall be left to the Board to inform the Ordinary Session of its rulings periodically;
6. A special Regulation shall determine the internal operating procedures of the Board.
The Holy Father has disposed that the present General Executive Decree be promulgated with its publication in L’Osservatore Romano, entering
into force on 11 November 2014, and subsequently in the official register
Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
From the Vatican, 3 November 2014
Cardinal PIETRO PAROLIN
Secretary of State
Two Pakistani Christians burnt alive
A young Christian couple from
Pakistan was lynched and burnt to
death after allegedly burning pages
of the Koran. The couple were from
a small town outside of Kot Radha
Kishan, located south of Lahore —
the same city where the High Court
has recently upheld the death sentence for another Christian accused
of blasphemy, Asia Bibi, a mother
of five, who has been incarcerated
since 2009.
According to the police, after being brutally beaten the young
couple, Shahzad Masih, 26, and his
wife Shama, 24, were pushed into a
kiln by a group of people from the
surrounding villages, which was initially thought to number around
100. Other sources however now
state that the group could have included at least 1,000 villagers.
Many Christian families fled the
area after the couple was killed.
The next day, however, thousands
of people held demonstrations in
various cities around India. The organizers of the demonstrations
called the incident an act which offends justice, human dignity and ci-
Protests in Islamabad (Reuters)
vility. They also requested that the
United Nations examine laws on
blasphemy.
The young Christian couple had
four children and Shama was pregnant with their fifth. For several
years they had worked in the brick
kiln, where according to Pakistan
Today, they were held hostage for
two days beginning on 2 November
inside the factory where they
worked. Then on 4 November they
were pushed into the kiln, where
the bricks are made. So far the po-
lice say they have arrested upwards
of 50 people in connection with the
killing of the couple.
The Pakistani government, according to The Express Tribune, decided on Friday, 7 November, that
the family of the victims would receive compensation for their loss.
Shahbaz Sharif, the Indian Prime
Minister’s brother, promised 5 million rupees (approximately 40,000
euros) and a plot of land.
Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a human
rights defender, told the Fides News
Agency: “It is a tragedy, a barbaric
and inhumane act”. The whole
world, he said, must strongly condemn this incident which shows the
increasing lack of safety in Pakistan
for Christians. “An accusation is
enough to be victims of extrajudicial executions”.
Shahbaz Sharif, also Chief Minister of Punjab, has established a
three-person committee to fast-track
the investigation of the killings and
has ordered police to increase security in the Christian neighbourhoods
of the province.
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 4
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
Provisions for the resignation
of Bishops and those holding office
by papal appointment
The heavy burden of the ordained
ministry, understood as service
(diakonia) to the People of God, demands those who are called to carry
it out to devote all their energy to it.
In particular, the office of Bishop,
faced with the challenges of modern
society, requires great competence,
ability and gifts, both human and
spiritual.
In this respect, the Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council expressed
themselves thus in the decree Christus Dominus: “Since the pastoral office
of bishops is so important and weighty,
diocesan bishops and others regarded in
law as their equals, who have become
less capable of fulfilling their duties
properly because of the increasing burden of age or some other serious reason,
are earnestly requested to offer their
resignation from office either at their
own initiative or upon the invitation of
the competent authority. If the competent authority should accept the resignation, it will make provision both for the
suitable support of those who have
resigned and for special rights to be accorded them” (n. 21).
In response to this invitation extended by the Second Vatican
Council, my Predecessor, Blessed
Paul VI, promulgated on 6 August
1966 the Motu Proprio Ecclesiae
Sanctae (AAS 58 (1966) 757-787)
which in n. 11 of the Pars Prima
strongly urged Bishops and their
juridical equals to “tender their resignation from office not later than at the
completion of their 75th year of age”.
These provisions were then accepted
both by cann. 401-402 and 411 of the
current Code of Canon Law and by
cann. 210-211, 218 and 313 of the
Code of Canons of the Eastern
Churches.
The same criterion was also followed in relation to the service proper to Cardinals, through the Motu
Proprio Ingravescentem aetatem of
Blessed Paul VI on 21 November
1970 (AAS 62 (1970) 810-813), and
more generally in relation to the
functions proper to Bishops who
work in the Roman Curia, with the
Rescript
RESCRIPTUM EX AUDIENTIA SANCTISSIMI
on the resignation of diocesan Bishops
and of Officials by papal appointment
His Holiness Francis, in an Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Secretary of State on Monday, 3 November 2014, approved the provisions for the resignation of diocesan Bishops and of Officials by papal
appointment.
The Holy Father has further established that what was deliberated remain firm and valid, notwithstanding anything to the contrary and
worthy of special mention, and that it enter into force on 5 November
2014, with its publication in L’Osservatore Romano, and then in the official
register Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
From the Vatican, 3 November 2014
Cardinal PIETRO PAROLIN
Secretary of State
offices, the parties concerned cease
to hold any other office at national
level conferred for a set period in
concomitance with the aforementioned pastoral office.
Cecco Buonanotte, “Three Bishops” (1965)
wise provisions that St John Paul II
chose to insert into Art. 5 of the
Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus
of 28 June 1988 (AAS 80 (1988) 841930; and cf. can. 354 CIC).
Taking into consideration all of
the above and accepting the recommendations of the Council of Cardinals, who assist the Holy Father in
the preparation of the reform of the
Romano Curia and in governing the
Church, the following provisions
have been made:
Art. 1. Herewith the current discipline in the Latin Church and in
the sui iuris Oriental Churches is
confirmed, by which diocesan and
eparchial Bishops and those held to
be equivalent juridically in accordance with cann. 381 § 2 CIC and 313
CCEO, as well as coadjutor and auxiliary Bishops, are invited to present
the resignation from their pastoral
office upon reaching the age of 75
years.
Art. 2. Resignation from the
aforementioned pastoral offices only
takes effect from the moment in
which it is accepted by the legitimate Authorities.
Art. 3. With the acceptance of the
resignation from the aforementioned
Art. 4. The gesture of a Bishop
who, out of love or out of concern
for a better service to the community, deems it necessary on account of illness or other serious reasons to resign from the office of Pastor before reaching the age of 75, is
to be deemed worthy of ecclesial appreciation. In such cases, the faithful
are requested to demonstrate solidarity and understanding for their
former Pastor, by providing timely
assistance consistent with the principles of charity and justice, in accordance with can. 402 § 2 CIC.
Art. 5. In some particular circumstances, the competent Authorities
may deem it necessary to request
that a Bishop present his resignation
from pastoral office, after informing
him of the causes for this request,
and paying close attention to his arguments in fraternal dialogue.
Art. 6. Cardinals serving as Heads
of the Dicasteries of the Roman
Curia and other Cardinals holding
office by papal appointment are also
required, upon the completion of
their 75th year, to present their resignation from office to the Pope, who,
after full consideration, will decide.
Art. 7. Non-Cardinal Heads of
Dicasteries of the Roman Curia,
Secretaries and Bishops who carry
out other offices by papal appointment shall be relieved of their appointment upon having completed
their 75th year; Members, upon
reaching the age of 80; nevertheless,
those who belong to a Dicastery by
reason of another appointment, being relieved of this appointment,
also cease to be Members.
VATICAN BULLETIN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2
Archbishop Edmundo Ponciano
Valenzuela Mellid, SDB, who until
now has been Coadjutor of the said
archdiocese (6 Nov.).
Archbishop Valenzuela Mellid, 69,
was born in Villarrica, Paraguay. He
was ordained a priest on 3 April
1971. He was ordained a bishop on
22 April 2006, subsequent to his appointment as titular Bishop of Uzalis. On 8 November 2011, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop for
the Archdiocese of Asunción.
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Baldomero Carlos
Martini of San Justo, Argentina. It
was presented in accord with can.
401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law
(6 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Bishop
Eduardo Horacio García as Bishop
of San Justo, Argentina, transferring
him from the titular See of Ipagro.
Until now he has been Auxiliary of
Buenos Aires (6 Nov.).
Bishop García, 58, was born in
Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was ordained a priest on 18 November
1983. He was ordained a bishop on
16 August 2003, subsequent to his
appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of
Buenos Aires.
The Holy Father appointed Fr
Donatus Aihmiosion Ogun, OSA, as
Bishop of Uromi, Nigeria. Until
now he has been professor of philosophy and director of St Augustine’s
Institute in Makurdi (6 Nov.)
Bishop-elect Ogun, 48, was born
in Sapele, Nigeria. He made his first
profession for the Order of St Augustine on 28 August 1989 and his
solemn vows on 28 August 1992. He
was ordained a priest on 31 July
1993. He holds a doctorate in canon
law. He has served as: parochial
vicar; treasurer for various communities; master of novices; professor of theology; university chaplain;
episcopal vicar for religious; professor of philosophy and lecturer at St
Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary;
director of the new St Augustine Institute in Makurdi.
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop François-Xavier
Loizeau of Digne, France. It was
presented in accord with can. 401 § 1
of the Code of Canon Law (7 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Fr JeanPhilippe Nault, member of the JeanMarie Vianney Society, as Bishop of
Digne, France. Until now he has
been parish priest of Notre-Dame de
Bourg and dean of Bourg-en-Bresse,
France (7 Nov.).
Bishop-elect Nault, 49, was born
in Paris, France. He holds a licence
in agricultural engineering and applied mathematics, a diploma in artificial intelligence and a licence in
theology. He was ordained a priest
on 5 July 1998. He has served in
parish ministry and as assistant director of the Shrine of Ars.
The Holy Father appointed Msgr
Terence Robert Curtin, as Auxiliary
Bishop of Melbourne, Australia, assigning him the titular episcopal see
of Cabarsussi. Until now he has
been parish priest of Greythorn and
Episcopal Vicar for the Eastern Region of the Archdiocese of Melbourne (7 Nov.).
Bishop-elect Curtin, 69, was born
in Cremorne, Sydney, Australia. He
holds a doctorate in theology and a
BA in Education. He was ordained a
priest on 28 August 1971. He has
served in parish ministry and as
chaplain and head of the religious
education Department at State College of Victoria and Mercy Campus,
Ascot Vale. In 1982 he returned to
Rome for further study at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He then
served as chaplain, senior lecturer
and head of the religion, philosophy
and theology faculties at the Australian
Catholic
University,
Oakleigh, Victoria; head of the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 5
At the Angelus the Pope commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall, that great sign of division between East and West
Build bridges not walls
At the Angelus on Sunday, 9
November, in St Peter’s Square, Pope
Francis called for “bridges of
understanding and dialogue” in order
to “overcome the confines of enmity and
indifference”, and he spoke about the
celebration of the dedication of the
Lateran Basilica. The following is a
translation of the Holy Father’s
address, which he delivered in Italian.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Good morning!
Today the liturgy commemorates the
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica,
which is the Cathedral of Rome and
which tradition defines as “mother
of all Churches of the city and of
the world”. The term “mother”,
refers not as much to the sacred
building of the Basilica, as to the
work of the Holy Spirit who is made
manifest in this building, bearing
fruit through the ministry of the
Bishop of Rome, and in all communities which abide in unity with
the Church over which he presides.
Each time we celebrate the dedication of a church, an essential truth
is recalled: the physical temple made
of brick and mortar is a sign of the
living Church serving in history, that
is to say, of that “spiritual temple”,
as the Apostle Peter says, in which
Christ himself is the “living stone,
rejected by men but in God’s sight
chosen and precious” (1 Pt 2:4). In
the Gospel from today’s liturgy, Jesus, speaking about the temple, reveals a shocking truth: that the
Temple of God is not only a building made of brick and mortar, but is
his Body, made of living stone.
Through the power of Baptism,
every Christian takes part in “God’s
building” (1 Cor 3:9), indeed they
become the Church of God. The
spiritual structure, the Church community of mankind sanctified by the
Blood of Christ and by Spirit of the
Risen Lord, asks each one of us to
be consistent with the gift of the
faith and to undertake a journey of
Christian witness. And we all know
that in life it is not easy to maintain
consistency between faith and testimony; but we must carry on and be
coherent in our daily life. “This is a
Christian!”, not so much in what he
says, but in what he does, and the
way in which he behaves. This coherence, which gives us life, is a
grace of the Holy Spirit which we
must ask for. The Church, at the beginning of her life and of her mission in the world, was but a community constituted to confess faith
in Jesus Christ the Son of God and
Redeemer of Man, a faith which operates through love. They go together! In today’s world too, the Church
is called to be the community in the
world which, rooted in Christ
through Baptism, humbly and courageously professes faith in Him, witnessing to it in love.
