Pope Francis explains to young people what it means to be 'poor in spirit',
thus entering into the heart of the theme for the next World Youth Day. Jesus
himself chose the way of dispossession and poverty. The Pope addressed a
pressing invitation to
young people to imitate Jesus, and he pointed to the example of Saint Francis
of Assisi. Young Christians are therefore called to conversion, to embrace an
evangelical lifestyle, one of moderation in which we seek the essential and
act in solidarity
with the poor. The Pope explains that the poor are both the 'suffering flesh'
of Christ that we are all called to personally touch, and they are also true
masters of life, often with much to offer on the human and spiritual plane.
The Pope emphasises the close connection between the theme for the Rio WYD
– 'Go and make disciples of all nations!' – and the Beatitude
about the poor in spirit. Pope Francis explains, 'evangelical poverty is a
basic condition for
spreading the kingdom of God'. It is often the most simple of hearts that
express true joy, and evangelisation depends on this joy.
Subject: VISnews140206
From: Vatican Information Service - Eng - txt
The Holy Father reminds young people that thirty years have passed since
the Cross of the Jubilee of the Redemption was entrusted to young people. The
anniversary is on 22 April. 'That symbolic act by John Paul II was the
beginning of the great youth
pilgrimage which has since crossed the five continents'. Pope Francis tells
young people that after John Paul II’s canonisation, 'an event marked by
immense joy', he will be 'the great patron of the World Youth Days which he
inaugurated and always
supported'”.
___________________________________________________________
POPE FRANCIS DEEPLY SADDENED BY THE FIRE IN BARRACAS, BUENOS AIRES
Vatican City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – In the wake of yesterday's fire
in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Barracas, in which nine firefighters were
killed and several people injured, the Holy Father sent a telegram to the
metropolitan
archbishop of Buenos Aires, Mario Aurelio Poli. The Pope writes that he is
“deeply saddened” by the tragic accident, communicates his
closeness to all those affected, and is “united with all those who have
suffered or been killed in
this unfortunate event”.
“In these sad circumstances, in praying for the eternal repose of
those public servants who died in the course of duty, I ask God to grant His
comfort and strength to all those affected by the tragedy, and to inspire
feelings of brotherly
solidarity to help them face this hardship as best they can. I also wish to
offer a word of hope to those families who mourn their loved ones, and also to
those who await the full recovery of the injured”.
Pope Francis concludes by invoking the protection of Our Lady of Lujan, and
imparts “the comfort of my apostolic blessing to the dear people of
Buenos Aires, ever present in my heart”.
___________________________________________________________
ARCHBISHOP TOMASI: THE HOLY SEE WILL RESPOND TO THE CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
OF THE U.N. COMMITTEE FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
Vatican City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon Archbishop
Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer for the Holy See at the United Nations in
Geneva commented on the concluding observations of the United Nations
Committee for the Rights of
the Child, which were very critical regarding the issue of the abuse of minors
by members of the clergy and the actions taken by the Vatican and the Holy See
on the matter, and urges revision of the Church's teaching on certain themes
such as
contraception and abortion.
“My first impression: we need to wait, read attentively and analyse
in detail what the members of this Commission have written”, commented
the nuncio. “But my first reaction is of surprise, because of the
negative aspects of the
document they have produced and that it looks almost as if it were already
prepared before the meeting of the Committee with the delegation of the Holy
See, which had given in detail precise responses on various points, which have
not been reported in
this conclusive document or at least have not seemed to be taken into serious
consideration. In fact, the document does not seem to be updated, taking into
account what, over the last few years, has been done by the Holy See, with the
measures taken
directly from the authority of Vatican City State and then in various
countries by the individual Episcopal Conferences. It therefore lacks a
correct and updated perspective, which in reality has seen a series of changes
for the
protection of children that, it seems to me, are difficult to find, at the
same level of commitment, in other institutions or even in other States. This
is simply a question of facts, of evidence, which cannot be dist
rted!”.
With regard to the Holy See's reaction to the document, the archbishop
affirmed that “the Holy See will respond, because it is a member, a
State that is part of the Convention: it has ratified it and intends to
observe it in the spirit and
letter of this Convention, without added ideologies or impositions that lie
outside of the Convention itself. For instance: in its Preamble, the
Convention on the Protection of Children talks about the defence of life and
the protection of children
before and after birth; whereas the recommendation made to the Holy See is
that of changing its position on the question of abortion! Of course, when a
child is killed it no longer has rights! Hence this seems to me to be a real
contradiction of the
fundamental objective of the Convention, which is the protection of children.
This Committee has not done a good service to the United Nations, seeking to
introduce and request the Holy See to change its non-negotiable teaching! So,
it
is somewhat sad to see that the Committee has not grasped in depth the nature
and functions of the Holy See that, however, has expressed clearly to the
Committee its decision to carry forward the Convention's requests on the
rights of the child, but
defining precisely and protecting first of all those fundamental values that
give real and effective protection to the child”.
The observer for the Holy See also commented on the fact that the United
Nations had said at one time that the Vatican had responded better than other
countries to the protection of minors, and with regard to the change of
opinion expressed in the
document published yesterday, he said, “the introduction to the final
report recognised the clarity of the answers that were given; there was no
attempt to avoid any request made by the Committee, on the basis of the
evidence available, and where
there was no immediate information, we had promised to provide it in the
future, according to the directives of the Holy See, as all countries do. So
it seemed to be a constructive dialogue and I think it should remain as such.
