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POPE'S GREETINGS DURING THE GENERAL AUDIENCE
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – After his catechesis, the Pope
greeted, among others, the family members of the new Swiss Guards who swore
their oath on Monday, 6 May. He also welcomed the Polish pilgrims who are
celebrating today the feast of
their patron, St. Stanislaus of Szczepanow. “May his attention for each
human being and for the moral order in society,” the pontiff said,
Subject: VISnews130508
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
“serve as an example and inspiration in your commitment to the good of
your brothers and sisters
and your country.”
“This is the day in which we celebrate Our Lady of Lujan, heavenly
Patroness of Argentina. Let's give an applause for the Virgin of Lujan.
Stronger. I can't hear it. Stronger,” he said while the Argentinian
pilgrims broke out clapping.
“I wish to send to all the children of these beloved Argentinian lands
my sincere affection while I place all their joys and worries in the hands of
the Most Holy Virgin.”
Finally, he recalled that today, 8 May, in the Shrine of the Virgin of the
Rosary of Pompei, Italy, the “Supplication to the Madonna of the
Rosary”, composed by Blessed Barolo Longo, will be prayed. “We
join in spirit to this act of
popular piety and devotion so that, through the intercession of Mary, the Lord
may grant mercy and peace to the Church and the entire world.”
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CAREERISTS AND CLIMBERS DOING “GREAT HARM” TO THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – “The men and women of the
Church who are careerists and social climbers, who 'use' people, the Church,
their brothers and sisters—whom they should be serving—as a
springboard for their own
personal interests and ambitions … are doing great harm to the
Church.” This is what Pope Francis asserted in his address to the
participants in the plenary assembly of the International Union of Superiors
General (UISG) whom he received in
audience this morning.
The pontiff spoke to the sisters of obedience, poverty, and chastity:
“Obedience as listening to God's will, in the interior motion of the
Holy Spirit authenticated by the Church, accepting that obedience also passes
through human mediations.
… Poverty, which teaches solidarity, sharing, and charity and which is
also expressed in a soberness and joy of the essential, to put us on guard
against the material idols that obscure the true meaning of life. Poverty,
which is learned with the
humble, the poor, the sick, and all those who are at the existential margins
of life. Theoretical poverty doesn't do anything. Poverty is learned by
touching the flesh of the poor Christ in the humble, the poor, the sick, and
in children.”
“And then chastity, as a precious charism, that enlarges the freedom
of your gift to God and others with Christ's tenderness, mercy, and closeness.
Chastity for the Kingdom of Heaven shows how affection has its place in mature
freedom and
becomes a sign of the future world, to make God's primacy shine forever. But,
please, [make it] a 'fertile' chastity, which generates spiritual children in
the Church. The consecrated are mothers: they must be mothers and not
'spinsters'! Forgive me if
I talk like this but this maternity of consecrated life, this fruitfulness is
important! May this joy of spiritual fruitfulness animate your existence. Be
mothers, like the images of the Mother Mary and the Mother Church. You cannot
understand Mary
without her motherhood; you cannot understand the Church without her
motherhood, and you are icons of Mary and of the Church.”
Continuing, Pope Francis spoke to the superiors about service. “We
must never forget that true power, at whatever level, is service, which has
its bright summit upon the Cross. … 'You know that the rulers of the
Gentiles lord it over
them ... But it shall not be so among you.'—This is precisely the motto
of your assembly, isn't it? It shall not be so among you.—'Rather,
whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to
be first among you shall
be your slave'.”
“Your vocation is a fundamental charism for the Church's journey and
it isn't possible that a consecrated woman or man might 'feel' themselves not
to be with the Church. A 'feeling' with the Church that has generated us in
Baptism; a 'feeling'
with the Church that finds its filial expression in fidelity to the
Magisterium, in communion with the Bishops and the Successor of Peter, the
Bishop of Rome, a visible sign of that unity,” the pontiff added, citing
Paul VI: “It is an absurd
dichotomy to think of living with Jesus but without the Church, of following
Jesus outside of the Church, of loving Jesus without loving the Church. Feel
the responsibility that you have of caring for the formation of your
Institutes in sound Church
doctrine, in love of the Church, and in an ecclesial spirit.”
“The centrality of Christ and his Gospel, authority as a service of
love, and 'feeling' in and with the Mother Church: [these are] three
suggestions that I wish to leave you, to which I again add my gratitude for
your work, which is not always
easy. What would the Church be without you? She would be missing maternity,
affection, tenderness! A Mother's intuition.”
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POPE'S NEARNESS TO THOSE AFFECTED BY EXPLOSION IN ECATEPEC, MEXICO
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – Below is the complete text of the
telegram that Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., sent, on
behalf of the Holy Father, to Bishop Oscar Roberto Dominguez Couttolenc, M.G.,
of Ecatepec, Mexico
because of an explosion of a gas truck in the city's suburbs that has, to
date, resulted in 21 deaths and numerous wounded.
“The Holy Father was saddened to receive news of the serious accent
that occurred in the municipality of Ecatepec, which has caused numerous
victims and serious wounded as well as much damage. I ask your excellency the
kindness of expressing
his spiritual nearness to all those who are affected by this tragedy. At the
same time he offers prayers asking God for the eternal rest of those who lost
their lives in this terrible accident.”
“Likewise, His Holiness Pope Francis wishes to send, through your
excellency, his condolences to the families of the dead, together with
expressions of consolation and affection for all the wounded, with the strong
desire for their quick and
complete recovery.”
“With these sentiments, the supreme pontiff, while calling upon the
sweet name of Our Lady of Guadalupe, wholeheartedly imparts to all the comfort
of the apostolic blessing as a sign of hope in the Risen Christ.”