The institutional elements, the
structures and the pastoral entities
must also be directed toward this
goal, this essential goal of bearing
as she lives and,
through her witness, spreads the
Gospel, the message of hope and
reconciliation for
all mankind.
Let us invoke
the intercession of
the Most Holy
Mary, that she may
help us to become
like
her,
the
“House of God”, the living temple
of his love.
At the end of the Angelus, the Holy
Father said:
will innocent people be persecuted
and even killed on account of their
belief and their religion. Where
there is a wall, there is a closed
heart. We need bridges, not walls!
In Italy today Thanksgiving Day is
being celebrated, with the theme
“Nourish the planet. Energy for
life”, referring to next year’s “Milan
Expo 2015”. I join the Bishops in
the hope for a renewed commitment
that no one lacks daily food, which
God gives for all. I am close to the
world of agriculture, and I urge that
the land be cultivated in a sustainable and supportive way.
In this context, the Diocesan Day
of Care for Creation is being celebrated in Rome. It is an event to promote lifestyles based on respect for
the environment, reaffirming the
covenant between man, the guardian
of Creation, and his Creator.
I greet all the pilgrims from different countries, families, parish
groups, associations, on this beautiful day that the Lord has given us.
On this beautiful day, I wish
everyone a happy Sunday. Please, remember to pray for me. Enjoy your
lunch. Arrivederci!
Dear brothers and sisters, 25 years
ago, on 9 November 1989, the Berlin
Wall fell. It had, for so
long, cut the city in half
and was a symbol of the
ideological division of
Europe and of the world
as a whole. The fall occurred abruptly, but was
made possible by the long
and strenuous commitment of so many people
who fought, prayed and
suffered for it, some sacrificed their lives. St Pope
John Paul II was a leader
among them. Let us pray
that, with the help of the
Lord and the cooperation
John Paul II meets Mikhail Gorbachev
of all men and women of
(1 December 1989)
good will, there will
spread ever further a culwitness to the faith in love. Love is ture of encounter, capable of bringthe very expression of faith and also, ing down all the walls which still difaith is the explanation and the vide the world, and that no longer
foundation of love. Today’s celebration invites us to meditate on the
communion of all Churches, that is,
of this Christian community. By anaCongregation for the Causes of Saints
logy she spurs us to commit
ourselves in order that humanity
may overcome the confines of
enmity and indifference, to build
bridges of understanding and diaOn Friday, 7 November, the Holy Italy, on 17 April 1888 and died
logue, to make of the entire world
Father received Cardinal Angelo Am- there on 18 July 1964;
one family of people reconciled
ato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation
—
John Sullivan, professed
for the Causes of Saints, in a private priest of the Society of Jesus; born
among themselves, in fraternal solidaudience and authorized the Congreg- in Dublin, Ireland, on 8 May 1861,
arity. The Church herself is a sign
ation to promulgate the following De- and died there on 19 February 1933;
and preview of this new humanity,
crees for the heroic virtues of the Ser— Pelágio Sauter, professed priest
vants of God:
of the Congregation of the Most
Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists);
— Francisco Massimiano Valdés born in Hausen am Tann, GerSubercaseaux of the Order of Fri- many, on 9 November 1878 and
ars Minor Capuchin; first Bishop died in Campinas, Goiânia, Brazil,
of Osorno; born in Santiago de
on 23 November 1961;
Chile, Chile, on 23 September 1908
— Jeanne Mance, layperson and
and died in Pucón, Cautín on 4
foundress of the Hôtel-Dieu HosJanuary 1982;
— Ildebrando Gregori (in the pital; born in Langres, France, on
world: Alfredo Antonio), Abbot about 11 November 1606 and died
General of the Sylvestrine Con- in Montreal, Canada on 18 June
gregation of the Order of St Bene- 1673 .
— Marthe-Louise Robin, layperdict; founder of the Congregation
of the Benedictine Reparatrix Sis- son and foundress of the Associters of the Holy Face of Our Lord ation of the Foyers of Charity;
Jesus Christ; born in Poggio born in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure,
Cinolfo, Italy, on 8 May 1894 and France, on 13 March 1902 and died
died in Rome, on 12 November there on 6 February 1981;
— Silvio Dissegna, child, born in
1985;
On Sunday, 9 November, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Holy See,
— Raimondo Calcagno, priest of Moncalieri, Italy, on 1 July 1967
Ms Annette Schavan, laid a wreath of flowers on the tomb of St John Paul II. Cardinal Archpriest
the Congregation of the Oratory of and died in Poirino on 24 SeptemAngelo Comastri welcomed the Ambassador to the Basilica.
St Philip Neri; born in Chioggia, ber 1979.
Promulgation of Decrees
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 6
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
To the Prime Minister of Australia for the G20 Summit
The deep scars of conflict
The Holy Father sent a message to the
Prime Minister of Australia, who will
chair the upcoming Summit of Heads
of State and Government of the world’s
20 largest economies (15-16 November
in Brisbane). The agenda of the
meeting will focus on efforts to relaunch
sustained and sustainable growth of the
world economy and the fundamental
imperative of creating dignified and
stable employment for all. The following
is the English text of the Pope’s letter.
To the Honourable
TONY ABBOTT
Prime Minister of Australia
On 15 and 16 November next in
Brisbane you will chair the Summit
of Heads of State and Government
of the world’s 20 largest economies,
thus bringing to a close Australia’s
presidency of the Group over the
past year. This presidency has
proved to be an excellent opportunity for everyone to appreciate
O ceania’s significant contributions
to the management of world affairs
and its efforts to promote the constructive integration of all countries.
The G20 agenda in Brisbane is
highly focused on efforts to relaunch
a sustained and sustainable growth
of the world economy, thereby banishing the spectre of global recession. One crucial point that has
emerged from the preparatory work
is the fundamental imperative of creating dignified and stable employment for all. This will call for improvement in the quality of public
spending and investment, the promotion of private investment, a fair
and adequate system of taxation,
concerted efforts to combat tax evasion and a regulation of the financial
sector which ensures honesty, security and transparency.
I would ask the G20 Heads of
State and Government not to forget
that many lives are at stake behind
these political and technical discussions, and it would indeed be regrettable if such discussions were to remain purely on the level of declarations of principle. Throughout the
world, the G20 countries included,
there are far too many women and
men suffering from severe malnutrition, a rise in the number of the unemployed, an extremely high percentage of young people without
work and an increase in social exclusion which can lead to criminal
activity and even the recruitment of
terrorists. In addition, there are constant assaults on the natural environment, the result of unbridled consumerism, and this will have serious
consequences for the world economy.
It is my hope that a substantial
and productive consensus can be
achieved regarding the agenda
items. I likewise hope that the assessment of the results of this consensus will not be restricted to global indices but will take into account
as well real improvements in the living conditions of poorer families
and the reduction of all forms of unacceptable inequality. I express these
hopes in light of the post-2015 Development Agenda to be approved
by the current session of the United
Nations Assembly, which ought to
include the vital issues of decent
work for all and climate change.
The G20 Summits, which began
with the financial crisis of 2008,
have taken place against the terrible
backdrop of military conflicts, and
this has resulted in disagreements
between the Group’s members. It is
a reason for gratitude that those disagreements have not prevented
genuine dialogue within the G20,
with regard both to the specific
agenda items and to global security
and peace. But more is required.
The whole world expects from the
G20 an ever broader agreement
which can lead, through the United
Nations legal system, to a definitive
halt to the unjust aggression directed at different religious and ethnic
groups, including minorities, in the
Middle East. It should also lead to
eliminating the root causes of terrorism, which has reached proportions
hitherto unimaginable; these include
poverty, underdevelopment and exclusion. It has become more and
more evident that the
solution to this grave
problem cannot be a
purely military one, but
must also focus on those
who in one way or another encourage terrorist
groups through political
support, the illegal oil
trade or the provision of arms and
technology. There is also a need for
education and a heightened awareness that religion may not be exploited as a means of justifying violence.
These conflicts leave deep scars
and result in unbearable humanitarian situations around the world. I
take this opportunity to ask the G20
Member States to be examples of
generosity and solidarity in meeting
the many needs of the victims of
these conflicts, and especially of
refugees.
The situation in the Middle East
has revived debate about the responsibility of the international
community to protect individuals
and peoples from extreme attacks on
human rights and a total disregard
for humanitarian law. The international community, and in particular
the G20 Member States, should also
give thought to the need to protect
citizens of all countries from forms
of aggression that are less evident
but equally real and serious. I am
referring specifically to abuses in the
financial system such as those transactions that led to the 2008 crisis,
and more generally, to speculation
lacking political or juridical constraints and the mentality that maximization of profits is the final criterion of all economic activity. A
mindset in which individuals are ultimately discarded will never achieve
peace or justice. Responsibility for
the poor and the marginalized must
therefore be an essential element of
any political decision, whether on
the national or the international
level.
With this Letter I express my appreciation for your work, Prime
Minister, and I offer my prayerful
encouragement for the deliberations
and outcome of the Summit. I invoke divine blessings on all taking
part and on all the citizens of the
G20 countries. In a particular way, I
offer you my prayerful best wishes
for the successful conclusion of Australia’s presidency and I willingly assure you of my highest consideration.
From the Vatican, 6 November
2014
FRANCIS
To make a real difference
TONY ABBOTT
In a few days, the leaders of G20
economies will arrive in Australia
for the Brisbane Summit. Six years
ago, the impacts of the global financial
crisis
reverberated
throughout the world. While those
crisis years are behind us, we still
struggle with its legacy of debt and
joblessness. The challenge for G20
leaders is clear — to lift growth,
boost jobs and strengthen financial
resilience. We need to encourage
demand to ward off the deflation
that threatens the major economies
of Europe.
The Managing Director of the
International
Monetary
Fund
Christine Lagarde has urged us to
find new momentum with more
growth, more jobs, better growth
and better jobs. This means creating the right conditions for the
private sector to succeed. It means
having the willingness to use investment in infrastructure to boost
growth. We cannot let recovery
stall, which is why I will be asking
G20 leaders in Brisbane to do
more.
At the 2011 G20 Summit, leaders
discussed the necessity of political
will. Leaders understood that the
G20 is at its most effective when
we commit to action together and
when we exert our collective polit-
ical will to deliver on those commitments. In 2014, we have worked
towards an ambitious shared objective — to lift G20 GDP by at least an
additional 2 per cent above the current trajectory by 2018. To achieve
this goal, G20 members have identified almost 1000 new measures in
their domestic growth strategies.
Over the course of 2014, G20 members have challenged each other to
find reforms that matter and that
will deliver the biggest impacts.
While there will remain a role for
accommodative monetary policy,
the G20 must adopt the sort of
structural economic reform that
drives long-term growth. These reforms are difficult, but for those
economies that pursue them,
growth has begun to return. This is
true of both Britain and the United
States. The fiscal stimulus provided
by the G20 during the global financial crisis helped prevent the collapse of the world economy. Since
then, some governments have exhausted their fiscal capacity. New
sources of investment must be
found. There is a big role here for
the private sector.
Encouraging greater levels of investment in every G20 nation is essential to address the $1 trillion annual infrastructure investment gap.
In September, G20 nations agreed
to establish a Global Infrastructure
Initiative: a multi-year agenda to
improve investment environments,
plan and prepare infrastructure projects better, and improve long-term
finance.
We recognise the need to address
youth unemployment and are working to boost workplace participation, because these issues are critical to economic growth. In Brisbane
this month, we’ll consider setting
ourselves a goal of reducing the
current gap in workforce participation between men and women in
G20 economies by 25 per cent by
2025. Narrowing the gender gap by
this amount would bring more than
100 million additional women into
the workforce worldwide.
Economic growth needs to be
built on sound foundations. Building the resilience of the financial
sector has been at the heart of the
G20’s work since the global financial crisis. It’s work to protect taxpayers from having to bail out
globally important banks, make derivatives markets safer, and improve
oversight of the shadow banking
sector — the financial institutions
that act like banks, but without the
same level of supervision. The outcomes of the recent ‘stress test’ of
Europe’s banks showed that we’re
on the right path and that our actions are making a difference.