Therefore, given the
impression received through direct dialogue by the delegation of the Holy See
with the Committee and the text of the conclusions and recommendations, it is
tempting to say that probably that text had already been written, and does not
reflect the input and clarity, other than by some hasty addition, to that
which had already been offered. So we must, with serenity and on the basis of
the evidence - because we have nothing to hide! - bring forth the explanation
of the position of the
Holy See, respond to the questions that remain, so that the fundamental
objective that is to be pursued - the protection of children - can be
achieved. We are talking about 40 million cases of child abuse in the world:
unfortunately some of these cases
- even though in small proportions in comparison to all those that are
happening in the world - affect people in the Church. And the Church has
responded and reacted and continues to do so! We must insist on this policy of
transparency, of no tolerance
of abuse, because even one single case of child abuse is one case too
many!”
___________________________________________________________
AUDIENCES
Vatican City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received
in audience:
- Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Siedlce, Poland.
- Wafaa Ashraf Moharram Bassim, the new ambassador of the Arab Republic of
Egypt to the Holy See, presenting her credential letters.
- Archbishop Franco Coppola, apostolic nuncio to Burundi.
- Nineteen prelates from the Polish Episcopal Conference on their “ad
limina” visit:
- Archbishop Jozef Michalik of Przemysl of the Latins, with his
auxiliaries, Bishop Adam Szal and Stanislaw Jamrozek;
- Bishop Jan Franciszek Watroba of Rzeszow;
- Bishop Marian Rojek of Zamosc-Lubaczow;
- Archbishop Stanislaw Budzik of Lublin, with his auxiliaries, Bishop
Mieczislaw Cislo, Bishop Artur Grzegorz Mizinski, and Bishop Jozef Wrobel;
- Bishop Krzysztof Nitkiewicz of Sandomierz, with his former auxiliary,
Bishop Edward Marian Frankowski;
- Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Siedlce with his auxiliary, Bishop Piotr
Sawczuk;
- Archbishop Edward Ozorowski of Bialystok, with his auxiliary, Bishop
Henryk Ciereszco;
- Bishop Antoni Pacyfik Dydycz of Drohiczyn;
- Bishop Janusz Boguslaw Stepnowski of Lomza, with his auxiliary, Bishop
Tadeusz Bronakowski and Bishop emeritus Stanislaw Stefanek.
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:
- appointed Rev. Ham Lim Moon as auxiliary of the diocese of San Martin
(area 102, population 761,000, Catholics 525,000, priests 79, permanent
deacons 29, religious 179), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Suwon,
South Korea in 1955 and was
ordained a priest in 1984. He holds a licentiate in theology and a licentiate
in spiritual theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He has
served in the following pastoral roles in the archdiocese of Buenos Aires:
vicar in the parish
“Reina de los Apostoles” and chaplain of the “Dr. Teodoro
Alvarez” hospital; priest of the parish “Maria Madre de la
Iglesia”, member of the presbyteral commission and dean of the
“Flores” deanery. He is
responsible for courses in ongoing formation for the clergy of Buenos Aires
and has accompanied the Korean community in Argentina. Since 2003 he has
served as priest in the parish of “SS. Cosme y Damian” in Buenos
Aires.
- confirmed Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko as president of the Pontifical Council
for the Laity, and Bishop Josef Clemens as secretary of the Pontifical Council
for the Laity.
- appointed the following members of the Pontifical Council for the Laity:
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria; Cardinal Angelo
Scola, archbishop of Milan, Italy; Cardinal John Njue, archbishop of Nairobi,
Kenya; Cardinal
Reinhardt Marx, archbishop of Munich and Friesling, Federal Republic of
Germany; Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht, Netherlands;
Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines; Cardinal
Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of
the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of
Apostolic Life; Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput of Philadelphia, U.S.A.;
Archbishop Orani Joao Tempesta of Sao Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Dr.
Yago De La Cierva,
Spain, lecturer in Crisis Management and Communication at the Faculty of
Social Institutional Communication of the Pontifical University of the Holy
Cross in Rome; Dr. Irene Egle Laumenskaite, lecturer at the Centre for
Religious Studies
and Research at the University of Vilnius, Lithuania; Dr. Fabrice Hadjadj,
director of the Institut Europeen d'Etudes Anthropologiques Philanthropos in
Fribourg, Switzerland; Dr. Jocelyn Khoueiry, foundress of the Associations
“La Libanaise-Femme
du 31 mai” and “Oui a la vie”, Lebanon; Dr. Franco Miano,
national president of Italian Catholic Action; Dr. Genevieve Amelie Mathilde
Sanze, Central African Republic, representative for Africa of the
International Secretariat of
Economy of Communion.
- appointed the following consultors of the Pontifical Council for the
Laity: Archbishop Alberto Taveira Correa of Belem do Para, Brazil; Archbishop
Filippo Santoro of Taranto, Italy; Bishop Anders Arborelius of Stockholm,
Sweden; Bishop Dominique
Rey of Frejus Toulon, France; Bishop Christoph Hegge, auxiliary of Munster,
Germany; Fr. Arturo Cattaneo, professor in the faculty of canon law of St.
Pius X of Venice, Italy; Fr. Fra Hans Stapel, O.F.M., founder and president of
the International
Association of the Faithful Family of Hope, Brazil; Alejandra Keen von
Wuthenau, superior general of the Marian Fraternity of Reconciliation, Peru;
Dr. Laurent Landete, moderator of the Community of the Emmanuel, France; Mimmo
Muolo, journalist from the
daily newspaper “Avvenire”, Italy; Marguerite A. Peeters,
Belgium/U.S.A., director of the Institute for the Intercultural Dialogue
Dynamics; Silvia Recchi, Italian professor of canon law at the Catholic
University of Central
Africa in Yaounde, Cameroon; Maite Uribe Bilbao, El Salvador, director general
of the Theresian Institute.
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
Il servizio
del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta
elettronica che
ne hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo
non si desidera continuare a
riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina
dinizio:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/v
s/italinde.php
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican
Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente
citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