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PATRIARCH OF COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA WILL MEET WITH POPE
FRANCIS IN THE VATICAN
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) - From 9 to 13 May, His Holiness Pope
Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, head of
the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, will come to Rome to meet with His
Holiness Pope Francis.
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt has about ten million faithful. This
large membership makes the Coptic Church one of the most important elements in
the ecclesial landscape of the Middle East where, in recent times, Christian
communities are
having to deal with very difficult situations.
Pope Tawadros’ predecessor, Pope Shenouda III, met with Pope Paul VI
in the Vatican 40 years ago in May of 1973. On that occasion, the Pope and the
Coptic Orthodox Patriarch signed an important Christological Declaration in
common and initiated
bilateral ecumenical dialogue between the two Churches.
Since the election of Pope Tawadros II as the new Coptic Orthodox
Patriarch, there has been a growing rapprochement between the Christian
communities in Egypt. This has led to the establishment of a council of
Christian Churches in Egypt.
Pope Tawadros, as well as having an audience and a shared prayer with the
Holy Father on Friday, 10 May, will be received at the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity and other dicasteries of the Roman Curia. He will
visit the tombs of the
Apostles Peter and Paul and will meet with the faithful of the Coptic
community resident in Rome.
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COLLABORATION BETWEEN AIF AND FINCEN AGAINST MONEY LAUNDERING
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office issued a
press release yesterday with the information that the Financial Intelligence
Authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State (“Autorita di
Informazione
Finanziaria”, AIF), signed a Memorandum of Understanding that day, 7
May, in Washington, D.C., USA. The memorandum's cosignatory was the Financial
Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), its United States counterpart at the US
Department of Treasury.
The purpose of the collaboration is to strengthen efforts to fight money
laundering and the global financing of terrorism.
The Memorandum, signed by Rene Brulhart, director of AIF, and Jennifer
Shasky Calvery, director of FinCEN, will foster bi-lateral cooperation in the
exchange of financial information. “This is a clear indication that the
Holy See and the
Vatican City State take international responsibilities to combat money
laundering and the financing of terrorism very seriously, and that we are
cooperating at the highest levels”, said Brulhart. “The Vatican
has shown that it is a credible
partner internationally and has made a clear commitment in the exchange of
information in this fight.”
The AIF was established in 2010 and became operational in April of 2011. It
is the competent authority of the Holy See and Vatican City State for
financial intelligence and for supervision and regulation in the prevention
and countering of money
laundering and financing of terrorism.
The press release also includes a background note that the AIF is currently
in discussions with various Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs) of other
countries and jurisdictions, including European countries, about entering into
Memorandums of
Understanding (MoUs) to strengthen bilateral cooperation to fight Money
Laundering and Terrorism Financing. So far, the AIF has already signed MoUs
with the FIUs of Belgium, Spain, Slovenia, and now the United States, which
plays a leading role in
combating money laundering. The AIF is currently in discussions with more than
20 other FIUs, and expects several MoUs to be signed in the course of the
year.
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CANONIZATIONS ON SUNDAY: ANTONIO PRIMALDO AND COMPANIONS, LAURA OF ST.
CATHERINE OF SIENA, AND MARIA GUADALUPE GARCIA ZAVALA
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – At 9:30am this Sunday, 12 May, in
St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass during which he will
canonize: Blessed Antonio Primaldo and Companions (martyrs, 1480); Blessed
Laura of Saint Catherine
of Siena (nee Maria Laura De Jesus Montoya Upegui, 1874–1949), virgin,
foundress of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate and St
Catherine of Siena; and Blessed Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala (1
78–1963), co-foundress of the
Congregation of the Handmaids of St Margaret Mary (Alacoque) and the Poor.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – Today the Holy Father:
- appointed Fr. Luiz Antonio Cipolini as bishop of Marilia (area 11,958,
population 711,000, Catholics 568,000, priests 91, permanent deacons 1,
religious 163), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Caconde, Sao Paulo,
Brazil in 1962
and was ordained a priest in 1986. Since ordination he has served in several
pastoral and academic roles, most recently, since 2006, as rector and
professor of the diocesan Institute of Philosophy and as pastor of
“Nossa Senhora de Fatima”
parish in Sao Joao da Boa Vista. He succeeds Bishop Osvaldo Giuntini, whose
resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father
accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
- appointed Msgr. Benno Elbs as bishop of Feldkirch (area 2,601,
population 393,600, Catholics 258,000, priests 208, permanent deacons 23,
religious 407), Austria. The bishop-elect, previously administrator of the
same diocese since
November of 2011, was born in Bregenz, Vorarlberg, Austria and was ordained a
priest in 1986. After ordination he was appointed spiritual director and
successively rector of the Marianum in Bregenz and as director of the diocesan
Pastoral Office and
member of the college of consultors as well as the diocesan Financial
Council.
- appointed Msgr. Jose Aparecido Goncalves de Almeida as auxiliary of
the Archdiocese of Brasilia (area 5,814, population 2,246,000, Catholics
1,541,000, priests 320, permanent deacons 69, religious 674), Brazil. The
bishop-elect
was born in Ourinhos, Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1960 and was ordained a priest in
1986. Since ordination he has served several pastoral and administrative
roles, most recently as Undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for
Legislative Texts where he has
worked since 1994.
- appointed Archbishop Martin Krebs as apostolic nuncio to New Zealand,
the Cook Islands, Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and apostolic
delegate to the Pacific Ocean. Archbishop Krebs, titular of Taborenta, was
previously
apostolic nuncio to Guinea and Mali.
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NOTICE
Vatican City, 8 May 2013 (VIS) – We inform our readers that tomorrow,
Thursday 9 May, the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension, which is a feastday in
the Vatican, no VIS bulletin will be transmitted. Service will be resumed on
Friday, 10 May.
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