Now is the time to draw a line
CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 7
The greatest contribution that the
Church can make to the future of
Malawi is a “thorough and joyful
apostolate to families”. Pope Francis
underlined this on Thursday morning,
6 November, to the Bishops of Malawi
in Rome for their “ad limina” visit.
The following is the English text which
the Holy Father consigned to them.
Dear Brother Bishops,
I offer a joyful welcome to you who
have come from “the warm heart of
Africa”, as you make your pilgrimage to Rome, “the warm heart of the
Church”. I pray that the Lord will
richly bless you during these days of
prayer, meetings and dialogue. May
Sts Peter and Paul, whom you have
come to venerate, intercede for us
all, so as to strengthen the bonds of
spiritual communion between the
Successor of Peter and the Church
in Malawi. I thank Bishop Joseph
Zuza for the kind words he offered
on your behalf and on behalf of the
priests, religious and laity of
Malawi. I ask you kindly to assure
them of my spiritual closeness.
I wish to begin by expressing my
esteem for each one of you and for
the good work that you do — indeed, that the Lord does through
you — in your ministry to God’s
holy people in Malawi. The effectiveness of your pastoral and administrative efforts is the fruit of your
faith as well as of the unity and
fraternal spirit that characterize your
episcopal conference. The communion that you live, which is a sign of
the oneness of God and of the unity
of the universal Church, has enabled
you to speak with one voice on matters of importance to the nation at
large. In this way, together with
your priests, you are ensuring that
the Gospel message of reconciliation, justice and peace (cf. Africae
Munus) is proclaimed for the good
of all society. I pray that your fel-
A real difference
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
under the global financial crisis.
With a membership that is responsible for almost 85 per cent of
global GDP and three-quarters of
world trade, the G20 can play a
crucial role in doing that. But we
will only succeed if leaders use of
their collective influence and capacity for action, and implement the
necessary domestic reforms to
boost confidence. The G20 exists
because it can deal with big problems that are beyond the capacity
of nation states to deal with individually. Reaching agreement on
how to deal with such problems is
a test of the strength of the G20
partnership.
When Australia assumed the
G20 presidency a year ago, our
aim was for G20 leaders to come
together in Brisbane prepared and
equipped to deliver real actions
and real economic reforms that
would make a real and measurable
difference to the global economy
and to the peoples of the world.
The Pope meets with the Bishops of Malawi on their ‘ad limina’ visit
The warm heart of Africa
lowship in “one heart and one soul”
(Acts 4:32) may continue to be a
hallmark of your ministry, and that
it may always grow and continue to
bear rich fruit.
I wish also to express my appreciation for the admirable spirit of the
Malawian people, who, though
faced with many serious obstacles in
terms of development, economic
progress and standards of living, remain strong in their commitment to
family life. It is in the family, with
its unique capacity to form each
member, particularly the young, into
persons of love, sacrifice, commitment and fidelity, that the Church
and society in Malawi will find the
resources necessary to renew and
build up a culture of solidarity. You
yourselves know well the challenges
and the value of family life, and, as
fathers and shepherds, you are called
to nurture, protect and strengthen it
in the context of the “family of
faith”, which is the Church. Indeed,
for Christians, family life and ecclesial vitality depend on and reinforce
each other (cf. Evangelii Gaudium,
62, 66-67).
In this regard, dear brothers, it is
essential that you keep always before
you the needs, experiences and realities of families in your efforts to
spread the Gospel. There is no aspect of family life — childhood and
youth; friendship, engagement and
marriage; spousal intimacy, fidelity
and love; interpersonal relations and
support — which is excluded from
the healing and strengthening touch
of God’s love, communicated
through the Gospels and taught by
the Church. There is scarcely a
greater commitment that the Church
can make to the future of Malawi —
and indeed, to her own development
— than that of a thorough and joyful
apostolate to families. “Pastoral
activity needs to bring out more
clearly the fact that our relationship
with the Father demands and encourages a communion which heals,
promotes and reinforces interpersonal bonds” (Evangelii Gaudium, 67) —
a humanizing and sanctifying process that begins, and finds its natural fulfilment, in the family. Thus, by
doing everything you can to support, educate and evangelize families, especially those in situations of
material hardship, breakdown, violence or infidelity, you will bring inestimable benefit to the Church and
all of Malawian society.
A natural result of this apostolate
will be an increase in young men
and women who are willing and able
to dedicate themselves to the service
of others in the priesthood and religious life. As the Church in Malawi
continues to mature, it is imperative
that the strong foundations laid by
generations of faithful missionaries
be built upon by local men and women evangelizers. We can never be
satisfied with past gains, but must
always strive to share blessings and
advance the mission of the Church
(cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 69). This is a
sure sign that our motivation is a
love which seeks the good of the
other. Where genuine love for Christ
and neighbour is fostered, there will
be no shortage of generous priests
and men and women consecrated to
God in the religious life.
In a special way, I would ask you
to be close to your priests, to listen
to them and to support them. They
often feel pulled in so many different directions, responding with charity and often at great personal sacrifice. They need to know that you
love them as a father should. One
indispensible way to show this paternal care is by providing candidates for the priesthood with an ever
more complete human formation —
upon which an integrated spiritual,
intellectual and pastoral training depend. I encourage you to further
your efforts to ensure that seminarians and religious be adequately prepared for ministry in your country,
so that God who has begun the
good work in them may bring it to
completion (cf. Phil 1:6). Well
formed priests and religious in turn
will be able joyfully and selflessly to
offer the fruits of their formation in
the service of the new evangelization, so necessary for Malawi and
the whole world.
I know that you are conscious of
the Church’s responsibility to youth,
who are a precious part of Malawi’s
present and the promise for her future. Do not hesitate to offer them
the truths of our faith and to show
them the joy of living out the moral
demands of the Gospel. Preach
Christ with conviction and love,
thus promoting the stability of family life and contributing to a more
just and virtuous culture.
Dear brothers, the number of
people in Malawi living in poverty
and who have a much reduced life
expectancy is a tragedy. My
thoughts go to those suffering from
HIV/AIDS, and particularly to the
orphaned children and parents left
without love and support as a result
of this illness. Continue to be close
to those in distress, to the sick, and
especially to the children. I ask you,
particularly, to offer my gratitude to
the many men and women who
present Christ’s tenderness and love
in Catholic healthcare institutions.
The service which the Church offers
to the sick, through pastoral care,
prayer, clinics and hospices, must always find its source and model in
Christ, who loved us and gave himself up for us (cf. Gal 2:20). Indeed,
how else could we be followers of
the Lord if we did not personally
engage in ministry to the sick, the
poor, the dying and the destitute?
Our faith in Christ, born of having
recognized our own need for him
who has come to heal our wounds,
to enrich us, to give us life, to nourish us, “is the basis of our concern
for the integral development of society’s most neglected members”
(Evangelii Gaudium, 186). I thank
you for being close to those who are
ill and all the suffering, offering
them the loving presence of their
shepherd.
With these thoughts, dear brother
Bishops, I commend all of you to
the intercession of Mary, Mother of
the Church, and with great affection
I impart my Apostolic Blessing,
which I willingly extend to all the
beloved priests, religious and lay
faithful of Malawi.
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
page 8/9
Pope Francis to the World Evangelical Alliance
Nate Ripp,
“Capture”
The following is the text of the address
given by the Chief Rabbi of Argentina at
Sacred Heart University in Connecticut
on Monday, 10 November.
Beauty in a seamless robe
“Our divisions mar the beauty of the
seamless robe of Christ, yet they do not
completely destroy the profound unity
brought about by grace in all the
baptized”. Pope Francis recalled this to
the World Evangelical Alliance on
Thursday, 6 November. The Pontiff
expressed his pleasure that, with the help
of the Holy Spirit, “in various countries
Catholics and Evangelicals enjoy good
relations and work together as brothers
and sisters”. The following is the English
text of the address given by the Holy
Father.
ABRAHAM SKORKA
Seventy six years have passed since that
dark night in history in which almost
all the synagogues in Germany and
Austria were destroyed by the Nazi
mobs. Despite the horrible anti-Semitic
discrimination laws which were promulgated in 1933 when the Nazis came to
power in Germany, that night it became clear to everyone that violence
against Jews would not stop until their
expulsion or elimination from Europe.
A history of 1,000 years of Jewish presence in Ashkenaz came to an end. The
most abhorrent expression of human
perversion began that night. The idea
of humanism and its meaning has since
required a new and dramatic definition.
The Shoah was not something produced by the circumstantial rage of a
moment of blindness. For years, day
after day people were passive witnesses
of the deportation of their neighbors,
others conducted them to death and
others transformed their bodies into
ashes. They were incapable of distinguishing the human condition in the
Jews. The Nazis succeeded in their efforts to transform the Jews into devils
in the minds of millions in a cultured
Europe. They had the ability to concentrate the different anti-Jewish sentiments developed in Europe during centuries, into a well-crystallized hate.
Where were the intellectuals? Why did
the different creeds not react more sig-
Razel Kapustin, “The Blessing”
nificantly in order to curb the
slaughter? Why were there so few that
really took care of the fate of their
brothers?
Next 27 January will be the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, which symbolically marks the end of the use of
the factories of death. That very day
was the starting point of the formulation of the most terrible questions we
have to ask ourselves as well as all the
generations to come, until the end of
days, which are: How was it possible
that people who rose up in the midst
of a developed culture, changed their
norms of respect and consideration to
the “other” and participated by action
of by omission in the murder of their
neighbors? Where, in those terrible
days, was the moral conscience, built
Evil that did not make the news
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Remembering 9 and 10 November 1938 — Kristallnacht in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia
up during 2,000 years of Christianity
and Greco-Latin culture?
Let us try to find answers to those
questions in the Bible. The human being is described in the biblical literature as a creature of liberum arbitrium,
with decision power. Angels, according
to the traditional Jewish interpretation
do not have the power of free choice.
They can only fulfill God’s requirements. The usual Hebrew word for angel, ‫מלאך‬, has the same root of the word
‫מלאכה‬, which means a work, a profession. The angels, as we learn from the
Psalm 103:20-21, just obey God’s orders
as the heavenly hosts. As we read in
the New International Version of the
Bible: “Praise the Lord, you his angels
/ you mighty ones who do his bidding,
/ who obey his word. / Praise the
Lord, all his heavenly hosts, / you his
servants who do his will”.
In accordance with the teachings of
the Talmudic Sages, the human being
has three qualities like the angels and
three like the beasts. They have conscience, they walk upright and talk in
the holy language like the angels; and
they eat and drink, multiply and defecate as the beasts do. Beyond the literal
comprehension of the sentence lies the
idea that heavenly spirit and earthly instincts are in the human being’s constitution, and the former is fighting with
the latter.
The fighting between these two aspects of human constitution is the challenge that God proposed to the highest
of His creatures, according the Bible.
One of the most meaningful verses of
the Pentateuch (Deut 30:19) testifies to
Moses’ desperate exclamation to his
people in the name of God: “This day
I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and
curses. Now choose life, so that you
and your children may live and that
you may love the Lord your God,
listen to his voice, and hold fast to
him. For the Lord is your life, and he
will give you many years in the land he
swore to give to your fathers, Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob” (New English Version).
To choose life is not a simple task,
one must wrest with all the death
drives which are in his being. Two
items in the biblical text deserved the
concept of sanctity. Both of them are
related to the dominion that human beings must achieve over their instincts.
One of them is the code of dietary
laws, the other, the code of laws of
sexual behavior.
Despite the multiple reasons which
were advanced as explanations for the
deep meaning of the dietary laws, the
view of the Talmudic Sages (Babylonian Talmud, Hagiga 16a) on the theme
seems the strongest one to me. In
Yoma 67,b we read: “Our teachers
taught: ‘Ye shall do my judgments’
(Lev 18:4, King George Version), which
refers to those laws that, if they were
not written in the Torah they should be
written, and they are: the prohibition of
idolatry, sexual morals and bloodshed,
robbery and blasphemy; ‘and keep
mine ordinances’ (Lev 18:4), which
refers to those to which Satan objects,
and they are: the eating of the pork,
sha’atnez, halitzah, ... And perhaps you
might think these are vain things,
therefore the Scripture says: ‘I am the
Lord’ (Lev 18:4), I the Lord have made
it a statute and you have no right to
criticize it”.
There is no logical reason which can
explain the sense of the details of the
dietary biblical laws, but the deep reason for them may be seen as a barrier so
that people exercise dominion over
their impulses. You are not allowed to
eat whatever you wish; there are restrictions. You must check your meal before
you put it into your mouth, no matter
how hungry you are.
After the enumeration of the dietary
laws, Scripture says: “I am the Lord,
who brought you out of Egypt to be
your God; therefore be holy, because I
am holy” (Lev 11:45, New International
Version). Holiness is acquired through
dominion over human impulses.
The same concept appears in the
context of the laws which regulates the
sexual behavior (Lev 20:26), and in this
way verse 19:2 of Leviticus is explained
by the traditional exegetes (Rashi,
Ramban, Bahya ben Asher, etc.). Holiness is intended to elevate the heavenly
components that are in the human condition through the sublimation of the
earthy passions.
There is a second point to be taken
into account. The person or people
who achieved a moment of holiness do
not have the guaranty that he will continue staying in it. The Sons of Israel
showed God a sublime act of faith
when they abandoned Egypt and
entered into the desert, as Jeremiah expresses in a poetic and beautiful way in
2:2. They had a special and unique moment in human history, approaching
God as had never occurred before,
when they stood before the Lord at
Mount Sinai. And the Lord revealed to
them as He had never before done to
any other people. But 40 days after
that very special event, the Sons of Israel perverted themselves in the worst
ways of perversion.
Spiritual greatness is also not an acquired possession which could be given
as a heritage by parents to children and
grandchildren. From Judges 18:30 we
learn that Moses’ grandson was a pagan priest. Menashe, the King of
Judah, was a horrible sinner, his father,
the King Hezekiah, a righteous man.
Each one has to build up his own being. Through a life of justice, rightness
and love, one scatters sparks of light
during one’s own existence and they
maintain their bright light, enlightening others’ existences in the generations
to come.
When an analysis of the daily
Hebrew prayers is done, it is immediately clear that their intention is to emphasize the challenge of the reconstruction of the being to infuse the new day
with the highest levels of morality and
The deportation of Jewish male from Regensburg to Dachau (10 November 1938)
spirituality. Each new day marks a new
challenge, a new examination and demands a new rebuilding of the mind
and spirit.
But, human beings have a powerful
tool in order to remind them of this
eternal
challenge:
the
historical
memory. Moses expressed that in one
of the last moments of his life, when he
said: “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask
your father and he will tell you, your
elders, and they will explain to you”
(Deut 32:7, New International Version).
When an individual loses his perspective of life in his own life, and considers that he or his fortune will have
an eternal power, when he blindly feels
that he is alone in the universe and no
other presence is sharing the existence
with him, only the subtle message of
history has the power to change his
mind.
The only things we have from the
Shoah are our pain and our well docu-
“Grace to you and peace from God
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father” (Gal 1:3-4). With these words
the Apostle Paul expresses our common faith and our common hope. I
ask you to bring this greeting, and its
proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord
and Saviour, to the members of your
respective communities.
Whenever we put ourselves entirely
and lovingly at the service of the Gospel, we become ever more fruitful
branches of that vine which is Christ,
“until we all attain to the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, to mature manhood, to the
measure of the stature of the fullness
of Christ” (Eph 4:13). This truth is
grounded in our Baptism, by which
we share in the fruits of Christ’s death
and resurrection. Baptism is God’s
priceless gift which we have in common (cf. Gal 3:27). Thanks to this gift,
we no longer live a purely earthly existence; we now live in the power of
the Spirit.
“Crucifixion”, Santa Maria Antiqua,
The sacrament of Baptism reminds
us of a fundamental and very comforting truth. The Lord always anticipates
us with his love and his grace. He
goes before our communities; he goes
before all those who proclaim the
Gospel of salvation and those who accept it, preparing every heart to welcome him. “Reading the Scriptures
makes it clear that the Gospel is not
merely about our personal relationship
with God. Nor should our loving re-
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
Message of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to Sikhs
Compassion and service
“Christians and Sikhs together can promote compassionate service
in the society”. This is the message that the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue sent to Sikhs on the occasion of the feast
of Prakash Diwas on 6 November to recall the birth of the first
Sikh Guru, Nanak. The following is the English message.
Dear Sikh Friends,
1. The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, in a
spirit of friendship and goodwill, extends its warmest greetings and felicitations to you as you observe the Prakash Diwas of Siri Guru Nanak Dev Sahib on 6 November this
year. May the celebrations of this feast further strengthen the
bonds of relationships between your families and communities for greater happiness, harmony and peace!
2. We wish to reflect with you this year on how we, both
Christians and Sikhs together, can promote compassionate
service in the society. Compassionate service, in its different
aspects and nuances, can be said to lie at the very heart of
every great religion. For us Christians, it finds its perfect expression in the very person of Jesus Himself. The most eloquent description of it in the Holy Bible (NT), can be found
in the parable of the “good Samaritan” (Lk 10:25-37). For
you, too, compassion (daya) and service (seva), selfless service rather, for the benefit of others, are the core concepts.
Bhai Gurdas, the first interpreter of Gurbani wrote: “the
hands and feet that shun seva are condemnable; actions other than seva are fruitless” (Varan, XXVII.10). To do compassionate service means to reach out to the poor, the needy,
sick, elderly, differently-abled, migrants, refugees, the exploited and persecuted, transcending all kinds of barriers
and giving up one’s own interests and comforts, for they,
too, are God’s handiwork and as such our brothers and sisters and are part of our one large human family. When
clothed in the true spirit of charity and selflessness, such a
service becomes an all-encompassing and rewarding experience for both the giver and the receiver.
3. The growing materialistic, consumerist and individualistic tendencies in today’s world, unfortunately, are making
humans more and more self-centred, insensitive and indifferent to the needs and sufferings of others. Decrying these disturbing trends, Pope Francis, whose words and gestures of
compassion and service have by now become proverbial, has
called for a culture in which everyone feels loved, wanted
and cared for and “no one is seen as useless, out of place or
disposable” (Message for the 101st World Day of Migrants and
Refugees [2015], 3 September 2014).
4. As believers in our own respective religions with a
shared treasury of values, may we, Christians and Sikhs, rediscover the importance of compassionate service in our personal and collective lives and make it a way of life, inspiring
and encouraging others as well in this regard so as to promote happiness, harmony and peace everywhere. May we,
joining hands with others, contribute to making a better,
more just and fraternal world.
We wish you all a Happy Prakash Divas of Siri Guru
Nanak Dev Sahib!
Cardinal JEAN-LOUIS TAURAN
President
Fr MIGUEL ÁNGEL AYUSO GUIXOT, MCCJ
Secretary
sponse to God be
seen simply as an accumulation of small
personal gestures to
individuals in need…
a series of acts aimed
solely at easing our
conscience. The Gospel is about the kingdom of God (cf. Lk
4:43); it is about loving God who reigns in
our world” (Evangelii
Gaudium, n. 180). The
Kingdom of God always goes before us,
just as the mystery of
the Church’s unity always goes before us.
From the beginning, there have been
divisions
among
Christians and sadly,
even today, conflicts
and
rivalries
exist
between our communities. This weakens our ability to fulfill the Lord’s commandment to preach
the Gospel to all
Rome
peoples (cf. Mt 28:1920). Our divisions
mar the beauty of the seamless robe of
Christ, yet they do not completely
destroy the profound unity brought
about by grace in all the baptized (cf.
Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 13). The effectiveness of the Christian message
would no doubt be greater were
Christians to overcome their divisions,
and together celebrate the sacraments,
spread the word of God, and bear witness to charity.
It pleases me to know that in various countries Catholics and Evangelicals enjoy good relations and work together as brothers and sisters. The
joint efforts of the Pontifical Council
for Promoting Christian Unity and the
Theological Commission of the World
Evangelical Alliance have also opened
up new horizons by clarifying misunderstandings and by showing the way
to overcome prejudices. It is my hope
that these talks may further inspire
our common witness and our efforts
to evangelize: “If we really believe in
the abundantly free working of the
Holy Spirit, we can learn so much
from one another! It is not just about
being better informed about others,
but rather about reaping what the
Spirit has sown in them, which is also
meant to be a gift for us” (Evangelii
Gaudium, n. 246). I am confident that
the document Christian Witness in a
Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct can prove helpful for
the preaching of the Gospel in multireligious contexts.
Dear brothers and sisters, I trust
that the Holy Spirit, who inspires the
Church to persevere in seeking new
methods of evangelization, will usher
in a new era of relations between
Catholics and Evangelicals, so that the
Lord’s will that the Gospel be brought
to the ends of the earth (cf. Acts 1:8)
may be more fully realized. With this
prayer, I ask you to pray for me and
for my ministry. Thank you.
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 10
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
In a message to French seminarians on pilgrimage to Lourdes the Pontiff highlights three key words for priestly life
Fraternity, prayer, mission
Fraternity, prayer, mission: Pope
Francis identified these three words as
essential for priestly life in a message
sent to French seminarians as they
make a pilgrimage to Lourdes. The
Pontiff’s message was addressed to 750
candidates to the priesthood who met
at the Marian Shrine from 8-10
November on the occasion of the
autumn Plenary Assembly of the
Episcopal Conference of France. The
following is a translation of the Pope’s
message which was consigned in
French.
Dear Seminarian Friends,
I cordially greet each one of you, as
well as your formators and Bishops,
whom you joined at the conclusion
of the work of the Plenary Assembly
of the Episcopal Conference. I am
very happy to know you are all
gathered around Mary, Mother of
the Lord, at this Shrine in Lourdes,
which is so beloved throughout the
world.
Pondering on your gathering at
this important Marian site, what immediately comes to my mind and
my heart is what the Word of God
says of the disciples after the Risen
Lord had asked them to wait for the
Holy Spirit: “When they entered
[the city], they went up to the Upper Room, where they were staying.... All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together
with the women and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with his
brethren” (Acts 1:13-14).
Contemplating this event, I would
like you to remember three essential
words for your life as seminarians:
fraternity, prayer, mission.
The Book of the Acts tells us that
the disciples were of one single
heart. Your gathering is an example
of this. Your time at the seminary
corresponds to that basic experience
that the Apostles had for many
months, when Jesus constituted
them: “And he appointed twelve, to
be with him, and to be sent out to
preach” the Good News (Mk 3:14).
The fraternity of the disciples, which
expresses the unity of hearts, is an
integral part of the call that you
have received. The presbyterial ministry can never be individual, much
less individualistic.
In the seminary, you live together
in order to learn to know each other,
to appreciate each other, to sustain
each other, and at times even to support each other, in order to live the
mission together and render that
witness of love thanks to which Jesus’ disciples are recognized. It is
important to make this personal and
definitive choice which is a true gift
of yourselves to God and to others.
I thus invite you to accept this apprenticeship of fraternity, placing all
your passion in it; you will grow in
charity and you will build unity, taking the initiative that the Holy Spirit
will inspire in you. You will therefore be able to invent more appropriate ways to truly live in priestly
fraternity when you are ordained.
Fraternity is the first word.
Prayer. Together, the disciples pray
with Mary, as they await the Holy
Spirit. You have been called by Jesus who wants you to participate in
his priesthood for the life of the
world. At the basis of your formation is the Word of God, which permeates you, nourishes you, enlightens you. Praying with it, all that you
learn becomes vital in prayer.
Therefore, I exhort you to spend
long moments in prayer every day,
recalling that Jesus himself withdrew
in silence or in solitude to immerse
himself in the mystery of his Father.
It is in prayer that you, too, will
find the loving presence of the Lord
and that you allow yourselves to be
transformed by Him without fear of
the hardship that it entails, of the
night that usually constitutes it.
Even Moses entered into the darkness of the cloud to speak to God in
humility, as a friend speaks with his
friend.
May your life of prayer be an appeal to the Spirit! It is He who
builds up the Church, who guides
the disciples and who instills pastoral charity. It is in the power of the
ment: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). All that
you are doing during your formation
has but one purpose: to become
humble missionary-disciples in order
to be disciples.
I encourage you to get
“It is in prayer that you, too, will find
to know the world you
the loving presence of the Lord and
will be sent into and to
make visible your effectthat you allow yourselves to be
ive self-emptying to entransformed by Him without fear of
counter the other. The
the hardship that it entails, of the
preference for people who
are the farthest is a renight that usually constitutes it”
sponse to the call of the
Risen One who precedes
Spirit that you will reach those to you and who awaits you in the Gawhom you will be sent, with the lilee of the Gentiles. By going to the
awareness that they expect you to be peripheries one also reaches the
witnesses to Jesus, “Men of God”, centre.
so as to lead them to the Father.
The mission is inseparable from
This brings me to my third word: prayer for prayer opens you to the
Mission. Through your Baptism you Spirit and the Spirit guides you in
were rendered proclaimers of the the mission. And the mission, the
Gospel. With the priestly ordina- soul of which is charity, consists in
tion, you will be assigned to pro- leading those you meet to feel the
claim the Word, under the respons- tenderness with which the Lord emibility of your bishops. As you pre- braces them, to receive Baptism, to
pare for this mission, you will recall praise God, to live by the Eucharist,
that it is the Lord’s final Command- to participate in the mission of the
Church in their turn.
Mary accompanied Jesus in his
mission. She was present at Pentecost, when the disciples received the
Holy Spirit. She accompanied as a
mother the first steps of the Church.
During these days in Lourdes, entrust yourselves to her, place your
call back into her hands, ask her to
make pastors of you according to
God’s heart. May she strengthen
you in these three essential points
that I have addressed: fraternity,
prayer, mission.
I wholeheartedly impart to you
the Apostolic Blessing and I ask you
to pray for me. Thank you.
From the Vatican, 24 October 2014
FRANCIS
The Holy Father receives the President of Ghana
On Monday, 10 November, in the Vatican Apostolic
Palace, the Holy Father received in audience H.E. Mr
John Dramani Mahama, President of the Republic of
Ghana, who subsequently met with Secretary of State
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop
Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with
States.
During the cordial discussions, the Parties noted the
good relations between the Holy See and Ghana and
underlined the positive contribution offered by the
Catholic Church in the social, educational and healthcare spheres, as well as in relation to promoting dialogue between the different members of society. Furthermore, mention was made of the promotion of the
good of the family.
Finally, attention turned to various current issues of
an international nature, and in particular the serious
humanitarian crisis caused by the recent epidemic of
the Ebola virus in West Africa.
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 11
The Holy Father invites the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians to go out to the existential and geographical borders
From the digital world to Patagonia
Pope Francis met with participants in
the General Chapter of the Daughters
of Mary Help of Christians, whom he
received in audience on Saturday
morning, 8 November, in the
Clementine Hall. After the Superior
General’s greeting, the Holy Father
gave the following address. Published is
a translation from the Italian.
Dear Sisters,
Mother Yvonne gave thanks for the
audience but it would not have been
possible without her persistence! I
don’t know if this Superior General
knows how to govern, I do not
know, that’s your business, but she
knows how to knock at doors, and
loudly! I assure you! I thank you,
Mother, for what you said. And allow me to be persistent too, thinking of Patagonia... I’ll say no more!
In these days you have been focusing your attention on the theme:
“To be a home that evangelizes for
young people today”, which is most
appropriate in the social and ecclesial context of today, marked by so
many forms of spiritual and material
poverty. Today we indeed suffer
from poverty, but also from a lack of
love and relationship. In such a context, you can grasp in a special way
the fragility of young people to
whom you are dedicated with loving
commitment, according to the spirit
of Don Bosco and in the footsteps
of Mother Mazzarello. You are
called to offer to all the message of
the Gospel, which is summed up in
the Father’s merciful love for every
person.
From your session: the fundamental guidelines for the life of each
woman religious and every community have emerged.
First, the commitment to let
yourselves be guided by the prospect of “going out”, of setting out
on the path towards the many areas
on the geographical and existential
frontiers, with preferential care for
the poor and the different forms of
exclusion. There are so many of
them!
There is also the awareness of the
need to implement appropriate
paths for change and for pastoral
conversion, thus transforming your
houses into places of evangelization,
where especially young people may
become involved in your mission.
This means creating an environment
of co-responsibility that fosters the
journey of faith for individuals and
personal adherence to Jesus, that He
may continue to attract every one.
In this way young people are
formed to become agents of evangelization for other young people.
I cannot but encourage you to go
forward with enthusiasm in this line
of action towards which the Holy
Spirit is urging you. Open your
hearts to welcome the interior motion of God’s grace; broaden your
view, broaden your view in order to
recognize the most authentic needs
and the urgencies of a society and a
generation that are changing. Be
everywhere a prophetic witness and
educational presence, through the
unconditional reception of youth, fa-
cing the challenge of an intercultural
environment and identifying forms
of approach that render your
apostolic work effective in a context
— i.e. that of young people — permeated by the virtual world and especially by the new digital technologies. In order to do all this we need
to always place Christ at the centre
of our existence; we must let
ourselves be shaped by the Word of
God, who illuminates, orients and
sustains; we must nourish the missionary spirit with persevering prayer, with adoration, with that “loss of
time” before the Tabernacle.
At the same time, you are called
to bear witness to an ideal of
fraternal communion among you,
with the feelings of mutual acceptance, accepting the limitations and
appreciating the qualities and gifts
of each one, according to Jesus’
teaching: “By this all men will know
that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another” (Jn
13:35). I want to repeat some advice
that I gave in these days to a group
of religious: unity. Never, never let
there be envy, jealousy, among you
— do not permit these things! And
unity at home. The greatest danger
is terrorism in religious life: it has
entered, the terrorism of gossip. If
you have something against a sister,
go and tell her to her face. But never this terrorism, because gossip is a
bomb thrown into a community and
it destroys it. Unity without the terrorism of gossip.
This unity — as you well know —
requires a serious path of formation,
which includes being up-to-date also
in the human sciences that can help
you in your mission. It is asked of
you in fact to know how to listen
with openness and understanding to
those who turn to you for moral and
personal support, to know how to
interpret the situations in which you
work in order to bring the Gospel
message into that culture. In this regard, your mission ad gentes offers
you an exceedingly vast field in
which to make a loving gift of
yourselves.
In the course of your Chapter
meetings, you have reflected on your
daily apostolic work, which puts you
in contact with the joys, the expectations and the suffering of the
people. Standing in courtyards with
children, in classrooms with students, with young people in real cities or even “virtual neighbourhoods”, in the marketplace with
young women, you associate with
reality and the ever new problems
that challenge you. May you be missionaries of hope and joy for all,
testifying to the values of your
Salesian identity, especially in the
field of encounter, a fundamental aspect of your charism: it is an ever
fresh and life-giving source from
which you can tap into that love
that revitalizes passion for God and
for youth. May the inevitable difficulties, which one encounters on the
way, not dampen the enthusiasm of
your apostolic action. Rather, may
the example of St John Bosco and
of St Domenica Mazzarello inspire
you to contribute even more enthusiastically to the new evangelization
with your work in the field of education and schools, of catechesis and
the apostolate of youth formation.
Dear Sisters, you know how much
the Church esteems consecrated life.
Indeed, it is at the very heart of the
Community and a decisive element
for her mission, to which consecrated life offers a specific contribution through the witness of a life
totally given to God and neighbour.
With the motherly help of Mary
Most Holy, whom you venerate with
the title of Help of Christians, may
this be the commitment of each one
and of your Congregation as a
whole! With this wish, I impart from
the heart to you and to all your fellow sisters the Apostolic Blessing.
And I ask you to pray for me. Do
not forget Patagonia! Thank you.
Evil that did not make the news
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
mented history. With the passing of
time the pain will be dissolved in
the history and only the stories will
talk to the generations to come.
The loyal memory of the past is the
existential experience we can receive in order to face life. Cain
could say to God that he did not
exactly know the meaning of death
after he killed his brother. From
then onwards he had in his conscience the story and experience of
murdering which had to prevent
him from killing.
That is the real and deep meaning of the prescription to remember
the liberation from Egypt all the
days of our life (Deut 16:3). The
historical experience of slavery
must push our consciences to have
a commitment to freedom from
generation to generation.
God also prescribed us to remember Amalec and his evil behavior (Deut 25:17) from which the
children of Israel suffered on their
way when they departed from
Egypt. The paragraph in Deuteronomy stresses with two different
verbs the precept to maintain in the
memory Amalec’s evil: “remember”
and “do not forget”. Evil could be
a dramatic part of our existence
and it is a must to have that in
mind. The biblical prescription demands awareness of that evil which
can affect us and not to be indifferent to that evil which affects our
neighbors.
When I analyzed with the then
Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge
Bergoglio, the concept of Devil, to
which we devoted a chapter in our
book of dialogues entitled: “On
Heaven and Earth” (2010), we had
different perceptions about it.
Bergoglio developed the conception of the existence of a Devil
which has his own existence outside
man, and challenges man and God.
I maintained the perspective that
the Devil lies in the spiritual structure of man and that he has to
fight with him. I concluded the
dialogue saying: “In the end, accepting the general concept of evil
is up to the free will of each individual. All the rest depends on our
perceptions and interpretations of
the texts that we consider sacred.
What remains clear is that
something exists, whether it is instinct or the Devil, which presents
itself as a challenge for us to overcome so that we can uproot evil.
We cannot be ruled by evil.” And
Bergoglio finished the chapter with
the sentence: “That is precisely
man’s battle on Earth”.
Rereading this chapter nowadays,
I am reminded of the following
Talmudic passage which in some
way reflects our opinions: “O ur
teachers taught: six things were
said about the devils: three things
they have like the angels who serve
God, and three as human beings.
Three like the angels: they have
wings like the angels, and they fly
from one edge of the world to the
other like the angels, and they
know what is to come, like the angels. They really know what is to
come, you mean? No, they just
hear behind the [heavenly] curtain,
as the angels. And three things like
human beings: they eat and drink
like humans, and reproduce like
humans and die like humans”
(Babylonian Talmud Hagiga 16a).
The world presents to us continually in our days the face of evil
and the Devil. And the Biblical
mandate, in the words of the
former Buenos Aires Archbishop
and today Pope Francis, are clamoring to all of us: Do not forget!
Do not stay on the side! “That is
precisely man’s battle on Earth”.
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 12
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
Morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae
Thursday, 6 November
God always goes
the distance
There cannot be Christians, much
less pastors, who sadly stop “midstream” for fear of “getting their
hands dirty” or of being gossiped
about or of compromising their ecclesiastical career. It is God who
demonstrates to each one of us and
to the Church as a whole the right
manner of behaviour, personally
coming down “into the field” and always going “forward, all the way, always going out” with tenderness and
with a single objective: “no one
must be lost!”, especially those who
are distant. The Pope gave this practical instruction during Mass at
Santa Marta on Thursday morning.
Francis began with the day’s Gospel Reading from Luke (15:1-10). He
read that “the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near” to Jesus
“to hear him. And the Pharisees and
scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man
receives sinners and eats with them’.
They were scandalized”. After all,
the Pope noted, Jesus’ gesture “was
a real scandal in that time, for those
people, wasn’t it?”. To which he
added: “Let’s imagine that there
were newspapers in that time”. Perhaps the headlines would have read:
“The prophet eats with these
people!”. In other words, it was a
“scandal!”.
Yet, Francis clarified, “Jesus had
come in search of those who had
distanced themselves from the
Lord”. And he made this easy to understand by telling “two parables:
that of the shepherd”, in order “to
explain that He is the Good Shepherd; and that of the woman who
had 10 coins and lost one. Analyzing
the parables recounted by Luke, the
Pontiff highlighted that the words
“most repeated in this passage are:
‘lose’, ‘seek’, ‘find’, ‘joy’ and ‘rejoice’”.
These very terms used by Jesus,
the Pope continued, “allow us to see
what God’s heart is like: God
doesn’t stop, God doesn’t go only to
a certain point” and stop. No, “God
goes all the way, He goes the distance; He doesn’t stop halfway to
salvation, as if to say ‘I’ve done it
all, it’s their problem!’”. God instead
“always moves, goes out, goes down
into the field”. For example, the
Pontiff recalled a “particularly beautiful” phrase from the Book of Exodus: “I have heard the cry of the
Israelites who were enslaved by the
Egyptians and I will go there”. In
other words, “God hears the cry and
He goes: this is the Lord! This is his
love: it goes the distance!”.
In reality, Francis said, returning
to the day’s Gospel passage, “Jesus
is very generous because He almost
compares these Pharisees and scribes
with God”, these people “who were
murmuring”. The parable begins
with these words: “What man of you
does not do this?”. Perhaps it’s true,
everyone does it, however, they stop
“halfway”. Indeed, the Pope indicated, “it was important to them that
the balance of profits and losses was
more or less favourable”, and things
were “going pretty well” with this
way of looking at things. And thus,
still looking to the two parables of
Jesus in the passage from Luke,
those tax collectors might have said,
“yes, it’s true, I lost three coins, but
I earned so much!”.
This kind of reasoning, however,
“never enters God’s mind!”, Francis
stated. Because “God isn’t a businessman: God is Father and He always goes all the way, He goes the
distance, to the end!”. And this way
— referring to another parable, that
of the prodigal son — “even that
poor elderly man who saw his son at
a distance”, even “he went all the
way, as far as he could, that is, the
roof of the house, to look every day
to see whether his son had returned,
for he didn’t know where he was”.
God does the same. “He always
goes the distance: God is Father and
this is God’s love”. This manner of
God also tells “us pastors, us Christians” how to behave. It really is sad
to see a pastor who stops “halfway,
it’s sad!”. And he may even do
something, but he explains that he
can do nothing more. In fact, the
Pope remarked, “a pastor who opens
the doors of the Church and stays
there, waiting, is sad”. Just as sad is
“a Christian who doesn’t feel inside,
in his heart, the need, the necessity
to go and tell others that the Lord is
good”.
he must go, he risks his life, he risks
hunger, he risks losing his comforts,
his status, even losing his ecclesiastical career. But he is a good pastor!”.
And “Christians must also be this
way”. Because “it is so easy to condemn others, like the tax collectors
did, but it isn’t Christian! It isn’t
how children of God are!”. Indeed,
“the Child of God goes the distance,
he gives his life, as Jesus gave his,
for others”. And thus, “one can’t be
calm, protecting oneself, one’s comforts, one’s reputation, one’s peace
of mind”. This is why, Francis firmly
emphasized: “never halfway pastors!
Never Christians in midstream!”. We
need instead to behave just as “Jesus
did”.
In this Gospel passage, the Pope
continued, “it is said that these
people were drawing near to Jesus”,
although “many times we read in the
Gospel that it is He who goes to
seek people”. Because of “the Good
Shepherd, the good Christian goes
out, is always outward bound: he always goes out of himself, is always
going out toward God, in prayer, in
adoration”. And “he goes out toward others to bring the message of
salvation”.
Thus “the Good Shepherd and a
good Christian embody tenderness”.
There is so much perversity, Francis said, “in the heart of those who
see themselves as just, like those
scribes, those Pharisees” whom Luke
tells us about today. “They don’t
want to get their hands dirty with
the sinners”. And they say among
themselves that if Jesus were a
prophet, he would have known that
the woman was a sinner. See “the
contempt: they used the people,
then they scorned them”.
Thus, “being a halfway pastor is a
failure”. Indeed, “a pastor has to
have the heart of God” in order to
“go the distance”. He has to have
“the heart of Jesus, who had received that word from the Father:
don’t lose any one; don’t lose a few;
no one must be lost!”. It is a matter
which Jesus takes up again at the
Last Supper, saying, “watch over
them, Father, that they not be lost!”.
See then, that “the true pastor, the
true Christian has this zeal inside:
may no one lose it!”. And “this is
why he isn’t afraid to get his hands
dirty: he isn’t afraid! He goes where
On the other hand, “those scribes,
the Pharisees, no, they don’t know”
what it means to take “the sheep
onto their shoulders with tenderness,
and carry it back to its place with
the others”. They are people who
don’t know what joy is. In fact “a
Christian and a pastor in midstream
might know fun, tranquility, a kind
of peace of mind”. But “joy” is another thing, “that joy that there is in
Heaven, that joy which comes from
God, that joy that really comes from
the heart of a father who goes to
save” and says: “I have heard the cry
of the Israelites and I have come
down into the field”. Francis explicitly pointed out the beauty of “not
being afraid that they speak ill of
us” when we go “to find our brothers and sisters who are distant from
the Lord”. He concluded by asking
the Lord for “this grace for each one
of us and for our Mother, the Holy
Church”.
Friday, 7 November
Two coats of paint
“Worldly Christians, Christians in
name, with two or three Christian
attributes, but nothing more” are
“pagans with two coats of paint”.
They seem to be Christians when we
cross paths with them at Mass each
Sunday; in reality they have slid
gradually into the temptation of
“mediocrity”, such that they look
“with pride and arrogance” at
earthly things but not “at the Cross
of Christ”. And it is this temptation
that the Pope warned about at
morning Mass on Friday in the
chapel at Santa Marta.
For his meditation, Francis recalled a passage from the Letter of
Paul to the Philippians (3:17-4:1),
“his most beloved disciples”, in
which the Apostle calls them “my
brethren, whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown”. And he exhorts
them to “imitate some but do not
imitate others”, in other words he
advises them “to watch those who
behave according to the example
you have in us: imitate these, the
Christians who go forth in a life of
faith, in a life of service, in the
Church. But do not imitate the others!”.
It is easily understood from the
text, the Pope explained, that Paul
had already spoken of this problem
on various other occasions, because
he adds: “I have often told you and
now, with tears in my I eyes, I’ll repeat it. Many live as enemies of the
Cross of Christ. Imitate these
people, but not those people!”. Yet,
the Pontiff continued, “both groups
were in the Church; all went together to Sunday Mass, they praised the
Lord, they called themselves Christians and baptized their children”. So,
“what was the difference?”.
Paul’s recommendation to the
Philippians is clear in this regard:
“Do not even look at them! Why?
Because they behave as enemies of
the Cross of Christ! Christian enemies of the Cross of Christ!”. In
fact, the Letter reads: “they glory in
their shame, with minds set on
earthly things”.
In essence, Francis explained,
they are “worldly Christians, Christians in name, with two or three
Christian attributes, but nothing
more”. They are “pagan Christians”.
The have “a Christian name, but a
pagan life” or, to put it another way,
“pagans painted with two coats of
Christianity: thus they appear as
Christians, but they are pagans”.
The Pope specified that “these
people, our brothers”, were not only
in Paul’s time. Today too, he advised, “there are many of them”.
This is why we “have to be careful
not to slide toward that path of pagan Christians, Christians in appearance”. In reality, “the temptation to
adapt to mediocrity — the mediocrity of these Christians — is actually their downfall, because the
heart cools, it becomes lukewarm”.
But “the Lord speaks a strong word
to the lukewarm: ‘because you are
lukewarm, I will spew you out of my
mouth’”. These people, the Pontiff
repeated, “are enemies of the Cross
of Christ: they take the name, but
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
Franco Bianchetti, “One Faith” (2000)
don’t follow the requirements of
Christian life”.
Further examining the concept,
“Paul explains this a bit and speaks
about ‘citizenship’”, underscoring
that “our commonwealth is in heaven”. However, the Apostle indicates,
the citizenship of the enemies of the
Cross is exclusively “earthly: they are
citizens of the world, not of Heaven”.
And
their
“surname
is
‘worldly’”. This is why Paul strongly
advises: “Look out for them!”.
Precisely because it is not an issue
confined to the Philippians of Paul's
time, the Pope proposed a series of
practical questions to ask ourselves,
for an examination of conscience:
“At this point each of us — even me!
— should ask ourselves: Do I have
any of this? Do I have any worldliness in me? Something pagan? Do I
like to boast? Do I like money? Do
I like pride, arrogance? Where are
my roots, that is, where is my citizenship? In Heaven or on earth?”.
Do we belong to the earthly or the
spiritual world? Indeed, Pope Francis explained, again quoting St Paul,
“our commonwealth is in heaven,
and from it we await a Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ”. And that of the
enemies of the Cross? The Apostle
responds that “in the end their kind
will meet with destruction”. Thus,
the Pontiff emphasized, “these
painted Christians will meet a bad
end”.
It’s important, the Pope continued, to look toward the end in order
to see “where that citizenship that
you have in your heart leads you”:
“worldly citizenship” leads “to ruin”,
whereas “that of the Cross of Christ”
leads “to the encounter with Him”,
which is “so beautiful”.
How do you realize that you are sliding toward worldliness, toward worldly
citizenship? Francis
highlighted that this
is “a process that is
done among us”. It
is “a temptation:
one slides toward
worldliness”. The signs to understand what we are moving toward,
the Pope said, “are in your heart: if
you love and are attached to money,
to vanity and pride, you are on that
bad path; if you seek to love God,
to serve others, if you are gentle, if
you are humble, if you serve others,
you are on the good path”. And
thus, “your identity card is good: it’s
from Heaven”. The other, however,
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
is “a citizenship that will bring you
harm”.
And Jesus beseeched the Father to
save his disciples “from the spirit of
the world, from this worldliness,
which leads to destruction”. Then,
in the Letter to the Philippians,
“Paul speaks of transfiguration”. He
writes: “Jesus Christ, who will
change our lowly body to be like his
glorious body”. And thus, those
“who go on the path of Jesus, in humility, in gentleness and in service to
others, in prayer, in adoration, will
be transformed in glory. But the
others will also change”. Paul “is
clear” about this when he states:
“Look out for the spirit of worldliness”. Because, the Pope continued,
“it begins with little, but it goes
slowly and is a journey that is made
without tiring”.
It is like the day’s Reading from
the Gospel according to Luke (16:18), which speaks of the steward.
Francis asked, “How did the steward
get to the point of defrauding, stealing from his Lord? How did it happen”, all in one day? “No! Bit by
bit”. Perhaps by “a tip here one day,
a bribe there another day, and thus
corruption comes little by little”. For
“the path of the worldliness of these
enemies of the Cross of Christ is like
this, it leads you to corruption!”.
And then you “end up like this man,
openly stealing”.
Hence “Paul’s advice” to the Philippians: “stand firm in the Lord according to the example I have given
you; and do not allow your heart
and soul to weaken and end up in
nothingness, in corruption”. This,
the Pope concluded, “is a beautiful
grace to ask for: to stand firm in the
Lord: all of salvation is there, the
glorious transfiguration will be
there. Everything will be!”. Thus, he
reiterated, the grace to ask for today
is that of standing “firm in the Lord
and in the example of the Cross of
Christ: humility, poverty, gentleness,
service to others, adoration, prayer”.
Monday, 10 November
Sinful Christians
“Sin, forgiveness and faith” are three
closely linked words that the Pope
put forth during Mass on Monday
morning in the chapel of Casa Santa
Marta. He extracted them from a
passage of the Gospel according to
Luke (17:1-6), which speaks of these
three very things. They “are three
words of Jesus”, Pope Francis pointed out, and “perhaps they weren’t
spoken together, at the same time,
but the evangelist puts them togeth-
Indifference towards those in need
is not acceptable for a Christian.
(@Pontifex on 6 November)
er”. And thus began the Pontiff’s reflection.
The first of the three terms underscored by the Pope is “sin”. “To
me”, he confided, “it is striking how
Jesus concludes” his discourse: after
speaking about sin he says: “Take
heed to yourselves”. Thus, he uses a
“harsh” expression, asking them “not
to sin”. Luke writes that it is Jesus
himself who says: “temptations to
sin are sure to come”; but he also
adds: “woe to him by whom they
come!”. And more precisely: “woe to
him who should cause one of these
little ones, the People of God, to
sin; the weak in faith, children,
young people, the elderly who have
lived a life of faith, woe to him who
causes them to sin! It would be better to die!”.
Jesus also addresses these particularly “harsh” words “to us, to Christians”, and as a result “we have to
ask ourselves: Do I sin?”. And even
before that, “what is sin?”. The
Pope explained that sin “is to assert
and profess a way of life — ‘I’m a
Christian’ — and then to live as a
pagan who believes in nothing”.
And “this amounts to sin because it
lacks testimony: faith confessed is
life lived”.
Along this line of reasoning Francis turned to the First Reading,
taken from the Letter of Paul to Titus (1:1-9), highlighting that “Paul is
writing to his disciple, Bishop Titus,
and advises him how priests, bishops, as God’s stewards, should behave”. And “he gives other advice:
that the priest — whether a priest or
bishop — be blameless; not be arrogant, not look down on everyone; not
be quick-tempered, but be meek,
not a drunkard, spiritual not irreverent; that he not be violent but
peaceful; not greedy for gain, not attached to money, but
hospitable, a lover of
goodness,
upright,
just, holy, self-controlled, holding firm
to the sure word as
taught”. For “when a
priest — whether a
priest or bishop —
does not live like this,
he sins, he causes
scandal”. And one is led to point
out to him: “You, teacher, tell us
one thing but do another!”. And
about this the Pope stated: “The
sins of priests do such harm to the
People of God, so much harm! The
Church suffers so much because of
this!”.
These words are about priests but
they also apply “to all Christians”. It
does not become “permissible to be
arrogant, quick-tempered, a drunkard” simply by the fact that one isn’t
a priest. The words, therefore, are
“for everyone”, the Pontiff remarked.
One must realize that “when Christian men or women, who go to
Church, who go to a parish, do not
live this way, they sin”.
After all, Francis continued, we
often hear “I don’t go to Church because it’s better to be honest and
stay home” than to be like those
“who go to Church and then do
this, this and that...”. Thus we can
see that “sin destroys, it destroys
faith”. And “this is why Jesus is so
harsh” and repeats: “Take heed of
yourselves, be careful!”. This very
exhortation of Jesus “will do us
good to repeat today: Take heed of
yourselves!”. For “we are all capable
of sinning”.
The second word that Luke offers
is “forgiveness”. In the Gospel, Jesus
“speaks about forgiveness, and he
advises us to never tire of forgiving:
always forgive. Why? Because I have
been forgiven”. Indeed, “the first
one forgiven in my life was me. And
for this reason I have no right not to
forgive: I am required, because of
the forgiveness that I received, to
forgive others”. Thus, “forgive: one
time, two, three, seventy times seven,
always! Even in the same day!”. And
page 13
here, the Pontiff clarified, Jesus “exaggerates in order to help us understand the importance of forgiveness”. Because “a Christian, who is
incapable of forgiving, sins: he isn’t
a Christian”. This is why He tells
them, “to frighten them a bit: if you
cannot forgive, neither can you receive God’s forgiveness”. In other
words, we “must forgive” because we
have been “forgiven”.
This truth “is in the Our Father:
Jesus taught it there”, the Pope recalled. Of course, he acknowledged,
the subject of forgiveness “isn’t understood in human logic”. In fact,
“human logic leads you not to forgive, to revenge; it leads you to
hatred, to divisiveness”. And thus we
see “so many families divided” because they lack forgiveness, “so
many families! Children distant from
parents; a husband and wife drifted
apart...”. For this reason, “it is so
important to think this: if I don’t
forgive, I don’t have — it seems I
won’t have — the right to be forgiven, or I don’t understand what it
means that the Lord has forgiven
me”.
Of course, the Pope stated, it’s
understandable why, on “hearing
these things, the disciples said to the
Lord: ‘Increase our faith!’”. Indeed,
“without faith one cannot live
without sinning and always forgiving”. We truly need the “light of
faith, that faith which we have re-
Work is so important
for human dignity,
for building up a family, for peace!
(@Pontifex on 11 November)
ceived, the faith of a merciful Father,
of a Son who gave his life for us, a
Spirit who is inside us and helps us
grow, the faith in the Church, the
faith in the baptized and holy
People of God”. And “this is a gift:
faith is a gift”. No one, Francis said,
receives faith from books or by “going to conferences”. After all, precisely because “faith is a gift of God
who comes to you, the Apostles said
to Jesus: ‘Increase our faith!’”.
The Pontiff concluded by suggesting an earnest reflection on “these
three words: sin, forgiveness and
faith”. Regarding sin, he recapped,
it’s enough to remember “only those
words of Jesus: ‘Take heed to
yourselves!’ This is dangerous”: better “to be cast into the sea” than to
sin. Regarding forgiveness then, the
Pope invited us to always remember
that we were forgiven first. And last,
the aspect of faith, without which he
repeated, “a life without sin and a
life of forgiveness” could never be
possible.
Tuesday, 11 November
D on’t be lazy
How should our faith be? This is
the Apostles’ question and ours as
well. The answer is: “a faith that is
set within the framework of service”
to God and to our neighbour. A
humble, freely given and generous
service which is always “complete”.
Only in this way is it possible to
truly open oneself to the hope of the
final encounter with Jesus. This was
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 14
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
VATICAN BULLETIN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
Catholic Theological College, Melbourne; vice-president and then
president of the Melbourne College
of Divinity.
The Holy Father appointed Fr Mark
Stuart Edwards, OMI, as Auxiliary
Bishop of Melbourne, Australia, assigning him the titular episcopal see
of Garba. Until now he has been
counsellor of the Australian Province
of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
(7 Nov.).
Bishop-elect Edwards, 55, was
born in Balikpapan, Indonesia. He
made in his final religious profession
for the Missionary Oblates of Mary
Immaculate, Mulgrave, on 17 February 1984 and was ordained a priest
on 16 August 1986. He holds a BA in
science, literature and in education,
a doctorate in philosophy. He has
served as: a teacher; novice master,
seminary formator and lecturer in
Melbourne. In 2010 he became rect-
or of Iona College in Lindum, Brisbane; professor at the Catholic
Theological College in Melbourne.
Venezuela, Venezuela. It was presented in accord with can. 401 § 2 of
the Code of Canon Law (10 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Fr Chad
Zielinski from the clergy of Gaylord,
USA, as Bishop of Fairbanks, USA.
Until now he has been chaplain of
Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska (8 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Fr
Prosper Balthazar Lyimo as Auxiliary Bishop of Arusha, Tanzania, assigning him the titular episcopal see
of Vanariona. Until now he has been
chancellor and judicial vicar of
Arusha, Tanzania (11 Nov.).
Bishop-elect Zielinski, 50, was
born in Detroit, USA. Before entering the major Seminary Mount
Saint Angel he had enrolled in the
Army. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree
in philosophy, and a Master of Divinity. He was ordained a priest on 8
June 1996. He has served in parish
ministry; as member of the presbyteral council; head of mission for
Spanish-speaking faithful; and active-duty chaplain for the US Air
Force.
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Bishop Tomás Jesús Zárraga Colmenares of San Carlos de
Bishop-elect Lyimo, 50, was born
in Kyou-Kilema, Tanzania. He has
studied philosophy and theology
and holds a doctorate in canon law.
He was ordained a priest on 4 July
1997. He has served as formator at
the minor seminary in Arusha; chancellor and judicial vicar for the
Archdiocese of Arusha.
ROMAN CURIA
The Holy Father appointed Bishop
Juan José Omella Omella of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño,
Morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
the Holy Father’s reflection during
Tuesday morning’s Mass at Santa
Marta.
Discussing the day’s reading
from the Gospel according to Luke
(17:7-10), the Pope referred back to
a passage from the previous day, in
which the disciples request: “Lord
increase our faith”, to which Jesus
responds: “If you had faith as a
grain of mustard seed, you could
say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted
up, and be planted in the sea’, and
it would obey you”. Francis explained that the Lord speaks of “a
powerful faith”, one strong enough
“to work great wonders”, but on
one condition: that this be set
“within the framework of service”.
It calls for complete service, such as
that of the “servant who worked all
day” and when he gets home “he
must serve the Lord”, prepare dinner for him, “and then relax”.
It seems, the Pontiff remarked,
“somewhat demanding, a bit hard”:
one might advise “this servant to
go to the union to seek some counsel” on how to deal “with a master
like this”. But what’s asked for is
“complete” service because it is the
same that Jesus practised: “He led
the way with this conduct of service; He is the servant; He presents
himself as the servant, the one who
came to serve and not to be
served”.
When set on the “path of service”, faith “will work miracles”.
On the contrary, however, “a Christian who receives the gift of faith in
Baptism, but then does not take it
forth on the path of service, becomes a Christian without strength,
unfruitful, a Christian for himself,
to serve himself, to benefit himself.
Although this Christian may go to
heaven, the Pope said, “what a sad
life!”.
It happens, then, that “so many
of the Lord’s great things” are
“wasted” because, as “the Lord
clearly stated: service is exclusive”,
and one cannot serve two masters:
God and wealth. In this regard the
Pontiff recalled “at the time of the
Prophet Elijah, the Israelites”, who
wanted to follow both Yaweh and
Baal. Elijah said to them: “you are
limping on both legs! Things cannot go on like this!”. Because,
Francis emphasized, “we need one
Lord”.
Pope Francis then went into the
details of everyday life and the difficulties that a Christian has in putting the word of the Gospel into
practice. “We can distance ourselves
from this conduct of service”, he
said, mostly out of “laziness”: we
become “comfortable, as did those
five inattentive maidens who were
waiting for their bridegroom but
without having enough oil in their
lamps”. Laziness renders “the heart
lukewarm”. Thus, out of convenience we are led to seek justifications: “If this one comes, or if that
one knocks at the door, tell them
I’m not home, because they’re coming to ask a favour, and no, I don’t
want...”. In other words, laziness
“distances us from service and leads
to convenience, to selfishness”.
And, the Pope commented, “so
many Christians” are like this: “they
are good, they go to Mass”, but go
“only so far” with regard to service.
Yet, he underscored, “when I say
service, I mean everything: service
to God in adoration, in prayer, in
praise”, service “to our neighbour”
and “service to the end”. Jesus “is
strong” about this and advises: “So
you also, when you have done all
that is commanded you, say, ‘We
are unworthy servants’”. It is important that service be “freely given, without asking anything” in return.
The Pope continued to speak
about another manner of moving
away “from the conduct of service”,
which is that of “taking control of
situations”. This is what happened
to the Apostles too, who moved the
people away “so as not to disturb
Jesus”, but in reality it was also for
their own comfort: that is, “they
took control of the Lord’s time,
they took control of the Lord’s
power: they wanted it for their little
group”. Actually, “they took control
of this conduct of service, turning it
into a framework of power”. This is
explained, said Francis, “when
among themselves, they discussed
who was the greatest”; and “it is
understood when the mother of
James and John went to ask the
Lord that one of her sons be prime
minister and the other the minister
of the economy, with all the power
in hand”. The same thing happens
to Christians who “rather than servants” become “masters: masters of
the faith, masters of the kingdom,
masters of salvation. This happens,
it is a temptation for all Christians”.
The Lord, however, speaks to us
of serving “in humility”, as did “He
who, being God, humbled himself,
lowered himself, debased himself:
to serve. It is service in hope, and
this is the joy of Christian service”,
which lives, as St Paul writes to
Titus: “awaiting our blessed hope,
the appearing of the glory of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ”.
The Lord will “knock at the door”
and “will come to find us” in that
moment, the Pope said, hoping:
“Please, let Him find us in this
conduct of service”.
Certainly, in life “we must really
struggle against the temptations
that seek to distance us” from this
disposition, such as that of laziness,
which “leads to convenience” and
drives us to provide “incomplete
service”; and the temptation to
“take control of the situation”,
which “leads to arrogance, to pride,
to mis-treating people, to feeling
important ‘because I’m a Christian,
I have salvation’”. The Lord, the
Pontiff concluded, “gives us these
two great graces: humility in service, in order that we’re able to say:
‘we are unworthy servants’”, and
“the hope in awaiting the appearing” of the Lord who “will come to
find us”.
Spain, as member of the Congregation for Bishops (6 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed as Office Head of the Congregation for
Catholic Education, Fr Philippe
Curbelié, Official of the said Congregation (6 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Msgr
Giacomo Incitti from the clergy of
Frosinone-Veroli-Ferentino, as counsellor of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
Until now he has been ordinary professor of Canon Law at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome (6
Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke as Patron of
the Sovereign Military Order of
Malta. Until now he has served as
Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of
the Apostolic Signatura (8 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, titular
Archbishop of Sagona, as Prefect of
the Supreme Tribunal of the
Apostolic Signatura. Until now he
has been Secretary for Relations
with States (8 Nov.).
The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, titular Archbishop of Hodelm, as Secretary for Relations with States. Until now he has been Apostolic Nuncio in Australia (8 Nov.).
On 10 November, the Holy Father
appointed as members of the Administration of the Patrimony of the
Apostolic See the following:
— Cardinal
Donald
William
Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington,
USA
— Cardinal Rubén Salazar Gómez,
Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia
— Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello,
President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State, President of the Governorate of Vatican
City State.
VATICAN CITY STATE
The Holy Father appointed Msgr
Maurice Monier as Judge of the
Court of Appeals of Vatican City
State (6 Nov.).
PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OF
ST THOMAS AQUINAS
The Holy Father appointed as President of the Pontifical Academy of
St Thomas Aquinas, Fr Serge
Thomas Bonino, OP, Secretary General of the International Theological
Commission and member of the said
Pontifical Academy (6 Nov.).
NECROLO GY
Bishop Alberto Johannes Först, O.
Carm., Bishop emeritus of Dourados, Brazil, at age 87 (1 Nov.).
Archbishop James Spaita, Archbishop emeritus of Kasama, Zambia, at
age 80 (4 Nov.).
Archbishop Juan Antonio Flores
Santana, Archbishop emeritus of
Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, at age 87 (9 Nov.).
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
number 46, Friday, 14 November 2014
page 15
Address to the participants of the Ecumenical Conference of Friends of the Focolare Movement
The moment of truth
Pope Francis received those attending
the Ecumenical Conference of Bishop
Friends of the Focolare Movement in
the Consistory Hall on Friday, 7
November. He reminded them that
“unity is a gift” and is at the same
time “a grave responsibility” in order to
“address the globalization of indifference
with the globalization of solidarity and
fraternity”. The following is a
translation of the Pope’s address which
was given in Italian.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I give you my heartfelt welcome on
the occasion of your Ecumenical
Convention, which has as its theme:
“The Eucharist, the Mystery of
Communion”. This annual event for
which you assemble, not only from
different countries but from different
Churches and Ecclesial Communities, is an expression and fruit of the
love for the Word of God and the
will to conform one’s life to the
Gospel. These sentiments, engendered and accompanied by the
grace of the Holy Spirit, cause many
initiatives to bud, bringing many
solid friendships and strong moments of brotherhood and sharing
to blossom. I encourage you to
treasure this rich experience and to
continue with courage, ever attentive
to the signs of the times and asking
the Lord for the gift of mutual
listening and docility to his will.
I would like to take up, in particular, one aspect that was touched on
by all three brothers who took the
floor a short time ago, and whom I
warmly thank. I am referring to the
acute awareness of the value, in our
troubled world, of a distinct testimony of unity among Christians and
of an explicit demonstration of esteem, respect, and more precisely, of
fraternity among us. This fraternity
is a bright and attractive sign of our
faith in the Risen Christ.
In fact, if we intend to try, as
Christians, to incisively address the
many problematic issues and tragedies of our time, it is necessary to
speak and act as brothers, in a way
that all can easily recognize. This
too is a way — for us perhaps it is
the first — of confronting the globalization of indifference with the globalization of solidarity and fraternity,
which among the baptized will shine
even more brightly.
The fact that in various countries
there is no freedom to publicly express religion and to live openly according to the demands of Christian
ethics; persecution with regard to
Christians and other minorities; the
grim phenomenon of terrorism, the
tragedy of those displaced due to
war and other causes; the challenges
of fundamentalism and, at the other
extreme, of exasperated secularism;
all these realities call into question
our conscience as Christians and
pastors.
Such challenges are an appeal to
seek with renewed commitment,
with consistency and patience the
ways that lead toward unity, “so that
the world may believe”. (cf. Jn
17:21), and so that we can be the
first to be filled with trust and courage. And among these ways there is
one that is the high road, and it is
precisely the Eucharist as the mystery of communion. From his First
Letter to the Corinthians — in which
the subject of division is a priority —
the Apostle Paul clearly points to
the Lord’s Supper as the central moment in the life of a community, the
“moment of truth”: there the encounter between Christ’s grace and
our responsibility is shown to the
highest degree; there, in the Eucharist, we distinctly feel that unity is a
gift, and that at the same time it is a
responsibility, a grave responsibility
(cf. 1 Cor 11:17-33).
Dear brothers and sisters, I hope
your Convention bears abundant
fruits of growth in communion and
in the witness of fraternity. May the
Virgin Mother support you in this
undertaking and in all your ministry.
I ask you to please pray for me and
I warmly invite you to join in praying the Lord’s Prayer in order that
he bless us all. Each one in his own
language.
Pater noster ....
Alicia Oliveira dies
Bergoglio’s lawyer
SILVINA PÉREZ
“Dear Guido, what I would give to
know something of you and to see
you in the street where I am looking for you”. Estela Carlotto, President of the Grandmothers of the
Plaza de Mayo, wrote this in a let-
Pope Francis meets
Estela Barnes de Carlotto
Pope Francis held a private meeting with Ms Estela Barnes de Carlotto,
President of the Association of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo,
on Wednesday afternoon, 5 November, in the study outside the Paul VI
Hall. Ms Barnes de Carlotto was with her grandson, Ignacio Montoya,
whose birth name was Guido Carlotto. The two had recently been united,
since Ignacio had been abducted at birth and believed his adopted parents
to be his biological family. At the end of the meeting, the Pope met with 18
other members of the Carlotto family, who gave the Holy Father several
gifts including: a CD with music composed by Montoya Carlotto, a poncho
and a Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo scarf.
ter to her grandson on his 18th
birthday. Twenty years later, she
was still looking. Guido was just a
recurring thought. A hope. And in
the end her wish came true.
There was young musician, who
grew up in the countryside of Olavarría, a rural city in the Pampas of
Argentina, with the name Ignacio
Hurban. He had doubts about his
origins and began searching for the
truth. In the end, through DNA testing, he discovered that he was born
Guido Carlotto, a desaparecido. And
thus at 84 years old Estela de Carlotto, thanks to 36 years of tenacity,
got to see her grandson again and
to tell Pope Francis their story in
person.
On 5 November, the day Estella
and her grandson came to the Vatican, Alicia Oliveira, another leader
in the Grandmothers association,
died in her home in Buenos Aires.
Surrounded by her three children,
at the age of 71, she had fought and
won many battles in her life, but
not her final battle with an incurable disease.
Alicia Oliveira was a lawyer who
always fought for human rights,
and she was a friend of Jorge
Mario Bergoglio. A non-believer,
she was very determined in her
work defending the poor, the first
woman in the history of Argentina
to become a criminal judge, attracting attention from the military dictatorship which had recently come
into power. Subsequently, she was
also the first person to leave that
post in 1976.
It was during that time that she
became friends with Bergoglio, who
was then the Provincial of the Jesuits of Argentina. Hunted by the
police, she was forced to hide and
leave her children for a period of
time. Fr Bergoglio offered her
refuge at the College of San
Miguel. “I would rather lock myself
in a cell, than go and live with
priests”, Oliveira responded, as told
in the book by Nello Scavo, La
lista Bergoglio (Emi, 2013).
She watched his election to the
papacy live on television in a café
in Almagro, his and her home
neighbourhood, with great joy. She
defended her Jesuit friend from accusations of collusion with the dictatorship (which caused her more
than a little tension).
Oliveira met Bergoglio through
“a mutual friend”, she told L’Osservatore Romano, because he had
been looking for a lawyer. And
from that day their friendship
began and continued until the day
she died. “We saw each other at
least twice a week. I saw him accompany his priests and I know he
is committed. He was always there
whenever someone was in need of a
meal”.
L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO
page 16
Friday, 14 November 2014, number 46
Director of Vatican Museums on the Sistine Chapel
New light and fresh air
MARCELLO FILOTEI
No one looks at the first century
statues in the Vatican Museums, nor
those from the fourth or fifth centuries. They sit there, in not-so-hidden
corners, scrutinizing you “with a
substitute head”, begging for a little
attention but without success. Everyone follows their tour guide holding
their national flag, as they march towards the goal: the Sistine Chapel.
“It’s a fatal attraction, an object of
desire for those who come to
Rome from every part of the
world”, said the Director of
the
Museums,
Antonio
Paolucci, who is faced with
an real problem. “Every year
we have approximately six
million visitors, and they all
want to see the Sistine
Chapel. There are days
when as many as 20,000
people pass under Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement.
These figures are impressive,
awesome and detrimental to
their own preservation. The
result is the phenomenon
which technicians call ‘anthropic pressure’, crowds
bringing with them dust,
body heat, high temperature
and above all their breath”.
donated by the construction companies.
Twenty years have passed since the last
restoration.
The work, led by Fabrizio Mancinelli and executed by Gian Luigi
Colalucci, caused great controversy.
Now it is considered to be an exemplary and impeccable restoration.
John Paul II inaugurated it on 8
April 1994: an event which has
entered history.
What has been done in this regard?
We have created a ventilation system which reduces the pollution and
stabilizes the temperature. It is a job
which took the technicians and a
leading air-conditioning company
which specializes in climatizing indoor areas, more than three years to
complete. At the same time, we took
advantage of a project, which involved several European universities,
to develop a new lighting system for
the Sistine Chapel. Both systems,
which are now in use, cost three million Euro which was generously
Will the new lighting enhance the
paintings for visitors?
The light will finally be evenly
spread out, there will no longer be a
spotlight on Michelangelo. Those
who enter the Chapel, lit
with the new LED system,
will have the opportunity to
study the magnificent narrative in the Sistine Chapel in
its entirety and its every detail. Meanwhile the traditional incandescent lamps
have been removed, since
the heat they produced was
damaging. Basically the Sistine Chapel now has new
light and fresh air.
perhaps three. Just to give you a
general idea: I have worked here for
seven years and not even I have seen
everything on display.
Maybe it would be better to dedicate a
whole day to a specific section?
That would be ideal, but unfortunately that is not the case. If visitors
come to Europe for seven days, how
much time can they spend in the
Vatican Museums?
From the Sistine Chapel Choir
Music of
the Conclave
Will all of this change the
general experience of the Museums? How long does an average visit last?
No more than an hour, an
hour and 15 minutes. And
this is regrettable. Now, like
the many major museums of
the world, we are subjected
to the timing and logistics of
the tourist industry.
Is this inevitable?
Yes, people inevitably produce carbon dioxide and use
up the oxygen. And it is precisely the carbon dioxide, together with dust, humidity
and the increasingly high
temperatures, that produce the worst
consequences over a long period of
time on the surface of the frescoes.
Thus the need arises to protect the
masterpieces
that
occupy
the
Chapel.
ber of people. We are not doing this
to attract more people to the Sistine
Chapel, but rather to better manage
the flux that we have. The Vatican
Museums want “zero growth”. We
cannot exceed more than six million
visitors per year.
Can you give me an example?
This year the 450th anniversary of
Michelangelo’s death is being celebrated.
Yes, this is our way of commemorating both events. We could have
organized a large exhibition on
Michelangelo, but instead we chose
to do something lasting and nonephemeral; something to guarantee
the excellent condition of the frescoes and the surrounding area for
generations.
What will the principal effects of the
new ventilation system be?
From now on the Chapel will
maintain a stable temperature and
humidity level. The carbon dioxide
concentration will also be lowered to
a normal level, which will be calibrated according to the actual num-
The most striking example
is that of cruise ships. These
giant ships arrive at Civitavecchia in
the morning, the tourists take a bus
and arrive in Rome at noon. Then
they want to see the Colosseum and
the Sistine Chapel in just a few
hours. It is an exhausting tour de
force.
So how much time would an art
enthusiast need to see the collections on
view in the Vatican Museums?
It is not by chance that the name
is plural. There are various collections:
Renaissance
art
with
Michelangelo and Raphael, Classical
art with Laocoön, the Etruscans, the
Egyptians. There are the Ethnological museum, Medieval art museum,
and that of modern and contemporary art. There are a number of opportunities and to seize them all
would take at least a couple of days,
Pope Francis previewed the new
CD Habemus Papam on Wednesday afternoon, 5 November, in
Santa Marta. The two CD-set is a
collection of music from the Conclave: the hymns sung by the Sistine Chapel Choir, including the
Mass for the Roman Pontiff’s
election before entering the Conclave, the Mass with the cardinal
electors, and the Mass for the inauguration of Francis’ Petrine
Ministry. The CD s are on sale in
Italy and will be available to the
rest of the world at the end of the
month. Produced by Deutsche
Grammophon, this box set is the
beginning of a collaboration
between the Sistine Chapel Choir
and the German music production company, with the help of
Vatican Radio, which will produce the recordings. Presenting
the CD to the Pope were, among
others,
Msgr
Massimo
Palombella, Director of the Sistine
Chapel Choir, and several employees of the record company.